The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-12-16
JEFF DAVIS.
Text of The Letter That Has Created
a Sensation.

RALEIGH, n. c., December 15.-In
response to the recent controversy be-
tween General Sherman and Jefferson
Davis, in which the former charged the
latter with having threatened to force
certain States to remain in the Confed-
eracy, it has been stated that Davis
letter containing this threat was written
DIV Governor Vance, now United States
Senator, in reply to his letter to Presi-
dent Davis, of October 18th, 1862. It
has been stated also that the letter of
Davis had been destroyed. This is a
mistake. The letter is here and IS now
in the possession of a gentlemanof
Raleigh. 1t was as follows:
RICHMOND, VA, Nov. 18th, 1852.
To his EscelIcncy Coz. Vance, Raleigh;
Dear Sir:-I have the honor to ack-
nowledge yours of the 25th uIt., and re-
greet the disappointment to which some
recruits of North Carolina have been
subjected. I concur with you as to the
policy of allowing conscripts. as far as
State service will permit, to select the
companies and regiments in which they
are to serve. The right secured by law
Of the volunteer to select his own COM
pany, was lost. it is true, by enroll
ments, but the policy was SO obvious of
aSSOciating men together who would best
harmonic with each other, that it was
my purpose to continue the privilege
fixed by law. The danger to the coast
of North Carolina, and our inability to
draw troops from the army of Northern
Virginia, rendered it proper that great
est exertion should be made imme-
diately to fill up the regiments in Gen.
Frenchs command, but this did not in
terfere with allowing conscripts to Sc
lect among those regiments the one to
which they would be assigned. so long
as vacancies existed in the companies
chosen, and that 1 expected would have
been done l will send your letter to
the War Department with copy of this
reply to you, and hope for the fu-
ture that there will be no
ground for dissatisfaction and that, as
far as feasible, the disappointments to
which you refer may be corrected by
transfer. feel grateful to you for the
cordial manner in which you have sus-
tanned every proposition connected with
the public defense, and trust that there
will always be such co-intelligence and
accordance as VIII enable us 10 CO-OpeT-
ate for the public good. The conscript
act has not been popular anywhere out
of the army. There, as you are aware,
it serves to check the discomfort which
resulted from retaining twelve months
men beyond the term of their original
engagement, and was fairly regarded as
a measure equitably to distribute the
burden of the public defense, but the
State authorities have nowhere offered
any opposition to its execution, or with
held their aid, except in the State of
Georgia, and so far as the cadets OF the
military institute are concerned in the
State of Virginia, 1 shall endeavOr by
judicial decision to settle the question
raised in these two States, and in the
meantime 1 have. been eheered
by the evidence of popular sentiment,
which supports any measure necessary
to protect our country and secure
our political independence. Like your
self, [ have hoped that the party dis
tinctions which existed at the former
time would be buried in the graves OF
the gallant men who have fallen in de-
tense of their birthright, and that we
should all, as band of brothers. strike
for the inheritance our fathers lett US.
With sincere regard am, rf
Respectfully and truly,
JEFFERSON DAVIS.