Year: 1863

For the Standard.


Mr.. HoLDEN-DEAR SR:-Through the kind
ness of friend in North Carolina am constant
reader of your paper. Iapprove your course in the
main, though think you sometimes claim too much
having been done by North Carolina am willing
to admit she has done much and fights as well
as the people of any other State, considering so
large and valuable portion of her territory holden
by the enemy. When you say half the killed and
wounded at Gettysburg were North -Carolinians
you exaggerate; and when you say had it not been
lor North Carolina troops such and such battle
could not have been won Are you not willing to
AUNT that 1t the same number of troops from any
1ther state had been there, the same result would
nave ioioWed! But when you denounce old Win
DER ior his abuse Of North Carolina and her troops
anu the government for sending Yirgnians, or any
BODY else, to fill Offices in North. Carolina that
North Carolinians are able and onrbt to fII I saw


lay on McDutf;" and when YOU defend the rights
oil your State, and expose the short comings and
corruption OF the government and officials / feel
nke Pattng you on the back and saying, "Wen
oone hodenl We believe with you that if instead
OF seeding, the South had formed league as a
sovereign States set forth grievances and said
we lay down our arms when they are redressed,
and not till then, this war would have been closed
long ago and every right we demanded guaranteed
70 US as firmly as the contracting parties could make
them But no, if we remained in the Union, we
would be rebels, but if we seeded, we would be
u~SOLp consequently treated as any OLQeC
hatloh. But who don't know that if we had not
oeen successful in the first battle and since in hav-
ing tne most prisoners, our captured would have
s"uEg up as so many dogs. 1t was success and not
secession that saved our necks ...,


we nave strong minded, self.wlled man for
PRESIDENT but like the rest Of US mortals, he has
some weak points, and as am going to say some
Things against him, will say what can for him
nrSI lo begin, he showed great foresight in want
ing an iron clad steam navy, but it was opposed by
IoomoS and Rhett Cthe very men who brought on
the war; as useless expenditure. They said in
secret session what they said in their bombastic
speeches before the people, "there would be no
war;" They voted down all appropriations for that
purpose, and thus left US defenceless If we had
haa few iron clads in the Mississippi river who
believes New Orleans would have fallen when it
did, and the enemy could not run single boats up the
rivers and burned ours before they were finished.
What we had could have protected those we were
building, and we could have gone round and opened
port at time as might be thought necessary, for
very small navy would have been a match for the
Yankees for the first two years of this war.


Again, the President condemns needless sacrifices
Of soldiers lives and if johnson had not been woun.
ded at Seven PlneS this would have cost US
fewer soldiers The President has approved of
most, not all the falling back that has been done
The President, as Commander chief, has had a
share in planning the campaigns, but great many
things turn up in its accomplishment that cannot
be foreseen or prevented by him unless present.
For instance, the coolness between him and Lee has
grown out of the third days fight at Gettysburg
No one but Southern General has the rashness
and Southern troops the valor to fight against such
odds without unavoidable necessity there was no
necessity for Lee to advance, he could have fallen
back after the two first fights with honor and chose
his position somewhere between there and the Po-
tomac upon equal if not advantageous ground
There is difference in being unconquerable our
selves and conquering every body else. This plain
truth is even perceptible nO0 to General Robert E
Lee. The President is welded to party in politics.
| and West Point in war; The gross neglect of worthy
| officers one side, and the continuance in command
of worthless drunken ones one or the other proves
| it so. Such as Van Dorm, Tom Crittenden, &C.,
suffering his officials to keep men in prison Tour
men) for months without letting them know their
offence, or making efforts to give them trial Re-


fusing to let their friends see them, or granting
counsel before trial All this is fnexcusable and de
+ serves the severest The party are mostly
of the same stripe all over the Confederacy. They
seek shady places, Offices speculation or any where
but the ranks of the army. They take saltpetre
and, potash contracts. The first man who raised a
secession pole in all this country had an only son
whom he threatened to dsinherit if he volunteered


and kept him until he had to go be drafted
! Judge Thomas W. Thomas raised regiment and
told them the best way to take care of the wounded
on the battle field was to advance. One year COOL
| ed him off; he came home, and was made Judge


One of his first acts to pronounce the consCrpt
! act unconstitutional. l send this communication to
| you because believe you the only Editor that
know of who would probably publish it


R. l..


Rome, Ga, Aug, 1868.