Evansville daily journal. (Evansville, Ind.) 1863-1866, 1864-10-12
Jelr. Davis Speech At Macon.

and Confederate of Sept q:
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, FRIENDS AND
FELLow CITIZENS: 1t would have glad
dened my heart to have met you in pros
perity instead of adversely But friends
are drawn together in adversely The
son of a Gecrgian, who fought through
the frst Revolution, | would be entrt
to myself il ! should forget the State in
her day of peril What though misfor-
tune has befallen our arms from Decatur
to Jonesboro, - our caase is not lost
Sherman cannot keep up the long line
of communication, and retreat sooner or
later he must; and when that day
comes, the fate that befel the army of
she French Empire in its retreat from
Moscow, will be reacted. Oar cavalry
and our people will harass and destroy
bis army as did the Cossacks that Of Ma
poleon; and the Yankee General, ike
him, win escape With only body. gusrd
How can this be the most speedily ef-
feeted7 By the absentees of Hoods
army returning to their posts and win
they not Can they see the banished
sxiles; can they hear the wall of their
suffering coGntrywomen and children,
aud not Gomez By what influences they
are made to stay away it is not neces-
sary to speak If there is one who will
stay away 81 this hour, he is unworthy Of
the name of Georgian. To the women
no appeal is necessary. They are ike
Spartan mothers of old know of one
who has lost all of her sons, except one
of eight years She wrote that she
wanted me to reserve a place for him in
the ranks. The venerable General Polk,
10 whom / read the letter, knew that
woman well, and said it was eharaeteris-
tic of her bat ] will not weary you
by turning aside to relate the va
rious incidents of giving up the
last son to the cause OF
our country known to me. Wherever
we 90 We find the hearts and hands Of
oar noble women enlisted. They are
seen wherever the eve ma fall or the
step turn. They have one duty to per
form to buoy up the hearts of our peo-
pie. | know the deep disgrace felt by
Georgia at our armT falling back from
Dalton to the interior of the State But
| was not Of those who considered At
ianta lost when our army crossed the
Ohastahoochee. Iresolvsd that it should
not, and then pat man 10 command
who / knew would strike q manly blow
for the city, and many Yankees blood
was made 10 nourish the soil before the
prize was won. II does not become as
TO advert to disaster Let the dead bury
the dead. Let as, With ons arm and one
eHert, endeavor to crush Sherman.
am going to the army to confer with our
Generals. The end must be the defeat
Of our enemy. Il has been said that
abandoned Georgia to her fate. Shame
upon such falsehood. Where could the
author have heen when Walker, when
Polk, and when Gen. Stephen ID. Lee
was sent 20 her assistance. Miserable
man The man who uttered this was a
scoandrel. He was not a man 70 save
our country. If / knew that General
did not possess the right qualities to
command, would | not be wrong If he
was not removed Why, when our army
was falling back from Northern Georgia,
even heard hat had sent Bragg with
pontoous to sross IT to Cuba But we
must be charitable. The man who can
speculate ought 10 be made to take
up his musket When the war is
over, aud car independence won
and We will establish our indepen-
dence-who viii be our arisloeracy2 |
hops the hmping soldier To the young
ladies' | would say, that when choosing
between al empty sleeve and the man
who had remained at home and grown
rich, always take the empty sleeve. Let
the old men remain at home and make
bread. But should they know of any
| young man keeping away from the ser
| vice, who can nos be made 10 go In any
| other way, let them write 10 the Exeeu-
/ tive. | read sill letters sent to me from
The people, bat have not the time 10 re-
ply to them. You have not many men
| hetween eighteen and forty-five left. The
boys, God bless the boys, are as rapidly
as they become old enough going to the
field The city of MacoR is filled with
stores, sick and wounded 1t must not
be abandoned when threatened. but
when the enemy come, instead of call.
ing upon Hoods army for defense, the
old men must fight. and when the enemy
is driven beyond Chattanooga, they too
caa join in the general rejoicing Your
prisoners are kept as sort Of Yankee
capital have heard that one Of their
| Generals said that their exchange would
defeat Sherman ] have tried every
means, conceded everything to effect an
exchange, but to no purpose. Butler
the beast, With whom no Commissioner
of Exchengs would bold intercourse
ha3 published in the newspapers that i
we would consent to the exchange o
negroes, all difficulties might be re
moved. This is reported as an effort o.
his to get himself whitewashed by
holding intercourse with gentlemen. ]
an exchange could be effected, don
know but that / might be induced Il
recognize Butler. But in the futur,
everylefort viii be given, as far as pos
: sible, TO effect the end. We want on
soldiers in the field, aud we want th
sick and wounded to return home. 1t j
not proper for me TO speak Of the nun
Der of men in the field, but this | wi
say, that two-thirds of our men are at
: sent, some sick, some wounded, but mos
} Of them absent without leave. The ma
7 who repeuts and goes back to his cou
D mander Voluntarily, appeals strongly {
: executive clemency. But suppose b
b stays away until the war is over, and hi
{ comrades return home, and when ever
J, mans history win be told, where win b
: shield himself It is upon these refe
$ tions that | rely to make men return
d their duty; but after conferring with OF
a General at headquarters, if there be ar
9 sther remedy, it shall be applied.
Il love my friends, and | forgive my en-
5 mics. have been asked to send r
5, enforeemsnts from Virginia to Georgi
u In Virginia the disparity in numbers
is Just AZ great as it is in Georgia. The
e / have been asked why the aru
y sent 10 the Shenandoah Valley was d
sent here. It was because an army
d the enemy had penetrated that valley
4 eha wa-v ratas or Tvrchhsru and Ga