CHAPTER XII.
The Last Word
Theevacuation of Richmond broke the back of the Confederate defense. Congress had adjourned. The legislative history of the Confederacy was at an end. The executive history still had a few days to run. After destroying great quantities of records, the government officials had packed the remainder on a long train that conveyed the President and what was left of the civil service to Danville. During a few days, Danville was the Confederate capital. There, Davis, still unable to conceive defeat, issued his pathetic lastAddress to the People of the Confederate States.His mind was crystallized. He was no longer capable of judging facts. In as confident tones as ever he promised his people that they should yet prevail; he assured Virginians that even if the Confederate army should withdraw further south the withdrawal would be but temporary, and that "again andagain will we 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."
The surrender at Appomattox on April 9, 1865, compelled another migration of the dwindling executive company. General Johnston had not yet surrendered. A conference which he had with the President and the Cabinet at Greensboro ended in giving him permission to negotiate with Sherman. Even then Davis was still bent on keeping up the fight; yet, though he believed that Sherman would reject Johnston's overtures, he was overtaken at Charlotte on his way South by the crushing news of Johnston's surrender. There the executive history of the Confederacy came to an end in a final Cabinet meeting. Davis, still blindly resolute to continue the struggle, was deeply distressed by the determination of his advisers to abandon it. In imminent danger of capture, the President's party made its way to Abbeville, where it broke up, and each member sought safety as best he could. Davis with a few faithful men rode to Irwinsville, Georgia, where, in the early morning of the 10th of May, he was surprised and captured. But the history of the Confederacy was not quiteat an end. The last gunshots were still to be fired far away in Texas on the 13th of May. The surrender of the forces of the Trans-Mississippi on May 26, 1865, brought the war to a definite conclusion.
There remains one incident of these closing days, the significance of which was not perceived until long afterward, when it immediately took its rightful place among the determining events of American history. The unconquerable spirit of the Army of Northern Virginia found its last expression in a proposal which was made to Lee by his officers. If he would give the word, they would make the war a duel to the death; it should drag out in relentless guerrilla struggles; and there should be no pacification of the South until the fighting classes had been exterminated. Considering what those classes were, considering the qualities that could be handed on to their posterity, one realizes that this suicide of a whole people, of a noble fighting people, would have maimed incalculably the America of the future. But though the heroism of this proposal of his men to die on their shields had its stern charm for so brave a man as Lee, he refused to consider it. He would not admit that he and his people had a right thus to extinguish their powerto help mold the future, no matter whether it be the future they desired or not. The result of battle must be accepted. The Southern spirit must not perish, luxuriating blindly in despair, but must find a new form of expression, must become part of the new world that was to be, must look to a new birth under new conditions. In this spirit he issued to his army his last address:
After four years of arduous service, marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources. I need not tell the survivors of so many hard-fought battles, who have remained steadfast to the last, that I have consented to the result from no distrust of them; but feeling that valor and devotion could accomplish nothing that could compensate for the loss that would have attended the continuation of the contest, I determined to avoid the useless sacrifice of those whose past services have endeared them to their countrymen.… I bid you an affectionate farewell.
After four years of arduous service, marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources. I need not tell the survivors of so many hard-fought battles, who have remained steadfast to the last, that I have consented to the result from no distrust of them; but feeling that valor and devotion could accomplish nothing that could compensate for the loss that would have attended the continuation of the contest, I determined to avoid the useless sacrifice of those whose past services have endeared them to their countrymen.… I bid you an affectionate farewell.
How inevitably one calls to mind, in view of the indomitable valor of Lee's final decision, those great lines from Tennyson:
Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'We are not now that strength which in old daysMoved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;One equal temper of heroic hearts,Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will.
Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Thereis no adequate history of the Confederacy. It is rumored that a distinguished scholar has a great work approaching completion. It is also rumored that another scholar, well equipped to do so, will soon bring out a monumental life of Davis. But the fact remains that as yet we lack a comprehensive review of the Confederate episode set in proper perspective. Standard works such as theHistory of the United States from the Compromise of 1850, by J. F. Rhodes (7 vols., 1893-1906), even when otherwise as near a classic as is the work of Mr. Rhodes, treat the Confederacy so externally as to have in this respect little value. The one searching study of the subject,The Confederate States of America,by J. C. Schwab (1901), though admirable in its way, is wholly overshadowed by the point of view of the economist. The same is to be said of the article by Professor Schwab in the 11th edition ofThe Encyclopædia Britannica.
Two famous discussions of the episode by participants are:The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government,by the President of the Confederacy (2 vols., 1881), andA Constitutional View of the Late War Between the States,by Alexander H. Stephens (2 vols., 1870). Both works, though invaluable to the student, are tinged with controversy, each of the eminentauthors aiming to refute the arguments of political antagonists.
The military history of the time has so overshadowed the civil, in the minds of most students, that we are still sadly in need of careful, disinterested studies of the great figures of Confederate civil affairs.Jefferson Davis,by William E. Dodd (American Crisis Biographies,1907), is the standard life of the President, superseding older ones. Not so satisfactory in the same series isJudah P. Benjamin,by Pierce Butler (1907), andAlexander H. Stephens,by Louis Pendleton (1907). Older works which are valuable for the material they contain are:Memoir of Jefferson Davis,by his Wife (1890);The Life and Times of Alexander H. Stephens,by R. M. Johnston and W. M. Browne (1878);The Life and Times of William Lowndes Yancey,by J. W. Du Bose (1892);The Life, Times, and Speeches of Joseph E. Brown,by Herbert Fielder (1883);Public Life and Diplomatic Correspondence of James M. Mason,by his Daughter (1903);The Life and Time of C. G. Memminger,by H. D. Capers (1893). The writings of E. A. Pollard cannot be disregarded, but must be taken as the violent expression of an extreme partizan. They include aLife of Jefferson Davis(1869) andThe Lost Cause(1867). A charming series of essays isConfederate Portraits,by Gamaliel Bradford (1914). Among books on special topics that are to be recommended are:The Diplomatic History of the Southern Confederacyby J. M. Callahan (1901);France and the Confederate Navy,by John Bigelow (1888); andThe Secret Service of the Confederate States in Europe,by J. D. Bulloch (2 vols., 1884). There is a large number of contemporary accounts of life in the Confederacy. Historians havegenerally given excessive attention toA Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital,by J. B. Jones (2 vols., 1866) which has really neither more nor less value than a Richmond newspaper. Conspicuous among writings of this type is the delightfulDiary from Dixie,by Mrs. Mary B. Chestnut (1905) andMy Diary, North and South,by W. H. Russell (1862).
The documents of the civil history, so far as they are accessible to the general reader, are to be found in the three volumes forming the fourth series of theOfficial Records of the Union and Confederate Armies(128 vols., 1880-1901); theJournals of the Congress of the Confederate States(8 vols., 1904) andMessages and Papers of the Confederacy,edited by J. D. Richardson (2 vols., 1905). Four newspapers are of first importance: the famous opposition organs, the RichmondExaminerand the CharlestonMercury,which should be offset by the two leading organs of the Government, theCourierof Charleston and theEnquirerof Richmond. The Statutes of the Confederacy have been collected and published; most of them are also to be found in the fourth series of theOfficial Records.
Additional bibliographical references will be found appended to the articles on theConfederate States of America,Secession,andJefferson Davis,inThe Encyclopædia Britannica,11th edition.
INDEX
Alabama, represented at South Carolina convention,3; secedes,7; convention,8; situation in,74,114-120; iron for munitions from,106; questions of state sovereignty in,116-119.Alabama, The (ship),53,135,139.Anderson, Major Robert, transfers garrison to Sumter,6; refuses Beauregard's demands,15-16;see alsoSumter.Antietam campaign,53,58.Appomattox, surrender at,201.Arkansas,14,74,112,113,114.Arman, shipbuilder of Bordeaux,132,133,135,140,143-144.Army, composition and size of,36-37; state armies,38,72; difficulty of enlisting,76; lack of shoes for,77-78; desertion,110,120,162,166; surrenders,201-202;see alsoConscription, Military policy.Ayer, L. M., of South Carolina,88.
Baldwin, of Virginia, tells of martial law,84.Barksdale, Ethelbert, of Mississippi,82,84-85,192.Beauregard, General P. G. T., and the surrender of Fort Sumter,15-24; in Georgia,148,149.Benjamin, J. P., signsTo Our Constituents,3; Attorney-General,27; Secretary of War,34,79(note); Secretary of State,34,40; complaints against,40,63-64; life and character,69-71; denounces Napoleon,144; on extraconstitutional power,185; attacked by Congress,195; accepts policy of emancipation,197.Blair, F. P., plan of reconciliation,179-180.Blockade,51,56,77,105.Bocock, T. S., Speaker of House,156.Bonds,seeFinance.Boyce, of South Carolina, argument for peace,175.Bragg, General Braxton, plan to invade Kentucky,44; attitude toward press,59; Davis's confidence in,69; army conditions under,96; resigns command,113-114.Breckinridge, General J. C., Secretary of War,79(note).Brown, J. E., Governor of Georgia, on secession,5,6-7; on conscription,65-66,75-76; opponent of Administration,145-149; motives,174(note).Bull Run, Battle of,seeManassas.Bullock, Captain James,135-136.Butler, A. P., of South Carolina,4.
Cabinet,14-15,27,34,40,69.Campbell, J. A., Confederate commissioner at Hampton Roads,180.Canada, Confederate agents in,126-127.Chancellorsville,89.Charleston,15et seq.,97.CharlestonCourier,18,21-22,61-62,94,95,97.CharlestonMercury,describes siege of Sumter,20; opposes Administration,33,39,43,61-62,95,151,152,154; on conscription,64; on Seddon's appointment,79; on Impressment Act,80; on Tax Act,81; on suspension ofhabeas corpus,82-83,85-86; issue of conduct of war,89,90; account of President's visit to Charleston,97; on peace,175,180; doubts upper South,196; on negro soldiers,196.Chattanooga,113.Chestnut, James,18(note).Chevalier, Michel,138.Chickamauga campaign,96,113.Clay, C. C.,127.Cobb, Howell,146,154-155.Cold Harbor,126.Columbia and Augusta Railroad Company,152-153."Confederate Societies,"95.Confederate States, provisional government organized,10-11; status of belligerent accorded by England,35; clash with state authority,38-40; archives threatened,42; period of elation,43-44; foreign affairs,46et seq.;130et seq.;secrecy of government,59,60,65,66; divided into separate units,74; impotence of government,160; anti-war factions in,165-167; war ended,202;see alsoDavis, South.Congress, Confederate,9-11.Congress, U. S., House committee of thirty-three,2,13.Conscription, adopted,37-38; constitutionality attacked,39; Pollard's criticism of enforcement,64; correspondence of Davis and Brown on,65-66; Rhett's opinion of,73; opposition to,75-77; exemptions,102,123-124; hiring of substitutes,103; failure of State and Confederate governments to coöperate,116,151; age limits,122-123.Constitution, Confederate,10-11.Corinth,53.Cotton, to solve financial problem,45-46; necessary to English,46; effect of blockade,51-57; powerless to coerce England,56.
Danville, Confederate capital,200.Davis, Jefferson, signsTo Our Constituents,3; elected President in provisional Government,11; as President,15,24et seq.;from Mississippi,29; born in Kentucky,30; early life,31-32; personal characteristics,32; military activities,33; criticism of,33-34,43,61-65,89-90,159-160,175; President at first regular election,34; inauguration,35-36; message to Congress (1862),36; proposes conscription,37; vetoes Texas Regiment Bill,38; clash with state authority,38-40; use of martial law,40-42; at height of powers,43; shortcomings,67-69; relations with Lee,68; Cabinet,69; personal loyalty,70; statecraft,71; endorses "Confederate Societies,"95; journeys during Administration,96-97; message to Congress (1863),114; message to Congress (1864),119-120; in Georgia,144,148-149; forced to reorganize army,163-164;confident of Confederate success,182,196-197; signs compromise bill,198;Address to the People of the Confederate States,200-201; resolute to continue struggle,201; capture at Irwinsville, Ga.,201.Davis, Mrs. Jefferson, quoted,67-68,163.Davis, Reuben, quoted,67.Deserters,110,120,162,166.Desperadoes,111,166-167.Donelson, Fort,36,40,58.Donoughmore, Lord, Mason interviews,199.Draft,seeConscription.