Origin of the trouble.
The difficulty had its origin in the heated political contests so common in this country prior to the breaking out of the war. It was when
Yancey, with his dazzling eloquence, was “firing the
Southern heart” that a barbecue, attended by thousands, was given in one of the
Southern counties of
Georgia.
It was here that
Hill and
Yancey met—the one the bold and eloquent defender of the
Union, and the other the boasted champion of secession—and during the debate which ensued words were uttered that caused an estrangement that was never afterward reconciled.
The two men met again in the Confederate Senate, both doubtless smarting under the recollection of past contests and entertaining no kindly feelings for each other.
It was when the cause of the
South was drooping and every patriot heart was heavy with despondency
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and gloom that
Mr. Yancy, rising in his place in the Senate, declared that the war could no longer be carried on with any hope of success unless many of the constitutional restraints and embarrassments were thrown aside, and boldly advocated a radical change in the
Government to meet the demands of the public and the exigences of the hour.
