1863. |
This text is part of:
Table of Contents:
[229]
Notwithstanding these disabilities, and the fading away of every hope of recognition by foreign governments, or the moral support of any civilized people, the Conspirators at Richmond, holding the reins of despotic power with firm grasp, resolved to carry on the war regardless of consequences to their deluded and abused victims.1 The Emancipation Proclamation “fired the Southern heart” somewhat, and, for a time, strengthened the power of the Conspirators.
It produced great exasperation, and led to the authorization of cruel retaliatory measures by the Confederate Congress, on the recommendation of Jefferson Davis.2 The most flagrant misrepresentations were put forth as solemn truths, in order to inflame the passions of the people at home and excite the sympathies of those abroad.
In this work Confederate clergymen were not ashamed to appear conspicuous.
Ninety-six per sons of that class signed an “Address to Christians throughout the world,” which was sent out from Richmond in April, 1863, in which, after asserting that the Union could not be restored, said they considered the President's proclamation of freedom to the slaves a “suitable occasion for a solemn protest on the part of the people of God, throughout the world.”
Then, without a shadow of truth, they, like the chief Conspirator, charged Mr. Lincoln with intending to produce a general insurrection of the slaves,3 and solemnly declared that such insurrection “would make it absolutely necessary for the public safety that the slaves be slaughtered.”
The advice of more sagacious men in Confederate councils was heeded, through fear of consequences; and threats of vengeance and retaliation were seldom executed.
The most serious result, in this regard, of the President's Proclamation, was the suspension, for a time, of the exchange of captives, in consequence of the Confederate authorities refusing to recognize Negro soldiers as legitimate and exchangeable prisoners of war.4 The Government took the just ground, that it would give equal protection to all its soldiers, and, at the close of July,
the President issued an order to that effect, in which he declared, in allusion to a threat to reduce negro captives to bondage, that if the Confederates should sell or enslave any Union captive, in consequence of his color, the offense should be punished by retaliation upon the prisoners of the enemy.5 The sad consequences of
1 See page 97.
2 The portion of Davis's “Message” relating to retaliation was referred to the “Committee on ways and means.” That committee reported to the “House” joint resolutions, which were adopted, by which full power was given to Davis to use retaliatory measures “in such manner and to such an extent as he might think proper.” It was resolved that every commissioned white officer, who should be engaged in disciplining and leading freedmen as soldiers in fighting the Confederates, or in inciting slaves to rebel, should, if captured, “be put to death, or otherwise punished;” and that all negroes engaged in war or taken in arms, or known to give “aid and comfort to the enemy, should be delivered to State authorities,” and dealt with in accordance with the sanguinary slave codes “of the State in which the offender should be caught.” There were propositions to sell into slavery all free negroes who should be caught with arms in their hands, and to butcher all slaves guilty of such offense; but the more sensible members of the “Congress,” plainly perceiving that such measures would be a two-edged sword that would cut both ways, took ground against them, and prevented the passage of many mischievous laws on that subject.
3 See note 1, page 82.
4 The Richmond Examiner revealed the secret reasons for refusing to treat negro soldiers as regular prisoners of war, when it said: “If we were insane enough to yield this point, to treat black men as the equals of white, and insurgent slaves as equivalent to our brave soldiers, the very foundations of Slavery would be fatally wounded.”
5 “It is therefore ordered,” said the President, “that for every soldier of the United States killed in violation of the laws of war, a rebel soldier shall be executed, and for every one enslaved by the enemy or sold into slavery, a rebel soldier shall be placed at hard labor on the public works, and continued at such labor until the other shall be released and receive the treatment due to a prisoner of war.”
Scanned printed text.
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License.
An XML version of this text is available for download, with the additional restriction that you offer Perseus any modifications you make. Perseus provides credit for all accepted changes, storing new additions in a versioning system.