USA > Georgia > The Confederate records of the State of Georgia, Vol 2 pt 2 > Part 25
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Instead of rapid concentration of our armies at vital points to strike the enemy stunning blows, our policy has been to divide and scatter our forces in the face of superior numbers, and receive blows which have well nigh cost our existence as a Confederacy.
Our people have endured this misrule with remark- able forbearance and patriotism. But the time has come when we are obliged to deal with stern realities, and to look facts full in the face. We can no longer profit by hugging delusions to our bosoms. Our Government is now a military despotism whenever the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus is suspended, an object to which the President's earnest efforts are constantly directed. The tendency to anarchy is rapid and fearful.
The Lincoln dynasty informs us directly that recon- struction or subjugation are the only alternative to be presented to us.
The present policy, if persisted in, must terminate in reconstruction either with or without subjugation. I accuse no supporter of the measures of the administra-
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tion of any such design. But entertaining the opinion which I do of its results, if I favored reconstruction, or subjugation, to both of which I am utterly opposed, I would give an earnest support to the President's policy, as the surest mode of diminishing our armies, exhausting our resources, breaking the spirits of our people, and driving them in despair to seek refuge from a worse tyranny, by placing themselves under the protection of a Government which they loathe and detest, because it has wronged and tyrannized over them, destroyed their property, and slaughtered their sons.
These are sad truths which it is exceedingly unpleas- ant to announce. But true statesmanship requires that the ruler do the best that can be done for his people under all circumstances by which they are at the time surrounded. And the statesman who sees nothing but ruin in its pursuit of a line of policy and does not warn his countrymen against it, is unworthy the high trust confided to his care.
But you may ask, do I despair of the justice of our cause or of our ability to succeed. I answer emphati- cally, No. Bad as our policy has been and much as we have wasted of men and means, we still have enough of both, if properly used, to continue the struggle till we achieve our independence and re-establish in these States Constitutional liberty, which has been for the time, so completely crushed.
To enable us to do this the Conscription Act must be repealed, and the policy abandoned, and we must re- turn to the Constitutional mode of raising troops by the States. The States cannot do this successfully while
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STATE PAPERS OF GOVERNOR JOS. E. BROWN
conscription is practised, and they thwarted in their efforts by conflict and collision with Confederate officers. In a word, the two systems cannot work together.
Our armies, compose of the militia or arms-bearing people of the States, must be re-organized under officers appointed by the respective States as the Constitution directs. This would enable the States in the re-organi- zation to put into the rank all supernumerary officers, in- cluding the large number of Confederate enrolling offi- cers, who without commands, are now supported and paid by the Government, and to displace such now in command of troops as are tyrannical and inefficient, and fill their places with those who have shown themselves competent, and who have the confidence of the troops, to be commanded by them. The States in the re-organi- zation of these troops could also put into service the large number of able-bodied young men within their lim- its, who are now at home, hold appointments under the Confederacy which serve the purposes of protection, with- out reciprocal benefit to the common cause. In the same manner great numbers of absentees, deficient in neither patriotism or gallantry, who have been driven out of the armies by the petty tyranny of subaltern officers appointed at Richmond to command them, could be brought back by the States under officers of their own choice, who would make .A.lent troops. Remove the shackles of bondage from the limbs of our troops, and let them feel they are again freemen fighting in freedom's cause, and that the Government stands by and main- tains the great principles of Constitutional liberty and State sovereignty for which they took up arms, and they will re-enter the field with renewed hopes, determined to conquer an honorable peace or fill a soldier's grave.
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We must return to the observance of good faith with our troops-pay them when their wages are due, and dis- charge them when their terms expire.
We must pass no more Acts of repudiation of our Government issues of currency. We must receive in payment of Confederate taxes all notes, bonds or certifi- cates which persons are compelled by the Government to take, in payment of property taken from them by its impressment officers.
We must abandon the policy of supporting the ar- mies by impressments or forcibly seizures of property, and must adopt the policy of purchasing what we need, except in extreme cases which justify impressment, and then we must pay as the Constitution requires, just compensation for the property taken. This equalizes the burdens by dividing the whole among the entire number of taxpayers, in proportion to the amount of property owned by each.
Representation without constituency must no longer be allowed nor must laws be dictated to us by the votes of representatives without accountability to those who share in the burdens imposed by the legislation enacted by them.
Secret sessions of Congress, except in cases where legislation affecting the movements of our armies, is pending, must be abandoned and the people must know, .... as they have right to know, how their representatives act and vote upon all measures affecting their vital in- terests, their rights and their honors.
STATE PAPERS OF GOVERNOR JOS. E. BROWN 851
Discipline must be restored and enforced in our ar- mies. One of the reasons given by its advocates for the enactment of the conscript law, was that better dis- cipline would be maintained by giving the appointment of the officers to the President. Results have shown the reverse to be true. Prior to the adoption of that plan the officers selected by the troops themselves and appointed by the States, kept the men in the field, and we triumphed gloriously in almost every engagement with the enemy. Since that time the officers appointed by the President have neither maintained discipline nor kept the men in the field. If the President's statement is reliable they have only one-third of them there. And I fear the dis- cipline of that third is loose, compared with that exhib- ited by the Federal army in its march through this State.
The President having failed in his military adminis- tration and brought the country to the verge of ruin by his military policy, should be relieved of that part of his duties by an amendment of the Constitution to provide for the appointment of a Commander-in-Chief of the ar- mies of the Confederacy, by the President, by and with the consent of two-thirds of the Senate, who shall be entirely free from the control of the President and re- movable only by the same power by which he was ap- pointed. This would place the best military talent of the country in command of our armies, not in name only but in fact, and would save us in future from the heavy calamities which have befallen us by the capricious re- moval of a great commander, at a most critical juncture of an ably conducted defensive campaign.
The late Act of Congress did not, and could not, take from the President his Constitutional power as Com-
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mander-in-Chief. It provides for the appointment of a General-in-Chief. Robert E. Lee as General-in-Chief is as subject to the orders of the President as he was before the Act of Congress, and his appointment under it, and the President may at any moment frustrate his plans by orders which he is obliged to obey. Congress cannot divest the President of this power over all the Generals in Confederate service, including the General- in-Chief. This power is conferred by the Constitution and can only be taken away by an amendment of that instrument.
These changes may be made without the evils of revolution within revolution. The Constitution provides for its own amendment. The remedy is perfectly peace- ful. It declares that: Upon the demand of any three States legally assembled in their several conventions, the Congress shall summon a convention of all the States to take into consideration such amendments to the Consti- tution as the said States shall concur in suggesting, at the time when said demand is made.
It is perfectly legitimate and proper for three States to demand such convention whenever in the opinion of their people the public good or the common safety re- quires it. In my opinion the best interest of the country requires that such convention meet with as little delay as possible, to propose such amendments to the Constitu -. tion, as will reform abuses by setting disputed points, and effect a speedy and thorough change of policy in con- ducting the war and filling up and sustaining our armies. I am not afraid to trust the people in convention. I therefore recommend the call of a convention of the peo- ple of this State for the purpose of proposing such
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STATE PAPERS OF GOVERNOR JOS. E. BROWN.
amendments to the Constitution as will relieve the Presi- dent of his responsibility as Commander-in-Chief of the armies, and will provide for the appointment of a Com- mander-in-Chief in time of war, and to propose such other amendments and do such other acts as will correct the abuses and afford remedies for the grievances here- inbefore stated.
I also recommend that this General Assembly appoint commissioners to each of the other States of the Confed- eracy, requesting them to assemble in Convention at an early date to demand of Congress the call of a Convention of all the States, for the purposes above specified.
The speedy adoption of this policy is, in my judg- ยท ment, indispensable to the achievement of our indepen- dence, and the maintenance of the great principles of State sovereignty and Constitutional liberty, which un- derlie the foundations of our Federative system of Gov- ernment-gave being to our present Confederation of States-and are absolutely necessary to the future pros- perity and happiness of our people. By the construction placed upon the Constitution as it now stands, by those who administer the Confederate Government, these great principles have been disregarded, and the sovereignty of the States, and rights of the people lost sight of in the struggle for independence.
The achievement of our independence seems to be the great and only good aimed at by those who wield the power at Richmond. We have been told from the halls of Congress that courts must be closed, and State lines obliterated, if necessary, to accomplish this object. Indeed, some persons in authority seem to have forgotten
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that we are fighting for anything but independence. If so, the whole struggle is in vain, for we had that in the old Government, which was our Government, consecrated by the blood of our ancestors and transmitted from sire to son. We were independent of all other powers. But the people of the Northern State got control of that Gov- ernment and so administered it as to imperil not our independence but our rights. We then separated from them and are fighting for our rights and our liberties; and as a means of maintaining and securing those rights and liberties we declared our independence. Indepen- dence with these is worth all the sacrifices which we have made or can make. Our rights and liberties are not secondary to our independence, but our indepen- dence is only necessary to protect our rights and our liberties. Russia is independent of all the world, so is Turkey, while the Government of each is a despotism; and the people have only the rights of liberties which the sovereign chooses to permit them to exercise. If this is the sort of independence for which we are fighting our great sacrifices have been made but to little purpose. The recognition by foreign powers of the independence of our rulers and of their right to govern us, without the recognition of our rights and liberties by our rulers, is not worth the blood of the humblest citizen. We must gain more than this in the struggle, or we have made a most unfortunate exchange. The further pursuit of our present policy not only endangers our rights and our liberties, but our independence also, by destroying the institutions and breaking the spirits of our people. Let us beware how we trifle with the rights, the liberties, and the happiness of millions.
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STATE PAPERS OF GOVERNOR JOS. E. BROWN.
I am aware that the freedom and plainness, which a sense of duty to my country has compelled me to exer- cise, in discussing the measures of the administration, and the policy of the Government, may subject my mo- tives to misconstruction. I feel the proud consciousness, however, that I have been actuated only by a desire to promote the cause so dear to every patriot's heart, and thereby secure the independence of the Confederacy, with the civil and religious liberties and Constitutional rights of the people, without which independence is an empty name, and the glory and grandeur of our republican system is departed forever. No one can be more vitally interested than myself in the success of our cause. I have staked life, liberty and property, and the liberties of my posterity upon the result. The enemy have burned my dwelling and other houses, destroyed my property. and shed in rich profusion the blood of nearest relatives. My destiny is linked with my country. If we succeed I am a free man. But if by the obstinacy, weakness or misguided judgment of our rulers, we fail, the same common ruin awaits me which awaits my countrymen. It is no time to conceal ideas in courtly phrase. The night is dark, the tempest howls, the ship is lashed with turbulent waves, the helmsman is steering to the whirl- pool, our remonstrances are unheeded, and we must restrain him, or the crew must sink together, submerged in irretrievable ruin.
JOSEPH E. BROWN.
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EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT,
MILLEDGEVILLE, GEORGIA,
February 16th, 1865.
I hereby appoint and commission Cornelius F. Keeth, of the county of Cherokee, in this State, an agent for the State of Georgia to proceed to the State of Texas and purchase wool in said State of Texas for the State of Georgia, and bring it to the State by any practicable mode, and to carry to Texas such articles to exchange for it as may be most salable there, and to furnish me with information, as soon as possible, of the prices of the dif- ferent commodities of that State which are needed here. Mr. Keeth, as such agent of the State, is hereby, and by Act of Congress, exempt from all military duty while engaged in this agency.
Witness my hand and the Great Seal of the State, the day and year above written.
JOSEPH E. BROWN.
The following message was transmitted to the Gen- eral Assembly, to-wit :
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT,
MACON, GEORGIA, February 23d, 1865.
To the General Assembly :
I have succeeded in importing about 20,000 pairs of cotton cards without backs. I now have the backs for
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STATE PAPERS OF GOVERNOR JOS. E. BROWN.
about 10,000 pairs, and am having the others made. So soon as this can be done, and the cards tacked on, they will all be ready for distribution among the people of the State. They can be sold for twenty-five dollars per pair in currency.
Under an order issued to the salesman, any family wishing them for use is now permitted to purchase one pair at that rate, and many are applying for them. Ob- servation already satisfies me that this is giving the people of the interior of the State the advantage of those more remote from the capital, and I submit the question to the General Assembly as the representatives of the people, to say, by resolution, how the cards shall be dis- tributed among the people of the different counties. My desire is that it be done upon the most equitable plan, giving all an equal opportunity to avail themselves of the benefit.
If the cards are sold at $25.00 per pair they must be taken at the capital without further expense, otherwise the price will have to be increased to cover expenses of importation and sale. One third of the whole number purchased in England was lost in running the blockade with them. Two-thirds came through safely.
JOSEPH E. BROWN.
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT,
MACON, GEORGIA,
February 28th, 1865.
Eldridge Barker, an agent of the Quartermaster's Department of the State of Georgia, is exempt from mili-
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tary duty to the Confederate States, by Act of Congress and by the Act of the Legislature of this State claiming all such agents as exempt.
Said Barker is on duty in the city of Montgomery, Alabama, attending to the business and interests of the State, and I request that he remain undisturbed by en- rolling officers.
Witness my hand and the Great Seal of the State, the day and year above mentioned.
JOSEPH E. BROWN.
The following message was transmitted to the House of Representatives, to-wit:
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, MACON, GEORGIA,
February 28th, 1865.
To the House of Representatives :
In response to your call, I herewith transmit the *reports of Major-General G. W. Smith and H. C. Wayne, of the military operations since the 18th October last.
JOSEPH E. BROWN.
The following message was transmitted to the Senate, to-wit:
*Not found.
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STATE PAPERS OF GOVERNOR JOS. E. BROWN.
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT,
MACON, GEORGIA,
March 1st, 1865.
To the Senate:
To your resolution of inquiry, I respond that a Com- pany of Artillery, known as "Pruden's Battery," and one small Company of Infantry, were detached from the militia under General Smith's command and used for a time in connection with the Battalion of Cadets, as a guard for the capital. They were called out under the same Act of the Legislature under which the other militia were summoned to the field, and placed under command of Maj. F. W. Capers. Upon the approach of the enemy, they were ordered from the Capitol to Gordon by request of Maj .- General Cobb, and fell back thence to Oconee bridge, which with the ferry below, was gallantly de- fended by them in connection with Talbot's Scouts. From the bridge, they fell back till they reached Savan- nah and were again united with General Smith's Division. They expect pay as other militiamen.
Talbot's Scouts are a. company of mounted men de- tached from the State line, to discharge the duty of scouts. They are part of the State Line-are an excellent, spir- ited company, and have distinguished themselves in the campaign,-first under their late lamented leader Capt. F. M. Cowan, who fell wounded by the enemy, and died in their hospital, and since under their present gallant leader, Capt. Talbot. It is expected that this company, which is paid with the State line and the Artillery and
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Infantry company above mentioned, with the Cadets, will be used in the future, when not more needed elsewhere, as a guard for the Capital, against the raids of the enemy.
The regiment of Troup county militia were at the request of General Johnston, placed at the bridge at West Point, where they have remained under the com- mand of a Confederate officer, to whom they report.
Maj. Glenn's squadron of mounted militia, were or- dered out and have been on duty at Atlanta. Several other organizations of militia, in the Cherokee country, were called out in the rear of the enemy, at the request of General Hood, in August. Since the enemy left At- lanta they have been ordered to report to Major-General Cobb, and are now reporting to that gallant officer, Brig- adier-General Wm. T. Wofford.
All these organizations are for the time, under the command of Confederate Generals, and are expected to be paid by the Confederate Government. I regret how- ever to learn that they do not receive their pay.
JOSEPH E. BROWN.
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, MACON, GEORGIA, March 1st, 1865.
To the House of Representatives :
I herewith transmit a *copy of the correspondence . between myself and the Secretary of War, growing out
*See Vol. III Confederate Records of Georgia.
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STATE PAPERS OF GOVERNOR JOS. E. BROWN.
of a requisition, made by the President upon me, to turn over to his control the reserve militia of the State.
JOSEPH E. BROWN.
The following message was transmitted to the Gen- eral Assembly, to-wit:
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT,
MACON, GEORGIA,
March 2d, 1865.
To the General Assembly :
I am informed, that the Government of the United States will permit cotton to be shipped through the block- ade, to be sold North, and the proceeds applied to the relief of our suffering prisoners confined in their prisons.
I also learn, that other States have taken action in this matter for the relief of their suffering sons.
None have done their duty more faithfully than the Georgia Troops, and while we provide for the wants of those under arms and their families, we should not for- get those who languish in foreign confinement. I there- fore recommend an appropriation sufficient to purchase one thousand bales of cotton, to be shipped to New York and sold, and the proceeds applied to their relief.
And I further recommend, that the Governor be au- thorized to appoint proper agents to go to New York,
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and see to the sale of the cotton, and the proper applica- tion of the fund.
(Signed)
JOSEPH E. BROWN.
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT,
MACON, GEORGIA, March 2d, 1865.
I hereby pledge the faith of the State to carry out such contract as may be entered into by Capt. Geo. C. Conner with the Military Transportation Department at Montgomery to secure the transportation of State corn in Montgomery to Atlanta for the purpose of relieving the extreme suffering of the citizens of Upper Georgia.
I also ask of that Department such assistance as it may be possible for its officers to grant the Quarter- master's Department of this State in its efforts to fur- nish those counties that have been desolated by the enemy.
JOSEPH E. BROWN.
The following message was transmitted to the Gen- eral Assembly, to-wit:
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT, MACON, GEORGIA, March 3d, 1865.
To the General Assembly :
At your session in November, an appropriation of $800,000 was made to purchase and carry corn to the
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STATE PAPERS OF GOVERNOR JOS. E. BROWN.
destitute in the counties that have been overrun by the enemy and in counties where the crop failed on account of the extreme wet or dry weather. The average price of corn in the State, may now be set down at twelve to fifteen dollars per bushel. Add the cost of transporta- tion, and the lowest estimate would be fifteen. The ap- propriation will purchase at present prices, a little over 50,000 bushels. This would not more than supply the three most needy counties in the State, if the corn could be purchased now. In two months from this time, the price may have been increased one-half. In my opinion the appropriation for this purpose would be at least two millions of dollars.
In this connection I beg leave to again remind the General Assembly, that without the power of impress- ment, it will be absolutely impossible for me to secure the corn. I have made diligent efforts through agents, and find I can not purchase enough to feed the State teams, and support the State Line in the field. I am in- formed by Maj. Moses, the Chief Confederate Commis- sary for the State, that agents will be allowed to purchase part of the surplus of bonded men, for the use of soldiers' families. This will aid as far as that class is concerned, but will afford no relief to the large number of persons not soldiers' families, now suffering for bread, in the sections of the State where all the supplies of the people have been destroyed by the enemy. As I have already informed the General Assembly, the appropriation of money can not afford the necessary relief without the power to impress the provisions in the hands of those who will not sell their surplus for currency.
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Market value should be paid to every citizen, whose property is impressed, but those who have a surplus and refuse to sell at market value, while others are suffering, should be compelled to distribute all they can spare, at its value in currency. I wish the members of the Gen- eral Assembly and their constituents, to understand dis- tinetly, that the appropriation of money already made, is wholly inadequate for this purpose and that it is im- possible for me to furnish the corn, without the power of impressment.
If the Legislature adjourns without conferring the authority, it will leave me powerless to relieve hundreds of women and children from actual starvation.
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