The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1865-11-03
THE SOUTH AS IT is.


4 THE SOUTH AS IT is.
An Impartial View OF Society in the
Gulf Stotes---Thc Feeling and COndI-
: tIOn of the People in AIabnInI-.-An
Abundance of Loyalty but No Pat
i rIOtIsm.--A Chapter on the Poor
Whites.
Special Correspondence Of the Nc,c York Times.
MONTGOMERY, Ala, Oct. 23, 1865.
THE FEELING AND CONDITION OF THE
PEOPLE.
In the fullest extent of the term there
is little or no patriotism in Central and
Southern Alabama, and but very little
love for the United States Government.
In Northern Alabama the people are
warm and sincere in their devotion to
the Union. This feeling is rife in that
| portion of the State lying north of the
Tennessee river, and running from
! Tuscumbia in the west to Stevenson i'll
| the eaSt. Tho people in this section are
| true to the Government and it's interests,
and can be relied upon under any and
! all circumstances.
In the southern and central portions
of the State, with great many the
spirit of the rebellion has not ceased to
eXist. To strain II point in favor of the
majority ofthese people, 1 will call them
! loyal, if loyalty means u perfect will
lingness to submit to the decree of the
sword, n manifest disposition to obey
all laws, and II unanimous desire to pro-
mote that harmony between the North
and South which once existed, and for
IL speedy restoration of Alabama, "with
all her modern improvements" to the
position she once occupied. If this is
loyalty, why, reiterate, then the peo-
pie are loyal. But patriotic they are
not, Patriotism is love of country, the
inspiration of which makes. the heart
bound, &C.; there's none of this feeling
here, not a bit of it. But there are Il
multiplicity of signs of improvement,
and an increase of good feeling is per-
ceptible; and doubt not if everything
goes right, but that i'll few short
months, the little bud of loyalty Tor
submission) will burst forth into its
full development, filling the hitherto
disturbed atmosphere with II patriotic
fragrance which shall be inhaled bv the
whole American people.
will commence by telling YOU who
are the most inclined to do right-they
are the officers and soldiers who have
fought i'll the armies of the late Confed-
crate States. Two-thirds of them not
only confess themselves whipped, but
gracefully acknowledge that they have
been fairly dealt with, and are pre-
pared to do anything honorable in re-
turn for the mugnnnimity displayed by
the President of the United States and
the majority of the Northern people,
citizens and soldiers. They all talk
alike-Mnjor-Generals, Brigadier-Gen-
erals, Colonies, Captains and privates-
all acknowledge that they have been
whipped, and whipped fairly, and are
to man in favor of peace and an OBJ
liberation of the past. This is lOudable,
for
"Peace hath her victories,
No less renowned than war"
I iCI, 70 I, Il =
"I will n round, unvarnished tale de-
liver"
or, i'll other words, that shall confine
myself strictly to the truth. have
been in the State n month, made the
acquaintance of nearly all the dele
gates at the late convention, and since
then have visited different parts of the
State. In seeking information, have
not been wading around in babbling
brooks, but ! have plunged into the
current; I have been amongst the
strong and well-meaning men of the
State, and have observed keenly their
actions, and listened attentively to
their conversations and deliberations,
and have not allowed myself to be led
astray by the leticence of pulpit ora
tors, or by the nOn-comnittal Darn-
graphs of hHlEstarved editors, or by
the whimperings of imbecile old men,
or the Pleasantries OF silly young la
1 repeat it, then, the most loyal peo-
pie, us body, in this State, are the re-
turned officers and soldiers. They talk
the fairest, and nre the most reliable
and upright. They say: "We fought
brnvely,, and as long as there were
hopes of success. We were whipped,
and we accepted, like soldiers as we
were, the terms of surrender, which
were magnanimOus; and we are bound
to act in good faitll-we will act in good
faith; we Will support the President and
uphold the honor of the old flag, and
again be good citizens of the United
States" This is exactly the tenor OF
the sentiment of those who have par
ticipated in
"Battle's magniflcently-stern array"
a good example has been set by the
general officers from this State, and i'm
itated by all subordinates. Alabama
furnished twenty-four general officers
for the Confederate army, five of whom
were killed.
Extremes meet. While sticking to it
that the most loyal men in Alabama
land they form more than one-half the
voters in the State) nre those who have
fought us the hardest, 1 must refer to
another class-the Observation-Disclosures
crowd. For, really, the most savagely
dislOyal men in the State Mt present,
and those who wish theinfernal niggers
were all dead, and the id Yankees all
in hi, are those composing the stay-at-
home Platoons.t They are desperate
set. They are in favor of fighting it
out. They were in favor of fighting
} it out to the better end-at home.S
They were in favor of raising the
black flag-at home. In fact these
Wellington de Boots were in favor OF
everything-at home. These cowards
have the impudence to tell one-legged
fellows and empty sleeves that it was
These muf1in-faced shrimps want to
} know why Gen. Lee, didn't cross the
Mississippi and fightit out. 1t is these
gander-legged mutton-heads who lisp
I'VE were overpowered-the Yankees
were too strong for us-they had too
many Dutchmen for ps-We are not