Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1879-07-07
The Failure of the Confederacy.

at Atia1!a LITTER il the Philadelphia Times,
giving an account Of 40 interview with General
Robert Toombs, oootsios the following:
What, 10 your oIioioD. YVES the cluse OF
the failure OF the Cobtsderacy 2
IF had 10 game ons thing that was most
fatal | should say the CouscriOt Act That
dsmorslizsd the troops and the country. There
was no necessity for it, aud 1t sprung from MI.
Davis desire to have tho appointment Of officers.
He Was crazy over his West Point mhr:Inots,
and whon h. could not appoint the oilcsrs OF the
volunteers, ho &oat To Congress sDd damsndcd
the C1nscripL law and got il. said ut the time ::
Tho CsI is lest sud this should be lis epltaph:
kili3! By West Pont"' In general torms the
absolute netli cheney at Richmond was tho cause
Of cur failure Davis il - remarkable character.
Ee is & good writer and that is Ill, He WAS n
allow man and always acted rashv at lsst His
delay was not Caused hy delbsr,tinn, bat was a
cont ina!ion of vaii:ty End IA refusal 10 think.
He is a vciy small military msn. His idea o.
war was based upon the experience in tho 8reck-
cntidge campaign. told Tim that niEoty per
cant. Of We. WAS bu:iEe:s-tGat we must organ
IL, gvicl0ry Ta!ho- than tIus.t0 Ii Citing entirely.
I urged Elm 10 send to Enelaud 10 bug Ill the
arms there 10 ordered 5000 rIh:s. Zoo Brown,
of Gnorgis, had moro srns for long time than
the Confe1etaey hMd Under pretance of giving
lho Unionists time 10 leaye .ha South, kept our
ports open for sixty days. No new governmen.
ovcr started with such unlimited credit Is We
mud. We had any amount OF cotton offered Us.
| urged Mr.. Davis to send this to EUROPE 20 fss;
20 it could be carrisd. and buy shins and arms
with it. We could have borrowed any smount
Wo TGntod. The fret loan mad" YVES $50 900
when it should have been S. 0J00l0. Blu. it
scanned to be impossbieto &c! the 2Cvernmen.
10 look ut The matter in serious iigGt. l al
vance1 some SIS, Coz myself for eff 70 rent etc.
SemIaes was there begging for Cotton and pledg-
iEg hira:e!f 10 bring back ships and arms for
every bale he took. He finally got I think, thr5e
hundred bales. The f5alci.l records Of the
Conluderacy WIS failure that would have been
!udicrous bad it no. been Sd sef!ou;. With un-
limited credit. backed by rich ard patriotic
people and controlling tho leading staple OF the
world, cur bills wo1o soon so low down that it
YVES said sha government ran the presses ell day,
and the niggers ran them st night Had the ira:
aixty days of the Confederate goYarn ",e"t Heen
properly improved ~o eealu nave SO orSshlHHu
III At defset Won d have b5au impossible. A. one
timeit Was announced that there WAS M error Of
500 C0J,CC0 In tho amount or bills cut and the
amount on tho books OF tho government There
Wss never Gno;aert during the war when Davis
acu.lly appreciated the situation. Why, alter
The march Of the Confederates from RsppahGa-
neck TO Shsrps burg and bsck again. when they
had swept everything before them. numbers not
awaiting anything against them, Davis thought
tho war was ovo-, and act1ally began to quarrel
about who had whipped it, He wss as joslous
es Bsrbsry hen, ard once s.srtad TO havc me
arrested for rijicnling him. l am thoroughly
satisfied that the establishment ofn government
under Mr. Davis was an i'm possibility. Indeed
the light was hsphaZird from beginning 10 end,
without metho1 or craftsmanship, snd sustained
only by miraculous vs!or as long es it was, The
con.iitut on WAS a good O5o, but there praise OF
the Confederate government and its works must
end"