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 TT M I o ]n: 
 
 ANI> 
 
 s ]^: C E S S I N 
 
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 M I S S I S S I P P I , 
 
 RY THF, 
 
 HON. JOHN W. WOOD, 
 
 The T^nion member of the Mrssissirn State Convention m-iio 
 
 REFUSED TO 8I(JN THE ORDINANCE OF SECESSION, OR 
 
 to commit himski-f in any way to thk 
 Secession Movem knt. 
 
 THE KEDKRAL UNION-IT MOST BE PREoERVED.-Jackso*. 
 
 MKMPHIS: 
 
 8AUND1;R..\ P^HRlSH A M'HirSlOKi:, 1'R1.vii:es, 
 

 t- 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The gi'eat object of the writer in publishing- the following 
 pages is, to aid in effecting a re-union in feeling and sentiment 
 between the masses of the people of the United States, for social 
 and commercial advantages, as the only basis of a Union worth 
 preserving. Having argued the questions before the people of 
 Mississippi before secession, and a decision being rendered against 
 me, I simply ask that I may again be heard upon a re-argument 
 of the important issues involved. Whenever the minds of the 
 honest masses of the peoj)le are convinced of their errors, they 
 are always ready to correct them and move in the right direction, 
 however obstinate or perverse may be their rules. Born in the 
 old State of Virginia, in sight of Monticello, my ancestors being 
 large slaveholders, and always a slaveholder myself, the tongue 
 of calumny dare not impugn my motives. Whatever differences 
 of opinion may exist as to the best method of restoring our 
 country to its former prosperous and happy condition, the para- 
 mount consideration of every American citizen should be the 
 integrity of the Government and the Union of the States. 
 
 Note. — The family of the Author have recently arrived in Memphis, under the protection of 
 .1 flng of trnce, bringing through the manuscript of this publication, which was written in the 
 central County in Mississippi, (Attala,) more than twelve months ago. It is now submitted 
 to the public with but slight alterations. His friends in Mississippi have anticipated its publi- 
 cation lor some time, but it was impossible to get it through sooner with safety. 
 
TO 'IHK FKW 
 
 FAITHFUT. UXIOX MEN OF MISSISSIPPI 
 
 THE FOLLOWING I'AriES AliK IlK-PRCTFl'LLY JNSCiilBEI). 
 
CONTENTS: 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The Condition of our Country Two Years Ago, Contrasted with the Present Condition of 
 the South. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The Origin of the Boctrine of Secession-Extract from the Speech of Mr. Calhoun, on the 
 Force Bill, in the U. S. Senate, in 1833 -Fallacy of the Doctrine-The State Rights Demo- 
 cratic Party South - The Charleston Convention-Division in the National ^Democratic 
 Party -The Eesult-Meeting of the Mississippi Legislature-Canvass in Mississippi-Cireular 
 to the People. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Delusions Practiced upon th« People-Peacable Secession- Extract from Mr. 
 Webster't last Great Speech in the Senate - The Plan of Mr. Yancey " of Precipitating the 
 Cotton States into a Revolution "-Speech of Mr. Yaucey at Montgomery— Foreign Inter- 
 ference in the Event of War -Cotton was King, and would force England or France to 
 Intervene-Mr. Yancey Abroad -His Letters Horae-The Telegraph-The "Reliable 
 Gentleman." 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Attempt to Assimilate the Secession Movement to the Revolutionary War-Decla- 
 ration of Grievances-Young Patrick Henry's Spring Up-The Delusion of the Great Superi- 
 ority ot our Southern Soldiers-Direct Trade with Europe-Sharleston, Savannah and New 
 Orleans, to Rival Boston, New York and Philadelphia-Secession of South Carolina-Sudden 
 Decline in Cotton— The Money Market the pulse of a Nation. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Other DeJusions-Strsng Attachment to the Union among the Old Men- An Incident in 
 the Canvass -Meeting of the Convention of Mississippi-The First and Second Days' Pro- 
 ceedingss— The Secession Ordinance Reported on the Third Day. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Speech Delivered in the Mississippi Covention, on the Ordinance of Secession, January 
 eth, 1861. 
 
CHAP.TE R VII. 
 
 Note to the Reporter of the Convention— His Beply— Scene in the Hall of the House of 
 Representatives, on the Passage of the Ordinance ef Secession— Ceremony of Signing — The 
 Ordinance. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Second Session of the Mississippi State Convention — The Question of the Mode of Ratifi_ 
 cation of the Constitution— Report of My Remarks — Letter to Chronicle-^The Constitution 
 Ratified by the Convention— indignation of the People. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Southern Democracy- Extract from Speech of 8. S. Prentiss— Political Demagogues- 
 State and County Leaders— County Papers. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Co-operation Party— A Confederacy of Fifteen States, including Southern Illinois 
 New Mexico, and South California— Still more Comprehensive Views of the Leaders — Rapa- 
 cious Hunt for Office. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Was the Election of Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin to the Presidency and Vice 
 Presidency of the United States, a Sufficient Cause for Secession ? —The feeling in South 
 Carolina when the Result of the Election was known— The Effect on the Southern States. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The Fanaticism of Secession— Political Parsons — Cautious Politicians Become Great War- 
 riors—The Extortioner. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Webster's Reply to Hayne— The Clearest and Best Refutation of the Bight of Nullifica- 
 tion, or Secession— Extract from Mr. Webster's Great Speech. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The Hypocricy of the Secessionists— The Popular Vote of the Seceded States— The 
 Sentiment Among Southern Women — Dialogue between a Southern Lady and afl EuroUer 
 under the Conscript Law. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 A Re-union in Feeling among the People of the United States should be the Ardent 
 Desire of every American Patriot. 
 
J ^3 
 
 UN JON AND SEC.S810N. 
 
 r: 11 A P T E IJ T . 
 
 Till' i-omlifio/i of nur eonnfni tiro i/nrrs <i(/o. r<)i>ti'(h</i'il idfh the 
 jii'rsi'iil i-i>ii<l itioii (if fill' Smith. 
 
 Two yejii's ;iii(), oiw count ry jii'osciif cd the most plcasiii;^; pros- 
 poet of i;"ener;il ])rospei"ity cvev exliiliitecl to the world l»\' iiiiy 
 nation upon the gloltc. Kver since t!ie estiiblishment of our (Jov- 
 ernnieiit, it seemed that lie ^'whost- kin;^-doni is over all," has eon- 
 liniied to poui' foi-th his hlessiiio;H upon us. Whith'M'soever we 
 might look. evi(h>nees of ]ieaee. ])lentv and ]>ros]iei-ity, were con- 
 stant ly before our eyes. If we i;-lanced at our Westei-n teri'itories, 
 we W(uil(l there I'oholdt he thick-skirted forest tumltlin<j,- Iteneath 
 tile woodman's axe. \i' we turned to our rich Southern valleys, 
 we would there see them Inirthenod hy the very weight of luxu- 
 )'iance. The exhaustless mii)es of our newly acquired regions, 
 were pouring out their willing treasui'es into the t'Uji of awakeiUMl 
 indiistiy. 'I'he clang of the hammer and the hissing of the forge 
 wei'e hoi-ne to us on every l)i*ee/,e li'oni the far distant North. 
 The ships of the woi-ld. fr<'ighte(l witli the i-ich jiroductions of 
 other countries, were clinging to our shores, all along our boi'ders 
 ujion the F'ast. The )»atriotic statesman of every State of the 
 T'nion was accustomed to look Uj>on the increasing grtnideui* and 
 glory of the United States, with heartfelt emotions of pleasui'e and 
 delig^'t. lie saw a great tamily composed of thirty-four States 
 and nine territories, containing a pojMdation of upwai'ds of thirty 
 millions; of which, more than twenty-five millions were white. 
 Casting his eye along our sea-coast, he s.aw that it eni!)raced an 
 extent of twelve thousand, six hundred and sixty miles. Follow- 
 ing the course of our principal rivers, and estimating their length. 
 
lie found ton of them extendinc; twenty thousand miles. Lookin<>; 
 upon the Hurfaee of our live great hikes u]H)n oui'Northern border, 
 he saw an area of ninety thousand square miles. Traciny; ujion 
 the map the radroads in operation, he found twenty-five thousand 
 iiiiles, which cost upwards of one hundred millions of dollars; 
 and among them the longest railroad in the world, ( the Illinois 
 Central,) of seven hundi*ed and eighty-four miles. He found five 
 thousand miles of canals, dug out by those hardy sons of Europe, 
 who had come across the blue Avaters of the broad Atlantic, to 
 seek the protection of our flag, and live in a land of freedom. He 
 was astonished at the annual value of our agricultural productions, 
 which summed up two hundred millions of dollars. He found 
 that the most valuable production was Indian Corn, which yielded 
 annually four hundred millions of bushels. He found the amount 
 of reo-istered and enrolled tonnage was four millions four bun- 
 dred and seven thousand and ten. The amount of capital invested 
 in manufactures was six hundred millions of dollars. The annual 
 amount of our internal trade was six hundred millions of dollars. 
 The annual amount of the products of labor (other than agricul- 
 tural) was fifteen hundred millions of dollars. The value of 
 farms and live stock was five hundred millions of dollars. The 
 surface of our coal fields was one hundred and thirty-eight thous- 
 and and thirty-one square acres; and within our borders Avere 
 eighty thousand schools, five thousand academies, two thousand 
 and thirty-four colleges, and three thousand and eight hundred 
 churches. Contemplate the grandeur, glory, magnificence and 
 resources of such a country. 
 
 Let us contrast the present condition of our Southern country 
 Avith its prospects tAvo years ago. The sound of the Avoodman's 
 axe is no longer heard in our forests. That weapon of industiy 
 has been dropped for the Aveapon of death. The ])low has been 
 left standing in the furrow of many a poor conscript's field, and 
 his aged father, or poor little, barefooted sister, left to work out 
 Avith the hoe the young corn just peeping from the ground. 
 The clang of the hammer and the hissing of the forge have been 
 hushed. The din of commerce no longer enlivens our cities, and 
 the grass has literally groAvn in the streets of our blockaded 
 ports. The necessaries of life have risen to almost fabulous pj-i- 
 ces; salt from fifty to sixty dollars per sack; cotton <-ards from 
 twelve to fift<H'n dollars ; boots and shoes, and many other neces- 
 sary articles, to such enormous prices as to place them ol'len be- 
 
J <S// 
 
 yond the nnich of the pooi'. Coffee, a bcvera,i>;c of wl\ieh our 
 Soulhern people arc peculiarly fond, is ordy found in the houses 
 of the wealthiest, and the poorer classes have to suhstitute a de- 
 coction of toasted cornmeal, bran, potatoes, acorns, or such other 
 substitutes as the ingenuity of the oldest dames can devise. De- 
 serted villages are seen in every county. The few remaining 
 merchants hang idly about their stores, with no customers to buy, 
 and no merchandize to sell. The hotels are virtually closed. 
 Man}^ poor families, whom their richer neighbors ha<l promised to 
 ])rovide for during the absence of their fathers or sons, have been 
 suffered to want for the necessaries of life. The only men of 
 business are the extortioners and tax-gatherers- — the former 
 Avith the quickness and voracity of a shark, are moving about 
 from point to point, buying up the necessaries of life in propoi-- 
 tion to their scarcity, and preying upon the wants and misfortunes 
 of their countrymen; the latter, in obedience to the laws of the 
 land, are gathering up the little remnants of go'd and silver in 
 the country, which has often to be purchased at a hundred \w\' 
 cent, premium by the tax-payer with the proceeds of his poultiy 
 and daily, to the great deprivation of his family. The rag money 
 of the country is considered good enough for the people, but not 
 good enoufich to pay the " Military War Tax." "War— desolating 
 Avar, has swept over the country with a besom of destruction — 
 dragging along the unAvilling conscripts to the field, and bathing 
 Avith tears CA'ery mother in the South. Our school-houses are de- 
 serted, our churches languish, trade is prostrate, and all the best 
 interests of the countiy have sickened and died. The planters, 
 neglectful of their crops, linger about the villages, eager to hear 
 the latest news from the war; even nature seems to sympathize 
 Avith our misfortunes, and the sky has ass'nned a jjeculiar hue 
 never before witnessed in this clime. AA^ho are the authors of our 
 calamities ? It is time to pause and reflect. It is time for the 
 sober second thought of the people calmly to consider the sources 
 of the aggravated evils and intolerable oppressions Avhich haA^e 
 been heaped upon us, and ask themseh^es the question, if they 
 could not have been honorably aA^oided ? To the doctrine of se- 
 cession may be attribiited the main-spring of all our woes. It is 
 a doctrine never contemplated by the Constitution of the United 
 States — false in theory, and destructiA'e in itsresult.s. 
 
r U A FT E I{ J 1 . 
 
 T/ir nrhjni of f/ic (Ini'fr'iir of Seci'sxi.ori — Exii'drf from f/ir spredi of 
 Mi\ f'lilhoiin, on the Fonv Hill, in tin- IJiiilcl Htaf's S^nafi' in 
 Is;;;', — The f<ill(icij of the t/ortriiic—T/w State lu'i/hts Beinocratic 
 )i<(i'tti South — The Charleston Contention. — Division In the Xdtionol 
 fh'iHoeratie /nirti/ — JVif. result— -Meetinij of the Mixsi-'<sij)pi Lcjishi- 
 lure — C'nu'c(-'<s in Afi.<.-<i.<.'iijipi — ('ireiil,(r to the peojtle. 
 
 The origin of tlu- doctriiu' of secession may l)e traced step I'V 
 f<Le|) to the Hjieech of Mr. ("alhoun. on the Korce Bill, in the (jui- 
 te:(i States Senate, in 1S:>;!. in which lie uses this laiiLi,'iia!.;;c : •■ N 
 this a KeiU'ral I'liioii ov I'liio;! of States, as disl^iiiet tVoni tliat of 
 individuals ': Is the SovL'reiL;,'nt}" in the sevei-al States or in the 
 American people in the ai>;L:,i'e^'ate ''. The very laii^'uai;'e wiiieh 
 we are compel ed to use wlieii y))eakino; of our })oliticai institu- 
 tions, at1t'oi'd;^i proof conclusive as toit.sreal character. The terms 
 TTnioM, Federal, United, all im[ily a eomhination of sovereitcnlies, 
 a (totifi'deratioii of States. They arc nev^-r Jipplied to an associa- 
 tion of individuals. Who ever liL'ard of the United Sta «'s of New 
 York, of M.issacluisetts, or of Vir<:;iiiia; Who ever heard I he. 
 terms Fedei'al or Union ai^plied to the aj;jjregatioii of individuals 
 into one eoiumuuily 't ^or is tlie other point less clear — ^thal the 
 Sovereignty is in tlie several States, and that our system is a 
 Union ot twenty-four Sovereign power.s under u Constitutional 
 i'om])act, and not of a divided Sovereignty bet\Voeii the States sev- 
 erally and tln> United States. Jn spite of all that has been said, 
 I maintain that Sovei'eignty is in its nature indivisible. It is llu" 
 supi'enn> power in a State, and we might just as well speak of 
 half a square or half a triangle as of half a Sovercigr.t .'. It is a 
 gi'eat eri-or tf> confound the exercise of Sovereign powers with 
 Sovereignty itself, or the delegation of such powei's with the sur- 
 render of them. A Sovcu'eign may delegate his powers to be ex- 
 ercised by as many agents as he may think proper, under such 
 conditions or with such limitations as he may impose, but to sui-- 
 render any jiortion of his Sovereignty to another, is to annihilate 
 the whole." 
 
 The fallacy of the fascinating doctrine containc<l in the fore- 
 going extract consists in a total niisconcejition of the true natui-o 
 of the structure of our Government. The true doctrine, as fully 
 explained by the great expouJider of the Constitution at that, 
 tunc, is that tho Government of the United State's is a Go. era- 
 
9 
 
 ment proper, established by the people of the States — not a com- 
 pact between sovei-eign comin unities — tliat within its limits it is 
 su})rcme, and that whether it is within its limits or not, in any 
 given exertion of itself^ is to be determined by the Supreme Court 
 of the United States, the ultimate arbiter in the last resort — from 
 which there is no appeal but to revolution. It is not my present 
 purpose, however, to elaborate this question. 
 
 From the teachings of Mr. Calhoun, the Southern people very 
 readily embraced the popular doctrine of State Eights, which, be- 
 coming blended with the name of Democracy, soon established 
 the State Eights Democratic party. The doctrine of State Rights 
 appealed to the pride and prejudices of the people, and required 
 no investigation to commend it to the hearty approval of the 
 masses. After the doctrines of the Democi'atic State Eights party 
 had become so popular among the masses of the people, it required 
 but one step further to induce them to embrace the doctrine of 
 Secession. When the National Democratic party met at Charles- 
 ton, in 1860, they were divided upon a question of no practicai 
 utility "whatever, at that time, viz: whether Slavery, should be 
 protected in the Territories, when really there was no territoiy 
 whatever, since the settlement of the question in Kansas, whore 
 slavery was likely to go. But the leaders of the secession move- 
 ment then saw what would be the result, and, doubtless, many of 
 them designed to effect a division in the National Democratic 
 party for no other purpose than to elect Abraham Lincoln, and 
 thereby obtain a suificient pretext for a dissolution of the Union. 
 
 Immediately after the result of the Presidential election, in 
 18G0, was known, the leaders of the secession movement went to 
 work calling county meetings, harangueing the people, forming 
 companies of "minute men," and using all of those artful appli- 
 ances so well understood by them, to get up a great political ex- 
 citement. The Grovei'nors of the different States hastily called 
 the Legislatures together. The Legislature of MississiiDpi assemb- 
 led at Jackson on the 26th of November, and passed the follow- 
 ing resolutions, introduced by the Hon. A. M. West, of Holmes: 
 
 ^'■Resolved by the Legislature of the SUite of Mississipin, That in 
 the opinion of those who now constitute the said Legislature, 
 that Secession by each.of the aggrieved States, for their grievan- 
 ces, is the remedy. 
 
 " Resolved, That the Governor be requested to appoint as 
 many Commissioners as in his Judgment may be necessary, to visit 
 
 B 
 
10 
 
 each of the shave-hokling States, and desi,f;;nate the State or States 
 to which each commissioner shall be commissioned, whose duty 
 it shall be to inform them that this Legislature has passed an act 
 calling a Convention of the people of this State, to consider the 
 present threatening relations of the Northern and Southern sec- 
 tions of the Confederacy, aggravated by the recent election of a 
 President upon principles of hostility to the States of the South, 
 and to express the earnest hope of Mississippi that those States 
 Avill co-operate withher in the adoption of efficient measures for 
 their common defence and safety." 
 
 The Convention Bill provided that the election be held on the 
 20th of December, and that the Convention should assemble on 
 the 7th of January, 1861. 
 
 Being called upon by the citizens of the central County of 
 Mississippi, (Attala,) called by the Secessionists "the free State 
 of Attala," to become a candidate for a seat in the Convention, I 
 issued a list of appointments and mounted my horse for a canvass 
 of the county, addressing the people nearly every day from two 
 to three hours, and sometimes longer, till the day of the election. 
 The result was, my election by a majority of only thirty-four votes. 
 The Union candidate in 1850 was elected by only one vote. I made 
 the issue upon the direct question of " Union " or "Disunion." 
 Our tickets were printed "Union Ticket." The following ex- 
 tract from a circular in reply to a circular of the Secession candi- 
 dates will give a glance at some of the views taken by me of the 
 question at that time : " These gentlemen, then, are in favor of 
 breaking up the present National Government, under which we 
 have lived and prospered as no other people ever did, and trying 
 to construct another one out of the State of Mississippi and such 
 other seceding States as are willing to join in this undertaking. 
 This they are in favor of doing without any eifort being made to 
 insure our rights in the Union ; for no where in their circular do 
 they propose anything^lse than Secession from the General Gov- 
 ernment. This proposition is infinitely the most momentous one 
 ever submitted to the people of Mississippi; and, if adopted, will 
 involve consequences which no eye c:in fully see, and no mind 
 fully comprehend. It is EEVOLUTION out and out. When- 
 ever Mississippi secedes, she will become & foreign power to the 
 remaining States of the Union. She will no longer have anj^ 
 intei-est in the General Government, or in the territories; in 
 Congressional provisions for the establishment of Federal Courts, 
 
11 
 
 or in these for carrying the mails, or the establishment of Post 
 Offices; but the remaining States, and the Greneral Government, 
 will be as foreign to her as is Great Britain or France. 
 
 "Are you in favor of taking this desperate step, and plunging 
 into the dark abyss now opening at your feet ? Have you care- 
 fully considered the consequences ? Let us briefly glance at some 
 of them. , 
 
 1. ''We shalllose our nationality. We shall cease to be apart 
 and parcel of that great American Eepublic whose flag floats tri- 
 umphantly on every sea. We go off to ourselves, without an 
 army, without a navy, without a single vessel, and without any 
 means of constructing a navy, even if one could be built in a day 
 with the proper resources. 
 
 2. "We undertake the burdens and responsibilities of an inde- 
 pendent government at a time when our State Treasury is bank- 
 rupt, and when the State herself cannot possibly borrow a dollar 
 in the money markets of the world ; and when, also, our people 
 are already threatened with overwhelming distress from the drouth 
 and hard times. Our State has neither monej^ nor credit. How 
 then is she to carry on an independent government, either by her- 
 self, or jointly with the few States who are expected to go with 
 her ? Only by Taxation. These burdens, amounting to many 
 millions of dollars more than we now pay, must be borne by hard 
 CASH, wrung from the tax-payers by the tax-collectors. 
 
 . 3. "Arms and munitions of war must be provided, and large 
 bodies of men equipped for military service. South Carolina and 
 the other seceding States are making heavy appropriations of 
 money to arm and equip their citizen soldier^^; and Mississippi 
 will do the same, when the Legislature shall be again called to- 
 gether, as it is to be in a few weeks. Thus all we have had in 
 the shape of taxation, is but as "the small dust of the ballance" 
 compared with what will be, M-hen the Secession Government 
 shall be inaugurated. 
 
 4. "The extensive military preparations now making, and the 
 organizations of companies now going on, show conclusively that 
 those who are urging this revolution onward, do not expect it to 
 be peaceable. They smell the battle afar off, and are marshaling 
 their forces. Questions of boundaries; of the right to navigate 
 our waters ; and of the duties on imports, exports, and many oth- 
 ers, would be certain, ere long, to rob Secession of its peaceable 
 character, and to light up the flames of civil war. 
 
12 
 
 5. "The depreciation of every species of property, and the 
 most universal bankruptcy of our people, are inevitable, if seces- 
 sion be carried out. Even now, there is no sale of lands or no- 
 i^-roes, and manj^ a man, who but a few weeks a^-o deemed himself 
 the possessor of thousands, cannot pay his just debts. While 
 Ids property has already fallen one-fourth or one-half, his debts 
 retain all their gigantic proportions, and " stop laws," and bank- 
 rupt laws, constitute the relief that is proposed. 
 
 6. -'Our railroads, and other works of internal improvements, 
 must all stop. The improvements contemplated by our people in 
 their farms, their buildings, their cherished homes, will all have 
 to be abandoned. 
 
 7. "While the rich man's property is ruinously depreciated, the 
 poor man will be rol)bed of the reward of his daily laboi' — his all. 
 Business of all kinds will be suspended. The mechanic will be 
 thrown out of emploj^meut ; all credit and confidence will be de- 
 stroyed, and distress and suffering will overspread the land. 
 
 8. "The whole framework of society will be disorganized. The 
 laws will be suspended and disregarded, and lawless violence and 
 anarchy take the place of law and order. Where then will be 
 the security for property or life ? 
 
 9. "It is far easier to tear down than to build up. When the 
 yn-esent Government has been destroyed, are you sure a better 
 one can be constructed out of the ruins? Are j'ou sure that your 
 property, your lives, your liberties, will be anymore secure than 
 they now are ? Would you not as soon risk the Government 
 formed by^Washington, Madison, and their associates, as any that 
 may be formed by those who are for a revolution ? " 
 
 With arguments like these, 1 endeavored to convince the minds 
 of the masses of the people of the danger of taking the awful 
 step of secession. .'.j!f^Although I succeeded in the central county of 
 the State, a large majority of the people of Mississippi were de- 
 luded by false representations and false issues, made before them, 
 some of which I will notice. 
 
13 
 
 CHAPTEE IIT. 
 
 The delusions -practiced upon the people — Peaceable Secession — Ex- 
 tract from Mr. Websteys last great speech in the Senate — The plan 
 of Mr. Yancey '^of p)rccipitating the cotton States into a revolution" — 
 Speech of Mr. Yancey at Montgomery — Foreign interference in the 
 event of war — Cotton was king., and would force England or France 
 to intervene — Mr. Yancey abroad — His letters home — The Tele- 
 graph — The ^[reliable gentleman." 
 
 1. One of the greatest delusions •which seemed to be all-pervad- 
 ing, notwithstanding the apparent preparations for war, was, that 
 secession would be peaceable. The people could not realize tlie 
 unwelcome fact that war was inevitable. The dangers of a disso- 
 lution of the Union had been so often sounded in their ears, that 
 they had become somewhat accustomed to it. I always endeav- 
 ored to impress upon them the sentiments of Daniel Webster, in 
 his last great speech in the Senate, on the 7th of March, 1850, in 
 which he said: " Mr. President : I should much prefer to have 
 heard, from every member on this floor, declarations of opinion 
 that this Union could not be dissolved, than the declaration of 
 opinion by anybody, that, in any case, under the presence of any 
 circiimstances, such a dissolution was possible. I hear with dis- 
 tress and anguish, the word " Secession," especially when it falls 
 from the lips of those who are patriotic, and known to the coun- 
 try, and known, all over the world, for their political services. 
 Secession! Peaceable Secession! Sir, your eyes and mine are 
 never destined to see that miracle. The dismemberment of this 
 vast country without convulsion! The breaking up of the foun- 
 tains of the Great Deep without ruffling the surface ! Who is so 
 foolish ( I beg everj^bodj^'s pardon) as to expect to see any such 
 thing i:' Sir, he who sees these States, now revolving in harmony 
 around the cojnmon centre, and expects to see tliem quit their 
 places and fly off, without convulsion, may look the next hour to 
 see the heavenly bodies rush from their spheres and jostle against 
 eacii other in the realms of space, without causing the wreck of 
 the Universe. There can be no such thing as peaceable Secession. 
 Peaceable secession is an utter impossibility. Is the great Con- 
 stitution under which we live — covering this whole country — to 
 be thawed and melted away by , secession, as the snows on the 
 ntountain melt under the influence of a vernal sun, disappear al- 
 most unobserved, and run ofl'? No, Sir! I will not state wliat 
 
14 
 
 mic;ht produce the disruptiou of the Union; but, sii', I see as 
 plainly as I see the sun in heaven, what that disruption itself 
 must produce; I see that it must produce war, and such a war as 
 I will not describe in its two-fold character. 
 
 "Peaceable Secession ! Peaceable Secession! The concurrent 
 ■ agreement of all the members of this great republic to separate! 
 A voluntary separation, with alimony on the one side and on the 
 other? Why, what would be the result ? Where is the line to be 
 drawn? What States are to secede? What is to remain in 
 America? What am I to be? An American no longer? Am I 
 to become a sectional man, a local man, a separatist, with no 
 country in common with the gentlemen who sit around me here, 
 or who fill the other house of Congress? Heaven forbid ! Where 
 is the flag of the Eepublic to remain ? Where is the eagle still to 
 soar? Or is he to cower and shrink, and fall to the ground? 
 Why, sir, our ancestors, our fathers and our grand-fathers, those 
 of them who are yet living amongst us with prolonged lives, 
 would rebuke and reproach us ; and our children and our grand- 
 children would cry out shame \ipon us, if we of this generation 
 should dishonor these ensigns of the power of the government 
 and the harmony of that Union which is every da}^ felt among us 
 with such joy and gratitude." 
 
 jSTotwithstanding such lessons of wisdom as these, there were 
 found secession leaders who jn'ofessed to be willing to do all the 
 fighting themselves, that would have to be done; but when the 
 fighting came on, many of them proved to be very reluctant to 
 redeem their pugnacious promises. 
 
 Mr. Yancey had, long prior to the last presidential election, 
 favored the plan of " precipitating the cotton States into a revo- 
 lution," at the same time disclaiming that he was a disunionist! 
 In his speech at Montgomery, a few days after the election, he 
 said: "To-night I address a meeting of my fellow-citizens in 
 Montgomery, in which has been witnessed the glorious spectacle 
 of an actual fusion of all parties in our midst for one great pur- 
 po.ie — the Union of Southern men in order to a protection of the 
 rights of the^South, without the Union, [great applause.] Per- 
 haps the boasted "eighteen millions" may respect those rights 
 v.-hen independent of their political poAver, if not, 
 
 "Then welcome be Cumberland's Steed to the shock." 
 "This night two weeks ago, I. was asked, while .speaking in New 
 York, what course TavouUI advi'^e Alabama to take, in the event 
 
15 
 
 i?£i 
 
 that Lincoln should he elected President ? Acting in perfect good 
 fnith to the issues presented b}'^ the 2:»arty whose cause I advocated, 
 and which issues contemplated a solution of the political question 
 at the ballot-box only, within the Union, I declined to give utter- 
 ance to my individual opinions, which could only tend to embar- 
 rass my friends, and to encourage their foes, but told the people of 
 New York that I should cheerfully give that advice to my fello^v- 
 citizens of Alabama whenever thoy should see tit to ask it ; [ap- 
 plause;] and I redeem that pledge to-niglit, by saying that in my 
 opinion, the election of Abraham Lincoln to the oflice of Presi- 
 dent of the United States by the Black Eepublican party, taken 
 in connection Avith his own political utterances, and the views and 
 acts of his party in Congress, and in the several Northern States, 
 is an overt act against the Constitution — [applause,] and as such 
 should be deemed sufficient cause for a withdrawal of the State 
 of Alabama, and a resumption of all the powers she has granted 
 to the Union, by Separate State Secession. [Prolonged applause.] 
 And while giving utterance to this advice, I repudiate as utterly 
 untrue, that in any just sense I am a Disunionist ! " 
 
 I quote the above extract from the speech of thaAjax Tcla- 
 mon of the secession movement, as well for the purpose of show- 
 ing that some of the leaders, at least, contemplated the probability 
 of war, as to show the inconsistency of his position. For " sepa- 
 rate State secession," and not a "disunionist!" Almost all of 
 them, however, preached before the people the doctrine of "peace- 
 able secession" and " bloodless revolution." The boldness of 
 Mr. Yancey's position was entitled to more respect than those 
 who taught many ignorant people to believe that "there would 
 not be a gun fired!" 
 
 2. The next delusion of most importance which Avas dissemi- 
 nated among the people was, that in the event of war, England 
 or France, or perhaps both, would certainl}^ interpose in our be- 
 half. That "Cotton was King," and that three or four millions 
 of people in Europe were dependent upon our great staple for 
 their dail}^ bread. In this our gre'atest statesmen were in error, 
 for they certainly knew, when plunging the Southern States into 
 a contest so unequal, it would be impossible to succeed without 
 foreign aid. They doubtless recollected that Avhen Patrick Henry 
 was inaugurating the American revolution in Virginia, and arous- 
 ing our ancestors to battle, in a just and holj^ cause, he freely 
 confessed to his intimate friends that he depended upon foreign 
 
16 
 
 asRistancc for their ultimate success. Our Senators in Cong-Tcss, 
 when leaving tlieir seats, after the secession of tlieir i-espcctivo 
 States, menacingly alluded to the assistance of the great powers 
 of Europe. Much of the legislation of the Confederate Congress 
 was based upon the assumed fact, that our Ports would be opened 
 l>y foreign interference. Mr. Mcmminger's scheme for raising 
 money by a " Produce Loan" was based upon that presumption. 
 Mr. Yancey had \vritten home that our Ports would be opened 
 prospectively, from time to time, about as often as some of the 
 x^orthern Statesmen had designated the time of the termination 
 of the " rebellion." The most strained efforts were made during 
 the progress of the revolution to keep up this delusion. Tbo 
 telegraph was subsidized to gain its assistance. The " reliable 
 gentleman " had time and again heard a dispatch read at the 
 head-quarters of such a General, that our independence was to bo 
 acknowledged at such a time, and our ports opened. 
 
 The position I assumed in the canvass before the people of 
 Mississippi was: That we could not reasonably expect any assis- 
 tance from foreign nations; that they were opposed to our pecu- 
 liar institution which underlaid the revolution, and tliat their 
 sympathies Avould be against us; that, however much tiiey might 
 rejoice at the dissensions existing here, and would encourage 
 them to weaken us as a great rival, especially of England and 
 France, the^^ would not take part in the conflict. The Commis- 
 sioners sent to Europe were so well aware of the prejudices of the 
 English people against slavery that Messrs. Yancey, Mann, and 
 Roost, endeavored to place the revolution upon the grounds of 
 the Tariff, and exhibited very great weakness in doing so. Mr. 
 Yancey, in his speech at the Fish-mongers Company dinner, said: 
 "their pursuits, soil, climate and productions are totall}^ different 
 from those of the North. They think it their interest to buy 
 where they can buy cheapest and sell where they can sell 
 dearest. In all this the North differs toto coelo from them^ 
 and now makes war upon us to enforce the supremacy of their 
 mistaken ideas and seltish interests." 
 
 In a letter subsequently written by these gentlemen to Lord 
 John Russel, the cause of the secession movement is attributed to 
 the Tariff and not to Slavery. In this view of the subject those 
 gentlemen were at least thirty 3'ears beliind the times, and must 
 have had their attention directed to the little nullification move- 
 mtut of South Carolina in ISS'l. Their great weakness, however, 
 
17 S^9 
 
 consisted in flattering themselves that Lord John Eussel could be 
 so easily deceived, when he understood, perhaps, a little better 
 than those gentlemen, the true character of the American question. 
 
 CHAPTEE lY. 
 
 The attempt to assimilate the Secession movement to the Revolutionary 
 War — Declaration of grievances — Young Patrick Henrys spring 
 up — The delusion of the great sujoeriority of our Southern soldiers — 
 Direct Trade idth Europe — Charleston^ Savannah and New Orleans 
 to rival Boston^ New York and Philadelphia — Secession of South 
 Carolina — Sudden decline in Cotton — The Money Market thep)ulse 
 of a Nation. 
 3. Long prior to the fall of Fort Sumpter on the 13th of April, 
 1851, the commencement of actual hostilities, a great effort had 
 been made by the leaders of the secession movement to assimilate 
 the revolution they were about to inaugurate, to the revolution of 
 our ancestors, which established American independence. Our 
 pretended grievances were summed up in imitation of the Decla- 
 ration of Lidependence. Young Patrick Henrys sprung up in 
 every county, and appeals to the patriotism of the people were 
 made which far excelled all the powers of eloquence ever displayed 
 b}^ " the forest-born — Demosthenes." Many young orators, who 
 had never before appeared upon the stump, made such strained 
 efforts, that the hearer was irresistibly reminded of the young- 
 Shanghai rooster, so common in this country, that crows so hard, 
 that he seems to be in imminent danger of crowing himself out 
 of l»s knee joints ! 
 
 Unfortunately these appeals to the people sent thousands of 
 the brave young men of the South to the field, who never returned 
 to their once happy homes. Instances might be enumerated of 
 many imfortunate poor widoAvs, who thus lost all of their sonsj 
 and were tlu'own upon the cold charities of the rich, for a bare 
 maintenance. Some yoimg ladies were found simple-minded and 
 silly enough to send aprons and dolls to those young men whose 
 circumstances compelled them to remain at home, till forced off 
 
 C 
 
18 
 
 by that terrible engine of militaiy des]")otisni known as the "Con- 
 script Law." An impression was made upon ouryonniij men that 
 nnlcss they took part in tlie revohition, they would be regarded 
 as the Tories of the Revohitionary War. This had a powerful 
 effect upon the brave and impetuous youth of our country. The 
 recollection of the success which had always attended our arms 
 in^all the wars in which we had been engaged — the revolutionary 
 war — the Avar with England of 1812, and the Mexican war — in- 
 spired the belief that we could not engage in any war without 
 success. The masses of the people did not stop to compare the 
 resources of the different sections of the Union; nor pause to re- 
 flect upon the inequality of the conflict into which we were about 
 to be plunged. Many of our 3'oung men are always ready for a 
 flght, and v\dien it is "a free fight" some care but little upon which 
 side they are engaged, so that they are "in." 
 
 4. Another great delusion disseminated among our people was, 
 the great superiority of our Southern soldiers to our Northern 
 men. It was often said, that " one Southern man could whip half 
 a dozen Yankees." This opinion had been formed from the ap- 
 pearance of the many delicate clerks and collectors who had been 
 sent out by their houses, drumming and collecting through the 
 South, and who were more frequently met with the pistol and 
 boAvie-knife, than the ready money. It manifested a great ignor- 
 ance of the history of the Northern Nations of Europe for bravery 
 and endurance when compared with the more Southern tribes. 
 This delusion has already been dispelled, especially in regard to 
 the frontier men of the North-west. They seemed to be ignorant of 
 the fact, that in the United States army would be met some of the 
 best men of every civilized nation. It is imdoubtedly true, that 
 for impetuous bravery — the daring charge and dashing onset, the 
 Southern soldier stands unsurpassed before the world; and in a 
 war with any foreign nation, would do prodigies of valor, une- 
 qualled upon the pages of military warfare; but when figltting 
 against the old flag, under which our fathers had fought and 
 bled — endeared to them by all the associations of the past, and 
 hopes of the future — under which Washington, Lafayette, Mont- 
 gomery, Gates, Green, Jackson and Taylor had fought — that 
 waved at King's Mountain, Gilford Court House, Camden, Eutaw, 
 Cow-pens, Moultrie and Yorktown — against brethren of the same 
 race, and often of the same family; whilst the hearts of many of 
 them were never in the cause in which they wei*e enlisted, it is 
 
19 ^ " 
 
 wonderful timt they displayed the heroism exhibited lit Manassas, 
 Leesburg, Behnont and Shiloh. 
 
 5. Direct Trade with Europe, was a favorite theme of indul- 
 £,^ence by the secession leaders. Charleston, Savannah and New 
 Orleans Avere to rival Boston, New York and Philadelphia, We 
 were going to sell everything very Jiigh and buy everything very 
 cheap. Our opponents told us, " we will have direct trade with 
 Europe. Our commerce will flourish; industry will be amply 
 rewarded. Our revenue from imports, instead of going into the 
 treasury as now, to be expended in warring upon us, will be di- 
 verted into the Southern treasury to support our own friendly 
 g-overnment. We will then be relieved of our vassalage to New 
 York, and otherNorthern cities, which now subjects us to a mone- 
 tary panic whenever there is a stringency in the New York money 
 market, which began to be felt before the late Presidential elec- 
 tion. In the present deranged state of the cotton market, we 
 are experiencing the evil effects of this commercial dependence 
 on New York. In our Southern Confederacy we will be free from • 
 all this. In.withdrawing we lose nothiiKj and save all." This de- 
 lusion led many into the snare. Loud expressions were heard of 
 the great value that would attach to land and negroes in the 
 event of secession, and some were heard to say that they would 
 sell their lands and , negroes at half price if Mississippi did not 
 secede; but Mississippi did secede, and instead of land and ne- 
 groes advancing, neither will bring half price even in the rag 
 money currency of the State, and if put up for gold and silvei^ 
 they would not bring one-fourth their usual price. The cities 
 that were to rival the cities of the North have languished every 
 day they have been out of the Union. Instead of selling every- 
 thing very high and buying everything very cheap, we buy every- 
 thing very high and sell everything very cheap; instead of direct 
 trade with Europe, we have had no trade at all. We have no 
 commerce; no revenue from imports; no rewards for our industry- 
 none of the golden promises of the secession leaders have been 
 realized. Immediately after the secession of South Carolina, cot- 
 ton dropped down to six cents, and we were told that it was ow- 
 ing to "a stringency in the New York money market I " 
 
 Financial men saw th e dark storm that was approachin <-•. That 
 unfailing indication of the condition of a nation, th^ money 
 market— the pulse of a nation— was disturbed; but its disturbance 
 was produced by the secession of South Carolina. We were told 
 
20 
 
 that a sudden decline in cotton was produced by a stringency in 
 the New York money market, but avo were not told what produced 
 that stringency. The first manifestation of any disturbance in Eng- 
 land is exhibited by the money market — the decline in Consols. 
 vSo in France, in the decline of theEents — the pulse of the nation 
 rises or falls, in propoi-tion to the healthfulness of the nation ; so 
 it was with the money market of the United States, after the se- 
 cession of South Carolina in December, 1860, 
 
 CHAPTEE V. 
 
 Other delusions — Strong attachment to the Union among the old men — • 
 A71 incident in the canvass — Meeting of the Convention of Missis- 
 sippi — The first and second day's proccetZ/w^s — The Secession 
 Ordinance reported on the third day. 
 
 These delusions and many others — some of which were most 
 preposterous, such as that unless secession succeeded the negroes 
 would be emancipated ard the jjoor Avould have to do the menial 
 services of the slaves — were most artfully, ingeniously and some- 
 times powerfully impressed upon the people. 
 
 I always found a very strong attachment to the Union among 
 the old men of the State. An incident of the canvass will forcibly 
 illustrate this fact. At a precinct in the county of Attala, known 
 as Crim's Box, where my opponent and myself were to address 
 the "sovereigns" on the day of the Convention Election, I ob- 
 served an unusual number of ver}^ old men, some of whom had 
 fought in the revolutionary war. Seeing a fallen pine near the 
 stand, I requested them all to take their seats together upon the 
 log. In the course of my remarks I took occasion to paint the 
 scenes of the revolution — the struggles of our forefathers — their 
 hardshijxs and sufferings — the character and conduct of Washing- 
 ton and his com-patriots — the principal battles and other remini- 
 sences. When the polls were opened they all went uj) and voted 
 together, and all voted the Union Ticket but one. 
 
 The Convention of Mississippi assembled at Jackson on Mon- 
 day, January 7th, 1861. I had been requested by several mem- 
 
37, 
 
 bers of the convention, before the hour of meeting, to call a 
 conservative member to the Chair, in order that an organization 
 as favorable as possible to the Union cause might be effected. 
 This was anticipated however by an ultra Secessionist, who called 
 the Convention to order more than thirty minutes before the usual 
 time for such bodies to convene, and nominated the Hon. li. T. 
 EUett, an ultra member, as temporary Chairman. 
 
 At the suggestion of the Chairman, Rev. C. K. Marshall, of 
 Yicksburg, opened the Convention with prayer, as follows : 
 
 "Oh, Almighty God, we come into Thy presence on this occa- 
 sion, so solemn, so freighted with high and holy resolves, humbly 
 and earnestly beseeching Thee to be with us in our councils. 
 Send down Thy spirit that these Thy servants may consummate 
 such measures as shall result in the maintainance and propaga- 
 tion of the principles of self-government. Our Heavenly Father, 
 Thou hast seen the malign influence of our sister States, and Thou 
 hast heard, too, the cry of those who sought Thy guidance. Help 
 our Southern country ; protect her in her rights, and teach these, 
 the people's servants, to carry out Thy law with coolness and 
 dispassionate forgetfulness of self. Help them to bury party 
 animosities, to forget past controversies of party, and go forth in 
 the faithful performance of the high and holy duties which are 
 now their special care. And if the sword of the enemy be drawn 
 against us. Oh, God, be our guide in the bloody contest, and, vic- 
 torious in peace we shall inscribe Thy great name. And now, 
 Heavenly Father, we commend to Thine especial care, the interests 
 of the world at large. Help us to perform our obligations to each 
 other, and may we never have occasion to regret our actions in 
 this cause. Amen." 
 
 The roll of Counties was then called, the following delegates 
 registering their names: Adams : A. K. Farrar, J. Winchester; 
 Attala: John W.Wood, E.H.Sanders; Amite: D. W. Hurst; 
 Bolivar: Miles H. McGehee; Carroll: W. Booth, J. Z.George; 
 Claiborne: Henry T. Ellett; Coahoma: J.L.Alcorn; Copiah: 
 P. S. Catchings, Ben. King; Clark: S. H. Terrill; Choctaw: W. 
 F.Brantley, AV. H. Witty, J. H. Edwards; Chickasaw: C. B. 
 Baldwin, J. A. Orr; Covington : A. C. Powell; Calhoun: M. D. 
 L. Stephens, W. A. Sumner; DeSoto: J. R. Chalmers, S. D. John- 
 son, Thos. Lewers; Frank'in: D. H. Parker; Green: T. J. Roberts; 
 Hinds: W. P. Harris, W. P. Anderson, W. B. Smart; Holmes: W. 
 L. Keirn, J. M. Dyer; Harrison: D. C. Glenn; Hancock: J. B. 
 
22 
 
 Deason; Issaquena: Albert C. Gibson; Itawamba: E. 0. Beene, 
 W. H. Tison, M. C. Curamings, A. B. Bullard; Jasper: O. C. 
 Dease; Jackson: A. E. Lewis; Jefferson: J. S. Johnston; Jones: 
 J. H. Powell; Kemper: O. Y. Neely, Thos. H. Wood; Lawrence: 
 Wm. Gwin; Lowndes: Geo. K. Clayton, W. S. Barry; Leake: W. 
 B. Colbert; Lauderdale: J. B. Eamsay, C. F. Simmes; Lafaj^ette: 
 L. Q. C. Lamar, T. D. Isom; Marshall: J. W. Clapp, Samuel Benton, 
 H. W. Walter, A. M. Clayton, Willis M. Lea; Madison: A. P. Hill; 
 Monroe: S. J. Gholson, F. M. Eogers; Marion: Hamilton Mayson; 
 ]N"oxubee: Israel Welsh; Neshoba: J. L. Backstrow; Newton: M. 
 M. Keith; Octibbeha : T. C. Bookter; Perry : P. J. Myers; Pike: J. 
 M. Nelson; Panola: J. B.Fiser, F. A. McGehee ; Pontatoc: H. E. 
 Miller, E. W. Flournoy, C. D. Fontaine, J. B. Herring; Eankin: J. 
 J. Thornton, W. Denson; Sunflower: E. P. Jones; Simpson: W. J. 
 Douglas; Smith: W. Thompson; Scott: C. W. Taylor; Tallahatchie: 
 A. Patterson; Tishomingo: A. E. Eeynolds, J. A. Blair, T, P. 
 Young, W. W. Bonds; Tunica: Andrew Miller; Tippah: Joel H. 
 Berry, Orlando Davis, D. B. Wright, J. L. Davis; Washington: J. 
 S. Yerger ; Wilkinson: Alfred C. Holt; Wayne: W. J. Eckford; 
 Warren : T. A. Marshall, W. Brooke; Winston: W. S. Boiling. 
 John Kennedy; Yazoo: Henry Vaughan, G. B. AYilkinson; Yalla- 
 busha: W. E. Barksdale, F. M. Aldridge. 
 
 After some unimportant business, necessar}^ for a permanent 
 organization, L. Q. C. Lamar, of Lafayette, offered the following- 
 resolution which was adopted : 
 
 Resolved, That a committee of be appointed to 
 
 prepare and report, as speedily as possible, an Ordinance provid- 
 ing for the withdrawal of the State of Mississippi from the 
 present Federal Union, with a view to the establishment of a 
 new Confederacy, to be composed of the Seceding States. After 
 some discussion the blank in the resolution was filled by inserting 
 fifteen. 
 
 The President appointed the following gentlemen as such 
 committee: L. Q. C. Lamar, of Lafayette; G. E. Clayton, of 
 Lowndes ; Wiley P. Harris, of Hinds ; S. J. Gholson, of Monroe ; 
 J. L. Alcorn, of Coahoma; H. T.Ellet, of C'aiborne; W. Brooke, 
 of Warren; H. E. Miller, of Pontatoc; John A. Blair, of Tishho- 
 mingo; A. M. Clayton, of Marshall; Alfred Holt, of AVilkinson ; 
 J. Z. George, of Carroll ; E. H. Sanders, of Attala ; Benjamin 
 King, of Copiah ; Orlando Davis, of Tippah. 
 
23 JVIL 
 
 The proceedings of the second day all indicated very clearly 
 that the secession of Mississippi was already /aiY accompli. 
 
 Mr. Walter, of Marshall offered the folloAving : 
 
 Resolved, That the Committee on Constitutional Amendments 
 be instructed to report as soon as practicable, after its appoint- 
 ment, an amendment to the Constitution of this State author- 
 izing it to borrow money for purpose of military defence, and to 
 pledge the faith of the State for the repayment of the loan. 
 
 "He thought this Convention ought to vote the necessary 
 means for the defence and protection of the State. No one 
 doubted its prompt withdrawal." 
 
 Mr. Gholson in reply to some remarks about dividing the 
 responsibility with the Legislature, said he didn't come here for 
 that purpose. He held the power of the Convention to be 
 omnipotent, and thought it devolved upon this body to borrow 
 the mon<^y. 
 
 Mr. Chalmers, of De Soto, moved to strike out the words, " an 
 amendment to the Constitution of this State," and substitute the 
 word " ordinance." 
 
 Mr. Alcorn, of Coahoma, thought that, if the Convention pro- 
 joosed amending the present Constitution, certain difficulties would 
 thereby be raised. 
 
 Mr. Hill, of Madison, thought that the Convention sho'ild con- 
 form itself to the fifth section of the Convention-bill — that it did 
 not possess the power to amend the Constitution. That the 
 Convention was called for the specific object of acting upon the 
 provisions of that bill. 
 
 Mr. Ellett, of Claiborne, remarked, that the amendment 
 offered by the gentleman from De Soto was, of necessity, an 
 amendment to the Constitution. He had no scruples about the 
 power of the Convention to amend the Constitution, in any par- 
 ticular. 
 
 Mr. Flournoy, of Pontatoc, entirely concerted with the views 
 expressed by gentlemen, that this Convention possessed sover- 
 eign and absolute power to amend, alter or abolish, the present 
 Constitution, as it might see jiroper. 
 
 Mr. Chalmers insisted on his amendment. 
 
 Mr. Harris, of Hinds, said he had no doubt of the power of 
 the Convention to deal with the Constitution of the State. It 
 was understood throughout the country, however, that we would 
 not touch it except in points necessary to advance the remedy, to 
 
24 
 
 which we are determined to resort, in the present emergency. The 
 proposition which is to effect this Constitution, and contemphites 
 the measures necessary to raise money, should be matured in 
 committee ; when matured, then it would be reported as an ordi- 
 nance of the Convention. 
 
 Though inclined, at first not to vote for the resolution, because 
 he thought money would be raised by taxation in the first 
 instance, he was disposed to remove all obstacles in the wa}^ of 
 every resource at our command. He would, therefore, vote for the 
 orio-inal resolution — not deeming the difference between the 
 mover and the gentleman from Pontatoc verv material. 
 
 Mr. Clayton, of Marshall, spoke to the question. 
 
 Mr. Clayton, of Lowndes, held that the Constitution was 
 obligatory upon this Convention until it is altered in the 
 manner provided by the instrument itself. If we proceed, 
 by an ordinance, to pledge the State to raise the necessary means, 
 it would be in direct violation of the organic law. The Constitu- 
 tion should be changed, so as to enable us to pledge the faith of 
 the State legally. 
 
 Mr. Alcorn was prepared to go with him who goes farthest to 
 realize money for the defence of the State. The Constitution 
 pointed out the mode in which it should be amended — submitted 
 to and voted upon by the people. He held, however, that this 
 Convention has plenary power — that its ordinances were above 
 the Constitution — that we must stand above it; or, if we under- 
 take to be governed by it, then we must stand by it in all its 
 details. He had no hesitation to vote upon an ordinance to place 
 the State on a loar footing. 
 
 Mr. Welsh, of Noxubee, thought this Convention possessed the 
 power to amend the Coustitution. Here are the people ? ' He 
 was in favor of the original resolution. 
 
 Mr. Hill, of Madison, explained his position. He would vote 
 for the amendment offered by the gentleman from De Soto. He 
 didn't think this Convention was sovereign in every respect, or 
 had illimitable power over the existing Constitution. He was 
 prepared to vote for any measures looking toward the vindication 
 of the sovereignty of the State. 
 
 Mr. Glenn said he felt somewhat sensitive as to any difference 
 among the members on any important matter. He was ready to 
 3'ield, for the sake of harmony. He could not a.q-ree with the 
 gentleman from Madison, nor yet with the gentleman from 
 
J.0 
 
 ^ys 
 
 Coahoma; but he would concede to either, an he believed both 
 looked to the prompt loitlidravxil of Mississippi, from the Union. 
 
 [Loud applause from the galleries, when the President 
 remarked, that he would not tolerate any further demonstrations 
 in that quarter. 
 
 Mr. Fontaine, of Pontatoc, spoke to the question. 
 
 Mr. Benton, of Marshall, Avas in favor of the original resolu- 
 tion. The amendment of his honorable friend from De Soto, if 
 passed, would virtually be an amendment of .the Constitution.'^ 
 He thought it better, therefore, to make au amendment in terms. 
 He entertained no doubt of the power of the Convention to 
 amend the Constitution, but thought the exercise of tlmt power 
 should be coufiued to matters coming within the perview of the 
 general object for which the Convention was called. He thought 
 the matter of arming the State came full}'' within that object. 
 
 Mr. Welsh, of Noxubee, raised a point of order. 
 
 Mr. Wright, of Tippah, said the delegates to this Convention 
 were fresh from the people, and they knew the wants of their 
 constituency, and he believed it was the duty of this body to pre- 
 pare, by arming, the State for any emergency, in defence of her 
 rights. He preferred the amendment of the gentleman from Dc 
 Soto. 
 
 The amendment, on a call of the Convention, was lost, and the 
 original resolution was adopted. 
 
 The President read a telegraphic dispatch from Georgia, 
 announcing that there was no doubt of the immediate secession 
 of that State. 
 
 The reading of this dispatch created great excitement, when 
 the President called the galleries to order, stating that the galleries 
 would be cleared if order was not observed. Mr. Glenn reported 
 himself as having participated in the expression of exultation. 
 [Laughter, — the ladies in the gallerj^ looking smilingly in the 
 direction of Mr. Glenn.] 
 
 Mr. Gholson moved to adjourn till to-morrow morning, to 
 allow the Committee on Ordinance time to report. 
 
 Mr. Harris, of Hinds, arose' to explain, that there Avas no dif- 
 ference in the Committee on the main point, and he thought they 
 would be prepared to report to-morrow^ morning. 
 
 Mr. Gholson then, at 12 o'clock, renewed his motion to adjourn 
 till to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock, which was cainued. 
 
 On the third day of the Con- ention, Mr. Lamar, Chairman of 
 
 D 
 
26 
 
 the Committee to draft Ordinance of Secession, said the Commit- 
 tee was ready to report. At 11 h o'clock, a. m., the Convention 
 went into secret session, to consider the report, and remained in 
 secret session till half past 4 o'clock, p. m., greatly to the disap- 
 pointment of the assembled multitude. Never before had such a 
 large assembly of the people of Mississippi been seen at Jackson. 
 All the leading Secessionists of the State, many of them bringing 
 their wives and daughters, had congregated at the Capitol, not 
 ^that they doubted the passage of the Ordinance of Secession, but 
 to see it " well done." Companies of infantry, cavalry and artil- 
 lery, made an unusual display for those "piping times of peace." 
 The sound of the fife and drum was heard in every direction ; 
 the hotels were crowded to overflowing; the bars did an 
 extremely flourishing business. Notwithstanding the unfavora- 
 ble indications, and outside pressure, I determined to make a last 
 eftort for the old Flag, more as a protest than with the hope of 
 defeatingthe passage of the ordinance, by a speech before the Con- 
 vention, which I will submit to the reader as apart of the history 
 of the times. 
 
 CHAPTBE VI. 
 
 Speech Delivered in the Mississippi Convention on the Ordinance of 
 Secession, January 9th, 1861. 
 
 " Mr. President : Napoleon I. nor Garabaldi could never suc- 
 cessfully carry out a revolution, unless the hearts of the people 
 Avere in such revolution. I have strong convictions, Sir, that the 
 hearts of the people of Mississippi are not in this revolution. I 
 know that the hearts of my constituents are not, and I shall 
 represent their will upon this floor, if I stand alone in my posi- 
 tion. "We have been hastily called from among the people, while 
 the excitement of a presidential election has not yet subsided. 
 This excitement will subside, and'I am apprehensive that the ver- 
 dict ot the people, upon calm reflection, will be against hastily 
 and rashly tearing down the fairest fabric of Freedom ever 
 erected in the civilized world. 
 
 " I have given a calm and patient investigation to the important 
 subject under consideration. I have consulted the Apostles of 
 
z< 
 
 S7/^ 
 
 our Government, besought the Author of "Wisdom for counsel; 
 laid aside all other considerations but the welfare of the people of 
 the South, and only desired to be right. I have no political aspi- 
 rations to advance, or ambitious designs to gratify. Born in the 
 ' Old Dominion' — my ancestors being large slave-holders, and 
 always a slave-holder myself — my family all native Mississippians, 
 I challenge any member of this body for greater devotion to the 
 true interests of the South. 
 
 " Mr President: The old ship of State has stood many severe 
 storms. As early as 1790, a storm of great danger blew over the 
 decks of the old Yessel, arising from a question now almost 
 forgotten — the permanent location of the Capitol. Madison and 
 Ames feared then she would go down, but she weathered it. 
 Again, in 1820, another storm arose in the West, and shook the 
 old Vessel to her centre ; but she bravely rode out of it in safety. 
 "Again, in 1832, when one of the Stars, in our constellation of 
 States, attempted ' to fly madly from its sphere,' another storm 
 arose, out of a question not connected with slavery, which seemed 
 for a time to portend inevitable destruction; but she survived 
 that. And still again, in 1850, within the recollection of most of 
 us here, clouds and darkness gathered around her, and some, 
 even then, were for deserting her and giving themselves to the 
 winds and waves; but she rode out of that storm. And now, 
 again, we find the Old Ship enveloped in the blackness of dark- 
 ness. Shall we desert her? Others, or all, may do as they 
 please ; but as for myself, I shall stand upon the Old Ship as long- 
 as there is a plank upon her decks, or an inch of canvass fluttering 
 in the breeze. 
 
 "Mr. President: Your ears have been lulled by the cry of 
 peaceable secession ; but. Sir, there is no such thing as peaceable 
 secession. It is revolution that you are inaugurating — a revolu- 
 tion that may not terminate before the heel of some military 
 despot is placed upon the necks of the people. Peaceable secesr 
 sion ! Sir, if ever the sun of this Union goes down, it will sink 
 beneath the horizon bathed in the blood of thousands and tens of 
 thousands of the best men of our country. This day, which has 
 been ushered in with so much enthusiasm, by the assembled 
 thousands here, I fear, will prove the darkest day that ever broke 
 upon the State. Let us pause and reflect, before we plunge into 
 the dark abyss now opening at our feet. Let us carefully con- 
 sider the consequences that will surely follow the passage of the 
 
28 
 
 Ordinance of Secession. We £;-o off to ourselves, without an 
 arm}^, without a nav}', witliout a single vessel, and without any 
 means of constructing- a navy, even if one could be built in a day 
 with the proper resources. We assume the responsibilities of a 
 new government at a time when our State Treasury is bankrupt, 
 and when the State herself cannot possibly borrow a dollar in the 
 money markets of the world. When our State has neither money 
 nor credit, how is she to carry on an independent government, 
 either by hersef or with the few States that are expected to go 
 with her ? Only by Taxation. And, Sir, although the people 
 may rest satisfied for a while, under the novelty of the ncAV order 
 of things, when you lay the iron hand of taxation upon them, and 
 the millions of dollars in hard cash are wrung from the tax-paj^ers, 
 by the tax-collectors, a voice of indignation will rise in thunder 
 tones from the masses of the people, which will shake the highest 
 seats of the rulers of the coniemplated Confederacy. Arms and 
 munitions of war must be provided, and large bodies of men 
 equipped for militar}^ service. The extensive military prepara- 
 tions now making, and the organizations of companies now going 
 on, show, conclusively, that those who are urging this revolution 
 onward, do not expect it to be peaceable. They smell the battle 
 afar off, and are marshaling their forces. Complicated ques- 
 tions of boundaries ; of the right to navigate the Mississippi river 
 and its numerous tributaries ; of duties on imports, exports, and 
 many other equally difficult and perplexing questions, would soon 
 rob secession of its peaceable coaracter, and light up the flames of 
 civil w^ar. And what right have we to expect that the Govern- 
 ment of the United States Avill peaceabl}" permit its own dissolu- 
 tion ? 
 
 " We have heard much said about the right of secession — of 
 the Constitutional right of secession — but. Sir, there is no such 
 right. There is not a single word in the Constitution of the 
 United States that recognizes, or can be construed to recognize, 
 the right of secession. Mr. Calhoun claimed the right from facts 
 outside the Constitution, and in contradiction of a fact stated in 
 its preamble. 'We, the people of the United States,' made the 
 Constitution; but Mr. Calhoun says: No, — the people did not 
 make it, the States made it. Mr. Calhoun admitted that if the 
 Constitution had, in truth, been made as its preamble recites, by 
 the people, or, in other words, by the whole nation, then there 
 would not be a pretense for the right of secession. An issue of 
 
29 
 
 iJS' 
 
 fact is thus raised between tlie Constitution of the United States 
 and Mr. Calhoun. Mr. Calhoun claims that, because the people 
 of the several States, through their Conventions, ratified the 
 Constitution, it was a creation and ratification by States ; but the 
 whole people created and ratified it, in the only way they could, 
 He claimed the Government of the United St,ates to be a Confed- 
 eracy of States, each having the right, incident, as he said, to all 
 Confedei'acies, of seceding when she pleases. His conclusion 
 would not follow his premises, even if they were true; but they 
 are not true. He compared the Union to a partnership of unde- 
 fined duration between individuals, from which each has a right 
 to withdraw at pleasure; but the cases are not analogous. The 
 Constitution is the great act of incorporation, binding the States., 
 as corporate entities, in a perpetual Union, and their citizens into 
 one common indissoluble nationality. It is like an indissoluble 
 act of incorporation, from which no stockholder has a right to 
 withdraw his funds. It is an agreement between the citizens of 
 the States to fuze themselves into an indissoluble nationalit}^, like 
 that of Aragon and Castile, or England and Scotland. The right 
 of secession is a mere abstraction, about as reasonable as the 
 right of a part owner of a boat to destroy his part. This whole 
 doctrine of Mr. Calhoun is a fallacj^, a heresy, a delusion, never 
 to be practically realized, and only to tcminate in a bloody revo- 
 lution. This, Sir, is not the only delusion resting upon this body. 
 We have been taught to believe that ' Cotton is King,' and that 
 England and Prance will be forced to intervene in our behalf. I 
 fear, Sir, that this is a delusion, I have no confidence in foreign 
 aid. The sympathies, not only of France and England, but of 
 the civilized world will be against us. They are opposed to the 
 institution which underlies this revolution. The great danger is, 
 if our cotton is withheld to force them to our assistance, that 
 when we may again off'er it to them, they will tell us they do not 
 want it; that they have made other arrangements. It may 
 cause them a temporary inconvenience, but their gratification at 
 the dissentions in our republic, with the hope of an extinction of 
 slavery, will rather induce them to forego that inconvenience, 
 than to intervene in our favor. We cannot control the commerce 
 of the world. It will seek its wants and necessities in other 
 climes and other countries. 
 
 " Mr. President: I do not intend to discuss this important 
 subject further. You and I, and all the memliers present, have 
 
30 
 
 alread}- fully discussed, before the people, all of the points 
 involved. Lot me only warn you and this Convention, that if 
 Secession is carried out, there will be nothing but ruin and deso- 
 lation follow in its course — war, war, inevitable war, the deprecia- 
 tion of every species of property, stop laws, and bankrupt laws, 
 the neglect of agricultural pursuits, the collection of large bodies 
 of troops, the diseases which will necessarily spread among them ; 
 and before the last act in the great drama is closed, not only war, 
 but ' war, pestilence and famine' will spread over the land a scene 
 of devastation, desolation and destruction. 
 
 "The last words I have to say are, that posterity will hold you. 
 Sir, and this Convention, responsible for the act which you this 
 day commit." 
 
 CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 Wote to the Reporter of the Conventmi — His Reply — Scene in the 
 Hall of the House of Representatives on the passage of the Ordi. 
 nance of Secession — Ceremony of Signing — The Ordinance. 
 
 Seeing that the Convention had made up their minds to pass 
 the Secession Ordinance I determined to take no further j)art in 
 their proceedings, although I remained at the Capitol for ten days 
 after the passage of the Ordinance. After my return home, I ad- 
 dressed a note to Mr. J. L. Power, the Reporter of the Conven- 
 tion, requesting the publication of my speech, as a part of the 
 proceedings, in order that my protest might go to the public, 
 Avith the proceedings of the Convention, and received from him 
 the following reply : 
 
 "Jackson, Miss., February 14th, 1861. 
 
 " Hon. John W. Wood — Dear Sir : 
 
 " Your esteemed favor is at hand. 
 You may send me the speech, though I an not certain as to the 
 propriet}^ of publishing it. The members will recognize it as being 
 delivered in secret session. However, I will consult with proper 
 persons as to the propriety, as one or two other speeches 
 delivered in secret session are in my possession. At any rate, I 
 should be pleased to have the speech. I have, by resolution of 
 
31 S-yc 
 
 the Convention, the exclusive right, for five years, of publishing 
 the proceedings, (except 20,000 copies by State printer), and if 
 I cannot use your speech in my first edition, 1 sliall in the next. 
 Make it as brief as the arguments will admit. 
 
 Eespectfully, J. L. POWEE." 
 
 My speech was never published. The passage of the Ordi- 
 nance was announced by the roar of artillery. The old Flag, 
 which had been so long in the Capitol, was taken down, and a 
 new one, with one star, placed in its stead, amid the shouts of the 
 multitude and applause of the members. The scene in the Hall 
 of the House of Representatives can be better imagined than 
 described. 
 
 "On motion, the President was requested to have the Ordi- 
 nance of Secession written on parchment, and appropriately 
 arranged for the signatures of the members; also, to telegraph 
 the result of this day's proceedings to the Mississippi delegation 
 in Congress, and to the different slave-holding States.- At this 
 point, Mr. C. R. Dickson entered the hall, bearing a beautiful silk 
 banner, Avith a single star in the center, which he handed to the 
 President of the Convention, as a pi'esent from Mrs. H. H. Smyth, 
 of Jackson. The President remarked, that it was the first ban- 
 ner unfurled in the young Republic, when the members saluted it 
 by rising — the vast audience present uniting in shouts of ajjplause." 
 
 The ceremony of signing the Ordinance took place on Tues- 
 day, January 15th, the 8th day of the session, in presence of the 
 Governor, Senate and House of Representatives, in j)ursuance of 
 the following resolution : 
 
 " On motion of Mr. Clayton, of Marshall. 
 
 Resolved^ That when the Convention proceeds to sign the 
 Ordinance of Secession, it be first signed by the President, and 
 attested by the Secretary of the Convention ; that the counties 
 be then called in^lphabetical order, and that the delegates affix 
 their signatures in the order in which their counties and their 
 own names are called. 
 
 " Resolved, also, That the Governor of this State, and the Senate 
 and House of Representatives, be invited to be j^resent at the 
 time the same is signed." 
 
 I was urged by many old friends, some of whom had held high 
 positions in the United States Government, to sign the Ordinance, 
 for the sake of unanimity. Indeed, I was told that it was " a 
 second Declaration of Independence," and that my name should 
 

 9.'}. 
 
 he upon it, to hand down to my children. My reply was, that 1 
 would not sign what mj'- conscience and judgment did not 
 approve; and that I would rather hand down to my children the 
 remembrance of the fact that I was the member of the Missis- 
 sippi State Convention who refused to sign the Ordinance of 
 Secession. 
 
 The Ordinance was carefully wa-itten on parchment, beautifully 
 framed, and conspicuously hung in the Capitol. In a few days it 
 might be seen in all the hotels, stores, shops, and other public 
 places; even sold upon the streets, and soon became circulated 
 throughout the State. 
 
 The following is the Ordinance : 
 
 "AN OEDINANCE 
 " To Dissolve the Union between the State of Mississippi and other 
 States united with her under the compact entitled, ' The Constitu- 
 tion of -the United States of America.' 
 
 " The people of the State of Mississippi, in Convention assem- 
 bled, do ordain and declare, and it is hereby ordained and declared, 
 as follows, to-wit : 
 
 Section 1st. That all the laws and ordinances by which the 
 said State of Mississijjpi became a member of the Federal Union 
 of the United States of America be, and the same are hereby, 
 repealed; and that all obligations on the part of the said State, or 
 the people thereof, to observe the same, be withdrawn, and that 
 the said State doth hereby resume all the rights, functions and 
 powers, which, by any of said laws or ordinances, wore conveyed 
 to the Government of the said United States ; and is absolved 
 from all the obligations, restraints and duties, incurred to the said 
 Federal Union, and shall from henceforth be a free and inde- 
 pendent State. % 
 
 " Sec. 2. That so much of the first section of the seventh 
 article of the Constitution of this State, as requires members of 
 the Legislature, and all officers executive and judicial, to take an 
 oath or affirmation to support the Constitution of the United 
 State, be, and the same is, hereby abrogated and annulled. 
 
 " Sec. 3. That all rights acquired and vested under the Consti- 
 tution of the United States, or under acts of Congress passed, or 
 treaty made, in ]jursuanee thereof, or under any law of this State, 
 and not incompatible with this Ordinance, shall remain in form 
 
sv^ 
 
 and have the same effect as if this Ordinance had not been passed. 
 " Sec. 4. That the peoj)ie oC the State of Mississippi hereby 
 consent to form a Federal CJnion with such of the States as may 
 have seceded, or may secede from the Union of the United States 
 of America, upon the basis of the present Constitution of the 
 said United States, except such parts thereof as embrace other 
 portions than such.secediiig States. 
 
 " Thus ordained and dechired in Convention, the 9th day of 
 January, in the year of oar Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred 
 and Sixtv-one. 
 
 WILLIAM S. BAEEY, President. 
 F. A. Pope, Secretary. 
 
 ^' In Testimony of the passage of wliich, and the determination 
 of the members of the Convention to uphold and maintain the 
 State in the position she has assumed by said Ordinance, it is 
 signed by the President and membei-s of this Convention, this the 
 fifteenth day of January, A. D. 1861. 
 
 A. K. Farrar, 
 J. Winchester, 
 E. II. Sanders, 
 D. W. Hurst, 
 Miles H. McGehee, 
 J. Z. George, 
 W. Booth,' 
 Henry T. Ellett, 
 J. L. Alcorn, 
 P. S. Catchings, 
 Ben. King, 
 S. H. Terrill, 
 W. F. Brantley, 
 W. H. Witty, 
 J. H. Edwards, 
 J. A. Orr, 
 (J. B. Baldwin, 
 A. C. Powell, 
 Yv^. A. Sumner, 
 M. D.L. Stephens, 
 J. R. Chalmers, 
 S. D. Johnson, 
 Thos. Lewers, 
 ]). H. Parker, 
 T. J. Eobcrts, 
 W. P. Harris, 
 W. P. Anderson, 
 W. B. Smart 
 J. M. Dyer, 
 W. L. Keirn, 
 J). C. Glenn, 
 J. B. Deason, 
 
 Albert C. Gibson, 
 R. O. Beeue, 
 A. B. Ballard, 
 M. H. Tison, 
 M. C. Cummings, 
 O. C. Dease, 
 A. E. Lewis, 
 J. S. Johnston, 
 J. H. Powell, 
 Thos. H. Wood, 
 Wm. Gwin, 
 Geo. K. Clayton, 
 W. B. Colbert, 
 J. B. Eamsay, 
 F. C. Simmes, 
 L. Q. C. Lamar, 
 T. H. Isom, 
 A. M. Clayton, 
 J. W. Clapp, 
 Samuel Benton, 
 W. H. Walter, 
 Willis M. Lea, 
 A. P. Hill, 
 S. J. Gholson, 
 J^\ M. Rogers, 
 Hamilton May son, 
 Israel "W'clsh 
 J. L. Backstrom, 
 M. M. Keith, 
 T. C. Bookter, 
 P. J. Mvers, 
 J. M. ]Nelson, 
 E 
 
 J. B. Fiser, 
 F. A. McGehee, 
 C. I). Fontaine, 
 J. B. Herring, 
 IL' R. Miller, 
 R. TV". Flourno}'', 
 W. Denson, 
 
 E. P. Jones, 
 W. J. Douglas, 
 W. Thompson, 
 
 C. W. Taylor, 
 A. Patterson, 
 A. E. Reynolds, 
 W. W. Bonds, 
 T. P.Young, 
 
 J. A. Blair, 
 Andrew Miller, 
 Orlando Davis, 
 Joel H. Berrj^, 
 J. L. Davis, 
 
 D. B. Wright, 
 J. S. Yergei-, 
 Alfred C. Holt, 
 W.J. Eckford, 
 W. Brooke, 
 
 T. A. Marshall, 
 John Kennedy, 
 W. S. Boiling, 
 
 F. M. Aldridge, 
 W. R. Barksdale, 
 Henry Yaughan. 
 
 G. B. Wilkinson." 
 
* \ 
 
 C II A P T E E VIII. 
 
 Second Session of the Mississippi State Convention — The question of 
 the mode of ratification of the Constitution — Report of my remarks 
 — Letter to " Chronicle" — The Constitution ratified 'Vy the Conven- 
 tion — Indignation of the people. 
 
 On the 12tli of March, 1861, the Congress of the Confederate 
 States adopted a Permanent Constitution, which was submitted to 
 the Convention of the States for ratification. The President of 
 the Mississippi Convention called that body together for that 
 purpose, on the 25th of March, 1861. 
 
 A question of much importance arose in the Convention as to 
 the mode of ratification, whether by the Convention or directly 
 by the people. JSTot believing that the hearts of the masses of 
 the people of Mississippi were ever in the Secession movement, 
 about three months having elapsed since the election, I doubted 
 whether the people of the State would ever ratify a Constitution 
 containing the objectionable features of the instrument made at 
 Montgomery. Believing too, that it was not the province of the 
 Convention, which had been elected for an entirely different pur- 
 pose, to pass upon the ratification or rejection of the Constitution, 
 I determined to take a stand in favor of ratification directly by 
 the people and present an Ordinance for that purpose. A meagre 
 report of my remarks upon the subjuct appeared in the proceed- 
 ings of Tuesday, March 26th, 1861, as follows: 
 
 " Mr. Wood, of Attala, addressed the Convention at length 
 on the Ordinance, which he gave notice before the adjournment 
 of the morning session, he would offer. He cited the action of 
 the Convention of 1851, and quoted the following from the report 
 of the Committee of that body composed of Messrs. W. E. Cannon, 
 Samuel N. Grilliland and W. P. Harris, in supj^ort of the duty of 
 referring this matter to the people. 
 
 " They hold it to be their duty to submit the action of the 
 Convention to the people of the State. An ordinary degree of 
 respect for the peo^^le would seem to call for such a course, justice 
 and fair dealing towards our constituents demand it. We are 
 holding and excercising the sovereignty of the State. Our opin- 
 ions, our acts, become the sovericgn will of the people. It is an 
 universal rule — one never hitherto violated in the practice of any 
 State in the Union — that such should be submitted to the j^eople 
 for their judgment. In ordinary legislative action, no such neces- 
 
^7i 
 
 35 / 
 
 sity exists as the same power which makes, can repeal laws. But 
 when the sovereignty of the State has acted it can never be 
 changed without calling into action again the powers of the peo- 
 ple through an organized form. Hence the palpable necessity that 
 their opinion should be had, before any supreme rule of action 
 any law, any great ]brinciple should be enforced upon them. Dis- 
 trust of the popular will does not become a popular representa- 
 tive ; and we have ever held that system of government the 
 wisest which most frequentlj^ seeks an expression of the popular 
 will." 
 
 " Two of these distinguished men, who submitted that report, 
 had gone to their long rest ; one of them was on this floor, and 
 he hoped to hear him advocating now a policy which he ap- 
 proved in 1851. Mr. Wood also cited Gen. Quitman in support of 
 this principle. In his address to the "Democratic State Eights' 
 party of Mississippi," at that period, on retiring from further con- 
 test for gubernatorial honor, Gen. Quitman said : 
 
 " It is true that the State has not yet spoken authoritatively; even 
 the acts of the Conventmi will not be binding until they shall have been 
 ratified by a vote of the people. 
 
 "Mr. Wood assailed many of the ^propositions enunciated by 
 the gentleman from Harrison. The greatest work, said he, that 
 could be submitted to man is the building up of a good govern- 
 ment. You are now trying a second experiment. JSTo spot on 
 the face of the earth now affords evidence of the perpetuity of 
 the republican system ; and he stated as his humble conviction 
 that unless a course is adopted that will fasten the new govern- 
 ment in the affections of the people, it would be of short duration. 
 He thought that the delegates to Montgomery should be the first 
 to desire their actions should be submitted to the people for ratifi- 
 cation. There was no pressing necessity for the Constitution to 
 be hastily ratified by this Convention. The very faefthat this is 
 a debatable question, proves that it should be submitted to the 
 people. As a naked question, he believed that tliis Convention 
 had the power, without the right — the power that the despot 
 v\'ould exercise. He quoted from the message of Gov. Pettus, 
 convening the extra session of the Legislature, in November last, 
 for the purpose of calling a Convention. 
 
 " Embodied in the reserved rights of the States, is the soul of 
 American liberty — the great saving principle to which alone the 
 Southern States can look and live. This saving principle must 
 
OO 
 
 perish under Black Republican rule Then go down into Egypt 
 while Herod reigns in Judea; it is the onl}^ means of saving the 
 life of this Emanuel of American polities, and when, in after 
 years, it shall be told you, that they who sought the life of this 
 Prince of Peace and fraternity, are dead, you may come up out 
 of Egypt, and realize all the fond hopes of patriots and sages, of 
 peace on earth and good will among men, under the benign influ- 
 ence of a re-united Government, deriving its just poioei'S from the con- 
 sent of the governed. 
 
 " It is dangei'ous to alienate the affections of the people from 
 this Government. Great is the power of this Convention, 
 but greater, by far greater, is the power of the people. If 
 we are unwilling to submit the Constitution to the peo- 
 ple, they will ratify it. How easy for the Legislature to call 
 another Convention. He saw no force in the argument that, 
 because Commissioners desire to go to European governments 
 under the auspices of a Permanent Government, we should deprive 
 the peojDle of their right to act upon the organic law. Those 
 governments are aware that a separation has taken place — that 
 this is the cotton region; and if they are disposed to treat with 
 us, we have now a strong Provisional Government, which he 
 regarded as more efficient than the government contemplated 
 by the Permanent Constitution. 
 
 " Mr. Wood submitted the following ordinance : 
 "AlSr OEDI NANCE 
 " To Provide for Submitting the Permanent Conetitution of the Confed- 
 erate States of America to the People of the State of Mississippi.. 
 
 "Section 1. Be it ordained by the people of Mississippi, in 
 Convention assembled, that the Permanent Constitution of the 
 Confederate States, adopted b}^ the Provisional Congress, at 
 Montgomery, on the day of ISGl, shall be submitted to 
 
 the qualified voters of Mississippi, for their ratification or rejec- 
 tion. 
 
 " Sec. 2. That for this purpose an election shall be held at the 
 diiferent election precincts throughout the State, on the day 
 
 of 1861, which election shall be held and conducted in 
 
 all respects, and the returns thereof be made in the same manner, 
 as now provided bylaw for the election of members of the Legis- 
 lature. 
 
 " Sec. 3. That the said Constitution and Ordinance be pub- 
 
lishcd in the Mississippian, at least thirty days prior to tlie date 
 of said election. 
 
 " Sec. 4. That at least thirty days prior to the day of 
 
 1861, the Governor of this State shall issue his procla- 
 mation for holding said election. 
 
 " Sec. 5. That, at said election, the electors shall endorse on 
 their ballots, ' Constitution accepted,' or 'Constitution rejected;' 
 and if, from the returns made, it shall aj)pear that a majority, of 
 the qualified voters, of the State have accepted the Constitution, 
 then the Grovernor shall issue his proclamation, declaring the fact, 
 and shall notify the President of the Confederate States, that said 
 Constitution has been ratified by the people of the State of Mis- 
 sissippi; and, in case of rejection, then the Governor shall imme- 
 diately notify the President of this Convention of the fact, and 
 the President shall call together this Convention, at as early a 
 day as practicahle, with the view of determining upon the best 
 course of action for the future welfare of the State. 
 
 " Sec. 6. All ordinances, or parts of ordinances, of this Con- 
 vention, conflicting with this Ordinance, are hereby repealed." 
 
 Conspicuous among the advocates for a ratification hy the 
 Convention, were the delegates to the Montgomery Convention, 
 including the President of the State Convention. The debate 
 was marked with a degree of ability and interest far exceeding 
 any other debate in the Convention. The influence of outsiders 
 was brought to bear very heavily upon the result. 
 
 I had very little hope of the passage of my Ordinance, as will 
 ajDpear by the following letter addressed to the editors of the 
 " Chronicle," and pdblished in its issue of March 29th, 1861, 
 which had been the organ of the Union party of my county. 
 " Hall op the House op Eepresentatives, ") 
 "Jackson, March 27, 1861. | 
 
 " Editors Chronicle : 
 
 " The Convention has taken no decisive action upon an^^ sub- 
 ject of importance. The question whether the Permanent Con- 
 stitution shall be ratified by the Convention, or submitted to a 
 direct vote of the people, absorbs all other questions. You will 
 observe, from the proceedings of yesterday, that the question 
 now stands before the Convention upon the report of the Com- 
 mittee to ratify by the Convention, and my ordinance offered, as 
 a substitute, leaving the question to a direct vote of the people, 
 at the ballot-box. Yerger and Clayton's Ordinances, which you 
 
38 
 
 will find in the first da3^'s proceedings, were rejected, and I am 
 apprehensive that mine will share the same fate, though the vote 
 on mine will be close. A powerful outside influence is being 
 brought to bear on ratifj'ing by this Convention. The truth is, 
 many of them are afraid the peop'e will reject the proposed Con- 
 stitution. 
 
 " It is hard to work against a dead majority, but I have some 
 hopes of getting my ordinance passed. Should the majority of 
 the Convention deny to the people the right to say under what 
 kind of a Constitution they are to live, it will raise a shout of 
 indignation from the JVlississippi river to the Alabama line, and 
 from the Grulf to Tennessee, which will shake the pillars of the 
 Confederacy to its center, if not cause it to tumble into dust, 
 while many of its aspiring leaders and demagogues will sink 
 beneath the ruins of the fallen temple. The people have the right 
 to say under what kind of government they will live, and no set 
 of politicians have the right to deny them that privilege. Thisis 
 really a contest between the politicians and the people. One or the 
 other must rule, and as the politicians have the sway at present, 
 I think they would move heaven and earth, if possible, to hold 
 on to it. The Convention will possibly continue in session until 
 Saturday, though many of the members are very anxious to get 
 through earlier. Should we remain longer than this week, I will 
 write you more fully. Very respectfully, 
 
 JOHN W. WOOD." 
 
 I am thus particular in alluding to the proceedings of the Con- 
 vention upon this subject, as it evidences the fact of the great 
 distrust of the people, on the part of the Convention. Ever since 
 the commencement of the Secession movement, a manifest dispo- 
 sition has been exhibited to hastily seize the reigns of power, and 
 never to let them loose again. 
 
 My ordinance was rejected, as I anticipated. The vote being 
 23 to 56 — See Journal of March Session, page 34. The Constitu- 
 tion was then ratified by the Convention, only seven of us finally 
 voting against it. A feeling of great indignation was manifested, 
 in some parts of the State, in consequence of this flagrant outrage 
 upon the rights of the people; but the tocsin of war had been 
 sounded, and a military enthusiasm enkindled, which soon sup- 
 pressed all exhibitions of feeling, save a loyalty to Jeft'. Davis and 
 the Southern Confederacy. 
 
39 S^O 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 Southern Democracy — Extract from the Speech of S. S. Prentiss — 
 Political Demagogues — State and County Leaders — County pajyers. 
 
 I have heretofore made some alhisions to the influence of 
 Southern Democracy in causing the calamities which have befallen 
 our country. The subject deserves a more particular notice. 
 Thirty-four years ago S. S. Prentiss predicted what would be the 
 result of the course pursued by that party. In a. speech, delivered 
 at a public dinner in Vicksburg, in the Fall of 1838, Mr. Prentiss 
 said : 
 
 " Southern Democracy, it seems, consists in general abuse of 
 the rest of the Union, a denial of the existence of any cominon 
 interest with the North, and a bitter denunciation of every man 
 who has the independence to refuse assent to these strange 
 dogmas. Indeed, to such an extent is this brotherly hatred now 
 carried by some, that a man cannot exchange ordinary courtesies, 
 or civilities, with his fellow-citizens of the North, without render- 
 ing himself obnoxious to the charge of being an enemy to the 
 South. I had occasion, myself, to ti'avel North, a few months 
 since, on private business. I was treated with great kindness and 
 hospitality — a kindness and hospitality intended entirely as an 
 expression of good feeling towards the State which I repi*esented. 
 Yet have I been most bitterly abused for responding to these 
 courtesies; for daring to break bread, and eat salt, with our 
 Northern brethren ; and especially for so far violating Southern 
 policy as to have wickedly visited the cradle of Liberty, and 
 most sacrilegiously entered old Faneuil Hall. 
 
 "I could pity %hese foolish men, whose patriotism consists in 
 treating everything beyond the limited horizon of their own 
 narrow minds, but contempt and scorn will not allow of the 
 more amiable sentiment. It is said against me, that I have 
 Northern feelings. Well, so I have, and Southern, Eastern and 
 Western, and trust that I shall ever, as a citizen of the Eepublic, 
 have liberty enough to embrace within the scope of my feelings, 
 both its cardinal points and its cardinal interests. I do not accuse 
 those who differ with me, of a desire to disolvethe Union, I know 
 among them as honest and honorable men as belong to any party; 
 but 1 do most seriously believe that the Union cannot long survive such 
 kind of argument and feeling as that to which I have alluded. Indeed, 
 
40 
 
 if such sentiments are well founded, it ought not to continue ; its 
 objects and uses have ceased. Still, I do most fervently praj that 
 such a catastrophe may be averted ; at least, that my eyes may 
 not witness a division of this Eepublic. Though it may be a day 
 of rejoicing for the demagogue, it will prove a bitter hour for the 
 good man, and the patriot. Sir, there are some things belonging 
 to this Union, which you cannot divide; you cannot divide its 
 glorious history ; the recollections of Lexington and Bunker Hill ; 
 you cannot divide the bones of your Revolutionary sires ; they 
 would not lie still away from the ancient battle grounds where 
 they have so long slumbered. And the portrait of the Father of 
 his Country, which hangs in the Capitol; how much of it will fall 
 to your share, when both that country and picture shall be 
 dismembered?" 
 
 Ever since the time when that purely patriotic citizen of Missis- 
 si])pi, whose bright genius has cast a halo of glorj^ over the State, 
 warned those " foolish men" of the awful consequences of their 
 madness and folly, the political demagogue, under the gnise of 
 Democracy, who has been the loudest in his denunciation and 
 vituperation of every person and thing north of Mason and 
 Dixon's line, has been seen to receive the most rapturous applause 
 of the people. Some of these reptiles have thus crawled up to the 
 apices of the topmost pyramids in the State. 
 
 A very few individuals are often enabled to control the people 
 of a State. The leaders about the Capitol keej) the county 
 leaders "posted," and they have been in the habit of haranguing 
 the people upon Court days, at Barbecues, and upon such other 
 occasions as the " dear people" can be conv^iiently assembled 
 together. The County papers have been anomer very efficient 
 means of diffusing the principles of the glorious Southern 
 Democracy. A Democratic County paper has been considered as 
 an "institution" as necessary to the prosperity of one our towns 
 as a hotel or retail grocery. Among the many misfortunes that 
 have befallen our -country, it is some little consolation to know 
 that we have been deprived of the means of publishing these 
 pests to the public welfare. When the pitiless storm of misfor- 
 tune, which has burst with all its fury upon our devoted country, 
 drenching our land with grief and sorrow, shall have passed over 
 us, it is to be hoped that we shall live in a purer political atmos- 
 phere, free from the corrupting influence of political demagogues 
 
41 ^^^ 
 
 and partisan papers, whoso chief aim, for years, seems to have 
 been to undermine and destroy the best government upon earth. 
 
 CHxVPTEE X. 
 
 The Co-operation fcirtif—A Confederacy of Ffteen States including 
 Southern Illinois, New Mexico and South California. — Still more 
 comprehensive views of the leaders — Rapacious liunt for office. 
 
 The leaders of the Secession part}^, well knowing the strong- 
 attachment to the Union of their Fathers, among the people, and 
 the horror with which they had viewed the monster Disunion, 
 devised a scheme of breaking the subject more softly to their ears, 
 by establishing a co-operation party. They professed to be 
 violently opposed to separate State Secession, although their great 
 leader, Mr. Yancey, had boldly announced the doctrine at Mont- 
 gomery. They were for having a great Southern Confederacy of 
 fifteen States; and many earnestlj'' contended that Southern 
 Illinois would join the list. New Mexico and Southern California 
 would surely follow, and an empire was to be established, which 
 our Statesmen delighted to compare, in extent, with combined 
 empires in Europe. Old Virginia, the mother of States and States- 
 men, the blue hills and sweet vallies of Kentucky, the moun- 
 tainous regions of Tennessee and North Carolina (the Switzei- 
 land of America) the cotton and sugar regions of the Gulf States, 
 the great State of Texas, together with Arkansas and Missouri, 
 were only parts of the great Southern Confederacy. A question 
 of serious difficulty arose in the minds of our great Statesmen, 
 ■upon which very able arguments were adduced, both in the affir- 
 mative and negative, viz: Whether we should admit into our 
 Confederacy any of the free States of the North? Man}- con- 
 tended that as Southern Illinois was certain to go with us, it 
 would be better not to divide the State, but take in the whole, as 
 
 F 
 
42 
 
 it would be convenient to bring over to the Northern part of the 
 State, the hirge number of fugitive shxves who had been for 
 years collecting in those portions of her Majesty's dominions 
 known as Tipper and Lo.wer Canada. Others were still more 
 comprehensive and statermen-like in their views, and contended 
 that it would not be too great a degree of condescension if we 
 should admit, but not exactly upon an equal footing, that extensive 
 territory known as the Northwestern States, although they were 
 engaged in that homely occupation of raising meat and bread, 
 nothing doubting, that in process of time the whole region of 
 country, formerly known as the United States, would one by one 
 gravitate towards the Southern Confederacy, and become an 
 integral part thereof, excepting always that puritanical portion 
 known as New England, which, with imprecations deep and loud, 
 they swore never should be admitted into the Southern Confed- 
 eracy. Such speculations as these were rife in the minds of some 
 who had held high positions in the country. It is deeply to be 
 regretted that the fond hopes and expectations of some, who had 
 been Union men in principle, such as the Vice-President of the 
 Southern Confederacy, (alas ! for the frailty of human nature and 
 the love of office,) were to be so soon and so sadly disappointed. 
 The professed principles and speculations of the co-opera- 
 tionists presented, however, a magnificent theme for the stump 
 orator to illustrate and enlarge upon, betbre an excited audience; 
 and many were induced to vote the Secession ticket, in that 
 disguised form, who were utterly opposed to separate State Seces- 
 sion; and were never more ready for a fight than when called a 
 disunionist. 
 
 Any one who has been a close observer of the Secession move- 
 ment, could not fail to see the artfiices resorted to by the leaders 
 to urge the people along into the channel, by some means or other, 
 in order to get the power out of their hands. Having once 
 seized the reins of power, they knew that they would be enabled 
 to drive them to the last extremity, rather than abandon their 
 nefarious purposes. 
 
 When the co-operationists met in the different State Conven- 
 tions, they proved to be the most ultra Secessionists. The reins 
 Avcre then in their own hands, and they could do as they please ; 
 and they never intended to give back to the people the power to 
 control their actions, as was proven by their refusal to permit 
 
43 
 
 3S1- 
 
 them to vote upon the ratification or rejection of the Constitution. 
 They knew that the effort that had been made, in 1851, to stifle 
 their love for the Union, had proven a failure, although led on by 
 military chieftains fresh from tlie battle fields of Mexico, and now 
 no means was to be spai'ed to get at least the appearance of con- 
 sent, upon the part of the people, to carrj^ out their purposes. 
 The true intention of the co-opei'ationists proved to have been, 
 not so much that of co-operating with other States and Territories, 
 in forming the great Southern Confederacy, as to co-operate among 
 themselves in o.ettino' the hish offices in the new Government. 
 By co-operation, this man who never could have attained to the 
 high position of President of the United States, might get to be 
 President of part of the United States, and that cei-tainly would 
 be much better than never to be President at all; by co-operation 
 that man who has never been enabled to obtain a seat in the Con- 
 gress of the United States, might be enabled to obtain a seat in 
 the Confederate Congress, and that would certainly be much bet- 
 ter than never to have been honored with a seat in Congress at 
 all; and by co-operation the other man who has been all his life 
 fondly hoping for the happy period to arrive, when he would be 
 honored with the high position of Envoy extraordinary and 
 Minister plenipotentiary to the Court of St. James, or St. Cloud, 
 but whose sterling merits and high qualifications have been so 
 frequently and so unjustly overlooked, now sees his way clearly 
 and speedily, into the honored presence of her Eoyal Majesty or 
 Napoleon III. Take out from the leaders of the army of the 
 Southern Confederacy all of the appointed and disappointed 
 office-holders and office-seekers, and there would scarcely be 
 enough left, if fully supplied with artillery, to stop the course of the 
 defenceless "Silver Wave" in any attempt she might have made to 
 pass the city of Vicksburg. Seriously, this raj)acious hunt after 
 office has been one of the worst features in the Secession move- 
 ment. Thousands upon thousands have prostituted their princi- 
 ples, and gone into the army for no other purpose than the 
 gratification of avarice or ambition; while as many others have 
 been compelled to go for a livelihood. For the latter, there is a 
 ready apology, but for the former there is no extenuation. Upon 
 a final reckoning, the righteous judgment of an outraged com- 
 munity will demand equal and distributive justice to all. The 
 verdict of the country will be, "Let justice be done, though the 
 Heavens fall." 
 
44 
 
 CHAP TEE XI. 
 
 Was the election of Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin to the 
 Presidency and Vice-Presidency of the United States, a sufficient 
 cause for Secession?— The feeling in South Carolina when the result 
 of the election ivas known— The effect on the other Southern States. 
 
 I assumed the position, that the election of no man, constitu- 
 tionally chosen to the high office of President or Vice-President 
 of the United States, was a sufficient cause for any State to 
 separate from the Union. We ought to stand by and aid still, in 
 maintaining the Constitution of the country. To make a point 
 ■ of resistance to the Government, to withdraw from it, because a 
 man has been constitutionally elected, puts us in the wrong. We 
 went into the election as one people, and took the chances of 
 electing our candidate, and then to refuse to abide by the result, 
 was unfair and dishonorable. 
 
 But it was said that Mr. Lincoln's policy and principles were 
 agamst the Constitution, and that if he carried them out, it would 
 be destructive of our rights. We should not have anticipated a 
 threatened evil. If he had violated the Constitution, then it 
 would have been time enough to hold him accountable. 
 
 The election of Lincoln and Hamlin was hailed by the Seces- 
 sion papers in the following manner, as appeared in flamin.- 
 capitals in the "Southron," published at Orangeburg Court House' 
 South Carolina, in its issue of November 14th, 1860. "Glorious 
 AND Cheering News. Lincoln and Hamlin Elected ! ! ! The 
 State calls a Convention!!! A Dissolution or the Union 
 Reduced to a Certainty!!! Grand Demonstration!!! 
 Minute men moving!!! Torchlight Procession!!! No Com- 
 promise ! : ! The South must Govern the South ! ! ! " 
 
 With such manifestations of joy, as these, the most ultra 
 Secessionists hailed the election of Lincoln and Hamlin, whom 
 ■hoy had just previously denounced as the blackest Eepublicans 
 ^.nd Abolitionists of the North. The cause of their joy is plain. 
 They had long desired a dissolution of the Union, and now they 
 were certain tbey had a pretext, which would be sufficient, with 
 the people, to carry out their purposes. Some of the members of 
 the South Carolina and Mississippi Conventions boasted that they 
 
45 
 
 -ffiS 
 
 had been Secessionists for thirty and forty years! It was, how- 
 ever, far beneath the dignity of those wise, far-seeing and venera- 
 ble statesmen, to condescend to designate the particular cause or 
 question, whether the protection of shxvery, in the Territories 
 or out of the Territories, or what other question, that at that 
 earl}^ day, so justly entitled them to the merit of being the 
 founders of the Secession party. The truth is, there was no 
 cause then with them, or anybody else, for Secession, and the 
 claim of those gentlemen was only antedated about a quarter of a 
 century, to give age to their opinions, believing, no doubt, that 
 their opinions, like their beverages, would imjjrove with that 
 commendable qualification. 
 
 It is true, that there had been, in the State of South Carolina, 
 a deep-seated dissatisfaction with the general Government, since 
 she had been humored with the compromise of 1832, of the nullifi- 
 cation question, and she had been fretting and pouting like a 
 spoiled child, upon every occasion she could find, likely to create 
 a disturbance in the family. Instead of the ranternal tenderness 
 exhibited towards that refractory child of the Union, upon that 
 memorable occasion, if she had been given a smacking then, it 
 would have proven far more conducive to the peace and quietude 
 of the family, than anything else. But, having been so long 
 humoured in her tantrums, she believed she could take almost 
 any step, however shocking to decency or common sense, and 
 Uncle Sam dare not say a word. 
 
 When the result of the Presidential election was known, if it 
 had been intimated that the State which had been known as the 
 Harry Percy of Chivalry — the game cock of the South, — should 
 live in the Union under the administration of such a " Monstrum 
 horrendum" as a big. Black Eepublican, a rope or a revolver would 
 have been unanimously adjudged the proper desert of the unfor- 
 tunate wretch who dared such an insinuation. 
 
 Before any of the other States had'timeto assemble their Con- 
 ventions, the State of South Carolina was clean out of the Union. 
 She passed the Ordinance -of Secession, unanimously, on the 20th 
 of December, 1860 ; one hundred^and sixty-nine members voting. 
 The next Sttite was Mississippi, on the 9th of January, 1861, and 
 two days after, on the 11th of January, Alabama and Florida 
 seceded, and on the 19th Georgia went " a kiting," as the expres- 
 sion was familiarly used in our Convention, to cheer up the " weak- 
 
46 
 
 kneed." On the 26th Louisiana speeded, and on the 1st of 
 February Texas '■ went out," and so on. The effect of the seces- 
 sion of South Carolina was very great in all of the Southern 
 States, known as the Gulf States. Many of those States were 
 settled by citizens of South Carolina, and a feeling of sympathy 
 and State pride induced almost all of such persons readily to 
 endorse the Secession movement. With but few exceptions, 
 whenever a South Carolinian was met, he was sure to be found a 
 Secessionist. It is a remarkable fact, however, that whenever a 
 South Carolinian was found who was a Union man, he was the 
 most thorough going and zealous Union man in the country ; and 
 the same rsiiiy be justly said of those who have stood firmly in 
 Mississippi, for the Union, throughout the whole Secession move- 
 ment. For nearly two years they have endured a biirthen of 
 taunts, indignities, and opprobious ejDithets, which have been 
 heaped upon them by the dorminant party — the sons of some of 
 them have been arrested for treason, for expressing their feelings 
 of indignation at the passage of the Conscript law — they have 
 been continually reproached for " not going to the war" — such a 
 one " ought to be hung," has been constantly ringing in their 
 ears — the term " abolitionist" has greeted them upon the corners 
 of the streets — craven cowardice, the most degrading charge to a 
 Southern man, has been imputed to them; even their families have 
 not escaped the criminating reflections that have been so freely 
 indulged by their Secession neighbors. It has often been exceed- 
 ingly difficult for those in whom they had confidence, to restrain 
 the indignation of the people at the countless oppressions under 
 which they labored; and nothing but their defenceless condition, 
 being deprived of arms or ammunition, and the means of obtain- 
 ing them, has held the people in submission to the tyranieal 
 military despotism of the so-called Southern Confederacy. The 
 fear alone of actual suffering among their families, for the neces- 
 saries of life, has kept back thousands, whose impulses would 
 have led them to rush across the lines, and rally under the o'd 
 Flair, under which their fathers fought and bled. 
 
 If the authors of our calamities, particularly in South Ca^-olina, 
 were the only sufferers from Secession, it would not be so much 
 to be deplored, but the innocent, as well as the guilty, have had 
 to suffer. 
 
47 - Js-¥ 
 
 CHAP TEE XII. 
 
 The Fdnatlckm of Secession — PoUtical Parsons — Cautious politi- 
 
 cians. 
 
 One of the greatest difficulties to be encountered in eradi- 
 cating the Secession sentiment, is with tlio.se who religiously 
 believe that Secession is right. These men are honest in their 
 belief, that Providence is on their side, and whether in victory or 
 defeat, they have an ample fund of scriptural quotations at hand, 
 with which either to rejoice or to cheer up the weak and fiiint- 
 hearted. Within the last few years a set of political parsons have 
 seized upon the subject of slavery as a Divine institution, and 
 have rivaled the most fanatical enthusiasts of the North in their 
 extreme views and zealous exertions. Should -a Southern man 
 dare to express the opinions of the framers of the Constitution of 
 the United States, with whom slavery was considered an irreme- 
 diable evil, he was a lit subject for tne end of a rope, on the side 
 of a black-jack. The evil produced by these political preachers 
 illustrates thcAvisdom of our ancestors in drawing a line of separa- 
 tion between Church and State, for, whenever they have meddled 
 with the affairs of our Crovernment, either as Know-nothings or 
 Secessionists, the result has been marked by the bloody foot-prints 
 of their deluded followers. 
 
 If ever, in the Providence of God, it should devolve upon the 
 President of the United States, in " the enforcement of the laws," 
 to deal out even-handed justice to all, it would be "a consumma- 
 tion devoutly to be wished," that this peculiar class of individuals, 
 whose holy calling presumes that they are ahvays ready to be 
 received "into Abraham's bosom," should be the first subjects of 
 the law of treason. 
 
 Another misfortune, about as great as the horde of political 
 parsons, with which the South has been cursed, which led more 
 men astray, and turned the heads of more political aspirants and 
 ambitious demagogues than any other event of the revolution, 
 was the battle of Bull Eun. If all the buffalo bulls of the North- 
 western prairies could have been gathered into one herd, and all 
 the panic-stricken Yankees in McDowell's army placed in their 
 front, and chased throughout the extensive regions of the cotton 
 Confederacy, it would have occasioned a degree of amusement and 
 gratification, not exceeding that occasioned by the news of the 
 
48 
 
 victory which crowned their arms upon the banks of the aforesaid 
 classical stream. Althoug repeatedly told by the writer, and a 
 few others, that it would have no effect upon the ultimate result, 
 and only occasion a greater slaughter of our people, the masses 
 were too intensely excited to listen to anj^thing short of the 
 extermination of the invaders — the captute of Washington — the 
 reclamation of Maryland — the invasion of the North — the fall of 
 Philadelphia, New York, and Boston, and the speedy "con- 
 quering a peace." 
 
 The calm, cool, calculating politician, who had cautiously looked 
 on the contest, with nervous anxiety for an opportunity on either 
 side, and it was no great matter on which, to distinguish himself, 
 now thought he saw plainly the star that was to lead him on to 
 fortune and to fame. The thunders of Bull Eun had completely 
 cleared away the mist that had enveloped his eyes. The grievous 
 oppressions to which the young South had so meekl}^ submitted 
 for so many years of patient endurance, rose up afresh to his 
 mind. His indignation was boiling hot to flesh his maiden sword 
 in the cowardl}". carcass of some accursed Yankee. He longed 
 for the time when he should 
 
 " Fall like amazing thunder on the casque 
 Of yon adverse pernicious enemy." 
 His only serious difficulty was, Avhether as commander of a 
 regiment, a brigade, or a division, Nature had designed him for 
 the field; and to decide this perplexing mental controversy, "on 
 to Richmond " was his rapid move. Soon clothed with a commis- 
 sion from His Excellenly, the President of the Confederate States 
 of North America, he returns in hot haste to the people to raise a 
 company or regiment, vfith full assurance that he will soon be 
 promoted to a brigadier. He calls meetings of the peoj^le and 
 addresses them — his excited manner and nervous actions speak 
 plainly that, 
 
 " I am the rider of the wind, 
 
 The stirrer of the storm, 
 
 The hurricane I left behind 
 
 Is yet with lightning warm." 
 He takes peculiar pleasure, in his speeches, in arraying the Seces- 
 sionist against the Union man, and very wisely insinuating that 
 certain individuals " ought to be hung as high as Haman." When 
 his company is made up and ordered to rendezvous at some 
 particular^ place, he almost always finds important business for 
 the company to attend to in the regions round about home. 
 
49 
 
 Jn- 
 
 His health not unfrequeiitly gives way, under the arduous hibors 
 he has to endure for the glorious cause, and he becomes a prej^ to 
 disease. When a great battle is " imminent," ho is sure to bo 
 about home, but deeply laments his misfortune in not having the 
 oj^portunity of correcting the gross errors committed by the 
 commanders. Had he been there, things would have been other- 
 wise. His criticisms are replete with learned historical illustra- 
 tions. Csesar nor Hannibal, Napoleon nor Wellington, was over 
 so ftimiliar with strategical movements. Had his advice been 
 followed, Washington would have been taken long ago; the 
 Potomac, as well as the Ohio, would have been crossed, and their 
 army quartered upon the enemy's country, and they would have 
 been made to feel the desolating effects of the war. 
 
 These vipers, in their mean endeavors to crawl up to some high 
 places, have done more to poison the minds of the ignoi'ant and 
 credulous, than any other class of creatures that have cursed the 
 Southern country. Keally, regardless of the merits of the con- 
 troversy, and generally too ignorant to understand the points of 
 difference in the political questions involved, the only inquiry is, 
 how can I make the most out of the troubles of the country ? 
 They seek alone to promote their own selfish purposes. Were 
 they north of their lines, they would be equally clamorous for the 
 Union, and for no better purpose. 
 
 There is but one other class of beings, engaged in the war, that 
 sinks lower in the scale of human depravity than the one referred 
 to, and that is the speculating extortioner. Whilst the political 
 demagogue seeks to elevate himslf, he does not even seek to raise 
 himself above the low level of groveling gain. With wolfish relish, 
 he laps the blood of the helpless innocent, and with tiger ferocity, 
 he plunders the afflictions of age. The cries of the widow and 
 orphan make no more impression upon his callous heart than the 
 rattle of his dollars would upon the cold tombstone of the dead. 
 
 C H A P T E E XIII. 
 
 Webster's Reply to Hayne — TJhe Clearest and Best Refutation of the 
 Right of JVullification, or Secession — Extract from Mr. Webster's 
 Great Speech. 
 
 To any one who was a participator in the movements preced- 
 ing secession, it is obvious, that if the people had believed that 
 
. ' 50 
 
 they did not possess the right of secession, but only the common 
 rigiit oi" revolution, the}^ would never have given their authority 
 to their leaders to inaugurate war. If the great speech of Daniel 
 Webster, delivered in the Senate of the United States, on the 
 20th of January, 1880, in reply to Mr. Hayne, in which he 80 
 clearly refutes the South Carolina doctrine, had been generally 
 read and understood by the people, they would never have voted 
 for secession. It was attempted by the leaders to draw a distinc- 
 tion between the right to nullify and the right to secede, but the 
 South Carolina dortrine of Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Hayne, was the 
 fouiKlation for the whole movement. The following extract from 
 that speech should be impressed upon the mind of every American 
 citizen ; 
 
 " The great question is, ivhose prerogative is it to decide on the 
 const itutioncdity or unconstitufiotiality of the laws ? On that, the 
 debate hinges. The proposition that, in case of a supposed viola- 
 tion of the Constitution by Congress, the States have a constitu- 
 tional right to interfere, and annul the law of Congress, is the 
 proposition of the gentleman. I do not admit it. If the gentle- 
 man had intended no more than to assert the right of revolution 
 for justifiable cause, he would have only said what all agi'ee to. 
 But I cannot conceive that there can be a middle course, between 
 submission to the laws, when regularly pronounced constitutional, 
 on the one hand, and open resistance, which is revolution, or 
 rebellion, on the other. [ say the right of a State to annul a law 
 of Congress, cannot be maintained, but on the ground of the 
 unalienable right of man to resist oppression; that is to say, upon 
 the ground of revolution. I admit that there is an ultimate 
 violent remedy, above the Constitution, and in defiance of the 
 Constitution, which may be resorted to, when a revolution is to 
 be justified. But I do not admit that, under the Constitution, and 
 in conformity with it, there is any mode in which a State govern- 
 ment, as a member of the Union, can interfere and stop the 
 progress of the general government, by force of her own laws, 
 xinder any circumstances whatever. 
 
 'This leads us to inquire into the origin of the government, 
 and the source of its power. Whose agent is it? Is it the creature 
 of the State Legisletures, or the creature of the peojjle ? If the 
 government of the United States be the agent of the State gov- 
 ernments, then tlicy may control \t, provided they can agree in the 
 j-uinner of controlling it; if it be the agent of the people then the 
 
51 
 
 JU 
 
 people alone can control it, restrain it, modify, or reform it. It is 
 observable enough, that the doctrine for which the honorable 
 gentleman contends, leads him to the necessity of maintaining 
 not only that this general government is the creature of the 
 States, but that it is the creature of each of the States severaibj ; so 
 that each may assert the power, for itself, of determining whether 
 it acts within the limits of its autlierity. It is the servant of four 
 and twenty masters, of ditferent wills and different purposes, and 
 yet bound to obey all. This absurdity (for it seems no less) arises 
 from a misconception as to the origin of this government and its 
 true character. It is, sir, the people's Constitution, the people's 
 government 5 made for the people; made by the peopli; ; and 
 answerable to the people. The people of the United States have 
 declared that this Constitution shall be the supreme law. Wc 
 must either admit the proposition, or dispute their authority. 
 The States are unquestionably sovereign, so far as their sove- 
 reignty is not affected by this supreme law. But the State legis- 
 latures, as political bodies, however sovereign, are yet not sovereign 
 over the people. So fiir as the people have given power to the 
 general government, so i'-xv the grant is unquestionably good, and 
 the government holds of the people, and not of the State govern- 
 ments. We are all agents of the same supreme power, the people. 
 The general government and the State governments derive their 
 authority from the same source. JSTeither can, in relation to the 
 other, be called primaiy, though one is definite and restricted and 
 the other general and residuarj*. The national government pos- 
 sesses those powers which it can be shown the people have 
 conferred on it, and no more. All the rest belongs to the State 
 governments or to the people themselves. So far as the people 
 have restrained State sovereignty by the expression of their will, 
 in the Constitution of the United States, so far, it must be admitted, 
 vState sovereignty is effectually controlled. I do not contend that 
 it is, or ought to be controlled farther. The sentiment to which I 
 have referred, propounds that State sovereignty is to be controlled 
 by its own "feeling of justice;" that is to say, it is not to be con- 
 trolled at all; for one who is to follow his own feelings is under 
 no legal control. Noav, however men may think this ought to be, 
 the fact is, that the people of the United States have chosen to 
 impose control on the State sovereignties. There are those, 
 doubtless, who wish they had been left without restraint ; but 
 the Constitution has ordered Ihe matter differently. To make 
 
52 
 
 war, for instance, is an exercise of sovereignty; but the Consti- 
 tution declares that no State shall make war. To coin money is 
 another exercise of sovereign power; but no State is at liberty to 
 coin money. Again, the Constitution says that no sovereign 
 State shall be so sovereign as to make a treaty. These prohibi- 
 tions, it must be confessed, are a control on the State sovereignty 
 of South Carolina, as well as of the other States, which does not 
 arise " from her own feelings of honorable justice." Such an 
 opinion, tliereforc, is in detianee of the plainest provi,sions of the 
 Constitution." 
 
 Language could not express more forcibly, or in plainer terms, 
 the true character of our government. I am constrained to say, 
 that at one time my own mind was favorably inclined to the South 
 Carolina doctrine; and it was not until I had carefully read the 
 debate, including Mr. Webster's great speech, that I clearly saw 
 its fallacy; and I indulge the hope that thousands who may read 
 these pages, will be induced to give the same impartial and 
 nuprejudiced examination to Mr. Webster's powerful and unan- 
 swerable arguments. 
 
 If the people of the United States only clearly understood the 
 structure of our government, as it was intended to have been 
 nndcrstood by its framers, there would never be any danger of its ^ 
 dissolution. 
 
 CHAPTEE XIV. 
 
 The hypocracy of the Secessionists — Thepojndar Vote of the Seceded 
 States — The sentiment among Southern women — Dialogue between 
 a Southern Lady and an enroller under the Conscript law. 
 
 How any people could expect that Providence would favor a 
 cause that had to be bolstered up by hypocracy, dissimulation, 
 duplicity, and even downright falsehood, is beyond the compre- 
 liension of any ordinary capacity to perceive, or even the bright- 
 ness of genius to penetrate. The greatest leaders of the move- 
 ment have used the utmost deception with the people, and in the 
 most artful and fascinating manner. They seemed to possess the 
 " Smooth dissimulation skilled to grace, 
 A devil's purpose with an angel's face." t 
 
 Their daily conversation has been a tissue of the most dis- 
 gusting fabrications. When in the pi-eseaee of Union men, 
 
bo 
 
 Jry 
 
 however, they frequently trhn their conversation accordingly ; 
 and even men of Union sentiments, when in the presence of their 
 Secession neiglibors, have been conijielled to resort to the same 
 hypocritical course of duplicity, joining in with their tirade of 
 extravagant falsehoods and mendacious exasperations. Their 
 only excuse is, perhaps, that it is better to folio w the advice of 
 Solomon, and "answer a fool according to his folly," for he tells 
 us very truly, that " though thou sliouldst bray a fool in a mortar 
 among the wheat, with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart 
 from him." 
 
 There is one subject upon which there has heen more false- 
 hood and misrepresentation, perhaps, than upon any other, and 
 that is the popular vote of the Seceding States. After man}' calls 
 for the popular vote of Louisiana, it was tinally published, and 
 turned out to be a Secession majority of only about three thousand 
 — not as many as there were voters in the State v»^ho did not vote 
 at all, and who would have, no doubt, voted against Secession. 
 In Mississippi, the papers represented that the majority was 
 thirty thousand for Secession, when, in fact, if the votes of those 
 Avho did not vote at all were counted with those who voted the 
 Co-operation ticket, it will be found that the Separate State 
 Secession ticket was in the minority; and it was only by a 
 betrayal of the people that the Secession Ordinance was passed. 
 
 During the whole progress of the war, Mississippi has been 
 represented, by the Secession papers, as a unit, when, in truth, in 
 the central county of the State, — "the free State of Attala*" — 
 during the whole contest, the strongest Union sentiment has pre- 
 vailed ; a sentiment that has been bold and out-spoken, despite 
 the taunts and threats of the party in power. 
 
 The Southern ladies have been represented as unanimous for 
 Secession. This is equally untrue. The following dialogue 
 between an enroller of the conscripts and a lady, as i-elated by 
 himself, is a pretty fair sample of the sentiments of some, at 
 least, in the country : 
 
 Enroller. Good morning, madam; where is your husband this 
 morning ? 
 
 Lady. lie is over in Mr. Jones's field, working out his corn. 
 He promised to tend it for him while he was gone to the war. 
 
 Enroller. How old is your husband, madam ? 
 
 Lady. He is somewhere l)etween forty-two and forty-four. I 
 don't know exactly, how old. 
 
\»* 
 
 54 
 
 Enroller. You are certain ho is over thirty-five ? 
 
 Lady. Yes sir, he is; bat what are you asking me such ques- 
 tions for? 
 
 Enroller. I am sent out by the authorities, madam, to enrol 
 the conscripts betAveen eighteen and thirty-five years of age. 
 
 Lady. I thought you were out on some such business as that. 
 You are sent out by old Pettis, I reckon. If I had my way with 
 him, I would souse his head in a whisky barrel, and hold it there 
 till he was droAvned — an old villian, he is sending oiY all the men 
 to the Avar, and leaA^ing us poor women and children here to 
 starve. 
 
 Enroller. If you did not souse it too deep, madam, I expect 
 Governor Pettus would as soon have his head in a whisky barrel 
 as anyAvhere else. 
 
 Lady. I would souse it just deep enough to drown him : that's 
 how deep 1 would souse it. 
 
 If the fate of the Secession leaders could be determined by a 
 jury of the mothers of the young men, whose lives have been 
 sacrificed in this most unnecessary, unnatui-al and unlioly Avar, 
 they would haA-e about as much chance of an acquittal as the 
 most obnoxious specimen of the canine race, upon proof positive 
 of the slaughter of an innocent flock of sheep. 
 
 CHAPTEE XV. 
 
 A Be-uiiion in feeling among the people of the United States, should 
 be the ardent desire of every patriot. 
 
 The ardent desire of every American patriot should be to see 
 a re-union in feeling among the people of the United States. 
 Upon no other basis can our country ever be restored to its former 
 prosperity and happiness. ISow that tlie tocsin of Avar Aviil soon 
 be hushed, and the great family quarrel terminated, all eyes should 
 he turned to peace and reconciliation. As Ave all have to lire 
 together in the same family, let us live together in peace and 
 ti'anquility. Let us forgive and forget. Let us approach each 
 other in the spirit of conciliation and friendship. Let all those 
 
i)0 
 
 S^i 
 
 who have been bound together by the mystic ties of brotherhood, 
 renew their covenants, and meet as friends. Let those of 
 extreme views agree to disagree, and bury their differences. Let 
 each section say to the other, we will 
 
 " Be to your faults a little blind 
 And to your virtues very kind." 
 
 Let US rather contemplate the good, than the evil, that may 
 result from this deplorable Avarfare. When re-united our govern- 
 ment will stand upou a firmer basis than ever. The strength and 
 power of the nation has been fully tested, and proven equal to any 
 emergency. When re-united and harmonious, we will be the 
 greatest military and maratime power on the globe. Uncle Sam 
 will never be caught napping again. 
 
 Our navy has exhibited a power that has astonished all Europe, 
 and now threatens to snatch the trident from old Neptune himself. 
 What the boasted mistress of the seas, aided by the brave veterans 
 of the Peninsula and Waterloo, failed to accomplish, the American 
 sailor and soldier has promptly performed. Of our country it 
 may now truly be said, that, 
 
 "America neeeds no bulwarks, 
 
 No towers along her steep ; 
 Her march is o'er the mountain-wave, 
 Her home is on the deep." 
 
 The idea that the South is subju.o-ated, seems to be a great 
 obstacle with many of our people. This is not true. It is not the 
 South that is subjugated, but secession that is subjugated; and no 
 one should rejoice so much in its subjugation as the Union men of 
 the South. They have suffered more, during the progress of the 
 war, than any one else. Whilst the starving process has been 
 going on, the secessionists have combined to starve out the Union 
 men. The power which wealth always gives, has been brought 
 to bear most heavily upon the poorer classes, producing a degree 
 of suffering almost incredible in a country professing to be free. 
 The Union men of the South, instead of being subjugated, have 
 been liberated from the tyranny of contemptible, i^etty officials, 
 and militaiy despots. A love for the Union should be cherished, 
 and renewed upon' all suitable occasions. The fourth of July, and 
 the twenty- second of February, should again be celebrated 
 throughout the length and bread bh of the country. W^ith the 
 same feeling that Napoleon embraced the eagles of France, the 
 Old Flag should be hailed by ever}' citizen of the United States. 
 
5G 
 
 The following patriotic sentiment should receive a ready response 
 in every heart : 
 
 " A Union of hearts, a Union of hands. 
 A Union that none can sever ; 
 A Union of Lakes, a Union of lands, 
 The American Union forever." 
 If the time shall ever come when a reunion of fraternal feelinsf, 
 such as existed among our fathers, shall be all-pervading through- 
 out the length and breadth of this wide-extended country; when 
 the swords of the warriors shall be turned into plough-shares, and 
 their spears into pruning hooks, we may truly realize that mil- 
 lenial period, prophetically foretold, when "the wolf also shall 
 dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; 
 and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a 
 little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed ; 
 their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat 
 straw like the ox." 
 
 " Then peace on earth shall hold her easy sway, 
 
 And man forget his brother man to slay ; 
 
 To m;n tial arts, shall milder arts succeed ; 
 
 Who blesses most shall gain the immortal meed. 
 
 The eye of pity shall be pained no more, 
 
 With Victory's crimson banner stained with gore. — 
 
 Thou bounteous era come! Hail blessed time! 
 
 When fuU-orbed freedom shall unclouded shine. 
 
 When the chaste muses cherished by her rays. 
 
 In olive groves shall tune their sweetest lays. — 
 
 When bounteous Ceres shall direct her car 
 
 O'er fields now blasted with the fires of war, 
 
 And angels view with joy and wonder joined 
 
 The golden age return to bless mankind." 
 
 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 013 703 824 9 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 013 703 824 9 
 
 Hollinger 
 
 pH8.5 
 
 Mill Run F3-1955 
 
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