140 



CONFEDERATE STATES. 



sequently by the union of Virginia, North Car- 

 olina, Tennessee, and Arkansas to the Confeder- 

 acy. Thus stood the South at war against the 

 North. Should the South make the war one 

 of invasion ? She had nothing to clothe, equip, 

 or move an army with, unless it had been 

 bought abroad, and imported within her ter- 

 ritory. How could the Confederacy undertake 

 a war of invasion, destitute of all facilities for 

 a strong and sustained effort ? These facts de- 

 cided the character of the war on the part of 

 the Confederacy. On the other hand the 

 United States, composed of a commercial and 

 manufacturing people, with every facility to 

 raise and equip an army, and possessing the 

 army and navy of the nation when undivided, 

 was unable to commence a movement of in- 

 vasion with success until months had passed 

 away. How much less could such a movement 

 be made by mere agricultural States? The 

 character of the war on the part of the Con- 

 federacy was thus decided by circumstances. 

 The true position of affairs was early seen by 

 President Davis. "All we ask is to be let 

 alone," are the words in his message to Con- 

 gress. The attack upon Washington urged by 

 many juvenile minds in the Confederacy was 

 inpracticable from the outset. It served, how- 

 ever, to gratify a kind of contemptuous spirit 

 which prompted its utterance, and to rouse the 

 United States to the utmost activity and energy 

 for its defence. The war therefore necessarily 

 became a defensive one on the part of the Con- 

 federacy. 



The leaders of secession, in the Southern 

 States who foresaw where their proceeding 

 would end, had flattered themselves that when 

 the war came they should derive advantage 

 from numerous auxiliaries. They believed the 

 demand for cotton in England and France 

 would put a speedy end to any blockade the 

 United States might attempt. They believed the 

 great democratic party of the North would 

 gtand aloof from the Government in its attempt 

 to repossess the forts and arsenals. They be- 

 lieved that the prowess of the North had de- 

 generated, and that it would prove an inefficient 

 foe. They saw, when it was too late, that 

 England and France were bound by every prin- 

 ciple of honor to respect an efficient blockade, 

 which the navy and the commercial marine of the 

 United States could establish. They now found 

 the North united as one man in support of the 

 Union, and were soon to bring to a test the 

 energy of her prowess. 



A proclamation was immediately issued by 

 President Davis after the capture of Fort Sum- 

 ter, calling a meeting of the Confederate Con- 

 gress at Montgomery on the 29th of April. On 

 that day this body assembled, and the Presi- 

 dent's message was delivered. (See PUBLIC 

 DOCUMENTS.) It recommended uch measures 

 as were necessary to conduct a vigorous de- 

 fensive war. The course to be pursued by the 

 Confederate Government was soon fixed. The 

 acquisition of Virginia made her a portion of 



the Confederacy, and in assuming the obliga- 

 tions she became entitled to the protection of 

 the Government. The instructions of the Sec- 

 retary of the Treasury to the collectors of rev- 

 enue on the 12th of May were in these words : 



"Virginia is now one of the Confederate 

 States. Of course no duties are to be collected 

 on imports from thence. Suspend collections 

 of duties from North Carolina and Tennessee." 



On the 21st of May Congress adjourned to 

 meet in Richmond, Virginia, on the 20th of 

 July. The reasons for this change of capital 

 are given by the President of Congress, Howell 

 Cobb, in a speech at Atlanta, Ga., on the 22d , 

 of May. He also states the future intentions 

 of the Government relative to the war : 



"I presume that a curiosity to know what 

 we have been doing in the Congress recently 

 assembled at Montgomery, has induced you to 

 to make this call upon me. 



" We have made all the necessary arrange- 

 ments to meet the present crisis. Last night 

 we adjourned to meet in Richmond on the 20th 

 of July. I will tell you why we did this. The 

 ' Old Dominion,' as you know, has at last 

 shaken off the bonds of Lincoln, and joined 

 her noble Southern sisters. Her soil is to be 

 the battle-ground, and her streams are to be 

 dyed with Southern blood. We felt that her 

 cause was our cause, and that if she fell we 

 wanted to die by her. We have sent our sol- 

 diers on to the posts of danger, and we wanted 

 to be there to aid and counsel our brave ' boys.' 

 In the progress of the war further legislation 

 may be necessary, and we will be there, that 

 when the hour of danger comes, we may lay 

 aside the robes of legislation, buckle on the ar- 

 mor of the soldier, and do battle beside the 

 brave ones who have volunteered for the de- 

 fence of our beloved South. 



" The people are coming up gallantly to the 

 work. When the call was made for twelve- 

 months volunteers, thousands were offered j but 

 when it was changed to the full term of the war, 

 the numbers increased ! The anxiety among our 

 citizens is not as to who shall go to the wars, 

 but who shall stay at home ? No man in the 

 whole Confederate States the gray-haired sire 

 down to the beardless youth in whose veins 

 was one drop of Southern blood, feared to 

 plant his foot upon Virginia's soil, and die fight- 

 ing for our rights. 



" But we not only need soldiers, we must have 

 treasure to carry on the war. Private contri- 

 butions have been offered to a vast amount. I 

 will mention an instance which occurred on the 

 Mississippi a few days ago. An aged man 

 whose gray hairs and tottering limbs forbade 

 his entering the ranks, and whose children of 

 the first and second generations were in the 

 ranks of his country's defenders was asked 

 how much he would give to carry on the war. 

 The spirit of the old man rose up in him 

 ' Tell them,' he said, ' that my yearly crop of 

 1,000 bales of cotton they may have. Only^give 

 me enough to sustain me, and let the balance 



