I Mk^tohial VbLij/'iii: Ol' j IV r; r:: n i -> -> t /- n, \ r ^ ,\\ / r c . til' 1 l.'.iVjOLl L^/W'k THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL PRESENTED BY Mrs. Frances London UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CH'^P^'- H'Llj 00013664386 This book is due at the WALTER R. DAVIS LFBRARY on the last date stamped under "Date Due." If not on hold it may be renewed by bringing it to the library. SSI^ . . "- °'^^^ RET DUE "^^■ mi aU --. )n t '^ oMi ' ^j— ^— ■ ^' ' F The Davis Memorial Volume DEAD PRESIDENT, JEFFERSON DAVIS, AND THE WORLD'S TRIBUTE TO HIS MEMORY j. VVM. JOXES, D.I). Author " Reuiiniscciices, Atiecdotes atid Letters of Lee, Camp,'' "Army Noi'theri! Virginia Aleinoriat ]'o/iiine, ' ' &e., and former Secretary Southern Historical Society. Christ in the ISHED BY AUTHORITY OF MRS. DAVIS. iAi /? CHICAGO, I-..S. A.: li Dominion Company. Pi'r.i.isiiia< 18^7. Copyright— 1,S,SQ— by B. F. JOHNSON & CO. TO THE NOBLE MATRON, MRS. VARINA HOWELL DAVIS, WHOSE FITTEST EULOGY IS THAT SHE WAS WORTHY TO GRACE THE HOME AND BRING SUNSHINE INTO THE LIFE OF 3cffcvson JSauis, THIS VOLUME, WHICH WAS UNDERTAKEN BY HER KIND ENCOURAGEMENT, Id AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED BY ONE WHO COUNTS IT AN HONOR TO BE CALLED HER FRIEND. 1 I Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill http://www.archive.org/details/davismemorialvoljone '.hitecliiirct Pliili ^;:;^^;^^5^^^^- ^i AS HF APFEAREC DORINO THE VMR PREFACE. Some years ago my personal relations to President Davis, and nay interest in and knowledge of events of Confederate History, induced an arrangement by which, with his full consent, I was to write the authorized Biography of our great Chief, and I had been diligently collecting material for that purpose. But on learning that he had at last yielded to a general desire, and was engaged at the time of his death in preparing his own Memoirs, and that since his death MrS. Davis has decided to complete and pub- hsh the book, under her own supervision, I gave up, of course, any plan of my own which could by any possibility conflict with this Memoir. It was suggested to me, however, that a volume which should briefly outline the Life and Character of the great Confederate Leader, and which should gather and preserve choice selections from the world's splendid tribute to his memory, would be a prized souvenir in the homes of the people who loved him, and not unacceptable to others who are willing to know more of the man who played so conspicuous a part in American History. But even this work I was unwilling to undertake unless it should meet with the full approval of Mrs. Davis, and be so arranged that she sliould have a "royalty" on every copy sold. I found her not only willing but anxious that these tributes of a people's love to her noble husband should be thus collected and pub- lished, and I obtained her cheerful consent that I should undertake the work, and her kind promise of valuable material for it. I am glad to be able to add that the liberality of my publishers has made the royalty large enough to induce the hope that it will be an important source of incorae to the noble woman who has caught the spirit of her illustrious husband and steadfastly refused all gratuities. The importance of an early publication has compelled the preparation of the book more rapidly than is desirable, and yet great care has been taken, and it Is hoped that no serious error will be found. V\ PREFACE. I am under high obligations to the newspapers generally, and to many personal friends who have aided me in my work, and I regret that the names of those who have given me cheerful assistance are too numer- ous to publish, and that I must content myself with this general acknowledgment of their appreciated favors. And while the book is in no sense an attempt at a full Biography, it is yet sent forth in the hope that it may shed much light on the Life and Character of "Our Dead President," and may show the world, and teach future generations, what a noble specimen of the Soldier, States- man, Patriot, Orator, and Christian gentleman he was, and what a place he held in the hearts of a grateful and loving people. J. W. J. Jtlanta, Ga., AprUSd^ 1S99, INTRODUCTION. I can think of no better introduction to what I may say of the life and character of the great chief of the Confederacy than to quote the first paragraph of the superb oration which he delivered at the great Lee Memorial Meeting held in Richmond, Va., on Thursday evening, November 3d, 1870. The spacious First Presbyterian Church was packed to its utmost capacity by an audience composed largely of Confederate veterans, who gave Mr. Davis such an ovation as King or proudest conqueror might have envied, and when the deafening cheers with which he was greeted, as he came forward to preside over the meeting, had subsided, he began his eulogy on Lee by saying : " Soldiers and Sailoi's of the Confederacy^ Countrymen and Friends: "Assembled on this sad occasion, with hearts oppressed with the grief that follows the loss of him who was our leader on many a bloody battle-field, there is a melancholy pleasure in the spectacle which is presented. Hitherto, in all times, men have been honored when suc- cessful ; but here is the case of one who, amid disaster, went down to his grave, and those who were his companions in misfortune have assembled to honor his memory. It is as much an honor to you who give as to him who receives, for above the vulgar test of merit you show yourselves competent to discriminate between him who enjoys and him who deserves success." How appropriate this language to the great gathering in New Orleans, and the great gatherings in every citj'', and well nigh every town and hamlet of the old Confederate States. Describing the immense outpouring of the people, and the solemn decorum of the vast crowds at the funeral in New Orleans, Mr. F, D. Mussey, of the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette, said, in his report to that paper : "The funeral of General Grant was a magnificent piece sec on the stage, but this was a spontaneous outpouring of the hearts of a grateful people." And so it was. The man who had led his people in an unsuccessful struggle for independence died with a place in their hearts which no victor ever had. How can we account for this ? I suppose that one way of accounting for it is to say that the intelligent people of our Southland have long Viil INTRODUCTION. since repudiated the fallacy that "success makes right," and that this is the criterion by which to judge a cause. One of the finest replies that I have ever heard was that given by the late Bishop J. P. B, Wilmer, of Louisiana, when some old friends of his in Philadelphia were twitting him about the failure of the Confed- eracy, and claiming that this proved that he was wrong in leaving his pastorate in Philadelphia to cast his lot with his beloved South. '• We told you that you were wrong," said they ; " and now see how it has been proven that we were right. Look at the result." '* I see and keenly feel the result," said the Bishop ; " but I do not see that that proves anything as to who was right and who was wrong in that great contest." "Why the conclusion is perfectly obvious, and we wonder that you do not see it. The Confederacy was overwhelmed, and was, of course, wrong in attempting to establish her independence," they confidently replied. " 1 cannotsee it in that light," rejoined the Bishop, " and I think that I can illMstrate it so as to show even you the fallacy of your position. Suppose that you and I were to get into a heated discussion concerning some point in theology, and were to so far forget ourselves that words should come to blows. Now you are a much stronger man than I am physically ; but suppose that you were to send out and get a burly Irish- man, a big Dutchman, and a strapping negro, and that all four of you should, after a hard struggle, succeed in throwing me down and tieing me, would that prove that you were right, and that I was wrong ? Now the North, much stronger physically than the South, had not only the burly Irishman, and the big Dutchman, and the strapping negro, but they had the rest of the world from which to recruit their armies, and after a four years' struggle, which shook the continent, they finally suc- ceeded in compelling us 'to yield to overwhelming numbers and re- sources,' and furl forever our tattered battle-flag. Does that prove that you were right and we were wrong in the contest ? Away with any such absurd doctrine." And so our Confederate people have not looked upon Mr. Davis as the unsuccessful leader of a wrong cause, but as one who bravely, heroically, and patiently, stood for country, God, and truth, as he was given to see it, and died a noble martyr for his people. But Jefferson Davis's claim to a place in the hearts of his people does not by any means rest on his services to the Confederacy. As a young soldier on the frontier and in Indian wars he had illustrated the high- est type of the young officer which the United States Military Academy at West Point sent out in its palmiest days ; as colonel of the gallant Mississippi regiment he had won imperishable glory on the fields of Mexi**©, and contributed no insignificant part towards planting the INTRODUCTION. fx "stars and stripes" on the -walls of the Montezumas; as representative of his State in the halls of Congress he had been the peer of the greatest in the House and in the Senate, even though there " were giants in those days ;" as Secretary of War he had proven himself the ablest the country has ever had, and had introduced reforms which are even now blessing the department and the service, which have refused to honor him dead ; as a popular orator and able debater he had few equals and scarcely any superior — even in this land of orators ; and as a chivalric, stainless, Christian gentleman, and an incomparable patriot, he won the respect and esteem of all who knew him, and has left behind a record of which his people are justly proud. Besides all this, he suffered in the room of his people, went to prison for them, had indignity put upon him, and was hated, slandered, mal- treated and ostracised in the land he had served so faithfully— all for them. No wonder, then, that the people in our Southland loved Jef- ferson Davis ; that they felt the deepest interest in all that concerned him, as he spent the evening of his days in his home beside the Gulf ; that they watched with breathless interest the news of his sickness ; that there was mourning in palace and cottage alike when the wires flashed the tidings of his death, and that immense crowds attended his funeral ; that memorial services were held and eloquent eulogies pronounced in every city, town and village in the South ; and that now the people are profoundly interested in everything concerning his life, his character, his death, or his funeral obsequies. In a speech delivered in Atlanta during the visit of Mr. Davis, at the unveiling of the monument of his friend, B. H. Hill, in May, 1886, the gifted and lamented Henry W. Grady, in his own matchless elo- quence, spoke of "Jefferson Davis, the uncrowned King of his people." Thank God, he is no longer " uncrowned." His people have crowned him with loving hearts, and redeemed by the blood of that Saviour in whom he humbly trusted, he has come off " conqueror — aye, more than conqueror," and the Captain of our Salvation has given him ''palms of victory " and a "crown" of rejoicing — " That crown with peerless glories bright, Which shall new lustre boast When victor's -syreaths and monarch's gems Shall blend in common dust." A /^^^I^P/ /^^tZ^ ^H^^3^ /2^^&-^ ^ ^/^^,.^^^.<><<>. vii-iz PART I. Outline of the Life and Character of Jefferson Davis. chapter l AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JEFFEBSON Davis.— Birth— Boyhood— College Student— Cadet at West Point — Young OfBcer — Marriage— Cotton Planter — Member of Congress- Enters Mexican War as Colonel of Mississippi Rifles— Monterey — Buena Vista— In the: United States Senate— Candidate for Governor— Secretary of War under President Pierce— Again Elected to the Senate, and Service until February 18, 1861— Farewell to the Senate— Election as President of the Southern Confede- racy — Service through the War— Capture— Imprisonment — Release on Bond— Resi- dence in Canada— Visit to Europe— Life at Beauvoir. 27-42 CHAPTER II. Birth and Early Life.— His Devotion to Kentucky— Gift of His Birthplace as the Site of a Church— His Speech at the Dedication of the Church 43-44 CHAPTER IIL The College Boy.— At Transylvania University— Reminiscences of His Old College- mate, General George W. Jones, of Iowa — Recollections of Judge Peters, of Mt. Sterling, Ky 46-64 CHAPTER IV. The West Point Cadet.— Appointed by President Monroe, through Secretary Calhoun— Recollection of a Fellow-Cadet— List of His Class— Sketch of Some of His Fellow- Cadets who were Afterwards Distinguished 55-8-3 XU CONTENTS. CHAPTER V. The Young Officer.— Second Lieutenant in the Sixth and then in the First Infan- try—Reporting for Duty to Major Riley— The Black Hawk War— Severe Tsst of Loyalty to Principle— First Lieutenant and Adjutant of the First Cavalry— Mar- riage to Miss Taylor, Daughter of General Zachary Taylor— Not a Runaway Mar- riage. . , 59-62 CHAPTER VL In Retirement.— Briarfleld— Death of'His Wife— Wide Reading and Profound Study. . &3-64 CHAPTER VIL His Entrance into Politics.— Candidate for the Legislature— His own Account of His Discussion with S. S. Prentiss— Defeated— Democratic Elector in 1844— His Second Marriage to Miss Varina Howell— Election to Congress where He took his Seat in December, 1845— His Brilliant Career in the House. , , , 66-70 CHAPTER VIII. The Mexican War.— In Favor of the Annexation of Texas— Speech on Resolutions of Thanks to General Taylor and His Army— He Resigns His Seat in Congress to Accept the Command of the First Mississippi Rifles— His Rigid Discipline— His Distinguished Services at Monterey— One of the Commissioners to Receive tne Surrender of the City— Adventure of Albert Sidney Johnston and Colonel Davis— Buena Vista— The Hero of the Day— Description of Hon. J. F. H. Claiborne— Gen. Taylor's Report— Col. Davis's own Report — Hon. Caleb Cushing's Mention of the "V Movement"— Account of Gen. A. H. Colquitt— " Steady Mississippians" — His Return Home and Enthusiastic Reception- Refuses a Commission as Brigaditr- General because He thought the President had no Legal Right to Confer the Com- mission 71-102 CHAPTER IX. In the United States Senate. — Appointed by the Governor and Approved by the People— The Peer ot "The Giants"— John Quincy Adams's Opinion— Dyer's Esti- mate in His " Great Senators of the United States "—Pen-Picture of "The South- ern Triumvirate," Davis, Hunter, and Toombs— Recollections of the Old Stenogra- pher of the Senate, E. V. Murphy— Estimate of Prescott, the Historian— Estimate of Frank IL Alfriend— Sketch of the New Orleans " Times-Democrat "—Mr. Davis's Own Modest Account 103-130 CHAPTER X. ■^ECRETAr-Y OF WAR UNDER FRANKLIN PiERCE.— Rcluctant Acceptance of the Position- Thorough Qualifications— Able Administration— Important RefoiTns and New Measures— The Officering of the Two New Regiments— A Brilliant Galaxy— Recol- lections of Judge James A. Campbell, of Philadelphia, who was in the Cabinet with Mr. Davis— His Own Account of His Administration of the War Depart- ment— The Degeneracy of the Administration since Mr. Davis's Day 131-142 CHAPTER XL Again in the United States Senate.— Mississippi Retmns Him to the Senate — Diffi- culties and Dangers of Mr. Buchanan's Administration— Mr. Davis's Able and Patriotic Efforts to Avert Sectional Issues— Letter to Senator Pearce, of Maryland— CONTENTS. xili His Opposition to " Squatter Sovereignty " and Debates with Senator S. A. Doug- las—Mr. Alfriend's Contrast between Davis and Douglas— His Keceptlon and Speech In Portland. Maine— At Faneuil Hall, Boston— Introduction of General Caleb Gushing— Mr. Davis's Great Speech— Speech in New York— Reply to an Invi- tation to a " Webster Birthday Festival "—His States' Rights Resolutions— Conclu- sion of His Reply to Mr. Douglas— Not an Aspirant for the Nomination for Presi- dent— Efforts to Heal the Breach and Solidify the Opposition to Lincoln .... 14S-195 CHAPTER XIL E :s Efforts to Preserve the Union.— Not a " Secession Conspirator "—His Devotion to the Union— His Own Summary of the Events which Led up to the Final Catastro- phe—Letter of November 10th, 1860, to Hon. R, B. Rhett, Jr.— Conference with the Governor of Mississippi and the Mississippi Delegation in Congress— He is Consid- ered "too Slow "—Letter from Hon, 0. R. Singleton— He Favored the " Critten- den Compromise" — Close of an Eloquent Speech— No " Cabal of Southern Sena- tors"— Conclusive Vindication of Mr. Davis by Hon. C. C. Clay— Letter of January 20th, 1861, to ex-President Franklin Pierce— His " Farewell to the Senate " January 21st, 1861 196-222 CHAPTER XIIL "Was Davis a Traitor?"- Reader Referred to Authorities— Able Statement of the Case by Benjamin J. Williams, of Massachusetts- Clear and Conclusive Paper by Commodore Mathew F. Maury— The "Botetourt Resolutions " by Judge John J. Allen— The Secession of Virginia— A Reply to Mr. Bossiter Johnson by J. Wm. Jones— Letter of Mr. Davis to the North Carolina Centennial Co-nmittee— The Great Oration of Senator John W. Daniel Before the Virginia Legislature . . , £23-300 CHAPTER XIV. Beginning of the War.— Major-General and Commander-in-Chief of the Mississippi Forces— President of the Confederacy— Inaugural Address— The Confederate Cabi- net—Confederate Commissioners to Washington—" Faith as to Sumter fully kept"— Perfidy of the Washington Government—" Who Fired the First Gun?"— Immense Odds Against the Confederacy In Both Numbers and Resources— Statistics Showing this— Removal to Richmond— The '* White House of the Confederacy"— First Battle of JIanassas— Mr, Davis on the Field- His Dispatch— His order to Advance— His Election as President of the " Permanent Government "—His Inaugural Address. 301-324 CHAPTER XV. Theeb Years of Carnage.— Victories and Disasters— Incident given by Gen. Richard Taylor— Promotion of Gen. Pender— Mr. Davis to Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston- Gen, Jonnstons Reply— Col. Jack's Account of His Interview with Mr. Davis— Another Letter to Gen Johnston — Mr. Davis's Message to Congress on the Battle of Shiloh and Death of Albert Sidney Johnston— Letters of Gen. Lee to Mr. Davis and Mr. Davis to Gen. Lee after Gettysburg— Recollections of United States Senator John H. Reagan— S;)eech of Hon, Geo. Davis, Confciderate Attorney-General^ Reminiscences of Ex-Governor F. R. Lubbock, Member cf the President's Staff— The Conduct of the War-Treatmentof Prisoners— Discussion Between Hon. James Blaine and Hon. B. H. Hill— The Question Discussed and Points Established in Southern His'.oriCi— ocjciety Papers— Proud Record of the Confederacy on the Con- duct of the War— Prof. Worsely's poem and Gen. Lee's Reply— Gen. Sherman's Charge and Mr. Davis's Scathing and Conclusive Reply 325-375 XIV CONTENTS. CHAPTER XVI. Close of the War.— Capture and Imprisonment.— When the Confederacy was nearest Success— First Manassas — "Within a Stone's Tlirow of Independence at Gettys- burg "—After Cold Harbor, in June, 1S64— Did Mr. Lincoln thinli that "the Time had Come for Negotiation " after Grant's dismal Failure in the Campaign of 1SG4? The "Attrition " Campaign and its Results— Army of Northern Virginia Starved in the Trenches and Frittered Away, until Lee Had only 35,000 Men to Guard Forty Miles of Breastworks, and Oppose 140,000 of Grant's splendidly equipped Army- Disasters in the South — Mr. Davis Calm, Brave, Determined— His Last Message to Congress— Calmly and candidly States the Dangers and Perils of the Country, but Expresses the Confident Hope that with Proper Sacrifice, Wise Measures, and Persevering, Brave Eflbrt the Independence of the Confederacy can still be Established— The Measures he Proposes for Recruiting the Army, and Securing Needed Supplies— On the Suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus— Mt. Lincoln's Proposal of "Unconditional Surrender ''—General Grant's Refusal to have a "Military Convention" Avith General Lee in Reference to Peace— Mr. Davis's eloquent appeal to Congress and to the Confederacy — Extract from a Letter of President Davis to Governor Vance, in which he details the measures the Confederate Government had repeatedly taken to secure peace, and shows that unconditional surrender was the one condition of peace always insisted on by the Government at Washington— President Davis's Message to Congress transmit- ting the rcportof the commissioners to the Hampjton Roads " Peace Conference"— Report of the Commissioner— The Telegram handed him in St. Paul's Church on Sunday morning, April 2d— Sensational Stories Refuted— His Own Account of what Occurred— About the rations Gen. Lee wished placed at Amelia C. H.— No fault of Mr. Davis nor of Commissary-General St. John— Headquarters at Danville — His Proclamation— First news of Lee's Surrender— His refusal of a bag of gold, when he had nothing but Confederate currency— Secretary Mallory's account of the Meetings of the President and Cabinet with Generals Johnston and Beauregard at Greensboro', N. C— Letter from Rev. Dr. H. A. Tupper, showing Mr. Davis's calm, brave oearing at Washington, Ga., when his capture seemed imminent— His cap- ture — Sensational slanders concerning it refuted— Statement of James H. Parker, of Maine, one of his captors— Account giten in letter of Col. Wm. Preston John- ston of his Staff, who was present— Account of Ex-Goveruor Lubbock, one of his Aids, who was also present- Reference to account'of Postmaster-General Reagan, Attorney-General George Davis, and President Davis's own account in his book, and m letters to his old cadet room-mate. Col. Crafts J. Wright— The Confederate Treasure, and what became of it— His Imprisonment at Fortress Monroe— General Richard Taylor's account of his visit to him— Tender, and eloquent address of Rev. Dr. Charles Minnegerode, Rector of St. Paul's Church, Richmond, in which he gives deeply interesting reminiscences of his friendship with Mr. Davis, his confirmation and strong Christian character, his efforts to obtain the privilege of visiting Mr. Davis in prison, his final success, his interviews with him, his com- munion with him, his final release on bail, the meeting with his family and friends, prayer of thanksgivings, &c., &c.— Efforts to hang him on trumped-up charges of complicity in the assassination, of Mr. Lincoln, and cruelty to prison- ers—Failure to "make out a ca.se"— Xolle prosequi entered on the charge of "Treason" because the ablest lawyers in the country advised that it could not be sustained 376^27 CHAPTER XVII. His Life Aftep. th-e WaPv.— Allusion 1,0 His Stay in Canada, His Visits to Europe, His Life in Memphis, and the Death there of Yellow Fever of His Son Jefferson Davis, Jr.— Beauvoir— Vivid Description of the House, the Grounds, Mr. Davis, Mrs. CONTENTS. XV Davis, and Miss Winnie, ' The Daughter of the Confederacy," in a Letter by " Catherine Cole "—A Visit to Bcauvoir— President Davis and Family at Ilome, as Described in a Letter by J. \Vm. Jones— Presentation of the Badge of Lee Camp Confederate Veterans, Richmond, Va., to " The Daughter of the Confederacy " — Governor Lee's Presentation, and Dr. J. Wm. Jones's E,csponse in Behalf of the Recipient — Mr. Davis Speaks at the Lee Memorial Meeting in Pachmond in Novem- ber, 1870, at the Convention which Ee-organized the Southern Historical Society in August, 1S7-1, at the Unveiling of the Stonewall Jackson Monument at New Orleans, at the Great Southern Historical Society Meeting there, at the Unveiling of the Albert Sidney Johnston Monument, at the Laying of the Corner-Stone of the Con- federate Monument at Montgomery, at Atlanta, Savannah, Macon, and other Places— Full Text of Eloquent and Conservative Speech at Army of Northern Vir- ginia Banquet, December 6th, 1878, made when Reporters were All Excluded and Never Before in Print— Letter to Ladies' Confederate Monument Association of Mississippi — Letter Correcting Mistakes in Biographical Sketch of Himself— Full Text of His Address Before the Mississippi Legislature, March 10th, 1SS4, in which He Explains why He had Never Applied to the United States Government for a Pardon ' . 428^51 CHAPTER XVIII. Analysis of His Chaeactek.— The Christian Soldier, Statesman, Orator and Patriot- Reminiscences of Him at First Manassas— Seven Days Around Richmond— His Appearance— A. P. Hill | Ordering President Davis and General Lee to the Rear— His Speech at the Old African Church in Richmond after the Return of the "Peace Commissioners," and Its Impression — His the Speech at the Great Lee Memorial Meeting— His Speech at the Unveiling of the Jackson Monument in New Orleans— A Peerless Orator — As a Writer of Classic English— A Patriot— Hon. B. H. Hill's Estimate— Illustrations of His Lack of Bitterness and Uniform Courtesy — His Humble, Evangelical Piety— A Specimen of His Fast Day Proclamations— A Personal Recollection— A Tribute of Bishop Kcnner— Incident Given by Senator John H. Reagan— His Letter to Two Little Boys— His Kind Treatment of His Slaves and Illustrations of their Devotion to Him— Incidents Told by S. A. Asha, Editor Raleigh News and Observer 452-468 PART II. His Sickness, Death and Funebal Obsequies, and the World's Tribute to His Memory. His Sickness and Death— Taken Sick at Briarfield— Brought to the Residence of Judge Charles E. Fenner, New Orleans— Description of the House— Mrs. Davis His Con- stant Nurse— Her Account of His Sickness— Better— A Congestive Chill from which He never Rallied— Friends at His Bedside— " Pray Excuse Me"— The End— Profound Grief at His Death— Editorial in the " State"— Editorial Announce- ment of the "Times-Democrat"— Editorial in "City Item"— The Day of His Death : Mayor Shakspcare's Proclamation— Proclamation of Governor Nioholls— Telegrams of Condolence Received from All Quarters by Mrs. Davis— Prepaea- TiONS FOR the Funeral : Meeting at the Mayor's Parlor— Remarks by Mayor Shakspeare, Associate Justice Fenner and Others— Letter to Gover- CONTENTS. nor NichoUs and Telegrams to the Southern Governors— Appointment of Committees— Draping the Houses— Descriptions of the Decorations of the City Hall— At the Tenner Mansion: "After Death"— Mrs. Davis's Chris- tian Resignation— Crowds of Visitors- Touching Incident of the Old Slave who Came to See '■ Marse Jeff."— Removal of the Body: The " Picayune's " Vivid Description of Converting the Council Chamber into " Mortuary Hall "— The Cataf?Jque— The Casket Removed from the Tenner Mansion to the City Hall at Midnight— The Washington Artillery Acting as Escort and Guard of Honor— The cause of his death • Interesting statements by Justice Tenner and the attending physicians, Drs. Stanford E. Chaille, and Dr. Charles J. Bickham— Lying in State : Immense crowds view the body— General George W. Jones, ot Iowa— Commodore Hunter— Mrs. AVheat, the mother of Maj. Wheat, of the " Lou- isiana Tigers "—Incidents— Mrs. Davis and Mrs. Hayes visit the chamber at mid- night— Mr. Orion Trazee takes a death mask — Telegrams continue to pour in from every quarter— The text of many of them— Proclamations from Governors Nicholls of Louisiana, Lowry of Mississippi, Seay of Alabama, Fleming of Florida, and Ross of Texas— Mrs. Davis's graceful response to telegrams of condolence— Estimated that 150,000 people viewed the body while lying in State — The Times- Democrat on the popular demonstration of respect and love shown our dead President — Telegraphic correspondence between ]Mayor Shakspeare and Secretary-of-War Proctor— Two Poems— Meeting of the Army of Tennessee Association— Full text of an eloquent eulogy by Rev. Dr. T. R. Markham— Brief speeches made by Gen. Geo. W. Jones of Iowa, Gen. S. B. Bucknerof Kentucky, Gen. T. T. Munford of Virginia, Dr. J. Wm. Jones of Atlanta, Gen. S. W. Ferguson of Mississippi, Gen. S. D. Lee of Mississippi, and Judge Walter H. Rogers of New Orleans— The Floral Offerings : Vivid description of the Tunes-Democral—ThG display magnificent in the number, variety, and beauty of the de&igns— The Ke''.^ Orleans Resolutions : The Bench and Bar— The Veteran Confederate Cavalry Association— The Board of Trade— Law class of Tulane University— The Stock Exchange — Colored Citizens — Faculty of Tulane University — Medical Students of Tulane University— The Civil District Court— The City full of Delegations and Visitors from every Quarter — The Funeral Obsequies- A Cloudless Sky— An Immense Crowd — A Stream of Visitors to Jlortuary Hall from 7 A. M. to 10— The Bier Borne at 12 O'clock from the Council Chamber to the Stone Portico of the City Hall — The Bishops, the Clergy, the Choristers, the Immense Crowd — The Service Begun— Chaste and Eloquent but Brief Address of Bishop John N. Galle- her— The Benediction — Father Hubert's Prayer — Bearing the Remains to the Funeral Car — Laid to Rest — The Immense Procession— The Services at the Tomb— The Funeral Procession— The Organizations Comprising the Six Divisions in Line—Detailed List of the Organizations, Officers, &c., in Each Division — At Met- airie— The Remains Deposited in the Tomb of the Army of Northern Virginia- Full List of Pall-Bearers— Some Notable Men who were in the Procession— The North Carolina Delegation— Registered at the Continental Armory — The Ken- tucky Delegation— Delegation from Richmond, Va.— The Tennessee Delegation- Large Delegation from Alabama — The Maryland Representation — Four Military Companies and Over 1,000 Citizens from Mississippi— Names— The Florida Delega- tion—Delegation from South Carolina— Ladies' Memorial Association of Columbia. Texas Delegation— Arkansas— The Floral Tribute — Vicksburg's— The IMisses Stringfellow— Lee Association, of Mobile— Florida's— Richmond Howitzer's— Girls' High School— Louisiana Rifles— The Salutes— Battery B, Louisiana Field Artillery. Notes— Floral Ship of State from Ladies of Dallas, Texas— Capt. Jack White— The Davis Guards— Mass Meeting of the United Confederate Veterans— Address of Gen. Jno. B. Gordon — Vice-Presidents — Resolutions and Remarks of Gen. S. D. Lee— Gen. W. L. Cabell — Governor Lowry, "the Soldier-Governor" of Mississippi — Governor Fowle, Governor Nickolls, Governor Buckner, Governor Flensing, Cov- entor Eagle. Governor Lubbock- Hon. J. Taylor Ellyson 471-585 CONTENTS. XVii Vibqinia's Tribute : Proclamation of Governor Fitzhugh Lee— Proclamation of the Mayor of Richmond — Letters of Gen. Dabncy IL Maury and Gen. W. H. Payne — Memorial Windows in St. Paul's — Memorial services at the various Churches — Resolutions of the General Assembly— Minute Guns by the Richmond Howitzers — Meeting at the Academy of Music— Resolutions— Meeting of Jlembers of Legislsi- ture to hear the Oration of Senator Daniel— Remarks of Hon. R. H. Cardwell, Speaker of the House of Delegates— Norfolk and Portsmouth— INIeeting of Pickett- Puchanan and Stonewall Camp Confederate Veterans — Religious Services — "Memorial Day" in Petersburg— Mass Meeting at Opera House under Auspices of of A. P. Hill Camp Confederate Veterans— Resolutions— Letters of Mrs. Davis to the Mayor of Richmond— Lexington— Virginia IMilitary Institute and Washing- ton and Lee University— Extract from Oration of Hon. J. Randolph Tucker — Danville— Maury Camp of Fredericksburg— Williamsburg— Other Points . . . 685-601 Alabama's Tribute : Montgomery's Mourning— Editorial in the Montgomery Advertiser Meeting of Confederate Vet erans— Poem by Rev. Dr. M. B . Wharton— Proclamation of Mayor Graham— " Rufus Sanders" in the ^di'erti'ser— Memorial Day in Mont- gomery— Editorial in the Advertiser— Grand Mass Meeting on December 19th— Resolutions— Speeches by Gen. Holtzclaw, Gov. AVatts, Gen. John A. Sanders, Gen. Geo. P. Harrison, and Capt. B. H. Screws— Extracts from speech of Gov. Watts, the old Attorney-General of the Confederacy— The Observance of the Day at Other Points all over the State 601-607 Georgia's Tribute : Henry W. Grady's Graceful and Touching Announcement of the Death and Tribute to the Memory of "Our Dead President "—Poem by Mont- gomery M. Folsom on "Davis is Dead— The Message Read "—Proclamation by Gov. Gordon— By the Mayor of Atlanta— By Judge W. L. Calhoun, President Con- federate Veterans— Large Meetmg of Veterans— The Resolutions— Speeches— Poem by Mrs. J. Wm. Jones read at the Meeting— Arrangements to Raise Funds for the Family and for a Monument— Telegraphic Correspondence Between Col. John A. Cockrell, of the New York World, and Henry W. Grady, of Atlanta— Memorial Day in Atlanta — A Procession, a Mass Meeting, and addresses by Judge Calhoun, Mayor Glenn, Rev. Dr. Strickler, Hon. A. H. Cox, and Judge Howard Van Epps— Grady's Telegram from New York— Atlanta's Warm Tribute Finds its Equal all over the State— Augusta's Tribute — Action of the Confederate Survivors' Associa- tion—Memorial Day— Oration of Col. Charles C. Jones, Jr.— Extracts from His Eloquent Address— Macon's Tribute— Editorial in the Telegraph— Tribute of the Veterans— At the Churches— Memorial Day— Editorial in Wesleyan Christian Advo- cate— SaYaunah's Tribute— In the Churches— The Veterans— Gen. Henry R. Jack- son's Brief but Eloquent Tribute— The Resolutions— Gen. Lawton in Calling the Vast Crowd to Order— The Prayer— At Other Towns in Georgia 608-623 Kentucky's Tribute : In Louisville— Meeting of Confederate Veterans— Resolutions by Rev. Dr. J. A. Broadus— Speeches by Hon. H. W. Bruce, Col. J. Stoddard John- ston, Maj. E. H. McDonald, Gen. Thomas H. Taylor, and Col. B. H. Young— Edi- torial in the Courier-Journal— TLditorial in Western Recorder — Elsewhere in Ken- tucky — At Paris — At Lexington— Characteristic Letter from Mr. Davis — At Stan- , ford— Offer of a Burial Place on the Spot of His Birth 62i-629 Mississippi's Tribute : Throb of Mississippi's Heart in Unison with the General Grief — Resolutions of the University of Mississippi — Resolutions from all over the State — Action ofthe State Legislature— Full report in the Ctono?i— Resolutions — Speeches — Mutual Love of Mr. Davis and jMississippi 629-633 Arkansas's Tribute : Tributes all over the State — Memorial Day at Little Rock — Meet- ing at the State Capitol— Resolutions— Meetings at the Hot Springs, Helena, and Other Places— Arkansas no Whit Behind Her Southern Sisters in Her Loving Tribute 633-636 Florida's Tribute ; Gov. Fleming's Estimate in the N. Y. World — Letter from Dr. R. B. Burroughs of Jacksonville, to Mrs. Davis, transmitting Resolutions — Florida's Tribute not unworthy Her Gallant "Men in Gray" 635-637 XVlll CONTENTS. Maeyland's Tribute : Gallant Mary landers in the Confederate Army and Loyal Hearts at Home— Their Tribute to Their Chief— " Memorial Day" in Baltimore — The - Meeting at the Armory of the Fifth JIaryland Eegiment— The Gflicers— Prayer by Rev. Dr. (Confederate Captain) MeKim— Speeches by Mayor Davidson, Col. D. G, Mcintosh, Col. Charles Marsh&ll, Gen. Bradley T. Johnson, Rev. Dr W. U. Murk- land, and Hon. S. Teackle Wallis— Extracts from the Conclusion of Col. Mcin- tosh's Speech, and Major Hall's Memorial— Tribute of Lieutenant Winfield Peters and Eloquent Speech of Hon. T. R. Stockdale, of Mississippi, at the Confederate Reunion and Banquet January 20th, 1890— Johns Hopkins University, 'Westem College of Maryland, Lady Visitors of the Confederate Home, and Others, Swell Maryland's Tribut e 637-640 North Carolina's Teiel'te: The Governor, in His Proclamation and Speech, Voices the Feeling of the " Old North State "—A Meeting at Metropolitan Hall, Raleigh- Gov. Fo'i\le's Telegram to the New York World — Memorial Day in Raleigh and an Eloquent Eulogy by Rev. Dr. AVatkins— At Other Places in the State— Honor from the Jilen -who Followed Him in War 640-64';! South Carolina's Tribute : Action of the Legislature — Brief but Eloquent Speech, by Col. McKissick— Charleston's Tribute — The Mayor's Proclamation — Various Meet- ings and Resolutions — Great Meetings on Memorial Day and Speeches by CoL Zimmerman Davis, Maj. T. G. Barker, Gen. B. H. Rutledge, Rev. Dr. Thompson, Gen. McCrady. Rev. R. C. Holland, Col. Henry E. Young, and Mr. J. P. K. Bryan— The Day in Columbia, Greenville, Kewberry, and Other Points all over the State 64&-64t Tennessee's Tribute : IMemphis once the Home of Jlr. Davis— Her Loving Tribute — Resolutions— Memorial Day in the Churches— 3Iass Meeting at the Theatre- Speeches — Poem by Mrs. Boyle — The Resolutions — Decking ^vith Flowers the Grave of Jefferson Davis, Jr.— At Nashville— Elder Lin Cave, the Orator— At Other Points in the State 646-64B Texas's Tribute : Prairie Flowers on His Bier— Galveston's Tribute — Dallas— Austin— At Other Towns— An Enthusiastic and Loving Tribute— A Poem by Mrs. Mary Mitchell Brown 618-645 Miscellaneous: Resolutions Received by Mrs. Davis— Editorials in Northern and English Papers — N. Y. Examiner — N. Y. Sun — N. Y. Times — Advance Thought, New York— London Globe— Daily Telegraph— YhileLdclTphia. Times— y. Y. iZeraZd.— Con- clusion— Address by Rev. Dr. S. A. Goodwin, of Richmond— Poem by Father A. '^^BPIftyan 650-662 Address of Hon. J. A. P. Cajipbell before the Mississippi Legislature ...... 663-67: PUBLISHER'S NOTICE. rnHE PUBLISHERS have, at great expense, and by exercis- 1 ing unusual care and patience, succeeded in securing a large number of beautiful and attractive illustrations for the Davis Memorial Volume, many of which are of rare historical value. We are greatly indebted to W. L. Sheppard, whose intimate acquaintance and association with many of the characters and scenes presented in the book enabled him to not only draw for us many striking and interesting pictures, but to make sugges- tions that were exceedingly helpful to other artists engaged in preparing the illustrations for the book. Mr. W. W. Davies, of the Lee Gallery, Richmond, Virginia, also places us under lasting obligations to him by furnishing us many photographs taken during and soon after the war. We would note specially the Grand Jury, and Petit Jury, Members of Mr. Davis's.,,#afei- net, photograph of Mrs. Davis in full dress, with the aid of which Mr. Sheppard was enabled to draw the charming pic- ture entitled " A Reception at the White House by Mr. and Mrs. Davis." The originals of these and other photographs used in illustrating the book are now in possession of Mr. Davies, of the Lee Gallery, and copyrighted by us in producing this work. ILLUSTRATIONS. Pago. ^FRONTISPIECE.— Steel Portrait op Mr. Davis, from a pho- tograph, taken about the close of the war. Engraved by Illman Bros 4 Plate II. — Letter from Mrs. Davis to Dr. Jones, authori- zing the publication of the Memorial Volume ... 10 III. — St. Paul's Church, Richmond, Va., where Mr. Davis worshiped — Washington Monument in the foreground 45 IV. — Battle of the Bad Axe. Scene in the Black Hawk War. W. L. Sheppard 61 V. — Briarfield. J. D. Woodward 65 VI. — Young Davis Leading his Command at Monte- rey, Mexico. Gilbert Gaul 81 VII.— Davis and Johnston Negotiating with Ampu- DIA. W. L. Sheppard 85 VIII. — "Steady, Mississippians." W. L. Sheppard ... 101 IX. — The Confederate Capitol 105 X. — The White House of the Confederacy 125 XL— Jefferson Davis, Jr. Died at Memphis, Tenn., of yellow fever. From a photograph furnished by Mrs. Davis 145 XII.— Mr. and Mrs. Addison L. Hayes 167 XIII.— Mrs. Hayes's four Children and Nurse .... 177 XIV.— Jefferson Hayes Davis, aged five years ..... 187 XV.— Farewell Address to the United States Sen- ate. A. C. Redwood 217 XVI. — Members of the First Confederate Cabinet . . 297 XVII.— Inaugural AT Montgomery. From a photograph. 302 XXii IliliUSTRATIONS. Page. XVIII.— The Bible used in taking the Oath at the Inaugural. From an old photograph 307 XIX.— Mrs. Davis in full dress giving a Reception at the "White House." W. L. Sheppard . . . 313 XX.— "There Comes the President." W. L. Sheppard 317 XXI. — Members of the Second Confederate Cabinet. From a photograph furnished by W. W. Davies . . 323 XXII.— Davis, Lee and Jackson in Council. W. L. Shep- pard .... 325 XXIII.— Gen. A. P. Hill ordering President Davis and General Lee TO THE Rear. W.L. Sheppard. . 341 XXIV.— From a Bust by Volck. The original now in pos- session of W. W. Davies, Lee Gallery. The Con- federate ten cent postage stamp was designed from this bust 351 XXV. — First Meeting of Lee and Davis after the War 391 XXVI.— His Capture 403 XXVII.— Parting with his Family. W. L. ShepjDard ... 411 XXVIII. — View of Fortress ISIonroe. Exterior of the case- ment ; inside view of the casement ; Revolutionary relics. W. L. Sheppard 413 XXIX.— The Davis Bail Bond. An exact reproduction . . 423 XXX.— In his Library. W. L. Sheppard 426 XXXI. — Mr. Davis leaving the Court-room. W. L. Shep- pard 427 XXXII.— Mrs. V. Jefferson Davis. From a recent photo- graph 434 SXXIII.— On the Veranda at Beauvoir. W. L. Sheppard. 437 XXXIV.— Miss Winnie Davis, "The Daughter of the Con- federacy." From a photograph taken by Davis, Eichmoud, Va 442 XXXV.— Chief Justice Chase and Judge Underwood. From original photographs taken at the time by W. W. Davies, now in possession, of Lee Gallery . 459 XXXVI. — Steel Portrait of Mr. Davis. From photograph taken not long before his death 469 ILLUSTRATIONS. XXiii Pago. XXX VIL-"Pkay, Excuse Me." W. L. Sheppard 475 XXXVIII.— City Hall, New Orleans. From a photograph . . 479 XXXIX. — After Death. From a photograph 493 XL. — Bearing the Remains to the Funeral Car . . . 531 XLI. — The Tomb op the Army of Northern Virginia Association at Metarie Cemetery 535 XLII. — The Temporary Interment 537 XLIII. — The Grand Marshal and his Aids 539 XLIV.— The Catafalque 543 XLV. — Council Chamber, New Orleans. From a photo- graph 645 XL VI.— The Last Night's Vigil. From a photograph . . 553 XL VII. — The Eight Governors who Attended the Fune- ral. From recent photographs 557 XL VIII. — Prominent Confederate Generals who Attend- ed THE Funeral, most of thera acting as pall- bearers . 567 XLIX.— Mayors of Cities, and other prominent men in attendance on the funeral 577 L.— Little Joe Davis's Grave. W. L. Sheppard . . 5S9 LI. — House in which the first Meeting op the Con- federate Cabinet was held 601 LIL— The Grand Jury which indicted Mr. Davts. The first mixed jury ever impaneled in the South ; the celebrated John Minor Botts, of Virginia, being the foreman. From a photograph talien at the time in possession of "VV. W. Davies, Lee Gallery .... 605 LIII.— Mr. Davis's Residence in Montgomery 621 LIV. — Petit Jury, which was to have tried him. The second mixed jury ever impaneled in the South. From a photograph in possession of W. W. Davies, Lee Gallery 625 LV.— Beauvoir. J. D. Woodward 631 LVI.— Discussing Military Matters WITH Miss "Winnie. W. L. Sheppard oil PART 1. OUTLINE OF THE Life and Character PRESIDENT JEFFERSON DAVIS. L AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JEFFERSON DAVIS. HE following brief autobiography of Mr. Davis appeared in the January, 1S90, number of Belford's Magazine, and was dated "Beauvoir, ^liss,, Novem- ber, 1SS9," having been written but a short time before his lamented death. The publishers state that it *'was dictated by Mr. Davis as he lay sick in bed one morning at Beauvoir a few weeks before his death, and was taken down in short- liand by a Northern guest, whose manuscript was revised by the old statesman before it was mailed to the Belford Company, who had solicited it for a biographical cyclopaedia they had undertaken.'' "I wris born June 3, 1808, in Christian county, Ky., in that part of it which, by a subsequent division, is now Todd county. At this lAacG has since arisen the village of Fairview, and on the exact spot where I was born has been constructed the Bap- tist church of the place. My father, Samuel Davis, was a native of Georgia, and served in the war of the revolution, first hi the ' mounted gunmen,' and afterward as captain of infantry at the siege of Savannah. During my infancy my father removed to Wilkinson county, Miss. After passing through the county academy I entered Transylvania college, Kentucky, and was advanced as far as the senior class when, at the age of IG, I was appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point, which I entered in September, 1824. I graduated m 1828, and then, in accordance with the custom of cadets, (27) 28 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL U3IE. entered active service with the rank of lieutenant, serving as an officer of infantry on the northwsst frontier until 1833, when, a regiment of dragoons having been created, I was transferred to it. After a successful campaigh-^ against the Indians, I resigned from the army, in 1835, being anxious to fulfill a long- existing engagement with a daughter of Col. Zachary Taylor, whom I married, not ' after a romantic elopement,' as has so often been stated, but at the house of her aunt, and in the presence of many of her relatives, at a place near Louisville, Ky. Then I became a cotton planter in Warren county. Miss. It was my misfortune, early in my married life, to lose my wife; and for many years thereafter I lived in great seclusion on the plantation in the swamps of the Mississippi. In 1843 I for the first time took part in the political life of the country. Next year I w^as chosen one of the ^^residential electors at large of the State, and in the succeeding year was elected to Con- gress, taking my seat in the House of Representatives in December, 1845. The proposition to terminate the joint occu- pancy of Oregon and the reformation of the tariff were the two questions arousing most public attention at that time, and I took an active part in their discussion, especially in that of the first. "During this period, hostilities with Mexico commenced, and in the legislation which the contest rendered necessary my military education enabled me to take a somewhat prominent part. "In June, 1846, a regiment of Mississippi volunteers was organized at Vicksburg, of which I was elected colonel. On receiving notice of the election, I jDroceeded to overtake the regiment, which was already on its way to Mexico, and joined it at New Orleans. Reporting to General Taylor, then com- manding at Camargo, my regiment, although the last to arrive— having been detained for some time on duty at the mouth ot the Rio Grande — was selected to move with the A VTOBIOGllAPU Y. 2d advance upon the city of Monterey. The want of transporta- tion prevented General Taylor from taking the whole body of volunteers who had reported there for duty. The Mississippi regiment was armed entirely witli percussion rifles. And here it may be interesting to state that General Scott, in Washing- ton, endeavored to persuade me not to take more rifles thar enough for four companies, and objected j^articularly to per- cussion arms, as not having been sufficiently tested for the use of troops in the field. Knowing that the Mississippians would have no confidence in the old flint-lock muskets, I insisted on their being armed with the kind of rifle then recently made at New Haven, Conn. — the Whitney rifle. From having been first used by the .Mississippians these rifles have always b^een known as the 'Mississippi' rifles. "In the attack on Monterey General Taylor divided his force, sending one part of it by a circuitous road to attack the city from the west, whil3 he decided to lead in person the attack on the east. The Mississippi regiment advanced to the relief of a force which had attacked Fort Lenaria, but hfd been repulsed before the Mississippians arrived. They carried the redoubt, and the fort which was in the rear of.it surrendered. The next day our force on the west side carried successfully the height on which stood the bishop's palace, which commanded the citj. "On the third day the Mississippians advanced from the fort which they held, through lanes and gardens, skirmishing and driving the enemy before them until they reached a two-story I house at the corner of the Grand Plaza. Here they were joined by a regiment of Texans, and from the windows of this house they opened fire on the artillery and such otlier troops as were in view. But, to get a better position for firing on the princi- pal buildings of the Grand Plaza, it was necessary to cross the street, which was swept by canister and grape, rattling on the pavemen*- like hail, and, as the street was very narrow, it was 30 THE DA Vl^ MEMORIAL VOLUME. determined to construct a flying barricade. Some long timbers were found, and, with pack saddles and boxes, which served the purpose, a barricade was constructed, "Here occurred an incident to which I have since frequently referred with pride. In breaking open a quartermaster's storehouse to get supplies for this barricade, the men found bundles of the much-prized Mexican blankets, and also of very serviceable shoes and pack saddles. The pack saddles were ireely taken as good material for the proposed barricade; and one of my men, as his shoes were broken and stones had hurt his feet, asked my permission to take a pair from one of the boxes This, of course, was freely accorded ; but not one of the very valuable and much-prized IMexican blankets was taken. "About the time that the flying barricade was completed, arrangements were made by the Texans and Mississippians to occupy houses on both sides of the streCu., for the j^urpose of more effective fire into the Grand Plaza. It havmg been deemed necessary to increase our force, the Mississippi sergeant- major was sent back for some companies of the First Mississippi which had remained behind. He returned with the stateruent that the enemy was behind us, that all our troops had been withdrawn, and that orders had been three times sent to me to return. Governor Henderson, of Texas, had accompanied the Texan troops, and on submitting to him the question what we should do under the message, he realized — as was very plain — that it was safer to remain where we were than (our supports having been withdrawn) to return across streets where we were liable to be fired on by artillery, and across open grounds where cavalry might be expected to attack us. But, he added, he supposed the orders came from the general-in-chief,and we were bound to obey them. So we made dispositions to retire quietly ; but, in passing the first square, we found that our movement had been anticipated, and that a battery of artillery AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 31 was posted to command the street. The arrangement made \5y me for crossing it was that I should go first ; if only one gun was fired at me, then another man should follow; and so on, another and another, until a volley should be fired, and then all of them should rush rapidly across before the guns could be reloaded. In this manner the men got across with little loss. We then made our way to the suburb, where we found that an officer of infantry, -with two companies and a section of artillery, had been posted to wait for us, and, in case of emergency, to aid our retreat. ''Early next morning General Ampudia, commanding the Mexican force, sent in a flag and asked for a conference with a view to capitulation. General Taylor acceded to the proposi- tion, and appointed General Worth, Governor Henderson and myself commissioners to arrange the terms of capitulation. Gen- eral Taylor received the surrender of the city of Monterey, with supplies, much needed by his army, and shelter for the w^ounded. The enemy gained only the privilege of retiring peacefully, a pri- vilege which, if it had not been accorded, they had the power to take by any one of the three roads open to them. The point beyond -which they should withdraw was fixed by the terms o- capitulation, and the time during which hostilities were to be suspended was determined on by the length of time necessary to refer to and receive answers from the two governments. A few days before the expiration of the time so fixed, the govern- ment of the United States disapproved of the capitulation, and ordered the truce to be immediately terminated. By this deci- sion we lost whatever credit had been given to us for generous terms in the capitulation, and hostilities were to be resumed without any preparations having been made to enable General Taylor, even with the small force he had, to advance further into the enemy's country. General Taylor's letter to Mr. Marcy, Secretary of War, was a very good response to an unjust criti- cism; and in the Washington Union of that time I also pub- 32 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. lished a very full explanation of the acts of the commission- ers, and of the military questions involved in the matter oi capitulation in preference to continuing the siege and attack. "General Taylor, assuming that it was intended for him to advance into the interior of Mexico, then commenced to pre- pare himself for such a campaign. To this end he made requi- sitions for the needful transportation, as well as munitions, including, among other supplies, large India rubber bags, in which to carry provisions for days, and which, being emptied before we reached the desert of sixty miles, would, by being filled with water, enable troops and horses to cross those desert plains. These and other details had been entered into under the expectation that the censure of the treaty of Monterey meant a march into the interior of Mexico. Another thing required was a new battery of field pieces to take the place of the old Ringgold battery, which by long service had become honeycombed. When all these arrangements were nearly com- pleted it was decided to send General Scott, with discretionary powers, which enabled him to take nearly all the tried troops General Taylor had, including even the engineer then employed in the construction of a fort, and the battery of new guns to replace the old ones, which were deemed no longer safe, but which, under the intrepid Captain Bragg, afterward did good service in the battle of Buena Vista. "General Taylor, with the main body of his army went to Victoria, and there made arrangements to send them all to report to General Scott, at Vera Cruz, except the small force he considered himself entitled to as an escort on his route back tc Monterey through an unfriendly people. That escort consisted of a battery of light artillery, a squadron of dragoons, and the regiment of Mississippi riflemen. With these he proceeded through Monterey and Saltillo to Agua Nueva, where he was joined by the division of General Wool, who had made the campaign of Chihuahua. AUTOniOOJiAPIlY. 33 "General Santa Anna, commanding the army of Mexico, was informed of tlie action which had been taken in stripping Gen- eral Taylor of his forces, and was also informed that he had at Saltillo only a handful of volunteers, which could be easily dispersed on the approach of aar army. Thus assured, and with the prospect of recovering all the country down to the Rio Grande, Santa Anna advanced upon Agua Nueva. " General Taylor retired to the Angostura pass, in front of the hacienda of Buena Vista, and there made his dispositions to receive the anticipated attack. As sage as he was brave, his dispositions were made as well as the small force at his com- mand made it possible. After two days of bloody fighting, General Santa Anna retired before this little force, the greater part of which had never before been under fire. ''The encounter with the enemy was very bloody. The Mis- sissippians lost many ol theii best men, for each of whom, how- ever, they slew several of the enemy. For, trained marksmen, they never touched the trigger without having an object through both sights; and they seldom fired without drawing blood. The infantry against whom the advance was made was driven back, but the cavalry then moved to g3t in the rear of the Mississippians, and this involved the necessity of falling back to where thj plain was narrow, so as to have a ravine on each flank. "In this position the second demonstration of the enemy's cavalry was received. They were repulsed, and it was quiet in front' of the Mississippians until an aide came and called from the other side of the ravine, which he could not pass, that General Taylor wanted support to come as soon as possible to the protection of the artillery on the right flank. The order was promptly obeyed at double quick, although the distance must have been nearly a mile. They found the enemy moving in three lines upon the batteries of Captain Braxton Bragg and the section of artillery commanded by George H. Thomas 3 84 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. The Mississippians came up in line, their right flank opposite the first line of the advancing enemy, and at a very short range opened fire. All being sharpshooters, those toward the left of the line obliqued to the right, and at close quarters and against three long lines very few shots could have missed. At the same time the guns of Bragg and Thomas were firing grape. The effect was decisive; the infantry and artillery of the enemy immediately retired. " At the close of the day Santa Anna bugled the retreat, as was supposed, to go into quarters, but when the next sun rose there was no enemy in our front. "The news of this victory was received in the United States with a degree of enthusiasm proportionate to the small means with which it was achieved ; and generosity was excited by the feeling that General Taylor had been treated with injustice. Thenceforward the march of 'Old Rough and Ready' to the White House was a foregone conclusion. '■' In this battle, while advancing to meet the enemy, then pressing son^e of our discomfited volunteers on the lefb of the field of battle, I received a painful wound, which was ren- dered more severe in consequence of remaining in the saddle all day, although wounded early in the morning. A ball had passed through the foot, leaving in the wound broken bones and foreign matter, which the delay had made it impossible then to extract. In consequence I had to return home on crutches. "In the meantime a Senator of Misidssippi had died, and the governor had appointed me his successor. Before my return home President Polk had also appointed me brigadier- general of volunteers, an appointment which I declined on the ground that volunteers are militia, and that the constitution reserved to the State the appointment of all militia officers. This T.-as in 1 847. In January, 1848, the Mississippi legisla- ture unanimously elected me United States Senator for the rest AUTOniOOnAPHY. 35 of the unexpired term; and in 1850 I was re-elected for the fall term as my own successor. In the United States Senate I was cliairman of the Military Committee; and I also took an active part in the debates on tbe compromise measures of 1850, frequently opposing Senator Douglas, of Illinois, in his theory of 'squatter sovereignty,' and advocating, as a means of pacifica- tion, the extension of the Missouri compromise line to the Pacific. When the question was presented to Mississippi as to whether the State should acquiesce in the compromise legislation of 1850, or whether it should join the other Southern States in a con- vention to decide as to the best course to pursue in view of the threatened usurpations of the Federal government, I advo- cated a convention of the Southern States, with a view to such co-operation as might effectually check the exercise of con- structive powers, the parent of despotism, by the Federal gov- ernment. " The canvass for governor commenced that year. The ca ndi- date of the democratic party was by his opponents represented to hold extreme opinions — in other words, to be a disunionist. For, although he was a man of high character and had served the country well in peace and war, this supposition was so art- fully cultivated that, though the democratic party was esti- mated to be about 8,000 in majority, when the election occurred in September the democratic candidates for a convention were defeated by a majority of over 7,000, and the democratic can- didate for governor withdrew. "The election for governor was to occur in November, and I was called on to take the place vacated by the candidate who ■ had withdrawn from the canvass. It was a forlorn lio^^e, espe- cially as my health had been impaired by labors in the sum- mer canvass, and there was not time before the approaching election to make such a canvass as would be needed to reform the ranks of the democracy. However, as a duty to the party, I accepted the position, and made as active a campaign as the 36 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. time permitted, with the result that the majority against the party was reduced to less than 1,000. From this time, I remained engaged in quiet farm labors until the nomination of Franklin Pierce, when I went out to advocate his election, having formed a very high opinion of him as a statesman and a patriot from observations of him in 1837 and 1838, when he was in the United States Senate. "On his election as President, I became a member of his cab- iiiet, filling the office of Secretar}^ of War during his entire term. During these four years I proposed the introduction of camels for service " ou the v/estern i:)lains, a suggestion which was adopted. I also introduced an improved system of infantry tactics, effected the substitution of iron for wood in gun car- riages, secured rifled muskets and rifles and the use of minie balls, and advocated the increase of the defences of the sea- coast by heavy guns and the use of large-grain powder. "While in the Senate I had advocated, as a military necessity and as a means of preserving the Pacific territory to the Uuion, the construction of a military railway across the continent ; and, as Secretary of War, I was put in charge of the survey of the various routes proposed. Perhaps for a similar reason — my previous action in the Senate — I was also put in charge of the extension of the United States capitol. " The administration of Mr. Pierce presents the single instance of an executive whose cabinet witnessed no change of 23ersons during the whole term. -At its close, having been re-elected to the United States Senate, I re-entered that body. "During the discussion of the compromise measures of ISoO tb.e refusal to extend the ]\Iissouri compromise line to the Pacific was early put on the ground that there was no consti- .tutional authority to legislate slavery into or out of any terri- tory, which was in fact and seeming intent a repudiation of the Missouri compromise ; and it was so treated in the Kansas- Nebraska bill. AUTOBIOGEAPHY. 37 " Subsequently Mr. Douglas, the advocate of what was called 'squatter sovereignty/ insisted upon the rights of the first immi- grants into the territory to decide upon the question whether migrating citizens might take their slaves with them ; which meant, if it meant anything, that Congress could authorize a iQ'W settlers to do what it was admitted Congress itself could not do. But out of this bill arose a dissension which finally divided the democratic party, and caused its defeat in the pres- idential election of 1860. "And from this empty,;baseless theory grew the Iliad of our direst woes. "When Congress met in the fall of 1860 I was appointed one of a Senate committee of thirteen to examine and report on some practicable adjustment of the controversies which then threatened the dissolution of the Union. I at first asked to be excused from ihe committee, but at the solicitation of friends agreed to serve, avowing my willingness to make any sacrifice to avert the impending struggle. The committee consisted of men belonging to tlie thres political divisions of the Senate — the State Rights Men of the South, the Radicals of the North, and the Northern Democrats, with one member who did not ack- nowledge himself as belonging to any of the three divisions — Mr. Crittenden, an old-time Whig, and the original mover of the compromise resolutions. When the committee met it was agreed that unless some measure which would receive the sup- port of the majority of each of the three divisions could be devised, it was useless to make any report ; and after many days of anxious discussion and a multiplicity of propositions, though the Southern State Rights Men and the Northern Dem- ocrats, and the AVhigs, Mr. Crittenden, could frequently agree, they could never get a majority of the Northern Radicals to unite with them in any substantive proposition. Finally, the committee reported their failure to find anything on which the three divisions could unite, Mr. Douglas, who was a member 38 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. of the committee, defiantly challenged the Northern Radicals to tell what they wanted. As they had refused everything, he claimed that they ought to be willing to tell what they pro- posed to do. "When officially informed that Mississippi had passed the ordinance of secession, I took formal leave of the Senate, announcing for the last time the opinions I had so often. expressed as to State sovereignty, and, as a consequence of it, the right of a State to withdraw its delegated powers. Before I reached home I had been appointed by the convention of Mississippi commander-in-chief of its army, with the rank of major-general, and I at once proceeded with the task of organ- ization. I went to my home in, Warren county in order to prepare for what I believed was to be a long and severe strug- gle. Soon a messenger came from the Provisional Confederate Congress at Montgomer}^, bringing the unwelcome notice that I had been elected Provisional President of the Confederate States. But, reluctant as I was to accept the honor, and care- fully as I had tried to prevent the possibility of it, in the cir- cumstances of the country, I could not refuse it ; and I was inaugurated at Montgomery, February 18, 1861, with Alexan- der H. Stephens, of Georgia, as vice-president. "From this time to the fall of the Confederate government my life was part of the history of the Confederacy, and of the war between the States. It is impossible, therefore, to follow it in detail. "In the selection of a cabinet I was relieved from a difficulty which surrounds that duty by the president of the United States, for there were no sections' and no 'party' distinc- tions. All aspirations, ambitions, and interests had been merged in a great desire for Confederate independence. "In my inaugural address I asserted that necessity, not choice, had led tc the secession of the Southern States; that, as an agricultural people, their policy was peace and free commerce / AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 39 with all the world; that the constituent parts, not the system of government, had been changed. " The removal of the troops from Fort Moultrie to Fort Sumter, the guns of which threatened the harbor of Charles- ton, and the attempt to throw re-enforcements into that fort — thus doubly breaking a pledge that matters should be kept in statu quo — constituted the occasion as well as the justification of the opening of fire upon Fort Sumter. Speedily following this event came the call for a large army by Mr. Lincoln, and the secession of other Southern States as the consequence of this unmistakable purpose of coercion, " Virginia, which had led in the efibrt, by a peace conference, to avert national ruin, when she saw the constitution disre- garded and the purpose to compel free states by military force- to submit to arbitrary power, passed an ordinance of secession, and joined the Confederate States. "Shortly after this, as authorized by the Provisional Con- gress, I removed the Confederate capital from Montgomery to Richmond. "Among the many indications of good will shown when on my way to and after my arrival at Richmond was the pur- chase of a very fine residence in Richmond by leading citi- zens. It was off'ered as a present ; but, following a rule that had governed my action in all such cases, I declined to accept it. I continued to live in Richmond until the Confederate forces were compelled to withdraw from the defences of the capital. " That event was not quite unexpected, but it occurred before the conditions were fulfilled under which General Lee contem- plated retreat. After General Lee was forced to surrender, and General Johnston consented to do so, I started, with a very few of the men who volunteered to accompany me, tor the Trans- Mississippi ; but, hearing on the road that marauders were pursuing my family, whom I had not seen since they left Rich- 40 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. mond, but knew to be en route to the Florida coast, I changed my direction, and, after a long and hard ride, found them encamped and threatened by a robbing party. To give them the needed protection 1 traveled with them for several days, until in the neighborhood of Irvinville, Ga., when I supposed I could safely leave them. But, hearing about nightfall, that a party of marauders were to attack the camp that night, and supposing them to be pillaging deserters from both armies, and that the Confederates w^ould listen to me, I awaited their com- ing, lay down in my traveling clothes and fell asleep. Late in the night my colored coachman aroused me with the intel- ligence that the camp was attacked, and I stepped out of the tent where my wife and children were sleeping, and saw at once that the assailants were troops deploying around the encampment. I so informed my wife, who urged me to escape. After some hesitation I consented, and a servant woman started with me, carrying a bucket as if going to the spring for water. One of the surrounding troopers ordered me to halt and demanded my surrender. I advanced toward the trooper, throwing off a shawl which my wife had put over my should- ers. The trooper aimed his carbine, when my wife, who wit- nessed the act, rushed forward and threw her arms around me, thus defeating my intention, which was, if the trooper missed his aim, to try and unhorse him and escape with his horse. Then, with every species of petty pillage and offensive exhibi- tion, I was taken from point to point until incarcerated in Fort- ress ]\Ionroe.* There I was imprisoned for two years before being allowed the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus. "At length, when the writ was to be issued, the condition was imposed by the Federal executive that there should be bonds- *For a fuller account of my arrest see statements of United States Senator Eeagan ; W. Preston Johnston, president Tulane Tniversity ; F. R. Lubbock, Trcasiu'cr of Texas ; B. N. Harrison. Esq., ot Kcw i'ork city, all eye witnesses. Also "The Rise and Fall of the Confed- erate GoYcrnmcrit," page 7C0, vol. 11 ; and for my life at Fortrefs Monroe, " The Prison Life of Jefferson Davis," by Dr. L. J. J. Craven. New York ; Carleton, 1SG6. AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 41 men influential in the 'republican' party of the north, Mr. Greeley being especially named. Entirely as a matter of jus- tice and legal right, and not from motives of personal regard, Mr. Greeley, Mr. Gerrit Smith, and other eminent northern citizens went on my bond. "In May, 1867, after being released from Fortress Monroe, I went to Canada, where my older children were, with their grandmother; my wife, as soon as permitted, having shared my imprisonment, and brought our infant daughter with her. From time to time I obeyed summonses to go before the Fede- ral court at Richmond, until finally the case was heard by Chief-Justice Chase and District Judge Underwood, who were divided in opinion, which sent the case to the Supreme Court of the United States, and the proceedings were quashed, leav- ing me without the opportunity to vindicate myself before the highest Federal court "After about a year's residence in Canada I went to England with my family, under an arrangement that I was to have sixty days' notice whenever the United States court required my presence. After being abroad in England and on the continent about a year, I received an offer of an appointment as president of a life insurai:\ce company. Thereupon I returned to this country, and went to Memphis, and took charge of the company. Subsequently I came to the gulf coast of Mississippi, as a quiet place where I could prepare my work on 'The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government.' A friend from her infancy, Mrs. Dorsey shared her home with me, and subsequently sold to me her property at Beauvoir, an estate of five or six hundred acres, about midway between Mobile and New Orleans. Before I had fully paid for this estate Mrs. Dorsey died,.leaving me her sole legatee. From the spring of 1S7G to the autumn of 1879 I devoted myself to the production of the historical work just mentioned. It is an octavo book, in two volumes of about 700 pages each. I have 42 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL VME. also from time to time contributed essays to the North Ameri- can Review and Belford's Magazine and have just completed the manuscript of 'A Short History of the Confederate States of America,' which is expected to appear early in 1890. "Since settling at Beauvoir,! have persistently refused to take any active part in politics, not merely because of my disfran- chisement, but from a belief that such labors could not be made to conduce to the public good, owing to the sectional hostili- ties manifested against me since the war. For the same rea- son I have also refused to be a candidate for public office, although it is well known that I could at any time have been re-elected a Senator of the United States, "I have been twice married, the second time being in 1844, to a daughter of William B. Howell, of Natchez, a son of Gov- ernor Howell, of New Jersey. She has borne me six children — four sons and two daughters. My sons are all dead; my daughters survive. The elder is Mrs. Hayes, of Colorado Springs, Col., and the mother of four children. My youngest daughter lives with us at Beauvoir, Miss. Born in the last year of the war, she became familiarly known as 'the Daughter of the Confederacy.' "Jefferson Davis. "Beauvoir, Miss., November, 1889." The above exceedingly modest, but deeply interesting story of his eventful life will increase the public desire to see the fuller autobiography which he was writing, and deepen the regret that he was not spared to complete it. But after all there are many things to be said about his life and character which he would never have said or even inti- mated, and while we cannot enter into full details, we must give some of the things concerning this great man that ought to be written and preserved. 11. HIS BIRTH AND EARLY LIFE. It is very certain that a love of liberty, a deep-toned patriot- ism, a willingness to sacrifice self for country, were inherited from the patriot soldier of the revolution, and that the brave Captain Samuel Davis, who fought ~for the colony of Georgia, and the other American colonies, against British oppression, was a fit progenitor of the chivalric Jefferson Davis, who led the Confederate States in their great struggle for constitutional freedom. Although the father only remained in Kentucky a few 3'ears after the birth of his son Jefferson, Mr. Davis always cherished a real filial affection for the state of his birth, and early home, and Kentucky has been ever proud that she gave him birth, and counts him the greatest of all of her illustrious sons. One of the most pleasant episodes in his life was his giving to the Baptist church in Fairview, Ky., the site of his birth place on which to erect a house of worship — his attendance at the dedication of this church, November 21, 18S6 — and the tender, appropriate, and eloquent speech, which he made on that occasion. There was- an immense crowd present; the services were of great solemnity and interest; all seemed touched by the pres- ence of the veteran president of the Confederacy, and Mr. Davis himself was deeply moved by the occasion, and the hal- lowed memories which came trooping up from the past, as he saw this beautiful house of worship on the site of the humble cabm in which he was born. (43) 44 . THE D Ay IS MEMORIAL VOLUME. I am indebted to Mrs. J. 0. Rust, of Hopkinsville, Ky., for the following copy of a report of the brief address he made to the assembled multitude, when, after the sermon, which beseemed greatly to enjoy, he was called on to make some remarks. The report is not stenographic, but is said to be nearly his exact words. In his graceful style he spoke, in substance, as follows : " Ladies and Gentlemen of the Congregation: !My heart is always filled with gratitude to you, who extend to me so many kind- nesses. I am thankful that I can give you this lot upon which to worship the triune God. It has been asked why I, who am not a Baptist, give this lot to the Baptist church? I am not a Bap- tist, but my father, who was a better man than I, was a Baptist. "Wherever I go, w^hen I come here, I feel 'that this is my own, my native land.' When I see this beautiful church it refills my heart with thanks. It shows the love you bear, your creator; it shows your capacity for building to your God. The pioneers of this country, as I have learned from history, were men of plain, simple habits, full of energy and imbued with religious principles. They lived in a day before the dawn of sectarian disturbances and sectional strifes. In their rude surroundings and teachings it is no wonder that they learned that God was love. "I did not come here to speak. I would not mar with speech of mine the effect of the beautiful sermon to which you have listened. I simply tender to you, through the trustees of Bethel, the site upon which this church stands. May the God of heaven bless this community forever, and may the Saviour of the world preserve this church to His worship for all time to come." But in his early youth his father removed to the neighbor- hood of Woodville, Wilkinson Co., in what was then the terri- tory of Mississippi, and henceforth Jefferson Davis became., intus et in cute, a Mississippian. * M i ^ III. THE COLLEGE BOY. He was prepared at home to enter Transylvania University Ky., at an earlier age than was usual, and he made rapid pro- gress in his studies here, until, at the age of sixteen, he was appointed by President Monroe a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point. At Transylvania University he formed an intimacy with George ¥/. Jones, of Iowa, which continued unabated through- out Ms life, and one of the most touching incidents of his death was that when Mr. Jones learned of his illness he started from his home in the Northwest to see him, but only reached New Orleans after his death. He was one of the pall-bearers, and it was very touching to see the old man's deep grief, and to hear him say as he witnessed that outpouring of the people: " Oil! just see these vast crowds which come to do honor to my precious friend, Jefferson Davis." During his visit to New Orleans the Times-Democrat pub- lished the following interview with him, and although much of it relates to other periods than his college days, it is of such deep interest that we insert the whole of it here as follows: "Of the many who are bowed down with grief at the death of ex-President Davis, comparatively few feel it more keenly than General George Wallace Jones, of Dubuque, Iowa. His friendship for Mr. Davis dated back to boyhood, when he and the ex-President were college mates. The news of Mr, Davis's dan- gerous illness reached General Jones at his home in Dubuque, Iowa, and he at once determined to visit him once more (46) TH^E COLLEGE BOY. 47 before lie died. Hurrying South, he reached the city yester- day morning, too late by only a few hours to once more clasp the hand of his oldest and dearest friend. He was deeply pained and disaj^pointed at the result of his long journey, but he consoles himself with the reflection that he has at least the opportunity of paying the last formal tribute to the ashes of one who w^as so dear to him in life. "General Jones was yesterday so oppressed with grief that he could think of little but the present and its immediate con- cerns, and it was with some difficulty that he could sufficiently command his emotions to enable him to give anything like a succinct and consecutive story of his personal relations with the late ex-president. "They were classmates at Transylvania University, Lexing- ton, Ky., in 1820. His acquaintance with Jefferson Davis com- menced in October of that year. Young Davis was then consid- ered by the faculty the brightest and most intelligent, and by his fellow-students the bravest and handsomest of all the college hoys,. In November, 1824, Jefferson Davis was appointed to a cadetship at West Point by President l^ionroe, and as ]\Ir. Jones remained at the university and graduated in 1825, the friends drifted apart. "The next I knew of 'Jeff,' as we used to call him," said General Jones, "was in 1828.~ He had graduated at West Point and had been assigned to duty as second lieutenant in a United States cavalry command at Fort Crawford, Prairie du Chien, then Michigan Territory, but now the State of Wis- consin. It was late in the year, and late one night, when a cavalry lieutenant and a sergeant rode up to my log cabin at Sinsinawa Mound, about fifty miles from Fort Crawford and inquired for Mr. Jones. I told him that I answered to that name. The lieutenant then asked me if they could remain there all night I told him that they were welcome to share my buffalo robes and blankets, and that their horses could be coralled with mine on the prairie. 48 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. "Tlie officer then asked me if I had ever been at the Transyl- vania University. 1 answered that I had been there from 1820 to 1825. " ' Do you remember a college hoj named Jeff. Davis ? ' " '" Of course, I do.' " "'lam Jeflf.'" " That was enough for me. I pulled him off his horse and into my cabin, and it was hours before either of us could think of sleeping. I could never forget that night if I were to live a thousand years. Lieutenant Davis remained at my cabin for some days, and after the unconstrained manner of early frontier life we had a delightful time. " In 1832 we became associated in the famous Black Hawk war, he as lieutenant of infantry, and I as aid-de-camp to General Henry Dodge, commanding the militia of Michigan Territory. I often accepted his invitation to partake of his hospitality, as well as that of General (then Captain) William S. Ilarncy and Colonel Zachariah Taylor, who often divided their rations with me, as we volunteers were often in want of suitable food. "The regulars were much better provided for than we volun- teers were at that time. They were not only furnished with better rations and more of them, but they had tents while wo had none, and I shall never forget the generous hospitality of Lieutenant Davis, Captain W. S. Harney, Colonel Zachariah Taylor, and others of my brave and generous comrades of those days. " In the winter of 1832-3, Lieutenant Davis was sent to the Dubuque lead mines, which at the termination of the trouble had been occupied by squatters. He was directed by the War Department, through Colonel Zachariah Taylor, to remove these squatters. Lieutenants Gardner and Wilson, who pre- ceded him, having failed to drive the people off. " Lieutenant Davis, by his concilliatory efTorts and kindness, soon got them to leave under an assurance that their claims THE COLLEGE BOY. 49 would be recognized as soon as the treaty made with the Sacs and Fox Indians should be ratified by the United States Senate, which he felt confident would be the case. He induced all the men to leave, but permitted one woman to remain in her husband's cabin, as the winter was excessively severe. She remained ever afterward his devoted friend, up to her death, about two years ago. " While Lieutenant Davis was encamped opposite Dubucjue, my present home, he often visited me. He was a great favor- ite with my boys, whom he used to hold on his knees and fondle as if they had been his own. Two of them afterward served under him in the cause of the Confederacy. ''As soon as my youngest son, Captain G. H. G. Jones, learned oi the firing on Fort Sumter he hurried to Nashville, wdiere he and his brothers had graduated from the AVestern Military Institute. ]\Iy son offered his services, and Governor Isham G. Harris (now a senator in Congress, and with whom I had served in the United States Senate) sent for him and appointed him a captain. My son was taken prisoner at the surrender of Fort Ilenry, sent for a few days for safe keeping to the penitentiary at Alton, 111., with other prisoners of war, and removed thence to Johnson's island in Lake Erie. " The story of the service of my eldest son, Charles S. D. Jones, under Jefferson Davis, is as follows : In the spring or summer of '62, after my return from Bogota, he left Dubuque and went with his young wafe to Frankfort, Ky., and thence to Richmond, Va. He did not tell me w'here he was going when he left. At Richmond he apj)lied to President Davis for a position. Mr. Davis having written to Bushrod Johnson, under whom my son had graduated, the latter appointed him one of his adjutant-generals. He served in this capacity till he was taken prisoner somewhere in Virginia, when he was sent to Fort Delaware, near Wilmington. 4 50 THF DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. "On one occasion, I believe I saved Mr. Davis's life. It was in 1838, when I was the first delegate to Congress from Wis- consin territory. Jefferson Davis reached Washington in the winter, and immediately called to see me where I was staying, at Dawson boarding-house, not more than one hundred 3^ards northeast of the present Senate chamber. "Among the prominent men staying at the same house were Senators Thomas H. Benton, of Missouri ; Dr. Lewis F. Linn, William Allen, of Ohio, and forty or fifty others. I introduced Lieutenant Davis to my friends. He was then on his way to his home in Mississippi from Havana, whither he had gone for his health. He soon won the high esteem and respect of all the foremost men at the national capital. He was my guest when I seconded Jonathan Cilley, of Maine, in the great duel with William J. Graves, of Kentucky, in which Cilley was killed. "On one occasion that winter Davis and I accompanied Dr. Linn, the 'model senator' from Missouri, and Senator Allen, of Ohio, to a reception given by the Secretary of War. Dr. Linn and I returned home, leaving Senator Allen and Davis to return home with John J. Crittenden of Ky., and Calhoun, at Crittenden's request. After Dr. Linn and I got to bed we heard the voice of Allen at a distance. He and Davis soon entered our room. "Mr. Davis was bleeding profusely from a deep cut in his head, and the blood was streaming down over his face, and upon his white tie, shirt front, and white waistcoat. "Mr. Allen, missing the bridge (Mr. Allen being sup- posed to be familiar with the road), they had both fallen into the Tiber, a small stream which they had to cross. Allen had alighted on his feet, but Mr. Davis, who was perfectly sober, had pitched head foremost into the creek and cut his head badly. He was covered with blood, and his clothes were drenched with water and stained with mud; Mr. Davis was THE COLLEQE nOY. 51 on the verge of fainting from loss of "blood, when Dr. Linn and myself applied the proper restoratives, and soon,' as we thought, brought him around all right. The next morning I went into his room and found him almost dead. I informed Dr. Linn of his condition, and after several hours' hard work we restored him to consciousness. Dr. Linn remarked that he would have been dead had I been five minutes later in reaching him. "My next meeting with IMr. Davis was in 1846, when I vis- ited Washington as surveyor-general of AVisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota, and put up at the same house as did ]\Ir. Davis and his accomplished wife. '' One day as I sat by his side in the House of Representa- tives talking to him, he turned suddenly and said: 'General, General Dodge says you are financially embarrassed and in need of money.' I answered that I was, there being a judg- ment against me for $400. He immediately drew a draft on his friend and commission merchant, J. U. Payne, of New Orleans, payable to my order for $1,000', I then wrote out and handed him my note for $1,000, with interest at 10 per cent. He tore it up and threw it on the floor, saying: 'Jones, when you have more money than you know what to do with j^ou may pay this, and not before.' "In 1853, when Franklin Pierce became president, I, as the first Senator from Iowa, recommended my old friend and com- panion for Secretary of War, and he was also endorsed by the prominent men of the times. "In ISGl, while I was minister at Bogota, at the suggestion of General W. S. Harney, I wrote a letter to Jefferson Davis, requesting him to use his best efforts to have my son restored to his commission as lieutenant in the Second United States cavalry, he having resigned. That letter was intercepted by W. H. Seward, then Secretary of State under Mr. Lincoln. I was recalled, and on my arrival was given a diplomatic dinner by Seward. Six days after I was imprisoned in Fort Lafayette, 62 THJ^ DAVIS MEMOBIAL VOLUME. December 22, on a telegram sent by W. H. Seward to Colonel Kennedy, chief of the detective force in New York. On Feb- ruary 22, 1862, I was released by order of Secretary of War Stanton, who informed me that he could see no reason why I had been imprisoned." "You, of course, have vivid recollections of your college days together. What were Mr. Davis's distinguishing traits at college?" "At college Mr. Davis was much the same as he was in after life. Always gay and brimful of buoyant spirits, but without the smallest tendency toward vice or immorality. He had that innate refinement and gentleness that distinguished him through life. He was always a gentleman in the highest sense of the word. Aside from the high moral tone and unswerving devotion to conscience which characterized his whole career? Mr. Davis was always too gentle and refined to have any taste for vice or immorality in any form. He never was perceptibly under the influence of liquor and he never gambled. "This statement concerning him, though based primarily on my personal knowledge of Mr. Davis, is not unsupported by the testimony of others who were equally intimate with him. "About four years and a half ago, I paid a delightful visit to the South, where I divided my time between the houses of my dear old friends and comrades, Jefferson Davis, at Beau- voir, and William S. Harney, at Pass Christian. One day while talking to General Harney, the conversation turned upon a canard I had seen in a western newspaper which pro- fessed to relate an incident that took place at a gaming table at which Mr. Davis had been playing. " ' It is an infamous, cowardly lie,' shouted General Harney, in his vigorous, impetuous way. 'Why, everybody who knows Jefferson Davis knows that he never gambled in his life. He always looked upon gaming with especial aversion. Jefferson TUB COLLEGE BOY. .53 Davis never gambled for stakes large or small and never was under the influence of liquor in his life. I wish I could find the man who told that story and I'd make him swallow it.'" " General Jones also alluded to the story of Mr. Davis's elope- ment with Miss Knox Taylor, " Of course, the story of the elopement was a ridiculous falsehood: but I will go further than this and assure you that there never was the slightest unpleasantness between Colonel Taylor and Lieutenant Davis. I have the facts from II. L. Dousman, who was intimate with Colonel Zach. Taylor when the latter was stationed at Fort Crawford. When Lieutenant Davis proposed for the hand of Miss Knox Taylor, Colonel Tay- lor said to Mr. Dousman that, while he had nothing but the kindliest feeling and warmest admiration for Mr. Davis, he was in a general way oj)posed to having his daughter marry a soldier. Nobody better than he knew the trials to which a soldier's life was subjected. His own wife and daughter had complained so bitterly of his almost constant absence from home and of their own torturing anxieties for his safet}^, he had once resolved that his daughter should never marry a soldier with his approval. Aside from this, however, there was no reason .why the proposal of Lieutenant Davis should not meet with his warmest approbation." "General Jones left Dubuque on Monday night, and reaching here at 11 o'clock on Thursday night he went at once to the St. Charles Hotel, and knew nothing of the death of the friend whom he had traveled so far to see till yesterday morning, when ho saw the announcement in the newspapers. Later in the day, General Jones visited the Fenner residence, and though J\lrs. Davis had declined to see any one she unhesitat- ingly made an exception in iwor of so old and dear a friend of her late husband as General Jones. The General was imme- diately ushered into the darkened room where, all alone, close beside the ashes of her dead husband, sat the widow, who 51 THE DA I 'IS MEMOEIA L VOL UME. received him with that gentle and cordial demeanor that ha? won the hearts of all who have met Mrs. Davis. After a long interview General Jones withdrew, promising to write Mrs Davis very fully the reminiscences of Lieutenant Davis, and his services on what was once the northwestern frontier. ''General Jones, though eighty-five years old, looks vory much younger. Erect and soldier-like in bearing, rather spare in form, modest!}' but faultlessly dressed, he is essentially a gen- tleman of the good old school. A light, elastic step, a fresh, ruddy complexion, and a luxuriant growth of silver-white hair and beard, combine to make General Jones a striking figure in any assembly of gentlemen. He will remain till after the funeral." The Louisville Courier Journal says : " Judge Peters, of Mount Sterling, and the late Jefferson Davis were classmates for two years at Transylvania. The judge has set down some recollections of the Southern states- man, though it is more than sixty-five years since they saw each other. lie says : " AVhen I was with him he was a good student, always pre- pared with his lessons, very respectful and polite to the presi- dent and professors. I never heard him reprimanded for neg- lecting his studies or for misconduct of any sort during his stay at the university. He was amiable, prudent and kind to all with whom he was associated, and beloved by teachers and students. He was rather taciturn in disposition. He was of good form, indicating a good constitution; attractive in appearance, a well-shaped head, and of manly bearing, espe- cially for one of his age. He did not often engage in the sport of the students, which was playing at foot-ball, perhaps because he did not choose to lose the time from his studies." IV. THE WEST POINT CADET. As has been said lie left Transylvania hi 1824, when only 16 years old, to accept an appointment as cadet at the United States Military Academy, which was conferred on him by President Monroe, through Secretary John C. Calhoun, whose disciple he was to become, and with whom he was to serve in the United States Senate. His cadet life at West Point presented no very marked char- acteristics, or incidents, except that it brought him in contact with many bright young fellows who were afterwards to figure in the annals of the army, and developed his own manhood and military zeal. A fellow-cadet thus wrote of him : " Jefferson Davis was dis- tinguished in the corps for his manly bearing, his high-toned and lofty character. His figure was very soldier-like and rather robust; his step springy, resembling the tread of an Indian ' brave ' on the war path." Cullom's " West Point Register " gives the names of his class and the order of their graduation in June, 1828, as follows: 1. Albert E. Church, of Connecticut ; 2. Richard C. Tilgh- raan, of Maryland ; 3. Hugh W. ]\Iercer, of Virginia ; 4. Robert E, Temple, of Vermont; 5. Charles 0. Collins, of New York ; G. I. J. Austin, of Massachusetts ; 7. Edmund French, of Connecticut; 8. Joseph L. Lock, of Maine; 9. George E. Chase, of Massachusetts ; 10. John F. Lane, born in Kentucky, appointed from Indiana ; 11. William Palmer, born in Pennsylvania, appointed from Indiana; 12. Thomas (55) 58 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. B, Adams, of Massachusetts ; 13. Robert E. Clary, of Massa- chusetts ; 14. Robert Sevier, of Tennessee ; 15. William "W. Mather, of Connecticut ; 16. Enos G. Mitchell, of Connecticut ; 17. James F.Izard, of Pennsylvania; 18. Thomas Cutt, born in the District of Columbia, appointed from Maine; 19. Wil- liam H. Baker, born in Michigan, appointed from Vermont ; 20 James L. Thompson, of Tennessee ; 21. Gustave S. Rous- seau, of Louisiana; 22. Benjamin W. Kinsman, of Maine; 23. Jefferson Davis, born in Kentucky, appointed from Mis- sissippi; 24. William L. E. Morrison, Missouri, appointed from Illinois ; 25. Samuel K. Cobb, South Carolina, appointed from Alabama ; 26. Samuel Torrence, born in Pennsylvania, appointed from Ohio; 27. Amos Foster, of New Hampshire ; 28. Thomas F. Drayton, of South Carolina ; 29. Thomas C. Brockaway, of Connecticut ; 30. John R. B. Gardenier, of New York; 31. Crafts J. Wright, New York, appointed from Ohio; 32. James W. Penrose, of Missouri; 33. Philip R. Van Wyck, of New Jersey. The best sketch of ]\Ir. Davis of all of the newspaper sketches which we have seen, appeared in the New Orleans Times-Democrat, and it gives so admirable a statement of his associations at West Point, and his career as a young officer, that we cannot do better than to quote from it freely : "Among his classmates at West Point were Albert E. Church, afterward distinguished as a mathematician and for many years professor of that department at West Point ; Hugh W. Mercer, and Thomas F^ Drayton, who became general officers in the Confederate army, and J. R. B. Gardenier, who, in addition to no little active service in the army, had achieved some reputation in light literature before his death in 1850. Several of the class died very young— among them James F. Izard, an intimate friend oi Davis, and an officer of great promise, wto died of wounds received in a skirmish with the Indians while yet a subaltern, in 1836, during the Seminole THE WEST POINT CADET. 67 war. With the exception, however, of JefFerson Davis himself, but few of his class have attained special eminence — none any brilliant or historic rej)utation — either in civil or military- pursuits, "And yet — although now long recognized s.^ facile i^rinceps among his fellow-cadets of that period — his class rank in the academy was relatively low. He graduated in 1828, No. 23, in a class of thirty-three. It would be interesting to know (what, perhaps the records of the academy might show,) in what particular departments of study or discipline the defi- ciencies were found, which operated to reduce his academical rank. " Although, as above stated, Mr. Davis's own class has furn- ished but few distinguished names, yet among his associates at AVest Point, in the classes above and below him, were many who have since become famous. Alexander Dallas Bache was three years ahead of him, and graduated; first of his class, in 1825. Of the same date were Alexander H, Bowman, who, as an engineer officer, had a leading part in the construction of Fort Sumter, and was afterwards superintendent of the Military Academy ; Benjamin Huger, major-general in the Confederate army, and Robert Anderson, who made the memorable defense of Fort Sumter in 18G1. "Albert Sidney Johnston, the lifelong personal friend of Davis, and regarded by him as the ablest of Confederate gen- erals, was an older man by five years, but only two years his senior in cadetship, graduating number eight of his class, in 182G. In the same class of 1826 were Samuel P. Heintzelman, INIartin P. Parks, afterwards an eminent clergyman, chaplain and professor at AVest Point, Amos P. Eaton, late Commissary- General of the United States army, Silas Casey, Leonidas Polk, the warrior-bishop, Gabriel J. Hains and Philip St. George Cooke were among the graduates of the class of 1827, imme- diately senior to that cf Davis. 58 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. "Robert E. Lee and Joseph E. Johnston, the most illustrious of his associates, though older by birth, were both his juniors at West Point by one year. Among others of the three classes junior to his own were 0. M. Mitchell, more distinguished in after years as an astronomer than as a general officer of the Federal army during the late war; Charles AV. Hockley, Francis Vinton and William N. Pendleton — all afterward eminent clergymen of the Episcopal church, and the last named brigadier- general of artillery in the Confederate army; Sidney Burbank, William Hoffman, Albert G. Blanchard, of Louisiana, a general officer of the Confederate army; Caleb C. Sibley, Theophilus H. Llolmes, William S. Basingen (a brilliant young officer, who graduated second in the class of 1830, and was killed in the massacre of Dade's command by the Seminoles in 1835); John Bankhead Magruder ('Prince John,' of the United States army before the war and afterward of the Con- federate army); Albert T. Bledsoe, Assistant Secretary of War in the Confederate government, and eminent in theology, literature and political science; Lloyd J. Beall, Pobert C. Buchanan, George W. Patten, soldier and j)oet; Henry Clay, Jr., who was killed at Buena Vista ; Samuel C. Hidgely and George H. Talcott, both artillery officers of much distinction in the Seminole and Mexican wars; Andrew A. Hum- phreys, Chief of Engineers, U. S. Army; William 11. Emory, Lucius B. Northrop, Confederate Commissary-General during the greater part of the late war; Samuel P. Curtis, Charles Whittlesey, geologist, author and journalist, and others of more or less note." V. THE YOUNG OFFICER. "On his graduation young Davis (then twenty years of age) was breveted second lieutenant in the Sixth regiment of infan- try and soon after transferred to the First infantry, with a full commission of the same grade. "Mr. Davis gave in private conversation an amusing account of his first report for duty in active service. Being (as he said) something of a martinet, he arrayed himself in full uniform and made his way to the regimental headquarters. The colo- nel and lieutenant-colonel being both absent — or perhaps one or both of those positions being vacant — the command of the regiment had devolved upon Major (afterward colonel and brevet-major-general) Bennett Riley. The major was not in, and the young officer was directed to the quarters of the commis- sary to find him. Repairing to the place indicated, he found Major Riley alone, seated at a table, with a pack of cards before- him, intently occupied in a game of solitaire. In response to Davis's formal salute, he nodded, invited him to take a seat and continued his game. Looking up after a few minutes, he inquired, 'Young man, do you play solitaire? Finest game in the world ! You may cheat as much as you please, and have nobody to detect it.' "Major Riley, who was a blunt soldier of the old school, afterward became very fond of the young lieutenant, habitually addressing him when off duty as 'My son!' They met eigh- teen years afterward, when Davis, with his regiment of Missis- sippians, joined the army of General Taylor on the Mexican (59) 60 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. frontier. 'Well, my son/ said the old soldier, 'here we are again. Good luck to you, my boy! As for me — six feet of Mexican soil, or a yellow sash !' He won the yellow sash — the distinctive mark of a general officer — by a double right, and left his share of the Mexican soil unoccupied. *'In this latter regiment he served for several years, chiefly in what was then the northwestern frontier. During this period occurred the 'Black Hawk war,' in both campaigns of which he took an active part. The surrender of Black Hawk, which closed the war, in 1832, although actually made to a party of AVinnebago Indians, allies of the whites, was tendered to them in order to avoid capture by a detachment under com- mand of Lieutenant Davis, who had pursued Black Hawk's party to an island in the Mississippi and cut off their intended retreat to the western bank of that river. Black Hawk and his principal warriors were retained for some time as hostages. They were sent to St. Louis under charge of Lieutenant Davis, whose soldierly bearing and considerate courtesy of treatment made a deeply favorable impression upon the captive chief " The services of Lieutenant Davis in these operations were handsomely recognized by his official superiors, but his own often avowed opinion was that the true heroes of that so-called 'War' were the Indians, both men and women, to whose cour- age, fortitude, endurance of hardships, fertility of resources, and constancy of purpose under the most appalling trials, diffi- culties and privations, he bore witness in terms of unqualified admiration. " To this period of his life belongs the mention of a severe test to which his fidelity to principle was subjected — or at least threatened with subjection — and to which he himself some- times referred as an illustration of the early formation of those convictions which governed his political course in maturer years. The circumstance derives its chief interest from the fact that we are enabled to present it in Mr. Davis's own words, TITE YOUNG OFFICER. .61 as written in a manuscript never heretofore publisliecl. In this he says : "'The nullification by South Carolina in 1832 of certain acts of Congress, the consequent proclamation of President Jackson, and the 'Force Bill' soon afterwards enacted, presented the probability that the troops of the United States would be employed to enforce the execution of the laws in that State, and it was supposed that the regiment to which I belonged would in that event be ordered to South Carolina. '"By education, by association, and by preference, I was a soldier, then regarding that profession as my vocation for life. Yet, looking the issue squarely in the face, I chose the alterna- tive of abandoning my profession rather than be employed in the subjugation of, or coercion of, a State of the Union, and had fully determined and was prepared to resign my commission immediately on the occurrence of such a contingency. The compromise of 1833 prevented the threatened calamity, and the sorrowful issue was deferred until a day more drear, which forced upon me the determination of the question of State sovereignty or federal supremacy — of independence or submission to unsurpation.' " The language of this brief statement of the case combines the expression of resolute and inflexible adherence to duty, with a touching and almost pathetic sense of the magnitude of the responsibility involved and of the sacrifice required, the unaffected sincerity of which will be doubted by none who knew the character of Jefferson Davis. " Early in the year of 1833 Lieutenant Davis, having been selected as one of the officers of the newly organized First regi- ment of dragoons, was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant and transferred to that regiment, in which he was immediately assigned to duty as adjutant. In this capacity he took part in an expedition of somewhat extensive scope among the Indian tribes of the great Western plains, some of whom were 62 THE DA VIS MEMOlilAL VOL UME. disaffected or unfriendly. The object of the expedition, how- ever, was to avert rather than to suppress hostiHties, by exhib- iting to them something of the military power of the United States and cuUivating their I'espect and good-wiiL "After some further service, chiefly in garrison crty on the northwestern frontier, Lieutenant Davis resigned his commis- sion in the army in June, 1835, to engage in cotton planting in the Mississippi Valley. About the same time he married Miss Sarah Knox Taylor, daughter of Colonel Zachary Taylor, afterwards President of the United States. "[There is no truth whatever i ihe often repeated story that this marriage was effected in opposition to the wishes of the young ladj^'s family, by means of an elopement. The only semblance of foundation fur it is the fact that a breach of friendly relations had existed for some time between Colonel Taylor and Lieutenant Davis. Its origin was in a purely military q^'estion, which had arisen between fhe former as commandei md the latter as adjutant, of a post. It involved nothing ail .;ting the personal character of either, although it was serious enougli to cause a suspension of personal inter- course between them Mr. Davis wrote to Colonel Taylor, in- forming Iiim of the engujement and intended marriage. The 3'Oung lady was legally of age, and his consent was not for- mally f.sked, but no opposition was expressed. Colonel Taylor was a widower, on duty as commander of a frontier post, but t^e Diarriage took place at the Ji^ ise of a near kinswoman of the bride, in Kentucky, openly and without concealment, and in the presence of several friends and relations of her family.]" VL IN RETIREMENT. The retirement of the young officer to the shades of private life seemed to his friends at the time the throwing away of a splendid opportunity, if not the cutting sliort of a brilliant career. But it was really the entering of the best school in which to make careful preparation for the grand life before him, and his quiet years of study and of thought at Briarfield were the necessary prelude to those after years of active par- ticipation in the most stirring debates of Congress, and the most stupendous events ever enacted on this continent. The facile pen and accurate statement of the writer above quoted may best give the story of his retirement, and of the circumstances under which he afterwards entered public life: "Briarfield, the estate to which Mr. Davis retired on his marriage and resignation from the army, is situated in War- ren county, Mississippi, on the Mississippi river, some twenty miles or more below Vicksburg. It was generally understood to be a gift from his elder brother, Joseph Emory Davis, from whose larger estate, 'Hurricane,' it had been cut ofi" for the purpose. It was in a remote and isolated neighborhood, but the young ex-soldier and planter applied himself with assid- uity to its cultivation and improvement. " Mr. Davis's wife died a few months after marriage. After this misfortune he lived for some years in great seclusion and retirement. His brother was his only habitual associate. This brother was many years his senior, being the oldest, as Jefferson was the youngest, of the ten children of their parents. (63)^ 64 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. A warm attaclimenr existed between them. Jefferson Davis, in tlie unpublished memoranda already referred to, speaks of him as having stood in loco parentis with regard to himself after the death of their father, which occurred in the boyhood of the younger son, and adds, perhaps with something of frater- nal partiality: 'He was a profound lawyer, a wise man, a bold thinker, a zealous advocate of the principles of the constitu- tion, as understood by its founders, with a wide-spreading humanity, which manifested itself especially in a patriarchal care of the many negroes dependent upon him, not merely for the supply of their physical wants, but also for their moral and mental elevation, with regard to which he bad more hope than most men of his large experience. To him, materially, as well as intellectually, I am more indebted than to all other men.' " These years of retirement afforded also large opportuni- ties for reading, in the course of which the practical details of his West Point education and earlier militar}^ pursuits were supplemented by a wider and more liberal range of studies, and by the acquisition of a store of general information, which were an admirable outfit for his subsequent career as a statesman." VII. HIS ENTRANCE INTO POLITICS. " It was in 1843, when 35 years of age, and eight years aftei his resignation from the army, that Mr. Davis was somewhat sudclenl}'- and unexpectedly called from his retirement to take an active part in politics, in the service of the democratic (or State rights) party, as a candidate for the representation of his county (Warren) in the legislature of Mississippi. His own account of the circumstances is, for several reasons, of special interest. We give it in his own words : "'The canvass had advanced to a period within one week of the election, when the democrats became dissatisfied with their candidate and resolved to withdraw him, and I was requested to take his place. The whigs had a decided majority in the county, and there were two whig candidates against the one democrat. When I was announced, one of the whig candi- dates withdrew, which seemed to render my defeat certain; so^ at least, I regarded it. Our opponents must have thought otherwise, for they put into the field for the canvass—though himself not a candidate — the greatest popular orator of the State — it is not too much to say the greatest of hi? day — Sar- gent S. Prentiss; and my first public speech was made in oppo- sition to him. This led to an incident perhaps worthy of mention. " 'An arrangement was made by our respective parties for a debate between Mr. Prentiss and myself on the day of election, each party to be allowed fifteen minutes alternately. Before the day appointed I met Mr. Prentiss to agree upon the ques- (66) ms ENTRANCE INTO POLITICS. 67 tions to be discussed, eliminating all those with regard to which there was no difference between us, although they might be involved in the canvass. Among these was one which had already been decided by the legislature of Mississippi, and had thus become in some measure an historical question, but which was still the subject of political discussion, viz. : that of 'repu- diation.' On this question there was a slight difference between us. He held that the 'Union bank bonds ' constituted a debt of the State. I believed that they were issued unconstitution- ally, but that, as the fundamental law of the State authorized it to be issued, the question of debt or no debt was one to be determined by the courts ; and if the bonds should be adjudged to be a debt of the State, I was in favor of paying them. As. therefore, we were agreed with regard to the principle that the State might create a debt, and that in such case the people are bound to pay it, there was no such difference between us as to require a discussion of the so-called question of 'repudiation,' which turned upon the assumption that a State could not create a debt, or, in the phraseology of the period, that one generation could not impose such obligations upon another. '"There was another set of obligations known as the 'Plan- ters' bank bonds,' the legality of which I never doubted, and for which I thought the legislature was bound to make timely provision. '"To return to the incident spoken of. Mr. Prentiss and I met at the court-house' on the day of the election, improvised a stand at the foot of the stairs, up which the voters passed to the polling room, and there spent the day in discussion. There was but one variation from the terms originally agreed upon. Mr. Prentiss having said that he could not always condense his argument so as fully to state it within fifteen minutes, I consented that the time should be extended, provided he would strictly confine himself to the point at issue. He adliered tenaciously to the limitation thus imposed, argued closely and 6S TBE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. powerfully, and impressed me with his capacity for analysis and logical induction more deeply than any other effort that I ever knew him to make. " 'The result of the election, as anticipated, was my defeat. As this was the onl^^ occasion on which I was ever a candi- date for the legislature of Mississippi, it may be seen how utterly unfounded was the allegation that attributed to me any part in the legislative enactment known as the * Act of Kepudiation.' " " To this statement it may be added that not only was it Mr. Davis's first appearance in the political arena as a candi- date for the Legislature, subsequent to the repudiation of the bonds, but that he never, at any time, before or afterward, held any civil office, legislative, executive or judicial, in the State government. Furthermore, that his supposed sympathy with the advocates of the payment of the debt by the State was actually (though ineffectually) employed among the repudia- tors as an objection to his election to Congress in 1845. The idea of attaching any share of responsibility to him for the repudiation of the bonds was of later origin. In his latter years he felt, and sometimes expressed, strong indignation at the remark of General Scott (in a note to his autobiography, vol. I, page 148,) relative to the ' Mississippi bonds, repudiated mainly by ]\Ir. Jefferson Davis.' He spoke in terms of still severer censure of the late Robert J. Walker, whom he believed to have propagated the same calumny while finan- cial agent of the United States in Europe during the war, although he was personally familiar with all the facts of the true history of the transaction. "The political career of ]\Ir. Davis was now fairly begun, and whatever reluctance or hesitancy he may have shown in entering upon it, once begun, it was pursued with character- istic ardor. In 1844 he made an extensive canvass of the State as a candidate for the electorial college on the Democratio HIS ENTRANCE INTO POLITICS, 9A ticket (which was elected), and his ability as a public speaker became generally known to the people of Mississippi. "In February, 1845, he contracted a second marriage with Miss Varina Howell, a daughter of William B. Howell, Esq., of Natchez. " In the course of the same year he was elected to Congress (as a representative from the State "at large") and took his seat in the House soon after the opening of the first session of the Twenty-ninth Congress, in December, 1845. "This was the first session of Congress under Mr. Polk's administration, and several questions of serious importance presented themselves for consideration. Among these were that of the modification of the tariff of 1842, the ' Oregon ques- tion,' and that of the relations with Mexico, then involved in difficulty growing out of the annexation of Texas, and ulti- mately resulting in war. In all these Mr. Davis manifested a lively interest. He advocated a tariff based upon the necessi- ties of the government only, and favored ad valorem rather than specific duties. Both of these principles were recognized, if not fully and exclusively applied, as the.basis of the tariff of 1846, in the framing of which he bore a more influential part than usually falls to the share of so young a member. "He took a conspicuous part also in the debates on the two questions oi foreign policy above referred to. With regard to Oregon he differed from the administration and from the majority of his political associates, without, however, fully coinciding with the opposition. He advocated a continuance of the joint occupancy of the disputed territory and opposed the proposition to give notice fco Great Britain of a termina- tion of the treaty which authorized it. In the course of a speech on this question he gave eloquent expression to that stiong devotion to the principles of the original union and repugnance to everything savoring of sectional feeling, which eminently distinguished his whole political career. 70 TH^ DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. " Speaking for the South, he said : ' As we have shared in the toils, so we have gloried in the triumphs of our country. In our hearts, as in our histor}^ are mingled the names of Con- cord, and Camden, and Saratoga, and Lexington, and Platts- burg, and Chippewa, and Erie, and Moultrie, and New Orleans, and Yorktown, and Bunker Hill. Grouped all together, they form a record of the triumphs of our cause, a monument of the common glory of our Union. What Southern man would wish it less by one of the Northern names of which it is com- posed? Or where is he who, gazing on the obelisk that rises from the ground made sacred by the blood of AVarren, would feel his patriot's pride suppressed by local jealousy?^" VIII, THE MEXICAN WAR. The annexation of Texas, which Mr. Davis heartily favored, and the subsequent events leading up to the Mexican war had elicited the deepest interest of the young statesman. He had ably advocated the recognition of the young republic of Texas, and its reception as a State of the Union by an enactment of Congress, without regard to the vv'ishes or claims of Mexico. He heartily favored an aggressive policy on the Rio Grande, and was in warm sympathy with " Old Rough and Ready " in the bold and successful policy which he pursued. On the 28th of May, 1846, he delivered the following speech in favor of a resolution of thanks to General Taylor and his army for the successes they bad recently gained in operations on the Rio Grande i " As a friend to the army, he rejoiced at the evidence, now afforded, of a disposition in this House to deal justly, and to feel generously toward those to whom the honor of our flag has been intrusted. Too often and too long had we listened to harsh and invidious reflections upon our gallant little army and the accomplished officers who command it. A partial opportunity had been offered to exhibit their soldierly quali- ties in their true light, and he trusted these aspersions were hushed — hushed now forever. As an American, whose heart promptly responds to all which illustrates our national charac- ter, and adds new glory to our national name, he rejoiced with exceeding joy at the recent triumph of our arms. Yet n 72 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME, it is no more than he expected from the gallant soldiers who hold our post upon the Rio Grande — no more than, when occasion offers, they will achieve again. It was the triumph of American courage, professional skill, and that j)atriotic pride which blooms in the breast of our educated soldier, and which droops not under the withering scoff of political revilers. "These men will feel, deeply feel, the expression of your gratitude. It will nerve their hearts in' the hour of future conflicts, to know that their country honors and acknowledges their devotion. It will shed a solace on the dying moments of those who fallp to be assured their country mourns their loss. This is the meed for which the soldier bleeds and dies- This he will remember long after the paltry pittance of one month's extra pay has been forgotten. " Beyond this expression of the nation's thanks, he liked the principle of the proposition offered by the gentleman from South Carolina. We have a pension system providing for the disabled soldier, but he seeks well and wisely to extend it to all who may be wounded, however slightly. It is a reward offered to those who seek for danger, who first and foremost plunge into the fight. It has been this incentive, extended so as to cover all feats of gallantry, that has so often crowned the British arms with victory, and caused their prowess to be recognized in every quarter of the globe. It was the sure and high reward of gallantry, the confident reliance upon their nation's gratitude, which led Napoleon's armies over Europe, conquering and to conquer; and it was these influences which, in an earlier time, rendered the Koman arms invincible, and brought their eagle back victorious from every land on which it gazed. Sir, let not that parsimony (for he did not deem it economy) prevent us from adopting a system which in war will add so much to the efficiency of troops.. Instead of seek- ing to fill the ranks of your army by increased pay, let the soldier feel that a liberal pension will relieve him from thg THE MEXICAN WAR. 73 fear of want in the event of disability, provide for his family in the event of deatli, and tliat he wins his way to gratitude and the reward of his countrymen by periling all for honor in the field. " The achievement which we now propose to honor, richly deserves it. Seldom, sir, in the annals of military history has there been one in which desperate daring and military skill were more happily combined. The enemy selected his own ground, and united to the advantage of a strong position a numerical majority of three to one. Driven from his first position by an attack in which it is hard to say whether pro- fessional skill or manly courage is to be more admired, he retired and posted his! artillery on a narrow defile, to sweep the ground over which our troops were compelled to pass. There, posted in strength three times greater than our own, they waited the approach of our gallant little army. "General Taylor knew the danger and destitution of the band he left to hold his camp opposite Matamoras, and he paused for no regular approaches, but opened his field artillery, and dashed with sword and bayonet on the foe. A single charge left him master of their battery, and the number of slain attests the skill and discipline of his army. Mr. Davis referred to a gentleman who, a short time since, expressed extreme distrust in our army, and poured out the vials of his denunciation upon the graduates of the Military Academy. He hoped now the gentleman will withdraw these denuncia- tions; that now he will learn the value of military science ; that he will see, in the location, the construction, the defenses of the bastioned field-works opposite INIatamoras, the utility, the necessity of a military education. Let him compare the few men who held that with the army who assailed it; let him mark the comparative safety with which they stood within that temporary work ; let him consider why the guns along its ramparts were preserved, whilst they silenced the batteries of 74 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. the enemy ; why that intrenchment stands unharmed by Mexican shot, whilst its guns have crumbled the stone walls in Matamoras to the ground, and then say whether he believes a blacksmith or tailor could have secured the same results. He trusted the gentleman would be convinced that arms, like every occupation, requires to be studied before it can be under- stood ; and from these things to which he had called his attention, he will learn the power and advantage of military science. He would make but one other allusion to the remarks of the gentleman he had noticed, who said nine-tenths of the graduates of the IMilitary Academy abandoned the service of the United States. If he would take the trouble to examine the records upon this point, he doubted not he would be sur- prised at the extent of his mistake. There he would learn that a majority of all the graduates are still in service ; and if he would push his inquir}'- a little further, he would find that a large majority of the commissioned officers who bled in the action of the 8th and 9th were graduates of that academy. " He would not enter into a discussion on the military at this time. His pride, his gratification arose from the success of our arms. Much was due to the courage which Americans have displayed on many battle-fields in former times ; but this courage, characteristic of our people, and pervading all sections and all classes, could never have availed so much had it not been combined with military science. And the occasion seemed suited to enforce this lesson on the minds of those who have been accustomed, in season and out of season, to rail at the scientific attainments of our officers. "The influence of military skill — the advantage of dis- cipline in the troops — the power derived from the science of war, increases with the increased size of the contending armies. With two thousand we had beaten six thousand ; with twenty thousand vrc would far more easily beat sixty thousand, because the general must be an educated soldier THE MEXICAN WAR. 76 who wields large bodies of men, and the troops, to act effi- ciently, must be disciplined and commanded by able officers. He but said what he had long thought and often said, when he expressed his confidence in the ability of our officers to meet those of any service — favorably to compare, in all that constitutes the soldier, with any army in the world ; and as the field widened for the exhibition, so would their merits sliine more brightly still. "With many of the officers now serving on the Rio'Grande he had enjoyed a personal acquaintance, and hesitated not to say that all which skill, and courage, and j^atriotism could perform, might be expected from them. He had forborne to speak of the general commanding on the Rio Grande on any former occasion ; but he would now say to those who had expressed distrust, that the world held not a soldier better qualified for the service he was engaged in than General Taylor. Trained from his youth to arms, having spent the greater portion of his life on our frontier, his experience pecu- liarly fits him for the command he holds. Such as his con- duct was in Fort Harrison, on Ihe upp«er Mississippi, in Florida, and on the Rio Grande, will It be wherever he meets the enemy of his country. '' Those soldiers, to whom so many have applied deprecia- tory epithets, upon whom it has been so often said no reliance could be placed, they too will be found, in every emergency, renewing such feats as have recently graced our arms, bearing the American flag to honorable triumphs, or falling beneath its folds, as devotees to our common cause, to die a soldier's death. '' He rejoiced that the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Black) had shown himself so ready to pay this tribute to our army. He hoped not a voice would be raised in opposition to it — ^that nothing but the stern regret which is prompted by remembrance of those who bravely fought and nobly died will 76 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL VME. break the joy, the pride, the patriotio gratulation with which we liail this triumph of our brethren on the Rio Grande.'' What followed we may best give from the sketch which we have already quoted so frequently : *' As a member of Congress, he voted in accordance with the views of the administration. AYheu the battles of the Rio Grande occurred, he supported the decla-ration that hostilities existed by the act of Mexico. Although in this vote he sus- tained the position taken by the President, yet it required, per- haps, a higher exercise of independence than if he had taken the contrary part, for it was in opposition to the earnest remon- strances of Mr. Calhoun, the recognized head of the school of statesmanship of which Mr. Davis was a zealous disciple, and probably the only man that he would ever have acknowledged as a political leader. He voted also for raising a volunteer army and for the appropriations requisite for a vigorous prosecu- tion of the war. He opposed, however, as unconstitutional, the authority conferred upon the President to appoint the general officers of the volunteer forces, holding that it had been reserved exclusively to the States. "The regiment called for from Mississippi was organized at Vicksburg, and elected its field officers with Jefferson Davis at their head as colonel. A messenger was sent to AVashington to notify him. He was found in the House of Representatives, then having the tariff bill under consideration. The offer of the command of the regiment was promptly accepted. The President, on being informed of his acceptance and of his inten- tion to leave Washington as soon as the necessary arms and equipments could be procured, insisted on his remaining in Congress a few days until the tariff bill could be completed and passed, promising to instruct the Secretary of War in the mean- time to have all his requisitions filled, so that no time should be lost. s THf: MEXICAN WAR. 77 "He made a requisition for one thousand percussion rifles of the model manufactured by Whitney, of New Haven. This was considered a startling innovation on usage. The rifle had. not then been introduced into the army. Even the percussion lock was only partially in use, and General Scott is said to have preferred the flint lock, considering it as involving too much risk to rely upon so untried a weapon as the percussion lock musket for a campaign in an enemy's coun- try. Certain it is that he objected to the proposition of Colonel Davis to supply his regiment with the rifle indicated by iiis requisition and, in yielding a partial consent to the experi- ment, coupled with it the condition that at least six of the ten companies should be armed with the old-fashioned musket already in use. Davis, however, who knew the familiarity of his men with the rifle and their distrust of the army musket, insisted upon the entire fulfillment of the President's promise, and eventually succeeded in obtaining it. Such was the origi- nal introduction into the service' of the weapon afterward so celebrated as the ' Mississippi rifle.' "Resigning his seat in Congress, in June or July, 1846, Col- onel Davis hastened to join his regiment, which had already set out for the seat of war He overtook it and assumed com- mand in Kcw Orleans, from which place they were transported by sea to Point Isabel. Here they were subjected to a delay of several weeks, awaiting' transportation up the Pio Grande. This opportunity was employed by the commander in drilling and training his men, very few of whom had received any military instruction. A serious difficulty presented itself at the very outset. No system of tactics then in existence had any provision for a manual of arms adapted to the rifle, with which the Mississippians were armed. In this exigency Colo- nel Davis set to work and prepared a manual of his own, in which he took personal charge of the instruction of his officers, requiring them to communicate it to the men of their com- 78 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. mands. As he took these officers out for their daily drill, it became an habitual joke with the soldiers looking on to exclaim in tones just loud enough to be overheard* 'There goes the Colonel, with the awkward squad !' Yet, though good-natured pleasantries, such as this, were freely tolerated, the discipline exacted was rigorous, and the regiment became in that regard a model for the volunteer troops of General Taylor's army. "Transportation being at lefngth furnished. Colonel Davis, with his regiment, ascended the Rio Grande and reported to General Taylor then encamped at Camargo. It was probably the first time they had met since their 2:)arting, in alienation if not in anger, many years before on the northwestern frontier. Meanwhile time, and a common sorrow, had, no doubt, wrought their healing influences. Moreover, in debate on the floor of the House of Representatives, on the resolution of thanks to General Taylor and the officers and men of his command, after the battles of the Rio Grande, the eloquent Mississippian, in supporting it, had warmly eulogized both the army and its commander, declaring of the latter that 'the world had not a soldier better qualified for the service he was engaged in than General Taylor.' It may well be assumed, therefore, that there were no remains of former misunderstandings or estrangement to disturb the harmony attending the renewal of their old rela- tions as chief and subordinate in command. These relations were marked throughout the campaign by entire friendliness and cordiality. "Very soon after the arrival of the Mississippi regiment at Camargo the army set out on its march for the interior of Mex- ico. The strength of the column put in motion, as reported by the commanding general, was but little more than 6,000 men — a force which, familiarized as we have since become with movements of troops on a much larger scale, seems singularly inadequate to the magnitude of the objects of the expedition. It consisted of two divisions of regular troops, commanded THE MEXICAN WAR. 79 respectively by Brigadier-Generals Twiggs and Wortli, and one of volunteers, commanded by Major-General Butler. To these were afterwards added (overtaking them on the march) two regiments of Texas volunteers, under the immediate command of the Governor of that State, J. Pinckney Henderson, serving witli the military rank of major-general; his command constituting, nominally, a fourth division, though in respect of strength equivalent only to a small brigade. Davis's regiment was one of the two of which Quitman's brigade, of Butler's division, was composed. . " No serious resistance was encountered until Monterey, a strongly fortified city on the slope of the Sierra Madre, garri- soned by a force of regular and volunteer troops, variously esti- mated at from 9,000 to 15,000 men, under command of Gene- ral Ampudia. The attack on Monterey was opened early on the morning of the 21st of September. It is not our purpose to describe it, or to enter into the details of any other opera- tions of the campaigns beyond such as directly concern the actions of the subject of this little memoir. Even as to these, we can mention only some of the most salient and striking incidents. " What was intended to be the main attack w^as made upon the fortified heights on the western side or rear of the town, as approached by the United States forces. The conduct of this attack was entrusted to General Worth. At the same time a diversion in favor of Worth's movement was to be made on the eastern or northeastern side by Butler's and Twiggs's divi- visions, under the immediate direction of General Taylor him- self. The two attacks were entirely detached and separate from each other — communication between them requiring a detour of at least six miles — and, although the movement in front seems to have been meant to be only subsidiary to that in the rear of the city, it is hard to determine which of them, in the end, was of the greater importance in contributing to the general result. 80 THE DAfiS MEMOBIAL VOLUME. "The defences in front were found to be stronger than had been expected. The regular troops (First, Third and Fourth infantry) of Twiggs's command suffered severely in leading the attack upon them. "Quitman's brigade, consisting of Davis's Mississippians and Campbell's Tennesseeans, was ordered to the support of Twiggs. These regiments moved with . impetuous courage upon the most advanced j^osition of the Mexicans — a strong stone building, known as La Tanefia (the Tanner}-), which had been converted into a fort, occupied by infantry, and covered by a redoubt with artillery. The redoubt was carried by assault, Lieutenant-Colonel JMcClung, of Davis's regiment, with Lieutenant Patterson, of the same command, being the first to mount the breastworks. The defenders of the redoubt hastily withdrew to the stone building in the rear, but were closely pursued by the ]\Iississippians, led by Colonel Davis in person, who reached the gate just as they were closing it and forced it open. The ]\Iexicans at hand immediately surrendered, and the officer in command of the post delivered his sword to Col- onel Davis, who soon afterwards handed it to his friend, Col- onel Albert Sidney Johnston, then serving as Inspector-Gene- ral on the staff of General Butler. "Meantime, the greater j^art of the garrison of La Taneria, were endeavoring to escape to the other fortified positions accessible to them. They were pursued by Davis, who was about to lead his regiment to the attack of a fort known as EI Diablo, some 300 yards from the works already captured, when he was ordered back by General Quitman and directed to rejoin the main body of the division. This order was very dis- tasteful to him ; even in after years, on the rare occasions when he could be induced to speak freely of these events, ho would manifest some traces of still lingering dissatisfaction in men- tioning it. For some time the troops were left in a state of inaction, protected by a long wall in their front, but exposed THE MEXICAN WAR. 81 to the fire of artillery from the Mexican salients on their left flank. Chafing with impatience at the delay and useless exposure of his men, Colonel Davis addressed himself to Col- onel A. S. Johnston, of the division staff — whose chief, Gene- ral Butler, had been wounded and was about this time obliged to retire from the field — and suggested the query that, if not permitted to attack the salient on the left, why not move upon the right? Johnston's answer (as given in a letter from ex-President Davis to Colonel W. P. Johnston, from which this incident is taken), was: 'We can get no orders, but if you will move your regiment to the right place, the rest may fol- low you.' Colonel Davis appears to have waited for no fur- ther orders, but moved off immediately toward a fete-de-pont covering the ajDproach to a bridge on the right. " Meeting here Major Mansfield, Chief Engineer,and Captain Field, of the Third infantry, with his company, both of whom promptly consented to co-operate with him, prepara- tions were made for an immediate attack upon the tete-de-pont. Before this could be executed, however, he was ordered by General Hamer — who, as senior brigadier, had succeeded General Butler in command of the division — to desist and withdraw from his position. His OM^n remonstrances and those of Major Mansfield were unavailing, and for the second time that day he found his enterprises thwarted by the orders of his military superiors. It was, no doubt, some compensa- sation for his disappointment that, in retiring from the field, he had opportunity for the execution, on his own responsi- bility, of a brief but brilliant movement of a very unusual sort. This was the attack and rout of a body of lancers who were inflicting much annoyance upon the main body of the division, Kesistance by foot soldiers to charges of cavalry is no uncommon thing in war, but the novelty of this aggressive and successful attack upon light cavalry by riflemen on foot 6 82 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. did not escape the special notice of Colonel Johnston and othei old soldiers avIio witnessed it. "Nothing important occurred the next day (22nd September) in front of the city, though in the rear the capture of the defences on the Saltillo road, begun by Worth the day before, was completed by the storming of the "Bishop's Palace" and works adjacent. The position captured- on the 21st (Fort Taneria and its outworks) was still held, and on the 22nd was occupied by Quitman's brigade, but the operations of the day in that quarter consisted mainly of an exchange of artil- lery firing. " Early in the morning of the 23d it was ascertained that the Mexicans had evacuated most of his works in the lower part of the city and withdrawn toward the citadel and grand plaza. Colonel Davis was ordered to take possession of ' El Diablo ' and the works around it. A little later General Quit- man was authorized by the commanding general, at his own discretion, to advance into the interior of the city. Davis, with part of his own command, and part of the Tennessee regiment, took the lead in this movement, which was one alto- gether congenial to the adventurous, though cool, discreet and wary daring of his disposition. The performance of the duty was beset with difficulties. Barricades had been built across the streets. Posted behind these barricades at the windows and on the battlemented roofs of houses, and availing them- selves of other ' coigns of vantage,' the Mexicans were enabled with little ex2")0sure of themselves, to pick off the assailants as they advanced, while their artillery swept the streets. While Colonel Davis and his men were slowly contending against these obstacles. Lieutenant (soon afterward captain) Scarritt, a brilliant young engineer of General Taylor's staff, came up and j^roposed that instead of follownig the streets they should bore their way through the houses, offering himself to obtain the necessary tools and to render his personal assistance in the TJtE MEXICAN ]V A n. 8S execution of the plan. Colonel Davis recognized at once the expediency of the suggestion, and promptly agreed to it. In after years he spoke with much admiration of the skill and ability of Scarritt and the value of the services rendered by him on that occasion. "They were soon afterward joined by a detachment of dis- mounted Texan volunteers, led by General Henderson in per- son, who, although superior in rank, was content to co-operate with Davis in his movements. The greater part of the day was occupied in slowly making their way, in the manner above indicated, from house to house and from square to square, dislodging the defenders from their positions as t'hey advanced. At one place Colonel Davis was completely buried by the explosion of a shell in a mass of earth and rubbish, and was reported killed by a frightened soldier who was with him, though really unhurt. At another, when it became necessary to cross a street commanded by one of the Mexican batteries, he took the lead and crossed alone, after instructing his men to follow, two or three at a time, until the fire of the enemy was drawn, on which they were immediately to rush across en masse. By this means the crossing was effected with- out loss. " As evening drew on, they had made their way to a point within less than two squares of the main plaza. Their posi- tion was now so advanced that it had become unsafe to con- tinue the fire of Bragg's and Ridgeley's batteries, which had been co-operating with them from the rear. They were, therefore, ordered 'gradually and slowly to retire to the defences taken in the morning.' This order was reluctantly obeyed, both by Davis and Henderson. " Early in the morning of the 24th, a communication was sent by flag of truce from General Ampudia to General Tay- lor, proposing to surrender the city on certain conditions. A cessation of fire until noon was ordered. The commanding 84 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME generals had a personal Interview, which resulted in the appointment of commissioners by each party to draw up arti- cles of capitulation. The commissioners appointed by General Taylor, on the part of the United States, were Generals Worth and Henderson and Colonel Jefferson Davis. On the part of the Mexicans were two general officers of the army and the governor of the State of New Leon, of which Monterey is the capital. "The terms agreed upon by the commissioners provided for the surrender, on the next da}^, ot the city and its defences, with all the artillery, munitions of war, and other public prop- erty, except the arms and accoutrements of the infantry and cavalry and one field battery. The Mexican troops were to retire beyond a certain specified line, wdiich was not thereafter to be j^assed by armed forces from either side for eight weeks, or until otherwise ordered by one or both of the two govern- ments concerned. "Connected with the ratification of these terms by the respective commanding generals, was a personal adventure of Colonels Davis and A. S. Johnston, which has been graphically described in a letter from the former to Colonel W. P. Johns- ton, son of the latter. Although this letter has already been published in the life of General Johnston, by his son, yet its intrinsic interest and the subsequent celebrity of the two jiarties chiefly concerned, furnish sufficient reason for the reproduction here of the greater part of it, Mr. Davis writes ; "'When the commissioners had completed their labors, and written out the terms of capitulation in English and Spanish, each to be signed by both of the commanding generals, there was a manifest purpose on the part of General Ampudia to delay and to chaffer. I left him, after an unpleasant interview, with a promise on his part to give me General Taylor's draft with his (Ampudia's) signature as early in the morning as I would call for it. At dawn of day I mounted my horse an J DAVIS AND JOHNSTON NEGOTIATING WITH AMPIIDIA. 86 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. started for the town, about three miles distant. General Taylor, always an early riser, heard the horse's feet «is I passed by the tent and called to me, asking where I was going, then inviting me to take a cup of coffee with him. The question was answered and the invitation declined, having already had coffee. Your father seeing me on horseback, came from his tent to learn the cause of it^ and proposed to go with me. General Taylor promptly said that he wished he would do so ; and as soon as his horse could be saddled he joined me, and we rode on for General Ampudia's headquarters at the grand plaza of Monterey. *' 'As we approached the entrance to the plaza the flat roofs of the houses were seen to be occupied by infantry in line and under arms. The barricade across the street, behind which was artillery, showed the gunners in place, and the port-fires blazing. It may well be asked, Why should they fire on us? The only answer is, the indications are strong that they intended to do so. AVe were riding at a walk and continued to advance at the same gait. Your father suggested that we should raise our w^hite hankerchiefs ; and thus we rode up to the battery. Addressing the captain, I told him that I was there by appointment to meet General Ampudia, and wished to pass. He sent a soldier to the rear with orders which we could not hear. After waiting a due time, the wish to pass was stated as before. Again the captain sent off a soldier ; and a third lime was this repeated, none of the soldiers returning. In this state of affairs w'e saw" the Adjutant-General of Ampudia coming on horseback. We knew that he spoke English, and that as the chief of the commander's staff, he was aware of my appointment and could relieve us of our detention. There was a narrow space between the end of the breastwork and the wall of the house, barely sufficient for one horse to pass at a time. We were quite near to this passage, and as the Adjutant-General advanced, evidently with the intention THE MEXICAN WAB, 87 tc ride through, I addressed him, stating my case, and remon- strated on the discourtesy with which we had been treated, lie turned to the captain and speaking in Spanish, and with such rapid utterance that we could not compjrehend the meaning, he put his horse in motion to go through. Quick and daring in action as slow and mild in s^^eech, your father said, Had we not better keep him with us? We squared our horses so as to prevent his passing, and told him it would much oblige us if he would accompany us to the quarters of General Ampudia. He appreciated both his necessity and our own ; and feigning great pleasure in attending us, he turned back and conducted us to his chief. " ' "Whether the danger of being fired on was as great as it seemed, cannot be determined; but the advantage of h.aving the well-known chief of staff exposed to any fire which should be aimed at us, will be readily perceived. On this as on many other occasions during our long acquaintance, your father exhibited that quick perception and decision which characterize the military genius. The occasion may seem small to others ; it was great to us. Together we had seen the sun rise; and the chances seemed to both, many to one, that neither of us would ever see it set. Ampudia received us with the extrava- gant demonstrations of his nation, ordered our horses to be taken care of, and invited us to breakfast with him. Declining the invitation^ he was reminded of the object of our visit, and the desire to avoid further delay in exchange of the articles of capitulation. He promptly delivered the duplicate left with him, which he had signed, and wo took formal leave of him,' '' There can scarcely be a doubt, under the light thrown upon the subject by subsequent discussion, that the terms of capitu- lation accorded were as judicious as they were liberal, but they were severely criticised in some quarters as too favorable to the Mexicans. It was disapproved by the government at 88 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. homej but before the necessary correspondence could be exchanged between General Taylor and the War Department, and notice given the Mexican commander, only six days remained of the eight weeks originally allowed for the dura- tion of the armistice. There were some animated discussion of the subject afterwards both in Congress and in the news- papers, and the action of General Taylor and the commission- ers was warmly defended by Colonel Davis. " Saltillo, the capital of the State of Coahuila, was occupied by the United States forces immediately after the conolusion of the armistice, and Victoria, the capital of Tamaulipas, some weeks later. General Taylor was now in almost full possession of the States of Tamaulipas, New Leon and Coahuila. The greater part of the winter passed, hov\'ever, without any very important or mem.ora-ble operations, and in the course of it Taylor's force was much reduced by the withdrawal of a laige portion of it, including nearly all the regular troops, to par- ticipate in the campaign of General Scott, about to be opened from Vera Cruz as a base against the City of Mexico. Mean- time Santa Anna, who had succeeded to the chief command of the Mexican army and soon after to the Presidency of the Kepublic, had assembled a large force at San Luis Potosi, and in the latter part of February, 1847, moved forward to meet the invading troo-ps of Ta3^1or. " General Taylor's headquarters were at Saltillo, though his advance had been pushed forward as far as Aqua Nueva, some eighteen miles beyond. On information of the advance of the Mexicans, he selected a strong defensive position, about seven miles south of Saltillo, near an estate, or hacienda, known as Buena Vista. Here he posted his little army of about 5,000 men, to await the approach of the enemy. The road at Buena Vista entered a deep and narrow valley, pro- tected on the right, or western side, by a network of deep gul- lies, impassible by cavalry or artillery, while on the left a ' sue- THE MEXICAN WAR ■ S9 cession of rugged ridges and precipitous ravines' extended back toward the mountain bounding tiio valley. "The JMexicans made their ajopearance on the morning of the 22nd of February, 20,000 strong, as asserted by, Santa .Vnna in his note of that date to Taylor, demanding an uncon- ditional surrender. It is quite likely, however, that he exag- gerated their numbers. The official returns of his forces, a few days before the battle (according to the statement of General Scott), exhibit an aggregate of about 14,000. On the other hand, General Wool estimates their number at 22,000. In any case the odds were fearful enough, though, as General Taylor says in his official report, ' the features of the ground were such as to nearly paralyze the artillery and cavalry of the enemy, while his infantry could not derive all the advan- tage of its numerical superiority.' " The laconic answer of Taylor to Santa Anna's communica- tion, granting him an hour to make up his mind to surrender, is well known.* "An attack was soon after made by the Mexicans, and some heavy skirmishing occurred in the course of the evening, but the battle was not fairly opened until the next morning. General Taylor himself returned for the night to Saltillo, which was threatened by a large body of cavalry, taking with him the Mississippi regiment and a squadron of dragoons. "The battle had already begun, next morning (23rd), when the ]\Iississii:)pians arrived on the field, with some advantage to the Mexicans. Colonel Davis in his report says: *As we approached the scene of action, horsemen, recognized as of our troops, were seen running, dispersed and confusedly, from the *Heapquakters Aejiy of Occupation, (^ Kear Buena Vista, Feb. 22, 1S47. ) Sir,— In reply to your note of (Jiis date, summoning me to surrender my forces at discre- tion, I beg leave to say ttiat I decline acceding to your request. With tiigh respect, I am, sir, your obedient servant, Z. TAYLOR, Major-General U. S. A., commanding. Senor General D. Anto Lopez de Santa Anna, Commander-in-Chief, Encanteda. 90 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. field; and our first view of the line of battle presented the mortifying spectacle of a regiment of infantry flying disorgan- ized from before the enemy.' He adds, however, that, instead of dispiriting, the sight served only to nerve the resolution of the men of his command. '•They soon became warmly engaged with a force vastly superior to their own. Ascending under fire, and firing, the slope of the ridge from the uj^per part of which the enemy were operating, it became necessary to cross a deep ravine that united obliquely with one still larger on the right, which ran nearly parallel with the line of their movement. Into this lesser ravine Colonel Davis descended alone, to find a favorable place for the passage of his men. AVhile riding along the bottom he was fired upon by a squadron of Mexican cavalr}^ from the bank above, but they fired over his head and both he and his horse escaped unhurt. The regiment crossed under a galling fire and drove the enemy back upon their reserves. Being unsupported, however, and observing a movement of theMexican cavalry beyond the large ravine on the right, as if to cross it and attack his rear. Colonel Davis retired his regiment just in time to prevent this movement and disperse the assailants with the loss of thei-r leader. "He was now joined by the Third Indiana regiment of the same brigade, and by a piece of artillery under Lieutenant Ivil- burn, and again moved forward to the ground previously occu- pied under a heavy fire of artillery. A large body of cavalry was seen to issue from their cover, as if for the purpose of making an attack, and preparations were at once made to receive it. 'Must here occurred what has become so celebrated as the famous 'V formation of his troops by Colonel Davis. The story, as generally told, is that, seeing the impending charge, he drew up his men in the form of the letter specified, so as to receive the enemy between its two converging lines under a flanking fire from both. Much graphic but illusory narration THE MEXICAN WAR. 91 and injudicious eulogy Lave been expended upon the subject by writers and speakers but little versed in tactics, theoretical or practical. The truth is that, under ordinary circumstances, such a formation would have been an exceedingly weak one, directly contrary to the plainest principles of defense against cavalry. No cavalry commander of ordinary intelligence could be expected to lead his men into the gaping jaws of a bi:urcate snare so manifestly fraught with deadly peril, when it would be so much easier and safer to turn its corners and attack his enemy in the rear. No such formation as that of the 'V is mentioned by General Taylor in his report of the battle — unless an obscure and incidental allusion to that part of the line as forming 'a crochet perpendicular to the hrst line of baicle' can be understood as indicating it. It is not mentioned by Gene- ral Wool, the second in command in the field, or by General Lane, who commanded the brigade to which the Mississippi and Indiana regiments both belonged. The explanation may be found in a single sentence of Colonel Davis's own report, in which he says: 'The Mississippi regiment was filed to the right (they were retiring by the left flank), and fronted in line across the plain ; the Indiana regiment was formed on the bank of the ravine by which a re-entering angle was presented to the enemy.' From this statement it is not at all j^resumable that the re-entrant angle was one of such acuteness as to entitle it to be likened in form to the letter 'V. Moreover, the dispositions made were evidently suggested by the conformation of the ground occupied, and the genius of the connnander shown by the promptness and sagacity with which he took advantage of it. The Indiana regiment, constituting the right of his line was drawn up along the brink of the main ravine, by which its rear was completely covered. His own regiment extended 'across the plain,' presumably to the other ravine, leaving the enemy no possible means of approach, except in front and under the fire of both wings. These disjDositions were brilliant 92 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. in conception and execution, but not in the way in which they are generally represented. The merit consisted in the ready intuition and consummate skill with which the strongest possible formation was made of what in most cases would have been one of the very weakest. " Colonel Davis soon afterwards received orders to move his regiment to a point some distance to the right for the protec- tion of Bragg's batter}^, which was hotly engaged and entirel}^ unsupported. Reaching the brow of the slope that led to the plateau on which the battery was stationed, they found the Mexican infantry advancing upon it, within about 100 3^ards. A destructive fire upon their right flank checked their progress and saved the battery from imuending and otherwise inevitable capture or destruction. *'■ This was the last conflict of the day in which they were engaged. Colonel Davis had been severely wounded on first going into action by a musket ball through the foot, near the ankle joint. Although keeping the field, he had suffered severely, and at the close of battle retired to a tent for surgical treatment. " [It is an interesting rcminiscense that ho was nursed and waited on during the ensuing night by Mr. T. L. Crittenden, then serving as a volunteer aid on the staff" of General Taylor, without military rank, who served with distinction in the Federal army during the late war, and has since attained the rank of brigadier-general by brevet. To him Colonel Davis attributed his escape from lockjaw, which was llireatened, and probably the saving of his life, by continually pouring cold water upon the wounded limb.] "The general appreciation in the army of the brilliant services rendered at Buena Vista by Davis and his Missis- sippians was shown by the praises lavished upon them in tlie official reports of his superiors and the officers directly associated with him during the battle. These notes of admi- TttB MEXTCAX WAR. 1).^ ration and approval were caught up and re-echoed by press and people at home. Few soldiers have ever received from their countrymen a more generous recognition of distinguished services tlian that awarded them." The following description of the part borne by ^' Davis and his Mississippi Rifles" in the battle of Buena Vista, is from the pen of Honorable J. F. H. Claiborne, who has written much to illustrate the history of Mississippi and her sons : "The battle had been raging sometime with fluctuating fortunes, and was setting against us, when General Taylor, with Colonel Davis and others, arrived on the field. Several regiments (which were subsequently rallied and fought bravely) were in fall retreat. O'Brien, after having his men and horses completely cut up, had been compelled to draw off his guns, and Bragg, with almost superhuman energy, was sustaining the brnnt of the fight. Many officers of distinction had fallen. Colonel Davis rode forward to examine the position of the enemy, and concluding that the best way to arrest our fugitives would be to make a bold demonstration, he resolved at once to attack the enemy, there posted in force, immediately in front, supported by cavalry, and two divisions in reserve in his rear. It was a resolution bold almost to rashness, but the emergency was pressing. With a handful of Indiana yolun- teers, who still stood by their brave old colonel (Bowles) and his own regiment, he advanced at double-quick time, firing as he advanced. His own brave fellows fell fast under the roll- ing musketry of the enemy, but their rapid and fatal volleys carried dismay and death into the adverse ranks. A deep ravine separated the combatants. Leaping into it, the Missis- sippians soon appeared on the other side, and with a shout that was heard over the battle-field, they j^oured in a well-directed fire, and rushed upon the enemy. Their deadly aim and wild enthusiasm was ii-resistible. The Mexicans fled in confusion to their reserves, -and Davis seized the commanding position 94 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. they had occupied. He next fell upon the party of cavalry and compelled it to fi}', with the loss of their leader and other officers. Immediately afterwards a brigade of lancers, 'one thousand strong, were seen approaching at a gallop, in beauti- ful array, with sounding bugles and fluttering pennons. It was an appalling sj)ectacle, but not a man flinched from his posi- tion. The time between our devoted band and eternitj^ seemed brief indeed. But conscious that the eye of the army was upon them, that the honor of Mississippi was at stake, and knowing that, if they gave way, or were ridden down, our un- protected batteries in the rear, upon which the fortunes of the day depended, would be captured, each man resolved to die in his place sooner than retreat. Not the Spartan martyrs at Thermopylae— not the sacred battalion of Epaminondas — not the Tenth Legion of Julius Ccesar — not the Old Guard of Napoleon — ever evinced more fortitude than these young volun- teers in a crisis when death seemed inevitable. They stood like statues, as frigid and motionless as the marble itself. Impressed with this extraordinary firmness, when they had anticipated panic and flight, the lancers advanced more delib- erately, as though they saw, for the first time, the dark shadow of the fate that was impending over them. Colonel Davis had thrown his men into the form of re-entering angle, (familiarly known as his famous V movement,) both flanks resting on ravines, the lancers coming down on the intervening ridge. This exposed them to a converging fire, and the moment they came within rifle range each man singled out his object, and the whole head of the column fell. A more deadl}^ fire never was delivered, and the brilliant array recoiled and retreated, paralyzed and dismayed. '' Shortly afterwards the Mexicans, having concentrated a large force on the right for their final attack, Colonel Davis was ordered in that direction. His regiment had been in action all day, exhausted by thirst and fatigue, much reduced THE MEXICAN WAR. ' 95 by the carnage of the morning engagement, and many in the ranks suffering from wounds, yet the noble fellows moved at double-quick time. Bowles's little band of Indiana volun- teers still acted with them. After marching several hundred yards they perceived the Mexican infantry advancing, in three lines, upon Bragg's battery, which though entirely unsup- ported, held its position with a resolution worthy of his fame. The pressure upon him stimulated the Mississippians. They increased their speed and when the enemy was within one hundred yards of the battery and confident of its capture, they took him in flank and reverse, and poured in a raking and destructive fire. This broke his right line, and the rest soon gave way and fell back precipitately. Colonel Davis was severely wounded." General Taylor in his official report of the battle, says : " The Mississippi riflemen, under Colonel Davis, were highly con- spicuous for their gallantry and steadiness, and sustained throughout the engagement, the reputation of veteran troops. Brought into action against an immensely superior force, they maintained themselves for a long time, unsupported and with heavy loss, and held an important part of the field until re-enforced. Colonel Davis, though severely w^ounded, remain- ed in the saddle until the close of the action. His distinguished coolness and gallantry, at the head of his regiment on this day, entitle him to the particular notice of the government." Several sentences from Colonel Davis's report have been given above, but we quote it more fully : " Saltillo, Mexico, 2d March, 1847. " Sir : In compliance wath your note of yesterday, I have the honor to present the following report of the service of the Mississippi riflemen on the 23d ultimo ; " Early in the morning of that day the regiment was drawn out from the headquarters encampment, which stood in advance of and overlooked the town of Saltillo. Conformably to in- 96 THE DA VIS MEMOBIAL VOL UME. structions, two companies were detached for the protection of that encampment, and to defend the adjacent entrance of the town. The remaining eight companies were put in march to return to the position of the preceding day, now known as the battle-field of Baena Vista. We had approached to within about two miles of that position, when the report of artillery firing, which reached us, gave assurance that a battle had commenced. Excited by the sound the regiment pressed rapidly forward, manifesting, upon this, as upon other occasions, their more than willingness to meet the enemy. At the first convenient place the column was halted for the purpose of filling their canteens with water; and the march being resumed, was directed toward the position which had been indicated to me, on the previous evening, as the post of our regiment. As we approached tlie scene of action, horsemen, recognized as of our troops, were seen running, dispersed and confusedly from the field; and our first view of the line of battle presented the mortifying spectacle of a regiment of infantry flying disor- ganized from before the enemy. These sights, so well calcu- lated to destroy confidence and dispirit troops just coming into action, it is my pride and pleasure to believe, only nerved the resolution of the regiment I have the honor to command, "Our order of march was in column of companies, advancing by the centers. The point w^hich has just been abandoned by the regiment alluded to, w^as now taken as our direction. I rode forward to examine the ground upon which we were going to operate, and in j'lassing tlirough the fugitives, appealed to them to return witli us and renew the fight, pointing to our regiment as a mass of men behind which they might securely form. "AVith a few honorable exceptions, the appeal was as un- heeded as were the offers which, I am informed, were made by QUI men to give their canteens of water to those who com- plained of thirst, on condition that they would go back. Gen- THE MEXICAN WAE. 97 era! Wool was upon the ground making great efforts to rally the men who had given way. I approached him and asked if he would send another regiment to sustain me in an attack upon the enemy before us. He was alone, and, after promising the support, went in person to send it. Upon further exami- nation, I found that the slope we were ascending was intersected by a deep ravine, which, uniting obliquely with a still larger one on our right, formed between them a point of land diffi- cult of access by us, but which, spreading in a plain toward the base of the mountain, had easy communication with the main body of the enemy. This position, important from its natural strength, derived a far greater value from the relation it bore to our order of battle and line of communication with the rear. The enemy, in number many time greater than our- selves, supported by strong reserves, flanked by cavalry and elated by recent success, was advancing upon it. The moment seemed to me critical and the occasion to require whatever sac- rifice it might cost to check the enemy. "My regiment, having continued to advance, was near at hand. I met and formed it rapidly into order of battle; the line then advanced in double-quick time, until within the estimated range of our rifles, when it was halted, and ordered to 'fire advancing.' " The progress of the enemy was arrested. We crossed the difficult chasm before us, under a galling fire, and in good order renewed the attack upon the other side. The contest was severe — the destruction great upon both sides. We steadily advanced, and, as the distance diminished, the ratio of loss increased rapidly against the enemy; he yielded, and was driven back on his reserves. A plain now lay behind us — the enemy's cavalry had passed around our right flank, which rested on the main ravine, and gone to our rear. The sup- port I had expected to join us was nowhere to be seen. I therefore ordered the regiment to retire, and went in person to 7 98 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. find the cavalry, wliich, after passing round our right, had been concealed by the inequality of the ground. I found them at the first point where the b.ank was practicable for horsemen, in the act of descending into the ravine — no doubt for the purpose of cliarging upon our rear. The nearest of our men ran quickly to my call, attacked this body, and dispersed it with some loss. I think their commander was among the killed. " The regiment was formed again in line of battle behind the first ravine we had .crossed; soon after which we were joined upon our left by Lieutenant Kilbourn, with a piece of light artillery, and Colonel Lane's (the Third) regiment of Lidiana volunteers. . . . We had proceeded but a short distance when I saw a large body of cavalry debouche from his cover upon the left of the position from whicli he had retired, and advance rapidly upon us. The Mississippi regi- ment was filed to the right, and fronted in line across the plain; the Indiana regiment was formed on the bank of the ravine, in advance of our right flank, by which a re-entering angle was presented to the enemy. Whilst this preparation was being made, Scrgeant-Major Miller, of our regiment, was sent to Captain Sherman for one or more pieces of artillery from his battery. "The enemy, who was now seen to be a body of richly-capa- risoned lancers, came forward rapidly, and in beautiful order — the files and ranks so closed as to look like a mass of men and horses. Perfect silence and the greatest steadiness prevailed in both lines of our troops, as they stood at shouldered arms waiting an attack. Confident of success, and anxious to obtain the full advantage of a cross-fire at a short distance, I repeat- edly called to the men not to shoot. " As the enemy approached, his speed regularly diminished, until, when, within eighty or a hundred yards, he had drawn up to a walk, and seemed about to halt. A few files fired with- TffE MEXICAN WAR. n out orders, and both lines then instantly poured in a volley so destructive that the mass yielded to the blow and the survivors fled At this time, the enemy made his last attack upon the right, and I received the General's order \ O O 2 'T! ^ H o 106 THE DAVIS MEJ^IORIAL VOLUME. picture of "77ze Southern Triumvirate" — Davis, Hunter, and Toombs — from, wliicli v:e make the following extract : "Washington City, January 21. " Yesterday, when Hale was speaking, the right side of the chamber was empty (as it generally is during the delivery of an anti-slavery speech), with the exception of a group of three who sat near the centre of the vacant space. This remarka- ble group, which wore the air if not the ensigns of power? authority, and public care, was composed of Senators Davis, Hunter, and Toombs. They were engaged in an earnest collo- quy, which, however, was foreign to the argument Hale was elaborating; for though the connection of their words was broken before it reached the gallery, their voices were distinctly audi- ble, and gave signs of their abstraction. They were thinking aloud. If they had met together, under the supervision of some artist gifted with the faculty of illustrating history and character by attitude and expression, who designed to paint them, in fresco, on the walls of the new Senate chamber, the combination could not have been more appropriately arranged than chance arranged it on this occasion. Toombs sits among the opposition on the left, Hunter and Davis on the right ; and the fact that the two first came to Davis's seat — the one gravi- tating to it from a remote, the other from a near point — may be held to indicate which of the three is the preponderating body in the system, if preponderance there be; and whose figure should occupy the foreground of the picture if any pre- 2edcnco is to be accorded. Davis sat erect and composed; Hunter, listening, rested his head on his hand ; and Toombs's, inclining forward, was speaking vehemently. Their respective attitudes were no bad illustration of their individuality. Davis impressed the spectator, who observed the easy but authorita- tive bearing with which he put aside or assented to Toomb's suggestions, with the notion of some slight superiority, some harldly-acknowledged leadership ; and Hunter's attentiveness IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 107 and impassibility were characteristic of his nature, for his pro- fundity of intellect wears the guise of stolidity, and his con- tinuous industry that of inertia; while Toombs's quick utterance and restless head bespoke his nervous terperament and activity of mind. But, though each is different from either of the others, the three have several attributes in common. They are equally eminent as statesmen and debaters; they are devoted to the same cause; they are equal in rank and rivals in ambition, and they are about the same age, and none of them —-let young America take notice — wears either beard or mus- taclie. I come again to the traits which distinguish them from each other. In face and form, Davis represents the Norman type with singular fidelity, if my conception of that type be correct lie is tall and sinewy, with fair hair, gray eyes, which are clear rather than bright, high forehead, straight nose, thin, compressed lips and pointed chin. Ilis cheek bones are hol- low, and the vicinity ot his mouth is deeply furrowed with intersecting lines. Leanness of face, length and sharpness of feature, and length of limb, and intensity of expression, ren- dered acute by angular, facial outline, are the general charac- teristics of his appearance." The following Washington dispatch, sent on the day on which the death of Mr. Davis was announced, gives some pleasant reminiscences: "Washington, December 6. " There are not many persons about the capitol now who were there when Jefferson Davis was in the Senate, thirty years ago. E. v. Murphy, one of the official stenographers of the Senate, was a boy just beginning shorthand work during the latter part of Mr. Davis's political career under the national government. He remembers Mr. Davis well, and speaks of him very highly. 'He was,' said Mr. Murphy, *a nervous, energetic speaker, and very impressive. He spoke rapidly and forcibly and as if he were thoroughly in earnest. This earnestness and force made him highly effective. He was a leading man in the Senate, and 108 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. gave every one who saw him the impression that he was a born leader. He was not a demagogue, and would always take the unpopular side of any question when he believed he was right. In his speeches in the Senate he was not nearly so outspoken a secessionist as his colleague, Mr. Brown, of Mississippi. Mr. Brown appeared to fear that ]\Ir. Davis would stand better with the people of Mississippi than himself, and for that reason took a very radical tone in his Southern speeches. But when the time for secession came, he could not make a farewell address. Mr, Brown burst into tears in the office of the secretary of the Senate, and said he could not do it. " The galleries were crowded with young Southern men and bo3's v/hen Mr. Davis made his farewell address. Mr. Davis was the leader of the South and Judah P. Benjamin was its orator. Those were exciting times ; but there was never such a scene as when Mr. Benjamin made his farewell speech. The galleries were j)acked, and when Mr. Benjamin ended by saying : ' The South will never surrender I never, never, never I' handkerchiefs were waved and thrown into the Senate chamber, and there was an outbreak such as I have never seen since in the Senate. "Speaking of Mr. Davis's personal qualities, Mr. Murphy said that he was courteous and kind to all. He gave strangers, said Mr. ]\Iurphy, the impression that he was reserved and unapproachable; but this was not so. His quick, nervous temperament made him easily nettled, and when he was disturbed he would sometimes make a sharp retort, but he would apologize for it the next moment. He stood very high in the estimation of the Senators on both sides of the chamber. His long and varied service, and his practice of entertaining gave him a wide acquaintance. In those days most of the Senators and members lived in hotels and boarding-houses. Money was not so abundant, and many of them lived in quarters which a government clerk would not IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 109 now occupy. Messrs. Davis, Slidell and a few others were the only Southern men who kept house, and they entertained in a luxurious manner for those days, although it would not he thought so now. I recollect, particularly, how kind Mr. Davis was to all the employees about the Senate, He knew them all personally, and would ask. after them, and after their families where they had any. He complimented the steno- graphic reports of the Senate. He was a favorite with all the emplo3^ees, for another reason, and that was because he would always endeavor to secure extra compensation for them. "Several years ago Mr. Murphy wrote to Mr. Davis in regard to two pictures which a friend had secured at the sale of the collection of a picture dealer named Lamb. ' The history of the pictures made it probable that they had belonged to Mr. Davi j. A letter from him was received by Mr. Murphy in which he said that the pictures had been stolen from him, and that he had had too much experience with pillage during the war to buy back his properly twice. "Representative Spinola, of New York, is one of the few persons now in Congress who was acquainted with Mr. Davis when he was a Senator of the United States and member of the cabinet. He says that at that time Mr. Davis was looked upon as one of the leading men of the country. He was of bright intellect, of great determination and firmness, and a leader always. For his conduct preceding and during the war he is generally condemned in the North, but condemnation could not efface his previous record." The Macon {Ga.) Telegraph and Messenger published several days after the death of Mr. Davis the following sketch, bring- ing out the opinion of Prescott, the historian, concerning ]\Ir. Davis as Senator, which is of such interest that we give it in fall: "Editor Telegraph : In the sketch of Mr. Jefferson Davis, in the Telegraph of December 7, it is said : * The historian, Pres- no THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. cott, j)ronounced him the most accomplish-cd man in that body when it was full of giants.' Reference in the above is had to Mr. Davis and the United States Senate of 1850. That body was, indeed, * full of giants ' in those days. It was then at the acme of its glory ; it was in its palmiest days. Never before at one time did so many illustrious men sit in the highest council of the nation. The States sent their foremost men to the Senate. Few were sent to the Senate for their wealth, or family or party influence. Ability, experience and integrity were the tests by which the respective States tried the ?nen who were to represent them in that then truly venerable and venerated august body. To that body of ' giants ' such as it was in 1850, Ohio sent Salmon P. Chase; Virginia, H. ]\L T. Hunter; Texas, Sam Houston ; Tennessee, John Bell; Georgia, John McPherson Berrien ; Alabama, William B. King ; Mis- souri, Thomas II. Benton ; North Carolina, Willie P. ]\Iangum; Louisiana, Pierre Soule ; Michigan, Lewis Cass ; Illinois, Stephen A. Douglass ; Kentucky, Henry Clay ; ]\Iassachusetts, Daniel Webster ; South Carolina, John C. Calhoun ; and Mis- sissippi, Jefferson Davis. " Such were the giants of the Senate of 1850, among whom, according to ]\Ir. Prescott, jNIr. Davis was 'the most accom- plished.' Coming from such a source, it was indeed a great compliment to the then Mississippi Senator and the subse- quent chief of the Southern Confederacy. "After the writer of this read the sketch of Mr. Davis in the Telegraph it was a wonder to him how the author of the sketch came by the facts to which he alludes. Had he ever seen them in print? If not, from whom did he get them? That he might know, the writer called at the office of the Tele- graph and asked the questions above propounded. To the writer's inquiries it was, in substance, replied that the author of the sketch had seen them in print years ago; that, accord- ing to his recollection, he found them in ISir. Prescott's letters, JN THE UNITED STA TES SENA TE. ^U in which the latter presented some reminiscences of the Senate of 1850; that the3rfmade a deep impression on his mind, and hence were fixed in ]iis memory. Upon hearing this, the writer proceeded to narrate the following facts, which he now, at the editor's request, gives to the public. "In March, 1850, the writer, then a student in the Brown University, Providence, R. I., was returning to college after a brief visit to his home in Georgia. Passing through "Wash- ington city, he made it his pleasure to remain at tb3 capital for the purpose of visiting the houses of Congress and seeing the celebrities of the nation. One of the most exciting periods in the history of the United States Congress had just been closed by the passage of the celebrated compromise measures of 1850 The capital and all the public buildings were draped in mourning. The remains of one of the greatest statesmen this country ever produced were lying in state in the nation's capitol. The eloquent voice of the great South Carolina ' nulli - fier,' as he was contemptuously called by his enemies, had just been hushed in death, and his body was waiting transportation to the State which honored him above, all others living or dead. It was then the writer made his way to the Senate chamber to see its great men and to listen to its debates. On one ot the front seats of tiie gallery he sat with a printed page in his hand, which gave the names of the Senators and told the seats which they respectively occupied. "It was an occasion of special interest, and perhaps every senator was in his place. Bub this was not his first visit to the Senate chamber. He had been there several times, and had so learned how to distinguish the most illustrious of that great body of illustrious men that he could point them out to others. There, on the day mentioned, he sat, eagerly looking down upon the splendid array below him, and listening to their brief addresses. There stood Webster, with the head of * Jupiter Tonans/ the most impressive looking man of the whole 112 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. body. The writer, when a boy in the schools of Boston, had heard the greatest speech of his life on the completion of the Bunker Hill monument. Therefore "Webster was not new to him. But what shall he say of the slogan of the Douglas, the little giant of the West? Of the rough but massive speech of Benton, the blunt and burly senator of Missouri? Of our own silver-tongued Berrien ? Of the matchless and seductive eloquence of Clay, Kentucky's great orator and the pride of his party ? One after another many of the great senators were on their feet with something to say on the matter before the Sen- ate. They impressed the writer — deeply impressed him, one and all. Years have passed since then. Tie has looked on many deliberative bodies in America and in England. Not the House of Lords, with the Earl of Granville on the wool- sack ; not the House of Commons, with Gladstone on the oppo- sition bench, impressed him half so much. Nor among the great men whom he saw and heard in the United States Sen- ate of 1850 did any one so impress him as the senator from Mississippi. Nor was he alone in this. By his side was one who was as seemingly interested as he was. This stranger showed that he was looking with interest and with unmistaka- ble emotion on the scene before him. And yet he was not looking, for he was blind — or too blind to see with his visual organs. Some 'thick drop serene,' as in Milton, had 'quenched,' or 'dim suffusion veiled his orbs.' But not blinded w^as his interior eye; it supplied the lack of the outer, and, as Milton saw visions that were hid to those whose eyes were open to the light of day, the intellectual eye of the stranger saw farther and deeper into men than many whose orbs were neither 'quenched' nor 'veiled.' As senator after senator would arise and address the Senate the stranger would turn to the writer and ask his name. Each time when he learned the name he would make some remark about the speaker, evincing such sense and judgment that it would attract the writer of this to JN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. IIS the stranger himself, a manifestly remarkable man, by his side. In person he was tall and slender, but commanding.' His face was cast in the most intellectual mould and was lighted up by fires of the highest order of genius. Never before, the writer thought, had he conversed with one so pre- eminently charming and fascinating. His attention was fre- quently drawn from some senator before him to the gentleman who was profoundly interesting him by his questions and star- tling him by his appropriate and brilliant replies. The writer's voung: mind feasted on the conversation of the stranger. It was indeed a treat and a feast, which he can never forget to his latest day. At length ]\Ir. Davis rose to address the Senate. One could not help marking the increased interest which the Mississippi senator seemed to arouse in the stranger. He was evidently intensely interested in the senator from first to last It was manifest that ]\Ir. Davis had made on him a profound impression. Nor was it surprising when the gentleman, speak- ing with considerable emotion, and with great emphasis, said at the conclusion of the speech of the senator from Missis- sippi: *IIe impressed me more by dignity of manner and speech with what a model senator should be than any other I have heard address the Senate.' Such in substance were his words, with more to the same effect. "This conversation the writer has often related since those days. Having never seen them in print, he was surprised to read what was so recently told in the Telegrajoh, and to learn that this high estimate of Jefferson Davis as a senator had appeared in print over the name of Mr. Prescott. "Nq one was more capable of forming a correct judgment of men than the author of the 'Conquest of Mexico.' No one among us was more versed in the history of great men and of great deliberative bodies. Perhaps, while listening to the debates of the American Senate, he was thinking of that senate before which Cicero 'pleaded the cause of Cicily against Yer- 8 114 THE DAVIS 3IEM0B1AL VOLUME. res/ and before which Tacitus 'thundered against the oppres- sion of Africa/ ''Macon, Ga., December 7th, 18S9. J, 0. A. Clark." Mr. Frank H. Alfriend, in his interesting *' Life of Jefferson Davis," gives so just an estimate of his senatorial career tliat we quote it as follows: ''A peculiar feature in the public career of Mr. Davis was its steady and consecutive development. He has accepted ser- vice, always and onl}-, in obedience to the concurrent confidence of his fellow-citizens in his peculiar qualifications for the emergency. From the beginning he gave the promise of those high capacities which the fervid eulogy of Grattan accorded to Chatham — to 'strike a blow in the world that should resound through its history.' His first election to Congress was the spontaneous acknowledgment of the profound impres- sion i^roducedby his earliest intellectual efforts. The consum- mate triumph of his genius and valor at Buena Vista did not exceed the anticipations of his friends, who knew the ardor and assiduity of his devotion to his cherished science, and now in the noble arena of the American Senate his star was still to be in the ascendant. "At the first session of the Thirtieth Congress, Jefferson Davis took his seat as a Senator of the United States from the State of Mississippi. The entire period of his connections with the Senate, from 1847 to 1851, and from 1857 to 1861, scarcely comprises eight years; but those were years pregnant with the fate of a nation, and in their brief progress he stood in that august body the equal of giant intellects, and grappled with the power and skill of a master, the great ideas and events of those momentous days. Mr. Davis could safely trust, what- ever of ambition he may cherish for the distinguished consid- eration of posterity, to a faithful record of his service in the Senate. His senatorial fame is a beautiful harmony of the AY THE ViVITEU :<;TATES SENATE 115 most prono'inoed and attractive features of the best parliamen- tary models, lie was as intrepid and defiant as Chatham, but as scholarly as Brougham; as elegant and ^perspicuous in dic- tion as Canning, and often as profound and philosophical in his comprehension of general jDrinciples as Burke; when roused by a sense of injury, or by the force of his earnest conviction, as much the incarnation of fervor and zeal as Grattan, but, like Fox, subtle, ready, and always armed cap-a-pie for the quick encounters of debate. "Among all the eminent associates of Mr. Davis in that body, there>were very few who possessed his peculiar qualifications for its most distinguished honors. His character, no less than his demeanor, may be aptly termed senatorial, and his bearing was always attuned to his noble concejDtion of the Senate as an august assemblage of the embassadors of sovereign States. He carried to the Senate the loftiest sense of the dignity and responsibility of his trust, and convictions upon political ques- tions, which were the result of the most thorough and elaborate investigation. Never for one instant varying from the princi- ples of his creed, he never doubted as to the course of duty; profound, accurate in information, tliere was no question per- taining to the science of government or its administration that he did not illuminate with- a light clear, powerful and original. "It has been remarked of Mr. Davis's style as a speaker, that it is 'orderly rather than ornate,' and the remark is correct so far as it relates to the mere statement of the conditions of the discussion. For mere rhetorical glitter, Mr. Davis's speeches afford but poor models, but for clear logic and convincing argu- ment, apt illustration, bold and original imagery, and genuine pathos, they are unsurpassed by any ever delivered in the American Senate. Though the Senate was, undoubtedly, his appropriate arena as an orator, and though it may well be doubted, whether he was rivaled i-n senatorial eloquence by any contemporary, Mr. Davis is hardly less gifted in the attri- 116 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. butes of j^opular eloquence. Upon great occasions he will move a large crowd with an irresistible power. As a popular orator, he does not seek to sway and toss the will with violent and passionate emotion, but his eloquence is more a triumph of argument aided by an enlistment of passion and persuasion to reason and conviction. He has less of the characterics of Mirabeau, than of that higher type of eloCi[uence, of which Cicero, Burke and George Canning were representatives, and which is pervaded by passion, subordinated to the severer tri- bunal of intellect. It was the privilege of the writer, ou repeated occasions, during the late war. to witness the triumph of Mr. Davis's eloquence over a popular assemblage. Usually the theme and the occasion were worthy of the orator, and difficult indeed would it be to realize a nobler vision of the majesty of intellect. To a current of thought, perennial and inexhaustible, compact, logical and irresistible, was added a fire that threw its warmth into the coldest bosom, and infused a glow of light into the very core of the subject. His voice, flexible and articulate, reaching any compass that was requi- site, attitude and gestures, all conspired to give power and expression to his language, and the hearer was impressed as though in the presence of the very transfiguration of eloquence. The printed efforts of Mr. Davis will not only live as memo- rials of parliamentary and popular eloquence, but as invalua- ble stores of information to the political and historical student. They epitomize some of the most important periods of Ameri- can history, and embrace the amplest discussion of an extended range of subjects pertaining to almost every science. *'The development in Mr. Davis of the high and rare quali- ties, requisite to parliamentary leadership, was rapid and decisive. His nature instinctively aspires to influence and power, and under no circumstances could it rest contented in an attitude of inferiority. Independence, originality, and intre- pidity, added to earnest and intelligent conviction; unwaver- IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 117 ing devotion to principle and purpose; a will stern and inex- orable, and a disposition frank, courteous, and generous, are features of character which rarely fail to make a representa- tive man. After the death -of Mr. Calhoun, he was incompara- bly the ablest exponent of States' Rights principle, and even during the life of that great publicist, Mr. Davis, almost equally with him, shared the labors and responsibilities of leadership. His personal courage is of that knightly order, which in an age of chivalry would have sought the trophies of the tourney, and his moral heroism fixed him immovably upon the solid rock of principle, indifferent to the inconvenience of being in a minority and in no dread of the storms of popular passion. His faith in his principles was no less earnest than his confidence in his ability to triumphantly defend them. In the midst of the agitation and excitement of 1850, Henry Clay, the Great Compromiser, whose brilliant but erring genius so long and fatally led estray, from the correct understanding of the vital issue at stake between the North and South, a numerous party ot noble and true-hearted Southern gentle- men, furnished the occasion of an impressive illustration of this quality. Turning, in debate to the Mississippi Benator^, he notified the latter of his purpose, ^t some future day, to debate with him elaborately^ an important quesion of princi- ple. 'Now is the moment,' was the reply of the intrepid Davis, ever eager to champion his beloved and imperiled South, equally against her avowed enemies, and the not less fatal policy of those who were but too willing to compromise upon an issue vital to her tights and dignity. And what a shock of arms might thea have been witnessed, could Clay have dispelled thirty years of his ripe three-score and ten! Each would have found a foeman worthy of his steel. In answer to this bold defiance, Cla}^, like Hotspur, would haA^e rushed to the charge, with visor up and lance couchant; and Davis, another Saladin, no less frank than his adversary; but 118 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. far more dexterous, would have met him with a flash of that Damascus scymetar, whose first hlow severed the neck of the foeman. "That would have been a bold ambition that could demand a formal tender of leadership from the brilliant array of gal- lant gentlemen, ripe scholars, distinguished orators and states- men, who, for twenty j-ears before the war, were the valiant champions in Congress of the principles and aspirations of the South. Yet few will deny the pre-eminence of Mr. Davis, in the eye of the country and the world, among States' Kights leaders. Ecjually with Mr. Calhoun, as the leader of a great intellectual movement, he stamped his impress upon the endur- ing tablets of time, "Like Mr. Calhoun, too, JNIr. Davis gave little evidence of capacity or taste for mere i^arty tactics. Neither would have per- formed the duties of drill-sergeant, in local organizations, for the purposes of a political canvass, so well as hundreds of men of far lighter caliber and less stability. Happily, both sought and found a more congenial field of action. "The unexpired term, for which Mr. Davis had been elected in 1S47, ended in 1851, and, though he was immediately re- elected, in consequence of his subsecpient resignation his first service in the Senate ended with the term for which he had first been elected. A recurrence to the records of Congress will exhibit the eventful nature of this period, especially in its con- clusion. In the earlier portion of his senatorial service, Mr. Davis participated conspicuously in debate and in the general business of legislation. Here, as in the House of Representa- tives, his views upon military affairs were always received with marked respect, and no measure looking to the improvement of the army failed to receive his cordial co-operation." The high debates of those stirring times are well worthy of careful study, and no unprejudiced man can give them even a IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 119 casual reading without seeing that the Senator from Missis- sippi was the peer of any of his colleagues. The excellent sketch in the Times-Democrat, from which we have quoted so freely, thus gives this part of Mr. Davis's career : " The new senator took his seat at the opening of the first session of the Thirtieth Congress, in December, 1847, and held it during the four sessions next ensuing. The reputation which he had achieved as a soldier gave special weight to his opinions on questions relating to the army, and he was made chairman of the committee on military affairs. It was not as a specialist, however, that he became chiefly distinguished. While never neglectful of the subjects with which he was especially charged, his most earnest attention was given to questions of statesmanship involving great constitutional jirin- ciples, "It was while serving as chairman of the military commit- tee of the Senate that a controversy arose with General Scott, growing out of his real or supposed opposition to the measures jD reposed in Congress for conferring additional rank and pay upon that distinguished officer. The misunderstanding that ensued led afterward to an unfriendly and somewhat embit- tered correspondence, and no restoration of harmony between them was ever fully effected. "In the canvass of 1848 General Taylor, the father-in-law and late military chief of Colonel Davis, was the Whig candi- date for the presidency, and General William O. Butler, his division commander at Monterey, the Democratic candidate for vice-presidency. As a member of the Democratic party. Colonel Davis supported Cass and Butler, but without any rup- ture of his personal friendly relations with Taylor, who was elected. " General Taylor succeeded Mr. Polk in the presidency on the 4th of March, 1849. In the next ensuing Congress (the 120 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. Thirty-first) occurred the culmination of the controversies arising out of the recent acquisitions of new territory after the war with Mexico. In these Colonel Davis took an active and leading part. He opposed the plan of compromise proposed by Mr. Clay and eventually adopted, after some modification of its details. Although opposed to the principles on which the Missouri compromise was originally adopted, yet he favored, as a measure of conciliation, the extending of the compromise line, already agreed upon, through the newly acquired terri- tory to the Pacific. This proposition, however, was defeated by a sectional majority. "In 1850 the legislature of Mississippi re-elected him to the Senate, as his own successor, for the full term ensuing — from 1851 to 1857. The legislature, at the same session, provided for the call of a convention, in the course of the ensuing year, to consider the questions then agitating the country. "Meantime certain modifications of party lines had been taking place. A j)ortion of the democratic party, alarmed by what they regarded as indications of a rupture of the Union, had united with the whigs in some of the Southern States — notably in South Carolina and Mississippi — in the formation of a Union party — so styled by its organizers — while a smaller section of whigs, on the other hand, under apprehension of intolerable Federal encroachments upon the rights of the States, had combined with the majority of the democrats, for the maintenance of State rights at all hazards. Of this latter party Mr. Davis had become, since the death of Mr. Calhoun, in March, 1850, if not the head, at least one of the most emi- nent and conspicuous leaders, especially in his own State. He always, however, earnestly, and, no doubt, sincerely, disavowed any sympathy with disunion sentiment, and on one occasion had declared on the floor of the Senate that if any respectable man should call him a disunionist, he would 'answer him in monosyllables.' " jy THE UNITED STATES SENATE. VZi But we cannot better portray the senatorial career of Mr. Davis at this period than by quoting his own modest account of it as given in his "Rise and Fall of the Confederate Gov- ernment." He says: " The first session of the Thirty-first Congress (1849 -'50) was a memorable one. The recent acquisition from Mexico of New Mexico and California required legislation by Congress. In .the Senate the bills reported by the Committee on Territories were referred to a select committee, of which Mr. Clay, the dis- tinguished Senator from Kentucky, was chairman. From this committee emanated the bills which, taken together, are known as the compromise measures of 1850. ' "With some others, I advocated the division of the newly acquired territory by an extension to the Pacific Ocean of the Missouri compromise line of thirty-six degrees and thirty min- utes north latitude. This was not because of any inherent merit or fitness in that line, but because it had been accepted by the country as a settlement of the sectional question which, thirty years before, had threatened a rupture of the Union, and it had acquired in the public mind a prescriptive respect which it seemed unwise to disregard. A majority, however, decided otherwise, and the line of political conciliation was then obliter- ated, as far as it lay in the power of Congress to do so. An analysis of the vote will show that this result was effected almost exclusively by the representatives of the North, and that the South was not responsible for an action which proved to be the opening of Pandora's box.* " However objectionable it may have been in 1820 to adopt that political line as^ expressing a geographical definition of different sectional interests, and however it may be condemned " *The vote in the Senate on the proposition to ccutinue the line of the Missouri compro- mise through the newly acquired territory to the Pacific was twenty-four yeas to thirty-four nays. Reclioning Delaware and Missouri las Southern States, the vote of the two sections was exactly equal. The yeas were all cast by Southern Senators ; the nays were all Nortlv em, except two irom Delaware, one from Missouri, and one from Kentucky." 122 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. as the assumption by Congress of a function not delegated lo it, it is to be remembered that the act had received such recog- nition and g'lMSi- ratification by the people of the States as to give it a value which it did not originally jDOSsess. Pacifica- tion had been the fruit borne by the tree, and it should not have been recklessly hewed down and cast into the fire. The frequent assertion then made was that all' discrimination was unjust, and that the popular will should be left untrammeled in the formation of new States. This theory was good enough in itself, and as an abstract proposition could not be gainsaid; but its j^ractical operation has but poorly sustained the expec- tations of its advocates, as will be seen when we come to con- sider the events that occurred a few years later in Kansas and elsewhere. Retrospectively viewed under the mellowing light of time, and with the calm consideration we can usually give to the irremediable past, the compromise legislation of 1850 bears the impress of that sectional spirit so widely at variance with the general purposes of the Union, and so destructive of the harmony and mutual benefit which the constitution was intended to secure. '' The refusal to divide the territory acquired from Mexico by an extension of the line of the Missouri Compromise to the Pacific was a consequence of the purpose to admit California as a State of the Union before it had acquired the requisite population, and while it was mainly under the control of a military organization sent from Kew York during the war with Mexico and disbanded in California upon the restoration of peace. The inconsistency of the argument against the exten- sion of the line was exhibited in the division of the Territory of Texas by that parallel, and payment to the State of money to secure her consent to the partition of her domain. In the case of Texas, the North had everything to gain and nothing to lose by the application of the practice of geographical com- promise on a arbitrary line. In the case of California, the IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. V23 conditions were reversed; the South might have been the gainer and the North the loser by a recognition of the same rule * " The compensation which it was alleged that the South re- ceived was a more effective law for the rendition of fugitives from service or labor. But it is to be remarked that this law provided for the execution by the general government of obli- gations which had been imposed by the Federal compact upon the several States of the Union. The benefit to be derived from a fulfillment of that law would be small in comparison with the evil to result from the plausible pretext that the States had thus been relieved from a duty which they had assumed in the adoption of the compact of union. Whatever tended to lead the people of any of the States to feel that they could be relieved from their constitutional obligations by transferring them to the general government, or that they miglit thus or otherwise evade or resist them, could not fail to be like the tares which the enemy sowed amid the wheat. The union of States, formed to secure the permanent welfare of posterity and to promote har- mony among the constituent States, could not, without chang- ing its character, survive such alienation as rendered its parts hostile to the security, prosperity, and happiness of one another. " It was reasonably argued that, as the legislatures of four- teen of the States had ena^ed what were termed 'personal liberty laws,' which forbade the co-operation of State officials in the rendition of fugitives from service and labor, it became necessary that the general government should provide the " *N0TE. — While the compromise measures of 1830 were pending, and the excitement con- cerning them was at its highest, I one day overtook Mr. Clay, of Kentucky, and Mr. Ber- rien, of Georgia, in the Capitol grounds. They were in earnest conversation. It was the 7ih of March— the day on which Mr. Webster had delivered his great speech. Mr. Clay, addressing me in the friendly manner which he had always employed sines I was a school boy in Lexington, asked m.e Avhat I thought of the speech. I liked it better that he did. He then suggested that I should 'join the compromise men,' saying that it was a measure which he thought would probably give peace to the country for thirty years —the period that had elapsed since the adoption of the compromise of 1S20. Then, turning to Mr. Berrien, he said, ' You and 1 will be under ground belore that time, but our young friend here may have trouble to meet.' I somewhat impatiently declared my unwillingness to transfer to posterity a trial which they would be relatively less able to meet than we were, and passed on my way." 124 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. requisite machinery for the execution of the law. The result proved what might have been anticipated — that those commu- nities which had repudiated their constitutional obligations, which had nullified a previous law of Congress for the execu- tion of a provision of the Constitution, and had murdered men who came peacefully to recover their property, would evade or obstruct, so as to render practically worthless, amj law that could be enacted for that purpose. In the exceptional cases in which it might be executed, the event would be attended with such conflict between the State and Federal authorities as to pro- duce consequent evils greater than those it was intended to correct. "It was during the progress of these memorable controver- sies that th« South lost its most trusted leader, and the Senate its greatest and purest statesman. He was taken from us — ' Like a summer-dried fountain. When our need was the sorest ; ' when his mtellectual power, his administrative talent, his love of jDcace, and his devotion to the Constitution, might have averted collision; or, failing in that, he might have been to the South the Palinurus to ;steer the bark;in safety over the perilous sea. Truly did Mr. Webster — his personal friend, although his greatest political rival — say of him in his obitu- ary address, 'There was nothing groveling, or low, or meanly selfish, that came near the head or the heart of Mr. Calhoun. His prophetic warnings speak from the grave with the wisdom of inspiration. Would that they could have been appreciated by his countrymen while he yet lived I " I had been re-elected by the Legislature of Mississippi as my own successor, and entered upon a new term of service in the Senate on March 4, 1851. "On my return to Mississippi in 1851, the subject chiefly agitating the public mind was that of the 'compromise' meas- ures of the previous year. Consequent upon these was a pro- position foi a convention of delegates, from the people of the O CD So 3 « W >" 5P 126 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. Southern States, respectively, to consider what steps ought to be taken for their future peace and safety, and the preservation of their constitutional rights. Thero was diversity of opinion with regard to the merits of the measures referred to, but the disagreement no longer followed the usual lines of party divis- ion. They who saw in those measures the forerunner of dis- aster to the South had no settled policy beyond a convention' the object of which should be to devise new and more effec- tual guarantees against the perils of usurpation. They were unjustly charged with a desire to destroy the Union — a feel- ing entertained by few, very few, if by any, in Mississippi, and avowed by none. ''There were many, however, who held that the principles of the Declaration of Independence, and the purposes for which the Union was formed, were of higher value than the mere Union itself. Independence existed before the compact of union between. the States; and if that compact should be bro- ken in part, and therefore destroyed in whole, it was hoped that the liberties of the people in the States might still be pre- served. Those who were most devoted to the Union of the Constitution might, consequently, be expected to resist most sternly any usurpation of undelegated power, the effect of which would be to.warp the Federal government from its proper char- acter, and, by sapping the foundation, to destroy the Union of the States. "My recent re-election to the United States Senate had con- ferred upon me for six years longer the office which I preferred to all others. I could not, therefore, be suspected of desiring a nomination for any other office from the Democratic Conven- tion, the meeting of which was then drawing near. Having, as a Senator of the State, freely participated in debate on the measures which were now exciting so much interest in the pub- lic mind, it was very proper that 1 should visit the people in different parts of the State and render an account of my stew- ardship. IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 127 "My devotion to the Union of our fathers had been so often and so publicly declared — I had, on the floor of the Senate, so defiantly challenged any question of my fidelity to it; my ser- vices, civil and military, had now extended through so long a period, and were so generally known — that I felt quite assured that no whisperings of envy or ill will could lead the people of Mississippi to believe that I had dishonored their trust by using the power they had conferred on me to destroy the Government to which I was accredited. Then, as afterward,! regarded tlie separation of the States as a great, though not the greatest, evil. "I returned from my tour among the people at the time ap- pointed for the meeting of the nominating convention of the Democratic (or State-Rights) party. During the previous year the Governor, General John A. Quitman, had been compelled to resign his office to answer an indictment against him for com- plicity with the 'filibustering' expeditions against Cuba. The charges were not sustained; many of the Democi'atic party of Mississippi, myself included, recognized a consequent obligation to renominate him for the office of which he had been deprived. Wh'^n, however, the delegates met in i^arty convention, the committee appointed to select candidates, on comparison of opinions, concluded that, in view of the effort to fix upon the party the imputation of a purpose of disunion, some of the antecedents of General Quitman might endanger success. A proposition was therefore made, in the committee on nomina- tions, that I should be invited to become a candidate, and that, if General Quitman would withdraw, my acceptance of the nomination and the resignation of my place in the United States Senate, which it was known would result, was to be fol- lowed by the appointment by the Governor of General Quitman to the vacated place in the Senate. I offered no objection to this arrangement, but left it to General Quitman to decide. He claimed the nomination for the governorship, or nothing and was so nominated. 128 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. "To promote the success of the Democratic nominees, I engaged activelj'' in the canvass, and continued in the field until stricken down by disease. This occurred just before the elec- tion of delegates to a State convention, for which provision had been made by the legislature, and the canvass for which, con- ducted in the main upon party lines, was in progress simulta- neously with that for the ordinary State officers. The Demo- cratic majority in the State when the canvass began was esti- mated at eight thousand. At this election, in September, for delegates to the State convention, we were beaten by about seven thousand five hundred votes. Seeing in this result the foreshadowing of almost inevitable defeat, General Quitman withdrew from the canvass as a candidate, and the executive committee of the party (empowered to fill vacancies) called on me to take his place. My health did not permit me to leave home at that time, and only about six weeks remained before the election was to take place; but, being assured that I was not expected to take any active part, and that the party asked only the use of my name, I consented to be announced, and immediately resigned from the United States Senate. Never- theless, I soon afterward took tlie field in person, and worked earnestly until the day of election. I was defeated, but the majority of more than seven thousand votes, that had been cast a short time before against the party with which I was associated, was reduced to less than one tliousand.* "*The following letter, -written in 1S53 to the Hon. William J. Brown, of Indiana, formeriy a member of Congress from that State, and subsequently published, relates to the events of this period, and affords nearly contemporaneous evidence in confirmation of the statements of the text : " Washington, D. C, May 7, 1S53. "My Dear Sir: I received the f^ent'ncl containing your defense of me against the false accusation of disunionism, and, before I had returned to you the thanks to which you are entitled, I received this day the St. Joseph Valley Register, marked by you, to call my atten- tion to an article in answer to your defense, which was just in all things, save your too com- plimentary terms. " I wish I had the letter quoted from, that you might publish the whole of that which is garbled to answer a purpose. In a part of the letter not published, I put such a damper or. the attempt to fix on me the desire to break up our Union, and presented other points in a form so little acceptable to the unfriendly inquiries, that the publication of the letter had to De drawn out of them. IN THE UNITED STATES SENATlJ. 129 "In this canvass, both before and after I became a candi- date, no argument or appeal of mine was directed against the perpetuation of the Union. Believing, however, that the signs of the time portended danger to the South from the usurpation by the general government of undelegated powers, I counseled that Mississippi should enter into the proposed meeting of the people of the Southern States, to consider what " At the risU of beia^ wearisome, bat eiicourdjed by your marke.3 friendship, I will give yon a statemoat ia thi case. Tlie mcetiii; of October, 1S4D, was a convention of delegates equally representing the Wliig and Domooratic parties in Mississippi. The resolutions were de 'isivo as tj equality of right in the Soath with the Nonh to the Territories acquired from Mexico, an 1 p^opo^ed a cinvention of the Southern States. I was not a member, but on invitation aldrescd the convention. The succeeding legislature in.'^tructcd m:, as a Sena- tor, to assert tlii3 equal ty, and, unier the existing circumstances, ti resist by a'l onstitu- tional means t'.ie admissi in of California as a State. At a called §3ssion of the legislature ia 1810, a self-constituted committee called on me, by letter, for my views. They were men who had enacted or approved the resolutions of the convjntion of 1343, and instrurted me as members of the legislature, in regular session, in the early part of the yearlS30. To them ] replied that I adhered to the policy they had indicated and instructed mo in their cfiicial character to pursue. "1 pointed out the mode in which their policy could, in my opinion, be executed with- out bloodshed or disastrous convulsion, tut in terms of bi'tcr scorn alluded to such as would insult me with a desire to destroy the Union, for which my whole life proved me to be a devotee. "Pardon the egotism, in consideration of the occasion, when I say to you that my father and iny uncles fought through the llevolution of 177G, giving their youth, their blood, and their little patrimony to the co:istitutional freedom which I claim as my inlicritance. Three of my brothers fought in the war of 1S12. Two of them were comrades of the Hero of the Hermitage, and received his commendation for gallantry at New Orleans. At sixteen years of age I was given to the service of my country ; for twelve years of my life I have borne its arms and served it zealously, if not well. As I feel the infirmities, which suffering more than age has brought upon me. it would be a bitter reflection, indeed, if I was forced to cone. udc that my countrymen would hold all this light when weighel against the em:;ty panegyric which a time-serving politician can bestow upon the Union, for which he never made a sacrifice. ' In the Senate 1 announced that. If any respectable man would call me a disunionist, i would answer him in mouosyllables . . . Cut I \a.vo often asserted the right, for which the battles of the Revolution were fought— the right of a people to change then' government whenever it was found to be oppressive, and subversive of the objects for which govern- ments are instituted— and have contended for the independence and sovereignty of the States, a part of the creed of which Jefferson was the apostle, liIadisGn the expounder, and Jackson the consistent defender. '■ I have writcn freely, and more than T designed. Accept my thanks for your friendly advocacy. Present me in terms of kind remembrance to your family, and believe me, very sincerely yotu^, Jeffehscv Davis. " Note.— No party in Mississippi ever advocated disunion. They differed as tc the mode of securing their rights in the Union, and on the power of a State to secede — neither advo- cating the exercise ol the power. J. Jj." 130 THE DA VIS MEMOBIA L VOL UME. could and should be done to insure our future safety, frankly stating my conviction that, unless such action was taken then, sectional rivalry would engender greater evils in the future, and that, if the controversy was postponed, * the last opportu- nity for a peaceful solution would be lost, then the issue would have to be settled by blood.' " X. SECRETARY OF WAR UxNDER FRANKLll\ PIERCE. The admirable sketch from which we have so often Cjuoted so well describes the career of Mr. Davis as Secretary of "War that we do not hesitate to give it in full : "After seven years of almost uninterruptedly continuous public service, either civil or militar}', Mr. Davis was now in retirement for some months. During this 2">eriod lie has described himself as happy in the peaceful pursuits of a plan- ter, busily engaged in cares for servants, in the improve- ment of his land, in building, in rearing live stock, and tlie like occupations. lie took, nevertheless, an active interest in the presidential canvass of 1852, and on the election of Gen- eral Pierce was invited to a seat in his cabinet. This offer was at first declined, but having accepted an invitation to attend the inauguration, which took place on the 4th of March, 1853, he was induced, 'by public considerations,' on its renewal, to recon- sider the matter and accept the offijce of Secretary of War. "Frequent experience has proved that the men who take broad views, based upon great principles — the men who are characterized, with some covert sarcasm, as 'theorists,' 'doc- trinaires,' or 'abstractionists' — when entrusted with the respon- sibilities of public office are often, if not always, the most practical and judicious administrators — more successful than the men of details. "It was so with Turgot in France, and Hamilton in America, in matters of finance, and it was eminently so in the cases of [181] 132 THE DA VIS MEMOBIAL VOL UME. John C. Calhoun and Jefferson Davis — both regarded by many as 'abstractionists,' but both, by general admission, among the most successful administrators that have ever presided over the "War Department of the United States. "With regard to Mr. Davis, in particular, the combinatioii of the speculative in principle with the practical in action, was one the most distinctive features of his "character throughout his career, and has already been the subject of remark. A brief and modest account of the leading events of his official term is given in one of the preliminary chapters of his own work, the 'Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government.' "Another authority (the 'American Cyclopsedia') says: ' His administration of the War Department was marked by ability and energy, and was highly popular with the army. He proposed or carried into effect, among other measures, the revision of the army regulations ; the introduction of camels into America ; the introduction of the light infantry or rifle sj'stem of tactics ; the manufacture of rifled muskets and pistols and the use of the minieball; the addition of four regiments to the army; the augmentation of the sea coast and frontier defenses; and the system of explorations in the western part of the continent, for geographical purposes and for determin- ing the best route for a railroad to the Pacific' ''To these may be added certain valuable improvements in the casting of heavy guns and the manufacture of gunpowder. "The Pacific railroad was a project in which he had already taken a lively interest while! in the Senate. On the surface it may have seemed contrary to the Democratic tradition of oppo- sition to works of internal improvement by the Federal gov- ernment, but Mr. Davis, with all his tenacity of adherence to principle, was not one of the unbending theorists who refuse to recognize the existence of exceptional cases in the application of general principles. He advocated this measure on the grounds of the 'military necessity for such means of transporta- SECRETARY OF WAR UNDER PIERCE. 131 tion, and the need of safe and rapid communication with the Pacific slope, to secure its continuance as a part of the Union.' "With regard to the new regiments authorized by act of Con- gress in 1855, the appointment of the officers was of course a power vested in the President, but a large aiscretion was no doubt entrusted to the Secretary in making the selections — in this probably much larger than usual in siuiilar cases, inasmuch as he was a trained soldier, of no little experience, familiar with the requirements of the service and the personnel of the exist- ing army. It was understood that the appointments were to be filled, partly by promotion or transfer of officers already holding commissions in the army, and, partly from civil life — many of the latter class being men who had, given evidence of their fitness by services rendered as volunteers. "The colonels appointed to the command of the two regi- ments of cavalry were Edwin V. Sumner and Albert Sidney Johnston; the lieutenant-colonels were Joseph E. Johnston and Robert E. Lee; the majors, William H. Emory, John Sedg- wick, William J. Hardee, and George H. Thomas. These were the field officers, all chosen by selection from the army, and all graduates of West Point. Among the company officers are found the names of George B. ]\IcClellan, Thomas J. Wood, Robert S. Garnett, Earl Van Dorn, E. Kirby Smith, George Stoneman, Innis N. Palmer, Robert Ransom, David S. Stanley, J. E. B. Stuart, John B. Hood, Fitzhugh Lee, and others who afterward won distinction in either the Federal or Confederate service of the late war. " General Early, in reply to an absurd statement of the Count of Paris, analyzes the roster of these two cavalry regi- ments and shows that they contributed to the United States army nine major-generals, nine brigadier-generals, one ins|)ector general and twelve field and stafFofficers — thirty-one altogether ; to the Confederate army five full generals, one lieutenant- general, six major-generals, ten brigadier-generals and two colonels — twenty-four in all. He very pertinently asks wheth- 134 IHE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. er the whole array besides, as it stood at the beginning of the war, can present so brilliant a record as that furnished by Mr. Davis's appointees to the first and second cavalry? Tlie Count of Paris, .seemingly under a strange misapprehension or ignorance of the facts, says that, in tlie organization of these regiments, ' ]\Ir. Jefferson Davis then Secretary of War, took advantage of the opportunity to fill them -with his creatures, to the exclusion of rcgidar officers, ivhom he disliked.' " The truth is that, as already stated, all the field officers of the two regiments, and half, or more than half, of the com- pany officers — including every one of the names mentioned above — were ■ regular officers.' The popular complaint against JMr. Davis, both as Secretary of War, and afterwards as presi- dent of the Confederate States, was that he was too partial to West Point and military science. Perhaps the best answer to either or both of the two conflicting charges is to be found in the record which his ' creatures' have made by their actions in behalf of the sagacity of his selections. " Mr. Pierce was singularly fortunate in the choice of his cabinet. It furnishes the only example in our history of unbroken continuity, without a single change of any of its members, from beginning to end of his official term, and there is 3very reason to believe that unusual harmony existed, although as Mi\ Davis has said ' there was much dissimilarity, if not incongruity of character,' among them. He himself had been elected by the Mississippi legislature to the Senate of the United States, and at the close of Mr. Pierce's term, on the 4tli of IMarch, 1857, passed immediately from the cabinet to take his seat in the Senate." There has been published in the papers an interview with Judge Campbell, of Philadelphia, who is the only surviving member of Mr. Pierce's cabinet, and while his opinions are not always accurate or unprejudiced, yet they are of sufficient interest to o-iye as follow^s : SECRETARY OF WAR UNDER PIERCE. 136 " Philadelphia, Pa. "Ex-Judge James Campbell, who was Postmaster-General in ' the cabinet of President Franklin Pierce, is living in this city, full of 3'cars, but hale and hearty. "Now that Jefferson Davis is dead, ex- Judge Campbell is the only surviving member of the little company of statesmen who helped the nation's Chief IMagistrate to steer the ship of State through the dangerous rocks and shoals of the troublous times before, the war. Ominous rumblings of the awful political storm that was to come so near wrecking the Union had already been heard. The weather-wise foresaw that sooner or later the good ship would have to succumb to the«great rock of slavery and the shrine of State rights, but the politicians of that day managed to stave off the peri? for a while. "It was in these perilous times, when the air* of the capitol was full of the preliminary mUtterings of the c^'clone, that INIr Campbell first met Jefferson Davis, in the official family of President Pierce-— Mr. Campbell as Postmaster-General and Mr. Davis as Secretary of War. The two men — alike only in that they were Democrats, but differing in all else — became intimate friends, soon to be separated and to become foes, the one to lead the fight under tlie banner of secession and the other to stand by the old flag of the Union. "But ex-Judge Campbell had the kindliest feeling for his old associate — the bitterness of the rebellion has long died out — and he likes to talk with affectionate respect of his distin- guislred colleague who has just departed. I found the veteran Pennsylvania Democrat and retired lawyer at his old-fashioned office on Sixth street to-day, and he courteously consented to tell me something about Mr. Davis. "Yes," said ex-Judge Campbell, "I knew Jefferson Davis well. I may say I was intimately associated with him from 1853 to 1S57, during the administration of President Pierce, when we were both in the cabinet together, he as Secretary of 136 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL TIME. "War and I as Postmaster-General. But I had not seen him for 3"cars before his death, and all my recollections of him date back to a time before you were born. "I first made Davis's acquaintance in IMarch, 1853, when we entered the cabinet together, and onr association soon became personal as well as official, for — although I was a Northern man and he a Southern, and he was an older man than I — he seemed to take a fancy to me, while I respected and admired him. Our relations were always pleasant, and wo were together from the beginning to the end of President Pierce's term. "General Pierce's cabinet was peculiar in more ways than one. It was tlie only cabinet in the history of the country that remained intact tliroughout the entire presidential term, and it was singularly harmonious. "We had the entire confi- dence of the President and he had ours, and he trusted more to his cabinet officers than any President has done since. The cabinet nowadays seems to be a mere corps of clerks who record the President's wishes. Pierce's cabinet officers worked together for four 3'ears without the slightest difficulty or dissension." The veteran lawyer pointed to a group of small engraved portraits hanging on the wall bclnnd his desk. They were the pictures of his associates in Pierce's cabinet. The strong heads and faces of William L. Marcy, the Secretary of State, and of Caleb Gushing, the Attorney-General, were most con- spicuous. ]\lr. Davis was represented as a man of forty-five, with a determined, serious, thoughtful face and a fine head. The picture bears little resemblance to him in later years. " How did ]\Ir. Davis impress me ? Well, as a firm, unyield- ing man, of strong attachments, politically and personally, and equally strong in his dislil^ies. I believe Davis was a consci- entious, earnest man. I am sure that he always meant to be in the right. SECRETARY OF WAR UNDER PIERCE. 137 " IIo was unquestionably an able man and a leader, and there always seemed to bo something of the soldier about him ' - — the result of inheritance probably, for his father had been a soldier, and of his military education and experience. His tastes lay in tliat direction, and he was in a congenial place as Secretary of War. Most of his nearest personal friends in Washington -were army men. " I know that JcITerson Davis is not popularly known as a social, genial man, but he was, as I came to know him. But he was not much of a diner out, or anything of that sort. He was very quiet and domestic in liis habits and correct in his private life, and was exceedingly temperate both in eating and drinking. These abstemious habits he must have kept up all his life,or he never could hare lived to be eighty-one years of age. "JefTerson Davis was one of the best educated men whom I ever came in contact M'ith. His acquirements were broad and often surprised us. Caleb Gushing, who was in the cabinet with us, was one of the most highly cultured men of his time, as all the world knows. He was famous for his retentive memory and an extent and range of knowledge that was encyclopaedic. President Jeff. Davis wasn't far behind Gushing, and that is saying a great deal. " As an instance, I remember on one occasion we were talk- ing about a certain medicine. Mr. Davis went into a minute analysis and scientific description of its nature and effects, and seemed to know as much about it as though he were an edu- cated physician who had made a special study of the subject. " When he had finished I asked : — ' For Heaven's sake, Davis, where did you learn all that?' "'Judge,' he replied, 'you forget that I have had to learn something of medicine so as to take care of the negroes on my plantation.' " Davis was a reading man, especially upon historical sub- jects. He was particularly interested in the political history 138 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. of his country, and I think there have been few men v/ho were better posted in that Hne than Jeff. Davis. "In politics he was one of the most stubborn slavery men whom I ever met. " He was a political disciple of Calhoun in all his most extreme States' Rights views. And although I could not agree with Mr. Davis on this point, and it was a time of intense partisanship and the bitterest feelings, which were soon to break out in secession and civil war, we never had an unplea- sant dispute. Yet we always talked with great freedom. Davis and other Southern leaders, and especially the Senators from the Southern States with whom I was brought into constant official intercourse, talked with me with more frank- ness than to"most'Northern men, I suppose because I was the son-in law of an Alabama slave-holder. In those days North- ern and Southern democrats alike felt that there would be great trouble in the country if Fremont was elected. Every- thing that the influence of the administration could do to turn the tide in favor of Buchanan was done. I went into the fight as earnestly as anybody, because I feared for the future." But the reader will prefer to have ]\Ir. Davis's own brief and modest account of his administration of the War Department, which he at first positively declined, but which he finally accepted at the earnest solicitation of President Pierce and the friends of the administration. In his ''Pise and Fall of the Confederate Government," he says: "While in the Senate I had advocated the construction of a railway to connect the valley of the -INIississippi with the Pacific coast ; and, when an appropriation was made to deter- mine the most eligible route for that j-turpose, the Secretary of War was charged with its application. We had then but little of that minute and accurate knowledge of the interior of the continent which was requisite for a determination of the pro- SECRETARY OF WAR UNDER PIERCE. 139 blcm. Several different parties, were tlicrefore organized to examine the various routes supposed to be practicable within the northern and soutliern limits of the United States. The arguments which I had used as a senator were 'the military necessity for sucli means of transportation and the need of safe and rapid communication with the Pacific slope, to secure its continuance as a part of the Union.' "In the organization and equipment of these 2:)arties, and in the selection of their officers, care Avas taken to provide for secur- ing full and accurate information upon every jioint involved in the determination of the route. The only discrimination made was in the more prompt and thorough equipment of the parties for the extreme northern line, and it was only because that was supposed to be the most difficult^of execution of all the survej's, ''In like manner, my advocacy while in the Senate of an extension of the capitol, by the construction of a new Senate chamber and hall of Representatives, may have caused the appropriation for that object to be put under my charge as Secretary of tVar. " During my administration of the AVar Department, mate- rial changes were made in the models of arms. Iron gun- carriages were introduced and experiments were made which led to the casting of heavy guns hollow, instead of boring them after casting. Inquiries were made with regard to gun- powder, which subsequently led to the use of a coarser grain for artillery. " During the same period the army w^as increased by the addition ■ of two regiments of infantry and two of cavalrv. The officers of these regiments were chosen partly by selection from those already in service in the regular army and partly by appointment from civil life. In making the selections from the army, I was continually indebted to the assistance of that ])ure-minded and accurately informed officer, Colonel Samuel 140 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. Cooper, the Adjutant-General, of whom it may be proper here to say that, although his life had been spent in the army, and he, of course, had the likes and dislikes inseparable from men Avho are brought into close contact and occasional rivalry, I never found in his official recommendations any indication of partiality or prejudice toward any one. "AVhen the first list was made out, to be submitted to the President, a difficulty was found to exist, which had not occurred either to Colonel Cooper or myself. This was, that the officers selected purely on their military record did not constitute a roster conforminoj to that distribution amonsf the different States, which, for political consideralions, it was thought desirable to observe — that is to say, the number of such officers of Southern birth was found to be disproportion- ately great. Under instructions from the President, the list was therefore revised and modified in accordance with this new element of geographical distribution. This, as I am happy to remember, was the only occasion in which the cur- rent of my official action, while Secretary of War, was dis- turbed in any way by sectional or political considerations. "Under former administrations of the "War Office it had not been customary to make removals or appointments upon politi- cal grounds, except in the case of clerkships. To this usage I not only adhered, but extended it to include the clerkships also. The chief clerk, who had been removed by my prede- cessor, had peculiar qualifications for the place; and, although known to me only officially, he was restored to the position. It will probably be conceded by all who are well informed on the subject ihat his restoration was a benefit to the public ser- vice.* "*Soon after my entrance upon duty as S:crctaryof War, Gonsral Jesup, the Quartcr- icastcr-Gcncral, presented to me a list of names from which to make selection of a clerk for his dcpartmcr.t. Observing that he had attached ccr ain figures to these names, 1 asked whether t^.e figures were intended to indicate the relative qualifications, or preference in his estimation, of the several applicants; and, upon his answer la the affirmative, without further question, authorized him to appoint ' No. 1 ' of his list. A day or two afterward, cer- SECRET AR Y OF WAR UNDER PIERCE. 141 " [The reader desirous of further information relative to the administration of the War Department during this period may find it in the various official reports and estimates of works o^ defense prosecuted or recommended, arsenals of construction and depots of arms maintained or suggested, and foundries employed, during the presidency of Mr. Pierce, 1853-57.] "Having been again elected by the Legislature of IMissis- sippi as Senator to the United States, I passed from the Cabi- net of Mr. Pierce, on the last day of his term (March 4, 1857), to take my seat in the Senate. "The administration of Franklin Pierce presents the only instance in our history of the continuance of a cabinet for four years without a single change in its 'personnel. When it is remembered that there was much dissimilarity if not incon- gruity of character among the menbers of that cabinet, some idea may be formed of the power over men possessed and exer- cised by Mr. Pierce. Chivalrous, generous, amiable, true to his friends and to his faith, frank and bold in the declaration of his opinions, he never deceived any one. And, if treachery had ever come near him, it would have stood abashed in the presence of his truth, his manliness, and his confiding simpli- city." tain Democratic members of Congress called on me and politely Inquired whettier It was true that I had appointed a Whig to a pcaition in the War OSQce. ' Certainly not, • I answered. 'Wethought you were not aware of it,' said they, and proceeded to inform me that Mr. , thercccntapnointcc to the clerkship just mentioned, was a Whig. After listen- ing patiently to this statement, I answered that it was they who were deceived, not 1. 1 had appointed a clerk. He had been appointed ne'thcr asa Whig nor a Democrat, but merely as theCttcst candidate for the place in the estimation of the chief of the bureau to which it belonged. I further gave them to understand that the sime principle of selection would be followed in similar cases, s:) far as my authority extended. After soma further discussion of the question, the visitors withdrew, dissatisfied with the result of the interview. "The Quartermaster-General, on hearing of this conversation, hxstcnad to inform me tha.> it was all a mistake— that the appointee to the oSQce hal been confounded with his father, who was a well-known Whig, but that he (the son) \va> a Democrat. 1 as-;ureJ the General that this was altogether immaterial, aiding that it was ■ a very pretty qu.irrcl as it stood, and I had no desire to effect a settlement of it on any inferior issue. Thenceforward, how ever, 1 was but little troubled with any pressure for political appointments xn the depart ment" 142 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. It were well for the efficiency of the War Department if the principles of administration laid down by the greatest War Secretary tlie United States ever had were now carried out, and that clerks and other appointees were selected with reference to merit and efficiency, and not with reference to partisan service or capability. And if this same principle had been applied to heads of the department as well, we should not have had the recent disgraceful exhibition of a partisan Secretary refusing to render the customary honor to the grand old man who had done the War Department and the country such signal service, who had borne the "stars and stripes" on many a victorious field, and whose name will shine on the page of history long- after that of this small partisan shall have rotted into obliv- ion, unless indeed it shall be remembered in connection with this petty display of partisan malignity, XL AGAIN IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. As we have seen, Mississippi stood ever ready to honor h(jr iUustrious son, and so, when on the 4th of Marcli, 1857, his tenure of office as Secretar}^ of War expired with the adminis- tration of INIr. Pierce, he at once re-entered the Senate, to which he had been elected by the legislature of his State. On his return home he was received everywhere with the most enthusiastic demonstrations of respect and confidence, and during the summer and autumn he made — in giving to his constituents '-'an account of his stewardship" and outlining his future policy — some of the most eloquent and powerful speeches of his life. The repeal of the Missouri Compromise had been the occa- sion of great excitement at the North — the agitation of the slavery question had been kept up on platform, by the press, and by the pulpit — the anti-slavery element, which crystalized in the "Republican" party, was evidently largely on the increase. Mr. Buchanan was elected with great difficulty ; and there were wide differences and serious dissensions in the Dem- ocratic party which threatened the split which came in ISGO, and resulted in the election of a sectional President by a purely sectional vote. No statesman of his day saw with clearer vision the dangers ahead, or tried more earnestly to avert them, than IMr. Davis. He urged on his own people j)atience, forbearance, and pru- dence of speech and act; wdiile, on the other hand, he ably maintained the doctrine of "States' Rights," and warned the other side that they could not go too far in their aggression without arousing the most determined resistance. [143] 144 THE DA VIS ME3J0RIAL VOL UME. He always maintained, on the one hand, that Congress had no legal right to legislate slavery cither into or out of a State, and that, on the other hand, the question of slavery or free soil must be determined bij the State after it had been properly and legally organized, and not by a few squatters sent into a terri- tory by anti-slavery societies or immigrant aid organizations. The following letter, written in 1S52, to United States Sena- tor James Alfred Pearce, of Maryland, and recently j)ublished for the first time, very clearly expresses his views : " Palmyra, Miss., August 22, 1852. " My Dear Sir : Among the most pleasing reminiscences of my connection with the Senate I place my association with 3'ou, and first among the consolations for the train of events which led to my separation from that body I number 3'our very kind letter. If I know myself you dome justice in supposing that my efforts in the session of 1850 were directed to the main- tenance of our constitutional rights as members of the Union, and that I did not sympathize with those who desired a disso^ lution of the Union. After my return to Mississippi in 1851 I took ground against the policy of secession and drew the resolution adopted by the Democratic States' Rights Conven- tion of June, 1851; which declared that secession was the last alternative, the final remedy, and should not be resorted to under existing circumstances. "I thought the State should solemnly set the seal of its dis- approbation of some of the measures of the compromise. When a member of th United States Senate I opposed them because I thought them wrong and dangerous in tendency, and also because the people in every town, and the legislature, by resolutions of instructions, required me to oppose them. But indiscreet men went too fast and too far. Tlie public became alarmed, and the reaction corresponded v.'ith the action, extremes in both instances. ' The most curious and suggestive feature in the case is the fact that those who were originally foreniust in the movement were the beneficiaries of the reaction. Having by their extreme course created apprehension, they cried most lustily that the Union was in danger and saved by their exertions. I am, as ever, truly your friend, "Jetfekson Davis." 10 JEFFERSON DAVIS, JR. Died of thk Yellow Fevkk at Memphis, Tenn. 146 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. During the first session, after his return to the Senate, Mr. Davis's health was so precarious that he might have excused himself altogether from attendance, but he was often found, even against the advice of his physicians, not only occupying his seat, but ably battling for the cause of his country. He found himself constantly pitted against not only the extreme Republicans, but as well against the advocates of the "squatter sovereignty " theory, of which Hon, Stephen A. Douglas, of Illinois, was the ablest and most aggressive champion. Mr. Alfriend, in his " Life of Davis," gives the following interesting contrast- between these two great representatives of opposing theories — "the Little Giant'' of the Northwest and the chivalric leader of Southern Democracy: " Stephen A. Douglas was now in the meridian of life and the full maturity of his unquestionably vigorous intellectual powers. For twenty-five years he had been prominent in the arena of politics, and as a member of Congress his course had been so eminently politic and judicious as to make him a favorite with the Democracy, both North and South. To an unexampled degree his public life illustrated the combination of those characteristics of the demagogue : a fertile ingenuity, facile accommodation to circumstances, and wonderful gifts of the ad captandum species of oratory, so captivating to the popu- lace, which in America peculiarly constitute the attributes of the ' rising man.' Douglas was not wanting in noble and attractive qualities of manhood. His courage was undoubted, his generosity was princely in its munificence to his personal friends, and he frequently manifested a lafty magnanimity. In his early youth, deprived of the advantages of fortune and position, the discipline of his career was not propitious to the development of the higher qualities of statesmanship — with which, indeed, he was scantily endowed by nature. It is as the accomplished politician, subtle, ready, fearless, and inde- AGAIN JN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 147 fatigable, that ho must be remembered. In this latter charac- ter he was unrivaled. " Not less than Davis was Douglas a representative man, yet no two men were more essentially dissimilar, and no two lives ever actuated by aspirations and instincts more unlike. Doug- las was the representative of expediency — Davis the exponent of principles. In his party associations Douglas would toler- ate the largest latitude of individual opinion, while Davis was always for a policy clearly defined and unmistakable ; and upon a matter of vital principle, like Percy, would reluctantly surrender even the 'ninth part of a hai):'.' To maintain the united action of the Democratic party on election day, to de- feat its opponents, to secure the rewards of success Douglas would allow a thousand different constructions of the party creed by as many factions. Davis, on the other hand, would, and eventually did, approve the dissolution of the party, when it refused an open, manly enunciation of its faith. For mera party success Douglas cared every thing, and Davis nothing, save as it insured the triumph of constitutional principles. Both loved the Union and sought its perpetuity, but by differ- ent methods ; Douglas by never-ending compromises of a quar- rel, which he should have known that the North would never permit to be amicabl}'' settled; by staving off and ignoring issues which were to be solved only by being squarely met. Davis, too, was not unwilling to compromise, but ho wearied of perpetual concession by the South, in the meanwhile the North continuing its hostility, both open and insidious, and urged a settlement of all differences upon a basis of simple and exact justice to both sections. ** Douglas was pre-eminently the representative politician of his section, and throughout his career was a favorite with that boastful, bloated, and mongrel clement, Avhich is violently called the 'American people,' and which is the ruling element ia elections in the Northern cities. In character and conduct 148 TRE DAVTS MEM0F7AZ VOLUME. he embodied many of its materialistic and socialistic ideas, its false conception of liberty, its pernicious dogmas of equality, and not a little of its rowdyism. " Davis was the champion of the South, her civilization, rights, honor, and dignity. He was the fitting and adequate exponent of a civilization which rested upon an intellectual and sesthetical - development, upon ,lofty' and generous senti- ments of manhood, a dignified conversatism, and the proud associations of ancestral distinction in the history of the Union. Always the senator in the sense of the ideal of dignity and courtesy which is suggested by that title, he was also the gen- tleman upon all occasions ; never condescending to flatter or sootlic the mob, or to court popular favor, he lost none of that polished and distinguished manner, in the presence of a ' fierce Democracie,' which made him the ornament of the highest school of oratory and statesmanship of his country. " The ambition of Douglas was unbounded. The recognized leader, for several years, of the Northern Democracy, his man}' fine personal qualities and courageous resistance to the ultra abolitionists, secured for him a considerable number of sup- porters in the southern wing of that party. The presidency was the goal of his ambition, and for twenty years his course had been sedulously adjusted to the attainment of that most coveted of prizes to the American politician. On repeated occasions he had been flattered by a highly complimentary vote in the nominating conventions of the Democracy. Hith- erto he had been compelled to yield his pretensions in favor of older members of his party or upon considerations of tempo- rary availability. It was evident, however, that in order to be President, he must secure the nomination in 1860. The con- tinued ascendancy of the Democracy was no longer, as here- tofore, a foregone conclusion, and, besides, there were others equally aspiring and available. His presidential aspirations appeared, indeed, to be without hope or resource, save through AGAIN IN THE UNITED STATES SESA TE. 149 the agency of some adroit coup d\iat, by which the trucuk'nt and dominant free-soil sentiment of the North, wliicli he had 60 much affronted by his bid for Southern support in the introduction of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, could be conciliated. In Illinois, his own State, the abolition strength was alarm- ingly on the increase, and to secure his return to the Senate at the election to be held in 1858, an object of prime impor- tance in the i3romotion of his more ambitious pretensions, he did not scruple to assume a position, falsifying his previous record, wantonly insulting and defiant to his Southern asso- ciates, and in bold antagonism to a Democratic administration. The sequel of this rash and ill-judged course was the over- throw of his own political fortunes, the disintegration of his party, and the attempted dissolution of the Union. "The earliest recommendations of J\lr. Buchanan, respect- ing the Kansas controversy, which, several months since, had developed in that territory into a species of predatory warfare, marked by deeds of violence and atrocit}^ between the aboli- tion and pro-slavery parties, were signalized by a coalition of the followers of Douglas with the abolitionists and other oppo- nents of the administration. The speedy pacification of the disorders in Kansas, by the prompt admission of that territory, was the condition essential to the success of Mr. Buchanan's entire policy. He accordingly recommended the admission of Kansas into the Union, with the 'Lecompton' constitution, which had been adopted in September, 1857, by the decisive vote of six thousand two hundred and twenty-six in favor of that constitution, with slavery, and five hundred and nine for it, without slavery. A rival instrument, adopted by an elec- tion notoriously held exclusively under the control of aboli- tionists, prohibiting slavery, was likewise presented. "For months the controversy was waged in Congress between the friends of the administration and its enemies, and finally resulted in a practical triumph of the free-soil principle. The 150 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. anti-Lecompton coalition of Douglas and the abolitionists, aided by the defection of a few Southern members, success- fully embarrassed the policy of the administration by defeat- ing its recommendations, and eventually carried a measure acceptable to Northern sentiments and interests. "Mr. Douglas thus triumphed over a Democratic adminis- tration, at the same time giving a shock to the unity of the Democratic part}', from which it has never recovered, and effectually neutralized its power as a breakwater of the Union against the waves of sectional dispute. The alienation between himself and his former associates was destined never to be adjusted, as indeed it never should have been, in consideration of his inexcusable recreancy to the immemorial faith of his party. Mr. Douglas simply abandoned the South, at the very first moment when his aid was seriously demanded. Nay, more; he carried with him a quiver of Parthian arrows, which he discharged into her bosom at a most critical moment in her unequal contest. " It is not to be denied that Mr. Douglas's new interpretation of the Kansas-Nebraska act was urged by himself and his advocates as having a merit not to be overlooked by the North, in its suggestion of a method of restricting slavery, presenting superior advantages. ' Squatter sovereignty, ' as advocated by Mr. Douglas, proposing the decision of the slavery question by the people of the territories, while yei unprepared to ask admission as States, was far more effectual in its plans against slavery, and only less prompt and open, than the designs of abolitionists. It would enable ^iie ' Emigrant Aid Societies, ' and imported janizaries of abolition, to exclude the institutions of the South from the territories, the joint possessions of the two sections, acquired by an enormously disproportionate sac- rifice on the part of the South, with a certainty not to be realized, for years to come, perhaps, from the abolition policy AGAIN IN THE UNITED STA TES SENA TE. 151 of congressional prohibition.* According to Mr. Douglas's theory, the existence of slavery in all the territories was to depend upon the verdict of a few hundred settlers or squat- ters ' upon the publiclands. It practically conceded to North- ern interests and ideas every State to be hereafter admitted, and under the operation of such a policy it was not difficult to anticipate the fate of slavery, at last even in the States. " From the inception of this controversy until its close, Mr. Davis was fully committed to the policy of Mr. Buchanan, and his position was in perfect harmony with that of all the lead- ing statesmen of the South. Lass prominent, perhaps, in debate, from his constant ill-health during the first session, than at any other period of his public life, he was still zealous and influential" . . ' . . " Among his numerous contests with the distinguished expo- nents of the sentiment in opposition to the Souin, none are more memorable than his collisions with Douglas. " Of these the most striking occurred on the 23d of Febru- ary, 1859, and on the 16th and 17th of May, 1860. To have matched Douglas with an ordinary contestant, must always have resulted in disaster; it would have been to renew the contest of Athelstane against Ivanhoe. Douglas was accus- tomed to testify, cheerfully, to the power of Davis, as evinced in their senatorial struggles ; and it is very certain that at no other hands did he fare so badly, unless an exception be made in favor of the remarkable speech of Senator Benjamin, of Louisiana. The latter was an adept in the strategy of debate, a parliamentary Suchet, " The 23d of February, 1859, was the occasion of a pro- tracted battle between Davis and Douglas, Itesting from mid- day until nearly night. This speech of Mr. Davis is, in many respects, inferior to his higher oratorical efforts, realizing less of the forms of oratory which he usually illustrated so happily, " *»jovemor Wise, of Virginia, characterized ' squatter soyerelgnty ' as a ' short cut to all the ends of Black Republicanism." 152 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL TIME. and is wanting somewhat in that symmetry, harmony and comeliness in all its features, with which his senatorial efforts are generally wrought to the perfection, of expression. The circumstances under which it was delivered, however, fully meet this criticism, and show a most remarkable readiness for the instantaneous and hurried grapple of debate, and this lat- ter quality was the strong point of Douglas's oratory. The latter had replied at great length, and with evident prepara- tion, to a speech made by Mr. Davis's colleague (Mr. Brown), who was not present during Douglas's rejoinder. AVithout hesitation I\Ir. Davis assumed the place of his absent colleague, and the result was a running debate, lasting several hours, and exhibiting on both sides all the vivacious readiness of a gladia- torial combat. " In their ordinary and characteristic speeches there Avas an antithesis, no less marked than in their characters as men. Douglas was peculiarly American in his style of speaking. He dealt largely in the argumentum ad hominem; was very adroit in pointing out immaterial inconsistencies in his antagonists; he rarely discussed g^eneral principles ; always avoided ques- tions of abstract political science, and struggled to force the entire question into juxtaposition with the practical considera- tions of the immediate present. " In nearly all of Davis's speeches is recognized the perva- sion of intellect, which is preserved even in his most impas- sioned passages. He goes to the very ' foundations of jurispru- dence,' illustrates by historical example, and throws upon his subject the full radiance of that noble light which is shed by diligent inquiry into the abstract truths of political and moral science. Strength, animation, energy without vehemence, classical elegance, and a luminous simj^licity, are features in Mr. Davis's oratory which rendered him one of the most fin- ished, logical, and effective of contemporary parliamentary speakers." AGAIN IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. Io3 In the Slimmer of 1858, Mr. Davis, in quest of health, visited a number of points at the North — sojourning for some time at Portland, Maine — and made several speeches which so well expressed his views that we quote freely from two of them. The Eastern Argus, of Portland, JMaine, gave the following report of his reception and speech. in that city: " We are gratified in being able to offer our readers a faith- ful and quite full report of the speech of Hon. Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, on the occasion of the serenade given him by the citizens of Portland, without distinction of party, on Friday evening last. It will be read with interest and pleasure, and we cannot doubt that every sentiment uttered by the distin- guished Mississippian will find a . hearty response and ap- proval from the citizens of Maine. The occasion was indeed a pleasing, a hopeful one. It was in every respect the expres- sion of generous sentiments, of kindness, hospitality, friendly regard, and the brotherhood of American citizenship. Promi- nent men of all parties were present, and the expression, without exception, so far as W'e have heard, has been that of unmingled gratification ; and the scene was equally pleasant to look upon. The beautiful mansion of Pensalleer Cram, Esq., directly opposite to Madame Blanchard's, was illuminated, and the light thrown from the windows of the two houses revealed to view the large and perfectly orderly assemblage with which Park and Danforth streets were crowded. AVe regret that our readers can get no idea of the musical voice and inspiring eloquence of the speaker from a report of his remarks, but it is the best we can do for them. After the music had ceased, Mr. Davis appeared upon the steps, and as soon as the prolonged applause with which he was greeted had subsided, he spoke in substance as follows : ^^ ^ Fellow-citizens : Accept my sincere thanks for this mani- festation of your kindness. Vanity does not lead me so far to 154 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. misconceive your purpose as to appropriate the demonstration to myself; but it is not the less gratifying to me to be made the medium tlirough which Maine tenders an expression of regard to her sister, Mississippi. It is, moreover, with feelings of profound gratification tliat I witness tliis indication of that national sentiment and fraternity v/liich made us, and which alone can keep us, one people. At a period but as yesterday, when compared with the life of nations, these States were sep- arate, and, in some respects, opposing colonies, their only rela- tion to each other was that of a common allegiance to the Government of Great Britain. So separate, indeed almost hostile, was their attitude, that when General Stark, of Benning- ton memory, was captured by savages on the headwaters of the Kennebec, he was subsequently taken by them to Albany, where they went to sell furs, and again led away a captive, without interference on the part of the inhabitants of that neighboring colony to demand or obtain his release. United as we now are, were a citizen of the United States, as an act of hostility to our country, imprisoned or slain in any quarter of the world, whether on land or sea, the people of each and every State of the Union, with one heart and with one voice would deirand redress, and woe be to him against whom a brother's blood cried to us from the ground. Such is the fruit of the wis- dom and the justice with which our fathers bound contending colonies into confederation, and blended different habits and rival interests into a harmonious whole, so that, shoulder to shoulder, they entered on the trial of the revolution, and step with step trod its thorny paths until they reached the height of national independence, and founded the constitutional rep- resentative liberty which is cur birthright. " ' When the mother country entered upon her career of oppression, in disregard of chartered and constitutional rights, our forefathers did not stop to measure the exact weight of the burden, or to ask whether the pressure bore most upon this AGAIN IN THE UNITED ST A 7 ES SENA TE. 155 colony or upon that, but saw in it the infraction of a great principle, the denial of a common right, in defense of which they made common cause — Massachusetts, Virginia, .and South Carolina vicing with each other as to who should bo foremost in the struggle, where the penalty of failnrc would be a dis- honorable grave. Tempered by the trials and sacrifices of the Revolution, dignified by its noble purposes, elevated by its brilliant triumphs, endeared to each other by its glorious mem- ories, they abandoned the confederacy, not to fly apart when the outward pressure of hostile fleets and armies were removed, but to draw closer their embrace in the formation of a more perfect Union. "'By such men, thus trained -and ennobled, our Constitution was framed. It stands a monument of principle, of forecast, and, above all, of that liberality which made each willing to sacrifice local interest, individual predjudice, or temporary good to the general welfare and the perpetuity of the republi- can institutions which they had passed through fire and blood to secure. The grants were as broad as were necessary for the functions of the general agent, and the mutual concessions were twice blessed, blessing him who gave and him who received. "Whatever was necessary for domestic government — requisite in the social organization of each community — was retained by the States and the people thereof; and these it was made the duty of all to defend and maintain. Such, in very general terms, is the rich political legacy of our fathers bequeathed to us. Shall we preserve and transmit it to pos- terity? Yes, yes, the heart responds; and the judgment answers, the task is easily performed. It but requires that each should attend to that which most concerns him, and on which alone he has rightful power to decide and to act; that each should adhere to the terms of a written compact, and that all should co-operate for that which interest, duty, and honor demand. 15« THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. " ' For the general affairs of our country, both foreign and domestic, we have a national executive and a national legisla- ture. Representatives and Senators are chosen by districts and by States, but their acts affect the whole country, and their obligations are to the whole people. He who, holding either seat, would confine his investigations to the mere inte- rests of his immediate constituents, would be derelict to his plain duty; and he who would legislate in hostility to any section, would be morally unfit for the station, and surely an unsafe depository, if not a treacherous guardian, of the inheri- tance with which we are blessed. No one more than myself recognizes the binding force of the allegiance which the citizen owes to the State of his citizenship but that State being party to our compact, a member of the Union, fealty to the Federal constitution is not in opposition to, but flows from the allegiance due to one of the United States. Washington was not less a Virginian when lie commanded at Boston, nor did Gates or Green weaken the bonds which bound them to their several States by their campaigns in the South. In propor- tion as a citizen loves his own State, will he strive to honor by preserving her name and her fame free from the tarnish of having failed to observe her obligations and to fulfill her duties to her sister States. Each page of our history is illus- trated by the names and deeds of those who have well under-. stood and discharged the obligation. Have we so degene- rated that we can no longer emulate their virtues? Have the purposes for whicli our Union was formed lost theii value? Has patriotism ceased to be a virtue, and is narrow sectionalism no longer to be counted a crime? Shall the North not rejoice that the progress of agriculture in the South has given to her great staple the controlling influence of the commerce of the world, and put manufacturing nations under bond to keep the peace with the United States? Shall the South not exult in the fact that the industry and persevering AGAIN IN TUE UNITED STATES SENATE. loT intelligencG of the North lias placed her mechanical skill in the front ranks of the civilized world — that our mother country, wliose haughty minister, some eighty odd years ago, declared that not a hob-nail should be made in the colonies, which are now the United States, was brought, some four years ago, to . recognize our pre-eminence by sending a commission to exam- ine our workshops and our machinery, to perfect their own manufacture of the arms requisite for their defense? Do not our whole people, interior and seaboard. North, South, East and "West, alike feel proud of the hardihood, enterprise, the skill and the courage of the Yankee sailor, who has borne our flag far as the ocean bears its foam, and caused the name and character of the United States to be known and respected wherever there is wealth enough to woo commerce and intelli- gence to honor merit? So long as we preserve and ap])reciate the achievements of Jefferson and Adams, of Fianklin and ]\Iadison, of Hamilton, of Hancock, and of Rutledge, men who labored for the whole country, and lived for mankind, we can not sink to the petty strife which would sap the foundations and destroy the political fabric our fathers erected and bequeathed as an inheritance to our posterity forever. "'Since the formation of the constitution a vast extension of territory, and the varied relations arising therefrom, have presented ])roblems which could not have been foreseen. It is just cause for admiration, even wonder, that the provisions of the fundamental law should have been so fully adequate to all the wants of government, new in its organization, and new in many of the principles on which it was founded. Whatever fears may have once existed as to the consequences of terri- torial expansion must give way before the evidence Avhich the past affords. The general government, strictly confined to its delegated functions, and the State left in the undisturbed exercise of all else, we have a theory and practice which fits our government for immeasurable domain, and might, under a millenium of nations, embrace mankind. 158 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. " 'From the slope of tlie Atlantic our poi:)ulation, with cease- less tide has poured into the wide and fertile valley of the Mississippi, with eddying whirl has passed to the coast of the Pacific; from the West and the East the tides are rushing toward each other, and the mind is carried to the day when all the cultivable land will be inhabited, and the American people will sigh for more wildernesses to conquer. But there is here a physico-political problem presented for our solution. Were it purely physical your past triumphs would leave but little doubt of your capacity to solve it. A community which, when less than twenty thousand, conceived the grand project of crossing the White Mountains, and unaided, save by the stimulus which jeers and prophecies o-f failure gave, success- fully executed the Herculean work, might well be impatient if it were suggested that a physical prol)lem was before us too difficult for mastery. The history of man teaches that high mountains and wide deserts have resisted the permanent exten- sion of empire, and have formed the immutable boundaries of States. From time to time, under some able leader, have the hordes of the upper plains of Asia swept over the adjacent country, and rolled their conquering columns over Southern Europe. Yet, after a lapse of a few generations, the physical law, to which I have referred, has asserted its supremacy, and the boundaries of those States differ little now from those which were obtained three thousand 3'ears ago. "'Rome flew her conquering eagles over the then known world, and has now subsided into the little territory on whicli the great city was originally built. The Alps and the Pyra- nees have been unable to restrain imperial France; but her expansion was a leverish action, her advance and her retreat were tracked with blood, and those mountain ridges are the reestablished limits of her empire. Shall the Pocky Moun- tains prove a dividing barrier to us ? Were ours a central consolidated government, instead of a Union of sovereign AGAIN IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 159 States, our fate might be learned from the history of other nations. Thanks to the wisdom and independent spirit of our forefathers, tliis is not the case. Each State having sole charge of its local interests and domestic' affairs, the problem, which to others has been insoluble, to us is made easy. Rapid, safe, and easy communication between the Atlantic and the Pacific will give co-intelligence, unity of interest, and cooperation among all parts of our continent-wade Republic. The net- work of railroads which bind the North and the South, the slope of the Atlantic and the valley of the Mississippi, together testify that our people have the power to perform, in that re- gard, whatever it is their will to' do. " 'We require a railroad to the States of tlie Pacific for pres- ent uses; the time no doubt will come when we shall have need of two or three, it may be more. Because of the desert character of the interior country the work will be difficult and expensive It wall require the efforts of a united people. The bickerings of little politicians, the jealousies of sections must give way to dignity of purpose and zeal for the common good. If the object be obstructed by contention and division as to whether the route shall be Northern, Southern, or Central, the handwriting is on the wall, and it requires little skill to see that failure is the interpretation of the inscription. You are practical people, and may ask. How is that contest to be avoided? By taking the question out of the hands of poli- ticians altogether. Let the Government give such aid as it is proper for it to render to the company which shall propose the most feasible plan; then leave to capitalists with judgment, sharpened by interest, the selection of the route, and the diffi- culties will diminish, as did those wdiich 3^ou overcame wlien you connected your harbor with the Canadian provinces. "'It would be to trespass on your kindness and to violate the proprieties of the occasion were I to detain the vast concourse which stands before me by entering on the discussion of con- 160 TBE DA Vm MEMORIAL VOL UME. trovertecl topics, or by further indulging in the expression ol such reflections as circumstances suggest. I came to your city in quest of health and repose. From the moment I entered it you have showered upon me kindness and hospitality. Though my experience has taught me to anticipate good rather than evil from my fellow-man, it had not prepared me to expect such unremitting attention as has here been bestowed. I have been jocularly asked in relation to] my coming here, whether I had secured a guarantee for my safety, and lo! I have found it. I stand in the midst of thousands of my fel- low-citizens. But, my friends, I came neither distrusting' nor apprehensive, of which you have proof in the fact that I brought with me the objects of tenderest affection and solici- tude, my W'ife and children; they have shared with me your hospitality, and will alike remain 3'our debtors. If, at some future time, when I am mingled with the dust, and the arm of my infant son has been nerved for deeds of manhood, the storm of war should burst upon your city, I feel that relying upon his inheriting the instincts of his ancestors and mine, I may pledge him in that perilous hour to stand by your side in the defense of your hearth-stones, and in maintaining the honor of a flag whose constellation, though torn and smoked in many a battle by sea and land, has never been stained by dis- honor, and will, I trust, forever fly as free as the breeze which unfolds it. "•'A stranger to you, the salubrity of your location, and the beauty of its scenery were not wholly unknown to me, nor were there wanting associations which busy memory connected with your people. You will pardon me for alluding to one whose genius shed a lustre upon all it touched, and whose qualities gathered about him hosts of friends wherever he was known. Prentiss, a native of Portland, lived from youth to middle age in the county of my residence; and the inquiries which ha\*t; been made show me that the youth excited the A OA IN IN THE UNITED STA TES SENA TE. 161 interest \yiucli the greatness of the man justified, and that his memory thus remains a link to connect your home witli mine. A cursory view, when passing through your town on former occasions, had impressed me with the great advantages of your harbor, its easy entrance, its depth, and its extensive accom- modations for shipping. But its advantages and its facilities, as they have been developed by closer inspection, have grown upon me, until I realize that it is no boast, but the language of sober truth, which, in the present state of commerce, pro- nounces them unequalled in any harbor of our countr3\ " 'And surely no place could be more inviting to an invalid who sought refuge from the heat of Southern summer. Here waving elms offer him shaded walks, and -magnificent resi- dences, surrounded by flowers, fill the mind with ideas of com- fort and rest. If, weary of constant contact with his fellow- men, he seeks a deeper seclusion there, in the background of this grand amphitheatre, lie the eternal mountains, frowning with brow of rock and cap of snow upon smiling fields beneath, and there in its recesses may be found as much wildness and as much of solitude as the pilgrim, weary of the cares of life, can desire. If he turn to the front, your capacious harbor studded with green islands of ever-varying light and shade and enlightened by all the stirring evidences of commercial activity, offer him the mingled charms of busy life and nature's calm repose. A few miles further, and he may sit upon the quiet shore to listen to the murmuring wave until the troubled spirit sinks to rest; and in the little sail that vanishes on the illimitable sea we find the type of the. voyage which he is soon to take, when, his ephemeral existence closed, he embarks for that better state which lies beyond the grave. " ' Richly endowed as yow are by nature in all which con- tributes to pleasure and to usefulness, the stranger cannot pass without paying a tribute to the much which your energy has achieved for yourselves. Where else will one find a more U 162 THE DAVIS MEMOBIAL VOLUME. happy union of magnificence and comfort? Where better arrangements to facilitate commerce? Where so much of indus- try with so little noise and bustle? Where, in a phrase, so much effected in proportion to the means emplo^^ed ? We hear the puff of the engine, the roll of the wheel, the ring of the ax and the saw, but the stormy, passionate exclamation so often mingled with the sounds are nowhere heard. Yet neither these nor other things which I have mentioned, attractive though they be, have been to me the chief charm which I have found among you. Far above all these, I place the gentle kindness, the cordial welcome, the hearty grasp which made me feel truly and at once, though wandering afar, that I was still at home. My friends, I thank you for this additional manifes- tation of youi good will.'" On the 10th of October, 1858, ^Mr. Davis addressed an immense crowd at Fanueil Hall, Boston. At this meeting he was introduced by his old friend and colleague in President Pierce's Cabinet, General Caleb Cush- ing, of Massachusetts, who made an eloquent and earnest defense of the Democratic party, and then said : "And now, gentlemen, I have allowed myself unthinkingly to be carried beyond my original purpose. I return to it to remind you that here among us is a citizen of one of the Southern States, eloquent among the most eloquent In debate? wise among the wisest in council, and brave among the brav- est in the battle-field. A citizen of a Southern State who knows that he can associate with you, the representatives of the Democracy and the nationality of Massachusetts, that he can associate with you on equal footing with the fellow-citizens and common members of these United States. " My friends, there are those here present, and, in fact, there is no one here present of whom it cannot be said that, in memory and admiration at least, and if not in the actual fact, yet in proud and bounding memory, they have been able to A GAIN IN THE UNITED STA TES SENA TE. 1 ns tread the glorious tracks of the victorious achievements ol Jefferson Davis on the fields of Monterey and Buena Vista, and all have heard or have read the accents of eloquence addressed by him to the Senate of the United States; and there is one, at least, who, from his own personal observation, can bear witness to the fact of the surpassing wisdom of Jefferson Davis in the administration of the Government of the United States. Such a man, fellow-citizens, you are this evening to hear, and to hear as a beautiful illustration of the working of our republican institutions of these United States, of the republican institutions which in our own country, our own republic, as in the old republics of Athens and of Rome, exhibit the same combinations of the highest military and civic qualities in the same person. It must naturally be so, for in a republic every citizen is a soldier, and every soldier a citizen. Not in these United States on the occurrence of foreign war is that spectacle exhibited which we have so recently seen in our mother-country, of the adaiinistration of the country going abroad begging and stealing soldiers throughout Europe and America. No! And while I ask you, my friends, to ponder this fact in relation to that disastrous struggle of giants which so recently occurred in oar day — the Crimean War — I ask 3'ou whether any English gentle^nan, any member of the British House of Commons, any member of the British House of Peers, abandoned the ease of home, abandoned his easy hours at home, an si went into the country among his friends, tenants, and fellow-countrymen, volunteering there to raise troops ,for the service of England in that hour of her peril; did any such fact occur? No! But here in these United States we had examples, and illustrious ones, of the fact that men, eminent in their place in Congress, abandoned their stations and their honors to go among fellow-citizens of their own States, and their raise troops vith which to vindi- cate the honor and the flag of their country. Of such men "Was Jefferson Davia. 164 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. "There is now living one military man of prominent dis- tinction in the public eye of England and the United States — I 'mean Sir Colin Campbell, now Lord Clyde of Clydesdale. He deserves tlie distinction he enjoys, for he has redeemed the British flag on the ensanguined^ burning plains of India. He has restored the glory of the British name in Asia. I honor him. Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland are open, for their counties, as well as their countries, and their poets, orators, and statesmen, and their generals, belong to our his- tory as well as theirs. I will never disavow Henry V. on the plains of Agincourt; never Oliver Cromwell on the fields of jNhirston Moor and Naseby, never Sarsfield on the banks of the Boyne. The glories and honors of Sir Colin Campbell are the glories of the British race, and the races of Great Britain and Ireland, from whom we are descended. "But what gained Sir Colin Campbell the opportunity to achieve tliose glorious results in India? Remember that, and let us see what it was. On one of those bloody battles fought by the British before the fortress of Sebastopol, in the midst of the perils, the most perilous of all the battle-fields England ever encountered in Europe, in one of the bloody charges of the Russian cavalry, there was an officer — a man who felt and who possessed sufficient confidence in the troops he com- manded, and in the authority of his own voice and example — ■ received that charge not in the ordinary, common-place, and accustomed manner, by forming his troops into a hollow square, and thus arresting the charge, but by forming into two diverging lines, and thus receiving upon the rifles of his Highlandmen the charge of the Russian cavalry and rej^eliing it. How all .England rang with the glory of that achieve- ment! How the general voice of England placed upon the brows of Sir Colin Campbell the laurels of the future mas- tership of victory for the arms of England ! And well they might do so. But who origina-ted that movement; who set AGAIN IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. IGo the example of that gallant operation — who but Colonel Jefier- , son Davis, of the First Mississippi regiment, on the field of Buena Arista? He was justly entitled to the applause of the restorer of victory to the arms of the Union. Gentlemen, in our country, in this da}^ such a man, such a master of the art of war, so daring in the field, such a man may not only aspire to the highest places in the executive government of the Union, but such a man may acquire what nowhere else, since the days of Cimon and Miltiades, of the Cincinnati and the Cornelii of Athens and of Eome, has been done by the human race, the combination of eminent powers, of intellectual cultivation, and of eloquence with the practical qualities of a statesman and general. "But, gentlemen, I am again betrayed beyond my purpose. Sir (addressing General Davis), we welcome you to the Com- monwealth of Massachusetts. You may not find here the ard- ent skies of your own sunny South, but you will find as ardent hearts, as warm and generous hands to welcome you to our Commonwealth. We welcome you to the city of Boston, and you have already experienced hovr open-hearted, how generous, how free from all possible taint of sectional thought are the hospitality and cordiality of the city of Boston. AVe welcome you to Faneuil Hall. Many an eloquent voice has in all times resounded from the walls of Faneuil Hall. It is said that no voice is uttered by man in this air we breathe but enters into that air. It continues there immortal as the portion of the universe into which it has passed. If it be so, how instinct is Faneuil Hall with the voice of the great, good, and glorious of past generations, and of our own, whose voices have echoed through its walls, whose elocjuent words have thrilled the hearts of hearers, as if a pointed sword were passing them through and through. Here Adams aroused his countrymen in the War of Independence, and Webster invoked them almost "with the dying breath of his body — invoked with that voice 166 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL V0LU3IE. of majesty and power which he alone possessed — invoked them to a union between the North and South. Ay, sir, and who, if he were present, who from those blest abodes on high from which he looks down upon us would congratulate us for this scene. First, and above all, because his large heart would have appreciated the spectacle of a statesman eminent among the most eminent of the Southern States "here addressing an assembly of the people in the city of Boston. Because, in the second place, he would have remembered that, though divided from you by party relations, in one of the critical hours of his fame and his honor, your voice was not wanting for his vindi- cation in the Congress of the United States. Sir, again, I say we welcome you to Faneuil Hall. "And now, my fellow-citizens, I will withdraw myself and present to you the Hon. Jefferson Davis." Mr. Davis spoke as follows : " Countrymen, Brethren, Democrats: ]\Iost happy am I to meet you, and to have received here renewed assurance — of that which I have so long believed — that the pulsation of the Democratic heart is the same in every parallel of latitude, on every meridian of longitude, throughout the United States. It required not this to confirm me in a belief I have so long and so happily enjoyed. Your own great statesman (the Hon. Caleb Cushing), who has introduced me to this assembly, has been too long associated with me, too nearly connected, we have labored too many hours, until one day ran into another, in the cause of our country, for me to fail to understand that a Massachusetts Democrat has a heart as w4de as the Union, and that its pulsations always beat for the liberty and happi- ness of his country. Neither could I be unaware that such w^as the sentiment of the Democracy of New England. For it w^as my fortune lately to servo under a President drawn from the neighboring State of New Hampshire, and I know that he AGAIN IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 167 spoke the language of his heart, for I learned it in four years of intimate relations with him, when he said he knew 'no North, no South, no East, no West, but sacred maintenance of the common bond and true devotion to the common brother- hood/ Never, sir, in the past history of our country, never, I add, in its future destiny, however bright it may be, did or will a man of higher and purer patriotism, a man more devo- ted to the common weal of his country, hold the helm of our great ship of state, than Franklin Pierce. " I have heard the resolutions read and approved by this meeting ; I have heard the address of your candidate for Gov- ernor; and these, added to the address of my old and intimate friend, General Gushing, bear to me fresh testimony, which I shall be happy to carry away with me, that the Democracy, in the language of your own glorious Webster, 'still lives'; lives ribt as his great spirit did, when it hung 'twixt life and death, like a star upon the horizon's verge, but lives like the germ that is shooting upward ; like the sapling that is growing to a mighty tree, and I trust it may redeem Massachusetts to her glorious place in the Union, when she led the van of the defen- ders of State rights. " When I see Faneuil Hall thus thronged it reminds me of another meeting, when it was found too small to contain the assembly that met here, on the call of the people, to know what sliould be done in relation to the tea-tax, and when, Faneuil Hall being too small, they went to the old South Church, which still stands a monument of your early day. I hope the time will soon come when many Democratic meetings in Boston will be too large for Faneuil Hall. I am welcomed to this hall, so venerable for all the associations of our early history ; to this hall of which you are so justly proud, and the memories of which are part of the inheritance of every Ameri- can citizen ; and I felt, as I looked upon it, and remembered how many voices of patriotic fervor have filled it — how here 168 THE DAVIS MEMOBIAL VOLUME. the first movement originated from wliicli tlie Revolution sprang ; how here began the system of town meetings and free discussion — tliat, though my theme was more humble than theirs, as befitted my humbler powers, I had enough to warn me that I was assuming much to speak in this sacred chamber. But, when I heard your distin- guished orator say that words utttered here could never die, that they li^ed and became a part of the circumambient air, I feel a hesitation which increases upon me with the remem- brance of his expressions. But, if those voices which breathed the first impulse into the colonies — now the United States — to proclaim independence, and to unite for resistance against the power of the mother country — if those voices live here still, how must they fare wdio come here to preach treason to the constitution and to assail the union of these States? It would seem that their criminal hearts would fear that those voices, so long slumbering, would break silence, that those forms which hang upon these walls behind me might come forth, and that the sabres so long sheathed would leap from their scabbards to drive from this sacred temple those who desecrate it as did the money-changers who sold doves in the temple of the living God. " Here you have, to remind you, and to remind all who enter this hall, the portraits of those men who are dear to every lover of liberty, and part and parcel of the memory of every American citizen; and highest among them all I see you have placed Samuel Adams and John Hancock. You have placed them the highest, and proj)erly ; for they were two, the only two, excepted from the proclamation of mercy, when Governor Gage issued his anathema against them and against their fellow-patriots. These men, thus excepted from the saving grace of the crown, now occupy the highest places in Faneuil Hall, and thus seem to be the highest in the reve- rence of the people of Boston. This is one of the instances in A GAIN IN THE UNITED ST A TES SENA TE. 1 69 •which we find tradition so much more reliable than history; for tradition has borne the name of Samuel Adams to the remotest of the colonies, and the new States formed out of what was territory of the old colonies; and there it is a name as sacred among us as it is among you. "We all remember how early he saw the necessity of com- munity INDEPENDENCE. How, through the dim mists of the future, and in advance of his da}', he looked forward to the proclamation of the independence of Massachusetts; how lie steadily strove, through good report and evil report, with a great, unwavering heart, whether in the midst of his fellow- citizens, cheered by their voices, or communing with his own heart, when driven from liis home,' his eyes were still fixed upon his first, last hope, the community independence of Mas- sachusetts! Always a commanding figure, we see him, at a later period, the leader in the correspondence which waked the feelings of the other colonies to united fraternal association — the people of Massachusetts with the people of the other colo- nies — there we see his letters acknowledging the receipt of rice of South Carolina, and .the money of New York and Pennsyl- vania — all these poured in to relieve Boston of the suffering inflicted upon her when the port was closed by the despotism of the British crown — we see the beginning of that which insured the co-operation of the colonies throughout the despe- rate struggle of the Revolution. And we there see that which, if the present generation be true to the memory of their sires, to the memory of the noble men from whom they descended, will perpetuate for them that sj^irit of fraternity in which the Union begaii. But it is not here alone, nor in reminiscences connected with the objects which present themselves within this hall, that the people of Boston have much to excite their patriotism and carry them back to the great princij^les of the Revolutionary struggle. Where will you go and not meet some monument to inspire such sentiments? Go to Lexington and 170 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. Concord, where sixty brave countrymen came with their fowl- ing-pieces to oppose six hundred veterans — where they forced those veterans back, pursuing them on the road, fighting from every barn, and bush, and stock, and stone, till they drove them, retreating, to the ships from which they went forth ! And there stand those monuments of your early patriotism, Breed's and Bunker's Hills, whose soil drank the martyr-blood of men who lived for their country and died for mankind ! Can it be any of you should tread that soil and forget the great purposes for which those men died ? "While, on the other side, rise the heights of Dorchester, where once stood the encamp- ment of the Virginian, the man who came here, and did not ask. Is this a town of Virginia? but. Is this a town of my brethren ? The steady courage and cautious wisdom of Wash- ington availed to drive the British troops out from the city which they had so confidently held. Here, too, you find where once the old Liberty Tree, connected with so many of your mem- ories, grew. You ask your legend, and learn that it was cut down for firewood by British soldiers, as some of your meet- ing-houses were destroyed; they burned the old tree, and it warmed the soldiers long enough to leave town, and, had they burned it a little longer, its light would have shown Washing- ington and his followers where their enemies were. " But they are gone, and never again shall a hostile foot set its imprint upon your soil. Your harbor is being fortified, to prevent an un-expected attack on your city by a hostile fleet. But woe to the enemy whose fleet shall bear him to your shores to set his footprint upon your soil ; he goes to a prison or to a grave I American fortifications are not built from any fear of invasion, they are intended to guard points where marine attacks can be made; and, for the rest, the hearts of Ameri- cans are our ramparts. " But, my friends, it is not merely in these associations, so connected with the honorable pride of Massachusetts, tliat AGAIN IN THE UNITED STATES SENA TE. 171 one who visits Boston finds much for gratification, hope, and instruction. If I were selecting a j)lace where the advocate of strict construction, the extreme expounder of democratic State-rights doctrine should go for his texts, I would send him into the collections of your liistorical associations. Instead of going to Boston as a place where only consolidation would be found, he would find written, in letters of living light, that sacred creed of State rights which has been mis- called the ultra opinions of the South ; he could find among your early records that this Faneuil Hall, the pro- perty of the town at the time when Massachusetts was under colonial government, administered by a man appointed by the British crown, guarded by British soldiers, was refused to a British Governor in which to hold a British festival, because he was going to bring with him the agents for collecting, and naval ofiicers sent here to enforce, an oppressive tax u^Don your Commonwealth. Such was the proud spirit of independence manifested even in your colonial history. Such is the great foundation-stone on which may be erected an eternal monu- ment of States rights. And so, in an early period of our country, you find Massachusetts leading the movements, prominent of all the States, in the assertion of that doctrine which has been recently so belied. Having achieved your independence, hav- ing passed through the Confederation, you assented to the formation of our present constitutional Union. You did not surrender your sovereignty. Your fathers had sacrificed too much to claim as a reward of t'heir toil, merely that they should have a change of masters; and a change of masters it would have been had ]\Iassachusetts surrendered her State sovereignty to the central Government, and consented that that central Government should have the power to coerce a State. But, if this power does not exist, if this sovereignty has not been surrendered, then, who can deny the words of soberness and truth spoken by your candidate this evening, when he has 172 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL VME. pleaded to you the cause of State independence, and the right of every community to be judge of its own domestic affairs? This is all we have ever asked — we of the South I mean — for I stand before you as one of those who have always been called the ultra men of the South, and I speak, therefore, for that class; and I tell 3'ou that your candidate for Governor has uttered to-night everything which we hare claimed as a prin- ciple for our protection. And I have found the same condition of things in the neighboring State of Maine. I have found that the Democrats there asserted the same broad constitu- tional principle for which we have been contending, by which ■we are willing to live, for which we are willing to die! " In this state of the case, my friends, why is the country agitated ? The old controversies have passed away, or they have subsided, and have been covered up by one dark pall of somber hue, which increases with every passing year. Why is it, then, I say, that j^ou are thus agitated in relation to the domestic affairs of other communities? Why is it that the peace of the country is disturbed in order that one people may judge of what another people may do? Is there any political power to authorize such interference? If so, where is it? You did not surrender your sovereignty. You gave to the Federal Government certain functions. It was your agent, created for specified purposes. It can do nothing save that which you have given it power to perform. Where is the grant? Has it a right to determine what shall be property? Surely not that belongs to every community to decide for itself; you judge in your case — every other State must judge in its case. The Federal Government has no power tc destroy property. Do you pay taxes, then to an agent, that he may destroy your property? Do you support him for that purpose? It is an absurdity on the face of it. To ask the question is to answer it. The Government is instituted to protect, not to destroy, property. And, in abundance of caution, your fathers pro- AGAIN IN THE VNITED STATES SENATE. 173 vided that the Federal Government should not take })rivate property for its own use unless by making due compensation tlierefor. It is prohibited from attempting to destroy property. One of its great purposes was protection to the States. When- ever that power is made a source of danger, we destroy the purpose for which the Government was formed. "Why, then, have you agitators? With Pharisaical pre- tension it is sometimes said it is a moral obligation to agitate, and I suppose they are going through a sort of vicarious repentance for other men's sins. AVith all due allowance for their zeal, we ask, how do they decide that it is a sin? By what standard do they measure it? Not the constitution, the con- stitution recognizes the property in slaves in many forms, and imposes obligations in connection with that recognition. Not the Bible; that justifies it. Not the good of society; for, if they go where it exists, they find that society recognizes it as good. What, then, is their standard? The good of mankind ? Is that seen in the diminished resources of the country? Is that seen in the diminished comfort of the world? Or is not the reverse exhibited? Is there, in the cause of Christianity, a motive for the prohibition of the system which is the only agency through which Christianity has reached that inferior race, the only means by which they have been civilized and elevated? Or is their piety manifested in denunciation of their brethren, who are deterred from answering their denun- ciation only by the contempt which they feel for a mere brawler, who intends to end his brawling only in empty words? "What, my friends, must be the consequences? Good or evil? They have been evil, and evil they must be only to the end. Not one particle of good has been done to any man, of any color, by this agitation. It has been insidiously working the purpose of sedition, for the destruction of that Union on which our hopes of future greatness depend. 174 TBE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. "Oil the one side, then, you see agitation tending slowly and steadily to that separation of States, which, if you have any hope connected with the liberty of mankind; if you have any national pride connected with making 3-our country the greatest on the face of the earth; if you have any sacred regard for the obligations which the deeds and the blood of 3'our fathers en- tailed upon you, that hope should prompt you to reject any- thing that would tend to destroy the result of that experiment which they left it to you to conclude and perpetuate. On the other hand, if each community, in accordance with the prin- ciples of our government, should regard its domestic interests as a part of the common whole, and struggle for the benefit of all, this would steadily leadu^ to fraternity, to unity, to coope- ration, to the increase of our happiness and the extension of the benefits of our useful example over mankind. The flag of the Union, whose stars have already more than double^ their original number, with its ample folds may wave, th the recognized flag of every State, oi the recognized protect of every State upon the continent of America. "In connection with the view which I liave presented of the early idea of community independence I will add tlie very striking fact that one of the colonies, about tlie tiiiie they had resolved to unite for tlie purpose of achievini; their imlepen dence, addressed the Colonial Congress ti> k'low in wliat con- dition it would be in the interval between its separation from the government of Great Britain and the establishment of a government on this continent. The answer of the Colonial Congress was exactly what might have been expected — exactly what State-rights Democracy would answer to-day to such an inquiry — that they 'had nothing to do with it.' If such senti ment had continued, if it had governed in every State, if r^" resentatives had been chosen upon i;. tlien y^nr h;. Federal legislation would not have been disturb d r.bov.l : question of the domestic institutions of the different States. AGAIN IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 175 The peace of the country would not be hazarded by the arraign- ment of the family relations of people over whom the govern- ment has no control. If in harmony working together, with co-intelligence for the conservation of the interests of the countr}^ — if protection to the States and the other great ends for which the government was es-tablished, had been the aim and united effort of all — what effects would not have been produced? As our government increases in expansion it would increase in its beneficent effect upon the people ; we should, as we grow in power and prosperity, also grow in fra- ternity, and it would be no longer a wonder to see a man coming from a Southern State to address a Democratic audi- ence in Boston. " But I have referred to the fact that Massachusetts stood preeminently forward among those who asserted community independence ; and this reminds me of another incident. Pres- ident Washington visited Boston when John Hancock was Governor, and Hancock refused to call upon the President, because he contended that any man who came within the limits of Massachusetts must yield rank and precedence to the Governor of the State. He eventually only surrendered the point on account of his personal regard and respect for the character of George Washington. I honor him for this, and value it as one of the early testimonies in favor of State rights. I wish all our Governors had the same regard for the dignity of the State as had the great and glorious John Hancock. "In the beginning the founders of this government were true Democratic State-rights men. Democracy was State rights, and State rights was democracy, and it is so to-day. Your resolutions breathe it. The Declaration of Independence embodied the sentiments Avhich had lived in the hearts of the country for many years before its formal assertion. Our fathers asserted the great principle — the right of the people to choose their own government — and that government rested 176 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. tip on the consent of the governed. In every form of expression it uttered the same idea, community independence and the de- pendence of the Union upon the communities of which it consisted. It was an American declaration of the unalienable right of man; it was a general truth, and I wish it were accepted by all men. But I have said that this State sover- eignty — this community independence — has never been sur- rendered, and that there is no power in the Federal govern- ment to coerce a State. AYill any one ask me, then, how a State is to be held to the fulfillment of its obligations? My answer is, by its honor. The obligation is the more sacred to observe every feature of the compact, because there is no power to enforce it. The great error of the confederation was, that it attempted to act upon the States. It was found impracti- cable, and our present form of government was adopted, vdiicli acts upon individuals, and is not designed to act upon States. The question ol State coercion was raised in the convention which framed the constitution, and, after discussion, the prop- osition to give power to the general government to enforce against any State obedience to the laws was rejected. It is upon the ground that a State cannot be coerced that observ- ance of the compact is a sacred obligation. It was upon this principle that our fathers depended for the perpetuity of a fraternal Union, and for the security of the rights that the constitution was designed to preserve. The fugitive slave compact in the constitution of the United States implied that the States should fulfill it voluntarily. They expected the States to legislate so as to secure the rendition of fugitives; and in 1778 it was a matter of complaint that the Spanish colony of Florida did not restore fugitive negroes from the United States who escaped into that colony, and a committee, composed of Hamilton, of New York, Sedgwick, of Massa- chusetts, and Mason, of Virginia, reported resolutions in the Congress, instructing the Secretary of Foreign Afi'airs to AGAIN IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. ITT address the charge cV affaires at Madrid to apply to his Majesty of Spain to issue orders to his governor to compel them to ' secure the rendition of fugitive negroes. This was the senti- ment of the committee, and tliey added, also, that the States would return any slaves from Florida who might escape into their limits. . " When tlie constitutional obligation was imposed, who could have doubted that every State, faithful to its obligations, would comply with the requirements of the constitution, and waive all questions as to whether the institution should or should not exist in another community over which they had no control ? Congress was at last forced to legislate on the subject, and they have continued, up to a recent period, to leg- islate, and this has been one of the causes by which 3'ou have been disturbed. You have been called upon to make war against a law which need never to have been enacted, if each State had done the duty which she was called upon by the constitution to jierform. " Gentlemen, this presents one j^hase of agitation — negro agitation, there is another and graver question, it is in relation to the prohibition by Congress of the introduction of slave property into the Territories. AVhat power does Congress pos- sess in this connection? Has it the right to say what shall be property anywhere? If it has, from what clause of the constitution does it derive that power? Have other States the poAver to prescribe the condition upon which a citizen of another State shall enter upon and enjoy territory — common j^roperty of all? Clearly not. Shall the inhabitants who first go into the Territory deprive any citizen of the United States of those rights which belong to him as an equal owner of the soil? Certainly not. Sovereign jurisdiction can only pass to these inhabitants when the States, the owners of that Territory, shall recognize their right to become an equal member of the Union. 12 178 THE DA VIS MEMOBIAL VOL VME. Until then, the constitution and the laws of the Union must be the rule governing within the limits of a Territory. "The constitution recognizes all property, and gives equal privileges to every citizen of the States ; and it would be a vio- lation of its fundamental principles to attempt any discrimi- nation. "There is nothing of truth or justice with- which to sustain this agitation^ or ground for it, unless it be that it is a very good bridge over which to pass into office; a little stock of trade in politics built U]3 to aid men who are missionaries staying at home ; reformers of things which they do not go to learn ; i:)reachers without a congregation ; overseers without laborers and with- out wages ; war-horses who snuff the battle afar off and cry : 'Aha ! aha! I am afar off.' " Thus it is that the peace of the Union is disturbed ; thus it is that brother is arrayed against brother ; thus it is that the people come to consider not how they can promote each other's inter- ests, but how tney may successfully war upon them. And among the things most odious to my mind is to find a man who enters upon a public office, under the sanction of the con- stitution, and taking an oath to support the constitution — the compact between the States binding each for the common defense and general welfare of the other — and retaining to himself a mental reservation that he will war upon the insti- tutions and the property of any of the States of the Union. It is a crime too low to characterize as it deserves before this assem- bly. It is one which would disgrace a gentleman — one which a man with self-respect would never commit. To swear that lie will support the constitution, to take an ojBSce which be- longs in many of its relations to all the States, and to use it as a means of injuring a portion of the States of whom he is thus an agent, is treason to everything that is honorable in man. It is the base and cowardly attack of him who gains the confidence of another in order that he may wound him. But I Again in the united states senate. i79 I have often heard it argued, and I have seen it published : I have seen a petition that was circulated for signers, announcing that there was an incompatibility between the different sec- tions of the Union ; that it had been tried long enough, and that they must get rid of those sections in which the curse of slavery existed. Ah ! those sages, so much wiser than our fathers, have found out that there is incompatibility in thai which existed when the Union was formed. They have found an incompatibility inconsistent with union, in that which existed when South Carolina sent her rice to Boston, and Maryland and Pennsylvania and New York brought in their funds foi her relief. The fact is that, from that day to this, the differ- ence between the people of the colonies has been steadily diminishing, and the possible advantages of union in no small degree augmented. The variety of product of soil and of cli- mate has been multiplied, both by the expansion of our coun- try and by the introduction of new tropical products not cultivated at that time; so that every motive to union which your forefathers had, in a diversity which should give prosperity to the country, exists in a higher degree to-day than when this Union was formed, and this diversity is fundamental to the prosperity of the people of the several sections of the country. " It is, however, to-day, in sentiment and interest, less than on the day when the Declaration of Independence was made. Diversity there is — diversity of character — but it is not of that extreme kind which proves incompatibility; for your Massa- chusetts man, when he comes into Mississippi, adopts our opin- ions and our institutions, and frequently becomes the most extreme man among us. As our country has extended, as new products have been introduced into it, this Union and the free trade that belongs to it have been of increasing value. And I say, moreover, that it is not an unfortunate circumstance that this diversity of pursuit and character still remains. Origi- nally it sprang in no small degree from natural causes. Mas- 180 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. sachusetts became a manufacturing and commercial State because of her fine liarbors — because of her water-power, making its last leap into the sea, so that the ship of commerce brought the staple to the manufacturing power. This made you a commercial and a manufacturing people. In the South- ern States great plains interpose between the last leaps of the streams and the sea. Those plains were cultivated iu staple crops, and the sea brought their products to your streams to be manufactured. This was the first beginning of the differences. "Then your longer and more severe winters, your soil not so favorable for agriculture, in a degree kept you a manufactu- ring and a commercial people. Even after the cause had passed away — after railroads liad been built — after the steam- engine had become a motive power for a large part of manu- facturing machinery, the natural causes from which your peo- ple obtained a manufacturing ascendency and ours became chiefly agriculturists continued to act in a considerable measure to preserve that relation. Your interest is to remain a manu- facturing, and ours to remain an agricultural people. Your prosperity, then, is to receive our staple and to manufacture it, and ours to sell it to you and buy the manufactured goods. This is an interweaving of interests wdiich makes us all the richer and happier. "But this accursed agitation, this intermeddling with the affairs of other people, is that alone which will promote a desire in. the mind of any one to separate these great and glo- rious States. The seeds of dissension may be sown by invi- dious reflections. Men may be goaded by the constant attempts to infringe upon rights and to disturb tranquility, and in the resentment which follows it is not possible to tell how far the wave may rush. I, therefore, plead to j'ou now to arrest a fanaticism which has been evil in the beginning and must be evil in the end. You may not have the numerical power requisite, and those at a distance may not understand how AGAIN IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 181 many of you there are desirous to put a stop to the course of this agitation. For me, I have learned since I have been in New England the vast mass of true State-Rights Democrats to be found within its limits — though not represented in the halls of Congress. And if it comes to the worst — if, availing them- selves of the majority in the two Houses of Congress, they should attempt to trample upon the constitution; if they should attempt to violate the rights of the States; if they should attempt to infringe upon our equality in the Union — I believe that even in Massachusetts, though it has not had a representative in Congress for many a day, the State-rights Democracy, in whose breast beats the spirit of the Eevolution, can and will whip the black Republicans. ■ I trust we shall never be thus i^urified, as it were, by fire, but that the peace- ful, progressive, revolution of the ballot-box will answer all the glorious purposes of the constitution and the Union. And I marked that the distinguished orator and statesman who pre- ceded me, in addressing you, used the words * national' and 'constitutional' in such relation to each other as to show that in his mind the one was a synonym of the other. I say so: we became national by the constitution, the bond for uniting the States, and national and constitutional are convertible terms. " Your candidate for the high office of governor — whom I have been once or twice on the point of calling governor, and whom I ho})e I may be able soon to call so — in his remarks to you has presented the same idea in another form. And well may IMassachusetts orators, without even perceiving, what they are saying, utter sentiments which lie at the foundation of your colonial as well as your subsequent political history, which existed in Massachusetts before the Revolution, and have existed ever since, whenever the true spirit which comes down from the Revolutionary sires has swelled and found utterance within her limits. 182 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. " It has been not only, my friends, in this increasing and mutual dependence of interest that we have found new ties to you. These bonds are both material and mental. Every improvement or invention, every construction of a railroad, has formed a new reason for our being one. Every new achievement, whether it has been in arts or science, in war or in manufactures, has constituted fo-r us'a new bond and a new sentiment holding us together. " Why, then, I would ask, do we see these lengthened shadows which follow in the course of our political history ? Is it because our sun is declining to the horizon? Are they the shadows of evening, or are they, as I hopefully believe, but the mists which are exhaled by the sun as it rises, but which are to be dispersed by its meridian glory? Are they but the little evanishing clouds that flit between the people and the great objects for which the constitution was estab- lislied? I hopefully look toward the reaction which will establish the fact that our sun is still in the ascendant — that that cloud which has so long covered our political horizon is to be dispersed — that we are not again to be divided on paral- lels of latitude and about the domestic institutions of States — a sectional attack on the prosperity and tranquility of a nation — but only by differences in opinion upon measures of expediency, upon questions of relative interest, by discussions as to the powers of the States and the rights of the States, and the powers of the Federal government — such discussion as is commemorated in this picture of your own great and glorious Webster, when he specially addressed our best, most tried, and greatest man, the pure and incorruptible Calhoun, represented as ititently listening to catch the accents of eloquence that fell from his lips. Those giants strove each for his conviction, not against a section — not against each other; they stood to each other in the relation of personal affection and esteem, and never AGAIN IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 183 did I see Mr. Webster so agitated, never did I hear his voice falter, as when he delivered the eulogy on John C. Calhoun, "But allusion was made to my own connection with your great and favorite departed statesman. Of that I will only say on this occasion, that very early in my congressional life Mr. "Webster was arraigned for an oflfense which aflfected him most deeply. He was no accountant, and all knew that. He was arraigned on a pecuniary charge — the misapplication of what is known as the secret-service fund — and I was one of the committee that had to investigate the charge. I endeavored to do justice. I endeavored to examine the evidence with a view to ascertain the truth. It is true I remembered that he was an eminent American statesman. It is true that as an American I hoped he would come out without a stain upon his garments. But I entered upon the. investigation to find the truth and to do justice. The result was, he was acquitted of every charge that was made against him, and it was equally my pride and my pleasure to vindicate him in every form which lay within my power. No one that knew Daniel Web- ster could have believed that he would ever ask whether a charge was made against a Massachusetts man or a IMississip- pian. No! It belonged to a lower, to a later, and I trust a shorter-lived race of statesmen, who measure all facts by con- siderations of latitude and longitude. "I honor that sentiment which makes us oftentimes too confident, and to despise too much the danger of that agita- tion which disturbs the peace of the country. I respect that feeling which regards the Union as too strong to be broken. But, at the same time, in sober judgment, it will not do to treat too lightly the danger which has existed and still exists. I have heard our constitution and Union compared to the granite shores which face the sea, and, dashing back the foam of the waves, stand unmoved by their fury. Now I accept the the simile; and I have stood upon the shore, and I have seen 184 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME, the waves of the sea dash upon the granite of j^our own shores which frowns over the ocean, have seen the spray throM^n back from the cliffs. But, w^hen the tide had ebbed, I saw that the rock was seamed and worn; and when the tide was low, the pieces that had been riven from the granite rock were lying at its base. "And thus the weaves of sectional agitation are dashing themselves against the granite patriotism of the land. But even that must show the seams and scars of the conflict. Sec- tional hostility will follow. The danger lies at your door, and it is time to arrest it. Too long have we allowed this influence to progress. It is time that men should go back to the first foundation of our institutions. They should drink the waters of the fountain at the source of our colonial and early history. " You, men of Boston, go to the street where the massacre occurred in 1770. There you should learn how your fathers strove for community rights. And near the same spot j^ou should learn how proudly the delegation of democracy came to demand the removal of the troops from Boston, and how the venerable Samuel Adams stood asserting the rights of democracy, dauntless as Hampden, clear and eloquent as Sid- ney; and how they drove out the myrmidons who had tram- pled on the rights of the people. "All over our country, these monuments, instructive to the present generation, of what our fathers did, are to be found. In the library of your association for the collection of youi early history, I found a letter descriptive of the reading of the church service to his army by General Washington, during one of those winters when the army was ill-clad and without shoes, when he built a little log-cabin for a meeting-house, and there, reading the service to them his sight failed him, he put on his glasses, and, with emotion which manifested the reality of his feelings, said, *I have grown gray in serving my country, and now I am going blind.' " '^' AGAIN JN THE VNITA'n STATES SENATE. 185 "By the aid of your records you may call before you the day when the delegation of the army of the democracy of Boston demanded com])liance with its requirements for the removal of the troops. A painfully thrilling case will be found in the heroic conduct of your fathers friends, the patriots in Charleston, South Carolina. The prisoners were put upon the hulks, where the small-pox existed, and where they were brought on shore to stay the progress of the infection, and were offered, if they would enlist in his Majesty's service, release from all their sufferings, present and prospective; while, if they would not, the rations would be taken from their fam- ilies, and they would be sent back to the hulks and again exposed to the infection. Emaciated as they were, with the prospect of being returned to confinement, and their families turned out into the streets, the spirit of independence, the devo- tion to liberty, was so supreme in their breasts that they gave one loud huzza for General Washington and went to meet death in their loathsome prison. From tliese glorious recol- lections, from the emotions which they create, when the sacri- fices of those who gave you the heritage of liberty are read in your early history, the eyo is directed to our present condition. Mark the prosperity, the growth, the honorable career of your country under the voluntary union of independent States. I do not envy the heart of that American whose pulse does not beat quicker, and who does not feel within him a high exulta- tion and pride, in the past glory and future prospects of his country. With these prospects are associated — if we are only wise, true, and faithful, if we shun sectional dissension — all that man can conceive of the progression of the American people. And the only danger which threatens those high prospects is that miserable spirit which, disregarding the obli- gations of honor, makes war upon the ccr~^'*ntion; which induces men to assume powers they do not j ;r:L\ss, trampling as ^ell upon the great principles which lie at th foundation of 186 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. the Declaration of Independence, and the constitution of the Union, as upon the honorable obligations which were fixed upon them by their fathers. They W'ith internecine strife would sacrifice themselves and their brethren to a spirit w^hich is a disgrace to our common country. "With these views, it will not be surprising, to those who most differ from me, that I feel an ardent desire for the success" of this State-rights democracy; that, convinced as I am of the ill consequences of the described heresies unless they be corrected; of the evils upon which they would precipitate the country unless they are restrained — I say, none need be surprised if, prompted by such aspirations, and impressed by such forebodings as now open themselves before me, I have spoken freely, yielding to motives I would suppress and cannot avoid. I have often, elsewhere than in the State of which I am a citizen, spoken in favor of that party which alone is national, in w^hich alone lies the hope of preserving the constitution and the perpetuation of the government and of the blessings which it was ordained and established to secure. " My friends, my brethren, my countrymen, I thank you for the patient attention you have given me. It is the first time it has ever befallen me to address an audience here. It will pro- bably be the last. Residing in a remote section of the coun- try, with private as well as public duties to occupy the whole of my time, it would only be for a very hurried visit, or under some such necessity for a restoration to health which brought me here this season, that I could ever expect to remain long among you, or in any other portion of the Union than the State of whicli I am a citizen. " I have Btaid long enough to feel that generous hospitality which evinces itself to-night, which has evinced itself in Bos- ton since I have been here, and showed itself in every town and village of New England where I have gone. I have staid here, too, long enough to learn that, though not represented in AGAIN IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 187 Congress, there is a large mass of as true democrats as are to be found in any portion of the Union within the limits of New England. Their purposes, their construction of the con- stitution, their hopes for the future, their respect for the past, is the same as that wnicli exists among my beloved brethren in Mississippi. " In the hour of apprehension I shall turn back to my observations here, in this consecrated hall, where men so early devoted themselves to liberty and community independence; and I shall endeavor to impress upon others, who know you only as you are represented in the two houses of Congress, how true and how many are the hearts that beat for constitutional liberty, and faitlifully respect every clause and guarantee which the constitution contains for any and every portion of the Union.'* His speech to an immense democratic ratification meeting in New York, on the 19th of October, was received with great enthusiasm, and, among other things, he said : " To each community belongs the right to decide for itself what institutions it will have — to each people sovereign in their own sphere. It belongs only to them to decide what shall be property. You have decided it for yourselves, Missis- sippi has done so. Who has the right to gainsay it? [Applause.] It was the assertion of the right of independence — of that very right which led your fathers into the war of the Revolution. [Applause.] It is that which constitutes the doctrine of State rights, on which it is my pleasure to stand. Congress has no power to determine what shall be property anywhere. Con- gress has only such grants as are contained in the constitution* and it conferred no power to rule with despotic hands over the independence of the Territories." In reply to an invitation to attend the " Webster Birthday Festival " in Boston, he wrote in January, 1859, as follows: "At a time when partisans avow the purpose to obliterate the landmarks of our fathers, and fanaticisna assails the bar- 288 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. riers they erected for the protection of rights coeval with and essential to tlie existence of the Union — when Federal offices have been sought by inciting constituencies to hostile aggres- sions, and exercised, not as a trust for the common welfare, but as a means of disturbing domestic tranquility — when oaths to support tlie constitution have been taken with a mental reservation to disregard its spirit, and subvert the purposes for which it was established — surely it becomes all who are faith- ful to the compact of our Union, and who are resolved to maintain and preserve it, to compare differences on questions of mere expediency, and, forming deep around the institutions we inherited, stand united to uphold, with unfaltering intent, a banner on which is inscribed the constitutional Union of free, equal, and independent States. "May the vows of 'love and allegiance,' which you propose to renew as a fitting tribute to the memory of the illustrious statesman whose birth you commemorate, find an echo in the heart of every patriot in our land, and tend to the revival of that fraternity which bore our fathers through the Revolution to the consummation of the independence they transmitted to us, and the establishment of the more perfect Union which their wisdom devised to bless their posterity for ever I "Though deprived of the pleasure of mingling my affec- tionate memories and aspirations with yours, I send you my cordial greeting to the friends of the constitution, and ask to be enrolled among those whose mission is, by fraternity and good faith to every constitutional obligation, to insure that, from the Aroostook to San Diego, from Key "West to Puget's Sound, the grand arch of our political temple shall stand un- shaken." The above extracts are sufficient to show the spirit and tem- per of Mr. Davis in these days of political and sectional strife. He was at the same time a very laborious worker on the com- mittees on which he served and in the Senate. He favored AGAIN IN TTTE UNTTED ST A TES SENATE. \^*i warmly tlie Soutlicni Paciiic railway, aivl opposed aV:>ly and earnestly the " French spoliation bill." In February, 18G0, he introduced in the Senate his famous "States-rights" resolutions, and there followed a debate of great ability, and some bitterness, in which Douglas and Davis had their great intellectual tilt. Want of space prevents the giving of the entire debate, or even the full text of Mr. Davis's great sj^eech, and unanswer- able argument, and it seems best to give simply his own modest account of it in his ''Rise and Fall of the Confederate Govern- ment." He says : "On February 2, 1860, the author submitted, in the Senate of the United States, a series of resolutions, afterwards slightly modified to read as follows: 1. Eesolved, That, in the adoption of the Federal constitu- tion, the States, adopting the same, acted severally as free and independent sovereignties, delegating a portion of their powers to be exercised by tiie Federal government for the increased security of each against dangers, domestic as well as foreign ; and that any intermeddling by any one or more States, or by a combination of their citizens, with the domestic institutions of the others, on an}'' pretext whatever, political, moral, or religious, with the view to their disturbance or subversion, is in violation of the constitution. Insulting to the States so inter- fered with, endangers their domestic peace and tranquilit}^ — objects for which the constitution was formed — and, by neces- sary consequence, tends to weaken and destroy the Union itself. 2. Resolved, That negro slavery, as it exists in fifteen States of this Union, composes an important part of their domestic institutions, inherited from our ancestors, and existing at the adoption of the constitution, by which it is recognized as con- stituting an important element in the apportionment of powers among the States, and that no change of opinion or feeling on the part of the non-slaveholding States of the Union in relation to this institution can justify them or their citizens in open or covert attacks thereon, with a view to its overthrow; and that all such attacks are in manifest violation of the mutual and solemn pledge to protect and defend each other, given by the 190 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLVMi!. States respectively, on entering into the constitutional compact which formed the Union, and are a manifest breach of faith and a violation of the most solemn obligations. 3. Resolved, That the Union of these States rests on the equality of rights and privileges among its members, and that it is especially the duty of the Senate, which represents the States in their sovereign capacity, to resist all attempts to dis- criminate either in relation to persons or property in the Ter- ritories, wdiich are the common possessions of the United States, so as to give advantages to the citizens of one State which are not equally assured to those of every other State. 4. Resolved, That neither Congress nor a territorial legis- lature, wdi'ether by direct legislation or legislation of an indi- rect and unfriendly character, possesses power to annul or impair the constitutional right of any citizen of the United States to take his slave property into the common territories, and there hold and enjoy the same while the territorial condi- tion remains. 5. Resolved, That if experience should at any time prove that the judiciary and executive authority do not possess means to insure adequate protection to constitutional rights in a territory, and if the territorial government shall fail or refuse to provide the necessary remedies for that purpose, it will be the duty of Congress to supply such deficiency.* 6. Resolved, That the inhabitants of a territory of the United States, when they rightfully form a constitution to be admitted as a State into the Union, may then, for the first time, like the people of a State when forming a new constitu- tion, decide for themselves whether slavery, as a domestic institution, shall be maintained or prohibited within their jurisdiction ; and they shall be received into the Union with or without slavery, as their constitution may prescribe at the time of their admission. 7. Resolved, That the provision of the constitution for the rendition of fugitives from service or labor, 'without the adop- tion of which the Union could not have been formed,' and that the laws of 1793 and 1850, which were enacted to secure its execution, and the main features of which, being similar, bear the impress of nearly seventy years of sanction by the highest *The words, !within the limits of its constitutional powers, were subsequently added to this resolution,, on the suggestiou of Mr. Tooinbs, of Georgia, with the approval of the morer. AGAIN IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 191 judicial authority, should be honestly and faithfully observed and maintained by all who enjoy the benetits of our compact of union; and that all acts of individuals or of State legisla- tures to defeat the purpose or nullify the requirements of that provision, and the laws made in pursuance of it, are hostile in character, subversive of the constitution, and revolutionary in their effect.' "After a protracted and earnest debate, these resolutions were adopted seriatim, on the 24th and 25th of May, by a decided majority of the Senate (varying from thirty-three to thirty-six yeas against from two to twenty-one nays), the Democrats, both Northern and Southern, sustaining them unit- edly, with the exception of one adverse vote (that of Mr. Pugh, of Ohio,) on the fourth and sixth resolutions. The Republi- cans all voted against them or refrained frem voting at all, except that Mr. Teneyck, of New Jersey, voted for the fifth and seventh of the series. Mr. Douglas^ the leader if not the author of 'popular sovereignty,' was absent on account of illness, and there were a few other absentees. "The conclusion of a speech, in reply to Mr. Douglas, a few days before the vote was taken on these resolutions, is introduced here as the best evidence of the position of the author at that period of excitement and agitation : CONCLUSION OF REPLY TO MR. DOUGLAS, MAY 17, 1860. ^^ Mr. President: I briefly and reluctantly referred, because the subject had been introduced, to the attitude of Mississippi on a former occasion. I will now as briefly say that in 1851, and in 1860, Mississippi was, and is, ready to make every con- cession which it becomes her to make to the welfare and the safety of the Union. If, on a former occasion, she hoped too much from fraternity, the responsibility for her disappoint- ment rests upon those who failed to fulfil her expectations. She still clings to the government as our fathers formed it. She is ready to-day and ■'.o-morrow, as in her past and though 192 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. brief yet brilliant history, to maintain that government in all its power, and to vindicate its honor with all the means she possesses. I say brilliant history; for it was in the very morning of her existence that her sons, on the plains of New Orleans, were announced, in general orders, to have been the admiration of one army and the wonder of the other. That we had a division in relation to the measures enacted in 1850, is trae; that the Southern rights men became the minority in the election which resulted is true; but no figure of speech could warrant the senator in speaking of them as subdued — as coming to him or anybody else for quarter. I deemed it offensive when it was uttered, and the scorn with which I repelled it at the instant, time has only softened to contempt. Our flag was never borne from the field. We had car- ried it in the face of defeat, with a knowledge that defeat awaited it; but scarcely had the smoke of the battle passed away which proclaimed another victor, before the general voice admitted that the field again was ours. I have not seen a sagacious reflecting man, who was cognizant of the events as they transpired at the time, who does not say that, within two weeks after the election, our party was in a majority; and the next election which occurred showed that we possessed the State beyond controversy. How we have wielded that power it is not for me to say. I trust others may see forbearance in our conduct — that, with a determination to insist upon our consti- tutional rights, then and now, there is an unwavering desire to maintain the government, and to uphold the Democratic party. "We believe now, as we have asserted on former occasions, that the best hope for the perpetuity of our institutions depends upon the co-operation, the harmony, the zealous action, of the Democratic party. We cling to that party from conviction that its principles and its aims are those of truth and the country, as we cling to the Union for the fulfillment of the purposes for AGAIN IN THE UNITED ST A TES SENATE. 193 which it was formed. Whenever we shall be taught that the Democratic party is recreant to its principles ; whenever we shall learn that it cannot be relied upon to maintain the great measures which constitute its vitality — I for one shall be ready to leave it. And so, -when we declare our tenacious adherence to the Union, it is the- Union of the constitution. If the com- pact bet\|'een the States is to be trampled into the dust; if anarchy is to be substituted for the usurpation and consolida- tion which threatened the government at an earlier period; if the Union is to become powerless for the purposes for which it was established, and w^o are vainly to appeal to it for protec-- tion — then, sir, conscious of the' rectitude of our course, the justice of our cause, self-reliant, yet humbly,' confidingly trust- ing in the arm that guided and j^rotected our fathers, we look beyond the confines of the Union for the maintenance of our rights. An habitual reverence and cherished affection for the government will bind us to it longer than our interests would suggest or require; but he is a poor student of the world's his- tory who does not understand that communities at last must yield to the dictates of their interests. That the aff'ection, the mutual desire for the mutual good, which existed among oui fathers, may be weakened in succeeding generations by the denial of right, and hostile demonstration, until the equality guaranteed but not secured within the Union may be sought for without it, must be evident to even a careless observer of our race. It is time to be up and doing. There is yet time to remove the causes of dissension and alienation which are now distracting, and have for years past divided, the country, "It the senator correctly described me as having at a former period, against my own preferences and opinions, acquiesced in the decision of my party; if, when I had youth, when J)hysi- cal vigor gave promise of many days, and the future was painted in the colors of hope, I could thus surrender my own convictions, my own prejudices, and co-operate with my politi- 13 194 THE DA VIS MEMC RIA L VOL UME. cal friends according to their views of the best method of pro- moting the public good — now, when tlie years of my future cannot be many, and experience has sobered the hopeful tints ot youth's gilding; when, approaching the evening of life, the shadows are reversed, and the mind turns retrospectively, it is not to be supposed that I would abandon lightly, or idly put on trial, the party to which I have steadily adhered. It is rather to be assumed that conservatism, which belongs to the timidity or caution of increasing years, would lead me to cling to, to be su|)ported by, rather than to cast off, the organization with which I have been so long connected. If I am driven to consider the necessity of separating myself from those old and dear relations, of discarding the accustomed support, under circumstances such as I have described, might not my friends who differ from me pause and inquire whether there is not something involved in it which calls for their careful revision? " I desire no divided flag for the Democratic party. " Our principles are national ; they belong to every State of the Union; and, though elections may be lost by their asser- tion, they constitute the only foundation on which we can maintain power, on which we can again rise to the dignity the Democracy once possessed. Does not the senator from Illinois see in the sectional character of the vote he received,* that his opinions are not acceptable to every portion of the country? Is not the fact that the resolutions adopted by seventeen States, on which the greatest reliance must be placed for Democratic support, are in opposition to the dogma to which he still clings, a warning that, if he persists and succeeds in forcing his theory upon the Democratic party, its days are num- bered ? We ask only for the constitution. We ask of the Democracy only from time to time to declare, as current exigencies may indicate, what the constitution was intended to secure and provide. Our flag bears no new device. * in the Democratic Convention, whicli had been recently held in Charleston. AGAIN IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE. 195 Upon its folds our principles are written in living light; all proclaiming the constitutional Union, justice, equality, and fraternity of our ocean-bound domain, for a limitless future." Mr. Davis had been frequently spoken of in connection with the Presidency of the United States, and at the meeting of the Democratic convention at Charleston, S. C, in May, 18G0, he had received a large vote for the nomination — PJon. Benjamin F. Butler, of Massachusetts, voting for him on 189 ballots — but he had not sought, and did not desire the nomi- nation He sided with the section of his party which nominated Breckinridge, but earnestly sought to reconcile the conflicting elements, and, had gotten, by his personal solicitation, both Breckinridge and Bell to agree to withdraw from the canvass on condition that Douglas would do the same, and the three elements could unite on a candidate who could successfully oppose the sectional candidate of the Republicans — Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois. But Mr. Douglas absolutely refused to withdraw, the four candidates remained in the field, and the apprehensions of Mr. Davis were realized in the election of Lincoln by a plurality of the electoral vote, though by only about one-iliird of the popular vote. XII. EFFORTS TO PRESERVE THE UNION, It lias loug been tlie custom of Northern writers to talk flip- pantly about the "secession conspirators," and to denounce Southern Leaders, and especially Mr. Davis, as secretly ** plot- ting to destroy the Union," because of failure to carry out their own ambitious ends, and the "Slaveholders' Rebellion" is held up to eternal execration as a wicked attempt to "destroy the life of the Nation." Never was there a more unjustifiable attempt to falsify the truth of history, and to shift the responsibility of the war from those who were really tlie guilty parties to those who did all in ti eir power to avert it. No man ever loved the "Union of the Fathers" more devo- tedly than Jefferson Davis — no man ever strove more earnestly than he to prevent its dissolution. And when all hope had fled and he followed his Sovereign State in the exercise of her constitutional right of Secession, and was called to be the President of the Confederacy, he did everything in his power to avert war, stood purely on the defensive, and made as purely a defensive fight for sacred principles and rights as tlie world ever saw, or the pen of the historian ever recorded. But before giving the details of his efforts to avert threat- ened disunion and war, let us look at an admirable summary of the events that led up to the catastrophe, which he gives in the seventh chapter of his great book- — " The Rise and Fall oi the Confederate Government." 1196J EFFOBTS TO PRESER VE THE UNION. 1S7 We quote in full as follows : "When, at the close of the war of the Revolution, each of the thirteen colonies that had been engaged in that contest was severally acknowledged by the mother-country, Great Britain, to be a free and independent State, the confederation of those States embraced an area so extensive, with climate and l)roducts so various, that rivalries and conflicts of interest soon began to be manifested. It required all the power of wisdom and patriotism, animated by the affection engendered by com- mon sufferings and dangers, to keep these rivalries under restraint, and to effect those compromises which it was fondly hoped would insure the harmony and mutual good offices of each for the benefit of all. It was in this, spirit of jiatriotism and confidence in the continuance of such abiding good will as would for all time j)reclude hostile aggression, that A-'irginia ceded, for the use of the confederated States, all the vast extent of territory lying north of the Ohio river, out of which have since been formed five States and part of a sixth. The addition of these States has accrued entirely to the preponder- ance of the Northern section over that from which the dona- tion proceeded, and to the disturbance of the equilibrium which existed at the close of the war of the Revolution. "It may not be out of place here to refer to the fact that the grievances which led to that war were directly inflicted upon the Northern colonies. Those of the South had no material cause of complaint; but, actuated by sympathy for their Northern brethren, and devotion to the principles of civil liberty and community independence, which they had inherited from their Anglo-Saxon ancestry, and which were set forth in the Declaration of Independence, they made common cause with their neighbors, and may, at least, claim to have done their full share iii the war that ensued. "By the exclusion of the South, in 1820, from all that part of the Louisiana purchase lying north of the parallel of thirty- 198 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME, six degrees thirty minutes, and not included in the State of Missouri; by the extension of that line of exclusion to em- brace the territory acquired from Texas; and by the appro- priation of all the territory obtained from Mexico under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, both north and south of that line, it may be stated with approximate accuracy that the North had monopolized to herself more than three-fourths of all that had been added to the domain of the United States since the Declaration of Independence. This inequality, which began, as has been shown, in the more generous than wise con- fidence of the South, was employed to obtain for the North the lion's share of what was afterward added at the cost of the public treasure and the blood of patriots. I do not care to estimate the relative proportion contributed by each of the two sections. " Nor was this the only cause that operated to disappoint the reasonable hopes and to blight the fair prospects under which the original compact was formed. The effects of discriminat- ing duties upon imports have been referred to in a former chapter — favoring the manufacturing region, which was the North; burdening the exporting region, which was the South; and so imposing upon the latter a double tax; one, by the increased price of articles of consumption, which, so far as they were of home production, went into the pockets of the manufacturer; the other, by the diminished value of articles of export, which was so much withheld from the pockets of the agriculturist. In like manner the power of the majority section was employed to appropriate to itself an unequal share of the public disbursements. These combined causes — the possession of more territory, more money, and a wider field for the employment of special labor — all served to attract immi- gration; and, with increasing population, the greed grew by what it fed on. EFFORTS TO PRESERVE THE UNION. 199 " This became distinctly manifest when the so-called ' Repub- lican' convention assembled in Chicago, on May IG, 18G0, to nominate a candidate for the Presidency. It was a purely sec- tional body. There were a few delegates present, representing an insignificant minority in the 'border States,' Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri; but not one from any State south of the celebrated political line of thirty- six degrees thirty minutes. It had been the invariable usage with nominating conventions of all parties to select candidates for the Presidency and Vice-Presidency, one from the North and the other from the South; but this assemblage nominated Mr. Lincoln, of Illinois, for thefirst office, and for the second, Mr. Hamlin, of Maine — both Northerners. Mr. Lincoln, its nominee for the Presidency, had publicly announced that the Union 'could not permanently endure, half slave and half free.' The resolutions adopted contained S( me carefully worded declarations, well adapted to deceive the credulous who were opposed to hostile aggressions upon iho rights of the States. In order to accomplish this purpuse, tliey were com- pelled to create a fictitious issue, in denouncing what they described as 'the new dogma that the constitution, of its own force, carries slavery into any or all of the Territorries of the "United States' — a 'dogma' which had never been held or declared by anybody, and which had no existence outside of their own assertion. There was enough in connection with the nomination to assure the most fanatical foes of the consti- tution that their ideas would be the rule and guide of the party. " Meantime, the Democratic party had held a convention, composed, as usual, of delegates from all the States. They met in Charleston, South Carolina, on April 23d, but an unfortunate disagreement with regard to the declaration of principles to be set forth rendered a nomination impractica- ble. Both divisions of the convention adjourned, and met again in Baltimore in June. Then, having finally failed to 200 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. come to an agreement, they separated and made their respec- tive nominations apart. Mr. Douglas, of Illinois, was nomi- nated by the friends of the doctrine of 'popular sovereignty,' with Mr. Fritzpatrick, of Alabama, for the Vice-Presidency. Both these gentlemen at that time were senators from their respective States. Mr. Fritzpatrick promptly declined the nomination, and his place was filled with the name of Mr. Herschel V. Johnson, a distinguished citizen of Georgia. "The convention representing the conservative, or State- Eights, wing of the Democratic party (the President of which was the Honorable Caleb Gushing, of Massachusetts), on the first ballot, unanimously made choice of John C. Breckin- ridge, of Kentucky, then Vice-President of the United States, for the first office, and with like unanimity selected General Joseph Lane, then a senator from Oregon, for the second. The resolutions of each of these two conventions denounced the action and policy of the abolition party, as subversive of the constitution and revolutionary in their tendency. " Another convention was held in Baltimore about the same period* by those who still adhered to the old Whig party, re-enforced by the remains of the 'American' organization, and perhaps some others. This convention also consisted of dele- gates from all the States, and repudiating all geographical and sectional issues, and declaring it to be 'both the part of patri- otism and of duty to recognize no political principle other than the constitntion of the country, the Union of the States, and the enforcement of the laws,' pledged itself and its supporters * to maintain, protect, and defend, separately and unitedly, those great principles of public liberty and national safety against all enemies at home and abroad." Its nominees were Messrs. John Bell, of Tennessee, and Edward Everett, of Mas- sachusetts, both of whom had long been distinguished mem- bers of the Whig party. *May 19, 1S60. EFFORTS TO PRESERVE THE UNION. 201 "The people of the United States now had four rival tickets presented to them by as many contending parties, whose respective position and principles on the great and absorbing question at issue may be briefly recapitulated as follows: "1. The 'Constitutional-Union' party, as it was now termed, led by Messrs. Bell and Everett, which ignored the territorial controversy altogether, and contented itself, as above stated, with a simple declaration of adherence to 'the constitution, the Union, and the enforcement of the laws.' " 2. The party of 'popular sovereignty,' headed by Douglas and Johnson, who affirmed the right of the people of the ter- ritories, in their territorial condition, to determine their own organic institutions, independently of the control of Congress denying the power or duty of Congress 1o protect the persons or property of individuals or minorities in such territories against the action of majorities. "3. The State-rights party, supporting Breckinridge and Lane, who held that the Territories were open to citizens of all the States, with their property, without any inequality or dis- crimination, and that it was the duty of the general govern- ment to protect both persons and property from aggression in the Territories subject to its control. At the same time they admitted and asserted the right of the people of a Territory, on emerging from tlieir territorial condition to that of a State, to determine what should then be their domestic institutions, as well as all other questions 'of personal or proprietary right, without interference by Congress, and subject only to the limi- tations and restrictions prescribed by the constitution of the United States. "4. The so-called 'Republicans,' presenting the names of Lincoln and Hamlin, who held, in the language of one of their leaders,* that 'slavery can exist onl}'- by virtue of municipal law'; that there was 'no law for it in the Territories, and no * Horace Greeley, " The American Conflict," yol. i, p. 322. 202 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. power to enact one"; and that Congress was 'bound to pro- hibit it in or exclude it from any and every Federal Territory.' In other words, they asserted the right and duty of Congress to exclude the citizens of half the States of the Union from the territory belonging in common to all, unless on condition of the sacrifice or abandonment of their property recognized by the constitution — indeed, of the only species of their property distinctly and specifically recognized as such by that instru- ment. "On the vital question underlying the whole controversy — that is, whether the Federal government should be a govern- ment of the whole for the benefit of all its equal members, or (if it should continue to exist at all) a sectional government for the benefit of a part — the first three of the parties above described were in substantial accord as against the fourth. If they could or would have acted unitedly, they could certainly have carried the election, and averted the catastrophe which followed. Nor were efforts wanting to effect such a union. ''Mr. Bell, the Whig candidate, w^as a highly respectable and experienced statesman, who had filled many important offices both State and Federal. He was not ambitious to the extent of coveting the Presidency, and he was profoundly impressed by the danger which threatened the country. Mr. Breckenridge had not anticipated, and it may safely be said did not eagerly desire, the nomination. He was young enough to wait, and patriotic enough to be willing to do so, if the weal of the coun- try required it. Thus much I may confidently assert of both those gentlemen; for each of them authorized me to say that he was willing to withdraw, if an arrangem-ent could be affected by which the divided forces of the friends of the constitution could be concentrated upon some one more generally acceptable than either of the three who had been presented to the country. "When I made this announcement to Mr. Douglas — with whom my relations had always been such as to authorize the assurance EFFORTS TO PRESERVE THE I'NION. 203 that h© could not consider it as made in an unfriendly spirit — -, he replied that the scheme proposed was impracticable, because his friends, mainly Northern Democrats, if he were withdrawn, would join in the support of Mr. Lincoln, rather than of any one that should supplant hmi (Douglas); that he was in the hands of bis friends, and was sure they would not accept the proposition. "It needed but little knowledge of the sto^ws of parties in the several States to foresee a probable defeat if the conservatives were to continue divided into three parts, and the aggressives were to be held in solid column. But angry passions, which are always bad counsellors, had-been aroused, and hopes were still cherished, which proved to be illusory. The result was the election, by a minority, of a President whose avowed prin- ciples were necessarilv fatal to the harmony of the Union. " Of 303 electoral votes, Mr. Lincoln received ISO, but of the popular suffrage of 4,676,853 votes, which the electors repre- s-ented, he obtained only 1,866,352 — something over a third of the votes. This discrepancy was owing to the system of voting by 'general ticket' — that is, casting the State votes as a unit, whether unanimous or nearly equally divided. Thus, in New York, the total popular vote was 675,156, of which 362,646 were cast for the so-called Republican (or Lincoln) electors, and 312,510 against them. New York was entitled to 35 electoral votes. Divided on the basis of the popular vote, 19 of these would have been cast for Mr. Lincoln, and 16 against him. But under the 'general ticket' system the entire 35 votes were cast for the Republican candidates, thus giving them not only the full strength of the majorit}^ in their favor, but that of the great minority against them superadded. So of other Northern States, in which the small majorities on one side operated with the weight of entire unanimity, while the virtual unanimity in the Southern States, on the other side, counted nothing more than a mere majority would have done. 204 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. "The manifestations which followed this result, in the South- ern States, did not proceed, as has been unjustly charged, from chagrin at their defeat in the election, or from any personal hostility to the President-elect, but from the fact that they recognized in him the representative of a party professing prin- ciples destructive to 'their peace, their prosperity, and their domestic tranquility,' The long-suppressed fire burst into frequent flame, but it was still controlled by that love of the Union which the South had illustrated on every battle-field, from Boston to New Orleans. Still it was hoped, against hope, that some adjustment might be made to avert the calamities of a practical application of the theory of an 'irrepressible conflict.' Few, if any, then doubted the right of a State to withdraw its grants delegated to the Federal government, or, in other words, to secede from the Union ; but in the South it was generally regarded as the remedy of last resort, to be applied only when ruin or dishonor was the alternative. No rash or revolution- ary xiction was taken by the Southern States, but the measures adopted were considerate, and executed advisedly and delibe- rately. The Presidential election occurred (as far as the popular vote, which determined the result, was concerned) in November, 1860. Most of the State legislatures convened soon afterward in regular session. In some cases special ses- sions were convoked for the purpose of calling State Conven- tions — the recognized representatives of the sovereign will of the people — to be elected expressly for the purpose of taking such action as should be considered needful and proper under the existing circumstances "These conventions, as it was always held and understood, possessed all the power of the people assembled in mass; and therefore it was conceded that they, and they only, could take action for the withdrawal of a State from the Union. The con- sent of the respective States to the formation of the Union had been giving through such conventions, and it was only by the EFFOBIS TO PRESERVE THE UN JON.' 205 same authority that it could properly he revoked. The time required for this deliberate and formal 2:)rocess precludes the idea of hasty or passionate action, and none who admit the pri- mary power of the j:)eople to govern themselves can consistently deny its validity and binding obligation upon every citizen of the several States. Not only was there ample time for calm consideration among the people of the South, but for due reflec- tion by the general government and thepeo2jleof the Northern States. "President Buchanan was in the last year of his administra- tion. His freedom from sectional asperity, his long life in the public service and his peace-loving and conciliatory character, were all guarantees against his precipitating a conflict between the Federal government and any of the States; but the feeble power that he possessed in the closing months of his term to mold the policy of the future was painfully evident. Like all who had intelligently and impartially studied the history of the formation of the constitution, he held that the Federal gov- ernment had no rightful power to coerce a State. Like the sages and patriots who preceded him in the high office that he filled, he believed that 'our Union rests upon public opinion, and can never be cemented by the blood of its citizens shed in civil war If it cannot live in the affections of the people, it nmst one day perish. Congress may possess many means of preserving it by conciliation, but the sword was not placed in their hand to preserve it by force.' — (Message of December 3, ISGO.) "Ten years before, Mr. Calhoun, addressing the Senate with all the earnestness of his nature, and with that sincere desire to avert the danger of disunion which those who knew him best never doubted, had asked the emphatic question, LIow can the Union be saved?' He answered his question thus " 'There is but one way by which it can be [saved] with any certainty; and that is by a full and final settlement, on the 206 TB.E DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. principles of justice, of all the questions at issue between the sections. The South asks for justice — simple justice — and less she ought not to take. She has no compromise to ofler but the constitution, and no concession or surrender to make. "'Can this be done? Yes, easily . Not by the weaker party ; for it can of itself do nothing — not even protect itself — but by the stronger. But will the North agree to this ? It is for her to answer this question. But, I will say, she cannot refuse if she has half the love of the Union which she professes to have, nor without exposing herself to the charge that her love of power and aggrandizement is far greater than her love of the Union.' " During the ten j^ears that intervened between the date of this sj^eech and the message of Mr. Buchanan cited above, the progress of sectional discord and the tendency of the stronger section to unconstitutional aggression had been fearfully rapid. AVith very rare exceptions, there were none in 1850 who claimed the right of the Federal government to apply coercion to a State. In 1860 men had grown to be familiar with threats of driving the South into submission to any act that the govern- ment, in the hands of a Northern majority, might see fit to perform. During the canvass of that year, demonstrations had been made by ^'uasi- military organizations in various parts of the North, which looked unmistakably to purposes widely different from those enunciated in the p^^eamble to the consti- tution, and to the employment of means not authorized by the powers which the States had delegated to the Federal government. " Well-informed men still remembered that, in the conven- tion which framed the constitution, a proposition was made to authorize the employment of force against a delinquent State, on which Mr. Madison remarked that ' the use of force against ' a State would look more like a declaration of war than an infliction of punishment, and would probably be considered by EFFORTS TO PRESERVE THE UNION. 207 the party attacked as a dissolution of all previous compacts by •which it might have been bound,* The convention expressly refused to confer the power proposed, and the clause was lost. While, therefore, in 1860, many violent men, appealing to passion and the lust of power, were inciting the multitude, and preparing Northern opinion to support a war waged against the Southern States in the event of their secession, there were others who took a different view of the case. Notable among such was the New York Tribune which had been the organ of the abolitionists, and which now declared tliat, * if the cotton States wished to withdraw from the Union, they should be allowed to do so'; that 'any attempt to compel them to remain, by force, would be contrary to the principles of the Declaration of Independence and to the fundamental ideas upon which human liberty is based'; and that, 'if the Declaration of Independence justified the secession from the British Empire of three millions of subjects in 1776, it was not seen why it would not justify the secession of five millions of Southerners from the Union in 1861/ Again, it was said by the same journal that, 'sooner than compromise with the South and abandon the Chicago platform,* they would 'let the Union slide/ Taunting expressions were freely used — as, for example, 'If the Southern people wish to leave the Union, we will do our best to forward their views.' " All this, it must be admitted, was quite consistent with the oft-repeated declaration that the constitution was a ' covenant with hell,' which stood as the caption of a leading abolitionist paper of Boston. That signs of coming danger so visible, evidences of hostility so unmistakable, disregard of constitu- tional obligations so wanton, taunts and jeers so bitter and insulting, should serve to increase excitement in the South, was a consequence flowing as much from reason and patriotism as from sentiment. He must have been ignorant of human nature who did not expect such a tree to bear fruits of discord and division." 208 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. As further illustrating the views of Mr. Davis during this great crisis, we quote a letter which he wrote under date of November 10th, 1860, just after the election of Mr. Lincoln, Hon. R. B. Rhett, Jr., was one of the ablest secession leaders of South Carolina, and belonged to the ultra wing which favored immediate and separate State action on the elec- tion of Mr. Lincoln. The reply of Mr. Davis is the more sig- nificant, because, while intended as a private letter and with no expectation of its ever meeting the public eye, he not only- does not take the ultra position that has been attributed to him, but counsels the more conservative course of a conven- tion of the Southern States to consider the situation, and deter- mine what would be the wisest action for them to take. But the letter explains itself, and is as follows: Warren County, Miss., Nov. 10, 1860. Hon. R. B. Rhett, Jr.: Dear Sir — I had the honor to receive, last night, yours of the 27th ultimo, and hasten to reply to the inquiries propoun- ded. Reports of the election leave little doubt that the event you anticipated has occurred, that electors have been chosen, securing the election of Lincoln, and I will answer on that supposition. My home is so isolated that I have had no intercourse with those who might have aided me in forming an opinion as to the effect produced on the mind of our people by the result ol the recent election, and the impressions which I commun- icate are founded upon antecedent expressions. 1 I doubt not that the governor of Mississippi has convoked tlie legislature to assemble within the present month to decide upon the course which the State should adopt in the present emergency. Whether the legislature will direct the call of a convention of the State, or appoint delegates to a convention of such Southern States as may be willing to consult together for the adoption of a Southern plan of action, is doubtful. 2. If a convention of the State were assembled, the propo- sition to secede from the Union, independently of support from neighboring States, would probably fail. EFFOIiTS TO Pr.ESEEVE THE UNION. 200 3. If South Carolina sliould first secede, and she alone should take such action, the position of -^Mississippi would not probably be changed by that fact. A powerful obstacle to the separate action of ]\Iississippi is the want of a port; from which follows the consequence that her trade, being still conducted through the ports of the Union, her revenue would be diverted from her own support to that of a foreign government; and being geographically unconnected with South Carolina, an alliance with her would not vary that state of the case. [.S/c] 4. The propriety of separate secession by South Carolina depends so much upon collateral questions that I find it difii- cult to respond to your last inquiry, for the want of knowledge which would enable me to estimate the value of the elements involved in the issue, though exterior to your State. Georgia is necessary to connect you with Alabama, and thus to make effectual the cooperation of JMississippi. If Georgia would be lost by immediate action, but -could be gained by delay, it seems clear to me that you should wait. If the secession of South Carolina should be followed by an attempt to coerce her back into the Union, that act of usurpation, folly, and wicked- ness would enlist every true Southern man for her defense. If it were attempted to blockade her ports and destroy her trade, a like result would be produced, and the commercial world would probably be added to her allies. It is probable tliat neither of those measures would be adopted by any admin- istration, but that Federal ships w^ould be sent to collect the duties on imports outside of the bar; that the commercial nations would feel little interest in that; and the Southern States would have little power to counteract it. The planting States have a common interest of such magni- tude, that their union, sooner or later, for the j^rotection of that interest, is certain. United they will have ample power for their own protection, and their exports will make for them allies of all commercial and manufacturing powers. The new States have a hetrcogencous population, and will ba slower and less unanimous than those in which there is less of the Northern element in tJie body politic, but interest con- trols the policy of States, and finally all the planting commu- nities must reach thesnmeconclusion. ]\Iy opinioni'^, therefore, as it has been, in favor of seeling to bring iliose IStaies info coopera- tion before asking for a popular decision upon a ticw pol'Lcy and 14 210 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. relation to the nations of the earth. If South Carolina should resolve to secede before that cooperation can be obtained, to go out leaving Georgia, and Alabama, and Louisiana in the Union, and without any reason to suppose they will follow her, there appears to me to be no advantage m waiting until the government has passed into hostile hands, and men have become familiarized to that injurious and ofFensive perversion of the general government from the ends for which it was established. I have written with the freedom and carelessness of private correspondence, and regret that I could not give more precise information. Very respectfully, yours, etc., Jefferson Davis. Soon after the election of Mr. Lincoln, the governor of Mis- sissippi issued his proclamation convening the legislature in special session, and invited the United States Senators and members of the House from the State to meet him in confer- ence to discuss the character of the message he should send to the legislature. Li that conference ]\Ir. Davis stood almost alone, and opposed immediate and separate state action so strongly that his col- leagues were dissatisfied with his action, and some of them thought him entirely *'too slow," if not opposed to secession altogether. The following letter from Hon. 0. R. Singleton, a member of the conference, confirms Mr. Davis's own state- ment of it: " Canton, Mississippi, July 14, 1877. "In 1860, about the time the ordinance of secession was p ssed by the South Carolina convention, and while Missis- sippi, Alabam.a, and other Southern States were making active preparations to follow her example, a conference of the Missis- sippi delegation in Congress, Senators and Representatives, was asked for by Governor J. J. t*ettus, for consultation as to the course Mississippi ought to take in the premises. "The meeting took place in the fall of 1860, at Jackson, the capital, the whole delegation being present, with perhaps the exception of one representative. JRFFORTS TO PRESERVE THE T'X/oX. 211 "The main question for consideration was : 'iSliall Misj^is- sippi, as soon as her convention can meet, pass an ordinance of secession, thus phicing herself hy the side of Soutli Caro- lina, regardless of the action of other States; or shall she endeavor to hold South Carolina in check, and delay action herself, until other States can get ready, through their conven- tions, to unite with them, and then, on a given day and at a given hour, hy concert of action, all the States willing to do so, secede in a body ?' " Upon the one side, it was argued that South Carolina could not be induced to delay action a single moment beyond the meeting of her convention, and that our fate should be hers, and to delay action would be to have her crushed by the Fed- eral government ; whereas, , by the earliest action possible, we might be able to avert this calamity. On the other side, it was contended that delay might bring the Federal government to consider the emergency of the case, and j)erhaps a compro- mise could be effected; but, if not, then the proposed concert of action would at least give dignity to the movement, and j^resent an undivided Southern front. "The debate lasted many hours, and ]\Ir. Davis, with per- haps one other gentleman in that conference, opposed imme- diate and separate State action, declaring himself opposed to secession as long as the hope of a peaceable remedy remained. He did not believe we ought to precipitate the issue, as he felt certain from his knowledge of the people. North and South, that, once there was a clash of arms, the contest would be one of the most sanguinary the world had ever witnessed. "A majority of the meeting decided that no delay should be interposed to separate State action, Mr. Davis being on the other side; but, after the vote was taken and the question decided, Mr. Davis declared he would stand by whatever action the convention representing the sovereignty of the State of Missis- sippi might think proper to take. "After the conference was ended, several of its members were dissatisfied with the course of Mr. Davis, believing that he was entirely opposed to secession, and was seeking to delay action upon the part of Mississippi, with the hope that it might be entirely averted. " In some unimportant respects my memory may be at fault, and possibly some of the inferences drawn may be incorrect ; 212 THE DA VIS MEMORIA L VOL UME. but every material statement maae, I am sure, is true, and, if need be, can be easily substantiated by other persons. " Very respectfully, your obedient servant, (Signed) 0. R. Singleton.'' Mr, Davis was active and earnest in his efforts to effect a compromise and reach a basis which would permit the South- ern States to remain in the Union. He was a member of the committee of the Senate to whom was referred the famous " Crittenden compromise," and avowed himself willing to accept that or any other plan that the opposing factions could agree upon, and that promised any reasonable hope of suc- cess. But the "Republican" members of the committee rejected absolutely everything that the Northern and Southern Democrats and Whigs agreed on, and seemed determined not to consent to anything that promised a settlement. On the 10th of December, Mr. Davis closed an able and eloquent speech as follows: " This Union is dear to me as a Union of fraternal States. It would lose its value if I had to regard it as a Union held together by physical force. I would be happy to know that every State now felt that fraternity which made this Union possible ; and, if that evidence could go out, if evidence satis- factory to the people of the South could be given that that feeling existed in the hearts of the Northern people, you might burn your statute books and we would cling to the Union still. But it is because of their conviction that hostility, and not fra- ternity, now exists in the hearts of the people, that they are look- ing to their reserved rights and to their independent powers for their own protection. If there be any good, then, which we can do, it is by sending evidence to them of that whioh I fear does not exist — the purpose of your constituents to fulfil in the spirit of justice and fraternity all their constitutional obliga- tions. If you can submit to them that evidence, I feel confi- dence that, with the assurance that aggression is henceforth to cease, will terminate all the measures for defense. Upon you of the majority section it depends to restore peace and perpetu- ate the Union of equal States ; upon us of the minority section EFFOETS TO FBESERVE THE UNION. S13 rests the duty to maintain our equality and community rights; md the means in one case or the other must be such as each can control." Mr. Davis, in his book, has ably and triumphantly vindi- cated himself and other Southern Senators and Representatives from the oft-repeated slander that they were members of a secret "cabal," plotting the destruction of the Union, and shows that he did everything in his power to avert the calamity. He quotes the following clear nd conclusive reply of his intimate friend, Hon. C. C. Clay, of Alabama, to certain phases of this slander to which his attention had been called: "The import is, that Mr. Davis, disappointed and cha- grined at not receiving the nomination of the Democratic party for President of the United States in 1860, took the lead on the assembling of Congress in December, 1860, in a 'con- spiracy ' of Southern Senators which planned the secession of the Southern States from the Union,' and * on the night of January 5, 1861, . > framed the scheme of revolution which was implicitly and promptly followed at the South.' In other words, that Southern Senators (and, chief among them, Jeffer- son Davis), then and there, instigated and induced the Southern States to secede. ' I am quite sure that Mr. Davis neither expected nor desired the nomination for the Presidency of the United States in 1860. He never evinced any such aspiration, by word or sign, to me — with whom he was, I believe, as intimate and confidential as with any person outside of his own family. On jhe contrary, he requested the delegation from Mississippi not to permit the use of his name before the convention. And, after the nomination of both Douglas and Breckinridge, he conferred wath them, at the instance of leading Democrats, to persuade them to withdraw, that their friends might unite on some second choice — an office he would never have under- taken, had he sought the nomination or believed that he was regarded as an aspirant. 214 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME, " Mr. Davis did not take an active part in planning or haS' tening secession. I think he only regretjidly consented to it, as a political necessity for the preservation of popular and State rights, which were seriously threatened by the triumph of a sectional party who were pledged to make war on them. I know that some leading men, and even Mississippians, thought him too moderate and backward, and found fault with him for not taking a leading part in secession. "No plan of secession' or 'scheme of revolution' was, to my knowledge, discussed — certainly none matured — at the caucus, 5th of January, 1861, unless, forsooth, the resolutions appended hereto be so held. They comprise the sum and substance of what was said and done. I never heard that the caucus advised the South ' to accumulate munitions of war,' or 'to organize and equip an army of one hundred thousand men,' or determined 'to hold on as long as possible to the Southern seats.' So far from it, a majority of Southern Senators seemed to think there would be no war; that the dominant party in the North desired separation from the South, and would gladly let their 'erring sisters go in peace.' I could multiply proofs of such a disposition. As to holding on to their seats, no Southern leg- islature advised it, no Southern Senator who favored secession did so but one, and none others wished to do so, I believe. "The ^plan of secession,' if any, and the purpose of seces- sion, unquestionably, originated, not in AVashington city, or with the Senators or Representatives of the South, but among the people of the several States, many months before it was attempted. They followed no leaders at Washington or else- where, but acted for themselves, with an independence and unanimity unprecedented in any movement of such magni- tude. Before the meeting of the caucus of January 5, 1861, South Carolina had seceded, and Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas had taken the initial step of secession, by calling conventions for its accomplishment. Before the elec- EFFORTS TO PRESERVE THE U^UON. 215 tion of Lincoln, all the Southern States, excepting one or two, had pledged themselves to separate from the Union upon tho triumph of a sectional party in the presidential election, by acts or resolutions of their legislatures, resolves of both Dem- ocratic and Whig State conventions, and of primary assemblies of the people — in every way in which they could commit themselves to any future act. Their purpose was proclaimed to the world through the press and telegraph, and criticised in Congress, in the Northern legislatures, in press and pulpit, and on the hustings, during manyl months before Congress met in December, 1S60. " Over and above all these facts, the reports of the United States Senate show that, prior to the 5th of Januar3', 1861, Southern Senators united with Northern Democratic Senators in an effort to effect pacification and prevent secession, and that Jefferson Davis was one of a committee appointed by the Senate to consider and report sucli a measure; that it failed because the Northern Re23ublicans opposed everything that looked to peace; that Senator Douglas arraigned them as try- ing to precipitate secession, referred to Jefferson Davis as one who sought conciliation, and called upon the Republican Sen- ators to tell what they would do, if anything, to restore har- mony and prevent disunion. They did not even deign a response. Thus, by their sullen silence, they made confession (without avoidance) of their stubborn purpose to hold up no hand raised to maintain the Union. . . ." But events hastened ; his sovereign state seceded from the Union, and ]\Ir. Davis did not hesitate to obey her mandate and follow her lead On the 20tli of January, 1861, he wrote the following ten- der letter to his old friend, President Franklin Pierce : "Washington, D. C, January 20, 1861. "i!/?/ Dear Friend: I have often and sadly turned my thoughts to you during the troublous times through which we 218 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME, have been passing, and now I come to the hard task of announcing to you that the hour is at hand which closes my connection witli the United States, for the independence and union of which my father toiled and in the service of which I have sought to emulate the example h-e set for my guidance. Mississippi, not as a matter of choice, but of necessity, has resolved to enter on the trial of secession. Those who have driven her to this alternative threaten to deprive her of the right to require that her government shall rest on the consent of the governed, to substitute foreign force for domestic sup- port, to reduce a State to the condition from which the colony rose. In the attempt to avoid the issue which had been joined by the country, the present administration has complicated and precipitated the question. Even now, if the duty to * pre- serve the public property ' was rationally regarded, the proba- ble collision at Charleston would be avoided. Security far better than any which the Federal troops can give might be obtained in consideration of the little garrison of Fort Sum- ter. If the disavowal of any purpose to coerce South Caro- lina be sincere, the possession of a work to command the har- bor is worse than useless. " When Lincoln comes in he will have but to continue in the path of his predecessor to inaugurate a civil war, and leave a soi-disant Democratic administration responsible for the fact. General Cushing was here last week, and when he parted it seemed like taking a last leave of a brother. " I leave immediately for Mississippi, and know not what may devolve upon me after my return. Civil war has only horror for me, but whatever circumstances may demand shall be met as a duty, and I trust be so discharged that you will not be ashamed of our former connection or cease to be my friend. •' Mrs. Davis joins me in kind remembrance to Mrs. Pierce, and the expression of the hope that we may yet have you both at our country home. Do me the favor to write to me often. Address Hurricane P. 0., Warren county. Miss. May God bless you, is ever the prayer of your friend, " President F. Pierce. " Jeff'n Davis." The next day he delivered his famous "Farewell to the Senate," which so fully expresses his views and so ably vindi- £:rTOEr.^ to fuesehvje tb..e uuiqn. i\i cates his oAvii course and that of thoaa wiio acted with him, that "we give it in full. SPEECH OF HON, JEFFERSON DAVIS, ON WITHDRAWING FROM THE U. S. SENATE, JAN. 21, ISGl. "Mr. Davis: Irise, Mr. President, for the purpose of announc- ing to the Senate that I have satisfactory evidence tluit the State of Mississippi, by a solemn ordinance of her people, in convention assembled, has declared her separation from the United States. Under these circumstances, of course, my func- tions are terminated here. It has seemed tome proper, however, that I should appear in the Senate to announce that fact to my associates, and I will say but very little more. The occasion does not invite me to go into argument; and my physical condition would not permit me to do so, if otherwise ; and yet it seems to become me to say something on the part of a State I here represent, on an occasion so solemn as this. "It is known to Senators who have served with me here, that I have, for many years, advocated, as an essential attribute of State sovereignty, the right of a State to secede from the Union. Tlierefore, if I had not believed there was justifiable cause; if I had thought that Mississippi was acting without sufficient provocation, or without an existing necessity, I should still, under my theory of the Government, because of my allegiance to the State of which I am a citizen, have been bound by her action. I, however, may be permitted to say that I do think she has justifiable cause, and I approve of her act. I conferred with her people before that act was taken, counseled them then that if the state of things which they apprehended should exist when the convention met, they should take the action which they have now adopted. "I hope none who hear me will confound this expression of mine with the advocacy of the right of a State to remain in the Union, and to disregard its constitutional obligations by the aulHfication of the law, Such is not my theory. Nullification 218 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. and secession, so often confounded, are, indeed, antagonistic principles. Nullification is a remedy which it is Sought to apply within the Union, and against the agent of the States. It is only to be justified when the agent has violated his con- stitutional obligations, and a State, assuming to judge for itself, denies the right of the agent thus to act, and appeals to the other States of the Union for a decision ; but when the States themselves, and when the people of the States, have so acted as to convince us that they will not regard our constitu- tional rights, then, and then for the first time, arises the doctrine of secession in its practical application. "A great man who now reposes with his fathers, and who has often been arraigned for a want of fealty to the Union, advo- cated the doctrine of nullification because it preserved the Union. It was because of his deep-seated attachment to the Union — his determination to find some remedy for existing ills short of a severance of the ties which bound South Carolina to the other States, that Mr. Calhoun advocated the doctrine of nullification, which he proclaimed to be peaceful — to be within the limits of State power, not to disturb the Union, but oiily to be a means of bringing the agent before the tribunal of the States for their judgment. ''Secession belongs to a different class of remedies. It is to be justified upon the basis that the States are sovereign. There was a time when none denied it. I hope the time may come again, when a better comprehension of the theory of our government, and the inalienable rights of the people of the States, will prevent any one from denying that each State is a sovereign, and thus may reclaim the grants which it has made to any agent whomsoever. "I, therefore, say I concur in the action of the people of Mis- sissippi, believing it to be necessary and proper, and should have been bound by their action if my belief had been other- wise ; and this brings me to the important point which I wish? EFFORTS TO PRESERVE THE UNION. 219 on this last occasion, to present to the Senate. It is by this confounding of nullification and secession, that the name of a great man, whose ashes now mingle with his mother earth, has been evoked to justify coercion against a seceded State. The phrase- 'to execute the laws,' was an expression which General Jackson applied to the case of a State refusing to obey the laws while yet a member of the Union. That is not the case which is now presented. The laws are to be executed over the United States, and upon the people of the United States. They have no relation to any foreign country. It is a perversion of terms — at least it is a great misapprehension of the case — which cites that expression for application to a State which has withdrawn from the Union. You may make war on a foreign State, If it be, the purpose of gentlemen, they make war against a State which has withdrawn from the Union ; but there are no laws of the United States to be exe- cuted within the limits of a seceded State. A State, finding her- self in the condition in which Mississippi has judged she is — in which her safety requires that she should provide for the maintenance of her rights out of the Union — surrenders all the benefits (and they are known to be many), deprives her- self of the advantages (and they are know to be great), severs all the ties of afi'ection (and they are close and enduring), which have bound her to the Union ; and thus divesting her- self of every benefit — taking upon herself every burden — she claims to be exempt from any power to execute the laws of the United States within her limits. "I well remember an occasion when Massachusetts was arraigned before the bar of the Senate, and when the doctrine of coercion was rife, and to be applied against her, because of the rescue of a fugitive slave in Boston. My opinion then was the same that it is now. Not in a spirit of egotism, but to show that I am not influenced, in my opinion, because the case is my own, I refer to that time and that occasion, as con- 220 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. taining the opinion which I then entertained, and on which my present conduct is based. I then said that if Massachu setts, following her through a stated line of conduct, choose to take the last step which separates her from the Union, it is her right to go, and I will neither vote one dollar nor one man to coerce her back; but will say to her, God speed, in memory of the kind associations which once existed betv/een her and the other States. "It has been a conviction of pressing necessity — it has been a belief that we are to be deprived, in the Union, of the rights which our fathers bequeathed to us — which was brought Mississippi into her present decision. She has heard pro- claimed the theory that all men are created free and equal, and this made the basis of an attack upon her social institu- tions; and the sacred Declaration of Independence has been invoked to maintain the position of the equality of the races. The Declaration of Independence is to be construed by the circumstances and purposes for which it was made. The com- munities were declaring their independence; the people of those communities were asserting that no man was born, to use the language of Mr. Jefferson, booted and spurred, to ride over the rest of mankind; that men were created equal — mean- ing the men of the political community; that there was no divine right to rule ; that no man inherited the right to govern; that there were no classes by which power and place descended to families; but that all stations were equally within the grasp of each member of the body politic. These were the great principles they announced; these were the purposes for which they made their declaration; these were the ends to which their enunciation was directed. They have no reference to the slave; else, how happened it, that, among the items of arraignment against George III, was, that he endeavored to do just M'liat the North has been endeavoring of late to do, to stir up insurrection among our slaves. Had the Declaration EFFOIi'I\S TO FMEi^EH VE THE Vl^ioy. '221 announced that the negroes were free and equal, how was the prince to be arrainged for raising up insurrection among them? And how was this to be enumerated among the liigli crimes which caused the colonies to sever their connection with the mother country? "When our constitution was formed, the same idea was rendered more palpable; for there we find pro- vision made for that very class of jDcrsons as property; they were not put upon the footing of equality with white men — not even u])on that of j^aupers and convicts; but, so far as representation was concerned, were discriminated against as a lower caste, onl}'' to be represented in the numerical portion of three-fifths. "Then, Senators, we recur to the compact which binds us together; we recur to the principles upon which our govern- ment was founded; and when j^ou deny them, and when you deny to us the right to withdraw from a government, which, thus perverted, threatens to be destructive of our rights, wo but tread in the path of our fathers when we proclaim our independence, and take the hazard. This is done, not in hos- tility to others — not to injure any section of the country — not even for our own pecuniary benefit; but from the high and solemn motive of defending and protecting the rights we inherited, and which it is our duty to transmit unshorn to our children. "I find in myself, perhaps, a type of the general feeling of my constituents toward j'ours. I am sure I feel no hostility toward you, Senators from the Korth. I am sure there is not one of you, whatever sharp discussion there may have been between us, to whom I cannot now say, in the presence of my God, I wish 3'ou well; and such, I am sure, is the feeling of the people whom I represent toward those whom you represent. I therefore feel that I but express their desire, when I say I hope, and they hope, for peaceable relations with you, though we must part. They may be mutually beneficial to us in 222 THE I) A VIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. the future, as they have been in the past, if you so will it The reverse may bring disaster on every portion of the country; and if you will have it thus, we will invoke the God of our fathers, who delivered them from the power of the lion, to pro- tect us from the ravages of the bear; and thus, putting our trust in God, and in our firm hearts and strong arms, we will vindicate the right as best we may. "In the course of my services here, associated, at different times, with a great variety of Senators, I see now around me some with whom I have served long; there have been points of collision, but whatever of offense there has been to me, I leave here — I carry with me no hostile remembrance. What- ever offense I have given, which has not been redressed^ or for which satisfaction has not been demanded, I have, Senators, in this hour of our parting, to offer you my apology for any pain which, in the heat of discussion, I have inflicted. I go hence unincumbered of the remembrance of any injury received, and liaving discharged the duty of making the only reparation in my power for any injury offered. "Mr. President and Senators, having made the announce- ment which the occasion seemed to me to require, it only remains for me to bid you a final adieu." ^ XIIL ''WAS DAVIS \ TRAH OR ?'^ AYe have borrowed the title of a book by Dr. Albert Taylor Bledsoe, which is one of the ablest and .'most conclusive argu- • ments we have ever seen, and which as completely demon- strates tlie negative of this proposition as this distinguished professor ever worked out a probleii, or demonstrated a propo- sition to a class in mathematics. "We cannot, of course, within the proper limits and scope of this volume, go into any full discussion of this question. "We refer the reader rather to Dr. Bledsoe's book, to "The Republic of Republics," to A. H. Stephens's "AVar Between the States," to Dr. R. L. Dabney's "Defence of A'irginia and the South," and especially to Mr. Davis's own great book on " The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government." Instead of our own statement of the case we prefer to give what some of our ablest men have said. And first we quote the ably expressed views of Benjamin J. "Williams, Esq., of Massachusetts, as written in 188G, in response to some bitter things in some of the Northern papers concern- ing the splendid ovation wliicli the people of Alabama and Georgia had recently given their loved ex-President: "DIED FOR THEIR STATE.'' By Benjamin J. Williams, of Massachusetts. I Lowell, Mass.. Weekly Sun, June 5, 1885.] "The communication printed below is from the pen of Mr. Benjamin J. "Williams, of Lowell, Mass., and treats of a sub- [223] 224 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. ject of deepest interest to the people of this country, North and South. It treats of Mr. Jefferson Davis and his connec- tion with the Southern Confederacy from a Southern stand- point. The writer handles his subject in a manner unfamiliar to our readers, who, if they do not agree with the sentiments expressed, will at least find it a very interesting and instruc- tive communication, particularly at this time. '■' Editor of the Sun : " Dear Sir — The demonstrations in the South in honor of Mr. Jefferson Davis, the ex-President of the Confederate States, are certainly of a remarkable character, and furnish matter for profound consideration. Mr. Davis, twenty-one years after the fall of the Confederacy, suddenly emerging from his long retirement, journeys among his people to different prominent ])oints, there to take part in public observances more or less directly commemorative, respectively, of the cause of the Con- federacy, and of those who strove and died for it, and every- where he receives from the people the most overwhelming manifestations of heartfelt affection, devotion and reverence, exceeding even any of which he was the recipient in the time of his power; such manifestations as no existing ruler in the world can obtain from his people, and such as probably were never before given to a public man, old, out of office, with no favors to dispense, and disfranchised. " Such homage is significant, startling. It is given, as Mr. Davis himself has recognized, not to him alone, but to the cause whose chief representative he is. And it is useless to attempt to deny, disguise, or evade the conclusion that there must be something great, and noble, and true in him and in the cause to evoke this homage. As for Mr. Davis himself, the student of American history has not yet forgotten that it was his courage, self-possession and leadership, that in the very crisis of the battle at Buena Vista won for his country her proudest victory upon foreign fields of war ; that as Secretary I WAS DAVIS A TEAITORf 22-') of War in Mr. Pierce's administration, he was its master-spirit, and that he was the recognized leader of the United States Senate at the time of the secession of the Southern States. For his' character there let it be stated by his enemy but admirer, Massachusetts's own Henry Wilson. * The clear- headed, practical, dominating Davis,' said Mr. Wilson in a speech made during the war, while passing in review the great Southern Senators who had withdrawn with their States. " When the secedhig States formed their new Confederacy, in recognition of Mr Davis's varied and predominant abili- ties, he was unanimously chosen as its chief magistrate. And from the hour of his arrival at Montgomery to assume that office, when he spoke the memorable words, * We are deter- mined to make all who oppose us smell Southern powder and feel Southern steel/ all through the Confederacy's four years' unequal struggle for independence down to his last appeal as its chief, in liis defiant proclamation from Danville, after the fall of Richmond, * Let us not despair, my countrymen, but meet the foe with fresh defiance, and with unconquered and unconquerable hearts,' he exhibited everywhere and always the same proud and unyielding spirit, so expressive of his sanguine and resolute temper, which no disasters could subdue, which sustained him even when it could no longer sustain others, and which, had it been possible, would of itself have assured the independence of the Confederacy. And when at last the Confederacy had fallen, literally overpowered by immeasurably superior numbers and means, and Mr. Davis was a prisoner, subjected to the grossest indignities, his proud spirit remained unbroken, and never since the subjugation of his people has he abated in the least his assertion of the cause for which they struggled. The seductions of power or interest may move lesser men, that matters not to him ; the cause of the Confederacy, as a fixed moral and constitutional principle; 'inaffected by the triumph of physical force, he asserts to-daj 15 ^6 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UMR as unequivocally as when be was seated in its executive chair at Richmond, in apparently irreversible power, with its victo- rious legions at bis command. Now, when we consider all this, what Mr, Davis has been, and most of all, what be is to-day in the moral greatness of bis position, can we wonder that his people turn aside from time-servers and self-seekers, and from all the common- j)lace chaff of life, and render to him that spontaneous and grateful homage which is bis due? " And we cannot, indeed, wonder when we consider the cause for which Mr. Davis is so much to his people. Let Mr. Davis himself state it, for no one else can do it so well. In his recent address at the laying of the corner-stone of the Con- federate monument at Montgomery, he said : ' I have come to join you in the performance of a sacred task, to lay the founda- tion of a monument at the cradle of the Confederate govern- ment, which shall commemorate the gallant sons of Alabama who died for their country, who gave their lives a free-will oflPering in defence of the rights of their sires, won in the war of the Revolution, the State sovereignty, freedom and inde- pendence, which were left to us an inheritance to their pos- terity forever.' These masterful words, ' the rights of their sires, won in the war of the Revolution, the State sovereignty, freedom and independence, which were left to us as an inherit- ance to their posterity forever,' are the whole case, and they are not only a statement, but a complete justification of the Confederate cause to all who are acquainted with the origin and character of the American Union. "When the original thirteen colonies threw off their alle- giance to Great Britain, they became independent States, 'independent of her and of each other,' as the great Luther Martin expressed it in the Federal convention. This inde- pendence was at first a revolutionary one, but afterwards, by its recognition by Great Britain, it became legal. The recog- nition was of States separately, each by name, in the treaty of WAS DA VIS A TRAITOR f 227 peace which terminated the Mar of the Kevohition. And that this separate recognition was deliberate and intentional, with the distinct object of recognizing the States as separate sovereignties, and not as one nation, will sufTiciently appear by reference to the sixth volume of Bancroft's History of the United Slates. The articles of confederation between the States declared, that 'each State retains its sovereignty, freedom and independence.' And the constitution of the United States, which immediately fol- lowed, was first adopted by the States in convention, each State casting one vote, as a proposed plan of government; and then ratified by the States separately, each State acting for itself in its sovereign and independent capacity, through a convention of its people. And it was by this ratification that the constitu- tion was established, to use its own words, 'between the States so ratifying the same,' It is then a compact between the States as sovereigns, and the Union created by it is a federal partnership of States, the Federal government being their common agent for the transaction of the Federal business within the limits of the delegated powers. As to tiie new States, which have been formed from time to time from the territories, when they were in a territorial condition, the sover- eignty over them, respectively, was in the States of the Union, and when they, respectively, formed a constitution and State government and were admitted into the Union, the sovereignty passed to them, respectively, and they stood in the Union each upon an equal footing with the original States, parties with them to the constitutional compact. "In the case of a partnership between persons for business purposes, it is a familiar principle of law, that its existence and continuance are purely a voluntary matter on the part of its members, and that a member may at any time withdraw from and dissolve the partnership at his pleasure; and it makes no difference in the application of this principle if the partnership, by its terms, be for fixed time or perpetual — 228 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. it not being considered by the law sound policy to hold men together in business association against their will. Now if a partnership between persons is purely voluntary and subject to the will of its members severally, how much more so is one between sovereign States; and it follows that, just as each State separately, in the exercise of its sovereign will, entered the Union, so may it separately, in tlie exercise of that will, withdraw therefrom. And, further, the constitution being a compact, to which the States are parties, 'having no common judge,' 'each party has an equal right to judge for itself as well of infractions as of tlie mode and measure of redress,' as declared by Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Madison, in the celebrated resolutions of 'OS, and the right of secession irresistibly fol- lows. But aside from the doctrine either of partnership or compact, upon the ground of State sovereignty, pure and simple, does the right of State secession impregnably rest. Sovereignty, as defined by political commentators, is 'the right of commanding in the last resort.' And just as a State of the Union, in the exercise of this right, by her ratification of the constitution, delegated the powers therein given to the Federal government, and acceded to the Union; so may she in the exercise of the same right, by repealing that ratification, withdraw the delegated powers, and secede from the Union. The act of ratification by the State is the law which makes the Union for it, and the act cif repeal of that ratification is the law svhich dissolves it. " It appears, then, from this view of the origin and char- acter of the American Union, that when the Southern States, deeming the constitutional compact broken, and their own safety and happiness in imminent danger, in the Union, with- drew therefrom and organized their new Confederacy, they but asserted, in the language of Mr. Davis, 'tne rights of their sires won in the wai of 'the Revolution, the »State sovereignty, Ireedom and mdepeuacucts wtuuti were WAS DAVIS A TRAITOR f 229 left to lis as an inheritance to their posterity forever/ and it was in defence of this high and sacred cause that the Confed- erate soldiers sacrificed their lives. Tlicrc was no need for war. The action of the Southern States was legal and constitutional, and history will attest that it was reluctantly taken in the last extremity, in the hope of thereby saving their whole constitu- tional rights and liberties from destruction by Northern aggres- sion, which had just culminated in triumph at the presidential election, by the union of the North as a section against the South. But the North, left in possession of the old govern- ment of the Union, flushed with power, and angry lest its des- tined prey should escape, found a ready pretext for war. Immediately upon secession, by force of the act itself, the jurisdiction of the seceding States, respectively, over the forts, arsenals, and dockyards within their limits, which they had before ceded to the federal government for federal purposes, reverted to and reinvested in them respectively. They were of course entitled to immediate repossession of these places, essential to their defence in the exercise of their reassumed powers of war and peace, leaving all questions of mere pro« perty value apart for separate adjustment. In most casee the seceding States repossessed themselves of these places without difficulty; but in some the forces of the United States still kept possession. Among these last was Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. South Carolina in vain demanded the peaceful possession of this fortress, offering at the same time to arrange for the value of the same as property, and sent commissioners to "Washington to treat with the Federal govern- ment for the same, as wtII as for the recognition of her inde- pendence. But all her attempts to treat were repulsed or evaded, as likewise were those subsequently made by the Con- federate government. Of course the Confederacy could not continue to allow a foreign power to hold possession of a fort- ress dominating the harbor of her chief Atlajitic seaport : and 230 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME, the Federal government having sent a powerful expeditiou with reinforcements for Fort Sumter, the Confederate govern- ment at last proceeded to reduce it. The reduction, however, was a bloodless affair; while the captured garrison received all the honors of war, and were at once sent North, with every attention to their comfort, and w^ithout even their parole being taken. "But forthwith President Lincoln at Washington issued his call for militia to coerce the seceding States-; the cry rang all over the North that the flag had been fired upon; and amidst the tempest of passion which that cry everywhere raised the Northern militia responded with alacrity, the South was invaded, and a war of subjugation, destined to be the most gigantic which the world has ever seen, was begun by the Fed- eral government against the seceding States, in complete and amazing disregard of the foundation principle of its own exist- ence, as affirmed in the Declaration of Independence, that 'governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed,' and as established by the war of the Revolution for the people of the States respectively. The South accepted the contest thus forced upon her with the eager and resolute cour- age characteristic of her joroud-spirited people. But the Fed- eral government, though weak in right, was strong in power; for it was sustained by the mighty and multitudinous North. In effect, the war became one between the States; between the Northern States, represented by the Federal government, upon the one side, and the Southern States, represented by the Con- federate government, upon the other — the border Southern States being divided. " The odds in numbers and means in favor of the North were tremendous. Her white population of nearly twenty mil- lions was fourfold that of the strictly Confederate territory; and from the border Southern States and communities of Mis- souri, Kentucky, East Tennessee, West Virginia, Maryland, and WAS DAVIS A TRAITOR f 231 Delaware, she got more men and supplies for her armies than the Confederacy got for hers. Kentucky alone furnished as many men to the Northern armies as ^lussachusetts. In avail- able money and credit, the advantage of the North was vastly greater than in population, and it included the possession of all the chief centres of banking and commerce. Then she had the possession of the old government, its capital, its army and navy, and mostly, its arsenals, dockyards, and workshops, with all their supplies of arms and ordnance, and military and naval stores of every kind and the means of manufacturing the same. Again, the North, as a manufacturing and mechan- ical people, abounded in factories and workshoj^s of every kind, immediately available for the manufacture of every spe- cies of supplies for the army and navy ; while the South, as an agricultural people, were almost wanting in such resources. Finally, in the possession of the recognized government, the North was in full and free communication with all nations, and had full opportunity, which she improved to the utmost, to import and bring in from abroad not only supplies of all kinds, but men as well for her service; while the South, with- out a recognized government, and with her ports speedily blockaded by the Federal navy, was almost entirely shut up within herself and her own limited resources. "Among all these advantages possessed by the North, the first the main and decisive, was the navy. Given her all but this and they would have been ineffectual to prevent the establish- ment of the Confederacy. That arm of her strength was at the beginning of the war in an efficient state, and it was rapidly augmented and improved. By it, the South being almost without naval force, the North was enabled to sweep and block- ade her coasts everywhere, and so, aside from the direct distress inflicted, to prevent foreign recognition ; to capture, one after another, her seaports ; to sever and out up her country in every direction through its great rivers ; to gain lodgments at many 232 TB.E DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. points within her territory, from which numerous destructive raids were sent out in all directions ; to transport troops and supplies to points where their passage by land would have been difficult or impossible ; and finally to cover, protect and save, as by the navy was so often done, the defeated and other- wise totally destroyed armies of the North in the field. But for the navy Grant's army was lost at Shiloh ; but for it on the Peninsula, in the second year of the war, McClellau's army, notwithstanding his masterly retreat from his defeats before Richmond, was lost to a man, and the independence of the Confederacy established. After a glorious four years' struggle against such odds as have been depicted, during which inde- pendence was often almost secured, when successive levies of armies, amounting in all to nearly three millions of men, had been hurled against her, the South, shut off from all the world, wasted, rent and desolate, bruised and bleeding, was at last overpowered by main strength ; outfought, never ; for, from first to last, she everywhere outfought the foe. The Confeder- acy fell, but she fell not until she had achieved immortal fame. Few great established nations in all time have ever exhibited capacity and direction in government equal to hers, sustained as she was by the iron will and fixed persistence of the extra- ordinary man who was her chief; and few have ever won such a series of brilliant victories as that which illuminates forever the annals of her splendid armies, while the fortitude and patience of her people, and particularly of her noble women, under almost incredible trials and sufferings, have never been surpassed in the history of the world. " Such exalted character and achievement were not all in vain. Though the Confederacy fell as an actual physical power, she lives illustrated by them, eternally in her just cause, the cause of constitutional liberty. And Mr. Davis's Southern tour is nothing less than a vertical moral triumph for that cause and for himself as its faithful chief, manifesting to the WAS DAVIS A TRAITOBf 233 world that the cause still lives in the hearts of the Southern people, and that its resurrection in the body in fitting hour may yet come. "Here, in the North, that is naturally presumptuous and arrogant in her vast material power, and where consequently but little attention has, in general, been given to the study of the nature and principles of constitutional liberty, as connected with the rights of States, there is, nevertheless, an increasing understanding and appreciation of the Confederate cause, particularly here in the New England States, whose position and interests in the Union are, in many respects, peculiar, and perhaps require that these States, quite as much as those of the South, should be the watchful guardians of the State sov- ereignty. Mingled with this increasing understanding and appreciation of the Confederate cause, naturally comes also a growing admiration df its devoted defenders ; and the time may yet be when the Northern as well as the Southern heart will throb reverently to the proud words upon the Confederate monument at Charleston : — ' These died for their State.' " Benj. J. Williams." One of the clearest vindications of the South, in brief spacb, which we have seen was from the jDen of that scientist of world-wide fame. Commodore ]\I. F. Maury, and we quote it in full from the Souihern Historical Society Papers. Vol. I, pp. 49-Cl. A VINDICATION OF VIRGINIA AND THE SOUTH. By Commodore M. F. Maury. *• [IN'OTE. — The following paper is not the production of a partisan or a politiei.in, but of a great scientist wliose finie is ■\voild-wide, and who- e utterances will have weight auioug the Nations and iu the ages to comp. " This able vindication will derive additional interest and value from the statement that it was not written amid the storms of tlie war, but in his quiet mountain home, in INIny, 1S71, not long before the world was deprived of his priceless services'. It was, in fact, the last thing he 234 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. ever prepared for the press (the ISISS. bears the marks of his final revit sion), and should go oa the record as the dying testimony of one whose character was above reproach, and wliose conspicuous services to the cause of science and humanity entitle him to a hearing.] *' One hundred years ago we were thirteen British Colonies, remonstrating and disputing with the mother country in dis- content. After some years spent in fruitless complaints against the policy of the British government towards us, the colonies resolved to sever their connection Avith Great Britain, that they might be first independent, and then proceed to gov- ern themselves in their own way. At the same time thej^ took counsel together and made common cause. They declared cer- tain truths to be self-evident, and proclaimed the right of every people to alter or amend their forms of government as to them may seem lit. They pronounced this right an inalienable right, and declared ' that when a long train of abuses and usurpations evinces a design on the part of the government to reduce a peo- ple to absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government.' In support of these declarations the people of that day, in the persons of their representatives, pledging themselves, their fortunes and their sacred honor, went to war, and in the support of their cause appealed to Divine Providence for protection. Under these doctrines we and our fathers grew up, and we were taught to regard them with a reverence almost holy, and to believe in them with quite a religious belief. " In the war that ensued, the colonies triumphed ; and in the treaty of peace. Great Britain acknowledged each one of her revolted colonies to be a nation, endowed with all the attributes of sovereignty, independent of her, of each other and of all other temporal powers whatsoever. These new-born nations were JSTew Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecti- cut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia — thirteen in all. "At that time all the country west of the Alleghany moun- tains was a wilderness. All that part of which lies north of the Ohio river and east of the Mississippi, called the Northwest Territory, and out of which the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and a part of Minnesota have since been carved, belonged to Virginia. She exercised dominion over it, and in her resided the rights of undisputed sovereignty. These thirteen powers, which were then as independent of each other as France is of Spain, or Brazil is of Peru, or as any other nation can be of another, concluded to unite and form a compact, called the coustitutiou, the main objects of which were toestab- WAS DA VIS A TBAITOB f 235 lish justice, secure domestic tranquility, provide for the com- mon defence, and promote the general ^yclfaro. To this end they established a vicarious government, and named it the United States. This instrument had for its corner-stone the aforementioned inalienable rights. With the assertion of those precious rights — Avhich are so dear to the hearts of all true Vir- ginians — fresh upon their lips, each one of these thirteen States, signataries to this compact, delegated to this new government so much of her own sovereign powers as were deemed necessary for the accomplishment of its objects, reserving to herself all the powers, prerogatives and attributes not specifically granted or specially enumerated. Nevertheless, Virginia, through abun- dant caution, when she fixed her seal to this constitution, did 60 with the expre'ss declaration, in behalf of her people, that the powers granted under it might be resumed by them when- ever the same should be perverted to their injury or oppression ; that ' no right, of any denomination, can be canceled, abridged, restrained or modified by the Congress, by the Senate or House of Representatives, acting in any capacity, by the President, or any department, or officer of the United States, except in those instances in which power is given by the constitution for those purposes.' With this agreement, with a solemn appeal to the * Searcher of all hearts ' for the purity of their intentions, our delegates, in the name and in behalf of the people of Virginia, proceeded to accept and to ratify the constitution for the government of the United States.* Thus the government at Washington was created. " But it did not go into operation until the other States — par- ties to the contract — had accepted by their act of signature and tacit agreement the conditions which Virginia required to be understood as the terms on which she accepted the constitution and agreed to become one of the United States. Thus these conditions became, to all intents and purposes, a part of that instrument itself; for it is a rule of law and a principle of right laid down, well understood and universally acknowledged, (hat if, in a compact between several parties, any one of them be permitted to enter into it on a condition, that condition enures alike to the benefit of all. *' Notwithstanding the purity of motive and singleness of pur- pose which moved Virginia to become one of the United States, sectional interests were developed, and the seeds of faction, strife and discord appeared in the very convention which adopted the constitution. At that time African negroes were bought and sold, and held in slavery in all the States. They • ftoceeding oi tlie Virgmia Convention, 1788, p. 28. Code of Virginia, 1S60. 2^a TB:E DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. had been brouglit here by the Crown and forced upon Virginia when she was in the colonial state, in spite of her oft-repeated petitions and remonstrances against it; and now since she, with others, were independent and masters of themselves, they desired to put an end forthwith to this traffic. To this the North olDJected, on the ground that her people were extensively engaged in kidnapping in Africa and transporting slaves thence for sale to Southern planters. They had, it was added, such interests at stake in this business that twenty years would be required to wind it up. At that time the political balance between the sections was equal ; and the South, to pacify the North, agreed that the new government should have no power, until after twenty years should have elapsed, to restrict their traffic ; and thus the North gained a lease and a right to fetch slaves from Africa into the South till 1808. That year, one of Virginia's own sons being President of the United States, an act was passed forbidding a continuance of the traffic, and declaring the further prosecution of it piracy. <' Virginia was the leader in the war of the Revolution, and Tier sons were the master-spirits of it, both in the field and in the cabinet. For an entire generation after the establishment of the government under the constitution, four of her sons — with an interregnum of only four years — were called, one after the other, to preside, each for a period of eight years, over the affairs of the young Republic and to shape its policy. In the meantime Virginia gave to the new government the whole of her northwest territory, to be held by it in trust for the ben- efit of all the States alike. Under the wise rule of her illus- trious sons in the presidential chair, the Republic grew and ita citizens flourished and prospered as no people had ever done. "During this time, the African slave-trade having ceased, the price of negroes rose in the South ; then the Northern peo- ple discovered that it would be better to sell their slaves to the South than to hold them, whereupon acts of so-called emanci- pation were passed in the North. They were prospective, and were to come in force after the lapse, generally, of twenty years,* which allowed the slaveholders among them ample time to fetch their negroes down and sell them to our people. This many of them did, and the North got rid of her slaves, not so much by emancipation or any sympathy for the blacks as by sale, and in consequence of her greed. "About this time also Missouri — into which the earlier set- tlers had carried their slaves — applied for admission into the Union as a State. The North opposed it, on the ground that *Slavei7 did not cease in New York till 1827. WA:S^ DAVL^ A TnATTOJif %rj slavery existed there. The South appealed to the constitution, called for the charter which created the Federal government, and asked for the clause "which gave Congress the power to interfere with the domestic institutions of any State or with any of her affairs, further than to see that her organic law insured a republican form of government to her people. Kay, she appealed to the force of treaty obligations ; and reminded the North that in the treaty with France for the acquisition of Louisiana, of which Missouri was a part, the public faith was pledged to protect the French settlers there, and their descen- dants, in their rights of property, which includes slaves. The public mind became excited, sectional feelings ran high, and the Union was in danger of i)eing broken up through Northern aggression and Congressional usurpations at that early day. To quiet the storm, a son of Virginia came forward as peace-maker, and carried through Congress a bill that is knoAvn as 'The Missouri compromise.' So the danger was averted. This bill, however, was a concession, simple and pure, to the North on the part of the South, with no equivalent whatever, except the grat- ification of a patriotic desire to live in harmony with her sister States and preserve the Union. This compromise was to the effect that the Southern people should thereafter waive their right to go with their slaves into any part of the common ter- ritory north of the parallel of 3G° 30. Thus was surrendered up to the North for settlement, at her own time and in her own way, more than two-thirds of the entire public domain, with equal rights with the South in the remainder. " That posterity may fairly appreciate the extent of this exac- tion by the North, with the sacrifice made by the South to sat- isfy it, maintain the public faith and preserve the Union, it is necessary to refer to a map of the country, and to remember that at that time neither Texas, New Mexico, California nor Arizona belonged to the United States ; that the country west of the Mississippi Avhich fell under that compromise is that which was acquired from France in the purchase of Louisiana, and which includes West IMinnesota, the whole of Iowa, Arkan- sas, the Indian Territory, Kansas, Nebraska, and Dakota, ]\Ion- tana, Wyoming, Colorada, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Washington and Oregon, embracing an area of 1,360,000 square miles. Of this the South had the privilege of settling Arkansas alone, or loss than four per cent, of the whole. The sacrifice thus made by the South, for the sake of the Union, will be more fully appreciated when we reflect that under the constitution South- ern gentlemen had as much right, and the same right to go into the territories with their slaves, that men of the North had 288 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. to carry with them there their apprentices and servants. Though this arrangement was so prejudicial to the South, though the Su- preme Court decided it to be unconstitutional, null and void, the Southern people were still willing to stand by it ; but the North would not. Backed by maiorities in Congress, she only became more and more aggressive. Furthermore, the magnificent coun- try given by Virginia to the Union came to be managed in the political interests of the North. It was used for the encourage- ment of European emigration, and its settlement on her side of that parallel, while the idea was sought to be impressed abroad by false representations that south of 36° 30" in this country out-door labor is death to the white man, and that throughout the South generally labor was considered degrading. Such was the rush of settlers from abroad to the polar side of 36? 30" and for the cheap and rich lands of the northwest territory, that the population of the North was rapidly and vastly increased— so vastly that when the war of 1861 commenced, the immigrants and the descendants of immigrants which the two sections had received from, the Old World since this grant was made, amounted tc not less than 7,000,000 souls more for the North than for the South. This increase destroyed the balance of power between the sections in Congress, placed the South hope- lessly in the minorit}^ and gave the reins of the government over into the hands of the Northern factions. Thus the two hundred and seventy millions of acres of the finest land on the continent which Virginia gave to the government to hold in trust as a common fund, was so managed as greatly to benefit one section and do the other harm. Nor was this all. Large grants of land, amounting to many millions of acres, were made from this domain to certain Northern States, for their railways and other works of internal improvement, for their schools and corporations ; but not an acre to Virginia. "In consequence of the Berlin and Milan decrees, the orders in council, the embargo and the war which followed in 1812, the people of the whole country suffered greatly for the want of manufactured articles, many of which had become neces- saries of life. Moreover it was at that time against the laws of England for any artisan or piece of machinery used in her workshops to be sent to this country. Under these circum- stances it was thought wise to encourage manufacturing in New England, until American labor could be educated for it, and the requisite skill acquired, and Southern statesmen took the lead 111 the passage of a tariff to encourage and protect our manufacturing industries. But in course of time these restric- tive laws in England were repealed, and it then became easier WAS DAVIS A TRAITOR f 2d9 to import than to educate labor and skill. Nevertheless, Ibe protection continued, and was so effectual that the manufac- turers of New England began to compete in foreign markets with the manufacturers of Old England. Whereupon the South said, ' Enough : the North has free trade with us ; the Atlantic ocean rolls between this country and Europe ; the expense of freight and transportation across it, with moderate duties for revenue alone, ought to be protection enough for these Northern industries. Therefore, let us do away with tariffs for protection. They have not, by reason of geographical law, turned a wheel in the South ; moreover, they have proved a grievous burden to our people.' Northern statesmen did not see the case in that light; but fairness, right, and the consti- tution were on the side of the South. She pointed to the unfair distribution of the public lands, the unequal dispensation among the States of the government favor and patronage, and to the fact that the New England manufacturers had gained a firm footing and were flourishing. Moreover, peace, progress, and develoj^ment had, since the end of the French wars, dic- tated free trade as the true policy of all nations. Our Sena- tors proceeded to demonstrate by example the hardships of submitting any longer to tariffs for protection. The example was to this effect: — The Northern farmer clips his hundred bales of wool, and the Southern planter picks his hundred bales of cotton. So far they are equal, for the government affords to each equal protection in person and property. That's fair, and there is no complaint. But the government would not stop here. It went further — protected this industry of one section and taxed that of the other ; for though it suited the farmer's interest and convenience to send his wool to a New England mill to have it made into cloth, it also suited in a like degree the Southern planter to send his cotton to Old England to have it made into calico. And now came the injustice and the grievance. They both prefer the Charleston market, and they both, the illustration assumed, arrived by sea the same day and proceeded together, each with his invoice of one hundred bales, to the custom-house. There the Northern man is told that ho may land his one hundred bales duty free ; but the Southern man is required to leave forty of his in the custom-house for the privilege of landing the remaining sixty.* It was in vain for the Southerner to protest or to urge, * You make us pay boun- ties to Northern fishermen under the plea that it is a nursery for seamen. Is not the fetching and carrying of Southern cot- ton across the sea in Southern ships as much a nursery for *The tariff at that time was forty per cent. 240 THE DAVIS MEMOniAL VOLUME. 3eamen as the catching of codfish in Yankee smacks? But instead of allowing us a bounty for this, you exact taxes and require protection for our Northern fellow-citizens at the expense of Southern industry and enterprise.' The complaints against the tariff were at the end of ten or twelve years followed by another compromise in the shape of a modified tariff, by which the South again gained nothing and the Korth everything. The effect was simply to lessen, not to abolish, the tribute money exacted for the benefit of Northern industries. " Fifteen years before the war it was stated officially from the treasury department in Washington, that under the tariff then in force the self-sustaining industry of the country was taxed in this indirect way in the sum of $80,000,000 annually, none of which went into the coffers of the government, but all into the pocket of the protected manufacturer. The South, more- over, complained of the unequal distribution of the public expenditures ; of unfairness in protecting, buoying, light- ing, and surveying the coasts, and laid her complaints on grounds like these : for every mile of sea front in the North there are four in the South, yet there were four well-equipped dock-yards iu i:he North to one in the South; large sums of money had been '^'xpended for Northern, small for Southern defenses ; navigation of the Southern coast was far more diffi- cult and dangerous than that of the Northern, yet the latter was better lighted; and the Southern coast was not surveyed by the government until it had first furnished Northern ship- owners with good charts for navigating their waters and enter- ing their harbors. "Thus dealt bv, there was cumulative dissatisfaction in the Southern mind towards the Federal government, and Southern men began to aek each other, ' Should we not be better off out of the Union than we are in it?' — nay, the public discontent rose to such a pitch in consequence of the tariff, that nullifi- cation was threatened, and the existence of the Union was again seriously imperilled, and dissolution might have ensued had not Virginia stepped in with her wise counsels. She poured oil upon the festering sores in the Southern mind, and did what she could in the interests of peace ; but the wound could not be f^ntirely healed ; Northern archers had hit too deep. "The WashingLon government was fast drifting towards cen- tralization and +he result of all this Federal partiality, of this unequal protection and encouragement, was that New England and the North licurished and prospered as no people have ever done in mod^r-r: ''■imes. Sc'-^nes enacted in the Old World, twenty-eignt nundred years ago, seemed now on the eve of repe- WAS DA VJS A TRAITOR f 241 fition in the now. About the year 915 B. C, the twelve Iribos concoived the idea of making themselves a great nation by centralization. Thoy established a government which, in three generations, by reason of similar burdens upon the peo- ple, ended in permanent separation. Solomon taxed heavily to build the temple and dazzle the nation with the splendor of his capital; his expenditures Avere profuse, and he made his name and kingdom fill the world with their renown. He died one hundred years after Saul was annointed, and then Jerusa- lem and the temple being finished, the ten tribes — supposing the necessity of further taxation had ceased — petitioned Reho- boam for a reduction of taxes, a repeal of the tariff. Their petition was scorned, and the world knows the result. The teu tribes seceded in a body, and there was war; so thus there re- mained to the house of David only the tribes of Benjamin and Judah, They, like the North, had received the benetit of this taxation. The chief part of the enormous expenditures was made within their borders, and they, like New England, flour- i=;hed and prospered at the expense of their brethren. "By the constitution, a citizen of the South had a right to pursue his fugitive slave into any of the States, apprehend and Ijring him back; but so unfriendly had the North become towards the South, and so regardless of her duties under the constitution, that Southern citizens, in pursuing and attempt- ing to apprehend runaway negroes in the North, were thrown into jail, maltreated and insulted despite of their rights. North- ern ])eople loaded the mails for the South with inflammatory puI)lications inciting the negroes to revolt, and encouraging them to rise up, in servile insurrection, and murder their own- ers. Like tampering with the negroes was one among the causes which led Virginia into her original proposition to the other colonisis, that they should all, for the common good and com- mon safety, separate themselves from Great Britain and strike for independent existence. In a resolution unanimously adopted in convention for a declaration of such independence, it is urged that the King's representative in Virginia Avas 'tempting our elaves by every artifice to resort to him, and training and em- ploying them agamsttheirmasters.''" To counteract this attempt by the New England people to do the like, the legislature of Virginia and other Southern States felt themselves constrained to curtail the privileges of the slave, to increase the patrol, and for the public safety to enact severe laws against the black man. This grated upon the generous feelings of our people the more, *ReRolntions of Vimiuia for a Declarntiou ot Independence, vmanimously adopted 15th May, l/7tj. Page 1, Code of Virginia, ISOO. 16 242 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. because they were thus compelled in self-defence to spread hate- ful laws upon the statute-book of their State, and subject her fair fame to invidious criticisms by posterity, and this in con- sequence of the repeated attempt of the Northern people to tamper with the negroes and interfere wdth our domestic affairs. It was a shaft that sank deep and rankled long; it brought to mind colonial times, and put into Southern heads the idea of another separation. But this was not all. Societies were formed in the North to encourage our negroes to escape and to harbor the runaways; emissaries came down to inveigle them away; and while they were engaged at this, the Northern States aided and abetted by passing acts prohibiting their officers to assist the Southern citizen in the capture of runaways, and hindering him .from doing it himself. At length things came to such a pass that a Southern gentleman, notwithstanding his right, dared not when he 'went to the North, either on business or pleasure, to carry with him, as he formerly did, a body ser- vant. More harsh still — delicate mothers and emaciated in- valids with their nurses, though driven from their Southern homes, as they often are, by pestilence or plague, dared not seek refuge in the more bracing climates of the North ; they were liable to be mobbed and to see their servants taken away by force, and when that was done, they found that Northern laws afforded no protection. In short, our people had no longer equal rights in a common country. " Finally, the aggressive and fanatical spirit of the North ran to such a pitch against us, that just before the Southern people began to feel that patience and forbearance were both exhausted, a band of raiders, fitted out and equipped in the North, came down upon Virginia with sword and spear in hand. They com- menced in the dead of night to murder our citizens, to arm the slaves, encouraging them to rise up, burn and rob, kill and slay throughout the South. The ringleader was caught, tried, and hung. Northern people regarded him as a martyr in a right- eous cause. His body was carried to the North; they paid homage to his remains, sang peeans to his memory, and amidst jeers and taunts for Virginia, which to this day are reverberated through the halls of Congress, enrolled his name as one who had deserved well of his country. " These acts were highly calculated to keep the Southern mind in a feverish state and in an unfriendly mood ; and there were other influences at work to excite sectional feelings and beget just indignation among the Southern people. The North was commercial, the South agricultural. Through their fast-sailing packets and steamers, Northern people were in constant com- Was t)A VIS A TRAITOR f 24d munication with foreign nations; the South rarely, except through the North. Northern men and Northern society took- advantage of this circumstance to our prejudice. They de- famed the South and abused the European mind with libels and slanders and evil reports against us of a heinous character. They represented Southern people as a lawless and violent set» where men and women were without shame. They asserted, Avith all the effrontery of impudent falsehood, that the chief occupation of the gentlemen of Virginia was the In-ocdnig of slaves like cattle for the more Southern markets. To this day the whole South IS suffering under this defamation of character; for it is well known that emigrants from Europe now refuse to come and settle in Virginia and the South on account of their belief in the stories against us with which their minds have been poisoned. "This long list of grievances does not end here. The popu- lation of the North had, by reason of the vast numbers of for- eigners that had been induced to settle there, become so great that the balance of power in Congress was completely destroyed. The Northern people became more tyrannical in their disposi- tion, Congress more aggressive in their policy. In every branch of the government the South was in a hopeless minority, and completely at the mercy of an unscrupulous majority for their rights in the Union. Emboldened by their popular majorities on the hustings, the master spirits of the North now pro- claimed the approach of an 'irrepressible conflict' with the South, and their representative men in Congress preached the doctrine of a 'higher law,' confessing that the policy about to be pursued in relation to Southern atfairs was dic- tated by a rule of conduct unknown to the constitution, not contained in the bible, but sanctioned, as they said, by some higher laio than the bible itself. Thus finding ourselves at the mercy of faction and fanaticism, the presidential election for 1860 drew nigh. The time for putting candidates in the field was at hand. The North brought out their candidate, and by their platform pledged him to acts of unfriendly legislation against us. The South warned the North and protested, the political leaders in some of the Southern States publicly declar- ing that if Mr. Lincoln, their nominee, were elected, the States would not remain in the Union. He was truly a sectional can- didate. He received no vote in the South, but was, under the provision of the constitution, duly elected nevertheless ; for now the poll of the North was large enough to elect whom she pleased. " When the result of this election was announced. South Caro- na and the Gulf States each proceeded to call a convention of 244 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. her people ; and they, in the exercise of their inalienahh right to alter and abolish the form of government and to institute a new one, resolved to withdraw from the Union peaceably, if they could. They felt themselves clear as to their right, and thrice- armed; for they remembered that they were sovereign people, and called to mind those precious rights that had "been sol- emnly proclaimed, and in which and for which we and our fathers before us had the most abiding faith, reverence and belief. Prominent among these was, as we have seen, the right of each one of these States to consult her own welfare and with- draw or remain in the Union in obedience to its dictates and the judgment of her own people. So they sent commissioners to Washington to propose a settlement, the Confederate States offering to assume their quota of the debt of the United States, and asking for their share of the common property. This was refused. "In the meantime Virginia assembled her people in grand council too ; but she refused to come near the Confederate States in their councils. She had laid the corner-stone of the Union, her sons were its chief architects ; and though she felt that she and her sister States had been wronged without cause, and had reason, good and sufficient, for withdrawing from a political association which no longer afforded domestic tranquility, or promoted the general welfare, or answered its purposes, yet her love for the Union and the constitution was strong, and the idea of pulling down, without having first exhausted all her persua- sives, and tried all means to save what had cost her so much, was intolerable. She thought the time for separation had not come, and waited first to try her own ' mode and measure of redress ;' she considered that it should not be such as the Confeder- ate States had adopted. Moreover, by standing firm she hoped to heal the breach, as she had done on several occasions before. She asked all the States to meet her in a peace congress. They did so, and the North being largely in the majority, threw out Southern propositions and rejected all the efforts of Virginia at conciliation. North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas all remained in the Union, awaiting the action of our State, who urged the Washington government not to attempt to coerce the seceded States, or force them with sword and bayonet back into the Union — a thing, she held, which the charter that created the government gave it no authority to do. " Eegardless of these wise counsels and of all her rightful powers, the North mustered an army to come against the South ; whereupon, seeing the time had come, and claiming the right which she had especially reserved not only for her- WAS DAVIS A TRAITOR? 245 self, but for all the States, to withdraw from the Union, the grand old Commonwealth did not hesitate to use it. She pre- pared to meet the emergency. Her people had already been assembled in convention, and they, in the persons of their representatives, passed the Ordinance of Secession, which separated her from the North and South, and left her alone, again a free, sovereign and independent State. This done^ she sounded the notes of warlike preparation. She called upon her sons who were in the service of the Washington gov- ernment to confess their allegiance to her, resign their places, and rally around her standard. The true men among them ^ame. In a few days she had an army of 60,000 men in the field; but her policy was still peace, armed peace, not war. Assuming the attitude of defence, she said to the powers of the North, ' Let no hostile foot cross my borders.' Nevertheless they came with fire and sword; battle »wa8 joined; victory crowned her banners on many a well-fought field ; but she and her sister States cut off from the outside world by the navy which they had helped to establish for the common defence, battled together against fearful odds at home for four long years, but were at last overpowered by mere numbers, and then came disaster. Her sons who fell died in defence of their coun- try, their homes, their rights, and all that makes native land dear to the hearts of men." "We next give the famous '^Botetourt Resolutions" prepared by the able and accomplished Judge John J. Allen, of the Vir- ginia Supreme Court, and deserving to rank among the classics of political literature. PREAMBLE. AND RESOLUTION. Offered in a large mass meeting of the people of Botetourt County, Deceml)er 10th, 1860, by the Hon. John J. Allen, President of the Supreme Court of Virginia, and adopted with but two dissenting voices. "The people of Botetourt county, in general meeting assem- bled, believe it to be the duty of all the citizens of the Com- monwealth, in the present alarming condition of our country, to give some expression of their opinion upon the threatening aspect of public affairs. They deem it unnecessary and out of place to avow sentiments of loyalty to the constitution and devotion to the Union of these States. A brief reference to the part the State has acted in the past will furnish the best evi- dence of the feelings of her eons in regard to the Union of the 246 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL VME. States and the constitution, which is the sole bond which binds them together. " In the controversies with the mother country growing out of the efforts of the latter to tax the colonies without their con- sent, it was Virginia who, by the resolutions against the stamp act, gave the example of the first authoritative resistance by a legislative body to the British government, and bo imparted the first impulse to the Revolution. " Virginia declared her independence before any of the colo- nies, and gave the first written constitution to mankind. "By her instructions her representatives in the General Con- gress introduced a resolution to declare the colonies indepen- dent States, and the declaration itself was written by one of her sons. "She furnished to the Confederate States the father of his country, under whose guidance independence was achieved, and the rights and liberties of each State, it was hoped, perpetually established. " She stood undismayed through the long night of the Revo- lution, breasting the storm of war and pouring out the blood of her sons like water on almost every battle-field, from the ram- parts of Quebec to the sands of Georgia. " By her own unaided efforts the northwestern territory was conquered, whereby the Mississippi, instead of the Ohio river, was recognized as the boundary of the United States by the treaty of peace. " To secure harmony, and as an evidence of her estimate of the value of the Union of the States, she ceded to all for their common benefit this magnificent region — an empire in itself. " When the articles of confederation were shown to be inade- quate to secure peace and tranquility at home and respect abroad, Virginia first moved to bring about a more perfect Union. "At her instance the first assemblage of commissioners took place at Annapolis, which ultimately led to the meeting of the convention which formed the present constitution. " This instrument itself was in a great measure the produc- tion of one of her sons, who has been justly styled the father of the constitution. "The government created by it was put into operation with her Washington, the father of his country, at its liead ; lier Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, in his cabinet ; her Madison, the great advocate of the constitution, in the legislative hall. " Under the leading of Virginia statesmen the Revolution of 1798 was brought about, Louisiana was acquired, and the seo- otnd war of iudepeudeuce was waged. WAS DAVIS A TRAITOIU 247 "Throughout the whole progress of the Republic she ha8 never infringed on the rights of any State, or asked or received any exclusive benefit. " On the contrary, she has been the first to vindicate the equality of all the States, the smallest as well as the greatest. "But claiming no exclusive benefit for hpr efforts and sacri- fices in the common cause, she had a right to look for feelings of frateroity and kindness for her citizens from the citizens of other States, and equality of rights for her citizens with all others; that those for whom she had done so much would abstain from actual aggressions upon her soil, or if they could not be prevented, would show themselves ready and prompt in punishing the aggressors ; and that the common government, to the promotion of which she contributed bo largely for the purpose of 'establishing justice and insuring domestic tran- quility,' would not, whilst the- forms of the constitution were observed, be so perverted in spirit as to inflict wrong and injus- tice and produce universal insecurity. " These reasonable expectations have been greviously disap- pointed. " Owing to a spirit of pharasaical fanaticism prevailing in the North in reference to the institution of slavery, incited by foreign emissaries and fostered by corrupt political demagogues in search of power and place, a feeling has been aroused between the people of the two sections, of what was once a common country, which of itself would almost preclude the adminis- tration of a united government in harmony. " For the kindly feelings of a kindred people we find substi- tuted distrust, suspicion and mutual aversion. " For a common pride in the name of American, we find one section even in foreign lands pursuing the other with revilings and reproach. " For the religion of a Divine Redeemer of all, we find a religion of hate against a part; and in all the private relations of life, instead of fraternal regard, a 'consuming hate,' which has but seldom characterized warring nations. " This feeling has prompted a hostile incursion upon our own soil, and an apotheosis of the murderers, who were justly condemned and executed. "It has shown itself in the legislative halls by the passage of laws to obstruct a law of Congress passed in pursuance of a plain provision of the constitution. " It has been manifested by the industrious circulation of incendiary publications, sanctioned by leading men, occupying the highest stations in the gift of the people, to produce discord 248 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL Volume. and division in our midst, and incite to midnight murder and every Imaginable atrocity against an unoffending community. " It has displayed itself in a persistent denial of the equal rights of the citizens of each State to settle with their property in the common territory acquired by the blood and treasure of all. " It is shown in their openly avowed determination to cir- cumscribe the institution of slavery within the territory of the States now recognizing it, the inevitable effect of which would be to fill the present slaveholding States with an ever increas- ing negro population, resulting in the banishment of our own non-slaveliolding population in the first instance, and the eventual surrender of our country to a barbarous race, or, what seems to be desired, an amalgamation with the African. " And it has at last culminated in the election, by a sectional majority of the free States alone, to the first ofhce in the repub- lic, of the author of the sentiment that there qs an ' irrepressi- ble conflict ' between free and slave labor, and that there must be universal freedom or universal siavery ; a sentiment which inculcates, as a necessity of our situation, warfare between the two sections of our country without cessation or intermission until the weaker is reduced to subjection. "In view cf this state of thiugs, we are not inclined to rebuke or censure the people of any of our sister States of the South, suffering from injury, goaded by insults, and threatened with such outrages and wrongs, for tUeir bold determination to relieve themselves irom such injustice and oppression, by resort- ing to their ultimate and sovereign right to dissolve the com- pact which they had formed and to provide new guards for their future security. *' Nor have we any doubt of the right of any State, there being no common umpire between coequal sovereign States, to judge for itself on its own responsibility, as to the mode and measure of redress. " The States, each for itself, exercised this sovereign power when they dissolved their connection with the British Empire. "They exercised the same power when nine of the States seceded from the confederation and adopted the present consti- tution, though two States at first rejected it. *' The articles of confederation stipulated that those articles should be inviolably observed by every State, and that the Union should be perpetual, and that no alteration should be made unless agreed to by Congress and confirmed by every State. "Notwithstanding this solemn compact, a portion of the States did, without the consent of the others, form a new com- WAS DAVIS A TRAITOR? 249 pact; and there is nothing to show, or by which it can be shown, that this right has been, or can be, diminished so long as the States continue sovereign. " The confederation was assented to by the legislature for each State ; the constitution by the people of each State of such State alone. One is as binding as the other, and no more bo. " The constitution, it is true, established a government, and it operates directly on the individual ; the confederation was a league operating primarily on the States. But each was adopted by the State for itself; in the one case by the legislature acting for the State; in the other ' by the people not as individuals composing one nation, but as composing the distinct and inde- pendent States to which they respectively belong.' "The foundation, therefore, on which it was established was federal^ and the State, in the exercise of the same sovereign authority by which she ratified for herself, may for herself abrogate and annul. "The operation of its power, whilst the State remains in the Confederacy, is national; and consequently a State remaining in the Confederacy and enjoying its benefits cannot, by any mode of procedure, withdraw its citizens from the obligation to obey the constitution and the laws passed in pursuance thereof. "But when a State does secede, the constitution and laws of the United States cease to operate therein. No power is conferred on Congress to enforce them. Such authority was denied to the Congress in the convention which framed the constitution, because it would be an act of war of nation against nation — not the exercise of the legitimate power of a govern- ment to enforce its laws on those subject to its jurisdiction. " The assumption of such a power would be the assertion of a prerogative claimed by the British government to legislate for the colonies in all cases whatever; it would constitute of itselt a dangerous attack on the rights of the States, and should be promptly repelled, " These principles, resulting from the nature of our system of confederate States, cannot admit of question in Virginia. "Our people in convention, by their act of ratification, de- clared and made known that the powers granted under the con- stitution being derived from the people of the United States, may be resumed by them whenever they shall be perverted to their injury and oppression. " From what people were these powers derived? Confessedly from the people of each State, acting for themselves. By whom were they to be resumed or taken back? By the people of the State who were then granting them away. \VTio were to deter- 250 TSE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME, mine whether the powers granted had been perverted to their injury or oppression ? Not the whole people of the United States, for there could be no oppression of the whole with their own consent; and it could not have entered into the conception of the convention that the powers granted could not be resumed until the oppressor himself united in such resumption. " They asserted the right to resume in order to guard the people of Virginia, for whom alone the convention could act, against the oppression of an irresponsible and sectional major- ity, the worst form of oppression wdth which an angry Provi- dence has ever afliicted humanity. " Whilst, therefore, we regret that any State should, in a mat- ter of common grievance, have determined to act for herself without consulting with her sister States equally aggrieved, we are, nevertheless, constrained to say that the occasion iustifies and loudly calls for action of some kind. "The election of a President, by a sectional majority, as the representative of the principles referred to, clothed with the patronage and power incident to the office, including the autho- rity to appoint all the postmasters and other officers charged with the execution of the laws of the United States, is itself a standing menace to the South — a direct assault upon her in- stitutions — an incentive to robbery and insurrection, requiring from our own immediate local government, in its sovereign cha- racter, prompt action to obtain additional guarantees for equality and security in the Union, or to take measures for protection and security without it. *' In view, therefore, of the present condition of our country, und the causes of it, we declare almost iu the words of our fathers, contained in an address of the freeholders of Bote- tourt, in February, 1775, to the delegates from Virginia to the Continental Congress, ' That we desire no change in our gov- ernment whilst left to the free enjoyment of our equal privi- leges secured by the constitution; but that should a wicked and tyrannical sectional majority^ under the sanction of the forms of the constitution, persist in acts of injustice and violence towards us, they only must be answ^erable for the consequences.' " ' That liberty is so strongly impressed upon our hearts that we cannot think of parting with it but with our lives ; that our duty to God, our country, ourselves and our posterity for- bid it ; we stand, therefore, prepared for every contingency,' " Resolved therefore, That in view of the facts set out in the foregoing preamble, it is the opinion of this meeting that a convention of the people should be called forthwith ; that the State, in its sovereign character, should consult with the other WAS DA VIS A TRAITOR f 251 Southern States, and agree upon such guarantees as in their opinion will secure their equality, tranquility and rights within the Union ; and in the event of a failure to obtain such guaran- tees, to adopt in concert with the other Southern States, or alone, such measures as may seem most expedient to protect the rights and insure the safety of the people of Virginia. "And in the event of a change in our relations to the other States being rendered necessary, that the convention so elected should recommend to the people, for their adoption, such alter- ations m our State constitution as may adapt it to the altered condition of the State and country." AVe quote the following at the suggestion of friends in whose judgment we have confidence, not as by any means worthy of a place among the able papers we are presenting, nor as a full treatment of the question, but simply as a popular hit bach at ]\Ir. Rossiter Johnson, who wrote in the Neio York Examiner, and has since published in book form, a so-called "History of the War." THE SECESSION OF VIRGINIA. BY J. AVM. JONES. "I am willing to believe that Mr. Johnson has tried to be fair, and has presented the case as he understands it. But as a Virginian born and reared on her soil, familiar with her his- tory, and proud of her traditions, I especially desire to enter my protest against the account he has given [see the Examiner of November 12th] of 'The Secession of Virginia.' " The statement that Virginia's governor (John Letcher) ' was an ardent disunionist' exactly contradicts the fact. Gov- ernor Letcher, up to the issuing of Mr. Lincoln's proclamation calling for seventy-five thousand troops to coerce the seceded States, was an ardent ' Union ' man, as were a majority of the people of Virginia. Indeed, his attachment to the Union was so strong — and his opposition to secession so emphatic and outspoken— that the secessionists distrusted him, and their chief organ, the Richmond Examiner, was filled with abuse and denunciation of 'our tortoise governor,' 'the submissionist,' 'the betrayer of the liberties of the people,' etc. Governor Letcher was in fullest accord with the Union leaders of the Vir- ginia convention, and refused every suggestion to call out troops to capture the navy -yard at Portsmouth, Fortress IMonroo, or Harper's Ferry until after the convention has passed the ordi- 252 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. nance of secession. But he was, in all of his sympathies and feelings, a Virginian^ did not believe in the right of the gen- eral government to coerce a ' Sovereign Gtate,' and promptly responded to Mr. Lincoln's call for Virginia's quota of the sev- enty-five thousand troops that no troops 'would be furnished for any such purpose — ' an object' which, in his judgment, 'was not within the purview of the constitution or the laws.' ' You have/ said he to Mr Lincoln, 'chosen to inaugurate civil war.' "But the most remarkable statement in Mr. Johnson's article is as follows : " ' Virginia's fate appears to have been determined by a meas- ure that was less spectacular and more coldly significant. The Confederate Congress at Montgomery passed an act forbidding the importation of slaves from States outside of the Confed- eracy. When Virginia heard that, like the young man in scrip- ture, she went away sorrowful ; for in that line of trade she had great possessions. The cultivation of land by s]ave-lal)or had long since ceased to be profitable in the border States — or at least it was far less profitable than raising slaves for the cot- ton States, and the acquisition of new territory in Texas and Missouri had enormously increased the demand. The greatest part of this business (sometimes estimated as high as one h.ilf) was Virginia's. It was called the ' vigintal crop,' as the blacks were ready for market and at their highest value about the age of twenty. As it was an ordinary business of bargain and sale, no statistics were kept ; but the lowest estimate of the annual value of th^ trade in the Old Dominion placed it in the tens of millions of dollars. After Sumter had been fired on and the Confederate Congress had forbidden this trafiic to outsiders, the Virginia convention again took up the ordinance of seces- sion (April 17th) and passed it in secret session by a vote of 83 to 65.' " Now I have to say in reply to this : " 1. The Confederate Congress at Montgomery passed no such act ' forbidding the importation of slaves from States outside ol the Confederacy,' and absolutely nothing of this charactei whatever. I have before me an official copy of the statutes at large of the Confederate States of America — a book, by the way, which I respectfully commend to Mr. Johnson for his careful study — and it contains no such act or resolution. "2. Even if such an act had been passed, it would not have had the slightest effect upon the action of Virginia, for it is a slander alike upon the character of her people and the motives which impelled her to secede and join the confederacy, to rep- i[^AS DAVIS A TRAITOR f 253 resent her as a cold, calculating, negro-trader, only influenced by the hope of gain in raising negroes for the Southern market. It is not true that 'raising slaves for the cotton States' was an 'ordinary business of bargain and sale,' worth annually 'tens of millions of dollars to Virginia.' The truth is that the ave- rage Virginia planter would mortgage his plantation and well nigh ruin his estate to support his negroes in comparative idle- ness before ho would sell them ; that very few negroes were ever sold except under the sternest necessity ; that the negro trader was considered a disreputable member of society; and that 'raising slaves for the market ' is a romance of abolition inven- tion which fully served its purpose in the bitter controversies of the slavery agitation, but which an intelligent writer should now be ashamed to drag forth again. Vv^hen Robert E. Lee said, ' Ij the millions of slaves at the South ivcre mine I ivould free them with a stroJx of the pen to avert this war,^ he but voiced the sentiments of nine-tenths of the people in Virginia. The truth is that our grand old commonwealth has a record on this ques- tion of which she need not be ashamed. The first slaves intro- duced in Virginia were brought and forced upon her colonists against their protests — and from that day all that were brought to her soil came in ships of Old or Now England. When the Federal constitution was adopted Virginia favored the imme- diate abolition of the slave trade, and the time for its abolition was extended twenty years on the demand of Massachusetts and other New England States, and when the slave-trade was abolished Virginia voted for its abolition, while Massachusetts voted for its continuance. After giving with princely liberal- ity, to the general government for the common domain, the Northwest Territory, out of which the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and a part of Minnesota were afterwards carved, Virginia consented with surprising readiness to making this /rce territory. And there can be but little doubt that the sentiments of her loading statesmen would have pre- vailed, and Virginia would have adopted emancipation measures, but for the fact that, after finding that slavery would not pay with them, the Northern States (after selling their own slaves and pocketing the money) began a system of warfare upon slavery which tended to consolidate and perpetuate the pro-slavery sentimont in the State. "3. The real reason of the secession of Virginia was that she considered that Mr. Lincoln's proclamation had 'inaugurated civil war,' and she had simply to choose whether she would take sides with the North or loiih the South in the great conflict. "If you could give me space to go into the details I could abundantly show that in all the bitter controversies of the past 2S4 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL t7MR the voice of Virginia had been on the side of the Union — that she had been ready to make any sacrifice, save honor, to pre- serve the Union which her sons had done so much to form and to perpetuate. "After other Southern States had seceded she still voted overwhelmingly against secession, called the 'Peace Congress' which assembled at Washington, sent her commiss'ioners to Mr. Lincoln after his inaugural, and on bended knee begged for peace and Union. But she was equally emphatic in claiming that a State had the right to secede — that she had expressly reserved that right when she entered the original compact — and that the general government had no right to coerce a State desiring to secede. This she had declared over and over again by the most solemn enactment, and her commissioners made her position clear to the authorities at Washington. Two days, therefore, after Mr. Lincoln's call for her quota of troops to subjugate the seceded States, Virginia passed her ordinance of secession and bared her breast to receive the coming storm. " Equally untrue to the facts of history is the attempt of Mr. Johnson to make it appear that the people of Virginia were not then in favor of secession — that ' the governor turned over the entire military force and equipment of the State to the Confed- erate authorities ' — and that a vote against secession was ' im- possible,' because at the time of the popular vote, ' the soil of Virginia was overrun by soldiers from the cotton States.' The convention, and not the governor, formed the alliance with the Confederate States — the election was one of the fairest ever held in America — and while the vote stood 125,950 in favor of rati- fying the ordinance of secession to 20,373 against it (most of these last being cast in northwest Virginia, where Federal bayonets did influence the vote) — yet there were no soldiers at the polls, no tort of intimidation was used, and men voted freely their honest convictions. The simple truth is, that Mr. Lin- coln's proclamation caused, the immediate secession of Virginia, and so dissipated the ' Union ' sentiment of the people, that Hon. John B. Baldwin (the Union leader of the convention, and one of the ablest, purest men the State ever produced) but voiced the general sentiment when he wrote a friend at the North — • who had asked him the day after the proclamation was issued* 'What will the Union men of Virginia do now?' — ' We have nc Union men in Virginia now, but those whe loere ' Union ' men will stand to their guns and make a fight v/hich shall shine out on the page of history as an example of what a brave people can do after exhausting every means of pacification.' " Yes ; old Virginia clung to the Union and the constitution with filial devotion. The voice of her Henry had first aroused I WAS DA VIS A TP.AITOEf 256 the colonies to resist British oppression. The pen of her Jeffer- son had written the Declaration of Independence. The sword of her Washington had made good that Declaration. The pen of hor IMason had written the constitution, and her great states- men had expounded it. Through long, prosperous, and happy- years her sons had filled the presidential chair, and, her voice had been potential, in cabinet and Congress, in shaping the destinies of the great republic to whose prosperity she had con- tributed so largely. "But now there had arisen 'another king that knew not Joseph ' — the very fundamental i:)rinciplcs of the constitution were, in her judgment, subverted — civil war, with all of its horrors,. had been inaugurated, and she must choose on which side she would fight. She did not hesitate ; but knowing full well that her soil would be the great battle-field, she took up the ' gage of battle ' and called on her sons to rally to her defence. From mountain-valley to the shores of her resounding seas — from Alleghany to Chesapeake — from the Potomac to the North Carolina line — the call is heard and there rush to arms at the first tap of the drum — not Hessian nor Milesian mercenaries, not a band of negro-traders coolly calculating how much they could make out of a ' Southern Confederacy ' — but the very flower of our Virginia manhood, as true patriots as the world ever saw, worthy sons of sires of '73. " And they did ' make a fight ' which illustrates some of the brightest pages of American history, and of which men at the North as well as men at the South are even now beginning to be proud. Aye ! and the day will come when the story of the par- tisan will rot into oblivion, and ' the men who Avore the gray, ' alike with ' the men who wore the blue, ' will have even justice at the bar of impartial history." But, after all, the case is as beautifully and as strongly stated in one of the last letters which Mr. Davis ever wrote, addressed to the committee of arrangements for the North Carolina Cen- tennial as anywhere else,. He states it as regards the State of North Carolina, but the principles apply equally to all of the States. " Beauvoir, Miss., October 30, 1889. ^^ Messrs. Wharton J. Green, James C. McRae, C. W. Broadfoot, Neil W. Ray, and W. C. McDuffie, Charlotte : " Gentlemen — Your letter inviting me to attend North Caro- lina's centeunial, to be held at Fayetteville, on the 21st of 256 THE DAVIS ME3I0BIAL VOLUME. November next, was duly received, but this acknowledgment has been delayed under the hope that an improvement in my health would enable me to be present as invited. As the time ap- proaches 1 find that cherished hope unrealized and that I must regretfully confess my inability to join you in the commemo- rative celebration. It has been my sincere wish to meet the people of the 'Old North State' on the occasion which will naturally cause them, with just pride, to trace the historic rivei of their years to its source in the colony of Albemarle. All along that river stand monuments of fidelity to the inalienable rights of the people, even when an infant successfully resisting executive usurpation, and in the defense of the privileges guaranteed by charter, boldly defying kings, lords, and com- mons. Always self-reliant, yet not vainly self-asserting, she provided for her own defense, Avhile giving material aid to her neighbors, as she regarded all of the British colonies of America. Thus she sent troops, armed and equipped, for service in both Virginia and South Carolina: also dispatched a ship from the port of Wilmington with food for the sufferers in Boston after the closing of that port by Great Britain. In her declaration that the cause of Boston was the cause of all, there v-as not only the assertion of a community of rights and a ])ur[)ose to defend them, but self-abnegation of the commercial advantages which would probably accrue from the closing of a rival port. "Without diminution of regard for the great and good men of the other colonies, I have been led to special veneration for the men of North Carolina, as the first to distinctly declare for State independence, and from first to last to uphold the right of a people to govern themselves. " I do not propose to discuss the vexed question of the Meck- lenburg resolutions of May, 1775, which, from the similarity of expression to the great Declaration of Independence of July, 177G, have created much contention, because the claim of North Carolina rests on a broader foundation than the resolves of the meeting at Mecklenburg, which deserve to be preserved as the outburst of a brave, liberty-loving people on the receipt of news of the combat at Concord between British soldiers and citizens of Massacnusetts. The broader foundations referred to are the records of events preceding and succeeding the meeting at Mecklenburg, and the proceedings of the provincial congress, which met at Hillsboro' in August, 1775. Before this congress convened North Carolina, in disregard of oi^position by the governor, had sent delegates to represent her in the general congress to be held in Philadelphia, and had denounced the attack upon Boston, and had appointed committees of safety WAS DAVIS A TRAITORf 257 with such far-reaching functions as belong to revolutionary times only. The famous stamp act of Parliament was openly re- sisted by men of highest reputation, a vessel bringing the stamps was seized and the commander bound not to permit them to be landed. These things were done in open day by men who wore no disguise and shunned no question. Before the congress of the province had assembled the last royal governor of North Carolina had fled to escape from the indignation of the people Avho, burdened but not bent by oppression, had resolved to live or die as freemen. The congress at Hillsboro went earnestly to work, not merely to declare independence but to provide the means for maintaining it. The congress, feeling quite equal to the occasion, proceeded to make laws for raising and organ- izing troops, for supplying money, and to meet the contingency of a blockade of her seaports, offered bounties to stimulate the production of the articles most needful in time of war. On the 12th of April, 1776, the continental congress being then in session, and with much diversity of opinion as to the proper course to be pursued under this condition of affairs, the North Carolina congress resolved * that the delegates for this colony in the continental congress be empowered to concur with the delegates of the other colonies in declaring independence and forming foreign alliances, reserving to the colony the sole and exclusive right of forming a constitution and laws for the colon}'-,' etc. " This, I believe, was the first distinct declaration for sepa- ration from Great Britain and State independence, and there is much besides priority to evoke admiration. North Carolina had, by many acts of resistance to the British authorities, pro- voked their vengeance, yet she dared to lead in defiance ; but no danger, however dread in the event of her isolation, could make her accept co-operation, save with the reservation of "supremacy in regard to her own constitution and laws — the Bacred principle of ' community independence ' and government founded on the consent of the governed. After having done her whole duty in the war for independence and become a free, sovereign, and independent State, she entered into the confed- eration with these rights and powers recognized as unabridged. When experience proved the articles of confederation to be inadequate to the needs of good government, she agreed to a general convention for their amendment. The convention did not limit its labors to amendment of the articles, but proceeded to form a new plan of government, and, adhering to the cardi- nal principle that governments must be derived from the con- sent of the governed, submitted the new plan to the people of 17 258 THE DAVL'i MEMORIAL YOLVMK ^ the several S^ate?!, to be adopted or rejected a& each by and foi itself should iaclde. It is to be remembered that the articles of confederatioii for the ' United States of America ' declared that 'the UnioA shall be perpetual/ and that no alteration should be made in- tlie said articles unless it should 'be confirmed by the legislatures of every State.' True to her creed of State sovereignty, North Carolina recognized the power of such States as chose to do so to withdraw from the Union, and by the sams token her own unqualified right to decide whether or not she would subscribe to the proposed compact for a more perfect union, and in which it is to be observed the declaration for per- petuity was omitted. In the hard school of experience she had learned the danger to popular liberty from a government which could claim to be the final Judge of its own powers. She had fought a long and devastating war for State independence, and was not willing to put in jeopardy the priceless jewel she had gained. After a careful examination it was concluded that tli© proposed constitution did not sufficiently guard against usurpa- tion by the usual resort to ijapli cation of powers not exioL'eE&ry granted, and declined to act upon the general assurances that the deficiency would soon be supplied by the needful amend- ments. In the meantime, State alter State Lad acceded to the new union, until the requisite rmmber had been obtained for the establishment of the ' constitution between the States to ratifying the same.' With characteristic self-reliance. North Carolina confronted the prospect of isolation, and calmly re- solved, if so it must be, to stand as one rather than subject to hazard her most prized possession — 'Community independence. Confiding in the security offered by the first ten amendments to the constitution, especially the ninth and tenth of the series, North Carolina voluntarily acceded to the new union. The tenth amendment restricted the functions of the Federal gov- ernment to the exercise of the powers delegated to it by the States, all of which were expressly stipulated. Beyond that limit nothing could be done rightfully. If covertly done, under color of law, or by reckless usurpation of an extraneous majority which, feeling power, should disregard right, had the State no peaceful remedy? Could she, as a State in a confed- eration, the bed-rock of which is the consent of its members, be bound by a compact which others broke to her injury? Had her reserved rights no other than a paper barrier to protect them against invasion? " Surely the heroic patriots and wise statesmen of North Caro- lina, by their sacrifices, utterances and deeds, have shown what their answer would have been to these questions, if they had WAS DAVIS A TUAITOBf 2-59 been asked, on the day when in one convention they ratified the amended constitution of the United States. Her exceptional delay in ratification marks her vigilant care for the right she had so early asserted and so steadily maintained. " Of her it may be said, as it ^yas of Sir Walter Scott in his youth, that he was * always the first in a row and the last out of it.' In the peaceful repose which followed the Revolution all her interests were progressive. " Farms, school-houses and towns rose over a subdued wilder- ness, and with a mother's joy she saw her sons distinguished in the public service by intelligence, energy and perseverance, and by the integrity without which all other gifts are but as tinsel. Korth Carolina grew a pace in all which constitutes power, until 1812 she was required, as a State of the Union, to resist aggressions on the high seas in the visitation of American merchant vessels and the impressment of American seamen by the armed cruisers of Great Britain. " These seamen generally belonged to the Kew England States ; none, probably, were North Carolinians ; but her old spirit was vital still ; for the cause of one was the cause of all, as she announced when Boston was under embargo. " At every roll-call for the common defence she answered 'Here!' When blessed peace returned she stacked her arms, for which she had no prospective use. Her love for her neigh- bors had been tried and not found wanting in the time of their need; why should she anticipate hostility from them? " The envy, selfish jealousy and criminal hate of a Cain could not come near to her heart. If not to suspect such vice in others be indiscreet credulity, it is a knightly virtue and a part of an honest nature. In many years of military and civil service it has been my good fortune to know the sons of North Carolina under circumstances of trial and could make a list of those deserving honorable mention which would too far extend this letter, already, I fear, tediously long. "Devotion to principle, self-reliance, and inflexible adher- ence to resolution when adopted, accompanied by conservative caution, were the characteristics displayed by North Carolina in both her colonial and State history. All these qualities were exemplified in her action on the day of the anniversary of which you commemorate. If there be any, not likely to be found with you but possibly elsewhere, who shall ask *how, then, should North Carolina consistently enact her ordinance of secession in 1861? ' he is referred to the Declaration of Inde- pendence of 1776, to the articles of confederation of 1777, for a perpetual union of the States from the union bo established; 26C THJ? da VTS MEMOniAl VOLUME. to the treaty of 1783, recognizing the independence of tho States severally and distinctively; to the constitution of the United States, with its first ten amendments ; to the time-hon- ored resolutions of 1798-1799 ; that from these, one and all, he may learn that the State, having won her independence by heavy sacrifices, had never surrendered it nor had ever at- tempted to delegate the unalienable rights of the people. How valiantly her sons bore themselves in the war between the States the lists of the killed and wounded testify. She gave them a sacrificial offering on the altar of the liberties their fathers had won and had left as an inheritance to their poster- ity. Many sleep far from the land of their nativity. Peace to their ashes ! Honor to their memory and the mother who bore them! Faithfully, Jeffeeson Davis. Senator John "W. Daniel, in his address delivered in Rich- mond, before the Virginia Legislature, January 25, 1890, in the presence of an immense crowd and an enthusiastic audience, made a popular defence of Mr, Davis, so able, so eloquent, and so conclusive, that we give the full text of his splendid oration, for while there are other matters introduced which might come more appropriately at other points of this outline, we do not feel like marring its symmetry by abridging it or separating its parts. ORATION OF SENATOR JOHN W. DANIEL. " Mr. Speaker, Gentlemen of the General Assembly of Vi7'gmia, La- dies and Gentlemen : " Noble are the words of Cicero when he tells us that ' it is the first and fundamental law of history that it should neither dare to say anything that is false or fear to say anything that is true, nor give any just suspicion of favor or disaffection,' *' No less high a standard must be invoked in considering the life, character, and services of Jefferson Davis, a great man of a great epoch ; whose name is blended with the renown of American arms and with the civic glories of the cabinet and the Congress hall — a son of the South who became the head of a confederacy more populous and more extensive than that for v^^hich Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, and the commander-in-chief of armies many times greater than WAS DAVIS A TBAITOBf 261 those of which "Washington was the general. He swayed senates and led the soldiers of the Union — and he stood accused of treason in a court of justice. He saw victory sweep illustrious battle-fields ; and he became a captive. " He ruled millions, and he was put in chains. " He created a nation ; he followed its bier ; he wrote its epi- taph, and he died a disfranchised citizen. " But though great in all vicissitudes and trials, he was greatest in that fortune which, lifting him first to the loftiest height and casting him thence into the depths of disappoint- ment, found him everywhere the erect and conatant friend of truth. He conquered himself and forgave his enemies, but he bent to none but God. " No public man was ever subjected to sterner ordeals of char- acter or closer scrutiny of conduct. He was in the public gaze for nearly half a century; and in the fate which at last over- whelmed the Southern Confederacy and its President its official records and private papers fell into the hands of his enemies. "Wary eyes now searched to see if he had overstepped the bounds which the laws of war have set to action ; and could such evidence be found wrathful hearts would have cried for vengeance. But though every hiding-place was opened, and re- ward was ready for any who would betray the secrets of the Captive Chief, whose armies were scattered and whose hands were chained — though the sea gave up its dead in the convul- sion of his country — there could be found no guilty fact, and accusing tongues were silenced. "Whatever record leaped to light, His name could not be shamed." " I could not, indeed, nor would I divest myself of those identi- ties and partialities which make me one with the people of whom he was the chief in their supreme conflict. But surely if records were stainless and enemies were dumb, and if the principals no\^' pronounce favorable judgment upon the agent, notwith- standing that he failed to conduct their affairs to a successful issue, there can be no suspicion of undue favor on the part of those who do him honor; and the contrary inclination could only spring from disaffection. " The people of the South knew Jefferson Davis. He mingled his daily life with theirs under the eager ken of those who had bound up with him all that life can cherish. "To his hands they consigned their destinies, and under his guidance they committed the land they loved with husbands, fathers, sons and brothers to the God of battles. 262 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. " Ruin, wounds, and death became thek portion. And yet this people do declare that Jefferson Davis was an unselfish patriot and a noble gentleman ; that as the trustee of the highest trust that man can place in man he was clear and faithful ; and that in his high office he exhibited those grand heroic attributes which were worthy of its dignity and of their struggle for inde- pendence. " Thus it was that when the news came that he was no more there was no southern home that did not pass under the shadow of affliction. Thus it was that the governors of commonwealths bore his body to the tomb and that multitudes gathered from afar to bow in reverence. Thus it was that throughout the South the scarred soldiers, the widowed wives, the kindred of those who had died in the battle which he delivered met to give utter- ance to their respect and sorrow. Thus it is that the General Assembly of Virginia is now convened to pay their tribute. Com- pleter testimony to human worth was never given, and thus it will be that the South will build a monument to record their verdict that he was true to his people, his conscience, and his God ; and no stone that covers the dead will be worthier of the Roman legend: 'Clarus et vir fortissimus.' "The life now closed was one of conflict from youth to man- hood, and from manhood to the grave. Before he was a man in years he was an officer in the army of his country, and inter- missions of military and civil services were but spent in burn- ishing the weapons which were to shine in the clash of oppos- ing interests. " The scenes of the hearthstone and of the cloisters of friend- ship and religion have no place on that large canvas which por- trays the great events of national existence ; and those who come forth from them equipped and strong to wrestle and contend leave often behind them the portions of their life-work which, could others know them, would reverse all conceptions of char- acter and turn aversion to affection. "Those who knew Jefferson Davis in intimate relations honor- ed him most and loved him. Genial and gentle, approachable to all, especially regardful of the humble and lowly, affable in conversation, and enriching it from the amplest stores of a re- fined and cultured mind, he fascinated those who came within the circle of his society and endeared them to him. Reserved as to himself, he bore the afflictions of a diseased body with scant allusion even when it became needful to plead them in self- defence. With bandaged eyes and weak from suffering he would *- WAS DA VIS A TRAlTOBf 263 come from a couch of pain to vote on public issues and for ov^r ^enty years -with the sight of one eye gone, he viedicated ' bie» labors to the vindication of the South from the aspersions whicJa misconceptions and passions had engendered. " At over four-score years he died, with his harness on, his pen yet bright and trenchant, his mental eye undimmed, his soul athirst for peace, truth, justice, and fraternity, breathing his latest breath in clearing the memories of the Lost Confederacy. " Clear and strong in intellect, proud,high-minded, sensitive, self-willed, but not self-centered; self-assertive for his cause, but never for his own advancement; aggressive and imperious as are nearly all men fit for leadership ; with the sturdy virtues that command respect, but without the small diplomacies that conciliate hostility, he was one of those characters that natu- rally makes warm' friends and bitter enemies; a veritable man, * terribly in earnest,' such as Carlyle ioved to count among the heroes. " Such a man can never be understood while strife lasts ; and little did they understand him who thought him selfish, cold, or cruel. When he came to Richmond as your President your generous people gave him a home and he declined it. After the war when dependent on his labor for the bread of his family kind friends tendered him a purse. Gracefully refusing, 'Send it,' he said, * to the poor and suffering soldiers and their families.' His heart was full of melting charity, and in the Confederate days the complaint was that his many pardons relaxed discipline, and that he would not let the sentences of military courts be executed. Not a human being ever believed for an instant the base imputation that he appropriated Con- federate gold. He distributed the last to the soldiers, and ' the fact is,' he wrote to a friend, ' that I staked all my property and reputation on ths defense of States' rights and constitutional liberty as I understand them. The first I spent in the cause, except what was saved and appropriated or destroyed by the enemy ; the last has been persistenL'y assailed by all which falsehood could invent and malignity employ,' " He would have turned with loathing from misuse of a pris- oner, for there was no characteristic of Jefferson Davis more marked than his regard for the weak, the helpless, and the captive. By act of the Confederate Congress and by general orders the same rations served to the Confederates were issued to the prisoners, though taken from a starving army and people. " Brutal and base was the effort to stigmatize him as a con- spirator to maltreat prisoners, but better for him that it was tuade, for while he was himself yet in prison the evidences of 264 TSE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. his humanity were so overwhelming that finally slander stood abashed and malignity recoiled. " Even at Andersonville, where the hot summer sun was of course disastrous to men of the northern clime, well nigh as many of their guard died as of them. " With sixty thousand more Federal prisoners in the South than there were Confederate prisoners in the North, four thous- and more Confederates than Federals died in jjrison. A cyclone of rhetoric cannot shake this mountain of fact, and these facts are alike immovable : " 1. He tried to get the prisoners exchanged by the cartel agreed on, but as soon as an excess of prisoners was in Federal hands this was refused. " 2. A delegation of the prisoners themselves vfas sent to Washington to represent the situation and the plea of human- ity for exchange. " 3. Vice-President Stephens was sent to see President Lin- coln by President Davis and urge exchange,in order ' to restrict the calamities of war' ; but he was denied audience. " 4. Twice — in January, 1864, and in January, 1865 — Presi- dent Davis proposed through Commissioner Ouldthat each side should send surgeons, and allow money, food, clothing, and medicines to be sent to prisoners, but no answer came. " 5. Unable to get medicines in the Confederacy, offer was made to buy them from the United States for the sole use of Federal prisoners. No answer was made. " 6. Then offer was made to deliver the sick and wounded without any equivalent in exchange. There was no reply for months. " 7. Finally, and as soon as the United States would receive them, thousands of both sick and well were delivered without exchange. *' The record leaves no doubt as to the responsibility for refusal to exchange. General Grant assumed it, saying in his letter of August 18, 1864: ' It is hard on our men in southern prisons not to exchange them, but it is humanity to those left in the ranks to fight our battles. If we commence a system of exchanges which liberates all. prisoners taken we will have to fight on until the whole South is exterminated. If we hold those caught they amount to no more than dead men. At this particular time to release all rebel prisoners North would insure Sherman's defeat and compromise our own safety here.' "Alexander H. Stephens declared that the effort to fix odium on President Davis constituted 'one of the boldest and baldest attempted outrages upon the truth of history which has ever been essayed.' r WAS DAVIS A TRAITOR f 206 " Charles A. Dana, of the New York Sun, formerly assistant Secretary of War, nobly vindicated President Davis while ho lived, declared him 'altogether acquitted' of the charge, and said of him dead, 'A majestic soul has passed.' "When Mr. Davis congratulated General Lee's army on the victories of Richmond, he said to them : ' Your humanity to the wounded and the prisoners was the fit and crowning glory of your valor.' And could that army now march by, they would lift those laurels from their bayonets and throw them upon the grave of the Confederate President. " Resentment wreaked itself upon him ere the truths were fully known and while indeed passion turned a deaf ear to them. And if he struck back what just man can blame him? With a reward of $100,000 offered for him as an assassin, charged with maltreating prisoners, indicted for treason and imprisoned for two years and denied a trial;, handcuffed like a common ruf- fian ; put in solitary confinement ; a silent sentinel and a blazing light at watch on his every motion, where is there a creature who can call himself a man who could condemn — aye, who does not sympathize with the goaded innocence and the right- eous indignation with which he spurned the accusations and denounced the accusers ? " But whatever he suffered the grandeur of his soul lifted him above the feelings of hatred and malice. "When Grant lay stricken on Mt. McGregor he was requested to write a criticism of his military career. He declined for two reasons : ' First, General Grant is dying. Second, though he Invaded our country with a ruthless, it was with an open hand, and, as far as I know, he abetted neither arson 'nor pillage, and has since the war, I believe, shown no malignity to the Confederates either of the military or civil service; therefore, instead of seeking to disturb the quiet of his closing hours, I would, if it were in my power, contribute to the peace of his mind and the comfort of his body.' This was no new-born feel- ing. At Fortress Monroe, Avhen suffering the tortures of bodily pain in an unwholesome prison, and the worse tortures of a humiliating and cruel confinement which make man blush for his kind to recall them, he, yet in the solitude of his cell, shared only by his faithful pastor, took the Holy Communion which commemorates the blood and the broken body of Christ Jesus, and bowing to God, declared his heart at peace with Him and man. " As free from envy as he was from malice, he was foremost in recognizing, applauding, and eulogizing the great character and achievements of General R. E. Lee, and with his almost dying 266 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. hand he wove a chaplet of evergreen beauty to lay upon his honored brow. "Sternly did he stand for principle. He was no courtier, no flatterer, no word naagician, no time-server, no demagogue unless that word shakes from it the contaminations of its abuse and return to its pristine meaning — a leader of the people. Like King David's was his command, 'There shall no deceit- ful man dwell in my house.' A pure and lofty spirit breathed through his every utterance, which, like the Parian stone, revealed in its polish the fineness of the grain. I can recall no public man who, in the midst of such shifting and perplexing scenes of strife, maintained so firmly the consistency of his principles, and who, despite the shower of darts that hurtled around his head, triumphed so completely over every dishonor- ing imputation. It was because those who knew his faith knew always where to find him, and wherever found he proclaimed that faith as the standard bearer unfurls his colors. "He was always ready to follow his principles to their logical conclusion, to become at any sacrifice their champion; to face defeat in their defense, and to die, if need be, rather than dis- guise or recant them. "Advocating the Mexican war while a member of the House of Representatives from Mississippi, he resigned his seat there to take command of a Mississippi regiment and share the hard- ships and dangers of the field. " When later, his party in Mississippi seemed to be losing ground, and General Quitman, its candidate for governor, retired, a popular election giving forecast of 7,500 majority against him, Jefferson Davis resigned his seat in the United States Senate to accept its leadership and become its nominee, and with such effect did he rally its ranks that he came within 1,000 votes of election. " When he turned homeward from Mexico, the laurelled hero of Buena Vista, he was everywhere hailed with acclamation, and a commission as brigadier-general of volunteers in the United States army was tendered him by President Polk. We may well conceive with what pride the young soldier, not yet forty years of age, would welcome so rare an honor in the cher- ished profession which had kindled his youthful ardor, and in which he had become now so signally distinguished. " But he had taught the doctrine that the State, and not the Federal government, was the true constitutional fountain of such an honor, and from another hand he would not bend his knightly brow to receive it. And yet later on, when summoned from the privacy of home to a place in the Cabinet of President WAS DAVIS A TRAIT0R1 267 Pierce, lie declined, because he believed it to be bis duty to remain in Mississippi and -wrestle for the cause with which be was identified. Thus did he abandon or decline the highest dignities of civil and military life, always putting principle in the lead, and himself anywhere that would best support it. " Personal virtues and public services are so different in essence and effect that nations often glorify those whose pri- vate characters are detestable, and condemn others who possess the most admirable traits. The notorious vices of Marlborough stood not in the way of the titles, honors, and estates which England heaped on the hero of Blenheim, and the nobleness of Robert Emmet did not shield the champion of Irish indepen- dence from the scaffold. " But the men of history cannot be thus dismissed from the bar of public judgment with verdicts wrung from the passion of an hour. There is a court of appeals in the calmer life, and the clearer intelligence of nations, and whenever the inherent rights or the moral ideas underlying the movements of society are brought in question, the personal qualities, the honor, the comprehension, the constancy of its leading spirits must con- tribute largely to the final judgment. In this forum personal and public character are blended, for in great conjunctures it is largely through their representative men that we must inter- pret the genius of peoples. *' It was fortunate for the South, for America, and for human- ity that at the head of the South in war w^as a true type of its honor, character, and history — a man whose clear rectitude preserved every complication from impeachment of bad faith ; a patriot whose love of law and liberty were paramount to all expediencies; a commander whose moderation and firmness could restrain, and whose lofty passion and courage could inspire ; a publicist whose intellectual powers and attainments made him the peer cf any statesman who has championed the rights of commonwealths in debate, or stood at the helm when the ship of State encountered the tempest of civil commotion. "In the tremendous storm which has scarce yet subsided Jefferson Davis never once forgot that he was a constitutional President under the limits of the fundamental law of the Con- federate republic. Some thought that he might have imparted a fiercer energy to his sore-pressed battalions had he grasped the purse and the sword, seized the reins of a dictator, and pushed the enterprise of war to its most exigent endeavor. But never once did ambition tempt or stress of circumstances drive him to admit the thought, at war as it was with the prin- ciples of the revolution which he led and with the genius of the 2G8 THE DA VIS MEMOBIAL VOL UMK Southern people. He stood for constitutional right. To him it was the Rock of Ages. Who does not now rejoice that he was inflexible ? " Had a man less sober-minded and less strong than he been in his place the Confederacy would not only have gone down in material ruin — it would have been buried in disgrace. Ex- cesses, sure to bring retribution in the end, would have blotted its career and weakness would have stripped its fate of dignity. I dismiss, therefore, the unworthy criticism that he should have negotiated peace in February, 1865, when Hon. Francis Blair came informally to Richmond, and when, as the result of his mission, Messrs. Stephens, Hunter, and Campbell met Presi- dent Lincoln and Secretary Seward in conference ,at Hampton Roads. Reports have been circulated that at that time peace could have been secured upon a basis of a return to the Union, with payment of some sort to southern owners for their emanci- pated slaves. There is no foundation for such belief. The idea which led to the conference was that of Mr. Blair — that the Con- federate cause being hopeless, the Confederate leaders could be induced to wheel their columns into line with those of the Union army now thundering at their gates and then march off to Mexico to assert the Monroe doctrine and expel Maximilian, the usurp- ing emperor, from his throne. But when President Lincoln and Secretary Seward appeared no proposal of any kind was made but unconditional surrender. This was reported and of course declined. Even had compensation for slaves been proposed the Confederate soldiers would have repudiated such terms as conditions of surrender. True, thoy were in dire distress. With scarce a handful Johnston could only harass Sherman in the South, and the men of Lee could see from their trenches the mighty swarms marshalling in their front. The starvation that clutched at their throats plunged its dagger to their hearts as they thought of loved ones famishing at home. But the brave men who still clung to their tattered standards knew naught of the art or practice of surrender. They thought of Valley Forge and saw beyond it Yorktown. Had not Washing- ton thought of the mountains of West Augusta when driven from his strongholds? Why not they? Had not Jackson left the legacy, 'What is life without honor? Dishonor is worse than death.' They could not comprehend the idea of surrender, for were they not their fathers' sons? "They would rather have died than surrender then, and they were right. Revolutions imply the impossibility of compro- mise. They never begin until overtures are ended. Once begun there is no half-way house between victory and death, Aud they can only die with honor in the last ditch. WAS DA VIS A TRAITOR f 269 " Had surrender come before its necessity was manifest to all mankind, reproach, derision, and contempt, feud, faction, and recrimination would have brought an aftermath of disorder and terror ; and had it been based on such terms as those which critics have suggested a glorious revolution would have been snuffed out like a farthing candle in a miserable barter about the ransom of slaves. " It was well for all that it was fought to the finish without compromise either tendered or entertained. The fact that it was so fought out gave finality to its result and well-nigh ex- tinguished its embers with its flames. No drop of blood be- tween Petersburg and Appomattox — not one in the last charge was shed in vain. Peace with honor must pay its price, even if that price be life itself, and it is because the South paid that price with no miser's hand that her surviving soldiers carried home with them the 'consciousness of duty faithfully per- formed.' We should rejoice that if weak men wavered before the end, neither Jefferson Davis, nor Robert Lee, nor Joseph Johnston wavered. Though they and their compeers could not achieve the independence of the Confederacy they did preserve the independent and un shamed spirit of their people. And it is in that spirit now that men of the South find their shield against calumny, their title to respect, their welcome to the brotherhood of noble men, and their incentive to noble and unselfish deeds. " ' If you would know why Rome was great,' says a student of her history, ' consider that Roman soldier whose armed skeleton was found in a recess near the gate of Pompeii. When burst the sulphurous storm the undaunted hero dropped the visor of his helmet and stood there to die.' " Would you know why the South is great? Look on the new- made grave in Louisiana, and consider the ragged soldier of Bentonville and Appomattox. " After the Revolutionary war Samuel Davis, who had served in it as one of the mounted men of Georgia, settled in Ken- tucky. Pending that war, in 1782, the very year that George Rogers Clarke captured Kaskasia, Thomas Lincoln, of Rock- ingham county, Va., removed to the same State. Jefferson Davis, the son of the first-named settler, was born on June 8. 1808, and on February 12, 1809. was born the son of the other — Abraham Lincoln. Samuel Davis moved to Mississippi. His son became a cadet at West Point under appointment from President Monroe, and soon, commissioned as a lieutenant in the United States army, appeared in the service fighting the Indians on the frontier in the Black Hawk war. In early man* 270 THE DAVIS MJEMOniAL VOLUME. hood Abraham Lincoln removed to Illinois, and now becoming a captain of volunteers be and Jefferson Davis were under the game flag engaged in the saixie warfare. "John H&.mpden and Oliver Cromwell had once engaged pas- sage for America, and George Washington was about to become a midshipman in the British navy. Had not circumstances changed these plans Hampden and Cromwell might have become great names in American history. And suppose Ad- miral George Washington, under the colors of King George III., had been pursuing the Count D'Estaing, whose French fleet hemmed Cornwallis in at Yorktown — Avho knows how the story of the great Revolution might have been written? Had Jeffer- son Davis gone to Illinois and Lincoln to Mississippi, what different histories Vfould be around those names; and yet I fancy that the great struggle with which they were identified would have been changed only in incidents and not in its great currents. "In 1835 Lieutenant Davis resigned his commission in the army, intermarried Miss Taylor, a daughter of Colonel Zachary Taylor, and retired to his Mississippi estate, where for eight years he spent his time in literary studies and agricultural pursuits — a country gentleman with a full library and broad acres. " Such life as his was that of John Hampden before the country squire suddenly emerged from obscurity as a debater, a leader of Parliament, and a soldier to plead and fight and die in the people's cause against a tyrant's and a tax-gatherer's exactions. Such life as his was that of many of the fathers of this republic, and when Jefferson Davis entered public life in 1843, he came as Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Henry, Mason, Clay, Calhoun and Andrew Jackson had come before him — from a Southern plantation, where he had been the iiead of a family and the master of slaves. *' From 1843 to 1861 the life of Jefferson Davis was spent for the most part in public services, and they were as distinguished as the occasions which called them into requisition were numer- ous and important. A presidential elector, a member of the House of Representatives, a United States Senator (once by appointment and twice by election), a colonel of the Missis- sippi volunteers in Mexico, twice a candidate for governor of his State before the people, these designations give suggestion of the number and dignity of nis employments. "How he led the Mississippi riflemen in storming Monterey without bayonets ; how ho thrpw them into the famous ' V ' to receive a ad repulse the Mexican lancers at the crisis of the WAS DAVIS A TliAlTOnf ,271 fealllo of Buena Vista; how, though wounded and bleeding from a musket-shot, he sat his horse and would not quit the held till victory had crowned it, is a picture that hangs con- spicuously in the galleries of our history. The movement, prompt, original, and decisive, disclosed the general of rare ability ; the personal conduct avouched the hero. " 'Colonel Davis,' said General Taylor in his report, ' though ssverely Avounded remained in the saddle until the close of the ac ion. liis distinguished coolness and gallantry at the head Ci ris regiment on this day entitle him to the particular notice of tfe government.' 'Colonel Davis won the battle of Buena Vista, and Buena .Yista made General Taylor President. " As Secretary of War in the Cabinet of President Pierce, a position which he only acceptQd after repeated solicitation, he was an officer second to none who has ever administered that department, in executive faculty and in benefits bestowed on the military service. " It was under his direction that George B. McClellan, then a captain, afterwards general-in-chief and commander of the Army of the Potomac, was sent with a commission to the Crimea to observe military operations and to study the tactics and conditions of the European armies there engaged; the result of which introduced many improvements. "There was nothing that came within his jurisdiction that he did not methodize and seek to extend to the widest range of utility. Material changes were made in the model of arms. Iron gun-carriages were introduced and experiments made which led to the casting of heavy guns hollow, instead of boring them after the casting. The army was increased by two regi- ments of cavalry and two of infantry. Amongst his earnest recommendations were the revision of army regulations ; the increase of the medical corps ; the introduction of light-infantry tactics ; rifled muskets and balls ; the exploration of the wes- tern frontiers, and the maintenance of large garrisons for the defense of settlers against the Indians. And there was no direction in which was not felt his comprehensive understand^ ing and his diligent hand. " His efforts to obtain increased pay for officers and men and pensions to their widows betokened those liberal sentiments to the defenders of their country which he never lost opportunity to evince or express. "He refused to carry politics into the matter of clerical appointments, and in selecting a clerk was indifferent whether he was a Democrat or a Whig. To get the best clerk was his sole 272 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. thought, and while I am not prepared to condemn as spoilsmen those who seek agents in unison with their principles, I can readily recognize the simplicity and loftiness of a nature which pays no heed to considerations of partisan advantage. " The confidence which he inspired was indicated by the trust reposed in him by Congress to take charge of the appro- priations made for the construction of the new Senate chamber and Hall of Representatives, and of those also to locate the most eligible route for the railway to connect the Mississippi Valley with the Pacific Coast, "The administration of Franklin Pierce closed in 1857, and it had presented the only instance in our history of a cabinet unchanged for four years in the individuals who composed it. None have filled the executive chairwith more fidelity to public interests than Franklin Pierce, and the words with which his Secretary of War eulogized him were worthily spoken by one to whom they were equally applicable : ' Chivalrous, generous, amiable, true to his friends and his faith, frank and bold in his opinions, he never deceived any one. And if treachery had ever come near him it would have stood abashed in the presence of his truth, his manliness, and his confiding simplicity.' " In his first public appearance in 1843 Mr. Davis had uttered the key-note of his political faith by moving to instruct the delegates from Mississippi to vote for John C. Calhoun as a presidential nominee in a National Democratic Convention. " Calhoun was, as he regarded, ' the most trusted leader of the South and the greatest and purest statesman of the Senate,' and while he did not concur in his doctrines of nullification, he adopted otherwise his constitutional views, and in the most part the politics which he advocated. Taking his seat in the House of Representatives in December, 1845, he at once launched into the work and debates of that body, and with his first address made that impression of eloquence and power which he maintained throughout his parliamentary career. John Quincy Adams is said to have predicted on hearing it that he would make his mark, and his prophecy was very soon ful- filled. He advocated in a resolution offered by himself the very first month of his service the conversion of some of the military posts into schools of instruction, and the substitution of detachments furnished proportionately by the States for the garrisons of enlisted men ; and on the 29th cf the same month made a forcible speech against Know-Noth:ngie'm, which was then becoming popular He had barely risen ixito uistinguished view by bis positions and speeches on these and other subjects, such as the Mexican war and the Oregon question, ere he WA S DA VIS A TTtA TTOR f 273 resigned to take the field in Mexico, and when he returned to public life after the Mexican war, it was as a member of the United States Senate. " It was in that body that his rich learning, his ready infor- mation on current topics, and his shining abilities as an orator and debater were displayed to most striking advantage. The great triumvirate Clay, Webster, and Calhoun Avere in the Sen- ate then, as were also Cass, Douglas, Bright, Dickinson, King, and others of renown, and when Calhoun ere long departed this life the leadership of the States'-Rights party fell upon Jeffer- son Davis. " The compromise measures of Mr. Clay of 1850 he opposed and insisted on adhering to the line of the Missouri compro- mise of 1820, on the ground that ' loacification had been the fruit borne by that tree and it should not have been ruthlessly hewn down and cast into the fire.' Meeting Mr. Clay and Mr. Berrien, of Georgia, together in the ^apitol grounds one day Mr. Clay urged him in a friendly way to support his bill, saying he thought it would give peace to the country for thirty years, and then he added to Mr. Berrien, ' You and I will be under the ground before that time, but our young friend here may have trouble to meet.' " Mr. Davis replied : ' I cannot consent to transfer to posterity an issue that is as much ours as theirs, when it is evident that the sectional inequality will be greater than now and render hopeless the attainment of justice.' "This was his disposition, never to evade or shift responsi- bility, and that he did meet it is the reason why the issue is now settled, and that ourselves, not our children, were involved in civil war. " When Clay on one occasion bantered him to future discus- sion, 'now is the moment,' was his prompt rejoinder. But these collisions of debate did not chill the personal relations of these two great leaders. Henry Clay was full of that generosity which recognized the foeman Avorthy of his steel, and frequently evinced his admiration and friendship for Jefferson Davis. Besides, there was a tie between them that breathed peace over all political antagonisms. Lieutenant-Colonel Clay, the son of the Whig leader, had been slain in the battle of Buena Vista. 'My poor boy,"' said he to Senator Davis, 'usually occupied about one half of his letters home in praising you,' and his eyes filled with tears. When turning to him once in debate, he said : ' My friend from Mississippi, and I trust that he will per- mit me to call him my friend, for between us there is a tie the nature of which we both understand.' 18 274 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. "Without following, as indeed I could not in this brief hour, the bearings of questions that came before the Senate during his service, or portraying the scenes of digladiation in which they were dealt with, I but pronounce the general verdict when I BKy that his great parliamentary gifts ranked him easily with the foremost men of that body. He was measured by the side of the giants of his time and in nothing found unequal. " In connection with the Mexican war two speeches were made in the House of Representatives, which were filled with the doctrines which all Americans have inherited from the fathers of the republic. " The one of them was made by a man who with a mind as broad as the continent advocated the railroad to connect the Mississippi Valley with the West, and who poured out from a heart thrilling with the great traditions of his country inspir- ing appeal for fraternity and union. . • " ' We turn,' said he ' from present hostility to former friend- ship, from recent defection to the time when Massachusetts and Virginia, the stronger brothers of our family, stood foremost and united to defend our common rights. From sire to son has descended the love of our Union in our hearts, as in our his- tory are mingled the names of Concord and Camden, of York- town and Saratoga, of Monetrio and Plattsburgh, of Chippewa and Erie, of Bowyer and Guilford, and New Orleans and Bun- ker Hill. Grouped together they form a monument to the com- mon glory of our common country ; and where is the southern man who would wish that monument even less by one of the northern names that constitute the mass? Who, standing on the ground made sacred by the blood of Warren, could allow sec- tional feeling to curb his enthusiasm as he looked upon that obelisk which rises a monument to freedom's and his country's triumph, and stands a type of the time, the men, and event it commemorates ; built of material that mocks the waves of time, without niche or moulding for parasite or creeping thing to rest on, and pointing like a finger to the sky, to raise man's thoughts to philanthropic and noble deeds.' " Scarce had these words died upon the air when there arose another in the House of Representatives on February 12, 1848 — one who had just voted that the war with Mexico was unnec- essary and unconstitutional, and who now based his views of the rights attaching by the conquest on the rights of revolu- tion. He said ; " ' Any people anywhere being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up and shake off the existing govern- laeut and form a new oue that suits them better, Was DAVIS A traitor? . 27i "'This is a most valuable and most sacred right — a right which "\ve hope and believe is to liberate the world. '"Nor is this right confined to cases in which the whole people of an existing government may choose to exercise it. "'Any portion of such people that can may revolutionize, putting down a minority intermingled with or near about them who o})pose their movements. "'Such a minority was precisely the case of the tories of the Revolution. It is a quality of revolutions not to go by old lines or old laws, but to break up both and make new ones.' " Who, think you, my countrymen, were these spokesmen? " The one who thus glorified the Union was the Kentucky boy who had moved to Mississippi, and was about to lead her soldiers under the stars and stripes in battle, and who now fills the grave of a disfranchised citizen. The other, who thus held up revolution as the right which was ' to liberate the world,' was Abraham Lincoln, the Kentucky boy Avho moved to Illinois, and who is now hailed ' as the defender and preserver of the nation.' " Success has elevated the one to a high niche in Fame's proud temple. But can failure deny to the other entrance there when we remember that the Temple of Virtue is the gate- way of the Temple of Fame? Both of them in their speeches then stood for American principles; both of them in their lives afterwards were the foremost champions of American princi- ples; both of them were revolutionists, and as such must be judged ; and Jefferson Davis never advocated an idea that did not have its foundation in the Declaration of Independence; that was not deducible from the constitution of the United States as the fathers who made it interpreted its meaning; that had not been rung into his ears and stamped upon his heart from the hour when his father baptized him in the name of Jefferson and he first saw the light in a commonwealth that was yet vocal with the State's-Right resolutions of 1798. "We cannot see the hand on the dial as it moves, but it does move nevertheless, and so surely as it keeps pace with the cir- cling sun, so surely will the hour come when the misundor- standings of the past will be reconciled and its clamors die away — and then it will be recognized by all that Jefferson Davis was more than the representative of a section, more than the intelligent guide of a revolution, more than the champion of secession. He will stand revealed as a political philosopher to be numbered amongst the great expounders of American prin- ciples and the great heroes and champions of the Anglo-Saxon race. When the turbid streams of war have cleared and flow 276 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. evenly in their channels it will be also seen that underneath the hostile currents which impelled two great peoples in colli- sion there was a unity of sentiment which, operating from different poles of circumstances and interest, threw into sepa- rate masses those who by natural instinct would have cohered together. " It is easier to note the dilTerences that float upon the surface of social organizations than to delect the congruities and iden- tities that lie beneath them; and critics 'in their analyses of character are more prone to exhibit the striking antitheses of contrast than to linger upon the neutral colors which are com- mon and undistinguishing. " Some fancy that they discern the germs of the controversy of 1861 in dilferences between the groups of colonists which settled in Virginia and in Massachusetts, and which they think impressed upon the incipient civilizations of the North and South opposing characteristics. The one, they say, brought Ihe notions of the Cavaliers, the other of the Puritans to America, and that an irrepressible conflict existed between them. To so believe is to be deceived by the merest surface indications. The Puritans and the Cavaliers of England have long since settled their differences in the Old ^Vorld, and become so assimilated that the traces of old-time quarrel, and indeed of political identity, have been completely obliterated; and it would be strange indeed if in little England they of the same race and language were thus blended, that in America, where social adaptation is so much easier and more rapid, they should have remained separate and hostile. Many Cav- aliers went to New England, and many Puritans came to Vir- ginia and the South, and their differences disappeared as quickly as they now disappear between disciples of different parties from different sections when thrown into new surround- ings with common interests. " To understand the- causes of conflict we must consider the unities of our race and note the interventions of local causes which differentiated its northern and southern segments. " When this is done it will be realized that each section has been guided by the predominant traits which it possessed in common, and which inhered in the very blood of its people, and that differences of physical surrounding, not the differ- ences of moral and intellectual character, led to their crystalli- zation in masses separated by diversities of interest and opin- ion and their resulting passions. These diverse interests and opinions sprung out of the very- soil on which they made their homes even as the pine rises to towering heights in the granite WAS DA VIS A TnAlTOR f 277 hille of the Nortli, and the palmetto spreads its luxuriant foliage on the southland. The bear of the. Polar region takps his -whiteness from the cold sky, and the bear of the tropics turns dark under the blazing heavens. The same breeze upon the high seas impels one ship north, another south, one east and another west according to the angle in which it strikes the sail. Natural causes operating under fixed laws changed the civilization of the North and South, but though their people Avere moved in opposite directions he who searches for the impelling forces will find them nearly, if not quite, identical. " What are the unities of our race? They are — first, aversion to human bondage ; second, race integrity ; third, thirst for power and broad empire; fourth, love of confederated union ; fifth, assertion of local liberty, if possible, within the bounds of geographical and governmental union ; sixth* but assertion of local liberty and individual right under all circumstances, at all times, and at any cost. These traits are so strong as to be the natural laws of the race. One or another of them has lost its balance in the conflict between interest and instinct, but only to reappear with renewed vigor when the supprpss- ing circumstances were removed; and he who follows their operation will hold the key to the ascendancy of Anglo-Saxon character, and to its wonderful success in grasping imperial domains and croAvning freedom as their sovereign. " It will not do to dispute the existence of these natural laws of race, because they have been time and again overruled by greed, by ambition, or by the overwhelming influence of alien or hostile forces. As well dispute the courage of the race because now and then a division of its troops have become demoralized and broken in battle. Through the force of these laws this race has gone around the globe with bugles and swords, and banners and hymn-books, and school-books and constitutions, and codes and courts, striking down old-time dynasties to ordain free principles; SAveeping awaj^ barbaric and savage races that their own seed might be planted in fruit- ful lands ; disdaining miscegenation with inferior races, which corrupts the blood and degenerates the physical, mental, and moral nature ; widening the boundaries of their landed pos- sessions, parcelling them out in municipal sub-divisions, and then establishing the maximum of local and individual privi- lege consistent with the common defense and general welfare of their grand aggregations; and then again rising in the supreme sovereignty of unfearing manhood against the oppres- sions of the tax-gatherer and the sword, re-casting their insti- tutions, flinging rulers from their high places, wrenching 278 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. government by the mailed hand into consistency witli their happiness and safety, and proclaiming above all the faith of Jefferson — ' that liberty is the gift of God.' " I shall maintain that the Southern people have been 'as true to these instincts as any portion of their race, and have made for them as great sacrifices ; that the Southern Confed- eracy grew out of them, and only in a subsidiary degree in antagonism to any one of them ; and I shall also maintain that Jefferson Davis is entitled to stand in the Pantheon of the world's great men on a pedestal not less high than those erected for the images of Hampden, Sidney, Cromwell, Burke, and Chatham, of the fatherland, and Washington and Hamilton, Jefferson and Adams, Madison and Franklin, of the New World, who, however varying in circumstances or in person- ality, were liberty-leaders and representatives of great peoples, great ideas, and great deeds. " On what ground will he bo challenged? Did not the South- ern folk show originally an aversion to slavery more manifestly even than those of the North? South Carolina protested against it as early as 1727, and as late as 1760. Georgia prohibited it by law. Virginia sternly set her face against it and levied a tax of ten dollars per head on every negro to prevent it. They were all overridden by the avarice of English merchants and the despotism of English ministers. 'Do as you would be done by ' is not yet the maxim of our race, which will push off on its weaker brethren that it will not itself accept: and thus slavery was thrust on the South ; an uninvited — aye, a forbidd-^n guest. Quickly did the South stop the slave trade. Though the constitution forbade the Congress to prohibit it prior to 1808, when that year came every Southern State had itself prohibited it, Virginia leading \h.Q list. When Jefferson Davis was born it was gone altogether save in one State, South Carolina, where it had been revived under combination between large planters of the South and ship-owners and slave-traders of the North. " Fine exhibition, too, was that of unselfish Southern patri- otism when in 1787 by Southern votes and Virginia's gene- rosityy and under Jefferson's lead, the great northwestern territory was given to the Union and to freedom. *' But the South yielded to slavery, we are told. Yes ; but did not all America do likewise? Do we not know that the Pilgrim fathers enslaved both the Indian and African race, swapping young Indians for the more docile blacks, lest the red slave might escape to his native forest? *' Listen to this appeal to Governor Winthrop : ' Mr. Endicott n^d myself salute -'ou on the Lord Jesus. We have heard xd a '^AS BA yJS A TBAITOBf 279 division of women and children and would be glad of a share — viz., a young woroan or a girl and a boy if you think good.' "Do we not hear Winthrop himself recount how the Pequods were taken ' through the Lord's great mercy, of whom the males were sent to Bermuda and the females distributed through the bay towns to be employed as domestic servants ? ' Did not the prisoners of King Philip's war suffer a similar fate? Is it not written that when one hundred and fifty Indians came volun- tarily into the Plymouth garrison they were all sold into cap- tivity beyond the seas? Did not Downing declare to Winthrop 'if upon a just war the Lord should deliver them (the Narra- gansetts) we might easily have men, women, and children enough to exchange for Moors, which will be more gainful pil- lage to us than we can conceive, for I do not see how we can thrive until we get in a stock of slaves sufficient to do all our business?' Were not choice .parcels of negro boys and girls consigned to Boston from the Indies and advertised and sold at auction until after independence was declared? Was not the first slave ship in America fitted out by the Pilgrim colony? Was not the first statute establishing slavery enacted in Mas- sachusetts in 1641, with a certain comic comprehensiveness providing that there should ' never be any bond slavery unless it be of captives taken in just war, or of such as willingly sold themselves or were sold to them?' Did not the united colonies of New England constitute the first American confederacy that recognized slavery; and was not the first fugitive slave law originated at their bidding? All this is true. Speak slowly, then, 1 man of the North, against the southern slave owners, or the southern chief, lest you cast down the images of your ancestors, and their spirits rise to rebuke you for treading harshly on their graves. On days of public festival when you hold them up as patterns of patriotism, take care lest you be accused of passing the counterfeit coin of praise. Disturb not too rudely the m'^'mories of the men who defended slavery ; say naught of moral obliquity, lest the venerable images of Win- throp and Endicott bo torn from the historic pages of the Pil- grim Land, and the fathers of Plymouth Rock be cast into utter darkness. "When independence was declared at Philadelphia in 1776, America was yet a unit in the possession of slaves, and when the constitution of 1787 was ordained the institution still existed in every one of the thirteen States save Massachusetts only. True its decay had begun where it was no longer profit- able, but every State united in its recognition in the Federal compact, and the very fabric oi on representative goverumeut 2S0 TME DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. was built upon it, as three-fifths of the slaves were counted in the basis of representation in the Congress of the United States, and property in it was protected by rigid provisions regarding the rendition of fugitive slaves escaping from one State to another. " Thus embodied in the constitution, thus interwoven with ih.Q very integuments of our political system, thus sustained by the oath to support the constitution, executed by every public servant and by the decisions of the supreme tribunals, slavery was ratified by the unanimous voice of the nation, and was consecrated as an American institution and as a vested right by the most solemn pledge and sanction that man can give. " Deny to Jefferson Davis entry to the Temple of Fame be- cause he defended it? Cast out of it first the fathers of the republic. Brand with the mark of condemnation the whole people from whom he inherited the obligation, and by whom was imposed upon him the oath to support their deed. America must prostrate herself in sackcloth and ashes, repent her his- tory, and revile her creators and her being ere she can call recreant the man of 1861 who defended the heritage and promise of a nation. " There is a statue in Washington city of him who utter«d the words 'charity to all, malice to none,' and he is represented in the act of breaking the manacles of a slave. " Suppose there were carved on its pedestal the words : ' Do the southern people really entertain fears that a Republican administration would directly or indirectly interfere with the slaves, or with them about their slaves? ' " ' The South would be in no more danger in this respect than it was in the days of Washington.' " This was his utterance December 22, 1860, after South Carolina had seceded. " Carve again : " ' I have no purpose directly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery iii the States where it now exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclina- tion to do so.' These are the words of his inaugural address March 4, 1861. *' Carve yet again : " ' Resolved, That this war is not waged upon our part with any purpose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or estab- lished institutions of these States, but to defend and maintain the supremacy of the constitution and to preserve the Union.' "This resolution Congress passed (and he signed it) after the first battle of Manassas, WAS JDAVIS A THAITOHf 281 " And yet once more : "'I did not at any time say that I was in favor of negro suf- frage. I declared against it. I am not in favor of negro citizen- ship,' " This opinion he never changed. " These things show in the light of events — the emancipation jjroclamation, the reconstruction acts, the black suffrage, the anarchy that reigned — that the South read truly the signs of the irrepressible conflict. " They show further that by the right of revolution alone can Abraham Lincoln be defended in overthrowing the institution which he pledged himself to guard like Washington, and with it the constitution which he had sworn ' to defend and main- tain.' And if Jefferson Davis appealed to the sword and need the mantle of charity to cover him, where would Lincoln stand unless the right of revolution stretched that mantle wide, and a great people wrapped him in its mighty folds? " As time wore on the homogeneous order of the American people changed. It was not conscience but climate and soil which effected this change, or rather the instinct of aversion to bondage rose wp in the North just in proportion as the tempta- tion of interest subsided. " The inhospitable soil of New England repelled the pursuits of agriculture and compelled to those of commerce and the mechanic arts. In these the rude labor of the untutored Afri- can was unprofitable, and the harsh climate was uncongenial to the children of the Dark Continent translated from its burn- ing suns to these frigid shores. Slavery there was an exotic ; it did not pay, and its roots soon decayed, like the roots of a tropic plant in the Arctic zone. " In the fertile plantations of the sunny South there was employment for the unskilled labor of the African, and under its genial skies he found a fitting home. Henco natural causes ejected him from the North and propelled him southward; and as the institution of slavery decayed in northern latitudes it thrived and prospered in the southern clime. "The demand for labor in the North was rapidly supplied by new accessions of Europeans, and as the population increased their opinions were moulded by the body of the society whiQh absorbed and assimilated them as they came ; while on the other hand the presence of masses of black men in the South, and the reliance upon them for labor, repelled in both social and economical aspects the European immigrants who eagerly sought for homes and employment in the New World. More than this, northern manufacturers wanted high tariffs Uj 282 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. secure high prices for their products in southern markets, and southern farmers wanted low tariffs that they might buy cheaply. Ere long it appeared that two opposing civilizations lay alongside of each other in the United States; and while the roof of a common government was over both of them, it cov- ered a household divided against itself in the very structure of Its domestic life, in the nature of its avocations, in the econo- mies of its labor, and in the very tone of its thought and aspi- ration. " Revolution was in the air. An irrepressible conflict had arisen, " There were indeed two revolutions forming in the American republic. The one was a northern revolution against a consti- tution which haa become distasteful to its sentiments and unsuited to ita needs. As the population of the east moved westward across the continent the southern emigrant to the new territories wished to carry with him his household servants, while the northerner saw in the negro a rival in the field of labor, W'hich cheapened its fruits and degraded, as he conceived, its social status. "Thus broke out the strife which raged in the territories of northern latitudes, and as it widened it assailed slavery in every form, and denounced as ' a covenant with death and with hell ' the constitution which had guaranteed its existence. " The formula of the northern revolution was made by such men as Charles Sumnerj ^rho took the ground of the higher law, that the constitution w^as itself unconstitutional, and that it was not in the power of man to create by oath or mandate pro- perty in a slave; a revolutionary idea striking to the root and to the subversion of the fundamental law which Washington, Adams, Franklin, Hamilton, Madison, and their compeers had joined in making, and under which the United States had fought its battle and attained its wonderful growth for thre? quarters of a century. "'The Impending Crisis,' Helper's book, appeared, and, endorsed by sixty-eight abolition members of Congress, went far and wide. The spirit of the times is indicated in its doc- trines. ' Never another vote for a slavery advocate ; no co-ope- ration with slavery in politics; no fellowship in religion; no affiliation in society; no patronage to pro-slavery merchants; no guestship in a slave-Avaiting hotel ; no fee to a pro-slavery lawyer; none to a pro-slavery physician; no audience to a pro- slavery parson; no subscriptjon to a pro-slavery newspaper; no hiring of a slave; but the utmost encouragement of ^ Free White Labor.' ' Free White Labor 1 ' This was the northern giaut that stalked into the field. WAS DA VIS A THAITOJR f 288 " Meantime, the Northern revolution against the constitution wf>3 being combatted by the rise of the Southern revolution looking to withdrawal from a Union whose constitution was unacceptable to the Northern people. " But it was not hatred to Union or love of slavery that in- spired the South nor love of the negro that inspired the North. Profounder thouglits and interests lay beneath these currents. The rivalry of cheap negro labor, aversion to the negro and to slavery alike were the spurs of Northern action ; that of the South was race integrity. Free White Dominion I The South- ern giant rose and faced its foe. "The instinct of race integrity is the most glorious, as it is the predominant characteristic of the Anglo-Saxon race, and the sections have it in common. Fiercely did it sweep the red men before it; swiftly did it brush away the Chinese in the West and North, burning their homes, cutting their throats when they pressed too hard in rivalry, and then breaking treaties to hurl them back across the Pacific ocean to their na- tive shores. Four million of black men lived in the South side by side with the white race ; and race integrity now incensed the South to action. " Look farther southward beyond the confines of our country and behold how the Latin races have commingled their blood with the aborigines and the negroes, creating mongrel repub- lics and empires where society is debased and where govern- ments resting on no clear principles, swing like pendulums between the extremes of tyranny and license. " On the contrary, the American element at the South, and I quote a profound Northern writer in saying it, 'guarded itself with the strictest jealousy from any such baleful contamina- tions.' But what a picture of horror rose before its eyes as it contemplated the freeing of the slaves. John C. Calhoun had drawn that picture in vivid colors which now recalling the days of carpet-bag and negro ascendancy seems like a prophet's vision. 'If I owned the four millions of slaves in the South,' said Robert Lee, 'I would sacrifice all for the Union.' And so indeed would the southern people. But Lee never indicated hoAV such sacrifice could obtain its object, nor was it possible that it could. It was not the property invested in the slave that stood in the way, for emancipation with compensation for them was then practicable, and was again practicable in early stages of the war, and was indeed offered. But free the slaves, they would become voters ; becoming voters they would pre- dominate in numbers, and so predominating what would h^-. Qomo of white civilization ? 2S4 THE DA VJ^ MEMORIAL VOL UME. " This was the question which prevented emancipation in Virginia in 1832. Kill slavery — what will you do with the corpse? Only silent mystery and awful dread answered that (Question in 1861, while the clamors of abolition grew louder, and the forces were accumulating strength to force the issue. In fourteen northern States the fugitive slave law had been nullified. In new territories armed mobs denied access to southern masters with their slaves. Xegro equality became a text of the hustings and incendiary appeals to the slaves them- selves to murder and burn filled the mails. " The insurrection of Nat Turner had given forecast of scenes as horrible as those of the French revolution, and the bloody butcheries of San Domingo seemed like an appalling warning of the drama to be enacted on southern soil. ^' The crisis was now hastened by two events. In 1854 the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott decision declared the Missouri compromise of 1820, which limited the extension of slavery to a certain line of latitude, unconstitutional. This was welcome to the South but it fired the northern heart. In 1859 John Brown, fresh from the border warfare of Kansas, suddenly appeared at Harper's Ferry with a band of misguided men, and murdering innocent citizens invoked the insurrection of the slaves. This solidified and almost frenzied the South and in turn the fate he suffered threw oil upon the northern flames. Thus fell out of the gathering clouds the first big drops of the bloody storm. In 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected President, and in his inaugural address he proclaimed his party's creed that the Dred Scott decision might be reversed. The southern States were already in procession of secession. The high tides of the revolution were in their flow. " Pause now upon the threshold, and geography and history will alike tell you that neither in its people nor its leader was there lack of love for the Union, and that it was with sad hearts that they saw its ligaments torn asunder. Look at the south- ern map. There may be read the name of Alamance, where in 1771, the first drop of American blood was shed against arbi- trary taxation, and at Mecklenburg, where was sounded the first note of independence. Before the declaration at Philadelphia there had risen in the southern sky what Bancroft termed 'the bright morning star of American Independence,' where on the 28th of June, 1776, the guns of Moultrie at the Palmetto fort in front of Charleston announced the first victory of American arms. At King's Mountain is the spot where the rough-and- ready men of the Carolinas and the swift riders of Virginia and Tennessee had turned the* tide of victory in our favor, and TVAS' DAVIS A TRAITORf 285 tLerG at Yorktown is the true birthspot of the free nation. Right here I stand to-night on the soil of that State which first of all America stood alone free and independent. Beyond the confines of the South lier sons had rendered yeoman service ; and would not the step of the Britisli conqueror have l)een scarce less than omnipotent had not Morgan's riflemen from the Val- ley of Virginia, and the peerless commander of Mount Vernon, appeared on the plains of Boston? You may folloAV the tracks of the Continentals at Long Island, Saratoga, Trenton, Prince- ton, Brandy wine, Germantown, Valley Forge, Monmouth, and Morristown by the blood and the graves of the Southern men who died on Northern soil, far away from their homes, answer- ing the question with their lives: Did the South love the Union? " Did not the South love American institutions? What school boy cannnot tell? Who wrote the great declaration? Who threw down the gage, 'Liberty or Death?' Who was the chief framer of the constitution? Who became its great expounder? Who w'rote the bill of rights whicli is copied far and wide by free commonwealths? Who presided over the convention that made the constitution and became in field and council its all- in-all defender? Jefferson, Henry, Madison, Marshall, Mason, Washington, speak from your graves and give the answer. "Did not the South do its part in acquiring the imperial domain of the nation? When the revolution ended the thir- teen States that lay on the Atlantic seaboard rested westward in a wilderness, and the Mississippi marked the extreme limits of their claims, as the Appalachain range marked the bounds of civilization. The northwestern terrritory, north of the Ohio river, which now embraces Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, was conquered by George Rogers Clarke, a soldier of Virginia, tinder commission from Patrick Henry, as governor. But for this conquest the Ohio would have been our northern boundary, and by Virginia's gift and Southern votes this mighty land was made the dowery of the Union. *' Kentucky, the first-born State that sprung from the Union, was a Southern gift to the new confederation. The great terri- tory stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Rocky Moun- tain's gate and to far off Oregon, was acquired by Jefferson as President from Napoleon, then first consul of France, and the greatest area ever won by diplomacy in history, added to the Union. John C. Calhonn, of South Carolina, offered the bill in 1812 W'hich proclaimed the second war of independence. President Madison, of Virginia, led the country through it, and at New Orleans, Andrew Jackson, of Tennessee, achieved its culminating victory. 286 fHE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. "It is a Northern Bcliolar, Theodore Roosevelt, who says: ' Throughout all the fighting iu the northwest, where Ohio was the State most threatened, the troops of Kentucky formed the bulk of the Amcricau army, and it was a charge of their mounted riflemen which at a blow won the battle of the Thames. " 'Again on the famous January morning, when it seemed as if the fair Creole city was already in Packenham's grasp, it Avas the wild soldiery of Tennessee, who laying behind their mud breastworks, peered out through the lifting fog at the scarlet array of the English veterans, as the latter, fresh from their Victories over the best troops of Europe, advanced for the first time to meet defeat.' *' In 1836 Samuel Houston, sprung from the soil of that very county which now holds the ashes of Lee and Jackson, won the battle of San Jacinto, and achieved Texan independence. In 1845, under James K. Polk, of Tennessee, a Southern President, it was admitted into the Union, and a little later the American armies, led by two Southern generals, Zachary Taylor and Win- field Scott, and composed more than half of Southern soldiers, made good the cause of the Lone Star State, enlarged its boun- daries, and acquired Ncay Mexico and California. Thus was stretched the canopy of the wide heavens that noAV spread over the American republic ; and counting the constellation of forty-two stars that glitter in it, forget not, ye who have senti- ment of justice, that over thirty of them Avere sown there by measures and by deeds in which Southern States and Southern soldiers took a leading part, and in which the patriotism and loA^e of Union of the South iieA^er faltered. " If the people with such a history could haA-e adopted seces- sion mighty indeed must haA^e been theproj^ulsion to it. I shall not discuss its policy, for it would be as A'ain a thing to do as to discuss that of the Revolution of 1776. Each revolution concluded the question that induced it. Slavery was the cause of our civil war, and with the war its cause perished. But it should be the desire of all to understand each other and to think well of each other, and the mind capable of just and intelligent reflection should not fail in judging the past to remember the conditions and AdcAvs that controlled the south- ern people and their leader. " Remember that their forefathers with scarce less attach- ment to the British government, and with less conflict of interest, had set the precedent, seceding themselves from the British empire, tearing doAvn ancient institutions, rcA^olutioniz- ing the ver}^ structure of society, and giving proud ansAA'er to all accusers in the new evangel of the west that the people WAS DA VIS A TRAITOR f 28t have a right to alter or aholif^Ii govprnment whenever it becomes destructive to their happiness or safety. " I have found nowhere evidence that Jefferson Davis urged secession, though he believed in the right, approved the act of Mississippi after it had been taken, felt himself bound by his State allegiance whether he approved or no, and then, like all his Southern countrymen, did his best to make it good. Re- member that the Federal constitution was silent as to seces- sion, that the question was one of inference only, and that implications radiated from its various provisions in all direc- tions. " If one argued that the very institute of government implied perpetuity, as Lincoln did in his first inaugural address, another answered that reservation to the States of powers not delegated rebutted the implication; another that the govern- ment and the constitution had como into being in that free atmosphere which breathed the declaration that they must rest upon the consent of the governed; and yet another answered in Lincoln's own language that any people anywhere had the right to fhake off a government, and that this was the right that ' would liberate the world.' " Rememuer that this right of secession had never been denied until recent years, that it had been preached upon the hustings, enunciated in political platforms, proclaimed in the Senate and in the House of Representatives, embodied in our lit- erature, taught in schools and colleges, interwoven wdth the texts of jurisprudence, and maintained by scholars, statesmen and constituencies of all States and sections of the country. " Remember, furthermore, that secession was an open ques- tion in 18G1. No statute had ever declared, no executive had ever proclaimed, no court had held it to be unconstitutional. The States had declared themselves to be free and independent. American sovereignty w^as hydra-headed, and each State had its OAvn statute, defining and punishing treason against itself. No man could have an independent citizenship of the United States, but could only acquire citizenship of the federation by virtue of citizenship of one of the States. The eminent domain of the soil remained in the State ; and to it escheated the proiir erty of the interstate and heirless dead. Was not this the sov- ereign that 'had the right to command in the last resort'? *' Tucker had so taught in his commentaries on Blackstone, writing from old Williamsburg; so Francis Rawde, the eminent lawyer whom Washington had asked to be Attorney-General, writing on the constitution in Philadelphia ; and so DeTocque- ville, the most acute and profound of foreign writers on Amer* lean institutions. , 288 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. " Wliere could an arbiter be found? Tbere was no method of invoking the Supreme Court; it had no jurisdiction to coerce a State or summon it to its bar. Kor could its decree be final. For it is a maxim of our jurisprudence uttered by Jefferson, and reiterated by Lincoln in his first inaugural address, that its decisions may be reconsidered and reversed and bind only the clients. " Recall the history of the doctrine, forget not that the first mutterings of secession had come from the North as early as 1793, in opposition to the threatened war with England, when the sentiments uttered by Theodore Dwight in his letter to Wolcott were widespread : ' Sooner would ninety-nine out of a hundred of our inhabitants separate from the Union than plunge themselves into an abyss of misery.' "Nullification broke out in the South in 1798 led by Jeffer- son, and again in 1830 led by Calhoun, but in turn secession or nullification was preached in and out of congress, in State legis- latures, in mass meetings and conventions in 1803, 1812, and in 1844 to 1850, and in each case in opposition made by the North to wars or measures conducted to win the empire and solidify the structure of the Union. " While Jefferson was annexing Louisiana, Massachusetts legislators were declaring against it as ' forming a new confede- racy to which the States united by the former compact were not bound to adhere.' " While new States were being admitted into the Union out of its territory a.nd the war of 1812 was being conducted Josiah Quincy was maintaining the right of secession in Congress ; the eastern States were threatening to exercise that right, and the Ha,rtford convention was promulgating the doctrine. " When Texas Avas annexed and Jefferson Davis was in Con- gress advocating it Massachusetts was declaring it unconstitu- tional and that any such ' act or admission would have no bind- ing obligation on its people.' "While the Mexican war was being fought and the soldier- statesman of Mississippi was carrying the stars and stripes in glory over the heights of Monterey, and bleeding under them in the battle shock of Buena Vista, Abraham Lincoln was denouncing the war as unconstitutional and Northern multi- tudes were yet applauding the eloquence of the Ohio orator who had said in Congress that the Mexicans should welcome our soldiers 'with bloody hands to hospitable graves.' " Consider these grave words, which are but freshly written in the life of Webster by Henry Cabot Lodge, who is at this time a Republican representative in Congress from the city of Boston. Mass. I WAS DAVIS A TRAITOR? 289 "When the constitution was adopted by the votes of States at Philadelphia and accepted by votes of States in popular con- ventions it was safe to say there was not a man in the country, from Washington and Hamilton on the one side to George Clin- ton and George Masg^n on the other, who regarded the now sys- tem as anything but an experiment entered upon by the States, and from which each and every State had the right to peaceably with- draiv — (I ricjht ivJiich luas very likely to he exercised.'' " Recall the contemporary opinions of Northern publicists and leading journals. The New York Herald considered coercion out of the question. On the 9th of November, 1860, the New York Tribune, Horace Greeley being the editor, said : " ' H the cotton States shall decide that they can do better out of the Union than in it we insist on letting them go in peace. The right to secede may be a revolutionary one, but it exists nevertheless, and we do not see how one party can have a right to do what another party has a right to prevent. We must ever resist the asserted right of any State to remain in the Union and nullify or defy the laws thereof; to withdraw from the Union is quite another matter.' "This was precisely the creed of Jefferson Davis. "Again, on the 17tli of December, after the secession of the South Carolina, that journal said: '"If the Declaration of Independence justified the seceosion from the British empire of three millions of colonists in 1776 ■we do not see why it would not justify the secession of five millions of Southerners from the Federal Union in 1861. If wo are mistaken on this point why does not some one attempt to show wherein and why?' " And yet again on the 23d of February, after Mr. Davis had "been inaugurated as President at Montgomery, it said : "' We have repeatedly said, and we ducc more insist, that the great principal embodied by Jefferson in the Declaration of American Independence that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed is sound and just, and that if the slave States, the cotton States, or the Gulf States only choose to form an independent nation they have clear moral right to do so.' "The controlling truth was that two incompatible and hos- tile civilizations were in ceaseless conflict, and the balance of poAver between them, like the balance of power in Europe, domi- nated the politics of the country. There was equilibrium betwen these rival powers and sections when their race began and each in turn threatened secession as the equilibrium trem- bled to the one side or the other. 19 290 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. " This was the cause of uortliern hostility to the Louisiana, the Texas, and Mexican annexations, and this the cause of southern contention for territorial rights in Kansas and Ne- braska. " Having given the North generous advantage in the north- western territory in 1787, and foreseeing the doom of her insti- tutions and the upheaval of her society, with the balance of power lost to her, and unable to maintain herself in the Union on an issue which involved not only two thousand millions of property, but far more than that, the peace of society, and the integrity, purity, and liberty of the white race, the South adopted in 1861 the measure which the northern States had often threatened but never attempted against the Union, the measure which all Americans had not only attempted, but had consecrated as just in principle and vindicated by deed in 1776. " The historian will note that while the United States de- clared war on the ground that secession was treason, they prac- tically treated it as a political question of territorial integrity. They accorded belligerent rights to the Confederacy, exchanged prisoners, and gave paroles of war, and revolutionized all theo- ries and constitutional mandates to carry their main point — the preservation of the Union. General Grant says of their legislation in his memoirs : ' Much of it was no doubt uncon- stitutional, but it was hoped that the laws enacted would sub- serve their purpose before their constitutionality could be sub- mitted to the judiciary and a decision obtained.* Of the war he says : ' The constitution was not framed with a view to any such rebellion as that of 1861-'65. While it did not authorize rebellion it made no provision against it. Yet,' he adds, ' the right to resist or suppress rebellion is as inherent as the right of an individual to preserve his life when it is in jeopardy. The constitution was, therefore, in abeyance for the time being, so far as it in any way affected the progress and termination of the war.' "This is revolution. " Indicted for treason Jefferson Davis faced his accusers with the uplifted brow and dauntless heart of innocence, and eagerly asked a trial. If magnanimity had let him pass, it would have been appreciated, but they who punished him without a hearing before they set him free, now proceeded to amend the constitv- tion to disfranchise him and his associates, finding, like Gran,, nothing in it, as it stood against such movement as he led. " It may be that but for the assassination of President Lin- coln — mosft infamous and unhappy deed — which "'Uproared tbe universal peace ,And poured tba milk of concord into bell,' WAS DAVIS A TRAITORf . 291 tlie country would have been spared the Bhame of Prepident Davis's cruel incarceration, and the maiming of the constitution. *' For I can scarcely believe that he who three times overruled emancipation; who appealed to 'indispensable necessity' as justification for ' laying strong hands on the colored element;' who candidly avowed Northern ' complicity ' in the wrongs of his time ; who said, ' I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me ' ; who had preached revolution in 1848, and revolutionized all things to save the Union in 1862 — I can scarce believe it possible that one of his broad mind and generous heart would have perse- cuted an honorable foe. It has been a wonder to me that those who justly applaud his virtues have not copied his example ; wonder, indeed, that all men have not seen that the events which controlled him controlled also his antagonist. "The United States have been unified by natural laws, kin- dred to those which unified the South in secession, but greater because wider spread. Its ph3^sical constitution in 1861 ans- Avered to the Northern mind the written constitution, and the traditions of our origin to which the South appealed. The Mississippi river, the natural outlet of a new-born empire to the sea, was a greater interpreter to it than the opinions of statesmen who lived when the great new commonwealths wore yet in the wilderness, and before the great rei^ublic t^p^mned the father of waters. " The river seeking its bed as it rolls oceanward pauses not to consider Avhose are the boundaries of the estates through which it flows. If a mountain barrier stands in way it forms a lake until the accumulated waters break through the impeding wall or dash over it in impetuous torrents. So nations in their great movements seem to be swept out of the grooves defined by the laws of man, and are oftentimes jDropelled to destinies greater than those conjured in their dreams. " The rivalry, not the harmony of sections, won the empire of the Union ; its physical constitution proved more powerful than its written one; in the absence of a judge all appealed to the jury of the sword. We belong to a high-handed race and understand the laAV of the sword, for the men of independence in 1776 and 1861 were of the same blood as those who in each case cried, 'Disperse, ye rebels.' And were I of the North I would prefer to avow that it made conquest by the high hand than coin the great strife that marshalled over three millions of soldiers into police-court technicalities and belittle a revo- lution continent-wide into the quelling of an insurrection, and the vicarious punishment of its leader. The greatest conqueror proclaims his naked deed. 292 THE DAVIS MEMOBIAL VOLUME. " As we are not oi tbe North, but of the South, and are now like all Americans, both of and for the Union, bound up in its destinies, contributing to its support and seeking its welfare, I feel that as he was the hero in war who fought the bravest, so he is the hero now who puts the past in its truest light, does justice to all, and knows no foe but him who revives the hates of a bygone generation. " If we lost by war a Southern union of thirteen States, we have yet a common part in a continental union of forty-two, to which our fathers gave their blood, and upon which they shed their blessings, and a people who could survive four years of such experience as we had in 1861-65, can work out their own salvation on any spot of earth that God intended for man's habitation. We are in fact in our father's home, and it should be, as it is, our highest aim to develop its magnificent possibil- ities and make it the happiest dwelling place of the children of men. " The Southern leader was no secessionist per sc. His ante- cedents, his history, his services, his own earnest words often uttered, attest his love of the Union and his hope that it might endure. In 1853, in a letter to Hon, William J. Brown, of Indiana, he repudiated the imputation that he was a dis- uniouist. "' Pardon, he said, 'pardon the egotism in consideration of the occasion when I say to you that my father and uncles fought in the Revolution of 1776, giving their j'outh, their blood, and their little patrimony to the constitutional freedom which I claim as my inheritance. Three of my brothers fought in the w^ar of 1812, two of them were comrades of the Hero of the Hermitage, and received his commendation for gallantry at New Orleans. At sixteen years of age I was given to the ser- vice of my country. For twelve years of my life I have borne its arms and served it zealously if not well. As I feel the in- firmities which suffering more than age has brought upon me, | it would be a bitter reflection indeed if I was forced to conclude ?, that my countrymen would hold all this light when weighed against the empty panegyric which a time-serving politician can bestow upon the Union, for which he never made a sacrifice. " 'In the Senate I announced if any respectable man would call me a disunionist I would answer him in monosyllables. But I have often asserted the right for which the battles of the Revolution were fought, the right of a people to change their gov- ernment whenever it was found to be oppressive and subversive of the objects for which governments are instituted, and have contended for the independence and sovereignty of the States ; WAS DAVIS A TRAITORt 293 a part of the creed of which Jefferson T.'do the apostle, Madi- 8cn the expounder, and Jackson the consistent defender,' "Four years later, when Senator Fessenden, of Maine, said, turning to liim, 'I have avowed no disunion sentiments on this floor, can the honorable gentleman from Mississippi say as much?' Mr, Davis answered: 'Yes, I have long sought for a respectable man to allege the contrary.' And the imputati n ended with the unanswered chalLnge to produ:e the evidence. Even when secession seemed a foregone conclusion, Mr. Davis strove to avert it, being ready at any time to adopt the Critten- den measures of compromise if they T^ere accepted by the oppo- sition, and when the Representatives and Senators from Mis- sissippi were called in conference with the governor of that State in December, 1860, he still advised lorbearance ' as long as any hope of a peaceful r:medy remainad,' declaring that he felt certain from his knowledge of the people Ncrth and South that ' if once there was a clash of arm:: the contest would be one of the most sanguinary the world had ever witn:'?sed.' But a single member of the conference agreed with him; scve- eral of its members were so dissatisfied v/ith his position thc:t they believed him entirely opposed to secession and as :je?kiug delay with the hope that it might be averted; and the majority overruling his counsels, he then announced that he would stand by any action w^hich might be taken by the conventicii representing the sovereignty of the State of Missiseippi. Thus he stood on the brink of war, copservative, collected, apprecia- ting the solemn magnitude of the crisis, and, although th: pen- cil of hostile passion has otherwise portrayed him, I do not believe there was a man living :n 1861 who 3culdhave uttered more sincer<.ly than he the worc':^ of Addison, 'Is th.:re not some chosen curse, some hidden thunder in the stars of Heaven, red with uncommon wrath to blast the man who owes his great- ness to his country's ruin ?' " Pleading btill for conciliatioUp on January 10, 1861, it was the heart of a patriot and not that of the ambitious aspir^znt from which flowed these words : " ' What, Senators, to-day is the condition of tha country? From every corner of it comes the wailing cry of patriotism pleading for the preservation of the great inheritance 've -do= rived from our fathers. Is there a Senator who does not daily receive letters appealing to him to use even the small power which one man here possesses to save the rich inheritance our fathers gave us? Tears are trickling down the faces of men who have bled for t^e flag of their country and are w:dli~g n~w to die for it; but patriotism stands powerkss before tho p!legi 294 THE DA VIS 3IE3rOBlAL VOL VME. that the party about to come to power adopted a platform, and that come what will, though ruin stare us in the face, consis- tency must be adhered to, even though the government be lost.' " Even as he spoke, though perhaj)S as 3^et unknown to him, Mississippi the day before had passed the ordinance of seces- sion. " On the 20th of January he rose in the Senate to announce that fact, and that 'of course his functions there were termi- nated.' " In language characterized by dignity and moderation, in terms as decorous and in sentiments as noble as became a sol- emn crisis and a high presence, he bade farewell to the Senate. " ' In the course of my service here,' he said, ' associated at different times with a great variety of Senators, I see now around me some with whom I have served long. There may have been points of collision, but whatever of offence there has been to me I leave here. I carry with me no hostile remembrance. Whatever offence I have given which has not been redressed, or for which satisfaction has not been demanded, I have, Senators, in this hour of our parting to offer yoii my apology for any pain which in the heat of discussion I have inflicted. I go hence unincumbered of the remembrance of any injury received, and I have discharged the duty of making the only reparation in my power for any injury offered.' " In clear statement he summarized his political principles : " 'It is known to you. Senators, who have served with me here, that I have for many years advocated as an essential attribute of State sovereignty the right of a State to secede from the Union;' but he hoped none v/ould 'confound this expression with the advocacy of the right of a State to remain in the Union and to disregard the constitutional obligation by the nullificatiou of the law. Such is not my theory.* * Secession belongs to a different class of remedies. It is to be justified upon the basis of State sovereignty. There was a time when none denied it.' " He pointed out that the position he then assumed was the same that he had occupied when Massachusetts had been arraigned at the bar of the Senate,, and when the doctrine of coercion was ripe and to be applied against her because of the rescue of a fugitive slave in Boston. ' My opinion then was the same as it is now. I then said that if Massachusetts chose to take the last step which separates her from the Union, it is her right to go, and I will neither vote one dollar nor one man to force her back ; but will say to her God speed, in memory oi WAS DAVIS A TBAITORf 295 the kind associations wliich once existed between her and the other States.' " In conchiding, he said : ' I find in myself perhaps a type of the goMieral feeling of my constituents towards yours. I am sure I feel no hostility toward you, Senators from the Korth. I am sure there is not one of you, w^hatever sharp discussions there may have been between us, to whom I canrjot now say in the presence of my God, I wish yo\i well, and such I am sure is the feeling of the people whom I represent towards those whom you represent. " 'I, therefore, feel that I but express their desire when I say I hope, and they hope, for peaceable relations with you, though we must part. " 'They may be mutually beneficial to us in the future, as they have been in the past, if you so will it. " 'The reverse may bring disaster on every portion of our country, and if you will have'it thus, we will invoke the God of our fathers who delivered them from the power of the Lion to protect us from the ravages of the Bear, and thus, putting our trust in God and in our firm hearts and strong arms, we will vindicata the right as best we may.' "Well was that pledge redeemed. South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, and North Carolina, Arkansas and Tennessee, all seceded, while Kentucky, Missouri, and Maryland were divided in sentiment. Jefferson Davis became by unanimous selection, President of the Confederate States of America, the capital first planted at Montgomery was removed here to Richmond, and for four years the new republic waged for its life the mightiest warfare of modern times. 'There was something melancholy and grand,' says a Northern historian, ' in the motives that caused Virginia at last to make common cause ' with the South. Having made it she has borne her part with a sublimity of heroism such as was never surpassed, and has uttered no cry in the majesty of her sorrows. "No State had done more for peace than Virginia, as none had done more originally for Union ; no State more reluctantly or more unselfishly drew the sword ; no State wielded a brighter or sterner blade after it was drawn ; no State suffered so much by it ; no State used triumph with more generosity or faced defeat with greater dignity; no State has abided the fate of war with greater magnanimity or greater wisdom ; and no State turns her face with fairer hope or steadier courage to the future. It seemed the very sarcasm of destiny that the Mother of States should have been the only one of all the American Common- 296 THE DAVIS ME3fORIAL VOLUME. weaUbs that wag cut in twain by the sword. But it is the greatness of spirit, not tlie size of the body, that malves the character and glory of the State, as of the man ; and old Vir- ginia was never worthier the love of her sons and the respect of all mankind than to-day as she uncovers her head by the bier of the dead chieftain whose fortunes she followed in storm and trial, and to whose good fame she will be true, come weal, come woe. " I shall make no post-mortem examination of the Confed- eracy in search of causes for its fall. When an officer during the war was figuring on prospects of success General Lee said to him : ' Pat up your pencil, colonel ; if we follow the calcu- lations of figures we are whipped already.' *' Twenty millions of people on the one side, nine millions (and half of them slaves) on the other; a great navy, arsenals, armories, factories, railroads, boundless wealth and science, and an open world to draw upon for resources and reinforcements upon the one side, and little more than a thin line of poorly- armed and half-fed soldiery upon the other, pitted one man against two — a glance of the eye tells the story of the unequal contest. As piy noble commander. General Early, said: 'I will not speculate on the causes of failure, as I have seen abun- dant causes for it in the tremendous odds brought against us.' "That President Davis made mistakes I do not doubt; but the percentage of mistakes was so small in the sum of his ad- ministration and its achievements so transcended all propor- tions of means and opportunities that mankind will never cease to wonder at their magnitude and their splendor. " Finances went wrong, some say. Finances always go wrong in failures ; but not worse in this case than in the Revolution of 1776, when Washington was at the head. So far did they go wrong then that not even success could rescue the worthless paper money of our fathers from repudiation and oblivion, and even to this day the very worst fling that can be made at the Confederate note reaches a climax in the expression, ' It is not worth a continental.' "Blame Jefferson Davis for this or that; discount all that critics say, and then behold the mighty feat which created and for four years maintained a nation ; behold how armies without a nucleus were marshalled and armed — how a navy, small in- deed, but one that revolutionized the naval warfare of all nations and became the terror of the seas, was fashioned out of old hulks or picked up in foreign places; see how a v/orld in arms was held at bay by a people and a soldiery whom he held together with- an iron will and hurled like a flam.ing thunderbolt at their foes. WAS DAVIS A TRAITOR? 297 "In his cabinot he gathered the foremost civilians of the Land — Toombs, Hunter, Benjamin, Watts, Davis, Memmingcr, Trenholm, AValkcr, Randolph, Seddon, Breckinridge, Mallory, Reagan. Good men and true. " To the leadership of his soldiers whom did he delegate? If some Messonier could throw upon the canvas Jefferson Davis in the midst of those chiefs whom he created, what grander knighthood could history assemble? Robert E. Lee, Albert Sidney Johnston, Joseph E. Johnston, G. T. Beauregard, Sam- uel Cooper and Braxton Bragg were generals of the full rank. Stonewall Jackson, Forrest, Polk, Hardee, Ewell, D. H. Hill, A. P. Plill, Hood, Richard Taylor, Holmes, R. H. Anderson, Pemberton, Early, Kirby Smith, Longstreet, liampton, S. D. Lee, A. P. Stewart, Buckner, Wheeler and Gordon were their lieutenants. Major-generals, brigadiers and field ofhcers — cavalry leaders, artillerists and infantry commanders — who became world-renowned throng ujDon the memory ; the names of Stuart, Morgan, Ashby, Cleburne and their compeers spring from the full heart to the lip. Would that time permitted me to call that brilliant roll of the living and the dead; but why need the voice pronounce what all Avould speak ?. "Men judge Napoleon by his marshals; judge Jefferson Davis and his cause by his chosen chieftains, and the plea of words seems weak indeed by the side of men and deeds. "Troop behind them those armies of Hattered uniforms and bright muskets ' ; but no, it is beyond the reach of either brush or chisel to redeem to the imagination such men, such scenes, as shine in their twenty-two hundred combats and battles. Not until some new-born Homer shall touch the harp can man- kind be penetrated by a sense of their heroic deeds, and then alone in the grand majestic minstrelsy of epic song. " And now that war is flagrant, far and Avide, on land and sea and river, over the mountain and the plain rolls the red battle-tide, and rises the lofty cheer. The son falls, the old father steps in his place. The father falls, the stripling of the play-ground rushes to the front; the boy becomes a man, Lead fails; old battle-fields are raked over, children gather up bullets as they would pluck berries, household ornaments a^nd utensils are ]:)roken, and all are moulded into missiles of war. Cannon fail ; the very church bolls whose mellow chimes have summoned to the altar, are melted and now resound with the Hrim detonations of artillery. Clothes fail; old garments are turned over, rags and exercise are raiment. The battle-horse is killed, the ship goes down ; the unhorsed trooper and the un- shipped tar trudge along with the infantry. The border States 298 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. are swept away from the Confederacy, the remaining ones gird their loins the tighter. Virginia is divided ; there is enough of her left for her heroic heart to beat in. New Orleans is gone ; Vicksburg falls ; Gettysburg is lost ; armies wither ; exiles make their homes in battle ; slender battalions do the duty of divis- ions. Generals die in the thick fight; captains become gene- rals ; a private is a company. Luxuries disappear ; necessities become luxuries. Fields are wasted, crops and barns are burned, flocks and herds are consumed, and. naught is left but ' man and steel — tne soldier and his sword. ' "The desolate winter lays. white and bleak upon the land; its chill winds are resisted by warm and true affections. " Atlanta, Mobile, Charleston, Savannah falls — the Confede- racy is cut to pieces. Its fragments become countries, with frontiers on skirmish lines and capitals on horseback. " Ports are sealed — the world and the South are parted. All the dearer seems the scant sky that hangs over her bleeding children. " On and on and on come the thickening masses of the North — brave men, bravely led and ably commanded; and as those of the South grow thinner, theirs grow stronger. Hope sinks ; despair stiffens courage. "Everything fails but manhood and womanhood. The woman cooks and weaves and works, nurses the stricken, and buries her dead, and cheers her living. The man stands to his gun behind Johnston, behind Lee. Petersburg and Richmond starve and bleed and yet stand dauntless. And here amongst you — while the thunders shake the capitol and the window- panes of his home and the earth trembles — here stands Jeffer- son Davis, unshaken, untrembling, toiling to give bread to his armies and their kindred, toiling to hold up the failing arms of his veterans, unbelieving that heaven could decree the fall of such a people. " At last the very fountains of nature fail. The exhausted South falls prone upon its shield. " It is gone. All gone. Forever gone. The Confederacy and its sons in gray have vanished; and now at last hoary with years the chieftain rests, his body mingling with the ashes of the brave which once quickened with a country's holy passion. " Hither let that body be borne by the old soldiers of the Confederacy. Here in Richmond by the James, where was his w^ar home ; where his child is buried; where his armies were marshalled; where the Congress sat; where was the capital, the arsenal, the citadel, the field of glory, and at last the tomb of the Confederacy — -here let him be buried, and the land of Wash- WAS DAVIS A TRAITOR? 299 ington and Lee and Stonewall Jackson will hold in sacred trust his memory and his ashes. " The restless tides of humanity will rush hither and thither over the land of ))attles. The ages will sweep on, and • Rift tho liiUs, roll the waters, flash the liglitiiings, weigh the sun.' '' The white sails of commerce will thicken on your river and the smoke of increasing factories will blacken the skies. Mountains will pour forth their precious metals, and fields will glow in the garniture of richer harvests. The remnants of lives spared from the battle will be interwoven with the texture of the Union; ncAV stars will cluster upon the flag, and the sons of the South will bear it as their fathers bore it to make the bounds of freedom wider yet. Our great race will meet and solve every problem, however dark, that it now faces, and a people reconciled and mighty will stretch forth their arms to stay those of the oppressor. But no greater souls will rise than those who find rest under the Southern sod, from Sumter's battered wall to the trailing vines and ivy leaves of HollyAvood, and none will come forth of truer heart or clean^^r hands or higher crest to lead them. '' To the dust we give his body now ; the ■ ages receive his memory. They have never failed to do justice, however tardy, to him who stood by his people and made their cause his own. "The world does not to-day think the less of Warren because he fell at Bunker Hill, a red-handed colonial rebel, fighting the old flag of his sovereign even before his people became seces- sionists from the crown, nor because his yeomen Avere beaten in the battle. " The great character and work of John Hampden wear no stigma, though he rode out of the battle at Chal grove stricken to death by a loyal bullet and soon filled a rebel's grave. " Oliver Cromwell is a proud name in English historv, though the English republic which he founded was almost as short- lived as the Confederacy and was soon buried under the re- established throne of the Stuarts. " And we but forecast the judgment of the years to coilie Avhen we pronounce that Jefferson Davis was great and pure as statesman, man, and patriot. " In the eyes of Him to whom a thousand years are as a watch in the night, the war and the century in which it came are but as a single heart-throb in the breast of time, and when the myriads of this great land shall look back through unclouded skies to the old heroic davs the smoke and stain of the battle 300 THS DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. will have vanished from the hero's name. The tall chieftain of the men who wore the gray will stand before them 'with a countenance like the lightning and in raiment as white as enow.' " But after all that could be said upon this question, only a single statement answers it. "When the United States govern- ment had Mr. Davis' in its power, pnd the Northern people were clamoring for his trial and convictioii for treason, they kept him in prison for two years ; and after consulting their ablest lawyers, and, as it is understood, at the advice of their Chief-Justice Chase, did not dare to go into trial because they knew that he had committed no treason and done no wrong, and they were not willing to give him the opportunity, for which he begged, of vindicating himself and his people at the bar of history. They confessed judgment by refusing to try him, and it is too late now to attcm[)t to brand him and his peorle with the foul stigma of treason. XIV- BEGINNING OF THE WAR. After leaving the Senate Mr. Davis returned to Mississippi, and promptly accepted the position tendered him as Major- General and Commander-in-Chief of the volunteer forces of the State. - He longed for peace and was in favor of making every rea- sonable sacrifice to attain it ; but he feared the worst, and favored making the most active preparations to meet the war wiiich he believed the Republicans of the North would force upon the South. While actively engaged in organizing the forces of his State, and preparing for whatever emergency might come, the dele- gates of the " Provisional Congress" assembled at Montgomery, Ala., and among their first acts unanimously elected as Presi- dent of the Confederate States, Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi. So far from its being true, as has been falsely alleged, that this was the object of Mr. Davis's ambition — that he conspired to break up the Union in order to be President of a Southern Confederacy — the proof is conclusive that he neither sought nor desired this position. He had expressed himself in the strongest terms to his friends as preferring to serve in the army, and had his wishes been consulted another would have been chosen to this position of high honor and great responsi- bility. But when it was made known to him that the united voice of all the States of the Confederacy looked to him as the leader [301] ^ 302 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. and guide of the new '' Republic of Republics," he sacrificed his own preferences, went jDromptly to Montgomery, and was inau- gurated on the 18th of February, 1861. The ceremony of the inauguration was very simple, consist- ing in the taking of the oath of office and the inaugural address of President Davis, but an immense crowd of enthusi- astic Confederates heard the address and ch'eered it to the echo. As a clear, able, and eloquent statement of the views of Mr. Davis, and as a defense of the Confederate cause, this address is worthy of the most careful study, and- is given in full as follows : INAUGURAL ADDRESS OF PRESIDENT DAVIS, DELIVERED AT TPIE CAPITOL, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1861. Gentlemen of the Congress of the Confederate States of America, Friends and Felloiv- Citizens: " Called to the difficult and responsible station of Chief Ex- ecutive of the Provisional Government which you have insti- tuted, I approach the discharge of the duties assigned to me with an humble distrust of my abilities, but with a sustaining confidence in the wisdom of those who are to guide and aid me in the administration of public affairs, and an abiding faith in the virtue and patriotism of the people. ''Looking forward to the speedy establishment of a perma- nent government to take the place of this, and which, by its greater moral and jDliysical power, will be better able to com- bat with the many difficulties which arise from the conflicting- interests of separate nations, I enter upon the duties of the office, to which I have been chosen, with the hope that the beginning of our career, as a Confederacy, may not be obstructed by hostile opposition to our enjoyment of the separate exis- tence and independence which we have asserted, and, with the blessing of Providence, intend to maintain. Our present con- dition, achieved in a manner unprecedented in the history of nations, illustrates the American idea that governments rest upon the consent of the governed, and that it is the right of the people to alter or abolish governments whenever they become destructive of the ends for which they were established. i BEGINNING OF THE WAR. 308 "The declared purpose of the compact of union from which we have withdrawn, was ' to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the gen- eral welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and posterity;' and when in the judgment of the sovereign States now composing this Confederacy, it had been perverted from the purposes for which it was ordained, and had ceased to answer the ends for which it was established, a peaceful appeal to the ballot-box, declared that so far as they were con- _cerned, the government created by that compact should cease to exist. In this they merely asserted a right which the Dec- laration of Independence of 1776 had defined to be inaliena- ble. Of the time and occasion for its exercise, they as sover- eigns, were the final judges, each for itself. The impartial and enlightened verdict of mankind will vindicate the rectitude of our conduct, and He, who knows the hearts of men, will judge of the sincerity with which we labored to preserve the govern- ment of our fathers in its spirit. The right solemnly pro- claimed at the birth of the States and which has been affirmed and re-affirmed in the bills of rights of States subsequently^ admitted into the Union of 1789, undeniably recognizes in the people the power to resume the authority delegated for the purposes of government. Thus the sovereign States, here represented, proceeded to form this Confederacy, and it is by abuse of language that their act has been denominated a rev- olution. They formed a new alliance, but within each State its government has remained, and the rights of person and property have not been disturbed. The agent, through whom they communicated with foreign nations, is changed; but this does not necessarily interrupt their international relations. " Sustained by the consciousness that the transition from the former Union to the present Confederacy has not/proceeded from a disregard on our part of just obligations, or any failure to perform any constitutional duty; moved by no interest or passion to invade the rights of others; anxious to cultivate peace and commerce with all nations, if we may not hope to avoid war, we may at least expect that posterity will acquit us of having needlessly engaged in it. Doubly justified by the absence of wrong on our part, and by wanton aggression on the part of others, there can be no cause to doubt that the courage and patriotism of the people of the Confederate Stiates S04 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL U3IE. will be found equal to any measures of defense which honoi and security may require. "An agricultural people, whose chief interest is the export of .a commodity required in every manufacturing country, our \rue policy is peace and the freest trade which our necessities will permit. It is alike our interest, and that of all those to whom we would sell and from whom we would buy, that there should be the fewest practicable restrictions upon the inter- change of commodities. There can. be but little rivalry between ours and any manufacturing or navigating commu- nity, such as the northeastern States of the American Union. It must follow, therefore, that a mutual interest would invite good will and kind offices. If, however, passion or the lust -of dominion should cloud the judgment or inflame the ambition of those States, we must prepare to meet the emergency, and to maintain, by the final arbitrament of the sword, the position which we have assumed among the nations of the earth. We have entered upon the career ol independence, and it must be inflexibly pursued. Through many years of controversy with our late associates, tlie Northern States, we have vainly endeavored to secure tranquility, and to obtain respect for the rights to which we are entitled. As a necessity, not a choice, we have resorted to the remedy of separation; and henceforth our energies must be directed to the conduct of our own affairs, and the perpetuity of the Confederacy which we have formed. If a just perception of mutual interest shall permit us peace- ably to pursue our separate jiolitical career, my most earnest desire will have been fulfilled; but if this be denied tons, and the integrity of our territory and jurisdiction be assailed, it will but remain for us, with firm resolve, to appeal to arms and invoke the blessings of Providence on a just cause. '' As a consequence of our new condition, and with a view to meet anticipated wants, it will be necessary to provide for the speedy and efficient organization of branches of the Execu- tive Department, having special charge of foreign intercourse, finance, military affairs, and the postal service. "For purposes of defense, the Confederate States may, under ordinary circumstances, rely mainly upon the militia ; but it is deemed advisable, in the present condition of affairs, that there should be a well-instructed and disciplined army, more numerous than would usually be required on a peace estab- ££ai:rmMf OP TJTP WAR. 805 lisliment. I also suggest that, for the i^rotection of our har- bors and commercG on tlie high sca=!, a navy adapted to tliose objects will be required. These necessities have doubtless engaged the attention of Congress. "With a constitution differing only fromthatof our fathers, in so far as it is explanatory of their well-known intent, freed from the sectional conflicts which have interfered with the pur- suit of the general welfare, it is not unreasonable to expect that States from which we have recently parted, may seek to .unite their fortunes with ours under the government which we have instituted. For this j'our constitutioa makes adequate provision ; but beyond this, if I mistake not, the judgment and will of the people, a ro-union with the States from which we have separated is neither practicable nor desirable. To increase tlie power, develop the resources, and promote the happiness of the Confederacy, it is requisite that there should be so much homogeneity that the welfare of every portion shall be the aim of the whole. Where this does not exist, antagonisms are engendered which must and should result in separation. •'Actuated solely by tlie desire to preserve our own rights and promote our own welfare, the separation of the Confeder- ate States has been marked by no aggression upon others, and followed by no domestic convulsion. Our industrial pursuits have received no check ; the cultivation of our fields has pro- gressed as heretofore; and even should we be involved in war, there would be no considerable diminution in the production of the staples which have constituted our exports, and in which the commercial world has an interest scarcely less than our own. This common interest of the producer and consumer can only be interrupted by an exterior force, which should obstruct its transmission to foreign markets — a course of con- duct which would be as unjust towards us as it woiild be det- rimental to manufacturing and commercial interests abroad. Should reason guide the action of the government from which we have separated, a policy so detrimental to the civilized world, the Northern States included, could not be dictated by even the strongest desire to inflict injury upon us ; but if other- wise, a terrible responsibility will rest upon it, and the suffer- ing of millions will bear testimony to the folly and wickedness of our aggressors. In the meantime, there will remain to ^s, besides the ordinary means before suggested, the well-known resources for retaliation upon the commerce of the enemy. 808 THU DAVIS MEMOmAL VOLUMK "Experience in public stations, of subordinate grades to this wliich your kindness has conferred, has taught me that care, and toil, and disappointment, are the price of official ele- vation. You will see many errors to forgive, many deficiencies to tolerate, but you shall not find in me either a want of zeal or fidelity to the cause that is to me highest in hope and of most enduring affection. Your generosity has bestowed upon me an undeserved distinction— one which I neither sought nor desired. Upon the continuance of that sentiment, and upon your wisdom and patriotism, I rely to direct and support me in the performance of the duty required at my hands. " We have changed the constituent parts but not the system of our government. The constitution formed by our fathers is that of these Confederate States, in their exposition of it; and, in. the judicial construction it has received, we have a light which reveals its true meaning. " Thus instructed as to the just interpretation of the instru- ment, and ever remembering that all offices are but trusts held for the people, and that delegated powers are to be strictly con- strued, I will hope by due diligence in the performance of my duties, though I may disajDpoint jonv expectations, yet to retain, when retiring, something of the good will and confidence which welcomed my entrance into office. "It is joyous, in the midst of perilous times, to look around upon a i:)eople united in heart, wdiere one purpose of high resolve animates and actuates the whole — where the sacrifices to be made are not weighed in the balance against honor, and right, and liberty, and equality. Obstacles may retard— they cannot long prevent — the progress of a movement sanctified by its justice, and sustained by a virtuous people. Reverently let us invoke the God of our fathers to guide and protect us in our efforts to perjDctuate the principles which, by his blessing, they were able to vindicate, establish, and transmit to their posterity, and with a continuance of his favor, ever gratefully acknowl- edged, we may hopefully look forward to success, to peace, and to prosperity." Hon. A. H. Stephens, of Georgia, had been elected Vice- President of the Confederacy^ and the following were selected as members of the Cabinet : Hon. Robert Toombs, of Georgia, Secretary of State; Hon. L. P. Walker, of Alabama, Secretary BMOINNI^'G OF TILE yVAB. S07 of "War; Hon. C. C. Memminger, of South Carolina, ioecretary of the Treasury; Hon. S. H. Mallory, of Florida, Secretary of the Navy; Hon. J. II. Reagan, of Texas, Postmaster-General; Hon. J. P. Benjamin, of Louisiana, Attorney-General. The very first action of the Confederate government was to declare their wish to settle all differences with the United States government and to "adjust everything pertaining to the common property, conjmon liabilities, and common obligations of that union upon principles of right, justice, equity, and good faith." To this end Hon. A. B. Roman, of Louisiana; Hon. Martin . J. Crawford, of Georgia, and Hon. John Forsyth, of Alabama, - were appointed on the 25th of February commissioners to pro- ceed to Washington, and seek a peaceful and satisfactory adjustment of all matters between the two governments. Meantime Virginia had led in the call for the famous "Peace Conference," and conservative men of every section were labor- ing for peace. But all in vain. Hon. Zack Chandler, of Mich- igan, voiced the sentiments of the ultra men who now had control of the government, when he said "without a Utile blood letting this Union will not, in my estimation, be worth a rush;"' the new President was bent on his purpose "to hold, occupy, and ]30ssess the property and places belonging to the govern- - ment, and collect 4lie duties and imposts;" and while there were at the North s6me very strong and notable protests against - any attempt to coerce the sovereign States of the South, yet events rapidly tended in that direction, and the efforts of, the Confederate government at a peaceful solution of the difficul- ties met a sad and signal failure. "We have not space here for the details, but the correspond- ence of the Confederate commissioners with the authorities at Washington, and the statements of Judge John A. Campbell, of the Supreme Court, who acted as an intermediary between them and Secretary of State W. H. Seward, show that they acted with rare discretion and always in the interests of peace, while ]\Ir. Seward was guilty of a duplicity and bad faith, which would have been a disgrace to a semi-civilized or bar- barous nation, and is a foul blot on the escutcheon of the United States. The Secretary promised distinctly and repeatedly that Sum- ter should be evacuated, and wrote, " Faith as to Sumter fully kept Wait and see," at the very time that an armed expedi- tion was on its M'ay to provision and reinforc3 the garrison. South Carolina had ceded the site on which Sumter had been built to the general government, for the protection of the harbor of Charleston, and now that the fort was to be used not for its original purpose, but for the destruction of her beautiful city, the State had the clear right to demand it back, and the Confed- erate authorities acted with rare patience and forbearance when they waited so long in the vain hope of getting peace- able possession of their own. But when they received information that this powerful armament was about to enter the harbor to reinforce Sumter, and make it impregnable to their assaults, in opening fire upon the fort they acted as strictly in self-defence as the man who uses whatever force may be necessary to disarm an assassin about to strike him without luaiting for the fatal blow. All, therefore, that has been written or spoken about the South " firing the first gun " is the veriest nonsense and bosh. I overheard a very lively discussion at Winchester, Va., when " old Stonewall '' captured it in May, 1862, from " Quar- termaster Banks," between a Federal colonel, who was a pri- soner, and a private soldier in the Thirteenth Virginia regiment. After the discussion had j^rogressed for some time the colonel, with a considerable air of confidence, said to "Johnny": "I will settle the discussion, sir, by asking you just one question. Who fired the first gun in this ivar? " As quick as a flash the Confederate replied : BEGINNING OF THE WAR. 809 " John Brown at Harper's Ferry, sir. He fired the first gun. And Mr. Lincoln, in attempting to reinforce Sumter, fired the sec- ond gun. And the Confederates have acted on the defensive all of the time. We did not invade your country, hut you invaded ours; you go home and attend to your own business and leave us to attend to ours, and the ivar will close at once." Did not this humble private soldier in his reply to the Fed- eral colonel give the philosophy of the whole question ? And does the world's history afford a clearer example of a brave people standing on the defensive and resisting the invasion of their rights and of their territory' than that of the people of the South? But the government at Washington accomplished its pur- pose in inducing the Confederates to capture Sumter, raised the cry that "the flag had been insulted," "fired the Northern hfeart" by utterly misrepresenting the facts, and deliberately inaugurated war to force the seceded States back into the Union. Mr. Lincoln issued his proclamation calling for sev- enty-five thousand men to coerce the seceded States, and called upon Virginia and other border States to furnish their quota, and lie thus inaugurated the most iniquitous war of modern times; while from that day every effort has been made to cast the odium of it on Mr. Davis and the Confederates. Looking back atrit from the results and in the calm liirht of twenty-nine yearslafter the event, it is very easy to say that the South ought not to have seceded and brought upon herself the "overwhelming numbers and resources" against which she fought, and yet it is quite certain that General Lee voiced the real sentiment of the true people of the South when, several years after the war, he said to General Wade Hampton : " We could have pursued no other course without dishonor. And sad as the result has been, if it had all to be done over again, we should be compelled to act in precisely in the same man- ner." 310 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME But the odds against us were fearful as a very brief state- ment will clearly show: General Lee (in a circular letter which, after the war, he addressed to his leading officers asking their help in the pre- paration of his proposed history of his campaigns) said : " It will be difficult to get the world to appreciate the odds against which we fought," and this has been fully realized. Even our Confederate writers are often misled into gross exaggerations of our numbers, and it is a rare thing to find a Northern writer who does not follow the estimates made during the war, and greatly overstate Confederate numbers and resources. But the official reports, the " field returns," etc., are now accessible The census of 1860 shows that the fourteen States from which the Confederacy drew any part of its forces had a white population of only 7,946,111, of which 2,498,891 belonged to Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri, which three States actu- ally furnished (because of the force of circumstances they could not control) more men to the Federal than to the Confederate armies; so that the total population upon which the Confede- racy could draw was only 5,447,220, while the Federal govern- ment had (exclusive of Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri) a population of 19,011,360. Add to this the patent facts that we soon lost large portions of our territory — that the Federal armies were largely recruited from our negro population — and that, by means of large bounties and other inducements, they drew from the dense populations of Europe a ver}^ large pro- portion of their levies, and it will be seen that the odds in num bers against the Confederacy must have been enormous. The statement that has sometimes been made that the 4,000,000 of negroes in the South "were the same as soldiers, because they did the work in the fields which white men would have had to do," is sufficiently refuted by saying that from the first the negroes were enticed into the Federal lines — that they were enlisted by thousands in the Federal armies and employed in BEGINNING OF THE WAR. .^11 other capacities which relieved white soldiers — and that it was very common for the young negro men to run off leaving only the old men, the women, and the children, as a burden on the plantation, and a heavy tr*:^ on the planter. Secretary Stanton (page 31 of his final report) states that there were actually mustered into the service of the United States from the 15th of April, 18G1, to the 14th of April, 18G5, 2,G5G,553 men. In 1881 the adjutant-general's office pub- lished a tabulated statement of the men furnished by each State to the United States armies, from which it appears that there were actually mustered into the service of the United States during the war 2,859,132 men. Mr. William Swinton, aftfer a careful investigation of the Confederate records, states that G00,000 men were put into the Confederate armies during the entire^ war. In a correspond- ence between Dr. Joseph Jones, of New Orleans (first secretary of the Southern Historical Society), and General S. Cooper, the accomplished Adjutant-General of the Confederacy (see Southern Historical papers, vol. VII., page 287), it is clearly shown that the entire number of men mustered into the Con- federate service did not exceed 600,000 — that not more than 400,000 were enrolled at any one time — that the Confederates never had in the field more than 200,000 men capable of bearing arms at any one time, i. e., exclusive of sick, wounded, and disabled — that one-third of the entire number, or 200,000. were either killed upon the field or died of wounds or disease — that another third of the entire number were captured-:-and that in April, 1865, the available force of the Confederates numbered scarcely 100,000 men, to whom there were opposed over 1,000,000 Federal soldiers. Add to this great disparity of numbers the well-known facts that the South was an agricultural and not a manufac- turing people — that our ports were blockaded and we were shut in from the markets of the world — that we were all of 312 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. the time deficient in clothes, equipments, arms, ammunition, transportation, rations, everything necessary to the efficiency of armies save the skill of our generals and the brave hearts of our men — and it will be conceded that General Lee did not put it too strongly when he said in his farewell address that we were "compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and re- sources.^^ But although Mr. Davis had done everything in his power to avert war he bravely met the issue when forced upon him, and, despite scant numbers and resources, for four years he maintained the contest with an ability, skill, and heroism which astonished the world, which deserved success, and which would unquestionably have won it, but for causes beyond his control. As soon as Virginia passed her ordinance of secession (April 17, 1861), and cast in her lot with her Southern sisters, Mr. Davis proposed the removal of the Confederate capital to Richmond, and this was promptly agreed upon. Mr. Davis himself arrived in Richmond the last of May, his journey hither being a series of ovations at every city, town and village along the route, and was received with the most enthusiastic demonstrations by the people. His headquarters were first at the Spotswood hotel, and then in " the White House of the Confederacy," which the city of Richmond purchased as a gift to the President, but which he persistently declined to receive, and only consented to occupy on condition that full rent should be paid for it. A detailed sketch of the life of Mr. Davis in Richmond, and his administration of the affairs of the Confederate govern- ment — his joy at a long line of victories which illumine brightest pages of the world's history, and his calm, dignified bearing amid disasters and final failure — would make a volume many times larger than this, and cannot, of course, be given here. BEGINNING OF THE WAR, S13 We can only givo a few illustrations of the salient points of his life in Richmond, and his conduct of the war. The Hichmond Dispatch thus relates some of the incidents of his life in Richmond : " ;Mr. Davis came to Richmond from Montgomery, Ala., upon the removal of the canital here, and reached this city May the 29th, 1861. " War was just then beginning in earnest. The enthusiasm of our people ran high. The uniforms of our soldiers were as yet unstained by the mud of the trenches. The gold braid on the officers' coats was untarnished. Sugar, cofleo, tea, dry goods, and medicines were to be had at slightly advanced prices. South Carolina troops were encamped at the old fair grounds (Monroe Park), and the ladies of the city lavished upon them their best attentions. Virginia troops were ren- dezvousing at the new fair grounds (Exposition grounds), and Jackson Park (between the old reservoir and Harvietown) was being filled with Southern regiments. All were getting ready to go to the field of Manassas. Many regiments were already there, while another army was under Magruder on the Penin- sula. " Mr. Davis was received here with distinguished honors, and quarters were assigned ijim at the Spotswood hotel, which then stood at the southeast corner of Main and Eighth streets, but was destroyed by fire December 25, 1870. "Here speeches were made, welcome after welcome extended, and crowds pressed forward to be introduced to ^h. Davis and members of his :^nily. " Mrs. Davis w$s thus described: " 'She is a tall, commanding figure, with dark hair, ej^es and complexion, and strongly marked characteristics, which lie chiefly in the mouth. With firmly-set yet flexible lips there is indicated much energy of purpose and Avill, but beautifully softened by the usually sad expression of her dark, earnest eyes. Her manners are kind, graceful, easy, and affable, and her receptions are characterized by the dignity and suavity which should ver}^ properly distinguish the drawing-room entertainments of the Chief Magistrate of a republic' "Proud of becoming the capital of the Confederacy, desirous to do honor to President Davis, and anxious to give him the 814 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. heartiest possible welcome here, the city council purchased and furnished what was ever afterwards known as 'the Jefll". Davis mansion,' and offered it to him as a free gift. "He declined it. " He would not accept any present of value ; but he agreed to make the house his home upon condition that the city should receive from the government, whose duty it was to furnish him a home, rent therefor. He occupied the house in the early summer of 1861, and bade farewell to it April 2, 1865. "From the windows of this house there was a view north- ward into the county of Henrico. It is a high hill, at the foot of which runs Shockoe creek. Before the President was a prospect of small farms and orchards ; of humble suburban houses set in the midst of trees, and four miles off he caught a glimpse of the tall green trees growing in the swamps of the Chickahominy. " His outlook was to tlie front — not toward the James. The river was back of him, and at the battles around Kichmond in June, 1862, had he been at home instead of in the saddle with his generals (as he often was) he could have seen the flash of our artillery at Mechanicsville and at Ellerson's mill. From the windows of the house looking east he could see the James meandering towards Drewry's Bluff and Dutch Gap. "The house was built in 1817 and 1818 by Dr. John Brock- enbrough, from whom it passed to Mr. James M. Morson, and thence to Hon. James A. Seddon, and thence to Mr. Lewis D. Crenshaw. "Mr. Crenshaw sold it, and most of the furniture which it contained, to the city for $40,000. " From the front porch the entrance door opened into the principal hall (14x18 feet), elliptical in form with two niches, each containing a bronze statue utilized, if not designed, for gas purposes. Tlie front of the building to the right of the hall was divided into a staircase hall, with two niches contain- ing marble statuettes, and a cosy library (11-3x14 feet), and to the left was a private stairway, and the entry affording ingress to the dining-room and egress from the building. The elegant apartments for entertaining were in rear and en suite, the parlor (18x24 feet) being located between the withdrawing- room (about 22 feet square) and the dining-room about (22x BEGINNING OF THE WAR. S15 e< 9 feet). Each of these rooms was lighted by a large side- light window extending to the floor and affording access to a noble piazza (12xG7 feet) facing the south. Tlie dining-room had two additional windows on the east side, both opening upon a terrace. "It was from the window of this building tliat Presiderit Davis's little son Joe fell and lost his life. "As you entered the house from Clay street on the riglit was a small ante-room to the beatitiful parlors where all State receptions were held during the war. On the opposite side of the hall or passage was the library and dining-room. Upstairs were the chambers and private office of Mr. Davis. In the basement was the pantry and store-rooms of various sorts." This house was occupied as Federal headquarters on the cap- ture of Richmond, and has for some years been used as one of the public school buildings of the cit}^ ; but there are plans on foot to convert it into a Confederate museum and library, and it is hoped that this w^ill be done. " The President's office was on the third floor of the Treas- ury building (custom-house) and at the head of the steps as you entered from Bank street. " Within two years past the custom-house building has been remodelled and enlarged and a new front has been put on Bank street, but the rooms which he occupied have been left intact and are reached almost exactly as they were twenty-five years ago. "The room of fjle private secretary of the President, Burton N. Harrison, was that which subsequently became the office of the United States Marshal. " The room across the passage, long occupied as the office of the clerk of the United States District Court, was the room used by President Davis. " The aids to the President (in 1863) were : Colonel AVilliam M. Browne, residence on Franklin street. Church Hill, second door from Twenty-sixth street; Colonel James Chestnut, of South Carolina; Colonel William Preston Johnston, of Ken- tucky, residence at Mr. Dill's on the ]\[eadow-Bridge road; Colonel Joseph C. Ives, of Mississippi, residence corner Grace and First streets ; Colonel G. W. Custis Lee, of Virginia, resi- S16 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. dence Franklin between Seventh and Eighth street; Colonel Jolin T. Wood, residence Sixth street south of Main, in rear of Second Baptist church. President's Private Secretary, Burton N. Harrison, of Mississippi, residence at the President's house. Messenger, Master WilHam Davies (now proprietor of a photo- graph gallery here). " Unless detained by pressing business Mr. Davis usually left his. office at about 5 o'clock. Sometimes Mrs. Davis would come for him in her carriage, but oftener, he would walk, and about sundown would be seen on his horse (he was a beautiful rider) galloping along some street leading to the country. " On one of these rides when he was passing through the wastern section of the city in the neighborhood of Gillie's creek and Williamsburg avenue he was fired upon and narrowly escaped death from the bullet of an assassin hidden in one of the small houses in that vicinity. " The matter was kept very quiet indeed, few people in Richmond ever heard of it, but the arrest of a man suspected of the crime was made at the time. No positive evidence could be procured against him and he was discharged. " This incident has recently been the subject of a letter written by Mr. Davis, in which he states his positive convic- tion that the shot which he so narrowly escaped was not a chance-shot fired in his direction by accident, but one aimed at him by the hand of an assassin. " Mr. Davis left the city to be present at the battle of Ma- nassas and soon after that conflict at arms returned to Rich- mond and made a speech from a window of the Spotswood. " During the seven-days' battles in front of this city he was often on the field, but with these exceptions and one or two visits South, he remained in Richmond constantly during the war." He was present at the close of the battle of First Manassas [" Bull Run', it is called by Northern writers] on the 21st of July, 1861, and sent from the field the following characteristic dispatch : "Manassas Junction, Sunday Night. "Night has closed upon a hard-fought field. Our forces were victorious. The enemy were routed, and precipitately fled abandoning a large amount of arms, knapsacks, and baggage. ^EOmmNG OF THE wa&. Mt The ground was stre^Yll for miles with those killed, and the farm-iiouscsand ground around were filled with the wounded. Pursuit was continued along several routes towards Leeshurg and Centreville, until darkness covered the fugitives. AVe have captured many field batteries and stands of arms, and one of the United States flags. Many prisoners have beentaken. Too high praise can not be bestowed, whether for the skill of the principal officers, or the gallantry of all our troops. The bat- tle was mainly fought on our left. Our forces w^as 15,000; that of the enemy estimated at 35,000. Jeff'n Davis." It was afterwards charged that he stopped the pursuit of the enemy that night, and was responsible for the long inactivity which followed that great victory; but the proof is over- whelming that he was very 'anxious to have a vigorous pur- suit and issued an order to that effect, and that ho was press- ing General Johnston for weeks and months after the battle to utilize the victory by an advance across the Potomac. On his return to Richmond after this battle he received a most enthusiastic ovation, and made brief but ringing speeches at the depot and to an immense crowd that gathered at the Spotswood hotel that night. He "counseled moderation and forbearance in victory, with unrelaxed preparations" for the future struggles of the war; and used that fairuDUs utterance : " Never he liaugldy to ilie humble 'uor humble to the laurjJdi/.'" At this period his popularity with his people knew no bounds. It was only after disaster came that grumblers drose to criticise and condemn his conduct of affairs; but he always had with him the hearts of an overwhelming majority of the soldiers and the people. In November, ISGl, he was, without opposition, elected by the people President of the "permanent" government of the Confederate States, and on the 2 2d of February, 1862, he was, inaugurated. Mr. Alfriend, who was present on the occasion, gl8 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. has so vividly described the scene that we quote his account in full: "The inaugural ceremonies were as simple and appropriate as those witnessed at Montgomery a year previous. Tiie mem- bers of the Confederate Senate and House of Representatives, with the members of the Virginia Legislature, awaited in the hall of the House of Delegates the arrival of the President. In consecj.uence of the limited capacity of the hall, compara- tively few spectators — a majority of them ladies — witnessed the proceeding's there. Immediately fronting the cliair of the speaker were the ladies of Mr. Davis's household, attended by relatives and friends. In close proximity were the members of the cabinet. "A contemporary account thus mentions this scene: 'It was a grave and great assemblage. Time-honored men were there, who had witnessed ceremony after ceremony of inaugu- ration in the palmiest da3's of the old confederation; those who had been at the inauguration of the iron-willed Jackson; men who, in their fiery Southern ardor, had thrown down the gaunt- let of defiance in the halls of Federal legislation, and in the face of the enemy avowed their determination to be free; and finally witnessed the enthroning of a republican despot in their country's chair of state. All were there; and silent tears were seen coursing do\Yn the cheeks of gray-headed men, while the determined will stood out in every feature.' "The appearance of the President was singularly imposing, though there were visible traces of his profound emotion, and a pallor, painful to look upon, reminded the spectator of his recent severe indisposition. His dress was a plain citizen's suit of black. Mr. Hunter, of Virginia, temporary president of the Confederate Senate, occupied the right of the platform ; Mr. Bocock, Speaker of the House of Representatives, the left. When President Davis, accompanied by Mr. Orr, of South Carolina, chairman of committee of the arrangements on the part of the Senate, reached the hall and passed to the chair of the speaker, subdued applause, becoming the place and the occa- sion, greeted him. A short time sufficed to carry into effect the previously arranged programme, and the distinguished procession moved to the Washington monument, where a stand was prepared for the occasion. BEGINNING OF THE WAR. 819 "Hon. James Lyons, of Virginia, chairman of the House committee of arrangements, called the assemblage to order, and an eloquent and appropriate prayer was offered by Bishop Johns, of the Diocese of Virginia. The President, having received a most enthusiastic welcome from the assemblage, with a clear and measured accent, delivered his inaugural address: " Felloiv-citizens : On this, the birthday of the man most iden- tified with the establishment of American independence, and beneath the monument erected to commemorate his heroic vir- tues and those of his compatriots, we have assembled, to usher into existence the permanent government of the Confederate States. Through this instrumentality, under the favor of Divine Providence, we hope to perpetuate the principles of our revolutionary fathers. The day, the memory, and the pur- pose seem fitly associated. "It is with mingled feelings ' of humility and pride that I appear to take, in the presence of the people, and before high Heaven, the oath prescribed as a qualification for the exalted station to which the unanimous voice of the people has called me. Deeply sensible of all that is implied by this manifesta- tion of the people's confidence, I am yet more profoundly im- pressed by the vast responsibility of the office, and humbly feel my own unworthiness. " In return for their kindness, I can only offer assurances of the gratitude with which it is received, and can but pledge a zealous devotion-of every faculty to the service of those who have chosen mefas their chief magistrate. " When a long course of class legislation, directed not to the general welfare, but to the aggrandizement of the northern section of the Union, culminated in a warfare on the domestic institutions of the Southern States; when the dogmas of a sec- tional party, substituted for the provisions of the constitutional- compact, threatened to destroy the sovereign rights of the States, six of those States, withdrawing from the Union, con- federated together to exercise the right and perform the duty of instituting a government which would better secure the liberties for the preservation of which that Union was estab- lished. " Whatever of hope some may have entertained that a returning sense of justice would remove the danger with which m TME DA ns MEMOmAL VOL UMR our rights were threatened, and render it possible to pj'eserve the union of the constitution, must have been dispelled by the malignity and barbarity of the Northern States in the prosecution of the existing war. The confidence of the most hopeful among us must have been destroyed by the disregard ihey have recently exhibited for all the time-honored bulwarks of civil and religious liberty. Bastiles filled with prisoners, arrested without civil process, or indictment duly found ; the writ of habeas corpus suspended by executive mandate ; a State legislature controlled by the imprisonment of members whose avowed princfples suggested to the Federal executive that there might be another added to the list of seceded States ; elections held under threats of a military power; civil officers, peaceful citizens, and gentle women incarcerated for opinion's sake, pro- claimed the incapacity of our late associates to administer a government as free, liberal, and humane as that established for our common use. " For proof of the sincerity of our purpose to maintain our ancient institutions, we may point to the constitution of the Confederacy and the laws enacted under it, as well as to the fact that, through all the necessities of an unequal struggle, there has been no act, on our part, to impair personal liberty or the freedom of speech, of thought, or of the press. The courts have been open, the judicial functions fully executed, and every right of the peaceful citizen maintained as securely as if a war of invasion had not disturbed the land. "The people of the States now confederated became convinced that the government of the United States had fallen into the hands of a sectional majority, who would pervert the most sacred of all trusts to the destruction of the rights which it was pledged to protect. They believed that to remain longer in the Union would subject them to a continuance of a disparag- ing discrimination, suomission to wdiich would be inconsistent with their welfare and intolerable to a proud people. They, therefore, determined to sever its bonds, and establish a new confederacy for themselves. " The experiment, instituted by our revokitionary fathers, of a voluntary union of sovereign States, for purposes specified in a solemn compact, had been prevented by those who, feeling power and forgetting right, were determined to respect no law but their own will. The government had ceased to answer BEGINNING OF THE WAH. 821 the ends for which it had been ordained and established. To save ourselves from a revolution which, in its silent but rapid progress, was about to place us under the despotism of num- bers, and to preserve, in spirit as well as in form, a S3'stem of government we believed to be peculiarly fitted to our condi- tion and full of promise for mai'ikind, we determined to n.ako anew association, composed of States homogeneous in interest, in policy, and in feeling. " True to our traditions of peace and love of justice, we sent commissioners to the United States to propose a fair and ami- cable settlement of all questions cfpublic debt orproperty which might be in dispute. But the government at Washington, denying our right to self-government, refused even to listen to any proposals for a peaceful separation. Nothing was then left to us but to prepare for war. "The first year in our history has bpen the most eventful in ►the annals of this continent. A new government has been established, and its machinery put in operation, over an area exceeding seven hundred thousand square miles. The great principles upon which we have been willing to hazard every thing that is dear to man have made conquests for us which could never have been achieved by the sword. Our Confede- racy has grown from six to thirteen States; and Maryland, already united to us by hallowed memories and material inter- ests, will, I believe, when able to speak with unstifled voice, connect her destiny with the South. Our people have rallied, with unexamplelTunanimity, to the support of the great prin- ciples of constitlutional government, with firm resolve to per- petuate by aruiS the rights which tliey could not peacefully secure. A million of men, it is estimated, are now standing in liostile array, and waging war along a frontier of thousands of miles; battles have been fought, sieges have been conducted, and, although the contest is not ended, and the tide for the moment is against us, the final result in our favor is not doubt- ful. "The period is near at hand when our foes must sink under the immense load of debt which they have incurred — a debt which, in their efforts to subjugate us, lias already attained such fearful dimensions as will subject them to burdens which must continue to oppress thein for generations to come. " We, too, have had our trials and difficulties. That we are 21 a22 THE. DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. to escape them in the future is not to be hopea. It was to be expected, when we entered upon this war, that it would expose our people to sacrifices, and cost them much both of money and blood. But we knew the value of the object for which we struggled, and understood the nature of the war in which we were engaged. Nothing could be so bad as failure, and any sacrifice would be cheap as the price of success :n sucli a contest. " But the picture has its lights as well as its shadows. This great strife has awakened in the people the highest emotions and qualities of the human soul. It is cultivating feelings of patriotism, virtue and courage. Instances of self-sacrifice and of generous devotion to the noble cause for which we are con- tending are rife throughout the land. Never has a people evinced a more determined spirit than that now animating men. women, and children in every part of our country. Upon the first call, the men fly to arms; and wives and mothers send their husbands and sons to battle without a murmur of regret. " It was, perhaps, in the ordination of Providence that we were to be taught the value of our liberties by the price which we pay for them. "The recollections of this great contest, with all its common traditions of glory, of sacrifices and of blood, will be the bond of harmony and enduring affection amongst the people, pro- ducing unity in polic}^ fraternity in sentiment, and joint effort in war. " Nor have the material sacrifices of the past year been made without some corresponding benefits. If the acquiescence of foreign nations in a pretended blockade has deprived its of our commerce with them, it is fast making us a self-supporting and an independent people. The blockade, if effectual and 2:)ermanent, could only serve to divert our industry from the production of articles for export, and employ it in supplying commodities for domestic use. " It is a satisfaction that we have maintained the war by our unaided exertions. We have neither asked nor received assist- ance from any quarter. Yet the interest involved is not wholly our own. The world at large is concerned in opening our markets to its commerce. When the independence of the Confederates States is recognized by the nations of the earth, and' we are free to follow our interests and inclinations by cul- BEGINNING OF THE WAR. 32S tivating foreign trade, the Southern States will offer to manu- facturing nations tlie most favorable markets which ever invited tlieir commerce. Cotton, sugar, rice, tobacco, j^rovis- ions, timber, and naval stores will furnisli attractive exchanges. Nor would the constancy of these supplies be likely to be dis- turbed by war. Our confederate strength will be too great to attempt aggression; and never was there a people whose inter- ests and principles committed them so fully to a})cacefal policy as those of the Confederate States. By tho character of their productions, they are too deeply interested in foreign com- merce wantonly to disturb it. War of conquest they cannot wage, because the constitution of their Confederacy admits of no coerced association. Civil war there cannot be between States held together by tlieir volition only. This rule of vol- untary association, which cannot fail to be conservative, by securing just and impartial government at Lome, does not diminish tlie security of the obligations by which the Confed- erate States may be bound to foreign nations. In proof of this, it is remembered that, at the first moment of asserting their right of secession, these States proposed a settlement on the basis of a common liability for the obligations of the gen- eral government. "Fellow-citizens, after the struggles of ages had consecrated the right of the Englishman to constitutional representative government, our colonial ancestors were forced to vindicate that birthright by an appeal to' arms. Success crowned their efforts, and they provided for their posterity a peaceful remedy against future Aggression. "The tyranny of an unbridled majorit}", the most odious and least responsible form of despotism, has denied us-both the right and the remedy. Therefore we are in arms to renew such sacrifices as our fathers made to tlie holy cause of consti- tutional libert3^ At the darkest hour of our struggCe, the provisional gives place to the permanent government. After a series of successes and victories, which covered our arms with glory, we have recently met with serious disasters. But, in the heart of a people resolved to be free, these disasters tend but to stimulate to increased resistance. "To show ourselves worthy of the inheritance bequeathed to us by the patriots of the Revolution, we must emulate that heroic devotion which made reverse to them but the crucible in which their patriotism was refined. 324 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. ""With confidence in the wisdom and virtue of those who will share with me the responsibility and aid me in the con- duct of public affairs; securely relying on the patriotism and courage of the people, of which the present war has furnished so many examples, I deeply feel the weight of the responsi- bilities I now, with unaffected diffidence, am about to assume; and, fully realizing the inadequacy of human power to guide and to sustain, my hope is reverently fixed on Him, whose favor is ever vouchsafed to the cause which is just, "With humble gratitude and adoration, acl^nowledging the Provi- dence which has so visibly protected the Confederacy during its brief but eventful career, to Thee, God! I trustingly commit mj'self, and prayerfully invoke Thy blessing on my country and its cause." "The effect of this address upon the public was electrical. The anxious and dispirited assemblage, which, for more than an hour previous to the arrival of the President, had braved the inclement sky and traversed the almost impassable ave- nues of capitol square, in eager longing for reassuring words from him upon whose courage and will so much depended, was not disappointed. A consciousness of a burden removed, of doubts dispelled, of the reassured feeling, which comes with strengthened conviction that confidence has not been mis- placed, animated and thrilled the crowd as it caught the im- pressive tones and gestures of the speaker. In the memory of every beholder must forever dwell the imposing presence of Mr. Davis, as, with uplifted hands, he pronounced the beau- tiful and appro^jriate petition to Providence, which forms the peroration." "Without going into the details we may say, in general, that Mr. Davis gave his personal attention to all of the departments of government ; that he did everything in his power to provide for the exigencies of the public service, and that he did every- thing that ability, zeal, and self-sacrificing patriotism could do to promote the success of the Confederate cause. 7)l. V THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE. Our space does not permit us to tell the story of the Con- federate disasters of the early part of 18G2, in the capture of Roanoke Island, New Orleans, Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, &c., nor of how Stonewall Jackson electrified the Confederacy with his laconic dispatch, " God blessed our arms with victory at McDowell yesterday," and startled and alarmed the North by his brilliant " A^'alley campaign." Nor can we detail the story of Lee's splendid victories in the "Seven days' battles," which raised the siege of Richmond, forced McClellan to the protection of his gunboats, transferred the seat of war to Northern Virginia, M'hcre he won on the plains of Manassas a victory which effectually dismounted " Headquarters in the saddle," and enabled the Confederates to cross into IMaryland, capture Harper's Ferry, fight the drawn battle of Sharpsburg, and close the campaign with the crushing dereat of Burnside at Fredericksburg, the 13th of December, 1SG2. Nor can we tell of how that superb soldier and stainless gentleman, Albert Sidney Johnston, to whom Mr. Davis clung despite of disasters and severe criticism, gathered together his scattered forces and won at Shiloh a victory which would unquestionably have resulted in the destruction or capture cf Grant's whole army, had not our peerless leader been stricken down in the full tide of victory. Nor can we tell of Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Chickamauga, The Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court-house, 1323J 838 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. Cold Harbor, Dalton, Atlanta, Petersburg, and hundreds of other hard-fought fields which illustrated American heroism, but in which General Grant's famous policy of " attrition " was finally successful, and the Confederates were starved into the final result of Appomattox and Greensboro. Nor can we tell in full how grandly our noble chief bore himself amid all of these changing fortunes. We can only give a few illustrations of his life and character during these eventful years. General Richard Taylor gave the following incident which illustrates President Davis's methods of making his appoint- ments : " On the eve of returning to the army I learned of ray pro- motion to brigadier, to relieve General Walker, transferred to a brigade of Georgians. This promotion seriously embarrassad me. Of the four colonels whose regiments constituted the brigade, I was the junior in commission, and the other three had been present and -'won their spurs' at the recent battle, so far the only important one of the war. Besides, my known friendship for President Davis, with whom I was connected by his first marriage with my elder sister, would justify the opin- ion that my promotion was due to favoritism. Arrived at headquarters I obtained leave to go to Richmond where, after an affectionate reception, the President listened to the story of my feelings, the reasons on which they were based, and the request that the promotion should be revoked. He replied that he would take a day for reflection before deciding the matter. Tht following day I was told that the answer to my appeal would be forwarded to the army, to which I imme- diately returned. The President had employed the day in writing a letter to the senior officers of the brigade, in which lie began by stating that promotions to the grade of general officer were by law intrusted to him, and were made for con- siderations of public good, of which he alone was judge. He then out of abundant kindness to me went on to soothe the feelings of these officers with a tenderness and delicacy of touch worthy a woman's hand, and so effectually as to secure me their hearty support. No wonder that all who enjoy the TTIBEE YEAES OF CARNAGE. 227 friendship of Jefferscn Davis love him as Jonathan did David." The Pvaleigli News and Observer gives the following : "In tlie early summer of 18G2, he was asked to confer on some Korth Carolinian the appointment of brigadier-general. He was i)ressed to make a political appointment. It was said that public considerations required tliat an appointment of tliat character should be made. Mr. Davis was on the battle- field and saw the admirable conduct of Colonel Pender. He assented to the request to make an appointment for North Caro- lina; but despite tJie great political pressure put upon him, he conferred the honor on the 3'oung colonel, who thus became the youngest brigadier, at the time, in the service. President Davis made no mistake in adhering to his own judgment in that instance. Pender more nearly approached Jackson than any other of General Lee's lieutenants." The friendship between Mr. Davis and General Albert Sid- ney Johnston was very tender, but the firmness- with -which he resisted every effort to have Johnston removed after the di-as- ters at Henry and Donelson — saying, to an able and influential delegation who were urging a change: "If Albert Sidney Johnston is not a general, then the Confederacy has none to give you" — showed his sound judgment as well as his adhe- sion to the ri^ht. He wrote General Johnston at this time the following letter: "Richmond, Va., March 12, 1SG2. "il/^ Dear General — The departure of Captain "Wickliffe offers an opportunity, of which I avail myself to write you an unofficial letter. We have suffered great anxiety because of recent events in Kentucky and Tennessee; and I have been not a little disturbed by the repetitions of reflections upon yourself. I expected you to have made a full report of events precedent and consequent to the fall of Fort Donelson. In the meantime I made for you such defense as friendship prompted and many years of acquaintance justified ; but I needed facts to rebut the wholesale assertions made against you. to cover others and to condemn my administration. The pub- 328 THE DA VIS MEMOBTA L VOL UMK lie, as YOU are aware, have no correct measure for military operations; and the journals are very reckless in their state- ments. "Your force has been magnified, and the movements of on army have been measured by the capacity for locomotion of an individual. " The readiness of the people among whom j'ou are operat- ing to aid you in every method has been constantly asserted; the purpose of 3'our army at Bowling Greenwholly misunder- stood ; and the absence of an effective force at Nashville ignored. You have been held responsible for the fall of Donclson and the capture of Nashville. It is charged that no effort was made to save the stores at Nashville, and that the panic of the people was caused by the army. " Such representations, with the sad forebodings naturally belonging to them, have been painful to me, and injurious to us both ; but, worse than this, they have undermined public confidence, and damaged our cause. A full development of the truth is necessary for future success. " I respect the generosity which has kept you silent, but would i'iipress upon you that the question is not personal but public in its nature; that you and I might be content to suffer, but neither of us can willingly permit detriment to the country. As soon as circumstances will permit, it is my pur- pose to visit the field of 3'our present operations; not that I should expect to give 3'ou any aid in the discharge of your duties as a commander, but with the hope that my position would enable me to effect something in bringing men to j^our standard. With a sufficient force, the audacity which the enemy exhibits would no doubt give you the opportunity to cut some of his lines of communication, to break up his ]»lan of campaign; and, defeating some of his columns, to drive him from the soil as well of Kentucky as of Tennessee. ""We are deficient in arms, Vv'anting in discipline, and inferior in numbers. Private arms must supply the first want ; time and the presence of an enemy, with diligence on the j^art of commanders, will remove the second ; and public confi- dence will overcome the third. General Bragg brings you dis- ciplined troops, and you will find in him the highest adminis- trative capacity. General E. Iv. Smith will soon have in East Tennessee a sufiicient force to create a strong diversion in THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE. «29 your favor ; or, if his strength cannot he made available in that way, you will best know how to employ it otherwise. I suppose the Tennessee or Mississippi river will be the object of the enemy's next campaign, and I trust you will be able to concentrate a force which will defeat either attempt. " The fleet which you will soon have on the Mississippi river, if the enemy's gunboats ascend the Tennessee, may enable 3'ou to strike an effective blow at Cairo ; but, to one so well informed and vigilant, I will not assume to offer sugges- tions as to when and how the ends you seek may be attained. With the confidence and regard of many years, I am very truly your friend, Jefferson Davis." In reply. General Johnston wrote him the famous letter of March 18th, 1862, in which he detailed the events which had culminated in the disasters of Henry and Donelson, ably vin- dicated himself from the charges that had been made against him, and concluded by saying: "The test of merit, in my pro- fession, with the people, is success. It is a hard rule, but I think it right. If I join this corps to the forces of Beauregard (I confess a hazardous experiment), then those who are now declaiming against me will be without an argument." Colonel T. ]\I. Jack, in a letter addressed to Colonel Wm. Preston Johnston in 1877, gives a graphic account of the circumstances under which President Davis received this letter': ^ *' Just before the battle of Shiloh 5''our father sent me to Richmond, as bearer of dispatches to President Davis. Among these dispatches was the celebrated letter in which success is recognized as the test of merit in the soldier. My duties, of course, were merely executive to deliver the dispatches in per- son and return with the answers quietly and promj:)tly. " Arriving at Richmond, and announcing my business to the proper officer, I was at once shown into the office of Mr. Davis and presented to him. I had never before met the President of the Confederacy'. Ho received me with courtesy, even with kindness, asking mo at once, * How is your general, my friend General Johnston ? ' There was an earnestness in the ques- 330 THE DAVIS MEMOBIAL VOLUME, tion which could not be misunderstood. Replying briefly, I handed him my dispatches which he was in the act of opening, when an officer entered the room, to whom the President pre- sented me as General Lee. This was my first meeting with him also, and the last. He had not then attained the full measure of his fame. He was not asj^ettheidol of the South- ern people. These things came afterwards, with the recogni- tion by all fair-minded Christendom of the greatness of the Christian chieftain. There was something fascinating in his presence. His manner struck me as dignified, graceful and easy. He seated himself by my side at the window, and engaged me in conversation about the movements of our West- ern army, while the President read, in silence, the dispatches of your father. These two historic figures, together in the capital of the Confederacy, — the one chattingpleasantlywith a young and unknown officer, the other engrossed with the last formal papers of the ranking general in the field of the Con- federate forces after their retreat, and on the eve of a pitched battle on chosen ground, — fastened themselves on the canvas of my memory in bright and lasting colors. Listening to the pleasing tones of the general's voice, I watched at the same time, with eager interest, the countenance of the President, as he read the clear, strong and frank expression of his old friend and comrade, full of facts, and breathing sentiments of the noblest spirit. There was softness then in his face; and as hise3'ewas raised from the paper, there seemed a tenderness in its expression, bordering on tears, surprising and pleasing at that critical juncture in the civil and military leader of a peo- ple inarms. " Next day the President handed me his dispatches, which were delivered to the general at Corinth, as he was preparing for the field. "'How did the President receive you?' he asked in a play- ful way, as I handed him the dispatches. ' As the aide-de- camp of his friend,' was my response, in the same spirit; after which he made no further allusion to the mission." The following was the reply borne to General Johnston by Colonel Jack: "Richmond, Virginia, March 26, 1862. "ili?/ Bear General — Yours of the 18th inst. was this day delivered to me by your aide, Mr, Jack, I have read it with THREE YEABS OF CARNAGE. 831 much satisfaction. So far as the past is concerned, it but con- firms the conclusions at which I had already arrived. My confidence in you has never wavered, and I hope the public will soon give me credit for judgment rather than continue to arraign me for obstinacy. " You have done wonderfully well, and now I breathe easier in the assurance that you will be able to make a junction of your two armies. If you can meet the division of the enemy moving from the Tennessee before it can make a junction with that advancing from Nashville, the future will be brighter. If this cannot be done, our only hope is that the peo})le of the Southwest will rally en masse with their private arms, and thus enable you to oppose the vast army which will threaten the destruction of our country. - " I have hoped to be able to leave here for a short time, and would be much gratified to confer with you, and share your responsibilities. I might aid you in dDtaining troops; no one could hope to do more unless he underrated your military capacity. I write in great haste, and feel that it would be worse than useless to point out to you how much depends upon you. " May God bless you is the sincere prayer of your friend, "Jefferson Davis." The battle of Shiloh gloriously vindicated General John- ston, and thef obstinacy" of President Davis, in refusing to yield to popular clamor and remove him from command. On receiving the news from Shiloh, President Davis sent the following message to Congress: " To the Senate and House of Representatives, of the Confederate States of America: "The great importance of the new^s just received from Ten= nessee induces me to depart from the established usages, and to make to you this communication in advance of official reports. From official telegraphic dispatches, received from official sources, I am able to announce to j^ou, with entire con- fidence, that it has pleased Almighty God to crown the Con~ federate arms with a glorious and decisive victory over our invaders. m THJ3 DAVIS MEMORIAL "OLUMB. " On the morning of the 6th the converging columns of our army were combined by its commander-in-chief, General Albert Sidney Johnston, in an assault on the Federal army, then en- camped near Pittsburg, on the Tennessee river. "After a hard-fought battle of ten hours, the enemy was driven in disorder from his position, and pursued to the Ten- nessee river, where, under the cover of the gunboats, he was at the last accounts endeavoring to effect his retreat by aid of his transports. The details of this great battle are yet too few and incomplete to enable me to distinguish with merited praise all of those who may have conspicuously earned the right to such distinction, and I prefer to delay our own gratification in recommending them to your special notice, rather than incur the risk of wounding the feelings of any by failing to include them in the list. When such a victory has been won over troops as numerous, well disciplined, armed, and appointed, as those which have been so signally routed, we may well con- clude that one common spirit of unflinching bravery and devo- tion to our country's cause must have animated every breast from that of the commanding general to that of the humblest patriot who served in the ranks. There is enough in the con- tinued presence of invaders on our soil to chasten our exultation over this brilliant success, and to remind us of the grave duty of continued exertion until we shall extort from a proud and vain glorious enemy the reluctant acknowledgment of our right to self-government. " But an all-wise Creator has been pleased, while vouchsaf- ing to us his countenance in battle, to afflict us with a severe dispensation, to which wo must bow in humble submission. The last, long, lingering hope has disappeared, and it is but too true that General Albert Sidney Johnston is no more. The tale of his death is simply narrated in a dispatch from Colonel William Preston in the following words: " 'General Johnston fell yesterday, at half-past two o'clocJi, while leading a successful charge, turning the enemy's right and gaining a brillant victory. A minie-ball cut the artery of his leg, but he rode on until, from loss of blood, he fell exhausted, and died without pain in a few moments. Ilis body has been entrusted to me by General Beauregard, to be taken to New Orleans, and remain until instructions are received from his familv.' TRRFE YEARS OF CARNAOE. 3S3 " }>ly long and close friendship with this departed chieftain and patriot forbid me to trust myself in givinfr vent to the feelings which this intelligence has evoked. "Without doing injustice to the living, it may safely be said that our loss is irreparable. Among the shining hosts of the great and good, Avho now cluster around the banner of our country, tliere exists no purer spirit, no more heroic soul, than that of the illustrious man whose death I join you in lamenting. " In his death he has illustrated the character for which through life he was conspicuous — that of singleness of pur- pose and devotion to duty with his whole energies. Bent on obtaining the victory, which he deemed essential to his coun- try's cause, he rode on to the accomplishment of his object, forgetful of self, while his very life-blood was fast ebbing away. His last breath cheered his comrades on to victory. The last sound he heard was their shout of victory. His last thought was his country, and long and deeply 'will his country mourn his loss. Jefferson Davis." Very similar to his friendship for Albert Sidney Johnston and his clinging to him when there was a cruel outcry against him, Vv^as his unwavering friendship for and confidence in Robert E. Lee, when, after his West Virginia campaign, he was so severely censured by the newspapers, and the feeling against him was so strong that nearly all of the officers on the South Carolina and Georgia sea coast signed a protest against his being placed in that important command. ^ The following correspondence between General Lee and the President after the battle of Gettysburg is honorable alike to both : Camp Orange, August 8th, 1863. '* il/i. President. — Your letters of July 2Sth and August 2d have been received, and I have waited for a leisure hour to reply, but i fear that will never come. I am extremely obliged to you for the attention given to the wants of this army, and the efforts made to supply them. Our absentees are return- ing, and I hope the earnest and beautiful appeal made to the UDuntry in your proclamation may stir up the whole people, 334 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. and that they may see their duty and perform it. Nothing is wanted but that their fortitude should equal their bravery to insure the success of our cause. "We must expect reverses ; even defeats. They are sent to teach us wisdom and prudence, to call forth greater energies, and to prevent our falling into greater disasters. Our people have only to be true and uni- ted, to bear manfully the misfortunes incident to war, and all will come right in the end. " I know how prone we are to censure, and how ready to blame others for the non-fulfillment of our expectations. This is unbecoming in a generous people, and I grieve to see its expression. The general remedy for the want of success in a military commander is his removal. This is natural, and in many instances proper; for no matter what may be the abil- ity of the officer, if he loses the confidence of his troops, dis- aster must sooner or later ensue. " I have been prompted by these reflections more than once since my return from Pennsylvania to propose to your Excel- lency the propriety of selecting another commander for this army. I have seen and heard of expressions of discontent in the public journals as to the result of the expedition. I do not know how far this feeling extends in the army. ]\Iy brother officers have been too kind to report it, and so far, the troops have been too generous to exhibit it. It is fair, however, to suppose that it does exist and success is so necessary to us that nothing should be risked to secure it. I, therefore, in all sincerity, request your Excellency to take measures to supply my place. I do this with the more earnestness, because no one is more aware than myself of my inability for the duties of my position. I cannot even accom- plish what I myself desire. How can I fulfill the expectations of others? In addition I sensibly feel the growing failure of my bodily strength. I have not yet recovered from the attack I experienced the past spring. I am becoming more and more incapable of exertion, and am thus prevented from making the personal examination and giving the personal supervision to the operations in the field which I feel to be necessary. I am so dull that in making use of the eyes of others I am fre- quently misled. Everything, therefore, points to the advan- tages to be derived from a new commander, and I the more anxiously urge the matter upon your Excellency from my THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE, 33-5 belief that a younger and abler man than myself can readily be obtained. I know that he will have as gallant and brave an army as ever existed to second his efforts, and it would be the happiest day of my life to'see at its head a worthy leader — one that would accomplish more than I could perform and all that I have wished. I hope your Excellency will attribute my request to the true reason — the desire to serve my country and to do all in my power to insure the success of her righteous cause. " I have no complaints to make of any one but myself I have received nothing but kindness from those above me, and the most considerate attentions from my comrades and com- panions in arms. To your Excellency I am especially in- debted for uniform kindness and consideration. You have done everything in your power to aid me in the work com- mitted to my charge without omitting anything to promote the general welfare. I pray that j'otir efforts may at length be crowned with. success, and that you may long live to enjoy the thanks of a grateful people. " With sentiments of great esteem, I am very respectfully and truly yours, "E. E. Lee, General. " His Excellency Jefferson Davis, '^ President of Confederate States." ' "Richmond, Va., August 11, 1863. " General B. E. Lee, Commanding Army of Northern Virginia : " Yours of the 8th instant has just been received. I am glad that you concur so entirely with me as to th« wants of our country in this trying hour, and am happy to add that after the first depression consequent upon our disasters in tlie West indications have appeared that our people will exhibit that fortitude which we agree in believing is alone needful to secure ultimate success. "It w^ell became Sidney Johnston, when overwhelmed by a senseless clamor, to admit the rule that success is the test of merit; and yet there has been nothing which I have found to require a greater effort of patience than to bear the criticisms of the ignorant, who pronounce everything a fnilure which does not equal their expectations or desires, and can see no good result which is not in the line of their own imaginings. 338 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME, I admit the propriety of your conclusions that an officer who loses the confidence of his troops should have his position changed, whatever may be his ability; but when I read the sentence I was not at all prepared for the application you were about to make. Expressions of discontent in the public jour- nals furnish but little evidence of the sentiment of the army, I wish it were otherwise, even though all the abuse of myself should be accepted as the results of honest observation, " Were you capable of stooping to it, j^ou could easily surround yourself with those who would fill the press with your lauda- tions, and seek to exalt you for what you had not done, rather than detract from the achievements which will make you and your army the subject of history and object of the world's admiration for generations to come. " I am truly sorry to know that you still feel the effects of the illness yousuff"ered last spring, and can readily understand the embarrassments you experience in using the eyes of others, having been so much accustomed to make your own recon- noissances. Practice will, however, do much to relieve that embarrassment, and the minute knowledge of the country which you had acquired will render you less dependent for topographical information. " But suppose, my dear friend, that I were to admit, with all their implications, the points which 3'ou present, where am I to find that new commander who is to possess the greater ability which you believe to be required ? I do not doubt the readiness with which you would give way to one who could accomplish all that 5'ou have wished, and you will do me the justice to believe that if Providence should kindly offer such a person for our use I would not hesitate to avail [myself] ot his services. "My sight is not sufficiently penetrating to discover such hidden merit, if it exists, and I have but used to you the lan- guage of sober earnestness, when I have impressed upon you the propriety of avoiding all unnecessary exposure to danger, because I felt our country could not bear to lose you. To ask me to substitute you by some one in my judgment more fit to command, or who would possess more of the con- fidence of the army, or of the reflecting men of the country, is to demand an impossibility. *' It only remains for me to hope that you will take all pes- THREE YE Alls OP CAHNAOE. S37 sible care of yourself, that your health and strength may be entirely restored, and that the Lord Mill preserve you for the important duties devolved upon you in the struggle ot our suf- fering country for the independence of which we have engaged in war to maintain. As ever, very respectfully and truly, , "Jeff'x Davis." We do not know how wx can better illustrate the life and character of this great man during this eventful period than by giving the recollections of him of men who w^ere in posi- tion to see and know him intimately. RECOLLECTIONS OF UNITED STATES SENATOR JOHN H. REAGAN, FORMER CONFEDERATE POSTMASTER-GENERAL. The following from the Baltimore Sun will be found of great interest and value : " Washington, December G. ' Senator Keagan, of Texas, who was Postmaster-General of the Southern Confederac}', was seated in his comfortable library on P street when a representative of the Sun was announced. The Senator had before him several letters which he had recently received from Mr, Davis. He said that Mr. Davis had been so generally misunderstood that any- thing said iii( his behalf might be subjected to the same mis- construction. The public had the impression that Mr. Davis was an austere and arbitrary man, when just the reverse "^'as the case. He had two characters — one fur public affairs and one for his personal and private relations. He was not hasty at forming conclusions, and was ever ready to receive sugges- tions from his friends and political advisers. 'I remember well the first cabinet meeting I attended,' said the Senator. ' Mr. Davis then informed his advisers that he wanted us to be as frank with him as he would be with us.' In the prepara- tion of his messages to Congress he invited the fullest and freest discussion of the subjects treated. I remember well one of his favorite remnrks, and that was, 'if a paper can't stand the criticism of its friends it will be in a ba on whose personal staff he served, and with whom he was most intimately associated : "I had know very little of Mr. Davis personally previous to 1860, Of course his history as a soldier and statesman was well known to all men who had read of the Mexican war and had. kept posted in the politics of the country. But the Con- federacy was the era from which I date our friendship, " I was elected Governor of the State of Texas in August, 1861, a few months after commencement of hostilities between the States. As soon after as it was possible, I hastened to Richmond that I might confer with the President of the Con.r federate States, and learn from him how I could best aid the Confederacy. On arriving at Richmond I found Mr. Davis absent from the city, and with the army, I proceeded to join him and returned with him to the seat of government. The interview was most interesting to me. He imparted much information as to his future plans of operation, suggesting ways in which the governors of the several States could strengthen the power and further the onward march of the ('onfederacy without impairing their rights or trenching upon their sovereignty. In a few days I returned to Texas, deter- mined to give to the government of the Confederate States every assistance in my power, "Having signified my determination to enter the army at the expiration of my gubernatorial term the President did me S4S THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. the honor on the 5th of November, 1863, the day my term expired, to appoint me assistant adjutant-general in the Con- federate army with rank of lieutenant-colonel, and I was on that day assigned to duty by Lieutenant-General E. Kirby Smith, commanding tlie Trans-Mississippi department. " In June, 1864, while with the army in Louisiana, I was nominated by the President of the Confederate States and confirmed by the Senate to be an aide to the President with rank of colonel of cavalry. I was advised by ]\Ir. Davis of my appointment and confirmation, which, as he said, was made without opportunity for consultation or information as to my wishes for the reason that he required at once the ser- vices of some one well informed as to the wants and demands of the Trans-Mississippi department. He desired, should I accept, that I would report to him as soon as convenient. In a very few hours after receiving my commission I left the army in Louisiana, and repairing to Pichmond reported for duty. Mj reception was all I could have desired. Mr. Davis, always kind and polite, assured me of his pleasure at my coming so promptly, and made me feel quite at home in his military family. "]\Iy first impression when I entered into his presence con- firmed my previously-forn:!cd opinion of his grand and digni- fied character, of his patriotism and devotion to the work to which he had been called by his people. Constant attendance day by day upon the Executive, which, in his office, or during his quite frequent visits to the field, the camp and the hospital founded in my heart a strong love for the man, and still more increased my admiration for the soldier and the statesman. Frequently visiting his home in Pichmond and seeing him with his talented and lovely wife and surrounded by his chil- dren, I knew him as the noble husband and affectionate Chris- tian parent. Beside the happiness of his family he appeared never to be concerned about anything but the welfare of his people.. From the day I took service with him to the very moment that we were separated, subsequent to our capture, I witnessed his unselfishness. lie forgot himself and displayed more self-abnegation than any human being I have ever known. While Commander-in-Chief, with thousands at his command, he always declined escorts and guards, and when cautioned about exposing himself to danger, he invariably replied: 'I have no fears fof myself,' and in the most unpre- tentious manner he would visit the lines of the army oftener with one aide than more. While fond of society he rarely, if ever, sought it during the war, it being his pleasant duty to give every hour of his time to his country. While burdened with weighty matters of state he was kindly attentive to all classes of people, lie was as polite and affable to the hum- blest soldier or his messenger boy as to the officer of higlicst rank in the army. For this reason he was loved by all who served near his person. He was always welcomed with great cordiality when visiting the troops in their quarters. " It has been asserted that he was harsh and severe to those with whom he differed. This is an entire misapprehension of his nature and disposition. Though tenacious of his own opinions and quite fixed in his judgment when formed, he seemed to me to be much 'more tolerant than other men of ability and power with whom I have been associated,' while others would be intolerant and very exacting during our strug- gle he would be the apologist of many who failed in their duty, treating delinquents with compassion and leiniency. " I shall not speak of him as an orator seldom equalled. As a conversationalist he surpassed all I have ever known. His accurate observations and extensive reading made him most charmingias a companion, and as a traveling companion the life of any party. After the war was over I had the plea- sure of accompanying him in England, France and Scotland. He would astonish the residents by his wonderful recitals of their great historical events both of peace and war. I remember on one occasion, in company with a party of Scotch friends, his description of their great battles and the knowledge of their battle-fields amazed his listeners. He quoted Burns and Scott repeatedly — he was verv fond of both authors — and this remark, afterwards incorporated in a book published in Scot- land, was made by one of the company : 'If Scott's works were destroyed they could be reproduced by the ex-President of the Confederate States.' "If, however, INIr. Davis was great during the war he was grand when disaster and defeat overtook the Confederate cause. I loved and admired him while in power; as the head of the • Lost Cause a captive in the liands of the foe I loved and admired him still. His great dignity and firmness of character did 856 TBB DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. honor to the people whom he represented, while his brav© resignation adorned the Christian religion. . No murmur escaped his lips, while the hot blood of indignation fired my heart and tongue at the indignities heaped upon him in his most trying hour. Since then, thank God, he has lived long enough to win the respect of his intelligent enemies by his manly bearing, and to secure the gratitude of his friends by giving to us a history that tells both sides of the great issues that divided the States. " And now, though deprived of his citizenship and made the mark at which the shafts of the 'bloody shirt' politicians arc hurled, he stands before the united country recognized as the greatest living man of the day ; and when he departs hence a great and good man, a Christian, pure and unsullied, will enter the better land in which his citizenship will not be denied him and where his noble soul can put forth full energy and be happy, while impartial history will fully accord to him greatness and goodness." "The above article was written more than five years ago. The end has come and our grand old chief has been laid to rest. The writer was present to look once again upon his noble features before they were forever shut from view. It was glo- rious to see how the States honored him. It was more glorious to see how the old veterans, the masses of men, the fair women, and the lovely children eager to strew with flowers the bier of their illustrious dead, flocked to the great city of the South- land where true hearts had made for him such princely obse- quies. "What homage to his name that so many of the States are contending for the possession of his very dust. Wherever it is laid it will be a sacred spot to be visited in after years by the lovers of constitutional liberty. Then, inspired by the voice that rises from that tomb, they shall consecrate anew their energies to the preservation of our government as bequeathed to us by our sires of the Revolution." THE CONDUCT OF THE WAR. It has been the custom of Northern writers to represent Mr. Davis as guilty of the utmost cruelty in the conduct of the war^ — of being knowingly and deliberately " guilty of the hor- Bust by Volck, from which the Confederate Postage Stamp was engraved during the Coufedcrucy. Orisinal in the possession of W. SK^Davies, Lee Gallery, lUchmond, Va. m TSS DAVIS MBMOmAL VOLVMR rors of Anderson ville"- — and of violating in the cojiduct of tliS war not cnly ilio principles of States' rights, for which he contended, but the usages of civilized warfare as well. Never v/as there a charge with less foundation made — never a bolder effort to falsity history by attempting to fix on the Con- federate government the iniquities of which the Federal government was guilty. The accomplished editor of the Kaleigh News and Observer well puts it when he says : " It is profitless to discuss how far any measure of the Con- federate government was right or wrong, but as for ]\Ir. Davis, lie had the responsibility; he had full knowledge of all the circumstances; he had the general plan of the whole war from Texas to the Potomac to subserve and watch and to carry out. It is to our glory that there was no Fort Lafayette at the South. It is to the honor of the Confederate government that no Con- federate secretary ever could touch a bell and send a citizen to jjrison." On the floor of the House of Representatives in 1876, Hon. James Blaine, of ]\Iaine, made a furious attack on Mr, Davis as ** the author of the crimes of Anderson ville." Hon. B. II. Hill, of Georgia, was, fortunately for the truth of history, a member of the House and made an able, eloquent, and perfectly triumphant reply to IMr. Blaine, in which he completely vindicated the name and fame of the great Con- federate leader. The author was at that time secretary of the Southern His* torical Society, and in two successive numbers of the Soulhcrn Historical Society Papers (March and April, 187G,) we took up and discussed the whole question of the '' Treatment of Pri- soners During the War Between the States." "We published letters from ]\Ir. Davis, General Lee, Vice-President A. H. Stephens, the Confederate Commissioner of Exchange, Judge Kobcrt Ould, the report of the Confederate Congressional Com- mittec on the Treatment of Prisoners, statements of tho United THREE YurARS OF CARNAOE. 353 States Assistant Secretary of "War, Hon. Charles A. Dana, General B. F. Butler, General U. S. Grant, and a large number of others, and we closed our discussion with the following summing up of the points made; ""We think that we have established the following points: " 1. The laws of tlie Confederate Congress, the orders of tlie Vrar Department, the regulations of the Surgeon-Gene- ral, the action of our generals in the field, and the orders of those who had the immediate charge of the prisoners, all provided that prisoners in the hands of the Confederates should be kindly treated, supplied with the same rations which our soldiers had, and cared for when sick in hospitals placed on precUdy tlie same footing as the hospitals for Confederate soldiers. " 2. If these regulations were violated in individual instances, and if subordinates were sometimes cruel to prisoners, it was without the knowledge or consent of the Confederate govern- ment, Vv'hich always took f)rompt action on any case reported to Ihem. "3. If the prisoners failed to get their full rations and had those of inferior quality, the Confederate soldiers suffered in precisely the same way and to the same extent, and it resulted from that system of warfare adopted by the Federal authori- ties, whicl^ carried desolation and ruin to every part of the South they could reach, and which in starving the Confederates into submission brought the same evils upon their own meil in Southern prisons. "4. The mortality in Southern prisons (fearfully large, although over three ijcr cent, lei^s than the mortality in Nortliern prisons) resulted from causes beyond the control of our authori- ties — from epidemics, &c., which might have been avoided, or greatly mitigated, had not the Federal government declared medicines * contraband of war ' — refused the proposition of Judge Quid that each government should send its own sur- geons with medicines, hospital stores, &c., to minister to sol- diers in prison — declined his proposition to send medicines to its own men in Southern prisons, without being required to allow the Confederates the same privilege — refused to allo*v the Confederate government to buy medicines for gold, tobacco, or cotton, which it offered to jiledge its honor should be used only for Federal prisoners in its hands — refused to exchange 23 354 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. sick and wounded — and neglected from August to December, 1864, to accede to Judge Quid's proposition to send transpor- tation to Savannah and receive ivithout equivalent from ten to fifteen thousand Federal prisoners, notwithstanding the fact that this offer was accompanied with a statement of the utter inability of the Confederacy to provide for these prisoners and a detailed report of the fearful mortality at Andersonville, and that Judge Ould again and again urged compliance with his humane proposal. "5. We have proven, by the most unimpeachable testimony, that the sufferings of Confederate prisoners in Northern 'prison pens' were terrible beyond description — that they were starved in a land of plenty — that they were frozen where fuel and clothing were abundant — that ihey suffered untold horrors for want of medicines, hospital stores, and proper medical atten- tion — that they were shot by sentinels, beaten by officers, and subjected to the most cruel punishments upon the slightest pretexts — that friends at the North were refused the privilege of clothing their nakedness or feeding them when starving — and that these outrages were perpetrated not only with the full knowledge of, but under the orders of E. M. Stanton, United States Secretary of War. We have proven these things by Federal as well as Confederate testimon3^ "6. We have shown that all the suffering of prisoners on both sides could have been avoided by simply carrying out the terms of the cartel, and that for the failure to do this the Federal authorities alone were responsible; that the Confederate government originally proposed the cartel, and were always ready to carry it out in both letter and spirit ; that the Federal authorities observed its terms only so long as it was to their interest to do so, and then repudiated their plighted faith and proposed other terms, which were greatly to the disadvantage of the Confederates; that when the government at Richmond agreed to accept the hard terms of exchange offered them, these were at once repudiated by the Federal authorities ; that when Judge Ould agreed upon a new cartel with General Butler, Lieutenant-General Grant refused to approve it and Mr. Stanton repudiated it; and that the policy of the Federal government was to refuse all exchanges, while they 'fired the Northern heart' by placing the whole blame upon the 'rebels,' and by circulating the most heartrending stories of * rebel barbarity ' to prisoners. THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE. 855 "If either of the above points has not been made clear to any sincere seeker after the truth, we would be most happy to produce further testimony. And we hold ourselves prepared to maintain against all comers the truth of every proposition we have laid doivn in this discussion. Let the calm verdict of his- tory decide between the Confederate government and their calumniators." We had proof-slips of the above summary made, and sent them to leading newspapers and magazines all through the North with the request that they would, if they could, show the incorrectness of any point made or any statement given in the discussion. We have seen no serious attempt to refute any of the points made, and we still hold ourselves prepared to maintain them. In recent numbers of Beljord's Magazine there are papers from Mr. Davis himself in which he ably and triumphantly vindicates himself and the Confederacy against the charge of cruelty to prisoners. We would not revive the bitter memories of the war and shall not go into the revolting details; but it is due to the truth of history that we should say that while Sherman's march through Georgia and the Carolinas was one prolonged scene of pillage, arson, and outrage which will continue a dark blot on the name of "The Great Bummer," and Sheridan's devasta- tion of the Shenandoah Valley, concerning which he boasted that he had made the country such a waste " that a crow flying over would be compelled to carry his own rations," is utterly indefensible — we can point with just pride to the beautiful order for the protection of private property which General Lee issued in Pennsylvania, and to the conduct of our ragged, starving "Boys in Gray " there, which excited the wonder and admiration of the world. Professor Philip Stanhope Worsley, Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, England, in presenting to General R. E. Lee a copy of his "Translation of the Iliad of Homer," in Spen- 356 TSM; DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME, cerian stanza, wrote on the fly-leaf of the volume the following inscription : "To General R. E, Lee — the most stainless of living com- manders, and, except in fortune, the greatest — this volume is presented with the writer's earnest sympathy and respectful admiration." "The grand old bard that never dies, Receive liim in our Englisli tongue I I send tliee, but with weeping eyes, The story that he sung. " Thy Troy is fallen, thy dear land Is marred beneath the spoiler's heel. I cannot trust my trembling hand To write tlie things I feel. " Ah, realm of tombs ! But let her bear This blazon to the last of times : No nation rose so white and fair, Or fell so pure of crimes. " The widow's moan, the orphan's wail, Come round thee ; yet in truth be strong! Eternal right, though all else fail, Can never be made wrong. "An angel's heart, an angel's mouth. Not Homer's, could alone for me Hymn well the great Confederate South, Virginia first, and Lee. P. S. W." In the beautiful letter which General Lee wrote in reply he very gracefully brings out that this was a tribute to the Con- federacy and not to him : "Lexington, Virginia, February 10, 1866. "Mr. RS. Worsley: "My Dear Sir — I have received the copy of your translation of the 'Iliad,* which you so kindly presented to me. Its perusal has been my evening's recreation, and I have never enjoyed the beauty and grandeur of the poem more than a& recited by you. The translation is as truthful as powerful, and faithfully reproduces the imagery and rythm of the hold. orisrinal. THBEE YEAES OF CARNAGE. 357 "The undeserved compliment to myself in prose and verse, on the first leaves of the volume, I receive as your tribute to the merit of my countrymen who struggled for constitutional government. "AVith great respect, your obedient servant, [Signed] R. E. Lee." Mr. Davis always repudiated very indignantly the insinua- tion that he ever violated the principle of "States' Rights," or did anything that could be construed into even a willingness to usurp power which the Confederate constitution did not give him. General AV. T. Sherman made a statement to this effect, to which Mr. Davis made a reply so able and conclusive that we give it in full as printed in the Southern Historical Society Papers: PEESIDENT DAVIS IX REPLY TO GENERAL SHERMAN. [In our last issue, we noticed a slander which General W. T. Sherman was pleased to make against the ex-President of the Confederacy, and Mr. Davis's emphatic denial, and his chal- lenge of Sherman to produce the proof. The followmg letter, published in the Baltimore Sun, is not only an able and unanswerable reply to Sherman, but contains other matter which should have a place in our records, and be handed down for the use of the future historian. Ko wonder that General Sherman has throicn himself back on his dignity ( ? ! ), and declined to reply to this terrible but deserved excoriation.] Beauvoir, Mississippi, September 23, 1886. Colonel J. Thomas Schccrf, Baltimore, Maryland : My Dear Sir — At various times and from many of my friends, I have been asked to furnish a reply to General W. T. Sherman's so-called report to the War Department, and which the United States Senate ordered to be printed as " Ex. Doc. No. 36, Forty-eighth Congress, second session." I have been compelled by many causes to postpone my reply to these invi- tations, and have in some instances declined, for the time being, to undertake the labor. A continuing sense of the great injustice done to me, and to the people I represented, by the Senate's making the malicious assault of General Sherman 358 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL VME. a public document, and giving to his slander the iuDportance which necessarily attaches to an executive communication to' the Senate, has recefitly caused the request for a reply by me to be pressed with very great earnestness. For this reason I have decided to furnish my reply to you for publication in the Baltimore Bun. More than twenty years after the storm of war between the States had ceased and the waves of sectional strife had sunk to the condition of a calm, the public harmony was disturbed by a retired general of the army making a gratuitous and gross assault upon a private individual, living in absolute retirement, and who could only have attracted notice because he had been the representative of the Southern States, which, organized into a confederacy, had been a party to the war. The history of my public life bears evidence that I did all in my power to prevent the war; that I did nothing to precipi- tate collision ; that I did not seek the post of Chief Executive, but advised my friends that I preferred not to fill it. That history General Sherman may slanderously assail by his state- ments, but he cannot alter its consistency ; nor can the Repub- licans of the Senate change its unbroken story of faithful service to the Union of the constitution until, by the command of my sovereign State, I withdrew as her ambassador from the United States Senate. For all the acts of my public life as President of the Confederate States I am responsible at the bar of history, and must accept her verdict, which I shall do without the least apprehension that it will be swayed from truth by the malicious falsehoods of General Sherman, even when stamped as an " Ex. Doc." by the United States Senate. Before a gathering of ex-soldiers of the Union army, Gen- eral Sherman took occasion in the fall of 1884, to make accu- sations against me and to assert that he had personal means of information not possessed by others, and particularly that he had seen a letter written by myself, that he knew my hand- writing, and saw and identified my signature to the letter. The gravamen of his accusation was that the letter to which he referred " had passed between Jeff. Davis and a man whose name it would not do to mention, as he is now a member of the United States Senate," and that "in that letter he (I) said he would turn Lee's army against any State that might attempt to secede from the Southern Confederacy." The position of general of the United States army, which General Sherman had filled, demanded that immediate contradiction of that statement should be made, and to that end I published in the St. Louis Eejmblican the following denial : THREE YEABS OF CARNAGE, 35» "Beauvojk, MrssissiFPi, November 6, 1884. •* Editor SC L6\lU Mepltblkay. ;- " Dear Sir — I have to-night received the enclosed pub- lished account of remarks made by General W. T. Sherman, and ask the use of 3'our columns to notice only so much as par- ticularly refers to myself, and which is to be found in the fol- lowing extracts : " The following is taken from the St. Louis Republican : " * Frank P. Blair Post, G. A. R., opened their new hall, cor- ner Seventeenth and Olive streets, last night. " ' General Sherman addressed the assemblage. He had read letters which he believed had never been published, and which very few people had seen. These letters showed the rebellion to be more than a mere secession — it was a conspiracy most dire. Letters which had passed between Jeff. Davis and a man whose name it would not do to mention, as he is now a mem- ber of the United States Senate, had been seen by the speaker and showed Davis's position. He was not a secessionist. His object in starting the rebellion was not merely for the secession of the South, but to have this section of the country so that he could use it as a fulcrum from which to fire out his shot at the other sections of the country and compel the people to do as he w^uld have them. Jeff, Davis would have turned his hand against any State that would secede from the South after the South had seceded from the North, Had the rebellion suc- ceeded, General Sherman said, the people of the North would have all been slaves.' " The following is from the Globe-Democrat's report : " ' Referring to the late war, he said it was not, as was gene= rally understood, a war of secession from the United States, but a conspiracy. 'I have been behind the curtain,' said he, ' and I have seen letters that few others have seen, and have heard conversations that cannot be repeated, and I tell you that Jeff, Davis never was a secessionist. He was a conspira- tor. He did not care for separation from the United States. His object was to get a fulcrum from which to operate against the United States, and if he had succeeded he would to-day be the master spirit of the continent and you would be slaves. I have seen a letter from Jefferson Davis to a man whose name I cannot mention, because he is a United States Senator. I know Davis's writing and saw his signature, and in that letter 360 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL VME. he said lie would turn Lee's army against any State that might attempt to secede from the Southern Confederacy.' "This public assault, under the covert plea that it is based upon evidence which regard for a United States Senator does not permit him to present, will, to honorable minds, suggest the idea of irresponsible slander. " It is thus devolved upon me to say that the allegation of my ever having written such a letter as is described is unquali- fiedly false, and the assertion that I had any purpose or v/ish to destroy the liberty and equal rights of any State, either North or South, is a reckless, shameless falsehood, especially because it was generally known that for many years before, as well as daring the war between the States, I was an earnest advocate of the strict construction State-rights theory of Mr. Jefferson. What motive other than personal malignity can be conceived for so gross a libel? " If General Sherman has access to any letters purporting to have been written by me which will sustain his accusations, let him produce them, or wear the brand of a base slanderer. " Yours respectfully, *' Jeffekson Davis." The publication of the above letter attracted very general notice, and two interviews were had with General Sherman by reporters of the Globe-Democrat and from the St. Louis Chronicle. In the Glohe-Dcmocrat of November 25, 1884, General Sherman is reported as having said : " Whatever explanation I make will be made over my own signature. I do not propose to get into a fight with Jeff. Davis. * * When a man makes a news- paper statement he is never sure of being quoted correctly, but when he makes a statement in his own handwriting, he is sure of being placed in the right place." The St. Louis Chronicle of November 24, 1884, reports Gene- ral Sherman as saying : " This is an affair between two gentle- men. I will take my time about it and write to Mr. Davis himself. We will settle the matter between us." When asked by the reporter, " Llave the pa])ers misrepresented you in your remarks before the Frank Blair Post, G. A. K.?" he replied: " I say nothing about that. My reply to Mr. Davis will not be through the newspapers. They are not the arbiters of this question, nor the go-between for any dispute. I have nothing more to say." It is hardly necessary for me to say that General Sherman did not write to me, and we have not settled the matter between us otherwise than as I settled it by denouncing his statement THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE. 3G1 as false and himself as a slanderer. There the matter would have rested so far as I was concerned, and anything that Sher- man, on his own responsibility, might have afterwards said would have been treated by me with that silence which the mendacious utterings of an irresponsible slanderer deserved. But when the War Department of the United States was made the custodian of his slander, and the Republican Senators became its endorsers, and the statements made at the Frank Blair Post were lifted into official importance, it became a duty alike to myself and to the people I represented, to follow the slanders with my denial, and to expose alike its author and his endorsers. The United States Senate, by resolution offered by Senator Hawley, and debated during January 12 and 13, 1885, called upon the President of the United States " to communicate to the Senate a historical statement concerning the public policy of the executive department of the Confederate States during the late war of the rebellion, reported to have been lately filed in the War Department by General William T. Sherman." It was by means of that resolution that the slander was revived, and its utterer enabled to mould together a pretended founda- tion for his baseless utterance at the Frank Blair Post. While the matter was fresh in the memory and under the searching inquiry of the newspaper reporters. General Sherman repre- sented ^at he could not consistently give the name of the Senator to whom he said the letter had been written, and after every Senator from the Southern States had denied receiving any such letter, and many of them had expressed their belief that no such letter ever had been in existence, he failed to sus- tain his assertion by the production of proof of the existence of a letter from me such as he had alleged he had seen. After such full denial both by myself, the reputed writer, and by every Senator who could have been the receiver of that pre- tended letter, the Senate offered an opportunity to General Sherman to unload his slander deposited in the War Depart- ment, and to spread the vile mass on the files of the United States Senate. In the interval between the meeting at the Frank Blair Post in November, 1884, and January 6, 1885, Dr. H. C. Robbins, of Cresson, Ogle county, Illinois, loaned Sherman a letter which he said had been written by the late Alexander H. Stephens to the late Herschel V. Johnson, both now dead. Sherman being unable to verify his authority for the assertion made by him at the Frank Blair Post, this Stephens-Johnson letter was to be substituted for the Davis letter, which, with the circumstan- 362 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. tiality needful to one having little credibility, Sherman said he had seen, knew to be mine from his acquaintance with my handwriting, and appended to which he identified my signature. In view of the peremptory demand made for the letter, and in the absence of any answer as to where or when or in whose possession it was seen, a gentleman might hesitate to decide whether subterfuge were more paltry or absurd. The next attempt at deception was to represent the war records in confusion, but this device failed as signally as had the other misrepresentations of General Sherman. On the 12th of December, five days after the publication of his cer- tificate, the following press telegram swept that subterfuge away from him : " Washington, D. C, December 12. ** The statement that the rebellion archives, now in the War Department, are in confusion, and that if the Davis letter, to which General Sherman has referred, were there, it would take much time, and involve great search to find it, is erronous. The archives have all been gone over thoroughly in the preparation of the War Records in progress of publication, and persons in charge of the archives, and who have a knowledge of their con- tents, Bay that no such letter as that spoken of by General Sherman is now there, or has ever been there." It is apparent, then, that Sherman never saAV any such letter of mine as that which he said he had read and identified by my signature, and that the Stephens-Johnson letter was acquired after the speech had been made, and was seized upon to create a pretext upon which he could excuse his falsehood. The conclusive proof which had come to light by denials from Senators of having received from me any such letter, and by their denying that they had ever heard any such opinions expressed by me, placed Sherman in a dilemma from which to advance invoh^ed further falsehood, and from which retreat was only possible with humiliation and disgrace. He selected the easier course, and went forward with falsehood attending every step. In his letter to the War Department, of January 6, 1885, he says he found my letter at Raleigh, North Carolina, saying: " Among the books collected at the capitol in Raleigh was a clerk's or secretary's copy-book, containing loose sheets and letters, among which was the particular letter of Mr. Davis to which I referred in my St. Louis speech, and notwithstanding," he said, " I gave it little attention at the time," yet he claimed twenty odd years after that he could recall its expressions and THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE. 363 repeat its purport. He said that the Stephens-Johnson letter was the letter, and here's " the original,^^ but he reported to the War Department that " the particular letter of Mr. Davis" was found by him in Raleigh. Senator Vance, upon hearing of the alleged Raleigh letter, promptly denied all knowledge of it, and wrote to the Washing- ton Post, under date of December 13, 1885, that : "Every letter ever written to me on a political topic by President Davis is to be found faithfully copied on the ofiicial letter-books of the executive department of North Carolina. Those letter-books were taken from me by General Sherman's troops at the closing of the war, and are now in possession of the War Department in this city. Aside from the letter- books. General Sherman never saw any letter addressed to me by President Davis. Although I have not seen those books and read their contents in almost twenty years, I am quite sure that no such letter can be found there. I could not have forgotten such a letter had it been received by me. The sug- gestion, therefore, that I am the person referred to in General Sherman's statement is entirely untrue. The attempt of some newspapers to give probability to this suggestion, by alleging that I was in bitter hostility whilst Governor of North Caro- lina to the administration of Mr. Davis, is based also upon a misrepresentation of the facts." Senator Vance at the same time sent to the Washington Post a copy of my letter to him of date November 1, 1862, which he said " contains no such expression as a threat against States attempting to secede from the Confederacy, but does contain this expression ; ' I feel grateful to you for the cordial manner in which you have sustained every proposition con- n'^cted with the public defence.' This much is due to truth. I do not wish to pose as a martyr to the circumstances of those times, or as one ready to turn upon his associates after defeat. I desire to take my full share of responsibility for anything I did and said during those unhappy times. " Great as were the abilities, and high as were the courage and faithfulness of Mr. Davis, I have no disposition to load him with all the misfortunes of defeat." Before the publication of the above letter from Senator Vance in the Washington Post, interviews with Senator Vance had developed the fact that a correspondence had taken place during the war between Governor Vance and myself, and at that General Sherman also grasped as the foundation for his slander. A St. Louis Rrpublican reporter on the 15th of Decem- ber, 1884, asked General Sherman " Was Senator Vance, the 364 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. Senator referred to in your speech at the opening of the new headquarters of the Frank Blair Post ? " " Well, sir," said General Sherman, very slowly, '' I won't say that he wasn't." My alleged Raleigh letter has never been found. Sherman says it was sent to Nashville, Savannah, Washington and St. Louis, and may have been finally burned in Chicago in the great fire in 1871. But in all its travels no other person but Sherman saw it; not a single officer at any headquarters has been produced Y\^ho read it, and it passes belief that in the excitement of the closing days of the- war, and during my imprisonment, when every letter of mine was carefully ex- amined to find evidence upon which to convict and destroy me, that not an officer at all those headquarters should have read that letter. Every fair-minded man must therefore conclude that General Sherman stated at the Grand Army Post a willful and deliberate falsehood, and that his motive had its inspira- tion in that mean malice which has characterized his acts and writings in other respects towards the Southern people. A man so lost to every sense of truth deserved to receive the contempt of every one Avho values veracity, but Senator Hawley, in offering the resolution above quoted, said : " Personally, however, he did not hesitate to say that in a controversy be- tween Jefferson Davis and General Sherman he (Mr. Hawley) was on General Sherman's side all the time." High qualifi- cation that for an United States Senator, who may sit a judge in the Court of Impeachment, the highest tribunal of the land. I leave Mr. Hawley by General Sherman's side, with no de- sire whatever to have either one or the other on my side. Sena- tor Conger denied my equal citizenship with Sherman until " something " is done by me ; if that " something " to be done is to take such part as that filled by Sherman and his indorsers on this occasion, the described inequality must ever remain. Another Senator (Ingalls) evinced very great indignation be- cause " the Democratic party had in debate in the Senate taken sides with Jefferson Davis," and that " they had always in- dorsed him, always approved his course, and had declared that there was nothing wrong in his record that would convince posterity that he was not a man of honor and a patriot," and that " the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Morgan) and the Sena- tor from Missouri (Mr. Vest) had taken occasion to inform the Senate that there were millions of people in the United States to-day who loved Jefferson Davis, and to whom Jefferson Davis was endeared by the memory of common hardships, common privations and common calamities." It is not surprising that such expressions of confidence and regard should have been THREE YEARS OF CARNAGS. 865 drawn out in a cicbato upon a resolution which had for its pur- pose Iho endorsement l)y tlio Senate of a mean slander, which was known to be unfounded in truth, and important only as covering with the mantle of Ihe Senate the mendaciiy of a retired general of the army. The Senate having given vitality to Sherman's slander, a full rr^ply to the opinions and expressions therein is made, so that hereafter it may derive no credit even from its ofhcial char- acter. The so-called " historical statement concerning the public policy of the executive dcjiartment of the Confederate States," as Sherman's letter to the "War Department is headed in that "Ex. Doc," opens with the following statement: "That I (Sherman) had seen papers which convinced me that even Mr. Davis, the President of the Southern Confederacy, had, during the progress of the war, changed his State-rights doctrines, and had threatened to use force — even Lee's army — should any State of the Confederacy attempt to secede from that govern- ment." With the mental process by which General Sherman is " convinced," I have no concern, but the " ]3apers " in which he alleged that I "threatened" to use force against the States of the Confederacy, ought to be tangible and producible, and in an "historical statement," the Senate ought to have demanded the prodiiction of the proofs, and on the failure to produce them, and after denial by Senators who Sherman alleged had received them, such an "historical statement," already branded with falsehood and unsupported by evidence, ought to have been rejected with only wonder hoAV it got before the Senate. In the absence of all authority for the statement, or of any creditable witness. General Sherman asserts that I abandoned my State-rights doctrine, the unsupported assertion of a man whose reputation for veracity is not good, and who could have had no personal knowledge, must weigh light as a feather against all the testimony of my ofhcial life, as well as against the recollections of all those most intimately connected with me, not a few of whom criticised my strict adherence to the constitution and laws. His reiteration, even " a thousand times," will fail to convince any reasonable man that he did not know he never had seen any " papers " written by me threat- ening to use the army against any State of the Confederacy. In this connection, I may refer to my action when Kentucky was invaded by the United States army and her people pre- vented by military power from acting for themselves on the question of secession. My personal friend and family physi* 366 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. cian, Dr. A. Y, P, Garnett, of "Washington city, in a letter of the 17th of January last, recalls to my memory the application of himself and other friends to me to send military aid into Kentucky, there to support the friends of the Southern States. My letter of January 22d to Dr. Garnett, explains the princi- ples that guided me on that occasion. In that letter I said : "Yours of the 17th instant has this day been received and to your inquiry I reply that, though it is not in my power to recite the language employed in response to you and others who urged me to send Confederate troops into Kentucky to pre- vent the Federal government from intimidating the legislature and people of that State by a military occupation, and thus to prevent Kentucky from passing an ordinance of secession, I do well remember that to you, as to others, I answered substan- tially that I would not do such violence to the rights of the State. No one could have felt a deeper interest or more affec- tionate regard for Kentucky than I did, and it may well be that I did not believe the people of Kentucky, the State especially distinguished in the early period of her history for the asser- tion of State rights and State remedies, could be driven from the maintenance of a creed which had ever been her point of pride. " My answer, as correctly stated by you, shows that my decis- ion was not based on expediency, and however reluctant I may have been to reject the advice of yourself and other friends, in whose judgment and sincerity I had implicit confidence, I would not for all the considerations involved, disregard the limitations of our constitution and violate the cardinal prin- ciple which had been the guiding star of my political life." The use made by General Sherman of an extract from a "Southern paper" as evidence that I encouraged expressions of hostility to State sovereignty, and was thus preparing to sub- vert the very Confederacy of which I was President, has drawn forth from Mr. Nat. Tyler, the surviving editor of the Rich- mond (Va.) Enquirer, the following letter; "Washington, D. C, January 15, 1885. " Hon. Jefferson Davis : " Dear Sir — My attention has been called to an extract from the Richmond Enquirer, which has been incorporated by General W. T. Sherman in his letter of January 6, 1885, to the Secretary of War, and I have been asked if that extract is genu- ine. . I have no means at hand of ascertaining whether or not the extract is from the Enquirer ; but after carefully reading it, I am THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE. SG7 disposed to regard it as genuine. It truthfully represents the views of the editorial management of the Enquirer at that time. I witnessed the extraordinary efforts which the United States authorities were making for our conquest and subjugation, and I considered it to be the duty of our people to luake like sacri- fices for safety and liberty. The 'convention ' referred to in the extract was the convention proposed in North Carolina in the early part of 1864, in the contest for governor, between Mr. Holden and Governor Vance, and which had for its object to give opportunity of action to the incipient treason which was rife in that State under the leadership of Mr. Holden. The article from the Enquirer w^as intended to support Governor Vance and the Confederate cause, which the management of the paper regarded as paramount to all other considerations. I did not presume to speak for you or your administration, but to utter what I believed every true Confederate to hold — that the public defense demanded the exercise of every energy, and that all that hindered that defense should be swept away and remitted to more peaceful occa_sions. " The Enquirer is the ' public journal ' to which Mr. Stephens referred in his letter to Hon. H. V. Johnson, and which he rep- resents as the 'organ ' of your administration. I very distinctly remember hil^ coming to the office and lecturing the editors on their support of the measures for the public defense; but, as his views were visionary and impracticable, his temper excited, and his influence under a cloud, we gave to his person all re-' spect and to his advice the least attention that was possible. He was a good man and a true and zealous Confederate, but his * balance ' was decidedly out of plumb in the last year of the war, and in politics he wabbled whenever he discussed public affairs. I have always believed if you had assumed 'absolute power,' shot deserters and hung traitors, seized supplies and brought to the front every man capable of bearing arms, that a different result of the war might have been obtained. But your very sensitive respect for constitution and law, for the rights and sovereignties of States, is attested by the fact that the wildest license was allowed to the press, and that, right under your nose, to use INIr. Stephens's expression, the Examiner daily expressed sentiments of opposition to your measures, which, if any newspaper in the United States had dared to publish against Mr. Lincoln's recommendations, its editor would have been promptly imprisoned. By any comparison that can be made between your administration and that of President Lincoln, history will award to you far more respect for the essential features of personal liberty, for deference paid m TSE DA VIS MEMOltlAL VOL VMM. to State authority, and for respect shown for constitutional restraint. "With the best wishes for your continued good health, I am, dear sir, your sincere friend, "Nat. Tyler." It is apparent that this so-called *' historical statement " had been seen by Republican Senators, and that they were not ignorant of its real character when the Hawley resolution was under discussion in the Senate. Those Senators then knew that General Sherman had, in his letter of January 6, 1885, to the Secretary of War, changed the issue between us from one of veracity to a rambling, shuffling discussion of a "conspi- racy " and of " conspirators " in the winter of 1860-'61, and that which at the Frank Blair Post may have been "a ivhitelie," not intended for publication, came before the Senate as an " his- torical statement," bolstered with other falsehoods equally with- out foundation or support in anything written or uttered by me. It now survives as an " Ex. Doc." of picturesque prevari- cation. I know nothing of any " conspiracy " or of any "conspira- tors." There was no secrecy about any of the political affairs which led to the secession of the States in 1860-'61. There was no possibility of any concealment. The people were ad- vised by the press, they acted knowingly, and the results, through all their various phases, were necessarily known to the people, by whom they were ratified and confirmed. To talk now of conspiracy and conspirators is shallow nonsense, and notwithstanding Sherman says that he " was approached by a number of the Knights of the Golden Circle," that accusation will be dismissed as the coinage of political demagogues. If Sherman was approached by " conspirators " they knew their man ; they may have heard of his conversation at Vicksburg, his expressions of approval of Southern action, his talk of the " d — d Yankees " to Governor Roper, and such expressions, and may have regarded him as a fit conspirator with themselves. No man ever insulted me by approaching me with suggestions of conspiracy. As to the action taken at the conference of some of the Southern Senators in January, 1861, and which is introduced in this "historical statement" as evidence of a "conspiracy," it is only necessary to say to those Senators who, in the debate on the Hawley resolution, referred to the letter of D. L. Yulee to Joseph Finnegan, and the resolutions attached thereto, that the resolutions were forwarded to the conventions of the States THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE. 369 then in session, and that they were the resolutions of Senators representing those States conveying to the. conventions of the States the views of tlie Senators, Those resolutions were not discovered by General Sherman ; they were not dug up from beneath the sod in any yard through which he marched. They were necessarily public since they were sent to conventions of the States, and they were printed in the newspapers. To speak of such action as a conspiracy, as Senator Sherman did in the debate on the Hawley resolution, shows to what defense he was driven to assist his brother out of the mire of mendacity in which he Avas floundering. It was the opinion of that conference, in 1861, that secession was the only remedy left to the States ; that every effort to preserve peace had failed, mainly through the action of th^t portion of the Republican party which refused all propositions for adjustment made by those who sought, in January, 1861, to justify confidence, insure peace, and preserve the Union. In the same month in which that conference was held, I served on a committee raised by the Senate to seek some possible mode of quelling the excitement that then existed. That committee was composed of the three political divisions of the Senate, and it was considered useless to report any measure which did not receive the (Concurrence of at least a majority of e'ach divi- sion. The Republican Senators rejected every proposition that promised pacification, and the committee reported to the Sen- ate that their consultation was a failure. Was there less con- spiracy in the Republican senators combining to prevent paci- fication than there was in Southern Senators uniting in confer- ence to advise the conventions of their States that their cause was hopeless in Washington? Mr. Douglas^ of Illinois, assailed the Republican side of the Senate for their refusal to accept any terms that were offered to them, and demanded to know what they proposed to do, and in that connection referred to Senator Toombs and myself as having been willing to accept the line of 36° 30', or the Missouri compromise, and that the Republican Senators rejected the proposition. Which were the conspirators, the Senators who offered the Missouri compromise for the sake of peace, or the Senators who rejected that offering in order to enjoy ''a little blood-letting?" The venerable Senator Crittenden, of the committee, used all his power and influence on the side of the peaceful efforts of the Southern Senators, and not unfrequently expressed himself in the most decided terms as to the conduct of the opposition. Party necessity may attri- bute the actions of the Southern Senators to conspiracy, but his- tory will treat the actors of those days as they deserve, and to 24 g70 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. her verdict, in common witli my compatriots in that trying hour, the issue is re/erred. The epithets which Senator Sherman in the dehate applied to myself, are his mode of retaliation for my denunciation of his brother. I have been compelled to prove General Sherman to be a falsifier and a slanderer in order to protect my charac- ter and reputation from his willful and unscrupulous menda- city. If his brother, the Senator, felt the sting of that expo- sure, and his epithets are any relief, I am content that he shall go on the record as denouncing me as a " traitor" because I have proved his brother to be a liar. As the Republican party renounced the issue of treason when it abandoned my trial in 1867, not at my instance, but in face of my defiance, its leaders of the present day but stultify them- selves in the cry of traitor which they raise at the mention of my name. This is more a matter of trafl&c than of argument, but as it serves to keep alive the issues and prejudices of the war period, it is a device which, as politicians, they may not like to abandon. It is not surprising that the politicians of a party which, in the mad fury of its passions, deliberately hung a harmless and helpless woman, should continue to keep warm their malice against an old soldier, and long a civil official, by the frequent use of epithets. If it affords them any relief, it costs me so little concern that it would be uncharitable to deny them the enjoyment they take in hurling epithets at me, a game in which any fishwoman might successfully compete. The Senate, when about to give its sanction to General Sher- man's "' historical statement," ought, in fairness, to have de- manded of him the production of the verifying letters, papers, and information within his knowledge or possession. He says in that "Ex. Doc": ''But of him (myself) I have personal knowledge, not meant for publication, but to become a part of the ' Traditions of the Civil War,' which the Grand Army of the Republic will preserve.' What fair and honorable purpose could the Senate have had in sanctioning such a base and in- flamous inuendo, as that above quoted from page 3 of the "Ex. Doc"? If that "personal knowledge" is withheld from publi- cation for the purposes of future slanders, surely the Senate ought not -to have made itself a party to that malice which hides its slanders until their subject shall have passed away, and contradiction and exposure become difficult, if not impos- sible. But I am not apprehensive of Sherman's additions to the "Traditions of the Civil War ;" he stands pilloried before the public and all future history as an imbecile scold or an in- famous slanderer — as either, he is harmless. THtt:^E YEAHS of carnage. 371 The statement on page 3, that a box containing private papers of mine was found at the house of my brother, Joseph E. Davis, is untrue. The error in the place where a box was seized by his j^iUagers woukl not have been material if made by a truthful man, but when an habitual falsifier falls into even a slight error of locality, it is not surprising that he should be suspected of having intentionally fixed upon my brother's residence to give point and probability to some other falsehood. The box of papers was found at a farmer's house several miles away from my brother's and the box did not con- tain a single letter written to me or by me at Montfiomenj. There- fore Sherman's statement that he abstracted from that box three letters which had been written to me by loyal officers of the United States army, and returned to the writers to protect them from the suspicion of complicity with the government of Montgomery, can have no other foundation in truth than, probably, the discovery of letters written at former times and received by me before the inauguration of the Confederate government at Montgomery. It is due to the memory of the late Alexander H. Stephens, whose letter to Herschel V. Johnson has been, made the founda- tion for this viij^e assault upon myself, to say, that if the letter is genuine, and has not been altered to serve Sherman's malice against myself, that it was written under excitement and Avheu disappointment and apprehension of our overthrow had influ- enced his judgment and opinion, and that this private letter, written under its attending circumstances, never intended for publication, and expressing hasty opinions, will not be allowed to cast its shadow over the carefully prepared history of the war which Mr. Stephens has left to inform posterity of his views of public men and measures. I will be pardoned for extracting from Mr. Stephens's " War between the States" remarks comjilimentary to myself, since they completely refute the purpose for which the Johnson letter has been produced. In Volume II, page 624-5, commenting upon the meeting at the African church, in Richmond after the unsuccessful effort for peace in Hampton Roads, Mr. Stephens says : " Many who had heard this master of oratory in his most brilliant displays in the Senate and on the hustings said they never before saw Mr. Davis so really majestic ! The occasion and the etTects of the speech, as well as all the circamslancea under which it Avas made, caused the minds of not a few to revert to appeals by Rienzi and Demosthenes. " However much I admired the heroism of the sentiment ex- pressed, yet in his general views or policy to be pursued in the 372 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. then situation I could not concur. I doubt not that all — the President, the Cabinet and Congress — did the very best they coidd, from their own convictions of what was best to be done at the time." In the same volume, on page 657, Mr. Stephens speaks of me as a man " of very strong convictions and great earnestness of purpose." In a conversation had during the summer of 1863, which was reduced to writing at the time, Mr, Stephens said:. " The hardships growing out of our military arrangements are not the fault of the President j * * * they are due to his sub- ordinates." In October of the same year, (" Life of A. H. Stephens," by Johnson & Browne, pages 445-47,) he wrote to a friend who had asked what would be his probable course in the event of the death of myself, as follows : "I should regard the death of the President as the greatest posdhle 'public calamity. What I should do I know not. A large number of prominent and active men in the country * * would distrust my ability to conduct affairs successfully. They have now, and would have, no confidence in my judgment or ca- 'pacity for the position that such an untimely misfortune would cast upon me." These passages (and others might be selected from the writ- ings of Mr. Stephens since the war) bear voluntary and invol- untary testimony to my character and motives, and more than answer the complaints contained in the letter to Mr. H. V. Johnson, and in the canvass just preceding his death. Mr. Stephens said that the only difference between us during the war was as to the policy of shipping the cotton crop of 1861 to Europe. That criticism, when made by another, was fully an- swered by Mr. Trenholm and Mr. Memminger, the two secreta- ries of the Confederate States treasury, in which they very clearly showed that the cotton crop of 1861 had been mainly exported before the Confederate government was formed, and that if reference was made to any later crop, the Confederacy had no ships in which to export it, and the blockade prevented, to a great extent, foreign ships from taking the cotton out. The ^'secret message" which is printed in this "historical state- ment" was communicated to the Confederate States Congress, and recommended the suspension of \h.Q v^'xit oi habeas corpus. The reasons for that recommendation are fully set forth in the message. It was an application to Congress for authority to suspend the writ, and it was within the constitutional power of Congress to grant the authority. It was a measure of public defense against schemes and plots of enemies which could not THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE. 373 be reached under the process of law. On two occasions was that extraordinary remedy resorted to, and each was by author- ity of Congress. But even when the writ was suspended, no head of any cabinet department kept a "little bell," the tinkle of which consigned to prison men like Teackle Wallis, George William Brown, John Merrtman, Charles Ploward, Judge Car- michael dragged otf. the bench, and which became as fearful to the people as the letters-de cachet of the tyrants of Paris. Mar- tial law followed the armies of the United States, and provost marshals were often the judges that passed upon the person and property of ladies, children and old men, and the venerable Chief Justice Taney was not spared the humiliation of seeing even the Supreme Court of the United States brought to under- stand that the civil had become subordinate to the military authority. The conscript law in the Confederate States, and the draft in the United States, were measures adopted by the respective Congresses, and not acts of either Mr. Lincoln or myself. They were both measures of public defense, intended to equalize the burden of military duty, as far as it was compatible with the public defense. As well might we leave revenue to be provided by voluntary contribution, instead of by general taxation, or the roads to be worked by the willing and industrious, instead of distributing the burden equitably over the whole people. Yet the Senators that callea for this "historical statement" will hardly hold that President Lincoln was seeking a dictatorship because he enforced the draft. This "historical statement " might nave been enlarged and extended by the Senate, and made to embrace the deliberate misrepresentation by General Sherman of the Communication to him by Colonel J. D. Stevenson, in regard to Albert Sidney Johnston's command m San Francisco.- In- a letter to Colonel William H. Knight, of Cincinnati, Ohio, dated October 28, 1884, General Sherman asserted that "Colonel J. D. Stevenson, now living in San Francisco, has often told me that he had cautioned the government as to a plot or conspiracy, through the department commander, Albert Sidney Johnston, to deliver possession of the forts, etc., to men in California sympathizing with the rebels in the South, and he thinks it was by his advice that the President (Lincoln) sent General E.V.Sumner to relieve Johnston of his command before the conspiracy was consummated." That statement of Sherman, the veteran Colonel J. D. Stevenson promptly and emphatically denied, say- ing: "The history of this matter was published fully and in detail in the San Francisco Evening Post in its issue of October 874 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 9, 1880. What reports General Keyes may have made to the authorities at Washington, I do not know ; but that the removal cf General Johnston was the means of preventing a Pacific republic, I do not for an instant believe; for neither at the tune of General Sumner's taking command and relieving Gen- eral Johnston, nor at any time afterward, do I believe any uprising or conspiracy was contemplated." Colonel Stevenson adds that General Sumner held General Albert Sidney John- ston to be " a soldier, a gentleman and an honorable man ; he is incapable of betraying a trust." That slander against General Albert Sidney Johnston was as equally unnecessary and as uncalled for as the wholly gratuitious assault upon myself. General Grant himself has not been exempt from Sherman's malice. To Colonel Scott, Sherman wrote, " if C. J. Smith had lived Grant would have disappeared to history." This remark- able statement was published by General Fry and pointedly and emphatically denied by General Sherman. Prompt to slander, he is equally quick to deny his language. The letter of Sherman dated September 6, 1883, was wa-itten to Colonel Scott, now of the War Record office. The denial of Sherman has caused the publication of the letter and exposure of his hypocrisy in recent laudation of the dead chieftain. The deliberate falsehood which Sherman inserted in his official report, that Columbia, South Carolina, had been burned by General Wade Hampton, was afterwards confessed in his " Memoirs " to have been " distinctly charged on General Wade Hampton to shake the faith of his people in him." Even when confessing one falsehood he deliberately coined another, and on the same page of his "Memoirs" said that the fire "was accidental," when he knew from the letter of General Stone, who commanded the provost guard in Columbia, that the fire was not accidental. How much more he knew, he may in future " Memoirs " or " statements " reveal. Can any man imagine less moral character, less conception of truth, less regard for what an official report should contain, than is shown by Sherman deliberately concocting a falsehood for the dishonorable purpose of shaking the faith of the peo- ple of South Carolina in their fellow-citizen, General Wade Hampton ? His election to be governor of that State by the votes of a larger majority of her people of every race than was ever polled before or since ; his elevation to the Senate of the United States, and the respect, admiration, and regard which is shown to him, must be particularly vexing to the Shermans, and may have suggested to the general to " hedge " in his " Memoirs " and confess his wrong-doing. Such an act of pen- THREE YEARS OF CARNAGE. 375 ance, if it brought true and genuine repentance, would have protected the memory of Albert Sidney Johnston, the fame of General Grant, and my own reputation from the slanders which called forth this exposure. It would also have prevented the United States Senate from having indorsed a falsehood, which is liable to be confessed when another volume of " Me- moirs " shall be prepared. I have in this vindication, not of myself only, but also of the people who honored me with the highest official position in their gift, been compelled to group together instances of re- peated falsehoods deliberately spoken and written by General Sherman — the Blair Post slander of myself, the defamation of the character of General Albert Sidney Johnston, the dispar- agement of the military fame of General Grant, and the shame- ful and corrupt charge against General Hampton. I have prepared this examination and exposure only because the Sen- ate of the United States has given to Sherman's slander an indorsement which gives it whatever claims it may have to attention and of power to mislead in the future. Having spe- cifically stamped the statement as false, having proved its author to be an habitual slanderer, and not having a partisan sec- retary to make ^ place for this noticeof a personal tirade, which was neither an official report nor record made during the war, so as to entitle it to be received at the office of archives, I sub- mit it to the public through the columns of a newspaper which discountenances foul play and misrepresentation, and which was kind and just to me in saying in its issue of January 14, 1885 : " The Sherman statement was altogether one-sided ; Mr. Davis had yet to be heard from, and for the Republicans of the Senate to force a snap judgment upon the Sherman statement without hearing what Mr. Davis had to say about it, smacks more of the political partisan than of the fair-minded adver- saiy." The public, through The Sun, has this, my reply, and can dispense its " even-handed justice " with full knowledge of the facts. Very smcereiy yours, Jeffekson DAVig» XVI. CLOSE OF THE WAR— CAPTURE AND IMPRISONMENT. It is useless to speculate now as to how near the Confed' eracy came to success, and why it did not succeed. There are those who believe that if the routed "grand army" at first Manassas had been vigorously pursued — as Mr. Davis was anxious should be done — we would have easily captured Washington and ended the war by that brilliant campaign. Stonewall Jackson always believed this, and it is said that while his wound was being dressed on that day he threw aside the surgeons, when seeing the President approaching with Generals Johnston and Beauregard, and tossing nis old cadet cap in the air, enthusiastically exclaimed : " Here comes the President ! Hurrah for the President ! ! Give me ten thousand men and I'll be in AVashington to-night!!!" Some of the ablest of our military critics believe — General Lee himself died believing and Mr. Davis always firmly believed — that if Lee's orders had been obeyed at Gettysburg the Army of Northern Virginia would have won a decisive victory, the Army of the Potomac would have been routed, Baltimore and Washington (if not Philadelphia and New York) would have been captured, and the independence of the Con- federacy established. Under the caption of ''Within a Stone's Throw of Indepen- dence at Gettysburg" there was published in the Southern His- iorical Society Papers an article from a member of the Britislj CLOSE OF THE WAR. 377 Parliament, in which he said that not long before the battle of Gettysburg, Disraeli had determined to introduce resolutions acknowledging the Southern Confederacy — that he had tho- roughly prepared himself for a great speech on the subject — and that the whole matter had been canvassed among the members, and the resolutions would have passed by an over- whelming vote — but that on the very day before the one fixed for their introduction news came of Lee's defeat at Gettysburg and the capture of Vicksburg, and it was determined to indefi- nitely postpone the measure. But several distinguished Fed- eral generals have stated that just after the battle of second Cold Harbor, in June, 1864, was the time when the Confederacy was nearest independence. General Grant had made his campaign from the Rapidan and in that series of terrific battles had been foiled at every point, had lost more men than General Lee had, until after the terrible slaughter at Cold Harbor his brave men refused to obey orders to make another attack, and (as Swinton puts it in his "Army of the Potomac") "the immobile lines pronounced a verdict silent but emphatic against further slaughter." The statement is that after this battle, and the complete demonstration of the fact that Grant could no longer " fight it out on this line," Mr. Lincoln became very much discouraged and had decided that "the time had come for negotiations," and had directed Mr. Seward to prepare a proclamation to this effect, but that before the proclamation was issued more favor- able news came from Sherman and it was suppressed. Whether this statement is true we cannot say — though it is made on very high authority and we believe it — but we do affirm that after Cold Harbor our army was in high spirits and our government and people decidedly hopeful, and there seems but little doubt that if the other Confederate armies could have maintained themselves as well as did the Army of Northern Virginia we should have WOQ. 878 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. But General Grant with his immense army sat down to the siege of Petersburg — a position which he might have taken at first without firing a shot or losing a man — and with illimit- able resources of men and supplies continued his campaign of "attrition" all of the summer and autumn and winter, until our army dwindled to 35,000 men to guard forty miles of breastworks and oppose 140,000 splendidly equipped and abundantly supplied men, and our thin lines " were stretched until they broke," and the sad end came. Meantime Sher- man's capture of Atlanta and march through Georgia and the Carolinas, and Hood's disastrous campaign into Tennessee had sealed the fate of the Confederacy. But amid all of these disasters President Davis was calm, brave, and determined. We give as illustrating his view of the situation in March, 1865, the last message he ever sent to Congress* PRESIDENT DAVIS'S LAST MESS> " To the Senate and House of Representatives of the Confederate States of America: " When informed on Thursday last that it was the intention of Congress to adjourn sine die on the ensuing Saturday, I deemed it my duty to request a postponement of the adjourn- ment, in order that I might submit for your consideration, certain matters of public interest which are now laid before you. When that request was made, the most important meas- ures that had occupied your attention during the session had not been so far advanced as to be submitted for Executive action, and the state of the country had been so materially affected by the events of the last four months as to evince the necessity of further and more energetic legislation than was contemplated in November last. " Our country is now environed with perils which it is our duty calmly to contemplate. Thus alone can the measures necessary to avert threatened calamities be wisely and eff].^ giently enforced, CLOSE OF THE WAR. 379 " Recent military operations of the enemy liave been suc- cessful in the capture of some of our seaports, in interrupting some of our lines of communication, and in devastating large districts of our country. These events have had the natural effect of encouraging our foes and dispiriting many of our people. The capital of the Confederate States is now threat- ened, and is in greater danger than it has heretofore been during the war. The fact is stated without reserve or conceal- ment, as due to the people whose servants we are, and in whose courage and constancy entire trust is reposed as due to you, in whose wisdom and resolute spirit the people have confided for the adoption of the measures required to guard them from threatened perils. " While stating to you that our country is in danger, I desire also to state my deliberate conviction that it is within our power to avert the calamities which menace us, and to secure the triumph of the sacred cause for which so much sacrifice has been made, so much suffering endured, so many precious lives been Idgt. This result is to be obtained by fortitude, by courage, by constancy in endurmg the sacrifices still needed ; in a word, by the prompt and resolute devotion of the whole resources of men and money in the Confederacy to the achieve- ment of our liberties and independence. " The measures now required, to be successful, should be prompt. Long deliberation and protracted debate over impor- tant measures are not only natural, but laudable, in repre- sentative assemblies under ordinary circumstances; but in moments of danger, when action becomes urgent, the delay thus caused is itself a new source of peril. Thus it has unfor- tunately happened that some of the measures passed by you in pursuance of the recommendations contained in rny mes- sage of November last, have been so retarded as to lose much of their value, or have, for the same reason, been abandoned after being matured, because no longer applicable to our altered condition ; and others have not been brought under examination. In making these remarks, it is far from my intention to attribute the loss of time to any other causes than those inherent in deliberative assemblies, but only urgently to recommend prompt action upon the measures now submitted. " We need, for carrying on the war successfully, men and supplies for the army. We have both within our country sufiicient to attain success. 380 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. " To obtain the supplies it is necessary to protect productiv& districts, guard our lines of communication by an increase in the number of our forces; and hence it results, that with a large augmentation in the number of men in the army, the facility of supplying the troops would be greater than with our recent reduced strength. -« " For the purchase of supplies now required, especially for the armies in Virginia and North Carolina, the treasury must be provided with means, and a modification in the impressment law is required. It has been ascertained by examination that we have within our reach a sufficiency of what is most needed for the army, and without having recourse to the ample provision existing in those parts of the Confederacy with which our communication has been partially interrupted b}' hostile ope- rations. But in some districts from which supplies are to be drawn the inhabitants, being either within the enemy's lines or in very close proximity, are unable to make use of Confede- rate treasur}^ notes for the purchase of articles of prime neces- sity; and it is necessary that, to some extent, coin be paid in order to obtain supplies. It is, therefore, recommended that Congress devise the means for making available the coin with- in the Confederacy for the purpose of supplying the army. The ofiicers of the supply departments report that, with two millions of dollars in coin, the armies in Virginia and North Carolina can be amply supplied for the remainder of the year; and the knowledge of this fact should suffice to insure the adoption of the measures necessary to obtain this moderate sum. '' The impressment law, as it now exists, prohibits the public officers from impressing supplies without making payment of the valuation at the time of impressment. The limit fixed for the issue of treasury notes has been nearly reached, and the treasury cannot easily furnish the funds necessary for prompt payment, while the law for raising revenue, which would have afforded means for diminishing, if not removing this difficulty, w^as unfortunately delayed for several months, and has just been signed. In this condition of things it is impossible to supply the army, although ample stores may exist in the country, wdienever the owners refuse to give credit to the public officer. It is necessary that this restriction on the power of impressment be removed. The power is admitted to be objectionable, liable to abuse, and unequal in its opera- CLOSE OF THE WAlt. 381 tionon individuals; yet all these objections must yield to abso- lute necessity. It is also suggested that the system of valua- tion now established ought to be radically changed. The legislation requires, in such cases of impressment, that tho market price be paid; but there is really no market price in many cases, and then valuation is made arbitrarily and in a depreciated currency. The result is that the most extravagant prices are fixed, such as no one expects ever to be paid in coin. None believe that the government can ever redeem in coin the obligation to pay fifty dollars a bushel for corn, or seven hundred dollars a barrel for flour. It would seem to be more just and appropriate to estimate the supplies impressed at their value in coin, to give the obligation of the government for the payment of the price in coin, with reasonable interest, or, at the option of the creditor, to return in kind the wheat and corn impressed, with a reasonable interest, also payable in kind; and to make the obligations thus issued receivable for all payments "due in coin to the government. Whatever be the value attached by Congress to these suggestions, it is hoped that there will be no hesitation in so changing the law as to render it possible to supply the army in case of necessity by the impressment of provisions for that purpose. "The measure adopted to raise revenue, though liberal in its provisions, being clearly inadequate to meet the arrears of debt and current expenditures, some degree of embarrassment in the management of the finances must continue to be felt. It is to be regretted, I think, that the recommendation of the Secretary of the Treasury of a tax on agricultural income equal to the augmented tax on other incomes, payable in trea- sury notes, was rejected by Congress. This tax would have contributed materially to facilitate the purchase of provisions and diminish the necessity that is now felt for a supply of coin. "The measures passed by Congress during the session for recruiting the army and supplying the additional force needed for the public defense have been, in my judgment, insufficient, and I am impelled by a profound conviction of duty, and stim- ulated by a sense of the perils which surround our country, to urge upon you additional legislation upon this subject. " The bill for employing negroes for soldiers hasnot yet reach- ed me, though the printed journals of your proceedings inform S82 THE DAVIS MEMOMIAL VOLUME. me of its passage. Much benefit is anticipated from this meas- ure, though far less than would have resulted from its adoption at an earlier date, so as to afford time for their organization and instruction during the winter months. "The bill for diminishing the number of exempts has just been made the subject of a special message, and its provisions are such as would add no strength to the army. The recom- mendation to abolish all class exemptions has not met your favor, although still deemed by me a valuable and important measure; and the number of men exempted by a new clause in the act thus passed is believed to be quite equal to that of those whose exemption is revoked. A law of a few lines repeal- ing all class exemptions would nob only strengthen the forces in the field, but be still more beneficial by abating the natural discontent and jealousy created in the army by the existence of classes privileged by law to remain in places of safety while their fellow-citizens are exposed in the trenches and the field. "The measure most needed, however, at the present time, for affording an effective increase to our military strength, is a general militia law, such as the constitution authorizes Con- gress to pass, by granting to it power 'to provide for organiz- ing, arming, and disciplining the militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the Confederate States,' and the further power 'to provide for call- ing forth the militia to execute the laws of the Confederate States, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions.' The ne- cessity for the exercise of this power can never exist if not in the circumstances that now surround us. The security of the States against any encroachment by the Confederate govern- ment is amply provided for b}'' the constitution, by 'reserving to the States, respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress.' "A law is needed to prescribe not oniy how,andof whatper- sons, the militia are to be organized, but to provide the mode of calling them out. If instances be required to show the necessity of such general law, it is sufficient to mention that, in one case, I have been informed by the governor of a State that the law does not permit him to call the militia from one county for service in another ; so that a single brigade of the enemy could traverse the State, and devastate each county in turn, CLOSE OP THE WAR. 383 ■without any power on the part of the Executive to use the mi- litia for effective defence; while in another State the Executive refused to allow the militia * to be emplo3'ed in the service of the Confederate States/ in the absence of a law for that purpose. "I have heretofore, in a confidential message to the two houses, stated the facts which induced me to consider it neces- sary that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus should be suspended. The conviction of the necessity of this measure has become deeper as the events of the struggle have been developed. Congress has not concurred with me in opinion. It is my duty to say that the time has arrived when the suspen- sion of the writ is not simply advisable and expedient, but almost indispensable to the successful conduct of the war. On Con- gress must rest the responsibility of declining to exercise a power conferred by the constitution as a means of public safety, to be used in periods of national peril resulting from foreign invasion. If our present circumstances are not such as were contemplated when this power was conferred, I confess myself at a loss to imagine any contingency in which this clause of the constitution will not remain a dead letter. "With the prompt adoption of the measures above recom- mended, and the united and hearty cooperation of Congress and the people in the execution of the laws and defense of the country, we may enter upon the present campaign with cheer- ful confidence in the result. And who can doubt the con- tinued existence of that spirit and fortitude in the people, and of that constancy under reverses which alone are needed to render our triumph secure? What other resource remains available but the undying, unconquerable resolve to be free? It has become certain, beyond all doubt or question, that we must continue this struggle to a successful issue or must make abject and unconditional submission to such terms as it shall please the conqueror to impose on us after our surrender. If a possible doubt could exist after the conference between our commissioners and Mr. Lincoln, as recently reported to you, it would be dispelled by a recent occurrence, of which it is proper you should be informed. " Congress will remember that in the conference above referred to our commissioners W'ere informed that the government of the United States would not enter into any agreement or treat}' what- ever with the Confederate States nor with any single State, and 384 TUS DA Vis MEMOBIAL VOL VMK that the only possible mode of obtaining peace was by laying down our arms, disbanding our forces, and yielding uncondi- tional obedience to the laws of the United States, including those passed for the confiscation of our property and the constitu- tional amendment for the abolition of slavery. It will further be remembered that Mr. Lincoln declared that the only terms on which hostilities could cease were those stated in his mes- sage of December last, in which we were informed that in the event of our penitent submission he would temper justice with mercy, and that the question whether we would be governed as dependent territories or permitted to have a representa- tion in their Congress was one on which he could promise nothing, but which would be decided by their Congress after our submission had been accepted. *'Ithas not, however, been hitherto stated to you that in the course of the conference at Fortress Monroe a suggestion was made by one of our commissioners that the objections enter- tained by Mr. Lincoln to treating with the government of the Confederacy, or with any separate State^ might be avoided by substituting for the usual mode of negotiating through com- missioners, or other diplomatic agents, the method sometimes employed of a military convention, to be entered into by the commanding generals of the armies of the two belligerents. This, he admitted, was a power possessed by him, though it was not thought commensurate with all the questions involved. As he did not accept the suggestion when made, he was after- wards requested to reconsider his conclusion upon the subject of a suspension of hostilities, which he agreed to do, but said that he had maturely considered of the plan and had deter- mined that it could not be done. *' Subsequently, however, an interview with General Long- street was asked for by General Ord, commanding the enemy's Army of the James, during which General Longstreet was informed by him that there was a possibility of arriving at a satisfactory adjustment of the present unhappy difficulties by means of a military convention, and that if General Lee desired an interview on the subject, it would not be declined, provided General Lee had authority to act. This communication was supposed to be the consequence of the suggestion referred to, and General Lee, according to instructions, wrote to General Grant, on the 2d of this month, proposing to meet him for CLOSE OF THE WAR. 885 conference on the subject, and stating that he was vested with the requisite authority. General Grant's reply stated that he had no authority to accede to the proposed conference ; that his powers extended only to making a convention on subjects purely of a military character, and that General Ord could •only have meant that an interview would not be refused on any subject on which he (General Grant) had the right to act. " It thus appears that neither with the Confederate author- ities, nor the authorities of any State, nor through the com- manding generals, will the government of the United States treat or make any terms or agreement whatever for the cesso- tion of hostilities. There remains then for us no choice but to continue this contest to a final issue ; for the people of the Confederacy can be but little known to him who supposes it possible they would ever consent to purchase, at the cost of degradation and slavery, permission to live in a country gar- risoned by their own negroes and governed by officers sent by the conqueror to rule over them. "Having thus fully placed before you the information requi- site to enable you to judge of the state of the country, the dangers to which we are exposed, and the measures of legisla- tion needed for averting them, it remains for me but to invoke' your attention to the consideration of those means by which, above all others, we may hope to escape the calamities that would result from our failure. Prominent above all others, is the necessity for earnest and cordial cooperation between all departments of government, State and Confederate, and all eminent citizens throughout the Confederacy. To you, especi- ally, as Senators and Representatives, do the people look for encouragement and counsel. To your action, not only in leg- islative halls, but in your homes, will their eyes be turned for the example of what is befittingmen who, by willing sacrifices on the altar of freedom, show that they are worthy to enjoy its blessings. I feel full of confidence that you will concur with me in the conviction that your public duties will not be ended when you shall have closed the legislative labors of the session, but that your voice will be heard cheering and encouraging the people to that persistent fortitude which they have hitherto displayed, and animating them by the manifes- tation of that serene confidence which, in moments of public danger, is the distinctive characteristic of the patriot, who 25 386 THE DA VIS MEMOBIAL VOL UME. derives courage from his devotion to his country's destiny, and is thus enabled to inspire the like courage in others. "Tlius united in a common and holy cause, rising above all selfish considerations, rendering all our means and faculties: tributary to the country's welfare, let us bow submissively tO' the Divine will, and reverently invoke the blessing of our. Heavenly Father, that as He protected and guided our sires when struggling in a similar cause, so He will enable us to guard safely our altars and firesides, and maintain inviolate the political rights which we inherited. "Jefferson Davis." "Richmond, March 13, 1865." We have not space for the full details, but we give the salient points in the "Peace Negotiations" of this period in the follow- ing documents: EXTRACT from: A LETTER OF PRESIDENT DAVIS TO GOV. VANCE, OF NORTH CAROLINA. "We have made three distinct efforts to communicate with the authorities at Washington, and have been invariably un- successful. Commissioners were sent before hostilities were begun, and the Washington government refused to receive them or hear what they had to say. A second time, I sent a military officer with a communication addressed by myself to President Lincoln. The letter was received by General Scott, who did not permit the officer to see Mr. Lincoln, but promised tliat an answer would be sent. No answer has ever been re- ceived. The third time, a few months ago, a gentleman was sent, whose position, character, and reputation were such as to ensure his reception, if the enemy were not determined to re- ceive no proposals whatever from the government. Vice-Pres- ident Stephens made a patriotic tender of his services in the hope of being able to promote the cause of humanity, and, although little belief was entertained of his success, I cheerfully yielded to his suggestions, that the experiment should be tried. The enemy refused to let him pass through their lines or hold any conference with them. He was stopped before he ever reached Fortress Monroe, on his way to Washington. CLOSE OF THE WAR. 387 "If we will break up our government, dissolve the Confed- erac}', disband our armies, emancipate our slaves, take an oath of allegiance, binding ourselves to obedience to him and (jf dis- loyalty to our own States, he proposes to pardon us, and not to plunder us of any thing more tlian the property already stolen from us, and such slaves as still remain. In order to render his proposals so insulting as to secure their rejection, ho joins to them a promise to support with his army one-tenth of the people of any State who will attempt to set up a government over the other nine-tenths, thus seeking to sow discord and suspicion among the people of the several States, and to excite them to civil war in furtherance of his ends. I know well it would be impossible to get your people, if they possessed full knowledge of these facts, to consent that proi)Osals should now be made by us to those who control the government at Wash- ington. Your own well-known devotion to the great cause of liberty ariii independence, to which we have all committed whatever we have of earthly possessions, would induce you to take the lead in repelling the bare thought of abject submis- sion to the enemy. Yet peace on other terms is now impossible." The famous "Hampton Hoads Conference" was hold as the result of a visit of Hon. Francis P. Blair to Richmond, agd its failure was thus made known by President Davis : MESSAGE CONCERNING THE PEACE COXFERENCE. " To the Senate and House of Representatives oj the Confederate States of America : "Having recently received a written notification, which sat isfied me that the President of the United States was disposed to confer, informally, with unofficial agents that might be sent by me, with a view to the restoration of peace, I requested Hon. Alexander H. Stephens, Hon. R. M. T. Hunter, and Hon. John A. Campbell, to proceed through our lines, to hold a conference with Mr. Lincoln, or such persons as he might depute to represent him. "I herewith submit, for the information of Congress, the re- port of the eminent citizens above named, showing that the enemy refuse to enter into negotiations with the Confederate 388 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. States, or any one of them separately, or to give our people any other terms or guarantees than those vvhich a conqueror may grant, or permit us to have peace on any other basis than our unconditional submission to their rule, coupled with the acceptance of their recent legislation, including en amendment to the constitution for the emancipation of the negro slaves, and with the right, on the part of the Federal Congress, to legislate on the subject of the relations between the white and black population of each State. "Such is, as I understand, the effect of the amendment to the constitution, which has been adopted by the Congress of the United States. Jefferson Davis." ''Executive Office, Feb. 5, 1865." "Richmond, Ya., February 5, 1865. " 7o the President of the Confederate States : "Sir, — Under your letter of appointment of the 28th ultimo we proceeded to seek an informal conference with Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, upon the subject men- tioned in your letter. "The conference was granted, and took place on the Sd instant, on board a steamer anchored in Hampton Roads, whefe we met President Lincoln and Hon. Mr. Seward, Secre- tary of State of the United States. It continued for several hours, and was both full and explicit. " AVe learned from them that the message of President Lin- coln to the Congress of the United States, in December last, explains clearly and distinctly, his sentiments as to terms, conditions, and method of proceeding by which peace can be secured to the people, and we were not informed that they would be modified or altered to obtain that end. AVe under- stood from him that no terms or proposals of any treaty or agreement looking to an ultimate settlement would be enter- tained or made by him with the authorities of the Confederate States, because that would be a recognition of their existence as a separate power, which, under no circumstances, would be done; and, for like reasons, that no such terms would be entertained by him from States separately ; that no extended truce or armistice, as at present advised, would be granted or allowed without satisfactory assurance, in advance, of com- plete restoration of the authority of the constitution and laws of CLOSE OF THE WAR. S69 the United States over all places within the States of the Con- federacy ; that whatever consequences may follow from tlie re- establishment of that authority must be accepted, but the indi- viduals subject to pains and penalties, under the laws of the United States, might rely upon a very liberal use of the power confided to him to remit those pains and penalties if peace be restored. " During the conference the proposed amendments to the constitution of the United States, adopted by Congress on the 31st ultimo, were brought to our notice. These amendments provide that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except for crime, should exist within the United States or any place within their jurisdiction, and that Congress should have the power to enforce this amendment by appropriate legislation. "Of all the correspondence that preceded the conference herein^ mentioned, and leading to the same, you have hereto- fore been informed. "Very respectfully, your obedient servants, "Alex. H. Stephens, "K M. T. Hunter,' "J. A. Campbell. There can be no sort of doubt that the Federal government offered at this time only "unconditional surrender" — that neither the army nor the people were prepared for this — and that Mr. Davis was right in refusing to accept the hard con- ditions. But at last the end came, and while Mr. Davis was occupy- ing his pew in St. Paul's churcli, on Sunday morning, April 2d, 1865, there was handed him a telegram from General Lee announcing the breaking of his lines at Petersburg, and the necessity of evacuating Richmond and Petersburg that night. The sensational stories that have been published to the effect that he hastily left the church, looking so pale as to attract attention — that he hurried home to pack his own personal effects, and that he impressed for his private use cars that were needed for the public service — are all like so many other stories about Mr. Davis, 'pure romance. 390 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. We give his own statement, as published in his " Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government," and if any statement oi this stainless gentleman needed corroborating, we could mul- tiply the recollections of eye-witnesses confirming what he says. But we append the following account from him in the full confidence that it will be accepted by all right thinking men : " On Sunday, the 2d of April, while I was in St. Paul's church. General Lee's telegram announcing his speedy with- drawal from Petersburg and the consequent necessity for evac- uating Richmond was handed to me. I quietly rose and left the church. The occurrence probably attracted attention, but the people of Richmond had been loo long beleaguered, had known me too often to receive notice of threatened attacks, and the congregation at St. Paul's vv^as too refined to make a scftue at anticipated danger. For all these reasons the reader will be prepared for the announcement that the sensational stories wliich have been published about the agitation caused by my leaving the church during service were the creations of fertile imaginations. I went to my office and assembled the heads of departments and bureaus, as far as they could be found on a day when all the offices were closed, and gave the needful instructions for our removal that night, simultaneously with General Lee's withdrawal from Petersburg. The event was not unforeseen and some j)reparation had been made for it, though, as it came sooner than was expected, there was yet much to be done. My own papers were disposed as usual for convenient reference in the transaction of current affairs, and as soon as the principal officers had left me the executive papers were arranged for removal. This occupied myself and staff until late in the afternoon. By this time the report that Richmond was to be evacuated had spread through the town, and many wdio saw me walking toward my residence left their houses to inquire whether the report was true. Upon my admission of the painful fact, qualified, however, by the ex- pression of my hope that we would under better auspices again return, the ladies especially, with generous s^mipathy and patriotic impulse, responded : *If the success of the cause requires you to give up Richmond, we are couteat.' ft. '-' r" rn ■5 3 :2. 392 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL U3IE, "The affection and confidence of this noble people in the hour of disaster were more distressing to me than complaint and unjust censure would have been. ''In view of the diminishing resources of the country on which the Army of Northern Virginia relied for supplies, I had urged the policy of sending families as far as practicable to the south and west, and had set the example by requiring my own to go. If it was practicable and desirable to hold the south side of the James, then, even for merely material consider- ations, it was important to hold Richmond, and this could best have been done if there had been none there save those who could aid in its defense. If it was not practicable and desira- ble to hold the south side of the James, then Richmond would be isolated, and if it could have been defended, its depots, foun- dries, workshops, and mills could have contributed nothing to the armies outside, and its possession would no longer have been to us of military importance. Ours being a struggle for existence, the indulgence of sentiment would have been mis- placed. "Being alone in Richmond the few arrangements needful for my personal wants were soon made after reaching home. Then, leaving all else in care of the housekeeper, I waited until noti- fied of the time when the train would depart; then, going to the station, started for Danville, whither I supposed General Lee would proceed with his army." Equally false is the charge that Mr. Davis had ordered to Richmond a train loaded with provisions intended to be left for General Lee's army at Amelia Courthouse. General I. M. St. John, the able and accomplished commissary-general at the time, has proven beyond peradventure, in a paper published in Southern Historical Society Papers, that his department received no request for rations to be sent to Amelia Courthouse, and that if such a request had come from General Lee it could have been very easily done, and the rations would have been put there. And yet it is true that General Lee did direct rations to be accumulated at Amelia Courthouse — that he was very much disappointed in not finding them there — and that the delay in CLOSE OF THE WAR. 393 the vain effort to collect rations from the surrounding country enabled Grano to reach Burkeville in time to cut Lee off from his contemplated move on Danville. Who was responsible for this failure will probably never be known, at least with sufficient accuracy to publish it; but it is certain that neither Mr. Davis nor General St. John were blameworthy. Mr. Davis went straight to Danville where he established his headquarters, and from which he issued his famous proclama- tion which, (while it is easy to ridicule it now, and of which he himself said in his book, " viewed by the light of subsequent events, it may fairly |be said it was over-sanguine,") so shows the spirit^of the man that we give it in full as follows: "Danville, Va., April 5, 1865. "The General-in-Chief found it necessary to make Such movements of his troops as to uncover the capital. It would be unwise to conceal the moral and material injury to our cause resulting from the occupation of our capital by the enemy. It is equally unwise and unworthy of us to allow our own ener- gies to falter, and our efforts to become relaxed under reverses, however calamitous they may be. For many months the largest and finest army of the Confederacy, under a leader whose presence inspires equal confidence in the troops and the people, has been greatly trammeled by the necessity of keeping constant watch over the approaches to the capital, and has thus been forced to forego more than one opportunity for promising en- terprise. It is for us, my countrymen, to show by our bearing under reverses, how wretched has been the self-deception of those who have believed us less able to endure misfortune with fortitude than to encounter danger with courage. "We have now entered upon a new phase of the struggle. Relieved from the necessity of guarding particular points, our army will be free to move from point to point, to strike the enemy in detail far from his base. Let us but will it, and we are free. "Animated by that confidence in your spirit and fortitude which never yet failed me, I announce to you, fellow-country- 394 TITE DAVIS MEMOKIAL VOLVME. men, that it is my purpose to maintain your cause with my whole heart and soul; that I will never consent to abandon to the enemy one foot of the soil of any of the States of the Con- federacy; that Virginia — noble State — whose ancient renown has been eclipsed by her still more glorious recent history; whose bosom has been bared to receive the main shock of this war; whose sons and daughters have exhibited heroism so sub- lime as to render her illustrious in all time.tocome — that A^ir- ginia, with the help of the people, and by the blessing of Prov- idence, shall be held and defended, and no peace ever be made with the infamous invaders other territory. "If, by the stress of numbers, we should be compelled to a temporary withdrawal from her limits, or those of any other border State, we Avill return until the baffled and exhausted enemy shall abandon in despair his endless and impossible task of making slaves of a people resolved to be free. "Let us, then, not despond, my countrymen, but, relying on God, meet the foe with fresh defiance, and with unconquered and unconquerable hearts. "Jefferson Davis." The first news of General Lee's surrender reached Mr. Davis through Lieutenant John S. Wise (son of General Henry A. Wise), then a mere youth, who, when he became satisfied that the surrender would occur, rode through the enemy's lines, went to Danville, and informed the President of it. This was, of course, a great disappointment and grief to him, but he bore himself grandly, and still hoped that with Johnston's army he could strike an effectual blow for freedom. A correspondent of the Hichmond Dispatch gives the follow- ing incident of Mr. Davis's leaving Danville : "Danville, A^a., December 11, 1889. " The occasion of Mr. Davis's funeral recalls most vividly to the old residents of Danville the sad and exciting times when the President of the Confederacy and his cabinet spent a few days in Danville, the last capital of the Confederate govern- ment. CLOSE OF THE WAB. 395 "Mr. Davis and his cabinet came to Danville early in April, 18G5, and made their headquarters at the residence of Major W. T. Suthcrlin. There they remained for three days, and the last proclamation of Mr. Davis was written on a table which still stands in the hall of Major Sutherlin's house and is, of course, the most highly honored piece of furniture in the house. "I had a chat last night with Mrs. Sutherlin concerning the stay of INIr, Davis in her house, and every little incident is still fresh in her memory. Said she: '"When Mr. Davis had been at our house for three days he said that he could not impose on our hospitality longer, and made arrangements to establish his headquarters at the old Benedict house, on Wilson street. I told him that he might take his cabinet to any place he pleased, but as for himself he must be our guest so long as he remained in the city, and he yielded to the request, lie remained here five days after that time, and was, of course, in a most anxious frame of mind, but was always pleasant and agreeable. One morning he and Mr. Sutherlin went down town and soon returned in an excited manner, and I knew something had happened. I met them at the door, and Mr. Davis told me almost in a whisper that Lee had surrendered and that he must leave town as soon as possible. "'Making a few hurried arrangements, he offered his hand tome to say good-b}^ and I asked him the question: /Mr. Davis, have 3'oa any funds other than Confederate money?' and he replied in the negative. 'Then,' said I, offering him a bag of gold containing a thousand dollars, 'take this from me.' I offered the money without having consulted Mr. Suth- erlin, but knew it would be all right with him. '"Mr. Davis took my hand and the tears streamed down his face. 'No,' said he, 'I cannot take your money. You and your husband are young and will need your money, while I am an old man, and,' adding after a pause, 'I don't reckon I shall need anything very long.' '"He then put his hand in his pocket and took out a little gold pencil wd.ich he asked me to keep for his sake, and I have the little memento now.' She then sliowed the little mft to myself and others in the room and said she had never used it, but had always preserved it as a sacred gift. 396 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. "'When Mr. Davis had said good-by,' continued Mrs. Sutherlin, ' he hurried to the train and left town as soon as possible.' "'Did Mr. Davis think the war was then ended?' I asked. "'Not at all/ she replied. 'One day at the table I said to him: 'Mr. Davis, would Lee's surrender end the war?' and he replied: '"By no means. We'll fight it out to the Mississippi river.' And so said all his officers. I told them they were simply whistling to keep their courage up, but they said they meant what they said.' " MEETING OP MR. DAVIS AND HIS CABINET WITH GENERALS JOHNSTON AND BEAUREGARD AT GREENSRORO', N. C. Secretary S. R. Mallory has written a vivid account of a meeting of the cabinet at Greensboro', called to consult with Generals Johnston and Beauregard on "the situation." We quote as follows: " At 8 o'clock that evening the cabinet, with the exception of Mr. Trenholm, wdiose illness prevented his attendance, joined the President at his room. It was a small apartment, some twelve by sixteen feet, containing a bed, a few chairs, and a table, with writing materials, on the second floor of the small dwelling of Mrs. John Taylor Wood ; and a few minutes after eight the two generals entered. " The uniform habit of President Davis, in cabinet meet- ings, was to consume some little time in general conversation before entering upon the business of the occasion, and not unfre- quently introducing some anecdote or interesting episode, generally some reminiscence of the early life of himself or others in the army, the Mexican war, or his AVashington expe- riences ; and his manner of relating and his application of them were at all times very happy and pleasing. " Few men seized more readily upon the sprightly aspects of any transaction, or turned them to better account ; and his powers of mimicry, whenever he condescended to exercise them, were irresistible. Upon this occasion, at a time when the cause of the Confederacy was hopeless, when its soldiers were throwing away their arms and flying to their homes, CLOSE OF THE WAR. 397 when its government, stripped of nearly all power, could not hope to exist beyond a few days more, and when the enemy, more powerful and exultant than ever, was advancing upon all sides, true to his habit, he introduced several subjects of conversation, not connected with the condition of the country, and discussed them as if at some pleasant ordinary meeting. After a brief time thus spent, turning to General Johnston, he said, in his usual quiet, grave way, when entering upon matters of business: 'I have requested you and General Beauregard, General Johnston, to join us this evening, that we might have the benefit of your views upon the situation of tliie country. Of course, we all feel the magnitude of the moment. Our late disasters are terrible, but I do not think we should regard them as fatal. I think we can whip the enemy yet, if our people will turn out. We must look at matters calmly, how- ever, and see what is left for us to do. Whatever can be done must be done at once. We have not a day to lose.' A pause ensued. General Johnston not seeming to deem himself expected to speak, when the President said: 'We should like to hear your views. General Johnston.' Upon this the General, with- out preface, or introduction — his words translating the expres- sion which his face had worn since he entered the room — said, in his terse, concise, demonstrative way, as if seeking to con- dense thoughts that were crowding for utterance: 'My views are, sir, that our people are tired of the war, feel themselves whipped, and will not fight. Our country is overrun, its military resources greatly diminished, while the enemy's military power and resources were never greater, and may be increased to any desired extent. We cannot place another large army in the field ; and, cut off as we are from foreign intercourse, I do not see how we could maintain it in fighting condition if we had it. My men are daily deserting in large numbers, and are taking my artillery teams to aid their escape to their homes. Since Lee's defeat tney regard the war at an end. If I march out of North Carolina, her people will all leave my ranks. It will be the same as I proceed south through South Carolina and Georgia, and I shall ex})ect to retain no man beyond the by-road or cow-path that leads to his house. My small force is melting away like snow before the sun, and I am hopeless of recruiting it. AVe may, perhaps, obtain terms which we ought to accept.' 398^ THE DA VIS 3fEM0EIAL VOL mm " The tone and manner, almost spiteful, in which the general jerked out these brief, decisive sentences, pausing at every para- graph, left no doubt as to his own convictions. When he ceased speaking, whatever was thought of his statements — and their importance was fully understood — they elicited neither comment nor inquiry. The President, w4io, during their delivery, had sat with his eyes fixed upon a scrap of paper which he was folding and re-folding abstractedly, and who had listened without a change of position or expression, broke the silence by saying, in a low, even tone: ' What do you say, Gen- eral Beauregard?' '"I concur in all General Johnston has said,' he replied, "Another silence, more eloquent of the full appreciation of the condition of the country than words could have been, suc- ceeded, during which the President's manner was unchanged. "After a brief pause he said, without a variation of tone or expression, and without raising his e}'es from the slip of paper between his fingers: 'Well, General Johnston, what do you pro- pose? You speak of obtaining terms. You know, of course, that the enemy refuses to treat with us. How do you propose to obtain terms?' " ' I think the opposing generals in the field may arrange them.' " 'Do you think Sherman will treat with you?' " ' I have no reason to think otherwise.- Such a course would be in accordance with military usage, and legitimate.' "'We can easily try it, sir. If w^e can accomplish any good for the country. Heaven knows I am not particular as to forms. How will you reach Sherman?' " 'I would address him a brief note, proposing an interview to arrange terms of surrender and peace, embracing, of course, a cessation of hostilities during the negotiations.' "'Well, sir, you can adopt this course, though I confess I am not sanguine as to ultimate results.' "The member of the cabinet before referred to as convers- ing with General Johnston,and wlio was anxious that his views should be promptly carried out, immediately seated himself at the writing-table, and, taking up a pen, offered to act as the general's amanuensis. At the request of the latter, however, the President dictated the letter to General Sherman, which was written at once upon a half sheet of letter folded as note CLOSE OF THE WAR. S99 jpaper, and signed by General Johnston, who took it, and said he would send it to General Slierman early in the morning, and in a few minutes the conference broke up. This note, which was a brief proposition for a suspension of hostilities, and a conference with a view to agreeing upon terms of peace, has been published with other letters which passed between the two generals. "On or about the 16th of April, the President, his staff, and cabinet left Greensboro' to proceed still furthv:;r south, with plans unformed, clinging to the hope that Johnston and Sher- man would secure peace and the quiet of the country, but still all doubtful of the result, and still more doubtful as to conse- quences of failure." After -th^^ agreement between Johnston and Sherman had been disapproved at Washington, and Johnston was negotiating for the surrender of his own army, there was nothing left Presi- dent Davis but to continue his retreat in order to fulfill his, pur- pose of reaching General Taylor, crossing the Mississippi, and continuing the fight in the Trans-Mississippi department. AT WASHINGTON, GA. The following was written as a private letter not intended for publication, but it brings out so beautifully several charac- teristics of Mr. Davis that my accomplished friend, Rev. Dr^ H. A. Tupper, must excuse me for giving it in full : "Richmond, Virginia, December 25, 1889. "iifiv. /. Wm. Jones, D. /)., Atlanta, Ga.: " Dear Doctor — I am glad that you propose to publish a memorial volume of the late Jeff'erson Davis. It seems to be demanded by the expression of mournful feeling which has pervaded the entire South, the like of which has never appeared in my day and generation. Great men have fallen in the country and great funeral pageants have been witnessed, but I remember no parallel to such a sight of weeping eyes and saddened countenances among a whole people. "There was a feature of Mr. Davis's character which comes to my recollection on seeing in our Richmond Dispatch an allu- 400 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. sion to the revival of the story that Mr. Davis was captured in a woman's dress. I refer to his imperturbable, calm courage. You are aware of the fact that my house in Washington, Ga., was selected as the place for the reception of Mr. Davis and his party after the evacuation of Richmond. Mrs, Davis, w^th the chil- dren, was at the residence of my senior deacon (Dr. Fielding Fick- len, the father-in-law of the late Rev. James P. Bryce, D. D., Mrs. Tupper's brother). The day before Mr. Davis was to arrive in Washington Mrs. Davis and the children were sent forward in a little wagon toward Raytown, Ga. When Mr. Davis was near our town I sent on horseback one of Dr. Ficklen's sons to overtake Mrs. Davis and request her to stop at Raytown, where Mr. Davis would meet her. That day Mrs. Tupper was taken seriously ill, and a daughter was born into the family. Dr. J. J. Robertson, cashier of the Washington bank, was requested to receive the party, which he did most cordially. It was in his house that the last cabinet-meeting of the Con- federacy was held. It was there formally dissolved. The party arrived about nine o'clock in the evening. The Federal troops had crossed the Savannah river, only some twenty miles dis- tant. The citizens were anxious that Mr. Davis should not expose himself unduly. About midnight several of the dis- tinguished company departed. Things occurred just at this point which have not been written and never will be written. " But Mr. Davis had not the remotest idea of going. His conduct was much the same as you might see in a gentleman who decides not to take a night train, preferring a good night's sleep, and a start in the morning. In the morning he was in no greater haste to depart. He was informed that Mrs. Davis was awaiting him at Raytown, but he must speak to the ladies who had called. He was informed that his horse was at the door, but he had to kiss the little children that were present. It was now nine o'clock, if I am not mistaken. I said to Judge Garnett Andrews, 'I really believe that Mr, Davis wishes to be captured.' At last, accompanied by Colonel John- ston, son of General Sidney Johnston, he walked in the most leisurely way down the front steps of Dr. Robertson's house, saying something appropriate to every one that approached him, A Washington (Ga.) paper in an issue many years ago, now before me, says: To words of cheer and consolation addressed to him by the writer, Mr, Davis replied: 'Though CLOSE OP THE WAR. 401 He slay me, yet will I trust Him.' Then in the quietest pos- sible manner he mounted his horse, and, Colonel Johnston doing the same, the two passed out of the town with the pain- ful slowness of mourners in a funeral procession rather than in the movement of supposed fugitives. As I think of the high bearing and granite firmness of the man I think of the words of Confucius: 'See that obelisk, erect, lofty, grand!' "Is that the man to be caught, two days after, concealed in a woman's garb? Even mendacity itself might be clothed in a garment of shame at the utterance of slander so unfounded, so malicious. " Having nothing special to do at this moment, I scribble these lines in vindication of truth, my eye having rested on the allusion of the Dispatch to which I have referred. "I am yours, very truly, "H. A. TuppER." HIS CAPTURE. There are few events which have been more misrepresented than the capture of Mr. Davis, and it seems hard to get North- ern writers even now to refrain from the sensational slanders which were manufactured at the time. Several of his captors have contradicted in emphatic terms Aiese stories. The following appeared in the Portland (Maine) Argus: "I am no admirer of Jeff. Davis. I am a Yankee, bom between Saccarappa and Gorham Corner ; am full of Yankee prejudices ; but I think it wicked to lie even about him, or, for the matter, about the devil. " I was with the party that captured Jefif. Davis ; saw the whole transaction from its beginning. I now say — and I hope you will publish it — that Jeff. Davis did not have on at the time he was taken any such garment as is worn by women. He did have over his shoulders a water-proof article of clothing, something like a * Havelock.' It was not in the least con- cealed. He wore a hat, and did not carry a pail of water on his head, nor carry pail, bucket, or kettle in any way. "To the best of my recollection he carried nothing whatever in his hands. His wife did not tell any person that her hus- 26 402 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. band might hurt somebody if he got exasperated. She behaved like a lady and ho as a gentleman, though manifestly he was chagrined at being taken into custody. Our soldiers behaved like gentlemen, as they were, and our officers like honorable, brave men; and the foolish stories that went the newspaper rounds of the day, telling how wolfishly he deported himself, were all false. I know what I am writing about. I saw Jeffer- son Davis many times while he was staying in Portland sev- eral years ago; and I think I was the first one who recognized him at the time of his arrest. " When it was known that he was certainly taken, some news- paper correspondent. — I knew his name at the time — fabricated the story about his disguise in an old woman's dress. I heard the whole matter talked over as a good joke; and the officers, who knew better, never took the trouble to deny it. Perhaps they thought the Confederate President deserved all the con- tempt that could be put upon him. I think so, too; only I would never perpetrate a falsehood that by any means would become history. And, further, I would never slander a woman who has shown so much devotion as Mrs. Davis has to her husband, no matter how wicked he is or may have been. "I defy any person to find a single officer or soldier who was present at the capture of Jefferson Davis who will say, upon honor, that he was disguised in woman's clothes, or that his wife acted in any way unladylike or undignified on that occasion. I go for trying him for his crimes, and if he is found guilty, punishing him. But I would not lie about him, when the trutn will certainly make it bad enough. ^^Elburnville, Pa. James H. Parker." Mr. T. H, Peabody, a lawyer of St. Louis, one of the captors of Mr. Davis, in a speech before Ransom Post, G. A. R., deliv- ered a few days after ths death of Mr. Davis, said: "Jefferson Davis was captured by the Fourth Michigan cav- alry, in the early morning of May 10, 1865, at Irwinsville, in southern Georgia. With him were Mr. Reagan, of Texas, his postmaster-general; Captain Moody, of Mississippi, an old neigh- bor of the Davis family; Governor Lubbock, of Texas; Colonels Harrison and Johnston of his staff; Mrs. Davis and her four children — Maggie, some ten years old; Jeff, about eight; Willie, about five, and a girl baby — a brother and sister of Mrs. Davis, ^/'/. ', <; '*r''':f'f,i,mi ^i* His CAPlUKt. 4D4 fJlE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. a white and one colored servant woman, a small force of caval- ry, a few others, and a small train of horses, mules, wagons and ambulances. Among the horses were a span of carriage horses presented to Mrs. Davis by the citizens of Richmond during the heydey of the Confederacy, also a splendid saddle- horse, the pride of the ex-President himself On tlie 11th of May, the next day after the capture, and while on our way back to Macon, as officer of the guard over the distinguished pris- oner, I rode by the side of Mr. Reagan, now senator from Texas. I found him a very fine gentleman. During that day's march a courier from Macon notified us in printed slips of the $100,000 reward offered for Mr. Davis's capture, which notice connected Davis with the assassination of President Lincoln. When Mr. Reagan read the notice he earnestly protested that Mr. Davis had no connection whatever with the sorrowful affair. History has shown he had none. "Besides the suit of men's clothing worn by Mr. Davis, he had on, when captured, Mrs. Davis's large water-proof cloak or robe, thrown on over his own fine gray suit, and a blanket shawl thrown on over his head and shoulders. This shawl and robe were finally deposited in the archives of the War De- partment at Washington by order of Secretary Stanton. The story of the 'hoop- skirt, sun bonnet and calico wrapper' had no real existence, and was started in the fertile brain of the re- porters and in the illustrated papers of that day." Major W.T.Walthall published in the Southern Historical Soci- ety Papers a scathing review of an utterly false and sensational story by General Wilson in the Philadelphia Times. We regret that our space does not allow us to give in full this conclusive paper, but we take from it the following letters which settle the question : LETTER FROM COLONEL "WILLIAM PRESTON JOHNSTON, LATE AIDE TO PRESIDENT DAVIS. "Lexington, Va., July 14th, 1877. "Major W. T. Walthall, Mobile, Ala.: "My Dear Sir — Your letter has just come to hand, and I reply at once. Wilson's monograph is written with a very strong animus, not to say virus. It is in no sense historicaL 406 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. errors. On the nigbt of the 9th I was very much worn out with travel and watching, and lay down at the foot of a pine tree to sleep. "Just at gray dawn, Mr. Davis's servant, Jim, awakened me. He said: 'Colonel, do you hear that firing?' I sprang up and said : ' Run and wake the President.' He did so. Hearing nothing as I pulled on my boots, I walked to the camp-fire, some fifty or less steps off, and asked the cook if Jim was not mis- taken. At this moment I saw eight or ten men charging down the road towards me. I thought they were guerillas, trying to stampede the stock. I ran to my saddle, where I had slept, and began unfastening the holster to get out my revolver, but they were too quick for me. Three men rode up and dei^anded my pistol, which, as soon as I got it out, I gave up to the leader, a bright, slim, soldierly fellow, dressed in Confederate-grey clothes. The same man, I believe, captured Colonels AVood and Lubbock just after. One of my captors ordered me to the camp-fire and stood guard over me. I soon became aware that they were Federals. "In the meantime the firing went on. After about ten min- utes, maybe more, my guard left me, and I walked over to Mr. Davis's tent, about fifty yards off. Mrs. Davis was in great distress. I said to the President, who was sitting outside on a camp-stool: 'This is a bad business, sir.' He replied, sup- posing I knew about the circumstances of his capture : ' I would have heaved the scoundrel off his horse as he came up, but she caught me around the arms.' I understood what he meant, how he had proposed to dismount the trooper and get his horse, for he had taught me the trick. I merely replied : ' It would have been useless.' "Mr. Davis w^as dressed as usual. He had on a knit woolen visor, which he always wore at night for neuralgia. He wore cavalry boots. He complained of chilliness, and said they had taken away his 'raglan'(I believe they were so called), a light aquascutum or spring overcoat, sometimes called a 'waterproof.' I had one exactly similar, except in color. I went to look for it, and either I, or some one at my instance, found it, and he wore it afterwards. His own was not restored. " As I was looking for this coat, the firing still continuing, I met a mounted officer, who, if I am not mistaken, was a Cap- tain Hudson. Feeling that the cause was lost, and not wish- 406 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLmiE. errors. On the night of the 9th I was very much vrorn out with travel and watching, and lay down at the foot of a pine tree to sleep. "Just at gray dawn, Mr. Davis's servant, Jim, awakened me. He said: 'Colonel, do you hear that firing?' I sprang up and said : ^ Run and wake the President.' He did so. Hearing nothing as I pulled on my boots, I walked to the camp-fire, some fifty or less steps off, and asked the cook if Jim was not mis- taken. At this moment I saw eight or ten men charging down the road towards me. I thought they were gueriUas, trying to stampede tlie stock. I ran to my saddle, where I had slept, and began unfastening the holster to get out my revolver, but they M'ere too quick for me. Three men rode up and demanded my pistol, which, as soon as I got it out, I gave up to the leader, a bright, slim, soldierly fellow, dressed in Confederate-gro}^ clothes. The same man, I believe, captured Colonels Wood and Lubbock just after. One of my captors ordered me to the camp-fire and stood guard over me. I soon became aware that they were Federals. "In the meantime the firing went on. After about ten min- utes, maybe more, my guard left me, and I walked over to Mr. Davis's tent, about fifty yards off. ]\Irs. Davis was in great distress. I said to the President, who was sitting outside on a camp-stool: 'This is a bad business, sir.' He replied, sup- posing I knew about the circumstances of his capture : ' I would have heaved the scoundrel off his horse as he came up, but she caught me around the arms.' I understood what he meant, how he had proposed to dismount the trooper and get his horse, for he had taught me the trick. I merely replied : ' It would have been useless.' "Mr. Davis was dressed as usual. He had on a knit woolen visor, which he always wore at night for neuralgia. He wore cavalry boots. He complained of chilliness, and said they had taken away his 'raglan'(I believe they were so called), a light aquascutum or spring overcoat, sometimes called a 'waterproof I had one exactly similar, except in color. I went to look for it, and either I, or some one at my instance, found it, and he wore it afterwards. His own was not restored. " As I was looking for this coat, the firing still continuing, I met a mounted officer, who, if I am not mistaken, was a Cap- tain Hudson. Feeling that the cause was lost, and not wish- CLOSE OF TUE WAR. 407 ing useless bloodshed, I said to hira: 'Captain, your men are fighting each other overyonder.' Heanswered very positively: 'You have an armed escort.' I replied: 'You have our uhole camp; I know your men are fighting each othtr. We have nobody on that side of the slough.' He then rode off. Colonel Lubbock had a conversation nearly identical with Colonel Pritchard, who was not polite, I believe. You can learn from Colonel Lubbock about it. "Not long afterwards, seeing Mr. Davis in altercation with an officer — Colonel Pritchard — I went up. Mr. Davis was denunciatory in his remarks. The account given by Wilson is fabulous, except so far as Mr. Davis's remark is concerned, that ' their conduct was not that of gentlemen, but of ruffians.' Pritchard did not make the reply attributed to him; I could swear to that. My recollection is that he said in substance, and in an otfensive manner, 'that he (Davis) was a prisoner and could afford to talk so,' and walked away. Colonel Harn- den's manner was conciliatory, if he was the other officer. If I am not mistaken, the first offense was his addressing !Mr. Davis as 'Jeff.,' or some such rude familiarity. But this you can verify. I tried just afterwards to reconcile Mr. Davis to the situation, "On the route to Macon, three days afterwards, Mrs. Davis complained to me with great bitterness that her trunks had been ransacked, the contents taken out. and tumbled back with the leaves sticking to them. " I had not seen Mr. Davis's capture. I was with him until we were parted at Fortress Monroe. Personally, I was treated with as much respect as I cared for. The officers were rather gushing than otherwise, and talked freely. Some were coarse men, and talked of everything; but I never heard of Mr, Davis's alleged disguise until I saw it in a New York Herald, the day I got to Fort Delaware. I was astonished, and denounced it as a falsehood. The next day I was placed in solitary con- finement, and remained there. I do not believe it possible that these ten days could have been passed with our captors with- out an allusion to it, if it had not been an after-thought or something to he kept from us. . . . "Very sincerely yours, "Wm. PjiESTON Johnston.'* 408 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. LETTER FROM EX-GOVERNOR LUBBOCK, OP TEXAS, LATE AIDE TO PRESIDENT DAVIS. " Galveston, August 2, 1877. "Major W. T, Walthall: "Dear Sir — Yours of the 28th came to hand a day or two since, finding me quite busy. At the earliest moment I perused the article you allude to in your letter, which a])peared in the Weekly Times, of Philadelphia, of July 7th. It does really appear that certain parties, with the view of keeping them- selves before the public, will continue to write the most base, calumnious, and slanderous articles, calculated to keep the wounds of the past open and sore. Such a writer now appears in General James H. Wilson, whose sole aim seems to be to that of traducing and misrepresenting the circumstances of the capture of President Davis and his small party, who, it would appear, were pursued by some fifteen thousand gallant soldiers, commanded by this distinguished general. I shall leave it to you and others better qualified than myself to reply to this 'Chapter of the Unwritten History of the War.' I have this, however, to say: I left Richmond with President Davis in the same car, and from that day to the time ot our sepa- ration (he being detained at Fortress Monroe and I sent to Fort Delaware) he was scarcely ever ought of my sight, day or night. " The night before the morning of our capture Colonel Wil- liam P. Johnston slept very near the tent. Colonel John Taylor Wood and myself were under a pine tree, some fifty to one hundred feet off. Our camp was surprised just a while before day. I was with Mr. Davis and his family in a very few mo- ments, and never did see anything of an attempted disguise or escape until after I had been confined in Fort Delaware several weeks, I then pronounced it a base falsehood. We were guarded by Colonel Pritchard's command until we reached Fortress Monroe. I talked freely with officers and men, and on no occasion did I hear anything of the kind mentioned. "Judge Reagan and myself had entered into a compact that we would never desert or leave him, remaining to contribute, if possible, to his well-being and comfort, and share his fortune, whatever might befall. My bed-mate, Colonel John Taylor CLOSE OF THE WAE. 409 "Wood (one of the bravest and purest of men), having been a naval officer of the United States, and having been charged with violating the rules of war in certain captures made, deeming it prudent to make his escape, informed me of his intention and invited me to accompany him. I declined to avail myself of the favorable opportunity presented, telling him of my compact with Judge Reagan. lie did escape. "The conduct of the captors on that occasion was marked by anything but decency and soldierly bearing. They found no preparation for defense, and encountered no resistance at all. Mr, Davis, Judge Reagan, Colonel William Preston John- ston, Colonel John Taylor Wood, a young gentleman (a Mr. Barnwell, of South Carolina,) who escaped, and myself consti- tuted the President's party. Colonel Harrison, the private secretary of the President, and a few paroled soldiers, were with Mrs. Davis and party, protecting their little baggage, &c. "Upon taking the camp, they plundered and robbed every one of all and every article they could get hold of. They stole the watches, jewelry, money, clothing, &c. I believe I was the only one of the party not robbed. "The man and patriot, who a few days before was at the head of a government, was treated by his captors with uncall- ed for indignity; so much so that I became indignant, and so completely unhinged and exasperated that I called upon the officers to protect him from insult, threatening to kill the par- ties engaged in such conduct. "I cannot see how Mr. Davis could speak of Colonel Pritch- ard or his command with any degree of patience, as we all know that Mrs, Davis was robbed of her horses (a present from the people of Richmond), the money for which she sold her trink- ets, silverware, &c., was stolen, and no effort was made to have it returned to her. Time and time again they promised that the watches stolen on that occasion should be returned, that the command would be paroled, and the stolen property restor- ed to the owners; but it was never done, nor any attempt made, ■"hat I can recall to my mind. " A Captain Douglas stole Judge Reagan's saddle, and used it from the day we were captured. "They appropriated our horses and other private property. But why dwell upon this wretchedly disagreeable subject? I hope and pray that the whole truth will some day be written, 410 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. and I feel assured when it is done we of the South will stand to all time a vindicated people. As for him who is the target for all of the miserable scribblers, and of those unscrupulous and corrupt men living on the abuse heaped u'^on tlic South- ern people by fanning the embers of the late war — when he is gone from hence history will write him as one of the truest and purest of men, a dignified and bold soldier, an enlighten- ed and intelligent statesman, a man whose whole aim was to benefit his country and his people. "I know him well. I have been with him under all circum- stances, and have ever found him good and true, IIow wretch- ed the spirit that will continue to traduce such a man! IIow miserably contemptible. the party that will refuse to recognize such a man as a citizen of the country in whose defense his best days were spent and his blood freely spilt! "I have the honor to be, yours very respectfully, "F. R. Lubbock." Postmaster- General Reagan wrote an exceedingly interesting account of the retreat and capture, and Hon. George Davis, Attorney-General, wrote also a very sharp reply to Wilson. Mr. Davis's own account in his book is of deep interest and value, and he wrote to his old friend and fellow-cadet at West Point, Colonel Crafts J. Wright, of Cincinnati, two letters of deep interest; which effectually disposed of the slanders against him. We regret that our space will not allow us to reproduce all of these. Nor have we space to go into the history of the Confederate treasure and what became of it, but those interested will find in the Soutliern Historical Society Papers a full statement of that question, and the most conclusive proof that any insinuation — from whatever source it may come — that Mr. Davis had one dollar of that gold, or ever derived the slightest benefit from it, is one of the basest calumnies that partisan malignity ever invented against even the vicarious sufifererof the Con- federacy. PARTING WITH HIS FAMILY. MR. Davis IS rkpresvntf.d as jrsx about to dts.mbark from the Steamer Clybe. which BKOUGHT iml AND OTHER PKISONFR^ FROM SAVANNAH TO THE CaSE-MATE AT Foetkess MoNKoa. 412 TBE DAVIS MEMOBIAL VOLUME. HIS BIPEISONMENT. Craven's " Prison Life of Jefferson Davis " gives so full and, in the main, accurate an account of this burning disgrace to this great country, that we prefer not to dwell on the details, but refer the reader to that book for the story of how he was ironed and treated in other ways such as only the refinement of brutal cruelty could invent. General Richard Taylor gives this account of his visit to the distinguished prisoner, which he obtained permission to do after a long waiting in Washington. He says: "By steamer from Baltimore I went down Chesapeake Bay, and arrived at Fortress Monroe in the early morning. General Burton, the commander, whose civility was marked, and who bore himself like a gentleman and soldier, received me on the dock and took me to his quarters to breakfast, and to await the time to see Mr. Davis. "It was with some emotion that I reachea the casemate in which Mr. Davis was confined. There were two rooms, in the outer of which, near the entrance, stood a sentinel, and in the inner was Jeff'erson Davis. We met in silence, with grasp of hands. After au interval he said, 'This is kind, but no more than I expected of J^ou.' Pallid, worn, gray, bent, fee'ble, suf- fering from inflammation of the ej^es, he was a painful sight to a friend. He uttered no plaint and made no allusion to irons (which had been removed); said the light kept all night in his room hurt his eyes a little, and, added to the noise made every two hours by relieving the sentry, prevented much sleep; but matters had changed for the better since the arrival of General Burton, who was all kindness, and strained his orders to the utmost in his behalf. I told him of my reception at Washing- ton by the President, Mr. Seward, and others, of the attentions of Generals Grant and Humphreys, who promoted my wish to see him, and that with such aid I was confident of obtain- ing permission for his wife to stay with him. I could solicit favors for him, having declined any for myself. Indeed, the very accident of position, that enabled me to get access to the governing authorities, made indecent even the supposition of AT FORTRRS=^ MONROE. No. 1.— Exterior of ca-seinaie in wliicii Mr. Davis was conflned No. 2.— General view of tlm Foi i. No. 3.— Interior of tlie Casemate. Wx>. 4.— H«volatlonAry R«Uo8. 414 Tfft: DAVIS MmrORIAL VOLUME. my acceptance of anything personal while a single man re- mained under the ban for serving the Southern cause; and therefore I had no fears of misconstruction, Hope of meeting his family cheered him much, and he asked questions about the conditions and prospects of the South, which I answered as favorably as possible, passing over things that would have grieved hin. In some way he had learned of attacks on his character and conduct made by come Southern curs, thinking to ingratiate themselves with the ruling powers. I could not deny this, but remarked that the curse of unexpected defeat and suffering was to develop the basest passions of the human heart. Had he escaped out of the country, it was possible he might have been made a scape-goat by the Southern people, and, great as were the sufferings that he had endured, they were as nothing to this, and too contemptible for notice; for now his calamities had served to endear him to all. I think that he derived consolation from this view. *'The day passed with much talk of a less disturbing char- acter, and in the evening I returned to Baltimore and Wash- ington. After some delay Mr. Davis's family was permitted to join him, and he speedily recovered strength. Later I made a journey or two to Richmond, Virginia, on business connected with his trial, then supposed to be impending. "Th.e slight service, if simple discharge of duty can be so called, I was enabled to render Mr. Davis, was repaid ten thous- and fold. In the month of March, 1875, my devoted wife was released from suffering, long and patiently endured, originat- ing in grief for the loss of her children and exposure during the war. Smitten by this calamity, to which all that had gone before seemed as blessings, I stood by her coffin ere it was closed to look for the last time upon features that death had respected and restored to their girlish beauty. Mr. Davis came to my side and stooped reverently to touch the fair brow, when the tenderness of his heart overcame him and he burst into tears. His example completely unnerved me for the time, but was of service in the end. For many succeeding days he came to me, and was as gentle as a J'oung mother witli her suffering infant. Memory will ever recall Jefferson Davis as he stood with me by the coffin." But of all of the tender and touching things that have been said about INIr. Davis none have been more appropriate and CLOSE OF THE WAR. 41S beautiful than the address of the venerable and beloved Rev. Dr. Charles Minnigerode, the Rector-Emeritus of St. Paul's church, Richmond, "who was through so many years the pas- tor of Mr. Davis, made in St. Paul's church, Richmond, on December the 11th, 1SS9. We will not mar the address but give it in full: ADDRESS OF DR. MINXIGERODE. "The first time I ever saw Jefferson Davis was when, as President of the Confederate States, he had arrived in Rich- mond and held his first reception at the Spotswood hotel. Our acquaiiatance, thus began, soon grew into friendly inter- course that became closer and closer, till an intimacy sprung up which ripened into companionsliip in joy and sorrow, and bound us together in terms of mutual trust and friendship that was to last as long as life, and which will remain forever one of my dearest remembrances. " The last time I saw him was a few j'ears ago, when we met at Atlanta, Ga. I was going there with my wife to pay a visit to one of my sons, not knowing or remembering that tlie day of my arrival was the day when, on the occasion of the unveiling of the statue of Hon. B. IT. Hill, Mr. Davis was to deliver the oration. On entering the city I wondered what the holiday appearance, the crowded streets, the festooned houses could mean, but was too late for the exercises. After dinner I went to call on him at Mrs. Hill's, where he was staying, resting at the time, and excused to visitors. But on seeing m}'' name on the card the kind lady carried me fo his room. As I entered the door and he looked up from the sofa where he was reclining, he sprang up, and, rushing upon me, clasped me in his arms, and there locked in each other's embrace, tears testified the depth of our joy once more to meet. An hour never to be forgotten by me! nor the solemn feeling that possessed us both at our parting, when, in sup- pressed voice, he said: 'This is the last time we have looked upon each other on earth.' "To you, dear brethren, and especially the rector, war- dens, and vestry of this church, and to the whole congrega- tion, I return my thanks, from the bottom of my heart, that lie Tan £)A ns MEMOttlAl VOL VMM. you have honored me with the invitation to meet with you on this occasion and unite with you in doing honor to the memory of the great, the honored, noble son of the South — Jefferson Davis; that among the many proud tributes of praise and glory offered at his burial to-day, I, in my humble position of what proved to be his life-long pastor, may lay a wreath of loving remembrance on his tomb. " We humbly bow in human sorrow to the Divine Disposer of all things, but lift our hearts in holy hope that, from a life of toil and labor, and martyrdom, he has entered upon the rest in heaven, and obtained a crown brighter than any crown that earth can weave — the crown of glory and eternal life. These are strong words, but it is my firm belief, my brethren ; and I believe that on this point the evidences of my hope are stronger than, perhaps, those of any other man. I have been his pastor ever since the spring of 1861 ; been with him through the eventful days of those many years of the war and the sad days that followed; known the struggles, the hopes, and fears of his inner life; saw him in his darkest trials; sounded his heart, laid open to me unreservedly, and beheld the man — the man him- self, the heart, disposition, character — in all his faith and purity and gentleness, all his weaknesses, as his firmness of principle, his untarnished honesty and unhesitating conscientiousness, his perseverance through every doubt and every difficulty, his con- quest of himself amidst the indignities he had to bear, his undying love to his neighbor, beginning with his own family, through all the gradations of the society in which he moved, his tender, generous feeling towards the poor and with bleeding heart toward his suffering people, true to his country, true to his God, Of course, he had his faults; he would not have been human without them; but it was just in the conflict with his failings and the reality of his repentance, the determina- tion to deal earnestly with himself, and not to be satisfied with 'a name to live without the power;' just in these internal con- flicts, open to the eye of God, he was preserved from self- deception or spiritual pride, and was the humble petitioner for grace before the throne of God. Those lonely rides which he so often took, I am sure, were not only filled with anxious thoughts about his country and plans for the guidance and defense of his people, but I am convinced they often were the time of sweet, humble, trusting, prayerful intercourse with his Heavenly Father and his Saviour. CLOS^ OP THE WAU, 417 "People have misunderstood Mr. Davis very much. Before I knew him I often heard him spoken of as a 'fire-eater;' but I am sure he did not deserve tliat name, unless it means the man, firm and bold and uncompromising, standing by what is right even unto death. No, he was no brawler, no dema- gogue, no friend to violence. It was a sore trouble to him to yield to what appeared to him at last the necessity of seces- sion ; and wrath, cruelty, bloodthirstin^ss were far from him. His real nature was gentle, and conscience ruled him supreme. Sucli was the sense of his responsibility, tliat whilst when it was plain, decided action, albeit the most dangerous, was needed, he never flinched; but such was his scrupulous con- scientiousness, that at times, when the issue was not clear, he would stay to weigh so fully the pros and cons that this delay at times may have interfered witli a success. And I have rea- son to believe that it was his love and attachment for Rich- mond which caused him to confine the troops in the trenches, rather than give up his capital in time to meet the enemy in the open field while yet there was hope in LeeVarmy to cope with him. "I never meddled with his policy or measures of his govern- ment ; still less did I ever use his confidence for any personal purposes. Mr. Davis was not the man for that. " On two occasions only I sought him with the desire of pre- senting my views on what seemed to me important cases. The time had come for the permanent government to take the place of the provisional. It was a very critical time, and I felt I had a right to direct the attention of the President to some thoughts which any one had the right to give utterance to, and which I, as his pastor, could without impropriety lay before him. I did so, supported in my view by one of the most judicious men of Richmond, John Stewart, of Brookhill. It was this : We were starting upon a new epoch in the his- tory of the Confederacy. To start aright, and hope for any lasting success, we must have the favor of God, tlie King of Kings, and the God of battles. That was all acknowledged by us openly. Let us now, I wrote to him, do it in good earn- est! I reminded Mr. Davis that all history showed that the character of the ruler was apt to become the guide or pattern of the people; that the great lesson of the historical books of the Bible — the books of Kings and of Chronicles — was that 27 418 THE DA Vh'. MEMORIAL VOL UMK •as the king, so the people;' that evil examples, in thewords of Jeremiah, *niade the people sin,' and that God's judgment will overtake both; whilst the people of Judah always re- pented and did right whenever their King adhered to the law, and Jehovah's blessing was upon both. From this I pressed his responsibility in this respect, and adjured him as such at this critical point manfully to assume this position, that as God alone can guide us aright and bless us, he should show the way and begin right by pressing this necessity of having God on our side on his people in the address he was to make from the Washington monument at the Capitol Square, and exhorting them to unite with him in the prayer for God's favor, and solemnly puttmg our welfare and success, as well as the means that should lead to it, under His holy and right- eous care and protection, "Mr. Davis never answered it, and in all my intercourse with him I never referred to it. But he did what I asked him to do. "The only other time I ventured to speak to liim on the policy to be pursued was when, caused by some proclamation or some outrageous act on the part of our invaders, the people de- manded retaliation and the public papers loudly demanded this course. Our interview was most harmonious, and Mr. Davis used these noble words: 'If our enemies do or should do wrong, that is no reason or excuse that we should do so, too,' "It was soon after his inauguration that he united himself with the church. Our intercourse had become more frequent, and turned more and more on the subject of religion; and by his wife's advice I went to see him on the subject of confessing Christ. He met me more than half way, and expressed his desire to do so, and unite himself with the church ; that he must be a Christian he felt in his inmost soul. He spoke very • earnestly and most humbly of needing the cleansing blood of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit ; but in the conscious- ness of his insufficiency felt some doubt whether he had the right to come. " All that was natural and right ; but soon it settled this ques- tion with a man so resolute in doing v/hat bethought his duty. I baptized him hypothetically, for he was not certain if he had ever been baptized. When the day of confirmation came it was CLOSE OF THE WAR, 419 quite m keeping witli his resolute cliaracter, that when .the Bishop called tlie caiulidates to the chancel he was the first to rise, and, as it were, lead the others on, among whom were General Gorgas and several other officers. " From tliat day, so fur as I can know and judge, ' he never looked back/ He never ceased trying to come np to his bap- tismal vow and lead a Cliristian life. And so he went on bravely and perseveringly, even when it became clear that hope of success was failing. He could not leave his post. He did not lose heart. The cause lost — defeated for a time — he felt sure would yet bring forth blessings upon the country. " We know what followed and what was his cruel fate. Here opens a page of noble martyrdom and patient endurance which none can fully realize who have not seen it. "Soon after he was arrested and confined in Fortress Mon- roe, I wrote President Andrew Johnson, petitioning for per- mission to visit Mr. Davis, as his pastor, and minister to him. "'At Bishop Johns' advice — rather against my judgrhent — it has accompanied by no argument, the Bishop saying, that sup- porting it by an argument would indicate that it was by the petitionernimselt not looked upon as natural, right and proper in itself. " Mr. Johnson deigned no answer. "In October following I received a communication from some friends that they thought the time was favorable to again make the application. "I did so, but this time gave what I thought was a full and unanswerable argument. And it proved so. "They were ladies who were acting with mc, and upon tlie advice of a judicious friend they gave my paper to Rev. Dr. Hall, rector of the Church of E[)iphany and pastor of Mr. Stanton, Secretary of War. He first was adverse to acting in the matter, but the ladies begged him at least to read the peti- tion. He did so, and consented to take it in charge to Mr. Stanton, and he got me a very full permit to visit Mr. Davis as his pastor " From that time I went wnenever I coula to see my beloved and martyred friend, and precious were tlje days and hours spent with him. I loved that lowly, patient, God-fearing soul. It was in these private interviews that I learned to appreciate his noble Christian character; 'pure in heart,' unselfish, with- 420 TMJE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. out guile, and loyal unto death to his conscience and convic- tions. "Mr. Stanton's permit must have been very liberal, for General Miles, then in command, who received me politely enough, did not act for more than a day, after which he became very cordial and advanced all my wishes. He evidently had asked and received fuller instructions from the Secretary. "I must say here that the imprisonment itself was better than those who had ordered it. All at the fortress were glad that the indignities of putting that man in irons were stopped, even for the honor of the country. The officers were all polite and sympathetic, and the common soldiers — not one of them adopted the low practice of even high dignitanes and officers, who seemed to glory in speaking of him disrespectfully in a sneering way as * Jeffi Davis.' Not: one of tlie common soldiers but spoke of him in a subdued and kindly tone as ' Mr. Davis.' " On my first visit I came on Saturday evening, and spent a pleasant enough evening at the headquarters of General Miles, who promised to take me to Mr. Davis's cell next morning (Sunday), but he waited till Monday morning. " I cannot describe my meeting with Mr. Davis in his cell. He knew nothing of my coming, and it was difficult to control ourselves. " Mr. Davis's room (he had been removed from the casemate,) was an end room on the second floor of Carroll hall, with a passage and window on each side of the room ; and an ante- room in front separated by an open grated door — a sentinel on each passage and before the grated door of the ante-room; six eyes always upon him day and night; all alone, no one to see, no one to speak to. " I must hurry on. You may yourselves make out what our conversation must have been. '•' The noble man showed the effect of the confinement, but his spirit could not be subdued, and no indignity — angry as it made him at the time — could humiliate him. "I was his pastor, and of course our conversation was influ- enced by that, and there could be no holding back between us. I had come to sympathize and comfort and pray with him. "At last the question of the holy communion came up. I really do not remember whether he or I first mentioned it. He was very anxious to take it. He was a pure and pious CLOSE OF THE WAR. 421 man, and felt the need and value of the means of grace. But there was one difficulty. Could he take it in the proper spirit — in the frame of a forgiving mind, after all the ill- treatment he had been subjected to? He was too upright and conscientious a Christian man * to eat and drink univorthily' i. e., not in the proper spirit, and, as far as lay in him, in peace with God and man. "I left him to settle that question between himself and his own conscience and what he understood God's law to be. "In the afternoon General Miles took me to him again. I had spoken to him about the communion, and he promised to make preparation for me. "I found Mr. Davis with his mind made up. Knowing the honesty of the man, and that there would be, could be, 'no shamming,' nor mere superstitious belief in the ordinance, I was delighted when I found him ready to commune. He had laid the bridle upon his very natural feeling and was ready to pray, 'Father, forgive them.' "Then came the communion — he and I alone, no one but God with us. It was one of those cases where the Rubric cannot be binding. It was night. The Fortress was so still that you could hear a pin fall. General Miles, with his back to us, leaning against the fireplace in the ante-room, his head on his hands, not moving ; the sentinels ordered to stand still, and they stood like statues. "I cannot conceive of a more solemn communion scene. But it was telling upon both of us, I trust, for lasting good. "Whenever I could I went down to see hira, if only for an hour or two; and when his wife was admitted to see him it was plain that their communings were with God. "Time passed- not a sign of any humiliating giving way to the manner in which he was treated ; he was above that. He suffered, but was willing to suffer in the cause of the people who had given him their confidence, and who still loved and admired and wept for the man that so nobly represented the cause which in their hearts they considered right and con- stitutional. " His health began to be affected. The officers of the Fortress all felt that he ought to have the liberty of the fort, not only because that could in no way facilitate any attempt to escape, but because they knew he did not wish to escape, and could 422 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. not have been induced to escape. He wanted to be tried and defend and justify his course. I happened to be in Washing- ton for a few hours at tliat time, and as I had been told by Rev. Dr. Hall more than once that Mr. Stanton spoke of me very kindly, he encouraged me to see him about any matter I thought proper in Mr. Davis's case. "I went to see Mr. Stanton. He had recently lost his son, and had been deeply distressed— softened, one would think ; I hope so all the more as I found him with his remaining child on his knees. I was admitted. A bow and nothing more. I began by expressing my thanks to him for allowing me to visit Mr. Davis, and that as I M'as in town, I thought it would not be uninteresting to him to hear a report about Mr. Davis. Not a word in reply. "I gradually approached the subject of Mr. Davis's health, and that without the least danger of any kind as to his safe imprisonment, he might enjoy some privileges, especially the liberty of the fort, or there was danger of his health failing. "The silence was broken. " 'It makes no difference what the state of Jeff. Davis's health is. His trial will soon come on, no doubt. Time enough till that settles it.' It settled it in my leaving the presence of that man. "But the time came for his release. The way he conducted himself just showed the man whom no distress could put down nor a glimpse of hope could unduly excite. He had seen too much and had placed his all in higher hands than man's. "We brought him to the Spotswood hotel, and then to the custom-house. There the trial was to take place. We were in a carriage, the people, and especially the colored people, testi- fying their sympath3^ Mr. Davis was greatly touched by this. "All know that the proceedings in court were very brief. "I was by his side. ]\Ir. Davis stood erect, looking steadily upon the judge, but without either defiance or fear. He was bailed, and the first man to go on his bond was Horace Greeley. "Our carriage passed with dimculty through the crowd of rejoicing negroes with their tender affection, climbing upon the carriage, shaking and kissing his hand, and calling out, 'God bless Mars Davis.' But we got safely to the Spotswood, IME PRESmEXTfflFTHE- i:RATESI-^ES. ^^^«f ORIGINAL SaN-^^^^^ ^ji^isC a/ <^ (PyiC ^.(VcOtfi-'".^:*' ^-*pA> >6* -t^/zTa*^ ^ji-^e*^ ^X't^^.'oi^ wvV' "'^^ >»)*»*<^ S^^tt-S^-czT ^ /ctZb^ a-^ac t^i^e-ecV (y^-«-<«<, a^ff^a. «*-" ^<£Uat-'^-^ aZi^ ;^*^/>»'^2x--x^^ t:? ^ Ai/iMOc^x^Cf t^^a^c- -^MK^-d^-^rt^^ p^. ^fm./Ca.>>^ >*.o^^p^c-^^ .^*-e-/'*3^<*-<' C^^ ?4ry^^- "^ ■*<* jU-trtJ /ux,t,^:2c^ ^^ez^^ .€,—^ ^If/i-i^i^v ^td'i^.^^xy n.-~t.CC a-t^ct /^xjjCy .^xAA-ea-i^ o-^ -m£ ^J-i o<-t^ /^^r-n-iV ^ -Mm CZ'^ij^^.cisC i^/a.^^ ^^^^ P^n,-*'P'>t'^^'<-r- -^tMp^^ rfc-/ -^W ^^i<-»t^ ^ -**&- -^v-ci-^-/ two. -^La^ C^^-^ tJ'~-y\X^ -^^£^1, ix.n,<;t -/ic-tt. cy$^ .ca.'X.^r*^*^ c/izy ^t" "^aZ^ ff^GiLr^ ^-^fe^^ jiv6. .*'*^ ■'^ ^^^^cc^ .***~c^ ^ ^. '-^Jl. THE DAVIS BAIL BOND. It will he noticed that t^yo of the part"es made their mark, which was duly attested. This was ow inp: to the fact that one of the gentlemen had nearly lost his eyesight ; and tils Other was sick in bed, unable to sit up. 424 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. "We found Mrs. Davis awaiting us, with Hon. George Davis, Attorney-General of the last Cabinet, and a few others. "Mr. George Davis and I just fell into each other's arms with tears in our eyes. "But Mr. Davis turned to me: 'Mr. Minnigerode, you who have been with me in my sufferings, and comforted and strengthened me with your prayers, is it not right that we now once more should kneel down together and return thanks?' There was not a dry eye in the room. Mrs. Davis led the way into the adjoining room, more private; and there, in deep-felt prayer and thanksgiving, closed the story of Jefferson Davis's prison life. "Ah, this earth in more senses than one continued a prison- life for him; a feeling from which few of those advancing in life are wholly exempt. But Mr. Davis murmured not; did not ask to be taken away. He stayed and worked and studied and wrote in his home at Beauvoir till the Lord called him — took his servant home who had tried to serve Him amidst danger and trials, wind and storms. He has gone to his reward. ''And thou, oh, land of the South; oh, thou beautiful city of Richmond, thank God that such a man has been given to you, loved by you, and in his memory is blessed to you. He loved the truth ; he served God and his country. Let us go and do likewise." RELEASED ON BAIL. There was a desperate effort to "hang Jeff. Davis" on some trumped-up charge. First, it was the charge of complicity in the assassination of Mr. Lincoln, but they could find no evidence, even with a pack of trained perjurers at their call, on which Stanton and Holt dared to go into trial even before a military commis- sion. Then he was charged with cruelty to prisoners, but the Con- federate records were searched in vain, and stories of swift wit- nesses were canvassed in vain, to " make out a case" against him on which they could hope for a conviction. Poor Wirz, on the night before he was hung, was offered a reprieve if he CLOSE OF THE WAR. 425 "would implicate JefF. Davis in the cruelties of Anderson ville;" but he bravely replied : " Mr. Davis had nothing to do with me, or with what was done at Andersonville, and I will not, even to save my own life, give false testimony against an inno- cent man." One of the most scathing replies which Hill made to Blaine, in the memorable debate to which we have before referred was, when quoting this reply of Captain Wirz to the tempter, he said : "And what poor Wirz would not do to save his life, the honorable gentleman from Maine does as a bid foi the Presidency." Utterly ^failing in these charges they had to face th«^ question of trying him for "treason," and a partisan i id ge packed a mixed jury (the first jury of whites and blacks ever empanelled in this country) who found an indictment of ''treason" against Jefferson Davis and R. E. Lee. General Grant "quashed" the indictment against Lee by holding that his " parole" protected him, but Judge Under- wood had a mixed petit jury empanelled to try Mr. Davis. [Our pictures of these juries are from original photographs, and are historic] The authorities at Washington, however, and Chief-Justice Chase himself, decided, after full consideration, and the con- sultation of the ablest lawyers in the country, that the charge of "treason" could not be maintained, and so the distinguished prisoner, who was anxious to go into trial and vindicate him- self and his cause before the world, was admitted to bail, and finally a nolle prosequi y^diS entered in the case. We give a fac simile of the bail bond with the autographs of the bondsmen, except that two of these gentlemen were un- able to sign their names on account of sickness. And our artist, W. L. Sheppard (himself a gallant Confede- rate soldier), was an eye-witness of the scene, and has given us a picture to the life of "Mr. Davis leaving the court-room." 426 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. Throughout the Confederacy there was general rejoicing when it was announced that "the caged eagle" was once more free; but this rejoicing was mingled with deep regret that he had not been allowed his coveted opportunity to vindicate the Confederate cause in the courts of the country and in the hear- ing of the world. IN THE LIBRARY, im wmkm %. •. LEAVING THE COURT-ROOM. XVII. HIS LIFE AFTER THE WAR. A large volume might easily be written on the "Life of President Davis after the war" — his stay in Canada, his sev- eral visits to Europe, his life in Memphis, and especially his life at Beauvoir — giving the letters he wrote, and the speeches he made on public occasions. We venture to express the earn- est hope that Mrs. Davis in her proposed Memoir will treat fully this part of his life, and that her facile, graceful pen will give us a picture of his domestic life such as she alone is com- petent to draw. But we are able to barely touch on this most interesting part of his noble life, although we have interesting material which would fill a volume. We pass over the other periods — not even dwelling on his great sorrow in losing his only son, Jefferson Davis, Jr., who died of yellow fever when the plague smote that city with its fearful ravages — and speak briefly of his life at his home beside the Gulf. BEAUVOIR. " Catherine Cole " wrote in the New Orleans Picayune so beau tiful a description of Beauvoir, and a visit she paid there, that we quote a part of her letter, as follows: "Beauvoir house looks to be just what it is, the home of a quiet country gentleman, who would not exchange its roses and peace, its books and sunshine and treasures, for the gayest Queen Anne cottage that ever poked its parrot-like head and gaudy colors up above its neighbors in town or city, or seaside village. The house is set down in the centre of a great yard, HIS LIFE AFTER THE WAR. 429 that in city parlance would comprise several squares of ground. It is a brown, sandy yard, in which the grass persistently declines to grow, but where, instead, are hundreds of magnolia, cedar, and oak trees, tlie latter hung, as a cave with stalactites, with the draperies of S})anish moss. It is a big white house with green shutters that sets up in the air on ])illars of brick that has deep, cool galleries, reaching across the front and back, a great wide hall through the centre, and double rooms on either side. There is a wing on one side, and behind this the kitchen, trailing off covered with vines, and its spraw- ling pent roof hidden by a snow of roses. On either side the big house are detached cottages — little green and white and gray islands of wood entirely surrounded by galleries. In one of these, secure from intrusion, Mr. Davis wrote his history. All about under the trees, but respectfully retiring from the j)ublic view, are comfortable country-lh.e out-buildings, barns and tool-houses, a sheep-shed and a corn-bin, a carpenter-shop for the peformance of rainy-day farm chores. Behind the house is a sweet, old-fashioned flower-garden, and beyond that a smart kitchen garden, with its black soil and thrifty rows of bright green vegetables. "Beauvoir house is one of those fine old houses set out with quaint and stately olden-timed furniture, rich in pictures and books and treasures that have been gathered from all parts of the world; a home that has grown mellow and beautiful with time, and whicli neither money nor desire can obtain. Old-fashioned lounges and round divans, and big rocking- chairs, and odd cabinets fill the wide hall. A grandfather's clock stands like a carved oak coffin on end, and the brass face looks out through the glass case upon a life witii which it has nothing more to do. There are pictures on the tables and walls, and books and papers everywhere. A Turkish curtain as well as folding doors separate the front ])arlor from the back. The last is lined from the floor almost to the ceiling with book- shelves, and the over-profuse books overflow into every room in the housa. Rare paintings and portraits, including several of Rossetti's and a spirited pen-and-ink sketch of his wife pour- ing 5-clock tea, cover the walls and door-frames. Wild flowers crammed into beautiful vases, photogra})hs lying loosely on the tables, a dainty modern chair or two strung with ribbons, an open piano, tell their own pretty story of the gracious, woman- ly presence that pervades this lovely old-fashioned home. 480 f HE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME "The home of Jefferson Davis is not less dear and interest^ ing to the people to whom he is dear than it is full of sug- gestions and a fine example to the world at large. As I sat in that cool, sweet drawing-room with my gentle hosts and their winsome young daughter, w^ho will not be affronted, I trust, if I thus declare her to be the brightest, gentlest, sprightliest young woman I ever lost ray heart to, I could not but wish for half a minute that the mossy old roof above us might melt away and all the world look in on the singularly pure life that goes on at Beauvoir. Tall and thin and shrunken, with a high-bred, kindly face, and a wintry smile in his kind eyes — -- with silver white hair and beard, distinguished and remarka- ble in appearance, Mr. Davis sat leaning back in his arm- chair, his thin white hands clasped over his knee, and he con- versing with a gentle interest with his guests. With what a courtly gesture he turned to me as he spoke, how pretty was the way he stooped to kiss Flo? Shall I ever forget the pic- ture he made, leaning back in his big chair, in that quaint and beautiful old room? He looked all he had been and all he is — the soldier, the statesman, the scholar, and the gentle- man of the old school. By his side sat his wife — a gracious, genial, white-haired woman, large-statured, large-minded, large-hearted, and no less distinguished looking than her hus- band — a woman born to a commanding position and one cer- tain to wield a great and good influence. Mrs. Davis is a deeply-learned woman; all the culture, polish, and brilliancy of her time is expressed in her thoughts and speech. To her almost more than to any other woman in the South may be applied that fine, old-fashioned compliment, Ho know her is a liberal education.' There, in this charming old house, hidden under the pine trees, its faded face looking out to sea, this hus- band and this wife are spending the last half of their lives. What books they could wante if they would. What rich remin- iscences are theirs of the Old World and the New, of the great and distinguished men and w^omen of both hemispheres. But they do not write books. They simply live a happy and peaceful life in the 'Beauvoir house,' entertaining many friends, reading much, doing all the good that comes their way; their home a place where hospitality might have had its birth; their lives full of beautiful cares and work. " And after a time the young daughter of the house led us HIS LIFE AFTER THE WAR. 431 Out into the sunny, old-fasliionod garden, trailing off forest- ward under the oaks.. It was like tiie gardens we read about, with its odd little flower-beds and long, wandering walks, all set with mignonette. The wind that stirred the flowers was full of cinnamon odors and sweet with the breath of the unfashionable damask roses that grew in the far corners. "The tall, slim young lady in the dove-gray gown, her gentle, serious, yet happy face shaded by a broad-brimmed hat, went down the dewy walks with Flo, and they talked together as Twenty -Two does not often condescend to talk to Ten, and as they walked she snipped a bit here and a sprig there, fashioning a poesy for her small guest. How charming she looked bending over the bushes of blue-eyed periwinkles 1 I wonder could she have been ^ore charming, even when she went North and cap- tured it? A girl who can entertain a room full of learned men, who is brilliant and thorough, bending her pretty brown head down to the level of the yellow one of the little child, and entertaining and charming her small visitor with the same grace and tact, was a pretty spectacle, a fit companion-piece to the quaint pictures of the book and picture-lined drawing-room, with its silver-haired host and hostess. How slim and graceful and bonny she looked as ' With lightsome heart she pulled a rose. Full sweet upon its thorny tree.' "Somehow the flowers were like the gentle girl-giver; they were the flowers that one loves to write of, to think on, to remember, and to treasure. There was a hit of lavender with its spiky leaves, rosemary more sweet than the breath of the incense that remains forever about the altars in old and long- used Catholic churches, a bit of yellow-blossomed rue, and some sweet-smelling, magenta-colored pinks. They were the flowers of nature, not those forced in conservatories. In her manners and simple, unaffected gentleness and kindness this young lady is as old-fashioned as her flowers. It is easy to understand her charm when it is also remembered that her mind has been most carefully trained, that all the advantages of foreign travel and education have been hers. "I know how wise she is, how many are her accomplish- ments, and, withal, how unaffected and honest and loyal she is. I am minded to say, too, that, in my opinion, if she and 432 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. that other fair and brilliant young lady whose home is in the White House had been allowed to meet, as both probably wished to, they would have flown into each other's arms, and neither would have remembered that one was born north and the other south of Mason and Dixon's line. "lam proud to think how our bonny, brilliant Southern girl went North and captured it. I like to recall how prettily she was received, with a hospitality that could not be excelled even at Beauvoir. I can think of her doing well, and acting wisely and honorably and nobly, and with a heart loyal to her home, her people, and her country in all places and at all times. I like to think of her in her tulle party dresses, or being led out to dinner by some great man whom it is an honor to know. But, somehow, I love best to think of her standing in her gray gown, knee-deep among her roses, gath- ering a nosegay of lavender and rue and rosemary in the sunny, sweet-scented garden that trails off with many a tangle of vine and bramble under the trees at the back of Beauvoir house." The following letter written by the author gives, perhaps, a more vivid account of a visit he made to Beauvoir in the sum- mer of 1886 than he could recall now, and it is inserted, there- fore, just as it was written at the time: A VISIT TO BEAUVOIR PRESIDENT DAVIS AND FAMILY AT HOME. BY J. WM. JONES. "Richmond, Va., August 1st, 1886. "A trip from Richmond to Beauvoir, by the Richmond and Danville route to Atlanta, the Atlanta, West Point and Mont- gomery to Montgomery, and thence by the Louisville and Nashville railway, is quick and comparatively comfortable, even at this season. Leaving here at 2 A. M. on Thursday we reached Beauvoir — a flag-station on the Louisville and Nash- ville, half-way between Mobile and New Orleans — at 4:40 P. M. Friday. '"^he first questions asked are, 'Where is Mr. Davis's house?' 'Is Mr. Davis at home?' The grounds are pointed out as run- ning down to the station, the large vineyard of scuppernong HIS LIFE AFTER THE WAR. 438 grapes forming a pleasing contrast to tlie sighing pines around, and soon the large yard, shaded by live-oaks, is seen, and the dim outlines of the cottages and mansion, as we hurry along the road to the house of a relative on the beach, several hun- dred yards below. But I was greatly disappointed to learn that Mr. Davis had received a summons to his plantation up on the Mississippi river, and had left several days before. "I had, however, a very pleasant time — gazing on the beau- tiful Gulf, breathing its salt breezes, dipping in its brine, catch- ing fish every morning for breakfast, making some very pleas- ant acquaintances, etc. — and made a most enjoyable visit to Beauvoir, wdiere Mrs. Davis and Miss Winnie entertained me ui most agreeable style. "At this and subsequent visits I had ample opportunity of seeing thefhouse and grounds. The house is a large, double- framed building, painted white, and contrasting very pleas- antly with the foliage in which it is embowered. A wide veranda runs around it, and a broad hall through the centre makes a very pleasant sitting-room in the summer. On either side of the main building, and a few yards from it, are very neat cottages, also white, and in the rear are ample and con- venient out-buildings. The house is very w-ell furnished, mostly with handsome old furniture, the walls are adorned with some fine pictures — some of them copies of the master- pieces of the old masters — and the rooms are tastefully deco- rated with bric-a-brac and pretty ornaments, many of wdiich are the products of the deft fingers and good taste of Mrs. Davis and her accomplished daughter. "Books, carefully selected from standard authors, adorn the tables or grace the shelves. In a word, the stranger who knew nothing of the occupants would have only to glance through the rooms to see at once that this is an abode of culture, refine- ment, and taste. ".The grounds are ample, the live-oaks and their hanging moss are very beautiful, the Gulf of Mexico laves the beacli in front of the house, and is one of the most beautiful sheets of water that the sun shines upon. The grounds are very beau- tiful as they are, but are capable of great improvement, and one could not repress the wish that our honored Confederate chief had the means of making them all that his cultivated taste would suggest. 28 434 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. " And vet it is a source of gratification to old Confederates that our great leader has this quiet retreat, where, away from the rushing crowd, on the soil of his loved Mississippi, breath- ing the healthful breezes of the Gulf that washes the southern shores of the Confederacy, in the shades of his own home and in the bosom of his family, he can spend the evening of his busy life, and fill out the record of his great duties and heroic deeds. But it ought to be added that his needed rest and quiet are often broken by visitors — loving admirers who are anxious to pay their respects and do honor to the greatest living Amer- ican — but too often mere curiosity -hunters, some of whom par- take of his hospitality and then go off to write all manner of slanders about him. "I would not be guilty of drawing aside the veil that con- ceals from the world the privacy of the home, or parading before the public even the names of our noble women ; but the deep interest which our people take in all that concerns this noble family must be my excuse for saying some things which otherwise might not be admissible. "Those who knew Mrs. Davis in other days, as a Senator's or Secretary's wife, in AVashington, or as 'Mistress of the White House' and 'first lady' of the Confederacy, in Richmond, would find no difficulty in recognizing her now; for, though time has wrought some changes in her, she is the same bright, genial, cultivated, domestic woman, w^ho is equally well qualified to grace the parlor, preside at a State dinner with historic men as her guests, attend to the minutest details of her housekeeping, or visit her neighbors, or look after the needy poor. "She is one of the finest conversationalists I ever met, and her recollections of society and events in Washington, in Rich- mond, and in Europe, and of the prominent men and vromen with whom she came in contact, are simply charming, and would make a book of rare interest were she disposed to turn her attention to authorship. Devoted to her husband, and taking a natural pride in his fame; an affectionate mother, who delights in her children and grandchildren; affable and pleasant with her neighbors; a noted housekeeper and fine economist, and a charming entertainer of visitors, she strikes all who know her as worthy to share the fortunes and comfort the declining years of our chief, as she was worthy to share his honors and reign in society at Washington and at Rich- mond. BIS LIFE AFTER THE WAR. 435 "She speaks in the most cordial terms (as does Mr. Davis) of Richmond and Richmond people, and inquires very affec- tionately after some of her special friends. "Miss Winnie Davis, the single daughter, who was born in Richmond not long before the close of the war, is one of the most thoroughly educated, accomplished 3'oung women whom I have ever met. At the same time she is simple, affable, and sweet in her manners, a brilliant conversationalist, a general favorite, and every way worthy of her proud lineage and happy nheritance as 'Daughter ot the Confederacy.' "Mrs. Hayes, the only other living child, was on a visit to Beauvoir, but was sick, and I had not the pleasure of seeing her; but I heard her spoken of in the warmest terms of admira- tion by soipe oi the neighbors. I saw her four sweet children — and what' pets they were with their grandfather, whose love of children is one of his strong characteristics. "Returning from a several-days' trip to Meridian, I was delighted to find that Mr. Davis had returned from his plan- tation, had done me the honor of calling at my brother-in-law's to see me, and was awaiting^my arrival. "Those who knew him in Richmond during the war might not recognize hira at once, as over twenty years have left their impress upon him, and he now wears a full beard instead of being closely shaven as then. But the handsome face, the courtly grace of his bearing, the flash of his eagle eye, his cordial manners, genial humor, and almost unrivalled elo- quence of conversation, soon bring back the Confederate Presi- dent — the indomitable leader, the unflinching patriot, the high- toned, Christian gentleman, whom true Confederates will ever delight to honor. "Seventy-eight years of an eventful life are upon him, his health is not strong, and his physical powers begin to weaken ; but his intellect is as clear as ever, and his heart as warm as ever for the land he has loved so well, and for which he has toiled, and suffered, and sacrificed so much. "I shall not be guilty of betraying to the public the confi- dence of private conversation, as in this and subsequent inter- views, at his own home, he spoke freely of men and events and measures from that full knowledge and intimate acquaintance, and in that perfectly charming manner which make his lightest utterances of unspeakable value. 486 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL VME. " But there are some things which I may, without impro- priet}^ write, and which I know will be of deep interest to our people. "Mr. Davis loves to talk of his home, the Gulf coast of Mis- sissippi and its advantages, his pictures, his books, questions in English literature, science, the arts, etc., in all of which he is perfectly at home and talks charmingly; his cadet life at West Point and the men he knew there, who were afterwards famous; the Mexican war and his services, of which he speaks v^ery modestly, but the brilliancy of which all the world knows; his services in the United Slates Senate, and as Secretary of War, and the men with whom he came in contact while serving in these high positions; his travels abroad, etc. "But he seems to delight especially to talk of the Confed- eracy; its splendid rise, its heroic struggle, its sad fall, when 'compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources.' He seemed thoroughly familiar with the minutest details of all the departments of the government. He gave some very interesting details of experiments made while he was Secre- tary of War, on the question of ^whether to cast guns hollow or to bore them out from solid castings, and spoke of the laud- able pride with which Rodman sought him when he had pre- pared some cannon-powder, and exclaimed, 'Eureka! Eureka!' "He gave a very interesting account of some experiments made by Professor Bartlett, of West Point, undei* his direc- tion, on the proper size and shape of bullets. The experiments failed, but last year at Beauvoir he got to thinking over it, and thought that he discovered the cause of the failure. "He at once wrote to Professor Bartlett, giving him his theory, but received from him a very kind reply, in which the Professor said that he was now too old and infirm to make new experiments, and that, besides, he had lost their original memoranda and calculations. " He spoke with commendable pride of what progress the Confederacy had made in creating material of war, until at the end of the struggle the best powder in the world was made at the Confederate mill under charge of General Pains. Pie said that while a prisoner at Fortress Monroe he was told that the powder which produced the best results in firing at iron plates was some of this powder captured from the Confederates. "He talked freely, and in the most interesting manner, of m ^ 1 I \t ^'/;lii i f t/ -^j i\\ U.N iUJi \\bi>AisjJ.v A I BEAUVOIE. 438 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. the causes, progress, and results of the war, and, while fully accepting its logical results, he seems profoundly anxious that our children should be taught the truth, and that our people should not forget or ignore tlie great fundamental principles for which we fought. As for allowing the war to be called 'The Rebellion' and our Confederate people 'Rebels,' he heart- ily repudiated and condemned it. *A sovereign cannot rebel,' he said, 'and sovereign states cannot be in rebellion. You might as well say Germany rebelled against France, or that France (as she was beaten in the contest) rebelled against Germany.' "He said that once in the hurry of writing he had spoken of it as ' the civil war,' but had never used that misnomer again. " He spoke of many of our generals and of the inside his- tory of some of our great battles and campaigns, telling some things of great interest and historic value, wdiich I do not feel at liberty to publish now. " After speaking in the most exalted terms of Lee and Jack- son, their mutual confidence in each other, and their prompt cooperation, he said: 'They supplemented each other, and, together, with any fair opportunity, they Y\^ere absolutely invincible.' He defended Jackson against the statement made by some of his warmest admirers (even Dr. Dabney in his biography) that he was not fully himself in failing to force the passage of White Oak Swamp to go to the help of A. P. Hill at Frazier's farm. He said that he thought that a care- ful study of the topography would show that Franklin's posi- tion was the real obstacle to Jackson's crossing. " He spoke warmly of the magnificent fight which A. P. Hill, ifterwards supported by Longstreet, made that day — a battle vh^ch he witnessed — and told some interesting incidents con- jernlng it. "Early in the day he met General Lee near the front, and at once accosted him with, 'Why, general, what are you doing hero? You are in too dangerous a position for the com- mander of the army.' "'I am trying,' was the reply, 'to find out something about the movements and plans of those people. But you must excuse me, Mr. President, for asking what you are doing here, and for suggesting that this is no proper place for the com- mander-in-chief of all our armies.' HIS LIFE AFTER THE WAR. 439 "'Oh, I am here on the same mission that you are/ replied the President, and they were beginning to consult about the situation when gallant 'little A. P. Hill' dashed up and exclaimed, 'This is no place for either of you, and, as com- mander of this part of the field, I order you both to the rear.' "'We vill obey your orders/ was the reply; and they fell back a short distance, but the fire grew hotter, and presently A. P. Hill galloped up to them again and exclaimed: 'Did I not tell you to go away from here ? and did you not promise to obey my orders? Why, one shell from that battery over yonder may presently deprive the Confederacy of its Presi- dent and the Army of Northern Virginia of its commander/ And v/ith other earnest words he finally persuaded the Presi- de it and Gfeneral Lee to move back to a more secure place. " Mr. Davis spoke in the warmest terms of praise of A. P. Kill. ■ He was,' he said, 'brave and skillful, and alwaj's ready toobey 'rders and do his full duty.' Reminding him that General HiU was killed at Petersburg 'with a sick furlough in hif pockftt/ having arisen from a sick-bed and hurried to the fr(>'-t when he heard that the enemy was moving, he said : ' Yeb, a truer, more devoted, self-sacrificing soldier never lived or died n the cause of right.' "Speaking in general of the Seven Days' battles around Richm jnd, he said that we accomplished grand results, and the failure to annihilate McClellan's army was due chiefly to the fact that when General Lee took command there were at headquarters no maps ot the country below Richmond, and it was then too late to procure them, and that our army moved all the time in ignorance ot the country and "with guides who, for the most part, proved themselves utterly inefficient. " He said that General Lee's object in the retreat from Peters- burg was to reach Danville, and then to unite with Johnston and crush Sherman before Grant could come up. " After General Johnston's surrender, his object was to reach the Trans-Mississippi department and see if he could rally the forces there. And this he believes he could have accom- plished, as he knew every swamp along his proposed route, but he was turned aside by information that a band of rob- bers were about to attack his family, who were traveling on a different line. " He gave deeply interesting details of the foreign relations 440 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. of the Confederacy, and of how near we were several times to recognition by England and France. He spoke in the highest terms of praise of Captain Bullock's ' Secret Service of the Confederacy in Europe ' — a book which he thinks should be in every library — and said that the Confederacy had nothing to fear from the publication of all of its official correspondence. " He spoke in strong terms of the double dealings of Louis Napoleon, who, after inviting Mr. Slidell, the- Confederate com- missioner, to have Confederate vessels built in France, and as- suring him that there would be no obstacle to their going out afterwards, went square back on his word (because of certain representations of Mr. Dayton, the United States Minister), and refused to allow them to go out. When he was in France after the war, the Emperor sent him word, that ' If he desired an interview with him he would be glad to grant it.' *But,' said the grand old chief of the Confederacy, ' I wanted no in- terview with the man who had played us false, and so I promptly replied that I did not desire it.' *' He spoke of General Lee's high opinion of the ability of General Earlj^ as a soldier, and of his own emphatic endorsa- tion of that opinion, and said many other things of deep inter- est which I may not write now " He and his family were evidently deeply touched by the grand ovation accorded him at Montgomery, Atlanta, Savan- nah, etc., last spring, and I assured him that if he would accept the invitation which I bore him from Governor Lee to be present at the laying of the corner-stone of the Lee monument next October we would give him in the last capital of the Confeder- acy a welcome equally as warm— an ovation fully as imposing. He could not promise so long ahead what he could do, in view of his declining years and uncertain health, but said, 'There is no place I would rather visit than Richmond; no occasion I had rather be present upon than one that is to honor R. E. Lee. If possible I shall do myself the pleasure of going.' "I came away from Beau voir with the highest gratification that I had had the privilege of seeing at his home, eating with at his table, and mingling in free social intercourse with the great statesman, the peerless orator, the gallant soldier, the stainless Christian gentleman, the devoted patriot, whom, with one voice, the Confederate States called to be their chief, who never betrayed their trust, but who was true in war, and has BIS LIFE AFTER THE WAR. 441 been true in peace — 'who did not desert during the war and has not deserted since.' "What true Confederate — what true citizen of any section of the country — can fall to join in the earnest prayer that Heaven's ciioicest blessings may rest upon that beautiful home at Beauvoir — that his last days may be his best days, and that he may finally rest in peace, wear 'the fadeless crown of vic- tory,' and rejoice in the plaudit of the Great Captain — 'Well done good and faithful servant' — when he shall join Lee and Jackson and others of our Christian soldiers in that bright land where 'war's rude alarms' are never heard?" It may be added concerning Mrs. Davis that never was there a more devoted, helpful wife or mother. No public man ever had a wife who, by education, accomplishments, conver- sational powers, and domestic tastes and habits, was better fitted to fill the conspicuous places to which she was called. And no husband ever had a more devoted, self-sacrificing wife. When he was in prison she left no elTort untried until she at last got permission to visit him, and share his hard lot* which she greatly brightened. And for all of the later years of his life she was his constant companion, his nurse in sick- ness, his amanuensis, his comforter, his help-mate in every sense of the term. And now, as the " Widow of the Confederacy," she has the warmest place in the hearts of old Confederates and of our peo- ple generally. May heaven's choicest blessings rest upon her and her chil- dren has been, and will be, the prayer that wells up from many a Southern heart. Mrs. Hayes is every way worthy of her noble lineage, and the future of her four sweet children (the boy, five years old^ has taken the name Jefferson Hayes Davis) will be watched with deep interest and fervent prayers that they may prove worthy of the heritage of honor and fanie to which they havo succeeded. 412 TSE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. Miss " Varina Anne" has lost her real name, and is univer- sally called by the pet name — " Winnie" — which her father gave her. For years she was his almost constant companion. Siie read to him, wrote for him, studied books on military tac- tics that she might interest him in discussing campaigns and battles, and in many ways brought much of sunshine into his life. She is one of the most universally popular ladies we have ever known, and in visits to New Orleans, Memphis, Louis- ville, Mobile, Montgomery, Savannah, Atlanta, Richmond, Macon, New York, and other cities she never failed to capture the cities. The Richmond Dispatch gave a report of the presentation of a badge of " Lee Camp Confederate Veterans" to Miss Winnie on the 21st of September, 1886, at the Soldiers' Home, from which the following extract is given, in order to show the feel- ing towards President Davis and his accomplished daughter by the old soldiers of the Confederacy, a large number of whom were present : "As the carriage containing Miss Davis, escorted by General C. J. Anderson and Messrs. John and Clay Chamblain, drove on the grounds the veterans saluted her with a salvo of artillery. "General and Mrs. Terry, Captain Pollard, Commander Murphy, Captain John Maxwell, Major T, A. Brander, and other members of Lee Camp did the honors of the Home, and showed the grounds and buildings to the visitors. "At the appointed hour Governor Lee, accompanied by Mrs. Lee, drove up, and soon after the interesting ceremonies begun. Captain Maxwell introduced Governor Lee. who was received with loud applause, and proceeded to perform the duty assigned him of presenting to Miss Davis the certificate ai^d badge. "Governor Lee felicitated the veterans of Lee Camp that they had among thorn the daughter ot the great Confederate President, who had guided with such ability, such unswerving patriotism, the fortunes of tlie Confederacy, and had borne himself so bravely in the hour of adversity. HIS LIFE AFTER THE WAB. 443 "The time has come, he said, when we could calmly look back on that great struggle, and, without disloyalty to the present order of things or our allegiance to the present govern- ment, do justice to the motives and deeds of the men who made it. It was on our part a square, honest fight for what we believed to be our ' inalienable rights.' "There was, said Governor Lee, a difference of opinion as to the interpretation of that constitution. We of the South, led by our ablest statesmen and some of the ablest statesmen of the North, believed that under the constitution we had a right to peaceably secede from the Union, and tried to do so. The people of the North, guided by the massive intellect of Web- ster and the opinions of Story and others of their leaders, believed tl/at the Union was 'perpetual,' and the result was the fearful war which drenched the land in blood. "The men of the South have, he said, no sort of occasion to be ashamed of the part they bore in that conflict, and cer- tainly the veterans of this Home and of Lee Camp (most of whom served in the Army of Northern Virginia) have a heri- tage of glory of which they may well be proud, since they have written their names high up on the pillar of fame, and won a series of splendid victories which illustrated brightest pages of history, until at Appomattox — 'not conquered, but wearied out with victory' — they stacked their bright muskets, parked their blackened guns, and furled forever their tattered battle-flags. "Governor Lee congratulated the veterans that they had carried into the arts of peace and to the promotion of the inter- ests of the restored Union the same patient endurance and heroic courage which they had displayed on the battle-field. He then turned to Miss Davis, and in a few earnest and grace- ful words presented the certificate and badge, saying that if she was 'The Daughter of the Confederacy' these sons of the Confed- eracy could call her their sister, and would count it a high privilege to do so. " ]Miss Davis received the certificate and badge with a very graceful bow, amid the loud applause of the crowd, who had repeatedly applauded Governor Lee, and then Dr. J. William Jones, who had been chosen by Miss Davis to represent her, made the following response ; 444 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. "I count it a great privilege and a high lionorto be permit- ted to respond for our fair guest upon this occasion, and to con- vey to you, Governor, and through you to Lee Camp, her hearty thanks for the honor of being enrolled among their hon- orary members, her warm appreciation of this beautiful badge and certificate, which she will preserve among her cherished treasures as a souvenir of a 'red-letter day' in her life — a bright spot in her memory. "Born in the stormy days of war, rocked in the cradle of the Confederacy, and reared in an atmosphere where it is held to be no crime to have been true to the principles of constitutional freedom, she is loyal to the hallowed memories of the Confed- eracy, clings fondly to its traditions, cherishes its histor}^, and loves and honors its brave defenders. How, then, can she be otherwise than deeply touched when these gallant veterans (who used to obey without question the orders of her distin- guished father — the President of the Confederate States and commander-in-chief of their armies — as they marched forth so gaily to illustrate the brightest pages of American history) come to honor 'The Daughter of the Confederacy' by enrolling her name among them, and choosing so worthy a knight as the distinguished Governor of the Commonwealth — 'our gal- lant Fitz' — to voice their wishes in making this presentation? Words fail me in attempting to express properly her feelings, and I can only say to you. Governor, and to the members of Lee Camp : Accept her warmest thanks. "And now' I beg the privilege of adding just this word: It seems to me a happy augury that this 'Home' of our veterans opens its doors this bright and beautifutl afternoon to the daugh- ter of our grand old Chief, and I am sure that all will join me in breathing the fervent prayer that Heaven's choicest bless- ings may abide here, and also upon that home beside the Gulf — that the love of a grateful people may ever be theirs, and that peace, prosperity, and true happiness may be forever the portion of our noble Chief and of the immortal heroes who fol- lowed him to deeds of fadeless glory for the land and cause they loved so well and served so faithfully." " Major T. A. Brander, in words few and fit, then presented Miss Davis, on behalf of the veterans of the Home, with a beau- tiful bouquet which he said w^as composed of flowers raised on the grounds by the tender care of the veterans. Bis LIFE AFTER THE WAR. 445 "Governor Lee then led jNliss Davis to the front, and the veterans crowded forward and shook hands witli her. " She was dressed with exquisite taste, wore the badge of the Army of Northern Virginia and several otlier military badges with which she had been invested, and impressed all who saw her with the dignity and queenly grace of her bearing and by the cordial greeting she gave to each of the veterans. "It was whispered all around, 'She is worthy of her proud lineage and high position,' and the veterans especially seemed delighted with her reception of them. " The badge is the regular badge of Lee Camp, beautifully gotten up and suitably engraved. " The whole occasion was one of deep interest, and w-as heartily enjoyed by the large crowd present." During the years after the war Mr. Davis did not very often appear in public — both his health and his disinclination to take part in public meetings forbidding — but upon some notable occasions he was the central figure. He presided over the great Lee Memorial meeting in Richmond in November, 1870, and spoke at the convention that assembled at the Mont- gomery White Sulphur Springs, Virginia, in August, 1874, to reorganize the Southern Historical Society; at the unveiling of the Stonewall Jackson monument, in New Orleans; at the great Southern Historical Society meeting, in New Orleans; at the unveiling of the Albert Sidney Johnston monument there; at the laying of the corner-stone of the Confederate monument in Montgomery; at Atlanta, Savannah, ]\Iacon, and other places. We deeply regret to find that our limited space will prevent us from giving these speeches as w^e had intended. But we must make a place for the following speech which he delivered under very peculiar circumstances. At a ban- quet given by the Louisiana division of the Army of North- ern Virginia Association, December 6th, 1878, when none but Confederate soldiers were present, and it w^as announced that reporters had been excluded, that there would be no report in 446 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL TIME. the papers of the speeches made, and that each speaker was expected to say ivhat he pleased, Mr. Davis made the following speech which has never been in print, but which was taken down in short-hand at the time, and for a copy of which we are indebted to Captain John H. Murray, the then secretary of the association. Northern readers, after all they have been taught of the bit- terness of Mr. Davis to the North, will be surprised at the fra- ternal tone of this speech made under the circumstance. SPEECH AT ARMY NORTHERN VIRGINIA BANQUET. " My Friends and Soldiers of the Confederacy : " I am glad to meet so many of you assembled here, to know that you are still marching shoulder to shoulder, and that you still keep step to those bonds of fraternity which you learned upon the field of battle and in the camp, where suffering, danger, and death were confronted hourly by you. "And while the battle ebbed and flowed ; while victory at one time rose and defeat followed it with crushing force, still there was one thing which never faltered — the courage, the honor, the fidelity of the Confederate soldier. "Political unions are the result sometimes of traditions, some- times of a community of interests, sometimes of the force of outward pressure creating the necessity to band together to resist the force which is on the outside. " But there is a fraternity which is closer than these — it is that fraternity which is formed around the camp-fire, which is formed between the wounded soldier and his attending com- rades, which is formed between the men who are rushing to see who shall be first in the breach and who shall be last to leave. " This is the rivalry that bound men together when they were struggling few against many, when, as it has been de- scribed to you by General Early, they stood up and faced the foe one to five, and still manfully held the. line against that overwhelming force. Louisiana was there. Her noble Drew with his little battalion was among the first who confronted that powerful force on the Peninsula. Louisiana was there — ah I Louisiana was everywhere where blood was to be shed in HIS LIFE AFTER THE WAR. 447 the maintenance of truth and liberty and the rights slie had inherited. She sent her sons to Virginia not to battle for Vii- ginia — not to battle for the Confederacy merely, but to battle tor something which was higher and brighter than these and all else, to battle for truth and political rights, the liberty of her sons and the inheritance their fathers had bequeathed to them. "It is always to me a great pleasure to meet a Confederate soldier, and before he tells me what he is, I think I can recog- nize him by the thrill of his grasp. Trained to truth and duty, tried in temptation, and tempered by distress, they came forth the pure gold from the forge. And while we now 'ac- cept the situation' in the language of the day — yet as Bill Arp said, though thoroughly reconstructed, ' I will bet my last dol- lar on Dixie/ "We are now at peace, and I trust will ever remain so. We have recently been taught that those whom we had considered enemies, measuring them by standard bearers whose hearts were filled with malignity, that they in our hour of trouble had hearts beating in sympathy with our grief. We have been taught by their generosity that bounded with quick re- sponse to the afflictions of the South, that the vast body of peo- ple at the North are our brethren still. " And the heart would be dead to every generous impulse that would try to stimulate in you now a feeling of hostility to those where so large a majority have manifested nothing but brotherly love for you. "Inreferring, therefore, to the days of the past and the glori- ous cause you have served — a cause that was dignified by the honor in which you maintained it — I seek but to revive a memory which should be dear to you and pass on to your children as a memory which teaches the highest lessons of manhood, of truth, and of adherance to duty — duty to your State, duty to your principles, duty to the truth, duty to your buried parents, and duty to your coming children. * I thank you, friends." i.mong the large number of letters which he wrote at this period, we select as examples only two — one to the ladies of the Confederate Monument Association, and the other com- 44S THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. plaining of mistakes made in a biographical sketch — regret- ting that we have not space for others, as he was a very accomplished letter writer. "Bpjauvoir, Miss., May 21, 1888. " Ladies of the Confederate Monument Association of Mississippi: " I duly received your gratifying invitation to my family and myself to be present at the laying of the corner-stone of the monument to commemorate the dead of ]Mississippi who died for the State. "This acknowlelgtnent has been delayed under the hope that my health would so improve as to enable me to partici- pate in the ceremony. 'The earnest desire to be with you on the occasion led me to hope against the better judgment of others that I might be physically able to join in the work which is very near to my heart. The monument will be the first reared by Mississipi;! to her sons, who at the call of their mother forgot all selfish cares and went forth, if need be, to die for her cause. This omission cannot be ascribed to the absence of meritorious claims to sucli consideration, for ]Mississippians have neither been of the war party in peace nor of the peace party in w^ar. In tlie territorial infancy of our State, when the population was mainly confined to a few river counties, the Indian war with its characteristic ferocity, was ravaging the frontier settlements. At the cry of the helpless, Mississippians ruslied to arms, though few and illy prepared for war. Among the earliest of my memories was the grief of our people because of the mas- sacre at Fort Mimms, where many of our neighbors died in the fulfillment of that noblest motive of human action which causes one to give his life that others may live. No monument for the instruction of the rising generation commemorates the event, and the commonly used school-books are devoted :.o Northern history. "At Pensacola or Fort Bower, and in the battle of New Or- leans, Mississippi bore an honorable part. Your monument will stand in the county of Hinds, the name of the leader of the Mississippi dragoons, whose conduct in the battle of New Orleans was commended in general orders for the admiration of one army and the wonder of the other. HIS LIFE AFTER THE WAB. 449 *'At a later day when Mississippi was sent a requisition for troops to serve in the war between the United States and Mexico, the difficulLy was not to get the requisite number of companies, but to discriminate among those offering in excess of the numbers which would be received. An attempt was made to build a monument to those who fought and died in a foreign land, but it failed. If asked why ? The reason is on the surface. It was not woman's work. "Daughters of Mississippi, you have labored in a cause the righteousness of which only he can deny whose soul is so devoid of patriotism that in his country's strife he could give aid and comfort to the enemy. It would have been a great gratificatioa to me to stand among the survivors of the Mis- sissippi army and in laying the corner-stone of the monument to their deceased comrades to recall their virtues, the mingled attributes of the hero and saint. Please be assured that in spirit I shall be with you. For the zeal with which you have faced all discouragement, and the devotion you have shown to the purpose, which had only its merits for its reward, I pray you to accept from the inmost fibre of his heart the thanks of an old Mississippian. Faithfully, Jefferson Davis." "T. K. Oglesby, Esq.: *' My Dear Sir — The set of Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography which you ordered sent to my address has been received. I am not the less thankful to you for your kind attention because I cannot give to the work more than a par- tial approval. I very naturally turned to the article which I contributed upon Zachary Taylor, and which I was compelled to compress to bring it within the prescribed limit; but I found the article had been expanded by the addition of matter in regard to his family, which was so inaccurate that I was sorry to have it annexed to what I had written, my consolation being that no member of the Taylor family would believe me to be the author of the addition. "My next examination was of the article 'Davis (Jefferson).' Here I found the baseless scandal of a romantic elopement revived and reprinted, and all along through that article flowed the misrepresentations current in Northern prints, and attri- buting to me things I never said, of which I am quite sure, 29 450 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLTTME. because they were things I never thought. There is no fitness in my writing to you a full criticism of a work which seems to me guided and inspired by narrow sectionalism, but you will allow me to add, for your kind attention, I am and shall remain very gratefully yours, Jefferson Davis." We close this chai)ter with the following brief, but char- acteristic, and significant ADDRESS BEFORE THE MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE, MARCH 10, 1884. '^^ Friends and Brethren of Mississippi: "In briefest terms but with deepest feelings, permit me to return my thanks for the unexpected honor you have con- ferred upon me. Away from the political sea, I have in my secluded home observed with intense interest all passing events affecting the interest or honor of Mississippi, and have rejoiced to see in the diversification of labor and the development of new sources of prosperity and the increased facilities of jjublio education, reason to hope for a future to our State more pros- perous than any preceding era. The safety and honor of a republic nmst rest upon the morahty, intelligence and patriot- ism of the community. "We are now in a transition state, which is always a bad one, both in society and in nature. Y/hat is to be the result of the changes which may be anticipated it is not possible to forecast, but our people have shown such fortitude and have risen so grandly from the deep depression inflicted upon them that it is fair to entertain bright hopes for the future. Sec- tional hate, concentrating itself upon my devoted head, deprives me of the privileges accorded toothers in the sweeping expres- sion of ' without distinction of race, color or previous condition,' but it cannot deprive me of that which is nearest and dearest to my heart, the right to be a Mississippian, and it is with gratification that I receive" this e'nphatic recognition of that right by the representatives of her people. Reared on the soil of Mississippi, the ambition of my boyhood was to do something which would redound to the honor and welfare of the State. The weight of many years admonishes me that my day for actual services has passed, yet the desire remains undi- minished to see the people of Mississippi prosperous and happy, and her fame not unlike the past, but gradually growing v/ider and brighter as the years roil away. HIS LIFE AFTER THE WAR. 451 " It has been said that I should apply to the United States for a pardon ; but repentance must precede the right of pardon, and I liave not repented. Remembering as I must all which has been suffered, all which has been lost, disappointed hopes and crushed aspirations, yet I deliberately say: If it were to do over again, I would do just as I did in 1861. No one is the arbiter of his own fate. The people of the Confederate States did more in proportion to their numbers and means than was ever achieved by any in the world's history. Fate decreed tliat they should be unsuccessful in the effort to maintain their claim to resume the grants made to the federal government. Our people have accepted the decree; it therefore behooves them, as tliey may, to promote the general welfare of the Union, to show to tl^e world that hereafter as heretofore the patriotism of our people is not measured by lines of latitude and longi- tude, but is as broad as the obligations they have assumed and embraces the whole of our ocean-bound domain. Let them leave to their children and their children's children the good example of never swerving from the path of duty, and preferring to return good for evil rather than to cherish the unmanly feeling of revenge. But never teach your children to desecrate the memory of the dead by admitting that their brothers were wrong in their effort to maintain the sovereingty, freedom and independence which was their inalienable birth- right. Remembering that the coming generations are the children of the heroic mothers whose devotion to our cause in its darkest hour sustained the strong and strengthened the weak, I cannot believe that the cause for which our sacrifices were made can ever be lost, but rather hope that those who now deny the justice of our asserted claims will learn from experience that the fathers builded wisely and the constitution should be construed according to the commentaries of the men who made it. It having been previously understood that I would not attempt to do more than return my thanks, which are far deeper than it would be possible for me to express, I will now, Senators and Representatives, and to you, ladies and gentlemen, who have honored me by your attendance, bid you an affectionate, and, it may be, a last farewell." XVIIL- ANALYSIS OF HIS CHARACTER. And now, in concluding this "outline," it only remains foi us to give a brief analysis of his character, and we cannot bet- ter do so than by reproducing the following from our pen which appeared in the Richmond Dispatch the day after Mr. Davis died. "JEFFERSON DAVIS, THE CHEISTIAN SOLDIER, STATESMAN, AND PATRIOT — BY REV. J. WILLIAM JONES, D. D. "Atlanta, Ga., December 6. '• The death of an old man who has more than lived out his four-score years would ordinarily excite but a passing interest. But the death of this great man who for so many years was a prominent figure in American history, who was a born leader of men, who has been a central figure in the most stirring events ever enacted on this continent, and who has borne him- self as grandly in peace as in war, in the shades of retirement as in the bustling activities of public life — the death of such a man will attract universal attention, elicit general comment, and recall incidents of interest not only in this country, but in the civilized world as well. "Other pens will give detailed sketches of his eventful life, be it mine only to recall here some personal reminiscences of the man as I knew him, and honored him, and loved him, and to give a brief outline of his character which was well worthy of the careful study and imitation of our young men. "I first saw President Davis on the field of First Manassas. Having the honor of being at that time 'high private in the rear rank' of the famous old Thirteenth Virginia regiment, which (in the brigade commanded first by Kirby Smith, and after he was wounded by Colonel Arnold Elzey) came on the AA'ALl'^JS OF HIS CIIAnACTUE. 45S field at the supreme crisis of the battle, we saw a great stir and heard vociferous cheering near the Lewis house, and were soon permitted to join in the general enthusiasm with which we greeted ' our President.' "As I recall him as he appeared that day, sitting his horse with the easy grace of tlie trained horseman, I endorse the description of him given by a writer who saw him in a memorable scene in the United States Senate not long before: "In face and form Davis represents the Norman type with singular fidelity if my conception of that type be correct. He is tall and sinewy, with fair hair, gray eyes, which are clear rather than bright, high forehead, straight nose, thin, compressed lips, and pointed chin. His cheek-bones are hol- low, and ^he vicinity of his mouth is deeply furrowed with interesting lines. Leanness of face, length and sharpness of feature, and length of limb, and intensity of expression, ren- dered acute by angular facial outline, are the general charac- teristics of his appearance, "Itwas upon that memorable day at Manassas that T. J. Jackson, who had just won his soubriquet of 'Stonewall,' is reported to have pushed aside the surgeons who were dressing his wounds and to have exclaimed, tossing his old gray cap in the air: 'There comes the President. Hurrah for the Presi- dent! Give me ten thousand men and I will be in Washington to-night.' "And there can be but little doubt that if the President had known 'Stonewall' ['Thunderbolt,' 'Tornado,' or 'Cyclone' would have been a much more appropriate soubriquet for him] as well then as he knew him afterwards, that he would have given him the men, for it is now a part of the history of that great victory that, so far from stopping the pursuit of the routed enemy (as was falsely reported at the time). President Davis was exceedingly anxious to push them across the Potomac, and at one time issued a peremptory order to that effect, which was only countermanded at the earnest request of Generals Johnston and Beauregard. "The next time I saw President Davis was during the 'seven days' battles around Richmond,' during which that pleasing mcident occurred of his gently rebuking General Lee for being so far to the front as to endanger his valuable life, and was in turn mildly chided by the General for ' risking the 454 TE[E DA VIS MEMORIAL VOL UME. life of the President of the Confederacy,' when 'gallant little A. P. Hill' (as Mr. Davis called him) dashed up and exclaimed: 'This is no place for either of you, and as commander of this part of the line I order you both to the rear!' "'We will obey orders,' was the laughing reply, as they fell back a short distance and began an earnest conference about 'the situation.' "But the fire becoming very hot A. P. Hill galloped up to them again and exclaimed: 'Did I not tell you to go away from here, and did you not promise to obey my orders? Why, one shell from that battery over yonder may presently deprive the Army of Northern Virginia of its commander and the Confederacy of its President.' And with matiy other earnest words he finally persuaded the President and General Lee to move back to a more secure place. "I was exceedingly fortunate during those seven days of battle in seeing a number of our leaders, and I have indelibly photographed on my memory their appearance, dress, equip- ment, and bearing. "Lee, the superb, mounted on Traveler, calm, dignified, alert, and every inch the soldier; old Stonewall, of rather ungainly, awkward figure, clad in dingy gray and mounted on 'Little Sorrel/ sucking a lemon, and seeming very impatient that the battle should begin; 'Jeb' Stuart in his 'fighting jacket,' rattling sabre, and jingling spurs, superbly mounted, and his very appearance denoting what he abundantly proved that he was indeed, 'the flower of cavaliers;' stern old Ewell, who cared little for dress or equipment, but had proven himself ' Jackson's right arm ' in his brilliant Valley campaign ; A. P. Hill, dressed in a fatigue jacket of gray flannel, his felt hat slouched over his noble brow, sitting his beautiful charger with easy grace, and glancing with eagle eye along his famous ' Light Division' as it hurried into battle, was the heavb ideal of a soldier; and scores of others of subordinate rank who were just beginning to 'win their spurs,' and formed a galaxy of chivalrous knights such as were rarely, if ever, congregated on the same battle-field. "But I do not hesitate to say that the accomplished horse- manship, the martial bearing, the general appearance of 'our President,' as he was greeted with the enthusiastic cheers of the soldiers, impressed me as deeply as any of the grand mea ANAL YSIS OF HIS CIIAEA CTER. 456 I saw on those fields of carnage, and made me feci then, what a subsequent study of his career lias made me knoiv, that Jef- ferson Davis was a born soldier, and that his brilliant career in the Mexican war was but a prophecy of what he would have been had he been able to carry out his own cherished desire to serve the Confederacy in the field instead of in the presidential chair. "After this I saw ]\Ir. Davis several times in Richmond, but had never heard him speak until at the famous mass-meeting at the Old African church in Richmond after the Confederate commissioners had returned from the * Hampton Roads Confer- ence' and made as their report that the government at Wash- ington would grant no terms but 'unconditional submission.' "1 had heard a great deal of and had formed a very high estimate of Mr. Davis as an orator. I had read some of his speeches in the United States Senate, and especially his chaste and eloquent 'Farewell to the Senate.' I had read his inau- gural address and a number of his other addresses to- soldiers and citizens. "But I must confess that I was not prepared for his speech- upon that occasion, which rang out like a clarion-call to bat- tle, and so touched and thrilled and swayed the vast multitude composed largely of soldiers, that we not only cheered him to the echo until we were hoarse, but were ready to follow to the death whenever he should lead. I have ever since that day regarded that speech as the grandest oratorical triumph I ever heard, and have placed Mr. Davis among the great orators of history. "Tlie next time I heard him speak was at the great soldiers' Lee memorial meeting, held at the First Presbyterian church iu Richmond in November, 1870. "About three years before the 'caged eagle' had been re- leased from prison, and he came to Richmond to preside over the meeting called by the old soldiers of Lee to do honor to their old commander who had died several weeks before. "It was a grand occasion, and there assembled the most brilliant galaxy of Confederate soldiers that has gathered since the war. Generals Early, John B. Gordon, John S. Preston, and Henry A. Wise, and Colonels Charles S. Venable, Charles Marshall, William Preston Johnston, and R. E. Withers were among the speakers, and all of them made touchingly beauti- 458 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME, ful tributes to Lee. But Mr. Davis, it is no disparagement to others to say, made unquestionably the speech of the occasion, and was received with a genuine enthusiasm, an irrepressible outburst of applause and cheers, and a tender respect which showed that he still held the warmest place in the hearts of his old soldiers. " The only other occasion upon which I ever heard him speak was at New Orleans at the unveiling of the statue of Stonewall Jackson, erected by the Louisiana Division Army of Northern Virginia. General Fitz Lee was the orator of the day, and acquitted himself (as 'our gallant Fitz' always does) very handsomely. Mr. Davis was on the platform, a deeply interested listener, and had declined on account of his health the invitation of the committee to speak. But the crowd called for him so vociferously and persistently that he at last arose, was received with deafening cheers, and for about twenty minutes thrilled the vast crowd with a eulogy on Jackson which deserves a place among the gems of true oratory. I suppose that the calm verdict of history will be that Jefferson Davis stands in the very fore-front of American orators. " As a writer of terse, chaste, vigorous, classic, Anglo-Saxon English, he has had few equals and no superior among all of our public men. "His reports when Secretary of War — his messages, procla- mations, and other State papers when President of the Confede- racy — his 'Rise and Fall of the Confederate States' — his occa- sional articles for magazines, reviews, or newspapers, and his letters should be carefully studied as models of 'English unde- filed* as well as for the great truths taught and the great prin- ciples vindicated. He was especially charming as a letter writer, and I trust that a volume of his letters will be given to the public. If the personal allusion may be pardoned, I will say that I have in my possession fifty or sixty of his letters addressed to me and marked 'personal' or 'confidential,' which I prize beyond all price, and which I regard as among the finest specimens of letter- writing of which I have any acquain- tance in all the range of ancient or modern literature. "One of the greatest calamities of the kind with which I am acquainted is that there was stolen from Mr. Davis's papers when stored in New York a package containing his strictly confidential correspondence with General Lee during the war ANAL YSIS OF HIS CHABA CTBR, 457 — letters which he did not show even to his staff or his cabi- net, and which contained the secret thouglits and plans of these two great men and congenial spirits. "Mr. Davis spoke to me several times of this loss, and always with deep feeling and sorrowful regret. "A distinguished Northern gentleman with whom I wascon« versing very freely at Ocean Grove, N. J., two 3'ears ago about the Confederacy, its measures, men, and history, suddenly said, 'Jeff. Davis is in his dotage now, is he not?' "My prompt reply was, 'If you think so, suppose j'ou read his recent reply to General Sherman.' "That re{)ly to Sherman's unprovoked and inexcusable slan- ders and his reply to the criticisms of Lord Wolseley, in a re- cent^numUer of the North American lieview, v^'iW rank among the finest specimens of such writing in the language. "But above all, and crowning all of his other qualities, Mr. Davis bore himself amid all of his stern duties, crusiiiug responsibilities, bitter trials, and strong temptations, as a patriot of the purest type, and as a stainless Christian gen- tleman. "When his State called he closed his brilliant career as United States Senator and gladl}^ laid his fortune, his talents, and his life on the altar of Southern independence. Men may differ as to the wisdom or ex])ediencv of his course, but none who knew him could ever doubt that he was actuated by motives of the highest patriotism; tiiat he sought not self- interest or self-promotion, but the good of the land he loved so well. He burned to enter the Confederate army and to serve the cause in the field, for he believed from the first that war was inevitable, but when with one voice his countrymen called him to be President of the Southern Confederacy he sacrificed his own wishes to serve his loved Southland. "It is natural, perhaps — alas! for j)Oor human nature that it should be so — that men should look for a 'scapegoat' when failure comes, and that the leader of a 'lost cause' (as men look upon it) should not escape the adverse criticism of his followers. Mr. Davis has been by no means an exce{)tion to this rule, and the croaking of certain Confederates has min- gled with the bitter denunciations and unreasonable hatreds of his enemies. He has been charged with 'sins of omission and of commission,' — of doing all sorts of things which he 458 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. 'ought not to have done/ and of 'leaving undone' all sorts of things wliicli he 'ought to have performed.' But no man has ever dared to face him with any charge of malfeasance in office, of prostituting the public service to private ends, of being guilty ot one single act in which he did not have in view the good of the great cause he had espoused as God gave him to see it, or of any conduct unworthy of the stainless gentleman, the pure patriot, seeking his country's good. "He said to his -intimate friend, Hon. B. H, Hill, of Georgia, upon the occasion of a confidential interview between them: * God knows my heart. 1 ask all, all for the cause ; nothing, nothing for myself "Mr. Hill well adds: 'Truer words never fell from nobler lips nor warmer from the heart of a more devoted patriot. These words express in language the soul, the mind, the purpose — aye! the ambition of Jefferson Davis.' "While in irons at Fortress Monroe he was charged with complicity with the assassination of Mr. Lincoln and with cruelty to Federal prisoners, and his enemies hoped at one time to destroy him on these trumped-up charges, but they could not procure evidence on which the infamous Holt dared to go into his trial even before a military court, and with his band of trained perjurers at his call. "As for the charge of 'treason,' Chief- Justice Chase and the ablest lawyers at the North whom he consulted were too wise to bring him to the trial which he so greatly coveted. He said to me one day at Beauvoir with flushed cheek and flashing eye. 'Oh! if they had only dared to give me the trial for which I begged and for which I longed! Then would I have shown beyond all cavil at the bar of justice anci at the bar of history that we were no rebels and no traitors, but had only exercised the rights guaranteed to sovereign States by the con- stitution of our fathers, and that in making war upon us for an attempt to exercise peaceably this right the North was the real 'rebel' against law — the real 'traitor' to the constitution.' "In the eloquent address before the Georgia Branch of the Southern Historical Society, delivered by Hon. B. H. Hill, he closed an able vindication of Mr. Davis as follows : "'I could detain you all night correcting false impressions which have been industriously made against this great and good man. I knew Jefferson Davis as I know few men. I 400 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME, have "been near him in his public duties; I have seen him by his private fireside; I have witnessed his humble Christian devotions, and I challenge the judgment of history when I say no people were ever led through the fiery struggle for liberty by a nobler, truer patriot, while the carnage of war and the trials of public life never revealed a purer and more beautiful Christian character. Those who during the struggle prostitu- ted public office for private gain or used positions to promote favorites, or forgot public duty to avenge private griefs, or were derelict or faithless in any form to our cause, are they who con- demn or abuse Mr. Davis. And well they may, for of all such he was the contrast, the rebuke, and the enemy. Those who were willing to sacrifice self for the cause, who were willing to bear trials for its success, who were willing to reap sorrow and poverty that victory might be won, will ever cherish the name of Jefferson Davis, for to all such he was a glorious peer and a most worthy leader. "* I would be ashamed of my own un worthiness if I did not venerate Lee. I would scorn my own nature if I did not love Davis. I would question my own integrity and patriotism if I did not honor and admire both. There are some who affect to praise Lee and condemn Davis. But of all such Lee him- self would be ashamed. '"No two leaders ever leaned each on the other in such beau- tiful trust and absolute confidence. Hand in hand, and heart to heart, they moved in the front of the dire struggle of their peoi)le for independence — a noble pair of brothers. And if fidelity to right, endurance to trials, and sacrifice of self for others, can win title to a place with the good in the great here- after, then Davis and Lee will meet where wars are not waged and slanders are not heard; and as heart in heart, and as wing to wing they fly through the courts of Heaven, admiring angles will say, what a noble pair of brothers!' "The noble 'Tribune of the People,' the brave defender of the Confederacy and her leaders 'ceased from his labors' some years ago, but his ringing words will find an echo in many a loyal Confederate heart to-day. Within the past ten years it has been my privilege to be a frequent visitor to Beauvoir, the beautiful home by the Gulf where the evening of the days of this great man had been spent, and to have seen him in the quiet of his home and in the bosom of his family. No man ANAL YSIS OF HIS CHAR A CTER. 461 was ever a more afTcctionatc husbanJ or more devoted father. His playful conversation with his noble wife and accomplished daugliters, his devotion to his grandchildren, his graceful recep- tion and entertainment of visitors, his perfectly charming con- versation on any topic that might be introduced, his tender solicitude for the comfort and welfare of others, and the inval- uable 'material for the future historian' which his lightest conversations contained are all indelibly written in my mem- ory and heart, but may not be detailed in this paper, already too long. "This much, however, I must say: In all of my repeated interviews with Mr. Davis, and the freedom of conversation about men and things with which he honored me, and in all of the confidential letters about historical matters which at dif- ferent times'lie wrote me there was a marked and most remark- able absence of bitterness, or of denunciation of those even who had most grievously wronged and injured him. I cite only two examples of this out of many which I could give: He once had a controversy with a distinguished Confederate in reference to the Peace Conference, and was quite severely censured for not being willing in the early da3's of 1865 to make peace on the condition of a restoration of the Union — the distinguished Confederate saying that he would have gladly done so at that time. Mr. Davis replied in very courteous but very vigorous style. " It so happened that just at this time in looking over some old Confederate papers I found in one of them a card from this distinguished Confederate, written just after the 'Hampton- Roads Conference,' in which he said that 'certain evil-disposed persons had circulated a rumor that he was in favor of peace on the basis of reunion with the North,' and proceeded to denounce the statement as 'utterly false and slanderous,' and to aver that he was ' unwilling to accept anything short of inde- pendence,' and was in favor of 'fighting it out to the bitter end until this was attained.' I copied and sent this card to Mr. Davis, and he wrote me a letter of warm thanks, in which he said: 'This card is worth its weight in gold in this contro- versy, but of greater worth tlian gold is the kind friendship which prompted the sending of it to me.' " But he never followed up his advantage and never used the card, and he told me afterwards, when I asked him about 462 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. it, that he 'became sorry for Mr. , in the awkward posi- tion in which he had placed himself, and concluded not to press his advantage.' " The other incident was this : Another prominent Confed- erate had abused Mr. Davis roundly in my presence — making numerous statements which I knew to be incorrect — and I wrote to Mr. Davis for a refutation of them. He very promptly replied with a complete and triumphant vindication of him- self, but marked the letter 'strictly confidential/ saying that he 'did not wish even in his own vindication to injure one who had been a true Confederate.' '' I might multiply these illustrations almost indefinitely, but I must hasten to conclude this article with just one other point. " I speak -of my own personal knowledge and intimate inter- course with him when I say that Mr. Davis was one of the humblest, most intelligent, most decided evangelical Chris- tians whom I have ever known. He was in his official posi- tion always- outspoken and decided on the side of evangelical religion, and his fast-day and thanksgiving-day proclamations were not only models of chaste style and classic English, but breathed a spirit of humble, devout piety, which was not per- functory, but welled up from a sincere and honest heart. "He said to Rev. Dr. A. E. Dickinson, concerning the grand work of colportage in the army, which he was superintending and pushing with rare ability, zeal, and success : 'I most cor- dially sympathize with this movement. We have but little to hope for if we do not realize our dependence upon Heaven's blessing, and seek the guidance of God's truth.' " I have space for only the following, which may be given as a specimen of his proclamations : " ' To the People of the Confederate States : " ' The termination of the Provisional Government offers a fit- ting occasion again to present ourselves in liumiliation, prayer, and thanksgiving before that God who ha^ safely conducted us through our first year of national existence. We have been enabled to lay anew the foundations of free government and to repel the efforts of enemies to destroy us. Law has every- ANAL YSIS OF HIS CUA RA CTER. 4S3 where reigned supreme, and throughout our wide-spread limits personal liberty and private rights have been duly honored. A tone of earnest piety has pervaded our people, and the vic- tories which we have obtained over' our enemies have been justly ascribed to Him who ruleth the universe. We had hoped that the year would have closed upon a scene of contin- ued prosperity, but it has pleased the Supreme Disposer of events to order it otherwise. \¥e are not permitted to furnish an exception to the rule of Divine government which has pre- scribed affliction as the discipline of nations asvwell as of indi- viduals. Our faith and perseverance must be tested, and the chastening which seemeth grievous will, if rightly received, bring forth its appropriate fruit. It is meet and right, there- fore, that we should repair to the only giver of all victory and humbling ourselves before Him, should pray that He may strengthen our confidence in His mighty power and righteous judgments. Then may we surely trust in Him that he will perform His promise and encompass us as with a shield. In this trust and to this end, I, Jefferson Davis, President of tlie Confederate States, do hereby set apart Friday, the 28th day of February instant, as a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer; and I do hereby invite the reverend clergy and the people of the Confederate States to repair to their respective places of public worship to humble themselves before Almighty God and pray for his protection and favor for our beloved country and that we may be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all that hate us. "But it was especially in private life and in his home that his Christian character shone out most clearly, A diligent student of God's Word, a man of pra3"er and a believer in prayer, a regular attendant on church services, fond of conver- sation on religious topics, and of consistent Christian walk, I had in my intimate personal intercourse with him the most abundant evidence that betook Christ as his personal Saviour; that he rested with child-like trust in the grand old doctrines of salvation by grace, justification by faith, and that he rejoiced in the sweet comforts and precious hope of the Gospel. "Grand old hero of mighty conflicts — ever true to God, to country, and to duty — thou hast fought thy last battle; thou hast left behind a stainless name ; thou hast won thy last great victory; thou has joined Lee and Jackson and Stuart and 464 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUMK hosts of * men who wore the gray ' and were soldiers of the Cross as well as soldiers of their country; thou dost now * rest Irom thy labors ' and wear thy fadeless crown. "J. William Jones." TRIBUTE OF BISHOP J. C. KENNER. Bishop Kenner, of the M. E. Church South, closed his ser- mon in Felicity Street church, New Orleans, December 8th, 18S9, as follows: "I said in the beginning that I took this passage because it is precious to contemplate, and because all are thinking of the death of our very distinguished citizen, Mr. Jefferson Davis, who now lies in his coffin at the Municipal Hall. It is very delightful for us to realize in our thoughts that his hopes are our hopes, and our hopes his ; that he was not merely a public character. A man may be a great man, a magistrate; he may be the centre of all thought and all eyes; he may be a great figure in history, and yet when he comes to die he dies like any one else; he is only a man; has to have the same repent- ance, the same assurance, the same faith in Christ; goes out the same way, passes through the same passages the Saviour passed through; is in all points a man; and as Christ was the Son of Man, it is essentially all that can be said; he is a man saved by Christ. "I had the good fortune to know Mr. Jefferson Davis per- sonally, and I appreciated his acquaintance very highl}'. I admired him intellectually. It was delightful to talk with him; his memory was so tenacious and exact, his bearing so admirable. As far as I could see, he was a man of great ingen- uousness of character, of lofty, honorable purpose, a man that might well be taken for an example to young men. There was one other man, a Virginian, whose character, spiritually and intellectually, in the- light of his achievements, in the light of his gentleness and genuineness, is a model for almost all men. I might venture to say that Mr.'^Davis had great integ- rity of character, and he will ever be an object of admiration to all who fairly understand him, just as our revered General Lee now is. Mr. Davis fills the minds and hearts or all the South this day. He lies in his coffin mourned, admired, and loved. He was, by the providence of God, called to act a A}rAL VSlS OP ins on AH A CTER, 468 great part in the history of our nation. Events, over which he had no control, placed him at the head of the Confederate government, which, as its executive, he guided until it yielded to the force of arms. His integrity of purpose and character during all the conduct of the civil war left him at its close without a blemish. His imprisonment for two years, and the untold humiliations which accompanied it, did not affect the nobility of his mind. He suffered without losing for a mo- ment the gract of his bearing toward foes or friends. He came out of it, and out of the war, a better man and a maturer Christian. Since then he has demeaned himself with all pro- priety and dignity in his intercourse with the world. He has illustrated and vindicated t le soundness of his judgment dur- ing the tcr|*ible events of war, and that by his firmness and wisdom and observances of the maxims of civilized warfare, the South emerged from its smoke and blood, self-respected, respected by the world, and respectsc* by those with whom it contended. "It was my good fortune to know Mi. Davis intimately. He attended our seashore camp-meetings and ate at my tent. He was a sincere believer in the Christian religion. He listened to the Word and to the experiences of the people of God with reverent interest. I remember on one occasion he met me as I came out of the pulpit and thanked me heartily for the sermon, and said: *You have removed difficulties from my mind in respect to the atonement, and I shall be a better man for it from this time to the end of my life.' The sermon was on the sinner who anointed the feet of Jesus, and of the debtors: 'When they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both.' He did not say this merely as a compliment to the preacher. I was somewhat surprised at the earnestness with which he spoke, and his manner made a great impression on me. "My last conversation with him was on the cars, on the sub- ject of experimental religion, and the wonderful expressions oi Napoleon the Great in respect to the Saviour and the Gospel. I doubt not that he went straight home to the bosom of his Father and ours, that he is now wnth his Lord on thesiiimiig shore in the light of eternal morning." 30 466 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLmiE. INCIDENT FROM SENATOR JOHN H. REAGAN. We have received the following touching incident from Senator Reagan, the old Postmaster-General of the Confederacy; " United States Senate, 1 "Washington, D. C, January 10, 1890. j "Rev. J. Wm. Jones, Atlanta, Ga.: "My Dear Sir — In answer to your letter of January 1st I send you herewith a copy of m}^ brief address at Alexandria, Va., on the death of Mr. Davis. I regret that I have not time to prepare something more acceptable in the way of reminis- cences. "I will mention a single incident illustrative of the deeply religious character of Mr. Davis's mind. After we arrived together as prisoners at Hampton Roads, Mr. Stephens, the Vice-President of the Confederacy and myself were ordered on another vessel to be taken to Fort Warren, Boston Harbor. On taking my leave of Mr. Davis and his family and of the Hon. C. C. Clay and his wife — and it was a very sad leave- taking — Mr. Davis requested me to read often the 2Gth Psalm. He said it gave him consolation to read it. I loved him as I have never loved any other man. " Very truly and respectfully, "John H. Reagan." We might give hundreds of incidents and anecdotes illus- trating his character, as we have already given many in pre- vious chapters, but we can only find room for the following. Mr. H. W. Baldwin, of Madison, Ga., wrote to ask him for a line to his two boys, and received the following in replv: " " Beauvoir, Miss., 8th March, 1889. ''Masters IK T, and H. W. Baldioin: " My Dear Young Friends — While you are not old enough to remember the sad scenes through which your father and his associates passed, yoj taq Vv ing in the midst of those whose traditions will enable you fully to understand the ques- tions which agitated our country before you were born. "While it would be unbecoming a Georgian to be insensible to the wrongs inflicted upon us, to forgive is a much higher quality thaa to revenge. He who came to save sinners taught ANAL rsis OF ms cbaha CTsn, 46? the new and grand lesson that criminalty was in the intent, and therefore it is that vengeance properly belongs to Him who knows the hearts of men. "That your lives may be useful, honorable and peaceful, is the sincere wish of yours, Jefferson Davis." ]\Ir. Lemuel Park, of Atlanta, wrote him his desire that his two little boys should see him, and received a very cordial in- vitation to him to bring them and a very cordial reception, and when afterwards he carried the boys to s'ee Mr. Davis in Macon, he promptly recognized and warmly greeted them. His kind treatment of his slaves in ante-bellum days, and of his servants since, was not only well known to his neighbors and friends, but seems to have been warmly appreciated by them, as the following will show: "Raleigh, N C, December 11, 1889. "James H. Jones, who was the body-servant of Jefferson Davis at the time of his capture, and has for many years been an alderman of this city, to-day sent the following dispatch: "'Raleigh, K C, December 11, 1889. "' To Mayor Shalcspeare, New Orleans: "'As the old body-servant of the late Jefferson Davis, my great desire was to be the driver of the remains of my old master to their last resting-place. Returning too late to join the white delegation from this city, I am deprived of the opportunity of showing my lasting appreciation for my best friend.- James H. Jones.' " At the memorial services to-day he had a seat immediately in front of the stage. When last here Mr. Davis excused him- self from other callers to go to his room and talk with 'My friend, James Jones.'" "Brierfield, Mississippi, January 12, 1SS9. " To Mrs. Jefferson Davis, Beaiivoir, Mississijjjji : " We, the old servants and tenants of our beloved master, Hon. Jefferson Davis, have cause to mingle our tears over his death, -who was always so kind and thoughtful of our peace and happiness. We extend to you our humble sympathy. Respectfully your old tenants and servants, Ned Gator, Tom McKinney, Grant McKinney, Mary Pendleton, Mary Archer, m TSE £>AVIS MMiomAL VOLVMR Elijah Martin, "\Vm, Nervis, IscLbul KiLciiens, Teddy Everson, Hy Garland, Laura Nick, Wm. Green, Gus Williams and others." Another of his old servants came all the way from Florida to see him when he learned of his sickness, and was deeply dis- tressed at his death, and one of the most touching incidents of the funeral was the presence and sorrow of some of his old servants. We received, among many others which we cannot find space to use, the following letter: "Raleigh, N. C, December 18, 1889. "Dear Sir — In December, 1861, wishing an appointment in the (regular) Confederate States army, I determined to ask Mr, Davis for it. I had cast my first vote for him at the Novem- ber election, was youthful in appearance, no sign of beard, and in contemplation of the visit had gone to a barber and was shaved. " AVhen I told Mr. Davis what I wished, he replied : 'Why, Mr. Ashe, you are too young.' 'Why, Mr. Davis, I voted for you last month!' " He had probably thought me about eighteen years of age, and fearing that he had hurt my feelings, he blushed very perceptibly, and hastily said: 'Oh, excuse me; I beg your pardon. It was a long time before I had whiskers myself,' putting his hand to his rather thin beard as he spoke. "Ills kindly attempt to reassure me, by pu'ting himself in the same box with myself with regard to the absence of a manly beard, and his blushing, indicated the gentle heart of the true gentleman. " In 1864 (it must have been), or perhaps 1803, when he was visiting the fort below Wilmington, a little girl of seven was brought to him on the steamboat, and presented as a daughter of Mr. William Asho. He took her in his arms, there before the crowd, and drew her to his breast, and told her that he had loved her father (who was then dead), and kissing her, held her to him sometime, as if his heart felt warm towards her. Yours, truly, S. A. Ashe." But we have run over considerably the space we had allotted to the " Outline of his Life and Character," and yet we have not told the half that might be told of the deeds and character of this stainless gentleman, incorruptible patriot, great leader, and humble Christian. PART II. i HIS SICKNESS, DEATH, FUNERAL OBSEQUIES World's Tribute to His Memory,- HIS SICKNESS AND DEATH. HE health of Mr. Davis had been poor for a numbei* of years, but by the careful nursing of his wife, the skill of physicians, and his own prudence he had rallied from repeated illness, had lived to see his 8 1st birthday, and when we saw him about that time and again in July he seemed better and stronger than for some years. But a short time before his fatal illness it became necessary for him to go to Brierfield on important business, and he was feel- ing so well/'that he insisted that it was not necessary for Mrs. Davis to accompany him. While there he was taken sick, came back to New Orleans through very unfavorable weather. Mrs. Davis met .him on the way and returned with him, and went at once to the house of Judge Charles E. Fenner, where also lived his life-long friend, Mr. J. U. Payne, and there received every attention that loving care could suggest until the sad end came. The Picayune gave the following account : " Jefferson Davis closed his eyes in death at fifteen minutes before 1 o'clock this morning, surrounded by all of his friends and relatives who were within call. "The handsome and characteristically southern residence of Judge Charles E. Fenner, at the corner of First and Camp streets, is at present an object of interest to every friend of Mr. Jefferson Davis, because it is in the pleasant guest-chamber of this elegant home that the beloved old Confed- erate chieftain passed away. "The Fenner residence, built by Judge F&nner's brother-in-law, J. JJ. Payne, is one of the most comfortable and interiorly artistic in all the city. It is of brown stone stucco, two stories high with broad verandas and set in lovely grounds, where camel ia bushes are spiked with bloom and oranges hang in clusters on the trees. " The house has a wide hall running through the centre with drawing- rooms on one side, a library on the other and on the rear corner of the house in a lovely and cheery apartment, into which the southern sun streams nearly all day, lay the patient and distinguished invalid. [471] 47S THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME, " It is a wonderfully pretty room, with a rich toned, Persian hired carpet on the floor, shades and delicate lace curtains at the four windows — two front- ing to the east and two to the south. Pictures are on the walls and there are a lounge, easy Turkish chairs and pretty carved tables and a huge carved oak Victoria bedstead on which the ex-President of the Confederacy lies in the embrace of death. " II is constant attendant has been Mrs. Davis, who has never left his bed- side since his illness began. In a comfortable home wrapper of gray and black this gentle ministrant was always at the invalid's side, and if she left him for a moment he asked for her, and was fretted or uneasy until she returned. " Friends constantly sent beautiful flowers, of which Mr. Davis was very fond, but these were not allowed to remain in the sick room for any length of time. At the outset jellies, fruits and all manner of invalid's delicacies were proffered, until Mrs. Davis was compelled to decline them. The sick man's food was only milk, ice, beef tea, and rarely a broiled chop. " Mr. Davis remained in bed all the time and was never left alone, being guarded lovingly by his wife and the capable quadroon hired nurse Lydia? and Mrs. Davis's own little brown-eyed handmaiden Betty, who at all times had entree to the sickroom. But little talking was allowed, and news- papers, letters and telegrams were tabooed. " On Wednesday afternoon a reporter of the Picayune was fortunate enough to have a few moments' conversation with Mrs. Davis. She was worn and wearied with service at the sick bed, but which she would not allow to any other, and her step was lagging as she came into the dining-room. She was very hopeful, however, of her husband's ultimate recovery. " ' Mr. Davis has always been an exceedingly temperate man,' said Mrs. Davis, ' he has never abused his physical body, and no one could have lived more moderately than he. Of course all this is in his favor. I do not mean to saj that there would be no danger if a door were left open or the fire in his room allowed to go out. He is as frail as a lily, and requires the most exquisite care. That he has. I believe he would not be alive to-day had this illness come upon him at Beauvoir, where he could not possibly have had the constant cace of such physicians as Dr. Bickham and Dr. Chaille, and the intelligent love, tenderness and luxury that surround him in this home.' "Mr. Davis seemed much better during the early part of yesterday, and his improved condition was remarked by the doctors and his family. He had a pain in the bowels during the day, but the serious feature appeared just a few minutes before six o'clock. Then the illustrious patient was stricken with a severe congestive chill. The doctors were not present ab the time, but Judge Fenner's iamily andMrs. Da,vis did eveiything to soothe' the su^erer. EJS SICKNESS AND DEA TU. 47S ** He lost consciousness after the chill, and never sensibly recovered his faculties. "It was 7 o'clock before Dr. C. J. Bickham, vice-President of the board of administrators of the charity hospital, and Dr. Stanford E. Chaille, Dean of the medical faculty of Tulane University, and two of the most famous practitioners in the South, arrived and consulted over the condition of the patient. " His change was a surprise totally unexpected by even those in constant attendance, and the skilled eyes of the medical men saw in it the beginning of the end. They continued with the patient until his death, however, and made every possible eifort to avoid tho inevitable. "Mr. Davis remained in a comatose condition, and the attendants could see no signs of consciousness. Mrs. Davis said she occasionally felt a return of the pressure of the hand she held, although he could neither speak nor make a sign. " This was the scene in the sick -chamber as the hours passed : " At the bedsidC; when the end came, were Mrs. Davis, Mr. J. U. Payne, Mr. and Mrs. Judge Charles E. Fenner, Mr. E. H. I^'arrar, Miss Smith, a grand- niece of Mr. Davis; Mr. E. D. fenner, a son of tha justice; Dr. C. J. Bick- ham, and Dr. S. E. Chaille. " The lamp of life waned low as the hour of midnight arrived ; nor did it flicker into the brightness of consciousness at aay time. Eagerly, yet ten- derly, the watchers gazed at the face of the dying chieftain. His face, always calm and pale, gained additional pallor, and at a quarter to 1 o'clock of the morning of the 6th day of December death came to the venerable leader. *' There was nothing remarkable about the deatb-b^d gcene. The depar- ture of the spirit was gentle and utterly painless. There were no dry eyes in the little assembly about the bed, and every heart bled with theanguish which found vent in Mrs. Davis's sobs and cries. " Immediately after the death Mrs. Davis was led up stairs to the bed- room of Mrs. Fenner, where the ladies tried to assuage her grief. She bore the awful blow bravely, but her breathing was labored, and her condition 6o weakened that the two doctors consulted her. They pronounced her M'eakness to be only that consequent on the strain and the grief, and said that nothing was to be feared. " In the meanwhile, the body was being straightened and bathed. It will be emi)almed early this morning. " In the limited time of last night no arrangements for the funeral could be thought of. Mrs. Davis signified h^r wish that Judge Fenner and Mr. Farrar should take entire charge ot «4lJ matters connected with the buriai." 474 THE DA VLS 3IEM0BIAL VOL UME. The Times-Democrat gave the following account of the clos- ing scene: " At 12:45 o'clock this morning Hon. Jefferson Davis, ex-President of the Confederate States, passed away at the residence of Associate Justice Charles E. Fenner. " From the beginning of Ms fatal illness Mr. Davis had insisted that his case was nearly or quite hopeless, though the dread of pain or fear of death never appeared to take the slightest hold upon his spirits, which were brave and even buoyant from the beginning of his attack. " In vain did the doctor strive to impress upon him that his health was Improving, He steadily insisted that there was no improvement, but with Christian resignation he was content to accept whatever Providence had in store for him. " Only once did he waver in his belief that his case showed no improve- ment, and that was at an early hour yesterday morning, when he playfully remarked to Mr. Payne: 'lam afraid that I shall be compelled to agree with the doctors for once, and admit that I am a little better.' " All da3' long the favorable symptoms continued, and late in the afternoon, as late as 4 o'clock, Mrs. Davis sent a cheering message to Mrs. Stamps and iNJr. and IMrs. Farrar. " At 6 o'clock last evening, without any assignable cause, IMr. Davis was seized with a congestive chill, which seemed to absolutely crush the vitality out of his already enfeebled body. So weak was Mr. Davis that the violence of the assault soon subsided for lack of vitality upon which to prey. "From that moinent tc the moment of his death the history of the case was that of a gradual sinking. At 7 o'clock Mrs. Davis administered some medicine, but the ex-President declined to receive the whole dose. " She urged upon him the necessity of taking the remainder, but putting it aside, with the gentlest of gestures he whispered, ' Pray, excuse me.' "These were his last "words. Gradually he grew weaker and weaker, but never for an instant seemed to lose consciousness. Lying peacefully upon his bed and without a trace of pain in his look, he remained for hours. Silently clasping and tenderly caressing his wife's hand, with undaunted Christian spirit, he awaited the end. "From the moment of the dread assault of the congestive chill those gathered around his bedside who had been watching and noting with pain- ''ul interest evfery change of symptoms for the past month knew well that the dread messenger was even at the door. "About 10:30 o'clock Associate Justice Fenner went to call to Mr. Davis's bedside Mr. and Mrs. Farrar and Mrs. Stamps. As soon as the message reached them they hurried to the bedside of the dying ex-President. " By 11:30 o'clock there were assembled in the death chamber Mrs, Davis, Drs. Chaille and Bickham, Associate Justice and Mrs. Fenner, Miss Nannie Smith, grandnie«e of the dying ex-President, and Mr, and Mrs. E. H. Farrar. HIS SICKNESS AND DEATH. 475 " Finding that Mr. Davis -was breathing somewhat heavily as he lay npon his back the doctors assisted him to turn upon his right side. '^Vith his cheelc resting upon his riglit hand like a sleeping infant and with his left hand dropping across his chest, he lay for some fifteen minutes breathing softly but faintly. More and more feeble became his respirations till they passed into silence, and then the watchers kncwthatthe silver cord had been loosed and the goluen bowl broken. The Father of the Confederacy had passed away — "As calmly as to a night's repose, Or flowers at set of sun." "PRAY, EXCUSE ME." " Despite the fact that the end had come slowly and peacefully, and after she had been face to face for hours with the dread reality, the blow fell with crushing force upon the afflicted widow. " As long as there had been work for either head or hand she had borne up bravely, and not until the sweet uses for her tender ministrations were lost did she seem to realize the terrible force of the blow that had fallen upon her. " Knowing of a predisposition to heart affection, the doctors were at once gravely alarmed for her, and they promptly administered a composing draught, and at a late hour this morning she was resting quietly. 4t6 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. " It ig believed that the foundation of the ex-President's last illness was malaria, complicated with acute bronchitis. " Carefi^l nursing and skilled medical attention had mastered the latter but it is supposed that the congestive chill, which was the immediate cause of death was attributable to a return ot the malaria. "After death the face of the deceased, though looking slightly emaciated, showed no trace of suffering, more nearly resembling that of a peaceful sleeper than of the dead. " When the family had partially recovered from the terrible shock, Mr. Farrar went to the Western Union telegraph office and sent dispatches to Miss Winnie Davis, who is in Paris with Mrs. Pulitzer, to Mr. Davis's son-in law in Colorado City, and also notified Governor Lowry, of Mississippi, as he deemed it but right that the Executive of the State should know of the death of one of its most distinguished sons, " Senator Jones, who had started from Iowa some days ago to pay a visit to his old friend and comrade, did not arrive yesterday, as was expected, and when he reaches this city to-day will only behold the remains of him whom in life he esteemed and to see whom he travelled from far-off Iowa to the Sunny South. " jNIrs. Hayes, Mr. Davis's daughter, who was due here yesterday, was detained last night at Fort AYorth, and is not expected to be in the city until Saturday morning." The announcement of the death of our great chieftain ex- cited the profoundest grief, and called forth the warmest expressions of sorrow, not only in New Orleans, but through- out the whole South, and among many at the North. We could fill a volume much larger than this with editorials, telegrams and resolutions that voiced the feelings of the peo- ple, but we can only cull a few from the many. TLb Daily States said in its editorial : "Throughout all the South there are lamentations and tears; in every country on the globe wher§ there are lovers of libeity there is mourning; wherever there are men who admire heroic patriotism, dauntless resolution, fortitude, or intellectual power and supremacy, there is sincere sorrowing. The beloved of our land, the unfaltering upholder of constitutional libertyj the typical hero and sage, is no more ; the fearless heart that beat with sympathy for all mankind is stilled forever, a great light has gone out — Jefferson Davis is dead I "A quarter of a century has elapsed since the last charge of the Confede- rates at Appomattox. The illustrious chief of the Confederacy now lies MIS SICKJ^ESS AND t>EA TS. Alt (lead. No one of all the illustrious personages who have adorned the his- tory of the Union, served that union in the field, in the Cabinet, and in the Senate, better than he. Yet, he died disfranchised ; denied the simjilest political privileges accorded to the millions of ignorant, irresponsible, and semi-barbarious negroes the Federal Government emancipated and enfran- chised. But all the enactments of Congress ; all the fierce and bitter denun- ciations of the North ; all the vituperations, malice, hatred, and misrepre- sentations that the press and leaders of the North have heaped upon Jeffer- son Davis, and by which for twenty-five years they have souj:ht to brand him "traitor," have failed of their purpose, and he stands forth to-day aa one of the grandest examples of patriotism and as one of the most indomi- table champions of liberty that has ever appeared upon the area of human affairs. He who stood through the grandest and most terrific political epi- sode of history, as the centralfigure and chief of that band of heroes com- posed of Lee^ Johnston, Jackson, Bragg, Beauregard, and a hundred others and about whose lifeless form millions of his countrymen to-day are weep- ing, confounds alike the malice and the fury of traducers, whether those traducers be individuals or nations. " Jefferson Davis is dead ; but the principles for which he struggled, for the vindication of which he devoted his life, for which he suffered deleat, and unto which he clung until death, still live. The fanatical bowlings of the abolitionists, the '■tumult and thunders of civil war, the fierce mouthings cf the organizers of reconstruction, and reconstruction itself, that black and foul disgrace of humanity, ' all are departed, sunk to silence like a tavern brawl,' but the constitutional principles upon which the Confederacy was founded and for which Jefferson Davis spoke and struggled, for which he gave life and fortune, still survive in all their living power; and when they shall have been, if ever, really destroyed, this Eepublic will be trans- formed into one of the most oppressive and offensive oligarchies that has ever arisen amongst the civilized nations of the earth. "Come, then, veterans of the Confederacy, with your wounds and scai-s ; come, fair women of the South, with your floral gifts and patriot tears; come young men of the land, if you would behold a hero and a patriot who should be your inspirator in life; come people of South whom he loved so well, and mourn for the mighty dead. And ye! spirits of the patriot dead' whose bodies lie scattered on a thousand battle-fields, if it be vouchsafed to immortal souls to revisit the scenes of their glorious deeds and noble mar- tyrdom, come to receive the mighty spirit of him who has finished his work on earth, and has gone to join you in immortal happiness and glory .'< The Times-Democrat made the following editorial announce- raent: "Draped in mourning this morning rs another page in the history of tb© world. Jefferson Davis is Ueadl Tried in ruaoiy high offices »"d ^f^''"'^ 478 TilE DA ViS MEMORIAL VOLUME. faithful in all ; tested in many critical conjunctures, and proved true to bis country and his people; his life one long, uninterrupted sacrifice of inter- est to conscience, the fame of the illusti'ious dead shall in the years to come grow brighter as the embers of passion die away. " Jeflferson Davis was not wholly understood while he lived, and it is too much to hope that now when he is dead the impartial judgment of his countrj'men will wait upon his deeds. His figure was clearly outlined against the sky of intense conviction, and, as in life, he shirked no respon- sibility, but boldly followed where reason led the way, so in his death the South asks only that in the void which comes when her great chieftain has passed away, no jarring sound or discordant note of sectional hute shall disturb the sombre and sad-hued clouds that hang above us. His fame is ours this morning ; a century hence it will be the world's! "The greatness of Jefferson Davis stands confessed, as now we write, in a people's tears. Tenacious of principle, the slave of conscience, resolute, yet filled with the i^ispiration that comes from unyielding belief, the giant fig- ure of the ex-President of the Confederacy stalked across the nineteenth century as some majestic spirit, that strong in the consciousness of its own right-doing, scorned the plaudits of a world ; and lived only that in himself duty might be deified. Such was Jefferson Davis, and such will history declare him to be. "That was an eventful life. Thrice in his fourscore years was the cour- age of Jefferson Davis tested in the fierce crucible of war. And thrice did he come forth a hero, his glory brighter, his name more luminous, his fame an everlasting heritage to the countrj^ that gave him birth. No cause e'er had a grander champion, no people a bolder defender, no principle a purer victim than the dead statesman, soon to lie in yonder burial ground, with whose body are enwrapped the hopes and memories of the South he loved so well. In honor now he rests; a stricken people mourn him; the hush is like the void which comes when a strain of music dies. " The character of Jefferson Davis must awake fierce controversy. There are those too warped and narrow of mind and heart to do him justice ; there are those too near and dear to the Cause that was loved and lost to see a spot to dim the lustre of ite chief sun. "But history — cold, calm, impartial, unbeclouded history — will do justice to the great dead. Not wholly free from that asperity which firm convic- tion begets, nor yet capable of truly estimating the grandeur and nobility of those who differed with him, Jefferson Davis will ever stand, for rigiaity of belief, for unswerving devotion to principle, for dignity of bearing in the hour and home of desolation, for a simplicity that was sublime, and for an honor that was impregnable, as one of nature's noblemen, cast in the mold of that finer ambition which makes men great and pure. " The solemn silence of this hour should not be broken by the resound- ing clash of conflicting opinions. Let us sorrowfully lay to rest all that 480 fm £>Ans MSMoMAL VOLtfMR remain^; of the illustrious dead, confidently consigning hia faffi6 to thfe keeping of that time which, happily, ' is not so much the tomb of virtue as its shrine.' " The City Item said editoriall/ : •Words are inadequate to express the feelings that pervade the South to-day. Jefferson Davis is dead. The great leader in the most glorious epoch of Southern history, our sublime esaraplar in years of humiliation and sorrow, the martyr who suffered with heroic fortitude the persecutions intended for his people, Jefferson Davis, the illustrious type of a cause that was con- secrated by the best blood of the South, has laid down his cross to receive a crown. Freed from its earthly shackles, his soul is now at rest with Lee and Jackson, and with the spirits of his dauntless legions that preceded him through the portals of the grave. " A soldier of three wars, a statesman through half a century, Jefferson Davis was simple and modest in his triumphs and royal in his sorrow. The South admired him in victory, and loved and honored him in defeat. " Mr. Davis was a man of wonderful energy, splendid intelligence, intense conviction, and exalted patriotism, and upon all the traits of his noble man- hood was shed the lustre of a Christian character. " The South mourns his loss to-day as a mother weeping for her first-born. Monuments will speak to coming generations of his fame, but a more price- less homage than can be rendered by statues of marble and bronze are the tears of his sorrowing people." THE DAY OF HIS DEATH. Mayor Shakspeare, as soon as he was informed of the death of Mr. Davis at 3 o'clock A. M., issued the following proclama- tion : "It is with the deepest regret that I announce to the people of the city of New Orleans the departure from this life of Jefferson Davis. He needs no eulogy from me. His life is history and his memory is enshrined in the heart of every man, woman and child in this broad South. We all loved him, and we all owe him honor and reverence. In order that proper arrangements may be made for his funerai, I have the honor to invite the following gentlemen to meet me in my ofiice at 12 o'clock this day to con- fer on the subject." The mayor also sent a message to each one of the Governors of the old Confederate States. HIS SICKNESS A ND DEA TS. 481 Governor Nicholls issued the following proclamation : "Executive Department, State of Louisiana, " Baton Eocge, Dec. 6, 1889. " It is with profound emotion and heartfelt sorrow that I announce to the people ol the State of Louisiana the death of Jefferson Davis, the hon- ored President of the Confederate States. " As soldier, statesman and citizen he nobly performed his part. Tlie pages ot history will perpetuate his glorious record. The eyes of future generations will turn reverently to that heroic figure whose death the grate- ful South now mourns. His fame stands impregnable. To it the eulogies of his loving people can add no lustre. From it the deuunciations of his enemies cannot detract. " Francis T. Nicolls, Governor of Louisiana. i Telegrams of condolence began to pour in early in the day, and continued to come all day and until late in the night — indeed, until after the funeral. Among those received by Mrs. Davis were the following : -^ From Governor Kobert Lowry, Mississippi : " Bells are tolling, public buildings draped in mourning and immense meeting to be held at 4 P. M., witn. view of dispatching committee to claim remains of the great dead for interment in Mississippi." From W. W. Stone, W. L. Hemingway, T. M. Miller, George M. Govan, T. E. Preston, W. D. Holden, Jackson, Mississippi: " Permit us to tender you and yours assurances of sympathy in your unspeakable bereavement. Your great husband will live always in the rev- erent and affectionate memory of all our people, whose grief now is without measure." From Governor L. S. Ross, Austin, Texas: "I write in a portrayal of sincere condolence with those who honored your illustrious husband while living, and who revere his memory when dead. His lofty patriotism, immaculate integrity, and firmness of purpose, which never yielded principle for expediency nor abandoned the right for success will be held up for emulation by the aspiring youth of Texas who would achieve an honorable distmction among their fellow-men." From Governor Robert Lowry, Mississippi : " State officers resolve to attend the funeral in a body. Please advise arrangements. "Will you kindly make known to the family tliat Mississippi, the State he loved so well, will claim the honor of being the resting-place of the patriot, statesman, and nobleman, whose great name is indissolubly linked with her own?" 31 482 THE DA VIS MEMORIAL tOLtfMB, From Governor J. P. Richardson, Columbia, S. C. : "With my deep and sincere personal sj-mpathy, I beg to expriess to you the profound sorrow of the people of South Carolina at the intelligence of tlie death of your illustrious husband. The fame of his greatness will grow with the passing years." From Mayor John J. Glenn, Atlanta, Ga. : " You have deepest sympathy in the loss of your illustrious husband. They loved him to the last." From Governor Francis T. Nicholls to Judge E. C. Fenner : "The people of Louisiana will hear with profound grief and sorrow the death of President Davis, a man who, standing equally the tests of prosj^erity and adversity, became even more and more endeared to the true men and women of his State as his brave and unblemished life drew to a close. "Would you do me the kindness at a later moment to convey to Mrs. Davis my sincere sympathy with her, and the expression of strong regard and affection for her husband ? " I would have seen you this morning in person, but sprained my foot last night so badly as to make it impossible for me to leave the house. I have directed that the flag on the Capitol be displayed at half-mast." From W. D. Wood, E. H. Pteynolds, George T. McGehee, Hammett Hardy, Samuel R. Kane, J. V. Henderson, and Sterling Fisher, San Marcos, Texas: " The South mourns to-day as mourns the family when a link in the chain is broken. Your sorrow is our own." From J. F. Cecil, Pickett-Buchanan Camp Confederate Veterans, Nor- folk, Va.: "We venerate the memory of our dead President, and reverfently tend you our deep sympathy in your great grief." From Bishop Hugh Miller Thompson, Jackson, Miss. : " My sympathy and prayers are with you. From Henry W. Grady, Esq., Atlanta Ga. : "Please accept my sincere sympathy in your bereavement. Our whole people mourn with you and pray that God may bless you and yours.'* From President W. J^Garret, West A^iew Cemetery Companj', Atlanta, Ga.: "The West View Cemetery Company renew their offer to you in Febru- ary last through IMr. Sidney Root, and beg that you will accept." From Charles C. Jones, Jr., President Confederate Survivors' Association, Augusta, Ga. : "The members of the Confederate Survivors' Association of Augusta, Ga., crave the privilege of assuring you at the earliest moment of their profound sympathy and heartfelt sorrow upon the demise of your illustrious husband and beloved chief and the venerated President of the Southern Confed- eracy." HIS STCKNESS AND DBA TH. 483 From Dr. J. 'William Jones, Atlanta, Ga. : " Warmest sympathies and most fervent prayers. Will go down to-mor- row." From C. W. Frazer, President, and R. J. Block, Secretary, Historical Asso- ciation, Memphis, Tenn. : "The Historical Association of Memphis tenders its sympathy and regrets at the great loss sustained by you and the country in the death of Mr. Davis. This association begs the boon of bringing his honored remains here for burial , and we assure you and the country that his grave shall be kept green through the coming ages. We urge this, as he was a member of our associ- ation, made his first home here after the war, and was dear to the hearts of this community. From Captain John D. Adams, Little Rock, Ark. : "My wife and self deeply sympathize with you in this greatest aflB.iction that could befell you. We all deplore the death of your precious husband, who was beloved by all who knew him. He was a great and good man . The whole South mourn his loss, and his name will ever have a warm place in the hearts of those he leaves to follow him." From Marcus Bernheimer, Esq., St. Louis, Mo. : "Mingling mine with the sincere grief of the countless admirers and lovers of your illustrious husband, I beg to tender to you and family heart- felt sympathy in this your hour of deepest affliction." From Hon. W. H. Hardy, New York : " I and my household mourn with you. Accept our sincere sympathy." Mr. AVilliam L. Davis, of New York, expresses his loving sympathy. From General W. L. Cabell, Dallas, Texas: " Myself, in common with all the Confederates in Texas, mourn the death of your illustrious husband. May God have you and your children in His keeping." From W. G. AValler, Esq., Richmond: "Accept my heartfelt and devoted sympathy in your deep sorrow." From Marco and Katie Paolo, Memphis, Tenn.: "Our hearts follow you and beat in tenderest sympathy with you in this hour of your daepest sorrow. We pra}' that God may give you grace to bear your cross and grant that the soul of your noble and illustrious husband may rest in peace." From Mr. and Mrs. H. M. Neely, Memphis : " Please accept assurances of our great sorrow and heartfelt sympathy." From Sidney Root, Esq., Atlanta, Ga.: " My Dear Friend — God bless you and keep you in this sore triaL The whole South mourns with you." From Senator John H. Reagan, Washington: "My Dear Friend — Myself and family mourn with you for the death of your distinguished and noble husband and my most valued friend. In the 484 TITE DAVIS MEMOBIAL VOLUME. hour of your calamity, you have the affectionate sympathy of millions of loving friends, who deplore the loss of the true friend, the earnest Chris- tian, the patriotic citizen, the wise statesman, most beloved and venerated by a large part of the American people for his self-sacrificing devotion to principle and to duty. INIay God protect and help you in your great afSic- tion. Command me always if I can serve you." From Governor F. P. Flemmin^, Tallahasse, Fla. : "Permit me to tender my sincerest sympathies in the great affliction which has come to you. The people of the South mourn with you in this our common bereavement." From General Joseph P. Anderson, Richmond, Ya. : "jMy wife unites with me in love and sincere sympathy with you in the loss of your illustrious husband. His life was the illustration of the talent and virtue that ennobled humanity." From H. W. Grady, Esq., Atlanta, Ga. : "No people, would hold the remains of your illustrious dead in deeper or more constant reverence than the people of Atlanta, and we should esteem it the highest honor to have them in Westview Cemetery, itself a battle- field on which his soldiers fought and fell." From Swift Galloway, Commander, Goldsboro, N. C. : " Thomas Puffin Camp, ex-Confederate Veterans of Wayne county. North Caroiinia, now convened to pay tribute to the memory of your illustrious husband, beg leave to express their profound sympathy and to mourn with you and yours in the sad bereavement which has befallen you in the death of their beloved ex-President." From Sidney Eoot, Esq., Atlanta, Ga. : ''If you and your f^imily are inclined to accept the offer of the beautiful cemetery in this city, which I urgently advise, they will bring all the remains of your children. Perpetual care is guaranteed and a moument will be built." From Edward Piers, president Confederate Veterans' Association of Ala- bama ; J. T. Holtzchaw, pre.-ident Muntgomery Veterans' Association ; W. S. Peese, president Alabama Confederate Monument Association ; Mrs. M. D. Ribb, president Ladies' Memorial Association; Edmund A. Grahqim, Mayor ; Thomas II. Watts, ex-Attornoy-General Confederate States ; Mont- gomery, Alabama : " With profound sj'mpathy and condolence in your great bereavement, and in response to the united wishes of our people, we earnestly request that you allow us to have the remains of Mr. Davis buried here under the Con- federate monument, on Capitol Hill, where he was inaugurated President, the corner-stone of which was Ijvid by him, and which, when completed, will be ornamented with a life-size bronze statue of him." From Captain Robert E. Park, President Riverside Cemetery, Macon, Ga.: "The Riveroide Company of Macon offer, with their heartfelt sympathy BIS SICKNESS AND DEATH. 485 ba your great affliction, the best and most conspicuous burial lot in their ceme- tery, overlooking Ocmulge river and che city of Macon. We have an endow- ment requiring perpetual care o) graves and lots, and it is laid out on tlie lawn plan. The grounds are beautiful, undulating, and artificially planted a? one harmonious tlowcr garden on a lofty eminence, overlooking the river and city, and adjacent to both is a Confederate redoubt which is guaran- teed to be ])reserved, and we offer this lovely spot as a fitting burial place for Mr. Davis and as a family burial lot. The lot v.-ill be ornamented with fountains and lakelets and the entire redoubt or fort with flowers, as directed by yourself, and a splendid monument will be erected if you accept our urgent and loving offer. We will gladly bear all transportation and burial expenses, and will send an escort to bring the body to Macon. We beg you to visit Macon and remain as the city's guest." From Senator J. C. S. Blackburn, Washington, D. C: " Every true/son of the South shares your sorrow." From ex-Confederate Soldiers Survivors' Association of Northeast Georgia, H. H. Carller, president, Ed. D. Newton, secretary, Athens, Ga.: " We tender our heartfelt sympathies to yourself and family in the loss of our soldier-statesman and ex-Confederate chieftain." From Thomas II. Allen, M. C. Galloway, Thomas N. Allen, H. C. Wellon, W. H. Calleen, James E. Beasley, Casey Young, ]M. B. Trezevant, Memplais, Tenn.: " We, the friends of our ex-President, join in expressions of sympathy with a united South generally, and the citizens of Memphis particularly, and desire to add their earnest request to that of the Confederate Histori- cal Association of this city, that his honored remains may find its final resting place here where he was always loved." From Mayor John T. Glenn, Atlanta, Ga.: " The West View Cemetery Com])any tenders a beautiful lot for the burial of l\Ir. Davis and his family, and will have the remains of any of his chil- dren removed to it. The people of Atlanta would be glad to have the remains of your illustrious husband rest in their midst, and will take pride in protecting his grave in the future." From Captain J. J. Crossman and Eev. A. D. Sears, Clarksville, Tenn.: "A public meeting of the citizens of Clarksville join Forbes' Bivouac in tendering to you and yours their heartfelt sympathies in the hour of your affliction. Our peoi:)le mourn with you in the death of your illustrious hus- band and our ex-President, and shall ever cherish the memory of his invaluable services to our Soul hern land." From Governor Fitzhugh Lee, Bichmond, Virginia: "The sympathetic cords of the hearts of our people are deeply touched at the loss of one we have ever regarded with the greatest alToction, and the memory of Avhose valor and virtue we will ever hold sacred." 486 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME, From Justice L. Q. C. Lamar, Washington: " The whole Southern people are in grief over the death of their great and beloved countryman, and their sympathy with you and your precious ones is deep and pervading. Please believe that what I feel for you cannot be told in words." From J. T. Skipp, commander, J. T. Dickerson, adjutant, Chattanooga, Tenn.: " For many days we have eagerly watched the bulletins from the bedside of our late chieftain, sharing your anxiety as to his condition. The ray of hope that gleamed but yesterday filled our hearts with joy commensurate with your own unsolicited letter of congratulations for Forest Camp, which scarcely started on its way when we were shocked by the announcement of his death. Our heads bowed in sorrow and our hearts ache in sympathy with you and 5'our family in the hour of your bereavement, that is shared in our whole Southland." From Mile^ Sells, Esq., St. Louis, Mo., to J. U. Payne: " In the loss of your devoted and life-long friend, my heart goes out in deepest sympathy to you and Mrs. Davis, with an assurance of my profound sorrow and regret." From Joseph Boyce, Esq., President, St. Louis, Mo. : "The members of the ex-Confederate Historical and Benevolent Associa- tion of St. Louis tender you their deepest sympathy. The memory of your illustrious husband will always be fresh in our hearts." From Governor Daniel G. Fowle, Ealoigh, N. C. : " North Carolina mourns with you the death of the greatest and most beloved of the sons of our Southland." From ex-Mayor W. S. Ressee, Montgomery, Ala. : " All sons and daughters of Alabama weep with you and j'ours." From General E. C. Walthall, U. S. Senator, Washington, D. C. : "The whole South mourns with you. Your husband's hold upon the affections of the people in his last days was even stronger than in the time of bis great power." "Mr. J. IT. Payne received a dispatch irom ex-Governor, Lubbock, of Texas, asking when Mif. Davis would be buried, as he desired to attend." From Governor Robert Lowry, Jackson, Miss. : "The great heart of Misiss'ippi is touched by the death of her best beloved. "His noble nature and public services will be treasured always in the memory of her people. " Accept assurances of my heartfelt sympathy. Your bereavement is our bereavement, and may the merciful God comfort you." From Price Williams, President Lee Association, Mobile: "President Army of Northern Virginia : "Please telegraph me when the funeral of Jefferson Davis will take place and what arrangements will be made for delegations of military and citizens.'' i Mlis SICKNESS AND DEA TH. 487 *' The necessary response was wired last evening. * Mr. Edgar H. Farrar received a telegram from the mayor of Natchez, Miss., asking for explicit information regarding the time of funeral, leading to the supposition he will attend with the Natchez Council." PREPAEATIONS FOR THE FUNERAL. From the full reports of the New Orleans papers we shall cull or condense at pleasure, and we make, in advance, this acknowledgment. " In order that proper arrangements might be made for the funeral the mayor invited the following prominent gentlemen to meet him in his parlor at noon December 6, to confer on the subject : Francis T. Nicholls, Charles Chaffe, Louis B^ush, John Dymond, A. K. Miller, R. M. Walmsley, Esq., John G. Devereus, Esq., John T. Hardie, Esq., Colonel John B. Richardson, Gen- eral Adolph Meyer, General John Glynn, Jr., I. H. Stauflfer, Esq., Hon. Edward Bermudez, Hon. Walter H. Rogers, Colonel David Zable, General A. S. Badger, Dr. A. W. Smyth, Hon. T. C. W. Elli«, Hon. Thomas Agnew, B. M. Harrod , Esq., Wright Schaumberg, Esq., Hon. James G. Clark, Jules Tuyes, Esq., Pierre Lanaux, Esq., Ringgold Brousseau, Esq., Dr. E. E. Souchon, Dr. A. B. Miles Rev. Dr. Markham, Rev. Father Hubert, Rev. Dr. I. L. Leucht, Bishop Keener, Bishop J. N. Galleher. " The first to appear was Bishop Galleher, who arrived shortly after 11 o'clock. " Justice Fenner, of the Supreme Court, at whose residence Mr. Davis passed his last hours on earth, and Mr. E. H. Farrar, a nephew of the deceased, called soon after the bishop. " Colonel Wm. Preston Johnston, who was aid-de-camp to Mr. Davis, came accompanied by State Senator Avery. Colonel Johnston was about to depart, but prevailed upon to remain, having been on the President's staff and also representing the Tulane University. " Mayor Shakspeare, Major Wright Schaumberg and Messrs. Fenner and Farrar held a brief consultation before the meeting. " When the meeting was called to order by Mayor Shakspeare, the fol- lowing gentlemen were present : " Bishop Galleher, Justice Fenner, Colonel Wm. Preston Johnston, Father Hurbert, Dr. Miles, A. Ringgold Brousseau, Attorney- General W. H. Rogers, P. A. Orr, T. M. Wescott, F. Codnian Ford of the ]\Iechanics, Dealers and Lumber Exchange; Jules Tiiyes, president New Orleans Insurance Com- pany; State Senator Avery, State Assessor James Domoreulle, Councilmen A. Lrittin, James G. Clark, George Lhoste and Frank Hall ; Army of Nor- thern Virginia — President F. S. Washington, Major E. D. Willett, Colonel 488 THE DAVIS MEMORIAL VOLUME. David Zable, Fred. A. Ober; "Washington Artillery— Colonel J. B. Richard- son, Colonel Wm, Miller Owen, and Col. T. L Bayne ; Grand Army of the Republic— General A, S. Badger, deputy collector of the port of New Orleans ; Army of Tennessee— A. J. Lewis, W. T. Cluverius, J. B. Vinet, John C making proi:>er arrangements to pay the last sad tribute 02 respect to him who was in his generation the foremost man in all the South, and who possessed in an eminent degree the highest public and private virtues. Of a necessity, a man so great and so aggressive must have had great and sometimes bitter opponents. But in the presence of that great leveler who lays at last the shepherd's crook beside the scepter, political animosities and differences should cease and all be ready to pay a tribute to the memory of a man who while he lived, stood forth as one of nature's masterpieces and who, when he died took with him from the earth such wealth of virtue and of intellect." " The mayor called for suggestions, in response to which Captain Lewis suggested that before action be taken Associate Justice Fenner be consulted regarding the wishes of Mrs. Davis. "Associate Justice Fenner arose, and with deep emotion, speaking feel- ingly, and at times scarcely above a whisper, said : " The great, strong, gallant heart of Jefierson Davis has ceased to beat. His soldierly form, clad in Confederate gray, lies hard by in your midst His family and friends, who have done what lay in their power to minister to his needs and to soothe his last hours, recognize the justice of the claim preferred by the battle-scarred veterans of the legions he led so gallantly, and by the citizens summoned by your honorable mayor as representatives PREPARATIONS FOR THE FUNERAL. 48J) of the people of New Orleans, of the South, to take into their care the remains of the honored dea