The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-01-12
A SOUTHERN DICTATORSHIP.
Substance Of Documents Filed In the
War Departmentby Gen. Sherman,
Giving Proof of the Designs of jeff Dayis-TM
Fear in Which lie Was Held by Gov
ernorS Vance and Brown.


from General Sherman, in continuation of his
discussion charging Jefferson Davis with the de.
sign of making himself dictator, has been filed
with the Secretary Of War;
WASHINGTON, D. c., Jan. g. 1885.
Hon on Robert T. Lincoln Secretary of War. Washing
Sir-I beg to submit for your consideration
ana disposal this paper, to be filed with the waa
records, which may aid others in search of HIS
toric truths.
Recently, at St. Louis, Mo, nv present resi-.
dence, was invited to assist in defeating
new hall for the use of Frank p Blair Post No,
l. of the Grand Army of the Republic, composed
exclusively OF Union soldiers, their wives and
children-a family affair-in no sense public
meeting The exercises consisted of short
speeches, interspersed with army songs. was
one among many speakers, and my remarks
were purely extempore, without manuscript or
notes of any kind. My recollection OF what I
did say is about this
l congratulated the members of the post on
having secured hall in so convenient neigh
borhood; in the interest manifested by so full
an attendance; that it was good for old soldiers
to meet and interchange the memories and tra~
ditions of war in which they had borne an hon.
orable part; that histories, memoirs ard stories
were being published; that the government was
making progress in the publication of the official
reports and correspondence-union and confed-
erate that nevertheless all these fell short Of
the whole truth, that each mans memory re-
tanned things of still greater interest to us, the
survivors, and that myself had seen and ex-
perienced much that never had been and would
probably never be published, illustrating the as
sertion by what occurred in Louisiana prior to
Feb "a, 1861, when left the State; of letters
and papers captured throughout the war; that
|, had seen papers which CONVINCED me
OF the Southern Confederacy, had,
during the progress of the war, changed his
State rights doctrines and had threatened to use
force--even Lees army-should any State of the
confederacy attempt to secede from that govern
ment, etc. had no thought or expectation that
these remarks would be published at all, much
less in the garbled form to occasion discussion
and ill-feeling, yet / shrink not from just re-
sponsibility for every word uttered there, or al
any time. Two of the st. Louis morning papers
did publish reports of that meeting including
my speech much condensed, and as usual,
much improved by the intelligent reporters, who.
ignoring the context, laid particular stress on
1.-THE letter of President Davis to the Governor
of a State. now senator, whose name was not
given" Mr.. Davis, from his home at Beauvoir,
has quoted these reports and in card addressed
to the st. Louis Republican, has pronounced my
assertion false and me sanderer
He has never addressed me to inquire how
much of truth was contained in the quot atoms,
nor has any friend of his done so. Many 9TH
ers have, and | have answered them frankly,
always misunderstanding discussion in the news
papers.
The world heeds but little what think of Mr..
Davis, or he of me- but all do want to know the
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth / have said thousand times, and now
say again, there was conspiracy throughout the
Southern States in the winter of 1860-6l; that
myself was approached by member of the
Knights of the Golden Circle; that the head of
that conspiracy was in Washington; that its
object was to destroy our government, apd raise
on its ruins plutocracy at the South l can
not state the proposition better than John u.
Ncolay has already done in his admirable
work, 1.-THE Outbreak of Rebellion the first OF
the Scribner series and that the cause perme-
ated the navy IS demonstrated by Admiral Am
men in his contribution to the same series, en-
titled, THE Atlantic Coast" both using plain
words, conspiracy and ''consprators."
For the nature and kind of government In
Richmond in 1868, / refer the student to DIR.
Diapers third volume, pages 448 and 449 civil
War in America and as for the conspiracy
itself, to "McPherson's History of the Rellion,"
last edition. pages 391 and 3O2
But it is my own personal experience to which
propose in the main to limit myself; not to one
single disjointed paragraph but to the whole
subject matter. For the binding force of an
oath with the exception" take Grotius. who is
good authority the world over, and refer the
curious to Book 2, chapter H. "Rights of Wae
and Peace;" and for conspiracy" and rebel
lion to Johnson's Dictionary. Grotius defines
treason as synonymous with assassination, and
it has proved strangely true in our own CASE
though he wrote his famous book in 1925.
Page 1885, volume l, series 1, "Of1icial Record
Of the Union and Confederate Armies" contains
two dispatches, the first from Senators Benja-
min and Slidell to d. W. Adams president
military board, New Orleans; the second from
John Slidell alone to Governor Moore of Lou
isiana, which are conclusive of reasonable
correspondence to compel the State authorities
to seize by force the arsenal at Baton Rouge,
the forts at the mouth of the Mississippi, etc.
These two dispatches were not all of said corre-
spondence because, when in New Orleans, Feb
ruary 2024, 1861, was much of the time with
my old army comrade, Colonel Braxton Bragg,
who conte that the seizure of the arsenal
and fort s.a defensive measure, and he
showed tes of letters from Senators Ben
jamin ar dell, addressed to Governor Moore
Whose q . Bragg was. written on paper headed
''U. s. Senater-for they were then senator's
under the oath prescribed by the Constitution.
| kept up my correspondence with the officers
of the institution over which / had presided
till May IL, 1861 and have before me a copy OF
this correspondence, with the original letter Of
Rraxton Bragg, and many others in Louisiana
After the war was over in 1865, went back
to Louisiana to help all / could to reestab-
lish the military academy and seminary
of learning of which ! had been president and
it exists today under the title of the Louisiana
University. Subsequently, when my personal
friend Henry Stanbery. was Attorney general
interceded and aided Governor Thomas o.
Moore to regain possession of the plantation at
Bayou Robert, on the express ground that under
the pressure brought to bear upon him from
washington, ne couio haroiy help acting as ne
did In 1861. also renewed MY correspondence
with General Bragg tried all / could to help
him regain his property and the last letter find
recorded is dated ST Louis, Mo-, Jan. %, 1867,
addressed to him at the st. Louis Hotel, New
Orleans, advising him as to the measures he
should pursue to establish the claim of his wife
for certain forage and supplies taken by the
Union troops from her plantation; also to aid
him in his declared purpose to become connected
with the management of thelOpelousas railroad.
Now as to Mr. Jefferson Davis his general his.
tory is pretty we'll known and appreciated His
own history of the ''Rise and Fall of the South
ern Confederacy a la Gibbon, is public and sub
ject to every mans criticism but of him. too
have personal knowledge, not meant for publica-
ton. but to become a part of the TRADITIONS of
civil war" which the Grand Army of the Repub-
lie will preserve.
In the summer of 1863. when vicksburg sur