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PUBLICATIONS 



-OF- 



THE MISSISSIPPI 

II 

HISTORICAL SOCIETY 



Edited byi^<.\<^^ '^ 
FRANKLIN L^RILEY 
Secretary 



Vol. hi. 




Oxford, Mississippi 

Printed for th« Society 

1900 



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Copyrighted, 1901 
Bv Xhb Mississippi Historicai, Society 



Neither the Bdltor nor the Society aisnmea any responsibility 
for the opinions or statements of contributors 






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PREFACE. 

The generous and enlightened policy of the State Legislature 
has enabled the Historical Society to present this year's con- 
tributions to the history of Mississippi in a volume that is in 
every way superior to those which have heretofore appeared. 

An examination of the table of contents of this volume will 
convey the gratifying intelligence that most of the fruitful lines 
of research which were begun by the contributors to the pre- 
ceding volumes have been successfully continued and that 
several new lines of investigation have also been undertaken. 
Attention is directed to the wide range of subjects here treated, 
— social, genealogical, biographical, economic, educational, 
'religious, literary, local, military, constitutional and aboriginal. 
The publication of this volume marks the beginning of two other 
phases of historical work, — the printing of original documents 
and of the results of interviews with pioneer settlers — ^which 
promises to be of inestimable value to historical investigators. 
Xi^he editor acknowledges with pleasure the assistance he has 
received from many members of the Society who have generous- 
ly responded to the numerous inquiries that his work has ren- 
dered necessary in the preparation of this volume for the press. 

P. L. R. 

University, Miss., Nov. i, 1900. 



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OFFICERS FOR 1900 

PRESIDENT : 

General 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, 

Mississippi. 
Professor 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, annual dues, 
$2.00, or life dues, $30.00. Members receive all publications of the 
Society free of charge. 

Donations of relics, manuscripts, books and papers are solicited for 
the Museum and Archives of the Society. 

Address all communications to the Secretary of the Mississippi His- 
torical Society, University P. O., Mississippi. 



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CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS. 

Art. I. — Name. 

This Society shall be called The Mississippi Historical So- 
ciety. 

Art. II. — Objects. 

The objects of the Society shall be, in general, the promo- 
tion of historical studies ; and, in particular, the discovery, col- 
lection, preservation and perpetuation of facts and events relat- 
ing to the natural, aboriginal, civil, political, military, literary 
and ecclesiastical history of the Territory and State of Mis- 
sissippi, and the country adjoining thereto. 

Art. III. — Membership. 

The Society shall consist of Members, Life Members and 
Honorary Members. 

(i) Members. Any person approved by the Executive Com- 
mittee may become a member by paying two dollars ; and after 
the first year may continue a member by paying an annual fee 
of two dollars. 

(2) Life Members. Such benefactors of the Society as shall 
pay into its treasury at one time the sum of ($30.00) thirty dol- 
lars, or shall present to the Society an equivalent in books, 
MSS., or other acceptable matter, shall be classed as Life Mem- 
bers and shall be enrolled as such by the Secretary upon the 
approval of the Executive Committee. 

(3) Honorary Members. Upon the recommendation of the 
Executive Committee, the Society may by a majority vote of 
the members in attendance at its Annual Public Meeting, elect 
to Honorary Membership, persons not residents of the State and 
eminent for their work in historical research. 



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6 Mississippi Historical Society. 

Art. IV.— Officers. 

The officers of the Society shall consist of a President, two 
Vice-Presidents, an Archivist, a Secretary and Treasurer, and 
an Executive Committee. 

The President and Vice-Presidents of the Society shall be 
elected biennially at a Public Meeting of the Society and shall 
perform the duties of their office until their successors may be 
chosen. In addition to the usual duties of a presiding officer, 
the President shall have power to call special meetings of the 
Executive Committee or of the Society by due notice given 
through the Secretary, and to fill vacancies on any committee. 

The Archivist shall be appointed biennially by the Executive 
Committee. He shall superintend the classification and ar- 
rangement of such historical material as may come into the 
possession of the Society, and shall be responsible for the safe 
keeping of the same. 

The Professor of History in the University of Mississippi 
shall be ex officio Secretary and Treasurer of the Society. He 
shall keep a full record of transactions of the Society and of all 
receipts and disbursements of funds belonging to the same. 
His accounts shall be audited annually by one or more members 
of the Executive Committee. He shall prepare the programs 
for the Annual Public Meetings and shall edit and distribute 
such publications of the Society as may be authorized by the 
Executive Committee from time to time. 

The Executive Committee shall consist of the officers and of 
four other members elected annually by the Society. A ma- 
jority of the Committee shall constitute a quorum. It shall 
have charge of the general interests of the Society, including 
the election of members, the calling of annual public meetings, 
and the publication of the papers of the Society. 

Art. V. — Dues. 

Each member shall pay annually into the treasury of the So- 
ciety, during his or her connection therewith, the sum of two 
dollars. 

Life Members and Honorary Members shall be exempt from 
all dues. 



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Constitution and By-Laws. 7 

Art. VI. — Publications. 

The publications of the Society shall be issued from time to 
time at the discretion of the Executive Committee. 

Each Member and each Life Member shall receive, free of 
charge, a copy of all publications of the Society that may be 
issued during his or her connection therewith. 

Art. VIL — ^Amendments. 

Amendments to this Constitution shall become operative after 
being recommended by the Executive Committee and approved 
by two-thirds of the entire membership of the Society, the vote 
being taken by letter ballot. 



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CONTENTS. 



Preface, 3 

Officers for 1900, 4 

Constitution and By-Laws of the Society, 5 

Contents, 9 

I. Report of the Proceedings of the Third Annual Meeting, . . 11 
II. The Campaign of Vicksburg, Mississippi, in 1863,— from April 
15th to and Including the Battle of Champion Hills, or Ba- 
ker's Creek, May i6th, 1863, by Gen, Stephen D, Lee, ... 21 

III. Siege of Vicksburg, by Gen. Stephen D. Lee^ 55 

ViV. The Black and Tan Convention, by Col. J. L. Power, .... 73 
V. Plantation Life in Mississippi before War, by Dunbar Row' 

land, Esq., 85 

VI.' Private Letters of Mrs. Humphreys, Written Immediately be- 
fore and after the Ejectment of Her Husband from the Ex- 
ecutive Mansion, by Mrs, Lizzie George Henderson, ... 99 
VII. Importance of the Local History of the Civil War, by Mrs. 

• Josie F, Cappieman, 107 

VIII.. William C. Falkner, Novelist, by Prof. A, L, Bondurant, . . ii3 

IX. James D. Lynch, Poet-Laureate of the World's Columbian Ex- 

** position, by Prof, Dabney Lipscomb, 127 

X. Bishop Otey as Provincial Bishop of Mississippi, by Rev, Ar- 

thur HoTxard Noll, 139 

XI. Richard Curtis in the Country of the Natchez, by Rev, Chas. 

"H. Otken, 147 

XU. The Making of a State, by Miss Mary V, Duval^ 155 

XIII. Location of the Boundaries of Mississippi, by Franklin L, 

Riley, Ph. D 167 

XIV. Report of Sir William Dunbar to the Spanish Government, at 

the Conclusion of His Services in Locating and Surveying 

the Thirty-first Degree of Latitude, 185 

XV. A Historical Outline of the Geological and Agricultural Survey 

of the State of Mississippi, by Eugene W, Hilgard, Ph, D., 207 
XVI. pistory of the Application of Science to Industry in Missis- 
sippi, A, M, Muckenfuss, Ph.^D,, 235 

XVII. William Charles Cole Claiborne, by Prof. H, E, Chambers, . 247 
XVIII. Transition from Spanish to American Control in Mississippi, 

\j Franklin L, Riley, Ph, D. 261 

Xrx. Grenada and Neighboring To^ns in the 3o*s, by Capt, L, Lake, 3i3 
^^ XX. History of Banking in Mississippi, by Chas, H, Brough, Ph. D,, 317 
V^XI. Origin and Location of the A. and M. College of Mississippi, 

hyProf.f, M, White, . 34i 

XXII. Funeral Customs of the Choctaws, by Mr, H. S, Halbert, , . 353 
XXin. Danville's Map of East Mississippi, by ilfr./^. 5. //a/^«r/, . . 367 
XXIV. Index 373 

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REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE THIRD AN- 
NUAL MEETING, FEBRUARY i AND 2, 1900. 

By Franklin L. Rilsy, Secretary. 

The annual meeting of the Mississippi Historical Society for 
1900 was held in the city of Jackson, Feb. i and 2. The three 
sessions were presided over by Gen. Stephen D. Lee, President 
of the Society. 

The first session convened in the Hall of Representatives at 
8 p. m., Feb. i. Prayer was offered by Pres. W. B. Murrah, of 
Millsaps College. The President of the Society briefly explain- 
ed the aims and methods of work of the organization, directing 
attention to the following lines of historical activity in which 
it is at present engaged : 

1. The collection and preservation of historical materials. The orig- 
inal purpose of the Society as stated in its charter was "to discover, 
collect, preserve and perpetuate facts and events relating to the natural, 
aboriginal, civil, political, literary and ecclesiastical history of the Terri- 
tory and State of Mississippi, and the territory adjoining thereto." 
(Sec. I.) 

2. The holding of an annual public meeting, at a time and place to be 
designated by the Executive Cfommittee. It seems to be the policy of 
this Committee to hold the meetings in Tackson on alternate years, and 
at other times in the various places of historic interest in the different 
pvts of the State. 

3. The publication of the most worthy contributions made to our 
State history from time to time. 

4. The fostering of affiliated local organizations for historical pur- 
poses. The plan devised' for the accomplishment of this object is given 
under the head of "Suggestions to Local Historians," in the Publications 
of the Society, Vol. I. 

Gen. Lee then read an interesting account of the "Seige of 

Vicksburg," (see p. 5) in which event he took an important 

part. In a few well-chosen remarks upon the valuable services 

which the women of the South are rendering to the cause of 

History, the President of the Society then introduced Mrs. Josie 

Frazee Cappleman, Historian of the Mississippi division of the 

United Daughters of the Confederacy. She read a paper on 

the "Importance of the Local History of the Civil War" (see p. 

107). Col. J. L. Power, Secretary of State, presented an en- 

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12 Mississippi Historical Society. 

joyable paper on "The Black and Tan Convention" (see p. 73). 
"The Story of Blennerhassett,"^ as recorded in the polished dic- 
tion of Bishop Chas. B. Galloway was then read by its author.^ 
The recent death of the late lamented Judge T. J. Wharton, 
whose name was on the program for an address on "What I 
Know of Public Men and Measures in Mississippi in the last Six- 
ty-Two Years" deprived the Society of the pleasure of hearing 
this important discussion. Two other papers were read by title, 
viz: "The Constitutional Convention of 1817," by Thomas M. 
Owen, Esq., Secretary of the Alabama Historical Society, and 
"The Revolution of 1875," by Mr. Jas. W. Garner, Fellow in 
Political Science, Columbia University.* 

The second session, which was perhaps the most enjoyable 
one of the meeting, was held on Friday afternoon (Feb. 2) in 
the Sunday-School rooms of the Baptist Church. After calling 
the Society to order the President announced the following com- 
mittees : Nominating Committee, Prof. Dabney Lipscomb, Mrs. 
Helen D. Bell, and Dr. C. Alphonso Smith; Auditing Com- 
mittee (to examine the Treasurer's accounts and report at the 
next annual meeting), Dr. R. W. Jones and Prof. A. L. Bondur- 
ant ; Committee on Necrology, Pres. J. R. Preston, Mrs. Josie 
Frazee Cappleman and Miss Mary V. Duval. 

An interesting account of "Plantation Life in Mississippi be- 
fore the War" (see p. 85) was then read by Mr. Dunbar Row- 
land. Prof. J. M. White, of the Agricultural and Mechanical 
College presented a paper on the "Origin and Location of the 
A. and M. College of Mississippi" (see p. 341). Miss Mary V. 
Duval, of the Grenada Female College, read a paper entitled 
"The Making of a State" (see p. 155), which contained much 
important information on the early history of Mississippi. Dr. 
Charles Hillman Brough, of Mississippi College, and Dr. A. M. 
Muckenfuss, of Millsap College, then read extracts from their 
valuable contributions to the economic history of the State (see 
Dr. Brough's "History of Banking in Mississippi," p. 317 and 
Dr. Muckenfuss' "History of the Application of Science to In- 
dustry in Mississippi," p. 235). The remaining papers on the 

* This article will be found in the American Illustrated Methodic Maga- 
sine for December, 1899. 

• These papers were not received by the editor in time for insertion in 
this volume of the Publications. 



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Proceedings of Third Annual Meeting. — Riky. i3 

program for this session, — Dr. Franklin L. Riley's "Early 
Roads of Mississippi"' and Capt. L. Lake's "Some Facts Relat- 
ing to the Early History of Grenada" (see p. 313) were read 
by title. 

The last session of the meeting was held in the Hall of Repre- 
sentatives, beginning at 8 p. m., Feb. 2. At the recommenda- 
tion of the committee on nominations the officers of the Society 
for the past year were unanimously reelected (see list on page 
4). The Secretary theh presented the following reports from 
the two local Societies, which are affiliated with the State 
Society : 

The Matirepas Historical Society was organized by the students of 
the Ocean Springs High School, October 22, 1898. The names of the 
present officers are as follows: Miss Mamie Davis, President; Miss 
Lrillie Clark, Vice-President; Miss Sadie Davis, Secretary and Treas- 
urer; Miss Minnie Richardson, Librarian and Archivist; Mr. Q. D. 
Sauls, Corresponding Secretary and Director of the Society. There is 
a total enrollment of twenty-four members, including only those stu- 
dents who are especially interested in the study of Mississippi History 
and several teachers in the schools of Jackson county. It has been the 
custom to meet once a week in the library of the Ocean Springs High 
School and once or twice a month at some private residences. The 
titles of some of the papers read before the society are as follows: "The 
Geological Formation of Deer Island" (an island guarding the entrance 
to Biloxi Bay); "The French Chain of Settlements;" "E-kan-a-cha-ha" 
(the spring from which the town of Ocean Springs received its name). 
By varying the exercises and introducing some social features the inter- 
est so far has been well sustained. 

The University Historical Society was organized, December 10, 1897. 
Prof. Franklin L. Riley is President of the organization. As a secre- 
tary is appointed to serve for only one meeting, the names of those 
who have served in this capacity are omitted in this report. The So- 
ciety is 'composed of those students of the University of Mississippi 
who are interested in original research in Mississippi History. Month- 
ly meetings are held at the call of the President. The following papers 
have been read before this Society: "Old Time Shooting-Matches in 
Mississippi," by Prof. Franklin L. Riley; "The Life and Literary 
Works of Sherwood Bonner," by Prof. A. L. Bondurant; "Location 
of the Boundary Line between Mississippi and Alabama," by Prof. 
Franklin L. Riley; "Irwin Russell," by Prof. Dabney Lipscomb; "The 
Manners and Customs of the Early Settlers of Newton County," by 
Mr. H. P. Todd; "The Life and Literary Work of Miss Winnie Davis." 
by Prof. C. C. Ferrell; "The Beginnings of Popular Government in 
Mississippi," by Prof. Franklin L. Riley; "The Life of Judge Richard 
Stockton," by Prof. T. H. Somerville. 

After the presentation of these reports Dr. C. Alphonso Smith 
of the University of Louisiana delivered an instructive and 
eloquent address on "Southern Oratory before the War." The 

• An account of the "Location of the Boundaries of Mississippi" has 
been substituted for this paper. 



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14 Mississippi Historical Society. 

speaker directed the attention of the audience to the fact that 
there are two conditions necessary for the making of orators. 
These are, first, freedom of institutions and secondly, the ap- 
pearance of great vital questions. There were two periods in 
American history when these conditions were present. These 
were just before and after the Revolutionary War and the 
period from 1830 to 1850. The first of these was the period of 
constitution-making, the second the period of constitutional in- 
terpretation. In the first the South was represented by Henry 
Washington, Madison, and Randolph and in the second by 
Hayne, Calhoun, Prentiss, and Clay. The speaker then analyzed 
the oratory of each of these men, whose great achievements 
are matters of historical record. He said of Prentiss that he 
combined spontaneity with adaptability, the humorous with the 
pathetic, fervor with passion, and pitiless logic with brilliant 
imagery. 

Prof. Dabney Lipscomb and Prof. A. L. Bondurant of the 
University of Mississippi then read papers which showed that 
their interest in the literary history of the State had not abated 
since the appearance of their valuable contributions that were 
printed in the former volumes of the Publications of the Society. 
Prof. -Lipscomb's paper was entitled, "J^^^s D. Lynch, Poet 
Laureate of the World's Columbian Exposition" (see p. 127), 
and Prof. Bondurant's was entitled, "William C. Falkner, 
Novelist" (see p. 113). 

Mr. H. S. Halbert showed that he had continued his valuable 
researches in his chosen field by the presentation of an interest- 
ing discussion of the "Funeral Customs of the Mississippi 
Choctaws" (see p. 353). 

The following papers, which are here published in full, were 
then read by title : 

"Bishop Otey as Provisional Bishop of Mississippi," by Rev. 
Arthur Howard Noll (see p. 139). 

"Private Letters of Mrs. Humphreys, Written immediately 
before and after the Ejection of Her Husband from the Execu- 
tive Mansion," by Mrs. Lizzie George Henderson (see p. 99). 

"Richard Curtis in the Country of the Natchez," by Rev. 
Chas. H. Otken (see p. 147). 



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Proceedings of Third Annual Meeting. — Riley, 15 

Col. J. L. Power then offered the following resolutions, which 
were unanimously adopted : 

Resolved, That the thanks of the State Historical Society are hereby 
most heartily tendered to General Stephen D. Lee for the zeal and 
ability displayed by him as President of the Society, and for his invalu- 
able contribution to the history of the State and of the Civil War in 
his thrilling narrative of the Siege of Vicksburg; and he is most earn- 
estly urged to prepare a narrative of the battles of Chickasaw Bayou 
and Champion Hills, or Baker's Creek. 

Resolved, That the special thanks of the Society are due and are 
hereby tendered to Prof. F. L. Riley, Secretary, for his untiring zeal 
and his successful efforts in the organization and extension of the 
Society. 

Resolved, That we appreciate the attendance of so many ladies and 
gentlemen during these sessions and the interest manifested; especiallv 
the presence of so many members of the Legislature; and we thank 
them in advance for the appropriation we are confident they will make 
to aid the Society in its work. 

The Society then adjourned subject to the call of the Execu- 
tive Committee. 



APPENDIX TO THE REPORT. 

The most important result produced by this meeting was the securing 
of an appropriation from the Legislature, which was in session at that 
time. On the morning before the meeting assembled, Gen. Stephen D. 
Lee, in behalf of the Executive Committee of the Society, presented to 
both houses of the Legislature the following memorial, which had re- 
ceived the unqualified endorsement of Gov. A. H. Longino, the newly- 
installed Chief Executive of the State: 

To the Senate and the House of Representatives of Mississippi: 

Gentlemen: We, the undersigned members of the Executive Com- 
mittee of the Mississippi Historical Society, beg to present the foUow- 
ing Memorial to your honorable body: 

By the charter received from your honorable body, the Mississippi 
Historical Society was intrusted with the performance of certain duties, 
being authorized particularly "to discover, collect, preserve, and per- 
petuate facts and events relating to the natural, aboriginal, civil, politi- 
cal, literary, and ecclesiastical history of the Territory and State." In 
the active prosecution of these objects it has collected and now holds 
in safe keeping, many interesting and valuable documents and papers, 
illustrating the history of this Commonwealth, many of which docu- 
ments and papers would have been lost or destroyed but for these 
labors. 

This Society has also labored zealously to publish and to disseminate 
in printed form many of the important facts pertaining to our history, 
and is, in fact, the only organization in the State that has expended 
large amounts of money in the promotion of this patriotic work. Many 
of the most scholarly men and women throughout this State and in 
adjoining States have been enlisted in writing our history and many 
important results have been attained since the organization of this So- 
ciety. It has published several valuable papers, representing the fin- 
ished products of historical research and has, in this way, made some 
permanent contributions to the history of the State. The Society still 
has in its possession several valuable manuscripts, the publication of 



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1 6 Mississippi Historical Society. 

which has been delayed for lack of funds. Other important papers have 
been offered for publication but could not be accepted for the same 
reason. 

Unfortunate as may be this result accruing from the lack of funds for 
the promotion 4of the work undertaken by the Society, there is another 
which is doubtless more far-reaching in its effects. Notwithstanding 
the efforts of the Society to collect the sources of our history, they arc 
still widely scattered, lying useless and unappreciated in many public 
and private libraries and among the public documents in this and in 
other States. The information which these documents contain is in- 
valuable, since they throw important light upon every phase of our his- 
tory. Casual inquiry by the Secretary of the Society has brought under 
his observation, within the last few months, the following important 
manuscripts that should be within the reach of every investigator in the 

geriods of State history to which they pertain: Papers relating to 
lississippi when under the government of West Florida (one volume); 
The Correspondence of Winthrop Sargent while Governor of Missis- 
sippi Territory (one large volume; ; Proceedings of the Executive Coun- 
cil and Legislature of the Mississippi Territory (two volumes, covering 
the period from Jantiary i6, 1809, to December 26, 1816); Private Jour- 
nal of William Dunbar (covering the period of Territorial history from 
1773 to 1809); also the Private Journals of Anthony Hutchins, Mrs. 
Eggleston, and Judge Niles; A Diary of Bishop Otev (relating to Mis- 
sissippi history in the 30's); Hilgard's History of the Geological Sur- 
veys in Mississipi>i; Histories of Winston, Leake, and Chickasaw Coun- 
ties (parts of which are of more than local importance); A Collection 
of Important Documents relating to the Constitutional Convention of 
1890, made by Hon. E. Mayes (probably the only one in existence); 
several diaries and muster-rolls of soldiers from Mississippi in the 
various wars in which our country has been engaged. Several valuable 
manuscript maps have also been found, which illustrate accurately the 
development of the Territory and State. 

Besides these valuable sources, many others may be found, not only 
in this but in other States. The expense necessary for the accomplish- 
ment of the great work of locating, copying, and printing these valuable 
manuscripts is too great to be borne by the Society, which is the only 
body in the State to which this special function has been granted. In 
fact, inquiry has shown that in no one of the many States where this 
work has been done was it accomplished without legislative aid. 

The following is a correct list of expenses incurred by seven different 
States, for collecting, preserving and perpetuating the facts pertaining 
to their respective histories: 

Name. Assistance given last year. Aggregate, 

Wisconsin, About $15,000.00. About $850,000.00. 

New York, About 7,550.00. About $72,750.00. 

Massachusetts, Difficult to estimate. About $200,000.00. 

Maryland, $1,000.00. $16,000.00. 

South Carolina, $6,500.00. 

Texas, $150.00. $2,650.00. 

Alabama, $750.00. Act passed last 

winter. 

We base our appeal for aid from your honorable body upon the fol- 
lowing considerations: 

I. The Society cannot defray the expenses incident to this great 
work. Up to this time the funds of the Society have been raised al- 
most entirely from its members, each of whom pays an annual fee of 
two dollars. This has not been sufficient, however, to meet the ex- 



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Proceedings of Third Annual Meeting. — Riley. 17 

penses of the small publications that have been issued. It is easy to see 
that if this most important work is to continue and maintain reasonable 
proportions, public aid must be given. It would be assuredly un- 
reasonable to expect a few public-spirited citizens to do all of this 
work and to pay besides the expenses of issuing the necessary publica- 
tions, even if they could do so. This is a public work and should com- 
mand the interest of every citizen who loves his State and has a pride 
in its history. 

II. Thorough and systematic work in the history of the State cannot 
be done until we publish, not only the finished products of research, 
but the sources of our history. Publications of the first kind awaken 
interest, direct research, and prevent the duplication of effort; those of 
the second kind furnish investigators with the materials from which 
history is made, and enable them to write exhaustively and accurately 
on subjects that are of great importance to the State, The history of 
the New England States has been thoroughly worked, largely because 
their sources have been made available to investigators throughout the 
country. Massachusetts has published her historical records in several 
volumes, at an expense of $3,000.00 for each; Connecticut, in fifteen 
volumes; New Hampshire, in seventeen volumes; and Rhode Island, in 
nine volumes. 

III. The accomplishment of this work will become more difficult year 
by year, if postponed. Many valuable documents are being lost or de- 
stroyed from time to time, without any hope of recovery. 

IV. The orp^anization of the Society insures the proper use of such 
hn appropriation as may be made. It cannot become a source of emolu- 
m^t to its members, since its charter explicitly states that "no divi- 
dends shall ever be declared," and since its officers serve without com- 
pensation. Furthermore, it is not made to subserve the private ends 
or the personal ambitions of any individual. On the contrary, it em- 
braces in its membership a large majority of the most active and suc- 
cessful investigators in the field of Mississippi history. 

y. The importance of our history demands that this work be done 
without delay. National history is largely based upon State history. 
If we would have the world to appreciate the important and honorable 
part our State has contributed to the history of our common country, 
this work must be done without delay. The history of the West and 
the Southwest is being written very rapidly, and those States which 
neglect their history now will doubtless find cause for complaint over 
the verdict of the general historian. One of the largest and most enter- 
prising publishing houses in the South is perfecting arrangements for 
issuing a History of the United States, in ten large volumes, which 
will be the first great critical history of our country to be written by 
Southern scholars. Within the last year, the Legislature of Alabama, 
by a vote of 72 to 3 in the House, made an appropriation for historical 
purposes. For several years Tennessee has done likewise. 

VI. Other organizations join us in asking for an appropriation. The 
Confederate Veterans' Association, realizing the magnitude and the 
importance of the work that lies before Southern historians, has, for 
several years, urged that the Legislatures of the Southern States make 
liberal appropriations for the promotion of historical work. Two years 
ago, the State Teachers' Association of Mississippi passed a resolution 
requesting the Legislature of this State to appropriate $2,000.00 to the 
State Historical Society to enable it to carry out the patriotic purposes 
for which it was organized. 

In view of these facts, the undersigned members of the Executive 
Committee of the State Historical Society, earnestly urge the passage 
of the following Act, or its equivalent: 



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1 8 Mississippi^ Historical Society. 

AN ACT 

To authorize the appointment of a History Commission, to regulate 
the powers and duties thereof and to make an appropriation to 
aid the Mississippi Historical Society in printing its Publications. 

Sectioni I. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Mississippi, 
That the President of the Mississippi Historical Society is hereby di- 
rected and empowered to appoint five persons from the present active 
membership of said society, who shall constitute a Mississippi History 
Commission, whose duty it shall be, under such rules, regulations, and 
plan of procedure as it may adopt and without expense to the State 
for their labor, to make a full, detailed, and exhaustive examination of 
all the sources and materials, manuscript, documentary, and record of 
the history of Mississippi from the earliest times^ whether in the State 
or elsewhere, including the records of Mississippi troops in all wars in 
which they have participated, and also of the location and present con- 
dition of battlefields, historic houses, and buildings; and other places 
and things of historic interest and importance in the State, and the 
said Commission shall embody the results of the said examination in a 
detailed report to the next ensuing session of the Legislature, with an 
account of the then condition of historical work in the State and with 
such recommendations as may be desirable. 

Section 2. Be it further enacted, That there be and the same is hereby 
appropriated from any moneys in the State Treasury not otherwise ap- 
propriated, the sum of $1,000.00 annually for 1900 and 1901, to aid the 
Mississippi Historical Society in the printing of its publications, includ- 
ing the report of the History Commission as herein provided, and the 
Auditor is hereby authorized and directed to draw his warrant for said 
sum on application of the Treasurer of said Society, when approved by 
the Governor of the State. 

Stephen D. Lee, 
R. W. Jones, 

B. T. KiMBROUGH, 

R. B. Fulton, 
Franklin L. RilEy, 
Chas. H. Brough, 
J. M. White, 
Chas. B. Galloway, 
J. R. Preston, 

Executive Committee, 

The bill was promptly passed by the Legislature, the vote in the 
Lower House being unanimous. 

It is believed that the importance of the work undertaken by the 
Commission created by the Act given above will justify the insertion 
of the following address on this subject: 

To iJie Public: 

The Legislature of Mississippi, by an act approved March 2d, 1900^ 
authorized the appointment of a Historical Commission of five mem- 
bers, "whose duty it shall be, under such rules, regulations, and plan 
of procedure as it may adopt, and without expense to the State for 
their labor, to make a full, detailed, and exhaustive examination of all 
sources and materials, manuscript, documentary, and record, of the his- 
tory of Mississippi, from the earliest times, whether in the State or 
elsewhere." This includes "the records of Mississippi troops in all 
wars in which they have participated, and also of the location and 
present condition of battlefields, historic houses and buildings, and 
other places and things of historic interest and importance in the State." 



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Proceedings of Third Annual Meeting. — Riley. 

The act also provides that the results of these investigations shall bt 
embodied in a "detailed report to the next session of the Legislature 
with an account of the then condition of historical work in the State." 

This act, so important to the best interests of Mississippi, was the 
result of a widespread sentiment on the part of, the people of the Sute 
in favor of preserving and perpetuating the sources of their history, 
manjr of which are being lost without any hope of recovery. The re- 
port is intended to convey fully and in detail, what historical materials 
are still in existence and WHERE they may be found, with such other 
information about their condition, accessibility, subject matter, etc., as 
will form a basis for further legislative action on the subject. 

Under the authority of this act I have appointed the following gentle- 
men as commissioners to discharge this arduous "labor of love for the 
^tate: Dr. Franklin L. Riley, University of Mississippi, Chairman; 
Col. J. L. Power, Jackson, Mississippi; Bishop Chas. B. Galloway, 
Jackson, Mississippi; Hon. Gerard C. Brandon, Natchez, Mississippi; 
and Hon. P. K. Mayers, Pascagoula, Mississippi. [Capt Mayers sub- 
sequently resigned and was succeeded by Prof. J. M. White, of the Agri. 
cultural and Mechanical College. — Ed.J 

These gentlemen have entered upon the discharge of their duties with 
a full sense of the importance as well as the patriotic character of the 
task assigned to them. In order to give efficiency to their eflForts, I 
now appeal with confidence to the public press and to Mississippians 
and investigators everywhere for aid and cooperation in this great work. 
The diligence and zeal of the commissioners will be of little avail in the 
discharge of their laborious duties, unless they meet with prompt as- 
sistance from those who have information bearing upon the history of 
the State. 

There are individuals in every part of Mississippi and in other States 
who have knowledge of facts that would be acceptable in this connec- 
tion. There are thousands of half-faded manuscripts and mutilated 
publications — old letters, papers, diaries, muster rolls, journals, notes, 
maps, books, etc. — that would throw new light upon many of the dark 
places in our history and ^ive a coloring to important facts which have 
faded out of the public mind. In the cellars, garrets, or old trunks in 
the homes of participants or their descendants in the various wars in 
which the people of Mississippi have taken part, there still remain, half 
forgotten, perhaps,' many valuable papers and relics of these struggles. 
The descendants of the early settlers of the State will, doubtless, find 
in some obscure comer of the old homestead msiny valuable historical 
materials that will amply reward their research. To all such I appeal 
with an earnestness begotten of the pressing needs of this great work 
undertaken by the Mississippi Historical Commission. By all means 
institute a close search without delay and report results to any member 
of the Commission, giving the location, extent, and present ownership 
of all such materials of which you may have any knowledge, or which 
may come within the range of your inquiry. If the owners will con- 
sent to give them to the State Historical Society to be placed in its 
archives for preservation ai^d for the use of future investigators, please 
notify the chairman of the Commission of the same. I also bespeak 
for tne Commission the aid and cooperation of the press of Mississippi, 
which is ever ready to respond to all efforts to advance the honor and 
glory of the State. 

Mississippi, in common with the other Southern States, is entering 
upon a great historical renaissance and the people of the South are 
beginning to realize as never before that "there is nothing wrong with 
our history, but in the writing of it." The purpose of the State Legis- 
lature and of the Historical Society in the creation and appointment of 



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20 Mississippi Historical Society. 

this Commission is to provide the most effective means for the correc- 
tion of this defect. 

Correspondence should be directed to the Chairman or to any mem* 
ber of the Commission. 

With a sincere desire and a confident hope that this great work will 
redound to the honor of Mississippi, I am, 

Very respectfully, 

Stephen D. L««, 
President of The Mississippi Historical Society. 



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THE CAMPAIGN OF VICKSBURG, MISSISSIPPI, IN 
1863— FROM APRIL 15 TO AND INCLUDING THE 
BATTLE OF CHAMPION HILLS, OR BAKER'S 
CREEK, MAY 16, 1863. 

By Stephen D. Lee.^ 

The Confederate forces held the important fortified strong- 
holds of Vicksburg, Miss., and Port Hudson, La., on the Mis- 
sissippi river, which prevented the free navigation of the river, 
and virtually kept united the portions of the Confederacy on the 
east and west sides of the great river. The object of the Union 
forces, under Gen. U. S. Grant, was to capture these strong- 
holds, and open the river to navigation, and sever the Confed- 
eracy in twain. The campaign of 1863, was really a continua- 
tion and a result of the campaign of 1862 by Gen. Grant. In 
this latter campaign he had an army of about 30,000 in the 
vicinity of Oxford, in North Mississippi, which confronted the 
Confederate army under Gen. J. C. Pemberton, at Grenada, 
Miss. The object of this campaign was to hold the Confederate 
army in its front, to force it into battle, or follow it towards 
Vicksburg if necessary, while another Union army under Gen. 
W. T. Sherman, took passage in transports at Memphis, Tenn., 

* General Stephen D. Lee is a descendant of distinguished Revolution- 
ary ancestors. His great-gjandfather, William Lee, was one of the 
forty prominent citizens of Charleston, who became special objects of 
British vengeance after the capture of that city by the enemy in the 
Revolutionary War. General Lee's grandfather, Judge Thomas Lee, 
was Federal Judge in South Carolina during the Nullification difficul- 
ties, and was a strong Union man. 

Greneral Lee was bom in Charleston in 1833. After his graduation 
from the U. S. Military Academy at West Point in 1854, he served in 
the Fourth Artillery of the U. S. Army. When his native State 
seceded from the Union he resigned his position in the Federal army 
and became a captain of South Carolina volunteers. He was one of 
the two officers sent by Gen. Beauregard to demand the surrender of 
Fort Sumter and upon the refusal of this demand, he ordered the near- 
est battery to fire upon the fort- He served as captain of a battery in 
the Hampton Legion until Nov., 1861, when he was made major of ar- 
tillery. In the spring of the following year he was promoted to the 
position of lieutenant-colonel. After gallant and meritorious service 
at Seven Pines and in the Seven Days around Richmond he was given 
command of the Fourth Virginia Cavalry. At the opening of the cam- 
paign against Pope, he was put in command of a battalion of thirty-five 

(21) 



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22 Mississippi Historical Society. 

and made a dash down the river, and attempted to capture 
Vicksburg, while the Confederate army, which really consti- 
tuted the garrison of Vicksburg, was kept confronted by Gen. 
Grant's army. 

This campaign in December, 1862, signally failed, although 
remarkably well planned. The Confederate cavalry, under 
Gen. N. B. Forrest, broke up the lines of communication in 
West Tennessee, destroying the railroads, while another body 
of Confederate cavalry, under Gen. Earl Van Dorn, raided in 
the rear of Grant's army at Oxford, Miss., and captured the 
great depot of supplies at Holly Springs, Miss. These two 
raids compelled Gen. Grant to fall back to Memphis, Tenn., to 
supply his army. 

The expedition of 30,000 men and 60 guns, under Gen. Sher- 
man, had however left Memphis, before it could be stopped. 
After these disasters had overtaken the railroads and supplies 
of Gen. Grant's army in North Mississippi, Gen. Sherman's ex- 
pedition also failed. He landed on the Yazoo river, Christmas 
day, 1862, and attempted to seize the hills in the rear of Vicks- 
burg. He was defeated at Chickasaw Bayou, near Vicksburg, 

gunSj and given the rank of colonel of artillery. He rendered con- 
spicuous service at Second Manassas and at Sharpsburg. He was then 
promoted to the rank of brigadier-general and stationed at Vicksburg. 
At Chickasaw Bayou he, with only 2,500 men, inflicted a bloody defeat 
upon Gen. Sherman's army of 30,000. He also served with distinction 
in the battle of Baker's Creek. Shortly after his capture at the fall of 
Vicksburg, he was exchanged, made major-general, and put in com- 
mand of the Department of Alabama, Mississippi and East Louisiana, 
and was soon after promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general. He 
took part in many of the minor engagements which followed and in 
which the Confederates were generally successful. After the battle at 
Tupelo, he was ordered to Atlanta, Ga., and given command of Hood's 
corps of infantry. Hood having relieved Johnston in command of the 
Army of Tennessee. Gen. Lee then took part in the battle on the left 
of Atlanta and in the battle of Jonesboro, south of Atlanta. He took 
part in the ill-fated Tennessee campaign, commanding the rear guard 
of the Confederate forces in the retreat from Nashville, and thus help- 
ing to save the remnant of Hood's army. He surrendered with Gen. 
Johnston's army. 

In February, 1865, Gen. Lee married Regina Harrison, of Columbus, 
Miss., making his home at that place. He has served in the State 
Senate and in the Constitutional Convention of 1890. In 1880, he was 
made President of the A. and M. College, of Mississippi, which position 
he filled with signal ability until 1899, when he resigned to become a 
member of the Vicksburg National Park Commission. 

For more detailed sketches of his life see The National Cyclopaedia of 
'American Biography, Vol. V, and the American Encyclopaedic Dictionary, 
Vol. XI.— Editor. 



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The Campaign of Vicksburg. — Lee. 23 

by a Confederate force under Gen. Stephen D. Lee, and com- 
pelled to reembark his army. 

Gen. Grant, upon arriving at Memphis about the last of De- 
cember, 1862, decided to follow Gen. Sherman down the Missis- 
sippi river, and unite a portion of his army with that of Gen. 
Sherman. He however had troops enough at his disposal to 
leave 32,654 men for duty in Memphis and including Memphis 
to Corinth, Miss., along the Memphis and Charleston railroad, 
extending in a line along the entire northern portion of the 
State of Mississippi. 

To comprehend the situation thoroughly, it is necessary to 
review briefly the events leading to the successful campaign of 
the Union army. During the months of January, February, 
March and a part of April, 1863, Gen. Grant, from the Louisi- 
ana side of the river, and in connection with Admiral Porter's 
fleet of gun-boats, and the large number of transports at his dis- 
posal, attempted to reach the bluflfs or high lands of the Yazoo 
river north of Vicksburg. 

He did this by cutting the levees at Yazoo Pass, on the Mis- 
sissippi side of the river, nearly opposite Helena, Arkansas, and 
forcing his gun-boats and transports laden with troops, into the 
Coldwater and the Tallahatchee rivers, to get into the Yazoo 
river. He also attempted a similar movement through Steel's 
Bayou into Deer Creek, in trying to reach the Sunflower river 
and through it, the Yazoo river above Snyder's Bluff. He also 
attempted to reach the Mississippi river south of Vicksburg, 
from Lake Providence, La., through the bayous into Red 
river, and then up the Mississippi river to Vicksburg. The 
canal on the Louisiana side- was also dug to enable the fleet and 
army to pass by Vicksburg to the south of the city. 

These attempts were energetically made, in face of most ad- 
verse circumstances for several months, and Gen. Grant was 
foiled in all of them on the Mississippi side, by the energy and 
sagacity of Gen. Pemberton. This continuous and persistent 
effort caused Gen. Pemberton to widely separate his troops to 
oppose and meet these attacks, from Greenwood, Miss., on the 
Yazoo river, to Port Hudson, La., a distance of over three hun- 
dred miles, along the Mississippi river front, as also to watch 
the large force along the Memphis and Charleston railroad. 

Gen. Grant, after all these failures, then conceived the plan 



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24 Mississippi Historical Society. 

to reach the high lands to the south of Vicksburg. About the 
15th of April, 1863, he concentrated his army at Young's Point, 
La., moving two corps (McClernand's and McPherson's) on the 
Louisiana side, to the south of Vicksburg, and opposite Bruins- 
burg, Miss., below Grand Gulf (at the mduth of the Big Black 
river). He kept Sherman's corps at Young's Point (15,000 
men), to demonstrate up the Yazoo, and again threaten Gen. 
Pemberton's right flank, as he had done for several months, in 
an attempt to gain the bluffs north of the city. 

In arranging for the crossing of his army, Gen. Grant was 
most ably supported by Admiral Porter, who on the night of 
April i6th, ran by the batteries of Vicksburg with eight gun- 
boats, three transports and barges filled with coal and pro- 
visions. Singular enough, only one of the transports was sunk 
in the running of the batteries. All of the vessels were more 
or less damaged, but were soon repaired. 

On the night of April 23d, five transports, a gun-boat and 
twelve barges ran the batteries again. Only one transport and 
four barges were sunk. These two bold efforts demonstrated 
that the batteries of Vicksburg did not stop the passage of boats 
down the river. 

Gen. Grant now had enough boats to cross his army, and 
begin his bold and aggressive campaign to the south of Vicks- 
burg. He at once (April 30, 1863) crossed the two corps of 
McClernand and McPherson, numbering about 30,244 men 
present for duty. On the same day. Gen. Sherman with a divi- 
sion of his corps went up the Yazoo river with a fleet of gun- 
boats and attacked the fortified position of Snyder's Bluff, on 
the Yazoo river (twelve miles north of Vicksburg). Sherman 
was several days making this demonstration. Gen. Grant also 
on April 17th, to further mislead Gen. Pemberton, had caused 
Gen. Grierson to make his raid through Mississippi from La 
Grange, Tenn., to Baton Rouge, La., breaking the railroads in 
Mississippi. Expeditions at the same time (April 17th) inde- 
pendent of Grierson's command, were started from Memphis 
and La Grange, Tenn., and Corinth, Miss., into Mississippi, 
from the Memphis and Charleston railroad, calling for troops 
to meet these several raids in the northern part of Gen. Pem- 
berton's department, and this, before Gen. Grant crossed the 
river on the 30th day of April. 



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The Campaign of Vicksburg. — Lee. 25 

It would be well now to examine the relative resources and 
number of troops at the disposal of Generals Grant and Pem- 
berton, at this critical period in the beginning of this g^eat cam- 
paign, so successful to the Federal army, and so disastrous to 
the Confederate arms and caus6. The returns of the two 
armies in the Rebellion Record show that Gen. Grant had under 
his command in his department, including Mississippi, West 
Tennessee and West Kentucky, an average per month, from 
January to June 30th (six months inclusive), of about 104,233 
men present for duty. With this large force he was enabled to 
take into the field a movable army present for duty, of three 
corps, numbering about 53,000 men, besides leaving ample gar- 
risons at Memphis, La Grange, and Jackson, Tenn., at Colum- 
bus, Ky., and at Corinth, Miss. 

Cooperating with Gen. Grant's army was the powerful Mis- 
sissippi flotilla, commanded by Rear Admiral David D. Porter. 
It was composed of gun-boats, Eads' iron-clads, later iron- 
clads, Rodger's gun-boats, Ellet rams, prizes, tin-clads, various 
vessels, mortar boats, auxiliary boats, all classed under the head 
''Union vessels in the Vicksburg campaign," as found on page 
581, ''Battles and Leaders of the Civil War,'' Vol. Ill, The Cen- 
tury Co., N. Y. In this formidable flotilla eighty-one vessels 
are given by name, with their g^ns, numbering about 275. This 
does not include Farragut's fleet, which was several times near 
Vicksburg and for a long time near the mouth of the Red river. 
This fleet carried about 150 guns, but the "Hartford" and "Al- 
batross," during Grant's campaign, were nearly all the time 
above Port Hudson. This great fleet in its importance Gen. 
Grant placed equal to the great army which he commanded. 
He also says, "without its assistance the campaign could not 
have been successfully made with twice the number engaged. 
It could not have been made at all, in the way that it was, with 
any number of men without such assistance." 

It should be borne in mind also, that Port Hudson, La., one 
of the Confederate strongholds on the Mississippi river, while 
in Gen. Pemberton's Geographical Department, was in the De- 
partment of Gen. Banks of the Union army, and he brought to 
the siege of Port Hudson, a Union army of 31,000 men to assist 
Gen. Grant in his campaign, and these enclosed about 7,000 
men of Pemberton's force. 



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26 Mississippi Historical Society. 

The same official returns show that Gen. Pemberton had at 
his disposal in the four months from January to April 30th, in- 
clusive, an average per month of 45,763 men for duty.^ Gen. 
Pemberton's department, like Gen. Grant's, ^vas divided into 
districts and he also had to maintain garrisons at Port Hudson, 
La. ; Grand Gulf, Vicksburg and Snyder's Bluff, and had to keep 
a force in front of the 32,654 men along the M. and C. R. R., so 
that with his entire force for duty, he could not even by endan- 
gering the garrison points by small commands, have a movable 
army of more than twenty thousand men, with which to con- 
front Gen. Grant's army of say 47,284 men, if he could get them 
together. 

The splendid division of cavalry with which Gen. Van Dorn 
was mainly instrumental in defeating Gen. Grant's campaign in 
North Mississippi in December, 1862, by destroying his depot 
of supplies at Holly Springs, and which confronted the Union 
troops along the M. and C. Railroad, had been ordered early in 
February, 1863, from Mississippi to Tennessee, to report to 
Gen. Bragg, and Gen. Pemberton was short of cavalry to meet 
such a movement as Grant was inaugurating, or prevent raids 
like Gen. Grierson's. Pemberton had not more than 2,500 cav- 
alry stationed across the State, facing the M. and C. R. R., and 
about 1,000 in central and southwestern portion of Mississippi. 
When Gen. Grant crossed the river, Gen. Pemberton had re- 
cently drawn on the garrison at Port Hudson and sent from his 
department reinforcements to Gen. Bragg in Tennessee, and 
other troops were enroute for the same destination as* Gen. 
Bragg was pressed. These troops were recalled, but the roads 
had been broken between Jackson and Meridian, Miss., by Gen. 
Grierson, preventing their speedy return, as also preventing re- 
inforcements joining Pemberton promptly. 

It would seem that this is an appropriate time to examine the 
troops under Gens. Grant and Pemberton and Johnston for the 
entire campaign, as both Grant and Pemberton called for re- 
inforcements, as soon as Gen. Grant crossed to the eastern 
bank of the Mississippi river. In dealing with numbers, I al- 
ways try to follow the official return — and take those present for 

*The last return of Gen. Pemberton was for March, but a careful 
examination will show he had about the same force for April he had 
for March. 



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The Campaign of Vicksburg. — Lee, 27 

duty as the number — I deem a careful analysis necessary be- 
cause so many errors have crept into history from authoritative 
sources; for instance, in the Personal Memoirs of Gen. U. S. 
Grant appears the following statement made soon after the 
battle of Port Gibson : "Pemberton was now on my left flank, 
with as I supposed about 18,000 men ; in fact as I learned after- 
wards with nearly 50,000 men." Pemberton did have about 
18,000 men on Grant's left as he supposed, and not "nearly 
50,000 men" as stated by so high an authority as Grant himself. 
The returns clearly show this and were accessible when the 
statement was written. Within the last few years, Col. John 
W. Emerson, in his account of this campaign, says : "Pember- 
ton's strength, March 31st, was 82,000 men — 61,000 of whom 
were effective and present for duty." On the contrary, this 
March return showed present for duty 48,829 men, and not 
61,000 as stated by Col. Emerson, and including the necessary 
garrisons, which could not be removed. 

As soon as Gen. Grant crossed the river (April 30th) and 
Pemberton realized what it meant, he recalled the troops he had 
sent to Tennessee in April. They all came back, but as they 
were included in his March return, they did not add a man to 
the number that return called for when made. He, however, 
called for reinforcements and some were sent to him, but never 
reached him but were received by Gen. Johnston, as also ^were 
the troops he had sent to Gen. Bragg from his department. 

On June 25, 1863, just nine days before the fall of Vicksburg, 
we find a return of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's army at Jackson, 
containing all reinforcements, and such troops as were included 
in Pemberton's return of March 31, 1863, and which were not 
included in the lines at Vicksburg and Port Hudson. The re- 
turn shows the four divisions of Breckenridge, French, Loring 
and Walker, and the cavalry divisions of W. H. Jackson, also 
troops in the camp of direction, and some reserve artillery, mak- 
ing a total of 31,226 men present for duty. An analysis of this 
return shows that Gen. Johnston had in his army some of the 
troops included in Pemberton's March return, viz.: Loring's 
division, 6451 men present for duty. Returns of June loth 
and May 30th give strength of Gregg's brigade at 2,064 "len and 
Maxey's at 2,622 men present for duty. These brigades were 
drawn from Port Hudson May 7th by Gen. Pemberton, but 



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28 Mississippi Historical Society. 

never joined him, owing to Grant's rapid campaign. So it ap- 
peared that 11,137 men of Johnston's army were troops origin- 
ally in Pemberton's March return. Deducting this force (11,137 
men) from the total of the return of Johnston's army Qune 25, 
1863, viz., 31,226 men) it leaves, 20,089 men as the total number 
of reinforcements sent by the Confederate government to Mis- 
sissippi to relieve Vicksburg. Gen. Grant at the same time was 
reinforced by part of the 9th Corps (7,452 men). From the 
i6th Corps in his department along the M. and C. R. R., came 
the divisions of Smith, Lauman and Kimball, numbering 15,959, 
also Heron's division, 4,011 men, making a total of 27,411 men, 
and with this help, he still had on the northern border of Missis- 
sippi from Memphis to Corinth 24,621 men. Now as Pember- 
ton's force besieged at Port Hudson was also in Pemberton's 
March return (7,000 men), and included in Pemberton's effec- 
tive force, it is fair to add to Gen. Grant's army operating 
against Pemberton's army, Gen. Banks' army which was assist- 
ing his in besieging Port Hudson, viz: 31,000 men, in addition 
to these forces, which Gen. Grant drew from the line of the 
Memphis and Charleston R. R., to reinforce his army in the 
field, 15,959 men. He also deemed it important to his successful 
campaign to cause repeated raids into Mississippi and still leave 
on this road June 30, 1863, 24,621 men, so this force should also 
be counted in Gen. Grant's campaign against Pemberton and 
Johnston. So a fair estimate of Gen. Grant's army and re- 
sources, operating against Generals Pemberton and Johnston 
in opening the Mississippi river and capturing Vicksburg and 
Port Hudson, may be stated as follows, from the beginning to 
the end, viz: 

Grant's movable army, June 30th, 75,ooo 

His force on the M. and C. R. R. (average per month),. . 28,652 
Bank's army at Port Hudson, besieging 7,000 men of 
Pemberton's army, 31,000 

Total, 134,652 

or 134,652 men to accomplish the capture of Vicksburg and 
Port Hudson. To this must be added Porter's gun-boat fleet, 
equivalent in importance and result, to the great army, as stated 
by Gen. Grant himself, whereas the armies of Pemberton and 
Johnston from beginning to end all told, numbered 65,852 men. 



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The Campaign of Vicksburg. — Lee. 29 

As stated, Gen. Grant crossed the Mississippi river during 
the day of April 30th, and the night of April 30th and May ist, 
1863, "with the corps of McClernand and McPherson. He at 
once pressed his army to the bluffs, and on the road towards 
Port Gibson (12 miles distant) met and encountered the Con- 
federates four miles from that town. 

Gen. Bowen had been sent by Gen. Pemberton sometime pre- 
vious to this date to construct some batteries and mount some 
guns at Grand Gulf, at the mouth of the Big Black river (twen- 
ty-eight miles from Vicksburg), in case that Grant's canal 
proved a success opposite Vicksburg. On April 29th Admiral 
Porter attacked the batteries at Grand Gulf with eight gun- 
boats, and failed to silence them, and during the night of the 
29th he also ran by the batteries down the river. Bowen at 
once made his arrangements to resist the landing of the enemy 
below Grand Gulf. Leaving a part of his command to protect 
the batteries, he moved his troops to cover the two roads lead- 
ing from Bruinsburg to Port Gibson, and reported the crossing 
of the enemy at Bruinsburg. These troops numbering, all told, 
5,164 men and 13 pieces of artillery, met Gen. Grant's advance 
four miles from Port Gibson, on the morning of May 1st, before 
daylight. The reinforcements which got up during the battle 
came too late, and in too small numbers to avail much. They 
consisted of the brigades of Gen. Tracy (Stephenson's division) 
and Baldwin (Smith's division). They came up broken down 
and jaded. Bowen held the enemy in check during the entire 
day, and retired about sun down, with a loss of four pieces of 
artillery and 787 men, and entailing a loss on the enemy of 875 
men. He resisted on two lines of battle during the day, as 
he was gradually forced back by two corps, at least five divi- 
sions of which were engaged. The Confederate troops engaged 
were part of Green's Missouri brigade with the Sixth Missis- 
sippi, and a section of Hudson's battery, 775 men, Tracey's bri- 
gade and (Joseph W.) Anderson's (Virginia) battery, 1,516 men; 
Baldwin's brigade, 1,614 men; part of Cockrell's brigade with 
Guibor's and a section of Laude's battery, 1,256 men. Total of 
Bowen's forces engaged, 5,164 men. 

Bowen retreated with his main force northward and crossed 
Bayou Pierre. Baldwin's brigade went through Port Gibson, 
and across both forks of Bayou Pierre, and joined Brown be- 



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30 Mississippi Historical Society. 

tween the North fork and Big Black river. Bowen during the 
night of May 2d evacuated Grand Gulf, and with Gen. Loring, 
who came up in advance of his troops, crossed over the Big 
Black to the Vicksburg side of the river, the Union army fol- 
lowing the Confederate troops to Big Black river. 

Gen. Grant having successfully crossed the Mississippi river 
and having driven the small force under Bowen north of Big 
Black, he established his base of supplies at Grand Gulf, 
at the mouth of Big Black river. He remained inactive near 
Hankinson's Ferry, until about the 8th of May, excepting that 
he pressed his troops towards the railroad from Vicksburg to 
Jackson, threatening a crossing at all the ferries. He also hur- 
ried up his Third Corps, under Gen. Sherman, which arrived in 
time to join in the movement toward Jackson, Miss. 

These were active days both for Grant and Pemberton, the 
one intently and hastily preparing on a bold and aggressive 
campaign, the other, in awakening to his great danger, and see- 
ing the immediate necessity for a concentration of troops to 
meet a compact army of about 41,367 men immediately in his 
vicinity. 

The Confederacy was at all times pressed by great odds and 
in about the same proportion as Gen. Grant's army compared 
with Gen. Pemberton's. To draw the reinforcements from any 
one of the armies of the Confederacy, to reinforce any other 
army, was at all times a difficult problem, as each threatened 
point or army appeared always to be the one of most urgency 
at any time. The withdrawal and movement of troops over 
poorly equipped railroads was a difficult matter. Gen. Pember- 
ton never fully comprehended Gen. Grant's campaign, till 
Bowen was defeated at Port Gibson. Then he began with 
great activity and skill to concentrate his army for the defense 
of Vicksburg, and to organize his movable army to meet Gen. 
Grant. He ordered Loring's division from Yazoo City and 
Jackson, Miss., to Vicksburg. He ordered Gardner to bring 
5,000 men from Port Hudson to Jackson (May 7th). He began 
to call back the troops he had sent to Gen. Bragg, and to call 
also on President Davis for reinforcements to hold the Missis- 
sippi river. He displayed great skill and activity, but his troops 
were all scattered and it took time to meet the new conditions ; 
he could not even get the Port Hudson troops to Vicksburg, 



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The Campaign of Vicksburg. — Lee. 31 

while Gen. Grant had carefully arranged for his campaign, and 
was ready to spring forward with a compact army at his com- 
mand, before his antagonist could concentrate an army to op- 
pose him. 

Pemberton was unfortunately situated, as he received con- 
flicting telegrams from President Davis and Gen. J. E. John- 
ston, neither coinciding with his own views. President Davis' 
idea was to hold Vicksburg at all hazards, and not get far from 
it. He telegraphed Pemberton "to hold Vicksburg at all haz- 
ards and if besieged he would be relieved." Johnston's idea 
was the reverse, but to manoeuvre so as to get reinforcements 
and to concentrate and beat Grant. Pemberton's idea as given 
by Johnston (May 12th) was to await attack near Edwards de- 
pot on the railroad and not get so far from the city as to make 
it possible for Grant's army to get between him and the city. 
He believed at first also, that Grant would cross the Big Black 
river and at once invest the city. 

He concentrated his movable army first on the west of the 
river (Big Black), and later, as Grant's plan developed, he 
moved it to Edwards depot, some twenty miles from Vicksburg 
towards Jackson, where it remained till mid-day on the iSth of 
May. 

He received Johnston's first dispatch, written on the 13th, on 
the 14th of May, "to move towards Clinton and attack Grant's 
rear." He said he would do so, but on arriving at Edwards, he 
felt that he was too weak to go towards Clinton. He called a 
council of general officers, a majority of whom advised he 
should obey Johnston's order. He, however, decided instead of 
moving east towards Clinton as ordered, to move south from 
Edwards and attack a body of Federal troops, said to be at 
Dillon, on Grant's supposed line of communication with the 
Mississippi river. 

Gen. Grant having been reinforced at Hankinson's Ferry by 
Gen. Sherman with two divisions, decided, instead of crossing 
Big Black river and moving directly on Vicksburg, that he 
would only threaten to make this movement, but would in fact 
move directly towards Jackson, Miss., and disperse any re- 
inforcements that might be coming to Pemberton's relief. 
He executed this plan in a masterly manner, moving his 
three corps (41,369 men) on parallel roads, about eight miles 



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32 Mississippi Historical Society. 

south of the railroad, with his right reaching to Raymond (Mc- 
Pherson*s corps), and his left (McClernand's) still threatening 
Big Black and the railroad, Sherman's corps moving between 
McClernand and McPherson. He then, as the movement ad- 
vanced, adroitly drew McCIernand's corps from the Big Black 
and the railroad, and from Pemberton's front, in the direction 
of Raymond. 

McPherson first met resistance five miles from Raymond, 
when he encountered Gregg's brigade of 2,500 men. He en- 
gaged him at once with Logan's division and a part of Crock- 
er's. Gregg, as Bowen had done at Port Gibson, made a stub- 
born fight before he was driven, entailing a loss to the Federal 
army of 442 men, and sustaining himself a loss of 514 men. 

Gregg retreated through Raymond during the night of the 
I2th of May towards Jackson. Gen. Grant determined then to 
move directly on Jackson with McPherson's corps, via Clinton 
to the north of Raymond on the railroad, leaving Sherman to 
follow Gregg through Raymond towards Jackson. The two 
corps arrived before Jackson on May 14th, one from the west, 
the other from the south. 

Gen. Joseph E. Johnston arrived in Jackson about dark on 
the evening of the 13th of May, the evening before the arrival 
of the two corps ; he found everything in confusion. He learned 
that Gregg had been defeated at Raymond the day before, and 
that several divisions of Federal troops were at Clinton between 
Jackson and Pemberton's army. Two small brigades number- 
ing less than 5,000 men from South Carolina had arrived 
(Walker's and Colquitt's) which with Gregg's brigade num- 
bered all told about 6,000 men at his disposal. As soon as he 
learned the situation, he sent the following dispatch to Gen. 
Pemberton, then west of the Big Black at Bovina while his 
army was at Edward's depot, to his front, viz: "I have lately 
arrived and learned that Maj. Gen. Sherman is between us with 
four divisions at Clinton. It is important to establish com- 
munication, that you may be reinforced. If practicable come 
up in his rear at once. To beat a detachment would be of im- 
mense value. All the troops you can quickly assemble should 
be brought. Time is all important." 

This dispatch was sent in triplicate by different messengers. 
One of the messengers was a disloyal Confederate or a Federal 



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The Campaign of Vicksburg. — Lee. 33 

spy, who put it in the hands of Gen. Grant on the next day 
(May 14th). On the 14th the two Federal army corps arrived 
before Jackson. Gen. Johnston saw at once that he could not 
hold the place and gave orders for evacuation, having the 
troops make only a display of resistance, so as to move oul as 
many supplies as possible. He moved north towards Canton 
about six miles, and sent messengers to Gen. Pemberton advis- 
ing him of the evacuation of Jackson, and of his own locality, 
and still impressing upon Pemberton the importance of having 
his reinforcements. This dispatch did not reach Pemberton 
until after his defeat at Champion Hills. The loss attending 
the evacuation of Jackson, was to the Federal army 300 men 
and to the Confederates 200. On morning of May 15th Gen. 
Johnston received Pemberton's dispatch dated 5.40 p. m., at 
Edwards, May 14th, to the effect that Pemberton had changed 
his plans and would not move as he had previously stated to- 
wards Clinton, but would, on May 15th, move with 17,000 men 
to Dillon on the main road from Raymond to Port Gibson, y\ 
miles below Raymond and 9J miles from Edwards depot, to 
cut the enemy's communications and force the enemy to attack 
him, as he felt he was too weak to attack Grant or cut his way to 
Jackson. Gen. Johnston at once sent word to Pemberton, in 
substance, that his leaving Jackson and going to the north, ren- 
dered his movement for junction by way of Raymond impracti- 
cable, and ordered Pemberton to move, so as to effect a junc- 
tion north of the railroad. Gen. Pemberton received this dis- 
patch at 6.30 a. m. on the i6th (the day of the battle), and re- 
plied telling Johnston where he was ; that he had issued orders 
to reverse his march to obey his (Johnston's) order; and that 
he would move from Edwards in direct line of Brownsville, 
leaving Bolton to his right. 

Gen. Grant having possession of Jackson, May 14th, at once 
had Gen. Sherman to begin the destruction of all public prop- 
erty. So soon as he had Johnston's first dispatch of May 13th 
(to Pemberton) in his possession (through a spy) it gave him 
the key to the Confederate plan of campaign and he at once 
with great skill began to concentrate his army to meet the 
probable movement of Pemberton to comply with his superior's 
order, supposing that he would obey it. He knew that Pem- 
berton could not execute the order with success owing to the 
3 



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34 Mississippi Historical Society. 

locality of his own troops. With this key in his possession, he 
had a great advantage over Pemberton, and his army was ad- 
mirably in position to concentrate and counteract any move- 
ment of Pemberton. He ordered McPherson to retrace his 
steps rapidly towards Bolton (the nearest point Gen. Johnston 
could reach Pemberton, if he obeyed the order, from his posi- 
tion on the Canton road). He also ordered McClernand to 
move his four divisions towards Bolton. Blair of Sherman's 
corps had now come up, and he was also ordered to move to- 
wards Bolton, so that on the afternoon of May 14th and on 
May 15th, two divisions of McPherson's corps, four divisions 
of McClemand's corps and one division of Sherman's corps 
were marching almost in line of battle to concentrate at Bolton. 
These movements were later changed so that McClernand had 
one division (Hovey's) moving on the main Clinton and Ed- 
wards road, in front of McPherson's two divisions; (the divi- 
sions of Osterhaus and Carr) moving on what was known as the 
Middle Raymond road, from Raymond to Edwards (a few miles 
south of the road Hovey was on), while the division of A. J. 
Smith and Blair were moving on the main southern road from 
Raymond to Edwards (a few miles south of the Middle Ray- 
mond road), so that, by the afternoon of May isth the seven di- 
visions were all moving towards Edwards depot instead of Bol- 
ton. Gen. Sherman, who was left in Jackson, was to follow 
later. These seven divisions, now rapidly concentrating for 
battle, and on converging roads, numbered, as by latest returns 
(April 30, 1863), 33,551 men, leaving out the losses at Port 
Gibson, Raymond and Jackson, amounting to about 1,617 men. 
Gen. Pemberton, about midday of May iSth, moved his army 
of about 17,500 men in three divisions, from the line of battle 
in front of Edwards depot facing east, on the main Edwards 
and Clinton road. He could not move on the direct road to 
Dillon as a heavy rain had fallen on the night of the 14th and on 
the 15th of May, and had caused Baker's creek to rise and wash 
away the bridge on that road. This caused delay and forced 
his army to be put in motion after midday. The army moved 
on the Edwards and Clinton road in an easterly direction to a 
point about a mile from Champion's House, where the road to 
Clinton and Bolton turned abruptly to the north for about a 
mile before resuming an easterly direction again (near the 



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^ 






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The Campaign of Vicksburg. — Lee, 35 

Champion House). This is an important point in the descrip- 
tion of the battle, for it is where the Middle Raymond road 
comes into the Clinton and Edwards roads, on which the divi- 
sions of Osterhaus and Carr were moving towards Edwards, 
and were encamped on the night of May iSth; it is also the 
point where a country road continues almost due south, and in 
prolongation of the Clinton road in its southerly direction, be- 
fore turning west again. This country road ran from one to 
one and a half miles to the south before entering the South 
Raymond road, upon which the division of A. J. Smith and 
Blair were moving from Raymond to Edwards. 

At the intersection of these roads, viz: Clinton and Middle 
Raymond (one mile from Champion's House), is where Gen. 
Pemberton's army left the Edwards and Clinton road (as also 
the Middle Raymond road), moving to the south to get on the 
South Edwards and Raymond road (the one Pemberton in- 
tended to move his army on from Edwards). The Confederate 
army marched until after midnight, the front division (Loring's) 
passing out of the cross-road and turning east on the Raymond 
road, and going towards Raymond about one and one-half 
miles to Mrs. Ellison's house. The rear divisions (Bowen's and 
Stephenson's) found themselves on this country road, when 
they went into bivouac after midnight, all three divisions 
bivouacing as they found themselves, strung out on this coun- 
try road and on the South Raymond and Edwards road (a dis- 
tance of about one and a half miles). The rear of Pemberton's 
army was at the intersection of these three roads, the Edwards 
and Clinton, the Middle Raymond, and the country road con- 
necting the two Raymond roads. 

The condition of affairs was a very singular one on the night 
of May 15th, when the two armies were in bivouac. Gen. Grant 
knew that Pemberton's move would probably be from the first dis- 
patch of Gen. Johnston to Pemberton of May 13th, which a Union 
spy had put in Gen, Granfs possession on May 14th, The three 
columns were moving, as already stated, almost in a line of bat- 
tle, in supporting distance on three converging roads, towards 
Edwards and with a fixed purpose to give battle and forestall 
any movement of Gen. Pemberton. The Federal army en- 
camped in about three miles on each^road from the Confederate 
army with orders to make an early start on the morning of 



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36 Mississippi Historical Society. 

May 1 6th. Gen. Grant was displaying quickness, decision, and 
thorough knowledge of g^and tactics, in the handling of his 
troops, and based on what his enemy would probably do, based 
on the delivery of the spy's dispatch. 

The Confederate army was moving with scarcely any definite 
knowledge of the enemy, while Grant's army was moving al- 
most with certainty of events. Gen. Pemberton did not want to 
move from Edwards, but felt he must in response to Gen. John- 
ston's order. 

As stated, the morning of May i6th found the Confederate 
army strung out for about two and a half miles on two roads. 
As the army had marched nearly all night, Pemberton decided 
to await some information before he began his march again. 
He sent out scouts on the three roads towards Clinton, and to- 
wards Raymond on the two roads. He did not have to wait 
long. The Federal troops were up bright and early, and in 
motion on all three roads. The first information was received 
from the South Raymond road on which A. J. Smith and Blair 
were moving. Skirmishing began early in the morning ; at 7.30 
a. m. Cannonading began on this road; soon afterwards 
skirmishing began on the Middle Raymond road and on the 
Clinton road one mile from the intersection of the roads. It 
was soon apparent that the enemy was on each road and in 
force. A little after sunrise (about 6.30 a. m.). Gen. Pemberton 
received an order from Gen. Johnston to move north of the 
railroad so that he could form a junction with him. He in- 
formed him, his move southward would not do, as he had evac- 
uated Jackson, had moved north, and could not join him by 
way of Raymond. 

Pemberton at once gave orders to reverse his order of march 
to get back across Baker's creek and to Edwards, so that he 
could be in position to form a junction with Johnston. He or- 
dered his trains to move rapidly back and thus clear the roads 
so the troops could march quickly. He ordered Gen. Stephen- 
son to beg^n the retrogade movement, as soon as the road was 
clear. The road was clear by 9 a. m. But by this time it was 
evident that the Federal army was close at hand, and advancing, 
and was bent on battle and matters looked so threatening that 
Gen. Pemberton had decided to form a line of battle on the 
cross road, connecting the two Raymond roads. It took some 



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The Campaign of Vicksburg. — Lee, 37 

time to do this, and Loringf s division was drawn back from the 
South Raymond road, and formed so as to cover this road and 
the military road, leading southwest, and connect with Bowen's 
division to his left, and the latter with Stephenson's division on 
his left. This battle formation made the Confederate line about 
one and one-quarter miles long. It would have been on a fairly 
good line of battle had the enemy been altogether in its front, as 
Pemberton supposed. The formation put Stephenson's left at 
the intersection of the three roads, one mile from Champion's 
house. Stephenson's rear brigade (Reynold's, 2,500 strong), 
had been sent to Edwards with the trains, and his second bri- 
gade (S. D. Lee's) from his left after facing east on the cross 
roads, had its left at the intersection of the three roads (Clinton, 
Middle Raymond and country road), and became the extreme 
left of the army in its line of battle facing east. Skirmishers 
were sent out by each brigade along the entire front of the line 
of battle. The skirmishers of Gen. Cummings brigade (nin« 
companies) never rejoined him till late in the afternoon after 
the defeat. Lee's skirmishers were out on the Middle Ray- 
mond road, a mile away, and were also at the Champion House, 
one mile from the intersection of the three roads. The skirm- 
ishers in front of the line of battle on the cross roads all came 
in touch with the enemy. 

Lee instead of following the reverse movement of the army 
back to Edwards, as intended, had been compelled to form in 
line of battle at 8 a. m., and was hotly engaged with the enemy's 
pickets. They were aggressive and were constantly reinforced. 
By 9 a. m., when the road was clear, Lee reported that the 
enemy were massing on the extreme left, near the railroad 
(nearly one and a half miles from his left), preparing to turn 
his left, and get between the army and Edwards. He was com- 
pelled to move his brigade rapidly to his left ^o keep pace with 
the enemy ; he notified the troops on his right of the necessity 
of this move, at the same time reporting the same to Gen. 
Stephenson, his division commander. The Confederate line of 
battle facing east confronted the two divisions of Osterhaus 
and Carr on the Middle Raymond road, and also the two divi- 
sions of A. G. Smith and Blair on the South Raymond road. 
These four divisions, by the April return of Grant's army num- 
bered 19,190 men for duty. Pemberton's army left in line of 



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38 Mississippi Historical Society. 

battle after Reynold's brigade (2,500 men), had been sent 
towards Edwards depot with the train, numbered only 15,000 
men. The massing of troops to the left of the Confederate 
army, facing east as reported by S. D. Lee, and the beginning 
of his movement to his left, to counteract it, soon developed 
the fact that the battle was not to be fought, as expected, but 
that a formidable attack was being precipitated, on a new line, 
at right angles to the first line of battle, and by three other 
divisions, viz.: Hovey (McClernand's corps), and Logan's and 
Croker's, of McPherson's corps. These three divisions by the 
April return numbered 16,653 men, so that Pemberton found 
himself, with a force outnumbering him in his front, being 
compelled to change his line of battle at right angles to meet 
the movement on his left of another force, also outnumbering 
his entire force. 

He did not realize his condition until it was too late, and as 
the skirmishing had begun on the two southern roads first, he 
felt the main attack would be delivered there. For some rea- 
son, however, the Union troops on the southern roads were 
exceedingly slow and cautious, and made no advance. They 
did good service in holding the Confederate troops in their 
immediate front until it was too late to move these Confederate 
troops in time to prevent the disaster, and until the more vigor- 
ous and aggressive attack was made on Pemberton's left flank 
by the wide awake and skilled McPherson, and later by Gen. 
Grant himself. Gen. Stephenson, commanding Pemberton's 
left division, soon saw the magnitude of the flanking move of 
Gen. Grant, and began forming a new line of battle, though he 
was constantly and hotly engaged between 9.30 and 11 a. m. 
He could not, however, impress the immediate danger on Gen. 
Pemberton. 

It is now necessarjr at this point to describe the topography 
of the new battlefield that was to be, facing north, instead of 
the one Pemberton expected, with his army facing east (on 
the cross road), and confronting the four divisions then in his 
front, and in the morning nearer to him than the troops march- 
ing from Clinton towards Edwards. It is a fact, too, that these 
troops on the Middle and South Raymond roads did form in 
line of battle; A. J. Smith's division was only 1,200 yards 
distant and in sight of Pemberton's army, artd remained in- 



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The Campaign of Vicksburg. — Lee, 39 

active nearly the entire day and until the battle was decided. 
As already stated, thefe were two roads leading to Edwards 
(South road), the other branching off to the west from a 
road leading almost due north to Bolton on the railroad (and 
nearly half way). The Clinton and Edwards road ran about a 
half mile south of the railroad, and in a westerly direction, 
until near the Champion House (half way between Bolton and 
Edwards). Baker's creek, also near the Champion House, 
runs north of the railroad, in a westerly direction, until little 
over a mile, it turns almost due south. The change of direction 
in the creek caused the country, beginning at Champion's 
house, to become rougher and more undulating, more hilly and 
broken with deep ravines. What is known as "Champion's 
Hills" begin near the house, and the highest point of the hill is 
one-half mile northwest from the house. This point, too, is on 
a line almost at right angles with the hills, spurs running off to 
the west towards the creek and Edwards depot; a main spur 
also runs almost due south and crosses both the Middle and 
South Raymond roads. There are spurs running north from 
the main spur running toward Edwards (west), in the woods. 

To get over this hill at the Champion House, the Clinton 
and Edwards roads turn northwest half a mile to ascend the 
hill, and when the road reaches the highest point it runs due 
south half a mile. When it gets into the Middle Raymond road, 
it turns westwardly again towards the creek and Edwards, and 
the two roads become one and the same road. This road now 
runs one and a half miles down a gentle slope almost west 
to the bridge over Baker's creek, and is uniformly from a half 
to a quarter of a mile from the top of the ridge of hills, where 
the battle was fought and decided. Between this ridge and the 
road, for about a mile or more, are minor ridges and ravines. 
It should be stated also, that when the Clinton and Edwards 
road, after going a mile from the Champion House, turns west- 
erly towards Edwards, that a country road continues in a 
southerly direction to the South Raymond road, and it was on 
this cross road that Pemberton's first line of battle was formed. 

The Confederate Army was, at first, thrown into line of bat- 
tle facing east (and not really in line on Pemberton's right flank 
till II a. m.), and confronting directly the four divisions of 
Osterhaus, Carr, Smith and Blair. By 9.30 or 10 a. m. Logan's 



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40 Mississippi Historical Society. 

division, of McPherson's corps, was massed and moving around 
the left of Pemberton's army towards Edwards depot, and 
Hovey's division was opposite the angle. The resistance of- 
fered by Lee's brigade in front of the Champion House and in 
its vicinity, led McPherson, who was early on the field, to believe 
that the high points occupied by Lee's skirmishers, was the 
right of Pemberton's army. He at once acted accordingly. 

He directed Hovey's divison (McClemand's corps), to be 
ready to move directly against the high point of the hill, while 
with Logan's division of his corps he formed a line of battle 
fronting the spurs of hill running due west. His troops faced 
south, his right extending towards Edwards. Lee's brigade 
(left) of Stephenson's division, as early as 9.30 a. m., was there- 
fore compelled to move across the Middle Raymond road for 
over half a mile, and then turn almost directly at right angles 
westward, to face McPherson's troops, then forming on an open 
field, and pushing forward with his own skirmishers, and with 
skirmishers of Hovey's division, to force the skirmishers of 
Lee back to the hill and the woods. This movement of Lee's 
brigade continued for over a mile and a half from its position 
early in the morning, and until about 11 a. m., when the battle 
opened so heavily he had to stop in order to hold his line. The 
movement to confront McPherson was made while the skirmish- 
ers of both sides were waging a fight almost equal in volume to 
a battle. Stephenson's next brigade (Cummings'), which was 
next to Lee, closed in on Lee as he moved north and west. The 
development of McPherson was so rapid that Stephenson, be- 
fore 12 m., had to take his right brigade (Barton's), entirely out 
of line, and move it rapidly to the left in the rear of Cummings' 
and Lee's to confront a part of McPherson's corps, which had 
already turned Lee's left, and was virtually between Lee and the 
bridge. All this was going on between 10 a. m. and 12 m. 
About this time or 12 m. the battle opened with great fury, 
the two divisions (Logan's and Hovey's), falling with all their 
strength on Lee's and Cumming's brigades. Stevenson's 
brigade of Logan's division had already "double-quicked" and 
gained the woods, on the spurs running to the north toward 
Baker's Creek, and on Lee's left, and between Lee and the 
bridge over Baker's Creek. 

The attitude of the two armies about 12 m., when the battle 



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The Campaign of Vicksburg. — Lee. 41 

opened with greatest fury, on the left of Pemberton and the 
right of Grant, may be stated as follows : The first line of battle 
of the Confederates was scarcely formed on the extreme right 
at II a. m. Before this, Stephenson's division had for one 
hour and a half or more, been moving to the north and west. 
Bowen's division was gradually closing to the left (on the 
country cross roads), to fill the gap made by Barton's removal, 
and the constant movement of Stephenson to the left. Loring 
had remained on the South Raymond road, and both Bowen 
and Loring saw the enemy in line of battle in their front, though 
they heard the increasing noise of battle to their left. When 
the battle burst in all its fury about noon, on Stephenson's two 
brigades (Lee's and Cumming's), Barton, whom Stephenson 
had moved from his extreme right on the first line of battle, 
to the extreme left, to be put on Lee's left, was just arriving 
and getting into position, where he found that one of Logan's 
brigades (Stevenson's), had already seized the woods to Lee's 
left, turned his (Lee's) left flank, and was advancing rapidly to 
the Edwards road (immediately in the rear of Barton), then 
forming to stop his advance. Barton's line extended from near 
Lee's left towards the bridge over Baker's creek. Bowen had^ 
not then filled the gap left by the removal of Barton. Gen. 
Cummings in closing on Lee had moved his brigade across the 
Middle Raymond road, had arrived at the high point of the hill, 
half a mile to the north, had turned the head of his brigade due 
west at right angles, to follow Lee, and had gone due west on 
the ridge with a regiment (39th Georgia), and four companies of 
another regiment (34th Georgia), in the new direction. The 
other companies of the 34th Georgia were along the Clinton 
road facing east. The 36th Georgia was to the right of the 
34th on the Clinton road facing east. There was then a gap 
of three hundred yards or more to the intersection of the 
roads, and at this point two of Cummings' regiments (56th and 
57th Georgia), and Waddell's battery had been left to protect 
the right and rear of the new line of battle, from any approach 
on the Middle Raymond road, on which our skirmishers were 
engaged with those of Osterhaus. On the high hill at the angle 
were two guns of Johnston's Virginia battery, and later two 
guns of Waddell's Alabama battery. The 36th, 34th and 39th 
Georgia on the two sides of the angle at the high point were 



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42 Mississippi Historical Society. 

short the three companies each, which had been detached early 
in the morning, before beginning to move towards the left, and 
the 34th and 36th Georgia, also had one company each on 
detached service. Hence these three regiments at the vital 
point when attacked, were short eleven companies (more than 
a full regiment), so that the three regiments were equal to only 
two regiments (1,000 men). Cummings was in single line of 
battle with no reserves. Although the nine companies which 
were sent out as skirmishers early in the morning and which 
fought Osterhaus and Carr, never joined Cummings till after 
the battle, they kept back the enemy on that road. 

Lee's brigade (Stephenson's division), was composed of five 
regiments, and were to Cummings' left, on the ridge towards 
Edwards, and on the edge of the woods, facing the open field 
where McPherson formed Logan's division facing south, and 
from right to left in the following order: 20th, 31st, 46th, 30th 
and 23d Alabama regiments, covering a line of nearly three- 
quarters of a mile in a single line of battle, with no reserves and 
no artillery. Lee's regiments were also short six or eight com- 
panies of skirmishers on the Middle Raymond road, under Col. 
E. W. Pettus, which companies did not rejoin him until after 
the battle. 

Gen. Barton, when forming his line to stop the advance of 
Stevenson's brigade of Logan's division, then pressing forward, 
arranged his brigade in the following order: The 40th, 41st and 
43d Georgia regiments on the right, ready to charge ; 52d Geor- 
gia to support Corput's battery, six hundred yards from the 
bridge. The 42d Georgia and Sharkey's section of Ridley's bat- 
tery, under Capt. Ridley himself, also came up, after the repulse 
of Barton, and endeavored to check the advance of the Fed- 
erals. 

The attitude of the Confederate troops having thus been de- 
scribed at 12 m., when the battle began to rage in all its fury 
on Pemberton's left division, it is well to describe more min- 
utely the attitude of the Union Army, on Grant's right. It has 
already been stated that the four divisions of the Union Army 
(Osterhaus', Carr's, A. J. Smith's, and Blair's), under Gen. Mc- 
Clernand, which composed the center and left of Grant's army, 
took no part in the battle until it was decided. Osterhaus and 
Carr arrived on the field about 3.30 p. m., and their arrival 



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The Campaign of Vicksburg. — Lee, 43 

finally, with the concentrated fire of Hovey's and McPherson's 
artillery, caused Bowen's division to fall back. These two di- 
visions took up the pursuit by Gen. Grant's order, but the arri- 
val of two of Loring's brigades about 3.30 p. m. or 4 p. m. 
between the Edwards and Bolton road and Baker's creek, held 
them in check, and the defeated Confederates were enabled to 
cross the creek at the ford on the lower Raymond road, on 
which A. J. Smith and Blair had been in line of battle since early 
in the morning. In fact these two divisions made no advance 
movement on the Confederates in their front during the day, 
not even when Bowen's division and two brigades of Loring's 
division were moved from their front. Tilghman's brigade pf 
Loringf s division confronted them from about 3 p. m. until after 
dark and held the ford over which most of Stephenson's and 
Bowen's divisions crossed Baker's creek. Gen. Loring about 
dark, moved his division of three brigades around these two 
Union divisions on the South Raymond road, and united his 
forces a few days later with Gen. J. E. Johnston at Jackson, 
Mississippi. He did not go into Vicksburg with Pemberton's 
army after the battle. 

It was different, however, with Generals Hovey and McPher- 
son on Gen. Grant's right. Hovey being in front, as soon as 
he saw the Confederates, at once formed a line of battle and 
began to push out his skirmishers^ and McPherson, who was 
early in the front, hurried up his two divisions (Logan's and 
Crocker's), and began placing them in an open field near the 
railroad to the right of Hovey. He sent back a request for 
Gen. Grant at Clinton to hurry to the front, and that officer 
by 7 a. m. was moving rapidly towards the Champion Hills, 
the roads being cleared of all trains, s^ that the troops could 
move rapidly to the front. McPherson supposed the high point 
of the Champion Hills (the angle), occupied by the Confeder- 
ates, to be the right of Pemberton's line of battle. He ordered 
Hovey's division, which was about ready by 10.30 a. m. to be 
ready to move directly against the high point of the hill, while 
he put Logan's division (three brigades, Leggett, Smith and 
Stevenson), in the open field in two lines of battle almost at 
right angles to Hovey and facing the south. Rogers' battery 
was between Smith and Stevenson towards the right. Hovey 
formed his division on both sides of the road near the Cham- 



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44 Mississippi Historical Society. 

pion House. McGinnis on the right, with the nth, 24th, 34th, 
and 46th Indiana regiments, and the 29th Wisconsin in two 
lines of battle, with the nth Indiana south of the road. 

Slack's brigade was formed to the left of McGinnis' and south 
of the Clinton and Edwards road and in the angle formed by 
this road, and the Middle Raymond road, also in two lines of 
battle, the 47th Indiana and 56th Ohio, and the 24th and 28th 
Iowa regiments. Leggett's brigade of Logan's division was 
immediately to the right of McGinnis. McPherson's second 
division (Crocker's), was coming up rapidly as the formation of 
Hovey and Logan was about completed and ready to attack. 

The Confederate skirmishers (Lee's), were driven in by 1045 
a. m. on the Bolton road, and also from the open field. Gen. 
Cummings had no skirmishers in his front, he had moved so 
rapidly to the left that his skirmishers could not follow his 
movement. The Union line of battle was complete from left 
to right, and at 11.30 a. m. the two divisions of Hovey and 
Logan advanced to the attack. By 12 m. the battle was at its 
height. 

The road from the Champion House, as already stated, bore 
southwest half a mile to the high point of the hill, and thence 
due south half a mile to the Middle Raymond road, so that 
Hovey's division swung the right brigade to the left, and the left 
brigade to the right, forming a crescent shape, as it approached 
the Confederate line of battle, which made a right angle at the 
high point. McGinnis' brigade, as it advanced, gradually came 
on a line with Logan's division facing south. His brigade 
crowded near the angle on the north side, and gradually occu- 
pied the ravines and ridges close to the Confederate position. 
The brigade being in double line of battle, made a rush on the 
west side of the angle held by the 39th Georgia and half of the 
34th Georgia, and after a short and desperate struggle drove 
back these two regiments, capturing a good many prisoners and 
four pieces of artillery. "It is impossible for any force to hold 
its ground when attacked at once on both sides which consti- 
tute a right angle." — ^Doubleday. 

Having captured this portion of the line, and the nth Indiana 
attacking on the east side and also Slack's brigade, it enfiladed 
the line of the 36th Georgia, on the Clinton road facing east, 
and caused that regiment to fall back on the Clinton road, after 



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The Campaign of Vicksburg. — Lee. 45 

it had entered the Raymond road, and resumed its western di- 
rection towards the bridge over Baker's creek, and towards Ed- 
wards depot (about four miles distant). The Union troops after 
penetrating some short distance into the woods, also enfiladed 
the right of S. D. Lee's brigade, causing the two right regi- 
ments, the 20th and 31st Alabama to fall back to a ridge some 
four hundred yards in the rear. The 56th and S7th Georgia 
regiments at the intersection of the Middle Raymond and Clin- 
ton roads, also had to change front, so as to face north to pro- 
tect Waddell's battery (six g^ns), in the south angle made by 
the two roads. Lee, after rallying his two regiments on the 
right, though he had repulsed the attack of Leggett and Smith 
in his front, had to withdraw his entire brigade, placing it on a 
ridge between his first line facing the open field and the Ed- 
wards and Clinton roads one-half mile in his rear, as Steven- 
son's brigade of Logan's division had turned his left flank. 
This second line was a continuation of the line on which the 
20th and 31st Alabama regiments had been formed at the time 
they fell back, when the angle was carried, which had been oc- 
cupied by Cummings' Georgia brigade. 

The carrying of the high point of the hill by McGinnis' 
brigade of Hovey's division, and the forced change of position 
on the right and left of the angle by Cummings' and Lee's 
. brigades, took some time, probably from one to one and a half 
hours, and was marked by the most desperate fighting on both 
sides, ground being taken and retaken several times, and Wad- 
dell's battery at the cross roads doing splenSid service. The 
56th, 57th and 36th Georgia, and part of the 34th and 36th 
Georgia, and of the 20th and 31st Alabama, in their second line 
of battle, fought gallantly against the two brigades of McGin- 
nis and Slack. About 1.30 p. m. the 24th Iowa, of Slack's 
brigade, captured Waddell's battery at the cross roads, the 56th 
and 57th Georgia regiments having fallen back near their first 
position which they had held early in the morning when ifacing 
eastward. 

When the Confederate position at the angle was taken and 
the new line formed by Cummings and Lee, the brigades of 
Leggett and Smith moved forward, but failed to drive Lee from 
his second line. The brigade commanded by Stevenson (Lo- 
gan's division), had turned Lee's left and occupied the woods 



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46 Mississippi Historical Society. 

towards the bridge over Baker's creek. This had been done 
before Barton had begun his formation to Lee's left, and before 
Lee had retired to his second line. Stevenson repulsed Bar- 
ton's attack and cut him off from the Confederate troops to 
his right, Barton moving to his left and crossing over the 
bridge towards Edwards. Stevenson after gaining the road in 
the rear of the Confederate line of battle, saw part of Cum- 
mings' troops reforming and those of Bowen's division coming 
up in the distance. 

During all this time desperate fighting had been going on. 
McGinnis had called for help, and two regiments of Sanford's 
brigade (Crocker's division), had reinforced him and the other 
two regiments of Sanford's brigade had reinforced Leggett, 
and Smith, in the fight with the three left regiments of Lee's 
brigade. The other two brigades commanded by Boomer and 
Holmes had now come up and restored the fight near the angle, 
but Bowen's charge about 2.15 or 2.30 p. m. swept everything 
before him, driving Hovey and all his reinforcements under 
Crocker steadily back, and recapturing the- Confederate g^ns 
lost about 12 m. Hovey, seeing the desperate condition in his 
front by the approach of Bowen's division, had called hastily 
for help. Gen. Grant, as Crocker was not then fully up, or- 
dered Logan to move his division to the left to help Hovey. 
Stevenson, of Logan's division, who had captured and crossed 
the road in rear of Lee, was recalled, when he had cut off Lee 
in the rear ; he was hurried to the rear of Smith and Leggett to 
be ready to aid in turning the Union disaster then appearing 
imminent, by the driving back of Hovey and the two and a half 
brigades of Croker before Bowen. 

It is important now that we go back a little and tell the part 
played by Bowen's division, made up of Missourians and Ar- 
kansans, two brigades commanded by Gen. Francis M. Cock- 
rell and Martin E. Green. Cockrell's brigade consisted of the 
1st, 2d, 3d, 4th, 5th, and 6th Missouri regiments, with Guibors', 
Laude's and Wade's Missouri batteries. Green's brigade con- 
sisted of the 1st Arkansas Cavalry, dismounted, and the 12th, 
15th, 19th, 20th, and 21st Arkansas Infantry, part of the ist 
Missouri Cavalry, dismounted, and the 3d Missouri Battalion. 
By the closest inquiry, considering their numbers in the report 
of March 31st, and their losses at Port GiEson, the division 



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The Campaign of Vicksburg. — Lee. 47 

(Bowen's), carried into action 3,500 men. The division, ac- 
cording to Gen. Cockrell, was unengaged until a little after i 
p. m., except in an artillery duel early in the day with some 
artillery of the enemy near the South Raymond road. About 
this time (a little after i p. m.), Cockrell's brigade, and soon 
after Green's was ordered to the left to reinforce Gen. Stephen- 
son's division, which had met with disaster. Cockrell was or- 
dered first to the left and then to the right of Stephenson's 
division. On reaching this latter position he found that the 
Confederate troops were being driven steadily back. Cockrell 
formed his brigade and tried to put his right on the left of the 
three regiments (36th, 56th and S7th Georgia), of Cummings' 
brigade, near the cross roads. Before he could do this, how- 
ever, these two Georgia regiments were driven back by Slack's 
Union brigade, and Waddell's Alabama battery, which was near 
the cross roads, in the angle between the Clinton and Ed\rards 
road and the country cross roads, was captured by the 24th 
Iowa regiment. Cockrell had some trouble in holding the right 
of his brigade for a while, but as soon as he was ready he 
charged the enemy, driving everything before him, and cap- 
turing the Confederate guns which had been lost at about 12 
m. Green's brigade came up soon after Cockrell started to the 
front, and forming on his right, pushed rapidly forward, and' 
as Cockrell had done, recaptured the guns in his front. He 
went across a cornfield, in open ground, and thence into the 
woods and ravines on the other side of the open fields. It ap- 
pears that Cockrell's brigade went to the left of the Clinton 
and Edwards road on the south and west side of the high point 
of Champion Hills, while Green's brigade went to the right of 
this road, through the open fields. As nearly as can be ascer- 
tained, Waddell's battery was captured about 1.30 or 1.45 p. m., 
and Bowen's division made their magnificent charge about 2.30 
p. m. 

The charge of this magnificent division, for dash and gal- 
lantry, was not surpassed by any troops on either side. They 
steadily advanced, firing as they advanced, and drove back 
Hovey's division, which had been reinforced by two regiments 
of Sanborn's brigade, and later engaged and drove back the 
two brigades of Boomer and Holmes as they came up. In 
other words, Bowen drove back the two divisions of Hovev 



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48 Mississippi Historical Society. 

and Crocker, less only two regiments of Crocker, which had 
reinforced Legget and Smith, fighting Lee. The charge and 
fighting was desperate and lasted nearly two hours. The Union 
troops were driven over a mile and beyond the crest of the 
hills originally held by the Confederate troops. The Union, 
troops made a desperate stand on the slope of the hills toward 
the Champion House. Sixteen guns of the ist Missouri bat- 
tery (Schofield's), i6th Ohio battery, and Dillon's Wisconsin 
battery, were placed on a ridge in an open field, so as to en- 
filade the entire line of Bowen's division. The firing of two lines 
of battle could be distinctly seen, and this terrible artillery fire, 
showered incessantly shot and shell on the entire line of the 
Confederates. But even this did not drive the division back. 
About 3.30 p. m. or 4 p. m. the troops of Osterhaus and 
Carr were seen approaching on the Middle Raymond road, 
in formidable line of battle, with their skirmishers in front. 
Bowen called for help, but Loring had not come with the rein- 
forcements. A few Confederate guns were opened on the ap- 
proaching line, and the 12th Louisiana was §ent to check them, 
but they came steadily along, and the Confederates, with their 
ammunition exhausted, and having used what they could get 
also from the cartridge boxes of friend and foe, had to fall 
back to prevent their being cut oflf by this formidable new line 
of Osterhaus and Carr, approaching at right angles (see reports 
of Gen. Cockrell, Col. Dockery and Col. Gates, and Gen. Oster- 
haus). The two brigades in falling back moved directly towards 
the lower ford on the South Raymond road. Buford's brigade, 
of Loring's division, appeared in the rear of the Clinton and 
Edwards road, about the time Stevenson's brigade (of Logan's 
division), had returned to its former position, after crossing the 
Edwards road in the rear of Lee, a little after 12 m. (It is re- 
called that it was drawn back when Bowen was beginning his 
charge, and moved to the rear of Smith and Leggett). It had 
now returned and had again crossed the road in rear of Lee, 
who was still fighting to the left of Bowen. The brigades of 
Lee's were Leggett and Smith, the last Confederate troops east 
or north of the Edwards road. Buford checked the Union 
troops under Stevenson, Loring had also arrived on the Con- 
federates left, about 4 p. m., and soon after Buford. The day 
had been lost to the Confederates. Gen. Stephenson had orders 



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The Campaign of Vicksburg. — Lee. 49 

from Pemberton to retreat before Loring's arrival. Bowen 
moved directly towards the lower ford, passing to the south of 
Loring's two brigades. Lee, of Stephenson's division, was still 
fighting after the withdrawal of Bowen on the right, and north 
of the Edwards road. Seeing Stevenson (Logan's division), had 
again gotten to his rear, Lee withdrew one half mile to the 
south side of the Edwards road, and formed on the left of 
Featherston's brigade, reporting to Gen. Loring, the senior 
officer on the field. The two brigades of Loring's division, 
confronted Osterhaus and Carr, and Stevenson's brigade, of 
Logan's division, and held them at arm's length, until the Con- 
federates between the Edwards road and the lower Raymond 
road crossed over the lower ford. The pursuit was not pressing 
in this direction. Bowen crossed at the lower ford, and Lee 
later, with part of his brigade and Cummings'. Gen. Loring, 
as we have said, did not cross Baker's creek and go into 
Vicksburg with the rest of Pemberton's army, but about dark 
moved around the Union divisions of A. J. Smith and Blair 
and joined Gen. J. E. Johnston a few days afterwards at Jack- 
son, Mississippi. 

Gen. Pemberton after the disaster at Champion Hills, with- 
drew his army across Big Black river. The Union troops fol- 
lowed leisurely in pursuit, crossing Baker's creek, both on the 
lower Raymond road and the Clinton and Jackson road, Oster- 
haus and Carr arriving at Edwards depot about 9 p. m., May 
i6th. On the 17th Pemberton tried to hold the "Tete de Pont" 
at Big Black, with Vaughan's brigade of fresh troops and Bow- 
en's division. This also resulted in disaster and in the loss of 
additional guns and prisoners. Scarcely any defense was made. 
The Confederate troops were very much demoralized, and soon 
broke in their efforts to cross the bridge. The Confederate 
troops on the west bank covered the disorderly flight, enabling 
most of the troops on the east side of the river to get over. 
Gen. Pemberton then directed Gen. Stephenson to withdraw all 
the troops within the entrenched lines of the city of Vicksburg. 

In reviewing the campaign up to the siege of Vicksburg, the 
great error of Pemberton was in not giving full credence to the 
reported movements of Gen. Grant, when he carried his army 
on the Louisiana side of the river by Vicksburg and then ran 
his boats by the batteries, and crossed his army to the Missis- 
4 



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So Mississippi Historical Society. 

sippi side of the river. This movement was reported fully to 
him before April i6th, when the boats ran the batteries. He 
did not believe it possible for Gen. Grant to contemplate any 
serious movement in that direction, owing to his difficulty of 
supplying his army south of Vicksburg. He considered the 
movement too hazardous to be attempted. Even after the fleet 
had run the batteries, and the troops were reported at Hard 
Times on the Louisiana side, he did not feel justified in concen- 
trating his army below Big Black river, not even then believing 
Grant would cross the river and get away from his supplies. 
He too was fearful that in case he moved his army from Vicks- 
burg, the enemy might land between Grand Gulf and the city 
and take it by a dash, before the troops could retrace their 
steps. 

Again, as Gen. Grant and Gen. Sherman had constantly 
looked to a lodgment on the bluffs north of the city, he was still 
fearful they intended to sieze the outpost at Snyder's Bluff on 
the Yazoo. Grant's superiority in numbers enabled him still to 
leave Sherman with his corps to demonstrate up the Yazoo and 
in the vicinity of Chickasaw Bayou. Gen. Pemberton's idea of 
defending Vicksburg was a cautious, defensive policy, not con- 
sidering he had troops enough to send any considerable force 
far from Vicksburg to fight the enemy, without endangering 
the city itself; while his adversary, Gen. Grant, had troops 
enough to meet any Confederate army in Mississippi, and at the 
same time threaten Vicksburg with an army as large as Pem- 
berton had, besides the great gun-boat fleet of Admiral Porter. 

These facts, taken in connection with the bold and rapid 
movements of Grant in crossing his army below Grand Gulf and 
at once moving on Jackson, influenced Gen. Pemberton in his 
entire campaign. He was urged, by many of his officers, to 
concentrate his army below Big Black, and to give battle there 
to Grant when he crossed. He had ample time to do this 
after April 226., when the second division of the Federal fleet 
and transports ran the batteries, and circumstances more clearly 
pointed to the certainty of the rapid movement of Gen. Grant 
to cross the Mississippi below the mouth of Big Black river. 
Having failed to meet Grant below Big Black river, and know- 
ing the strength of his army as it confronted Bowen's small 
force at Port Gibson, his later movements followed as a se- 



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The Campaign of Vicksburg. — Lee. 51 

quence, viz : To watch the crossings of the Big Black river, and 
protect his railroad communications east of Vicksburg. 

Gen. Grant by his bold and rapid movements after crossing 
the river outwitted his antagonist. He threatened the cross- 
ings of Big Black, and struck out boldly for Jackson, over fifty 
miles distant. He moved south of the railroad. He defeated 
and drove off the reinforcements, and destroyed the railroads 
over which Pemberton expected aid. Grant too was in good 
luck in haviftg Johnston's plans and orders to Pemberton put 
in his hands early on the morning of May 14th, which gave him 
the key to the Confederate campaign. He was certainly for- 
tunate in this successful treachery of a supposed Confederate. 
Pemberton did not want to fight east of Edwards depot, but 
under pressure of Johnston's order felt that he must move in 
some direction. He felt he was not strong enough to move 
towards Clinton, but was strong enough to move south on 
Grant's supposed line of communication, and attack a division 
of Grant's army, moving towards Jackson. Pemberton had 
bad luck as against Grant's good luck, when he had Johnston's 
order put in his possession. It rained almost a water spout at 
Edwards on the 14th, causing Baker's creek, over which he 
must cross, to overflow its banks and destroy the bridge on the 
South Raymond road, on which he had decided to march. So 
his movements were delayed twenty-four hours, and when he 
moved he had to take a roundabout route, and on the morning 
of the i6th of May, found himself on a country road between 
the Middle and South Raymond roads. Early on the morning 
of the 1 6th, he got a dispatch from Gen. Johnston, ordering him 
to retrace his steps. It so happened that Grant was marching 
all day on the isth towards Pemberton as a result of the spy's 
dispatch and the latter did not know it. Pemberton while try- 
ing to obey Johnston's order and recross Baker's creek over 
the road he had marched the previous night, suddenly found 
himself brought to a standstill, by the presence of Grant's army 
on the three roads, having immediately in his front four divi- 
sions, outnumbering his army, and three other divisions turn- 
ing his left flank (also equalling his entire force). The battle 
of Baker's creek, or Champion Hills, was the result of Grant's 
turning the left of Pemberton's army (Stephenson's division) 
with the three divisions of Hovey, Crocker and Logan, while 



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52 Mississippi Historical Society. 

his four other divisions held the other two divisions of Pember- 
ton (Bowen and Loring), until it was too late to change the 
tide of battle. Hovey and Logan with one brigade of Crocker's 
division (Sanborn's), crushed Stephenson's division before 
Bowen could get to his assistance. When Bowen arrived to 
assist Stevenson he drove Hovey steadily back, recapturing 
most of the guns lost earlier in the day. Crocker at this time 
came up with his two other brigades but he also was driven 
back. Here it was that the sixteen pieces of artillery were 
concentrated by Hovey and McPherson, enfilading Bowen's 
line ; and at the same time, Osterhaus and Carr, with their two 
divisions came up on the Middle Raymond road, with a line of 
battle at right angles to Bowen's division and into the gap in 
the line of battle between Bowen and Loring. (See reports of 
Osterhaus, Bowen and others.) This decided the battle and 
Gen. Pemberton ordered his army to retreat to Big Black river 
by the lower ford, as the water had now fallen in Baker's creek, 
and the stream was fordable. 

It is useless now to speculate what might have occurred had 
Grant not had the information which the spy put into his hands 
early on May 14th, and which enabled him to concentrate seven 
divisions of his army on the three divisions of Pemberton, who 
supposed Grant was at Jackson, or had Gen. Joseph E. Johnston 
instead of halting after leaving Jackson, marched with his 
6,000 men, north of the Vicksburg and Jackson railroad, and 
united with Pemberton, near Edwards, or threatened Grant's 
right flank near Bolton or Champion Hills. As it was. Grant 
had in the three divisions of Hovey, Logan and Crocker about 
16,000 men, while in the four divisions of Osterhaus, Carr, A. J. 
Smith and Blair, there were nearly 20,000 men, on the field who 
hardly engaged. 

The losses of the troops engaged show that the fighting was 
almost as desperate as in any battle of the war. Stephenson's 
(Confederate) division lost 2,863 ^^T^t killed, wounded and 
prisoners, out of 6,000. Bowen lost 868 out of his small divi- 
sion, Loring 125 men. Hovey on the Federal side lost 1,202 
men, out of his two brigades, almost thirty per cent. ; Crocker 
662 men, out of his three brigades ; Logan 403 men, out of his 
three brigades ; Osterhaus 1 10 men ; Carr one man ; A. J. Smith 
28 men; Blair none. The divisions of Stephenson and Bowen 



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*The Campaign of Vicksburg. — Lee, 53 

on the Confederate side bore the brunt of the battle, and did 
not fight together but in detail, while on the Federal side, 
Hovey, Crocker and Logan did the fighting. 

When we consider the odds during the campaign in favor of 
the Federal army, in the great army of Gen. Grant, and the 
great fleet of Admiral Porter, with the aid of Gen. Banks in 
penning up and capturing 7,000 men of Pemberton's army at 
Port Hudson, and the great assistance from the large force on 
the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, which constantly raided 
into Mississippi with infantry and cavalry, and the fact that 
Pemberton could put in the field only about 18,000 men, without 
stripping Port Hudson, Vicksburg and Snyder's Bluff of their 
garrisons, the result of the campaign could not well have been 
other than it was. 

It must be considered, however, that the campaign of Gen. 
Grant from the time he conceived it, was bold and masterly and 
has but few equals in this or any other war. It is true he had 
great odds and resources, but he used them as only a great 
general could have done. 



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THE SIEGE OF VICKSBURG. 
By Stephen D. Lee. 

Gen. Pemberton who commanded the Confederate army after 
the disastrous battles of Champion Hills and Big Black Bridge, 
saw that no reliable resistance could be offered to Gen. Grant's 
victorious army, short of the defenses of Vicksburg itself. He, 
therefore (May 17th), gave directions to Gen. Stevenson his 
next in command, to rapidly withdraw all troops from the Big 
Black, at once into the city. He went ahead to Vicksburg him- 
self, and ordered the fortified position at Snyder's Bluff on the 
Yazoo to be abandoned, and the garrison to come into the city. 
He also drew in the outpost at Warrenton, south of the city. 

When Gen. Pemberton left Vicksburg with his movable 
arpiy of three divisions to go into the field against Gen. Grant's 
army, he had left the two divisions of M. L. Smith and J. H. 
Forney, to guard the city during his absence from any attack, 
and also to maintain the defense of the Yazoo River at Snyder's 
Bluff, and to meet any attack from the direction of Chickasaw 
Bayou, like the one made by Gen. Sherman in Dec, 1862. This 
was deemed a necessary precaution for the protection of the 
city in the presence of the great gun-boat fleets, above and 
below the city, and the presence of troops at Young's Point, 
La., as seen and as indicated by Sherman's demonstration up 
the Yazoo River, April 30 to May 3d, 1863. These two divi- 
sions, however, were mainly in the fortified lines and on the 
main roads leading to it, east of the city to defend it against 
any sudden attack from across Big Black, or be in place in case 
of any disaster. These troops were rapidly put in position to 
the north and east of the city, on thie afternoon and night of 
May 17th. About 102 pieces of field artillery were also put 
in place around the exterior line of defense. 

The divisions of Gens. Stevenson and Bowen, the only 
troops engaged in the battle of Champion Hills, (and Bowen's 
division was also in the fight at Big Black Bridge), arrived in 
the city on the afternoon of May 17th, and were arranged 
for the defense of the place ; so that by noon on May 18th, when 
the advance of Grant's army arrived in pursuit before the city, 

(55) 



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56 Mississippi Historical Society. 

Pemberton was about ready for its defense, and was in his en- 
trenchments and fortified lines. The division of Maj. Gen. Lor- 
ing, which was on the battlefield of Champion Hills, but which 
did no fighting, was cut off in the retreat and did not come into 
the city. 

This entrenched Hne had been constructed in the fall of 1862, 
(in anticipation of future iieed), as also, were the entrenched 
lines at Snyder's Bluff on the Yazoo, and at Port Hudson on 
the Mississippi River in La. The topography of the country 
around Vicksburg for miles is very rough and irregular, being 
in the Bluff formation, made up of steep hills, and deep ravines 
and narrow vales, the narrow vales being level, and 100 feet or 
more deep. Varying from one mile to one and one-half miles 
from the city, is about the only uniform ridge around it, (but 
much brokfen and irregular), and jutting from this ridge are 
spurs running irregularly to the front and nsar. This ridge 
made the only possible line of defense nearest the city, and on 
it, was a system of detached works (mainly redans and lunettes, 
with one square fort or redoubt) each situated on the prominent 
and commanding points (with the usual profile of field works), 
connected in most cases by rifle pits. This ridge or fortified 
line, was eight miles in leng^th, from the river on the north of 
the city, to the river on the south. 

As stated, by noon on May i8th, Gen. Pemberton had his 
army manning this line. A careful analysis of his force stated 
by him, and as proved later by inspection reports, showed that 
he had 18,500 men and 102 guns for the exterior defense, all 
that were present for duty. In addition, was the artillery com- 
mand of Col. Ed. Higgins, in charge of 31 heavy guns, and 
13 field pieces, along the river front, for over two miles, with 
706 men for duty. Four divisions of troops of Pemberton's 
army were located from right to left as follows: Stephenson's 
division of 4 brigades manned the lines from the Warrenton 
road on the south of the city (and including a portion on the 
river front), around to the east and north as far as the river 
(a distance of about five miles) the brigade of Gen. S. D. Lee, 
being on the left, next to the railroad out and extending so as to 
include the Square Fort. Gen. J. H. Forney's division (with 
two brigades), was immediately to the left of Stephenson, his 
right resting on the railroad, and his line extending northward 
to the graveyard road (about two miles); Maj. Gen. M. L. 



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The Siege of Vicksburg. — Lee, 57 

Smith (with three brigades, and a regiment and battalion of 
State troops), extended in a westerly direction to the river, 
on the north of the city (one and a quarter miles) ; the division 
of Gen. Bowen of two brigades, 2,400 men present for duty, and 
WauPs Texas Legion, numbering 500 men present for duty with 
a total of 2,900 men were kept out of the entrenchments as a 
reserve force, to aid any portion of the line that might be press- 
ed. This arrangement reduced the force, actually occupying the 
trenches, to a minimum capable of holding them, to a little over 
15,500 men, for the eight miles. The troops and heavy guns in 
the artillery on the river, belonged to Admiral Porter's river 
force, he looked after them, and not Gen. Grant. It may be 
stated finally, that Gen. Pemberton's entire army for the defense 
of Vicksburg, after the city was invested, did not reach 19,500 
men for duty. The city having been a base of supplies, where 
the largest Confederate army was kept for a long time before 
the investment, was full of sick and wounded men, quarter-mas- 
ter, commissary employees and extra duty men, and hangers on 
of every kind, who were suddenly shut in by Gen. Grant's rapid 
movement. Gen. Miles recently stated in the defense of Gen. 
Otis that "About 20% of an army under any conditions is prac- 
tically inactive, owing to various duties about the camp, and in 
hospitals, transportation, sickness and various causes. In the 
Civil War, only a portion of the army operated on the fighting 
line a great bulk of the troops were engaged in various duties 
in the rear." This explanation will account for 29491 men 
paroled at the surrender, as the condition was abnormal. 

Pemberton's army had scarcely been assigned position and 
settled in the trenches, before the head of Gen. Grant's army ap- 
peared on the Graveyard, Jackson and Baldwin Ferry roads, 
east of the city, and began to skirmish with the Confederate 
pickets. It may be stated as a singular coincidence, that just 
one year before, to the day (May i8th, 1862,) Admiral Farragut, 
arrived before the city from New Orleans with nine ocean war ' 
steamers, seventeen mortar boats, and transports bearing 3,000 
troops, and demanded the surrender of the city; so it may be 
stated, that the siege of the city began then, as it was almost 
continuously under the fire of heavy gims from Farragut's fleet, 
and the gun boat fleets on the river, till July 4th, 1863, when 
it surrendered. 

About midday on the 18th, when the skirmishing had begun, 



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5^ Mississippi Historical Society. 

Gen. Pemberton received a dispatch from Gen. Joseph E. John- 
son to the effect, that as he had evacuated Snyder's Bluff on the 
Yazoo, Vicksburg if besieged was untenable and must final- 
ly be surrendered, both city and arnxy, and that he should 
evacuate the city, and march to the northeast, and save the 
army. Gen. Pemberton called a council of war of his general 
officers, to consult them as to the practicability of the move- 
ment. It was decided that in view of the presence of he Federal 
army on the graveyard road, near the northeast corner of the 
Confederate defense, and their evident development rapidly to- 
ward Chickasaw Bayou and Snyder's Bluff, (where the road lay, 
on which the army would have to move in case of evacuation), 
that such a movement was then impracticable, that it was then 
too late to attempt it. Gen. Sherman's advance came in sight 
of Admiral Porter's fleet north of the city near Chickasaw 
Bayou, on the afternoon of May i8th, showing that the decision 
of the general officers was correct. 

From this date, Gen. Pemberton took the most vigorous steps 
to arrange for a long siege, believing that a sufficient army 
would be organized by President Davis, to relieve his army and 
the city. During the afternoon and night of the i8th of May,, 
and on the 19th, 20th and 21st of May, the three army corps of 
Gen'ls Sherman, McPherson and McClernand, (numbering 
about 45,000 men) rapidly surrounded the Confederate works 
from the river to the north of the city, around to the east and 
south covering the Confederate line, to about the center of 
Stephenson's division ; Lauman's division was moving up from 
Grand Gulf, to complete the investment. This increased Grant's 
army to 50,000 men. Every advanced position near the Con- 
federate line was seized, and crowned with artillery and infantry, 
and sharpshooters were pressed forward, firing from every pos- 
sible cover, and the artillery almost constantly fired on the Con- 
federate line. Gen. Sherman who was first up, on the 19th, made 
an assault on the salient point, where the graveyard rbad cross- 
ed the Confederate line, and near the right of Gen. Smith's 
division, and the left of Gen. Forney's believing the works could 
be easily carried, owing to the demoralization of the Confeder- 
ate troops. He met a bloody repulse, with the loss of 942 men 
killed and wounded, and two stand of colors. The corps of Mc- 
Pherson and McClernand attacked slightly also. 

The assault and repulse of Gen. Sherman's corps made Gen. 



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The Siege of Vickshurg. — Lee. 59 

Grant feel that he had been too hasty, but he still believed that 
the Confederate entrenchments could be carried, as had been 
the case at the Big Black Bridge; and it was soon evident, 
that another assault would be made, as soon as everything could 
be arranged for all the troops to take part. This was apparent 
to the Confederate troops, as the preparations did not partake 
of the slow methods, of a siege program, but rather of the hasty 
preparation for immediate battle. The troops everywhere were 
being pushed up as near as possible to the Confederate lines, 
and were being massed under shelter in the deep vales in full 
view. Every possible approach was seized, every slope guard- 
ed, every irregularity in the ground seized and planted with 
rifle pits, all knolls were crowded with artillery and sharp- 
shooters, and a continuous fire of artillery and infantry was kept 
up, to confine the Confederates to their lines, and hold them 
uneasy. The preparation was rather demonstrative than other- . 
wise. 

Admiral Porter's great fleet of gun-boats and mortar boats 
in front and soqth of the city, kept up a continuous fire of heavy 
.guns and mortars, (day and night) and the city was surrounded 
on all sides by a wall of fire, and the noise of the guns and 
shrieking shot and shell from a hundred or more heavy guns on 
the river, and 31 batteries of field guns around the city was 
deafening. There was no rest day or night, and the nervous 
tension of all within Confederate limits, was kept to the highest 
pitch; especially during the night of the 21st and 22d of May, 
and on the morning of the 22d, when Admiral Porter kept up a 
continuous cannonading. Early on the morning of May 22d, the 
cannonading for over two hours along the entire front of Gen. 
Grant's lines, was continuous and unceasing; the artillery fire 
being accompanied by the ringing, steady cracking of the sharp- 
shooters' rifles. We then knew that the assault was to occur ; 
nothing could stand such a fire ; all in the Confederate lines lay 
close in their entrenchments. There was no reply from either 
artillery or infantry, but, in terrible suspense, the assault was 
awaited in calmness and decision. All preparations had been 
made to meet it, the grape and cannister were arranged con- 
veniently near the guns, an extra supply of ammunition was in 
the trenches. No other bombardment by so great an army and 
fleet occurred during the war. The scene and the occasion was 
grand, beyond description; 45,000 veteran American troops. 



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6o Mississippi Historical Society. 

were ready to spring on nearly 20,000 other American troops, 
lying behind entrenchments. It was not known whether the 
assault would be on a part, or on the whole of the Hne of en- 
trenchments. 

Suddenly about half past 10 o'clock a. m., as if by magic, every 
gun and rifle stopped firing along Gen. Grant's exterior line. 
The firing of Admiral Porter's fleet, however, was apparently 
increased. The silence was almost appalling, at the sudden 
cessation of the firing of so many field guns, (about 180) and the 
cracking of so many thousands of sharpshooters' rifles. But the 
silence was only for a short time. Suddenly, there seemed to 
spring almost from the bowels of the earth, dense masses of 
Federal troops, in numerous columns of attack, and with loud 
cheers and huzzahs, they rushed forward, at a run, with bayonets 
fixed, not firing a shot, headed for every salient or advanced 
position, along the Confederate lines. They (the Federals), had 
not far to make the rush, as they had been under cover from 
100 yards to 300 yards, from the lines to be attacked. Their ad- 
vance over the rough ground which compelled them to open out, 
was a grand and awful sight, and most gallantly did those 
veterans move forward, feeling the flush of their numerous vic- 
tories, and confident that every thing must go down before them. 

As they came within easy range (almost as soon as they 
started), the Confederate troops, not exceeding 9,938 men, along 
the 3i miles of assault, deliberately rose and stood in their 
trenches, pouring volley after volley, into the advancing enemy ; 
at the same time, the troops in reserve (already included) ad- 
vanced to the rear of the trenches, and fired over the heads of 
those in the trenches. Every field gun and howitzer (33 in num- 
ber) belched forth continuously and incessantly, double shotted 
discharges of grape and cannister. No troops in the world 
could stand such a fire, and it took but a little time to see, that 
the general assault was repulsed. The troops stubbornly 
fell back as well as they could under shelter, and opened with 
artillery and infantry again on the Confederate lines. The 
ground every where in front was covered with Union dead and 
wounded. 

But even the terrible scene and slaughter described, could 
not stop all of the valiant Federals. Some of them made lodge- 
ments in the ditches of the redans, at some points on the Grave- 
yard, Jackson and Baldwin Ferry roads, and also in the ditch 



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The Siege of Vicksburg. — Lee. 6i 

of the fort on the R. R. cut. They even at this latter fort, en- 
tered the work, through the breach or slope which had been 
made in the southeast angle, by the artillery, before the assault ; 
captured a few prisoners (13) and killed or drove the small 
garrison out, and to the work 80 to 100 yards in the rear. 

Only one man who entered the fort (out of about 20) ever got 
out. All were killed, and this man, the gallant sergeant Griffith, 
22nd Iowa Regiment, could not get out, till he had recover- 
ed from a shock or slight wound, after remaining inside the fort 
for about an hour. Flags, however, were planted in the ditches, 
and on the crest of the breach near the parapet. But the other 
gallant few who went farther to the front than their comrades, 
could not get out of the breach and over the works, and remain- 
ed there till they were captured, or got back to their commands 
about dark. 

The scene as I saw it at the railroad fort, and now describe it, 
was as follows, viz : This fort was on a narrow spur on the rail- 
road cut. It could be manned by only about 40 men. It was 
thought to be a point of danger, and the main line of works 
was constructed 80 to 100 yards in its rear. It was the most 
exposed to a continuous fire of artillery, and immediately in 
front was the heavy siege battery of five 30 and 20 pounder 
Parrott guns, and many other batteries bearing on it. 

The concentrated fire of nearly 30 guns made it almost un- 
tenable before the assault and it had only a small force in it. 
These guns battered down the S. E. angle of the fort, and from 
this angle, the ditch ran to the R. R. cut about 175 feet. Some 
little while after the general assault was thought to be re- 
pulsed, a body of Federal troops, apparently bolder and more 
venturesome than the others, and about 60 or 75 in number, 
made a dash for the fort, coming up a very steep and irregular 
declivity immediately in its front. Most of these troops got 
into the ditch of the fort, on the north of the breach, next to 
the railroad. A party of about twenty or thirty came up the 
ramp or slope of the breach, and entered the fort ; before this 
was done, a brave non-commissioned Federal officer came bold- 
ly up and fired into the rifle pits, leading from the angle into 
the other pits, 80 yards in the rear, on the south of the fort. He 
reached down and got another rifle out of the ditch from a 
comrade and fired again almost instantly, when the gallant hero 
himself was shot down on the parapet. Then there was a rush 



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62 Mississippi Historical Society. 

of about twenty men into the fort. They captured a few 
prisoners and killed the remainder, or ran them out of the fort. 
From the angle after entering they enfiladed the parapet and 
rifle pits. This occurred in almost less time than I have taken to 
describe it. A Confederate volley from the main lines shot down 
and killed or wounded every Federal soldier on the inside of the 
fort, and there was not a man standing in it afterwards, till 
captured. About this time, or soon afterwards, a flag was held 
up in the breach, near the parapet, and afterwards a second flag 
was put near it, those near lying on the rampart to defend 
them. The two flags remained there about three or four hours, 
before the fort was assaulted by the Confederates, recaptured 
and manned, and one of the flags captured. 

When the men were first driven out of the fort a company 
of Confederates, led by Capt. Oden, 30th Ala. Regt., charging 
from the rear, in the open, attempted to retake it, and every 
man was shot down. Capt. Oden and Lieut. Wallis were killed, 
I think from the ridge south of the fort, and by a part of the 
Federal regiment, which attempted to get to the fort and failed. 
It took some time to get up a new assaulting party, as the 
troops saw the fate of the first party. However, a second party 
was soon organized. The two companies of Waul's Texas Le- 
gion, which were in the rear of the fort as a reserve, all said 
they would go, so that from the right of each company about 
twenty men were cut off. Lieut.-Col. Pettus, of the 20th Ala. 
Regt., was temporarily in command of a part of the 46th Ala. 
Regt. near that part of the line. The fort had been occupied 
by a portion of the 30th Ala. Regt. Col. Pettus, who was 
responsible for the fort, was ordered to retake it, but could not 
organize an assaulting party from either the 30th or the 46th 
Ala. Regiments. He then went to the Texans with Col. Waul 
and got the party, and three privates of the 30th Ala. Regt. 
joined it. 

It is not yet settled who was in actual command, but Col. 
Pettus led and guided the gallant band, going up the ditch on 
the south side, and leading to the fort, Capt. Bradley being 
alongside of Col. Pettus, and Lieut. Hogue near by. When 
near the southwest end of the fort he signalled the Confe'der- 
ates at the lunette to the south to cease firing, and then all of 
the party, by two's, sprang into the fort and rushed to the 



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The Siege of Vicksburg. — LfCe, 63 

breach, and with a snatch Col. Pettus and Capt. Bradley seized 
the colors and killed or forced the men about it to surrender, 
or they were driven into the ditch to the north, taking a few 
prisoners (10 or 12). One of the flags in the scuffle fell into 
the ditch. The party having done this then quickly covered 
themselves in the fort, and were kept close for about fifteen 
minutes, as the fire of about forty guns were concentrated on 
the fort, and swept almost every part of it. Singular to say, 
only three of the assaulting party (Texans), were wounded, 
none killed. After the artillery firing, in a measure, ceased, 
hand grenades were carried into the fort and rolled over the 
parapet, and the Federals surrendered (a lieutenant-colonel and 
about forty prisoners coming over the rampart). The flag that 
fell into the ditch at the retaking of the fort was captured at the 
time of the surrender. This gallant incident, which shed lustre 
on the Confederate arms, was counterbalanced by the equally 
heroic incident of the assault by the 22nd Iowa, and the other 
regiments, and by the magnificent conduct of Sergeants E. 
Griffith and M. C. Messinger, and the gallant men of the 22nd 
Iowa Regiment, not surpassed by any incident of the war on 
either side. 

The loss of the Federal army in this assault of May 22nd 
was 3,199 men killed, wounded and missing; in the assault of 
May 19th, 942 men, and in the arrangements for the assault by 
the corps of McPherson and McClernand, 239 men, making an 
aggregate of 4,380 men from the 19th to the 22d of May, inclu- 
sive. The assault of May 22d finally convinced Gen. Grant and 
his army that Vicksburg could not be taken by assault, and 
from that time no further efforts were made in that line, but the 
operations of the Union army was confined to the sl<Jw process 
of siege operations, and gradual approaches, to reach the Con- 
federate entrenchments. 

One of the most striking incidents of the horrors of war 
occurred after the failure of the Federal assault on May 22nd. 
The dead and many wounded of the gallant Union army re- 
mained unburied and uncared for from the time they fell until 
the afternoon of May 25th at 6 p. m., over three days, under the 
burning sun and damp dews, in full view, and close up to the 
Confederate works, and in view of the Union army. 

Incessant artillery and infantry firing (day and night), pre-. 



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64 Mississippi Historical Society. 

vented both sides from attending to this matter. Many 
wounded died. A flag of truce was sent out by Gen. Pemberton 
on the 25th, protesting against such a scene and asking for a 
cessation of the strife for two hours and a half to bury the dead, 
and care for the wounded, offering to do it himself if neces- 
sary. Two and one-half hours were agreed on, and the two 
armies met on the line and chatted, and performed this sad 
duty. The bodies of the gallant soldiers from Iowa and Illinois 
in the ditch of the railroad fort were so decomposed that dirt 
was thrown on them in the ditch. The wounded left in the ditch 
had died. They could not be moved. This was the case nearly 
everywhere on the field, and they had to be buried generally 
where they fell. 

It would not be out of place on this occasion to go briefly 
over some of the facts of this grand though disastrous assault. 
Gen. Badeau, in his account. Vol. I, page 327, says : "This as- 
sault was in some respects unparalleled in the wars of modern 
times. No attack on fortifications of such strength had been 
undertaken by great European captains, unless the assaulting 
party outnumbered the defenders by at least three to one." 
He then goes over the sieges and assaults of Wellington in the 
Peninsular war in Spain during Napoleon's time, and summar- 
izes as follows: "In the second assault on Vicksburg, Grant 
had in his various columns, about 30,000 men who were en- 
gaged. Of these he lost probably 3,000 men in killed and 
wounded. He, however, was met by an army, instead of a 
garrison. Pemberton, according to his own statement, put 
18,500 men in I the trenches." 

The General would have his reader infer that Grant's great 
assault was met by 18,500 men, and that he did not have three 
to one actually engaged. But the most accurate search for facts 
and figures shows that on the line of assault, from a little west 
of the stockade fort on the graveyard road, to the square re- 
doubt on the right of Gen. S. D. Lee's line, south of the railroad, 
a distance of a little over three and a half miles, the Confeder- 
ates had: Bowen's division (May 22nd), and Waul's Texas 
Legion, 3,069 mcHy in reserve ; Forney's division, by the nearest 
report (May 26th), 4,252 men; Gen. Lee's brigade, 1,268 men', 
Shoup's brigade, in and to the left of stockade fort, 1,349 ^^w> 
numbering 9,938 men, on the front, assaulted by the 30,000 men 



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The Siege of Vicksburg. — Lee. 6$- 

(as named by Badeau), or not quite one-third. If Badeau counts 
only 30,000 men actually engaged, certainly, to be fair, we 
should leave out Pemberton's troops on parts of his line not 
assaulted, viz: In Smith's division, the brigades of Vaughan, 
Baldwin and the Mississippi State troops on the left, as also 
the brigades of Barton, Cummings and Reynolds, in Stephen- 
son's Division, on the right of Pemberton's line, these troops 
making in the aggregate 8,562 men, were not assaulted, and 
were holding five miles of entrenchments. This number is 
obtained by deducting those actually engaged from 18,500 men,, 
Pemberton had to man his exterior lines. The reports of 
killed, wounded and missing on the Union side, however, show 
that Sherman's corps (15th), of three divisions (nine brigades 
and five batteries), lost 858 men {loss in every brigade) ; that Mc- 
Pherson corps (17th), three divisions (eight brigades and thir- 
teen batteries), lost 1,060 men {loss in every brigade); that Mc- 
demand's corps, three divisions (six brigades and nine bat- 
teries), lost 1,27s men {loss in every brigade); in front of Lee's 
brigade, more men than Lee had. It would seem from this that 
about all of Gen. Grant's army of more than 30,000 men was 
engaged in the assault. Gen. Grant had 45,000 men or there- 
abouts, or putting it by corps, divisions, brigades and batteries, 
he had in the assault three corps of nine divisions, or twenty- 
two brigades and thirty-one batteries, against Pemberton's two 
divisions (of two brigades each), and two brigades and five 
batteries, or in all, six brigades and one regiment (Waul's Le- 
gion), and five batteries. 

To sum it up Grant had nearly 45,000 men and 31 batteries 
(186 guns), and Pemberton had 9,939 men and 33 guns on the 
fighting line, in the assault of May 22, 1863. Gen. Badeau also, 
in figuring up his side, against the Confederates, completely 
ignores Admiral Porter's great fleet of which Gen. Grant 
in his Memoirs says: "Without its assistance the campaign 
could not have been successfully made, with twice the num- 
ber of men engaged. It could not have been made at all, 
in the way that it was, with any number of men, without such 
assistance." The time has now come, when absolute fairness 
should be followed, as the valor of the American soldier (Union 
and Confederate), is now the heritage of the American people. 
Everywhere we now love the great reunited American nation. 
5 



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^6 Mississippi Historical Society. 

The issues of the past are dead. The results of the great war 
are accepted by all and everywhere, with that equanimity and 
character peculiar to the great American people. 

Both sides fought to settle problems dearer to each other 
than their lives and property. Problems our forefathers could 
not settle, with their many compromises, and which were be- 
queathed to our generation to settle. We went at the settle- 
ment like true men, and with the great cost of blood and treas- 
ure on both sides, it would seem that no reasonable person 
could, for one moment, doubt the sincerity and patriotism of 
either side. 

As stated, the Union army from May 22nd to July 4th, de- 
voted itself to the slow operation of siege approaches, pushing 
up their troops by means of running saps, opening ditches and 
establishing new Hues of rifle pits and road coverings, to pro- 
tect and expedite those approaches; and when near the Con- 
federate lines *on June 25th, they began to explode their mines 
and blow up the forts. During this long period the batteries 
were put nearer and nearer, as also were the sharpshooters, 
and the firing was almost incessant, often lasting all night. The 
object seemed to be to worry out and exhaust the Confederates 
by constant vigil, and strain of the nervous system by continu- 
ous alarm. Everything, even the size of a man's hand, was 
shot at. With ample supplies of ammunition, the artillery kept 
up almost a steady fire, and gradually dismounted or disabled 
many of the Confederate guns which were visible. So incessant 
was the firing at times that it looked as if another assault was 
going to take place. This was particularly the case May 29th, 
and again June 19th, when the cannonading began at 3.30 a. m. 
before day, and lasted till 8 a. m. (four hours and a half.) On 
June 25th the first mine was exploded on the Jackson road 
under a redan. (Another mine was exploded under the same 
work July ist). One gallant Union officer was killed in the 
breach trying to lead his men on, one brave Confederate officer 
was killed on almost the same spot trying to lead his men out 
over the breach. 

On each occasion the men working in the Confederate coun- 
ter mines were covered and killed and buried at the same time. 
Other mines were exploded at other points and by both sides. 

The Union lines were strengthening every moment day and 



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The Siege of Vicksburg. — Lee. 67 

night. July 4th, at many points, they were almost touching the 
Confederate works. The firing was almost incessant everywhere 
as more batteries were established, and on June 30th the Union 
entrenchments and batteries were twelve miles in length. 
Eighty-nine batteries had been completed, and manned with 220 
guns, some of them siege guns, and in addition the navy had 
landed thirteen guns of the heaviest calibre along Gen. Grant's 
lines, making 233 guns on the exterior lines around the city. 
Gen. Grant's army had also been increased from 50,000 men 
with which he arrived before the city, until on June 30th, he had 
75,648 men for duty, having received six divisions of reinforce- 
ments. 

Long before this time. Gen. Grant had said : "Our position in 
front at Vicksburg has been made as strong against a sortie 
from the enemy, as his works were against an assault." 

During all this time from May 22nd to July 4th, Admiral 
Porter's fleet, day and night, showered the largest projectiles 
into the city. He many times engaged the Confederate bat- 
teries on the water and river front, and the large mortars and 
guns had one or more shells in the air at almost all times, which 
burst inside the Confederate enclosure. There was not a 
quiet hour day or night, when any one could sleep without be- 
ing disturbed by piercing shot or shrieking shell or sharpshoot- 
ing. This lasted 47 days and nights. 

It is difficult to ascertain from data in my possession what 
number of gun-boats was in the fleet of Admiral Porter, im- 
mediately before Vicksburg, during the siege. As there were 
boats below and above the city, they must have had over 200 
heavy guns. 

Secretary of the Navy (Mr. Wells), in his report to Congress, 
relative to the gun-boat fleet on the Mississippi River and its 
tributaries, 1863 and 1864, says that there were 100 vessels, 
carrying 462 guns, and says as to the fleet at Vicksburg: 
"Where main of the naval as well as the military forces were 
centered." Admiral Porter says: "During the siege 16,000 
shells were thrown from the mortars, gunboats and naval bat- 
teries upon the city and its defenses before it capitulated." 
Which means that 340 shells from the largest naval guns were 
thrown into the city every day and night( 24 hours). He also 
stated that the defense was a most desperate one. 



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68 Mississippi Historical Society. 

Now let us go over on the Confederate side and see how 
things looked and went on there, after the assault of May 22, 
1863. The repulse of that gallant and tremendous attack gave 
heart to the Confederate troops; they saw how careful the 
Federals were in their preparations and approaches, and recog- 
nized the fact that the slow process of a siege was to be the pro- 
gram. Everywhere the trenches were made more comfortable, 
and made wider, traverses were constructed to prevent the ar- 
tillery from being enfiladed, as also in the rifle pits, wherever 
found necessary. Head logs and sand bags were used along the 
rifle pits to protect the heads of the men in the trenches, and 
arrangements made to shade the men with their blankets over- 
head, from the sun. Openings were made to the rear for con- 
venience in getting back of the trenches, and to let water run 
off in case of rain. 

The musket ammunition was short in percussion caps, but 
these were brought in by several parties who floated on logs 
through the Federal fleet. Several million caps were smug- 
gled in the city in this way. 

The first order issued was to husband ammunition and pro- 
visions. Troops were almost prohibited from firing artillery 
ammunition except in case of assault. The infantry was also 
restricted to one man about every ten steps, whose business 
it was to reply to the continuous fire of the enemy, and to shoot 
at any soldier or mark along their front. This was soon dis- 
covered by the Federals, and it made them much bolder. It 
proved to be a mistake, as the approaches could have been de- 
layed by a free use of ammunition. Both ammunition and pro- 
visions were husbanded too much. I, as a general officer, pro- 
tested against it as to ammunition,* and my protest is in the 
Record. 

The troops, however, were vigilant and cheerful; obeyed all 
orders and were ready at all times, day and night, to repel any 
attack, and to work at night, in repairing the damage done the 
forts or trenches by the artillery fire during the day. This 
work, too, was continuous, for the constant hammering of the 
> — — — ■ 

*The musket ammunition was short in percussion caps, but these 
were brought in by several parties, who floated on logs through the 
Federal fleet. Several million caps were smuggled into the city in 
this way. 



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The Siege of Vicksburg.— Le^. 69 

Federal artillery every day, did great damage, but all damage 
done in the day time was repaired at night, and the lines were 
kept in a good state of defense. The same men were in the 
trenches for the forty-seven days and nights ; they had no relief 
whatever, as the force was scarcely sufficient to hold the lines, 
with a thin line of sharpshooters ; they were necessarily in cramp- 
ed positions; they could not leave their places long, even at 
night, owing to the close proximity of the enemy, and the con- 
tinuous probability of assault, as the trenches and batteries got 
closer. At night, nearly the whole force was doing sentinel 
duty in three reliefs, one relief being ready to repel attack, while 
the other two reliefs were being aroused. An hour before day 
every morning the whole force were aroused, ready to repel any 
assault. 

After about the tenth day of the siege, the men were put on 
half rations, and for the last third on still more reduced rations. 
Meat being scarce was husbanded and set aside, for a probable 
attempt to cut out, and have means to issue several days full 
rations. There was plenty of meal, peas, sugar, and tobacco, 
not very good food for such an emergency. 

Towards the close of the siege this diet began to tell on the 
men, who were constantly exposed to the burning sun, damp 
fogs and heavy dews, with no shelter. When it rained the mud 
was deep in the trenches. 

Their constant vigil day and night and the ceaseless fire of 
the artillery and the infantry towards the close of the siege final- 
ly affected the physical and mental condition of the men and 
tended to their exhaustion. The supply of water, too, was 
limited even for drinking purposes. There was little for wash- 
ing, and in many commands the bodies of the men were lull 
of vermin. But with all these difficulties the troops were cheer- 
ful to the close, and would have done good work had another 
assault been attempted. They confidently expected to be re- 
lieved from the outside. At the surrender there were 5,496 men 
under treatment, and many of those in the trenches were realiy 
unfit for duty. 

To summarize the siege and defense of Vicksburg it appears 
that, when the city surrendered, Gen. Grant's army numbered 
75,648 men and 220 guns. This, however, did not complete all of 
Gen. Grant's great resources. Capt. Henry G. Sharpe of the U. 



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^o Mississippi Historical Society. 

S. army, in his prize essay in the *']o\irm\ of the Military Service 
Institution of the U. S.," January, 1869, says : "On the Mississ- 
ippi river and its tributaries the U. S. Government owned 119 
steamers, 305 barges and 109 coal floats, or 533 boats. Be- 
sides this, the quartermaster department had chartered for 
use on the river and its tributaries 1,750 steamers, making in 
all 2,283 vessels, mainly tributary to Gen. Grant's great Vick:5- 
burg campaign in 1863. No government had ever before 
brought such a great army and flotilla and gun-boat fleet, to 
bear mainly on one besieged city. These aids are not con- 
sidered by the ordinary person in reading or hearing about 
Vicksburg, nor is the aid of the navy ordinarily borne in mind. 
Gen. Grant was one man who knew its importance, and was 
great enough to make it a matter of recognition. He says of 
Admiral Porter's aid: "Without its assistance the campaign 
could not have been successfully made with twice the number of 
men engaged. It could not have been made at all, in the way 
it was, with any number of men without such assistance." 

Against these forces Gen. Pemberton's army, although it sur- 
rendered 29,491 men, at no time had 19,500 men for duty; 
and at the surrender, with its sick list, the force was very much 
smaller. 

Take it all in all, the defense of the Confederate anny did 
credit to the American soldier, so far as great gallantry, ten- 
acity of purpose, hardships and sacrifices were concerned. It 
was in marked contrast with the army of Gen. Grant, except as 
to great gallantry and tenacity of purpose, which both armies 
had to an eminent degree. The 21st Iowa Regiment was proud 
of its record during the siege, and well it may be. During the 
entire siege of forty-seven days and nights, it was only eight 
nights (about one-sixth),' in the rifle pits, and only thirteen days 
(about one-quarter), on the same duty. This I suppose was 
the average duty of the average Union regiment; for Gen. 
Grant's large army enabled him to relieve his troops frequently 
in the trenches. But how does this compare with his troops 
with full rations, and the Confederate troops, being constantly 
on duty in the rifle pits for forty-seven days and nights, on less 
than half rations most of the time, and that one-half ill assorted 
and inferior. Gen. Grant's troops, too, were more than one-half 
their time out of fire, not subject to the constant nervous strain 



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The Siege of Vicksburg. — Lee. 71 

to which the Confederates were subjected. They could also 
take all necessary exercise and keep their bodis well cleaned. 

In all the siege (47 days and nights), the Confederates held 
their entire line of entrenchments, not a single fort or line being 
captured from them and held, and at last the surrender was 
mainly decided on because of the weak physical condition of the 
men in the trenches, and the large number sick, rather than 
from inability to hold the line, for at all exposed points interior 
lines had been arranged. 



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THE BLACK AND TAN CONVENTION. 
By J. L. PowER.^ 

By way of preface to the topic assigned me I will briefly 
sketch the process of reconstruction in Mississippi for the years 
preceding 1868. 

When the civil war ended, General Charles Clark was Gover- 
nor of Mississippi. Maimed and crippled for life by terrible 
wounds in battle, and unable to render further service in the 
field, the people told him in October, 1863, that they wanted him 
as Governor for the balance of the war term. He was rhe 
worthy successor of John J. Pettus. Both will be remembered 
as "the war Governors of Mississippi." Both were typical 
representatives of the *'01d South'* — ^uncompromising advo- 
cates and defenders of its social and civil conditions and tradi- 
tions, and of its political doctrines. Both had the unlimited 
confidence and love of the people whom they so faithfully served 
in those troublous times. 

The headquarters of State Government in 1864 were at Ma- 

* Col. J. L. Power was born in Ireland in 1834. In his sixteenth year 
he came to the United States. For four years he lived in the town of 
Lockport in Western New York. He then went to New Orleans, where 
he remained only a few months, removing finally (April, 1855) to Jack- 
son, Miss., where he has since resided. At the outbreak of the War 
between the States, he left his publishing business in which he was then 
engaged and entered the Confederate army as a private in Company A., 
of Wither's regiment. He was in the siege of Vicksburg. In 1864 he 
was made superintendent of army records, with the rank of colonel, and 
was engaged in the duties of this office at Richmond when the city was 
captured on April 2, 1865. At the end of the conflict he returned to 
Mississippi and was elected secretary of the convention called by Pro- 
visional Governor Sharkey to adopt a constitution. Shortly afterwards 
he helped establish the Mississippi Standard, which was later (1866) 
merged into the Clarion, and finally (1888) into the Clarion-Ledger, 
After having served as secretary of more organizations than has any 
other man in the State, Col. Power was elected Secretary of the State 
by the citizens of Mississippi in 1895, and re-elected in 1899. He is 
especially interested in Mississippi history and has devoted much time 
to collecting and publishing facts pertaining to the War between the 
States. He is a member of the Mississippi Historical Commission, 
created by a recent act of the Legislature. For a more detailed ac- 
count of his life, see Goodspeed's Historical and Biographical Memoirs of 
Mississippi. — Edito r. 

{7Z) 



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74 Mississippi Historical Society. 

con», where the Legislature met in August. When the collapse 
came, Governor Clark issued his proclamation dated Meridian, 
May 6th, convening the Legislature on the i8th of that month, 
and giving such timely advice to the people as the situation de- 
manded, closing thus : "Let all citizens fearlessly adhere to the 
fortunes of the State, aid the returned soldiers to obtain civil 
employment, maintain law and order, contemn all twelfth-hour 
vaporers, and meet stern facts with fortitude and common 
sense." 

Although the members had less than two weeks notice, there 
was a very general attendance. Soon after the usual exchange 
of courtesies between the two houses, a semi-official intimation 
of certain telegrams from Washington looking to the arrest of 
the entire Legislature, had been given out by Col. Osborne, 
commanding the brigade of colored troops that then garrisoned 
Jackson. This was very considerate and kind in him, but the 
members did not stop to give him a vote of thanks, or even 
to adjourn sine die, or wait for a benediction, or farewell re- 
marks from the presiding officers ; but in an astonishingly short 
time they got a move on them, and in the direction of the high- 
ways leading out of Jackson. Regular train service had not 
been resumed, but they decided that the roads were good, and 
as they marched homeward, they could meditate on the past 
and speculate on the future. 

If there were any journals kept of that "extraordinary" ses- 
sion, they were not published. I have the only documents 
in existence relating to that session. They are quite elaborate, 
and were prepared in advance of the meeting. The session was 
continued just long enough to read and adopt them, and to be 
signed by Wm. Yerger, as President of the Senate, and Lock E. 
Houston, as Speaker of the House. These documents included 
a joint resolution empowering the Governor to send a delega- 
tion to consult with President Johnson as to a plan for restoring 
the State of Mississippi to harmonious relations with the Federal 
Government, on such a basis as will tend to perpetuate the 
liberty and prosperity of the American people ; a joint resolu- 
tion relative to the assassinataion of President Lincoln and the 
attempt to assassinate Secretary Seward, and especially repudi- 
ating the idea that President Davis ct Hon. Jacob Thompson 



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The Black and Tan Convention. — Power. 75 

had been implicated, as charged by the Northern press, in an 
act of such .criminal atrocity. 

On the 22nd of May, Governor Clark commissioned Messrs. 
William Yerger, William L. Sharkey and Thomas J. Wharton 
as commissioners, and also appointed Col. Jones S. Hamilton 
to accompany them as their secretary. Gen. Wharton could 
not go. 

Governor Clark was permitted to occupy the Executive office 
only a few days longer. About 10 o'clock one morning a squad 
of armed soldiers entered the Governor's office, and the officer 
in command, after making known his orders, demanded that 
the office be at once vacated. Having received a hint of what 
was about to take place, I made it convenient to have business 
in the Governor's office. Ex-Attorney General Wharton and 
Col. James D. Stewart were also present. I shall never forget 
the look of indignation, scorn and contempt expressed on the 
countenance of Governor Clark, and, after he got on his 
crutches, his vigorous but dignified protest against the whole 
proceeding. Yielding to force, he at once left the office, and it 
was immediately occupied by Gen. P. Jos. Osterhaus and his 
military staff. 

A few days thereafter. Governor Clark was arrested, hurried 
off to Fort Pulaski and confined in a casemate. 

President Johnson had appointed Judge" William L. Sharkey, 
Provisional Governor. Pie issued his proclamation for a con- 
vention to be composed of delegates loyal to the United States. 
It met on the 14th of August. Hon. Jacob Shall Yerger, of 
Washington, was chosen President ; J. L. Power, of Hinds, Sec- 
retaiy. It was composed of seventy Whigs and twenty-eight 
Democrats, the best type of Mississippi citizenship. Its ex- 
penses were met by a levy instanter of $2.00 per bale on all 
cotton in the State. 

After a brief session of ten days, the constitution was amend- 
ed so as to adapt it to the new order of things ; the secession 
ordinance and all obnoxious military ordinances and measures 
were repealed, the abolition of slavery was recognized, and the 
guarantee given that it should not again exist in the State. A 
certified copy of the constitution was sent to Washington. 

Pursuant to an ordinance of the convention the Legislature 



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76 Mississippi Historical Society. 

met in special session October 15th. Benjamin G. Humphreys 
was declared elected Governor, and Judge Sharkey, after ad- 
ministering the oath of office to his duly elected successor, re- 
tired from a most difficult and trying position, but the peculiar 
duties of which no citizen could more kindly or more acceptably 
have discharged. It was most fortunate for our State that dur- 
ing that and several succeeding years such conservative, influen- 
tial and honored citizens as William L. Sharkey and Robert A. 
Hill were recognized and respected by the military and civil 
powers that lorded it over "God's heritage" in those evil days. 
Judge Sharkey entered into rest on the 29th day of April, 1873, 
and Judge Hill is waiting to cross over the river, and, when he 
reaches the other shore, to hear the greeting, "come up higher." 

The Legislature met again January 21, 1867, and much of the 
session of thirty days was devoted to regulating "freedmen, free 
negroes and mulattoes." It was very much against the g^ain to 
recognize in our statutes our former slaves ias full-fledged 
American citizens; and hence it was not surprising that the 
joint committee on State and Federal Relations, of which the 
very conservative Hon. H. F. Simrall was chairman, recom- 
mended that the Legislature decline to ratify the Fourteenth 
Amendment. This report was unanimously and enthusiastically 
adopted; and an expression in the report that it was beneath 
the dignity of the State to hold any communication with Secre- 
tary of State Seward on the subject, received special applause. 

In the summer of 1868, the Republicans nominated a full 
State ticket, with B. B. Eggleston, for Governor, and the Demo- 
crats nominated a ticket with Benjamin G. Humphreys for 
Governor; Charles E. Hooker, for Attorney General; C. A. 
Brougher, Secretary of State, and other worthy associates. 
General McDowell, on assuming command of the district, re- 
moved Humphreys and Hooker on the I5tfi of June, 1868, as 
"impediments to reconstruction," and appointed Adelbert Ames 
and one Jasper Myers in their stead. Governor Humphreys 
was ejected by military force from the Executive office and his 
family unceremoniously ousted from the Executive Mansion. 
Lieutenant Bache, with a squad of armed soldiers, marched 
up to the front entrance of the Mansion, lined his men on the 
sides of the walk-way, and notified Mrs. Humphreys that he 



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The Black and Tan Convention. — Power. 77 

must have immediate possession ; and the family at once moved 
out between the armed files. 

It was not sufficient that the constitution was so amended as 
to make it "loyal" in letter and spirit ; that William L. Sharkey 
and James L. Alcorn — ^both conservative Old Line Whigs and 
ardent Union men, had been elected by a' Democrat Legislature 
to the United States Senate ; or that James T. Harrison, A. M. 
West, E. G. Peyton, R. A. Pinson and A. E. Reynolds — all good 
and capable men — had been elected in their districts to Con- 
gress. All this was for naught. The constitution was not ap- 
proved, and they were not seated. The Legislature had com- 
mitted the unpardonable crime of unanimously refusing to rati- 
fy the Fourteenth Amendment; and this was made the chief 
of many pretexts for such radical methods of reconstructing 
the State as to place it, permanently they hoped, under Republi- 
can control. The machinery of the party was in successful 
operation in most of the counties, and "loyal leagues" and other 
"schools of instruction" were in full blast for the purpose of 
teaching the negro that the carpet bagger and the scallawager 
were his only true friends. And it was not hard to so convince 
them. They still had respect, and in many cases real affection 
for their former masters; but if they listened to their advice, 
they seldom heeded it. They saw through a glass darkly ; their 
vision was cleared by events that soon followed; and to them 
we are largely indebted for the defeat of the infamously pro- 
scriptive features of the constitution framed by the Black and 
Tan Convention. 

It is of that delectable, malodorous conglon^eration of Solo- 
mons and sages we will now speak. 

Pursuant to the reconstruction act of Congress, of March 2, 
1867, General E. O. C. Ord, commanding Fourth Military Dis- 
trict, issued General Order No. 19 for an election of delegates 
to a constitutional convention, and so apportioned the delegates 
as to insure a "trooly loyal" majority. In General Orders No. 
42, dated December, 1867, he announced the resuft, and each 
delegate was notified that the official copy of the order sent him 
"will constitute his certificate of election." 

The act of Congress provided for a registration of voters, 
with iron-clad oath test, the voters to say whether they wanted 



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78 Mississippi Historical Society. 

a convention, and at the same time to vote for delegates on the 
basis of a prescribed apportionment. 

The total white population in 1867 was 343,460; total black 
population, 381,258. The registered vote, as declared by Gen. 
Ord, December 16, 1867, was 139,327. Of this number. Gen. 
Gillem reported to President Grant that 63,674 failed to vote. 
There were 76,016 votes cast on the subject of holding a con- 
vention — 69,739 for ^^^ 6,277 against. 

The Convention met in Representatives Hall on the 7th of 
January, 1868. It represented all shades of color and "previous 
condition of servitude.'* There was Castello, of Adams ; Jehial 
Railsback, of Bolivar; Henry Musgrove, of Clarke; Charles 
Caldwell and Henry Mayson, of Hinds; H. W. Barry, of 
Holmes; Abel Anderson, of Jefferson; B. B. Eggleston, of 
Lowndes ; J. Aaron Moore, of Lauderdale (now a good citizen 
of Jackson) ; Henry W. Warren, of Leake ; W. Ben Cunning- 
ham, of Madison; A. R. Howe and U. Ozanne, of Panola; 
Woodmanse, of Monroe ; Mygatt, McKee and Stringer, of War- 
ren; Combash and Stiles, of Washingjton; A. T. Morgan and 
Charles W. Clark, of Yazoo ; Robert J. Alcorn, of Yalobusha ; 
Wm. H. Gibbs, of Wilkinson, and others of more or less note 
on the Republican side. 

Of the old citizen delegates, we recall Neilson, of Amite; 
Niles and Conley, of Attala ; Stovall, Johnson and Hemingway, 
of Carroll ; Peyton, of Copiah ; Vaughn and McCutchen, of La- 
fayette; Gaither and Walker, of Lee; Watson and Compton, 
of Marshall ; Nelson and Stricklin, of Tippah. 

A tabular view of the convention, compiled by the writer at 
the time, shows that it was composed of 100 delegates, of whom 
16 were colored. There were 67 unadulterated Republicans, 2 
Democrats, 8 Conservatives, i Anti-Radical, 2 opposed to Radi- 
cals of any kind, i for Grant, 3 Reconstructionists, i Union, 2 
Constitutional Union, 2 Union Conservatives, i Constitution 
and Laws of the United States, 2 Henry Clay Whigs, 4 Old 
Whigs, 2 None. Sixty-seven were natives of Southern States, 
including the 16 colored delegates, 24 of Northern States, 5 of 
Foreign Countries, not known, 4. 

Alston Mygatt was elected temporary President and made 
such a speech as might have been expected from one of his 



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The Black and Tan Convention. — Power, 79 

devoutly Republican antecedents. He said they met to "lay 
aside all malice, undue partisan feelings and form a constitu- 
tion that shall render equal and exact justice to all.'' 

B. B. Eggleston, of Lowndes, was elected President, and 
Thad. P. Sears, of Adams, Secretary. J. W. C. Watson, of 
Marshall, received 33 votes for President. 

One of the first items of business was to fix the "compensa- 
tion." The president, B. B. Eggleston, was allowed $20.00 per 
day, or $2,580.00 for session; each member $10.00, or $1,290.00 
for session; reporter, $15.00; secretary, $15.00, and each as- 
sistant, $10.00; sergeant-at-arms, $10.00; chaplain, $10.00, 
and the other officers and employes in same liberal propor- 
tion — the pay of members alone aggregating $128,710, and the 
total expense, more than a quarter million dollars. 

Dr. Compton, a member of the committee, dissented, declar- 
ing that the body was unconstitutionally convened, and was 
not competent to make amendments to the Constitution, and 
the members were therefore not entitled to any compensation 
whatever. Dr. Compton, by the way, and Capt. Stricklin, were 
the recognized leaders of the minority. It was Dr. Compton 
who referred, in a discussion — to one of the delegates as the 
"saddle colored individual from Hinds," a distinction by which 
he was afterwards known. 

One of the first communications addressed to the convention 
was from the Superintendent of the City Gas Works, who de- 
manded that a deposit be made sufficient to cover the amount 
of gas that might be consumed by the convention, or some per- 
sonal security given. 

The convention resolved that it would not consume any coal 
gas, and that it could produce all that was necessary for day- 
light consumption, and that committees who used lights at their 
rooms should be "compensated" therefor. But the most ex- 
travagant and reckless appropriations were made in other di- 
rections — for instance, $28,518.75 for publishing its proceedings 
in four newspapers — ^The State Journal, Vicksburg Republican, 
Meridian Chronicle and Mississippi Pilot. Of this sum James 
Dugan, the convention printer got $13,924.00 and a vote of 
thanks. The proceedings and debates were fully published in 
each paper — seventy-five cents per square being the "compen- 
sation." 



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8o Mississippi Historical Society. 

The convention continued in session from January 7th to May 
i8th, or one hundred and fourteen days of actual session, and 
adjourned to the call of the "Committee of Five" in the event 
the constitution adopted should be rejected b}r the people. 

The conclave is thus briefly but most graphically described 
by Major Barksdale in a chapter contributed by him to a vol- 
ume on Reconstruction published some years ago : 

"The convention dragged its slow length through many 
weary months. Its members lived in a. state of luxury unknown 
to their previous habits. Its cost ag^gregated nearly a quarter 
of a million dollars which they extorted from the impoverished 
white people it the point of the bayonet wielded by the military 
chiefs who were holding them in subjection. Many of the 
members had no local habitation in the counties they pretended 
to represent, nor employment except as law makers for the 
people among whom they did not reside, and over whom they 
had come to rule. When the labors of this motley assembly 
came to an end, the instrument which they called a Constitu- 
tidn proved to be worthy of its parentage : 'A league with death 
and a covenant with hell.' If it had been permitted to stand 
as it came from the hands of its authors, it would have perma- 
nently disfranchised many of the intelligent taxpayers and best 
citizens of the white race. It was a cunningly devised scheme 
to create a multiplicity of offices, and to make the State gov- 
ernment a close corporation for the benefit of the cormorants. 
It professed to 'estabHsh justice,' and yet it would have ex- 
cluded nearly one-half the intelligent white citizens of the State 
from participation in the government other than bearing its 
burdens. 

"It pretended that it was intended to 'maintain order,^ and yet 
it contained the germs of inevitable disorder. It professed that 
it was designed to 'perpetuate liberty' and yet it would have 
practically enslaved a large number of the free-born white peo- 
ple of the State. It went to the extreme of disfranchising those 
who had charitably contributed to the relief of sick and suffering 
Confederate soldiers. The father who had furnished food and 
raiment to his son serving in the Confederate army was made 
to pay the penalty of political death unless he would purge him- 
self of the imputed crime by taking the oath that he had not 



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The Black and Tan Convention.^— Pow^r. 8i 

been guilty of it. The colored man, who had voluntarily re- 
mained at home, and raised cC«-n and meat for the subsistence 
of the Southern soldiers, could not have voted without incurring 
the penalty affixed to the offence." 

Pursuant to the Act of Congress of March 23, 1867, the Con- 
stitution was submitted by proclamation of the President, to 
the people for ratification, and it was rejected by a vote of 
63,860 against, 56,231 for. It was again submitted, by procla- 
mation of President Grant, dated July 14, i86g, who submitted 
to a separate vote the following sections and parts of sections : 

"That I am not disfranchised in any of the provisions of the 
acts known as the reconstruction acts of the Thirty-ninth and 
Fortieth Congress, and that I admit the political and civil 
equality of all men, so help me God ; provided, that if Congress 
should at any time remove the disabilities of any persons dis- 
franchised in said reconstruction acts of the said Thirty-ninth 
and Fortieth Congress, and the Legislature of this State shall 
concur therein, then so much of this oath as refers to the recon- 
struction acts, shall not be required of such persons so par- 
doned, and entitles him to be registered. 

"No person shall be eligible to office of profit or trust, civil or 
military, in this State, who was a member of the Legislature 
that voted for the call of the convention that passed the ordi- 
nance of secession, or as a delegate to any convention, or voted 
for or signed any ordinance of secession, or who gave voluntary 
aid, countenance or encouragement to persons engaged in 
armed hostility to the United States, or who accepted, or at- 
tempted to exercise the functions of any office, civil or military, 
under any authority or pretended government, power, or con- 
stitution within the United States, hostile or inimical thereto, 
except all persons who aided reconstruction by voting for this 
convention, or have continuously advocated the assemblage of 
this convention, and shall continue in good faith to advocate 
the same ; but the Legislature may remove such disabilities, pro- 
vided, nothing in this section, except voting for, or signing the 
ordinance of secession, shall be so construed as to exclude from 
office the private soldiers of the late so-called Confederate 
States army. 

"The credit of the State shall not be pledged or loaned in aid 
6 



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32 Mississippi Historical Society. 

of any person, or association, or corporation, nor shall the State 
hereafter become a stockholder in any corporation or associa- 
tion. 

"That I have never, as a member of any convention voted for 
or signed any ordinance of secession ; that I have never been a 
member of the State Legislature that voted for a call for any 
convention that passed any such ordinance. The above oath 
shall also be taken by all city and county officials before enter- 
ing on their duties, and by all other State officers not included 
in the above provisions." 

These several clauses were rejected, with the exception of 
the one that the "credit of the State shall not be pledged," etc., 
which was ratified by a vote of 70,427 against 20,834. The 
Constitution, with these exceptions, was ratified by a vote of 
ii3»735 to 995, at the election held November 30 and December 
I, 1869. 

The Democratic State Executive Committee had issued a 
stirring address in which special attention was called to the im- 
portance of voting for the clause in reference to pledging the 
credit of the State, and the vote thereon saved the State from 
the bankruptcy that would have otherwise followed. • 

President Grant, in submitting the Constitution, struck out 
sections 4 to 14 of the accompanying ordinance, five of which 
sections recognized and continued the celebrated Committee 
of Five. 

That the people of Mississippi should have lived and some- 
what prospered for twenty-four years under a constitution con- 
ceived and framed in such a spirit is strong proof of their 
conservatism and patience. 

That the Constitution adopted in 1890 is a vast improvement 
on the one that it supersedes is universally admitted. While 
assuring beyond all doubt the permanent supremacy of the 
white race in Mississippi, it guarantees to every citizen, of every 
color and of every political and religious creed, the amplest en- 
joyment of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." 

At the close of a session of one hundred and fourteen working 
days. President Eggleston made a farewell address, in which 
he said : "Gentlemen, I believe the harvest is already ripe." But 
the harvest was one of misrule and robbery during the six long 



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The Black and Tan Convention. — Power. 83 

years that followed. In his speech in the Senate, on the 24th of 
last month, Senator McBnery, of Louisiana, said : 

**The recollection of that period is like a hell-born dream and 
one is almost unnerved at the mention. It is the darkest and 
most shameful period in the history of the human race. The 
wonder now is that by force it was not terminated by an out- 
raged people." 

But the veil was lifted in 1875, when the "Arabs folded their 
tents and stole away," and the dawn of home rule and severe 
economy was ushered in and continued under the benign ad- 
ministration of John Marshall Stone. As in his present ex- 
alted station,* so it was then, "the man and the occasion met." 

♦President of A. and M. College. 



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PLANTATION LIFE IN MISSISSIPPI BEFORE THE 

WAR. 

By Dunbar Rowland.* 

In this restless, hurrying, prosaic time the younger genera- 
tion of Mississippi in their eager desire for material progress 
and prosperity are apt to forget the good old times before the 
war when our fathers lived and loved and died. If I can present 
a pleasing picture of plantation life in Mississippi before the 
war, and tell of a time that may be said to belong to memory 
and romance this attempt to preserve something of the man- 
ners, customs and deeds of our fathers will not be in vain. 

The charms of the planter's life have been pictured by t^t 
poets of all the ages with touches of wondrous beauty and ex- 
quisite fipish. Its genial labors, its dignity, its repose and its 
independence have been presented to us by the greatest of 
earth. Some of the most beautiful illustrations in Homer are 
taken from the husbandman and his fertile fields. Who is more 

^ Dunbar Rowland was bom at Oakland^ Miss., August 25, 1864. Dr. 
W. B. Rowland, his father, was a Virginian; his mother was Mary J. 
Bryan, of Tennessee. Mr. Rowland was prepared for college at Oak- 
land Academy. He entered the A. and M. College of Mississippi, in 
1882, and was graduated in 1886 with the B. S. degree. The summer 
after graduation he began the study of law in the office of Judge R. H. 
Golladay, an eminent lawyer of Coffeeville, the friend and associate of 
Senator Walthall. In September, 1886, he entered the Law Department 
of the University of Mississippi, from which institution he received the 
degree of LL. B., in June, i»8. In the same year he was the orator of 
the Alumni Association of the A. and M. Cfollege, and delivered the 
oration at the June celebration of the Association. After graduation Mr. 
Rowland opened a law office at Memphis, Tenn. Four years later he 
returned to Mississippi and resumed the practice of his profession at 
Coffeeville. As a student Mr. Rowland gave as much time to the 
oiltiyation of polemics, literature, history, and composition as his other 
duties would allow, thus laying the foundation for the literary and his- 
torical work that has since occupied the time he could spare from his 
professional duties. He is especially interested in th6 social, industrial 
and political problems that are peculiar to the South, and has done 
much to popularize the study of Mississippi history t^ his numerous 
interesting historical and biographical contributions which have ap- 
peared from time to time in the Memphis Commercial Appeal and in the 
Atlanta Constitution.— UvnoR. 

(85) 



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86 Mississippi Historical Society. 

wonderfully eloquent than Hesiod when he dwells upon the 
charms of rural life? The sweet Bard of Mantua poured forth 
his latest, sweetest strains in picturing the homely joys of the 
farmer, of whom Goldsmith says : 

"His best companions^ innocence and health, 
And his' best riches, ignorance of wealth." 

The history of all the ages tells us of the wonderful influence 
of the planters of the world upon the character, habits and ideas 
of society at large. In every land and clime the tillers of God- 
given soil, or those whose interests lie in the lands, who are 
far removed from the corrupting and demoralizing influences 
of life in our great cities are the firm bulwarks of the State and 
the pillars of sound and true government. The honest farmer 
is never a radical. He is patient and patriotic, and only rises 
in his might when wrong has overleaped all barriers, when hope 
has gone from him, and when to endure longer would be a 
crime. The Romans cherished the cultivation of the soil as com- 
ing from the gods. The leaders of those grand legions whose 
mighty march shook the world were taken from the farms of 
Italy. Regulus the Consul, who preferred death to a breach 
of faith, left the harvest field to save his country from the con- 
quering march of Carthage. Cincinnatus, the savior of Rome 
in her darkest and most trying hour, was called from the plow 
to support the tottering fortunes of the mistress of the world. 
Scipio left the fireside of a country home to stay the victorious 
march of Hannibal, who threatened the very existence of the 
eternal city. The noblest virtues of men have always been, and 
always will be found among those who depend upon the boun- 
ties of nature for their daily bread. Among such men and 
women can always be found manly independence, pure patriot- 
ism, and undying devotion to liberty and love of country, and 
there will be preserved throughout every vicissitude those vir- 
tues upon which all true progress must depend. It is the pur- 
pose of this paper to draw a pen picture of a phase of Southern 
life that gave to Mississippi and to the world a type of man who 
should excite the admiration and love of all succeeding genera- 
tions, and if the picture appears too partial to those who can- 
not understand the conditions existing in Mississippi before the 
war, it will appeal to those who by association know and appre- 
ciate them. The object of all historical investigation should be 



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Plantation Life in Mississippi Before War. — Rowland. 87 

to elicit truth, therefore facts are to be preferred to theories, 
sincere convictions rather than display and empty decoration. 
The writer has a heartfelt conviction that the chivalrous, courtly, 
courageous Southern gentleman of the ante-bellum period was 
the grandest embodiment of the most superb manhood that 
ever graced a forum or died upon a battlefield. There was a 
time when history was supposed to be^ record of emperors and 
kings, and their victorious wars and conquests ; that idea may be 
termed the progenitor of history. The history of to-day is the 
record of the lives, trials, development, advances and progress 
of a people. Thoughtful men and women everywhere are be- 
ginning to see and admire the true grandeur and nobility that 
lies back of the history of Southern life. They feel and know 
the fearful problems of the past, and appreciate those of the 
present, and those that lie in the future. We can sympathize 
with our fathers in the great problems which they were called 
upon to face and solve. The younger generation of every sec- 
tion of our great Republic should know the South as it was, not 
as it was said to be. When our friends and brothers of the 
North and West come to understand the troubles and sorrows 
and problems of the Southern slave-holder then indeed through 
love and sympathy can we become a united country. Then will 

come the time when they can applaud us in sa)ring 

/' 
"Land of the South — imperial land, / 

How proud thy mountains rise! / 

How sweet thy scenes on every hand! ^ 

But not for this— oh ! not for these 
I love thy fields to roam: 

Thou hast a dearer spell for me, 
Thou art my native home." 

There is a true and bright side as well as one that is false and 
dark to every great social question, and it is admitted in the 
outset that it is the purpose of the writer to cast aside the 
evil and base, and to deal only with the good and the true as it 
existed in the social, moral and intellectual life of the cotton 
planters of Mississippi before the war. It is admitted now that 
the state of servitude upon which the labor system of the State 
rested at that time had much in it that was cruel, revolting and 
oppressive, and it is also true that it had far more that was 
humane, generous, loving and sympathetic. 

From 1817 to 1861 Mississippi was a garden for the cultiva- 
tion of all that was grand in oratory, true in science, sublime 



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88 Mississippi Historical Society. 

and beautiful in poetry and sentiment and enlightened and pro- 
found in law and statesmanship. It was a land of brave men, 
fair women and eloquent statesmen. The snow-white cliffs of 
England's rock-bound coast tower heavenward, and with 
a stern moral sublimity all their own gather upon their cloud- 
capped summits the ^uns rays and reflect them back upon the 
dark and stagnant waters at their base converting them into a 
sea of molten gold. Even so Mississippi's immortal orators and 
statesmen have gathered up and reflect back upon a waiting 
world the lore of a hundred generations that falls like a sheen 
of glory over the sea of human mind, lighting it up with the 
most brilliant coruscations. King cotton reigned supreme in 
Mississippi before the war. Its cultivation at that time by slave 
labor gave better returns than any other industry in which 
planters could engage. Commission merchants in New Or- 
leans, Memphis and Mobile were eager for the business of 
wealthy Mississippi planters, and were always ready with money 
to secure it. The demand for cotton was greater than the sup- 
ply and the prices paid for the precious product of the delta 
and hill lands of the State returned a handsome profit to the 
producer. To one who views the boundless Mississippi cotton 
plantation separate and apart from its commercial or valuable 
side it is full of wondrous beauty and poetry. Nothing in na- 
ture is more beautiful than were the cotton fields of the State 
during the picking season before the war. Imagine if you will 
a boundless expanse of gently undulating land clad and covered 
over in cotton plants of a deeper green than the white-crested 
emerald waves of the sea. They are tossed into waves of purple, 
emerald and white by the winds, and the mingling of golden 
sunlight presents a beautiful panorama of ever-changing colors. 
As you gaze on this picture of natural beauty the ear catches 
the sound of strange, wierd, wonderful music, and you hear the 
negro melodies of the South in all their purity and sweetness. 
The dress and bearing of the ebony cotton pickers as they 
gather the bursting balls into long white sacks made on the 
plantation for the purpose is both picturesque and pleasing. 
The men are dressed in white domestic shirts, blue cotton 
trousers and wide brim wool hats. The women are clothed 
in cotton plaids, and their heads are gorgeous in the many- 



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Plantation Life in Mississippi Before War.— Rowland. 89 

colored oriental turbans that were peculiar to the Southern 
slave women. 

The squad of cotton pickers is under the control of a trusted 
and faithful old slave, who has won the confidence of his "Old 
Marster" by long years of faithfulness. The laborers or hands 
are provided with large home-made white oak baskets, placed 
at the ends of the cotton rows, into which the cotton sacks are 
to be emptied when filled. The picking begins. A desire to ex- 
cell gradually pervades the pickers, and it is urged on by the 
diplomatic flattery of the leader. As the work proceeds the 
peculiar melody that seems to be in every negro's soul bursts 
forth, and there is an actual joy in the sound. Men and women 
who sing while they toil are happy. The black toilers were 
happy in their labor. Their humble and simple lives were free 
from care. All their wants were supplied, and they were con- 
tented and satisfied. The direct management of every large 
Mississippi plantation before the war was intrusted to an over- 
seer. His house was built in the center of the "quarters" or 
homes of the plantation slaves, and it was large, comfortable 
and well built. The handsome home of the wealthy planter was 
called by the negroes "the white folks house." The homes of 
the slaves were arranged on streets leading from the overseer's 
house as a common center. Every house had a large front 
room and a small shed room. The slave family always had a 
garden spot given for their own use and cultivation. They were 
taught the pride of ownership, and many families beautified 
their little homes with running vines and flowers. Their food 
was issued to them weekly from the big "smoke house" that- 
was always to be found on every Mississippi plantation. Their 
food was plain, wholesome and substantial, and consisted of 
bread, meat, rice, vegetables, molasses and milk. The morning 
call to work was made by ringing an immense bell that was 
placed in the overseer's yard. The work of the day was ar- 
ranged by the overseer on the night before, and each squad 
of laborers was placed under the control of the older and more 
reliable men called "drivers." The name sounds harsh to us 
now, but the drivers were selecte3 for their industry and faith- 
fulness and their treatment of their fellow-slaves was just and 
humane. The work of the day began always with sunrise. At 



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90 Mississippi Historical Society. 

the noon hour the ringing of the plantation bell recalled the 
workers from the fields, and dinner was served to them. They 
were allowed two hours for rest after dinner. The day's labor 
came to an end at sundown. A visit to the "quarters" after 
dark would prove to the most unbelieving that the slaves 
were happy and contented. The Southern slave was joyous and 
mirth-loving. His hours of idleness were devoted to the rude 
pleasures suited to his nature. The love of music was universal 
among them, the twang of the banjo and the sound of the fiddle 
mingled with the joyous laugh of the dancers was nightly to 
be heard in the quarters. The people of Mississippi inherited 
the slavery system from a generation of noble men and women. 
It came to them through inheritance, and it was confirmed and 
sanctioned by a constitution that they honored and loved. Un- 
der the direction and protection of the fundamentaHaws of their 
country they had invested their wealth in slaves, and they could 
not be expected to give up their property on a sentimental de- 
mand that came from a section of the country that knew noth- 
ing of the practical results of the system. They were deprived 
of their property without due process of law, and no thoughtful 
mind can approve it. 

They knew the horrors that would result from emancipation, 
and they foresaw the terrible trials that such a policy would 
bring upon them. Their homes, firesides and their very civiliza- 
tion were at stake. Is it to be wondered at that they refused 
to engulf themselves and their posterity into a state of ruin, 
degradation and despair? Let me give you the testimony of 
one of the true and noble women of the South, Mrs. Victoria 
V. Clayton, the widow of Gen. Henry D. Clayton, of« the Con- 
federate army, and author of "White and Black Under the Old 
Regime," as to the view taken of slavery in the South before 
the war. I take great pleasure in acknowledging many valuable 
suggestions from that simple, pure and true narrative. Mrs. 
Clayton says : "We regarded slavery in a patriarchal sense. We 
were all one family, and as master and mistress, heads of this 
family, we were responsible to the God we worshiped for these 
creatures to a great extent, and we felt our responsibility and 
cared for their souls and bodies. As to their religious training, 
every Sunday morning the mothers brought their little ones up 
to see me. Then I would satisfy myself as to the care they gave 



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Plantation Life in Mississippi Before War. — Rowland. 91 

them, whether they had received a bath and suitable clothing 
for the holy day. Later the larger children presented them- 
selves to be taught the catechism. The adults were permitted to 
attend the different churches in town as they pleased, but when 
the sun hid herself behind the western hills, all were compelled 
to return home to feed and care for the horses and cows. When 
the evening meal was over my dining room was in readiness for 
the reception of all the grown members of the family. Thcv 
gathered there and took their respective seats. They were 
taught the creed of the Holy Apostolic Church, the Lord's 
Prayer and the Ten Commandments ; that is, all that could be 
taught, for some of them coulH never be taught to repeat them, 
but understood the meaning sufficiently to lead a right life. 
Sometimes I read a short sermon to them. They sang hymns, 
and closed with prayer to our Heavenly Father." That is a 
beautiful and touching recital of the relation of the master and 
slave as it existed in Mississippi before the war. It should 
silence and disarm all cruel and unjust criticism, and touch 
every heart with sympathy and charity for a state of life that in 
after years brought so much suffering and distress. 

Many of the stately and beautiful plantation homes of the 
old Mississippi aristocracy still stand to bring forth pleasant 
memories of the past. They are to be seen here and there as 
loving reminders of all that was true, noble and gentle in the 
lives of their princely owners. How beautiful they seem as they 
stand in the solitude of a brilliant and stormy past. They were 
looked upon by the Fordly masters of the "Old South" as blessed 
and favored homes in a land where intellect, wealth, happiness 
and good breeding reigned supreme. How stately and grand 
they look, massive, graceful and enduring, they seem to be 
grim sentinels to remind a new generation of a noble and heroic 
past. There is a sorrow and pathos about them that tenderly 
appeals to the new life and new impulses that everywhere sur- 
round them. Many of them were built long years before the 
war. As one of our most brilliant writers has expressed it: 
"They have known the fiery scourge of battle. They have been 
deluged with war. They have been baptized in sorrows, some 
of which the Northern homes have never known — may never 
know, please God. And some of them have seen common sor- 
rows, the anguish of bereaved motherhood, the agony of widow- 



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92 Mississippi Historical Society. 

hood, the grief of the orphan. And the sorrow that is common 
makes tender the bitterness of the fierce, cruel past, and the 
kisses that rained on the faces of the dead turn into caresses 
of consolation for the living." One of these grand old homes 
is beautiful, stately Anandale, the ante-bellum home of the John- 
sons. It stands near old Livingston in Madison county, and is 
a proud monument of the time when it was the home of culture, 
refinement and wealth. Around the little village of Livingston 
were clustered some of the largest and wealthiest estates of 
that time. It was there that John Robinson lived in princely 
style and dispensed true loving hospitality to the beauty and 
culture of the State. His beautiful home was called "Cottage 
Place," and it still stands as a silent, sorrowful reminder of 
golden days that are forever gone. It was a true, typical home 
of a wealthy cultured Mississippi planter, and the lavish, courtly 
and kindly hospitality of Mr. Robinson made it the center of a 
highly cultured circle of men and women. The prevailing type 
of the Mississippi planter in those days was proud, big-hearted, 
broad, liberal and brave. The men of that time had and enjoyed 
the good thiogs of life, their lives were worth living, and good 
cheer, brightness and good humor came with their coming. A 
fine brand of Kentucky whiskey was always on the sideboard of 
every gentleman's house, and it must be admitted that it was 
one of his chief delights. He loved a mint julip as the gods of 
the Greeks are said to have loved the famous nectar of Olym- 
pus, and he looked upon those tasteless mortals who regarded 
it with disapproval as worse than barbarians. The Mississippi 
planter had the opinion that Kentucky Bourbon, with the mel- 
lowing touch of twenty years upon it, was stored up mountain 
sunshine to flood the soul of man with joy that no tongue could 
utter, no pen portray or painting picture. There is yet lingering 
among us the same idea entertained by our fathers. Was this 
love for the good things of life a weakness ? If it was the Mis- 
sissippi planter was magnificent and great in every thing, great 
in his strength, great in his 'weakness. There was nothing 
small, cowardly or weak about him. When he joined in the 
morning prayers of his church, it was with a reverential, devout 
and penitent spirit. He looked upon every true woman of his 
acquaintance as a God-sent ministering angel, and no one was 



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Plantation Life in Mississippi Before War. — Rowland. 93 

allowed in his presence to even intimate that a woman was not 
everything that was true, pure and lovely. He was the ablest 
expounder of a constitutional democracy, and yet he belonged 
to an aristocracy the most exclusive that America has ever seen. 
Was he a bundle of contradictions? His character was well 
rounded and consistent throughout. First of all he. loved his 
wife and children and his ancestors. His home and friends had 
the next place in his heart. He loved his State with an eastern 
devotion. That he loved his country is attested by the blood 
that he shed in the Land of the rMontezumas in defense of its 
flag. He was much given to reading the wonderful romances 
of Sir Walter Scott and the pitiless poetry of Lord Byron. He 
had a' deep and abiding reverence for the Bible, but his knowl- 
edge of it was more theoretical than practical, and its perusal 
was left to his wife and children. In conducting the details of 
business he was not a success. He took a small part in the 
actual management of his farming operations. He was gener- 
ally lord of all he surveyed as he stood and gazed on his beau- 
tiful cotton fields whitening in the morning light. He lived 
near to nature and his soul was in harmony with the peaceful 
rest and joy of a God-favored land. He associated labor and 
slavery together, hence he looked upon physical toil as a de- 
gradation and beneath the dignity of a gentleman. He model- 
ed his life after that of the Virginia planter of the old school, 
and religiously followed the teachings of the old feudal aris- 
tocracy of England. 

In the Mississippi cotton planter the honor and simplicity of 
the plowman was combined with the grace, culture "and accom- 
plishments of the scholar. The pleasures of the library were 
shared by every member of his household. A taste for reading, 
research and original thought was instilled into the minds of 
the young. The father of the household was generally a uni- 
versity man, and his early training was supplemented by an ex- 
tensive course of reading in after years. He had a passionate 
fondness for statecraft, oratory and politics. He knew the 
letters of Madison in the Federalist as few men 'have since 
known them. He delighted in the orations of Demosthenes, 
Cicero, Pitt, Burke, Henry and Hayne. He took his opinions 
of public policy from Jefferson, Jackson and Calhoun. His 



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94 Mississippi Historical Society. 

chosen and beloved political leaders were JeflEerson Davis, Rob- 
ert Toombs and Judah P. Benjamin. He looked upon Virgfinia 
as the Mahommedan looks upon Mecca, and thought that the 
Mother of Presidents should forever g^ide the destiny of his 
country. He was much given to political discussion; he was 
always right, sir, and his adversary was always wrong. What 
was his was the best the world afforded, what belonged to 
others was theirs without envy on his part. He ^was high 
strung, passionate and quick to take offense. He was a man 
of superb courage, unwavering integrity and unsullied honor. 
May the day never • come when the sons and daughters of 
Mississippi will cease to love the memories of the superb, gal- 
lant and heroic men of a golden past. We are willing to be 
judged by them. Their names and fame will endure and grow 
brighter as the years come and go. 

The Mississippi cotton planter had a genius for hospitality ; 
his home was constantly crowded with guests, and they were 
made to feel that their coming was a pleasure and their de- 
parture a sorrow. The answer given to Major .Welsh by Dr. 
Gary on being asked if he knew where a night's lodging could 
be found, as given by Thomas Nelson Page in Red Rock, shows 
the true spirit of generous hospitality that prompted every 
Southern gentleman. The genial Doctor's answer was "Why, 
at every house in the State, sir." The social side of life on a 
Mississippi plantation was marked by gentle breeding and cour- 
tesy. The young women of the household were taught to be 
gracious, kind and agreeable to every one, and in their relations 
with young men they were guided by the strictest rules of pro- 
priety. The young men were dashing, proud and gallant, and in 
their relations with the gentler sex they were as chivalrous as 
the Knights of the Round Table. 

In his love and reverence for woman the Southern gentleman 
has never had an equal. There was nothing heartless or hypo- 
critical about the social life of the Mississippi planters. Every 
feeling expressed was genuine and heart-felt, and there was a 
ring of sincerity about it that attested its truth. The young 
women of the household were prepared for college by a gov- 
erness who lived in the house and made a part of the family. 
• The boys were prepared for some high school by a tutor, and 



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Plantation Life in Mississippi Before War. — Rowland. 95 

from the high school, which was usually in charge of a clergy- 
man, they went to the university, where their fathers for a hun- 
dred years before them had gone as students. The University 
of Mississippi, the University of Virginia, Chapel Hill, and Yale 
were popular with Mississippi youth. 

The coming of Christmas was the most important event of 
the year in a Mississippi plantation home. Arrangements and 
plans for entertaining were made and invitations sent out for 
months before the happy time. Large house parties were 
always features of the. holiday season. The boys and girls came 
home from their colleges and universities and their friends came 
with them. All the kinfolk from far and near were gathered to- 
gether in a grand family reunion. All the aristocratic families 
of the neighborhood were expected to come to every scene of 
pleasure and merriment. The big smoke house was filled to 
overflowing with hams, sausag^es and souce meat, every turkey 
that could be found was pressed into service, the wine cellar 
was replenished, and holly and mistletoe reigned supreme. The 
announcement was made that every thing was in readiness for 
the coming guests. For weeks the lordly and hospitable plan- 
ter would keep open house. The young people were told to 
enjoy life as only young people can. The older members of the 
party would indulge in outdoor sports. Every gentleman in the 
party, young or old, was an expert shot and superb horseman. 
Bird fields and deer parks were kept especially for the pleasure 
and amusement of guests. A grand ball-room was a common 
feature of the Mississippi home. Card playing was indulged in 
by all, and a game of whist was always called for in the evening 
after supper. Gen. Withers and Senator Lowe would challenge 
Col. Gage and Gov. Johnson for a grand round of that all ab- 
sorbing game in the library,, while their better halves were look- 
ing after the festivities of the young people. An ebony negro 
boy always stood like a sentinel at the elbow of the master of 
the house, and frequent mint julips and egg-nogs were conveyed 
to the whist players by the said ebony sentinel. The young peo- 
ple played those delightful games of the old Christmas time, 
danced the lancers, minuette, quadrille and Virginia reel in the 
evening, and during the day flirted, made love and broke hearts 
in a fashion that* has always been common to Mississippi girls. 



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96 Mississippi Historical Society. 

Thus passed the delightful visit, joy and happiness beamed from 
every eye, love filled every heart, and good will and friendliness 
was in the very air. 

It is impossible to picture in words the wife and mother of a 
Mississippi plantation home. Nothing that has been said or 
written of her has done justice to the subject, nothing that will 
be written in the future can truly tell of the grandest, noblest 
and best type of woman that ever brought joy and happiness to 
the world. Could the feelings of the heart be expressed then in- 
deed might a fitting tribute be paid to the gentle, loveable, 
heroic Southern matron of the long ago. Descended from a 
long line of distinguished ancestry, she was truly noble, pure 
and beautiful. In the days of peace, plenty and happiness she 
made her beautiful home a haven of rest and a joy forever. 
When the days of trial, danger and privation came she met them 
with more than Spartan fortitude, no sacrifice was too great, no 
danger too terrible, no loss too bitter for her to bear for the 
sake of home and native land. In our mad rush to acquire the 
physical comforts and pleasures of life we are apt to lose sight 
of the gentle forces that in the past have done so much for the 
moral and intellectual improvement of the world. The fiery 
ambition of Alexander the Great was nurtured and kept alive 
by the grand genius of Aristotle. Napoleon was a disciple of 
Rousseau, and his meteoric career was but the growth of the 
precepts of that great Frenchman. William Pitt gained his in- 
spiration and power from William Shakespeare, the poor and 
lowly peasant. The moral regeneration of the world was set 
in motion by Jesus of Nazareth, the divine Galilean peasant 
boy. The movement that resulted in the reformation of the 
Christian religion originated in the mind of Martin Luther, a 
poor, despised imprisoned monk. The spark that lit the fires of 
liberty and freedom throughout the world was applied by Pat- 
rick Henry, a rough, awkward Virginia backwoodsman. The 
grandest philanthropic work ever built up for fallen humanity 
was begun by Florence Nightingale, a poor, weak woman. The 
most heroic struggle that was ever waged by a liberty-loving 
people was sustained and strengthened by the undying devotion 
of Southern wives, mothers and sisters. History tells us that 
the women of ancient Carthage gave up thdir beautiful hair 
that their archers might speed their arrows against the vic- 



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Plantation Life in Mississippi Before War. — Rowland. 97 

torious legions of Rome as they stormed the gates of the 
doomed city. The Southern mother saw the beautiful hill tops 
of her country whitened with the bones of her dauntless sons. 
She heard the voice of lamentation in every home. The wait- 
ings of widows was ever sounding in her ears. Did she falter 
or despair? When strong men filled heroes graves she gave 
with breaking heart and streaming eyes the manly young son, 
yet in his 'teens to take his place in the ranks of those who knew 
how brave men die. Of all the characters that history has pre- 
served for the love of succeeding generations the Southern 
mother should be enshrined in fame's proudest niche. She 
needs no glittering shaft reflecting the sun's rays to keep alive 
her memory in the hearts of her descendants. She needs no 
mighty mausoleum to commemorate her gentleness and nobility. 
She needs no golden words cut in lasting marble or written on 
enduring parchment to recite her deeds. Her name is forever 
enshrined in the hearts of every man and woman, every boy 
and girl whose heart responds to what is good, noble and true 
in human life. The wonderful progress that the "New Missis- 
sippi" is making in material prosperity is worthy of all praise, 
but there is nothing which can possibly occur in the coming 
years which can dim the lustre, or lessen the splendor, or ob- 
scure the glory of our beloved State m its chivalric and heroic 
age. 

That was a time which no future generation can revive because 
the conditions that brought into being that glorious era and 
made the people of Mississippi what they were can never come 
again. The grand and noble men and women of the "Old 
South" are rapidly passing away. Their memories, deeds and 
virtues must be preserved by their sons and daughters. They 
must be preserved on the living pages of history as a priceless 
heritage to their descendants. They must be preserved in story, 
poetry and song, in sculptured marble, and in the glorious 
beauty of painted canvas so that they will endure forever and 
forever. 



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PRIVATE LETTERS OF MRS. HUMPHREYS/ WRIT- 
TEN IMMEDIATELY BEFORE AND AFTER THE 
EJECTION OF HER HUSBAND FROM THE 
EXECUTIVE MANSION. 

By Lizzie George Henderson. 

Realizing the importance of teaching the children of the 
South, the truth about the South before, during and after the 
War between the States and being supported in this by these 
wise words written by our beloved and admired Gen. Robt. 
E. Lee during the last months of his life ; "The reputation of 
individuals is of minor importance to the opinion which posterity 
may form of the motives which governed the Sputh in their 
late struggle for the maintenance of the principles of the Con- 
stitution;" and regarding it the duty of every Southern man 
and woman to give to the public every historical fact relating 
to those times which he or she may find, I have asked permis- 
sion to present the two letters quoted in this article. The men 
and women of to-day who took part in that great ^'struggle" of 
which he speaks, realize the truth of his words, as they hear 
our army spoken of as "rebels" and Ihe belief of our fathers, 
that we had every right to secede, called a "mistake" with a 

* Mildred Hickman Humphreys was born on the 22nd of February, 
1823. She was the eldest daughter of Judge James Henry Maury and 
Lucinda Smith Maury. She was born in Franklin, Tenn. Moved with 
her parents to Port Gibson, Miss., in the fall of 1826. Was educated 
at the Port Gibson Academy and under the tutorship of her father, who 
was a highly educated man and a very ripe scholar. In 1836 she joined 
the Presbyterian church, and until her death was a consistent member 
of that church. On December 3rd, 1839, ^^^ was married toBenj. G- 
Humphreys, and went with him to his plantation home. WiUfttfgnOCTst . 
borne county, near the Big Black river. Here s€veraj|*lp8atenl ^?crcy*/s. 
bom to them, and on account of their health they bcmhV Vjiii-Guistf ^^;A^ 
plantation, back in the hills. In 1852 they began to jprn'^ ijSt 'A^itt^r^ ^ \ 
on the Itta Bena plantation in the wilds of Sunflower. jBb^ Eeflore coun- \ ' ^^ 
ty, Miss., and so changed their citizenship, but con^jed/ to spend the \ '^^^ 
summer months near Port Gibson. Her husband jB^d lhf^oflfi=T3- J t 
erate army when Mississippi seceded, and throughoiM ^\ war she fre- / J' \ 
quently changed her residence, staying in Gcorg:ia, W&il^- AUhama/ * { 
or Mississippi, wherever she might be nearest her hii^^d. ^ifttej: -^e • > 
war closed they led the lives of a plantation family strtp^# of p^ ocj^- ^f 



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loo Mississippi Historical Society. 

superior air, by men and women who were allowed to study 
histories — in our Southern schools too — terribly prejudiced 
against the South, and the rights for which she fought so brave- 
ly, and suffered so bravely after the fighting was over. I was too 
young to remember anything of the reconstruction days, except 
the excitement everywhere and the anxiety as to what would be 
done next. When we moved to Jackson in January, 1873, 
the most horrible words to my childish mind, were "Yankee,'' 
"Carpet-bagger" and "Scallawag;" and to speak to a man, a 
woman, or a child, to whom any of these words could be applied 
was certain disgrace. I walked blocks out of my way to avoid 
meeting any of the Yankee soldiers, then stationed in Jackson, 
for fear they might do something terrible to me. Such the im- 
pression made on a child's mind by the terrible state of affairs 
existing in Mississippi during the carpet-bag rule. In Lowry 
and McCardle's History of Mississippi, we find this: "Pend- 
ing the canvass, Ord was superseded by Gen. McDowell, who, 
on assuming command, jssued an order removing Gov. 
Humphreys and Col. Hooker, who was at that time Attorney- 
General of the State, as impediments to reconstruction, and 
appointing Adelbert Ames Governor of the State." Gov. 
Humphreys refused to obey the military order of McDowell, 
but continued to discharge the duties of his office. Col. Biddle 
demanded that Gov. Humphreys surrender his office, which he 
refused to do. He was then notified of the time when he would 
be put out by bayonets. When this time arrived the military 

sonal property. After the election of her husband to the Mississippi 
gubernatorial chair in 1865 she moved to Jackson, where they lived until 
i869,when they moved to Vicksburg. In 1875 they returned to Itta 
Bena, where her husband died on December 20, 1882. She continued to 
live at Itta Bena until 1893, when she went to live with her oldest son, 
J. B. Humphreys, at Carrollton, Miss. She moved with him to Green- 
wood, Miss., where she lived until her death on November 19th, 1899. 
She was the mother of ten children, only four of whom lived to ma- 
turity: John Barnes Humphreys, Elizabeth Fontaine (Lillie) Humph- 
reys, David Smith Humphreys and Benjamin Gubb Humphreys. Her 
daughter Lillie married James C. Bertron, June 25th, 1878, and died of 
yellow fever at Port Gibson, Miss., on the 20th of October, 1878. 

The writer considers herself as having been g^reatly blessed in an inti- 
mate association with several of the old school Southern women, than 
whom there never has been and never will be stronger or more beautiful 
characters, and she has not known one more beautifully filling each posi- 
tion in her life, from the wife to the friend, than did Mrs. Humphreys. 

She was one of the most universally beloved women Mississippi ever 
saw, and her place will not be filled. — h. G. H. 



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Private Letters of Mrs. Humphreys. — Henderson. loi 

company came and on Gov. Humphreys* attempt to enter his 
office from the office of the Attorney-General, he was ordered 
to "halt" and informed that he would not be allowed to enter. 
In speaking of this Gov. Humphreys said, "I knew it was futile 
to disobey orders, but I had the honor, the dignity, property, 
and rights, and the sovereignty of the State to guard and 1 
was determined to maintain those rights and yield nothing, ex- 
cept at the point of overpowering bayonets ; and that the world 
should know that I yielded not to civil process, but to stern 
unrelenting military tyranny." Thus was the Gov. Of Missis- 
sippi, elected by her people, put out of his office that a carpet- 
bag military Governor might be put in his place. 

The following letters written by Mrs. Humphreys to her 
mother, gives an account of the anticipation of her expulsion 
from the Executive Mansion by the militia. Under date of July 
8th, she writes as follows : "When I last wrote you, I expected 
Mr. Humphreys would be with you to-day. But how little do 
we know what a day may bring forth. Monday morning Gen. 
Ames wrote to the Governor that he wanted the Mansion. This, 
of course, has changed our plans for the summer. I will en- 
close you a copy of the correspondence, if I can get the letters 
before Mr. EUett* leaves here. "OW Veto, of course, refused to 
surrender the Mansion. His reply to Gen. Ames was sent to- 
day, I suppose, as he wrote it last night, and said he would send 
it this morning. Both letters sent through postoffice. I am 
placed in command of the Mansion, with orders to hold it at all 
hazards; and as I have received reinforcements from New 
Orleans, this morning, in the person of Mary Stamps,* and with 
her think we can hold the enemy in check, whenever he makes 
the attack, until the Governor can come to our support. I think 
this step brings affairs to a climax. I have packed up every- 
thing and am prepared to retreat if necessary. Mr. Humphreys 
has been so much perplexed, and in some doubt what will hap- 
pen and when, that he has formed no plans, and says he can- 
not until more developments are made. I expect we shall make 
you a visit when the mansion is evacuated, and we have disposed 
of all of our plunder. I will have a dispatch sent to Pa, as soon 

* Judge Henry T. Ellett, of the Supreme Court of Mississippi. 
■The oldest daughter of Gov. Humphreys. 



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I02 Mississippi Historical Society. 

as any thing transpires in relation to our removal, which will 
only be accomplished with bayonets. Mr. Humphreys decided 
on this at once, and told me to refuse to give up the house 
whenever the demand was made, and if they chose they could 
take it, as they had done the office. The citizens from Gov. 
Sharkey down, are infuriated at the insolent demand, and many 
of them want to fight. The Radicals know their days are rum- 
bered, and in their death struggle will do all that such men can 
contrive to harass the victorious Democrats. I heard, accident- 
ally, that Mr. Ellett was going home Wednesday, and when I 
had written the foregoing pages, Mr. Humphreys came in the 
house and said Mr. Ellett had gone. I regretted it, for I wished 
so much to write you what was going on, and knew that you 
all were anxious to hear from us, as the events just now tran- 
spiring are of great interest to us. Saturday — ^the week is 
nearly gone, and we have not yet been ejected from the Gov- 
ernor's Mansion. Several letters have passed between Mr. 
Humphreys and Gen. Ames. By which we are informed that 
he, with others, will move in on Monday morning to take posses- 
sion of the Mansion. It is a great piece of audacity, and as Gen. 
McDowell in his order, making him Prov. Governor distinctly 
stated that he would receive no compensation other than that due 
him as a Federal officer, I do not know what pretext he can 
set up for the usurpation. We expected to have the matter 
settled before this time, and in the event of our removal, Mr. 
Humphreys said we would go to your house. We could not 
go down there and return here for less than $150, and as that 
is an enormous sum, we may be denied the pleasure of making 
the visit as Mrs. Poindexter* has offered her house and furniture 
for $400 per annum. If we can be located here on easy terms. 
I suppose we all shall have to remain here, but Mr. Humphreys 
and Barnes*. They will go to Port Gibson whenever Mr. 
Humphreys can get away from here. He has been so often 
ready to start and disappointed, that he feels very much worried 
about it. I can give you no idea of the confusion and discom- 
fort we have lived in for the last three weeks. As soon as I 
knew Gen. Ames arrived, I began to pack up. When Mr. 

•The widow of Dr. Poindexter. 

* Gov. Humphrey's oldest son. 



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Private Letters of Mrs. Humphreys. — Henderson. 103 

Humphreys came home and told me he would not give up the 
Mansion without force, I began to fix up again and had gotten 
nearly composed when this order to move was received. We 
have been packed up for four or five days. Mr. Humphreys 
has concluded, after all that has transpired, to send me with 
the children, out of the house Monday morning before the 
Yankees come in, if possible, rather than have us subjected to 
so disagreeable an interview, and he with some cool, discreet 
friends will meet the Yankees when they come in. They can 
then take possession under protest. This is a very tormenting 
affair and drags itself along with so much sloth, that I am 
nearly worn out, waiting for the result. This letter will reach 
you on Monday morning, I hope." "Lucy* says, she wrote 
we would be with you to-morrow. I had told her I hoped 
we should, but I have never known, one day, where we should 
be the next." 

Under the date of July i8th, she wrote as follows : "Well, Mon- 
day morning came and with it the Yankee raid upon the Man- 
sion. It was my first experience in that sort of warfare, to which 
you had become accustomed before the surrender. We packed 
up everything that belonged to us and were ready for the attack, 
which was made about 12 o'clock. Lieut. Bach, commanding a 
file of six soldiers, rode up to the gate. The Lieut, dismounted 
and came in. Gov. Humphreys met him at the front door, the 
Lieut, said 'good morning* and offered his hand, which was not 
received. He said he wished to have a private interview (several 
of Mr. Humphreys friends were in the Mansion). The Gover- 
nor and Lieut, walked into a front parlor, where the latter said 
he had been sent by Col. Biddlc to take possession of part of 
the Mansion. Gov. said he refused to give it up. Lieut, said 
he had a note from Col. Biddle to deliver in case Mr. Humphreys 
refused to give up the house, and the note was deliverd. Mr. 
Humphreys asked him if he would carry out the order to put 
him out by force? He said he would. Mr. Humphreys then step- 
ped to the door and called some of his friends in to hear what 
passed. He then told Lt. he would repeat his question, as he 
wished to have witnesses to what passed between them; the 
Lt. hesitated, and Mr. Humphreys insisted, so the same ques- 

• The wife of Major Wm. Yerger, and a niece of Mrs. Humphreys. 



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I04 Mississippi Historical Society. 

tion was put and same reply made. When Mr. Humphreys 
came out and sent for a carriage for me, and wagons. He told 
me not to leave the house until I saw everything was put to- 
gether ready to set in the wagons, so that Barnes could stand 
by and see it all safely shipped, and told me to put my box of 
silver on the carriage and take it with me. We had heard of 
Yankee raids before, and profited by the experience of others. 
Lucy left the Mansion just as I did. Will remained with Barnes. 
I marched out with my children, through a crowd of negroes, who 
had assembled in the front yard, to see the /tin, many of them in 
a broad grin. The file of soldiers was outside the gate. We 
walked out, got into the carriage and rode to Mrs. Barr's board- 
ing house. Everybody on the street gazing at us as we rode 
through the streets. We left Lieut. Bach promenading the tw6 
unfurnished parlors. He wore a red sash and sword, did not 
take his hat off up to the time I left. He looks like Ned Ingra- 
ham at the distance I saw him. He is the young man Jennie 
Rowan wrote to me asking us to show him some attention, as 
he was a stranger and had not been engaged in the war. Mr. 
Humphreys called on him and this was his first visit to the 
Mansion. 

General Ames had not moved in yet I am told; but keeps 
a guard at the front door day and night. He has had a billiard 
table put in one of the parlors, and after dark he and his friends 
go and play billiards. Mrs. Biddle, Mrs. Sumner and her 
mother went there one evening after dark, and walked over the 
the house, expressing the greatest admiration for the house. 
Everybody here thinks Ames would give his right hand, if he 
had never said 'Mansion.' I have heard he spends most of his 
time in the billiard room, and was drunk last Saturday. I do 
not think the gentlemen here ever approach him. We never 
hear him spoken of but with contempt. Mrs. Tarpley* told me 
she had been watching the Mansion all the week and the only 
visitors she had seen enter it since our departure, were several 
detachments of colored ladies, who were met at the door by the 
sentinel and ushered in. Edah and Hannah have remained there 
in the kitchen and from them I heard of the visit of the officers' 
wives I mentioned. Gen. Ames told Hannah's husband, that he 

f ' 

• A friend of Mrs. Humphreys, who lived diagonally across the street 
from the Mansion. 



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Private Letters of Mrs. Humphreys. — Henderson, 105 

did not wish the vegetables in the garden disturbed, as they belonged 
to Gov. Humphreys. I thought he was becoming rather con- 
scientious, considering the start that he had made. We have 
rented Mrs. Poindexters house." 

"Mrs. Huhphreys did take care of her spoons'* (you see she 
knew that Ames was Ben Butler's son-in-law, and thought 
that he might be addicted to the spoon habit). "She did 
not let them get out of her sight." What a trying ordeal all this 
must have been to such a refined womanly woman, as Mrs. 
Humphreys was, and yet an eye-witness tells me this: "The 
scorn she felt for these instruments of tyranny as well as for the 
tyrants themselves, who were about to perpetrate so great an 
outrage upon her husband, I thought I could detect in the 
expression of her face; but there was no demonstration, no 
haughty toss of the head, no dramatic sweeping by as she passed 
through the doors ; and while the outrage must have touched 
her soul, she gave no outward evidence of the tempest that 
must have been raging within. She with her distinguished hus- 
band walked out of the Governor's Mansion between the files of 
United States soldiers, and as they passed the officer in com- 
mand, I distinctly remember, that he looked steadfastly at the 
ground. I think I can sum the whole matter up by sa)dng, that 
she demeaned herself upon that trying occasion, as you, being 
a Mississippian should have desired the mistress of the Gover- 
nor's Mansion to do." 

How full of stirring events her whole life was, and with what 
serenity, patience and Christian fortitude she met them all. On 
the presentation of a flag by the J. Z. George Chapter to the 
Ben Humphreys' Rifles, the night before they left us to go to 
join the army for the Spanish-American war, she told me that it 
was the fourth war she had seen flags presented for. The first, 
when she was a little girl at school, she saw a flag presented to a 
company going to help Texas gain her independence ; then the 
flag presented to a company going to join the army for the 
war with Mexico ; next the one presented to a company to join 
the Confederate army in which were her husband and brothers ; 
then this last, presented to a company to which her son and 
grapdson belonged. Always in the midst of the work and doing 
her part well, whenever her country was in danger, and through 
it all asking nothing for herself, but that those men who were 
dearest to her, might never fail to do a patriot's part when their 



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io6 Mississippi Historical Society. 

country needed them. I think if we would stop in our rush for 
riches and the enjoyable things of life, and contemplate the 
quiet, brave, self-forgetting and womanly lives of our mothers 
and grandmothers, especially during the War between the 
States and during the terrible days of reconstruction, we 
might be better and more useful men and women. For my- 
self I feel that to have known such women was an inspiration to 
be and to do the right thing ; and our children cannot too often ' 
be talked to, of their patriotic devotion to their country and their 
beautiful self-forgetting lives. 



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IMPORTANCE OF THE LOCAL HISTORY OF THE 

CIVIL WAR. 

By Josie Frazee Cappleman.* 

"History is the witness of the times, the torch of truth, the 
life of memory, the teacher of life, the messenger of antiquity." 
Our unwritten history is, in many instances, our best history, 
and, therefore, it is aU important that our best be preserved. 
And to the unwritten history of the late Civil War I would now 
call attention. Who among us has not heard some battle-scarred 
veteran recount incidents, accidents, brave, heroic and romantic 
deeds that thrilled us through and through with their intensity, 
and awakened our greatest wonder and admiration? And yet — 
many of these glorious acts of a glorious past (of which any 
nation might well be proud) are still unrecorded. In vain do 
we look for them upon the pages of our history; they exist, 
many of them, only in the remote recesses of memory, perhaps 
to be soon forgotten or laid away forever. Oh ! the pity of thus 
losing so much that would redound to the honor and glory 
of this brave, chivalrous and heroic people. And oh! the 
stupendous mistake of those who are robbing our State's his- 
tory of some of its brightest and its best pages ! 

In vain, have I written and appealed for help. For more than 
six months have I been calling upon persons in different local!- 

*Mrs. Tosie Frazee Cappleman is of Kentucky parentage, but grew 
from girlhood to womannood in Mississippi. She is especially inter- 
ested in woman's work and gives generously of her time and energy to 
its advancement. She is an active member of the United Daughters of 
the Confederacy, and of the State Federation of Women's Gubs. At 
present she is State Historian of the United Daughters of the Confed- 
eracy, State Secretary of the Federation, and Conductress of the Ma- 
sonic order of the "Eastern Star." She is also a member of the Mis- 
sissippi Press Association, the State Historioal Society and the Daugh- 
ters of the American Revolution. Her literanr work has been varied. 
She has rendered selections from her own writings before the Chau- 
tauqua Assembly, at Monteagle, Tenn., and before the National Re- 
union of the "Blue and Gray" at Evansville, Ind. She has recently 
published a book of poems entitled Heart Songs, dedicated to the United 
Daughters of the Confederacy. For a fuller account of her life see The 
Bohemian, Midsummer Number, 1900. — Editor. 

(107) 



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io8 Mississippi Historical Society. 

ties — fraught with historic interest — for information in regard 
to the struggle in the sixties; and one can hardly imagine the 
indifference of those to whom such inquiries were addressed. 
One says, he cannot write "fit for anything." What do we care 
for the fitness of the writing? It is fact for which we seek. 
Another says, he knows "just plenty of things that happened 
during the war, but ain't got no time to tell about 'em !" Little 
do these persons realize that time thus spent would greatly 
redound to the credit of the communities of which they could 
write if not of the entire State ! 

Almost every locality possesses something of historic value. 
Even my own little town, Okolona, (of meagre size in the six- 
ties) is rich in historic incident and romantic lore. Scarcely a 
spot that knew not something, during those four full years, of 
intense emotion, violent passion, or heart-rending tragedy. 
Here was located the division hospital, with its long lines of 
5ick-wards, and its dark "death-chamber," from which were 
buried almost one thousand soldiers wrapped in their mantles 
of gray. It was here that Gen. Wm. Cabbell, "Old Tige," as 
he was familiarly called, lay wounded, and sick almost unto 
death, for three long months. It was here, Feb. 22, 1864, that 
Gen. A. B. Forrest, that most dashing and courageous of 
cavalrymen, with 2,500 men, met 7,000 men under Gen. Smith, 
and, in the face of such overwhelming odds, gained a complete 
victory. Twelve of the enemy were killed within our corpora- 
tion. And yet, how few know that all these things took place 
within our own narrow limits 1 For four years I lived in the 
house that bore the brunt of that battle. Hundreds of bullet- 
holes were still in it, the silent records of that brilliant Con- 
federate victory. In the yard I have frequently found rifle, 
minnie and cannon balls. 

It was in the pursuit, after that battle, only six miles from 
Okolona (at Prairie, Md.), that Jesse, the brother of Gen. For- 
rest was mortally wounded by the retreating Federals. I have 
been told by an eye-witness that after his brother was killed. 
Gen. Forrest knelt down by his side, kissed him, then mounted 
his horse, drew his sword with his left hand, his pistol with 
his right, and killed two of the enemy. It was also here, after 
the bloody battle of Harrisburg, (July 14, 1864,) that Gen. For- 
rest was confined to his bed p week, at the home of Maj. Shep- 



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Local History of the Civil War. — Cappleman, 109 

pard, from the foot wound received in that battle. Mrs. For- 
rest, his wife, was here with him during his brief illness. It 
was here that the gallant cavalier and dauntless soldier, Gen. 
Earl Van Dorn, organized a cavalry corps of 6,000, and was 
joined by King's Battery of the 2d Missouri Artillery, remain- 
ing in this place between two and three weeks. It was here 
that Col. James Gordon, a graduate of the University of Mis- 
sissippi in the class of 1855, raised the first company of cavalry 
that went from this State. It was armed and equipped at his 
own expense, at a cost of $32,000. After that he raised a re- 
giment, which performed many daring and heroic feats during 
the four years of active service. 

Okolona was the sufferer from three raids of the enemy. The 
first took place in December, 1862, while the town was under 
the command of Col. C. R. Barteau, who was wounded in the 
gallant discharge of his duty ; the second occurred in the early 
part of 1864, when the College Hospital was burned, also the 
depot containing 100,000 bushels of com. After leaving the 
burning buildings the Federals fired the cornfields, with their 
wealth of ungathered grain, which were laid waste, to the ex- 
tent of several miles of prairie-belt, reaching from Okolona to 
West Point. On the 22d of Feb., 1864, Gen. Forrest met the re- 
turning enemy at this place, and gained a glorious victory — 
as has just been narrated. The third raid was made in the first 
week of January, 1865. Gen. Sam'l. Gholson was then in charge 
of Okolona, and lost an arm in his defense of "home and native 
land." 

Again the enemy set fire to the town, every store being totally 
destroyed. Yet, with all these historic facts at our very door- 
ways there are the fewest residents who are familiar with 
them ; and, after days of inquiry, not one — from the oldest to 
the youngest citizen— could give me a single date in regard to 
the foregoing facts. This shows the importance, the vital im- 
portance of collecting these local events now. 

As in one place, so are the majority of others in our State ; 
and, as are the majority in our State, so are the majority of 
our sister States. Hence the paramount importance of begin- 
ning at once the task of untangling the broken threads, of his- 
tory, that lie scattered and neglected in so many of our lesser 
localities, and then tying together the straightened ends. 



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no Mississippi Historical Society. 

In the larger places it is different. All readers are more or 
less acquainted with their life-dramas and tragedies of the six- 
ties. One means, I find, of preserving these smaller incidents 
of the Civil War, is to collect them as they are voluntarily told 
by our veterans, and embody all worthy of record, in our new 
system of Southern School Histories. Here allow me to 
digress. These Southern Histories by Mrs. Susan Pendle- 
ton Lee, Mrs. Mary Williamson and other loyal South- 
erners, are doing much to dispel the false impressions 
hitherto made upon the younger generations by the Northern 
versions of Southern history. As other histories still broader 
and more accurate are to appear soon, these untruthful 
and unjust records will in time, we trust, be altogether ob- 
literated. Miss Louise Manly, author of Southern Literature, is 
another woman doing a noble work in bringing about a revolu- 
tion in Southern literary circles. By rescuing from oblivion 
some of the Southland's most polished writers and sweetest 
singers, she has thus preserved many deserving names and 
literary gems to Southern literature. The B. F. Johnson Pub- 
lishing Co., of Richmond, Va., is also doing a great service to 
the Southland, by its active interest in, and publication of all 
that pertains to the upbuilding and advancement of this land of 
the Sun. Virginia and Virginia's women have done, and are 
still doing a noble work in this line; and we hope that Mis- 
sissippi's equally as noble and zealous women will soon take 
foremost rank in the performance of this sacred duty. The 
complete and perfect whole depends upon the perfection of each 
of the parts; and so with a correct and truthful history of the 
Confederate States, during the four years of the Civil War. Of 
the necessity of such truths we daily see the need. 

Let me add a word of caution. It is not from the point of view 
of the narrow-minded, the prejudiced, the relentless that we 
must seek for this information ; but from the broadest-g^aged, 
the wisest, the coolest heads. Many times, in my continuous 
search for truth, have I turned from those in possession of 
some desired fund of facts, because of their paramount pro- 
pensity to "fight the war over again." Thus the truths, for 
which our local historians seek so anxiously, are often complete- 
ly submerged in a sea of abusive epithets that roll and toss and 
sweep over each other in the vain struggle for vengeance. 



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Local History of the Civil War. — Cappleman. iii 

Another peculiar and striking experience of the would-be coir 
lector of historical data is this : The absolutely unforgiving are 
those who stood off and saw the battle from afar, or suffered 
not in the flesh, but only in the matter of worldly goods. 

The calm, the reasonable, the rancorless are those who bore 
most, fought most, lost most. This is mentioned merely by 
way of observation of a peculiar phase of human nature. 

In my manifold efforts, as State Historian of the United 
Daughters of the Confederacy, I find that there is no agency for 
the preservation of our beloved Southland's heroic deeds in 
the late Civil War to be compared to the active earnestness of 
the U. D. C, assisted as they are by the Grand Camp of U. C. 
v., of Virginia, with that glorious patriot. Dr. Hunter McGuire, 
as their loyal leader. 

This organization (the U. D. C.) has awakened an interest in 
Confederate history that was entirely unknown until a few years 
ago, when, as women will, they undertook the gigantic task of 
rescuing our history from the almost fathomless pits of oblivion. 

With all the fervor I feel for our "Loved Cause" I appeal to 
those who take interest, even the slightest, in this and future 
generations, to aid us in the difficult and intricate task we have 
so willingly undertaken ; to assist us in procuring and preserv- 
ing those sacred truths which should be dear to every loyal 
Southerner. A systematic plan should at once be adopted, and 
diligent effort made — ^all of which requires time and means and 
labor — ^to rescue the scattered fragments of our history, too 
many of which are, even now, lost to us forever. 

Aye, let us have our history, as it is — ^as it should be I Give 
us the correct version of that most unequal struggle, for prin- 
ciple's sake, of the bravest, most generous, the most princely 
of all the peoples that sapphire sky or Southern sun has ever 
smiled upon. Give us our history as it stands in the light of 
truth — ^unique, alone ; without spot, without blemish. A record 
that reads more like a golden romance, than a living, breathing 
reality. Yet, of such as these is our history filled ; the wonder- 
ously heroic, pathetic, self-sacrificing deeds of our men and 
women. 

Again I appeal to you, who believe in the truth and the vin- 
dication of the true ; to you, who can assist and forward this 



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112 Mississippi Historical Society. 

great movement that is being made to preserve, intact, our his- 
tory ! Delay not longer ; but give to us, and through us to the 
future, a faithful portrayal of our not "Lost;" but "Loved 
Cause." Then we, too, can say : "History hath triumphed over 
time, which besides it, nothing but eternity hath triumphed 
over." 



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WILLIAM C. FALKNER, NOVELIST.^ 
By Alexander L. Bondurant.* 

Summer with its teeming life, sunshine and warmth ; with its 
ripening fruits and fra'grant flowers is followed by Indian sum- 
mer. Now the fruits have mellowed, and the fields are golden 
with grain. A languorous haze fills the air, and the sun seems 
to halt in his course as he approaches the nadir. 

It is in this Indian summer period of man's life, when ac- 
tivity is followed by contemplation before senility has set in, 
that many, who have done yoeman service in their day, record 
their impressions of the events that they have witnessed and 
the parts they have played. From the earliest times youth has 
sat at the feet of age, and learned valuable lessons to be utilized 
when it assumes fully life's burdens. But no such guerdon 
awaits us in connection with the life of the subject of this sketch, 
for he was cut off in the flower of his age, his step still elastic, 
his eye undimmed. He was living in the fullest sense, and had 

* The writer wishes to express his appreciation of the valuable infor- 
mation given him by Hon. J. W. T. Falkner, and Mrs. N. G. Carter, 
children of Col. Falkner, and Mrs. M. H. Crockett, his lifelong friend. 

•Alexander L. Bondurant was born at Colalto, Buckingham county, 
Virginia, June 22, 1865. His family 19 French Huguenot. His father, 
Alex. J. Bondurant, Esq., received his college education at Hampden 
Sidney, the University of Va., and the University of Berlin. He was a 
Confederate soldier. He is now Tobacco Expert for the Colony of Vic- 
toria, Australia. His mother was Miss Emily Morrison, of Rockbridge 
county. Col. Thomas M. Bondurant, the owner and publisher of the 
Richmond Whig, was his paternal grandfather. His maternal grand- 
father. Rev. James Morrison, was a graduate from the University of 
North Carolina. When a young man he became pastor of New Provi- 
dence church in the valley of Virginia and devoted his life to this single 
charge. He was an ardent and enthusiastic student, evincing especial 
fondness for history, biography and the classical languages. 

Mr. Bondurant was prepared for college mainly by private teachers. 
He entered the Freshman class of Hampden Sidney college in 1880, and 
was graduated with the degree of A. B. four years later. His instructors 
in Latin and Greek were two accomplished scholars. Profs. Blair and 
Hogue. While at Hampden Sidney he was a member of the household 
of his uncle, the Rev. Robert L. Dabney, D. D. After his graduation he 
taught for three years. During the last of these years when holding the 
position of Instructor of Ancient Lang^uages in Round Rock Institute, 

(113) 
8 



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114 Mississippi Historical Society. 

« 
not stopped to reduce his life-history to writing; and so his 
chronicler has to collect these scattered leaves wherever he can, 
and as best he may, arrange them into a connected whole. 

It is the purpose of this paper to recall to the minds of those 
who knew him, and to place before those who knew him not the 
main facts pertaining to the life of William C. Falkner, lawyer, 
soldier, financier, student and author. The title, therefore, is 
rather suggestive of one phase of his life, a phase that culminat- 
ed late, than inclusive of the whole. 

William C. Falkner was born in Knox County, East Tennes- 
see, July 6, 1826. His family was of Welsh descent and his fore- 
fathers had been pioneers in this region. He was very reserved 
in speaking or writing of himself, so little can be gathered direct- 
ly with reference to the early years of his life; but he alWays 
manifested a deep affection for his mother, and its seems cer- 
tain her character and influence over him were powerful factors 
in the determination of his later career. The careful reader de- 
tects in his writings a love for and comprehension of Nature in 
her many moods that doubtless came to him amidst the romantic 
surroundings of his boyhood home. From Tennessee his family 
removed to Missouri, and there his father died. The lad was now 
cast upon his own resources, and, further, felt the responsibility 

Texas, he was a student of the University of Texas, graduating in Latin 
and Greek. His instructor was Prof. Milton W. Humphreys. 

In the autumn of 1887 he entered the University of Va., where he re- 
mained two sessions, pursuing advanced studies in ancient and modern 
languages, and philosophy. 

In 1889 he was chosen Assistant Professor of Latin and Greek in the 
University of Mississippi. In 1892 he was awarded a fellowship in Har- 
vard University, and having procured a leave of absence he spent the 
following session in graduate study in that institution, taking courses in 
Latin, Greek and Sanscrit. At the end of the year he was awarded the 
A. M. degree. He then resigned the fellowship to which he had been 
reappointed and returned to the University of Mississippi to assume 
charge of the Schools of Latin and Greek upon the resignation of Prof. 
Hogue. In 1895 he was made Professor of Latin, which position he has 
since held. 

Professor Bondurant is a contributor to the Nation, the Dial, the Ct/i- 
sen. He takes an active interest in Southern literature. The following 
is a partial list of his writings: "Methods of Classical Study," Proceedings 
of Mississippi State Teachers* Association, 1890; "High School Course in 
Latin,*' Mississippi School Jounml, 1896; "Did Jones County Secede?" 
Publications of Mississippi Historical Society, 1898; "Sherwood Bonner," 
Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, 1899; "The Secondary 
School," The Jeffersonian, June, 1900. He is a member of the American 
Philological Association; the Archaeological Institute of America and 
the Mississippi Historical Society. — Editor. 



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William C. Falkner, Novelist. — Bondurant. 115 

• 

of providing for his widowed mother and orphaned brothers 
and sisters. The future seemed to hold little of promise for 
him in Missouri, and so he decided to seek fortune elsewhere. 
Mississippi was, at this time, a virgin land, and thither he de- 
termined to go ; a bold undertaking for a lad of seventeen with 
no money, and no friends along the road. Foot-sore and weary 
he arrived at Ripley, Mississippi, then a pioneer inland town. 
Here he had relatives, and naturally looked for sympathy and 
encouragement ; but in this, at first, he was disappointed. He 
now went to work with his hands doing anything that offered, 
but the days seemed long, and the nights weary. It is said that 
he went finally to a neighboring town, Pontotoc, to find work, 
but met with discouragement, and seeking a secluded spot gave 
vent to his grief. While here a little maid, Holland Pearce, 
came along, and seeing his sadness gave him sympathy and 
words of cheer. The lad was helped, and treasured in memory 
the sweet girl face, and the heartening words; later a young 
lawyer, the self-same lad now grown to man's estate, came back, 
and claimed and won her heart and hand. But let us follow 
his early struggles with fate. A college education seemed be-, 
yond his reach, but he was an insatiable reader, and was filled 
with an earnest desire to obtain the best education possible 
under the circumstances. There was a teacher in the village 
of Ripley at this time, James Kernan, a native of Ireland, and 
to him young Falkner repaired. He studied in the winter and 
worked in summer in order to defray his expenses for the com- 
ing school term. In addition to this he taught elementary 
classes called "little A. B. C's." It seems to be certain that he 
was largely indebted to this teacher for proper direction in 
reading. Later he went to a relative, who at that time was a 
prominent lawyer, and requested to be allowed to read law in 
his office ; but the lawyer refused, giving as his reason his in- 
sufficient preparation for the study. But one of Falkner's be- 
liefs was that a man could be whatever he desired to be, and 
so, nothing daunted, he turned to his former teacher, who had 
hung out his shingle in a rough log office ; and there the tyro 
conned Blackstone, and fitted himself for the examination which 
he successfully passed. He had, to an unusual degree, the 
power of application and forged rapidly to the front in his 
chosen profession. 



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ii6 Mississippi Historical Society. 

The young man did not forget the mother he had left behind 
him, and constantly sent her means from his slender earnings. 
Fortune at last began to smile upon him, and determined in his 
wooing as in all his undertakings, he obtained the hand of Miss 
Holland Pearce, who made him a faithful and devoted wife. He 
was married in 1847, but she survived only a few years leaving 
one child, J. W. T. Falkner, who has lived to reflect credit upon 
an honored name, and at this writing is a member of the Senate 
in this State. 

The news of Texas' struggles for independence fired the heart 
of one who was always alive to the sorrows of the oppressed, 
and when the United States espoused this cause he volunteered 
as a private. He saw much service, and was wounded several 
times; but his gains were greater than his losses, for by his 
gallantry, courtesy and uniform kindliness he won for himself 
the esteem of his comrades, and the respect of the commanding 
officers, and was chosen an officer by his companions in arms. 

Upon his return home he began anew the practice of his pro- 
fession, and, in addition, engaged largely in planting. Naturally 
he was a slave owner, but was always a humane master. He 
was married a second time to Miss Elizabeth Houston Vance, 
of Alabama, the marriage occurring in 185 1. To them were 
born the following children : William Henry, who died in early 
manhood ; Willie M., now Mrs. N. G. Carter, of Ripley ; Bama 
L., now Mrs. Walter McLean, of Memphis; Effie, now Mrs. 
A. E. Davis, of Ripley; besides several children, who died in 
infancy or early youth. During this period he was a close 
student of the Bible and Shakespeare, and though he had never 
had the opportunity for the study of Latin and Greek, he made 
a careful study of the master pieces of these great literatures 
in translation, gaining in this way a fair knowledge and ap- 
preciation of Homer and Virgil, and other classical authors. 
He was keenly alive to the advantages of a college education, 
and sent his brother and son to the University of Mississippi. 
He did not care for office, but ever took an active interest in 
the upbuilding of his adopted State, and had great influence in 
all political gatherings. He did not use this influence to ad- 
vance himself, but ever strove to see that the best men filled the 
officers, both State and county. He was an old line WhijB:, and 
later allied himself with that branch of the Whig party that at 



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William C. Falkner, Novelist. — Bondurant. 117 

first was ridiculed by those of a diflferent political creed. But 
it is a significant fact that many times a name applied first by 
enemies in derision has been worn later as a badge of honor and 
this is true of The Know Nothing party, which held that America 
should be for Americans, and that in order to have a homogene- 
ous Anglo-Saxon community the waves of foreign immigration 
that threatened to engulf the State, must be arrested. And 
now, after half a century, we find a multitude of earnest men 
accepting the tenets of this party irrespective of political creed. 

Colonel Falkner was intensely southern, and held strongly to 
the sovereign right of a sovereign State to secede, and when the 
North each year grew more exacting in her demands, and those 
who opposed slavery in the nation's counsels grew daily more 
bitter in their attacks upon the slave power, he preached boldly 
this doctrine as a remedy for existing evils. When the die was 
cast, he at once responded to the call to arms, and went to 
work with enthusiasm to enlist men for the conflict, which he 
fully realized was to be no "thirty days matter." He was chosen 
Col. of the second Mississippi regiment, and led his command 
to Virginia. His former adjutant writes that he was an excel- 
lent disciplinarian, but ruled more by kindness than by force. 

In the first battle of Manassas, the second Mississippi played 
a prominent part. Under the command of Col. Falkner they 
were in the thickest of the fight. Col. M. C. Galloway, former- 
ly of the Memphis Appeal wrote that as he was pressing forward 
to charge the enemy General Beauregard asked, "who is the 
knight with the black plume? Men you may follow where he 
leads," and that thus Col. Falkner earned this honorable soubri- 
quet. A battery was working havoc amongst the Confederate 
forces, and General Johnson said that it must be taken. Col. 
Falkner offered his command for the undertaking, and was 
completely successful, though his loss was heavy. General Bee 
said that he hoped to live to tell of Falkner's daring on that 
eventful day. The following dispatch was sent to a Mississippi 
paper at the close of the battle by a spectator : "A Mississippi 
Regiment covered itself with glory. Editor of Mississippian: 
The victory is ours. Col. Falkner of 2nd Mississippi Regiment, 
charged and took four pieces of Sherman's battery. His loss 
was a hundred killed and wounded." At the end of the day 
Col. Falkner was in command of the brigade, succeeding for 
the time the gallant General B. E. Bee, who had been mortal- 



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ii8 Mississippi Historical Society. 

ly wounded in the engagement. He l6st from his regiment four 

captains killed and two wounded. He was wounded slightly, 

Major Blair severely, and Lieut-Col. B. B. Boone was reported 

missing. 

When apprised soon after the battle of the birth of a little 

daughter in his home, he wrote his wife to name her Elizabeth 

after the one who had been so faithful a helpmeet to him, and 

to add Manassas to commemorate the victory of southern arms. 

The army went into winter quarters near Harper's Ferry, and 

having engaged board at a farm house for his wife and children 

whom he had not seen since the beginning of the campaign, he 

sent his adjutant, Captain Guy ton, to bring them to him. The 

mails were very irregular and he had received no news from 

his family for some time prior to their arrival. Meanwhile his 

little son, Vance, and his baby girl whose name commemorated 

his country's victory and his own honor, had sickened and died. 

When the mother with the surviving children came to him, after 

embracing her and them, he looked around for the boy and his 

baby girl. The mother then told him of their bereavement. 

One of the children writes that the impression made upon her 

by her father's grief as he ordered the cot and the crib to be 

removed, will never be forgotten. His family spent most of 

the winter with him. After serving for about a year with the 

Virginian army, he withdrew from this branch of the service and 

returned to Mississippi. Colonel Falkner had won the esteem 

of all with whom he was associated, and his retirement was 

greatly deplored as will be seen from the following letter : 

"Lee's Farm' 
"April 23d, 1862 
"Sir: 

"I take the liberty of offering my testimony in behalf of Col. Falkner, 
late of the 2d Mississippi regiment. This gentleman has served with 
me in command of that admirable regiment for the last eleven months. 
Its discipline and instruction during all that time prove his zeal and 
capacity — as his courage was proved on the field of Manassas. I regret 
very much to lose him. If he can be replaced in the army in a position 
adequate to his merit, be assured that it will be fortunate for the service 
as well as the efficiency of the troops he may command. 

"Most respectfully, 

"Your obt. sert. 

"J. E. Johnston, 

"General." 
"The Hon. J. W. Randolph, 
Sec. of War." 

• Original in the possession of Hon. J. W. T. Falkner. 



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. William C. Falkner, Novelist. — Bondurant. 119 

I quote from a letter of the same date from Brigadier General 
Whiting to Mr. Randolph : "Colonel Falkner is one of the best 
ofBcers in this army. His entire devotion to his regiment, its 
condition, efficiency and discipline idue to him, his extraordinary 
exertions to recruit it, the skillful manner in which he has com- 
manded it all entitle him to the gratitude of the men, and 
especially the consideration of the Government. But he has 
been defeated by demagogues and affords another illustration 
of the crying evils that the election system in our army has 
wrought, and is producing. ****** 

"I forward an order published in the withdrawal of Col. Falk- 
ner who will in th? impending engagement give me the ad- 
vantage of his services on my staff. I most earnestly recom- 
mend Colonel Falkner to the consideration of the President, 
once more expressing my regret that he who led the 2nd so 
well on the day of Manassas, should be so untowardly debarred 
from its command at present." 

In special order No. 96, dated April 22, General W. H. Whit- 
ing says : "To the great regret of the Brig. General command- 
ing, a regret expressed also by his superiors Maj. Gen. (E. 
Kirby) Smith and ^en. Johnston, Colonel Falkner in conse- 
quence of the vote of his regiment in the election just held, 
retires from the command. 

"The services of this distinguished officer of Mississippi, from 
Harper's Ferry to Winchester, Manassas, the 21st of July, 
Evansport to Yorktown, merit the approval of his countrymen 
and the reward of his government. Faithful, careful, diligent 
and strict, he has combined and displayed in his career all the 
qualities which make a colonel of first class. The Brig. Gen- 
eral is happy to be able to say, that while he has commanded 
the brigade, Col. Falkner's regiment has been brought by the 
constant care of that officer, to a high state of discipline and 
efficiency." His adjutant, Captain Guyton writes of him: "A 
more gallant and brave .officer was not found in the service. 
He stood high in the estimation of his superior officers. In 
his judgment and foresight they seemed to have the utmost 
confidence, frequently consulting him in regard to grave mat- 
ters pertaining to the army." General Whiting had a com- 
munication read to all the regiments in his command, in which 



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I20 Mississippi Historical Society. 

he complimented the retiring officer not only upon his gallantry 
in the war then in progress, but on his distinguished services 
on the battle fiefds of Mexico. 

Colonel Falkner remained at home only a short while, and 
then under a commission from President Davis he raised a 
partisan regiment of calvary and returned to the service. He 
was in the commands of Generals Forrest and Chalmers, and 
took part in the battles of Corinth, Rienzi, Brice's Cross Roads, 
Harrisburg and CoUierville. During this period his character- 
istic courtesy to woman was illustrated by the following inci- 
dent: On one occasion having captured the wife of a Federal 
officer, he sent her to his own home, where she was received 
as a guest by his wife, and later restored to her own people 
under a flag of truce. It is interesting to recall that this act 
of kindness was not forgotten, for, from time to time, the 
Falkners heard from their former guest. 

When the great questions over which the conflict was waged, 
had been settled by the arbitrament of arms, he accepted the 
issue in good faith, and began life anew. At the beginning of 
the war he had accumulated by his industry, energy and sound 
judgment a considerable fortune, but nearly all this was lost. 
He began again the practice of law in partnership with Judge 
J. W. Thompson, and the firm prospered. He identified him- 
self with the Democratic party, and worked to repair the ravages 
that war had wrought in his State. He writes thus of reconstruc- 
tion : **Let the past bury the past — let us cultivate a feeling of 
friendship between North and South. Both parties commit- 
ted errors — ^let both parties get back on the right track. Let 
us try to profit by our sad experience — let us teach forgiveness 
and patriotism, and look forward to the time when the cruel 
war shall be forgotten. We Jiave a great and glorious nation 
of which we are very proud, and we shall make it greater by 
our love and support. It was a family quarrel, and the family 
have settled it, and woe to the outsider who shall dare to in- 
terfere. 

"The Union shall live forever, and those unpatriotic politi- 
cians who have maimed it shall be driven into obscurity. Let 
peace and good will, brotherly love and good faith, exist be- 



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William C. Falkner, Novelist. — Bandiirant, 121 

tween the North and South, and let Satan take those who wave 
the bloody shirt." 

He finally retired from the practice of the law in favor of his 
son, Hon. J. W. T. Falkner, and gave his time to writing and 
business. A friend writes of him : "As a business man he was 
industrious, and persevering ; quick to see the opportunity and 
prompt to act, and was very successful in most of his enter- 
prises, the greatest of which was building the Ripley Railroad." 

This project originated with Col. Falkner. He was sitting on 
the square with some merchants, when a number of wagons 
from Saulsbury, Tennessee, drove up, well loaded with mer- 
chandise of various kinds. This served to remind them that 
trade properly belonging to them was being diverted into other 
channels. Col. Falkner proposed that they build a railroad to 
Middleton, Tennessee. At first the suggestion was not ap- 
proved, but he succeeded in rousing interest in the project, the 
people of the town subscribed liberally, and he went tirelessly 
to work. At this time there was a law on the statute books 
of the State which gave a subsidy of four thousand dollars a 
mile for the construction of standard gage roads. He set to 
work to have this statute changed so as to include narrow 
gage roads and succeeded, though opposed by two railroads then 
in existence. But there were not sufficient funds to complete 
the project. Col. Falkner appealed to President Moses Wicks, 
of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, and he agreed to 
furnish the iron and rolling stock, if the company would grade 
the road and place the ties. The subsidy act expired by limita- 
tion August 31, 1872, and so a race against time began. The 
work was rapidly pushed to completion, and on August 30, a 
train passed over the whole length of the road containing the 
commissioners, who passed upon it ; and it was agreed that this 
was a pretty big undertaking for a neighborhood. This is said 
to have been the first narrow gage railroad built in the United 
States. 

Col. Falkner was the president of the road and succeeded in 
putting it on a paying basis. It was his purpose to extend 
the road until he made of it a trunk line to the g^lf. He writes 
in The Ripley Advertiser, June, 1886. "Every one who desires 
the welfare of the State, should rejoice to see this grand enter- 



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122 Mississippi Historical Society. 

prise prosper. I am putting forth all my energy, have laid 
aside all other business — am investing largely of my private for- 
tune to put the enterprise on its feet. ****** 

"An idea prevails that we expect to stop at Pontotoc ; but we 
hope and believe we will not stop short of the gulf. We will 
(if possible) build on an air line from Jackson or Bolivar, 
Tennessee, to Ship Island. *******a corps 
of engineers is now surveying a line from Middleton to Hick- 
man, Kentucky on the Mississippi side who propose to unite 
with us and make a continuous line from the gulf to some point 
near Cairo." 

But though so busily engaged in this enterprise, he still found 
time to take an active interest in the political well being of his 
State. In 1876 hewas one of the Tilden electors. At this time the 
South was still in part under the domination of the *carpet-bag' 
regime, and Col. Falkner earnestly desired to see his section 
restored to its rightful place in the national government. He 
made dn active canvass for Mr. Tilden, paying his expenses out 
of his private purse, and refused to be reimbursed. 

No view of the' character of Col. Falkner would be complete 
that did not emphasize his charity. He was the friend of the 
widow and the father of the fatherless in his community. He 
kept in mind always his early struggles to gain an education, 
and to make for himself a place in the world, and was ever ready 
to help deserving young men with his counsel and with his 
purse. He did not much encourage the giving of Christmas 
presents between the various members of his family, but at this 
time would fill boxes with provisions and clothing to be given 
to the poor, and would encourage his children to take part in 
this charity ; but in his giving he observed due care to withhold 
the name of the giver, for he held that true charity brings its 
own reward. 

He was a loving and faithful husband and father, and offered 
to all his children those educational advantages that had been 
denied him. One of his many enterprises that redounded to the 
good of the community was the founding of Stonewall College. 

His close reading and study of the masters of English prose, 
his wide and varied experience as lawyer, soldier, and man of 
affairs, coupled with close powers of observation, fitted him for 



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William C. Falkner, Novelist. — Bondurant. 123 

readily wielding the pen. His first publication, which came out 
when he was just grown up, was entitled "The Life of Mac- 
Cannon" and gave the history of a man who had gained a bad 
notoriety in the community. He contributed later to a Know 
Nothing paper, entitled Uncle Sam, But not until some years 
after the close of the war did he address himself seriously to 
writing. He first wrote a drama called "The Lost Diamond." S^ 
It is a play of war times and abounds in thrilling situations and 
tragic interest, comparing favorably with "Shenandoah," which 
has had very marked success on the boards. The play was 
presented several times in Ripley and always to crowded houses. 
The actors were young people from the town, and the piece 
was carefully* rehearsed and staged under the direction of the 
writer. The proceeds were devoted to charitable purposes. 

His first novel, "The White Rose of Memphis," appeared first 
as a serial in The Ripley Advertiser. The story attracted favor- 
able attention while it was coming out; later it was published 
in book form.* The book is dedicated to Col. M. C. Callaway, 
of the Memphis Appeal "In days long since past, when angry 
clouds lowered above me and dangers clustered thick around 
me, a time when friends of mine were few, though greatly to be 
desired — it was my good fortune to find in your generous heart 
those noble sentiments of true friendship that have proved of 
inestimable value to me "I have the honor to in- 
scribe this work to you, only regretting it is not more worthy 
of the honorable name of the generous friend to whom it is 
dedicated." The author is one of the first to utilize the Great 
River for literary purposes. We have a merry party starting 
from Memphis for a trip to New Orleans. Captain, crew and 
passengers have decided to make a fete of the maiden trip of 
The White Rose of Memphis. On the night before the party 
starts a masked ball is given aboard. Then comes the em- 
barcation, and we have a vivid picture in a few words of all 
engaged from captain to Voust about.' The city gathers on the 
bluff to witness the fine boat as she looses her moorings and 
glides smoothly from the wharf, first up stream and into the 
current, then graceful as a sea g^U she sweeps by the city and 
salutes the watching crowd as she passes. The party on board 

* G. W. Dillingham, Publisher, New York. 



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124 Mississippi Historical Society. 

decides to remain in masque, and the Queen of Scotts is ap- 
pointed mistress of the revel. The Queen of Sheba first de- 
cides to hold a rival court, but finally peace is declared between 
the contending majesties, and the Queen of Sheba with her 
gentlemen and ladies in waiting join the cortege of the Queen 
of Scotts. The day is then apportioned by the Queens. In the 
morning they are to meet upon the deck and have stories; in 
the afternoon this is to be repeated; and in the evening they 
are to have, for awhile, recitations and songs, and then to woo 
Terpsichore until Morpheus summons them. 

The plan is approved by all and a constitution under which 
they are to live adopted. The knight Ingomar is called upon for 
a story and he so interests the party that his narrative is kept 
up throughout the voyage. It is a personal sketch and brings 
in many interesting characters. The book g^ves a spirited view 
of the beginnings of the city of Memphis. We have depicted 
with ability and faithfulness, the brave young man, the loving 
and acute young woman, the steamboat captain, then a pictur- 
esque figure, the detective, the tattling woman, the unjust judge, 
the faithful negro servant, and last, but by no means least, the 
devoted dog. The book is melodramatic, but shows a vivid 
imagination and very considerable talent. The trip of the chil- 
dren afoot from Nashville to Memphis is ably depicted ; we bless 
the world for such characters as Dr. Dodson and Lottie. A re- 
viewer says of the book, "We know of nothing in modern litera- 
ture more beautiful than the tramp life of the three heroic and 
innocent children. It is an idyl sweet as any poet sung. The 
incidents of the story though unusual and startling are intro- 
duced with such an artistic hand as to seem natural and inevit- 
able. It is a delightful tribute to woman glowing throughout 
with the spirit of true chivalry." 

He wrote two other books, "The Little Brick Church,"* a 
novel, an interesing story of New York of the long ago, and 
"Rapid Ramblings in Europe"* a book of travel. 

Col. Falkner was elected to the Legislature of the State from 
the County of Tippah^ November 5, 1889, and on the same day 
was shot upon the streets of Ripley. He survived only twenty- 

■ J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1882. 
•J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1884. 



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William C. Falkner, Novelist. — Bondurant, 125 

. four hours, thus closed suddenly and tragically the career of a 
man who had done much for. the people of his section and the 
State at large. His death was mourned by multitudes who 
knew him throughout the State, and many who knew him not 
bitterly lamented his untimely taking off. I give below an ex- 
tract from the masonic tribute paid him by the members of his 
home lodge. "He was a public spirited citizen, being a pro- 
moter of all public works and to him the people of 

Tippah, Union and Pontotoc Counties are largely indebted for 
the railroad facilities which they now enjoy. Of him as an in- 
teresting author, a successful lawyer, a faithful citizen, we need 
not speak as these are things known to all men ; but of him as 
a true and tried Mason we wish to bear testimony." 

The closing extract is taken from a resolution passed by the 
Legislature. "Whereas, We feel that in his death this house has 
lost a wise counsellor and able debater, the State a true and 
noble citizen, his county its best friend, his family a devoted head 
and brave protector ; therefore, be it resolved. That in recogni- 
tion of his preeminent services to his country in war and peace 
— as soldier, statesman writer and citizen in every walk of life ; 
this preamble and resolution be spread upon the minutes of the 
House as a weak testimonial of the high esteem in which he is 
held by this body and the people of the State, and as a feeble 
tribute to his undying memory." 



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JAMES D. LYNCH, OF MISSISSIPPI, POET LAUREATE 
OF THE WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION. 

By Dabney Lipscomb.* 

Few Mississippians were really proud of the exhibit made by 
their State at the great Chicago Exposition. Unique and at- 
tractive it was, and creditable indeed to the patriotism and en- 
terprise of those who had found means to display so well the 
industries and the products of the State without a dollar of ap- 
propriation from her treasury. Still, so nearly lost was it in the 
midst of the extensive and costly exhibits about it from the 
States of the great Northwest that many loyal Mississippians 
with difficulty were able to discover it. To some the search was 
vain, if the register kept there be evidence. 

That Mississippi was represented at the great exposition in 
another and a more distinguished way was likewise learned only 

* Professor Dabney Lipscomb is a native of Mississippi, born at Co- 
lumbus, Mississippi, in 1859. His father, Dr. W. L. Lipscomb, has for 
many years been a prominent physician and influential citizen of that 
place, noted chiefly for its churches and its schools. Professor Lips- 
comb graduated at the University of Mississippi in 1879 with the degree 
of Bachelor of Arts; and two years after, upon the completion of a 
prescribed course, received from his Alma Mater the degree of Master 
of Arts. Three years of teaching in the public schools were followed 
by thirteen years of service at the A. and M. College of the State, where 
he was soon promoted from the position of Assistant Professor of Eng- 
lish and Mathematics to that of Principal of the Preparatory Depart- 
ment and Professor of Mental and Moral Science. In 1895 he was ap- 
pointed to the position which he now holds, Professor of English 
Langauge and Literature and of Belles-lettres in the University of 
Mississippi. 

In 1892-93 he was President of the State Teachers* Association, a 
member of the Executive Committee of the Southern Educational Asso- 
ciation, and a Director for the State of the National Educational Asso- 
ciation. He was Director of one of the State Normal Institutes in the 
summer of 1894, and in 1895 was elected Vice-President of the Depart- 
ment of Higher Education in the National Educational Association. 
Since his election to the chair he now holds, he has devoted what time 
he could spare from his regular duties to the study of the lives and 
works of Mississippi writers, the fruits of which, in part, he has given 
to the State Historical Society in the three papers contributed to its 
Publications. Professor Lipscomb spent the summer of 1899 in making 
a literary tour of England and Scotland, some reports of which he has 
published in various journals. — Editor. 

(127) 



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128 Mississippi Historical Society. 

by those who searched carefully the papers during the summer 
of 1893. In July, 1894, the fact with additional interest was more 
widely published; but even then our leading Southern dailies 
gave scarcely more than an inch of space to this important item. 
The Clarion-Ledger of June 29th, 1893, in an editorial paragraph, 
thus announces the notable event : "Mississippi is again honor- 
ed. • The Columbian Commission has adopted as the 'national 
salutation' a poem written by J. D. Lynch, of West Point, Mis- 
sissippi, entitled 'Columbia Saluting the Nations.' A critic says, 
as a whole, there is poetic thought expressed, and the general 
conception of the poem is lofty, and is elaborated in a manner 
worthy of the great theme." 

With no expectation of adding to the lustre of a literary 
triumph which places James D. Lynch in the company of John 
G. Whittier, Bayard Taylor, and Sidney Lanier, the poets of 
the Centennial Exposition, a Mississippian may be held ex- 
cusable if with pleasure and with pride he invites attention to 
the life and work of him who may be justly termed the "Poet 
Laureate of the Columbian Exposition." If, too, in the records 
of this Society one shall look for the names of those who by 
word or deed have added most to the welfare and reputation 
of their State, it certainly will not be inappropriate to enter 
in somewhat bold hand the name of the author of a poem which 
has twice been given a national recognition. Who then is the 
man, and what is the poem which was deemed worthy to be a 
nation's greeting to an assembled world ? 

James D. Lynch, author of "Columbia Saluting the Nations,"^ 
is a Virginian by birth, a member of the family from which the 
city of Lynchburg takes its name. As prominent representa- 
tives of this large connection, may be mentioned Thomas Lynch, 
signer of the Declaration of Independence; Charles Lynch 
Governor of Mississippi ; Commodore Lynch, of the U. S. and 
the C. S. Navy, and Captain Lynch, the first successful explorer 
of the Dead Sea. Having lost his father in his infancy, Mr. 
Lynch was adopted and reared by his maternal grandfather, 
Charles W. Baird, a gentleman of wealth, a thorough repre- 
sentative of the patriotism and culture of "the Old Virginia 
school." At an early age, the boy was sent to one of the noted 
academies of the State, from which through the influence of his 



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James Lynch, of Mississippi.— Li/^^cowft. 129 

room-mate he was induced to enter the University of North 
Carolina, in 1855. He withdrew Irom college at the end of his 
Junior year, to seek needed rest and recuperation in his grand- 
father's home. The year i860 finds him assistant teacher in the 
Franklin Academy, Columbus, Mississippi; attracted to the 
place by the invitation of his cousin, Wm. C. Carter, then princi- 
pal of the school. There, as a teacher of the advanced classes in 
Latin and Greek, he remained one year, when the outbreak of 
war called him back to his nativ^ State. Meanwhile, frequent 
visits to the neighboring town of West Point had resulted in his 
marriage to a cultured lady of that place, who returned with 
him to his Virginia home. Finding that most of his relatives 
and friends were absent in the army, he soon returned to Mis- 
sissippi, and leaving his bride in her parental home joined a 
cavalry cofnpany then organizing in the county. Broken in health 
by the terrible Shiloh campaign and the subsequent retreat south- 
ward, he was forced to retire from active service. Regaining 
his strength, he organized a company of which he was elected 
captain, and rejoined the army in time to be severely wounded 
near the battlefield of Chickamauga. Again restored to health, 
he took active part in the Georgia campaign until ordered by 
his colonel one day to attack with his company what appeared 
to be a thin skirmish line of dismounted cavalry. The charge 
was gallantly made in sight of both armies, but resulted in the 
envelopment of Captain L)mch and his bold riders in the ranks 
of a division of infantry advancing to the attack. Of his escape 
from prison and his career as a soldier to his surrender at Gaines- 
ville, Alabama, with the Nitre and Mining Bureau outfit of 
which he then had charge, details cannot be given. 

Peace came, but to him with his patrimony swept away, as 
to many others, it meant the beginning of another struggle 
against heavy odds. A year or two of unsuccessful farming 
under the new conditions near West Point, Mississippi, caused 
him to move again to Columbus, where as a member of the bar 
his prospects of success were for a time unusually encouraging. 
But gradual increase of deafness, produced it was thought by 
his wound in the war, compelled him in a few years to give up 
the practice of law. 

Literary in his tastes, especially fond even from his youth 



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I30 Mississippi Historical Society. 

of history, poetry, and romance, he now determined to make 
these subserve his needs as well as his pleasure. To author- 
ship he turned as a means by which to supplement the slender 
income which was yearly proving more and more inadequate 
to the support of his growing family. For nearly twenty years 
he lived in a simple, quiet way more distinctly the life of an 
author than perhaps any other man in the State. 

His first and most popular prose work was "Kemper County 
.Vindicated ; or A Peep at Reconstruction in Mississippi." He 
spent four months in the county gathering materials for the 
work ; which, it may be added, he undertook at the request of 
a number of the most prominent citizens of the county. "The 
Bench and Bar of Mississippi" was his next important publi- 
cation. The sketches of deceased judges and lawyers seemed 
to be acceptable; but too little or unequal notice given to 
the prominent ones then living proved fatal to the popularity, 
of the book. The difficulty and delicacy of the task under the 
conditions are apparent, and the result is not surprising. 
Abroad, the work attracted considerable attention, and Mr. 
Lynch soon received a letter from the Governor and from the 
Chief Justice of Texas, both strangers to him, inviting him to 
undertake a similar work for their State. Accordingly, after 
a year or more spent in Austin and elsewhere in the State col- 
lecting the necessary information, Mr. Lynch published in 1885 
"The Bench and Bar of Texas." The preface to it contains an 
excellent exposition of the nature of biography, stressing the 
responsibilities and opportunities of the biographer ; and to the 
principles set forth he adheres closely in the sketches. Though 
urged to remain and write another volume, he declined and re- 
turned to his family in Mississippi, leaving two of his sons in 
Austin. 

To prose, Mr. Lynch devoted most of his time for the sake of 
the remuneration which was more probable and ample in that 
direction. That the returns were not munificent, it is perhaps 
needless to suggest. For recreation and the satisfaction of a 
propensity which was strong even in his boyhood, he* had from 
his college days with increasing impulse and delight occasional- 
ly sought expression in verse for that within which seemed too 
lofty or too deep, too tender or too beautiful for prose ade- 



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James Lynch, of Mississippi. — Lipscomb. 131 

quately to reveal. "Robert E. Lee, or the Heroes of the South," 
"The Kuklux Tribunal," a burlesque on the Boutelle Investigat- 
ing Committee, "The Clock- of Destiny," and "Would You 
Marry Me Again?" are the most important of his earlier poems. 
While in Texas, he wrote "The Siege of the Alamo," which 
brought him his first signal honor as a poet. So highly was the 
poem appreciated by the Texans that by order of the Governor 
it was printed on parchment, handsomely framed, and hung as 
the property of the State on the walls of the historic old fortress. 
He wrote a few years later a Christmas ode on "The Birth of 
Christ," which was aAvarded the prize of honor by Dr. T. DeWitt 
Talmadge, editor of the "Christian Herald," and beautifully il- 
lustrated, appeared on the front page of that widely circulated 
paper. In 1895, at the Centennial Anniversary of his Alma 
Mater, the University of North Carolina, he was the honored 
poet of that interesting occasion. But never before nor since 
the production of his great "Salutation" has he climbed 
Parnassus to the heigfit he then reached. 

Before examining more closely his masterpiece, a concluding 
reference to Mr. Lynch's life should be made. He now lives in 
Texas with the two sons who went with him to Austin in 1884. 
Under the firm name of Lynch Brothers, they are prosperous 
wholesale and retail dry goods merchants at Sulphur Springs. 
There in comfort, with little care and abundant leisure, Mr. 
Lynch is still engaged in literary work. 

As before stated, it was in 1893 that there came to him the 
great occasion of his literary life. Seeing in a Chicago paper 
that the Columbian Commission, desiring a national salutation 
by an American, proposed to the poets of the United States a 
competitive contest for the honor of its production, his ambi- 
tion was set aflame, and he resolved if possible to win the laurel. 
For three days and nights he scarcely ate or slept, so intensely 
was he absorbed in the conception and the development of the 
poem he intended to submit. With faint hope after all of suc- 
cess, he at length sent it to the designated committee, and in 
response to his inquiry was informed that a hundred or more 
poems had already been received. The first intimation of suc- 
cess which came to him was in the form of a note from the 
committee expressing their desire for the poem to be kept out 



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132 Mississippi Historical Society. 

of print, as they were greatly pleased with it. Shortly after, 
the following official acceptation of it was received : 

Chicago, III, May 27, 1893. 
Hon, James D. Lynch, 

West Point, Miss. 
Dear Sir: I have the honor to inform you that your poem entitled 
"Columbia Saluting the Nations" was on the 26th day of May, 1893, 
unanimously adopted by the World's Columbian Commission as the 
national salutation. 

Very respectfully yours, 

Jno. T. Dickinson, Secretary. 

The National Editorial Association, in session at Chicago, 
adopted the "National Salutation" as their official poem, and as 
the "Press Poem of Americ^" requested Mr. Lynch to read it 
or to have it read at their next annual meeting. In compliance 
with this request, at Asbury Park, N. J., July 5th, 1894, in be- 
half of Mr. Lynch, Mrs. Greenwood Ligon of Okolona, Miss., 
impersonating Columbia, recited "Columbia Saluting the Na- 
tions" to an audience of over three thousand. Speeches fol- 
lowed in which the poem was referred to as "matchless" and 
"immortal," and after which Mrs. Ligon and Mr. L)aich by 
special order were decorated with the badge of the National 
Editorial Association. Brief notices of this event were given 
in the Associated Press dispatches. The "Commercial Appeal," 
of Memphis, referred to it in a brief editorial thus: "Great 
honor was paid by the National Editorial Association, now in 
session at Asbury Park, to two Mississippians, Mrs. Greenwood 
Ligon of Okolona, and Col. James D. Lynch of West Point. 
The former read the latter's famous poem, 'Columbia Salut- 
ing the Nations,' which was unanimously adopted by the 
World's Fair Commissioners last year." Through Mrs. Ligon's 
admirable renditions of the poem in a number of towns in Mis- 
sissippi, it became better known in the State. But, owing 
doubtless to the copyright, it seems not to have appeared in 
the papers ; and hence is yet far from being familiar to the pub- 
lic in even the author's own State. 

Careful reading of the poem itself will alone satisfy those to 
whom the foregoing sketch of its author and account of its pro- 
duction may have positively appealed. In lieu of this, perhaps 
an interpretative analysis of it may prove acceptable in some 
degree. With diffidence, however, this delicate task is under- 



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James Lynch, of Mississippi. — Lipscomb. 133 

taken, lest both the poet and the poem suffer by the process. 
Beauty whether of face or flower, picture or poem, is too subtle, 
too varied, and too elusive to be thoroughly explained. As well 
expect a satisfactory explanation of the fragrance of the violet 
or the melody of a song. Poetry in its blending of pictorial, 
emotional and musical qualities — ^finest of the fine arts — ^in a* 
peculiar sense bafHes criticism. Mind, soul, ear, and eye, must 
be sensitive and true, alert and strong, not only in him who 
creates but also in him who can appreciate a real poem. 

With this conception of the comparative futility of criticism 
as a preface, not to discourage but to stimulate, it may be in- 
teresting now to ascertain as far 'tis possible what in form and 
content this poem holds that justifies the preeminence accorded 
to it. Wisely has the poet chosen a simple yet stately stanza 
as the vehicle of his thought, and not the intricate and lengthy 
classic form which Bayard Taylor used in his "Centennial Ode," 
skillfully indeed, but at the cost of popularity for his poem. 
Seventy rhyming couplets of unusual length consisting of 
classical septenary verses with trochaic beat constitute the 
poem. The melody and harmony of many of the lines is ex- 
ceptionally fine. In places alliteration is rather freely used, and 
the mid-verse pauses in the long lines at times suggest mono- 
tone. The rh)rmes come apparently unsought, and the tone 
color is withal varied and pleasing. In short, the poem is 
rythmical as well as metrical, and the form is evidently well 
suited to its nature and its purpose. 

But what of its general conception and its emotional and 
imaginative qualities? To many, these singly or collectively 
appeal more forcibly than does the music of the verse. The 
poet must have intended that his thought should be as intelligi- 
ble as his metre ; for the seventy couplets are divided into four- 
teen sections of unequal length, indicating accurately every stage 
of its development. The topics of the sections will be stated, 
brief comments made, and illustrative extracts given. It is 
hoped that by this method not only the thought of the poem 
will be readily perceived, but also that its spirit, its rich imagery, 
choice expressions, and rythmical beauty may be in a measure 
apprehended. 



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134 Mississippi Historical Society. 

In the first section of two couplets the imagination is aroused 
and the key-note of the poem is clearly and firmly struck : 

"Iro! Columbia with her banner blazing welcome full unfurled 
Bids the Nations, robed in progress, to the birthfeast of a world." 

Hostess, guests, and the great occasion are in a single sent- 
ience thus brought distinctly into view; the vision of Columbia 
simple, gracious, and yet superb, to remain undimmed and fas- 
cinating to the end. 

The welcome ended, Columbia next with mien and bearing 
changed devoutly invokes a blessing from the "Father of all 
Peoples" "on this gathering of the nations," and beseeches him 
to 

"Teach them that they roll together on this little ball of clay, 
Linked in common bonds of fortune, whirling to the perfect day." 

The six couplets constituting the third section contain an 

impassioned apostrophe to the great Discoverer— one of the 

finest sections of the poem. A line and the last couplet will 

be quoted: 

** Come in spirit, O Columbus, taste this glory of thy name, 
% « * * * * 

See thy labor lifting labor to a scope of reach sublime. 
And thy genius piling genius in the grandest heap of time." 

The voyage is next graphically described, and the noble burn- 
ing exhortation of Columbus to his desponding sailors is deep- 
ly impressive. The approach and the landing are vividly por- 
trayed in the fifth section, as this extract attests : 

" On the third day drifting branches, and the shallow-growing sea 
And the wild geese clanging over, brought the world that was to be. 

O the eleventh of October, fourteen hundred and ninety-to. 

When the Old World felt the selvedge of the garments of the New." 

Fancy now has fuller play. Columbia again looks upward 

instead of outward. The gods and goddesses, nymphs and 

graces, the muses and the arts are in joyful convocation, and 

each bestows a blessing on the new found world. The last two 

couplets of the section suggest its nature and link it to the 

next: 

" Art and Science caught the rapture, and they came with ankle-wings. 
And the wheels of Progress rattled on the bones of olden thmgs. 

O behold the glorious fruitage, see the blessings they have sowed, ^^ 
All our barns are filled with harvest, 'and our vats are overflowed. 



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James Lynch, of Mississippi. — Lipscomb. 135 

•\ 
Inspired by the vision which has just passed before her, and 

rejoicing in the proof she can offer as to her progress and her 

harvests, Columbia exultantly points to her treasuries and 

palaces in the "Magic City" by the inland sea. As a whole, 

this is, as perhaps it was intended to be, the finest section of the 

poem. Note in the several couplets of it quoted how luminous, 

modern in spirit, and rapturous are the lines: 

" In this golden-throated city, showered Danae of the lakes; 
Every circling star of heaven here its sweetest influence shakes. 

See the piles of wonder, parted into golden-bordered aisles 
And the lanes of splendor, latticed into labyrinthian miles. 

Here is Science wedding Labor, here is Genius wedding Art, 
Blending at the shrine of Progress all delight of mind and heart. 

All the textures of the climates, all the products of the zones — 
Babel-tongues of genius uttering sounds in all the sweep of tones; 

Talking spirits of machinery, magic marvels of the loom. 
Woven radiance of the morning, colors of the maiden's bloom; 

Lightning flashing work to order, geared to axle, shaft and wheel, 
Hanging suns out in the midnight, filed upon a strand of steel — 

Noon of labor's gathered glory, from all summer shines and snows, 
Purple sunsets of the ages crested on the century's close." 

How complete and satisfying is this description only those 
who visited the wonderful Exposition can truly judge. 

To her guests of honor, each in turn, in the several sections 

following, Columbia extends an individual greeting. There is 

here less imagination ; but the allusions, the sentiment, and the 

phrasing are so varied and pleasing that they keep the interest 

well sustained. A couplet or two from each section will sufl5cc 

for illustration : 

" Mother England, we still love you, and are proud to be your child; 
We imbibed your cup of freedom, and you thought it made us wild. 

Neighbor Spain, a blessing on you, let us take your ancient hand; 

For your chivalry is blazoned in the records of our land — 

♦ ♦♦ * ♦ * 

France, God bless you, generous ally! for you share our inmost 

heart; 
When we strove for rights of manhood, Ojrou nobly took our part; 

Let us lock the arms of friendship, as our fathers when they met. 
Let us ever be the Washington, and you the Lafayette. 

« « ♦ ♦ * * 

Sister Nations of Columbia, O the bliss of pride we feel 

In the promise-bow that circles round the headway of your weal." 



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13^ Mississippi Historical Society. 

Succeeding these special greetings comes a reiterated wel- 
come to all the other nations, breathing the spirit of progress 
and common brotherhood. Lovingly and proudly, yet with a 
shade of anxiety on her brow, Columbia with hands extended 
over her own fair land, now speaks words of earnest admonition 
and fervent benediction ; 

" O my Country, throne of nature, duest fane of anthem's swell ; 
Lift thy thankful voice to Heaven, guard thy source of blessings 
well; 

Loose thee from all festering customs, list to labor's righteous call. 
Lest the mystic fingers lower to foreclose thee on the wall. 

Catch the headlight of the ages, leave the darkening past behind, 
Break upon a broader future with a broader rift of mind. 

* * * * ♦ * 

May thy future be a lyric tuning every tongue of chime. 

And thy little sorrows breath-marks in the long refrain of time." 

Once again she speaks, this time in general benediction, 
brief and characteristic. Nourished upon the thought that 
freedom is the all-comprehensive blessing, thus she closes : 

" Dear Athenian goddess, FreeJiom, mantled to thy fairest form. 
Ever stand within our gateway, shake thy torch out to the storm. 

Shake the splendor of th^ blessings on the castle-walls of night 
Till the world shall dip its shadows in thy universal light." 

Clearness, comprehensiveness, aptness, and enthusiasm are 
conspicuous excellencies of the poem as a whole. But, for its 
happy use of historic allusions and for its numerous fine phrases, 
it has been probably most admired. Charles A. Dana said: 
"It abounds in forcible, striking, and apt expressions ; and if it 
does not always show the highest inspiration, it always shows 
something of it, and is worthy of the honor it has received." 
Cardinal Gibbons estimates it thus : *'It contains so many pre- 
cioHis gems of thought that I am not surprised to learn that 
it was adopted as America's welcome to the nations." 

In religious sentiment, ardent patriotism, and phrasal power, 
it compares favorably with Whittier's "Centennial Hymn." In 
spontaneity, appropriateness and the effective use of historic 
materials, it surpasses Bayard Taylor's "Centennial Ode." 
Wfth Lanier's "Centennial Cantata," which was not intended 
to be read, the "National Salutation" can hardly be compared. 
Simpler in fopn and less subtle in thought than the "Cantata," 



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James Lynch, of Mississippi. — Lipscomb. 137 

it is equally as elevated in tone and more forcible and pictur- 
esque in expression; hence, more popular. 

As a poem for an occasion of a kind as yet unparalleled in 
history, awarded the palm in a contest unprecedented in nature 
and extent, it holds a place of unique prominence in American 
literature. In the occasion and the method of its selection 
its highest encomium may be found. That such distinction has 
crowned a Southern poet will ever be remembered with gratifi- 
cation by the culture and patriotism of the South. That the 
author of "The National Salutation" was one of her distin- 
guished sons, Mississippi will ever recall with pride and satis- 
faction. 



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BISHOP OTEY AS PROVISIONAL BISHOP OF 
MISSISSIPPI. 

By R^v. Arthur Howard Noll.* 

Nine years after the admission of Mississippi to the Union, 
a new force was added to those already operating for the moral 
and religious upbuilding of a great State, by the organization 
therein of a Diocese of the Protestant Episcopal Church. This 
was effected at a convention of clergy and lay representatives 
held in Trinity Church, Natchez, on the 17th of May, 1826. 
There were then four parishes in existence in the State, at 
Natchez, Woodville, Port Gibson and at what is now known as 
Church Hill, Jefferson county, and there were five clergymen 
of the Episcopal church resident therein. Of the laymen pres- 
ent in the convention probably the most distinguished was the 
Hon. Joshua G. Clarke, Chancellor of the State. 

In the States south of the Potomac and Ohio rivers there 
were at that time Bishops in Virginia, and the Carolinas. So 

* Arthur Howard Noll was born in Caldwell, New Jersey, 'about the 
middle of the century. His surname betokens his German ancestry, 
which on his father's side was only two generations removed. His 
mother was a Hamilton, descended from two Colonial governors of 
New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and from Revolutionary soldiers sufficient 
to entitle Mr. Noll to membership in the New Jersey Society of the 
Sons of the American Revolution. 

After receiving his early training from his father, who was a teacher, 
Mr. Noll, in his sixteenth year, began the study of law in Newark, New 
Jersey. He was admitted to the New Jersey Bar in 1876 as an Attorney, 
and three years later as a Counsellor. In 1882 he went to Paso del 
Norte, in Mexico, and entered the service of the Mexican Central Rail- 
way, then in course of construction. Two years later he was appointed 
Cashier of the newly-completed road, with his headquarters in the City 
of Mexico. In the Fall of 1885 he resigned this position to enter the 
ministry of the Protestant Episcopal Church. His three years and a 
half of residence in Mexico (provmcial and metropolitan), resulted in 
his writing a large number of papers upon Mexican subjects for the 
popular press. In 1890 his Short History of Mexico was published by 
A. C. McClurg & Co., Chicago. The preface of this book (a i2mo. of 
294 pages), was dated in Port Gibson, Mississippi. The book is now in 
its second edition and is among the ''5,000 volumes for a Popular Li- 
brary selected by the American Library Association and shown in the 
World's Columbian Exposition." 

Mr. Noll spent abojit two years of preparation for the ministry at the 

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I40 Mississippi Historical Society. 

the ordinary affairs of the new Diocese were administered by a 
standing committee and the churchmen of Mississippi waited 
patiently for the means to be supplied by which to receive 
Episcopal supervision. In 1829 the Diocese of Tennessee was 
organized, and in 1833, with a courage superior to that which 
the Diocese of Mississippi had shown, the younger Diocese 
elected one of its clergy to the Episcopate and sent him the fol- 
lowing January to Philadelphia to receive consecration. 

As soon as the Diocese of Mississippi was made aware of the 
existence of a Bishop in Tennessee an invitation was sent by 
the standing committee for him to take the Diocese of Missis- 
sippi under his Episcopal charge. In accepting this invitation 
the Rt. Rev. James Hervey Otey, S. T. D., added another to 
the long list of g^eat names which adorn the history of the 
State of Mississippi. And the purpose of this paper is to direct 
the attention of those who are engaged in collecting the ma- 
terials out of which the history of the State of Mississippi will 
some day be written, to the career of this man and the influence 
it exerted upon the religious and educational interests of a vast 
region, including Mississippi. 

For Bishop Otey was a great man, too great for one State 
to claim an exclusive interest in him. Of sturdy Anglo-Saxon 

University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee; was made deacon in 1887 
in Tennessee, and priest in 1888 in Texas. He was successively in 
charge of missions on the Southwestern border; rector of St. James' 
Church, Port Gibson, Mississippi (1889-1893); rector of Mt. Olivet 
Church, New Orleans, and temporarily engaged in church work in 
Illinois. ^ For the last five years he has resided in Tennessee, where 
in addition to the care of several missions, he is Secretary and His- 
toriographer of the Diocese. In the latter capacity he has recently pub- 
lished a History of the Church in the Diocese of Tennessee (i2mo., 229 pages. 
James Pott & Co., New York), which is winning high encomiums from 
the press more particularly because of its compact form and readable 
style. 

In the midst of a busy clerical life Mr. NoU's pen has never been idle, 
but \\SlS produced articles for various popular periodicals, some short 
stories and a p-eat number of papers of a more serious character, book 
reviews and historical and archaeological sketches. Upon the publica- 
tion of his paper on "Tenochtitlan : Its site Identified" in the American 
Journal of Archaeology (Nov.-Dec, 1897), he was elected corresponding 
member of the New Jersey Historical Society. He is also a member of 
the Tennessee Historical Society and of the Mississippi Historical So- 
ciety. He has several works at present in hand likely to be published 
next year. 

In 1887 he married a daughter of Thomas Dunn English, M. D., LL. 
D., the veteran poet, novelist and journalist, and widely known as the 
author of the famous song, "Ben Bolt." — Editor. 



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Bishop Otey. — Noll. 141 

stock, he was a native of Virginia, his birth year being 1800, 
his birthplace within sight of the "Peaks of Otter." Among his 
ancestors were an English Archbishop, a member of the British 
House of Commons, a Revolutionary hero and a member of 
the Virginia Legislature. He was favored beyond the other 
members of his immediate family in the gratification of his 
ambition for an education, and though trained to hard work in 
his youth and thus enabled to develop the sturdy frame so es- 
sential to the pursuit of the frontier missionary work which 
lay before him, he was permitted to enjoy the best educational 
advantages of the time and locality and was graduated from 
the University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill, in 1820, taking 
the unusual degree of "Bachelor of Belles Lettres." He began 
immediately his career ^as an educator by accepting the ap- 
pointment of Greek and Latin tutor in his alma mater. 

The next year he opened a school for boys near Franklin, 
Tennessee, but at the end of eighteen months he took charge 
of a school at Warrenton, North Carolina, where he had among 
his pupils the brothers, Braxton and Thomas Bragg. After his 
ordination to the Diaconate in 1825, he removed again to 
Tennessee and established, according to his original purpose, 
Harpeth Academy, a classical school for boys in Franklin. 
It maintained a high reputation and had among its pupils Mat- 
thew Fontaine Maury. 

It was through his efforts that the Episcopal Church was es- 
tablished in Tennessee, and developed sufficient strength to 
organize a Diocese and elect a bishop. He was advanced to 
the priesthood in 1827. His labors for twenty-nine years as 
Bishop of Tennessee justified the wisdom of the church in con- 
secrating him to that high office. Columbia College in 1833 
bore testimony to the quality of his scholarship by conferring 
upon him the degree of Doctor of Sacred Theology. 

His annual visitations in Mississippi, begun in 1834, were 
scarcely suspended when he was in a sense superseded in the 
oversight of this Diocese by the Rt. Rev. Leonidas Polk, (after- 
wards Major General Polk of the Confederate army), who as 
Missionary Bishop of Arkansas undertook the Episcopal super- 
vision of Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Indian Territory and 
Texas. On Easter day, 1840 (April 19th), Bishop Otey assisted 



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142 Mississippi Historical Society. 

Bishop Polk at the consecration of Trinity Church, Natchez, 
and the next Sunday he alone instituted the Rev. Dr. David C. 
Page as rector of that parish. He had signified his willingness 
to relieve Bishop Polk of his charge of Mississippi, and when 
Bishop Polk the following year became the Diocesan Bishop of 
Louisiana, the Diocese of Mississippi formally elected Bishop 
Otey Provisional Bishop. At the same time the missionary 
work needed in Arkansas and the Indian Territory was assigned 
to him by the General Convention of the church. The Episco- 
pate was to him therefore no sinecure. His journeys in the 
discharge of his duties in those days when the traveling facili- 
ties were not what they are now, were filled with hardships and 
adventures. His interests were necessarily wide, but next to 
Tennessee, he gave to Mississippi the best of his attention. 

The pocket diaries of Bishop Otey during the years 1834 to 
1850 contain such hasty memoranda of daily occurrences as 
were necessary for the preparation of his reports of his official 
acts to the various conventions over which he had to preside. 
There are accounts of official visitatfons to Natchez, Vicksburg, 
Church Hill, Woodville, Hernando, Jackson and to many plan- 
tations adjacent to those places. In the record of his baptisms 
and confirmations we find the names of many persons who have 
become distinguished among the citizens of the State, and of 
many families whose names are associated with local history. 
Now and then these hastily prepared records afford a glimpse 
of the plantation life in the ante-bellum period which is deserv- 
ing of a more permanent record. Here is an incident occurring 
upon the plantation of Dr. William Newton Mercer, twelve 
miles below Natchez, which incidentally throws some light on 
the religious care bestowed upon the negroes during the slave 
days. The Doctor was a man of great wealth, owning about a 
thousand slaves. He had erected on his principal estate a 
beautiful church of the Grecian order of architecture, having 
a tessaleted marble floor and a great deal of sculpture of a high 
order. He provided also a rectory and maintained therein a 
faithful minister, the Rev. Mr. Deacon, who with his other du- 
ties was to "baptize the children of the plantation slaves and 
train them in obedience to Christ." From the Bishop's diary 
under date of Sunday, April 17, 1842, we take the following: 



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Bishop Otey. — Noli 143 

"* * * A service was appointed for the black people at 
4 o'clock p. m., at which time the church was filled. They were 
addressed by both Mr. D. and myself. One hundred and ten 
children were baptized, Dr. Mercer and Miss E. Young acting 
as sponsors, — ^and eight adults, the same persons being wit- 
nesses. During the baptism of the children a concurrence of 
names took place which entirely overcame the gravity of Mr. 
Deacon and Mr. Crane, of Dr. M. and Miss Young — ^and came 
near oversetting mine also. To refrain from laughing for a 
moment was impossible. I, however, took Mr. D's place at the 
front and baptized 74 children. Water was consecrated three 
times before we ended the service. May God grant His blessing 
upon this work for Jesus Christ's sake. After all the service 
was ended I again addressed the adults in the most serious 
manner I was able upon their duties. They appeared deeply 
impressed." 

In 1844 it seemed to some that the time had come for the 
Diocese of Mississippi to have a Bishop all her own, and Bishop 
Otey presided over a most remarkable convention held in the 
Senate chamber at Jackson. An eflFort was made to elect a 
Bishop. The Rev. Dr. Page, of Natchez, was nominated by the 
clergy, but rejected by the laity by a vote of seven to two. 
The Rev. Dr. Cobbs (afterwards Bishop of Alabama), was then 
nominated by the clergy and rejected by the laity by a vote of 
five to four. The laity were evidently under the spell of the 
eloquent Francis Lister Hawks, D. D., who was present in the 
State and had preached the convention sermon. • When, there- 
fore, the clergy nominated Dr. Hawks, his nomination wis im- 
mediately confirmed* by the laity, he was elected and his testi- 
monials were duly signed. This procedure was evidently ex- 
tremely distasteful to Bishop Otey. He notes in his diary, 
"Convention was repeatedly addressed by me on their extra- 
ordinary proceedings — ^but to no purpose." 

Dr. Hawks had, in 1835, declined to serve the church as 
Missionary Bishop of the Southwest, the field in which Bishops 
Polk and Otey were wearing themselves out. His testimonials 
were followed up to the General Convention by charges against 
his business integrity which caused opposition to his consecra- 
tion. The matter was referred again to the convention of the 



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144 Mississippi Historical Society. 

Diocese of Mississippi and Dr. Hawks refused to allow his 
name to come before that convention again. Had the matter 
eventuated otherwise, the name of Dr. Hawks would have been 
another great name added to the roll of distinguished citizens 
of Mississippi, and it would have been an addition which this 
Society should especially appreciate, for he was a whole His- 
torical Society in himself and his contributions to the historical 
literature of our coimtry were many and valuable. 

But Bishoy Otey continued in charge of the Diocese of Mis- 
sissippi four years longer and then resigned in order to spur 
the Diocese to a suitable eflFort to secure a bishop of her own. 
In a letter written to his daughter from Devereaux, the planta- 
tion house of Mr. Elliott, on the i6th of May, 1848, he says : 

"The Mississippi convention closed on last Saturday. My 
connection with the Diocese terminates the ist of July next. 
The members of the convention were unwilling to give me up, 
but I insisted upon it, and they at last yielded. I saw many 
faces wet with tears when the act which separates us was passed. 
I never expect to be again in charge of a people who will love 
me so strongly and give me so many tokens of affection." 

He continued his visitations, however, and in 1849 presided 
over the convention at which his life-long friend, the Rev. Dr. 
William Mercer Green, from whom he had received baptism a 
quarter of a century before, was elected bishop. On the 24th of 
February, 1850, he was the consecrator of Bishop Green in St. 
Andrew's church, Jackson. Bishop Polk, of Louisiana ; Bishop 
Cobbs, of Alabama, and Bishop Freeman, of Arkansas, were 
present and assisting in the consecration. 

Bishop Otey was by instinct and by habit a teacher, and it 
was impossible for him to be in charge of any Diocese without 
leaving his impress upon the schools. Christian education was 
a favorite theme of his, and one of the greatest of his sermons, 
preached before the General Convention in Richmond in 1859, 
was upon that subject. Before his elevation to the Episcopate 
he conceived a plan for the establishment of a college or univer- 
sity to supply the needs of the lower Mississippi Valley and in 
February, 1836, he issued a circular letter from Natchez ap- 
pealing for funds to carry out this plan. The proposed college 
was to include a theological seminary, a literary, scientific and 



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Bishop Otey.— Noll, 145 

classical college and a school for the training of professional 
teachers for the schools of the South. In this respect he was 
one of the earliest advocates of the normal system of educating 
teachers. 

The financial stringency of the times prevented the immediate 
success of his plans ; but he never abandoned them, and finally 
saw them (as he supposed), being carried out at the University 
of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee. 

How deep an impress Bishop Otey left upon the religious and 
educational life of the Mississippians and how much of it sur- 
vived the war that destroyed the less substantial workmanship 
of others, must be left for the future historian of Mississippi 
to determine. He himself did not survive the great struggle, 
but died in 1863. The Diocese of Mississippi had to wait until 
after the return of peace to a devastated country before it could 
take action upon the death of this noble Bishop who had occu- 
pied such an important position in her annals. And very ap- 
propriately it was the first Diocesan Bishop of Mississippi, who, 
towards the close of his life, became Bishop Otey's biographer. 



10 



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RICHARD CURTIS IN THE COUNTRY OF THE 
NATCHEZ. 

By Chas. H. Otken.i 

Richard Curtis, Jr., was a native of Virginia. Just before the 
war for Independence, his father located on the Great Pedee 
River, South Carolina, some sixty miles from Charleston. Dur- 
ing the Revolutionary war the elder Curtis and his sons en- 
listed in the command of General Francis Marion. They re- 
mained in the service under Marion until their homes and their 
substance were destroyed by British and Tory forays. Mr. 
Curtis, Sr., his son and John Courtney, John Stampley, Daniel 
and William Ogden, and Mr. Perkins, friends and neighbors, 

*Chas. H. Otken is a native of Louisiana. His mother dying when he 
was in his sixth year, he was taken into the family of an uncle, from 
whom most of the knowledge of his family is derived. His only sister, 
eldest brother and his father died prior to the war between the States. 
After attending public and private schools about five years he became 
a clerk in a general mercantile store. In 1857 he entered Mississippi 
College, from which institution he was graduated with the A. B. degree. 
In 1 861 he joined the Charlton Rifles, of Raymond, Miss. Soon after- 
wards he was invited to become chaplain of the 45th Mississippi Regfi- 
ment. In 1866 he married Emily J., daughter of James Everett Lea, a 
planter of Amite county, Miss. For more than thirty years he was 
actively engaged in educational work as Principal of the Peabody Public 
School of Summit, Miss. (1867-1876), as President of the Lea Female 
College at Summit, Miss. (1876-1893), and as President of the McComb 
City Female College (1893-1898). During all this time he was active as 
a pastor, and wrote much for the local press, on social, industrial and 
educational topics. He was appointed a trustee of the University of 
Mississippi by Gov. Stone, and aided in securing the recognition of the 
fund by the Legislature, the interest on which now supports that insti- 
tution. He was also a trustee of Mississippi College for a period of 
about ten years. The latter has conferred on him the degree of LL. D., 
besides the degree of A. M. In 1894 he published a volume on "The Ills 
of the South." The following year, the Times Democrat offered a prize 
for the best essay on **The Agricultural Crisis in the South." Ninety-one 
papers were presented from the Southern States. The awarding com- 
mittee reported that it was unanimously of the opinion that the second 
best essay, approximating very close to the first in manv respects so as 
to render a decision difficult, was that by Chas. H. Otken, LL. D., of 
McComb City, Mississippi. Both essays were published. The success- 
ful competitor was Prof. Walter Maxwell, a graduate of the Kensington 
(England) School of Mines, a Ph. D. of the University of Zurich, 
Switzerland, and an A. M. of Harvard. 

Dr. Otken is at present engaged in literary work. — Editor. 

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148 Mississippi Historical Society. 

were all in the same condition. Exposed as was their situation 
on account of the nearness to Charleston, their property con- 
stantly subjected to depredation by their bitte^ enemies, the 
Tories, they saw that emigration to the West was the one hope 
of escape from the dangers that threatened them and their 
families. 

Their purpose was to go to the country of the Natchez In- 
dians. After enduring the hardships incident to a journey 
through an unbroken forest, the little company reached the 
Holstein river in the year 1780. Here they halted to make 
needed preparation for the voyage by water. When this had 
been accomplished, three flat-boats started down the Holstein 
river. After entering the Tennessee river, the emigrants were 
attacked by the Cherokee Indians near the mouth of Clinch 
river. The third boat was captured, and all aboard were mas- 
sacred except one woman. The voyage down the Ohio and 
the Mississippi was uneventful. In the early part of the year, 
1781, the two boats reached their destination at the mouth of 
Cole's creek on the east bank of the Mississippi river, about 
twenty miles north of the site where the present city of Natchez 
is situated. 

Here they secured land and began the work of building 
homes. When their rude cabins had been erected, and the 
ripened corn was ready to be harvested, an Indian attack de- 
stroyed in a few hours, the fruit of the first year's hard labor, 
and they fled for their lives to Fort Rosalie, as the place of 
safety for their wives and children. After the dispersion of the 
Indians, with renewed determination they returned to their 
ruined homes, built new cabins and planted their fields. 

Tradition in the Jones and Curtis families represents these 
immigrants from South Carolina and Virginia as a high-minded, 
upright and religious people. Sound morals prevailed in this 
community of early settlers on Cole's creek. Mr. Curtis was 
their instructor in morals and in the Christian religion. It is a 
part of the same information handed down from father to son, 
that there was not a cabin in the settlement in which the Bible 
was not read, and in which daily prayers did not ascend to God. 
Firm in their own convictions, they neither prescribed nor pro- 



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Richard Curtis in the Country of the Natchez. — Otken. 149 

scribed creeds. The idea of religious liberty had taken deep 
root in the thought of this people. 

West Florida, the Natchez country being a part thereof, was 
at this time under Spanish rule, and from 1779 to 1798 Spain 
attempted even here to control the religious thought of the 
people by threats and penalties. 

In 1834, the author of "Protestantism in Mississippi and the 
Southwest," related to the Curtis family, obtained information 
from private letters and from residents of the Cole's creek 
settlement, during the Spanish occupancy, still living, relating 
to the attitude of the government toward dissenters in religion. 
Between the years 1791 and 1794 an order was issued to all 
Protestants "to desist from their heretical psalm singing, pray- 
ing and preaching in publfc, or they would be subject to sundry 
pains and penalties." Here then is the first coercive act of 
Rome's attempt at spiritual domination of the people on what 
is now Mississippi soil. No slavery is so galling as intellectual 
slavery, and no tyranny is so intensely hateful as the tyranny 
which dares to enforce a belief upon the people by threats and 
penalties, which their intellect resents. The fact that such an 
attempt was made has as great historic value as that of an 
Indian foray or an Indian massacre. The latter threatens de- 
struction to life and property; the former aims at spiritual 
bondage and intellectual subjugation. 

In 179s, Gayozo, Spanish Governor and Commandant at 
Natchez, issued an edict whose tenor was, "that if nine persons 
were found worshiping together except according to the forms 
of the Catholic Church, they should suffer imprisonment." It 
was at this time that the Spanish Governor wrote an "expostula- 
tory letter to Mr. Curtis demanding that he should desist from 
what was considered violative of the laws of the Province, and 
against the peace and safety of the country." 

A law to be entitled to respect must be the expression of the 
right, and no law is worthy of obedience that sets at defiance 
the inalienable right to worship God in any mode not incon- 
sistent with sound morals, and the community at Cole's creek 
was notably distinguished for good morals. If a man should 
affirm at this day that the worship of any Christian congrega- 
tion on Mississippi soil menaces the peace and safety of the 



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I50 Mississippi Historical Society. 

country, he would be esteemed a fit subject for the insane asy- 
lum. 

Mr. Curtis took a manly stand against these despotic meas- 
ures aimed at intellectual independence and religious freedom, 
and treated with disdain the subterfuge fabricated as their in- 
spiring cause. He replied to the Governor with characteristic 
firmness and frankness, "That in the name and strength of 
God he was determined to persevere in what he had deliberately 
conceived to be his duty." The answer is characteristic of the 
calm purpose of a strong man. And what was it that the court- 
ly Gayozo arrogantly stigmatized as heretical, and from which 
he demanded Mr. Curtis to desist? To teach men to observe 
"whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, 
whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure and 
whatsoever things are lovely and of good report," to relinquish 
a service so beneficent would have been an act of abject sub- 
mission to an arbitrary command. It would have been an act 
of loyalty to a claim, condemned as cruel and irrational by the 
voice by the ages. He could die — he could be overcome by 
physical force and be sent as b, manacled slave to the silver 
mines of Mexico, he could flee from Spanish civilization and risk 
his life among savage tribes, but he could not stultify himself, 
and relinquish his intellectual convictions of duty. To him 
freedom of thought was of inestimable value. 

For this reason, on the 6th day of April, 1795, ^^- Curtis, 
the advocate of civil and religious liberty, was summoned to 
appear before Gayozo. The Governor warned him "that unless 
he desisted from conducting public worship, that he and several 
prominent adherents, especially Hamberlin and DeAlvo, would 
be sent to work the silver mines of Mexico." To teach the 
sublime lesson of the pacific Jesus was a crime at that time 
in the country of the Natchez, according to the interpretation 
of the nature of crime by Gayozo, and the penalty was slavery. 
In that hard and monotonous social condition of frontier 
life period, a dozen neighbors must not meet to hear the 
Bible read, words of hope and cheer must not be spoken, 
admonitions to be true and faithful in the relations of life miist 
not be uttered, and the voice of song and prayer must not be 
heard. All these precious rights are forbidden by the edict of 



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Richard Curtis in the Country of the Natchez. — Otken. 151 

the Governor. Men and women are not free to think their own 
thoughts — they must think the thoughts~of Gayozo, pray and 
sing as he directs. Curtis felt and his two friends felt, that the 
choice was liberty or death. 

On the 23d day of August, 1795, a Spanish ofHcer, in com- 
mand of Spanish soldiers, appeared in the Stampley settlement 
to arrest Curtis, DeAlvo and Hamberlin. Having been warned 
by friends and knowing their doom, they saw no mode of es- 
cape from this religious despotism except in flight. Through 
the trackless forest, occupied by savage tribes, they fled from 
Spanish civilizatfon and Spanish bigotry, and began their long 
and wearisome journey to South Carolina. Whether the Gov- 
ernor that attempted to fasten upon the people of this province 
a spiritual despotism by physical force, or Mr. Curtis, that man- 
fully resisted the assault upon freedom of thought and freedom 
of worship, is entitled to the honor and gratitude of the people, 
cannot be questioned. The names of Gayozo and Curtis are un- 
known to this generation. They have gone down to the dust 
and to forgetfulness, but Curtis lives in the free institutions 
which the American people love and reverence. "He's the 
noble who advances freedom and the cause of man." 

The unjustifiable as well as the reprehensible nature of the 
effort of the Governor to throttle freedom of religious thought 
will be evident from the two treaties signed on the 3d day of 
September, 1783. On that day England signed a treaty at 
Versailles, ceding to Spain, West Florida. On the same day, 
the King of England signed a treaty at Paris by which the 
Independence of the United States of America was recognized. 
The Southern boundary line was fixed on the 31st parallel of 
North latitude, and from the Mississippi River to the Chatta- 
hoochee, and all lands north of this line and west of the Missis- 
sipi river were declared to be the territory of the United States. 
More than half of West Florida lay north of the 31st parellel, 
North latitude. This territory included the Natchez province. 

The right of the United States to this territory was equal to 
that of Spain, by treaty agreement. This equal right, if not su- 
perior right of the United States to the territory, should have 
dictated the lesson of moderation in matters of religious opin- 
ion to Gayozo. Yet twelve years after the signing of these 



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152 Mississippi Historical Society. 

treaties, Gayozo diH not hesitate to insult the United States on 
whose territory he was regarded as an intruder, in the forcible 
attempt to fix the gloomy religious despotism of Spain on the 
soil of freedom, and driving into exile Mr. Curtis and his com- 
panions whose one crime was that they would not relinquish 
the right of independent thought on a grave question of indi- 
vidual duty, that their choice was the pure worship of God 
rather than the form of ceremonious homage. 

To be silent and servile when the exercise of this right was 
invaded, would be disloyalty to God and would be treating an 
inviolable principle which like the Ark of God must not be 
touched by profane hands, as the Master was treated, crowned 
with a crown of thorns, spit upon, and left to die in ignominy 
and in shame. 

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, and during the following twelve years preached 
the gospel of good-will toward men. In 181 1 he^ent to the 
county of Amite in quest of health. He died in this year at the 
home of a friend. Near Ebenezer church, in the southern por- 
tion of Amite county, lie the remains of Richard Curtis; a 
modest monument commemorates his name. He was not only 
the first Baptist preacher on Mississippi soil, but also the first 
whose clarion voice rang clear and distinct in behalf of civil and 
religious freedom. 

For this service to a common humanity in defending an im- 
mutable right, his name should be revered by every American 
heart. For this manly resistance to spiritual tyranny on Ameri- 
can soil, Curtis towers in greatness and nobility above Gayozo, 
the representative of a form of slavery that shackles intellectual 
freedom, and that destroys the most sacred right bequeathed 
to mankind. The name of Gayozo stood for that nonentity, 
the divine rights of kings; Curtis, for a government of the 
people and by the people. Gayozo enforced bondage; Curtis, 
glorffied freedom. The weapons used by Gayozo to make men 
and women accept a hostile creed, nurtured under an alien sky, 
were armed battalions ; Curtis relied on persuasion, the weapon 
that is not carnal to propagate the sublime lessons of a relig- 
ion pure, merciful and philosophical. The friends of freedom 



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Richard Curtis in the Country of the Natchez. — Otken. 153 

will make their choice like Bassanio in the play and turn from 
the specious caskets which contain only the Death's head and 
the Fool's head and fix on the plain leaden chest which conceals 
the glorious treasure. All honor to Curtis, who amid hostile 
environments, kept faith with his convictions and with truth. 



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THE MAKING OF A STATE. 

By Mary V. Duval.^ 

Oliver Wendell Holmes says, "To be able to judge correctly 
of any man's character and disposition, you must begin back 
as far at least as his grandfather," and so, in making a judgment 
of the qualities that, combined, make ours one of the greatest 
States of the Union, we must study carefully the pioneer ele- 
ment, the men who redeemed our "forests primeval," and 
gathered together here, in less than half a century, a storied 

^Miss Mary Virginia Duval's ancestors were French Huguenots of 
the most uncompromising stamp. They left France after the "Revoca- 
tion of the Edict of Nantes/' and took refuge in Maryland, one of them, 
Mars' Marine Duval, securing a large grant of land from the proprietor 
of thie colony. Some of them after\Cards removed from Maryland to 
Virginia. William Duval, who lived near Richmond, Va., was the origi- 
nal of "Ralph Ringwood" in Washington Irving's Ringwood Papers. 
Several members of the family fought on the colonial side in the Revo- 
lutionary War. 

Miss Duval's grandfather removed from Virginia to North Carolina, 
and her father, a typical son of the "Old North State," emigrated in his 
early manhood to Georgia, where he married. In the first year of the 
war between the States he removed to Sardis, Miss. Miss Duval was 
born near Rome, Ga., and came to Mississippi at an early age. She was 
educated almost entirely in private schools. Shortly after she began 
to teach she became impressed with the fact that although children 
were early taught the history of the United States and of other coun- 
tries, they knew nothing whatever of the history of their own State. 
After waiting and hoping that some patriotic writer would fill the long- 
felt want, she at last decided upon the daring attempt of writing a 
School History of Mississippi. At that. time little had been written con- 
cerning the history of the State, except Claiborne's Mississippi as a 
Province, Territory and State, which was too large, too disconnected and 
too expensive for school use. Miss Duval devoted herself assiduously 
to this great work, bridging one chasm after another in the history of 
the State. She wrote hundreds of letters and read everything she could 
find on the subject. After the lapse of many years her book was com- 
pleted and published, being the first School History of the State, and 
the first book of any kind to cover the entire field of Mississippi history. 
At a later date Miss Duval wrote a compendium of Civil Covemment, 
which was bound with her history in order to meet the needs of the 
public schools of the State, to whose curriculum the subjects of Missis- 
sippi History and Civil Government were added in 1890. Within the 
last two years she has issued a small dramatic work, entitled The Queen 
of the South, which has been very favorably received by the public. 

Miss Duval is a member of the Mississippi Historical Society and is 
deeply interested in all that relates to the history or the welfare of the 
State.— Editor. 

(155) 



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156 Mississippi Historical Society. 

past, rich in traditions and customs, while they planned a 
future that was as glorious, as untried. The future historian 
of the State will, doubtless, deal less with mere facts and figures, 
and more with the causes and effects that make history a live 
and logical thing. 

The early history of the State represented, not the slow de- 
velopment, the painful progress through war, famine and pesti- 
lence, that make such pitiful reading of the story of other and 
older colonies; instead, there was a direct and immediate 
transformation of the finest flower of civilization ipto a soil that 
had waited through ages for its coming, and gave to the rare 
exotic, when it came, a kindly welcome. It was but a repetition 
of the old fable of Minerva springing, full-fledged, from the 
brain of Jupiter; reaching, at a single bound, that high estate 
to which her less fortunate sisters had attained only through 
suffering, toil, and periods of retarded growth. 

In searching for the roots of our civilization, it is to the coun- 
try pre-eminently that we must go, instead of to the town or to 
the city. Exceptions to this are the early French settlements 
that fringed our territory along the gulf coast and on the 
banks of the Mississippi river. Drawn thither by the love of 
adventure and by the hope of gain held out by John Law, of 
"Mississippi Bubble" fame, they were soon engulfed by that ris- 
ing tide of Anglo-American immigration which, setting in from 
the older Southern States, mainly those east of the Alleghenies 
and the Blue Ridge, soon absorbed all other nationalities, or left 
them to linger, as did Longfellow's Acadians, on alien soil — 
"Another race,^ with other customs and language." 

The names of the French Dlbervilles, De Tontis, and Bien- 
villes, and the Spanish Gayosos, Miros and other proud and 
courtly Dons, mark an epoch indeed in our colonial and terri- 
torial history of which we may well be proud ; but it is an epoch, 
so far as the real State making is concerned, which is pre-his- 
toric, and while it gives picturesque touches to our otherwise 
somewhat prosaic annals, and has left its impress indelibly 
stamped upon certain localities and communities, we must look 
elsewhere for that inner life and history which we are seeking 
so earnestly. 
' For all that is lasting and best in our civilization, for that 



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The Making of a State. — Duval. 157 

which has moulded the spirit and temper of the people, and the 
genius and integrity of their institutions, we must look to an 
Anglo-Americanism which traces its origin back through those 
Southern States of which Virginia was the mother, through the 
Old Dominion herself, and thence to centers of culture and re- 
finement in those portions of England whose intellectual and 
political life was quickened by the influence of the Universities 
of Oxford and Cambridge. 

From the farm houses of Virginia, modeled after the manor 
houses of England, a steady stream of emigration began soon 
after the close of the Revolution, spreading first to the Caro- 
linas, Kentucky and Tennessee, and from thence sending out 
vigorous tributaries to the younger States, Mississippi and Ala- 
bama. As was to be expected, the wealthy planters and profes- 
sional men who, in the early decades of the nineteenth century, 
began to build homes on the fair lands where the Choctaws and 
Chickasaws had once claimed ownership, sought as models the 
plan on which so many of the homes built by their forefathers 
in Virginia and elsewhere had been constructed. Se we find that, 
after the inevitable era of double log cabin had passed, there 
arose, fair to behold, many stately mansions with Grecian porti- 
coes and pillared fronts, drawn after plans which had their ori- 
gin in that classical architecture copied by Thomas Jefferson 
from well-known Greek and Roman models. 

There was represented, on a newer and grander scale, the 
well-remembered ancestral homes in old Virginia, in the Old 
North State, or some other one of that group south of Mason 
and Dixon's line, which reproduced so faithfully the England of 
the eighteenth century. From the vantage ground of his spa- 
cious veranda the planter loved to contemplate the broad sweep 
of lawn, through whose groves of native oaks the carriage drive 
wound to the broad gateway— -open to all comers alike. Be- 
yond and around stretched his acres of cotton and corn — the 
rich returns for his labors made by a generous, responsive soil. 
•The negro quarter stood in the rear of the "big house," its rows 
of whitewashed cabins built on either side of a central street, 
over which the pickaninnies rolled and rollicked from sheer 
delight in living. The gracious manners, handed down through 
generations of English, Scotch or Irish-Americans, were his, 



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153 Mississippi Historical Society. 

and his the proud birthright of "gentleman" in the best sense 
of the term. 

Not only old manners and old speech, but the old pride of the 
earlier States, was reproduced upon the soil of the new "Arca- 
dia" upon the banks of the Mississippi. In the libraries every 
current periodical and publication of the day, American or for- 
eign, was found, giving food for thought and conversation on 
the leading events of the day, from prices in the slave and cotton 
markets to the latest productions of literature and art, and up 
thence to the noblest things that can engage the attention of the 
mind of man. The love of land and the passion for out-of-door 
pursuits, was, down to the period of the Civil War, the chief 
characteristic, not of the Mississippian alone, but of the Anglo- 
Americans of the entire South. They cultivated the soil for- 
purc love of it, and caressed the bosom of the earth with the 
same fondness their forefathers had shown in the "tight little 
isle across the sea." The true Saxon avoidance of cities and the 
corresponding love of rural life, with the elegant leisure which 
a rich soil and generous climate engendered, made life in Mis- 
sissippi during the first half of the nineteenth century a pastoral 
idyl, a poet's dream. 

Few of the dangers and privations that characterized the 
pioneer life of other States were to be endured in this. The 
notable exceptions are the massacre at Ft. Rosalie and the 
bloodshed that followed Bienville's trail into the heart of the 
Chickasaw country. This, however, was at a period far distant 
from the time when the real building of the State began. Di- 
plomacy, rather than an appeal to arms, won the victory for 
the white man, though at one time the shadow of a general 
uprising of the native Indians lowered over the early settlers, 
dispelled forever by the South's ideal hero, Andrew Jack- 
son. The generally peaceful character of the native Indians 
favored the love of rural life, to find which the early settler 
braved the long and tedious journey over mountain and stream, 
separating himself forever from his fatherland and its hallowed 
associations. The pioneer settlers of other American colonies 
had to build cities in self-defense. The colony on Manhattan 
Island became first. New Amsterdam, and then New York, be- 
cause the Knickerbockers and their descendants were not able 



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The Making of a State. — Duval, 159 

to cope, singly and alone, with the savage foe. Oglethorpe, for 
the same reason, built wisely and well at Savannah ; the advance 
guard of civilization in Middle Tennessee broke ground on the 
Cumberland at Nashville. Louisiana had her New Orleans, 
and Alabama her Mobile, but the typical Mississippian has ever 
considered his country dwelling his castle, and himself able to 
hold it against all who might dispute with him the right of 
possession. 

"Steam," says Emerson, "is almost an Englishman ;" "grass," 
says James Lane Allen, "is almost a Kentuckian," and we may 
add in this connection that "cotton" is almost, if not altogether, 
a Mississippian. 

The hereditary love of land and agricultural pursuits charac- 
teristic of the descendants of those who had redeemed the older 
Southern States from the wildernesjs, had gjown into a passion 
during the first decades of the nineteenth century, and the 
stories of the rich alluvial lands east of the Mississippi fed the 
imagination and fired the blood of those in whom the pioneer 
instinct was still and active. The wondrous fertility of the soil, 
with its marvelous yield of cotton ; the delightful climate, adapt- 
ed to almost every production of the temperate zone, seemed 
to the young paladin of Virginia and the Carolinas a veritable 
land of promise, which abounded, not in milk and honey alone, 
but where "cotton, hog and hominy" were the staple produc- 
tions, and fortunes were in easy reach of those who sought 
them. 

The descendant of the Virginia cavaliers was caught by that 
glamour of the imagination which pictured himself as the proud 
possessor of broad and fertile acres of black cotton lands, as yet 
untouched by plow or harrow ; of numerous dusky slaves sing- 
ing their happy and contented labor songs, and looking to him 
as their liege-lord and master; of the gleaming white walls 
of a mansion formed on the model of the home of his 
fathers, presided over by some dainty Southern maiden 
who could jingle a bunch of keys, superintend the house- 
keeping, and in his absence the plantation work ; keep the looms 
and spindles busy, make pickles, preserves and cake after the 
most approved of old Virginia recipes, train her children and 
her slaves in Christian doctrine and morals, comfort the sick. 



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i6o Mississippi Historical Society. 

cheer the dying, and still find time to cultivate those graces 
of mind and body which have made the name of Southern wo- 
man synonymous with all that is beautiful and true. 

We hear much in this progressive age of the enlargement of 
woman's sphere and of the increasing of woman's responsibili- 
ties. The pioneer women of the South builded better than they 
knew, for they, too, were the makers of States and of states- 
men. 

What a brave time that must have been when the new States 
were filling up with the best that the old had to offer I How like 
a romance the long journey overland of those bold spirits who 
came to seek homes and build gvernments in the new Eldorado 
of the South ! We can see in fancy, and by the help of tradition, 
the patriarchal procession moving in stately dignity over moun- 
tain, hill and stream; the family carriage with its blooded 
horses, its fair occupants and gay outriders ; the slowly-moving, 
snowy-covered wagons, and the swarm of sable retainers, whose 
song and dance at night when the camp-fire shed its flickering 
light on the animated scene, presents a picture on whose canvas 
there now remains only the colors dimmed by time and change 
— Si memory to be cherished, a tradition to be handed down 
to future generations. The old methods and manners, forms 
and customs of living thus transplanted from the old States to 
the new, made life strong and sweet and simple — ^a life that was 
worth the living, a country that was worth the dying for. It 
made generations of strong, brave men and true beautiful wo- 
men, living upright and noble lives, ready to sacrifice themselves 
unselfishly for family or public welfare, making in the Western 
wilderness a government whose foundation was laid in equity, 
whose laws were just and humane, enacted for the generations 
that have since arisen to bless the memory of the founders of 
the State. Every pulsation of life in that heroic time beat in 
unison with the heart of nature, and all things bore the impress 
of a tranquil pastoral life. The incentives to, and the necessities 
for, building great cities were lacking, and even the towns and 
villages scattered at wide intervals through the country-side 
drew their existence from the exigencies of plantation life, and 
the demands that, once a month at least, drew the country folk 
to the county seat, overflowing the quiet streets and inundating 



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The Making of a State. — Duval, i6i 

the court-house squares with a flood of life and color that will 
yet be utilized by the poets and romance writers of the future. 

The old types of country life, so strong and of such individual- 
ity — those that represented the "tender grace of a day that is 
dead" — have passed away after holding sway in this State for at 
least three-quarters of a century. 

The changed conditions of the South since 1865 have led to 
the gradual blotting out of the ancient regime — the almost feu- 
dal system and mode of living that incorporated all that was 
grand and noble in the Middle Ages with all that was enlight- 
ened and progressive in modern times. 

The love of country life has become less strong, and the 
movement of the white population towards town and railroad 
has cast a change that is very marked over rural habits and 
modes of living. The country magnate, whose stalwart sons 
and blooming daughters were expected to inherit his landed 
estates in the good old way, has disappeared; the homes that 
in their day were the abodes of peace and plenty, and the cen- 
ters of a generous hospitality, are now the stopping places of a 
shiftless black tenantry; the residences, for the time, of the 
aspiring colored gentleman and "his lady." The State is still 
dominated by agricultural instincts, and cotton is still king, 
but the old life which drew its strong, helpful currents from deep 
reservoirs underneath our social system has passed away, and 
what we do to preserve its memory and traditions must be done 
quickly. • 

There is a wealth of material lying around us which we have 
but to utilize to make the story of our past glow upon the pages 
of history, fiction and poetry. When some future writer, in 
"thoughts that breathe and words that burn," shall do for the 
South what Walter Scott and Robert Burns did for their native 
land, then will the world know that this land of poetry and song 
is also the land of heroes and hero-worshippers. 

There is nothing wrong with our history save the telling of it. 
It has gone on quietly, making itself ready for use since DeSoto 
and his mail clad knights first set foot upon our soil. Unfor- 
tunately our historians have often lived in latitudes too far 
North to be able to get a correct conception of what we deserve. 
It has depended very much on which side of Mason and Dixon's 

II 



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1 62 Mississippi Historical Society. 

line an event transpired as to whether, in the opinion of the 
chronicler, it is worth the telling. The very plenitude of 
material within our reach, the vast stores of unwritten history 
at our very doors, have made us indifferent as to its preserva- 
tion. In dealing out great men and the great events which 
followed hard upon their careers, nature has been so lavish with 
us that we have failed to appreciate our opportunities. In a 
land whose patrimony is legend and tradition, romance and 
song, we have turned away from our birthright and worshipped 
at the shrine of Plymouth Rock and Bunker Hill. 

The popular historians, with true New England thrift, have 
utilized their scant material to the utmost and have cultivated 
their genealogical tree until it has waxed strong and overshad- 
owed with its branches those of other and less-favored locali- 
ties. The South, with a prodigality equally characteristic, has 
allowed her rich heritage to go to waste, with scarcely an effort 
to preserve it intact. An intelligent foreigner who should care- 
fully examine the numerous histories of these United States — 
histories by means of which our boyB and girls are supposed 
to be instructed in reference to our country's greatness — ^would 
certainly infer that the foundation of this Republic was due al- 
most entirely to those pioneers who settled on the bleak and 
barren shores of New England. He would read with intense in- 
terest and admiration, no doubt, of that little band of Pilgrim 
Fathers which constituted the forlorn hope of those who had 
separated themselves from what they considered the tyranny 
and corruption of the Church of England. He would look in 
vain, however, for a story equally thrilling of the French and 
Dutch Huguenots, who, braving persecutions and martyrdoms 
compared with which those of the Separatists from the Church 
of England were as child's play, sought altars and firesides in 
Maryland, Virginia, and the Carolinas, founding there those 
principles of civil and religious liberty which will endure forever. 
It is true that they burned no witches and persecuted no Quak- 
ers, but there are other episodes as interesting, if less grew- 
some, awaiting alone the magic touch of that historian who 
shall write with an impartial pen. Every bay and inlet, creek 
and harbor in New England, and along the northeastern shore 
of the Atlantic, has its legend, embalmed in verse or prose by 



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The Making of a Stsite.— Duval. 163 

the poets and romancers, native and to the manner born. With 
what scant material did Washington Irving immortalize Sleepy 
Hollow, Wolfert's Roost, and other localities touched by the 
magic of his pen I James Fenimore Cooper, who slew with his 
pen, it is said, more Indians than ever existed on the American 
Continent, has done for the so-called Middle States what Scott 
did for the Highlands of his country, and Dickens and Thack- 
eray accomplished for the sordid monotony of the streets of 
London town. 

It may be observed that this is a plea for literature as well as 
history. In fact, the two go hand in hand, and cannot be separ- 
ated. 

Where can we find a more powerful picture of the battle of 
Waterloo than that found in the "Les Miserables" of Victor 
Hugo! What historian has given us such inimitable pictures 
of the life and manners and the lack of morals of the French 
Court from the days of Charles the Ninth to the execution of 
Marie Antoinette as are to be found in the pages of Dumas the 
elder? Where can we find a more accurate picture of the 
social and political life of the England of the Stuarts than in 
that strongest of historical novels, "Henry Esmond?" "The 
Last of the Mohicans," the only work of Cooper worth the pre- 
serving, is a figment of the imagination not half so impressive 
as the real story of "The Last of the Choctaws," haunting the 
spot where his lodge-pole had stood, refusing to leave his native 
land, though death from exposure and starvation was the only 
alternative. Where can we find in history or fiction a legend 
more beautiful than that of the Pascagoulas, who, with the 
death-song on their lips, advanced to meet the engulfing waves? 
Where shall we find figures more noble and stalwart than those 
of Pushmataha and Greenwood LeFlore? Treatise more pic- 
turesque and binding than those of "Dancing Rabbit," and that 
which bound the haughty Chickasaw to relinquish his birth- 
right? King Philip's war was a mere bagatelle compared to 
that with the Creeks and Seminoles, which decided forever the 
question of race supremacy in the South. 

Until very recently the popular idea of the first settlers of 
Virginia, the real progenitors of the Southern people, was, that 
they were a band of lawless adventurers and escaped jailbirds, 



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i64 Mississippi Historical Society. 

who sought the wilds of America to escape the hanging which 
they so richly deserved at home. It is only late researches that 
have established the fact that the first act of the colonists at 
Jamestown was to erect a canvas-covered chapel, in which the 
daily services of the Church of England were devoutly and vol- 
untarily held. 

• We need some poet who shall do for us what Longfellow and 
Lowell and Whittier have done for New England, and then, 
perhaps, John Smith, the fearless explorer who discovered and 
named the seaboard of half a Continent, will take at least equal 
rank with Miles Standish, the Puritan captain whose field of 
operation was confined, perhaps, to the dimensions of a New 
England township. History has made much capital of the so- 
called conspiracy of Aaron Burr, and his descent of the Missis- 
sippi, with a force of armed and determined men. Judging from 
the consternation it produced among the settlers along its 
banks, and the alarm it caused the administration at Washing- 
ton, rumor must have assigned it to the proportions of a verit- 
able armada. Whether or not this modern Lucifer was guilty 
of the gigantic plot attributed to him, the historian of that time 
' has not failed to paint in vivid colors what might have happened 
had Burr succeeded in seizing New Orleans, at that time a 
most un-American city, gaining over the discontented forces of 
the United States, and placing himself at the head of a mighty 
empire in the Southwest. 

Our horror of what might have been, is not unmixed with 
admiration for the audacity of the man who could plan such an 
enterprise, and seek with a handful of men to carry it out. 
If Burr's plans were treasonable and dangerous to the govern- 
ment, then certainly those who first intercepted and detained 
him were patriots worthy of all honor. Once past the limits of 
the Territory of Mississippi, with his flotilla of boats, he would 
have reached New Orleans without fear of detention. Yet who, 
outside the circumscribed limits of local and State historians, 
ever hears the name of Cowles Mead, the acting Governor of 
Mississippi, who, in spite of all Burr's expostulations and seduc- 
tive arguments ; in spite of the well-armed force he carried with 
him, forced a surrender of men, arms and ammunition? Who 
but local and State historians makes mention of the decision 



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The Making of a St2itt,— Duval. 165 

of Mr. Poindexter, then attoraey-general of the territory, that 
Burr was not answerable to the powers that had detained him, 
and should be removed to a competent tribunal ? While many 
disagreed with him on that point, there was one man who never 
doubted the force of the argument, and that man was Burr him- 
self, who, to prove his concurrence, made haste to leave the 
territory where he had, unexpectedly, no doubt, found men who 
could think as well as act. Who doubts if Burr's arrest had 
taken place north of a certain parallel of latitude, the names of 
the men who successfully arrested his plans would have been 
placed in the same calendar with those of the three backwoods- 
men who performed the less hazardous feat of detaining the 
English spy. Major Andre, as he carried his treasonable dis- 
patches to Benedict Arnold? 

Nathan Hale, the hero spy of the Revolution, has been com- 
memorated in history and fiction, and his name will justly go 
down through the ages linked with those of other men who 
died for love of home and country. Who, outside of his native 
Tennessee, gives more than a passing thought to Sam Davis, 
the noble Confederate spy, who, almost in sight of his birth- 
place, almost within sound of his mother's voice, died an ig- 
nominious death, refusing to buy his life by whispering the 
name of the real offender, his captain, who lay manacled near 
him in an adjoining cell? That the hostorian of the future may 
be blind to sectional differences, and mete out full and impartial 
justice to all, is a consummation devoutly to be wished. 



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LOCATION OF THE BOUNDARIES OF MISSISSIPPI. 

By Franklin L. Riley.* 

The boundaries of States are historic lines. Many of them 
have been causes of long and bitter conflicts. Whether they 
were established by the rough guesses of sovereigns who were 
totally ignorant of the nature and extent of the grants they 
bestowed, or whether they were quietly and stealthily deter- 
mined by the chicanery of men who gratified their state pride 
at the expense of adjoining commonwealths, they are neverthe- 
less, for the most part, closely connected with the early history 
of the States whose limits they indicate. It is not infrequently 
the case that these lines are more or less arbitrary; that is, 
they are determined without regard to the geographical divi- 
sions of the country. Hence, we often find, within the bounds of 
the same state, sections that are totally dissimilar in natural 
resources, and are therefore different in occupations and in 
modes of living. This is a source of much political dissension, 
since sections that differ in physical features, require different 
kinds of legislation, each needing laws to suit its particular 
conditions. 

I. The Northern Boundary. 

When the Federal Government in 1804 presented to the Mis- 
issippi Territory the twelve-mile strip which had been acquired 
from South Carolina, the northern boundary of Mississippi was 
made to join Tennessee. This boundary line had first been 
defined in the charter of South Carolina as the 35 ** of north 
latitude. The survey was partially made in 1818 by General 
Coffee, and was completed by General Winchester, who ran it 
to the river Mississippi. All parties concerned acquiesced in 
both of these surveys.* 

* A biographical sketch of the writer of this article may be found in 
Goodspeed's Historical and Biographical Memoirs of Miss, and in Who's 
Who in America (1900). 

■ Haywood's Tennessee (ed. of 1823), 13. 

(167) 



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i68 Mississippi Historical Society. 

There seems to have been little subsequent attention directed 
to this boundary until many years later. Doubts finally arose 
as to the correctness of the old surveys, and it was then thought 
that if the line were properly run it would place Memphis within 
the limits of Mississippi. Tennessee declined an invitation to co- 
operate with Mississippi in having the line re-surveyed. Gov- 
ernor Brandon, of Mississippi, appointed a man to determine 
the 35*" of north latitude. This located a few miles south of the 
old line. When Tennessee learned that she would liekly gain 
land by a new survey, she ran a line, taking as a starting p<5lnt 
the newly-found location of the 35**. Governor Brandon was 
notified of this survey, but never concurred in its correctness. 

General Carroll, of Tennessee, then claimed as the property 
of his State about three hundred square miles previously in- 
cluded in Mississippi. A writer of the time characterizes this ac- 
tion of General Carroll as "a strange assumption," because, says 
he, "the two States have never mutually agreed to it. Every- 
thing has been ex-parte," *'We ought, therefore," he continues, 
"to insist on our boundary as it was, until Tennessee will concur 
with us in the choice of a suitable person to determine the 35* 
of north latitude. The manner in which our commissioner exe- 
cuted his duty has never been made known to the people, as it 
should have been, so that competent persons might detect er- 
rors, if any, in his mode of proceeding. That there was error, 
I have but little to doubt, when I reflect that the editor of the 
Amerkan Almanac of 1835 has determined from actual observa- 
tion, that even the latitude of Boston is three miles less than 
that assigned by preceding able observers; that of Baltimore 
five miles less ; that of Salem three less ; and that of Halifax, N. 
S., has been recently determined to be five less than formerly. 
The same observer, I think, would place our line nearer Mem- 
phis than it ever was, and for one, I should not object to both 
States selecting that able individual to determine the position 
of the 3Sth degree of north latitude. Had our commissioner, 
with his same instruments, determined the 31st degree of north 
latitude, and the northern boundary of Tennessee in 36** 31 ', 
and found them correct, it would be proper for us to acquiesce 
in his results, which we never did, and ougl^ not to, until we have 
some means of ascertaining that he went the right way to work. 



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Location of the Boundaries of Mississippi. — Riley. 169 

Let us insist upon what we have a right to, and ask no more. 
The sooner our boundary is definitely settled the better/'* 

In 1837, two years after the foregoing statements were pub- 
lished, a joint commission consisting of B. A. Ludlow, D. W. 
Connelly and W. Petrie, from Mississippi, and J. D. Graham 
and Austin Miller, from Tennessee, established a permanent 
' line between the two States.* Very much to the regret of at 
least a few Mississippians, in the 30's, Memphis still remained 
within the limits of Tennessee, and Mississippi lost about two 
hundred square miles of territory, the former boundary having 
been found to be too far north. 

II. The Eastern Boundary. 

The determination of the eastern boundary was one of the 
most important poHtical issues in the history of the Territory 
of Mississippi. There were from early times, two centers of 
population in this Territory. They were the basins of the Mis- 
sissippi and the Tombigbee rivers. Each of these rivers was 
the outlet for the trade of a large section of country. "Natchez 
and St. Francisville, on the Mississippi, and St. Stephens and 
Mcintosh's Bluff, on the Tombigbee, were the most populous 
and important"' centers of influence. "The lands on the Tom- 
bigbee were not so fertile, nor were they in such bodies as in 
the region of the Mississippi. The settlements did not increase 
and extend to the surrounding country with the same rapidity 
as in the latter country. Many of those first stopping on the 
Tombigbee, ultimately removed to the Mississippi."* 

These geographical differences were wisely considered when 
Congress passed the Enabling Act, which permitted the forma- 
tion of a State government. Whether or not the Territory 
should be divided was one of the questions which delayed for 
some time the formation of a State government. Those in- 
habitants of the Territory who lived along the Mississippi river 
opposed a division of the county, but those along the Tombigbee 
were equally as pronounced in their demands for a separation 

• Henry Vose's Topography of the State of Miss, upon a New Plan (1835), 
16-17. 

• Hutchinson's Code of Mississippi (1848), 62. 

• Sparks' Memories of Fifty Years (1872), 245. 
•Ibid., 246. 



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I70 Mississippi Historical Society. 

from their neighbors on the west. As the anti-divisionists 
elected the territorial delegate to Congress, the opposing party 
was forced to resort to other means in order to get its senti- 
ments before Congress. Previous to 1816 several bills for the 
erection of the Territory into a State were passed by the Na- 
tional House of Representatives, but lost in the Senate. The 
Senate opposed this procedure because of the size of the State 
that was to be annexed, it having twice the area of Pennsylvania. 
The first definite proposition for a line of division is contained 
in the report of a Senate committee made April 17, 1812. In 
this it was recommended that the eastern boundary of Missis- 
sippi run as follows : 'TJp the Mobile river to the point nearest 
its source, which falls on the eleventh degree of west longitude 
from the city of Washington ; thence a course due north until 
the line intersects the waters ol Bear creek; thence down the 
said creek to its confluence with the Tennessee River; thence 
down the said river to the northern boundary line of the said 
Territory." 

In 1 81 6 a convention was called to discuss the division of 
the Territory. This convention assembled at the house of John 
Ford, on Pearl river, and was called the Pearl River Convention. 
It was presided over by General Cowles Mead, a former Sec- 
retary of the Territory, and was attended by General Sam Dale, 
who lived at that time on the Tombigbee.''. The sentiment for 
a division of the Territory seems to have prevailed at this 
meeting, since Judge Toulmin, an ardent advocate of this view, 
was sent to Washington as a special* representative of the con- 
vention.® 

In order to understand fully the history of the conflict 
which was waged over the division of the Territory we must go 
back several years. As early as November 25, 1803, the settlers 
on the Tombigbee presented a petition to Congress to divide 
the Territory. On June 12, 1809, the inhabitants of the district 
east of Pearl river, again petitioned for a separation from their 
neighbors on the Mississippi. Upon the motion of Mr. Poin- 

' Gaiborne's Life and Times of Sam Dale, 167. The house in which 
this convention was held is at present the property of Mr. S. E. Ran- 
kin, of Spring Cottage. 

• Darby's Emigrants* Guide (1818), loO- 



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Location of the Boundaries of Mississippi. — Riley, 173 

dexter, who was at that time territorial delegate from Missis- 
sippi, the petition was tabled.® January 31, 181 1, a Congres- 
sional committee, of which Mr. Poindexter was chairman, re- 
ported favorably a bill which the House passed for the admis- 
sion of the Territory of Mississippi into the Union as a State.** 
Congress adjourned before the bill was acted upon by the Sen- 
ate. Early in the next session of Congress a memorial of the 
Legislative Council and House of Representatives of t]ie Missis- 
sippi Territory, and a petition of sundry citizens thereof, pray- 
ing for the admission of the Territory as a State, were referred 
to a committee of which Mr. Poindexter was chairman. A 
large number of the inhabitants of the Territory presented at 
this time a counter-petition, praying "that all proceedings in 
Congress on the subject might be postponed.** This opposition 
was attributed by a Congressional committee to an "unwilling- 
ness to incur additional expense in supporting a State govern- 
ment whilst under a peculiar pressure from the war [with Eng- 
land] ; but chiefly an apprehension that a State government 
with a Federal district court would be immediately followed 
by a great number of expensive and dangerous, if not ruinous, 
lawsuits for lands, which would grow out of (what are 
called), the Yazoo and British claims.*^ On December 17, 181 1, 
this committee recommendeH the creation of a State, with limits 
that would embrace the Territory of Mississippi, together with 
West Florida. This would have given the State, as an eastern 
limit, the Chattahooche river from 32° 30' to the 31st degree 
and the Perdido river from the 31st degree to the Gulf of 
Mexico." On the 12th of March following, Mr. Poindexter of- 
fered an amendment to the pending bill which proposed that the 
eastern boundary of Mississippi be the State of Georgia from 
parallels 35" to 31*^ and the Perdido river from parallel 31*^ to 
the Gulf of Mexico. This amendment passed the House. 

April 17, 1812, a committee of the Senate recommended that 
the consideration of a bill "to enable the people of Mississippi 

• Benton's Abridgments of the Debates of Congress, IV, 141, 142. 

" Ibid, 132; Amer. State Papers, Miscellaneous, Vol. II, 129-130. 

" lb., 276. 

"lb. 

^Abridgments of the Debates of Congress, IV, 466. 



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174 Mississippi Historical Society. 

Territory to form a constitution and State government" be 
postponed to the first Monday in the following December. The 
report of the committee is as follows : 

"That they could not avoid being struck with 

the size of the Territory proposed to be erected into a State, 
a size disproportionate to the si?e of any of the largest States 
which now compose our confederation. 

"It embraces, in its present form, and without any extension, 

to the Gulf of Mexico, an area of twice the surface 

of the State of Pennsylvania. 

"Your committee are strongly impressed with the propriety 
and expediency of dividing the said Territory, so as to form of 
the same two States, whenever the population, within the limits 
of each section, shall render it just and proper; and they re- 
spectfully submit to the Senate the following divisional line, 
between the western and eastern sections of the said Territory, 
viz : Up to the Mobile river to the point nearest its source which 
falls on the eleventh degree of west latitude from the city of 
Washington ; thence a course due north until the line intersects 
the waters of Bear creek; thence down the said creek to the 
confluence with the Tennessee river ; thence down the said river 
to the northern boundary line of the said Territory 

"By the 5th section of the ist article of the treaty of cession 
from the State of Georgia, the United States are bound to erect 
the said Territory into one State. It has, however, been sug- 
gested that the State of Georgia would not, upon a proper 
representation, withhold her consent to the proposed division. 

"To the end, therefore, that an opportunity may be afforded 
to the State of Georgia to express this consent, by a legislative 
act of the said State, as they shall think proper, your committee 
recommend that the said bill be postponed to the first Monday 
in December next."^* 

The consent of Georgia to a division of the Territory was 
asked and obtained*', but it seems that the War of 1812 caused 
the subject to be overlooked entirely for the next three years. 
In the meantime the Territory grew in extent by the addition 

^* Abridgement of the Debates of CongresSy IV., 411; Amer. State Papers, 
Miscellaneous, II., 182. 
" Amer, State Papers, Miscellaneous, II., 276. 



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Location of the Boundaries of Mississippi. — Riky. 175 

of that part of West Florida between the Pearl and Perdido 
rivers, which was joined to Mississippi, May 14, 181 2. When 
the subject was brought up again, the Honorable William Latti- 
more was territprial delegate in Congress from Mississippi. 

He was instructed by the territorial legislature to lay before 
Congress a memorial praying for the admission of Mississippi 
into the Union as a State, with its entire limits. This he did 
towards the close of the session of 1814-*! 5, but the bill was not 
acted upon for the want of time. In the following session he 
introduced a similar bill, which through his influence passed 
the House. This bill was blocked, however, by the Senate as 
similar bills had been done before. "The extraordinary size of 
the Territory was assigned" as a reason for the postponement 
of action by the Senate, and Mr. Lattimer was convinced "that 
the Senate would never agree to admit the Territory without 
dividing it." Knowing that the expressed will of his constitu- 
ency on this subject was in direct conflict with the determination 
of the Senate, he decided that when the matter was again taken 
up by a select committee of the House" he would abstain from 
remarks until the committee had expressed its opinion. "This 
opinion," says Mr. Lattimore, "was unanimously and decidedly 
in favor of a division." 

The question which next arose was, "by what line shall the 
Territory be divided ?" In discussing this question, a member 
of the committee drew his finger "along the map west of the 
Tombigbee, from the Tennessee line to the Gulf of Mexico," 
and it was "at once determined that the jurisdiction of that river 
should belong exclusively to the eastern section of the Terri- 
tory." Mr. Lattimore objected to this on the ground that 
"such a division would g^ve more than an equal portion of the 
Territory to the eastern section." He was told that the western 
section "would even then contain a much greater quantity of 
good land" than the eastern. In reply to his further objection 
that the Indian claims covered almost all of the western, while 
they had been extinguished to three-fourths of the eastern part, 
he was told that the extinguishment of all the Indian titles was 
in contemplation and that "Congress should not make perma- 

"Sec Report of this committee in Amer. State Papers, Miscellaneous, 
II., 407-8. 



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17^ Mississippi Historical Society. 

nent provisions in reference to the present circumstances of 
the country, but to an ulterior state of things. That the line 
which the committee seemed disposed to adopt was contem- 
plated with reference to the geographical situation of the Ter- 
ritory, and not at all to the settlements already formed." 

As this line would have divided the settlements on the Pas- 
cagoula river, Mr. Lattimore proposed that the line should be 
run "from the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest corner of Wash- 
ington county, in such a way as to throw the whole of those 
counties into the proposed western State; and from the point 
last mentioned along the Choctaw boundary to the Tombigbee 
River ; thence up the same to Cotton Gin Pt., thence due north 
to Bear creek." He advocated this line before two meetings 
of the committee, and but for the opposition of Judge Toulmin, 
he would probably have succeeded. Judge Toulmin, as the repre- 
sentative of the Pearl River Convention, presented a petition 
praying that the line might be removed much farther westward, 
probably as far as the northeast corner of Hancock county. 
Mr. Lattimore says that "in consequence of this petition, the 

bill was recommitted, and the whole question put at risk 

The bill was reported again without amendment; but when 
the Senate acted upon it for the last time, some of the mem- 
bers, influenced by the sentiments of the judge, strenuously 
insisted on making the Pascagoula river the line. To preserve 
the bill from the danger of this opposition, and from the ob- 
jections to the line proposed, the gentlemen on whom the sup- 
port chiefly depended, moved that the line run due south from 
the northwest corner of Washington county to the Gulf of 
Mexico." This motion succeeded and a convention was au- 
thorized to assemble for the purpose of forming a constitution 
and State government for the western part of the Territory. 

The convention met in the town of Washington, July 7, 1817. 
The division of the Territory was still one of the principal 
issues of the day. Dissatisfaction over the wording of the En- 
abling Act, which stipulated that a State government should be 
formed for the western part of the Territory, probably caused 
Cato West on the second day of the convention to offer a reso- 
lution, "That it is not expedient at this time to form a con- 
stitution and State government." The Chair ruled this resolu- 



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Location of the Boundaries of Mississippi. — Riky. 177 

tion out of order. Mr. Turner then offered a resolution "That 
it is expedient at this time to form a constitution and State 
government." This resolution was considered for three days 
by the convention in a committee of the whole and was re- 
ported without amendment. Mr. Poindexter then moved to 
postpone further action until March 15th, which motion was 
lost by a vote of 38 to 14. A resolution was then passed to 
memorialize Congress to extend the boundaries of the State. 
Opposition to the formation of a State government increased, 
however, from day to day, until July 15th, when a motion to 
reconsider Mr. Turner's resolution was lost by a tie vote of 23 
to 23. 

One of the gentlemen from Wilkinson objected to the line 
established by Congress on the ground that it was an artificial 
one. He proposed a line running due north from the middle of 
Mobile bay to the State of Tennessee. The principal argument 
advanced in support of this proposition was that such a line 
would place Mobile within the limits of the State of Mississippi. 
It was contended by the opposition that this line was even more 
artificial than that established by Congress, since it would cross 
the Tombigbee river twenty or thirty times. The argument ad- 
vanced to overthrow the proposition to place Mobile within the 
limits of Mississippi is more novel still, when viewed in the light 
of later history. It was maintained that for various reasons 
assigned the town of Blakely on the opposite side of the bay, 
"would certainly supersede Mobile as a commercial depot," and 
that "the latter would inevitably fall ;" and turning upon his op- 
ponent, the orator asked with an air of triumph, "What, then, 
becomes of the gentleman's great commercial town?" "But," he 
continued, "if it should be a place of the great importance which 
the gentleman from Wilkinson supposes, of what advantage 
would it be to us? Who on the Mississippi, Amite, or Pearl 
river would carry his cotton to that market, or bring supplies 
of sugar or coffee thence ? As to the State tax on the merchan- 
dise of the place, it was not worth naming. Let the town of 
Mobile be what it may, it could not be an object worthy of our 
attention. Indeed, it would be a disadvantage to us; for if it 
should be so rich a place as the gentleman tries to persuade us, 



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178 Mississippi Historical Society. 

this very circumstance would invite the cupidity of an enemy in 
time of war." 

Mr. Lattimore, who led the discussion in defense of the line 
established by Congress, made a forcible address^^, from which 
the arguments just quoted have been taken. He also said: 
"The difficulties which now threaten us with a dissolution have 
not arisen from an indisposition to State government, agreeably 
to the provisions of the law, but from a supposed conflict of lo- 
cal interests between the eastern and western sections of the 
proposed State." "Relative to these interests, he said he had 
knowledge of some facts, which had material bearing on the 
question, and which, with indulgence, he would lay before the 
convention. He thought it expedient to establish a State gov- 
ernment at that time because of the great local interests to 
be represented in the next Congress. Here he adverted to the 
land claims below the 31^ of latitude (Hancock and Jackson 

counties), also to the British land claims, which, from 

certain circumstances stated, might be brought up at the same 
session; and to the question of extinguishing the Indian title 
to lands east of the Mississippi, which had been agitated at the 
last session of Congress, and would be probably renewed. These 
various subjects taken together, Mr. Lattimore said, constituted 
an interest of the highest importance to the whole of the pro- 
posed State. How necessary, then, he asked, might it be, to 
have two Senators and one representative in Congress, at their 
next session, instead of one delegate without a vote? This, 
he said, was especially manifest, as related to the extinguishment 
of Indian titles, a subject confined chiefly to the executive 
branch of the general government, of which the Senate is a 
constituent part." 

In reply to a speech of a delegate from Jefferson county, who 
had presented the advantages to be derived from admitting the 
undivided Territory as a State, Mr. Lattimore said that he 
would undertake to prove the converse of this proposition. As 
to its giving the State a larger number of representatives, and 
consequently greater power in Congress, he stated that "he had 
seen the members from the same State as much divided on many 

" Darby's Emigrants' Guide (1818), io7-'i3. 



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Location of the Boundaries of Mississippi. — Riky. 179 

questions, as members from different States. If the Territory- 
should form two States, their respective representatives would 
probably agree as well with each other on local questions, as if 
they were all representatives of but one State with one entire 
limjt." 

Mr. Lattimore argued that "in relation to the Senate the ad- 
vantages of division were very obvious. By having two States 
instead of one, we should have four Senators instead. of two. 
The proposed western State would then certainly have two 
Senators to itself, and two electors of President and Vice-Presi- 
dent. But without division, the western part of the State would 
not have even one Senator, nor governor, nor seat of govern- 
ment, nor any general officer, except one representative in Con- 
gress, unless bestowed upon us by th'i liberality of the eastern 
part of the State, which having a decided preponderance in 
population and representation, would control us at will. Such 
a control would doubtless be exercised over us for many years. 
The western part of the State might, in its turn, have the same 
control over the eastern part, whenever the entire extinguish- 
ment of Indian titles should take place. But such changes of 
power and preponderance were not at all desirable in a State, 
and he was in favor of division to prevent local jarrings and 
strife." 

In accordance with the resolution of the constitutional con- 
vention a memorial praying for an extension of the limits of the 
new State so as to include at least all of the settlements on the 
western side of the Mobile and Tombigbee rivers was duly pre- 
sented to Congress and referred to a select committee. A coun- 
ter-petition from the citizens of Clarke, Monroe, Washington, 
Mobile and Baldwin counties in the Alabama Territory was also 
presented by Judge Toulmin and referred to the same commit- 
tee. The latter party now had greatly the advantage of its 
opponents, as will be granted by anyone who reads the follow- 
ing statements made by Judge Toulmin in his letter of trans- 
mittal accompanying its petition : "I cannot help believing that 
the question that a portion of the American people can without 
their own consent be added to one of the States and made sub- 
ject to a form of government which they had no agency in es- 
tablishing, is one of primary and radical importance 



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i8o Mississippi Historical Society. 

"The people of the Alabama Territory do not consent. They 
revolt at the idea of being united to the Mississippi State, 
unless the whole Alabama Territory could be united to it; and 
even then they would like to have something to say about the" 
constitution they are to live under, and something about the 
men who should administer the constitution." 

The petition presented by Judge Toulmin in behalf of his 
constituents contained the following objections to extending the 
limits of Mississippi : 

1. "It will retard the admission of the Alabama Territory into 

the Union, and will considerably augment the burdens 

of the government when it is admitted/* 

2. "Considering the actual situation of the country and the 
State of its population, the dividing line proposed to be estab- 
lished between the State of Mississippi and the Alabama Terri- 
tory, is the most unnatural one that could possibly be devised." 

3. "If we are accurately informed, one of the most impressive 
causes which induced the late Congress to divide the Mississippi 
Territory was the danger of a collision of interests between two 
great communities living adjacent to the Mississippi and to the 
waters of the Mobile. 

"A future want of harmony in the counsels of the new gov- 
ernment and perpetual feuds among the people were antici- 
pated as the natural results of such collision. But the pro- 
posed alteration in the boundary line will renew and augment 
those very dangers which the division was meant to g^ard 
against. 

"The only difference to be perceived is that with the limits 
now contemplated by the Mississippi people, the result of every 
struggle between the two communities will be, that the people 
of the Mobile will be made to pass under the yoke." 

4. "The rivers Tombigbee and Mobile are formed by nature 
to be the great channel of intercourse between the Western 
States and the Gulf of Mexico. This channel ought to be sub- 
ject to the regulation of a single sovereignty. 

"It should be under the superintendence of a legislature 
which will not only be sensible of its importance, but feel an in- 
terest in promoting its utility 

"But will such an interest be felt by a legislature of which 



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Location of the Boundaries of Mississippi. — Riley. i8i 

a majority of members will be elected by the inhabitants of a 
country adjacent to a rival channel of commercial intercourse. 
It cannot be expected. The Alabama Territory, as it now 
stands, possesses an identity of interest as complete as any State 
of equal extent in the American Confederation. Whether the 
people are stationed on the Tombigbee or the Alabama, on the 
Mobile or the Tennessee, they are all deeply interested in bring- 
ing to perfection the same channel of trade and commerce." 

These arguments seem to have been effective, since the line 
for the divisipn of the Territory as designated in the Enabling 
Act was allowed to remain and passed into the first constitu- 
tion of Mississippi as the eastern boundary line of the State. 
This boundary was described as a direct line from the mouth 
of Bear creek to the northwest corner of the county of Wash- 
ington, in Alabama, and thence due south to the Gulf of Mexi- 
co. B)j consulting a map of Mississippi, one will discover, how- 
ever, that the line between the northwest corner of Washington 
county and the Gulf of Mexico does not run "due south," but 
southeast. This fact "finds explanation in the discretionary 
power given the surveyors in the 3rd Section of the Act, which 
provides that the line can be run southeast if it 'will encroach on 
the counties of Wayne,' etc., in Mississippi."" 

III. The Southern and Western Boundaries. 

"The Carolina charter of 1663 gave to the lords proprietors 
a territory that extended "southerly as far as the river St. 
Matthias, which bordered upon the coast of Florida, and within 
one and thirty degrees northern latitude."" This is the first 
mention of the thirty-first parallel that is made in American 
history. From this time England regarded the line as the 
proper southern limit of her possessions in America.^* But this 
boundary was not recognized by Spain until after England had 
relinquished her claims in the Mississippi valley to the United 
States. Finally, by the treaty of San Lorenzo, in 1795, Spain 
recognized latitude 31*^ as the southern boundary of the United 
States. 
9 — ___^_^^.^— ^— ^ 

" Transactions of the Alabama Historical Society, II., 91. 

" Poore's Charters and Constitutions, I., 1382. 

• Hinsdale's Establishment of the First Southern Boundary of the United 
States in Report of the American Historical Association for 1893, p. 331. 



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i82 Mississippi Historical Society. 

In 1798- '9, Sir William Dunbar and Captain Stephen Minor^ 
on the part of Spain, and Andrew Ellicott and David Gillespie, 
on the part of the United States, surveyed this line^S which was^ 
for several years, the southern boundary of the Territory of 
Mississippi. All the territory lying south of 31" and bound- 
ed by Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi and Perdido 
rivers, was embraced in what. was known as West Florida. This 
section passed into the possession of the United States by vir- 
tue of a Presidential proclamation, bearing the date of October 
27, 1810. For several years it had been claimed by the United 
States as part of the Louisiana purchase. This claim was de- 
nied by the Spanish authorities, who held the country until the 
American settlers within its borders revolted and established 
their independence. In obedience to an order from President 
Madison, Governor Claiborne", of the Louisiana Territory, then 
incorporated this country in his government. 

In 181 1, George Patterson and four hundred and ten other 
inhabitants of West Florida petitioned Congress for permission 
to join the Territory of Mississippi. In this petition they gave 
the following reason for making such a request : 

"The climate, the soil, the people, the manners and the poli- 
tics of both countries are the same, being only divided by an 
ideal boundary. We are all Americans by birth, and in prin- 
ciple ; and if we are united with the Territory of Orleans, we will 
be subjected to all the conveniences and miseries resulting 
from a difference of people, language, manners, customs and 

politics If West Florida and the Territory of 

Orleans differ in every material respect (of which there can be 
no doubt), it follows that a coalition of the two countries would 
be productive of discord 

"Your petitioners are aware of the policy suggested by some 
of adding us, who are all Americans, to the people of the Terri- 
tory of Orleans, who are chiefly French, in order to counteract 

the French influence. This may be sound policy, but it 

would be destructive to our individual happiness ; a sacrifice too 

"A full account of this survey will be found in Ellicott*s Journal See 
also Riley's Sir William Dunbar— The Pioneer Scientist of Missis- 
sippi, in the Publications of the Miss. Historical Society, Vol. II., 9i-'4J alsa 
Hamilton's Running MississippVs South Line, in Ibid., 157-168. 



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Location of the Boundaries of Mississippi. — Riky. 183 

great, we trust, to be required of us to make by a government, 
wise in its administration/'^^ 

This petition was referred to a committee of which Mr. 
Poindexter was chairman and reported upon as follows : 

"Your committee conceive that, insomuch as the entire 

tract of country formerly possessed by Qreat Britain, under the 
name of West Florida, and subsequently transferred to Spain, 

has fallen under the dominion of the United States, 

it ought, in strict propriety, to be restored to its ancient limits, 
as the measure corresponds with the wishes, and is calculated to 
promote the permanent welfare of the people whose interests 

are immediately concerned It must be obvious, that to 

confer on the State to be formed of the Territory of Orleans, the 
whole extent of seaboard from the river Perdido to the Sabine 
bay, would give to it an influence over the commerce of the 
Western country which might be productive of the most mis- 
chievous consequences; for there are many important 

regulations which would materially affect the navigation of the 
numerous rivers flowing through this country into the Gulf of 

Mexico, falling within the legitimate range of State powers 

Thus, by affording every facility to the trade passing down the 
river Mississippi to New Orleans, and by interposing vexatious 
obstructions to the commerce of those rivers emptying into the 
Bay of Mobile and the lakes, that city will become the emporium 
of all the bulky articles of agriculture, which constitute in time 
of peace the great export trade of the Western States and Ter- 
ritories." The committee then recommended that all of West 
Florida be added to that part of the Mississippi Territory south 
of a line drawn from the mouth of the Yazoo river, and that 
the same be admitted into the Union as a State.** 

A detaile4 discussion of this subject will be found in the 
Abridgments of the Debates of Congress, Vol. IV., 320-325, 
519-524. Governor Claiborne, of the Territory of Louisiana, 
opposed the passing of this bill and wrote Mr. Poindexter the 
following letter : 

"Success attend your efforts to bring in Mississippi, but I 
cannot approve your wish to attach the whole of West Florida. 

*■ Amer. State Papers, Miscellaneous, II., 155. 
- Ibid., 163-4. 



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184 Mississippi Historical Society. 

Had you proposed that Orleans Territory should extend east- 
ward to Pearl river and up to the 31st degree; and the district 
from Pearl River to the Perdido, be attached to Mississippi 
Territory, I should have made no opposition. But your de- 
mand for the whole is rather extravagant, and would be greatly 
injurious to the interests of Louisiana. I myself would prefer 
the Perdido for our eastern boundary, and there are strong 
equities in the claim. But we will compromise and take as far 
as Pearl river, and leave to you the country on the Pascagoula 
and Tombigbee, and the custody of one of the great avenues 
of western commerce, the Mobile river." 

Three months later, when the bill reported by the committee 
was called up, Mr. Poindexter offered an amendment which 
changed the proposed southern boundary by adding to the Mis- 
sissippi Territory only that part of West Florida lying between 
the Pearl and Perdido Rivers.** In this way the Mississippi Ter- 
ritory was extended to the Gulf of Mexico, but failed to get all of 
West Florida. This amendment was heartily approved by Mr. 
Clay, who was then Speaker of the House, and the bill as 
amended became a law. 

Previous to the passage of this last act, the Mississippi river 
was the only boundary of the Territory on the west. The Pearl 
river, south of the thirty-first degree, then became the western 
boundary of Mississippi." 

•* Abridgments of the Debates of Congress, IV., 520. 

" Perhaps one of the most novel propositions for State-making in the 
Southwest was one advanced by Brackenridge in his Views of Louisiana, 
a book which was copyrighted in 1813. He says: '"Were the northern 
boundary line of Louisiana on the East side of the Mississippi River to 
begin at the 33d [degree of latitude], so as to correspond with the line 
on the western side, the State would be left in a more compact and 
definite shape. Something has been said of carrying this into effect, if 
it should not meet the opposition of the people of the Mississippi Terri- 
tory. Much might be said in favour of it; it would tend to lessen the 
expense of State government to both and give the right [of becoming 
a State] to the Mississippi Territory sooner than could be well expected 
without. But the great objections, and indeed they seem almost un- 
surmountable, arise from the difficulty of subjecting that territory to 
the civil law, after having been so long accustomed to a different; and 
to introduce the law into this State, at once, would be highly impolitic, 
if practicable" (page 282). 



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REPORT OF SIR WII^UAM DUNBAR TO THE 
SPANISH GOVERNMENT AT THE CONCLUSION 
OF HIS SERVICES IN LOCATING AND SUR- 
VEYING THE THIRTY-FIRST DEGREE 
OF LATITUDE. 

The Spanish Government having consented that the Ameri- 
can Commissioner should remove himself from Natchez with his 
company, baggage, &c., to a position near which it was expected 
the line would pass, while in the meantime the Spanish Commis- 
sion with their baggage, instruments, &c., were moviilg from 
New Orleans, the capital of the Province of Louisiana, up the 
Mississippi in order to gain the same situation. Andrew Ellicott, 
Esquire, the American Commissioner, did accordingly encamp 
his company and erect an Observatory 

On the 26th May, 1798, I arrived at the encampment of the 
American Commissioner with the necessary instruments, con- 
sisting principally of the Astronomical Circle improved on the 
principles of the eminent Mr. Ramsden, of London, and gradu- 
ated to five Seconds, and aii excellent brass Sextant on the con- 
struction of Hadley, fitted to a pedestal commanding an Arch 
of 140 degrees and graduated to 10 seconds. 

The American Commissioner having finished his series of ob- 
servations for the determination of the Latitude of the 

Observatory, I proceeded to erect the Astronomical Circle in a 
position precisely 15 French feet to the north of the place of the 
Instrument used by the American Commissioner, and being pre- 
pared I commenced my series of Observations on the 31st day of 

*This contribution embraces the greater part of the report made to 
the Spanish Government by Sir Wm. Dunbar at the conclusion of his 
services as a representative of that power in surveying the boundary 
between the United States and Spanish West Florida. The Spanish 
copy of this report is in the archives at Madrid. The copy here given 
was kindly presented to the editor by Maj. Wm. Dunbar Jenkins. Only 
those parts of the original report have been omitted which treat of the 
details of the mathematical calculations made by the author while en- 
gaged upon his important work. 

For a sketch of Sir William Dunbar's life see Riley's "Sir William 
Dunbar — ^The Pioneer Scientist of Mississippi," in Publications of the 
Mississippi Historical Society, Vol. II., pp. 85-1 11.— Editor. 

(185) 



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i86 Mississippi Historical Society. 

May, and continued them until the Seventh day of June, when 
the series was completed From the result of my ob- 
servations it appears that the Latitude of the Observatory is 
30 "* 59' 44" .02 different from that deducted from Mr. Ellicott's 
observations in the quantity of o" .22; but the position of my 
instrument being 15 French feet more northerly than that of the 
American Commissioner, makes the actual difference of Lati- 
tude resulting from the two Setts of Observations amount to 
o" .063 equal nearly to 6 French feet ; hence it appears, that the 
position of the Observatory of the American Commissioner by 
his own Observations was distant from the most northerly part 
of the 31st degree of North Latitude, by the quantity of 16.2 
Second of a degree or 256 toises, 3 feet and 7 inches French 
measure, and by my observations 31*' would pass more south- 
erly by the small difference of 6 French feet. 

In consequence of the consent given by the Spanish Govern- 
ment that Commissioner EUicott might commence his prelim- 
inary observations before the arrival of the Spanish Commis- 
sion, he had caused this quantity of 256 Toises, 3 feet & 7 inches 
to be carefully measured Off on the Meridian north from the 
center of his Observatory, in order to arrive at the northermost 
part of the 31st degree, which operation being examined and 
found correct, was approved of by me as Astronomer of his 
Catholic Majesty, and accordingly this point was established as 
a point in the Lat. of 31° disregarding the small difference of 
6 feet which Had a tendency to remove the line a little farther 
South.. Previous to the Arrival of the Spanish Commission, 
Commissioner Ellicott had also established a due East and West 

line in the parallel of 31** by taking double 

Altitudes of the Star Arcturus on the prime Vertical : Entertain- 
ing the highest confidence in the scientific knowledge as well as 
veracity of the American Commissioner, I adopted this line, 
in order to save time, proposing to verify the same 

From the point where the east and west line was established, 
a line was carried due west, by cutting a trace Sixty feet" wide, 
which was consequently a tangent to the parallel of latitude, and 

was pushed on to the termination of the high 

grounds ; it being impossible at that time to proceed nearer to 
the bank of the Mississippi, on account of the annual inunda- 



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Report of Sir William Dunbar. 187 

tion, which at that time overspread the low grounds from 4 to 
10 feet in depth 

Intelligence being received that the waters of the inundation 
had retired within the margin of the River, it was determined 
that our Company should divide, in order that the portion of 
the line extending from the high lands to the Mississippi might 
be completed, while at the same time the line might proceed 
to the East by the main body of both Commissions. The moist 
and Swampy Soil in the vicinity of the Mississippi being con- 
' sidered as hazardous to the health of our Northern friends, I 
proposed that the American Commissioner should continue his 
progress eastward, with the White laborers, 50 in number, re- 
serving for myself the task of pushing the line through the low 
grounds to the Margin of the Mississippi with the assistance 
of 2 Surveyors, 22 black laborers and a White Overseer. Ac- 
cordingly on the 28th of July my Company removed themselves 

and encamped on a beautiful bluff commanding 

a line prospect over the great Valley of the Mississippi. 

Wednesday, ist August. Employed the two last days in pre- 
paring an encampment and getting the Stores, &c., up the hill, 
and this morning commenced cutting the line Westward across 
the low grounds towards the bank of the Mississippi 

The line being extended to the river bank on the 17th July, 

the distance was found to be two miles and 

180 perches English measure, or 21 11.42 French toises. At the 

distance of one and two miles were 

erected square posts, surrounded by mounds 

and at the distance of 88 French feet in the direction of 
the parallel of Latitude from the river bank, was erected 
a squared post of magnitude 10 feet high, surrounded by a 
mound of earth 8 feet in height. On this point is inscribed 
on the South Side a crown with the letter R underneath ; on the 
North U. S., and on the West side fronting the River Agosto 
i8th, 1798, 31^ Lat. N. 

Observing the trees on the hither bank of the river to be of 
a considerable height, I observed the following angles, Viz: The 
Summit of the trees beyond the river Altitude 9' 15". The 
bank on which those trees stand, depression 23' 30", from 



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1 88 Mississippi Historical Society. 

whence it results (the distance of the trees being 3 miles from 
the Observatory) that the height of the highest trees is 150 feet, 
10.8 inches. 

On Monday, 20th August, 1798, I returned to the Camp at 
Bayu Sara, and found that during my absence the line having 
been carried to the point N** 10, the American Commissioner 
had made the necessary oBservations by taking equal altitudes 
of the Star Delphini 

August 28th. The line having been now carried beyond the 
point N** 15 that is to the distance of about eighteen 
miles from the River Mississippi, including the whole of 
the cultivated lands, I signified to the Spanish Government my 
intention of retiring from the Line agreeably to the Stipulc^tion 
which was made at the commencement of this operation, and 
accordingly I set out on the 31st day of August, bidding a final 
adieu to the Gentlemen of both Commissions, with whom I had 
spent three months in a manner highly agreeable to my own 
taste, and with uninterrupted harmony on my part with every 
gentleman of both parties, and had it not been, that my family 
and other interests demanded my protection and superintend- 
ance, I should have with pleasure pursued this employment to its 
conclusion. And here let me not omit to mention with honor, the 
transcendent scientific talents of my very particular friend, An- 
drew EUicott, Esq., the American Commissioner, to whose con- 
descending and communicative disposition, I am indebted for 
much pleasure, information and instruction. 

August, 1798. Notes at my Encampment on the Bluff. Lat, 
31** North. 

In this situation we were infested with innumerable swarms 
of Gnats, and a variety of other Stinging and biting insects; 
which circumstance brought to my recollection the relation 
given by Maupertuis of the sufferings of himself and his com- 
panions, when measuring an arc of the Meridian under the 
polar circle. Our Situation, was infinitely more favorable for 
the Generation of Insects and noxious vermin than that of the 
French Geometricians ; Situated as we were on the margin of a 
marshy Valley 30 miles in breadth, from which the Mississippi 
had recently retreated, leaving innumerable lakes, ponds and 



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Report of Sir William Dunbar. 189 

pools of stagnant water, removed only a few degrees to the 
north of the tropic of Cancer, and in the hottest month of the 
Year, the surface of the earth teemed with life; objects pre- 
sented themselves at every step in this animated hot bed, not of 
those kinds which invite and delight the view of the inquisitive 
naturalist ; but of the most disgusting forms and noxious kinds, 
a few of those were the Serpents of the waters frequently en- 
twined in clusters to the number of several hundreds, a vast 
variety of toads, frogs, including the bull-frog, and the thunder- 
ing Crocodile, all of hideous forms, with a multitude of others 
too tedious to mention. The inconvenience arising from the 
Winged insects was easily removed by the smoke of a few fires 
placed around the encampment and a curtain of gauze secured 
us after the labors of the day from the attack of these minute 
though troublesome enemies during sleep ; they kept up a con- 
tinual buzzing during the night. The forests which are said to 
have been cleared away by the party of Maupertuis by the aid of 
fire, did not I am persuaded present so tremendous a spectacle 
as the conflagration excited by our party ; the face of the high 
country was covered with cane of the same species with the 
Bamboo of the East, and those growing so thick and strong, 
that it was impossible to penetrate through them but by the 
aid of edge tools. Several miles of those canes having been 
cut down 60 feet In width, forming a combustible bed from 3 
to 4 feet in thickness, and being set on fire when sufficiently dry 
presented to the eye of the beholder a most astonishing line 
of fire, the flames ascending to the tops of the highest trees and 
spreading for miles on each side of the line, carried devastation 
wherever it went; the continual explosions of rarified air from 
the hollow cane resembled the re-echoed discharges of innumer- 
able platoons of musketry and mocked every idea that could be 
formed of the effect produced by the conflict of the most formid- 
able armies. The scene was truly grand, aweful and majestic, 
and must have been seen to be able to form any just idea of its 
terrible Sublimity. As soon as the face of the earth was cooled, 
we were enabled to traverse large tracts free of every incum- 
brance except the standing trunks of trees, which could not have 
been cleared to the same extent by the united labors of several 
thousands of men for several months together. We remarked 



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190 Mississippi Historical Society. 

that the progress of the fire was promoted by thick bodies of 
cane, a proportion of which having decayed and withered to 
make room for the living reeds, served as a train to communi- 
cate the destroying element and reduce the whole to ashes. On 
the other hand, the Cane in certain diversities of soil arriving 
to a less degree of Perfection, more dispersed and without any 
portion of dry or withered Canes, impede and at length finally 
put a stop to the ravages of the conflagration. Hence we might 
say with Maupertuis that in the advancement of our labors we 
had cleared extensive forests ; whereas our sole merit consisted 
in having dropt a spark upon an immense collection of com- 
bustible matter, which immediately catching fire, spread with 
irresistible fury, while any Pal^ulum remained to nourish its 
flame. I respect too highly the memory of Maupertuis and his 
justly celebrated companions of his voyage to suppose that they 
would seek to derive fame from pretended merit, but the recital 
of the above circumstances gives rise to the following reflection. 
That many of our modern Adventurers have established a very 
considerable reputation upon human credulity, by the display 
of imaginary sufferings, and the pretended achievement of ardu- 
ous exploits, which in the country from whence I write, are 
submitted to and performed as the ordinary occurrence of every 
day. It may be admitted that the company of Maupertuis must 
have sustained some actual hardships from the excess of cold to 
which they were exposed ; but I presume that our party suffered 
no less from the opposite extreme of heat. The g^eat luminary 
in his meridian splendor at this season, has the appearance and 
effect of a Vertical Sun, the thickets on either side the avenue 
which the laborers were employed in opening were often im- 
penetrable to the stoutest breeze, the ardent beams of the sun, 
striking directly into this narrow passage, frequently aided by 
the reflection of the sideling hills, excited a degree of heat which 
might be literally said To scorch, the Thermometer has here 
risen to 120** of Farenheit, or 35 of Roemun, even this degree 
of heat might still be tolerated by the human body had there- 
been any circulation of the air; but the Atmosphere was often 
stagnated, and at such times, the toiling laborer was under the 
necessity of seeking prompt relief by precipitating himself un- 
der the shade of the nearest friendly thicket, or what was more 



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Report of Sir William Dunbar. 191 

eligible when exhausted strength did not oppose, ascending the 
first eminence, there to inhale greedily the salubrious vapours 
of the reviving gale. The want of water in many situations, 
joined to the difficulty of transporting it through the thickets 
was also frequently a source of inconvenience. 

Although our regular labors did not admit of time to be em- 
ployed in botanizing, yet in passing through the portion of low 
grounds lying between the hills and the River bank I observed 
the following to be the most conspicuous productions of the 
Vegetable kingdom, Viz:The Cypress (Cupressus),both red and 
white, of which the former is the more valuable for strength and 
durability, its wood being impregnated with a considerable por- 
tion of Resin, which is not very perceptible in the white — the 
heart of the red wood when planted as a post or stake in the 
ground immediately after being cut down, is said to endure for 
three score years before it is impaired by putrefaction. This tree 
delights to grow in low grounds frequently overflown, but does 
not prosper in situations always under water, it being obsei"v- 
able that those found in lakes which are never dry, have a pro- 
digious large trunk of an irregular conical form, from 10 to 12 
feet in diameter at the base and shooting out at the height of 
20 feet into a dozen or more dwarfiish stems, which seldom ex- 
ceed 20 feet more ; whereas the finest trees often ascend to the 
elevation of 130 or 140 feet: Such are found in situations ex- 
posed only to be watered from 2 to 6 feet by the annual inunda- 
iton. This tree produces from its wandering roots a number 
of excrescences which rise perpendicularly out of the Earth to 
the height which is always limited by the greatest rise of the 
water of the Inundation. Dupratz has said that the tree repro- 
duces itself by means of those extensions of the root, which, 
is without foundation ; for this tree does never even send forth 
a cyon, but is invariably propagated from the seed, which is 
about the size of a Spanish Walnut. When opened it is found 
to consist of a number of cells regularly disposed, about one- 
half of which contains the purest and most limpid gold color 
turpentine ; the other half contains the germs of the future trees, 
which are numerous. I have often observed a half dozen or 
more young plants produced from one apple, which often coal- 
esce into one, and sometimes the greater part perish to make 



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192 Mississippi Historical Society. 

room for their more fortunate brethren; but I have often no- 
ticed 3, or 4 of great size which seemed to proceed from a Com- 
mon Stock or Root. 

The Cypress timber is the most useful of any to the In- 
habitants of this Country, being preferred before all others for 
house building, furnishing beams, scantling, planks and shingles 
of the best kind and rives advantageously into clap-boards, for 
the purpose of making handsome post and rail fencing, and 
inferior houses; the use, however, of this valuable timber is 
restricted to those who live within a moderate distance of the 
river swamps, being never found growing upon uplands. It is 
remarkable, that it is extremely difficult to rive this timber 
across the heart, but lifts into concentric boards with great 
facility. 

A species of the White oak is found growing on ridges lying 
between lakes and ponds bordered by Cyprus ; the quality of this 
Oak is scarcely inferior to live Oak, its wood being of a very 
compact, solid grain, and extremely ponderous, it extends its 
boughs to a great distance on all sides and might furnish an 
inexhaustible store of curves or knees for ship-building. It 
produces a more abundant crop of acorns than any other known 
oak, insomuch that the ground is often covered by them to the 
depth of some inches; it has, however, been remarked that in 
those years when the inundation fails, this tree produces a very 
scanty crop, nay sometimes not a single acorn: this species of 
Oak I have never found growing on high lands, and nature has 
so ordained that the husk embraces the acorn so firmly that 
they are not separated by their fall from the tree, by which 
means this case by its comparatively small specific gravity buoys 
up the acorn, and being carrie3 along by the various currents 
of the inundation, serves to plant distant colonies of this species. 

I have never observed that the fruit of other oaks is thus 
formed ; from the present as well as millions of other examples 
it is to be seen, with what consummate wisdom all things are 
framed by nature, in the most perfect manner for their peculiar 
state of existence. 

A species of the red oak, or rather black oak, growing on 
lands more elevated than the last has nothing remarkable in it, 
being found indifferently on high or low lands. 



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Report of Sir William Dunbar. 193 

The Liarre, cotton tree or Water Poplar, appears to be the 
same with the Lombardy Poplar, or if not precisely the same, 
partakes eminently of its peculiar properties; the astonishing 
rapidity of its vegetation would I presume rival, nay probably 
exceed that of the Lombardy Poplar in its native clime. It is 
to be found chiefly along the banks of the Mississippi, and often 
where the depth of the inundation is very considerable, but here 
again Nature has wisely ordered that the growth of this tree 
from the seed is so extremely quick that from the end of one 
Inundation to the ^commencement of the next the young tree 
always surmounts the succeeding high water, and is the chief 
means used by nature to secure annually many thousands of 
acres of new formed lands of our American Nile, which other- 
wise might be washed away by succeeding floods. One of these 
trees growing single in the most favorable situation, has been 
known to arrive in the course of one season to the almost 
incredible height of 30 feet : 

In other particulars this wood is of small value to our coun- 
try, being soft and not durable, but very white, and grows to so 
enormous a size that hunters, who fetch down wild-beef, &c., 
to the market of New Orleans, form rough boats of a single 
piece, which are sometimes 6 or 7 feet wide, but commonly 
from 4 to 5, joining 2 or 3 together, defending the whole by a 
common Covering. This tree might be valuable in many parts 
of Eufope in order to create suddenly ornamental forests 
around the seats of the Nobility and Gentry, for which it is 
eminently qualified, both on account of the great rapidity of its 
vegetation and its handsome shade. Trancheons of almost any 
size take root, and it is indifferent which end is thrust into the 
Earth. 

The bamboo Cane is found growing in all situations where 
the general rise of the mundation does not exceed 2 feet, if 
much beyond this depth no canes are produced, probably be- 
cause the young canes cannot arrive to the height of 2 feet 
in the same season, in fact it does not grow to half that height, 
but it has sometimes happened that two or three years have 
passed without the waTer swelling much over the bank of the 
River, in that case the young cane may arrive to the height of 2 
feet, before the waters come to disturb the seedling plant ; those 



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194 Mississippi Historical Society. 

young canes which proceed from the Old Roots grow on the 
contrary in a manner surprisingly rapid, insomuch that in one 
month in an open new cleared field, they will reach the size 
and height of the old canes, which is from 15 to 35 feet accord- 
ing to the quality of the soil. The natural history of this reed, 
we are yet ignorant of. It has been observed and classed by 
Botanists, being according to the Linnean System of the 3rd 
Class Triandria, the 2nd Order Digynia, and the genus Arundo ; 
no doubt there are several species, as that which grows in t":s 
country rarely exceeds one inch and a quarter in diameter, 
whereas in various parts of the East it is the size of a man's leg 
or more. It produces a very abundant crop of Grain, and that 
only once, for it immediately after perishes root and branch, 
it is not known how many years the reed requires to arrive at 
this state of maturity ; if we were to. suppose, that 25 years were 
its limit, it must happen that a person who has resided during 
that length of time in this country and who has vtsited many 
parts of it must have seen all the cane that came under his 
inspection once in grain, and upon the average one twenty-fifth 
part of all the cane in a large tract of country ought annually 
to yield a crop, but this is by no means the case, for I who have 
lived during that length of time in this country and have fre- 
quently traversed many extensive tracts of it, have never in any 
one year seen 1/500 part of the canes in seed of those parts that 
I have intimately known. We must then suppose that this won- 
derful reed requires at least 500 years to arrive at a State of 
Maturity to enable it to bear a crop of seed, after which it imme- 
diately dies, both plant and root, for no Cyon or Sucker ever 
pushes from the root after bearing seed. It is probable that if 
this has happened in Europe to a plant derived from an im- 
ported root, the death of the Cane may have been considered 
as the consequence of disease, although it has been no more 
than the regular progress of nature. 

The Sycamore is also an inhabitant of this prolific vale, with 
a thousand lesser productions which we had not time to ex- 
amine. 

The Willow hangs over the banks of the River and is eminent- 
ly qualified to retain and secure the soil by its innumerable fib- 
rous roots, which strike out from every trunk and branch under 



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Report of Sir William Dunbar. 195 

water ; when the inundation goes down, the roots are generally 
found matted with the soil which they have intercepted ; those in 
a higher situation become dry and burn like tinder, but upon 
the return of Waters recover their vegetative vigor, the waters 
which are left in the form of. Lakes & ponds seem animated 
with life in a million of forms, besides the noxious animals 
above mentioned, they contain every species of fish which this 
immense river furnishes, of which many kinds are very seldom 
caught in the river itself and are only to be found in those lesser 
collections of waters generally fed by springs among many 
others are the Barbut (commonly called the Catfish from an 
appearance of whiskers about the mouth), the Sheep's head. 
Black trout. Bar or Rock, Bass, Perch, Sun-fish and a great 
variety of smaller fishes. 

The Microscope discovers those waters to contain the same 
varieties of animalcules which I have often examined in Europe, 
and many new ones, which I do not remember to have seen 
described by any writer, and which I hope at some future day to 
find leisure to describe. 

On the I2th August I had the happiness of viewing a most 
beautiful phenomenon, which if evidence had been necessary 
wduld have decided the question between the ingenious Bernar- 
din de St. Pierre and the System of Sir Isaac Newton, respect- 
ing the nature of the Rain-bow, it is well known that according 
to the demonstration of the latter the colors of the bow are 
caused by the Sun's rays refracted and reflected by the globules 
of rain and that consequently every spectator is in the center 
of his own rainbow, and that no two persons can see the same 
bow. The Abbe will have it that the Sun's rays are transmitted 
through an aperture of clouds and by refraction or inflection 
paint the colored circle on the opposite clouds, and that conse- 
quently every spectator views the same rain-bow, as a number 
of persons may view the same picture suspended on a wall; 
that change of place in the spectator does not alter the position 
of the bow, he asserts that he never once found himself in the 
center of the bow, and sometimes even very near to one ex- 
tremity of it. Returning from the low grounds on horseback 
about midday, I was overtaken by a very heavy shower of Rain, 
and seeing it in vain to look for any shelter I continued onwards 
13 



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196 Mississippi Historical Society. 

and having began to mount the hill which was very steep and 
lay to the north while I was riding North Westerly (the storm 
by this time considerably abated, and the Sun shone bright from 
the South, although numerous and large drops of rain con- 
tinued to fall around me, in this situation, according to Sir 
Isaac's principles, a rain-bow was to be expected), in effect I 
was presented with the view of the most beautiful one I ever 
beheld, the colors were the most vivid imaginable; from the 
position of the hill it was impossible that the bow should be 
above 12 feet from my eye, it did not appear so much, and 
seemed to be about 10 feet in diameter. According to the 
Abbe's theory I ought in passing on tc have left this beautiful 
object to my right pictured and stationary upon the side of the 
hill, but on the contrary it attended me surrounding my shadow 
in a beautiful manner. If my horse ascended, descended or 
rebounded, these motions were precisely accompanied by the 
rainbow. I then stopt to contemplate more at my leisure this 
beautiful phenomenon, and was surprised to find that it con- 
sisted of more than a semi-circle, and the vertical point ol the 
bow did not seem more than 8 feet from the eye, although the 
inferior parts seemed farther removed, which produced an opti- 
cal deception by giving it the appearance of an ellipsis, the 
transverse diameter being parallel to the horizon ; this perhaps 
is the first natural rainbow exceeding a Semi-circle which has 
been seen by a human eye, because to produce such an effect 
from the general idea formed of this phenomenon, the Sun 
ought to be in the horizon to cause the appearance of a full 
Semi-circle exceeded only by the parallactic angle of the ele- 
vation of the eye above the base of the rainbow, which must 
generally be insensible ; the above effect, however, is easily ac- 
counted for on Newton's principles from the peculiar circum- 
stances in which I was placed. 

The same morning a large tyger (panther) was seen by the 
labourers traversing the valley: this animal is of a very fero- 
cious nature, when grown to full size may be about 3 feet in 
height and measuring from tip of the nose to the extremity of 
the tail between 7 and 8 feet, of which the tail is less than half, 
he is deep chested and short legged with a paw equal in breadth 
to the palm of a man's hand, endowed with astonishing strength 



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Report of Sir William Dunbar. 197 

and nervous elasticity, his colour is yellowish, and his mon- 
strous head and fangs are formed like those of a Cat ; they are 
fortunately not very numerous, being great destroyers of Calves, 
Colts, Sheep, hogs, &c., any of which they carry off with great 
ease; and in defence of their prey, or of their young or when 
famished with hunger do not hesitate to attack the human 
species. The black bear will sometimes do the same, though 
less bold than the tyger, in general however the divine counte- 
nance of the Lord of the Creation puts them all to flight. The 
Wolf is still more easily alarmed, the fox is extremely timid. 
So is the short tailed Wild Cat (Mink) about the size of a 
Stout dog, nevertheless all these as well as some of inferior note, 
have been here known to give battle to the hunters who have 
been in pursuit of them. 

The Aligator seems to be precisely the same with the Croco- 
dile of the Nile, although they do not arrive to so great a 
magnitude as they are said to do in Egypt, owing no doubt to 
the greater general heat of the Climate. Here they rarely ex- 
ceed 15 feet in length, those generally seen are from 7 to 10 or 12 
feet, and the size of the larger are nearly that of a barrel. It 
has been asserted that their skin (resembling a coat of mail) 
is impenetrable to a musket ball, but I never found any difficulty 
in piercing them with a small rifle bullet unless the stroke was 
made too obliquely. They deposit their eggs in an excavation 
made in the ground at no great distance from the water's edge, 
which are said frequently to amount to the number of four score 
and even more; the nest is carefully covered up, which they 
are supposed to watch and defend from raccoons. Opossums, 
&c., which would otherwise devour their eggs during the night. 
They are also supposed to divide themselves into pairs during 
the season of love, as they are often seen by two together and 
also during the time of Incubation Watching their nests. The 
Young Alligators when hatching may be heard chirping under 
ground. The parent in due time breaks open the nest and 
brings forth her progeny to open day. From the multitude 
of eggs, one might be inclined to suppose that the race of 
Alligators would become so numerous, that every species of 
fish would speedily be destroyed, and that this hideous monster 
must devour his own kind in order to procure subsistence ; this 



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19^ Mississippi Historical Society. 

is not observed to be the consequence, for though they often 
fight, they are never known to feed upon each other, but greedily 
seize upon all other Animals and fish whose bulk may not deter 
them. We are told that vast numbers of the Young are de- 
voured by the parents on their way from the nest to the water ; 
it has been said by persons who pretend to have watched their 
motions, that all the young which do not cling, but fall oS from 
the body of the female parent are liable to be destroyed either 
by the male or female, so that crocodiles which have departed 
from the nest with 80 young arrive at the water, as is pretend- 
ed, with sometimes no more than 5 or 6. They must also be ex- 
posed to be swallowed up when young by many kinds of fish, as 
they are not grosser when hatched than the finger, and about 5 
or 6 inches long. I do not vouch for the truth of the above rela- 
tion, not having myself had an opportunity of proving it by act- 
ual observation; it is here generally believed to be true. One 
thing is certainly true, that nature must employ tlie above, or 
some other natural means to diminish their number. Otherwise 
they must speedily become innumerable and would destroy every- 
thing which the waters contain. During the cold of the Winter 
Season, they often become torpid and may then be cut into 
pieces with an Axe without their exhibiting any powers of 
motion. Persons have been known inadvertently to sit down 
upon them in this state supposing them to be logs of wood. 
The alligator does not possess the courage which has been 
ascribed to the Crocodih, as they always fly at the approach of 
man, and I have not known of any one being attacked in the 
water, notwithstanding the common practice of bathing in the 
Mississippi. 

There are several species of Turtle which are amphibious as 
well as the Alligator, and deposit their eggs in the sanfe manner 
in the earth in order that they may be hatched by the Summer's 
heat, this takes place in the months of June and July, that is, 
immediately after the abatement of the Annual Inundation ; a 
number of -beaches and Sand bars then uncovered, being very 
favourable for their purpose. One species of Turtle covered 
by a comparatively soft shell is often taken by the hook and 
line, and is thought to be little inferior in Goodness to the Green 
Turtle of the West Indies. Some other kinds are also eaten. 



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Report of Sir William Dunbar. 199 

and others again are rejected perhaps from prejudice on ac- 
count of their disagreeable aspect; one of them is called the 
Alligator Turtle on account of his overgrown head and tail 
being covered with a species of scales resembling those which 
form the armour of the Crocodile. I have seen of this last 
some whose shells were 3 feet in length, and I suppose might 
have weighed a hundred pounds. 

Proposing only to take a cursory view of those objects which 
passed under my notice I do not pretend to give a complete 
enumeration of the finny inhabitants of the Mississippi: here 
follows a list of those which are most common, viz : 

Cat-fish, Perch, Sturgeon, Eel, Armed Fish or Garre, Sun- 
fish, black trout, bass. Rock, Choique or mudfish. Spatula fish, 
a Species of herring, a large fish called red-fish and a great 
variety of others to which names have not been given. We 
have also the Cray-fish and Shrimp; the latter in such abund- 
ance, that there is no part of either shore, but quantities of them 
may be immediately caught, by sinking a net, bag or basket, 
with a little bran or piece of flesh, about a foot or two under 
water, during ten months of the year, and this as high up as 
Yazouz River and perhaps higher. At some future day when 
the banks of , this river shall be populated to the same degree 
as the Rivers and canals of China ; the poor of this country will 
bless the hand of the Almighty and admire his providence in 
having provided for them an inexhaustible store of food, by the 
indefinite multiplication of this crustaceous Animal. 

At the mouth of the River and in the adjoining Salt lakes 
are plenty of Oysters, Crabs, Sheep head. Spotted trout, flat 
fish and many others. 

The River and fresh water lakes are covered in the Winter 
Season wkh a great variety of Game, such as Geese, Ducks of 
8 or 10 different species, teal, brant. Pelican, and in cold Win- 
ters the Swan visits us. We have also a variety of the Crane 
kind. The shores are inhabited by the Wild Turkey, the Wood 
Cock and Snipe. We have also in our fields the quail called 
here the partridge, and ag infinite store of birds, some remark- 
able for their song and others for the splendor of their plumage. 

I will close these desultory remarks for the present upon the 



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200 



Mississippi Historical Society. 



low lands of the Mississippi with a list of such vegetable pro- 
ductions as do now occur to my memory. 

Vegetable productions of the Swampy Grounds or such as are much exposed 
to the Annual Inundation, 

A great variety of 
vines, among which 
one very long white 
vine Serves for cables 
to make fast flat 
rough boats and rafts 
of lumber. 

Arsmart, polygonum. A 
long narrow leaved 
plant, being an agree- 
able safe cathartic. 



Cypress Red & 

White. 
Tupulo. 
3 thorned or honey 

locust. 
Persimmon. 
Bamboo Cane. 
Long Moss. 
Long Coarse Grass 

growing in water. 



Willow. 

Over cup White Oak. 

Pakawn, Juglans 
alba, a new species. 

Palmetto. 

Mistletoe. 

A great variety of 
Shrubs growing 
round the edges of 
ponds and in Wet 
Grounds. 



With an abundance of other plants. 

Vegetable Productions common to the high and low lands. 



Liarre, Cotton Tree 
Elm, 2 species 
(perhaps) the Lombar- 

dy Poplar. 
White Oak, 2 species. 
Red Oak, 4 do. 
Live Oak. 
Sweet gum. 
Sycamore. 
Elder. 

Bay, 3 species. 
Myrtle wax, 

Pakawn, Juglans alba, a new species. 
Sassafras. 
Palma Christi 
Arsmart, Polygonum. 



Wild Olive. 

Ash, 2 species. 

Prickly Ash. 

White thorn. 

Locust. 

3 thorned or honey- 
locust. 

Persimmon. 

Mulberry. 

Passiflora, a vine bearing 
a kind of Pomegranate. 

Indian Potatoes. 

Wild pea. 

Many vines, some bearing 

Grapes. 

Long moss called Spanish beard. 



The productions of the high land are different from those of 
the valley of the Mississippi, although many are common to 
both. I shall therefore only mention a few of those which are 
peculiar to the high grounds and of which we were permitted 
only to take a rapid view. One of the Grandest and most ad- 
mirable productions is the Magnolia Major eminently beautiful 
from the shining deep Green of its leaves on the upper side, and 
an elegant tender buff colour of the Reverse, exhibiting one 
of the most glorious flowers of -nature of the Tulip kind and 
when full blown is not less than 8 inches in diameter, shedding 
a most delicious perfume. It is one of the most perfect of 
'ever greens, retaining the full lustre of its foliage during the 



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Report of Sir William Dunbar. 201 

winter, and preserving by succession the splendor of its flowers 
to the Autumn; it bears a cone filled with beautiful cornelian 
coloured seeds, covered with a thin pulp, emitting when bruised 
an Aromatic scent, and pungent to the taste, the bark of the 
tree resembles the seeds in those two properties, but I do not 
know that any discovery has been made of its utility in medicine 
or otherwise. Its wood becomes very hard and solid when 
worked up and preserved under cover, but little used, on ac- 
count of the superiority of other timber equally common. It 
is remarked that this tree diminishes in beauty and vigour when 
left standing singly in an open field after the other trees are 
cleared away ; for the same reason attempts to transplant this 
tree from the Forest to the vicinity of buildings, have generally 
proved fruitless. 

The next I shall take notice of is a noble tree called the Yel- 
low Poplar, preserving its size and rotundity to a vast height 
without branches resembling a majestic pillar. Botanists have 
placed this tree in the same class and order with the last from 
the similarity of the parts of fructification, it is the Lirioden- 
drum of Linnaus or Tulip tree ; its flower is not without beauty 
but much inferior to that of the Magnolia both in that respect 
as well as in size, and is not resplendent being of a Yellowish 
colour ; this tree is of two kinds the yellow and the white, the 
former being the more valuable both on account of its beauty 
and durability, but it is liable to an imperfection from the 
changes in the state of the Atmosphere, shrinking and swelling 
very considerably by the alterations in the degrees of siccity and 
moisture in the Atmosphere. Having observed this notable 
property I essayed to form an hygrometer by using a thin and 
broad piece of plank cut across the grain, which answered as 
well perhaps as any other. I improved its sensibility by boil- 
ing it when very dry, in a solution of milk alkali or carbonated 
potash. 

The tract along which we pass on the high ground furnishes 
a good variety of lofty and majestic trees, but I shall confine 
my remarks to those which are of the most useful or ornamental 
kinds. The Bois de fleche. Dogwood, being the cornus, or 
cornelian tree of the Botanists, so called probably from the' 
fine cornelian colour of its ripe berry, is one of the most elegant 



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202 Mississippi Historical Society. 

ornaments of the Early Spring, it consists of two varieties, one 
furnishes a flower of a Yellowish green inclining to white, but 
the flower of the other is of the most resplendent white, and 
the tree seldom exceeding 50 feet in height, spreads wide its low 
branches entirely covered with dazzling blossoms displaying the 
full Blaze of its beauties about the commencement of March; 
while the generality of Forest trees are as yet clad in their win- 
ter attire, it affords a highly finished contrast to the eye of the 
admirer of Nature, long sickened by the unchanging scenes of 
still life presented by the preceding season. 

The Red bud being the cercis or Judas tree of the botanists 
is remarkable for its elegant display of pale crimson blossoms, 
which seem to cover its branches in all its parts, appearing soon 
after those of the Cornus, and affording relief to the eye after 
beholding the splendid display of the Cornus, which cannot be 
contemplated by a true admirer, but with a species of enthusiasm 
enfeebling the delicate organ of sight, and which by the soft 
tender and gentle mildness of the Cercis is restored to its 
original powers. 

The Acacia or Locust, the black Mulberry, Wild Cherry, the 
Black Walnut, the Sassafras are produced abundantly and are 
extremely serviceable to the Inhabitants for the value and dur- 
ability of their Timber. The Wild Cherry when large enough 
to yield plank fit for furniture, rivals the mahogany in the 
diversity of its beautiful veins and the elegance of its polish. 
When this country shall become populous and labour reduced 
in prices, the industry of the silk worm will add a new staple 
to the Commerce of the Mississippi, the black mulberry being 
indigenous to the soil, and without doubt the White species, 
the favorite food of that valuable insect might prosper equally 
well. The Chinquapin is a species of the Chestnut, producing 
fruit of the size of a hazle nut, its appearance and taste ap- 
proximating to that of the Chestnut, but the tree grows only to 
a size far inferior to that of the Chestnut, which is a rare tree 
in our climes, growing more abundantly a few degrees farther 
North. 

A species of the JEsculus or horse chestnut is found here, 
it scarcely exceeds the magnitude of a shrub in our climate, 
although about Lat. 40** on this continent it becomes a large 



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Report of Sir William Dunbar. 2o3 

tree. The ^sculus of Europe which was in the last century 
introduced from the North of Asia & which appears to be of 
2 species bears a flower variegated with red and white, but ours 
which makes a very handsome ornament, produces spikes of 
flowers about lo inches in length of one uniform bright blood- 
colour, it is difficult to say whether it ought to be placed with ye 
^sculus of Europe in the class Heptandria or Hexandria ; hav- 
ing, upon examination of the parts of fructification found as 
frequently six stamina as seven. The Inhabitants of this coun- 
try have discovered that the root of this tree, mashed and beat 
up with warm water, possesses a detergent quality particularly 
applicable for the purposes of cleansing woolens, rendering the 
stuff extremely white and soft to the touch, soap being known 
to leave a disagreeable harshness proceeding from the attaction 
which takes place between the Alkali of the soap and the wool. 
It is said also to preserve unimpaired the fine dies of chintz and 
calicoes, but I have observed that it does not produce the de- 
sirea effect neither upon cotton or linen, seeming to adhere to it 
rather like Gum than soap ; this shrub is the first to unfold its 
verdant foliage early in February if the weather prove not too 
rude, but its flower appears 3 or 4 weeks later. I have already 
observed that the last mentioned shrub grows to the size of a 
large tree to the northward ; it would seem that each plant, and 
perhaps each animal has its favouring clime, for we observe on 
the other hand that the Sassafras, which here arrives to the 
bulk of 3 or 4 feet in diameter, in the New England States, is 
scarcely the size of a man's leg, and the Chinquapin which some- 
times gets to the size of 18 inches or 2 feet diameter, though 
more commonly 8 or 10 inches with us, is no more than a bush 
or small shrub in northern Climes; the same may be said of 
many others. 

The sweet Gum thrives equally in both high and low lands, 
always preferring the richest soils ; it is the liquid amber of the 
Botanists affording the Gum storax ; its wood is little esteemed, 
being extremely cross grained and much disposed to warp when 
exposed to the weather and rots quickly ; being of a dull brown 
colour. 

Many species of Vines are found on both low and high lands, 
three or 4 kinds bear Grapes which might be made into Wine, 



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204 



Mississippi Historical Society. 



the root of one has the properties of Salsaparilla and goes by 
the same name, the bark of the stem of this last vine is thick, 
soft ancj spungy, has an agreeable aromatic scent and hot pung- 
ent taste, it probably may contain medicinal or other properties. 
One vine yields during the Winter and Spring a Saccarine 
juice superior in sweetness to that of the sugar-maple or cane, 
but I do not perceive that it can be made to flow abundantly. 
We have a Vine called the poison vine, from a property it 
possesses of affecting some persons passing near it, by causing 
an inflammation of the face resembling an Erysipelas. Other 
persons may handle this vine with impunity. It is believed per- 
haps without reason, that some are affected by only looking at 
it. 

List of the most remarkable vegetable productions of the high lands, 
[N. B. — ^Those marked thus (X) are common to the high and low lands.] 



Magnolia Major. 

X Bay, 3 or 4 species. 

Cucumber Tree. 

X Sweet Gum. 

Black Gum. 

Yellow Poplar, Liriodendrum. 

White, do. 

Red Bud, Cercis. 

X Acacia or Locust. 

X 3 thorned or honey locust. 

X Black Mulberry, 3 species. 

Wild Cherry. 

Black Walnut. 

Sassafras. 

Chinquapin. 

Linden, of the bark of which good 

ropes are made. 
Horse chestnut or buck eye. 
X Water poplar. Cotton tree, or 

(perhaps) Lombardy Poplar. 
X Prickly Ash. 
Beech. 

X Sycamore. 
X White thorn. 
Tooth-ache tree, Zanthoxylum. 
Sumach. 

White Oak, 2 species. 
Red and Black Oak, 10 Species. 
Holly. 

Wild Plum, 3 species. 
Crab apple. 
X Elm, 2 species. 
Slippery Elm 
X Maple or plane tree. 
Sugar Maple. 
Hickory, 5 or 6 species. 
X Pakawn, Juglans alba 

a new species. 



X Elder. 

Myrtle wax tree. 

X Persimmon 

Papaw 

X Ash, 2 species. 

Arsmart, polygonum. 

Poke, Phytolacca. 

Ginseng. 

Lesser Centaury. 

Hawthorn. 

Pine, 2 species. 

X A great variety of vines, some 
bearing fruit. 

X Wild pomegranate, passiflors. 

Wild pea. 

Wild hop. 

X Indian Potatoe. 

Many species of the Convolvulus, 
White, red, blue, yellow. 

Ever^een Spindle tree. 

Euonimus called here 

Bears. 

Grass, its leaves yield the strong- 
est hemp. 

Wild Mallow, used as a precipitant 
in the manufacture of Indigo. 

Black berries \ p,,u„- 

White berries ( ^''^''^' 

Wood Straw berry. 

8 or 10 species of Grass. 

Snake root. 

Spice wood. 

Long Moss. 

Besiaes the above there is an infinite 
number of Shrubs, plants and 
flowers, which might furnish an 
ample field of Amusement for an 
Expert Botanist. 



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Report of Sir William Dunbar. 



205 



List of Trees and Plants cultivated by the Inhabitants of the Mississippi 
Territory and by those of the adjoining Spanish Provinces. 



Sufl^ar Cane. 

Indigo, 2 species. 

Cotton, 2 varieties, dist'd. by 
seed only. 

Tobacco. 

Indian Corn, 8 or 10 varieties. 

Rice. 

Okra. 

Squash. 

Sweet potatoe. 

Irish Potatoe. 

Every species of root and legum- 
inous plant, which are the pro- 
dtictions of the Gardens of 
Europe or the U. S. 

Guinea Corn. 

Broom Corn. 

Milldt. 

Pumpkins. 

Musk and Water Melons. 

Tomatoes. 

Egg plant. 

Ground nuts. 

Quinces, Very fine & very large. 

Almonds succeed well. 



Spanish Walnut, very rare, but the 
climate is doubtless congenial to 
the it. 

Cherries do not succeed well. 

Plums, plenty and good, but the fine 
European plums bear not plenti- 
fully and often miss entirely. 

Peaches, Excellent and in great 
abundance. 

Apples thrive but indifferently. 

Pears, rare. 

Nectarines, subject to rot upon the 
Trees. 

Apricots, not common. It is ex- 
pected they will do well. 

Figs, 3 or 4 species, produce abund- 
antly and in great perfection. 
There are three crops in the year 
of which the middle one only 
yields plenty. 

Pomegranate, large & Fine. 

Do Flowering. 

With a great variety of flowers, or- 
namental shrubs and medicinal 
herbs. 



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A HISTORICAL OUTLINE OF THE GEOLOGICAL 

AND AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF 

THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI. 

By E. W. Hii^gardS Late State Geou)Gist. 

The geological and agricultural survey of the State of 
Mississippi had its origin in an act of the Legislature entitled 
"An Act to further endow the University of Mississippi," ap- 
proved March 5, 1850, which took effect on the ist of June 
following. This act is worded as follows : 

Sec I. Be it enacted, &c., that the further sum of three thousand dol- 
lars be and the same is hereby semi-annually appropriated, subject to 
the draft of the President of the Board of Trustees of the University of 
Mississippi, to be applied by them to the purchasing of books and ap- 
paratus, and the payment of the salaries of professors and assistant pro- 
fessors of agricultural and geological sciences in said University; pro- 



*Prof. Eugene Woldemar Hilgard was bom in Zweibriickcn, Rhenish 
Bavaria, Jan. 5, 1833. He emigrated to America in 1836. After com- 
pleting his collegiate education at Belleville, III, he took the degree of 
Ph. D. at Heidelberg in 1853. He also studied at Zurich, and at Frei- 
berg, Saxony. The degree of LL. D. has been bestowed upon him by 
Colmnbia University, the University of Michigan, and the University 
of Mississippi. He was State geologist of Mississippi from 1855 to 1873, 
during which time he filled the chairs of Geology and of Chemistry 
successively. In 1873 he accepted the professorship of Geology and 
Natural History in the University of Michigan. After two years' ser- 
vice at this place he went to the University of California as Prof, 
of Agricultural Chemistry and Director of California Agricultural Ex- 
periment Station and Dean of the Faculty of Instruction in Agricul- 
ture in the University of California. He is at present actively engaged 
in the discharge of his duty at the University of California, Berkeley, 
California. In i860 his Report on Geology and Agriculture in Mississippi 
was published by authority of the State Legislature. This valuable work 
is still regarded as a standard authority on the geological formations 
peculiar to Mississippi and the Southwest. In 1880 he directed and 
edited the work on the report entitled "Cotton Porduction in the U. S." 
(loth Census), to which he himself contributed detailed descriptions 
of the agricultural features of Mississippi, Louisiana and California. 
In 1894 he received the Liebig medal for distinguished achievements in 
agricultural science from the Academy of Sciences, Munich, Bavaria. 

In i860 Dr. Hilgard married Miss J. Alexandrina Bello, daughter of 
Col. Bello, of Madrid, Spain. 

In spite of a comparatively feeble body. Dr. Hilgard's vigorous in- 
tellect and untiring energy have produced and published a large ntunber 
of remarkably valuable papers upon topics of scientific interest and re- 
lating to a large variety of subjects connected with his wide field of 
activity. — Editor. 

(207) 



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2o8 Mississippi Historical Society. 

vided that one half only of the amount of said appropriation shall be 
from the revenue in the treasury, and the other half shall be made out 
of the sale of lands belonging to the seminary fund hereafter to be 
sold as provided by law. 

Sbc 2. That the authority required by the State Treasurer for the 
payment of the trustees, shall be the warrant of the President of the 
Board of Trustees, drawn in favor of any person whatever. 

Sec. 3. That at least one half of the amount herein appropriated shall 
be expended in making a general geological and agricultural survey of 
the State, under the direction of the principal professor to be appointed 
under the first section of this Act. 

Sec. 4. That the survey herein provided for shall be accompanied with 
proper maps and diagrams, and furnish full and scientific descriptions 
of its rocks, soils and geological productions, together with specimens 
of the same; which maps, diagrams and specimens shall be deposited 
in the State Library and similar specimens shall be deposited in the 
State University, and such other literary institutions in the State as the 
Governor may direct; provided, that the survey shall be made in every 
county in this State. 

Sec. 5. That the Trustees of the State University shall cause a report 
to be made annually to the Governor, to be by him laid before each 
session of the Legislature, setting forth, generally, the progress made 
in the survey hereby required. 

>Sec. 6. That this Act take effect and be in force from and after the 
first day of June next. 

Under the somewhat loose provisions and phraseology of 
this act Dr. John Millington, at the time professor of chemistry 
at the University of Mississippi, was in June, 1850, appointed 
to the position and additional duties provided for by it. No 
assistant was obtained until July 15, 1851, when Oscar M. 
Lieber, of South Carolina, was appointed to the position. No 
record or report of Lieber's work was made ; during a portion 
of his incumbency (presumably in autumn of 1852), he made, 
on horseback, a reconnoissance of the Yazoo Bottom; but 
nothing beyond that fact appears from the letters written by 
him under the regulation defining his duties, which provides 
that "When not actually engaged in making explorations and 
surveys, he shall aid the principal professor of geology, agri- 
culture and chemistry in the discharge of his duties ; and while 
engaged in making such surveys, he shall make reports at least 
monthly to the principal professor, and the salary of said as- 
sistant professor shall be $1,000 per annum." Lieber resigned 
on January 14, 1852. 

In January, 1852, the position was accepted by Prof. B. L. C. 
Wailes, then of the faculty of Jefferson College, near Natchez. 
This gentleman had already made a collection of rocks and 
fossils of the southwestern part of the State, and had quite 



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Geological and Agricultural Survey. — Hilgard, 209 

an extended knowledge of the general features of the latter. 
There was also passed by the Legislature, in session at the time, 
"An Act to amend an Act to further endow the University of 
Mississippi, approved March 5, 1850," the provisions of which 
are as follows : 

Sec I. That the 4th section of the above recited act be so amended 
as to read "Zoological" instead of "Geological" productions. 

Sec 2. That the room adjoining the State Library, formerly occupied 
by the Surveyor-General, be appropriated and set apart for the deposit 
and safe keeping of such specimens as may be collected during the 
progress of the geological survey, provided for in the above recited 
Act; and that the sum of 200 dollars be appropriated, out of any money 
in the State Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to defray the ex- 
penses of fitting up and preparing said room for the reception of said 
specimens. 

Sec 3. That the fitting up of said room shall be done under the 
direction of the Governor, upon whose requisition the auditor shall issue 
his warrant for the sum herein appropriated, or so much of said sum as 
may be necessary. 

Sec 4. That the said room after being so fitted up shall be under the 
charge of the State Geological Society, who shall be authorized to cm- 
ploy the librarian as curator of the same. 

Sec 5. That the said room shall be open to the public during such 
hotirs as the State Library is now required by law to keep open, and 
the librarian shall be allowed an additional compensation of $50 per 
annum for the services required by the 4th section of this Act. 

It will be noted that by the verbal correction made in the first 
section of this act, the survey was practically made a complete 
natural history survey: since the only branch not specifically 
provided for — botany — might be understood to be necessarily 
included in the provisions for an agricultural survey. The State 
society mentioned had but a very ephemeral existence during 
the two succeeding years, viz: 1852 and 1853, Mr. Wailes 
traveled chiefly in the southern and eastern part of the State 
with his own team and outfit, examining the territory of the 
cretaceous in northeast Mississippi and the tertiary and quarter- 
nary areas in the southern part of the State. 

Collections of tertiary fossils, especially from the shell bed 
at Jackson, were sent by Wailes to Conrad, and mammalian 
and other bones from the loess to Leidy, for determination 
and description; and collections of these and other fossils as 
well as of rocks were by him deposited both at Oxford and 
at Jackson. 

In January, 1854, Wailes presented to the Board of Trustees 
of the University of Mississippi the manuscript of his report 
on the work of the two preceding years, which was transmitted 



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2IO Mississippi Historical Society. 

through the Governor to the Legislature, with the recommen- 
dation that it be printed. The legislative committee to whom 
it was referred reported back the following act, which was 
passed and under which the survey was thereafter carried on 
for a number of years : 

AN ACT 

To authorize the printing of the first annual report of the Agricultural 
Geological survey of the State. 

Sec I. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Mississippi, That 
two thousand copies of the report of Professor B. C. L. Wailcs, State 
Geologist, be printed under his supervision, in quarto form, and in such 
manner, and with such illustrations and plates, as his excellency the 
Governor shall deem appropriate and necessary for its illustration. 

Sbc 2. Be it further enacted, That when printed and bound the said 
report be deposited in the office of the Secretary of State, to be by 
him distributed as follows: fifty copies to be deposited in the State 
Library; twenty-five copies to be deposited in the State University; one 
copv to each State in the union; one copy to be given to each incorpor- 
ated college and academy in the State; one copy each to the Governor, 
Secretary of State, Auditor of Public Accounts, State Treasurer, Ad- 
jutant General, the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellors, the Judges of the 
High Court of Errors and Appeals, the Attorney General, the Judge 
and District Attomev of each District, each member of the present 
Senate and House of Representatives, and one hundred copies to the 
said State Geologist, to be by him exchanged for similar reports from 
other States, and to furnish to scientific societies and public libraries. 

Sec. 3. Be it further enacted. That one thousand copies of said report 
shall be deposited in the office of the Secretary of State, to be sold 
by any agent or agents to be appointed by the Governor, under such 
regulations and for such sum as he may deem proper and advisable, for 
the purpose of re-imbursing the State for publishing the same, and the 
balance to be distributed aniong the several counties of the State, in 
proportion to their representation in the Legislature, to be furnished to 
the people thereof, in such manner as the Boards of Police of the several 
counties may direct. 

SKC 4. Be it further enacted, That previous to the printing of said re- 
port, it shall be revised and completed by the said State Geolog^ist; 
and the portion of it which treats of zoology, as far as prepared, shall 
be omitted, and in lieu thereof, a catalogue of the fatma of the State, as 
far as ascertained shall be substituted. 

Sec 5. Be it further enacted. That for the farther and more efficient 
prosecution of the survey, analyses of the marls, soils, mineral waters, 
and the chief agricultural productions of the State, shall be made at the 
University of Mississippi, as the Trustees may designate; and the State 
Geologist may, from time to time, furnish such soils, marls and waters 
as may be required for analysis, and shall receive in return from the 
chemist full and precise reports of all analyses which may be made; and 
specimens of soils and marls shall be preserved in convenient glass bot- 
tles in the State Cabinet and in the Cabinet of the State University, 
properly labeled with the chemical character of the substance and the 
locality from which the same was obtained. 

Sec 6. And be it further enacted. That the said Geologist shall make 
collections of specimens to illustrate the mineral character and paleon- 
tology of the State, in addition to the zoological productions which by 
law he is now required to collect, and to cause them to be suitably 



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Geological and Agricultural Survey. — Hilgard. 211 

arranged and preserved in the State Cabinet, and in that of the Uni- 
versity; and any dnplica-tes that remain may be distributed by him 
among such of the incorporated colleges in the State as may apply for 
them. 

Sec. 7. And be it further enacted, That a sum not to exceed two thousand 
five himdred dollars, be appropriated out of any money in the treasury, 
to be drawn upon the requisition of the Governor, for the purpose of 
carrying into eflFect the provisions of this Act. 

Sec. 8. Be it further enacted, That this Act shall be in force from and 
after its passage. 

Approved March i, 1854. 

Wailes' Report (the first of the Mississippi geological reports), 
of which the publication was provided for by the above act, 
bears the imprint of "E. Barksdale, State Printer, 1854," but 
was actually printed at Philadelphia, where Wailes remained 
during the greater part of 1854 to superintend its passage 
through the press. The volume is an octavo of 371 pages, with 
17 illustrations, partly of a historical character, partly referring 
to the cotton industry; eight illustrate geological subjects, the 
most important being four plates of shells from the Jackson 
shell bed, named and described by Conrad. The report begins 
with a "Historical outline" covering 125 pages; a treatise on 
the agriculture of the State, partly historical and dealing largely 
with cotton culture, followed by some analyses of marls, cotton 
ashes and mineral waters, and covering 81 pages ; meteorologi- 
cal data, 12 pp,; lists of fauna and flora, 46 pages; appendices, 
with documents, 25 pp. This summary is sufficiently indicative 
of the fact that Wailes was not, and did not write as a specialist 
in any department. He makes no attempt to classify the rocks 
he describes otherwise than as Cretaceous, Tertiary and Quar- 
ternary, and inferentially classes among the latter the sand- 
stone of the Grand Gulf group, which is mentioned as overlying 
"diluvial gravel." He traces correctly the northern limit of the 
Grand Gulf rocks from the Mississippi across Pearl river to 
Brandon, and describes its occurrence in southwestern Missis- 
sippi. 

It will be noted that although the act of 1854 designates 
Wailes as "State Geologist," it does not create that oflSce, 
which still remained an appendage of the chair of geology at 
the University of Mississippi. It was expected that Wailes 
would be elected to that chair, which in autumn 1853 had 
been vacated by Dr. Millington. At an election held in June, 

14 



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212 Mississippi Historical Society. 

1854, however, the choice for that position fell on Lewis 
Harper.* 

Wailes, thereupon, immediately resigned his position, which 
remained vacant until September, 1855. Up to the summer of 
1855 Harper, bearing the titles of professor of geology and 
agriculture, and State Geologist, had not taken the field him- 
self. He was now by action of the Board of Trustees relieved 
from a portion of his duties as instructor, and directed to take 
the field personally, for the purposes provided for in the act. 
Besides, Dr. F. A. P. Barnard, then professor of physics at 
the university, was requested to secure a competent assistant 
geologist at a salary of $1,000 per annum, during a contem- 
plated visit to the North. At the Providence meeting of the 
Am. Ass'n Adv. of Science, August, 1885, I^^. Barnard fulfilled 
his mission by tendering the appointment to the writer (then 
lately returned from Europe), who promptly accepted it, amid 
the sincere condolence of his scientific friends upon his assign- 
ment to so uninteresting a field, where the paleozoic forma- 
tions (then occupying almost exclusively the minds of American 
geologists), were unrepresented. 

On the way south, a few weeks later, I paid a visit of several 
days to Dr. David Dale Owen and his assistants, E. T. Cox 
and S. S. Lyon (then engaged in the work of the Arkansas 
State geological survey), at New Harmony, with a view of 
obtaining suggestions for the work before me. This visit was 
most important and fruitful in giving direction to my subse- 
quent studies and methods. 

Reaching Oxford about the middle of September, 1855, I 
found that Harper had then just returned from a rapid recon- 
noissance of the cretaceous and tertiary prairie regions in 
eastern Mississippi ; and it was agreed that we should as soon 
as possible set out on a joint exploration over the same route, 
to be continued to the Gulf shore ; thence across the southern 
counties of the State to the Mississippi river. The start was 

* Properly, Ludwig Hafner, of Hamburg, Germany, originally a 
student of law, who for political reasons had to leave the country be- 
fore graduation, and subsequently became interested in natural history; 
then a teacher of natural science at an academy near Greenville, Ala- 
bama. 



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Geological and Agricultural Survey. — Hilgard, 213 

made early in October, the outfit consisting of an ambulance 
carrying a camping outfit, and a negro driver, who at the same 
time performed the office of cook. The cretaceous prairie 
country on the Tombigby river was reached near Okolona, 
whence the route lay through Aberdeen to Columbus; thence, 
leaving the cretaceous territory, through Neshoba and Kemper 
counties to Enterprise on the Chickasawhay river, and along 
that stream, crossing all the marine tertiary stages, as far south 
as Leakville, Green county. It then became apparent that 
there was not time to reach the coast, as intended, without the 
risk of being caught in a very remote and thinly settled region, 
by the early winter. We therefore turned westward at once 
and reached the Mississippi at Fort Adams, from which point 
we took steamer passage to Memphis, Tenn. 

This expedition was made too rapidly and with too few 
facilities for making collections, to afford anything more than 
a very general insight into the character and relations of the 
several cretaceous and tertiary stages. It was shown conclu- 
sively that the dip of all the marine tertiary beds is southward, 
except only as regards the Grand Gulf rocks, whose relations 
to the rest we had no opportunity of observing, since they are 
unrepresented in the Chickasawhay section, save by clays of 
which the equivalence was not then apparent. 

Meanwhile it had become apparent to the University trustees 
that in its present form the survey was in more than one re- 
spect a burden to the University ; and, accordingly, at the legis- 
lative session of 1855-6, Governor McRae, in transmitting to 
the Legislature the regular report of the trustees of the 
University of Mississippi, accompanies it by a special message 
in which occurs the following passage : 

"The first portion of the trustees' report relates to the geo- 
logical survey of the State Geologist, and proposes the separa- 
tion of this survey from the University ; and asks that it may be 
taken charge of by the State, as an independent work under the 
direction of the Governor. The reasons for this are fully set 
forth in the report, and may be recapitulated in brief as follows : 

I. The geological survey does not form a part of the course of in- 
struction in the University, and is not properly connected with the 
business of the institution. 



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214 Mississippi Historical Society. 

2. The duties of the State Geologist, under the present arrangement, 
being partly as professor in the University, partly in the field survey, 
neither position can be fully or satisfactonly filled by him. Either the 
classes in this department must suffer in his absence, or the survey in 
the field be neglected to give them proper attention. 

3. The funds of the University are not sufficient to justify it in be- 
stowing a portion of them on a work, however important and valuable 
to the State, that is pot legitimately a portion of its business. 

The appropriation by the State of $3,000 annually for the geological 
survey, pays no more than the salary of the principal and assistant 
geologists; and the outfit and traveling expenses, &c., amounting to as 
much more, have to be provided for out of the college funds. This 
is unjust to the University, and the divided time of the State Geologist 
between the University and the field, operates injuriously both to the 
interests of the University and the State. I would not be understood 
by this, nor would the Board of Trustees, as casting any reflection upon 
the learned gentleman who now fills the place of State Geologist, and 
whom they and myself believe to be well and highly qualified for the 
duties of that station, nor would we have it understood, and the Board 
of Trustees would not, that we detract in the slightest measure from 
the great interest and importance to the State of having a geological 
survey thoroughly and efficiently prosecuted. The object is to place 
it in the hands of the State and under the direction of her authority, 
where it properly belongs, and to have it vigorously prosecuted to coril- 
pletion at the earliest day. I therefore recommend to the Legislature, 
to place it in this position and to provide the means necessary to ac- 
complish this object. It is believed that an appropriation annually, for 
three years of $6,000, will be sufficient to complete the entire work 
within that period. 

The report of Professor Harper, herewith submitted, contains much 
valuable information — shows a nigh degfree of scientific attainment on 
his part, and gives evidence that when the work is completed, it will 
be one of great value to the public. The present report is only pre- 
liminary and partial and is not designed for publication at this time; 
but is to be embodied and published in the general report when com- 
pleted." 

The suggestion of the Governor was not, however, favorably 
acted upon by the Legislature ; the matter was left in statu quo, 
but with the understanding that a vigorous prosecution of the 
work should pave the way to more satisfactory legislation at a 
succeeding session. 

After passing the winter at Oxford in the arrangement of 
the collections and preparations for analytical work, I pro- 
ceeded in April, 1856, to make a detailed exploration of the 
northeastern portion of the State, where the geological struc- 
ture seemed most complex and varied. In the course of this 
expedition, made with the same outfit that had served the year 
before, I determined the character, stratigraphical relations and 
limits of the carboniferous, cretaceous and tertiary beds of that 
part of the State, making extended collections especially of 



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Geological and Agricultural Survey. — Hilgard. 215 

what was afterwards designated as the Ripley Group of the 
cretaceous by Conrad.' 

I also investigated closely the features and geological rela- 
tions of the "Orange Sand" (now better known as the Lafayette 
formation of the Southwest), showing its derivation partly from 
northern sources, partly from the underlying formations of 
which it contains the fossils; distinctly characterizing it as a 
quarternary deposit. 

It having become clearly apparent to me by this time that the 
survey would never maintain itself in public esteem on the 
basis of mineral discoveries, and that it must seek its main sup- 
port in what services it might render to agriculture, I made a 
point of paying close attention to and recording the surface 
features*, vegetation, soils, the quality and supply of water, and 
especially the marls, which I found to occur in large supply and 
gjeat variety. I also made a collection of plants, which, 
although omitted from the subjects mentioned in the act creat- 
ing the survey, I perceived was essential toward the characteri- 
zation of soils. In the prosecution of these studies, the close 
connection between the surface vegetation and the underlying 
formations became so striking, that I soon largely availed my- 
self of the former in tracing out the limits of adjacent forma- 
tions, in searching for outcrops, etc. 

I also, by current inquiry among the inhabitants, ascertained 
all that was known regarding the peculiarities, merits and de- 
merits of the several regions or soils, from an agricultural point 

•A collection of fossils from these beds was sent to Conrad by Dr. 
Spillman, of Columbus, to whom I had given a list of good fossiliferous 
localities of that group, of which he promptly availed himself. The same 
season (1856) in Conrad's published description of these fossils (Jour. 
Acad. Sci., Philadelphia, Vol. IV, N. S., pp. 275 to 201.) Dr. Spillman 
is erroneously credited with being the discoverer of the Ripley beds. 
My original collection, containing a number of species still undescribcd 
was unfortunately never seen bjr Conrad, with whom I twice made ar- 
rangements for a protracted visit to Oxford for the purpose of study- 
ing the collections of the survey. His feeble health and subsequent 
death prevented jthe carrying-out of this program. 

*No instrumental topographical work was ever done in connection 
with the Mississippi survey, partly because it was not provided for by 
law, partly because the continually recurring violent barometric changes 
during the working season rendered the use of the aneroid, so useful 
elsewhere, very unsatisfactory. The railroad levelings then available 
were, however, fully and extensively used by me, and were excluded 
from the report of i860, simply by the absolute need of brevity for the 
sake of reducing the expense of publication. 



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2i6 Mississippi Historical Society. 

of view, and studied their practice and its results on the several 
soils and crops. 

During the latter part of the season of 1856, I extended the 
detailed survey of the cretaceous area as far south as Colum- 
bus ; and thence, as the beginning of the rainy season rendered 
farther field work unprofitable, I drove across the country to 
Tuskaloosa, Ala., in order to compare notes and consult with 
Tuomey, then State Geologist of Alabama, and to gain an 
insight into the works of reference for cretaceous and tertiary 
paleontology; of which not one had been provided by Harper, 
although at his request the costly illustrated works of Goldfuss, 
D'Orbigny and others, treating of European paleontology, had 
been placed in the University library. As these works did not 
furnish us with the means of identifying the fossils of the 
Mississippi formations, Harper seriously proposed to confer 
on them all, names of our own making, irrespective of previous 
observers. Upon my suggestion that this was rather an un- 
usual mode of proceeding and might at the very least give rise 
to some confusion, he agreed that I might try to obtain from 
Tuomey the necessary information as to the possibility of pro- 
curing the existing American works, of which he, however, 
expressed a very low opinion. Hence my excursion to Tuska- 
loosa, in which I reaped the benefit of Tuomey's previous 
labors, and came to an understanding with him in respect to 
the subdivisions of the cretaceous, recognized by him. It hap- 
pened that he had just returned from an excursion to the (Rip- 
ley) cretaceous area of Chunnenugga Ridge, which was en- 
tirely new to him, and the relations of which to the other groups 
he had not yet made out. Recognizing the characteristic fossils 
and marlstones of the Ripley group, I was enabled to clear up 
that point as well as the relations of the "Tombigby Sand" 
fossils (which had been sent to him from Columbus by Dr. 
Spillman) to the "Rotten Limestone," which we had thus far 
designated as "Upper," but agreed henceforth to consider as 
middle cretaceous. I then learned for the first time that he 
had found fossils, — ^well preserved ammonites and several gas- 
teropods, silicified, in the lower qretaceous clays near Eutaw 
(or rather Finch's Ferry), Alabama ; and we agreed to designate 
this lower clayey stage, which in Mississippi I had found en- 
tirely barren of fossils, as the "Eutaw". group. Subsequently, 



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Geological and Agricultural Survey. — Hilgard, 217 

prior publication gave precedence to Saflford's name of "Coffee 
group" for the lower clays, and similarly my "Tippah group'* 
received from Conrad the prior name of "Ripley" for the upper- 
most cretaceous. Tuomey had at that time a portion of his 
second report in manuscript ; and as unfortunately he died six 
months after our conference, after a protracted illness, that 
report, which was posthumously edited by J. W. Mallet, does 
not show the latest phase of Tuomey's knowledge of the creta- 
ceous stages. As his collections were mostly destroyed during 
the war, it is of interest to record here, from my personal ob- 
servation, that almost all the cretaceous fossils marked "Miss." 
in list "A," p. 257, of that report, were from the "Tombigby 
Sand" and the immediately overlying portion of the "Rotten 
Limestone," in Lowndes county, Miss.; the "Ammonites Bi- 
nodosus," recorded in the same list, from Eutaw, Ala., was con- 
sidered by him as a "leading fossil" of the lower cretaceous 
clays ; the specimens were all silicified and in excellent preser- 
vation. 

As regards the tertiary formations, Tuomey was strongly im- 
pressed with the fact that the older stages reappear above the 
drainage level to the southward, after sinking out of view at 
the St. Stephens bluff; and he suggested to me then that what 
I subsequently named the "Grand Gulf rocks" might be 
equivalents of the "Burstone" sandstones of South Carolina. 
So far as this point is concerned I was therefore strongly im- 
pressed with the same ideas that have been so persistently 
set forth by Otto Meyer. Having obtained from Tuomey ref- 
erences to all publications then extant on the cretaceous and 
tertiary of the south and west, I returned to Oxford in Novem- 
ber, across a country rendered almost impassable by copious 
rains. 

I found matters rapidly coming to a crisis at the University. 
Harper had been provided with a separate ambulance outfit, 
and had taken the field for a few weeks during the season of 
1856 in the northwestern counties ; but he seemed to be unable 
to keep away from Oxford for any length of time. Finally, 
the dissatisfaction of the Board of Trustees with his personal 
acts, in relation both to the survey and to the University, came 
to a head in November, 1856, when he was forced to resign. I 
was continued as assistant, with compensation increased to 



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2i8 Mississippi Historical Society. 

$1,500 per annum, and was for the time being placed in charge 
of the survey, the office work of which I continued during the 
winter. 

At the legislative session of i856-'7, however. Harper, by 
strenuous effort, procured the passage of an act entitled "An 
Act to provide for the printing of the Second Annual Report 
of the Agricultural and Geological Survey of the State, and for 
other purposes," approved January 31, 1857. The substantial 
provisions of this act were, first, the complete separation of the 
survey from all connection with the State University; second, 
that the survey should be prosecuted to completion according 
to the provisions of the previous act, "by a State Geologist, to be 
appointed by the Governor, and to receive a salary of two thou- 
sand dollars per annum, to be furnished with such an outfit as 
may be necessary, to be provided under the direction of the 
Governor; he shall also keep an exact account of his expenses 
in making said survey, and submit the same to the examination 
of the Governor, who shall issue his requisition upon the treas- 
ury for the amount, provided the sum shall not exceed one 
thousand dollars per annum." An appropriation of twelve hun- 
dred dollars was also made for the purchase of chemical ap- 
paratus for making analyses, and the State Geologist was au- 
thorized (as a measure of economy suggested by himself), to 
"occupy as a laboratory the two front rooms in the second 
story of the penitentiary building ; and he shall be allowed the 
assistance of one convict, to be named by the inspectors, to 
aid him in keeping his apparatus in good order." It was also 
ordered "that five thousand copies of Professor Harper's re- 
port be printed," and thereafter distributed in accordance with 
the provisions of the former act. The sum of thirty-five hun- 
dred dollars was appropriated for this publication, and Harper 
entered upon the office on March i, 1857, but was voted com- 
pensation from the date of his resignation, in November pre- 
ceding. The only work performed by him during his tenure 
of office under this act, was the writing and publication of his 
report, which was done under his personal supervision at New 
York, although, like the former report, it bears the imprint of 
the State printer at Jackson. 

Of this report it need only be said that it is a literary, lin- 
guistic and scientific curiosity, and probably unique in official 



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Geological and Agricultural Survey. — Hilgard, 219 

publications of its kind. It is the labored attempt of a sciolist 
to show erudition, and to compass the impossible feat of inter- 
preting and discussing intelligently a considerable mass of ob- 
servations mostly recorded by another working on a totally 
different plan from himself. In making use of my field notes, 
which of course passed into his hands, the facts as well as the 
conclusions suffered such distortion that but for the introduc- 
tion of all the figures and diagrams given in my manuscript, I 
should have been unable in many cases to recognize my own 
work. It is thus that the "Orange Sand" becomes in his hands 
"The Miocene Formation ;" while what he saw of the Port Hud- 
son beds, as well as the quarternary gravels, are referred to the 
eocene. Shortly after the publication of the book, I publicly 
disclaimed all responsibility for either facts or conclusions pre- 
tended to be based upon my work, since although my name 
is nowhere mentioned in the volume, the innumerable errors 
would, in the course of time, be likely to be laid at my door. 
The circulation of the report through the State soon produced 
the inevitable result of discrediting its author to such extent 
that toward the end of the year 1857 he was obliged to resign 
his office. 

Shortly afterwards the appointment was tendered to me (then 
acting as chemist to the Smithsonian Institution), and accepted ; 
and I entered upon its duties early in 1858. At Jackson I found 
in the "two front rooms in the second story of the penitentiary," 
under the charge of the convict assistant, the outcome of the 
purchases made by Harper under the provision for the outfit- 
ting of an analytical laboratory. It consisted essentially of 
apparatus for elementary lectures in chemistry, and an expen- 
sive microscope; the analytical balance was represented by a 
pair of apothecary's scales, etc. Under authority of the Gover- 
nor, a portion of the useless articles were sold, and the pro- 
ceeds applied to the purchase of necessaries for analytical work, 
and under the same authority and by permission of the Board 
of Trustees of the State University, I transferred the whole to 
a front room in the University building at Oxford, which I 
fitted up as a laboratory, at a personal expense of $600, for the 
time being. By this evasion of the law, framed under Harper's 
auspices (which was mandatory only in respect to the location 
of the "office," but not of the laboratory), the survey was again 



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220 Mississippi Historical Society. 

practically restored to its original connection with the Univer- 
sity, without which the work could not be successfully carried 
on under so small an appropriation. 

I took the field again in April, with the same outfit, an am- 
bulance with two mules and a neg^o driver, and starting at the 
Ripley cretaceous, I devoted the season to the verification of a 
full section across the tertiary area, from north to south; in- 
cluding also the detailed examination of the fossiliferous locali- 
ties of the "Jackson" and "Vicksburg" stages in their most 
characteristic development. Contrary to my first impressions, 
I found the Vicksburg beds everywhere along their southern 
limit of outcrops, dipping southward uftder the lignito-gypseous 
and sandstone strata of the "Grand Gulf" group, which rise 
abruptly and sometimes in steep escarpments from the low roll- 
ing or prairie country of the Vicksburg area; and being thus 
led to consider the Grand Gulf rocks as belonging to a miocene 
or possibly pleiocene epoch, I devoted considerable time to the 
study of its features and to the search for fossils. That this 
search was unavailing so far as the finding of definite animal 
forms is concerned, and that a subsequent continuation of the 
search over the rest of its area in Mississippi and Louisiana has 
led to no better results, I have stated and discussed in later 
publications.* 

The fundamental fact of the infra-position of the Vicksburg 
beds to those of the Grand Gulf group that has been called 
in question by Otto Meyer, can easily be verified by any 
one understanding the logic of stratigraphical and hypsometri- 
cal facts in numerous localities along the belt of contact. I 
mention especially the outcrops at Mississippi Springs on Pearl 
river below Byram ; on Richland creek, Rankin county ; on the 
Brandon and Byram road ; north of Raleigh, Smith county, and 
at numerous other points, both in Mississippi and Louisiana. 
No other interpretation of the stratigraphical facts is possible 
in a region where disturbances (apart from small local faults), 
are unknown, and where the broad facts are identical from the 
Chickasawhay to the Sabine. 

In passing through the State I became painfully conscious 

•See my Mississippi Report of i860, p. 147. -^w. Jour. Set., 1887; Ibid., 
Nov., iSdg; Ibid., Dec, 1871; Ibid., July, 1881; also Smith's Contr, Sci. 
Memoir, No. 248. 



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Geological and Agricultural Survey. — Hilgard. 221 

of the fact that the survey had become extremely unpopular, as 
a consequence of Harper's incumbency and report; so much 
so that it was often very difficult to obtain information, or even 
civil answers to inquiries. I felt that it would be necessary to 
throw off, and purge myself completely, of the obnoxious ante- 
cedents, if the survey appropriation was to be sustained at th-^ 
coming session of the Legislature. I therefore, after consulting 
with Governor McWillie, wrote a short Report upon the Condition 
of the Geological and Agricultural Survey of the State of Missis- 
sippi, of 22 pages, 8vo., which was printed by executive order 
and circulated prior to the session of the Legislature in the 
winter of iSsS-'p. In this report I discussed, first, the need 
and advantages of a thorough geological and agricultural sur- 
vey of the State; recited the causes of the slow progress and 
failure to satisfy the public, chief among which were inadequate 
appropriations and the incompetency of the late incumbent; 
also gave examples of what had been done in the matter in 
other States, and closed with a recommendation for the repeal 
of the law locating the headquarters of the survey in the State 
Penitentiary, and for the restoration of the geological assistant- 
ship, in connection with a more reasonably adequate appropria- 
tion. 

The storm, however, broke loose when the L:egislature as- 
sembled. Those who had been instrumental in passing Har- 
per's bill in 1857, were now most eager to have the survey 
"wiped out" to allay their soreness. A special committee was 
appointed to investigate the subject, and without even giving 
me a hearing, that committee promptly reported a "bill to 
abolish the geological and agricultural survey of the State." In 
presenting this report the chairman inveighed fiercely against 
the insolence exhibited in my report, above alluded to, and my 
attempt to "coerce the Legislature by forestalling public opin- 
ion." The report to abolish would undoubtedly have been 
promptly adopted, but for my forcing a personal conference 
with the chairman ; in which I presented to him the documents 
in the case and exhorted him to abolish me, if he thought there 
was cause, but not the survey, the revival of which would only 
be a question of time. After this, the "bill to abolish" was not 
called up, and the survey remained in statu quo during 1859. 

The previous season's work having settled conclusively the 



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222 Mississippi Historical Society. 

succession of the several stages of the tertiary, and their prom- 
inent stratigraphical, lithological and paleontological features, 
I devoted the season of 1859 to the filling-in of details. I went 
more leisurely over the ground intended to have been covered 
by the previous joint expedition of Harper and myself in 1855, 
viz: from the southern border of the cretaceous area, near 
Columbus, down the Chickasawhay and Pascagoula valleys to 
the sea coast; along the coast to Pearl river, up that river to 
Columbia, Marion county, and thence across to the Missis- 
sippi; thence northward along the eastern border of the loess 
region to the belt of marine tertiary, which I also examined 
more in detail between Jackson and Vicksburg. All these ob- 
servations only served to confirm and complete my previous 
conclusions ; the only new point being the examination of the 
perplexing aspects under which the "Port Hudson group" (then 
provisionally designated by me as "Coast Pliocene"), appears on 
the shores of Mississippi Sound. I was not long in rejecting 
all ideas of its direct connection with the Grand Gulf strata ; but 
its true character of a littoral member of the deposits of the 
loess epoch did not become apparent to me until, later on, I 
had the opportunity of studying, connectedly, the geology of 
southern Louisiana.* 

Returning from the field somewhat earlier than usual, I 
began the arrangement of materials for a report, to be pre- 
sented at the legislative session of i859-'6o, with a view to its 
publication and the procurement of a better endowment for 
the survey. 

As an earnest of the work done, I put up a collection of soils 
and marls, gathered during the three years' work, and had it 
on exhibition at the State Fair held at Jackson in November. 
It excited a good deal of attention and newspaper comment, 
and gave a favorable turn to public opinion, previously aroused 
by frequent communications of results made by me to agricul- 
tural and other papers of the State. Outside of the fair week 
I carried on the work of analysis and writing, simultaneously 
and unremittingly; the only assistance received being that of 
cataloguing of the tertiary fossils by Prof. W. D. Moore, then 
holding the chair of English literature at the University of 

• See Smiths. Contr, Set,, Memoir No. 248, above referred to. 



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Geological and Agricultural Survey. — Hilgard. 223 

Mississippi. The manuscript was not nearly completed when 
the Legislature convened in December, 1859. But there was 
enough to satisfy a special committee that it should be printed, 
and that the working facilities should be enlarged. 

The bill reported by that committee and afterwards passed 
with little difficulty by the Legislature, makes no radical 
changes in the previous act defining the objects of the survey ; 
but provides for the appointment of an assistant geologist 
at a salary of $1,500; enlarging the limits of the annual "ex- 
penses necessarily incurred in fitting up a chemical laboratory," 
and repealing the provision for keeping an office at Jackson; 
permitting the alternative of having it at Oxford. An appro- 
priation of three thousand five hundred dollars is made for 
printing the report, "with such diagrams and maps as the Gov- 
ernor shall deem necessary for its illustration ; and it is hereby 
especially enjoined upon his excellency, in the publication of 
said book, to have the same performed at the South, if the same 
can be done at an advance of ten per cent, upon the cost of its 
publication at the North." 

The latter clause was a characteristic sign of the times. The 
act was approved by the Governor, February 10, i860. It was 
soon and easily ascertained that the five thousand copies of the 
volume could not be printed anywhere at the South at an ad- 
vance of ten per cent, on New York prices; but Governor 
Pettus declared that he would not allow it to go North under 
any circumstances, even if it had to remain unprinted. The 
estimates prepared by Mr. E. Barksdale, the State printer, 
showed that to do the work in his office would cost over $4,000, 
at the lowest estimate I placed upon the uncompleted manu- 
script. Finally, Mr. Barksdale proposed that if I should be per- 
sonally responsible for $250 of the excess of cost over the 
amount allowed by the State, he would cover the rest; and I 
accepted the proposition. The Governor relented so far as to 
allow the map, which could not be furnished by any Southern 
establishment, to be prepared by the Coltons, at New York; 
the other plates were prepared at New Orleans. The printing 
was begun at Jackson in May, i860; the latter parts of the 
report were largely written while the first portions were pass- 
ing through the press. But several forms were not yet in print 
when in August imperative matters called me to Europe, and 



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224 Mississippi Historical Society. 

Prof. W. D. Moore, who had previously aided me in working 
up the lists of fossils, undertook to see the remainder of the 
work through the press. Hence there remain in the latter part 
of the book a number of uncorrected errata, of which none, 
however, are of material consequence. 

In this report (which except as otherwise credited in the text, 
represents my personal field, office and laboratory work during 
four years), I undertook to separate, as far as possible, the 
purely scientific part from that bearing directly upon practical 
points, in order to render the latter as accessible to unscientific 
readers as the nature of the case permitted ; while at the same 
time giving scientific discussion full swing in its proper place. 
This was the more necessary, as my predecessor's reports had 
been sharply criticised in this respect ; and I think the result has 
justified my judgment in the premises. The volume is thus 
divided nearly evenly between a "geological" and "agricultural" 
portion ; the former giving under the special heading of "useful 
materials" the technically important features of each formation, 
after its geological characters have been discussed. In the 
agricultural portion, it seemed needful at the time to give, by 
way of introduction, a brief discussion- of the principles of agri- 
cultural chemistry, then but little understood by the general 
public; and, accordingly, fifty pages are given to this subject, 
and are discussed with reference to the agricultural practice of 
the State. In the special or descriptive portion of the agricul- 
tural report, the State is divided into "regions" characterized by 
more or less uniformity of soil and surface features ; and each is 
considered in detail with respect to all natural features bearing 
on agricultural pursuits; special attention being given to the 
nature of the soils, as shown by their vegetation and analysis. 
In the latter respect I departed pointedly from the then pre- 
vailing opinions, by which soil analysis was held to be prac- 
tically useless. My exploration of the State had shown me 
such intimate connection between the natural vegetation and 
the varying chemical nature of the underlying strata that have 
contributed to soil formation, as to greatly encourage the belief 
that definite results could be eliminated from the discussion of 
a considerable number of analyses, of soils carefully observed 
and classified with respect both to their origin and their 
natural vegetation, and a comparison of these data with the 



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Geological and Agricultural Survey. — Hilgard. 225 

results of cultivation; and that thus it would become possible, 
after all, to do what Liebig originally expected could be done, 
viz: to predict measurably the behavior of soils in cultivation 
from their chemical composition. To what extent this expecta- 
tion has been fulfilled, is hardly apparent from the very 
limited number of analyses which my unaided work was able 
to furnish for the report of i860. But the lights then obtained 
encouraged me to persevere in the same line of investigation, in 
the face of much adverse criticism, when wider opportunities 
presented themselves afterwards. By the aid of these I think 
I may fairly claim, that the right of soil analysis to be con- 
sidered as an essential and often decisive factor in the a priori 
estimation of the cultural value of virgin soils, has been well 
estabUshed alongside of the limitations imposed by physical and 
climatic conditions, and by previous intervention of culture.'' 

With the recognition of these facts, the importance of agri- 
cultural surveys to the population of especially the newer States 
and territories becomes sufficiently obvious to command at 
least the same attention as those investigations directed speci- 
ally to the recognition of the geological aSd mineral resotu-ces 
of the same regions ; and the "classification of lands," provided 
for under the law creating the United States Geological Survey, 
assumes a new and more pressing significance. Even apart 
from any special investigations of soil composition, the right 
of the agricultural interests to at least a good, intelligent and 
intelligible description of the surface features of a region, given 
with respect to its agricultural capabilities and its attractions 
for settlers, can hardly be denied. With the additional pos- 
sibilities opened by the intelligent application of soil investiga- 
tion, there is no excuse for the neglect, sometimes almost ab- 
solute, with which this branch of the public surveys has thus 
far mostly been treated by those charged with their execution. 

Dr. David Dale Owen was, among the older American geolo- 
gists, the one who most steadily kept the agricultural interests 
in view, and gave them prominence in his researches and re- 
ports. While my personal intercourse with him predisposed me 

^For a more extended exemplification and discussion of the nature 
and utility of such work, see the ^'Report on Cotton Production in the 
United States" Vols. 5 and 6 of the Reports of the loth Census; also Am. 
Jour, Set., Dec, 1872, p. 434; /Wrf., Sept., p. 183. 



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226 Mississippi Historical Society. 

to follow his example in this respect, my further experience has 
only served to strengthen my conviction that a reasonable pro* 
portion of attention given to agricultural work would effectually 
smooth the path of our State surveys, whose fate is forever 
trembling in the balance at each reassembling of the legislative 
bodies upon which their continued endowment depends, and by 
whose country members their utility is constantly called in 
question. No such question was raised in Mississippi after the 
publication of my report of i860 ; and the legislative appropria- 
tions for substantially similar work 'done by me on behalf of 
agriculture have since been liberally maintained in California, 
despite the conspicuous disfavor with which the geological 
survey of that State has for many years past been regarded 
by the public. Had that survey been adapted to the legitimate 
needs of the State, by proper diligence in the pursuit of its agri- 
cultural side, the discontinuance of the work could never have 
been carried through the Legislature. 

As a striking exemplification of the change wrought in public 
sentiment by the energetic prosecution of agricultural survey 
work, I may quote the action taken at the called session of the 
Legislature of Mississippi in August, 1861. Under the terrible 
stress brought to bear on the State even then by the impending 
conflict, it would have been natural to expect the complete ex- 
tinction of the appropriation for the survey work. Instead of 
this, an act was passed suspending the appropriation for the 
geological survey "until the close of the war, and for twelve 
months thereafter; except the sum of twelve hundred and fifty 
dollars, per annum, which shall be applied to the payment of 
the salary of the State geologist, and the purchase of such 
chemicals as may be necessary to carry on the analysis of soils, 
minerals and mineral waters and to enable him to preserve the 
apparatus, analyses and other property of the State connected 
with said survey." This appropriation was actually maintained 
during the entire struggle of the Confederacy ; and so far as the 
vicissitudes of war permitted, the chemical work (and even 
some field work) was continued by me during the same time. 
The scarcity of salt sug;gested the utilization of some of the 
saline waters and efflorescences so common in the southern part 
of the State, and some forty (unpublished) analyses of such 



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Geological and Agricultural Survey. — Hilgard. 227 

saline mixtures are on record. I made an official report on the 
subject to Governor Pettus, dated June 9, 1862. I also made 
a special exploration on the several limestone caves of the 
State, with a view to the discovery of nitrous earths ; but from 
, the fact that these caves are all traversed by lively streams, I 
found nowhere a sufficient accumulation of nitrates to render 
exploitation useful. 

Soon after the beginning of active hostilities in Tennessee^ 
the University faculty having been dissolved, I was detailed by 
the Governor, as commander of the State militia, to take charge 
of the State property at the University during the war ; and this, 
as well as a subsequent appointment by the Confederate au- 
thorities as an agent of the "Nitre Bureau,*' prevented my being 
called into active service; except on the occasion of the siege 
of Vicksburg, when, toward the end of that memorable epoch, 
I was ordered to erect "calcium lights" on the bluffs above the 
city, for the illumination of the Federal gunboats when attempt- 
ing to run the gauntlet of the batteries. The difficulties of 
construction and procuring of the necessary materials delayed 
the completion of the arrangements, so that on the occasion 
of the final passage of the fleet no adequate light could be given. 
From a hospital at Jackson, where I was a patient at the time 
of its first capture, I soon afterwards made my way to my post 
at Oxford, where I remained on duty during the rest of the war. 
This duty was oftentimes a very arduous one, Oxford being 
then within the "belt of desolation" between the two armies, 
which swept back and forth over it. The survey collections 
had several very narrow escapes from destruction when the 
buildings were hastily occupied for hospital purposes ; they were 
several times transferred on hospital cots from one building ta 
another, but finally escaped without any material injury. Not 
so the collections at the capitol at Jackson, where the shelves 
and cases seem to have been swept with the butts of muskets, 
and the floor was strewn with broken specimens and shattered 
glass jars. About one-third of the collections stored there was 
entirely ruined, and of the remainder nearly all the labels were 
lost. 

On my return from Europe in November i860, I found my 
report in print, and shortly afterwards it was shipped to St. 
Louis for binding. The political events which soon afterward 
16 



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528 Mississippi Historical Society. 

convulsed the country, prevented the return of the bound edi- 
tion to Mississippi. It remained warehoused in the binder's 
hands during the entire war between the States, and it was not 
until 1865 that measures were taken for its recovery. The war 
and the "twelve months thereafter" having expired, the survey 
was revived ipso facto on the basis of the act of i860; and I 
found the State printer of that time, Mr. E. Barksdale, deter- 
mined to carry out to the letter his agreement in respect to the 
publication of the report ; thus likewise reviving my obligation 
to contribute $250 toward the payment of its cost, which under 
the conditions then existing was a heavy tax. The edition was 
received at Jackson early in 1866, and thence distributed ac- 
cording to law. 

The mule team of the survey had been sold under authority 
from the Governor, soon after the passage of the act of suspen- 
sio|b. There being no legal mode of turning the proceeds into 
the State treasury, they remained in my custody in the form 
of "Cotton Money" (notes issued by the State upon "cotton 
pledged" for their redemption) during the war ; and as at its end 
these notes had become worthless, the survey was left with- 
out means for repurchase. Subsequently, however, a suitable 
team was procured out of the appropriations for current ex- 
penditures. 

Dr. George Little, formerly professor of natural sciences at 
Oakland College, near Rodney, Miss., was appointed assistant 
geologist in July, 1866, and shortly thereafter took the field 
for detailed exploration of the loess region from Rodney to its 
farthest point in Louisiana; the special object being to ascertain 
its relation to the "Coast Pliocene" or Port Hudson beds on the 
one hand, and to the southern equivalent of the "Yellow Loam" 
of Mississippi and Tennessee on the other. The general results 
of this exploration are briefly stated in Memoir No. 248 of the 
Smithsonian Contributions, p. 4, viz: That the loess material 
gradually changes toward that of a non-calcareous and non- 
fossiliferous hardpan or indurated loam, from a point about 
eight miles below the Louisiana line, and seems also to thin out. 
No detailed report or field notes of this trip are on record. 

In view of the difficulties and insecurity besetting the office 
of State Geologist under the regime then existing in the State 
of Mississippi, in October, 1866, I accepted permanently the 



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Geological and Agricultural Survey. — Hilgard. 229 

chair of chemistry at the University; and Dr. Little was then, 
upon my recommendation, appointed State Geologist. He 
took the field in autumn of 1867, in order to re-explore the 
section of the tertiary strata afforded by the Chickasawhay 
river, between Enterprise and Winchester. He descended the 
stream in a canoe, making numerous portages over shallow 
stretches. The result of this re-examination was simply a con- 
firmation of the observations previously made by myself, going 
by land, in 1859. Of this exploration, also, no detailed record 
or report is on file. 

No field work was done by Dr. Little in 1868, partly because 
by consent of the Governor he was then acting as professor of 
geology and mineralogy at the University in addition to the 
survey work in the laboratory and collection rooms. In Oc- 
tober, 1870, however, he definitely resigned the State geologist- 
ship for the professorship of geology and natural history ifi the 
University, and in order to prevent the survey from being either 
abolished or falling into the wrong hands, I again assumed its 
direction without additional compensation ; it being understood 
that I should be under no obligation to take the field personally. 
In November, 1868, the assistantship had been most fortunately 
filled by the appointment of Dr. Eugene A. Smith, of Alabama, 
then just returned from his studies in Europe. Dr. Smith took 
hold of the work with his characteristic energy, although the 
first work in order was not of the most interesting character; 
namely, the farther prosecution of the analyses of soils and 
marls selected so as to cover as nearly as possible all parts of 
the State. This work was carried on by him through the year 
1869 2tnd a portion of 1870. In September of that year he took 
the field, with the usual outfit of a two-mule ambulance and 
driver. There were then two regions in the State that had not 
been at all satisfactorily explored: one the belt northward of 
the Jackson area, of which only the portions lying in Neshoba 
and Lauderdale counties on the eastern border of the State, and 
a small area in Attala county, near the Central railroad, had 
been somewhat minutely examined by me. This being the con- 
necting link between the "northern lignitic" and calcareous 
marine stages, its examination was of special interest, but at 
the same time a difficult task on account of the extreme vari- 
bility of its materials and fossils, and the scarcity of outcrops. 



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230 Mississippi Historical Society. 

The other comparatively unknown region was the great "Yazoo 
Bottom/' the geological exploration of which had become of 
especial interest in connection with the question of the age of 
the formation of the Gulf coast and delta ; but at the same time 
a difficult task on account of the extreme variability of its ma- 
terials and fossils and the scarcity of outcrops. 

While the Bottom region was to be the chief objective point 
of the first expedition, Dr. Smith availed himself of the oppor- 
tunity of observing a section across tho older tertiary in passing 
from Oxford to Yazoo City via the Pontotoc, "Flatwoods," 
Kosciusko and Jackson. 

He then descended into the Yazoo Bottom and traversed it^ 
zigzagging from the river to the bluff from near Vicksburg 
to its head near Memphis. In this laborious and insalubrious 
trip he studied carefully both the surface features of the great 
alluvial plain, and the geological features of the deposits that 
form its substrata. A summary report of this important ex- 
ploration was given by him at the Indianapolis meeting of the 
A. A. A. S., and was published in the volume of Proceedings 
for 1871, p. 252. The outcome of these observations is there 
summarily stated to have been that "the true river deposits, of 
any considerable thickness, are mostly confined to narrow 
strips of land lying on both sides of the Mississippi and of the 
bayous and creeks, and to ancient channels since filled up ; while 
a large proportion of the superficial area of the bottom, includ- 
ing some of the most fertile lands, is derived from the clays of 
older formations into which these beds have been excavated." 
The equivalence of this older clay formation with that of the 
Port Hudson profile, already suggested by me, was thus fully 
* verified. 

Returning to Oxford early in December, Dr. Smith carried 
on the chemical work until the end of May, 1871, when he took 
the field again in order to trace across the State the "Siliceous 
Claiborne" belt, referred to. His route lay from Leake county 
southeastward to the Alabama line, along the northern contact 
of the problematic "Red Hills" and yellow standstones with the 
lignitic formation ; then westward again in the more southerly 
portion of the belt, to the border of the Yazoo Bottom (the 
"Mississippi bluff"). In this trip he traced the connection and 
established the equivalence of the ferruginous formation as a 



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Geological and Agricultural Survey. — Hilgard. 231 

local feature, with the sandstones of Neshoba and Newton 
counties ; which again connect unequivocally with the character- 
istic "burstones" of Lauderdale.® The beds of the Jackson 
group were then traced by him, down the edge of the bluff to 
Yazoo City and Vicksburg, forming the third complete section 
across the eocene observed in Mississippi. 

In September, 1871, Dr. Smith resigned the assistantship to 
take the chair of geology and mineralogy in the University of 
Alabama, with which, through his efforts, the State Geologist- 
ship of that State was afterwards connected. 

His successor in the assistantship of the Mississippi survey 
was Mr. R. H. Loughridge®, of Texas, who had for some time 
previously acted as my assistant in the chemical laboratory, and 
subsequently as instructor in general chemistry. Mr. Lough- 
ridge prosecuted the chemical work of the survey during a 
part of the year 1872, and was preparing for the elaboration 
of another report covering the work done since the publication 
of the report of i860; when by an arbitrary ruling of the State 
Auditor of Public Accounts the survey appropriation was with- 
held; and thus in the autumn of 1872 the work was peremptorily 
stopped. 

It has not been revived since, although so far as I am aware 
the act of i860 has never been legally rescinded. No provision 
for the publication of the unpublished results has ever been 
made by the State; the records and collections of the survey 
remain in the custody of the University of Mississippi, and were 
left by me fully labeled as to locality and time of collection, 
with reference to the field notes, and to the name or designation 

• The more extended development of the ferruginous feature in north- 
ern Louisiaana was afterwards observed and described by myself. Am. 
Jour. Set., Nov., 1869, p. 3^1; Supplementary and final report of a 
geological reconnoisance of Louisiana, p. 22. Also Rep. on the cotton pro- 
duction and agricultural features of Louisiana, in Report of the loth Census 
U. S., Vol. 5, pp. 112, 132. 

•Mr. lyoughridge subsequently received from the University of Missis- 
sippi the degree of Ph. D., and served for several years as assistant to 
Dr. Little in the geologfical survey of Georgia. Subsequently, acting 
under my direction as special agent of the loth Census, he made a 
reconnoissance of Texas, and wrote the monographs on that State, 
State, Arkansas, Indian Territory, Georgia and Missouri for the report 
on Cotton Production. Later he served on the Geol. survev of Ky., 
with Prof. Proctor; and is now connected with the Agr. College of 
California. 



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232 Mississippi Historical Society. 

under which the specimens of fossils appeared in my report of 
i860. 

When I took charge of the Tenth Census report on cotton 
production, and at my suggestion it was determined by Super- 
intendent Walker thkt agricultural descriptions of the cotton 
States should be embodied in the report, I requested of Presi- 
dent A. P. Stewart, of the University of Mississippi, permission 
to use the records of the survey in the elaboration of the report 
on that State. Permission was promptly given and the papers 
forwarded to Berkeley, California ; and they were there used by 
me as intended, in the composition of the monograph on the 
agricultural features and cotton production of Mississippi, 
which forms part of Volume 5 of the Census reports for 1880. 
This paper embraces 164 quarto pages, and is accompanied by a 
colored map of the State; showing the several soil regions, 
which in this case largely coincide with the geological sub- 
divisions as given on the map accompanying the report of i860. 
While the surface features of the State are given very much 
in detail, the geological description is considerably condensed, 
into one and a quarter pages ; since greater minuteness of de- 
scription would have lain outside of the object^ of the report. 
Hence, except as casually mentioned in connection with the 
surfaces, the geological observations made by Dr. Smith in 
1870 and 1871 remain unpublished, save as regards the abstract 
of his observations in the Yazoo Bottom, given in the paper 
referred to before. 

A revised edition of the report of i860 would, without addi- 
tional field work, form a pretty complete account of the geologi- 
cal and agricultural features of the State. 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE. 

Official publications of the survey of Mississippi. 

1. Report on the Agriculture and Geology of Mississippi] embracing a sketch 
of the Social and Natural History of the State, by B. L. ^ C. Wailes, 
Geologist of Mississippi, published by order of the Legislature. E. 
Barksdale, State Printer, 1854. 391 pp. 8 vo., with map and 17 plates. 

2. Preliminary Report on the Geology and A^icuUure of the State of MiS' 
sissippi, by L. Harper, LL. D., State Geologist of Miss. By order of the 
Legislature of Mississippi. E. Barksdale, State Printer, Jackson, 1857. 
362 pp., 8 vo., with map, 52 figures in the text and 7 special maps and 
plate. 

3. Report on the Geological and Agricultural Survey of the State of Mis- 
sissippi, by Eug. W. Hilgard, State Geologist, Jackson, Mississippi, 



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Geological and Agricultural Survey.— Hilgard. 233 

Steam Power Press Print, 1858. 22 p., 8 vo. (printed by order of the 
Governor). 

4. Report on the Geology and Agriculture of the State of Mississippi, by 
Eug. W. Hilgard. Ph. D., State Geologist, printed by order of the 
Legislature. E. Barksdale, State Printer^ Jackson, Mississippi, i86a 
417 pp.,. 8 vo., map, two plates of geological sections and s diagrams 
printed in the text. 

5. Report to Governor John 7. Pettus, on the Resources of the State of 
Mtsstsstppt for the Manufacture of Salt. About 4 pp. octavo, but publish- 
ed only in the newspapers of the State at the time. Dated Oxford. 
June 9, 1862. 

6. Circular Announcing the Resumption of the Geological and Agri- 
cultural Survey of Mississippi, after the Cessation of the War. About 

4 pp., 8 vo. Sent in two column open sheets to the officials and news- 
paper press of the State. Dated Oxford, July, i866. 

Lists of papers relating to the geology of the southwestern States, 

Sublished by E. W. Hilgard, and based upon the geological surveys of 
lississippi and Louisiana. 

1. The Quartemary Formations of the State of Mississippi. Am. Jour, 
Sci., May, i866, 15 pp. 

2. Remarks on the New Division of the Eocene, or Shell Bluff Group, 
Proposed by Mr. Conrad. Am, Jour. Sci., July, 1866, 4 pp. 

3. Remarks on the Drift of the Western and Southern States, and 
its Relations to the Glacier and Iceberg Theories. Am, Jour. Sci., Nov., 

5 pp. 

4. On the Tertiary Formations of Mississippi and Alabama. Am, 
Jour. Sci. Jan., 1867, 12 pp. 

5. On the Geology of Lower Louisiana and the Rock Salt Deposit 
of Petite, Anse Island. Am. Sci. Jour., Tan., 6 pp. 

6. Preliminary Report to the New Orleans Academy of Sciences, of a 
Geological Reconnoissance of Louisiana. De Bows Review, Sept., 1869, 
IS pp. 

7. Summary of Results of a Late Geological Reconnoissance of 
Louisiana. Am. Jour., Nov., 1869. 

8. Report on the Geological Age of the Mississippi Delta. Rep. U. S, 
Engr. Dept. for 1870, 16 pp. 

9. On the Geology of the Delta, and the Mudlumps of the Passes of 
the Mississippi. Am. Sci., 3d Series, Vol. I, 34 pp. 

10. On the Geological History of the Gtilf of Mexico. Proc. A. A. 
A. S., Indianapolis, 1871. Am, Jour, Sci., Dec., 1871; Am. Naturalist, Assn. 
Number, 1871. 

11. Memoir on the Geology of Louisiana and the Rock Salt De- 
posit of Petite, Anse Island. With maps and diagrams. Smithsonian 
Contributions to Knowledge, Memoir, No. 248. Lge. 4to, 34 pp. 

12 Some Points in the Geology of the Southwest. Am. Jour. Sci., 
Oct., 1872, 4 pp. 

i^. Supplementary and Final Report of a Geological Reconnoissance of 
Ixmisiana; Made under the Auspices of the New Orleans Academy of Sciences, 
and of the Bureau of Immigration of the State of Ijmisiana, in May and 
June, 1869. Picayune Job print, 44 pp. 

14. The Loess of Mississippi Valley and the Aeolian Hypothesis. Am. 
Jour., August, 1879, 8 pp. 

15. The Later Tertiary of the Gulf of Mexico. Am. Jour. Sci., July, 
1881, 8 pp., with colored map. 

16. Report (by E. W. Hilgard and F. y. Hopkins) on the borings 
made between Lake Borgne and the Mississippi River in 1874, at the 
site proposed as an outlet for flood waters, Rep. U. S. Eng. Dept., 
1877, 49 pp. 



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234 Mississippi Historical Society. 

17. Report (by E. W. Hilgard and F. V. Hopkins) on the borings 
made on the Mississippi River, Memphis and Vicksburg, by the Miss. 
River Commission. Rep. Miss. Riv. Comm'n. for 1883, p. 479, 18 pp. 

18. Report on the Cotton Production and Agn"icultural Features of 
the State of Mississippi, 4to, 164 pp. with two maps. In Volume 5 of 
Reports of the Tenth Census. 

19. Report on the Cotton Production and Agricultural Features of 
the State of Louisiana, 4to, 93 pp. and two maps. In Vol. 5 of the 
Reports of the Tenth Census. 

20. The Salines of Louisiana, U. S. Geol Survey Report on the Mineral 
Resources of the United States, 1883, p. 938, 8 pp. 

21. The Old Tertiary of the Southwest. Am. Jour. Set., October, 1885, 
4 pp. 

22. Orange Sand, Lag^'ange and Appomattox. Am. Geologist, Vol. 8, 
1891, 2 pp. 

23. The Age and Origin of the Lafayette Formation. Am. Jour, 
Science, May, 1892, 13 pp. 



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HISTORY OF THE APPLICATION OF SCIENCE TO IN- 
DUSTRY IN MISSISSIPPI. 

By a. M. Muckenfuss.^ 

I shall present only a preliminary report at present. It is 
perhaps just as well that this i« so ; for wealth of figures do not 
always lend interest to the introductory portrayal of an investi- 
gation. What I hilve at present is based upon the literature of 
the subject and upon conversations with business men. 

A scientific industry is one whose successful management de- 
pends upon some knowledge of the laws or facts of natural 
science. Manufacturing may be divided into two general sec- 
tions ; the purely mechanical, and the scientific, lumbering being 
a good example of the former and electric companies of the 
latter. Yet, no factory is altogether mechanical and no scienti- 
fic industry is independent of mechanical skill. In the industrial 
life of Mississippi there is so much that is purely mechanical 

* Anthony Moultrie Muckenfuss was bom on Sullivan's Island, S. C, 
the site of Ft. Moultrie in Charleston Harbor, on the 5th of August, 
1869. His father, Dr. B. A. Muckenfuss, is a prominent citizen of Char-, 
leston. His ancestry came to South Carolina long before the Revolu- 
tionary War, probably from Salzburg, Austria. His great-grrandfather 
was the last survivor of the Revolutionary War in South Carolina. The 
mother of the subject of this sketch (nee Kosalie Stewart) also belonged 
to a family that served the colonies in the Revolution. His early edu- 
cation was received in the private schools of Charleston, Laurinburg, 
N. C, and Summerville, S C. At the last place he was prepared for 
Wofford College, from which institution he was graduated with distinc- 
tion in 1889. After teaching three years he entered Johns Hopkins 
University as a graduate stucfent of chemistry and kindred subjects. He 
also did special work in his chosen field in the Universities of Virginia 
and Berlin. After filling the chair of chemistry and physics in Millsaps 
College at Jackson, Miss., for one year he was granted a year's leave 
of absence, during which time he completed his work at the Johns 
Hopkins University, receiving the deg^ree of Ph. D. from that institution 
in 1895. His thesis was published in separate numbers of the American 
Chemical Journal, being in reality two distinct pieces of investigation. 
Since 1895 he has been connected with Millsaps College and has written 
several papers on scientific subjects, which have appeared in the 
Mississippi School Journal the Epworth Era, and the Methodist Review, 
While pursuing further studies at the University of Chicago during the 
summer of 1897, he was appointed one of the instructors in the Chemical 
Laboratory there. He was married in 1897 to Margaret Galloway, of 
Jackson, Miss. — Editor. 

(235) 



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236 Mississippi Historical Society. 

and so little truly scientific that the investigator of this line 
pauses where to tread. It is indeed largely a matter of judg- 
ment to divide the factories of the State into the two classes, 
mechanical and scientific ; for there is no sharp line of distinc- 
tion. I have no dispute with any one who might prefer a stricter 
or a broader construction than is found in these pages. 

It is needless to dilate upon the importance of science to in- 
dustry. Not a factory exists but has improved by discoveries 
in the realm of nature while whole industries owe to the in- 
vestigator their very existence. Moreover, wealth in industrial 
science is a wealth that is based upon the finest security, the 
security of technical knowledge. Any nation may soon excel 
in the mechanical, if energetic, but it takes time, education and 
experience to apply successfully the laws of matter and energy 
to manufacture. Processes of this character do not always need 
the protection of a patent ; for secrecy can easily be maintain- 
ed and a natural monopoly of enormous wealth producing power 
is the result. Of this truth the German dye industry is an im- 
pressing illustration. The poverty of our Southland is not so 
much due to pensions or any other governmental injustice as 
to the incalculable tribute that we in our ignorance pay to 
the scientific manufacturer of the North. Indeed, the subject 
that I speak of to-day, meager though the facts be upon which 
it must be based in Mississippi, could not in New York or 
Illinois be handled in less than a full volume. 

Was the helplessness of the early settlers at Biloxi an omen 
of the future ? Certain it is that they were industrially the most 
dependent set of creatures who ever succeeded in an attempt 
at colonization. Many summers passed before even garden 
products were raised, the sigh being continually for the delica- 
cies of France. We may array ourselves on the one side or 
the other of the 20th century controversy, but since Biloxi 
was founded in 1699, ^^ one can doubt that Mississippi is now 
upon the threshhold of her third century as a white man's coun- 
try. It is significant that this new era is ushered in by a 
renaissance of industry which is omnipresent and which in- 
evitably must develop upon scientific lines. 

The progressive little city upon our coast was once the capital 
of a province that extended from Montana to Alabama and 
from Colorado to Minnesota. Mississtpi, therefore, was more 



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The Application of Science to Industry. — Muckenfuss. 237 

important than the rich and populous States that now dot that 
region. Even as a State she is older than Maine, Missouri, 
Illinois, Michigan, or Iowa. The moss of many dreamy years 
has gathered upon our backs and it is high time that we were 
moving on. 

I have not as yet learned much about the industrial life of 
particular localities in the early days of the State. Natchez, 
however, which may be taken as a fair example, possessed in 
ante-bellum days at least five scientific industries ; a pottery, a 
soap factory, a cotton seed oil mill, a tannery, and an indigo 
pond. 

The State has been wiser in one respect than others similarly 
situated in the South. She has been remarkably active to se- 
cure the immigration of Western people. This class as a rule 
are more advanced industrially than we. The period from 1880 
to 1890 brought a large influx of beneficial settlers and was 
marked by unusual efforts to attract manufactures. 

He that runs may read the cause of Mississippi's industrial 
backwardness. It is recorded that she had a smaller percent- 
age of middle class whites than any other Southern State before 
the war. It is just this class that has been largely the basis 
of the South's post-bellum industry. The darkie, much though 
we like him, is a curse to the industrial life of his native land; 
the Southern gentleman of the olden time, much though we ad- 
mire him and the ideals that cluster about him, was totally unfit 
by training and predilection for the manufactures that were to 
arise from the ashes of war. 

We will now consider the general history of those industries 
in Mississippi in which scientific knowledge is more important 
for development than mechanical skill. In colonial days, lack 
of knowledge and skill made all manufactured articles very cost- 
ly. In 1775 nails were $1.00 a pound. The year 1812 records 
that in this territory there were 807 spindles and 1,330 looms 
at work, but with probably no scientific features such as bleach- 
ing or dyeing in connection therewith. The record shows only 
ten tanneries, and no other factory that was not merely me- 
chanical. It is certain, however, that the indigo business was 
very flourishing and was the money basis of the agriculture 
of the early decades of this century. In 1840 there were fewer 
spindles (318), but Mississippi had 53 factories, and $5,140 



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238 Mississippi Historical Society. 

worth of hats were manufactured. Unfortunately this latter 
industry was entirely sporadic. The tanneries had increased re- 
markably, the number being 128, and 42 leather factories with 
one pottery are recorded. $242,000 worth of machinery, $273,- 
000 worth of lime and brick, $13,000 worth of ships, and 
312,000 lbs. of soap were made. About 3 per cent, of the 
population were engaged in manufactures. It is easy to see 
from this that the '30's were years of rapid progress in the ap- 
plication of science to industry. The period 1836 to 1840 was, 
however, a time of such great financial distress in Mississippi 
that a reaction set in and 1857 does not show any marked in- 
crease in activity. The telegraph was, however, introduced 
about 1854. The war came on just as the people were taking 
anew to manufactures and industrial death ensued. In 1870 
there was shown a loss of 62 per cent, on home manufactures. 
It was indeed an act of business foresight for the North to hold 
the South in the Union; for thereby, that section at one fell 
stroke crushed both an exclusive Southern tariff and a growing 
Southern competition. 

The census of 1870 gives only 11 tanneries, 14 machinery 
manufactories, 11 factories for agricultural implements, 2 car 
works, and 10 textile factories. After that year the tide began 
to rise once more. But as far as mere number of general 
establishments were concerned, it must not be forgotten that 
there had been all along a steady increase. Thus for 1850, 
we find 947 manufacturing plants ; for i860, 976; for 1870, 1,731 ; 
for 1880, 1,479, ^"d ^or 1890, 1,698. It is in capital invested 
and in the number of scientific industries that the fluctuations 
of the '40's and the *6o's are seen. 

In order to ascertain the progress since the latter decade, let 
us compare 1880 with 1890. There is a falling off in brick and 
tile companies, an increase of one cotton factory, one new 
foundry, 4 new oil mills, 13 additional turpentine stills and a 
loss of one woolen factory. The fertilizer business at this time 
sprang forth Minerva-like with its present size of three establish- 
ments. 

In 1812 there were in Mississippi only four kinds of industries 
that could in any way be classed as scientific. In 1840 there 
were nine. We find, however, that there were only seven kinds 
in 1870, though 1890 records twenty-one. The great increase 



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The Application of Science to Industry. — Muckenfuss, 239 

of the latter date was doubtless the effect of the peoples' efforts 
to attract manufactures already mentioned. 

Looking at the matter from the standpoint of charters grant- 
ed, I find that in 1893, thirteen of them were for industries of a 
scientific nature. But in 1894 only eight of such charters were 
obtained. In 1895 the increase is marked, 20 being the number 
granted. Yet there were only ten in 1896 and sixteen in 1897. 
We find, however, twenty-eight in 1898, and twenty-seven in 
1899. The remarkable progress thus shown of the past two 
years in this the most advanced section of manufacturing life 
augurs well for the immediate future of Mississippi. 

In 1850 three per cent, of those engaged in occupations were 
in lines that were more or less dependent upon science. But 
in 1890 we note that the mechanical occupations have developed 
twice as rapidly, only 1.7 per cent, being employed in work 
requiring knowledge of nature. Comparing this figure with 
other States it is clear that Mississippi makes the poorest show- 
ing of all. Louisiana, our neighbor, has 3.6 per cent., while 
Illinois, a State under similar natural environment, has 17 per 
cent, so employed. 

It may be interesting to make another comparison. Of the 
total number of manufacturing establishments in the State only 
three per cent, partake of a scientific nature, while our sister, 
Alabama, gives 11 per cent, and Massachusetts 13^ per cent. 

As far as kinds of industries are concerned, Mississippi is no 
exception to the general rule in America that about one-third 
are businesses founded upon physical knowledge. It is the 
actual number of kinds and their character that our State's 
crude condition is brought out in strong relief. But space does 
not now permit a comparison of special industries here with 
other commonwealths; suffice it to say that there are very 
few kinds of strictly scientific industries, such as fertilizer, ice 
and electric companies, in Mississippi. This shows neither an 
advanced stage of modern civilization nor a secure basis for 
modern wealth. There are only thirty-three kinds in the State 
that have any scientific character, whatever, while Louisiana 
shows 99 and Massachusetts, 112. 

There has, however, really been as great a percentage of gen- 
eral increase here as elsewhere- The value of manufactured 
products doubled from 1880 to 1886, while the number of fac- 



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240 Mississippi Historical Society. 

tories increased 79 per cent. Mississippi has other things to 
be proud of. The first creamery established in the South was 
at Starkville. In i860 Mississippi took the World's Prize in 
London for the production of wool and were it not for the 
curse of the canine, might yet rival Ohio in the teeming sheep 
upon her fair pastures. 

Let us next make note of those manufacturing companies of 
the State that are important enough to be recorded for 1899 in 
the business directories. Vicksburg, as we might expect, leads 
the State, having 14 whose business is related to science. 
Meridian makes a good second with 13; Biloxi and Jackson 
follow with II. Natchez and Greenville with 9; Columbus, 7; 
Greenwood, Water Valley and McComb City, 5. Vicksburg is 
also first in number of kinds, having 11, while Meridian has 9. 
Then follow in order Natchez, Jackson, Biloxi and Columbus. 
In proportion to population of 1890, Biloxi, of all the large 
places, easily leads the State, having one scientific industry for 
every 294 of its inhabitants. Greenwood, McComb City, 
Crystal Springs, and Water Valley are next, but far behind, 
averaging one for every 450 of inhabitants; Jackson, Green- 
wood and Columbus average one for every 600, while the larger 
cities, Vicksburg, Meridian and Natchez foot the list with one 
for every 1,000. It is thus seen that the greater the concentra- 
tioi\ of population, the greater is the preponderance of the 
merely mechanical occupations. 

From the consideration of particular localities, the next step 
is to the study of the development of particular industries. We 
will now consider, one after the other, those that have been in 
this State. In a farming section like ours, one ought to com- 
mence with scientific agriculture. While it is a fact the world 
over that farmers as a class could have profited the most by 
the advance of science but have profited the least of all others, 
yet be it said to her credit that Mississippi is not one whit 
behind her sisters of the South in progress along this line. 
This is undoubtedly due to her wisdom in the early establish- 
ment of the Agricultural and Mechanical College, than which 
there is no institution more worthy of honor within her borders. 
In reference to agriculture in general it may be remarked that 
in the line of dairying, Macon and Aberdeen had in 1870 the 
only two cheese factories in the State. Crystal Springs opened 



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The Application of Science to Industry. — Miickenfuss. 241 

up the State's now prosperous truck business in 1874. When we 
consider the enormous area of good land that has been worn 
out since the war by ignorance and improvidence, it is time 
that we call a halt, cease laughing at science, and bespeak her 
aid to save the hill counties from the fate of an agricultural 
barrenness such as has visited the Italy and Palestine of to-day. 

The cotton oil business is capable of great scientific develop- 
ment. Untold wealth awaits the men who have the knowledge 
and the aptitude to get full use of the cotton seed. Soap, but- 
terine, fertilizers, imitation olive oil, and paint should be manu- 
factured at the mill. The business was started in the State per- 
manently in the '70*s. Sporadic mills had existed previously. 
In spite of the great development of this industry it is at present 
largely mechanical. There are only two refineries in the State, 
in Jackson and Meridian, and these are not of a very advanced 
nature. It is still true of Mississippi, as of the rest of the South, 
that other regions, especially France, absorb the greater part 
of the profits through greater knowledge of the processes of 
refining. Greenville has the credit of having the largest number 
of oil mills, while Meridian has the largest single mill, which 
is also the most scientifically advanced, having a soap factory 
as a commendable annex. 

In an agricultural commonwealth, it would seem that the 
manufacture of fertilizers would become a huge industry re- 
quiring trained specialists. Within our borders is much 
material that could well be utilized. There are, however, only 
three of these factories in Mississippi, two being in Jackson, 
and they obtain all their raw material from distant points. 
The first factory was organized in Jackson in 1881. The largest 
is in Meridian, where the manufacture of sulphuric acid is a 
part of the work. 

Fire brick has been made in several parts of Mississippi, 
notably about six years ago at Harriston and at Meridian. 
Good fire clay abounding around Corinth may soon be utilized. 
There are two potteries, both on a small scale, at Holly Springs 
and at Biloxi. It would thus seem that our wonderful wealth 
of clays of all varieties, capable of making all kinds of stone 
ware and even vitrified brick, is now resting patiently, awaiting 
the coming of the man who knows. 

I must not neglect to refer to an industry that was an im- 



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242 Mississippi Historical Society. 

portant source of money for the early English Colonists from 
Mississippi to the Carolinas, of which not one vestige remains 
within our borders at the present time. I refer, of course, to 
the production of indigo. Much of this dye is now made in 
chemical factories, but the natural product still holds its own. 
The unnatural death of this interesting culture was doubtless 
due directly to the introduction of cotton planting and to the 
greater profits accruing thereto. About 80 years ago, an 
indigo pond near Natchez was still in use, but not the slightest 
trace of it can now be found. 

Allow me in passing to speak briefly of several industries 
which are of greatest interest to our generation but in reference 
to which I have not obtained any very tangible data. 

Cotton factories have increased from five in 1870 to nine 
in 1890 and woolen from five to seven. But the mill at Wesson 
is the only one that manufactures colored goods, the others 
being wholly mechanical. I am told that the dye plant at Wes- 
son is of a very high order. Bleaching ought also to be a part 
of the work at every cotton mill. It is interesting to record 
that the cotton factory at Woodville, which was destroyed by 
Federal raiders, was operated by slave labor. 

There are 24 turpentine stills in the State, but no attempt has 
been made to use the product of these for further manufactur- 
ing. It is shipped away for the pecuniary benefit of other re- 
gions. 

Of course, electric lights are possessed by every town of 
note. There are four electric railroads in the State, Vicksburg 
perhaps having the finest system. Several of our electric plants 
furnish current for the operation of considerable factories. Of 
these, Jackson is said to possess the largest electric establish- 
ment. 

There was once a successful glass factory at Moss Point. It 
may be said just here that the sands of Pearl River for such 
purposes rival those used by the famous Pittsburg factories. 

Perhaps the oldest industry of the State requiring scientific 
knowledge is that of tanning. There was a time when tan- 
yards dotted Mississippi frpm Tennessee to the Gulf. 128 
were on record in 1840. But the greater knowledge and skill 
of the Yankee drove the Southerner out of this business, until 
now there are only four tanneries to be found in the State, 



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The Application of Science to Industry. — Muckenfuss. 243 

and it is said that the Indians are our only inhabitants who can 
compete successfully in this art. We sell hides to the North, 
and buy them back at six times their first cost. 

One industry that has held its own since antebellum days is 
the foundry and machine shops. Pig iron from Alabama is the 
raw material, but were these mines not so near, the iron ore of 
Mississippi, which contains from 40 to yo% of iron, would not 
be neglected. There are 18 foundries- at present in the State. 

In March, 1880, a three ton ice factory at Jackson opened up 
in Mississippi a business that is strictly debtor to science. Be- 
fore this, the profits from the sale of ice went to more Northern 
climes. Now there are about 17 factories in the State, the 
largest one, at Vicksburg, having a capacity of 55 tons of ice 
per day. 

The first illuminating gas manufactured in this State was 
made from resin. Gas was first made in Jackson in 1857. 
Scientifically this business is most interesting and one regrets 
that electricity will eventually displace it. At present there are 
only two distinct gas companies in Mississippi. 

We are peculiarly the State of mineral springs. It is not 
surprising, therefore, that we have four prosperous companies, 
the largest at Meridian, the oldest at Raymond. 

There is only one stone quarry, that in Rankin County, which 
is worked on a large scale. It would astonish the average 
citizen to be informed of the State's wealth in quarriable rock. 
At least for street paving and building purposes, this should be 
more generally utilized. G3rpsum is as common as limestone 
in some sections, and should be utilized for the manufacture of 
plaster of Paris. 

It is needless to speak of the railroad shops, of which there 
are five in the State. The oldest built, which was also one of 
the oldest in the country, was at Woodville. 

Natchez was the first city in Mississippi to put in sewerage 
which it did about 8 years ago. There are, however, only four 
cities sewered in the State, Jackson having the largest capital 
invested. 

The first town to establish water-works was Columbus in 1891. 
In 1892 Yazoo City put in wooden pipe system, a method com- 
mon to the distant West. It is fortunate that so many places 
in the State now possess an advantage of this kind. 
15 



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244 Mississippi Historical Society. 

The first canning factory arose at Biloxi, which city has by 
far the largest capital invested. This business is one of 
great possibilities, but it requires varied and numerous talents 
from its managers. Science will yet erase the word perishable 
as a phrase to qualify any product of Mississippi soil. Here is 
a rich field for the practical investigator. 

Three Southern States, Maryland, South Carolina and Mis- 
sissippi were pioneers in railroad building. The first was in 
1828, and the West Feliciana R. R. from Woodville was in- 
corporated only three years later. It was the third railroad 
built in the United States. From 1831 to '41, twenty-two rail- 
roads were incorporated, but all except seven were lost in the 
great panic of that period. Natchez even went as far as to 
build 35 miles of the "Little J'* and then allowed the rails to be 
taken up. The Gulf and Ship Island created a great enthusiasm 
that was not to bear ripe fruit until two wars had been fought. 
Since 1870, when the mileage was only 990, the scientific in- 
dustry of railroad building has developed, as is well known, 
very rapidly, until now the mileage is close to 3,000. 

The business of manufacturing soda-water, while not very 
large, is founded strictly upon a scientific basis. It was opened 
up about 18 years ago at Vicksburg. A small bottling estab- 
lishment was started in Jackson about the same time. At pres- 
ent Vicksburg has the largest amount of money in this line and 
there are 14 establishments in the State. 

There has always been some sugar refining in Mississippi. 
It ought to be a great industry. In 1894, 388 hogsheads were 
made from four refineries in Pike, Amite, Perry and Marion 
Counties. Vinegar has been made also and ought to be the 
chief product of a great industry here. 

It would be interesting to discuss not only how science has 
been and is being applied to industry in Mississippi, but also how 
it might be applied in the future. I might speak of our mag- 
nificent forests, and how they should be made to increase our 
wealth, and not be practically g^ven away as at present. In 
the Delta we have the largest sweetgum forest in the world, 
a wood that almost rivals walnut for cabinet work. I might 
speak of the hidden wealth beneath the soil we till ; for there 
is not now even a barrel of lime produced within our borders. 
I might speak of countless scientific industries for whose pro- 



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The Application of Science to Industry. — Muckenfuss. 245 

ducts there is a steadily increasing Remand in the State. But 
what we really lack is knowledge and skill, and what we really 
need is to transform our A. & M. College into a great poly- 
technic school, to teach our young men not only scientific 
agriculture, not merely the textile art, but every form of 
mechanical and scientific industry that is possible as a business 
venture in Mississippi. We must follow the example of the 
States of the German Empire in this respect, which as a re- 
sult of these polytechnical colleges established about thirty 
years ago, has risen from a third-rate country to be the in- 
dustrial queen of the globe. 

A writer in the New York "Evening Post," last November, 
thus describes the result of his investigation of an average Ala- 
bama country store: "I found that the stoves were cast in 
Memphis, the soap, of which there were from fifty to a hundred 
boxes piled on top of one another, were made in Nashville; 
the unbleached cotton was made in Anniston, Ala., and a con- 
siderable quantity of the cheap cotton dress goods came from 
the mills at Tuscaloosa in the same State. The heads of the 
nail kegs showed that their contents were made in Ashland. 
The rolled oats were milled and packed at Birmingham. The 
boots and shoes were manufactured in St. Louis, Atlanta and 
Nashville; the furniture in Memphis and the tinware in Mem- 
phis and Atlanta. The flour naturally came from St. Louis 
and the tobacco from Virginia. The clothing, of which a very 
large stock was carried, was manufactured in Louisville, and 
the brooms were made in the same city. The only articles I 
found bearing a Northern stamp were the sewing machines, 
made in Cleveland, Ohio, and the bleached cottons, which bore 
the imprint of Providence, Rhode Island. 

Let us now contrast this prosperous condition of Alabama 
with the state of affairs in Mississippi as told by one of her 
chief citizens. Judge Robert Powell delivered the following 
vivid peroration last summer from one end of the State to the 
other : "Our average citizen gets up in the morning ; puts on a 
pair of socks manufactured in Lynn, Mass. ; puts on a pair of 
shoes made in Boston ; puts on a suit of clothes manufactured 
in New Hampshire; goes to his dining room and takes a seat 
in a chair made in Chicago, eats from a table made in some 
Northern city; sweetens his coffee from Rio with sugar from 



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246 Mississippi Historical Society. 

Louisiana; butters his biscuit made from Minnesota flour with 
Oleomargarine which came from the Lord only knows where, 
takes a slice of ham cured in St. Louis, takes a spoon full of 
rice from Louisiana or South CaroHna; even the very grits 
upon his table are ground in some Northern mill. He goes to 
his stable, takes down a set of harness made in Springfield, 111., 
puts it on a mule from Kentucky, and hitches it to a wagon from 
Chicago, and drives over to his neighbors and complains of hard 
times." 

The foregoing quotations speak for themselves. As long as 
a State or section of the South depends upon the outside world 
for all but raw materials, so long will it remain poor, miserably 
poor. As long as the South remains poor, she may never 
again hope to cope with civilization m the heights, not merely 
of industrial, but even of intellectual or spiritual life. Poverty 
means lack of leisure, lack of freedom to pursue ones ideals, 
lack of opportunity to grow in mind and soul. No one can be 
unmindful of the national calamities that have resulted from 
excessive wealth, but while history shows this to be true, she 
teaches with unmistakable voice that the centers of higher life 
of the human race, in the past as in the present, have been also 
centers of material prosperity. May the happy day soon bless 
Mississippi and the whole South, also, when applied science has 
made us industrially independent. Then only will we get from 
under the bondage of misery and have a sure basis for true de- 
velopment. 



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WILLIAM CHARLES COLE CLAIBORNE, 

Governor of Mississippi Territory and First Gk)vERNOR 

OF Louisiana; How He Solved America's 

First Problem of Expansion. 

By Henry E. Chambers.^ 

(Address delivered before the Mississippi Historical Society, 
April 22, 1898,) 

Ladies and Gentlemen : The distinguished honor of appear- 
ing before the Mississippi Historical Society is one I heartily 
appreciate. Coming to you as I do from a sister State, I have 
taken for my theme one that will enable us, I hope, to stand 
upon a common ground of interest, for the subject of the few 
remarks which I have to offer is almost as closely identi- 
fied with the history of this great State as it is with the history 
of the one from which I come. 

I propose to speak to you of a typical American whose career 

from beginning to end exemplifies to an eminent degree 
__ — —. — t 

* Henry E. Chambers is a native of New Orleans. He began teaching 
at seventeen in rural and district schools. He advanced step by step 
through all the grades of educational work, country and city, up to the 
university. For three years he was a professor in Tulane University. 
At present he is Professor of History m the Louisiana State Normal 
College and State Conductor of Teachers' Institutes, having the di- 
rect supervision of all the Teachers* Institutes and Peabody summer 
normal schools held in Louisiana. 

At the St Paul meeting of the National Educational Association he 
was President of the Department of Secondary Education. He served 
two terms as President of the Louisiana State Educational Association, 
and is at present President of the New Orleans Educational Associa- 
tion, the largest local teachers' organization in the South. He is also 
Vice-President of the Board of Directors of the Louisiana State Chau- 
tauqua. 

Mr. Chambers is the author of the Hansell series of Histories of the 
U. S. and of several text-books for lower grades. He has published 
in various publications a large number of educational addresses and 
essays. He has also attained distinction as a writer of fiction, the 
Youth's Companion, of Boston, having given his name among those 
of the famous story-tellers who will contribute to its columns in the 
coming year. He is a hard and faithful worker in every educational 
cause, and probably no man has done more to advance the cause of 
public education in his State in the past twenty years. — Editor. 

(247) 



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248 Mississippi Historical Society. 

what American genius can do when given American opportuni- 
ties. I shall speak of one who, though nurtured in the scant 
soil of western pioneer and rural life, blossomed and bore fruit 
and shed about him in the years of his young manhood the 
seeds of manly dignity, unswerving integrity, exquisite tact, 
polished courtesy, and exalted patriotism. 

True, his name is but sparingly sprinkled upon the pages 
that record the achievements of American statesmanship. To 
no lack upon his part, however, is this due, but rather to the 
fact that the lines of his destiny were cast in places little knov/n 
at the time to the country at large. It is from this obscurity 
that we who treasure his memory would rescue his fair fame 
and place it where it properly belongs — in the very vestibule 
of the Nation's temple. 

In the county of Sussex, Virginia, in the year 1775, William 
Charles Cole Claiborne first saw the light of day. The fires of 
American patriotism burned about his cradle and throughout 
his early boyhood the thunders of the American Revolution 
reverberating upon distant battlefields echoed about his humble 
dwelling. 

Born to that poverty which serves as a spur to the ambitious, 
he early determined to make his own way in the world. His 
sixteenth birthday found him in New York City, then the capi- 
tal of the nation/ia boy of limited knowledge and education, 
but of pleasing address and of good breeding so evident that 
the friendship of many high in authority was drawn to him. 
Indeed, no surer indication of potential greatness can be shown 
by youth than readiness to attract those who themselves are 
great. 

Among the ones who were drawn to the young Virginian 
were Thomas Jefferson, then Secretary of State in President 
Washington's Cabinet, and Col. John Sevier, the great "com- 
monwealth builder," and exponent of free government west of 
the Alleghenies. 

From the latter Claiborne learqed of the possibilities and 
opportunities which awaited enterprising and energetic young 
men in the "Territory South of the Ohio," soon to become the 
State of Tennessee. 

Following the old pioneer's advice he set out for the western 
country just as he was emerging from his teens. On his way 



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William Charles Cole Claiborne.— CAaw&^r^. 249 

he stopped over at Richmond, where he devoted three months 
to the study of law. This preparation might now seem rather 
hasty, but it was not wholly inadequate in those days when 
sustained by personal courage, keen intelligence and dignified 
bearing. 

Speaking of him at this time, Governor Blount, of the Terri- 
tory said: "He is the most remarkable man I ever met. If he 
lives to attain the age of fifty, nothing but prejudice can prevent 
him from becoming one of the most distinguished political 
characters of America." 

Tennessee was ready for statehood about the time of Clai- 
borne's arrival. Though but twenty-one years of age, he was 
elected a member of the first constitutional convention. Under 
this Constitution Sevier was chosen Governor, and one of the 
first acts of the Legislature was to elect young Claiborne to 
the highest office at its disposal — ^Judge of the Superior Court 
of Law and Equity. 

It is on record that during the short time he served on the 
bench he won the esteem and admiration of the bar, many of 
whose members afterwards attained national celebrity, and 
most of whom were his seniors in age and experience. His 
judicial career was of short duration, however, for by unanimous 
election he was sent to represent his State in the Nation's forum 
at Washington. 

Now it was that Claiborne, the brilliant young Congressman 
from Tennessee, amply repaid the kindness and encouragement 
shown to Claiborne, the struggling youth, for in the Presidential 
controversy between Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson, when 
Congress was called upon to decide which of the two was to be 
President, Claiborne stood faithfully by Jefferson to the end, 
and his was one of the votes that brought victory to the "Sage 
of Monticello." 

Young as he was, Claiborne had thus far won distinction in 
the judiciary and legislative departments of government. The 
current of his career was now to be changed to executive chan- 
nels. 

In what was then far to the southwest, Mississippi Territory 
had been organized with Winthrop Sargent as Governor. Sar- 
gent was a New Englander and a veteran of the Revolutionary 
War, but it is said that the rigidity and conservativeness of his 



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250 Mississippi Historical Society. 

character and his unsympathetic disposition 'rendered him illy 
adapted to the duties of gliding and directing the destinies of 
an active young frontier commonwealth. 

Many complaints reached Washington, and the Federal ad- 
ministration, mindful of the efforts being made by the Spanish 
authorities to alienate the western portion of the American 
Republic, decided to heed these complaints and make such a 
change in the governorship as would in every way be satisfac- 
tory. Unerring in his estimate of men and conditions, JeflFerson 
selected Claiborne for the important trust. A number of Ten- 
nesseeans had settled in the Territory, and these heralded the 
fame arid ability of the newly-appointed governor. 

Demonstrations of enthusiasm greeted Claiborne's arrival, 
and well did he fulfill the expectations that were centered in 
him. One of Mississippi's historians, speaking of him at this 
time, says : "The knightliest figure in all our history is that of 
Wm. C. C. Claiborne. In his character the wisdom of Ogle- 
thorpe and the benevolence of Penn were combined with the 
courage of other colonial heroes." 

Claiborne arrived in Natchez November 23, 1801, and at once 
entered upon the duties of his office. Those were wild times 
along the lower Mississippi, for the restless elements that froth 
up from older communities and make their way to the frontiers, 
here abounded. 

The valleys of the Ohio and its tributaries had rapidly filled 
with population. Agricultural products had neither canal nor 
railroad to the markets and seaports of the Atlantic seaboard ; 
nature's route to the sea had to be followed. The long drift- 
voyages down the Mississippi, with the wearisome return over- 
land, were undertaken by none but the hardy and adventurous. 

The Spaniards had possession of both sides of the river below 
Fort Adams and only grudgingly permitted trade in western 
produce to be carried on in their territory or the transfer of 
flat-boat cargoes to sea-going vessels in their harbor and port 
of New Orleans. At times these privileges would be withheld 
altogether, and then would ensue a turning aside of the stream 
of western commerce to the more hospitable Mississippi Ter- 
ritory. Natchez soon became an important commercial center. 
Indeed, had not Louisiana passed into the possession of the. 
United States when it did, there is every reason to believe that 



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William Charles Cole Claiborne. — Chambers. 251 

the capital of Mississippi Territory would have outstripped the 
Crescent City in the race for commercial ascendancy. 

The various histories of Mississippi set forth clearly the able 
manner in which Claiborne administered the affairs of the Ter- 
ritory. His stay was wholly too short to satisfy the many friends 
that he made, for before the lapse of two years he was entrusted 
with the delicate mission of representing the Federal Govern- 
ment in the formal ceremony of transfer by which Louisiana 
became a part of the United States and the jurisdiction of 
the national Government extended over the newly-acquired 
province. Tha people of Mississippi Teri^itory parted wfth him 
with expressed reluctance, presenting him upon his departure 
with a public address of a most complimentary nature. 

The event which severed Claiborne's connection with the 
Mississippi Territory was perhaps in its consequences and bear- 
ing^ upon the subsequent development of our country the 
greatest single event transpiring since the Union was formed. 
With the purchase of Louisiana was sown the seed that germ- 
inated into one of the greatest of the world's great conflicts, 
and the acquirement sounded the advance along the lines of 
that "manifest destiny," which ordained that the United States 
should in time extend from ocean to ocean. In the light of 
recent history we are called upon to note a new significance 
in the event. 

The idea of expansion beyond the natural limits of the United 
States has found expression in governmental action. Republi- 
can America in deciding to legislate for distant and underrated 
peoples has entered the path of imperialism once blazed and 
trod by Republican Rome. If the chronicler of the future be 
called upon to analyze and trace to their origin the two ideas 
of American expansion and imperialism — ideas radically at vari- 
ance with the will and intent of the founders of the Republic — he 
will find the root points of both buried in the soil of the Louis- 
iana purchase. 

The United States acquired with Louisiana something more 
than an increase of territory. There came with the land a people 
faithful to the older ties and indifferent to the newer ; a people 
humiliated by the idea of having been sold with the soil as serfs 
or sheep, high tensioned with the pride of race, watchful of 
slight and sensitive to every semblance of disparagement. 



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252 Mississippi Historical Society. 

The provisional government of the inhabitants of the acquired 
territory, the incorporation of an alien people into the body 
politic of the Federal Union, these were problems which Presi- 
dent and Congress were called upon to solve. Could Louisian- 
ians be trusted to g^ard inviolately the priceless boon of civil 
freedom ? Must there not naturally follow upon the relaxation 
of monarchial control a period of feverish disregard for govern- 
mental restraint? With the loosening of the bands of con- 
servatism would these people fully appreciate what liberty under 
the Stars and Stripes really meant? These questions were an- 
swered in the negative, and the promise made to France in the 
contract of purchase, that Louisianians should be invested with 
all the rights of American citizenship was palpably violated. 

It is a canon of wise statesmanship that free government 
must stand or fall as the people over which it is instituted are 
prepared or unprepared to receive it. But in no case can one 
people sit in judgment over another people and designate what 
privileges are to be extended, what rights withheld expecting a 
satisfactory result to follow. A government thus made to order 
by self-arrogated superiority cannot be expected to rest lightly 
upon those whose superiority is inferred, but whose conscious- 
ness of equality is pronounced. 

So in the institution of its first territorial government, 
Louisiana was made a victim of that distrust which hesitates 
to place power in the hands of the people — 2, distrust which 
kings, aristocracies, and oligarchies have thrived upon; which 
sounded as a discordant note even in the Federal Convention 
that framed the government of our Republic, and which mani- 
fests Itself to this day in limited constitutional conventions and 
in State Constitutions unsubmitted to the people. 

Louisiana was offered up on the altar of this distrust, and 
strange the anomaly that the high priest should have been 
Thomas Jefferson, the apostle of Democracy and President of 
the United States, by virtue of his upholdence of the people's 
course. Strange that he should have withheld the simplest 
political rights from a people of the same blood and race as 
those from whom he himself learned his first lessons of "liberty, 
equality, fraternity 1" 

Some of the ideas advanced in Congress when the matter of 
a territorial government for Louisiana was up for discussion 



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William Charles Cole Claiborne. — Chambers. 253 

appear to us very curious. One phase of argument assumed 
that as Louisiana had been purchased it should be governed 
as an owner governs his estates. Dr. Eustis, member of Con- 
gress from Boston, advocated a despotic form of government. 
Said he : "I am one of those who believe that the principles of 
civil liberty cannot be suddenly engrafted upon a people accus- 
tomed to a regime of a directly opposite hue. I consider them 
[the Louisiana people], as standing in nearly the same relation 
to us as if they were a conquered country." 

The act, as finally passed by Congress, embodied these views^ 
and was, as has been stated, in flat contradiction to that clause 
of the purchase treaty which specified that the Louisianians 
"should be admitted to the enjoyment of all rights, advantages, 
and immunities of the people of the United States." 

Commenting on this breach of faith, Henry Adams, in his 
History of the United States during Jefferson's Administration, 
says: "Louisiana received a government by which the people 
who had been solemnly promised all the rights of American 
citizenship, were set apart not as citizens but as subjects, lower 
in the political scale than the meanest tribes of Indians whose 
right of self-government was never questioned." 

To govern a people foreign in thought to those of the rest of 
the Union, a people sullen with the sense of a just g^evance 
against the authority he represented; to educate and instruct 
this people in the hated ways of the Anglo-Saxon and establish 
over them with as little friction as possible a form of govern- 
ment radically different from the Latin polity to which they were 
accustomed, these were the tasks imposed upon Claiborne when 
the administration at Washington sent him from Mississippi 
to Louisiana. Rare indeed must have been his genius and in- 
finite his tact and patience to have succeeded as he did in soft- 
ening asperities, in harmonizing discords, and in bringing a true 
union of sentiment and patriotism between Louisiana and the 
rest of the country. For thirteen years he governed Louisiana 
as province, territory and State, and in that time it was his 
privilege to see animosity die out and disapproval change to 
regard and esteem. 

Claiborne assumed the governorship of the purchased pro- 
vince October 5, 1804. The next year the Territory of Orleans, 
with limits practically the same as those of the present site of 



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254 Mississippi Historical Society. 

Louisiana, was organized and Claiborne continued as governor. 
One needs to investigate but little into Louisiana history to be 
impressed with the number and nature of the difficulties sur- 
rounding him. 

American history reveals some widely divergent types and 
incongruous racial elements fusing to form the population of 
many of our American States. But no organized American 
colony could excel in racial variety the colony planted by 
France in the lower delta of the Mississippi. 

To the original French and Canadian settlers and their de- 
scendants had been added from time to time Acadians, Malaga 
and Catalonian Spaniards, Germans, French Revolutionary and 
San Domingo refugees, Canary Islanders, a sprinkling of Eng- 
lish from English West Florida, and finally several types of 
English-speaking Americans. 

Louisiana's colonial population represent every social g^de 
from the half-savage coureurs-de-bois and herdsmen hermits of 
the interior prairies to the counts, chevaliers, marquises and 
barons of the most elegant nobility of Europe. Small wonder 
is it that a cauldron holding such contents should sputter and 
boil over at times under the heat of political controversy, and 
that years would elapse before there would be any approach to 
homogeneity of community aims, efforts, interests, and desires. 

Before the influx of English-speaking Americans, which set 
in immediately following the purchase, the trend of civilization 
had advanced well along certain lines of culture and refinement. 
Mental energies had crystallized into fixed habits of thought; 
social ideals beyond the comprehension or sympathy of English- 
speaking strangers had been formed ; and aims and aspirations 
inherited from across the sea were motives of action. But 
civilization, habits, ideals, and aims were all distinctly Latin, and 
the coming of the Americans was, at first, to the Creoles or 
Louisianians as was the coming of the barbarians to ancient 
Rome. 

The government provided for the Territory of Orleans was 
an impVovement over that under which the acquired province 
of Louisiana was first administered. This change for the better 
was largely due to the fine impression made upon Congress 
by a delegation of elegant Creole gentlemen who were sent to 
Washington to protest against the injustice of the provisional 



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William Charles Cole Claiborne. — Chambers. 255 

government. The government of Orleans Territory was made to 
conform more closely with that of the Northwest Territory and 
the Mississippi Territory. 

A quickening of political thought in the Territory followed 
upon this bestowal of a limited form of self-government. The 
formation of political parties is always preceded by a difference 
of political thought and public opinion. This difference soon 
manifested itself and a division was made. 

At first this difference and division was indicated by factional 
approval or disapproval of the acts of government ; complying 
with or opposing the Governor's wishes to have long-standing 
local institutions conform to changed conditions ; of hailing with 
satisfaction or condemning with ridicule innovations and new • 
enterprises. 

The line of division was indicated by Claiborne in his reports 
to President Jefferson when he refers to "ancient Louisianians" 
and "modern Louisianians." He could have better expressed 
either by the terms "natives" and "new comers," or "Creole" 
and "American," for the process of Americanizing had not yet 
beg^n to operate among the French speaking residents of the 
Territory. 

The community-thought of one element was Louisiana for 
Louisianians ; that of the other, Louisiana, an American State- 
to-be. The community-feeling of the one was a conservative 
content with conditions as they were; that of the other was a 
restless desire to advance whether the lines of this advance 
were clearly indicated or not. The community-ideal of the one 
was the well-being of the individual, his kinsmen, and his clan. 
The community-ideal of the other was social — the promotion 
of trade and industry along all lines of wealth-making, enter- 
prise for the sake of enterprise. 

Never was executive ability called upon to exhibit greater 
tact and patience; never was a community more tactfully and 
patiently governed. Claiborne, the masterful controller, fre- 
quently gave place to Claiborne, the instructor and counsellor. 
His messages to successive Legislatures are veritable tracts 
well designed to inculcate an admiration for American institu- 
tions, a respect for and appreciation of civil liberty, and a knowl- 
edge of Democratic principles of government. 

In 1812 the Territory of Orleans became the State of Louis- 



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256 Mississippi Historical Society. 

iana, and when for the first time its citizens were entrusted with 
the free, untramelled use of the franchise, they unhesitatingly 
chose as their elected chief executive the man who for eight 
years had a4ministered the affairs of the Territory with such 
signal success. 

Under Louisiana's first Constitution no governor was eligible 
to a successive term. But before Claiborne's administration 
ended it was his happy fortune to see a wonderful transforma- 
tion take place before his eyes, a consummation of his most 
earnest hopes and desires. 

Up to January 8, 181 5, the position of the native Louisianians 
was not one to raise them in their own estimation. First, they 
had virtually been bargained for, bought, and sold with their 
land; secondly, they had had thrust upon them the blessings 
of constitutional liberty. These blessings they had come to 
recognize, but they also recognized the fact that they them- 
selves had done nothing to merit them. Races and nations had 
spent centuries of struggle to obtain that which was now theirs 
through no efforts of their own. It was as if a high-minded 
gentleman had been forced into a position of receiving alms. 
This may appear to be a finely-drawn distinction, but let it be 
remembered that the Creole "gentleman of the old school" was 
exquisitively sensitive to fine distinctions and keenly discrim- 
inating in all the niceties that concerned personal honor. 

It was upon the battlefield of Chalmette that the change al- 
luded to was wrought. It was there that the Creole found he 
could give as well as receive. In times of peace one may be 
indifferent to the flag that waves on high, but when one goes 
to the front to fight and, if need be, die for it, the bit of bunting 
takes on a new and an affection-compelling interest. 

So when the battle was over and it was realized that the 
Plauches, Villeres, and Lacostes of Louisiana had stood 
shoulder to shoulder with the Adairs, Coffees and Carrolls of 
the great West, in wringing victory from the British, exultation 
filled the Creole heart and his political thought became trans- 
formed. From that time he felt himself entitled to a full fellow- 
ship in the enjoyment of the privileges of American citizenship. 
The Stars and Stripes were his as much as they were any one's, 
for he, too, had fought for them. Henceforth there could be no 
mistrust of his patriotism to arouse his anger. The victory of 



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William Charles Cole Claiborne. — Chambers. 257 

American valor over British pluck was no more marked than 
the subtler one which converted a people of foreign speech into 
thorough-going Americans. Pakenham's guns made no impres- 
sion upon Jackson's breastworks, but they crumbled the Cre- 
ole's past attitude towards things American. 

Now indeed was Louisiana fit to govern herself in the true 
sense of the term. One of her own sons in the person of Jac- 
ques Villere was called to the helm of government to succeed 
Claiborne. 

The ordinary reader of history will see little significance in the 
change ; but to one who looks into the soul of events the year 
that Claiborne's successor was elected marks a line between 
the older and newer order of things, between what Claiborne 
stood for and what Villere represented. 

Villere was to the manor born, a native product, as it were ; 
Claiborne was first of all an American before he was a Louisian- 
ian. Both were of families historically distinguished in colonial 
annals, Villere in Louisiana, and Claiborne in Virginia and 
Maryland. Tradition and inheritance bound Villere to Louis- 
iana alone ; Claiborne's whole executive career had been shaped 
under the auspices of the Federal Government. Villere was in 
sympathy with ever)rthing that imparted individuality to the 
Louisiana commonwealth; Claiborne was in touch with that 
larger national life and his view included something other than 
the State whose Governor he was. 

Both performed active military duty in the campaign for the 
defense of New Orleans. In the mind of Villere while so en- 
gaged the idea most dominant was that he was defending home 
and fireside; with Claiborne, that he was contending against 
the foes of the United States in repelling invaders upon 
Louisiana's soil. Nor need these contrasts be taken to indicate 
that Claiborne was any less a true and patriotic son of the land 
of his adoption, for not the least valuable of the services ren- 
dered by him to his day and generation was the success with 
which he brought into closer identity the interests of both 
governments to which his loyalty and fidelity were due. His 
was the pilot hand which tactfully and skilfully guided Louisiana 
over the shoals of intrigue, uncertainty, doubt and unrest, and 
with the open sea of progress before her he relinquished the 



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258 Mississippi Historical Society. 

helm to a member of the ship's own crew and prepared to return 
to that larger national political life whence he came. 

For one of the first acts of the Legislature after Viller6's in- 
auguration was to elect Claiborne to the United States Senate. 
Before the year was out, however, Villere had the sad duty of 
announcing to the Legislature that its choice could not serve. 
Said he in his message: "On the 23d of 'November, Wm. Chas. 
Cole Claiborne, one of our best patriots, one of our citizens the 
most distinguished for his virtues and talents as well as for the 
services he had rendered his country, terminated after a long 
and painful illness his earthly career." 

Thus passed away at«the early age of forty-two a man who 
if destiny had not relegated to a position of national obscurity, 
however locally prominent it may have been, might have taken 
his rightful place beside Felix Grundy, Henry Clay, John C. 
Calhoun, William Loundes, Langdon Cheves and others of that 
brilliant coterie of young Southern statesmen whose voices were 
beginning to be heard when the century was young. And had 
he lived to serve his country in the Senate of the Nation, no 
abler exponent of American institutions or more eloquent ex- 
pounder of American principles of government would have been 
found among his colleagues. 

Americanism was the keynote to his character. His legisla- 
tive messages while governor breathe an intensity of feeling 
in his frequent references to the subject of civil liberty as es- 
tablished by "the fathers of our country," "the illustrious found- 
ers of the Republic," etc. These messages are held together 
as a connected whole by a chain of adjurations to his people to 
conserve and perpetuate the institutions of free government. 
They furnish a course of specific instruction in the science of 
government according to American interpretation, and they 
point out the necessity for education, culture, and liberal-mind- 
edness. 

"The representatives of a free State," said he in his farewell 
message, "should consider the diffusion of knowledge as an 
object of primary importance. * * * * They should give 
publicity to the character which defines with accuracy and allots 
with precision the powers of the different branches of govern- 
ment, to the laws severally enacted, and to the various subjects 
which from time to time may occupy their deliberations. But 



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William Charles Cole Claiborne. — Chambers, 259 

above all things care should be taken to rear their youth in the 
paths of virtue, science, and patriotism ; that' those who are to 
succeed to independence and self-government may know how 
to estimate, how to use, and how to conserve their great 
heritage." 

These were the words of a patriot and a statesman, and now 
that we are soon to celebrate the looth anniversary of the 
acquirement of the vast domain from which so many of our 
great Western States have been carved, let us who are inter- 
ested in the history of our land and locality not forget to yield 
our tribute to the memory of the one who solved successfully 
America's first problem of expansion. 

His solution lay along the lines of instruction, tactful care^ 
and assimilation. And wherever his solution does not apply^ 
wherever the United States acquire in expanding races and 
peoples unamenable to instruction and unblendable with us 
in thought, institutional ideas, and feeling, then but two 
courses are opened to us. One is annihilation of the inferior 
race, which is a leap backward into barb.arism; the other is re- 
duction of the acquired people or race to political subserviency 
through government by force, which is imperialism. And at the 
word in connection with our country a shudder must pass over 
any one familiar with the records of the past, for these records 
teach us that a free people cannot entrust their government 
with despotic power to govern a dependent people without 
having that government in time direct its strengthened and 
centralized power to the destruction of their own liberties. 
This is the lesson to be learned from the past and how to avoid 
such an outcome in the recent and sudden change of policy 
upon the part of the rulers of our Republic may well be learned 
from a careful study of the executive career of Wm. C. C. 
Claiborne. 



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TRANSITION FROM SPANISH TO AMERICAN RULE 
IN MISSISSIPPI. 

By Franklin L. RilEy. 

Mississippi occupies a unique position in the institutional and 
constitutional history of the United States. Into it were suc- 
cessively introduced four modern t3rpes of the two great ancient 
systems of government, the Roman and Teutonic. All of these 
epochs have contributed more or less towards determining its 
area, population and government. Although beginning with a 
system of laws and institutions that embodied all the character- 
istic features of Roman governments as introduced under French 
and Spanish control, it has developed, under British and Ameri- 
can influences, a constitution no less Teutonic in its nature than 
those of the other States. This transition, though radical in 
its nature, was not made abruptly. French and Spanish influ- 
ences were only gradually displaced to be as gradually succeed- 
ed by others more in harmony with the instincts of the in- 
habitants, most of whom came to be of English and American 
extraction. 

By the treaty of San Lorenzo Spain surrendered her claim to 
the territory between the Mississippi and Appalachicola and 
north of latitude 31°. The terms of this treaty, so pre- 
judicial to the interests of Spain, had been stubbornly refused 
by her for twelve years and were finally granted in 1795, only 
because a concurrence of unfortunate events had precipitated a 
diplomatic crisis in her history. His Catholic Majesty seemed 
to consider that the signing of the treaty under such circum- 
stances was only a temporary expedient, the fulfillment of which 
he hoped eventually to be able to evade. 

In order to accomplish this result, his emissaries attempted a 
project no less bold than a dismemberment of the United States 
by detaching the Western States. Having failed in this scheme, 
they then resorted to their historic policy of procrastination, 
vainly hoping that complications would arise between the United 

(261) 



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262 Mississippi Historical Society. 

States and France which would enable Spain to ignore the 
treaty with impunity. As time was an indispensable condition 
upon which the fulfillment of this hope depended, it was gained 
by such delays as either the language of the treaty or the events 
of the day rendered plausible. Don Yrujo, the Spanish minis- 
ter, intrigued at Philadelphia and his schemes were reinforced 
by Carondelet, Gayoso and a host of subordinate officials on the 
Mississippi.* 

While these moves and counter-moves were being made upon 
the political chess-board, the inhabitants of the Natchez district 
were not indifferent spectators, but gave, at an early stage in the 
game, unmistakable indications of the fact that they would 
play an important part themselves. 

In order to understand these events, they must be interpreted 
in the light of precedii)g conditions. It is necessary, therefore, 
to study the character of the people, their poUtical precedence, 
and their party development up to this time. Owing to the 
frequent governmental changes that had taken place in the dis- 
trict, its population was of a miscellaneous character. The first 
important impulse towards colonization had been given at the 
outbreak of the Revolutionary War, when this territory was in 
the possession of England. At that time, persecutions forced 
many, who were attached to the royal cause, to leave their 
homes in the thirteen colonies and settle in the West and the 
Southwest. 

Then followed the Spanish conquest of West Florida, which 
brought into the district a large number of the subjects of his 
Catholic Majesty. Close after them followed a second infusion 
of native Americans. These, quite different in political senti- 
ment from their predecessors, were strongly attached to Re- 
publican principles, and although borne into Spanish territory 
by the tide of westward immigration, they carried with them all 
their former antipathies for monarchial institutions. Each year 
increased their number until they constituted a majority of the 
population. Thus there were under the Spanish rule in Mis- 
sissippi the beginnings of a development similar to that which 

*For a discussion of "Spanish Policy in Mississippi after the Treaty 
of San Lorenzo/' see the Annual Report of the American Historical Asso- 
ciation for 1897, 175-192, also the Publications of the Mississippi His- 
torical Society, Vol. I., 50-66. 



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Transition from Spanish to American Rule. — Riley. 263 

resulted in later years in the independence of Texas and its an- 
nexation to the Union. The principal reason why the aftalogy 
between the political development of these two States is not 
complete is the fact that in Mississippi it was checked in its 
incipiency. There were, however, in this country strong 
symptoms of a party development parallel to that which was 
allowed to attain its full fruition in the far West. 

After the close of the Revolution there was a shifting of 
party lines among the inhabitants of the Natchez district. Love 
of monarchical institutions was not sufficiently strong with a 
majority of the tory population to cause them to transfer their 
affections to the house of Bourbon when the district passed into 
the possession of Spain. So that when the contest for control 
of the Mississippi Valley was finally narrowed down to Spain 
and the United States, Teutonic instinct asserted itself and they 
cast their sympathies on the side of the latter. 

This seems to haveT^een the condition of public sentiment 
when EUicott, the American Commissioner for running the 
boundary line between the United States and the Spanish pos- 
sessions, arrived at Natchez. It is further substantiated by the 
following reliable, though spirited assertion taken from a con- 
temporary source: 

"For a long time prior to the arrival of the American Commissioner, 
two parties had actually existed in the country. The planters, mechan- 
ics, etc., chiefly natives of the United States, constituted the one part;r. 
A number of miscellaneous characters, including informers and a tram 
of court sycophants, who had long been in the habit of corrupting the 
officers at the expense of the honest and undesigrning subject, consti- 
tuted the other. 

"There is too great a disparity in the character and importance of 
these parties to admit a parallel: the one possessed all the essentials 
whereby we measure worth and importance in public societies — the 
other possessed all the arts of seduction and intrigue."* 

I. Elucott, a Popular Agitator. 

The arrival of EUicott with his military escort at Natchez on 
February 24, 1797, was "contrary to the wishes and expectations 
of the Spanish authorities. Yet they resolved to delay the 

' Petition addressed to Governor Sargent, August 26, I797» and signed 
by eighteen citizens, some of whom, Cato West, Narsworthy Hunter, 
Gerard Brandon and Thomas Green, subsequently held offices of honor 
and trust in the Territory and State. A copy of this petition is found in 
the Claiborne Collection of Historical Manuscripts at the University of 
Mississippi. 



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264 Mississippi Historical Society. 

execution of the treaty."* EUicott, on the other hand, deter- 
mined to defeat their scheme by forcing upon them a prompt 
fulfillment of the treaty. He recognized, at once, the import- 
ant part that public sentiment would play in determining the 
result of the approaching contest, and, if he has given us a 
correct interpretation of events, the Spanish Governor was no 
less awake to this fact. The disposition of the people was 
promptly sounded and it was ascertained that "a large majority 
appeared in favor of becoming citizens of the United States."* 
EUicott defiantly unfurled the flag of the United States in full 
view of the Spanish garrison at Natchez and refused to lower 
it in compliance with the request of the Governor. About a 
fortnight later the hospitality of the Governor's home was re- 
fused by the Commissioner because he thought it was proflFered 
in order to bring all intercourse with the people under the eye 
of Spanish authorityi Be that fact as it may, EUicott explicit- 
ly states for himself that he intended to make "use of the in- 
habitants to carry the treaty into effect, or secure the country 
by force, if such a measure should become necessary."" 

March 22, he observed that the inhabitants of the district 
were greatly alarmed because the Spaniards had remounted the 
artillery in the fort at Natchez after having taken it down and 
carried it to, the landing as if for shipment.* On the day fol- 
lowing. Governor Gayoso, realizing the perturbed state of the 
district and forecasting the political storm that was brewing, 
wrote to EUicott requesting his cooperation in suppressing "un- 
timely expressions" on the part of "some persons" who seemed 
"to affect an immediate interest for the United States." In this 
communication the Governor makes the foUowin^ significant 
remark : — such expressions "can only tend to disturb the tran- 
quility of the public, of which I am solely answerable for the 
present." 

The fact is that with a large portion of the inhabitants this 
interest was not 'affected.' Many of them were natives of the 

United States and "were solicitous for the meditated change." 

1 

■Stoddard's Sketches, Historical and Descriptive, of Louisiana (Phila., 
1812), 89. 

* Ellicott's Journal (Phila., 1803), 44. 

* Ibid. S2-'3. 

* Ibid. 57. 



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Transition from Spanish to American Rule. — RUey. 265 

They were emboldened by the arrival of the American Com- 
missioner and when they became aware that an investigation of 
their 'disposition/ was being conducted under his auspices their 
solicitude could be no longer concealed. Stoddard, who was in 
this district a few years afterwards, says that the inhabitants 
"fully comprehended the motives, which induced the Spanish 
authorities to postpone the execution of the treaty and therefore 
became impatient. A confidence of impunity led them .to as- 
sociate for the purpose of accelerating the desired change, and 
they were in a great measure guided by the hints and insinua- 
tions of Mr. Ellicott From these Mr. EUicott selected 

what he called his "Little Council," and the members of it 
were not disposed to pacify the tumult among the people.*'^ 

March 24, a certain Mr. Walthers arrived in the district, direct 
from Philadelphia, and reported that Ellicott was "certain to be 
Governor of the Natchez," upon its transference to the United 
States.® This, of course, strengthened EUicott's influence, and, 
in fact, made him the leader of those who were attached to the 
American cause. Whether or not he made a wise use of the 
power which thus came into his possession is a subject of con- 
troversy. Some maintain that he not only permitted himself 
to be placed in an attitude that was antagonistic to the best 
interests of the United States, but that in several instances he 
openly violated the sovereignty of Spain, while others find in 
his motives and the peculiar circumstances, "a complete justifi- 
cation of his conduct."* 

On the 28th of March, Governor Gayoso issued a proclama- 
tion, bearing the date of March 29, in which he made a vague 
reference to the work of certain "busy and malignant minds, — 
evidently Ellicott and his associates — ^who were agitating and 
disturbing the tranquility of the inhabitants. He also assured the 

^iStoddard's Sketches, gi. The author of these sketches was a Major 
in the army of the United States, and took possession of Upper 
Louisiana in behalf of his Government in March, 1804. His book was 
based upon "local and other information" furnished by "respectable 
men" "in most of the districts" of which he wrote, together with his 
own extensive excursions during the five years in which he was sta- 
tioned on various parts of the Lower Mississippi (Report of the American 
Historical Association for i8g7, 197, footnote). 

• Manuscript Journal of Major Guion, in the Claiborne Collection, Uni- 
versity, Miss. 

• Stoddard's Sketches, 90. 



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266 Mississippi Historical Society. 

people that the following beneficent results would accrue from 
a "strict attachment to the welfare of his Majesty:" (i) "The 
rights of the inhabitants to their real property" would be main- 
tained and (2) none of them should be disturbed from planting 
their crops "on account of their depending debts."*® This was 
followed by a second proclamation of the same date in which 
the Governor expressed his gratification over the effect pro- 
duced by the former one and repeated the assurances which it 
contained, adding that his Majesty would secure their lands to 
them by an additional article to the late treaty, and that negotia- 
tions were then pending to that effect.** He also stated that as 
it was "impossible for his Majesty to leave unprotected so many 
of his faithful subjects" their safety necessitated some negotia- 
tions with the Indians before surrendering the district. He as- 
sured them further, that no "violent measures" would be at- 
tempted against those who had shown their attachment to the 
United States and that no steps would be taken to prevent their 
moving from the district if they so desired. 

Although this double effort to conciliate the people failed to 
accomplish the results intended by the Governor, it invites a 
passing reflection. In the first place, his Excellency, though 
acting with the ostensible purpose of quieting the mind3 of the 
people was really making a covert attempt to attach to the 
Spanish cause the owners of real estate and the debtor class,** 
which together constituted almost the entire citizenship of the 

^ "The first paragraph of this remarkable document reads as follows: 
"Whereas, the political situation of this country offers a large field to 
busy and malignant minds to agitate and disturb the tranquility of its 
inhabitants, it is therefore my duty, and in the continuation of that vigi- 
lance which I have constantly exerted, not only to promote the happi- 
ness of every individual of this government; but likewise to support 
their interest and secure their tranquility, that I now step forth to warn 
the public against being. led by their innocent credulity, into any meas- 
ure that may be productive of ill consequences, and frusta-ate all the 
advantages that they have a right to expect, and that by the present 
I assure to them, if they continue as they have always done with strict 
attachment to the welfare of his Majesty, from which will depend the 
following favorable events." etc. Ellicott's Journal, 6S'*7; American State 
Papers, foreign Relations , Vol. II., 25. 

"In commenting upon this statement, the Secretary of State, in a 
report to the President of the United States, bearing the date of June 
10, 1797, says that **no such negotiations has existed, and * * ♦ * 
this is the first time that these objections to the evacuation of the posts 
have been heard of." (Amer. State Papers, For. Rels. 11. , 21). 

" Ellicott's Journal, 67. 



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Transition from Spanish to American Rule. — Riley. 267 

district. There was another fact which increased the prob- 
abilities that these proclamations would be favorably received. 
The treaty contained a provision for securing to the in- 
habitants their real estate against the adverse claims based 
upon British titles that had been given before the Spanish con- 
quest of the district. To complicate matters still more, there 
were the Georgia claims and the sales based upon them. As 
the United States government had made no utterance upon this 
subject, it was undoubtedly a source of great concern to those 
who held lands against which there were adverse claims. This 
assurance alone from the Governor would have conciHated a 
less resolute people. When we add to it the disparaging ref- 
erence aimed at the American Commissioner and his supporters, 
the concessions extended to the debtor class, the concern ex- 
pressed over the probable effects of Indian hostilities and the 
other assurances of good-will which these proclamations con- 
tained, it seems that the people would have been thoroughly 
satisfied to entrust their cause to the Spaniards. But to the 
contrary, we are told that they were more irritated than con- 
ciliated. In other words, all the expressions of solicitude for 
the welfare of the inhabitants and the promises of friendly ser- 
vices by the Spanish authorities could not counter-balance the 
effect produced by the assertion of their intention to continue 
in possession of the district for an indefinite time. 

March 30th, the day after the date of the proclamation, the 
American Commissioner received from "a number of respect- 
able inhabitants of the district" an address in which they, ''from 
considerations of personal safety and to avoid insults" from 
certain Spanish ofiicials, requested that he "demand of the 
Governor passports, with leave for all such as would dispose 
of their property and avail themselves of a change of situations 
by withdrawing to the United States."" This was doubtless 
written for political effect, as we have no information that any 
of the petitioners availed themselves of such permission after 
it was granted." Ellicott, who had probably recommended 

"Ellicott's Journal 68-9. Ellicott says that this address was written 
by Mr. Narsworthy Hunter. 

" AVailes very justly observes that, "in style, this address was inflated, 
and, it must be confessed, the enumeration of grievances exaggerated." 
Report on the Agriculture and Geology of Miss., etc. (Published by order 
of the Legislature of the State, 1854), 95. 



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268 Mississippi Historical Society. 

the writing of the "address," then adopted a more aggressive 
policy, in order, as he says, to bring the Governor "to an of- 
ficial, 'unequivocal explanation for his conduct."^* He wrote a 
letter to his Excellency with which he enclosed two paragraphs 
of this address and suggested that the only way to quiet the 
people would be to vacate the fort and to withdraw all objec- 
tions to the descent of the American troops under Lieutenant 
Pope who had been stopped at the Walnut Hills (Vicksburg), 
a week previous.^* The Governor wrote a spirited reply in which 
he stated that the inhabitants had^always enjoyed the privileges 
sought and that they should continue to enjoy them. He also 
confirmed Ellicott's suspicions by making "an explicit declara- 
tion that his General had given him positive orders to suspend 
the evacuation of the posts until the two Governments should 
determine whether the works were to be left standing, or to 
be demolished and until, by an additional article to the treaty, 
the real property of the inhabitants should be secured." The 
letter containing this frank avowal of the policy of the Spanish 

Government "was forwarded with all possible expedition 

to the Secretary of State." 

Before* this time, however, the American Commissioner says 
that he had declined the services of a hundred volunteers who 
desired to seize the fort** and had discountenanced a scheme 
for spiriting the Governor into the Chickasaw nation.** 

A fortnight elapsed before the correspondence between the 
Governor and the American Commissioner was resumed. El- 
licott says that during this time, 

"The alarm was so great, notwithstanding the professions of 

the Governor, that it was with difficulty the people could be prevented 
from acting offensively, and that a general commotion in favour of the 
United States would take place in the course of a few weeks was evi- 

*• Ellicott's Journal, 72. 

'• ElVcott's Journal, 62-4. 

"American State Papers, Foreign Relations, II., 21. 

" This proposition was made through a certain Mr. Green shortly af- 
ter Ellicott*s arrival at Natchez (Ellicott's Journal, 73). 

"Ellicott says that this proposition was made by Anthony Hutchins 
(Jb., 71). This statement is disputed by Col. J. F. H. Claiborne (Miss, 
as a Province, Territory and State), who was a maternal grandson of Col. 
Hutchins. See An Oration on National Independence, delivered at 
Port Gibson, Mississippi, July 4, 1837, by Mann Butler (Pamphlet in 
the Claiborne Collection). 



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Transition from Spanish to American Rule. — Riley. 269 

dent; the difficuhy was how to direct its effects to the ajdvantage of our 
country without committing our government/'" 

EUicott then proceeded to augment his forces by the appre- 
hension of deserters from the army of the United States and 
the enlistment of a number of recruits, none of whom, he af- 
firms, "could be considered subjects of his Catholic Majesty."*^ 
This turn in the tide of events called forth a remonstrance from 
the Governor, in which he requested that the men who had been 
recruited be discharged and delivered to a Spanish official com- 
missioned for that purpose." Ellicott replied that he v/ould 
take time to investigate the matter more fully. With this reply 
the subject was dropped. 

Three days later, April 17th, Ellicott received a letter from 
Lieutenant Pope, stating that he had halted at the Walnut 
Hills in consequence of a letter from Governor Gayoso. ' Elli- 
cott made an immediate reply in which he urged the Lieutenant 
to come to Natchez without delay, stating that, 

"Nine-tenths of the inhabitants are firmly attached to the United 

States; but until your arrival, have no rallying point in case of a rupture 

between the United States and his Catholic Majesty, which I am 

under the necessity of concluding cannot be very distant."" 

Upon the receipt of this communication. Pope resumed his 
descent of the river, the Governor consenting, and reached 
Natchez, April 24th. When his forces landed, a military pa- 
rade was executed according to a program that had been pre- 
viously arranged with view to the greatest popular effect.** 

Subsequent events tended to agitate the people still more. 

Repairs were begun on the forts at Natchez and the Walnut 

Hills and several new pieces of artillery were mounted at the 

former place. Reinforcements were also stationed at both 

places*' and Spanish boats with troops aboard were observed 

to pass up the river. The suspicions that Spanish agents were 

tampering with the Indians in order to prejudice them against 

the American cause were now confirmed.** Caroridelet threat- 
— • 1 

^ Ellicott's Journal, 74. 

"Ibid, 

*• Ibid., 74-5, American State Papers, Foreign Relations, II., 26. 

"Ellicott's Journal, 77. Through mistake this letter was dated April 
14, which is three days before Pope's letter was received. 

** Ellicott's Journal, 79-80. 

»/W(f., 81, 83,84. 

"•Ibid., 8s. 



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270 Mississippi Historical Society. 

ened in private to give "the Americans lead and the inhabitants 
hemp/'^' Reports were also current among the inhabitants 
that citizens of the United States who were trading on the 
river had suffered indignities at certain Spanish posts.*® The 
people saw, heard and imagined enough to keep them in a 
state of constant perturbation. New plans for attacking the 
Spaniards were devised, but they were rejected by the Com- 
missioner and the people were admonished to act only on the 
defensive." Negotiations were begun with the Choctaws in 
order to offset the efforts of the Spaniards who had been trying 
'for about eight months to disaffect them towards the United 
States."* 

On June 2d a proclamation form the Governor-General, is- 
sued at New Orleans, May 24th, was published throughout the 
district of Natchez, stating that the delay in the execution of 
the treaty was at that time occasioned only by the fear of a 
British invasion*^ and that for this reason he thought proper 
to put the posts at Walnut Hills in "a respectable, but provis- 
ional state of defense." He expressed a hope that the inhabit- 
ants of Natchez would behave with their accustomed tranquil- 
ity.** This proclamation was no more successful than were those 
of Governor Gayoso, two months previous. In fact, he was less 
fortunate in assigning a reason for the delay, since his reference 
to England was evidently displeasing to those who still felt an 
attachment to that country. Furthermore, we are told that 
this proclamation "served to convince the inhabitants that his 
Catholic Majesty intended, if possible, to retain the country 
under one pretense or other, till the treaty should become a 
dead letter." The public mind became so greatly disturbed that 
Ellicott compares it to an inflammable gas, which nee led b it 
a spark to produce an explosion.** 

""Ibid, 

"' American State Papers, Foreign Relations, II., 78. 

*• Ellicott's Journal, 91. 

""Ibid,, 99. 

" This suspicion had been aroused by a French officer by the name of 
Collet, who had passed down the Mississippi some time before and had 
told the Spanish Governor at Natchez that there was a probability of a 
British attack upon the upper Louisiana through the great lakes. See 
Collet's Journey in North America (Paris, 1796). 

•* Ellicott's Journal, 94-5; Amer. State Papers, For. Rels., II., 83. 

•* Ellicott's Journal, 96. 



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Transition from Spanish to American Rule. — Riky. 271 

II.— The Outbreak. 

The spark was forthcoming and the explosion was produced 
in a very remarkable way. On June 4th, an itinerant Baptist 
preacher, by the name of Hanna, with the permission of the 
Governor, preached in EUicott's camp to a congregation which, 
owing to the novelty of a public Protestant service in the dis- 
trict, was unusually large. Although at Ellicott's request, the 
preacher refrained from all political allusions, the reflections 
which this unusual service suggested to the minds of a Protest- 
ant congregation were by no means tranquilizing at this par- 
ticular time. On the following Friday this minister engaged 
some Irish Catholics in a religious controversy, which was con- 
ducted with a zeal "somewhat heightened by stimulants.*' After 
this episode, Hanna threateningly made certain peremptory de- 
mands of the Governor, who became justly incensed and had 
him committed to a prison inside the fort and his feet placed 
in stocks. As the prisoner was a citizen of the United States, 
the inhabitants considered this proceeding of the Governor as 
an insult to that government. They flew to arms and the Gov- 
ernor with his officials and several Spanish families took refu re 
in the fort, where they remained about two weeks. Twenty- 
four hours had hardly elapsed from the beginning of the out- 
break in Natchez, before active opposition to the Spanish Gov- 
ernment had spread over the greater part of the district." 

About this time another proclamation was received from the 
Governor-General. To the fear of an English invasion, which 
had been given as an excuse for delay, was now added the 
suspicion of an attack from an American force which was said 
to be headed towards Natchez. This proclamation also stated 
that the menaces received from EHicott and Pope and the 
probability of a rupture between the United States and France, 
an ally of Spain, made it necessary for the inhabitants to be on 
their guard to defend their property "with that valor and en- 
ergy" they had alwajs manifested. It concluded as follows : 

"If the Congress of the United States have no hostile intention 
against these provinces, they will either leave the post of Natchez or tfie 
Walnut Hills, the only bulwarks of Lower Louisiana to stop the course 
of the British or give us security against the article of the treaty with 
Great Britain which exposes Lower Louisiana to be pillaged and de- 

••Ellicott's Journal, 96-101; Amer, State Papers, For, Rels.,lL, 79, et seq. 



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272 Mississippi Historical Society. 

stroyed down to the capital, we will then deliver up the said posts, and 
lay down our arms, which they have forced us to take up, by arming 
their militia in time of peace, and sending a considerable body of troops 
by round about ways to surprise us."* 

The imprisonment of Hanna, together with the above procla- 
mation, which was considered by many a declaration of war 
against the United States, le'd some of the inhabitants to express 
a determination to commence hostilities at once. 

In order to divert their attention from immediate acts of hos- 
tility, without discouraging their expressions of attachment to 
the American cause, they were impressed with the necessity of 
placing themselves in an attitude to claim protection from the 
United States in case they were liable to be overpowered. 
Hence, "subscription papers were put into immediate circula- 
tion," containing "a formal declaration" that by the late treaty 
the people were citizens of the United States.** While this 
"Declaration of Independence" was being circulated, news was 
spreading that a meeting of the citizens would be held at the 
house of Mr. Belk to deliberate upon their grievances. As such 
a meeting would be a palpable violation of the established legal 
authority of the district, many of the inhabitants were appre- 
hensive of arrest and imprisonment by the Spanish officials. 
In order to alleviate their fears, the following communication 
was issued on the evening of June 12th: 

"Fellow-citizens of the district of Natchez: 
"Having received information that a number of you will be collected 




hazards protect the citizens of the United States from every act of hos- 
tility; I mean all such as reside north of the thirty-first degree of north 
latitude, or within thirty-nine miles due south of the Natchez. I now, 
therefore, call on you, in the most solemn manner, to come forward, 
assert your rights, and you may rely on my sincere corroboration to ac- 
complish that desirable object. 

"I shall expect your assistance to repel any troops or hostile parties 
that make an attempt to land for the purpose of reinforcing this garri- 
son, or other purposes determined [detrimental] to the inhabitants of 
this country. 

"Piercy S. Pope, 
"Commanding U. S. Troops, Natchez." 

"From the present alarming situation of this country, I fully approve 

" Ellicott's Journal, 101-3; Amer, State Papers, For, Rels.JL, 83-4. Some 
American troops had been sent into Tennessee to prevent encroach- 
ments upon the land owned by the Indians. 

" Ellicott's Journal, 104-5; Amer. State Papers, For. Rels., II , 79. 



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Transition from Spanish to American Rule. — Riley. 273 

of Captain Pope's letter of this date to his fellow-citizens assembled at 
Mr. Belt's. ^^^ ^ 

"Andrew Ellicott, 
"Commissioner United States." " 

Next day, Governor Gayoso wrote letters to Ellicott and 
Pope, stating that a. number of the inhabitants, "subjects of his 
Majesty," were "in a state of rebellion with the hostile design" 
of attacking the fort, and that they were being encouraged to 
declare themselves citizens of the United States. He protested, 
against such actions and desired to be informed of the part the 
Commissioners and Commandant themselves were taking in 
these transactions. In the replies of the same date, they both 
denied that they were parties to any attempt to attack the fort 
and solemnly protested, in their official capacities, "against the 
officers of his Catholic Majesty, landing any troops, or repair- 
ing any fortifications in the territory" of the United States. 
Ellicott maintained that under the Governor's own interpreta- 
tion of the territorial limits assigned by the late treaty'*, the 
people of Natchez had a right to declare themselves citizens of 
the United States and declared that they could not be censured 
for embracing "the means which will finally assure to them 
their happiness ;" and Pope expressed surprise that the Gover- 
nor "should yet consider the people of the Natchez as subjects 
of his Catholic Majesty."*® 

They then issued a joint address to the people, stating that 
though no war then existed, the hostile preparations of the 
Spaniards indicated that it was not far distant. All who re- 
garded themselves citizens of the United States were told to 
respect in the meantime "all description of persons and things." 
June 14th, Governor Gayoso, Lieutenant Pope and Mr. Ellicott 
met at the house of George Cochran and after "a rather 
angry and intemperate discussion" formulated a plan for re- 
storing peace to the community.*® On the day following Gayo- 
so sent to Ellicott a proclamation containing most of the feat- 
ures of this plan and requested the assent of the American 



"Amer. State Papers, For, Rels,, II., 80; footnote. 
. " ^f^J*"^"^^ >s here made to a letter from Gayoso, written March 12, 
in which he stated that the point of demarkation would be near Daniel 
Clark s a point several miles below Natchez. 

" Ellicott's loumal, 107-9; Amer, State Papers, For. Rels., II., 84, 97. 

••Ellicolt's Journal, no. 



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274 Mississippi Historical Society. 

Commissioner previous to its publication. This assent was 

refused because it embraced only **in part the terms 

agreed upon," and it contained "some expressions very offen- 
sive to the people."*^ It was published, however, throughout 
the district, and although it conceded everything demanded by 
the people, it only added fuel to the flame. "In some places, 
says EUicott, "it was torn to pieces and in all treated with con- 

" In the following cOpy of this proclamation the italicised expressions 
were not contained in the terms previously agreed upon: 

'Whereas the confusion in which the country is at present involved threatens 
the entire destruction of its inhabitants; it is our duty to employ every means 
to save them from certain ruin, which wiU be inevitable if they do not listen to 
the salutary advice which the voice of humanity dictates to our constant atten- 
tion to the welfare of every individual of this Government; lenity in its greatest 
extent accompanies the obedience that is required, and general forgiveness wiU 
be the fruit of a candid repentance, and the exact c(nnpliance with the following 
conditions: 

"From the day after the publication of the present proclamation, all 
persons collected in bodies, or arc collecting for any purpose not sanc- 
tioned by us will immediately disperse, and every individual retire to the 
place of his residence, attend to his farm, or other occupation, in a 
peaceable manner, and consider himself in the same light oj before the present 
disturbance, never to assemble again upon the same principles as the present, 
nor consider themselves <w bound to do it, when called upon similar purposes, 
whilst under the Government and laws of His Majesty. 

*'Any persons who from attachment to the Government and laws of His 
Majesty, and with a view to prevent the impending calamity, should have <w- 
sembled in bodies, are likewise to disperse. 

'*No person shall ever be upbraided on account of his differing in opinion 
with any other, which, when not carried to excess, is allowed to every man, 
when it is not injurious to the Government, and consequently to the community 
in general. 

**By so complying a general forgiveness is warranted to every person 
who has been concerned in the present disturbance, and no inquiry shalt 
be made for their names. 

*'To banish unfounded apprehensions, and tranquilize the 

minds of the people, we do hereby assure them that no war exists be- 
tween His Majesty and the United States; but on the contrary the most 
friendly intercourse is recommended to both nations. No forces are 
accumulating here, and those for Nogales [Walnut Hills] are for the sole 
purpose of opposing an actual enemy. No Indians have been called. No 
interruptions have or shall be put to land or water communications; 
and under the present situation of this country, no corps of militia shall 
be formed; but if any should be wanted, out of the district, volunteers 
only shall be called for, except in case of an invasion, either by water 
or by land, within the extent of this Government; in which case natural 
defense and general safety admits of no exceptions. 

"Given under my hand and seal of my arms and countersigned by the 
Secretary of this Government. 

"Manuel Gayoso de Lemos. 
"J. Vidal, Sec." 



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Transition from Spanish to American Rule. — Riley. 275 

tempt." The words "candid repentance" rendered the whole 
obnoxious. The people considered themselves not only citi- 
zens of the United States, but supporting a virtuous and hon- 
orable cause ; and, therefore, in no need of "repentance."" 

By this time it became evident that the Spanish authorities 
were confronted by an organized resistance on the part of the 
people. The subscription lists, spoken of above, had been car- 
ried throughout the district and signed by a large number of 
citizens**, who thus pledged themselves unreserve^dly to the 
American cause. A number of military companies had also 
elected officers and were ready to take the field. Still others 
were forming and organizing. The Governor had strengthened 
the fortifications and added to his forces from every available 
source.** 

III. — Reorganization of the Government. 

As the withdrawal of the Spanish officials to the fort left 
no legally authorized government in the district, it became 
necessary for the people themselves to assume control. It 
was, therefore, agreed on Friday, June i6th, that "a meeting 
of the principal inhabitants of the district should be held" on 
the following Tuesday at the home of Mr. Belk*', who lived 
about eight miles from Natchez. This meeting was designed to 
take "the business out of the hands of the people at large and 
commit it to a committee of their own electing."** 

In the meantime, both sides continued to make active prepa- 
rations. On the evening of June 17th, a Spanish and an Ameri- 
can patrol exchanged shots, the Spaniard being the aggressor. 
For a number of weeks a Spanish cannon mounted on the para- 
pet was trained upon Ellicott's tent.*^ Stoddard says : 

"Occasions were dexteroasly seized to insult the Spanish authorities 
and to wound their pride. Lieutenant Pope repeatedly put himself at 
the head of his men, sounded the charge, and menaced the garrison with 
an escalade. One of his men, by his contrivance, eluded the vigilance 
of the Spanish sentinels in the night, cut a small piece of wood from 
the door of the magazine, and made his escape; and Lieutenant Pope, 
1 I 

^Ellicott's Journal, iia 
**/Wd., 106. 
**/Wd., III. 

•EUicott gives the name, "Belt." 

*• Ellicott's Journal, iii; Amer. State Papers, For, ReU.,IJ., 80. 
^Ellicott's Journal, in; Amer. State Papers, For. Rels.,II., 8a 
18 



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276 Mississippi Historical Society. 

to tantalize Gayosb, immediately sent him the fruit of this successful 
enterprise/ ^ 

Monday morning, June 19th, the Governor,. much humiliated 
by the recent occurrences, met EHicott in a private interview 
at the house of Major Minor, and requested the Commissioner 
to use his influence at the meeting to be held on the day fol- 
lowing in effecting a compromise between the two hostile par- 
ties. Ellicott replied that a plan had already been arranged**, 
"which would check, and finally put an end to the disturbance/* 
but that no terms would be accepted, which "were not safe and 
honorable to the people." Since they had learned their 
strength they "would only agree to disband and return home, 

by being admitted to a qualified state of neutrality till the 

treaty should be carried into effect." 

Stoddard thinks that Ellicott, notwithstanding these bold 
words, which are to be found in his Journal, had become 
alarmed over the extent and progress of the opposition and re- 
solved to check it, more to escape odiumthan to prevent the ex- 
pulsion of the Spaniards. "He was not disposed," says Stoddard, 
"to ride in the whirlwind, but he had an inclination to direct 
the storm, and to gratify his purposes prevailed on the people 
to delegate their power to a committee, a body deemed more 
manageable, and l.ess liable to be exacerbated by the fluctuat- 
ing occurrences of the times."'** 

The meeting of the citizens was held at Mr. Belk's on. the 
twentieth of June. A committee of seven gentlemen, — ^An- 
thony Hutchins, Bernard Lintot, Isaac Gaillard, William Rat- 
liff^ Cato West, Joseph Bernard and Gabriel Benoist, — ^was 
chosen, to which Pope and Ellicott were added by unanimous 
vote. This committee was instructed to "make arrangements 
with the Governor for restoring peace and tranquility; which 
arrangements should, as a greater security to the people, be 
ratified by the Governor-General, the Baron de Carondelet."'^ 

This committee held a meeting in the town of Natchez on the 
evening of the 20th and addressed a note to Governor Gayoso 

*• Stoddard's Sketches, 94. 

*• This plan was arranged by Ellicott and Col. Anthony Hutchins. See 
Amer, State Papers, For. Rets., 11. , 80. 

••Stoddard's Sketches, 94. 

•* Ellicott's Journal, 112, 114. Claiborne (Miss, (w a Prov., Ter. and 
State, 170) omits the name of Isaac Gaillard. 



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Transition fro.m Spanish to American Rule. — Riley, 277 

informing Wm of their election. To this communication his 
Excellency promptly replied in polite and conciliatory language, 
"expressing his happiness that this salutary measure" had 
been adopted. The day following the Governor oflFered the 
committee the use of the government house, but this was de- 
clined, its meetings being held in a new building which Mr. 
EUicott was preparing to occupy.*** 

"After much deliberation, and several interviews with the 
Governor," the committee passed important recommendations, 
which were submitted to the Governor for his approval, June 
22d. One of them reads as follows : 

"To Don Manuel Gayoso dc Lcmos, Brigadier in the Roval Armies, 
Gov. Military & Political of the Natchcs and its dependencies, &c., 
&c., &c.: 
"We, the underwritten (being a committee appointed by a very re- 
spectable & numerous meeting of the inhabitants of this district) recom- 
mend to your Excell'y that the inhabitants of each district in this Gov- 
ernment in case they should be dissatisfied with their Alcaldes shall be 
at liberty to assemble and nominate three men one of which your Ex- 
cell'v will be pleased to put in commission. 

"We also recommend it to your Excell'y as a measure necessary to 
quiet the minds of the people that you would please to admit that all 
arrests for crimes & misdemeanors do first pass through the hands of 
the magistrstte or magistrates of the district where such crimes or mis- 
demeanors have been committed. And that the magistrates be author- 
ized to call assistance to apprehend men for crimes and to keep the 
peace of the countrv. 

"We have the honor to be Your 
Excellency's very humble Servants, 

A. Hutchins, 
Bem'd Lintot, 
Isaac Gaillard, 
William Ratliff. 
Cato West, 
Joseph Bernard, 
Gabriel Benoist." 

To this communication the Governor replied as follows: 

"By the present I declare that whenever it shall be found necessary, 
the inhabitants of each District will represent to me, through the 
means of one of the gentlemen members of this meeting the necessity 
of nominating a new Alcalde, that I will authorize the said Inhabitants 
to elect three of the most respectable among them, one of whom I will 
appoint to the Commission of Alcalde. Henceforth, the Alcaldes will 
taice cognizance in the first instance of all misdemeanors committed 
within their respective jurisdiction, if necessary commit the Delinquents 
to Prison and when the cause is ready for sentence will consult me for 
the approbation thereof. In Civil cases to the amount of Fifty Dollars 
the Alcaldes will judge and give sentence, but the parties may appeal 
to me within the limited time of three days by application made to the 
said Alcaldes, who in such cases will transmit me the proceedings. An 

" Ellicott's Joumal, 114; Amer, State Papers, For, Rels,, II., 80. 



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278 Mississippi Historical Society. 

appeal may be had from my Tribunal to that of the Commander General 
of this Province for cases exceeding One Hundred Dollars. 

"When parties agree, in due form, to an arbitration, there is no ap- 
peal and the Alcaldes will enforce the Sentence of the Judge Arbitrators. 

"Given Under my Hand and the Seal of my Arms at Natches this 
22nd June, 1797. 

"Manuel Gayoso de Lemos."" 

"Through the influence of Mr. ElHcott and Captain Pope,"** 

the following was adopted and transmitted to his Excellency : 

"Don Manuel Gayoso de Lemos, Brigadier in the Royal Armies, Gov- 
ernor Military and Political of the Natchez and its Dependencies, &c. 

"Natchez, June 22, 1797. 
Sir: 

"T^e following propositions being unanimously agreed to by us the 
underwritten (being a committee appointed by a very numerous and re- 
spectable meeting of the inhabitants of this district) and A. Ellicott, a 
citizen and Commissioner of the United States, and P. S. Pope, com- 
manding the United States troops on the Mississippi, are submitted to 
your excellency with a request that you may accede to transmit a copy 
of the same to the Baron de Carondalet and obtain his concurrence in 
order to restore tranquility to this district. 

1st. The inhabitants of the district of Natchez, who under the belief 
and jpersuation that they were citizens of the United States, agreeably 
to the late treaty, have assembled and embodied themselves, are not to 
be prosecuted or injured for their conduct on that account, but to stand 
exonerated and ac(}uitted. 

"2nd. The inhabitants of the Government aforesaid above the 31st 
degree of north latitude arc not to be embodied as militia or called 
upon to aid in any military operation, except in case of an Indian inva- 
sion, or the suppression of riots during the present state of uncertainty, 
owing to the late treaty between the United States and His Catholic 
Majesty not being fully carried into eflFect. 

"3rd. The laws of Spain, in the above district, shall be continued, and 
on all occasions, be executed with mildness and moderation, nor shall 
any of the inhabitants be transported as prisoners, out of this Govern- 
ment, on any pretext whatever; and, notwithstanding the operation of 
the law aforesaid, is hereby admitted, yet the inhabitants shall be con- 
sidered to be in actual state of neutrality during the continuance of their 
uncertainty, as mentioned in the second proposition. 

"4th. The committee aforesaid do engage to recommend it to our 
constituents, and to the utmost of our power endeavor to preserve the 
peace and promote the due execution of justice. 
"We are your most obedient and humble servants, 

A. Hutchins, 
Bernard Lintot, 
Isaac Gaillard, 
Cato West, 
William RatcliflF 
Gabriel Bonoist, 
Joseph Bernard." " 

"Manuscripts in the Claiborne Historical Collection, University of 
Mississippi. 

^Amer. State Papers, For. Rels., II., 83. 

"Ellicott's Joumah n4-'6; Amer. State Papers, For. Rels.,II., 85. Elli- 
cott and Pope having witheld their names from this document, presented 
the following note to the Governor: 

"We, the underwriters, do engage to co-operate with the committee 



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Transition from Spanish to American Rule. — Riley. 279 

The above propositions were promptly agreed to by the Gov- 
ernor and were published without alterations in his Excellency's 
proclamation bearing the date of June 23d. This restored the 
peace of the community and "the Governor and his officers left 
the fort and returned to their houses. Thus ended this for- 
midable tumult, without a single act of violence having been 
committed by the inhabitants of the country during suspension 
of the government and laws, for the space of two weeks !"*• 

In reply to the proposition which had been sent to the Gov- 
ernor-General, he approved of all of them, with the following 
exception : 

"That the third article's expression: nor shall any of the inhabitants be 
transported as prisoners out of this government on any pretext whatever, is not 
to be extended to the Capital Crimes, in which cases only the process 
shall be publickly made & prosecuted in the District of Natchez with the 
witness and justice known to all Districts of the Spanish Gov't by 
order & authority of law & according to the regular course of Pro- 
ceedings in such cases, and the sentence to be pronounced & Cause 
to be executed by the Commander Gen'l of the Province." " 

These proceedings represent a political situation which is in- 
deed remarkable, a political conglomerate in which the recom- 
mendations of the people acting "under the belief and persua- 
sion that they were citizens of the United States" were not only 
submitted to Spanish executives for approval, but were an- 
swered, with a partial veto. 

The first recommendations show that the popular will, which 
had asserted itself with the approval of the Spanish authority, 
was struggling to a position of equality with its rival. They 
also show that the Spanish Governor still retained the legisla- 
tive function, the people exercising only the privilege of making 
recommendations through their representatives. Nevertheless 
the people here secured two important concessions from the 
Spanish government, — ^the power of practically choosing their 

appointed by a numerous and respectable meeting of the inhabitants of 
the district of Natchez, to preserve the peace and to obtain the due 
execution of justice, and do hereby approve of the propositions pre- 
sented Governor Gayoso by the committee, and acceded to by him." 
Amer, State Papers, For. Rels., IL, 86. This was cited by the Spanish 
minister as proof that Ellicott and Pope were interfering in political 
matters {lb,, 82 and 97). 

iPor the reply of Secretary Pickering to this complaint see Ibid,, loi. 

••Ellicott's Journal, 116. 

"Claiborne MSS. This reply was written on June 27. By a royal 
edict all capita] offences were required to be tried m New Orleans (Elli- 
cott's Journal, 117). 



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28o Mississippi Historical Society. 

own magistrates by popular election and the right of trial before 
local tribunals. 

The four propositions that follow were no less timely and ef- 
fective. They have been well characterized as an "embryonic 
constitution."**. The first two of these propositions corre- 
sponded to a Bill of Rights, which wisely guarded the personal 
liberty of the inhabitants and judiciously exempted them from 
oppressive military service. It not only stipulated "immunity 
for the past/* but guaranteed protection for the future. The 
third article, though giving due recognition to Spanish laws 
and institutions, guarded against transference of legal processes 
beyond the limits of the district. But more significant still, this 
article showed that the people, through their representatives, 
had sat in judgment upon their leg^l status and declared them- 
selves in "a state of neutrality." The fourth and last article re- 
lates to the peace of the community and to the execution of jus- 
tice. 

In speaking of these events, Stoddard says : 

Thus the people gained a complete victory over the constituted au- 
thorities. These became pledged to obliviate all transactions of a 
treasonable nature; to sanction and to legalize the existence of a dan- 
gerous, power within their jurisdiction, able at any moment to subvert 
the government; to exempt the militia from obedience, except in two 
specified instances, and tacitly to authorize it to obey the mandates 
of a rival nation, or its agents. These conditions are not destitute of 
point, and manifest a considerable degree of policy and skill." "• 

With the restoration of tranquility, says EUicott, the work 
of this committee was completed, and it was dissolved "by com- 
mon consent."'® Stoddard maintains that the dissolution was 
effected by a proclamation from Gayoso at the request of EUi- 
cott, because the latter suspected some of the members of the 
committee, Col. Anthony Hutchins, in particular, of entertain- 
ing views detrimental to the United States.*^ 

* Goodspeed's Historical and Biographical Memoirs of Miss., I., 89. 
•• Stoddard's Sketches, 95. 

* Ellicott's Journal * 

•"Although Col. Anthony Hutchins' attachment to the interests of 
the United States at this time cannot be questioned, this suspicion 
seems to have been based upon the fact that he had been a British 
officer and was then a pensioner of Great Britain (Stoddard's 
Sketches, 95). He was so active in his defence of the inhabitants of the 
Natchez district against the freebooting expedition led by James Willing 
in 1778, that Peter Chester, Governor of West Florida, and the Council 
appointed him "Major in the provincial Regiment with the rank of Lieu- 



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Transition from Spanish to American Rule. — Riley. 281 
IV. — ^The Permanent Committee. 

June 24th, the day after leaving the fort, the Governor, at 
the request of EUicott, issued a proclamation for the election 
of a Permanent Committee. This election took place about the 
beginning of July, and resulted in the choice of the following 
gentlemen : Joseph Bernard, Peter B. Bruin, Daniel Clark, Ga- 
briel Benoist, Philander Smith, Isaac Gaillard, Roger Dixon, 
William Ratliff and Frederick Kimball." The political senti- 
ments of them all with the exception of the last, who was other- 
wise disqualified** "were decidedly republican," and they were 
"firmly attached to the government and interest of the United 
States." Ellicott says that "the election of this committee, as 

was really intended. . put the finishing stroke to the Spanish 

authority and jurisdiction in the district."** A serious blunder 
was made, however, in the creation of this body for the per- 
formance of a political function without defining the nature and 
extent of its authority or limiting the term of its leg^l existence. 

The committee began active operations about a fortnight 
after its election. It was "no sooner organized," says Ellicott, 
"than it was evident its measures would be directed to the at- 
tainment of two objects : First, the securing of the country to 
the United States, and, secondly, the preservation of peace and 
good order in the settlement."** The point of cleavage once 
passed by the election of this committee, the American party 
was divided into two irreconcilable factions, both of which em- 
braced men of honor and integrity, who seemed to be striving 
for the same final result, — the establishment of the authority of 
the United States in the district. 

tenant Colonel," and the House of Assembly of the province unanim- 
ously resolved, "That the thanks of the House should be presented to 
Lieutenant Colonel Hutchins for the extraordinary 'Zeal and inde- 
fatigable activity he showed at the Critical time when the Rebels at- 
tempted to take full possession of the Natchez district for his having 
been the principal means of recalling the Inhabitants to their Duty and 
Allegiance to His Majesty and thereby preventing that valuable Coun- 
try irom falling under the Subjection 01 the Congress/ " 

•Four of these, Isaac Gaillard, William RatliflF, Joseph Bernard and 
Gabriel Benoist, had served on the former committee. 

•Kimball lived south of lat. 31** (Ellicott's Journal 117). He never- 
theless served on this committee (see Amer. State Papers, For, Rel, 
IL, 86). 

•Ellicott's Journal, 117. 

^Ibid,, 139. 



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282 Mississippi Historical Society. 

Stoddard says that the doubts entertained of Colonel Hutch- 
ins' patriotism "served to wound his pride and to excite his re- 
sentment."'' It is not strange then that he should have become 
inimical to this new committee, since EUicott, his avowed 
enemy, took the initiative in creating it, and soon afterwards 
began the direction of its affairs. In a letter written December 
S> I797> Daniel Clark, a member of this committee, says: 

"However the two parties may differ in respect to points of Govern- 
ment they are all Republicans and should a spark cause an explosion 
the moderate party*' will be forced to adopt the measures of the other 
to save them from the fury of the Spaniards and to avoid participating 
in their ruin." * 

In the heat of contest the leaders of these rival factions 
charged their opponents with sinister motives and characterized 
their conduct as villainous. Different lines of policy must have 
been prompted more by what was considered to be best for the 
people than by a desire to plunge the district into anarchy. 
Wailes well says that these rivalries for "power and influence 
were but the common instincts of ambitious men wherever they 
may be placed."** 

One would hardly be justified in characterizing EUicott's 
course as either puerile or unpatriotic. He showed skill both 
in the conception and in the execution of many plans that he con- 
ceived for advancing the interests of the United States. If he 
turned his attention to subjects that were foreign to his mission, 
it was nothing more than the Secretary of State said was ex- 
pected when he was commissioned as agent of the United 
States.^* 

On the other hand, Colonel Hutchins was held in high esteem 
by the inhabitants of the district. This is attested by the fact 
that, although a British subject, he was made chairman of the 
first committee, and was strongly solicited to accept a place on 
the Per;nanent Committee.''^ Whatever may have been his 

•• Stoddard's Sketches, 96. 

•' The party of which Hutchins was leader. 

• This letter was written to Daniel Coxe, of Philadelphia, and may be 
found among the manuscripts in the archives of the Secretary of State, 
Washington, D. C. 

•• Agricidture and Geology of Miss. (1854), 112. 

^ Amer. State Papers, For. Rel, II „ 82. 

" Eilicott's JournaU 139. 



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Transition from Spanish to American Rvlt.— Riley. 283 

reasons for declining this honor^*, he soon exhibited an active 
opposition to the proceedings of that body. He was not, how- 
ever, without a large and respectable following, as will be shown 
by subsequent events. 

V. — ^The Committee of Safety and Correspondence. 

Col. Hutchins is represented as having attended the first 
meeting of the committee as a spectator, but as having been 
"discontented with its proceedings." 

Shortly afterwards, he, acting in behalf of a few citizens, ad- 
dressed a petition to the newly-elected Committee, requesting 
that a day be designated for the election of an agent to Con- 
gress and of another committee; also making suggestions as 
to the method of conducting said election and the qualifications 
for office as well as for exercising the right of suflFrage.'^' This 

"There were probably two reasons for this\ refusal: (i) His extreme 
agej and (2) his strong personal dislike for Ellicott, who had taken the 
initiative in the creation of this committee, and whose influence was dis- 
agreeably potent over its members. 

"So far as the writer is informed, this. petition which exists in manu- 
script in the Claiborne Collection, has never appeared in print, Ellicott 
making no mention of it. It reads as follows: 

"Gentlemen of the Committee: 

**We are only a few of the neutral inhabitants of the country of the 
Natchez, who are disposed to attend here with respect & esteem towards 
you, and with no less Regard to our own rights & privileges. And as 
you were Elected to be useful in promoting peace & good order so you 
have the sole & entire credit of all your merits. Your circular letter 
we greatly approve of, as the apology therein fully attones for the 
supererogatory part of your well-mtended conduct; and as we are willing 
to coincide with you in your numerous Salvas of impeaching the feeble 
head instead of the heart; hence, we, with a yiew of Salutary purposes, 
assure you it is our will to make known the intention of the generality 
of the people that we with you do name & fix upon a day whereon a 
man may be elected and chosen to represent us as Agent or Commis- 
sioner to address and lay before Congress (Should occasion require), 
such matters & things as from time to time he shall be advised & 
instructed by a Committee to be elected and chosen on the same pre- 
fixed day which agent and committee we wish to continue during the 
will & pleasure of their constituents & no longer, and that the time of 

such Elections be on day of , and that the Polls may 

be opened at 10 o'clock in the morning and not closed until Sunset, 
to be held in each District by one of the Alcalds thereof, with the 
assistance of one respectable man of each District in taking the Polls 

and to make due returns thereof to and jomtly, or to 

either of them separately, whom we request as a favor that thejr will 
examine each Return and add up the suffrages of each District or 
scrutinize such Elections, and that their or either of their controversies 
respecting such Elections, and that their or either of their sentiments 



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284 Mississippi Historical Society. 

petition, if presented, was either ignored or refused by the 
Committee. A few days later Colonel Hutchins, after having 
been refused the assistance of the Commissioner, made an in- 
effectual attempt to dissolve the Permanent Committee him- 
self."'* In this connection, Ellicott makes the following signifi- 
cant remark, which shows the character of at least a part of the 
opposition to the Committee : 

"In this extraordinary proceeding Mr. Hutchins was seconded by 
some citizens of the United States, several of whom held commissions 
under our government"" 

August 8th, certain citizens met in Natchez to discuss the 
political situation. Their deliberations resulted in an extension 
of the plans outlined in the petition to the Permanent Commit- 
tee. The second day of September was settled upon as a suitable 
time for the election. A. Ellicott, A. Bingaman, and John 
Girault were named as judges of the returns. The following 
were appointed to assist the Alcaldes at the polls : Andrew Beall, 
for St. Catherine's District; Thomas Burling, for the Second 
Creek Lower District; Joseph Howard, for the upper part of 
Second Creek, including Sandy Creek; Landon Davis, for the 
Homochitto District; John Collins, for the Buffaloe District; 

thereon shall finally determine & settle all disputes respecting the can- 
didates 

"But in case the Alcald of either District should omit to attend the 
Election on such day at such place where the Election for a committee 
was lately held in each District, then in that case it is intended that 
such assistant shall hold the Election in each of their Districts where 
the Alcald should fail to attend such duty & that a return ht made as 

above directed. And we further recommend that the persons 

who are to be assistants for the several Districts shall be named and 

arranged as follows, viz: For St. Catherine's District For Second 

Creek District For the upper part of Second Creek District, 

including Sandy Creek For Homochitto District For 

Buffalow District For Bayou Sarah District For Coles 

Creek District For Bayou Piere District & for the 

Village of Natchez , subject to the above Regulations of the 

aforesaid Districts. 

"And to compose the minds of the people and to free them from fur- 
ther contests we recommend that no Alcald as being a Spanish Officer 
may be a member of such committee nor shall an assistant at the Elec- 
tion in taking the Poll stand a Candidate. 

"That no person shall vote at such Election but inhabitants only of 
not less than Twenty-one years of age, who have lived in this country 
at least six months; is really settled within the District where he offers 
his vote which he will declare on Oath if required at the time of voting 
before his vote shall be admitted." 

" ElHcott's Journal, 140-1. 

"/*., 141. 



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Transition from Spanish to American Rule. — Riley. 285 

Elisha Hunter, for the Bayou Sara District ; Charles Bordman, 
for the Pine Ridge and Fair Child's Creek District; Parker 
Carodine, for Villa Gayoso ; John Burnet, for the Bayou Pierre 
and Big Black District, and David Ferguson, for the town of 
Natchez. The Alcaldes and the assistants at the polls were de- 
clared disqualified to become candidates, because of their con- 
nection with the election.^' The right of suffrage was restricted 
to residents of the respective districts, eighteen years of age.^^ 

Colonel Hutchins was appointed to communicate these plans 
to Captain Minor, who was then temporary Governor of the 
Natchez^*, and request his approval of the same. 

This was done on the day following.^* A week later, August 

"In the petition to the Permanent Committee the Alcaldes were de- 
clared disqualified because of their connection with the Spanish gov- 
ernment as well as their connection with the election. 

"In the petition to the Permanent Committee the ri^ht of suffrage 
was to be restricted to those who had resided in the district six months, 
and were twenty-one years of age. 

"The Baron de Carondelet had been promoted to the government of 
Quito and Governor Gayoso succeeded him as Governor-General of 
Louisiana, with headquarters at New Orleans. July 30th, Governor 
Gayoso departed for that place, leaving Captain Minor to represent him 
in the government of the Natchez until the vacancy could be filled by 
royal appointment. Ellicott's Journal 140. 

" This communication . to Captain Minor is found in the Claiborne 
Collection. It begins as follows: 

"Forasmuch as the country of the Natchez is under a state of neu- 
trality and as matters of contest are not firmly settled between Spain 
and the United States of America respecting the fulfilment of the 
Treaty subsisting between those Powers, and as the minds of the people 
in general are well disposed and greatly composed in respect to matters 
of government from an aversion to anarchy and a submission to the 
presiding authority and the prevailing Laws that are now executed with 
mildness, hence the dread of a failure of justice is removed and the 
peace of the Country preserved. Yet from conception amounting to a 
firm belief that such Treaty will be carried into efiFect, and that there 
is more than a probability that the United States will avail themselves 
of the Claim or Dominion to the 31st Degree of N** Latitude, under 
which consideration we conceive it expedient to appoint a Man of some 
abilities with the appellation of Agent to address Congress on important 
occasions, and that there may be a Committee of Safety who may cor- 
respond with such Agent and from time to time to communicate to him 
the sense and will of the People, and such matters having appeared to 
the worthy Inhabitants an act of duty and from your knowledge of our 
various applications for your assent thereto and from the attendance 
of a number of the inhabitants }[esterday from diflFerent parts of the 

Country to plead for that permission. And we presume that the 

then altercation and discussion hath greatly explained the reasonable- 
ness of our requisition. And as the people of necessity have returned 
home t am left by them to attend you for your approbation for such 
Elections." 



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286 Mississippi Historical Society. 

i6th, Captain Minor made a favorable reply, in accordance, 
says Ellicott, with instructions previously given by Governor 
Gayoso, "who expected by dividing the inhabitants, to regain 
the power he had so lately lost."*® 

August i8th, Colonel Hutchins wrote an address to the 
"Planters, Mechanics & laborers" of the district, informing 
them that the Spanish authorities had granted the request he 
had presented in behalf of the inhabitants lately assembled. He 
directed attention to the fact that the method of voting in the 
United States was "by ticket and ballot," and stated that the 
proposed Committee was not intended to interfere with the 
Permanent Committee, which he claimed "was intended only to 
promote the peace of the Country." After questioning the 
"constitutionality" of the method by which the Permanent Com- 
mittee was elected, he closed with a plea for a continued neu- 
trality and for the election of an agent and a new committee.*' 

The election was opposed, however, by Ellicott and Pope, 
seconded by certain inhabitants, who feared that it would "di- 
vide the people between the two committees," and thus prove 
detrimental to the American cause." Unfortunately the pro- 
ceedings of the Permanent Committee at this time are not ac- 
cessible to the writer. Ellicott tells us that in the beginning of 
September he laid before that body a communication received 
from the Secretary of State concerning the detection of Blount's 
plans for conquering Louisiana and the Floridas for Great 
Britain**, to arrest which immediate action was taken. There is 
also ample evidence to show that the Committee was very active 
in its opposition to the movement headed by Colonel Hutch- 

" Ellicott's Journal 139. 

"This address may be found in the Claiborne Collection. ^< 

" Ellicott's Journal 141; Amer, Side Papers, Far, RelJI,, 81-2. 

•• Blount's scheme was to be effected in the autumn of 1797 by means 
of forces from Canada, which were to descend the Illinois and the 
Mississippi rivers, and to be joined by volunteers along the route to 
New Orleans, which place they hoped to capture with ease, since it was 
in no condition to offer resistance. In order to perfect this project 
Blount made advances to the British envoy at Washington, but was 
referred to the British cabinet. "Obliged to deliver his plans and 
memoirs to an intermediate agent," suspicion was aroused and the 
packet containing his memoirs were intercepted by the captain of the 
vessel in which the messenger was to embark and were sent to Presi- 
dent Adams, who submitted them to Congress. Blount was tried for 
unofficial conduct by the Senate, of which he was a member, and ex- 
pelled from that body, by a vote, not of two-thirds only, as the Consti- 
tution requires, but unanimously." (Marbois* Hist, of Louisiana, 163-5)- 



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Transition from Spanish to American Rule. — Riley. 287 

inc. The following letter, addressed to the Electors, serves to 
illustrate the bitterness that existed between these two parties : 

"August 29, 1797. 
"Gentlemen: 

"As your eyes are open to see the rascality of the whole opposition 
against your common privileges, I need not be at the pains to say any- 
thing about it for the infamous letter from Cochran to Bruin is a 
sufficient explanation^ After this you'll think that the name of Gentle- 
men may be left out. This will, I suppose, convince you of the prin- 
ciples they & the whole connection have acted upon which most cer- 
tainly merits contempt. 

"I have only to acquaint you that they have ent/ered a protest against 
your Election" Which I hope you will not pay the least regard to, as 
it is intended as a matter of evasion, for if you do they will soon 
pro [t] est away your property, your privileges and your lives also. Look 
upon yourselves as freemen, altho' this is the time for them the date 
of your slavery and should you be insulted by any pretenses that may 
ofifer against your common rights, you ought with spirit to act ac- 
cordingly, as they should not be suffered to interrupt your Election in 
the smallest degree. I need not tell you what kind of treatment the 
invaders of your privileges may deserve. 

Gen. 

your Affectionate 

A. Hutchins." 

P. S. — The Committee at the Natchez yesterday has made Resolves**, 
and has behaved in several respects Tyrant like even to restrain people 
from speaking, after permission given they expect to establish their 
plans through Mr. Ellicott, who will get no credit for joining%an in- 
tended faction. You will have to join unanimously in signing the paper 
respecting the Committee*^ or they will probably establish their infernal 
plans, then you have nothing to do out to submit to their high mighti- 
ness." 

On the morning of the election Lieutenant Pope sent vaguely 
worded communications to the managers of the polls on the 
Homochitto precinct^®, stating that opposition to the Perma- 
nent Committee would not be permitted. The opposition to the 
— » 

"Unfortunately this communication is not accessible to the writer. 

■^The basis for this protest is largely a matter of conjectiwe to the 
writer, as he has not been able to find a copy of it. We may reasonably 
infer, however, that it was similar in nature to those made by six of the 
voting precincts on the day of election. See infra, 

** It is hoped that future research will bring a copy of these resolu- 
tions to light. 

" The contents of this paper are unknown to the writer at present 

" A copy of this letter, which is now printed for the first time, may be 
found in the Claiborne Collection. 

■•The names of these gentlemen were Landon Davis and Captain 
Nicholson. The writer finds no authority for Claiborne's (Miss, as a 
Prov., Ttr, and State, 174), assertion that similar letters were written to 
each of the supervisors of the polls. Hutchins complained of letters 
being written, one of which was addressed to Davis and Nicholson. See 
infra. 



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288 Mississippi Historical Society. 

election was effective, since the polls were opened in only four 
out of the ten precincts, the remaining six, says EUicott, pro- 
testing against such procedure.^^ The returns from these four 
precincts were sent to Colonel Hutchins sealed up. They were 
referred by him to the judges of the election, who refused to act, 
and then to Captain Minor, who did likewise.*^ 

September 5th, the gentlemen chosen in the precincts where 
elections were held, Thomas Green, James Stuart, Mr. Ashley 
and a Mr. Hoggett, together with Colonel Hutchins, met at the 
home of Mr. Belk and effected an organization.** On the day 
following. Colonel Hutchins addressed a letter to Lieutenant 
Pope, charging him with having interfered in the recent elec- 
tion." By means which were rather questionable, the Com- 
mittee was subsequently increased by the addition of Landon 

Davis**, Justice King and Abner Green.*' As no agent was 

——~—^—— — ,1 I II 

••Among the reasons assigned in the protests against this proposed 
election were these: 'Because,' say the protesters, we dread the effect 
of such a precedent, which appears to us to involve the seeds of an- 
archy, and an open contempt of the authority invested in the Commit- 
tee, our only legal representatives.' 'Because, by the mode of election, 
not less than thirty of our most intelligent and respectable citizens are 
rendered incompetent to serve either as the said agent, or in the Com- 
mittee.' 'Because it is calculated to introduce a direct innovation in the 
principles of election, by admitting to the privilege of voting, persons 
of the age of eighteen.' And 'because neither the powers of the agent 
nor committee are properly defined.' — Report of the Secretary of State, 
based upon information from Ellicott {Amer. State Papers, For. Rels., II., 
82). 

•* EUicott's Journal, 141. 

■•/ft., 141-2. 

Sept. 6th, 1797. 
■•"Sir: 

"As one of the Inhabitants of this County I take the liberty to 
acquaint you we had a permission from Gov. Gayoso to Elect a Com- 
mittee & an Agent for purpose of presenting memorials to Congress, 
and that Elections were satisfactorily held on Saturday last in several 
Districts where the artful faction could not prevail. I am sorry to tell 
you that by your Letters of interference to Mr. Davis & Captain Nichol- 
son they were awed and discouraged from holding such necessary elec- 
tion in the Homochitto District greatly to the drssatisfaction of the 
people, perhaps vou may have acted as prudently in that regard as you 
•did formerly before the past insurrection. I am persuaded you think 
you have pursued measures consistent with your duty, but I can't be of 
such opinion until I am convinced by Capt. Gayoso, to whom the 
inhabitants wish to write on the subject. This I am induced to com- 
municate to you only from my profession of friendship for you. 
"with great esteem Your Obed' 

, "Dr. Sir H'ble Servt A. H." 

•* He was elected in the Homochitto precinct, September oth, "by ten 
voices," no return being made of the election. (EUicott's Journal, 143; 
Amer. State Papers, For. Rel, II., 82). 

••The week following Davis' election, King and Green were elected 



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Transition from Spanish to American RnlQ.—RUey. 289 

elected by the people, Colonel Hutchins was chosen by the new 
Committee to act in that capacity.*® 

About this time the hostility between the two factions seems 
to have reached its most critical stage. September 12th, a re- 
port reached Natchez that, owing to their opposition to the 
Permanent Committee, about forty armed men were on their 
way to that place from the Bayou Pierre, and that the inhabit- 
ants of Coles Creek were threatening to do likewise. This 
demonstration was not followed, however, by any act of vio- 
lence.*^ 

VI. — Communications with the General Government. 

September 13th, the Permanent Committee requested EUi- 
cott to represent to the President of the United States the situ- 
ation of the Country and to recommend all the measures that 
were deemed conducive to the future welfare of the country in 
case of its annexation to the United States. In response to 
this request, EUicott prepared a memorial which was approved 
by the Permanent Committee and forwarded to the Department 
of State, without being submitted to the people. September i6th 
Captain Minor issued, under the seal of the Spanish government 
the following declaration : 

"The Permanent Committee, duly elected by the people at large, 
under the sanction of Government, are the true and sole representatives 
of the inhabitants of this Government, and faith is due their pro- 
ceedings as such, as also to the representations they may make in behalf 
of the public in all cases."** 

This shows that a remarkable change had taken place in the 
attitude of Ellicott and his followers towards the Spanish au- 
thorities. The following extract from a communication ad- 

"by subscription: the number of signers did not exceed thirty" (lb.). It 
will be observed in this connection that Mr. Davis was disqualified from 
holding office, since he has been appointed a manager of the election in 
the Homochitto district (see Hutchins' letter to Capt. Minor). The 
other two members were not chosen by the method (ballot), nor were 
any of them elected at the time (Sept. ad), specified by Colonel Hut- 
chms, and agreed to by Capt. Minor. 

Claiborne (Miss, as a Prov., Tet. and State, 175), gives the names of 
two other members of this Committee, Daniel Burnet and Dr. John 
Shaw. 

••See letter addressed by Hutchins to this Committee in Claiborne 
Collection, Vol. E. 

^ Ellicott's Journal, 148-50. 

•• Amer. State Papers, For. Rel, IL, 86. 



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290 Mississippi Historical Society. 

dressed to Governor Sargent, August 26, 1799, and signed by 
eighteen citizens of the district, shows how many of the in- 
habitants regarded Ellicott: 

"Happy had it been for this country, had the commissioner with all 
his apparatus, been able to penetrate and repel the nefarious desig^ns 
which were laid to embroil him with the people, and the people with one 
anotner. But for want of a manly confidence in his own internal re- 
sources, or for want of personal courage and integrity, he fell into the 
snare; and under a pretext that the people were doing wrong, he makes 
a voluntary sacrifice of all his natural connexions (including every of- 
ficer of the United States then in the Country), and threw himself under 
the patronage and protection of Don Minor and his satellites, and be- 
came a principal and active instrument in that system of ttmiult, which 
has been so abundantly productive in this country. 

"After deserting and betraying the people, and as we conceive, aban- 
doning the best interests of the United States, we are to view him from 
this time under an implicit submission to foreign intrigue, nor can art 
or deception convince the people of this country to the contrary." •• 

After a session of three weeks, the newly-elected committee, 
known as the ^^^ "Committee of Safety and Correspondence," 
in cooperation with Colonel Hutchins, prepared a Petition and 
Memorial to Congress. On account of the threats of the other 
faction, this instrument was secretly circulated throughout the 
district in order to obtain the signatures of the inhabitants. 
Before this could be effected, however, a copy of it was secured 
by EUicott^*^ and forwarded to the Secretary of State with ob- 
servations on the same. 

After one or two efforts, by the members of the opposing 
faction, to destroy this memorial or at least to hinder its trans- 
mission to the seat of government, Mr. Stuart, a member of the 
Committee of Safety and Correspondence finally evaded their 
vigilance and delivered it with several other papers to the Sec- 
retary of State. 

Among these papers was a letter from Colonel Hutchins to 
the Secretary of State, in which he said, ill health prevented his 
presenting the memorial in person. The people desired Con- 
gress to plan all matters "in the most favorable way to suit the 
situation" for they were "likely to be in a very disagreeable con- 
dition" owing to the presence of about ten or twelve dangerous 

•• A copy of this Petition, printed by the authority of Congress, may 
be found in a pamphlet in the Claiborne Collection. It was signed by 
Cato West, W. Hunter, Thomas M. Green, Gerard Brandon and others. 

** Ellicott's Journal, 143- 

"»/&i<f., 144. 



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Transition from Spanish to American Rule. — Riley. 291 

men who had "imposed on the country in general," and especi- 
ally upon Mr. Ellicott, who had joined "with them in their no- 
torious and most horrid faction, and as it were, in certain in- 
trigues — against the true interest of the people." Among 
these men "are a few such as Dan Clark, Esq., who declares 
against becoming citizens of the United States at all and recom- 
mends the same to his friends as shown by certain paragraphs 

of his letters to me that I take the liberty to send And 

A Mr. Wm. Dunbar, who has become a man of fortune, said 
to be ground out of the faces of the suffering inhabitants, & very 

famous in the Land scheming way^®* Such are Mr. Ellicott's 

connections, together with the oppressors & evador of the Law 
respecting Debts & resettlements which create pain in every 
judicious inhabitant. The sufferers only look for a time when 
Congress shall put it in their power to avail themselves of jus- 
tice. Yet Mr. Ellicott's opposition to the Country by connect- 
ing himself with those of that sort appears to be so ex- 
ceeding great that without the interposition of Congress they 
must be miserable." He adds that he "would to God that it 
had been so ordered" that Ellicott "had never concerned with 
anything here but the Latitude & Line, and such matters as are 
of that concern." There are, he continues, numerous schemes 
& daily inventions to create a greater 'wideness' between the 
people and to ruin the reputation of the writer of this letter. 
He represents the people as praying that "some temporary 
mode of government be adopted to suit the local situation," and 

that "all the officers of the Government except the judges 

be chosen or approved by the people;" and he most humbly 
beg^ for them that no judge be appointed who is interested in 
either the Georgia or the British land claims. Should it be 
thought most expedient to appoint and send a Governor to 
them "which they hoped would not be the case, it is their wish 
that he may be free from partial motives" on the land question. 

'"The injustice of this accusation will be apparent to any one who 
makes an impartial study of the life of Sir Wm. Dunbar. The intimate 
friendship which sprang up between Dunbar and Ellicott was due to the 
fact that they were among the foremost scientists of this country at 
that time and devotion to a common cause made them congenial. 
See an article by the writer in the Publication of the Mississippi Historical 
Societal, Vol. II.. 85-111, entitled, '*Sir William Dunbar, the Pioneer 
Scientist of Mississippi." 

19 



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292 Mississippi Historical Society. 

"Above all, before any shall enter into the execution of his 
ofiice that such officers of whatever denomination above that of 
a constable shall take an oath similar to that whidh is required 

in like cases in the State of Pennsylvania, for among too 

many of those who Mr. EUicott would wish to be the leading 
characters," are infidels who speak "against the virtue & divin- 
ity of our lyord & Savior Jesus Christ/' He says that EHicott's 
"removal would be exceeding agreeable to the most judicious 
inhabitants,*' and charges him with causing the delay in the 
evacuation of the posts by the Spaniards, who had found him 
"a proper plaything suited to the theme of evasion."^** He also 
charges Ellicott and Pope with bringing the American cause 
into disrepute and complains that when he had warned Ellicott 
against certain men who were opposed to the interests of the 
United States, the latter had betrayed confidence and these men 
had fallen upon the informer "pallmall and part of them being 
a Committee for peace and Cooperation with the Spanish Gov- 
ernment assumed an authority to make Resolves as soon as 
they had convened that Honorable Board, as they called it, 
who to form their tribunal more respectable added thereto 
Minor, Govr. pro tem., of the Natchez, &c., Jo. Vidal, Secy, of 
the Province ; Wm. Dunbar, Esq., Surveyor, & the consequential 
George Cochran, A. Ellicott, agt., & whose business of course 

was then to work up something to degrade" the writer. 

He then enumerates, without comments, five charges that have 
been preferred against him by the different members of the 
opposing faction. He states that efforts were being made to 
destroy the memorial he had written and to intimidate those 
who were inclined to sign it Jby telling them that "soldiers with 
handscrews were on their way from Orleans thither to confine 
the Annabaptists," and by threatening to represent the people 
as disaffected towards the Union, etc. He says that it is re- 
ported that two gentlemen by the name of Gov. Matthews and 
Judge Miller, agents of the Georgia Company, who have re- 
cently arrived, will be appointed Governor and Judge re- 

"• Claiborne's view on Ellicott (Miss, as a Prov., Ter. and State, 176^, 
at which historians have frequently expressed surprise (Roosevelt s 
'Winning of the West,'* IV, 211, foot note; Hinsdale in Report of Amer, 
Histor, Association for 1893, 366, foot note, etc.), were doubtless derived 
from the letters of Colonel Hutchins, his grandfather. 



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Transition from Spanish to American Rule. — Riley. 293 

spectively of the Territory of Mississippi. This, he adds, is a 
cause of great alarm because they have "fallen in with those 
Very persons of the faction conversing chiefly with them & 

having their minds perverted by unfair representations 

hath been p'revailed upon (as is feaid), to write Letters in their 

favor agt. the interests of the community by which impolitic 

procedure they have prejudiced the minds of the greatest part 
of the most respectable inhabitants against them whose jeal- 
ousy cannot be removed, nor can they ever retain even a 

tolerable opinion of them." He then presents the importance of 
establishing an academy "for improvement in the Liberal arts 
& sciences" and endowing the same by a congressional grant 
of land on the waters of the Yazoo, when such territory shall 
have been purchased from the Indians. 

In order to counteract the effects of this letter upon the 
President, the Permanent Committee drew up an address, ex- 
onerating EUicott and Pope and thanking them for their ser- 
vices ; and this was forwarded to the Secretary of State.^®* 

The following extracts from these two documents, arranged 
in parallel columns, according to subject matter, will enable the 
reader to judge of the points of difference in the policy advo- 
cated by each : 

^rnmm'ilf^l nV Memorial'^ of the 

Safety a'iTSespldence.- Permanent Committee.- 

I. — Government. 
"Your Memorialists.. look up "A territorial government simi- 

to Congress for the establishment lar to that of the North Western 

in due time of some consistent Territory, is less expensive, and 

mode of Government, that may better calculated than a represen- 

suit the situation of this Country tative one, for doing justice in a 

as the number of white persons district populated from causes 

who are Zealously attached to the above mentioned [for an increase 

cause and Interest of the United of fame and fortune; to avoid 

States are about Five thousand, creditors; to escape from persecu- 

'•* Ellicott's Journal, 158-160. 

"•The manuscript copy of this instrument from which the above is 
taken may be found in the archives of the Secretary of State at Wash- 
ington. It was written by Col. Hutchins and contains the signatures of 
four hundred and twenty-five persons, two of whom signed all of it 
with the exceptions of the reflections upon the conduct of EUicott and 
Pope. 

** These extracts arc taken from Ellicott's Journal (151 ct seq.), which 
contains an account based upon the original notes from which the 
memorial was written. 

^•^As both papers contain several references to the government of the 
North-west Territory, the following facts should be remembered in this 
connection: The ordinance under which this territory was organized 



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294 



Mississippi Historical Society. 



and about half that number of 
Negroes this more com- 
pact Country may admit of differ- 
ent regulations [from those 
adopted for the government of the 
North-west Territory] for it is 
better conceived that a nearer 
similarity to North Carolina, 
South Carolina or the State of 
Tennessee would be a more con- 
sistent Model. And although the 
General Laws of several of the 
States would be salutary here. Yet 
from the situation of this country 
certain Local laws & Rules would 
be necessary which could not be 
formed by any but such as have 
a perfect knowledge and acquaint- 
ance with this place and the vari- 
ous circumstances that attend It 
and so very remote from every 
State, will require some such ex- 
pedient under a Governor that the 
majority of the people shall wish 
to recommend, that will tend to 
compose the minds and free them 
greatly from suspicions of Imposi- 
tion and other Jealousies that 
their new change of Government 
may expose them to. And that in 
all things it may be so arranged 
and understood that the People as 
true Republicans may by a major- 
ity of votes consistently take the 
lead under Congress and, as it 
were, be in that way the very 
nerves and Sinews of the Presid- 
ing Authority, at least as far as 
consistent, that they may avoid 
the dangers of Imprudent, over- 
bearing persons that hiay through 
Influence or art ^ush themselves 
into power and unhappily preside 
over us also in matters of police 
and summary proceedings on 
many occasions which Congress 
will please to discern as Guardians 
to the rights liberties and happi- 
ness of those who are like to be- 
come their Remote citizens." 



tion for monarchial principles or 
treasonable practices during the 
Revolutionary War], and where 
the habits of the people have in 
part been formed under a despot- 
ism, and by whom the principles 
of representative government must 
be but imperfectly understood, and 
the free white population supposed 
not to exceed five or six thousand 
souls. The Governor, in conjunc- 
tion with the judges, being com- 
petent to the selection and adop- 
tion of laws for the district, from 
the codes of the different States 
(comprised in the Union), and 
those laws thus adopted, being 
again subject to the approbation 
of Congress is as great a change 
from despotism towards repre- 
sentative government, as ought 
suddenly- to be made in the situa- 
tion of any people (however en- 
lightened), until their habits, cir- 
cumstances and morals become 
more congenial to the true prin- 
ciples of liberty; otherwise there 
will be great danger of falling into 
licentiousness, which is the nat- 
ural extreme." 



provided for the appointment by Congress of a Governor and three 
judges, who were authorized to adopt and publish in the district such 

laws of the original States as may be necessary and report 

them to Congress from time to time, which laws shall be in force in 
the district until the organization of the general assembly therein, un- 
less disapproved of by Congress." It stipulated that under certain condi- 
tions a general assembly should be organized with authority to regu- 
late "the powers and duties of magistrates and other civil officers," "to 
elect a delegate to congress" and to make laws not repugnant to the 
principles of the ordinance. It also forbade slavery in the territory. 



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Transition from Spanish to American Rule. — Riley, 295 



II. — Slavery. 



"As the Culture and produce of 
this Country is chiefly cotton and 
Indigo, which cannot be carried 
On to advantage without the use 
of Slaves, would under the System 
Recommended to Congress by the 
President ijo way co-incident with 
the circumstances of the people 
here: as Slaves are not admitted in 
the Territory lying North West of 
the Ohio." 



"Although domestic slavery is 
extremely disagreeable to the in- 
habitants of the eastern states, it 
will nevertheless be expedient to 
tolerate it in the district of Nat- 
chez, where that species of prop- 
erty is very common, and let it 
remain on the sapie footing as in 
the southern states, otherwise emi- 
grants possessed of that kind of 
property would be induced to set- 
tle in the Spanish territory."*" 



III. — ^Unoccupied Land. 



"The supplication of your Me- 
morialists under their neutrality 
also is that all the ungranted lands 
belonging to the Government of 
the Natchez bounded by the In- 
dian Line South of the Yazou, 
when it shall be in the possession 
of the United States, that if con- 
sistent, it may be freely given to 
Families and to Individuals; And 
granted without purchase in Small 
Tracts to such Families or per- 
sons, who have not heretofore had 
Lands Granted to them, and to 
emigrants in the way of Family 
rights, and in the proportion of 
Two hundred acres to the head of 
each family whether male or fe- 
male, and fifty acres for each of 
their Wives and Children, and in 
no larger proportion. And that it 
shall be tenanted, Cultivated and 
Improved within one Year from 
the date of such Grant. 



IV.. 



"The manner of disposing of the 
vacant land is a subject in which 
the inhabitants are materially in- 
terested. The mode heretofore 
pursued by the United States, 
would neither give satisfaction to 
the present inhabitants nor in my 
opinion be good policy, setting 
aside the advantages it gives the 
wealthy, in a monopoly the most 
dangerous of any other to the lib- 
erties of the peopje. By disposing 
of the vacant land in small tracts, 
and at a moderate price, the pref- 
erence given to actual settlers, a 
firm, compact settlement would 
speedily be formed, which from its 
local situation, would be very ad- 
vantageous to the United States in 
case of war with Spain; another 
reason for this practice is, the 
danger of losing a number of our 
citizens, who would be induced to 
setttle in the Spanish territory, 
where lands are obtained in any 
quantity (great or small), upon 
very easy and advantageous 
terms," ^°• 

-Land Titles. 

"Congress will please to extend "It appears that much the great- 

a thought to this region and con- er part of the lands now occupied 

firm the Spanish Grants, that were are covered by old British grants, 

issued previous to the Ratification The occupiers of those lands may 

of the Treaty and other legal be divided into two classes. First. 



Hutchms assertion that Ellicott had not only recommended the 
abolition of slavery in the district, but "represented it to be the wish 
of the inhabitants," was probably based upon rumor, the memorial 
of the Permanent Committee not being accessible to him. 

'"The above reason probably explains further Hutchins' accusation 
that Ellicott had recommended "the disposing of the vacant land in 
large tracts only." 



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296 



Mississippi Historical Society. 



Claims by possession or Improve- 
ment; and to exclude all other 
Titles to such Lands * Claimed by 
persons beyond Sea or of any 
Country or State whatsoever who 
hath failed to pursue measures 
that were common and prudent by 
Cultivation or other consistent 
mode to Secure the Same. And 
th^t such Spanish Claims may be 
declared of full force and eflFect 
notwithstanding the Colour of Au- 
thority of British Grants for the 

same land 

"Your Memorialists with great 
humility and with no less regret, 
beg leave to communicate that 
more than nine-tenths of the In- 
habitants, and almost all of the 
rest, are settled on lands formerly 
Granted to British Subjects, 
whereon but few settlements had 
ever been made, which after the 
conquest of this country by Spain 
it hath been granted to the pres- 
ent Possessors, which they have 
greatly improved and Cultivated. 
And were it possible that such 
Spanish Grants should not be con- 
firmed what besides their Ruin 
may be the Consequence will be a 
new matter of Consideration un- 
der the Wretched Situation, be- 
lieving that their Grants were per- 
fectly good under Spain, and with 
the same parity of Reason, flatter 
themselves that they will be con- 
firmed under the United States." 

The writer fails to find any justification of the following ex- 
travagant language used by Colonel Claiborne in writing about 
the Memorial prepared by his grandfather : 

"In tracing the history of the district, soon to become a Territory, 
it will be seen that the truly republican and conservative measures 
recommended in that memorial were all in due time adopted, and have 
shaped and colored the policy of the Territory and the State." "* 

A careful and impartial comparison of the two documents 
will show that they differ very slightly in their recommendations 
upon the four questions which were of vital importance to the 
people, and that the above remark would apply with equal, if not 
with greater force to the Memorial of the Permanent Committee. 
The fact is, EHicott had greatly the advantage of Colonel Hutch- 

^Miss, as a Prov,, Ter. and State, 176. 



Those who continued in the coun- 
try after its conquest by the 
Spaniards, and renewed their titles 
under his Catholic Majesty, and 
secondly, those who are sealed on 
old British grants, which became 
forfeited to the crown of Spain by 
their owners or attomies, not ap- 
pearing, and occupying them 
agreeably to the tenor of two 
proclamations or edicts, issued by 

nis Catholic Majesty 

The lands thus forfeited have been 
granted 'by the officers of his 
Catholic Majesty, in the same 
manner as practiced in granting 
vacant lands. This class of set- 
tlers may be considered as com- 
posing the body of the settlement 
With respect to the first class, there 
cannot possibly be any doubt as to 
the validity of their titles; and the 
second, upon the principles of jus- 
tice and equity, arc perhaps 
equally safe; but thev have their 
fears, and are therefore desirous 
that an act of congress may be 
passed confirming all their titles, 
that were good under the crown of 
Spain at the time of the final 
ratification of the late treaty." 



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Transition from Spanish to American Rule.— Riley. 297 

ins, his antagonist, in literary ability and in official prestige, as 
well as in having an intimate personal acquaintance with many 
of the officials at the seat of government. 

VII. — Culmination of Factionai. Differences. 

The condition of public sentiment about this time is indicated 
by a circular letter written by Colonel Hut chins, October 12, 
1797, extracts from which are here published for the first time: 

"To those whom it may concern. 
"Friends and Brethren, 

"..........I hope you'll divest yourselves of all party matters to dis- 
cern fairly and to consider what the cause may be of the general out- 
cry at the Town of Natchez against me in a variety of hurly-burly 

charges- This trouble has arisen because I have on your 

account impeached many with frauds of the most atrocious kind com- 
mitted agamst yourselves, and have pointedly recommended a mode 

for justice and relief I am the only actor on the Stage that 

hath ever espoused your cause; they know 1 am in their way.... I ex- 
pect to constrain them to do you justice in every species of fraud, and 
injury, although in their behalf and for lack of consideration you are 
striving with bitterness to persecute your only benefactor; but that as 
well as other insults I may dispense with, as they have artfully deceived 

you and falsely imposed on your understanding I shall avoid the 

malignant effects and horrors of that pestiferous faction originated 

from George Cochran's ignominious Letter to Col. Bruin"* that 

has been productive of much evil and exposed a number of vile perpe- 
trators that submitted to no restraint in retarding the Election, and 
other acts of violation against our neutrality; & the authority and 
peace of this Government; which also induces me to conclude that I 
am not to be answerable for Mr. Ellicott's & Lieut. Pope's madness 
and imprudence in urging the quiet and peaceable Inhabitants to 
Arms 

"And I am desired as Agent for the people to acquaint Mr. Ellicott 
that agreeable to the purport of the Resolves of the Committee of 
Safety and Correspondence, and I take this public method to inform him 
that they have lost their confidence in him, and that they beg and 
desire in the most importunate manner that he will not interfere in any 
concerns respecting the people of this Country with Congress, and that 
he will please confine himself to such business only that pertains to 
his duty of office as Commissioner for the United States, or that which 

he may have other special authority to act in For Heaven sake 

will you tell me who made that gentleman a Ruler or a judge amongst 
you; how came he your Oracle: his authoritv expept that of a Com- 
missioner is not much greater than yours, find if his principle had been 
half as good he would never have inflamed your minas against the 
government that had a right to your allegiance, it would have been time 
enough to have urged you to arms when there were a cause for it, and 
a force to protect you. 

" I only lament that faction cannot cease, it is now in full 

fury and kept alive by falacy and sly deception of three or four subtle 
" ■ 

"* The writer has not been able to find this letter, which is frequently 
referred to by Col. Hutchins in his correspondence in the Claiborne 
Collection. 



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298 Mississippi Historical Society. 

beings who are striking in the supplanting way at the very foundation 
of your future liberties, privileges and expectations in favor of a few 
whose dangerous views you are too well acquainted with to believe they 
are possessed with a single virtue " 

In November, 1797, it was announced that Colonel Grand 
Pre, had been appointed Governor of Natchez and its depend- 
encies to succeed Gayoso. The Permanent Committee imme- 
diately announced its determination not to receive him in that 
capacity and declared that the assumption of the office by him 
would be regarded as a violation of the neutrality agreed upon 
and resisted accordingly."* 

VIII. — GUION AND THE SPANIARDS. 

Some time previous to this, Yrujo, the Spanish Minister at 
Philadelphia, had communicated to Timothy Pickering, the Sec- 
retary of State, a request that Ellicott "be confirmed to his 
appointment of running the boundary line and that a discreet, 
cool and prudent officer might be appointed to command the 
American troops who should take the post at the Natchez."* 
In response to this request Captain Guion was sent to relieve 
Lieutenant Pope, but owing to the repeated delays occasioned 
by the effort of the Spanish officials along the route"*, he did 

'" Ellicott's Journal, 161. 

'" Letter from Pickering to the Secretary of War, June 10, 1797, in 
Claiborne Collection, Vol. E. 

"*The Spaniards seem to consider the possession of the Chickasaw 
Bluffs a matter of vital importance at this time. They had evacuated 
this post in accordance with the provisions of the treaty of San Lo- 
renzo, destroyed the fortifications, and retired to Hopefield on the op- 
posite side of the river. As Capt. Guion was instructed to stop at this 
point and distribute presents among the Chickasaw Indians the Span- 
iards bent every energy to delay his descent until after the arrival of 
their own vessel from New Orleans on a similar mission. If Guion 
had "delayed but one day," (and the Commandant at the Spanish post 
of New Madrid resorted to every means except violence to effect it), 
a great advantage would have been • gained by the Spaniards. He 
reached these Bluffs, however, on July 20th, just eight hours after the 
Spanish vessel laden with presents had reached Hopefield. The Indians 
had assembled at the Bluffs as early as June 14th, but for want of pro- 
visions all of them were obliged to leave before the arrival of the 
Americans, with the exception of about fifty men and as many women 
and children. In order to give "the Spanish Gallevs and troops from 
St. Louis time to reach Hopefield, a large party of the Indians," who 
were "decidedly in the Spanish interest," did not arrive until August 
loth and 12th. Guion says that "by an imposing air of superiority of 
force, great generosity; introduced by a strong talk from their Chicka^ 
saw orator," they "were confident" that the Americans would not be 



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Transition from Spanish to American Rule. — Riley, 299 

not* reach his destination until the 6th of December, 1797. When 
at the Chickasaw Bluffs, where he remained several months, 
Captain Guion wrote Lieutenant Pope reproving him for his 
"improper conduct," which had exposed "the two nations to a 
serious misunderstanding; not to be promoted, but most stren- 
uously and scrupulously avoided/* He added a hope that "if 
there had been just cause of dissatisfaction on the part of Gov- 
ernor Gayoso," it would "no longer continue,'* and that Lieut. 
Pope would "remove it by a change of conduct." He also wrote 
from the same place to Governor Gayoso expressing his regret 
that Lieut. Pope had caused either the inhabitants of the dis- 
trict or the subjects of his Catholic Majesty "the smallest just 
cause of uneasiness or discontent," and assured his Excellency 
that this would cease, as orders had been given to Lieut. Pope 
"to observe a different conduct," and his superior officer would 
he hoped "shortly be there to command in person."^** 

Subsequent experiences with the Spaniards at the Chickasaw 
Bluffs gave Captain Guion a better knowledge of their charac- 
ter and caused him to change his methods of dealing with them. 
In reply to Governor Gayoso's protest against the American 
troops' using the wood or timber off the land of the inhabitants 
for making fascines, Guion wrote on January 3, 1798: 

"I think, Sir, I conceive the intention of these expressions, and that 
they do not flow from the sacred regard due to the Rights and Inter- 
ests of Individuals. But should it be so, the Trespass is chargeable at 
your own door: fulfill the treaty, evacuate the Garrison and supercede 
the necessity of making more fascines." 

allowed to remain at that place, where the Spaniards themselves "con- 
templated to erect works.* One of the Indians exhibited a Spanish 
Commission and abused the Americans, while the leader of the Spanish 
faction among them "constantly objected to the American troops re- 
maining at the point." The boldness of William Colbert, chief of the 
Chickasaws, was the only thing that averted a collision. Upon com- 
paring the presents received from the two rival powers, the contrast 
was so favorable to the Americans that the Indians "testified their joy 
aloud and left well satisfied." 

Having been thwarted in this plan the Spaniards made repeated efforts 
to induce the American Commander to leave that point without forti- 
fying it. In this they failed also, as Capt. Guion erected a fortification, 
whicn he named Fort Adams, and over which he hoisted the American 
flag on October 22, 1797. Leaving a force in charge at this point, he 
resumed his descent of the river November 9th, and reached Natchez 
becember 6, 1797. Notes taken from manuscript Journal of Capt. 
Guion, in the Claiborne Collection. 

"*Guion's manuscript Journal 



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300 Mississippi Historical Society. 

Two days later Guion wrote to Gayoso as follows : "As I am 
better versed in the duties of a Camp, than the style or intrigues 
of a Court, I hope that your Excellency will put a period to 
a Correspondence already become too lengthy, by unequivocally 
fixing the time when the garrisons of Natchez and Walnut Hills 
will be withdrawn, and thus prevent my giving any offense by 
misconstruction, or uncourtly expressions in reply." 

January 28th, two galleys with troops and military stores 
passed down the river. Guion supposed that these were from 
the Walnut Hills, and on the day following wrote to Gayoso 
expressing a hope that "the operations for abandoning the 
posts" would be "continued with industry adequate to complete 
them in due time." He was mistaken in his supposition, how- 
ever, and his patience was tried two months longer before this 
much-desired event happened. The post at the Walnut Hills 
was finally evacuated on the night of March 23d. Three days 
later Mr. Vidal called on Captain Guion and informed him that 
for the lack of transports he was not ready to evacuate the post 
at Natchez. To this Guion replied : 

"The DIGNITY of the United States of America is no longer to bear 
these evasions and insults — that he [Vidal] must not think of longer 
trifling with their importance & that he is allowed untill next Saturday 
the 31st of March instant to embark all that belongs to His Master & 

on that day to quit the territory of the U. S. This at first produced 

an indigestion but a little after^ recovering his appetite he acquiesced, 
observing that he had just then received orders of similar import from 
His Governor General.""* 

On the evening of the 29th of March, EUicott was informed 
through a confidential channel that the evacuation of the post 
at Natchez would take place next morning before day. He ac- 
cordingly "arose the next morning at 4 o'clock and walked to 
the fort and found the last party or rear guard just leaving 
it." Seeing the gate open, he "went in and enjoyed from the 
parapet the pleasant prospect of the galleys and boats leaving 
the shore and getting under way. They were out of sight of 
the town before daylight.""^ That morning at 8 o'clock Cap- 
tain Guion "ordered a Sergt., one Corporal & twelve privates to 
take possession and the flag of the United States to be hoisted 
which was done and at Meridian fifteen guns were fired. "^" 

"•Guion's manuscript Journal 
. "^ Ellicott's Journal, 167. 
*" Guion's manuscript Journal. 



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Transition from Spanish to American Rule. — Riley. 301 

IX. — GUION AND THE RlVAI< COMMITTEES. 

The legal status of this country during the interim between 
the evacuation of the posts by the Spaniards and the establish- 
ment of a territorial government under the authority of the 
United States is indicated by the official instructions issued to 
Captain Guion. On this point, General Wilkinson's instruc- 
tions of May 20, 1797, read as follows : 

"At Natchez, you will find yourself in an extensive, opulent and pol- 
ished community, agitated by a variety of political interests and opin- 
ions. It will be your duty to conciliate all parties to the government of 
OMi country by every means in your power, avoiding, at the same time, 
anv just cause of offence to the Spanish authorities. The occasion will 
call for the exertion of all your faculties for this unfortunate people, 
who have no option in choosing or changing masters. The moment the 
Spanish dominion terminates tney will find themselves without laws or 
magistrates, and the bonds of society being dissolved, more or less ir- 
regularities may insue. The doubtful tenure by which thev hold their 
lands, may become a dangerous element of agitation in the nands of the 
enemies of our countnr, and may be possibly employed to persuade 
them to a usurpation of the right of self-government. 

"This will suggest to you the necessitv of the utmost vigilance and 
circumspection in your intercourse; and the exertion of all your powers 
to combat such conclusions, inspiring them, on the other hand, with a 
firm reliance on the paternal disposition of our government, as well as 
of its power and energy in making itself obeyed. The partictdar mode 
must be left to your discretion, but you may safely promise fair and 
profess much, to gain time and avert excess. 

"It will be your duty to abstract yourself from all personal feuds and 
animosities, but you will give your unequivocal protection to the friends 
of our government and as unequivocally to discountenance those who 

oppose its interests You must impress the community with a 

sense of your moderation and firmness; must cautiously avoid such per- 
sonal intimacies as may warp your judgment, and yet form such asso- 
ciations as will enable you, on an emergency, whether foreign 'or do- 
mestic, to call to your aid a body of zealous Americans." "* 

This extract shows that Captain Guion was given gjeat dis- 
cretionary power in dealing with the inhabitants. Immediately 
upon his arrival, each of the rival factions was active in its 
efforts to prejudice his mind against the other. The Permanent 
Committee at once addressed a letter to him, enclosing certain 
documents to show that the inhabitants of the district were in a 
state of neutrality and that this committee was considered the 
guardians of the rights of the people. After requesting his 
cooperation "in the preservation of peace and in securing the 
privileges and advantages" of the "neutral position" of the 

country, the letter closed by offering him free access to the 

- •■ 
"•Claiborne's Miss, as a Prov, Ter. and State, 179, 180. 



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302 Mississippi Historical Society. 

files of the committee."® This effort was unsuccessful, how- 
ever. EUicott says that Guion was suffering from an indisposi- 
tion at the time of his arrival and alleges that his judgment was 
temporarily impaired. While in this condition, he "was sur- 
rounded by a number of unworthy characters, who took ad- 
vantage of his situation to prejudice his mind against the per- 
manent committee." There seems to be little doubt but that 
Guion's determination not to be "made a cipher of* caused him 
to look upon that body with suspicion and to treat it with little 
respect."^ 

In the latter part of January, 1798, Colonel Hutchins ad- 
dressed a lengthy letter to the Committee of Safety and Corre- 
spondence in which he discussed the character and extent of his 
services in their behalf and enumerated their grievances against 
the other faction. He also discussed the adaptability of the 
Northwest Ordinance to their conditions, and suggested a line 
of policy to be pursued with reference to the land claims. A 
few extracts are here given from this communication, which 
has never been published, but which is too lengthy to be quoted 
in full in this connection : 

"I have omitted nothing wherein it was possible to serve you even 
to procure the money to pay the express [sent to Philadelphia with the 
Memorial] as not a shilling hath yet been advanced by any of you 
altho' I am not doubtful either of your just principle nor of your gener- 
osity in this matter '....It is really for the interest and happiness 

of you, my fellow Citizens, that I am striving against guileful foes, for 
you neither try to serve yourselves nor others as if you were plunged 
m darkness as blind as Bats and so shamefully seduced as to join your 
subtle deceavers against your only guardian and the espouser of your 

cause But what have I to gain in so unpleasant a combat on 

your account Posts of profit or honor will be of no avail nor do I 

want either of them It gives me greater pain that some of those 

who had signed the Memorial should be prevailed on to retract 

Strange as it is some of you are prevailed on to reject that which would 
be your deliverance and your happiness to unite with such whose plans 
are calculated to divest you of all power and privileges whatsoever more 
than to live and breath under the name of Citizens and with the marks 
and reality of slaves like unto all the people of the Territory Iving 
North West of the Ohio except such who have interest and address 
enough to procure appointments, places and posts which would be and 
really is the horrid system that is said to be recommended by that gen- 
tleman Ellicott for you to mourn and groan under Few here arc 

strangers to Mr. Ellicott's officious conduct and of the full extent of the 
power of that Committee whose limits were confined only to cooperate 
with the Spanish Officers. 

"• Claiborne Collection. 
"* Ellicott's Journal, 162-4. 



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Transition from Spanish to American Rule. — Riky. 303 

"On Monday, the Sth day of February next, the Committee of Safety 
and Correspondence, which is the Committee of the People, meet at 
the house of Mr. Belk to recommend a General Meeting of the Country 
to consult respecting ways and means towards a temporary Government 
to take place as soon as the Fort shall be evacuated and at the taking 
down the Spanish Flag, our neutrality will of course cease, and not be- 
fore. It will then be a serious matter in respect to our peace and pro- 
tection in our precarious situation which ought to be as seriously at- 
tended to, as we shall be in an awful situation until we receive Laws 
and authority from the United States, for it is too well known that both 
theft and Robbery has been recently encouraged here and villains sent 
to commit those atrocious crimes, the contagion did quickly spread and 
several Horses were soon after stolen.""* 

The Permanent Committee, not to be outdone by its rival, 
issued the following circular letter bearing the date of Febru- 
ary I, 1798, and addressed to the inhabitants of the Natchez 
District : 

"The permanent committee seeing the day approaching when the 

Spanish jurisdiction is to be withdrawn view with awe the interval 

that may take place between the recess of one Government and the 
establishment of another. 

'* They have requested the commanding officer of the U. S. 

troops to inform them whether or not he was vested with special power 
to exercise civil jurisdiction in the country and in case he was not that 
whatever temporary form of government might be adopted by the peo- 
ple he would be so good as to give it his concurrence and support, so 
long as they act consistently with the principles of the free Constitution 
of the U. S., he politely gave the following answer, *the power of exer- 
cising civil jurisdiction amongst you is not, as it could be, vested 
in me considering my present official standing. I shall most heartily 
concur with you in everything tending to continue tranquility and good 
order and which is the utmost that can be attained by any form or 
exercise of government.' 

"The committee therefore think it their duty to recommend to their 
constituents to contemplate and adopt some temporary form of govern- 
ment, or elect throughout the district a committee or convention that 
will form one, under the protection and with the concurrence of the 
commanding officer of the U. S. troops to begin its operation at the 
withdrawing of the Spanish jurisdiction, and to cease on the arrival of 
officers vested with competent powers, and sent forward by the execu- 
tive of the United States. 

"Natchez, ist february 1798, 

"Signed, Gabriel Benoist, 
Peter B. Bruin, 
Isaac Gailard, 
Philander Smith, 
Roger Dixon.""* 
■ ' * 

"* Claiborne Collection. Reference is made in this last sentence to 
the efforts to delay if not to prevent entirely the transmission of the 
Memorial of the Committee of Safety and Correspondence to Washing- 
ton. At one time the horses of the messengers on the way to the seat 
of government were stolen. This was attributed, and justly so perhaps, 
to the encouragement rendered to certain lawless persons by Ellicott 
and his faction. 

"■ Claiborne Collection. 



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304 Mississippi Historical Society. 

On the same day the Chairman of the Permanent Committee 
wrote to Captain Guion in behalf of that body, asking him if he 
was "impowered to exercise civil authority'* among them during 
the interval between the removal of the Spanish jurisdiction and 
the establishment of a government by the President of the 
United States, and stating that if he did not have such author- 
ity, they would "feel it a duty to recommend some meas- 
ures" to their constituents in order "to preserve the peace & 
happiness of the Inhabitants." 

The writer has not been able to ascertain the results pro- 
duced by these two last communications. It seems that the 
Permanent Committee was still in disfavor, at least, with Cap- 
tain Guion. The Committee of Safety and Correspondence 
met at the time and place specified by Colonel Hutchins. 
The following extracts from the minutes"* of the meeting show 
what was done: 

'*The Committee met accordingly to wit. Thomas M. Green, A. Green, 
Hugh Davis, James Stuart, and Anthony Hogget. 

"ist Resolved that notwithstanding the Commissioners are going im- 
mediately to ascertain the Latitude that by Treaty is to divide Spain & 
America & that the Post at Nogales is dismantled Yet we are to con- 
sider ourselves still under our Neutrality & that such state cannot con- 
sistently cease until the Fort at Natchez is Evacuated 

"2dly Resolved that the Inhabitants hath at all times & in every re- 
spect fully & amply acted consistent with their Neutrality notwithstand- 
ing there hath been many causes & provocations to break such Neutral- 
ity by the coalition, and confederation between the titular Governor, 
the Committee formed to cooperate with the Spanish Officers & Mr. 
Elicot the Commissioner & a few other designing persons. 

"3rd Resolved that if Mr. Elicot & the rest of that Coalition has 
recommended to Congress to establish a kind of Government similar to 
Territories lying North West of the Ohio it is a scheme of that Coali- 
tion formed without the consent of the People greatly against "their 
will & without their Knowledge & averse to the interest & policy of the 
Country. 

'*4th Resolve that on the part of Spain in the accommodation their 
Laws it may be presumed were to have been executed with justice & not 
with partiality, sham pretense or evasion as by which unwarrantable 
conduct the titular Governor hath on the part of Spain entirely broke 

the Neutrality aforesaid They [The Permanent Committee] detest 

the horrid act of the said titular Governor with the rest of the said 
Coalition in the pretended prosecution of Silas L. Payne for the Rob- 
bery of the Express where the fact was so notoriotis & so fully & amply 
proved against him & so legally confessed & yet was unlawfully liberated 

without a legal Trial 

"S. Resolved that if Mr. Elicot & the rest of the Coalition had made 
any agreement with the Georgia Agents and transmitted the same to 
Congress respecting the Lands of the Natchez, it is an act of their own 

^ This document is in the handwriting of Colonel Hutchins. 



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Transition from Spanish to American Rule. — Riley, 305 

witbput the consent of the people, except a few of depraved minds whose 

understanding hath been imposed upon 

**6thly Resolved that it is the opmion of this Committee that at the 
ceasing here of the Laws of Spain that this Country will be in a hazard- 
ous situation in respect to the peace & safety of the inhabitants before 
authority from the United States can be instituted that from the pros- 
pect of a failure of justice, and alarmed by the dread of the natural con- 
sequences of anarchy, hath induced this Committee to assemble to 
recommend to the Inhabitants the necessity of forming some temporary 
mode of government to commence at the Evacuation of the Fort & to 
extend no further than such matters as pertain to the peace of the 
Country, in preventing Feuds & Felonies & the like, and to accomplish 
which this Committee doth recommend that all the Male inhabitants 
who are of Age to Vote do meet at the House of Benjamin Belt on 
the* Mun. 26th Inst, to constdt upon some mode of protection and as this 
will hereafter be a Republican Government they conceive that not any 
thing ought to be done in such matters without the free voice and con- 
sent of the people therefore however inconvenient it may be to those 
who are most remote yet this Committee conceives it the duty of such 
inhabitants to attend such useful consultation and Election. This Com- 
mittee doth further recommend that you then & there Elect a Com- 
mittee living as contiguous to each other as possible for the convenience 
of meeting occasionally on matters of safety and that you Elect judicious 
men to act as magistrates & that you unanimously agree to enforce 
such temporary authority with firmness and such Magistrates to have 
recourse to & receive instructions from such Committee on all special 
occasions. Which committee having previously received instructions 
from you as a Convention shall by you be supported in all this conduct 
that shall be Consistent to such Constitution as shall be formed by said 
Convention." "* 

Although there are several points of resemblance between 
the suggestions of the rival committees, each professed to be 
acting independently. Some unknown turn in the tide of events 
seems to have prevented a collision between the two factions 
about this time. The next reference to the government of the 
people is contained in a letter"* from Captain Guion to the Sec- 
retary of War, written on February 25th, the day before the time 
appointed for the meeting of the people called by the Committee 
of Safety and Correspondence. In this letter we find that "the 
inhabitants of this Country are very anxious for the establish- 
ment of some government from the executive of the United 
States they are critically situated.""^ If the citizens met on the 
day following as a quasi-constitutional convention, little of im- 
portance was accomplished. In fact, the inhabitants seemed to 
have lapsed into a state of political lethargy which continued for 
several weeks, and from which they were not aroused even by 

*" Claiborne Collection. 
^Ibid.; Guion's Journal 
^ Ibid.; Guion's Journal. 



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3o6 Mississippi Historical Society. 

the withdrawal of the Spanish forces on the morning of March 
30th. Ten days later Ellicott quietly left Natchez and retired 
from the field of politics to commence operations on the line of 
demarcation. Guion, in writing of Ellicott's withdrawal from 
Natchez, adds : "He has very much lessened himself and sullied 
the Commission given him ; by his conduct before and since his 
arrival here. I did not believe it till I saw it, and supposed 
it calumny.""® 

About this time communications reached Natchez from the 
Secretary of State which not only administered a gentle reproof 
to the Committee of Safety, but gave unmistakable evidence of 
the fact that the rival committee had found favor at the seat 
of government. This renewed the activity of each faction. One 
met in Natchez and the other at Mr. Belk's, and neither gave 
any recognition to the actions taken by the other. A com- 
mittee appointed by the Natchez meeting addressed a commu- 
nication to Captain Guion. This letter is here given in full, 
since Claiborne found it necessary to misquote it in order to 
prove his incorrect assertion that these factional differences 
disappeared upon ElUcott's withdrawal from Natchez. 

"Natchez, May ist, 1798. 
Sir: 

"For as much as it appears a matter of doubt when the officers of 
Government for this place may arrive, and having experienced many 
inconveniences in the already elapsed recess originating in the want of 
some Kind of Law, We the Inhabitants of this town have entered into 
a resolution to use our exertions towards effecting the erection of Tem- 
porary Government until that duly authorized by Congress shall arrive, 
and as we conceive that any measures we may adopt will (or the en- 
forcement thereof) require the support of the Military Authority we 
Solicit of you that Support. And that you may be the better judge of 
the propriety of affording it, we proceed to state to you some of the 
principal objects in View. They are the following (Viz) 

"The mending of Roads, Removing Public Nuisances, Establishing 
of a Town Patrol, Suppressing Riots and punishing Riotous persons, 
preventing the Sale of Spiritous liquors to Indians Establishing a regu- 
lation for the Recovery of debts that may be contracted after entering 
into this Association, &c., &c. 

"We have not the least doubt but you will cooperate with us in those 

"• Letter to General Wilkinson, written May 5, 1798, and found in 
Guion's Journal. Another letter in the Claiborne Collection, without 
signature or date but attributed to Guion, says that Ellicott was engaged 
"sometimes in exciting dissentions between private families, at others 
endeavoring to spread a spirit of mutiny among the troops, and at all 
times closely intent on making a good Tobb out of the Commission re- 
ceiving at the rate of Ten Dollars pr. day fixM & some days making it 
Twenty." Letter addressed to Carthy. See Claiborne's Mississippi, 184. 



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Transition from Spanish to American Rule. — Riley. 307 

Regulations and by aiding us with your Sanction and Authority giv^ 
energy to measures so essential to the public good, we are the more 
fully Induced to believe this when we advert to recent communications 
between the Permanent [Committee] and yourself and by them pub- 
lished,"* 

We have the honor to be 
Sir with perfect respect 

your most obt 

David Ferguson, 
Danl. Douglass, 
Lewis Evans, 
John Scott." 

Although Captain Guion's reply was expressed in respectful 
terms, it indicates that his attitude towards the faction that had 
been represented by the Permanent Committee was still un- 
changed. It reads as follows : 

"Natchez, May 3rd, 1798. 
Gentlemen: 

*The objects enumerated in your paper of the first instant handed to 
me this day by Messrs. Evans and Ferguson are worthy of attention. 

"Mending of roads, removing of public nuisances and suppressing 
riots in town are among the many objects that regard the police of all 
well related town communities. To effect these it is only necessary 
to obtain a concurrence of sentiment of the freeholders to form certain 
regtdations which must be subscribed by them and when thus formed 
andpromul gated shall receive my hearty support. 

"The selling liquors to Indians or trading with them without a proper 
license from the Superintendent of Indian Affairs or such other person 
as the President of the United States shall authorize to grant licenses 
for that purpose is already interdicted by a Law of the United States 
passed and approved by the President on the 19th of May, 1796, and 
which shall be rigidly exacted on due information given me thereof. 

"A regulation to enforce the payment of debts to be in future con- 
tracted must be founded upon common consent; but as this should flow 
from the Legislative and judicial sources it cannot be touched by me. I 
shall neither countenance nor discountenance what may be done in this 
matter, so long as violence is not used to give it efficiency." 

Thus^ while admitting the importance of the matters referred 
to in the communication addressed to him, Captain Guion 
leaves no sphere of independent activity for the Permanent 
Committee. This met with the hearty approval, not only of 
Colonel Hutchins, but of the members of his faction, who as- 
sembled at their accustomed place of meeting, Belk's tavern, 
six days later and ratified what had been done.*'® On the day 
after the meeting was held, three of the most active members 

"•Of. Claiborne, 127. If this communication voiced the sentiments of 
an assembly freed from all partisan animus, why should it refer to the 
work of one of the former committees and ignore the services of the 
other? 

"•Claiborne, 196. 
30 



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3o8 Mississippi Historical Society. 

of the Committee of Safety and Correspondence, Burnet, Gib- 
son and Hoggatt, "made it their business to ride to every beat 
and put up copies of'*^*^ the above letter, very much to the 
discomfort of the opposing faction. 

X. — Disappointment op the Committee of Safety and 
Correspondence. 

The elation of Colonel Hutchins and his friends was, how- 
ever, of short duration. Their disappointment over the results 
of their efforts to direct the policy of the general government 
in dealing with its subjects is fully set forth in the following 
letter from Colonel Hutchins to the Secretary of State, here 
published for the first time: 

"Natchez, 5th May, 1798. 
"Sir: 

"I had the honor of receiving your Letter about 8 days after the 
arrival here of Mr. Dan'l Burnet, the Express having been enclosed in 
a packet to Mr. Elicott and am glad to learn that the petition of the 
People of this place will be attended to which I never doubted notwith- 
standing the opposition of designing persons as it contains the un- 
feigned supplication & prayer of the well attached Citizens of this Dis- 
trict and to which the names of several hundreds more would have been 
added if it could have shown itself openly, but its immediate destruction 
was decreed by those who ought to have protected it however they then 
failed therein altho sums of money were privately advanced by certain 
persons of some note & distinction of the coalition to take my life & 
the Memorial as it was in nowise favorable to certain plans & schemes 
that were within the compass of their calculations yet I shall omit cen- 
sure 8l reproach even in the smallest degfree altho they have filled the 
newspapers of Nashville with vile stuflF & wrong allegations with inde- 
cent unbecoming language with bitter invectives & unfounded falacies 
yet the recoil of which ag't themselves is no small reproof & greatly 
compensates as it so far exceeds the bounds of all credibility that it can 
produce nothing in the view of the discerning but the testimony of a 
corrupt heart and the odious guilt of calumny. 

"I hope you will permit me to contradict & object to the boasted 
merit Mr. Elicot claims of having quieted the people & that he pre- 
vented the gfrowth of the past insurrection here for to the contrary he 
with Lieut. Pope is entitled to the whole merit of creating it as they 
were the entire cause thereof as well known to the country at large 
notwithstanding the disguised & artful representation to the contrary 
but the accommodation & quietude of the mislead people was most cer- 
tainly the act of another for indeed it was not an easy task to prepare 
the minds of those two Gentlemen to admit of pacific measures at all 
altho' the one was more easily dissuaded than the other at length the 
whole was effectually accomplished by a person of more extensive influ- 
ence with the inhabitants & who did then receive the public and private 
thanks of those very persons now in opposition nor did even the most 
inveterate opposer Mr. Clark refrain who most certainly addressed G. 
Gayoso with great politeness on the occasion & with the signatures of 
himself & all those of his District to his letter of thanks, appeared most 

"^Ibid., 197. 



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Transition from Spanish to American Rule. — Riley. 309 

respectful & was presented by the permanent Committee before the 
Governor & in whose hands it remains to be shown at any time & the 
same person has been the main support to the Neutrality from the mo- 
ment of its institution. 

"On casting an Eye over the Reports & documents you favored me 
with, I observe that Mr. E — has sent you a Resolve of the permanent 
Committee empowering him as if they were instructed by the people at 
large so to do in mattets conducive to their future welfare &c. be as- 
sured Sir that that Committer cannot consistently Act in the smallest 
degree further than in cooperation with the officers of the Spanish Gov- 
ernment nor hath any of the Inhabitants except those of the Coalition 
assented to dcligation of such powers to Mr. E — & altho' they have 
made an arbitrary resolve on that head it is without tl^e least authority 
& ag't the will of the people and it would look rather awkward to cram 
down their throats such disagreeable & unpalitable food as would after- 
wards be too hard of digestion and in relation to the certificate of the 
titular Govr S. Minor from under his hand & seal at Natchez at Gov- 
ernment House the i6th of Sept'r, 1797, is a mere farce 'that such com- 
mittee are the sole representatives of the inhabitants & that faith is due 
their proceedings as such as also to the representations they may make 
in behalf of the public in all cases' when there is not a word of truth in 
his Certificate the whole is false calculated with design as one of the 
coalition for evil purposes altho' a Spanish officer. 

"Nor will it be any credit to Mr. Elicot, Minor nor the Committee 
thus to impose on both Congress &, the people here for on my notifying 
the receipt of the aforesaid Documents & sending the falacious parts 
about the Country I was soon surrounded with crowds of uneasie 
gloomy countenances whose faces were vailed with discontent & dismay 
and their joyful expectations of freedom &, of voting as Republicans 
for those who are to act for them they fear will vanish as soon as they 
are ruled with a rod of Iron &, taxed without consent. 

"And as they see the prospect of a failure of success from art & sub- 
tile device of an unprincipaled coalition & faction composed of a small 
number only & after the imposition & falicy is proved by the oath of 
hundreds of the best inhabitants here such attestations with a New 
petition they say will be prepared & exhibited in hopes that they may 
still toudi the golden scepter that may be held out for access and de- 
liverance. 

"I wish to convince the world of my undesigned intention I was only 
prevailed on to give some small assistance to the people I have neither 
fee nor reward nor compensation of any kind for trouble or attendance 
nor lucrative expectations posts or places I have no pretence to nor if 
offered would I accept of as my antiquated time of life & other concur- 
rent defects & impediments forbid all prospect of such attainments. 

"And notwithstanding the reprehensible & shameful conduct of Mr. 
Minor & others as appears by Documents laid before Congress yet from 
a paragraph in your Xretter that the Memorial was presented the bare 
information & Idea of which doth greatly console many & compose 
their minds under a sense of enjoying as far as consistent similar priv- 
ileges with other Citizens, they acknowledge the defects of their Me- 
morial in style & Language as from people bread only to industry & 
hard labour. And I am exceedingly sorry that I on my part have given 
any dissatisfaction but the pursuit after justice & truth will naturally 
produce envy it will not be amiss to tell you I have long turned my at- 
tention as far as possible to certain matters intrigues & the like nor did 
they remain with me an entire secret that a very extensive revolt was 
intended but much pain has heretofore been taken &. not without ex- 
pence by dififerent ways & means by private messages & by anonomous 
Letters both to the late as well as the present president of Congress & 



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3'o Mississippi Historical Society. 

others and confess my desire was to shew my sincerity & firmness which 
hath not been omitted throughout the course of enquiry through manv 
channels to & from apprehensions of danger strove to alarm the U. S. 
nor could I divest myself of a convincing belief of diabolical intentions 
to dismember the Dominion & the moving% of my mind be assured 
flowed with great anxiety as I expected in the course of things to be- 
come a Citizen altho' I was (if the term will admit) a British Subject 
within the Spanish Dominion. I only mention Ihis as I would wish to 
remind you of past intimations & communications as I never expect to 
write to you again. 

''And as it is displeasing to hear the crimes and misdemeanors or 
rather faults and failings of certain persons I shall wave the Subject 
and advert to your advice and the most pleasing part of your wishes 
that of accommodations of differences and party disputes and this will 
be perfectly accomplished except with the few of the Coalition & faction 
all others will be set right after contemplation on the horrid Resolve 
of the permanent Committee Sc Minors authenticated shameful certifi- 
cate which all the country know to be wrong &, greatly ag't them for 
there was among the inhabitants (a few excepted) almost perfect peace 
& unanimity before the arrival here of Mr. Elicot so hath the fiame 
ceased & tranquility greatly restored since his departure for Latitude 31. 

"I can with pleasure inform you that the Choctaw Indians appear very 
friendly & say that their past dissatisfaction proceeded only from Mr. 
£ — , whose tongue they sav is forked that he always talked crooked that 
they could not near his talk that it made them seek that his heart was 
hollow & rotten and Lieut Pope greatly coincides with them in opinion 
for he openly declares him to be the greatest liar in this Country & that 
he was known to be such in the Country he came from this I mention 
as I would that you should know what passes here. And on finishing 
this scrawl an account arrived that this Country was really organized 
without any regard to the Memorial the people gn'eatly lament the slight 
and many will leave the Country & are preparing to remove among the 
Spaniards which I am heartily sorry for. I wish you happiness & many 
days and assume to be 

Sir, your 

Most Obd't 

Hble Servt" "• 

This prolonged fight seems to have exhausted the patience 

of Captain Guiori, as is shown by the following extract from a 

letter to John Wilkins, Quartermaster General, dated May 9, 

1798: 

"This is a Hot Country & peopled in a very chequered manner— a 
great number of the most turbulent Characters who have fled from the 
different States, for fear of having justice done on them. They are the 
most clamarous for government (having nothing to protect) and afraid 
of it." "• 

Before another month had elapsed, however, quietude had 
been restored and Captain Guion expressed himself very dif- 
ferently in a letter of June 13th to the Secretary of War. In 
this he said: 

"The people of this district, who when left to the unbiased exercise 

*^ Claiborne Collection. 
**• Guion's Journal 



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Transition from Spanish to American Rule. — RUey. 311 

of their own judgment are in the majority above the ordinary capacity 
of like numbers m most of the States, anxiously look for the laws and 
officers of government for this Country. They are, and have been re- 
markably tranquil, their situation fairly considered: a few turbulent and 
busy Spirits excepted: yet the arrival of the governor, Judges, &c, 
would add much to their satisfaction, and my ease." "* 

Winthrop Sargent, the newly-appointed Governor of the Ter- 
ritory, arrived at Natchez on the 6th of August, 1798, and as- 
sumed control of the government. This event marks the close 
of the period of transition from Spanish to American control in 
Mississippi. 



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GRENADA AND NEIGHBORING TOWNS IN THE 30's.* 

By L. Lake.* 

Hendersonville. 

This town was built on the site of an old Indian village, four 
miles south of the present town of Coffeeville. It was here that 
Col. T. C. McMacken, the celebrated hotel keeper, in the early 
history of North Mississippi, began his career. The mercantile 
firms of this town in 1834 were : Martin, Edwards & Co. ; John 
H. McKenney ; Armour, Lake & Bridges ; H. S. and W. Lake ; 
and McCain & Co. The physicians of the town at that date 

were Thomas Vaughn, Robert Malone and Murkerson. 

The following citizens were then living at that place: Thomas 
B. Ives; Murdock Ray, justice of the peace; Stephen Smith, 
blacksmith ; Alfred McCaslin, blacksmith ; and Joshua Weaver, 
constable. This town aspired to be the county seat of Yalobu- 
sha county, but failed in this, the seat of justice being located at 
Coffeeville, which was nearer the center of the county. Hen- 
dersonville then went down and ultimately lost its name, being 
absorbed in a farm known as "Oakchickamau," which was 
owned by Franklin E. Plummer. The names of this farm and 
of the new county seat, Coffeeville, were later associated to- 
gether in a stanza of poetry written by one E. Percy, an editor 
who settled at Coffeeville at an early date. Becoming very 
much incensed against the citizens of Coffeeville, he moved 
away, and afterwards wrote the following piece of doggerel : 

"Upon a hill near Durden's Mill, 
There is a place called Coffeeville; 
The meanest town I ever saw 
Save Plummer's town, Oakchickamau." 

* This article is the result of an interview with Capt. L. Lake, of Ox- 
ford, Mississippi; the facts having been recorded and arranged by the 
editor of this volume. 

•Capt. Lake was bom in Maryland. In 1830 he moved to Jackson, 
Tennessee. Four years later he removed to Mississippi, settling at old 
Hendersonville. The year following he removed to what afterwards 
became the town of Grenada, where he engaged in the mercantile busi- 
ness. In 1878 he removed to Oxford, where he resides at present— 
Editor. 

(313) 



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SH Mississippi Historical Society. 

COFFEEVILLE. 

In 1834 the first court of Yalobusha County was held at Cof- 
feeville, the newly established county seat. The court was 
presided over by Judge Matthew Clanton. At that time there 
was only one mercantile firm Q. and T. H. Jones), in the town. 
The land upon which the town was afterwards built was owned 
by Arelias McCreeless(?), in one room of whose dwelling the 
first court was held. This town grew rapidly, absorbing the 
population and business of Hendersonville. Yalobusha was 
then the most northern county in Mississippi, and Coffeeville 
was on the extreme northern limit of the white settlements in 
the State. 

Grenada. 

The present town of Grenada originally embraced two rival 
towns. The western town situated on the Yalobusha River was 
founded by a company headed by Franklin E. Plummer. It 
was known as Pittsburg. Adjoining it on the east was the town 
of Tulahoma, which was founded by a company headed by 
Hiram G. Runnels. There was an inveterate opposition be- 
tween the two towns similar to that existing between their 
founders, who were uncompromising political enemies. This 
antagonism greatly impeded the progress of both towns, Pitts- 
burg having the ascendency. 

Previous to the union of these towns, Pittsburg contained the 
following business houses: James Sims; R. T. Briarly; Prior 
and Howard ; John Gibbs ; Thomas Flack ; and R. Coffman and 
Co. 

Its original settlers were: John Smith, hotel keeper; James 
Sims, merchant; Drs. Allen Gallaspie and Douthet, phy- 
sicians; G. D. Mitchell, teacher; M. H. Mellon, blacksmith; 
Ralph Coffman, merchant; C. H. Grey, planter; and Jonathan 
Carl, miller. 

Among the first mercantile firms of Tulahoma were : Larkin 
Cleveland; Clark Dougan; Armour, Lake and Morton; H. S. 
and W. Lake and Co. Its original settlers were : John Balfour, 
ferryman; Maj. Jack Williams, hotel-keeper; Joseph Bullock, 
drayman; Larkin Cleveland, merchant; Mrs. Annie Parker, 
hotel-keeper; Mr. Dabba^e, baker; George K. Morton, mer- 
chant; Wm. Marshall, silversmith; Daniel Robertson, town 



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Grenada and Neighboring Towns in the 30's. — Lake. 315 

marshall; Mrs, Smith, planter; John B. Pass, planter, 

and Henry Lake, William Lake, George Lake and Levin Lake, 
merchants. 

Pittsburg being the larger place had a newspaper and a post^ 
office, giving it a decided advantage over its rival. In the 
course of time the editor of the Pittsburg paper became indebt- 
ed to the citizens of his town, who held a mortgage on his 
printing outfit. The Tulahomians loaned him money to raise 
the mortgage on the condition that he would move into their 
town with his paper. This condition was complied with and 
Tulahoma gained the newspaper very much to the chagrin of 
the citizens of Pittsburg. The ambitious Tulahomians after- 
wards secured the postoffice, which fact gave them a still further 
advantage over their rivals. Pittsburg finally got the post- 
office back but failed in her efforts to get the newspaper. In 
the final consolidation of the two towns the postoffice was 
placed on the boundary line between them. 

There were also two rival ferries across the Yalobusha River 
at this place, Tulahoma having control of the upper and Pitts- 
burg of the lower. Pittsburg capital built a bridge over the 
river and a levy across the low lands. These contributed little 
to the prosperity of the town, and the turnpike and bridge com- 
pany became financially embarrassed. The improvements were 
ultimately sold to certain citizens of Tulahoma. 

During the political campaign of 1835, in which Plummer 
concentrated his rugged eloquence against Runnels, who was 
a candidate for reelection to the office of governor, these two 
little towns were in a state of constant turmoil. The inhabitants 
of each shared the feelings and prejudices of their respective 
leaders and indulged in spirited denunciations of those living 
in the other. On the occasion of a joint discussion between 
Plummer and Runnels, partisan feeling ran so high that blood- 
shed was narrowly averted. 

In July, 1836, commissioners were appointed from the two 
towns to endeavor to bring about a reconciliation with view 
to an ultimate union. The reconciliation was effected and the 
consolidation took place. The original names of the two towns 
were abandoned and the new name of Grenada was agreed upon. 
The union was consummated at a barbecue held on July 4, 1836, 
the marriage ceremony of the towns being performed by the 



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3i6 Mississippi Historical Society. 

Rev. Lucas, a Protestant Methodist minister. At the 

conclusion of this unique ceremony, there was a great hand- 
shaking and a general reconciliation. The barbecue was held 
at a spring in the eastern part of Tulahoma. 

There was at first some opposition on the part ©f Pittsburg 
to the choice of this place as the scene of reconciliation, many 
of its citizens preferring any place on the line between the 
towns. But as there was no water convenient to any place on 
the line, they finally yielded the point and agreed to enter the 
limits of Tulahoma. 

The honeymoon had hardly passed, however, when the old 
spirit of rivalry was revived. The west side finally broke up 
the union and settled back upon its old name "Pittsburg." The 
other side retained the name of Grenada. The opposition was 
so intense that the citizens of Pittsburg were arranging to have 
it incorporated with its old limits leaving out Grenada. The 
citizens of Grenada were duly informed of this scheme. With- 
out letting the other party know their intention, they sent a 
committee to Jackson, and secured the passage of a legislative 
act which incorporated their town with certain limits, leaving 
out the rival town. The success of this scheme caused the 
citizens of Pittsburg to abandon the hope, of securing a separate 
charter of incorporation for their town, because of its proximity 
to Grenada. Realizing the g^eat disadvantage under which 
they were placed, they sued for peace. They presented a 
petition to Grenada to extend her corporate limits so as to em- 
brace Pittsburg, agreeinjBf to drop forever their old name and 
to be recognized forever as a part of Grenada. This action was 
followed by a harmonious adjustment of all factional differences. 
The business interests of the enlarged town concentrated at a 
later date in the eastern part (old Tulahoma), the western part 
(old Pittsburg) becoming the resident portion. "Greater'' 
Grenada then made rapid progress as a commercial and resi- 
dent point. Churches were erected in the following order: 
Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist. 



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THE HISTORY OF BANKING IN MISSISSIPPI. 
Charles Hillman Brough.^ 

The history of banking in Mississippi falls within four well 
defined periods, which may be designated as follows : (i) Sound 
banking and secure issues (1809-1830); (2) State banking and 
shin plasters (1830-1842); (3) Brokerage and bankruptcy (1842- 
1865) ; (4) Private and national banking and cautious conservat- 
ism (1865 ). 

Out of a confused mass of Spanish coin, — consisting of 
doubloons, dollars, pistareens and picayunes^-out of an inelastic 
and irredeemable currency of cotton-gin certificates made 
negotiable by law for delivery to bearer, there sprang full- 
fledged in Mississippi's territorial days a demand for an agency 
which would secure a uniform currency and manufacture a 
credit quickly convertible into specie. The Bank of Mississippi^ 

* Charles Hillman Brou^h, at present Professor of Philosophy, His- 
tory and Economics in Mississippi College, was bom in Clinton, Miss., 
July 9, 1876. For six years he resided m Utah with his parents, but 
returned to his native State to enjoy, under the direction of his uncle 
and aunt. Dr. and Mrs. Hillman, the educational advantages offered by 
the two institutions of learning located in Clinton. Graduating from 
Mississippi College with the honors of his class in 1893-94, he subse- 
quently pursued a three years' post-graduate course in economics, his- 
tory and jurisprudence in the Johns Hopkins University at Baltimore. 
While there he was awarded the Fellowship in Economics on his doc- 
tor's dissertation. Irrigation in Utah, which received most complimentary 
reviews from the leading French, German and American periodicals. 
In June, 1898, he received the doctor's degree from the Johns Hopkins. 
At about the same time he received notice of his election to the chair 
of Philosophy, History and Economics in his Alma Mater, Mississippi 
College. Dr. Brough succeeded in this work Dr. W S. Webb, one of 
the most successful and venerated educators in the State. 

Since his return to Mississippi, Dr. Brough has been actively engaged 
in educational work. He has delivered literary addresses before many 
high schools in the State, and has been in demand on the lecture plat- 
form in this and in other States. As a member of the Executive Com- 
mittee of the Mississippi Historical Society, Dr. Brough has been untir- 
ing* in his efforts to promote the interests of this organization. His con- 
tributions to the PtAlications of the Society are economic in their selec- 
tion. "The History of Taxation in Mississippi" and "The History of 
Banking in Mississippi," will be found in Volumes II. and III., re- 
spectively. Dr. Brough is a member of the American Historical So- 
ciety, of the American Academy of Social and Political Science, of the 
Mississippi State Historical Society, and was nominated as a member 
of the American Society of Hydrography. — Editor. 

(317) 



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3i8 Mississippi Historical Society. 

chartered by the territorial legislature, Dec. 23, 1809, was the 
chrysalis of this demand for the promotion of Mississippi's 
virgin agricultural and commercial interests. 

This institution was chartered as a private corporation with 
headquarters at Natchez, and a capital stock of $500,000, $100,- 
000 of which was paid up.* Its management was vested in a 
board of thirteen directors^ elected by the stockholders and to 
which board all stockholders were eligible. The pattern on 
which its financial bias was cut was modern in its conservatism, 
issues being restricted to three times the amount of the capital 
stock and the directors made individually liable for any excess 
over this amount. The charter was granted for twenty-five 
years, and ten commissioners chosen for their official promi- 
nence and financial integrity, were appointed to efifect an im- 
mediate sale of the stock. 

From the day its doors opened in 1809 until it was superseded 
by the notorious Planters* Bank in 1830, this pioneer agency 
of deposit, loan and discount in Mississippi conducted its busi- 
ness in the interests of the whole community and furnished a 
currency that was never dishonored. Only once was its man- 
agement criticised, then to be triumphantly vindicated. On 
Dec. 22, 1814, the committee of seven appointed by the house 
to "inquire into the causes of the Bank of Mississippi refusing 
to pay specie for notes issued by said bank," unanimously re- 
ported that "the failure to pay specie has not arisen from any 
danger of insolvency on the part of the bank, but from causes, 
deeply involving the best interests of our country. The bank 
has means of payment more than sufficient to meet any de- 
mands against it, bearing the proportion of eighteen to eight. 
* * * The object of the President and Directors is to pre- 
vent the enemy now on our coast, by their emissaries among us 
from obtaining, through us, means of supporting their armies 
and navy of facilitating their means of annoying by draining our 
country of specie." ' No higher encomium can be pronounced 

* For provisions of charter (cf. Rev. Code, Miss., 1823, pp. 465-468). 

•A contemporary historian tells us that the Bank of Mississippi had 
no favorites, was ruled by no clique, was never used to favor monopo- 
lists and speculators, to depress and augment prices, or to practice any 
of those frauds that have made the American banking system so justly 
obnoxious. (Cf. Claiborne: Mississippi as a Province, Territory and State^ 
Vol. I., pp. 301-302). 



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History of Banking in Mississippi. — Brough. 319 

on the management of the Bank of Mississippi during its nine 
years existence as a private institution than the fact that the 
first Legislature which jnet after Mississippi's administration 
as a State converted it from a private into a State bank, with 
an enlarged capital of $300,000, and fruther extended its charter 
seven years beyond the original twenty-five years limit. 

The supplemental charter* which became a law February 4, 
1818, provided, on the one hand, that the State should sub- 
scribe one-fourth of the capital stock and appoint five of the 
sixteen directors and on the other, that the bank should furnish 
the State with a monthly statement of its condition and allow 
the' Governor the right to frequently inspect the books. Branch 
offices were established at Woodville, Port Gibson, and on or 
near the Pearl River in Marion County, and the privilege was 
granted the bank of increasing the stock at offices already 
established and of increasing the number of offices, whenever 
the directors should deem it wise. To further strengthen the 
bank in the confidence of the people, its notes were made legal 
tender in all payments to the State and were given a monopoly 
of circulation until the time fixed for the expiration of the 
charter, Dec. 30, 1840. 

For twenty-two years the Bank of Mississippi had an honor- 
able career as a State institution, and never once was there a 
complaint that it did not fulfill its whole duty to the State. Yet 
in violation of the solemn pledge of the sixteenth section of its 
supplemental charter which expressly states that "no other 
bank shall be established by any further law of this State dur- 
ing the continuance of the aforesaid corporation," in 1830 the 
Legislature established the Planters' Bank as the fiscal agent 
of the State — ^thus transmitting to the succeeding generation 
of Mississippi's lawmakers that legacy of financial perfidy and 
dishonor which reached a fitting climax in the repudiation of the 
bonds of the Union Bank in 1842. Discouraged by this act of bad 
faith on the part of the State, and foreseeing that there would 
be an insatiable appetite for more money to be loaned to irre- 
sponsible borrowers, the Bank of Mississippi prudently obtained 

*For provisions of supplemental charter (Cf, Rev, Code Miss., 1823, pp. 
468-472). 



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320 Mississippi Historical Society. 

consent to close out its business before the expiration of its 
charter. 

More eloquent than words is the appended statement* 
showing the condition of the bank and its offices on November 
I, 1831, barely seven weeks before the passage of the Act 
authorizing "the stockholders of the Bank of the State of Mis- 
sissippi, to close their affairs with as much advantage to the 
public, and as little inconvenience to the individual stockholders 
as possible."* 

Liabilities. Resources. 

Capital, $1,048,500 00 Bills receivable, $1,538,756 34 

Surplus, 84.840 93 Bills in suit, 19,606 51 

Undivided dividends, . 6,705 00 Specie, ^^'5^7 7o 

Deposits, 209, 127 29 Real estate, 68,438 51 

Notes, 45i>040 oo Exchange on New Or- 

State debt to bank, . . . 962,823 40 leans, 282,324 73 

Due other banks, 165,995 25 Due by branch offices, 962,310 77 

Miscellaneous, 62,87866 Due by other banks,. • 22.53568 

Other assets, i4*35o 29 



$2,99i»9io 53 $2,991,910 53 

In conformity with the provisions of the Act providing for 
its dissolution by Dec. 31, 1832, the Bank of Mississippi had re- 
duced its loans of over $1,500,000, to a minimum of $300,000, and 
had refunded its capital stock to the State at the rate of twenty- 
five per cent, per annum. Thus, the pioneer banking institution, 
which had contributed so much to her material prosperity, died, 
as it had lived, respected for its financial integrity and prompt 
observance of every obligation imposed upon it — this, too, de- 
spite the fact that it was constantly harassed by legislative ac- 
tion, and finally forced into voluntary liquidation by political 
demagoguery and infamous treachery. 

The incorporation of the Planters' Bank by a Legislative Act, 
approved February 10, 1830, was the sowing of the wind of un- 
sound finance, which was to reap a whirlwind of "wild cats," 
shin plasters and shaving shops. 

Yet it must be admitted that the incorporation of such an 
institution was grounded in economic expediency and political 
philosophy. Within the decennial period from 1820 to 1830, 

• Statement submitted to the Governor, Nov. 22, 1831, by Gabriel Tich- 
enor. Cashier Bank of Mississippi (Cf. Mississippi Senate Journal^ 1831, p. 
54). 

• Mississippi Senate Journal, 1831, p. 195. 



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History of Banking in Mississippi,T-B rough. 321 

the population of the State jiad increased from 75,448 to 136,621. 
The annual proceeds from the cotton crop at this time approxi- 
mated $10,000,000, and our agricultural resources were being 
developed at a fictitious rate. This increase in population and 
expansion in industry naturally caused a universal demand for 
an increase in banking capital and an expansion in the cir- 
culating medium. Again, it was currently reported that upon 
the expiration of the charter of the Bank of Mississippi the 
great United States Bank, which Jackson had denounced as a 
hydra-headed monster, contemplated locating a branch office 
at Natchez. Small wonder is it that Governor Brandon, a de- 
voted disciple of Jackson, should have deprecated such a step 
in his annual message of 1828, and should have recommended 
in lieu thereof the establishment of State banking institutions, 
in the stock of which the State "could either become a partici- 
pant or require a bonus from the stockholders equal to the 
prerogative they might enjoy." ^ 

In accordance with the recommendation, the Planters' Bank 
was established at Natchez, with a capital of $3,000,000, two- 
thirds of which was subscribed by the State and paid for in five 
per cent, bonds running from ten to twenty-five years from 
date of issue.' Besides the stock subscription on the part of 
the State, other interesting features of the charter were the 
provisions in regard to the appointment of seven directors by 
the Governor to represent the State, and the election of six 
directors by the private stockholders to represent the bank, 
the thirteen directors so chosen to constitute a board of man- 
agement renewable annually; the ineleg^bility of non-residents 
as directors ; the limitation of note issue to three times the paid- 
up capital stock ; the loan of one-half the capital stock on mort- 
gage securities, the money so loaned to be apportioned among 
the Senatorial districts of the State; the incorporation of the 
three per cent, and literary funds and all moneys accruing from 
fines, forfeitures and escheats as a part of the capital stock; 
the exemption of the capital stock from taxation ; the fixing of 
seven per cent, as the lawful rate of interest upon all sums 
loaned on personal security and eiglit per cent, when loaned on 

^ Mississippi House Journal, 1828, p. 14. 

•For provisions of charter (Cf. Mississippi Laws, 1829-30, pp. 92-109). 



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322 Mississippi Historical Society. 

mortgage security ; the limited liability of the shareholders, and 
the pledge of faith of the State for the payment of the principal 
and interest of the bonds issued. 

Samuel Gustin, Angus McNeill and R. L. Throckmorton 
were appointed commissioners to negotiate the State loan, and 
so successful were they in their eflforts that Governor Brandon, 
in his message of November 22, 1831, was able to report the 
sale of $500,000 of the six per cent, bonds to Joseph D. Burs 
& Co. and J. L. and S. Joseph & Co., stock and exchange brok- 
ers of New York, at a premium of one-eighth per cent. The 
Governor very significantly adds that the premium would have 
been greater had not some persons industriously circulated the 
opinion that the Legislature had violated the faith of the State 
pledged to the Bank of Mississippi in granting a charter to the 
Planters* Bank.* The brokers from whom the loan was ob- 
tained were solicitous to have the bonds exchanged for certifi- 
cates of stock of Mississippi similar to those issued by New 
York and Ohio, and this exchange was recommended by the 
Commissioners on the ground that it would enhance the credit 
of the State in the money market. 

Early in 1831 private subscriptions for $1,000,000 of the stock 
were opened at Natchez, which had been temporarily designated 
by the charter as the central office until the site of the State 
capital was determined, and superintendents were appointed for 
the branches at Vicksburg, Port Gibson, Woodville, Columbus, 
Monticello, Liberty, Rodney, and, later, at Schula, in Holmes 
county. At a meeting of the Board of Directors, held in Nat- 
chez, April I, 183 1, the following resolution was passed. 
Whereas, the accommodation loans of long standing have been 
by the annual process of reduction almost extinguished, and, 
whereas, it will be necessary in consequence of the establish- 
ment of a branch of the Bank of the United States in this city, 
to reduce very considerably the amount of our permanent 
loans; and, whereas, the State has enjoyed an accommodation 
without reduction for the last ten years, and on terms much 
more favorable than those granted to individuals ;" 

Therefore, be it resolved, that the Executive of this State 

• Mississippi Senate Journal, 1831, p. 9. 



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History of Banking in Mississippi. — Brough, 325 

be notified that payment of the whole sum due by the State will 
be expected on or before the first day of January, 1832.^* 

This resolution did not stimulate the State to issue and 
dispose of the $1,500,000 of bonds still due on its subscription 
within the time named, because Governor Scott states in his 
message of January 8, 1833, that "of the two millions worth, 
of stock reserved for the State in this [the Planters'] Bank^ 
there still remain $1,474,100 yet vacant."" Later in 1833,. 
however, the delinquency on the part of the State was made 
good, and we see the bank carrying on a prosperous business 
until the specie circular panic of 1837. 

A statement signed by J. Wilkins and S. Sprag^e, President 
and Cashier, respectively, of the bank, shows that on December 
22, 1834, the bank's capital stock was $3,890,412, its circulation 
$1,760,371, and its deposits and deposit certificates $557,927. 
The heaviest resources were bills receivable, $3,272,625, domes- 
tic bills of epcchange, $2,914,495, and a suspended debt of $484,- 
918." Two years later the bank had a paid-up capital stock 
of $4,172,940, a circulation of $1,911,427, and deposits and cer- 
tificates of deposit of $409,699.^* So satisfactory was the con- 
dition of the bank at this time that the Auditor of Public Ac- 
counts, in his report oT 1837, recommends the investment of 
the surplus revenue received from the Federal Government in 
Planter's Bank stock, stating that the bank declared annual divi- 
dends of ten per cent., and that its stock stood higher than that 
of any other bank in the United States.^* * When the crash 
came in 1837, the original capital stock of $3,000,000 had been 
increased to over $4,000,000, and the parent institution at Nat- 
chez could boast of seven branches, located at Jackson, Vicks- 
burg. Port Gibson, Columbus, Monticello, Woodville and Man- 
chester. 

Notwithstanding this prima facie prosperty, criticism was rife 
against the institution that stood as the exponent of the Jack- 
sonian idea of State banking. To the Whigs the existence of 

^* Mississippi Senate Journal^ 1831, p. 16. 
"/frtU, 1833, p. 10. 

"/wrf., 183s, p. 37. 

*• Missisisppi House Journal, 1837, p. 26. 
" Mississippi House Journal, 1837, p. 20. 
21 



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324 Mississippi Historical Society. 

the Planters' Bank had always been a synonym of wounded 
pride, because its establishment had been recommended by a 
Democratic governor and sanctioned by a Democratic Legisla- 
ture as a means of preventing the introduction into the State 
of a branch of the Bank of the United States, of which the 
Whig party was the political sponsor. 

Again, enamored of the Democratic ideal of equality of op- 
portunity in a competitive economy, some of the disciples of 
Jackson in Mississippi opposed the bank as a governmental 
concern, arguing in support of this thesis that inasmuch as 
seven of the thirteen directors were appointed by the Governor, 
State control practically crushed out private initiative and left 
a public monopoly. This view was voiced by Governor Scott 
in his message of January 8, 1833, the Governor even going 
so far as to hazard the opinion that an amendment to the 
charter granting the private stockholders a preponderance in 
the management of the institution was absolutely necessary to 
effect a sale of the vacant stock.^* 

Furthermore, both political parties were loyally wedded to 
the idea of an increase of banking capital commensurate with 
the increase in crop values. Governor Runnels forcibly pre- 
sents this view in his message of January 21, 1835, when he 
says, "The branches of the Planters' Bank, located at different 
points in the State, with the limited capital assigned them, 
wh^n taking into view the necessity of the country, are a mere 
mockery of banking principles. The net proceeds of the crop of 
the State of Mississippi is ascertained to have been $11,316,000, 
and the crop of 1834 may be fairly estimated as $15,000,- 
000. Can it, therefore, with this view of the subject, be thought 
by the most miserly economist in banking matters, that a State, 
whose amount of product in the single of article of cotton, 
amounts to $15,000,000, with every probability of an increased 
ratio of twenty-five per cent, per annum for many years to 
come, can get along with a banking capital of $6,000,000. Be- 
ing fully convinced of the necessity of enlarging the banking 
capital of the State, I recommend the establishment of a bank 
on the principle of the Union or Citizens' Bank of Louisiana, 
the stock of which to be taken by planters on the mortgage 

" Mississippi Senate Journal, 1833, p. 10. 



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History of Banking in Mississippi. — Brough. 325 

of their lands ; by which means it is believed that loan may be 
effected at a low rate of interest, terminating with the charter. 
A bank erected on this principle and placed at the control of 
the planters of the country, will insure a sound currency, and 
at the same time will enable the planters to increase their force 
and render more productive their lands."^' 

This flush-time financial fantasy, given in the message of an 
able and popular governor that degree of respectability which 
attaches even to the semblance of truth, was but an ever re- 
curring effervesence of the "Mississippi Bubble," whose airy 
nothingness was made brilliant in the light of a fictitious pros- 
perity. Unfortunately the Mississippi Constitution of 1817 
contained no prohibition against the State ownership and man- 
agement of banks, an omission which caused a reckless emission 
of worthless bills of credit, bank notes and watered stock. 
Every "cross-road" town in the State had a bank; every rail- 
road and other enterprise projected for internal improvement 
received banking privileges as a charter bonus; and, as if a 
"boot" were needed to effect an incorporation, the Legislature 
in a whimsical trading spirit conferred on many banks the un- 
heard-of authority to buy and sell real estate and personal 
property at discretion. * 

So inviting was this mushroom growth of paper promises to 
pay, so plausible was the theory that King Cotton could secure 
credit in any market of the world, that the 9th section of the 
7th article of the Constitution of 1832, forbidding the State to 
borrow money and to pledge its faith for the redemption of any 
loan or debt, was deliberately disregarded and flagrantly vio- 
lated." From December 20, 1831, when banking privileges 
were conferred on the West Feliciana and Woodville Railroad, 

^Mississippi Senate Journal 1835, p. 21. 

**"No law shall ever be passed to raise a loan of monev upon the 
credit of the State, or to pledge the faith of the State for the payment 
or redemption of any loan or debt unless such law be proposed m the 
Senate or House of Representatives, be agreed to by a majority of the 
members of each House and entered on the journals with the yeas and 
nays taken thereon, be referred to the next succeeding Legislature, and 
published for three months previous to the next regular election in 

three newspapers of this State: Provided, that nothing in this 

section shall be so construed as to prevent the Legislature from nego- 
tiating a further loan of one and one half millions of dollars, and vest- 
ing the same in stock reserved to the State by the charter of the Plan- 
ters Bank of the State of Mississippi." 



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326 Mississippi Historical Society. ^ 

until the crash came in 1837, Mississippi was gridironed with 
imaginary railroads and bedridden with railroad banks. In these 
enterprises there was more watered stock sold than there were 
cross-ties laid ; post-note clippers commanded a premium over 
good road-beds; reckless speculation brooked nothing as pro- 
saic as the actual construction of railroads, on the successful 
operation of which it was supposed fabulous dividends would 
be declared. 

# Among these railroad banks may be mentioned the Com- 
mercial Railroad Bank of Vicksburg, with branches at Clinton 
and Vernon ; the Grand Gulf Railroad and Banking Company, 
with a branch at Gallatin ; the West Feliciana, the Mississippi 
and Alabama and the Tombigby Railroad and Banking Com- 
panies, representing on May 10, 1837, an aggregate capital of 
$6,616,101, and a circulation of $1,721,947. At this time the 
total banking capital of the State amounted to $10,557,212, and 
the total circulation to $2,500,210, to both of which sums it will 
be seen railroad banks contributed nearly 70 per cent.^* 

To complete the wildcat series of banks, there must be added 
to the railroad banks the following banks which did not profess 
by their articles of incorporation to be agencies of internal im- 
provement, viz: The Agricultural Bank, Commercial Bank of 
Rodney, Commercial Bank of Columbus, Commercial Bank of 
Manchester, now Yazoo City; Commercial Bank of Natchez, 
with branches at Canton, Brandon, Holmesville and Shields- 
boro; Citizens Bank of Yalobusha, Citizens Bank of Madison 
County, Bank of Northern Mississippi, Bank of Grenada, Bank 
of Port Gibson and Bank of Lexington. 

Rapid emigration and speculation in cotton, negroes and land, 
the overthrow of the United States Bank and above all the re- 
moval of the government deposits to the "pet banks" of the 
South and the West, all gave a tremendous impetus to State 
banking in Mississippi in the thirties. It was not thought Pick- 
wickian in the least for a bank to file a statement showing a 
chartered capital of $1,000,000 and a paid up capital of less 
than $50,000. And for twenty of these pets to boast of a bud- 
get, in which the specie constituted less than four-tenths per 

" Mississippi House Journal, 1838, pp. 170-171. 



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HistQry of Banking in Mississippi. — Brough. 327 

cent, of the total resources, as was the case in 1839", was 
thought to be a knightly banking chivalry worthy the chivalry 
of Southern society! 

But this farce fiscal comedy was destined to become a high 
tragedy when Jackson, with brutal honesty and a belief in the 
money of the Constitution, in 1836 issued his famous specie cir- 
cular, specifying that specie alone would be accepted in payment 
for public lands. The pet banks of Mississippi, prompted to 
over-issue by the indiscriminate deposit of public funds and 
tempted to avarice by virtue of their connection with irrespon- 
sible commission houses, were ill at ease when the premium on 
specie was measuring the discount on their worthless post notes 
and paper. Redundancy in the money market, recklessness in 
management and rapacity in the interest rates charged for ac- 
commodation conspired to cause a crisis and ultimately to lorCe 
a suspension of specie payments. 

The night of distress and depression that followed was one of 
Egyptian darkness, its death-like stillness broken ever and 
anon by such pitiable wails as this : ^^ 

Why don't the banks resume? Ahl why 

Do they prolong the day 
And at their counters change deny 

And only paper pay? 
They've made us wait full long enough, 

And scold and fret and fume; 
And now we want some better stuffs 

Why don't the banks resume? 

Why don't the banks resume? Oh! tell 

The folks the reason why; 
'Twere better for the folks that sell, 

And good for those that buy; 
. For specie's such a clever thing, 

It takes but little room, 
When purses with its music ring^ 

Why don't the banks resume? 

To meet this demand for specie on January 21, 1837, the 
monster Mississippi Union Bank was chartered as a State in- 
stitution, with a capital stock of $15,500,000.*^ This capital 
was to be raised by means of loans negotiated through the sale 
of State five per cent, bonds, for which the credit of the State 

* Mississippi House Journal, 1840, pp. 216-217. 
"• Files of Mississippi Free Trader, Natchez, April 27, 1838. 
•"For provisions of the Union Bank charter (C/. Mississippi Laws, 
^ 1824-1838, pp. 766-784). 



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328 Mississippi Historical Society. 

was pledged. The bank was required to secure the payment of 
these bonds, principal and interest, by mortgage upon the prop- 
erty of its stockholders. Three commissioners were appointed 
in each district of the State to appraise the property of those 
who wished to become stockholders. It was provided, in this 
connection, that every stockholder should be entitled to a credit 
equal to one-half the total amount of their respective shares, 
on which four per cent, interest should be paid, the notes of the 
stockholders to be renewable annually until the whole loan was 
extinguished. Debts due by the bank, exclusive of deposits, 
were restricted to double the amount of the capital stock ; the 
rate of discount was fixed at seven per cent., and the $15,500,000 
of bonds were made payable in four installments, covering a 
period of twenty years. 

The management of the institution was vested in a board of 
thirteen directors, five of whom were to be elected by the 
Legislature at its biennial sessions, the remaining eight to be 
annually chosen by the qualified stockholders. Eight banking 
districts were provided for, in each of which there was to be an 
office of deposit and discount. The central office was located 
in Jackson, while branches were established at Aberdeen, Au- 
gusta, Liberty, Lexington, Macon, Tillatobo and Vicksburg. 
The charter was granted for forty years. 

According to constitutional requirements, that part of the act 
of incorporation pledging the faith of the State for the payment 
of its bonded subscription was submitted to the people and as 
an additional precaution, the charter was re-enacted by two 
successive Legislatures. The bill creating the bank, approved 
by Governor Lynch, January i, 1837, so far as the action of the 
Legislature then in session was concerned, was re-enacted and 
approved by Governor McNutt, February 5, 1838." 

From the contents of the charter it will be seen that the 
bond issue of the State was originally intended merely as a 
loan to the bank, that the State was in no sense to be consid- 
ered a stockholder in the enterprise. But a supplemental act, 
approved by Governor McNutt, February 15, 1838, provided for 

•"The original bill passed the Senate by a vote of 11 to 8, and the 
House by a vote of 49 to 7. It was re-enacted in the Senate by a vote 
of 17 to 12 and in the House by a vote of 53 to 23. 



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History of Banking in Mississippi. — Brough, 329 

the subscription of 50,000 shares by the State, the same to be 
paid out of the proceeds of the bond sale.** The dividends and 
profits accruing to the State on this stock were fo be held by 
the bank in trust for purposes of internal improvement and the 
promotion of education. Thus, the Union Bank of Mississippi 
became by the terms of its supplemental charter, the purest and 
most elaborate type of the system of State banking in America. 
Several other Southern and Western States (notably Delaware, 
North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, 
Louisiana, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Indiana and Illinois), 
had adopted thi^ system, but none could boast of Mississippi's 
stock subscription of $5,000,000. 

In the Baltimore "Transcript," of April 26, 1*838, is found 
this interesting item : "Major John S. Gooch, agent of the Mis- 
sissippi Union Bank, left Washington yesterday, with the en- 
gravings and materials necessary for the bank. On his arrival 
the State bonds will be executed for five million of dollars and 
disposed of at once ; and when the ten million in addition to this 
are subscribed, the State will issue its bonds for ten millions 
more, to be likewise disposed of." During the spring of 1838, 
the first bond block of $5,000,000 was duly executed by the 
Governor and delivered to the President and Directors of the 
bank. At a meeting of the Directors, held in Jackson, May 17, 
1838, Col. James C. Wilkins, of Natchez ; William M. Pinckard, 
of Vicksburg, and Edward C. Wilkinson, of Yazoo City, were 
appointed commissioners to negotiate the sale of the bonds thus 
executed." 

The result was awaited with breathless anxiety. Finally, on 
the i8th of August, 1838, the gratifying news reached Jackson 
that Nicholas Biddle, President of the Great United -States 
bank at Philadelphia, had bought the entire series. The un- 
thinking multitude, little realizing that the sale of those bonds 
was the first links in the chain of repudiation that was to 
ruthlessly shackle the credit of future generations, were plunged 
into a mad delirium of joy. The smoke of gjeat guns filled the 
capital city with a pillar of cloud by day and bonfires and illu- 
minations lighted it with a pillar of fire by night. 

^Mississippi Laws, 1824- 1838, pp. 784-792. 

■• Files of the Mississippi Daily Free Trader, Natchez, May 21, 1838. 



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330 Mississippi Historical Society. 

In due course of time the $5,000,000 in specie and British gold 
arrived by ocean steamer at New Orleans; thence by river 
steamer at Vicksburg, thence by a guarded caravan of wagons 
to Jackson, where the central office was located on a plot of 
ground now occupied by E. S. Virden's store. Major Millsaps 
relates that the oldest citizens yet remember the crowds of peo- 
ple assembled along the line of the dirt road from Vicksburg 
to Jackson to witness the wagon train, as it moved along its 
burdensome way to the State capital.** 

From the day of its opening the Union Bank was foredoomed 
by reckless management to a dismal and dishonorable failure. 
Terms of loans were made easy to borrowers, and the worst 
possible judgment was displayed in making advances. Ex-Gov- 
ernor Lowry observes, in this connection, that "the system of 
loans on mortgages of real and personal property, prescribed 
in the act of incorporation, for twelve months, renewable for 
eight years upon the payment of the interest and one-eighth 
of the principal, at the end of each twelve months, would have 
wrecked the Bank of England."** 

In spite of the fact that the issue of post notes was illegally 
resorted to in order to tide over a suspension of the specie pay- 
ments, the bank and its six branches unwisely increased their 
issues until in April, 1840, they amounted to $3,337,665. Other 
banks vied with the Union Bank in the manufacture of credit, 
so that at the close of 1839 the twenty-six banks of Mississippi 
professed to have a paid-up capital of $30,379,403, loans and 
discounts of $48,333,728, deposits and deposit certificates of 
$8,691,602, and a circulation of $15,171,640.*^ As the census 
of 1840 showed the free white population of the State to be only 
178,677, the alleged paid-up capital equalled $170 per capita, 
loans and discounts of $270, deposits and deposit certificates 
$49 and circulation nearly $85. Small wonder is it that banks 
making these fictitious statements on the basis of watered stock 
and worthless circulation should refuse an examination of their 
affairs by the three commissioners ^empowered by the Legisla- 
ture to investigate the condition of the State banks.** 

^Proceedings of the Mississippi Bankers' Association, 1894, p. 18. 
*• Lowry and McCardle's History of Mississippi, p. 287. 
" Mississippi House Journal 1840, p. 38. 

**For provisions of this Legislative Act, approved May 12, 1837 (Cf. 
Mississippi Laws, 1824- 1838, pp. 697-700). 



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History of Banking in Mississippi. — Brough. 331 

There now appears on the scene the Martin Van Buren of 
Mississippi finance, a man who waged relentless warfare against 
the system of State banking in general and the Union Bank 
in particular, even to the doubtful extremity of advocating the 
repudiation of State bonds in order to correct the unsound 
finance which made bond issues necessary, a man of resolute 
conviction and fearless utterance, who, like the "Barnburners" 
of American politics, would fire the barn in order to catch the 
rat, a man who was more patriotic than he was popular, and 
more of a Democrat than a demagogue — ^Alexander G. McNutt. 

At the very threshhold of his administration Governor Mc- 
Nutt vetoed a bill to incorporate the Real Estate Banking Com- 
pany of Columbus/ on the ground that the circulation of the 
twenty-four banks of the State was already in excess of the 
volume of business, that their issues were not convertible into 
coin, and that the creation of another bank to "procrastinate for 
years the resumption of specie payments, destroy confidence, 
break up the standard of values and weigh down the planting 
and commercial interests by the intolerable evils of a fluctuat- 
ing, depreciated currency," would be adding insult to injury.** 

But the shibboleth of his crusade against the Union Bank 
was not sounded until his annual message of January 17, 1840, 
referring to its management, the Governor said : 

"I am induced to believe that a large portion of the property 
accepted as security for the stock is encumbered by judgments, 
mortgages and deeds of trust; that the valuations of the ap- 
praisers were generally very extravagant; that in many in- 
stances the titles to the property offered are yet imperfect, and 
that the whole management of the affairs of the bank has been 
disastrous to its credit, destructive to the interests of the State, 
and ruinous to the institution. The cotton advanced upon the 
bank, in some instances, has been attached and the suits de- 
cided against the institution. Many of the cotton agents and 
consignees are defaulters, and great loss on the cotton account 
is inevitable. The post-notes, issued in violation of law, have 
greatly depreciated, and if the decisions of several of our circuit 
judges are affirmed by the High Court of Errors and Appeals, 

"For veto message of Feb. 15, 1838 {Cf. of Mississippi Daily Fret 
Trader, Natchez, Feb. 27, 1838). . 



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332 Mississippi Historical Society. 

actions cannot be maintained on a large portion of the bills re- 
ceivable of the bank. * * * On the i8th of November, 
1839, I received a letter from the cashier of the bank, together 
with two resolutions of the directors, one of which informed me 
that the remaining five million and a half of bonds were ready 
for my signature. Believing that there was no immediate pros- 
pect of a sale of the bonds, and that further legislation might 
be required, I determined to execute the remaining bonds. 
* * * The faith of the StateJs pledged for the whole capital 
stock, and the property of all her citizens may hereafter be 
taxed to make up its losses an^ defalcations. The right of the 
people therefore to know the conduct of all its agents, and the 
liabilities of every one of its debtors, cannot be questioned." 

The Governor estimates, the liabilities of the Union Bank 
then due at $249,696; the amount due and payable during the 
months of April and May, 1840, at $3,919,992 ; and the amount 
due in January, 1841, at $43,261 — making a total aggregate of 
$4,290,880. 

"To pay the residue/* continues the message, "the bank has 
five millions of dollars of State bonds, and exchange bills re- 
ceivable, etc., to make the amount of nine millions of dollars. 
The State bonds cannot be sold, and a sufficient sum cannot 
be realized in time, out of the other assets of the bank to pay 
the post-notes due next April and May. It will take more than 
$250,000 of the available funds of the bank to pay in London 
the interest on the State bonds previous to the first of Septem- 
ber next. * * * The Union Bank has certainly failed to 
answer the purposes of its creation, and I feel confident that 
even with the most able and prudent management, it can never 
be made useful. * * * j have come to the conclusion that 
it is our duty to place the institution either in liquidation, or to 
repeal all that portion of the charter giving to private individu- 
als stock in the bank and privileged loans. The State debt al- 
ready amounts to about seven and a half millions of dollars. 
The interest on seven millions is payable abroad and amounts to 
three hundred and seventy thousand dollars annually. The 
rights of the stockholders are yet inchoate, and until the residue 
of the bonds are sold, they can have no peculiar claims. * * * 
I am bound to recommend that the five millions of the State 
bonds last issued shall be called in and cancelled, and that no 



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History of Banking in Mississippi. — Brough. 333 

more shall be hereafter issued for the Mississippi Union Bank." 
In this message the Governor further recommended an im- 
mediate repeal of the charters of all the banks that did not 
promptly fulfill their obligations to note holders and depositors. 
Said he: "The existing banks cannot be bolstered up. Desti- 
tute as they are of credit and available means, it would be folly 
in us to attempt to infuse vigor and stability into their lifeless 
forms. They are powerless to do g^od, but capable of inflicting 
injuries irreparable. * * * AH [the banks] are, in eflEect, in 
a state of suspension; many of them have issued post-notes; 
several have been established in fraud, and none of them are 
now useful. * * * It np doubt will be contended, if we 
repeal our bank charters, that the State will be deprived of a 
circulation, and that the exchanges of the country cannot be 
carried on. This argument is more specious than solid. Our 
annual export of fifteen millions of dollars will command a 
sound currency. Money will then become a standard of value 
and not be used as an article of traffic. The expense of pro- 
ducing cotton will be reduced at least fifty per cent., whereas 
the price in foreign markets will not be diminished. Foreign 
creditors will be contented with a similar amount in good funds, 
than they now exact in depreciated trash." 

The Governor estimates the banking liabilities of the State 
at this time at $62,840,365, and the assets at $67,810,805. Of 
these assets the amount of the "suspended debt" and the "sus- 
pended debt in suit" amounted to $16,972,937, while the banks 
held $31,360,790 in the form of "notes and bills discounted," 
representing doubtful collections of $48,333,727. These, while 
there was a nominal excess of resources over liabilities of nearly 
$5,000,000, their worthless nature gave the note holder and 
depositor little security. 

In concluding his message the Governor sounded this strik- 
ing keynote in his campaign against State banking: "A system 
that requires a veil to be thrown over its operations, that has 
the power of raising and depressing the price of property at 
pleasure, that can either by design or through mismanagement 
greatly depreciate our circulating medium, can never be made 
beneficial."** 

■• Mississippi House Journal, 1840, pp. 33-35. 



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334 Mississippi Historical Society. 

The attack upon the Union Bank thus begun was vigorously 
followed up in Governor McNutt's next message, bearing date 
of January 5, 1841.*^ In a most virulent manner, he assailed the 
validity of the sale of the State bonds, issued to pay for the 
subscription of stock subscribed by the State. 

Referring to the three gjeat institutions in which the State 
was a stockholder, he said: "The situation and aflEairs of the 
Mississippi Railroad Company, the Planters* Bank of t^jie State 
and of the Mississippi Union Bank, will demand your calm 
consideration. All these institutions are insolvent, and neither 
of them can resume specie payment for several years or make 
further loans. The Union Bank has $4,349 of specie on hand. 
Her suspended debt in suit is $2,698,869; suspended debt not 
sued on $1,777,337; resources, chiefly unavailable, $8,033,154; 
immediate liabilities, $3,034,154; capital stock, $5,000,000. 
* * * Not more than one-third of the debt due the bank 
will be collected, and the whole capital stock has already been 
lost. The bank has several thousand bales of cotton in Liver- 
pool unsold, on which it has drawn $267,116. An advance of 
sixty dollars per bale was made to the planters upon that cotton 
in 1838. They will sustain a clear loss, including interest, of 
thirjty dollars per bale ; equal, in the aggregate, to $210,000. 
The bank has been irretrievably ruined T>y making advances 
upon cotton, issuing post-notes, and loaning the principal por- 
tion of her capital to insolvent individuals and companies. The 
situation of the Mississippi Railroad Company and the Planters' 
Bank is equally as bad." 

As an heroic remedy for the bankruptcy of a commonwealth 
that now bore the additional burden of defaulted interest. Gov- 
ernor McNutt favored the repudiation of the Union Bank 
bonds, urging the following reasons as sufficient to prevent 
their sale from having any obligatory force on the State: (i) 
The Bank of the United States was prohibited by its charter 
from purchasing such stock either directly or indirectly. (2) It 
was fraudulent on the part of the bank, inasmuch as the con- 
tract was made in the name of an individual, when, in fact, it 
was for the benefit of the bank, and payment was made with its 

funds. (3) The sale was illegal, inasmuch as the bonds were sold 

: » — t 

•* Mississippi House Journal, 1841, pp. 21-26. 



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History of Banking in Mississippi. — Brought 335 

on a credit. (4) Interest to the amount of about $170,000 hav- 
ing accrued on those bonds before the purchase money was 
stipulated to be all paid, the bonds were in fact sold at less than 
their par value, in direct violation of the charter of the bank. 

The special committee, to which that part of the Governor's 
message relating to the repudiation of the bonds was referred, 
reported unfavorably, and resolutions declaring that "the char- 
acter, the standing and true glory of the State depend upon the 
sacred inviolability of its engagements," and that both the 
Union and Planters* bonds should be paid, principal and inter- 
est, passed the Senate and House by the decisive majorities of 
20 to 10 and 50 to 30, respectively.** In the debates on these 
resolutions, the sentiment in favor of paying the Planters' bonds 
seemed stronger than that in favor of paying the Union bonds, 
probably due to the fact that the Planters* bonds had been 
sold for money to the amount and of the kind authorized by law, 
while the Union bonds had been soU on credit. As the friends 
of both banks made common cause in their fight against repudi- 
ation, this difference of sentiment is only revealed in the com- 
mittee report and subsequent discussion, not in the vote. 

Not to be baffled in his crusade against the system of State 
banking, on February 15, 1842, Governor McNutt vetoed the 
anti-repudiation resolutions in a message of gjeat ability, in 
which he took the broad ground that "the people have not dele- 
gated to the Senate and House of Representatives the power of 
ratifying an illegal sale of State bonds, and pledging their faith 
for the payment or redemption of any loan or debt whatever."" 
Public opinion, the force that makes and unmakes constitutions 
in a sovereign republic, was made the initiative referendum, the 
question of repudiation was taken out of the legislature and 
made the principal plank in the platform of the two gjeat politi- 
cal parties. 

In the gubernatorial campaign of 1841, Tilghman M. Tucker 
was nominated by the Democracy as a repudiator, and after an 
exciting campaign was elected by a majority of 2,286 over Judge 
David O. Shattuck, who had been nominated by the Whigs on 
an anti-repudiation platform. An examination of the tabulated 

" For resolutions Cf. Mississippi House Journal, 1841, p. 416. 
^Ibid., pp. 491-504 



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33^ Mississippi Historical Society. 

vote for Governor by counties sKoWs that the repudiators were 
uniformly successful in the poor and sparsely settled agricul- 
tural districts of the State, while heavy majorities against re- 
pudiation were returned in Adams, Hinds, Madison and War- 
ren counties, that represented the bulk of the State's population 
and taxable property." The best and most intelligent voters, 
with a feeling of wounded honesty, refused even to discuss 
the question of the legality of the bond sale, basing their advo- 
cacy of payment on the broad ground, "The faith of the State, 
like her sovereignty, is sacred — ^it must be preserved." 

With their whole State ticket elected and a majority in both 
branches of the Legislature, the repudiators proceeded to fol- 
low up their victory in a most masterful manner. In his inau- 
gural address, delivered January 13, 1842, Governor Tucker 
took the very plausible Jacksonian position that the question 
of repudiation had been settled in the affirmative by the highest 
tribunal known to free governments : "I mean the people them- 
selves ; they having decided in effect that the transactions con- 
nected with the Union Bank, both in its inception and final con- 
summation, were not governmental, but were on the contrary 
individual transactions, performed, not only without the author- 
ity of the Constitution of the State, but contrary to the express 
provisions thereof."** 

In this address and in his message to the Legislature of July 
10, 1843, Governor Tucker tempered the intoxicated spirit of 
repudiation abroad In the land by holding that there was no 
ground, either legal or moral, why the bonds of the Planters', 
as distinguished from the Union Bank, should not be paid, in- 
asmuch as they were executed under the sanction of constitu- 
tional authority and were expressly exempted from the opera- 
tion of the famous ninth section of Article seven of the Con- 
stitution of i832.*' The victorious repudiators in the Legisla- 
ture tacitly subscribed by omission to the position of the Gov- 
ernor that the bonds of the Planters' Bank were inviolable ; but, 
because of this concession were more eager than ever to gather 

••For tabulated vote by counties Cf. Mississippi House Journal, 1842, 
p. 26}. 
" Mississippi House Journal, 1842, p. 374. 
'^Mississippi House Journal, 1842, p. 375; also Senate Journal, 1843, p. 29. 



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History of Banking in Mississippi. — Brough. 337 

the fruits of the signal victory they had won in the Fall over 
the Union Bank. 

So' on February 18, 1842, scarcely a month after the new ad- 
ministration had gone into office, there passed by the impressive 
majorities of 16 to 10 in the Senate and 54 to 37 in the House, 
the famous repudiation resolution reported by the special com- 
mittee in the Mississippi Union Bank bonds. This resolution, 
the darkest spot on the legislative escutcheon of our State, the 
"Black and Tan Convention" not excepted, is worded as follows: 
"That for the reasons set forth in the foregoing report, this 
Legislature denies that the State of Mississippi is under any 
legal or moral obligation to redeem the five millions of bonds, 
sold by the commissioners of the Mississippi Union Bank to 
Nicholas Biddle on the 18th day of August, 1838. But while the 
Legislature does most solemnly repudiate said bonds, and de- 
clare the sale thereof as illegal, fraudulent and unconstitutional, 
yet, that the holders of those bonds may have every possible 
legal and equitable remedy for collecting the amount paid on 
said bonds, they are hereby invited to pursue the remedy af- 
forded by our laws and Constitution against the Mississippi 
Union Bank and against all and every person who, by his, her 
or their connection with said institution, have rendered him, 
her or themselves liable, either in law or equity, for the debts 
of said bank."" 

From the moment of the passage of the repudiation resolu- 
tion in 1842, an earnest effort was made to right the wrong that 
had been done by having the sale of the Union bonds declared 
legally valid. This effort was crowned with success in 1853, 
when the High Court of Appeals and Errors, in the famous 
case of the State of Mississippi vs. Hezron Johnson, unani- 
mously decided that nothing could absolve the State from the 
liability assumed in the act chartering the Union Bank.*' How- 
ever, this decision was nullified the same year by a vote of the 
people repudiating the Planters', as well as the Union bonds, 
and was given its "coup de grace'* by the Constitution of 1890, 
which expressly prohibits the payment of any indebtedness al- 

" Mississippi House Journal, 1842, p. 734. 
'^Mississippi Reports, Vol. XXV, pp. 625-882. 
"•Section 258, Article XIV. 



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33^ Mississippi Historical Society. 

leged to be due by the State of Mississippi to the Union and 
Planters' Banks." This indebtedness consists of $2,000,000 
of Planters' Bank bonds and $5,000,000 of Union Bank bonds. 

There can be but little doubt that the bond repudiation by the 
State has impaired her credit abroad and increased the cost of 
obtaining money accommodations for her people. Major Mill- 
saps makes the very significant statement in this connection, 
that "the people of Mississippi have more than paid the entire 
bonded cost and charges of interest, compounded and com- 
mission charges for acceptance and advances." 

But while the remedy of repudiation was heroic and has no 
ethical justification, it must be remembered that the disease 
of wildcat banking was virulent, and the desperation of the 
people over the perpetration of gigantic frauds was great. On 
the 30th day of November, 1842, the year in which the Union 
Bank bonds were repudiated, the report of the State Treasurer, 
as made to the Legislature, shows a balance in the Treasury of 
$302,956, consisting of the Attorney General's receipts for 
claims on the notorious Brandon and other broken banks for 
the sum of $238,102, the notes of the insolvent Mississippi 
Railroad Company for $63,030, the notes of the Mississippi 
Union Bank for $1,800, the notes of the Hernando Railroad 
Company for $20, Jackson corporation tickets $3.65, and specie 
in the sum of 34 cents I At the same time there existed claims 
against the State exceeding $8,000,000. 

Henry V. Poor does not picture the direful results of State 
banking in Mississippi in too sombre hues, where, referring to 
the collapse of the Union Bank, he says : "The $48,000,000 of 
loans were never paid; the $23,000,000 of notes and deposits 
never redeemed. The whole system fell a huge and shape- 
less wreck, leaving the people of the State very much as they 
came into the world. Their condition at the time beggars de- 
scription. Everybody was in debt, without any possible means 
of payment. Lands became worthless, for the reason that no 
one had any money to pay for them. The only personal prop- 
erty left was slaves, to save which such numbers of people fled 
with them from the State that the common return upon legal 
processes against debtors was in the very abbreviated form of 

*• Mississippi Senate Journal, 1843. p. 26. 



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History of Banking in Mississippi. — Brough, 339 

"G. T. T.," gone to Texas — ^ State which in this way received 
a mighty accession to her population."*^ 

Surely the author of "The Age of Rags'* was not altogether 
dealing in ribaldry when he sang: 

How transcendently blessed are we at this time, 

When each paper-mill serves as a mint; 
Where crafty imposters so cordially chime 

To give us out dollars in print. 

Of our rags speculators triumphantly boast, 

Nor need it to any be told. 
Empty credit remains both their glory and toast, 

Smce it supersedes silver and gold. 

But if rags should fall short in the grand operation, 

And bankruptcy come with disgrace. 
Let impudence follow with kind asseveration, 

And substitute brass in their place. 

While honesty yields to the dog-star's dominion, 

Bank directors must needs do their best; 
While folly imposes on public opinion. 

Be sure to well feather your nest. 

Those silky bank tokens to represent gold 

Will prove the hot poker at last; 
Your houses and lots will most surely be sold. 

And leave you to mourn for the past. 

When the Union Bank, the middle pillar in the temple of 
State financiering, was pulled down by the Samson of repudia- 
tion in 1842, the imposing yet unsafe structure totally collapsed. 
And of repudiation it may be said, as it was said of Samson, 
that "the dead which he slew at his death were more than they 
which he slew in his life." For, although a few foreign creditors 
suffered a short time from the application of the principle of 
caveat emptor while repudiation was yet a living issue, countless 
resident citizens suflFered for over forty years a deadening of 
banking and business faculties when repudiation had become 
practically a dead issue. 

The lethargy and laxity characteristic of the period from 1842, 
the date of the repudiation, to 1865, when national banks were 
first established in Mississippi, was but the working out of a 
natural law in the banking world. It was but natural that re- 
trenchment should have followed inflation; that Governor 
Brown, in his message of 1844, should have proposed that the 

** Henry V. Poor: Money and its Laws, p. 540. 



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340 Mississippi Historical ScM:iety. 

State henceforth be absolved from all connection with banks 
and bonds ;" that brokers and cotton factors should have made 
all advances upon crops and left note-issuing banks no excuse 
for incorporation. 

If we except the bank of Britton & Koontz, in Natchez, 
Green's Bank, in Jackson, and similar institutions in Vicksburg 
and Yazoo City, it may be said of the period immediately pre- 
ceding the Civil War that deposit and discount functions were 
monopolized by brokers. These brokers shaved paper, charged 
most outrageous rates for money, and, with the g^eed of Shy- 
locks, exacted lOO per cent, mortgage prices for plantation sup- 
plies. During the war the evils of this banking anarchy were 
multiplied by the issue of worthless cotton certificates. Con- 
federate currency and counterfeits. Depreciation stalked abroad 
in a devastated land. 

Political union has brought in its train financial unity. Na- 
tionalization has induced the establishment of a system of na- 
tional banking. Thus, out of the dead chrysalis of prejudice 
there have come into life in Mississippi since 1865 twelve na- 
tional banks, representing an aggregate capital stock of $800,- 
000. 

These banks are located at Aberdeen, Greenville, Hatties- 
burg, Jackson, Meridian, Tupelo, Vicksburg, West Point and 
Yazoo City. In addition to the twelve national banks, the Audi- 
tor's report for 1899 shows that on the 30th day of June of that 
year there were ninety-two private banks in Mississippi, repre- 
senting a paid-up capital stock of $3,782,530, deposits of $9,809,- 
082, and loans and discounts of $9,567,191.** These banks are 
uniting the force of their conservation and capital to develop 
our home markets, to create interior centers of trade distribu- 
tion, to secure lower interest rates to our farmers, to g^ve pre- 
mium prices for our municipal, county and State bonds. 

Well do the present generation of Mississippi bankers, prizing 
conservatism above confusion and unity of issue above the mir- 
age of inflation, merit the stately eulogy of Conkling upon 
Grant, "Great in the arduous greatness of things done." 

^ Mississippi House Journal, 1844, p. 204. 

*• Biennial Report of the Auditor of Public Accounts, 1898-99, pp. 142-143. 



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ORIGIN AND LOCATION OF THE MISSISSIPPI A. & 
M. COLLEGE. 

By J. M. White.^ 

The first agricultural schools of which we have any knowl- 
edge originated in Europe, and the date which marks the origin 
of these schools was 1807. They seem to have grown out of 
the conception that it is proper and altogether rational "for 
boys to learn that which they will want to practice when they 
are men;" and at a time when, because of devastating wars, 
agricultural lands were taxed to their utmost. The fact is that 
under the then existing circumstances the point of diminishing 
returns in agriculture had been reached or was near at hand, 
and the only hope of escape from so perilous a condition was 
through progressive agriculture. To make the improvements 
in methods and processes in agriculture commensurate with the 
ever increasing demands on the soil of an ever increasing popu- 

* J. M. White was. born in Lawrence county, Miss., and was the third 
son of a family of six bo^s. His father, Capt. J. F. White, was a suc- 
cessful farmer and a public-spirited citizen. He was one of the original 
stockholders of the Mississippi Mills, but later sold his interest and in- 
vested in a factory at Beauregard to manufacture lumber, furniture, 
sash, doors, blinds, &c. In 1871 he moved his family to that place. 
On April 22, 1883, the terrible cyclone which swept over the little vil- 
lage robbed Capt. White of a loving. Christian wife, a son, George, 
and all he had accumulated of this world's goods. His wife was Sarah 
Emily, daughter of Jno. J. Mikell, who came to Mississippi from Geor- 
gia in the early part of the century, and was one of the very first set- 
tlers in Lawrence county. 

In the fall of 1880, Mr. White entered the A. and M. College, which 
had just opened its doors for the reception of students. He graduated 
with distinction in June, 1884, taking the B. S. degree. Two years later 
he took the M. S. degree. At this time and for several years there- 
after he ate tutorial bread, first as instructor in the Preparatory depart- 
ment, and then as assistant in the department of English. In 1892 the 
board of trustees of that institution elected Mr. White to the newly 
created chair of History and Civics, which position he still fills with 
credit. He has been a member of the Executive Committee of the 
Mississippi Historical Society since its reorganization in 1898, and has 
contributed to the second volume of its Fublications, He has done 
graduate work in Rutgers and in the University of Chicago. In 1896 
he married Miss Mary Ella Hearn, of West* Point.— Editor. 

(341) 



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342 Mississippi Historical Society. 

lation was then, is to-day, and will ever be a g^eat problem. But 
be these things as they may, the ideas underlying agricultural 
schools have grown wonderfully during the century of their 
existence. 

In 1840, Liebig in Germany announced a scientific truth which 
contributed greatly to the spread of agricultural schools. It 
was this : "That no matter how impoverished the soil is natur- 
ally, or has become by excessive cropping, its fertility may be 
restored, maintained, and even increased by providing it with 
the mineral and organic matter which it lacks." Ten years after 
this announcement agricultural schools were to be found, vary- 
ing in grade from an institute to a college, in almost every state 
and hamlet in Europe,* and the idea had crossed the Atalntic 
and several of the States of the American Union as early as 
i860, notably, Michigan, Iowa, Pennsylvania, New York, Mary- 
land, had agricultural schools, and one at least of the leading 
universities in America was giving lecture courses in the sci- 
ence of agriculture.* A bill, too, had been introduced in Con- 
gress to appropriate land to the several States and territories 
to encourage the establishment in each of an agricultural and 
mechanical college. This bill passed both Houses, but was 
vetoed by President Buchanan. The matter did not long rest 
here, for in 1862 a bill very similar, if not an exact copy of the 
one vetoed by President Buchanan, passed both Houses of 
Congress, and was approved by President Lincoln on July the 
second of that year. 

The Mississippi A. and M. College, in common with most of 
the other A. and M. Colleges of this country, owes its origin 
primarily to this act of Congress. It donated to each State 
30,000 acres of land for each Senator and Representative, to 
which the State was entitled by the apportionment under the 
census of i860. Mississippi's total delegation in Congress at 
the time was seven, and the total number of acres of land 
(represented by land scrip), she could claim under said act was 
210,000. 
' On October the 30th, 1866, Mississippi formally accepted the 



' Dr. Hitchcock, President of Amherst College, gave a list of three 
hundred and fifty-two such schools in Europe in 1850. 
•Yale. 



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Mississippi A. & M. College. — White, 343 

grant*, but when application was made the scrip was not issued 
on the ground that the State was late applying for same. Other 
legislation was necessary, and in May, 1871, the Legislature 
passed an Act authorizing the Governor to receive the land 
scrip representing 210,000 acres, and to give all necessary re- 
ceipts for same. Section 2 of this act authorized the sale of said 
scrip; that it should be sold for cash, at a rate not less than 
sixty cents on the dollar, and that the proceeds accruing from 
said sale should be invested immediately after its sale in bonds 
of the United States or of the State of Mississippi, bearing 
interest at not less than five per cent.' 

There seems to have arisen quite early some apprehension in 
regard to the money arising from the sale of the land scrip ; for 
during the next meeting of the Legislature on February 2, 1872, 
Mr. Lowry introduced a resolution in the House of Represen- 
tatives asking that a committee of three be appointed to call 
on the State Treasurer, and to get from him the amount that 
said scrip brought when it was sold, and at what date the money 
was placed in his possession, and all other matters connected 
therewith, and to report to the House at once. The resolution 
passed, and a committee composed of Messrs. Robert Lowry, 
H. T. Fisher and J. J. Spelman was appointed in accordance 
therewith. The result was a majority and a minority report 
made on February 26th. The House sustained the majority 
report, which was made by Messrs. Fisher and Spelman, of the 
committee. This report embodies a letter from Ex-Gov. Al- 
corn, which gives interesting information in regard to the funds 
in question. The Governor relates in this letter "that he had 
procured at the end of a long struggle, the delivery of the agri- 
cultural land scrip due the State ; that he had receipted for it and 
had negotiated the sale. The scrip, he says, was sold on the 
2ist of September, 1871, to George F. Lewis, of Cleveland, 
Ohio, at ninety cents per acre, payable in three, six and nine 
months. Five hundred pieces of this scrip were deposited in 
the First National Bank of New York, four hundred and sixty- 
two pieces were deposited in the Merchants' National Bank, at 
Cleveland, Ohio. That he had placed in Gov. Powers' hands 

*Laws of Mississippi, 1866-67, p. 213. 

• History of Education in Mississippi, Mayes, p. 227. 

* Laws of Mississippi, 187 1, p. 704. 



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344 Mississippi Historical Society. 

the evidence of this. Three hundred and sixty pieces were paid 
for at the date of delivery. This was deposited in bank to the 
credit of the Governor of Mississippi, and that he had checked 
out and paid to Gov. Powers thirty thousand dollars of the cash 
deposits, the balance was in bank subject to his check. He also 
relates in this letter that the funds realized were not converted 
into bonds for the reason that the profitable and proper invest- 
ment of the money required that further legislation should be 
had. That he had visited Washington City twice and Ne*v 
York once in the interest of this fund, and there need be no 
nervousness on account of this fund, for it was all safe.^ The 
Democrats of the House oflFered a very vigorous protest to the 
report which embodied this letter.* 

The acft which authorized the sale of the land scrip provided 
in Section 5 that the fund arising therefrom should be divided, 
the University to get two-fifths and Alcorn University (for ne- 
groes), to get three-fifths of the same, and that there should be 
established at the State University a college of agriculture.* 
The spirit of this provision was carried out, and the Board of 
Trustees of the University established the college under the 
title of School of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. It was ihe 
third school under the department of professional education as 
the University was then organized.^® At this time Dr. John N. 
Waddell was Chancellor, and the regular faculty of this school 
of agriculture and mechanic arts was made up of the following 
distinguished educators: The Chancellor, Prof. C. W. Sears, 
Prof. L. C. Garland, Dr. George Little, Dr. E. W. Hilgard and 
Dr. J. A. Lyon, and in the list of the adjunct professors of this 
faculty of thirty years ago we note the names, A. H. Whit- 
field, R. B. Fulton and Dr. M. W. Phillips. An excellent course 

' Journal of House of Representatives, 1872. See also communication of 
State Treasurer W. L. Hemingway to Halliday and Finch, Ithaca, N. 
Y., published in a pamphlet, entitled History of the Agricultural College 
Land Grant of July 2, 1862, for particulars regarding the amount of 
Scrip actually received and how the fund arising from the sale of said 
Scrip was early judiciously invested. 

•Should the reader or the future investigator care to look further 
into this matter he can find the protest on page 353, Journal House of 
Representatives of the State, 1872, and also other interesting matter in 
this connection on pages 362 and 373 in the same Journal 

* Ijiws of Mississippi, 187 1, p. 704. 

^Catalogue of University, 



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Mississippi A. & M. College. — White. 345 

of study was provided and the school opened for the reception 
of students on October 2, 1872.^^ 

The college farm was under the direction of Dr. M. W. Phil- 
lips, of whom Chancellor Waddell at the time wrote: "Whose 
flame has been identified with the cause of Rational and Pro- 
gressive Agriculture in the Southwest for thirty-five or forty 
years, and whose zeal and services in this behalf are too well 
known to render further comment necessary."^* By the end 
of the first session the farm had been selected on the University 
section, and ninety acres had been enclosed under a substantial 
plank fence with cedar posts, and an additional field of about 
sixteen acres was under cultivation in the various articles of 
produce, such as cotton, corn, Hungarian g^ass, Lucern, sweet 
and Irish potatoes. A large number of fruit trees had been 
set out, embracing a general selection of varieties and a very 
select collection of roses had also been procured, with the view of 
exhibiting the choicest varieties of flowers as well as of fruits.** 
Yet, with all these advantages: A strong and distinguished 
faculty, an excellent course of study, a farm well and conve- 
niently located, and "in every way adapted to the purposes of 
the Department of Agriculture, Horticulture and Botany,"** 
this school of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts under the sur- 
roundings and environments of the University was not popular 
or attractive to students, consequently, comparatively few regis- 
tered for work in that college, and during the six years of its 
existence in connection with the University no evidence is found 
that a single student took the entire course or that a single 
graduate was turned out. After 1876 for lack of funds to 
properly equip the farm it was abandoned.*' 

There were those, possibly not a few, who were never pleased 
that the University should get this land scrip fund, which fund it 
was argued could only be used by schools "whose leading ob- 
ject was to teach such branches of learning as are related to 
agriculture and the mechanic arts." These men did not become 
reconciled, and as a matter of fact various random charges were 

" Catalogue of University^ 1873. 
" Catalogue of University, 1873. 
*• Catalogue of University, 1873. 
" Catalogue of University, 1873. 
" History of Education in Mississippi, Mayes, pp. 173 and 174. 



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34^ Mississippi Historical Society. 

brought, and these charges doubtless had influence, not a little, 
in moulding public sentiment favoring the establishment of an 
Aricultural and Mechanical College independent of the Univer- 
sity. There is one name in this connection especially deserving 
of mention. It is that of Capt. Put Darden, then a citizen of 
Jefferson county in the State of Mississippi, and for a long time 
President of the National Grange. It was he who went into 
possibly every county of the State, speaking in behalf of the 
farm and progressive agriculture, and urging always as a means 
to this end the establishment of an A. and M. College. The 
farmers of this country have erected a monument to his memory 
and in accord with the fitness of things this shaft stands on the 
campus of our State Agricultural and Mechanical College. 

The first organized effort looking to the establishment of such 
a college was made by the State Grange. At a meeting of that 
order in Jackson, Mississippi, on December 12, 1876, Hon. J. 
B. Yellowly, of Madison county, asked that a committee of five 
be appointed to consider the expediency and practicability of 
establishing an agricultural college in this State. The commit- 
tee was appointed and four days later made this report: "We 
would respectfully recommend that a special committee be ap- 
pointed to draw a plan in accordance with which a purely agri- 
cultural and mechanical college may be established under the 
auspices of the State Grange, and that this committee submit 
said plans to the State Legislature at its next session, with a 
memorial petitioning that body to appropriate for the use of 
such an institution the interest arising from the agricultural 
land scrip fund, and also procure such other legislation upon the 
subject as may be proper and necessary." The committee was 
made up of Hon. J. B. Yellowly, of Madison county; Dr. D. L. 
Phares, of Wilkinson county; W. W. Troup, of Monroe county; 

M. C. Pegues, of Lafayette, and J. F. Thompson, — -. 

Mr. Yellowly was chairman, and at the suggestion of the com- 
mittee prepared the memorial which as a member of the Legis- 
lature he presented at the next session (1877). During this 
session he also prepared and introduced a bill for the establish- 
ment of an A. and M. College. This bill failed to pass, though 
supported by a number of influential members, such as Gen. W. 
S. Featherston, Judge Bell, of Kemper county, and Col. H. M. 



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Mississippi A. & M. College. — White. 347 

Street. In December of this same year the State Grange met in 
annual session at Holly Springs, and the following resolution 
was introduced by Mr. John Robertson, of DeSoto county: 
(I quote it to show the feeling and the earnestness permeating 
the Grange in the matter of establishing an A. and M. College) : 
"We insist that the Legislature of the State shall establish an 
agricultural college in accordance with the intention of the act 
of Congress appropriating the proceeds of the sale of public 
land in this State for that purpose, and that no further delay 
nor frittering away of the fund will be quietly tolerated by the 
agriculturists of the State." 

In these demands the Grange was backed by Article 8, Sec. 8, 
of the State Constitution of 1869, which provides that the Legis- 
lature should establish an agricultural college or colleges as 
soon as practicable. 

I have said that the Mississippi A. and M. College owes its 
origin primarily to the Congressional act of 1862. In the light 
of the resolutions just quoted, I believe I may say with historic 
accuracy that this college owes its origin secondarily to the 
organized action of the farmers themselves at whose solicitation 
and in whose interest the college was established and is main- 
tained. 

The following letter was published in the "Clarion," Jackson, 

April the 24th, 1878. It is of interest because of the history 

it gives of the Legislative act authorizing the establishment 

of the college: 

Okolona, Miss., 

April 22, i8;;8. 

Editor Clarion: The recent session of the Trustees of the Agricul- 
tural and Mechanical College reminds me of a duty neglected. The 
day before the adjournment of the last Legislature, an article appeared 
in your daily, giving Gen. West in the Senate, and myself in the House, 
all the credit attaching to the passage of the Agricultural College Bill. 
It is true each of us did all he could to pass the bill through our re- 
spective Houses, but it originated with neither of us. 

A bill had been introduced in the Legislature of 1877, by the Hon. 
J. B. Yellowly, of Madison county, to organize an A^icultural Col- 
lege, and was afterwards perfected by a special committee, of which 
Gen. Featherston was Chairman. This bill failed to pass at that ses- 
sion. At the opening of the session of 1878, I wrote Mr. Yellowly for 
a copy of his Agricultural College bill, and he kindly sent me the 
original. This I re-wrote, changed in some unimportant particulars, 
and introduced in the House. Gen. West, being interested, like myself, 
in the passage of such a bill, applied to me for it, while it was before 
the House Judiciary Committee, copied it, making changes to suit his 
views, and introduced it in the Senate. The body of the bill, which be- 



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34^ Mississippi Historical Society. 

came a law* is the same as was prepared and introduced by Mr. Yel- 
lowly in 1877, and to him belongs the credit, if any there be. I make 
this disclaimer for myself and Gen. West, as I am sure neither of us 
proposed to profit by the labors and research of another, without giv- 
mg him due credit therefor. 

Respectfully, 

W. F. Tucker. 

I here take up the second heading of my subject: The location 
of the college. The law which authorized the establishment of 
the college also authorized the appointment of a board of nine 
trustees to govern the same. This law made it the duty of the 
Governor of the State, who was to be ex-officio president of the 
board, to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, the men who should constitute the Board. The Gov- 
ernor acted promptly, and the first Board of Trustees of the new 
institution was as follows: Gov. J. M. Stone, ex-officio Presi- 
dent; Gen. A. M. West, Dr. D. L. Phares, Hon. C. L. Gilmer, 
Hon. W. B. Montgomery, Hon. J. M. Causey, Maj. L. B. 
Brown, Hon. W. B. Augustus, Hon. Frank Burkitt, and Maj. 
T. C. Dockery. These men at once took up the responsible 
work, and among their first duties was the important one of se- 
lecting a location for the college. At the first meeting of the 
Board, which was held in the Senate Chamber, Jackson, April 
II, 1878, all the members were present except Maj. Dockery. 
They took the oath of office, which was administered by Judge 
J. A. P. Campbell, and Mr. Burkitt was elected Secretary of 
the Board. 

In accordance with the law, the Board selected three newspa- 
pers published in the State in which to advertise for at least 
sixty days for bids for the location. The papers selected were 
"The Clarion," "Chickasaw Messenger" and Pascagoula "Dem- 
ocrat-Star." The "Winona Advance" and "Enterprise Courier" 
offered their columns free of charge for such advertising, and 
the board requested all papers of the State friendly to the col- 
lege to give publicity to the desire of the Board for a suitable 
location. 

On July the 2Ath, 1878, the Board held its second meeting. 
It met this time in the parlors of the Ragsdale House, Meridian. 
The sealed bids were then and there opened and examined, the 
chief ones of which are as follows : Meridian offered the Board 
choice of three tracts of land, the first containing five hundred 



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Mississippi A. & M. College. — White. 349 

and twenty acres, the second one hundred and sixty acres, 
the third two hundred acres. Macon proposed to give one hun- 
dred and sixty acres for a site and invited the Board to visit 
the county before locating the college. West Point's bid was 
twenty thousand dollars, city subscription, payable in eight an- 
nual installments as per ordinance, and ten thousand dollars 
private subscription, making a total of thirty thousand dollars, 
or school buildings and lands valued at thirty-seven thousand 
five hundred dollars, the Board of Trustees to pay ten thousand 
three hundred and forty dollars of the money. Starkville of- 
fered in private subscription and lands twelve thousand nine 
hundred and eighty dollars. Aberdeen offered sixteen thousand 
five hundred and fifteen dollars in notes of solvent citizens of 
the city and county, payable in installments. This bid was to be 
increased to twenty thousand dollars by the donation of build- 
ings and grounds, and in addition to this to pay the Board one 
thousand dollars annually provided the male white children of 
the city should be taught in preparatory departments, tuition 
free. Verona's bid was seventeen thousand dollars, as follows : 
North Mississippi College building and grounds and two hun- 
dred and forty acres of land, all valued at thirteen thousand dol- 
lars, and four thousand dollars in cash. Tupelo proposed to 
give ten thousand dollars in money and a quarter section of 
land. Okolona offered school buildings and grounds valued at 
ten thousand dollars and sixteen thousand dollars in city bonds, 
payable in installments. Quitman offered a hundred and sixty 
acres and one thousand dollars in cash for the location at 
Archusa Springs. Mississippi City offered choice of three tracts 
of land, one hundred and sixty acres in each. Summit and Mc- 
Comb City jointly offered four hundred and forty acres of land 
lying between the two towns and six thousand dollars in cash, 
a hundred and fifty thousand feet of lumber, two thousand acres 
of land in Pike county, with some other inducements. Crystal 
Springs offered ten thousand dollars in cash. Kosciusko of- 
fered a hundred and sixty acres of land and ten thousand dol- 
lars cash. Winona offered eight thousand dollars private sub- 
scription.** 
The next day after the examination of these bids the Board 

^Records Board of Trustees, Miss, A. & Af. College, 



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350 Mississippi Historical Society, 

started in a special train furnished free of charge to visit the 
various places competing for the location of the college. This 
tour of inspection embraced the last days of July and the first 
day of August, 1878. The Board then adjourned, having agreed 
to meet on September the loth to settle upon the location, but 
this meeting was, owing to the prevalence of yellow fever, de- 
ferred till December 13th. On this day they met in the Gover- 
nor's office, Jackson. All the members of the Board were pres- 
ent except Gen. West. Representatives from the various places 
bidding for the location were permitted to go before the Board 
to explain, add to, or to alter the previous bid from their re- 
spective towns. Under this provision Capt. R. M. Leavell ap- 
peared in behalf of Verona, Hon. Fred. G. Barry in behalf of 
West Point, Col. A. G. Horn in behalf of Quitman, Hon. J. W. 
Fewell in behalf of Meridian, and the Secretary of the Board in 
behalf of Okolona. This done and the record has it: The 
Board then proceeded to ballot for a location, which resulted 
in the selection of Starkville." 

In order to get a more detailed account of this matter, I wrote 
the members of the old Board who are now living, asking them, 
in the interest of the history of the college, to supply me with 
such information. From the replies I quote the following sen- 
tences as bearing directly upon the point under discussion: i. 
"Those interested along the line of the M. & O. R. R. claimed 
that in as much as the West had the State University, the East 
was entitled to the A. and M. Yet the West entered the contest, 
and nominated several places along the line of the I. C. R. R." 
"There was a .mutual agreement by the members of the Board 
that we would first settle the question as to which side of the 
State we would locate the college." "It was found that the 
members were almost united in favor of the East." 2. "We 
found but three eligible places that apaprently showed much 
desire for the college. These were West Point, Starkville, and 
Meridian. West Point made, I think, the most liberal offer, 
so far as money and property were concerned, but it was hedged 
with conditions we could not accept. It was the favorite place 
and would have been accepted but for the requirement that the 
college be within the corporate limits, and that the city have 

" Records Board of Trustees, Miss, A, & M, College, 



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Mississippi A. & M. College. — White. 351 

some advantages of it as a free school." 3. "Meridian was ex- 
ceedingly anxious for it, and liberal in its offer, but it was a 
growing city and soon to be a railroad center with easy access 
to other cities, with always a considerable floating population, 
***** and we thought the environments not suited for an 
agricultural college." 4. "Starkville made a liberal offer, and 
while sufficiently accessible, was a quiet country town, its peo- 
ple and community exceptionally sober and conservative, with a 
variety of soil, ***** and Christian influences surrounding 
our boys, we selected that town." 5. "It will be proper, I sup- 
pose, for me to state here, that a majority of the Board favored 
the city of Meridian up to within a few minutes of the voting, 
when an unfortunate paragraph in the Meridian Mercury 

appeared and changed the vote of one member, thus 

giving the choice to Starkville by one majority. The article in 
question was a positive declaration that the moral environments 
of Meridian were such that the college ought not to be located 
there, but ought to go to Archusa Springy, in the county of 
Clarke." 

The next meeting of the Board was held in Starkville on 
Thursday, April the 3rd, 1879, where the Board remained in 
session through Friday and Saturday. Thursday and Friday 
afternoons were spent by the Board in visiting and inspecting 
the lands in the vicinity of the town offered as a location for the 
college. One member writes that for this purpose the Board 
was divided into three divisions, each going a different route, 
about the place, with instructions to note all the advantages 
which might induce the selection, and that Messrs. Causey, 
Burkitt, Gilmer and Brown found the location, which was after- 
wards accepted by the Board. On Saturday morning, April the 
fifth, 1879, the Board in a body went out to the Bell tract, and 
after a careful examination, Messrs. Montgomery, Causey, and 
Dockery were appointed a Committee, with instructions to call 
on Mr. Bell and to negotiate a purchase of the land. This they 
did, and reported to the Board that Mr. Bell would sell three 
hundred and fifty acres at seven dollars per acre. The Board 
accepted the report and also Mr. Bell's proposition. Hon. Wiley 
N. Nash drew the deed, and the trade was made and the college 
located. 



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FUNERAL CUSTOMS OF THE MISSISSIPPI 
CHOCTAWS. 

By H. S. Halbert.* 

Colonel AlUert James Pickett in his History of Alabama gives 
an interesting and elaborate account of the burial and funeral 
customs of the Choctaws of the eighteenth century, this ac- 
count being collated and compiled from various writers of that 
century. From a close study of Pickett's authorities, from the 
scattered hints in other writers, from two writers not accessible 
to Pickett, and from Choctaw tradition, the writer of this paper 
has come to the conclusion that the burial and funeral cere- 
monies of the eighteenth century Choctaws were not always 
performed in the same manner. While there was a general 
resemblance in these customs, the evidence seems to show that 
they varied somewhat in different localities, and at different 
periods, during the eighteenth century. 

The object of this paper is to give the traditional account 
or version of these ceremonies, as related by some of the mod- 
ern Choctaws of Mississippi, and thence to follow some of the 
changes of fashion down to the present day, pointing out, at the 

* H. S. Halbert was born in Pickens county, Ala. His parents were 
of Welsh descent. His mother (nee Jane Owen) was the great grand- 
daughter of Rev. William Owen, who, early in the i8th century, with 
two brothers, emigrated from Wales to Virginia. He eventually left 
his brothers in Virginia and emigrated to South Carolina. Mr. Hal- 
bert's boyhood was spent in Mississippi. He was in a great measure 
educated in Union University, under the presidency of Joseph H. 
Eaton. In i860 and in the early part of 1861 he was in the Texas State 
troops in campaigns against the Kioways and Comanphes. At the out- 
break of the war between the States he entered the army of Tennessee 
and saw continuous service until disabled by a wound received at New 
Hope, Ga., May 26, 1864. For many years after the war he was a 
teacher in Texas, Alabama and Mississippi. For several years he was 
engaged in educational work among the Mississippi Choctaws and 
did much to elevate and christianize that race. He has written much 
on historical, ethnological and archaeological subjects, and has con- 
tributed many articles to the American Antiquarian and to the American 
Naturalist, lie is an active member of the Mississippi Historical So- 
ciety and of the Alabama Historical Society, and has made several 
contributions to their Publications. For a full list of his literary pro- 
duction see Owen's Bibliography of /I /o&ama.— Editor. 

(353) 



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354 Mississippi Historical Society. 

same time, any inaccuracies that may be found in writers that 
have described these Choctaw customs. For clearness of de- 
scription, in writing of the modern ceremonies, the present 
tense will be used, and the decadence of any feature of these 
ceremonies will be especially noted. 

The modern Choctaws of Mississippi who are best informed 
on the ancient usages of their people, state that in the olden 
time, whenever a Choctaw died, his body, covered with a blan- 
ket or bear skin, was placed placed upon a scaffold about six 
feet high, which was erected near the house. Benches were 
then made and placed around the scaffold. Every day the fam- 
ily were wont to seat themselves upon these benches, and with 
covered heads, for half an hour or more, to bewail the dead. 
This same sad duty was also performed by any relative or vis- 
itor that happened to be present. After some months, when a 
sufficient number of corpses in the villages of the community 
have become so thoroughly putrified as to allow a general 
burial, word to this effect is sent to the "na foni aiowa," "the 
bone-pickers." This word, which, according to connection, may 
be singular or plural, properly translated is "bone-gatherer," 
having reference to this officiars gathering the bones for burial. 
Bone-picker, which is here used in deference to general usage, 
is not the exact translation, and is somewhat misleading. The 
bone-pickers in all the adjoining towns or communities, on re- 
ceiving the news that their services are needed, now get to- 
gether, hold a consultation, and agree upon a day in which all 
the corpses, from all quarters, are to arrive at the bone-house. 
Some of the dead may be only a few hours* walk from the 
bone-house, others may be one or two days' journey. The bone- 
pickers now give small bundles of split cane, "oski kauwa," to 
messengers to be carried and given to all the families, far and 
near. These pieces of cane are about four inches long and the 
size of a broom-straw, arranged in a bundle and this tied around 
the middle with a string. Time is measured by these sticks, the 
receiver every morning throwing away a stick. The time has 
been so well set that he throws away the last stick on the morn- 
ing of the burial day. The oljd-time Choctaws reckoned time 
by "sleeps," and by throwing away a stick after each night's 
sleep, no mistake could be made. 



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Funeral Customs of Mississippi Choctaws. — Halbert 355 

When the bone-picker arrives at the house of the deceased, 
the family, kindred and visitors seat themselves on the mourn- 
ing benches and go through with their usual weeping and wail- 
ing. They then remove the benches, and the bone-picker at- 
tends to his office. He first makes the coffin or coffins, orna- 
menting them to the best of his taste or ability. He then takes 
down the corpses, with his long finger nails separates the flesh 
• from the bones, scrapes and washes the bones perfectly clean,, 
and puts them in the coffin. Tradition is silent as to the dis- 
position of the decayed flesh and other refuse. According tO' 
Bernard Roman's Florida, all this was burned. On the con-^ 
trary, an old Indian countryman, many years ago, informed the 
writer that it was buried. This last statement seems to be cor- 
roborated by the Journal of the Rev. Lorenzo Dow, page 220, 
where under the date of December 24, 1804, he thus writes: 
"We rode about forty miles through Six Towns of the Choc- 
taws, and whilst we were passing it, I observed where they scaf- 
fold the dead, and also the spot where the flesh was buried when 
the bone-picker had done his office.'' The probabilities are 
that some communities may have buried the flesh, while others 
burned it. Or, as Dow was a later observer, it may be that in 
his day the fashion was changed, the flesh being buried instead 
of being burned. In this connection it may not be amiss to call 
attention to Claiborne's Mississippi, page 489, where there is a 
confusion of the ancient and the modern ceremonies. He states 
that "the shrivelled integuments stripped off by the bone-pick- 
ers were buried in a separate place over which a pole was plant- 
ed." The shrivelled integuments may have been buried, accord- 
ing to the evidence just cited, but no pole was ever planted over 
them, nor was there any "pole-pulling" ceremony, for, as will be 
seen farther on, the pole-planting business and the pole-pulling 
ceremony were introduced afterwards as new ceremonies, when 
the old bone-picking custom was abolished by the Choctaws, 

According to the number of corpses the bone-pickers may be 
one or more days at work on their respective tasks. When the 
work is finished, from each place a procession is formed, and 
the coffins are borne to the bone-house, whether situated far or 
near. As has been stated, it is well known on what day all are 
to meet at the bone-house, and every procession so manages 

23 



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35^ Mississippi Historical Society. 

its business as to arrive there on the appointed day. On their 
arrival the coffins are placed upon the ground, the mourners 
crouch down around them, shroud their heads, then weep and 
wail a long time. When enough tears have been shed, the cof- 
fins are placed in the bone-house, and all then take their de- 
parture to their respective homes. 

After the bone-house has become full in consequence of suc- 
cessive deposits, the tradition says that men are appointed to 
cover the house all over with earth, which practically makes a 
burial mound. The Choctaw tradition on this point varies from 
the statements of Williaih Bartram and the Rev. Israel Fol- 
som, the latter a native Choctaw. Still the tradition may be 
correct as regards some localities or communities. Bartram 
states that "when the bone-house became full, the friends and 
relatives repaired thither, took out the coffins, formed a pro- 
cession, and with alternate singing and weeping went to a place 
of general interment, arranged the coffins in the form of a pyra- 
mid, and covered them with earth, so as to make a conical hill or 
mound. The procession then returned to the town and closed 
the day with a festival called 'the feast of the dead.' " The Rev. 
Israel Folsom in his manuscript makes a similar statement. He 
thus writes: "When the bone-houses became full, the bones 
were all taken out, and carefully arranged to a considerable 
height, somewhat in the form of a pyramid or cone, and a layer 
of earth was put over them. This custom, which prevailed 
among many different tribes, is, no doubt, the origin of the 
Indian mounds, as they are generally called, which are found 
in various parts of the country, particularly in the State of 
Mississippi, formerly the home of the Choctaws." While the 
writer, by no means, agrees with Mr. Folsom in this being the 
origin of all the mounds, great and small, in Mississippi, still 
Mr. Folsom is doubtless correct as to its being the origin of the 
low small burial mounds. Some investigations by the writer, 
in bygone years, corroborated this statement. 

At what time did the bone-picking custom become obsolete? 
As a result from all the •obtainable sources of information, it 
may be safely stated that the custom fell into disuse in the early 
years of the nineteenth century. The custom may have lin- 
gered longer in some localities than in others. From the pas- 



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Funeral Customs of Mississippi Choctaws. — Halbert 357 

sage quoted above from the Rev. Lorenzo Dow's Journal, it 
seems certain that this custom still prevailed in 1804 among the 
Six Towns Choctaws. The anonymous author of a littli work, 
published in 1830, entitled Conversatimis on the Choctaw Missions, 
practically states, on page 211, that the bone-picking custom 
became obsolete about 1800. Writers describing Choctaw cus- 
toms subsequent to 1812, make no mention of the bone-picking 
custom, thus showing that by this time it had passed away. 
Colonel Claiborne, in his Life and Times of Sam Dak, pp. 175-6, 
has somehow drifted into a strange mistake in stating that 
the custom still existed in 1832. The Rev. Israel Folsom, in his 
manuscript, does not give the date of the abolition of the bone- 
picking custom; but makes the following statement in regard 
to the new custom : "When the custom of placing the dead upon 
platforms was abandoned, which met with strong opposition, 
they buried their dead in a sitting posture in the grave ; around 
the grave they set up half a dozen red poles, about eight feet 
high, and one about fifteen feet high, at the top of which a white 
flag was fastened. The occupation of the bone-pickers having 
been abolished, it then became their business to set up red poles 
around the graves, and afterwards to remove them at the time 
of mourning, hence they were called "pole-pullers." They were 
respected by the people, and far less labor being imposed upon 
them they were pleased with the change in the burial of the 
dead." The above statement from Mr. Folsom seems to cor- 
roborate the Choctaw tradition that the bone-pickers of the 
olden-time were not looked upon' with much respect. Their 
office was doubtless considered necessary, but not very elevat- 
ing. 

We pass now from the Choctaws of the early years of the 
nineteenth century down to the remnant of the same people 
still living in Mississippi in the last half and in the closing years 
of the same century. Notwithstanding the seemingly impassive 
nature of our Mississippi Choctaws, upon the death of a mem- 
ber of the household, the family and relatives often give vent to 
such a passionate outburst of grief that is almost appalling to a 
white person unfamiliar with Indian life. The frequent and long- 
drawn out exclamations of grief uttered by the women, "aiyen- 
aheh" and "ikkikkeh," fall upon the ear with a wild and mourn- 



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358 Mississippi Historical Society. 

ful sound. During these agonizing scenes the sympathizing- 
friends present are sometimes wont to rub the heads of the 
mourners with horsemint so as to relieve the headache that is 
so often caused by excessive grief. Meanwhile preparations are 
made for the burial. This duty is supervised by the two oldest 
men in the community, officially called "hattak in tikba," which 
term may be translated "headman." The two iksa are repre- 
sented in these headmen, one of them belonging to the Kash- 
apa Okla, the other to the Okla in holahta. The two headmen 
now appoint six men as "pole-planters," each headman appoint- 
ing three from his own iksa. The pole-planters go to work, 
make the poles from small pine saplings, stripping oflF the bark 
and painting or rather daubing the poles with red clay. Two of 
the poles are about ten or twelve feet high, the other four about 
eight. A series of grapevine hoops, which are about two feet 
in diameter, are fastened to the two tall poles. The hoops are 
made by coiling the vines around two or more times, so that 
the body of each hoop is made exactly the same size, and then 
the coil kept securely in its place by being tied with strings. 
The hoops are tied, about six inches apart, hard and fast to 
the pole, at the upper and lower edges of their circumference. 
The number of the hoops is a matter of no consequence, 
whether many or few. 

Every thing being ready for the burial, all repair to the grave, 
which is generally made very near the house, sometimes even in 
the yard. The body, enclosed in a coffin, is lowered into the 
grave. A few years ago, such articles as the deceased most 
valued in life were deposited with him in the grave or coffin. 
A gun was a favorite article deposited in the grave of a man. 
Beads, gorgets and other female paraphernalia in the grave of 
a woman. Sometimes, especially in the case of children, a pair 
of shoes was placed in the coffin. These usages are now entirely 
abandoned. When the last clods of earth have been cast upon 
the grave and boards placed over it, the six pole-planters come 
forward and plant their poles, three being set up by the pole- 
planters of one iksa on one side of the grave, and three set up by 
the pole-planters of the opposite iksa on the other side. The 
two tall poles adorned with hoops are in the center of each side, 
the hoops being on the sides of the poles farthest from the 



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Funeral Customs of Mississippi Choctaws. — Halbert 359 

grave. The lowest hoop on each pole is about two feet from the 
ground. To the tops of the tall poles small streamers are fast- 
ened, these streamers being generally small strips of white 
cloth, though occasionally red handkerchiefs are used. The 
object of these streamers is to show to the passer-by that it is 
a grave, and he is expected to halt and show his respect for the 
dead by weeping a while over it. White strings are tied around 
the tops of the other poles. If the deceased is a male, sometimes 
a pair of ball sticks is suspended from one of the poles. If, owing 
to some untoward circumstances, the pole-planters cannot plant 
their poles at the time of burial, it is expected that they do this 
work as soon afterwards as possible. Sometimes a child is 
buried under the house. In such a case, and also in the case 
of any one dying far from home, a place near the house is 
selected for the planting of the poles, thus making a kind of 
cenotaph, where the funeral obsequies are performed. After the 
pole-planting work is finished, every one on the ground, male 
and female, assemble around the grave, kneel down, cover their 
heads, then weep and wail a long time. After indulging in a . 
certain amount of grief, all arise and gradually disperse to their 
homes. 

As a digression, some observations may here be made in re- 
gard to the hoops on the two tall poles. The fastening of hoops 
to the poles fell into disuse about thirty years ago. The Choc- 
taws expressly say that these hoops had no significance what- 
ever. They were simply ornaments to the grave, and were 
never taken off from the poles. They say that the white man's 
statement, as recorded in Claiborne's Mississippi, page 489, 
that these hoops were designed as a ladder for the spirit to as- 
cend at the last cry is simply a fiction created by the white 
man's fancy, and that no such idea ever existed among the 
Choctaws. To repeat, the hoops were an ornament, that and 
nothing else. The statement in Colonel Claiborne's History, 
relative to this "spirit-ladder" business, must then be taken with 
many grains of salt; in fact, must not be taken at all. The 
Choctaws are certainly better judges of this matter than any 
white man can possibly be. In addition to this, as has already 
been stated, there was no special number of hoops. The "thir- 
teen— lunar— months" symbolism, as mentioned in Colonel 



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3^ Mississippi Historical Society. 

Claiborne's book, is something that was unknown to the Choc- 
taws, and had its origin only in the white man's imagination. 
A reference to another matter in this same connection. There 
never was any "dancing-the-spirit-home" ceremonies, as like- 
wise recorded on the same page of Colonel Claiborne's His- 
tory. This is another specimen of the white man's fancy. Far- 
ther on in this paper will be given an account of the dances 
that are danced at the last cry. 

Returning from this digression, the cry at the pole-puUing is 
merely the beginning of the many things that are to be done 
before the final closing of the funeral ceremonies. The family 
and the near relatives now go into deep mourning, which the 
men manifest by letting the hair remain unshorn, and the wo- 
men by going barefoot, and neither sex wearing any kind of or- 
naments, such as plumes, silver bands, sashes, gorgets, beads, 
bracelets, finger rings, earrings, in short, any ornament peculiar 
to either man or woman. Under all circumstances the mourn- 
ers preserve a grave and digfnified demeanor. They converse 
in low tones, and the men never even so far forget themselves 
as to shout at a dog. They indulge in no jests, laughter, revelry 
or merrymaking of any kind. If approached and asked to par- 
ticipate in a dance, for instance, the invariable response is, 
"Hihla la hekeyu Tabishi sia hokat." "I cannot dance. I am 
a mourner." Twice a day, early in the morning and late in the 
afternoon, they go to the grave, cover their heads, kneel down 
and weep over it. If a friend comes to see them, they even go 
oftener, the visitor accompanying them and doing his share of 
weeping. Etiquette also requires that the visitor himself must 
always approach the grave and weep a while over it before he 
enters the house. While the immediate family go, as it were, 
into conventional mourning by the observances mentioned 
above, as regards letting the hair grow, going barefoot and 
wearing no ornaments, this matter is left entirely optional to 
those of more distant relationship. A first cousin, for instance, 
can use his own pleasure, whether or not, by following these 
observances he shall be included in the mourning family. 

Meanwhile, the two headmen confer with each other and ap- 
point the most expert hunters out of the two iksa to go out 
into the woods, kill as many deer as they can and barbecue their 



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Funeral Customs of Mississippi Choctaws. — H albert 361 

f 

flesh for "the last cry," or, as it is called by the Choctaws, "yaiya 

chito," "the big cry." After a while the mourning family ap- 
point a day for "the little cry," "yaiya iskitini," which, of course, 
is held at the grave. Quite a company generally go to the little 
cry. The two headmen are generally present. There are no 
ceremonies at the little cry. While there the family ag^ee upon 
the time for the big cry. This is a kind of communal cry, in 
which the entire town or community participate. The time for 
this cry is determined by many circumstances, as the state of the 
weather, the labor of the crops, etc. Sometimes several months 
elapse between the death and the last cry. As soon as the time 
is settled upon, the two headmen, just as in the olden time, 
send around the small bundles of spHt cane to all the families, 
far and near, thereby notif)ring them of the appointed day. To 
record this matter accurately, the Choctaws gradually ceased to 
use these sticks some thirty years ago, when they began to be- 
come familiar with the white man's division of time into days 
and weeks. Since that time it is sufficient to notify the parties 
by merely sending word as to the day and week in which the 
cry is to take place. 

The great day at last arrives. During the afternoon, the 
Choctaws from far and near begin to make their appearance 
upon the camping ground, which is generally a hundred yards, 
more or less, from the grave. As they arrive upon the ground, 
each one, without greeting anybody, and looking neither to the 
right nor to the left, walks straight to the grave, there covers 
his head with a shawl or blanket, kneels down and indulges in 
the prescribed cry. Having discharged this duty to the dead, he 
returns to the camping ground, fixes himself and family com- 
fortably in camp, and then holds himself in readiness for the 
coming events. The two headmen make their camp fires op- 
posite each other, about fifty feet apart. As the afternoon be- 
gins to draw to a close, the hunters bring forward their barbe- 
cued venison and deposit it on the ground between the camp 
fires of the headmen. Some families have brought with them 
for the common feast large kettles full of hominy. These, too, 
are brought forward and placed on the ground along with the 
venison. As night begins to close upon the scene, the camp 
fires are lighted up afresh, and the two headmen hold a consul- 



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3^2 Mississippi Historical Society. 

tation. They make an estimate of the numbers of their respec- 
tive iksa present, and proportion the food accordingly. The 
rigid law of Choctaw etiquette at an Indian cry requires that 
the two iksa must eat separate and distinct from each other. 
This is a sacred and inviolable law. The venison and hominy 
are now carried to the various iksa groups, as they are scat- 
tered around over the ground. No g^oup is neglected. In the 
distribution of the food, it is customary to give to all the con- 
tributors of hominy a small quantity of venison for their private 
use, which they can carry home with them. This is intended as 
a remuneration for their contribution of hominy for the public 
use. When all the venison and hominy have been distributed, 
each headman delivers an oration to his iksa, these orations be- 
ing the prelude to the coming big feast. The orators are some- 
times excessively tedious and prolix, and the hungry auditors 
become very impatient under their long-winded speeches. The 
speeches finally come to a close, and without any more ado, 
the solid work of eating begins. Every Choctaw, male and 
female, big and little, old and young, mourners and all, now 
feast to their hearts' content. It is best here to state that the 
iksa separation in public feasting passed away many years ago, 
the extinction of the deer and other causes having rendered it 
impracticable. The two iksa at a cry nowadays eat promiscu- 
ously at one long table, for the table has superseded the old 
method of eating in groups on the ground. The speeches of 
the orators prior to the feast, however, still continue to be the 
fashion. After having regaled themselves to satiety, the crowd 
scatter over the ground. The men, women and children gather 
around the various camp fires, and every one passes the time 
in the best manner to suit himself. It is a very social occasion, 
and there is very little sleep in the camp that night. The men 
talk, smoke, chew tobacco, or it may be, some engage in the 
game of "naki luma," "hidden bullet." The women gossip; 
whilst the children and the. numerous dogs contribute their 
share to the noise and hilarity of the occasion. After about an 
hour of general sociability, the young men and the young wo- 
men assemble at the "ahihla," "the dancing ground," a plot 
of ground about a hundred yards off, which has been previously 
prepared for this purpose. Here six different kinds of dances 



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Funeral Customs of Mississippi Choctaws. — HaWert 363 

are danced in succession, which, being very long, take up the 
greater part of the night. These dances are very complicated 
and almost incomprehensible to a white person. The first dance 
is "nakni hihla," *'the men's dance," which the men alone dance. 
This dance over, the young women are now masters of the 
situation. Each woman selects her own man as her partner for 
the five coming dances. The man selected cannot back out, but 
must dance with his partner as long as she chooses to dance, 
no matter how weary he may become. If the woman herself 
should finally become weary of dancing, she simply says to her 
partner, "kil issa," "let us quit," whereupon both withdraw and 
neither dances any more that night. The second dance is 
''shatanih hihla," ''the tick dance." The third, "nita hihla," "the 
bear dance." The fourth, "yahyachi hihla," "the trotter's 
dance." The fifth, "ittisanali hihla," "the dance of those that 
oppose each other." The sixth, "ittihalanli hihla," "the dance 
of those that hold each other," which dance, after many evolu- 
tions, comes to an end by both sexes standing in tjvro lines fac- 
ing each other, both hands of the men holding the two first fin- 
gers of the women's two hands. Sometimes one of these dances 
is repeated. It is indispensable that they all be finished before 
daybreak, for at daybreak there must be a short period — ^about 
fifteen or twenty minutes— of quietness in the camp. There is 
a song sung with every dance, occasionally one of these songs 
being composed on the spot. On a bright moonlight night 
these dances with their various evolutions have a wonderful 
fascination to the on-looking white man. The plumes, the 
sashes and silver bands of the men, the gaudy dresses, the beads, 
the gorgets and other silver ornaments of the women, the grace- 
ful movements of the dancers, the strange, wild Choctaw songs, 
all unite to make some of the unique attractions of savage life. 

About two hours before day, whilst the dancing of the young 
people is still under full swing, a short cry is made by the 
mourners. Some one of them, be it man or woman, sitting by a 
camp fire, suddenly lifts up his voice in a wailing sound. The 
other mourners approach him, group themselves around him, 
cover their heads with their blankets, and for about ten minutes 
the mourners give vent to cries of wailing and lamentation. 

It is now broad dayhght. Suddenly the loud voices of the 



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3^4 Mississippi Historical Society. 

two headmen are heard telling their people that the time is now 
at hand for the last cry over the dead. The headmen have al- 
ready appointed the six pole-pullers, three from each iksa. 
The pole-pullers may be the same men as the pole-planters, or 
they may be entirely new appointees. All, men, women and 
children, now repair to the grave. The two headmen take their 
stand at the head of the grave. The pole-pullers stand, each one 
near his pole, three from one iksa on one side of the grave, 
the other three on the other side. All, except the headmen and 
the pole-pullers, with covered heads, now kneel upon the ground 
and for a long time the sound of lamentation and weeping and 
great mourning goes up to high heaven. The crowd may be 
very great, so that for some distance around the grave the 
ground is covered with the kneeling forms of the mourning 
Indians. Many are the exclamations and expressions of grief, 
especially from the women. It is an affecting scene; for, even 
though much of the lamentation on the part of some may be 
a matter of form, still, with the immediate family, the near kin- 
dred and the intimate friends of the dead it is a manifestation 
of genuine and heartfelt sorrow. After a while, the headman 
of the iksa opposite to that of the deceased begins his funeral 
oration, in which he expatiates much upon the virtues of their 
departed friend. The oration is usually short. When the 
speaker comes to a close, he and his brother headman lift up 
their voices and utter what is called "tashka paiya," "the war- 
rior's call," consisting of the four following exclamations : 'TTo, 
hyu, hyu, hyu," to which the pole-pullers respond with "ho-ee, 
ho-ee, ho-ee, ho-ee," as noticed, "ho-ee" being said four times. 
The headmen again utter their exclamations just as at first, and 
again the pole-pullers respond with their exclamations in both 
cases, the same number as at first. All this is repeated by both 
parties the third time, and then the fourth and last time. The 
pole-pullers now perform their office. They take up the poles, 
bear them erect for some distance, then lower them to a hori- 
zontal position and deposit them in a thicket or behind a log. 
As the pole-pullers start off from the grave nearly all the pros- 
trate crowd arise to their feet, their tears cease to flow, and their 
w^ailing comes to an end. The mourning family, however, from 
a sense of propriety, still remain for some minutes longer weep- 



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Funeral Customs of Mississippi Choctaws. — HaWert 365 

ing over the grave. Finally, they, too, arise and the crowd grad- 
ually scatter over the ground. After a while, an old woman of 
the iksa opposite to that of the dead comes foward with a pair 
of scissors in her hand, and cuts off a jingle lock of hair from 
the heads of the women of the mourning family. An old man, 
likewise of the opposite iksa, in the same manner, approaches 
the males of the mourning family and trims off their long hair. 
These are the last ceremonies in the funeral obsequies of the 
Choctaws. The time of mourning has now passed. All now 
gradually leave the ground. The mourners on their return 
home can resume their usual dress and ornaments and take up 
again their free and easy Indian life. The custom of clipping 
a single lock of hair from the heads of the mourning women 
and girls still prevails to some extent, but trimming the hair of 
the men and boys became obsolete about twenty years ago. 
Strictly speaking, about the same time, the custom of the men's 
letting their hair remain unshorn and the women going bare- 
foot during the period of mourning became obsolete. Also, to 
a great extent, the disuse of ornaments during the mourning 
season. As stated, the cry over, all return to their homes. 
There was no breakfast on the ground at the cries of many 
years ago, but the modern innovation requires that all must 
leave the funeral ground with a full stomach. 

Such is the manner, from beginning to end, in which the 
Choctaws of Mississippi are wont to perform the funeral ob- 
sequies over their dead. But, to be very accurate in these mat- 
ters, it is best to say that, excepting the barbecued venison feat- 
ure, the above is a correct description of the Choctaw funeral 
ceremonies in nearly all the Choctaw communities down to 
about 1883. Since that year the introduction of Christianity and 
education has wrought a great revolution in the ideas and 
usages of the Choctaws. One custom after another has gradu- 
ally passed out of use. The last pole-pulling that occurred in the 
Mokalusha clan was in February, 1885. The custom lingered 
some years longer among the Bog^e Chito Indians, but per- 
haps now has passed out of use everywhere. In some localities 
poles with streamers attached are still planted around the grave, 
but there is no pole-pulling. The cry with some of the old 
ceremonies still prevails to some extent, especially in the non- 



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3^6 Mississippi Historical Society. 

Christianized communities, notably among the Bogue Chito 
Indians, who, of all our Mississippi Indians, most closely re- 
semble the old-time Choctaws. In the Christianized communi- 
ties there are graveyard j near their churches, where they bury 
their dead, or try to bury them, after the manner of white peo- 
ple. Many Choctaws of the Christianized element are very 
averse to any usage that, to their view, savors of their old time 
heathenism. The revolution still goes onward. All the old 
Choctaw usages, sooner or later, are destined to pass away. 
And the time will come when, apart from color, speech and some 
mental Indian characteristics, deeply ingrained by centuries of 
heredity, there will, perhaps, be but little left that is peculiar to 
that aboriginal people, who, if we believe their tradition, were 
actually created by the Great Spirit out of the very soil of 
Mississippi. 



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DANVILLE'S MAP OF EAST MISSISSIPPL 
By H. S. Halb^rt. 

So far as is known to the writer of this paper, Danville's map> 
found in Hamilton's Colonial Mobiky page 158, is the most an- 
cient map of East Mississippi. It gives some of the water- 
courses and Indian towns belonging to Kemper, Lauderdale 
and Clarke counties, to that extent, at least, carrying back the 
history of these counties to nearly one hundred and seventy 
years ago. 

This map, while incorrect in a great measure, still has some 
true features. The river, named Riv 'de TEcor noir, is the Su- 
kenatcha, and it ought to have been made to run more to the 
east, and not so much to the south. It will be seen that the 
town, Oke-loussa, more correctly called Oka lusa, signifying 
Black Water, is situated on a tributary of the Riv 'de TEcor 
noir, or to use its present name, Sukenatcha. This tributary 
and its town have always borne the name Okalusa. The mod- 
ern Mississippi Choctaws still call the creek by its old aborig- 
inal name, whilst the Americans call it Black Water, its Eng- 
lish equivalent. The exact site of Black Water Town, which 
on the map is laid down on the south side of the creek, is not 
as yet identified. Like many other Choctaw towns, it was 
doubtless a straggling collection of houses and small farms, and 
may have extended for one or more miles up and down Black 
Water Creek. The Black Water people, at least, at one period 
during the eighteenth century, do not seem to have borne the 
best of reputations. Captain Bernard Roman, in his account of 
his journey down the Tombigbee, states that on the 13th of 
January, 1772, he came to Batchachooka, the present Tusca- 
homa, where he found "a notorious gang of thieves" that be- 
longed to Black Water Town. The captain strongly intimates 
that he ran some risk of being plundered by these Black Water 
marauders. Modern Choctaw tradition confirms the reputation 

(367) 



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3^8 Mississippi Historical Society. 

given by Captain Roman to these people ; for it represents the 
Black Water warriors as predatory in their habits, often making 
inroads into the domains of the Muscogees. According to the 
district divisions of the Choctaws in the nineteenth century, the 
Black Water people were in Nittakechi's district. At that time 
their number seems to have been somewhat reduced, perhaps 
by removing and uniting with other portions of the Choctaw 
people, since the census of 1831 gives their entire number as 
only seventy-eight souls. 

Returning to Danville's map, it will be seen that a little west 
of north of Oke-loussa Town is a town called Ayanabe, situated 
on a creek of the same name, spelled and pronounced in modem 
times Yannubbee. The genuine Choctaw spelling is lyanabi or 
Yanabi, the name signifying "Iron wood." Yannubbee Town 
was situated about eight miles southwest of DeKalb, and, as 
stated, on Yannubbee creek, about two miles above its conflu- 
ence with Petickfa. The old Decatur and DeKalb road tra- 
versed the site of this ancient town. 

Yannubbee Town was a place of some celebrity in Choctaw 
history. According to tradition, at some period in the eigh- 
teenth century, a bloody war occurred between the Creek In- 
dians and the Kooncheto Choctaws. Both parties finally be- 
coming weary of the war, at the suggestion of the Creeks, Yan- 
nubbee Town, which, it seems was a neutral town, was selected 
as a place of rendezvous for the two tribes to meet and arrange 
terms of peace. The Choctaw chief with his warriors on the 
appointed day arrived in Yannubbee. But the Creeks, perhaps 
fearing treachery, failed to make their appearance. The Choc- 
taw chief then ordered his warriors to fire their guns upward 
in the open air, thereby intimating his perfect willingness that 
the war should close. This action, which no doubt became 
known to the Creeks, practically made peace between the two 
tribes. 

In the fall of 181 1, the Shawnee prophet, Seekaboo, visited 
Yannubbee Town in the interest of Tecumseh. From several 
authoritative sources we learn that a small party of Choctaws, 
about thirty, joined the Creeks in the summer of 1813 and bore 
arms against the Americans. They were present in the battle 



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Danville's Map of East Mississippi. — Halbert. 369 

of Calebee Swamp, where several were killed. From Monette's 
History of the Valley of the Mississippi, Vol. II., page 397, it can 
be seen that these renegades were from • Yannubbee Town. 
These were the only Choctaws that joined the Creeks in their 
great war against the Americans. It would seem, therefore, 
a fair conjecture that their action in joining the Creeks must 
be due to the visit of Seekaboo. The writer has given elsewhere 
the story of the military execution of these Yannubbee warriors. 
The after history of Yannubbee Town, which lay in Moshuli- 
tubbee's district, is uneventful. 

Again returning to the map, we find that northwest of Oke- 
loussa is Oktibea, which, as the name shows, was certainly 
situated on Oktibbeha creek, which creek the map-maker has 
failed to lay down. Oktibea, from its situation, was probably 
Yazoo Town, which was situated on the headwaters of Oktib- 
beha Creek in Neshoba county, a short distance from the Kem- 
per county line. 

Following the trail on Danville's map, which leads southwest 
from Ayanabe, we come to Concha. This town, from its name 
and situation, is certainly the old Choctaw town of Kushak bo- 
lukta, which means "Round Reed-brake," Kushak, "reed- 
brake," bolukta, "round." The Choctaws in speaking of this 
ancient town, often call it Kusha bolukta, omitting the final 
k of Kushak. O, as o in note, and u, as u in rude, can be used 
interchangeably in Choctaw, Koshak or Kushak. 

There were several towns named Kusha in the Choctaw coun- 
try, so called because they were built near reed-brakes. In the 
case of Kusha bolukta, the adjective bolukta was doubtless ap- 
pended to distinguish it from other Choctaw towns of the same 
name. Kushak, or Kusha bolukta was situated in the south- 
western part of Kemper county, about two miles from the 
Neshoba and a mile and a half from the Lauderdale county line. 
The old military road made by Jackson's army passed through 
this town. Kushak bolukta was in Mo-shu-li-tub-bee's district, 
but was considered the corner of the three Choctaw districts. 
The place was named from a large circular reed-brake, about 
fifty acres in area, situated on the west side of Oktibbeha Creek. 
This reed-brake is now embraced in the farms of B. F. King and 



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370 Mississippi Historical Society. 

W. F. Vance. The town enveloped the reed-brake on the north- 
west, west and southwest. 

Not only does an interest attach to these towns, whose names 
are recorded on Danville's map, but even the trail leading from 
Concha to Ayanabe has a significance in Choctaw history. 
Among the southern Indians, boundary lines between tribes 
and divisions of tribes were water courses, water sheds or **di- 
vides" between water courses, and occasionally a well-known 
trail. In the nineteenth century, the Kushak bolukta and Yan- 
nubbee Town trail, from Kushak bolukta to where it strikes the 
divide between Yannubbee Creek and the Chickasahay waters, 
a distance of eight or ten miles, was a part of the boundary 
line separating the districts of Nittakechi and Moshulitubbee 
(AmoshuHtabi). This trail was, no doubt, of as great an 
antiquity as the two towns which it connected. 

Leaving these Kemper county towns and going to the south- 
west we come to the river, named Son-la-houe on Danville's 
map. This stream, which is the Chickasahay, is laid too far to 
the west. As to the name, Son-la-houe, there is a large western 
tributary of the Chickasahay in Jasper and Clarke counties, 
called by the Americans Sooenlovie, which is a corruption of 
the Choctaw Hasunlawi, the name by which the stream is still 
called by the Mississippi Choctaws. Now the writer feels sure 
that Son-la-houe is nothing more nor less than a corrupt French 
spelling and pronunciation of Hasunlawi. In ancient times this 
may have been the name of the Chickasahay proper, as we see 
it on Danville's map, and finally the name may have been re- 
stricted or transferred to its tributary, the main stream then re- 
ceiving its present name from the Chickasahay Choctaws. The 
writer has been informed by several Six Towns Indians that 
Hasunlawi is a corruption of Yasunlabi, which means "leech- 
killer." Yasunla, "leech," abi, "to kill." Yasunla is a dialectic 
Six Towns word, corresponding to yalus, the word used by 
Choctaws in other localities for leech. 

Tchikachae on Danville's map is Chickasahay Town, which 

is often mentioned by eighteenth century writers. According to 

tradition, this town stood on the east side of Chickasahay River, 

about three miles below the present town of Enterprise. . 

On the same side of the Chickasahay, three miles below Shu- 



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Danville's Map of East Mississippi. — HaWert. 371 

buta, stood the old Indian town Haiowanni, Yowanni or You- 
ane, as spelled on Danville's map. The name is spelled in vari- 
ous ways. The Rev. Allen Wright in his Choctaw dictionary 
defines it "the cut-worm, the caterpillar." This town is often 
mentioned by Adair and other contemporary writers. It seems 
that at one time during the eighteenth century the Yowanni 
people were included among the Six Towns people, and the en- 
tire district was then sometimes called Seven Towns. In 1830, 
and for an unknown period of time prior thereto, Yowanni 
embraced all the territory Ijring on both sides of Eucuttie 
Creek ; in short, all the territory extending from Pachuta Creek 
on the north to the Choctaw boundary on the south. The 
Yowanni western boundary was the eastern water-shed or di- 
viding ridge of Bogue Homa, which ridge separated the Yo- 
wanni from the Nashwaiya people. The extent of the Yowanni 
territory to the east of the Chickasahay cannot now be known. 
It was perhaps in 1764 that a band of the Yowannis separated 
from the main clan, emigrated to Louisiana and united with the 
Caddoes, forming the Yowanni band in the Caddo tribe, an 
organization existing to the present day. All the remaining 
Yowanni Choctaws living in their ancient teritory emigrated in 
1832, in the second emigration, except two families, Aiiskambi's 
and Nukchintabi's, whose descendants still live in Mississippi. 

As will be seen from the evidence presented in this paper, 
at least four Choctaw towns, Yannubee, Kusha bolukta, Chicka- 
sahay and Yowanni, occupied the same sites in 1732 as they did 
in 1832, showing a full century's continuity of historic existence. 
How long they may have existed prior to 1732 can never be 
known. It was by long and persistent inquiries among Choc- 
taws best informed on their old traditions that the writer was 
enabled to identify these ancient town-sites. Perhaps future re- 
search may give some one the location of the other towns re- 
corded on Danville's map. 



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INDEX. 



Aberdeen, Miss., 349. 
Agriculture. 
Application of science to, in 
Miss., 240-241. 
Agricultural and Geological Sur- 
vey of Mississippi, Historical 
outline, 207-2J4. , . , ^ , 
Agricultural and Mechanical Col- 
lege, origin and location of, 
341-351. 
Alabama regiments in battle of 
Baker's Creek. 
20th Regiment, 42, ^5, 62. 
23rd Regiment, 42, 62. 
30th Regiment, 42, 62. 
31st Regiment, 42, as, 62. 
46th Regiment, 42, 62. 
Alcorn, J?imes L., 77- 
Alcorn, Robert J., 78. 
Alligators, in Miss., 197-198. 
Ames, Adelbert, 76, 104. 
Anandale, 92. 
Anderson. Abel, 78. 
Anderson s batttery (Jos. W.), 

29. 
Animals of early Miss., 196-198. 
Arkansas regiments in battle of 
Baker's Creek. 
1st Cavalry, 46. 
I2th, isth, 19th, 20th, 2ist In- 
fantry, 46. 
Augustus, Hon. W B., 348. 
Ayanabe, 368, 370. 

Bache, Lieutenant, 76, 103, 104. 
Badeau, General. 

Siege of Vicksburg, 64, 65. 
Baird, Charles W., 128. 
Baker's Creek, battle of, 35, 49. 

Action of battle> 40. 

Description of battle, 46, 47. 

Formation of lines, 41, 42. 

Losses in battle, 52, 53. 

Map of battle, 34. 

Topography of battlefield, 38, 

Baldwin Ferry. §7. 
Baldwin. General, 29. 
Baldwin s brigade, 29, 65. 
Bank of Mississippi, 317-320. 
Banking in Mississippi. 

History of, ^17-339 
Banks, General, 25, ^, 53. 
Barksdale, Major, 80-83. 



Barnard, Dr. F. A. P., 212. 

Barry, Hon. Fred. G., 350. 

Barry, H. W., 78. 

Barteau, Col. C. R., 109. 

Barton, General, 42, 46. 

Barton's brigade, 40, 41, 65. 

Bartram, William, 356. 

Batchachooka, 367. 

Baton Rouge, La., 24. 

Bayou Pierre, 29. 

Beall, Andrew, 284. « 

Beauregard, General, 117. 

Bee, Gen. B. E., 117. 

Bell, Judge, 346. 

Bello, J. Alexandrine, 207 n. 

Benoist, Gabriel, 278, 281, 303. 

Bernard, Joseph, 276, 278, 2B1. 

Biddle. CoL 103. 

Big Black Ridge, 54. 

Big Black River, 29, 30, 31, 32, 

„., 49, 50,^51, 52. 

Biloxi, 236. 237, 244. 

Bishop Otey as Provisional 

Bishop of Mississippi, 139- 

145. 
Black and Tan Convention, 73- 

Tabular view. 78. 
Black Water Creek, .3(57. 
Black Water Town, 3(57, 368. 
Blair. General, 34, 36, 43. 
Blair s division, 34, 35. 37, 39, 43. 
^ 43, 49, 52. 
Bogue Homa, 371. 
Bolton, 33, 34, 42, 44, 52. 
Bondurant, Alexander J., 113 n. 
Bondurant, Alexander L., A. M., 

113, 114 n. 
Bondurant, Col. Thomas M., 113. 
Boomer's brigade, 46, 47. 
Bordman, Charles, 285, 
Boundaries of Mississippi, 167. 
184. 

Northern boundary, 167-169. 

Eastern boundary, 169-181. 

Southern and western boun- 
ary, 181-184. 
Bowen^ Gen., 29, 30. 
Bowen s Division, 35, 37, 41, 43, 



46. -^,48, 49. 
at Vicksburg, «, <7 
Bradley, Capt., 6, 63. 



', 64. 



Bragg, Gen., 26. 27, 30. 
Breckenridge's Division, 37. 
(373) 



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374 



Mississippi Historical Society. 



Brown, Maj. L. B., 348. 
Brownsville, 33. 

Brough, Charles Hillman, 317 "• 
Brougher, C. A., 76. 
Bruin, Peter B.. 281, 303. 
Bruinsburg, Miss., 24, 29. 
Bryan, Mary J., 85 n. 
Buford's brigade, /A, 
Burkit, Hon. Frank. 348. 
Burling, Thomas, 284. 
Burnet, John, 285. 

Cabbell, Gen. Wm., 108. 
Caddoes, 371. 
Caldwell, Charles, 78. 
Calebee Swamp, 369. 
Campaign of Vicksburg, 21-53. 
Cane, bamboo, 193, 194. 
Canning factories, 242. 
Canton road, 34, 
Cappelman, Mrs. Josic Frazee, 

107 n. 
Carodine. Parker, 285. 
Carr's Division, 35, 37^ 39, 42, 48, 

49. 
Carter, Mrs. N. G., 113 n, 116. 

Castello, , 78. 

Causev, J. M., 348. 

Chambers, Henry E., 247 n. 

Champion Hills, Battle of, 34*49, 

^^ 52.. 55. 56. 

Champion House, 34, 35, 37» 39. 

43, 44. 
Chickasahay, town, 370. 

Waters, 370, 371. 
Chickasaw Bayou, 22 n, 50, 55, 58. 
Choctaws, 367-371. 
Funeral customs in Miss., 353- 

366. 
Christmas in Mississippi, 95. 
Civil War, importance of local 

history, 107- 112. 
Claiborne, Wm. Chas. Cole, 247- 

259. 
Early life, 247-248. 
Statesman, 249. 
Governor, 250-251. 
Louisiana acquired, 251-256. 
Gov. of La., 253-256. 
Clark, Gen. Charles (Gov.), 73, 

74, 75 . 
Clark, Charles W., 78. 
Clark, Daniel, 281. 
Clarke Co., 367. 

Clayton, Mrs. Virginia B., 90, 91. 
Clinton, 31, 32, 33, 34. 36, 38, 43- 
Clinton Road, 35, 36, 37, 41, 44, 

45, 47, 48. 
Cockrell. Gen. Francis M., 46, 47. 
Cockrell s brigade, 29, 46, 47. 



Coffceville, 314. 
Collins, John, 284. 
Colquitt's brigade, 32. 
Columbus, Ky., 25. 

Combash, , 78. 

Compton, Dr., 78-79. 
Concha, 369, 370. 

Conley, , 78. 

Corinth, Miss., 24, 25, 28. 

Corput's battery, 42, 

Cottage Place, 92. 

Cotton, cultivation in Miss, be- 

fore the war, 88-9a 
factories, 242. 
oil business, 241. 
tree, 193. 
Creeks, Indian tribe, 368. 
Crocker's Division, 32, 38, 43, 44, 

48, 51, 52, 53- 
Crockett, Mrs. M. H., 113 n. 
Crystal Spring. 349. 
Cumming s brigade, 37, 40, 41, 42. 

44-47, 49, 65. 
Cunningham, W. Ben, 78. 
Curtis, Richard, in the country 

of the Natchez, 147-153. 
Cypress, description of tree, 191- 

192. 

Dabney, Rev. Robert L, 113 n. 
Dale, Gen. Samuel, 170. 
Danville's map of East Missis- 
sippi, 367-371. 
Darden Capt. Put, 346. 
Davis, Mrs. A. E., 116. 
Davis, President JeflFerson, 30, 



31, 58, 74. 
vis, Lan 



Davis, Langdon, 284, 287 n. 

Dillon, , 33, 34. 

Dillon's battery, 48. 
Dixon, Roger, 281, 303. 
Dockery, Maj. T. C, 348. 
Dogwood, 201, 202. 
Dow, Rev. Lorenzo, 355, 357. 
Dugan, James, 79. 
Dunbar, Sir William. 

Report to Spain after locating 
and surveying the 31st** of 
latitude, 185-205, 
Duval, Mary v., 155 n. 

William 155 n. 



Eaton. Joseph H., 353 n. 
East Mississippi. 

Danville's map of, 367-371. 
Edwards' Depot, 31, 33-40, 42, 45, 

^49, 51, 52. 

Road, 35, 41, 43-45, 47-49. 
Eggleston, B. B., 76, 78, 79- 



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Index. 



375 



Electric plants in Mississippi, 

242, 
Ellett, Judge Henry T., loi, 102. 
Ellicott, a popular agitator, 263- 

371. 
Emerson, Col. John W. 

Estimate of Pemberton's force 

at Vicksburg, 27. 
English, Thomas Dunn, 140 n. 
Enterprise, 370. 
Eucuttie Creek, 371. 

Falkner, J. W. T., 113 n, 116. 
Falkncr, William C, novelist, 

113-125. 

Ancestry and early life, 114-115 

Education and legal practice, 
115-117. 

In war and after, 1 17-120. 

Ripley R. R., 121-122. 

Character and literary work. 
122-125. 
Farragut, Admiral, 57. 
Featherston, Gen. W. S., 34^. 
Featherston's brigade, 49. 
Ferguson, David, 285. 
Fertilizers, manufacture of, 241. 
Fcwell, Hon. J. W., 350. 
Fire brick, 241. 
Fish of Miss. 198-199. 
Folsom, Rev. Israel, 356-357. 
Ford, John, 170. 
Forney J. H., .55. ^ ^ ^ 
Forney s Division, 56, 58, 64. 
Forrest, Gen. A. B., 108, 109. 
Forrest, Jesse, 108. 
Forrest, Gen. N. B., 22. 
Fort Pulaski, 75. 
Foundry and machine shops, 243 
French's Division, 27. 
Fulton, R. B., 344. 
Funeral customs of the Choc- 
taws, 353-366. 

Gailland, Isaac, 276, 277, 381, 303 

Gaither, , 78. 

Galloway, Col. M. C, 117. 
Galloway, Margaret, 235 n. 
Garland, Prof. U C, 344- 
Gayoso, Gov., Proclamation of, 

274. 
Geological and agricultural sur- 
vey of Miss. 
Historical outline, 207-234. 
Georgia regiments in Baker's 
Creek. 
34th Regiment. 41, 42, 44, 45. 
36th Regiment. 41, 42, 44, 45- 
39th Regiment, 41, 44. 



40th, 41st, 43rd Regiments, 42. 

52d Regiment. ^. 

56th a(id 57th Regiments, 41, 

Gholson, Gen. Samuel, 109. 
Gibbs, William H., 78. 
Gillem, Gen., 78. 
Gilmer, Hon. C. L., 348. 
Golloday, Judge R. H., 85 n. 
Gordon, Col. James, 109. 
Grand Gulf, Miss., 24, 26, 29, 50, 

50, 58. 
Grant at Vicksburg, 23-53. 

Preparation for siege, 23-24. 

Active campaign, 24. 

Estimate of Pcmberton's force, 

27. 

Forces before Vicksburg, 28. 

Concentration of army, 34. 

Occupation of Jackson, 33, 34. 

After Champion Hills, 50. 
Green. Gen. Martin E., 46. 
Green s Missouri brigade, 29, 46, 

Greenwood, Miss., 23. 
Gregg's brigade, 27. 
Gregg's defeat at Raymond, 32. 
Grenada, Miss., 21. 
and neighboring towns in the 

30's, 313-316. 
Grierson, Gen., 24. 
Griffith. Sergeant, 61, 63. 
Guibor s battery, 46. 
Guibor's brigade, 291 
Guion, Capt., and the Spanish, 

298-308. 



Hafner, Ludwig, 212 n. 
Haiowanni, 371. 
Halbert, H. S., 353 n. 
Hamilton, Col. Jones S., 75. 
Hankinson's ferry, 30, 31. 
Harper, Lewis, 212. 
Harrisburg, battle of, 108. 
Harrison, James T., 77, 
Harrison, Regina, 22 n. 
Hasunlawi^ 370. 
Hawks, Francis Lister, D. D., 

143. 
Heam, Mary Ella, 341 n. 
Helena, Ark., 23. 

Hemingway, , 78. 

Henderson, Lizzie George, 99. 
Hendersonvillc, 313. 
Heron's Division, ^ 
Higgins, Col. Edward, 56. 
Hilgard, Prof. Eugene W., 207 n, 

344. 
HilirRobert A., 76. 



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376 



Mississippi Historical Society. 



Historical outline of the geologi- 
cal and agricultural survey of 
Miss., 207-234. 
Origin and act of Legislature, 

307-211. 

First expedition, 212-213. 
Second expedition and report. 

214-219. 
Third expedition and reports, 

220-225. 
Results of survey, 226-227. 
Work of Dr. Little, 229, 
Work of Dr. Smith, 230, 231. 



Bibliography, 232-234. 
History of banking in M 



340. 



iss., 317- 



Sound banking and secure is- 
sues, 317-320. 
State banking and shin-plas- 
ters, 320-339. 
Brokerage and bankruptcy, 

339-340. 
Private and national banking, 
340. 
History of the application of sci- 
• cnce to industry in Miss., 

235-246. 
Industnes from 1775-1900, 237- 

240. 
Principal centres of industry, 

240. 
Principal industries, 240-244.* 
Hogue, Lieut., 62. 
Holly Springs, Miss., 22, 26. 
Holme's brigade, 46, 47. 
Hooker, Charles E., 76. 
Horn, Col. A. G., 350. 
Horse-chestnut. 203. 
Houston, Lock E., 74. 
Hovey. Gen.. 43, 44» 46, 52. 
Hovey s artillery, 43. 
Hovey's Division, 34, 38, 40, 45, 
,T 47, 51, 53. 
Howard, Joseph, 284. 
Howe, A. R., 78. 
Hudson's battery, ^. 
Humphreys, Ben. G. (Gov.), 76, 

Ejection from office, 100-106. 
Humphreys, J. B., 100 n. 
Humphreys, Mildred Hickman, 

99-100 n. 
Humphreys, Milton W., 114 n. 
Humphreys, Mrs. Ben. G. 

Letters, 99-106. 
Hunter, Elisha, 285. 
Hutchins, Anthony, 276, 277, a8o- 
283, 286-289. 296, 297, 311. 



Importance of local history of 

the Civil War, 107-112. 

Indiana regiments at Baker's 

Creek. 

nth, 24th, 34th, 46th, 44, 47. 

Indigo, 242. 

Industries in Miss, from 1775- 

1900, 237-24a 
Industry, application of science 

to, in Miss., 235-246. 
Iowa regiments in Baker* Creek 
and Vicksburg. 
21 St Re^ment, 70. 
22d Regiment, 63. 
24th Regiment, 44, 45, 47- 
26th Regiment, 44. 

Jackson, 25. 26, 30, 31, 32, 34, 36» 
^43. 49,. 51, 52. 
Evacuation of, 33. 
Grant's occupation of, 33, 34, 

Reconstruction, 74. 
Jackson Road. 57. 
Jackson, W. H., 27. 
Jenkins, Maj. Wm. Dunbar, 

185 n. 
Johnson (of Carroll), 78. 
Johnson, B. F., Pub. Co., no. 
Johnson, Pres., 75. 
Johnston, Gen. Jos. E. 

Army at Vicksburg, 27, 28. 

At Jackson, 31, 32, 33. 

Kemper county, 367. 
Kimball. 281. 
Kimbalrs Division, 28. 
Kosciusko, 349. 
Kushak-bolukta, 369, 370. 



La Grange, Tenn., 24, 25. 
Lake, Capt. L., 313 n. 
Lattimore, Hon. Wm., 175, 176, 



Lauderdale county, 367. 
Laude's battery, 29, 46. 
Lauman's Division, 28, 58. 
Lea, Emily J., 147 n. 
Leavell, Capt. R. M.. 350. 
Lee, Gen'l Stephen D., 21, 22 n. 
Lee, Mrs. Susan Pendleton, no. 
Lee, Judge Thomas, 21 n. 
Lee. William, 21 n. 
Lee's brigade. 

at Baker's Creek, 38, 39, 40, 41, 
42. 44, 45, 46. 48, 49. 

at Vicksburg, 56, 64. 



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377 



Lcggctt's brigade, 43» 44» 45. 46, 
48. 

Letters of Mrs. Humphreys, be- 
fore and after the ejection of 
her husband from the Execu- 
tive Mansion, 99-106. 

Lieber, Oscar M., 208. 

Irigon, Mrs. Greenwood, 132. 

Lintot, Bernard, 276, 277. 

Lipscomb, Dabney, 127 n. 

Lipscomb, Dr. W. T., 127 n. 

Little, Dr. George, 3^ 

Little Brick Church, The, 124. 

Local history of Civil War. 
Importance of, 107-112. 

Location of the boundaries of 
Miss., 1^-184. 

Logan's Division, 32, 38, 39, 40, 
41, 42, 43, 44. 45, 46, 48, 49, 
51, 52, 53. 

Lonng. Gen 1^ 30, 41, 43, 48, 55. 

Loring*s Division, 27, 30, 35, 37, 
43, 48, 49. 52. 

Loughridge, R. H., 231. 

Louisiana, acquisition of, 251-256. 

Louisiana regiment at Baker's 
"Creek. 
I2th Regiment, 48. 

Lynch, James D., of Miss.. Poet 
Laureate of the World s Co- 
lumbian Exposition, 127-137. 
Ancestry and early life, 128-129. 
War record, 129. 
Literary work, 130-131. 
Analysis of his poem, ''Colum- 
bia Saluting the Nations," 
132-137. 

Lyon, Dr. J. A., 344- 

McClernand, Gen'l, 42. 
McOernand's corps at Vicks- 

burg, 24, 29, 32, 34, 38, 40, 58, 

63, 65. 
McComb City, 347. 

McCutchen , 78. 

McDowell, Gen'l, 76. 
McGinnis' brigade, 44, 45, 46. 
McGuirc, Dr. Hunter, iii. 

McKec, . 78. 

McLean, Mrs. Walter, 116. 
McNutt, Alex. G., 331-335- 
McPherson, Gen'l, 42, 43, 52, 
McPherson's corps at Vicksburg, 

24, 29, 32, 34» 38. 40. 44, ^, 

63, 65. 
Macon, 73. 349- 
Magnolia tree, 200-201. 
Making of a State, The, 155-165. 
Manly, Miss Louise, no. 



Maury, Judge James Henry, 

99 n. 
Maury, Lucinda Smith, 99 n. 
Mayson, Henry, 78. 
Meade, Gen'l Cowles, 170. 
Memphis, 22, 23-28. 
Mercei:, I^r. William Newton, 

Meriman, Miss., 26, 74. 348, 351. 

Messinger, Sergeant, , 63. 

Middle Raymond Road, 35, 36, 
37, 39, 40, 41. 42, 44, 45. 48. 
52. 
Mikell, Sarah Emily, 341 n. 
Millington, Dr. John, 208. 
Mississippi. 
A. and M. College, Origin and 

location of, ^i-3Si. 
Banking in. History of,. 317- 

339. 
Boundaries of. Location of, 
167-184. 

Northern, 167-169. 
Eastern, 169-181. 
Southern and western, 181- 
184. 
Choctaws, Funeral customs of, 

353-366. 
Early settlement of, 155-165. 
Flotilla at Vicksburg, 25. 
Historical outline of the geo- 
logical and agricultural sur- 
vey, 207-234. . 
History and application of 

science to industry, 235-246. 
Industries from I775-I900, 237- 

240. 
Plantation life before the war, 
™®5-97. 

Planter, 92, 93.. 94- , ^^ ^ 
Protestant Episcopal Church, 

Establishment of, 139-140. 
Reconstruction in, 73-77- 
Regiments at Vicksburg, 46. 
Union bank, 327-330. 
Vegetation. 200-205. 
Women, 90^97. 
Mississippi City, 349. 
Missoun regiments at Vicksburg. 
3rd Battalion, 46. 
1st Battery, 4)8. 
Cavalry, 46. 

Fifty-sixth Regiment, 46. 
First Regiment, 4O. 
Second Regiment, 46. 
Thirty-fourth Regiment, 46. 
Montgomery, Hon. W. B., 348. 
Moore, J. Aaron, 78. 
Morgan, A. T., 78. 
Morrison, Emily, 113 n. 



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Mississippi Historical Society. 



Morrison, Rev. James, 113 n. 
Muckenfuss, Dr. A. B., 235 n. 
Muckenfuss, A. M., 235 n. 
Muscogees, 368. 
Musgrove, Hcniy, 78. 
Myers, Jasper, 70. 

Nash, Hon. Wiley, 351. 
Nashwaiya people, 371. 
Natchez. 
Industries in ante-bellnm days. 

Under Spanish rule, 263-270. 
Richard Curtis in the country 

of the, 147-153. 
Ne^o, before the war, 9a 

Neil son, , 78. 

Nelson, , 78. 

Niles, , 78. 

Noll, Rev. Arthur Howard, 139- 

140 n. 
North Fork, 30., 

Oak (white), description of, 192. 

Oden, Capt., 62. 

Ohio regiments in Baker's Creek. 

i6th Battery, 48. 

S6th Regiment, 44. 
^ Okalusa, 367. 

Okolona, Miss., 108, 109, 349. 
Oktibea, 369. 
Oktibbeha Creek, 369. 
Ord, Gin'l E. O. C, 77-78. 
Origin and location of the Miss. 

A. and M. College, 341-351. 
Osborne, Col, 74. 
Osterhaus, Gen 1 P. Joseph, 75. 
Osterhaus' Division, 35, Z7^ 39, 

41, 48, 49. 

Otey, Bishop James Hervey. 
Provisional bishop of Miss., 

139-145. 
Otken, Charles H., 147 n. 
Owen, Dr. David Dale, 212. 
Owen, Jane, 355 n. 
Owen, Rev. William, 353 n. 
Oxford, Miss., 21, 22. 
Ozanne, U., 78. 

Pachuta Creek, 371. 
Pearce, Holland, 115-116. 
Pegues, M. C, 346. 
Pemberton, Gen'l J. C. 

Campaign of Vicksburg, 21, 23, 
25, 26, 29, 30. 32-57, 40, 41. 

After Champion Hills, 49-53. 

Siege of Vicksburg, 54. 
Pettus, Lieutenant Col. E. W.. 

42, 62, 63. 



Pettus, John J., 7^- 

Peyton, > 78. 

Peyton, E. G., 77. 
Pharcs, Dr. D. L.. 346-348. 
Phillips, Dr. M. W., 344-345- 
Pinson, R. A., rj 
Pittsburg, Miss., 314-315. 
Plantation life in Miss, before 
the war, 85-97. 
Christmas, 95. 
Planter, A typical Mississippi, 92, 

93, 94. 
Planter's life. Charm of, 85-86. 
Planters' Bank, 320-325. 
Poindextcr, Mrs., 102, 105. 
Polk, Rt. Rev. Leonidas, 141, 

142. 
Pope, Capt. Piercy S., 272. 
Poplar, water, description of, 193. 
Port Gibson, 29, 30, 32, 33, 46, 50, 

102. 
Port Hudson, La., 21, 23, 25, 26, 

27, 28, 30, 53. 
Porter, Admwal. 23, 24, 25, 29, 50, 

53. 
Fleet before Vicksburg, 25, 59, 
65, 67, 70. 
Power, J. L., 73 n, 75- 
Protestant Episcopal Church in 
Miss. 
Establishment, 139-140. 



Quitman, 349. 



Railsback, Jehial, 78. 

Railroads in Miss., 244. 

"Rapid Ramblings in Europe," 

124, 
Ratliffe, William, 276-278, 281. 
Raymond, town, 32, 33, 36. 
Ravmond Road, 45, 
Rebellion Record. 25. 
Reconstruction in Miss., 73-77» 
Reynolds, A. E.. 77. 
Reynolds' brigade, 37» 38. 65. 
Richard Curtis in the country of 

the Natchez, I47-I53- 
Ridley. Capt., 42. 
Ridley s battery; 42. 
Riley, Franklin L.. 167. 
Ripley Railroad, 121, 122. 
Riv* de I'Ecor noir, 367. 
Robertson, John, 347. 
Robinson, John, 92. 
Roger's battery. 42. 
Roman, Capt Bernard, 367. 
Rowland, Dunbar, 85 n. 
Rowland, Dr. W.B.. 85 n. 



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379 



Sanborn's brigade, 47. 
Sanford's brigade, 46, 52. 
Schofield's battery, 4i8. 
Science, history of its application 
to industry in Miss., 235-246. 
Sears, Prof. C. W., 344. 
Sears, Thad. P., 79. 
Seekaboo, 368-369. 
Seward, Secretary of State, 76, 
Sharkey, Judge William L., 75, 

76,77- 
Sharkey's section of Ridley's bat- 
tery, 42. 
Sharpe, Capt. Henry G., 69. 
Sherman, Gen'l W. T., 21, 22, 24. 

^30, 33, 34, 50, 55. 

Expedition against Vicksburg, 
22. 

Advance on Vicksburg, 58. 
Sherman's corps at Vicksburg, 

65. 

Shoup's brigade, 64. 

Siege of Vicksburg. 55*57. 

Simrall, Hon. H. R, 76. 

Sir William Dunbar. 
Report of Spanish Government 
at the conclusion of his ser- 
vices in locating and survey- 
ing the 31st*' of latitude, 185- 
205.- 

Slack's brigade, 44, 45^ 47. 

Smith. A. J., 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 43, 
49, 52. 

Smith, Dr. Eugere A., 229-231. 

Smith, M. L., 55, 57, 65. 

Smith, Philander, ^i, 303. 

Smithes Division, 28, 29, 39, 42, 
45, 46, 48. 

Snyder's Bluff, 24, 26, 50, 53, 55. 

^ 56, 58. 

Son-la-hone, 370. 

Sooenlovie, 370. 

South Raymond Road, 35, 36, 

«o ^7» 39, 43.. 47, 51. „ 
* Southern Literature, no. 
Spanish to American rule. 
Transition from in Miss., 261- 

311. 
Starkville, 349, 351. 
Stephenson, Gen'l, 36, 37, 38, 48. 

51, 52. 
Stephenson's brigade, 29, 35, 37, 

40, 41, 42, 43, 47, 56, S8, 65. 
Stevenson. Gen'l, 55. 
Stevenson s brigade, 41, 42, 43, 

45, 46, 49. 
Stewart, Col. Tames D., 75. 
Stewart, Rosalie, 235 n. 

Stiles, , 78. 

Stone, Gov. J. M., 348. 



Stone, John Marshall, 83. 
Stone quarry, 243. 

Stovall, , 78. 

Street, Col. H. M., 346, 347. 
Stricklin, Capt., 78, 79. 

Stringer, , 78. 

Sugar refining, 244. 
Sukenatcha river, 367. 
Summit, 349. 



Tanning in Miss., 242-243. 

Tchikachae, 370. 

Tete de Pont, 49. 

Texas Legion at Vicksburg 

(Waul's), 57, 62, 64. 
Thirty-first degree of latitude, 
185-205. 
Report of Sir, Wm. Dunbar to 
the Spanish Government of 
his service in locating and 
surveying. 
Thompson, J. F., 346. 
Thompson, Judge T. W., 120. 
Thompson, Hon. Jacob, 74. 
Tilghman's brijirade, 43. 
Toulmin, Judge, 174, 176, 179, 

180. 
Tracey. Gen'l, 29. 
Tracey s brigade, 29. 
Transition from Spanish to 
American rule in Miss., 261- 
311. 
Treaty of San Lorenzo, 261- 

262. 
Inhabitants and early condi- 
tions, 262-263. 
Ellicott, Arrival of, 263-271. 
Outbreak of hostilities, 271-275. 
Reorganization of government, 

275-281. 
Permanent Committee, 281-283. 
Committee of Safety and Cor- 
respondence, 283-^7. 
Culmination of differences, 

297-298. 
Guion and the Spaniards, 298- 

301. 
Guion and the rival commit- 
tees, 301-308. 
Disappointment of the Com- 
mittee of Safety and Corre- 
spondence, 308-311. 
Troup, W. W., 346. 
Tucker, Tilghman M., 335. 
Tucker, W. F., 348. 
Tupelo (town). 349. 
Tuiahoma, 314. 315. 
Turpentine stills, 242. 
Tuskahoma, 367. 



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Mississippi Historical Society. 



Union Bank of Miss., 327-33a 

Union vessels in campaign of 
Vicksburg, 25. 

United Confederate Veterans. 
III. 

United Daughters of the Con- 
federacy, III. 



Van Dom, Geni Earl. 22, 26. lOQ. 
Vance, Elizabeth Houston, 116. 
Vance, W. F., 370. 



Vaughan 



T> 78. 



Vaughan s brigade, 49-65. 
Vegetation in Miss., 200-205. 
Verona, Miss., 349. 
Vicksburg, Campaign of, 21-53. 

Confederate resources, 26, 27. 
28. 

Events leading to, 23. 

Union resources, 25, 27, 28. 
Vicksburg, Siege of, 55-71. 

Topography of, 56. 

Confederate forces, 56, 57, 64, 

65. 
Surrounding the city, 58. 
Assault. 60-61. 
Railroad fort, 61-62. 
Loss on May 22d, 03. 
General Badeau on the siege, 
. 64. 

Union loss, 65. 

Union siege approaches, 66-67. 
Conditions in the city, 68, 69. 
Summary of, 69-71. 
Villere, Jacques, 257. 



Waddell. Dr. John N., 344. 
Waddelrs Alabama battery, 41, 

Wade's Missouri battery, 46. 
Wailes, B. C. L., 208, 209, 211, 
212. 

Walker , 78. 

Walker s brigade, 32. 



Walker's Division, 27, 
Wallis, Lieut. — , 62. 
Warren, Henry W., 78. 
Warrenton, 55, 56. 
Watson, J. W. C, 78, 79- 
Waul's Texas Legion, 57, 62, 64. 
Webb, Dr. W. S., 317 n. 
West, A. M., 77, 348. 
West, Cato, 276-277. 
West Point. Miss., 349, 35a 
Wharton. Thomas J., 75. 
White, Cant. J. F., 341 n. 
White, J. M., 341 n. 
"White Rose of Memphis," ia3- 

Whitfield, A. H.^ 344. 
Williamson, Mrs. Marr, iia 
Willow, description of, 194, 195. 
Winona, Miss., 349. 
Wisconsin (Dillon s) battery, 48. 
Wisconsin (29th) regiment at 

Baker's Creek, 44. 
Women in plantation life, 96-97. 

Woodmanse, , 78. 

World's Columbian Exposition. 

127-137. 
James D. Lynch, of Miss., 

Poet Laureate of 
Wright, Rev. Allen, 371. 



Yanabi, 368. 

Yannubbee creek, 368, 370. 

Yannubbee town, 368, 309, 37a 

Yasunlabi, 370. 

Yazoo City, 30. 369. 

Yazoo river, 22, 23, 24, 50, 55, 56, 

Yellowly, Hon. J. B., 346. 
Yerger, Hon. Jacob Shall, 75. 
Yerger, Judge William, 74, 75, 

103 n. 
Youane, 371. 

Yerjjer. Mrs. William, 103. 
Young's Point, La., 24, 55. 
Yowanni territory, 371. 



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