, 1863-02-21
Gen. Banks Proclamation.
issued from Headquarters Department of the
Gulf, at New Orleans Dec. / 6, 1862:

AOSAeNAAAeNOAOAs
The following is Gen. Banks Proclamation
issued from Headquarters Department Of tn,
Gulf, at New Orleans Dec 16, 1862:
New ORLEANS Dec Is, 1862.
In obedience to orders from the President,
have assumed command of the Department o
the Gulf to which is added, by his special order
the State of Texas.
The duty with which am charge requires m,
to assist in the restoration of the Government o
the United States. 1t is my desire to secure tc
the people of every class all the privileges o
possession and enjoyment which are consistent
with public safety, or which it is possible for
benefeent and just Government to confer. Z
In execution of the high trust with which
am charged. | rely upon the cooperation anC
counsel of all loyal and well-dsposed people, anc
upon the manifest interest of those dependent up
en- the pursuits of peace, as well as upon the sup
port of naval and land forces
My instructions require me to treat as enemies
those who are enemies; but | shall gladly regard
as friends those who are friends No restriction.
will be placed upon the freedom of individual.
which are not imperatively demanded by consid
erations of public safety, but while their claim,
will be literally considered it is due also to them
to state that all the rights of the Government will
be unflnchingly maintained.
Respectful considerations and prompt repara-
ton will be accorded to all persons who are wrong
ed in body or estate by those under my com
mand.
The Government does not profit by the pro-
longation of civil contest or the private or public
sufferings which attend it. Its fruits are not
equally distributed. In the disloyal States des-
Olation has empire on the sea and on the land
In the North the war is an abiding sorrow, but
not yet calamity. Its cities and towns are in
creasing in population, wealth, and power. The
refugees from the South alone compensate in
great part for the terrible decimations of bat
tie.
The people Of this department who are dispos-
ed to stake their fortunes and their lives upon re-
sistance to the Government, may wisely reflect
upon the mmuabe conditions which surround
them. The valley of the Mississippi is the chosen
seat of population, product and power, on this
continent. In few years twenty-five million peo-
Pile, unsurpassed in material resources and capac.
ity for war, will swarm upon its fertile rivers
Those who assume to set conditions upon their
exodus TO the gulf count upon power not given
to man. The country washed by the waters ot
the Ohio, and Missouri and the Mississippi can
never be permanently severed. If one gene.
ration basey barters away its rights, immOr-
tai honors will rest upon another that reclaims
them.
Let it never be said either that the East and
the West may be separated Thirty days distance
from the markets of Europe may satisfy the
wants OF Louisiana and Arkansas it will not an.
swer the demands of Illinois and Ohio The
Valley of the Mississippi will have its delias upon
the Atlantic. The physcl force of the West will
debouch upon it shores with power as resist
less as the torrents of its giant rivers This
country cannot be permanently divided. Cease
less wars may drain its blood and treasure do
mestic tyrants or foreign foes may grasp the sep
tire of its power; but its destiny will remain un-
changed. 1t will still be united God has or
dained it. What avail then, the destruction of the
best government ever devised by mantle self
adjusting sef-correcting constitution of the Uni
ted States c1
People of the Southwest Why not accept
the conditions imposed by the imperious necessl
ties of geographical coni;guratious and CONNER
cial supremacy, and re-establish your ancient
prosperity and renown? Why not become the
founders of States which, as the entrepot and
depot Of your own central and upper valleys, s,may
stand, in the affluence of their resources, with.
out superior, in the privileges of the people
without peer among the nations of the
earth?
N. P BANKS, Major General Commanding.