The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1891-03-19


, Just arrived, and numbering 4,76o
officers and men, with Heth's division
on the left. and Wilcox's brigade Oh
its right, and with Lanes and Scales's
+. brigades under General Trimble, as
supports, were aligned for the attack. y
The following is an extract from
Jefferson Davis's instructions to Ste
S phens, in his commission to Washing
ton, Vol. H., P. 4o2:'
"My whole purpose is, in one word,
to place this war on the footing oi
such as are waged by civilized people
. in modern times, and to divest it OF
the savage charac er which has been
impressed on it by our enemies, in
spite of all our efforts and protests.
War is full enough of unavoidable hor-
rors, under all its aspects, to justify,
and even to demand, of any Christian
ruler who may unhappily engage in
carrying it on, to seek to restrict its
calamities, and to diyest it of all un-
necessary seventies"
This item, Vol. H., p. 528, is inter-
esting as showing the "war prices" in
1868:
"Sugar is $40 per pound; new ba-
con, So; and chickens, S12 per pair.
Soon we look for a money panic,
when few hundred millions of paper
money is funded, and as many more
collected by the tax collectors. Con-
!. gress struck the spectators hard
blow. One man, eager to invest his
money, gave 100000 for a house and
) lot, and he now pays $500 tax on
!; it; the interest is $4,000 more; total,
$1,000
! The chapter on "Exchange of Prs
oners," Vol. H., PIP. 536-574, is one
of the most important of the whole
r work, and puts new aspect upon the
5 story of Southern cruelties to Federal
: prisoners. Mr.. Davis positively as
, serted, and many letters, documents,
and memoranda are included in these
memoirs, to show that, had the Fed
: eral authorities been willing to make
proper exchanges, the sufferings and
deaths of hundreds of Federal soldiers
would never have occurred. We refer
the reader to the chapter named, for
the statements set forth, having space
: only to quote the following passage,
Vol H., P. 552:
"The Confederate President, in a
message of May 2, 1864, said: 'On
the subject OF the exchange of prison
ers, greatly regret to be unable to
give you satisfactory information. The
Government of the United States,
while persisting in failure to execute
the terms of the cartel, make occasion
al deliveries of prisoners, and suspend
action without apparent cause. Icon
fess my inability to comprehend their
policy or purpose. The prisoners held
by US, in spite of human care, are per-
ishing from the inevitable effects of
imprisonment and the home-sickness
produced by their hopelessness of re-
lease from confinement. The specta-
Gle of their suffering augmen.s our de-
sire to relieve from similar trials our
own brave men, who have spent so
many weary months in a cruel and
useless imprisonment, endured with
heroic constancy."
The capture Of Richmond set the
seal of final ruin upon the cause of the
Confederacy, and in common with
those who had the cause at heart, a
deep depression fell upon Mr.. Davis's
heart. His instructions to his wife re-
veal his feelings at this sorrowful period,
Vol. H., P. SIT:
"The day before our departure Mr..
Davis gave me pistol and showed me
how to load, aim, and fire it. He
was very apprehensive of our falling
into the hands of the disorganized
bands of troops rowing about the coun-
try, and said, you can at least, if re-
duced to the last extremity, force your
assistants to kill you, but l charge you
solemnly to leave when you hear the
enemy are approaching; and if you
cannot remain undisturbed in our own
country, make tor the Florida coast
and take ship there for foreign
country
Of General Lees surrender the fol-
lowing paragraph may be quoted, Vol.
H., p. 625:
General Lee had succumbed to the
inevitable. Some persons, with prob
ably desire to pay weak tribute to
Lees kind heart, or to rob Grant Of
his claims of magnanimity, in the
matter of the surrender, have said that
General Lee had only surrendered to
stop the effusion of blood. This is
not true. He had no weakness where
plain duty was concerned. He sur
rendered to overwhelming force and
insurmountable difficulties. In Grants
treatment of prisoners, let him have
all the credit that can attach to him."
Of his capture Mr.. Davis says, in an
account written by himself, Vol. H.,
i P. $40:
"Many falsehoods have been uttered
in regard to my capture, which have
been exposed in publications by per-
sons there present-by Secretary Rea-
gan, by the members of my personal
staff, and by the colored coachman,
Jim Jones, which must have been con-
vincing to all who desired to know the
truth. We were, when prisoners, sub
Ijected to petty pillage, as described in
the publicsGinns referred to. and in