216 



CONGRESS, CONFEDERATE. 



able determination to defend their altars and their 

 firesides till the last votary of freedom falls around 

 them. 



On December 13th the Committee reported 

 favorably on the resolutions, with a verbal 

 amendment, when the resolutions were passed. 



In the House on Nov. 10th the subject of 

 the employment of slaves in the armies was 

 discussed. The views in opposition to the 

 measure are expressed in the following re- 

 marks of Mr. Chambers, of Mississippi. The 

 measure was debated chiefly in secret session : 



On motion of Mr. Chambers, of Mississippi, 

 the special order was called up, which was the 

 consideration of his resolution and those by 

 Messrs. Schaun and Foote, all relating to the 

 employment of negroes in the 'army. Mr. 

 Chambers' resolution is as follows : 



Resolved, That the valor, constancy, and endur- 

 ance of our citizen soldiers, assisted by the steady 

 cooperation of all classes of our population not in 

 the field, will continue a sufficient guaranty of the 

 rights of the States, and of the independence of the 

 Confederate States. 



The following is Mr. Schaun's resolution : 



Resolved, That in the judgment of this House no 

 exigency now exists, nor is likely to occur in the 

 military affairs in the Confederate States, to justify 

 the placing of negro slaves in the army as soldiers in 

 the field. 



The resolutions offered by Mr. Foote em- 

 brace a series of propositions. The propo- 

 sitions assert that a general levy of the slaves 

 for soldiers is unwise; that their withdrawal 

 from labor would be inexpedient so long as wo 

 can otherwise obtain as large an army as we 

 can maintain ; that if the alternative be pre- 

 sented of subjugation or their employment in 

 the ranks, the latter should be preferred ; that 

 for the uses to which they are now applied, 

 their ownership by the Government, with pro- 

 spective emancipation by the consent of the 

 States, as the reward of faithful service, would 

 bo expedient; that the number so employed 

 should be increased to forty thousand ; con- 

 cluding with a resolution affirming that it was 

 necessary to have the antecedent consent and 

 sanction of the States to any attempt at con- 

 ferring emancipation by the Confederate au- 

 thorities. 



The Speaker explained that the House had 

 decided to take up and consider all these reso- 

 lutions at the same time, as they referred to 

 the same subject. Yet the House could only 

 vote upon one at a time. The first one in order 

 was that of Mr. Chambers. When that was 

 considered and disposed of, that of Mr. Schaun 

 would come .up, and so on, each taking their 

 turn. 



So the resolution of Mr. Chambers coming 

 up for consideration, that gentleman proceeded 

 to express his views in its support. He said 

 that the resolution offered by him only declared 

 an abiding confidence in our citizen soldiery to 

 maintain our cause, and that they needed no 

 other assistance than they were receiving from 

 all other classes cf our population. In other 



words, his resolution declared that they did not 

 need the assistance of negro troops. "When 

 the President proposed to put forty thousand 

 negroes in the field when the member from 

 Tennessee favored it when the member from 

 South Carolina said he had not made up his 

 mind about it the question could no longer be 

 evaded. It must be met. 



The question had been raised at the end of 

 a campaign the most successful that had ever 

 been vouchsafed to the Confederate arms. If 

 our army was prostrated and our people 

 threatened with subjugation but he did not 

 until then he could understand how such a 

 proposition could be made. But why is the 

 country agitated by it now, when the military 

 horizon is bright and encouraging to us ? 



[Mr. Chambers here read from that portion 

 of the President's Message reviewing the oper- 

 ations of the armies east and west of the Mis- 

 sissippi, to show that the President himself 

 had presented a most hopeful view of the mili- 

 tary prospects of the South.] 



Continuing, Mr. Chambers said the whole 

 matter hinged upon the simple question, " Are 

 we approximating exhaustion ? " He would 

 lay it down as an undeniable fact, that our 

 army was as large to-day, compared with that 

 of the enemy, as at any time during the war. 

 Taking both sides of the Mississippi, he be- 

 lieved the two armies held the same ratio as 

 they did at the beginning of the campaign. 

 It was said by some that our army was di- 

 minished by death, by disease, and by desertions, 

 but it had not suffered as much from these 

 causes as the Yankee army. He confessed that 

 desertions in our army were great, but not half 

 so great as in the Yankee army. There were 

 thousands of men at home, from the non-exe- 

 cution of the laws, who should be in the army. 

 The President had said in his Macon speech, 

 that two-thirds of the army were absent. 

 This was the subject that should demand the 

 attention of Congress, rather than to be made 

 the plea for employing negroes as soldiers in 

 our armies. The authorities must be made to 

 know, that when laws are passed by Congress 

 they must be enforced and obeyed. Unless 

 Congress correct the system of furlough and 

 enforce the laws we will not be able to drive 

 back the enemy. There are 250,000 men 

 at home subject to military duty under the 

 present law, and he could prove it by the 

 papers upon his desk, if it did not consume 

 too much time. Yet gentlemen say we are 

 sinking, and appeal to African troops to save 

 us! They appeal to them to come and help 

 us to secure our independence. The President 

 appeals to the sympathy of the negro. He 

 held out to him the promise of a home. But 

 the Yankee said he would give him a home 

 and the right of property. The President can 

 offer him no motive which the enemy cannot 

 easily counteract by offering him a higher one. 

 To our offer of freedom they would offer free- 

 dom and a home in the South after our subju 



