David E. Twiggs. |
1 See page 185.
2 The proceedings of this Convention, and of the “Provisional Government of the Confederate States,” have never been printed. The original manuscripts were discovered by some of General Wilson's command at Athens, in Georgia, after the downfall of the rebellion. They were in three boxes, in one of the recitation-rooms of the University of Georgia. A correspondent of the New York Herald, writing from Athens, on the 19th of June, 1865, gives the following interesting history of these papers, which consist of journals, correspondence, et coetera:--
“As the Provisional Congress was about to expire, a proposition was made that the journals should be published. This was objected to, on the ground of furnishing much valuable information, and a law was passed authorizing and requiring the President of the Congress, Howell Cobb, to have three copies made of all the journals. He was at that time in the Army, commanding the Sixteenth Georgia Regiment, and down on the Peninsula, below Richmond. He at once engaged J. D. Hooper, former clerk, to undertake the job. Whatever were his hinderances it is not known; but he did very little, and after having them on hand for a long time, died. They were then shipped to a gentleman in Georgia, with a request to complete the work. Papers were missing, requiring months to find; materials hard to get, and the work, therefore, never was completed. They were at one time held in Atlanta, but the Unionists coming too near, .were hurried off to West Point, Georgia. There a strong rumor of a raid springing up, they were carried to Tallapoosa County, Alabama, on a plantation. In marching from Dadeville to Loachapoka, General Rousseau passed within four miles of the house where they were; and when his men were destroying the railroad at Notasulga, and were having the little fight near Chehaw, the boxes were hid out in the woods, two miles off, and were watched by two negro men. They were then removed to Augusta, Georgia, and thence, when Sherman came, tearing down through Georgia like a wild horse, they were pushed along into the upper part of South Carolina. Thence in the spring they were brought over to this place.” These journals are among the archives of the “Confederate Government,” at Washington City. 3 See page 188.3 See page 188.
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