198 



CONFEDERATE STATES. 



a threat may well excite our ridicule and contempt, 

 the devilish spirit which prompts it must provoke m 

 us an indignation that would render the feeblest peo- 

 ple invincible ! Think of it ! ! That we, the descend- 

 ants of a brave ancestry, who wrested from a power- 

 ful nation, by force of arms, the country which we 

 inhabit bequeathed to us by them, and upon which 

 we have been born aud reared ; that we should be 

 uprooted from it, and an alien population planted in 

 our stead, is a thought that should inspire us with 

 undying hostility to an enemy base enough to have 

 conceived it. Every motive of honor and of self-inter- 

 est, of patriotism and of domestic affection, every 

 sentiment of manhood and self-respect, unite in nerv- 

 ing us to resist, to the last extremity, our cruel in- 

 vaders. Success gives us a country and a proud 

 position among the nations of the earth. Failure 

 makes us the vassals of an arrogant people, secretly, 

 if not openly, hated by the most' enlightened and 

 elevated portions of mankind. Success records us 

 forever in letters of light upon one of the most glo- 

 rious pages of history. Failure will compel us to 

 drink the cup of humiliation even to the bitter dregs 

 of having the history of our struggle written by New 

 England historians ! Success is within our reach. 



Early in the month of March the movements 

 of Sherman and others, in cutting off the rail- 

 road communications, were felt at Eichmond. 

 The subsistence of Gen. Lee's army was greatly 

 jeopardized. Virginia and North Carolina were 

 the only remaining States from which supplies 

 could be expected. These wer.e also dependent 

 on the voluntary action of the people. Gen. 

 Lee, in an appeal to the inhabitants of Virginia, 

 said : "I cannot permit myself to doubt that 

 the people will respond to it when they reflect 

 upon the alternative presented to them. They 

 have simply to choose whether they will con- 

 tribute such commissary and quartermaster 

 stores as they can possibly spare to support an 

 army which has already done and borne so 

 much in their behalf, or, retaining their stores, 

 maintain the army of the enemy engaged in 

 their subjugation. I am aware that a general 

 obligation of this nature rests lightly upon most 

 men each being disposed to leave its discharge 

 to his neighbor but I am confident that our 

 citizens will appreciate their responsibility in 

 the case, and will not permit an. army which, 

 by God's blessing and their patriotic support, 

 has hitherto resisted the efforts of our enemy, 

 to suffer through their neglect." In the same 

 strain Governor Vance appealed to the people 

 of North Carolina. County and neighbor- 

 hood meetings were convened, subscriptions of 

 provisions were taken, either as sales, loans, or 

 donations. Very considerable quantities were 

 thus obtained. 



The Government attached less importance 

 to Richmond, as a point never to be evacuated 

 or surrendered, than the State authorities. Mr. 

 Davis expressed his views on the evacuation, 

 not only in public assemblies, but in messages 

 to Congress. His views were that, if the cam- 

 paign of the previous year against Richmond 

 had resulted in success instead of failure ; if he 

 had been compelled to evacuate Richmond as 

 well as Atlanta, the Confederacy would have 

 remained erect and defiant as ever. Nothing 

 could have been changed in the purpose of its 



government, in the indomitable valor of its 

 troops, or in the unquenchable spirit of its peo- 

 ple. The baffled and disappointed foe would 

 in vain have scanned the reports of their pro- 

 ceedings at some new legislative seat for any 

 indication that progress had been made in 

 the gigantic task of conquering a free people. 

 There were no vital points, on the preservation 

 of which the continued existence of the Con- 

 federacy depended. There was no military 

 success of the enemy which could accomplish 

 its destruction. Not the fall of Richmond, 

 nor Wilmington, nor Charleston, nor Savannah, 

 nor Mobile, nor of all combined, could affect 

 the issue of the contest. Members of his cabi- 

 net and many of the public papers expressed 

 similar opinions. There were others, on the 

 contrary, who believed and openly declared 

 this opinion would be a fatal error; that the 

 evacuation of Richmond would be the loss of 

 all respect and authority toward the Confed- 

 erate Government, the disintegration of the 

 army and the abandonment of the scheme of 

 an independent Southern Confederation ; that 

 the hope of recognition among nations would 

 be gone forever ; that its loss would be the 

 material ruin of the cause, and in a moral 

 point of view absolutely destructive, crushing 

 the heart and extinguishing the last hope of 

 the people. It would be the abandonment of 

 Virginia, and with her North Carolina and 

 Tennessee, forever. These views with others 

 to be hereafter noticed subsequently exerted a 

 decisive influence on the continuance of the war. 

 It had now become apparent to all, that as a 

 result of Gen. Grant's plans, the dangers of 

 Richmond were rapidly increasing. Gen. Sheri- 

 dan had made his march up the Shenandoah 

 valley ; an unknown force, supposed to be Gen. 

 Thomas's, was known to be moving east from 

 Knoxville, in Tennessee, while Grant held Gen. 

 Lee at Richmond, and Gen. Johnston was left to 

 confront, as best he might, the steady progress 

 of Gen. Sherman, awaiting whom there was a 

 large cooperating force which had captured 

 Wilmington and advanced toward Raleigh, the 

 capital of North Carolina. The Congress at 

 Richmond was on the eve of adjourning sine die, 

 when their departure was delayed by a message 

 from Mr. Davis. Once more and for the last time, 

 as it proved, he addressed them. He deemed 

 it to be his duty to request a postponement of 

 the adjournment, in order that he might sub- 

 mit to their consideration certain matters of 

 public interest. The country is now environed 

 with perils, which it is their duty calmly to 

 contemplate. Recent military operations of 

 the enemy have been successful in the capture 

 of some of their seaports and in devastating 

 large districts ortheir country. He then says : 

 " The capital of the Confederate States is now- 

 threatened, and it is hi greater danger than it 

 has heretofore been during the war. The fact 

 is stated without reserve or concealment, as 

 due to the people, whose servants we are, and 

 in whose courage and constancy entire trust is 



