The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-07-24

1t was bombshell in the ranks. They
asked me if Mr.. Davis had sent me to
them. 1 then told them exactly what
had happened, but they declined to give
up their places. | then resigned and
went to the field"
"What in your opinion was the cause
of the failure of the Confederacy?"
off i had to name one thing that was
most fatal 1 should say the conscript
act. That demoralized the troops and
the country. There was no necessity
for it, and it sprang from Mr.. Davis de-
sire to have the appointment of officers.
He was crazy over his West Point mar
tinets, and when he could not appoint
the officers of the volunteers, he went to
Congress and demanded the conscript
law and got it. I said at the time: The
cause is lost, and this should be its epi-
taph: Killed by West Point In gen.
eral terms the absolute inefficiency at
Richmond was the cause of our failure.
Davis is o remarkable character. He is
good writer and that is all. He was
slow man, and always acted rashly at
last. His delay was not caused by de-
liberation, but was combination of va
riety and a refusal to think. He is e
very small military man. I told him
that ninety per cent. of war was business
that we must organize victory rath,
than trust to fighting entirely. urged
him to send to England to buy all the
arms there. He ordered 5000 rifles.
Joe Brown, of Georgia, had more arms
for q long time than the Confederacy
had. Under pretense of giving the
Unionists time to leave the South, /
kept our ports open for sixty days. No
new government ever started with such
unlimited credit as we had. We had
any amount of cotton offered US. / urged
Mr.. Davis to send this to England as
fast as it could be carried, and buy ships
and arms with it. We could have Dor.
rowed any amount we wanted. The first
loan made was $4,000, when it should
have been S5,0OO,O0O. But it seemed to
be impossible to get the Government to
look at the matter in a serious light. !
Had the first sixty days of the Confeder.
ate Government been properly improved
we could have so organized that defeat
would have been impossible. At one
time it was announced that there was an
error of 1000, 900 in the amount of
bills out and the amount on the books of
the Government. There was never |
moment during the war when Davis ac-
tually appreciated the situation. Why, |
after the march of the Confederates from |
Rappahannock to Sharpsburg and back |
again, when they had swept everything |
before them, numbers not ayailing any
thing against them, Davis thought the |
war was over, and actually began to
quarrel about who had whipped it. He
was as jealous as Barbary hen, and once
started to have me arrested for ridiculing
him. l am thoroughly satisfied that the
establishment Of Government under
Mr.. Davis was an impossibility. Indeed
the fight was hazardous from beginning
to end, without method or craftsmanship,
and sustained only by miraculous valor
as long as it was. The Constitution was
q good one, but there praise of the Con-
federate Government and its work must
end"
"Have you ever taken the oath of al
legiance to the United States Govern
ment?"
"No, sir. The last oath I took was to
the Confederate States, and l shall never
take another. l do not like the General
Government, and l would not consent to
serve it any capacity. 1t is tempora-
ry concern at best. The Constitution
mas no power within itself. 1t depends
solely on the good faith of the people, and
that guarantee alone can not continue to
bind together great country OF. diverse
interests. have never really believed
since 1850 that the Union was perpe-
tuity. The terrible experience of the late
war will probably deter any faction
from making row for the next few
years. Had it not been for this the
West might have precipitated collision
during the election muddle of 1876. I
have no faith in the Puritan New Eng
landers, the fellows that Macaulay said
were opposed to bear-baiting not because
it hurt the bear, but it pleased the peo-
pie. As to the talk about the Northern
people forgiving me, I have nothing to
say. As Ihave not forgiven them, and
don't expect to, am Indifferent as to the
state of their feelings"