The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1870-10-06

tween President Davis and Gen. JOS. +
Johnston, In which the latter, in reply TO a
inquiry from the former, whether he (Presi
dent Davis,) "had INSTRUCTED pursuit of tn
enemy after the victory of Manassas---re
piled, emphatically, NO The misrepre
sentation by the Constitutionalist of wha
you did actually say, on this point, woul,
have been lamentable if it had not furnishe,
the occasion for bringing to light CORES
pondence between President Davis and Gen
eral Johnston, which has served TO remove
widespread and almost universal misappre
hension in the minds of their countrymen il
regard to an important historical matter, il
| consequence of the silence which the for
mer, from motives of delicacy, has imposed
upon himself
AS to the second point. The objection K
your narrative of facts occurring subsequent
to the battle of Manassas is, that it so incom-
plete as to convey different meaning from
| the statement of Gen. Johnston, concerning
the views of President Davis in reference to
the operations ofthe army, and that it fails
TO relate all that occurred in the Fairfax
Conference, wherein he is reported to have
''disapproved" the plan of the Generals for
an advance movement. The business of this
objection, | will proceed to demonstrate so
clearly as to admit of neither question nor
denial:
In reply to President Davis inquiry,
whether he had "erer INSTRUCTED an adj
vance or other active operations which it
"was possible for the army to undertake. -
Gen. Johnston said q 1t has never been fea-
I. ell for f6a IL g.
" ther than it has done. After a con-
"ferenc at Fairfax Court House, you
''anrounced it to be impracticable to give
1.-The army the strength deemed necessary
"(by the Generals) to assume the offensive"
&c. This correspondence does not show
that President Davis ''dsapproved" the
policy of activity by the army /; but that he
could not furnish the troops demanded by
the Ge..eral in command to execute their
plans for an advance OH the main force of
the enemy. The points" you speak of as
remote" yorktown, Norfolk. &c., on the
contrary were proximate and vital, and he
replied that to have left them "bare" would
have opened the way for the enemy to the
Capitol of the Confederacy, and the destruc-
tion of the means by which supplies were
conveyed TO the army.
In previous letter, stated that the fact
that Mr.. Davis did advise another plan of
operations to which you have done him
the injustice to make no allusion whatever
in your book, had been verified by the pub
lication over the signatures of Gen'ls.
Smith, Johnston and Beauregard OF an ac-
count of the Fairfax conference. From
this memorandum the following statement
is extracted:
'After the main question (the advance on
Washington was dropped the President
proposed Instead Of an dctive, offensive CAM
'.paigE, zoe should attempt partial operations.
"a sudden bloto against Sickles and Banks or
''to break the bridge over the Monococy.-
This he thought besides injuring the enc
my, would exert good influence over our
troops and encourage the people of the
Confederate States generally.
at 1ras agreed that If any opportunity should
"0cciT Offering reasonable chances Of success,
SHE attempt should be made" (The italics are
mine.)
Now my dear sir, I have searched your
narrative of the events following theManas-
sas victory, and of the Fairfax Conference,
but hare failed to ind the remotest dRusion to
the fact mentioned in Uiis extract from the
memorandum of the Generals-a paper
which, will add, is er pdrte, and was pre-
pared without the knowledge of President
Davis for purposes best known to its authors.
The version itself though amply sustaining
the objection to your narrative, is not full,
and justifies the production of the follow
ing extract from President Davis's note of
the conference:
''NoTE BY j. DAVIS On
''visi1 to the army of NortlN Virginia, l had
"a conference with the Generals. My object
''1caS 10 induce activity, and having strained
"every nerve TO reinforce that army had
''hoped it ,oouId be feasible to GdUance. Col,
"Crozet, the well-known eminent engin-
"eer, had given me detailed maps of the Po-
''tomac River near to Washington, by which
sit appeared feasible to cross the river when
Glow at the falls, should there be neither
''bridge nor full pontoon train. The demand
"for more troops than could be furnished
sand the fact that the army was not nearly
''as strong as the re-inforcenents sent war
''ranted me in supposing, seemed to post
''pOne indefinitely a march on the main
body of the army. There toere other opera
''tionS 1ohich tcere urged, one an expedition in
"to lower Maryland, and was, by the
Generals, considered feasible after work
''on the river, then in progress, should be
finished. The expedition was never made,
&C., &c.
Now, respectfully submit that when you
state in your book that ''some movement of
the sort" Gan advance movement) was pro-
posed by the Generals and not carried out
on the precise plan suggested because Mr..
Davis ''disapproved" it flor the reason that
he could not furnish the number of troops
your history tails short of its
true mission tchen it fails to relate that in the
same conference he did urge other Gctire opera
tions as explained in the extracts Gbove quoted.
Far be it from me to intimate that you in
tended to make upon the public mind an err
impression of the conduct and mo-
tives of any of the actors in the great events
which you have partially related. 1 prefer
to find reason for the omission which has
been brought to your notice, in your own
explanation that at the time your history
was prepared you had seen neither the cor
between President Davis
and Gen. Johnston, nor the memorandum
Of the Fairfax conference prepared by the
Generals. nor the version of President Da-
Wis, and that your knowledge, therefore
was not co-extensive with the facts as they
really existed.
1 am, very respectfully, yours,
L. BARKsDALE.
-~<-s-%S--
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