The Abingdon Virginian. [volume] (Abingdon [Va.]) 1849-1883, 1863-08-07
Address of the President

Aug. 4, 1905. GEO. N. DAMN.
Address of the President
To the Soldiers of the Con- Tolerate States.
4 FTER more than two years of warfare
N scarcely equalled in the number, magnitude,
and fearful carnage of its battles; a warfare in
which your courage and fortitude have illustrat-
ed your country and attracted not only gratitude
at home, but admiration abroad, your enemies
continue struggle in which our final triumph
must be inevitable. Upduly elatedswith their
recent successes, they imagine th3ttemporary
reverses can quell your spirit Or shake your de-
termination, and they are now gathering heavy
masses for a general invasion in the vain hope
that by desperate effort success may at length
be reached.
You know too well, my countrymen, what they
mean by success. Their malignant rage aims
at nothing less than the extermination of your
selves, your wives, and children. They seek to
destroy what they cannot plumber. They pro-
pose as the spoils Of victory that your homes
shall be partitioned among the Wretches whose
atrocious cruelties have stamped infamy on their
Government They design to incik servile in
surrection and light the fires of incendiarism
whenever they can reach your homes, and they
debauch the inferior race, hitherto docile and
contented, by promising indulgence Of the vilest
passions as the price Of treachery. Conscious
Of their inability to prevail by legitimate war
fare, not daring to make peace lest they should
be hurled from their seats Of power, the men
who now rule in Washington refuse even to con-
fer on the subject Of putting an end to outrages
which disgrace our age, or to listen to sugges-
ton for conducting the war according to the
usages of civilization.
Enl1nw cifi1opc No a1fprna tive II off Won h,,<
victory or subiugation, slavery and. the utter
ruin of yourselves, your families and your coun-
try. The victory is within your. reach. You
need but stretch forth your hands to grasp. it,
For this and all that is necessary is that those
who are called to the field by every motive that
can move the human heart, should promptly re-
pair to the post Of duty, should stand by their
comrades now in front of the foe, and thus so
strengthen the armies of the Confederacy as to
ensure success. The men now absent from their
posts would, if present in the field, suffice to
create numerical equality between our force and
that Of the inyaders-and when, with any APP
proach to such equality, have we failed to be
victorious? believe that but few of those abb
sent are actuated by unwillingness to serve their
country; but that many have found it difficult
to resist the temptation of n visit to their homes
and the loved ones from whom they have been so
long separated; that others have feft for tempo-'
rary attention to their affairs with the intention
of returning and then have shrunk from the
consequences of their violation of duty; that
others again have left their posts from mere
restlessness and desire Of change. each quoting
the upbraidings of his conscience, by persuad-
ing himself that his individual services could
have no influence on the general result.
These and other causes (although far less dis
graceful than the desire to avoid danger, or to
escape from the s3orifces reqnirA6 By patriot
ism,) are, nevertheless, grievous faults, and
place the cause of our beloved country, and Of
everything we hold dear, in imminent peril I:
repeat that the men who now owe duty to their
country, who have been called out and have not
yet reported for duty, or who have absented
themselves from their posts. are sufficient in
number to secure us victory in the sstruggle now
impending.
call On you then. my countrymen, to hasten
to your camps, in obedience to the dictates of
honor and OF duty, and summon those who have
absented themselves without leave, or who have
remained absent beyond the period allowed by
their furlough, to repair without delay to their
respective commands, and I do hereby declare
that grant general pardon and amnesty to all
officers and men within the Confederacy, now
esoooAAe "ienVue Acdfc, WIZ SHHtl, Will Tie lcdSt
possible delay, return to their proper posts of
duty, but no excuse will be received for any de-
lay beyond twenty days after the first publica-
ton Of this proclamation in the State in which
the absentee may be at the date of the publica-
ton. This amnesty and pardon shall extend to
all who have been accused, or who have been
convicted and are undergoing sentence for abb.
sence without leave, or desertion, excepting on
~ those who have been twice convicted for de-
sertion.
Finally, I conjnre my countrywomen--th
wives, mothers, sisters and daughters of the
eonfederacy--to use their all-powerful influence
in aid of this call, to add one browning sacrifice
to those which their patriotism has SO freely and
constantly offered on their country's altar, and
to take care that none who owe service in the
field shall be sheltered at home from the disgrace
Of having deserted their duty to their families,
to their country, and to their God
- Given under my hand, and the seal
SEAL of the Confederate States, at Richmond,
~ this 1st day Of August, in the year of
our LORD, one thousand eight hun4red and sixty
three. JEFFERSON DAVIS.
By the President:
). P. BENJAMIN, Secretary Of State.
August 7th 1863 - !