But it is altogether a fallacious supposition that the military situation of the Confederacy, in the last winter of thewar, was beyond reclamation. The most hasty glance at the situation revealed the feasibility of destroying Sherman, when he turned northward from Savannah, with a proper concentration of the forces yet available. President Davis anxiously sought to secure this concentration, but was disappointed by causes which need not here be related. With Sherman defeated, the Confederacy must have obtained a new lease of life, as all the territory which he had overrun, would immediately be recovered, and the worthless title of his conquests would be apparent, even to the North. There were indeed many aspects of the situation encouraging to enterprise, could an adequate army be obtained, and the heart of the country reanimated. President Davis was not alone in the indulgence of hope of better fortune. Again he had the sanction of Lee’s name in confirmation of his hopes, and in support of the measures which he recommended.
But the resolution of the President was not sustained by the coöperation of Congress. The last session of that body was commemorated by a signal display of timidity and vacillation. Congress assembled in November, and at the beginning of its session its nerve was visibly shaken. Before its adjournment in March, there was no longer even a pretense of organized opinion and systematic legislation. Its occupation during the winter was mainly crimination of the President, and a contemptible frivolity, which at last provoked the hearty disgust of the public. The calibre of the last Confederate Congress may be correctly estimated, when it is stated that as late as the 22d of February, 1865, less than sixty days before the fall of Richmond, that body was earnestly engaged in devising anew flag for the Confederacy.
Not a single measure of importance was adopted withoutsome emasculating clause, or without such postponement as made it practically inoperative. Of all the vigorous suggestions of Mr. Davis for recruiting the army, mobilizing the subsistence, and renovating the material condition of the country, hardly one was adopted in a practicable shape. Congress had clearly despaired of the cause. It had not the courage to counsel the submission, of which it secretly felt the necessity, and left the capital with a declaration that the “conquest of the Confederacy was geographically impossible,” yet clearly attesting by its flight a very different view of the situation.
The history of the Congress of the Confederate States is a record of singular imbecility and irresolution. It was a body without leaders, without popular sympathy, without a single one of those heroic attributes which are usually evoked in periods of revolution. It may safely be asserted that in the history of no other great revolution does the statesmanship of its legislators appear so contemptible, when compared with the military administration which guided its armies. Whatever may be the estimate of the executive ability of the Confederate administration, it can not be denied that its courage was abundant; nor can it be questioned that the courage of Congress often required the spur of popular sentiment. In the wholesale condemnation of Mr. Davis by a class of writers, it is remarkable that the defective legislation of the Confederacy should be accredited with so little influence in producing its failure. If he was so grossly incompetent, what must be the verdict of history upon a body which, for four years, submitted to a ruinous administration when the corrective means were in its own hands?
Of Mr. Davis’ relations with Congress, Ex-Secretary Mallory writes as follows:
“I have said that his relations with members of Congress were not what they should have been, nor were they what they might have been. Towards them, as towards the world generally, he wore his personal opinions very openly. Position and opportunity presented him every means of cultivating the personal good-will of members by little acts of attention, courtesy, or deference, which no man, however high in his position, who has to work by means of his fellows, can dispense with. Great minds can, in spite of the absence of these demonstrations towards them in a leader—nay, in the face of neglect or apparent disrespect—go on steadily and bravely, with a single eye to the public welfare; but the number of these in comparison to those who are more or less governed by personal considerations in the discharge of their public duties is small. While he was ever frank and cordial to his friends, and to all whom he believed to be embarked heart and soul in the cause of Southern independence, he would not, and, we think, could not, sacrifice a smile, an inflection of the voice, or a demonstration of attention to flatter the self-love of any man, in or out of Congress, who did not stand in this relation. Acting himself for the public welfare, regardless of self or the opinions of others, he placed too light a value upon the thousand nameless influences by which he might have brought others up, apparently, to his own high moral standard. By members of Congress, who had to see him on business, his reception of them was frequently complained of as ungracious. They frequently, in their anxiety amidst public disaster, called upon him to urge plans, suggestions, or views on the conduct of the war, or for the attainment of peace, and often pressed matters upon him which he had very carefully considered, and for which he alone was responsible.“Often, in such cases, though he listened to all they had to say—why, for example, some man should be made a brigadier, major or lieutenant-general, or placed at the head of an army, etc.—and in return calmly and precisely stated his reasons against themeasure, he at times failed to satisfy or convince them, simply because, in his manner and language combined, there was just an indescribable something which offended their self-esteem. Some of his best friends left him at times with feelings bordering closely upon anger from this cause, and with a determination, hastily formed, of calling no more upon him; and some of the most sensible and patriotic men of both Houses were alienated from him more or less from this cause. The counsel of judicious friends upon this subject, and as to more unrestrained intercourse between him and the members of the Senate and the House, was vainly exerted. His manly, fearless, true, and noble nature turned from what to him wore the faintest approach to seeking popularity, and he scorned to believe it necessary to coax men to do their duty to their country in her darkest hour of need.”
“I have said that his relations with members of Congress were not what they should have been, nor were they what they might have been. Towards them, as towards the world generally, he wore his personal opinions very openly. Position and opportunity presented him every means of cultivating the personal good-will of members by little acts of attention, courtesy, or deference, which no man, however high in his position, who has to work by means of his fellows, can dispense with. Great minds can, in spite of the absence of these demonstrations towards them in a leader—nay, in the face of neglect or apparent disrespect—go on steadily and bravely, with a single eye to the public welfare; but the number of these in comparison to those who are more or less governed by personal considerations in the discharge of their public duties is small. While he was ever frank and cordial to his friends, and to all whom he believed to be embarked heart and soul in the cause of Southern independence, he would not, and, we think, could not, sacrifice a smile, an inflection of the voice, or a demonstration of attention to flatter the self-love of any man, in or out of Congress, who did not stand in this relation. Acting himself for the public welfare, regardless of self or the opinions of others, he placed too light a value upon the thousand nameless influences by which he might have brought others up, apparently, to his own high moral standard. By members of Congress, who had to see him on business, his reception of them was frequently complained of as ungracious. They frequently, in their anxiety amidst public disaster, called upon him to urge plans, suggestions, or views on the conduct of the war, or for the attainment of peace, and often pressed matters upon him which he had very carefully considered, and for which he alone was responsible.
“Often, in such cases, though he listened to all they had to say—why, for example, some man should be made a brigadier, major or lieutenant-general, or placed at the head of an army, etc.—and in return calmly and precisely stated his reasons against themeasure, he at times failed to satisfy or convince them, simply because, in his manner and language combined, there was just an indescribable something which offended their self-esteem. Some of his best friends left him at times with feelings bordering closely upon anger from this cause, and with a determination, hastily formed, of calling no more upon him; and some of the most sensible and patriotic men of both Houses were alienated from him more or less from this cause. The counsel of judicious friends upon this subject, and as to more unrestrained intercourse between him and the members of the Senate and the House, was vainly exerted. His manly, fearless, true, and noble nature turned from what to him wore the faintest approach to seeking popularity, and he scorned to believe it necessary to coax men to do their duty to their country in her darkest hour of need.”
When Congress assembled in November it was plain that the army must have other means of recruiting than from the remnant yet left by the conscription. There was but one measure by which the requisite numbers could be supplied, and that was the extension of the conscription to the slave population. Public sentiment was at first much divided upon this subject, but gradually the propriety of the measure was made evident, and something like a renewal of hope was manifested at the prospect of making use of an element which the enemy so efficiently employed. President Davis had, for months previous, contemplated the enlistment of the slaves for service in various capacities in the field. In the last winter of the war he strongly urged a negro enrollment, as did General Lee, whose letter to a member of Congress eventually convinced the country of its necessity.
Whatever may have been the merits of the proposition to arm the slaves, as a means of renovating the military conditionof the Confederacy, the dilatory action of Congress left no hope of its practical execution. The discussion upon this subject continued during the entire session, and was at last terminated by the adoption of a bill providing for the reception of such slaves into the service as might be tendered by their masters. Mr. Davis and General Lee both advocated the extension of freedom to such of the slaves as would volunteer, and this was clearly the only system of enrollment upon which they could be efficiently employed. But even though the slave-holding interest had not thus emasculated the measure, by refusing emancipation, it was too late to hope for any results of importance. The bill was not passed until three weeks before the fall of Richmond.
But Congress found congenial employment in giving vent to its partisan malignity, by the adoption of measures plainly designed to humiliate the Executive, and with no expectation of improving the condition of the Confederacy, which most of its members believed to be already beyond reclamation. In this spirit was dictated the measure making General Lee virtually a military dictator, and that expressing want of confidence in the cabinet. All of this action of Congress was extra-official, and subversive of the constitutional authority of the Executive, but it utterly failed in its obvious design.
President Davis never made a more noble display of feeling, than in his response to the resolution of the Virginia Legislature recommending the appointment of General Lee to the command of the armies of the Confederacy. Said he: “The opinion expressed by the General Assembly in regard to General R. E. Lee has my full concurrence. Virginia can not have a higher regard for him, or greater confidence in his character and ability, than is entertained by me. WhenGeneral Lee took command of the Army of Northern Virginia, he was in command of all the armies of the Confederate States by my order of assignment. He continued in this general command, as well as in the immediate command of the Army of Northern Virginia, as long as I could resist his opinion that it was necessary for him to be relieved from one of these two duties. Ready as he has ever shown himself to be to perform any service that I desired him to render to his country, he left it for me to choose between his withdrawal from the command of the army in the field, and relieving him of the general command of all the armies of the Confederate States. It was only when satisfied of this necessity that I came to the conclusion to relieve him from the general command, believing that the safety of the capital and the success of our cause depended, in a great measure, on then retaining him in the command in the field of the Army of Northern Virginia. On several subsequent occasions, the desire on my part to enlarge the sphere of General Lee’s usefulness, has led to renewed consideration of the subject, and he has always expressed his inability to assume command of other armies than those now confided to him, unless relieved of the immediate command in the field of that now opposed to General Grant.”
A striking indication of the feverish condition of the public mind of both sections, during the last winter of the war, was the ready credence given to the most extravagant and improbable rumors. Washington correspondents of Northern newspapers declared that the air of the Federal capital was “thick with rumors of negotiation.” At Richmond this credulous disposition was even more marked. Men were found as late as the middle of March, who believed that President Davis had actually formed an alliance, offensive and defensive,with the French Emperor. In the month of January the rumors as to peace negotiations assumed a more definite shape, in the arrival of Mr. Francis P. Blair at the Confederate capital.
It is remarkable that the “Blair mission” and its sequel, the Hampton Roads conference, though palpably contemplating only the discussion of such mere generalities as belong to other efforts at peace at different stages of the war, and, indeed, introducing nothing in the shape of formal negotiation, should have been dignified as a most important episode. Equally remarkable, in view of the published proceedings of the Hampton Roads conference, is the disposition to censure President Davis for having designedly interposed obstacles to the consummation of peace. Mr. Blair visited Richmond by the permission of President Lincoln, but without any official authority, and without having the objects of his mission committed to paper. In short, Mr. Blair’s mission had no official character, and he came to Richmond to prevail upon Mr. Davis to encourage, in some manner, preliminary steps to negotiation. In his interviews with the Confederate President, Mr. Blair disclaimed the official countenance of the Federal authorities for the objects of his visit. It was known to the world, that Mr. Davis, upon repeated occasions, had avowed his desire for peace upon any terms consistent with the honor of his country, and that he would not present difficulties as to forms in the attainment of that object, at this critical period. Hence, despite the unauthorized nature of Mr. Blair’s conciliatory efforts, Mr. Davis gave him a letter, addressed to himself, avowing the willingness of the Confederate authorities to begin negotiations, to send or receive commissioners authorized to treat, and to “renew the effort to enter into aconference, with a view to secure peace between the two countries.”
Mr. Lincoln, in a letter to Mr. Blair, acknowledged having read Mr. Davis’ note, and avowed his readiness to receive an agent from Mr. Davis, or from the authority resisting the Federal Government, to confer with him informally, with the view of restoring peace to the people of “our common country.”
The commissioners appointed by Mr. Davis, after this notification, were Vice-President Stephens, Senator Hunter, and Judge Campbell. The conference was held on a steamer lying in Hampton Roads, between the three Confederate commissioners and Messrs. Lincoln and Seward. By both sides the interview was treated as informal; there were neither notes nor secretaries, nor did the interview assume any other shape than an irregular conversation. During the four hours of desultory discussion, there was developed no basis of negotiation, no ground of possible agreement. Mr. Lincoln declared that he would consent to no truce or suspension of hostilities, except upon the single condition of the disbandment of the Confederate forces, and the submission of the revolted States to the authority of the Union. The result was simply the assertion, in a more arrogant form, of the Federalultimatum—the unconditional submission of the South, its acquiescence in all the unconstitutional legislation of the Federal Congress respecting slavery, including emancipation, and the right to legislate upon the subject of the relations between the white and black populations of each State. Mr. Lincoln, moreover, refused to treat with the authorities of the Confederate States, or with the States separately; declared that the consequences of the establishment of the Federal authority would have to be accepted,and declined giving any guarantee whatever, except an indefinite assurance of a liberal use of the pardoning power, towards those who were assumed to have made themselves liable to the pains and penalties of the laws of the United States.
The statement of the Confederate commissioners, and all the known facts of the transaction, demonstrate, without argument, the injustice of holding Mr. Davis responsible, to any extent, for the results of the Hampton Roads conference. With one voice the South accepted the result as establishing the purpose of the Federal Government to exact “unconditional submission,” as the only condition of peace, and scorned the insolent demand of the enemy. If the South had shown itself willing to accept the terms of the Federal Government, or if Mr. Lincoln had suggested other propositions than that of unconditional submission, then only could Mr. Davis be charged with having presented obstacles to the termination of the war.
Nor is it to be assumed that the terms of his letter to Mr. Blair, referring to his desire for peace between the “two countries,” precluded negotiation upon the basis of reunion. His language was that of a proper diplomacy, which should not commit the error of yielding in advance to the demands of an enemy, then insolent in what he regarded as the assurance of certain victory. The period was opportune for magnanimity on the part of the North, but not propitious for the display of over-anxious concession by the South. Mr. Davis was at this time anxious for propositions from the Federal Government, for, while he had not despaired of the Confederacy, he was deeply impressed with the increasing obstacles to its success. His frequent declaration, at this time, was: “I am solicitous only for the good of the people, and am indifferent as to theforms by which the public interests are to be subserved.” Indeed, the Federal authorities had ample assurance that Mr. Davis would present any basis of settlement, which might be offered, to the several States of the Confederacy for their individual action. Nor did he doubt the acceptance of reconstruction, without slavery even, by several of the States—an event which would have left the Confederacy too weak for further resistance.
In view of the consistent record of Mr. Davis, during the entire period of the war, to promote the attainment of peace, it is remarkable that there should ever have been an allegation of a contrary disposition. In a letter, written in 1864, to Governor Vance, of North Carolina, he conclusively stated his course upon the subject of peace. Said Mr. Davis, in this letter:
“We have made three distinct efforts to communicate with the authorities at Washington, and have been invariably unsuccessful. 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 that an answer would be sent. No answer has ever been received. 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 receive no proposals whatever from the Government. Vice-President 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 experimentshould 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....“If we will break up our Government, dissolve the Confederacy, disband our armies, emancipate our slaves, take an oath of allegiance, binding ourselves to obedience to him and of disloyalty to our own States, he proposes to pardon us, and not to plunder us of any thing more than 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, he 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 proposals should now be made by us to those who control the Government at Washington. Your own well-known devotion to the great cause of liberty and 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 submission to the enemy. Yet peace on other terms is now impossible.”
“We have made three distinct efforts to communicate with the authorities at Washington, and have been invariably unsuccessful. 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 that an answer would be sent. No answer has ever been received. 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 receive no proposals whatever from the Government. Vice-President 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 experimentshould 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....
“If we will break up our Government, dissolve the Confederacy, disband our armies, emancipate our slaves, take an oath of allegiance, binding ourselves to obedience to him and of disloyalty to our own States, he proposes to pardon us, and not to plunder us of any thing more than 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, he 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 proposals should now be made by us to those who control the Government at Washington. Your own well-known devotion to the great cause of liberty and 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 submission to the enemy. Yet peace on other terms is now impossible.”
The spirit in which the South received the results of the Hampton Roads conference is to be correctly estimated by the following extract from a Richmond newspaper, of date February 15, 1865:
“The world can again, for the hundredth time, see conclusive evidence in the history and sequel of the ‘Blair mission,’ the blood-guiltiness of the enemy, and their responsibility for the ruin, desolation, and suffering which have followed, and will yetfollow, their heartless attempts to subjugate and destroy an innocent people. The South again wins honor from the good, the magnanimous, the truly brave every-where by her efforts to stop the effusion of blood, save the lives and the property of her own citizens, and to stop, too, the slaughter of the victims of the enemy’s cruelty, which has forced or deceived them into the ranks of his armies. We have lost nothing by our efforts in behalf of peace; for, waiving all consideration of the reanimation and reunion of our people, occasioned by Lincoln’s haughty rejection of our commissioners, we have added new claims upon the sympathy and respect of the world and posterity, which will not fail to be remembered to our honor, in the history of this struggle, even though we should finally perish in it. The position of the South at this moment is indeed one which should stamp her as the champion, not only of popular rights and self-government, which Americans have so much cherished, but as the champion of the spirit of humanity in both sections; for it can not be supposed that we have all the sorrows as well as sufferings of this war to endure, and that there are no desolate homes, no widows and orphans, no weeds nor cypress in the enemy’s country....“One fact is certain, that whatever Seward’s design may have been, and whatever its success may be, the Confederacy has derived an immediate advantage from the visit of our commissioners to Fortress Monroe. Nothing could have so served to reanimate the courage and patriotism of our people, as his attempted imposition of humiliation upon us. Lincoln will hear no more talk of ‘peace’ and ‘negotiation’ from the Southern side, for now we are united as one man in the purpose of self-preservation and vengeance, and it may not be long before his people, now rioting in excessive exultation over successes really valueless, and easily counter-balanced by one week of prosperous fortune for the South, will tremble at the manifestation of the spirit which they have aroused.”
“The world can again, for the hundredth time, see conclusive evidence in the history and sequel of the ‘Blair mission,’ the blood-guiltiness of the enemy, and their responsibility for the ruin, desolation, and suffering which have followed, and will yetfollow, their heartless attempts to subjugate and destroy an innocent people. The South again wins honor from the good, the magnanimous, the truly brave every-where by her efforts to stop the effusion of blood, save the lives and the property of her own citizens, and to stop, too, the slaughter of the victims of the enemy’s cruelty, which has forced or deceived them into the ranks of his armies. We have lost nothing by our efforts in behalf of peace; for, waiving all consideration of the reanimation and reunion of our people, occasioned by Lincoln’s haughty rejection of our commissioners, we have added new claims upon the sympathy and respect of the world and posterity, which will not fail to be remembered to our honor, in the history of this struggle, even though we should finally perish in it. The position of the South at this moment is indeed one which should stamp her as the champion, not only of popular rights and self-government, which Americans have so much cherished, but as the champion of the spirit of humanity in both sections; for it can not be supposed that we have all the sorrows as well as sufferings of this war to endure, and that there are no desolate homes, no widows and orphans, no weeds nor cypress in the enemy’s country....
“One fact is certain, that whatever Seward’s design may have been, and whatever its success may be, the Confederacy has derived an immediate advantage from the visit of our commissioners to Fortress Monroe. Nothing could have so served to reanimate the courage and patriotism of our people, as his attempted imposition of humiliation upon us. Lincoln will hear no more talk of ‘peace’ and ‘negotiation’ from the Southern side, for now we are united as one man in the purpose of self-preservation and vengeance, and it may not be long before his people, now rioting in excessive exultation over successes really valueless, and easily counter-balanced by one week of prosperous fortune for the South, will tremble at the manifestation of the spirit which they have aroused.”
But the evidences of popular reanimation in the South were delusive. For a brief moment there was a spirit of fierce and almost desperate resolution. At a meeting held in the African church, in Richmond, President Davis delivered one of his most eloquent popular orations, and the enthusiasm was perhaps greater than upon any similar occasion during the war. But popular feeling soon lapsed into the sullen despondency, from which it had been temporarily aroused by the unparalleled insult of the enemy. Yet theultimatumof Mr. Lincoln, and the declared will of the South, left President Davis no other policy than a continuation of the struggle, with a view to the best attainable results. Upon this course he was now fully resolved, looking to the future with serious apprehension, not altogether unrelieved by hope.
The report of the Hampton Roads conference and its results, was made by President Davis, to Congress, on the 5th February:
“To the Senate and House of Representatives of the Confederate States of America:“Having recently received a written notification, which satisfied 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 report of the eminent citizens above named, showing that the enemy refuse to enter into negotiations with the Confederate States, or any one of them separately, or to give our people any other terms or guarantees than those which a conqueror may grant, or permit usto have peace on any other basis than our unconditional submission to their rule, coupled with the acceptance of their recent legislation, including an amendment to the Constitution for the emancipation of 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, Va., February 5, 1865.“To the President of the Confederate States—“Sir: Under your letter of appointment of 28th ult., we proceeded to seek an informal conference with Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, upon the subject mentioned in your letter.“The conference was granted, and took place on the 3d inst., on board a steamer anchored in Hampton Roads, where we met President Lincoln and Hon. Mr. Seward, Secretary of State of the United States. It continued for several hours, and was both full and explicit.“We learned from them that the Message of President Lincoln 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. We understood from him that no terms or proposals of any treaty or agreement looking to an ultimate settlement would be entertained 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 nocircumstances, 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 complete restoration of the authority of the Constitution and laws of the United States over all places within the States of the Confederacy; that whatever consequences may follow from the reëstablishment of that authority must be accepted, but the individuals 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 ult., 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 heretofore been informed.“Very respectfully, your obedient servants,“ALEX. H. STEPHENS,“R. M. T. HUNTER,“J. A. CAMPBELL.”
“To the Senate and House of Representatives of the Confederate States of America:
“Having recently received a written notification, which satisfied 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 report of the eminent citizens above named, showing that the enemy refuse to enter into negotiations with the Confederate States, or any one of them separately, or to give our people any other terms or guarantees than those which a conqueror may grant, or permit usto have peace on any other basis than our unconditional submission to their rule, coupled with the acceptance of their recent legislation, including an amendment to the Constitution for the emancipation of 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, Va., February 5, 1865.
“To the President of the Confederate States—
“Sir: Under your letter of appointment of 28th ult., we proceeded to seek an informal conference with Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, upon the subject mentioned in your letter.
“The conference was granted, and took place on the 3d inst., on board a steamer anchored in Hampton Roads, where we met President Lincoln and Hon. Mr. Seward, Secretary of State of the United States. It continued for several hours, and was both full and explicit.
“We learned from them that the Message of President Lincoln 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. We understood from him that no terms or proposals of any treaty or agreement looking to an ultimate settlement would be entertained 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 nocircumstances, 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 complete restoration of the authority of the Constitution and laws of the United States over all places within the States of the Confederacy; that whatever consequences may follow from the reëstablishment of that authority must be accepted, but the individuals 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 ult., 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 heretofore been informed.
“Very respectfully, your obedient servants,“ALEX. H. STEPHENS,“R. M. T. HUNTER,“J. A. CAMPBELL.”
MILITARY OPERATIONS IN THE EARLY PART OF 1865—LAST PHASE OF THE MILITARY POLICY OF THE CONFEDERACY—THE PLAN TO CRUSH SHERMAN—CALM DEMEANOR OF PRESIDENT DAVIS—CHEERFULNESS OF GENERAL LEE—THE QUESTION AS TO THE SAFETY OF RICHMOND—WEAKNESS OF GENERAL LEE’S ARMY—PREPARATIONS TO EVACUATE RICHMOND BEFORE THE CAMPAIGN OPENED—A NEW BASIS OF HOPE—WHAT WAS TO BE REASONABLY ANTICIPATED—THE CONTRACTED THEATRE OF WAR—THE FATAL DISASTERS AT PETERSBURG—MR. DAVIS RECEIVES THE INTELLIGENCE WHILE IN CHURCH—RICHMOND EVACUATED—PRESIDENT DAVIS AT DANVILLE—HIS PROCLAMATION—SURRENDER OF LEE—DANVILLE EVACUATED—THE LAST OFFICIAL INTERVIEW OF MR. DAVIS WITH GENERALS JOHNSTON AND BEAUREGARD—HIS ARRIVAL AT CHARLOTTE—INCIDENTS AT CHARLOTTE—REJECTION OF THE SHERMAN-JOHNSTON SETTLEMENT—MR. DAVIS’ INTENTIONS AFTER THAT EVENT—HIS MOVEMENTS SOUTHWARD—INTERESTING DETAILS—CAPTURE OF MR. DAVIS AND HIS IMPRISONMENT AT FORTRESS MONROE.
Militaryoperations in the first three months of 1865 tended to the concentration of forces upon the greatly-reduced theatre of war, which was now confined mainly to Virginia and North Carolina. The developments of each day indicated the near approach of critical and decisive events. With Sherman sweeping through the Carolinas, and the Confederate forces retiring before him; with Wilmington, the last port of the Confederacy, captured, and a new base thus secured for a column auxiliary to Sherman, it was evident that but a short time would develop a grand struggle, which should not only decide the fate of Richmond, but which should involve nearly the entire force at the command of the Confederacy.
The last definite phase of the military policy of the Confederate authorities, previous to the fall of the capital, was the design of concentration for the destruction of Sherman, who was rapidly approaching the Virginia border. This would, of course, necessitate the abandonment of Richmond, with a view to the junction of the armies of Lee and Johnston. The latter officer, with the remnant of Hood’s army, and other fragmentary commands, confronted Sherman’s army—forty thousand strong—with a force of about twenty-five thousand men. When Lee’s army should unite with Johnston’s, the Confederate strength would approximate sixty thousand—a force ample to overwhelm Sherman.
The success of this design was mainly dependent upon the question of thetimeof its execution. If the concentration against Sherman should be attempted prematurely, that Federal commander would be warned of his danger in time to escape to the coast, or to retire until reënforcements from Grant should reach him. It was thus highly important that Sherman should advance sufficiently far to preclude his safe retreat, while, at the same time, the distance between Lee and Johnston should be shortened. On the other hand, if the concentration should be delayed too long, General Grant might, by a vigorous assault upon Lee, either hold the latter in his works at Petersburg, or cut off his retreat, either of which events would defeat the proposed concentration. In the sequel, the activity of Grant, his overwhelming numbers, and the timely arrival of Sheridan’s cavalry, after the latter had failed in his original design against Lynchburg and the Confederate communications, precipitated a catastrophe, which not only prevented the consummation of this design, but speedily proved fatal to the Confederacy.
There was nothing in the calm exterior of President Davis, during the days of early spring, to indicate that he was then meditating an abandonment of that capital, for the safety of which he had striven during four years of solicitude, and in the defense of which the flower of Southern chivalry had been sacrificed. There was no abatement of that self-possession, which had so often proven invulnerable to the most trying exigencies; no alteration of that commanding mien, so typical of resolution and self-reliance. To the despondent citizens of Richmond, there was something of re-assurance in the firm and elastic step of their President, as he walked, usually unattended, through the Capitol Square to his office. His responses to the respectful salutations of the children, who never failed to testify their affection for him, were as genial and playful as ever, and the slaves still boasted of the cordiality with which he acknowledged their civility.
A similar cheerfulness was observed in General Lee. In the last months of the war, it was a frequent observation that General Lee appeared more cheerful in manner than upon many occasions, when his army was engaged in its most successful campaigns. Hon. William C. Rives was quoted in the Confederate Congress, as having said that General Lee “had but a single thing to fear, and that was the spreading of a causeless despondency among the people. Prevent this, and all will be well. We have strength enough left to win our independence, and we are certain to win it, if people do not give way to foolish despair.”
From the beginning of winter, the possibility of holding Richmond was a matter of grave doubt to President Davis. He had announced to the Confederate Congress that the capital was now menaced by greater perils than ever. Yet aproper consideration of the moral consequences of a loss of the capital, not less than of the material injury which must result from the loss of the manufacturing facilities of Richmond, dictated the contemplation of its evacuation only as a measure of necessity. When, however, the dilatory and vacillating action of Congress baffled the President in all his vigorous and timely measures, there was hardly room to doubt that the alternative was forced upon General Lee of an early retreat or an eventual surrender. When spring opened, the Army of Northern Virginia was reduced to less than thirty-five thousand men. With this inadequate force, General Lee was holding a line of forty miles, against an army nearly one hundred and seventy-five thousand strong. A prompt conscription of the slaves, upon the basis of emancipation, the President and General Lee believed would have put at rest all anxiety for the safety of Richmond. But when the threadbare discussions and timid spirit of Congress foretold the failure of this measure, preparations were quietly begun for a retirement to an interior line of defense.
These preparations were commenced early in February, and were conducted with great caution. Mr. Davis did not believe that the capture of Richmond entailed the loss of the Confederate cause should Lee’s and Johnston’s armies remain intact. That it diminished the probability of ultimate success was obvious, but there was the anticipation of a new basis of hope, in events not improbable, could Lee’s army be successfully carried from Petersburg. A thorough defeat of Sherman would obviously recover at once the Carolinas and Georgia, and give to the Confederacy a more enlarged jurisdiction and more easy subsistence, than it had controlled for more than a year. A reasonable anticipation was the re-awakening of thepatriotic spirit of the people, and the return of thousands of absentees to the army, as the immediate results of a decisive defeat of Sherman. Then, even if it should prove that the Confederacy could not cope with the remaining armies of the enemy, it was confidently believed that the North, rather than endure the sacrifices and doubts of another campaign, would offer some terms not inconsistent with the honor of the South to accept. At all events, resistance must continue until the enemy abated his haughty demand of unconditional submission.
The movements of Sherman and Johnston reduced the theatre upon which the crisis was enacting to very contracted limits. The fate of the Confederacy was to be decided in the district between the Roanoke and James Rivers, and the Atlantic Ocean and the Alleghanies. General Grant, fully apprised of the extremities to which Lee was reduced, for weeks kept his army in readiness to intercept the Confederate retreat. It was greatly to the interest of the Federal commander that Lee should be held at Petersburg, since his superior numbers must eventually give him possession of the Southside Railroad, which was vital to Lee not only as a means of subsistence, but as an avenue of escape. But General Grant, sooner than he anticipated, found an opportunity for a successful detachment of a competent force against the Southside Railroad by the arrival of Sheridan’s cavalry, ten thousand strong—as splendid a body of cavalry as ever took the field. The swollen condition of James River had prevented the consummation of Sheridan’s original mission, which was, after he had effectually destroyed all Lee’s communications northward and westward, to capture Lynchburg, and thence to pass rapidly southward to Sherman. Finding theriver impassable, Sheridan retired in the direction of Richmond, passed Lee’s left wing, crossed the Pamunkey River, and, by the 25th of March, had joined Grant before Petersburg. General Grant was not slow in the employment of this timely accession.
The fatal disaster of Lee’s defeat at Petersburg was the battle of Five Forks, on the 1st of April, by which the enemy secured the direct line of retreat to Danville. For, without that event, the fate of Petersburg and Richmond was determined by the result of Grant’s attack upon the Confederate centre on the 2d of April. With all the roads on the southern bank of the Appomattox in the possession of the enemy, there remained only the line of retreat upon the northern side, which was the longer route, while the pursuing enemy had all the advantage of the interior line. But for that disadvantage, Lee’s escape would have been assured, and the Confederate line of defense reëstablished near the Roanoke River.
President Davis received the intelligence of the disasters while seated in his pew in St. Paul’s Church, where he had been a communicant for nearly three years. The momentous intelligence was conveyed to him by a brief note from the War Department. General Lee’s dispatch stated that his lines had been broken, and that all efforts to restore them had proven unsuccessful. He advised preparations for the evacuation of the city during the night, unless, in the meantime, he should advise to the contrary. Mr. Davis immediately left the church with his usual calm manner and measured tread.[82]The tranquil demeanor of the President conveyed noindication of the nature of the communication. But the incident was an unusual one, and, by the congregation, most of whom had for days been burdened with the anticipations of disaster, the unspoken intelligence was, to some extent, correctly interpreted.
The family of Mr. Davis had been sent southward some days before, and he was, therefore, under the necessity of little preparation for departure. Though his concern was obvious, his calmness was remarkable. In this trying exigency in his personal fortunes, he showed anxiety only for the fate of the country, and sympathy for that devoted community from which he was now compelled to separate.
On the night of Sunday, April 2d, 1865, Mr. Davis, attended by his personal staff, members of his cabinet, and attaches of the several departments, left Richmond, which then ceased forever to be the capital of the Southern Confederacy. In a few hours after, that city, whose defense will be more famous than that of Saragossa, whose capture was for four years the aspiration of armies aggregating more than a million of men, became the spoil of a conqueror, and the scene of a conflagration, in which “all the hopes of the Southern Confederacy were consumed in one day, as a scroll in the fire.”
In accordance with his original design of making a new defensive line near the Roanoke River, Mr. Davis proceededdirectly to Danville. His determination was to maintain the Confederate authority upon the soil of Virginia, until driven from it by force of arms. Reaching Danville on the 3d of April, he issued, two days afterwards, the following proclamation:
“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 energies 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 enterprise. 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-countrymen, 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 Confederacy; that Virginia—noble State—whose ancient renown has been eclipsed by her stillmore glorious recent history; whose bosom has been bared to receive the main shock of this war; whose sons and daughters have exhibited heroism so sublime as to render her illustrious in all time to come—that Virginia, with the help of the people, and by the blessing of Providence, shall be held and defended, and no peace ever be made with the infamous invaders of her 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 will 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.”
“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 energies 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 enterprise. 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-countrymen, 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 Confederacy; that Virginia—noble State—whose ancient renown has been eclipsed by her stillmore glorious recent history; whose bosom has been bared to receive the main shock of this war; whose sons and daughters have exhibited heroism so sublime as to render her illustrious in all time to come—that Virginia, with the help of the people, and by the blessing of Providence, shall be held and defended, and no peace ever be made with the infamous invaders of her 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 will 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.”
Meanwhile, some semblance of order in several of the departments of government was established, though, of course, the continued occupation of Danville was dependent upon the safety of Lee’s army. Days of anxious suspense, during which there was no intelligence from Lee, were passed, until on Monday, the 10th of April, it was announced that the Army of Northern Virginia had surrendered.
Leaving Danville, Mr. Davis and his party went by railroad to Greensboro’, North Carolina. Here Mr. Davis met Generals Johnston and Beauregard. Consultation with these two officers soon revealed to Mr. Davis their convictions of the hopelessness of a farther protraction of the struggle.
Ex-Secretary Mallory gives the following narrative of the last official interview of President Davis with Generals Johnston and Beauregard:
“At 8 o’clock that evening the cabinet, with the exception of Mr. Trenholm, whose 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 meetings, was to consume some little time in general conversation before entering upon the business of the occasion, not unfrequently 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 Washington experiences; 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, 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 the country. Of course, we all feel the magnitude of the moment. Our late disasters are terrible, but I do not think we should regardthem as fatal. I think we can whip the enemy yet, if our people will turn out. We must look at matters calmly, however, 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, without preface or introduction—his words translating the expression which his face had worn since he entered the room—said, in his terse, concise, demonstrative way, as if seeking to condense 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 can not 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 they regard the war as 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 expect 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. We may, perhaps, obtain terms which we ought to accept.’“The tone and manner, almost spiteful, in which the General jerked out these brief, decisive sentences, pausing at every paragraph, 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, who, during their delivery, had sat with his eyes fixed upon a scrap of paper which he was folding andrefolding 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, General 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, succeeded, 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 eyes from the slip of paper between his fingers: ‘Well, General Johnston, what do you propose? 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 we 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 conversing with General Johnston, and who 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 paper, and signed byGeneral Johnston, who took it, and said he would send it to General Sherman 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 further south, with plans unformed, clinging to the hope that Johnston and Sherman would secure peace and the quiet of the country, but still all doubtful of the result, and still more doubtful as to consequences of failure.”
“At 8 o’clock that evening the cabinet, with the exception of Mr. Trenholm, whose 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 meetings, was to consume some little time in general conversation before entering upon the business of the occasion, not unfrequently 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 Washington experiences; 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, 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 the country. Of course, we all feel the magnitude of the moment. Our late disasters are terrible, but I do not think we should regardthem as fatal. I think we can whip the enemy yet, if our people will turn out. We must look at matters calmly, however, 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, without preface or introduction—his words translating the expression which his face had worn since he entered the room—said, in his terse, concise, demonstrative way, as if seeking to condense 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 can not 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 they regard the war as 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 expect 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. We may, perhaps, obtain terms which we ought to accept.’
“The tone and manner, almost spiteful, in which the General jerked out these brief, decisive sentences, pausing at every paragraph, 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, who, during their delivery, had sat with his eyes fixed upon a scrap of paper which he was folding andrefolding 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, General 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, succeeded, 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 eyes from the slip of paper between his fingers: ‘Well, General Johnston, what do you propose? 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 we 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 conversing with General Johnston, and who 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 paper, and signed byGeneral Johnston, who took it, and said he would send it to General Sherman 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 further south, with plans unformed, clinging to the hope that Johnston and Sherman would secure peace and the quiet of the country, but still all doubtful of the result, and still more doubtful as to consequences of failure.”
Pending the negotiations between Generals Johnston and Sherman, Mr. Davis was earnestly appealed to by his attendants to provide for his own safety, in the event of the failure to obtain terms from Sherman. There would have been no difficulty in his escaping either across the Mississippi into Mexico, or from the Florida coast to the West Indies. Apparently regardless of his personal safety, he was reluctant to contemplate leaving the country under any circumstances. It is certain that he would not have entertained the idea of an abandonment of any organized body of men yet willing to continue in arms for the cause.
Accompanied by the members of his cabinet, General Cooper, and other officers, some of whom were in ambulances, and others on horseback, Mr. Davis went from Greensboro’ to Lexington. Here he spent the night at the residence of an eminent citizen of North Carolina. Continuing their journey, the party reached Charlotte during the morning of the 18th of April. At this place were extensive establishments of the Confederate Government, and arrangements had already been made for the accommodation of Mr. Davis and his cabinet. During the day of hisarrival at Charlotte, Mr. Davis received a dispatch from General Breckinridge—who, in company with Mr. Reagan, had returned to Greensboro’ to aid the negotiations between Johnston and Sherman—announcing the assassination of President Lincoln.
In connection with this event, Mr. Mallory writes as follows: