Year: 1862

sgrsndisemeut or for the settlement Of point Of
ational Law. The question for you TO d cids IS
will you be slaves will you be independent WlI
you transmit to your children the freedom and equahy
which your fathers transmitted 10 You or VIII you DOW
down IN alteration before idol baser than ever was
worshiped by Eastern idolatorsi Nothing more is
necessary than the ststement Of h issue What
may be the personal Sacrifices involved, am sur
that you wi not shrink from them when yer the ques
tion before you Those who now as all us,
who have associated with Us in common Union,
who have inherited a government which they claim 10
be the st the world ever saw-these wheH left to
themselves have shown that they inc pablo OF pre-
serving their personal liberty They have de
soyed the freedom Of the pres; they have seized upon
and imprisoned members Of State LegiIs uss and OF
municipal councils who were suspected Of sympathy
with the South. Men have been carried of into cap
tiyity distant States without Indictment, without
knowledge Of the accusations brought against them, II
defiance Of all rights; guaranteed by the insttu
tons uRder which they live These people, when sepa-
rst9d from the South and left entirely 10 themselves,
have in six month"; demonstrated their utter ncapacity
for sefgovenuent And yet these the people who
claim - be your masters. These the people who
nave determined 70 divide OUT the South among their
Yankee roopA Mississippi they have devoted to the
direst vengeance OF all But vengeance is the Lords
and beneath his banner you VII meet and hur back
these worse than vandEl horde4


The great eud and am Of the government Is 70 make
struggle successful. The who stand highest
10 this contest would fall the first sacrifice to the
geance of the enemy in should be unsuccessful
HOu may rest assured then fer that reasOnsh for
other tua whatever capacity they possess viii be de-
voted to securing the Independence OF the country.
Our government is not like the mona chies Of the Old
World resting for support upon armies and Rsvies i
sprang from the people aud the confidence Of the peO
pie Is necessary for its When msrepresenta-
tons Of the government have been circulated when
eussous have been brough against it of weakness and
neficency, often have ] felt in my heart the struggle
between the desire for Justice and the duty give
information to the enemy-beesuse at such times the
correction of would have been Injurious to the
safety Of the Thus that great ana good man. sn
A Sidney JOhnEton, eOntenPd to rest beneath pu0-
lie contumely and to be pointed at by the anger Of
orn because he d not advance from Bowling Green
rF15a his nor0 and
after month he mant aimed his post keeping the enemy
ignorant Of the psucy Of his numbers and thus hold
ing the invaders in check take this ss one in
stance ; it is not the only one by fsr.


The issue then being will you be slaves will you
consent b. robbed Of your pr pert to be reduced to
pro- Incl pendenee will you renounce the exercise
Of those rights with which you born and which
transmitted to you by your fathers feel that
in addressing Mssissippans the will DO that
their interests, even life seL, should be willingly laid
down on the altar Of their country.


BY the memories Of the past by the g'ories Of the
field IF Chalmette where the MssssiPpsns, in general
order Of the day addressed the bravest Of the
brave by the glorious dead Of NJ -xico by the still
glorious dead of the battle fields Of the Confed
er cy; by the desolate widows and orphans whom the
martyrs of the war have left behind them by your
manned and wounded heroes-I invoke you to delay


moment but to rush forward and place your services
the disposal of the State. l have been of those
who, from the beginning looked forward TO long and
bloody but must frankly confess that its agni
tude has exceeded my expectations The enemy have
displayed power and energy and resources thsn
had attributed to them Their finances have held out
far better than imagined would be the Blt sm
also OF those who felt that final
tain and that our people had only be true to thsm
selves behold the Confederate flag among those Of the
recognized nations Of the earth The question only
one Of time. It may be remote but 1t may be
than many people suppose It is not possible that
of the dimensions that this one has assured Of proper


tons gigantic can be very long protrsctsd The COM
baants must be soon exhaus ed. But Is impossible,
with cause like ours, can be the first to cry, Hold
enough"


mar fqan heavily a portion Of the TeOne.
especially upon the noble little city of Vicksburg
Memphis ami New Orlesns had fallen, two points which


were cons dered to be admirably defended two po nts
which we had reason to believe wOu fall Vicksburg
becsm the object of attack few earth works were
thrown up, few guns were mouHted, and Viek.burg
receive the shock OF both eti the which under
Commodore Foo had de- cended the river and ihs
which ,nder rrsEut, had achieved the capture Of
New Orleans Noby did the little city eel The
SAUL and the women said Ra her han surrender
let II, give hem the soil, but with the ashes of
dwellings upon it,


This the he,oic devotion of people who deserve
to be free Your Governor left his chair aud went him
self to the scene Of dsnser. Nothing profoundly
touched me amid my duties in distant land than 10
hear that the chief magistrate Of my Sste de-
Tending the town whi the enemy had male the bect
Of his attack and that the defense successful. Now
far better prepared in that quarter The works


then weak have been greatly ghen-d; the troops
assgne for their defense better disciplined and bet
ter Instructed ami that gallant ldier VIII with
me- has been urng his forces to assist in protsc-
Him elf the Of a revolutionary hero, he has
ulAted bis fathers glorious example upon other fed
and comes to Mississippi to defend and, as believe to
protect you


In the course Of this war our eyes have been often
tnrned abroad. We have expected sometimes
- n'tion and sometimes intervention at the hands
Of foreign nations and we. have had a right to
expect it. Never before in the history of he
world HAD q people for 81 long time main
taiued their ground and showed themselves caps-
be of maintaining thei national existence, without
curing the recognition Of commercial nations. know
why this ha been so, but this say put yOur
trust in princes and rest not yor hopes in for Ign
"a ours nina f f1r afnr
and feel pride in knowing that so far we have
done it without :he cd will Of anybody. It Is true
that there are now symptoms OF change in public
opinion abroad. They give their aiIirstion-they
sometimes say God speed-snd IN the remark
able book wrtten by Mr. Spence the question Of
sion has been di Gu sed with re Of abn ~ than It
ever has been even in this country Yet Eng and still
holds back, 40 France the ly Of other day seems
disposed TO hold out TO the hand Of fellowship. And
when France holds out to US her hand right willingly
win we grasp it


During the last year the war has been character
lied by varied fortunes New Orleans fell; sad
blow II WAS TO the valley Of the Mississippi,
and unexpected to to any one Mem
phs also fell and besides these have lost various
points on the Atlantic coast The adinR armies have
upon points, others they have been
driven back but take view Of our condition now and
compare it with what it year agO-look at the
euemy's position It then and as it now is; CON
slider their immense power vast numbers and greatre
sources look all these things and you will be con-
vinced that our condition now will compare tavorsbly
with what it was then. Armies not composed OF
numbers alone officers and men both TO be discip-
lined aad instructed When the war fist began the
teacher and the tsught were Ia the condition OF the blind
leading the olnd now all this changed for the better
Our troops have become disciplined and instructed.
They stripped the gunboa Of ts terrors they have
beaten superior numbers in the field; they have dis
covered that with their short range weapons they can
close upon the long range weapons Of the enemy and
capture them. Thus in al respects, moral 81 ell a.
physical, we are better prepared than we were year


There are now two prominent objects in the pro
gramme Of the enemy One is to get posses ion Of the
euHtn
appesse the caors of the West and to utilize Ae capture
Of New Orlesns which has thus far rendered them
service The other is to seize upon the capital Of the
Confederacy and hold this out as proof that the Con
federacy has existence We have recently repulsed
them at Fredericksburg, and believe that under God
and by the vaor Of troops the capital Of the Con
fedetacy will stand safe behind its wa of living bTe ss


Vicksburg and Port H -dson have been strengthened
and now concentrate at either Of them fOrcC
sufficient for their protection I have confidence iha
Vicksburg viii stand as before and hope that Johns
ton will find generals to support him the enemy dsrt
/ to land. Port Hudson is now strong. Vicksburg wi
stand and Port Hudson will stand but let every
that be spared from other vocaons hasten to de
fend them, and thus hold the Mississippi river, ths
great artery Of the Confederacy preserve our commu
ncstons with the trans Mississippi departm mt, ant
/ thwart the enemys scheme of forcing navigation
through to New Orleans. By holding that section o
the river between Port Hudson and Vicksburg we shs
secure these results and the people OF the West cut OF
from New Orleans will be driven 10 the East TO seek


market for their products and will be compelled TO pa
so much the way Of freghts that hoye products vii


be rendered almost valueess. Thus should not be sur
prised the first daybreak Of peace were to dawn upo


US from that quarter


Sometime since for reasons not necessary to recsptu
late sent to this State general unknown TO most OF
you, and, perhaps, by name, known but 10 Ie"
among you. This the land Of my affections. Aer
situated the little Of worldly goods possessed


selected q general who in nv view was capable c
defending my State and dischargng the duties Of hs l


portaut service. happy to state sfter an atteus


examins n that have not been mistakHn IN he geRI


Of my choice hnd that, daring administra ion ne


everything ha been done that could be ascomPn me- I