The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1904-01-20

Il aAA1
nate lor the reputation of TIA, ,lr~,in-
suish'' 5oi"lcr, rs it is unfair TO
President Dayi-, bis Cabinet and the
Congress Of the Confcderacy. And
am glad to sec that sou present a
part OF the record facts which show
this to be true. only say this much
now on the supp0sition that General
Gordon has been correctly reported.
cannot enter upon further discus
sion of this subject without authentic
and fuller information than 1 now
have.
may add that the closest and most
confidential relations existed all the
time between President Davis and
Gen. Lee, and they both certainly
realized their responsibility to each
other and to the country, which made
! harmony of action between them
necessary to the public safety.
The evidence is ample to show that
President Davis exhausted every avail
able means Of trying to end the war
by negotiations consistent with the
preservation of the independence of
the Coufederacy. Some unfriendly
after-thc-war critics have censured
him for not making peace on any
terms we could get. Hct the truth is
he would never hava dared to give up
the cause of the Confede,acy while
we had armies in the field supposed to
be able TO resist those Of the enemy.
Even after the failure of the ncgotia.
tlons at Hampton iioads, soldiers in
the army in Virginia, half starved and
half-nakcd, held meetings and passed
resolutions and sent them to the presi-
dent, protesting against surrender to
the Federal authorities. In view Of
the character, experience, ability. pa
trlotic devotion aud great sacrifice
made by President Davis, it il sur-
prising that anyone who was friend
of the Confederacy should unjustly
attack his character, services and
memory, especially after he is no
longer alive to answer such attacks.
Very respectfully,
John II. Reagan.
The text Of the matter criticised by
the Herald, a part Of which is quoted
in the above, was taken fro the
Courier Journal, which adopteu and
exploited the prejudicial error to
which ex Senator Reagan excerpts, con
amore.
If Gen. Gordon has not "bcen cor
rectly reported" j, is the fault of that
champion of the unfouuded structures
1t has attributed to him, upon "Presi-
dent Davis, his cabinet and the Con-
federate { ,ayress. Itis TO be hoped
that Mr.. Reagan, who can speak here
with more authority than any other
living man, will possess himself of
full aud more accurate information
froui Gen. Gordon's book itself and
more completely dispel its mistakes of
memory and imagination. Though
there can be asked no more conclusive
contradiction Of its account of the
conference between Gems. Lee and
Gordon in the first week Of March.
1868, thnn is afforded in the official
correspondence Of the former with
President Davis and Secretary of
War Breckinridgc, as q, o,el in the
Herald editorial referred to by Mr..
Reagan.
The Herald did not, for lack Of
space, quote further from the record
ed facts to show that Gen. Lee had
an absolutely free hand in disposing
of his army, and to the extent Of
making terms, the best we can get
from the enemy" or Of abandoning
Petersburg and Richmond at will.
We will now say, further, that con-
.radiction Of Gen. Gordon on these
points is shown in most interesting
and luminous official letter from Lee
to Longstreet, of February 22, 1866
p. l,25G Serial No. 96, War of Rebel
lion Records-quite as conclusively as
in his correspondence with the war
department, quoted in the Herald of
the 22d ult, Discussing the military
situation and what he styles the "la-