The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-12-07

one of the commissioners for arranging the
terms of the capitulation of that city; and
distinguished himself in the battle of Buena
Vista, Feb. %, 1647, where his regiment,
| attacked by an immensely superior force,
maintained their ground for a long time TN
severely wounded, remained in the
saddle until the close of the
| action. At the expiration of the
term of its enlistment, in July, 1S47, the
! Mississippi regiment was ordered home, and
| while on his return he received commits
| sion from President Polk as brigadier gem
| eral of volunteers, which he declined
| accepting, on the ground that the constitu-
| ton reserves to the states respectively the
| appointment of the officers of the militia,
and that consequently their appointment by
the federal executive is in violation of the
rights of the states.
A SENATOR.
In August, 1S47, he was appointed
by the governor of Mississippi United
States senator TO fill va
cancy, and at the ensuing session
of the state legislature, Jan. IL, 1S4S, was
unanimously elected to the same office for
the residue of the term, which expired
March 4, 1851. In 1850 he was reelected
for the ensuing full term. In tie Senate he
was chosen chairman of the committee on
military affairs, and took prominent part
in the debates on the slavery question, in
defense of the institutions and policy of
the slave states, aud was a Jealous advocate
of the doctrine of state rights In
September, 1851, he was nominated for
governor of Mississippi by the Democratic
party in opposition to Henry S. Foote, the
candidate of the Union party. He resigned
his seat in the Senate on accepting the
nomination, and was beaten in the election
by a majority of 500 votes; a marked in
dication of his personal popularity in his
own state, for at the convention election, :"
two months before, the Union party
had majority of $500. After his
| defeat heremained in retirement until the
presidential contest of 1882 when he deliv-
cred speeches in behalf of Gen. Pierce in
| Mississippi, Tennessee and Louisiana. In
1855 he was appointed by President Pierce
Secretary of War, which post he held till
the inauguration of President Buchanan in
| 1857. His administration of the war de-
partment was marked by ability aud en-
ergy, and was highly popular with the
army. He proposed or carried into effect.
among other measures the revision of the
army regulations; the Introduction of
camels into America; the introduction of
the light infantry or rife system of
tactics; the manufacture of rided nuskets
! and pistols, and the use of the minieball;
the addition Of four regiments to the army
the augmentation or the seacoaSt and
frontier defenses, and the system of ex-
| plorations in the western part of the con-
tinent for geographical purposes, and for
determining the best route for a railroad
to the Pacific ocean. On his retirement
| from the war department, he re-entered
the senate for the term ending March 4
1868.
| LEADER
In the Thirty-sixth congress, which met
in December, 1859, he was the recognized
leader of the democrats in the Senate His
name for years had been frequently men
toned as a candidate of the Democratic
party for the presidency.
Mississippi seeded Jan. 8, 1861; but it
was not till Jan. 81 that Mr.. Davis made
his farewell speech in the Senate and de-
parted for his home. Soon after his arrival
there he was appointed commandments
of the militia of the state, with the rank OF
major general In spesch to the Missis-
sippi legislature in December, 1852, he said
! Il then imagined that it might be my for