The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1870-08-25
CONFEDERATE WAR HISTORY
Another Letter from Hon. AIeNan-
der III. stephens.
LIBERTY HALL CRAWFORDsVILLE- CAT


LIBERTY HALL CRAwFoRDsvILLE- GA-l
6th August, $50.
Hon. E. BarksdqIe:
| DEAR SIR: a copy of your paper of the
22d ult., containing my letter to you Of the
9th. about the events succeeding the first
| Battle of Manassas" and your reply to it,
of the 10th, &c. was received several days
ago; but the press of other business. when
| | have been able to write at all. since then
/ has prevented me from responding to you
sooner upon the subject
You VIII allow me, / trust. a few words
further to your readers, and the public gem
orally, through the medium ofTHE CLARION
by way OF vindicatiOn. Not, however. tor
the purpose or in the spirit of controversy.
Indeed, upon the leading and important
facts, as they stand stated in the e1tract |
sent you, it does seem 10 me that there can be
no controversy between intelligent minds;
and until you distinctly specify some error
in that Statement l have nothing more to
say in reference TO it. Ny object at this
time is simply and briefly to call attention
to some points in your reply which, if per-
mitted to pass unnoticed by me, might lead
many to form very erroneous conclusions in
reference to the matters embraced in them
In the first place, then. you will please al
low me TO remark that you were mistaken
in saying. as you did in your reply to me,
that the sketch" of the II volume, of my
work on the war, published in the Augusta
COnstitutionalist TO which you refer, '.pur-
porter to be "duthorized By me-" When |
saw your reply | thoughtit strange that any
such feature about that article should have
escaped my attention; for, in point of fact.
/ knew nothing about il until | saw il in
print. did not know that the writer had
any intention of preparing anything of the F.!
kind; and upon reference to il since. | see |
that you were mistaken in this particular
there Is nothing about that article bearing
any such "pupor"
In the second place, you will allow me to |
say, there is in that sketch or review. no /
such statement as mat President Darts pre-
''cented the General in command Of the Coafed- I
''erdte forces from pursuing the enemy from the
'.3eid Of Manassas TO Washington CIty," &c
This is the statement so ''oppareatly eHd0rs-
ed' by me which you say you deemed it /
proper to put at rest forever, by the publ /
cation of the correspondence between Pres /
ident Davis and General Johnston in your
first article in The CLARION.
Now if that sketch had represented me
as having made any such statement in the
Book as that thus attributed TO 10 in your re-
ply to me, l should have corrected the edi-
tor and set him right in this matter as
promptly as l did you upon seeing your
first article in The CLARION. The CORES
pondence you produced did most certainly
show that any statement such as that, by
made, if by any body, was ex-
erroneous. But you must re-
member that l made no such statement. nor
lid the editor ofthe COnstitutionalist in the
lrticle referred to.
In the third and last place, l wish now
simply to add, that in the extract from the
Book, which you had before you. and which
he public have. with your reply-in that
part treating of the events subsequent to
he first Battle of Manassas and President
Davis in connection with them, there is no
uch statement or expression as ''tdat three
months thereafter the fruits Of the cictory ,chich
had then passed into history lcere not
'reaped By the Generals in consequence OF his
'dtSdTprordi."
This is the statement which you under
Ook to assaiI IN your reply TO me; but |
AVE only to remind you and your readers
hat no such language as this is TO be found
n the extract or the Book-none such was
yer used by me on any occasion. | am re- s
ponsible only for my own language, and
ny own words-their due and proper i'm ,
,ort l think L understand; and if you can |
,oint out a single error in the statement of ,
acts as it stands in the extract and in the
Book, in my own language on the subject, !
shall be greatly obliged to you TO do it
his you have certainly not yet done.
Yours most respectfully,
ATFXANDER II. STEPHENS