The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government

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THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CONFEDERATE GOVERNMENT

By

JEFFERSON DAVIS

PREFACE.

The object of this work has been from historical data to show that the
Southern States had rightfully the power to withdraw from a Union into
which they had, as sovereign communities, voluntarily entered; that the
denial of that right was a violation of the letter and spirit of the
compact between the States; and that the war waged by the Federal
Government against the seceding States was in disregard of the
limitations of the Constitution, and destructive of the principles of
the Declaration of Independence.

The author, from his official position, may claim to have known much of
the motives and acts of his countrymen immediately before and during the
war of 1861-'65, and he has sought to furnish material far the future
historian, who, when the passions and prejudices of the day shall have
given place to reason and sober thought, may, better than a
contemporary, investigate the causes, conduct, and results of the war.

The incentive to undertake the work now offered to the public was the
desire to correct misapprehensions created by industriously circulated
misrepresentations as to the acts and purposes of the people and the
General Government of the Confederate States. By the reiteration of such
unappropriate terms as "rebellion" and "treason," and the asseveration
that the South was levying war against the United States, those ignorant
of the nature of the Union, and of the reserved powers of the States,
have been led to believe that the Confederate States were in the
condition of revolted provinces, and that the United States were forced
to resort to arms for the preservation of their existence. To those who
knew that the Union was formed for specific enumerated purposes, and
that the States had never surrendered their sovereignty it was a
palpable absurdity to apply to them, or to their citizens when obeying
their mandates, the terms "rebellion" and "treason"; and, further, it is
shown in the following pages that the Confederate States, so far from
making war or seeking to destroy the United States, as soon as they had
an official organ, strove earnestly, by peaceful recognition, to
equitably adjust all questions growing out of the separation from their
late associates.

Another great perversion of truth has been the arraignment of the men
who participated in the formation of the Confederacy and who bore arms
in its defense, as the instigators of a controversy leading to disunion.
Sectional issues appear conspicuously in the debates of the Convention
which framed the Federal Constitution, and its many compromises were
designed to secure an equilibrium between the sections, and to preserve
the interests as well as the liberties of the several States. African
servitude at that time was not confined to a section, but was
numerically greater in the South than in the North, with a tendency to
its continuance in the former and cessation in the latter. It therefore
thus early presents itself as a disturbing element, and the provisions
of the Constitution, which were known to be necessary for its adoption,
bound all the States to recognize and protect that species of property.
When at a subsequent period there arose in the Northern States an
antislavery agitation, it was a harmless and scarcely noticed movement
until political demagogues seized upon it as a means to acquire power.
Had it been left to pseudo-philanthropists and fanatics, most zealous
where least informed, it never could have shaken the foundations of the
Union and have incited one section to carry fire and sword into the
other. That the agitation was political in its character, and was
clearly developed as early as 1803, it is believed has been established
in these pages. To preserve a sectional equilibrium and to maintain the
equality of the States was the effort on one side, to acquire empire was
the manifest purpose on the other. This struggle began before the men of
the Confederacy were born; how it arose and how it progressed it has
been attempted briefly to show. Its last stage was on the question of
territorial governments; and, if in this work it has not been
demonstrated that the position of the South was justified by the
Constitution and the equal rights of the people of all the States, it
must be because the author has failed to present the subject with a
sufficient degree of force and clearness.

In describing the events of the war, space has not permitted, and the
loss of both books and papers has prevented, the notice of very many
entitled to consideration, as well for the humanity as the gallantry of
our men in the unequal combats they fought. These numerous omissions, it
is satisfactory to know, the official reports made at the time and the
subsequent contributions which have been and are being published by the
actors, will supply more fully and graphically than could have been done
in this work.

Usurpations of the Federal Government have been presented, not in a
spirit of hostility, but as a warning to the people against the dangers
by which their liberties are beset. When the war ceased, the pretext on
which it had been waged could no longer be alleged. The emancipation
proclamation of Mr. Lincoln, which, when it was issued, he humorously
admitted to be a nullity, had acquired validity by the action of the
highest authority known to our institutions--the people assembled in
their several State Conventions. The soldiers of the Confederacy had
laid down their arms, had in good faith pledged themselves to abstain
from further hostile operations, and had peacefully dispersed to their
homes; there could not, then, have been further dread of them by the
Government of the United States. The plea of necessity could, therefore,
no longer exist for hostile demonstration against the people and States
of the deceased Confederacy. Did vengeance, which stops at the grave,
subside? Did real peace and the restoration of the States to their
former rights and positions follow, as was promised on the restoration
of the Union? Let the recital of the invasion of the reserved powers of
the States, or the people, and the perversion of the republican form of
government guaranteed to each State by the Constitution, answer the
question. For the deplorable fact of the war, for the cruel manner in
which it was waged, for the sad physical and yet sadder moral results it
produced, the reader of these pages, I hope, will admit that the South,
in the forum of conscience, stands fully acquitted.

Much of the past is irremediable; the best hope for a restoration in the
future to the pristine purity and fraternity of the Union, rests on the
opinions and character of the men who are to succeed this generation:
that they maybe suited to that blessed work, one, whose public course is
ended, invokes them to draw their creed from the fountains of our
political history, rather than from the lower stream, polluted as it has
been by self-seeking place-hunters and by sectional strife.

THE AUTHOR.

CONTENTS.

Introduction

PART I.

CHAPTER I.

African Servitude.--A Retrospect.--Early Legislation with Regard to the
Slave-Trade.--The Southern States foremost in prohibiting it.--A Common
Error corrected.--The Ethical Question never at Issue in Sectional
Controversies.--The Acquisition of Louisiana.--The Missouri
Compromise.--The Balance of Power.--Note.--The Indiana Case.

CHAPTER II.

The Session of 1849-'50.--The Compromise Measures.--Virtual Abrogation
of the Missouri Compromise.--The Admission of California.--The Fugitive
Slave Law.--Death of Mr. Calhoun.--Anecdote of Mr. Clay.

CHAPTER III.

Reelection to the Senate.--Political Controversies in
Mississippi.--Action of the Democratic State Convention.--Defeat of the
State-Rights Party.--Withdrawal of General Quitman and Nomination of the
Author as Candidate for the Office of Governor.--The Canvass and its
Result.--Retirement to Private Life.

CHAPTER IV.

The Author enters the Cabinet.--Administration of the War
Department.--Surveys for a Pacific Railway.--Extension of the
Capitol.--New Regiments organized.--Colonel Samuel Cooper,
Adjutant-General.--A Bit of Civil-Service Reform.--Reelection to the
Senate.--Continuity of the Pierce Cabinet.--Character of Franklin
Pierce.

CHAPTER V.

The Territorial Question.--An Incident at the White House.--The Kansas
and Nebraska Bill.--The Missouri Compromise abrogated in 1850, not in
1854.--Origin of "Squatter Sovereignty."--Sectional Rivalry and its
Consequences.--The Emigrant Aid Societies.--"The Bible and Sharpe's
Rifles."--False Pretensions as to Principle.--The Strife in Kansas.--A
Retrospect.--The Original Equilibrium of Power and its Overthrow.--
Usurpations of the Federal Government.--The Protective Tariff.--
Origin and Progress of Abolitionism.--Who were the Friends of
the Union?--An Illustration of Political Morality.

CHAPTER VI.

Agitation continued.--Political Parties: their Origin, Changes, and
Modifications.--Some Account of the "Popular Sovereignty," or
"Non-Intervention," Theory.--Rupture of the Democratic Party.--The John
Brown Raid.--Resolutions introduced by the Author into the Senate on the
Relations of the States, the Federal Government, and the Territories;
their Discussion and Adoption.

CHAPTER VII.

A Retrospect.--Growth of Sectional Rivalry.--The Generosity of
Virginia.--Unequal Accessions of Territory.--The Tariff and its
Effects.--The Republican Convention of 1860, its Resolutions and its
Nominations.--The Democratic Convention at Charleston, its Divisions and
Disruption.--The Nominations at Baltimore.--The "Constitutional-Union"
Party and its Nominees.--An Effort in Behalf of Agreement declined by
Mr. Douglas.--The Election of Lincoln and Hamlin.--Proceedings in the
South.--Evidences of Calmness and Deliberation.--Mr. Buchanan's
Conservatism and the weakness of his Position.--Republican Taunts.--The
"New York Tribune," etc.

CHAPTER VIII.

Conference with the Governor of Mississippi.--The Author censured as
"too slow."--Summons to Washington.--Interview with the President.--His
Message.--Movements in Congress.--The Triumphant Majority.--The
Crittenden Proposition.--Speech of the Author on Mr. Green's
Resolution.--The Committee of Thirteen.--Failure to agree.--The
"Republicans" responsible for the Failure.--Proceedings in the House of
Representatives.--Futility of Efforts for an Adjustment.--The Old Year
closes in Clouds.

CHAPTER IX.

Preparations for Withdrawal from the Union.--Northern Precedents.--New
England Secessionists.--Cabot, Pickering, Quincy, etc.--On the
Acquisition of Louisiana.--The Hartford Convention.--The Massachusetts
Legislature on the Annexation of Texas, etc., etc. 70

CHAPTER X.

False Statements of the Grounds for Separation.--Slavery not the Cause,
but an Incident.--The Southern People not "Propagandists" of
Slavery.--Early Accord among the States with regard to African
Servitude.--Statement of the Supreme Court.--Guarantees of the
Constitution.--Disregard of Oaths.--Fugitives from Service and the
"Personal Liberty Laws."--Equality in the Territories the Paramount
Question.--The Dred Scott Case.--Disregard of the Decision of the
Supreme Court.--Culmination of Wrongs.--Despair of their
Redress.--Triumph of Sectionalism.

PART II.

_THE CONSTITUTION._

CHAPTER I.

The Original Confederation.--"Articles of Confederation and Perpetual
Union."--Their Inadequacy ascertained.--Commercial Difficulties.--The
Conference at Annapolis.--Recommendation of a General Convention.--
Resolution of Congress.--Action of the Several States.--Conclusions
drawn therefrom.

CHAPTER II.

The Convention of 1787.--Diversity of Opinion.--Luther Martin's Account
of the Three Parties.--The Question of Representation.--Compromise
effected.--Mr. Randolph's Resolutions.--The Word "National"
condemned.--Plan of Government framed.--Difficulty with Regard to
Ratification, and its Solution.--Provision for Secession from the
Union.--Views of Mr. Gerry and Mr. Madison.--False Interpretations.--
Close of the Convention.

CHAPTER III.

Ratification of the Constitution by the States.--Organization of the New
Government.--Accession of North Carolina and Rhode Island.--
Correspondence between General Washington and the Governor of Rhode
Island.

CHAPTER IV.

The Constitution not adopted by one People "in the Aggregate."--A Great
Fallacy exposed.--Mistake of Judge Story.--Colonial Relations.--The
United Colonies of New England.--Other Associations.--Independence of
Communities traced from Germany to Great Britain, and from Great Britain
to America.--Mr. Everett's "Provincial People."--Origin and Continuance
of the Title "United States."--No such Political Community as the
"People of the United States."

CHAPTER V.

The Preamble to the Constitution.--"We, the People."

CHAPTER VI.

The Preamble to the Constitution--subject continued.--Growth of the
Federal Government and Accretions of Power.--Revival of Old
Errors.--Mistakes and Misstatements.--Webster, Story, and Everett.--Who
"ordained and established" the Constitution?

CHAPTER VII.

Verbal Cavils and Criticisms.--"Compact," "Confederacy," "Accession,"
etc.--The "New Vocabulary."--The Federal Constitution a Compact, and the
States acceded to it.--Evidence of the Constitution itself and of
Contemporary Records.

CHAPTER VIII.

Sovereignty

CHAPTER IX.

The same Subject continued.--The Tenth Amendment.--Fallacies
exposed.--"Constitution," "Government," and "People" distinguished from
each other.--Theories refuted by Facts.--Characteristics of
Sovereignty.--Sovereignty identified.--Never thrown away.

CHAPTER X.

A Recapitulation.--Remarkable Propositions of Mr. Gouverneur Morris in
the Convention of 1787, and their Fate.--Further Testimony.--Hamilton,
Madison, Washington, Marshall, etc.--Later Theories.--Mr. Webster: his
Views at Various Periods.--Speech at Capon Springs.--State Rights not a
Sectional Theory.

CHAPTER XI.

The Right of Secession.--The Law of Unlimited Partnerships.--The
"Perpetual Union" of the Articles of Confederation and the "More Perfect
Union" of the Constitution.--The Important Powers conferred upon the
Federal Government and the Fundamental Principles of the Compact the
same in both Systems.--The Right to resume Grants, when failing to
fulfill their Purposes, expressly and distinctly asserted in the
Adoption of the Constitution.

CHAPTER XII.

Coercion the Alternative to Secession.--Repudiation of it by the
Constitution and the Fathers of the Constitutional Era.--Difference
between Mr. Webster and Mr. Hamilton.

CHAPTER XIII.

Some Objections considered.--The New States.--Acquired
Territory.--Allegiance, false and true.--Difference between
Nullification and Secession.--Secession a Peaceable Remedy.--No Appeal
to Arms.--Two Conditions noted.

CHAPTER XIV.

Early Foreshadowings.--Opinions of Mr. Madison and Mr. Rufus
King.--Safeguards provided.--Their Failure.--State Interposition.--The
Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions.--Their Endorsement by the People in
the Presidential Elections of 1800 and Ensuing Terms.--South Carolina
and Mr. Calhoun.--The Compromise of 1833.--Action of Massachusetts in
1843-'45.--Opinions of John Quincy Adams.--Necessity for Secession.

CHAPTER XV.

A Bond of Union necessary after the Declaration of
Independence.--Articles of Confederation.--The Constitution of the
United States.--The Same Principle for obtaining Grants of Power in
both.--The Constitution an Instrument enumerating the Powers
delegated.--The Power of Amendment merely a Power to amend the Delegated
Grants.--A Smaller Power was required for Amendment than for a
Grant.--The Power of Amendment is confined to Grants of the
Constitution.--Limitations on the Power of Amendment.

PART III.

_SECESSION AND CONFEDERATION._

CHAPTER I.

Opening of the New Year.--The People in Advance of their
Representatives.--Conciliatory Conduct of Southern Members of
Congress.--Sensational Fictions.--Misstatements of the Count of
Paris.--Obligations of a Senator.--The Southern Forts and
Arsenals.--Pensacola Bay and Fort Pickens.--The Alleged "Caucus" and its
Resolutions.--Personal Motives and Feelings.--The Presidency not a
Desirable Office.--Letter from the Hon. C. C. Clay.

CHAPTER II.

Tenure of Public Property ceded by the States.--Sovereignty and Eminent
Domain.--Principles asserted by Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, and
other States.--The Charleston Forts.--South Carolina sends Commissioners
to Washington.--Sudden Movement of Major Anderson.--Correspondence of
the Commissioners with the President.--Interviews of the Author with Mr.
Buchanan.--Major Anderson.--The Star of the West.--The President's
Special Message.--Speech of the Author in the Senate.--Further
Proceedings and Correspondence relative to Fort Sumter.--Mr. Buchanan's
Rectitude in Purpose and Vacillation in Action.

CHAPTER III.

Secession of Mississippi and Other States.--Withdrawal of
Senators.--Address of the Author on taking Leave of the Senate.--Answer
to Certain Objections.

CHAPTER IV.

Threats of Arrest.--Departure from Washington.--Indications of Public
Anxiety.--"Will there be war?"--Organization of the "Army of
Mississippi."--Lack of Preparations for Defense in the South.--Evidences
of the Good Faith and Peaceable Purposes of the Southern People.

CHAPTER V.

Meeting of the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States.--Adoption
of a Provisional Constitution.--Election of President and
Vice-President.--Notification to the Author of his Election.--His Views
with Regard to it.--Journey to Montgomery.--Interview with Judge
Sharkey.--False Reports of Speeches on the Way.--Inaugural
Address.--Editor's Note.

CHAPTER VI.

The Confederate Cabinet.

CHAPTER VII.

Early Acts of the Confederate Congress.--Laws of the United States
continued in Force.--Officers of Customs and Revenue continued in
Office.--Commission to the United States.--Navigation of the
Mississippi.--Restrictions on the Coasting-Trade removed.--Appointment
of Commissioners to Washington.

CHAPTER VIII.

The Peace Conference.--Demand for "a Little Bloodletting."--Plan
proposed by the Conference.--Its Contemptuous Reception and Treatment in
the United States Congress.--Failure of Last Efforts at Reconciliation
and Reunion.--Note.--Speech of General Lane, of Oregon.

CHAPTER IX.

Northern Protests against Coercion.--The "New York Tribune," Albany
"Argus," and "New York Herald."--Great Public Meeting in New
York.--Speeches of Mr. Thayer, ex-Governor Seymour, ex-Chancellor
Walworth, and Others.--The Press in February, 1861.--Mr. Lincoln's
Inaugural.--The Marvelous Change or Suppression of Conservative
Sentiment.--Historic Precedents.

CHAPTER X.

Temper of the Southern People indicated by the Action of the Confederate
Congress.--The Permanent Constitution.--Modeled after the Federal
Constitution.--Variations and Special Provisions.--Provisions with
Regard to Slavery and the Slave-Trade.--A False Assertion
refuted.--Excellence of the Constitution.--Admissions of Hostile or
Impartial Criticism.

CHAPTER XI.

The Commission to Washington City.--Arrival of Mr. Crawford.--Mr.
Buchanan's Alarm.--Note of the Commissioners to the New
Administration.--Mediation of Justices Nelson and Campbell.--The
Difficulty about Forts Sumter and Pickens.--Mr. Secretary Seward's
Assurances.--Duplicity of the Government at Washington.--Mr. Fox's Visit
to Charleston.--Secret Preparations for Coercive Measures.--Visit of Mr.
Lamon.--Renewed Assurances of Good Faith.--Notification to Governor
Pickens.--Developments of Secret History.--Systematic and Complicated
Perfidy exposed.

CHAPTER XII.

Protests against the Conduct of the Government of the United
States.--Senator Douglas's Proposition to evacuate the Forts, and
Extracts from his Speech in Support of it.--General Scott's
Advice.--Manly Letter of Major Anderson, protesting against the Action
of the Federal Government.--Misstatements of the Count of
Paris.--Correspondence relative to Proposed Evacuation of the Fort.--A
Crisis.

CHAPTER XIII.

A Pause and a Review.--Attitude of the Two Parties.--Sophistry exposed
and Shams torn away.--Forbearance of the Confederate Government.--Who
was the Aggressor?--Major Anderson's View, and that of a Naval
Officer.--Mr. Horace Greeley on the Fort Sumter Case.--The Bombardment
and Surrender.--Gallant Action of ex-Senator Wigfall.--Mr. Lincoln's
Statement of the Case.

PART IV.

_THE WAR._

CHAPTER I.

Failure of the Peace Congress.--Treatment of the Commissioners.--Their
Withdrawal.--Notice of an Armed Expedition.--Action of the Confederate
Government.--Bombardment and Surrender of Fort Sumter.--Its Reduction
required by the Exigency of the Case.--Disguise thrown off.--President
Lincoln's Call for Seventy-five Thousand Men.--His Fiction of
"Combinations."--Palpable Violation of the Constitution.--Action of
Virginia.--Of Citizens of Baltimore.--The Charge of Precipitation
against South Carolina.--Action of the Confederate Government.--The
Universal Feeling.

CHAPTER II.

The Supply of Arms; of Men.--Love of the Union.--Secessionists
few.--Efforts to prevent the Final Step.--Views of the People.--Effect
on their Agriculture.--Aid from African Servitude.--Answer to the
Clamors on the Horrors of Slavery.--Appointment of a Commissary-
General.--His Character and Capacity.--Organization, Instruction,
and Equipment of the Army.--Action of Congress.--The Law.--Its
Signification.--The Hope of a Peaceful Solution early entertained;
rapidly diminished.--Further Action of Congress.--Policy of the
Government for Peace.--Position of Officers of United States
Army.--The Army of the States, not of the Government.--The Confederate
Law observed by the Government.--Officers retiring from United States
Army.--Organization of Bureaus.

CHAPTER III.

Commissioners to purchase Arms and Ammunition.--My Letter to Captain
Semmes.--Resignations of Officers of United States Navy.--Our
Destitution of Accessories for the Supply of Naval Vessels.--Secretary
Mallory.--Food-Supplies.--The Commissariat Department.--The
Quartermaster's Department.--The Disappearance of Delusions.--The Supply
of Powder.--Saltpeter.--Sulphur.--Artificial Niter-Beds.--Services of
General G. W. Rains.--Destruction at Harper's Ferry of Machinery.--The
Master Armorer.--Machinery secured.--Want of Skillful Employees.--
Difficulties encountered by Every Department of the Executive Branch
of the Government.

CHAPTER IV.

The Proclamation for Seventy-five Thousand Men by President Lincoln
further examined.--The Reasons presented by him to Mankind for the
Justification of his Conduct shown to be Mere Fictions, having no
Relation to the Question.--What is the Value of Constitutional Liberty,
of Bills of Rights, of Limitations of Powers, if they may be
transgressed at Pleasure?--Secession of South Carolina.--Proclamation of
Blockade.--Session of Congress at Montgomery.--Extracts from the
President's Message.--Acts of Congress.--Spirit of the People.--
Secession of Border States.--Destruction of United States Property by
Order of President Lincoln.

CHAPTER V.

Maryland first approached by Northern Invasion.--Denies to United States
Troops the Right of Way across her Domain.--Mission of Judge
Handy.--Views of Governor Hicks.--His Proclamation.--Arrival of
Massachusetts Troops at Baltimore.--Passage through the City
disputed.--Activity of the Police.--Burning of Bridges.--Letter of
President Lincoln to the Governor.--Visited by Citizens.--Action of the
State Legislature.--Occupation of the Relay House.--The City Arms
surrendered.--City in Possession of United States Troops.--Remonstrances
of the City to the Passage of Troops disregarded.--Citizens arrested;
also, Members of the Legislature.--Accumulation of Northern Forces at
Washington.--Invasion of West Virginia by a Force under
McClellan.--Attack at Philippi; at Laurel Hill.--Death of General
Garnett.

CHAPTER VI.

Removal of the Seat of Government to Richmond.--Message to Congress at
Richmond.--Confederate Forces in Virginia.--Forces of the Enemy.--Letter
to General Johnston.--Combat at Bethel Church.--Affair at
Romney.--Movements of McDowell.--Battle of Manassas.

CHAPTER VII.

Conference with the Generals after the Battle.--Order to pursue the
Enemy.--Evidences of a Thorough Rout.--"Sweet to die for such a
Cause."--Movements of the Next Day.--What more it was practicable to
do.--Charge against the President of preventing the Capture of
Washington.--The Failure to pursue.--Reflection on the President.--
General Beauregard's Report.--Endorsement upon it.--Strength
of the Opposing Forces.--Extracts relating to the Battle, from the
Narrative of General Early.--Resolutions of Congress.--Efforts to
increase the Efficiency of the Army.

CHAPTER VIII.

The Kentucky Resolutions of 1798-'99.--Their Influence on Political
Affairs.--Kentucky declares for Neutrality.--Correspondence of Governor
Magoffin with the President of the United States and the President of
the Confederate States.--Occupation of Columbus, Kentucky, by
Major-General Polk.--His Correspondence with the Kentucky
Commissioners.--President Lincoln's View of Neutrality.--Acts of the
United States Government.--Refugees.--Their Motives of Expatriation.--
Address of ex-Vice-President Breckinridge to the People of the
State.--The Occupation of Columbus secured.--The Purpose of the
United States Government.--Battle of Belmont.--Albert Sidney Johnston
commands the Department.--State of Affairs.--Line of Defense.-Efforts to
obtain Arms; also Troops.