Daily Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1860-1862, 1861-08-30
CARD FROM HON. T. A. z. NELSON.
To ne P.esIe Of East Tsnp.sse..A

H Having aScertaIned from reliable authority
that an order had been issued toftake effect on
/ the day Of or Immediately after the late cleo
/ ton, directing my arrest, I left home on the
| morning of the election, with the view of max
ing my way to Barboursville, Kentucky, where
designed to remain, if l could safely do so,
iinsilsI should receivei authentic evidence sof
| the final result, and if it appeared that l had
| received larger vote than either of the can
didates for the Confederate Congress- intend
| ed to serve the people in the Congress OF the
! United States, but If otherwise, to return home
| and decline any action againscthe popular WILL
After using every precaution in my power to
| avoid detection, | was arrested on the night OF
the 4th of August By the Home Guard, con
sisting, as understood, of thirty persons sof
4 Lee county, Virginia, whose Vigilance had
| been excited by certain citizens of Hancock
| county, whom L passed on the way, and who
became suspicious of my purpose Having
| stated that would make ne effort to escape, |
was taken with my guides and my son, by
some ten members the guard TO Cunber-
| land Gap, where we were delivered to Col. +.
NJ Walker, by whose, direction, after remain
| ing there few hours, we were sent to A6iHg
don, Virginia, from which point we were taken
| to Richmond. al ~ seseSS
Having long since determined to endure or
suffer any possible consequence that might re-
suit from the course L had conscientiously
adopted in our recent troubles, | INDUCED in
no vain murmurs or regrets, and being in the
hands OF the military power, deemed it useless
even to inquire at Cumberland Gap upon what
charge was arrested, or what disposition was
to be made of me- had formed a determi
nation to ask no quarters at the hands efIhe
military and civil authorities, and to make no
compromise or concession; butwhen reached
Abingdon was much gratifed to find tina. Col.
John Baxter, at the risk of his own life, had
magnanimoasly volunteered 60 to Richmond
and act as my counsel or otherwise render any
lawful assistance in his power. = At the same
point Iaiso met with DR.. Jeptha Fowlkes, who
was acting in the character of Peace Com
missioner TO East Tennessee, and who, although
had only slight personal acquaintance with
him, manifested there and in alt subSequ ent
proceedings a zeal and solicitude for the quiet
of this division of the State, and for my own
discharge upon honorable terms, which i re-
gard as above all praise or COMMUNICATION. In
my interview with DIR. Fowikes at Abingdon,
he exhibited to me letter which greatly mod
fled my views, although l did not choose,
considering the suspicion which might attach
to my motives as prisoner, to avow either to
him or the authorities at Richmond the extent
of the impression which had been made
This can only be understood by reminding
you, very briefly, of the position occupied by.
me in my speeches, publications and private
conversations.
You will remember that Immediately after
the bombardment of Fort Sumter and the is.
suance of the Presidents first proclamation,
took the ground that it was our duty, in East
Tennessee to be neutral if possible, but, if
forced to take sides, to sustain the Govern
ment, altho' we condemned the policy of the
President in not surrendering the Fortress. |
was also in favor of submitting to the will of
majority of the people of our State, should
it be contrary TO my own views, rather than
engagage in civil war among ourselves. The
formation of the Military League and the pas
sage of the military bill, in the circumstances
under which those acts were done, impressed
me with strong conviction that it was the in
tention of our State authorities, by the creation
of Home Guards and otherwise, to oyerawe
the people of East Tennessee, TO prevent
fair election on the Sth of June, and to COM
pei US to submit to what regarded as the I'M
CONSTITUTIONAL acts of our Legislature. | ad-
vised the people everywhere, publicly and pri-
vately, to arm themselves as they best could,
and to call on the Government of the United
States to sustain them with men, money and
arms The reasons why i thought it our duty
not to submit to the result of the election of
the Sth of June were fully stated in the Decla-
ration of Grievances adopted by the Greene
vile Convention, which was prepared by me,
altho' the resolutions were wholly different
from those which submitted. Ny resolutions
while distinctly declaring an unalterable pur-
pose not to submit to the action of an uncon-
stitutional majority, contemplated no division
of the State, but simply asserted that the
Union counties of East Tennessee, and all 9TH
er Union counties in the State, which saw pro-
per to cooperate with them, would in this
period of revolution, be the legal State and
should proceed at once to exercise all the pow
ers of government. 1t was also proposed, in
one of my resolutions, for the sake of peace,
that we would maintain position of neutrali-
ty in every respect, except that, situated as we
were, we would not oppose the formation of
Volunteer companies in our midst or endeavor
to prevent the transportation of men and mu-
nitions of war along our railroad, unless our
rights were actually invaded or disturbed.
Although these and other resolutions which
had prepared were not adopted, acquiesced
in those which were passed, and urged upon
the people the propriety of military organi-
zatiOn for defensive purposes. Notwithstand-
ing the refusal of our Legislature at its last
called session to pass various obnoxious mea-
sures which had been proposed, inferred,
from the general toue of the public press, that
fixed purpose existed to introduce the troops
into East Tennessee, not only to hold the raid
iOdu, Uut w SOlupOl Ouf ptOpic W SuDullI W
course of action which we regarded as uncon-
stitutional. To prevent our own subjugation,
advocated the propriety of seizing the road at
all hazards before military possession of it
should be taken by troops from distance, and
urged that we should earnestly invoke the i'm
mediate and effective cooperation of the Gov
eminent My advice was not followed, as the
course indicated was regarded as too hazardous
and uncertain, and when the troops were. sta
toned among us, and was frequently consult
ed as to the course to be pursued, uniformly
advised the people to abstain from any acts of
resistance, unless they were positively assured
of undoubted aid from the Government of the |
United States. Had | reached Washington, |
would have urged such relief, but the statement |
that had maps and diagrams of the passes in |
the Cumberland Mountains is utterly destitute |
of truth. .ll .a-aa.s s1s ays
The conviction that it was the determined |
purpose of our State authorities to use military |
force against us, was, as already stated, greatly
modified by the following letter from Maj Gen. |
Polk, who has the chief command of the mill |
tary forces of Tennessee, and which was first |
shown to me, as already stated, at Abingdon:
HEADQUARTERS. DEPARTMENT No. 2
Zoo '~ MEMPHIS, Tenn. July 20, 1861.
TO. Col Robertson Iopp, Jisiye H. Carmhers.
DR.. Jeptha FO,oikes, Col. ID. az. Latherman,
GENTLEMEN:-I am satisfied that many of /
our fellow countryme in East Tennessee have,
by the course of events, been forced into taking
a position in regard to the questions pending |
between the North and the South, which is
hardly in keeping with their natural relations, L
and from which it is our duty in a spirit of |
to de what we can to relieve
them. Without entering into, the questions at
issue, i feel confident that il they are assured
by their southern fellow-countrymen of their
disposition to treat them with kindness, andJ
to respect their manly feelings (while they are
making provision for the protection of our
OWN. Tennessee soil against invasion from the
North, they will have no reason to be aeriey-