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Varina Davis, Jefferson Davis: Ex-President of the Confederate States of America, A Memoir by his Wife, Volume 2, Chapter 38: Gettysburg. (search)
arrest and bring to summary punishment all who shall in any way offend against the orders on this subject. R. E. Lee, General. General A. P. Hill with his three divisions followed in his rear. General Longstreet covered these movements with his corps, then passing into the valley, he too crossed the Potomac. To General Stuart was left the task of watching with his cavalry the movements of the enemy. The Federal Commander had meanwhile disposed his force so as to cover Washington, and learning the movements of General Lee, he too crossed the Potomac. On June 27th, General Lee was at Chambersburg, while Hill, Longstreet, and Ewell were within supporting distance. Stuart with the cavalry was absent, and the lack of it prevented Lee from being apprised of the near approach of the enemy. It was an army without eyes and ears. Moving forward from Chambersburg, General Lee reached Cashtown on July ist, where A. P. Hill was concentrating. Here the Federal c
Varina Davis, Jefferson Davis: Ex-President of the Confederate States of America, A Memoir by his Wife, Volume 2, Chapter 40: Vice-President Stephens's commission to Washington. (search)
Chapter 40: Vice-President Stephens's commission to Washington. As General Lee's army was marching through Pennsylvania it was thought by the Confederate Authorities that the time was auspicious To promote these efforts, President Davis appointed Vice-President Stephens to proceed to Washington, and endeavor there to effect satisfactory arrangements. The letter of instructions given g accepted your patriotic offer to proceed as a military commissioner, under flag of truce, to Washington, you will herewith receive your letter of authority to the Commander-in-Chief of the Army and ested his further progress. The object of his mission, with a request for permission to go to Washington, was made known to that officer, who by telegraph communicated with the Government at WashingtWashington. The reply of that Government was: The request is inadmissible. The customary agents and channels are adequate for all needful military communications and conferences between the United State
Varina Davis, Jefferson Davis: Ex-President of the Confederate States of America, A Memoir by his Wife, Volume 2, Chapter 41: fall of Vicksburg, July 4, 1863. (search)
ted, and forced him to retire to Vicksburg. On the morning of the 18th, the troops were, from right to left, on the defence, and 102 pieces of artillery, mostly field pieces, were placed in position. Grant's army appeared before the city on the 18th. Pemberton relied upon the co-operation of a relieving army before any investment could be made, and had endeavored to secure supplies for the duration of an ordinary siege. On May 25th, General Grant telegraphed General Halleck at Washington: I can manage the force in Vicksburg and an attacking force of 30,000. My effective force is 50,000 ; and General Johnston telegraphed to Richmond that the troops he had at his disposal against Grant amounted to 24,000, not including Jackson's cavalry command. On May 18th, General Pemberton received by courier a communication from General Johnston containing these words: If Hayne's Bluff is untenable, Vicksburg is of no value and cannot be held. If you are invested in Vicksburg you
Varina Davis, Jefferson Davis: Ex-President of the Confederate States of America, A Memoir by his Wife, Volume 2, Chapter 46: correspondence between President Davis and Governor Z. B. Vance. (search)
resently advert), I cannot see how the more material obstacles are to be surmounted. We have made three distinct efforts to communicate with the authorities at Washington, and have been invariably unsuccessful. Commissioners were sent before hostilities were begun, and the Washington Government refused to receive them or hear whd. The enemy refused to let him pass through their lines to hold any conference with them. He was stopped before he ever reached Fortress Monroe on his way to Washington. The attempt again (in the face of these repeated rejections of all conferences with us) to send commissioners or agents to propose peace, is to invite insult e to get your people, if they possessed full knowledge of these facts, to consent that proposals should now be made by us to those who control the Government at Washington. Your own well-known devotion to the great cause of liberty and independence, to which we have all committed whatever we have of earthly possessions, would ind
Varina Davis, Jefferson Davis: Ex-President of the Confederate States of America, A Memoir by his Wife, Volume 2, Chapter 48: diplomatic correspondence. (search)
the absence of all recognized diplomatic or consular residents, or other agents of Her Majesty near Richmond, will be recognized as sufficient reason for its not being sent through usual channels. I need scarcely say that the bearer of this despatch, whom you have consented to allow to visit Richmond, has been authorized by the Government of the United States to pass into your lines, on the flag of truce boat, for the purpose of delivering it, and will desire your permission to return to Washington by the same mode of conveyance. I have the honor to be, with high respect, your obedient, humble servant, Lyons. Copy. You will also convey to Mr. Davis, at Richmond, through such channel as shall be available, and as you may in your discretion deem proper, the formal protest and remonstrance of Her Majesty's Government against the efforts of the authorities of the so-called Confederate States to build war vessels within Her Majesty's dominions, to be employed against the Gov
Varina Davis, Jefferson Davis: Ex-President of the Confederate States of America, A Memoir by his Wife, Volume 2, Chapter 50: Virginia campaign, 1864. (search)
to the head of a Texas regiment. Waving his hat in the air, he prepared to lead it forward. Spurring rapidly to his side, General Gordon seized hold of his horse's rein, and exclaimed, This, General Lee, is no place for you; these are men who never failed you yet, and who will not fail now. With unanimous voice the soldiers around them refused to advance, unless General Lee went to the rear, then charging with Gordon leading, the salient was recaptured. In the Ordnance Museum, at Washington, is the stump of a large tree that had been cut down by bullets, so close and deadly was the musketry fire in the captured and recaptured salient. Although General Grant's army was still so strong that, after covering the Confederate front with double lines of battle, he still had a sufficient force with which to outflank his adversary and compel him to make a countermove to prevent his getting between him and Richmond, he waited from the 13th to the 18th of May for reinforcements.
Varina Davis, Jefferson Davis: Ex-President of the Confederate States of America, A Memoir by his Wife, Volume 2, Chapter 53: battle of Drury's Bluff, May 16, 1864. (search)
s face. But that solitary gun was all, and Butler retreated unmolested to his lines at Bermuda Hundreds. Soon after the affair at Drury's Bluff, General Beauregard addressed to me a communication, proposing that he should be heavily reinforced from General Lee's army, so as to enable him to crush Butler in his intrenchments, and then, with the main body of his own force, together with the detachment from General Lee's army, that he should join General Lee, crush Grant, and march to Washington. Mr. Davis, in Rise and Fall. The following is the communication alluded to above. Confederate States, Headquarters Department North and South Carolina and Virginia, Hancock House, May 18, 1864, 9.30 P. M. Memorandum: The crisis demands prompt and decisive action. For this, the two armies are now too far apart, unless we consent to give up Petersburg, and place the capital in jeopardy. If General Lee will fall back behind the Chickahominy, engaging the enemy so as to draw h
Varina Davis, Jefferson Davis: Ex-President of the Confederate States of America, A Memoir by his Wife, Volume 2, Chapter 44: the lack of food and the prices in the Confederacy. (search)
t of a breakfast at the Executive mansion, to the meagreness of which our necessities, not my will, consented. February 21st.-I saw a ham sell to-day for $350; it weighed fifty pounds, at $7 per pound. The fear is now, from a plethora of paper money, we shall soon be without a sufficiency for a circulating medium. There are $750,000,000 in circulation, and the tax bills, etc., will call in, it is estimated, $800,000,000. February 22d.-The offices are closed today, in honor of Washington's birthday. But it is a fast day; meal selling for $40 per bushel. Money will not be so abundant a month hence. To-day bacon is selling for $6 per pound, and all other things in proportion. A negro (for his master) asked me to-day $40 for an old, tough turkey gobbler. I passed on very briskly. It is rumored by blockade-runners that gold in the North is selling at from 200 to 500 per cent. premium. If this be true, our day of deliverance is not far distant. February 18, 1
Varina Davis, Jefferson Davis: Ex-President of the Confederate States of America, A Memoir by his Wife, Volume 2, Chapter 45: exchange of prisoners and Andersonville. (search)
the war from that of civilized nations into a campaign of indiscriminate robbery and murder. The general order issued by the United States Secretary of War in Washington, on the very day that the cartel was signed in Virginia, directs the United States commanders to take the private property of our people for the convenience and and shall treat the enlisted soldiers of General Pope's army as prisoners of war; but if these savage practices are continued after notice to the Government at Washington, we shall reluctantly accept the war on the terms chosen by our foes, until the outraged voice of a common humanity forces a respect for the recognized rules ofhe Northern heart. One final effort was made to obtain an exchange. Mr. Davis sent a delegation from the prisoners at Andersonville to plead their cause at Washington. It was of no avail. They were refused an audience with President Lincoln, and returned to tell their fellowprisoners there was no hope of relief. In the
Varina Davis, Jefferson Davis: Ex-President of the Confederate States of America, A Memoir by his Wife, Volume 2, Chapter 62: leaving Charlotte.—The rumors of surrender. (search)
ad something to confer. The treasure trains, without halting, moved on to Washington, Ga. Mr. Armistead Burt and his wife received us in their fine house with ae, hoping to see us before our departure. We had, however, left there for Washington, Ga., on the morning of the day he arrived. Mr. Harrison arrived that day ao the officer in command, the train moved on, and we continued our journey to Washington. We found the whole town in a state of most depressing disorder. Generalers of hospitality, but I was anxious to get off before Mr. Davis could reach Washington, fearful that his uneasiness about our safety would cause him to keep near ouce and wagons. We moved out on the afternoon of the same day that we reached Washington, and made ten miles that afternoon. As soon as our tents were pitched, whrom him bidding farewell and expressing his bitter regret at not seeing us at Washington for consultation, and offering a few words of counsel. Mr. Nugent took back
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