Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1864-02-18
Extracts from General Garfield's
Speech on Confiscation.


Extracts from General Garfield's
Speech on Confscation. .,-
The following is the conclusion Of Hon.
James A. Garfelds speech on conf, oation,
delivered in the U. s. House Of Represents
tiyes on the 2sth Of January; , ~ ID
i come now to the question more directly
before us. This question, Of land, Mr..
Speaker, Is inseparably connected with the
peculiar institution Of the South. 1t iswell
known that the power of slavery rests in
large plantations; that the planters capital
drives the poor whites TO the mountains,
where liberty always loves to dwell, and to
the swamps and by.places Of the South; but
the bulk of all the landed estates is in the
hands Of the slave owners who have plotted
this great conspiracy. Let me give an in
stance Of this, one Of a thousand that might
be given. 10 the town Of Murfreesboro',
Rutherford county, Tennessee, a place made
sacred and glorious forever by the valor OF
our Army, there are fourteen thousand four
hundred and ninety. three acres ofland own
ed by sixteen persons, and three OF the six,
teen men own more than ten thousand Of
half of the whole township of fMurfreesboro'.
<luu tndt II Outy 5pCcttbOh VI tbSoS
men of the South are to the lands of the
South. Only few hundred men own the
bulk of the land, in any Southern State, and
these men hold the lands and own the slaves.
These men plotted the rebellion and thrust
it upon us. They have had the political
power in their hands, and fyou permit them
to 20 back to their lands they will have it
again. The laws of nature, the laws OF So
ciety, cannot be overcome by the resolutions
Of Congress. Grant a general amnesty, let
these men 20 back to their lands, and the
land owners will again control the South
They have SO long believed themselves bern
10 rule, that they will rule the poor man as
with rod Of iron. The landless man of the
South has learned the lesson of submission
SO well that when he is confronted by land
ed proprietor he begins to be painfully de.
ferential, he is facile and dependent, and
less man than if he stood on Gods acre
covered by his own title-deed.
Gentlemen, if we want lasting peace, if
we want to put down this rebellion SO that
it shall stay forever put down, we must put
down its guilty cause; we must put down
slavery; we must take away the platform on
which slavery stands-the great landed es-
tates of the armed rebels of the South h.
Strike that platform beneath their feet,
take that land away, and divide it into
homes for the men who have saved our
country. put that TO this House as ne
cessity which stares us in the face. What,
let me ask you, will you do with the battle
fields of the South? Who owns them?--
Who owns the red field of Stone River?-
Two or three men own it ALL And who are
these two or three men? Rebels every one
-one of them man who once sat in this
Chamber, but who is now leader IN the
ranks of the rebel army. Will you let him
come back and repossess his land? Will
| you ask his permission, when you go to Wis
it the grave of your dead son who sleeps il
the bosom of that sacred field? If the prin
ciples of the gentlemen on the other side bt
carried out, there is not one Of the great
battle-felds of the war (save Gettysburg
which lies yonder on this side of the line
that will not descendto the sons of rebels fol
all rime to come-to,men whose fathers found
a bad eminence 10y fighting against theil
country, and who will love their fathers fol
Affection sake, and love rebellion for their
fathers sake. God forbid that we should
ever visit those spots made sacred BY the
blood of SO many thousand brave men, aue
see our enemies holding the fields and plow
ing the graves Of our brethren, while the
sweat of slaves falls on the sod which ough
to be forever sacred to every American cit
izen. ..,.-..
The history of opinion and its changes il
the Army is a very interesting one. Whel
the war broke out, men sprang to arms iron
all parties by common impulse of gener
GUS patriotism, which am glad to acknowl
edge In the presence ofthose in whose heart
that impulse seems now to have died.
I remember to have said to friend whe
1 entered the Army, ''You hate slavery; s
do l; but hate disuni0n more. Let u
drop the slavery question and fight to sus
tain the Union. When the supremacy @
the Government has been ie-established "
will attend to the other question" sal
it,in good faith. ,.. .. -
| said to another, "You love slavery. D
you love the Union more2 1fyou do. G
with me; we will let slavery alone and fgt
for the Union. When that is sawed we wi
take up our old quarrel, if there is anythin
left to quarrel about" . -. g.
started out with that position taken
good faith, as did thousands of others Of a
} parties, but the Army soon found, do wh'
it would, the black phantom met 1t ever.
where, in the camp, in the bivouac, on tn
, battlefield, and at all times. II was gho
| tuaC WOulu uOI 10 lCu-SldfCIy Was uoth u
strength and the weakness of the enemy.
His strength, for it titled the fields and Il
, the legions; its weakness, for in the hear
: of slaves dwelt dim prophecies that their d
: liverance from bondage would be the on
g come of the war. N' =. '-.- 'f
q Mr.. Seward says, in an official dispat'
s to our minister at St. James, Mr., Adam
Everywhere the American General
ceives his most important information fro
r the negro, who haif his coming as the ha
!, binger Of freedom" These ill-used M
, came from the cotton-felds, they swan ri
e ers, they climbed mountains, they car
}. through jungles, in the darkness and storl
n of the night, to tell us that the enemy "
;, coming here or going there. They were Q
l. true friends in every case. There has hai
ly been battle, march, or any inporta
event Of the war, where the friend Of @
g cause the black man, has not beef tou
,f- truthful and helpful, and always devoted
/ loyal. The practical truth forced itself up
g. the mind Of every soldier that behind
A. rebel army Of soldiers the black army OF
borers was feeding and sustaining the ret
n lion, and there could be no victory tilp
ID main support were taken away. l'' ''a'
h 81 'You lake MY hotse when you do take the prop
ifrhat doth sustain my iicnse"h r. y Xio1 GAM
III j.. III L. :. =. al /. a