Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1867-02-22


tions Of daty. Neither defeat nor the
noisy elamor Of the victors has changed
these convictions. We thought that the
States had no right to make wal
our states: that we had the
right to establish a separate nationality :
and that our allegiance in such a case
was due to our States. Two hundreu
thousand men, originally opposed 70
secession, thought as We did, n acteu
as we did.
We were defeated but the generous
feelings that a long wal always inspires
between brave antagonists, had already
in large measure taken the place of the
enmities and hatred at first engendered.
The old officers Of the army never lost
their kindly feelings for each other.
We no longer heard Of one man whipping
five. or that Yankees were constitution
aIly towards. When detachments oil
Federal troops marched into places
where none had before been seen, they
we're not looked upon with dislike. IL
was found that the war had, after ALI
not effaced, but only interrupted the old
habituaI feeling of brotherhood. All felt
that we were Of D blood and kindred
as well as Of one tongue.
Moreover, our people had never had
any especial reverence or love for heii
flag. The old one at once took lis Ole
place again in their affections. The ne"
one had had no symbolic Specification
There was nothing about il to stir The
blood. for il was meaningless. Fortwo
wears il had wholly disappeared. You saw
II nowhere. Impoverished, exhausted.
ragged, starved, unpaid and often harshly
treated, u men were weary OF tht
war. We had been the subjects Of an op
| pressiye military despotism. Martial law
had been declared, and the vii
NJ the Commanding General had ytrtu
ally been the law. The CONSUMPTION anG
| impressment laws had bred great diseon
tents the mistskes Of the Government.
nj Richmond, more. All were glad t
return to the quiet pursuits OF peace
ali. that is, with comparatively few ek
/ eeptjous. A very small percentage o
/ three hundred thousand men il a goodll
number Of individuals, and az do muci
mischief and commit many acts Of VIC
! Ience. OF course there were many wh'
were debssed and b~rutallzed o. the De
Ieterious influences Of war, and to whom
a life OF honest la5our was thenceforwar'
10 be distasteful; buE the only wOnde
was that there were no more tina
a predatory and irregular warfare wa
not kept up for years, and that the who'll
country wss not infested with bandltti
We had, ourselves, become odious ant
even suspected Of " dislOyalty, " for beinl
! the first, in a letter to the President O
the COnfederacy, to denouuce MARTA
law and we afterwards accepted a in
| diciaI office for the sole purpose Of yindi
| eating. if occasion offered, the Constitu
ton and the rights Of the citizen agains
/ the military despotism established o.
the West side OF the Mississippi. 1t wa
/ common enough to hear it said, that
we had to have q despotism, we NIGH
as well have one as another
Little sympathy, also, was felt anon.
the soIdiery, for the owners OF slaves
For too many of these, even whel
Young men, had evaded military service
and been allowed to remain in safety
taking care Of the property, to protec
which the poor were fighting. 1t was
common saying that it was "a RE
mans war, aHd q poor mans fight
Add to all this the immense depreciatio.
of the only currency we had, and tn
enormous prices asked Cor every thing
and The miserable pittance paid the men
and it is easy to comprehend that th
people we're willing TO submit, withou
much discomfort or murmuring, TO tn
consequences Of defeat.
It is true that it was not cOnsidere
that the war had been conducted agains
them in a manner 6reditable to q civil
lied and christian nation. There ma
been too much wanton and unnecessar.
destruction TO be at once forgotten: It wa
universally believed that u men ha.
been cruelty treated, starved, and wan
touly killed, in Northern prisons. Fey
Of our people knew any thing about An
/ Jacksonville or Of any cruel treatment O
Federal prisoners. None dreamed OF an.
further resistance, or Of renewing til
struggle, and very few took the oath O
allegiance with any mental reservation
We delay what remains to be said
until our next number.