The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1921-10-10

Congress and was at one time Speak
er pro tempore of the House of Rep
resentatives. At the beginning of the
war he was appointed and served as
a Commissioner from South Carolina
to the state of Mississippi to induce
THAT commonwealth to cast her lot
with the Confederacy. He was a per.
sonal friend of Mr.. Davis and car.
ried on correspondence with him.
"It now becomes pertinent to in.
tuire what was the state of mind OF
the Confederate President, his cabi.
net and his military escort when they
reached Abbeville.
"Of his four official advisers in the
cabinet, three already had reached
the unalterable conclusion that il
was useless to make any further ef-
fort to continue the war and that all
that the President and the other Of
ficers of the government should seek
to do was to make their way to safe
ty. ... --ss...a
"In his narrative of the war, Gen
eral Joseph E. Johnston says that
when he met President Davis and his
! cabinet at Greensboro, Secretaries
mallory, Reagan and Breckenridge
thought that negotiations to end the
war should be begun at once. Secre-
tary Benjamin took the opposite
view at that conference. Secretary
Mallory has recorded himself as
holding then that all designs and
plans for continuing the war were
wrong. President Davis himself said
that at Greensboro 4 yielded to the
judgment Of my constitutional advis-
ers (the members of the cabinet,)
Of whom only one held my views,
and so he consented to permit Cen
eral Johnston to hold conference
with General Sherman to negotiate
for peace. IT,. ..1.. &.
"That one of his official advisers to
whom the President would natural
ly turn for counsel as to military af-
fairs was the Secretary of War, Gen.
John C. Breckenridge, splendid
soldier. On April 23 he had given
President Davis a written opinion in
which he declared;
"T think we can no longer con-
tend with a reasonable hope Of sue
cess. 1t seems to me the time has ar
rived when, in large and clear view
Of the situation, prompt steps should
be taken to put stop to the war.
respectfully advise, having maintain.
ed with faithful and intrepid purpose
the cause iof the Confederate States
while the means of organized resist
ance remained, that you return to the
states and the people the trust which
you are no longer able to defend.
Should these or similar views accord
with your own, / think the better
Judgment will be that you can have
no higher title to the gratitude of
your countrymen and the respect Of
mankind than will spring from the
wisdom to see the path of duty at
, this time, apd the courage to follow
it, regardless alike Of praise or
blame
ITO sum up, before President Da-
Wis reached Abbeville, three of the
four constitutional advisers accom-
panying him unquestionably opposed
any further attempt to carry on the
war. Did the other member of the
cabinet, Secretary Benjamin, then
perceive that further resistance was
useless? The main evidence on that
point is that of Mrs. Davis, to be
quoted later on, and it is to the eff
feet that Benjamin, the lone cabinet
member. who at Greensboro adyocat-
ed the continuance of hostilities, de.
cided at Abbeville that the last hope
of the Confederacy vanished.
what was the state of mind OF
President Davis himself, before he
reached Abbeville? His private sec.
retary, Burton Harrison, said that
Mr.. Davis's cheerfulness continued
at Charlotte and that he said there
4 cannot feel like a beaten man.
Mr.. Davis many years afterwarc
wrote: 4 would not leave Confeder.