The Ashland union. [volume] (Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio) 1854-1868, 1863-12-30
Message of jefferson Davis,
To the Confederate Congress. s

On the 9TH instant, Mr.. Jefferson Davis sent
ip the following message to shs Congress at
Richmond ssss
To TIE Senateand House Of Representatives. of
the Confederate Sta es. E&4
fhe necessity for legislative action, arising
ont of the important events that have marked
the interval since your adjournment, and my
desire to have the aid of your counsel on mat
tiers of grave public interest, render ycur pres
ence at this time ore than ordinarily welcome.
Indeed, but for serious obstacles to conyoking
you In extraordinary session, and the necessity
for my own temporary absence from the seat of
government, would have invited you to an
earlier meeting than that fixed at the date Of
your adjournment.
Grave rcverses befel our arms soon after
your departure from Richmond. Early in
July our strongholds at Vicksburg9and Pert
Hudson, to- ether With their entire garrisons,
capitulated to the combined land and naval
forces of the enemy. The important interior.
position of jackson next fell into their tempo
arary possession. Our unsuccessful assault on
the post at Helena was followed, at later pc
riod, by the invasion of Arkansas and the re-
treat of our army from Little Rock gave to tbe
enemy the control of the Important valley in
which it is situated.
The resolute spirit of the people soon rose
uperior to the temporary despondency nat
srally resulting from thete reverses. The gal
lunt troops SO ably commanded in the States
beyond the Mississippi inflicted repeated de-
feats on the invading armies in Louisiana and
on the coast of Texas. Detachments of troops.
and active bodies of paTtisaus kept up so effec-,
tive war on the Mississippi river as practically
to destroy its value as an avenue of commerce.
Tile dsteTnined and speeessfala defence of
Charleston against the joint land ard naval
operations of the enemy afforded an inspiring
IF the iron-elad eet, on which they chiefly re
lly, while on the northern frontier our success
was still more marked.zsHe sea5ft ) s.5e2,A =
The able commander who conducted the
campaign Virginia determined to meet the
Threatened advance on Richmond--for shich
the enemy had made long ard costly prepara-
tions-by forcing their armies to cross the Po-
tomae and is ht 10 defence Of their own CAPT
tai and hnmea- Transferines g The batsac field
their own soil, he succeeded in compelling
their rapid retreat from Virginia, and in the
hard fought battle Of Gettysburg inflicted such
severity of punishment as disabled them from
an early renewal offthe campaign, as originally
projected. - UnfoFtpiately the coInmdn ications
on which orr general relied for receiving his
supplies Of munitions were interrupted by ex-
traordinary foods which SO sWelled the Poto-
mac as to ehiderimpassablet The fords by which
his advance had been made, aud he was thus
forced 10 with draw, which was conducted with
ldeliberatiop, afteryseouriog large trains ofcap-
| itured supplies, aud with q constant but unac-
ceptei tender Of battle: s0n moro than one
occasion the enemy has since made demons
strations of 2 purpose to advance, invariably
followed by precipifate retreat to entrenched
] hines ON the spproach of cur forces.
The enective check thus opposed to the ad-
vance of invaders at all points was such as to
afford hope Of their early expulsion from ppr-
tions Of the territory previously occupied by.
them, when the country was painfully sur
fprised by the intelligence that the aoficer in
command of Cumberland Gap bad surrendered
that important and easily defensible pass With
out firing shot. upon the summons Of force
still believed to have been inadequate to its fe-
duction, and when reinf6rcements were within
supporting distance and had been ordered to
| his aid The entire garrison, including the
Iconmander, being still held as prisoners By the
enemy. ] am unable to sdgg gest any e7 plana-
ttion Of this dissstef n hich laid open Eastern
bTe1lessee and Southern Virginia to hostile OPP
erations, and brokesthe line Of scoinmdnication
betWeen the seat Of government and Middle
Tennessee. This eas1 success Of the enemy
| vas folldwrd BY an adsanee Of. General Sose-
Grants info Georgia, ard our army eyacuated
EChattanooga and availed itself Of the opportu.