Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1861-11-29
IEsSAGE OF PRESIDENT DAVIS
TO THE CONFEDERATE CONGRESS.

caed by President DAVIS to the Congress
Of tho Confederate States, which assem-
bid in adjourned session, at Richmond,
Of the 10Th instant:
| Presidents Message.
y de Congress Of
| The Confederate States
| THE few weeks which have elapsed
siEce your adjournment have brought us
sdnear the close of the year.. that we
af now able to sum up its general re-
sdts~ss The retrospect is such as should
sr=4r & -rirl -r5sT; 'Sieir ysrcs;-
tude to Providence for Ills kind interpo-
sition in their behalf. Abundant Yields
have rewarded the labor of the agrcul
turist whilst the manufacturing industry
of the Confederate States was never so
prosperous as now. The necessities of
the times have called into existence new
branches Of manufactures, aud given a
fresh impulse TO the activity of those
heretofore in operation. The means of
the Confederate States for manufacturing
the neeessaries and comforts of life with :
in themselves increase as the conflict
continues, and we are gradually becom-
ing Independent of the rest Of the world
for the supply of such military stores and
munitions as are indispensable for war.
The operations of the army, soon to
be partially interrupted by the approach
ing winter, have afforded protection to
the country, and shed lustre upon its
arms through the trying viscissitudes of
more than one arduous campaign, which
entitle or brave volunteers to our praise
and our gratitude.
From its commencement up to the pre-
sent period the war has been constantly
charging its proportions and expanding
its boundaries, so as to include new fields
The conflict now extends from the shores
Of the Chesapeake to the confines Of Mis-.
souri, and Arizona yet sudden calls from
the remotest points for military aid have
been met with promptness enough not
only to avert disaster in the face of supe-
rior numbers, but also to roll back the
tide of invasion from the border.
When the war commenced the enemy
were possessed of certain strategic points
and strong places within the Confederate
States. They greatly exceeded US in
numbers, in available resources, and in
the supplies Necessary for war. Military
establishments had been long organized +,
and were complete; the navy, and for
the most part the army once common TO
both, were in their possession. To meet
all this we bad to create not 0nly an army
in the face Of war itself, but also tho
military establishments necessary to equip
and place it in the field. 1t ought, in
deed, to be subject Of graduation that
the spirit of the volunteer and the patri-
otism Of the people have enabled US, I'M
der Providence, TO grapple successfully
with these difficulties
A succession Of glorious victories, at
Bethel, Bull Run, Manassas, Springfield,
Lexington, Leesburg and Belmont, has
checked the wicked Invasion which greed
of gain and the unhallowcd lust Of power
brought upon our soil, and has proved
that numbers cease to avail when direc-
ted against people fighting for the sa.
cred right of self-goverDment, and the
privileges offreemen. After seven months
Of war, the enemy have not only failed
to extend their occupancy Of our soil, but
new States and Territories have been
added to our Confederacy, while, instead
Of their threatened march Of unchecked
conquest, they have been driven, al more
than one point, to assume the defensive;
and, upon fair comparison between the
two belligorents as to me1, military
means, and financial condition, the Con-
federate States are relatively much stron-
ger now than when the struggle com
menced.
Since your adjournment, the people of
Missouri have conducted the war in the
face of almost unparalleled difficulties,
with spirit and success alike worthy of
themselves and Of the great cause in
which they are struggling. Since that
time Kentucky, too, has become the thea
ire of active hostilities. The Federal
forces have not only refused to acknowl-
edge her right TO be neutral, and have
insisted upon making her party to the
war, but have invaded her for the pur-
pose of attacking the Confederate States.
Outrages of the most despotic character
have been perpetrated upon her people
some Of her most eminent citizens have
been seized and borne away to languish
in foreign Prisons without knowing who
were their accuscrs, or the specific charges
made against them, while others have
been forced to abandon their homes, their
families and property. and seek refuge
10 distant lands.
Finding that the Confederate States
we're about to be invaded through Ken
lucky, aud that her people, after being
deceived into a mistaken security, were
unarmed, and in danger Of being subju
gated by the Federal forces, our armies
were marched into that State TO repel the
enemy and prevent their occupation Of
certain strategic points which would have
given them great advantages in the con-
test "a step which was justified not only