The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1889-12-12

He revised the army regulations, strength
ened the frontier and sea coast defenses,
and was the first to introduce
the system of explorations in the
western part of the continent for
geographical purposes and for determining
the best route for railway to the Pacific
coast. On retiring, he was reelected to the
senate, where he soon made his mark, the
leader of the Southern wing of the Demo-
cratic party. He was a candidate for the
presidency i'll the Democratic convention
which met in 1860, and after the election OF
Abraham Lincoln he identified himself
with the Southern movement which re-
suited in the war of secession.
1t is needless to go into the history of the
war which followed. jefferson Davis be-
came the president of the Confederacy, for
which his military training, AS well as his
political prominence, seemed to have fitted
him above any of his Southern associates.
Without showing any great genius it must
be conceded that he displayed more than
average ability. The contest was kept up
for four years, and the South had
its share of victory as well as
y
advantage 1t controlled the sea, it had
numbers, wealth and workshops. The
South was at u disadvantage, except in the
extent of the country and the di itficulty OF
penetrating it, owing to the absence ct
roads. Had Jefferson Davis possessed any
exceptional military capacity he could have
entered Washington after the first battle
of Bull Run. So long as the armies were
led and otticered by lawyers and politicians,
the war miSCarried on both sides. In an
cient times the orators and rulers were
trained to arms and gained distinction in
the field as well as in the forum. But it is a
notable circumstance that neither i'll the
Northern nor Southern armies did any law
yer or politician achieve success in active
field operations When the contest closed
almost every distinguished general on either
side was found to have been graduate of
West point.
The life of Jefferson Davis since the war
is soon told. He was captured by Gen. j.
II. Wilson and conveyed to Fortress Mon
roe where he was confined for two years.
In 1867 he was admitted to bail, Horace
Greeley, among Others, being one of his
bondsmen. He visited Europe in 1868 and
in December of that year nolle prOseQui
was entered in his case and he was dis
charged. He was also included in the
general amnesty of Dec. 25 1868. The
conduct of the American people toward
Davis and the leading Contederates is the
most creditable chapter in its history. The
triumph of the North was not followed by
any unnecessary cruelty, such as marked
the conduct of the French government
after the suppression of the commune. y
good deal was said during the war about
hanging jeff Davis on sour apple tree,
but he was left alone and allowed to write
his life and history without mOlestatiOu. He
lived on an island in the Gulf of Mexico not
far from Mobile, and occupied the mansion
bequeathed him by lady who thought the
ex-COnfederate chiet should not spend his
old age in poverty. Nothing can be said
against the moral character or personal
habits of Jefferson Davis. He was not a
man to inspire widespread affection. He
was cold in temperament and austere in his
manners, but, on the whole, bore himself
with dignity after his retirement from the
public scene
To show the spirit Of the man at the ex-
cited and exciting period following his
withdrawal from the United States senate
we can do no better than to reproduce a
speech by Davis at Chattanooga, Tenn, ON
his way from Washington to Mississippi
on the night of Jan. %, 1861 The
South" he said, has had a great
wrong imposed upon it by the election of
Abraham Lincoln, an Illinois rail-splitter,
to the presidency of the United States. Our
only resource is to secede from the Union,
and establish a government for ourselves"
% Ho of 70
with the South, he pledged them that he
only wanted their strength and in
fluence, that the cotton states would
pay the debt of the war. and that
Tennessee would not have a dollar
to pay. Telling us that Mr.. Buchanan was
powerIess, and could not protect us, that
We must unite the South in a solid body,
march on their cities and lay them in ashes,
for in that consisted their wealth and
strength, and that the way to touch a Yam
KEGS soul was to strike his purse. The
South had the material-cotton was
king. France and old England, he
said, could not do without it, and
would be forced to side with the South
to keep their factories in operation and
their people from starving. That the spin
| dies OF New England would rust tor want of
|
strength and the power-in reality the life
of the government. Calling on the Ten
nesseeans to go with the South in this
struggle, he eulogized them for their
courage bOasted of their deeds of daring
on the fields of Mexico, saying that he
knew full we'll the meaning of the click of
! their trusty rifle. In ties, associations, in
terest and institutions Tennessee was
directly interested and ought to go with the
South. He felt satisfied, he said, that her
people would not prove recreant to their
trust. When the time came she would lock
shields with her sister states and
meet the vandal foe. AS for
himself, in the language of the
great patriot, he would say, Give me lib
erty, or give me death" The election OF
Abraham Lincoln and the party sustaining
him was equivalent to direct war upon
the South. Her peculiar institutions were
no longer safe, and there was nothing left
but to fight. AS for himself he preferred
death before dishonor.
Mr.. Davis died. as he had lived since the
war-an unrepentant REBEL and his political
disabilities were never removed. In 1887
he published his history of the rebellion.