True Democrat., 1863-01-28

demands that these depleted regiments be fill 1 ed up. A mere skeleton cannot reasonably be expected to perform the labor of body with all
 its flesh and muscles on 1t. You have many
 who might assist in revivifyirg your reduced regimentsv-enough to fill up the ranks if they
 would only consent to throw off the shackles of private interest, and devote themselves to the | noblest cause in which man can be engaged.
 You have now in the field old men and gentle boys who have braved all the terrors and the l dangers of war l remember instance of one | of these, a brave and gallant youth who, was | told, was but sixteen years of age. In one of
 those bloody battles by which the soil of Vir- 1 gnia has been consecrated to liberty he was twice wounded and each time bound up the wound with his own hands, while refusing to | a,ve the field. A third time he was struck and inc e>blood flowed in a crimson stream from his b,east. His brother came to him to minis ter 10 his wants; but the noble boy said broth
 CT, you cannot do me any good now; go where you. can do the Yankees most harm.' Even then, while lying ou the ground, his young life fast ebbing sway, he cooked bis rifle and aimed 1t to take one last shot at the enemy. And so he died, a hero q Id martyr This was one ot the boys whose na mes shed glory on Mlsslssip pi. and who, ookiug back from their distant camps, where they stand prepared to fight your battles, and to turn back the tide ot Yankee m
 vason, ask yon now to send them ald Tn the struggle-to send them men to stand by them in the day of trial, on the right hand aud on the left
 | When came to Mississippi was uncertain in which direction the enemy intended to come, or what point they intended to attack. It had been stated indeed in their public prints that they would move down upon Mississippi from the North, with the object of taking Vieksburg in. the rear, while their navy would attack that place in front. Such was the programme which had been proclaimed for the invasion and subjugation of your State, But when went to Grenada found that the enemy had retired from front, and that nothing was to be seen of them but their backs. It is probable that they have abandoned that line, with the in tention of reinforcing the heavy column now de- scending the river Vicksburg and Port Hudson are the real points of attack Every effort will be made to capture those places with the object of forcing the navigation of the Missi; sipp, of cut ting off communication with the trans Mississippi department and of severing the western from tue eastern portion of the Confederacy. Let. then, all who have at heart the safety of the country, 20 without delay to Vcksburg and Port Hudson; let them go for such length of time they can spare--for thirty, for sixty for ninety days. Let them assist in preserving the Mississippi river. that great artery of the country and thus coniuce more than in any other way to the perpetuation of the Coniederacy and the success of the cause T
 may say here that did not expect the Con- feUet1te conscrpon. I relied for this uron the aid of the State authorities. supposed that State officers would enroll the conscripts within the limits Of their respective States, and that Confederate ofli- cers wodld then receive them in camps of liistruc tion This believed to be the policy Of your governors arguments. We cannot too strongly enforce the necessity of harmony between the Con felerate and State governments. They must act together if our cause is to be brought to a success ful issue. or this you may rest assured, whatever the Confederate government can do for the defense of Mississippi will be done. l feel equal conf den.e that whatever Mississippi can do will like wise be done. It undoubtedly requires legislation to cause men to perform those duties which are purely legal. Men not apt to feel an obltgl- ton to discharge duties from which they may have been exempted. Ours is representative govern mcnt and. it is only through the operation ot the law that the obligations toward it can be equally distributed. When the last Congress proclaimed that d certain number of men were required to fill uD the ranks of the army, that class of men who were already in the field and who were retane'! in service, would rot have been satisfied had there been no conscriDtion of those who had remained at home 1 may state also, that believe this to be the true theory for the military defense of the Confeleracy. Cast your eyes forward to that time at the end of the war, when peace shall nominally be proclaimed--for peace between us and our hated enemy will be liable to he broken at short inter vals for many years to come-cast- your eyes for ward to that time and you will see the necessity for contin. od preparations and unceasing watch fulness We havebut few men in our country who pay. But if every young man shall have served for two or three years ill the army, he will be pre- pared when war comes to go into camp and take his place in the ranks an educated and disciplined soldier Serving am0i his equals, his friends and his neighbors, he will find in the army no distnc- ton of class. To such system am sure there can be no objection.
 The issue before us is one of no ordinary char acter. We are not engaged in a conflict for con- oucst or for aeyrandsement, or for the settlement of a point of nteraational law. The question for vou to decide is, will you be slaves or will you be independenI?" Will you transmit to your children the freedom and equality which your itth- CTS transmitted to you, or will you bow down III adoration before an idol baser than ever was wor- skipped by eastern idolators? Nothing more is necessary than the mere statement of thS ltauc Whatever may be the personal sacrifices involved, l am sure that you will not shrink from them when ever the question comes before you. Those men who now azslil us who have been associated wIlh us in a comm pn Union, who have inherited gov ernment which they claim to be the best the world ever saw-these men, when left to themselves, have shown that they are incapable of preserving their Own personal liberty. They have destroyed the freedom of the press; they have sclzed upon ana imprisoned members of the state legislatures ana of municipal councils who were suspected ol sym paihv with the South. Men have been carried oil into captivity in distant States without indicment without knowledge of the accusations brought against them, in utter defiance of all rights guar anteed by the institutions under which they live These people, when seperated from the South and left entirely to themselves, have, i'll SIX months, demonstrated their utter incapacty Tor self govern meet And yet these the people who claim to be your masters These are the people who have determined to divide out the South among their Yankee troops. Mississippi they have devoted to the drest vengeance of all. but vengeance s]s the I,ord's" and beneath his banner you will meet and hurl back these worse than vandai hordeS
 The great end and aim of the government ls to make our struggle successful. The men who stand highest in this contest would fall the first sacrhce to the vengeance of the enemy in case we should be unsuccessful. You may rest assured then for that reason, if no other, that whatever capacity they possess will be devoted to securing the inde pendence of the country. Our government IS not ike the monarchies of the Old w orld, resting for support upon armies and naves. It sprang from the people and the confidence of the people is ne ces sary for its success. When interpretations of the government have been brought against 1t oi weakness aud inellicency, often have 1 felt in my heart the struggle between the desire for justice and the duty not to give information to the enemy because at such times the correction of error would have been injurious to the safety of the cause. Thus, that great and good man. Gen. A. Sidney Johnston, was contented to rest beneath public contumeiy and to be pointed at by the finger of scorn, because he did not advance from Bowling Green with the little army under his commando But month after month he maintained his post, keeping the enemy ignorant of the paucity of his
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