The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-10-19

the South in the war for the Union. 1t
is thought by judc!ous friends 10 whom
read IL that IT might be Of interest
10 our own people. SO submit it TO
sou.
s. a Steel
Columbia. S. G. August 22. 1913.
Ny Dear Sir--l have received your
letter OF recent date. ana l assure you
appreciate the Kindly and fratcrnal
spirit which 1t breathes. Animated by
ttiS spirit We ought to be able to un-
derstand All our differences our re-
iaiion 70 the great war for the Union
h. WAS alike. AS In your Gaze 50 in mine.
my father was too old TO bear arms
and Was too young. tried TO 20.
but was prevented by General Forrest
VINO was our nc!ghbor IN Mississippi.
iic promised my mother that If ran
away to the army and he caught me
he would thrash me and send me home.
As lie had a habit Of thrashing what
ever got in his way, ] thought that pri-
doncc was the better part OF Valor and
avoided the issue The Union was pos
sibly saved by this action. for there In
40 telling what might have happened
IL could have reached the front But
II was not my fault. | had :, great
many relatives in the Confederate
Army j., ana II any one OF the family
got the wrong si6e ! never heard
OF ii. we were all what you call
ltutlS, Hstu ia NlAt "oOI
You ask me why / said that the
terms rebel and rebellion" AS ap-
piled TO the Southerners in the war
arc mot true" AS YOU ask In kind
~ spirit. and evidently do not know
our side OF the subject, ] take pleas
ure in giving you my reasons for OBJ
lccting TO the term rebel" Let me
gay in passing. that do not object
on the ground OF sentiment but Of
historic truth. So far as the sentiment
is concerned. was proud TO be called
- rebel" and as for that am proud OF
it Vet But the truth is we were not
rebels" nor was the war a re
beliion' on the part OF the South, and
truth ought to be our standard both
OF thought and speech
Let US nrst ask, what IS rebellion
Wcbste;'s New international Die
tiouury gives the following definitions:
Rebel. TO renouncc, and resist By
force, the authority of the ruler or
government 10 which one owes allie
glance"
''Rebellion. open remuneration of
tho authority TO which one owes ODE
dicncc, and resistance 10 its officers
and laws"
In the instructions for the govern
nlcnt OF the army OF tho United States
we have this definition: The term
rebellion is applied to an insurrection
OF large extent and is usually war
between the legitimate government OF
- country and portions or provinces
OF the same. who seek to throw off
their allegiance 10 il, and set up a
government of their own"
According 10 these definitions the
essence OF rebellion is resistance to
Legitimate authority. The question
then is. Did the people OF the South
resist the legitimate authority of the
United States when they took up
arms in defense OF their country? II
they did not. then they We're not
rebels. and TO apply that term TO them
is false. ! have UNDERSIGNED certain
words which | ask YOU 10 keep in
mind. for the gist Of the whole ques-
ton is III the legitimacy OF the au-
thority which they resisted.
Now ! assert that the States that
seeded had the legal right TO with
draw from the Union. and that when
they did withdraw, the legitimate
authority of the Federal government
in those states ceased 10 exist, and
il was not rebellion. but the highest
patriotism TO resist the unlawful at
tempt OF the North to coerce the peo-
pie of the South to stay in the Union
when they decided to go out OF 1t.
believe the right of the State to
withdraw from the Union is clearly
proved by the nature OF the Federal
Union when it was first formed. When
the colonies broke loose from England
tItN DttdiIc .IidtpSiuSiie BO''NiN"' NS'''
munitics.
When they came together to form a
union among themselves they were
careful to reserve TO themselves all
the rights not expressly delegated TO
he general government. The union
was formed on the theory of the
Sovereignty of the state. y party, led
Nv Hamilton, desired a strong central
authority, but after long and eX-
haustive discussion Of the whole sub
icct that party lost out. and the
union was formed on the basis OF In
violable State rights. So Jealous were
~ the states of their separate and sover-
eign rights when the original Union
wa:, formed that 1T is as certain as
anything OF the kind can be, that If
either Virginia. Massachusetts or New
York had supposed they could not
withdraw from the Union they never
would have entered it. This is made
very clear by Professor John Fiske
i'm his book, Tho Crisis of American
History"
Secondly. | believe the right of the
State to withdraw from the Union is
proved by the fact that both Virginia
ana New York reserved tho right 20
withdraw Further, both North Caro-
lima and Rhode Island remained out
of the Union for some months, and
there was no thought of compelling
them to unite This proves that they
werc sovereign political communities;
and when they finally decided to come
in, they did so on what Rawle says
was the mutual understanding OF them
all that they had the right to with
draw.
Thirdly, | believe tho right OF the
state to withdraw from the Union is
proved by the fact that this right was
expressly asserted by tho truest pa
trits and ablcst statesmen of the
country during It's carly history. 1t
js not pertinent, perhaps. TO cite
Southern testimony on thisa point; so
will cont,ne myself to that OF North
ern authorities. Tho North was the