Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1862-05-26
speech of ParsOn BrownIow at Boston,
Etidan Ereninq, Mag Esd.

good faith and kindness. We nave mad few |
men in the north. who have agtated the sub !
iect: and they have helped to add fuel to the |
flame But the great burden of the blame
and cenSure rests upon us at the south. and
always has done. We have intended down
south for thirty years to break up this govern
mcnt. 1t has been our settled purpose and
our sole aim down south to destroy the
Mon and break up the government. We
have set OF the most corrupt demagogues at
the south that ever disgraced humanity ON
earth. You have better men in the state prison
of Massachusetts than the men who inaugu-
rated this rebellion in the south. To my per-
sonal knowledge there are better men in hell
tonight. Laughter.) We have had the
presidency in the south twice TO your once,
and five of our men were reelected to the
presidency, filling period Of forty years. In
addition to that we had divers men elected for
one term and no man at the north ever was
permitted to serve any but the one term; and
in addition to having our men elected twice to
your once, and occupied the chair twice as
long as you ever did, we seized upon and APP
propriated two or three miscreantS from the
north that we elected to the presidency, and
plowed with them as our heifers. (Laughter.)
We asked of You and obtained at your hands,
fugitive slave law. You voted for and helped
us to enact and establish it. We asked of you
and obtained the repeal of the Missouri com
promise line, which never ought to have been
repealed. | fought it to the bitter end, and
denounced it and all concerned in repealingit,
and L repeat there again tonight. We asked
and obtained the admission of Texas into the
Union, that we might have slave territory
enough to form some four or five more great
states, and you granted it. You have granted
us from first to last, all we have asked, all we
have Desired. and bnDPa I tbott bic
thing Of secession, this wicked attempt to dis
solve the Union, has been brought about with
out the shadow of a cause.
We have been intending at the south for
years to break up this government. We in
tended to have fuss, and we have got it and
l am for carrying it on, until every devil con-
cerned in originating it shall be eXterminated.
| What | say, and | would say the same at the
south. for | should deserve the Scorn and con-
tempt of all men, if had one set of opinions
for the south and one for the north, is that l
am an advocate of coercion, of subjugation,
and if necessary, OF extermnating the race,
and peOplng the country with better race of
men. Now, in view of my antecedents
where would you expect me to go, when this
revolution was inaugurated? My duty was
plain before my eyes; the platform of the
| Union the constitution, and the enforcement
| OF the laws, was my platform, and | took my
stand there; and when the ball first opened,
there | took my stand, sink or swim, live or
die. (Applause) But above all the storm
ragged, and fearful one it was, down south.
l do not question the patriotism of gentlemen
here, nor their professions of love for the
Uuion and constitution know you are patri-
otic, but let me say to you that it is an easy
matter for man to be patriot and lover of
the constitution and the Union, in Boston.
But where l live, it has cost many poor fell
low his life and his property, and all that is
dear to him. Before gun was fired upon
fort Sumter, jeff Davis legions began pour
ing into East Tennessee along that great arte-
ry OF travel, that great railroad to Manassas
Yorktown, Richmond and Petersburg. Then
it was that, wanting in transportation, wanting
in rolling stock, wanting in locomotives, they
had to lie over by regiments in our town,
and then they commenced to ride Union men
upon rails. | have seen that done in the
streets, and have seen them break into
stores and empty their contents; and COM
ing before my house with ropes in their
hands they would groan out Let us give
old brownlow turn. the damned old scoun-
drel; come out, and we will hang you to the
hrst limb l would appear sometimes on the
front portlcO Of my house, and would address
them i'll this way :-''Men, what do you want
with me: for | was very select in my words
took particular pains to never say gentle
men," (Laughter) Men what do YOU
want with me?' I'VE want a speech from
you; we want you to come out for the south
ern confeder&cy." TO which l replied Il
have no speech to make to YOU. You know
me as well as know YOU. | am utterly and
irreconcilably opposed to this rebellion in
which you are engaged, and shall fight it to
the bitter end. hope that if you are going in
to Kill the ankees in search of your rights,
that you will get your rights before you get
back" Things grew tighter and tighter; but
the Union men of east Tennessee remained
true; and they are to-day five to one to the
secessionists. The iails are all full of the
prominent men; many have been shot down
for their love of their country; and the refu-
| gees from east Tennessee have formed six full
regiments, who are going back under the fed
eral flag, in federal uniforms to fight for
their homes and families. | have but two
sons; one is captain in the fourth Tennessee
reglment-a gallant boy of excellent moral
character; and as God is my Judge, l would
sooner receive intelligence tomorrow morn
ing that IN battle with the rebels of the
south his body was literally riddled with
Mimic balls, than to hear of his triumphing I'M
der the internal flag that floats over the south
ern confederacy.
was so much threatened with personal
violence, that my family and some of my
nelghbors advised me to mount my horse and
leave the town. | agreed to do so. | had no
sooner retired than squad Of cavalry, under
Col. William B. Wood of North Alabama, an
unprlnclpled God-torsaken Methodist preach
er Qaughter), marshalled his men upon the
street, and instructed them to search for me
and not take me alive. They were eager to
md me; 1t would have secured to any fellow
who had shot me a major generals commits
sion. (Laughter) | gathered a company of
sixty men, well armed with rifles, and we re-
tired into the deep gorges of the Smoky Noun
talnS where no force could surprise us We
subsisted on beans and deer and such game as
we could shoot but | began to be tired of this
kind of life. | told the boys that | didn't
want to forsalle them, but this appearance in
running away was not in keeping with my
life, and that intended to go back, mount
edmy horse and returned, and upon approach
ing the town received letter from Major
General George b. Crittenden, telling me
that he was instructed by Judah Peter Benia-
min to send me beyond the lines This letter
told me that was Il very bad mana piece
of intelligence | had not recuved-that / was
dangerous to the confederacy and that they
proposed to send me out-as if anybody could
accuse me of stealing money or iewplry as
Benjamin did at Yale College. Gen. Critten-
den designed the next morning at 10 o'clock
as the hour for me to leave; but about an
hour afterwards, the marshal came in and said
L was his prisoner. He took me and thrust
me INTO Jail-a miserable uncomfortable,