USA > Georgia > Richmond County > Augusta > Georgians during the war between the states. An address delivered before the Confederate survivors' association, in Augusta, Georgia, on the occasion of its eleventh annual reunion on Memorial day, April 26, 1889 > Part 1
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REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02401 8241
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GEORGIANS DURING THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES
AN ADDRESS
DELIVERED BEFORE THE
CONFEDERATE SURVIVORS' ASSOCIATION, IN
Augusta, Georgia,
ON THE CCCASION OF ITS ELEVENTH ANNUAL REUNION
ON MEMORIAL DAY, APRIL 26, 1889,
, BY
COL: CHARLES C. JONES, Jr., LL.D., *
PRESIDENT OF THE ASSOCIATION.
Printed by Order of the Association.
AUGUSTA, GA. CHRONICLE PUBLISHING COMPANY. . 1889
1606659
THE ADDRESS.
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Comrades:
Since our last annual convocation five links have fallen from that privileged chain which unites us in the bonds of fraternal companionship. Private THOS. F. FLEMING, of the Medical Department, died on the 5th of May, 1888. Four days afterwards our colors appeared at half-mast in sorrowful token of the de- parture of Captain A. G. LATASTE, of Company K, 1st Regiment, Florida Cavalry; and, on the 11th of the following June we escorted to the tomb Captain J. PINCKNEY THOMAS, aid-de-camp on the staff of Major General P. M. B. Young. On the 27th of July Cap- tain WILLIAM M. D'ANTIGNAC, of Company K, 10th Regiment, Georgia Infantry, responded to the final summons, and only two days agone we were advised of the death of Private H. D. STANLEY, of Company A, 28th Regiment, North Carolina Infantry.
Thus, on the return of this Memorial Day, are we again reminded that our circle, narrowing here, is expanding in the green fields beyond, where the rude alarums of war are never heard, and where there is rest eternal.
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According to the official returns, the aggregate wealth of Georgia, in 1860, was estimated at $672,322.777. Of this sum nearly one half was represented by negro slaves numbering 450.033 and valued at $302,694,855. During the four preceding years the taxable property of this commonwealth had increased almost one hun- dred and seventy seven millions of dollars. The signs of universal prosperity were manifest, and everything betokened an era of contentment, of development, and of expanding good fortune.
While there were comparatively few who, in either town or country, could lay claim to very large estates, the planters and merchants of Georgia were in com- fortable circumstances. Business operations were conducted upon a quiet, honest, and legitimate basis. Of bucket shops there were none; and gambling in cotton, stocks, grain, and other commodities was wholly unknown. Railroads were builded by honest subscrip- tions and, when completed. were hampered by no mortgages. Commercial transactions were entered upon and consummated bona fide, and did not repre- sent operations upon paper or speculations upon mar- gins. Men knew and trusted one another, and did not · often have cause to repent of the confidence reposed. Sharp-traders were not held in good repute, and questionable methods were mercilessly condemned. Of manufacturing establishments there were few. Ag- riculture claimed and received the allegiance of the masses. The planters, as a class, were competent, industrious, observant of their obligations, humane in the treatment of their slaves, given to hospitality, fond of manly exercise, independent in thought and act, and solicitous for the moral and intellectual educa- tion of their children. A civilization, patriarchal in its characteristics, combined with a veneration for the
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traditions of the fathers and a love of home, gave birth to patriotic impulses and encouraged a high standard of individual honor, integrity, and manhood. From boyhood men were accustomed to the saddle, and fam- iliar with the use of firearms. The martial spirit was apparent in volunteer military organizations; and. at stated intervals, contests involving rare proficiency in horsemanship, and in handling the sabre, the pistol. the musket, and the field-piece, attracted the public gaze and won the approving smiles of woman. Leisure hours were spent in hunting and fishing and in social intercourse. Of litigation there was little. Misunder- standings, when they occurred, were usually accommo- dated by honorable arbitration. Personal responsibili- ty, freely admitted, engendered mutual respect, and fostered a commendable exhibition of individual man- liness. Communities were well ordered and prosper- ous. The homes of the inhabitants were peaceful and happy.
Beyond controversy Georgia was then the Empire State of the South. At the inception of the Confeder- ate Revolution she occupied a commanding position in - the esteem of sister States with similar institutions, like hopes, and a common destiny. It may be safely affirmed that in political leadership, in intellectual capabilities, in material resources, by virtue of her situation, and in moral and physical power. this com- monwealth was the pivotal state in the Southern Con- . federation. It was only when her borders were actual- ly invaded, and when her integrity was seriously impaired by the devastating columns led by General Sherman, that the weakness of the Confederacy was fairly demonstrated, and the disastrous termination of the conflict was absolutely foreshadowed.
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Memorable in the political annals of this Common- wealth were the Provincial Congress which assembled in Savannah in July, 1775, and the Convention of the people held in Milledgeville and Savannah early in 1861. The former placed the Province in active sympathy and confederated alliance with the other twelve American Colonies, practically annulled within her limits the operation of the objectionable acts of Parliament, questioned the supremacy of the Crown, and inaugurated measures calculated to accomplish the independence of the plantation and its erection into the dignity of a State. The latter declared that the union "subsisting between the State of Georgia and other States under the name of the United States of Amer- ica" was "dissolved," and that the commonwealth of Georgia was in the "full possession and exercise of all those rights of sovereignty which belong and appertain to a free and independent state." Both conventions were called and conducted their sessions during seasons of the most intense public excitement. Among the members in attendance were the most prominent Georgians of the respective periods.
Over the first secession convention presided that sterling patriot Archibald Bullock, and in its deliber- ations participated such persons -famous in their day and generation-as Noble Wymberley Jones. Joseph Habersham, Jonathan Bryan, Samuel Elbert, John Houstoun, Oliver Bowen, Edward Telfair, William Ewen, John Martin, Joseph Clay, Seth John Cuthbert, John Stirk, John Adam Treutlen, George Walton, Lachlan McIntosh, James Screven, Nathan Brownson, and William Baker.
Ex-Governor George W. Crawford was chosen presi- dent of the second secession convention. Very many of the ablest men in Georgia appeared as delegates.
Among them will be remembered Eugenius A. Nisbet, Alfred H. Colquitt, A. H. Kenan. D. J. Bailey, W. T. Wofford, F. S. Bartow, T. R. R. Cobb, Richard H. Clark, Linton Stephens, Herschel V. Johnson, W. B. Fleming, Hiram Warner, Augustus. Reese, Henry L. Benning, Alexander H. Stephens, A. H. Hansell. B. H. Hill, Robert Toombs, and others scarcely less dis- tinguished. That the dignity of the convention might, if possible, be enhanced, the courtesy of seats upon the floor was extended to his excellency Governor Joseph . E. Brown, to the Hon. Howell Cobb, to the Justices of the Supreme Court, and to the Judges of the Superior Courts of the State.
The printed Journal of this Convention fills an octavo volume of more than four hundred pages, and its lightest inspection will convince the most sceptical of the magnitude and the gravity of the labors wrought by the members who composed it. Character- istic of all the deliberations of this august body are an exalted appreciation of the situation, a thorough conception of the political peril. an intelligent compre- hension of the issues involved, and an earnest endeavor to anticipate every need and provide for all govern- mental exigencies which might arise in the changed condition of affairs.
The ordinance of secession was framed and intro- duced by the Hon. Eugenius A. Nisbet, an ex-Judge of the Supreme Court of Georgia, at one time a mem- ber of Congress, a gentleman of education, culture, and refinement, and a citizen honored for his purity of character, public spirit, and christian virtues. After a protracted debate remarkable for its solemnity and power, the ordinance was passed by the convention by a vote of two hundred and eight yeas to eighty nine nays. Among those voting in the negative were
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Herschel V. Johnson, Alex. H. and Linton Stephens. Hiram Warner and W. T. Wofford. While main- taining the right of a State for substantial cause to secede from the Union, many of the minority contended that a fit occasion had not arisen for the exercise of that right. Before withdrawing from the Confederation. it was their belief that Georgia should wait for some overt act committed by the Lincoln administration. When, however, the ordinance was passed by the con- vention, recognizing the fact that their supreme alle- giance was due to Georgia, those voting in the negative waived their objections and subsequently wavered not in their devotion to State and Confederacy. As a matter of history it will be remembered that when. under resolution of the' convention. this ordinance of secession was engrossed and presented for signature, it was signed by every member. Six of them, how- ever, while protesting against the action of the majori- ty "in adopting an ordinance for the immediate and separate secession" of the State, and expressing a prefer- ence that "the policy of co-operation with sister South- ern States" should have been adopted, nevertheless yielded to the will of the majority and pledged their "lives, fortunes and sacred honor" to the defense of Georgia "against hostile invasion from any source." This action on the part of the convention exerted a powerful influence in consolidating the general senti- ment of the. State, and encouraged other Southern commonwealths, which had not then seceded, to the prompt adoption of a similar course. The intelligence of the passage of this ordinance of secession was re- ceived by Georgia communities with the wildest enthu- siasm, with bon-fires and illuminations, with beat of drum, with the thunder of cannon, and with consentient acclaim.
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Before the convention had concluded its labors, Georgia State forces, under the orders of Governor Brown, had taken possession of the United States forts Pulaski and Jackson on the Savannah river, and of the United States Arsenal at Augusta. With a vigor which challenges every admiration the State authori- ities were preparing to meet the gathering storm, the earliest thunders of which were soon to be heard in Charleston harbor. Georgia was rapidly becoming a vast recruiting camp: and the patriotic military spirit evinced by her citizens transcended all expectation. The compulsive course of this popular uprising knew no retiring ebb. Commissioners were accredited to such Southern and doubtful States as had not then seceded. Delegates were also chosen to attend the Congress which was to assemble at Montgomery, Ala- bama, on the 4th of February, 1861. They were empowered. upon free conference with delegates who might be present from other seceding States, to unite with them in forming and putting into immediate operation a temporary or provisional government for the common safety and defense of the commonwealths represented in that congress. It was suggested by the convention that such provisional government should not extend beyond a period of twelve months from the time it became operative, and that it should be modeled as nearly as practicable "on the basis and principles of the late government of the United States of America." Plenary powers were also confided to these commis- sioners, upon like consultation, to agree upon a plan for the permanent government of the confederated States.
The delegates chosen by the secession convention of Georgia to this memorable congress were: From the State at large, ROBERT TOOMBS and HOWELL COBB: 2
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From the First Congressional District.
FRANCIS S. BARTOW.
Second
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MARTIN J. CRAWFORD.
- Third
EUGENIUS A. NISBET.
Fourth
BENJAMIN H. HILL.
" Fifth ¥
AUGUSTUS R. WRIGHT.
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Sixth ¥
THOMAS R. R. COBB.
¥ Seventh
¥ Eighth 66
AUGUSTUS H. KENAN. ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS.
With a single exception all these distinguished Geor- gians are already numbered with the dead. In mould- ing the deliberations and shaping the legislation of this Provisional Congress no delegation was more influential than that from this commonwealth. The Hon. Howell Cobb was chosen president of the Con- gress, and the Hon. Robert Toombs was prominently mentioned in connection with the chief magistracy of the States confederated under the union then formed , by the seceding commonwealths. He was largely in- strumental in framing the Constitution of the Con- federate States : and, upon the inauguration of Mr. Davis as President of the Southern Confederacy, accepted at his hands the portfolio of State. He was content, however, to discharge the duties of this office only during the formative period of the government. His restless, imperious spirit and active intellect could not long brook the tedium of bureau affairs or rest satisfied with the small engagements then incident to that position. In the following July he relinquished the portfolio of a department, the records of which, he facetiously remarked "he carried in his hat," and accepted service in the field with the rank of Brigadier General. Than Mr. Toombs there was no one, either in Georgia or in the South, who exerted a more potent influence in precipitating the Confederate Revolution. Enjoying a present fame as a legislator, a statesman, a counsellor, an advocate, an orator, a Confederate chieftain, a defender of the South, and a lover of this
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commonwealth towering among the highest and the brightest of the land, this illustrious Georgian is also remembered as a leader not always wise and conserv- ative in his views-as a mighty tribune of the people, impatient of restraint, often insubordinate, and some- times dethroning images where he erected none better in their places.
The Hon. Howell Cobb-of whom it has justly been said : he was loved by the lowly and honored by the great-subsequently entered the military service of the Confederacy and rose to the rank of a Major General.
Francis S. Bartow and Thomas R. R. Cobb gifted, eloquent, enthusiastic, and full of patriotic ardor, hastened to illustrate Georgia upon the earliest battle fields of the Revolution. They fell gallantly in the shock of arms-Brigadier Generals both-one at first - Manassas, and the other at Fredericksburg, and upon their graves rests the fadeless wreath of honor. They freely gave their lives in supporting. the rights and maintaining the principles for which they contended so ably in the Southern Congress.
Alexander H. Stephens was elected Vice-President of the Confederate States, and occupied that exalted position during the entire life of the government. Benjamin H. Hill became a Confederate Senator from Georgia. He was recognized as a confidential friend and adviser of President Davis, and was at all times regarded as one of the most influential supporters of his administration.
Augustus H. Kenan and Augustus R. Wright were elected members of the House of Representatives in the First Confederate Congress.
In that Congress-extending from February 22nd, 1862 to February 22nd, 1864-Georgia was represented in the Senate by Benjamin H. Hill and John W.
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Lewis, and in the House of Representatives by Julian Hartridge, Charles J. Munnerlyn, Hines Holt. Augus- tus H. Kenan. David W. Lewis, William W. Clark. Robert P. Trippe. Lucius J. Gartrell. Hardy Strick- land, and Augustus R. Wright. In the Second Con- gress-beginning on the 22nd of February 1864 and continuing until the close of the war-this common- wealth was represented in the Senate by Benjamin H. Hill and Herschel V. Johnson, and in the House by Julian Hartridge. William E. Smith, Mark H. Blan- ford. Clifford Anderson. John T. Shewmake, Joseph H. Echols, James M. Smith, H. P. Bell, George N. Lester, and Warren Akin.
Of the Lower House of the First Congress Emmet Dixon of Georgia was clerk, and Albert R. Lamar of this State was chosen clerk of the House of Repre- sentatives of the Second Congress. In the distribution of offices in the respective governmental departments Georgia freely participated.
We may not now enter upon a review of the legis- lative proceedings of these bodies, but we are justified in saying that upon all questions of moment-and they were of constant occurrence-the labors and utterances of the members from Georgia were emphatic and in- fluential. In material wealth, in intellectual ability, in worthy representation, in loyalty to the rights of state and nation, in contribution of men and materials of war, in devotion to the general welfare, and in strenuous endeavor, this, commonwealth was conspicu- ous in the Confederate sisterhood.
Over the political fortunes of Georgia during the continuance of the war the Hon. Joseph E. Brown presided as Governor; and, whatever differences of opinion may have existed between President Davis and himself with regard to the conduct of public affairs.
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and the reserved rights of the States as affected by the powers of the general government, it may fairly be claimed for the chief magistrate of this commonwealth that no official could have been more earnest in the support of the Confederate cause, none more prompt in supplying every demand made by the Confederacy upon the commonwealth, none more solicitous for the welfare of the people entrusted to his guardian care during this epoch of privation, of perplexity. of peril. and of probation. none more active in the discharge of the duties devolved, none more eager for the success of Confederate arms. In all his efforts he bespoke and secured the cordial co-operation of the general assem- blies convened bello flagrante.
For the manufacture of munitions of war and equip- ments of every needed sort, arsenals and posts-under the supervision of competent officers-were establish- ed and maintained at various points in Georgia. nota- bly at Augusta, at Macon, at Columbus, and at Mil- ledgeville. Of overshadowing importance and vast utility were the arsenal, foundry, and powder-works at Augusta, constructed and operated under the capable charge of our honored member-General George W. Rains-to whom as an able and a scientific soldier President Davis has paid high tribute-assisted by that accomplished military architect and civil engineer, C. Shaler Smith. From this source did the Confeder- acy draw its principal supply of powder, and a con- siderable portion of the war-material employed in the equipment of armies and in the conduct of battles. All honor to General Rains for the intelligent, patri- otic, and invaluable service thus rendered. In your
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names, my friends, and in grateful appreciation of his long, virtuous, patriotic, and useful life, I would here convey to him our cordial wish :
Serus in colum redeas.
Mindful of the important functions of these powder works, and anxious to wrest from impending destruc- tion and to dedicate to memorial uses the Obelisk Chimney which constituted the most prominent fea- ture among the various structures composing that memorable military group, this Association, in 1882. thoroughly repaired its castellated base, and inserted in the face looking toward the South a large tablet of Italian marble bearing in raised letters this inscription :
"This Obelisk-Chimney -- sole remnant of the extensive Powder- Works here erected under the auspices of the Confederate Government -- is, by the Confederate Survi- vors' Association of Augusta, with the consent of the City Council, conserved in honor of a fallen Nation, and inscribed to the memory of those who died in the Southern armies during the war between the States."
Thus renovated, thus individualized, and thus dedi- cated, this colossal cenotaph perpetuates in the present and will proclaim to the coming generations the heroic traditions of the days that are gone, and keep its sen- tinel watch over the graves alike of the Confederacy and of those who perished in its support.
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During the Confederate Revolution the Supreme Court of Georgia consisted of Chief-Justice Joseph Henry Lumpkin, and Associate Justices Charles J. Jenkins, and Richard F. Lvon. It fell to the lot of this bench to decide some of the most important questions arising out of the war and the abnormal con-
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dition of affairs thereby engendered. In confirmation of this assertion we need only refer to the exhaustive and admirable opinions handed down in the cases of Jeffers vs Fair, [33rd Georgia Reports page 347], and Jones vs Warren, [34th Georgia Reports page 28], in which the constitutionality of the Confederate conscript acts is affirmed, and the validity of the Enrolling Acts of the Confederate Congress is upheld. President Davis stated that he would gladly have offered Judge Jenkins a seat in his cabinet, but he realized the fact that he could not be spared from the bench of the Supreme Court of Georgia where his labors, in association with those of his brethren, were invaluable to the Confederacy at crucial epochs.
The circuit bench, as a rule, was equally earnest and conscientious in sustaining the constitutionality of the acts passed by the Confederate Congress. In this con- nection it will not be forgotten that there was no Supreme Court organized and holden under the sanc- tion of the Confederate Government. The judicial duties appertaining to the Confederate District Court at Savannah were acceptably performed in turn by Judges Henry R. Jackson and Edward J. Harden.
To the military service of the Confederacy Georgia gave, as Lieutenant Generals, William J. Hardee, Joseph Wheeler, and John B. Gordon. To them should properly be added James Longstreet; for, al- though accredited to Alabama in the official assign- ment, his affiliation by descent and association were emphatically with this State.
Among those who attained unto the rank of Major General we enumerate, either as Georgians or as ac-
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credited to this State, John S. Bowen, Howell Cobb. John B. Gordon, William J. Hardee, David R. Jones, Lafayette McLaws, David E. Twiggs. William H T. Walker. Joseph Wheeler, A. R. Wright, and P. M. B. Young.
Turning to the list of those who were advanced to the grade of Brigadier General, we find the names of E. Porter Alexander, George T. Anderson, Robert H. Anderson, Francis S. Bartow, Henry L. Benning. William R. Boggs, William M. Browne, John S. Bowen, Goode Bryan, Howell Cobb. Thomas R. R. Cobb, Alfred H. Colquitt, Philip Cook, C. C. Crews, Alfred Cumming, James Deshler, George Doles. Dud- ley M. Du Bose, Clement A. Evans, William M. Gard- ner, Lucius J. Gartrell, Victor I. B. Girardey, John B. Gordon, William J. Hardee, George P. Harrison, Jr., R. J. Henderson, Alfred Iverson, Jr., Henry R. Jackson, John K. Jackson, David R. Jones, William H. King. Alexander R. Lawton, James Longstreet, Lafayette McLaws, Hugh W. Mercer, Paul J. Semmes. James P. Simms, William D. Smith, G. Moxley Sorrel, Isaac M. St. John, Marcellus A. Stovall, Edward L. Thomas, Robert Toombs, E. D. Tracy, David E. Twiggs, William H. T. Walker, Henry C. Wayne, Joseph Wheeler, Edward Willis, Claudius C. Wilson, W. T. Wofford, A. R. Wright, G. J. Wright, and P. M. B. Young.
Two of them-Generals Stovall and Evans-are esteemed and honored officers of this Association. The fame of one is indissolubly associated with the valorous achievements of the Army of the West, while the reputation of the other was bravely won amid the perils and the triumphs of the Army of Northern Virginia. Cordially do we renew our salu- tations on this Memorial Day, assuring them of our
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profound respect and sincere friendship, and earnestly expressing the hope that the day may be far distant when they shall be called upon to cross the dark stream and rest with Johnston and Polk, with Lee and Jackson, beneath the evergreen trees which beatify the further shore.
To these general officers who were regularly com- missioned in the armies of the Confederacy, we add the following who, at some time, held commissions from Georgia, and were in command of the State forces: Major Generals Henry R. Jackson and Gus- tavus W. Smith, and Brigadier Generals C. D. Ander- son, F. W. Capers. R. W. Carswell, Geo. P. Harrison, Sr., Henry K. McCay, P. J. Phillips, William Phillips, W. H. T. Walker, and Henry C. Wayne.
Pretermitting all mention of those who were wounded in the field, we record the names of the following who fell in battle: Major General William Henry T. Walker, killed near Atlanta, Georgia, on the 22nd of July 1864,-Brigadier General Francis S. Bartow, killed at First Manassas,-Brigadier General Thomas R. R. Cobb, killed at Fredericksburg,-Briga- dier James Deshler, killed at Chickamauga-Brigadier General George Doles, killed at Bethesda church,-> Brigadier General Victor I. B. Girardey, killed on the lines in front of Petersburg,-Brigadier General Paul J. Semmes, mortally wounded at Gettysburg,-Briga- dier General E. D. Tracy, killed near Port Gibson,- and Brigadier General Edward Willis, killed at Beth- esda church, in Virginia.
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