American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1864-08-31
THE CONDITION OF TIE SOUTH.
Fast Failing from Exhaustation.
THE DUTY OF THE NORTH
REINFORCE THE UNION ARMY.
REFLECT PRESIDENT LINCOLN.

REFLECT PRESIDENT LINCOLN.
Brigadier General L. Seymour, lately
released from " under fire. at Charleston,
has addressed patriotic letter to VIM. Il.
Dodge, Jr., of New York, in which he
gives his impressions of the present con-
diton Of the Southern Confederacy. Gen.
Seymour is graduate of West Point,
was with Gen. Anderson at Sumter, and
was stationed at the South for many years,
20 that he knows the Southern people well.
The General says the rebel cause as fast
Jdiiiag from erhaustatioa. Their two
grand armies have been reinforced this
summer from the last resources of the
South From every corner of the land,
every old man and every boy capable of
bearing rife has been impressed, will
ingly or unwillingly, and hurried to the
front. Lee $ army was the first tso strength
The writerquotes from Gov Browns proc
lamation of July 9th to the Georgia mil
itia, already published in our columns, to
show that Lees army was reinforced at
the expense of the South Western Rebel
army, and says, "there must, indeed, have
been desperate weakness when Georgia,
and the Southern cause with it, were so
neglected that Lees army might be made
equal to the task of holding Grant to the
Potomac or the James, and the people of
the South are intelligent enough to un-
derstand, and to appreciate the fact, and
they have lost heart accordingly"
The following is from letter written
by one rebel to another that accidently
fell into the hands of one Of the Generals
fellow prisoners:
Very few persons are preparing to
obey the late call of the Governor. His
summons will meet withno response here
The people are soul-sick, and heartily tir
ed of this hateful, hopeless strife I'll ey
would end it if they could; butour would
be rulers will take good care that no op-
portunity be given the people to vote
against it. BY lies, byfraud, and by Chi
canery, this revolution was inaugurated /;
by force, by tyranny, and the suppression
of truth it is sustained. 1t is nearly time
that it should end, and of sheer depletion
it must end before long. We have had
enough Of want and Of woe, enough of
cruelty and carnage, enough Of cripplcs
and corpses. There is an abundance of
bereaved parents, weeping widows, and
orphaned children in the land. If we
can, let us not increase the number. The
men who, to aggrandize themselves, or to
crafty their own political ambition, bro't
this cruel war upon peaceful and pros
porous country, will have to rendera fear
full account of their misdeeds to a wrong
ed, robbed and outraged people. Earth
has no punishment sufficiently meet for
their villainly here, andshell will hardly
be hot enough to seattle them hereafter"
This is certainly no small proportion
of the Southern people despite the lying
declarations of their journals, as we have
good occasion to learn, that not on y fa-
vor the progress of our arms, but that dali
ly pray that this exterminating war may
soon be brought to a finality by our COM
plete and perfect success. They have had
too much of despotism-not enough of
the triumph promised them Many in
telligent Southern gentlemen, do, indeed,
express strong hopes of their ultimate in
dependence, but such hope is not shared
by the masses. Disappointed from the
first in not having been acknowledged by
foreign Powers-more bitterly disappoint-
ed in their general expectation that North
ern cowardice or dissension would secure
their ends-but a single chance remains,
and that is the result Of our merit election
for President. If Democrat succeeds to
Mr.. Lincoln, they profess to feel sure of
negotiations, and sure of their COnfeder-
acy. They believe a Democrat will be
elected. In Mr.. Lincoln reelection they
see only subjugation, humiliation, for the
war must then continue, and continuance
is their failure and ruin.
In military affairs itisan excellent rule
never to do what the enemy desires-is it
not equally true in politics? Certain it
is that the only remaining hope Of The
South lies in Mr.. Lincoln defeat. Now,
| am notenough of politician to know
whether the election of Democrat can
result as favorably to the South as it an
ticipates. The wish alone may be the pa
rent Of their belief But, l assured all
who expressed that belief, that the North,
as mass, is as unitedas the South-that
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