MISSISSIPPI. 



MISSOUPJ. 



589 



selves exempt from liability to the draft. A 

 portion of the troops from Mississippi in the 

 field at the close of the year were men enlisted 

 for 60 days, who returned to their homes in 

 January, after having suffered great mortality. 

 Gov. Pettus, immediately upon the passage of 

 the act, issued a call for 10,000 men to serve 

 for two years. After stating the authority upon 

 which the call was made, he thus proceeded : 



Now, therefore, in virtue of the power thus vested 

 in me, I issue this my proclamation, appealing to the 

 patriotism of the people to evince their willingness to 

 respond to every call their country may make upon 

 them in the perilous crisis through which" that country 

 is called to pass. The power to draft has been con- 

 ferred upon me by the Legislature, when volunteers 

 failed to respond. *I have too much confidecne in the 

 determination of the people of Mississippi to meet 

 every responsibility and bear every burthen which 

 may result from their severance of connection with an 

 enemy intent upon their destruction, to believe that it 

 will e'ver become necessary for me to resort to the ex- 

 ercise of that power. After the liberal contribution 

 Mississippi has furnished in men and money for the 

 prosecution of the war, the act authorizing this call 

 would never have been passed if the necessity had not 

 been most urgent. 



I will therefore receive volunteers to the number of 

 ten thousand, to serve for the term of two years. They 

 are expected to bring arms with them, for which they 

 will be allowed a fair value. To such as have no arms 

 they will, as far as possible, be. furnished. The time 

 and places of rendezvous will be hereafter designated. 

 Companies enlisting under this call will report to the 

 adjutant-general at Jackson. Each company is re- 

 quired by the act to consist of sixtv-four men rank 

 and file. JOHN J. PETTUS. 



EXECUTIVE OFFICE, JACKSON, Jan. 31, 1862. 



The scarcity of arms was such that volun- 

 teers were required, if possible, to furnish them. 

 This call was followed by another from Presi- 

 dent Davis upon the governor for 7 regiments. 

 While these affairs were in progress the ad- 

 vance of the Federal forces up the Tennessee 

 and Cumberland rivers with the disasters to the 

 Confederate cause which ensued, caused intense 

 excitement. The most frantic appeals were 

 made to the people, of which the following are 

 examples : 



The time is at hand when every man able to shoulder 

 a gun has to go. The enemy is at our doors, and re- 

 verses are every where overtaking our arms. It is now 

 to do, and do at once, or our cause is dead, and we are 

 hopelessly lost. 



Countrymen ! fellow citizens ! the time of peril has 

 come. All that is dear to us is suspended upon the 

 issue of arms. The sword is the arbiter, and the sword 

 is alone potent when numbers are sufficient. Bear 

 this truth in mind, and let 'none feel that they are ex- 

 empt. Let us imitate the example of the ancients ; 

 when the cry was " Rome demands your help " all, 

 from the highest to the most humble, flew to arms. 

 Or, if need be, in spirit at least, imitate the Carthagi- 

 nian women, who cut off their hair to make ropes for 

 their vessels. To arms, countrymen ! We have noth- 

 ing to hope for but victory or d'eath. 



The governor issued another proclamation 

 calling upon every citizen capable of bearing 

 arms to have his arms in readiness, and direct- 

 ing the boards of police in every county to ap- 

 point enrollers preparatory to drafting ; and to 

 establish gunshops for the repair of arms. By 

 these efforts the larger portion of the military 



strength of the State was brought into the fit-Id 

 before the Confederate conscription act took 

 effect. The battle at Shiloh now was fought, 

 and the investment of Corinth and its evacua- 

 tion followed, after which there was a cessation 

 of active operations for some months. Tho 

 important events will be found fully described 

 under ARMY and ?TAVAL OPERATIONS. On June 

 17, Holly Springs was first occupied by Federal 

 troopsfrom the army of Gen. Halleck. Thismove- 

 ment of troops in the northern part of the State 

 and the defenceless condition of the counties 

 on the river against the approach of the Feder- 

 al gunboats caused the removal of the archives 

 of the State from Jackson, the capital, to Co- 

 lumbus, near the border of Alabama. On June 

 26 the first attack on Vicksburg was made, 

 which continued for 11 days. On Sept. 10, 

 Xatchez surrendered to the commander of the 

 gunboat Essex, after a bombardment of two 

 hours. The result of these operations was the 

 firm occupation of the northern extremity of 

 the State by the Federal forces, while the coast 

 at the southern extremity was completely under 

 the control of the Federal naval forces in the 

 neighborhood. Two points on the Mississippi 

 river within the state, Port Hudson and Vicks- 

 burg, were strongly fortified by the Confederate 

 Government in order to preserve its communi- 

 cation with Texas, and to prevent the complete 

 control of the river from falling into possession 

 of the Federal Government. These were meas- 

 ures of the utmost importance to the Confed- 

 erate States. 



The crops of the State suffered severely from 

 drouth in the month of August. The crop of 

 corn, which had given promise of great abun- 

 dance, was thereby very much reduced. 



The governor of the State, John J. Pettus, 

 who was in office at the time of the secession 

 of the State, entered upon a second term of 

 two years, which expires on June 1, 1864. 



MISSOUPJ. The commencement of 1862 

 found Missouri in a more quiet condition than 

 for many months previous, although, from the 

 preparations making for warlike operations on 

 either side, hostilities conducted on a larger and 

 more systematic scale were anticipated. The 

 army of the Confederate general, Sterling Price, 

 lay around Springfield, in the southern part of 

 the State, and was represented to be largely made 

 up of Missouri militia, whose stability could not 

 be depended upon in the event of a retreat. 

 Along the southern and western frontiers the 

 operations of guerillas caused occasional dis- 

 turbance, but the central and northern parts of 

 the State, together with the counties bordering 

 on the Mississippi, remained tolerably quiet. 

 The headquarters of the national army were at 

 St. Louis, but considerable bodies of troops 

 were distributed at various points between that 

 city and Springfield, busily preparing for the 

 campaign against Gen. Price. 



At St. Louis early in the year, in consequence 

 of complaints of disproportionate assessments 

 having been made under the operation of Order 



