Publications

PUBLICATIONS

OF-

THE MISSISSIPPI

HISTORICAL SOCIETY

EDITED BY

FRANKLIN L. RILEY
Secretary

VOL. IV.

OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI

PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY

1901

Copyrighted, 1902
BY THE MISSISSIPPI HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Neither the Editor nor the Society assumes any responsibility
for the opinions or statements of contributors

F

336

PRBSS OF

HAHRISHCHO PUBLISHING OOMPAMY
HARRISBURG, PA.

PREFACE

This volume of the Publications has been prepared and print-
ed under the same authority as was that of last year. Its con-
tributions are perhaps more varied and certainly more numer-
ous than have been those in former volumes. This increased
activity in historical work is largely due to the enlightened
policy of the Legislature in making provision for the preserva-
tion of all worthy contributions to State history. It is hoped
that this policy will find ample justification in the character of
this and of the preceding volume.

The contributions for 1901 have been for the most part along
the same general lines as have those of preceding years. The
possibilities of archaeological work in the State are emphasized
in this volume in a way that will lead the reader to expect
greater activity in this neglected field in the near future. The
character and extent of the contributions to military, political,
religious, and literary history will be especially gratifying to
the reader. A great wealth of genealogical and biographical
material will also be found in many of the monographs here
published. The reminiscences of pioneer life and the stories of
early events in the history of the State will be appreciated by
the reader, since they contain the flavor of the olden times. An
important phase of literary and biographical work, the history
of oratory in Mississippi, has also received attention in this vol-
ume. It is to be hoped that a future contribution will do jus-
tice to the pulpit oratory of the State.

F. L. R.

University, Miss., Nov. I, 1901.

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OFFICERS FOR 1901.

PRESIDENT :

STEPHEN D. LEE, Columbus, Mississippi.

VICE-PRESIDENTS :

PROFESSOR R. W. JONES, University of Mississippi.
JUDGE B. T. KIMBROUGH, Oxford, Mississippi.

ARCHIVIST :
CHANCELLOR R. B. FULTON, University of Mississippi.

SECRETARY AND TREASURER :

PROFESSOR FRANKLIN L. RILEY, University of Mississippi.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:
(In addition to the officers.)

PROFESSOR J. M. WHITE, Agricultural and Mechanical College

of Mississippi.

BISHOP CHAS. B. GALLOWAY, Jackson, Mississippi.

PRESIDENT J. R. PRESTON, of Stanton College; Natchez, Mis-
sissippi.

DR. CHARLES HILLMAN BROUGH, Mississippi College, Clinton,

Mississippi.

All persons who are interested in the work of the Society and
desire to promote its objects are invited to become members.

There is no initiation fee. The only cost to members is, an-
nual dues, $2.00, or life dues, $30.00. Members receive all pub-
lications of the Society free of charge.

Donations of relics, manuscripts, books and papers are solicit-
ed for the Museum and Archives of the Society.

Address all communications to the Secretary of the Mis-
sissippi Historical Society, University P. O., Mississippi.

(6)

CONTENTS.

Preface 3

Officers for 1901, 4

Contents, 5

I. Report of the Annual Meeting, April 18-19, 1901, by Dr. Frank-
lin L. Riley, 9

II. Campaign of Generals Grant and Sherman against Vicksburg
in December, 1862, and January ist and 2nd, 1863, Known as
the " Chickasaw Bayou Campaign," by Gen. Stephen D. Lee, 15

III. Sherman's Meridian Expedition from Vicksburg to Meridian,

February 3rd to March 6th, 1863, by Gen. Stephen D. Lee, . 37

IV. Capture of Holly Springs, December 20, 1862, by Prof. J. G.

Deupree 49

V. Battle of Corinth and Subsequent Retreat, by Col. James Gor-
don, 63

VI. Work of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, by Mrs.

Albert G. Weems, 73

VII. Local Incidents of the War between the States, by Mrs. Josie

Frazee Cappleman 79

VIII. The First Struggle over Secession in Mississippi, by Mr. Jas.

W. Garner, 89

' IX. Reconstruction in East and Southeast Mississippi, by Capt. W.

H. Hardy, • . 105

X. Legal Status of Slaves in Mississippi before the War, by W. W.

Magruder, Esq., 133

XI. Mississippi's Constitution and Statutes in Reference to Freed-
nien and Their Alleged Relation to the Reconstruction Acts

and War Amendments, by A. H. Stone, Esq., 143

XII. History of Millsaps College, by Pres. W. B. Murrah, .... 227

XIII. Lorenzo Dow in Mississippi, by Bishop Chas. B. Galloway, . . 233

XIV. Early Beginnings of Baptists in Mississippi, by Rev. Z. T. Lea-

veil, . . 245

XV. Importance of Archaeology, by Peter J. Hamilton, Esq., . . . 255

XVI. The Choctaw Creation Legend, by If. S. Halbert, Esq., ... 267

XVII. Last Indian Council on the Noxubee, by H. S. Halbert, Esq., . 271

XVIII. The Real Philip Nolan, by Rev. Edward Everett Hale, .... 281

XIX. Letter from George Poindexter to Felix Huston, Esq., . . . . 331

XX. The History of a County, by Mrs. Helen D. Bell 335

XXI. Recollections of Pioneer Life in Mississippi, by Miss Mary /.

Welsh, 343

XXII. Political and Parliamentary Orators and Oratory in Mississippi,

by Dunbar Rowland, Esq , 357

XXIII. The Chevalier Bayard of Mississippi,— Edward Gary Walthall,

by Miss Mary Duval, 401

XXIV. Life of Gen. John A. Quitman, by Mrs. Rosalie Q. Duncan, . . 415
XXV. T. A. S. Adams, Poet, Educator and Pulpit Orator, by Prof.

Dabney Lipscomb, 425

XXVI. Influence of the Mississippi River upon the Early Settlement of

Its Valley, by Richard B. Haughlon, Esq., 465

XXVII. The Mississippi Panic of 1813, by Col. John A. Watkins, . . . 483

XXVIII. Union and Planter's Bank Bonds, by Judge J. A. P. Campbell, 493

XXIX. Index, 499

(71

REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE FOURTH
ANNUAL MEETING, APRIL 18 AND 19, 1901.

BY FRANKLIN L. RILEY, SECRETARY.

The fourth annual meeting of the Mississippi Historical So-
ciety was held at Meridian in the parlors of the Hall of the
Woodmen of the World. The four sessions were presided over
by Gen. Stephen D. Lee, President of the Society.

The first session was opened with prayer by Dr. J. M. Weems,
of Meridian, Miss. Despite the inclemency of the weather this
session was well attended by members of the Society from dif-
ferent parts of the State and by the citizens of Meridian. In
a few well chosen words Mr. R. E. Wilbourn, of the Meridian
bar, delivered an address of welcome to the Society. His
sentiments of hospitality and good cheer were eloquently re-
sponded to by Dr. Charles H. Brough, of Mississippi College.

Gen. Stephen D. Lee then read an interesting account of the
battle of Chickasaw Bayou (see page 15), in which battle the
Confederate forces were led to victory under his able command.
A brief extract of the paper prepared by Prof. J. G. Deupree,
of the University of Mississippi, on the "Capture of Holly
Springs, Dec. 20, 1862" (see page 49), was read by Dr. C. H.
Brough, the author having been providentially hindered from
attending the meeting. The next subject on the programme,
"Battle of Corinth and Subsequent Retreat" (see page 63), by
Col. Jas. Gordon, of Okolona, Miss., was then presented by
title and submitted to the Society for publication. In the ab-
sence of Judge J. A. Orr, of Columbus, Miss., the Society was
deprived of the pleasure of hearing his carefully written mono-
graph on the "Hampton Roads Conference."1 In a few well
chosen words upon the valuable services of the women of the
South, in war and in peace, the President of the Society then
introduced Mrs. Albert G. Weems, of Meridian, Miss., President
of the Meridian Chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy,

1 This paper was not received by the editor in time for insertion in
this volume of the Publications.

(9)

io Mississippi Historical Society.

who presented in a charming manner her interesting paper on
the work of this organization (see p. 73). A "History of
Millsaps College" (see p. 227), was then read by Dr. W. B.
Murrah, President of that institution. Judge Richard B.
Haughton, of St. Louis, Mo., then discussed the "Influence of
the Mississippi River on the Early Settlement of Its Valley"
(see p. 465). The Society adjourned to meet at 10:15 o'clock
on the following morning.

The second session was attended by a number of distin-
guished visitors, who were not able to reach the city in time for
the preceding session. After calling the Society to order, the
President announced the following Committee on Nominations :
W. W. Magruder, of Starkville, Mrs. Helen D. Bell, of Jack-
son, and Hon. P. J. Hamilton, of Mobile. Bishop Charles B.
Galloway, of Jackson, read a very interesting sketch, entitled
"Lorenzo Dow in Mississippi" (see p. 233). Dr. Franklin L.
Riley, of the University of Mississippi, then made a few remarks,
presenting some amusing characteristics of the religious wor-
ship of a hundred years ago, as given in Lorenzo Dow's Journal.
Mr. W. W. Magruder presented a valuable paper in which he
discussed the "Legal Status of Slaves in Mississippi before the
War" (see p. 133). An interesting contribution to the early
local history of the eastern part of the State, entitled "Recol-
lections of Pioneer Life in Mississippi" (see p. 343), by Miss
Mary J. Welsh, of Shuqualak, Miss., was then read by the Sec-
retary of the Society, the author, though in attendance, being
unable on account of recent illness to present her paper in per-
son. The following papers were read by title and submitted to
the Society for publication: "Local History of the War be-
tween the States" (see p. 79), by Mrs. Josie Frazee Cappleman ;
"Re-establishment of the Railway and Postal Service in Missis-
sippi in 1865," by Mr. Jas. W. Garner, of Columbia University,
New York City;2 "Reconstruction in East and Southeast Mis-
sissippi" (see p. 105), by Capt. W. H. Hardy, of Hattiesburg,
Miss.; "Legal Status of the Negro in Mississippi after the
War" (see p. 143), by A. H. Stone, Esq., of Greenville, Miss.,'
"History of the Patrons' Union of Mississippi," by Dr. J. B.

* A paper entitled the "First Struggle over Secession in Mississippi"
(See p. 89) has been substituted for the one which appeared on the
programme.

Report of Fourth Annual Meeting. — Riley. n

Bailey, of Conehatta, Miss.3 The Society adjourned at one
o'clock to meet at 3 :3O p. m.

The programme had been arranged for an Archaeological
Conference, the first one held in the history of the Society, to
begin at 3:30 o'clock. This Conference was perhaps the best
session of the meeting, judging from the interest aroused by
the papers which were read. The exercises began with a val-
uable paper on the "Importance of Archaeological Investiga-
tions" (see p. 255), by Hon. Peter J. Hamilton, of Mobile, Ala.
Mr. H. S. Halbert, of Lucile, Miss., then presented "The Choc-
taw Creation Legend" (see p. 267) in the Choctaw language and
an interpretation of the same. Mrs. Irwin Huntington Burton,
of Meridian, Miss., then read an interesting paper on the Nat-
chez Indians and exhibited some valuable relics which have been
found near the former habitat of that tribe.4 Mr. A. J. Brown,
of Newton, Miss., author of a History of Newton County, then
read from his book a chapter entitled a "Sketch of the Choctaw
Indians of Mississippi."5 Mr. H. S. Halbert then made a few
interesting remarks upon the traces of sun worship that still
remain among the Choctaws. Mr. P. J. Hamilton also pre-
sented a few facts in this connection. A paper entitled "Ex-
tinct Towns of Mississippi" (see Vol. V.), was read by Dr.
Franklin L. Riley. Two valuable contributions by H. S. Hal-
bert on "Small Indian Tribes of Mississippi" (see Vol. V.), and
"Last Indian Council on the Noxubee River" (see page 271),
were then read by title and submitted to the Society for publica-
tion.

By a unanimous vote the Society adopted a programme of
Archaeological work, which was prepared by Mr. H. S. Halbert,
and requested him to procure the assistance of competent in-
vestigators on the "unassigned" subjects. This programme is
as follows :

1. Dr. T. H. Lewis, St. Paul, Minn.— "The Route of De Soto's Ex-
pedition from Cabnsto to Minoya."

2. Unassigned — "The Kwapa or Arkansas Habitat in Mississippi.
Were the Quizquiz People of De Soto's Day Kwapas? Identification
of the Ancient Arkansa Village on Bernard Roman's Map."

3. Unassigned — "Identification and Description of Bienville's Battle-
fields."

4. Unassigned — "Ancient Chickasaw Towns and Trails."

* This paper was not received by the editor in time for publication in
this volume.

4 This paper was not submitted to the Society for publication.
6 See Brown's History of Newton County, pp. 14-27.

12 Mississippi Historical Society.

5. Unassigned— "Identification of the Sites of the Chickasaw Mission-
ary Stations in Pontotoc and Monroe Counties." >f

0 Prof Dabney Lipscomb — "Antiquities of Lowndes County.

7. H. S. Halbert, Esq.— "Bernard Roman's Map of 1775— i hat Part
South of the 34th Parallel."

«. Prof. J. M. White — "Description of the Ancient Eartnworks of the
Flat wood's, Three Miles Southwest of Starkville."

9. W. W. Magruder, Esq. — "Identification of the Choctaw Mission-
ary Stations in Oktibbeha and Lowndes Counties."

10. Rev. J. B. Bekkers— "The Catholic Mission on the Chickasahay
during the French Colonial Period."

11. Capt. A. J. Brown — "The Antiquities of Newton County, ^Includ-
ing a Description of the Ancient Fort in Northwest Lauderdale."

12. Mrs. Irwin Huntington Burton— "The Mounds in the Natchez
Country."

13. Peter J. Hamilton, Esq.— "The Hiowanni Indians.

14. Rev. T. L. Mellen— "Identification of the Site of the Home ol
Pushmataha on the Buckatunna."

15. Hon. J. M. Wilkins— "Identification of the Site of the Choctaw
Agency on the Chickasahay."

16. Prof. W. I. Thames— "Location and Description of the Treaty
Ground of Doak's Stand or Puckshenubbee's Treaty."

17. Rev. T. L. Mellen— "The Choctaw Towns and Trails West o!
Pearl River."

18. Peter J. Hamilton— "Prehistoric Antiquities of the Mississippi
Gulf Coast."

The papers will upon their completion be submitted to the
Society for publication.

The fourth and last session of the meeting was held on the
evening of April 19, beginning at 8:15 o'clock. The exercises
were opened with prayer by the Rev. Ira M. Boswell, of Meri-
dian. Mrs. Helen D. Bell presented some facts upon the his-
tory of Hinds county in her paper entitled "The History of a
County" (see p. 335). Maj. John J. Hood, of Meridian, then
read part of a contribution, which was entitled "Great Missis-
sippians — Davis and Lamar." The next paper read was that
of Judge J. A. P. Campbell, entitled "History of the Planters'
and Union Bank Bonds" (see p. 493). In the unavoidable ab-
sence of Judge Campbell, his contribution was presented to the
Society by the Secretary. A very amusing account of "The
Mississippi Panic of 1813," which was written by the late Col.
John A Watkins, of New Orleans, La., was then read by Mr. H.
S. Halbert. The following papers were read by title : "Early
Times in Wayne County."8 by Hon. J. M. Wilkins, Buckatunna,
Miss. ; "T. A. S. Adams, Poet, Orator and Divine" (see p. 425),
by Prof. Dabney Lipscomb, University of Mississippi; "The
First Settlement at Biloxi,"6 by Peter J. Hamilton, Esq. ; "The

Report of Fourth Annual Meeting. — Riley. 13

Life and Literary Remains of the Rev. J. H. Ingraham"6 by
Prof. A. L. Bondurant, of the University of Mississippi ; "Life
and Writings of Dr. J. W. Monette,"6 by Dr. Franklin L. Riley ;
"The Davis-Howell Home at Tunisburg, Louisiana," by W. H.
Seymour, Esq., of New Orleans, La.; "The Chevalier Bayard
of Mississippi, — Edward Gary Walthall" (see p. 401), by Miss
Mary V. Duval, of Grenada, Miss.

Upon the recommendation of the Committee on Nomina-
tions the members of the Executive Committee, who have serv-
ed during the past year, were re-elected. Upon the recommen-
dation of the Executive Committee, the Society then elected the
following gentlemen to honorary membership: Prof. T. H.
Lewis, Archaeologist, St. Paul, Minn., who had presented a
valuable collection of rare old maps of Mississippi to the Arch-
ives of the Society, and Dr. A. S. Gatschet, of the Smithsonian
Institution, who had also shown the Society some courtesies.

Dr. Franklin L. Riley then introduced the following resolu-
tions, which were unanimously adopted :

Whereas, The Journal of the Constitutional Convention of 1890 sheds
almost no light upon the deliberations of that epoch-making body, and

Whereas, Much valuable information on the important problems that
confronted said Convention will be lost with the disappearance of the
surviving members of that body from the field of activity.

Therefore, be it resolved, That the President of that Convention, Judge
S. S. Calhoun, be requested to prepare a paper on the "Causes and
Events that led to the Calling of that Convention," and that the fol-
lowing named gentlemen, — members of said Convention — be and they
hereby are requested to write complete histories of the important measures
that were submitted to their respective committees and the deliberations on the
same from their inception to their final disposition:

1. Hon. Edward Mayes of the Committee on Bill of Rights and Gen-
eral Provisions.

2. Hon. R. H. Thompson of the Legislative Committee.

3. Hon. Murry Smith of the Judiciary Committee.

4. Hon. J. S. McNeely of the Committee on Elective Franchise, Ap-
portionment and Elections.

5. Hon. H. L. Muldrow of the Committee on Corporations.

6. Hon. W. C. Wilkinson of the Committee on the Executive Depart-
ment.

7. Hon. W. C. Richards of the Committee on Education.

8. Hon. S. E. Packwood of the Committee on Preamble.

9. Hon. George G. Dillard of the Committee on Penitentiary.

10. Hon. J. W. Cutrer of the Committee on Levees, Harbors, Water
Ways, etc.

11. Hon. J. S. Sexton of the Committee on Revision.

12. Hon. D. R. Barnett of the Committee on Temperance and Liquor
Traffic.

That the Hon. R. B. Campbell be requested to prepare a paper on the
"Effects of the Constitution as Shown in the Code of 1892."

6 These papers were not submitted to the editor in time for insertion
in this volume of the Publications.

14 Mississippi Historical Society.

Resolved further, That the Secretary of this Society be instructed to
inform the above-named gentlemen of this action and that he be author-
ized to arrange with them the time when it will be convenient to have
them favor the Society with these contributions to Mississippi History.

After extending a hearty vote of thanks to the hospitable cit-
izens of Meridian and to the fraternal order, which kindly fur-
nished a pleasant place of meeting, the Society adjourned, sub-
ject to the call of the Executive Committee.

i

THE CAMPAIGN OF GENERALS GRANT AND SHER-
MAN AGAINST VICKSBURG IN DECEMBER, 1862,
AND JANUARY ist AND 2nd, 1863, KNOWN AS
THE "CHICKASAW BAYOU CAMPAIGN."

BY STEPHEN D. LEE.1

Vicksburg was confronted by the Union Army and Navy
from May i8th, 1862, to July 4th, 1863, a period of a year
and two months. It may be said to have been under fire nearly
all of that time. Besides this, there were three well defined and
separate attempts made to reduce the city and capture it.

The first attempt was made in May, 1862. The great expedi-
tion under Admiral Farragut and Gen. B. F. Butler, consisting
of nine ocean war vessels, thirty mortar boats, besides trans-
ports having troops on board, arrived in the Mississippi river
in April, 1862. The forts (Jackson and St. Philip) near the
mouth of the river were engaged and passed by the Union fleet,
which also destroyed the few Confederate war vessels cooper-
ating with the forts. After the forts were passed by the fleet,
they surrendered to the Union forces. The forts were really
the only obstacles to prevent these forces from holding the Mis-
sissippi river near its mouth, and in fact, for a long distance up
the stream ; and when they fell, the river was virtually open to
the Union forces as high up as Memphis. Gen. Butler occu-
pied New Orleans on May ist, 1862, the few Confederate
troops in the city under Gen. Lovell retreating northward. The
opening of the Mississippi river and cutting off the States of
the Confederacy west of the river, was early in the war a stead-
fast object of the United States. As soon as the city was occu-
pied by Gen. Butler's army, numbering 13,000 troops, an expe-
dition was organized to move up the river and open it to navi-
gation, meeting a naval force and army moving down the
stream, from Cairo, III, for the same purpose. Admiral Far-
ragut's fleet consisted of nine ocean war vessels, carrying 150

1 A biographical sketch of Gen. Lee will be found in the Publications
of the Mississippi Historical Society, Vol. III., pp. 21-22. — EDITOR.

1 6 Mississippi Historical Society:

guns, seventeen mortar boats and transports conveying 3,000
troops under Gen. Williams, the entire number of vessels being
thirty-five.

As the expedition found the river open from New Orleans to
Vicksburg, it met with no resistance on the way up, until reach-
ing the latter point. Here a small Confederate force of a few
regiments and some heavy guns had been hurriedly sent to de-
feat their purpose. The guns had barely arrived and been placed
in position, when the great fleet arrived, May i8th, 1862.
The surrender of the city was demanded and declined. The
Admiral at once bombarded it and threw shells from the mor-
tar boats, and later (June 28th) ran by the batteries, going to
the north of the city with eight of his vessels, delivering broad-
side after broadside into the city and the batteries defending it.
He anchored his vessels to the north of the city. Here he was
joined, June 29th, by the Mississippi river Gunboat Fleet, under
Admiral Davis, consisting of iron-clad gunboats, wooden gun-
boats, rams and other vessels, the two fleets from the ocean
and river united being one of the most formidable fleets of the
kind seen up to that time. They remained inactive until July
1 5th, when the Confederate gunboat, Arkansas, boldly steamed
out of the Yazoo river, just above them, and fought and butted
its way through both fleets, and drew up at the wharf at Vicks-
burg. It was undoubtedly one of the boldest feats in naval
record. This necessitated immediate action on the part of Ad-
miral Farragut. That night he ran by the batteries at Vicks-
burg, rejoining the part of his fleet and command, which re-
mained to the south of the city. When he passed the bombard-
ment was repeated, as was the case when he went to the north
of the city. The two fleets withdrew from the front about July
28th, 1862, and there was rest for a short time. It was decided
that the city could not be taken from the river front by the navy,
but that it could be taken by a large army cooperating with the
navy from the land side. This in brief was the end of the first
attempt to take the city of Vicksburg, with a combined naval
and army force.

Although this article is intended mainly to describe the mili-
tary and naval operations incident to the second attempt of
the Union forces and navy against the city of Vicksburg, and in
the State of Mississippi, it is deemed necessary to narrate briefly

The Campaign of Vicksburg. — Lee, 17

the conditions on both sides leading to it. The military and na-
val operations for the year 1862 were on a grand scale and cov-
ered a vast extent of territory, from the Atlantic Ocean to and
including the States of the Confederacy, west of the Mississippi
river; in fact along the entire frontier of the Confederacy. In
Virginia and in the East, the Confederate army under Gen. R.
E. Lee was generally successful, forcing the Union army from
the front of Richmond and from Virginia and transferring the
seat of war from Virginia to Maryland, necessitating the call-
ing out of 600,000 additional men for service in the Union army
within a very short time. The campaign ended in the bloody
battle of Antietam, after which Gen. Lee had to cross the Po-
tomac again into Virginia.

In the country to the east and west of the Mississippi river
the results were almost the reverse of those in Virginia, and
the Union armies were usually successful. The battles of Fts.
Henry and Donaldson, Shiloh, Perryville, and Corinth were
all Union victories, gradually forcing back the Confederates
from Kentucky and Tennessee and gaining possession of the
Mississippi river, as low down as Vicksburg, and gaining pos-
session of Ft. Pillow and Memphis and the Memphis and
Charleston Railroad on the Northern border of the State of
Mississippi. About the last of October Gen. Grant is found in
command of West Tennessee with an army of about 50,000 men
at Columbus, Ky., Memphis, Bolivar, and Jackson, Tenn., and
Corinth, Miss. He also had the promise of 20,000 more men
in a few days from new levies (say 70,000 available men), and
the great naval and transport fleet in the Mississippi river and
its tributaries to cooperate with him.

On the Confederate side the army of Gen. Bragg had been
transferred to Chattanooga and Middle Tennessee ; and there
remained in Mississippi the commands of Gens. Van Dorn and
Price. The former had been sent to Vicksburg in June, about
the time Farragut's expedition was there, with Breckenridge's
division, to hold that point and the Mississippi river. He had
gone to Baton Rouge and fought an unsuccessful battle, but
had seized and fortified Port Hudson on the Mississippi river,
just below the mouth of the Red river, on the Louisiana side,
thereby (with Vicksburg) controlling about 250 miles of the
river. As no active efforts were then being made by the Union

18 Mississippi Historical Society.

forces along the southern part of the Mississippi river, Gen. Van
Dorn left a small garrison at Port Hudson and at Vicksburg,
and taking all of his available forces to Northern Mississippi
and uniting his command with that of Gen. Price, who was on
the M. & O. Railroad above Tupelo, had made the bold, but un-
successful, attack on the Union troops at Corinth. The battle
of Corinth (Oct. 3rd and 4th) was a disastrous defeat to the
Confederates, and it was with difficulty that Van Dorn extri-
cated his army. President Davis then relieved Van Dorn of
chief command in Mississippi and appointed in his place Gen.
Pemberton, who arrived at Jackson, Miss., Oct. I4th, 1862, and
assumed command of all troops in Mississippi. He found the
defeated army of Gen. Van Dorn in the vicinity of Holly
Springs and Oxford, numbering about 22,000 men, exchanged
prisoners having about replaced the losses sustained at Cor-
inth ; and increased the forces to the number Van Dorn had at
Ripley, before the battle of Corinth. In his front was the army
of Gen. Grant, numbering about 30,000 men, not including the
garrisons of Memphis, Corinth and some other points. This
is a fair statement of forces and positions about Nov. ist, 1862.
The campaign during the year 1862, as stated, covered a
broad field of operation and brought the resources of the North
and South prominently to the front, and particularly the great
advantage the North had over the South in having a strong and
well organized navy and large fleets of transport steamers and
barges, on the ocean and rivers ; and a trained seafaring popu-
lation. The North had extensive shipyards, arsenals and dock-
yards, machine shops, iron and steel foundries and manufac-
turing plants and mechanical skill developed by long experience,
while the South, being essentially an agricultural people, and
not engaged in sea commerce and manufacturing, had virtually
no shipyards, no foundries and but a few river steamers, with-
out adequate means of converting them into war vessels. The
engines she could collect were very inferior, breaking down in
almost every emergency, as was illustrated in the ram, Arkan-
sas, and other improvised vessels of war. What few plants she
had, like the one at Norfolk, Va., were soon lost because of
lack of vessels on the water. She had a few privateers, which
she had procured mainly in Europe, and her coasts were block-

The Campaign of Vicksburg. — Lee. 19

aded early in the struggle, preventing the procuring of supplies
and munitions of war.

This condition was a disadvantage which could not be over-
come, and which the operations of 1862 proved to be a power-
ful and most decisive and potent factor in favor of the Union
and against the Confederacy, in blockading ports, in cutting up
the Confederacy by occupying its rivers, in establishing many
depots and points of departure from the coast and rivers, in
helping armies to invade, overrun and occupy new territory
they could not cross, and in saving or aiding them when de-
feated.

In reviewing the campaigns of 1861 and 1862, it is recalled,
that the coasts were blockaded and Roanoke Island, Beaufort
and Ship Island, captured by the navy, the last of these serving
as a base of operation against New Orleans ; that the campaign
of Forts Henry and Donaldson was made successful in having
the gunboat and transport fleet to cooperate and assist, to re-
duce the forts and supply the army under Gen. Grant, by the oc-
cupation of the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers ; that it was
the navy which was the most important factor in aiding and sav-
ing Gen. Grant's army at Shiloh, when it was being driven back,
and in forcing Gen. Buell's reinforcements across the river, and
in shelling and retarding the approach of the Confederate army ;
that it was the navy which captured the forts at the mouth of
the Mississippi river, and, passing them, captured New Orleans
and opened the Mississippi from its mouth to Vicksburg, which
was probably the greatest blow to the unity of the Confederacy
that had been struck up to that time ; that it was the navy which
sheltered the great army of Gen. McClellan when it fell back be-
fore Gen. Lee on the James river in Virginia, and that it was
the navy and great transport fleet which, when the Federal
army was unable to follow Lee through Virginia in his first
Maryland campaign, transported it by river and sea around to
Washington to protect the capital and save Gen. Pope's army ;
that it was the navy and transport fleet which was the impor-
tant factor in enabling Gen. Grant to operate in interior rivers
(Tennessee and Cumberland) almost parallel to the Mississippi
river, compelling the evacuation of fortified posts on the Mis-
sissippi river, such as Fort Pillow, Memphis, and other places,
by passing them or flanking them and getting in the rear, and

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Mississippi Historical Society.

giving the Union forces possession of the Mississippi river to
Vicksburg. Thus it is shown that the cooperation of the great
gunboat and transport fleets was most effective almost every-
where during the early part of the war, and so it was to the
close of the war. Although it is a matter of speculation, it
seems as if the navy and its work during the four years (certainly
during the first two) in its help to bring the war to a close, was
as decisive in results as were the mighty Union armies which
were in the field. Let us now see what part the gunboat and
transport fleet at Gen. Grant's command played in the second
attempt to capture Vicksburg.

The plan of campaign in the second attempt to capture Vicks-
burg was not Gen. Grant's plan, but really the plan of the au-
thorities in Washington. The last of October found the Union
troops in West Tennessee, and depending for supplies on the
railroads, from Grand Junction to Columbus, Ky. With the
possible exception of the troops at Corinth, they no longer got
their supplies from the Tennessee river. Gen. Grant, as soon
as he felt free to act, wanted to abandon Corinth, as a strategic
point, considering that as he should advance southward and
beyond the line of the M. & C. Railroad, it would lose its im-
portance. He wanted to destroy all roads near Corinth, repair
the road from Memphis to Grenada, and make Memphis his
depot. He wanted to continue the plan of campaign which had
hiterto been successful, viz.: in operating on a line parallel to
the Mississippi river, causing the Confederates to evacuate
Vicksburg by his moving and occupying Jackson, Miss., while
a lesser demonstration was made down the river. While Gen.
Grant was given partial authority to inaugurate his plans, he
was retarded in his efforts, as the Washington authorities had
decided that Memphis should be the point from which a com-
bined army and naval expedition down the river should be made,
as a flank movement, to cause the Confederate troops in North
Mississippi to move southward, while another force should
operate down the railroads from Grand Junction, Holly Springs,
and Grenada, to hold as many of Pemberton's troops from
Vicksburg as possible.

Gen. Grant was not fully informed as to the matured plan
at Washington, and was allowed to start to carry out his plans,
but he soon saw that he was not supported by his superiors.

The Campaign of Vicksburg. — Lee. 21

and was checked at almost every step on his advance. He,
however, had authority to move southward from Grand Junction
as he had proposed, but not to repair the railroad from Mem-
phis to Grenada, nor was he to evacuate Corinth and destroy
the roads near that point. He concentrated his army at Grand
Junction and La Grange, Tenn., and ordered Gen. Sherman to
move out of Memphis and join him as he moved south. The
troops at Helena, Arkansas, also were ordered to cross the Mis-
sissippi river and move towards Grenada, to the south of Van
Dorn's army, which was then in the vicinity of Holly Springs
and Oxford. Gen. Grant was told to return Gen. Sherman to
Memphis by Dec. 2Oth.

The several columns moved from Helena, Memphis, Grand
Junction and LaGrange (about 40,000 men) the last of Novem-
ber (between the 24th and the 2/th).

As these several columns of the Union army moved against
the front and rear of the Confederate army under Gen. Van
Dorn at Holly Springs and Oxford (22,000 men), he gradually
fell back, first behind the Tallahatchie, and later behind the
Yalobusha river, to Grenada, arriving at that place Dec. 5th.
No serious endeavor was made to check the army under Gen.
Grant, further than to skirmish with the advance of each col-
umn and develop the movement. Gen. Grant's army was now
supplied by a long line of railway from Columbus, Ky., through
West Tennessee and down about sixty miles into Mississippi
(180 miles). When he had progressed this far, he was really
ordered to hold the M. & C. R. Rd., return Gen. Sherman to
Memphis, in order to carry out the Washington plan, namely,
that the main attack be made down the Mississippi river and
that a great military movement be made, with the cooperation
of the gunboat fleet on the river under Admiral Porter. Gen.
Grant himself, with his remaining army (30,000), was ordered
to press Gen. Van Dorn, so that no troops could be detached
to reinforce the small garrison at Vicksburg, till Gen. Sherman
had captured the city, or obtained a lodgment on the bluffs near
the city. Gen. Sherman, who had been placed in command of
the river expedition, after full consultation with Gen. Grant, in
which his plans were agreed upon, returned to Memphis, ar-
riving there Dec. I2th. Gen. Grant then fully fell into the
Washington plan, and arranged matters for the best possible

22

Mississippi Historical Society.

result. He showed good generalship in what he then did, first
in fully and readily yielding his views to the plans of his su-
periors, and then doing his best to insure success. He had
arranged with Sherman to cooperate with him by holding Gen.
Pemberton's army at Grenada, or if he moved or sent reinforce-
ments to Vicksburg, to attack him, defeat him, or follow him
to Jackson, Miss., or move to the right of the railroad to Yazoo
City, or even further south towards Snyder's Bluff on the Yazoo
river (13 miles from Vicksburg). Gen. Sherman took only one
of his divisions with him (Morgan L. Smith's). He found at
Memphis the divisions of A. J. Smith and M. L. Smith and
large reinforcements in the new levies. He at once organized
two full divisions under the above named officers, which, with
his own division, made 20,000 men. He was to pick up Gen.
F. Steele's division at Helena, Ark., making his force 32,000
men (four divisions) and sixty guns. To show the great re-
sources of the U. S. Government, and further show the great
and insurmountable obstacle the Confederacy labored under,
he (Gen. Sherman) made requisition on the quartermaster at
St. Louis for a transport fleet to carry 32,000 men and their
equipments from Memphis to Vicksburg by water, and in a
week (Dec. iQth), 70 large transport steamers were at Mem-
phis, almost like magic, to embark his army. But this was not
all. He called on Admiral Porter to reinforce him and co-
operate with him in his expedition against Vicksburg. The
Admiral responded promptly, and was ready and in place Dec.
i8th at Memphis and below, with the entire gunboat fleet of
the Mississippi river, consisting of nineteen iron-clads, wooden
gunboats and rams, assisted by two ordnance vessels and a
smithery vessel and two mortar boats (31 vessels in all), carry-
ing about 150 guns. (This fleet, Aug. ist, had 144 guns.) These
boats (transports) were further supplemented by additional boats
at Memphis, Helena, and other points, making a fleet of no less
than 125 boats, as counted by Confederate scouts. It was one
of the largest and most powerful army and naval forces brought
together up to that time in the war, in direct cooperation, and
emphasized what an advantage was held against the Confed-
eracy. Gen. Sherman left Memphis Dec. 2Oth with his great
expeditionary force, escorted by Admiral Porter's fleet. He
arrived at Millikin's Bend, 20 miles above Vicksburg, Dec. 25th

The Campaign of Vicksburg. — Lee. 23

(near the mouth of the Yazoo river). Here he detached two
brigades to destroy the railroad on the Louisiana side of the
river, opposite Vicksburg, to cut off the reinforcements and
supplies for that city from the west. He then proceeded up
the Yazoo river, disembarking his army about 12 miles from
the mouth of the Yazoo (Johnson's plantation) and 12 miles
from the city of Vicksburg. He found himself in a low,
swampy country, intersected by lakes and bayous and about
three or four miles from the bluffs, running from Vicksburg to
Snyder's Bluff, on the Yazoo (13 miles from Vicksburg by dirt
road), with four possible routes to Vicksburg and the Bluffs,
one near the Yazoo at Snyder's Bluff, where were some heavy
guns, which obstructed the free navigation of the Yazoo river
above that point.

Now let us look on the Confederate side. As stated, Gen.
Grant detached Gen. Sherman to go to Memphis to prepare for
his campaign, Dec. 8th. He was waiting for him to mature his
plans and then he intended to move on Gen. Van Dorn's army
at Grenada as soon as Gen. Sherman left Memphis, which he
knew would be about Dec. 2Oth. Gen. Van Dorn, as stated,
had gradually fallen back behind the Tallahatchie, and later be-
hind the Yalobusha river, as Gen. Grant's four columns had ad-
vanced, and especially as the column from Helena was ap-
proaching his rear. The Confederate authorities were vigilant
and had an inkling of the expedition from Memphis to Vicks-
burg, as the arrival of the boats at Memphis and below were
regularly reported, and Gen. Pemberton had heard as soon as
Dec. 2ist of the assembling of these boats, and he arranged
promptly to reinforce the garrison at Vicksburg as soon as the
expedition was more fully developed. On Dec. 23rd Gen. M.
L. Smith, in command at Vicksburg, heard definitely of the
approach of the expedition through scouts along the Missis-
sippi river from Memphis to Vicksburg, seventy-four transports
and twelve gunboats having been counted (and as many as 120
boats of all kinds). Gen. Pemberton was in Vicksburg himself
on Dec. 26th. The gunboats had been in the Yazoo river a
week or more reconnoitering, removing torpedoes, and clearing
the way for the transport fleet, which indicated the probable
point of attack. Brigades were held in readiness at Grenada to
move, and began moving about Dec. 24, and after this date,

24 Mississippi Historical Society.

troops were ordered rapidly to Vicksburg, but the transporta-
tion was limited and their arrival was much delayed. When
Gen. Smith was reliably informed of the danger, he had only
a small force for the defence of the city, not exceeding 6,500
men at Vicksburg. And including the cavalry in the Delta
above the Yazoo river, the command was made up of about
one thousand artillerymen at the batteries, with the infantry at
Vicksburg and Snyder's Bluff to protect them.

On Dec. 25th, when Gen. Sherman arrived at the mouth of
the Yazoo river, Gen. Smith ordered Gen. S. D. Lee to the com-
mand of the Confederate line of battle, from Vicksburg to Sny-
der's Bluff, on the Yazoo river, along the country road at the
foot of the Bluffs (thirteen miles). There were no intrenchments
except those immediately around the city from the river on the
north, to the river on the south of city, and at Snyder's Bluff on
the Yazoo river (13 miles distant). Gen. Lee was given all the
available infantry and artillery to defend this line. There was
left in the city about one thousand artillery troops in charge of
the upper and lower batteries, and the 27th Louisiana Volun-
teers (about 600 strong). Gen. Lee took with him six regi-
ments of infantry and two batteries. He placed one regiment,
3 ist Louisiana, and two guns from the Mississippi regiment of
light artillery, at the mound (four miles from the city), and four
regiments and eight guns at Chickasaw Bayou (six miles from
the city) and one regiment between Chickasaw Bayou and the
mound, covering six or more miles. At Snyder's Mills on the
Yazoo, the extreme right of Confederate line of battle, were
two regiments of infantry and the artillery (about 1,300 men),
making about 6,000 men under Gen. Smith's command, and less
than 3,000 men from Vicksburg to and including Chickasaw
Bayou, a distance of six and one-half miles.

Not a spade of dirt had been thrown up along this entire line
and there were no intrenchments nor covered batteries. A
good deal of timber had been felled two miles from the city
at the race-course as abattis, where the Mississippi river turned
abruptly south and swept by the city. The line of battle natur-
ally was a strong defensive one (with a sufficient force), as
along the entire distance, from the race-course to Snyder's Bluff,
was first fallen timber, then McNutt Lake full of water, except
at the mound (four miles from the city), where there was a

The Campaign of Vicksburg. — Lee. 25

dry crossing of 200 yards ; and again a dry crossing at Chick-
asaw Bayou (six miles from the city), where McNutt Lake and
the Bayou join. From the bayou to within a mile of Snyder's
Bluff was a swamp with a levee along Thompson's Lake (par-
allel to the Bayou), and a corduroy road leading to the Bluffs,
the levee and this road being easily commanded from the
Bluffs. McNutt Lake (80 feet wide) had sloping banks from
approach from the swamp, where the Union army was, but steep
and abrupt banks on the side where Confederate troops de-
fended, and also a levee was on this abrupt bank most of the
way ; so the advantage of position was on the side of the Con-
federates, who occupied the road along the Bluff at an aver-
age distance of one-quarter to three-quarters of a mile from
the lake with skirmishers along the line of this body of water.
There was cleared land from the road to the lake, except on
the bank of the lake. Then, too, no time was lost with a large
force of negroes in improving this advantage, in felling trees
across the lake at the two dry crossings opposite the mound,
and at the intersection of the lake and bayou. This work was
done rapidly on the 25th, 26th and 2/th, and up to the time the
workmen were dispersed by the enemy on the evening of the
2/th, short rifle pits for men and guns were also built at the
mound and the bayou. The swamp beyond Chickasaw Bayou
and to within a mile of Snyder's Bluff was almost an insur-
mountable obstacle to the approach of the enemy.

It may be stated generally that the great Mississippi Delta
basin extended from Memphis to Vicksburg, with a flat, low
alluvial soil, with Vicksburg as the only defensible point on the
river from Memphis to Vicksburg. Here the bluff formation
extends to the Mississippi river, and here is the city of Vicks-
burg, the next bluff formation on the bank being at Grand Gulf,
30 miles below Vicksburg. At Vicksburg the bluffs run north-
east for 13 miles, when they strike the Yazoo river, and here
was the fortified position on the bluffs on the Yazoo. Taking
the Yazoo river as the northwestern boundary and the bluffs as
the northern and southern boundaries (with the McNutt Lake
one-half mile west), we find Chickasaw Bayou running almost
at right angles from the bluffs to the Yazoo at the middle of the
line of battle, or six and one-half miles from Vicksburg and
three miles from the Yazoo river.

26 Mississippi Historical Society.

In front of McNutt Lake, and between the Yazoo and Mis-
sissippi rivers, we find an irregular triangle of low, swampy land
intersected by an old bed of the river, numerous small lakes
and lagoons, in irregular order and all in woods, with the ex-
ception of two plantations. In this triangle was Gen. Sher-
man's army of 32,000 men and sixty guns, with three possible
roads to the bluff; one directly from his first landing place
(Johnson's), almost direct to the city ; another along Chickasaw
Bayou (Mrs. Lake's plantation) to the center of the Confeder-
ate line of battle (a good road and really the only good one) ;
the other, opposite the mound. Some of Sherman's troops
(Steele's division) spent a day (Dec. 28th) on the levee on the
north of Chickasaw Bayou ; but they soon found that they could
not reach the bluffs by that route, owing to the swamps and
the levee and corduroy road being perfectly commanded by the
Confederate troops along the bluffs or road at its base ; they
returned to the south side of the bayou on the night of the 28th
and 29th of December. No reinforcements arrived at Vicks-
burg before the afternoon of Dec. 2/th. Early on the morning
of Dec. 28th three brigades (Barton's, Vaughan's and Gregg's)
had been placed near the city extending nearly to the mound
(four miles), but nearly all day of the 28th one regiment and
two guns were the only defense at the mound or dry crossing.
Later in the day one regiment and part of another assisted the
3 ist Louisiana in its defense at the mound. The city of Vicks-
burg had only one regiment of infantry and the heavy artillery
until the arrival of reinforcements, which began to get in on
Dec. 27th, 1862.

It was evident from the first that the main attack would be
made against the center of the Confederate line, and it was
strengthened until attacked where the lake and bayou came to-
gether. This was the widest part of the cleared land from the
lake to the bluffs, and this cleared open ground became nar-
rower between the lake and bluffs, as it approached the city.
At the intersection of the lake and bayou the bayou bore to the
left (northeast) towards Snyder's Bluffs, so that when the Chick-
asaw Bayou battle was fought, the topography presented the
field almost in the shape of a triangle, with the apex at the in-
tersection of the two sheets of water. From this apex back to
the road at the foot of the bluffs was an open plateau of three-

The Campaign of Vicksburg. — Lee. 27

quarters of a mile of gradual ascent to the line of battle of the
Confederates. There was a fence also to the left of the center
of the line, running obliquely towards the lake (towards Vicks-
burg), which made almost one side of the open triangle. There
was at the apex, or intersection, of the lake and bayou, a dry
crossing (in part of the lake and the bayou) over which the road
along the bayou from the Yazoo and through the lake planta-
tion came to the plateau on its way to the bluffs.

At the apex there was a regiment (26th Louisiana) intrenched
so as to check too rapid approach of the enemy. This regiment
was three-quarters of a mile in advance of the center of the
Confederate line of battle. This was about the situation on
the Confederate side till the night of the 28th of December.

In the meantime events of great importance had occurred in
North Mississippi which were favorable to the Confederate
side, and which prevented Gen. Grant from carrying out his
part in the operation against Vicksburg by cooperating with
Gen. Sherman. Gen. Bragg (in Middle Tennessee), to relieve
the pressure from the threatened Union advance, from North
Mississippi, had dispatched Gen. N. B. Forrest from Middle
Tennessee across the Tennessee river to West Tennessee, with
2,500 cavalry to break up the railroads over which Gen. Grant
supplied his army. Gen. Forrest fastened himself on this road
Dec. igth, 1862 (the day before Gen. Sherman left Memphis).
He with great skill evaded most of the many Union troops sent
after him, and destroyed the road from Jackson, Tenn., north-
ward to the Kentucky line (over 60 miles), burning bridges and
trestles and tearing up the track so as to prevent its use for
eleven days. The raid was most successful and displayed great
generalship on the part of Gen. Forrest. He recrossed the
Tennessee river, with loss of about 500 men, but a loss to the
enemy of nearly 2,500 men, and the loss of railroad and tele-
graph communication with Gen. Grant from Dec. igih to Dec.
30th.

Gen. Grant had sent most of his cavalry (Dec. 13) on a raid
across the State of Mississippi from Oxford to cut the M. & 0.
railroad about Tupelo and Okolona. Gen. Van Dorn took ad-
vantage of this and personally placing himself at the head of
all his cavalry (about 2,500 men), he left Grenada on the i8th
of December (a day before Forrest struck the railroad in Ten-

28 Mississippi Historical Society.

nessee) and moved rapidly around Gen. Grant's left flank, and
on the next day (Dec. 2Oth, the day Sherman left Memphis) he
surprised and captured the post at Holly Springs, Miss., with
its garrison of 1,500 men, and destroyed the large depot of
supplies Gen. Grant had accumulated there, valued at $1,500,-
ooo. But even before this time, Gen. Grant was thoroughly
aroused as to his danger and Gen. Van Dorn could accomplish
little more than scatter the Union troops protecting the roads
from Gen. Forrest and himself. He (Van Dorn) returned safely
again around Gen. Grant's left flank, arriving at Grenada De-
cember 28th, 1862, in the afternoon, having sustained but little
loss in his raid.

The breaking up of Gen. Grant's line of communication in
West Tennessee and the destruction of his large accumulation
of supplies at Holly Springs at this critical moment in the
launching of the great naval and military expedition against
Vicksburg from Memphis, and just as he (Gen. Grant) was
ready to move against the Confederate army at Grenada to at-
tack it and prevent reinforcements being sent to defend Vicks-
burg from Gen. Sherman's attack and surprise, completely
changed the aspect of his campaign in favor of the Confeder-
ates. Gen. Grant's army of 30,000 men, instead of moving for-
ward, had to fall back towards Memphis to be supplied with
provisions.

His (Gen. Grant's) army gradually moved back, living on
the supplies that were obtained in the country until within
reach of Memphis. The Memphis and Charleston railroad
was fortified and garrisoned, and held from Memphis to Cor-
inth with 32,654 men. Gen. Grant, on Jan. 8, 1863, received
orders to go to Sherman's assistance, down the Mississippi
river. He arrived in Memphis Dec. loth and called for trans-
portation for 16,000 troops to be taken down the river. The
rest of the army remained at Memphis and along the M. & C.
R. R. and in West Tennessee. This relief in favor of the Con-
federate side was not known at the time the troops were being
moved to reinforce Vicksburg, and did not really become
known until the crisis was over at Vicksburg. It was thought
strange that Gen. Grant did not attack at Grenada at the time.

Gen. Sherman, after disembarking part of his army Dec. 26th
on the Yazoo, twelve miles from its mouth, at Johnson's planta-

The Campaign of Vicksburg. — Lee. 29

tion, landed the remaining part of it two miles above, opposite
the Lake plantation. Morgan's division landed first and
was directed to move to the Lake plantation and along the
southern bank of the bayou. Steele's division landed next
and one of his brigades (Blair's) was ordered to report to
Morgan. The rest of Steele's division was moved by boats
to the north of Chickasaw Bayou to operate along the levee
on the southern bank of Thompson's Lake, which was a
sheet of water parallel to the bayou. He was ordered to try
to reach the bluffs between the bayou and Snyder's Mill. Mor-
gan L Smith's division was next disembarked, and was to move
to the dry crossing of McNutt Lake to the right of Morgan's
division, and opposite the mound (four miles from Vicksburg) ;
and A. J. Smith's division was ordered to be on the right and
move directly on the road from Johnson's plantation to Vicks-
burg, two miles away. There was a road from the Lake plan-
tation intersecting Johnson's road to Vicksburg, and also one
along the bayou (east) to the bluff. The whole army was dis-
embarked on Dec. 26th and the night of Dec 27th; and as it
landed it began to push eastward towards the bluffs and to-
wards Vicksburg, in four separate and distinct columns, under
llic division commanders, from right to left, in the following
order: A. J. Smith's, Morgan L. Smith's, George W. Mor-
gan's and F. Steele's.

On Dec. 2/th these four columns gradually pressed back the
Confederate advance towards the lake and formed a continu-
ous line of battle from the race-course along the west side of
the lake to Chickasaw Bayou and beyond. Batteries were also
placed in position ready for battle on the 28th of December
and the enemy hotly engaged.

The main resistance from the Confederates was encountered
in front of the center, along Chickasaw Bayou and in the vi-
cinity of the Lake plantation. Here there was considerable
fighting on the 27th and on the 28th, amounting to quite an af-
fair, several brigades of Morgan's division and several batteries
being engaged, but ending in the enemy's being pressed back
by noon on Dec. 28th, across the lake near the intersection of
the lake and the bayou. The advance here and along the entire
front being close to the lake banks and to the abattis of fallen
timbers, which was mainly at the dry crossing near the mound,

30 Mississippi Historical Society.

and at the Chickasaw Bayou junction with the lake. Gen.
Steele, north of the bayou, and operating towards Snyder's
Mill met with great delay, owing to the swampy nature of the
ground and the little space he had to operate on along a levee
leading to the corduroy road. He found a considerable force of
infantry and artillery well posted to impede his advance, and
by the night of Dec. 28th, he reported he could not reach the
bluffs, and his troops, during the night of the 28th were again
moved by boats to the south side of Chickasaw Bayou, and
Gen. Steele was ordered to support Gen. Morgan's division,
where one of his brigades (Blair's) had already reported.

Gen. Sherman determined to assault the Confederate line on
the 2pth and made all of his arrangements accordingly. (See
his order of battle.) Gen. Morgan supported by Gen. Steele
was to assault in his front and Gen. M. L. Smith's division was
to assault at the mound, and A. J. Smith's at the race-course,
the objective point of all four divisions being the bluffs, after
crossing the lake. The assaults were to be made at the same
time, so as to prevent the Confederate troops being reinforced
from any part of their line. During the night of Dec. 28th the
plans for battle were matured and the lines strengthened. On
the morning of Dec. 2pth, 1862, the artillery and sharp-shooters
opened fiercely on the Confederate line from the Chickasaw
Bayou to and including the race-course near the city. By a
mistake the small pontoon outfit was laid across one of the
small lakes before reaching Lake McNutt, the one to be crossed
by the troops to attack the enemy. An effort was made to rem-
edy the mistake on the morning of Dec. 29th by attempting to
throw the bridge over McNutt Lake near the right of Morgan's
line, but this was prevented by the fire of the Confederate ar-
tillery and sharp-shooters. The assault was planned to take
place about noon; Blair's brigade of Steele's division had
crossed to the north side of Chickasaw Bayou and was ordered
to attack to the left of the apex, or where the Chickasaw Ba-
you road ascended the bank to reach the plateau across the lake
and bayou. At the center the brigades of DeCourcy, Blair and
Thayer were to make the assault, also the brigades of Lindsey
and Sheldon on the right of Morgan's division. There were
really no defenses opposite Morgan's right. The Confederate
troops were lying in the road at the foot of bluffs without cover,

The Campaign of Vicksburg. — Lee. 31

opposite the place where the lake was to be pontooned. The
brigades of DeCourcy and Blair, at the signal, moved gallantly
forward, and, crossing the abattis and obstructions and going
over the steep bank of the lake and bayou, they reached the
plateau, followed by Thayer with one regiment of his brigade.
The other regiments of Thayer's brigade took a wrong direc-
tion to the right or were ordered elsewhere after the move-
ment was begun. Sheldon and Lindsey reported they could not
get across the lake in their front.

No troops could have behaved better than the troops which
reached the plateau. They were met by a withering fire of
eight guns and several regiments from the front and two regi-
ments on their right flank, and the column rapidly melted away.
No reinforcements came forward and they fell back across the
lake at the road, leaving their dead and many prisoners. The
attack on Gen. S. D. Lee's front was really the only vigorous
one. In front of M. L. Smith's and A. J. Smith's divisions
there was a brisk fire from artillery and sharp-shooters in vol-
ume almost equal to a battle, but no such assault as was made
in Morgan's and Steele's front. The 6th Missouri was the only
regiment that assaulted. This regiment crossed the lake at the
dry crossing and burrowed under the bank and it was not re-
inforced and no effort was made to reach the level ground be-
yond the lake. The only assaulting troops were the troops of
Morgan and Steele at the bayou and the 6th Missouri at the
mound. The efforts of the two right divisions were weak,
showing little spirit. They had the best crossings at the mound
and at the race-course, for the McNutt Lake did not extend to
the Mississippi river. Soon after they should have made the
assault (with Morgan's and Steele's divisions) they learned of
the repulse and determined that the attempt would not be ad-
visable. It was the weak part of the Confederate line of battle
and the obstacles were not as great as those opposite Gen.
Lee's position at the bayou.

Gen. S. D. Lee, commanding the Confederate line from the
city to Snyder's Bluff, began to retard the Union advance as
soon as the troops landed. Skirmishing began on Dec. 26th,
and on the 2/th a force consisting of the ijrth Louisiana, two
companies of the 46th Mississippi, and a section of Wofford's
Mississippi battery, under the command of Col. W. T. Withers,

32 Mississippi Historical Society.

had quite a skirmish with the advanced columns of the Union
forces and held the enemy in check near the Lake plantation on
the bayou, causing them to advance very cautiously. They,
however, drove Col. Withers' command slowly back.

During the night of Dec. 27th Col. Withers was relieved by
Col. Allen Thomas' 28th Louisiana regiment, and Col. Withers
was put in command on the right of the center, to confront
Gen. Steele's advance towards the bluff north of the bayou.
He had the i/th Louisiana and the 46th Mississippi and Bow-
man's Mississippi battery of artillery, two Napoleon guns un-
der Lieut. Frank Johnston (Mississippi Light Artillery), doing
splendid service. This command so effectively checked Gen.
Steele that by the afternoon of Dec. 28th he abandoned any
further effort to reach the bluffs, and moved his division south
of the bayou in the night following.

The enemy also attacked Col. Thomas' command in the woods
near lake plantation with two brigades and several batteries,
early on the morning of Dec. 28th, and, after a stubborn fight,
drove him up the road along the bayou towards the bluff, and
across the lake by noon. In this engagement a great many were
killed on both sides, but Col. Thomas withdrew gradually and
in good style, the enemy following in close pursuit. The 26th
Louisiana, entrenched at the apex, on the east side of the in-
tersection of two sheets of water, protected the withdrawal
of Col. Thomas' regiment, and caused the enemy to cease the
pursuit, and retire to a respectful distance. Col. Hall's regi-
ment remained in its position, preventing the enemy from get-
ting near till just before day on Dec. 29th, when the regiment
was withdrawn, leaving the road and dry crossing open, virtu-
ally inviting the enemy to attack.

Snyder's Bluffs was also attacked on the 2/th and 28th by
gunboats, and a small force of infantry landed, but they did not
move from the banks of the river. On Dec. 28th Col. Morri-
son's 3 ist Louisiana regiment at the mound, opposite the dry
crossing, was viciously attacked by several batteries and a large
force of sharp-shooters. The latter early in the morning al-
most silenced the section (Drew's Miss. Artillery) on the mound
and it could be used only at intervals to reply to the two bat-
teries across the lake. During the night of the 28th and 2Qth
Gen. Lee's force at the bayou was reinforced by two regiments

The Campaign of Vicksburg. — Lee. 33

taken from their position near the city on the morning of Dec.
28th. The two regiments were the 42nd Georgia of Barton's
brigade, the 3rd and 3Oth Tennessee regiments consolidated
(Vaughan's brigade), and a part of the Both Tennessee regi-
ment, Gregg's brigade, the three small regiments equaling one
good regiment.

At 9 a. m. on the 29th the enemy were seen attempting to
lay a pontoon bridge to the left of the bayou and about a half
mile from it. This attempt was soon thwarted by the artillery,
near the center, under the command of Lieut. G. A. Tarleton
(of Ward's Battalion of Artillery), and also by the sharp-
shooters along the Confederate line. Two regiments (28th
Louisiana and 42nd Georgia) were at once pushed to Gen.
Lee's left to cover the threatened crossing of the lake ; at the
same time the 4th Mississippi regiment (Col. P. S. Layton) was
ordered from Snyder's Mill to replace the regiments moved to
the left. At about 10 130 a. m. a most ferocious cannonade was
opened upon the entire Confederate lines from the bayou to the
city, which lasted for some time and during which time the en-
emy were arranging their columns for assault. The cannonading
ceased about noon and the assaulting columns (apparently two)
in front of the center, one in front of the vacated trenches, for-
mely held by Col. Hall's 26th Louisiana, and the other from
the north side of Chickasaw Bayou, and considerably to the
left of the one which moved directly along the road from the
lake plantation to the plateau beyond the dry crossing of the
lake. The first column was made up of DeCourcey's brigade,
Steele's division, and a part of Thayer's brigade. The other
column to its left crossed over Chickasaw Bayou and was quite
near the Confederate line (right) from the time it emerged from
the woods. This was Blair's brigade. The two assaulting col-
umns were about 6,000 strong. The troops moved forward
handsomely, in spite of all obstructions, came over the steep
bank of the lake and bayou and formed on the plateau beyond
under a withering fire from eight pieces of artillery and sev-
eral regiments of infantry. After partially forming they moved
at a double quick towards the Confederate position, to their
right to Lee's left. As soon as they began to get close to the
Confederate line they were literally mowed down by the fire of
the infantry in their front and on both flanks. The fire from the
3

34 Mississippi Historical Society »

front and the two regiments sent to the left in the morning was
most destructive. The assault failed, many recrossing the lake
at the dry crossing, many lying down to avoid the terrible
-storm of bullets. As soon as it was plain that the assault had
failed, two regiments, the 26th Louisiana and part of the i/th
Louisiana, were double quicked on the field and captured 21
commissioned officers and 311 non-commissioned officers and
privates, four stands of colors and 500 stand of arms. Two
hundred dead were counted on the field. The sharp-shooting
was renewed by the enemy as soon as the prisoners captured
were removed to the Confederate rear. The Confederate
troops, artillery and infantry, behaved with the greatest coolness
and courage in the face of the large numbers of the enemy in
the assaulting column in sight, across the lake and not en-
gaged. The repulse was a most bloody one, arid the assault
was not renewed.

The attack on Col. Morrison's 3 1st Louisiana, at the mound,
was renewed vigorously on the morning of the 29th, beginning
at dawn. About noon the fire became general on both sides,
terminating only at dark. One regiment assaulted the Confed-
erate position on the left of Col. Morrison's regiment but was
repulsed, and, although several apparent attempts were made to
assault, only one regiment of the enemy crossed the lake at the
dry crossing and it retired at dark. Col. Morrison was rein-
forced during the day on his left by the 52nd Georgia regiment
(Col. Phillips), who assisted very much in the repulse of the
enemy. Gen. Barton really commanded Col. Morrison's posi-
tion at the mound and at his left from his arrival on the morn-
ing of Dec. 28th. Although efforts were made by the enemy
on Dec. 2pth to carry the rifle pits along the lake front and in
front of Barton, it was not a very serious attempt and they
were kept back by the skirmishers along the lake. At the race-
course Gen. Vaughan's skirmishers in front of the abattis were
never driven from the abattis. It may be said the only serious
assault was made at Chickasaw Bayou and by the 6th Missouri
opposite the mound. A very heavy rain fell on the night of
Dec. 29th after the battle.

Reinforcements came in on the Confederate side all day dur-
ing the 29th of December, and a part of Maury's division from
Grenada, reinforced Gen. Lee during the night of the 2gth and

The Campaign of Vicksburg. — Lee. 35

3Oth of December. Gen. C. L. Stephenson, whose division was
sent from Gen. Bragg's army to reinforce Gen. Pemberton's at
Vicksburg, arrived on Dec. 3Oth and assumed command of the
forces in the field, as he was senior in rank to Gen. M. L.
Smith. The fire along the whole front sensibly lessened on
the 3Oth and 3ist of December, but on the latter day it was
found that the enemy was entrenched in his line of battle along
his whole front. On the morning of Dec. 3ist a flag of truce
was sent in by the enemy, signed by Gen. G. W. Morgan, re-
questing a suspension of hostilities for four hours to bury the
dead. Gen. Lee was directed by Gen. Maury to reply to the
flag, granting the request, and two hundred dead bodies were
carried into the Union line. On Dec. 3ist, 1862, and Jan. ist,
1863, it was evident that some movement was taking place and
the report was current that an attack was to be made on Sny-
der's Bluff. Several regiments were held in readiness to re-
inforce that point, and, Gen. Lee, taking four regiments with
him, arrived at the Yazoo river before daylight on Jan. 2nd,
1863. It then became apparent that there was no truth in the
report, and Gen. Lee returned at once to Chickasaw Bayou, and
with the 2nd Texas and two Tennessee regiments (3rd and
3Oth), pursued the enemy who were found to be re-embarking
on their boats. Col. Withers had already gone with a con-
siderable force along Thompson's Lake to reconnoiter and find
out what the enemy were doing. The 2nd Texas was deployed
as skirmishers by Gen. Lee and got close to the boats and
opened fire on them, but the enemy had about gotten aboard,
and were moving off. The boat howitzers opened fire on the
Confederate skirmishers for a short time, and then the boats
disappeared down the Yazoo river. Hebert's brigade had ar-
rived at Snyder's Mill Jan. ist, 1863, and about the time the
enemy re-embarked, reinforcements had arrived in sufficient
numbers to enable Gen. Pemberton to take the aggressive, had
he so desired. Up to that time the long line of battle of the
Confederates was scarcely sufficiently defended against the
great army in its front.

Gen. Sherman, after the repulse of his assault, Dec. 29th, vis-
ited Admiral Porter and arranged for 10,000 troops to disem-
bark in front of Snyder's Mill before daylight on Dec. 3 ist,
1862, and also on Jan. ist, 1863, and assault the works at that

36 Mississippi Historical Society.

point, the gunboats to take part in that attempt. The fogs on
the Yazoo prevented the carrying out of these plans at the ap-
pointed time. It was then thought best for the remaining
troops to embark on the afternoon of Jan. ist and abandon the
object of the expedition. This was done and it was ordered
that all troops should be aboard by sunrise of Jan. 2nd, 1863,
and that the expeditionary force return down the Yazoo river
to the Mississippi river. This order was executed.

This campaign was managed with great skill by Gen. Pem-
berton and Gen. M. L. Smith, who were in command at Vicks-
burg until the arrival of Gen. Stephenson on Dec. 3Oth, 1862.
The entire Confederate loss was 63 killed, 134 wounded and 10
missing, total 206. The troops actually engaged (according to
report of Gen. M. L. Smith) were, under Gen. Lee at Chickasaw
Bayou and Snyder's Bluffs, 10 regiments of infantry and 3 bat-
teries, and under Gen. Barton (from mound to city), five regi-
ments and a battery. In all there were 15 regiments and tour
batteries (not exceeding 8,000 men). The brigades of Gens.
Vaughan and Gregg were in position near the race-course, but
scarcely engaged. Gen. Vaughan's loss was eight killed and
ten wounded. The reports show no loss for Gen. Gregg.

Gen. Sherman in his report says, "Behind this was an irregu-
lar strip of beach or table land on which was constructed a
series of rifle pits and batteries, and behind that a high, abrupt
range of hills, whose scarred sides were' marked all the way
up with rifle trenches, and the crowns of the principal hills pre-
sented heavy batteries And his line connecting

these was near fourteen miles in extent, and was a natural for-
tification strengthened by a labor of thousands of negroes, di-
rected by educated and skilled officers." The General was en-
tirely in error in most of these statements, as fully explained
in this paper. The Confederate line was naturally strong, but
lacked a great deal of the presentation the General's report
gives it.

The Union loss was over 1,929 men in this expedition.

The following troops from Mississippi were in the battle:
The 3rd, 4th and 46th Mississippi Regiments of Volunteers,
and Companies A, D, E and G of the Regiment of Mississippi
Light Artillery, and Ward's Battalion of Artillery.

SHERMAN'S MERIDIAN EXPEDITION FROM VICKS-
BURG TO MERIDIAN, FEB. 3rd to MARCH 6th, 1863.

BY STEPHEN D. LEE.

In July, 1863, the Confederacy was cut in two by the capture
of Vicksburg and Port Hudson, including the Confederate gar-
rison, composing the army of Gen. Pemberton, which had been
used to keep the Mississippi river closed to navigation, and to
preserve communication between the States of the Confederacy
on the east and west of the great river. At the close of the
Vicksburg campaign, the river and its tributaries were almost
in full and complete control of the Federal government, being
protected so thoroughly from Cairo to New Orleans by the
fleet of Admiral Porter, composed of heavy and light gunboats,
that it was difficult for even an individual to get across. It was
essentially free from annoyances, even of field batteries and
riflemen on either bank.

About the time of the surrender of Vicksburg and Port Hud-
son Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, who had succeeded in collecting
a Confederate army of 30,000 men near Jackson, Miss, (the
present effective force being about 28,000 men), had moved to-
wards Vicksburg to attempt its relief. He had arrived in the
vicinity of Mechanicsburg when, on July 4th, he heard of the
surrender of the city. He immediately retreated to the city of
Jackson, arriving there July 7th, and placed his army in the
entrenchments surrounding the city from the river on the north
to the river on the south. Gen. Sherman followed with an
army of about 50,000 men, arriving before the city on the 9th
day of July. The two armies faced each other in the attitude
of besieged and besieging, from the 9th to the night of the i6th
day of July, when Gen. Johnston, seeing his danger, crossed
over Pearl river and marched towards Meridian, Gen. Sher-
man pursuing beyond Brandon, Miss. It appears that it was
Gen. Sherman's intention at that time to crush the Confederate
army, or drive it out of the State of Mississippi, and destroy
the railroads. There was then a great drowth and the heat
was so intense that he decided to postpone further pursuit, and

38 Mississippi Historical Society.

return to Vicksburg, intending at some future time to penetrate
the State and drive out any Confederate forces that might be
found. During these operations the Confederate army lost 600
men in killed, wounded and missing. The Federal army lost
1,122. The occupation of Jackson by Grant's army in May,
1863, began the cruel side of the war in the wanton destruction
of private as well as public property, which destruction was em-
phasized especially by Gen. Sherman in all his campaigns to the
close of the war. He reported July the i8th, 1863, "We have
made fine progress today in the work of desolation, Jackson
will no longer be a point of danger. The land is desolated for
thirty miles around." The destruction of private property
ever marked the progress of Gen. Sherman's armies. Ray-
mond, Jackson and Brandon had already felt the shock, and
monumental chimneys for the most part marked their former
locations.

In the meantime Gen. Sherman had carried most of his army
to East Tennessee to assist Gen. Grant in his operations against
the Confederate army under Gen. Bragg. He returned to
Memphis Jan. xoth, 1864, and began at once to prepare an
army to go in to Mississippi from Vicksburg as far as Meri-
dian or Demopolis, Ala. His first step was to order that the
Memphis and Charleston railroad be abandoned. He had
a large force guarding the Mississippi river, one division at
Natchez, McPherson's I7th army corps at Vicksburg, Hurlbut's
i6th army corps at Memphis, and about 10,000 cavalry in West
Tennessee, including Gen. W. Sooy Smith's command from
Middle Tennessee (about 40,000 effectives). With this large
force and the great Mississippi gunboat and ironclad fleets oper-
ating with these troops, a diversion was to be made on Mobile,
Ala., by Gen. Banks and Admiral Farragut. An expedition
was also to ascend the Yazoo river from Snyder's Mill, con-
sisting of five gunboats and five transports with several regi-
ments of infantry.

As stated, Generals Pemberton's and Gardner's Confederate
forces had been captured, and there remained in observation
of this large force in Mississippi two small divisions of Con-
federate States infantry — Loring at Canton, and French at
Jackson, about 9,000 men with several batteries. Gen. Stephen
D. Lee, with four brigades of cavalry, Stark's, Adams's and

Sherman's Meridian Expedition. — Lee. 39

Ross', composing Jackson's division, and Gen. S. W. Fergu-
son's brigade, which had been drawn from Northeast Missis-
sippi, covering the country from opposite Yazoo City to Nat-
chez, Miss, (over 300 miles), and numbering about 3,500 effec-
tives. Gen. Forrest was south of the Tallahatchie river in
Northwest Mississippi, picketing towards Memphis and the
Memphis and Charleston railroad, his force numbering about
3,500 men. The entire Confederate force in Mississippi did not
exceed 16,000 men.

This was the condition of affairs in January, 1864. The con-
centration of troops at Vicksburg and the marshaling of 10,000
cavalry in West Tennessee was duly observed and reported to
Gen. Polk, commanding in Mississippi. Spies reported the
force as consisting of an army of four divisions of infantry
with the usual complement of artillery and a brigade of cavalry,
making an army of over 26,000 men, to move from Vicksburg
early in February. Another column of 7,000 cavalry, under
Gen. W. Sooy Smith, was to move from West Tennessee direct
to Meridian to meet the army under Gen. Sherman from Vicks-
burg near that point, and then the combined forces to go either
to Selma or Mobile, as might be indicated. Gen. Sherman was
to hold Lee's Confederate cavalry and any infantry in his
front, and Gen. W. Sooy Smith was to engage Forrest with
his cavalry force, which outnumbered Forrest by double as
many men.

To meet the enemy, Gen. Lee concentrated his cavalry in
front of Vicksburg, along the Big Black river, and near the
Yazoo river. On January 28th the Yazoo river expedition be-
gan to move. Federal cavalry advancing on the Yazoo City
road from Snyder's Bluff on the Yazoo. This force was met
by Ross' Texas brigade and driven back. On Feb. 3rd Federal
infantry began crossing the Big Black river at the railroad
crossing and six miles above, at Messenger's ferry, distant from
Vicksburg 12 or 15 miles, and rapidly drove in the cavalry
pickets on the two roads leading to Clinton. Early on the
morning of Feb. 4th there was severe skirmishing on both
roads, the enemy deploying their force in the open country and
steadily driving back the brigades of Adams and Stark in their
front, their troops being in full view. The day's operations, in
causing the enemy to develop their forces from actual observa-

40 Mississippi Historical Society ?

tion, from prisoners, scouts and other sources, in flank and rear
of their columns, fixed the force as consisting of two corps
of infantry and artillery (i6th and i/th), commanded respec-
tively by Generals Hurlbut and McPherson, and a brigade of
cavalry under Col. Winslow. The entire force was about 26,-
ooo effectives, with a comparatively small wagon train for such
an army. The Yazoo river expedition started about the same
time and it was intended to divide and to hold a part of Lee's
Confederate cavalry, so that no concentration could be made
against Gen. W. Sooy Smith's column, who was ordered to
start about the time Gen. Sherman started from Vdcksburg.
The two expeditions displayed the too great resources Gen.
Sherman had to bring against the small force of Confederates
in Mississippi.

An incident near the old battle field of Baker's Creek is wor-
thy of being recorded. The enemies' infantry deployed was
moving forward gradually, pressing back Adams' brigade, dis-
mounting and fighting them in a swamp. While thus engaged
the Federal brigade of cavalry came charging down on their
rear and flank, and on their lead horses. The moment was crit-
ical, as Adams was almost too hotly engaged to withdraw on
short notice. The two escort companies of Gen. S. D. Lee and
W. H. Jackson alone were mounted and near at hand, number-
ing about 90 men all told. Maj. W. H. Bridges, of Texas, was
temporarily connected with the command, an officer for just
such an emergency. He was ordered to lead the two com-
panies against the Federal brigade, and hold them in check. It
was a choice command, fearlessly led, and it did the work as-
signed it, but with the loss of the noble leader and many of
his followers. The dash saved Adams' brigade, which was re-
tired mounted, and moved over Baker's Creek. At the same
time Griffith's Arkansas regiment was thrown into the woods
near the bridge, thus permitting the two escort companies to
sweep over the bridge, when gradually pressed back by the
superior numbers of the Federal cavalry following, and just
as the Federal infantry had got through the swamp and were
moving towards the bridge. The Federal advance was checked
by artillery across Baker's Creek, which also enabled the Ar-
kansas regiment to get over the bridge.

On Feb. 5th the Confederate cavalry was gradually pressed

Sherman's Meridian Expedition. — Lee. 41

back to Jackson, where it arrived about dark, passing out on
the road towards Canton, to enable Gen. Loring's infantry di-
vision to cross Pearl river from Canton, moving towards Mor-
ton, on the Jackson and Meridian railroad ; a regiment was also
sent across Pearl river, to cover the front of the enemy, if they
tried to cross Pearl river at Jackson. This regiment was also
to destroy the pontoon bridge over Pearl river. Gen. French
with two small brigades at Jackson, and Gen. Loring at Canton,
had been advised to cross Pearl river, owing to the large forces
of the Federal army, and their rapid advance. As soon as it
was ascertained that Gen. Sherman was crossing Pearl river at
Jackson, Gen. Loring, who had marched towards Pearl river
from Canton, crossed and united his division with Gen. French's
near Morton, on the Jackson and Meridian railroad. Fergu-
son's brigade covered Loring's command on the Clinton and
Canton road. Gen. Lee also crossed with two brigades of
Jackson's division (Adams' and Stark's) and with Ferguson's
brigade, which was sent to get in front of the enemy and cover
the retreat of Gen. Loring's two divisions. Jackson, with
Adams' and Stark's brigades, was ordered to operate on the
flank and rear of the enemy on his march at Brandon and Pela-
hatohie Stations. Gen. Ross, who was operating on the Yazoo
river, was ordered to abandon his operations there and march
to join his division under Gen. W. H. Jackson.

As soon as Gen. Polk was fully advised of the large force
under Gen. Sherman, and of the cavalry column which was to
move from the north, he decided that his force was too small
to give battle. He had drawn a part of the Mobile garrison to
Meridian as a reinforcement, but considering Mobile as the
most important place in his department and fearing that Sher-
man would move towards Mobile instead of Meridian to meet
Admiral Farragut and Gen. Banks, he ordered Gen. Lee on
Feb. 9th to move all his cavalry from the rear and the north
of Sherman's line of march, to the south, to protect the Mobile
and Ohio railroad, so that he could return the troops he got
from Mobile, and could also be able to reinforce that point if
necessary with additional troops. He could not understand
why Sherman had Meridian as his objective point. Gen. Polk
at the same time ordered Gen. Ferguson's brigade from the
front of Gen. Sherman's advance to the south, in order also to

42 Mississippi Historical Society.

protect the M. & O. railroad. Gen. Lee, on arriving at Newton
Station, on the nth of February, met Gen. Ferguson. He at
once saw that Gen. Sherman was going to Meridian and not to
Mobile, and caused Gen. Ferguson to retrace his steps and
again get in front of Gen. Sherman.

In the meantime, Gen. Sherman, after crossing Big Black
river on two different roads, advanced rapidly to Jackson, ar-
riving there on the morning of Feb. 6th. He crossed Pearl
river on the 6th and 7th of February, and pressed out towards
Brandon on the road to Meridian, arriving at Brandon on Feb.
7th, at Morton Feb. ojth, and at Meridian Feb. I4th at 3 p. m.,
the Confederate infantry and cavalry gradually falling back be-
fore him.

Gen. Lee made a dash at some wagons near Decatur. The
enemy was found moving with every precaution, their trains
perfectly and judiciously arranged with each brigade, no fur-
aging parties out, and their large infantry force ready to punish
any ill-advised attempt on their column. Col. R. C. Wood's
Mississippi Regiment disabled about 20 wagons, but could not
bring them off, as the infantry advanced on him from the front
and the rear of the column. This was found to be the case
wherever an attempt was made by the cavalry to impede the
march.

On the 1 3th Gen. Polk ordered Gen. Lee to again get to the
north of Gen. Sherman's line of march, as he proposed to evac-
uate Meridian and march with his infantry towards Demopolis,
Ala. The enemy arrived at Meridian at 3 p. m. Feb. I4th, the
Confederate cavalry retiring towards Marion Station. On this
date (Feb. I4th), Gen. Polk issued an order placing Ma j. -Gen.
Stephen D. Lee in command of all the cavalry west of Alabama.
That officer at once put himself in rapid communication with
Gen. Forrest, who was then concentrating his command near
Starkville, Miss., to check the large cavalry force, which had
left Collierville, on the Memphis and Charleston railroad, and
was rapidly moving southward in the direction of the Mobile
and Ohio railroad and towards the great prairie region. For
some reason this cavalry force of 7,000 men had delayed a week
in starting to join Gen. Sherman.

From Feb. 15th to the 2oth, Gen. Sherman, while at
Meridian, was engaged in destroying the railroad in .every di-

Sherman's Meridian Expedition. — Lee. 43

rection, north, south, east and west, for this purpose placing
two divisions of infantry on each road. The road was destroyed
for 12 miles in each direction, making a destruction of about
50 miles of railroad. Attempts to stop the work were made by
the cavalry, but the enemies' force was too large to hinder it.
In addition to destroying the railroads, they destroyed the
city of Meridian, burning most of the houses, depots, hotels,
boarding houses, and all vacant houses and those near them.
On Feb. 2Oth, Gen. Sherman began his return march to Vicks-
burg. One of this corps took the road on which he came
through Decatur to Hillsboro, the other marching from Lau-
derdale Station, on the M. & O. railroad, by Union to Hills-
boro, the latter corps feeling northward, hoping to hear of or
find Gen. W. Sooy Smith's command, which Sherman had or-
dered to join him at Meridian about the loth of February. The
cavalry brigade (with Gen. Sherman), was also detached as far
north as Louisville and Philadelphia, and circled west and south
through Kosciusko to Canton. The two corps met at Hills-
boro and moved across Pearl river to Canton, marching on two
separate roads. They remained at Canton several days, devas-
tating and destroying the town and country for miles, and then
returned to Vicksburg.

In the meantime (Feb. i/th), Gen. Lee, under orders from
Gen. Polk, left only a few regiments to watch the army of Gen.
Sherman at Meridian and moved with all of his disposable force
northward to unite with Gen. Forrest in an attempt to crush
the cavalry column under Gen. Smith, estimated by Gen. For-
rest at 7,000 men. Lee put his four cavalry brigades (Ross had
joined him the day before in the vicinity of Marion Station),
in motion on the morning of Feb. i8th, and reached Line creek
north of Starkville (and 9 miles southwest of West Point), on
the morning of Feb. 22d. It was found that the enemy had be-
gun a hasty retreat early on the morning of Feb. 2ist. Gen.
Forrest, as soon as he knew the probable destination of this
cavalry column, concentrated his command in the vicinity of
Starkville,and on the 2Oth had a part of his force at West Point,
one brigade being in front of the town. He had up to this time
offered no opposition to the advance of the Federal cavalry.
He intended avoiding a battle, until the arrival of Gen. Lee's
force, which was rapaidly approaching, and he offered slight

44 Mississippi Historical Society.

opposition at West Point, retreating across Sookartonchie
creek, three miles from West Point. Gen. Forrest knew that
Gen. Smith's force of 7,000 well-equipped cavalry would out-
number his command when united to Gen. Lee's, and he be-
lieved also that there would be trouble in avoiding a battle be-
fore the junction of the two commands.

Gen. Sooy Smith began his march with his cavalry (7,000)
and an infantry brigade on Feb. loth, a week later than Gen.
Sherman had expected him to start. Under cover of the ad-
vance of his infantry, he moved eastward with his cavalry to
New Albany, then towards Pontotoc, and to within a few miles
of Houston, where he moved due east to Okolona; he then
moved south down the Mobile and Ohio railroad to Prairie
Station (15 miles north of West Point), where he concentrated
his command. On Feb. 2Oth he moved his entire command to
the vicinity of West Point. Here he encountered the first Con-
federate brigade drawn up in line of battle a mile out of the
city. After a slight skirmish the brigade retired before him
through the city, and on the road towards Starkville over Sook-
atonchie creek. Gen. Smith, on arriving ait West Point (Feb.
2Oth), heard of the approach of Gen. Stephen D. Lee's cavalry
from the direction of Meridian, and had it confirmed from pris-
oners and deserters taken on the evening of the same date,
when Forrest was retiring, and being followed across Sooka-
tonchie, to await the arrival of Gen. Lee's command.

Gen. Smith, although he had fought no battle, and had met
with no opposition to amount to anything on his march from
Collierville to West Point, suddenly determined to retreat, and
issued orders for his command to begin the return march early
on the morning of the 2ist of February. He says in his official
report "Exaggerated reports of Forrest's strength reached me
constantly, and it was reported that Lee was about to reinforce
him with a portion or the whole of his command." To cover
his retreat he moved one of his brigades towards Sookatonchie
creek and attacked a part of Gen. Forrest's command on Feb.
21 st. A fight lasted about two hours, wihen Forrest, with his
usual perception and vigor, began to believe a change of opera-
tion had occurred in his front, and with a regiment and escort
he began a headlong charge, breaking through and driving the
enemy before him. He found that Smith was rapidly retreating

Sherman's Meridian Expedition. — Lee. 45

northward. He at once had all his command rushed to the
front in pursuit, overtaking the enemy near Okolona, where he
began crowding him, and gradually driving him from position
to position, capturing six pieces of artillery, this pursuit was
kept up to near Pontotoc, on February 22d and 23d, where it
was abandoned except by a small force. Gen. Forrest had
about exhausted his ammunition, and could follow the enemy
no farther. The retreat was very rapid, the itinerary and reports
showing that in the first day's retrograde and movement (Feb.
2ist), a part of the command marched 37 miles and had to re-
mount with captured horses, abandoning many of their ex-
hausted stock. It is difficult to understand this headlong re-
treat, except that the enemy was fearful of being cut off by
cavalry's getting in their rear. It is difficult now to speculate
as to the results had Smith not retreated. It was a great dis-
appointment to Generals Lee and Forrest. Their united forces
numbered a little less than 7,000 effectives, while Smith had
that number. With a soldier's pride the Confederate com-
manders looked forward to the greatest cavalry battle of the
war, where 14,000 cavalry were to meet in deadly conflict on
one field. It was arranged that as soon as Gen. Lee arrived
Forrest was to take his entire force to the rear of Smith, and
cut off his retreat, while Lee was to battle in front, and in front
and rear the battle was to be fought to a final issue. It was a
great disappointment when it was found that the Federal gen-
eral declined battle, but made one of the most headlong, hasty
retreats during the war, before an inferior force in pursuit, not
numbering over 2,500 men.

Gen. Stephen D. Lee, as soon as he learned from dispatches
from Gen. Forrest of the rapid and headlong retreat of Gen.
W. S. Smith and his cavalry back towards Memphis, put his
cavalry command again in motion to overtake Gen. Sherman's
command on its way to Vicksburg. Gen. W. H. Jackson over-
took the enemy in the vicinity of Sharon, Madison county. He
found the enemy desolating and destroying the country in
every direction. He soon drove in all foraging parties and con-
fined their movements to one or two roads and a limited area.
Gen. Sherman's army recrossed Big Black river, March 6th, on
its way to Vicksburg. The official reports show that in the
three columns, Sherman's, Smith's and the Yazoo river expedi-

46 Mississippi Historical Society.

tion, that the Federals lost in killed, wounded, and missing 912
men, and that Gen. Forrest lost 144 men, and Gen. Stephen D.
I^ee 279 men, or only 423 men in all. These reports also show
that Gen. Lee's cavalry was in the saddle actively engaged from
Feb. ist to March 4th, and that the command marched from
600 to 800 miles during that time.

It is difficult to understand the military object of Sherman's
campaign. He says it was "to strike the roads inland, so to
paralyze the Rebel forces, that we could take from the defense
of the Mississippi river the equivalent of a corps of 20,000 men
to be used in the next Georgia campaign, at the same time I
wanted to destroy Gen. Forrest, etc." He did destroy over 50
miles of railroads, but he did not destroy Forrest, although his
cavalry column of 7,000 men was probably the best equipped
veteran cavalry that ever went into the field, and outnumbered
Forrest's freshly raised men two to one. The railroads in 26
working days were thoroughly repaired and in as good running
order as they were before his campaign, and this work was
done by Major George Whitfield and Major Pritchard, of the
Confederate quartermaster department.

The campaign, however, did demonstrate how few troops the
Confederacy had, and that it was a shell, and all the fighting
men were in the armies at the front, and only helpless women
and children and negroes occupied the interior; that the few
troops in Mississippi had to fall back until the armies at the
front could be weakened to meet any new army not in front of
the main armies; that Gen. Sherman could easily, at almost a
moment's notice, take 30,000 men from the garrisons on the
Mississippi river and move into Mississippi. Gen. Sherman
was outgeneraled by Gen. Polk, and his expedition was devoid
of military interest, but was most remarkable as bringing out
clearly the harsh and cruel warfare waged against the Con-
federacy. Gen. Sherman in his official report says he "made a
swath of desolation 50 miles broad across the State of Missis-
sippi, which the present generation will not forget." In his
orders to Gen. W. S. Smith, he tells him "to take horses, mules
and cattle, and to destroy mills, barns, sheds, stables, etc.," and
to tell the people "it was their time to be hurt." He literally
carried out his plan to "make old and young, rich and poor, feel
the hard hand of war as well as the organized armies." The

Sherman's Meridian Expedition.— Le?. 47

reports of the Confederate commanders show, that with the
above given license the enemy regarded nothing in the way of
property, public or private, as worthy to be spared. Gen.
Stephen D. Lee in his official report says: "On line of march
the enemy took or destroyed everything, carried off every ani-
mal, 8,000 negroes, burnt every vacant house, destroyed furni-
ture, destruction was fearful." The track of the Federal col-
umn was marked by wanton destruction of private property,
cotton, corn, horses, provisions, furniture and everything that
could be destroyed. The people were left in absolute want.
A Federal correspondent who accompanied Sherman estimated
the damage at $50,000,000, and three-fourths of this was private
property, Meridian, Canton, and other towns being almost
totally destroyed. It is painful now, when we are again a re-
united and prosperous people, and the worst memories of the
war have been relegated to the past, to recall this sad recollec-
tion, but the truth of history demands that the facts be given
as they really .wore.

THE CAPTURE OF HOLLY SPRINGS, MISSISSIPPI,

DEC. 20, 1862.

BY J. G. DEupREi;.1

As a survivor of the raiders that rode into Holly Springs,
Mississippi, before daybreak on the morning of Dec. 20, 1862,
I have been asked by Dr. F. L. Riley, Secretary of the Missis-
sippi Historical Society, to write an account of that daring and
successful adventure. In compliance with his request, I submit
the following statement of facts as recalled after a lapse of
nearly forty years. I may add, however, that I have refreshed
and reenforced my own recollections by reading such meagre
accounts of this expedition as I can find in all accessible his-
tories, as well as by statements of fellow-survivors, especially
that furnished me by Comrade S. B. Barren, of the Third Texas
Cavalry, now living at Rusk, Texas.

The battles of luka and Corinth had been fought. General
Grant renewed his purpose to push south down the Mississippi

1 Dr. J. G. Deupree is of French-Huguenot extraction. He was born
in Noxubee county, Miss., in 1843. After preparation under Prof. D. G.
Sherman, an alumnus of Yale and a cousin of Gen'l Wm. T. Sherman,
he entered Howard College at Marion, Ala., and two months before the
close of the session of 1861 received his B. A. degree. He enlisted
at once as a private in the First Mississippi Cavalry, and served con-
tinuously for four years, sharing in the capture of a Federal battery
on the field of Shiloh, in the famous raid into Holly Springs, in the
brilliant cavalry engagement at Thompson Station, as well as in many
other bloody engagements on horse and on foot.

After the close of the war, he married Miss Nellie Durham, whose
ancestors came from England and settled in Maryland and Virginia.
He and his wife became teachers and under their tuition many of the
most eminent men and women of Mississippi have received educational
training. Dr. Deupree took his M. A. degree in regular course; and,
in recognition of his scholarly attainments the degree of LL. D. was
conferred upon him in 1884 by the South Western Baptist University.
He has filled with marked success Chairs of Latin, Greek, English and
Mathematics, in denominational colleges, and now holds the responsi-
ble position of Professor of Pedagogy in the University of Mississippi.
He is regarded as among the broadest and most accurate scholars in
the State and is often styled the Nestor of Mississippi Educators. He
has been a voluminous writer for educational periodicals, and as editor
of the Mississippi Teacher became noted as a writer of forceful and ele-
gant English. Still in mind and body, he may well anticipate many
years of honorable service before he is called to his reward above. —
EDITOR. . <

13

5o Mississippi Historical Society.

Central (now a part of the Illinois Central), then connecting
Jackson, Tennessee, and New Orleans, La., with the ultimate
aim of reducing Vicksburg. He had at his disposal about 80,000
men. Of these, Sherman in command of 18,000 moved from
Memphis to Chulahoma, protecting the right wing, while Grant
himself led the main body through Holly Springs. Ait the same
time, Washburne, with 12,000 men, moved eastward from
Helena, Ark., threatening the rear of the Confederate army on
the south bank of the Tallahatchie and forcing them to retire
to a new line on the Yalobusha. General Earl Van Dorn was
now without a command, having been superseded by General
J. C. Pemberton, recently transferred to this department.

Grant advanced to Oxford, some of his leading divisions
pushing on to Water Valley, covered by a cavalry force operat-
ing as far south as Coffeeville. Grant and Sherman at once
devised a plan of future cooperation. Sherman was to return
to Memphis, organize a new army of four divisions, proceed
down the Mississippi, unite with Steele at Helena, and with the
aid of gunboats attack Vicksburg by way of the river. Grant,
meantime, was to crush Pemberton's army and advance to the
rear of Vicksburg by land. If reinforcements should be sent
from Vicksburg to the army in Grant's front, Sherman would
have an easier task to capture the city; but if, on the other
hand, reinforcements should be sent from Pemberton's army
to Vicksburg, Grant's task would to that^extent be lightened.
Grant had repaired the railroad as an artery of communication
with his base at Holly Springs, where he had collected supplies
of every kind in quantities sufficient to maintain his great army
during a protracted campaign. Sherman went back to Mem-
phis to prepare for his part of the program. Grant was daily
advancing his lines and strengthening his position. His cavalry
were active in all directions, watching front and flanks, destroy-
ing everything of conceivable use to the Confederates, and es-
pecially prohibiting and intercepting such communications as
the Confederates would attempt in flank and rear. It was
about the middle of December. Col. Dickey had been dis-
patched by General Grant with a force of 1,000 cavalry to cut
the M. & O. R. R. and to destroy the vast stores of corn col-
lected along its line for the support of Bragg's army in Middle
Tennessee.

The Capture of Holly Springs. — Deupree. 51

Lieut. Ool. Griffith, commanding the Texas Brigade of Cav-
alry, had joined other cavalry commanders in a petition to
General Pemberton, urging him to organize a cavalry raid to
operate against Grant's communications and to place General
Van Dora in command of the cavalry for this purpose. Ac-
cordingly the cavalry was organized. The Texas brigade was
commanded by Lieut. Col. Griffith, the Tennessee brigade by
Col. W. H. Jackson, and the Missouri and Mississippi brigade
by Col. Bob McCullough, the three brigades being united in a
corps of cavalry under General Van Dorn, with instructions to
cover the front of Pemberton's army and to retard the progress
of Grant as much as possible.

The Confederate cavalry were on the north bank of the Yalo-
busha river. Col. McCullough's brigade, consisting of his own
Second Missouri Cavalry and of Col. R. A. Pinson's First Mis-
sissippi Cavalry, were at Antioch church. By the way, as this
church was much used by officers and soldiers for playing
poker, its name was accordingly changed from Antioch to
Ante-Up. On the night of Dec. i6th, the Deupree Mess, con-
taining six Deuprees, of Co. G, First Mississippi Cavalry, were
bivouacking at a large fallen oak, against the base of which they
had built their camp-fire, putting their pistols, carbines, and
saddles in the tree-top, and hanging their canteens, haversacks,
and coats on the limbs of this prostrate monarch of the forest.
About 2 o'clock next morning there was a rapid discharge of
firearms. The company, the regiment, and even the brigade
were aroused. Believing a night attack had been made upon
them, they promptly armed themselves and fell into line. A
Federal regiment in the vicinity likewise heard the firing, and
under the like apprehension of a night attack rushed to arms.
But Ool. Bob McCullough with stentorian voice shouted from
brigade headquarters : "What in the h — 11 is all that shooting
for ?" He was informed that it was nothing but the discharge
of pistols and carbines in a burning tree-^top. During the night
the fire had spread along the log from the stump, fed by bark
and leaves and brush, consuming coats and haversacks, and dis-
charging the firearms. So soon as the cause of the disturbance
was known, quiet came and the men fell asleep as usual. But
some of us had lost our only coats and had to go without.

Late in the afternoon of the I7th, rations for three days were

52 Mississippi Historical Society.

issued and orders received for McCullough's brigade to mount
and fall into column. We soon joined the brigades of Jackson
and Griffith, making a total of about 2,500 cavalry, and the
march began towards the east. The report was soon spread
through the command that we were to go in quest of Col.
Dickey. Perhaps this rumor was designedly set afloat, that it
might reach the Federals ; it evidently did, for in one of Grant's
intercepted dispatches it was stated that Van Dorn had gone
after Dickey, and Cols. Mizener, Hatch, and Grierson were
ordered to follow up Van Dorn, and by all means rescue
Dickey. All night we rode, halting in the morning of the i8th
after sun-up to feed horses. Before noon we passed through
Pontotoc. Here the good ladies and sweet maidens stood on
the streets with baskets and disihes rilled to overflowing with all
manner of edibles, which we seized in our hands as we rapidly
passed along. Our scouts, who had scoured the country north
and east, reported a large force of Federal cavalry coming from
the direction of Tupelo. This was known to be Col. Dickey's
command. We thought that Van Dorn would halt his column
and prepare to destroy or capture Dickey. To our surprise he
seemed only axious to move on and leave Dickey behind.
Hence, a detachment of Dickey's men were encouraged to pur-
sue us. They fired a few shots and captured some of our men
who had fallen behind the command. The colonel command-
ing our rear regiment sent a courier to notify General Van
Dorn. He came up the column in a sweeping gallop. To pass
from the rear to the front of a long column of cavalry, moving
by twos, is quite an undertaking, but the courier finally reached
the General. With a military salute, he said: "General, my
Colonel sent me to inform you that the Yanks have fired into
his rear." "Are they still in his rear?" inquired the General.
"Yes, sir," answered the courier. "Well, you go back," said
the General, "tell your Colonel that the Yanks are just where
I want them, if they are in his rear." But Dickey had no
serious intention to pursue us. But it is interesting to note
how adroitly during this entire expedition Van Dorn managed
to keep all the forces of the enemy behind him who attempted
in any way to interefere with the execution of his plan. As
soon as the way was clear, Dickey passed through Pontotoc,
hastening back to Oxford to report the destruction he had ac-

The Capture of Holly Springs. — Deupree. 53

complished on the M. & O. R. R., and to inform Grant that
Van Dorn's cavalry had gone north through Pontotoc on the
morning of the iSth. As we afterwards learned, he gave Grant
this information on the afternoon of the I9th, and Grant im-
mediately wired the facts to his garrisons along the line of the
Mississippi Central R. R., warning them to be on the lookout
for Van Dorn, who was evidently intent upon interrupting his
communications somewhere. Reinforcements from Abbeville
and Waterford were to be hurried into Holly Springs, and all
the cavalry save Dickey's jaded command were to push on after
Van Dorn and capture or destroy him.

In going north from Pontotoc, Van Dorn crossed all roads
leading towards Holly Springs, thus creating the impression
that we were marching into Tennessee through Ripley. Scouts
of the enemy could be occasionally seen hovering on our flanks
and rear, watching our movements, so as, if possible, to ascer-
tain our destination. From all they could see or hear, they
were led to conclude that Van Dorn's design was to attack
Bolivar, Tennessee.

On the night of the i8th we camped on the river at New
Albany. We were jaded, having been in the saddle almost con-
tinuously for thirty hours or longer. Horses and men were
soon asleep. About midnight or a little later, a fearful storm
arose; the rain fell in torrents, flooding the camp, compelling
the men to get up, wade about in water from two to three feet
deep, gather up saddles, guns, pistols, etc., and move out to
higher ground. Here, again, we reclined on the wet ground
and at once fell into a sound sleep, from which we were not
aroused till the bugle call, about sunrise on the morning of the
ipth.

The wind from the north had driven the clouds away; the
day was bright and beautiful and cold. Within an hour the
entire command was in column and on the march, headed
towards Ripley. A strong rear guard was maintained to watch
for any Federals that might be rash enough to pursue us too
closely. Towards the east and west and north, we kept out
scouting parties to warn us of the approach of any hostile
parties of cavalry that might be coming towards us. About
noon, in order to assuage the stomachic gnawings of the hun-
gry Texans, who had long since devoured all the rations issued

54 Mississippi Historical Society.

them at Grenada, Van Dorn promised that on the morrow we
should have rations in abundance, and so the impression was
produced that Van Dorn had big game in sight.

Soon the head of the column was turned towards Holly
Springs, and the precaution was taken to arrest everybody go-
ing in that direction. Late in the afternoon the column was
halted long enough to feed horses. Remounting, we moved on ;
and, as night began to fall, additional means were devised to
prevent or intercept any possible tidings of our approach. To
this end guards were stationed at every house we passed, lest
some one might undertake by a shorter route to get ahead of
us and inform the enemy of our movements. After striking the
Ripley and Holly Springs road, we increased our gait, with the
view of outriding any one who may have been watching us
with the intention of reporting to the commander at Holly
Springs.

About 10 o'clock the command was divided into two columns,
marching on parallel roads. Within about five miles from Holly
Springs we were halted and allowed to dismount, but required
to stand to horse ready to mount at any moment. No fires
were permitted. It was bitter cold; those of us without coats
suffered, although we had put on every available shirt. This
writer remembers he had on six. Pickets were posted on every
road or path leading towards Holly Springs, to arrest any spy
or traitor that might attempt to warn, Col. Murphy of our
coming.

Some time before day began to dawn, an order was quietly
passed along the column to mount and form fours in the main
road. It chanced to be in order for the First Mississippi Cav-
alry to be the advance regiment of McCullough's brigade.
Lieut. S. B. Day was in command of an advance guard of
twenty men, and the front four were Groves Dantzler, J. G.
Deupree, W. D. Deupree, and Bob White. The order was
promptly given to the whole command on both roads to move
forward at a gallop, to capture the pickets of the enemy, or
pursue them so closely that no alarm could precede us. The
wisdom of the order was appreciated, and it goes without say-
ing that it was obeyed with alacrity. The First Mississippi was
to enter Holly Springs from the northeast, charge through the
camps of infantry without halting to receive surrenders or to

The Capture of Holly Springs. — Deupree. 55

engage in battle, but at once attack the cavalry when discov-
ered. The Second Missouri were to dismount at the edge of
town, charge on foot, and capture or disperse any infantry that
might be encountered. The Texas brigade was to approach
from the east, coming in by the R. R. depot, and thus prevent
reinforcements from surprising us in that direction; and a de-
tachment of Texans was also posted so as to prevent surprise
from the south. The Tennessee brigade was to approach from
a northerly direction, preventing possible reinforcements from
Bolivar, as well as watching the dirt roads coming from Mem-
phis on the west.

As we approached the town, we increased our speed. The
First M'issis'sippi rode through in a sweeping gallop, ignoring
the infantry, though many of them, awakened and startled by
the charge, ran out of their tents in night attire and fired into
our column, wounding nearly every horse in the advance guard
and several of the men. As we rode on towards the Fair
grounds in search of the Federal cavalry, Col. Neill and Maj.
Mudd were forming the Second Illinois Cavalry into line to call
the roll and go look for Van Dorn, who had been reported as
coming. Brave and courageous, they boldly drew sabres and
charged upon us. Without undertaking to tell all that occurred
in this melee, I give only a few incidents that came under my
own observation. D. S. Purvine, Orderly Sergeant of Co. I,
clashed with an expert swordsman and was dangerously cut in
the face and neck, when our Adjutant Billy Beasley came to his
rescue and sent a bullet through the head of the Federal. Lit-
tle Jerry Beasley, a lad of fifteen summers, brother of the Ad-
jutant, was about to be cut down by a stalwart enemy, when
L/ieut. Day shot the bold rider with arm uplifted to let fall the
fatal stroke. Our Major Wheeler had his thumb cut off in a
sabre duel with a Federal officer. Assistant Adjutant Lawrence
Yates was seriously wounded in the forehead, and the blood
gushed from the long deep cut, flooding his face and neck ; but
with his own pistol he slew his antagonist. My own horse had
been shot twice as we came through the infantry, and here he
received a third and fatal wound and fell suddenly to the
ground. I had experienced many ups and downs, but this was
one of the most serious of the downs. The peculiar sensation
of a falling horse was somewhat like that I felt the first time I

56 Mississippi Historical Society.

stepped into an elevator to go down, when the whole world
seemed to be falling and carrying me with it. But I simply
made breastworks of the dead animal until I could get the
horse of the Federal with whom I had been engaged, after the
rider had been shot by myself or some comrade. Promptly
mounting the Federal charger, I was soon with my command
chasing the routed Illinois cavalry.

•Many thrilling deeds done by Federals and Confederates can
never be known. The First Mississippi met a foe worthy of
their steel in the Second Illinois. Nerve was required to make
and nerve required to receive that furious charge. Pistols in
the hands of -the Mississippians proved superior to sabres
wielded by the hardy sons of Illinois, and the gallant Pinson
with his reckless Mississippians finally vanquished and drove
from the field the rough riders of Illinois.

Some Federal officers and soldiers annoyed us by firing at
us from adjacent houses in which they had taken refuge. The
two Roussees and Wohleben were together when one of the
Roussees was killed. Seeing whence the shot came, and ob-
serving through the glass door a party of Federals in the front
hall of a house engaged in hostile demonstrations, they fired,
killing two and wounding a third. The others then came out
and surrendered. But, all in all, few of our regiment were
killed, though many were wounded, most of them but slightly
with sabre strokes. As victors, we arranged to care for the
wounded, sending them south by way of the east.

Meanwhile, the Texans, the Missourians, and the Tennes-
seeans had entered the town almost simultaneously by different
routes. Col Murphy's infantry had surrendered and our victory
was complete. Texans and Tennesseeans were holding in
check Federal reinforcements conning from the south. The
4,000 men dispatched by Grant to aid Col. Murphy were push-
ing on as fast as possible. Holly Springs and the immense
stores were entirely in our possession; but we knew only too
well that we must do our work quickly, and we grimly set about
the task before us with the determination to do it effectually.
Standing on the tracks near the depot was a long train of box-
cars loaded with rations and clothing just ready to be sent to
the front. The torch was applied and the train consumed. A

The Capture of Holly Springs. — Deupree. 57

regiment was detailed to guard the prisoners, while others were
engaged in the work of destroying the captured property.

Holly Springs was at this time the rendezvous of a large
floating population, following in the wake of Grant's army.
Speculators were here to engage in the contraband cotton
trade. Army sutlers were here procuring supplies from stores
established by Northern merchants. Many officers, too, were
Tiere on duty, either in garrison or in the quartermaster or
commissary departments ; and thinking themselves perfectly
safe, they had taken residence with their families and were liv-
ing on amicable terms with the natives, though the latter made
no secret of their sympathy with secession and the Confederacy.
All these aliens were captured, swelling the total number of
prisoners to more than 2,500, but women and children and per-
sonal property were undisturbed. However, all that belonged
to Uncle Sam, including the cotton, was regarded as properly
-due the captors. Hence no scruples were felt in applying the
torch to what could not be carried away. The sight of such an
.abundance of clothing, supplies of all kinds, blankets, pro-
visions, arms, ammunition, medicines, etc., etc., for the use and
comfort of a vast army, was overwhelming to thinly-clad and
hungry Confederates, who had never seen anything like it be-
fore. The depot buildings, the round-house, and every avail-
able place was packed full to overflowing. Scores of houses up
town were likewise filled. The Court House was filled, and the
public square contained hundreds of bales of cotton. A large
brick livery stable was packed with unopened cases of carbines
and Colt's army six-shooters. A large brick store-house was
likewise filled with artillery ammunition. Alter appropriating
all we could use or arrange to carry away, the work of destruc-
tion was pushed with vigor. From about 7 o'clock a. m. till
about 4 o'clock p. m., we were engaged in burning this immense
collection of army stores. Depots of provisions were first
plundered and then burned ; sutler shops shared a like fate ;
whiskey flowed in streams, causing more or less disorder, as a
few soldiers, blue and gray, imbibed too freely. Cotton specu-
lators were required to share their money with the victors, but
were allowed to witness the conflagration of their stolen cotton
without personal restraint.

The scene might well have been described as "wild and ex-

58 Mississippi Historical Society.

citing: Federals running; Confederates yelling and pursuing;
tents and houses burning; torches flaming; guns popping;
sabres clanking; negroes and abolitionists begging for mercy;
women, in dreaming robes and with dissheveled hair floating in
the morning breeze, clapping their hands with joy and shouting
encouragement to the raiders; a mass of frantic, frightened
human beings, presenting in the frosty morning hours a motley
picture, at once ludicrous and sublime, which words are im-
potent to portray."

Mrs. U. S. Grant was in the city, residing in the stately man-
sion of the late Harvey W. Walter. Of course, she was undis-
turbed and none of her personal property was touched. In
consideration of the courtesy shown his wife, Gen. Grant gave
this house a safe-guard and a guarantee during the remainder
of the war against search or trespass or devastation by Federal
parties that might afterwards have occasion to be in Holly
Springs. Several times after the Federals had given up the
permanent occupation of Holly Springs and the little city lay
between Federals and Confederates, our scouts, closely pursued
by hostile cavalry, took refuge in this safe asylum, whose sa-
cred threshold the enemy would not dare to cross. As a con-
sequence of Grant's guarantee, this house was spared while
many others were burned, and it still stands as a monument of
Grant's appreciation of Southern chivalry.

By a little after 4 o'clock in the afternoon all the property of
Uncle Sam, save what we could appropriate, had been de-
stroyed, estimated as worth between $2,000,000 and $4,000,000.
The prisoners had all been paroled. We resumed our march
northward, hoping to capture other garrisons and to destroy
more Federal property. On leaving Holly Springs, our entire
command was the best equipped body of cavalry in the Con-
federate service. Every trooper had from two to six pistols,
one or more carbines, one or more sabres, and all the ammuni-
tion, rations, blankets, shirts, hats, boots, overcoats, etc., his
horse could carry. With our new overcoats on, it was difficult
to tell us from Federals. As we moved on separate roads a day
or two afterwards, with overcoats on to protect us from a freez-
ing rain, each column suddenly coming in sight of the other
was mistaken for Federals, and for a time a battle seemed im-

The Capture of Holly Springs. — Deupree. 59

minent; but on a display of flags, each column was identified
as Confederates.

As we moved out of Holly Springs we saw in the distance
clouds of dust, indicating the approach of the Federal infantry
and cavalry Grant had sent to reinforce Murphy. They were
too late. We could not wait to welcome them, and Murphy did
not care to see them. His chagrin he would prefer to bear
alone. ,

We continued our march till late at night. On the following
morning, we made an attack on the fortified post of Davis'
Mill, which was so gallantly defended that Van Dorn wisely
concluded it would not be worth the lives it would cost to cap-
ture it. At Cold Water we also found the garrison too strongly
posted to admit of capture without excessive loss. The same
was the case at Bolivar. At Middleburg we found a garrison
of about 250 men under Col. Graves, of the Twelfth Wisconsin.
We demanded their surrender and received the gallant and
curt reply: "If you want us, come and take us." We wanted
them. The Sixth Texas accordingly dismounted and made
several charges upon the brick church in which the Wiscon-
sans had taken refuge, and from which through holes in the
walls they poured deadly volleys into the ranks of the Texans.
Nevertheless, according to the courteous invitation that had
been extended, the Texans would go right up to the house, but
the Wisconsans refused to open the door and let them in. With
great reluctance the Texans retired. With but a single piece
of artillery, this garrison, as well as those of Davis' Mill and
Cold Water, might have been easily captured.

But Grierson, Hatch, and Lee, with 2,000 cavalry and
mounted infantry, were at our heels and threatening to crowd
us; and, as nothing was to be gained by lingering here or by
proceeding north, Van Dorn turned his column eastward and
later towards the south, returning through Ripley, New Albany,
and Pontotoc, keeping up a constant battle for several days
with his cautious pursuers, and at the same time beating off the
forces under Mizener and others that attempted to intercept us
at Ripley and New Albany. We reached Grenada after an ab-
sence of thirteen days, during most of fihe time continually
fighting by day and riding by night. Horses and men were
thoroughly exhausted, and all were glad to get rest again.

60 Mississippi Historical Society.

But we had accomplished one of the most daring and suc-
cessful cavalry raids of the war. In consequence of the loss of
so important a post as Holly Springs, Col. Murphy was dis-
missed from the service in a stinging order by General Grant,
said order to take effect on Dec. 20, 1862, the memorable date
of his capture. The destruction of his stores at Holly Springs
was an irreparable loss to Grant. His army was suddenly de-
prived of sustenance. To replace his winter stores he must at
once put into working order the entire line of railroad to Jack-
son, Tennessee, at that time the northern terminus of the Mis-
sissippi Central, and thence repair the M. & O. R. R. to Co-
lumbus. Ky. But Forrest had so completely destroyed this
road that two or three weeks would be necessary to restore it.
It may be mentioned in this connection, too, that the Memphis
and Charleston had been so thoroughly destroyed when the
Confederates first evacuated Corinth, that Grant had never un-
dertaken to repair it. Besides, with the fear inspired by the
dashing Van Dorn and the reckless Forrest, Grant appre-
hended it would not be feasible to maintain railroads in work-
ing order. Hence, deeming his position untenable, he fell back
to open communications by dirt road to Memphis. Not daring
to subsist his army on the country with Pemberton in his front
and the dare-devil cavalry on flank and rear, he wisely decided
to abandon this line of attack altogether and to prepare to
move his army down the Mississippi river to yicksburg.

Sherman, in the meantime, ignorant of what had occurred at
Holly Springs, and of the consequent retreat of Grant, had pro-
ceded with his part of the prearranged program and landed his
forces on the bank of the Yazoo river, attacking Stephen D.
Lee at Chickasaw Bayou. The account of Sherman's defeat
has been well given by Gen. Lee, and it is mentioned here only
because of its connection with the agreement of cooperation
made by Grant and Sherman. Grant was certainly foiled by the
capture of Holly Springs, and Sherman might not have failed
so completely if Grant could have pressed forward and held the
Confederates in his front, so as to prevent the timely reinforce-
ments of Lee.

In conclusion, I may join with Comrade Barron in his state-
ment, that from the beginning of this raid into Holly Springs,
I served under the immediate command of General Earl Van

The Capture of Holly Springs. — Deupree. 61

Dorn till his untimely death at Spring Hill, Tennessee. Speak-
ing from memory and after an experience of four years in the
cavalry service, under various leaders, including the "game-
cock" Chalmers, the impetuous Forrest, the cautious "Red"
Jackson, and that all-around successful soldier, S. D. Lee, I
must express the opinion that a more chivalrous soldier was
not found in either army than Earl Van Dorn ; and as a cavalry
commander, I do not believe he had a superior on the Conti-
nent of America.

THE BATTLE AND RETREAT FROM CORINTH.
BY Coi,. JAMES GORDON/

The difficulty in securing correct war history is not only from
the reticence of veterans in regard to their valorous deeds, but

1 Col. James Gordon was born in Monroe county, Miss., Dec. 6, 1833.
He was graduated at the University of Mississippi in the class of 1855.
During the last four or five years he has resided at Okolona, Miss.
Previous to his removal to that place he was from early infancy a
resident of Pontotoc county, Miss. His father, a native of Scotland,
was a gentleman of culture and refinement. His mother was a Vir-
ginian by birth, a descendant from the Waltons of Revolutionary fame.
Col. Gordon inherited from his father the beautiful estate, "Lochinvar,"
and up to the outbreak of the war between the States he was num-
bered among the millionaire planters of Mississippi.

He raised the first company of cavalry that entered the Confederate
service from North Mississippi, arming and equipping it at his own
expense. This company, of which he was captain, went directly to
Richmond and was attached to the Jeff Davis Legion under the com-
mand of Gen. Stewart. In 1862 Capt. Gordon returned to Mississippi
and recruited the Second Mississippi Regiment of cavalry, of which he
was made colonel. He took a conspicuous part in the battle of Corinth
and in Van Dorn's retreat to Holly Springs. During the war he took
part in thirty-three battles and skirmishes.

At the battle of Thompson Station Col. Gordon captured Gen. Shaf-
ter and by kind treatment established a friendship between them which
lasts until the present day. The Hon. John Coburn, who commanded
the captured brigade, requested permission of Gen. Cheatam to pre-
sent his sword to Col. Gordon in consideration of his kindness while
escorting the prisoners from Thompson Station, Tenn. to Tullahoma.
The petition was endorsed by Generals Polk and Bragg and the sword
was duly presented. When Grierson's command made a raid through
Mississippi, Col. Gordon's wife showed this sword to Adjutant Wood-
ward and this saved the old home from being burned by Federal sol-
diers, who were applying the torch, as a guard was given to protect the
property.

In 1864 Colonel Gordon was sent to England by President Davis to
purchase a privateer for use in the service of the Confederacy. After
discharging this service successfully, he entered upon a checkered
career, being first prostrated by sickness, then confined in a Federal
prison-ship and finally becoming a Confederate refugee in Canada.
While in the latter country he met J. Wilkes Booth, from which fact
he was unjustly suspected by the Federal authorities of implication
in the assassination of President Lincoln. After taking the oath of
allegiance to the United States in 1865 he returned to his old home in
Pontotoc county.

Colonel Gordon has represented his country in the legislature during
several terms, and has for years taken an active part in the political
affairs of the State.

He has contributed to the columns of many journals and periodicals
under the name de plume of "Pious Jeems."

A more detailed sketch of his life will be found in Goodspeed's
Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Mississippi, vol. I., pp. 805-7. — ED-
ITOR.

64 Mississippi Historical Society.

from the fact that a soldier's knowledge is limited to that por-
tion of the drama in which he was a participant, where he could
only see what was done in the part of the field where he was
engaged, and had only a vague idea of what was transpiring
elsewhere. Therefore in reviewing the battle scene of Corinth,
I must be pardoned if I can only give testimony to the part in
which I was an eye-witness, and not immodest in relating my
own experiences during the battle and retreat.

I had the honor of commanding the Second Regiment of Mis-
sissippi Cavalry, Armstrong's Brigade, which I had raised and
drilled in camp of instruction at Columbus, Miss., during the
summer of 1862. And reported to Gen. Frank C. Armstrong in
August at Baldwyn, Miss., and found him after years of service
under his command as true a friend and chivalrous a knight as
ever drew sword for the land we loved. By some mistake my
regiment was first known as the Fourth Mississippi Cavalry,
which has caused some confusion, as it was afterwards given
its proper place on the roster. But in the war records Col.
Falkner's Partisan Rangers is given credit for some of our
achievements. We marched with Gen. Price's army in Septem-
ber to luka, which was intended to draw Rosecrans from Cor-
inth, which Gen. Van Dorn was to attack with a force from
Greenwood. On the morning of September I3'th, Armstrong's
cavalry made a dash on luka and drove the enemy out, cap-
turing a quantity of supplies and sutler's stores, sufficient for
our army for weeks, but the infantry got possession and used
them so lavishly that in a few days rations were growing short.
After a week's inactivity Rosecrans marched out from Corinth
and gave us battle. The day closed after a well contested fight
with no material advantage to either side, but being short of
provisions, early next morning we retired before a vastly supe-
rior force, by way of Bay Springs, closely pressed by their cav-
alry until I led them into an ambuscade where we crossed a
bottom, and had masked batteries on the hill with Rogers' bri-
gade of infantry, that fired into them, stopping further pursuit.
We reached Baldwyn the next day and hastily prepared three
days' rations and began our march for Corinth. On the first
of October we met Gen. Van Dorn with Lovel's corps, who
took command as we marched on. As we bivouacked the
night before reaching Corinth an accident prevented our taking

The Battle and Retreat from Corinth. — Cordon. 65

it by surprise, a body of Federal cavalry passed in rear of our
army and carried the news of our approach to the enemy. We
struck the Federal outpost at Chewalla, six miles west of Cor-
inth and drove the cavalry back to the protection of the in-
fantry, who were entrenched behind formidable breastworks
erected by the Confederates after the battle of Shiloh. As
we marched gaily forward Gen. Price's Mounted Band kept
well up in front of our column, just in rear of our skirmish line,
yet out of range of the retreating Federal cavalry. In the rosy
realm of childhood my fancy had pictured the bands discours-
ing martial music while the soldiers were righting. Old Pap
Price's band soon disabused my mind of this fairy tale. The
woods resounded with that popular air "Listen to the Mock-
ing Bird." When we came in sight of the entrenchments one
of those big guns opened with a terrific roar and a huge shell
came humming overhead and struck an oak where it forked,
about twenty feet above us, splitting it in two, scattering frag-
ments of limbs back and splinters among the musicians. The
Mockingbird hushed its dulcet strain and the boys shouted
with glee as the band and negro camp followers "skedaddled" to
the rear. The ball had opened and it was a different tune we
danced to the rest of the day. As the infantry moved forward
and engaged the enemy I marched around the earthworks until
my left flank rested near the Mobile & Ohio R. R. north of
Corinth, where I halted behind a blackjack thicket, awaiting
orders, when I observed a section of King's battery, that had
been following, turn towards the enemy, and dashing up in gal-
lant style to an elevation, prepared for action, but prompt as
they were, those daring Missourians had ventured too far, and
before they could bring their guns into action, a regiment of
Federal infantry lying concealed in the hollow arose with a
cheer and charged them. There was no time for hesitation or
awaiting orders. I instantly dismounted my regiment, and,
passing through the thicket that had concealed me, charged
the enemy in flank and drove them from the guns, which they
endeavored to turn on me, but failed to do so before my gallant
Mississippi boys were on them, and the Missourians, seeing help
at hand, rushed to the guns and poured a terrific fire into their
disordered ranks. There was a gallant Federal officer riding
an iron-gray horse utterly regardless of danger, a conspicuous
5

66 Mississippi Historical Society.

mark for our rifles, attempting to rally his men, when our bat-
tery opened the brave fellow fell a mangled corpse, "dead upon
the field of glory." I drew my breath and hushed a shout of
exultation as I saw him fall and his men, completely demoral-
ized, beat a hasty retreat. I breathed a sigh of regret as I
halted in passing the body of my fallen foe, while my men drove
his comrades from the field to the protection of the breast-
works. My Adjutant, Lieutenant James A. Wiley, and myself
were the only officers remaining mounted, and one of those in-
cidents of battle comes back to mind more vividly than more
important events. While riding up and down my line of bat-
tle directing the movements of my command, a sharp-shooter
had esconsed himself in my rear in the railroad cut behind some
bushes, and brought his rifle to bear on me. His sights, I sup-
pose, were a little too elevated, as he shot, a twig fell on me
from a limb I had bowed under in passing. I saw him drop
back into the ditch, but there was a fascination in the spot and
I could not help watching for his re-appearance until I saw
him rise and take another crack at me. I felt the wind of the
ball as it touched my moustache in passing. The next time he
arose and as I saw he was about to shoot, I involuntarily
dodged, which saved me, as the ball struck across the back of
my neck, knocking me forward on the neck of my horse, mak-
ing a black bruise, but not breaking the skin, yet the pain was
so severe I thought I was shot through the neck. It was the
most demoralizing experience I ever had during my career in
the army. I did not care for the bullets from the enemy in
front, they were honest foes, but to have a skulking assassin in
my rear picking at me and distracting my attention was more
than I could endure, and I resolved to get rid of him, so I se-
lected a sandy-haired, freckled-faced fellow in the ranks, who
had an impediment in his speech, and, touching him and the
comrade beside him, pointed out the spot where the sharp-
shooter hid, told them to go and kill him and bring me his
gun. They started off at a double quick. I watched them
close in on him, and as he attempted to retreat, they fired and
he fell. My stuttering friend returned, holding up a beautiful
Sharp rifle as he said, "By-by-by G — d, Colonel, I ga-ga-got his
gun," and I may add the brave fellow carried it gallantly
through the war and had it at his home in De Soto County the

The Battle and Retreat from Corinth. — Gordon. 67

last time I saw him. In the meantime as far as I could see our
men were victorious all along the line. An hour more of day-
light and Corinth would have been captured, when night cast
her mantle of stars over the first act of the bloody drama. I
can never forget that mild October night, with its thousands of
starry worlds looking down upon our wearied soldiers sleep-
ing upon the ensanguined field where silence reigned. The
fierce rebel yell, a sound that could never be produced except
by Southern voices, was hushed, and as the veteran dreams
of the glories past, that fierce yell, so terrible to the foe, still
lives in the deep chambers of his heart, and rising from the
depths steals gently o'er the sea of memory in songs of Dixie
land. As the morning star arose, Van Dorn's signal gun awoke
the slumbering host, which was intended to open the fight.
The enemies guns replied all along the line of fortifications in
our front. It was a grand pyrotechnical display as the hurt-
ling shells came humming overhead with the burning fuse
blazing like a comet's tail, then bursting and scattering fiery
fragments that fell like meteoric showers. Just before dawn a
large reinforcement of the enemy had passed into Corinth from
above. Our cavalry had torn up the railroad twelve miles
north of the city and the Federal troops had marched all
night, reaching Corinth wornout with fatigue. Van Dorn's
plan, as he told me afterwards, was to begin the attack on the
left when the signal gun fired, striking the enemy in echelon
of brigades. Had his orders been executed the history of that
day would have been different. The worn-out reinforcements
could not have resisted the impetuous assault of our army
flushed with the victory of the preceding day. A fatal error
caused a delay that brought disaster. The officer who should
have been ready for the dash at dawn was asleep in a farm
house, and couriers were riding in every direction in search of
him, and it was nine o'clock before he was found, by which
time the enemies reinforcements had breakfasted and refreshed
themselves with sleep behind intrenchments protected by heavy
guns. It was ten o'clock before the attack was made and then
Gen. Price made the advance from the centre, before which
lay Battery Robinet, frowning with heavy guns and bristling
with rifles, its approach being protected by fallen trees with
the limbs sharpened, and through this terrible abattis it was

68 Mississippi Historical Society.

necessary for our troops to pass before they could reach the
formidable breastworks that seemed impregnable. I have wit-
nessed many a battle scene, and read thrilling accounts of
others, but cannot conceive of anything that human courage
could dare more desperately grand than the splendid charge
of the brigade led by the gallant Colonel Wm. P. Rogers
through the tangled mass of obstructions, with cannon roaring
and belching forth great shells that burst as they tore through
the Confederate ranks, while grape and canister raked the earth
with iron hail, accompanied by the cracking of thousands
of rifles from a foe protected by earthworks, whose volleys
crashed and rung from out the sulphurous canopy of smoke
that enveloped them, filling the air with hissing balls. Yet on
those brave men pressed amid an atmosphere choking with dust
and laden with missels of death. At times the line would reel
and stagger and the enemy woud cheer a wild huzza as a flag
went down with its fallen bearer, but another devoted hand
would raise it, and above the din of battle, the thunder of ar-
tillery and crash of small arms would rise a shout of defiance,
as that grand old rebel yell would burst forth, and with a des-
perate valor that no tongue can describe or pen portray, the
grey line would close its ghastly gaps and still press on until
they reached the red earthworks heaped up behind a yawn-
ing ditch, where, with the flash of guns in their faces, they
rushed against that wall of fire and bristling steel, and with a
yell following the gallant Rogers, the bravest of the brave, who
with the glorious banner of stars and bars in his hand, mounted
the breastworks and leaped upon the foe, where a desperate
hand-to-hand fight with bayonet and clubbed guns was fought
that beggars description, but saddest picture of all, amid the
heaps of dead lay the embodiment of that splendid courage of
which heroes are made in the person of the brave Col. Rogers,
while over their fallen chief his men who loved him fought on,
driving the enemy in full retreat through the streets of Corinth
until they reached the hotel and raised the Confederate banner
over it with shouts of victory. Price's corps had whipped the
fiercest battle ever fought on Mississippi soil. But where were
the troops that should have reinforced them from the right?
Gen. Lovell's corps, for some unaccountable reason, failed to
oome to their support. They had accomplished all that mortal

The Battle and Retreat from Corinth. — Gordon. 69

valor oould do. Rosecrans was preparing to retreat, expecting
attack from our right, but when it failed he attacked the worn-
out Confederates with fresh troops in overwhelming numbers
and forced them back over the ground they had won with such
intrepid valor. And here I may add to the credit of our foe,
Gen. Rosecrans buried the noble Rogers with the honors of
war. As Price's corps were falling back I received an order
to report with my command to Gen. Lovell on our extreme
right. I was compelled to pass through Price's shattered col-
umns, which I did as speedily as I could, and pushed on until
I neared the place where I expected to find Gen. Lovell. I saw
a long line of grey pushing the enemy before them, so I halted
my command behind a hill to protect them from the enemy's fire
as we were not out of range, and proceeded alone to look for
Gen. Lovell. I found him under fire directing the movement
of his men fighting in front. He was a blond, light-haired, mil-
itary-looking man, dressed in a handsome Major-General's uni-
form, riding a richly caparisoned steed. The bullets were hiss-
ing and singing unpleasantly numerous around him as I rode
up, and, saluting, introduced myself, stating my business. He
replied, "I've no use for cavalry. Look at those men, Colonel,
isn't that beautiful ?" Sitting on a horse under fire, away from
my own command, with nothing to do, is not so fascinating as
to the officer directing the movements of his troops. I con-
fess I should have enjoyed it more from a less exposed posi-
tion. 'Brig. Gen. Phifer's brigade was just in front of us and
I could see that my old college friend, Charlie Phifer was gal-
lantly performing his duty. Just then a courier dashed up with
orders to Gen. Lovell to withdraw his men from the fight.
Turning to me, he remarked, "I don't understand this, Colonel.
I've got a position here, and I can whip anything that can
oome out of Corinth or hell, and by G — d, I don't want to
leave it." I replied "Perhaps you are not aware, General, that
Price's corps has been cut to pieces and are in full retreat, and
your command is all that are engaged now and you will soon
have the entire Yankee army down on you." "Is that so?
Then I want you to cover my retreat." He withdrew his men
from the fight and they marched off in as perfect order as if
coming from dress parade. It was handsomely executed. As
they passed out by me I moved my command to the top of the

70 Mississippi Historical Society.

hill in plain view of the enemy, but strange to say, they seemed
so staggered by the Confederate charge and surprised at their
withdrawal they never fired a shot at me, although within rifle
range, and when I retired I was not followed. I overtook
Ivovell's command about two miles west of Corinth resting by a
small branch eating their dinners. He then ordered me to go
south about five miles to guard a road leading out from
Rienzi, as he apprehended being cut off by a column from that
direction. I was to remain there until sunset, then overtake
him. I proceeded to the place designated and remained until
sunset without any adventure. In the meantime my scouts re-
ported a large force of the enemy having passed on the north
of me in pursuit of our army. I was in a dilemma, with a
column of the enemy on my right and ahead of me, another
expected from the rear and Tuscumbia river on my left, which
I must cross if I escaped capture, and in addition to my re-
sponsibilities, a squadron of the ist Mississippi Cavalry, Col.
R. A. Pinson's regiment, having been cut off and lost, reported
to me and fell in with my command. I had sent out and tried
to procure a guide, but failed, so I sent an order down my line
for each man to follow his file leader and struck out with the
hope of finding a ford across Tuscombia river. Night gathered
in gloomy folds around me as I peered through a hazy atmos-
phere and entered the sombre shadows of Tuscumbia river bot-
toms, where, if I chanced upon the enemy with my column
stretched out for two miles, my command was likely to be
stampeded. I took my course by the few friendly stars that
gave but a feeble light to guide me through a labyrinth of wil-
derness, and as a shadowing cloud obscured their rays I felt
the trees as I passed along, for the moss on the north side told
the way to the enemy. From my boyhood I had hunted much
with hunters and trappers in the Mississippi swamps, and
learned lessons in woodcraft not taught in military schools, but
most useful adjuncts to a military education. Among other
things in my experience in the swamps was to trust to the in-
stinct of cattle in finding a ford, Which is almost infallible, and
fortune favored me in striking a cow trail leading towards the
river, which I followed carefully in the dim light until I reached
their crossing, where in spite of an ill-omened owl that snapped
his beak as he flitted across the stream into the gloom beyond,

The Battle and Retreat from Corinth. — Gordon. 71

I rode boldly in, leading my column safely over, where I
breathed a prayer of thankfulness for having extricated my
command from a dangerous position, and was fortunate in
reaching the pickets of Lovell's corps, who directed me to his
headquarters. I woke him up and reported. He seemed sur-
prised and pleased to see me, and cordially grasping my hand,
exclaimed, "I am glad to see you, Colonel. I feared you had
been captured, as I saw no way for you to get out. Where
did you find a guide ?" "I had no guide, General." Then you
know this country." "I never was here before." "Then how
did you get out?" "By being a bear hunter and skilled in
woodcraft." It was an unfortunate avowal that caused me to
be placed in many a tight place in later campaigns, but it gave
my men a confidence in my ability to extricate them from any
kind of difficult situation. I fear I am digressing, but that
march and the responsibilities attending it through the dismal
swamp the night after the battle left a more fearful impression
on my mind than anything that occurred when exposed to the
enemy's fire, and I relate it here to impress the growing youth
with the feelings of an army officer when the lives of his men
depend upon his judgment and promptness in execution, and
where his reputation may suffer irredeemably from a mistake
on his part. The next day our army was cut off at Hatchie
Bridge by a large force from Bolivar, Tennessee. Price's Mis-
sourians formed line of battle on a ridge in front of a road
along which our wagon trains passed, while the enemy were
held in check. In the meantime a bridge was hastily con-
structed at an old mill, over which our wagon train escaped,
followed by our infantry skilfully withdrawn from the battle,
their retreat being covered by our cavalry falling back in good
order, holding the enemy in check, fighting from every avail-
able position until we passed Ripley, the enemy pursuing no
farther. The cavalry had no access to the wagon train since
leaving Baldwyn, and the three days' rations had long since
disappeared.

The cavalry soldier usually consumed his rations the first
day, trusting to luck for the next two. I had tightened my
belt for three days and when the friends of Capt. James Ruffin's
company from De Soto County sent the boys a wagon loaded
with provisions, one of them gave me a large slice of old red

72 Mississippi Historical Society.

smoked bacon, which I devoured raw and dropped down at
the foot of a tree and slept for an hour, the sweetest sleep of
my life. The bugle call awoke me refreshed and invigorated.
We resumed our march until we reached Holly Springs, where
we met the exchanged Fort Donaldson prisoners. Why we
had not awaited their arrival before attacking Corinth I could
not comprehend. It would certainly have changed the result
of the battle of Corinth. But the fates were against us. "The
stars in their courses fought against Sisera." At Holly Springs
we rested until Grant moved out from Memphis menacing us
with a largely superior force. We retired across the Talla-
hatchie at Abbeville, where we remained until Grant compelled
us to retire. We had a small fight at Oxford, then again at
Water Valley. As I was leading a charge there I nearly ran
over Col. Jacob Thompson, whose horse was killed under him
and he was feeling around for his spectacles. He had resigned
his position as Secretary of Interior in President Buchanan's
cabinet to join the South. At Coffeeville we had a severe fight,
where we led the enemy into an ambuscade and gave them such
a thrashing they retired to Oxford. We then went into winter
quarters at Grenada, from which place Van Dorn started on his
brilliant raid to Holly Springs in rear of Grant's army, where
he destroyed his ordnance and commissary stores, compelling
Grant to retreat to Memphis, which ended the campaign of
1862 in North Mississippi.

Note. — Col. William P. Rogers, killed at Corinth, a native of Aber-
deen, Miss.

Capt. Frank Rogers, his brother, commanding a company from Aber-
deen, Miss., was killed at Fort Donaldson.

WORK OF THE UNITED DAUGHTERS OF THE CON-
FEDERACY.

BY MRS. ALBERT G. WEEMS.1

As the 2/th of this month (April i, 1901) will be the fourth
birthday of the Mississippi Division of the United Daughters
of the Confederacy, and as it was in Meridian that she first saw
the light, it is deemed appropriate to review her short life and
to show how far she has succeeded in realizing the objects of
her conception. I will give a "plain unvarnished tale," confining
myself to facts and figures, feeling that they need no embellish-
ment to convince the reader that this Division is a prodigy.
She is truly the beloved child of my heart and mind, in whom I
am well pleased.

I will inform the reader just here of the weight of this infant
at her natal hour. She represented five chapters of Daughters,
viz: The Columbus Chapter, of Columbus; the Ben G. Hum-
phrey's Chapter, of Greenville; the Okolona Chapter, of Oko-
lona; the Vicksburg Chapter, of Vicksburg; and the Winnie
Davis Chapter, of Meridian. The last of these was the charter
chapter in the State, the mother of the Division having called it
into being. I had the honor of being President of this chapter
at that time. The Division was organized with a total member-
ship of 303.

Mrs. Duncan, of Vicksburg, was the foster mother of the
Division and directed her first steps so well that she did not
fall into the errors of extreme youth that other bodies suffer,
but straightway took up her mission and walked. She trebled
her avoirdupois in the first twelve months, and since then she
has continued to grow in favor with God and man.

The objects of this Division as defined in our constitution

1 Mrs. A. G. Weems (nee Mrs. Williams) is a native Mississippian,
having been born in Okolona. She graduated with honors from Ward's
Seminary, Nashville, Tenn., having received the highest reward of
merit in the gift of the Faculty; also the German Valedictory.

She has been prominent in all social, literary, religious and patriotic
organizations in her city. She is at present an officer in the General
Federation of Woman's Clubs, also the President of the Mississippi
Federation, but she considers the organization of the Mississippi
Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy the most import-
ant work she has accomplished. — EDITOR.

74 Mississippi Historical Society.

are, "educational, memorial, literary, social, and benevolent;
to collect and preserve the material for a truthful history of
the war between the Confederate States and the United States
of America, to honor the memory of those who served and
those who fell in the service of the Confederacy, and to record
the part taken by Southern women in their untiring efforts af-
ter the war in the reconstruction of the State as in patient en-
durance of hardship and patriotic devotion during the struggle,
to cherish ties of friendship among the members of the Society,
and to fulfil the duties of sacred charity to the survivors of the
war and to those dependent upon them, to unite with the Con-
federate Veterans in the determination that American history
shall be properly taught in the public schools of the State, and
to use its influence toward attaining this object in all private
schools."

I will discuss these objects in the order given above and will
inform the reader as near as possible of what has been accom-
plished by the Division. My report is based on what has been
printed in our minutes for three years, there necessarily having
been much done not noted therein. In the first place an Histor-
ian is appointed in each chapter to record all facts she can
gather from tongue and pen, from her section, of battles, deeds
of heroism, nobility, romance and sacrifice, redounding to the
honor and glory of our State, and thus to preserve forever
facts of great historical value, a knowledge of which would
otherwise perish with the memories that recall them. In addi-
tion to this we have a State Historian, who is ever stimulating
activity along these lines, realizing the importance of "being
up and doing," as the day for such work is already far spent.

The Capitol Commission has been appealed to by our Di-
vision to set apart a large room in our new building for the
preservation of papers and relics, planning it with niches
around the walls for the statues of our great Mississippi Con-
federate heroes, Jefferson Davis, first and foremost, Stephen
D. Lee, Walthall, Barksdale, Featherstone, etc., etc., and for
the private soldier, last, but not least.

The second clause in our constitution provides for honoring
the memory of those who served and fell in the service of the
Confederate States, and for the parts taken by Southern wo-
men during the periods of war and reconstruction. The ways

United Daughters of the Confederacy. — Weems. 75

we have sought to accomplish these ends are so manifold that
I fain would leave some unmentioned. We have marbleized
our love for our sainted dead in headstones by the hundreds,
in shafts of heroic size, pointing heavenward in mute eloquence
all over our fair State. One recently unveiled in Aberdeen is
of beautiful Italian marble, carved in that country most fa-
mous for works of art in all the world, at a cost of several thou-
sand dollars. We have not confined our efforts in this line
within our own borders, but have assisted in erecting enduring
monuments on historic battlefields, Chicamauga, Gettysburg,
and others, and added to the Jefferson Davis and the Sam Davis
monument funds, to memorial windows, etc., etc.

We have rescued from the ravages of time burial plots of
those who wore the gray; fencing, sodding, and planting sweet
flowers. In one instance, a chapter, the Winnie Davis, bought
from a former slave, the sacred resting place of a number of
our soldiers, which he had been cultivating these years.

We celebrate publicly the birthdays of two of our heroes:
Generals Lee and Davis. And to stimulate the study of these
noble characters, whose examples are so worthy of emula-
tion by our youths, one organization has awarded medals for
the best essays on their lives.

We send fair blossoms each spring to distill their fragrance
on the resting places of those who sleep far away from home
and kindred, under a Northern sun (Camp Chase, etc.), and
we also forward money to keep these places in repair. We
have fittingly observed Decoration Day, having programs of
songs and addresses, in which the children take a prominent
part, since our hopes center in them for the perpetuation of
our glorious memories.

"With garlands of roses, with hearts full of love,

In fondest remembrance we come
To the city of silence, the land of the dead,

To strew o'er loved forms that rest neath the sod
Blossoms as fair as the dawn" and bedew them with our tears.
Yes — "We cover them over, parents and brother and husband

and lover.

We shrine in our hearts these heroes of ours, and cover them
over with sweet beautiful flowers."

We have donated over a thousand dollars to Rouss Battle
Abbey Fund. Taking advantage of every opportunity that pre-
sents itself to honor and show to the world reverence for our

76 Mississippi Historical Society.

illustrious dead, we have also earnestly sought to have the cor-
nerstone of our Capitol building laid on the 3rd of June, — the
birthday of the President of the Confederacy, — our own Jeffer-
son Davis.

Our organization stands with the foremost in having prompt-
ly met the honorable and worthy obligation to furnish with
suitable receptacles for our priceless relics, the Mississippi
room in the Confederate White House in Richmond. The
Daughters' contributions to this purpose have been supple-
mented by liberal gifts from Mrs. Davis of our loved leader's
personal effects and of many objects of historical and senti-
mental interest belonging to the late lamented Daughter of the
Confederacy. We now clamor for the faces of some our State's
valiant soldiers in unperishable oils to adorn these walls.

Our Division was also among the first to come forward with
the required amount for the purchase of the famous historical
war paintings by Mr. Chapman, to be placed in the same build-
ing. Several chapters are securing grounds in different parts
of the State and are converting them into Confederate Me-
morial Parks, by planting in them trees named after our im-
mortals, and by placing in them fountains and statues, and by
otherwise beautifying them in such a way as to give splendid
object lessons of our loyalty to the cause.

We have organized flourishing chapters of the Children,
Daughters and Sons of the Confederacy and of Veterans, which
are very enthusiastic and are accomplishing much practical
good as well as exciting interest in all things pertaining to the
Titanic struggle, and stimulating a thirst for more knowledge
on the subject.

We are recording the noble part taken by Southern women,
who during the four long, bloodstained years of war, wept,
suffered, waited, inspired the soldiers on the field, nursed and
cheered the sick, the wounded and the despondent, spun, wove,
planted, cared for the children, the slaves, etc., etc. We are
not forgetful of her loving services in the bitter, hard, cruel,
humiliating days of reconstruction, but we are not building
monuments to her since she has voted that not one stone
should be put aloft while there is one needy Confederate Vet-
eran living. Is not that an illustration of that love spoken of
in the Book of books, "in honor, preferring one another?"

United Daughters of the Confederacy. — Weems. 77

Our next object is "to cherish ties of friendship among mem-
bers of the Society." Could we do otherwise with such a com-
munity of interests? It is the natural outgrowth of being the
daughters of one cause, therefore sisters, thrilled by the same
inspirations, prompted by the same devotion, commemorating
the same period of glory and suffering. There prevails in our
ranks a beautiful unity, a blessed harmony, sincerest friendship.

Our constitution also provides that we shall "fulfil the duties
of sacred charity to the survivors of the war and to those de-
pendent upon them."

"We do not grudge our sweets to those living,

Who, God knows, finds at best too much to gall,
And then with generous, open hands, kneel, giving

Unto the dead our all.
We do not reserve all the tender tokens,

The love, the praise, the floral offerings,
For we know that palpitating, living hearts are broken

For want of just these things."

We are constantly ministering of our substance (truly love's
labor) to our needy veterans in part payment of our debt of
gratitude for the losses they so valiantly bore during the cru-
cial years of the sixties. The Vicksburg Chapter, with the as-
sistance of some others, has done a splendid work in pursuance
of this object by establishing in connection with the State hos-
pital an annex for caring for the sick, decrepit, and home-needy
ex^soldiers, worn out by ceaseless struggles in the battles of life
and almost ready to capitulate. The Mississippi soldiers asked
no rest during the hard fought battles of long ago ; we are now
trying to give them the much needed furlough.

This building consists of eight bed rooms, a library, and a
bath room, thoroughly equipped and furnished, at a cost of
about $3,500. The State Legislature appropriated $2,000 and
the city of Vicksburg gave the lot. We are making a heroic
effort now to build a home for our veterans, wherein they may
spend the evening of life in peace and comfort, and we hope
ere a few more months have been told on the rosary of the
year to see it in process of erection.

The last object named in the charter is "to unite with the
Confederate Veterans in their determination that American
history shall be properly taught in our schools, public and pri-
vate. We are doing much to cancel false impressions made
upon the younger generation 6y Northern versions of our his-

78 Mississippi Historical Society.

tory, and trust that soon these untruthful and unjust records
will be replaced in every instance by those of Prof. Riley, Mrs.
Williamson, Lee, Lowry, and others.

Now these divers and sundry objects have required, as you
may know much and persistent effort on the part of the Mis-
sissippi Daughters and an outlay of many thousands of hard
earned dollars. But, could we have done less? We of Missis-
sippi, the State which was second in order of secession, which
"sent as many of her sons to stand on the first line of fire and
to bear their part in every struggle from Pennsylvania to
Florida," which was the home if not the birthplace of that "un-
crowned King of the Southern people." May we all, as a peo-
ple, keep less and less our alabaster boxes of love and apprecia-
tion to break over our patriots' coffins.

"Let us not wait to tell their story,

And weave the bright garlands of praise round their names,
And crown their cold brows with laurels of glory,
Till vain is the glory and useless the fame."

LOCAL INCIDENTS OF THE WAR BETWEEN THE

STATES.

BY JOSIE FRAZEE CApp^KMAN1 (STATE HISTORIAN, U. D. C.).

It is with pride and gratification that I give my report for the
year 1901. The indifference of which I made complaint a year
ago is rapidly giving way to interest in the preservation and
perpetuation of our history. The historians of the chapters
of the U. D. C. are beginning to realize that they have not only
an office of honor, but a solemn and sacred trust; for it is
through their patient efforts that the sacrifices, sufferings, and
heroic deeds of many of our brave men and women must be
made known to the future. I have received reports from five
chapters of the U. D. C., — Corinth, Okolona, Aberdeen, Yazoo
City, and Port Gibson — which is a great improvement on the
none of last year.

I. Some War Reminiscences of Port Gibson and Claiborne
County.2

Our Confederate General, afterwards Governor, Benjamin G.
Humphreys, was born and lived in this county, and his beloved
wife, Mildred Maury Humphreys, whose war reminiscenses
were so varied and interesting, and who was Honorary Vice-
President of the Claiborne County Chapter, U. D. C., was also
a native of this county. Here Henry W. Allen, Brigadier Gen-
eral in the Confederate States Army, who was afterwards, Jan.
25, 1864, elected war governor of Louisiana, commenced his
career when quite young, as a tutor in my father's family, carry-
ing on the study of law while teaching "the boys," who were his
devoted friends and admirers in after years. But they, like
Allen, sleep in a Confederate soldier's grave. Gen. Earl Van
Dorn was born here, and to our beautiful cemetery only a short
time since his sister, Mrs. Miller, had his remains brought from
Mobile and interred.

*A biographical sketch of Mrs. Cappleman will be found in the Pub-
lications of the Mississippi Historical Society, vol. III., p. 107, foot-note. —
EDITOR.

3 This sketch was prepared by Mrs. Emma McAlpine Fulkerson, His-
torian of the Claiborne County Chapter. — EDITOR.

8o Mississippi Historical Society.

Early in the sixties Claiborne county sent her sons without
stint to battle for their rights ; acting on this principle, ten fully
equipped companies left Claiborne county in 1861. Later in
the struggle there were several independent companies, all
of which did good service until the close of the war. Many
who went out as privates and captains rose to positions of
distinction. Among the number were: Gov. B. G. Hum-
phreys, who was first captain, then colonel, and then brigadier
general; Henry Hughs, who was promoted from captain to
colonel; Sidney Wilson, who became successively captain, ma-
jor and lieutenant colonel; and Robert C. McCay, who rose
from the rank of captain to that of major. James Kennard
was made chief of ordnance on Gen. Hardee's staff with the
rank of colonel. Charles Bridewell became lieutenant colonel.

In the spring of 1863 our country was thrown into the wild-
est excitement by the arrival of Confederate troops under com-
mand of that brave Missourian, Gen. Bowen, who immediately
began fortifying the hill overlooking the Mississippi river at
Grand Gulf. Other regiments came, the Texas Rangers, Gen.
Wirt Adams' Cavalry, and others, who were received with en-
thusiasm by the citizens. The fortifications were scarcely com-
pleted before the booming of cannon was heard as the Fed-
eral gunboats attempted to pass our little fortress at Grand
Gulf. To show with what precision "our men returned their
fire, a surgeon who was on one of these b.oats at that time,
and whom my husband met in Louisville just after the war, told
him that the Federal loss on his boat alone during one day's
bombardment was 168 killed and wounded, while the Confed-
erate loss of that day was one killed, Col. Wade, and eight
wounded. Despite the skill of the Confederates in returning
the fire of the gunboats, the enemy succeeded in passing the
fortress with transport and in landing Gen. Grant's army at
Bruinsburg, near the mouth of the Bayou Pierre, within a few
miles of Port Gibson. The battle of Port Gibson which then
followed is now a matter of history.

Of the sufferings and deprivations endured by the citizens
during that time, it is impossible to tell. To me those days
seem like a black dream in the far past. I was only a young
girl, but remember how sorrowful my mother used to look
and how often she regretted that she had not fired the old

Local Incidents of the War. — Cappkman. 81

homestead and left before Grant's army reached us. Like
many others throughout the country, we often suffered for food
being forced by dire necessity to draw rations from the enemy
to keep our bodies alive. Negroes, household furniture, pro-
visions, everything was gone, and we were reduced from a state
of affluence to that of abject poverty. The county was fre-
quently overrun by raiders, who, for the most part, were the
very scum of the North. Several of these raids were in charge
of Lieut. Ellet. A number of our citizens and ladies were
arrested without warrants or warning, carried to Vicksburg,
and held as hostages of war in tKe common jail, and but for
the noble women of that city would have suffered for the ne-
cessities of life. Concerning this I have written before in reply
to an article published in the Memphis Commercial Appeal of
June 4, 1899.

Gen. Bowen and his men were much loved and respected by
the people during their stay in our midst, and over the graves
of eighty-three of these brave Missourians, who lost their lives
on that memorable first day of May, 1863, the Claiborne
County Chapter has placed headstones to mark their resting
places.

The brave Georgian, Gen. Tracy, was also killed here on that
day, but his remains were afterwards carried by loving friends
to Macon to rest in his home cemetery.

II. Reminiscences of Corinth in the War.3

Corinth from its railway connection was a strategic point and
was menaced in 1862 by the Federal forces at Pittsburg Landing.
Confederate troops were rapidly concentrated at this place, and
going out they met the enemy at Shiloh on a memorable day
thirty-nine years ago. On the 3rd and 4th of October of the
same year the battle was fought. The town was in possession
of the Federals under General Rosecrans and was attacked by
Generals Price and Van Dorn, who. were repulsed. If there
is a place" within the boundaries of the Union that has smelled
the breath of war, tHat place is Corinth. Many of the old re-
doubts, which at one time encompassed the town, still remain
to tell of the fearful conflict that once raged over them. The
history of the war contains no bloodier page perhaps than that

* This sketch was prepared by Mrs. Jennie Gaston Henderson, of the
Corinth Chapter of the U. D. C.— EDITOR.
6

82 Mississippi Historical Society.

which records this fiercely contested battle. The official Con-
federate reports make their loss 505 killed, 2,150 wounded, and
2,188 missing.

On the green slopes of the earth works those who vainly
hurled themselves against these fortifications lie buried. The
grave of only one is known of all the brave Confederates who
perished in that fearful assault. The intrepid Col. W. P.
Rogers, of the Texas Infantry, lies buried just where he fell
within ten yards of the enemy's guns. His heroic death is a
matter of history. He led in the assault on Fort Robinette,
and with scores of his brave men falling around him, yielded
up his noble life under his colors, which he had planted upon
the enemy's stronghold. His deeds of heroism won the ad-
miration and reverence of both armies, and a generous foe
gave him a military burial, with the honors of general. After
thity-nine years the Daughters of the Confederacy have had
a neat white marble curbing put around the grave, with a
promise that it will from this time be kept green.

III. Reminiscenses of Okolona in the War.4

Okolona, though a little inland town during the war between
the States, had its history, as well as more noted places. Its
men fought as bravely and its women suffered as heroically
as many whose names are known and honored by their coun-
try's worshipers. As is indicated by the Indian word Oko-
lona, which means "still water," this place and the surround-
ing country had no running streams. During the long sum-
mer months of war when the soldiers would stop at a
house and ask for water, we are told that some of the farmers
sold it to them.

No women ever showed greater patriotism than the women
in and around Okolona. The better class of our men and boys
volunteered in '61 and '62, and but few were left for the con-
script officers.

After the skirmishes at Corinth, May i, 1862, and May 14,
1862, and along the Mobile and Ohio railroad, at a later date,
Okolona became a commissary depot. Our school buildings
were taken for hospitals. It is a well known facts that when
the first shells fell in the camps at Corinth, the negro men, who

4 This sketch was prepared by Mrs. Bettie Gill-Poore, Historian, Oko-
lona Chapter, U. D. C— EDITOR.

Local Incidents of the War. — Cappleman. 83

were the valets of our boys, gathered up their knapsacks and
left instantly for home, bringing us the first news of this en-
gagement. News did not travel then as fast as it does now.

The women of Okolona, left at home with the children and
the negroes — all the young and middle-aged men being in the
army — had to take all the responsibilities of life upon them-
selves. They not only had to care for the children and the
stock, manage the negroes and the farms, but they had to make
clothes and food for those at home and for those far away in
the army. The long-discarded arts of spinning and weaving
and dyeing with the bark of trees were revived. Many a Con-
federate soldier lies shrouded in the gray made by his wife's
hand or that of some other loved one. And we felt as proud
in our homespun dress as a queen in her royal robes. After
our army left Tupelo in '62, it was very difficult to get sugar
or coffee. Blockade runners had their own prices, and a bale
of cotton was often exchanged for a sack of coffee, or a load
of corn (at $1.50 per bu.) for a calico dress.

In the spring of '63 Gen. Hatch made a raid on our little
town. It was a terrible thing to us women, to hear "the Yan-
kees are coming." Our hearts would throb and our knees
tremble at the dread sound. The old men, white and black,
would gather up all the mules, horses, and wagons and hurry
off to the "Bottoms/' The women and children would try to
hide and otherwise take care of what was left. It was a diffi-
cult tfiing to do; for some of the negro women would be al-
most sure to tell where the things were hidden. So, in order
to save valuables, the women would often wait until midnight
to bury their prized belongings.

After Gen. Hatch had raided Okolona and burned all the
commissary stores, he traveled back to Prairie Mount, about
six or eight miles and stopped at the home of one of our typi-
cal Southern gentlemen to spend the night. As usual, when
the enemy were coming the old gentleman had sent off his
stock and his negroes. Gen. Hatch made him get on a mule,
bareback, and ride all the way to the "Bottoms," under bushes
and through creeks, to find the trunks and other hidden valu-
ables, which were rifled, scattering to the four winds papers,
notes, etc., not wanted. After enjoying the "fun," as they
called it, as long as they wished, they let the old gentleman

84 Mississippi Historical Society.

return home, but he had to sleep in the hay loft while Gen.
Hatch and his men slept on the nice feather beds in the house.
As we then had no forces in this part of the country, the en-
emy took their own time in returning to Memphis.

In the spring of 1864 we were greatly alarmed over the re-
port of another raid. The raiding party was this time along
the Houston road near "Suquatouchee bottom." It went into
the house of a gentleman (Mr. Ezell), and began to search
the bureau drawers to find what they could carry off. Mrs.
Ezell, although an invalid, had enough presence of mind
to outwit them; for while they were intent upon their search
for valuables, she ordered one of the negroes "to blow the
horn." The Federals, thinking that this was a signal to some
hidden Confederates, left without taking time to make their
adieu. Returning to the main line they stopped at the home
of Mrs. Gill. Her son, who was exempt from duty, was walk-
ing in the yard. The "blue-coats" at once relieved him of his
gold watch and chain and pistol. They then went into the
smokehouse and took every ham the old lady had.

While that squad was on one road there were others on the
other road leading out of Okolona. The "Hessians" rode
through the newly built house of a farmer by the name of
Cook (almost frightening his young daughter to death) and
then burned it. One of their soldiers being ill, a party con-
cluded to spend the night at the home of, Mrs. Gill. Father
sent word to Gen. Tucker (then in camp one mile west and at
home on a furlough), who had only a little band of militia with
him. Gen. Tucker sent a posse and took the Federals pris-
oners. Some of the raiders, having been guided by a trusty
"old nigger," found the wagons containing the valuables of the
neighborhood and took out of them all the silver forks and
spoons. One man brought back some silk dresses and told a
lady that the next time she heard the Yankees were coming
to keep her dresses in the wardrobe. All the stock was carried
off, and a "big burly negro" was mounted on my father's finest
horse and was ordered to burn every corn-crib along his way.
That night the enemy's route was marked by smoking ruins.
Another squad of raiders stopped at the house of a widow, and
while searching the smokehouse for meat they came across a

Local Incidents of the War. — Cappleman. 85

barrel which they thought contained molasses. They soon had
full possession and it made the lady laugh to think how sur-
prised the "blue-coats" would be when they found that they
had captured only a barrel of soft soap.

They continued the raid to West Point and then began to
fall back. But they did not depredate upon their return; for
Forrest and Tucker were too near for that. At Pikesville they
took an old gentleman by the name of Hendricks, put him on
a mule and made him ride, bareback, to Memphis, which treat-
ment caused his death. A cartoon came out in a Memphis pa-
per soon afterwards, representing Smith and Grierson on the
same mule, traveling very fast, one with his face to the mule's
head and the other to its tail, — "Looking for Forrest !"

IV. Reminiscences of Aberdeen and Columbus in the War.5

I recall that early in the spring of 1861 a comet appeared
with its tail shaped like a sword. The wise said it meant war.
One afternoon I had been calling on friends and drove home
late ; as we turned from Commerce into Meridian street, the
whole western sky was aglow and it seemed as if thousands of
white tents were pitched there. I never doubted afterwards
that we would have war. After Mississippi passed the ordi-
nance of Secession, the first company to enlist from Aberdeen
was the Van Dorn Reserves. The captain was John Moore,
lieutenant, R. C. Reynolds. Both of these brave men were after-
wards colonels of the nth Mississippi. I was so interested in
them that whenever I heard they were to drill I would order out
my carriage and drive to where I could watch their manoeuvres.
When they left for Corinth to enter the army, we, with other
friends, drove eight miles to Prairie Station and carried lunches
for them to take on their journey. The scene is still vivid to
me when Capt. Moore formed them into line and we walked
down it, shaking hands with every man. Those nearest of kin,
not content with the grasp of the hands, gave the parting kiss,
amid the tears of the tender-hearted sympathizers.

Before our troops left Aberdeen I assisted Mrs. S. J. Gholson
and her sister, Mrs. A. Y. Smith, to make a beautiful silk flag,
the first I had ever helped to make. We arranged to have it
presented to the Van Dorn Reserves, with appropriate cere-

This sketch is based upon an interview with Mrs. S. B. Haughton,
of Aberdeen, Miss. — EDITOR.

86 Mississippi Historical Society.

monies at the old Fair Grounds. The beautiful Miss Maggie
McMillan was chosen to present it, which she did with an elo-
quent and befitting address. This was responded to by Capt.
Moore. We then drove through the streets in a procession, —
my husband holding the flag, its lovely folds proudly floating
in the breezes. Alas ! 'how tattered and torn it was the next
time we saw it — after the close of the war. Its hallowed rem-
nant was amid the decorations on the stage the day (Dec. 12,
1900,) our soldiers' monument was unveiled. I afterwards
helped my mother, Mrs. Brownrigg, and my sister, Mrs. Wad-
dell, make another flag for the Tombigbee Rangers, of
Lowndes county, of which cavalry company my brother was
first lieutenant and afterwards captain. This flag was the
stars and bars. After passing through one hundred and fifty
engagements, this flag was brought home after the war. It
was in the keeping of Gen. Jake Sharp, the first captain of tfie
company, but was unfortunately destroyed with his house and
contents by fire in 1899.

I stood on the main street of Okolona the day after the bat-
tle of Brice's Cross roads and saw 1800 prisoners file through
the town, guarded by Gen. Gholson's soldiers. There were
no jeers or taunts given these prisoners by our people, but,
in solemn silence, the long procession filed through the streets
to the Mobile and Ohio station, where cars were provided to
carry them to a place of secure detention. A brigade of Mis-
souri troops (part of Gen. Priest's command) spent some time
at Columbus, resting and recruiting after their retreat from
McRand Island No. 10 in the Mississippi river. Many of these
fine soldiers were barefoot. This we resolved to try to remedy.
Mrs. Meek, Mrs. Waddell and myself went to work, got up a
series of entertainments, and charged for admittance $2.50, in
Confederate money, or a pair of socks. We had beautiful
evenings and crowded houses, and took in, altogether, $2,000
and 60 pairs of socks, which we had the pleasure of presenting
to the needy soldiers.

Generals A. J. Smith and Grierson made another raid into
North Mississippi in July, '64, from Memphis. The Confeder-
ates, under Generals Lee and Forrest, met and fought them at
Harrisburg, two miles from Tupelo, July 14. This was one of
the most bloody battles of the war, considering the number

Local Incidents of the War. — Cappleman. 87

engaged. Our men with inferior numbers attacked Smith's
forces in a strong position and were repulsed with heavy loss.
But the Federals, being flanked next day, retreated in good
order, hotly pressed by Forrest as far as Town Creek. There
they fought another hard battle, in which Gen. Forrest was
wounded in the foot.

Gen. Forrest had sent to Columbus and pressed all the car-
riage horses into service, to move his guns for those two bat-
tles, and sixty pair of those fine animals were killed in the ac-
tion. I recollect telling him when I afterwards met him, that
I hoped he had saved the hides of the dead horses for making
shoes for our soldiers. "Why, Madam," he said "them horses
were so hot, they spiled in three hours." We all knew Forrest
was a self-made man, and his early education was entirely
wanting, but his bravery and patriotism, and far-reaching sol-
diery qualities over-balanced all other deficiencies. Forrest
stayed awhile at Okolona, nursing his wounded foot and while
there a committee was sent up from Columbus inviting him
there, and offering him the freedom of the city. He accepted
the invitation, and was there several weeks until his wound had
entirely healed. During that time several of the ladies had a
fine silversmith make some of our old silver into a large and
beautiful pair of spurs, with deep rowels and large buckles of
the same metal. We presented them to our gallant defender,
Forrest, as a small token of our gratitude for his inestimable
services. I wrote the note of presentation and kept the reply
for a long time, but finally lost it, much to my regret. I have
often wondered what became of the spurs after the death of
General and Mrs. Forrest.

THE FIRST STRUGGLE OVER SECESSION IN MISSIS-
SIPPI.

BY JAMES WILFORD GARNER.1

Soon after the beginning of the abolition movement in the
fourth decade of the last century, a policy was adopted by the
government of Mississippi which had as its purpose the at-
tachment of the border States to the extreme South in the event
of a disruption of the Union. In 1833, the Legislature passed
an act to prohibit the introduction into the States of slaves
from the border States intended for sale, its purpose being to
compel those States to keep their slaves and thus perpetuate
the system of slavery. As the High Court of Errors and Ap-
peals expressed it, "There was fear that if the border States were
permitted to sell us their slaves and thus localize the institu-
tion, they, too, would unite in the wild fanaticism of the day
and render- the institution of slavery thus reduced to a few
Southern States, an easy prey to its wicked spirit."2 In the
same year in which the Legislature took this action, a conven-
tion was held at Jackson for the purpose of endorsing the
course of South Carolina in regard to nullification. Much
was said on the subject of "resistance," although no offi-

1 James Wilford Garner was born on a farm in Pike county, Miss-
issippi, in 1872. After attending the common schools of his county he
entered the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Mississippi in 1888,
where he worked his way through, graduating in 1892. He then taught
in Lincoln and Marion counties and was an instructor in the summer
Normals of Mississippi in 1895 and 1896. In the latter year he entered
the University of Chicago as a graduate student in Political Science
and History. After spending two years at that University he became
instructor in Political Science and History in the Bradley Polytechnic
Institute of Peoria, 111. After two years of service at this place he
resigned to accept a Fellowship in Columbia University, New York
City. He is an active member of the American Historical Association
and of the Historical Society of Mississippi, and has taken much in-
terest in the history of his native State. He has recently written a
book, entitled Reconstruction in Mississippi. An article from his pen on
"Mississippi During the Civil War" was published in the June (1901)
Political Science Quarterly. — EDITOR.

J Mitchell v. Wells, 37, Mississippi Reports, p. 254.

In this well known case it was declared to be the policy of the State
to preserve and perpetuate the institution of slavery as it existed in the
United States, and to this end prevent the emancipation there and else-
where of slaves once domiciled in the United States.

9O Mississippi Historical Society.

cial action was taken by the convention with that end in view.3
In 1834, nullification and secession were repudiated by the peo-
ple of Mississippi acting through their primary elections,
through a State convention, and through the Legislature. On
June 9 of that year, the Democratic State convention, presided
over by General Thomas Hinds, unanimously resolved "that a
constitutional right of secession from the Union, on the part
of a single State, as asserted by the nullifying leaders of South
Carolina, is utterly unsanctioned by the constitution, which
was framed to establish, not to destroy the Union." The Leg-
islature passed a joint resolution declaring that it would sus-
tain the President of the United States with heart and hand
in the full exercise of his legitimate powers to "restore peace
and harmony to our distracted country, and to maintain un-
sullied and unimpaired the honor, the independence and the
integrity of the Union/'*

It was not until a decade before the civil war that secession
in Mississippi was anything more than an abstract question.
The initial movement which resulted in attempted withdrawal
from the Union may be said to have begun in May, 1849, when
an informal meeting of prominent citizens was held at Jackson
to protest against the policy of Congress in excluding slavery
from the territories. This meeting issued a call to the people
of the several counties to elect delegates to a State convention,
whose purpose was to "consider the threatening relations be-
tween the North and the South." The convention was held at
Jackson in October and was presided over by the eminent chief
justice of the State, Wm. L. Sharkey, a Whig in politics and a
man of decided Union proclivities, although strongly opposed
to the policy of Congress in excluding slavery from the terri-
tories. This is believed to have been the first general meet-
ing of the people of the State in opposition to the measures

* General John A. Quitman, a State Rights Democrat, and an ex-
treme nullifier, was one of the prime movers in getting up this conven-
tion. United States Senator Foote, afterwards the leader of the Union
party in Mississippi, witnessed the deliberations of the convention and
subsequently reviewed the same through the columns of The Mississip-
pian in language so severe as to highly offend the general. See Foote:
Casket of Reminiscences, p. 349.

4 Speech of Hon. J. A. Wilcox, union member of Congress from Miss-
issippi, March 9, 1852. Globe, 32d Cong., ist Sess., Appendix, p. 284.

The First Struggle Over Secession. — Garner. 91

of Congress on the slavery question.5 It adopted resolutions
condemning the policy of Congress and issued an address to
the people of the South recommending a popular convention
at Nashville in the following June "with a view and hope of ar-
resting the course of aggression." Should this not secure the
proper redress, it was suggested that as a possible ultimate re-
sort, the Legislatures of the injured States should call "still
more solemn conventions elected by the people to deliberate,
speak and act with all the sovereign power of the people."
From these conventions there might result a "convention of all
the assailed States to provide in the last resort for their sep-
arate welfare by the formation of a compact of union that
•would afford protection to their liberties and rights."6 Here
was the first open advocacy of secession in Mississippi by a
regularly constituted State convention. It will be seen, how-
ever, that it was a suggestion of secession only in certain con-
tingencies. It was secession only as a last resort.

In these incipient secession movements one can easily trace
the hand of Mr. Calhoun. A copy of the proceedings of the
May meeting was sent to him with the request that he advise
the people of Mississippi as to the proper course for the Oc-
tober convention to pursue. Mr. Calhoun replied July pth,
giving it as his opinion that the only hope of the slave States
was a Southern convention which ought not to be delayed be-
yond another year. He advised that a central committee be
organized for the State at large, and also one in each county;
that "firm and determined resolutions should be adopted by
such meetings as might be held before the meeting of the Leg-
islature in the fall;" and that the Legislature ought to take up

8 Speech of Hon. J. J. McRae, Globe, 32d Cong., 1st Ses. Appendix,
p. 174. Judge Sharkey in his opening address to the convention said:
"The attempt of Congress to prohibit slavery from the territory of
California has caused this meeting. The territory is common property.
There each citizen of the United States has equal rights, is entitled to
equal freedom in the territories. I am proud to say that in acquiring
it, Mississippians displayed as much valor as any other portion of their
brethren in arms, and shed as much blood in proportion to their num-
ber as the citizens of any State. They were distinguished for their
prowess in many a hard fought battle, but now they are told that re-
strictions are to be imposed upon their right to enjoy the conquest.
Can we, should we yield the fruits of our valor and surrender with it
our constitutional right of equality?" Globe, Ibid.

6 An extract containing this part of the address is given in a speech
by R. B. Rhett, of South Carolina, in the Senate, December 20, 1851.
Globe, 32d Cong., 1st Ses., App., p. 63.

92 Mississippi Historical Society.

the subject in the most "solemn and impressive manner." "No
State," said he, "could better take the lead in this great con-
servative movement than Mississippi. It is destined "to be the
greatest of sufferers if the Abolitionists should succeed; and I
am not certain, but by the time your convention meets, or at
furthest, your Legislature, that the time will not have come to
make the call."7

His suggestions were scrupulously followed. The conven-
tion was held at the time suggested ; Mississippi took the lead ; a
central committee was organized and local committees were
formed in a number of counties; "firm and determined resolu-
tions" were adopted by the convention; and the Legislature
took up the subject in the "most solemn and impressive man-
ner" by reserving in the treasury the sum of $22,200 to enable
the Nas'hville convention to carry out the plan suggested.8

The Southern convention which Mr. Calhoun suggested to
Colonel Tarpley and which the Mississippi October conven-
tion recommended to the other slave States, met at Nashville
June 3, 1850, and was presided over by Judge Sharkey, who had
been instrumental in calling the convention. Nine States were
represented, Mississippi having, according to one authority,
eleven delegates, according to another, eight.9 Judge Sharkey
in his speech upon taking the chair declared that the purpose
of the convention was not the disruption of the Union, but its
preservation. Mr. Calhoun in his letter of advice to the Mis-
sissippi convention had said, "the object of the Southern con-
vention should be to put forth in a solemn manner the causes
of our grievances in an address to the other States and to
admonish them in a solemn manner as to the consequences
which must follow, if they should not be redressed, and to take
measures preparatory to it in case they should not be." "The
call," said he, "should be addressed to all those who are de-
sirous to save the Union and our institutions, and who, if the

T This letter is dated Fort Hill, South Carolina, July 9, 1849, and is
addressed to Collin S. Tarpley, a Justice of the Supreme Court of Miss-
issippi. The full text of the letter is given in Foote's Speech on the
Compromise Measures, Globe, 32d Cong., ist Ses., Appendix, page 52.

8 See on this point a speech of J. A. Wilcox, cited above. Globe, Ibid.,
p. 282.

8 Von Hoist says Mississippi had 8 delegates in the Conv. ; Rhodes
puts the number at n; Cluskey's political text book gives the number
as 8.

The First Struggle Over Secession. — Garner. 93

alternative should be forced on us, of submission or dissolving
the partnership, would prefer the latter."

The convention passed resolutions recognizing the right of
secession whenever it might seem proper and necessary ; recom-
mended that the South refuse to take part in any national con-
vention for the nomination of a President until the rights of
the Southern people were guaranteed; that all social, commer-
cial, and political intercourse with the North be suspended until
the grievances of the South were redressed; that every com-
munity appoint a vigilance committee to watch out for incen-
diary publications, and that Southern literature be encouraged,
and travel in the North discouraged.10 A second session of the
convention was held in November, the California compromise
measures having in the meantime been passed by Congress, and
it recommended a convention of the slave-holding States in-
trusted with full power and authority to act with a view of ar-
resting further aggression, if possible ; if not, to provide other-
wise for their future safety and independence.11

The enactment of the Compromise measures of 1850 gave
a strong impetus to the secession movement in Mississippi, al-
though in the end that movement received a check from which
it did not recover until the election of Lincoln. Henry S.
Foote and Jefferson Davis represented Mississippi in the U. S.
Senate at the time these measures were passed. Foote sup-
ported the compromise by his speeches and votes ; Davis, to-
gether with the entire Mississippi , delegation in the lower

10 The resolutions of the Nashville Convention are printed in part in
the Globe, 32d Cong., ist Ses., App., p. 337; they are printed in full in
Cluskey political text book, pp. 595-8.

11 The second session of the Convention was poorly attended, none
of the delegates appointed by the Convention of Mississippi attending,
although there were three Secessionists present who were appointed
by Governor Quitman. Judge Sharkey, whose duty it was to reas-
semble the Convention in certain contingencies refused to do so, be-
lieving that its action at the first session was sufficient. It was thus
reassembled without authority. J. J. McRae, one of the delegates from
Mississippi in the Nashville Convention, denies that its purpose was the
dissolution of the union. He said: "I had the honor to draw up the
resolutions offered on the part of Mississippi. The first one declared
that the objects of the Convention were conciliatory, that its end and
aim was the preservation of the union. There was not a single senti-
ment in any of them which breathed a spirit of disunion." Foote, on
the other hand, charged that the original purpose for which the Con-
vention was called was departed from; that although mainly gotten up
by union Whigs the Secessionists controlled it and used it to further
their plans of disunion. Globe, Ibid., 52.

94 Mississippi Historical Society.

House, opposed it on the ground that it was no compromise,
but an abject surrender to the North. Each of the two Sena-
tors declared that his course had the approval of his con-
stituency.12 During the summer and autumn following, much
excitement prevailed throughout the State on account of the
enactment of the measure and open advocacy of resistance was
heard on every hand. After the issuance of the Southern ad-
dress from Washington the people turned their attention to the
formation of Southern Rights' Associations. In almost every
community meetings were held to denounce the measure. At a
mass meeting in the empire county of the State an old-line
Democrat offered a resolution declaring that "if we have to
choose between submission to the Compromise and secession
from the Union we prefer the latter." This was typical of hun-
dreds of resolutions adopted by private and public bodies during
the year. Foote says the press was well nigh unanimous in favor
of secession.13 This was certainly true of the Democratic pa-
pers ; it was not true of the Whig journals. Immediately after
the adjournment of Congress the Mississippi delegation return-

" Just before the final vote was taken Davis and Foote engaged in
an angry colloquy on this point, Foote maintaining that nine-tenths ot
the people were in favor of the compromise, while Davis was equally
as positive that every prominent man in the State was against it.
Davis declared that he would not remain in the Senate another hour if
he did not believe that he truly represented Mississippi. Memoirs, I..
P- 465.

13 Casket of Reminiscences, p. 355. The Mississippian, of December I3th,
said: "We place Secession upon the clearly ascertained and well de-
fined opinions of our people, that the Constitution of the Union has
been violated, and that there is no remedy for the violation in the
Union."

The same paper of August i6th, said: "We are not afraid to meet the
raw head and bloody bones disunion, face to face; and it is time that
the people had become more familiar with the monster, than politicians
had wont them to be heretofore."

The Natchez Free Trader said: "We recommend State Secession. We
see but two ways, secession or submission. Let the issue be fairly pre-
sented to the people — Secession or Submission."

The Woodville Republican said: "We will and must secede from the
Union. Either we must submit to disgrace, and soon to abolition, with
all its horrors, or we must prevent it and that is by Secession."

The Vicksburg Sentinel said: "It only remains to be decided whether
we will submit or resist. For one we are for resistance."

The Whig journals, such as the Natchez Courier, Holly Springs Gazette,
Vicksburg Whig, Corinth Advertiser and others were strongly opposed to
Secession. A. J. Frantz told the Boutwell Congressional Committee, in
1876, that the Brandon Republican, edited by him, was the only paper
in East Mississippi opposed to Secession in 1860. — House Miscellaneous
Documents, 3d Ses., 4Oth Cong.

The First Struggle Over Secession. — Garner. 95

ed to the State to give account of their course, and, with the ex-
ception of Foote, to urge the people to resist the action of Con-
gress. Brown, in a speech at Jackson, said: "So help me God, I
am for resistance, and my advice to you is that of Cromwell to
his colleagues — Pray to God and keep your powder dry."15
Davis, McWillie, Featherston, and Thompson made similar de-
clarations. Gov. Quitman at the same meeting declared that if
Mississippi did not resist the Compromise measures, he would
throw down her flag with contempt and refuse to carry it
longer. Foote's course upon his return from Washington was
very different from that of his colleagues who, he alleges,
secretly combined against him on account of his position on
the Compromise and used what influence they possessed to ac-
complish his political ruin. He says he found upon his ar-
rival at Jackson almost the whole Legislature arrayed against
him, the Executive department, and nearly all the Judicial of-
ficers.16 The Legislature had already passed resolutions of
censure against him, declaring that the interests of the State
of Mississippi were not safe in his hands.17 But Foote was not
the man to quietly submit to a form of treatment which he
thought was little short of disrespect. He resolved to vindi-
cate his course before the people. Governor Quitman, the ac-
knowledged leader of the "Resisters," was challenged to meet
him for a public discussion of the question at the State capital.
The Governor accepted but at the appointed time was too sick

15 Globe, 32d Cong., ist Ses., App. p. 336.

16 Casket of Reminiscences, p. 355.

17 Globe, Supra, pp. 65, 66. On January 21, 1850, the Mississippi dele-
gation in Congress, Foote included, had sent a communication to Gov-
ernor Quitman, informing him of the likelihood of the admission of
California with an anti-slavery constitution; that their individual posi-
tions were unchanged; that they regarded the proposition to admit
California without slavery as an attempt to adopt the Wilmot Proviso
in another form; that in consequence of their separation from their
constituencies they desired an expression of opinion from the Legisla-
ture as to the proper course to pursue. In compliance with this re-
quest the Legislature adopted a resolution declaring that the admission
of California with an anti-slavery constitution would be an act of
fraud and oppression on the rights of the South and that it was the
sense of the Legislature that the Senators and Representatives of Miss-
issippi should to the extent of their ability resist it by all honorable
and constitutional means. The resolution of censure against Foote
declared that he had acted in violation of the spirit and intent of the
above resolutions and in opposition to the interest and will of the
people of Mississippi in supporting the compromise reported by the
Committee of Thirteen.

96 Mississippi Historical Society.

to meet Foote, who, in a lengthy speech, explained his position
and warmly denounced the secession movement.18 He then
stumped the State, traveling night and day, making in all forty
or fifty speeches urging the people to send delegates to a con-
vention which he had assumed the authority of calling to meet
at the city of Jackson on Nov. i8th, the day on which the Legis-
lature was to meet and the Nashville convention to re-as-
semble.19

While Foote was stumping the State endeavoring to get up-
a convention to endorse him, the "Resisters" were bestirring
themselves to work up a secession sentiment. Governor Quit-
man was able to inform the Governor of South Carolina in the
latter part of September that his movement was making pro-
gress. On the 29th he wrote Gov. Seabrook in reply to an in-
quiry as to the course Mississippi would pursue, that he had
already called the Legislature to meet in special session on
Nov. i8th and that he expected to recommend the calling of
a convention which should be empowered to withdraw the
State from the Union. "Having no hope," said he, "of an ef-
fectual remedy for existing and prospective evils, but in sep-
aration from the Northern States, my views of State action
will look to secession."20. He kept his promise and promptly

18 Foote had undoubtedly changed his position somewhat with regard
to secession. On March 21, 1850, he said in the senate: "If the North
proves unwilling to do justice, and our grievances remain unredressed,
then the Southern States will assemble in Convention to consult for
their own safety and welfare; and if justice shall be withheld after all
pacific and constitutional expedients have been tried, and tried in vain,
why then the Southern States may feel it to be a duty forced upon them
of seceeding, in the last resort from the Union." Globe, Ibid., p. 170.
Secession as a last resort was no more than what Quitman advocated.

19 Casket of Reminiscences, p. 356.

20 Claiborne's Quitman, II., p. 37. Although avowedly in favor of se-
cession, it is to be understood that Quitman did not, at this time, favor
the secession of Mississippi without the co-operation of other Southern
States. As late as the 2Qth of March, 1851, he wrote Mr. Preston, of
South Carolina, that Mississippi was not yet fully prepared for final
action. "She has less capital," said he, "is younger and weaker than
South Carolina, and has no sea coast." "South Carolina then should
take the lead and fearlessly and confidently act for herself — — —
Mississippi would. I feel assured, take position by her side and soon
all the adjoining States would follow her example." Ibid., 125. Gov-
ernor Seabrook was of the same opinion with regard to the position
of South Carolina. He wrote Quitman early in June, 1851, expressing
his settled conviction of the extreme danger of the secession of South
Carolina alone.

The First Struggle Over Secession. — Garner. 97

upon the meeting of the Legislature he sent in a message in
which he discussed at great length the institution of slavery,
declared that if left to the tender mercies of the Federal Gov-
ernment it was doomed; that having as it did the prejudice of
the age against it, it required for its kind development a fos-
tering government, and without such protection it could not
exist much less flourish.21 He thoroughly denounced the ac-
tion of Congress in excluding slavery from California and de-
clared emphatically that Mississippi would not submit to it.
He recommended as the best means of redress that a legal con-
vention should be called with full and ample powers to take into
consideration Federal relations and aggressions committed on
the rights of the South, the dangers to their domestic institu-
tions and all kindred subjects and faintly with other States or
separately to adopt such measures as "may best comport with
the dignity and safety of the State and effectually correct the
evils complained of." He asserted that the purposes for which
the Union was founded had been so grossly perverted as to
render its further continuance incompatible with the honor,
prosperity, and safety of the slave-holding States unless past
grievances were redressed and guarantees given for the furture.
"But in the event of a refusal," he said, "I do not hesitate to
express my decided opinion that the only effective remedy for
evils which must continue to grow from year to year is to be
found in the prompt and peaceable secession of the aggrieved
States." This, he said, was an effective and an unquestionable
right of sovereign States and should be steadily kept in view,
whatever measures might be adopted by this State either alone
or in concert with her sister States. In the meantime some
common center of opinion and action should be authoritatively
established. This might be done by the appointment of a com-
mittee of safety to consist of a membership equal to the num-
ber of Senators and Representatives in Congress. These com-
mittees might be authorized to assemble periodically at some
central point for the transaction of business and should be in-
vested with adequate powers, absolute or contingent, to act for
their respective States upon all questions connected with the

21 This is strange language and furnished a striking commentary on
the weakness of the institution he sought to defend.

98 Mississippi Historical Society.

preservation and protection of their domestic institutions.22
Here was mapped out in detail the plan for a Southern Confed-
eracy. Unless Congress should repeal the Compromise meas-
ures the Union was to be dissolved by a "prompt and peace-
able secession of the aggrieved States." In a letter to J. S.
Preston, of South Carolina, he advised that if South Carolina
had made up her mind to secede to do so without waiting for
the action of other States. He believed that there would then
be more likelihood of other States acting. "The secession of a
Southern State," said he, "would startle the whole South and
force the other States to meet the issue plainly. In less than
two years all the States South of you would unite their des-
tinies to yours and should the Federal Government attempt
to employ force, an actual and cordial union of the whole
South woul'd be instantly effected and a complete Southern
Confederacy organized.224

The day on which Gov. Quitman sent in his message to the
Legislature, Foote's convention assembled at the City Hall in
Jackson. It consisted of a large number of delegates, a ma-
jority of whom were of Union sympathies.23 They adopted
resolutions approving Foote's course on the California Com-
promise, advocated acquiescence in the measure, condemned
the Governor's message and warmly denounced the disunion
movement. They then organized the Union Party in Missis-
sippi.

This "growl of Whiggery" so near the capital did not, how-

22 A part of Quitman's message is printed in the Globe, Ibid., p. 336.
This message was shortly followed by another in which the Gover-
nor recommended the organization of volunteer companies without
limit, the appropriation of a fund for their equipment and support,
the adoption of the rules and regulations of the United States Army
for their discipline and requiring that officers and men should take an
oath to serve for a term of five years. Ibid., 337.

22a Goy. Pickens, of South Carolina, had written a letter to a com-
mittee in Mississippi designating Quitman and Davis as suitable per-
sons for the presidency of the proposed Confederacy. The letter was
read by Foote "in a hundred speeches" which he made. Globe, Ibid.,
P- S3.

The New York Times said in 1860 that of all the Secessionists that
have appeared on the stage since the death of Mr. Calhoun, Gen. Jno.
A. Quitman, of Mississippi, undoubtedly ranked first. His great mili-
tary ability, his eminently practical cast of mind, his energy of convic-
tion and straight forwardness of purpose, with so much that was truly
heroic in his past history, gave him an uncommon hold upon the heart
of the South.

18 Senator A. G. Brown says the proportion of Whigs to Democrats
in this Convention was five to one. Ibid., 356.

The First Struggle Over Secession. — Garner. 99

ever, disturb the equanimity of the Legislature, a majority of
whom were of the Quitman belief. The Legislature took up
the Governor's recommendation and on November 30 passed
an act calling a convention "to consider the state of our Federal
relations and the remedies to be applied."24 It furthermore
solemnly declared that the evils complained of were destruc-
tive to the domestic institutions and the sovereignty of the
State. The date fixed for the election of delegates was the first
Monday in September, 1851, and the convention was to assem-
ble on the second Monday in November. In addition to the
election of delegates to the convention, there was also an elec-
tion of State officers. The passage of the Compromise meas-
ures had the effect of dividing the people into two parties, one
of which advocated resistance to the Compromise; the other,
acquiescence. The former organized in November, 1850, under
the name of the Southern Rights party. They continued under
that name until the i6th of June, 1851, the date of the State
convention, when they took the name of the Democratic State
Rights Party. This party was composed of the bulk of the
old Democratic party and a small element of State's Rights
Whigs. By some they were called "Resisters." The party in
favor of acquiescence was formally organized on the i8th of
November, the day on which Foote's convention met. It
took the name of the Union Party and was composed largely
of old line Whigs and a respectable contingent of Democrats
to whom disunion appeared a worse evil than the exclusion of
negro slavery from California. The Democratic State Rights
Party had a preponderance of the wealth and talent of the
State in its ranks, yet in action it did not exhibit the concert
and audacity of its adversaries. Quitman, the most extreme of
the "resisters," was nominated for Governor over Jefferson
Davis in the belief that he would carry out the secession pro-

24 Every effort to have the question of the expediency of calling- a
Convention referred to the people was voted down by the Legislature.
An amendment, provided that in the election of delegates the sense
of the voters on the question of a convention should be taken and if it
should be ascertained that a majority were opposed to it, it should not
assemble. The amendment was defeated. Another amendment, the
purpose of which was to ascertain if the voters were in favor of ac-
quiescence in the compromise measures or in favor of resistance, was
likewise defeated.

ioo Mississippi Historical Society.

ject in the event of his election.25 The Union Party nominated
Senator Foote. Their platform was acquiescence in the com-
promise measures and the preservation of the Union. Quit-
man openly advocated resistance to the compromise measures
and was known as the Secession candidate. "The precise ques-
tion in this campaign," says Foote, "was, will Mississippi join
South Carolina in the act of secession from the Union,"26 The
question was to be settled by the election of a Governor and
delegates to the State convention. Quitman and Foote took
the field as opposing candidates, and confronted each other
first at the capital and subsequently at seven or eight other
places in the State, when Foote's denunciation of Quitman led
to a personal altercation between the two candidates at a place
in Panola county, after which the joint canvass was terminated,
Foote filling the original appointments and Quitman following

28 Reuben Davis, one of the Delegates to the State Convention, says
that a decided majority of the committee on nomination favored Jeffer-
son Davis, but the appeals of Quitman and his friends finally induced
him to withdraw. Reuben Davis says that three out of every four per-
sons whom he met on his journey favored the nomination of Jefferson
Davis, and that as between Foote — who it was certain would be the
opposition candidate — and Quitman, they preferred Foote. Recollec-
tions, p. 315. Jefferson Davis says the effort to fix upon his party dis-
union proclivities led some to believe that the nomination of Quitman,
in view of his antecedents, might endanger their success. A proposi-
tion was therefore made that Quitman withdraw and consent to the
nomination of Davis, who in the event of his election would appoint
Quitman to the vacancy in the United States Senate, but the propo-
sition was not acceptable to the latter and he was accordingly nominat-
ed.— Memoir of Jefferson Davis, I., p. 467.

M Hon. J. J. McRae, a States Right Democrat, and the successor of
Davis in the United States Senate, made an address in that body Jan-
uary 29, 1852, in which he defended his party from the charge of being
disunionists. He said: "We believed the best way to obtain security
for the future was to demonstrate against these wrongs and ask for
guarantees against future aggressions. This was our position and we
made no ultimatum upon which the dissolution of the Union was
staked in the event of a refusal of these demands." Globe, 32d Cong.,
ist Ses., App., p. 171. Mr. Freeman, Mr. Wilcox and Mr. Nabers,
Union members of Congress from Mississippi, in 1852, on the other
hand charged the States Rights Democrats with disunion pur-
poses and adduced much evidence in substantiation of their charges.
Mr. Freeman said on the floor of the House, March 18, 1852: "The
boundaries of the proposed Confederacy were all marked out; the re-
sources of the people within its limits for self-protection, and for the
protection of a national government were publicly canvassed, and
pamphlets containing geographical description of the 'Southern United
States, their wealth, population and political power were frequently
circulated among the people."

The First Struggle -Over Secession. — Garner. 101

after him and speaking in his poor way to crowds who had
been entertained by the Senator's splendid oratory.27

The election of delegates to the State convention occurred on
the first Monday in September, a month before the election
of Governor and other State officers. In the September elec-
tion the people pronounced against secession by a majority of
7,000 votes. It was a sweeping triumph for the Union Party.
Quitman was mortified at such an unequivocal condemnation
of his secession project. Almost certain that the convention
which he had initiated would declare against him, and having
reason to believe that his gubernatorial prospects were doomed,
he decided to retire from the race after issuing an address to
the people.28 The Secession party was discouraged. They
were without a leader and the State election was but a month
away. They now turned to Jefferson Davis to lead their for-
lorn hope. It was said that the party had made a mistake in
refusing him the regular nomination in June. He was accord-
ingly prevailed upon to resign his seat in the U. S. Senate and
become the candidate for Governor in the belief that he alone

27 The personal relations between the two candidates had hitherto
been agreeable. Quitman was indebted to Foote for having had his
nomination as brevet major general confirmed by the Senate against the
opposition of Jefferson Davis, at that time acting chairman of the com-
mittee on military affairs. Quitman was one of a trio of eminent Miss-
issippians (S. S. Prentiss and Robert J. Walker being the other two)
who were born in the North and emigrated to Mississippi in early life.
His brilliant success in the Mexican War and his devotion to his adopt-
ed State made him very popular. He was a man of rugged character,
of great moral courage, and was thoroughly controlled by his convic-
tions of right and wrong. He was plain, frank, would not resort to
personalities, and preferred defeat to equivocation. He brought for-
ward almost a score of charges against his opponent, the substance of
which was the hostility of Foote to slavery and his misrepresentation
of the people of Mississippi in the United States Senate. As a speaker
he was no match for Foote, who, it was commonly said, was the best
stump orator in the United States. Foote was well educated and was
fond of drawing upon the classics for his illustrations. Quitman's style
was poor and flat, while Foote was a strategist. The chief weapons in
his arsenal were irony and satire, which he used in a manner truly dis-
comforting to his antagonist. He says of Quitman: "He was truth-
ful, honest, brave, of a slow and plodding intellect, but in regard to or-
dinary matters, sound and practical in his views. He was over ambi-
tious, fond of taking the lead in all things, somewhat given to selfish-
ness, and was altogether the dullest and most prosy speaker that I have
ever known who could speak at all." Foote thinks, however, that he
had a much stronger intellect and a far truer heart than Jefferson
Davis. — Casket of Reminiscences, p. 356.

8 His letter of resignation is dated September 6th and is printed in
Claiborne, II., 146.

j 02 Mississippi Historical Society.

would be able to retrieve the September losses. He at once
entered upon the canvass, but on account of ill health, prose-
cuted it with little vigor. The party now endeavored to stem
the tide by announcing that all further thoughts of secession
had been abandoned.29 Foote was elected Governor, although
the Union majority of 7,000 in September was reduced by Da-
vis to less than i,ooo.30 The Union Party elected a majority
of the Legislature, three members of Congress, and a Union
Democrat was chosen to succeed Foote in the U. S. Senate.

The convention which Governor Quitman had conceived and
which he expected would take a stand in favor of secession, met
at Jackson Nov. 10, 1851. Fifty-six counties were represented
by ninety-three delegates, a majority of whom were of the Un-
ion Party.31

28 Davis denies that he was in favor of Secession. In a letter to
James Pearce, of Kent county, Md., under date of August 22, 1852. he
wrote: "After my return to Mississippi in 1851, I took ground against
the policy of secession and drew the resolution adopted by the Demo-
cratic State Rights Convention in June, which declared that secession
was the last alternative, the final remedy and should not be resorted to
under existing circumstances." — Memoir of Jefferson Dams, by his wife,
I., 471. He had written on November 19, 1850, in reply to a formal
question by a number of Union gentlemen whether he was in favor of
a dissolution of the Union. "If any have falsely and against the evi-
dence before them, attempted to fix on me the charge of wishing to
dissolve the Union under existing circumstances, I am sure your in-
formation and intelligence have enabled you to detect the hollow fraud.
If any have represented me as seeking to establish a Southern Con-
federacy on the ruins of that which our revolutionary forefathers be-
queathed to us, my whole life and every sentence I have uttered in
public or private give them the lie. If any have supposed gratuitously
(they could not otherwise) that my efforts in the Senate were directed
to the secession of Mississippi from the Union their hearts must have
been insensible to the obligation of honor and good faith which I feel
are imposed upon me by the position of an accredited agent of the fed-
eral government." Cong. Globe, ist Ses., 32d Cong., App., p. 171, quot-
ed by Mr. McRae.

80 Lalor's Cyclop. Pol. Sci., II., p. 860. In the State Senate, the parties
stood 21 States Rights Democrats and n Unionists; in the House,
the proportion was 63 to 35 in favor of the Unionists. Foote, in his
sarcastic way, said: "In a few weeks Davis was seen wending his way
to Briarfield, on the banks of the Mississippi, where he would have
slumbered in deserved obscurity to the present moment but for Mr.
Pierce's calling him forth and giving him another chance to ruin his
country." Casket of Reminiscences, 355.

81 The more prominent members were William L. Sharkey, John W. C.
Watson. Jason Niles. J. L. Alcorn, Wiley P. Harris, William Barksdale.
Charles Clark, D. W. Hurst and Amos Johnson. Mr. Carmack, of
Tishomingo county, was chosen president. This was, perhaps, the
ablest of the ante-bellum conventions in Mississippi. It was in session
one week.

The First Struggle Over Secession. — Garner. 103

The purpose of the convention, as stated by the Democratic
Executive Committee, was to demand redress for past aggres-
sions and a guarantee against future assaults upon the rights
of the people of the State and to provide in the meantime for
the meeting of a convention of Southern States. The proposed
redress was a repeal of the law suppressing the slave trade in
the District of Columbia; the opening of the territory of the
United States to slavery, and the protection of slavery from in-
terference by Congress or the States. Should the redress and
guarantee be refused, the State was to make formal proposals
to her sister States for a separate Confederacy and to unite
with any number of them sufficient to secure national indepen-
dence.32 Instead, however, of taking any such action the con-
vention reversed all that had been done in Mississippi looking to
a disruption of the Union. It declared that the people of Mis-
sissippi had maturely considered the action of Congress, and,
while they did not approve it in its entirety, they would never-
theless abide by it as a permanent adjustment of the sectional
controversy so long as the same in all its features should be
faithfully adhered to and enforced; that they saw nothing in
that legislation which should be permitted to disturb the
friendly and peaceful relations between the Government of the
United States and the government of the people of Mississippi ;
that in their opinion the people of Mississippi would abide by
the Union as it was and by the Constitution of the United
States without amendment; that they held the Union second-
ary, in importance only to the rights and principles it was de-
signed to perpetuate; that past associations, present fruitions,
and future prospects would bind them to it so long as it contin-
ued to be the safe-guard of those rights and principles ; and
that the asserted right of secession on the part of a State was
utterly unsanctioned by the Federal Constitution, which was
framed to establish and not to destroy the Union.

The convention gave a deserved rebuke to the Legislature
for peremptorily ordering a convention of the people without
first submitting to them the question whether there should be
a convention or not. Its action was declared to be "an un-
warranted assumption of power at war with the spirit of re-

w Claiborne's Quitman, II., Chap. xii.

104 Mississippi Historical Society.

publican institutions, an encroachment upon the rights of the
people, and could never be rightfully invoked as a precedent.33
Foote was sanguine enough to believe that the question of
secession in Mississippi was forever put at rest. A few weeks
after his election he declared in the United States Senate that
nineteen-twentieths of the people of Mississippi acquiesced in
the compromise measures and in no part of the State could
a man with secession sentiments be elected to the most insig-
nificant office.34 This set back was truly discomforting to the
secessionists. The movement seemed to be dead. There was
no further talk of secession until 1856, the year of the Presi-
dential election. It was widely asserted that the election of
Fremont would be a cause for secession. It remained, how-
ever, for the election of Lincoln to awaken the secession sen-
timent and bring over to its ranks a majority of the people
who nine years before had denounced secession as the gravest
of blunders.

83 The text of these resolutions is printed in full in Claiborne's Quit-
man. Vol. II., Chap. xii.

"'Globe, 32d Cong., ist Ses., App., p. 59. His utterances on this point
were as follows: "If the gentleman means to say that he has any hope
that the State of Mississippi will ever unite with the secessionists of
South Carolina in overturning the Union on account of anything con-
tained in the measures of adjustment, or that there is the least likeli-
hood that any other State will participate in a movement at once so
uncalled for and so replete with mischief, I must tell him with all pos-
sible earnestness, that he has indeed been laboring under a great
mistake. Nineteen-twentieths of our people in Mississippi, though all
of them do not approve as heartily of the plan of compromise as I do,
have yet deliberately declared their cordial acquiescence in it; nor
could a man be elected to a constableship in any part of our noble
State who should be known to entertain such sentiments as the honor-
able senator from South Carolina has declared on this occasion. The
truth is that all in the State of Mississippi who six months ago con-
curred with the honorable gentleman in regard to the extreme views
expressed by him, have of late openly repudiated both his opinions and
himself and are now laboring with a most untiring assiduity to throw
into utter oblivion the interesting fact that they ever did concur with
him at all. I do not believe in any of the two hundred meetings I have
attended in the last eight or nine months, a public speaker deemed
it discreet to mention the name of the honorable senator from South
Carolina with even ordinary indication of respect."

RECOLLECTIONS OF RECONSTRUCTION IN EAST
AND SOUTHEAST MISSISSIPPI.

BY W. H. HARDY.1

To write a complete history of the Reconstruction of Mis-
sissippi, by the military power of the United States Govern-
ment, after the overthrow of the Confederate States Govern-
ment, would make several plethoric volumes. It is to be

1 Captain William Harris Hardy was born in Lowndes county, Ala-
bama in 1837. His parents both descended from English and Irish
ancestors who served in the Revolutionary War under Greene and
Marion. After attending college at Cumberland University, Lebanon,
Tennessee, he engaged in teaching at Montrose, in Jasper county, and
at Sylvarena, in Smith county. In 1858 he entered upon the practice
of law at Raleigh, the county seat of Smith county. At the outbreak
of the War between the States he raised a company of volunteers of
which he was elected captain. He served with distinction throughout
this great conflict.

With the return of peace Captain Hardy removed from Raleigh to
Paulding, where he resumed the practice of his profession. In 1868
he conceived the project of building a railroad from Meridian to New
Orleans. The preleminary survey of the railroad having been com-
pleted in 1872 he removed to Meridian a few months later in order the
better to promote this great scheme. Negotiations for money to
build the road were in progress when the financial crisis of 1873 came
and paralyzed for the time every enterprise. Captain Hardy then de-
voted himself to his profession until 1880, when prosperity having
returned to the country, he again took up his project of railroad build-
ing and three years later he had the satisfaction of seeing his road,
the New Orleans and North Eastern, in operation. We are told that
''the construction of this railroad was one of the greatest works of
public improvement ever constructed in the State," and that it has
put "millions of dollars worth of property upon the tax rolls where
before there were only hundreds." Captain Hardy organized the
Meridian Gas Light Company, the Meridian National Bank, and
other successful business enterprises. He was also the first man to
put life and energy into the Gulf and Ship Island railroad and to be-
gin its construction. In December, 1899, he removed to Hattiesburg, a
city founded by him in 1882 and named for his wife, Mrs. Hattie Hardy,
who died in May, 1895, and where he now resides.

He was elected to the State Senate from his district in 1895. During
his first session in that body he was chairman of the committee on
railroads and of the committee on finance, and was also a member of
the committee on education, the committee on public lands, and the
committee on public works. His career in the legislature has been
marked by the introduction of many wise measures for promoting the
best interests of the State. In 1896 the legislature created a new county
out of a portion of Perry and named it "Hardy county" in honor of
Captain Hardy. This bill failed to become a law as it was vetoed by
the governor.

106 Mississippi Historical Society.

hoped, when the passions and prejudices engendered by the
war, and the tyrrannies and oppressions of reconstruction, have
subsided and given place to truth and impartial judgment that,
this history will be written. The object of this paper is to pre-
serve some recollections of events occurring in East and South-
east Mississippi during that period for the use of the future im-
partial historian.

Historical facts are of little value unless stated in chrono-
logical order. The most important events in history, would
become meaningless if stated without reference to the order
of their occurrence.

It becomes necessary, therefore, that I should briefly state
some well known facts in the history of the country that pre-
ceded the occurrences which it is the purpose of this paper to
record.

In the formation of the Federal Government there were two
theories which presented themselves. One was that the Fed-
eral Government should be supreme in all things, and that the
States forming the government should be subordinate and
should derive their powers from the general government. The
other theory was that the States possessing inherent powers
were sovereign and independent, except as to the rights and
powers they might cede to the general government, and that
the general government should possess no powers except those
expressly ceded to it by the States, and that it should be su-
preme only in the exercise of these powers ceded to it in the

No sketch of Captain Hardy would be complete without special men-
tion of his oratorical power. Among his published addresses may be
mentioned "his address delivered at Paulding in 1867, before a lodge
of sorrow held in honor of the Masons who were killed in the war, his
address before the literary societies of Mississippi College in 1873, his
defence of C. H. Williams in the great arson case at Meridian in 1875,
his eulogy of Jefferson Davis in New York City, December, 1889, and
his address of welcome at a reunion of Confederate veterans at Me-
ridian in October, 1890. Many of his best efforts were made in capital
cases in the courts, but never published."

In addition to his ability as an orator, Captain Hardy is such a
chaste and versatile writer that many of his friends regret that he did
not make journalism his life work. He possesses an excellent library
and devotes much of his leisure to scientific and literary research.
"Pinehurst," his home is a mecca for the literary people who visit Hat-
tiesburg.

A more detailed sketch of Captain Hardy's life will be found in
Goodspeed's Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Mississippi, Vol. I.,
pp. 86i-'6 — EDITOR.

Recollections of Reconstruction. — Hardy. 107

Federal Constitution. That the relation of the States to the
Federal Government was that of the Creator to the creature.
This latter theory predominated in the convention that
formed the constitution, though there were compromises that
left room for construction. But to put the question forever at
rest, the tenth amendment to the constitution was adopted at
the first session of the first Congress, on the 25th of Sept., 1789,
and is in these words :

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution,
nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respec-
tively, or to the people."

Nowhere in the Federal Constitution is the right of a State
to withdraw from the Union prohibited. Indeed it was ex-
pressly reserved by Virginia, in the resolutions adopting the
constitution, and those resolutions were sent to all the States,
and no word of objection or protest was ever heard from any
of them.

For the first forty years of the existence of the Federal Gov-
ernment, no publicist, statesman or jurist of any political party
denied the right of a State to withdraw from the Union, when
in its judgment the constitution had been violated. The Con-
stitution being a compact, or agreement between the States,
if violated by any member of the compact became nugatory,
and any State could so hold and withdraw from the Union
formed by this compact or agreement. The first to hold to
the doctrine of the indissolubility of the Union was Mr. Web-
ster. His whole argument was based on the Preamble of the
Constitution which recites:

"We, the people of the United States in order to form a more perfect
union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the
common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings
of liberty to ourselves and posterity, do ordain and establish this con-
stitution for America."

This was a fallacious argument and was mercilessly exposed
by Calhoun, but I cannot stop to repeat the arguments em-
ployed by him. One historical fact relating to the origin of
the Preamble will suffice.

When the Constitution had been completed by the conven-
tion, it was referred to a committee on "Style" to arrange its
form and grammatical construction, etc., prior to its final
adoption as a whole. One of its provisions was that it should

io8 Mississippi Historical Society.

take effect when ratified by nine of the thirteen States. The
Preamble, as originally written, recited the names of the thir-
teen States. The committee on style was confronted at the
outset with the fact that it was impossible to know in advance
whether all the thirteen States would ratify the Constitution,
or if ratified by only nine, which of the thirteen they would in-
clude. They referred this matter back to the convention, and
Goveneur Morris, of New York, moved to amend the Preamble t
by referring the Constitution to the people of the United States
for ratification. His motion did not meet even with a second.
The Preamble was then amended by reciting:

"We, the people of the United States," instead of reciting
the names of the States as in the original, but retaining the
provision referring it to the States separately for ratification,
and it was ratified by each State separately at different periods,
running from one to three years.

Mr. Story, who was born at Marblehead, Massachusetts,
September i8th, 1779, and was graduated from Harvard Uni-
versity in 1798 and admitted to the bar in 1801, and served a
term in Congress as a Democrat in 1808-9, was appointed a
Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in 1811, of
which Court, John Marshall was Chief Justice, and a man of
transcendent legal learning but was a decided Federalist and
believed in a strong centralized government. Judge Story
presided as a Justice of the Supreme Court till 1832. His long
association with John Marshall, the Federalist, wrought a great
change in his views and opinions respecting the Federal Union.
Following this period Judge Story wrote his Commentaries on
the Constitution, in which he adopted the arguments of Mr.
Webtser and held to the doctrine of the indestructibility of the
Union, denying for the first time, in a law treatise, the right of
a State to secede from the Union. This work was adopted as
a textbook in the Harvard law school, of which Judge Story be-
came a professor, and it was from this great centre of learning
that the doctrine went forth, denying the right of a State to
secede, and was seized upon by the Federal party and became
a political tenet which disturbed the peace and harmony of the
sections for a quarter of a century, and culminated in the
greatest war of modern times.

The South became immensely wealthy and paid nearly three-

Recollections of Reconstruction. — Hardy. 109

fourths of the taxes to carry on the Federal Government, and
received only about one-fourth of the distribution of the public
funds. In the course of events she believed that the cause was
sufficient, and the time opportune to exercise the constitutional
right of secession. The fugitive slave law had been annulled
by several Northern States ; the people of the South were de-
nied the right to carry their slaves into the common territory
of the United States; Mr. Lincoln had been elected President
of the United States upon the avowed principle that there was
an "irrepressible conflict between free and slave labor ; that the
States must be either all free or all slave States." Hence the
Southern States exercised their constitutional right and through
conventons elected by the people, withdrew from the Federal
Union and set up a confederation of States which were homo-
genous and in which there were no conflicting interests.

This resulted in a war, declared and waged by the North, to
coerce the Southern States back into the Union. For four
long years the red tide of battle flowed back and forth with
ever varying results till finally the South yielded to overwhelm-
ing numbers and resources, and gave up the struggle.

Passing over the arrest and imprisonment of Governor
Charles Clark, the appointment of William L. Sharkey as
provisional Governor, and the reconstruction effected under
his administration, we come to the enactment of the recon-
struction laws passed by Congress, and the overthrow of the
State government by the Federal authority, and the appoint-
ment of a military governor, who removed all civil officers in
the State, and filled their places with carpet-baggers, scallawags
and negroes. The carpet-bagger was a Northern camp fol-
lower and place hunter, who, when the State passed under mil-
itary power, packed all his earthly possessions in a carpet-bag
and came into the State overstocked with loyalty to the flag,
and hunted for the places that paid best. The scallawag was
a native who shirked service in the Confederate army and who
now secretly rejoiced in the humiliation of the better classes
and joined the victors that he might share in the spoils of vic-
tory.

The Confederate States were divided into military districts
with a commandant in each district. Mississippi was in the
fourth district and under the command of Major General Ord,

1 10 Mississippi Historical Society.

who was later succeeded by General McDowell. The military
governors of the State were General Gillem, who was suc-
ceeded by General Adelbert Ames.

The carpet-baggers were not long in organizing the negroes
through the medium of the Loyal League. The Freedmen's
Bureau was also used for this purpose. Congress, in a spirit of
philanthrophy, knowing that there were thousands of helpless
negroes among the emancipated old men and women, cripples,
and fatherless children, whose former masters were now not
only absolved from taking care of them, but by reason of their
own poverty, were unable to do so, established the Freedmen's
Bureau, for the purpose of hunting out this indigent class and
supplying them with the necessaries of life till the States should
make provision for them. The agents and employes of the
government who were appointed to administer this law were
generally an unscrupulous set of camp followers and adven-
turers, whose chief purpose was to enrich themselves by gath-
ering whatever spoils might come into view, and by a system
of plundering and blackmailing. A Freedmen's Bureau agent
would issue to a decrepit old negro and family twenty-five
pounds of bacon, and fifty pounds of flour, but fill out a printed
voucher for one hundred pounds of bacon and two hundred
pounds of flour ; but a difficulty was encountered when it came
to signing the voucher, since the average plantation negro had
no name except that given him when he was born, such as Ned,
Bill, Sam, Jake, Primus, Remus, Jim, and the like. He was
told he had to have a sur-name, and if he did not like his 'Ole
Marster' he declined to adopt his name, and left it to the agent
of the bureau to supply him, which he promptly did, and the
voucher was signed Edward (his X mark) Thompson, and at-
tested by the clerk or by some negro hanger-on about the of-
fice. The old negro left happy and smiling, but before he
reached his home had forgotten his name. He was only 'Ned ;'
but the "good time" had come at last. Plenty to eat, no work,
all sleep, and when the "rashuns guv out" he went back to this
rich fountain of plenty and made another "draw" of twenty-
five pounds of meat and fifty pounds of flour and signed an-
other voucher for one hundred and two hundred pounds, but
this time it was "Ed (his X mark) Jones."

The difference between the amounts issued and the amounts

Recollections of Reconstruction. — Hardy. in

stated in the vouchers was sold and the proceeds pocketed by
the agent and his confederates. But this was not the only
method these noble "patriots" and "philanthropists" had of
feathering their nests. They preyed also upon the whites. An
actual occurrence will serve to illustrate their methods.

There lived in Smith county an excellent citizen who owned
ten or twelve negroes. He was an "Old Line Whig" who was
bitterly opposed to secession. He was just past the conscript
age and did not serve in the Confederate army, but a son who
volunteered early in the war made a good soldier, lost his life
in the army. This tended to embitter his father against the
"unholy war," as he was wont to call it. After the flag of the
Confederacy went down, this good citizen (he was in truth a
good citizen) but fanatical on the subject of the Union, and took
great delight in taunting his secession neighbors with "I told
you so ! Now you see what you have done ; the negroes are
all set free and soldiers stationed all over the country, no
courts, no laws, only military rule. I am sorry for you Secesh ;
you will catch it; all your property will be confiscated, but I
will save mine because I was a loyal Union man. All my ne-
groes are still on my place, and I do not expect any trouble
from the Yankee soldiers."

This "loyal" good citizen discovered that some one was steal-
ing the corn from his crib, and corn was the most valuable spe-
cies of property in the country, owing to its scarcity. But
little could be bought and that at from two to two and one-half
dollars, in gold, per bushel. So he and his young son of six-
teen, with their shot-guns watched the crib all night for several
nights, and finally were rewarded. The thief came, pulled the
staple that held the hasp of the lock on the crib door and went
in, filled his sack, and as he emerged from the door he was
covered by the guns of the watchers and surrendered. He
proved to be one of their own "niggers," who had been raised
on the place. He was about twenty years old and hitherto bore
a fairly good character. The negro began to beg and plead
not to be whipped. The old man said to him "you are free,
I can't whip you now ; I will take you to Jackson and turn you
over to the Yankee soldiers; they will put you in jail, and
every day they will tie you up by the thumbs and let you hang
an hour. That's the way they punish negroes for stealing."

H2 Mississippi Historical Society.

The negro said, "For God's sake, Marster, don do dat, jus
take me down and whoop me like you use ter do." "No, I can't
do that," said he, "for you would go right off to the Yankees
and report me and they would come and arrest me." "'Fore
God, Marster, I won do it; you jes whoop me, I won never tell
nobody, and I won never steal no mo corn." So our loyal cit-
izen concluded that he could, being a Union man and a loyal
citizen, whip a negro caught in the act of stealing corn, espec-
ially when the negro insisted on being whipped, rather than
turned over to the military authorities at Jackson for punish-
ment ; besides he did not wish to incur the trouble and expense
of taking him fifty miles through the country to Jackson; and
so he granted the negro's request, laid him across a log, and
strapped him in due form as he had done for like offenses in
slavery.

The matter ran along for awhile and nothing was heard of
it; but in the meantime the situation throughout the country
became more acute. Several arrests of white people by the
military authorities had been made on information made by
freedmen. Neighbors, when they met in the road, or at
church, or elsewhere, talked in subdued tones of the current
events. No man felt secure from arrest ; the negroes were be-
coming more and more insolent ; and were holding secret meet-
ings. The negro women, especially, were becoming arrogant
and insulting to the white women. It was a common thing to
threaten them with the "Yankee soldiers." In some of these
interviews the son of our "loyal citizen" had told some of his
friends how " we treated one of our negroes whom we caught
stealing corn," and the story was repeated until it became
known among the negroes.

A negro went to Forest to make a draw of "rashuns frum
the Euro." Whilst there he was asked by the agent how the
rebels were treating the colored people in his section." He
said, "might bad, Sur. Dey jes whoops 'em now same's dey
did afore dey was sot free." He then told of the whipping of
the corn thief by our "loyal citizen" and his son, but of course
stated "he didn't steal no corn. Dey jes' 'scused him of it."

An affidavit was made out and the informer made his cross
mark to it. This was sent to headquarters at Jackson, and in

Recollections of Reconstruction. — Hardy. 113

a few days a squad of soldiers rode up to the gate of our "Union
citizen" and arrested him. He told them what a good Union
man he was, how loyal he was, how he had always opposed se-
cession, and had always been an old line Union Whig. They
laughed at him, and told him they had not found any other sort
of people in the country. After caviling for a time, they took
his parole to report with his son to the commandant at Jackson
within forty-eight hours, and left without telling him, if they
knew, what the charge against him was. The old man
mounted his horse and came to see the writer, a Confederate
soldier then on parole, and a personal friend of his. He was
very much agitated as he related the whole story and sought
the writer's advice. He seemed to rely upon his loyalty to the
Union as a means of securing his discharge, at least with the
imposition of a small fine. The writer felt incompetent to ad-
vise him, but suggested that his Union sentiments would avail
him little, as there were not enough of that class in Mississippi
to warrant the military commander in making any distinction
between them and those who participated in the war, especially
since a large majority of those who were opposed to secession
had, when it was consummated, cast their lots with the cause
and made splendid soldiers in the great conflict. The further
suggestion was made to him that probably the easiest and
cheapest way out of his trouble would be to pay out ; that when
he reported to the provost marshal, he could find an oppor-
tunity to approach him through some attache of his office, and
with gold he could secure his discharge. He did not relish the
suggestion, for he loved gold very dearly, and it was very
scarce and hard to get.

About a week later he returned from Jackson a wiser man,
but his stock of loyalty to the "glorious Union" had been
wholly consumed and he was in first class fighting humor, and
expressed himself as ready to join any organized movement to
"bushwhack the dod-blasted Yankees until every mother's son
of them had been driven from the State," or had, in later par-
lance, "turned their toes to the daisies." He had bought the
discharge of himself and son, which took all the money he had,
and all he could borrow from his friends, besides sleeping two
or three nights in a vermin-infected guard-house.

H4 Mississippi Historical Society.

THE LOYAI, LEAGUE.

The Loyal League was a secret, oath-bound organization,
and lodges were organized all over the country and every male
negro from eighteen to seventy years old, and every white man
•who would take the oath, was eligible to membership. Only a
few white men became members, but nearly all the male ne-
groes within the ages stated, were initiated into its mysteries.

The initiation was to the negro, very solemn and impressive.
They usually met on Saturday night at the cabin of some prom-
inent negro, or in some vacant outhouse. Armed sentinels
were posted on all the approaches to the house. In the cen-
tre of the room, which was rarely capable of holding one-
fourth of the number assembled, was placed a table, or old
goods box, on the centre of which rested an open Bible, and
a deep dish or saucer filled with alcohol and myrrh which was
lighted ; above this altar, so-called, was suspended a United
States flag, and also a sword. The candidate was blindfolded
outside and was led in by the arm and required to kneel at this
"altar" and place his hands upon the open Bible. The presi-
dent of the League called upon the chaplain to pray. He in-
voked the divine blessing upon the "poor benighted brother
who was about to pass "from the night of bondage in slavery
into the marvelous life and light of freedom." Short passages
from the account of Moses leading the children of Israel from
Egyptian bondage were then read, when the "candidate was cat-
echised, something after this fashion — [a prompter answered
the questions, and the candidate was required to repeat the an-
swers] :

"What is your name?"

Jim Cruise.

Are you a white or colored man?

A colored man.

Were you born free, or a slave?

A slave.

Are you now a slave or a freedman?

A freedman, thank God!

Who freed you?

Abraham Linkum, bless God!

Who helped him to free you?

The Army and the Publican party.

Who fought to keep you in slavery?

The white people of the south, and the Democratic party.

Who then are your best friends?

The Publican party and northern soldiers.

Recollections of Reconstruction. — Hardy. 115

Whom do you want to hold all the offices in this State and govern
it, make and execute its laws?

The Publicans, the friends of the poor colored man.

Suppose the Democrats carry the elections and get back into power,
what would become of you and all the colored people in the State?

We would be put back into slavery. God forbid!

All — Amen! and amen!!

An oath was then administered to the candidate which he
was required to repeat after the prompter:

"I Jim Cruise, do solemnly swear on the holy bible, in the presence
of God and these witnesses, that I will ever remain true and loyal to
the Republican party; that I will always vote the Republican ticket;
that I will keep secret all the signs, pass word, and grip of the Loyal
League; that I will obey all the laws, rules, resolutions, and commands
of the League of which I am a member; that I will forever reverence
the name and memory of Abraham Lincoln, the author and father ot
my freedom, and that I will observe and keep in holy remembrance
each anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, and that I will
teach my children to do so. That I will never knowingly vote for any
Democrat for any office lest I be put back into bondage and slavery.
That I will never disclose the name of any member of this League,
or of any League of which I may become a member, nor tell the place
or meeting of the same; that I will not testify against any member of
this, or any Loyal League concerning anything done by the League
or its order, or the order of any of its officers.

"For a violation of this oath, or any part of it, for the first offense,
I agree to receive fifty lashes on my bare back; and one hundred
lashes for the second offense; and for the third, to be secretly shot to
death by any member of the League appointed for that purpose, so
help me God!"

The blindfold is then removed and the candidate receives the
following lecture:

"My Brother: You have just been brought from the darkness of
bondage and slavery, to the glorious light of freedom. You behold
above you the flag of freedom, beneath whose folds the soldiers of
the Union marched and fought; and the sword, the implement with
which they struck from your hands the chains of slavery, and
made you a free man. You behold on your left, a pot of sweet in-
cense which constantly rises toward heaven. So let your gratitude,
sweetened with humility, and- strengthened with courage, ever ascend
to God in acknowledgment of the blessings of freedom."

He was then invested with the grip, sign of recognition, pass-
word, and sign and cry of distress.

The foregoing is given from memory. The writer once had
a printed copy of the Loyal League ritual in full, but it has
been lost, or mislaid and cannot be found, but the foregoing is
substantially correct.

The Loyal League of Paulding, Jasper county, met regularly
once a month and was usually attended by one or two hundred
negroes, and on extra occasions as many as four or five hun-

u6 Mississippi Historical Society.

dred would attend, until an exciting event occurred one Sat-
urday night which practically broke it up. They met at the
house of Jim Cruise, a tall black negro, who was a house car-
penter, and possessed above the average intelligence of his race.
His house was on a high hill about a mile from Paulding,
where he still resides, unless he has died within the last two
years. It was common to see a hundred or more negroes
march through the town on Saturday evening, some of them
armed with old muskets and shot-guns, others with pistols and
clubs, singing:

"We'll rally around the flag boys,
Rally once again,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom!"

Complaints had been made to the general commanding the
department of these armed assemblages, that the whites were
intimidated, especially the women and children, and unless these
armed meetings of the negroes were suppressed by the author-
ities, the whites would organize in self defense, and race con-
flicts would ensue. He promptly issued an order forbidding all
persons to assemble with arms, and ordered the sheriffs to en-
force the order by reading it to such assemblies, and order
them to disperse, and if they refused to do so, to report the
same to the nearest military officer. Richard Simmons was
sheriff of Jasper county, an illiterate, harmless old man, who
lived sixteen or eighteen miles from the court house, but had
a gallant ex-Confederate soldier for his deputy, Major Q. C.
Heidelberg, who was raised in Paulding, and who is now an
honored and useful citizen of the town of Heidelberg, on the
New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad. He desired to break
up these armed meetings and had often remonstrated with the
leaders, but to no purpose ; but when he received the order from
the military commander of the district he summoned three
young men, Walter and George Acker and J. W. T. Lambeth,
to accompany him one Saturday night to locate the place of
the meeting, and to read the order to the meeting, and warn
them not to bring arms again. He and his posse went to sev-
eral places where it had been reported these meetings were
being held but failed to find them, and concluded to return to
town. They were traveling on foot along a narrow lane, the
moon was shining brightly, and suddenly a negro stepped out

Recollections of Reconstruction. — Hardy. 117

from the fence corner with a gun in his hand and shouted,
"halt!" They stopped. The sentinel called out, "Who comes
thar?" Major Heidelberg replied, "I am the deputy sheriff of
the county. Who are you?" The negro gave his name, and
Major Heidelberg commenced to advance, and the negro level-
ed his gun and told him to stop. Major Heidelberg knew the
negro and called him by name, and remonstrated with him, all
the while he and his posse were slowly advancing with their pis-
tols in their hands, until within ten or twelve paces, when they
covered him, and ordered him to put his gun down, which he
promptly did. They learned from him that the meeting was
then in session at the house of Jim Cruise, about two hundred
yards further down the road. He said he was a picket, put
out there to prevent anybody from coming to the meeting who
didn't have the countersign. The Major told him what his ob-
ject was, to promulgate the order against armed assemblies,
and that he must not attend any more meetings armed; and
some of the posse warned him, in language more forceful than
elegant of what he might expect if they caught him again
armed. The negro was thoroughly alarmed and promised obe-
dience, and the party passed on. When they came opposite
the house the yard swarmed with negroes like black birds on a
hayrick. They could see through the cracks of the building
that it was lighted. They stood in the shadow of a tree and
watched for some time, and they could see persons coming out
and going into the house constantly. There were so many of
them they hesitated to venture up to the house, but deter-
mined to pass on by, and secrete themselves on the roadside in
the hope that they might catch some prominent negro coming
or going, and get further information, or open negotiations.
When past the house about a hundred yards and descending
the hill on which it stood, they were promptly challenged again,
and this time by a more determined negro, but one of the
posse, taking advantage of the animated colloquy between the
deputy sheriff and the negro, made a slight flank movement,
and got close enough to cover him with his pistol, and he laid
his gun down. They learned from him that W. V. McKnight,
a white native, was at the head of the League and was then in
the house and that a great many new members were there from
all over the county to be "tuck in" that night ; that there were

n8 Mississippi Historical Society.

four or five hundred people there. The deputy sheriff was
urged by two of his posse to return and break up the meeting.
The negro sentinel urged them not to attempt it. He said fully
half of them were armed, and if they went up there, they would
probably be killed before McKnight could prevent it; that he
would go up and see McKnight, and tell him to come out and
see them. This was agreed to, and the negro started in a
brisk walk up the hill, but before getting half way to the house
a crowd rushed out of the house and yard shouting, "halt those
men ! stop those men ! shoot those men !" and they came pel-
mel down the hill. The deputy sheriff and his posse ran in a
stooping posture to a little thicket near the roadside, and as
they were seen running, the bloodthirsty villains opened fire
on them, and fully twenty or thirty shots were fired; after the
first volley the boys opened on the pursuers with their pistols,
and they not only stopped the pursuit, but the cowardly negroes
scampered back up the hill. A stentorian voice was heard
from the house shouting "stop dat shootin' ! stop dat shootin' !
nobody tole you to shoot."

George Acker and Lambeth were thoroughly enraged by this
time and urged the deputy sheriff that they go back and "clean
out the whole cowardly crew." Major Heidelberg and Walter
Acker, both ex-Confederate soldiers, and as brave and fearless
as ever fought under the Southern cross, said, "no, we can run
the whole crowd off, but we would have to kill some of them,
and this we want to avoid, unless they follow us up." So they
walked leisurely on toward the little village of Paulding. They
had gone only a short distance, when some one was seen com-
ing rapidly toward them. They stepped to one side and lay
down. When he came up they halted him, at the same time
covering him with their pistols. He had a double-barreled
shot-gun in his hand and was scared nearly to death, and
begged piteously that they would not kill him. They were
amazed to find that their prisoner was Thornton Fox, a negro
who had been raised in or near Paulding by Burkitt Lassiter,
the old sheriff, and lived in Paulding, and swept out the sheriff's
office every morning. He had heard the firing and his wife
made him get his gun and commanded him to "run for dear life
and shoot ever white man you see ; ef you don' do it I never
will lib wid you anuder day." This was old Thornton's story,

Recollections of Reconstruction. — Hardy. 119

and doubtless was true, for he was a kind-hearted negro, in-
dolent and lazy, worked only at little jobs about town, whilst
his wife was a quarrelsome old virago and a "white folks hater."

"I jes' hates de groun' white fokes walks on, I dus, but thank
God, de bottum rail's on top and the cullud fokes is gwine ter
hab der day now," was a common remark of her's.

Old Thornton was arrested and brought back by the party.
The writer had heard the shooting and knew what it meant,
and with a double-barreled gun and a six shooter, sat near the
front gate of his residence, whilst his wife in fear, watched the
little ones who slept, awaiting tidings from the front. Soon
Major Heidelberg and his party, with Thornton Fox as a
prisoner, came up and a counsel was held as to what was best
to do. Four or five hundred negroes incensed and with re-
venge in their hearts, and believing they would be upheld by
the military authorities, might march upon the town and fire
it and commit other and greater crimes against the white wo-
men and children. When asked what was to be done with
Thornton Fox, Major Heidelberg said, "I am going to lock him
up in jail." Lambeth said, "kill him, d — n him." George
Acker said, "say the word, Major, and I will shoot the infamous
scoundrel now!" The negro was thoroughly overcome with
fear, and prostrated himself upon the ground and begged for
his life, and laid all the blame on his wife. It was finally agreed
to keep Thornton's gun and send him back on parole to the
League, and find out what was going on; whether they pro-
posed to attack the town or not, and report back within one
hour, at the outside. He was thoroughly alarmed, and left on
a run and within thirty minutes was back and reported that the
meeting had "done broke up and the niggers was all skeered,
and was leavin' in all directions for home." He further re-
ported that W. V. McKnight, the white man who was at the
head of the League, was greatly alarmed, and that he had se-
lected a hundred men to escort him home, and that they had
gone through the woods and fields, avoiding the roads.

At the next term of the circuit court the district attorney was
absent and the writer was appointed district attorney, pro tern.
The grand jury indicted eight or ten of the leaders for con-
spiracy. The next term was pretermitted, and in the meantime
Jonathan Tarbell, a carpet-bagger from the State of New

j2o Mississippi Historical Society.

York, had been appointed circuit judge, and Simon Jones, a
scallawag, of Brandon, had been appointed district attorney.
When the conspiracy cases were reached the district attorney
arose and stated that the cases were purely political, that no
offense had been committed against the laws of the State, and
entered a nolle pros equi.

Judge Tarbell had read law when a young man, and was ad-
mitted to the bar in the State of New York, but had never prac-
ticed his profession. He was about fifty years of age, and was
a man of fair literary attainments and of splendid physique, and
whilst ignorant of the law, made a very good judge; he was im-
partial and courteous to officers of the^court and members of
the bar, and was personally well esteemed. He was afterward
appointed by General Ames a justice of the State Supreme
Court. His opinions are noted for their great length and the
numerous citations on both sides of the case.

Simon Jones, the District Attorney (who had been dubbed
by Frantz, of the Brandon Republican, "Sime, the Spellist"),
was like necessity, he knew no law. He could not spell cor-
rectly many of the commonest words used in every-day par-
lance. He was fond of liquor, good-natured, didn't care a fig
whether the criminal laws were executed or not. He was a
Republican "for revenue only," and if a defendant, in any case
less than felony, would agree to pay his fee, he could get a
"nolly," as he called it.

At the first term of court at Paulding of which Mr. Jones was
district attorney, there were six or eight indictments pending
against a saloon-keeper for selling liquor to minors, and to In-
dians, and the proof was clear against him. His attorney
posted him about the new district attorney and when he ar-
rived at Paulding Sunday evening, after a drive of about
thirty miles from the railroad, tired and dusty, the saloon-
keeper sent a bottle of whiskey over to his room with his com-
pliments, and informed him that he would call on him during
the evening. The proposed visit, was as much appreciated as
the bottle of liquor, as scalawags who were appointed to of-
fice were generally ostracised by the people, and often found it
'difficult to obtain comfortable lodging. When the saloon-
keeper called he was graciously received and assured that he
had rightly anticipated his wants, and was told "If I can do

Recollections of Reconstruction. — Hardy. 121

anything for you during court, let me know." Whereupon they
took a drink together, and soon another; and this representa-
tive of the State insisted that he wanted to do something for
this, his new found friend. Finally the saloon-keeper told him
there were several indictments against him for selling liquor to
minors and to Indians. He said, "A great big eighteen or
twenty-year old boy comes into the saloon and asks for a drink ;
he has a moustache, looks to be twenty-five years old; how
can I tell he is a minor?" "That's so," said the district attor-
ney, "you can't tell his age if you were to look in his mouth,"
and then they laughed. "Then," continued the saloon-keeper,
"my barkeeper is the best one I ever had, but the darned fel-
low can't tell an Indian from a mulatto." "That's so, they do
look alike," said Mr. Jones, "but let us take another drink,
and to-morrow I'll 'nolly' every d — d one of them."

To clinch this proposition the saloon-keeper said, "but you
are at great expense, going from court to court, and I will pay
you your fee of ten dollars now, in one case, if you will dismiss
all of them to-morrow." The bargain was kept. The cases
were dismissed. Others "caught on" and there was a general
jail delivery at that term of court. Only one conviction, and
that was a negro woman on a charge of "attempt to commit in-
fanticide" by taking her new born infant to a potato patch and
burying it beneath a pile of potato vines. A man passing about
daylight heard its cry and rescued it. The little ten months'
old "coon" was in its mother's arms when she was arraigned
for trial. She plead guilty, was sentenced to jail for six
months and hired out for the costs of the case.

Such was the way in which the law was administered in East
Mississippi under military rule during reconstruction.

THU CONSTITUTION OF THE BLACK AND TAN CONVENTION.

The prescriptive constitution which had been framed by the
"Black and Tan Convention," elected by the military authori-
ties of the State, disfranchised nearly half the white people.
Hence it was ratified at an election held by the military au-
thorities, with armed soldiery at the polls, since only a few
whites could vote, and many others who were qualified refused
to do so, because they did not regard the election as free, and
that ratification was a foregone conclusion.

122 Mississippi Historical Society.

General Grant, in the exercise of authority vested in him, re-
fused to approve the constitution as a whole, and re-submitted
the obnoxious sections at the election held in November, 1869,
at which election all State and county officers were to be chosen.

The writer was making a campaign with Judge W. M. Han-
cock, who had joined the Republican party, and was a candi-
date for State Senator in the district then composed of Clarke,
Wayne, Jones and Jasper counties; he was urging the ratifica-
tion of the obnoxious clauses of the constitution, whilst the
writer represented the white people and opposed the ratifica-
cation. The canvass was a tempestuous one. The negroes
turned out en masse at every appointment, whilst only a few
whites attended them, and they were generally young men, and
most of them ex-Confederate soldiers. At Claiborne, in Jas-
per county, there were fully five hundred negroes, and only
about fifty white men, but they were as good "grit" as ever
ran a gauntlet, polished a blade, or pointed a gun. It was
Judge Hancock's day to speak first, and during his speech he
reflected upon the sincerity of his opponent in some statement
he had made, and was promptly called to account. For a
time it seemed as if a personal encounter would ensue, and the
white men crowded around the stand (which was a goods box,
out in the middle of the street) and this irritated the Judge.
All were armed, including the speakers. This conduct of the
white men had its effect, and the Judge disclaimed any intention
to reflect upon his opponent; said he had been misunderstood,
and offered him his hand, which was accepted. At this the
white men yelled and shouted for several minutes, and guyed
the Judge with such remarks as, "there, now, little ruffle shirt,
your bluff didn't win ; better quit the race and go with the nig-
gers."

The negroes, very much frightened, began to scatter and
the Judge became very much incensed. He saw the tables had
been turned on him. He was a brave and honorable man,
very small in stature, quick and impulsive, and always carried
a Derringer pistol in each pocket of his trousers and a bowie-
knife in his waist belt. He knew that a single shot, or a single
blow in that crowd meant his certain death, and perhaps the
death of many others; in fact he came near losing his life, as
the sequel shows.

Recollections of Reconstruction. — Hardy. 123

There was, on the outer circle of the white crowd, an ex-
Confederate soldier, Si McCurdy, a courageous but quiet man,
who, when excited, snapped his eyes. He stood quietly, with
his eyes fixed upon the Judge with the intense gaze of an en-
ranged lion, ready to spring upon his victim. Judge Hancock
had observed him, and when the clamor had subsided, he said :
"I have tried to conduct this canvass upon high grounds. I
have no complaint to make against my opponent; he is a gen-
tleman, a brave and able man, but I have not been farly (fairly)
treated here to-day Thar's a man who has been glaring and
snapping his eyes at me, and if he fools with me I will shoot a
hole through him," pointing his left hand at McCurdy, and
holding his Derringer partly drawn with his right. McCurdy,
as if startled, raised himself to his full height and shouted in a
loud voice: "Who, me?" "Yes, sir," said the Judge. Mc-
Curdy leaped forward with an oath, but was caught by some
of the boys, who tried to restrain him; but he was gradually
making his way to the Judge, who stood like a statue, his face
as white as marble, but not a nerve quivered, or a muscle
trembled. The peril to both was great. A friend of Mc-
Curdy's cautiously slipped up within striking distance of the
Judge, and with a knife drawn, was about to strike him, when
Dr. McAllum caught his arm. It is due to this gentleman,
however, to state that he expressly avowed afterward that it was
not his purpose to strike the Judge unless he drew his pistol
and attempted to shoot ; that he meant only to save the life of
his friend, McCurdy. The writer mounted the stand by the
side of the Judge and urged the boys to allow him to proceed
with his speech without further interruption, which they did;
but he only spoke a few minutes and sat down.

When he closed nearly all the negroes left except a dozen
or two. They did so upon a signal given by a copper-colored
negro preacher, named Jake Carlyle. He had done this
on several occasions previous to this. The white boys deter-
mined to stop it. So that night, a number of them went to old
Jake's house en masque, made him get up and make a light.
They told him that he had lead the negroes off from the joint
discussions for the last time ; that there would be speaking at
Shady Grove the next day, and he must be there, and when the
joint debate was over, they were going to call him out, and if

124 Mississippi Historical Society.

he did not get up and make a speech against the ''Black and
Tan Constitution" they would hang him that night; and they
shook a rope at him which they carried along, and told him
he would die on one end of it the next night. They were in-
tensely in earnest. They told no one what they had done. The
next day at Shady Grove, there was the usual great crowd of
negroes and the faithful few white men. After the usual heated
debate, the boys began to yell : "Jake • Jake ! Jake !" The old
negro arose slowly and came to the stand, and in a voice of
deep emotion began: "My frens: After de great excitement
yestiddy at Claiborne, I thought if dis thing wen' on, dar was
gwine to be blood shed; and so las' night, I praid de Laud, ef
he would spare me to come to Shady Grove to-day, I would
lisen to bof sides alike; and I prayed dat he would give me
grace to see de right way. And so I'm here. I sot doun right
dar and herd every word of bof de speakers, and as God is my
jedge, I'm a converted man." Then came the wildest yells
from the whites, and shout after shout resounded, ''hur-
rah for Jake ! go on, go on." When the shouting ceased, old
Jake raised his voice to a high pitch and continued : "My col-
lud frens and brethren may cas' me off, but I can't help it: I
bleve its rong to disfranchise de white fokes and not let 'em vote.
We all live in dis country togedder, and we can never have no
mo' peace if de colud fokes vote and hole offis, and de white
fokes can't." Then came a renewal of the yells and shouts :
"Three cheers for Jake ! We'll stand by you, Jake ! go on, go
on."

The old negro made a splendid speech of half an hour, re-
plete with sound arguments why they should all vote against
the constitution.

The boys equipped him with a mule and saddle and sent him
around to other appointments, and he became deeply in earn-
est, and often wept as he portrayed the horrors' of a race war
and begged for peace. He never went back to the Republican
party, but ever after that voted with the Democrats.

It is not the persuasive argument that is always potential
with the negro.

The district could have been easily carried for the Democrats,
if the white voters had attended the polls and voted. Over
half of them refused to vote, declaring they never would go to

Recollections of Reconstruction. — Hardy. 125

the polls and vote with the negroes. Five years of misrule,
with taxation which amounted to practical confiscation, caused
them to change their minds, and many of them not only voted,
but voted early, often and late.

The writer wishes here to do justice to the memory of Judge
Hancock. He became thoroughly imbued with the conviction
after the passage of the reconstruction laws by Congress, that
the best policy to be pursued was for the white people to ac-
cept the situation, join with the Republicans, and gradually get
possession of the State government. He remained with the
Republican party to the day of his death, and had great in-
fluence in its counsels, and that influence was exercised in the
interests of the white people, as well as of the negroes ; and his
constant efforts were to harmonize the races as far as possible,
but where conflicting interests were irreconcilable, he was al-
ways for the whites.

He and the writer had over thirty joint debates during that
tempestuous canvass, and at its close were strong friends, and
this friendship continued to the day of his death. May he
rest in peace.

PROMINENT CARPET BAGGERS.

There were only three resident carpet baggers in East Mis-
sissippi, H. Musgrove and E. L. Howett, of Enterprise, and
Barker, of Shubuta.

Musgrove was elected State Auditor of Public Accounts, and
made money enough in one term to open a banking house in
Jackson. He was known as "Modest Mus." This epithet was
applied to him because of the fact that he was in the habit of
reporting his own speeches to the Republican press and laud-
ing himself as a great orator and statesman, as well as a great
organizer. Howett came from Illinois and was by the military
governor appointed District Attorney for the old eighth judi-
cial district. Barker came from the State of New York, penni-
less and was a tramp for a time, and applied to Mr. Clem Lang,
of Clark county, for employment. It is said that he often
slept at night in a horse trough. Colonel Lang, moved with
sympathy, gave the fellow employment, and he was subse-
quently appointed by the military governor, Mayor of Shubuta,

126 Mississippi Historical Society.

and at the first general election he was elected by the Repub-
licans Clerk of the Circuit Court of Clark county.

George C. McKee and W. H. Gibbs who resided in the west-
ern part of the State, and James Lynch who resided at Jackson,
Mississippi, came over at different times into the eastern coun-
ties and made public addresses, the audiences always being com-
posed mainly of negroes.

Jim Lynch alone deserves especial notice in this paper. He
was a dark mulatto, born and raised in Pennsylvania; he was
highly educated and was a Methodist preacher, and was sent
down to this State by the Northern Methodists as a mission-
ary to the negroes. He was a remarkable man. He was of
medium height, broad-shouldered, with a superb head and
sparkling brown eyes ; his hair was black and glossy and stood
in profusion on his head between a kink and a curl. He was
a great orator; fluent and graceful, he stirred his great audi-
ences as no other man did or could do. He was the idol of the
negroes, who would come from every point of the compass and
for miles, on foot, to hear him speak. He rarely spoke to less
than a thousand, and often two to five thousand. He swayed
them with as much ease as a man would sway a peacock feather
with his right hand. They yelled and howled, and laughed,
and cried, as he willed. I have heard him paint the horrors
of slavery (as they existed in his imagination) in pathetic tones
of sympathy till the tears would roll down his cheeks, and
every negro in the audience would be weeping; then wiping
briskly away his tears, he would break forth into honsannas for
the blessings of emancipation, and every negro in the audience
would break forth in the wildest shouts. There was a striking
peculiarity about this shouting. Imagine one or two thousand
negroes standing en masse in a semi-circle facing the speaker;
not a sound to be heard except the sonorous voice of the
speaker, whose tones were as clear and resonant as a silver
bell ; and of a sudden, every throat would be wide open, and a
spontaneous shout in perfect unison would arise, and swell,
and subside as the voice of one man; then for a moment a
deadly silence would follow, and every eye would be fixed on the
speaker as he resumed, until all of a sudden the mighty shout
would rise again, and again, and so on, at intervals for a period
of from one to three hours. The writer has stood transfixed to

Recollections of Reconstruction. — Hardy. 127

one spot, and listened to him, and observed the masses so
completely under his influence, and how, as one man, they
would all shout together ; no one gave the cue, but all together,
and the rythmic cadences were in perfect unison. I could not
understand it ; but in the light of the discoveries of the laws of
psychic phenomena, I am now sure that it was done by the hyp-
notic power or influence of the speaker. Doctor Hudson, in
his work on the Law of Psychic Phenomena, states that all great
orators possess hypnotic power, and by this power sway their
audiences.

Lynch always spoke out doors, as no house could hold his
audiences, and always spoke in daylight. He was a great
coward and could never be persuaded to speak at night.

He was elected to the office of Secretary of State, and it is
said that during his term of office he became rather dissolute.
He drank to excess, and his influence over the better looking
class of young negro women, lead him into forbidden paths and
excesses, that cut short his life. He died before his term of
office expired, and before reaching the full meridian of his
manhood. The mongrel legislature appropriated two thousand
five hundred dollars for a monument to his memory, and it is
a singular fact that he is the only man to whose memory a
monument was ever erected in Mississippi by legislative ap-
propriation.

PERIPATETIC CARPET BAGGERS.

There was a class of peripatetic carpet baggers who played
upon the credulity of the negroes, and swindled them under
various pretexts. One of their favorite schemes was, to re-
marry them. They were told that, as they had never been
regularly married, according to law, all their children were
bastards, and they could not inherit any property that might
be left by their parents; that the lands and mules of the slave
owners would be confiscated by the government and divided
up among the old slaves, and that each man, the head of a fam-
ily, would receive forty acres and a mule. It was necessary,
therefore, that he should get a license and marry his wife, and
legitimatize his children. And this, in the face of the fact that
the Legislature had passed an act legalizing all marriages,
where the parties were living together as husband and wife at

128 Mississippi Historical Society.

the time of the passage of the act, and legitimatizing all chil-
dren that had been born of such marriages.

These rascals usually went in pairs; they had printed mar-
riage certificates which one of them would sell for two dollars,
and the other, who was the "parson," would marry them for
two dollars. Old negroes who had been married for thirty and
forty years, and had raised large families of children and grand-
children, would meet these rascals, pay their four dollars, and
"git marrid, 'cordin' to law."

Another set would go around and sell the credulous creatures
painted stakes which they were to use in staking off the "forty
acres" of land. These were usually sold at fifty cents each.

The following story was current in those days, but the writer
does not vouch for the truth of it. An old negro had been to
Shubuta and sold some produce, and was returning home with
about ten dollars in cash. He met one of these enterprising
fellows, who said to him : "Old man, you are going the wrong
way. Better turn round and go back with me to Shubuta.
I'm the man that is dividing out the land and mules." "Is you
de man, Boss? I'se mighty glad to see you, but I can't go
back to toun dis evenin', but I can come Monday." "No, that
is not necessary, I can fix you up right here, as you are an old
man."

He questioned the old negro about the plantation and the
mules; told him to select the mule he wanted and forty acres,
and give him ten dollars and he would give him a receipt that
would entitle him to his deeds when the man came around to
make them out. The old man said he wanted "Ole Beck, de
big gray mule, and forty acres in de fork ob de creek." The
carpet bagger took out his pencil and wrote a paper and gave
him, receiving ten dollars; the old man went on his way re-
joicing. He came home singing:

"Jay bird pull up my new groun corn,

Shot gun loss um trigger;
White man ain got no tail,
Needer has a nigger.

Chorus: Do come along my sandy boys,
Do come along, oh do;
What will uncle Gabriel say,
Oh do come along, oh do."

Recollections of Reconstruction. — Hardy. 129

As he passed through the yard at a side gate a young lady on
the back piazza observing his merry mood, said: "What's the
matter, Uncle Joe, you seem very happy?" "Yes, young
Missus, I is happy. I dun got my forty acres and a mule."
"How did you get them, Uncle Joe?" "A man 'pinted by de
guv'ment guv me a paper, here 'tis."

The young lady opened and read the paper and burst into
uncontrollable paroxyms of laughter. As soon as she could
control herself she asked: "Do you know what is in this pa-
per, Uncle Joe?" "No, mam, but dat offser tole me, it was my
title paper ; you know I can't read, please read it Missus." She
read: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so
have I lifted ten dollars out of this old fool negro."

The old negro hung his head in silence for several minutes,
then slowly raising it, and looking away into the distance, sor-
rowfully said: "I'm sho' a fool nigger," and went his way, a
sad but wiser man.

The "Pinch-beck Jewelry" peddler, though, had the bonanza.
The negro is exceedingly fond of jewelry and they bedecked
themselves with ringer rings, earrings, breast pins, etc., which
paid a profit to the peddler of one hundred to two hundred per
cent.

Nearly all of this money came out of the white" people.
Petty stealing of poultry, pigs, fruits, corn, and cotton in the
seed, was carried on systematically throughout the country.
The negroes were taught by these graceless scamps that, as they
had worked as slaves and accumulated this property without
being paid for their labor, they had a moral right to it.

I will close this paper by relating an incident of the election
in November, 1875, when the white people of the State regain-
ed control of the legislature. It occurred in Meridian. The
election was being held on the corner of (old) Johnson Street,
near the Sajiford residence. The white voters took possession
of the polls early in the morning, whilst the negroes — who out-
numbered the whites — stood in a solid body across, and along
Johnson street, awaiting an opportunity to march to the polls.
Each one had been previously provided with his ticket. Re-
peated attempts had been made by the whites to get them sep-
arated that they might talk with them singly, and in person,
and influence them to vote with the whites ; but all to no pur-
9

130 Mississippi Historical Society.

pose. Every imaginable friendly device had been employed by
the whites, but without success. The negroes stood as solid
as a Grecian Phalanx, and were sullen and morose. If a negro
came up to vote unaccompanied by a white man, a Democrat,
the whites would get in ahead of him, and crowd him out.
About eleven o'clock the manager of the Western Union Tele-
graph office came, and voted, and started back to his office. A
man who shall be nameless in this article, accosted him and
said:

"Mr. — I would like to get a telegram from Oliver Clifton,
Secretary of the State Democratic Executive Committee, say-
ing: 'The negroes in Hinds have repudiated Ames, and are
voting solidly with the white people.' If I can get that sort of a
message, we can carry this election." In about an hour a mes-
senger boy with his receipt book was going through the crowd

saying he had a message for . He was soon found, and

receipted for it. The crowd had begun to gather around sup-
posing that it contained election news. It was opened and read
by the gentleman, who waved it high in the air, saying "Glor-
ious news from Hinds !" "Read ! read !" shouted the crowd.
He mounted a goods box and read in stentorian voice : "The
negroes have deserted Ames, and are voting solidly with the
white people. Signed, Oliver Clifton, Secretary."

Such a shout has rarely been heard at an election. The
whites, as well as the negroes thought the- message genuine,
and the wildest excitement ensued. The whites poured in
among the negroes and pleaded with them to follow the ex-
ample of the negroes in Hinds and vote with the white people.
But they stubbornly refused, and broke up and left for their
homes refusing to vote at all except about one hundred or more
who were induced to vote with the Democrats.

A gentleman who formerly lived in Enterprise, thought the
dispatch genuine, and rushed to the telegraph office, and re-
peated the message to Enterprise; and another, who lived in
Columbus, did the same thing and this little ruse made victory
for the whites easy.

Whilst upon purely ethical grounds this act might be con-
demned, yet those who are familiar with the conditions which
existed at that time, and which made success an imperative
necessity, will rather applaud than condemn; it was a harmless

Recollections of Reconstruction. — Hardy. 131

piece of strategy that bore abundant good fruit for both white
and black.

THE TRANSITION PERIOD.

From A. D. 1866 to 1876 were perilous times indeed.
Neither the whites, nor the negroes were prepared for the con-
ditions that confronted them. It was impossible for the whites
to recognize their former slaves as their equals civilly and pol-
itically, to say nothing of social equality, which the white car-
pet-baggers practiced, and which they persistently taught the
negroes that they were entitled to.

Federal troops were stationed in the State to uphold the
civil authority and the negroes, taught and misguided by the
designing carpet baggers and scallawags, assured of protection
from the soldiers, they became exceeding arrogant and insolent,
to a degree that would cost them their lives if indulged in to-
day. It was not uncommon for white men, who had braved
the leaden hail, and roar of many a battle with unblanched
cheek, to give the side walk to half drunk swaggering negroes,
rather than be knocked off by them. To begin a fight was to
involve everybody in it, white and black, as shown by the
bloody riot at Meridian; then the military authorities were in
sympathy with the negroes. As for the white women, they
dared not go out, day or night without an escort. Everybody
went armed, and a sense of insecurity and uncertainty pervad-
ed every home and every community.

It was out of this state of things, the Ku Klux Klan was
evolved. It was a necessity of the times. It came, it was ef-
fective, and was and should ever be, esteemed as a great boon
to an impoverished and oppressed people. I cannot write the
history of the K. K. K. in this paper, but leave that for a
future day or for another.

A GREAT PROBLEM.

I am not an alarmist, but I must be pardoned for expressing
the opinion that the greatest problem that confronts the South-
ern people of to-day, is the race problem. It is not only, not
settled, nor being settled, but on the contrary we are farther
away from a solution of it than ever before.

I can see no solution possible, except ; First : Deportation of

132 Mississippi Historical Society.

the blacks by the United States government; or Second: A
race war in which the colored race will be practically exter-
minated.

If the first is not adopted, the latter is inevitable in the course
of time.

It is contrary to the law of the Almighty that two separate
and distinct races of people, should live in the same country
on terms of equality.

"Of one blood he made every nation (not all nations) of men
for to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined
their appointed seasons and the bounds of their habitation," are
the words of the great apostle of the Gentiles.

It is claimed by many that education and the Christian relig-
ion will afford a true solution for the race problem. But this
is mere opinion. There are few facts to support it. On the
contrary, over a third of a century of freedom and education
and religious instruction, have signally failed, so far, to sub-
stantiate that claim. The "new negro" has not the general in-
telligence, nor the politeness and refinement, nor the industry,
nor the love of truth and virtue, of the "old negro" — the slave.
The "new negro" has more book learning, but he does not
compare to the old slave in the qualities of sturdy manhood
and the exercise of truth and virtue.

The deportation of the Spanish army from Cuba by the gov-
ernment demonstrates the fact that, it can within a period of
twenty-five or thirty years, deport the negroes of the South to
the Philippine Islands, and extending over such a long period of
time, it could be done without material detriment to the in-
dustrial interests of the South.

It would be a humane and benevolent solution of the prob-
lem, and one that is due to the negroes, that the government
should do this at its own expense.

With the race problem settled, or its settlement assured at
any period within the near future, the South would enter upon
the greatest era of prosperity within her history, or within the
history of any other country. The infinitude of her undevelop-
ed resources under the skill and manipulation of the Saxon
race, would soon make her the wealthiest and most powerful
section of this great country.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF SLAVES IN MISSISSIPPI
BEFORE THE WAR.

BY W. W. MAGRUDER.1

It has been nearly four decades since the War between the
States. We are standing to-day in the new light of the twen-
tieth century ; and many past events have receded into the dim
shadows of oblivion. We are not now in that immediate prox-
imity to those tremendous incidents which fills the vision and
takes away the power of seeing either their perspective or the
surrounding situation. The history of the South is written in

1 William Wailes Magruder was born at "Hazlewood," the old
homestead of his grandfather, which was situated in Madison county,
Mississippi, near Sharon, about seven miles from Canton. His father
was Dr. Augustin Freeland Magruder, son of Major John Hawkins
Magruder, who came to this State from Maryland. His mother was
Julia Harriet Abbey, daughter of Rev. Richard Abbey, a prominent
minister of the M. E. Church, South, author of Diuturnity and several
other religious and ecclesiastical works, and for many years Financial
Secretary of the great Methodist Publishing House at Nashville,
Tennessee.

In 1868 Dr. Magruder removed with his family to Yazoo county,
where the subject of this sketch was reared. T,he family lived in Yazoo
City and then upon a plantation, two miles from that point, where Dr.
Magruder died on the I4th day of December, 1884. His wife died
August 22nd, 1901, in New Orleans, Louisiana, where she had lived for
several years.

The early education of W. W. Magruder was acquired in the private
and public schools of Yazoo City. He entered the University of Mis-
sissippi in the fall of 1883, remaining there until called home during
the next session by the illness of his father, after which he entered the
Mississippi A. & M. College, where he graduated with the B. S. degree
in the class of 1887. He located in Starkville soon thereafter, and was
married on the 2Qth day of May, 1888, to Clemmie A. Henry, only
daughter of Mr. J. O. Henry, a prominent citizen and leading mer-
chant of that place.

For several years he was engaged in book-keeping and in mercan-
tile and banking enterprises. Deciding to enter upon the practice of
law, which had been his chosen vocation from early life, he re-entered
the University of Mississippi in 1894, and received the degree of LL.
B. "with special distinction." He then entered upon the practice of his
profession at Starkville, Mississippi. In 1806 he became associated
with Mr. Thomas Battle Carroll, under the firm name of Carroll and
Magruder. For two years Mr. Magruder has been President of the
Alumni Association of the Mississippi A. & M. College. He is also
President of the Security State Bank of Starkville, Director in the John
M. Stone Cotton Mills, and in the Starkville Cotton Oil Company.
He is a member of the Methodist Church and Superintendent of the
Sunday school. — EDITOR.

134 Mississippi Historical Society.

broad statesmanship, pure patriotism, splendid courage, and
good citizenship. Our older men do not dream dreams; but,
accepting Appomattox in good faith as the final arbitrament of
controverted issues, ask only that the record shall do them
justice, and deal fairly with the events and conditions which
preceded Fort Sumter. Our young men, proud of their fathers
and respecting their unexampled achievements in peace and in
war, have turned their own faces to the future, and look with
confidence upon its large opportunities in science, literature,
and industrial development. They have come to know that the
lump of coal, black with nature's pigments, but glowing in the
flame of the furnace, is a slave that never sleeps, never grows
weary, but toiling day and night, unemancipated, yields a rich
recompense of reward to him who controls and directs its
power. They realize that to-day is our industrial renaissance,
and that Southward the irresistible impulse of industrial im-
perialism makes its way, impelled by the laws of commerce and
the forces of infinity. Slavery, or involuntary servitude, had its
bright side, and its dark side, although some there be who see
only the former, and some, only the latter.

It is usually a mistake to assume that any cause has only
one side; and the assertion that this principle does not apply
where moral questions are involved finds its refutation in the
intolerance of the middle ages, the persecution of early Chris-
tians, the Reformation, St. Bartholomew's massacre, and the
burning of the Salem witches. It is to be feared that there are
many to-day who would conscientiously light the fires on
Witches' Hill.

A former scholarly discussion of this subject under the title,
"Early Slave Laws of Mississippi" (Vol. II., Publications of the
Mississippi Historical Society, page 133), by Hon. Alfred H.
Stone, a talented and distinguished citizen of the Delta, relieves
us of the necessity of tracing in careful detail the origin and
development of the State's legal system with reference to the
institution of slavery ; and we will therefore indulge in a some-
what general review of the operation and application of those
laws as we find them, necessarily referring more or less ex-
tensively to some of the constitutional provisions, congressional
and legislative acts, and judicial decisions cited and discussed by
Mr. Stone.

Slaves in Mississippi Before the War. — Magruder. 135

The dark cloud of human slavery has been forever rolled
away ; and we, a slave-holding people, now view its passage with
a large degree of equanimity, only regretting that the principle
of confiscation rather than compensation was adopted by our
Northern friends. It was good morals for them to sell us the
slaves ; but it was bad morals for us to keep them. The right
or the wrong of the matter seems to have been largely a ques-
tion of ownership, the principle involved changing eo instanti
with the title. The industrial and climatic conditions of the
Southern States made slavery more profitable here than else-
where, and naturally the slave population was concentrated
where the situation was most favorable. Brother Jonathan in
due time passed his nominal laws in the New England States
prohibiting slavery, where it was already prohibited by the
logic of nature's stern decrees ; but his slaver sailed the seas,
coining the black man's sweet freedom into Southern gold.
The institution of slavery as it was operated here among us may
have been bad ; but the incidents of the system elsewhere were
infinitely worse. The South pleads guilty to the cotton planta-
tion with its hard labor and its reasonable chastisement for in-
subordinate slaves ; its happy, contented, well fed, well clothed
people; the negro quarters full of melody, music, and simple
joys; the "great house" with "Old Master" and "Old Miss;"
the little pickaninnies and the black "mammies ;" the full un-
derstanding between us and them out of which grew so much
of comradeship, genuine loyalty, and affectionate consideration.
The North must upon the facts plead guilty to the slave trader
and the slave ship with fork and scourge, cruelty, starvation,
pestilence, and death. We are willing to assume full respon-
sibility for our part of the system, if they will take charge of its
incidents under their preliminary administration. However, the
practical issue has been long since settled; and upon these
questions of ethics, we and our friends will continue to differ.
Emancipation has given us for solution questions of tremen-
dous import in the domain of good citizenship and statesman-
ship, all of which we must be left to settle in our own time and
our own way.

Among the papers constituting the organic law of this coun-
try, the Ordinance of 1787 for the government of the great
Northwest Territory stands in importance subject, perhaps, to

136 Mississippi Historical Society.

only the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of
the United States. The ordinance prohibited slavery within
that extensive jurisdiction to which it was applied. It is a
noteworthy circumstance that this ordinance, the first legal
limitation imposed upon the extension of slavery in America,
was supported by every Southern member of Congress. We
did not seek and encourage the development of the institution
of slavery — it resulted from the inexorable logic of our situa-
tion and circumstances, and most especially from the invention
of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney.

By the Act of Congress, April 7, 1798, for the Formation of
the Mississippi Territory, the President was authorized to es-
tablish for the said Mississippi Territory "a government in all
respects similar" to that provided in the Ordinance of 1787,
excepting only the last article thereof, which prohibited slavery.
In the seventh paragraph of the Act for the Formation of the
Mississippi Territory, the importation of slaves from without
the limits of the United States was forbidden under penalty of
fine, the slaves so imported to receive their freedom.

The view is advanced by Mr. Stone that slavery in this Terri-
tory in its incipient organization was prohibited until the
Georgia Cession in 1802 ; but we cannot subscribe to this opin-
ion, regarding the exception in the Act of 1798, and the section
thereof prohibiting the importation of slaves from any point
WITHOUT the limits of the United States as permitting their
importation from any point or place WITHIN the United States,
and recognizing human slavery as an established legal institu-
tion. We are thus forced to the conclusion that slavery was
never at any time prohibited in Mississippi Territory.

It is probably not possible to fix with certainty its origin in
the Territory. There can be no serious question but that it
existed here as a legal institution of the various colonial gov-
ernments from some remote time in the period of exploration
and discovery. It was introduced into the United States in
1620; and African slaves were owned in the territory of this
State at least as early as 1707. At the time of the grant by the
King of France, Louis XIV, to Antoine Crozat in 1712, there
were already about twenty African slaves in the colony, and
Crozat was obligated to import a cargo of slaves annually from
Africa, which he failed to do, the first full cargo of this human

Slaves in Mississippi Before the War. — Magruder. 137

freight not being received until the month of July, 1720. Under
the administration of John Law, by authority of the Charter to
the Western or India Company, an active slave trade was in-
augurated in the year 1718. The Company's Charter contained
a stipulation that 3,000 African slaves should be imported ; and
a census taken in 1720 showed that there were 500 in the
colony all told, while in June, 1721, there were some 600, from
which time their numbers rapidly increased. Their exportation
from the Colony was forbidden; and their value was fixed at
660 livres (about $170.00), for each able bodied man or woman
between the ages of seventeen and thirty, and free from all
physical imperfection : the same price was fixed for three chil-
dren of eight to ten years old, and the same price for two chil-
dren over ten and under fifteen years of age, the consideration
being payable one-half in cash and the other half in twelve
months. The Black Code of 1724 for the government of the
slaves required that they should be brought up in the Roman
Catholic faith, and among other noteworthy provisions pro-
hibited all amalgamation of the races. It may be mentioned as
remarkable that the Church of Rome has practically no adhe-
rents to-day among our negro population. During the period
of French colonization, the authorities used their slaves as sol-
diers in the constant Indian warfare of that time. After the
Fort Rosalie massacre, the negroes attached themselves to the
Natchez tribe of Indians, and operated with them in their mili-
tary organization until they were at a later date mainly killed
or recaptured in a desperate engagement with the French.

Neither is it by any means easy to ascertain the exact time
at which the slaves in Mississippi received their legal freedom.
The Supreme Court of the State has twice declined to decide
the question. By Lincoln's proclamation of September 22,

1862, all persons held as slaves in the seceding States were de-
clared to be free on and after January i, 1863. In the case,
V. & M. R. R. Co. vs. Green, 42 Miss., 42, the Court held that
the President's proclamation was only a military order, and
that the slaves were not emancipated thereby on January i,

1863, the opinion further reciting, "How or when they were
emancipated after this time is not important to the decision of
the case before us."

In Herrod vs. Davis, 43 Miss., 102, the Court stated that the

138 Mississippi Historical Society.

precise time when slavery was abolished had never been judi-
cially determined. The provision adopted by the Constitutional
Convention of 1865 prohibiting involuntary servitude in the
State, by way of preamble or recital, declared that slavery had
long before that time ceased to exist. How, when, or where
the emancipation of the slaves was legally accomplished in the
State has, therefore, never been definitely settled by legislative
announcement or judicial opinion; and remarkable as it may
seem, it is impossible to fix the time when slavery ceased to
exist as a legal institution in Mississippi. However, any negro
to-day will promptly inform you that the date of emancipation
was "Ada May" (8th of May), which day they religiously and
devotedly celebrate at their "Black Jack," "Chigger Hill," and
"I. John" churches.

The people of the western part of the Mississippi Territory in
pursuance of the preliminary Act of Congress adopted the first
Constitution of Mississippi at the town of Washington in a
convention extending from the 7th day of June to the I5th day
of August, 1817; and the State was formally admitted to the
Union on the loth day of December, 1817. During her colo-
nial settlement, her territorial organization, and from the time
of her admission as a State, Mississippi authorized and legal-
ized slavery until after the war. Every constitution of the State
within that period, a great number of legislative enactments,
and a multitude of judicial decisions recognize the established
existence of slavery, and define the limitations of the slaves'
rights and wrongs.

In the case of Harry vs. Decker, Walker (i Miss.), 36, our
Supreme Court in 1818 announced that, "slavery is condemned
by reason and the laws of nature," expressly holding that in-
voluntary servitude can exist only by virtue of municipal regu-
lations, and that all questions of doubt must be resolved in favor
of liberty.

The Supreme Court in the State vs. Jones, Walker (i Miss.),
83 (decided in 1821, and the second criminal case officially re-
ported in Mississippi), held that slaves were rational human be-
ings, and that it was as clearly murder to kill a slave as to kill
a freeman, even though the homicide be committed by the
master. The defendant, a white man, was here sentenced to be
hung for the murder of a slave. Our Court expressly held in

Slaves in Mississippi Before the War. — Magruder. 139

later cases that the status of slaves was not determined by
general legislation ; and this decision in the Jones case was ren-
dered and subsequently cited with approval only under the view
that, when the law recognizes the existence of a person as a
human being, the law will protect that existence. However,
with the exception of this class of cases involving their lives,
they were never punished or protected by general legislation ;
and no law affected slaves, unless they were specially indicated
or included in its terms. Slavery as it existed in this country
was not known to the common law of England; and its pro-
visions were held by our Court to be not applicable to the status
of slaves under the conditions of the system here.

The various codes of the State declared them to be personal
property; and while their rights as persons were also declared
and enforced, yet their status as property was so definitely fixed
by statutory enactment and judicial construction that owners
or claimants could only be deprived of asserted authority and
title by the verdict of a jury, the writ of habeas corpus being
held not applicable in such cases. Color was taken to be prima
facie evidence of liability to servitude — of property in some one,
or, in plain terms, every negro was presumed to be a slave.
While slaves were thus precluded from the writ of habeas cor-
pus, they were entitled by statute, as indicated above, to a "suit
for freedom" or emancipation either in term time or in vaca-
tion and to trial on the issue, aided by counsel, before a jury.

They enjoyed in criminal cases the same right to bail as did
other persons, and in capital cases, the right of appeal to the
Supreme Court.

Slaves were competent witnesses in all cases, civil or criminal,
where only negroes or mulattos, bond or free, were parties, but
in no other cases. Our juries to-day attach but little importance
to negro testimony where a white man is involved; and our
courts, recognizing its uncertainty and danger in all cases,
weigh it with great caution. No thoughtful citizen, and more
especially no member of the legal profession, can view the
general competency of negro evidence without grave apprehen-
sion. Their lack of education deprives them of those aids to
memory by way of written records or statements upon which we
rely so largely; and it thus comes to pass that the faculty of
memory (upon which they must depend), is abnormally de-

140 Mississippi Historical Society.

veloped. This makes them with their usual indifference to the
truth most dangerous witnesses, and their testimony is a men-
ace to the administration of public justice.

The voluntary confession of a slave could be taken by the
Court. Owners were competent to testify in behalf of their
slaves, notwithstanding their interest, and the general disquali-
fication then existing on account of interest.

Slaves or free negroes were not sworn as witnesses, but were
enjoined to tell the truth under threats, it must be confessed,
of most extreme severity in event of perjury.

The law declared nearly two score offenses to be capital
crimes when committed by slaves, and in such cases, the de-
fendant was tried under the general laws applicable to white
persons, with certain modifications. In cases not capital, the
mode of trial varied at different times, being under the Code
of 1857 the organization of a special court composed of two
magistrates and five slave-holders, a majority of the seven triers
rendering a verdict and sentence. Upon the trial of slaves for
criminal offenses, under the first Constitution of the State, no
investigation and indictment by a grand jury was necessary,
although trial by jury was mandatory in all capital cases. The
Constitution of 1832 retained the jury trial, and also required
indictment by grand jury in capital cases.

By virtue of provisions in the Constitutions both of 1817 and
1832, the Legislature was empowered to pass laws permitting
owners, subject to certain qualifications, to emancipate their
slaves; but the passage of any law for the emancipation of
slaves without the consent of their owners was forbidden, ex-
cept in cases where "the slave shall have rendered to the State
some distinguished service," in which event the "owners shall
be paid a full equivalent for the slaves so emancipated."

While the Legislature was thus constitutionally authorized to
enact laws for the emancipation of slaves under certain condi-
tions, the different assemblies seem to have regarded all eman-
cipation with grave disfavor. Early laws passed by the Legis-
lature did permit owners to emancipate their slaves, but under
such restrictions as almost amounted to the absolute prohibi-
tion subsequently declared by the Code of 1857.

Both constitutions granted to the Legislature full power "to
oblige the owners of slaves to treat them with humanity;" and

Slaves in Mississippi Before the War. — Magruder. 141

laws were passed forbidding on the part of owners all "cruel or
unusual punishment" under severe penalty.

It was early established by our court in a series of decisions
that slaves were not citizens, that they were incapable of own-
ing property in the State, and that their status in other States,
whatever that might be, was not recognized here.

The importation into the State of slaves "born or resident
out of the United States" was at all times prohibited. Their
importation as merchandise or for sale from other States of the
Union was for a time prohibited, though this latter inhibition
was soon repealed. Both constitutions and codes prohibited
the importation into the State of slaves guilty of felony or other
crimes.

The law took no cognizance whatever of the marital relations
of slaves, and their marriages were without legal validity. This
was a grievous offense in the mind of the abolitionist, and it
must be admitted was from the standpoint of morals an unfor-
tunate incident of the system. On the other hand all well in-
formed people acquainted with the conditions in the South are
aware that the family relations of the slaves were not only per-
mitted, but encouraged; and it is entirely within the record to
say that slave marriages were of more permanent character
than the negro marriages of to-day, when the men not infre-
quently exchange their wives temporarily, or barter away the
virtue of their daughters. The family relations of our negro
population, after nearly forty years of freedom, constitute but a
travesty and mockery upon the sacred institution of marriage
far more revolting than the conditions of slavery. The pos-
sibility then that the slave husband or wife or children might at
any time be sold away of course existed ; but the disposition of
slave-owners was to hold their slaves and use them in the de-
velopment of their large estates.

It is also true that the relations between the slaves and the
families of their owners were frequently of such a character that
no art, power, or persuasion could have been sufficiently potent
to scatter the slave families or to disrupt their family circles.
Their morality was encouraged, and any tendency to immoral-
ity discouraged and discountenanced. Their marriages fre-
quently took place in the parlor or dining room of their owner's
residence ; and in those cases where household servants were of

142 Mississippi Historical Society.

the contracting parties, the dusky brides were in some cases at
least arrayed for the ceremony by the young ladies of the fam-
ily, and dressed in elegant garments contributed by them for the
occasion. An instance is mentioned by a prominent minister of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in which at the request
of the owner, Judge H. F. Simrall, Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court of the State, he performed a marriage ceremony in the
family residence between a pair of slaves with all the rites and
sanctity of a church marriage.

In this general connection there is a vast volume of law, writ-
ten and unwritten, by which the system of slavery was adminis-
tered. Our statute books are full of enactments (in the main
just and reasonable, but not infrequently both unwise and per-
nicious), by which the legal status of slaves was fixed and de-
termined. In this paper, it has not been my purpose to digest
the many slave laws of the State "commanding what is right
and prohibiting what is wrong," but only to review those broad
provisions in its legislative enactment and its judicial construc-
tion defining and establishing the character and limitations of
an institution, happily passed away, that had in it much of evil
and no little of good.

MISSISSIPPI'S CONSTITUTION AND STATUTES IN
REFERENCE TO FREEDMEN, AND THEIR AL-
LEGED RELATION TO THE RECONSTRUCTION
ACTS AND WAR AMENDMENTS.

BY ALFRED HOLT STONE.*

Since the formation of the Federal Union the most important
and critical period of its history is the decade ending with the
year 1870. During this period the struggle between the two

1 Alfred Holt Stone was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, October
16, 1870. His maternal grandfather, Dr. Alfred C. Holt, was a dele-
gate from Wilkinson county to the Mississippi Secession Convention,
having been all his life an intense States Rights Democrat. After the
War between the States, he removed to New Orleans and practiced
his profession until his death. He served throughout the war. His
father, the Hon. W. W. Stone, and his paternal grandfather lived in
Missouri, both likewise spent four years in the Confederate service.
In 1866 his father removed to Washington county, where he has since
engaged in cotton planting. He has also been identified with local and
State politics, and held the office of Auditor of Public Accounts of
Mississippi from 1885 to 1895.

Until his sixteenth year the author of this monograph lived on a
plantation. Here he began early in life to take a deep interest in the
study of the Negro race and of cognate subjects. He was educated at
the University of Mississippi, where, after taking special work in the
literary department, he graduted in law in 1891. He engaged in the
practice of his profession from 1891 to 1895, and in the fire insurance
business from 1895 to 1899. In 1896 he was married to Miss Mary
Bailey Ireys, of Greenville, Mississippi. He has been a cotton planter
since 1893.

His duties as a planter having again brought him into close practi-
cal relations with the Negro race, he conceived the ambition of writing
a history of that race upon an exhaustive scale. Since that time he
has worked steadily towards the final accomplishment of this object,
though the completion of his researches is not contemplated earlier
than twelve of fifteen years from this date.

He is a member of the American Academy of Political and Social
Science, the American Social Science Association, the Southern His-
tory Association, the American Economic Association, and the Miss-
issippi Historical Society. He is a member of the committee of five,
appointed at the Detroit meeting of the American Economic Associa-
tion, to investigate and report upon the "Economic Condition of the
American Negro." His name is on the programme of the next meet-
ing of that association for an address on "The Negro in the Yazoo-
Mississippi Delta."

From June, 1900, to June, 1901, he edited the The Greenville Times.
He contributed an article to the second volume of the Publications of
the Mississippi Historical Society (pp. 133-145), on "The Early Slave Laws
of Mississippi." — EDITOR.

144 Mississippi Historical Society.

opposing schools of constitutional construction reached its
bloody and costly termination; the contention between the
theories of those who held this government to be a federation
of sovereign States, and those who would clothe it with the full
habit and attributes of nationality, sought the ultimate arbitra-
ment of war; the American disciples of the English school of
which Clarkson, Wilberforce and Channing were so long the
chief exponents, witnessed the triumph over the organic law of
the union of the "higher law" which they had proclaimed, and, in
the violent destruction of an institution recognized by the Con-
stitution, realized the full fruition of all their zealous labors ; the
spectacle was presented of the creation, by the mere fiat of law,
of American citizens from African slaves, and in these revolu-
tionary acts were laid the foundations of problems yet unsolved.
A comprehensive study of the events of this brief period in-
volves the student in the consideration of many questions ; but
none of more profound importance than the conditions and cir-
cumstances surrounding the adoption of the constitutional
amendments designed to affect the status of the former slave,
and the congressional legislation enacted with reference to the
status of his former master, as resultant upon the war.

Inseparably associated with this matter of the attitude as-
sumed by the Federal Government towards the negro and the
Southern white man, is the consideration of the position taken
immediately succeeding the war by the white man of the South
himself, with reference to the negro.

A thorough and accurate knowledge and understanding of
the truth of this position — of the status of the negro, and his
relation towards his former owner, as that owner would have
willed it — are vitally essential to any proper apprehension of the
history of this period. Chief among the causes contributing to
the importance of this question are two facts : that congres-
sional reconstruction was a mistake and a failure, and that the
position of the dominant party of the period, with reference to
the negro and the white man of the South, has been defended
by reiterated appeals to the attitude alleged to have been as-
sumed by the latter towards the former. This claim has been
urged with singular persistence, by both apologists and eulo-
gists, and it has come to be admitted as valid by a large class
of writers, among which are some in whom one has a right to

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 145

expect more than a superficial acquaintance with the truth of
so grave a proposition.

The foundation upon which has been erected this explanative
and defensive superstructure, may be found in the legislation
for freedmen enacted by the Southern States, during the brief
period succeeding the cessation of hostilities in which they were
permitted, to a certain extent, civil control of their domestic
affairs ; the period of presidential reconstruction. This legisla-
tion has been characterized as a blunder, by the mildest of its
critics, and denounced as -barbarous, and an attempt to per-
petuate slavery, by the most extreme. The naked letter of the
law, not infrequently garbled and distorted, has been paraded as
a deaths-head of typically Southern creation, well calculated to
justify the harshest clause of the reconstruction acts, proof con-
clusive that the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments were
necessary to endow with viability the status bestowed upon the
negro by the war. Without any fair consideration of the cir-
cumstances and conditions attending their enactment, without
honest attempt to grasp or appreciate the real spirit and temper
and intent of the men who framed them, the dead literalness of
these statutes has been made to do more than thirty years of
scarecrow duty to blunders whose criminality has been accen-
tuated by the maliciousness of their inspiration.

Mississippi, in her legislation and general attitude, was typical
of the South of the period, and in this attempted review of her
constitution and statutes in reference to freedmen, the hope is
indulged that a not unfair presentation may be made of the gen-
eral subject in behalf of the South at large.

The acceptance of, and acquiescence in, accomplished facts,
the making the best of the inevitable, has ever been a distin-
guishing and saving trait of the American people. It is this
characteristic — national, it may be termed — which has brought
confusion to those foreign critics of an earlier day who pre-
dicated a failure of our form of government, upon the assump-
tion that the entire people could not be relied upon to accept
the results of elections without revolution. It is this trait which
differentiates the people of this government from those con-

10

146 Mississippi Historical Society.

stituting the petty, so-called republics of South and Central
America. It was this trait which furnished an astonished and
skeptical world with the spectacle of the acceptance — univer-
sally and without reserve — by the Southern people, of the dis-
astrous verdict of four years of war, and made possible the
•disbanding of the Northern armies, without fear of Southern
guerilla warfare. In this trait we see the explanation of the
absolute surrender of the Southern armies, and their immediate
resumption of peaceful pursuits — when once, in the judgment of
their commanders, the moment of useless resistance had ar-
rived ; in the lack of this characteristic may be found a reason-
able explanation of the senseless policy which impels the self-
destructive tactics of the Boers.

In the failure of the political leaders of the successful party
to the American Civil War to credit the defeated party with the
exercise in good faith of this trait, may be read the fundamental
error of this government's post bellum policy. That this failure
to accord honesty of purpose to Southern men at that time was
not due to a mere misconception of the truth, but was rather
one of the essential elements in a gradually assumed attitude of
punitive hostility and mistrust, the history of the course adopt-
ed by those leaders leaves scant room for doubt.

That the legislation of Mississippi, and other Southern States,
was not enacted with any purpose of nullifying the accom-
plished emancipation of the negro, but that it was natural,
abundantly justified by precedent, and sincerely deemed neces-
sary to meet the anomalous conditions which demanded imme-
diate treatment, are propositions which are established beyond
controversy by a fair consideration of the attendant acts and
circumstances, coupled with an investigation of the conduct of
other peoples similarly situated.

In his treatise on the "principles of interpretation and con-
struction in law and politics," Dr. Lieber says that to interpret
the actions of men is "to designate the endeavor to arrive at
their direct meaning, the motives from which they flowed."2
In laying down his rules he takes occasion to observe that the
"artifice to which revengeful tyranny so often resorts to obtain
its objects without incurring the direct charge of guilt, * * * *

J Hermeneutics, 3d Edition (Hammond), p. 8.

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 147

or which we use when we are anxious to throw the guilt from
our shoulders, * * * is generally, in its essence, founded upon
literal or unfaithful interpretation."3 He further enjoins upon
us that "we should not studiously endeavor to make the worst
of the words or actions of our neighbors. Plain justice de-
mands that we should take them in the spirit in which they were
meant, and that we should endeavor to find out that spirit ; plain
charity demands that we should give full weight to a possible
good interpretation, which charity becomes but justice, con-
sidering that all of us stand in equal need of it."4

In the misconstructions and perversions of the acts of South-
ern legislatures, by the radical political leaders of the time, may
be found a persistent disregard of all such principles of political
and legal hermeneutics as the German-American publicist has
left us, which, after all, are but principles of common political
morality.

Mr. Lincoln had regarded the restoration of the Southern
States to their normal relations with the rest of the Union as a
matter clearly within the scope of executive power. This, and
the salient features of the plan of reconstruction which he had
already inaugurated, are, fortunately, too well authenticated to
justify an attempt at denial.

Mr. Johnson, with none of Lincoln's prestige, none of his
tact, and little of his ability, attempted to carry out his plan;
but, in his conceit, enunciated it as his own, and thus lost for it
the weight of his illustrious predecessor's name.

Mr. Lincoln's plan of reconstruction had contemplated the
control of the domestic affairs of the Southern States — their
legislation and elections — by their own citizens, such as chose
to qualify under his proclamation, though he recognized the
right of Congress to determine the question of the admission
of individual members elected from States conforming to his
scheme of restoration.

As adopted by Johnson, through Seward's persuasive influ-
ence, the Louisiana plan, in its important features, was prac-
tically unchanged. The only fault that could be found with this
plan was that it was too mild to suit the radical element in

' Ibid, p. 86.

4 Ibid, pp. 140 and 141.

148 Mississippi Historical Society.

Congress and the North, who wanted something more than
the mere accomplishment of the objects of the war.

Mr. Blaine himself admits that "as a theory it was perfect,"
and refers to it as a "process which was designed to be ex-
haustive, by fully restoring every connection existing under the
Constitution between the States and the National Govern-
ment."5 The most that he could do was to attempt to ridicule
it; against it he never advanced a single argument.

The plan did not fail ; it was abandoned by Congress as lack-
ing in the elements of punishment and severity ; though the
substitution of another was sought to be justified upon other
grounds, viz : The alleged conduct of the Southern constitu-
tional and legislative assemblages held under the Presidential
plan.

In putting into execution in Mississippi his plan of recon-
struction, Mr. Johnson's initial act was the appointment of a
provisional governor. This was done by a proclamation, of
June I3th, 1865, and the appointee was Judge Wm. L. Sharkey.
The proclamation6 recited that it should be his duty, "at the
earliest practicable period, to prescribe such rules and regula-
tions as may be necessary and proper for convening a conven-
tion composed of that portion of the people of said State who
are loyal to the United States and no others, for the purpose of
altering or amending the constitution thereof, and with author-
ity to exercise within the limits of said State all the powers
necessary and proper to enable such loyal people of the State
of Mississippi to restore said State to its constitutional rela-
tions to the Federal Government." All members of the pro-
posed convention must have taken the amnesty oath of May
29th, 1865, to render them eligible to their seats.

Pursuant to his instructions, Gov. Sharkey ordered an elec-
tion for delegates to a convention, to convene on August i/j-th,
1865. This convention, as well as the Legislature which fol-
lowed it, has been severely arraigned by hostile critics of the
South.

In attempting to arrive at a just estimate of the opinion of
these conventions, legislatures and laws, entertained by Repub-
lican leaders of the period, fairness has determined me in the

11 "Twenty Years of Congress," Vol. II., p. 78.
'Richardson's Messages and Papers, Vol. VI., p. 314.

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 149

selection of Mr. Elaine as the best authority from which to
quote.

In addition to having been far less radical and vindictive than
many, we have the advantage of possessing his views as he pre-
pared them for posterity, in the calmness and deliberation of
the mellowing influence of twenty years' removal from the
times of which he wrote.

An absolutely essential function in the exercise of "the pow-
ers necessary and proper" to restore the State "to its consti-
tutional relations to the Federal Government," as constituting
the sole purpose of the conventions ordered by Mr. Johnson,
was the providing for the election of State officers and repre-
sentatives in Congress. This duty was enjoined upon these
conventions as clearly as words could imply it, yet Mr. Elaine
ignores this mandate of the President's proclamation, and says,
"the Reconstruction Conventions usurped legislative power,
and hastily proceeded to order the election of representatives in
Congress."7 He declares them to have been "in their member-
ship and their organization, little else than consulting bodies
of Confederate officers under the rank of brigadier general,"8
with their "official acts * * * inspired by a spirit of ap-
parently irreconcilable hatred of the Union."9 His more gen-
eral indictment he has expressed in these terms : "It seemed
impossible at the time, it seems even more plainly impossible
on a review of the facts after the lapse of years, that any body of
reasonable men could behave with the ineffable folly that
marked the proceedings of the Reconstruction Conventions in
the South, and the still greater folly that governed the suc-
ceeding Legislatures of the lately rebellious States."10

In view of the wealth of maledictory criticism heaped for
thirty-five years upon these assemblages, and as assisting some-
what in giving equitable interpretation to their acts, it is not out
of place to consider briefly the personnel of the first reconstruc-
tion convention to assemble in the South ; that of Mississippi, in
August, 1865.

In his selection of a provisional governor for Mississippi,

7 Twenty Years of Congress, Vol. II., p. 87.

8 Ibid.

• Ibid, p. 89.
10 Ibid, p. 86.

150 Mississippi Historical Society.

Mr. Johnson was singularly fortunate. Judge Sharkey had all
his life been an ardent Whig, and had been unalterably opposed
to secession, but no man ever enjoyed the supreme confidence
of his fellow citizens more universally than he did that of Mis-
sissippians, without regard to political affiliations. We have
no truer index to his character, his convictions, and the pro-
foundest sentiments of his heart, than he has left us in the
closing words of the proclamation which provided for this con-
vention. Said he:

"The people of the South have just passed through a most terrible
and disastrous revolution, in which they have signally failed to ac-
complish their purpose. Perhaps their success would have proved to
be the greatest calamity that could have befallen the country, and the
greatest calamity to the cause of civil liberty throughout the world.
The true patriot finds his greatest enjoyment in the noble and pleasing
reflection that his government is to live with an honored name, to
shed its blessings on millions through future centuries. And as good
governments are things of growth, improved by the lights of experience
and often by revolutions, let us hope — sad and disastrous as this revo-
lution has been — that the lessons it has taught us will not be destitute
of value.

"The business of improving our government, if it should be found
to need it, and of promoting reconciliation between the Northern and
Southern people, are now prominent duties before us, so that we may
hereafter live in the more secure and perfect enjoyment of the great
patrimony left us by our fathers, and so that those who are to come
after us may long enjoy in their fullest functions, the inestimable bless-
ing of civil liberty, the best birthright and noblest inheritance of man-
kind."11

So much for the man who convened this most important
gathering. What of the convention itself?

As to political affiliation, a poll of the convention showed
its membership to consist as follows: 51 Old Line Whigs, 9
"Whig and Union," i "Inveterate Whig," 2 "Cooperation
Whigs," 3 "Whig and Opposed to Secession," i "Steadfast
Whig," 2 "Henry Clay Whigs," i "Whig and Death Against
the War." This shows a total of seventy Whigs. Of Democrats
there were eighteen, of various shades, describing themselves as
follows: 9 "Unqualified," 2 "Douglas," i "Jackson," i
"States Rights," i "Secession," 2 "Union," i "Cooperation," i
"Jeffersonian." There were nine members classed as "scatter-
ing," being made up of 5 "Conservatives," i "Cooperationist,"
i "Opposed to Universal Suffrage," i "Union," i "Opposed
to the War." One member's political bias is not indicated.

11 Convention Journal, p. 7.

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 151

One hundred delegates were elected to the convention, ninety-
eight qualifying for service.12

It is of some interest to note that of this entire membership
but seven had participated in the deliberations of the conven-
tion of 1861, and of these, six opposed and voted against the
Ordinance of Secession. That historic gathering had consisted
of eighty-four Democrats and twenty-five Whigs, as against
eighteen Democrats and seventy Whigs in this.

By birth, six of its members were Northern men, two being
natives of Pennsylvania, one of New York, one of Vermont, one
of Connecticut and one of Maine. But eleven were native Mis-
sissippians.

Of the individual members of the convention it is unneces-
sary to speak, but we may recall among its leaders such names
as J. S. Yerger, Amos R. Johnston, Will T. Martin, George L.
Potter and William Yerger.

Profoundly impressed by the extreme gravity of the situation,
and mindful of the injunctions of Gov. Sharkey, the people of
the State had chosen for the dispatch of the serious business
which confronted them, men not only of acknowledged conser-
vatism, but of high character and unquestioned ability as well.
Nothing could be more maliciously slanderous than the attempt,
gone for so many years unchallenged, to write down this con-
vention as a body of marplots and discontents, of "office-seek-
ing rebels," bent only upon an effort to seek the technical eva-
sion of "the consequences of their treason."

The real leaders of the convention, with one notable excep-
tion, had not been in the Confederate army, as was equally true
of a large percentage of its membership. Of those who had
been thus identified with the Confederacy there was not one
whose course was not marked by dignity, prudence and a high
sense of the responsibilities of his delicate and trying position.
Fortunately for the truth of history, their record is an open
book to such as care to read it.

Upon the organization of the convention, his colleagues chose
as their president Judge Jacob Shall Yerger, a delegate from
Washington county. Than this action, no truer earnest could
have been given of the spirit and purpose with which the con-

11 Convention Journal, Appendix.

152 Mississippi Historical Society.

vention approached its appointed tasks. Born in Pennsylvania,
Judge Yerger had come South in early life, had adopted the
law as his profession and in it had attained a degree of eminence
which will associate his name for generations to come with all
that is best and noblest in the annals of the Mississippi bar. In
politics a Whig, he had been among the strongest opponents of
secession, and, as a member of the convention, had thrown the
weight of his influence and intellect in vain against the rising tide
which ultimated in the extreme expression of the doctrine of
State's rights.

It has been variously charged against this convention that it
went too far ; that it did not go far enough ; that it should have
abolished the State's constitution entirely; and that it should
have extended full political and civil rights to the freedmen.

The only prescript before that body was the proclamation
pursuant to which it had convened. This contained no refer-
ence to the future status of the negro, further than was con-
templated in the act of so "altering or amending" the constitu-
tion of the State as to restore the latter to "its constitutional
relations to the Federal Government." It was not asked in
that proclamation, it was neither required nor expected, that
Mississippi should do more than harmonize her organic law
with the altered aspect of her domestic economy.

Much has been made of Mr. Johnson's suggestion to Gover-
nor Sharkey, that it might be expedient to extend the elective
franchise to all freedmen "who can read the Constitution of the
United States, and write their names, and also to those who
own real estate valued at not less than two hundred and fifty
dollars, and pay taxes thereon." To have done this would have
been to do violence to its every conception of wisdom, propriety
and statesmanship, and the convention did not even consider
the suggestion. The closing paragraph of the President's let-
ter to Governor Sharkey is a flashlight revealing for an instant
a glimpse of radical purpose, even then assuming concrete form,
which renders paltry and absurd the plea of later "black code"
justification. Said he :

"I hope and trust that your convention will do this, and, as a con-
sequence, the Radicals, who are wild upon negro franchise, will be
completely foiled in their attempt to keep the Southern States from
renewing their relations to the Union by not accepting their senators
and representatives."

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 153

But little more than a year before Mr. Lincoln had made a
somewhat similar suggestion to Governor Hahn, of Louisiana,
but in a most careful and tentative manner. "Now," said he,
"you are about to have a convention which among other things
will probably define the elective franchise. I barely suggest,"
note the tone, "for your private consideration, whether some of
the colored people may not be let in, as for instance, the very
intelligent, and especially those who have fought gallantly in our
ranks." Yet the members of this convention held no other
views upon the subject than such as had been enunciated and
elaborated again and again, by Mr. Lincoln himself. In the
debate with Douglas, at Charleston, 111., which occurred on the
i8th of September, 1858, Mr. Lincoln had most clearly defined
his attitude, as follows: "I will say then that I am not, nor
ever have been, in favor of bringing about, in any way, the so-
cial and political equality of the white and black races," [here,
we are told in the report of the speech, he met with a response
of loud applause,] — "that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor
of making voters or furors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to
hold office, nor to intermarry with white people ; and I will say
in addition to this that there is a physical difference between
the white and black races which, I believe, will forever forbid
the two races living together on terms of social and political equality.
And, inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain to-
gether, there must be the position of superior and inferior, and
I, as much as any other man, am in favor of having the superior
position assigned to the white race."13 And yet this convention
of Southern men, amid the most trying surroundings that ever
confronted a similar body, is taken to task for the crime of
merely making Mr. Lincoln's philosophy its own.

The only obligation assumed by the men who composed the
convention of 1865, in any way touching the negro, beyond the
convening proclamation, was that involved in the undertaking
of the amnesty oath; to "abide by and faithfully support all
laws and proclamations which have been made with reference
to the emancipation of slaves." The proceedings of that body
bear cumulative testimony to the absolute acceptance by the
people of Mississippi of the unalterable and existent fact that

18 The Italics are mine.

154 Mississippi Historical Society.

the negro was no longer a slave. There was discussion of the
means whereby this freedom had been wrought ; of its bearing
upon the question of possible compensation; of the precise
terms in which the recognition of existing conditions should
be couched ; of the grounds upon which that recognition should
be technically based. But all this was academic.

There was much discussion of the probable effect of the ne-
gro's new status upon himself, upon the white population, and
upon the State in her efforts at repairing her wasted fortunes ;
of the best means of meeting the situation; of how to secure
what was best for all, for the negro no less than for the white
man. All this was practical.

On the first proposition to elicit discussion, no contrariety of
opinion was exhibited. It was that the proceedings of the con-
vention be stenographically reported and it is eminently proper
that the remarks of the delegate who had attained the highest
rank in the Confederate service, of such of the members as
had taken active part in the war, be made a portion of this
record. The speech is that of General William T. Martin, of
Adams county. He said :

"It is important for us not only that the constitution which we shall
adopt shall show the spirit of our people, but it is also important to
show by the debates the spirit in which these propositions were dis-
cussed. That constitution will go out to the world as the action of a
majority of this convention, and it is necessary to show, as these de-
bates will — by giving in full the expressions uttered on the spur of the
moment, of those representing the people of Mississippi — the feeling in
this State. It is also necessary and proper that we should show, as
was suggested by the gentleman preceding me, that it is a mistake to
suppose that in surrendering, and as a people giving our paroles, we
merely did it to gain time; and that there was still a disposition among
the people of the State of Mississippi to carry on the war against the
Northern States — against the Federal Government. I think it alsc
important, in the present crisis, that whatever can, should be done to
assure the people of the North and especially that portion of the North-
ern people disposed to be conservative and consider that we have some
rights at least in the South, to show them, and to show the Govern-
ment of the United States, also, that having first tried the logic of the
schools, and having failed in that, and having then resorted to the
sterner logic of arms, and having failed in that also, we are now hon-
estly disposed to return to our allegiance, and to make out of the
disasters that have befallen us the best we can. I think there is no
surer and better way of showing the conservatives of the North, and
the Government of the United States, that we are in earnest and that
we are sincere than by publishing the debates of this convention.

"There is no other way in which we can ascertain, with any certainty,
the views of the people of this State, whose opinions are supposed to
be represented here; and I desire that in some permanent manner
these may go abroad in the country, to show our action, and to show
that we intend to deal fairly in this matter; and that we may, for many

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 155

reasons satisfy them that we are not, while we are preparing to return
in form to our allegiance, entertaining opinions and feelings hostile to
the government of the country.""

The committee on "alterations and amendments" suggested
the "abolishing and striking out" of all sections of the con-
stitution of 1832 having reference to "slaves," and reported an
amendment in the following terms :

"That neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, otherwise than in
the punishment of crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly con-
victed, shall hereafter exist in this State; and the Legislature at its
next session, and thereafter as the public welfare may require, shall
provide by law for the protection of the person and property of the
Freedmen of the State, and guard them and the State against any
evils that may arise from their sudden emancipation."

This amendment, embodying the precise language subse-
quently incorporated in the Federal Constitution as Article
XIIL, was adopted; the only modification being the striking
out of the opening word, "That," and the substitution of the fol-
lowing: "The institution of slavery having been destroyed in
the State of Mississippi."

The substitutes offered for this amendment ranged from a
preamble reciting the fact of the war, and acknowledging spe-
cifically the constitutionality of the emancipation proclamation,
to a mere declaration that slavery had been destroyed. One
took the form of a conditional agreement upon the part of the
State, to regard the negro as free until the constitutionality
of Mr. Lincoln's proclamation should be passed upon by the
court of last resort ; while one actually proposed to make the
amendment stand "suspended and inoperative" until the accom-
plishment of the restoration of the status quo ante bellum, as re-
garded the State's Federal relations.

It is worthy of comment that the authors of these proposi-
tions were Whigs of the old school, had been bitterly opposed
to secession, and advocated consistently Mr. Lincoln's theory
of the Federal compact and the inability of a State to withdraw
from the Union. One of them was a no less distinguished dele-
gate than Judge George L. Potter, a native of Connecticut, who
defined his politics as "Whig and Union." Contemplated

14 Convention Journal, pp. 26 & 27. The words of these men consti-
tute the ablest vindication of themselves and their times; therefore I
shall accord them the privilege of once more speaking at length in their
own behalf.

156 Mississippi Historical Society.

through the perspective of thirty-six years, with the details of
the reconstruction program, as finally developed and applied,
a matter of historical record before us, it is at first difficult to
realize that such proposals could have emanated from such
men. Yet the very ingenuousness of their arguments furnishes
the amplest proof of their frankness and good faith. Judge
Potter's theory being that the State could not leave the Union,
and had never been out of it, he would not listen to the argu-
ments of expediency, touching the matter of her "^"-admis-
sion. Defining his view of the existing legal status of Missis-
sippi, he said that she was "still a State of the Union, with all
her rights and privileges under the Constitution, precisely as
she stood in the day when she was admitted, in the year 1817."
He said:

"She stands under the Constitution the co-equal of every other State
in this American Union. So regarding her, and feeling myself under
special, solemn obligations to regard and support the Constitution of
the United States — that obligation being higher and above all others —
I am not disposed to submit to any conditions imposed upon this State,
as conditions precedent to the admission of her Senators and Repre-
sentatives into the National Congress, that are not authorized by the
National Constitution * * * I admit, sir, there is a party at the North,
and I think it probable there is a large party in the Federal Congress,
who will insist upon imposing upon the State of Mississippi, through
her delegation, illegal restrictions Another of these (restrictive con-
ditions) is, that the population lately occupying the position of slaves
in this State, shall be raised, by State action, and that immediately, to
the position and dignity of equals with the white population * * *
It is a great question of party with them — their continuance in power
as a party, If the party in power desires to impose this con-
dition of free suffrage upon us, we can not avoid it by any submission
short of that. If the party in power in Congress is a Constitutional
party. — if it regards the right of the States to regulate their own
domestic concerns in their own way why, then, it will admit our dele-
gation as in times of old. What, then, do we gain, on the question of
expediency, by the policy suggested by gentlemen on the other side."

Keen as was Judge Potter's apprehension of the real merits
of the question, as regarded the probable action of the radical
element in Congress, he yet permitted the hard, practical argu-
ment of actual conditions to be overshadowed in his mind by
his devotion to the abstractions of constitutional rights.

His ideas were not those of the convention; results showed
that clearly enough. As a body, it was willing to waive ab-
stract questions, to make any reasonable concession for the
blessings of peace and the restoration of civil government. The

15 Convention Journal, pp. 56, et seq.

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 157

true sentiments of the convention, as attested by the final adop-
tion of the reported amendment, were voiced in the speech of
Wm. Yerger, a delegate from the county of Hinds.

In common with most of the leaders of the State, immedi-
ately succeeding the war, such men as Sharkey, Potter, Hum-
phreys, Amos R. Johnston and Judge J. S. Yerger, Wm. Yer-
ger was a Whig and opposed to secession. He had probably
enjoyed greater opportunities for learning the actual state of
public opinion among radical Republicans, with reference to the
future status of the negro, than any other member of the con-
vention. He had been one of the commission appointed by
Governor Clarke to seek a personal expression of Mr. Johnson's
views as to the proper course for the State to pursue to bring
about normal relations with the general government. On his
trip to Washington he had availed himself of every opportunity
of ascertaining the real temper of the people and politicians
relative to .the negro, and had formed the eminently correct
opinions which he expressed to his colleagues. He said :

"The course of argument of those who advocate this substitute
strikes me with astonishment. They seem actually to ignore the
events of the past five years — to ignore the present condition of
the people of the State, and in some dreamy, abstract revery, to in-
dulge in visions and fancies of Constitutional law and Constitutional
government, which they think ought to prevail, but which men of prac-
tical commonsense, viewing facts — stubborn facts, as they are — well
know are not attainable at this time by the people of this county."

Referring to his interview with President Johnson, he stated
that the President had advised the commissioners that the pro-
posed convention should formally, and at once, abolish slavery
by constitutional amendment. He then continued as follows :

"There was no order, there was no dictation, that we should do this,
but there was a distinct admonition that unless it was so done, so far
as the Executive was concerned, he would not consent to the restora-
tion of our members in Congress, and that we would not obtain the
strength of the administration in support of our restoration; and we
well knew that without the strength of that right arm we would be to-
tally powerless to resist the overwhelming tide of radical fanaticism
which at that time was clamoring, not for the abolition of slavery, but for
universal suffrage and the social equality of the negro."

We have here, again, the testimony of one who knew whereot
he spoke, that the "tide of radical fanaticism" was even then
rising to overwhelm the South with "universal suffrage and the
social equality of the negro ;" that it was even then — before the
assembling of a single convention or legislature whose actions

158 Mississippi Historical Society.

were to be subsequently alleged as a provoking cause — clamor-
ing for these things.

Stating that on his Washington trip he had made it his busi-
ness to ascertain Northern public sentiment as to the negro, and
declaring that he found that there were no two opinions as to
the fact of slavery being dead forever, he continued:

" * * but I did find, Mr. President, that there were two parties at the
North, parties organized, not in reference to the institution of slavery,
but in reference to the position which the Southern States should have
under the Government of the United States, and in reference to the
place which the negro should hold under the Constitution and laws.
Upon this question two parties were arrayed, and were preparing for
the struggle which is now imminent. Upon one side the Chief Justice
of the United States — supported by all the ultra radicals — though I do
not believe anything like a majority of the people — but strong in num-
bers— powerful in intellect — and vigorous in prosecuting every plan
which their fanaticism, or their opinions of right and Constitutional
law, suggest to their fertile and scheming brains. That party insists
that the Southern people, having withdrawn from the Government of
the United States, by an act of secession — although unconstitutional
and void as to the government — have estopped themselves from in-
sisting upon a return to the government, as States, except upon such
terms as may be accorded to them by the parties who have triumphed
in this contest. They insist, that for a period of time, indefinite, in its
length, the Southern States shall be kept in territorial .organization
— that they shall remain under martial law — that they shall remain
under the control of the Federal Government and Federal bayonets,
until the scheme of universal suffrage which these gentlemen have
sprung upon the country, shall have ripened into perfection; then,
having thus carried into effect the scheme, they will permit a conven-
tion in the States to be assembled — an organization of State author-
ity to take place, and a return, as states, into the Union; but not as
President Johnson proposes we shall now return; but with members of
Congress composed of white and black delegates, with equal suffrage —
with equal civil rights — with equal political rights — with equal social
standing on the part of the negro. That is their platform — and their
fixed determination is, if they have the power, to carry it into effect."1'

We have here a statement of the program in Stevens' first
bill, and practically as finally forced through Congress, of the
extremists, theorists, pseudo-philanthropists and negrophilists,
as clear as it could possibly have been made had its discerning
author been reviewing the situation after the fact, instead of
exhibiting a declaration of purpose upon the part of those who
have so persistently insisted that their action was the outgrowth
of events in the South, — the response of the nation to the acts
of Southern Legislatures. The fact is too vplain that, as Judge
Potter had declared, it was with the radicals "a great question
of party power ;" it is too patent to be denied, save by the most

18 Convention Journal, pp. 140, et seq.

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 159

purblind partisanship, and at the expense of historical truth,
that even when Judge Potter spoke, and as Judge Yerger fore-
told, it had already been decreed that the South must pass un-
der the yoke — that she must sit for a season in sackcloth and
ashes, must drink of the gall proffered in the iron chalice of
the conqueror ; and this regardless of what she did or failed to
do, whether she brought forth "fruits meet for repentance" or
held a stubborn, wayward course.

And yet Mr. Blaine tells the world that the South herself
forced the ballot into the ex-slave's hand.

Judge Yerger urged the adoption of the amendment, and
counselled the convention to discharge its duty as it saw it,
leaving to posterity the verdict upon its course.

The vote upon the adoption of the section showed eighty-
seven for the amendment, only eleven being cast against it.17

Thus had Mississippi written the opening chapter of the
record of her people upon the first and gravest problem sub-
mitted to them as the legacy of war.

In his address to the convention upon its adjournment, Judge
J. S. Yerger, its president, spoke as follows:

"There has been no assemblage in the State of Mississippi more dis-
tinguished for its urbanity, for its intelligence, for its patriotism, and
for its singleness of purpose to act for the public good and the pros-
perity of the State, than this convention. No heated partizan feeling
has been exhibited; no unbecoming recurrence to past differences of
opinion has been permitted to enter into the discussions and delibera-
tions of this body; but we have met together in a spirit of harmony and
forbearance — as I believe and trust in God this great people will come
together again — and all together, as brothers of a common land and
chiWren of our common inheritance — with a determined purpose to
cherish to the last day of our generation, and hand down to our chil-
dren, to protect and cherish forever and forever, this great form of
public liberty — the Constitution and Union of these States. * * * *
I was here, gentlemen, to witness the State of Mississippi, in the hour
of the delusion of her people, lay her hand to the destruction of the
fabric of the constitution and the Union of these States. I was a mem-
ber of that convention; I raised my voice against what I believed
to be sacrilegious wrong. It was in vain; * * * I could but bow
my head and weep o'er the appalling ruin that was spread before me,
threatening to overwhelm the State.

"I have again met the representatives of the sovereignty of the peo-
ple of Mississippi, in this convention; come together that they may,
if possible restore Mississippi to her proper and constitutional relations
with the United States, and aid in the restoration of that beautiful
form of government that they had imperilled — that great government
whose protecting influence was as a shield over this whole land, and
under whose kindly rule we had been protected in peace, prosperity and
happiness. God grant, gentlemen, that your deliberations and example

17 Convention Journal, p. 165.

160 Mississippi Historical Society.

may aid in the consummation of this result. In my conscience I do
believe that such will be their influence, and that you may return to
your constituency with the comforting conviction and consciousness
that you have done much to restore, not only peace, but peace with
harmony and prosperity, as extended as this republic."18

Thus deliberated and thus adjourned the first of those con-
ventions declared, as we have seen, to have been "little else than
consulting bodies of Confederate officers," their proceedings
marked by "ineffable folly," their acts inspired by a spirit of "ir-
reconcilable hatred of the Union." Thus its members separ-
ated, conscious of the rectitude of their purpose, honest in the
acceptance of the conditions confronting them, cherishing the
vain assurance that duty faithfully performed was sure of its
reward, and in their ears the comforting reflection of their
president, "you have done much to restore, not only peace, but
peace with harmony and prosperity."

Pursuant to a convention ordinance providing for its election
and assembling, the first Mississippi Legislature after the war
met on the third Monday of October, 1865. In the selection
of their governor and legislators, at the election on the second
of that month, the people of the State had exhibited the same
high regard for the qualities of character and conservatism
which had marked their choice of delegates to the Constitution-
al Convention. Governor Humphreys had been a life-long Whig,
and was an opponent of secession. More than this, he was not
a politician, was a man of large experience, and thoroughly
familiar, through a lifetime spent among them, with the con-
fusing and contradictory traits that enter into the composition
of the negro character.

To a large degree, this was true of the entire legislative mem-
bership ; they had all spent their lives in actual contact with the
negro. In addition to this essential qualification for the pecu-
liar duties before them, they possessed, as indeed did the entire
State, a profound sense of the gravity of their undertaking.
The personnel of the legislative committees, the nature of their
deliberations, the tone of their resolutions and reports, all fur-
nish ample evidence of this, even to one unfamiliar with the
names of the leaders of that body.

18 Convention Journal, pp. 275, et seq.

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 161

Examining the conditions under which this Legislature pro-
ceeded to the discharge of its duties — the manner of doing
which has been so bitterly denounced — we find a most anomal-
ous and trying state of affairs. The people of the State found
themselves confronted with many problems, as the result of the
revolutionary changes which had been wrought in their domes-
tic affairs, but among them all they quickly realized the tran-
scending importance of the question of how best to render ef-
fective the labor of the emancipated slave.

Down to that time the emancipation of every large body of
negroes had had as its invariable concomitant some plan for the
utilization and control of their labor as freedmen. The discus-
sion of the problem of how to secure this result had been the
rock upon which the abolitionists of England and France had
seen go down in wreck more than one scheme of emancipation,
before their efforts were crowned with success. Only in the
South was the formulation of such a plan not an incident to the
act of emancipation, but a necessity consequent upon it, and
that under circumstances which rendered the undertaking an
hundred-fold more difficult than it had ever been elsewhere.

No one had a keener appreciation of these difficulties than
Governor Humphreys, and every recommendation to the Legis-
lature bears within it the evidence of the earnest and patient
thought which he brought to their consideration. He had been
a large planter and slave owner himself, and he was profoundly
impressed with the proportions of this labor problem, for none
apprehended better than he the vast extent of its ramifications.

Not only was it true that the very life of the State depended
upon the labor of the negro, but it was no less an oppressive
truth that upon it also hinged the existence of the negro him-
self. Upon making that labor effective depended every whit as
much for the black as for the white man ; for just in proportion
to his idleness would be his pauperism, his disease, his criminal-
ity and his death. To the overshadowing importance of this
question the governor directed his first attention.

Touching, in his message, upon such matters as his well-
known attitude on the question of secession, and solemnly af-
firming his abundant knowledge — from "the unvarying profes-
sions that spring from private and public sources" — of the sin-
cerity and honesty of his people, he addressed himself to the

162 Mississippi Historical Society.

consideration of affairs uppermost in the minds of all. In
speaking of the duties before the State, he said:

"The sudden emancipation of her slaves has devolved upon her the
highest responsibilities and duties. Several hundred thousand of the
negro race, unfitted for political equality with the white race, have been
turned loose upon society; and in the guardianship she may assume
•over this race, she must deal justly with them, and protect them in
all their rights of person and prosperity. The highest degree of ele-
vation in the scale of civilization to which they are capable, morally and
intellectually, must be secured to them by their education and religious
training; but they can not be admitted to political or social equality
with the white race. [Here again was a repetition of Lincoln's solemn-
ly asserted convictions.] It is due to ourselves — to the white immigrant
invited to our shores — and it should never be forgotten— that ours is
and ever shall be a government of white men. The purity and pro-
gress of both races require that caste must be maintained, and inter-
marriage between the races be forbidden. * * * To work is the law
of God, and the only certain protection against the pauperism and
crime of both races. The negro is peculiarly adapted to the cultiva-
tion of the great staples of the South. He should be encouraged to
engage at once in their production, by assurances of protection against
the avarice, cupidity and injustice of his employer. He is free to choose
his own labor and make his own bargain. But he should be required
to choose some employment that will insure the maintenance of him-
self and family.

"On the other hand, the employer must be assured that the labor
contracted for will be specifically performed.1' The cultivation of the
great staples of the South requires continuous labor from January to
January. The planter can not venture upon their cultivation unless
the laborer is compelled to comply with his contract, — remaining and
performing his proper amount of labor, day after day, and week after
week through the whole year; and if he attempt to escape he should
be returned to his employer, and forced to work until the time for which
he has contracted has expired. By such a system of labor the welfare
and happiness of the African may be secured, the agricultural and com-
mercial prosperity of the State sustained, and^our homes again be-
come the abode of plenty."30

In addition to the message of Governor Humphreys, the
Legislature had before it the report and suggestions of the
committee appointed by the convention. The amendment for-
mally recognizing the negroes as free, also contained a manda-
tory clause requiring the Legislature, at its next and subsequent
sessions, to "provide by law for the protection and security of
the person and property of the Freedmen of the State, and guard
them and the State against any evils that may arise from their
sudden emancipation." It was deemed wise by the Convention
to delegate to a committee the work of preparing a draft of
laws for submission to the Legislature. This was accordingly
done, under an ordinance reciting the scope of the committee's

19 Note the words of General Banks, infra.

20 House Journal, pp. 16, et seq.

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 163

duties to be, "to prepare and report to the next Legislature,
for its consideration and action, such laws and changes in ex-
isting laws of this State, as to said committee may seem expe-
dient in view of the amendments to the Constitution made by
this Convention."

This committee consisted of three men, and their report was
as comprehensive as the commission given by the convention.
As their suggestions, such as were acted upon favorably, are,
in common with the general spirit of Governor Humphreys'
recommendations, to be found incorporated in the acts we are
to review, it is not necessary to discuss the report in this place.
In conformity to my purpose of showing from their own utter-
ances the spirit and temper of the men who were associated
with this legislation, I shall, however, quote from the observa-
tions submitted with their suggestions. The report reads :

"They have proceeded rather upon their own observation and know-
ledge of the nature, * * habits, capacity, conditions * * and
necessities of the two races, ***** than upon a theory or
system that might have been wise or judicious * * * under a
wholly different condition.

"Your committee have thought it best to deny to the freed-
men some ***** privileges, for the present, not from any
apprehension or sense of danger to the white population, but
from the clear conviction that such denial and restriction will be
for their present and ultimate good; in the suppression of vice,
idleness, vagrancy, ***** the promotion of industry, and the
diminution of crime and its * * consequences among themselves,
in their juvenile liberty and ignorance. ***** Their labors
propose to protect the persons, property, labor, wages and contracts of
the freedmen more promptly, fully and with more certainty than was
ever before given to the whites of this State, and to secure them
against * * frauds * and impositions.""

One of the earliest acts of the Legislature was the appoint-
ment of a "joint select committee," charged with the duty of re-
porting "such laws as may seem expedient 'for the protection
and security of the persons and property of the Freedmen of this
State,' including their social relations toward each other — that
of husband and wife and parent and child; and what laws are
necessary to make their labor available to the agricultural inter-
ests of the State, and to protect the State from the support of
minors, vagrants and paupers." To this committee were ap-
pointed the ablest and most conservative members of the two

21 Senate Journal, Appendix, pp. 14, et seq.

164 Mississippi Historical Society.

houses, and to it were referred all suggestions bearing upon
the proposed legislation.

Through all the many suggestions made by members, and the
recommendations from the governor, as likewise through the
discussions which they provoked, runs the same fixed purpose,
clear and undisguised, to grant to the freedman such measure
of privileges as he was thought justly entitled to, and capable at
that time of appreciating and exercising without abuse, and to
place such restrictions about him as to compel him to earn a
support for himself and those dependent upon him.

The men who had undertaken this task were not theorists,
nor had they gleaned from books the peculiar knowledge which
they brought to bear upon the labor which confronted them.

The war had been brought to a close, and the complete and
final manumission of the negro been generally recognized
only about six months when they entered upon the duty of
framing "expedient and proper" legislation for a people which
had been in bondage for two centuries and a half. With this
people — their habits, when unrestrained, their natural bent of
mind, their capacity for labor, under proper supervision, their
ingrained tendency to idleness and shiftlessness — these men
were familiar through years of intimate personal contact and
observation. They knew the negro to be docile, tractable, and
obedient to command; they knew him to be abundantly able,
physically, to provide from the soil a return for his own labor
and upon the investment of its owner ; they knew, also, that his
own wants were easily satisfied, and that, when left to his own
devices, he would labor, with neither thought nor care for his
future needs, only long enough to meagerly supply them ; they
knew his roving tendency ; they knew that his agreement to per-
form a given work was valueless without some means of its
enforcement; they knew that, with the negro, as with other
races, idleness begets crime, and that the negro was by nature
prone to idleness.

They had seen the negro as the realization of his new estate
broke full upon his mind; they had witnessed the occasional
instances of his remaining on his former master's land, appar-
ently but little eager to test his new found freedom in a de-
parture from the providing care which had never failed him in
sickness or in age; they had witnessed also the thousands of

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 165

instances of the hand turned back from the half-run furrow —
the plow left to rust where freedom found it ; they had seen the
plenty of the "quarters" deserted for the hunger and squalor
of the purlieus of the town ; had witnessed the escape from the
tyranny of the plantation bell's morning call to labor and to
food, to the urban privileges of idleness and want; they had
seen the thousands crowded round the army camps, subsisting
upon government's free rations, in dumb expectancy of they
knew not what ; they had seen the depravity and demoralization
and viciousness which even a brief period of a misunderstood
condition had engendered, under the fostering care of the mis-
chief-making counsels of malice and of hate.

Realizing that the immediate present demanded the applica-
tion of practical methods to the treatment of a condition fraught
with the gravest possibilities, their first concern was with the
necessity of preventing a total lapse of the labor of the State —
upon which all, including the labor itself, depended — into a gen-
eral condition of "vagrancy and pauperism, and their inevitable
concomitants, crime and misery," the initial steps to which were
even then being rapidly taken. To this end — the saving of the
negro from himself and his new-found friends — there was but
one means, that indicated by St. Paul more than eighteen hun-
dred years before, when he said, "If any will not work, neither
let him eat," — compulsory labor; its compensation assured, in-
deed, but compulsory, none the less. This was the vital, the
paramount, consideration in that juncture of this people's af-
fairs; the abstract, ethical question of determining with just what
formal garments their freedom should be clothed, was of infin-
itely less practical moment to either the black man or the white.

After the Legislature had been in session about thirty days,
Governor Humphreys sent to it a special message on the sub-
ject of legislation for the freedmen, which is another excellent
exhibit of existing conditions. He had long favored the admis-
sion to the courts of negro testimony, and took occasion to
again urge his views on the subject. Strongly as he favored
this, however, he took the same practical view that was held by
the joint committee. He spoke as follows :

"The question of admitting negro testimony for the protection of
their person or property sinks into insignificance by the side of the
other great question of guarding them and the State against the evils

1 66 Mississippi Historical Society.

that may arise from their sudden emancipation. What are the evils
that have already arisen, * * * * ? The answer is patent to all.
Vagrancy and pauperism, and their inevitable concomitants, crime and
misery, hang like a dark pall over our * * * now desolated and
ruined land.

"To the guardian care of the Freedmen's Bureau have been entrust-
ed the emancipated slaves. The civil law and the white man, outside
the Bureau, have been deprived of all jurisdiction over them. Look
around you and see the result. Idleness and vagrancy have been the
rule. Our rich and productive fields have been deserted for the filthy
garrets and sickly cellars of our towns and cities. From producers they
are converted into consumers, and, as winter approaches, their only
salvation from starvation and want is Federal rations, plunder and
pillage.""

The prime cause of trouble, he stated, lay in the administra-
tion of the Freedmen's Bureau.

The labors of the Legislature eventuated in the enactment of
four statutes having particular reference to freedmen. The
general effect of these was to confer upon them standing in all
the courts of the State ; to extend their competency as witnesses
to civil cases where party to a suit with either freedmen or white
men, and to criminal cases wherein a crime was charged to
have been committed by a white person against a negro ; to con-
fer equal personal property rights with white persons, but not
permitting them to own, rent or lease land ; to permit marriages
among them under same laws as applied to white persons, but
not permitting intermarriage with the latter; to legalize all
slave marriages, and legitimate the issue of such unions ; to
prevent their riding in same railway coaches with white people ;
to confer the right to charge white persons by affidavit with
criminal offenses against negroes, and to have the same process
and action thereon as a white person ; to provide a system of
compulsory labor.23

In considering these laws it should be borne in mind that
they were experimental in their nature, intended for immediate
application to pressing conditions, and that the convention com-
mittee's report, and legislative discussion of them, show clearly
their temporary character. They were, in short, designed to
meet conditions the speedy passing of which their framers most
devoutly prayed for. Their criticism as an attempt to circum-
vent emancipation, and work the practical and permanent re-
enslavement of the negro, is so shallow, under any fair study of

M Senate Journal, Appendix, p. 45.

23 Laws of 1865, Chapters 4-5-6 and 23, and pp. 71 and 194.

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 167

them, as to provoke one to marvel at the widespread credence
given such opinions.

In accomplishing its first object, the prevention of idleness
and pauperism by means of compulsory labor, the Legislature
deemed it wisest to temporarily provide a form of paternalism,
for such freedmen as might engage in agriculture, "by the
year," allowing an election by them between this and "irregular,
or job work." It was accordingly enacted that every freedman
should have, by the second Monday of January, 1866, and an-
nually thereafter, "a lawful home or employment." If he elected
to do "job work," he was required to have a license, in evidence
of his occupation, from the mayor, if resident in a town, and
from a member of the Board of Police, if living in the country.
If he should choose to do plantation, or other work, requiring
more than one month's service, his contract for such work must
have been in writing, and duplicate, the freedman and employer
each having a copy.

To be binding upon him this contract was required to be
attested and read to him by a beat, city or county officer, or by
two disinterested white persons of the county wherein the labor
was to be performed.24

To insure to the employer the performance of the stipulated
service, he was entitled, upon affidavit before a justice of the
peace to the fact of his legal employment of a freedman, and of
the latter's illegal desertion, to the issuance of a warrant for the
return of such freedman to his service ; the freedman being en-
titled to a summary trial, before a justice of the peace or mem-
ber of the Board of Police, of the facts alleged by the em-
ployer.25

For the enforcement of the act relative to "lawful homes or
employment" it was provided that any freedman who failed to
comply with its requirements should be deemed a vagrant,
and, on conviction, be fined not exceeding fifty dollars and im-
prisoned, in "the discretion of the court," not exceeding ten
days.26 Whenever a fine was imposed on a freedman he was
allowed five days in which to pay it. Upon his failure to do so,
it was made the duty of the sheriff to hire him out to the person

"Laws of 1865, p. 83.
" Laws of 1865, P- 84.
16 Ibid, p. 91.

168 Mississippi Historical Society.

who would pay such fine in consideration of the shortest period
of service by the prisoner. In all cases the freedman was guar-
anteed the right of appeal.

With a view to the care of freedman paupers and orphans,
and to prevent their becoming a charge upon the state, two laws
were enacted. One of these declared the existence of the same
duty among freedmen to provide for their indigent as obtained
among white people, and for such purposes required the county
Boards of Police to levy a capitation tax of one dollar on each
freedman in the county between the ages of eighteen and sixty.
The tax thus levied was to provide in the county treasury a
fund known as the "Freedman's Pauper Fund," to be dis-
bursed by the commissioners of the poor for the benefit of indi-
gent freedmen.27 The other act devolved upon the probate
court of each county the duty of apprenticing all freedmen un-
der the age of eighteen who were orphans, or whose parents
could, or would, not support them. It was directed that the
court should have "a particular care to the interest of the
minor," and that it should "be fully satisfied" that the person
to whom the minor was apprenticed was "a proper and suitable
person." When these requirements were met, the preference
was to be given to the former owner of such minor.

It is a singular perversion of fact to charge that this relation
was unprotected against abuse, and the apprentice subject to
the whims of the master. Even upon this word "master" —
used among English speaking people since the law was written
in books, to denominate one party to every apprenticeship —
have all the changes most clamorously been rung. The law
made it mandatory upon the court to exact of the master a bond
obligating him to furnish his apprentice with good and sufficient
food and clothing, with proper medical attention, to treat him
humanely, and, if under fifteen years of age, to teach him to read
and write. In the event of the desertion of an apprentice the
party entitled to his service could bring him before a justice of
the peace and have him duly remanded. The apprentice was
entitled to an appeal to the county court, which, if it considered
the cause of the desertion to have been good, could discharge
him from the indenture and enter in his favor a judgment

"Laws of 1865, p. 92.

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 169

against the master for as much as one hundred dollars. The
master was allowed, in the control of the apprentice, to inflict
"such moderate corporeal chastisement as a father or guardian
is allowed to inflict on his or her child, or ward, at common law :
provided, that in no case shall cruel or inhuman punishment be
inflicted." The privilege of apprenticing their minor children
was under this act extended to freedmen parents.28

Certain privileges were denied freedmen, and certain punish-
ments affixed to certain acts when committed by them. They
were not permitted to keep or carry firearms, except under li-
cense granted them in the discretion of the Board of Police,
without cost. It was also enacted that "any freedman commit-
ting riots, routs, affrays, trespasses, malicious mischief, cruel
treatment to animals, seditious speeches, insulting gestures,
language or acts, assaults on any person, disturbances of the
peace, exercising the functions of a minister of the gospel with-
out a license from some regularly organized church, vending
spirituous or intoxicating liquors," should be fined not less than
ten, nor more than one hundred dollars, and might be imprison-
ed, in the court's discretion, not exceeding thirty days. The
laws touching "crimes and misdemeanors committed by slaves,
free negroes and mulattoes" were "declared to be in full force
and effect against freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes," ex-
cept as "the mode and manner of trial and punishment" had
been altered by law.29

Such were Mississippi's first statutes in reference to freed-
men— the Draconian code which called down upon her devoted
head the "righteous wrath" of "outraged Northern sentiment."

With very few exceptions the discussion by Northern politi-
cal writers of the reconstruction acts and the fourteenth and
fifteenth amendments have taken the form of a defense — based
upon the alleged spirit of the Southern conventions and legis-
latures of 1865. The real motives behind these acts of the
dominant party — a desire for punishment and vengeance, an
effort to perpetuate its power through a large and reliable ac-
cession of suffragists, and the emotional promptings of senti-

28 Laws of 1865, pp. 86, et seq.
28 Laws of 1865, pp. 165, et seq.

170 Mississippi Historical Society.

mental philanthrophy — have occasionally been proclaimed. Mr.
Elaine, as was most natural, in his partisan effort to justify the
radical action in which he aided and abetted, upon the ground of
a necessity forced upon his party by the South, adopted the
favorite attitude, though in doing so he has led himself into
some singular inconsistencies.

He says, in discussing the rights and benefits which, in his
opinion, should have been conferred instanter upon the freed-
men:

"In view of these facts the course of the newly organized Legislatures
was watched with deep and jealous interest. It was in their power
to repair, in large degree, the blunders of policy — nay, the crimes
against human rights — which the Reconstruction Conventions had abet-
ted if not committed. The membership of the Legislatures in all the
States was composed wholly of those who, either in the military or
civil service, had aided the Rebellion. If in such an organization a
spirit of moderation and justice should be shown, if consideration
should be exhibited for the negro, even so far as to assure to him the
inherent rights of human nature, a deep impression would be made
on the conscience and the public opinion of the North. * * * *

"As soon as the Southern Legislatures assembled, it was made evi-
dent that their members disregarded, and even derided, the opinion of
those who had conquered the Rebellion and held control of the Con-
gress of the United States. If the Southern men had intended, as
their one special and desirable aim, to inflame the public opinion of
the North against them, they would have proceeded precisely as they
did. They treated the negro, according to a vicious phrase which had
at one time wide currency, 'as possessing no rights which a white
man was bound to respect.' Assent to the Thirteenth Amendment to
the Constitution by the Southern States was but a gross deception so
long as they accompanied it with legislation which practically deprived
the negro of every trace of liberty. * * * * ^* The truth was. that
his liberty was merely of form and not of facC and the slavery which
was abolished by the organic law of a Nation was now to be revived
by the enactments of a State."80

He dwells, too, upon the legal terms, "master," "mistress,"
and "servant," employed in these statutes, and declares that
"under the operation of the laws a form of servitude was re-es-
tablished, more heartless and more cruel than the slavery which
had been abolished." For a full-fledged abolitionist, this is
quite a concession — that anything could be "more heartless and
more cruel" than the inhuman institution peculiar to the South.

Discussing Mississippi's "black code," he adjudges it "bad
enough to stir the indignation of every lover of justice." "The
Legislature," he proceeds, "had enacted a law that 'if the laborer
shall quit the service of the employer before the expiration of

30 Twenty Years of Congress, Vol. II., pp. 93, et seq.

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 171

his term of service without just cause, he shall forfeit his wages
for that year up to the time of quitting.' "

This provision seems to have impressed itself upon our ami-
able commentator as peculiarly heinous, which evidences his
characteristically studied effort at doing the thing against
which, as we have seen, Lieber enjoins — endeavoring to make
the worst of the words and actions of one's neighbors. It had
not even been thought necessary to specially advert to this
clause,31 inasmuch as the most that could be made of it was that
it merely worked a forfeiture of the consideration of a contract
for a failure to make good the contract's stipulations — some-
thing, it may be assumed, not wholly unknown, even to the
highly moral state of Maine.

He quotes the clause of the act relative to yearly contracts
for plantation work which provides, as a means of enforcing it,
as mentioned above, that the deserting laborer might be re-
turned to service by process of law, being, however, guaranteed
a summary trial of the facts alleged by the employer, and makes
it the occasion of a vicious thrust at Southern justice. Says he :
"It requires little familiarity with Southern administration of
justice between a white man and a negro to know that such
appeal (for summary trial) was always worse than fruitless, and
that its only effect, if attempted, would be to secure even harsher
treatment than if the appeal had not been made."

Such flings may have been calculated to once evoke applause
in some quarters, but their lack of the element of veracity, es-
sential to every honest argument, deprives them of value as
comments upon legislative enactments.

His concluding observation is :

"Justice was defied, and injustice incorporated as the very spirit
of the laws. It was altogether a shameless proclamation of indecent
wrong on the part of the Legislature of Mississippi."32

Still laying the foundation for later charges that the South
was herself responsible for the pains inflicted upon her, Mr.
Elaine again indulges himself at the expense of the general
subject of her legislation. He says:

"These laws with all their wrong (even a stronger word might be em-
ployed), were to become, and were, indeed, already an integral part of

31 Laws of 1865, p. 84.

82 Twenty Years of Congress, Vol. II., pp. 100 and 101.

172 Mississippi Historical Society.

the reconstruction scheme which President Johnson had devised and
proclaimed. Whoever assented to the President's plan of reconstruc-
tion assented to these laws, and, beyond that, assented to the full right
of the rebellious States to continue legislation of this odious type."

Here is developed his general line of defense; to first make
these laws seem as repugnant, cruel and unjustifiable as possible,
and then associate them with the plan of reconstruction which
it was his endeavor to prove chimerical and impossible, having
therefore to be supplanted by one more "practical." Not for
an instant losing sight of his objective, the demonstration of the
devolution upon his party, through Southern perverseness and
turpitude, of the duty of saving the negro from the criminal
machinations of his arch enemy — his former master — he again
engages the congenial task:

"It was at once seen that if the party which had insisted upon the
emancipation of the slave as a final condition of peace, should now
abandon him to his fate, and turn him over to the anger and hate of
the class from whose ownership he had been freed, it would countenance
and commit an act of far greater wrong than was designed by the most
malignant persecutor of the race in any of the Southern States.
When the Congress of the United States, acting independently
of the executive power of the nation, decreed emancipation by
amending the Constitution, it solemnly pledged itself, with all
its power, to give protection to the emancipated at whatever cost
and at whatever sacrifice. No man could read the laws which have
been here briefly reviewed without seeing and realizing that, if the
negro was to be deprived of the protecting power of the nation that
had set him free, he had better at once be remanded to slavery, and to
,that form of protection which cupidity, if not humanity, would al-
ways inspire." What was done by the South at that time, he says, was
"done with a fixed and merciless determination that the gracious act
of emancipation should not bring amelioration to the colored race,
and that the pseudo philanthrophy, as they regarded the anti-slavery
feeling in the North, should be brought into contempt before the
world."3*

Through all the pages of his argument — an argument by no
means free of unseemly gasconade, when he institutes com-
parisons between the North and South, and descending at times
to the low plane of pamphleteering abuse — he consistently
pursues his purpose. Discussing the amended Freedmen's Bu-
reau act, a measure which required, as he admits, "potent per-
suasion, reinforced by the severest exercise of party discipline,"
to make possible its forced passage over Mr. Johnson's veto —
an act which applied only to the still "rebellious States," and
not to similar conditions of legislation in others (the existence

** Twenty Years of Congress, Vol. II., pp. 105 and 106.

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 173

of which will presently be shown), a measure which, even in
that Congress, as he also admits, "had lost, under discussion,
much of the popularity which attended its first introduction,"
the skeleton is again brought forth, and its bones made to rat-
tle once more. Says he, half apologetically, half heroically :

"In a time of peace these provisions seemed extraordinary, but the
condition of affairs, in the judgment of leading Republican statesmen,
justified their enactment. The Thirteenth Amendment * * * had
made every negro a free man. The Southern States had responded to
this Act of National authority by enacting a series of laws which really
introduced, as has already been shown, a new, offensive and most op-
pressive form of servitude. Thus not only was rank injustice contem-
plated by the States lately in rebellion, but they conveyed also an in-
sulting challenge to the authority of the Nation."34

The grave fault with Mr. Blaine, and writers of his class, even
granting them perfect honesty of expression, lies in their failure
to apprehend the real motives of the Southern people — the real
object sought to be accomplished by the legislation upon which
they animadvert.

The South was preoccupied with the effort to avert a still
further disaster to her material resources, and, at the moment,
this effort took the shape of legislation, directed solely to one
object, in so far as it concerned the freedman, the utilization of
his labor, to his own, no less than the country's, salvation.

The defeat of the Southern armies was a fact not more uni-
versally accepted than was the additional and consequent fact,
that the negro was free ; "free," as Governor Sharkey expressed
it, "by the fortunes of war, free by the proclamation, free by
common consent, free practically as well as theoretically."

No question of freedom confronted or disturbed Mississippi's
Legislature; with that body the sole purpose was to prevent
lawlessness and idleness, and its vagrancy and compulsory
labor statutes constituted simply an answer to a demand for the
prompt application of a radical remedy to a dangerous disease.

These writers ignore any discussion proper to the practical
domain of a domestic economy in which the question of labor
held the place of undisputed primacy, and, invading with elo-
quent denunciation the altogether irrelevant fields of ethics and
philanthrophy, thunder on abstract questions of social and civil
rights and wrongs. While Mr. Sumner was filling forty-one

34 Twenty Years of Congress, Vol. II., p. 166.

174 Mississippi Historical Society.

columns of the Congressional Globe with a sublimated abstrac-
tion attempting to demonstrate the eminent fitness of the negro
for the ballot, and his "right" to its exercise, the South was ab-
sorbed in the question of bread.

These statutes must be considered only in the light of what
they were; attempts upon Mississippi's part, not to rob the
negro of some abstract "right," not to reenslave him, but to
render immediately available and reliable his labor, for his own
as well as the public good, at a time when it could not otherwise
be commanded or relied upon. Instead of going into hysterics
and making a too liberal and indiscriminate use of such terms
as "outrage" and "shame," the mind should be calmed to a
consideration of the very practical and very simple questions of
their necessity and expediency, in view of the end desired and
the conditions then obtaining.

Only occasionally does Mr. Elaine touch even the border line
of the real question confronting Mississippi and the South, and
when he does, it is to speak of the "visible means of support"
possessed by the negro, as being "his strong arms and his wil-
lingness to work," which brings us to a consideration of the at-
titude of the freedmen of Mississippi at the time of the enact-
ment of these laws.

It has been suggested above that a comparison might be
instituted between Mississippi's freedmen statutes and those of
other peoples "similarly situated." Such an attempt must of
necessity prove a failure through sheer inability to discover in
history conditions constituting the parallel. This truth is essen-
tially corollary to the mere historical fact that no large body of
negroes had ever been manumitted under circumstances even
approaching those attendant upon the emancipation of the Afri-
can race in the Southern United States. In Haiti, we see it re-
sultant upon the bloody insurrections of Toussaint Louver-
ture and Dessalines, rendered successful through English as-
sistance and the French Revolution. For their government as
freedmen, we witness the codes of the barbarous autocracy of
the "Black Napoleon" and his successors. In the islands of the
French West Indies and Bourbon, we have it finally accom-
plished after the vacillating and contradictory policies of fifty-

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 175

eight years of discussion following the first timid suggestion of
the Assembly of 1790; accompanied by laws and orders and de-
crees laboriously elaborated during a period of many years. In
the English dependencies we see it worked out through the
sixty-six articles of the Emancipation Bill of 1833, providing
^20,000,000 of indemnity to former owners, and a system of
graduated apprenticeships extending over periods of five and
seven years. In the Northern and Eastern States of the Union,
as a rule, slavery died a natural death, through unfavorable
economic conditions; but howsoever emancipation eventuated,
it came with the accompaniment of severe and discriminating
laws, enacted in the midst of profound peace and quiet, and in
the exercise by each State of the undisputed right to regulate
its own domestic affairs in its own discretion, free of outside
interference or control. It came to Mississippi and the South,
through the sudden overthrow of long established laws and
institutions, in the violence of the bloodiest war of modern
times, working, through extraneous influences and revolution-
ary methods, the temporary destruction of States themselves.

How idle then, to attempt the establishing of parallels — the
instituting of comparisons !

Down to that day, the law which had said to the slave : "Here
is your freedom," had said to the freedman, "Here also are the
conditions under which, for a time, at least, your liberty is re-
strained." In the South, he was told, not only that he was free
— free without condition or constraint — but that he was an
equal and a brother; that he had been the subject of half a cen-
tury of discord and four years of war ; that he was still the cen-
tre of the tragic stage whereon his freedom had been wrought.
By deeds no less than words, he was given to understand that
he was the protege of the nation, the object of its solicitude and
laws. He was made to believe that his only enemy was his
former master, his only friend the conqueror. He saw his mas-
ter well nigh a mendicant, where he had once been a lord — a
suppliant, where he was wont to command ; and in the presence
of armed soldiers of his race, clothed with powers and privi-
leges, associated in his mind only with superiority, he was fur-
nished the visible symbol of his own simultaneous exaltation.
He was given his former master's land to work, and led to be-
lieve that to work for that master was but to perpetuate his

176 Mississippi Historical Society.

bondage ; while the belief that the master's land was to be par-
celed amongst the slaves was allowed to "take possession of
his mind. He was made the spoiled pet of misdirected philan-
thropy— the ignorant tool of political hate.

For one who is familiar with the negro, it is easy to appre-
ciate the inevitable effect upon him of a procedure so ineffably
foolish. It worked the state of temporary demoralization which
Governor Humphreys and the convention committee so fre-
quently described and directed attention to. It is not, however,
intended to adduce such testimony as could be attacked as
theirs would be, but rather to go to sources unimpeachable
upon any such ground as partiality to the South.

Among the first resolutions offered in the Constitutional
Convention was one bearing upon the demoralizing effect
upon the freedmen of the State of the presence of negro troops.
The resolution was directed to securing an inquiry into the ad-
visability of "memorializing the President of the United States
on the subject of garrisoning our towns with negro troops, set-
ting forth the * * * demoralizing influence produced upon
the recently freed blacks of the State, and the propriety of ask-
ing the President if it shall be necessary to continue the armed
garrisons in the State, that said garrisons may consist of white
troops and not of freed blacks." This was in August, 1865.
In November and December of that year General Grant made
the trip of investigation to the South upon which he based his
memorable report. How nearly, though as should be expected,
in mild and guarded terms, this report confirmed the truth of
Governor Humphreys' statements of labor and general condi-
tions, an extract will suffice to show. He said :

"There is such universal acquiescence in the authority of the general
government throughout the portions of country visited by me, that the
mere presence of a military force, without regard to numbers, is suffi-
cient to maintain order."

General Grant did not visit Mississippi on this trip, but his
description of general conditions, as he saw them, is peculiarly
applicable to this State. He continued :

"The good of the country and economy, require that the force kept
in the interior, where there are many freedmen (elsewhere in the
Southern States than at forts upon the seacoast no force is necessary),
should all be white troops. The reasons for this are obvious, without
mentioning many of them. The presence of black troops, lately slaves,
demoralizes labor, both by their advice and by furnishing in their

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 177

camps a resort for the freedmen for long distances around * * * *,
and the late slave seems to be imbued with the idea that the property
of his late master should, by right, belong to him, or at least should
have no protection from the colored soldier. There is danger of colli-
sions being brought on by such causes. My observations lead me to
the conclusion that the citizens of the Southern States are anxious to
return to self-government, within the Union, as soon as possible;
that whilst reconstructing they want and require protection from the
government; that they are in earnest in wishing to do what they think
is required by the government, not humiliating to them as citizens, and
that if such a course were pointed out they would pursue it in good
faith."

"Such a course" had been "pointed out" by Mr. Johnson and
Mr. Seward, and was pursued "in good faith."

****** «jn some instances," he continued, and he might
well have said in well nigh all, "I am sorry to say, the freedman's
mind does not seem to be disabused of the idea that a freedman has
the right to live without care or provision for the future. The effect
of the belief in division of lands35 is idleness and accumulation in camps,
towns and cities. In such cases I think it will be found that vice and
disease will tend to the extermination, or great reduction, of the col-
ored race."88

That such a report, from such a source, of conditions as they
actually existed, touching the attitude of the freedmen, signally
failed to comport with the radical idea of conditions as they
should exist, in order to justify the radical conception of their
proper treatment, there is abundant evidence. Mr. Sumner
characterized the transmission of this report to the Senate as a
"white-washing" scheme upon the President's part, and it suited
the purposes of the Senate's leaders to accept, as a revelation
from on high, the accompanying, and radically contradictory,
report, submitted to the President by that very extraordinary
individual, Mr. Carl Schurz, in preference to this from the Lieu-
tenant General of the army. That each saw fit later, in the ex-
igencies of party politics, to double on his tracks, has no bear-
ing whatever upon the relative claims of the two reports to
truthful presentation of the freedman-labor conditions con-
fronting Mississippi and the South in the year 1865.

In commenting upon the legislation of 1865, the author of a
recent work — a work absolutely unbiased in its treatment of
conditions — has this to say:

"However, something should be said in explanation of these meas-
ures. The sudden emancipation of the slave population, and the too

35 The reference was to the prevalent belief that the land of the late
slave owners was to be apportioned to the late slaves.
** Senate Executive Documents No. 2, p. 106, 3Qth Congress, ist Session.

178 Mississippi Historical Society.

generous course of the government in furnishing them with the means
of subsistence during their idleness, not only deranged the labor sys-
tem of the South, but demoralized the colored laborers to such a de-
gree that to the planters of the State in 1865 the outlook was disheart-
ening. The freedman was made to believe that liberty meant license,
that as he had been freed from slavery by a powerful government he
would also be clothed and fed by it whether he chose to labor or not.
He was told by unscrupulous Freedmen's Bureau agents and negro
soldiers that he ought not to work for his former master for any
promise of compensation, that his freedom was not secure so long as
he remained on the old plantation, and that the government in due
time expected to confiscate the land of the late masters and divide it
up among the slaves. As a result, the freedmen left the plantations
and moved to the towns or military camps, refusing to make contracts
or to fulfill them when made. The amount of robbery and larceny
was alarming. The farmer's swine were stolen for pork, his cows were
penned in the woods and milked, and his barns and cotton houses were
broken open.

"If he was fortunate enough to procure laborers to plant his fields,
he had no assurance that they would remain with him until the crop
was harvested. In fact, it was almost certain that they would not. *
*********** The condition of things .seemed to de-
mand the immediate adoption of measures to check the demoraliza-
tion of the freedmen ,and compel them to labor. Laws were passed,
most of which, when impartially enforced, as they generally were, did
not work injustice to the negro. Their purpose was to force him to
cease his roving and become a producer."87

In speaking of the influx of Northern men shortly after the
war, attracted to the State by the prospect of realizing fortunes
from cotton planting, the same author tells us:

"The belief was general among the Northern settlers, that they could,
by the introduction of scientific methods, revolutionize cotton planting.
The impression also existed that in view of their relations to the negro
race, free negro labor could be made to yield greater returns than
where Southern whites were the employers. This, however, did not
prove to be true. The remorseless energy and thrift of the Northern
planter, and the exacting nature of the service which he demanded, did
not appeal to the slow-going freedman, who was accustomed to the
patience and forbearance of the Southerner. None of the planters
were so quick to declaim upon the unreliability of negro labor as those
who had helped to emancipate the negro."88

He says that Governor Andrews, of Massachusetts, of course
not as an immigrant, however, was reputed to have lost largely,
and to have attributed his failure "to negro labor."

Touching the freedman's labor, even the testimony of Mr.
Elaine is not without some value. It is at least amusing. He
says:

"A belief was prevalent in the North that great profit might be de-
rived from the cotton culture, and that with the assured sympathy of

"Reconstruction in Mississippi, Garner, p. 118.
88 Reconstruction in Mississippi, p. 136, and note.

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 179

the colored men they would be able to command the requisite labor
more readily than the old slave masters. As a mere business enter-
prise cotton-growing at that period, except in a very few instances,
proved to be unprofitable. The complete disorganization of labor
throughout the South, consequent upon emancipation, had embarrassed
production and added greatly to its cost. It would inevitably require
time to build up a labor system based on the new relation of the
negro to the white race, and it was the misfortune of the Northern men
to embark on their venture at the time of all others when it was least
likely to prove remunerative."

In consideration of even so small an admission as "the com-
plete demoralization of labor," one is almost tempted to forego
any allusion to the touching reference to the freedman's "strong
arms and willingness to work," in discussing Southern compul-
sory labor laws.39

Just here we are treated to a suggestion of the compensating
feature to these gentlemen, of the failure of their mission, "as a
mere business enterprise." "But these men," we are told,
"though pecuniarily unsuccessful, quickly formed relations of
kindliness and friendship with the negro race. They addressed
them in different tone, treated them in a different manner, from
that which they had been accustomed in the past to receive from
the white race, and it was natural that a feeling of friendship
should grow up between the liberated and those whom they
regarded as liberators."*0

Though having his confidence thus grossly abused by the
freedmen, through the "complete disorganization of labor,"
the Northern cotton planter, through the incidental establish-
ment of these "relations of kindliness," and the complete re-
organization of labor into voters, was enabled, a little later, to
secure ample amends in staunch and faithful service at the
polls.

The most superficial acquaintance with the history of the ad-
ministration of the Freedmen's Bureau in Mississippi would
fully satisfy any unprejudiced mind as to the utter demoraliza-
tion of the labor of the State, as well as of the necessity for
compulsory labor laws. Garner quotes the report of the Sec-
retary of War to show that Grant had as camp followers, at the
fall of Vicksburg, some fifty thousand homeless, straggling ne-
groes. In the attempt to rid the army of such an incubus, re-
sort was had to the plan of settling the freedmen on the confis-
cated plantations along the Mississippi river. In carrying out
this plan the Federal officers soon realized the necessity of

89 P. 98.

40 Twenty Years of Congress, Vol. II., p. 471.

i8o Mississippi Historical Society.

adopting and enforcing the most stringent regulations, with
penalties for disobedience. As also shown by Mr. Garner,
the visits of negro troops to these plantations were interdicted,
and the freedmen forbidden to leave them. Ten hours daily
"faithful and honest" labor was exacted, with a forfeiture of
one-half their monthly wages for "indolence, insolence and
disobedience," while "in case of stubbornness the offender was
to be turned over to the provost marshall."*1

After the establishment of the bureau upon a working basis,
even greater difficulties were encountered by its chief officials.
The same authority tells us :

"The freedmen were advised to remain at home, but the advice was
not generally taken. They congregated in the larger towns to such
an extent that it became necessary in some instances to order them
back to the plantations by military force. Thus at Columbus the
commander issued an order reciting that freedmen in great numbers
were 'revelling in idleness/ and that they must 'retire to their home^
or seek employment elsewhere.' They were given ten days to find
employment. They were ordered out of Natchez in a similar manner.
In August, 1866, all negroes in Vicksburg without visible means of
employment were informed by General Wood that they must leave at
once. In June, 1865, General Osterhaus ordered that vagrancy among
the negroes must not be permitted, that they must be put to work,
and the issue of rations 'closely watched.' "

We are further told that:

"During the summer of 1865, 182,899 rations were furnished to freed-
men in Mississippi. They were alleged to be in destitute circumstances,
although the commissioner says in his report of December i, 1865,
that no necessity existed why a single freedroan should be out of em-
ployment, and that 50,000 more laborers could be profitably employed
if they could be obtained."

Mr. Garner adds still further:

"No complaint was more general among the whites than that the
bureau encouraged the negroes in their idleness by taking them under
its care and dispensing rations to them. ******* it WJH
be remembered that the freedmen for the most part refused to make
contracts for the year 1866, in the belief that the lands were to be dis-
tributed among them. Colonel Thomas issued circular after circular
admonishing the negroe's that complaints were being made to him that
they could not be induced to labor, and that as laborers they were un-
reliable. In order to encourage them to seek employment, he offered
to furnish free transportation to any freedman who found it necessary
to go to another part of the State in order to find employment."

Mr. Garner quotes the New York Times, Feb. 4, 1866, as au-
thority for the statement that "when the Fifty-fifth United
States Colored Infantry was mustered out at Jackson in Febru-

41 Reconstruction in Mississippi, p. 253.

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 181

ary, 1866, not one of them could be induced to enter into a
labor contract ;" and the Herald, of October 2, 1865, as contain-
ing a statement from "a Northern traveler" that "an intelligent
freedman in Mississippi told him that he considered no man
free who had to work for a living."

Turning again to the bureau, we are told that Colonel
Thomas reminded the freedmen once more, in January, 1866,
"of the necessity of entering into contracts for the ensuing
year, informed them that he had received many complaints
charging them with not living up to their contracts, but work-
ing as they pleased, and deserting their crops when they knew
that the employer would lose all. 'The time has come/ he
said, 'when you must contract for another year's labor. I wish
to impress upon you the importance of doing this at once. You
know that if a crop of cotton is raised, the work must be be-
gun soon, and hands employed for the year/ Continuing, he
said, 'I hope you are all convinced that you are not to receive
property of any kind from the government, and that you must
labor for what you get like other people. As the representa-
tive of the government, I tell you that your conduct is very
foolish, and your refusal to work is used by your enemies to
your injury/ He told them that the vagrant laws were right
in principle, and he could not ask the civil authorities to allow
freedmen to remain idle and depend for their subsistence upon
begging or stealing. In regard to the professed fear of en-
tering into written contracts, he said: "Some of you have the
absurd notion that if you put your hands to a contract you
will somehow be made slaves. This is all nonsense, made up
by some foolish, wicked person. Your danger lies exactly in
the other direction. If you do not have some occupation, you
will be treated as vagrants, and made to labor in the public
works/ "

Mr. Garner says that

"Colonel Thomas' administration was marked by numerous conflicts
between the military and civil authorities, and his course was the
subject of constant complaints by the whites." His successor seemed
a more capable man, gave general satisfaction, and "reported that the
whites were 'acting nobler than could be expected of them.' "

Speaking of the investigation of the conduct of the bureau
by Generals Steadman and Fullerton, special commissioners,
Mr. Garner says :

182 Mississippi Historical Society.

"They reported that only here and there had the bureau accom-
plished any good. The chief objection, they said, was not due to the
conduct of the higher officials, but to the subordinates, 'who had the
idea that the bureau was established simply for the freedmen.' ""

This was Governor Humphreys' position, he going further,
however, and saying that the bureau had not only done no
good, but had done positive and serious harm. In a message
to the Legislature he referred to the bureau, under its first ad-
ministration, as "this black incubus." He said that many of the
officers connected with it were "gentlemen of honor and in-
tegrity, but they seem incapable of protecting the rights and
property of the white man, against the villainies of the vile and
vicious with whom they are associated."

The trouble with the administration of the bureau in Missis-
sippi was the same as that which afflicted the entire scheme of
Federal legislation for the freedman. It was an attempted ap-
plication of theories evolved from the ideas of philanthropists
and doctrinaires, as to what was "right," to a people and con-
dition for which the plan adopted was most chimerical. Though
refusing to permit the State to put into execution her plan of
compulsory labor, the bureau officials yet admitted the sound-
ness of its principles, and sought to accomplish its ends through
the medium of threats of resorting to it, coupled with the use
of "circular letters" of supplication and objurgation. These
circulars addressed the freedmen in terms such as Napoleon
might have used to his legions in the shadow of the Pyramids.
They told him that the eyes of the country were upon him, im-
plored him to shun vice and wickedness ; advised him to make
contracts and work; told him that he should lead an upright
life, "observe the sanctity of the marriage relation" and "re-
gard his contracts and obligations as sacred." These were cir-
culated through agents and colored ministers; they were pre-
pared in the office of the head of the bureau, while the State
swarmed with subordinates spreading through personal contact
the vicious ideas against which the circulars warned.

When Major General Banks inaugurated, in 1863, his system
of labor in Louisiana, for which he was taken to task by his own
section, he encountered the same conditions that existed in Mis-
sissippi in 1865, and for a long while afterwards. In a defen-

** Reconstruction in Mississippi, pp. 256, 259, 261, 262, 266, 267, 268.

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 183

sive address, at Boston, October 30, 1864, he refers to the freed-
men, as clustering "about the military posts and garrisons, com-
ing in from the surrounding States, without shelter, food,
clothing, employment, or means of support." He further says :

"Their condition was that of abject misery. Suffering, disease and
death were seen everywhere. * * * * * the support of the people,
which was dependent upon the cultivation of the soil, considerations of
public health, and the preservation of the negroes themselves, re-
quired that they should separate, rather than be concentrated at mili-
tary posts. The only method of doing this was to give them employ-
ment."

There is additional testimony to the conditions which pro-
voked the legislation of 1865, which should be introduced in this
discussion of those laws. It does not bear directly upon that
year, but its competency cannot be challenged, for it is an ex-
hibit of the continuance of those conditions — of their projection
into later years.

When the Constitutional Convention of 1868 assembled, with
its personnel as contemplated by the authority convening it, it
at once proceeded to take such action as comported with the
character of its membership. One of its first acts indicated the
conception of its province entertained by its members. This
was the adoption of a resolution to appoint a committee to con-
sider "the destitute condition of a large number of the citizens
of this State, and the most appropriate means of a present and
permanent relief to the same." In the discharge of its duties
that committee submitted a report from which the following
extracts are taken:

"They * * * find that there exists, at this time, nearly all over this
State, an alarming state of destitution among the laboring classes, and
to some extent, among other persons, strangers to labor and economy."

This was more than three years after the close of the war.
We are not informed of the method observed in differentiating
between the destitute "laboring classes" and the destitute
"strangers to labor," — they were represented as in equal need of
"the permanent relief of the State."

"From a careful investigation of this subject, we have been induced
to set down the number of the destitute and suffering at thirty thou-
sand. ***** it becomes us in the discharge of our duty, to
point out some present and permanent mode of relief for this truly
alarming condition of the destitute citizens of this State. This is by
no means an easy task, and has caused us much serious thought and
reflection.

184 Mississippi Historical Society.

"But after listening to many suggestions from different persons in
and out of this Convention, we have thought best to recommend the
following plan of present relief as the best we can devise, to wit:
That the Sheriffs of the several counties in this State be authorized
by this Convention to hold, subject to the order of a commissioner to
be appointed by this Convention for said counties, the poll-tax col-
lected or to be collected by said Sheriffs, to be applied by said com-
missioners to the relief of destitute persons in their respective counties,
requiring of said persons, if able-bodied, to work on the public roads,
or some other public works of the county, * * * * *"43

In response to the presentation of this report, recognized at
once as a mere pilfering scheme, the Commanding General of
the 4th Military District stated that the "subject of destitu-
tion" had received his "careful consideration," that he consid-
ered the committee's estimate as "much too great," and that
he was able to relieve such suffering as might actually exist.
The reply he ordered made the committee was accompanied by
reports to him from his subordinate investigating officers, sub-
mitted with this observation:

"It will be seen from the accompaning reports that the demand for
labor exceeds the supply. While this is the case, it is not believed
that any great degree of suffering can exist among the laboring
classes. It will be seen from the accompanying order that transporta-
tion is furnished to laborers unable to procure employment, to points
where their services are in demand. It may not be out of place to
remark here that at this time letters are constantly received requesting
aid in hiring laborers; and five hundred laborers and their families
could this day secure employment at the office of the Sub-Assistant
Commissioner of the Bureau in this city (Vicksburg). * * * * With
these convictions the Commanding General deems it inexpedient to
divert so large an amount of the revenue of this State as that derived
from the poll-tax, to the subject specified in your resolution."

Lieutenant Williams reported:

"The amount and generality of the destitute has been very much
exaggerated, even in Washington county, and I have no doubt that is
the poorest county in the State to-day, as far as their ability to pro-
vide for the destitute is concerned."

A circular from the Assistant Commissioner was also ap-
pended, containing this admonition, still deemed necessary by
that official on January 25, 1868:

"All freedmen who are laboring under the delusion that lands will
be furnished them by confiscation or otherwise, are warned that this
is a mistaken idea. The only way in which they can obtain land is by
purchase, like other people, or by locating upon the public domain."

43 Convention Journal, p. 157.

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone, 185

Colonel Scully reported, after a tour of inspection in the
counties along the Yazoo river :

"The freedmen are in a destitute condition, mainly because they will
not hire out to farmers and planters — a great number of the latter re-
quiring their services. The reasons assigned for this are that wages
are too low, ***********. Also, they, the freedmen,
insist that upon the adjournment of the Convention, at Jackson, the
lands in this State will be divided out amongst them, and that they can
live until then. My belief is that if the freedmen will work, they can
find employment, food and clothing for the present year. I saw no
destitution among the planters or people generally, and believe that
the many reports of such existing are greatly exaggerated."

Lieutenant Barber reported, from a trip to Grenada, through
the central portion of the State :

"As a general thing, the freedmen have entered into contracts for the
present season, although I found more idlers and dissatisfaction among
the laborers there than at any other point on my route. This is not
due, however, to any lack of employment, for I was informed of several
persons, from Tennessee and points in Mississippi, having visited
Grenada for the purpose of procuring laborers, and offering excellent
terms, without being able to secure a single hand. The sub-Assistant
Commissioner in charge, reports some destitution among the old and
infirm, and among some women and children, who have been deserted
by their husbands and fathers. There is a considerable number of the
latter class reported in the vicinity of Grenada."*4

So much for the labor conditions of the State, — the attitude
of the freedman towards the question of labor, — his relation to
it, as he viewed it in 1865 ; and even at a later date.

This grave question was the mainspring of the action of the
Legislature of 1865. Whether or not the laws of that body
were justified by the conditions then confronting the State, is a
matter which, the facts having been reviewed for his benefit,
may be submitted to the candid judgment of the reader.

It has been suggested that additional- considerations prompt-
ed some of Mississippi's legislation of this memorable year. So
distinguished an authority as Hon. Hilary A. Herbert thus re-
fers to certain of these acts:

"Acts were also passed * * * forbidding to negroes the use of
firearms. * * * * Recollections of the negro insurrection, headed
by Nat Turner, coupled with predictions long ago made by Mr. Cal-
houn, and frequently by others during and preceding the Civil Wai-,
had inspired in the South a very general fear that, in favoring locali-
ties, the suddenly emancipated slaves might attempt to repeat the
massacres of San Domingo."

44 Convention Journal, pp. 223, 224, 225, 226, 227.

i86 Mississippi Historical Society.

He also says :

"There was little chance for moderation in public sentiment * * *
when Southern. people, in constant dread, were watching and guarding
against insurrection * *')41

The suggestion that any of Mississippi's laws were influenced
by such fears, rests upon a poor foundation indeed. The denial
to the freedmen of certain privileges, such as the possession of
firearms, was a precaution prompted by no such fear, and one
the continuance of which would have been to the best interests
of the negro; would be, were it obtaining now, in this day of
"picnic" brawls and crime-breeding "excursions." It would be
idle to deny that a few intelligent men entertained such ideas;
it would be equally as idle to claim that such opinions were
held by, or dictated the policy of, men as familiar with the ne-
gro as were those who composed the Legislature of 1865.

The Convention Committee, which recommended this pro-
hibitive legislation, emphasized the fact that in doing so it was
moved, not by "any apprehension or sense of danger to the
white population, but by the clear conviction that such denials
and restrictions will be for their (the freedmen's) present and
ultimate good * * * ."

A passage in Governor Humphreys' message, of November,
has sometimes been brought forward to support this claim, but
not by any one familiar with the weighty purpose which was
the real prompting of his recommendation. To his every ef-
fort at securing some promise or assurante of the withdrawal
from the State of Federal troops, and the termination of mil-
itary interference in its civil affairs, the response from Wash-
ington was that this would occur when "in the opinion of the
government," peace and order could be "maintained without
them." There was never profounder peace within the borders
of the State, and the danger of an outbreak between black and
white was a figment of the Federal official mind. Even if its
potentiality were granted, it was dependent upon the very con-
dition sought to be removed, — but which was continued, as was
claimed, to prevent it, — the presence of negro and other troops.
To remove even the excuse of this alleged fear of the results of a
withdrawal of these troops, Governor Humphreys favored the

"Atlantic Monthly, February, 1901, p. 153.

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 187

organization of a State militia upon an effective basis, capable
of taking the place of the Federal soldiers, and of "maintaining
peace and order" after their departure. He accordingly ad-
vised in this message, among other things, the passage of "a
militia bill that will enable the militia to protect our people
against insurrection, or any possible combination of vicious
white men and negroes." In concluding his message, he ex-
pressed his sense of the importance of his various suggestions
being enacted into laws, saying that, through them, the State,
among other accruing benefits, might "secure the withdrawal of
the Federal troops. The bill which became a law, in response
to this suggestion, contained only the usual enumeration of the
duties of the militia ; the repelling of invasions and the quelling
of insurrections. The language was not even as specific or as
comprehensive as is that of the existing law, which is "to execute
the laws, repel invasions, and suppress riots or insurrections."
However, even where Governor Humphreys' language may be
fairly construed to suggest such an apprehension, it was re-
flective neither of the State's nor his personal fears, but was
uttered at the suggestion, or earnest solicitation, of the military
officers representing the Federal power in Mississippi.

On December 9, 1867, two years subsequent to the enact-
ment of these laws, Governor Humphreys did issue a proclama-
tion bearing upon the matter of "insurrections." He stated
that communications had been received at his office, and at the
headquarters of the Military District, indicative of apprehen-
sions of "combinations and conspiracies" on the part of the ne-
groes to "seize lands and establish farms" in the event of Con-
gress failing to "arrange a plan of division" by January, 1868.
Governor Humphreys thus admonished the freedmen :

"* * * If any such hopes or expectations are entertained, you have
been grossly deceived, and if any such combinations or conspiracies
have been formed to carry into effect such purposes, by lawless vio-
lence, I now warn you that you cannot succeed."

This proclamation became the subject of an investigation by
the Constitutional Convention of 1868. Governor Humphreys
was asked to give the information on which he had based the
proclamation, and replied as follows:

****** j have no secrets I desire to withhold from any class
of our people, white or black. My Proclamation of the Qth of Decem-
ber, 1867, was issued at the urgent request of General Ord, Comman-

1 88 Mississippi Historical Society.

der of the Fourth Military District, and all the information I have on
the subject you desire to investigate, was received from and through
him, except a few letters received from prominent citizens, which I
referred to him, as soon as received, and which, I presume, are now
in his possession."

He referred the committee to General Ord, and that officer
referred them in turn to General Gillem, who had succeeded him
in the command of the District. General Gillem informed them
that he had concluded that it would be "incompatible with his
duty" to comply with their request ; advising them, at the same
time, that he himself had never entertained the belief "that in-
surrection was meditated by any class of the inhabitants of this
State."

The committee reported:

"They have made diligent inquiry of different delegates in this Con-
vention, coming from all parts of this State, and at no place within the
limits of this State, before, at the time, or since the issuing of said
proclamation, were there any indications of insubordination, riot, in-
surrection or outbreak of any description whatever among that class
of citizens referred to in said proclamation."

They stated that the alleged causes for issuing the procla-
mation were "utterly without foundation," and declared, gen-
erally, that the freedman, — though they did not so designate
him, — had been grossly maligned.46 And therein he had been,
but by those sent to guard and defend him, not by those who
knew him best.

It is not necessary to pursue this subject further, but this
testimony, from one who in that troubulous time lived in one
of the blackest counties in the South, and was a participant in,
and observer of, the movements of the period, is well worthy
of incorporation here :

"Living in a black county of the State then, we are in a position to
affirm that this picture of 'dread of insurrection' is wholly delusive and
imaginary as to Mississippi. There was one thought that dominated
all, in the black codes: Provision for the material needs of the future,
and against the debts of the past — to preserve the freedmen, upon
whose labor all depended, from degenerating into vagrants and tramps.
This aim was the WHOLE underlying principle of the freedmen acts of
1865.""

It is not claimed for Mississippi's freedmen statutes that they
embodied the perfection of human wisdom, but only that their

48 Convention Journal, pp. 577-581.

"]. S. McNeily, in Vicksburg Herald, March 3, 1901.

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 189

authors were prompted by motives both reasonable and honest,
and that, in actuating their conduct, "hatred of the negro" and
"disloyalty to the Union" played no part. To demonstrate
even a lack of wisdom upon their part, viewing their acts in as-
sociation with their surroundings and necessities, the history of
negro freedmen legislation throughout the world must needs
be re-written, and the acts of its authors undone.

The members of the Legislature of 1865 were not drafting
laws for all time, but merely to meet a transient condition. To
the experimental and temporary character of these acts, the dis-
cussions and committee reports bear abundant evidence. These
legislators were by no means wedded to their ideas, but were
open to discussion and conviction. For the time being, they
preferred to. err, if at all, upon the safer side.

Within less than twelve months after the adjournment of
this Legislature, it was convened in extra session by the Gov-
ernor. In his message, of October 16, 1866, he thus reviewed
conditions and proffered suggestions :

"No special emergency, but a general exigency, resulting from the
altered and deranged condition of our Federal Relations and domestic
affairs at the termination of the late Civil War, which, in the nature
of things, could not be fully adjusted or provided for at your first ses-
sion, now demands your further consideration and attention. The re-
moval of the negro troops from the limits of the State, and the trans-
fer of the Freedmen's Bureau to the administration and control of the
officers of the Regular Army now commanding the white troops in the
District of Mississippi, are subjects of congratulation to you and to the
country. The white race is thus relieved from the insults, irritations
and spoliations to which they were so often subjected, and the black
race from that demoralization which rendered them averse to habits
of honest industry, and which was fast sinking them into habits of
idleness, pauperism and crime."

It is not surprising that Governor Humphreys should have
thus congratulated this session of the Legislature upon being
rid of the two prime causes provocative of the conditions which
confronted its first sitting.

The Governor commented upon the enactments of the first
session, and suggested various modifications of them. Some
of these, he considered, a year's observation had shown to be
unnecessary from their inception ; some, the removal of irritat-
ing causes, upon which he had congratulated them, rendered
no longer necessary; some he thought needlessly restrictive.
He renewed his recommendation of the first session as to ne-

190 Mississippi Historical Society.

gro testimony, saying: "Public justice to both races demands
the admission of negro testimony in all cases brought before
the civil and criminal courts." He still thought, however, that
firearms were not essential to the freedman's "protection, pros-
perity or happiness," and that he should be allowed them only
upon license, — "a privilege he can always secure where his char-
acter for good conduct and honesty is known."48

Following the general line of the Governor's recommenda-
tions, a number of changes were made in the existing laws.

The law providing for a Freedman's Pauper Fund was so
amended as to relieve minors and women from its operation, a
capitation tax having been originally levied on all freedmen be-
tween the ages of eighteen and sixty for the benefit of this fund.
The law conferring personal property rights upon freedmen
was extended to real property also, thus placing the two races
upon an exact equality in all property rights, privileges and ex-
emptions. While the first session had not entirely met Gov-
ernor Humphreys' advanced position on negro testimony, this
session did. By repealing all the qualifying and delimiting pro-
visions of the Code of 1857, as well as of the laws of 1865, every
restriction was removed from the competency of freedmen to
testify upon an equal footing with the white man.

By a sweeping provision as to infractions of the criminal laws,
freedmen were put in every and particular respect upon an
equality with white offenders ; it being enacted : "That all laws
imposing discriminating punishment on freedmen be so amend-
ed that for all offenses committed by freedmen against the crim-
inal laws of this State, they shall be tried in the same courts
and by the same proceedings as are the whites, and, upon con-
viction, shall be subject to the same pains, penalties, forfeitures,
and punishments."

While the apprentice laws of 1865, still denounced by critics
who "wilfully themselves exile from light," were mere tran-
scripts from Northern statute books, as is shown below, it was
yet determined to eliminate discriminations between white and
black children, in advance of such "free State" action, and em-
brace all in one common provision. The entire act of 1865 was
accordingly repealed, and it was enacted that the provisions of

48 House Journal, pp. 7, et seq.

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 191

the Revised Code of 1857, "in relation to poor orphans, and
other children, shall be so construed, as to apply to and include
freedmen." Such portions of the Code provisions as originally
had special reference to negro children were specifically re-
pealed49

The laws of Mississippi, then, as enacted and amended at the
legislative sessions of 1865 and 1866, and upon the sole initia-
tive of those who time and again, both before and after, were
declared unfit to legislate for him, left the freedman the equal
of his late master in the courts of his State, his testimony un-
discriminated against ; they endowed him with every property
right possessed by the white man ; they obliterated the distinc-
tions of the criminal code; and over the orphaned children of
his race and the white, they exercised a common care.

In these two sessions, but a year removed, the same men
served; of their actions in the first much has been said, of the
second but little is heard. The time is probably not yet come
for history to enter its final judgment upon what they did, or
sought to do ; when it is written, they may not be found to have
been altogether wise — surely it will not be set down against
them that they were strangers to justice and the right.

One of the most accomplished of the innumerable publicists
of Europe and America who have concerned themselves with
the subject of negro emancipation, was Pierre Suzanne Au-
gustin Cochin. Identified from early youth with the movement
for abolition in the French possessions, his discussion of that
movement and its results, the work of his maturer years, be-
came, to the French school of emancipationists, the final au-
thority upon its subject. Translated into English, and brought
out in Boston during the progress of the war, in 1863, it at-
tained a no less eminent place in the estimation of that school
of American doctrinaires of which Mr. Sumner was the most
distinguished exponent.

Recounting that the French Academy had decreed to this
work a prize of three thousand francs, and that it brought to

49 Laws 1866-67, PP- 227, 232, 233, 443, 444.

192 Mississippi Historical Society.

its author an order of knighthood from the Pope, the American
translator has this to say of The Results of Emancipation:

"Its value in this country can hardly be estimated, appearing as it
does on the eve of a crisis of emancipation, caused abruptly, as in the
French colonies, by revolution, and which, as in these, will wreck for a
time the prosperity of the States in which it is wrought, or lead them
without suffering to a more prosperous condition, according as we
profit by the experience of our neighbors."

Though an ideologist to a large degree, Cochin's work
abounds in much that would have profited the country, — the
North as well as the South and the negro, — had it been only
heeded. Saying that he had "made the tour of the world only
in books," that he had visited "neither Timbuctoo nor Cayenne,
nor even Senegal, or Mississippi," and though one of his dreams
was, as a result of universal emancipation, the peopling of trop-
ical lands with an "intermediate race," "providentially made,"
from the mixed blood of white and black, yet the practical teach-
ing of his work was the dependence of the first success of
emancipation upon the precautionary maintenance of labor.
His declaration of faith in the possibility of "liberty, equality
and fraternity" accomplishing all things for the African, re-
ceived in America a hearty response, — the lessons below these
superficial abstractions were never learned.

It was the failure of the North to profit by this record of the
experience of France, that caused the "crisis of emancipation"
to "wreck for a time the prosperity of the States in which it was
wrought." It is this which brings at this" late day this record
to the serving of a purpose, foreign, if not hostile, to any end
sought to be accomplished by its author, — its use in defense of
the State which he classed with Senegal and Cayenne, as having
visited only through the medium of books.

It has been stated above that emancipation in the French
West Indies and Bourbon was accompanied by restrictive laws.
This is not a literally correct statement of fact, though practi-
cally true, since such orders and decrees, long before proposed,
soon followed it ; while such governors as saw fit, exercised the
right to make a simultaneous application of them. It is neces-
sary to our purpose to merely review and contrast the experi-
ence of those wherein they, or equivalent restrictions, were re-
sorted to, with those in which they were not invoked.

It may be affirmed as a truth of universal application that ne-

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 193

gro emancipation has been invariably followed by an immediate
tendency among the freedmen to sink into habits of vagrancy
and idleness. This proposition has been so plainly true that it
has not been denied by well-informed and honest writers. They
have rather met it with a plea in confession and avoidance.
Throughout Cochin's work he is continually explaining why
this fact is as it is, alleging reasons for these synchronous con-
ditions. The reasons may have been excellent, but they were
not in question ; it was the condition itself against which wisdom
would seek, through the laws of England, of France and of the
Northern and Southern States, to provide.

In the island of Guadaloupe, we are told, "doubtless labor
suffered in the beginning," though, consistently with his policy,
he suggests a number of reasons therefor, making emancipa-
tion merely incidental to the others: "Lastly," says he, "the
sudden liberation of the slaves complicated a position which it
had not alone produced." He adds, of the freedmen:

"They were naturally seen to abandon the large plantations (though
here he injects, as usual, a saving clause), especially those where they
had been worse treated, and to divide into two classes — the idle, who
thought themselves called to the liberty of doing nothing, and the in-
dustrious. * * * Even among those who consented to work on the
plantations, a great lack of regularity was remarked * * *."

Describing the tumults into which the island was thrown, we
are assured that :

"Disorder was not born at Guadaloupe with emancipation, but only
through the consequences of revolution. Thus a great part of the loss
of time by the former slaves came from their subjection to numerous
formalities, not only in registering themselves in the Civil state and
obtaining the emancipation papers, to which they attached a rightful
importance, but also in exercising political rights. They were not
disturbed by their recognition as men; they were agitated by their
improvisation into citizens."

The latter portion of his proposition will readily be accepted.
On May 27, 1848, emancipation was formally proclaimed — with-
out conditions — without restrictions as to labor; for two years
labor was disorganized and riots were the pastime of the popu-
lace; on July u, 1850, the island was placed under martial law,
and we are gravely informed that "prosperity did not return as
speedily as tranquility," and that it was not by unrestricted
emancipation that "peace had been troubled," "although it had
served as the pretext." To the American dominant party of
13

194 Mississippi Historical Society,

1865 this observation might have proven valuable if taken to
heart :

"Emancipation had been there a day of rejoicing; the elections
brought days of mourning, and politics remain responsible for tears
and blood which had not been caused by freedom.'

Unrestricted freedom, however, combined with politics, came
also to the South. The difference of degree in the confusion
which it wrought, merely marked the difference of temperament
between the Latin and the Anglo-Saxon.

In Martinico, we are told that "the news of emancipation at
first caused no disturbance." This must have reference to a
temporary absence of riots, for the commission which the gov-
ernor deemed it necessary to appoint to examine "into the state
of labor" reported that immediately succeeding emancipation,
"culture on a large scale * * * was completely aban-
doned." There had also been strife and bloodshed, however,
occasioned by politics, to which M. Cochin refers as "the
mournful days which had witnessed murder and incendiarism."51
Here, also, had been emancipation unaccompanied upon the
governor's part by the application of restrictions as to labor and
vagrancy. These, however, were enforced at a later date, as
necessary to check the excesses of the freedmen, and bring or-
der again to the island.

Of the unimportant colony of Guiana, we are told :

"If order did not suffer, it was impossible that it should have been
the case with labor. * * * * But, in general, inconstancy, the love
of small estates, the novelty of independence, and the incitement of the
republican reunions, estranged the negroes from labor. The letting
of the colonial lands for a part of their produce was vainly essayed;
the blacks distrusted any system which did not secure them the fruits
of their labor day by day."

As though it possessed not the least significance, and dis-
missed with the bare statement of the fact itself, our author
naively remarks :

"A commission appointed by the Governor for the regulation of
tasks had more success."

The statement, however, is doubtless literally true. Still ex«
plaining, he tells us why the freedmen would not work :

"If a great number of blacks returned to Indian life by installing

80 Results of Emancipation, pp. 107-112.
^Results of Emancipation, pp. 101-106.

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 195

themselves on bits of ground in the uplands, they were not led there
merely by an instinct of vagrant independence. Averse to working the
plantations on shares, or to hiring the colonial lands for a part of thefr
produce, the tardy results of which inspired them with a natural dis-
trust, they wished to labor only for wages, and their former masters
had not capital wherewith to pay them."

Truly, a most excellent reason why they should not labor!
As if in further proof of the high ground taken by these new
"citizens of France" he tells us that, though the negroes knew
their strength, they permitted the elections to pass off "with-
out disturbance/' "and added another proof to the demonstra-
tions, furnished by the long months of crisis, of the gentleness
of these people, who lacked labor much more than labor lacked
them."52 Guiana was made a penal colony in 1851, and is hence
dismissed from further consideration here.

Because of the agreeable surprise which its conduct afforded
the abolitionists of France, and for which, apparently, they were
unable to account, M. Cochin dwells with peculiar pleasure
upon emancipation in the Isle of Bourbon. He says :

"Numerous reasons united to give rise to the fear that emancipation
would be the signal for a more painful crisis on the Isle of Bourbon
than anywhere else; on the contrary, it was milder. On an island situ-
ated four thousand leagues from the mother country, * * * * * *
was crowded a population of 37,000 whites, 66,000 slaves, and 7,695
bound laborers of all sorts * * * In the number of whites were
reckoned the free colored men, almost all opposed to labor, and in-
capable of filling office or maintaining order. The bound laborers were
far inferior to the slaves."

With the statistics of production recited in proof of the tran-
quility and prosperity of the island — of all the colonial posses-
sions of France, the only one capable of making such an ex-
hibit— we need not concern ourselves. Only the causes of these
conditions, as presented by the author, possess any interest for
us.

Three months elapsed between the receipt of the first news in
Bourbon of the establishment of the Republic of 1848, and that
of the decrees abolishing slavery. An assembly of citizens of
the island "declared them rendered by incompetent authority,"
"and," he continues, "drew up a plan to be submitted to the
mother country, which, without opposing the emancipation of
the slaves, demanded," among other things, "the postponement

52 Results of Emancipation, pp. 117-120. No apology is offered for the
italics.

196 Mississippi Historical Society.

of the measure, in order to give time to gather in the harvests,
and organize schools, hospitals, and penal labor," and for "the
formation of a National Guard and Municipal Councils before
emancipation." We are also told: "The same unanimity ap-
peared in the public square at St. Pierre, where in August, an
imprudent speech having exasperated the negroes, five thousand
inhabitants assembled on the instant to watch over the mainte-
nance of order."

As stated above, many differences existed between emancipa-
tion in these islands and in the South, the two vital points be-
ing readily seen to have been the absence from the islands of
military or other active intervention, and the power in the local
authorities to exercise their unhampered judgment in dealing
with the situation. This discretion was not availed of in Guada-
loupe or Guiana (except to a slight degree in the latter colony),
and to only a limited extent, and not at once, in Martinico. We
have glanced at an exhibit of the results in these three. What,
now, of the methods and results in the island under considera-
tion?

Letting our distinguished authority speak for himself, he tells
us:

"To guard against the diminution of labor, the Governor resolved to
abrogate the order given March 6, 1839, to prohibit the future immi-
gration of Indians, but he did not consider himself obligated to
promulgate prematurely the abolition of slavery, though authorized
to do so by a dispatch dated May 7th; and when his successor arrived
(October I3th), the colony was at peace, and labor was scarcely any-
where interrupted.

The Commissioner-General, M. Sarda-Garriga, published the decrees
of emancipation, October i8th, in a solemn audience of the court. He
had the good sense to close the clubs, to surround himself with en-
lightened counsels, and to prescribe, by a provident order, that before
the 20th of December, the end of the delay accorded by the decrees,
every slave should hire himself to labor for two years on a sugar plan-
tation, or for one year as a domestic, under penalty of being regarded
and punished as a vagrant."

The wisdom of this law compels, even from Cochin, the plau-
dit of "provident order;" the less severe statute of Mississippi
was such an "effort to perpetuate slavery" as to "outrage
Northern sentiment" and invite reprisals of a harsh and bitter
and vindictive kind. He continues :

"Thanks to these measures, followed by an order to establish penal
works, with the approbation of the planters, and under the control of
the former Governor and principal functionaries, the transition was
easier than had been hoped."

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 197

It would seem that M. Cochin would rest content with this.
Not so. He mentions another cause of the excellent state of
affairs which he describes. He says:

"Without doubt the kindness of the whites and the gentleness of the
blacks facilitated the relations between them. Happily, during the
past few years, the negroes had been evangelized with as much suc-
cess as zeal by excellent priests, whose personal influence contributed
powerfully to the union of classes."58

But did all the whites who were blessed with kindly hearts
reside at Bourbon ? Certainly not all the blacks of "gentleness"
lived there, for we have left some, who at elections refrained
from murder, in the penal colony of Guiana. But upon the
respective claims for the merit of producing so pleasing a pic-
ture, as presented in the "provident order" of the Governor and
the zealous evangelization of the priests, we shall not presume to
pass. The mere presentation of the situation itself quite fully
answers our every purpose.

Referring to the various provisions of the French govern-
ment antecedent to the liberation of its negroes, Cochin says :

"Before the emancipation of the slaves, every step taken towards this
solemn hour was lighted by immense labors, reports, discussions, and
inquiries."

What he says of the scope of the labors of the commission on
laws, whose appointment after emancipation, in 1849, was made
necessary by "the sufferings which the transitory and violent
state of affairs * * * * had drawn upon our posses-
sions," may be affirmed of all the labors of those who sought
to provide against the consequences of emancipation by various
restrictive systems. This was summed up by him as "govern-
ment, repression and labor." It is needless to enumerate the
many devices suggested during the kaleidoscopic changes in the
French government, made while they were being discussed, and
covering more than half a century preceding final emancipation.
They covered the entire field of politico-economics, with a
breadth of range which extended from the philosophic elabora-
tions of De Tocqueville and De Broglie, to the quite simple and
truly practical provisions "borrowed from the code of Haiti."
They all had one object — the following of emancipation by im-
mediate laws for temporarily enforcing labor upon, and prevent-
ing the vagrancy of, the freedmen.

53 Results of Emancipation, pp. 112-116.

1 98 Mississippi Historical Society.

As it is not the purpose of this review to devote any special
attention to this Haitian Code, it may be remarked here that
these eminent Frenchmen honored it with mention in their re-
port, though Cochin is silent as to the exact extent to which
they "borrowed" from it. According to a most intelligent dis-
cussion of the committee's report, about the time of its publi-
cation,64 it found as follows:

"In San Domingo, the negroes, having made themselves free, of
course took holiday, and it was found necessary to force them to work.
The first regulations for this purpose were mild, and failed. The ne-
groes did not understand or regard them. Toussaint Louverture,
'Vainqueur des Anglais,' as the Committee called him, * * * 'gov-
erned the colony very wisely, which, under him, says Malenfant, 'was
flourishing. The whites were tranquil and happy on their estates, and
the negroes worked.' And well might they work! 'His code,' say the
Committee, 'was infinitely more rigorous than that of Polverel.' But
even this code, rigorous as it was, soon became a disregarded and for-
gotten form. 'Toussaint simply instructed his inspectors, and they
acted accordingly.' These inspectors were his own nephews, Moses
and Dessalines, 'afterwards emperor.' 'These officers exercised over
their subordinate an unlimited power, and all the declarations con-
cur in representing the system established as the most arbitrary and
despotic possible. * * * * These two chiefs, naturally impetuous,
were ill humored, and of difficult access. General Dessalines, above all,
conversed with a savage and repulsive air. It was rare that he did
not distribute blows of the cudgel to the chiefs of gangs when he in-
spected the works of a plantation. If any of them threw the blame of
defective culture upon the laziness of the hands generally, he had one
of them selected by lot to be hung. But if they indicated one by name,
as a disputer or sluggard, this cruel man, in his rage, made them bury
him alive and forced the whole gang to witness the agonies of his
victim.'" The Committee significantly add: "One may conceive that
* * ten new citizens should do as muclv work as thirty slaves
formerly.'"

Our amiable author may well afford to assure us that "no ex-
cesses (by the freedmen) existed under the strict and intelligent
administration of Toussaint 1'Ouverture."

To return to France : Though the revolution through which
emancipation ultimately reached the French colonies, overturned
these elaborate preparations, so far as making them an actual
feature of an emancipation program was involved, the governors
of these colonies, as has been shown, did, or did not, as their wis-
dom dictated, invoke their aid — either their letter or their spirit
— in handling the conditions eventuating upon the freedom of
the slaves.

Cochin admits, as we have seen, that emancipation without

64 Dr. S. Henry Dickson, Charleston, 1845, pamphlet.

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 199

^

labor laws meant vagrancy, idleness and crime, and it is need-
less to follow his many and devious explanations of the cause.
Let one suffice.

"But is it correct," he asks, replying to a statement, "that the labor of
the former slaves and their descendants is no longer to be taken into
account * * * * ? If we speak of the first years, this result is true, at
least in part. ******* we have seen that the diminution of labor
during these years should be attributed in great part to political ex-
citement; but it is perfectly true that it was also among the first effects
of emancipation. This was natural. What prisoner does not escape
when his prison door is broken? What bird does not take flight when"
his cage is opened?55

A pretty enough way of explaining why the freedmen "passed
continually from one plantation to another," but unnecessary.
The excuse of a natural action may be sound, but Mississippi
sought to deal merely with the existence of the fact.

We have seen the circumstances attendant upon emancipa-
tion in Martinico, Guadaloupe and Bourbon. Let us dismiss
the subject with a glance at their later respective conditions.
Says Cochin:

"The following fact has always struck me: The prosperity of the
Isle of Bourbon is incontestably far superior to what it was before the
abolition of slavery."6"4

"It is, furthermore, impossible to pretend that this island has re-
ceived from nature a perpetual advantage over the rest. For before
1848, Guadaloupe was the most flourishing of our colonies, Martinico
next, Bourbon last; the order is now exactly reversed, Bourbon comes
first, then Martinico, lastly Guadaloupe. However disagreeable, there-
fore, may have been the sequel of emancipation, it is not justifiable to
affirm that the ruin of the colonies has been the infallible and in-
evitable consequence of this measure, since this consequence has been
averted at Bourbon. In the second place, since three colonies, under
the influence of the same cause, are in wholly different conditions,
this cause has not been the only thing that has acted on them. Either
it is joined to other evils, or it has presented other remedies. It Is
unjust to say that this cause has done all the harm, since the same
cause elsewhere has not done the same harm. Facts fully justify this
reasoning."

The explanation of this great difference of conditions would
seem to be transparent to any but the wilfully blind, though
he seems scarcely to apprehend it, in the following feeble recog-
nition: "At Bourbon the government was more far-sighted; con-

55 Results of Emancipation, pp. 208, 209.

Ma Let us here remark that in this argument no issue is joined be-
tween slavery and freedom. We are dealing with facts merely dem-
onstrative of the wisdom of the South, in her attempted exercise of a
measure of temporary control over the labor upon which this freedom
was bestowed.

2OO Mississippi Historical Society.

tracts for labor were effected through its care without delay" Con-
trasting Martinico with Bourbon, to the former's disadvantage,
he says : "Nevertheless, this colony has uprisen ;" and through
what intervention ? "An energetic governor, Admiral de Guey-
don, has given the most intelligent attention to the re-organiza-
tion of labor." Through what means was this "re-organiza-
tion" accomplished? He does not state, though he has told us
elsewhere ;56 a resort to the decrees long before promulgated by
Bourbon, "on the labor, police, vagrancy, and immigration, fol-
lowed by numerous and severe measures." As Bourbon had
surpassed Martinico, so, he says, had the latter "surpassed
Guadaloupe, to which, formerly, it remained inferior. The lat-
ter has, notwithstanding, more laborers, more land, and better
conditions."57 It merely lacked the application of the decrees
— none being enforced till 1857 — when, nearly ten years after
emancipation, a resort to them was compelled by necessity.
Yet one thing more, and he does not permit us to overlook it :
At Bourbon, he tells us, "The negroes were more religious."

A mere recital of these conditions renders obviously unneces-
sary comparisons, deductions or comment.

As stated above, the emancipation acts passed by the British
Parliament in 1833, provided apprenticeships, the longest of
which was to expire in 1840. In 1836 it was sought to termi-
nate these apprenticeships, but Cochin tells us :

"The cabinet of Lord Melbourne, supported in its hesitation by Lord
Wellington, Sir Robert Peel, and Mr. Gladstone, sustained the system
of apprenticeship, because it had been successful ****."

They were abolished, however, in 1838 and 1839. Our author
admits that, under this system of provision for labor after eman-
cipation :

"The transition of the negroes from slavery to freedom was affected
without commotion; from 1834 to 1838, the crimes and misdemeanors,
null, or very nearly so, with respect to the person, continually diminish-
ed with respect to property; production, less on certain points, equal
or superior on certain others, was maintained in general during the
four years of apprenticeship."58

88 Results of Emancipation, p. 207 and note.

"Ibid, pp. 295 and 296.

K Results of Emancipation, pp. 324, 330, 331.

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 201

In defending, before a Boston audience, in 1864, as mentioned
-above, the labor system which he had established when in mil-
itary command in Louisiana, in the preceding year, Major Gen-
eral W. P. Banks thus recapitulates the conditions agreed upon
between the negroes, the planters and himself:

"First, that their families should not be separated; second, that they
should not be flogged; third, that their children should be educated;
fourth, that they should not be compelled to labor where they had been
abused; and fifth, that they should be paid reasonable wages for their
toil."

The system was inaugurated under martial law, labor, of
course, being compulsory.

Even he did not escape the criticism of the ignorant. De-
fending, or explaining, if it be preferred, his course, he says:

"The system is but an experiment, made necessary as much for the
preservation of the oppressed race as from the condition of the coun-
try."

He declared it to be his belief that for every case of wrong
suffered under such a system an offset would be found "in the
workshops of England or the United States." He said :

"The complaints of seamstresses and other persons, male and fe-
male, employed in Northern cities or towns, whether in domestic or
agricultural service, will show as much diversity of interests, as much
dissatisfaction, as many cases of inexcusable wrong."

He maintained that the objections that were raised were
"fully answered by a statement of facts not known to those by
-whom they are urged, and not entertained where the general
situation of the country is understood."

He had the temerity to make two statements which must have
grated harshly upon ears acute to catch the tale of negro woes :
The first being:

"The production of crops in that part of the country requires the
steady labor of a year, and without this security it is impossible for
any employer to enter into contract with his laborers. It has never
been demonstrated by actual experiment that the negro would subject
himself to continuous labor by any engagement or choice of his own.
This doubt was and still is entertained by many who sympathize with
the slave."

The second reads as follows:

"The people of the North are much more disturbed and distressed at the
condition of the negro than he is himself."*9

89 Equally as true nearly forty years afterwards.

2O2 Mississippi Historical Society.

He further said:

"It is not a new idea that is embodied in the re-organization of
labor in Louisiana. It has been tested for three-quarters of a cen-
tury. Toussaint L'Ouverture tried the experiment in San Domingo.
There is nothing different in his system from that which we have
adopted, except that it was infinitely more severe upon the negro
****** England has tried the same experiment and has
not been able to succeed except by such general method. France,
whose ablest men have been employed in its consideration for sixty
or seventy years, * * * adopted the same principles ***** Can we
demand, even if we had no other ground for our procedure, that a
philosophy which has been thus discussed and practically tested in the
colonies of England and France for half a century, should be dis-
carded altogether, until somebody can suggest a plan more perfect,
and more certain to benefit the laborer?"

His closing was his keenest thrust:

"The best service the City of Boston or its patriotic associations can
render to the country in times like these, is to direct intelligent men
to visit distant portions of the Union where important principles are
tested, for the purpose of instructing the public mind by imparital
statement and a calm judgment upon the real condition of public af-
fairs." "

In reviewing the salient features of the legislation devised
by other countries for the newly emancipated negro, the
full measure of our purpose has not been a mere resort to a
tu quoque argument. In entering more largely into a discussion
of the immediate results of emancipation in the French colonies
than in the English, the purpose was to show from history the
contrasts between the immediately resultant condition of both
the freedmen and the country, in the islands that did not resort
at once to labor and vagrancy laws, and in the one that did, as
best illustrated in Martinico, Guadaloupe and Bourbon,
Though even a fair apprehension of the conditions set forth in
Mississippi must show that labor fared best, and, with the plan-
ter, was most prosperous, where the Freedmen's Bureau of-
ficials made the closest application of the fundamental princi-
ples underlying the State's laws as to vagrancy and labor. Such
sequential conditions are amply demonstrative of the wisdom of
the men who enacted those laws. We have now to show how
base, as well as baseless, is the charge preferred for the most
unworthy of political objects, that these statutes sought to "per-
petuate slavery" and were prompted by "hatred of the negro."

60 Emancipated Labor in Louisiana, address at Boston and Charleston,
Mass., 1864, pamphlet.

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 203

To demonstrate that the course pursued by Mississippi was
identical with that adopted throughout the world, is, we take it,
sufficient to absolve her from these unjust accusations ; since it
can hardly be maintained that in the same treatment of the same
conditions, there were present in the South motives which were
absent from all the rest of Caucasian mankind. To complete
the proof of this identity of treatment, wherever the conditions
had up to that time been presented, it is necessary to add, to
what has already been given, merely a review of the legislation
of the Northern United States.

More than a quarter of a century ago it was claimed in Mis-
sissippi that, not only was this legislative treatment not racial
in its extent, but that it was not even coextensive with the
United States ; and it was sought to narrow it down to even less
than sectional lines, by charging it to a single political organi-
zation. This charge was made on the eve of the revolution of
1875, to use a popular expression, and was, of course, like Mr.
Elaine's far graver accusations, solely a result of the exigencies
of party politics. The answer to this charge was made by the
late Senator J. Z. George. It served its purpose then, — it will
probably serve ours now. Said he :

"The argument presented to the freedmen by those who would still
further inflame the colored people against the Democrats and Con-
servatives, is that the Democrats were in power in 1865, and the result
was the legislation of that year; and that if they were again in power,
it is a fair presumption that they would act as it was charged they
acted then. If this charge is made simply against the Democratic party,
as a political organization, and is intended alone to affect men who
are Democrats, it is easily answered."

After showing that there was no such thing as an organized
party of any sort in Mississippi at that time, he continues :

"The plea that the whites are not to be trusted because of the legis-
lation of 1865, will not be received as a good one. The answer to it
will be found in the legislation of the Northern States themselves, in
the action of the United States Congress and Executive, preparatory
to emancipation, during the late war, and in the example of Great
Britain when she abolished slavery in the West Indies.

"A short review of this legislation will be well; for it will be found,
after all, that the legislation of 1865 has, in most of its provisions, its
prototype in the legislation of Northern States, and, taken altogether,
was more moderate in its character, securing greater and more sub-
stantial rights to the freedmen, and that at a shorter period, than the
legislation attending emancipation in any other country. It will be
seen that this legislation was, in fact, an attempt to solve a great
problem, to evade a great difficulty, and that this solution and evasion
were wrought out, or attempted to be, with less infringement on the

2O4 Mississippi Historical Society.

rights of the colored people than in any other State where slavery had
once been established.

"It is complained that the whites of Mississippi did not at once allow
the freedmen to hold real estate, and that each one was required to
have a home or employment by the ist day of January, 1866. S1

61 The only form in which I have seen this discussion by General
George is in its publication by the Clarion (Jackson), September 15,
1875. The citations of authorities appeared as an appendix to the
article. In so far as it was possible to do so through the volumes of
State laws now in the State Library, I have verified the references, to
guard against such typographical errors as might be expected in a
newspaper publication of such an article. If any errors of pagination
still exist, it is believed that they will not be found sufficient to in-
terfere with the easy use of the references. I am indebted to the
editor of the Clarion Ledger for the privilege of examining his files. I
have taken the liberty of altering General George's arrangement of his
citations, grouping them by subjects, rather than States. The value of
this comparative digest, even if only regarded as an historical docu-
ment, when its distinguished authorship is considered, justifies its re-
production and preservation in the Publications of this Society.

As to militia service: Massachusetts — negroes not allowed to enroll,
but subject to call for any desired work: Rev. Laws, 1814, p. 386; not
allowed in Conn. — Revisions 1839, p. 426, 1849, p. 652, 1866, p. 557, and
not till that of 1875, p. ill.

Vermont — Revisions 1825, p. 6n, 1840, p. 557, 1850, p. 630, permitted,
1870, p. 645. New Hampshire — Revision 1853, p. 197. New Jersey — Re-
vision 1847, p. 745.

Indiana — Constitution 1816, art. 7, par. II, Constitution 1851, art. 12,
par. i, — Davis' Supplement, 1870, p. 341.
111. — Constitution 1847, art. 8.

Iowa — Constitution 1846, art. 6, and Constitution 1857.

Mich. — Constitution 1850, art. 17 — not allowed till Acts 1870.

Wise.— Rev. Stat. 1858, p. 340.

Minn. — Revision 1858, p. 798.

Nevada — Revision 1873, p. 359.

Kansas — Constitution 1859, art. 7.

Penna. — not till 1872, Purdon's Digest, 1269, Brightley's Purdon, 1040.

States requiring bond precedent to negro's emancipation, or his en-
try into, or for residence in, them:

Mass. — Revision 1814, p. 745.

New Jersey — Rev. 1847, p. 380.

Ohio — Rev. 1847, p. 593.

Ind. — Rev. 1831, p. 375, const. 1851, art. 13, — standing till 1870, and
laws pursuant to it as to settling in State; Rev. 1852, pp. 375-76, not re-
pealed till 1867.

Ills. — Revs. 1829, p. 109. 1833, PP- 357 and 457, 1844, P- 387, Const. 1847.
art. 14, Rev. 1858, p. 824. Last Constitution and Revision prohibited
absolutely settling of negro or mulatto in the State, under penalty of
$50 fine to be paid, or defendant sold to work it out; this process to be
repeated at expiration of each sentence, till negro died or left the State.
This and other 111. laws noted here make rather ludicrous this extract
from the Chicago Tribune of Dec. I, 1865 — quoted by Garner, Reconstruc-
tion in Miss., p. 115: "We tell the white men of Mississippi that the men
of the North will convert the State of Mississippi into a frog pond be-
fore they will allow any such laws to disgrace one foot of soil in which
the bones of our soldiers sleep and over which the flag of freedom
waves."

Oregon — Const. 1857, prohibited negroes settling in the State at all.

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 205

"In Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut and Rhode Island, when
they were set free, they were not allowed the privilege of selecting
homes at all. They were required to remain with their old masters,
and serve without pay; those already born when emancipation took
place, for life, those born afterwards, from twenty-one years to twenty-
eight years. * * * * The Legislature of 1865 gave to the freedmen the
right to select their own employers, and to receive the wages of their

As to intermarriages between whites and negroes:

Mass.— Revs. 1814, p. 748, 1836, p. 475.

Rhode Island— Revs. 1822, p. 371, 1857, p. 312, 1872, p. 325.

Maine— Revs. 1841, p. 359, 1857, p. 390, 1871, p. 483.

Ohio— Swann & Sayer's Rev. 1868, p. 267.

Ind.— Revs. 1831, pp. 595 and 970, 1852, p. 361.

Ills. — Rev. 1829, continued in that of 1845, p. 353, 1858, p. 579, in force
till 1865.

Mich.— Rev. 1850, p. 950, Code 1871, p. 1463.

Nebraska— Rev. 1866, p. 254, Code 1873, p. 462.

Kansas— Stats. 1855, p. 488.

As to apprenticeships:

Rhode Island — Children of former slaves, after slavery was abolished,
were continued under control of their owners till twenty-one years of
age.

Conn. — Slavery was abolished by declaring free all children to be
born of slave mothers, but these children were compelled to serve their
mother's owner till twenty-five years of age (see Geer vs. Huntington,
2 Root, p. 364, and Windsor vs. Hartford, 2 Conn., p. 355.)

Penna. — Slavery abolished by declaring free all children to be born
of slave parents, — but requiring them to serve their parents' master
till twenty-eight years of age. — Dunlap's Rev., p. 126.

New Jersey — Act 1820 declared free all children born since July 4,
1804, but bound the males to owner till twenty-eight years of age, and
females till twenty-one. Rev. 1847, p. 360. In 1846, Rev. 1847, p. 380,
slavery was abolished entirely, but every freedman made an apprentice
to his master, who could discharge him from service only under most
stringent exactions as to his capacity for self-support, or under guaran-
tees for his not becoming a charge upon the county. These require-
ments extended even to children of these apprentices, who were to be
supported by their masters till six years old, and then bound out as
poor children, — the former owner in all cases being given the prefer-
ence. It was this provision — in Southern Statutes — which so aroused
Mr. Elaine's indignation. The provisions as to enticing apprentices
from masters, and for restoring them, were much the same in all these
States, — and generally more stringent than in Mississippi.

Ills. — Slavery prohibited in Constitution under which State came
into the Union, but binding out negroes as apprentices was provided
for. "Under this Constitution," says General George, "there were many
stringent and severe provisions enacted, to secure the rights of the
masters to the apprentice, and to his labor, and to enforce the subor-
dination of negroes and mulattoes." In the main, these are contained
in Revs. 1833, pp. 457 et seq., and 1858, commencing on p. 815. The Mis-
sissippi acts contain nothing so severe as the Illinois Statutes on ne-
groes, in apprenticeship, — as found in Revs. 1845 and 1858.

Ind. — Negroes could not be employed at all, under Const. 1851, art.
13-

As to voting:

Rhode Island — Rev. 1822, p. 89, — Constitution of 1844 allowed only
citizens to vote, negroes not then being citizens.

Conn. — Const. 1818, art. 6, — Rev. 1821, — amended const. 1845, Rev.
1849, p. 47, not allowed to vote till isth amendment.

206 Mississippi Historical Society.

own labor, only requiring that they should have homes and an em-
ployer by a day named.

"Again, the States before named just as effectually prohibited
negroes from having real estate as did the legislature of Mississippi;
for how could they have real estate, when they were bound to remain
with, and serve, their former owners for the terms before stated! But,
if it be said that it was harsh to require the freedman, then just eman-

Maine — Const. 1819, art. 2, allowed only citizens to vote..
Penna. — Only whites could vote till 1870.
New Jersey — Const. 1847, art. 2.

Ohio — Const. 1851, art. 5, par. i Swann and Critchfield's Rev. 1860, pp.
548-9, Swann and Sayer's Rev. 1868, p. 336, severe provisions against
negroes voting.

Ind. — Const. 1816, art. 6, par. I, Const. 1851 prohibited negro suffrage,
and was in force as late as 1870, see art. 2, sees. 2 and 5.
Ills. — Const. 1847, art. 4. par. i.

Iowa — Const. 1846, art. 2, par. I, — Const. 1857 prohibited negroes vot-
ing, classing them with "idiots, insane, and persons convicted of in-
famous crimes," art. 2, pars. I and 5.
Mich. — not allowed to vote till 1870.
Wise. — Const. 1848, art. 3.

Minn. — Const. .1857, Indians could vote but not negroes.
Oregon — Const. 1857, art. 2, and not changed till as late as 1872,
probably later.

Nebraska — Rev. 1866, p. 145, Const. 1866, art. 2, sec. 2.
Nevada — Const. 1864, art. 2.
Kansas — Const. 1859, ai"t- 5-
As to jurors and witnesses:
Penna. — Brightley's Purdon's Digest, p. 829.

Ohio — Rev. 1841, pp. 592-600, incompetent to testify where white
person interested. Laws 1840, p. 27, Swan's Rev. 1854, p. 487, — jurors
must be voters, Rev. 1861, p. 751, not competent for jury service, and
prohibition continued till 1868, and possibly later.

Ind. — Rev. 1831, p. 404, could not testify for or against white person.
Rev. 1843, p. 719, prohibition continued till 1862, probably later. G. &
H. Statutes, vol. 2, p. 166.

Iowa — Code 1851, p. 322, not repealed till 1860-; could not testify
where whites were interested.

Wisconsin — Rev. 1858, p. 655, only white jurors.
Minn. — Rev. 1858, p. 749.

Oregon — Rev. 1872, p. 291, none but white jurors.
Neb. — Rev. 1866, pp. 449 and 509, Code 1873, p. 642.
Kansas — Statutes of 1855, pp. 445 and 765. Rev. 1868, no. 49, 65. 534.
Ills. — Rev. 1845, PP- 257 and 377, continued in Rev. 1858, and not re-
pealed till 1865.

Sundry discriminating statutes:

Mass. — negroes not allowed to entertain each other socially. Rev.
1814, p. 386, to be punished by whipping for striking a white person,
Rev. 1814, p. 748.

Rhode Island — not allowed to keep any sort of public house, individ-
ually or as agent for white person, Rev. 1822, pp. 296 and 444.

Ind. — not liable to school tax, but not entitled to benefit of public
schools, G. & H. Rev. vol. i, p. 542, re-enacted 1865, Davis, Supp.,
p. 440.

Ills. — negro servant "being lazy, disorderly, or guilty of misbehavior
to his master," punishable with stripes, and same for refusal to
work; liable to his master for all expenses incident to his recapture,
if he attempted to escape from his apprenticeship; required to serve
two days for every one he refused to work; apprentices punishable with
stripes in all cases where free men punishable by fine; Rev. 1833, p.

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 207

cipated, to have employment, it will be found that this was much less
harsh than the legislation of the Northern States. The truth is, that all
white people who had known anything of negro slavery doubted that,
when set free, they would voluntarily work and support themselves, and
it was feared that pauperism would be largely increased by the emanci-
pation of even a few negroes. Massachusetts prohibited any owner

457, and contained in Revs. 1845 and 1858; public houses not allowed
to entertain negroes and mulattoes, Rev. 1845, pp. 154 and 237; negroes
to have benefit of only such school taxes as they paid themselves, Rev.
1858, p. 460; see Rev. 1858, p. 418, for peculiarly discriminating punish-
ment for adultery between whites and blacks.

Neb. — schools were for "white youth," Rev. 1866, p. 372, not altered
till 1869.

Kansas — negroes excluded from common schools, Statutes 1855, p.
700, and continued till 1868.

Ind. — not only forbid entry into the State, but forbid white persons
to encourage those already in State to remain, either by giving them
employment or otherwise, Const. 1851, art. 13, sec. 2.

For additional laws see 111., Rev. 1858, pp. 817-826 — Iowa, Code 1851,
sees. 1127 and 1160.

Garner makes reference to some vagrancy laws of other States;
Wise., Rev. Statutes 1878, p. 465— N. Y., Rev. Stats. 1881, vol. Ill, p.
1898— Maine, Rev. Stats. 1871, p. 260— Ind., Rev. Stats. 1881— Mass.,
Supp. to General Stats., vol. I, 1860-1872, ch. 235, p. 510 — Conn., Rev.
1866, ch. 4, p. 642.

Mr. Herbert says (Atlantic Monthly, Feb., 1901, p. 152): "These stat-
utes embraced, most of them without material variations, the features
of the old law of Maine, brought forward in Rev. Stats, of 1883, sec.
17, P- 925»" punishing begging, or "tramping," by imprisonment at hard
labor; "and the old law of Rhode Island, brought forward in Rev.
Stats, of 1872, p. 243: 'If any servant or apprentice shall depart from
the service of his master, or otherwise neglect his duty,' he may be
committed to the work-house; and the long existing law of Connecti-
cut, contained in Rev. of 1866, p. 320, punishing by fine or imprisonment
one who shall entice 'a minor [apprentice] from the service or employ-
ment of such master."

As to voting, Mr. Elaine, speaking of determination of his party
to enfranchise the negro, says (Twenty Years of Congress, vol. II, p.
244) : "They were embarrassed, however, in this step by the constantly
recurring obstacles presented by the constitutions of a majority of
the loyal States. In five New England States suffrage to the colored
man was conceded, but in Connecticut only those negroes were
allowed to vote who were admitted freedmen prior to 1818. New
York permitted a negro to vote after he had been three years a citi-
zen of the State and had been for one year the owner of a freehold
worth two hundred and fifty dollars, free of all encumbrances. In
every other Northern State none but 'white men' were permitted to
vote. Even Kansas * * * at once restricted suffrage to the white
man; while Nevada, whose admission to the Union was after the Thir-
teenth amendment had been passed by Congress, denied suffrage to
'any negro, Chinaman or mulatto.' A still more recent test was ap-
plied. The question of admitting the negro to suffrage was submitted
to popular vote in Connecticut, Wisconsin and Minnesota in the au-
tumn of 1865, and at the same time in Colorado, when she was forming
her constitution, preparatory to seeking admission to the Union. In
all four, under control of the Republican party at the time, the
proposition was defeated." To one interested in the subject of the
status of the negro in the organic laws of the various States, Poore's
compilation of State Constitutions will be found invaluable — Govern-
ment Printing office, 1877.

208 Mississippi Historical Society.

from emancipating his slave unless bond and security were given that he
should not become a charge on the town; stating, as a reason there-
for, that 'great charges and inconveniences had accrued to divers
towns by the setting free of negro and mulatto slaves.' Ohio, Indiana
and Illinois prohibited free negroes and mulattoes from coming into
and settling in those States, without such a bond being given; and they
imposed heavy penalties on any person who would harbor, employ
or give sustenance to such negro. And finally, after many years ex-
perience with this class of people, Indiana and Illinois, by constitu-
tional provision, prohibited the removing to and settling withii*
their borders, of free negroes and mulattoes, on any terms whatever.

"Oregon — which was settled almost exclusively by Northern men —
likewise, by a similar constitutional provision, prohibited the immigra~
tion of free negroes and mulattoes, and deprived all such, so settling
in the State, of the power to hold real estate or to make any contracts
within the State, or to maintain suits in her courts.

"Rhode Island, more than thirty years after slavery had been abol-
ished there, would not allow licenses to keep a tavern or any kind of
public house to be granted to negroes or mulattoes, nor would
she allow a negro or mulatto to sell liquor as the agent or employee
of a white person.

"It is objected to the legislation of 1865 that the orphan children
of deceased freedmen were required to be apprenticed, and that in-
binding such out, the Court was required to give the preference to the
former owner, if found suitable. This provision in the laws of 1865
was much more liberal than similar provisions in Northern States.
Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, in their
statutes abolishing slavery, provided that the children of living freed-
men, not orphans merely, should remain bound to their former owners,
till they were twenty-one years old, in some of these States, and till
they were twenty-eight in others.

"The Mississippi acts of 1865 required colored apprentices to be
taught to read and write, but the Illinois statutes, whilst requiring
white apprentices to be taught to read and write and to know arith-
metic, provided that colored apprentices should only be taught to
read. It is again objected to the legislation of 1865 that our colored
friends were unnecessarily degraded by the provision in relation to-
their being witnesses. This provision allowed them to be witnesses in
all cases where colored people were interested; or had been injured,
although white people were also interested in the suit or proceeding.
This was ample to protect the rights of the colored people in all cases
where they had any interest. If any were injured by this exclusion
from being witnesses in cases where whites only were interested, it is
clear that only the whites themselves were the sufferers. But this law
is more liberal than that which obtained in the Northern States for
many years after slavery had been abolished there. In Indiana, Illi-
nois, Iowa and Kansas, negroes and mulattoes were not allowed to
testify in any case in which a white person was interested, although
free negroes and mulattoes were also interested. In many States they
were not allowed to serve as jurors. In all the New England States,
such qualifications were required and such a mode of selection adopted
as almost necessarily excluded all negroes from juries. In Pennsyl-
vania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska and
Kansas, free negroes and mulattoes were expressly excluded from the
jury service, and in all others they were practically so excluded. Free
negroes and mulattoes were also excluded from service in the militia,
in the following States (reciting dates of exclusion in each) : Mass-
achusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
Vermont, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota,
Nevada, and Kansas.

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 209

"It is also claimed, as an evidence of the unfriendly feeling of the
whites toward the blacks in 1865, that no provision was made for their
education. It will be remembered that at that time the State was
greatly impoverished, and that no public schools were, or could be,
put in operation for any race. The great and pressing necessity of our
people then was food and raiment; but even then, as above shown,
provision was made more liberal than in the Northern States for the
education of apprenticed freedmen. As late as the sixth of March,
1865 — the very year in which this legislation was had — Indiana re-
enacted a provision which had long been standing on her statute books,
that the school taxes should only be collected from whites, and only
white children should go to the public schools; and in Illinois the
school tax was to be divided between the whites and blacks, by giving
to each race what that race paid. Which, considering the poverty, and
small number of blacks, was an effectual exclusion of that race from
the benefits of education. In Nebraska, the common schools were for
whites only, till 1869.

"The police regulations, and provisions against vagrancy, as applied
to free negroes and mulattoes, were also more stringent in the North-
ern States than those contained in the legislation of 1865. In Mass-
achusetts, long after slavery was abolished, negroes and mulattoes were
prohibited from entertaining any negro or mulatto servants, i. e., ap-
prentices. In Rhode Island, they were, as before stated, prohibited
from keeping any public house of entertainment, or saloon; nor were
such persons allowed to keep a disorderly private house, nor entertain
at their private dwelling, 'at unseasonable hours, or in an extravagant
manner,' any person whatever, under penalty of having their private
housekeeping broken up, and themselves bound out to service for two
years. And in Illinois no person was allowed to permit three or more
servants of color to meet at his house for the purpose of dancing and
revelling.

"Intermarriages between whites on the one side and negroes and
mulattoes on the other, were prohibited and made void in most of
the Northern States. In Massachusetts, the provision was, that 'no
one of the English, Scot, or other Christian Nation, shall intermary
with a negro or mulatto,' and a penalty of two hundred and fifty dollars
was imposed on any minister solemnizing such a marriage. In Rhode
Island, intermarriages between whites and colored persons were pro-
hibited and made void, and this provision was re-enacted as late as
1872. This provision was re-enacted in Maine, in the revision of 1871.
In Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Nebraska, and probably in
other States, such intermarriages were declared void, and these pro-
visions were re-enacted in some of these States since the conclusion
of the war. In Indiana and Illinois such intermarriages were so
thoroughly condemned that the parties to them were punished by con-
finement in the penitentiary. And in Illinois they were also punished
by whipping, and an officer granting license for such a marriage was
made thereafter ineligible to office. In these last two States, as a
condition of settling and remaining there, in addition to what has
been before set forth, colored persons were required to give bonds,
in large penalties, which were to be forfeited upon the least violation
of the laws of the State by them.

"As to the right of voting, the laws in the Northern States were
equally stringent against persons of the African race. In Rhode
Island, Connecticut, Maine. Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Oregon, Nebraska, Nevada and
Kansas, free negroes and mulattoes were prohibited from voting; and
in nearly all of these the provisions remained unchanged until the
adoption of the Fifteenth Amendment, in 1870. In many of these the
provision excluding negroes and mulattoes from voting remains un-

14

2io Mississippi Historical Society.

changed in terms in their present constitutions, and their right to vote
in these States rests entirely in the Fifteenth Amendment. It will be
noted, too, that in some of these States unnaturalized foreigners, and
Indians were allowed to vote, yet the right was denied to persons of
African descent, and it will be noted also, that this exclusion obtained
in the States where the colored population was so small that if they
had been allowed to vote, the exercise of the right by them would
have had but little effect on the result of the elections.

"That the right of voting was almost universally considered as be-
longing almost solely to the whites in the Northern States, up to the
adoption of the Fifteenth Amendment, I refer to the proclamations of
President Lincoln, dated December, 1863, and July, 1864, and designed
to secure a reconstruction of the Southern States, in which suffrage
was confined to whites only; and Congress, in the year 1864, passed an
act for the same purpose, giving only whites the right to vote.

"And in Mr. Lincoln's proclamation, above referred to, dated Decem-
ber, 1863, this remarkable passage occurs: 'That any provision which
may be adopted by such State government (referring to the State
governments to be reconstructed in the Southern States, under his
proclamation), in relation to the freed people of such State, which
shall recognize and declare their permanent freedom, provide for their
education, and which may yet be consistent as a temporary arrangement
with their present condition as a laboring, landless and homeless class,
will not be objected to by the National Executive.'82 And in a speech
which he made afterwards, on the nth of April, 1865, at Washington,
being the last speech ever made by him, he distinctly admitted that
he referred, by this clause to a temporary apprenticeship of freedmen,
after their emancipation.

"The war ended in the summer of 1865. The slaves were emancipat-
ed, suddenly, without previous preparation. The emancipation was
sweeping, including all. Many thousands of the freedmen had aban-
doned their homes, and had congregated in the cities, and were living
on the bounty of the Freedmen s Bureau.

"The State had just been devastated by war. The people were with-
out farming implements and stock, and without the means of buying
them. Proper food and raiment were not to be had. A large number
of men had just returned from the army, without the means of support,
and were without employment. The government over the State was
partly civil and partly military, and the bounds of neither were ac-
curately defined and understood. The white people were overwhelmed
by the magnitude of the calamity which had befallen them, and the
blacks were almost stupefied by the novel circumstances which sur-
rounded them.

"Under these circumstances the white race was called upon to solve
the most difficult problem that had ever been presented to the human
intellect. The time was unsuited for calm and deliberate action, yet
the duty to act was emergent, not admitting of delay. Is it to be
wondered that the first effort that was made, though intended only
as a temporary arrangement, was a mistake?6* Is it strange, that in
groping their way through this darkness, in undertaking to solve this
great problem, they fell into the paths which had been trodden by the
whites of the North and of England? And is it not now still more
strange that having corrected their error in about a year after it was

62 Richardson's Messages and Papers, vol. VI, p. 214.

83 If General George intended to include in this characterization the
labor and vagrancy laws, he had probably not closely studied their
operation in the French colonies and British West Indies. This much
of Mississippi's legislation was clearly not a "mistake;" the rest, as he
notes, was soon repealed.

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 211

committed, by a repeal of the most obnoxious provisions, they are
now charged with enmity and vindictiveness toward the freedmen,
whilst those who, under circumstances far more favorable, acting calmly
and in perfect peace, and in their own good time, passed more strin-
gent regulations, and kept them in force for many years, are to be
regarded as having acted justly and properly?"

A discussion of Mississippi's conduct in the matter of amend-
ing her constitution and framing legislation for freedmen, would
manifestly be lacking in an essential particular if it failed to no-
tice her action on the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments.
These matters are too intimately correlated to be disassociated
in any treatment, at all comprehensive, of either. The same
men who enacted the legislation of 1865 and 1866 also declined
to ratify either of these amendments when submitted to them.
They may not have been subjected to as much abuse for this ac-
tion as for their laws, but equally as much capital has been
sought to be made out of the one as the other. It is an old
claim, this, that they had no good reason for their action, but
that it was founded in both cases upon nothing higher than
hatred of the negro and their inability to reconcile themselves
to the idea of his becoming a citizen. The real grounds of their
objection have not received such wide currency as those alleged
by men ever seeking an excuse in Southern political conduct for
the inexcusable in their own.

In Governor Humphreys' message submitting the proposed
Article XIII., he advised the ratification of the first section,
abolishing slavery, and the rejection of the second, the enforcing
section. His message was referred to the Committee on State
and Federal Relations, and the report of that committee was
prepared by Hon. H. F. Simrall, later a distinguished Justice of
the State Supreme Court. The report follows, in part :

"The first and main section of the Article has already been adopted
by Mississippi, in so far as her territory and people are concerned.
It was substantially, and almost in terms, incorporated into the State
Constitution by the late Convention. Nor is it possible for the State,
by any act or in any mode, conventional or otherwise, to change the
status fixed by the Convention. ****** The late constitutional
amendment was adopted in perfect good faith. The people have ac-
cepted it, and will adhere to it, in the like spirit. * * * * The adoption
of the proposed amendment, as Article XIII, can have no practical
operation in the State of Mississippi. The absolute freedom of the
African race is already assured here. It is an accomplished fact.

"The second section is subject to most grave objections. It confers
on Congress the power to enforce the article by 'appropriate legisla-

212 Mississippi Historical Society.

tion.' Slavery haying already been abolished, there is really no neces-
sity for this section, nor can the committee anticipate any practical
good that can result from its adoption. On the contrary, it seems to
be fraught with evils which the Legislature and the people of Miss-
issippi are most anxious to guard against ******** j^ js tne
anxious desire of the people of Mississippi to withdraw the negro race
from State and National politics; to quiet forever all subjects and
questions connected with it, and, so far as forecast and precaution can
do so, to forestall and prevent the outbreak of agitation hereafter.
The committee cannot anticipate what construction future congresses
may put on this section. It may be claimed that it would be 'appro-
priate' for Congress to legislate in reference to freedmen in the State.
May not the harmony of the country be interrupted and disturbed by
the efforts of a political party to interfere in the domestic polity of the
State on the pretext that its legislation trenched on the freedom of a
certain class of its population, and therefore it ought to be revised and
corrected by Congress.

"This committee can hardly conceive of a more dangerous grant of
power than one which by construction might admit Federal legisla-
tion in respect to persons, denizens and inhabitants of the State. * * *
* * *Mississippi cannot give her deliberate consent to leave open any
question from which agitation can arise, calculated to disturb the
harmony so happily being restored among the States and the people.
****** It is the common interest of the people in all quarters ot
the Union, now that the vexed questions connected with the negro
race are all merged and settled in liberation, that ***** the door
be * * * closed against future agitation and disturbance from this cause.
****** The tendency of the section is to absorb in the Federal
Government the reserved rights of the States and people, to unsettle
the equilibrium of the States in the Union, and to break down the
efficient authority and sovereignty of the State over its internal and
domestic affairs. In any aspect of the subject this section is unpro-
ductive of good, and may be fruitful of most serious evils. Connected
as the first section of the proposed Article is with the second, and
both being included in the same Article as an amendment to the
Constitution, and a ratification of the first, and a rejection of the sec-
ond, being as your committee think, inappropriate, and of non-effect:

Resolved therefore, by the Legislature of tlie State of Mississippi, That
it refuses to ratify the proposed amendment to the Constitution of the
United States."'

In considering these two amendments, Mississippi had two
courses open before her : She could act in unquestioning com-
pliance with the demands so clearly visible behind the formal
requests from Congress for her judgment upon these proposed
articles, to the stultification of her historic attitude on the vital
question of the reserved rights of the State — having abandoned
forever any attempt to exercise that of withdrawal from the
Federal compact, the only one involved in and determined by
the war — or she could, in the exercise of her sovereignty as a
State in the Union of which she was declared to be still a part,
put away from her every consideration of servile expediency,

"Laws of 1865, pp. 270, et seq.

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 213

and record her solemn and deliberate conviction upon the wis-
dom of so grave a proposition as altering the organic law of
that Union. Whether wisely or unwisely, she chose without
hesitation, the latter course.

Governor Humphreys submitted the proposed Fourteenth Ar-
ticle to the session of 1866, in a message in which he said:
"Our people are wearied of war, its desolation, its vandalism.
They have returned to their allegiance to the Constitution of
the United States. They now seek for peace, its quiet and se-
curity, by submission to its power." He declared the proposed
amendment to be : "* * such a gross usurpation of the
rights of the State, and such a centralization of power in the
Federal Government, that, I presume, a mere reading of it will
cause its rejection by you."

The report on which the action of the Legislature was based
was the work of the same distinguished gentleman who had
prepared that on the former amendment. A careful study of
this profound disquisition on the Federal Constitution, of which
only a few arguments are presented here, will rank it among
the ablest papers of its kind ever prepared in America. Says
the report:

"History has taught how exceedingly difficult it is to establish any
form of government and definitely settle its powers. The interests to
be subserved by it are susceptible of almost infinite modifications.
These should, as far as practicable, be reconciled and harmonized. It
may not be prudent to venture on the untried experiment of improve-
ment, from the mere suggestions of theory. Unless defects have been
clearly discovered which retard or impair the beneficial operation ot
the government, or which endanger its purity and integrity, it were
wise to let the Constitution alone. ****************
The civil war has closed with two facts indisputably established, uni-
versally accepted and recognized by the people of the South. First,
that slavery is forever abolished. Second, that the Federal Union is
indissolvable. The State Convention of 1^65 so declared. * * * * The
people, in the highest form in which they can exert sovereign power,
have declared that slavery does not, and shall not hereafter exist, and
that the secession ordinance is null and void."

Declaring that both these matters — slavery and the right of
secession — had reached a complete and final adjustment, he
said that they carried with them a determination "of all and
everything that has been in dispute between the sections."

"The committee see nothing in the intrinsic merits of the proposed
amendment, in the manner of its adoption by Congress, or in the cir-
cumstances that environ the State of Mississippi, that commends its
ratification. Every important amendment paves the way for future

214 Mississippi Historical Society.

changes. Prior to our late troubles, all the amendments made to the
Federal Constitution were of the nature of limitations and restrictions
on power. The one proposed is so comprehensive, touching so many
points, and including so many subjects that have heretofore belonged
exclusively to State cognizance, that, for a long time, there must be
embarrassment, confusion and interference between the Federal and
State jurisdictions. It is recommended as a cure for present dis-
tempers. The good which its friends are assured it will bring, may
all turn to ashes in practice, and, instead of remedying grievances,,
it may entail on the country a long train of evils. ***********

This amendment would disturb to a degree which no jurist can fore-
see, the established relations between the State and Federal courts.

* * * It confers on Congress large and undefined power, at the
expense of the reserved rights of the State. It transfers to the United
States a criminal and police regulation over ;the inhabitants of the
States, touching matters purely domestic. It intervenes between the
State government and its inhabitants, on the assumption that there is
an alienation of interest and sentiment between certain portions of
the population, and that such intervention is for the benefit of one
class against the other. It tends to create distrust and jealousy be-
tween the white and black races, and perpetually to disturb and keep
alive these evil passions. It invites appeal from the domestic to the
Federal judiciary, on questions arising on local law, on the predicate
that the State courts will not deal between the parties with fairness
or impartiality. It inculcates in the colored population a distrust of
State law and authority for the protection of person and property, and
[a tendency] to regard both as alien and inimical — and constantly to
require the legislative and judicial corrective of the Federal power.
The amendment introduces new rules, or attempts to enforce them
on the States, in regard to citizenship and the elective franchise. * *

* * * It is obvious that the object is to compel the Southern States
to accept negro suffrage, on pain of the reduction of their representation
in Congress and the Electoral College. *********
The franchise of voting is not a natural right. In no age or coun-
try has suffrage been universal. ***** When the scheme of
government is so contrived that ultimate power is with the people, *

* * especial care should be taken that the voting class should not
be swollen by sudden and large infusions of ignorance and prejudice.
It cannot be pretended that the lately enfranchised blacks are, as a
body, either morally or intellectually entitled to vote. *****

Judge Simrall, in discussing the Fourth section, which dis-
franchised certain classes connected with the Confederacy, and
reciting the fact of the pardon of so many of these by the Presi-
dent, entered at length into the nature and effect of the execu-
tive pardon. Showing that these men had been thus restored
"to the precise status they bore towards the United States be-
fore the criminating acts were done," he says :

"These citizens would not be convicted by the courts. To reach them
by a bill of attainder or ex post facto law, is beyond the power of Con-
gress. The problem is yet unsolved, whether they may not be punished
by a Constitutional Amendment."

He discussed at length, and most exhaustively, the numerous
Executive and legislative acts which, during the war, had uni-

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 215

formly regarded the Southern States as incontrovertibly mem-
bers of the Union, and reviewed the mode prescribed by the
Constitution for its amendment. He demonstrated the impos-
sibility of the passage by Congress of an amendment, in con-
formity with the constitutional requirement, with the Southern
States excluded ; on the simple ground, of course, that there
were not the required two-thirds of the people and States repre-
sented in the House of Representatives and Senate, respectively.
Contending that the result of the war, of itself, worked the
preservation of the Union of the States, he declared:

"It is impossible, in our complex system, that a State can occupy a
middle ground. It is revolutionary, subversive of fundamental princi-
ples, that a State may be in the Union for some purposes, and out ot
it for others. That she may, through her legislature, ratify an amend-
ment to the Constitution, and at the same time be excluded from the
consideration and vote on the amendment in Congress. :

"To deny to the State representation, ***** an(j a± ^g same
time to levy on her people direct taxes, which can only be apportioned
on the representative basis, * * is to hold the State and people under
the disabilities of conquered territory.

******************

"The assumption that twenty-five States can govern the other eleven,
in a mode different from that prescribed in the Constitution, is nothing
more nor less than a subversion of the Constitution and the Union
created by it ******************

"The Senate and House are, respectively, the judges of the election
and qualification of their respective members. The inquiry is limited to
each individual applicant for a seat. What the qualifications are. are
plainly written in the Constitution. If the Congress can go outside oi
the Constitutional rule, and exclude an entire State delegation, because
of their political opinions, or those of their constituents, then a ma-
jority in Congress may perpetuate its faction or party in power, by
shutting the doors of Congress on all who do not agree with it."85

Because of the vituperation heaped upon Mississippi for this
action, because it has been charged that it was merely in con-
sonance with her previous course of "ineffable folly," and to
have been expected of such men as composed her convention
and Legislature in 1865, these extracts have been made as full
as they are. Mr..Blaine says that this action "was scarcely less
mad than the madness of secession," and that "it is difficult, in
deliberately weighing all the pertinent incidents and circum-
stances, to discover any motive which could, even to their own
distorted view, justify the position they had so rashly taken."
He applies this to the entire South. His favorite mode of re-
ferring to this grave action is to speak of it as a "contemptu-

85 House Journal, 1866-67, Appendix, pp. 77 et. seq.

216 Mississippi Historical Society.

ous rejection." Not satisfied with heaping upon these legisla-
tures all the varied forms of abuse which his ready wit devised,
he stoops, even beneath himself, to charge them by implication
with cowardice as well as folly. He says, "It was naturally in-
ferred and was subsequently proved, that the Southern States
would not hare dared to take this hostile attitude except with the
encouragement and the unqualified support of the President."

With even this fragmentary exposition before us, of the faith
which was within these men, of the reasons moving their steps,
how undignified, how shallow, how unworthy even its author,
becomes this charge, fit only to be preferred against the "deals"
which might influence such transactions as the altering of a vil-
lage ordinance.

What, then, is the relation which these actions — as part of
the general conduct of the South at large — bore to the recon-
struction acts and the last two amendments? Can the Con-
gressional legislation which converted a great section of country
into a military satrapy, can the radical and unconstitutional
changes in the organic law, which, for the accomplishment of
the low aim of perpetuating political power, would wreck the so-
ciety and arrest the progress of the civilization of that section ;
can these things be fairly traced, in any part, to the acts of Mis-
sissippi's Constitutional Convention and Legislature of 1865?

Mr. Blaine has told the world that this relation was nothing
less than that of cause and effect ; that but for the one, the other
would not have been.

But even Elaine's exceptionally able combination of sophistry
and logic is unequal to the task of evoking harmony from the
double claim that the South brought all her woes upon herself,
while endeavoring at the same time to establish his party's
claim to the negro's gratitude for making him a citizen and a
voter. Speaking of the reconstruction acts, under which it was
so arranged that, through the disfranchisement of white men
and the enfranchisement of black, the Republican leaders could
force through Southern Legislatures any action necessary to
their purposes, he says :

"It was the most vigorous and determined action ever taken by Con-
gress in time of peace. * * * It changed the political history of the
United States. But it is well to remember that it never could have

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 217

:been accomplished except for the conduct of the Southern leaders. The
people of the States affected have always preferred as their chief griev-
ance against the Republican party, that negro suffrage was imposed
upon them as a condition to their re-admission to representation; but
this recital of the facts in their proper sequence shows that the South
deliberately and wittingly brought it upon themselves."

His reference here is to the rejection of the Fourteenth
Amendment, and her general legislative conduct. To quote
again :

"If, therefore, suffrage was prematurely granted to the negro; if, in
consequence, harm came to the Southern States; if hardship was in-
flicted upon Southern people, the responsibility for it cannot be justly
laid upon Northern sentiment or upon the Republican party."

Really, a stranger to the facts might well imagine the ship of
State to have been manned, during the stormy five years follow-
ing the war, solely by a Southern crew, with "the pirate of the
Alabama" himself at the helm ! But what of the record ?

Let us collate a few, but a very few, of Mr. Elaine's own ex-
pressions on the subject, with such utterances from other lead-
ers as he has seen fit to use. To return to the very beginning of
Johnson's reconstruction plan, and glance at the reason for its
disfavor with the dominant power and section — before any con-
ventions had been held, prior to the assembling of the first
Legislature. We are told :

"It soon became evident86 that President Johnson realized how com-
pletely he had excluded men of the colored race from any share of
political power in the Southern States by his process of reconstruction."

It was at this time that Mr. Johnson, from the very storm
centre of partisan politics, aware of every intention of the rad-
ical leaders, had written Governor Sharkey that the radicals
were even then "wild upon negro franchise." This was the time
when Judge Yerger, from personal discussion and observation
at the National Capital, was able to outline the provisions and
demands and conditions of the already matured plan of recon-
struction, which the radicals were to force through at the op-
portune moment, and to do it so closely as to exactly parallel
Stevens' bill, even to the clause which was finally modified — that
making the military governments of indefinite duration.
Even then Judge Potter felt the very atmosphere to be laden

68 Mr. Elaine's assertions as to the absence of Northern sentiment,
and his disclaimer of Republican responsibility, must be borne in mind.

218 Mississippi Historical Society.

with the demand for negro suffrage, for "equal political rights
to the blacks." And all this was early in 1865.
Mr. Elaine continues:

"It is true that he stood loyally by the Thirteenth Amendment. * *
* * * But he saw, as others had seen before him, that this was not going
far enough to satisfy the reasonable desire of many in the North whom he felt
it necessary to conciliate. To emancipate the negro and concede to
him no possible power wherewith to protect his freedom would, in
the judgment of many Northern philanthropists, prove the merest mockery
of justice."

Keeping in mind the objects sought to be accomplished
through the Lincoln-Seward-Johnson emancipation policy, let
us again follow Mr. Elaine:

"The President seemed to have no comprehension of the fact that
with inconsiderable exceptions the entire party was composed of Radicals,
men who in aim and sympathy were hostile to the purposes indicated
by his policy. * * * * The radicalism to which he now contempt-
uously indicated his opposition was that which looked to the broadening
of human rights, to philanthropy, to charity and to good deeds."

And again he says :

"The truth was that the Republicans of the North, constituting, as
was shown by the elections of 1865, a majority in every State, were
deeply concerned as to the fate and fortune of the colored population
of the South."

He insisted, however, that,

"Only a minority of Republicans were ready to demand suffrage for
those who had been recently emancipated, and who, from the ignor-
ance peculiar to servitude, were presumably unfit to be intrusted with the
elective franchise."

It would appear to the casual reader that, even if there were
no Northern sentiment favorable to this movement, here might
be found a fair foundation for building upon. Even Mr. Elaine,
at this time, 1865, seems to have thought of the possibility of
such a thing — though, it seems, according to his statement,
that nothing came of it — that the seeds failed to bring forth
their fruit:

"The minority, however, was composed of very earnest men of the
same type as those who originally created and combined the anti-
slavery sentiment of the country, and who now espoused the right of
the negro to equality before the law. Equality, they believed, could
neither be conferred nor maintained unless the negro were invested
with the badge of American manhood — the right to vote — a right zvhich
they were determined to guarantee as firmly to the colored man as it was
already guaranteed to the ivhite man."

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 219

He claims that the Republican masses were not then pre-
pared to go to this extreme, but he accounts for it easily :

"That privilege was, indeed, still denied him in a majority of the loyal
States, and it seemed illogical and unwarrantable, to expect a more
advanced philanthropy, a higher sense of justice, from the South than
had been yet attained by the North."

It is well enough to note this, for we shall presently see how
readily and easily were these trifling scruples disposed of.

As early as February, 1865, Mr. Sumner declared that "the
cause of human rights and of the Union needs the ballots as
well as the muskets of colored men." How comes it that the
Southern Legislatures brought upon their States the horrors
of reconstruction according to the Stevens-Morton plan, when
Mr. Stevens had, in December, 1865, already given utterance
to the sentiments which dominated every feature of that plan?
In the speech with which he opened the Reconstruction debate,
he laid down the principles to which his associates afterwards
subscribed. These were simple enough :

"The future condition of the conquered power depends on the will ot
the conqueror. They must come in as new States or remain as con-
quered provinces;" the coming in was to be on such terms, too, and with
such regulations of suffrage, as would "secure perpetual ascendency to the
party of the Union."

As Mr. Herbert says, Stevens had already declared that,
"Congress would take no account of the aggregation of white-
washed rebels who, without any legal authority, have assembled
in the capitals of the late rebel States and simulated legislative
bodies." This was the idea, and it was followed to the letter;
Congress "took no account" of Mississippi's acts, legislative,
executive or judicial, and what she did had about the same ef-
fect on reconstruction legislation as an appeal to reason would
have had upon the Radical minds of that time when judgment
truly had fled to brutish beasts.

To again quote Mr. Summer:

"Nothing is clearer than the absolute necessity for suffrage for all
colored persons in the disorganized States."

This was the program : there was to be no half-hearted, half-
way business, when once the dance of death was fairly started.

"It will not be enough if you give it to those who read and write; you will
not in this way acquire the voting force which you need there for the
protecting of Unionists, whether black or white. You will not secure
the new allies who are essential to the National cause."

22O Mississippi Historical Society.

In this connection Mr. Herbert has called attention to a fact
now seldom adverted to ; the popular discussion, from the
stump and rostrum, of these measures by Radical leaders. Says
he:

"In the spring of 1865, the New York Tribune, while contending that
the negro was entitled to the ballot, was urging the unwisdom of taking
issue with a Republican President who had at hand all the patronage of
the government. When, however, the 4th of July, the national anni-
versary, had come, orations were made by such leaders as Boutwell in
Massachusetts, Garfield in Ohio, and Julian in Indiana, advocating
broadly negro suffrage for the late Confederate States, — and this before
a single State convention had assembled under Johnson's reconstruc-
tion proclamations."67

Touching Mr. Elaine's disclaimer as to responsibility and
sentiment, there is other testimony which should be introduced.
It emanates from no less a personage than Henry Wilson, Sen-
ator from Massachusetts, and Vice-President of the United
States. Speaking of the joint resolution introduced by Mr.
Stevens, from the reconstruction committee, which became,
with some alterations, Article XIV. of the Constitution, Mr.
Wilson says:

"The measure now proposed by Mr. Stevens was far from satisfactory
to either the mover or those he represented. For it has since transpir-
ed that another plan had been submitted to him and others by Robert
Dale Owen, who, though not a member of Congress, was, as chairman
of a government commission in 1863, to inquire into the condition of
the freedmen, prepared to speak with some knowledge upon the sub-
ject. This plan had received Mr. Stevens' assent and earnest advocacy,
and had been adopted by the Committee on Reconstruction."

It was not reported for the reasons to follow. This plan, ad-
vocated, and actually adopted, by the committee in whose keep-
ing, as Mr. Blaine says, were "in an especial degree the fortunes
of the Republican party," provided that no discrimination
should be made by a State, "as to the civil rights of persons,
because of race, color or previous condition of servitude," and
that after July 4, 1876, none should be made "as to the enjoy-
ment of the right of suffrage." This, let it be remembered,
was early in 1866, and was the formal adoption of a plan ma-
tured long prior to that time. Mr. Wilson dwells particularly
upon its suffrage feature, thus early determined upon, and says :

"The main significance of this plan and its importance as a matter
of history lie in the facts that it at first commanded the support of the
Committee on Reconstruction, though it was afterward rejected, with

07 Atlantic Monthly, Feb., 1901.

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 221

the reasons given for that final rejection. The latter, according to the
testimony of Mr. Stevens to its author, were that caucuses of the Re-
publican members of the States of New York, Illinois and Indiana, had
decided that, for fear of its influence upon the pending elections, it
would not be safe to incorporate into the avowed policy of the party the
idea of negro suffrage, even prospectively, at the end of ten years, and
the fact that the committee so far yielded to the clamor as to recon-
sider its action, and submit the article as reported, hastily drawn up,
and so far defective and so far inferior to that it rejected as to render
necessary the subsequent adoption of the Fifteenth Amendment. So fearful,
not to say cowardly, were even Republicans of that day, so faintly did
they discern the issues of the war, and the necessities of the situation, and so
afraid, in the slang parlance employed on the occasion, were they of
the 'nigger in the wood-pile.' "

But Mr. Wilson was needlessly severe. It was early yet, and
"the issues of the war" were soon discerned, "the necessities of
the situation" soon realized, the fear soon overcome. He
should have considered, as we have seen that Mr. Blaine did,
the fact that those States did not yet care to experiment with
negro suffrage upon themselves, either at once or prospectively,
when its effects could be observed with so much more safety by
first trying it on the South ; especially since it might require an
autopsy to fully determine its operation.

Discussing, a little further on, the Fifteenth Amendment,
we have this candid deliverance :

"It should be premised and it may be appropriately mentioned in this
connection that from the first the thought of negro suffrage, as one
of the logical results of the Rebellion, was entertained."

Quoting the language of Mr. Boutwell, Mr. Wilson throws
some additional light upon the matter of "Northern sentiment :"

"* * * *if this country is true to itself it will rise in the majesty
of its strength and maintain a policy, here and everywhere, by which
the rights of the colored people shall be secured through their own
power, — in peace the ballot, in war the bayonet."88

It may be mentioned that Mr. Schurz also, in his report on
Southern conditions, prepared in the winter of 1865^6, recom-
mended that the negro be "endowed with a certain measure of
political power," saying that, considering "the security of hu-
man rights in the South," and other things, "the objections
raised upon the ground of the ignorance of the freedmen be-
come unimportant."

To return to Mr. Blaine. After reviewing the reports and

88 Rise and Fall of the Slave Power in America, vol. III. pp. 650-652, 662-
664.

222 Mississippi Historical Society.

measures emanating from the reconstruction committee, and
the discussions, pro and con, he says, speaking of "the great
majority of Northern people," that "the average judgment ap-
proved the sharply defined and stringent policy of Congress as
set forth by Mr. Stevens."

Upon this "stringent policy" the Republican party went be-
fore the country in 1866. Among the features of the campaign,
as indicative, it is to be presumed, of "Northern sentiment,"
was the convention of "citizen soldiers and sailors." From the
Radical standpoint its action left nothing to be desired. Of
Mr. Johnson it declared:

"His attempt to fasten his scheme of reconstruction upon the country
is as dangerous as it is unwise; his acts in sustaining it have retarded
the restoration of peace and unity; they have converted conquered
rebels into impudent claimants to rights which they have forfeited and
to places which they have desecrated."

Every utterance of the leaders in Congress was fully en-
dorsed, and Mr. Elaine says that the convention's action was
"most influential upon public opinion."

He also says :

"There was an unmistakeable manifestation throughout the whole
political canvass of 1866, by the more advanced section of the Repub-
lican party, in favor of demanding impartial suffrage as the basis of
reconstruction in the South. It came from the people rather than from
the political leaders."

"A large number of thinking people," he says, "* * could not see
how * * * the Republican party could refrain from catting to its aid the
only large mass of persons in the South whose loyalty could be impli-
citly trusted."

This and the expressions discussed above, were all occur-
rences of the years 1865 and 1866 — many being merely the ut-
terance of convictions and determinations reached prior, even,
to the first named year. The Fourteenth Amendment was not
submitted to the South until the latter part of 1866. Yet, with
all this before us, we are complacently informed, touching negro
suffrage, "that the South deliberately and wittingly brought it
upon themselves," that "the original difficulty was the rejection
of the Fourteenth Amendment by the South;" that it "cannot
be justly laid upon Northern sentiment or upon the Republican
party."

Not satisfied with the stultifying exhibit already made, he
further enlarges it by quoting his own remarks on the military
reconstruction bill of 1867, the first act of a Congress whose

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 223

course, he says, "was firm to the point of severity." He said
that he believed

"The true interpretation of the election of 1866 was that, in addition
to the proposed constitutional amendment, impartial suffrage should be
the basis of reconstruction. Why not declare it so? Why not, when
you send out this military police through the lately rebellious States,
send with it that impressive declaration?"

Garfield himself, in the same debate, declared that it had been
known at the previous session that "if the Republican party
lived, it must live by the strength of the Constitutional amend-
ment." As if to conclude for all time any question as to the
significance of the election, Elaine adds the declaration that

"The Republican victory of 1866 led to the incorporation of impartial
suffrage in the reconstruction laws."89

With what followed the application of the reconstruction acts
of 1867, we have no concern here ; but it is proper to bring into
view a single act of the Republican party in the year follow-
ing. This, because of its bearing upon the attitude of certain
Northern States, and of the dominant political party of the
Union, upon a once perplexing phase of the negro suffrage pro-
gram.

It will be recalled that Mr. Elaine has more than once ad-
verted to the embarrassment of his party on the question of
negro suffrage, by reason of the fact of its denial in the con-
stitutions of a "majority of the loyal States." We have also
been afforded, by Mr. Wilson, a glance at the troubles arising
from this "loyal State" inhibition. The matter being one of
purely partisan advantage — except, possibly, in the case of a
few idealists of the Sumner type — the question was presented
as one demanding a "practical" solution. Congress having
usurped the power of regulating the franchise in the Southern
States, and the Fifteenth Amendment not yet having been pro-
posed, a very simple expedient for avoiding the difficulty was
determined upon.

The highest authority known to the American party system is
the National Convention. This question, then, came naturally
before that of the Republican party at Chicago, May 20, 1868;
and the assembled judgment of that party, speaking its de-

** Twenty Years of Congress, vol. II, pp. 80, 82, 92, 128, 150, 192, 232,
243, 244, 256, 259, 262, 264, 412.

224 Mississippi Historical Society.

liberate conviction of justice and of right upon this proposition,
thus recorded itself, in the second section of the declaration
of its principles :

"The guarantee by Congress of equal suffrage to all loyal men at
the South was demanded by every consideration of public safety, of
gratitude and of justice, and must be maintained; while the question of
suffrage in all the loyal States properly belongs to the people of those States."

To do justice to this brazen exhibition of the real impelling
force behind a policy so long pursued under the guise of high
impulse and broad political philanthrophy, this crowning revela-
tion of vindictive malignity, it may answer to paraphrase Mr.
Elaine's characterization of Mississippi's "black code," and say
that it was altogether a shameless proclamation of indecent
wrong on the part of the Republican party, and to invoke the
aid of John A. Logan's diatribe on Andrew Johnson, in declar-
ing that the world in after times will read the history of this act
as an illustration of the depth to which political turpitude can
descend.

What then becomes of the allegation of cause and effect,
as indicating the relation between Mississippi's actions, and the
South's, and the reconstruction acts and war amendments?

Where is the necessity for further testimony? The amount
of evidence available depends merely upon the patience of him
who seeks it, and it were an idle pastime to pile proof upon
demonstration.

Let the last word be spoken by the most competent authority
now alive — a Northern Republican — one who was a very part
of the work of reconstruction, as the head of a State under-
going its process — Governor Daniel H. Chamberlain :

"The white South was helpless. The black South was equal to all the
needs of the hour; ignorant, to be sure, but loyal; inexperienced, but
with the ballot as its teacher and inspiration, capable of assuring good
government. Hardly anywhere else in recorded debates can be found
so surprising a revelation of the blindness of partisan zeal as these dis-
cussions disclose. (The debates on reconstruction.) But it may now be
clear to all, as it was then clear to some, that underneath all the avow-
ed motives and all the open arguments lay a deeper cause than all
others, — the will and determination to secure party ascendency and
control at the South and in the nation through the negro vote. If this
is a hard saying, let anyone now ask himself, or ask the public, if it is
possibly credible that the reconstruction acts would have been passed
if the negro vote had been believed to be Democratic."70

70 Atlantic Monthly, April, 1901, pp. 473-4.

Legal Status of Freedmen. — Stone. 225

And yet there are not wanting, at this late day, American
publicists, and some even of the South, to declare that the
Southern States could have altered the course of events — that
in that time Mississippi did not wisely play her part. Why
longer attempt to perpetrate upon history so barefaced a
fraud ?

In pleading for negro suffrage Mr. Sumner had declared his
belief in "equality as the God-given birthright of all men," say-
ing, that "If this be an error it is an error which I love."
Upon the altar of his devotion to this error he hestitated
not to risk the sacrifice of millions of his countrymen. But
his associates in this error — and with them it was not an
error, but rather a deliberate crime — are denied even the excuse
of being idealists. They were men of practical mind, and in
considering their course we see to what desperate measures
lust for power may lead. The stake for which they played was
high, 'tis true, and in those times cupidity held within her own
revenge's helping hand ; but the men with whom they had to
deal were white men like themselves, and it would seem that
the reflection of a passing hour must have shown them how
desperate was their venture.

They had ample warning from the South herself, for the
President had told them that of all the dangers yet encoun-
tered by the Nation none were equal to those "which must re-
sult from the success of the effort now making to Africanize
the half of our country." He said:

"We must not delude ourselves. It will require a strong stand-
ing army, and probably more than two hundred millions per an-
num, to maintain the supremacy of negro governments after they are
established."

But from such a source only treason could spring, and so the
work went on.

To such an attempt it had been ordained in the very creation
of mankind that there should ever be but a single end. That end
was inevitable, and in due time it came, and in its wake have
followed, "not only peace, but peace with harmony and pros-
perity, as extended as the Republic."

It has been said of the accomplishment of the results which
15

226 Mississippi Historical Society.

followed this radical folly, by one never charged with friend-
ship for the South,71 that

"It was a magnificent sentiment that underlay it all, — an unfaltering
determination, an invincible defiance to all that had the seeming of
compulsion or tyranny. One cannot but regard with pride and sym-
pathy the indomnitable men, who, being conquered in war, yet resisted
every effort of the conqueror to change their laws, their customs, or
even the personnel of their ruling class; and this, too, not only with
unyielding stubbornness, but with success. One cannot but admire the
arrogant boldness with which they charged the nation which had over-
powered them — even in the teeth of her legislators — with perfidy,
malice, and a spirit of unworthy and contemptible revenge."

It should not be forgotten that what we have to-day we owe
to these men. This generation owes it to them that their cour-
age, their sufferings and their achievements should sometimes
be recalled ; for our society, our peace, our happiness, our very
civilization itself, are but monuments to their heroic deeds.
Nor can we more greatly honor ourselves than by honoring the
men who wrought these things; for in their high resolve that
this land which their fathers had given them, and upon which
had been freely poured the libation of their blood, that this
land should again be theirs and their children's forever, they
were not deterred by threats, nor force, nor violence, nor the
might of armed power, nor by the form and letter of procured
organic law.

"Judge Albion W. Tourgee

ORIGIN AND LOCATION OF MILLSAPS COLLEGE.
BY W. B. MuRRAH.1

Millsaps College, located in Jackson, Mississippi, is the prop-
erty of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. It is owned
and controlled jointly by the Mississippi and North Mississippi
Conferences. It was established under a charter issued by the
Mississippi Legislature in the year 1890. The terms of the
charter prescribe that the incorporators "may accept donations
of real and personal property for the benefit of the college here-
after to be established by them, and contributions of money or
negotiable securities of every kind in aid of the endowment of
such college, and may confer degrees, and give certificates of
scholarship and do and perform all other acts for the benefit of
said institution and the promotion of its welfare that are not re-
pugnant to the constitution and laws of this State or of the
United States, subject, however, to the approval of the said two
Conferences." The College has its remote origin in the gen-
eral policy of the Methodist Church to maintain institutions
under its own control for higher learning in the Arts and Sci-
ences as well as for the special training of young ministers.

At the annual session of the Mississippi Conference in the
city of Vicksburg on December the 7th, in the year 1888, the
following resolutions were adopted by a large majority of the
Conference :

1 Rev. William Belton Murrah was born at Pickensville, Ala., in 1852.
In 1874 he graduated at the Southern University, Greensboro, Ala.
The degree of D. D. was conferred upon him by Centenary College,
Jackson, La., in 1887, and the degree of LL. D. by Woffprd College,
South Carolina, in 1897. He joined the North Mississippi Conference
of the M. E. Church, South, in 1876, and was stationed successively at
Oxford, Winona, and Aberdeen. From i886-'oo he was vice-president
of Whitworth College, Brookhaven, Miss. When Millsaps College,
at Jackson, Miss., was established, Dr. Murrah was made president of
that institution, which position he still holds.

Dr. Murrah has been a representative of his church in all the im-
portant councils since 1890, having just returned from an ecumenical
conference held at London, England. His publications include popu-
lar addresses, lectures, sermons and contributions to religious period-
icals. A sketch of his life will be found in Who's Who in America
(1901-1902), page 817. — EDITOR.

228 Mississippi Historical Society.

"i. That a college for males under the auspices and control of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, South, ought to be established at some
central and accessible point in the State of Mississippi.

"2. That the committee of three laymen and three preachers be ap-
pointed to confer with a like committee to be appointed by the North
Mississippi Conference to formulate plans and to receive offers of do-
nations of lands, buildings or money for that purpose, and to report to
the next session of that conference."

In accordance with this action the president of the Confer-
ence, Bishop R. K. Hargrove, appointed the following commit-
tee : Rev. T. L. Mellen, Rev. W. C. Black, Rev. A. F. Watkins,
Major R. W. Millsaps, Col. W. L. Nugent and Dr. Luther Sex-
ton.

On December the I2th, 1888, the North Mississippi Confer-
ence met in Starkville Miss., Bishop C. B. Galloway presiding.
The Rev. T. L. Mellen appeared and reported the action taken
by the Mississippi Conference. The following transcript from
the N<ortJi Mississippi Conference Journal gives the response
made by that body.

"Resolved, I. That a college for the education of boys and young
men should be established in the State of Mississippi under the au-
spices of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

"2. That a committee of three laymen and three ministers be ap-
pointed to confer with a like committee already appointed by the Mis-
sissippi Conference."

The following committee was accordingly appointed: Rev.
J. J. Wheat, Rev. S. M. Thames, Rev. T. J. Newell, Hon. G. D.
Shands, Capt. D. L. Sweatman and Mr. J. B. Streater,

To the action of these Conferences we may trace the direct
origin of the College.

The joint commission constituted by the action summarized
above met in the city of Jackson in January, 1889. The Rev.
Dr. J. J. Wheat was called to the chair. In stating the pur-
pose of the meeting, he made a stirring appeal in behalf of
the proposition to establish a Methodist College in Mississippi
for the education of young men. In response to this earnest
appeal Major R. W. Millsaps, a member of the commission,
proposed to give $50,000 to endow the institution provided the
Methodists of Mississippi would give a sum equal to this
amount for said purpose. This proposition was enthusiasti-
cally approved, and after a plan of procedure was adopted,
Bishop Chas. B. Galloway was invited to conduct a campaign
in the interest of the proposed endowment fund.

Origin and Location Millsaps College. — Murrah. 229

Under the direction of this distinguished leader, the most
gratifying progress was reported from time to time. The re-
port submitted to the Conferences by the committee in Decem-
ber, 1899, refers to the movement in the following language :
"The canvass, on account of the numerous necessitated ab-
sences of Bishop Galloway from the State, could not be contin-
uously carried on, but even the partial canvass made, embrac-
ing not more than one-fifth of our territory, resulted in the
most gratifying and encouraging success. The interest awak-
ened in the enterprise has extended beyond the limits of our
own Church and is felt by every denomination of Christians,
and by every section of the State. It is safe to say that no ef-
fort of Methodism has ever kindled such enthusiasm in our
State or evoked such liberal offerings to the Lord. The fact
has been demonstrated that the Church is profoundly con-
vinced that the College is an absolute necessity." The report
continues : "So high is the appreciation of the value of the pro-
posed institution, that numerous towns in the State have enter-
ed into earnest competition to secure the location of the Col-
lege within the limits of their respective borders, offering from
$10,000 to $36,000, and from twenty to eighty acres of land."
In December, 1889, the Rev. A. F. Watkins, a member of the
Mississippi Conference, was appointed a special agent to coop-
erate with Bishop Galloway in all matters pertaining to the en-
dowment of the proposed College. As the work of raising the
sum designated in the original proposition progressed and $25-
ooo had been collected, Maj. Millsaps, in the year 1890, paid
$25,000 into the College treasury.

In December, 1892, the Rev. J. W. Chambers was appointed
agent for the College and on December 3Oth, 1893, he reported
that the full amount had been collected to meet the terms of
Maj. Millsaps's proposition, and thereupon $25,000 were imme-
diately paid by Maj. Millsaps to the Executive Committee, and
the following resolution was adopted:

"Resolved. That the Executive Committee return our most heartfelt
thanks to Maj. R. W. Millsaps for his second gift of $25,000, this day
turned over to us. For his princely liberality and unfaltering interest
in the great enterprise so happily and successfully inaugurated Church
and State owe him a large debt of gratitude."

The Conferences having provided for a Board of Trustees,
the joint commission dissolved in January, 1890. This Board,

230 Mississippi Historical Society.

to which was referred the matter of organizing the College, was
composed of the following gentlemen:

Bishop Chas. B. Galloway, President.

Rev. J. J. Wheat, D. D. Rev. W. C. Black, D. D.

" S. M. Thames. " T. L. Mellen.

" L. J. Newell. " A. F. Watkins.

" R. M. Standefer. " C. G. Andrews, D. D.

Hon. G. D. Shands. Maj. R. W. Millsaps.

Capt. D. L. Sweatman. Col. W. C. Nugent.

Mr. J. B. Streater. Dr. Luther Sexton.

" John Trice. Hon. M. M. Evans.

After the Board organized under the charter the question of
locating the College was considered with great care. The
Board met repeatedly to consider the offers made by different
towns, and finally, on May 2oth, 1891, while in session in Wino-
na, Mississippi, decided to locate the College in Jackson, the
capital of the State. The citizens of Jackson contributed $21,-
ooo for ground and buildings, and to this sum Maj. Millsaps
added $15,000. Plans for a commodious main building were
immediately procured, grounds were purchased and in a com-
paratively short time buildings were in process of erection.

When it became evident that everything would soon be in
readiness for formally opening the College for the reception
of students, the Board of Trustees, at a meeting held in Jack-
son, April 28th, 1892, began the work of organizing a faculty
of instruction.

The Rev. W. B. Murrah was elected president. Many appli-
cations were considered for professorships and Mr. N. A. Pa-
tilo was elected professor of Mathematics, and Mr. W. L.
Weber was elected professor of the English Language and Lit-
erature. At the time of his election, Prof. Patilo was doing
post graduate work in the Johns Hopkins University of Balti-
more. Prof. Weber was the acting professor of English at the
Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas, when he was by
this action called to Millsaps College.

At a subsequent meeting of the Board of Trustees held July
I3th, 1892, Mr. G. C. Swearigen was elected professor of Latin
and Greek and the Rev. M. M. Black was elected principal of
the Preparatory Department. Both of these gentlemen had

Origin and Location Millsaps College. — Murrah. 231

recently taken post graduate degrees at the Vanderbilt Uni-
versity, Nashville, Tennessee. At the regular meeting of the
Board of Trustees in June, 1893, Prof. A. M. Muckenfuss was
elected professor of Chemistry. The necessary buildings hav-
ing been erected, the first scholastic session began with appro-
priate ceremonies September 29th, 1892.

LORENZO DOW IN MISSISSIPPI.
BY BISHOP CHAS. B. GALLOWAY.*

One of the most interesting characters connected with the
early history of Mississippi was Lorenzo Dow, a Methodist
evangelist, whose oddities of manner and mental and spiritual
eccentricities were only equalled by his tireless industry and
unselfish devotion to what he regarded his duty. He roamed
the country from New England to Louisiana on horseback us-
ually, but sometimes in wagons, occasionally on foot, and even
made two evangelistic tours through England and Ireland.
His striking features, peculiar dress, eccentric manners, mys-
terious movements, genuine self-abnegation, powerful invec-
tive, and undaunted courage, gave a sort of moral sorcery to
his appearances, and attracted multitudes to his ministry. A
kind of charmed wonder attended his strange wanderings. He
announced that one year from a certain day, he would preach
under that tree, and then vanish to be scarcely heard of again
until the designated time of his return. But true to his ap-
pointment he appeared and a mixed multitude was sure to be

1 Bishop Charles Betts Galloway was born in Kosciusko, Miss. (Sept.
I, 1849), and was reared in Canton, Miss. A few weeks after his grad-
uation at the University of Mississippi (1868) he was licensed to preach
and in December of the same year he joined the Mississippi Confer-
ence. On his twentieth birthday he was married to Miss Hattie E.
Willis, of Vicksburg, Miss. He rose very rapidly in the ministry and
filled with ability some of the most responsible pastorates in his con-
ference, while he was a young man. From 1882 to 1886 he was edi-
tor of the New Orleans Christian Advocate. In 1882 the degree of
D. D. was conferred upon him by the University of Mississippi, and
in 1899 the degree of LL. D. by the North-Western University, Evans-
ton, Illinois. In 1886 he was elected to the episcopacy, being the
youngest man to be called to this responsible position in the history of
Methodism.

Bishop Galloway has long been recognized as one of the most able
champions of the prohibition cause. He was at one time editor of the
Temperance Banner, which was the organ of the Mississippi temper-
ance movement. For several years he was also chairman of the execu-
tive committee of the State prohibition organization and has probably
done more than any other one man to secure the passage of local
option laws in Mississippi.

In 1886 he was chosen fraternal messenger to the General Confer-
ence of England. He was a member of the Ecumenical Methodist
Conferences which met in Washington in 1891 and in London in 1901.

234 Mississippi Historical Society.

there to greet him. Six times he came into the Mississippi
Territory, and for two years made this his home. He was the
first Protestant minister to preach the gospel within the present
State of Alabama, and the same honor is also due him in the re-
ligious history of Louisiana.

Lorenzo Dow was born October 16, 1777, in Coventry, Tol-
lard Co., Conn. His parents, natives of the same place, were
descended from English ancestors. He seems to have been a
strange child, and at four years of age began to show those
mental movements and peculiar religious susceptibilities for
which he became celebrated. At about thirteen he went with
the eager throngs to hear the famous Hope Hull preach and
that day decided his future career. Shortly thereafter he con-
nected himself with the Methodists at whose altars he had been
happily converted, and at eighteen felt divinely called to the of-
fice and work of the ministry. But so meagre were his educa-
tional advantages and so eccentric his manners, that the church
hesitated to give him authority to preach. At length, however,
because of his earnest spirit and fervent zeal, and undoubted
sincerity, and in response to his importunate pleadings, he was
reluctantly allowed to test his gifts and graces as a junior sup-
ply under a wise superintendent.

He officially visited the missions of his church in Japan and China, 1894,
in Brazil, 1897, and in South America, 1901. He is president of the
Board of Education of the M. E. Church, South, a member of the
Board of Trustees of the John F. Slater Fund and president of the
Board of Trustees of Millsaps College.

Although much of his time is occupied with the duties of the re-
sponsible position which he fills in his church, he has devoted much
time to literary pursuits. He has written: "Life of Bishop
Linus Parker," "Handbook of Prohibition," "Open Letters on Prohi-
bition" (a controversy with Jefferson Davis), "Methodism, a Child
of Providence," "A Circuit of the Globe," "Modern Missions: Their
Evidential Value," "Christianity and the American Commonwealth."
Bishop Galloway is very much interested in the history of his native
State, and is at present a member of the Mississippi Historical Com-
mission. Among his most valuable contributions to Mississippi his-
tory are: "The Methodist Episcopal Church South in Mississippi"
(Goodspeed's Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Mississippi, Vol.
Ill, pp. 362-'8), "Elizabeth Female Academy — the Mother of Female
colleges" (Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, Vol. II., pp.
168-178), "The Story of Blennerhassett" (American Illustrated Monthly
Magazine for December, 1899).

Detailed sketches of his life will be found in Goodspeed's Biographical
and Historical Memoirs of Mississippi, Vol. I., pp. 773-'s; Who's Who in
America (1901-1902), p. 412; Cyclopedia of American Biographies, Vol. III.,
p. 225. — EDITOR.

, Lorenzo Dow in Mississippi. — Galloway. 235

But after a few months of trial he was sent home, with the
following discouraging note of dismissal :

"We have had Brother Lorenzo Dow, the bearer hereof, traveling
on Warren circuit these three months last past. In several places he
was liked by a great many 'people; at other places he was not liked so
well, and at a few places, they were not willing he should preach at
all. We have, therefore, thought it necessary to advise him to return
home for a season until a further recommendation can be obtained
from the society and preachers of that circuit.

JESSE LEE, ELDER.

JOHN VANIMAN,

THOMAS COOPE.

Rhode Island, July 3rd, 1796.
To C. Spry and the Methodists of Coventry."

That greatly distressed him. He said: "I could easier have
met death than this discharge. My heart was broke. Two or
three handkerchiefs were soon wet through with tears."

Though cast down by this severe judgment of his brethren,
he was not destroyed, and his settled conviction that God had
called him to the ministry suffered no abatement. At the An-
nual Conference in Wilbraham, which met shortly thereafter,
he appeared and plead for admission. But he was rejected af-
ter a heated discussion, the opposition to him being led by Jes-
se Lee and Nicholas Snethen. Referring to his rejection by
the Conference, Dr. Abel Stevens, the accomplished historian,
makes this generous reference : "He was a right hearted, but
wrong headed man, labored like a Hercules, did some good,
and had an energy of character which with sounder faculties
would have rendered him as eminent as he was noted."

Though not admitted on trial permission was given for him
to be employed as a supply. "So," said he, "I was given into
the hands of S. Hutchinson, to employ me or send me home,
as he should think fit." At the end of that year of successful,
but not a little erratic labor, he won his way into the Confer-
ence, and his license was signed by Francis Asbury himself.
But he seemed never able to curb his restless spirit or be sub-
missive to any rules or regulations, whether ecclesiastical or so-
cial. Appointed to a circuit, he traveled awhile, and then
crossed the Atlantic ocean "under a supposed divine impression
to preach in Ireland." He erected a bush as a sail in a leaking
canoe, and passing down the Missisque made his way to Mon-
treal, whence he pursued his proposed voyage.

But the purpose of this paper is not to follow everywhere the

236 Mississippi Historical Society.

wanderings of this eccentric cosmopolite over land and sea.
Only his connection with the early history of Mississippi is to
be considered.

His first visit to what was then known as the "Natchez
Country" was in the late spring and early summer of 1803. He
came on horseback through the "wilderness" from Georgia.
Armed only with a crude map and a pocket-compass, and as-
sisted occasionally by a guide, he made his way safely through
a dangerous and little traveled country. He stopped first at
what he called a "thick settlement" on the west bank of the
Tombigbee. Then he says there was a scattered one seventy
miles in length, "through which I sent a chain of appointments,
and afterwards fulfilled them, and the fruit I expect to see at
a future day."

From there, accompanied by three travellers bound for West
Florida, he came through the Choctaw Nation to the Natchez
Settlement. He thus refers to his reception by the master of
the house, once a Methodist, where he first spent a night :

"He happened to hear of my coming the week preceding, by some
travellers, and received me and the three men kindly, and the next
day got me a meeting, and good, I trust, was done. The nights after
I held a meeting at the house of a Baptist; then rode on towards the
town of Natchez."

Reference is made in his Journal to the cordial greeting given
him by Moses Floyd, a pioneer Methodist itinerant, and the
friendly consideration shown by the Governor of the Territory
to whom he had letters of introduction. He says further: "I
held two or three meetings in the assembly room, with the per-
mission of the mayor, though with difficulty obtained."

During that visit he purchased the ground for a church in the
village of Kingston — the first spot of earth ever deeded in the
Mississippi Territory for a Protestant house of worship. The
building, however, was not erected until after the one a* old
Washington. And the heroic, unselfish spirit of the eccentric
evangelist is shown in the manner of this purchase. Having no
money, yet oppressed with the sense of the country's great
spiritual need, he sold his watch to secure the lot for a house of
worship. This reference I find in his Journal:

"I went to Kingston, and procured a spot of ground (by selling my
watch) for a meeting-house; and then to the heights and Pinckney-
ville, and held meetings. I stopped at a house on the edge of West
Florida and sold my cloak. Thence I returned and visited several
neighborhoods and God's power was felt in some of them."

Lorenzo Dow in Mississippi. — Galloway. 237

The deed made by Lorenzo Dow to the church lot at King-
ston was in June, 1803, and contains one curious provision — the
exclusion of himself from the pulpit of the same if he should ever
so change his theological views as to become an opposer of the
Methodist Church. The historic names of Floyd, Foster,
Truley, Turner and Calendar appear as trustees and the lot was
located in Square n, Claiborne Street. It is now not even a
deserted village, only a few mounds and ruins left where man-
sions of wealth once stood. The deed provided that it was to
be the property of the Methodist Episcopal Church, but to be
"occupied by accredited ministers of every denomination when
not occupied by those of the Methodist Church," and "by the
above mentioned Lorenzo Dow, unless he should become an op-
poser of ye doctrine or discipline of said Church." This is doubt-
less the only instance on record in which, deeding any of his
property, a man provided against his own possible heterodox —
his own defection from the faith.

After this he visited Pine Ridge, Washington, Selsentown,
Calendar's, Wormsville, Bayou Reivre, Big Black and at the
latter place "preached the funeral sermon of a niece of the Rev.
Tobias Gibson." His horse had become lame and unfit for the
long return journey through the Indian country, so he had to
be remounted. Of that fortunate trade as will appear later
he thus writes:

"I left my horse with Brother Randall Gibson, and took a Spanish
race-horse, which he was to be responsible for, and I was to remit him
the money by post, when it should be due on my arrival in Georgia in
November."

On account of several personal altercations between white
men and Indians, the latter had become very hostile and re-
vengeful. It was dangerous for a man to travel alone. Mr.
Dow had arranged to go with quite a company, but on reach-
ing the Gibson home he learned that they had been gone twen-
ty-four hours. So he mounted his fleet-footed Spanish racer
and hurried on, hoping to overtake them somewhere in the
wilderness. But that was a perilous venture and come near re-
sulting in the brave prophet's early and tragic death. Of that
thrilling experience he writes in his Journal as follows:

"I set off alone and rode the best part of twenty miles, when I saw
a party of Indians within a hundred feet of me. I was in hopes they
would pass me, but in vain, for the first Indian seized my horse by

238 Mississippi Historical Society.

the bridle, and the others surrounded me. At first I thought it was a
gone case with me; then I concluded to get off my horse and give up
all in order to save my life. * * * But I observed that the Indians
had ram-rods in the muzzles of their guns, as well as in their stocks,
so it would take some time to pull out the ram-rods and get their guns
cocked ready to shoot. At this moment my horse started and jumped
sideways, which would have laid the Indian to the ground who held the
bridle had it not slipped out of his hands. At the same time the In-
dian on the other side jumped seemingly like a streak, to keep from
under the horse's feet, so that there was a vacancy in the circle, when
I gave my horse the switch, and leaned down on the saddle, so if they
shot I would give them as narrow a chance as I could to hit me, as I
supposed they would wish to spare and get my horse. I did not look
behind me until I had got out of sight and hearing of the Indians. I
was not long in going a dozen or fifteen miles; so I overtook the
company that day, and told them what I had passed through."

The courtship and marriage of this eccentric man and his no
less peculiar "Peggy" must rank among the quaintest and most
interesting affairs of the human heart. Romance there was in
a large measure, but the sentiment ordinarily incident to the
union of two young lives was conspicuously absent. There was
no shy glances and modest blushes and cautious approaches to
the tender subject. Frequent visits and much "small talk"
were not according to the taste and thought of the serious and
busy evangelist. Suddenly concluding that the fair young Peg-
gy would make him a suitable wife, he made an unexpected
and almost fierce assault upon the citadel of her affections, but
with perfect success. The proposition was made in presence
of her sister. With consenting silence she vanished from the
room, but happy in the thought of sharing the heart and life of
so good and to her so great a man.

The young woman who gave her heart so readily and roman-
tically to Lorenzo Dow was born in Massachussets, but her
mother having died when the little daughter was quite young,
she had lived with her sister, Mrs. Miller, in the State of New
York.

Mr. Dow's account of the affair is thus given in his Journal :

"In reply to some question of mine, Mrs. Miller, her sister, ob-
served that Peggy was resolved never to marry unless it was to a
preacher, and one who would continue travelling. This resolution be-
ing similar to my own, as she then stepped in the room, caused me to
ask her if it were so. She answered in the affirmative, on the back
of which I replied, 'Do you think you could accept of such an object
as me?' She made no answer, but retired from the room; this was
the first time of my speaking to her. I took dinner; asked her one

more question and went to my neighboring meetings, which

occupied some days; but having a cloak making of oiled cloth, it drew
me back to get it. I stayed all night, and in the morning, when going

Lorenzo Dow in Mississippi. — Galloway. 239

away, I observed to her and her sister, who brought her up as a
mother, that I was going to the warm countries, where I had never
spent a warm season, and it was probable that I should die, as the
warm climate destroys mostly those who go from a cold country.
'But,' said I, 'if I am preserved about a year and a half from now,
I am in hopes of seeing this northern country again, and if during this
time you live and remain single, and find no one that you like better
than you do me, and would be willing to give me up twelve months
out of thirteen, or three years out of four, to travel, and that in for-
eign lands, and never say, do not go to your appointment, etc. — for if
you should stand in my way, I should pray to God to remove you,
which, I believe, he would answer, — and if I find no one that I like
better than I do you, perhaps something further may be said on the
subject;' and finding her character to stand fair, I took my departure."
He was absent nearly two years preaching through Canada and the
far South as far as the Natchez country. Returning to Mr. Miller's
and finding Peggy "still single" and willing to cast in her lot with his,
they were married at once on the evening of Sept. 3, 1804. "Only we
five were present, including the officiating minister."

Early the next morning, accompanied by his brother-in-law,
Mr. Smith-Miller, Lorenzo Dow started on another tour to
Mississippi, and did not see his bride again for nearly eight
months. It was Mr. Miller's purpose, if he liked this new
country, to remove here with his family. Lorenzo Dow, by
correspondence, had given rather glowing accounts of its great
and certain future. This reference I find in his Journal: "In
my travels, I went to the Natchez Country where I found re-
ligion low and had hard times, but thought this country one
day would be the garden of America, and if this family would
remove there it would prove an everlasting blessing."

Along the entire journey of nearly two thousand miles, the
route he came, the zealous evangelist was meeting appoint-
ments for preaching which had been made months before.
From Tennessee south he was accompanied by Learner Black-
man and Barnes.

Here are some interesting extracts from his Journal about
events in the Mississippi Territory:

"Nov. 4th. — Crossed the ground where I had the providential escape
from the Indians, and arrived at the settlement of Natchez. We were
glad to see the white people once more. Stayed at the first house all
night.

"5th. — Called on Moses Floyd, a preacher on Big Black. Here Bro.
Barnes turned to begin his route. Blackman went with us to Colonel
Barnet's, on Bayou Pierre. Next day we went to Randal Gibson's,
on Clark's Creek, and got some washing done, and there Miller stayed.
Blackman went with me to Squire Tooley's, father of the doctor, where
Brother Harriman, a missionary, was at the point of death.

"8th. — I visited Washington and Natchez and some of the adjacent
posts. Here I must observe the truth of the maxim, 'Give the devil

240 Mississippi Historical Society.

i

rope enough and he will hang himself.' A printer extracted a piece
from a Lexington paper, as a burlesque on me, which, however, did me
no harm, though it circulated in different parts of the Union. He had
just got his types set up before I made application for the insertion of
a notice, that I should hold a meeting in the town on Sunday. This,
following the other, made impression on the people's minds, and ex-
cited the curious to attend the meeting. When I was here before I
found it almost impossible to get the people out to meeting any way,
and had my scruples whether there were three Christians in the town,
either white or black. But now I spoke three succeeding Sabbaths, and
some on week-days.

"i2th. — Here by Washington we appointed a camp-meeting. There
is ground laid off for a college, and Congress, beside a handsome do-
nation, hath given twenty thousand acres of ground. This country is
now dividing into townships and sections, and sold by government, as.
in the State of Ohio; and though only a Territory now, yet will be in-
corporated into a State when the inhabitants shall amount to sixty
thousand. They now have a small legislature; the Governor is ap-
pointed by the President. One representative goes to Congress.

"Sunday, 25th. — I spoke for the last time in Natchez. I visited Seltz-
entown, Greenville and Gibson Port. This last place was a wilderness
not two years ago, but now contains near thirty houses, with a court-
house and jail."

After this he crossed into Louisiana and spent a week or two
in visiting the scattered settlements and holding religious meet-
ings. Preparations were then made for the long return journey
through the wilderness. How he secured tough steeds for the
dangerous and weary travels of those early days makes a cur-
ious story of itinerant and evangelical adventure. He says:

"We got some things fixed to our minds, and procured three Spanish
horses, which had been foaled wild in the woods, and had been caught
out of a gang by climbing a tree and dropping a noose over the head,
it being made fast to a bough. * * * Our horses being tamed and
taught to eat corn, by forcing it into their mouths, and prepared with a
tent and provisions, bade the settlement on the Mississippi River adieu,
and betook to the woods for Tombigbee, having two others in com-
pany."

In fording the Pearl, or "Half way river" as it was generally
called, he only escaped drowning by what he fondly considered
a clear case of providential deliverance. Here is reference in
his Journal to a grotesque Indian custom of sufficient interest
to be reproduced :

"24. — We rode about forty miles, through Six-Town, of the Choctaws,
and whilst we were passing it, I observed where they scaffold the dead,
and also the spot where the flesh was when the bone-picker had done
his office. The friends of the deceased weep twice a day for a term,
and if they cannot cry enough themselves, they hire some to help them.
It was weeping time, and their cries made our horses caper well. I
was informed of an ancient custom which at present is out of date
among them. When one was sick, a council was held by the doctors;
if their judgment was that he would die, they being supposed infallible,

Lorenzo Dow in Mississippi. — Galloway. 241

humanity induced the neck-breaker to do his office. An European be-
ing sick, and finding out his verdict, to save his neck, crept into the
woods and recovered, which showed to the Indians the fallibility of
the doctors and the evil of the practice. Therefore, to show that the
custom must be totally abolished, they took the poor neck-breaker
and broke his neck."

At the camp-meeting near the village of Washington to
which reference has been made — the first ever held south-west
of Tennessee — Mr. Dow displayed some of the oddities for
which he was so famous. In order to attract a congregation,
he mounted the stand one afternoon and cried out at the top
of his voice that he had heard the latest authentic news from
hell and was going to publish it. When the excited throng
had crowded about him, he announced the text: "And in hell
he lifted up his eyes, being in torment," and preached an earn-
est, solemn sermon.

It was just such things that caused publications like the fol-
lowing, which occurred in a New England paper :

"By desire Lorenzo Dow, an eccentric genius,, whose pious and
moral character cannot be censured with propriety, is to preach at the
court-house, precisely at nine o'clock this morning."

After a long absence of nearly eight months he returned to
see his bride with whom he had spent only a few hours after
their romantic marriage. On account of imperfect mail facil-
ities and the uncertain wanderings of her eccentric husband,
Peggy was not advised of the exact time he would arrive and
was not at home to greet him. His Journal has this record:

"22d. — Arrived back in Wistern, after an absence of near eight
months. Peggy was not at home. Our marriage was not known in
general in this neighborhood, until within a few days past. It caused
a great uproar among the people.

"23d. — Peggy felt it impressed on her mind that I was here, and so
came home early in the morning, having enjoyed her health better,
and her mind also, than for some time previous to my absence. In
the afternoon S. Miller and his wife came home, well, and were pre-
paring for their journey to the Mississippi Territory."

The restless evangelist and his peculiar Peggy went to Eu-
rope and remained a year or two, while Mr. Miller and wife
came to Mississippi and settled four miles south of Port Gibson.
But Mr. Miller did not succeed, made a bad trade, became in-
volved in debt, and besides had domestic troubles which utterly
destroyed his home. On Mr. Dow's return from England he
hastened through the country on horseback to the Mississippi
16

242 Mississippi Historical Society.

Territory and found Miller's affairs in a distressful condition.
He had, in connection with another man, erected a mill on land
to which the title was insecure, and Mr. Dow was induced to
assist in the purchase. This proved a great mistake, involving
him in financial loss and almost endless trouble. His wife
Peggy, in her "Journey of Life" thus refers to the transaction :

"There was considerable less than one hundred acres, with a log
cabin on it. * * The mill was not finished; there was a dam and
mill-frame, but the dam had broke, and it was uncertain whether it
could be made to stand. There was a man who thought he could make
it stand. Lorenzo made an offer to him of the place; if he would take
it out and make a mill upon it, he should have one-half of the mill.
Accordingly he undertook and repaired the dam, so that it saved some
that winter."

His wife having deserted him, Miller went back to New York
State, and Mr. Dow returned to New England for his Peggy.
In a short while they started to Mississippi in a spring wagon,
the zealous evangelist preaching every day according to ap-
pointment. At Wheeling, Va., he engaged passage for his wife
on a flat-boat, owned by friendly Quakers, "laden with flour
and cider and various kinds of produce adapted for the
Natchez" — while he traveled on through the country filling his
"chain of appointments." Of that trip Peggy thus writes :

"After being confined on board a boat for six weeks we reached the
mouth of Bayou Pierre, about twelve miles from Gibson Port, which
was forty miles from Natchez. * * I had never been in that country
before, but Lorenzo had several times; and hence I had some ground
to expect I should find some friends, as many of them had manifested
a desire that I should come to that country. But my sister had con-
ducted herself in such a manner that it made my way very difficult.
* * * I landed at night and Brother Valentine came in the morning,
so that I was provided for. We left our things at this public house,
and I rode the horse, while he and the young man walked about twelve
miles through the mud. This was about the I2th of January. We
stayed at Gibson Port that night, about four miles from the place
where my sister had lived. We left Gibson Port and went to the
neighborhood of the mill, to the house of Samuel Coburn."

In a few days she was joined by her wandering husband who
had come through the country, preaching in every village and
settlement. Mr. Dow remained in Mississippi until October,
and in the meantime built a little home not far from the mill.
The following is his description of the modest home in which he
lived :

"As the last retreat, Cosmopolite, retired into a canebrake at the
foot of a large hill, where was a beautiful spring, which he named
'Chicomain spring,' by which he got a small cabin made of split poles,

Lorenzo Dow in Mississippi. — Galloway. 243

where the bear, wolf, tiger, etc., with all kinds of serpents in North
America, abound. This was an agreeable retreat from the pursuing
foe, there to await and see what God the Lord would do."

He preached as much in the country as his health would allow,
and all the time sought relief from embarrassments occasioned
by the conduct of Mr. Miller.

Securing a home for Peggy with an agreeable family, as she
could not live alone at the "Chicoman Spring," he went north
on an evangelistic tour and was gone a year and seven days.
His return was hailed with joy by his faithful young wife and
cordially greeted by hosts of friends. But the climate did not
agree with either of them. Both suffered with what he called
"fits of the ague," and several times each came near to the
grave. So after a continued residence on Peggy's part of two
years in the Territory, they determined to again become home-
less itinerants. So Mr. Dow deeded away his interests in the
famous old mill, and discharging every obligation he had as-
sumed to the last cent, he and his faithful Peggy turned their
faces to the northward. A few years ago the ruins of his pos-
sessions, a few miles south of Port Gibson, were yet to be seen
and the place is still known as "Dow's Mill."

He donated the ground at old Washington on which the first
Methodist church in Mississippi was erected. It is within the
present campus of Jefferson College, and the original deed
signed by Lorenzo and Peggy Dow is in the library of the Col-
lege. That became a historic structure. Some of the greatest
men of the early days preached from its pulpit and the leaders
of south-western thought sat in its old-fashioned pews. The
Hon. J. F. H. Claiborne, the historian of Mississippi, in a let-
ter written not long before his death, said he had heard Lo-
renzo Dow, Bishop McKendru, Roberts and George, and other
distinguished visitors preach in that pulpit. It was in that
building the first Constitutional Convention met in 1817 that
framed the organic law under which Mississippi was admitted
to the Union.

Again in 1816, Mr. Dow was in Mississippi. This time he
came by boat down the river from Cincinnati, arriving in De-
cember and remaining in the south-west until the following
April. I find this characteristic entry in his Journal: "At
length I landed at Natchez, obtained several letters and not

244 Mississippi Historical Society.

finding any friends, I embarked in another boat, and on the
2Oth of December I arrived in New Orleans, having changed
from one boat or canoe to another thirteen times." In that city
he remained nearly a month, most of the time as the guest of
Capt. William Ross, flour inspector of the port.

This final quotation from his intensely interesting Journal
ends his connection with the early history of Mississippi:

"My books, through the delay of the binders, did not come in time
for me; I only got a few — took steamboat, ascended to Baton Rouge —
visited St. Francisville and several places in Florida; thence to Wood-
ville, Liberty, Washington, Greenville, Gibson Port, Warrenton, Nat-
chez and many country posts — saw some of my old acquaintance —
bought me a horse and thought to return by land; sold him again,
being unable to endure the ride; so I went down the river, visiting
such places as God gave me access unto. On the island of Orleans, I
find the influence of the clergy is going down-hill: — many of the peo-
ple came to some of my meetings."

He remained there several weeks, preached a number of
times in the court house, dined with Governor Claiborne and
"observed how many of his colored people were religious, and
the satisfaction he took in hearing them sing and pray," visited
the battlefield where Jackson won his great victory, and on the
I2th of April took passage on a ship for New York. Mr. Dow
continued to itinerate and preach for many years but never came
to Mississippi again. He died suddenly in Washington, D. C.,
on the 2d of February, 1834, and in the cemetery of that city
his restless body was gently laid to rest in certain hope of the
resurrection of the just.

EARLY BEGINNINGS OF BAPTISTS IN MISSISSIPPI.
BY Z. T.

Baptists do not assert that they preceded all other evangel-
ical denominations in the early settlement of Mississippi. But
they do maintain the position that they were the first of them to
permanently establish themselves on the soil of our State. The
existence of an early Congregational Church was of short dura-
tion, just twelve years. Like a meteor, the church came and
went before Baptists established themselves in organized and
orderly form. The colony of Congregationalists reached Mis-
sissippi in 1772, and Rev. Samuel Swayze, their faithful pastor,
died in 1784. The existence of the church was dependent upon
the bodily presence of one man, and when he was dead the
church was dead.

At what date do Baptists claim that the first Baptist church
was established in Mississippi? This has been a troubling
question. Rev. F. M. Bond, in his introduction to A Republi-
cation of the Minutes of the Mississippi Baptist Association, says
"From this period (1780) to 1793 or 1794, we know but little
about the church, only that it existed and increased." Rev.

1 Rev. Z. T. Leavell was born in Pontotoc county in 1847. He was
educated at the University of Mississippi, graduating at that institu-
tion in 1871. In October, 1870, he entered the ministry. After com-
pleting his university course he entered upon a three years' theological
course at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, then in Green-
ville, S. C., but afterwards removed to Louisville, Ky. After serving
as pastor of Baptist churches at Dalton, Ga., Murfreesborough, Tenn.,
and Columbus, Ky., he returned to Mississippi in March, 1877. He was
then pastor at Oxford, Natchez, and Clinton. He was financial agent
of Mississippi College for two years and for the same length of time
in the faculty of that institution. From 1890 to 1895 he was President
of Carrollton Female College. During a period of twelve years Dr.
Leavell was a member of the Board of Trustees of Mississippi Col-
lege. He has been connected with the Baptist Mission Boards of
Mississippi for twenty-four years. He is now Secretary and Treasurer
of the Gulf Port Chatttauqua Association. In 1895 the degree of D. D.
was conferred upon him by Mississippi College.

He is author of Baptist Annals and the Existing Baptist Orphanages of
the South. At present he is engaged in writing A Complete History of
Mississippi Baptists.

A more detailed sketch of his life will be found in Goodspeed's
Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Mississippi, Vol. I., pp. mo-'i. —
EDITOR.

246 Mississippi Historical Society.

John G. Jones, in his Introduction of Protestantism in Mis-
sissippi and the Southwest, says of the Baptists, "If they date
the institution of their church from the time Baptists first estab-
lished social worship in Mississippi, they may fix it as early as
1781 * * * if they date it from the time William Hamber-
lin, Stephen DeAlvo, and others, were admitted into their com-
munion by immersion * * * They may fix it as early as
1791 or 1792." Thank you. Jones was a good man, and, a
clever historian, but some things did not fall under his obser-
vation. Bond seems without chart or compass, and on an un-
known sea. It may be well to say that oral tradition and con-
jecture are not history. We are not left at the mercy of either
in answering the question before us.

By a strange providence, I have before me the minutes to
1815 of the first Baptist church established in Mississippi. In
1888, when I was pastor in Natchez, my lamented friend, Maj.
Thomas Grafton, then editor of the Natchez Democrat, gave me
these old musty records. I was told by him that a great many
years before a good Baptist had given them to him in trust in-
violable to be held until old age came on him and then to be
given to some worthy person in like manner as he received
them. He affirmed that he did not know why they were given
to him, as he was a Presbyterian. I could tell why, if it were
in place here.

I shall give you, without mental reservation, excerpts from
these minutes as they bear all the marks of correctness and of
great age. The paper on which they are written is as brown
as a bun, and the writer uses the ancient "f" for "s." The
minutes begin thus :

"October, 1791. The Baptists of the vicinity of Natchez met by re-
quest of Rev. Richard Curtis and William Thomas, at the house of
Sister Stampley, on Coles Creek, and formed into a body, receiving
(or adopting) the following articles or rules, considering it necessary
that such as have a mind to join the Church are only to be received
by letter, or experience."

Their place of meeting was on the South Fork Coles' Creek,
which runs northward through the western part of Jefferson
county. The old church house was near what is now known
as Stampley Station on the Natchez and Jackson Railway,
which is eighteen miles north of east of Natchez. There is no
church there now, and the old church house is a thing of -the

Early Beginnings of Baptists. — Leavell. 247

past. The old mother church is dead, and there is nothing now
remaining to mark the spot made sacred as the meeting-place
of the ancient worshipers.

There were seven men and women who went into the organ-
ization of the church, October, 1791. Given in the order in
which they occur, they were : Richard Curtis, William Thomas,
William Curtis, John Jones, Benjamin Curtis, Margaret Stamp-
ley, and Ealiff Lanier. Richard Curtis is designated on their
written record as their chosen pastor, and William Thomas as
their recording clerk. A small number, indeed, but a Scriptur-
al number. In the great waste of the wild west, with hostile
Indians on one side, and a frowning state church on the other,
seven men and women organized for happy homes and peace-
ful citizenship, a cheerful now, and a blissful hereafter. What
could they do within their menacing environments? But we
must remember that Christ began the evangelization of the
world with twelve men of limited education, while surrounded
by a conservative, threatening religious population, and op-
posed by demons incarnate.

The articles on which this first Baptist church in Mississippi
was constituted were few and simple. I will give them :

"i. We agree to submit ourselves to God, and to each other, reprove,
and bear reproof, bear each other's burdens, and to carry on the work
of the Lord as well as we can.

2. We agree, as touching things temporal, not to go to law one
against another, as the Scriptures forbid that Brother should go to law
against Brother.

3. We believe the Lord's Day to be set apart for the worship of
God, and, whereas, it has been much observed, now to pay particular
attention to that day; and make the Scriptures of the Old and New
Testament our rule and practice in life."

This a good and simple creed, and one by which the church
abided throughout its existence. Its members reproved, and
bore reproof. Their discipline was strict, sometimes seemingly
severe, and ever firm. Suspensions were not infrequent, and
expulsion was administered with a steady hand. They settled
their disputes as to temporal matters among themselves, and
not at a legal tribunal, sometimes endangering the best inter-
ests of the church by such a mode of proceeding. They were
strict in the observance of the Sabbath, holding social worship
in their homes on that day, when deprived of the privileges of

248 Mississippi Historical Society.

public worship. They were a people of one book, the Holy
Bible, which was with them the first and last appeal.

"The first church was called Salem, i. e., peace, and stood
among the upper branches of South Fork of Coles Creek in Jef-
ferson county, on what is still known as The Salem road.' "
(Jones' Protestantism.') This statement is true in a sense. This
first church was called Salem, but was not called Salem at first.
It is the general opinion that it was, but the opinion is not cor-
rect by much. It is called in the early church records, "The
Church of Jesus Christ at Coles Creek," "The Baptist Church of
Jesus Christ on Coles Creek," and "The Baptist Church on
Coles Creek." It is spoken of as assembling in private homes,
and, "according to appointment," until 1805, when it is said to
meet "at Coles Creek Meeting House." The caption of the old
minutes is, "The Records of Coles Creek Church."

From the minutes of the old Ebenezer Church, Jan. 31, 1807,
we get the statement, "The following brethren, viz: John
Courtney, Rev. Ezra Courtney, and Mark Cole, were appointed
to attend a conference at Coles Creek Church, to be held on
Feb. 27, for the purpose of forming an association." This last
quotation shows that it was called Coles Creek Church through
January, 1807. The church was not, therefore, called Salem
until between Jan. 31, 1807, and Sept. 26, 1807; the last date
being the time of the first meeting of the Mississippi Baptist
Association after its organization at Coles Creek Church. In
the minutes of that meeting of the association it is called Salem
Church for the first time.

An important event in the existence of the old church was the
return of Richard Curtis from South Carolina after his persecu-
tion by the Spanish authorities. The usually accepted date of
his return is strangely at variance with the written records of
the Coles Creek Church. This variance is, most probably, due
to the fact that the basis for the statement made by historians
is the memory of old people, who lived near in time to the oc-
currence of the noted event, and not upon any written record
of facts made at the time. Jones says of Curtis, "On the 6th
of April, 1795, he stood a prisoner before Governor Gayoso."
He states that Curtis left his home Aug. 23, 1795. These facts
are not contested. The old records of Coles Creek Church,
(page 2) say he left Coles Creek in 1795. But this historian

Early Beginnings of Baptists. — Leavell. 249

asserts that Curtis was away from Natchez District two and a
half years.

The above assertion has splendid backing. Goodspeed's
Memoirs of Mississippi (p. 371 ; Vol. II.) contains this statement,
"At the end of two years and a half Curtis returned." I am
credibly informed that this was written by Dr. J. F. Christian.
Added to this, Bond tells us Curtis "remained in South Caro-
lina" until the treaty ceding Mississippi to the United States
•was effected." Strengthening these assertions, Dr. Charles H.
Otkin, in his paper on "Richard Curtis in the County of
Natchez," in the Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society
(Vol. III., p. 152) says, "In 1798, when the flag of the American
Republic waved over the city of Natchez, Mr. Curtis returned to
the field of his peaceful labors." This seems sufficient to estab-
lish the date of the return of Curtis, and I feel inclined to ac-
cept their statements, but am chained to an opposing record of
the fact.

On page 4 of the old minutes of Coles Creek Church, near the
bottom of the page, we find this statement, "However, although
there was not a perfect reconciliation, nothing extraordinary
broke forth, until the return of Brother Curtis, which was No-
vember, 1796." This written statement, we must accept, as it
is seventy (70) years older than any one of the four written
statements to the contrary.

Why should Curtis not have returned in November, 1796?
Let us address ourselves to this question. Through the in-
fluence of Mr. Pinkney of South Carolina, the treaty of Madrid
was signed on the 27th of October, 1795, placing the southern
boundary of the United States at the line of the 3ist degree of
north latitude. This line is south of the county of Wilkinson,
and was to be run within six months after the treaty was signed.
It is admitted that news traveled slowly in those days. The
battle of New Orleans was fought by Jackson after terms of
peace had been agreed upon by England and the United States.
But as Pinkney was an honored citizen of South Carolina, and
Curtis then in South Carolina, it is very reasonable to suppose
that Curtis heard of the treaty by or before the spring of 1796,
which gave him full time to make all arrangements for his re-
turn in November of that year.

The news of the treatv of Madrid reached the authorities of

250 Mississippi Historical Society.

the United States in 1795, as in that year, to confirm the treaty,
Andrew Ellicott was ordered to go to Natchez to ascertain the
line of 31 degrees north latitude, and reached that city, Feb.
24, 1797. Governor Gayoso knew all these things. He knew
Ellicott was coming, and for what purpose, and was on his good
behavior.

Richard Curtis reached "the Natchez Country" only three
months before Ellicott, which was seven (7) months after the
limit of time had expired for running the boundary line. On
the 3ist of March, 1797, Governor Gayoso politely wrote to
Ellicott, "There is not a single patrol out in pursuit of anybody,
nor do I find occasion for it."

It is certain that some of the survivors of the eighteenth (18)
century in their minds confused the pompous landing of Ellicott
with the final occupation of the Natchez country by the United
States in 1798. In Bond's introduction we find this language,
"The American commissioners arrived * * * and raised
the stars and stripes on the heights of Natchez. They then im-
mediately erected a large brush arbor, and put temporary seats
under it, and sent for Elder Bailey Chancy to come and preach
under the American colors. * * * This last statement I have
from the mouth of one of the hearers on the occasion (Eliza-
beth Chancy)." Claiborne says, "On the 29th (Feb., 1797), he
(Ellicott) pitched his tent on the bluff * * * and hoisted
the national colors." Riley, in his School History of Mississippi,
tells us that, "Ellicott soon became impatient of the delay * *
* and began to arouse the people. He defiantly unfurled the
Hag of the United States, secretly found out how the inhabitants
felt about the treaty, and encouraged them to assert their attach-
ment to his government."

Ellicott was, no doubt, defiant in his attitude toward Gover-
nor Gayoso. Claiborne informs us that, "the inordinate vanity
of Ellicott got control of his judgment, and he assumed, from
the outset, the air of a plenipotentiary." So we may well con-
clude that the statement made by Bond, as to what took place
"under the Stars and Stripes" is confused, and that the event
was at an earlier date than was attributed to it ; and also that
we must discount oral tradition when confronted by records
written at or near the occurrence of an event of history.

It is a matter of interest that there were four Baptist

Early Beginnings of Baptists. — Leavell. 251

churches in Mississippi before the close of the i8th century.
Baptists not only came to Mississippi to stay, but they knew the
multiplication table. It does not occur anywhere in the written
history of Mississippi Baptists, so far as I know, that there was
a second Baptist church formed in the State as early as 1798.
Jones cautiously informs us that about the year 1800 a second
Baptist church, called New Hope, was organized on Second
Creek in Adams county, and "about the same time another
near Woodville, called Bethel." Bond says, "In 1800 a church
was constituted four miles from Woodville, in Wilkinson coun-
ty, by a part of the Ogden family and others. About the same
time, one was constituted on Second Creek, and, we think, was
called New Hope." They give us some facts, but not all of the
facts.

The old records of the Coles Creek Church must again be
heard. In the minutes of the meeting of the First Friday of
August, 1798, we have as the second item of business, "The
Bayou Piere brethren presented a petition requesting the con-
stitution of a church on the Fork of Bayou Piere. The church
thought it expedient and delegated Brethren Richard Curtis,
William Thomson, John Stampley, Benjamin Curtis, Jacob
Stampley, Joseph Perkins and William Thomas to attend at the
house of brother Thomas Hubbard on Friday before the Third
Sunday in August." This Bayou Piere Church did not go into
the constitution of the Mississippi Baptist Association at Coles
Creek, nor had messengers at the association in Sept., 1807.
Thus it escaped the eye of the historian, but it was received into
the association in 1808. It was represented by letter and mes-
sengers in the association each consecutive year unto 1819,
when, on petition to the association from eight churches north
of the Homochitto river, it was dismissed, as one of the number,
to join in the organization of the Union Association. The first
session of the Union Association was held with the Bayou Piere
church September, 1820. Five years later it still existed, and
was represented in the Union Association by Levi Thompson
and William Cox.

In the first years of the i8th century churches were establish-
ed in South Mississippi with marvelous rapidity. We will
notice the organization of some churches in Amite county.
The New Providence Church, east of Gloster, was organ-

252 Mississippi Historical Society.

ized July 27, 1805, with twelve members. The Ebenezer
Church, southeast of Centerville, was constituted May 9,
1806, with eleven (u) members. The East Fork Church,
west of Magnolia, was organized on the third Sunday in Sep-
tember, 1810, with twelve members. The Zion Hill Church,
west of Summit, was constituted June u, 1811, with twelve
members. The Mars Hill Church, south of west from Summit
came into existence on the first Sunday in June, 1815, with nine
members.

In 1820, the old Mississippi Association was within the coun-
ties of Wilkinson, Amite, and a part of Franklin; the Union
Association within Adams, Claiborne, Copiah, Jefferson, and a
part of Franklin; and the Pearl River Association in Lincorn,
Pike and Marion, and Lawrence. These, and other associa-
tions, soon covered the southeastern part of the State.

The beginnings of Baptists in North Mississippi were distinct
from their beginnings in South Mississippi. North Mississippi
was peopled by a tidal wave of immigration from the east after
the third cession made by the Choctaws and the cession made
by the Chickasaw Indians. The Choctaws did not get out of
the State before 1830, nor the Chickasaws before 1835. These
tribes occupied most of our State north of a line from Prentiss
on the Mississippi river to Shubuta on the M. & O. Ry.

In this territory, the Chickasaw Association was formed in
1838, embracing the territory now known as the counties of
Marshall, Lafayette, Benton, Union, Pontotoe, Lee, Tippah,
Alcon, Prentiss, Tishamingo, and Itawamba. The Zion Asso-
ciation was founded in 1836, covering the counties of Calhoun,
Chickasaw, Clay, and Webster. The Columbus Association was
organized in 1838, embracing the counties of Monroe, Lowndes,
Oktibbeha, and Noxubee. The Yalabusha Association came
into existence in 1837, and was in the territory of Tallahatchie,
Yalabusha, Grenada, and Carroll counties. The Yazoo Asso-
ciation later extended southward, embracing Laflore, Holmes,
and Yazoo counties, and was met on the south by the old Union
Association.

The Baptists who came to our State in early times were, very
largely, from the Carolinas and from Georgia. They came to
Mississippi, they were not brought. They were a thrifty people,
who came west because of what they had learned of the salubri-

Early Beginnings of Baptists. — Leavell. 253

ous climate, and the fertile soil of our State. With sterling
worth and masterful common sense they went to work to make
their fortunes by pure, godly living and unremitting labor.
They were patriotic and law-abiding. They have grown as the
years have cbme and gone, as one would naturally expect, until
now, there are 100,000 white Baptists in our grand old Com-
monwealth.

THE IMPORTANCE OF ARCHAEOLOGY.
BY PETER J. HAMii/roN.1

In the little library at Mobile of which I am so fond the first
section embraces several subjects at which my visitors often
wonder. On the top shelf are found books on early or primi-
tive religions ; on the next, primitive culture and customs ; be-
low, books on the American Indians and their remains ; and
then others on fairy tales and Mother Goose, children's games,
Arabian Nights, Boccaccio, and more modern stories ; while
on the larger shelves below the dividing ledge come the reports
of the Bureau of Ethnology, Antiquities of Tennessee, Nott
and Gliddon's Types of Mankind and the like. A good many
seem to think that this -must be the place for library odds and
ends, a kind of last place. On the contrary, I entitle it "Be-
ginnings," and it is the section which is growing fastest and is
my favorite. A longer word for it would be Archaeology,
which is appropriated to the present discussion.

As I understand the subject, archaeology is the science cover-

1 Peter Joseph Hamilton was born at Mobile, Ala., March 19, 1859.
His father, Peter Hamilton, was one of the most eminent lawyers of
the South. He graduated at Princeton in 1836. In 1848 he became a
member of the Legislature of Alabama. Four years later he was ap-
pointed United States district attorney. He was a member of the State
Senate during the time of the dual legislature in 1872, when he was
the leader of the Democratic side, and was appointed commissioner
to Washington. William T. Hamilton, father of Peter, and himself
the son of a Peter Hamilton, was of Scotch descent and came from
England to Charleston shortly after the War of 1812. He married
Charlotte Cartledge, who came from Leeds, England. After serving
as pastor of the first Presbyterian Church of Newark, New Jersey,
William T. removed to Mobile, where he built the Government Street
Presbyterian Church. The mother of Peter J. Hamilton was Anna
Martha Beers, daughter of Jonathan S. Beers, and Cornelia Walker,
of Georgia. On the Walker side they were connected with Walton,
signer of the Constitution of the U. S., with James Fenimore Cooper,
Jonathan Edwards, and Edmund Burke.

Peter J. Hamilton graduated at Princeton fifth in the large and fa-
mous class of 1879 and took the Mental Science Fellowship, consid-
ered the highest honor of all. The next year he was a student at
Leipzig University. He afterwards attended the law schools at the
University of Virginia and at the University of Alabama. He entered
upon the practice of law in 1882, and was later partner of his father
and his uncle, Thos. A. Hamilton, a lawyer of note. On November

256 Mississippi Historical Society.

ing the period of human development between Geology and
History. History we all know, but when it commenced the
human races had already accomplished much. History is
necessarily based upon written records, and so far as it is sup-
plemented by tradition and race studies it rests upon archae-
ology, the science of beginnings of everything human. Who
among us knows when and by whom the needle was first used?
Who among us knows when and by whom the bow of a boat,
that element which makes a boat as distinguished from a raft,
was first invented ? Who among us knows the shape of the first
house and who used it? And so I might go on and enumerate
many things now so familiar that we have forgotten somebody
must have been the first to use them. This field, the origin of
customs, inventions and institutions, is that covered by archae-
ology. I know that genefally the subject is restricted to the
existing material remains of vanished races. But I do not
think that this limitation is proper. The science certainly
covers all human activity from the appearance of man down to
the beginning of recorded history. It may concern itself first
with material remains, but it will deduce from them everything
which can properly be inferred as to human mind. A bare col-
lection and classification of utensils, weapons, burial mounds,

the first, 1896, his uncle retired from active practice and died in Feb-
ruary, 1897, leaving Peter J. Hamilton the successor of the old firm
of Hamiltons.

Peter J. Hamilton was councilman of Mobile from the Eighth, the
largest ward, from i89i-'4, when by the next board he was elected
city attorney (1894). In 1899 he declined to run again, preferring to
devote himself to his profession.

He married June 30, 1891, Rachel W., daughter of Dr. J. Ralston Bur-
gett, pastor of the Government Street Presbyterian church of Mobile,
and originally of Mansfield, Ohio, and Sarah V., daughter of Daniel
Wheeler, a highly esteemed ship agent and cotton merchant of Mo-
bile.

Peter Hamilton, like William T. before him, had a fine private library
and Peter J. from a child was a writer. He frequently contributed to
newspapers, and in 1893, on his return from a second trip through Eu-
rope, published through the Putnams, a book called Rambles in Historic
Lands, which was well received.

Mr. Hamilton has made a special study of the local history and in-
stitutions of his part of the South and has written on it for different
newspapers and magazines. His principal work is entitled Colonial
Mobile. This was published by Houghton, Mifflin and Company in the
fall of 1897, and is conceded to be a book of the first rank. He has
for a year or more been assisting the Hon. Hannis Taylor in the pre-
paration of a book on International Public Law, now in the press of Cal-
laghan and Company of Chicago. — EDITOR.

The Importance of Archaeology. — Hamilton. 25?

cliff dwellings and the like will be a travesty upon the science.
It is a restoration of the life of the people who made and used
these things that makes the subject worth studying at all, and,
on the generally accepted theory that all civilization is a de-
velopment, we are only restoring our own past. Indeed there
are some primitive mental activities that have survived even to
our time and can be traced to their origins. Our own customs,
songs, legends, games and religious observances contain primi-
tive elements. They are just as legitimate subjects of study as
tombs and arrowheads, and they yield if anything clearer re-
sults.

One of the most interesting things about beginnings is that
they lie around us, as Wordsworth says Heaven does in our
infancy, and this just as much as do the latest developments,
only we do not generally distinguish them. To how many does
it occur that children's games point back to ancient times ? And
yet those amusements in which we all joined as children, and
which are still familiar to all except crabbed old maids and
bachelors, themselves go back for centuries and still preserve
customs of our ancestors. The game of thimble is a survival
of the custom of becoming the man or vassel of a lord or
military leader. The royal coronation is preserved in several
games, and when played by pretty innocent children it is as
pleasing a spectacle as ever was the original. And here let me
say, what will prove true of many of the divisions of archaeology,
that we can both study the science of ourselves and make real
contributions to its advancement by a little observation of what
goes on about us. Like some studies advertised in the papers,
it can be done at home. The games of children will even show
us from what part of the world the ancestors of our community
came, and record and preservation of games anciently and now
in use in Meridian, Vicksburg, Mobile and elsewhere will there-
fore be of interest. And the same is true of songs and rhymes,
as well as of all public customs, those of grown up people as
well as children. We do not lightly change habits or invent new
ones, individually or collectively. What we have is largely what
our forefathers used, and, if they show changes due to the sur-
roundings on a new continent, they are of so much more value
as historical guide-posts. They began in the same way and tell
17

258 Mississippi Historical Society.

the same story. Such things make up what is called the study
of folk-lore.

When we think of archaeology in connection with white
races, however, the field in America is comparatively limited.
What we can trace back by means of Caucasian folk-lore can be
done so much better in Europe, where our ancestors came from,
that it would seem our attention could better be devoted to the
other races about us. What can be done here as to our an-
cestors is really more antiquarian than archaeological. There
are battlefields of the French under Bienville, the Spaniards
under DeSoto, as well as many sites connected with explora-
tion, all important, to be sure, but coming rather under the
head of historical research. And I might say parenthetically
that there is one branch of this which should be worked up
especially. The outrunners of French civilization among the
Indians were the coureurs dc bois, of whom even the names have
been lost. The pioneers of British civilization were the traders,
like William Adair, who has left interesting works, and many
others who have left no writings at all. Their influence upon
the savages, their trade relations, their domestic life, where
they came from, where they lived and where they died, are all
unknown. Yet our plantations cover their sites and but for
these men the history of our country would have been differ-
ent from what it has been. It might have been better without
them, or it might have been worse without them, but in any
event it would have been far different, and in them we have an
historical field which should be worked. And there is one way
in which our French and Spanish forebears can aid us in archae-
ology proper. The relations and letters of the discoverers and
pioneers, such, for instance, as LaSalle, Bienville and Penicaut,
of our part of the country, throw much light upon the aborigines
as they found them. These aborigines were then in pure bar-
barism, without mixture or contamination by white civilization,
and the accounts of the early explorers are of the greater value
on that account.2

But even disregarding archaelogical studies of the white man,

2 Translations of many are in French's Hist. Colin. La. Penicaut in
the original is in 4 Margry Decouvertes. The Jesuit Relations, recently
re-published, are invaluable for the lake and western States, but con-
tain little on the Southern country.

The Importance of Archaeology. — Hamilton. 259

the situation of our European races on this continent offers two
special fields of investigation. We are succeeding the vanish-
ing red race, whose culture and antiquities will be discussed pre-
sently ; and there is also another with whom we are even closer
in contact, whose present and future present so many political
problems that we have neglected another side of study. Of
course I mean the black race and they afford a most interesting
field of investigation. They like ourselves are new comers on
this continent, but unlike ourselves they were brought here by
force, and they are working out their salvation by adopting our
civilization. There are those who deem them only veneered
savages, and their crimes, which have made lynching and even
auto da fe so common, are horrible enough to lend color to the
accusation. But we know that most of them are docile and
affectionate, and their greatest faults are laziness and want of
thrift, which also may point back to savage conditions. The
very difficulty of the existing problem should lend an interest
and show the necessity of studying their origin. The way to
educate a child or a race is to pick out the faculties which can
best be developed and work on them. That is the way every
one of us who succeeds at all comes to be a lawyer, minister,
writer, doctor, college professor or a business man. Goethe
tells us that he succeeds best who can make a play of his busi-
ness, that is, who loves it so that it is both his work and recrea-
tion together. So we can deal with our surroundings, and a
study of the origin of the negro will throw much light on the
way best to civilize him. Of course I am speaking only of them
as a class and not of all individuals. I suppose that each one
of us knows colored people for whom he has almost as high a
regard as for many of his own race ; but these are exceptions.3
The religious exercises of the negroes, with their shouting,
singing and dancing, but with little spirituality, certainly recall
those of their Guinea ancestors. A careful study will disclose

3 What is true of the black race as such may not be wholly true of
those whom for reasons of caste we class with them, although they
may have more white blood then black. I have often thought that the
lot of mulattoes and of those with even more Caucasian blood, for
whom our race is responsible, is pitiable. With more capability than
the pure blacks, they are condemned to the position of the blacks.
The preservation of the purity of the white race, perhaps, makes this
inevitable; but to these very conditions it may be due that often the
worst criminals are those of mixed blood.

260 Mississippi Historical Society.

similar points of resemblance in many of their games, customs,
legends and words. The word "tote," the "patting juba,"
"buckra" and other familiar things are African, just as "chunk"
is Indian. Some of the stories told us by our mammies come
across the sea, and Brer Rabbit and that ilk must have an
African ancestry. This is almost an unworked field and yet a
rich one. We of the South have more opportunities and better
knowledge for carrying on this line of investigation than any
other people. It is a pity more has not been done among us.
It is true all Africa has been ransacked for slaves in times past,
but the bulk of our negroes came from the Guinea coast or the
Niger and Congo interiors. So the field, though broad enough,
is not too great to be mastered. The subject has attracted the
attention of missionaries as well as others. John Leighton Wil-
son, of North Carolina, was long on the Guinea coast and
speaks of it. Samuel Lapsley, of Selma, Ala., died in the Congo
basin, and Tom Shepherd, a negro educted at the Presbyterian
theological school at Tuscaloosa, is now in the same region.
Sierra Leone and Liberia are under British and American con-
trol or influence. Work here and investigation there in co-
operation could produce valuable results. But let us turn from
the white and black races to the red and try and fit the Indian
into his place in archaeology. In many respects he lends him-
helf to the study best of all. He represents before our eyes a
stage of development of our own ancestors. He is primitive
history petrified, just as the stationary Chinese represent a
later stage.

The world over the culture epochs of man are divided into
stone, bronze and iron ages. The study of the beginnings of
the human race or stone age is divided into periods, first the
rough stone, technically called palaeolithic, the second the
polished stone period, called neolithic, in which, however, rough
stone implements still in part survived. The first relates to
man in his earliest traces, when he was contemporary with the
mammoth and other long since extinct animals, in the drift of
the glaciers, which in America extended on the line from Phila-
delphia to St. Louis. The neolithic period relates to him after
he had begun to make advance, when his instruments were
numerous, compound, varied, and more neatly executed, and
chipping had to some extent given way to grinding them. He

The Importance of Archaeology. — Hamilton. 261

had begun to cultivate some grains and domesticate the dog and
other animals. But in America this distinction is not import-
ant. The indications of palaeolithic man outside of the Trenton
gravels are few and do not concern us of the Southern States.
Our own district was probably then still a part of the sea now
known to us as the Gulf of Mexico. Our study of ancient man
must be directed to the neolithic age, and is really confined to
it, for, as there was no palaeolithic to precede, so there was
nothing to succeed it as in Europe. Copper began to be used
to some extent, but there was strictly speaking no bronze age,
and of course no iron age before the coming of the white man.
And in the study of the stone age we find differences in differ-
ent parts of America. The Esquimaux region constitutes one
culture area, as it is called ; the Pacific coast, including Mexico,
another; while the region east of the Rocky Mountains is a
very distinct one yet. This vast territory was inhabited by
several different races, of which we may mention the Algon-
quin, north of our present Tennessee, but extending east of the
Allegheny Mountains, the Iroquois about the Great Lakes and
the St. Lawrence, and the Muscogee family in what are now
our Gulf States east of the Mississippi. West of that great
river were the Sioux and other families on which we need not
now dwell. At the same time some of the Iroquois stock could
be found in the South, for the important Cherokees in the
mountains between Tennessee and the Carolinas are said to
have been of that family. Not far from them were the Cataw-
bas, who are generally thought to be of the Sioux stock, and
possibly other small offshoots of the Sioux family are also found
in the Biloxi of Mississippi, and in Arkansas. Besides these
great stocks there were such independent ones as the Caddoes
in Texas and the Timuquians about St. Augustine, Florida.
Some of these identifications are not yet fully established, but
seem probable from the testimony of language roots and in
some cases of tradition. Of course the stock in which we are
more especially interested, however, is the Muscogee, embrac-
ing the Chickasaws on one side and the Choctaws and Creeks on
the other. Of these the two latter inhabited almost all of what
is now Mississippi and afford ample scope for local investiga-
tion.

No study of Indian archaeology, whether for the whole of the

262 Mississippi Historical Society.

United States or for any particular district, is possible without
the construction of a map. Any student of the Mississippi
tribes will have to make a map and on it locate the principal
monuments, remains and tribes of his particular section. In
this way you detect groups and affinities which otherwise are
not suspected. It is true that when we come to actual archae-
ological work the spade will supersede the pen, as Mr. Thomas
has expressed it ; for most of what can now be got at of Indian
culture is underground. Linguistics, folk-lore and legends of
the Indians throw invaluable light upon our subject, but there
are also many tangible objects which we meet and these may be
conveniently placed in four different classes.

1. Fixed monuments, such as mounds, shell heaps, stone and
other graves, and Indian trails. Each of these can be sub-
divided, but we will only mention that of the mounds some are
for purposes of burial, some for defence against an attack, and
others for safety in inundations. The last are more common
along the rivers, the second along the frontier of tribes, but
the first will be found all over this State and in fact throughout
the Mississippi basin. It is interesting and curious to note that
burial mounds are infrequent .in Texas and east of the Alle-
ghenies.4

2. Human remains. These are necessarily found only in the
mounds or stone graves. They were buried with no regard to
ornamentation, and are either skeletons, or bones wrapped up
together, from which the flesh had first been removed. Their
importance is in the anatomical study of racial analogies.

3. Relics, or industrial remains, including implements of stone
or pottery. Of the stone the most common are arrow and
spear heads, generally of flint, even though flint may not be
native to the section where they are found. These bring up the
question of commerce between different tribes and localities,
involving to some extent the division of labor. Pottery is very
common in our Gulf region and presents many curious and
sometimes beautiful shapes and decoration. All of us have seen
and handled fragments, and perfect bowls and other articles are
often found.5 The chief pottery district of the United States,

4 A full study of the mounds by Cyrus Thomas is in the I2th Annual
Report of the Bureau of Ethnology. Miss, and Ala. are on pp. 253, 283.

5 Many fine specimens are given in the annual reports of the Bu-
reau of Ethnology, as for instance in 1895-6.

The Importance of Archaeology. — Hamilton. 263

however, is about the junction of the Ohio and the Mississippi
rivers and the neighboring country. Pipes often occur, but,
curiously enough, are less common where pottery is most fre-
quent.

4. Writings, whether carved on rocks or more perishable ma-
terials. There are but few of these in our part of the country,
and few anywhere in comparison with other Indian remains.

In such investigations it is important that some system be
adopted. There are thousands of specimens of arrow heads
and other Indian relics in private or public museums which are
utterly valueless because they have no authentic history. Every
explorer and student should preserve a plan and description not
only of the objects found but of the localities and other identi-
fying marks. It must be remembered that archaeology is not
play, — its object is not simply to get together a lot of curiosi-
ties, but to arrange and classify everything it finds so as to
admit of better study and of deductions from them.

Perhaps no better indication of the importance of American
archaeology can be given than to refer to several of the ques-
tions which it and it only can solve. Among them are these, —
1st. Who were the mound builders, especially of the Ohio re-
gion and other places where great heaps of dirt and stone seem
to be effigies and represent animals of different kinds, or, as at
Seltzertown in Mississippi, are terraced with architectural skill?
Were they the same as Indians of historic times, or were they a
separate race? If the former, were they not of Choctaw and
Cherokee origin, as Brinton concludes ?e 2nd. Whence came
the red men of this continent? Were they a separate creation
or did they immigrate from other continents? If they did, was
the Pacific slope crossed from China and Polynesia, and was
the great Mississippi basin settled from some eastern source,
or were all the red men of one stock? Here geology must tell
us as to the connection of the continents in tertiary times.
3rd. There being evidently, as we have seen, a number of races
on this continent, what were their inter-migrations? Did they
come from North to South or East to West ? And what were
the limits of these movements? On this the spread of agricul-

8 Brinton's Essays of Americanist, pp. 71, 80.

264 Mississippi Historical Society.

ture, particularly of maize and tobacco, native only to Tehuant-
epec, may throw great light, while strange to say the banana
seems to come to America with the whites. This becomes a
part of the interesting study of the distribution of plants on the
earth. 4th. What were the limits and boundaries of the historic
tribes? Language is teaching us something, but only by a
systematic study of the districts inhabited by the respective
tribes can we solve this with any satisfaction. 5th. What de-
gree of civilization had been attained by these different tribes?
What advance had Chickasaws made over the Choctaws or the
Creeks over the Cherokees? How do all compare with those
of Mexico and Yucatan? 6th. There is one matter of greater
interest and greater value than all the others and yet it is sel-
dom thought of. It is this, — can we reconstruct the primeval
speech of the inhabitants of America ? If we can, we shall con-
tribute more than we imagine to the archaeology of the whole
world. This was first pointed out by Wilhelm Von Humboldt
and in our own times by D. G. Brinton. The reason is that the
Indian languages seem to be based upon a different plan from
those of any other continent. What was the speech of primeval
man is a curious question but so far utterly insoluble. It is
thought we can see on the earth's surface a few primary linguis-
tic stocks. They are differentiated by their roots and methods
of combination, the principal styles being known as (i) Isola-
tive, which place words consecutively, without change, like the
Chinese ; (2) Agglutinative, which simply annex one root to
another, like the Esquimaux; (3) Incorporative, which breaks
one word up by incorporating others in it, and this is the charac-
ter of the American Indian languages, and (4) Inflectional, in-
dicating changes of gender, time, number, etc., by prefixes and
suffixes, such as the Latin, Greek and Aryan tongues.7 It is
the opinion of many good scholars that the Indians when first
discovered by Europeans had preserved their ancient languages
and language plan better than any other races on the globe.
Even yet two hundred independent stocks are known.8 If this
is so, a study of their languages presents a unique field, one
which will carry us further back into the archaeologic past than
any other linguistic stock. This feature of American archae-

7 Brinton, Essays of Americanist, p. 339.

8 Ib., pp. 318, 327-

The Importance of Archaeology. — Hamilton. 265

ology has not been sufficiently noticed. The harvest truly is
plentiful, but the laborers are few. 7th. Finally therefore in
studying Indian antiquities we are carrying ourselves further
back into the past of the human race, getting closer to the primi-
tive savage, than is possible in the study of any other tribes on
the globe, and becoming better able to decipher the beginnings
of all human civilization than is possible in any other way !

To the solution of such questions this society can make valu-
able contributions. The State of Mississippi offers a peculiarly
fine field for investigation of Indian remains. Many Indians
still live in the limits of the State and work done among them
already brings excellent results. Tradition can fix sites and
language and custom even yet recalls much of the past. To the
north was the seat of the warlike Chickasaws, a race probably
never actually defeated by the white man. The central portion
of the State was occupied by the Choctaws, possibly the larg-
est of all the Southern tribes and certainly the one most friend-
ly to our own race. The coast, including Mobile, also has its
peculiar remains and was the home of tribes with whom the
whites came first in contact. I do not know any State where
so much unites to make the study interesting and profitable.
The many towns and trails especially remain to be identified by
such careful work as Mr. Halbert and others are doing, and
every now and then new mounds and antiquities are discovered.
Chief of all, however, is the great Nanih Waiya Mound, the
fabled origin of the Choctaw race. I believe the State is doing
something towards the education of the Indians. Can it not be
induced to purchase and preserve Nanih Waiya and some of the
Indian sites? The white man as a rule cares nothing for anti-
quity, nothing for the antiquities of his own race. Every year
something is blotted out by the plow or by vandals, and, as the
State grows in wealth and prosperity, she will lose in marks of
the past. Private enterprise can do little, and direct efforts of
this society can do hardly more than secure descriptions. It is
for the State, as the general trustee for the public good, to in-
terest itself and preserve for future generations the remains of
the past. This society could do nothing better than, by all the
influence of its members and friends, press the adoption of such
legislation.

I think enough has been said to show the importance of the

266 Mississippi Historical Society.

study of archaeology. It touches or embraces the beginnings
of everything that strikes down its roots into the time before
history began. Archaeology digs in the ground for imple-
ments, weapons, dress, ornaments, and even skeletons ; it finds
the elements common to languages and infers the original
speech; it traces games, customs, superstitions and legends
back and restores primeval mind. It marks off the ages of
human progress before the alphabet was invented or history
born. It goes back even of race divisions, to the beginning
when God created man, and discovers that purpose which runs
increasing through the ages. I must confess that my mind
turns with greater interest to the study of beginnings than to
the study of the completer civilization around us. This is so
familiar that every one can know something about it, he who
runs may read. But we can as little fully understand even that
without knowing its origin as we can comprehend the character
of a man without knowing his ancestry and education.9
I am not an expert, but it may be that as in other branches
of science one who is not engaged on the details can have the
better general idea. A dweller on Mont Blanc will know more
about the glaciers, fauna and the flora of that mountain, but it
is one off at a distance who gets the best impression of its
magnificent appearance as a whole. Let this be my excuse for
preceding in this discussion investigators who are really my
teachers.

9 In the same way there is a later phase of history which is really
anchaeological: I mean what we ordinarily call the middle ages, in-
cluding also in a sense the later years of the Roman Empire. Old
things were then going to pieces, it is true, but new things were spring-
ing into life without anybody's knowing the one process or the other,
and without there being written record of the change. The mediaeval
period is therefore the ancestor of modern civilization.

THE CHOCTAW CREATION LEGEND.

BY H. S. HALBERT.1

Nanih Waiya occupies a unique position in Choctaw folk-
lore in its intimate connection with both the creation legend and
the migration legend of the Choctaw people. The first descrip-
tion on record of Nanih Waiya with the Choctaw belief that it
was the mother of their race is to be found in Adair's American
Indians, published in 1775, though the author has made a mis-
take in the location of the mound. This statement of Adair's is
positive evidence that this belief was current among the Choc-
taws fully one hundred and fifty years ago. And prior to his
day no one can tell for how many centuries it may have been an
orthodox article of Choctaw faith. This belief is not yet ex-
tinct. For even in this, the first year of the twentieth century,
there are yet to be found, at several places in Mississippi, some
old-fashioned Choctaws who are most implicit believers in
Nanih Waiya's being the mother of their race. A certain old
man, Solomon Lo-shu-mi-tubbee, of Conehatta, will even give
vent to an outburst of wrath, if any Choctaw in his presence
should express any incredulity in regard to this ancient ances-
tral belief. During the various emigrations from Mississippi,
between 1830 and 1840, many Choctaws in their opposition to
emigration declared that they would never go West and aban-
don their mother ; and that as long as Nanih Waiya stood, they
would stay and live in the land of their birth.

It is not obvious and perhaps cannot be known whether there
is any connection between the creation legend and the migra-
tion legend; whether one was developed from the other. It
is doubtful whether there are any traces of historic truth in
the migration legend. It can be safely assumed, almost demon-
strated, that the disintegration of the primordial tribe and the
consequent differentiation, by which the various branches of
the Choctaw-Muscogee family were formed, took place some-

1 A biographical sketch of the author of this article will be found
in the Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, Vol. III., p. 353,
footnote. — EDITOR.

268 Mississippi Historical Society.

where within the bounds of the Gulf States. This event occur-
red at least four thousand years ago ; for it would undoubtedly
require that long period of time to bring about the present ex-
isting divergencies in the several Choctaw-Muscogee dialects.
If there was ever any migration from the West, or even from the
North, it was by the parent tribe and in a very remote past, too
remote for even the faintest tradition to have been handed down
to modern times. It is not reasonable to suppose that the
Choctaw-Muscogee tribes should have been formed by differen-
tiation in some far off region and that these kindred tribes
should have emigrated and made new homes adjacent to each
other in the Gulf States. As the Choctaw dialect is of a more
archaic type than the other dialects of the Choctaw-Muscogee
family, it is possible that the Choctaw territory was the home of
the primordial tribe. And it is possible, too, that the Nanih
Waiya region itself was the very center of the habitat of the pa-
rent stock.

It is somewhat singular that while the migration legend is
now utterly forgotten by the Mississippi Choctaws, the creation
legend is still well known. Twenty years ago the writer had a
long conversation with old Hopahkitubbee of Bogue Chitto,
who remembered the migration legend, but since his death, all
knowledge of this legend has disappeared.

There are some versions of the creation legend that contain
modern interpolations. The one given in thisspaper is the old-
est version unmixed with modern accretions that the writer has
been able to discover among the Mississippi Choctaws. It was
taken down, word for word, in his native tongue, from the lips
of Isaac Pistonatubbee, who died recently in Newton county at
the age of some eighty years. Pistonatubbee stated that in his
boyhood he had often heard the legend, just as he gave it, from
some of the old Choctaw mingoes. While perhaps not appar-
ent in the text, Pistonatubbee stated that the creation of the dif-
ferent tribes all occurred in the same day.

Apart from the Choctaw belief that the first parents of the red
people were born of Nanih Waiya, their mother, it is possible
that the legend is a dim, confused tradition of the segregation
from the primordial stock of various colonies that ultimately
became differentiated into the several tribes of the Choctaw-
Muscogee family; the Choctaws alone, according to the le-

The Choctaw Creation Legend. — Halbert. 269

gend, remaining in the primitive seats. If this interpretation
is admissible, the insertion in the legend of the Cherokees, an
allophylic people, must be considered a comparatively modern
interpolation.

Pistonatubbee's version in his native language runs as fol-
lows :x

Hopahki fehna kash hattak vt atoba vmmona kvt Nvnih
Waiya yo atobat akohcha tok oke. Mvskoki yosh tikba Nvnih
Waiya akohcha mvt Nvnih Waiya yakni banaiya yo illaiohofka
mvt shilvt taha mvt hvshi akohchaka ilhkoli tok oke. Atuk
osh Itombikbi ola ho afoha mvt hakchuma shunka mvt luak
bohli tok oke.

Mihma Chelaki yosh atuklant Nvnih Waiya akohcha tok oke.
Mihmvt yakni banaiya ya illaiohofka mvt shilvt taha mvt akni vt
atia tok a iakaiyvt ilhkoli tok oke. Mvskoki vt afohvt hakchu-
ma ashunka cha ia tok o, luak vt itonla tok o, kowi vt lua tok o
Chelaki vt Mvskoki vt atia tok a ik ithano mvt yoshoba cha
filami cha falvmmi imma ko ilhkoli tok osh falvmmi imma ko
ont aioklachi tok oke.

Mihma Chikasha yosh atuchinat Nvnih Waiya akocha tok
oke. Mihmvt yakni banaiya ya illaiohofka mvt shilvt taha mvt
Chelaki vt atia tok a iakaiyvt ilhkoli tok osh Chelaki vt ayosh-
oba tok a ona mvt filami mvt Chelaki vt atia tok akinli ho iakai-
yvt ilhkoli tok oke. Atuk osh Chikasha vt Chelaki vt ont aiok-
lachi tok a ona mvt Chelaki bilinka aioklachi tok oke.

Mihma Chahtah yosh ont aiushta ma Nvnih Waiya yvmma
ishtaiopi akohcha tok oke. Mihmvt yakni banaiya ya illaiohof-
ka mvt shilvt taha mvt kanima ik aiyo hosh yakni ilap akinli ho
abinohli tok osh Chahta vt aiasha hoke.

TRANSLATION.

A very long time ago the first creation of men was in Nanih
Waiya; and there they were made and there they came forth.
The Muscogees first came out of Nanih Waiya, and they then
sunned themselves on Nanih Waiya's earthen rampart, and
when they got dry they went to the east. On this side of the

1 In the pronunciation of Choctaw the vowels have the continental
sound; "o" invariably has the sound of "o" in note. The twenty-second
letter of the Choctaw alphabet "v," has the sound of "a" in vial; to some
ears, however, the same as "u" in tub. The Choctaw nasal vowels, from
the want of type, are represented by italic vowels.

270 Mississippi Historical Society.

Tombigbee, there they rested and as they were smoking tobac-
co they dropped some fire.

The Cherokees next came out of Nanih Waiya. And they
sunned themselves on the earthen rampart, and when they got
dry they went and followed the trail of the elder tribe. And
at the place where the Muscogees had stopped and rested, and
where they had smoked tobacco, there was fire and the woods
were burnt, and the Cherokees could not find the Muscogees'
trail, so they got lost and turned aside and went towards the
north and there towards the north they settled and made a peo-
ple.

And the Chickasaws third came out of Nanih Waiya. And
then they sunned themselves on the earthen rampart, and
when they got dry they went and followed the Cherokees' trail ;
and when they got to where the Cherokees had got lost, they
turned aside and went on and followed the Cherokees' trail.
And when they got to where the Cherokees had settled and
made a people, they settled and made a people close to the
Cherokees.

And the Choctaws fourth and last came out of Nanih Waiya.
And they then sunned themselves on the earthen rampart and
when they got dry, they did not go anywhere but settled down
in this very land and it is the Choctaws' home.

THE LAST INDIAN COUNCIL ON NOXUBEE RIVER.
BY H. S.

In 1830 Captain Chishahoma, or Red Postoak, was the lead-
ing chief of the Okla hannali or the Six Towns Indians, who
lived in Newton, Jasper and Smith counties, but principally in
Jasper. This chief was present for a number of days at the
treaty of Dancing Rabbit. When the question of a treaty or
no treaty was submitted to the Choctaws and the majority there
present voted against it, Chishahoma considered this action as
final and that no treaty would be made. He accordingly left
the treaty ground and started home. While on his return jour-
ney he was overtaken by an Indian who told him that after his
departure a treaty had been made. Acting upon this informa-
tion, the day after his arrival home, Red Postoak called together
a council of the Six Towns people. Upon convening and the
purpose of the council being made known, it was ascertained
that all of the Six Towns Indians were opposed to the treaty
and declared that they would not go west. Chishahoma him-
self was opposed to emigration and made several speeches
against it. The council having thus unanimously declared
against emigration then adjourned.

In the spring of 1831, "about the coming of grass," word
came to Chishahoma that there was a provision in the treaty
by which all the Choctaws who wished to remain in Mississipp.
and hold their land could do so by making application to Col-
onel William Ward, the Choctaw agent, within six months and
having their names registered; otherwise they could not hold
their lands. This was the well known I4th article of the treaty,
which reads as follows:

"Each Choctaw head of a family being desirous to remain and be-
come a citizen of the States, shall be permitted to do so, by signifying
his intention to the agent within six months from the ratification of
this treaty, and he pr she shall be entitled to a reservation of one sec-
tion of six hundred and forty acres of land, to be bounded by sectional
lines of survey; in like manner shall be entitled to one-half that quan-
tity for each unmarried child which is living with him over ten years
of age; and a quarter section to such child as may be under ten years of
age, to adjoin the location of the parent. If they reside upon said lands
intending to become citizens of the States for five years after the

272 Mississippi Historical Society.

ratification of this treaty, in that case a grant in fee-simple shall issue;
said reservation shall include the present improvement of the head of
the family or a portion of it. Persons who claim under this article
shall not lose the privilege of a Choctaw citizen, but if they ever re-
move are not to be entitled to any portion of the Choctaw annuity."

Upon receiving the information in regard to this provision
of the treaty, Red Postoak dispatched runners to the Six
Towns people to notify them to assemble in council "in four
sleeps" so as to ascertain who wished to stay in Mississippi,
hold their lands and become citizens. The council convened
at the house of Spana Mingo, situated near the present village
of Garlandsville, in Jasper county. The session lasted one day
and a night. Nearly all the Six Towns people were present.
The matter was discussed in open council and every talk made
was in opposition to emigration. When the question was put
to vote the entire council to a man voted to stay and hold their
lands under the treaty. This matter being settled, the next
question was how or in what manner must they make their ap-
plications and get their names registered. After full discussion
the council appointed Chishahoma and Toboka as delegates
to visit Colonel Ward and apply to him to register the names
of all the Six Towns heads of families that wished to stay and
secure property rights in Mississippi. This determination of
the council being expressed, a way was then devised to make
an enrollment of all the heads of the families that wished to re-
main in the State. This was done by means of small sticks,
the usual Choctaw method of official or tribal enumeration.
The sticks were generally of split cane ; but on this occasion
they were made of prairie weeds. A stick about six or eight
inches long represented the head of a family and was called the
family stick. A smaller stick was made for each male child
over ten years of age at the date of the treaty and these small
sticks were tied to the family stick. For each female child over
ten years of age at the date of the treaty a notch was cut on the
middle of the family stick ; and for every child, male or female,
under ten years of age at the date of the treaty a notch was cut
on the family stick near its end. Adopted children in this ab-
original enrollment were put on the same footing as real child-
ren and designated in the same manner. A leading man or
chief was appointed from each town to superintend the prepa-
ration of these sticks and see that they corresponded with the

Indian Council on Noxubee. — Halbert. 273

numbers and ages of the children. These persons were as fol-
lows: Chishahoma for. Chinakbi Town; Mahubbee for Okata-
laia Town; Elatubbee for Inkillis Tamaha; Toka Hadjo for
Tala Town; Malachubbee for Nashwaiya; and Shikopanowa
for Bishkun.

The sticks when finished, were tied up in six bundles for the
six towns, each bundle containing the sticks of the people of
its respective town. The six bundles were then tied up into
one large bundle, about ten inches in diameter, and handed
over to Chishahoma, who with his brother delegate, either the
next morning or the morning after, started off up to the Choc-
taw Agency.

The Choctaw Agency was situated on the north side of the
Robinson road in Oktibbeha county, about one and a half miles
east of Noxubee river. The agent's house, which fronted the
road, consisted of two large rooms, made of hewn logs, with a
passage between and porch in front. Underneath was a cellar,
or perhaps better described, a kind of basement made of brick,
which was used by Colonel Ward as a dungeon for the confine-
ment of arrested fugitive slaves. This dungeon was well fur-
nished with stocks. On the premises were the usual outbuild-
ings, among these, on the north side of the road, was the store
house, which stood east of the agent's house, and the black-
smith shop, which stood west. On the south side of the road,
some fifty yards to the southwest, were the stables.

As a digression, it may be stated that many of the well to do
Choctaws were slave owners and were, of course, firm believers
in the enforcement of the fugitive slave laws of the adjoining
States. It occasionally happened that negroes in Mississippi
and Alabama would run away from their masters and flee to the
Choctaw Nation, where they vainly hoped to find an asylum,
but found to their sorrow that they were promptly arrested by
the Choctaws and delivered to Colonel Ward who at once con-
fined them in stocks in his dungeon, where they remained until
they were reclaimed by their owners.

The Choctaw Agency was abandoned in 1832. After its
abandonment, the agent's house was occupied as a dwelling
house, for many years, by several different families. At some
time in the late '4o's, the buildings were all torn down and re-
moved. The present residence of Mr. Charles Evans, situated
18

274 Mississippi Historical Society.

on the south side of the Robinson road, stands exactly opposite
the site of the agent's house.

Upon their arrival at the Agency, Chishahoma and Toboka
found Colonel Ward at home engaged in writing. Red Postoak
made known to the Colonel the object of their visit, saying that
he understood that all who wished to stay in the country five
years could have land under the treaty, and that he had come to
register himself and his people, so that they might secure the
benefits of that provision of the treaty. Ward in reply told his
visitors that such were the terms of the treaty and that they
could be registered. The Indians seated themselves, Ward took
down his book and the business began. Middleton McKey,
the Government interpreter, was present and assisted in the
business. Chishahoma would draw a stick from the bundle,
give the name of the head of the family and the numbers and
ages of the children, all of which Ward would register in his
book. After registering some fifty names, Ward arose, pushed
the book aside and took a drink of liquor. When Ward
turned around after drinking, Chishahoma told him through
McKey that he had not given him all the names that he wished
to have registered. Ward replied that he was very busy and
had a great deal to do and that Chishahoma must go home and
come back after awhile and that then he would put down all
the remaining names that he wished to have registered. Chi-
shahoma insisted upon the completion of the registration.
But Ward was obstinate ; telling him that that would do ; that
he could leave the sticks with him and return again after awhile
and see that all was right. Finally, through the representations
of the interpreter, Red Postoak became satisfied. He consid-
ered that his own name was registered as well as those that he
had given in, and that their homes were secured, and that the
remaining names would surely be registered in due time.
Leaving the remainder of the sticks with Colonel Ward, he and
his companion started for home with the intention of return-
ing in a few weeks and finishing their business. Red Postoak
reported the matter to his people, stating that Ward said that
they must come again. This report seems to have given satis-
faction, and every one supposed that Ward would act justly
and be as good as his word.

About the middle of May, Colonel Ward instructed Middle-

Indian Council on Noxubee. — Halbert. 275

ton McKey to visit the towns of the nation and invite the Choc-
taws to attend a council on Noxubee river, to be held on the
I3th day of June. The object of this council was to ascertain
what Indians desired to remain in the country, and, having their
names registered, secure the benefits of the five years' stay. It
afterwards appeared that from some cause McKey did not visit
all the parts of the nation.

About the time "when blackberries were getting ripe," Red
Postoak and Toboka returned to the agency to see about their
unfinished business. It appears that they had not been notified
of the council that was to convene on Noxubee river. On their
way to the agency they met an Indian who told them that the
agent's book containing the names of the Six Towns Indians
who had been registered for the five years' stay was destroyed ;
but that there was to be a council of the Choctaws that was to
take place in two or three sleeps on Noxubee river ; and at this
place all the Choctaws that wished to stay in the country could
register their names. This was the council appointed by Col-
onel Ward. Upon receiving this news Chishahoma and To-
boka concluded it best to make out new sticks, which they did
accordingly. It was mainly the work of Toboka, who was a
very smart man and possessed of a very great memory in call-
ing to mind the names of their people who desired their names
to be registered. To those familiar with the habits of life and
the mental acquisitions of the Choctaws living under the old
regime, this feat of Toboka's memory will excite no surprise or
incredulity. Unlike man in a civilized condition, the old time
Choctaw, who had a world of leisure, had comparatively but
few objects or ideas to impress upon his memory. Living un-
der such conditions, it was not unusual to find an Indian who
was thoroughly familiar with the name, age, and sex of every
member of his clan or tribe.

When Chishahoma and Toboka reached the agency, they
found Colonel Ward absent at the council, to which they went
without delay.

The Choctaw council house was situated on a poplar bluff or
knoll, in an open forest, on the east bank of Noxubee river,
about two and a half miles southeast of the agency, and about
four hundred yards above the Noxubee county line. The place
is now locally known as Council Bluff. The council house was

276 Mississippi Historical Society.

made of split poplar logs and about twenty by thirty feet in di-
mensions. The gable ends were east and west, with door on
the north. The house was doubtless built at the time of the
establishment of the agency on the Robinson road. A few
years ago, some of the ruins of the council house could still be
seen, but have since been destroyed by forest fires.

The Indians assembled on the council ground on Sunday,
June 1 2th. There were nearly a thousand present, of all ages
and both sexes. Many were there from the headwaters of
Pearl river, Leaf river, and Sukenatcha. That day, whether
at the agency or the council ground is uncertain, Ward told the
Indians that this was the last notice he would give them on the
subject of registration ; that they must come and register their
names the next day ; that if they did not do so, they would have
no other chance as this was the last appointment he would
make.

The next morning, June I3th, Colonel Ward met the In-
dians at the council ground. A rude table or platform had
been made outside of the council house which Ward made use
of as a kind of writing desk. When the business of the day
opened, Ward instructed Middleton McKey to tell the Indians
who did not wish to emigrate that they had the right under the
treaty to stay in the country and hold their lands, and that he
was ready to receive their names and register them in his book.
McKey faithfully interpreted this to the Indians and the work
of registration began. After the business of the day had con-
siderably advanced, Chishahoma and Toboka came forward and
presented themselves to the agent. A number of Indians from
Pearl, Leaf and Sukenatcha were with them. It seems that in
addition to his own people Chishahoma was acting as spokes-
man for these parties so as to help them in registering their
names. He had his bundle of sticks in his hands. He told
McKey to inform the agent that these sticks represented those
of his people who were unwilling to emigrate, and who wished
to remain in the country, become citizens and hold their lands ;
and that he and Toboka would give in the name of each head
of family and the ages and numbers of their children. Ward at
this time looked up at Red Postoak and asked McKey who he
was, where he lived and what Indians he wished to register.
McKey replied that it was Red Postoak, that he lived in Six

Indian Council on Noxubee. — Halbert. 277

Towns and it was the Six Towns Indians that he wished to have
registered. Ward was now much under the influence of strong
drink. He remarked that there were too many registered al-
ready and told McKey to tell Red Postoak that they must go
west of the Mississippi river, where there was plenty of land
for them ; that if they wanted land they must go there and get
it; that they could get none here. Red Postoak, in reply to
Ward, said that he was their agent, and that he thought that
he was the proper person to apply to ; that when he was at the
agency before, he told him he could stay, and he wished to
know why it was that he now said that they could not stay.
Ward replied that there were too many of them; then taking
and untying the bundle of sticks he threw them away. Red
Postoak now turned away in great anger. Anotner chief,
Atonamastubbee, who also had a large bundle of sticks repre-
senting some Sukenatcha Indians, was at the same time treated
by Ward in exactly the same manner as he treated Chishahoma.
Ward evidently took advantage of these Indians, knowing that
they came from isolated localities, were ignorant and had no ac-
tive and well informed leaders to stand up for them and their
rights.

This action of Colonel Ward created considerable excitement
among all present, both whites and Choctaws, as it was a plain
and palpable violation of the treaty. The Indians retired from
Ward's presence greatly distressed. They talked much about
it, saying that this was not what was promised to them in the
treaty, nor what was promised to them by Major Eaton in his
last talk at Dancing Rabbit. They said they would go home
and live five years on their lands, as they felt confident that the
Government would not turn them off, since they were promised
by the Commissioners at Dancing Rabbit, and it was so put
down in the treaty that those wishing to do so might stay and
have their lands and not be forced over the Mississippi. Many
of them said that they would die before they would go west.
The white people present endeavored to encourage the Indians,
advising them to go home and stay on their lands and that the
Government would treat them honestly. McKey, the interpre-
ter, also protested strongly against this action of Colonel
Ward's, saying that it was a violation of the treaty, for the
agent had made him in the morning tell the Indians that all had

278 Mississippi Historical Society.

the right to register and stay here and hold their lands if they
did not choose to move; and now to turn them off that way
looked too bad, and the Indians might say that he did not in-
terpret right.

Such was Colonel Ward's action at the council ground. His
register shows only the names of thirteen heads of families reg-
istered on that day. These, with the exception of two white
men that had Indian wives, were all intelligent and prominent
half-breeds, whose names Ward would doubtless have found
it dangerous to refuse to register. He possibly may have reg-
istered the names of some others, which afterwards, without in-
curring any personal risk, he erased, in accordance with sim-
ilar fraudulent transactions on his part, as can be proved by
the records of the Government.

To digress somewhat, the last talk made by Major Eaton
at Dancing Rabbit, referred to above by the Indian claimants,
was long remembered by the Choctaws of Mississippi. It was
made on the 28th of September, just after signing the supple-
ment to the treaty. Not even an abstract of this talk has come
down to us, but from the deposition of Hiahka, made before
the Commissioners, Graves and Claiborne, at Hopahka in
1843, it is evident that the talk was simply a full explanation of
the I4th and I9th articles of the treaty. This talk caused
many of the Choctaws to become reconciled to the treaty.

Colonel Ward remained at the council ground all day, tra-
dition says, in a more or less intoxicated condition. Soon after
the rejection of the claims of Chishahoma and Atonamastubbee,
a council was convened by the Choctaws in the poplar grove
near the council house. In this council the question of regis-
tration was discussed at great length. Many speeches were
made on both sides, some in favor of emigration, others in fa-
vor of registration. Mingo Moshulitubbee and David Folsom
were present, both of whom were opposed to their people reg-
istering and they made most impassioned speeches against this
policy. It is a matter of regret that history has failed to pre-
serve any of the Indian speeches delivered on this occasion.
But judging from the recorded Choctaw utterances current
at that day and time, which are the same as those handed down
by tradition, it is a most reasonable supposition that the orators
opposed to emigration laid much stress upon the fact that the

Indian Council on Noxubee. — Halbert. 279

majority of the Choctaw people were opposed to the treaty of
Dancing Rabbit ; that their chiefs had exceeded their authority
in making this treaty. But to give satisfaction to the Choctaws
the I4th article was inserted. And now it was their resolve
not to emigrate but to stay and hold their lands under this ar-
ticle. On the other hand, without doubt, the most potent ar-
gument brought forward by the orators of the emigration party
against the policy of remaining in the country was the difficulty
of living under the white man's laws. The Choctaws could not
speak English; they were ignorant and could not understand
the white man's ways ; they could not live happily under the
hard laws of Mississippi ; and so it would be best for them not
to register to remain here, but all to go west. After a long and
stormy discussion, in which the opposing parties could come to
no agreement, late in the afternoon, the council broke up in
confusion. None were registered after the close of the council.
No doubt, parties so disposed would have found it useless to
apply after Colonel Ward's unjust treatment of Chishahoma
and Atonamastubbee. Early the next morning, the Choctaws
packed up their baggage and all returned to their homes. And
a sore task it must have been to Chishahoma, Atonamastubbee,
and others to bear the tidings of disappointment to their expec-
tant people, who so passionately desired to live and die in the
land of their nativity.

Many of the registration party that attended this council,
became very much discouraged at the prospect of losing their
lands, and they eventually emigrated west. Atonamastubbee
emigrated west with all his people in 1836. Chishahoma lived
and died in Mississippi. Many of his people emigrated, some
before and others after his death. A large number, however,
remained, whose descendants still live in Mississippi.

Colonel Ward died a few years after this council, but this and
numerous similar unrighteous actions of his, all of which can
be verified by the records of the Government, have fastened a
lasting stigma upon his name. For near a score of years
these actions were not only destined to entail sorrow and suf-
fering upon the Indians of Mississippi, but were a continual
source of perplexity to the State and National governments.
The deleterious effects of Colonel Ward's actions are visible in

280 Mississippi Historical Society.

Mississippi even at the present day. Verily, the evil that men
do lives after them.

Such is the story of the last Indian council on Noxubee river,
a story that stands out only as a single episode in that long
"century of dishonor" of the dealings of the National Govern-
ment or its representatives with our aboriginal people, the
memory of which will ever remain on the pages of history as
a shame and a reproach to the American people.

Notes. — This account of the last Indian council on Noxubee River is,
in a great measure, collated and compiled from the case of the Choctaw
Nation vs. the United States, No. 12, 742, U. S. Court of Claims, pp. 54-
60, 181-183, 260-262, 809-828, 866-884, 888, 895-898, and 1121. Some
minor facts in the narrative are corroborated by the late Mr. Hay-
wood Lincecum, of Noxubee County, who, as a boy, accompanied his
father, Grabel Lincecum, to the council.

The description of the Agency and the council house is derived from
old citizens who had seen them.

As stated, the council house was about two miles and a half from
the Agency. In some of the Choctaw depositions the distance is given
as one or two miles. The deponents evidently had in mind the Choc-
taw mile, which is longer than the English mile. Three Choctaw
miles, for instance, are equivalent to about four and a half or five Eng-
lish miles.

The exact date of the council is fixed from the deposition of Adam
James, in connection with Ward's Register. James in his deposition
states that he registered at this council on Noxubee, and Ward's book
gives the date of his registration as June I3th, 1831.

THE REAL PHILIP NOLAN.

I

(A communication addressed to the Secretary of the Mississippi
Historical Society by the Rev. Edward Everett Hale.1)

ROXBURY, MASS., April 17, 1901.

MY DEAR SIR : I promised you in reply to your favor of De-
cember /th, 1899, that I would try to bring together some notes
on Philip Nolan for the Mississippi Historical Society.

I have never forgotten that promise, and I have many times
addressed myself to the enterprise of fulfilling it. But I have
bad the same difficulty which you have, my notes are so frag-
mentary that I cannot make out any connected narrative.

I take the liberty, however, to enclose to you a parcel of

1 Rev. Edward Everett Hale was born in Boston, Mass., in 1822. He
was graduated at Harvard with the degree of A. B. in 1839. Three
years later he received his A. M. degree from the same institution.
In 1842 he was licensed to preach by the Boston Association of Unitar-
ian Congregational ministers. Four years later he accepted a per-
manent charge at Worcester, Mass., where he remained for ten years.
In 1856 he became pastor of the South Congregational church, Bos-
ton, Mass., which position he filled until 1899, when he resigned and
became pastor emeritus.

He originated the charitable organization known as the "Hany
Wardsworth Club," which had at one time a membership of over 50,-
ooo. He also assisted in the organization of the "Look-up Legion" in
the Sunday schools. He was chosen a counsellor of the Chautauqua
circle, with which work he has been intimately associated for several
years. He is a member of the American Philosophical Society, of the
Massachusetts Historical Society, and an honorary member of the Geo-
graphical Society of the Republic of Mexico.

Although Dr. Hale has devoted much of his time and attention to
Christian and humanitarian work, his writings have won for him a last-
ing place in the literary history of the United States. He has edited
from time to time a large number of periodicals of high grade and
has written many interesting books. In his story entitled A Man
Without a Country (1863) he accidentally hit upon the name of Philip
Nolan for one of his characters. Very much to his surprise he after-
wards found that Philip Nolan was a real character in Southern history.
Feeling that he had done an injustice to Nolan in his former story, he
wrote another story entitled "Philip Nolan's Friend; or, "Show Your
Passports," which was published in Scribner's Monthly in 1876. In the
communication here published he has given to the public for the first
time numerous bits of information he has collected on the real Nolan,
through the many years of an active literary life.

More detailed sketches of Dr. Hale's life will be found in the Cyclo-
pedia of American Biographies, Vol. III.; Who's Who in America; and
the Review of Reviews for May, 1901. — EDITOR.

282 Mississippi Historical Society.

memoranda which you can submit to the Society in any form
you like. You know better than I do probably, that in the ar-
chives of your State, preserved I think at Jackson, at the pres-
ent moment, there are the records of the territorial govern-
ment, and that in these records there are references, at least to
Nolan's last expedition into Texas, and possibly to earlier ones.
When the Federal army occupied the city of Jackson, before
the capture of Vicksburg, one of our officers visited the State
House. He told me that he found, I think on the floor of the
Secretary of State's room, a part of the inquiry which was
made about Nolan in the autumn of 1800, when he had been de-
tained at Natchez by the United States marshal on the suspi-
cion that he was attempting an invasion of Spanish territory.

The examination which followed showed that he had the
pass of the Spanish governor of Orleans, and Nolan and his
party were permitted to go forward.

You will remember that Nolan had at that time married
Fanny Lintot, who was connected — I don't know how — with
the Miner family, whose residence was on the west side of the
Mississippi. It is the same house, "Concordia," which has just
been destroyed. As her son and Nolan's was born after Nolan
left, the boy never saw his own father. But he died young,
and I think he was also called Philip Nolan. I take it for
granted that you know more about these records in the capital
of Mississippi than I do. I should be greatly indebted to you
if you can send me any memoranda with regard to them. My
principal source of information with regard to Nolan himself,
was the Honorable John Mason Brown, who died in Louisville
a few years ago. He was the son of John Mason Brown who
died in Frankfort, Kentucky, in 1867.

In his correspondence Mr. Brown told me that Philip
Nolan was born in Frankfort in a house which I think he re-
membered himself. I think you may be interested in seeing two
of his early letters to me, and I therefore enclose them to you,
begging you to return them to me as soon as you can. I do
not find any date given for Nolan's birth, nor did I find any af-
terwards.

You are undoubtedly familiar with the references to him in.
Wilkinson's Memoirs. As you know, I believe, it was to the
mere accident that Wilkinson made this reference that I took

The Real Philip Nolan.— Hale. 283

Nolan's name for the name of my hero. In Wilkinson's Me-
moirs, he refers to Nolan once and again when it is convenient
to him. I thought it was Stephen Nolan, and I called my man
Philip Nolan, but as it proved, I took the real name.

We now know that Wilkinson was in the pay of the Spanish
government through all the latter years of the Eighteenth cen-
tury, and probably through the beginning of the Nineteenth.
This was suspected here, but he succeeded in covering his
tracks so fully that he was never convicted of it in his life time.
It was not until Mr. Gayarre went to Spain that he found the
full detail of this treachery in the Spanish records. But I do
not know how far Philip Nolan had to do with these transac-
tions. I have myself an autograph of Nolan's, which has an
endorsement of a letter from Wilkinson. The whole note may
be of interest to you. It bears the date, as you see, of Septem-
ber 22, 1796, and it begins with Wilkinson's own handwriting.

"Sir:

For the 12,000 acres of Land sold to your self, & messrs. Ralph &
Jonas Phillips, as per indenture dated the isth inst, please to pay Mr.
Philip Nolan or order two thousand Dollars worth of Merchantdize,
& his receipt shall be your discharge for so much.

JA WILKINSON.

Sept. 22nd, 1796.
Mr. Abijah Hunt.

Then comes Hunt's acceptance, "Accepted by A. Hunt."
And then in Nolan's rather fine handwriting:

"Received Two thousand Dollars worth of Merchandize on Account
of the above order, Cincinnati 28th Sept. 1796.

PHIL NOLAN."

I do not think that I have any memorandum of Nolan's life
earlier than this, but this seems to show that he and Wilkinson
were quite closely allied in.business as early as that time.

Of what followed I have given in my story of Philip Nolan's
Friends as good an account as it was then in my power to give,
and I do not think of anything which I have learned since I
wrote that book which has induced me to change a word in the
statement of the book itself or in the preface. In April, 1876,
I spent a half a day in looking through Wilkinson's papers. At
that time they were in a large chest in the possession of Wilkin-
son's grandson, in the city of Louisville, where I was visiting.
An introduction from Colonel Brown was sufficient to persuade

284 Mississippi Historical Society.

the proprietor to show me the whole collection. It was evident
enough to me that Wilkinson had gone over them with the ut-
most care, eliminating from them every statement of his own
treason. This was a matter of course. I do not think that I
found any correspondence with Nolan. If I had, I certainly
should have copied it, and I find no such entry on my memo-
randa. So soon as I returned to Boston I addressed General
Belknap, who was at that time head of the War Department,
to urge upon him the importance of the purchase of this extra-
ordinary collection of papers. In this collection I saw the orig-
inal letter from Burgoyne to Gates, proposing the surrender
at Saratoga. It is the same letter which is facsimiled in Wil-
kinson's Letters and Memoirs, and it bore the marks of impres-
sion taken by the engraver for that facsimile. I was so sure
that the Government would buy this collection that I did not
concern myself so much, as I should have done, about copying
from it. In it, however, was the whole history of the proposal
of John Adams, when he was President, to move an army
from Cincinnati down the river and take New Orleans. This
army was to be under the care of General Hamilton.

Unfortunately, just after my letter to General Belknap was
received at Washington, there turned up the whole misery of
his exposure in some fraudulent transactions, and the whole
business, as I suppose, went to the wall on that account. I
ought to have followed it up, but I did not, and I had the morti-
fication, a year ago, of learning that the crazy grandson of Wil-
kinson had taken this whole box of papers out into a public
field in Louisville, and burned it by way of expressing his indig-
nation with the Government which never chose to purchase the
papers of an arrant traitor. So far as I know, therefore, my
notes taken on an April afternoon, as I sat on the top of that
box, are the only memorials of its curious contents. But as I
say, I do not think there was any statement regarding Nolan
there.

I have under my hand, as I write, the Spanish report of the
trial of the correspondents of Nolan who were taken prisoners
before Nolan was killed. These came to me through Mr. Quin-
tero, who, by good fortune, happened to be at Monterey when
our army took that city. There he possessed himself of the
original documents, whether rightly or wrongly I have never

The Real Philip Nolan.— Hale. 285

inquired. What I know is that I have the original documents
of which the title page is as follows :

Provincia de Texas ano de 1801
Numerco 168 L. V.

CRIMINAL

Contra el Americano Santiago Cook
Antonio Leal, la Muger Gertrudis
delos santos y el Frances Pedro Gere
mias Longueville inviados de co-
rrespondiencias secretas con Don Feli-
pe Nolan.

Tues Fiscabel Sors Dn Juan Banta, Elguezabiel
Fene Coray Govorde la Provade ros Texas.

Escrivano

Dn Andres Bento Coubiere.
N. 54-

1 have intrusted this document to a competent Spanish
scholar and have a translation of it; and if the Mississippi
Historical Society are willing to print that translation I will
gladly send it to them for that purpose.2 But if you think that
they do not want to print it, I shall be pleased to know
at once. It will make twenty thousand words, more or less.
It refers to one or two of the unfortunate prisoners whom
Pike afterwards saw at the mines in New Mexico. I suppose
you are familiar with his narrative of his interviews with those
people. It is contained in his Journal which has been reprinted
within a few years. What I could wish is that some person as
well informed in the matter as yourself would prepare for publi-
cation a life of Philip Nolan, — I mean of the real Philip Nolan.
I have from time to time tried to urge the Texan senators to
insist upon it that a statue of Philip Nolan shall be one of the
Texan statues in the Statuary Hall at Washington. I believe
that this murder of Nolan in 1801 was the beginning of that
hatred of the Spanish and Spain which characterises the whole
of the Southwest up to the present moment. I have ventured
to say this in the preface to my own story which was reprinted
by Little & Brown in the year of the Spanish war. I send you
under another cover the edition of 1897 in which I have stated

2 See Appendix to this contribution. — EDITOR.

286 Mississippi Historical Society.

this impression. If you will look on page 18 you will find the
reference which I made to it there. I enclose a copy of what I
am going to say in a book of my own called Memories and
Memoirs of the Nineteenth Century.3

I believe the place where Nolan was murdered to be Waco.

3 «* * * * por jj0t a fay passes to-day but we are reminded
of the bitter hatred with which the rank and file of the Mississippi val-
ley hated Spain and her officers for the century which we are studying.
On the 26th of March, long before anybody in the Mississippi valley
knew whether John Adams or Aaron Burr or Thomas Jefferson was
President of the United States, Philip Nolan, a well known Ken-
tuckian, at the head of a party of western men, was killed, murdered,
I might write, by the officers of the King of Spain. His companions
were all taken prisoners and made to work in the Spanish mines.
From time to time, rumors or messages would come back from them.
On the nth of November, 1807, Ephraim Blackburn, one of their num-
ber, was hanged. Observe, they had all been acquitted by the court
which tried them. They were to be decimated. But there were but
nine of them left, from the twenty companions of Nolan. A drum, a
glass tumbler, and two dice were brought. The prisoners knelt and
were blindfolded. Ephraim took the glass first and threw the dice.
He threw three and one. This was the lowest throw and so he was
hanged. How came these men in Texas and why did the Spaniards
kill them?

"This Captain Philip Nolan was a Kentuckian, as I said, from
Frankfort, Kentucky. As early as 1797, he called General Wilkinson
his patron. Wilkinson was that consummate traitor and rascal who at
that time commanded what was called the "legion of the west." He
was for many years in the pay of the King of Spain and the govern-
ment of the United States. Since my own memory his receipts from
his annual bribe from Spain have been found in the Spanish treasury
by our historian, Mr. Gayarre. He is the same Wilkinson who was at
Saratoga with Burgoyne and was so slow in carrying the news of the
great surrender to Congress. Congress voted him sa sword as a com-
pliment, but old Dr. Witherspoon said, "We had better vote the laddie
a pair of spurs."

"Ninety-nine years after that surrender of Burgoyne and that slow
ride from Saratoga to Philadelphia, I overhauled Wilkinson's papers
at Louisville, in Kentucky. With these hands I held, with these eyes I
read Burgoyne's proposal for the interview which led to the surrender
and another note of his which Wilkinson had preserved.

"As early as 1797, Philip Nolan spoke of Wilkinson in these words:
"I look forward to the conquest of Mexico by the United States and
I expect my friend and patron the General will, in such event, give
me a conspicuous command." He expected the command in the ex-
pedition which John Adams and Hamilton were preparing at Cincin-
nati in the "new army," as it was called. This army was to be com-
manded by Hamilton and a considerable part of it gathered at Cin-
cinnati, which they called Fort Washington.* * * * *

"To this murder of Nolan and capture of his companions, I have to
this moment of writing never been able to trace any memorandum in
our official documents of the day. But Jefferson knew there was such
a man as Nolan. He had addressed a letter to him about the wild
horses of Texas, when he was Secretary of State, and Nolan had an-
swered him."

The Real Philip Nolan.— Hale. 287

I have written once and again to the President of a well equip-
ped college they have there, but I cannot find that they know or
care anything about the fact that then and there Texan inde-
pendence was born.

In this helter-skelter way my dear sir, I have given you the
key to all that I really know about Philip Nolan. I have a
copy of his portrait, a miniature on ivory, a copy which my
daughter made in New Orleans in 1876. At that time I visit-
ed Mr. Miner of whose family was Fanny Lintot who is spoken
of in my novel. I saw at that time an old negro who saw Philip
Nolan when he was going out on the expedition which closed
his life. Mr. William H. Reed, a friend of mine who was in
the sanitary service of our Government at the end of the Civil
War, says that he saw among the graves of the soldiers of a
Louisiana regiment at City Point in Virginia, the grave of
"Philip Nolan," a negro who was serving in the service of the
nation against the Confederacy. This is the last memorial
which I have of your hero and mine.

Accept these, my dear sir, as a late apology for my failure in
preparing for the Historical Society the more elaborate paper
which I hoped to send you. I cannot help hoping that you or
some other gentleman may prepare that paper.
With great respect,

I have the honour to be,
Your obedient servant,

EDWARD E. HALE.

DR. FRANKLIN L. RILEY, University, Miss.

288 Mississippi Historical Society.

APPENDIX.

Province of Texas, A. D. 1801.

Number 168.

Criminal.

Against the American Jesse Cook, Anthony Leal,
his wife, St. Gertrude, and Francis Peter Jeremiah
Lpngueville, suspected of corresponding secretly
with Mr. Philip Nolan.

Master, Fiscal Judge, Mr. John the Baptist of El-
quezable, Lieut. Col. and Governor of the Province
of Texas.

Scrivener,

Andrew Benito Courbiere.
No. 54-

1st Declaration of the in the town of San Fernando and Garrison of

American Jesse Cook. gan Antonio of Bexar; on the twenty-third day of

January, 1801, I, Mr. John the Baptist of Elque-
zabal, Lieut. Colonel of Cavalry and Provisional
Governor of this Province of Texas, proceeded to
the house Royal of said town (accompanied from
the first by Lieut. Francisco Amangual and Ensign
Joseph of Silva, both of the company of my office,
as witnesses in the present procedure) where I
found the prisoner, Jesse Cook, suspected of corre-
sponding with the American, Mr. Philip Nolan,
and having been commanded to appear in my pres-
ence and in that of the said witnesses, before them
was put to him by me the following interroga-
tories:

Question. What he is called, and of what country
he is a native, and what religion he professed?
Answered, that he is called Jesse Cook, that he is
a native of Philadelphia, and" that he is a Roman
Catholic.

Ques. If he is sufficiently acquainted with the Span-
ish language, or if he needs an interpreter to ex-
plain his declaration? Answered that he under-
stood the Spanish language and that if he doubted
any question he would call for the advice of the
interpreter.

Ques. If he would promise by our Lord God and the
sign of the cross to speak the truth concerning
these interrogatories? Answered that he would
promise and swear to speak the truth in answer to
the questions.

Ques. In what he had been engaged for the past six
years? Said that the first two years he was a
provision dealer in the Black Islands, Province
of Louisiana, trading with the inhabitants, the
three following years he had been employed by
Mr. Philip Nolan as a servant with a salary of
twelve dollars per month, and from the month of
January, 1800, in this place, Natches, and Nacog-

The Real Philip Nolan. — Hale. 289

doches, until the month of April, and from that
time until the present serving St. Gertrude with
the pay of two horses delivered to him each month
as appears from the declaration he presents.

Ques. If he knew where Philip Nolan was to b&
found, where he resided, and what time he was in
this part, and with what persons he had traded?
Said that he did not know the whereabouts of
Nolan, that during the time declarant was in his
service he went to the Black Islands, New Or-
leans, Natches, Rapido, Nacogdoches and San
Antonio of Bexar, from there he returned in the
same way to the Trinity River, where the declar-
ant remained, Nolan having gone to Natches, and
in January, 1800, the declarant went to said place,
where he settled his accounts with Nolan and was
dismissed from his service. That he did not know
Nolan had trade with any other person than Mr.
Clark, an inhabitant of New Orleans, from where
he exported the goods for his business. He
would add that when Nolan came from the Black
Islands he brought goods from there.

Ques. What motive he had in coming with Nolan
in the year 1797, what agreement he had with him
as to occupation during the incursion that it was
shown Nolan made in this Province? Said the
reason he came with Nolan was to accommodate
him for the salary he had stated. That he applied
himself to the care of the ranch and horses that
Nolan kept on the banks of the River of the Me-
dina, that he went out in Nolan's company to care
for the graziers to a place named Deep Gulch,
and besides in the race Nolan was not skillful and
the declarant went with him. And that for the
safety of the horses he went and gathered them
together in a pasture ground and a hut that he
had found in a corner on the margin of said river.

Ques. What commission had Nolan given him last
year — 1800 — that he came to gather the horses that
were left with some of the inhabitants of this town,
not being still in his service. Where these were
carried, and what destination they had? Said that
in regard to Nolan having left authority to St.
Gertrude, the wife of Anthony Leal, in whose ser-
vice he had found the declarant, she commanded
him to come to gather the horses, of which they
exported from her ten tame horses and twenty
belonging to the graziers — between colts and
mares, and having branded them on the way, he
delivered to said St. Gertrude seventeen of both
classes, that she still keeps in her possession.

Ques. How many letters he received in Nacpgdoches
from Nolan, who conveyed them to him, what
matters they contained and from where? Said
that only three, that the first was delivered by
Luciano, an inhabitant of Nacogdoches, in De-
cember, 1799, the contents of which he did not
know very well at present, and that Luciano was
connected with Nolan. That the second was de-

Mississippi Historical Society.

livered to him by a servant of Anthony Leal,
named Peter Harbo, whom Leal dispatched from
the Rapido coming from Natches, in that Nolan
charged him to solicit burros and he would pay
$50, — the last was conveyed by Mr. Pierre, who
sent it by an Englishman that was in Nacog-
doches. in that iNolan offered the goods that
were necessary and that these letters he found in
possession of the Commander of Nacogdoches.
In respect to that the chief commander opened the
trunk in which they were and the sack that was
locked.

Ques. If he had secret correspondence with Nolan?
Said he had not.

Ques. If he had not why had he written Nolan a let-
ter directing him to burn it as soon as he had read
it? Said that Nolan pretended there was another
letter favoring him in his ideas, but the declarant
never had a secret letter nor agreement over that
misreport notwithstanding the charges he had
made.

Ques. Why indeed should he be found innocent for
he was suddenly absent with the horses of Nolan
and without a passport from the Commander of
Nacogdoches, where he went, how long he re-
mained without business in that place, and why did
St. Joseph go and come from Natches to his
house? Said that St. Gertrude obtained a pass-
port from the Commander to go with three men
to conduct the horses, that he was included in the
three, that they went to the Rapido for which place
the said Commander, Mr. Michael Francis Mia-
guard, granted the license, and that he remained
permanently in Nacogdoches, living on the ranch
of Anthony Leal as his servant. That St. Joseph
went to Natches anxious to be there married to an
American woman, named .Maria Hooper by the
Fathers of Nacogdoches, but he did not believe
he had contracted matrimony, and he came to the
house of St. Gertrude for he was her brother.

Ques. If he knew the destination that Nolan gave to
the horses and mules gathered in this Province, to
whom they were sold, with what subjects of the
United States he had maintained a correspondence,
his employes, and the places where they lived?
Said that Nolan had conveyed the horses and
mules to Natches where he sold a part of them in
that vicinity, that said Nolan had intimate friend-
ship with the American General Wilkinson, for
he had been his servant, and served him six years.
That Nolan shoed to the declarant that this Gen-
eral had written that he would keep one hundred
animals for the troops, but when they went out of
Natches he does not yet know, and that he does
not know another thing concerning this point.

Ques. What correspondence St. Gertrude had main-
tained with Nolan, for what motives, what favors
she had received from Nolan, at what times they
came, and how many times he had seen her with

The Real Philip Nolan.— Hale. 291

him and in what places? Said that St. Gertrude
and Nolan had maintained correspondence but
the declarant did not know what about for he is
ignorant of Spanish writing, that Mr. Nolan's man
brought the letters and gave them to her by day,
and that he had never seen St. Gertrude with No-
lan anywhere.

Ques. Why he was arrested in the Rapido, what de-
claration he had taken, upon what points he had
given answers, and if he knew the reason he was
conducted here? Said that he was taken in the
Rapido by inducement of the Commander of Na-
cogdoches, that there (in the Rapido) he had not
given any declaration, that he only gave two per-
sonal bonds, and that he did not know why he was
brought to San Antonio for no one had told him.

Ques. If he understood geography, and if he knew
that Nolan had instructed correspondents in this
art, and that he had formed some plans of this
Province, and what became of them? Said that
he did not understand geography, but indeed No-
lan did. That he formed a map of this Province,
and that he presented it to Sir Peter of Caron-
dolet, and that he knew this for Nolan had said so
in New Orleans before the declarant came in his
company.

Ques. If he had anything to add or take from (this
deposition having been read to him). Said that
he had only to add that the map of this Province
was made in presence of the declarant, being al-
ready in his company, and not as expressed in the
foregoing question, and that the abstract from
which Nolan made the map was carried from here
before he knew the declarant. That in all the rest
has nothing to add or take from it, and that what
he has said is the truth under the obligation of
the oath which he has taken, which he affirms
and certifies and says he is thirty years old, and
he subscribes with me and the witnesses over the
citation that I certify.

Jesse Cook.

John the Baptist of Elquezabal.
Witness Witness

Francis Amanqual. Joseph Gervas Silva.

Declaration of Peter Immediately I, the said Governor, commanded

to appear before me and the two witnesses, Fran-
cis Pierre, whom I found a prisoner in the care of
the guard, and being present I put to him the fol-
lowing interrogatories.

Ques. What religion he professed. Said, the Ro-
man Catholic.

Ques. If he would swear by our God and the sign
of the cross that he would speak the truth in re-
gard to what he should be interrogated? Said
that he would swear and promise.

Ques. What he is called and of where he is a_ native?
Said he is called Peter Gerbas Longueville, and

292 Mississippi Historical Society.

that he is a native of the capital town of Bordeaux
in France.

Ques. In what he had been engaged for the past six
years? Said that for fifteen years he had been a
resident of the Province of Texas. The first ten
in Nacogdoches, dealing in various small matters
that he conveyed to that town to sell there, and
the remaining five years in going and returning
from there to San Antonio of Bexar.

Ques. If he knew of what place Mr. Philip Nolan was
a native, with what motive he came here to run
the pasture lands, what time he accompanied him,
what agreement he had with him, and in what ca-
pacity he served him? Said that he was ac-
quainted with Nolan, that he had heard him say
he was an Irishman, but he did not know for cer-
tain, that he was ignorant of the motive with
which he came to run the pasture lands. That he
served him for seven years as Steward having the
care of his things.

Ques. If Nolan gathered a number of horses in this
town, what destination he gave them, if he sold
any, and to what persons, what employment the
declarant had, and in what places he had been
with Nolan? Said it appeared that Nolan bought
horses in this town to take them to Natches, that
he sold them to the Americans but declarant did
not know to what individuals, and that the places
he had been with Nolan are Natches, Rapido, Na-
cogdoches, and San Antonio of Bexar.

Ques. If he had an agreement of business with No-
lan, intimate or secret conversation and upon what
subjects? Said that he had never had any business
agreement with Nolan, that he had various fa-
miliar conversations with him, but he did not now
know upon what subjects, except the last time the
declarant was in Natches, six months ago, where
he saw Nolan who was expecting to get a pass-
port to New Orleans to go to run the pasture
lands to the north. That for this operation he
carried (for fear that the Guarzas Indian would
oppose him) twenty armed men, of these he aban-
doned two as deserters and delinquents. That
the declarant met in Natches the Spaniards St.
Joseph, and one Francis, husband of a woman
Antonia (alias the unfolder) that these were anx-
ious to come with him (having been in the service
of Nolan when he exported the horses) and the
declarant brought them, for which reason Nolan
was angry. That he left five other Spaniards in his
company, viz: Reyneros — a brother-in-law of An-
thony Leal, Luciano, an inhabitant of Nacog-
doches, In lano Lara, a soldier licensed by the
Bahiad, I. Hinoposa, that he did not know where
he was from, and a young man named Joseph
Franche, a native of the Bay. And that he does
not know another thing concerning this point.

Ques. If Nolan had directly or indirectly maintained

The Real Philip Nolan.— Hale. 293

a correspondence with Mr. Cook? Said that he
did not know.

Ques. If he had conveyed any letter from Nolan for
Cook? Said he conveyed one that Nolan said
was for St. Gertrude in which he said he sent the
animals that were fatter than those in her posses-
sion, that he did not know whether the letter was
for the woman or for Cook for it was written in
English which language the declarant did not un-
derstand.

Ques. If he knew that Nolan had had a secret corre-
spondence with St. Gertrude or Anthony Leal her
husband? Said he did not know if Nolan had cor-
responded with St. Gertrude, that Anthony Leal
had been with Nolan in Natches the past year, he
did not know whether he had returned any other
time.

Ques. If he knew that Nolan had maintained illicit
intercourse with "St. Gertrude, if she went out to
some place on business for Nolan and if the de-
clarant accompanied her? Said that the appear-
ance of the evil friendship of Nolan with St. Ger-
trude was notorious, that she, and in her company,
the declarant, went to buy horses in Laredo, Re-
villa and the Point, and that Nolan went out after-
wards and followed in the way of Revilla to La-
redo, from where they went together to the last
place from whence they returned by Laredo to
San Antonio of Bexar, conducting one hundred
and fifty tame animals — horses and mules.

Ques. With what end he came finally to Bexar, and if
he knew why he was a prisoner? Said that he
came to Bexar to be at the place that would ac-
commodate him the best of any place he had seen,
and for the affection he had for the Spanish. That
he did not know why he was a prisoner, neither
had any one told him.

Ques. If he had anything to add or to take from?
Said that he had nothing to add nor take from,
and that he had declared the truth under the oath
he had taken, and having read this deposition he
confirms and ratifies it, and says he is forty years
old, and signs with me and the witnesses.

Peter Gervas Longueville.
John the Baptist of Elquezabal.
Witness Witness

Francis Amanqual. Joseph Gervas of Silva.

Decree for the suspen- in the said town of San Fernando, on the twenty

MOD of the business. f(?urth day of january A D 1&)I> j the said pro.

visional Governor having concluded this business
order it to be suspended until the coming of An-
thony Leal and St. Gertrude, at which time I will
proceed to the close. Which by decree I direct
and sign with the two witnesses.

Elquezabal.

of authority of authority

Francis Amanqual. Joseph Gervas of Silva.

294

Mississippi Historical Society.

Decree to proceed
with the business.

Appointment of Scriv-
ener.

2nd Declaration of the
American Jesse Cook.

In the town of San Fernando and Garrison of
San Antonio of Bexar, on April 2ist, 1801, I, John
the Baptist of Elquezabal, Provisional Governor
of the Province of Texas, in attention that on the
fifteenth day of this month was present in said
town Anthony Leal and his wife St. Gertrude,
whom the Commander of Nacogdoches had sent
under the guard of a chief and eight soldiers of
this company, I commanded to proceed to put in
form the correspondent preliminary inquiry of the
conduct observed by said individuals relating to
the points contained in the foregoing declarations
recently taken by the American Jesse Cook, which
by this decree I command and confirm on this
day, month and year.

John the Baptist of Elquezabal.

Sir John the Baptist of Elquezabal, Lieut. Col.
of Cavalry of these Camps, Adjutant and Inspec-
tor for His Majesty of the Interior Provinces of
N. E. and Provisional Governor of the Province of
Texas. Having to appoint a Scrivener, according
to the provisions in the Royal ordinances for that
decree in the process that I go to form against
the American Jesse Cook, Anthony Leal and his
wife St. Gertrude, appoint Mr. Andrew Benito
Courbiere, a distinguished soldier of the Com-
pany of the Bay, that he shall exercise the office
of Scrivener, and notified him of the appointment
which he accepted and swore and promised that he
would keep the secrets and be faithful in the duties
of the office. And for that appears his signature
with me in Bexar this twenty-first day of April
1801.
John the Baptist of Elquezabal.

Andrew Benito Corbiere.

In the town of San Fernando the twenty-first
day of April A. D. 1801 lord John the Baptist of
Elquezabal, Provisional Governor of the Province
of Texas went with my Scrivener to the Royal
houses of this town where I found imprisoned

• Jesse Cook, whom I caused to raise his right hand
and

Ques. If he would swear by God and the sign of the
cross that he would speak the truth concerning
what I should ask him? Said he would swear.

Ques. What business relations he had during the time
he was with Philip Nolan, with what persons he
had correspondence and upon what subjects? Said
that before he was a servant of Nolan he bought
goods in Kentucky and brought them to the Black
Islands where he traded. That on the second oc-
casion he returned to Ky. and bought a lighter
(in the fruit season at Joseph) and returned with
them to the Black Islands. That the third time I
bought in Ky. a flat boat which I loaded with corn
and brandy, a part of which I expended in New
Madrid and the remainder in the town or fort of

The Real Philip Nolan.— Hale. 295

San Fernando in Mississippi. That after he had
left the service of Nolan, John Murdock wrote
the declarant a letter which he received in June
or July of last year in which he said he had sent
a trunk of goods of the value of $500, — a little
more or less. That this trunk did not come into
the hands of the declarant because Murdock was in
the Point Coupee, it was removed from the bat-
teaux in which Murdock had embarked without
knowing his reason for it in regard to which Mur-
dock had not then written but that afterwards he
was made to know that Murdock was informed
that the declarant had gone to San Antonio be-
cause of which he had detained the goods. That
during the time he was in Nolan's service declarant
had no business on his own account. That the
goods were brought to Nacogdoches by Nolan
who traded them, that he left the declarant sick,
because of which he did not follow Nolan to San
Antonio, where he came with the goods, as it
appears, in the year 1797. That in two months the
declarant came by order of Nolan.

Ques. What amount of goods he had received in Na-
cogdoches, by whom were they sent, where were
they concealed; what was their destination, if
when he came to San Antonio he brought any-
thing, what he bought with them, and what he did
with what he bought? Said that when he came
from Natches to Nacogdoches, he brought goods,
that he kept them in the house of St. Gertrude,
that he there sold them to the inhabitants for
horses that when he came to San Antonio he con-
ducted some of them that he also sold to various
inhabitants that he did not know, that he delivered
tame horses and graziers to the number of 22 or
23 that were brought to Nacogdoches to join with
30 more that he received belong to Nolan, of those
he delivered only 17 to said St. Gertrude, for he
had lost the rest on the way because of a stam-
pede, that the 20 and more he had kept in his pos-
session and conducted them to the Rapido, where
they were detained by the troops of Nacodoges
and returned to this Port, with the exception of
one-half that were very weak and tired and left on
the way.

Ques. What instructions he brought to San Antonio
when he last came, with what persons he had com-
missions, if he succeeded in his pretensions and
what these persons were? Said that before he
came Murdock had written the letter in which ap-
peared the trunk had arrived at the rendezvous
and that he said he had sent in it a little parcel
that he wished delivered to Mr. Gabriel Gutierrez,
but as he did not receive the trunk consequently
he did not receive the parcel. That he did not
know what it contained, that he did not bring any-
thing of value to any person, and only one letter
that the Commander of Nacogdoches, Lieut. Mi-
chael del Moral, sent open by the declarant to Mr.

296 Mississippi Historical Society.

Gabriel Gonfiales, but he did not know its con-
tents, for he was unable to read Spanish, neither
was it in possession of any person that he should
speak to the Governor. That he did not remem-
ber if Murdock provided in his letter anything of
this for the time he made the receipt.

Ques. What letters he had received from merchants
of Louisiana or Natchez, and what they contained?
Said that he had received four that he knew of,
one from Natchez written by Dublas, in which he
offered goods if necessary; another from the same
place from Murdock, in which he said the $500 of
goods were to buy mules and horses, the other two
were from said Murdock, in one of which he said
he had sent a trunk with the goods and a little
parcel already, referred to, with another for St.
Gertrude charged with the memorandum, and in
the last that he had brought, or removed, the
trunk, for he knew the declarant had come to San
Antonio. That as declarant did not receive the
trunk he was not able to buy the mules that he
requested, so it was useless.

Ques. Who is John Murdock, where does he live,
why did he send goods to Nacogdoches, and what
he sent in payment for them? Said that he is a
native of Penna., one of the United States, and
lives in Louisiana in a place named the Bayou
Auxecon. That he never sent goods nor the de-
clarant to him anything for this motive. That
Murdock was in company with Nolan when de-
clarant entered this Province, and that being in it
when they separated.

Ques. Why did not Nolan return to San Antonio,
what secret matters there was between the two,
for what did Nolan commission him to go to Ra-
pidio with Luziano, what present he made to the
Commander, who this was, ,and what Nolan sent
to St. Gertrude by Luziano? Said that Nolan sent
the writing by Luziano, that he did not return to
this Province because of a letter the Governor of
Louisiana, Mr. Manuel Gayoso, of Lemas, wrote
against him to the Governor of Texas, that he
never had any secret matter with him, and that
though Nolan said in the letter to carry his horses
quickly, it did not prove that he carried them from
the motive exposed in the letter from the Gover-
nor of Louisiana. That these horses, though in
charge of declarant, he found in possession of St.
Gertrude, that Nolan commissioned him to go to
Rapido to carry the horses with Luziano. That
also Nolan sent a bundle and a letter to the Com-
mander of Nacogdoches. Mr. Joseph Miguel del
Moral, to whom the declarant delivered them, and
that said official having read the letter did not wish
to receive the bundle, for which reason the declar-
ant delivered it to St. Gertrude, but that having re-
flected afterwards, he had Nolan charge its value
that was $100 to said St. Gertrude, saying to her
that he had no authority to leave the bundle in her

The Real Philip Nolan.— Hale. 297

possession because Nolan had not given such or-
der, and that he would leave it if said Commander
would give an order receiving it on her account.
That it was certainly returned to the Commander
to whom it was made a present, and that then the
said official said to the declarant that in respect
to it that St. Gertrude owed a sum of money that
she had borrowed with which to buy a negro, and
he would receive the bundle on her account and
not as belonging to Nolan, on which terms he gave
the receipt. That Nolan sent to St. Gertrude by
Luciano a trunk of floor flags and another of goods
with which to pay the young men who had the care
of the horses and did not wish to settle with him
until they came to Natches.

Ques. Why had he a commission to go to Nacogdo-
ches immediately? Said he did not know the rea-
son Nolan had in sending him with such prompt-
ness.

Ques. What correspondence had Nolan maintained
with St. Gertrude, and upon what subjects? Said
he did not know what kind of correspondence nor
upon what subjects, presumably relating to the
horses and paying the men, for which purpose
Nolan had sent the goods and also for her charges.

Ques. What trusts Nolan had conferred upon said St.
Gertrude and what persons Nolan had ordered the
declarant to consult, and if he was to show the cor-
respondence? Said that in the first letter that Lu-
ciano brought to the declarant when the two
trunks before mentioned were sent it was ex-
pressed that if St. Gertrude was not able by reason
of illness or other accident to perform the duty he
was to show the letters to Father Vallejo (the
Clergyman), for him to read, that he had no au-
thority to consult with him and never had con-
sulted with him nor shown any letter to him or
any one but St. Gertrude, for he did not find her
sick.

Ques. What other trusts Nolan made concerning St.
Gertrude when the said Clergyman should come
to San Antonio? Said he did not know anything
upon that point.

Ques. What destination Nolan gave to the Burros in
his charge, of whom they were bought, with whom
they were sent and where? Said that though No-
lan trusted them to him he did not buy them nor
know the value of them, other than as he had said.

Ques. What business secrets he had had with Nolan,
and upon what matters, what confidential business
he had maintained with St. Gertrude? Said he had
not had secrets with any one, and that the corre-
spondence was confined to matters of his business
particulars of interest, and that neither had he had
secrets pertaining to her. That he had nothing
more to add, and that what he had said is the
truth under the obligation of the oath he had taken
which he affirmed and ratified this deposition was
read to him. He said he is thirty years old and

298 Mississippi Historical Society.

he signs this with the said Governor and in the
presence of the scrivner and between the mar-
gins— with Luciano farewell.

Jesse Cook,
before me,
Elquezabal. Andrew Benito Courbieres.

Deposition of St. Ger- in the before mentioned town, said day, month,

and year, John the Baptist of Elquezabal, Pro-
visional Governor of the Province of Texas, caused
to appear before him St. Gertrude, who received
from said Governor the oath by our Lord God,
and a sign in form of the cross that she would
speak the truth, concerning those things that
should be asked her.

Ques. Her name, residence and state? Said that she
was called St. Gertrude, that they found and ar-
rested her in the town of Nacogdoches, that she
was married with Anthony Leal.

Ques. When she knew Nolan and with what object?
Said that she knew him in San Antonio, with the
motive of a letter of recommendation, that with it
Nolan sent to her husband, Anthony Leal one, in
which he said if they had no house where they
could lodge they could come to his and live.

Ques. What kind of connection had she had with No-
lan? Said she had maintained with him illicit inter-
course as a frail woman.

Ques. By what agreement had she done this with
Nolan? Said that for doing this he had promised
her $4,000.00 and two hundred animals.

Ques. With what view she went to Nacogdoches,
what did she or her husband receive from Nolan?
Said she went to Nacogdoches following her hus-
band, that neither of them received a thing from
Nolan except thirty animals between colts and
mares, some tame, and a herd of twenty-five colts
"mestenas."

Ques. What goods did Nolan send from Louisiana
and Natches, and what was their destination, and
for what purpose were they sent? Said Nolan did
not send any goods from La., and that from Nat-
ches he sent some of the value of more than
$300.00, with which to pay what he owed to the
men servants, for which said goods were not suf-
ficient, and though she had received from him a
trunk of the value of $300.00 or more, she sent it
to her husband, who had been to Natches with two
hundred horses of his own anxious to sell them, as
was shown according to what he said, for the
money with which he bought said goods and a
negress.

Ques. What correspondence had she maintained with
Nolan, how many letters she had written and upon
what subjects? Said she had had no correspon-
dence with him, neither had she written him let-
ters with the exception of one in which she said
she did not want him to forget what he had prom-

The Real Philip Nolan.— Hale. 299

ised, and if by chance there had been other letters,
they had not come from her hands.

Ques. With whom had she maintained correspon-
dence besides Nolan, what letters had she written,
to whom, wherefrom, what did the letters contain,
who carried them, what courtesies she had re-
ceive, to whom or with what design? Said she had
not corresponded with anybody, neither received
letters from any person, nor attentions.

Ques. To what persons she had made a gift in Nacog-
doches, what directions or commands she had from
them, and who were they? Said she had made a
gift to nobody by order of another, that though
she had given some trifles to various persons that
she did not now know, yet they had been her own.

Ques. What confidential matters she had treated with
Nolan, what instructions he had given her, what
she understood in this, and by what means the let-
ters came and went? Said she never had confiden-
tial matters with Nolan, nor received secret letters.
That it appeared that Luciano delivered one, but
she did not now know anything of its contents.

Ques. What trifles had she received from other in-
dividuals, besides Nolan, from what persons and
what objects? Said she had not received a thing
for herself nor for others.

Ques. How many servants she kept in Nacogdoches,
their names, the salary they had and in what they
were employed? Said that during the time she
lived in said town she had in her service the In-
dian, Peter, with a salary of $10.00, Louis Maldo-
nado, of the house, with $3.00, and the gunpowder,
and Jesse Cook, with the agreement of a mare and
two horses to be delivered each month he was em-
ployed in constructing her house, and labor and
care of the herds she had.

Ques. How she knew Cook, with what motive he
lived in her house, how long he lived with her?
Said that she lived with him in San Antonio as the
servant of Nolan, that nobody had recommended
him to her, but he asked to serve her, and she had
him three months.

Ques. What correspondence by letter Cook had main-
tained with Nolan, how many letters he had writ-
ten and upon what subjects? Said she did not
know a thing upon this point, not having observed
that he had written.

Ques. What motive she had in Cook coming to San
Antonio on the last occasion, when he had charge
of transporting the animals, who these animals
were for, and where she sent them? Said with the
object of giving the animals up to Nolan that
were left here for others she had given in Nacog-
doches and she sent Cook to take them back. That
they fell short twenty that did not arrive. These
were for her ranch and they had no other destina-
tion, nor did she give Cook other instruction.

Ques. To whom belonged the two female slaves and
the negro slave that had come with her, with what

300 Mississippi Historical Society.

were they bought, to whom sold or given, for
what prices, and where she acquired the means to
buy them? Said they belonged to her husband,
who bought them in Natches, one of the ne-
gresses for $400.00, the other was bought for the
declarant in Nacogdoches of Mr. Francis Chabu,
for $600.00, of which she gave one-half from the
trunk of goods her husband sent and that she
paid the rest in silver when she came from Nat-
ches, that the negro was not yet paid to the house
of the deceased from which her husband acquired
him in the Rapido, and that the value of all they
acquired in Natches with the horses they brought.

Ques. On how many occasions had her husband been
to Natches, for what purpose, and who gave the
passports? Said he had been only once in the
company of Nolan to sell said horses and she did
not know if he carried a passport.

Ques. Why did he come to San Antonio the last time,
what did he buy, for what price, how many ani-
mals did he export, of what kinds, and where they
were? Said he had come to sell his house, as he
had said, that he carried $300.00 in Reales, that he
did not sell the house, but bought horses that were
for the ranch, which were left on the river Trini-
dad in a pasture ground called Nolan's, becaus_e
they were very weak, and she does not know their
number.

Ques. How many burros he bought, where, and what
was their destination? Said she was ignorant of
the particulars of the question and only knew that
in Nacogdoches she sold to her husband two bur-
ros and that he did not wish to buy.

Ques. What intentions had Nolan in bringing armed
people into this Province, what information he
gave her, to relate what she knew on the subject?
Said she did not know anything upon that subject,
nor had Nolan ever communicated any informa-
tion nor circumstances concerning his intentions.

Ques. Why did she always live on the ranch and not
in Nacogdoches, if she had a house there or ex-
pected to make one, what she had to build with,
and who would assist in the cost? Said she lived
on the ranch for the purpose of taking care of her
property, she had no house in Nacogdoches, that
Jesse Cook constructed one by virtue of the agree-
ment that the declarant had stated, and though it
tis true that Nolan offered to build a house, it was
under the condition that I should go with him to
Natches and there he would do all he had offered
verbally and not in writing.

Ques. If on any occasion she had concealed on her
ranch any goods in "tercios" or other kinds for
protection, to whom they belonged and what was
their destination? Said she had not had in her
possession other goods than those mentioned sent
by Nolan for the payment of the men in the trunk
he sent by her husband, with two other trunks
with floor flags, water pots and blankets.

The Real Philip Nolan.— Hale. 30*

Qv.es. If she had anything to add or to take from this
deposition that had been read to her. Said she
had nothing to add except in the letter Nolan had
written and sent with the trunk of goods he
charged her to treat the men with kindness and to
give them the goods at a cheap price, and she
asserts that what she has said is the truth under
the obligation of the oath she had taken, which she
affirms and ratifies. Says she is about fifty years
old, that she does not know how to write, she will
make the sign of the cross and thus attest what
she has said with said Governor and the scrivener,
between the margins, with the horsemen that car-
ried her farewell John the Baptist of

X

before me,
Elquezabel. Andrew Benito Courbiere.

Deposition of Anthony In the town of San Fernando, fortress of San

Lea1' Antonio of Bexar, the twenty-second day of April,

1801, sir John the Baptist of Elquezabel, Pro-
visional Governor of the Province of Texas, went
with my scrivener to the powder warehouse of this
town where I found the prisoner, Anthony Leal,
whom I caused to raise his right hand and swear
by our Lord God and the sign of the cross that he
would speak the truth in what he should be inter-
rogated.

Ques. His name, surname, place of residence, rank
and occupation? Said he is called Anthony Leal
that in the present state of things he lives here,
before that he lived in Nacogdoches, that he is
married to St. Gertrude, and that he is a laborer.

Ques. If he knew the reason of his imprisonment?
Said he did not know why, the Governor of the
Province having passed the official letter to the
Commander of Nacogdoches that he should be
removed to this capital with his family, which was
done under the escort of a leader, seven soldiers
and a citizen, and immediately the command of said
Governor having been presented he was conducted
a prisoner to the Powder Warehouse.

Ques. How long had he known Mr. Nolan? Said
from the time when Lieut. Christopher de Cor-
dova commanded in Nacogdoches about the year
1791.

Ques. With what motive he had friendship with No-
lan, how long he had cultivated it, in what he had
served him, or for what reason he had lived in his
house? Said that from the year 1791 he had
known him in Nacogdoches, that he had cultivated
his friendship from that time until the first of May,
1800, and that Nolan having said in 1795 that he
was coming to San Antonio, he offered his house
if he would serve him, that then, notwithstanding
the request was verbal the declarant sent to his
wife for the goods, but did not lodge there, but
with another neighbor, but that the second voyage
as shown, in the year 1797 he stayed in the house

302 Mississippi Historical Society.

of said Nolan by virtue of the friendship that both
had and except from that motive the declarant
gave no recommendation neither in writing nor
verbally.

Ques. For what did his wife serve Nolan, what salary
he gave, what things she had done to favor Nolan,
and in what places: ? Said that she served him for
the friendship that Nolan had with the declarant,
that he gave her no salary and that his wife was
occupied in personal assistance and also in the care
of her things according to the appearance, and he
did not know what other things his wife had prac-
ticed for Nolan's benefit nor in what places, for he
had been absent trading with the Tancahues In-
dians, which he had by appointment from the de-
ceased Governor.

Ques. Why did he remove to Nacogdoches with his
family, on what did he live and in what was he en-
gaged? Said that he removed to Nacogdoches
with his men and a hundred and more animals to
restore his trade, in which he was engaged, that
he did not give orders to his wife to go there
that she did it of her own will without leave from
the declarant, that he lived on the trade he had
with the Indians, and afterwards he went to Nat-
ches alone with his horses, from where he returned
to his house in Nacogdoches without bringing
goods for the Indians, for he had there learned
that there had been a new trader appointed on pe-
tition of the Indians.

Ques. From what place he assigned the ranch and the
goods he had there, how did he obtain the one and
the other, to whom he sold them, with what was
he paid, in what kind, and from where he had
them? Said that the ranch was hired from the
Lieut. Gov. Sir Joseph Miguel del Moral, and the
goods were his own, bought^in this capital with
money that was obtained from the Paymaster in
payment of various lots of deer skins that he had
delivered for the use of the troops.
Ques. What voyages he made during his residence in
Nacogdoches, where he went, what he carried, to
whom he delivered it, for what he sold it, what he
brought and of what persons he received it? Said
that during the time he had the traffic with the
Indians he went to New Orleans and dressed deer
skins, venison, tallow, tongues, and other things of
that nature, with which he would supply the needs
of the Indians. That afterwards he went to Nat-
ches with one hundred and fifteen animals — horses,
that he had sold to Nolan, and he went to deliver
them with his servants only. That the Steward
of Nolan received them on the farm, that after he
had delivered them he remained there twenty and
more days expecting to see Nolan, who did not
come. In his anxiety it was necessary that the
declarant and the Steward should go to Natches
that Nolan joined the two at the place where the
horses were and requested that the declarant with

The Real Philip Nolan.— Hale. 3°3

his men would gather them, which he accordingly
did and took the receipt of the Steward, and went
to the other side of the river. When this work
was finished the declarant went to Natches with
the design of collecting the value of one hundred
animals that Nolan had, that having sold fifteen
the rest he had at his residence, that he delivered
him for all $1,980, $700, and more in goods and
the rest in money, that of this he sent to his wife
$600, in a trunk by Jesse Cook, and the rest the
declarant carried. He would add that the motive
in sending the goods by Cook was that his wife
had sent to ask for them, and that he gave orders
to Cook (who went to Natches), to receive there
the said amount, which was delivered in goods, for
he did not have the money. That he did not know
what his wife did with them, that the goods he had
spoken of that he carried he kept for his subsist-
ence, and the use of his house, and that it was
all delivered to him in Natches by Ferguson on
Nolan's account.

Ques. Why did he ultimately come to San Antonio,
what did he send, of whom did he have it, what did
he buy, to whom sell, and for what things? Said
he came with the design of buying burros for his
ranch, that nobody sent anything, that he came of
his own will, that he brought no goods, but certain
silver, that he did not buy the burros, as they were
not in that place, that he sent to his brother
Gregory Leal for him to buy them in Laredo, but
he was not able to do this for the river was greatly
swollen, and he returned with sixteen tame horses
that he delivered declarent, that he bought twenty-
two other horses, that he had spoken of, in this
capital, with which thirty-eight animals he went to
Nacogdoches, being detained by reason of weak-
ness in the pasture lands, called Nolan's, on the
river Trinity, and from there, as soon as he was
stronger, he conducted them to Nacogdoches, to
whose Commander he was presented and went
with them -to his ranch, where he kept some of
them, with the others he paid various debts he had
there.

Ques. How many slaves had he, of whom he bought
them, and with what? Said he had three, two wo-
men and a man negro, that he bought one of them
in Natches of an American, whose name he did
not remember, for $400, the other was bought by
his wife in Nacogdoches of Mr. Chaba for $600,
which his wife finished paying from the trunk of
goods that declarant sent by Cook, so that when
he came home it was paid. And the negro he
bought on the Rapido at an auction for $270, that
is not yet paid.

Ques. What correspondence had he and his wife
maintained with Nolan, who carried the letters,
by what persons had he answered, and upon what
subjects they treated? Said he did not know any-
thing in these questions that he had done.

304 Mississippi Historical Society.

Ques. If he gave any letter of Nolan for his wife, and
to whom he delivered it to be carried? Said that
he had not delivered any letter to any person in
Natches or any other place, for Nolan had not
given him any.

Ques. What trusts Nolan had made and for whom?
Said he had not charged him with any.

Ques. If Cook had brought on to his ranch any
trunks of goods, or had any other person in his
name? Said that he knew nothing in this particu-
lar.

Ques. What servants had he in Nacogdoches, with
what salary and in what were they occupied? Said
he had Lorenzo Inojosa at $6 per month, Francis
del Torro at $8, Manuel de Acosta at $10, Joseph
de Losa (now deceased), at $7, and John de Torres
at $5, these are the only ones he has had during
the residence of his wife in Nacogdoches. He
would remark that Manuel de Acosta and John de
Torres are those who had served him as long as
his wife resided there, the others were in his ser-
vice when he carried on the traffic with the na-
tions. That the first was occupied in conducting
the goods that he sold and bought to the Indians,
and the last two in taking care of the animals, and
that he did not know any other that he had given
a salary.

Ques. What gifts had he or his wife received from
other persons than Nolan, and from what motive?
Said that he had not. received any gifts, he did not
know if any had been made to his wife from civil-
ity.

Ques. What did he know of the entrance of Nolan to
this Province with armed people, to relate what he
knew on the subject? Said that he did not know
neither had he heard him say a thing upon this
point until he returned to this capital from Nacog-
doches, which was in October" of last year, he was
met there with the news that Nolan had entered
this Province with armed people. That he had
nothing to add, that what he had said was the truth
by virtue of his oath which he affirmed and ratified,
having had this disposition read to him says he is
fifty-nine years old, and that he does not know
how to write, will make the sign of the cross, and
the said Governor signs it, with the scrivener=:be-
tween the margins=farewell=for four hundred
dollars=farewelh=correct:=:how many— farewell

X
John the Baptist, before me,

of Elquerabal. Andrew Benito Courbiere.

Decree to suspend the in the before mentioned Garrison, said day,

N'eS10118 month and year, the said John the Baptist, of El-

quezabal, Provisional Governor of this Province
of Texas, with the information I had that the two
negresses and the negro lacked all knowledge on
the subjects contained in this business and
language necessary to give explanation, command

The Real Philip Nolan.— Hale. 3°5

to suspend their respective declarations, as also
those of the servants mentioned in the foregoing,
and only receive that of the man John de Torres
that I found imprisoned in the main guard. And
for that appears the signature of said official, to*
which I, the undersigned scrivener, give faith.
Elquezabal. Andrew Benito Courbiere..

Declaration of John Qn said day, month and year, the said Governor

de Torres. made to appear before him John de Torres, that

he found imprisoned in the main guard, who re-
ceived the oath by God and a sign in form of the
cross that he would speak the truth in regard to
what he should be interrogated.

Ques. What he is called, what is his condition, and
what his occupation? Said he is called John de
Torres, that he is a bachelor, and is a laborer.

Ques. Whom has he served and how long, and in
what was he engaged? Said he had served various
masters previously, and from August last year un-
til now Anthony Leal by whom he was employed
for $5 per month, and his living, that he was em-
ployed in the care of the horses on the ranch that
his master had in Nacogdoches.

Ques. If he knew that Anthony Leal or his wife had
received any letters, from whence they came, who
had brought them, and at what hours? Said that
he did not know a thing, for he had been the most
of the time, on the Trinity river guarding the
horses that his master had in the pasture lands of
Nolan and the rest of the time in the vicinity of the
ranch in the same employment.

Ques. What Cook did on the ranch? Said when
Cook left Nacogdoches for this capital he was un-
der guard of some soldiers, he found the declar-
ant still on the Trinity river.

Ques. If he saw goods taken on to the ranch and
from where they were brought? Said he had not
seen brought to the ranch more goods than those
bought to exchange for horses to the time of the
coming of a Frenchman from the Appelousas.

Ques. If he found, or on the way had heard said to
his master in conversation or otherwise anything
concerning Nolan, what was said, how much did
he know in this particular? Said he had not heard
anything nor had his master spoken of Nolan in
his presence. That he had nothing more to add
what he had said is the truth under the oath he
had taken which he affirmed and ratified, this de-
claration being read to him, said he was twenty-
five years old, that he did not know how to write,
made the sign of the cross, and the said Governor
signs it with the scrivener.

X
John the Baptist, before me,

of Elquezabal. Andrew Benito Courbiere.

20

306

Mississippi Historical Society.

Notice to complete
the procedure.

Citation to finish with
Miguel del Moral.

Immediately, the same day, month, and year sir
John the Baptist of Elquezabal, Provisional Gov-
ernor of the Province of Texas in view of the fore-
going declarations of Jesse Cook and Anthony
Leal, from them it appearing that the first person-
ally carried a letter and bundle sent by Nolan to
Lieut. Joseph Miguel del Moral, being Commander
of Nacogdoches, that he did not wish to receive
the bundle but that he examined it and gave Cook
a receipt for it on the account of St. Gertrude in
the second instance. And also that said Official
Steward of the real jurisdiction leased the ranch
that Anthony Leal possessed and likewise that he
commisioned his brother Gregory to buy burros
in Laredo from whence he brought sixteen tame
horses. I command the completion of these mat-
ters. And that the judicial formalities may appear,
I, the said official, sign this. Of which I, the un-
dersigned scrivener, give faith.
Elquezabal. Andrew Benito Corbiere.

Immediately appeared before the said Governor,
and the present scrivener, Lieut. Miguel del Moral,
one of those quoted by Jesse Cook and Anthony
Leal in their declarations from page* 18, 28, 14,
hand upon the handle of his sword and
who the said Governor made to place his right
Ques. If under his word of honor he would promise
to speak the truth in what he should be asked?
Said he would promise, and having read the quota-
tion that Jesse Cook had made where he affirmed
that he had carried a letter and a bundle from
Nolan, and asked their contents, said that Nolan,
having written concerning $100, — that he owed the
royal tax for exporting horses which he was not
ready to pay but in a short time Cook presented
him with said letter and bundle, which he did not
wish to receive from Nolan. Afterwards Cook
returned making him the present which he received
on the account of St. Gertrude for the $100, — that
was wanting of the bond then to be executed with
suitable security.

Having read the statement that Anthony Leal
made in his deposition in which he affirmed that he
had hired the land of his ranch of the declarant —
Said that without prejudice of the tax collector
he commanded the agent to give possession of
said land to Anthon}r Leal without proceeding to
put it in formal writing. That this was what
passed, which he affirms and ratifies under the
word of honor he has given, and he signs this
with said official and the scrivener.
John the Baptist, Joseph Miguel del Moral.

of Elquezabal. before me.

Andrew Benito Courbiere.

*Leaf 8, 12. 6 of original.

The Real Philip Nolan.— Hale. 307

Citation to finish with pn said day, month, and year, appeared before

Gregory Leal. sa^ Governor and the present scrivener Gregory

Leal, quoted by his brother, Anthony Leal, is his
deposition, page *28 to 34, whom I caused to raise
his right hand and receive the oath that he would
declare by God and a sign in the form of the cross,
that he would speak the truth in what he should
be inquired of, and having had read to him said
quotation in which Anthony Leal affirmed that he
had commissioned him to buy burros in Laredo,
from where he brought sixteen horses without
having brought the burros. Said it was certain
that his brother sent him with $150, — for which
he was to solicit burros. That he arrived at La-
redo on that occasion, he found the river greatly
swollen, so that he was unable to cross to the
other side, by reason of which he bought in that
place sixteen tame horses, which he took to his
brother. He says this is the truth under the oath
he has taken which he affirms and ratifies. Said
he is forty years old, that he does not know how
to write, but will make the sign of the cross, and
the said Governor signs with the scrivener.

X
John the Baptist, before me,

of Elquezabal. Andrew Benito Courbiere.

Procedure to send the Jn the mentioned garrison the day, month and

doc°hesi0nS t( NaC°g" y£ar> J°hn the Baptist of Elquezabal, Provisional
Governor of the Province of Texas, by virtue of
the foregoing declarations of Jesse Cook and St.
Gertrude, by which it appears that Luciano, an in-
habitant of Nacogdoches, delivered to Cook a let-
ter from Nolan, that Peter Harbo delivered an-
other by command of Anthony Leal. That Lieut.
Miguel Musquiz granted to St. Gertrude a pass-
port to go with three men (one of whom was
Cook) to the Rapido for the horses that St. Jos-
eph came to Natches anxious to be there married
to Maria Hooper, an American. That the said
Luciano conveyed a letter to Cook from Nolan,
and two trunks of goods for St. Gertrude, to whom
he delivered another letter from Nolan. I com-
mand to copy said quotations and that they be
sent to Ensign Joseph Maria Guidinana, Commis-
sioner in Nacogdoches, for matters relating to that
which gives motive to this process, that he would
proceed to complete them. I suspend that relating
to John Murdock mindful that notwithstanding
said Jesse Cook resides on the Bayou aus ecors,
a place in the Province of Louisiana, he is a sub-
ject of the United States, and has no fixed domi-
cil, but employs himself in roving traffic. And for
that appears the business signature of said official,
to which I, the undersigned scrivener, give faith.
Elquezabal. Andrew Benito Courbiere.

*Leaf ii to 13 of original.

308

Mississippi Historical Society.

Procedure to liberate
John de Torres and
suspend bis cause.

Decree for collecting
the citations arrived
from Nacogdoches.

Decree to finish the
citation of Father
Gaetan.

Immediately said Fiscal Judge by virtue of the
non success of the charge against the man John
de 'iorres who by oraer has remained imprisoned
from the day when he arrived with Anthony Leal,
I command that he be set at liberty, and that the
present cause be suspended meanwhile until there
shall be received from Nacogdoches the completion
of the before mentioned citations, and likewise the
process that concerns this subject shall be put in
form there by said official, Joseph Maria Guadi-
ana. And for that appears the business signa-
ture of said Governor, to which I, the undersigned
scrivener, give faith.
Elquezabal. Andrew Benito Courbiere.

The town of San Fernando and royal Garrison
of San Antonio of Bexar, on July 27th, 1801, John
the Baptist of Elquezabal, Fiscal Judge of this
cause in view of having received the completion
in five leaves that were ordered sent by said Judge
Commissioner in Nacogdoches, I order that they
be collected to this cause, and in regard to that
of Rev. Father Joseph Manuel Guitan (embraced
in one of them) for having been found absent from
that destination and directed toward this capital,
not satisfied with the result, said official has de-
termined to suspend the rest of the business until
his arrival, at which time he will proceed to the
rest that belongs to it; and for that appears for
business his signature of which I, the present
Scrivener, give faith=not satisfied=:correct=fare-
well.
John the Baptist, before me,

of Elquezabal. Andrew Benito Courbiere.

In the town of San Fernando and Royal Gar-
rison of San Antonio of Bexar, on August 6th,
1801, Sir John the Baptist" of Elquezabal, Lieut.
Col. of Cavalry, and Provisional Governor of the
Province of Texas, in view of these decrees and
declaration of Luciano Garcia that he conveyed
a letter and double-barrelled gun that he delivered
by order of Philip Nolan to the Reverend Father
Joseph Manuel Gaetan and likewise was constant
in the declaration that Peter Harbo had placed in
possession of said Father another letter from said
Nolan, command (having obtained permission of
his prelate) that he be liberated from his ministry
there and that he, the Reverend Father Joseph
Manuel Gaetan, be a resident in the mission of
St. Joseph of Aguayo for the continuation of the
said quotations.

Mr. Andrew Benito Corbiere, a distinguished
soldier of the Company of the Garrison of the
Bay of the Holy Spirit, and authorized by the
Royal ordinances of His Majesty to perform the
duties of Scrivener in the following cause against
Jesse Cook, Anthony Leal, and his wife St. Ger-
trude, and likewise of Peter Geiemias Longue-

The Real Philip Nolan.— Hate. 309

ville, suspected of corresponding secretly with
Philip Nolan, and in traffic in goods in contra-
vention of law.

I certify and give faith that in a declaration that
extends from page i unto the 8th, inclusive, given
by Jesse Cook, is found a quotation of the follow-
ing tenor,=<2w£.s. How many letters he had re-
ceived in Nacogdoches from Philip Nolan, who
conveyed them, what matters they contained and
from where? Said=that only three had come, the
first was delivered by Luciano, an inhabitant of
Nacogdoches in, December 1799, the contents of
which he did not know very well now, and that
said Luciana was connected with Nolan. That the
second was delivered by a servant of Anthony
Leal named Peter Harbo, whom Leal sent from
the Rapidp coming from Natches, in that Nolan
charged him to get burros and that he would pay
him $50.

In the same deposition Cook said that the Lieut.
Commander Michael Mazquiz granted a passport to
St. Gertrude to go with three men and the horses
to Rapido, that among the three Cook was in-
cluded,=that St. Joseph made a trip to Natches
anxious to be there married to an American wo-
man named Maria Hooper by the Fathers of Na-
cogdoches, but he did not believe he was married.

In the second deposition of Cook at page 18 it
appears that Luciano carried another letter of
Nolan for the declarant, and two trunks, one of
floor flags and the other of goods for St. Gertrude.
In the other deposition, given by St. Gertrude, it
appears on page 23* that said Luciano delivered
her a letter from Nolan. And that it may appear
where it may be closed, I give the present order
and charge from Lord John the Baptist of Elque-
zabal, Fiscal Judge of this cause, on a leaf sub-
scribed by me, which, likewise, is signed by said
Fiscal Judge in the town of San Fernando and
Garrison of San Antonio of Bexar, the twenty-
third day of April A. D. 1801.
John the Baptist,

of Elquezabal. Andrew Benito Corbiere.

Mr. Joseph Maria Guadiana, first Ensign of the
company of Mondova and actually employed in
this town of Nacogdoches, having received the or-
der of the Governor of the Province of Texas,
Lieut. Col. John the Baptist of Elquezabal, to
complete the citations as appears in the foregoing
certificate authorized by said Governor and the
Scrivener, Mr. Benito Corbiere, and having read
it with the rule which His Majesty presents in
His Royal Ordenances to name a Scrivener to act
in said matter, I confirm a soldier of the Bay of
the Holy Spirit, Joseph Manuel Delgado, to per-
form the duties of Scrivener. And having noti-

*Leaf 10 of original.

3io Mississippi Historical Society.

fied him of the obligation he accepted it, swore and
promised that he would be secret and faithful.
And for that appears his signature with mine, in
Nacogdoches, this, May i6th, 1801.
Joseph Maria Guadiana.

Joseph Manuel Delgado.

In said town of Nacogdoches, said day, month
and year, Ensign Joseph Maria Guadiana, caused
tj> appear before him, for the purpose of complet-
ing the foregoing citations, Luciana Garcia, who,
before me the present scrivener, received the oath
by God and a sign in form of the cross that he
would speak the truth in all that should be asked
him. Said he would.

Ques. His name, country, and religion? Said he was
called Luciano Garcia, that he is a native of the
Real de Charcas, and a Roman Catholic.

Ques. What letters of Nolan he had conveyed to
this town of Nacogdoches from Natches, or from
any town of Louisiana, for what persons of this
town, or without, their names and the times he
had been. Said that from the month of August
1799, when he went out of this town for Natches
he conducted horses for Nolan in whose service he
was, in November of the same year he returned
to this town of Nacogdoches with a Frenchman
who accompanied him called Peter whom he had
known for a long time. That the declarant was
sent by his master, Nolan, to convey a load of
trunks, one of them filled with white floor flags
and the other he does not know what it contained
for he did not accommodate himself to see, and
some canteens that were filled but he is ignorant
of what they carried, and he was directed by his
master, Nolan, to convey those things to the ranch
of the Aises in Nacogdoches and deliver them to
St. Gertrude. And Nolan also gave him a letter
and a double-barrelled gun both of which he was
to deliver to the Rev. Father, Friar Manuel Gay-
ton, and that he returned with Jesse Cook to Nat-
ches conducting the animals that by reason of
weakness had been left by Nolan on the Trinity
river, in the care of said Cook.

Ques. When did he come to this town, and if he
delivered the load, letter and gun that he had
spoken of, and if he had conveyed other letters
that he had delivered to his master? Said in the
month of November 1799 according as he said he
went out of Natches, or below Natches, that is
from the pasture where the horses of his master
were, that in the same month he came to this town,
and delivered to St. Gertrude the load of trunks
and canteens, and to Father Gaetan the double-
barrelled gun, and letter he had spoken of, and
that he had not conveyed any other letter that he
had given to Nolan or any other person. That in
December of the same vear he returned to Natches
with Cook, who left the declarant on the ranch

The Real Philip Nolan.— Hale. 311

of the Aises one hundred animals of his mistress,
that were of the horses that he had charge of on.
the Trinity river, and because they were very weak
they were unable to convey them to Natches and
he commended them to St. Gertrude. Attending
to that which his master had said that the animals
were very weak he had branded them and left
them to St. Gertrude apart from twenty-five mares
of the better ones and a stallion which missed the
brand. St. Gertrude appreciated what the declar-
ant had done, they having been chosen among
all the hundred animals that were cared for by
Cook and a man of Bexar, called by some Vibas
and by others Ribas Cacho, and also the said Ger-
trude missed of the weakest horses some animals.

Ques. State what number of horses St. Gertrude
missed of the animals of Nolan apart from the
twenty-five and a stallion that she received as her
own by virtue of the order of said Nolan? Said
he did not remember.

Ques. How could he say he had conveyed no other
letter of Nolan than that he delivered Father Gae-
tan with the double-barrel gun when it appears
that he delivered to Cook two letters of Nolan?
Said that apart from the letter of Father Gaetan
that he had spoken of he carried another letter
that his master, Nolan, gave him or St. Gertrude
which he delivered at the same time he delivered
the two trunks and the canteens he had referred
to, and that he had conveyed no letter to Cook,
nor did he know that Nolan had written him.

Ques. Having read this, if it was his explanation, if
it was the same he had given, if he had anything to
add or to take from it, or if he would affirm and
ratify it under the oath he had taken, and what is
his age? Said, that all that had been read to him
is the same that he had declared, that he had noth-
ing to add or take from it, and he would affirm and
raitfy it all under the obligation of the oath he had
taken, and that he is thirty-five years old, he can-
not sign it for he does not know how to write, but
he will make the sign of the cross, signed the said
Ensign and the present Scrivener.

X
Joseph Maria Guadiane. before me,

Joseph Manuel Delgado.

In the town of Nacogdoches, this May i8th, 1801,
Ensign Joseph Maria Guadiana caused to appear
before him Peter Harbo, who before me the pres-
ent Scrivener, received the oath by God and a sign
in form of the cross that he would speak the
truth in what he should be asked, and asked his
name, country and religion? Said he was called
Peter Harbo, that he is a native of this town of
Nacogdoches, and that he is a Roman Catholic.
Ques. What letters had he conveyed to this town of
Nacogdoches or any place, who gave them to him,
to what persons he delivered them and at what

312 Mississippi Historical Society.

time? Said that when Philip Nolan retired from
Nacogdoches the last time for Matches the declar-
ant went as his servant for $12 per month and his
living, and that he had the care of the horses until
last May, when his master proposed that he should
make a voyage with him on shares to conduct the
horses that he had guarded in Natches, the declar-
ant did not comply, his master was impatient and
discharged him from his service without well pay-
ing his salary to the time when he found Anthony
Leal in the house of Nolan in Natches, who united
the declarant with him to return to Leal's house
in Nacogdoches. They made the voyage in a small
vessel from Natches, the declarant, Leal, his ne-
gress slave, and his servant that was a man from
New Orleans whose name he does not know, to
the part of the Rapido, where Leal offered the
declarant, if he would come to Nacogdoches, a
horse he had lent the Commander of said Rapido.
The declarant having accepted the offere proceed-
ed to execute it. When he went out Leal sent
two letters in a paper and this paper in a small
handkerchief, and he gave the declarant express
directions to give them to his wife St. Gertrude,
then there was a letter for Cook and another for
Father Friar Manuel Gaetan and that he would
give the word he had sent to his wife St. Gertrude,
and he offered seven animals, four with pack-
saddles to carry the four large trunks, one small
one and some water pots with other trifles, all of
which the declarant saw go out of Nolan's house.
The declarant having arrived at his house on the
ranch of Amoladeras in Nacogdoches, met there
a servant of Leal named Pacheco to whom he de-
livered the bundle of the two letters for him to
give to St. Gertrude, whom he commanded to
speak the word he had from, his master in regard
to the letters and also of the horses that he had
asked and the next day the declarant saw said
St. Gertrude, on said ranch, she having received
the things Pacheco had carried and also the mes-
sage in relation to the horses that Leal had asked
and that Cook had not found in Nacogdoches
and for which he had gone to San Antonio of
Bexar.

Ques. If this declaration which was read to him is
the same that he had made, if he had anything to
add or to take from it, if he would affirm and
ratify it, and what is his age? Said that what was
read to him was what he had declared, that he had
nothing to add nor to take from it, and he would
affirm and ratify it under the oath he had taken,
and that he is twenty years old, and he would make
a sign of the cross in place of signing, and said
Ensign signs, and the present Scrivener.

X
Joseph Maria Guadiane. before me,

Joseph Manuel Delgado.

The Real Philip Nolan.— Hale. 3J3

Deposition of Lt. M. in the town of Nacogdoches this May iQth, 1801,

•U8<luez- Ensign Joseph Maria Guadiana caused to appear

before him Lt. Michael Musquez, whom, before

me, the undersigned Scrivener, he made to place

his right hand upon the hilt of his sword and

Ques. If under his word of honor he would speak
the truth in what he should be interrogated? Said
he would promise.

Ques. His name and employment? Said he was
called Michael Musquez, that he is second Lieu-
tenant of the company of Mondova and present
Commander in this town of Nacogdoches.

Ques. If he granted a passport to St. Gertrude to go
out with three men and horses to the place of the
Rapido, and if in the number three was included
the name Jesse Cook? Said that in the year past,
in the month of November he gave a passport to
St. Gertrude to convey to the place of the Rapido
the horses that they had been able to collect on
her ranch that Philip Nolan had passed to this
town and that were still on the summer pasture
grounds of said ranch, and as it was explained he
had just cause to help in the departure of said
horses he put it in execution by means of the sol-
dier John Maria de la Zenda, that he found de-
tached in the passage of the Sabine river, royal
road to Louisiana, and said Zenda gave seven days
on his part to following them on a place named the
Gloria. Joseph Guarcas, with Peter Harbo and
Pacheco, who had the care of thirty-seven horses
and St. Gertrude having given that her daughter
and Jesse Cook had anticipated the coming to the
ranch of Til had made a supnly of provisions and
continued their journey that Peter Harbo was
made to know the order that was carried him to
return that horse, which having been read to him
Harbo at once obeyed it and with John Maria re-
turned thirty horses having left seven to Guacas
for they were in his passport and in the service of
Guacas that Pacheco had given, and they returned
with said thirty horses Zenda and Pacheco fol-
lowed over the march. St. Gertrude and her
daughter, guided by Pacheco, who very soon had
returned to unite with Guacas. That Cook, ac-
cording to St. Gertrude, had continued his march
to Rapido. And that having been in the flood
one animal died and five were lost, Zenda deliv-
ered twenty-four horses on the ranch of St. Ger-
trude to Manuel de Acosta, to whom he made a
present of the lost animals, and that three of these
animals had strayed very near the ranch, he would
also declare that the day he went out to the Sa-
bine river in pursuit or the horses he met six of
the animals that Nolan had for the ranch of which
he also informed Acosta. That he has nothing to
take from or to add to this, and that what he had
said is the truth under the obligation of the word
of honor he had given which he would affirm and
ratify, he read this his explanation and said he was

Mississippi Historical Society.

fifty-five years old, and he signed with said Ensign
and the present Scrivener=between the margins=
with Peter Harbo and Pacheco^farewell.
Joseph Maria Gaudiane.

Michael Fernando Musquis.

In the town of Nacogdoches this May apth, 1801,
The Ensign Joseph Maria Guadiana, Said, that he
had completed on five leaves the foregoing cita-
tions, which he certifies to Lieut. Col. John the
Baptist of Elquezabal at San Antonio of Bexar,
and for his loyalty he signs this with the present
Scrivener.
Joseph Maria Guadiane. before me,

Joseph Manuel Delgado.

Delivered for explanation that the matter may
be made certain for whose constancy I sign with
my said Scrivener:=correct,=all=farewell.
John the Baptist, before me,

of Elquezabal. Andrew Benito Courbiere.

Memorandum of hav- i tne undersigned Scrivener, give faith that this

S&TS Rev M! AuSust 6th> I8oi> I went to the Mission of St.

Gaetan. Joseph of Aguaio, and delivered the said official

letter to the Rev. Father Manuel Gaetan, and for

which I put my business signature.

Andrew Benito Courbiere.

Memorandum of hav- j} the undersigned Scrivener, give faith that this

leftedeCthI ansWersC°of August 7th, i8oi, he received the answers from the

the Father. Rev. Father, Friar Joseph Manuel Gaetan to the

official letter, which answers bear date of the

sixth day of said month, which he passed to John

the Baptist of Elquezabal, Provisional Governor

of the Province of Texas, which he inserted as a

continuation of the originals,, and for which I put

my official signature.

Andrew Benito Courbiere.

In a declaration that was given in Nacogdoches
by Rev. Luciano Garcia, by order of this govern-
ment in the following cause, it appears that in
the month of November, 1799, he entered said
place proceeding from Natches, and conveyed a
letter and a double-barreled gun that were deliv-
ered to him by his master, Philip Nolan, to put
in the hands of your Reverence.

In another declaration of said Luciano Garcia
the fourth answer of which shows that he delivered
to your Reverence the said letter and double-bar-
reled gun.

By virtue of which, it being necessary to com-
plete those quotations, it is expected that your
Reverence will state if he received said letter and
double-barreled gun from the hand of the declar-
ant or another person, what the letter contained,
what appeared concerning the motive Nolan had

The Real Philip Nolan.—.

in sending the gun to your Reverence, and the
rest that you know concerning the matter.
God give to your Reverence many years.
San Antonia of Bexar, August 6th, 1801.

John the Baptist of
Elquezabal.

Rev. Father Friar Jo- For the completion of the quotation that your

seph Manuel Gaetan. Worship claims in his foregoing official decree,
that it is true that he received from the declarant
the letter and double-barreled gun that Philip
Nolan sent me by the same. The contents of the
letter were nothing other than the sending of the
gun and the motive in sending it was nothing
more, than he had been the Commissioner in one
of the environs and had given Nolan a passport,
free, to this Province, with this it appears to me
I have satisfied the questions you put to me, and
in his loyalty gives this, which he signs in the
Mission of Holy St. Joseph, August 7th, 1801.
Fr. Joseph Manuel Gaetan.

Most Rev. Fr. Friar The inhabitant of Nacogdoches, Peter Harbo,

in a declaration that was received in said place,
said that having left the service of Philip Nolan
in which he had been, he determined to return to
his house. That at the time shown Anthony Leal
delivered to him two letters and told him to give
them to his wife, St. Gertrude, that one of them
was for Jesse Cook and the other for your Rever-
ence.

In order that said matter may be completed it is
necessary to ask your Reverence if said letter
came to his hands, who delivered it to your Rev-
erence, who was it from, and what did it contain?

God give your Reverence many years.

San Antonio of Bexar, August 6, 1801.

John the Baptist of
Elquezabal.

In answer to the foregoing official letter I have
to say to your Worship that having been in the
town of Nacogdoches at the time when Philip
Nolan made his entrance, free, to this Province,
I acquired with him friendly intercourse, and fa-
miliar communication as did the others that knew
him, from which it resulted that in his absence he
sent me one, and another letter in which he sa-
luted me according to the custom, and sometimes
because of a few loads of necessaries for the house
that he had made, between these was the one of
which you ask me, which was certainly brought by
said Peter Harbo, but I do not remember if it
was delivered to me by him or by another. And
this is what I know concerning what you have
asked me. For whose constancy I give this, which
is signed in the Mission of the Holy St. Joseph
this August 7th, 1801.

Fr. Joseph Manuel Gaetan.

316 Mississippi Historical Society.

Decree to proceed with in the town of San Fernando and Royal Gar-

goods oYSony Leal "son of San Antonio of Bexar, August 8th, 1801,
and his wife. John the Baptist of Elquezabal, Lieut. Col. of Cav-

alry of the Royal Army, and Governor Provis-
ional of the Province of Texas, in consideration
that there is deposited in the Abilitacion of this
Company the effects and movable goods belong-
ing to Anthony Leal and his wife St. Gertrude, 1
command thkt notice be given to Mr. Anthony
Rodriguez Vaca, that they are committed to his
custody, maintained in his possession and like-
wise that he may execute the corresponding re-
ceipt, and for this appears the business signature
of said official to which give faith.
John the Baptist,
of Elquezabal.

Inventory. Immediately, John the Baptist of Elquezabal,

Lieut. Col. of Cavalry of the Royal Army and
Provisional Governor of the Province of Texas
went to the house of this company, accompanied
by my Scrivener, where appeared Mr. Anthony
Rodriguez Vaca, and commanded that he should
proceed to make a formal Inventory of all the
goods belonging to the inhabitant, Anthony Leal
and St. Gertrude, his wife, which he verified in
the manner following:

Wearing Apparel.

ii pair of skirts, made.

i short cloak of scarlet cloth for a woman, with
gold lace.

5 nose handkerchiefs,
a linen fringe for bed.
3 chemises.

7 shirts for man, second hand & new.
i pillow case.

some second hand table cloths.
i pair men's cotton stockings.
5 black silk handkerchiefs,
i waistcoat,
some trousers.

1 jacket,

2 cotton coverlets.
i linen sheet.

i large, silk embroidered handkerchief,
some cotton & wool breeches, cut with lining.

1 pair deer skin boots.

3 French blankets.

Furniture.

7 pewter spoons.

4 steel forks.

4 prs. paper scissors.

5 doz & ii gilt buttons.

2 plates.

2 chests in which were the clothes.

The Real Philip Nolan.— Hale. 3*7

10 earthen ware plates.

3 " cups.

i tureen,

I glass

I mirror.

I Holy Christ.

i paper image of our Lady of the Rosary.

7 " " other saints

5 iron weter pots, i broken, with lid.

i " pan

i " " flat

i pewter plate,

1 curry comb

2 iron hoes
2 " shovels

i " half moon

i spade

i pewter mould for making candles

7 old saddles

12 bottles

1 gun

2 razors in their cases

2 powder horns with powder

2 " "without "

2 pouches with 124 bullets

5 moulds for bullets

i table knife

i bridle with headstall and reins

i pr. old cushions

i old pack saddle.

i tent of coarse brown linen.

Landed Property,

1 small adobe house with 2 old huts contiguous

Living Property.

2 negresses, one with a baby,
i old negro.

ii horses.

And being all the goods that he found belong-
ing to Anthony Leal and St. Gertrude, his wife,
of which the undersigned Scrivener certifies and
gives faith, the said Governor commands that for
the greater security of said property it shall be
solemnly deposited with Mr. Anthony Rodriguez
Baca with the obligation of having the disposition
of the same, in conformity to which all the goods
enumerated in the foregoing inventory are deliv-
ered to him, taking them under the obligation and
agreement and in the manner that has been said.
And for this appears his signature with that of
said Governor, of which I give faith.
John the Baptist,

of Elquezabal. Antonio Rodriguez Baca.

Andrew Benito Courbiere.

Mississippi Historical Society.

Reason Jesse Cook
and Peter Longueville
not having goods.

Decree to continue
the business until con-
cluded.

Procedure to collate
letter found in posses-
sion of St. Gertrude.

Nolan's letter.

Immediately, John the Baptist of Elquezabal,
Lieut. Col. of Cav., and Provisional Governor of
the Province of Texas, In consideration that the
American Jesse Cook and Francis Peter Longue-
ville, possess no goods of any kind, command they
should be placed for business of which I, the un-
dersigned Scrivener, give faith.

Andrew Benito Courbiere.

In the town of San Fernando and Royal Gar-
rison of San Antonio of Bexar, September loth,
1801, John the Baptist of Elquezabal, Lieut. Col.
of Cavalry of the Royal Army, and Provisional
Governor of the Province of Texas, In view of the
information that has passed Ensign Joseph Maria
Guadiana, the Judge commissioned in Nacog-
cloches, in which is shown no new results charged
to these prisoners in this cause, and that notwith-
standing having afterward prepared to make In-
quiry on the subject, he has not received it until
now, commands the continuance of this preliminary
proceeding until the proof is received, thereby
avoiding the considerable delay that would be ex-
perienced in waiting for said business. And for
that appears the signature of said Governor to
which I, the undersigend Scrivener, give faith.
John the Baptist,

of Elquezabal. Andrew Benito Courbiere.

Immediately the said Governor commanded to
colate and attach to this case the original letter
of Mr. Philip Nolan to St. Gertrude that was
found in Nacogdoches, in a house in which she
kept her papers. And for that appears the business
signature of said official; to which I, the under-
signed Scrivener, give faith.
Elquezabal. Andrew Benito Courbiere.

My very esteemed and beloved Gertrudis: I
owe to Davenport $20, which do me the favor to
pay and ask him for some papers of my arbitra-
tion with Murdoch. If by chance, alas, you are
embarrassed by the going of the horses do not
pay the debt, keep the money for your own use.

That little girl Shabus wrote me.

Arocha has come from St. Antonio and alas
there is much trouble. It appears to me it will
be necessary to freight a house to Nacogdoches
for the time until I send the carpenter to make
one. In all the months between I will send more
goods and money if able to get them.

Have no anxiety, when I have a dollar I will
give the half to thee.

The little Negress can expect the flowered silk.

In thee I have much confidence and thou mayst
send to me with all liberty. I hope in the course
of the year to come by sea to Natches on return
from the colonies.

By the coming year I shall have a house and

The Real Philip Nolan.— Hale. 319

shall have the greatest pleasure in seeing thee. 1
am enough embarrassed now in paying my debts
and hope that the horses that will be brought from
the colony the coming year will help me.

If thou dost command me or if thou desirest I
will go to Nacogdoches to see thee in these colds
though this composition is the cause of not having
gone now.

Write me all thou thinkest and desirest and be-
lieve me with all my heart thine.

Many memories to the little girl. When thou
goest lead the horse sent the little girl by me to
Natches.

Farewell my dear Gertrudis. Write me all and
send to Nacogdoches, and write my scrivener also.
Thy most constant,
Nolan.

If thou dost not, alas, trust to write of secret
things thou canst say them to Mr. Cook.

Nolan.

Confession of Jesse in the town of San Fernando and Royal Gar-

rison of San Antonio of Bexar, this September
nth, 1801. John the Baptist of Elquezabal, Lieut.
Col. of Cavalry of the Royal Army and Provis-
ional Governor of the Province of Texas, went
with the assistance of my scrivener to one of the
dungeons of the chief guard of this Garrison where
I found the prisoner, Jesse Cook, suspected of
having secret correspondence with the American
Philip Nolan, to effect the making of charges that
result from the letters of information sent by the
Commander by agreement and likewise of that
which was found in possession of St. Gertrude.
And for this appears the business signature of said
official, of which I, the undersigned Scrivener, give
faith. before me,

Elquezabal. Andrew Benito Courbiere.

Immediately said Governor made Jesse Cook to
put the sign of the cross, and

Ques. If he would swear by God and the sign of the
cross that he would speak the truth in that which
should be asked him? Said, yes, certainly.

Ques. What secret correspondence he had maintained
with Philip Nolan? Said none. To the charge
how could he deny having maintained secret cor-
respondence with Philip Nolan when it appears
from the proceedings and document that said No-
lan had confided in him? Said that he had never
had anything secret with said Philip Nolan, neither
had he communicated a thing of importance, that
though they had the subject of one letter that is
the only way they could infer or suspect that No-
lan had written with the second design for it did
not come to the hands of the declarant but was
intercepted by the Spanish Governor and in this
way better concealed their ideas.
To return to the charge of why he denied having

320

Mississippi Historical Society.

Procedure to receive
the confession of St.
Gertrude.

Confession of St. Ger-
trude.

received other letters nor having understood some
secrets of Nolan's when various of these appear,
and also of declarations of not being possible that
Nolan confessed to him in all his friendship, de-
siring to expose him to suffering without other
purpose than to conceal the intentions with which
he introduced him to this Country? Said that ab-
solutely he had not received any letter in which
Nolan had declared secrets nor neither informa-
tion of his voyage. That the letter quoted above
notwithstanding it was written by Nolan accord-
ing to said declarant, the Commander of the Ra-
pido (who showed a copy of it) never received it,
because this official had cleared St. Joseph of the
charge that he conveyed it; and if there are other
letters they are false, made to do harm.

Ques. How many letters had Nolan written from
Nacogdoches by means of St. Joseph when he
went to Natches, where he found Nolan? Said
only one relative to matters of business, a copy of
which he had in his trunk when the papers were
seized.

Ques. If he had anything to add or to take from?
Said he would only offer to add for proof that he
had not had mutual secrets with Nolan, that when
he knew that the Commander of the Rapido had
obtained of St. Joseph the letter that has been
cited the declarant presented himself and solicited
said official to instruct him, that if he was culpable
he might absent himself immediately, since he had
the time for it, without that nobody could injure
him, but he did not have confidence in his inno-
cence. That what he has said is the truth which
he affirms and ratifies. This being read that it is
his confession and signs with said official, and I,
the present Scrivener.

John the Baptist, Jesse Cook,

of Elquezabal. before me,

Andrew Benito Courbiere.

Immediately said Governor passed with the as-
sistance of my Scrivener, to another dungeon of
the same guard, where was kept St. Gertrude, for
making suitable charges, in view of the contradic-
tions observed in her declaration and quotations
that were made by Jesse Cook in regard to it and
likewise by her husband, Anthony Leal, whom I
found in the Powder Warehouse, and for this ap-
pears the business signature of said official, to
which I, the undersigned Scrivener, give faith.
Elquezabal. before me,

Andrew Benito Courbiere.

Immediately the said Governor caused St. Ger-
trude to make the sign of the cross and asked if
she would swear to God and the sign of the cross
that she would speak the truth in that which I am
going to ask her. Said she would swear.
Ques. How many letters she had received from Phil-

The Real Philip Nolan. — Hale. 321

ip Nolan and what matters they contained? Said
she did not know how many letters she had re-
ceived from Nolan, and they treated of the pay-
ment of the men and that she should show them
kindness in the price of the goods, adding that
on his return from Natches he would pay to the
declarant that which he had promised.

Ques. What secret matters she had maintained with
Nolan and upon what subjects? Said that she had
never maintained secret correspondence with No-
lan only what is expressed in the foregoing ques-
tion.

To the charge how she could deny the secret
correspondence she had with Nolan when it ap-
pears by the proceedings and documents that she
had confided things reserved? Said that she never
had any particulars confidential with Nolan,
neither received any letter that treated of this, and
if any had appeared they were false, and had not
come to her hands.

To return to the charge how she could deny
having received a letter from Nolan that was se-
cret when one was found in her trunk that showed
various secrets prepared for, and that she could
confide the rest to another person. Said that she
had no idea of one, nor had she received a letter
that contradicted a thing she had said.

Ques. Who made her house in Nacogdoches? Said
that by virtue of an agreement celebrated with
Jesse Cook, he had made it for the pay of three
selected horses for each month that he labored.

To the charge how she could say that Cook had
made her house when it appears in his own letter
that Nolan would dispatch a carpenter to construct
it? Said that this promise Nolan made on the
first voyage when he went from Nacogdoches to
Natches but that he had not effected it, nor did she
know if it appeared in his said letter.

Ques. What goods she had kept in her house that
were not her's nor her husband's, and what had
become of them? Said she had not had goods
within her house beside her own or her husband's.
To the charge, how could she deny having with-
in her house goods of other individuals when it
appears by the declaration of Jesse Cook that when
he came from Natches he brought goods and kept
them in her house, and that there they were sold
for horses? Said that was null, that Cook never
conveyed goods into her house.

Immediately the said Governor, to complete
this citation, made Jesse Cook to appear, who re-
ceived the oath and asked concerning the tenor of
the foregoing question, said that it is certain that
he conveyed the goods in the house of the de-
clarant, but that he did not deliver them to her,
and that he did not allege that she knew they
.were there, for Cook lived in another dwelling
separate from that where she lived.

Ques. With what motive the Commander Michael del
21

322 Mississippi Historical Society.

Moral received a bundle that Nolan sent to this
official? Said that when Cook came from Nat-
ches he brought a piece of French linen for Mr.
Michael del Moral in payment of a horse he had
sold, that he did not wish to receive it for it was
ordinary, and he was promised fine, that Cook
gave it to declarant and that she returned it to
Cook who received it on her account and deliv-
ered it to Moral among other goods to restore
$50 that the declarant owed for the Royal tax for
exportations, and that said goods were distributed
to the troops by the said Commander for they
were made into clothing.

Ques. How many horses had she on her ranch be-
longing to Nolan when she went finally to care
for the "mestenas," and if some one was there m
charge who took them to the place where they
were? Said that on her ranch she had various
horses of Nolan but they were colts, that none
were tame, and that she did not know who con-
ducted them to the place where they were found.

Ques. If she had anything to add or to take from
this? Said she had nothing to add nor to take
from, that what she had said is the truth under
the obligation of the oath she had taken in which
she affirmed and ratified it, which being read to
her, that it was her confession, she could not sign
it for she did not know how, the said Governor
signed with me the present Scrivener=to have=
testate tithes=why=testate tithes not farewell.
John the Baptist, X

Elquezabal. before me,

Andrew Benito Courbiere.

Confession of Anthony Immediately the said Governor with my under-

signed Scrivener, went to the Powder Magazine,
in which was the prisoner Anthony Leal, whom
said official caused to make^ the sign of the cross
and

Ques. If he would swear by God and the sign of the
cross that he would speak the truth in what should
be asked him? Said he would swear.

Ques. If when Nolan came on the second voyage to
San Antonio he wrote a letter to his wife St. Ger-
trude that he could remain in her house? Said
he did not write a letter for he did not know how
to write, neither did he send to any one what
they might do, that he was persuaded to ask No-
lan in his house because of the offer he had made
the declarant.

To the charge how he could deny having sent
a letter by Nolan that he could remain in his
house when it appears in the proceedings that he
had directed his wife to this end. Said he had
sent no letter only a verbal message in accord-
ance with what he had expressed.

Ques. How many animals he had taken when he went
to Natches and what he did with them? Said he
took one hundred and fifteen horses, the one hun-

The Real Philip Nolan. — Hale. 323

dred belonged to Nolan to whom he had sold them
and the fifteen remaining of his account.

To the charge how he could say he had taken
only one hundred and fifteen and of these only
fifteen were his, when it appears by these pro-
ceedings that he had taken two hundred, all his
own. Said he had not taken more than one hun-
dred and fifteen in the form he had explained, and
though there were various others they were not
under his superintendence, but of Joseph Capuran,
who sold them to Nolan on account of what he
owed.

Ques. What amount of goods he had sent to his
wife in a trunk? Said $600, the same that Nolan
delivered him on account of what he had.

To the charge how he could say that he sent
$600 when it appears by the declarations that there
was only $300. Said there were the $600 that he
had said, for Nolan charged him for that amount.

Ques. With what end he came ultimately to San An-
tonio? Said to sell his house and to buy some
burros.

To the charge how he came to buy burros when
it appears that in Nacogdoches he did not want
two that he sold. Said that he did not wish in re-
spect to those he asked $25 for each in money.

Ques. Who bought the negress they had of Chabus,
how much, and who delivered the value? Said that
his wife bought her for $600, which she delivered
before the declarant returned from his voyage.

To the charge how he could say his wife had
paid the $600 when it appears in declaration that
she gave him only $300 and that the declarant at
his return delivered the other $300. Said that he
is uncertain and that he has nothing more on the
subject than he has expressed.

Ques. If he had anything to add or to take from.
Said he had nothing to add nor take from, that
which he had said is the truth under the obliga-
tion of the oath he had taken, which he affirmed
and ratified, this being read said it was his con-
fession, that he did not know how to write, made
the sign of the cross, said Governor signed with
the present Scrivener,=appears=between the mar-
gins=farewell. X

John the Baptist, before me,

Elquezabal. Andrew Benito Courbiere.

Procedure for con- in the town of San Fernando and Royal Gar-

inTsf Gertrude. rison of San Antonio of Bexar, on September

nth, 1801, John the Baptist of Elquezabal, Lieut.
Col. of Cavalry of the Royal Army, and Provision-
al Governor of the Province of Texas; command
that Anthony Leal and his wife, St. Gertrude, be
brought face to face respecting the disagreement
that has been seen in their declarations, and for
this appears the business signature of said official
with mine the present Scrivener of which I give
faith. Andrew Benito Coubiere.

Elquezabal.

324

Mississippi Historical Society.

Confrontation. On said day, month and year, at 5 p. m. the said

John the Baptist of Elquezabal, Lieut. Col. of
Cavalry of the Royal Army, and Provisional Gov-
ernor of the Province of Texas, passed with the
assistance of my scrivener to the Guard of this
Garrison and commanded that there be brought
into his presence the accused Anthony Leal to
put in execution the confrontation, and having
been caused to make the sign of the cross

Ques. If he would swear by God and the sign of the
cross that he would speak the truth on those
points that I should interrogate him? Said he
would swear, and having made him to enter into
the dungeon where he found his wife, St. Ger-
trude, whom said official likewise caused to make
the sign of the cross, and

Ques. If she would swear by God and the sign of
the cross that she would speak the truth in what 1
should interrogate her? Said she would swear.

Ques. To Anthony Leal, if he knew the accused
that was present? Said he knew she was called
St. Gertrude, and that she was his wife, and hav-
ing read to him in this statement the points of
the declaration of the said St. Gertrude, and asked
if he agreed with them. Said he did not agree
with that declaration of his wife in regard to the
letter that he had sent and $300 that she said she
paid on his return or the value of the negress,
that he did not send a letter only a verbal mes-
sage, and that the $300 were not paid by his hand,
that his wife showed him on his return from
Natches it was already restored, that it was de-
livered when the goods were thus brought, in
money with which it was regularly satisfied.

Ques. To St. Gertrude, if she knew him who was
present? Said that she knew her husband, An-
thony Leal, was present, that she is certain of
what she said in her declafation in which she ac-
cordingly continues, that she does not know how
to but makes the sign of the cross, and the said
official signs and the present Scrivener.
John the Baptist, X X

Elquezabal. before me,

Andrew Benito Courbiere.

In the town of San Fernando and Royal Gar-
rison of San Antonio of Bexar, on said day,
month and year, John the Baptist of Elquezabal,
In view of the stay to conclude the confessions I
command that there be made known to Jesse Cook
that I employ proof in security of his conduct of
which I the undersigned Scrivener, notify him
And for _ this appears the business signature of
said official. To which I give faith.
Elquezabal. Andrew Benito Courbiere.

Decree to gather tfie Jn the town of San Fernando and Royal Gar-

ndUCt rison of San Antonio of Bexar, on September

I2th, 1801, John the Baptist of Elquezabal, Lieut.

The Real Philip Nolan.— Hale. 325

Col. of Cavalry of the Royal Army, and Provision-
al Governor of the Province of Texas, Having re-
ceived the proofs of the American Jesse Cook has
exhibited for the qualification of his conduct, Com-
mand that the original be gathered in four leaves,
useful to this business, and for which appears the
signature of said official, of which I the under-
signed Scrivener give faith.
John the Baptist, before me,

of Elquezabal. Andrew Benito Courbiere.

Information instructing the town Judge Mr.
Manuel Barrera, to the verbal petition of the
Englishman Jesse Cook.

A. D. 1801.
one real,
Seal of the Collector, Royal, A. D. 1796 & 97.

San Antonio of Bexar, Sept. 1801.

The verbal petition of the Englishman Jesse
Cook has come to examine five witnesses, worthy
of credit by the tenor of the following interroga-
tories.

First when he became acquainted with him, and
if he had observed or known any malicious spirit,
restless, or given any sign of treason to the King.
Int. If the first time he was in this Capital in the
company of Mr. Philip Nolan, he knew in what
agreement or with what end he accompanied him,
and the same the second time when he was alone
in this Province if he noticed, saw or knew that
he brought anything contraband or the object he
had in coming. Int. If he knew that after this
he accompanied Nolan, or had correspondence
with him who was accredited unfaithful, and on
the contrary if he had known that such a man was
very improper, turbulent and rebellious.

And to finish what may be the examination of
the witnesses he delivers the original Information
for the purpose that it may be closed, the which
I thus command to be verified interrogating the
witnesses that the party cited. I, Manuel Bar-
rera, town Judge of the second precinct of this
town of San Fernando, capital of the Province of
Texas. Thus I have decreed, commanded and
signed with the witnesses of my authority, with
which decree from the delegate Judge I lack a
scrivener, who is not in these legal bounds — be-
tween the margins=it is=farewell.
Manuel Barrera. of authority,

of authority, John Mn. D. Beramendi.

Joseph Amo. Ma. Gancedo.

Witness 1st, Anthony in consequence of the command in the forego-

ing decree he presented for a witness of this In-
formation Mr. Anthony Baca, chosen actually of
the body of magistrates of this town and informed
of the

Inter, that this is the first office under his word of
honor if he would speak the truth in all that he

326 Mississippi Historical Society.

should be asked, and was asked previous to the
oath if he was ready, in consequence of which he
Said that he had known Jesse Cook three years,
in which time he had not observed or known him
to manifest treason to the Sovereign. That the
first time he knew him he was in the company of
Philip Nolan, in the capacity of a salaried servant
he entered this Province, that he knew certainly
that it was for this motive and with no other end
that he accompanied the said Nolan at that time,
that the second time the said Cook returned to this
capital by himself alone he did not know if he
introduced any goods, and that if he secured any
that his coming was not with harmful intention
for that he did not give the most trifling reason
to suspect him. That he did not know neither
had he heard it said that after that time he re-
turned to the company of Nolan, and much less
that he had had correspondence with him. That
he knew, and it is public the honorable and cred-
itable conduct of said Cook, that he had given
proof sufficient on the occasions when he had been
in this state. That is all that he knows concern-
ing the points on which he has been interrogated,
and is the truth under the obligation of the oath
which he affirms and ratifies, read it, that it was
his declaration, said he had nothing to add nor re-
move from it, that he was fifty-six years old, that
he is competent to be a witness, not having been
advised, instigated or deceived in this declaration.
In testimony of all which he signs with me the
present Judge, and witnesses of authority, with
whose decree as this I give faith=between the
margins:=not given=farewell.
Manuel Barrera. Anthony Baca.

of Authority,
Joseph Am. Ma. Gancedo. of authority,

John Mn. D. Beramendi.

Witness 2nd, Alex. Consecutively he presented for a witness for

this Information the chosen Constable Mayor of
this town Mr. Alexander Gortary and having full
knowledge of what is required of him by his sum-
mons in this, offers by his word of honor, by vir-
tue of the^religion of the oath that he would speak
the truth on what he should be able and was asked
and reading the first interrogatory Said, he had
known the Englishman Jesse Cook for three
years, during which time he had not known nor
had he noticed the least uneasiness of spirit that
was unworthy, malicious or treasonable. That
the first time said Cook was in this capital when
he knew him he was in the company of Philip
Nolan, to whom he was a servant in the work of
a tailor, that, he presumed with reason, this was
the motive he had in accompanying him, and no
other, but he did not know this. That the second
time said Cook returned to this Province, if by
himself alone he did not know, neither had he

The Real Philip Nolan.— Hale..

327

Witness 3rd, Thos.
Arocha.

heard that he brought any goods, neither that his
coming was for a malicious purpose. That he did
not know if afterwards he returned to associate
himself with Nolan, or had correspondence with
him on any subject. That the said Cook had been
known and taken for a good man, of creditable
conduct, and honest proceeding, a stranger to all
suspicion. That all he has introduced is the truth
by the oath he has taken, without suggestion, or
deceit, which he affirms and ratifies, and having
(Seal.) read this, his declaration, says he is thirty-three

years old, and is competent to be a witness under
the law, and for this appears his signature with
mine the present Judge, and the witnesses of au-
thority, with whose decree as referred to is given
faith.
Manuel Barrera. Alexander de Gortary.

of authority,
Joseph Am. Ma. Gancedo. of authority,

John Mn. D. Beramendi.

de Immediately for the perfecting of this proceed-

ing he presented for a witness Mr. Thomas de
Arocha of this vicinity, and a patriot and by de-
cree the witnesses of my authority, received the
oath that was made in form by God and the
sign of the Holy Cross by which obligation he
would speak the truth in all that should be put to
him, and was asked, and the order of Interroga-
tories being put to him, to the first, Said, that
when Philip Nolan was in this capital the second
time he had in his company the Englishman Jesse
Cook in the capacity of a salaried servant, and
from that time he had known him, but he did not
know nor had he heard it said that for other mo-

(Seal.) tive, or with other end Nolan had brought Cook

in his company, And that during this time he had
in no way shown any appearance of malice. That
the second time when he last returned by himself
alone to this capital, he did not know whether
he had brought any goods, nor that his coming
indicated malice, that he did not know if after-
wards he returned to the company of Cook, or
had correspondence with him. That he knows the
honesty of said Cook and that is public. That
what he had related is the truth by the path he
had taken, in which he affirms and ratifies it, read-
ing it, says this is his declaration, and that he has
given it without compulsion or deceit. Says he is
forty-five years old, and is competent to be a wit-
ness under the law, and signs with said Judge and

(Seal.) witnesses, with whose decree as referred to is given

faith=between the margins=the cross=farewell.
Manuel Barrerra. Thomas de Arocha.

of authority,
Joseph Am. Ma. Gancedo. of authority,

John Mn. D. Beramendi.

328

Mississippi Historical Society.

Witness 4th, Franco.
Rodriguez.

Witness 5th,
Gortary.

Michael

Immediately for the course of this Information,
he presented for a witness Mr. Francisco Rodri-
gues of this vicinity, and a patriot, and by my be-
fore mentioned authority he received the oath
which was in that form, that by our God and the
sign of the Holy Cross, by which obligation he
would speak the truth, in what should be put to
him, and being examined in the same order as the
rest, Said that it was two years that he had had
practical knowledge of the Englishman Jesse
Cook, in which he had not known, nor had he
heard it said that he had shown any malice or de-
ceit that indicated treason, that he knew for cer-
tain that the first time that he was in this capital
he was in the company of Philip Nolan, was a sal-
aried servant, not for another motive, and the
second time said Cook returned by himself alone,
he does not know, neither has he heard it said
that he introduced anything contraband, and much
less that his coming was for any pernicious pur-
pose. That he does not know whether after this
he returned to the company of Nolan or had any
correspondence with him. That he certainly
knows that Cook on the occasions when he was
here had shown himself to be a man of honesty
and correct conduct. That what he has related is
the truth, and that which he knows concerning
that which he was asked, without having been
suggested, coerced, or deceived. In that he af-
firms and ratifies. Says he is forty-four years old,
and competent to be a witness under the law.
And for his constancy he signs with me the said
Judge and witnesses, with whose decree as of this
is given faith.
Manuel Barrera. Franc. Rodrigue.

of authority,
Joseph Am. Ma. Gancedo. of authority,

John Mn. D. Beramendi.

In conclusion of this Information, was presented
for a witness of that Mr. Michael Gortary, an in-
habitant of this town, to whom I give faith. I
know and before the witnesses of my authority
with whose decree, as Judge's Secretary, for lack
of any Scrivener in this legal boundary, he re-
ceived his oath, made in form by our God and the
sign of the Holy Cross, by which obligation he
promised to speak the truth in what should be
put to him and he should be asked, and being
asked for the tenor of the first interrogatory, Said,
he had known Jesse Cook from the time he en-
tered this capital in company of Philip Nolan, that
he had never observed a restless spirit, nor other
maliciousness. That he knew certain that he
came with said Philip Nolan as a salaried servant,
and that on the second time when he was alone by
himself in this Province he did not introduce
anything contraband, nor was his coming able to
cast suspicion for he had not observed any rest-

The Real Philip Nolan.— Hale. 329

lessness. That neither did he know if afterwards
he returned to the company of, or had corre-
spondence with Nolan over any subject that would
condemn him. That he knew and it was public
that said Cook on the occasions when he was here
had shown his honesty and creditable conduct,
and had given no reason why he should be trifled
with. That this is all he knows on the points that
he has been interrogated, and is the truth under
the obligation of the oath, in which he affirms and
ratines it, being read said it was his declaration.
Said this was the same that he had given without
suggestion or deceit, that he is competent to be a
witness under the law, that he is thirty-seven
years old, and for his constancy he signs with me
the said Judge and witnesses of which decree this
is given faith.
Manuel Barrera. Michael Gortary.

of authority,
Joseph Am. Ma. Gancedo. of authority,

John Mn. D. Beramendi.

San Antonio of Bexar, August nth, 1801.

Having already examined the five witnesses cited
by the party for the Information as solicited, de-
liver the original according to request for the pur-
poses to which they belong.

I, Manuel Barrera, Town Judge of the town of
San Fernando and Garrison of San Antonio of
Bexar, thus decree, command and sign with the
witnesses of my authority, with which decree by
the power of the delegate Judge, for lack of any
Scrivener within the legal bounds, I give faith.
Manuel Barrera.
(witness) of authority,
Joseph Amo. Ma. Gancedo. of authority,

John Mn. D. Beramendi.

Decree remitting to In the said Garrison this September I3th, 1801.

John the Baptist of Elquezabal, Lieut. Col. of
Cavalry of the Royal Army, and Provisional Gov-
ernor of the Province of Texas. In view of find-
ing the conclusion of the present preparatory
proceedings, command that the original thirty-nine
leaves, useful, be directed to the Lord Commander
General, Marshal of the Country, Sir Peter de
Nava, that they may serve him in determining
that which shall be to him agreeable. And for that
I sign with my present Scrivener.
John the Baptist,

of Elquezabal. Andrew Benito Courbiere.

Return of having sent ^ the undersigned Scrivener, certify that on this

thirteenth day of September, A. D. 1801, he sent
the Lord Commander General this preparatory
proceeding on the thirty-nine useful leaves that
contain it, and for which appears this return which
I sign.

Andrew Benito Courbiere.

LETTER FROM GEORGE POINDEXTER TO FELIX

HUSTON.1

Washington City,

March 9, 1834.
My Dear Sir :

I received some time since a short letter from you respecting
your account at the Genl. P. Office.

Having no personal communication with the Head of that
Department, or any other Dept. of the Government, I could
only address a note expressing your wishes upon the subject,
to which as yet I have received no reply.

I will endeavor to bring the matter to a close before the ad-
journment of Congress. Your last favour of the 5th ultimo
was reced a few days past, for which I tender you my thanks.
I had heard before of the distress in the money market at
Natchez, but your letter gives me a more gloomy picture of
the actual state of things than I had anticipated.

The prospect before us is in the highest degree appalling and
portentious.

The remedy is in the hands of the people, and until they apply
it, by the suffrages at the popular elections, they may look in
vain for any redress from the Government. To sum up in a
few words, all that I can tell you of this subject, you may set
down the following postulata as certain, ist. The Deposits
will not be restored to the Bank of the U. S. 2nd. The Bank
will not be rechartered, or substituted by another chartered
Bank, during the existence of this Administration. 3rd. The
State Banks will receive a distributive share of the public
revenue, in such proportions, and under such selections as may
best contribute to the election of Martin Van Buren, as the
successor to the Presidential Chair. 4th. If the plan is success-
ful the same policy will in future be preserved; combining the
purse and the sword in the same hand, with the patronage of
Office, and the Veto Power ; the whole Government will at once
be concentrated and wielded by the Executive will, which if sub-
mitted to, by the people, must result in the overthrow of the

1 This letter was presented to the Mississippi Historical Society by
the Rev. T. L. Mellen, of Forest, Miss. — EDITOR.

332 Mississippi Historical Society.

Checks and Balances provided for in the Constitution : and thus
the Office of President will, from time to time, descend on any
favourite who may be designated by the Incumbent.

The Question now fairly submitted to the American People
is an issue between Power and Liberty. The People must de-
cide it for themselves, and if they do not interpose to save them-
selves, usurpation will move on with giant strides to the climax
of Ambition, Avarice, and Despotism.

At a very early period, after I took my seat in the Senate, I
saw indications, which were satisfactory to my mind of the ad-
vances to Arbitrary Power ; I resisted them, at the hazard of
incurring the displeasure of my Constituents, who were blinded
by their enthusiastic devotion to Genl. Jackson. I have faith-
fully warned them by written communications and personal ex-
planations of the dangers, which were seen in prospective and in
actual operation on their rights, their Honors, and their Best
Interests.

I have been led to believe that these warnings have had but
little effect upon the public mind in Mississippi.

I have been condemned for sacrificing my own personal ad-
vancement in political life to my duty as an individual Senator,
in defending the best interests of those whom I represented;
I have nevertheless persevered in what I believed to be an hon-
est course, and now that ruin must be the inevitable result of the
recent measures of the Executive on the great planting and
commercial interests of Mississippi, I indulge the hope that their
eyes will at length be opened, and that my course will be proper-
ly appreciated.

You will perceive by the public print that I have entered only
incidentally into the discussions growing out of the despotic
question.

One of my short speeches which touches this question has been
deemed worthy to be printed and distributed in pamphlet form.
I have enclosed you a copy, altho' I have no doubt you had be-
fore seen it in the Nat. Intelligencer. I am somewhat surprised
that my speeches do not find a place in the newspapers of
Mississippi, as they are the only medium through which the
people can be informed generally of my opinions on public mat-
ters, and the reasons on which they are founded. I seek no
popular favour having nearly already exhausted myself in the
public service, but I think it is due to justice and candor that

Letter from George Poindexter. 333

my conduct here should be understood by the people whom I
represent. It is not my intention to deliver a speech at large
on the Deposit Question. The public has already been over-
stocked with speeches of this description, but I shall seize an
opportunity at no distant day of delivering my sentiments at
large on the State of the Nation, tracing distinctly the gradual
encroachments of executive power on popular rights, and the
prostration of all the other Departments of the Government.

My duties here occupy so large a portion of my time that I
have scarcely a moment to devote to private correspondence.
I therefore crave the indulgence of my friends for an apparent
neglect in this respect.

The opposition in the Senate is composed of mixed mate-
rials ; they unite very well in resisting the late movement of the
Executive, but I am apprehensive that when the discussion is
ended, others will arise, which will cut up that majority into
fragments, if they do not tend, which I fear they will, to
strengthen the party which is united in solid phalanx in favour
of the election of Van Buren as the successor of Genl. Jackson,
for myself I have but one duty to perform, and but one object
in view, which is exclusively directed to the preservation of the
Constitution and the Union, as identified with the glory and
prosperity of my country. I am decidedly in favour of Mr. Clay
as the next President, altho' I may differ with him on some
points of National Policy.

But there are some ambitious Statesmen in the South who
cannot be brought to his support, and in our Divisions it is ap-
parent the enemy will be strengthened and we may in all prob-
ability be defeated.

If all the points of opposition could be united, it would be
strong enough to overturn the mad schemes of the mad Ad-
ministration, but this is doubtful. I should be glad to know
how Jacksonism stands in Mississippi.

I shall send you in a few days some of my speeches on the
Public Land Bill, which I beg you to distribute as you may
judge best.

With my best wishes for your happiness and prosperity, I re-
main

Your friend and most obt svt

George Poindexter.
Felix Huston, Esq.

THE HISTORY OF A COUNTY.
BY MRS. HELSN D.

On a crisp October day in the year 1820, when the sun was
only a few hours high, silently there began to gather in the
Council Square at Doaks Stand, the Chiefs, Mingo or Head
Men, of the Choctaw tribe. Grave of aspect, their dignified de-
meanor proclaimed that they had gathered together for an oc-
casion of serious moment.

They had traveled through the scarcely unbroken forest of
brown and yellow for days ; so intent were they upon the great
question bringing them together that the deer, bear and
smaller game, which came across their path, were allowed to
flee unmolested. To them the forest was full of gloom, their
ears were deaf to the music of the birds, their hearts were
filled with only one thought, which crowded out all else, that
they were about to sign away their heritage given them of God.

Now gathered in their Council Square they awaited with un-
moved faces the coming of the white man. Not long did they
have to wait. Their sensitive ears soon caught the sound of
horses hoofs on the carpet of brown and crimson leaves, their
penetrating eyes detected the gleam of the sun on polished steel
as from the depths of the virgin forest rode the Plenipotentiar-
ies of the United States and the State of Mississippi, General
Andrew Jackson and General Thomas Hinds, arrayed in all
the military glory of generals of the United States army. Af-
ter them came a goodly company of men who had long been in-
terested in having this land annexed to the State of Mississippi.
This meeting, under the blue dome of heaven, which meant so

1 Mrs. Helen D. Bell was born in Madison county, and grew from girl-
hood to woman-hood within the State. She was educated entirely
within the State, and her great pride is that she is "purely a Mississippi
product." In 1896 she was elected State Librarian, and held the office
for four years. She is an active member of the United Daughters of
the Confederacy, being Historian for the W. D. Holder Chapter. She
was the second woman to join the State Historical Society and work
for its advancement. She has written much for the press, and is ever
ready to give her pen and time for the good of the State she loves so
well. — EDITOR.

336 Mississippi Historical Society.

much to the early settlers of our State, and alas ! how much
more to the red man, who was soon to wrap his blanket around
him and move to far unknown lands, was, in a large measure,
due to the zeal and patriotic endeavor of Governor Poindex-
ter, who had been inaugurated the January before, and whose
tireless brain, ever awake to the needs of his people, recognized
that the country must grow, and used all his matchless skill to
induce the government to call this meeting.

The two men authorized by the government to speak for
them on this important occasion had been wisely chosen ; both
crowned with glorious military achievements, fresh from con-
quest, with faith in themselves and belief in the glorious destiny
of their country. Wise in dealing with the Indians, and accus-
tomed to their manners, they came with a knowledge beyond
their countrymen, to smoke the pipe of treaty with the South-
ern Indian — who is characterized by Claiborne as "a born poli-
tician and diplomatist."

As General Jackson quietly dismounted his face wore the
same determination that caused him to overcome all obstacles,
that determination to conquer, which had made the famous
Tom Marshall, of Kentucky, exclaim in one of his stump
speeches "We have Jackson to fight, gentlemen, and he is a host
of himself. He has whipped every adversary; he whipped the
Indians ; he whipped the Spaniards at Pensacola ; he whipped
the British at New Orleans ; he whipped Clay and Adams, and
Calhoun ; he whipped King Biddle and the bank, and now he
has turned Presbyterian and will whip the devil."

The work accomplished on that October day eighty-one
years ago, is found in Hutchinson's Code:

"James Monroe, President of the United States of America, by An-
drew Jackson, of the State of Tennessee, Major-General in the Army
of the United States, and General Thomas Hinds, of the State of Mis-
sissippi, Commissioners Plenipotentiary of the United States on the one
part, and the Mingoes, Head men and warriors of the Choctaw nation
in full council assembled, on the other part, have freely and voluntarily
entered into the following article, viz: ****** cede to the United
States of America, all the land lying and being within the boundaries
following, to wit: Beginning on the Choctaw boundary, East of Pearl
River, at a point due south of the white oak spring, on the old Indian
path; thence north to said spring; thence northwardly to a black oak,
standing on the Natchez road, about 40 poles eastwardly from Doak's
fence, marked A. J. and blazed, with two large pines and black oak
standing near thereto, and marked as pointers; thence a straight line to
the head of Black Creek, or Bogue Loosa; thence down Black Creek

The History of a County.— Bell. 337

or Bogue Loosa to a small Lake; thence a direct course so as to strike
the Mississippi River one mile below the mouth of Arkansas river;
thence down the Mississippi River to our boundary."

This treaty was received with so much favor and enthusiasm
that the legislature on February Qth, 1821, passed the following
public resolution of thanks:

"Resolved: by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State"
of Mississippi, in general assembly convened, That the thanks of the
general assembly, of this State, be presented to Major General
Andrew Jackson, and our distinguished fellow citizen, Major General
Thomas Hinds, Commissioners Plenipotentiary, on the part of the
United States to treat with the Chpctaw tribe of Indians, for their
patriotic and indefatigable exertions in effecting a treaty with the said
tribe of Indians, whereby their claim has been extinguished to a large
portion of land within this State."

On February I2th, 1821, the Legislature of the State of Mis-
sissippi passed an act declaring that "all that tract of land ceded
to the United States by the Choctaw nation of Indians on the
i8th day of October, 1820, and bounded (as above stated)
shall be and is hereby directed and established into a new
county, which shall be called and known by the name of Hinds
County." We also find in Section 2 of the said Act of 1821,
that the "said county shall be attached to the first judicial dis-
trict." Thus Hinds county came into existence — its heritage a
goodly country of wide prairies, fertile valleys, and wooded
hills. But it had no life, no voice in the affairs of state until on
February I2th, 1821, Governor Poindexter approved the fol-
lowing Act :

"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
State of Mississippi, in general assembly convened, That the Governor
of the State, be, and he is hereby authorized to issue his proclamation,
ordering and directing the election of a Sheriff and Coroner, for the
county of Hinds, and that he direct the same to such person as he may
think proper, to hold and conduct said election, at such time as he shall
designate in said proclamation; anything in the act establishing the
said county of Hinds to the contrary notwithstanding."

In the year 1821 Hinds County sprang into prominence from
an Act passed by the legislature to locate the seat of govern-
ment within its borders. The Commissioners appointed for this
purpose selected Le Fluer's Bluff, and it was ordered to be
named "Jackson" in honor of General Andrew Jackson, a just
and appropriate tribute to him who had successfully treated
with the Indians.

In 1826 the Hempstead Academy was incorporated, and lo-

338 Mississippi Historical Society.

cated at Mount Salus, but it did not come into active existence
until 1827, with F. G. Hopkins as President. In an Act ap-
proved February 5th, 1827, we find that "the name of the Acad-
emy in the county of Hinds, called Hempstead Academy, shall
be called and known by the name of 'Mississippi Academy.' "
Sections 2 and 3 of said Act read as follows :

"That the said President and Trustees, for the time being, may, and
they are hereby authorized to raise, by lottery or lotteries, on such
scheme or schemes as they may adopt, any sum of money not exceed-
ing twenty-five thousand dollars, for the use and benefit of said academy.

"And be it further enacted, that it shall and may be lawful for the
proprietors of the town of Clinton, in Hinds County, to dispose of such
lots in said town of Clinton, as they may see cause, by lottery or lot-
teries, under such scheme or schemes as they may adopt."

What a radical change of sentiment has taken place since
that Act of 1827! Then, lotteries were looked upon as a good
and legitimate method to raise money for the support of "Mis-
sissippi Academy ;" to-day that College is maintained and sup-
ported by a Christian denomination, whose adherents would
bring all the weight of their influence to crush a lottery, if pro-
posed in connection with it. "Verily the times make the men."

This Hinds County College was one of the first to be estab-
lished within the State, and flourished for a while but became
involved in debt and was in consequence thereof ordered to be
sold. In 1841, it was offered to the Mississippi Methodist Con-
ference, and was declined by one vote. In 1842, it was placed
under the control of the Clinton Presbytery, which gave it up
in 1850. It was then transferred to the Mississippi Baptist
State Convention, and became the college of which to-day, not
only Hinds County, but the whole State is proud.

In this village of Mount Salus was located the United States
Land Office. It was the home of many men prominent in the
history of our State.

The county grew rapidly in population, so much so that it
was deemed wise to take from it some of its power and terri-
tory; and on January 2ist, 1823, an Act was passed by the leg-
islature taking out of Hinds county "All that tract of country
within the following boundaries * * * shall constitute a
county to be called and known as Yazoo."

And Section 7 of said Act says, "All that tract of country

* * * shall form a new county, to be called and known by
the name of Copiah."

The History of a County. — Bell. 339

Five years later, on February 4th, 1828, an Act was passed
providing that "All that portion of Hinds county lying and be-
ing east of Pearl river, shall form and constitute the county of
Rankin, in memory of the late Honorable Christopher Rankin."

And on February 5th, 1829, Hinds county gave out of her
broad acres "the fractional township seven, in Ranges two and
three * * * to be attached to Madison county."

According to this record Hinds county has a just and proper
claim to the title, "Mother of Counties ;" for out of these desir-
able children, who do her reverence, were born other counties,
her grand-children, as it were, jewels of worth in her crown of
motherhood. "A happy issue, and a glorious fate."

It was in 1822 that the county first sent men to represent her
interest in the affairs of State, selecting as their representatives
in the General Assembly, which convened at Columbia, Hon.
Samuel Calvit as Senator and Hon. Benjamin F. Smith as Rep-
resentative.

Clinton was for a short time the county seat. It also pos-
sessed several banks. We read in the published proceedings
of the Constitutional Convention of 1832, that J. W. Sumner
was accorded a seat in that body to report the debates for his
paper, the Constitutional Flag, which was issued at Clinton.
This Constitutional Convention of 1832 was the first in which
Hinds county had a vote. Her delegates, David Dickson,
James Scott and Vernor Hicks were all men of note. Ten
years before this (1822) Mr. Dickson had served as Lieutenant-
Governor and President of the Senate. In the Constitutional
Convention of 1890 — fifty-eight years later — a Hinds county
citizen, Hon. S. S. Calhoon, was President.

On February 4th, 1828, the legislature ordered the election
for five commissioners to locate a site for the court house.
They were required by said Act to put it in Clinton or within
two miles of the center of the county; this center was found
about two miles from what is now the town of Raymond, and
was marked by a large stone, which is said to be still one of the
landmarks of that section. In 1829 Raymond, by an Act of the
legislature, became the county seat, but the first court house
was not erected until 1858.

"Courage is a high quality — courage, perfect, multiform and
unquenchable, one of the highest and rarest." These pioneer

34° Mississippi Historical Society.

settlers of Hinds county possessed this trait. They fought and
conquered all the difficulties and dangers that confront the in-
habitants of a wild, new country; and just as they were enter-
ing upon the peace which cometh after labor well done, the
call came in 1846 for men to re-enforce General Taylor's army
on the Rio Grande. Hinds county organized two companies
which became a part of the famous First Mississippi Regiment,
with Jefferson Davis in command and Alexander McClung as
Lieutenant-Colonel, and A. B. Bradford as Major. John L.
McManus was captain of Company E, and James H. Hughes
and Crawford Fletcher lieutenants. Company G was officered
by Captain Reuben N. Downing and lieutenants William H.
Hampton and S. A. D. Greaves.

The records of the Mexican war tell us that these two com-
panies did gallant service and won glory on the fields of Buena
Vista and Monterey. After a year's absence they returned to
be welcomed with great rejoicing.

The first newspaper issued in the county was published at
Raymond in the year 1830, with Samuel T. King as editor, and
was called the Public Echo. In 1838 the first railway traversed
the county, the Vicksburg and Meridian Railroad, which is still
in existence.

Many of the towns and villages that flourished in the pioneer
days of the county are now defunct. It was a common saying,
in discussing the progress of the new county, to say, "Raymond
is the seat of justice, Clinton of learning, and Amsterdam of
commerce." There is to-day no vestage of the last of these,
which was once a thriving town on Black river.

The population of the county in 1830, according to the first
report made by Hon. John A. Grimball, Secretary of State, Sep-
tember 2Oth, 1832, was 5,340 souls. I notice in the recent cen-
sus report sent out by the United States government that
Hinds county had in 1900, 52,577, an increase of 13,298 since the
census of 1890.

The county grew apace, and within its borders were enacted
many scenes and many events that effected the whole State. It
was in the old capitol, on the banks of the Pearl, that the his-
toric body of men known as the "Secession Convention" met,
and on the evening of January 9th passed amidst breathless si-
lence the ordinance "to dissolve the union between the State of

The History of a County.— Bell. 34*

Mississippi and other States united with her under the compact
entitled 'The Constitution of the United States of America.' "
And it was on this occasion, in Hinds county, that the "Bonnie
Blue Flag" was first waved, and the night after the song which
has that title was sung for the first time within the walls of a
Jackson theatre. And it was in Hinds county that the now fa-
mous Australian ballot system, which has brought peace within
the borders of the State, was enacted into law.

But of all the dear memories that linger around the old
county of Hinds the most sacred are those that hover about her
battlefields. On Champion Hill, and near Baker's Creek,
many gallant men dyed her green hills and fields with their life-
blood. To-day the men of Hinds county tell of many heroic
deeds that thrill the heart and make the eye glow, of last words
spoken on her "everlasting hills," words and deeds that will
never die, a heritage not only to the county but to the whole
State. Among the many deeds of daring and valor still related
around the firesides of the citizens of this county is one which
tells how the intrepid Captain Add Harvey, of the famous
Harvey Scouts, with a small band of his faithful followers,
dashed into the city of Jackson, then occupied by a large force
of Federals, and removing from the State Capitol the Stars and
Stripes substituted therefore the Confederate flag.

And what of this "Mother of Counties" to-day? With a net
work of railroads she is the natural distributing point of the
State. Her towns and villages are on every slope, her colleges
on every hill, her churches at every cross road. In progress-
iveness, intelligence and thrift she is the peer of any in the
State. Into her keeping is intrusted many of your State insti-
tutions. Many gifts have you given her all of which she appre-
ciates and guards with sacred trust, and the last proof of the
brotherhood of counties is your million dollar State House,
which she accepts with grateful honor hoping to prove worthy
of the trust bestowed.

Each county must be true to its individual liberty, together
with its equally significant counterpart, individual responsibil-
ity. Let the citizen understand that his guarantees of the
equal blessings of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are
active living powers, and he will give to his family, to the com-
munity, county, State and nation solid character. But let him

342 Mississippi Historical Society.

once become convinced that these assurances are deceptive
frauds, that in fact he has no individual liberty, no personal po-
litical responsibility, he is cowed, his manhood lost, his ambi-
tion destroyed, his patriotism is crushed and he is an anarchist.
The first material manifestation of the good results of the indi-
vidual independence of the citizen is found in the public gov-
ernment of counties, and it radiates through the State and na-
tion like the waves of the ocean from the dropping of the peb-
ble. So the character and political power and influence of the
county is shaped according to the character of its inhabitants
and has its correspondent effect upon the character of the en-
tire State.

What constitutes a county?

"Men, high minded men,

Men who their duties know,

But know their rights, and knowing dare maintain."

RECOLLECTIONS OF PIONEER LIFE IN MISSIS-
SIPPI.

BY Miss MARY J. WELSH.1

In February, 1834, my father, George Welsh, Sr., brought his
family from St. Stephens, Ala., to what was then called the
"Choctaw Nation." The previous year he had sent by his
brother Victor Welsh two hands and mules that he might get
a preemption and withal make some provision for our arrival.
We came by boat on the Tombigbee to Gainesville, Ala., then
a small river town with many promising indications of the rapid
growth which it afterwards had. The trip to our destination,
exactly where the ruins of old Wahalak now are, in wagons,
on horseback and on foot (eighteen miles by actual measure-
ment, but then twenty or more), was made in a day ; but it was
no picnic. The road through the woods followed the newly
made blazes, forded Bodka creek and crossed a section of Wild
Horse prairie, leading in a northwesterly direction. It was
"grubby, stumpy, muddy and sloshy." The weather was
cloudy, damp and cold, with a slight breeze. It was what the

1 Miss Mary J. Welsh was born at St. Stephens, Ala., Nov. 9, 1823.
Her father, Capt. George Welsh (son of William Welsh and Jane
Thompson), was of Irish descent, and removed from Pennsylvania to
Buncombe county, N. C. He took part in the War of 1812, being
mustered out of service at Fort Claiborne, Ala., and settling at St.
Stephens in the same State. Her mother, Sally Gordy (daughter of
Elijah Gordy and Tabitha Melson), was of French descent, and re-
moved from Delaware to Clinton Jones County, Ga., about 1806. In 1833
Miss Welsh's family removed to what afterwards became Kemper coun-
ty, Miss. After the War between the States they settled at Shuqualak,
Miss., where Miss Welsh now resides. The accompanying contribution
gives other facts in her early life. After teaching for several years she
was connected with the Baptist Orphans' Home at Landerdale, Miss.,
where she edited The Orphans' Home Banner. After spending several
years (i87.v'7) in the employment of the Baptist Publishing House of
Memphis. Tenn., she entered the office of The Baptist Reflector and the
Happy Home, at Nashville, Tenn. She is the author of "The Model
Family" (1858), "Aunt Abbie" (1859), and the "Baptist Denomination"
(1860). She has also prepared three Sunday school books, two of which
were published, but the manuscript of the third and largest was de-
stroyed in the burning of the Baptist Publishing House in Philadelphia,
Pa., a few years ago. Her "Reminiscences of Old Saint Stephens" was
published in the Transactions of the Alabama Historical Society, Vol. III.,
pp. 2o8-'26. — EDITOR.

344 Mississippi Historical Society.

old people called "a raw day." The trip I made on horseback,
behind my mother, with no rest except a few minutes for lunch.
This was my introduction to pioneer life, which I afterwards
enjoyed to the full measure of a child's capacity. I was then
just ten years of age.

PIONEER SETTLERS.

In the history of any section the settlers claim the first atten-
tion. Not many had preceded us, but several came about the
same time or soon after. Of those who were strictly farmers,
I recall the names of Warren Johnson, David Lisle, Wm. Mc-
Clurg, Victor and George Welsh, Wm. Felts, Shadrick Rowe,
Griffin Steele, Pringle Baskins, Sam. Boughton, the Wilsons,
Gates and Andersons. Others who combined other occupa-
tions with farming were, Wm. Jones and Rev. James Carothers.
Others whom I cannot certainly locate within the period from
'34"'36 were John Malone, the Moseleys, Ruperts, Barneses,
Sanders, McCalebb, John Kerr and Geo. Bannerman. They
were all farmers and had a share in developing the country.

The earliest settlers were of various degrees of wealth, but
all men of strictly moral and religious sentiment, which gave a
healthy tone to the whole community infinitely more valuable
than any amount of material wealth without it. No word can
express more plainly what manner of men these were, than the
fact that as soon as they provided rude sheltejr for their families
they built a school house and churches and procured the ser-
vices of a teacher and pastors respectively.

EARLY HOUSES.

The first requisite in a new country is shelter for man and
stock. With all these settlers these needs had to be supplied in
haste, for the land had to be cleared and fences made in time
to start a crop. But the material was at hand and plentiful;
labor was controllable and neighbors cheerfully assisted each
other at house raising and log-rolling, each bringing two or
more hands with him. These occasions were always enjoyable,
the work being lightened by jest and laughter and by the an-
ticipation of a good dinner and a hearty welcome into the
home at noon. Suppose we call them "social functions" in the
woods. I presume the buildings did not differ from those in

Recollections of Pioneer Life. — Welsh. 345

all new countries. The cabins were roughly built of logs, with
stick and mud chimneys and clapboard roof. The cracks of
dwelling houses were lined with boards and daubed with mud,
or merely chinked and daubed, according to circumstances.
The door shutter was a huge batton frame, covered with clap-
boards. The windows, if there were any, were openings about
two feet square, closed by a curtain, or at best by a shutter, like
the door. Often a crack by the fireplace was enlarged to give
the mother a little more light on her sewing. The floor, if by
good fortune it was of plank, was more costly than all the rest
of the building. The only mill within reach was on Running
Water creek about twenty miles away, more or less, according
to the season and the state of the roads. Sawed lumber was
costly and could be used only in building the family room. It
was put down loosely and when well shrunken was driven up
tight and nailed. The only planing it received was the fre-
quent application of the scrub broom. A few people, at a cost
of much labor hewed out "puncheons" for floors; others built
their cabins flat on the ground and there lived comfortably and
contentedly with their families, waiting for better times. One
man who had only enough plank to cover three-fourths of his
floor left the other fourth open. As he had no slaves the one
room served for kitchen, dining room, and living room. The
good woman was a model of neatness and kept her house and
all within it as clean and bright "as a paper of new pins." A few
of these dwellings had two cabins with what we called a "pas-
sage" between them ; others had a shed room, the frame of
which was made of skinned poles, weatherboarded with clap-
boards. Most of the farmers were content however with one
room for the first year. I remember one cabin was built with a
view to having another put opposite to it, hence the roof was ex-
tended over the prospective "passage," and the sills protruded
on both sides. The housewife placed a high-posted bedstead
under this roof and hung thick homespun curtains around and
over it, and thus made a private and pleasant sleeping place for
two of her boys. This was the bedroom of the late Hon. Israel
V. Welsh and his younger brother, Geo. L. Welsh, during the
spring and summer of 1834. The next year they had a room
across the "passage," but it had a dirt floor. In this same floor-
less room I took my first lesson in Natural History by watching

346 Mississippi Historical Society.

a toad catching flies. The length of his tongue, the rapidity of
its flash, the precision with which he struck the fly every time,
was a marvel to me, and I sat entranced until he finished his
meal and hopped away. Of course, there was abundant ven-
tilation in all these houses and it was pure and healthful air
from the woods. Fireplaces were large and wood plentiful, and
it was heaped on without stint. Notwithstanding the stick and
mud chimneys and "logheap" fires there were then no "house-
burnings" in that section, and insurance was unknown. As
nails and hinges were too costly for general use the roofs of
kitchens, negro cabins, &c., &c., were held down by "weight-
poles," and the "door shutters" and gates were hung on wooden
hinges. Yards as well as lots and fields were inclosed by rail
fences, but they were substantial ones, ten rails high, "staked
and a rider/'stock proof. There was then no disagreement be-
tween neighbors on account of defective fences. These descrip-
tions apply particularly to the very early settlers, from about
1833 ^0 '36. As years passed and facilities increased, many im-
provements were introduced. Large frame houses, elegantly
furnished, dotted the country here and there, but down to the
War between the States many of the people were content to
dwell in log houses with modern improvements and furnish-
ings.

FURNITURE.

The furniture of these early cabins was scant. The long
journeys in wagons from the older states prevented the bringing
of anything but the bare necessities. These provident house-
wives all brought their, feather beds and bed clothing, a bed-
stead or two, a few chairs, a little table furniture, a few things
for the kitchen, and the indispensable wheel and cards. The
few empty barrels and goods boxes they possessed were utilized
as furniture. Holes were bored into the logs, strong pegs driven
into them and boards laid across to make shelves both within
and without dwelling houses and kitchens. A series of shelves
with a curtain hung before them made a convenient cupboard or
wardrobe, as occasion demanded. In this connection, my
mother's first cradle in Mississippi deserves mention ; for I
doubt if its counterpart was ever known in the civilized world.
In those days sealskin trunks (made of wooden frames with

Recollections of Pioneer Life. — Welsh. 347

rounded tops, covered with sealskins) were common. The
hinges of one of these being broken in moving, my father, with
hatchet and drawing knife, made a pair of rockers, which he
nailed on top of the lid, turned it up and thus made a cradle for
the baby. As most of the cradles were rudely constructed of
clapboards this one was greatly admired by the mothers of the
community. One mother had a cradle made out of a section
of a hollow log, across which boards were nailed. The want of
bedsteads was easily supplied. A rude corner post was pro-
vided with two holes mortised into it near the top. Into each
of these holes the end of a skinned pole was stuck. The other
end of these poles rested in a crack of the wall. A platform of
boards, a mattress of shucks with a good feather bed on it made
a more comfortable sleeping place than one who has never tried
it can imagine. With an earthen floor the work was simplified ;
for a forked stick driven into the ground served for a corner
post. These bedsteads were necessarily hard and rather nar-
row, but reasonably comfortable for contented people. In
truth, contentment, which was the prevailing grace of this com-
munity, smoothed the rough places and rounded the sharp cor-
ners of life for these hardy pioneers and helped to convert their
rude log cabins into palaces. They fully realized that "a man's
life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he pos-
sesseth."

FARM WORK.

The. nearest mill to our settlement was on Running Water.
As the trip consumed two days in good weather, nearly every
pioneer owned a steel handmill, and the daily supply of meal
was ground by a strong negro boy or two, who left the field
early every afternoon for that purpose. Most of the land in
our immediate section was heavily timbered with a dense un-
dergrowth. As the "clearing," fencing and preparing for a crop
had to be accomplished by manual labor, one stroke at a time,
it was slow and heavy work. But the soil was fertile and
amply repaid the laborers in the yield of corn, cotton, potatoes
and peas, the crops generally raised. In later years wheat was
grown, but never extensively. The early cotton crops were so
heavy that the larger boys were stopped from school every fall
to help pick it out. New land was cleared every year for many

348 Mississippi Historical Society.

years, the useless timber and brush being burned. At night
these burning logheaps and piles of brush, which were dotted
thickly here and there over the ridges, gave to the natural
scenery an added beauty peculiar to a new country. The ap-
proach to a hilly city — as Vicksburg or Meridian — after night-
fall comes nearer reproducing the scene than anything else I
ever saw.

HOUSEWORK.

In the pioneer days all the clothing was cut and made at
home, much of it from cloth that was spun thread ; all the soap
and candles were home made, the latter being moulded or dip-
ped from tallow prepared on the place. All this was done by
the women in addition to the usual housework on a farm ; and
as in all ages "woman's work is never done" much of it was
done at night by the light of a brush fire and a tallow candle.
These candles gave a soft light, pleasant to the eyes.

WATER.

The scarcity of water was the most serious difficulty the
pioneers had to encounter. The only water courses within
available distance were Noxubee and Wahalak creeks. Many
wells were sunk, but only a few outlasted the wet season. Stock
was driven to one of the creeks every few days in summer.
Every week or two the family washing was carried there.
Rainwater was caught and treasured. Not a drop of clean
water was ever thrown on the ground. Water was never plen-
tiful, not even sufficient until the settlers began to dig cisterns
in the late '3o's. I often wonder now how we managed to get
along with so little water.

TRADE.

Gainsville was our nearest market, or rather it was the me-
dium of trade between that section and Mobile. Cotton was
hauled to Gainesville and shipped. Sometimes several farmers
united and shipped their cotton down the Noxubee on a raft,
necessarily a slow voyage but safe. Country merchants and
farmers bought their supplies in Mobile, shipped them to
Gainesville and hauled them out. This state of things con-
tinued until the Mobile and Ohio railroad was built. For a
few years there was much hard work and many privations, but

Recollections of Pioneer Life. — Welsh. 349

these early settlers were equal to every emergency, and as fruit-
ful in resources as if they had always lived in the woods. Al-
though contented in the present they had high aspirations for
the future and worked steadily and hopefully for the fulfillment
of those aspirations. But let no one suppose there was no en-
joyment. The novelty of the whole situation gave to it a zest
which made discomforts a mere joke. The happiness of our
pioneers had its spring in the heart and they could afford to
laugh at untoward circumstances.

AMUSEMENTS.

Social enjoyments, the legal holidays, Christmas and the
fourth of July were duly and extravagantly observed. The
ladies visited in the old time way, "took their knitting and spent
the day" or gathered together at "quiltings," combining work
with pleasure. They also carried an assortment of children,
and to us these were never-to-be-forgotten days. No restraints
were laid on our sports, except the injunction to "keep out of
mischief." Our dress was no hindrance and we had a royal
time, with "all out of doors" for a playground.

Deer, turkeys, squirrels, rabbits, opossums, partridges, black-
birds, &c., &c., were abundant. The hunting and trapping of
these gave healthful recreation to the men and boys, and amply
supplied the table with the delicacies of the forest. A ride on
horseback through the deep, green woods or the tall grass of
the prairie was delirious pleasure to both girls and boys. To
this day the sound of the hunter's horn, the deep baying of his
dogs and their regular yelps on the trail, stirs my blood more
quickly than a brass band ; and the musical rhythm of the cross-
cut saw, the hum of the spinning wheel, the regular click, clack
of the loom, are all remembered music to me yet. Not that I
would turn the wheel of progress one revolution backward, or
that I fail to appreciate the vast progress since then, but these
old memories will sing to my heart of the days of happy child-
hood, and the more persistently as the years pass by.

FRUITS.

Wild fruits, as grapes, plums, strawberries,, blackberries,
haws, both black and red, hickory nuts and walnuts could be
had for the gathering, and they gave tis a standing excuse for a

35° Mississippi Historical Society.

ramble in the woods. In one place, bordering on a "wet
weather branch," we found what we called "white blackberries."
The berry was exactly like the common blackberry except it
was white with a slightly bluish tinge. The foliage of the bush
was perhaps a little more delicate than that of the black species.
It was certainly indigenous for no one but the Indians, had pre-
ceded us. The stream was soon "cleared up" and these berries
were lost. The first orchard in our section was planted by Mr.
Sam. Boughton, who came from Conecah county, Ala., in 1836.
He shipped trees and vines a year in advance and brought a
large assortment with him. It proved to be a good fruit coun-
try.

THE; INDIANS.

Just here I will say that dotted about over this section were
spaces of open land, an acre or less in extent, on each of which
was to be found what appeared to. be the remains of a burnt
cabin. As the Indians had been so recently removed, the set-
tlers naturally supposed these places to be the remains of Indian
settlements. The negroes heard this talked about, and having
got an inkling of the fact that the Indians left the country
rather unwillingly, their superstitious nature was aroused.
They often came from work with wonderful reports of the dis-
tressing sounds they heard proceeding from those places either
in the field or near by. It was "de goses of dem Injuns moun-
in fur dey homes." It is safe to say, if labor had been free then,
those fields would never have been cultivated by the negroes.
Although the Indians were not citizens they constituted an ele-
ment in our pioneer life that cannot be ignored with strict jus-
tice. It is a well known fact that a remnant of the Choctaws
refused to go West. They retired from that immediate section,
however, and went, I think, into Neshoba county. They came
into the settlement every fall, camped, and picked cotton for
the farmers. At other seasons they brought venison, baskets,
bows and arrows, blow-guns and arrows for sale. They were
so harmless that we lost all fears of their race and welcomed
each return as a pleasurable excitement.

SNAKES.

But we were kept in a state of constant dread of the snakes
that thronged the woods. They had preempted this whole sec-

Recollections of Pioneer Life. — Welsh. 351

tion long in advance of the white settlers, and it was necessary
to keep a sharp lookout for them at all times and in all places ;
for, as an old darkey put it, "dem snakes is jes as sly as In-
juns ; dat time yo ain studin' 'bout um dey pop yo' shore."
Doubtless it was owing to this constant vigilance that so few
people were bitten.

LAND SALES.

I pass over the land sales which came on during this early
period, not only because it is a matter of recorded history, but
because I remember but little about it, except that it was a time
of great excitement and anxiety to all, old and young.

CHURCHES.

The farmers in our immediate neighborhood were Presbyte-
rians in faith, and they built a house in accordance with the
times and circumstances. A log cabin open to the roof, dirt
floor, benches of split logs, pulpit of clapboards, perched half-
way up the end wall, stick and dirt chimney, two doors with
board shutters, and for windows, cracks between the logs. But
the gospel was preached there by Rev. James Carothers to an
attentive audience of grown people, and a Sunday school was
taught. For literature we used the Question Books issued at
that time by the Presbyterian Publishing House. To our un-
developed minds the lessons were as hard to master as grubbing
roots would have been to our physical strength. Hence it goes
without saying that we acquired very little "book knowledge,"
but from the constant attendance at a place of worship, and the
association with those who gathered there, we imbibed much
that was good, — a deep seated reverence for God, an earnest
respect for all the appointments of worship, a love for the day
set apart for that worship, and for complete rest — and all this
was a saving ballast in the storms of subsequent life. What
an inestimable blessing to any community is a Sunday school !
What a healthful tonic to its moral life !

In the adjoining neighborhood the Baptists prevailed, and
they built a house near Wahalak creek, the exact counterpart
of the Presbyterian house except it had a floor. Their first
pastor was Rev. Wm. Galloway. Of sermons I was no judge,
but I know that both of these pastors were highly esteemed by

352 Mississippi Historical Society.

their respective congregations. One incident that occurred at
this Baptist church in the summer of 1834 is worth recording.
It was a beautiful day; a large congregation, both white and
black had assembled. An eclipse of the sun was due, and in the
middle of the services it began to grow dark. The preacher sat
down to wait until the eclipse was over. Several persons went
to the creek to observe it in the water. I had no permission to
move, but as I sat near a large crack I gave my attention to
what was going on among the negroes. The scene was inde-
scribable. The negroes were in every conceivable posture of
supplication, wringing their hands and clothing, weeping, pray-
ing, confessing their sins, and wailing in the most piteous ac-
cents. One old "Auntie," however, was going to and fro,
laughing and jeering at the rest. I was bewildered. The next
day I interviewed her to know what it all meant. "Wy dem
foolish niggers scared it was de judgment, and dey drap down
an' 'gun to 'fess an' pray jes lak de Lawd ain been knowin' um
all de time. Well, dey need to fess, but it's too late when judg-
ment 'gin to cum." Why so? "Wy, doan de Book say dat
time gwine to cum swif es lightnin' ?" I didn't know. "Well,
I been hear um read it dat 'er way, anyhow, an' doan you know
it's too late to dodge wen de litenen' come ?" I didn't know thai
either, so I always dodged lightning. "Well yo' ne'enter, kase
'fore you kin dodge de litenin' dun dun all it's gwine ter. An' wen
judgment come it too late to 'fess an pray ef you aint dun it
afore. I tel dem niggers dat but dey doan listen to me."
Years afterwards when Millerism1 was rife and many people
were almost crazed with fear, she couldn't be moved. "Sho !
wha I gwine be skeered fur? Ain' I been hear um read outen
de Book of dat day an' dat hour know no man"? Hoccum dat
man know it? He shoreley mus' not read de Book; — ef he do
he don' sese it."

This is a good deal to say about one old auntie, but she was
truly a pioneer and did good pioneer work.

SCHOOLS.

The first school in 1834 was taught by Wm. Jones, a young
farmer from Alabama. The school house was one of the rud-

1 William Miller taught that "the end of the world and the second
coming of Christ was at hand." — EDITOR.

Recollections of Pioneer Life. — Welsh. 353

est of rude cabins ; dirt floor with not even all the "grubs" taken
up, split log, backless benches, open to the roof. Across one
side and one end holes were bored into the logs, long pegs
driven into them, and planks laid across for a writing desk. The
crack above it was widened to give us light. We used the text
books of the times, Murray's Grammar, The Federal Calculator,
&c., &c. Our progress was necessarily slow, but the little we
acquired was thorough and it was a lifetime possession. Our
teacher was faithful, patient and not overexacting. The noon
recess — two full hours — we called "playtime" and we filled it
with hearty, healthy play. The nearest settler to this school
was Mr. Madden, the only blacksmith in the community. He
chanced to have a well and he generously permitted us to get
water there when the branch dried up. As I now look back to
those days and consider the circumstances, this seems to me
the kindest of all kind deeds with which I was conversant in
that neighborhood. The well was merely a deep hole in the
ground, no curbing, closed by rails across the mouth laid on the
ground ; no windlass, just a tin bucket with a rope tied to the
bail. To get the water, a few rails must be put aside, the buck-
et sent down with a plunge, then pulled up by main strength
hand over hand. The girls — not one of us over twelve years —
were not expected to go near the well ; but we did, and I some-
times shudder now as I think of the danger we were in of fol-
lowing the bucket. These people were Irish and we lit-
tle girls were very much amused at their brogue, but we didn't
dare to show it in Mrs. Madden's presence. We wanted her
water, and we wanted her "tan kattle" as she pronounced it to
draw with, and we were afraid of her dog. "Watch" was an
ever present menace, and he seemed to be just waiting for his
mistress' "sick" to take hold of us, so however rude we were
elsewhere, in Mrs. Madden's presence we were as polite as a
book agent.

The next school was taught about 1835 or '6 by Rev. Jas. Car-
others. The Presbyterians had moved their church nearer to
his residence and put a floor in it and there he preached and
taught. There was very little change in school furniture, text
books, or methods of teaching. In his school and in his home
life he was uniformly courteous and pleasant. He was a Chris-
tian gentleman in the widest acceptation of the term. During
23

354 Mississippi Historical Society.

one session I was a "week boarder" in his home, and his gentle
kindness to me, then a very frail little girl, has been a pleasant
memory through all subsequent life. These two men were the
only strictly pioneer teachers; they laid a good foundation in
the rudiments of knowledge despite their meager equipments.

MERCHANTS AND PHYSICIANS.

There was only one store in all that neighborhood. The
proprietors, EH and Edgar Loomis, were from the North. As-
sociated with them was Alfred Everett either as clerk or as
partner. The only physician in '34 was Dr. Jake Brown, who
had his office in that store. About 1835 Dr. John Mclntosh
came into the neighborhood on a farm. In 1836 came Dr.
James Baird, a young physician from North Carolina. Both of
these practiced there many years, but Dr. Brown soon went
into the lower part of Kemper.

TAVERNS.

The only house of entertainment was kept by Victor Welsh,
who settled there in the latter part of 1832 or January, 1833.
The constant travelling of "land hunters" made this a profit-
able business. It was also the only boarding house for the
merchants nearby. For many years men bringing large droves
of mules and hogs came every fall from Kentucky and Tennes-
see and put up at this house until they had sold out. The wa-
gons that came with these droves brought quantities of dried
fruit, spun thread and jeans, which found a ready sale. These
droves and the wagons were annually expected and largely de-
pended upon for many years.

WAHALAK.

The country soon began, however, to change its pioneer as-
pect. Many people of culture and refinement, some of them
very wealthy, had settled in this section of Kemper. In 1837
Victor Welsh laid out into town lots a few acres of land around
his own house and the Loomis Brothers' store. These sold
readily. It was a hilly locality, beautiful for situation, pleas-
ant and healthful. The town grew rapidly in all that goes to
make up a desirable place. It was named Wahalak. The
Loomis Brothers soon moved to Brooklyn on the Noxubee.
The Presbyterians and Baptists moved their churches into Wa-
halak and built commodious houses. The first school within

Recollections of Pioneer Life. — Welsh. 355

its limits was a mixed school taught by Lewis R. Barnes, from
Georgia. He admirably sustained the reputation which he
brought with him of being a thorough teacher and a good dis-
ciplinarian. Unruly boys were sent to him from all parts of the
country to be tamed, and he never failed to get them well in
hand. He was kind in disposition, courteous in manner, — a
manly man in his intercourse with others, and untiring in his
work. He was assisted at different times by Revs. Sterling,
Jenkins, Wm. Farrar, and Mr. Chivers.

About this time there was much discussion as to the feasibil-
ity of navigating the Noxubee. Finally a steamboat, the
"Little Jim" was sent up to Macon on a trial trip. The neigh-
borhood was notified of its expected arrival at Wahalak land-
ing and there was a large turnout to meet it. Mr. Barnes
closed school for an hour or more and led the procession to the
landing. It was an insignificant looking stern wheeler with a
keen, shrill whistle. The visit might have passed out of our re-
membrance but for this whistle. When it sounded the crowd
of sightseers, old and young, white and black, turned and ran
until we were stopped by the loud derisive laughter of the boat
crew. Mr. Barnes led us back to school in disgust. When we
compared notes, nobody was afraid, but everybody ran because
everybody else did. That was the last attempt to navigate the
Noxubee ; until after the War another unsucessful attempt was
made.

In 1838 the citizens deeming it advisable to establish a female
school, built a suitable house and elected trustees, who employ-
ed Miss Ann Hazard, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., to take charge of
the school. The result proved the wisdom of their action.
She came among us as a stranger, but soon won the confidence
of her patrons. She was an earnest Christian woman, and
proved to be a valuable social acquisition. This school and the
male school lived through the most flourishing period of the
town, and from experience I can say that the teachers of both
deserved the high reputation they gained, and they still live in
the hearts and lives of their pupils scattered over many of the
Southern states.

There were three churches in the town, a Baptist, two Pres-
byterian, an old and a new school respectively.

Two physicians, Dr. John Mclntosh and Dr. James M. Baird,

356 Mississippi Historical Society.

represented, very ably, the medical fraternity for many years.
Later Dr. Harris came in as Dr. Mclntosh moved away.

Of the several merchants, I recall now the names of Barnes
and Sanders, John T. and Wm. Mosely. John Malone was
perhaps associated with one of these firms. James McCalebb
had a store and a blacksmith and wood shop. There were oth-
ers, but their names do not occur to me now.

At one time the old town had a bank, incorporated under
the name of "The Real Estate and Banking Company." Judge
John Hardeman was president and Mr. John T. Moseley cash-
ier. It was in operation but a short time. I have recently had
the pleasure of meeting one of my old schoolmates of the
Barnes school, Mr. Wm. Boughton, now of Jasper county, Mis-
sissippi. In recalling many reminiscenses of old Wahalak, I
chanced to remark upon the short life of the bank. "Yes," he
replied, "but it did not fail nor break, but closed up business
with a perfectly honorable record. The stockholders fully met
every claim, if they lost anything it was never known."

To the credit of the citizens, be it known that there never was
a grogshop in Wahalak. The "abomination of desolation" that
is now sapping our national life never camped within the limits
of the town, neither nearby. The healthy moral sentiment of
the community forbade it.

The town early became a great educational center ; the seat
of a Christian culture and refinement unsurpassed by any com-
munity in the State or any other State. The high standard of
moral rectitude, the reverential respect for Christianity, the
neighborly kindness, the open handed hospitality, the public
spirit that characterized the pioneers were also prominent
traits of their successors in the town and surrounding country.
This natural refinement enhanced by a liberal culture made the
social life of Wahalak all that was desirable.

It is hard to say what caused the death of the old town. It
declined steadily after Mr. Barnes and Miss Hazard, two of its
most prominent teachers left; but perhaps the pupils of edu-
cable age in the community caused them to leave. The building
of the Mobile and Ohio railroad had a perceptible effect upon
it. It lived on, however, through the war between the States.
It is now dead except in the memories of its former citizens. Its
name has been given to a station a few miles west of it on the
Mobile and Ohio railroad.

POLITICAL AND PARLIAMENTARY ORATORS AND
ORATORY OF MISSISSIPPI.

BY DUNBAR ROWLAND.1

The story of the fame and eloquence of the orators of Mis-
sissippi rests largely on ephemeral tradition kept alive by word
of mouth from father to son. If the oratory of the State can be
rescued from the condition of oblivion into which it has fallen,
if a record can be made of the feelings, thoughts and deeds of
the men who should have a place in a temple dedicated to Mis-
sissippi orators and oratory, then indeed shall we be able to re-
move the impression that we are failing to transmit to succeed-
ing generations a knowledge of the greatness of our common-
wealth. There are incidents in the lives of all great men that
should be remembered, their words should be treasured, the
part they played in the state life of their time should be pre-
served on lasting parchment to animate the hearts of those who
come after, with love and admiration for great deeds done, for
living words spoken, for lofty thoughts struck from strong
minds. There is a state pride that always elevates the greatness
of favorite sons. It is desirable to carefully weigh the exag-
gerations of tradition and the partiality of friends in order that
true estimates may be made of Mississippi orators, that they
may occupy the place which impartial history would assign
them.

MISSISSIPPI ORATORS FROM 1817 TO 1840.
/. George Poindexter.

The first Misissippian to attract the attention of the nation
by his ability and power as an orator was George Poindexter.
He was the most versatile man of his day, and his talents were
displayed in all the departments of the public service. As Gov-
ernor, Justice of the Supreme Court, Congressman and Sena-

1 A biographical sketch of the author of this monograph will be found
in the Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, Vol. III., p. 85, foot-
note.— EDITOR.

358 Mississippi Historical Society.

tor he gave evidence of rare executive ability, deep learning
and brilliant oratory.

In order that a proper estimate may be made of the powers
of an orator a careful study of the physical properties, disposi-
tion, and mental and physical temperament should be made.
What is his fund of knowledge? Are his methods of thinking
close and accurate? Has he grace of person and delivery? Is
he earnest and enthusiastic? Has he magnetism and drawing
power? Is his voice strong and melodious? Is he confident
and faithful in his principles? If all those great qualities are
combined in him then indeed is he a great orator, if he has only
a few of them he may still be great in special lines of oratory.

A study of Senator Poindexter, of his traits, appearances,
ideas and methods of oratory will reveal something of the
manly, sturdy pioneer state-makers and nation-builders of the
early history of Mississippi.

There is a proneness on the part of the people of an old
country and of the centers of population to look with mild tol-
eration on the citizens of a new country as inferior in culture
and intelligence to themselves. The feeling grows out of a
provincialism that is as old as recorded history. The ancient
Jews looked upon the Gentile with pity, if not contempt. The
classic Greeks disdained all other peoples as barbarous. The
Romans held that not to be a Roman was to be a dog. The
people of New England for years regarded Mississippi as a
State made up of communities of rough, ignorant, uncultured
ruralists. Rural communities are the gardens for the cultiva-
tion of all forms of greatness. Such great leaders of armies as
Washington, Lee and Jackson, such statesmen as Jefferson,
Madison and Lincoln, such judges as Marshall and Taney were
brought up on the farms of the South. Mississippi is the most
intensely agricultural state in the Union, and it has been a fer-
tile field for the growth of eloquence.

Senator Poindexter has been pictured by a Mississippi histor-
ian as the meanest man who was prominent in the early history
of the State; there is no doubt that he was the intellectual if
not the moral leader of that time. He lived during a period
when bitter partisan, political feeling was indifferent alike to
the rules of courtesy and fair dealing, and much of the slander
and infamy heaped upon him was the work of his personal ami

Political and Parliamentary Orators. — Rowland. 359

political enemies. It is not safe to rely upon estimates and
opinions that are guided by prejudice and prompted by malice.
The mantle of charity is thrown over his faults. Time has
tempered the harshness of the judgment upon him. He was a
great Senator and orator at a time when greatness was the
rule and not the exception in the Senate of the United States.
We are looking at him only from an oratorical point of view.

The speeches of Senator Poindexter cannot be read without
feeling that they were made by a master. The order is perfect,
and the logical sequence of the parts are only excelled by the
lofty tone and unity of the whole. Enlarged statesmanlike
views are thrown out in language that is terse, chaste and
majestic. His words are never overdrawn or too subtle for
plain, practical men. He was endowed with an intellect pellucid
and brilliant, with mental vigor and intellectual grasp. There
are certain proprieties of elocution that every public speaker
must observe, such as manner, voice, cadence and outward
appearance.

Carlyle's celebrated description of Webster may be aptly ap-
plied to Senator Poindexter: "The tanned complexion, the
amorphous crag-like face ; the dull black eyes under their prec-
ipice of brows, like dull anthracite furnaces needing only to be
blown, the mastiff mouth accurately closed." There was a
dignity and distinction in his bearing that made him a marked
man wherever he went.

A speech must have in it something more than eloquent sen-
tences, it must have vital truth and principles running like a
thread through it.

There are two schools of opinion as to how eloquence is
acquired. One contends that the powers of the orator are
acquired by art, and should be methodical and persuasive. The
other that oratory is a natural gift and moves the passions of
men by storm without particular rules. Natural powers culti-
vated and developed by study, preparation and practice com-
bine to make the great orator.

The father of Senator Poindexter was an eloquent Baptist
minister of Virginia and the oratorical powers of the father
were inherited by the son. To that rich inheritance he added
all the arts and graces of oratory that may be gained by learn-

360 Mississippi Historical Society.

ing, discipline and culture. Great faculties can only be de-
veloped by being put into practice. Senator Poindexter was a
deep student of polemics, politics, history, literature and poetry.
"Learning waited upon him like a handmaiden, presenting to
his choice all that antiquity had culled or invented." He was
a great parliamentary orator. He was at his best before the
Senate. Before such an audience he brought to bear on every
subject he touched his great knowledge, his profound reason,
his splendid style.

The development of Senator Poindexter in Mississippi was
phenomenal. It resembled somewhat the radian*- rise of Sher-
idan, the brilliant Irishman who quit play writing for a seat in
the House of Commons and, according to the verdict of Fox
and Burke, delivered the greatest speech in the English lan-
guage.

Failing to find in Virginia that immediate success that his
restless and impatient ambition demanded he turned his steps
to the new territory of Mississippi, and was made its attorney
general during the first year of his residence. As the prosecu-
tor of Aaron Burr he gained the attention and applause of the
triumphant Democracy of Jefferson, and his opinion in the case
afterwards guided the great Chief Justice Marshall in the cele-
brated trial of Burr at Richmond.

He entered Congress in 1807 as territorial delegate from
Mississippi, and at once became prominent, by his reply to the
disunion speech of Josiah Quincy of Massachusetts. In that
speech appears an intense devotion to the Union, and a remark-
able foresight into its future destiny. The great questions of
Federal powers and States' rights were discussed with rare
knowledge and ability. The member from Massachusetts
advocated disunion, the member from Mississippi pleaded for
the preservation of the Union.

The greatest effort made by Mr. Poindexter in the House
was his famous speech in defense of General Jackson's conduct
during the Seminole War. The defense was so able and so
conclusive that it resulted in the complete vindication of "Old
Hickory," and gave the speaker a position as one of the leading
orators of the country. The reputation made in the lower
House advanced him to the Senate. When he took his seat he
found such men as Clay, Calhoun, Webster, Cass, King and

Political and Parliamentary Orators. — Rowland. 361

Berrien among the leaders of the nation, men of power, knowl-
•edge and eloquence.

There are few men who had such natural advantages com-
bined with so many other qualities necessary for genuine elo-
quence as Senator Poindexter. His bearing was manly and
dignified, his face open, broad and strong, his voice clear, me-
lodious and penetrating, his entire makeup might be termed or-
atorical. He had the rare combination of judgment and im-
agination, each dominated his mind, neither was allowed to gain
the mastery to the complete exclusion of the other.

The speeches of Senator Poindexter show that his diction
was full of force, purity, power and elegance. There is little
of wit or light fancy in them, but that lightness that sometimes
serves for ornament is more than compensated for by the bril-
liant blaze of logic and declamation. His premises are always
broad and fairly laid down, his deductions are without fault,
his conclusions are irresistible. As a close logical reasoner
Senator Poindexter has few superiors in the annals of Amer-
ican eloquence.

II. Sargeant S. Prentiss.

In his delightful sketches of Flush Times in Alabama and Mis-
sissippi, Baldwin says that Prentiss was to Mississippi in her
youth what Jenny Lind was to the musical world, or what
Charles Fox, whom he resembled in many ways, was to the
Whig party in his day. The brilliant young man from far off
Maine was the idol of the young manhood of his adopted State.

To succeed the orator must inspire confidence by the exercise
of truth, judgment and justice. To excite in other minds a be-
lief in what he asserts, his own faith must be perfect. To excite
passions and emotions, he must feel them stir his own bosom.
It is then and only then that he can lift ordinary natures out of
themselves, infusing new life, kindling new hopes, and awaken-
ing passions unfelt before. When we look into the face of a
Prentiss, lit up and bright as was that of Moses on Mt. Sinai,
inspired by a torrent of great ideas, and borne away by resist-
less passions, and witness the influence of such a man upon a
vast audience we can but feel that there is a brain-wave, an
electric current in the moral as in the physical world, proceed-

362 Mississippi Historical Society.

ing from heaven's battery through the medium of the orator
for the conducting of virtue, truth and justice from the skies.

There now lies before us the picture of Mr. Prentiss as
painted by the words of a friend now living who knew him as he
was at the height of his fame and power. He was low of stat-
ure, and had a slight impediment in his walk from a deformed
leg. The upper part of his body was strong and beautifully
proportioned. His head was large and well formed, his eyes
were dark with the dreamy melancholy fire of poetry and pas-
sion, his mouth smiling but firm, his brow massive and thought-
ful, his smooth shaven face was like a cameo in its clear cut,
strong lines. His personal appearance increased the fervor and
brilliance of his eloquence. He flashed across the field of oratory
like a fiery meteor, yet the light he gave forth was as sure and
steady as that of the sun. It was said on all sides that the
young man from the frozen North had introduced a new style
of oratory, that it was difficult to tell in what his power con-
sisted. The true secret of the success of his oratory was its
originality. His was an originality that could only be directed
by genius. He had the superb confidence that enthusiasm
always gives.

He was mighty in his enthusiasms, one of the elements nec-
essary to leadership. He had a magnificent courage that com-
manded the admiration of the people. With his courage, en-
thusiasm and magnetism was combined a beautiful poetic na-
ture not exceeded by any great orator of the world. There
was beauty and poetry to him in every phase of nature. He
was familiar with every trait of the human heart. To speak in
beautiful pictures was as natural to him as it is for the birds to
welcome the coming of the sun with song. His voice was
sweet, mellow and rich in its tones, there was melody and mu-
sic in it that responded to each varying emotion, at times it was
like the soft music of the mocking bird, again it was like the
shrill, triumphant cry of the eagle. In his speeches every noble
feeling, every sympathy was appealed to and aroused at will.
Enthusiasm, laughter and tears came at his bidding.

The diction of Mr. Prentiss was marvelous. His imagination
was as gorgeous and luxuriant as the famous hanging gardens
of Babylon. He spoke not only with lips and tongue, but his
eyes, hands and every feature of his body was eloquent. Some-

Political and Parliamentary Orators. — Rowland. 363

times his speech was as sweet as the harp of Orpheus, again it
was as terrible as the mighty thunders of Jove. His brain and
soul gave forth perfect music. He had all the elements that go
to make up the popular hero, orator and idol. His superb so-
cial qualities could be adapted to any circle at will. He was
equally at ease with prince or peasant. Add to his social qual-
ities generosity, bravery, chivalry, prodigality, and a wonder-
ful flow of humor and animal spirits and it can be readily seen
why he has been called the Prince Hal of his time.

The training and preparation of Mr. Prentiss was varied and
profound. He was a close student of the ancient and modern
classics, and of the inspired writings. The eulogy on Lafayette
that we so often hear nowadays spoken from University ros-
trums was the first oratorical effort made by Mr. Prentiss in
Mississippi. He was then a poor Yankee boy. Even then that
speech, taken as a whole, has the qualities that are common to
all his efforts.

Mr. Prentiss was gifted with a remarkable memory, he had a
faculty for gathering information of all kinds and retaining it.
He could repeat pages of Shakespeare, and give from memory
beautiful descriptive portions of Scott's novels. Tradition has
given remarkable instances of the power and influence of the
oratory of Mr. Prentiss. He was equally able before a jury,
in the Supreme Court, on the hustlings or in legislative halls.
One of his most celebrated speeches was made in the case of
the State vs. Bird, in which Mr. Prentiss prosecuted and Henry
S. Foote defended. He represented the prosecution in the case
of the State vs. Phelps. The defendant was a notorious high-
wayman and murderer. It is said that the invective of Mr.
Prentiss was so terrible that the hardened criminal broke down
before its soul-searching power and confessed his guilt while
the speech was in progress. The defense of Wilkinson by Mr.
Prentiss at Harrodsburg, Kentucky, marks the zenith of his
fame, his effort in that case is one of the greatest speeches ever
made before a jury in this country.

The great speech upon which the fame of Mr. Prentiss as a
parliamentary orator of the first rank rests is his eloquent ap-
peal made to the national House of Representatives in the con-
tested election case of Claiborne and Gholson vs. Prentiss and
Word. That effort won the enthusiastic praise of such masters

364 Mississippi Historical Society.

of oratory as Daniel Webster, Henry Clay and John C. Cal-
houn, and gave Mr. Prentiss a national reputation. Although
that speech has been spoken by school boys from high school
rostrums for fifty years it has retained its freshness and vigor,
and its inspiring words never fail to stir the soul, and awaken
the best impulses of the heart.

Mr. Prentiss was greatest as a popular orator, the poetry,
passion and enthusiasm of his nature made him a master of
human emotions, his personal magnetism made the people love
him, and his noblest efforts were made to great assemblies of
the people under the forest trees of Mississippi.

The last effort of the expiring genius of Mr. Prentiss was
made in defense of Lopez, who was charged with undertaking
a warlike expedition against Cuba. A remarkable feature of his
oratory was that it never wearied the hearer. From a careful
study of his speeches there comes the irresistible conclusion
that few orators have surpassed him in fluency of speech, in
earnestness of manner, in grace of delivery and range of
thought.

It is not too great praise to say that he was one of the really
great orators of this country. The speeches of Mr. Prentiss
cover a wide range of subjects — legal, political, parliamentary,
educational and other. One of his greatest powers was his im-
pressive demeanor, it was simple and unaffected, free from the
pose that is so common where mediocrity seeks to hide itself
behind pompous affectation. Every thing 'that he said bore
the mark of earnestness. His style in the delivery of his
speeches was impressively deliberate, but he would often in-
dulge in passionate outbursts in which his words flowed from
him like some mighty torrent. Behind mere form, gesture,
tone and look there was knowledge. Beauty and strength
were harmoniously combined. Law, history, poetry, literature
and science alike contributed their stores to his ready mind.

An exquisite voice tradition says was one of the great ora-
torical qualifications of Mr. Prentiss. He had such a voice as
Julian McCarthy attributes to Mr. Gladstone, "one that would
make commonplace seem interesting and lend fascination to
dullness." It is wonderful how words may be reinforced by
energy of action, and flash of eye, how the sweet melody of a
tone can charm even a dull platitude into something moving

Political and Parliamentary Orators. — Rowland. 365

and beautiful. No man had a more vehement love for the good
and the true, for the grand and the beautiful than S. S. Prentiss.
Under the stains of blemishes that appeared in the fine grain of
his character was that noble sympathy for high and pure things
combined with a true heart.

///. Robert J. Walker.

The fame of Robert J. Walker has perhaps been covered with
unjust reproach by those who regarded him as an ungrateful
deserter of his people in their hour of need. It is the province
of impartial criticism to temper the harshness of such a judg-
ment, and to clear away the bitterness of the past. I^owever
much opinions may differ about the character of Robert J.
Walker, there is but one opinion as to his genius and ability. It
is conceded that he was a leader of men at a time when great-
ness was the common characteristic of American statesmen.
He came to Mississippi when it was a garden for the cultivation
of talent, and brilliant young men from the older States became
its citizens and seekers for honor, fame and wealth.

When Robert J. Walker came to Mississippi he was twenty-
five years old, poor, friendless and unknown. Before the ex-
piration of ten years time he sat by the side of Clay, Calhoun
and Webster as United States Senator from Mississippi. He
became a senator at thirty-five, and in order to attain that
somewhat remarkable distinction at such an age, it was neces-
sary to wreck the political fortunes of Senator Poindexter. It
was one of the political marvels of the time, that such a man
should be forever retired to the walks of private life at the very
time when his superb abilities were at their best by a young,
untried man who was burdened by all the ill-will that sectional
prejudice and party calumny and animosity could bring forth.

At the time when Senator Walker took his seat in the senate,
Martin Van Buren, the most adroit and skillful politician of his
time was President ; the Democratic party was at the height of
its power and prestige, and was dominated and controlled by its
Southern leaders. John C. Calhoun was the autocrat of the
Senate, Henry A. Wise was the leader of the House. It was a
time of intense sectional rivalry between the free and slave
States, every public question was viewed with distrust by one
side or the other as only a move to obtain some sectional ad-
vantage. Every Southern Senator and Congressman was filled

366 Mississippi Historical Society.

with an intense partisan loyalty to his section and that feeling
prompted every public act and controlled every contest.

The defeat of Senator Poindexter by Senator Walker had at-
tracted the attention of Senators before he reached the capital,
and added much to the prestige of the new member from Mis-
sissippi. Early in his senatorial career he antagonized John C.
Calhoun in his views on States-rights, and as a result incurred
the displeasure of the great leader of the Southern wing of the
Democratic party. Senator Walker soon gained quite a reputa-
tion as a powerful parliamentary debater, practical politician
and party organizer among his associates in the Senate. In the
discharge of his senatorial duties he was tactful, industrious and
persevering. His knowledge of the political affairs of govern-
ment was intimate and profound. His speeches on all public
questions were clear, forcible and convincing.

During the administration of President Van Buren the an-
nexation of Texas came to the front for the first time as a
political issue. The annexation policy had the support of the
united South without regard to party, but the Northern Demo-
crats were inclined to oppose it, and the President, though
always a trimmer, was also in opposition. Mr. Van Buren was
defeated for a second term by William H. Harrison. The death
of the President soon after his inauguration prevented the
Whigs from gaining any political advantage from their hard-
earned victory. John Tyler, the Vice-President, was a Virginian
and a Democrat. Senator Walker was now recognized as the
most resourceful leader of the party politics in the country.
He was the acknowledged parliamentary leader of the Demo-
cratic party in the Senate in the contest for the annexation of
Texas. His speeches on that subject show full knowledge of
the great benefits to arise from annexation and are models of
sound reasoning and convincing logic.

The Democratic convention of 1844 met in the city of Balti-
more for the purpose of nominating candidates for President
and Vice-President. Martin Van Buren, Lewis Cass and John
Tyler were the leading candidates for President. It was be-
lieved that Mr. Van Buren had the support of a majority of the
delegates, but he was very unpopular in the South, and his
leadership was feared by Southern men.

Political and Parliamentary Orators. — Rowland. 367

The annexation of Texas was the great issue upon which the
campaign was to be fought, and Van Buren was known to be
hostile to annexation. Senator Walker had been the leader in
the battle for annexation in the Senate. James K. Polk as
Speaker of the House had been its leading champion in that
body. In order to defeat the nomination of Mr. Van Buren on
the first ballot, it was necessary to secure a change in the
method of making nominations. This was done, at the instance
of Senator Walker, by the national executive committee report-
ing a rule to the convention requiring a two-thirds majority to
nominate. The Van Buren men would not turn down the ac-
tion of the committee and the defeat of their candidate was the
result. After a long drawn out contest the nomination was
given to James K. Polk, of Tennessee, and Senator Walker was
found on the winning side in the end. In fact he was credited
with having secured the nomination of Mr. Polk.

Henry Clay, the idol of the Whig party, in the face of over-
whelming defeat, was again the candidate of his party for the
Presidency, and as had been anticipated, the leading issue of
the campaign was the annexation of Texas with the Whigs in
opposition and the Democrats favoring it. The campaign was
one of the most remarkable political contests that ever took
place between rival political parties. Henry Clay took the
stump and fired the popular heart by his matchless magnetism
and oratory. The election resulted in the complete triumph of
the Democratic party.

At the time of President Folk's inauguration Senator Walker
was serving his second term in the Senate, having been re-
elected by the Legislature in 1841. The new President ap-
pointed the ablest leaders of his party members of his cabinet.
James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, was made Secretary of
State; Robert J. Walker, of Mississippi, Secretary of the Treas-
ury; William L. Marcy, of New York, Secretary of War;
George Bancroft, of Massachusetts, Secretary of the Navy;
John Y. Mason, of Virginia, Attorney General, and Cave John-
son, of Tennessee, Postmaster General.

Senator Walker had no physical advantage to add to and aid
the effect of his oratory. He was small and unattractive in per-
sonal appearance, but he had many of the external signs of

368 Mississippi Historical Society.

greatness. He was weak in those qualities that enhance the
immediate effect of a speech, he was strong in those powers
that give it permanent value. His chief power as an orator and
debater was in refutation and exposition. He was deficient in
poetic, passionate and imaginative elements. Goldsmith says
that Burke would wind into a subject like a serpent. The
methods of Senator Walker were similar. There is in the
greatest of his speeches something of the mathematical close-
ness and deep argumentation of Hobbs,the philosophic serenity
of Locke combined with the deep earnestness and fervor of
Bunyan. He was a deep thinker rather than a rhetorician, his
manner was argumentative rather than oratorical. The even
flow of his logic was convincing to the mind, and as irresistible
as the charge of a Roman legion.

IV. Guion, Holt, Plummer.

The early days of the State produced other popular orators
who never entered public life, some of them preferred to devote
their talents entirely to the law, others were members of the
minority party.

John I. Guion was a famous lawyer in his day, he was as
versatile as Crichton, and as courteous as Chesterfield. He met
Prentiss and Foote at the bar and was their equal. Judge
Guion was a scholarly man of great natural powers that had
been disciplined and polished by study, observation and medita-
tion.

Joseph Holt was another great lawyer and orator who made
himself famous in Mississippi for eloquence. He was deeply
versed in the best classic models, and was a master of strong,
simple, polished English.

Franklin E. Plummer was a queer combination of orator,
mountebank, and political quack. He was thrown to the sur-
face by the financial distress of the 3o's, and with his cry of
"Plummer for the people and the people for Plummer" gained
a brief popularity. He was a masterly mixer, hand shaker and
back slapper and for a time was the most popular public man
in the State.

Political and Parliamentary Orators. — Rowland. 369
MISSISSIPPI ORATORS FROM 1840 TO 1865.
V. Henry S. Foote.

The great gladiator of popular oratory in Mississippi in the
4o's and early 50*5 was Henry S. Foote. He was a Virginian
and a university man deeply acquainted with law, literature,
history, poetry and philosophy, he was a master of almost uni-
versal erudition. He was gifted with that grand energy of heart
that makes up the enthusiast and leader of men. Taine the
great Frenchman who gave to England the best work on her
literature writes of William Pitt as follows:

"When the elder Pitt first filled the House with his vibrating voice,
he already possessed his indomitable audacity. A proud haughtiness,
only surpassed by that of his son, an arrogance which reduced his
companions to the rank of subalterns, an ambition which brought into
parliament the vehemence and declamation of the stage, the brilliancy
of fitful inspiration, the boldness of poetic imagery. Such were the
sources of his power."

A study of the career of Senator Foote reveals many like
traits and methods. His oratorical powers drew him into po-
litical discussions long before his entry into public life. In the
Clay-Polk Presidential campaign of 1844 he made a brilliant
canvass of the State as Democratic elector for the State at
large. Jefferson Davis was district elector, and the close joint
canvass of Foote and Davis carried the State for Polk.

Henry S. Foote, Alexander G. McNutt and William M. Gwin
were candidates for United States Senator in 1847. McNutt at
the time was the mighty Ajax of stump oratory and challenged
Foote to meet him in a joint canvass. The challenge was ac-
cepted. In physical makeup Senator Foote was below the mid-
dle size, but his figure was vigorous and durable, his head was
large and well formed, his eyes were bright and piercing, his
manner was all his own, it was aggressive, earnest and cour-
teous. Governor McNutt was a man of superb physical de-
velopment, like Torquil of the Oak he towered above his fel-
lows, he was picturesque with his long flowing hair, his eyes-
blazed, his voice thundered.

This story is told of an incident in the canvass, and illustrates
the methods of the two men. Foote could smile while his op-
ponent was boiling with rage and passion. The incident re-
24

37° Mississippi Historical Society.

ferred to is said to have occurred at Livingston in Madison
county. Senator Foote made the opening speech and was per-
sonally severe in his criticisms of his opponent, who was a very
impetous brave man. In his reply Governor McNutt lost con-
trol of himself and proclaimed aloud that he could whip the
honorable gentleman then and there. Senator Foote smilingly
told the people in his rejoinder that his father once owned a bull
that could whip any other bull in the county, but, said he, "my
father's bull could not legislate." Senator Foote defeated his
opponents, and was elected to the Senate by the Legislature.

When he took his seat Thorns H. Benton was one of the
parliamentary leaders of the Democratic party. Once in the
heat of debate Senator Benton indulged in some wit at the
expense of Senator Foote for which he was never forgiven.
One day during a dull session of the Senate, Senator Foote and
several of his colleagues were in the cloak room indulging in
personal gossip about various members. Foote stated to his
friends that it was his intention to write a very small sensational
book in which Senator Benton would figure very largely.
Benton was told of Foote's remark and said "tell Foote that I
shall write a very large book in which he shall not figure at all."
He kept his promise and his Thirty Years in the Senate does not
mention Foote's name.

Maucaulay is credited with saying that wine was to Addison
the influence which broke the spell under which his fine intellect
seemed otherwise to lie imprisoned. The battlefield of joint de-
bate before the people brought out all the brilliant features of
Senator Foote's oratory. It seemed to furnish the crucible for
that fusion of reason and passion that go to make up true elo-
quence.

Jefferson Davis and Henry S. Foote represented Mississippi
in the Senate of 1850. They differed on the great question of
nationality or State's rights. Their personal relations became
embittered over their conflicting positions on public questions.
Senator Davis was an advocate of State's rights to the point of
secession. Senator Foote stood for the preservation of the
Union above all things. Both were Democrats and the ac-
knowledged leaders of the party. Democrats and Whigs di-
vided on the great issue, the followers of Senator Davis were
known as States Rights Democrats, those of Senator Foote

Political and Parliamentary Orators. — Rowland. 371

Union Democrats. The Davis wing of the party nominated
John A. Ouitman for governor, Senator Foote was given the
nomination by his section of the party.

The legislature had provided for the election of delegates to
a State convention selected for the purpose of placing the State
on record on the question at issue. The campaign for governor
and delegates was carried on at the same time, the selection of
the latter was to be made in September. That election resulted
in a victory for the Union wing of the party by a majority of
over seven thousand votes. A joint canvass of the State by the
candidates for governor was arranged. The first meeting was
held at Jackson. Senator Foote was very aggressive and
charged Governor Quitman with being a disunionist, he gave
forth a fiery torrent of fierce eloquence and invective combined
with brilliant declamation. From the beginning the canvass was
charged with bitterness and fierce excitement. The personal
relations of the candidates became unfriendly and dangerous,
and the joint canvass was abandoned. Senator Foote con-
tinued his speeches in every county in the State, immense
crowds came to hear him and went wild with enthusiasm over
his eloquence. After the September election Governor Quit-
man withdrew from the race and Jefferson Davis was substi-
tuted to carry a defeated and dispirited party to victory. At
the November election the majority of seven thousand in Sep-
tember was reduced to less than one thousand.

Senator Foote was master of a pitiless sarcasm which was
freely and mercilessly inflicted upon his opponents. He fought
with the sword of the Goth rather than the blade of the Moor.
In his methods he had something of the declamatory pomp of
Webster, the ponderous periods of Brougham, the terrible light-
ning like strokes of Mirabeau, and the light fancy of Sheridan.
Force, imagination and passion were the prominent character-
istics of his oratory. Some of his flights of eloquence are as
sublime as the noble prayer of Ajax in the Iliad. He did not
follow the Eastern school of oratory which placed form and
action above thought, he was a disciple of the Attic school which
subordinated manner to matter. His sentences were generally
short, intelligible, clear and harmonious. He was master of a
style forcible, simple and pure. He had intense dramatic
power, and combined strength with simplicity. He had cour-
age and dramatic power as rare as they were effective. He was

372 Mississippi Historical Society.

greatest before the people, he needed the inspiring influence of
large crowds. His face was full of fire. On the stage he would
have made a great Brutus or Hamlet. The play of his counte-
nance was wonderful. Senator Foote was a student of the best
forms of ancient and modern oratory, and conformed to classic
models. He could move, thrill and enthuse vast multitudes of
people as could no other orator of his day. His campaign of
1850 for what he believed to be the preservation of the Union
was marked by unsurpassed courage, force and brilliancy.

VI. Jefferson Davis.

The 2oth of January, 1861, was a memorable day in the nation-
al Senate. An expectant and eager assembly packed the Senate
chamber. Every seat on the floor was occupied, every foot of
standing room held a man, the galleries were overflowing. The
people had come to see the most dramatic event tha,t has ever
occurred in the halls of the American Congress. Let us
imagine that from a seat in the gallery we are looking down
upon the Senate in session. John C. Breckenridge the classic
young Kentuckian presides. A tall, scholarly, melancholy,
ascetic-looking Senator rises from his seat. There is a look
of determination on his pallid face, there is also evidence of deep
emotion, there is something in the poise of his head, the dignity
of his bearing, and the deep earnestness of his tones that tells
of a spirit that is ready for the painful duty that lies before him.
That man is Jefferson Davis, Senator from Mississippi, a mem-
ber of the foremost rank, a soldier whose superb courage was
shown at Buena Vista, a statesman, an orator and logician who
is about to deliver a speech that is a personal farewell to the
Senate, and the valedictory of the Southern States. Mississippi
had withdrawn from the Union. The impending dissolution of
a great nation was at hand. As Senator Davis begins to speak
that death-like silence that falls like an oppressive pall over
a crowd of people when expectation is added to intense interest
was felt in the Senate. With majestic calmness and dignity
unaffected by the suppressed excitement and intense feeling
around him, he begins in low, deliberate tones to say farewell to
his associates. With fixed and breathless attention he was fol-
lowed as he proceeded to plead the cause that he believed to be,
and which was, right. As the speaker continued the pathos

Political and Parliamentary Orators. — Rowland. 373

of the situation made strong men weep, for there was a feeling
in the very air that the speech being made was the official an-
nouncement of the dissolution of the Union. That farewell
speech of Jefferson Davis is full of courage, moderation, dignity
and pathos, it is famous in the annals of American oratory as
one of the great epoch-making speeches of the century.

Fifteen years before John Quincy Adams, after hearing the
first speech made by Mr. Davis in the lower House, said, "That
young man, gentlemen, is no ordinary man. He will make his
mark yet mind you."

In Grattan's eulogy of Chatham he says that the great Eng-
lishman was born "to strike a blow in the world that should re-
sound through its history." How well does that phrase fit the
career of Jefferson Davis.

The Democratic State Convention of 1844 was the scene
of the entrance of Mr. Davis into the State politics of Mis-
sissippi. He was at that time leading the simple, dig-
nified life of a planter, and was a delegate to the con-
vention from Warren county. A speech made on that occasion
caused his selection as a Presidential Elector on the Polk and
Dallas ticket. His first speech in Mississippi was doubtless
made in the now famous discussion had with Mr. Prentiss in
1843 at Vicksburg. The incidents and terms of that debate
were somewhat novel and serve well to show the love of the
people for popular discussions. The debate was held on
election day and was arranged so that each speaker would oc-
cupy the stand for fifteen minutes alternately throughout the
day, so that the voters could hear both sides of the questions
under discussion in a short time. Mr. Davis met the brilliant
and fascinating oratory of Mr. Prentiss successfully in a calm,
cautious, and argumentative way that won the admiration and
praise of his opponent.

Mississippi had cast her electoral vote in 1840 for Har-
rison and Tyler, and it was felt that a strong effort was
necessary to carry the State for the Democratic ticket
in 1844. Jefferson Davis and Henry S. Foote were sent forth
to arouse the enthusiasm of the disheartened Democrats. Great
political meetings were held in every county. It was a day of
hero-worship of party leaders, and of intense political loyalty.
All assemblies of a political nature were made the occasions

374 Mississippi Historical Society.

for social pleasure and enjoyment. They were frequently held
near some flowing spring in the forest. The feast of oratory
began in the morning, and was allowed to be interrupted only
by a feast of barbecued beef, mutton and game prepared on the
grounds.

To those who never saw a Southern barbecue the cook-
ing of the meats is novel and picturesque. The cooking
begins the night before the speaking. Every neighboring plan-
tation furnishes cooks famous for their barbecued meats. The
work is done by the light of bonfires made of pineknots. The
broiling is done over long, narrow pits or trenches dug about
two feet deep. Hot fires of hickory bark are built in the
trenches, green poles cut from the trees are placed across them,
and the primitive broiler of our fathers is ready. The meats are
placed over the glowing coals, the cooks are provided with a
mixture of apple vinegar, pepper and salt, and long poles to
which are attached cloth mops, these are dipped into the mix-
ture and applied to the meats, and the process continues until
the meats are done. No new methods of cooking can impart
the delightful flavor of the old Southern way.

Old men and matrons, young men and maidens, black mam-
mies and pickaninnies, all classes, turned out to hear the
speeches of the great party leaders, everybody was a partisan,
men, women and children were politicians by nature. Amid
such scenes and surroundings Davis and Foote made the great
canvass of 1844. Old men still speak of it with enthusiasm.
That canvass caused the election of Mr. Davis to Congress in
the following year. The Mexican War soon followed. He was
elected colonel of a Mississippi regiment, his resignation as a
member of Congress was placed in the hands of the Governor.
He immediately went to the front and saved the battle at Buena
Vista. His famous command of "Steady, Mississippians,
steady ; let those fleeing men pass through your ranks, steady,"
inspired his men with such courage and steadfastness as was
brought forth by Leonidas at this historic pass by the sea.

On the return of Col. Davis from the Mexican War he. was
appointed United States Senator from Mississippi. To aid him
in the discharge of his new duties he brought to the Senate
deep learning and ripe scholarship, varied and accurate infor-
mation, readiness in debate, and other elements that go to

Political and Parliamentary Orators. — Rowland. 375

make up true oratory. Prescott, the historian, says that Jeffer-
son Davis was the most accomplished member of the Senate of
1850. In the Senate of that day was heard the seductive eloqu-
ence of Clay, the convincing logic of Calhoun, the wondrous
oratory of Webster, the sledge hammer blows of Benton, the
classic periods of Berrien, and the slogan of the Douglas.
Cicero pleading the cause of Sicily against Verres, or Tacitus
thundering against Africa could not equal the eloquence of
such orators. The effect of Senator Davis' power as an orator
was aided greatly by his external appearance. His frame was
tall, graceful, commanding, and compactly made. His face was
most striking and always attracted attention. A deep serious-
ness was the expression most common to it, which was no
doubt made more striking by the pallor of his features called
the "pale cast of thought." There was an undoubted tinge of
melancholy in the face of Senator Davis, as if the shadow of his
country's sorrow was cast upon it. His manner in the delivery
of his speeches was not dramatic or oratorical, it had in it more
of vigor and earnestness and belief rather than declamation.
His oratory was in perfect harmony with the best Senatorial
models.

In Alfriend's Life of Davis is given this estimate of him as
an orator :

"He was as intrepid and defiant as Chatham; but as scholarly as
Brougham; as eloquent and perspicuous as Canning, and often as pro-
found and philosophical in his comprehension of general principles as
Burke; when aroused by a sense of injury or by the force of his earn-
est conviction as much the incarnation of fervor and zeal as Grattan, but
like Fox, subtle, ready, and always armed cap-a-pie for the quick en-
counters of debate."

On the death of John C. Calhoun, Senator Davis became
the acknowledged leader of the Southern Democracy in
the Senate. Stephen A. Douglas, the "Little Giant" of
Illinois, was the leader of the Northern wing of the party and
was ambitious for the Presidency. Douglas represented expe-
diency, Davis principle. One wanted success for his pa.-ty as a
means of personal power, the other wanted it because it stood
for* correct principles. There was an open rupture between the
two leaders during the session of 1860 over the "squatter sov-
ereignty" theory of Douglas which led to and culminated in

376 Mississippi Historical Society.

the division of the Democratic party at the Charleston conven-
tion. The Senatorial bearing of Senator Davis is thus describ-
ed by a writer of the time :

"Always the Senator in the sense of the ideal of dignity, and cour-
tesy which is suggested by that title, he was always the gentleman on
all occasions; never condescending to flatter or sooth the mob, or to
court popular favor, he lost none of that polished and distinguished
manner in the presense of a 'fierce Democracy,' which made him the
ornament of the highest school of oratory and statesmanship of his
country."

The parliamentary speeches of Senator Davis are models of
good form, there is knowledge, belief, earnestness and elo-
quence in all his speeches delivered in the Senate. He was
most effective as a parliamentary orator, although he was
gifted with many of the attributes of popular eloquence. He
appealed more to the understanding than to the feelings. He
never sought to stir the people to violent and passionate emo-
tion. There are many of his speeches delivered during the war
to the people and to the armies in the field that are perfect
types of lofty, convincing, and impassioned eloquence.

Above mere form, matter and delivery there is something in
the speeches of Senator Davis that permeates every sentence,
that tells of the noble sentiments of the soul that lie behind his
words. His speeches are not mere carefully prepared essays
that smell of the lamps, not lifeless words that have been care-
fully selected in the seclusion of the study, but live, burning,
convincing words sent forth from a brain and" soul that is on fire
with great ideas. At times his eloquence was like the music of
some grand organ mighty with melody, then again it would
soar aloft on the wings of some resistless passion and subside
into the gentle soothing music of a mother's lullaby.

VII. Alexander K. McClung.

Of all the names that tradition has handed down, that of
Alexander K. McClung stands out prominently as the eccentric
genius of Mississippi history. His eccentricity, picturesqueness
and brilliancy attracted eager curiosity through his life, and
made him the subject of much unreliable, sensational stuff
written after his death. That he possessed brilliant talents as
an orator of the Attic school is evident, whether that opinion is
formed from tradition or from study of his speeches. While

Political and Parliamentary Orators. — Rowland. 377

tradition cannot be relied on in every instance it is safe to de-
pend upon it to place the name of McClung among Missisbippi
orators. He was a brilliant speaker by inheritance, an accom-
plished scholar by mental discipline. The blood of the Breck-
enridges of Kentucky and the Marshalls of Virginia flowed in
his veins. A love for oratory, poetry and music was a part of
his nature, and eloquence came to him by the same power that
gives sentiment to the poet, a taste for the beautiful to the ar-
tist and song to the birds. In the early 3o's, when Col. Mc-
Clung came to Mississippi it was a period of "flush times,"
there was talent everywhere, there was a rich harvest of fame
and fortune to be reaped and brilliant young men from the
older States were attracted by it. Kentucky sent Jefferson Da-
vis and Alexander K. McClung.

The people of the State loved oratory, politics and state craft.
The love of oratory that existed among them was the spray that
crystalized under the wand of genius into immortal gems of elo-
quence. It is the gem of immortality, the latent spark of divin-
ity that the orator warms into life, kindles into a flame, clothes
with plumage, fits with wings and teaches to fly over the un-
limited fields of space and time to revel upon the expansive
glories of a beautiful universe.

The orator strips nature of her dull leaden veil and robes her
in a sheen of golden light, penetrates the soul with hope,
awakens imagination, and fosters every generous and noble
emotion. To live among liberty-loving, passionate, imagina-
tive people is in itself an inspiration to beautiful thoughts, elo-
quent words and sublime deeds. Col. McClung was educated
for the navy, the instinct of race made him a lawyer.

Physical and moral courage are necessary elements to the
orator. He was as brave as Leonidas or Savonorola, and was
one of the heroes of the Mexican War.

As Lieutenant Colonel of Jefferson Davis' regiment he dis-
played his superb courage on every hard fought field from Palo
Alto to Mexico. At the storming of Monterey he led the as-
sault and was the first man to scale its cannon guarded de-
fenses.

In personal appearance Col. McClung was noble, command-
ing and impressive, his form was that of an athlete, tali and
graceful, his head was large, his face handsome and winning.

378 Mississippi Historical Society.

His manner was stately and courteous, he was kind and gener-
ous by nature. It is the purpose here to tell of his powers as
an orator, not to bring out the sins, sorrows, lost ambitions and
ruined hopes of this brilliant, erring son of genius. If his cour-
age sometimes degenerated into the bragadocio of the bully, if
his eloquent tongue was frequently silenced by intemperance, if
his great mind was almost wrecked by the breakers of sorrow
and disappointment, we can still admire what was, what might
have been. Col. McClung was a partisan Whig of the most in-
tense type, and was in the habit of declaring that the devil was
the first Democrat. He was the leader of the Whig forces In
the Presidential campaign of 1840, when hard cider was the
popular beverage, and "Tippecanoe and Tyler too" the rallying
cry of all good Whigs. During the campaign he edited and
published "The Crisis," a newspaper devoted to Whig interests.
Harrison and Tyler carried the State and Col. McClung was
appointed United States Marshal by the new administration.
All traces of the political speeches and campaigns of Col Mc-
Clung are lost, and we have tradition only to rely upon in mak-
ing up an opinion. Soon after the Mexican War he became
the Whig candidate for Congress in the Columbus district in
opposition to W. S. Featherstone, the Democratic nominee. A
joint canvass was arranged between them, and many of its in-
cidents and details are matters of current tradition and
country-store talk to-day.

Featherstone was a superb specimen of physical proportion,
brave, earnest and determined. He had the advantage of being
the candidate of the Democratic party. Col. McClung had just
returned from the Mexican War with a well earned fame for
glorious deeds, his wounds were eloquent of his courage at
Buena Vista and Monterey. He appeared on the stump sup-
ported by crutches. Eloquent, dramatic and earnest, he fought
an unequal battle, even the halo of his matchless war record
could not wipe out a Democratic majority. The fame of Col.
McClung as a polished classic orator rests upon his superb eu-
logy of Henry Clay, delivered before the Mississippi legislature
by special request. That speech was preserved in pamphlet
form and has been perpetuated in Lowry and McCardle's His-
tory of Mississippi. It is a great tribute to a great man. Henry
Clay was his leader and political idol, his words were inspired

Political and Parliamentary Orators. — Rowland. 379

by an earnest devotion that sent them forth burning with feel-
ing and affection. He was at times as classic and polished as
Burke, sound and logical as Calhoun, deep and profound as
Webster, all mingled with the fire and passion of Patrick Henry.

VIII. Albert G. Brown.

The public career of Albert G. Brown has no counterpart in
Mississippi history, and it illustrates the opportunities for the
rapid rise of young men of ability in a new State. No other
man has been so uniformly successful. He entered public life
at twenty-one as a member of the legislature from Copiah
county, and after a service of two years was elected speaker,
he was made member of Congress at twenty-six, Circuit Judge
at twenty-eight, Governor at thirty and United States Senator
at forty. Such a series of honors extending over a period of
twenty years won without a defeat is the remarkable record
of the man who was doubtless in closer touch with the people
of Mississippi than any of the great men of the State preceding
the War. To have attained such distinctions and deserved such
honors Albert G. Brown must have possessed great and good
qualities of mind and heart.

The reign of demagogues may last for a time, the people may
be imposed on for a brief period, only genuine merit can gain
and retain their confidence and approval through long years of
public service.

One of the sources of Governor Brown's power was his con-
trol of human minds, wills and passions by his eloquence.
Southern oratory like that of Ireland has been said by some
critics to contain too much of figurative decoration, too much
classicism, but the really great orators of the South placed
knowledge above mere rhetorical glitter and empty declama-
tion.

The period covered by the public career of Governor Brown
was a time of great political activity and intense party rivalry.
Under ordinary conditions Mississippi could be relied on to give
Democratic majorities. While the Whigs were in the minority
the party was made up of much of the intelligence and culture of
the State. The party leaders were able, aggressive and alert.
Prentiss, Poindexter, Sharkey, Guion, McClung, the Yergers,
Alcorn, Lynch, Turner and Bradford were Whig leaders and

380 Mississippi Historical Society.

waged valiant war through years of disastrous defeat. The
ability of many of them was so great that they were elected to
high positions of honor and trust when the State was Demo-
cratic by large majorities. Governor Brown was an intense
Democrat of the Southern type, he took his political opinions
from Jefferson and Calhoun. Andrew Jackson gave him his
principles of party discipline and success. He had great ca-
pacity for party organization and tactics, and at the same time
was a leader in all the great intellectual movements of his State.

In his first message to the legislature during his second term
as Governor he urged the establishment of a complete system
of public schools supported by the State. The State Univers-
ity at Oxford began its great career of usefulness during the
administration of Governor Brown.

In 1839 Albert G. Brown and Jacob Thompson were the
Democratic candidates for Congress and made a joint canvass
of the State. It was the first campaign since the famous Prentiss
canvass when the Whigs, inspired by the matchless eloquence
and courageous leadership of their candidate, had swept the
State. The campaign resulted in the election of Brown and
Thompson. Although only twenty-six years old the young Con-
gressman sustained himself against all comers, and gained a
reputation for ability, courage and fidelity that was never lost.
His first speech in Congress was in defense of the policy of the
Van Buren Administration. It was soon observed that the new
member from Mississippi had confidence in himself, and the at-
tention of the House was won. In one of his speeches delivered
in Congress there is a splendid eulogy of Mr. Calhoun. He
made a canvass of the State in 1843 as the Democratic candidate
for Governor. The great question at issue was the payment of
the Union Bank Bonds. The position of the Democratic party
was against payment, the Whigs and some independent bond-
paying Democrats favored payment. Clayton was the candidate
of the Whigs. Col. Williams, an ex-United States Senator from
Mississippi, was the candidate of the bond-paying Democrats.
Governor Brown was elected by a good majority over both.
After a service of four years as Governor, he was returned to
Congress in 1849. He at once took part in the great debates
growing out of the Mexican War and the admission of Cali-
fornia as a State.

Political and Parliamentary Orators. — Rowland. 381

The year 1851 was disastrous to the Democracy of Mississip-
pi. The Democratic-Union-Whig combination under the bril-
liant leadership of Henry S. Foote had carried the State. Gov-
ernor Brown was one of the Democratic candidates for Con-
gress in that remarkable campaign, and his great personal pop-
ularity saved his party from complete defeat. He was the only
States' rights Democrat who was returned to Congress. In
1854 Governor Brown took his seat as United States Senator
from Mississippi, and soon became a leader in the discussion
of those great sectional issues that brought so much ruin and
sorrow in after years.

His earnestness, force, knowledge and high character made
him very effective as a parliamentary orator. His speech on
the Kansas and Nebraska Bill, made in 1854, was one of the
most conservative and effective efforts delivered in that great
debate.

His speech on the slavery question, made in the Senate in
1856, was a masterly argument for the Southern position. The
fate of the Union, its perpetuation or dissolution was the
great question that occupied the Senate during Governor
Brown's term. He grappled with and mastered the great prin-
ciples and ideas of Southern statesmen and stood as an equal
in the Senate of Davis, Toombs, Hunter, Benjamin, and Bell.

Governor Brown was one of those well beloved characters of
placid harmonious temperament who have the happy faculty of
adjusting themselves to all conditions of men, he was a man of
the people without being a demagogue, his convictions were
strong yet he never became disagreeable in pressing them, he
was full of kindness for all men and his nature was singularly
sweet and gentle.

While Judah P. Benjamin was hurling defiance at his
political enemies in his farewell address to the Senate
after Louisiana had withdrawn from the Union, Albert G.
Brown shed tears over the sorrows that he saw clouding the
future. He had intended to make a public farewell to the Sen-
ate, but after the great speech of his colleague, Senator Davis,
he felt that nothing could be added in justification of the right
of a State to secede from the Union.

Governor Brown was a handsome man of large and com-
manding form, he belonged to the Roman type, his eyes were

382 Mississippi Historical Society.

fine, and his large head was covered with dark, curly hair. His
rnanner was natural and plain, graceful and pleasing. By a
careful reading of McCluskey's Speeches, Messages and Other
Writings of Governor Brown it will be found that his place is in
the first rank of Mississippi orators.

IX. McNutt, Thompson, Featherst&ne.

Some reference has been previously made of Alexander G.
McNutt, "The Great Repudiator," as he liked to style himself.
He was an all powerful factor in Mississippi politics during the
3o's. There was something in his commanding presence, her-
culean form and imposing delivery that made him one of the
most successful popular orators of his day. He had many of
the graces and accomplishments of scholarship combined with
the rough and ready methods of an experienced campaigner.
He delighted in political controversy, and his public career was
a constant warfare.

Jacob Thompson had a genius for practical politics and was
successful to an unusual degree. He represented Mississippi
in the lower House of Congress for ten years, and was Secre-
tary of the Interior in the Cabinet of President Buchanan. His
ability as a close, accurate speaker and debater was great, and
he possessed many of the attributes of the orator.

W. S. Featherstone was a member of Congress in the 4o's.
His celebrated canvass with McClung made him famous. He
found his profession more congenial than politics and soon re-
tired from Congress. In after years he did noble service for his
State, and his name and fame should go down to posterity with
the love of the people clustering around them.

MISSISSIPPI ORATORS FROM 1865 TO
X. L. Q. C. Lamar.

L. Q. C. Lamar was one of the most versatile men of his day,
his intelligence was of a most restless character, in him the or-
atorical, poetic, literary and philosophical temperaments were
remarkably blended. Think of the varied mental activities of
his life. He had the knowledge necessary to make him a teach-
er of history, literature and belles-letters. He was a professor
of ethics, mental philosophy and law at the University of Mis-

Political and Parliamentary Orators. — Rowland. 383

sissippi, an essayist, a critic, a Shakesperian scholar, a political
economist, an orator and a member of the greatest judicial tri-
bunal in the world. He was versatile without being shallow or
superficial. As an orator he sounded the first trumpet call of
brotherly love and reconciliation after the War, he touched the
great heart of the Nation, and made the South see the glories
of the future through the dark clouds of adversity that over-
shadowed a people. James G. Elaine in his Twenty Years in
Congress writes of Senator Lamar :

"He is a remarkable man, full of reflection and imagination, seem-
ingly careless, yet always closely observant, apparently dreamy, yet
thoroughly practical in everything."

Senator Lamar and Senator Blaine served together both in
the House and Senate and the estimate of the author of Twenty
Years in Congress may be relied upon, for no other American
statesman was a more accurate judge of men

Senator Lamar came to Mississippi from Georgia in the first
flush of an aspiring manhood. He made Oxford his home. His
father was an eminent jurist of Georgia, and gave his son a
classical training. Some men indicate during their student
days the talents of more mature years. Webster's speeches
as a college boy were embryo forms of his famous reply to
Hayne. John C. Calhoun was a profound logician and skillfull
debater at eighteen. L. Q. C. Lamar was the prize orator of
the student body while in college. The first political speech
made by Mr. Lamar in Mississippi was delivered at Oxford in
a joint discussion with Henry S. Foote. It was during the
great campaign of 1851. Senator Foote had driven John A.
Quitman from the canvass, and was flushed with many forensic
victories. Mr. Lamar was twenty-six years old when he made
his reply to Foote. He was waited upon by a committee rep-
resenting the States' rights Democrats and requested to reply
to Senator Foote when he came to Oxford. In writing of the
debate Mr. Mayes in his admirable Life of Lamar says :

"He had had no practice in polemical discussions and was without
experience in practical politics."

Of Senator Foote the same author says :

"His antagonist was an experienced and trained politician of the
highest official position, who had been driven to bay and was now
exulting in victory, whose adroitness and pugnacity were unmatched in
the State, whose hot temper and personal courage were proverbial,
and whose tongue was untiring and vitriolic."

Mississippi Historical Society.

Mr. Lamar was a member of the faculty of the University of
Mississippi at the time of the debate, the students were his de-
voted partisan admirers and gave him the encouragement of
their presence and support.

On the appointed day Oxford was packed with noisy and ex-
ultant Union-Democrats and Whigs; State's Rights Demo-
crats were there in equal numbers; their manner was more
subdued and apprehensive. It was proclaimed aloud that Sen-
ator Foote, the great gladiator of campaign oratory, would
overwhelm the young orator from Georgia with his eloquence,
humor, wit and satire. At the appointed hour thousands of
admiring partisans of each side were assembled to cheer their
champions on to victory. The debate was opened by Senator
Foote. His speech was grandly eloquent as he dwelt with pa-
triotic fervor on the glories of the Union. Mr. Lamar arose to
reply. As he stood before the cheering people there was some-
thing in his presence that inspired his friends with confidence
in his ability to meet the situation, to prove equal to the obliga-
tions of the hour. His bearing was confident, modest, graceful
and dignified. He was a man of medium size with a thought-
ful, scholarly face, noble brow, dark, abundant hair, and large
gray eyes. The speech that he made was logical, eloquent,
scholarly and graceful. His manner toward Senator Foote
was as courteous as that of Raleigh, his statement of great
principles as powerful and forcible as Burke at his best.

The enthusiasm at the close of the debate" was so great that
the students of the University, to show their admiration for their
champion, took him upon their shoulders and carried him in
triumph from the scene of the debate amid the wild cheers of
the people. The impressions made by that speech marked the
beginning of Mr. L/amar's political advancement. He was
nominated for Congress by the Democratic party in 1857. His
opponent was James L. Alcorn, the candidate of the Whigs. As
was the custom of that day a joint canvass was arranged. One
of the appointments was at Oxford. This graphic description
of the discussion is given by Judge J. M. Arnold, who was a stu-
dent at the University at the time :

"While at the University I witnessed a joint political discussion be-
tween Col. Lamar and Gov. James L. Alcorn, who was then the strong
and aggressive leader of the Whig party in Mississippi, in the first
race made by Judge Lamar for Congress, and in which he was elected

Political and Parliamentary Orators. — Rowland. 385

over Gov. Alcorn. There were thousands of enthusiastic partisans of
each side present, and music and beauty and generous rivalry and pa-
triotic ardor lent their attractions to the swelling scene. It was a
contest between giants conducted with the utmost courtesy and de-
corum, over great principles and policies. The older and more ex-
perienced Whig leader, who had but few equals in his State as a politi-
cal speaker, spoke grandly, and conducted his lines of assault and de-
fense with consummate skill and ability, but it was generally conceded
that he had found his match in the young Harry Percy, of Democracy,
from Georgia. I have never before or since witnessed such a discus-
sion. It was an inspiration to everybody, instructive to the young, re-
freshing to the old, and elevating in all its aspects."

It was in this canvass that Governor Alcorn introduced the
turkey joke that has since done such frequent and valiant serv-
ice in political speeches. At Coffeeville Mr. Lamar had the
opening and made a speech of unusual eloquence, he soared
aloft on the light wings of fancy and painted his word picture
with a brush dipped in the golden colors of the stars. In his re-
ply Governor Alcorn generously complimented his opponent
on his superb effort, and humorously warned him that before
the canvass was over he would be compelled like the turkey
who had his wings clipped to "roost lower."

The election resulted in the selection of Mr. Lamar by a large
majority. When he took his seat it was a time of great polit-
ical excitement and sectional passion. His first speech was
made on January I3th, 1858, on Kansas affairs. Mr. Lamar
was the first Democrat elected to Congress after the War, and
took his seat in 1873.

In 1874 he delivered his great eulogy on Charles Sumner.
That speech was perhaps the greatest ever made by Mr. Lamar
in Congress. It had the greatest immediate influence on those
who heard him, which has been called by some authorities the
greatest evidence of oratorical success.

This feeling and beautiful description of the effect of the
Sumner speech is taken from a memorial address delivered by
Judge John L. T. Sneed before the Memphis bar.

"The occasion was a sublime and auspicious one. The audience and
the auditorium were the most magnificent on earth. He thought of his
own people; and above all things else, he wanted peace. This was the
opportunity of a lifetime to set an example of lofty generosity and for-
giveness, to lift up the standard of peace and justice in the sight of the
people. The supreme hour had come, demanding the forecast of a
statesman, the chivalry of a hero, the moral courage of an archangel,
the heaven-born inspiration of a Chevalier Bayard, but Lamar pos-
sessed them all. He arose in his place. 'The fiery tribune from Mis-
sissippi has taken the floor.' 'What for?' everyone asked his neigh-

25

386 Mississippi Historical Society.

bor. 'To bury Caesar not to praise him,' was the mental reply of
each. All eyes were fixed upon him, all voices hushed; and such a flow
of eloquence in praise of the dead statesman, and in extenuation of the
bitter persecution of which the South complained, was never before
heard in that hall. The speech was heralded all over the world, and pro-
duced in all tongues of the world. Old men bowed their heads and
wept. Young men gathered around him and gazed upon that familiar
figure, now transfigured before them into the very genius of peace,
pathos and eloquence. The fiery Southerner looked upon the intreped
orator with unspeakable wonder at the temerity of his utterances. The
women in the gallery clapped their hands and waved their handker-
chiefs in a frenzy of admiration for the only man who had dedicated his
head and heart and soul to the Southern cause, who had the courage
to speak a word of kindly eulogy over the bier of the dead Senator from
Massachusetts. The orator ceased. For a time the chamber was as
silent as a mausoleum. A holy influence as of 'incense from an unseen
censer' suffused itself over the vast assembly, and for the first time in
twenty years the peace of God which passeth all understanding, seemed
to pronounce its blessed benison over the Congress of the United
States."

In 1877 Mr. Lamar was elected United States Senator from
Mississippi. His first great speech in the Senate was made in
opposition to the Matthews resolution declaring United States
bonds payable in silver at the option of the government. His
speech explaining why he disobeyed the instructions of his
State legislature to vote for the Bland Bill reaches the highest
point of convincing logic and brilliant patriotic oratory.

When Senator Lamar entered the upper House of Congress
he found a grand galaxy of Democratic leaders and statesmen.
Bayard, Vorhies, Thurman and McDonald were there like grand .
sentinels of justice for a brave people and the South will never
forget or cease to honor them. Gordon, Hill, Harris, Beck,
Garland and Vance were there as mighty defenders of Southern
honor. Blaine, Edmunds, Conkling, Sherman, Hoar and Al-
lison were Republican leaders. The reputation of Senator La-
mar as a brilliant orator was national when he took his seat,
so that there was no delay in his development of leadership.
He at once became the mouthpiece of Southern aspirations,
with an olive branch always in his hand he was the great apos-
tle of sectional reconciliation. There was widespread discon-
tent in Mississippi over the refusal of Senator Lamar to vote
for the Bland Bill. The canvass that he made in defense of his
refusal to obey the instructions of the legislature was the most
brilliant and effective effort of his life. He spoke at Oxford,
Coffeeville, Jackson, Vicksburg, Meridian and other places, and
every speech was a personal triumph.

Political and Parliamentary Orators. — Rowland. 387

Mr. Mayes in writing of his brilliant canvass says:

"The speeches of this year, as a group, were the most elaborate, the
most impassioned, and perhaps the best he ever made. The subjects
to be discussed were so numerous, varied, interesting and important —
important both to people and to himself — but he exerted himself to the
utmost. For three and a half hours he would hold his audience en-
chanted. It was commonly remarked that he swept all opposition be-
fore him. Men who were so hostile that they could hardly be per-
suaded to hear him at all, would mount upon the benches and tables
swinging their hats and huzzaing until hoarse."

The speeches he made at that time are lost, and we have
tradition only to rely upon. Inquiry has been made of aged
men who have heard all the great orators of Mississippi and the
opinion of all is that the speeches made by Senator Lamar in
defense of the right of a Senator to disobey the instructions of
his legislature when he believes them to be wrong are the
greatest ever made before the people of Mississippi. His
greatest efforts were made before great assemblies of the
people. The wonderful effect of his efforts as a popular orator
can be best described in the words of General Catchings :

"While his orations in the Senate chamber were models of eloquent
diction, ornate rhetoric, and resistless logic, yet it was on the hustlings
before the people that he was most powerful and superb. I doubt if any
man ever lived who exceeded him in the power to touch the hearts,
stir the emotions, and sway the judgment of such an audience. I have
seen assembled thousands hang breathless upon his words, laughing,
crying, elated or serious by turns, as with the hand of a master he
played with their emotions and subdued their judgments. It was not
so much by beauty of speech or logical sequence of statement that he
did this, for in those respects many perhaps have equaled him; but
there was peculiar to him a passion, an intensity, a charm that spoke
less from his tongue than from his soul-lighted and changeful counte-
nance, as he himself was dominated by his masterful emotions."

There is always discussion as to the amount of preparation
orators give their speeches. On account of the beauty, smooth-
ness, harmonious flow and logical order of Senator Lamar's
language it has been supposed that all his great speeches were
carefully written out in thoughtful seclusion. His mental prep-
aration was great, his paper preparation was small. Senator
Lamar was not only a great popular and parliamentary orator,
he was the most effective, ready, and resourceful debater in the
Senate. His famous tilt with Conkling was a great master-
stroke of Senatorial debate. His words cut like a Damascus
blade.

When asked for an explanation of a charge of falsehood

388 Mississippi Historical Society.

against Senator Conkling, Senator Lamar looking straight into
the eyes of the Senator from New York said :

"Mr. President: I have only to say that the Senator from New York
understood me correctly. I did mean to say just precisely the words,
and all that they imported. I beg pardon of the Senate for the un-
parliamentary language. It was very harsh; it was very severe; it was
such as no good man would deserve, and no brave man would wear."

Senator Lamar's last great speech was made April 26th, 1887,
at Charleston, South Carolina, on the occasion of the unveiling
of a monument to John C. Calhoun.

It has been said that true eloquence cannot exist in the ab-
sence of great moral qualities. Throughout every speech that
Senator Lamar ever made there was a vein of genuine,
sublime sentiment, there is something of the devotional,
organ-like tones of Milton, the oceanic melody of Shakes-
peare, the spiritual elevation of Hooker, the wisdom of
Bacon and the polished periods of Everett. He possessed in a
remarkable degree all the great qualities necessary to make up
the orator, the brain, the logical force and clearness, imagina-
tion, courage and moral power. Senator Lamar's great eulogy
of Sumner is as inspiring as Burke's picture of the devastation
of the Carnatic by Hyder Ali; it gives the reader the same
pleasure as the first enraptured vision of the Madonna at
Dresden, or the figures of Night and Dawn, and the Penseroso
at Florence gives the artist.

XL Edward C. Walthall.

It is fitting that the name of Edward C. Walthall should be
associated with that of Lamar. There existed between the two
men a beautiful friendship that was as pure and unselfish as that
of David and Jonathan. They were thrown together as part-
ners in the practice of law at Coffeeville, just after the close of
the war when a feeling of unrest and uncertainty was common
everywhere. Senator Lamar was in the habit of saying that
General Walthall was the greatest man he knew. Morley says
of Charles Fox:

"No man was more deeply imbued with the generous impulses of
great statesmanship, with chivalrous courage, with the magnificent spir-
it of devotion to high inspiring causes."

If asked what great Mississippian those words best described
I would say Edward C. Walthall. With one hand he covered

Political and Parliamentary Orators. — Rowland. 389

the grave of sectional hate with unfading flowers of forgiveness,
with the other he defended his State against the unjust assaults
of unthinking malice. There are certain features of character
that rarely fail to make leaders of the men who possess them.
They were harmoniously combined in General Walthall. He
was independent, prudent and courageous, he had earnest and
intelligent convictions combined with intense devotion to prin-
ciples, he was frank, generous, courteous and kind. He was
the possessor of a rare combination of great qualities. The
courage, dash and superb leadership of Marshal Ney was his, he
was the idol of the boys in gray, he was as unerring and wise
in his legal opinions as Marshall, as great an advocate as Ran-
dolph, as honest and incorruptible as Cato, and as logical and
eloquent as Wirt ; then, too, he was a practical man of affairs,
and a statesman of rare foresight and prudence. He was the
best balanced man of all Mississippi's public men.

General Walthall located at Coffeeville in his early manhood
for the practice of law. All his inclinations and ambitions
turned on professional rather than political success, but young
men of ability are frequently forced into politics by the de-
mands of party against their inclinations. After a few years of
practice he was elected district attorney as the candidate of the
Democratic party. The young prosecutor for the State had to
contend with the greatest lawyers of the Mississippi bar, Reu-
bin Davis, Roger Barton, J. Z. George, A. K. Blythe, D. L.
Herron, and W. S. Featherstone were in active practice in his
district.

He entered the Confederate Army as lieutenant, when the end
came he was a major general. John B. Gordon, Nathan
Bedford Forrest, and Edward Gary Walthall were the great
civilian soldiers of the Confederacy. General Walthall was
one of those men who could not appear in public, open his
lips or move his eyes without at once attracting the attention
and captivating the interest of every man around him. There
was something magnetic about him that was so controlling that
his very presence inspired confidence and admiration. A shake
of his hand, a look into his eye made you his friend for life.
His power as an orator was greatly aided by his pleasing man-
ner and attractive appearance, he had great natural gifts of
form, face and voice. His physical presence was superb, he was

39° Mississippi Historical Society.

tall, dignified and graceful, his face was noble and true, his head
was large and classic in its outlines, and was covered with dark
waving hair worn long. There was sweetness and mellowness
about his voice that was like the sound of some musical instru-
ment touched by master hand, in conversation it was low and
harmonious, it was full and ringing and rich in speaking. His
mouth was the most remarkable feature of his face and contain-
ed a rare combination of oratorical qualities. It was character-
istic of force, firmness, courage, it was smiling, affable and
commanding, proud and kind, tender and impassioned, accur-
ate and vehement, and was capable of the softness of a woman
or the sternness of an awful judge.

For twenty years after the War General Walthall led the
contented life of a country lawyer of large practice. He de-
lighted in the quiet simplicity of life in a small town. It was
his custom during each day to leave his office for an hour and
sit out in front of the stores of the public square on a conven-
ient goods box and chat with the local gossips and with the
farmers who came to the station for mail and small purchases.
In this way he came in close touch with the honest farmer and
man of the soil, he found out how the people felt on public
questions for they were always discussed. The amiable weak-
ness of the Mississippi farmer is a passion for talking politics.
He likes it, and while industrial development and kindred sub-
jects might be more helpful to him they do not give him the
same satisfaction.

General Walthall was frequently called upon for counsel and
advice during the dark days of reconstruction. He felt the bit-
ter humiliation of negro rule and together with Lamar, George,
Barksdale, Harris, Percy and Featherstone led the revolution
of 1875 which resulted in its overthrow.

Mr. Lamar was the senior United States Senator from Mis-
sissippi in 1885. After the inauguration of President Cleveland
in March he was made a member of the Cabinet as Secretary of
the Interior. Governor Lowry appointed General Walthall to
fill the vacancy. He was appointed to the Senate not as a re-
ward for party service or partisan loyalty, but for his ability,
purity of character, lofty sense of honor, and above all the peo-
ple called for the appointment. He had never sought the hon-

Political and Parliamentary Orators. — Rowland. 391

ors of a successful partisan and party worker, he knew nothing
of political tactics and was a part of no political machine.

His Senatorial career covered a period of twelve years and
among the great men with whom he associated during that time
there were none who excelled him in native ability, stainless
character, accurate information and true oratory. He was not
a frequent speaker, and was never prompted by a desire to im-
press the Senate and the country with his power as an orator.
His personal influence over men extended to all circles and con-
ditions, the farmer at home came to him for advice, the Senator
at Washington sought his judgment upon great questions of
government.

The intellectual accuracy of* General Walthall was very great.
As an illustration of that talent the following incident was told
the writer by one of the chancellors of the State who knew him
in close intimacy of friendship for years. The General was
engaged in the laborious preparation of an important law suit
involving large interests and embracing many intricate prin-
ciples. The authorities on the question upon which the result
depended were meagre and only one case had been found after
painstaking investigation over the entire field of American case
law. The chancellor was then a young man with an office
across the hall from General Walthall's and frequently visited
him. The General mentioned his difficulty and amiably appeal-
ed to his young friend for help. The investigations were con-
tinued without results. Finally a new law book was published
and came into the hands of the young lawyer, and in the course
of his reading he found the very principle that had been the
subject of search, and it was stated in the text that only one
case dealing with the question under investigation had been
decided in the United States. General Walthall had found that
case. It was done long before the late day aids and helps.

In his Senatorial career he had little capacity or taste for par-
tisan plays for political position. When he took his seat in the
Senate the Democratic party was in power for the first time in
twenty-five years. It was the desire of the party leaders to
make a good record and gain the confidence of the country.
There was yet lingering some of the old bitterness growing
out of the War. The best and most thoughtful Senators were
anxious to blot out a sectional feeling that had been fostered

392 Mississippi Historical Society.

and kept alive on both sides for political purposes. Senator
Lamar had been the great leader of reconciliation, and his
great mission was continued by General Walthall. He soon
gained the admiration and confidence of Northern Senators by
his broadness, liberality, courtesy and tact. No Southern Sen-
ator had greater influence with the generous, fair-minded Sen-
ators from the North.

General Walthall's Senatorial speeches cover a wide range
of subjects — tariff, taxation, finance, public improvements,
Southern conditions and others occupied his careful study.

When the beautiful Confederate monument that stands
in the old capitol grounds at Jackson was unveiled Gen-
eral Walthall delivered the dedication oration. He was at
his best on that great occasion, and the speech that he made is
yet ringing in the ears and swelling the hearts of the men who
stood in the trenches. It was a monument to the men who
wore the tattered gray and stood behind the guns. The speech
was a tribute of one of their leaders who always led the way
and who loved the private soldier with an Eastern devotion.

There are two tributes to the peerless veterans of the Confed-
eracy that should live forever. One was delivered by Senator
John W. Daniel before the Virginia legislature at the Jefferson
Davis memorial meeting, the other fell from the lips of General
Walthall at Jackson. Charles James Fox says that a great
speech never reads well, that it is lacking in those elements of a
carefully prepared essay which bear the close scrutiny of the
study. Many of the great speeches of the world have been pol-
ished and arranged by the men who made them after delivery.
Take out of a speech the thrill of enthusiastic people, the sweet
tones, the passion, the flash of eye and play of features of the
speaker and much of its beauty and power are gone. Much of
General Walthall's power as an orator was personal. He had a
marvelous harmony of manner and matter, of delivery and
feeling. He had all the intensity of the enthusiast combined
with the true judgment of the philosopher. His style was clear,
simple and convincing, his manner earnest, intense and pol-
ished. He combined the simplicity and naturalness of a
country gentleman with all the graces and accomplishments of
a savant and scholar.

Political and Parliamentary Orators. — Rowland. 393

XII. James Z. George.

When the Mississippi school boy is asked who is called the
"Great Commoner" of public life in his State he will unhesitat-
ingly answer James Z. George. A student of greater maturity
will tell you Lamar, Walthall and George are called the "Mis-
sissippi Triumvirate." For thirty years they filled the public
mind, and moulded public sentiment. Lamar was the Great Pa-
cificator, Walthall the Great Defender, George the Great Law-
giver. While the greatness of Senator George does not depend
on his powers as an orator, yet it cannot be denied that he was
the greatest logician of his day. He did not affect the graces
of the Attic school of oratory, yet as a profound thinker and
close reasoner he had no superior. He was a rugged, honest,
able, thoughtful man from the humble walks of life who had
carved out a brilliant career from a beginning of poverty and
obscurity.

His methods of oratory were somewhat different from
those of his contemporaries. Strong, cogent reasoning, plain
but deep sense were the leading characteristics of his elo-
quence. Earnest feeling an imagery are only introduced into
his speeches to press the argument or to illustrate it. He im-
pressed the hearer as a man who was speaking for a purpose
and not for display. He paid little attention to the mere exter-
nals of oratory, his use of gestures was limited to a few that
were graceful and unstudied. The flow of his oratory was in
perfect keeping with the rugged simplicity of his character. His
neglect of the ornamental had something stern and imposing
about it, he seemed to stand like the top of some majestic
mountain that scorned to be beautified and adorned by the wild
flowers and vines at its base. When reading one of his
speeches you feel that you are in the presence of a powerful
mind that depends alone upon itself for persuasive power. He
was trained in the legal school of oratory, his purpose was to
persuade not to entertain, to instruct not to please. His style
was that of the close, accurate writer of legal opinions. Before
his election to the Senate he had made few political or parlia-
mentary speeches.

The movement to disfranchise the negro by legal means
began in Mississippi under the leadership of Senator

394 Mississippi Historical Society.

George. He was the leader of the convention and the defender
of the new Constitution in the Senate. The new suffrage de-
parture of Mississippi was the subject of much discussion at
Washington in political and legal circles during the winter of
i89O-'9i. It was made the subject of violent partisan attacks
in the Senate. Senators Hoar, Hawley, Spooner and Edmunds
denounced it as being in conflict with the Amendments to the
Federal Constitution clothing the negro with the right of suf-
frage. Senators Hoar and Edmunds were generally regarded
as autocrats on questions of constitutional law, and they
brought all the resources at their command in their attacks
upon the new organic law of Mississippi. Senator George was
in his seat as the defender and champion of the new charter
of white supremacy. He was equipped for the forensic battle,,
he was ready for the truth, he was armed with confidence and
courage to meet all comers.

He began his now famous speech in defense of the Missis-
sippi Constitution on December 3ist, 1890. He had been a
member of the Senate for nine years and was known to be an
authority on questions of constitutional law. While his ability
was recognized the reserve force of the man was unknown to
his associates in the Senate. There was a very great responsi-
bility resting upon him. He had pledged his word that the new
constitution would stand against all attacks. He was the
chosen champion of the Southern crusade against ignorance
at the ballot box. He had been the chief artisan in the con-
struction of the law that lifted the fatal shirt of Nessus from the
shoulders of the people. If he failed the people he loved would
suffer. If he gained the victory future generations would rise
up and call him blessed. His defense was grandly conclusive,
it was overwhelming, convincing. The great Senator showed
a more accurate and intimate knowledge of the constitutions
of Massachusetts, Vermont and Connecticut than the Senators
who represented those States. His defense was one of the
great constitutional law speeches of the Senate, and will take
rank in the future with Hayne's superb speech in reply to Web-
ster. All the contentions of Senator George were afterwards
crystalized into law by the Supreme Court of the United States
in the case of Williams vs. Mississippi.

Senator George had a genius for intellectual labor. Like all

Political and Parliamentary Orators. — Rowland. 395

self-educated men he viewed all knowledge from the standpoint
of utility. He was plain and simple in manner, its very sim-
plicity was impressive.

He carried his rural plainness to the Senate chamber and
could not be induced to change the comfort of his store clothes
for the agony of high collars and evening dress. The Judiciary
Committee of the Senate is the greatest law committee of the
world, to be assigned to it is an honor of the highest order.
For a long period of his Senatorial career Senator George was
one of its ablest members. He was at his best when dealing
with great questions of constitutional law. It has been said
that he was as near the rank of a great orator as a deficient im-
agination would allow him to go. His style was clear and
strong, full of reason, argument and illustrations taken from
practical experience.

The oratory of Senator George was the product of pure
reason. He used the methods of the logician, and laid aside
the arts of the rhetorician. His style of delivery was deliberate,
plain and earnest. The accuracy of his knowledge was an im-
pressive feature of his oratory. While Senator George was
most effective before deliberative bodies some of his greatest
speeches were made before the people of Mississippi. In his
great canvass with Barksdale in opposition to the Sub-Treas-
ury Bill he reached the highest point of persuasive popular or-
atory. Major Barksdale was a candidate to succeed Senator
George at the expiration of his second term, and his aspirations
had the endorsement of the Farmers' Alliance. The people
were suffering from the ills of financial and industrial depres-
sion and readily grasped at the Sub-Treasury Bill as a means
of relief.

Senator George had condemned the bill in an open letter to
the Alliance of his home county, his opponent had endorsed it
and the issue between them was made up. Major Barksdale
was an experienced public speaker of varied and extensive in-
formation, as a debater he was adroit and resourceful. He had
been a leader in Mississippi politics for thirty years. The Al-
liance was organized in every county and was a recognized po-
litical power. Senator George had the support of the organiz-
ed Democracy. Great questions of taxation and finance and
domestic economy were involved in the discussion of the Sub-

396 Mississippi Historical Society.

Treasury Bill. Few of the people understood the practical ef-
fect of such a measure. Senator George entered upon a great
campaign of education, he believed that the people would aban-
don the scheme if its defects were exposed. He published a
list of appointments and invited Major Barksdale to a joint dis-
cussion of the questions at issue. In his first speech he as-
sumed the aggressive and fearlessly condemned the pet meas-
ure of the all powerful Farmers' Alliance in all its details. Can-
didates for the legislature everywhere were known as Sub-
Treasury and anti-Sub-Treasury men. As the joint canvass
progressed it soon became evident that the irresistible logic of
Senator George had convinced the people that the policy of the
Sub-Treasury Bill was wrong in theory and ruinous if put into
practice. A majority of the members of the legislature were
instructed by the people to vote for the return of Senator
George.

If eloquence is to be judged by its immediate effect, then the
speeches of the "Great Commoner" made during the Sub-
Treasury canvass should rank with those of Lamar made in
defense of the right of a Senator to disobey the instructions
of his State legislature. A hostile majority were transformed
into enthusiastic supporters. The last great speech of Senator
George was made at Winona in favor of the re-monetization of
silver in 1895. All his speeches are valuable contributions to
the political literature of the country. They abound in vital
truth and sound principles. The logical arrangement is perfect
and complete. The sentences flash with reason and blaze with
logic.

XIII. James L. Alcorn.

If it had been even suggested thirty years ago that James L.
Alcorn was great in any department of human effort there
would have been a vigorous if not universal protest from the
people of Mississippi. It would then have been their honest
opinion that there was nothing in Governor Alcorn to respect
or admire. That opinion was made up when strife and partisan
bitterness held sway over the minds of the people. Public opin-
ion has reached every extreme as to the place to which he is
entitled among the eminent men of Mississippi. On one side
he has been extolled as the only statesman of his day who un-

Political and Parliamentary Orators. — Rowland. 397

derstood the duties of the hour during the terrible days of re-
construction. On the other he has been hated and detested
as a determined, ambitious man who sought to rise over the
downfall of his State, who deserted her in the darkest hour of
her peril. The last estimate is entirely wrong ; there is some-
thing of truth in the first. In the flash light of thirty years an
unbiased opinion can now be formed. The following estimate
of Governor Alcorn was written by J. F. H. Claiborne and may
be found in Goodspeed's Memoirs of Mississippi:

"It is no holiday task to review the career of James L. Alcorn. No
man has been more prominently indentified with the State in critical
times; no man has brought more ability, energy, and self-sacrifice into
its service; no man has been more misunderstood. The passions,
prejudices and suspicions he encountered to some extent yet survive,
but are gradually dissolving in the current of events, and he is now
generally appreciated as a man of unquailing courage and indomitable
enterprise; a patriot without stain, a statesman of extraordinary sa-
gacity, called at the helm at the most trying period, to confront a
disorganized and morbid public sentiment, to crush out old creeds, ideas
and predilictions: to guide by persuasion or by force a proud intelli-
gent yet distrustful people into new grooves of thought and action, to
conduct them from unsuccessful revolution, from the desolation of war,
from the wreck of private fortunes, the overthrow of established insti-
tutions, and the iron rule of Congress, to peaceful industry, social
order, and organized constitutional government."

The last remnant of bitterness against Governor Alcorn
was buried during the consideration and construction of the
State Constitution of 1890. He was so broad and liberal
and patriotic as a member of the constitutional convention that
the eyes of the people were opened to the true greatness of his
character.

The great orator must be a good man, true emotions must
fill his own heart if he would arouse them in the minds and
hearts of others. Before the War Governor Alcorn was one of
the most aggressive and brilliant Whig leaders and orators in
the State. He belonged to that coterie of public men of whom
William L. Sharkey was the leader. He fought many brilliant
political battles with Democratic leaders at a time when his
party was in a hopeless minority. The Whig leaders of Mis-
sissippi opposed the withdrawal of the State from the Union.
After the War William L. Sharkey and James L. Alcorn were
selected by a reorganized State government to represent Mis-
sissippi in the United States Senate. The Senate refused to
recognize the provisional government that President Johnson

398 Mississippi Historical Society.

gave the State and the two Senators-elect were refused their
seats. During the reconstruction period when public plunder
seemed to be the sole object of public officials, Governor Al-
corn stood between the people and the corrupt public servants.
He forsaw the dreadful consequences of negro enfranchisement
and regarded it as a stupendous blunder. He knew that the
experiment of negro suffrage must be made to satisfy the radi-
cals of the North. The negro by reason of the entire absence of
self-reliance, want of experience, and because of his failure to
appreciate his changed condition was helpless. If he could be
properly directed and controlled many of the evils of his en-
franchisement might be averted. Such direction and control
was the policy of Governor Alcorn. The carpet-baggers came,
gained the confidence of the negro and the dreaded reign of
ruin began.

Thinking and impartial men at the North are inclined to be-
lieve that Southern men overdraw the darkness of the night of
reconstruction. At this time, twenty-five years after, in the
light of the facts of history the student of that period whose
opinions are not embittered by the trials of the time stands in as-
tonishment and marvels at the patience and long suffering of
a brave and chivalrous people. Governor Alcorn was never
in sympathy with the carpet-bagger element of the Republican
party. As Governor he opposed all their plans for public
plunder. He was elected United States Senator in 1871.

With these facts in mind attention can now be called to the
immediate purpose of this sketch — the rank and fame of Gov-
ernor Alcorn as a public speaker and orator. Macauley says
in his essay on the Athenian orators that oratory is to be esti-
mated on principles different from those which are applied to
other productions. He says :

"A speaker who exhausts the whole philosophy of a question, who
displays every grace of style, yet produces no effect on his audience,
may be a great essayist, a great statesman, a great master of composi-
tion, but he is not an orator."

There was little of the abstract philosophy of the political es-
sayist and theorist in the oratorical methods of Governor Al-
corn. He was intensely practical in his speeches and had that
"terrible earnestness" that Carlyle attributes to one of his he-
roes. His style of oratory was of a popular character and was

Political and Parliamentary Orators. — Rowland. 399

best suited to the hustings. His large commanding figure, dig-
nified manner, determined face, black hair and brilliant dark
eyes made his bearing intensely eloquent. Such physical gifts
combined with courage, energy, force, brain and determination
made him an orator of the most intense type. His knowledge
was extensive and accurate, his convictions deep and earnest.
Reference has been made to his joint canvass with Col. Lamar
in 1857 as the candidate of the Whig party for Congress. That
campaign has long been famous in tradition as a battle of the
giants, and old men refer to it and regret the decadence of such
eloquence. Governor Alcorn was not only an eloquent orator
of great power, but was skillful in the strategy of debate. He
had the fiery impetuosity of Mirabeau combined with the defen-
sive skill of Benjamin, he fought with the two handed sword of
the Swiss, having little use for the curved scimetar of the Turk.
He was a deep and original thinker of intense convictions;
there was little of the sparkle of the mere rhetorician about his
speeches. The matchless courage of Governor Alcorn com-
manded the respect and admiration of his enemies. His mental
preparation was extensive and varied, he was a profound stu-
dent of the political history of his country.

In the Senate Governor Alcorn maintained his well earned
reputation as a forceful speaker and ready debater. A distin-
guishing feature of his character was his high moral courage,
Iris absolute disregard of public opinion when he believed he
was right gave him the power to face the frowns of the public
with dignity and composure. After his retirement from the
Senate he lived the placid dignified life of a country gentleman
at Eagle's Nest, his plantation in "Sweet Coahoma." He lived
to an honored old age, and after years of patient waiting saw
all the misunderstandings of the past melt away before the light
of truth and justice.

XIV. Chalmers, Manning, Barksdale.

The Chalmers family has long been famous in Mississippi.
Joseph W. Chalmers was a United States Senator. His two
sons were honored and distinguished men. H. H. Chalmers
was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. James R. Chalmers
was a brigadier general of the Confederacy, a member of Con-
gress, a learned lawyer and brilliant orator. He was one of the

400 Mississippi Historical Society.

men who fired the popular heart in 1875 and rescued the State
from the blight of negro rule.

In 1877 Mississippi had a solid Democratic delegation in the
lower House of Congress. Van H. Manning represented the
Second District. The joint canvass of Col . Manning and
Thomas H. Walton in the summer and autumn of 1876 will
long be remembered for its brilliancy and intensity of feeling.
Manning was a remarkable stump speaker, he was as fiery as
Foote, and mingled scholarly grace and polish with passion and
feeling.

Ethelbert Barksdale was a polished writer and eloquent
speaker. His knowledge of political history was profound. He
measured lances with such orators as Hooker and George and
sustained himself. The name of Barksdale will always be re-
membered with gratitude and pride by the people of Mississippi.
The name was made immortal on the bloody heights of Gettys-
burg where General William Barksdale gave his life for his
country. Ethelbert Barksdale through the editorial columns
of the Clarion gave the first impulse to the revolution of 1875.

THE CHEVALIER BAYARD OF MISSISSIPPI: ED-
WARD GARY WALTHALL.

BY MARY VIRGINIA DuvAi,.1

"His life was gentle and the elements so mixed in him, that Nature
might stand up and say to all the world: 'This was a man.' "

In birth and breeding, in the environments and associations
of a lifetime, and in the time allotted to him to perform his task
in life, nature conspired in favor of that one of her sons who
has been felicitously styled the "Chevalier Bayard of Mississip-
pi," Edward Gary Walthall. Every inch of the man's person-
ality proclaimed him the patrician that he was, and no togated
Roman Senator, born to the purple, ever bore his honors more
easily or with loftier grace. No descendant of a hundred belt-
ed earls, looking down upon posterity from the pictured can-
vass of Van Dyke, ever manifested more unimpaired confidence
in the nobility of his race than did this unostentatious Missis-
sippi gentleman, scholar, lawyer, soldier; scion of an old and
honorable family, cradled amid the picturesque scenes of the
capital of the Old Dominion, Richmond on the James.

Yet, with all his inherited pride of race and blood, a pride as
much a part of his time and section as the air he breathed, with
all the traditions and predilections bequeathed him by genera-
tions of highborn ancestors, he bore himself so sweetly, so
gently, with so much of the "tender grace of a day that is
dead" that none ever connected with a thought of him, that
vulgar pride of place, that ignoble caste-spirit, which has done
so much to throw disrepute upon honest and honorable pride
of birth.

From the courtly English progenitors who had always borne
well their part in attempting to wring from tyrants the liberty
guaranteed by the Magna Charta, from a nearer Anglo-Amer-
ican ancestry, whose blood ever refused to run in slavish chan-
nels, young Walthall received, not alone his manly beauty and
dignity of person, his courtly bearing and innate deference to

1 A biographical sketch of Miss Duval will be found in the Publica-
tions of the Mississippi Historical Society, Vol. III., p. 155. — EDITOR.
26

402 Mississippi Historical Society.

the good and true, encountered in whatsoever guise, but a
spirit of freedom, an undying loyalty to self-government and
a passionate love of his native Southland, which became as
much a part of himself as the spirit that palpitated in his- manly
bosom.

Edward C. Walthall was a true American, a true Virginian,
a true Mississippian in his deep but quiet convictions of duty,
his love of home and family, intense devotion to womanly mod-
esty and jealous regard for the securities of individual freedom
and local self-government. No commercial or mercenary con-
siderations could induce him to depart from any of his early-
adopted, deep-seated convictions of right, nor worldly interest
chill the ardor of his zeal in pursuing the path of honor and in-
tegrity. No worshiper of Mammon was he, abounding in pru-
dential virtue, but deficient in the principles which impel one to
self-abandon in the cause of justice. This will explain why, at
a time when contemporary statesmen, on both sides of Mason
and Dixon's line were heaping up wealth and achieving the rep-
utation of multi-millionaires, Walthall, serene, self-poised, pur-
suing with unfaltering tread the path dictated by his own lofty
ideals, remained, with the vast majority of the Southern people,
comparatively poor in this world's goods.

It is easy to see how, reared in the principles of an earnest
Christianity, — his character, to the end, being dominated there-
by— a reverence for the Bible and fine English literature, for a
religious type of womanhood, for a sacred regard for the prin-
ciples of government, he became, above all others, that type of
man most loved and admired by the people of the South.

From boyhood, such traits as those distinguished him, and as
he grew into man's estate he became unalterably fixed in his
adherence to those principles instilled into his receptive mind
and soul amid the quiet of his early Virginia home.

While young Walthall was still a boy, his father removed to
Holly Springs, Mississippi, then and for years afterwards, the
center of wealth and culture for a large portion of the State.
At old St. Thomas Hall, then, and long afterwards, so justly cel-
ebrated for its superior educational advantages, we first learn
to connect him with the busy, happy life of a leading Mississippi
town.

And what a life it must have been ! No other portion of the

The Chevalier Bayard of Mississippi. — Duval. 403

State's history presents such fascination to the student of our
social customs as that quarter of a century immediately pre-
ceeding the Civil War.

Through the kindness of Major William M. Strickland, a
leading lawyer and well known citizen of Holly Springs, the
writer has become familiar, with a portion at least, of the life
of Edward C. Walthall while a boy, and, still later, an ambitious
and successful practitioner.

The highly-graded and classical school of "St. Thomas Hall"
was established by Dr. Francis S. Hawks, an Episcopal clergy-
man of great learning, who a short while before the entrance
of young Walthall into the school had removed to New York
city, becoming the rector there of a large Episcopal parish.
Professor Henry Whitehead, an English gentleman of pro-
found scholarship, and eminently successful as an educator had
succeeded Dr. Hawks as principal of St. Thomas. Edward
Walthall was then in the sixteenth year of his age and with
twenty or more companions, young men mostly the sons of
wealthy residents of North Mississippi, composed the student
body of St. Thomas Hall. They were, for the most part, bright,
brainy, ambitious youths, more than one of whom has written
his name high in the annals of our State. Amid these congen-
ial spirits the young Virginian, gentle as a woman, knightly as
a Crusader, took his place ; his good qualities soon becoming
apparent to all, the commendation of his teacher and the plaud-
its of his companions only incited him to more earnest effort.
The spirit of fun and prank, so characteristic of the leisure class
of the "Old South" in its palmiest days, was by no means in-
consistent with the spirit of achievement and we find that the
laddies of old St. Thomas Hall, at that period, were typical
Southern boys. At night they gathered under one or another
of the hospitable roofs of the fine old mansions for which Holly
Springs was noted, discussing with perfect freedom and frank-
ness the general topics of interest from the latest "happenings"
on the campus to the highest matters of state — every Missis-
sippi boy in the very nature of things being an embryo politi-
cian. Little recked they, or their teachers of a time, fast ap-
proaching, when their mettle would be tested in the council
halls and on the bloody battlefields of their loved Mississippi.
At times the St. Thomas boys would gather at the law office of

404 Mississippi Historical Society.

Major Strickland, a prime favorite with them all, making merry
over the knotty questions involved in science and the classics,
reviewing the incidents of the class-room, the various points
raised, expositions given and decisions made by "Old Whitey,"
as they affectionately styled Professor Whitehead. Many were
the discussions of which Major Strickland became the arbiter,
the Gordian knots he was compelled to untie or cut asunder.
As was natural under the circumstances, some lasting friend-
ships were formed between the boys of St. Thomas and their
youthful Mentor, William M. Strickland. Especially was this
true in the case of young Walthall, he and Mr. Strickland form-
ing a friendship then which death alone had power to interrupt.

The advanced students of the "Hall" formed a polemic so-
ciety, known as the "St. Thomas Hall Debaters," and Mr.
Strickland was notified that he had been elected to membership
in the same. The society met weekly, on Friday evenings and
discussed a great variety of questions embracing law, literature,
history and current topics. Young Walthall, Mr. Strickland
tells us, was uniformly present and in fact was the leading spirit
in the debates. He completed his literary career at St. Thomas,
as did many others who subsequently distinguished themselves
as leaders in the Commonwealth of Mississippi, — whether as
lawyers, legislators or soldiers, time determined. None, how-
ever of that gallant group of young Mississippians shone more
brilliantly in after life, nor held the affections of the people of
the State in a firmer grasp than did the subject of this sketch,
Edward Gary Walthall. After completing his literary course,
he entered the office of his brother-in-law, George R. Freeman,
a distinguished man of the bar of Mississippi, residing at that
time in Pontotoc, and for a year pursued his legal studies with
an ardor and enthusiasm that in the end brought its own re-
ward. At the expiration of that time, he returned to Holly
Springs, and in the capacity of deputy clerk, served in the office
of the Clerk of the Circuit Court, Alexander Caruthers, Esq.
He occupied that position for several months and by close ap-
plication to his law studies and the practical outlines of plead-
ing and practicing in the Circuit Court, became familiar with
the jurisprudence of Mississippi.

Soon after receiving license to practice law, he removed to
Coffeeville, Miss., the county site of Yalabousha county, and

The Chevalier Bayard of Mississippi. — Duval. 405

formed a partnership with Judge Cheves, a well established,
able and painstaking lawyer from South Carolina, with a large
and lucrative practice. Walthall rose rapidly to prominence
in his profession and in a short time was elected District At-
torney for that Judicial district. Very soon he became one of
the most prominent and successful prosecuting attorneys in the
State. Learned in all the technicalities of his profession, able
and brilliant in delivery, handsome of person and of face,
courtly and winning in manner, it is small wonder that among
a generous people, quick to appreciate those qualities, he rose
steadily from a popular favorite to a popular idol upon whom
was lavished the affections of a whole State.

There were no railroads in that portion of Mississippi when
Walthall began his public career, and the swing of a popular
lawyer around the circuit was an event of marked importance
to himself, his clients and the public generally. Society in
Mississippi "in the '40*5 and '5o's was a reproduction, on a
newer and grander scale of that of old Virginia and the Caro-
linas of an earlier period. The palatial homes, veritable Greek
temples whose white columns gleamed invitingly through the
arches of green woodland, and the gracious manners handed
down through generations of English, Scotch, or Irish-Ameri-
can ancestors were faithful copies of Anglo-Virginian models,
and became the birth-right of the Mississippian at his best, viz :
in ante-bellum times.

In the courtly manners, elegant speech, and lavish hospital-
ity of the period referred to, we have an echo also of Virginia
and her daughters of the southeastern states. In the libraries
we find all the current publications and periodicals of the day —
American or foreign — and the conversation was flavored with
wit, wisdom and the true Attic salt whose quality could not
have been surpassed by the Puritan or the Knickerbocker of
the same or any subsequent period.

With the passionate love of land and out-door pursuits, was
mingled the genuine Saxon avoidance of cities and correspond-
ing love of all phases of rural life, the elegant leisure engen-
dered by a rich soil and generous climate making plantation
life in Mississippi, a pastoral idyl, a poet's dream. Deference
to woman, sympathy with the weak or unfortunate, faith in
God and the Bible, and reverence for authority in church and

406 Mississippi Historical Society.

state, these were the predominant characteristics of the civil-
ization of the South at that period, the most advanced that has
yet existed on this continent! Many things conspired to pre-
serve in the South the spirit and habits of the founders of our
government, and it was in a State and community, thoroughly
in accord with that spirit, that Edward C. Walthall entered
upon his public career. No profession, not even the clerical,
stands in such high repute in the South as the legal one. Given
then, a man who is master of the science of jurisprudence, hon-
est, honorable, forceful in argument, sympathetic and public-
spirited and you have a character whose influence for good in
a community is unlimited and inestimable. Such a character
was General Walthall and even during the days of his district
attorneyship, men were beginning to realize something of his
[worth.

The circuits, in the absence of railways, were traversed by
the members of the legal fraternity in private conveyances, and
picturesque enough they often appeared, the inevitable col-
ored body-guard, — for each gentleman carried his own
valet in those days, — bringing up the rear. During "Court
Week" the dull little county seats took on new life and activity,
for in the somewhat monotonous life of a country purely agri-
cultural, the regular recurrence of the spring and fall terms of
court brought a relaxation, and aroused public interest to a de-
gree unsurpassed except by Christmas and-election days.

The country people with one accord came to town, shopping
and other important matters having been set aside until "Court
Week" should make it a matter of convenience. Such an array
of farm stock as was displayed at the public hitching rack and
convenient fence corners could not be equalled outside the
pages of Georgia Scenes.

Farm wagons, transformed into family conveyances, the
light sulky, stylish buggy, and aristocratic family carriage
were all brought into requisition ; family servants jostled each
other, happy to the heart's core over any promised excitement.
The "cracker element" has never existed to any degree in Mis-
sissippi and so the "poor whites" are the only class at such
times conspicuous by their absence. The handsome wife and
lovely daughters of the planter, their rich dresses and gay
plumes giving the touch of color needed to the scene, lend the

The Chevalier Bayard of Mississippi. — Duval. 407

charm of womanly grace and vivacity to the ever-shifting
crowd, the planter himself, touching up his blooded stock,
looking over the crowd with that serenity of soul produced by
a full pocketbook, and the consciousness that he has "no case
in court" this term. The talk varies, from the price of cotton,
— perennial theme — to the latest aspirant for political honors —
and through the whole kaleidascopic scene, walks the lawyer,
alert, conscious, yet seemingly oblivious to what is as plain
as the nose on his face to others, viz: that he, the representa-
tive of the law, is "monarch of all he surveys."

Callow youths, and budding politicians, watch his every
movement, speculating in secret as to whether it were possible
for the cut of the great man's coat, the tie of his neckerchief,
above all his grand poise of manner to be imitated. The la-
dies, young and old, bestow their sweetest smiles upon the man
of the law, and in his secret soul, the lordly planter himself ac-
knowledges that if there is a being on earth to whom he would
be willing to acknowledge a sense of inferiority it is the "lead-
ing lawyer in the district." If then, the average lawyer is
looked upon in the light of a demi-god, small wonder is it, that
a man of the personality possessed by young Walthall, — fresh
from academic and legal lore, his mind thoroughly imbued
with the technicalities of his profession, his face, not only clas-
sically intellectual, but rarely beautiful, should have been hailed
almost as the Apollo Belvidere himself ! Olympian Jove, there
was not! Mississippians do not concede such superiority to
mortal man, but surely this tall, straight, somewhat melancholy
patrician, he whose eyes flashed with the true Promethean fire
and whose speech won for him the proud title of "silver-ton-
gued," was worthy of canonization, and having acquired the
habit of worshiping Walthall, they never left off, but kept it up
to the last.

From the day when first as a mere boy he asked for the suf-
frage of his own people until crowned with the honors of the
proudest nation on earth he was laid to rest in the beautiful
"City of Roses," he asked for nothing that was not given him.
Asked, did I say? Nay; not as a suppliant came he — they
brought their very best to him to accept. Now they take up the
sad refrain :

Mississippi Historical Society.

" Mourn, for to us he seems the last,
Remembering all his greatness in the past;
No more in soldier-fashion will he greet
With lifted hand, the gazer in the street.
O, friends, our chief state-oracle is dead.
Mourn for the man of long-enduring blood.
The statesman — warrior, moderate, resolute,
Whole in himself, a common good.
Mourn, for the man of amplest influence,
Yet clearest of ambitious crime,
Our greatest, yet with least pretence,
Great in council, great in war,
Foremost captain of his time,
Rich in saving common sense,
And as the greatest only are,
In his simplicity sublime."

Such was the Walthall, loved and honored as few men have
the privilege of being. While he was still a practicing attorney,
residing at the little town of Coffeeville, an incident occurred
which Mr. Strickland still dwells upon with great pleasure. The
"Debaters of St. Thomas Hall," the former schoolmates of
young Walthall, determined to have a re-union in Holly
Springs, the seat of their Alma Mater and the scene of their
boyish triumphs and defeats. When the question as to the or-
ator of the day arose, it was found that the body was unanimous
for inviting Walthall. The invitation was sent, and he replied
in his best vein, accepting. The place of meeting selected was
the hall of the old "Union Hotel," southeast corner of the pub-
lic square. The members of the "Debaters" had become scat-
tered and were settled in distant sections, but the majority
of them returned to be present on an occasion of so much in-
terest. A large number of invited guests, including many of
the most prominent people of Holly Springs, were present and
the chosen orator was at his best. He was greeted by the close
attention and enthusiastic applause invariably accorded to his
public utterance. As this was his first purely literary oration,
he was very much gratified at its reception, and in later years,
says Mr. Strickland, used to allude to the occasion with evident
pride and pleasure.

While Mr. Walthall was still occupying the position of dis-
trict attorney, Mississippi by her "Ordinance of Secession"
passed in January, 1861, dissolved the bonds existing between
herself and the Federal Union. Companies were rapidly or-
ganized throughout the State, the manhood of the common-

The Chevalier Bayard of Mississippi. — Duval. 409

wealth, taking fire, as the electric lines carried over the country
the news of the mighty events that were transpiring from day
to day. Applications for acceptance into the State and Confed-
erate service poured in upon Pettus, the "War Governor,"
daily. Among other companies was the one organized at
Coffeeville, Miss., of which the captaincy was offered to
Walthall, but, declining in favor of a friend, Captain Aldrige,
he accepted the place of first lieutenant and went into the ren-
dezvous at Union City with it, — its appellation being "Co. H.,"
Fifteenth Mississippi Regiment.

This regiment, of glorious memory, was composed of the
very flower of Mississippi's manhood and carried its banner
triumphantly over many a hard-won field of battle. After leav-
ing Union City, it was placed under the command of the "fight-
ing Bishop," General Leonidas Polk, who had left the field of
labor as Bishop of Louisiana to join the militant host, fighting
for the Southern Confederacy. He was stationed at the im-
portant strategic point of Columbus, Ky., a city on the Missis-
sippi river a short distance below Cairo, Illinois.

In June following, the lieutenant colonel of the Fifteenth reg-
iment having resigned to take work in another department of
service, Walthall was chosen to fill his place, and from that
time his promotion was rapid. He won his spurs at the ill-
fated battle of Fishing Creek, where his regiment gained undy-
ing laurels, following their dauntless leader into the jaws of
death. He was the idol of his soldiers, and they followed him
with unbounded confidence and enthusiasm, whether it was into
the heat of battle or on the tedium of a long and monotonous
march. In the hospital and around the campfire he was their
comforter, friend and protector.

On the nth of April, 1862, he was elected Colonel of the
Twenty-ninth Mississippi Regiment, and in June following was
made Brigadier General, his brigade being composed of the
Twenty-fourth, Twenty-seventh, Twenty-ninth, Thirtieth and
Thirty-fourth Mississippi Infantry. From that time on "Wal-
thall's Brigade" became "a name to conjure" with, their services
being called into requisition wherever there was work to be
done, whether in resisting the tide of defeat, holding back over-
whelming numbers until successful retreat was practicable, or

Mississippi Historical Society.

making the welkin ring with their cheers when they had caused
victory to perch above the Southern standards.

Men speak to-day with tearful eye and faltering voice of the
Walthall who through four long years lived so near his men
that they could feel the throbbings of his mighty heart. He had
all the qualities that go towards the make-up of a great leader,
fine judgment, earnest, dignified deportment, gentle and simple
manners, joined to a fervent, unselfish patriotism, the courage
and prowess of the Chevalier Bayard, the stainless truth and
spotless honor of that King Arthur who made truth and honor
and chivalry synonymous terms. His soldierly qualities, fine
powers and earnest nature soon carried him over intervening
grades to the office of Major General. After the death of Gen-
eral Leonidas Polk, who was killed at Pine Mountain, the name
of Gen. Walthall was seriously considered as the fitting one to
succeed the "soldier Bishop" who had died so gloriously.
Learning of this, Gen. Walthall, with an honorable pride that
does him great credit and a magnanimity rarely met with vol-
untarily relinquished all claims to the preferment in favor of
Gen. A. P. Stewart, whose seniority in years, service and thor-
ough military education, in Gen. Walthall's opinion, made him
the most suitable candidate for the place. His letters endors-
ing Gen. Stewart and recommending him for the vacancy had
much to do with the latter's receiving the promotion and the
magnanimity that dictated them, throws a still more glorious
light upon the "Bayard of Mississippi."

It is impossible, within the limits of this article, to follow the
course of General Walthall through the different campaigns in
which he was actively engaged; nor even to attempt to name
the many battles in which he bore so. conspicuous a part. It
would, however, be an injustice to his memory not to give the
names of those in which he so distinguished himself as to win
a place in universal history. At the battle of Lookout Mount-
ain, Walthall's bridgade, composed of 1,500 Mississippians, as
brave men as ever went into any battle, was ordered to hold a
very important position occupied by a picket post extending
from Lookout Creek, up the side of the mountain, across a
breach to the projecting cliff. The fire of the Federal batteries
swept the road by which retreat must be made or relief come.
Walthall's line, upon his front and left flank, was attacked by

The Chevalier Bayard of Mississippi. — Duval. 411

Gen. Hooker, "Fighting Joe," of an earlier day, with a division
of 10,000 men. ,The brave Mississippians under their fearless
leader made good their resistance until General Pettus came
to their relief and the Confederate line thus reinforced held its
new position for the remainder of the day. Both the Federal
and the Confederate commanders, in their reports of the battle
mention particularly this resistance of Walthall and his men.
Only about 600 effective men were left the brigade after this
battle, but on the afternoon of the next day we find them dash-
ing across Missionary Ridge to protect Hardee's retreat, hold-
ing their position stubbornly until the long day's fight was
done. Gen. Walthall was severely wounded in this battle, hav-
ing been shot through the foot but nothing could induce him to
leave the field, preferring to endure the pain to having his men
demoralized by his absence. He was confined to his quarters
for six weeks by this accident.

All the world knows the story of Hood's retreat from Nash-
ville, protected by the "right and left arms" of the service, Wal-
thall and Forrest. When Forrest, brave "Wizard of the Sad-
dle" that he was, appeared before General Hood and was in-
terrogated as to whether he would undertake the protection of
the army he replied : "Give me Walthall and I shall undertake
it."

When Walthall was asked if he would accept the responsi-
bility, his reply was nobly characteristic : "I have never know-
ingly sought the path of danger, nor shunned the path of duty.
I will go."

The story of that last march of despairing veterans would
be darker than it is, but for the courage, the skill, the heroic
daring that marked the defense of the retreating Confederates
until the last straggling soldier had crossed the Tennessee
river.

When the bitter end came, General Walthall returned to his
home in Mississippi, re-opening his law office, at first, in Cof-
feeville and remaining there until 1871 when he removed to the
beautiful old town of Grenada, continuing his legal practice
there until 1885 when he was appointed by the Governor of
Mississippi to fill the vacancy in the United States Senate,
caused 'by the resignation of Hon. L. Q. C. Lamar who had
been offered the place of Secretary of the Interior by President

412 Mississippi Historical Society.

Cleveland. From that time until the day of his death, while
Mississippi still claimed him as her favorite son, her familiar
places knew him no more except at short intervals, national
politics henceforth engrossing his time to the exclusion of
other issues.

Great as General Walthall was in time of War it was amid
the gloom of failure and defeat that his character shone
brightest.

The inspiring leader of his soldiers in battle, under the new
and changed conditions which defeat brought them, he was
their comforter, consoler, friend, the first to beg them to wring
hope from desolation and to feel that "Defeat may be victory
in disguise." He not only taught them by precept but by his
own brave example showed them that renewed hope and earn-
est endeavor will surely bring success.

It was in his vine-covered cottage at Grenada, after the na-
tion had acknowledged his greatness and offered him her
choicest gifts that the writer of this article had the proud priv-
ilege of calling General Walthall "friend" and some of the most
valued memories of life are cherished in connection with that
period, all too short lived. His domestic life is too sacred to
be brought before the public gaze, but as is well known it was
in his home that his character shone in its fairest light. In that
home he had a generous welcome and splendid courtesy for
those whom he honored with his friendship — that home itself
the type of a class now fast disappearing — elegant, simple, hos-
pitable, inviting. He loved literature, had read many books —
among them that one called "human nature" — and thought
much. His judgment was rare and remarkable and he seldom
made mistakes along that line. Men turned to him instinct-
ively for counsel and advice and he always responded quickly,
generously, sympathetically. In the Senate of the United States
he well sustained the reputation that had preceded him there,
his great ability as a lawyer and a soldier, his devotion to duty,
his high purposes and the purity of his life, rendering him a
conspicuous figure even among that body of eminent states-
men. That which endeared him most, however, to those who
knew him best was his thoughtful consideration for others, his
readiness to sacrifice himself for his friends and his kindness
and tenderness for all who were suffering or in distress. On

The Chevalier Bayard of Mississippi. — Duval. 413

the terrible retreat from Nashville, he took his own blanket and
folded it around a wounded soldier, himself spending the night,
without shelter, on the frozen ground. In the intervals be-
tween spells of delirium, during his fatal sickness, his kindly
consideration for others caused him to say :

"Tell Mr. Spooner, with whom I am paired, that it is unfair to him
to lose his vote on important questions while I am sick, and that he is
at perfect liberty to vote as he deems proper."

His last appearance in the Senate was made when he was so
weak that he was hardly able to walk. He went in response to
his convictions of duty, against the advice of his physicians,
and the wishes of his friends and family. The occasion was one
which called forth the tenderest feelings of his nature, the Me-
morial Service to his late colleague and friend, Senator J. Z.
George, of Mississippi. He poured forth his great, tender soul
into an eloquent tribute to the memory of his departed friend,
and, like the death song of the swan, his parting spirit lent
sweetness and strength to its notes.

Two weeks from that day, on the evening of the 2ist of
April, 1898, his noble spirit crossed the river of death, the har-
bor bar was passed, and none who knew him will doubt that he
found a kindly welcome on the other shore.

LIFE OF GENERAL JOHN A. QUITMAN.
BY ROSAUE Q. DUNCAN. x

Major General John Anthony Quitman was born in the low,
stone parsonage in the quiet Dutch village of Rhinbeck, N. Y.,
September ist, 1799. His father, Doctor Frederick H. Quit-
man, was a learned divine in the Lutheran church. His mother
was Anna Elizabeth Huecke, the gentle and amiable daughter
of the Dutch Governor of Curacoa, one of the West Indian
islands, which was a province of Holland. The gifts with
which nature had so generously endowed young Quitman were
soon marked by his erudite father, and he, believing the church
the highest profession to which a life could be devoted, began

1 Mrs. Rosalie Quitman Duncan, daughter of Gen. John A. Quitman,
was born at Monmouth, near Natchez, in 1840. Her maternal grand-
father was Mr. Henry Turner, who was born in Fairfax county, Virgi-
nia, and afterwards became a prominent planter in Adams county, Mis-
sisippi. Mrs. Duncan grew to womanhood amid the pure, refining in-
fluences of an old Southern home. She was married in June, 1861, just
after the first guns had been fired in the great conflict which deluged
the South in blood. Her husband, Mr. William P. Duncan, a Penn-
sylvanian by birth, was a brother of Gen. J. K. Duncan, who com-
manded forts (Jackson and St. Philip) below New Orleans in the War
between, the States. Mr. Duncan was an engineer by profes-
sion, and was superintendent of the New Orleans and Carrollton
railroad at the time of his marriage. He served subsequently on his
brother's staff and at the fall of New Orleans was temporarily trans-
ferred to the staff of Gen. Mansfield Lovell. He then accompanied
Gen. Lovell to Camp Moore, on the New Orleans and Jackson rail-
road. A few months later he died of typhoid fever in Mobile.

Upon the death of her husband, Mrs. Duncan returned to Natchez,
where she remained with her three sisters in the old home until the
close of the war. At one time Monmouth served as the military head-
quarters of a Federal brigade, the soldiers being camped upon the front
lawn and yard, while the owners of the property were relegated to the
upper part of their own home.

With the return of peace, Mrs. Duncan devoted her energies to di-
recting the training and education of her son. He finally graduated
with the honors of his class in the School of Mines in Columbia Col-
lege. His career, though full of promise, was a short one. After two
years of mining experience in Colorado, where his work near Leadville
decided a very important lawsuit over the title to a mining claim. He
then returned, at the solicitation of his mother, to Mississippi, and died
shortly afterwards of typhoid-malarial fever. Just before this event
Mrs. Duncan had purchased the old home (Monmouth) near Natchez,
where she still resides with two of her nieces, who constitute her family.
— EDITOR.

416 Mississippi Historical Society.

to shape his son's education and studies at an early age to this
end. As the years passed, however, and the youth grew to
manhood, his talents were turned into other channels, and in
1820 we find him vigorously pursuing the study of law in what
was at that time the little western town of Chillicothe, Ohio.

In those early days there was little to attract an adventurous
mind to and still less to keep one in a small interior town such
as Chillicothe, where money was scarce and the conditions of
life hard. The South with her benign climate, her possibilities
of amassing wealth, the generous character and social hospital-
ity of her people, seemed to beckon most alluringly to the
young man. From early life he had a yearning for the South,
inherited perhaps from his West Indian mother, who never
became reconciled to the long, dreary winters of her adopted
home in Rhinebeck, and who according to family tradition died
of a broken heart for the beloved home of her youth in Cura-
coa. This yearning of the youthful Quitman to push farther
South was strengthened by his friendship with Mrs. Griffith,
of New Jersey, a lady of unusual character and ability, whom
he met with her husband, Judge Griffith when on his way to
Ohio. Travel was primitive in those days, and the traveler was
often made to depend upon his own resources for the best way
to accomplish his journey. The Griffiths were on their own
"keel boat," and were moving slowly forward under the man-
agement of their own slaves, on their way to Natchez to visit
their two sons, both of whom were prominent lawyers of that
town. An invitation was extended to young Quitman to join
them, and this led him to make his final decision to cast his for-
tunes in Mississippi. His own subsequent journey to Natchez,
which was afterwards performed partly on horseback through
almost a wilderness, and in the most rigorous weather, reads
like a romance.

In Natchez he became legally associated with Mr. Wm. B.
Griffith and rose rapidly in his profession, soon becoming one
of the leading members of the Mississippi judiciary and reach-
ing the highest position the State could offer. When in the
legislature "he effected many reforms in the chancery and
courts of law, and in various branches of the State government."
Being invited to prepare a "militia code" for the State, he gave
to it a great deal of earnest labor and when it was adopted re-

Life of General John A. Quitman. — Duncan. 417

fused all compensation for his services. In consequence of this,
on proposal of Mr. J. F. H. Claiborne (member from Adams
county) the legislature presented him with a "splendid" copy of>
Jefferson's Works.

On December 24th, 1824, he married Eliza, the only daughter'
of a wealthy planter by the name of Henry Turner, who was a
native of Virginia and who belonged to the Fielding and Lewis
families of that State, names now closely identified with the fairn
ily of Washington. The result of this union was the establish-
ment of a home just outside the city of Natchez. Here amid the
elevating influences of high moral and religious culture, and the
purity and beauty of a bountiful Southern nature, a family was
reared and grew to man's and woman's estate. Here was also
developed the tenderness of the father for his children and the
guidance of their innocent minds towards the highest and no-
blest qualities that build character.

Being an ardent lover of nature himself, he directed his chil-
dren at an early age to love also the great mother, and through
this in later life to receive consolation in sorrow and always
pleasure in the ordinary course of life. So the return of the
constellations which marked in the heavens the annual return of
the seasons, the flight of the wild cranes and geese in the spring
and fall, the first robin in winter and the first fire-fly in summer
were always eagerly looked for.

On the death of Mr. Griffith, my father took as a partner in
his law office the Hon. Jno. T. McMurran. They had met in
Chillicothe, where they formed a friendship that lasted through
life.

In 1835 he wrote to his brother, as follows :

"To show you that I am not wasting the prime of life in ignoble
ease, I may mention that I am a Senator in the Legislature, President
of the State Rights Association, President of the Anti-Abolition So-
ciety, of the Anti-Gambling Society, of the Anti-Dueling Society, of the
Mississippi Cotton Co., of the Railroad Company, Director of the
Planters' Bank, Grand Master Mason, Captain of the Natchez Fen-
cibles, Trustee of Jefferson College and of the Natchez Academy, be-
sides having charge of a cotton and sugar plantation and 150 negroes.
* * * I have a higher ambition to be a useful member of society than
to bear a more conspicious and sounding title."

It was at this time that Texas was fighting for her rights.
The fall of the Alamo called for the cause of liberty and glory
to be avenged. Capt. Quitman wrote to his brother that

27

Mississippi Historical Society.

"Freeman who are struggling for their violated rights should
not be left to struggle unaided." With such sentiments it was
impossible for him to consider his own comfort. With a com-
pany of young men, enthusiastic in the cause of freedom for the
oppressed, he soon left Natchez for the seat of war, ardent in
the hope of confronting Santa Anna and his 6,000 troops. This
expedition was full of romantic adventure. Like the knights
errant of old, Capt. Quitman and his company took up their
arms to redress the wrongs of the weak and helpless, and to
protect the homeless women and children. With the capture
of Santa Anna the war in Texas was virtually ended, and the
brave "Fencibles" with their leader returned to Natchez, he
having paid the expenses of the expedition from his private
purse.

In 1839 having been appointed to negotiate the bonds of the
Planter's Bank and to arrange for the completion of the Missis-
sippi Railroad, General Quitman sailed from New York to Liv-
erpool. Owing to the pressure of the times, the low value of
American securities and the mismanagement of the railroad
corporation in his absence, his mission was not successful. His
long voyage was, however, full of interesting incidents.

Returning home, he devoted himself anew to his profession,
made especially necessary at this juncture by his peculiar finan-
cial embarrassments. He had gone security for friends for
$40,000, all of which large debt it devolved ©n him to assume.
He had also endorsed paper for another friend for $24,000. As
his own obligations were of small account, a lucrative practice
soon enabled him to stand a free man once more. No man had
a greater horror of debt, and yet when these obligations were
paid off, his generous mind held no one to account for the
heavy burdens he had borne.

In 1845 we find him deeply interested in all the constitutional
and political interests of his adopted State, working only for
what he considered the best interests of her people. In 1847
he was President of the Board of Trustees of Jefferson College,
and became one of the founders of the State University. Polit-
ically he was always a Jeffersonian State-rights man and never
swerved from these principles. While he was not a confirmed
member of the Church he was naturally of a religious disposi-

Life of General John A. Quitman. — Duncan. 419

tion and his conduct was ever marked by the deepest reverence
for all sacred institutions and subjects.

When war was declared against Mexico in 1846 Gen. Quit-
man made a formal tender of his services to the President. This
was strengthened by an application in person for the appoint-
ment by John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, while the mem-
bers of Congress from the same State still further urged it. The
pressure was made greater by appeals from the Governor, Sen-
ators and Representatives of Mississippi, aided by men of
prominence from Louisiana and Texas, all of whom urged the
appointment. Under such combined pressure he received the
appointment of Brigadier General of Volunteers and joined
Gen. Taylor at his headquarters at Camargo, a Mexican town
on the right bank of the San Juan river. In his diary he de-
scribes Gen. Taylor as "farmer-like, frank and friendly." On
May I2th, in acknowledgment of his bravery and ability at the
battle of Monterey, Gen. Quitman received his commission of
Major General, and although now aware of ranking as senior
of Brevet Major General Worth, he was restrained from con-
testing his rank by his appreciation of the talents of that officer,
and the fear at such a juncture of detracting from the dignity
of the service. In his Life and Correspondence of John A. Quit-
men, Mr. Claiborne states that "his modesty withheld his claim
and he cheerfully acted under the orders of Gen. Worth." These
two distinguished generals maintained towards each other dur-
ing the war and afterwards the most friendly relations and ut-
most magnanimity.

Time and space forbid dwelling on the brilliant details of the
Mexican campaign that no subsequent war has dimmed. The
advance of the victorious army of the Americans through a hos-
tile country, where the enemy numbered as ten to one, was
marked by the surrender of one stronghold after another to a
force which, though small in numbers, seemed well nigh invin-
cible. As a last effort Santa Anna had amassed his troops in
and around the city of Mexico and to this point the American
General directed the march of his intrepid army.

"Molino-del Rey," the outpost of Chapultepec, was gained
at a great loss of life. Chapultepec was then to be taken. This
fortress and castle, key to the city of Mexico, like the Acropolis
at Athens, commanded an almost impregnable position. Sit-

42O Mississippi Historical Society.

uated on a rock 150 feet high (Col. G. F. M. Davis says 500 feet
above the level of the plain) it is a "frowning pile of masonry,"
dating from ancient Spanish times, and was by the Spaniards
considered impregnable. A succession of batteries planted on
its rugged sides assisted its natural defense. It stands 4,656
feet from the Belen gate. At the base of Chapultepec stands a
grove of cypress trees, its chief glory being a tree 41 feet in cir-
cumference— thought to be hundreds of years old — under whose
grateful shade Montezuma, the aztec king, is said to have
screened himself from the burning rays of the sun. To storm
and take this redoubtable pile was one of the most brilliant
feats of the war. Gen. Pillow commanded under Gen. Worth
the ascent on the western side, while Gen. Quitman was to at-
tack "the more formidable works on the southeast." Advancing
by the Tacubuya causeway, steadily they marched, steadily
fought, under storm of grape and musketry. The toilsome as-
cent had no protection, but on the contrary their progress was
hotly contested by fire and blood, as one battery after another
was encountered and passed, while the steep pathway bristled
with thorny cactus plants that brought additional pain to the
footsore and weary soldiers. Many a gallant man yielded his
life for his country's honor. The brave New York regiment
was cut to pieces, and the Palmettos of South Carolina were
even more exposed. The lion heart of their commanding gen-
eral could brook no defeat and his troops^ loved him as they
knew it. It was the brave Seymour of the New Yorkers under
Col. Burnet who tore down the Mexican flag and hoisted in its
place on the battlemented walls the colors of his regiment. Al-
most immediately the Palmetto flag waved alongside. Both
of these belonged to Gen. Quitman's command. The Mexican
general surrendered his sword to Lieut. Brower of the New
York regiment. Orders had been issued by Gen. Scott that
Gen. Worth was to effect an entrance into the city by the San
Cosme road, a longer route, but under better protection and
smoother, easier to travel ; while Gen. Quitman's division was
to march by the Tacubuya causeway, a shorter but more expos-
ed and dangerous route, and storm the Garita de Belen, which
constituted the other western gate that led into the city. The
night preceding the march was spent by the general in sending
reports and messages to General Scott as to his future move-

Life of General John A. Quitman. — Duncan. 421

ments. These were carried under great risk by his intrepid aid,
Lieut. Mansfield Lovell, whose horse to gain a pathway, had to
leap in the darkness of the night over the dead bodies of the
slaughtered men, and who was in continual danger from sharp-
shooters. General Lovell (who was then Lieutenant) never for-
got that night and from him I often had a graphic description
of it. The march along the causeway was desperate work, and
every man became a hero, as through morass, fire and smoke,
he fought his way to the powerful batteries of the Belen Gate.
This was the most brilliant achievement of the Mexican War.
Gen. Quitman reorganized his column with a calmness that
makes men great in the face of danger. Silent and determined,
he led his troops under the canopy of smoke, in the roar of the
guns and the groans of the wounded and dying men as it were
into the very "jaws of death." It was in one of the hottest
parts of the fight that "Harry," the faithful body-servant and
slave, approached his master with a bowl of chicken broth and
urged the General to eat it, as he had had nothing for over
twenty-four hours. Let me here add that as a reward for the
faithful servant's devotion, the I3th of September never return-
ed that "Harry" did not receive a five dollar gold piece. The
gallant Major Loring fell wounded just outside the gate, it was
then that Gen. Quitman, seizing a rifle fastened to it his own
red silk handkerchief (still in the possession of his family, a
treasured relic) and waving it over his head urged on the as-
sault, the troops responded with a "wild cheer" and followed
their leader, as Mr. Claiborne says, through a "hurricane of
fire," driving the enemy from his guns. Gen. Quitman "black
with smoke and stained with blood leaped upon a battery and
called for a flag." Lieut. Sellick, a Carolinian, sprang forward
and planted the Palmetto colors above the Belen Gate, but paid
the price with his life. He fell, struck by a bullet, under the
folds of the victorious banner. The battle lasted from noon
until dark on the I3th of September. At dawn on the following
day, the General, weary, footsore, with the rim of his hat shot
away, with only one shoe on, marched at the head of two or
three regiments, a victorious remnant, into the evacuated and
silent city of Mexico. Lieut. Beauregard's Report says the
clock struck seven as the troops drew up in line on the Grand

422 Mississippi Historical Society.

Plaza in front of the Cathedral, and the American flag was
planted on "the palace of the Montezumas."

The Mexicans had evacuated the city the night before, and
the deserted streets and barricaded houses were silent. Lieut.
Beauregard was the first to convey news of the victory to Gen.
Scott, whom he found with his staff near the San Cosme and
Chapultepec roads. At 8 a. m., an hour later, Gen. Scott with
his officers was received on the Grand Plaza by Gen. Quitman
with the highest military honors. Gen. Scott at once appointed
him civil and military governor of the city of Mexico, with head-
quarters in the Palace of the Montezumas. There has arisen
in these later days an erroneous belief that Gen. Worth was the
first American general to enter the conquered city, but the facts
of history are that Gen. Quitman with his troops marched into
the city just after daylight on the morning of the I4th of Sep-
tember, and that by 7 a. m. the American flag floated from the
highest point of the palace. Gen. Worth did not enter the city
until 8 o'clock, an hour later, coming in by the San Cosme Gate.
Both were brave leaders, but honor should be given to whom
honor is due.

One of the first acts of General Quitman as Governor of the
city was to establish law and order. Anything like rapine or rob-
bery was severely punished. Mexican ladies of the first rank
did not hesitate to appeal to his benevolence and clemency, nor
did they appeal in vain, and his own private purse was liberally
expended, says Col. Geo. T. M. Davis, his private secretary, in
the cause of the needy and suffering.

The taking of the city ended the War with Mexico. The vic-
tors returned home to be the heroes of the country, to receive
ovations, to be feted and honored, and to receive much public
demonstration from their justly proud fellow countrymen.
Three swords were presented to Gen. Quitman for his gallant
services. In a letter of that time, he says :

"The gales of popular favor have blown strong upon me, * * * if
I must incur the hazard of a storm, give me a wide sea and flowing
sail, I would rather go down gloriously, engulfed by a mountain wave
on the great deep than be swamped in the surf of the sea shore. My re-
ceptions everywhere have been enthusiastic * * I have declined over
loo invitations to public dinners and ceremonies."

Some years afterwards Mr. L. A. Bargy (Mudil Braig) wrote
in his honor the beautiful ballad "The Taking of the Gate" that
was published by Harper and Co.

Life of General John A. Quitman. — Duncan. 423,

Having dwelt at some length on the Mexican campaign as
the most brilliant period of my father's life and fearing I have
already transcended the request to be "concise," I will now give
only the leading facts of his subsequent life.

In 1849 ne was nominated and elected Governor of the State
of Mississippi, and on the loth of January, 1850, was sworn into
office. From this time on his political career, his love for the
South and her people, his faithful discharge of duty in her inter-
est, his abhorrence of all chicanery and duplicity in politics are
well known in the history of his time.

Though no disunionist his clear foresight and unclouded vis-
ion saw the conflict of the future that was so soon to rend the
country. He forsaw the aggressive policy of the North, the
compromises forced on the South could not but lead to a crisis
and that this was the dark cloud ahead on the horizon of the
country. His lament was that the coming struggle would not
be in his day, but would fall upon his children. As a child, after
hearing him talk on this subject, I can remember the disquieted
anxious feeling that would come over me, and I could not un-
derstand why he should feel as he did when all things seemed so
calm, so serenely at peace in our lives and home. But, alas !
he knew better than I. A few years later and the same home
was taken as headquarters by our dire enemies, and a rough
soldiery telling us we had "bad names" took whatsoever they
wanted.

My father's public life naturally brought him in contact with
many noted men of his day. His personal and public relations
with Gen. Scott were always of the most flattering nature and
their mutual esteem was the most sincere. This was shown
to his family after his death. Frank Blair and Robt. J. Walker
were also his warm personal friends. Among these must be
also mentioned Judge Butler of South Carolina, Senator
Brooks from the same State, Col. G. M. T. Davis of New York
and Col. Burnet and Gen. G. W. Smith. Among the younger
men were Generals Joseph E. Johnston, Braxton Bragg, Beau-
regard, Mansfield Lovell, Cadmus Wilcox, and Generals Mc-
Clellan and Hooker ("Fighting Joe") of the Federal service.

In 1855 Gen. Quitman was elected to Congress to represent
the Fifth Congressional District of Mississippi. He was ap-
pointed chairman of the Military Committee, a position he held

424 Mississippi Historical Society.

throughout his double Congressional service. In 1857- '8 hi&
health visibly began to fail. He had occasionally taken a meal
•at the National Hotel in Washington, and his friends thought
that he, too, was a victim to the mysterious poisoning that many
of the habitues of the hotel died from. Notwithstanding his vis-
ibly declining strength he still kept to his post of duty and was
never absent from his seat throughout the disquieting discus-
sion that gave admittance to "Bleeding Kansas" as a State.

The closing scenes were now gathering fast around him. On
the final ajournment of Congress, though ill able to travel, he
started for Natchez and home. Devoted friends assisted him
on the weary journey when he seemed too feeble to move with-
out assistance. When he reached Natchez on the morning of
the 2 ist his lifework he had discharged so ably and so faithfully
was ended. He was an ill man and never rallied from the coma-
tose condition into which he gradually sank. His friends felt
that his life had been sacrificed to duty. On July i/th, 1858, at
half past 5 p. m., his noble spirit passed into another life, there
was no "moaning at the Bar," he left so quietly as if falling
asleep. His age would have been fifty-nine the following Sep-
tember. He was buried at Monmouth with civil, military and
Masonic honors. Since then the family burying ground has
been moved to the city cemetery, and in the sacred enclosure,
surrounded by those he loved, now sleeps the brave, the noble
hero of the Garita de Belen.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES.

The leading speeches of Gen. Quitman in Congress were:

The Powers of the Federal Government with Regard to the Terri-
tories.

The Subject of the Neutrality Laws.

His principal Biography is:

Life and Correspondence of John A. Quitman, by J. F. H. Claiborne.

Portions of his Mexican Campaign will be found in the Autobiog-
raphy of the late Col. Geo. T. M. Davis, of New York, and in a History
of Gen. Cadmus Wilcox.

Some pamphlet sketches of his life are also in the possession of the
family. A brief biographical sketch of Gen. Quitman will also be found
in Goodspeed's Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Miss., Vol. I., pp.
<573-'5- Also Appleton's Cyclopaedia of American Biography.

T. A. S. ADAMS,
POET, EDUCATOR, AND PULPIT ORATOR.

i
BY DABNEY LjpscoMB.1

"As a thinker, a scholar, and a profound preacher, he was
above us all." Such was the generous tribute of a member of
the North Mississippi Conference to the Rev. T. A. S. Adams,
D. D., on the announcement of his sudden death in Jackson,
December 21, 1888. "As the author of Enscotidicn is destined
to take a high rank among the poets of America" are the open-
ing words of the Introduction written for that book by Dr. R.
A. Young, of Nashville, Tennessee. These quotations indicate
the rank and reputation of Dr. Adams among the Methodists
in and out of his native State. Outside his own church the at-
tainments and services of this poet-preacher and learned educa-
tor are too little known; and it is to introduce him more gen-
erally, and to place him on record more prominently as one of
the most remarkable men that Mississippi has produced, that
space for this paper is asked in the Publications of this His-
torical Society.

From personal acquaintance and attendance on his preach-
ing, from conversation and correspondence with those who
knew him best, from careful study of his two printed books of
poetry, and from manuscript sermons, poems, and miscella-
neous writings, to which he has had full access, the writer has
drawn for the contents of this sketch of the life and estimate
of the worth and the work of Dr. Adams. Particular attention
will be called to his place in the history of education and litera-
ture in the State rather than in its church history ; for his serv-
ices in the former are as notable as in the latter, but being less
conspicuous have not been so generally perceived and appre-
ciated.

According as the ancestral or the personal equation is most
important in the solution of the problem of their character and
work, men figuratively are said to descend or ascend from their

1 A biographical sketch of the author of this contribution will be found
in the Publications, Vol. III., p. 127.

426 Mississippi Historical Society.

ancestors. Genealogy in some cases is, therefore, more to be
considered than in others. Distinction in some men comes evi-
dently through the magnifying chiefly of family traits and tradi-
tions. Others seem to break almost completely with the past,
and through individuality of endowment and self-development
attain to prominence. The more complex and symmetrical the
character, the more difficult is the analysis.

Inheritance and early environment were factors too important
in shaping and coloring the character and life of Dr. Adams to
be dismissed with a cursory glance. Welsh-Irish by descent,
unbroken for at least three or four generations back, Celtic
temperament and cast of thought find in him a striking ex-
ample, affecting strongly as will be seen his whole life work.
His great-grandparents emigrated from Ireland to South Caro-
lina about the year 1766. They were land owners and Protes-
tants in that island. Francis Adams, the grandfather of Dr.
Adams, was six years old at the time. Later he served under
Sumter in the Revolution, and returning home married Mar-
garet McKee, who, like himself, was Irish by birth and Presby-
terian in faith. Thirteen children were born to them at their
home near Camden, South Carolina. One of them, Abram
Adams, was born in 1791, and seems to have been as stout a
patriot as was his father; for on hearing the news that the
British were ascending the Potomac, in the War of 1812, he at
once enlisted in the United States army for five years, and
served out more than the full term. Distinct traces of this ser-
vice remained ever afterward in the thought and bearing of this
noteworthy man. History and government were his favorite
topics, and even in the abstractions of philosophy and theology
he often took peculiar pleasure. He found in Nancy Gooch
Morgan, daughter of Dr. Lemuel Morgan, of Welsh descent, a
devoted and helpful wife. With her and five children he moved
in 1834 to Noxubee county, Mississippi, buying from the In-
dians the farm on which he lived until his death in 1869. In
purchasing from the Indians rather than from the Government,
from which for services in the War of 1812 he could have
claimed a homestead, he reveals something of his character.
He paid three times the market price, but claimed that by so
doing he secured "a better title" to his land. Uncompromising
in his integrity, detesting fraud and hypocrisy, always grave,

T. A. S. Adams. — Lipscomb. 427

moody and even melancholy and irritable at times, he was to
his neighbors "a strange man." His family loved and revered
him, for they knew that he was true and just in spite of ap-
parent austerity of mien and speech.

Such a man was Abram Adams the father of Thomas Albert
Smith Adams, the subject of this sketch, who was born at the
Noxubee home, February 5, 1839, and named for a general
under whom his father had served as soldier in the United
States army. The acute, speculative intellect, mercurial tem-
perament, and patriotic spirit of the father were reproduced in
the son. From the mother are more distinctly traceable his
unwonted energy, religious bias, and indomitable will power.
To them both Dr. Adams paid a loving, admiring tribute in his
journal under the dates respectively on which he received the
news of their death, gratefully acknowledging his indebtedness
to them and graphically portraying the character and to some
extent the life of each.

Ten of the fourteen children of this family lived to the age of
twenty-one; and, as the journal referred to states, in fulfillment
of their mother's chief desire, every one of them became an ac-
tive member of the church. Two of the brothers still live at
or near the old homestead ; and from the eldest, Mr. Lemuel
Adams, an interesting account of the family was received.

Space cannot be asked for more of the family history than is
required to show the influences that chiefly affected the early
life of T. A. S. Adams, in whom, as has been indicated, inherited
traits and tendencies were strongly marked. In his life may
almost as clearly be seen the influence of that well ordered,
busy, religious country home. Not wealthy, but comfortably
well off, the boys and girls were trained to work ; parental ex-
ample and precept encouraging in the children habits of thrift
and economy. Their mental training, meanwhile, was not neg-
lected; for an excellent teacher was employed for the school
near by. His services were engaged for five years, Mr. Adams
and a neighbor guaranteeing the compensation agreed upon.
Under this worthy, and it seems very capable teacher, Mr. Hub-
bard by name, in an old-field school, the future scholar and poet
learned the elements of a liberal education and acquired, doubt-
less, correct habits of study and that insatiable thirst for knowl-
edge which remained with him through life. A full, graphic,

428 Mississippi Historical Society.

and rather humorous description perhaps, of that very school
is given in the seventh chapter of his poem entitled Aunt Peggy.
The following lines are suggestive :

"The school-house of the pioneer!
No modern look has it to wear;
No walls with maps and pictures hung,
To fascinate or teach the young;
No desk on which to carve a name
Or chalk its owner into fame.

The chimney, broad and deep, was good

To hold a half a load of wood;

And round it half the school might gather

To bake their shins in wintry weather;

Far healthier this than in a room

Where stoves dispense their sick perfume.

God made the great men — schools may grow

Or sink to ruin — be it so!

But while the sky is overhead

And boys o'er hill and valley thread

The pathway to the old field school,

Not every man will die a fool."

But other influences were indirectly, perhaps unconsciously,
making indelible impressions on the mind and character of the
boy. Life was gradually taking on a richer, fuller meaning;
he was beginning to see visions, to dream dreams, and to feel

"A presence that disturbed him with the joy of elevated thoughts."

The old home on the hill, with its spacious rooms, wide hall,
long gallery in front, and the fine view from it northward across
the prairie to the woods that skirted the river a mile or two
away — all must have early made strong appeal to his sensitive,
poetic nature. And what may have been the effect of his con-
tact with the Indians still living near, with their tales of hunting
and of war, it would be difficult to estimate. Plantation life to
a Southern boy then meant largely companionship with the
negroes, seeking adventure with the young and listening
eagerly to the marvels and superstitions of the old. That all
these things affected him early and lingered with him long may
be gathered readily from his poetry and narrative prose. The
dream of a negro boy who was his playmate he transformed
into a youthful epic, which he later used as the germ of his
greatest poetical production. It is said that he often thus
amused and astonished occasionally his family and friends with
his boyish attempts in verse.

T. A. S. Adams. — Lipscomb. 429

The next event of special significance in the life of T. A. S.
Adams occurred in his eighteenth year. Like his father and
grandfather before him, the military spirit grew strong within
him on approaching manhood; and he was preparing to enter
the United States Military Academy at West Point, having se-
cured a cadetship through the influence of William Barksdale,
then a Congressman from Mississippi. But in the midst of his
preparations there came a sudden revolution in his nature and
his plans. While in attendance on a great camp-meeting that
summer, he was profoundly convinced of a call to preach. Li-
cense was granted him by the Methodist church of which for
several years he had been a member. Accordingly, as a student
preparing for the ministry, T. A. S. Adams in September, 1857,
entered the University of Mississippi and was admitted to the
Sophomore class. His brother, Joseph Miles Adams, came
with him and joined the same class. The records of the Uni-
versity show that the young candidate for the ministry was an
excellent student, particularly in rhetoric, literature, and the
languages. Unexpectedly, but with an honorable dismissal
from President Barnard, he left the University of Mississippi
in October, 1859, an<3 entered the Senior class at Emory and
Henry College in Virginia. There his literary ability, elo-
quence, and high standing as a student soon gained for him the
title of "Poet, Orator, and Divine," which clung to him through
life with increasing appropriateness. In June, 1860, he gradu-
ated with distinction in a class of sixteen.

His marriage to Miss Susan Smith, of Emory, Va., took
place on December 20, 1860. Until his death she heroically
shared his toils and trials, and sympathetically sustained and
cheered him in his periods of disappointment and despondency.
She survives him and now lives at Emory, her paternal home.
To her the writer is indebted for valuable assistance in the
preparation of this paper, and especially for the privilege of ac-
cess to her husband's journals, manuscript sermons, poems,
and miscellaneous writings.

Life now began in earnest with the gifted and well educated
young candidate for the ministry, but apparently not as he an-
ticipated. With his young wife he spent the greater part of
1861 in Mississippi, engaged in school teaching. The War
came, and his patriotic and soldierly instincts asserted them-

43° Mississippi Historical Society.

selves again. He at once joined the Eleventh Mississippi Vol-
unteers as a private; and later became chaplain of the regi-
ment. One of the most interesting of his note books is dated
Camp Fisher, February 16, 1862. When the notes were made
is uncertain, as there is no date in them except that on the fly-
leaf. The following enumeration of the principal contents of
this book will serve to indicate the thoroughness and breadth
of his scholarship: Discourses on the Providence of God and
the Finity of Mind ; a poem to his brother Abram ; sixty pages
of notes in Hebrew, Greek, and Latia on the Book of Proverbs;
similar notes on the first seven chapters of the Book of Job;
thirty pages of Italian vocabulary; and a page of aphorisms
from Carlyle. An understanding of the nature, range, accuracy
and systematic method of his researches could hardly be better
given than by an examination of this note book, prepared
though it was only for private use.

Sixteen months of army life ended in the breaking down of
his health and his consequent return to his old home in Nox-
ubee county, Mississippi. He there relieved his aged father of
much of the burden of farming, and besides taught for a year or
more the neighborhood school. What, with maturer mind and
riper knowledge and experience, return for several years to his
childhood country home at such a time meant to him, and how
thereby his poetic and philosophic tendencies may have been
accentuated may be surmised but not exactly told ; for there is
little record of that period of his life.

In 1865 he joined the Mobile Conference, to begin anew the
work to which he had dedicated his life ten years before, and to
which he continued to give his first allegiance. That so much
of his time was subsequently spent in teaching instead of
preaching was, as he explained, more by the choice of the
church than of himself. Only the leading events of his busy,
changeful life will here be given; on which, as a background,
the preacher, the educator, and the man of letters may be por-
trayed.

It will perhaps be somewhat surprising to learn that from
1868 to 1870 Mr. Adams was again in Virginia teaching school.
In 1870 he rejoined the Mobile Conference and was stationed
at Forkland, Alabama. The North Mississippi Conference was
organized that year; and, joining it, he became the pastor dur-

T. A. S. Adams. — Lipscomb. 431

ing 1871 and 1872 of the church at Greenville, Mississippi. A
movement to establish a Methodist high school in each presid-
ing elder's district about this time resulted for Mr. Adams,
whose reputation as a scholar had become well known, in his
appointment to the charge of the district high school located
at Black Hawk, Miss. He was at the same time assistant to
the preacher on that circuit. Three or four years at Black
Hawk as preacher and teacher were followed by two at Kosci-
usko in similar double occupation. His reputation for learning
and pulpit eloquence was during those years growing rapidly.
As a poet and as a frequent contributor to the various church
papers, he was also attracting interest at home and abroad.
Enscotidion; or, Shadow of Death, a lengthy poem of great
originality and in parts of rare beauty and power appeared in
1876. The nature of the poem, and perhaps its learned title,
prevented a more popular reception ; but by careful readers of
ripe scholarship and poetic taste it was regarded as a poem of
unusual merit, as was indicated by a quotation in the opening
paragraph of this paper. Fuller reference to this remarkable
production will be made before closing. Discouraged, it ap-
pears, in his efforts to establish at Kosciusko such a school as
he designed, he sought for a return to the regular pastorate;
and by Bishop Keener was appointed to take charge during
1878 of the Columbus church, one of the leading stations in the
Conference. Hearing that there was objection in this church
to his appointment, he went reluctantly to the work. Whatever
objection there had been at the beginning was soon largely re-
moved by his ability in the pulpit. But he seems not to have
understood the change in attitude of his church, and appar-
ently welcomed an opportunity of severing his connection with
them. To their surprise and to the regret of his friends, in less
than three months, he resigned this charge to accept the Presi-
dency of Soule Female College at Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
From 1880 to 1885, he is again at Kosciusko, at the head of a
seminary for young ladies, preaching on Sundays in the town
or the adjacent country, and still busy with his pen. A tint
Peggy, and Other Poems came from the press in 1882, and in the
same year he was pressing vigorously the movement for the
establishment of a Methodist male college in the State. He
was also one of the delegates from his Conference to the Gen-

432 Mississippi Historical Society.

eral Conference of the church which met that year at Nashville,
Tennessee. The degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred
on him in 1884 by his Alma Mater, Emory and Henry College.
In 1885 he left Kosciusko, having been appointed to the pre-
siding eldership of the Holly Springs District. Again, after a
few months of service, he was called from the regular ministry
to a college presidency, this time to the presidency of Centen-
ary College, Louisiana, and pastorate of the town church.

His plans for building up this college seem to have miscar-
ried ; and losing confidence in its future, he resigned the Presi-
dency in 1887. That year he had the honor of being the poet
of the Semi-Centennial Celebration of his Alma Mater, Emory
and Henry College, and acquitted himself well in the noble,,
thoughtful verses with which he commemorated that interest-
ing occasion.

Still adhering to his long-cherished idea of a Mississippi
Methodist male college, before leaving Centenary College, he
purchased in 1887 property in Jackson, Mississippi, for the pur-
pose of establishing a high school, which he was encouraged to
hope would be the nucleus for a Methodist college in the fu-
ture at the capital of the State. Two young men were employed
as teachers, and the school was conducted by them until Feb-
ruary, 1888. But the prospect of the endowment expected be-
ing soon cut off, and competition as a private high school with
the new public graded school being impossible, Dr. Adams re-
linquished his college idea, closed his school, and again sought
regular pastoral work.

The year 1888 finds him on Richland circuit in the Winona
District of the North Mississippi Conference, spending, as he
reported at the Conference in December, the happiest year of
his life. Doubt as to his future course and despondency over
disappointments had passed away; and in genial, almost joyful
mood, he met and mingled freely with his brethren to their de-
light and edification. His sermon on John i :io made a deep
impression on the Conference. In cheerful mood, he returned
to Jackson to pack his goods, preparatory to leaving as soon as
possible for Oxford, his new appointment. Ruddy, robust, vig-
orous, and hopeful, many years of usefulness and honor
seemed yet in store for him. But his sun was about to set at:

T. A. S. Adams. — Lipscomb. 433

noon. The sad and sudden end came on December 21, 1888,
in the freight depot at Jackson, Miss. He was waiting at the
desk for a bill of lading when, from a stroke of apoplexy, with-
out a word, he sank lifeless to the floor. Eloquent tributes tc*
his memory were paid by Bishop Galloway and Dr. Murrah the
next day in the Methodist church in Jackson, after which his
remains were sorrowfully laid to rest in the city cemetery.

So lived and died a man eminent for ability and for service to
his church and state ; an honor and ornament to both. Above
the medium in height, stalwart in frame, head shapely and well
poised, brow ample, features noble, eyes soulful and speaking,
thus he appeared as he moved among men. Simplicity, neat-
ness, economy, and industry were his cardinal secular virtues,
and he practiced them continuously, or rather seemed to live
them unconsciously. Usually placid and genial, he was some-
times sensitive and melancholy, hasty and prejudiced. An un-
derstanding of his intensely emotional and imaginative nature is
essential to a right interpretation of his life. His independence,
unconventionality, and rich vein of humor must also be taken
into account in explanation of some of his singularities of
thought and action. To those who knew him well or who have
carefully read his writings, these statements need not be verified
by illustrations which might be given if space permitted. Dr.
Adams, it should be also said, was warm of heart as well as
strong of intellect. Of children he was extremely fond, and to
his friends he was lavish in his love and confidence. It is told of
him that he was found one day sitting on the floor in the midst
of a circle of children who had gathered at his home, entertain-
ing them and himself so thoroughly as to be oblivious to the
entrance of some ladies until they laughed and broke the spell.
In explanation he simply said: "I have been to heaven for a
little while," and quoted Luke 18:17. That he had no children
of his own lends interest to the incident. "A great soul, a.
princely man, a noble friend" is the concise description of him
by a leader in his Conference. But his reputation as a pulpit
orator, his services in the cause of education, and his contribu-
tion to the literature of the State, his chief claims to distinction,
must now be given a fuller consideration.

28

434 Mississippi Historical Society.

I.

It was as a learned and, at times, captivating and convincing
preacher that Dr. Adams was best known and probably will
chiefly be remembered. Originality, or more accurately per-
haps, individuality in thought and style was one of his striking
characteristics. He imitated neither the living nor the dead.
Self reliant and intrepid as a thinker, he nevertheless prepared
his sermons thoroughly. Many of them were written out in
full with scarcely a blot or erasure in the final copy. His
occasional talks and addresses were also often drawn up
carefully and entered into a note book for preservation. His
learning was introduced freely into his sermons, and yet so nat-
urally and unostentatiously as seldom to offend. Rarely was he
other than stimulating and edifying; though frequently he fell
so far short of his conception of a theme as seriously to depress
him afterward. This is especially true with reference to his ex-
temporaneous efforts, in which more than most men he was af-
fected by the circumstances of the occasion; likely, therefore,
either to exceed or fall short of expectation. Except his noble
presence and expressive eye, he lacked the potent, personal
gifts of oratory ; for his voice had not the range and flexibility
nor his delivery the grace and power of a great speaker. Not-
withstanding these limitations, which he evidently was con-
scious of, in his golden moods he could so marshal and irradiate
his thoughts as to enrapture with their profundity and brilli-
ancy.

Preachers and laymen of the North Mississippi Conference
still talk of his grand missionary address at Holly Springs, of
his wonderful sermon on "Moses" at the Ackerman district
conference, of his last great effort at the Conference of 1888
on "The Rejected Christ," and of similar of his triumphs in the
pulpit. The writer will never forget the sermon or the scene
in that little frame church at Ackerman. The preacher, be-
ginning so simply, grows keenly analytic and vividly pictur-
esque, ascends gradually to lofty altitudes of thought and dic-
tion, and moves to the end with ease along the shining summits.
The audience, at first respectfully attentive, becomes deeply
interested, and then charmed and captivated follow him with
strained ears and fixed gaze to the closing syllable. It was a
great sermon, and a great hour for preacher and people.

T. A. S. Adams. — Lipscomb. 435

Whatever the culture of his audience or the nature of the
occasion, Dr. Adams, at his best, could more than meet the de-
mands of the hour. As one of his scholarly brethren has well
said, "He could preach with power at a straw-pen camp-meet-
ing and to the delight of his audience on a commencement oc-
casion." The secret of this adaptability lay in the spirit and
the dominant purpose of the preacher. This could be readily
gathered from his sermons ; but in his own words it unmistak-
ably recorded in an hour when he felt deeply his insufficiency
for his high calling. In some jottings in a note-book under
"Unaccomplished Purposes," he thus reveals his humility and
aspiration : "The world is rolling on and people are rushing to
their graves; thousands heedless of what is beyond. Can no
voice reach them ? Oh, that I could preach so as to make peo-
ple do ! My congregations are attentive, but how lifeless they
seem to be in action. 'O Lord, it is time for thee to work,' "

Always evangelical, he was profound and luminous in exegesis
and masterful in homiletics. Poetical and philosophical, spirit-
ual and logical, scholarly and original — it is not surprising that
he came to eminence. What heights he might have reached had
he not so often been called from the pulpit to the school room,
it is futile though interesting to conjecture.

II.

The cause of education was dear to the heart of Dr. Adams.
Reference to the foregoing sketch of his life will show that
nearly twenty of his best years were given largely to its ad-
vancement. From "keeping" a country school, through high
school and seminary for young ladies, to college presidency, his
experience ranged in this important field. It was peculiarly,
almost irresistibly, attractive to him. But, whether his ideals
were too lofty, his plans and methods impractical, or his esti-
mate of results too low, there is little doubt that the large ex-
penditure of his gifts and energies in this direction was unsatis-
factory to him. At Kosciusko he succeeded best; and, with
many of his pupils, the memory of their sainted, scholarly friend
and teacher will be forever venerated. Growth, by voluntary,
individual activity and contact of mind with mind, was to him a
cardinal principle in education. He regarded the teacher as a
friend, as well as guide, to the pupil in his explorations and ac-

436 Mississippi Historical Society.

quisitions in the realms of learning. Hence, the teacher should
be approachable and ever ready to lead or point the way, but
not always to smooth and straighten it, or to bear burdens
which the pupils must grow stronger by bearing themselves.
Family government as nearly as possible was his ideal for the
school room and the dormitory. Character, culture, and in-
spiration, as well as discipline and knowledge, he held, should
be kept in view in education. Such motives and conceptions of
his work as a teacher, pressed with his wonted zeal, could not
fail to bear rich fruit in the young lives that felt the impress
of his character and the inspiration of his ripe scholarship.

His efforts as a Christian educator were not limited to his
own school and locality. It has been mentioned that in the
movement to establish conference district high schools he was
an active participator. As the capstone for this system of
church schools, he was among the first, if not the first, to pro-
pose the erection of a Mississippi Methodist male college. He
urged the undertaking in addresses before the district confer-
ences; and in the New Orleans Christian Advocate time and
again he set forth in cogent arguments the need and the practi-
cability of such an institution. His controversy with Drs. Mel-
len and Johnson on the subject in that paper grew spirited and
rather personal. They differed chiefly with reference to the
method of securing an endowment and the possibility of the en-
terprise in general. An extract from an article in the New
Orleans Advocate of October 26, 1882, in which he replies to
Drs. Mellen and Johnson, will perhaps serve best to show sub-
stantially the views of Dr. Adams on this question. As it will
also reveal somewhat his personality and his style as a con-
troversialist, the fullness of the quotation may be justified :

"If my sentiments are not popular, I can say they are mine, and that
they came by inheritance and are inalienable and dearer than popu-
larity; if not always complimentary to the rich and great, never scorn-
ing the honest or the poor. And here let me say to Bro. Mellen, Dr.
Johnson, and all others that I have no spite or hatred against either
Vanderbilt or Seney. But if I venture to suggest that we might do
better than flatter Northern men for their millions by urging our own
people to give their tens, their hundreds, and their thousands, wherein
do I sin? *** When a man in Mississippi [Dr. Vaiden of Carroll Co.],
a few years ago, offered on certain conditions to give fifty thousand
dollars, his offer was laid on the top shelf until he, being mortal, died.
* * * Some attention bestowed in the nourishing of the spirit of liber-
ality at home will, I think, pay as well in money and far better in self-
respect than the course we have been pursuing. I here say in answer

T. A. S. Adams. — Lipscomb. 437

to Dr. Johnson's question that I am not looking for a Northern dona-
tion; and, if offered, I should consult my wife at least twice about it
I would, however, under any contingency, as to the acceptance or non-
acceptance of the million, feel that I had done more for my people by
persuading them to give one hundred thousand than in securing the
million. ********** *Dr. johnson calls the enterprise "T. A. S
A. s Mississippi College." In one sense I appreciate the expression
But let everybody fully understand that I ask no ownership or position
further than to be known as its advocate first, last, and forever. Had
I my choice, and not under the constraint of a conscience not my own,
I should, years ago, have sought the retirement of a farmer's life. I ani
a teacher now more by the choice of the church than of myself. This
Dr. Johnson himself knows. If the college can be built, I am willing to
be set so far in the background of its management that I shall not be
officially known even on a conference committee relating to its inter-
ests. But still, if it be erected and Providence allows my eyes to look
upon it, I shall feel better if Dr. Johnson and all the rest of the faculty
will allow me to say it is mine — mine in association with struggles,
tears, and toils undergone to achieve it; mine in the simplicity of its
unadulterated love and nourishing care over my own home and kin-
dred."

At his death, there seemed little hope that this dream of years
of his and others would so soon become a grand reality; that
only two or three years thereafter another great-souled Mis-
sissippian in the person of Maj. R. W. Millsaps would arise and
by the offer of his thousands over against the tens and hun-
dreds contributed by the membership of the church, in 1892,
bring Millsaps Methodist College into existence. Would that
he could have lived to see that day; aye, more, could now see
how fully his ideals have been embodied in spacious grounds
and handsome buildings into which gather hundreds of eager,
noble youth to search under able leadership the fields of sci-
ence, art, and literature. It is befitting that his dust should
sleep in the burial ground near by, where the students of this
Methodist college of Mississippi may visit and keep green the
grave of him who plead so earnestly in their behalf for the edu-
cational privileges which they enjoy. On the grounds or in the
halls of this college, always to be credited chiefly to Major
Millsaps and Bishop Galloway, a suitable memorial might ap-
propriately be erected to Dr. T. A. S. Adams, the learned edu-
cator and eloquent divine, who was the able "advocate first,
last, and forever" of a Mississippi Methodist male college, but
died unblessed with the sight of Millsaps Methodist College —
the fulfillment by others of his hopes, his labors, and his
prayers.

438 Mississippi Historical Society.

III.

As a man of letters more than as an educator, and even more
than as a preacher, is Dr. Adams entitled to rank among emi-
nent Mississippians. It may be said of him as truly as of
Robert Louis Stevenson, that he was "irrepressibly literary."
With Washington Irving, he could himself have said, "I have
never found in anything outside the four walls of my study any
enjoyment equal to sitting at my writing desk with a clean page,
a new theme, and a mind wide awake." When at home, his
time was almost wholly occupied in reading, writing, and man-
ual labor. That he aspired to distinction in letters he did not
attempt to conceal. Reference has been made to the contents
of one of his note-books as indicative of the scope, system,
and accuracy of his scholarship in early manhood.

For twenty years or more he continued in the same full, neat,
and thorough manner to keep a record of his literary work of
nearly every kind. This was his recreation, as well as method
of training in the art of composition in prose and verse. It ap-
pears that he often wrote as the impulse prompted, merely to
give expression to a passing thought or mood, but always as
correctly as if it were intended for the press.

The contents of four or five of the ledger note-books which
have been examined fall under the following general heads:
statistics and memoranda, sermon notes, poems, prose miscel-
lany, stories and legends, and language notes.- Eight pages of
Idioms in Cicero and in the same book as many more pages of
special word study indicate his linguistic taste and habits of
careful research. Even where his word studies do not accord
with the authorities, his derivations and explanations of
changed meanings are interesting as shrewd theories or poetic
surmises. Master of three ancient languages and well versed
in four modern languages besides his own, he was exceptionally
well equipped for such study, and his facile and discriminating
use of language bears testimony to this phase of his scholarship.

Bordering in nature on these language notes is an essay in
the same volume on Anecdotes and Traditions presenting his
views of their relation to each other and to history. A few
quotations from this essay will probably be interesting to the
readers, and it may be profitably suggestive to the writers, of
Mississippi history.

T. A. S. Adams. — Lipscomb. 439

"Traditions are a great bore to the historian. They are a lot of un-
lettered and unrefined rustics that push without ceremony into his
presence, and will be heard in spite of his positive refusal to listen.
Anecdotes are frequently traditions. Sometimes they are as well au-
thenticated as state documents. Often they are fictitious both as to
fact and application; and oftener they are fictitious simply as to appli-
cation. * * * The disposition of men is to make a lion's bristle
longer than an ass's tail. Even historians are prone to put their heroes
under this magnifying lens, while they squint till they can barely see any
object not concerned with their hero. * * * The anecdote is not in-
tended to supplant history, but it is rather an appendix. It has no right
to be incorporated in history until it has passed its probation in the
marginal note; and even then it should pass a very searching examina-
tion. * * * If such be the position of the anecdote, that of tradition
must of course fall much lower. Indeed, when anecdotes become tradi-
tional it is questionable whether they should ever more than very oc-
casionally usurp marginal space. And yet traditional anecdotes enter
largely into history. * * * But nature abhors a vacuum; and if
nothing else can be had to stop a hole, she stops it with air. So history
dreads a hiatus; and if nothing ,else is at hand to prevent it, anecdotes,
tradition, fable — anything."

Other essays, apparently contributions to periodicals, are
here and there to be found in his papers. Among the best are :
Bern' It's You, Greatness, and Wanted — A First-class Idler. These
prove that Dr. Adams understood men as well as books, and
that the current of humor in him was by no means shallow or
sluggish. Five incomplete stories and several legends attest
the earnestness of his desire to succeed as a novelist and short
story writer. From Scott's day to this, poets have with increas-
ing frequency turned aside to prose fiction as a shorter road to
wealth, if not to fame ; probably to both. Poe, Simms, Aldrich,
and Howells are recalled as Americans who have found more
gold about the foot than on the slopes of Mount Parnassus.
Whether from disappointment at the reception of his poems,
for variety, or for increased remuneration, it is clear that in his
latter years Dr. Adams devoted more time to fiction than to
poetry. Success in this field he confessedly did not reach ; for
not one of his more ambitious efforts ever appeared in print
or came fully to completion. Twenty-seven chapters of a story
of Methodist itinerancy were outlined, and the first chapter
written in full. Seven chapters of a weird romance satisfied
him in that direction, and the fragment was laid aside. On a
metaphysical novel entitled Up and Down, over four hundred
pages were finished and the work was dropped. A prize story
of adventure was all but completed in 1883, but for some reason
was never given the final touches and sent to the paper offer-

44° Mississippi Historical Society.

ing the prize. The Story of An Old Horse By Himself was care-
fully planned, and in several revisions remains unfinished still.
The Legend of the Fork, which perhaps appeared in print, he no
doubt learned when stationed at Forkland, near the confluence
of the Tombigbee and Black Warrior rivers. The traditional
overthrow, almost annihilation, of the Creeks by the Choctaws
in that vicinity is the tragic termination of this highly interest-
ing legend, in support of which local evidences are introduced.
Attention has been called to his articles on a Methodist col-
lege for Mississippi in the New Orleans Christian Advocate.
Dr. Adams was also a welcome contributor to several other
church papers, which must not be overlooked; for, without a
knowledge of the variety of themes and wealth of resources
shown in his numerous press contributions, a proper estimate
of his literary attainments and interesting personality is hardly
possible. The doctrines, polity, educational interests, history,
literature, and other topics directly and indirectly denomina-
tional, he treated ably and unequivocally, in luminous and of-
ten trenchant style, at times in humorous or satiric vein. Rev.
R. G. Porter, an intimate friend of Dr. Adams, tells a charac-
teristic incident which in substance is as follows: Dr. Adams
was a frequent contributor to the St. Louis Christian Advo-
cate over the pen name Guzman. To one of "Guzman's" ar-
ticles, a writer signing himself Nehemiah, replied vigorously
in the next issue. For sometime the discussion continued,
growing in range and depth and warmth. "Gilderoy" (Rev. R.
G. Porter), not exactly liking the views of either, and thinking
"Nehemiah" was getting a little the better of his friend "Guz-
man," entered the controversy, hoping to lay the dust or pour
oil upon the waters. By the next mail, to his surprise and
amusement, came a card from Dr. Adams saying bluffly and
familiarly: "Hands off, Porter; this is none of your fight.
It's all mine. Haven't you sense enough to see I am both
Guzman and Nehemiah? The question needed discussion; and
I wanted it done thoroughly, so took both sides of it myself."

IV.

Inadequate as is the foregoing presentation of the place Dr.
Adams holds in prose as a man of letters, it must suffice ; for
his place and rank as a poet now claims a full consideration,

T. A. S. Adams. — Lipscomb. 441

As has been shown, from boyhood he evinced poetic tempera-
ment and tastes. Early associations and school influences
rapidly developed these traits and proclivities. Intellectual and
spiritual culture and the vicissitudes of active life so intensified
and confirmed them that he came to find his chief delight in
the exaltations and raptures springing from the workings of
his own fervid imagination. The exercise of his poetic gifts
was a luxury and not a labor ; yet, at the same time, he felt an
obligation to use nobly and cultivate assiduously his poetic
powers. The technique of verse was so well mastered that
flaws in his metrical schemes can rarely be found.

Occasions of almost every kind served his muse as theme or
inspiration, and often the impulse to reveal or soothe a pass-
ing mood was sufficient to produce a hymnic or elegiac strain.
On the backs of envelopes, on hotel letter-heads, or on any
scrap of paper which chanced to be at hand, such effusions
were first written and afterward revised, and then, if thought
worthy, copied in a note book for preservation. To the first
page of his journal or to the last, to his birthday, and to sim-
ilar objects and occasions he indited verses; often intended, it is
clear, for no eye except his own, serving him as practice or for
the joy or comfort gotten in the exercise. These diversions
in rhyme are mentioned simply to show how in his leisure mo-
ments he turned instinctively to poetry for solace and recrea-
tion, and how he acquired the skill and ease in versifying which
enabled him to accomplish greater things in the art so dear to
him. Of the manuscript poems still unpublished, more need not
be said than that they are mostly of the personal and occa-
sional type of no especial merit, excepting scattered touches
of genuinely poetic thought and sentiment.

The author himself culled his poems carefully for the volume
published in 1882 entitled Aunt Peggy, and Other Poems. Aunt
Peggy is a narrative poem of about thirty-one hundred lines,
broken into ten chapters. The heroine was an aged aunt of the
poet's, from whom at intervals he had gathered an imperfect
story of her long, pathetic, and in part romantic life. Written
in short iambic couplets, discursively narrative, the poem as a
whole is disappointing, in spite of many vigorous and tender
passages and bits of fine description and philosophizing. The

442 Mississippi Historical Society.

first three chapters are introductory, descriptive of Aunt Peggy,
her cottage, and its surroundings, and explanatory of how as a
boy the author casually gleaned from her the leading events of
her long, strange life. Her combat at seven or eight years of
age with a vicious turkey-gobbler, which she finally killed with a
churn dasher, the closing day of the old-field school, her daring
ride on an unbroken colt with only her spinning-wheel band for
a bridle, how by a limb of a tree under which she passed she
swung off unhurt, and her singularly pathetic death, are the
main incidents. The tragic death of her husband and children,
and her lonely latter days are not dwelt upon. With delicate
skill is set forth her shy disclosure to the boy of the secreted
mementos of her first love, which she had treasured to the last.
The interest otherwise in the poem lies chiefly in the queer
theology and homely wisdom of Aunt Peggy, and in the pic-
tures of simple, hardy country life as it was in Mississippi sev-
enty or eighty years ago. Chapter seven on the old-field
school for humor and historic interest surpasses the other
chapters. The description of the school house has been given.
See now the teacher:

"The rod of empire in his hands —
Twirling the hickory — scepter such
As princes might be proud to touch;
Heir of the birch's name and sway,
Which nursling statesmen must obey,
And poets, ere they learn to rhyme,
Must catch its music many a time;
Aye, many a young Demosthenes
Has felt its logical 'you sees;'
And linguists skilled in ancient roots
• Found nuts were classed among its fruits."

Less fanciful are the heroine's reminiscences of her early
days:

"Stop, child," Aunt Peggy calmly said,
And from her knitting raised her head;
"I think you'd bother your Creator
About the poles and earth's equator.
Your teachers now would make believe
We only learned to spin and weave,
When in reality we knew
As much about the world as you. .
Some things we didn't know nor care
To know; we didn't buy our hair
From Yankee milliners, nor twist
Brass bands to go around the wrist;
We didn't spell our names ie
Or bang all day the do, re, mi —
*****

T. A. S. Adams. — Lipscomb. 443

We didn't have the financiers
Which we have had these later years —
Boss Tweed or Babcock, Oakey Hall,
And all their cousins, great and small.
We had no railroad strikes — no fires —
No highwaymen to cut the wires —
No life insurance companies
But that one founded in the skies
Thank Heaven for his mercy's sake,
The risks of life for me he'll take — "

There are prosy parts, and triteness and conventionality oc-
casionally are manifest in thought and style. But the most re-
markable transgression of the writer is to be found in the con-
temptuous or flippant tone in which he refers to critics, schol-
ars, and the dignitaries of history and mythology. Perhaps it
is intended for drollery, but one can hardly excuse even "Aunt
Peggy" for speaking of Alexander and Bucephalus in such fa-
miliar way as this :

"The Greek, if learned folks would speak
Their mother-tongue instead of Greek,
Would read, 'When Alick was a chap
Who thought himself as big as Pap,
Old Phil said, "Alick, saddle Ceph
And ride him — he's a leetle deaf."
Now Alick mounted Ceph and clucked
And pulled the bridle till he bucked."

George Washington and his colt are mentioned in the same
jocular, whimsical manner. In these cases the character of the
speaker and the context extenuates, perhaps justifies the liberty
taken, but when one reads such lines as these :

"How great to be philosophers —
Toadstools on time's departed years,
Hobnobbing with Pythagoras
And many another ancient ass."

justifiable as is the satire on pedantry, the author can hardly
be forgiven for taking so needlessly a venerated name in vain.
Such lapses from dignity to drollery or affected familiarity by
De Quincey, as when he speaks of Augustus Caesar as a lit-
tle chap and seems to trifle with the solemn or the terrible, one
critic terms "exquisite foolery," but is careful not to recom-
mend its imitation.

The tenth chapter is the longest and, as poetry, the best. In
it there are richer, softer tints, and to the flute rather than the
harp the poet sings. The flickering of youthful sentiment in
"Aunt Peggy's" aged, widowed heart are revealed with tender

444 Mississippi Historical Society.

grace, and the closing apostrophe to Memory is a noble,
splendid utterance, part of which is given:

"Thus shall the days return again —

My childhood's joys were not in vain —

My boyhood's hopes are yet to be

One part of immortality.

The brightest schemes of life shall bloom

And fructify beyond the tomb;

Manhood shall draw new strength from thee

Immortal-making Memory;

While feeble age on thee shall lean

And retrospect each vanished scene;

Then on the tree of Life lay hold,

And grow immortal growing old!"

The twenty-seven other poems in the volume with Aunt
Peggy are generally of a personal and religious nature. The
poet's youth, his mother, and the future life inspire some of
the best of these lyrics. Bury Him in the Sea, on the burial of
Dr. Coke at sea, is a spirited poem with fine imagery and lofty
sentiments. In the tender tribute, To My Mother, the lines,

"Ere perhaps his eye be dim
He may step across the river."

impress one as prophetic, and the comfort which he takes in the
last stanza is worthy of quotation:

"Angels well might wish thy lot
Richer far than any other —
Thou hast that which they have not
Angel never had a mother."

Then and Now, Growing Gray, Never So Much as Now and
While We May attest in contemplative mood genuine inspira-
tion and artistic execution. Old Papers and Even With the
World are rather fanciful and have a tinge of humor with a
serious undertone. As representative of these songs in a
minor key, characteristic of the singer, the following selections
must suffice:

NEVER So MUCH As Now.

A beggar of heaven I came to the world,

How naked and helpless was I!
But hope a bright banner before me unfurled

Of glories to come by and by.
And Providence blessed, and stronger I grew

Till manhood has crowned me; but how
Reluctant to own that the beggar I knew

Was never more helpless than now.

T. A. S. Adams. — Lipscomb. 445

A babe, I knew nothing; but daily I prayed

That knowledge its stores might reveal; ;

An angel came nightly, and lovingly laid

The treasures from under the seal:
But knowledge has made me a beggar the more,

And ne'er with one thing will endow;
I go from its halls, though a beggar before,

Yet not such a beggar as now.

Experience! Yes! That bundle of facts

Like cobwebs with flies in each knot!
Ah! take them and cram them in memory's cracks,

And talk of the wealth I have got!
Then turn with the doubts and misgivings before,

And honesty can but allow
That spite of my gains I ne'er was so poor —

Ne'er half such a pauper as now!

THEN AND Now.

THEN I was a child,

And then my fancies flew to future days,
Some whither on that vague and shadowy wild
Where hope is wont her palaces to raise.

*****

Then! O then is gone!

Back through the halls of memory I tread;
Along the silent walks I stroll alone,

And look upon the scenes forever fled.
*****

But then I'll have it still-
Changes may come as years shall glide away;
But then will I still seek beyond the hill,
Whereon the sun is brighter than to-day

*****

Life! Then and Now and Then!

Thank God for memory's then, though poor,
Which brightly shines awhile to fade again

And join its mate upon the other shore!

One now, though sad it seems

Is but one side of life's kaleidoscope

Which gathers brighter colors from the beams
That also shine through memory and hope.

But the measure of Dr. Adams as a poet should be taken
by his first volume, Enscotidion ; Or, Shadow of Death, published
six years before Aunt Peggy and Oilier Poems. In boyhood, as
before stated, he had versified a negro's grotesque dream of a
visit to the lower world, and called it Cuffy's Dream. Thus
early, thought and imagination were directed to this mysterious

446 Mississippi Historical Society.

theme, and, as if fascinated by it, for years he continued more
seriously his efforts to fathom its depths and light its darkness.
Virgil, Dante, Milton, Spenser, and other explorers of the in-
fernal shades, instead of satisfying, intensified his passionate
desire to penetrate the dread profound and reveal its awful
mysteries. The result is Enscotidion ; Or Shadow of Death,
a poem into which he poured his learning and breath-
ed his imaginative spirit, and on which he founded his hope
for distinction as a man of letters. A more ambitious poem
cannot be found in American literature. Self-reliant and in-
trepid, indeed, is the spirit that would attempt to wake new
music on the mighty harp from which The Inferno and Paradise
Lost were evoked. Yet, that is what this poet has attempted
with a degree of success that astonishes and gratifies the care-
ful, cultured reader. It is not the orchestral music of the old
masters, very truly; for in scope, machinery, and measure En-
scotidion differs widely from their great epics. But it cer-
tainly possesses remarkable originality and poetic power. In
places, there are suggestions of Miltonic sweep and grandeur;
elsewhere, are approaches to Dantesque realism in the con-
junction of things earthly and unearthly; again, in versification
and tendency to allegory, Spenserian traces are easily discern-
ible. From such writers and from the Bible, images, epithets
and characters have inevitably, but indirectly and sparingly,
been drawn. The fable, cosmology, and machinery of this poem
are evidently the writer's own. No Satan and Michael, Virgil
and Beatrice, or Archinago and Duessa, appear in Enscotidion.
Time, Death, Disease, Night, Solitude, Poverty, Pride, Reason,
Hope, Faith, Fiends, Furies, and a youth from earth led by
Despair are the acquaintances to be formed in that realm of
phantoms and of horrors. Through all this weird tale a seri-
ous purpose runs, which is, apparently, to show that this side of
death, however steeped in sin the soul may be, there yet is
hope of heaven. That this thought prompts and justifies the
effort to picture the abode and miseries of the lost is more than
hinted by the author.

But a proper understanding and appreciation of the work
cannot be gained through descriptions and comparisons. The
intelligent reader of the text itself must be alert, if he would
comprehend it rightly ; and the ordinary reader will not be like-

T. A. S. Adams. — Lipscomb, 447

ly to discover its true merit and significance. Poems of this
kind, even the greatest, are never really popular, for they de-
mand too much of the reader in the way of scholarship, poetic
taste, and spiritual cultivation to be appreciated and enjoyed by
many. "Fit audience though few" such writers seek, and are
satisfied to please. Applause from high sources followed close
upon the publication of Enscotidion, and a slight revision with a
brief prefatory argument to each canto would doubtless have
largely increased the number of its readers. But, for lack of
means, or of faith, it may be, in its future — for the author was
evidently disappointed in its reception — only one edition of the
poem was ever published. Since it is out of print, fuller analy-
sis and quotations will now be given than if it were easily ac-
cessible.

"Enscotidion; Or, Shadow of Death, by T. A. S. Adams, A. M.,
with an Introduction by Rev. R. A. Young, D. D.," was issued
by the Southern Methodist Publishing House, at Nashville,
Tenn., in 1876. The poem consists of six hundred and fifty-two
Spenserian stanzas and seven lyrics, and is divided into five
cantos of nearly equal length. The argument of the several
cantos with illustrative stanzas interspersed will best set forth
this extraordinary production, which is worthy, it is believed,
of so full a presentation :

CANTO FIRST

Invokes the Muse of the heavenly strain and stainless wing,
closing thus :

in.

If, then, to thee, through scenes of woe and night,

The privilege to rove at will be given,
Descend with me to Erebus, and light

Its darkness for awhile with beams from heaven.

Upon the ear of hopeless spirits even
Let fall some note of heavenly harmony^

By which the howling furies may be driven
Awhile to deeper shades; and hell may be
A land not tumult all, while occupied by thee.

IV.

But if, in shadows deep enveloped, still
This God-forsaken land must ever groan —

If o'er this gulf no angel pinion will
Essay to pass — may mortal dare alone
To grope amid the darkness of th' unknown?

448 Mississippi Historical Society

May I, then, unattended seek the shades?
Shall I, so unacquainted with my own,
Explore a world where none but spirit treads,
Chasing a fatuus light o'er its dark everglades?

Two godly parents and their only son dwelt in a lovely, quiet
valley. Azan, the son, fell into vice and crime, despite a known
tradition that an awful fate would be the consequence to him.

xv.

Azan, the son of prayers and promises,

And heir to all his father's virtuous fame,
Forsook the path of truth and holiness,

To tread the crooked paths of sin and shame.

(How easy 't is to blot the fairest name!)
Mad Passion broke from Wisdom's mild control;

The docile child the Bacchanal became,
And from the sparkling poison of the bowl
Crept out a brood of demons to destroy the soul.

His parents die of grief, but he is too obdurate and profligate
to give them decent burial. The anniversary of the night of
his father's death is celebrated by a bacchanalian revel in defi-
ance of a prophecy of impending calamity to him that night.
Toward dawn he exults that the prediction of a curse to fall on
him that night was false ; retires then to his room, muses on the
past, scoffs at his mother's faith and his father's God. A
wretch, he lies down to sleep, yet fain would call his mother's
spirit back.

XXXII.

"Sleep, curst of Heaven!" a spirit whispered near;

And strangely were his eyes constrained to close.
"Sleep, O lost son!" Then fell a burning tear

Upon his face; a spirit wail arose —

Wild, hopeless, tender — Love's expiring throes.
A ghostly hand filled up the cup of wine,

And poured it out, repeating direst woes;
Then marked upon his brow a mystic sign,

And all sang, "Wretch, sleep on! sleep's wildest dreams be
thine!"

Friends return next day, think him dead, shroud him, and
set his coffin by the bier. — Moralizings on death — Azan in his
strange sleep begins his wanderings in the spirit world, un-
mindful of the friends about him who suppose him dead. Mid-
night comes, the watchers sleep, without are heard the owl and
whippoorwill. Spirits flit in and out the open windows, dim
grow the lights, the air is stifling, Azan awakes terror-stricken

T. A. S. Adams. — Lipscomb. 449

and cries out in agony. A deeper sleep has fallen on the
watchers, who hear no sound.

XXLVI.

"Mortals, or spirits! if in either land

By man or demons tenanted I be —
If by the blasts of hell I now be fanned, ,

Or lie upon the margin of that sea

Which mortals dread, and call Eternity —
O tell me, is there naught but shadows here?

Is there no guide no company, for me?
Left in a dungeon, will no friend appear
The solitude with but one hopeful word to cheer?

"Is this the vale? Is yonder silent stream

The river of the dead? Are yonder skies
The canopy of hades? Do I dream?

I seem to see the walls infernal rise,

And horrid visions pass before my eyes.
O Death, is this thy inky river's shore?

Is yonder ghost thy boatman now that plies
Across the waters dark his muffled oar?
And is that murmur not their sullen, ceaseless roar?"

A hoary giant specter strode noiselessly up to Azan and
gazed upon him. Time, the hoary specter, is described in six
stanzas with this conclusion:

LV.

He ne'er was still a moment: round and round

At times he turned, till dizzy grew the head;
Now stepping back and forth, or, at a bound,

Beyond the reach, beyond the sight, he sped.

And now he nervously approached the bed
Where Azan lay in such a wretched state,

And stooping down and touching him, he said,
"What wilt thou, mortal, calling me so late,
Who oftentimes have come, a beggar, to thy gate?"

The question waked memories like muttering thunders in his
rs. Time departs. Death enters and holds converse with

ears.
Azan.

LXVI.

"He sent thee, then, to slay me?" Azan said.

"He came at thy own bidding, and I came
Because I ever in his footsteps tread.

For deeds of his I oft must bear the blame.

I kill thee not; my being is my name.
Lo, I am shadow all — no substance here!

Chide not a famished specter — no, for shame!
Dismiss thy folly, and forget thy fear.
I go; my father comes, and I shall reappear."

29

45° Mississippi Historical Society.

Time returns, writes his name in the marble table, and dis-
appears again. Azan is now in an agony of repentance and
remorse. In response to his dubious, piteous prayers, two
bright spirits, Ease and Pleasure, steal to his side. They com-
fort with bland words, and bid him drink deep of a sparkling
cup. He quaffs it eagerly and forgets his woes as he listens
dreamily to the "Song of Ease:"

"Soft, ye zephyrs, fan his brow;
Free from care he slumbers now.
Come, ye gentle spirits, twine
Myrtle wreath and columbine;
Let their fragrance sweet dispel
All the power of spirit fell
That may ride upon the breeze;
Lull him in the lap of Ease.

"Dream of fountains pure and bright,
Boundless vistas of delight;
Fortune's mines of wealth untold
Let thy wondering eyes behold;
And the sisters waiting round,
With the fadeless laurel crowned,
While the jasmine-scented breeze
Fans him in the lap of Ease."

He awakes, as by magic his room is filled with gems and
gold. Fortune offers her gifts, if he will bid Ease and Pleas-
ure go. He reluctantly refuses and sinks again into their arms,
when lo ! they are transformed into gaunt, grim ogres. At his
mad calls they resume their bright forms, and in their caresses
he sinks again. Reason flees, imagination controls, stupor
overcomes him, and he seems pulseless, cold, and dead. Ease
and Pleasure gathering up his scattered wealth, steal softly out
and leave their victim to his fate. — Moralizings on the hour and
mode of death. — Azan awakes at last in darkness and desola-
tion. He rages and calls on Time for mercy. No answer com-
ing, in desperation he attempts to rise. Poverty and Disease,
lean and ghastly monsters, press him back. He begs them to
leave him alone to die. Disease derisively demands a settle-
ment for his debaucheries, and seizing him in his foul arms, bids
him prepare for racking pains and render to Poverty his dues
from the remains of years of wastefulness. — Moralizings on
hopeless misery that cannot die. — Contrast drawn :

T. A. S. Adams. — Lipscomb. 451

Ay, there are moments when these fleshly bars

Break like the cobweb in the driving gale,
When the 'scaped spirit seeks again the stars,

And to the choirs celestial shouts, "All hail!"

Moments of ecstasy, in which the wail
Of earth is drowned in music of the spheres;

And, though the fiercest storms of grief assail,
Defiant she mounts upward through her tears,
Shouting a jubilee which rings through endless years.

cxn.

But O the pain that gives these longings birth!

The way as traversed, not as when reviewed —
The one is Moab's gloomy waste on earth,

The other Nebo's top, where Moses stood.

Behind is naught but law and solitude;
Before are Freedom's hill-tops, grand and green;

Behind, a zigzag path reads, ''God is good;"
Before, the New Jerusalem is seen;
And we cry, "God is better than our thoughts have been."

Prophecy in last stanza of deeper gloom for Azan.

CANTO SECOND.

A dismal vale, a dilipidated hut ; Azan, a pallid sufferer with-
in, rolls in delirium on a bed of moldy straw. Disease and
Poverty contend for him. He is left to Poverty, who takes his
last few pennies and even the bed clothes and departs. — Reflec-
tions on poverty —

XXXII.

Thus stripped he left him; out upon the night

Went this half demon — canonized outlaw,
That pleads his sainthood from his ragged plight,

And prays to Heaven only for his maw.

For right itself he does not care a straw;
For honor, naught; for hell he votes to-day,

That he on it eternity may draw,
A lottery ticket large enough to pay
The fees of Purgatory and — a meal a day.

XXXIII.

Ye poor, indeed! God's humble, honest poor!

I set you not along in catalogue
With him I picture here. Ah, no! before

I do such deed, let me be called a dog,

A slander on my race, a shameless rogue
Of character — whatever ye may choose —

And turn me out to wander o'er some bog,
Where reptiles, fed on deadly nightshade's juice,
May in my writhing flesh pour all their poison loose.

Azan, alone, thinks soberly of reformation. Pride enters and
appeals to him to rise in his manhood and conquer fate, Humil-
ity pleading to the contrary and pointing to calm, green valleys.

452 Mississippi Historical Society.

LX.

"Behold," said he, "'I will' omnipotent!

Look up: thy mightier self is sitting there
Enthroned forever — yet one steep ascent,

And thou hast won. Then bid adieu to care,

And mount, the empire with thyself to share.
See! Fate is hoodwinked, though he holds the rod;

He often blusters, bidding men beware;
But he is impotent. 'I will' can nod,
And Fate will abdicate, and man alone be god."

Fate and his throne described. Unable to resist the taunts of
Pride, Azan madly attempts to follow him up the awful steep.
Pausing, faint and breathless, he hears a terrible voice warning
him to desist.

LXXIV.

Then passed before him such a presence dire —

Formless, yet more symmetrical than form;
Chilling, yet hotter than infernal fire;

Serene, yet wilder than the wildest storm —

As ne'er in fancy had a mortal worm
Conceived. Transfixed with speechless fear he stood;

And, while he could not move a foot or arm,
And horror in his veins congealed his blood,
A whisper in his inmost bosom said, " 'Tis God!"

LXXV.

"Heir of the ages!" said a voice sublime,

"Born of eternal purpose ere the dawn
Of the first day upon the flight of Time,

Dare not forbidden ground to tread upon!

Safe are the paths o'er which the past is gone,
And in them thou inheritest a share

Of all th' eternal future yet unknown;"
To this, when Time is passed, thou shalt be heir;
But, though immortal, as a mortal now beware!"

Infatuated, he heeds not the voice. "Am I immortal? On-
ward, then !" he cried, and in desperation rushes up the perilous
height. Earthquake, storm, and avalanche tear and scathe the
mountain side ; and Azan soon lies senseless at its base. Half
conscious, he sees Time in shadowy outline pass before him.
Pleads for mercy and the return of youth and innocence, but
unavailingly ; for Hope deserts the breast which Faith has
wooed in vain.

LXXXIX.

" But here and now — what comfort may I seek?
What aid from thee in present need implore?
Canst thou a single word of solace speak
As balm upon my heart with sorrow sore?"
Time raised his eyes, and simply said, "No more!"

T. A. S. Adams. — Lipscomb. 453

" Then let the future to me be revealed;

I'll give the past and all the present o'er,
If thou wilt ope that world so long concealed,
And let me know it all. O Time, in pity yield!"

Time bids Despair guide him through the shades of death.
With the command to follow, look, and ask few questions, they
enter the Dark Abode of Woe.

CII.

" But these unhappy?" Azan's pallid cheek
And wild, dilated, vacant, staring eye

Expressed the thought he could not fully speak.
"Ay, they are my possessions, certainly —
Half brothers, yet my slaves, those souls that cry,

'Woe! woe!' through all these lands, or lakes, of woe-
Time's lawful children thrown away to die;

And for this purpose I behind him go —

'T were better to be mine than be deserted so."

Azan shrieks in dismay and t.-ies to escape from Despair.
His memory and vision altered. The cycles of eternity begin
to pass before him. The Judgment is passed. Earthly scenes
are over. Satan and his hosts are sweeping downward to
worlds below. In the goblin ship of hell, Azan, a runaway
from Time and Care, sets out with his guide Despair to explore
the region of the lost.

cxx.

Or, rather, as the corsair, when the sea

Is lashed to fury, and its foamy surge
Is lighted by the lightning, fitfully

Dancing o'er waves to ocean's wildest dirge,

Doth from his covert in the cave emerge
To range the sea for booty and for blood —

So Azan plunged through darkness from the verge
Of Time's last Thule, where he erst had stood
And uttered his wild cry across the boiling flood.
******

CANTO THIRD

Invokes the epic muse in three stanzas, excusing Maeonides
and Milton from the company, unless they choose to go.

IV.

Hell is my theme. What is it? where? and when

Shall we get there? Is it a black abyss,
Where furies feed on miserable men?

Is it a lake, where billows foam and hiss?

Or is it not a world akin to this?
Its good extracted, and its bad made worse;

Its capital a vast metropolis,
That keeps its jockey-club and pony-purse,
To bet on human races, and — the poet's verse?

454 Mississippi Historical Society.

Crude misconceptions of hell. Apology for seeming levity.
Invokes Divine Wisdom for guidance. Study of the theme
profitable. False theories of the learned satirized. Hell imi-
tates earth and heaven. Hell's metropolis; its streets, build-
ings, quays, fleets, etc.

XXXII.

But these have still their stately bearing kept

Where floods above the wreck of empires rolled;
On through the ages they unscathed have swept,

While human deeds have sunk to dust and mold.

This fleet was fitted out in days of old,
When Moloch counseled storming heaven again;

But ere the expedition started, bold
As were hell's warriors, it was voted vain
To trust their strongest forces to the treacherous main.

Azan awakes to consciousness in a hospital of hell, but soon
leaps from a window to escape his demon nurses. He is ar-
rested, but released, and directed to a great inn. He inspects
the register and then looks into the dining hall.

There sits a quondam judge, in sooty wig,
Devouring his soiled ermine, boiled in tears

Shed o'er the convict's grave he helped to dig;
There sits the murderer of golden years,
Gorging his youthful crimes and long arrears

To Time — how vomits he his vain regrets!
That politician feeds on hollow cheers;

That miser chews a quid of worthless debts;

That soldier gets his fill of guns and bayonets.

Turns in disgust to leave, but a fiend, once a friend on earth,
accosts him, and orders food and drink for two from Despair,
the caterer of hell. "Not ready yet" is the repeated answer
of Despair, who recognizes Azan and bids his fiend-friend act
as his guide. Sights of the Metropolis: mint, library, patent
office, art gallery, exchange, treasury, etc. The last is thus
described :

I/XI.

There stood a pile to which St. Peter's dome
Was but a toy-house, and with rooms so great

That the vast amphitheater of Rome

Would hardly make a cloak-room. At the gate —
Of which no dozen bars could hold the weight,

Though large as those that link opposing shores,
O'er which the engine drags its ponderous freight —
Stood Azan waiting, till its mighty doors

Were opened, and he walked along the marble floors.

T. A. S. Adams. — Lipscomb. 455

Surfeited with the sights and sounds of the metropolis, they
ascend a hill near by.

LXXVI.

There long in silence from the hill they gazed

O'er all the scene — a dread, bewildering sight!
Far to the left a fiery ocean blazed,

Whose farther boundary was lost in night;

The city of the damned lay on the right;
Behind it stretched the plain on which it stood —

This was the picture of eternal blight,
Where not a sprig of grass, or growing wood,
Or placid stream, or lake, relieved the solitude.

LXXIX.

Towns, cities, villages, upon this plain,

Seemed, at the distance whence they were surveyed,

The evidences of a prosperous reign;

But close inspection showed the walls decayed,
And rotten roofs, where poisonous serpents played.

Unutterable squalor reigned within;
For on the ruined property was laid

Such heavy tax, to pay the cost of sin,

That to repair his home none ever dared begin.

The guide-fiend explains all, and then pointing to the temple
of Fame on a distant hill, tells of its builder and its votaries
in scornful and sarcastic speech. Death and his hosts are seen
approaching, and the two in affright flee to the verge of the
ocean. Death and his array amid terrors descend to the City
of the Dead upon the shore — The Fury's Song. — The Court of
Death. Lust reports of his efforts to satiate the dread mon-
arch, closing exultingly:

cxix.

" Ten thousand vices, and for every vice

Ten thousand slaves, attest my services,
Until the blooming bowers of paradise

Not half so many leaves and flowers possess.

On, on to thee, with eager haste they press,
To fill the far-extended bounds of hell

With their prolific brood of wretchedness.
Look o'er this vast array, O Death, and tell
If I, thy servant, have not done my duty well."

Ambition, wearing a wreath which he had dared Death to his
teeth to win, and brandishing a bloody sword and flaming
torch, glories in his deeds and says in part :

cxxxn.

"The blooming earth becomes a wilderness

Where'er I tread. Behold yon distant skies,
Where Lucifer, disdaining to be less.

Dared e'en against Omnipotence to rise!

456 Mississippi Historical Society.

There first confusion in the symphonies
Of seraph-harps I made, and angels fell;

Down came the host, and, passing paradise,
Dragged man along, with all his seed, to swell
The mighty avalanche, upon its way to hell.

War, Famine, Pestilence and others make report, but are dis-
missed as braggarts with the stern command to seek

" Some shorter path across the sullen sea,
By which to bring the ruined sons of deity."

Meditations on death. The Muse dismissed awhile. Thanks
to readers and further indulgence asked.

CANTO FOURTH.

The tree of Time described. Azan approaches the phantom
tree in the land of Death.

VIII.

And here he took his seat beside the sea,

Near where had lately stood Death's council-hall,
And gazed upon the old and rotten tree,

Striving in vain his vision to recall.

There rolled the dismal sea, but that was all;
The city and its denizens were gone;

The winds were chanting dirges funeral
In the dead tree, and with a hollow moan
The rotting branches swayed, broke off, and tumbled down.

Alone on the desolate shore. At the foot of the phantom
tree, he mournfully retrospects the past — Requiem for Wasted
Years. He slept, or thought he slept, awhile. He wakes to
find the headless, footless, corpse of the giant Time by his side,
and two demons drawing the giant's great blunt scythe across
his throat. Ten thousand more around are building a funeral
pyre. Azan in desperation leaps into the sea, but is beaten
back and greeted with a wild chorus — The Fiends' Chorus. Fu-
ries beckon him, scream, hiss in his ears; — devils take pos-
session of him. Reason leaves, but hovers near and gazes on
him pitifully.

xxxvi.

No! Yearns the mother o'er a straying child,
Wringing her hands, and sobbing piteously,

Praying, in accents passionately wild,
That child's return? As doth the Deity
Call to the sinner, "Turn; why wilt thou die?"

So must the soul pursue her mortal mate,
Whether in death or raving lunacy,

And through all grades of woe, or forms, or state,

Track its vicissitudes, and share its final fate.

T. A. S. Adams. — Lipscomb. 457

The infernal spirits cast him into the sea, and chant in hellish
glee — The Chant of the Internals — With strength incredible he
moves with them across the awful flood, joining madly in their
demoniac songs.

XLIV.

Yet fiercely on among the monsters grim —
Torn by their fangs, beset by horrid hags —

With straining sinews he was forced to swim.
Now he was rudely tossed against the crags,
Or caught in treacherous nets of tangled flags

Of some infernal fen, where through the slime
The serpent Sin her hateful figure drags,

Leaving her spawn of misery and crime

To hatch in hell, and crawl upon the shores of Time.

Reason still hovers and vainly calls him back. Cast at length
upon an icy cliff, helpless he lies, he cannot tell how long. The
fiends depart, and joyfully he welcomes the return of Reason.
The place decribed:

MI.

Whatever way the eager vision strained,

It only saw the glaciers far extend
O'er dreary solitudes, where winter reigned:

There jutted cliffs, which nothing could ascend,

Frowning above the floods between them penned;
While, in the distance, turrets old and riven

A more forbidding aspect seemed to lend
To the whole scene than e'en the blight of heaven —
Dark testimonials of sins yet unforgiven.

Digression on ruins and the lessons that they teach: Baby-
lon, Troy, Thebes, Nineveh, etc. Meanwhile, Azan still lies
in utter solitude on the icy steep overlooking hell; dying by
inches, it seems; longing to die, but cannot — Philosophizings
on the place and hour of death — Life flickers feebly still in
Azan's breast. Gradually it returns, and in horror he beholds
a monster Dragon breathing fire emerge from a cavern, and
move toward him across the boiling lava flood. Hell shook to
its center, as in sulphur smoke and with infernal shoutings the
Dragon and his attendant hosts pass close by Azan, now all but
dead again with fright. Welcome to the Dragon's Home is shout-
ed by the infernals, ending thus:

" Come from vice's marshes muddy;
Come from fields of battle bloody;
Come from palace, stole, and study;
Come, ye countless millions, come!

458 Mississippi Historical Society.

Come ye, whether brave or fearing,
Whether clad in rags, or wearing
Purple robes and gems unsparing,
Welcome to the Dragon's home!"

Reviving once more, Azan wanders aimlessly along the dis-
mal sea, until he finds the shadow of the phantom tree of Time.
Other apparitions lead him on and on and on, but to mock and
to deceive. At last

CXIV.

His form is lost in shadows. From our sight

Visions and shapes are passing fast away
To caverns of impenetrable night.

And Chaos over all resumes his sway.

Dreams fade away in air, or wildly play
Fantastic freaks which memory cannot hold;

Ghosts flock to darkness; apparitions stay
But for a moment, and the cloud is rolled
O'er all the scene — dark, solitary, bleak, and cold.

Apostrophe to Solitude from whom he seeks fresh inspiration
to follow Azo>n.

cxv.

And here, O Solitude, thy hermit scowl

Welcomes the weary from the walks of men,
To calm the heavings of the troubled soul,

And bid it love itself and kind again.

Thou old magiciari, thou hast fled in vain!
Man on thy haunts with eager haste has prest,

And torn the veil from off thine altars, when
Thou wast not looking for so rude a guest,
Who told some mournful tale, or made some sad request.

cxxn.

How far the road may stretch itself, O Muse,

Before we reach the place where we may tryst
With nothing but dumb Solitude, and lose

All words and numbers in a cloud of mist

Which no poetic mountain ever kissed,
We may be able by and by to say;

But here we ramble as our mood may list,
And sing to hear the echoes die away
And come again from realms more dreary still than they.

CXXVII.

Mayhap, when final victory shall crown

The hosts enlisted in behalf of Good;
When Evil's empire lays its weapons down,

And mortals enter into brotherhood

With gods; when angels sound the interlude
In the grand drama of Eternity —

Thou mayst become an actor, Solitude,
And, throwing off thy veil of mystery,
Talk face to face with him who longs thy face to see.
********

T. A. S. Adams. — Lipscomb. 459

CANTO FIFTH.

Invokes the Muse once more to aid his flight beyond the lim-
its hitherto assigned to the dominions of the damned, out into
utter darkness and desolation unexplored before. Azan, left
on the lava desert in the realm of Solitude, attempts to hold
converse with a spirit he finds fettered there ; but he is repulsed
with bitter curses, and the spirit vanishes! Still across the
desert plains he rambled on and on.

His feet were sore; his hands were bruised and torn;

His tongue was swollen; he was mad with thirst;
His brain was feverish; his spirit worn,

Till anguish seemed his very heart to burst.

Yet on — no rest till he had seen the worst,
Or passed the bounds of this infernal waste,

E'en to the very fiends of hell accurst —
On o'er the weary leagues he trudged, in haste
To find some sign of liffe, and of its pleasure taste.

The sight and sound of water come to him at last. Eagerly
he rushes forward and plunges into a vast expanse of icy jelly
through which comes the noise of trickling water. Flounder-
ing through, he climbed exhausted to solid ground, where he
lay shouting in the void, the earth quivering to his breathing.
To a mountain base he finally drags himself in utter despair;
when, lo ! a stream of limpid water trickles down the rocks into
a pool. Drinking deep, then bathing, he fell asleep and awoke
to name this gorge the "Gate of Paradise."

" Why was it there? and why untenanted?

Why hid in mountains? He could only guess,
It might be here the Savior made his bed
When he had come to see the regions of the dead."

One day of bliss is granted him; then on, still on, until un-
scalable cliffs encircle him. Surely the end has come, he
thought, and welcome is it. But, no; the spirit that deserted
him returns and leads him slowly onward into the domain of
Night, the Thule of creation. Speech forsakes him as into the
bridal hall of Death and Night he enters with his dumb guide.
Serpents twine about him ; he falls and, serpent-like, hisses and
crawls along the slimy path. No sense but touch is left, and
that is gradually forsaking him.

460 Mississippi Historical Society.

For now, at last, his spirit seemed diffused

Throughout the general mass, and he was all:
His sense, emotions, faculties, were loosed

From objectivity's restrictive thrall.

What matter now to him if Night her pall
Spread o'er her sleeping children, where they lay,

Regardless of the dark and slimy hall?
To him a brighter than the light of day
Had dawned and chased the terrors and the ghosts away.

A spirit now he is, understands how all is known to God, and
realizes that from himself — not from the Devil — sprang his
evils and woes. On the border line of good and evil, light and
night, he stands. Here, for a moment Jehovah gives each soul
his omnific scepter, to wield as that soul may choose, and then
go his way obedient to his own imperial will.

IvXVII.

How awful must it be to rule when He

Who made the worlds doth abdicate his throne,
And leaves the dread responsibility

Of weal or woe to human will alone!

"Choose ye for life or death!" and it is done.
Man, with a breath, lights up Eternity,

Or blows out, hopelessly, the glowing sun
That shone upon his being's path, and he
Henceforth must blame himself that he no more can see.

Before the vacant throne stood Azan ; on each side an awful
spirit shone, and laid the robes of office at his feet.

At last, with trembling, he the scepter took,

While death-like silence reigned around; he then
One moment dared toward the past to look,

And then into the future, if his ken

Could bring its secrets to his sight again.
What then he saw is not for man to know;

But o'er the silence rolled a loud "Amen!"
As Azan said, with reverent voice and low,
" God is the Judge of all, and be it ever so!"

Azan fell on his face, and wept tears of angelic peace and joy.
The resurrection pictured. By his guide, he is led across a
dreary waste to a mountain peak, from which across a dark
abyss they view the Earth, a land of sunshine and of shadows,
a lovely land, which the guide may see but never enter. The
lost spirit bids a long farewell to Earth and then to Azan.

T. A. S. Adams. — Lipscomb. 461

XCIII.

"The loves — those gleams of sunshine through the clouds! —

Bright halcyon days! — I will no more of these
Delusive visions of a mind which crowds

The present with its graveless memories.

Hence I shall look no more beyond those seas —
Here is my home; then let me here pursue,

If not the fatuus lights of love and ease,
At least what never may the past renew.
O Earth! thy hopeless child cries back to thee, Adieu!

xcv.

" Yet round that name I linger, though the sweet

Is gone, and left the bitter. Friend, farewell!
Again, a last time, I the word repeat,

And on its agonizing cadence dwell.

Go, trembling mortal! quit the courts of hell!
Spread thy light pinions o'er the boiling sea,

And every baleful influence repel
With faith and hope; and, when from danger free,
Embrace fair Love again — and O remember me!"

Then Azan spread his wings to soar above the sea of sorrow
toward Earth, the land of Faith and Hope and Love. Tem-
pests beat him back; Hope grows dim, but by Faith's aid he
reaches the farther shore, up which he struggles bereft of
wings. Imprudently, he looks behind; fiery billows roll back
upon him; fiends pursue him for leagues along the shore, and
he hears among their fiendish cries a wail "Remember me!"
At length, exhausted, he falls and fiends surround him; but a
faint light on a height he sees. He looks again and seeing
the Three Sisters, faintly cries "Remember me!" Conscious-
ness is lost; on its return, three angels bend over him and bid
him live again. Apostrophes to Earth and the Land of Shad-
ows ; interpretation hinted.

CXXII.

Hail, then, thou world of shadows! on thy verge,

With Azan, let me stand and gaze, until
The rising stars of Faith and Hope emerge,

To join with Love's, o'er Zion's crested hill.

Then Death upon my members, cold and chill,
May lay his hand. One look upon the past,

And one adieu to earth — delightful still,
But paling in the distance — I will cast
My vessel on thy waves, secure of rest at last.

Hope, Faith, and Love whisper counsel in Azan's ear. Love's
final words are these:

462 Mississippi Historical Society.

cxxv.

"Show to the world a soul by smiles unbought,

By frowns unawed, by sorrow unalloyed,
Unwarped by passion, ne'er by falsehood caught,

Forever in the cause of man employed,

But seeking not his smiles to be enjoyed;
Free as the rain thy tears of sympathy,

Free as the air, of self-importance void,
Thy words of counsel; and, as Deity
Blesses before we ask, let thy good deeds be free."
* # * * * * * *

"Be loving, cheerful, true!" exclaimed the three;
"Go, wipe away the stain upon the dead and thee!"

CXXVIII.

They rose to heaven. Then Azan woke. 'Twas all

A strange, wild dream — a vision of the night.
He lay within his patrimonial hall,

While on his half-closed eyes a fading light

Of an expiring lamp anon shone bright,
Then died away in darkness. "Hence," said he,

"All pleasure, save the one of doing right!
Henceforth, there is no other life for me
Than one of toil to shame my former levity."

His reformation, noble life, and lamented death. No heir
to his patrimonial mansion ; but the Heavenly Three contin-
ued to hover over it, and bright spirits each night illuminate it.

EPILOGUE.

Human nature, ink, in earthen vessels bottled ; the pen, man's
will, by which God writes his name on earth ; paper, the earth
on which man writes the whole of life, the lore he cannot read,
though written by himself; empty inkstand/ the empty human
head. True or a dream of fancy, reluctantly, adieu to Aza'n.

Whether the poem, speaking for itself in the argument and
illustrative stanzas above presented, comports with the intro-
ductory description of it, the reader may determine. Little
further need be said except in a summary way. The stanzas
inserted in the argument serve chiefly to develop the story;
often showing, also, the author's descriptive and philosophic
powers in verse. In connection with the argument, the selec-
tions will tend to reveal the fullness and subtlety of the per-
sonification and allegory that create and govern, respectively,
nearly all the characters. Illustrations of grim humor and
caustic satire might have been introduced. In places they are
employed with admirable skill and effect ; but occasionally in
Rabelaisian or Carlylian mood, the poet becomes grotesque in

T. A. S. Adams. — Lipscomb. 463

humor and morbid in his satire. Seldom, however, does the
gruesome enter, as might be expected in a dream of such a na-
ture, from which the fantastic in parts is hardly separable. In
the addresses to his muse and to the reader, generally at the
close of the cantos, in several instances the author is provoking-
ly modest in his undervaluation of his work ; sometimes suggest-
ing the thought that he does not take himself seriously at all,
which elsewhere, specifically, and by the poem generally, is
clearly contradicted. These epilogue stanzas and touches of
morbid humor occasionally displayed, which might have been
omitted in a revision, are the principal defects of the poem ; un-
less the conception of the metropolis of hell be accounted such.
Tastes on the latter point might differ widely; but certainly
that part of the poem in its realism is in marked contrast with
what precedes and follows ; intentionally so, perhaps, as a relief
to the strain on the imagination.

Unequal, admittedly, Enscotidion is; but what poem of six
thousand lines is not? At times, even Homer nods, Milton
proses, and Dante almost disgusts. That to such amazing
depths and agonizing distances, to so good purpose, and with so
few artistic lapses, the poet in imagination or phantasy has car-
ried Azan, is a feat no less than wonderful, an achievement un-
paralleled in American literature. Wigglesworth's Day of
Doom (1662), though it went through nine editions in America
and two in England, with its sing-song verse and horrid real-
ism, now excites, at most, a smile, a shudder, or a yawn.
Dwight's dreary epic, The Conquest of Canaan (1785), is as me-
chanical as it is monotonous. Other notable American poems
of epic nature are chiefly of the historical or romantic type.
Except, perhaps, Longfellow's Christus, Bayard Taylor's re-
ligious dramas, and Dodge's Christus Victor, no American poem
approximating it in extent, is so lofty in theme and imaginative
in treatment as is Enscotidion.

Among the manuscripts of Dr. Adams is the fragment of an-
other epic, entitled The Lost Restored. The argument for five
books is complete. A lyric invocation and most of the first
book in blank verse have been fully written. Heaven and il-
limitable space, saints and angels, Christ and God are the ob-
jects and personages in this projected epic. Men and devils do
not appear; for the Judgment with its momentous issues has

464 Mississippi Historical Society.

long since passed. Twelve legions of angels dispatched ten
thousand years before to a universe millions of millions of
leagues distant have not returned. A council is held in heaven.
How they were lost and how restored is :he theme of this well-
nigh celestial tragedy. More than an indication of the form
and substance of this unfinished work will not be attempted.
It is referred to thus only to show more fully the ardent poetic
nature and lofty literary aspirations of Dr. Adams.

The man of moods and of visions, the scholarly teacher, and
the poet-preacher have been portrayed as truly and as clearly
as possible within the projected limits. Appreciation, not
eulogy, has been the purpose of the writer. Several distinct
views of his life having been drawn, a composite picture might
in conclusion be undertaken. But, except to suggest that the
tendency is ever strong to withhold due honor from the home
prophet, further estimate of the man and of the value of his
services will be left to the reader sufficiently interested to in-
vestigate and make it ; little doubting that, as was indicated in
the opening paragraph, Dr. T. A. S. Adams will be adjudged
worthy of high honor; entitled by his learning and eloquence
to distinction in the Southern ministry, and by Enscotidion to
prominence among American epic poets.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER UPON
THE EARLY SETTLEMENT OF ITS VALLEY.

RICHARD BROWNTUGG HAUGHTON.1

It was in 1541, near Chickasaw Bluffs, that DeSoto discover-
ed the Mississippi river.1 In 1634, French missionaries penetrat-
ing westward from Canada to preach the gospel, heard rumors
of a great river in that region still farther towards the west.2
In 1665, one of these, Father Allouez, brought back the first
authentic accounts of it.3 It was called by the name given to
it by the Indians — "Mississippi." It is interesting to note that,
later, Hennepin called it "Meschasipi ;"4 and other similar names
are occasionally found in old writings. Hennepin also spoke of
it as the river "Colbert," in honor of a Frenchman.5

The first white person who made an exploration of it, so far
as we know, was Father Marquette, a Canadian priest, who,
with Joliet, a merchant, left Quebec in 1673, penetrated to the

1 Judge Richard Brownrigg Haughton was born at Aberdeen, Miss.,
Nov. 24, 1864. His father was Hon. Lafayette Haughton, who was for
two terms Chancellor of the first district of Mississippi. The author of
this monograph attended the Agricultural and Mechanical College of
Mississippi during its opening year, i88o-'i, and completed his Sopho-
more course at that institution. He afterwards entered the University
of Mississippi, where he was graduated in law in 1886, taking the first
honor of his class. During the next two years he was engaged in the
practice of his profession at Aberdeen, Miss. He then removed to St.
Louis, Missouri, where he continued to practice law until May, 1896. At
that time he was appointed a justice of the peace by the seven Circuit
Judges of his city. He has held this office from that time until the
present day. During the year IQOO-'I he was Commander of the Mis-
souri Division of the United Sons of Confederate Veterans. At the
Memphis Reunion, held in May, 1901, he was elected Commander-in-
Chief of that organization. — EDITOR.

(NOTE.— The principal annotations of this paper are taken from the
following authorities, which for brevity will be mentioned on the paging
as shown by the names in brackets, to wit: "The History and Geography
of the Mississippi Valley," by Timothy Flint (Flint); "The Westward
Movement," by Justin Winsor (Winsor) : "History of the Discovery of the
Valley of the Mississippi," by Adolphus M. Hart (Hart); "A Description of
Louisiana," by Father Louis Hennepin (Hennepin) ; "History of the Early
Settlement of the Mississippi Valley," by Firmin A. Rozier (Rozier).

1 Bancroft, Hist, of the U. S., p. 51.

* Hart, 12.

1 Hart, 20.

4 Hennepin, 52.

1 Hennepin, 52.

30

466 Mississippi Historical Society.

Wisconsin river, thence into the Mississippi and floated down
as far as the mouth of the Arkansas.0

The first white man, so far as records go, to explore to its
mouth was La Salle, who in 1678 led an expedition including
De Tonti and Hennepin to explore the river and country and
open up trade.7 He went to a point near the present site of
Chicago, made a portage to the Illinois river and started south.
Various disasters caused him to turn back. Hennepin, who was
sent by La Salle to explore the upper portion of the river, went
as far as the Falls of St. Anthony which he named in honor of
St. Anthony of Padua.8 One account of this expedition men-
tions a curious way in which the hunters, then, measured dis-
tances on the river. They estimated as a league the distance
passed "while smoking a pipe."9

La Salle, for protection, established a fort near the present
site of Peoria, Illinois,10 which he named Fort Creve-Coeur
(broken-heart), typifying the sorrow of the party over their mis-
fortunes. This was probably, the first settlement by white peo-
ple in what was then known as the Western country and may
be denominated the germ of the settlement of the Mississippi
valley.11

In 1682, La Salle started on a second expedition. He was
more successful this time and reached the Mississippi in Febru-
ary. He explored it to its mouth, which he reached in April.12
He took possession of that part of the valley for the French
and named it "Louisiana," in honor of Louis XIV., the reign-
ing monarch. He soon returned to France, where he was
grandly received. It was proposed that colonists be sent over
to Louisiana and that it be united with Canada. La Salle was
ordered to take charge of the expedition. He started, with

e Hart, 29; Flint, 164.

T Hart, 36.

* Hennepin, 200.

'Winsor, 473.

"Whenever mention is made of a State, it must be understood that
the country subsequently admitted as a State is meant, in case the date
is prior to the date of the admission. The States mentioned were ad-
mitted in the years as follows: Kentucky, 1792; Tennessee, 1796; Mis-
sissippi, 1817; Ohio, 1803; Louisiana, 1812; Arkansas. 1836; Alabama,
1819; Illinois, 1818. The word "West" generally is used, as it was in
the early days, to denote the country between the Allegheny Moun-
tains and the Mississippi River.

11 Hart, 91.

a Hart, 56.

Influence of the Mississippi River. — Haughton. 467

four shiploads of people, but missed his course, failed to find the
mouth of the Mississippi and landed near the present site of
Matagorda, Texas. The colony failed to prosper; La Salle
started overland for Canada; and, on the way, was killed by
some of his men.13 The king made no further efforts to colon-
ize for some time; but the French began to come down from
Canada and to settle along the river — principally around the
present location of New Orleans.1*

In 1697, D'Iberville was sent over from France to colonize
-Louisiana. He was more successful than La Salle and entered
the mouth of the river. Later, he established his colony at a
point on the Bay of Biloxi, Miss. He was made Governor-
General in 1699 and brought more colonists over from France.15
The Atlantic coast of the country had heard of Louisiana, by
this time, and a few Americans and British were found coming
in — some by sea and some by land.16

In 1702, D'Iberville died and Bienville was left in command.
He moved his headquarters to Mobile. For a while, the colony
was harassed by Indians and, to a large extent deserted by the
French authorities and it dwindled away considerably. In 1712,
Louisiana was turned over to Crozat. Its entire population
then, scattered from Mobile to the New Orleans and Natchez
district, was 324.

In 1715, Louisiana (particularly its supposed mines) was made
the basis of the notorious "Mississippi Bubble" scheme of John
Law, which was started to help the depleted condition of the
French treasury. The "Western Company" was formed and it
sent over a great many emigrants to colonize the country.
Bienville was appointed Commander-in-Chief.17 In 1715, Nat-
chitoches was founded18 and, in about 1720, Bienville built Fort
Rosalie (at which is now Natchez) for protection against the
Indians.19 In 1717, he founded New Orleans, which he named
for the Duke of Orleans, the regent of France.20 In 1722, the
seat of government was removed to New Orleans which then

8 Hart, 68.

4 Hart, 75-

5 Hart, 77-

6 Hart, 77-
T Hart, 83.
8 Hart, in

'Hart, ill.

°Hart, 119; Flint, 165.

468 Mississippi Historical Society.

had a population of about 2oo.21 Emigrants now flowed in
rapidly from France.22 A large number of Germans were
brought over, also. By the end of 1721, there were about 6,000
people in Louisiana.

The French, along in these years, began settlements at Yazoo,
Baton Rouge, Bayou Goula, Ecores-blancs, Point Coupee,
Black River, Pascagoula and as far north as Illinois.23 The
Mississippi was now beginning to assume the status of the main
artery of travel and commerce in a growing country.

Before 1693, (probably as early as 1686), Fort Gravier found-
ed the town of Kaskaskia, on the east bank of the Mississippi,
in Illinois, about 80 miles south of the present site of St. Louis.-4
The town is still there ; although it is probably not much larger
than it was when the pious father finished building it.25 It has
the honor of being the oldest permanent settlement on the
Mississippi river.26 Fort Gravier probably founded also, (soon
afterwards), the town of Cahokia, opposite and a little south of
St. Louis, and Peoria, Illinois.27 Cahokia is now a small vil-
lage. Fort Chartres, Illinois, about 65 miles south of St. Louis,
was founded in I72O.28

The first movement of white people into Illinois and Missouri
was by the French from Canada.29 They were hunters and
traders principally, who would come out by the Great Lakes
or overland, establish camps, kill game and trade with the In-
dians for skins. Their camps frequently grew and became
towns, or cities.

The first permanent settlement west of the river was at the
old town of St. Genevieve, Missouri, in I735-30 The new town
(which is the outgrowth of the old one) is still a thriving one
of about i, 600 inhabitants and is situated about 75 miles south

21 Hart, 120.

22 Hart, 121.

23 Hart, 123.

24 Hart, 90.

25 Since writing this paper, the writer has been informed that the river
is steadily cutting away the banks at Kaskaskia, and that it will prob-
ably disappear before many months have passed.

26 Hart, oo.

27 Hart, 90; Rozier.

28 Rozier.

M Flint, 164 and 333.
*° Rozier.

Influence of the Mississippi River. — Haughton. ' 469

of St. Louis. It was settled principally by the French from
Canada.

In 1763, Pierre Laclede Liguest and others got, from the
Governor of Louisiana, a charter for exclusive trade with the
Indians of the Missouri and upper Mississippi rivers. They
ascended the river from New Orleans and, on February I5th,
1760, established St. Louis as a trading-post.31 It is said that
they predicted a great future for it and, for that reason, were
careful to select a good location. The developments of a cen-
tury and a quarter have demonstrated their wisdom in both
particulars.

Carondelet (about 8 miles south St. Louis) was founded by
the French, in ifd?.32 It is now a part of the city of St. Louis.
St. Charles and Florissant (both within 25 miles of St. Louis)
were founded in 1769 and 1776, respectively.33 Portage des
Sioux, Missouri, (near St. Charles, but on the Mississippi river,)
was established about 1780. It is now a small village. Cape
Girardeau (about 140 miles south of St. Louis) was founded in

I794-34

During the various plots and counterplots between Great
Britain, France, Spain and the United States over the control
of the river and its adjacent territory, there were numerous
military posts established on the river, some of which grew into
towns or cities, others of which have disappeared.

Fort DuQuesne was established by the French, in 1750,
Louisville was laid out by Bullit, in about I774.35 In 1780,
Clark established Fort Jefferson, in Kentucky, a little south of
the mouth of the Ohio, for protection against the Indians and
foreigners.38 After the railroad was built very near there, what
remained of it was moved to Wickliffe, Kentucky.

In 1786, a company called the Ohio Company, was formed and
they purchased a large tract of land on the Ohio river around
what is now the city of Marietta, Ohio.37. They built Fort Har-
mar, at. the mouth of the Muskingum river, and brought out a

31 Rozier.

32 Rozier.

33 Rozier.
84 Rozier.
"Winsor, 59.
38Winsor, 174.
37 Winsor, 282.

47° Mississippi Historical Society.

large number of settlers, principally from New England. These
clung to their New England customs, of course, prominent
among which was the eating of beans. They prohibited, within
their domain, what was a most general custom elsewhere in the
West, namely: the carrying of knives and pistols. It is inter-
esting to note that many of them did not like the idea of a
federation of the States and thought that they were getting out
of it when they moved west.38 Many of these immigrants came
in wagons ; but the majority of them took the river at or above
Pittsburg, and came down by boat.39

By the year 1789, St. Clair, who was governor at Fort Har-
mar and had been ordered to endeavor to secure grants of the
Indian titles west of the Mississippi river and north to 41°,
succeeded in this effort. Another society was now formed, se-
cured a large grant of land west of Fort Harmar and establish-
ed a colony there. They named the first settlement Losanti-
ville — which, out of consideration for the convenience of future
millions who presumptively would inhabit this municipality and
have frequent occasion to write its name, was soon changed to
Cincinnati.40 This district was settled very much in the same
way as was the Fort Harmar district.

In 1790, Gallipolis, on the north bank of the Ohio not very
far west of Fort Harmar, was settled by immigrants from
France brought over under Putnam and others.41

Vincennes, Indiana, was settled in i7O2/by the French from
Canada. It is the second oldest settlement in the Mississippi
valley. The French post, Ouintanon, near Tippecanoe, was
established not long afterwards. This part of the country was
settled very early. The French, from Canada, came down, over-
land, and established themselves in the district tributary to the
Wabash river. The country still shows the impress of its
French settlement in the names of its towns, rivers, &c.

It may be instructive, at this point, to review some of the in-
ternational events which took place during the period from
1763 to 1798, in order to have the benefit of the light which they
throw on the settlement of the Mississippi valley. Civil gov-
ernment frequently has a most important influence on the set-

88Winsor, 296.
" Winsor, 298.

40 Winsor, 316.

41 Winsor, 404.

Influence of the Mississippi River. — Haughton, 471

tlement of a country. For instance: after the transfer of
Louisiana by France to Spain in 1763, a great many French
living in Louisiana emigrated east in order to escape Spanish
rule ;42 and after Great Britain acquired Canada in the treaty of
Paris (in 1763), a great many French moved from Illinois and
other surrounding points to places west of the Mississippi. The
same effect can be noticed to-day in the great preponderance of
immigration to the United States over that to Canada.

By the treaty of Aix-La-Chapelle (1748) Great Britain ac-
quired the northern fisheries, Hudson Bay, New Foundland
and Nova Scotia. She soon claimed the territory south of
Canada and west from her Atlantic colonies to the Mississippi
river. France resisted this claim and built Fort DuQuesne to
prevent the encroachments of the British. It was her idea to
establish a chain of forts from Canada to Louisiana and thus
hem m the British colonies all of the way. In 1758, the British
captured Ft. DuQuesne and named it Pittsburg — for William
Pitt. In 1759, the victory of Wolfe over Montcalm on the
Plains of Abraham gave Canada to Great Britain. The treaty
of Paris, in 1763, sealed this and France ceded to Great Britain
the valley of the St. Lawrence and all territory east of the Mis-
sissippi and north of the 3ist parallel of latitude. In this treaty,
Great Britain acknowledged the Mississippi river as her west-
ern boundary.

At the same time, France, by a secret treaty, ceded the terri-
tory of Louisiana to Spain. This left France without a single
foot of American territory. In 1764, this transfer was publicly
known. In 1781, Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, and the
treaty of Paris, in 1782, between the United States and Great
Britain gave the former full jurisdiction west to the Mississippi
river, including the right to its use.43 The northern boundary
was a line north of the source of the river. The southern
boundary was the 3ist parallel of north latitude. In 1791, Great
Britain and Spain were about to go to war over the seizure of
a British vessel at Vancouver. Great Britain made a great ef-
fort then to secure Louisiana and Florida, so as to enlarge her
territory and to hem in the United States on land and sea.
Spain became afraid that the war would enable the United States

" Winsor, 95.
45 Winsor, 203.

472 Mississippi Historical Society.

to seize the Mississippi river and she settled with Great Britain.
Great Britain was no longer a factor in the question of the navi-
gation of the river.44 Before and during this trouble, the
United States had great trouble with Spain over her right to
the use of the river. There was a great deal of diplomatic
negotiation between the two countries. Finally, by treaty, in
:795> the matter was settled and the boundaries of the United
States as established by the treaty of Independence acknow-
ledged. All posts in United States territory, held by Spain,
were to be evacuated within six months; but, giving the war
with Great Britain (which then existed) as an excuse, Caron-
delet (in command at New Orleans) refused to give them up.
Natchez and Chickasaw Bluffs were included in these posts.
Finally, after considerable diplomatic trouble, all posts were
evacuated early in 1798 and the United States were in actual
possession of all of the territory granted to them in the Treaty
of Independence. The eastern bank of the Mississippi, from
its source to 31°, now belonged to the United States.

In 1800, Spain ceded the territory of Louisiana to France.
In 1803, for the sum of only $11,250,000.00, France under
Napoleon, ceded it to the United States. This gave the United
States entire control of the river from its source to its mouth,
with the exception of a little space on the eastern bank north of
Baton Rogue which was included in West Florida. It is to
celebrate the one-hundredth anniversary of this last cession that
the Congress of the United States has recently appropriated
$5,000,000.00 and the city of St. Louis is making elaborate pre-
parations. The absorption of West Florida, in 1810, and the
subsequent cession by Spain, in 1819, completed our control
of the river.

By the year 1770, the tide of immigration into Kentucky,
Tennessee and districts along the Ohio river was getting
strong.45 Some came alone, some in small bands, some with
their families and some in whole communities. It is difficult
to estimate what proportion came by water. A great many did
come over the mountains from Virginia and the Carolinas — a
great many took boat at Pittsburg, floated down the Ohio and
settled along its banks or went up its tributaries to chosen land-

44 Winsor, 396 et. seq.

45 Winsor, 49.

Influence of the Mississippi River. — Haughton. 473

ing-places. The great majority, it is estimated, came this way.49
For some time after that it is notable that the great preponder-
ance of settlements were on streams.47 It is estimated that by
the end of 1773, there were about 60,000 people in the coun-
try between Pittsburg and the mouth of the Ohio, including
Kentucky.48 About the time of the treaty of Paris in 1782,
most of the valley that was settled was south of the Ohio river.

Some of the early settlements were those at Watauga, Car-
ter's and the Nollichucky valleys in East Tennessee, in 1769-
70-71. 49 In 1772, they were consolidated, under the leadership
of James Robertson, into the Watauga Association.50 This was
the earliest government of the people, by the people, under
written articles, west of the mountains. The settlements
flourished from the beginning. In 1774, Daniel Boone estab-
lished Fort Boonesborough51 in Kentucky; and it was soon
the center of a growing community. The first legislative body
that convened west of the mountains sat here.52 In 1779, Rob-
ertson established the French Lick settlements, around what is
now Nashville, Tennessee.53 The Cumberland and Holston
settlements were begun, about 1772, in East Tennessee or West
North Carolina. Harrodsburgh, Limestone (now Maysville) and
Lexington, Kentucky, were settled between 1774 and 1784,
Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1782 and Nashville in 1784."

About 1785, the number of immigrants has been variously
estimated at between 5,000 and 20,000 a year.55 Besides the
number that came by land, there was a great increase of travel
down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Sometimes as many as
200 boats a day would pass or leave Pittsburg;56 and, of those
stranded and deserted, a thousand in one year were counted in
the Ohio river.

At the time of the adoption of the present Constitution of the
United States (1789), there were about 250,000 Americans in

46 Winsor, 328.
" Winsor, 399.
48 Winsor, 60.
48 Winsor, 79.

80 Winsor, 79.

81 Winsor, 82.

82 Winsor, 82.
"Winsor, 179.
" Flint, 168.

55 Winsor, 270.
86 Winsor, 298.

474 Mississippi Historical Society.

the Mississippi valley. Of these, Kentucky had most, Tennes-
see came next, and the country north of the Ohio third.57 About
the time of the admission of Kentucky to the union (1791),
there were about 70,000 white people living there. The tide
of immigration was, now, very large. Estimates, then, placed
it at 40,000 to 50,000 a year.58 The country north of the Ohio
was getting a larger proportion than formerly, though the
movement into Kentucky, Tennessee and points south was still
very strong.50

Patrick Henry appreciated the value of the Mississippi and
its tributaries as agencies for the development of the country,
as shown by a remark in one of his speeches, when he said:
"Cast your eye, sir, over this extensive country and see its soil
intersected in every quarter with bold, navigable streams, flow-
ing to the east and to the west, as if the ringer of heaven were
marking out the course of your settlements, inviting you to
enterprise and pointing the way to wealth."60

About the year 1812, there was a very perceptible increase in
the immigration. It is stated that about one half of them came
by boat.61 Many of those from Virginia, North Carolina and
Georgia came by wagon and settled south of the Ohio river.82
Those from the north came generally, by the canals and Ohio
river and settled north of the Ohio, though quite a number of
them went to Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas and
Louisiana.63 Some from the Southern States went to Indiana,
Illinois and Missouri. The movement from Northern States
was greater than that from Southern States.64

The population of the valley has been estimated as follows :
In 1790, 100,000; in 1800, 380,000; in 1810, 1,000,000; in 1820,
2,500,000; in 1832 about 4,ooo,ooo.65

The growth in population of the various States most closely
connected with this movement is as follows :

67 Winsor, 399.

58 Winsor, 526.

58 Winsor, 526 and 498.

eo Winsor, 248.

61 Flint, 182.

"Flint, 183.

"Flint, 189.

" Flint, 189.

65 Flint, 135-

Influence of the Mississippi River. — Haughton. 475

Alabama,

1790.

1800.

2 OOO

1810.

1820.

Mississippi, ....

8 8so

Louisiana,

76 ti^fi

Arkansas,

I 062

Missouri,

20 R/ic

66 586

Illinois,

2 4=;8

Tennessee, ....

•je 601

105 602

Kentucky,

7-7 667

220 o?c

4-",//1

Ohio,

AC 6"??

27o 760

?8?'2A5

Indiana,

4.87=;

24. S2O

T47.T7&

311,000"
136,621

140,145

937,903

343,03 in

It will be observed that the States south of the Ohio and east
of the Mississippi (and bordering on a river) and Louisiana,
which is bisected by the Mississippi, grew much more rapidly
in the earlier years than did the others. New Orleans, in those
days, was the greatest commercial metropolis within moderate-
ly easy reach of the people living west of the Alleghenies and the
natural course of trade and travel was down those rivers — par-
ticularly when a trader had a large lot of produce to transport.
In this way, the country along the rivers became better known
and, naturally, more rapidly settled. Louisiana's growth was
from two classes of people: foreigners who came to colonize
and for trade and Americans who went there because it was the
center of commerce for the valley. Both of those were the re-
sult of its being favored by the Mississippi river.

The avenues of trade and travel which were utilized between
the Atlantic districts and those in the west were principally as
follows: The Ohio river and its parent streams, thence the
Mississippi.72 In the earlier stages of the settlement of the
country, up to at least 1789, those were by far the most used
to points within reach of them. The various trails and narrow
roads leading over the mountains and through the gaps were
utilized by many. The upper Kanawha and Tennessee rivers
furnished facilities for those who could come that way." In
1795, Virginia opened a good road through the Cumberland

" Flint, 218.
67 Flint, 276.
** Flint, 320.
" Flint, 338.

70 Flint, 349-

71 U. S. Census Reports cover balance.

72 Winsor, 316.
"Winsor, 510.

476 Mississippi Historical Society.

Gap, which was very much used.74 Several years later, a fine
road was laid out from Cincinnati to St. Louis.75

In the earlier days, while most of the exports from the new
country were floated down to New Orleans,76 a portion was
carried up the Ohio and thence, by canals or roads, east ; or
was hauled across the mountains. Cattle, horses and swine
were frequently driven over the mountains.77 As the popula-
tion and production increased and extended farther west, the
rivers to New Orleans gradually absorbed more and more of
the trade. Not only was the eastern trip more troublesome, but
it also cost far more than the other. Even from Northern Ala-
bama and Georgia, New Orleans received much produce which
was floated down, from points on and near the Tennessee river
and other tributaries of the Ohio. There were, in all, about
40,000 miles of river tributary to New Orleans.78

The advantages which points down the river possessed may
be illustrated by the fact that New Orleans drew so much trade
from territory even as far north as that tributary to Canada,
that Great Britain tried several times to divert it north by treaty
arrangements and in other ways ; and all during the early days,
the Atlantic States endeavored to establish easy routes from
the West, in order to prevent it trading with New Orleans.79

The trip down the river was comparatively easy — going up
stream it was quite the reverse. It required about 40 days to
take a small boat from New Orleans to Louisville.80 From New
Orleans to the mouth of the Ohio and back, for a boat of 25
tons, with 20 men, the trip took 90 days. To St. Louis and
return is was about 100 days.81 For this reason, traders would
often carry their goods to New Orleans by boat ; sell them ; take
ship to Havana, thence to Philadelphia or Baltimore ; lay in
their supply for home use ; and take it down the Ohio, to the
starting point.82 This trip would require from four to six

74 Winsor, 512.

75 Flint, 321.
" Flint, 155-

77 Flint, ISS.

78 Flint, 162.

78 Winsor, 248.

80 Winsor, 414.

81 Winsor, 508.
M Winsor, 413.

Influence of the Mississippi River. — Haughton. 477

months. Many of the farmers would build flat-boats, load them
with produce and float them down to New Orleans.83.

The variety of crafts used on the river was interesting. It in-
cluded barges, keel-boats, flat-boats, ferry flats, scows, skiffs,
pirogues, canoes, dug-outs, and a miscellaneous lot of vessels
that could not be named.84 Going down stream was easy
enough; but up stream any way of locomotion that would
transport the vessel was used. Some used paddles (or oars) ;
some, sculls ; some had a propeller that was worked by man,
horse, or even cattle, power;85 some were pushed along b'y
means of poles stuck in the bottom of the stream ; some were
pulled by ropes tied to one tree after another ; and some were
pulled up by the crew grasping the bushes that grew in, or
near, the water. To this latter method was given the name
"bushwhacking."86

Some people traveled alone; some would take their entire
family along. Sometimes two or three families would occupy
one large flat-boat; and sometimes several would lash their
boats together and make a sort of community enterprise out of
it. One of the travelers mentions a party with which he made
a trip on one occasion, in 1791, as composed of "one Irishman,
an Anspacher, one Kentuckian, one person born at sea, one
Virginian, and one Welshman.87 The flat-boats frequently
had high sides and a sort of roof on one end forming a room,
or rooms.

The language of the regular voyagers on the river was not
the most refined; and those who took trips too often, it is sad
to relate, frequently acquired its boat flavor. In fact, the west-
ern people, as they were called in the States, were considered
rough, uncivilized and unrestrained by law and were frequently
denominated "lawless emigrants," "land grabbers," "banditti,"
&c.88 While, of course, there were some to whom these appel-
lation might, properly, be given — as there always are in new
communities — the great majority of them were a brave and
sturdy people, who necessarily were somewhat tarnished on the

83 Flint, 144.

84 Flint, 144 and 156.
88 Flint, 156.

se Flint, 156.

"Winsor, 518.

88 Winsor, 270 and 435; Flint, 142.

478 Mississippi Historical Society.

surface in their noble work of subduing a wilderness and con-
verting it into a cluster of magnificent commonwealths. In the
early days, those using the river were frequently the prey of
those considerably worse than themselves; for, not only had
they to contend with seizures and harassments by the Span-
iards and Indians, but also they were frequently attacked by
desperadoes and pirates who, to a greater or less extent, in-
fested the river.

The introduction of steamboats in the West gave a great im-
petus to its settlement. The first steamboat operated by Ful-
ton was in iSo/.89 It was in 1812 that steamboats were put into
successful use in the West.90 The "New Orleans" was the first
that ran on the Mississippi.91 She went from Pittsburg to New
Orleans in 259 hours — flat-boats took 75 days.92 The first to
ascend to St. Louis was the "Pike" in iSi/.93 In 1831 there
were 230 running on western waters.9* In 1874 there were i,-
017 steamboats and 1,068 other craft.95 An early writer says:
"The improvements of fifty years without steamboats wer«*
brought to this country in five years after their invention."96
Going upstream a flat-boat would make four to six miles per
day — a steamer would make that much per hour.97 Like all
other improvements in travel and transportation, their effect
upon the settlement of the country was marked and after their
introduction the West rapidly increased in population.

They were of particular benefit to the country on the Missis-
sippi north of the Ohio, because they rendered communication
easier between it and districts that were more thickly settled.
From 1810 to 1820 Kentucky increased in population 39%,
Tennessee 68% and Mississippi 89%, while Missouri increased
215% and Illinois 350%.

The Mississippi river would have caused early settlement to
be much more rapid had there been free use of it to the Ameri-
cans ; but, much of the time, such was not the case. As long as

"Winsor, 325.

90 Flint, 177.

91 Rozier.

92 Flint, 177-
" Rozier.

94 Flint, 217 (2nd Part.)

95 Rozier.

*« Flint, 161.
91 Flint, 161.

Influence of the Mississippi River. — Haughton. 479

Spain held control of it, Americans were much hampered in
their use of it and seizures of persons and property were not
infrequent. From 1782, when we acquired the right to its use
by the Treaty of Independence, to 1795, when the matter was
settled with Spain, the right of the United States was resisted
by Spain and Americans were greatly annoyed. During this
period there was a great deal of plotting and diplomacy over
the matter and many events happened which, to-day, are very
interesting and some of them strange.

The West, all the time, insisted on the free use of the river —
the East, at first, were inclined not to aid them, though assuring
them that they were.98 Subsequently, the East insisted on the
opening of the river, for fear of the consequences in the con-
duct of the West ; and, all of time, various foreign nations were
coquetting over the matter first with one section, then with an-
other, then with each other. Once our minister was ordered
to give Spain entire jurisdiction below 31 degrees in return for
free navigation above that point." This was revoked on ac-
count of the emphatic protest of the West. Again, the stock
of a Spanish trader at Vincennes, Ind., was seized in retaliation
for the seizure of American boats on the Mississippi.100

Frequently, it was feared in the East that the West would
separate from it and join with Spain,101 on account of the failure
to secure the free use of the river.102 Some said, however, that
Spain would not agree to this, for fear of the spread of Demo-
cratic doctrines in its colonies.103 It was also said that the
United States would not have occasion to cross the Mississippi
for ages.104 (In a very few years after that we purchased Lou-
isiana.) Some said that if the river was closed the West would
send its products East, while if it was open it would send them
to New Orleans. This idea was more popular in the North
where the greatest benefit was expected from this trade.105 Vir-
ginia once threatened to withdraw and form a Southern Union
unless something was done towards securing the river for the

88 Winsor, 318 et. seq.

89 Winsor, 201.

00 Winsor, 347.

01 Winsor, 538 et. seq.

02 Winsor, 319.

03 Winsor, 320.

04 Winsor, 396.

05 Winsor, 348.

480 Mississippi Historical Society.

West.106 The Western people gradually grew more deter-
mined and more restless. Some wanted to separate from the
Union and join Spain. Others wanted to join France and oth-
ers Great Britain.107 Each of these nations wanted an alliance
with the West for obvious reasons. Great Britain proposed
sending an army down from Canada and a fleet up from the sea
to aid the enterprise.108 One of its principal motives was to di-
vert the trade north to Canada. These nations argued to the
West that the Allegheny mountains prevented communication
with the East and broke the unity of the Republic ; and that the
prosperity of the East helped the West very little.109 The
French government tried to rouse the French in Canada
against Great Britain and with the aid of the West retake both
Canada and Louisiana.110 The efforts of France, Spain and
Great Britain were, for a while, quite energetic. Expeditions
against New Orleans and Natchez to drive out the Spanish and
thus secure control of the river were freely talked of by Ken-
tucky and Tennessee people, and several times very nearly be-
gun. Spain once fearing a combination against her, strength-
ened her posts on the river and incited the Indians to harass the
Americans. Many in the West were against the formation of
the present Union, because they feared that the majority rule
provided for in the Constitution would prevent their securing
control of the river.111 A western confederation was often
talked of.112 In 1790 there were about 200,000 people in the
West and 40,000 of them were able to bear arms. Jefferson
ordered our minister to secure free navigation at all hazards.113
About this time Tennessee, having about 77,000 people, issued a
call for a convention for statehood. Plots and counterplots
grew thick again. Finally, by the Treaty of San Lorenzo, in
October, 1795, Spain, fearing that the United States and Great
Britain were about to make war on her, settled the matter by
giving the United States free navigation and the right of free
deposit at New Orleans and other points.114 This settled the

°* Winsor, 349.

07 Winsor, 350 et. seq.

08 Winsor, 370, 566 et. seq.

09 Winsor, 373-

10 Winsor, 531 et. seq.

11 Winsor, 350 et. seq.
"Winsor, 571.

18 Winsor, 389.
14 Winsor, 555.

Influence of the Mississippi River. — H aught on. 481

unrest of the Western people ; and though after that frequent
attempts were made by foreign nations to induce them to join
in various schemes, they were unsuccessful. The mention of
the unreasonable suspicions of the West towards the East ir&
Washington's farewell address and his admonition to the sec-
tions to dwell together in greater harmony will be read with
greater interest when the troubles over the navigation of the
Mississippi are borne in mind.

So far as the State of Mississippi is concerned, there is very
little to be said as to its settlement beyond what applies to it
in the general narration already given. A glance at the name
of the State will show one very important result of the influence
of the Mississippi river.

The earliest settlement was on the southern coast by the col-
onists under DTberville, as mentioned above. There were early
settlements along the Mississippi and Tombigbee rivers,115 —
those on the former antedating those on the latter. Later on,
however, owing probably to the fact that a great deal of the
land bordering on the Mississippi and its local tributaries was
swampy and uninviting, the immigration to the eastern and
central parts of the State, which came principally overland, as-
sumed much larger proportions than that to the western part;
although the country around Natchez was very popular with
the settlers.

In the very early days the French from Canada came down
and settled at various points along the river, while the French
and Spanish from New Orleans came up the river to the same
districts. Natchez and the country south of it were the prin-
cipal points of their location.116 Fort Rosalie, at Natchez, was
built by Bienville about the year 1720. A great many of the
rivers, towns, hills, &c., were given French names. The old
maps show a very large preponderance of French and Spanish
names. One would think that this impress, made Upon the
country by civilized people, would be far more lasting than that
made by their savage predecessors ; but a glance at such names
in Mississippi, to-day, will show that the reverse is the case.

118 Flint, 167.

11(1 The writer has recently seen a newspaper article giving an account
of the discovery of an old map which shows quite a number of settle-
ments along the Mississippi, in the vicinity of Natchez and
leans, of which, now, no trace remains. Similar maps will be found
all histories touching the early days.

482 Mississippi Historical Society.

As immigration increased the percentage of Americans grew
much greater; and with their bustling ways they overwhelmed
the foreign element. American names were substituted for the
French and Spanish ; and the Indian names were retained.

In 1773 a band from New England located a town on the Big
Black.117 From 1764 to 1768, many people from Virginia,
North Carolina and Georgia came to Louisiana and Mississippi
and settled along the river.118 Many of them came down the
Mississippi, some came by sea and some cut their way through
the forests. They continued to come for some years. In 1799
there were about 6,000 people in the Natchez region. In 1801-
'2-'3~'4-'5 immigration was very brisk. The people came in var-
ious ways as before — probably a larger proportion by land.
Many came down from the old States and from Kentucky and
Tennessee. Richard Curtis (who was the subject of an interest-
ing paper heretofore read before this Society) settled here in
1780, and made his fight for religious freedom. The writer of
that paper states that he came down the Holstein, Tennessee,
Ohio and Mississippi rivers.119 The majority of the others
doubtless came by similar routes. By degrees the immigration
down the river increased as it did in other states and that
overland to points in the eastern and central parts of the State
kept pace with it and even outstripped it. The various settle-
ments stretched out and finally touched hands with each other.

In 1832 the principal towns mentioned by a writer of note
were Monticello, Gibson Port (1500), Greenville, Woodville,
Winchester, Shieldsborough, Jackson, Warrenton, Vicksburg
(then only a few years old), and Natchez (2790). 12° The popula-
tion was 42,176 whites and 32,814 slaves.121

To sum up in a few words :

In the very early days the Mississippi and its tributaries were
the highways for the great mass of travel for settlement, as
well as for its companion, trade. By degrees the proportion of
travel by land and other routes increased ; but, until the gener-
al extension of railroad facilities, the river continued to be the
great factor in the settlement and trade of its valley.

117 Flint, 230.

118 Winsor, 518.

119 Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, Vol. 3, p. 148.

120 Flint, 235-
™ Flint, 228.

THE MISSISSIPPI PANIC OF 1813.
BY COL. JOHN A.

Those who at the present day dwell in cities, or in the midst
of an old and well established civilization, can not appreciate
the trials, privations, and dangers incident to a frontier life
seventy-five years ago.

Immediately after the Spanish cession of the Mississippi Ter-
ritory to the United States there was a steady tide of immigra-
tion, chiefly from Georgia, the two Carolinas and Virginia,
which, in the brief space of ten years, swelled the population
from 10,000 to more than 40,000, exclusive of Indians. The
lands in Jefferson county, being very fertile, well watered and
heavily timbered, were rapidly entered and occupied by a class
of men well fitted to pioneer a healthy civilization, and develop
the wealth of our newly acquired possessions. Log cabins

1 Colonel John A. Watkins, son of Asa and Sarah (McDonald) Wat-
kins, was born December 3, 1808, in Jefferson county, Mississippi Terri-
tory. He was the grandson on his mother's side of Willis McDonald,
of General Marion's Brigade. The early boyhood days of Colonel
Watkins were passed amid the troublesome and exciting scenes incident
to the great Creek War of i8i3-'i4, of which he retained a vivid recol-
lection to his dying day. His early education was received in the "old
field schools" of Jefferson county. At the age of seventeen he was sent
by his father to St. Joseph's Academy, Bardstown, Kentucky, to com-
plete his education. At some time in 1825, while on a trip to Rodney
from Vicksburg — the Mississippi being the name of the steamboat on
which he traveled — he met the Natchez bearing General Lafayette, then
on his way from New Orleans to St. Louis. The two boats were tied
together in midstream so as to enable the passengers on the Mississippi
to see the guest of the Nation. General Lafayette stood on the boiler
deck of the Natchez and bowed to his applauding admirers, among
whom was young Watkins.

After attaining his majority, Mr. Watkins moved into the town of
Rodney, where he engaged in mercantile pursuits, and soon became one
of the most prominent men of the community. A man of culture and
wide information, he attracted to himself the foremost men of his time,
and entertained at his house such men as Henry Clay, General Zachary
Taylor, Governor McNutt, Governor Poindexter, General Leslie Com-
bes Judge F. M. Lee, of Virginia, Thomas Corwin, and Dr. Drake, the
well-known scientist. With these men he was on terms of intimate fa-
miliarity. He also corresponded with Hon. R. C. Wmthrop, of Massa-
chusetts- B W. Leigh, William J. Duane, Jackson s Secretary of ireas-
ury and with Mrs. Torrance, wife of the Chief Justice of Canada, who
was a lady of the highest literary culture. During the course of a long
life he never ceased to be a correspondent of several newspapei

484 Mississippi Historical Society.

were speedily erected, cane cut down, trees converted into rails,
and these again to fence in a few acres of ground, where, follow-
ing the plow, corn sprang up, as if by enchantment, yielding a
rich harvest as the reward of energy and industry. In a few
years the face of the country was entirely changed, and if the
wilderness did not "blossom as the rose," fields of cotton, fine
horses, cattle and hogs testified that the laborer had been richly
rewarded for his voluntary sacrifice of his "old home," and the
associates of his youth.

Jefferson county was nominally composed of five districts,
almost as well defined as its boundaries. The southwest was
known as the Maryland settlement, of which Judge Wood was
the representative ; to the northwest, Dr. Rush Nutt, Asa Hub-
bard and James Magill stood sponsors for the Gulf Hill ; Willis
McDonald, John Bolls, Asa Watkins, and Kinsman Divine rep-
resented the north central division ; Isaac Ross, Randal Gibson
and Nathaniel Jeffries, the "Red Lick" settlement, while in the
southeast the Scotch had formed a colony almost as distinct
in character as one of their Highland clans from their lowland
neighbors. The Gaelic language was spoken by many of them,

various parts of the United States. While living in Rodney, Colonel
Watkins came much in contact with the Choctaw Indians of that vicin-
ity, and thus acquired a taste for ethnological pursuits, the results of
which were embodied in a series of articles from his pen published in
the American Antiquarian.

May 8, 1832, Colonel Watkins married Miss Caroline Elizabeth Camp-
bell, a daughter of William and Sarah (Smith) Campbell. She died in
New Orleans, November 9, 1867. In 1848, Colonel Watkins removed to
New Orleans, where he held a prominent social and official position,
serving for many years as councilman and as State and city assessor.
In 1852 he refused a nomination for Congress in a Whig district, when
he could have been elected without opposition, giving as a reason that
he was too poor to accept an office. Who in these degenerate days
would have made that excuse for declining a political nomination?

During the inter-state war. Colonel Watkins was an ardent supporter
of the South, and while the Federal troops were in possession of New
Orleans, he spent his time and money freely in alleviating the sufferings
of the Confederate prisoners. The Colonel continued in active business
life until 1883, when advancing years compelled him to retire. From this
time until the day of his death he enjoyed a vigorous old age, with a
mind unimpaired and a physical frame that seemed to defy the assaults
of time, a vitality no doubt inherited from his hardy Highland ancestors.
He could read the finest print without glasses. The Bible and Shakes-
peare were the favorite literary recreations of his old age. Almost to
the day of his death he enjoyed the society of his friends and carried on
more or less correspondence. He died on the 27th day of August, 1898,
lacking three months and six days of completing his ninetieth year.
Colonel Watkins left one child surviving him, Mrs. Sarah C. Divine, of
New Orleans.— H. S. HALBERT.

The Mississippi Panic of 1813.— Watkins. 485

and perhaps at this day they read the Bible in that language,
for my old friend, Duncan Sinclair, himself a Highlander, says
that Gaelic was the language spoken by Adam and Eve in the
garden of Eden. Here were Camerons, McClutchies, Mc-
Intyres, Torrys, and a host of other names, that gave unmistak-
able evidence of their nationality.

In process of time, towns and villages sprang up on the main
line of travel, affording such facilities for trade and commerce
as the limited wants and resources of the country required.
Greenville, Union and Selsertown were located at convenient
distances from each other, on the "Old Robinson Road," and
continued to flourish for many years, until, antagonized by the
increased production of cotton and the demands of commerce,
they ceased to be a necessity, and gradually passed away, leav-
ing scarcely a trace of their former existence. The last time I
traveled over this road, now twenty-five years ago, Selsertown
was represented by a frail tenement occupied by an old colored
woman who dispensed fried bacon, eggs and corn bread to the
hungry wayfarer. Uniontown, six miles north, had dwindled
down to an old farmhouse, while Greenville was a "deserted
village" with one old house tottering to decay and McCullum's
blacksmith shop. But as this was many years ago, these have
long since paid the debt of nature, and passed beyond the rec-
ollection of the present generation, for the "oldest inhabitant"
only exists as a transient memory. When I first knew Green-
ville it was a beautiful village, the seat of justice for the county,
and boasted one of the oldest bars in the State. Poindexter,
Joe Davis, Rankin, Turner, Read, Quitman, and many others —
names that will live in history as Governors, Senators, Judges
and Representatives in Congress, while several gained distinc-
tion as statesmen and orators.

In 1813, August 30th, the Creek Indians attacked Fort Mims,
and as it was negligently protected, nearly all the inmates, sol-
diers, women and children, said to number over 550, were put
to death. The news of this massacre spread rapidly in Missis-
sippi, as nearly all the soldiers who defended the fort were from
that Territory, and I might add that a majority of them were
from Jefferson county. The danger was so threatening that
Governor Holmes, on his own responsibility, called for volun-
teers to form a battalion of mounted men to be composed of

486 Mississippi Historical Society.

one company from each of the counties of Adams, Wilkinson,
Amite, and Jefferson. The massacre of Fort Minis occurred on
the 30th of August, 1813, and the battalion called out by Gover-
nor Holmes reported for duty on the 23d of the following
month, and at once hurried to the seat of war. This was the fa-
mous Jefferson Troop designated at the War Department as
dragoons, commanded by Major Thomas Hinds, which subse-
quently became prominent in the Indian war, and at the battle
of New Orleans in 1815.

The heavy drafts made upon the sparsely settled Territory
left it in such a defenseless condition, that, had the Creeks iol-
lowed up their success against Fort Mims, and formed, as they
desired, a juncture with the Choctaws, they could have swept
over the country with the destruction of a tornado. Rumors
that an advance had been made by the Creeks, and that in their
progress they had been joined by the Choctaws began to be
whispered around, at first so vague that they could be traced
to no reliable source, but in a few days assuming a form to
which fear gave an impulse that resulted in a panic that I can
only attempt to describe from the recollections of more than
75 years ago.

The report of massacres by the Indians and an advance by
them on the white settlements came to our neighborhood
through James H. Watson, who, on the previous day had been
to Port Gibson. He gave immediate notice to the neighbor-
hood, and though many doubted, it was deemed prudent to
adopt the necessary precautions for the security of the women
and children. Preparations were hastily made to send them
to Washington, where a few companies of volunteers were
stationed, ready at a moment's notice to move wherever
their services were required. By the time the non-combatants
were to move the Indians were said to be at the Rocky Springs,
18 miles above Port Gibson, and the next breeze had wafted
them to the Grindstone Ford; some farsighted people could
even see the smoke of Colonel Burnett's house, a distance of
seven miles. How these vague reports originated will never be
known. Like the "three black crows," they grew as they pro-
ceeded, until the alarm became universal. As nearly all the
young men capable of bearing arms had gone to the seat of war
few capable of making a defence were left to protect their homes

The Mississippi Panic of 1813. — IVatkins. 487

and families, but they were of that class who, if they did not
recklessly seek danger, did not shrink from the conflict when
there was occasion to test their courage.

As the danger was considered imminent, runners were de-
spatched in every direction warning the inhabitants and direct-
ing them to seek safety in flight. Such as were capable of bear-
ing arms collected in small squads and repaired to a rendezvous
which had been previously agreed upon, where they could de-
vise the best means of defense. I was then a small boy and re-
member well the alarm and consternation that nearly all suffer-
ed when it was announced at the door of the school house the
"Indians are upon us," and ordering us all to go home in
"double quick," and by the shortest route. Some were over-
come by fear, wept and raved, while others, of whom I was one,
rejoiced at the prospect of a holiday. Be this as it may, we all
hurried home to find our mothers in tears and tribulation. Such
effects as could be removed had been thrown into the wagon,
while articles more cumbrous were removed to a place of com-
parative safety in the surrounding cane brakes. Looking back
after the lapse of more than seventy-five years to that period of
gloom and apprehension I can barely restrain a smile at the lu-
dicrousness of the scenes presented on that occasion ; and yet
it is the smile of sadness, for of the hundreds who met on that
day capable of defending their homes, not one survives to re-
late the story of fear and flight; they are all gone, and of the
younger members of that Hegira, two old ladies, now living
near where the old field school house stood, are the sole repre-
sentatives. These visions of by-gone years come over the mem-
ory like the dim shadow of some fleeting cloud that for a mo-
ment intercepts the sun, without obscuring his light.

The early settlers of Mississippi, like a majority of emigrants
to new countries, were a hardy, industrious and independent
class of men, and though not blessed with a superfluity of
golden treasure, they possessed in abundance the material that
constitutes the wealth of a nation, viz : Pigs, poultry and chil-
dren, sustained by industry, economy and perseverance. It
happened in the honored neighborhood of my birth that the
supply was ample, especially of children, of which even a super-
fluity might be boasted. This, however, is a digression, for
while I have been moralizing the oxen have been yoked and put

488 Mississippi Historical Society.

to the wagon; baggage and children have been tumbled in
promiscuously and without any regard to the comfort of the
latter; horses have received their cargo of live stock, two or
three being mounted on each ; and now the cavalcade is under
way — if I may use that term when applied to oxen.

Our faces were turned towards Washington, distant twenty-
five miles, this being our promised land ; but in vain did we look
for the cloud that was to conceal our flight from the enemy.
The day was bright and beautiful ; the sun smiled on its course
cheerily, and the whole aspect of nature was so mild and placid
that if fear had not overcome every other emotion, the out-
pourings of many a heart would have been offered up in grati-
tude to the Author who had been so bountiful in the dispensa-
tions of His blessings. At a distance of two miles from home
two roads met at a place then and now known as the "Raccoon
Box."

At the Raccoon Box our party was joined by twenty or more
families, all on their way to headquarters. Carts, wagons, chil-
dren, horses and dogs were so promiscuously thrown together
that the elderly dames found much difficulty in keeping together
their numerous offspring. After much confusion and any
amount of loud talking, the caravan finally began to move. The
road was narrow, scarcely permitting the passage of two wa-
gons abreast, but it frequently happened that the driver in the
rear fancied he heard an unusual noise which might not be a
savage yell of delight, and would make a bold effort to pass
to the front, but the attempt was rarely successful, as those in
the van were not willing to give any advantage to their less for-
tunate companions who had to close the long line of this hetero-
geneous procession. The scene was ludicrous beyond descrip-
tion. Here three white haired urchins were pelting an old plow
horse into a fast walk; while there a young mother, similarly
mounted, was carrying one child in her lap while two others
were holding on desperately to avoid a fearful tumble; while
further on a rickety old cart drawn by two stalwart oxen was
loaded with beds, boxes and children thrown together by
chance — the latter crying lustily to be released from their vile
imprisonment while the rod was occasionally applied to keep
them quiet. Being a good walker then, as in later years, I
avoided the ills to which many of my own age fell heir.

The Mississippi Panic of 1813. — Watkins. 489

When the alarm was first given, many of those who were
able to make a defence met by previous agreement at a point
known as Clifton, the present residence of Mrs. Israel Coleman,
which is on the old Robinson road leading from Natchez to
Nashville.

Here in the forenoon of that eventful day, so long remember-
ed by many as an epoch in their lives, about a dozen of the
neighboring farmers met for consultation and action. It was
decided that a part of this force should proceed without delay in
the direction of Port Gibson, where they had no doubt of meet-
ing with reliable information. Let me here remark that many
of those present on that occasion did not believe the truth of the
report, but acted from prudential motives in sending the women
and children to a place of security, while, if true, they would be
in a position to arrest the advance of the Indians long enough
to give the fugitives time enough to reach their destination. I
do not recollect the names of all who participated in this move-
ment; but I do know that Daniel Frisby, Thompson B. Shaw,
Kinsman Divine, Asa Watkins, Robert B. Farley, and Henry
Ledbetter were of the number. It is not necessary for me to
tell of all they saw and heard on the road. A bear leisurely
crossed the road in front of them, and though the temptation
was strong to give him the benefit of a bullet, policy protected
him. For once bruin escaped the penalty of a trespasser. Fear
on this occasion was his guardian genius. About nine miles
from Port Gibson, they found Robert Trimble and one of his
negro men overhauling the armory and putting all their avail-
able artillery in good fighting trim, the old gentleman vowing
that he would stand a siege, with the chance of having his house
burned, sooner than flee before an imaginary event. Proceed-
ing on their way, they reached Port Gibson to find it almost
deserted; only a few of the inhabitants were to be seen, of
which number Mr. Ben Smith was one. He was one of the
principal merchants of the place, and was well known to the
fighting party from Jefferson county. Mr. Smith did not be-
lieve that there was the shadow of truth in the report, "but,
gentlemen, if you are of a different opinion, walk in and supply
yourselves with powder and lead; and as your courage may
have sunk a little below fever heat, I have some good old
'Bourbon/— walk in and help yourselves— while you are get-

49° Mississippi Historical Society.

ting up steam I will play 'leather breeches,' for I know that
some of you will want to dance, as soon as the whiskey has
taken effect." Mr. Smith was an amateur fiddler. I have often
heard him play and witnessed the dancing of the men of that
day in his back room. Here, in more peaceful times, he and
Mrs. Blennerhasset, of Aaron Burr notoriety, were in the habit
of exercising their skill on the violin, and rumor says that she
could put as much Bourbon under her belt as the best drinker
in the country.

With this whiskey and ammunition, our party, fully satisfied
that there were no hostile Indians on this side of the Tombigbee
River, took leave of Mr. Smith and hurried to overtake their
families, and just at sundown came up with them near Green-
ville. Many of those who had taken flight in the morning, still
impelled by fear, did not pause till they reached Washington,
while all of those from our neighborhood turned back; but as
it was some distance to their homes, the women found shelter
under the hospitable roof of the father of the Rev. John G.
Jones, whilst the youngsters bivouacked under the broad can-
opy of heaven, from whence the bright stars shown down on
their quiet slumbers, after the fatigue and excitement of day,
which was long remembered by many who now sleep beneath
the cold earth, their very names, perhaps, forgotten by the pres-
ent generation.

As I write of what happened in my own neighborhood, I shall
only go out of the county to relate two trifling, but well au-
thenticated incidents. Shadrach Foster fled with his household
to a dense cane brake, and could with difficulty be restrained
from killing a child, whose cries, he feared, might guide the
Indians to his place of retreat. He killed his dog and threat-
ened the life of the first one who spoke above a whisper.
William B. Blanton, on his way home, overtaken by night and
Bourbon, turned his horse loose, and after groping in the dark
for some time took refuge in a hollow log, where he slept
soundly till after sunrise, when, to his surprise, he discovered
that the log was not ten feet from the road, from which he
would have been in full view, had the Indians or any one else
passed that way. Such are some of the effects of fear, one of
the strongest impulses of our nature, and the least under the
control of reason.

The Mississippi Panic of 1813. — Watkins. 491

Though no immediate danger was apprehended from an in-
vasion of the Indians, it was deemed prudent to adopt measures
for future security. A meeting was held by the neighboring
farmers, at which it was determined to erect, in some central
location, a fortification sufficient for the protection of the
women and children, and for the common safety of the settle-
ment, generally. In furtherance of this object, they met and
erected four block-houses, which were protected by strong
palisades, much after the style of the present picket fence,
though much higher and of stronger materials. The fort occu-
pied a gently swelling ridge, but in the hurry it was forgotten
that the spring which furnished the only water supply was about
fifty feet outside of the fortification, and that in the event of a
siege it would be inaccessible. This was an oversight, but it
was cured by time, as the Indians never made their appear-
ance. I was present when the first tree was cut down and saw
the last picket planted. This was in the winter of 1813-14.

In 1815 the Tennessee troops bivouacked one night at Fort
Shaw, which made it holy ground. It was the first and last
fortress that ever arose obedient to fear or patriotism in Jeffer-
son county.

For several years one of the block-houses was used for edu-
cational purposes, and here the young idea was taught to shoot,
under the inspiration of the birch, which at that day was re-
garded as a necessary promoter of mental and moral culture.
Subsequently the houses were pulled down and converted to
other uses, the land was subjected to the plow and at this day,
few, from their personal recollections, could point to the spot
where, in 1813-14, Fort Shaw proudly waved the Stars and
Stripes. Of those who assisted in its erection, not one survives.
Two old ladies living near where the fort stood and the writer
are believed to be the last survivors of that eventful period, in
this special neighborhood. When this article was published
forty years ago, it was approved by two of the best traditional
historians in the county and pronounced true.

JOHN A. WATKINS,
486 St. Charles Ave.

New Orleans, April 10, 1890.

PLANTER'S AND UNION BANK BONDS.

(Concise history of the Planter's Bank Bonds, and the Union
Bank Bonds of the State of Mississippi, compiled from authen-
tic sources of information, by J. A. P.

The Planter's Bank of the State of Mississippi was chartered
by act of the Legislature of February 10, 1830, which was
amended by act of December 16, 1830, and further amended by
act of February 5, 1833. Under the first act bonds of the State

1 Judge Josiah A. P. Campbell is of Scotch and Irish descent. He
was born in South Carolina in 1830. He completed his college course
at Davidson College, N. C. Soon after he was seventeen years old he
was admitted to the bar and settled in Kosciusko, Miss. He contin-
ued to practice his profession at this place until the beginning of the
War between the States. He was elected to the legislature when he
was only twenty-one years of age (1851). In 1859 he was again elected
to represent his county in the legislature. He became speaker of the
house. In 1850 he was united in marriage to Miss Eugenia E. Nash,
of near Kosciusko, Miss.

When Mississippi seceded (1861) he was chosen a delegate to the
constitutional convention at Montgomery, Ala., and thus became a
member of the provisional congress of the Confederacy. In 1862 he
entered the Confederate army as captain of Company K, Fortieth Mis-
sisippi, and was soon made lieutenant-colonel of his regiment. After
the battle of Corinth, where he was wounded, he rejoined his regiment
at Grenada and went with it to Vicksburg. While there he was ap-
pointed by President Davis to the rank of colonel and was assigned
to duty as a member of military court, Gen. Folk's corps.

After the war he was elected circuit judge of his district to fill an
unexpired term. At the expiration of his term he was re-elected (1866)
for a full term, but being unable to take the test oath which was im-
posed by the Federal government, he retired in 1870 to private life
and resumed the practice of his profession. Removing to Canton,
Miss., he formed a co-partnership with Judge S. S. Calhoon, which
continued until 1876. When the Democratic party resumed control
of the State (1876) Judge Campbell was appointed, without
seeking it, to the Supreme bench by Gov. Stone. Being re-appointed by
Gov Lowry in the same way. he filled this responsible position for a pe-
riod of eighteen years (1876-1894), during six years of which time he
was chief justice. In 1883 the degree of LL. D. was conferred upon
him by the University of Mississippi. He served as a member of the
Mississippi Code Commission which prepared the Code of 1871. I
prepared the Code of 1880, at the request of the legislature of the 5
In 1890 he was invited by the legislature to deliver an address on the
"Life and Character of Jefferson Davis," which duty he discharged witl
his characteristic ability. He was in 1870 elected professor of law in
the University of Mississippi, but declined to accept the position.

Sketches of Judge Campbell's life will be found in Goodspeeds Bio-
graphical and Historical Memoirs of Mississippi. Vol. I., pp. 495-8, a
Who's Who in America (1001-1902), pp. 175- 6.— EDITOR.

494 Mississippi Historical Society.

of Mississippi to the amount of $500,000 were issued by the
Governor, and under the last act bonds of the State to amount
of $1,500,000 were issued, as authorized, by the Governor, the
proceeds of all which bonds were to pay for the State's stock
of $2,000,000 in the bank, and the bonds were sold, and applied
as directed, and the State thus became a stockholder of the
bank to the extent of $2,000,000. The bonds bore interest at
six per cent, per annum, payable semi-annually.

The Planter's Bank went into operation, and flourished for
years, paying dividends and the interest on the bonds of the
State to January, 1840. The stock of the bank and the faith
of the State were pledged for the redemption of the bonds.
There was nothing in the Constitution of the State then in ex-
istence restricting the power of the Legislature to pledge the
faith of the State as was done.

By act of the Legislature in 1839 tne State's stock in the
Planter's Bank was transferred to the Mississippi Railroad
Company, with a provision in the act that the stock of the State
in said company and all stock of private individuals in it should
be pledged for payment of the bonds of the State issued on
account of the Planter's Bank.

In 1842 an act of the Legislature authorized the Governor to
accept a surrender to the State of the said railroad and all its
assets, and to sue the company, if surrender was refused.

In 1844 an act of the Legislature provided for placing the
Planter's Bank and the Mississippi Railroad Company in liqui-
dation and to wind up their affairs and pay the State's debt.
From time to time there were various provisions for payment
of the bonds, and bonds and coupons were paid, at different
times, to amount of $99,442.75 and coupons to amount of $101,-
520 were paid out of the sinking fund Nov. 30, 1858, and July 5,'
1859, as shown by report of the auditor of public accounts to
the House of Representatives in 1859. The validity of the
Planter's Bank Bonds and the duty of the State to pay them
were never questioned. The liability of the State for them and
the purpose to pay them, continued to be recognized until long
after the occurrences narrated above. In the fierce contest of
1841, when the question of the Union Bank Bonds was the issue
in the canvass for State officers and members of the Legisla-
ture, the liability of the State for the Planter's Bank Bonds was

Planter's and Union Bank Bonds. — Campbell. 495

not questioned. The Governor elected in 1841, and the Leg-
islature recognized the obligation of the State to pay them.

In 1852 an act of the Legislature provided for every voter, at
the next election, to be asked the question, on presenting his
ballot, if he was willing to submit to a direct tax to pay the
Planter's Bank bonds. This act was carried out at the Presi-
dential election of 1852, and a majority of voters answered in
the negative, as might have been expected. The question was
not whether willing to recognize the validity of the bonds, and
for the State to refund them or make some arrangement for
their payment, but, whether willing to submit to a direct tax
for their payment. The great body of the voters knew nothing
of the amount of the bonds; the circumstances of their issu-
ance, or the extent of the tax which might be imposed for their
payment; and it would have been surprising if they had re-
sponded affirmatively to the question prepounded to them.

In 1859 Governor McWillie recommended to the Legislature
to make provision for payment of the Planter's Bank Bonds.
His message was referred to a special committee, a majority of
which reported against action in accordance with the Govern-
or's recommendation, because of the threatening aspect of our
Federal Relations. A minority favored compliance with the
message. The view of the majority prevailed, but in no quarter
was there any denial of the obligation of the State. But for the
general apprehension that the State would soon be called to
deal with more momentous questions, there is little doubt that
some action would have been taken looking to payment of these
bonds. The war between the States occurred, and in 1876 an
amendment of the Constitution proposed by the former Legis-
lature, and adopted by the people at the polls in 1875, was in-
serted as a part of the Constitution of the State, whereby pay-
ment of the Planter's Bank bonds and the Union Bank bonds
was prohibited, and this provision was made part of the Consti-
tution of 1890.

UNION BANK BONDS.

The Mississippi Union Bank was chartered by act of the Leg-
islature of January 21, 1837, with a capital of $15,500,000, to be
raised by a loan. The faith of the State was pledged by the act
for the security of the capital and interest, and bonds of the

496 Mississippi Historical Society.

State to that amount were to be issued by the Governor and
delivered to the bank for sale, the proceeds to constitute the
capital of the bank, which was to pay interest as it accrued, and
also the bonds. The only stockholders of the bank were to be
citizens of Mississippi who were to secure their subscriptions
for stock by mortgages of ample real and personal estate to
which the State could resort to indemnify it for liability created
by its bonds, the sale of which was to furnish the money for the
bank. The Constitution of Mississippi, adopted in 1832, for-
bade the faith of the State to be pledged as proposed, except
by act of the Legislature passed in a particular way, and pub-
lished in a manner directed, and reenacted by the next Legisla-
ture, as prescribed. The 5th section of the act providing for
the issuance of bonds, and pledging the faith of the State, as
stated above, was passed as required by the Constitution, hav-
ing been enacted as prescribed by the Legislature, duly pub-
lished before the next election, and properly passed by the next
Legislature. No bonds had been issued under this act, which
was reenacted, February 5, 1838, when on February 15, 1838,
a supplemental act was passed authorizing and requiring the
Governor to subscribe for 50,000 shares of the stock of the
Union Bank to be paid for out of the proceeds of the bonds
authorized. The Governor subscribed for the shares, and is-
sued bonds of the State to amount of $5,000,000, and delivered
them to the bank, and they were sold by the~bank, and the pro-
ceeds received by it. Other $5,000,000 of bonds were delivered
by the Governor to the bank, but they were not sold. The rate
of interest was five per cent.

The scheme of the act of January 21, 1837, the 5th section of
which pledged the faith of the State, was for the State to fur-
nish the money to the bank whose stockholders were to be citi-
zens of the State bound by their subscriptions and securing
them by mortgages of ample real and personal security, all
which would be the security of the State for the debt incurred
by its bonds, for which its faith was pledged. It was to this
scheme the electors, at the election of 1837, were invited to give
approval by electing members of the Legislature, and it was
this to which the Legislature elected in 1837 gave consent in re-
enacting on February 5, 1838, the former act.

The Union Bank soon came to grief, and war was made on

Planter's and Union Bank Bonds. — Campbell. 497

it by Governor McNutt, and the cry of the illegality of the
bonds and their repudiation by the State was raised. The Leg-
islature elected in 1839 was not in sympathy with the views of-
Governor McNutt, and favored payment of the Union Bank
bonds.

This became the paramount question in the politics of the
State, and excited and divided the people in 1840 and 1841 ; and
in 1841 was the absorbing issue in the canvass for State officers
and members of the Legislature. Mr. Tucker was elected Gov-
ernor, being the candidate of the repudiators, and with him a
decided majority of both the Senate and House of the Legis-
lature occupying similar ground. The Governor and Legisla-
ture both declared against the payment of the "Union Bank
Bonds," and thus the matter rested.

In 1852 H. A. Johnson sued the State in the Superior Court
of Chancery on interest coupons of some of these bonds. The
State contended that while the original act was passed as re-
quired by the Constitution, the bonds were not issued under
that but under the supplemental act not passed as the Consti-
tution required, and which materially changed the terms of the
State's relation to the bank. The Chancery Court decided the
case against the State, which appealed to the High Court of
Errors and Appeals, which affirmed the decree of the Chancery
Court. The case is reported in 25 Miss Rep., where the views
of both sides are ably presented.

In 1876 the Constitution of Mississippi was amended so as
to prohibit payment of the Union Bank bonds, as also the
Planter's Bank bonds, and this prohibition is in the Constitu-
tion of 1890.

INDEX.

Adams, T. A. SM Poet, Educator,
etc., 425-464.

as an educator, 435.

at Kosciusko, 431.

as a man of letters, 438.

as a preacher, 434.

as a poet, 440-464.

as a school teacher, 430.

at Emory and Henry college,
429.

enlists in Southern cause, 430.

"Enscotidion," 425, 447-464.

enters University of Missis-
sippi, 429.

inheritance and early environ-
ment, 426, 427-428.

joins Mobile conference, 430.

Lipscomb, Dabney, 425, n.

marriage, 429.

on Richmond circuit, 432.

prepares for cadetship, 429.

president of Soule Female col-
lege, 431.

teaches at Black Hawk, Miss.,
431.

tributes to his memory, 433.
Archaeology, importance of, 256-
266.

black race, the, 259.

Indians place in, 260.

influence of French and Span-
iards on the Indians, 258.

Hamilton, Peter J., 255, n.

Mississippi as a field for study,

258, 265.
Armstrong's cavalry, 64.

Bank bonds, Planters' and Union,
493-497.

Campbell, Judge Josiah A. P.,
493, n.

Mississippi Railroad Company,
494.

McWillie, Governor, 495.

McNutt, Governor, 497.

Planters' Bank chartered, 493.

political discussions, 497.

Union Bank bonds, 495.
Baptists in Mississippi, early be-
ginnings of, 245-253.

articles few and simple, 247.

date of coming uncertain, 245.

first church, 246.

Leavell, Rev. Z. T., 245, n.
Swayze, Rev. Samuel, 245.
Barber, Lieut., 185.
Barton, Gen., 26, 34, 36.
Battle and retreat from Corinth,

63-72.

Bell, Mrs. Helen D., 335, n.
Black and Tan convention, 121-

125.
Elaine, 170, 171, 172, 159, 215, 216,

218, 220, 222, 223.
Blennerhasset, Mrs., 490.
Bowman's battery, 32.
Bragg, Gen., 17, 27, 35.
Breckenridge's division, 17.
Brigades — Blair, DeCourcy, Thay-

er, Lindsey, Sheldon, 30-33.
Brown, Hon. John Mason, 282.
Buell, Gen., 19.
Burr, Aaron, 490.
Butler, Gen. B. F., 15.

Campbell, Judge Josiah A. P.,

493.

Cappelman, Josie Frazee, 79, n.
Capture of Holly Springs, Missis-
sippi, 49-61.
Carondet, 469.
Carpet baggers, 127-131.
Caruthers, Alexander, 404.
Chamberlain, Governor Daniel H.,

224.

Chevalier Bayard of Mississippi,
Edward Cary Walthall, 402-
413.
"Chickasaw bayou campaign,"

15-36.

battle of, 29-35.

campaign of Generals Grant
and Sherman against Vicks-
burg, 15-36.

Confederate forces, 23.
Confederate loss, 36.
general condition of opposing

forces, 17-20.
investment of city, 26-29.
map accompanying General
Pemberton's report of opera-
tions near Vicksburg, 15.
opening of campaign, 15-16.
repulse, 34-35.

second attempt to capture, 20-
36.

500

Mississippi Historical Society.

topography, 24-25.

Union forces, 21-23.

Union loss, 36.

Vicksburg, campaign against,

15-36.

Chishahoma, Capt., 271, 276.
Choctaws, 486.
Choctaws as slave owners, 273.

creation legend, the, 267.
Clinton Presbytery, 338.
Cochin, Pierre Suzanne Augustin,

191, 197.

Coles Creek church, 248.
Compromise measures of 1850, 93.
Confederacy, work of the United
Daughters of the, 73-78.

American history to be prop-
erly taught, 77.

Decoration Day, 75.

five Chapters of Daughters, 73.

honoring memory of Confeder-
ate dead, 74.

historian for each division, 74.

memorial parks, 76.

Mississippi division, 73.

Mississippi room in Confeder-
ate White House, 76.

objects of, 73, 74.

room for relics, 74.

ties of friendship, 77

Vicksburg Chapter, 77.

Weems, Mrs. Albert G., 73, n.
Constitutional convention, 1868,

187.

Corinth, battle and retreat from,
63-72.

Armstrong's cavalry, 64.

Baldwyn reached, 64.

battery robinet, 67.

Chewalla, 65

escape of wagon train, 71.

Federal officer incident, 65.

fiercest battle on Mississippi
soil, 68.

Fourth Mississippi cavalry, 64.

gallant charge of Kogers' bri-
gade, 68.

Gordon, Col. James, 63, n.

King's battery, 65.

Lovel's corps, 64, 69.

march in the dark, 70.

narrow escape for Gordon, 67.

Price's Missourians, 71.

Price's mounted band, 65.

Eogers, Col. Wm. P., 68

Rosecrans, 69.

Second regiment Mississippi
cavalry, 64.

Thompson, Col. Jacob, 72.

Van Dorn, Gen., 64, 67.

I Council Bluff, 275.
County, history of a, 335-342.

Bell, Mrs. Helen D., 335, n.

battlefields, 341.

Clinton, 339.

Clinton Presbytery, 338.

Constitutional Flag, 339.

Davis, Jefferson, 340.

Doak's stand, 335.

first representatives, 339, 341.

Hempstead Academy, incor-
porated, 337; name changed
to Mississippi Academy, 338.

"Hinds County," 337.

Hinds, Gen. Thomas, 335.

Hopkins, F. G., 338.

Hutchinson's code, 336.

Jackson, Gen. Andrew, 335.

Le Fleur's Bluff named Jack-
son, 337.

Legislature's thanks for treaty,
337.

lotteries legitimate, 338.

Mexican War companies, 340.

"Mother of Counties," 339.

Poindexter, Gov.. 336.

population in 3830, 340.

Public EcJio, 340.

Rankin county formed, 339.

Raymond becomes county seat,
39.

"Secession Convention," 340-
341.

site for court house selected,
339.

U. S. land office at Mt. Salus,

338. v^

Creation legend, the Choctaw,
267.

Choctaw-Muscogee family, 268.

creation and migration leg-
ends, 267.

Halbert, H. S., 267, n.

Nanih Waiya, 267.

Pistonatubbee's version, 269.
Creek Indians, 485.
Curtis, Richard, 248-250.

Davis, Admiral, 16.
Davis, Col. Geo. T. M., 422.
Davis, Jefferson, 93, 101.
Davis, Reuben, 100, n.
Democratic State Rights Party,

99.

Deupree, 49, n.
Dow, Lorenzo, in Mississippi, 233-

244.
adventure with the Indians,

237, 238.

Index.

501

Baptists from Carolinas and |

Georgia, 252.
Coles Creek church, 248.
coxirtship and marriage, 238,

239.
Curtis, Kichard, return of, 248,

249, 250.

discharged and sent home, 235.
Ellicott, Andrew, 250.
first visit, 236.
Floyd, Moses, 236.
Galloway, Bishop Charles, 233-

n.

goes to Ireland, 235.
Jefferson college, 243.
Kingston, 236.
Lee, Jesse, Elder, 235.
"Natchez Country," 236-239, 240.
newspaper notices of, 240, 241.
Drew's artillery, 32.
Duncan, Mrs. Rosalie, 416, n.
Duvall, Mary Virginia, 401, n.

Early settlement of Mississippi

Valley, 465.
Eaton, Major, 277, 278.
Ellicott, Andrew, 250.
"Enscotidion," 425, 447-464.

Farragut, Admiral, 15, 16.

First Struggle over secession in

Mississippi, 89-104.
Forrest, Gen. N. B., 27, 28.
Fort Du Quesne, 469.
Fort, Shaw, 491.
Foster, Shadrack, 490.
Fourth annual meeting, 9-14.
Freedmen's bureau, 110.
Freedmen, Mississippi's Constitu-
. tion and statutes in refer-
ence to, 143-226.
"alterations and amendments,"

155.

Article XIII., 211.
as to voting, 205, n., 206.
Barber, Lieut., 185.
Elaine, - — , 159, 170, 171, 172,
215, 216, 217, 218, 220, 222, 223,
224.

board of police, 167.
Chamberlain, Governor Daniel

H., 224.

Cochin, Pierre Suzanne Augus-
tin, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196,
197, 200.

constitutional convention of
1868, 187.

decade ending 1870, 143.

first Mississippi legislature af-
ter war, 160.

freedmen's bureau, administra-
tion of and acts of, 166, 172,
182.

French method of liberating
slaves, compared, 193-202.

Garfield, President, 223.

Grant, General, 176, 179.

Herbert, Hon. Hilary A., 185,
219.

Henry Wilson, 220, 221.

Humphreys, Governor, 161, 162,
165, 176, 182, 186, 187, 189, 211,
213.

"Insurrections," 187.

intermarriage between whites
and negroes, 205, n, 209, n.

"Joint Select Committee," 163.

Johnson, President, 149, 150,
157, 222, 224, 225.

"lawful homes of employ-
ment," 167.

legislature, 160.

legislative conditions, 161, 183,
185, 203.

Lincoln and Johnson's views,
147.

Lincoln, President, 147, 153, 155.

Logan, John A., 224.

Martin, General William T.,
154.

Mississippi typical of South,
145.

Mississippi's freedmen stat-
utes, 165, 174, 188, 191.

motives of Northern political
writers, 169.

national post bellum policy,
146.

Northern men, influx of, 178,
179.

no organized part, 203.

Northern political writers, 169,
181.

paternalism for freedmen, 167.

political affiliations of conven-
tion, 150.

Potter, Judge, 156, 159.

provisional governor appoint-
ed, 148.

restoring constitutional rela-
tions to Federal government,
149.

Scully, Col., 185.

Sharkey, Judge Wm. L., 148,
150, 151, 152, 153.

Simrall, Hon. H. F., report of,
211, 212, 214.

502

Mississippi Historical Society.

slavery legislation, 155, 173.

Southern negro laborer, 179,
180, 181, 193, 194.

status of the negro, 144.

State militia, 187.

Stevens-Morton plan of recon-
struction, 219.

Sumner, , 177, 225.

Thirteenth and Fourteenth
amendments, Mississippi's
action on, 211, 212.

Williams, Lieut., 184.

Yerger, 151, 152, 157, 158, 159,
217.

Gallipolis, 470.

Galloway, Bishop Charles, 233, n.
Garfield* President, 223.
Garner, James Wilford, 90, n.
Georgia troops —

42d regiment, 33.

52d regiment, 34.
Gordon, Col. James, 84, n.
Grant's campaign against Vicks-

burg, 15-36.
Grant, Gen., 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22,

23, 27, 28, 176, 179.
Grant, Mrs. U. S., 58.
Gregg, Gen., 26, 33, 36.

Halbert, H. S.. 271, n, 267, n.

Hall, Col., 32, 33.

Hale, Rev. Edward Everett, 281,

n.

Hall, Col, 32, 33.
Hamilton, Peter J., 255, n.
Hardy, W. H., 105, n.
Haughton, Richard Brownrigg,

465, n.

Hebert's brigade, 35.
Henry, Patrick, 474.
Herbert, Hon. Hilary A., 185, 219.
Hinds county, 337.
Histor.y of a county, 335-342.
Holly Springs, Mississippi, cap-
ture of, 49-61.
advance to Oxford, 50.
ante-up, 51.

ammunition and arms cap-
tured, 57.
Barron, S. B., 49.
Confederate cavalry comman-
ders petition for raid, 51.
Confederates reach Grenada,

59.

Davis' Mill skirmish, 59.
Deupree, 49. n
Deupree mess, 51.

Dickey's command, 42, 53.

Federal reinforcements arrive,
59.

Grant, Mrs. U. S., 58.

Grant's purpose, 49, 50.

McCullough's brigade, 54.

motley morning scene, 58.

movement begun, 52.

Murphy dismissed from ser-
vice, 60.

Murphy's infantry surrenders,
56.

New Albany, camp at, 53.

order of battle, 54, 55.

prisoners captured, 57.

rations and clothing destroyed,
56, 60.

reception at Pontotoc, 52.

Riley, Dr. F. L., 49.

Second Illinois cavalry, 55.

Sixth Texas, 59.

tribute to Van Dorn, 60-61.

Twelfth Wisconsin, 59.

value of property appropriated
and destroyed, 58.

Union overcoats worn, 58.

Van Dorn, Gen., 52, 61.
Huston, letter to, from George
Poindexter, 331-333.

Importance of archaeology, 255-

266.

Influence of French and Span-
iards on Indians, 258.
Influence of the Mississippi river
upon the early settlement of
its valley, 465-482.
early exploration, 465.
early names of river, 465.
early settlements, 473, 474, 481.
French colonization, 467.
French settlements, 467.
growth in population, 475.
Haughton, Richard Brownrifg,

465, n.

immigration from other States,
• 482

La Salle's expedition, 466.
Fort Peoria, 111., 466.
"Mississippi Bubble," 467.
steamboats, 478.
travel on the river, 477.

Jackson, General Andrew, 335.
Jefferson college, 243, 418.
Jefferson county, 484.
Johnson, President, 149, 150, 157,
222, 224, 225.

Index.

503

Johnston, Lieut. Frank, 32.
"Joint Select Committee," 163.

La Salle, 466-467.

Last. Indian council on Noxubee

river, the, 271-280.
Layton, Col. P. S., 33.
Leavell, Kev. Z. T., 245, n.
Lee, Gen. S. D., 24, 31, 32, 33, 34,

35, 36.

Gen. R. E., 17, 19.
Legal status of slaves in Missis-
sippi before the- war, 133.
Letter from George Poindexter

to Felix Huston, 331-333.
Life of General John A. Qultman,

415-424.

Lincoln, President, 147, 153, 155.
Lintot, Fanny, 282.
Lipscomb, Dabney, 425, n.
Local incidents of the War be-
tween the States, 79-87.
Logan, John A., 224.
Lotteries, 338.
Louisiana troops —

17th regiment, 31, 32, 34.
26th regiment, 27, 32, 33, 34.
27th regiment, 24.
28th regiment, 32, 33.
31st regiment, 24, 26, 32, 34.
Lovell, Gen., 15.
Loyal League, the, 114-121.

Magruder, W. W., 133, n.
Map accompanying Gen. Pember-
ton's report of operations
near Vicksburg, 15.
Marquette, Father, 465.
Maury, Gen., 35.
McClellan, Gen., 19
McCullough's brigade, 54.
McNutt, Governor, 497.
McRae, Hon. H. J. J., — .
McWillie, Governor, 495.
Memorial parks, 76.
Meridian, Sherman's expedition

from Vicksburg to, 37-47.
an incident at Baker's creek,

40.
Confederate and Federal

losses, 38.

conditions at beginning of, 37.
fifty miles of railroad de-
stroyed, 42, 43.
Johnston's retreat to Jackson,

37.

Lee moves to protect Mobile,
41.

military object of Sherman's

campaign, 46.
retreat of the enemy, 43.
retreat of Smith's force, 44, 45.
Sherman's intention, 38.
Sherman's army mostly in East

Tennessee, 38.
skirmish at West Point, 44.
Yazoo river expedition, 39, 40.
Millsaps college, origin and loca-
tion of, 227-231.
Chambers, Rev. J. W., appoint-
ed agent, 229.
charter, terms of the, 227.
faculty organized, 230.
joint commission meets, 228.
Murrah, Rev. William Benton,
biographical sketch of, 227,
n, elected president, 230.
Millsaps, Major R. W., 228, 229.
Mississippi conference, resolu-
tions of, 227.

Millsaps, Major R. W., 228, 229.
Mississippi's Constitution and
statutes in reference to
freedmen, 143-226.
Mississippi Historical Society —
officers for 1901, 4.
report of proceedings of fourth

annual meeting, 9-14.
Mississippi conference, 227.
Mississippi gunboat fleet, 16, 22.
Mississippi Legislature after the

War, 160.

Mississippi, oratory of —
ephemeral tradition, 357.
orators from 1817 to 1840 —
George Poindexter, 357; Sar-
gent S. Prentiss, 361; Robert
J. Walker, 365; Guion, Holt,
Plummer, 368.

orators from 1840 to 1865 — V.
• Henry S. Foote, 369; Jeffer-
son Davis, 372; Alexander K.
McClung, 376; Albert G.
Brown, 379; McNutt, Thomp-
son, Featherstone, 382.
orators from 1865 to 1898 — X.
L. Q. C. Lamar, 382; Edward
G. Walthall, 388; James Z.
George, 393; James J. Alcorn,
396; Chalmers, Manning,
Barksdale, 399.
Rowland, Dunbar, 357.
Mississippi Railroad company,

494.
Mississippi panic of 1813, the, 483-

491.
Mississippi society, 403, 405.

504

Mississippi Historical Society.

Mississippi troops —

Bowman's battery of artillery,
32.

Drew's artillery, 32.

4th regiment, 33, 36.

46th regiment, 31, 32, 36.

light artillery, 32, 36.

Ward's artillery, 33, 36.
Missouri troops —

6th regiment, 31, 34, 36.
Morgan, Gen. Geo. W., 29, 30, 35.
Morrison, Col., 32, 34.
Murrah, Eev. William Benton,
227, n, 230.

Nanih Waiya, 266.

Natchez country, 236, 239, 240,

250.

New Orleans, 476, 478.
Nolan, the real Philip, 281.
Northern political writers, 169,

181.

Noxubee river, the last Indian
council on, 271-280.

Chishahoma, Capt., 271, 276.

Choctaws as slave owners, 273.

Council Bluff, 275.

Eaton, Major, 277, 278.

enrollment of heads of famil-
ies, 272.

Halbert, H. S., 271, n.

many emigrate west, 279.

Eed Postoak, 272, 276.

Six Towns people, 272.

Toboka's memory, 275.

Ward, Col. William, 271, 279.

Ohio company, 469.

Okolona, 82-85.

"Old Robinson road," 485.

Operations near Vicksburg, map

of, 15.

Oratory of Mississippi, 357-399.
Ordinance of 1787, 135, 136.
Origin and location of Millsaps

college, 227-231.
Oxford, 50.

Panic of 1813, the Mississippi,

483-491.

Blenerhasset, Mrs. 490.
Burr, Aaron, 490.
Creek Indians, 485.
Choctaws, 486.
Fort Mims massacre, 485.
Fort Shaw, 491.

Foster, Shadrack, 490.

frontier life, 483.

Jefferson county, 484.

"Old Eobinson road," 485.

Port Gibson, 489.

Eocky Springs, 486.

Watkins, Col. John A., 483, n.
Pemberton, Gen., 18, 22, 23, 35,

36.

Phillips, Col., 34.
Pioneer life in Mississippi, recol-
lections of, 343-356.

churches, 351.

early houses, 344.

female school, 355.

journey to settlement, 243, 344.

merchants and physicians, 354.

schools, 352.

some of the first settlers, 344.

taverns, 354.

the Indians, 350.

Wahalak, 354-356.

Welsh, George, Sr., 342.

Welsh, Miss Mary J., 342, n.

Welsh, Victor, 342.
Planter's and Union Bank bonds,

493.

Poindexter, Governor, 336.
Poindexter, letter from, to Felix
Huston, 331-333.

"deposit question," 333.

the State banks, 331.
Pope, Gen., 19.
Porter, Admiral, 21, 22, 35.
Port Gibson, 489
Price, Gen., 17, 18.
Price's Missourians, 71.
Principal towns in 1832, 482.

Quitman, General John A., 415-
424.

appointed Governor of Mexico,
422.

biographical notes, 424.

connection with Jefferson col-
lege, 418.

Davis, Col. Geo. T. M., 422.

Duncan, Mrs. Eosalie, 416, n.

elected to Congress, 423.

first to enter Mexico, 422.

governor, 423.

Griffith, Judge, 416.

legal studies, 416.

married, 417.

Mexican campaign, 419-422.

personal friends, 423.

professional practice, 416.

Texas fencibles, 418.

Index.

505

Rankin county, 339.
Raymond, 39.

Real Philip Nolan, the, 281-329.
Brown, Hon. John Mason, 282.
Hale, Rev. Edward Everett, 281,

n.

Lintot, Fanny, 282.
Nolan murdered at Waco (?),

286-287.

"Philip Nolan's friends," 283.
proposes statute of Nolan, 285.
trial of correspondents of No-
lan, 284, 288, 329.
trial of correspondents of No-
lan, 288-329.

Wilkinson's memoirs, 282-284.

Wilkinson's papers, 283, 284.

Recollections of pioneer life in

Mississippi, 343.

Reconstruction, recollections of
in East and Southeast Mis-
sissippi, 105-132.
a great problem, 131-132.
an "Old Line Whig," 111.
constitution of the Black and

Tan convention, 121-125.
freedmen's bureau, 110.
Hardy, W. H., 105, n., 166, n.
Judge Story, 108.
military governors, 110.
negroes become insolent, 112.
peripatetic carpet baggers,

127-131.
prominent carpet baggers, 125-

127.

right of State to withdraw, 107.
Sharkey, William L., appointed

provisional governor, 109.
"'Sime, the Spellist," 120.
Tarbell, Judge Jonathan, Tl9,

120.

the Loyal League, 114-121.
the transition period, 131.
two theories, 106.
Red Postak, 272-276.
"Resisters," 96, 99, 102, n.
Riley, Dr. F. L., 49.
Rocky Springs, 486.
Rosecrans, 69.
Rowland, Dunbar, 357.

Scully, Colonel, 185.
Secession convention, 340-341.
Secession in Mississippi, first

struggle over, 89-104.
action of Congress denounced,

97.
Calhoun, 90.

Seabrook, Gov., 96.

Congressional Globe, 102, n.,
104, n.

compromise measures of 1850,
93.

Davis, Jefferson, 93, 101.

Davis, Reuben, 100, n.

decade before Civil War, 90.

Democratic State Rights Party,
99.

election of delegates, 101.

Foote's convention, 98-103.

Foote elected governor, 102.

Foote, Henry S., 93, 96.

first advocacy of secession, 91.

Garner, James Wilford, 89, n.

McRae, Hon. J. J., 100.

Mississippian, 94, n.

Natchez Free Trader, 94, n.

New York Times, 98, n.

policy of attachment, 90.

press favored secession, 94.

"prompt and peaceable seces-

"Resisters," 96, 99, 102, n.

resolutions of censure, 95.
sion," 98.

Sharkey, Win. L., 90.

Southern slave State conven-
tion, 91-93.

Vicksburg Sentinel, 94, n.
Sharkey, Wm. L., 90, 109, 148-153.
Sherman, Gen., 21, 22, 23, 26, 27,

28, 29, 35, 36.
Sherman's Meridian expedition

from Vicksburg, 37.
"Sime, the Spellist," 120.
Six Towns people, 272.
Slaves competent witnesses, 139.
Slaves in Mississippi before the
War, legal status of, 133-142.

capital crimes when committed
by slaves, 140.

color prima facie evidence of
liability, 139.

first cargo of slaves, 136, 137.

first constitution of Missis-
sippi, 138.

formation of Mississippi Terri-
tory, 136.

Magruder, W. W., 133, n.

marital relations of slaves, 141.

negroes allied with Indians,
137.

ordinance of 1787, 135, 136.

slaves competent witnesses,
139.

Stone, Alfred H., 134.
Slavery legislation, 155, 173.
Slaves, first cargo of, 136, 137.
Slaves, marital relations of, 141.

506

Mississippi Historical Society.

Smith, Gen. Morgan. L., 22, 23, 24,

29, 30, 31, 35, 36.
Smith, Gen. A. J., 22, 29, 30, 31.
State banks, 331.
Status of the negro, 144.
Stevens-Morton plan, 219.
Stephenson, Gen. C. L., 35, 36.
Steele, Gen. F., 22, 29, 30, 32.
Stone, Alfred H., 134.
Story, Judge, 108.
St. Thomas Hall, 402, 403.
Swayze, Kev. Samuel, 245.

Tarbell, Judge Jonathan, 119, 120.
Tarleton, Lieut. G. A., 33.
Tennessee troops —

3rd regiment, 33, 35.

30th regiment, 33, 35.

80th regiment, 33.
Texas troops — •

2nd regiment, 35.
Thirteenth and Fourteenth

amendments, 211-212.
Thomas, Col., 32.
Towns with French names, 481.

United Daughters of the Confed-
eracy, work of, 73-78.

Van Dora, tribute to, 60-61.

Gen., 17, 18, 21, 23, 27, 28, 64, 67.
Vaughan, Gen., 26, 33, 34, 36.
Vicksburg, campaign of Generals
Grant and Sherman against,

15-36.

Bragg transferred to Chatta-
nooga, 17.
campaign, east and west of

Mississippi, 17.

Confederate line of battle, 24.
Confederate reinforcements,

34.

Confederate side, 23.
favorable events in North Mis-
sissippi, 27.
first attempt, 15.
four hours' truce, 35.
Grant concentrates army at

Grand Junction, 21.
gunboat, Arkansas, 16.
losses on both sides, 36.
main attack, 26.
second attempt, 20-36.

Sherman's assault on Confeder-
ate line, 30

Sherman returns to Memphis,
21;| his position, 26.

strength of Union fleet, 16-23.

Union attempt to lay pontoon
bridge, 33.

Union forces, 15.
Vicksburg Chapter, 77.
Vincennes, Ind., 470.

Wahalak, 354-356.
Walthall, Edward Cary, the Chev-
alier Bayard of Mississippi,.
401-413.
ancestry, 402.
as a soldier, 409-411.
Caruthers, Alexander, 404.
Co. H, 15th Mississippi, formed,

409.

Duval, Mary Virginia, 401, n.
enters practice of law, 404.
elected colonel, 409.
elected District Attorney, 405.
his oratory, 407, 408.
in the United States Senate,

412-413.

legal practice, 406-408.
Mississippi society, 403, 405.
returns to practice, 411.
Strickland, Major William M.,

403, 404.

St. Thomas Hall, 402, 403.
War between the States, local in-
cidents of, 79-87.
Aberdeen and Columbus, 85-87.
Cappleman, Josie Frazee, 79, n.
Port Gibson and Claiborne

county, 79-81.
reminiscences of Corinth in the

War, 81-82.

Okolona in the War, 82-85.
Ward, Col. William, 271-277.
Ward's artillery, 33, 36.
Watkins, Col. John A., 483, n.
Weems, Mrs. Albert G., 73, n.
Welsh, Mrs. Mary J., 342, n.
Welsh, George, Sr., 342.
Welsh, Victor, 342.
Williams, Gen., 16.
Williams, Lieut., 184.
Wilkinson's memoirs, 282-284.
Withers, Col. W. T., 31, 32, 35.
Work of the United Daughters
of the Confederacy, 73-78.

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