The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1863-12-31

bornness and great vanity would not permit
him to remove Pemberton, because such re-
movaf would be an admission that Mr.. Da
Wis was wrong. Rather the people suffe
than such admission. Pemberton was
bad appointment-clearly incompetent.
Possessing the confidence of neither eiti
zen or soldier, and Mr.. Davis cognizant o
it, he was still retained in command. He
lost Vicksourg. In his department wer,
sixty thousand troops when Gen. Grant un
dertook the bold and hazardous plan of run.
ming our batteries at vicksburg, and march.
ing inland with less than fifty thousand men
for duty.
Contrary to all military science and expe.
rience Pemberton.scatters instead of mass
ing his forces. He leaves a weakened
force at Port Hudson flanked on both sides,
Redu ces the garrison at v;cksburg, and
leaves small forces ut Raymond, Grand
Gulf. jackson, Yazoo City, and other points
away up in Mississippi. Gen. Grant was
thus enabled with his columns massed to
whip him in detail.
After the repulse at Grand Gulf-which
forty thousand men on the defensive could
have prevented and which were in Pember-
toms department-and the fight from Ray !.
mond, Gen. 10. johnson was sent to as.
sumo command. That noble officer, des-
pissed by Davis, and not even spoken Of by
that mercinary wretch, Benjamin who
controls by ind.rection Davis and Cabinet,
cheerfully repaired to jackson. Arrived
there, he is said to have shed tears over
the hopelessness Of affairs, and the splen-
did opportunity lost. You are familiar with
the rest-our appalling loss at Edwards
Depot, and the fall Of vicksburg and Port
Hudson with their br ave defenders Thus,
with the loss Of friends and relatives, came
the blighting Of your last hopes. And all
to crafty the narrow obstinacy, mean self
ishness, and personal hate and vindictive.
ness of Jefferson Davis and Judas P. Ben
jamin. Thus Arkansas was cut of from
all chance of protection, If hope thereof she
ever had. And thus stands the case to-day.
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
This gentleman has proven himself total
ly unsulted to the emergency, With the
whole cotton crop and wealth of the South
at his disposal, and the frien dship OF many
European powers, he has accomplished
nothing abroad. His foreign policy has
been stupid failure. He has permitted
himself to he overreached and outmanage ed
in everything. HIS policy at home, while
proving him to be strong in some respects,
has shown him to be weak, mean and ma.
lignant in others. He is cold, selfish and
ambitious. And under cover
of outward sanctity and patriotism, flows
the strongest vein of hypocrisy
and demagoguism.
He has never been up to this magnitude
ofthe undertaking. He refused troops for
the war in May A. D., 1861, because he did
not "know that they could be needed" His
idea at first, seems to have been that hos
tlities would soon cease, and he bent his
energies for cheap war; His preparations
and outfit we're acco dinghy contracted and
Awakened to sense of his
error, his next aim see,ns to have been to
conquer his foes, and put down every man
that had crossed his pathway in life. The
latter succee ded At all events, Instances of
this are numerous, but that of Senator
Brown-the peer of Mr.. Davis in everything
his superior in many aud his rival and sue
cessful competitor for the U. Q. Senate-is
pointed. He joined company in Davis
army and was elected captain. He had ca
pacity for any position. Yet Mr.. Davis,
not looking to the public interest, but to
qualification of his own private feelings, sees
this opportunity to strike an old rival and
embraces it. He refused him all promotion,
and left him the alternative of wearing him
self out as captain of company, or seeking
position elsewhere. Mr. Browns election
10 the Confederate Senate termina ated the
matter.
He drove Gen. Gustavus w. Smith from
the army. He was once ready to remove
StoneSan Sackson, and only the success Of
the latter, backed by powerful and excited
party, prevented it. He overslaughed and
oppressed lseauregard, because he let the
people know, that he desired to move on
Washington at once after the first Manassas
fight and was prevented by Davis. He
drove gen. Walker of Georgia out of the SER
vice. He retained Hindman in Arkansas
with positive knowledge of his outrages.
He removed him but to endorse his acts.
He retains Holmes here to crafty the john
sons At the ruin Of our people. He has pur-
sued and oppressed General Price, because
I suppose, the latter was made Brigadier
in Mexico and Davis was not He retained
Pemberton in command against the wishes
of the army and the country. and to add
insult to it all, sends him to Mobile to
take command, where he is execrated by
every man, woman and child. By a trick
and swindle, he got Gen. J. E. johnson
away from command in Virgins, and gave
him no other definite position until there
was pressing emergency. aud chance to
damage him--thevsby showing both his
confidence IN hun, and his malign;ty towards
him. He drove Gen. Pike out of the army
to crafty Hindmap and the Johnsons: and
thereby lost to US the whole Indian countrv.