The Life of Jefferson Davis

Again, when commissioned by Mr. Davis, Colonel Northrop was the Commissary-General of South Carolina – a position to which he would hardly have been invited, without at least some conviction, by the authorities of that State, of his fitness. It is well known, too, that a committee of the Confederate Congress investigated the affairs of the Commissary Department, and made a report which amply and honorably vindicated Colonel Northrop. Indeed, a member of that committee, one of the ablest men in Virginia, and not friendly to Mr. Davis, declared it to be the best managed department of the Confederate Government.

Editors perpetually clamored against Colonel Northrop for issuing half rations to the army, who daily issued half sheets to their subscribers – refusing to understand that in each case the cause was the same, viz., an exhaustion of supply, resulting from the depletion of the resources of the country.

71

We present two resolutions of a series adopted by Federal prisoners of war:

“Resolved, That whilst allowing the Confederate authorities all due praise for the attention paid to our prisoners, numbers of our men are daily consigned to early graves in the prime of manhood, far from home and kindred, and this is not caused intentionally by the Confederate Government, but by the force of circumstances; the prisoner is obliged to go without shelter, and, in a great portion of cases, without medicine.

“Resolved, That whereas, in the fortune of war, it was our lot to become prisoners, we have suffered patiently, and are still willing to suffer, if by so doing we can benefit the country, but we would most respectfully beg to say that we are not willing to suffer to further the ends of any party or clique, to the detriment of our own honor, our families, and our country; and we would beg this affair be explained to us, that we may continue to hold the Government in the respect which is necessary to make a good citizen and a soldier.

    “BRADLEY,
    “Chairman of Committee, on behalf of Prisoners.”

These resolutions were adopted at a meeting of prisoners in Savannah, September 28, 1864, and sent to President Lincoln.

72

Upon the person of Dahlgren was found the address, from which extracts relative to the purpose of the expedition are given. The portions which we omit are mainly exhortations to the courage of the men in a desperate enterprise:

“Officers and men—

“You have been selected from brigades and regiments, as a picked command, to attempt a desperate undertaking – an undertaking, which, if successful, will write your names on the hearts of your countrymen in letters that can never be erased, and which will cause the prayers of your fellow-soldiers, now confined in loathsome prisons, to follow you wherever you may go.

“We hope to release the prisoners from Belle Island first, and, having seen them fairly started, we will cross the James River into Richmond, destroying the bridges after us, and exhorting the released prisoners to destroy and burn the hateful city; and do not allow the rebel leader, Davis, and his traitorous crew to escape,” etc. The conclusion of this remarkable order is, “Ask the blessing of the Almighty, and do not fear the enemy.”

We have not space for the indisputable testimony which has established the authenticity of the “Dahlgren Papers” – a subject upon which there is no longer room for doubt. The writer, at the time of this raid, had full descriptions of them from persons who saw the originals. They were found upon Dahlgren’s body by a school-boy thirteen years old, who could not write, and were immediately placed in the hands of his teacher. The soiled folds of the paper were plainly visible. The words referring to the murder of President Davis were a part of the regular text of the manuscript. Additional proof of the authenticity of the papers was furnished by the note-book, also found upon the person of Dahlgren, containing a rough draft of the address to the troops, and various memoranda. The address was written in pencil in the note-book, and differs very slightly from the copy, containing, however, the injunction that the Confederate authorities be “killed on the spot.” The statement of Mr. Halbach, who is still living, supported by the testimony of a number of persons, must be deemed conclusive of the genuineness of the documents published in the Richmond journals.

Hon. Stephen R. Mallory, late Confederate Secretary of the Navy, has recently made the following statement of Mr. Davis’ course concerning this matter:

“An expedition directed avowedly against the lives of the heads of the Government, and aiming at firing an entire city, was deemed so violative of the rules of war as to demand a retribution of death upon all concerned in it.

“The subject was one of universal discussion in Richmond; excitement increased with what it fed upon; Congress participated in it; and a pressure was brought to bear upon Mr. Davis to order the execution of some of the captured.

“He entertained no doubt that justice, humanity, and policy equally forbade this cruel measure, and refused to sanction it; and at the same time referred the subject to General Lee, then near Petersburg, for immediate attention. The General’s answer promptly came, asserting, without having been apprized of them, the views already presented by Mr. Davis; and the chief of which was, that the men, having surrendered with arms in their hands, and been accepted and treated as prisoners of war, could not, in retaliation for the unexecuted designs of their leader, be treated otherwise. This disposed of the case, and satisfied the people, who were ever ready to recognize the wisdom and policy of General Lee’s judgment.”

73

The “Fort Pillow massacre” was a fruitful theme for new chapters of “rebel barbarities.” Forrest was charged with indiscriminate slaughter of a captive garrison, when, in fact, he only continued to fight a garrison which had not surrendered. After the Confederates had forced their way into the fort, the flag was not taken down, nor did the garrison offer to surrender. The explanation obviously was that the enemy relied upon their gunboats in the river to destroy Forrest’s forces after they had entered the fort.

74

In the last two years of the war, there were few more promising officers than General Hoke. Mr. Davis thought very highly of his capacity, and, upon one occasion, alluded to him as “that gallant North Carolinian, who always did his duty, and did it thoroughly.”

75

At Hanover Junction, on the 23d of May, General Lee was joined by Breckinridge’s division, numbering less than three thousand muskets, and by Pickett’s division of perhaps three thousand five hundred muskets. General Lee was compelled, very shortly afterwards, to send Breckinridge’s division back to the Valley.

76

This estimate includes Grant’s losses in his assaults upon the fortifications of Petersburg, immediately after his passage of the James River. I have seen his total losses from the Rapidan, until the siege of Petersburg was regularly begun, estimated by Northern writers, at over ninety thousand.

77

President Davis regarded the security of Atlanta as an object of the utmost consequence, for which, if necessary, even great hazards must be run. His frequent declaration was that the Confederacy “had no vital points.” This theory was correct, as there was certainly no one point, the loss of which necessarily involved the loss of the cause. Yet it was obvious in the beginning that certain sections, either for strategic reasons, or as sources of supply, were of vast importance for the prosecution of the war to a speedy and successful conclusion. The value of Richmond and Virginia was obvious. Equally important was a secure foothold in the Mississippi Valley, and the possession of the great mountainous range from Chattanooga to Lynchburg, the “backbone region” of the South. Mr. Davis regarded each one of these three objects as justifying almost any hazard or sacrifice. Under no circumstances could he approve a military policy which contemplated the surrender of either of these objects, without a desperate struggle. He had wanted Vicksburg defended to the last extremity, and now desired equal tenacity as to Atlanta. This city was a great manufacturing centre; the centre of the system of railroads diverging in all directions through the Gulf States, and it was the last remaining outpost in the defense of the central section of the Confederacy.

78

Yet the argument that General Hood’s errors establish the wisdom of General Johnston’s policy, can hardly be deemed fair by an intelligent and impartial judgment. A more competent commander than Hood might have more ably executed an offensive campaign, even after the fall of Atlanta; or, again, other tactics than those of Johnston, from Dalton to Atlanta, might have had better results.

After Johnston’s removal, the President received numerous letters from prominent individuals in the Cotton States, heartily applauding that step. The condemnation of the President, for the removal of Johnston, came only after Hood’s disasters; and it must be remembered that Hood’s later operations were not in accordance with Mr. Davis’ views.

The writer remembers a pithy summary of the Georgia campaign, made by a Confederate officer, shortly before the end of the war. Said he: “While Johnston was in command there were no results at all; when Hood took command, results came very rapidly.”

79

It has been contended that the odds against the South in numbers and resources were compensated by the advantages of her defensive position, and by the strong incentives of a war for her homes and liberties. An ingenious argument in demonstration of the assumed defective administration of the Confederacy has been deduced from various historical examples of successful resistance against overwhelming odds. The most plausible citation has been the success of Frederick the Great, in his defense of Prussia against the coalition of Russia, Austria, and France. This illustration has no value, as it does not at all meet the case.

Waiving all consideration of the peculiar strategic difficulties of the South, Frederick first had the advantage of his English alliance. Frederick never fought odds greater than two to one, while the South fought three, four, sometimes five to one – but never equal numbers. Again, Prussia was inaccessible except by overland marches – not penetrated, like the South, in every direction by navigable rivers, and nearly surrounded by the sea. Frederick, too, was absolute in Prussia, and had the lives and property of all his subjects at his control. Mr. Davis, on the other hand, never could consolidate the resources of the South as he desired, being constantly hampered by demagogism in Congress, which could at all times be coerced by the press hostile to the administration, or influenced by the slightest display of popular displeasure. Pretending to place the whole means of the country at the disposal of the President, Congress yet invariably rendered its measures inoperative by emasculating clauses providing exemptions and immunities of every description. President Davis was too sincere a republican, and had too much regard for the restraints of the Constitution to violently usurp ungranted powers.

It is to be remembered, too, that the South received no foreign aid, while Frederick was at last saved by the accession of Peter to the Russian throne, which event dissolved the coalition against Prussia.

80

General Hood’s magnanimous acknowledgment is sufficient for the acquittal of Mr. Davis from any responsibility for this ill-starred movement. On taking leave of his army, in January, 1865, Hood said, speaking of the late campaign: “I am alone responsible for its conception, and strove hard to do my duty in its execution.”

But in addition to this, there was a correspondence, between Mr. Davis and a Confederate officer of high rank, which completely exculpated Mr. Davis. In accordance with Mr. Davis’ accustomed magnanimity and regard for the public welfare, this correspondence was never published. The facts in this matter conspicuously illustrate the persistent and reckless misrepresentation, which has not ceased with the termination of the war. With a class of writers, the facts regarding Mr. Davis are things least to be desired. In many instances, their attacks upon his fame are puerile, but in others, where facts are either distorted or wantonly disregarded, the object seems to be merely to gratify a wicked spirit of detraction.

81

In the autumn of 1864, General Price advanced into Missouri, proclaiming his purpose to be a permanent occupation. The expedition ended in disaster. Defeated in an engagement on the Big Blue, Price retreated into Kansas, and finally into Southern Arkansas. The campaign did not affect the current of the war elsewhere, and was a failure.

82

The author has seen an absurd statement, made without any inquiry into the facts, that Mr. Davis was seen to turn “ghastly white” at the moment of receiving the intelligence of the disaster at Petersburg. It is simply one of a thousand other reckless calumnies, with as little foundation as the rest.

We do not feel called upon here to relate the details of the evacuation of Richmond and the occupation of the city by the Federal army. They are, doubtless, known to every intelligent reader, and we are here specially concerned only in the movements of Mr. Davis.