The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1882-04-19
Tho Truth Coming outr

We intended to print in last week
Farmer and .Nechnnic dated on RI,
anniversary OF the fall Of Fort Sumpter
lApril l3) and also the anniversary O.
the Parolement of Lees army four year.
after the fall of Sumpter. the following
Significant letter which has recently
Deen allowed to SEE tue light 1t is fro,r
MAJOR General Neies, the .lmous Quar-
ter -Maste General or the Yankee Ser
vice who organ ze0 AZ / equipped the
vast armament ui three millions Of meI
that were employed ii crushing tEe
Confederacy.
Here is his letter.
Y. 5. TRANSPORT ATLANTIC, !
NeW fOrk, Apr,l 6, '6l-2! p. M.
|. DEAR SIR: By great e1ertions, with
IN less than six days from the time the
subject was broached in the office of the
President, war steamer sails from this
port and the Atlantic, built under con-
tract to be at the service of the United
States In case of war, will follow this
afternoon with five hundred troops, of
which one company is sappers and
miners, one q mounted battery. The
Illinois will follow on Monday with the
stores which the Atlantic could not
| hold.
While the mere throwing of a few
men in Fort Pickens may seem a small
operation, the opening of a campaign Is
great one.
Unless the movement is supported by
ample supplies and followed up by the
Navy it will be failure. This Is the
beginning Of the ,oar which every states
nan and soldier has forseen since the
passage of the South Carolina ordinance
of secession You will find the Army
and the Navy clogged at the head with
men, excellent patriotic men, men who
were soldiers and sailors forty years ago,
but who now merely keep active men
out of the places in which they could
serve the country.
Ii you call out volunteers you have no
general to command. The general born,
not made, is yet to be found who is to
govern the great army which ID to save
the country, if saved it can be- Colo
mel Keyes has shown intelligence, zeal,
activity, and look for high future for
him.
to Septemb ter In IN getting General Taylor
before Monterey. Let US be supported;
we 20 to serve our country, and our
country should not neglect us or leave
us to be strangled in tape, however red.
Respectfully.
M. C. MEIGs.
Hon. WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
Secretary of State.
Now, mark you lit has been falsely
asserted for twenty years by every North
ern writer, speaker, poet, historian,
preacher, and newspaper, that the war
was forced on the North, by the South
ern leaders, who 'precipitated' 1t, by
firing on Fort Sumpter. There is not,
80 far as we know, single Northern
History of the war which does not pic
ture the ''Secesh leaders" as flemish
" plotting to take the North by sur
prise, and sire the Northern heart, !"
and .precipitate conflict" by assail-
ing the National flag. while at the same
time pretending to be anxious for peace,
and keeping delegation of distinguish
ed Peace men" at Washington, pray
ing for an amicable settlement.
Twenty years have elapsed, and the
vile old scoundrels who forced the wal
upon the South have gone to then
accounts; and gradually their trick,
are coming to light. 1t Is undoubt'
edly true that there we're men II
the South who wanted war; and were
full of Dragging sound and fury 'signi
fying nothing') but it is equally tru'
that the chiefs Of the Confederacy die
not desire war, aud were willing to g
|yreat lengths to prevent it, and woult
agreed to any equitable adjustment o
the question of Forts, arms, boundaries
etc. Moreover, the Southerners wer
omen and above the board in all thei
transactions.
Far otherwise with the Lincolnltes
1t is pretty we'll conceded by fair mlnde
men that all the time the crafty Seward
Lincoln, ct ul, were pretending to nego
ciate for Peace, they were really stralT
ing every nerve to trick, and deceive, an
suddenly overpower the South. Thei
is abundant proof that the peclaratlo
of War, was actually made on the 81
of March although on the 9Th OF Apl
both Lincoln and Seward assured IL
Southern Peace Commissioners tn
nothing was being done, or eret co
ten,pldtcd, to interrupt the exlstll
peaceful status.
Imagine the grin Of traitorous GU
nipg with which Seward made the
solemn declarations while at the We
moment he knew that large army n
left New York harbor three days pl
vious. after six days" secret prepar
ton, on steamers, ''built under contrac
With the go, ernu ent Ia steamer requil
=. months in building (which army
ts' to ''open the campaign" and begin I
war on the South.
Read Gen. Meigs letter again. 7
will note that it is dated April 6, halt
II. hour before the war vessels start
South. Meigs mentions that be had be
&C. present at the secret conclave OF I ank
leaders on the lst OF April; and that
that date (eight days before the Linc'
" government assured the confedIr;
Government that DO movement was
cont, mpla,ion) large fleet was order
to sail. This is the beginning of
vsr''-wrote Meigs on the 9th of Al