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PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 



MESSAGE of President Davis at the Session of 



the Confederate Congress, held at Richmond, 



November 18, 1861. 

 To the Congress of the Confederate States : 



The few weeks which have elapsed since your ad- 

 journment have brought us so near the close of the 

 year that we are now able to sum up its general re- 

 sults. The retrospect is such as should fill the hearts 

 of our people with gratitude to Providence for His kind 

 interposition in their behalf. Abundant yields have 

 rewarded the labor of the agriculturist, whilst the man- 

 ufacturing interest of the Confederate States was never 

 so prosperous as now. The necessities of the times 

 have called into existence new branches of manufac- 

 tures, and given a fresh impulse to the activity of those 

 heretofore in operation. The means of the Confederate 

 States for manufacturing the necessaries and comforts 

 of life within themselves increase as the conflict con- 

 tinues, and we are gradually becoming independent of 

 the rest of the world for the supply of such military 

 stores and munitions as are indispensable for war. 



The operations of the army, soon to be partially in- 

 terrupted by the approaching winter, have afforded a 

 protection to the country, and shed a lustre upon its 

 arms, through the trying vicissitudes of more than one 

 arduous campaign, which entitle our brave volunteers 

 to our praise and our gratitude. 



From its commencement up to the present period 

 the war has been enlarging its proportions and ex- 

 panding its boundaries so as to include new fields. 

 The conflict now extends from the shores of the Ches- 

 apeake to the confines of Missouri and Arizona; yet 

 sudden calls from the remotest points for military aid 

 have been met with promptness enough not only to 

 avert disaster in the face of superior numbers, but also 

 to roll back the tide of invasion from the border. 



When the war commenced the enemy were possessed 

 of certain strategic points and strong places within the 

 Confederate States. They greatly exceeded us in num- 

 bers, in available resources, and in the supplies neces- 

 sary for war. Military establishments had been long 

 organized, and were complete ; the navy, and, for the 

 most part, the army, once common to both, were in 

 their possession. To meet all this we had to create not 

 only an army in the face of war itself, but also military 

 establishments necessary to equip and place it in the 

 field. It ought, indeed, to be a subject of gratulation 

 that the spirit of the volunteers and the patriotism of 

 the people have enabled us, under Providence, to grap- 

 ple successfully with these difficulties. 



A succession of glorious victories at Bethel, Bull 

 Run, Manassas, Springfield, Lexington, Leesburg, and 

 Belmont, has checked the wicked invasion which greed 

 of gain and the unhallowed lust of power brought upon 

 our soil, and has proved that numbers cease to avail 

 when directed against a people fighting for the sacred 

 right of self-government and the privileges of freemen. 

 After seven months of war the enemy have not only 

 failed to extend their occupancy of our soil, but new 

 States and Territories have been added to our Confed- 

 eracy, while, instead of their threatened march of un- 

 checked conquest, they have been driven, at more than 

 one point, to assume the defensive ; and, upon a fair 

 comparison between the two belligerents as to men, 

 military means, and financial condition, the Confeder- 

 ate States are relatively much stronger now than when 

 the struggle commenced. 



Since your adjournment the people of Missouri hare 

 conducted the war, in the face of almost unparalleled 

 difficulties, with a spirit and success alike worthy of 

 themselves and of the great cause in which they are 

 struggling. Since that time Kentucky, too, has be- 

 come" the theatre of active hostilities. The Federal 

 forces have not only refused to acknowledge her right 

 to be neutral, and have insisted upon making her a 

 party to the war, but have invaded her for the purpose 

 of attacking the Confederate States. Outrages of the 

 most despotic character have been perpetrated upon 

 her people ; some of her most eminent citizens have 

 been seized and borne away to languish in foreign 



prisons without knowing who were their accusers, or 

 the specific charges made against them ; while others 

 have been forced to abandon their homes, their fami- 

 lies, and property, and seek a refuge in distant lands. 

 Finding that the Confederate States were about to 

 be invaded through Kentucky, and that her people, 

 after being deceived into a mistaken security, were 

 unarmed, and in danger of being subjugated by the 

 Federal forces, our armies were marched into that 

 State to repel the enemy, and prevent their occupation 

 of certain strategetic points, which would have given 

 them great advantages in the contest a step which 

 was justified not only by the necessities of self-defence 

 on the part of the Confederate States, but also by a 

 desire to aid the people of Kentucky. It was never 

 intended by the Confederate Government to conquer 

 or coerce the people of that State ; but, on the con- 

 trary, it was declared by our Generals that they would 

 withdraw their troops if the Federal Government would 

 do likewise. Proclamation was also made of the desire 

 to respect the neutrality of Kentucky, and the intention 

 to abide by the wishes of her people as soon as they 

 were free to express their opinions. 



These declarations were approved by me, and I 

 should regard it as one of the best effects of the march 

 of our troops into Kentucky if it should end in giving 

 to her people liberty of choice, and a free opportunity 

 to decide their own destiny according to their own 

 will. 



The army has been chiefly instrumental in prose- 

 cuting the great contest in which we are engaged ; but 

 the navy has also been effective in full proportion to 

 its means. The naval officers, deprived to a great ex- 

 tent of an opportunity to make their professional skill 

 available at sea, have served with commendable zeal 

 and gallantry on shore and upon inland waters, further 

 detail of which will be found in the reports of the Navy 

 and of War. 



In the transportation of the mails many difficulties 

 have arisen, which will be found fully developed in the 

 report of the Postmaster-General. The absorption of 

 the ordinary means of transportation for the movement 

 of troops and military supplies, the insufficiency of the 

 rolling stock of railroads for the accumulation of busi- 

 ness, resulting both from military operations and the 

 obstruction of water communication by the presence 

 of the enemy's fleet ; the failure and even refusal of 

 contractors to comply with the terms of their agree- 

 ments; the difficulties inherent in inaugurating so vast 

 and complicated a system as that which requires postal 

 facilities for every town and village in a territory so 

 extended as ours, have all combined to impede the 

 best directed efforts of the Postmaster-General, whose 

 zeal, industry, and ability have been taxed to the ut- 

 most extent. Some of these difficulties can only be 

 overcome by time and an improved condition of the 

 country upon the restoration of peace ; but others may 

 be remedied by legislation, and your attention is in- 

 vited to the recommendations contained in the report 

 of the head of that Department. 



The condition of the Treasury will doubtless be a 

 subject of anxious inquiry on your part. I am happy 

 to say that the financial system already adopted has 

 worked well so far, and promises good results for the 

 future. To the extent that Treasury notes may be 

 issued, the Government is enabled to borrow money 

 without interest, and thus facilitate the conduct of the 

 war. This extent is measured by the portion of the 

 field of circulation which these notes can be made to 

 occupy. The proportion of the field thus occupied de- 

 pends again upon the amount of the debts for which 

 they are receivable ; and dues, not only to the Confed- 

 erate and State Governments, but also to corporations 

 and individuals, are payable in this medium ; a large 

 amount of it may be circulated at par. 



There is every reason to believe that the Confed- 

 erate Treasury note is fast becoming such a medium. 

 The provision that these notes shall be convertible 

 into Confederate stock, bearing eight per cent, interest, 

 at the pleasure of the holder, ensures them against a 

 depreciation below the value of that stock, and no con- 



