The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1861-09-24
For the Festern Democrat
SENTIMENT AT THE NORTH.

H.. E5;,or. A orea. many of the Yankee pris-
oners in our hands say they did not volunteer Win
the intention of invading the South see very
many statements by Southerners, 10 the ehec'
that this assertion on the part OF our prisoners Is
made altogether through personal motives TO insure
GOOD treatment at the hands OF their captors'
Now, l think it is highly probable that TINS IS SO
in some, and probably many cases; Tor II Is per-
fectly consistent with the perhdlous character OF
MANY of the vandal troops. | do believe, how
ever, that very many of these prisoners speak the
truth when they say that 1t was contrary 10 ther
wishes to invade the South that they have been
deceived and hurried into Virginia by nature OF
military law.
A great many of the prisoners now In our hands
are from the number of those who responded TO
the call to defend the capitalize act on the de-
fensive in general Being among the New Eng
landers at the time that call was made, and for
sometime afterwards, travelling for the purpose OF
making observatioHs-and seeing frehds and ac-
quaintances volunteering all around me, am pre-
pared to give decided opinion that there were
andSare yet, very many men IN Lincoln S army VINO
never would have been there had the true issue
been presented to them-a war OF subJugaton and
against slavery.
Democrats we're majority Of the soldiers in
many companies. One said, the capital must not
be burned and the archives of the nation de-
stroyed and therefore he enrolled HIMSELF another
said it is due to myself and friends that [ assist in
preventing the secessionists from marching into
our midst and destroying our property; another,
they are getting up regiment to be stationed IN
the Fort to defend our city, and think 1t is right
for me to assist in protecting the interests of my
native city.
Thus, one false plea after another used to
blind the honest and ignorant. Nor is this
chicanery stopped yet; and this day believe there
are many invaders on Virginia soil who never
bargained to go there Yankee ingenuity, about
which accustomed to speak so frequently,
is sufficient to deceive the ignorant. 1t is not
unreasonable to suppose that, finding themselves
thus forced where they do not want to go, they
give vent to their true feelings when they say they
did not intend to invade? | am willing to put
considerable significance upon the declarations of
prisoners because such declarations but the
natural consequence of an anti-invasion feeling,
which | know did exist in the North even after
Republican papers would have 1t that the South
had commenced the wal at Sumter. | feel conf
dent Lincoln's usurpatons do not tend to suppress
but rather tend greatly to encourage this feeling.
In the dissenslOns OF our enemies, then, | think
we have to rejoice; for there is an anti
invasion ant-war party that amounts to more
than we generally suppose When consider
Lincolns interfering with the press has especially
contributed to make this feeling known abroad,
and when we also consider that the dssensions in
the War party are no secret we must naturally
conclude that the Northern government is ridicu-
lous in the eyes of foreign nations. NJ.
LINcoLNToN, N. c. Sept 10.