The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-08-06

have on the battle fields Of this war
won for her so glorious a name. But
/ do suspect a knot Of traitors who
have been conspiring at home. while
the mass Of the states true sons were
at their posts Of duty in the army"
March Is. General Whiting was noti-
fed that no more slaves could be fur-
nished to work on the forts after
| April /. He a Wilmington was a
confederate post" and all the labor
| of defending Ii should not fall upon
| Meth Carolina. He added I'VE have
sent man slaves to Petersburg on this
principle"
March Q. Vance wrote President
Davis a spicy letter. in which he said
that while two-thirds Of the people OF
| North Carolina were opposed TO Sc
cession until Lincoln's proclamation,
yet out OF twenty-five or thirty gen
erals appointed from North Carolina,
only three, Calling. Baker and Robert
B. Vance, were anti-secessionists. He
thought IL strange that God had en-
| dowed the other one-third Of the peo-
pie with all the military talent"
Branch. Ciingnam. Scales. Ransom
and Gordon, all politicians. are ap-
pointed at once; what representative
of the old unionists was thought fit
to receive similar favors? A junior Of
ficer was put over Colonel McRae, Of
the Fifth; Lieutennant-Colonel john
son over Colonel Garrett; Colonel
| Scales over McElroy. who had fought
the glorious Sixteenth from LOO down
to $50 men, was disfigured by ounds
and who was recommended by General
Fender"
Alex. Collie. writing from Liverpool.
February Is, said the yankees give
notice that they will imprison, until
the end of the war, the officers and
crew of any blockade runner captured.
| This will not be submitted to even by
our somewhat imbecile (English) gov
eminent. 1t will be our endeavor to
retain the purely British character Of
our vessels. 1 am going to give you
faster steamers"
March is, Whiting wrote that if he
could not get slave labor to work on
Fort Fisher. N. c., from Virginia or the
war department., he would have to
impress it,"
April II, a telegram to General Hoke
at Kinston, said the order from his
| provost marshal for the arrest of
James A. Everett, of Goldsboro, was
unaccompanied by any authority; that
such arrests could be made only by
order of the president. II shall re-
sist your order unless satisfied Of it's
legality" General Bragg, at Colds
boro, was telegraphed: please tele-
graph General Hoke how he should
proceed if you desire to avoid trouble"
April 5, Vance wrote President Davis
that the steamer Advance was detain-
ed at Wilmington, and under a claim
that the new regulations Of the pres
1 i1nnf Chn,l1hn ;~p~nrnl ,nnp hnr LJn
added: This ship was purchased in
Europe by the state of North Carolina,
and entered Wilmington in June, 1863.
She carried on a successful commerce
for the state, importing supplies for our
troops until, in February, 1864, When
one-half of her was sold to Davis
& Fitzhugh. These purchasers had a
contract for importing supplies for the
confederate government, and the sale
| to them was encouraged by the letter
of the secretary of war to me, as favor
able to the wants and interests of the
confederacy. The state has retained
and enjoyed the control and manage
ment of the whole ship" Vance pro-
tested earnestly against the ships be-
which he declared were "illiberal, not
to say STUPID and destructive"
In a letter to Collie, at Liverpool.
Vance says: w hope to wind up the
war with the year 1854"
Unde date Of March 81 appears a
very long letter from President Davis
regarding the complaints of Vance
that North Carolina officers did not
get their deserts when commissions as
! generals were issued. Vance had
spoken plainly, but politely, and in a
! letter dated March 9 had said: Il
| trust. I am incapable of needlessly and
| wantonly insulting the chief magistrate
Of the confederate states, n have
ever endeavored, in making unpleasant
statements to you, to avoid discourtesy,
while expressing myself with candor.
If I have made a different impression
in my last or in any former letter, /
now assure you, once for all, that it
has resulted from my misfortune in
the employment of terms and not from
any want Of respect due you personally
or officially" Yet Davis became
angry, for in his reply he says: There
are other passages in your letter in
which you have SO far infringed the
proprieties of official intercourse as to
preclude the possibility Of reply. In
order that I may not again be subject
ed to the necessity of making so un-
pleasant a remark I u beg that a
correspondence so improbable in it's
character, and which was not initiated
by me, may end here, and that your
future communications be restricted to
such matters as may require official
action"