St. Landry democrat., 1879-07-26
4 CURIOUS STORY.
HOW Napoleon Hi. Was to Have Receg
ntzed the Southern ConfedeI eIacy.

AhoW Napoleon Hi. Was to Have Recee
ntzed the Southern ConfedeIacys
Letter by the Hon. James Lyons of Richmond, t
} Col Magruder, of Baltimore.
I will relate q conversation I had a
my house, Lahurnum, near Richmond
with Count Mercier, the French min
lister, in the month OF May or early par
OF June, 1862. He, it will be recollected
visited Richmond by permission Of tn
northern government, but was inter
dicted from holding direct intercourse
with President Davis or any Of his cab
net, and he spent nearly two days OF hi
time at my house in Henrico. In point
OF fact, as the sequel will disclose, he wa;
sent here (by Mr.. Seward) with q view
to make peace. In the course of days
discussion in my library, he asked me 8
great many questions; among Others
the question:
"Can you whip Mcclellan p who was
then lying with an army of two hundred
thousand men within six miles of Rich
mond, confronted by Gen. Lee.
told him in reply that felt sure We
could and would, and if the emperor of
the French would open the ports and
Keep them open, we would march to New
York, md not ask the loan of man or
dollar. With great animation he
sprang to his feet, and said in French;
Il such be the temper OF your people
you are invincible. But why do you
think you will whip Mcclellan ?'
answered: because the president
and Gen. Lee tell me they believe we
will"
Then he added: "But do you know
how many men are bearing upon Rich>
mond ?'
l replied, "the president thinks there
are 100000. Gen. Lee thinks not so
many, but more than 100000"
To which he replied, I" they are both
mistaken. There are 225,0OO. General
Burnside's force at Port Royal is part
OF the force bearing upon Richmond
sent to Port Royal merely in the hope
of inducing General Lee to detach part
of his army to meet it. I am just from
the war office, and have all the statistics
here'' (holding up a paper which he
drew from his poeket); "but, he added,
" Can't this war be stopped? Can't you
come back under the old fagT'
I said: " I suppose that is impossible,
for Mr.. Seward would not permit us tc
do SO without the abolition of slavery,
and it would be useless to propose that
to the men from the extreme SOUTH"
To that he replied: "You are mista-
ken. If you will only return and
acknowledge the flag, Mr.. Seward will
permit you to return without ny.condi-
tions."
"What p said ], with the institution
of slavery?"
EYES," he said.
I then said: But there is yet one
thing more to be considered. To use
the phrase which was SO much hackneyed
with respect to the northeastern bound
ary question Of indemnity for the past
and security for the FUTURE we can't
ask, / know, indemnity for the past, but
we must have security for the future.
We can not live hereafter in the state
OF harassmen and excitement in which
we have lived for some years past"
Then drawing his hand across piece
of paper lying upon the library table,
upon the opposite sides of which we were
sitting, he said:
I" Mr.. Seward will allow you to write
your own guarantees"
I expressed my individual readiness to
consent to those terms. [ had been in
favor of the southern convention which
S1uth Carolina proposed through Mr..
MemmiDger, her commissioner, believing
as I did, in which [ am now confirmed
that if all the southern states met in
convention, as proposed by South Caro-
lima, such guarantees wolld be asked of
the northern people as they would grant,
and which would protect us, and in that
event there would be no secession, and I
certainly did not wish secession if we
could be protected in the enjoyment of
our constitutional rights, and that,,.I be-
lieve, was the general sentiment of the
south. I believe have given you now
almost, if not exactly, verbatim these
conversations to which I referred in my
conversation with you. [ will add that
the day following the conversation with
the French minister, large company of
gentlemen dined with him at my house,
and he left there after ten O'Clock at
night in rain, in order, as he said, to
send dispatch to Norfolk to fire up
steamer which could take him or his dis
patches, I forget which, to New York:
before the next Atlantic steamer sailed.
The battle OF Coal Harbor and the
other battles around Richmond occurred
not long atterward, and I had no doubt
of our acknowledgment by the French
government, and was very much SUB
prised that it did not come.