Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1875-05-06
A LETTER FROM AN ExlONFED-
ERATE.
PoRr TOBACCO Charles CRnty, Nd,
April Iih, 1875.

April Iih, 1875.
E. WILLS, Esq,
Editor Of the Part TobaeI Times !"
For purposes in connectfn probably
with some future history I our late I'M
fortunate contest for StAtd Rights and
Sovereignty and Southern dependence,
am anxious to know acorately, how
many Marylanders / had IN my Office
in Montgomery, Ala, art Richmond,
Va, from March, 1861 10 March,
1865.
The Office Of Military, orsecond Aud
itor, was created by an Ac Of the Con.
fedcrate Congress, approval, believe,
on the 10th Of March, 1871. / was at
that time in Western louisiana, on
visit TO my brother, aud d my return
was met in New Orleans II telegram
from Mr.. Davis, PFesidenl 81 the Con.
federacy, inviting me 10 Mtstgomery, the
then seat Of Government. and Offering
me the appointment Of thelewly created
military authorship. ThsI prompt.
IL accepted, was commissidied and quail.
ifedi and without suggeslbn or assis-
lance from any one, completely organ
lied the Office; and upon tiat plan and
organization, il was eonduAed harmo.
nionsly, and l believe slEciently aud
successfully, 70 the end. The world
has long known that the Southern Con.
federacy Of eleven fas wa then believed
by theni) sovereign State, sesidee Ter
fitgfHtA, wan 4suase Il .ggs* Z bv~vc
aud most gallant asrngG sgaf years,
single handed and Aloue.SsAd the loss
Of over two hundred thostand Of tbs
very flower Of their yontht nd manhood
Of all classes and conditions Of its white
people. From the days lNirnrod, the
FIRST mighty hunter bafoie the Lord =
(Gen. ch, 10. ', 80 10 the present hour,
the sun never shone ON suSh = rank and
file. The ASsyrians undsE SsTniramiI
their celebrated Queen, snS sennaoherih
their King. the Egyptians under Sesos-
iris, the Confedegated Greeks unde,
MiltiadnA. tha ThAhan2 nAdar EbAmi.
nondas aud Pelopidas, the Macedonian
under Philip aud Alexander the Great
the French under Napoleon T., and the
bull dog English under Cromwell and
Wellington, were not to he compared
with them. And here nothing can b
truer and more appropriate, than 10 re-
peat what was written by 4 brave aud
nagnanimous "0ld Regulsr' Officer d
the Federal Army, and published il
May, 1874:
"When We crossed Nfno run, tet
years ago next Tuesday, and, attacked
Lee in the Wilderness, otw reports, Of
fetal and journalistic, made the Con
federate strength all the way from 10,
600, TO 100, 900, according to the trep
idation Of the writer. But Lees Off
cial statements, based on the ''faorning
reports" Of his Sergeants Major, max,
his force on the LIST Of MAY, $1,000
men, aud this included Fltzhugh Lee
and Pierce Young's commands Of Cav
airy. . The Confederacy i
gone, and its bones have been picket
white and clean, by those who kept suit
ler's shops during the war, and cam
carpet bagging TO Congress after it wa
over The least We can nov do is d
give the fighting Confederate full credi
for what they accomplished on the field
by admitting the disadvantages undo
which they struggled. End Il is no
even magnanimons, but simply fair l.
say now, that they fought az aeUer me-
fought before, but against such odds 0
numbers, armament, equipments, and sup
PIN resources, az mere Sevey before natclse
against a luekless foe. Revile thei
failure il you viii, but. do not add l.
it the tMsulting antyifh, that they yield
ed to inferior numbers. When til
time comes for telling the sehole trutl
il will appear in history, that the tcorl
never saio sixty three thousand soldier
who could have stood against the arm
that Lee headed in the Wilderness lei
years ago to-day"
In its government, the Southern Con
federacy closely followed that Of TIA
United States, abolished and correC
ting abuses which had grown up in tn
latter, until they produced secessio
and revolution But IN nothing wa
there such complete audradical chang
as was in the appointments and tenur
of Office of its civil officers, particular
ly Of the lower grades. Here the cd
GUS, contemplate and most demora
iziug doctrine and practice Of "rotatio
in Office and ito the victor's belonge
the spoils," was at once abandoned j
scorn TO the contempt it deserved, an
the honest, patriotic. usages Of Wnsl
ington, Hamilton, John Adams, Jeffe
son especially, $50 handsomely and sol