American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1851-1863, 1861-12-21
An Eneny,s Statement.


spy correspondent of the New York
Herald has recently traversed a great
portion of the Confederacy. and publishes
report of many columns in that paper
He worked himself through by affecting
extreme Southernism. and proudly boasts
of the hypoeritieal cunning and fslsehood
by which he attained his objects. The
following is paragraph from his state
ment. which. we suppose, was not very
gratifying TO the readers of the Herald:
Il cannot doubt that The rebels have
more men in the field than the national
government. and | think that the numer-
Gus disasters We have met are attributable
to our undertaking the strength of the
enemy. While there is no manifestation
of military ardor at the North. the South
is, as / have said. one universal camp.
War is on every tongue. and the subject
of every thought. Day and night you
hear nothing but war shouts. Civilizations
over victories, and imprecations against
the I'D Yankees" No business ex-
cept what is connected with the war, is
attended to or thought of The selfsac-
rifces which these people impose upon
themselves are most extraordinary They
take the blankets and quilts from their
beds, the horses from their stables, the
cattle from their sheds, the proyender
from their barns, the sons from their
hearths, and give all to the cause which
they deem sacred. Universal madness
seems to have gained possession of young
and old and the women. who should be
conservative, are more rabid than their
husbands, fathers or brothers. Nothing
but series of successive triumrhs on all
points, on the part of the national forces,
can restore them to reason. If we do
not make up our minds TO crush out the
rebellion by resistless forces, we might
as well cease the effort of re-establishing
the Union, and leave these Southern fools
to the consequences of their own mighty
madness. 1t is common thing 10 find
old gray haired men in the ranks with
beardless boys. l do not believe that
there has been any drafting for the army.
The force of public opinion is stronger
than that. Denunciations as towards and
poltroons, ann as white-livered Northern
ers, exclusion from all society. and con-
temptuous and brutal treatment, are the
spurs that are applied to men to force
them to enlist.
There is about as much truth in the
foregoing as could well be comprised in
the same space. 1t gives faithful pic
ture of the scenes that are enacted at the
South, the unanimity that exists among
our people, and the spirit by which they
are actuated. But the writer. true to the
instincts of the genuine Yankee, could
not close his article without at least one
| falsehood, to-wit that men who do not
enlist are excluded from all society and
subjected to contemptuous and brutal
treatment. We know of many Northern
men, who have resided at the South a
number of years, and made all that they
have here-some accommodating fortunes
who have neither enlisted in the cause of
the South, nor, SO far as we have heard
aided her in any way, who have neither
been excluded from society nor treated
with contempt or brutality. In the South,
so far, every citizen. whether of Southern
or Northern birth, has been at perfect
liberty to enlist or not, as be chose-and
so far as our observation extends, the
Northerners have generally chosen not
to enlist.