CONFEDERATE STATES. 



199 



reposed ; as due to you, in whose wisdom and 

 resolute spirit the people have confided for the 

 adoption of the measures required to guard 

 them from threatened perils." 



The message proceeded to say that men and 

 money were both wanted for carrying on the 

 war. The measures adopted hy Congress were 

 insufficient either to supply the Treasury or to 

 fill up the ranks of the army. The bill for 

 arming the negroes had been passed so late as 

 to lose much of its value. All class exemptions 

 should be repealed ; a general militia law was 

 required ; .and the writ of habeas corpus should 

 he suspended. At the same time it was further 

 stated that a prospect of opening negotiations 

 between Gens. Grant and Lee had disappeared, 

 and it was evident that "neither with the 

 Confederate authorities of any State, nor 

 through the commanding Generals, will the 

 Government of the United States treat or make 

 any terms for the cessation of hostilities. There 

 remains, then, for us no choice but to continue 

 this contest to a final issue ; for the people of 

 the Confederacy can be but little known to him 

 who supposes it possible they would ever con- 

 sent to purchase at the cost of degradation and 

 slavery, permission to live in a country garri- 

 soned by their own negroes, and governed by 

 officers sent by the conqueror to rule over them." 



This message (see PUBLIC DOCUMENTS) was 

 regarded by Congress as asserting that the 

 public interests were likely to suffer from their 

 defective legislation. In the Senate a select 

 committee made a report, confined to the specific 

 allegations of the President, and intended to 

 show that whatever culpability there might be, 

 it did not lie at the door of the legislative de- 

 partment. It admitted the inference that the 

 culpability must have arisen from faulty admin- 

 istration, but with admirable forbearance re- 

 pressed any disposition to retort by setting forth 

 details. In the House the message was referred 

 to the Committee on Military Affairs, who 

 made a report stating why measures repealing 

 all class exemptions, and enacting a general 

 mih'tia law, were not adopted, and saying : 

 " Congress had placed at the disposal of the 

 President all male persons between the ages of 

 fifteen and fifty, and the committee could not 

 see that advantage could accrue from the pas- 

 sage of a general militia law, but were of the 

 opinion that the power would be more efficient 

 in the hands of the Governors of the States. 



" So far as the question of putting negroes in 

 the service as soldiers was concerned, the com- 

 mittee remarked that the President himself, 

 and the Minister of War had both declared 

 against the immediate expediency at the begin- 

 ning of the session. Hence it was not earlier 

 considered." 



The Congress adjourned on March 18th, with- 

 out further action on the message. A bill was, 

 however, passed to enable the Secretary of the 

 Treasury to procure specie from any State in 

 exchange for Treasury notes at market rates, 

 etc. Mr. Miles, also, from a joint select com- 



mittee, reported an address to the people, in 

 serted on a preceding page. 



Here closes the history of the important civil 

 measures by the Confederate Government at 

 Richmond. All that remains is the dire con- 

 flict of arms, and the surrender or flight of the 

 vanquished. The boldness of the confidence 

 expressed by the leaders op to this moment, 

 which doubtless excites the wonder of the 

 reader, was honest and sincere. Richmond 

 had withstood an assault of three years, and 

 her position, under the defence of Lee, had 

 come to be looked upon as impregnable. Three- 

 fourths of a year Grant had been held before 

 Petersburg, and all his efforts to reach the west- 

 ern communications of the capital had in every 

 instance been thwarted. Even at this very 

 period, Sheridan, leaving "Winchester and sweep- 

 ing all opposition before him up the valley of 

 the Shenandoah with his body of military horse- 

 men, aimed to reach Lynchburg, but on ap- 

 proaching the James west of Richmond, found 

 himself confronted by a swollen and impassable 

 stream. Falling back, and moving round the 

 left wing of Lee's army, he joined Gen. Grant 

 before Petersburg. So long as Gen. Lee could 

 hold Grant back from the west of Richmond, 

 the Confederacy. was safe; and no one supposed 

 the hour was near when the former could be 

 defeated. 



On March 26th, Gen. Sheridan with his com- 

 mand reached City Point. Three days after- 

 ward he began to move, with his command sup- 

 ported by the 5th corps of infantry under Gen. 

 Warren, and the 2d corps under Gen. Hum- 

 phrey, against the Southside Railroad. To resist 

 him Gen. Lee detached from the lines at Peters- 

 burg, Gens. Pickett's and B. Johnson's divisions 

 of infantry,Gen. Huger's battalion of artillery, and 

 F. Lee's division of cavalry ; at the same time he 

 called upon Gen. Longstreet, who commanded 

 the forces north of the James, for men to strength- 

 en the positions thus weakened. On the morn- 

 ing of Sunday, April 2d, before Gen. Longstreet 

 could obey the orders of Lee, Gen. Grant had 

 detected the weakness of the line, and prepared 

 an attack. His forces earned with slight oppo- 

 sition the outer Confederate line, which was 

 thinly held by Gen. Heth's division, then press- 

 ed inward, striking two of the detached forts, 

 of which there was a series behind the whole 

 length of the outer works. The two detached 

 forts were named Gregg and Alexander. The 

 former was carried, after terrific opposition, and 

 the latter evacuated at the outset. The Fed- 

 eral forces then swept onward toward Peters- 

 burg, but were checked in their progress by 

 Gen. Longstreet, until a fresh line was formed 

 before the city. At this time, Mr. Davis, while 

 at church, received information from Gen. Lee 

 that he could no longer resist the progress of 

 Grant. No further onslaught was made by 

 the Federal forces during the ensuing night, 

 but at dusk Gen. Ewell with all the troops 

 under his command north of the James (about 

 4,000) fell back from their lines and passed 



