16 



ARKANSAS POST. 



EXECUTIVE MANSION, WASHINGTON, Jan. 20M, 1864. 

 Maj.-Gen. Sttele : 



Sundry citizens of the State of Arkansas petitioned 

 me that an election may be held in that State, in which 

 to elect a Governor ; that it be assumed at that election, 

 and thenceforward, that the Constitution and laws of 

 the State, as before the rebellion, are in full force, ex- 

 cept that the Constitution is so modified as to declare 

 that there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servi- 

 tude, except in the punishment of crimes, whereof the 

 party shall have been duly convicted ; that the General 

 Assembly may make such provisions for their freed 

 people as shall recognize and declare their permanent 

 freedom, and provide for their education, and which 

 may yet be construed as a temporary arrangement, 

 suitable to their present condition as a laboring, laud- 

 less, and homeless class ; that said election shall oe held 

 on the 28th of March, 1864, at all the usual places of the 

 said State, for all such voters as may attend for that 

 purpose; that the voters attending at each place at 

 eight o'clock in the morning of said day may choose 

 Judges and Clerks of Election for that purpose ; that 

 all persons qualified by said Constitution and laws, 

 and taking the oath prescribed in the President's Pro- 

 clamation of December 8th, 1863, either before or at the 

 election, and none others may be voters ; that each set 

 of judges and clerks may make returns directly to you, 



on or before the day of next ; that in all other 



respects, said election may be conducted according to 

 said modified Constitution and laws ; that on the re- 

 ceipt of said returns, when 5,406 votes shall have been 

 cast, you can receive said votes, and ascertain all who 

 shall thereby appear to have been elected ; that on the 



day of next, all persons so appearing to have 



been elected, who shall appear before you at Little 

 Rock, and take the oath, to be by you severally ad- 

 ministered, to support the Constitution of the United 

 States and modified Constitution of the State of Ar- 

 kansas, shall be declared by you qualified and em- 

 powered to immediately enter upon the duties of 

 the offices to which they shall have been respectively 

 elected. 



You will please order an election to take place on 

 the 28th of -March, 1864, and returns to be made in 

 fifteen days thereafter. A. LINCOLN. 



The subsequent proceedings will form a part 

 of the record of 1864. 



ARKANSAS POST is the capital of the 

 county of Arkansas. It is situated on the left 

 bank of the Arkansas river, about fifty miles 

 from its mouth. It was settled by the French, 

 in 1685. The surface of the country is gener- 

 ally level, and about one third of it is occu- 

 pied by Grand Prairie, the largest in the State. 

 The soil is adapted to the production of corn 

 and cotton. Arkansas Post was captured by 

 General McClernand's command, aided by a 

 naval force, in January, 1863. 



ARKANSAS EIVER. This river, next to 

 the Missouri, is the largest tributary of the 

 Mississippi. It rises in the Rocky Mountains, 

 near the boundary between Utah and the In- 

 dian Territory, and pursues an easterly course 

 for several hundred miles. About the 98th 

 degree of W. longitude, it flows south-easter- 

 ly to Fort Smith, on the western boundary of 

 the State of Arkansas. Traversing that State, 

 and dividing it into two nearly equal portions, 

 it empties into the Mississippi, in latitude 

 83 54' N. ; longitude 91 10' W. Its length 

 exceeds two thousand miles ; and it is navi- 

 gable a distance of eight hundred miles during 

 nine months of the year. Its width for 600 

 miles from its mouth is about half a mile. 



ARMY, CONFEDERATE. 



The soil on its banks, in Arkansas, is general- 

 ly very productive. 



ARMY, CONFEDERATE. The Acts of the 

 Confederate Congress, passed in 1862, author- 

 ized the President to call into the military ser- 

 vice all white residents of the Confederate 

 States between eighteen and forty-five, except 

 exempts, or such part of them as in his judgment 

 might not be necessary for the public defence. 

 Under this authority all those between the 

 ages of eighteen and thirty-five, forming the 

 first class, were called into the field in 1862. 

 The enrolment of the second class, between 

 thirty-five and forty-five, was also completed, 

 and a portion of the troops called out ; and at 

 the close of 1862 the Confederate armies were 

 larger than at any previous or subsequent pe- 

 riod. This force was subsequently reduced by 

 desertions during the winter, and by the with- 

 drawal from service of many of the Maryland 

 and Kentucky volunteers, whose terms had 

 expired, and who were regarded as exempts. 

 This force was considered to be sufficient to re- 

 sist the advance of the Federal troops, until the 

 march of General Grant to the rear of Yicks- 

 burg demonstrated its weakness. At this time 

 the relative physical abilities of the two an- 

 tagonists were distinctly shown, for while the 

 North reenforced General Grant with ease to 

 the extent he deemed necessary, the South were 

 unable to reenforce General Johnston suffi- 

 ciently to enable him to threaten Gen. Grant. 

 The resources of the States west of the Missis- 

 sippi were cut off from the Confederacy, and 

 besides the forces of Generals Lee, Beauregard, 

 and Bragg, and the detachments at important 

 points, sufficient troops were not to be had to 

 save Vicksburg. The defeat of General Lee at 

 Gettysburg, and the falling back of General 

 Bragg from Middle Tennessee, required the 

 most active efforts to recruit the Confederate 

 armies in order to maintain their positions. 

 The first official act of the Government to ob- 

 tain more soldiers consisted in the following 

 proclamation of Mr. Davis : 



Whereas, it is provided by an act of Congress, enti- 

 tled " An act to provide for the public defence," ap- 

 proved on the 16th day of April, 1862, and by another 

 act of Congress, approved on the 27th of September, 

 1862, entitled " An act to amend an act entitled an act 

 to provide further for the public defence," approved 

 16th April, 1862, that the President be authorized to 

 call out and place in the military service of the Con- 

 federate States, for three years, unless the war shall 

 have been sooner ended, all white men who are resi- 

 dents of the Confederate States, between the ages of 

 eighteen and forty-five years, at the time the cafl may 

 be made, and who are not at such time legally exempt- 

 ed from military service, or such part thereof as in his 

 judgment may be necessary for the public defence ; 



And whereas, in my judgment, the necessities of the 

 public defence require that ever}- man capable of bear- 

 ing arms, between the ages aforesaid, should now be 

 called out to do his duty in the defence of his coun- 

 try, and in driving back the invaders now within the 

 limits of the confederacy ; 



Now, therefore, I, Jefferson Davis, President of the 

 Confederate States of America, do, by virtue of the 

 power vested in me as aforesaid, call out and place in 

 the military service of the Confederate States all white 



