CONDITION OF THE SOUTH.
Cause of the Rebellion--Prevalence of Union Sentiment in the
South--Why not Developed--Stevenson's Views--Why Incorrect--Cavalry
Raids upon Union Citizens--How the Rebels employ Slaves--Slaves
Whipped and sent out of the Federal Lines--Resisting the Conscript
Law--Kansas Jayhawkers--Guarding Rebel Property--Perfidy of
Secessionists--Plea for Emancipation--The South Exhausted--Failure of
Crops--Southern Merchants Ruined--Bragg Prohibits the Manufacture and
Vending of Intoxicating Liquors--Its Salutary Effect.
The following is the substance of addresses delivered by me on October 22d
and 25th, 1862, at Cooper's Institute, New York, and before the Synod of
New York and New Jersey, at its session in Brooklyn.
I will confine myself to rendering answers to various questions which
have been asked me since my escape to the North. I have viewed the
rebellion from a southern stand-point; have been conversant with its
whole history; have been behind the curtains, and have learned the
motives which impel its instigators in their treasonable designs
against the Government.
Slavery I believe to have been the sole cause of the rebellion. It is
true that the slaveholders of the South were becoming strongly
anti-republican. Rule or ruin was their determination, and they would
not have listened to any compromise measure after the election of Mr.
Lincoln; but this feeling, this opposition to republicanism, and lust
of power, is the offspring of slavery. In 1856 I heard Jeff. Davis
declare that the people of the North and the South were not
homogeneous, and that therefore he advocated secession. The reason he
assigned for this want of homogeneousness was found in the fact that
the South held slaves; the North did not.
Men accustomed to exercise arbitrary power over their fellow-men, will
not cease their encroachments upon the rights of all with whom they
are associated, politically or otherwise, and a temporary suspension
of the control of the government is regarded by them as a _casus
belli_. Slavery may therefore be justly regarded as the parent of
secession. Whilst this cause exists, the South will be the hot-bed of
treason. Slavery has produced its legitimate fruit, and treason is its
name. With slavery intact, no compromise, if accepted by the South,
would prevent another outbreak in a few years.
The question has been asked, is there any Union sentiment in the
South? I reply that there is a strong Union sentiment, even in
Mississippi. This sentiment is not found amongst the slaveholders,
for, as a class, they are firmly united in their hostility to the
Government. The middle and lower classes are not only opposed to
secession, but also to slavery itself. Eleven years' association with
the southern people has enabled me to form a correct opinion, and to
know whereof I affirm. I make this statement without fear of
successful contradiction, that the majority of the white inhabitants
of the South are Union-loving men. The slaveholders have long ruled
both the blacks and the whites in the South. When the rebellion was
determined upon, the slaveholders had the organized force to compel
acquiescence upon the part of those who favoured the Union, yet wished
to remain neutral. Their drafts and conscriptions swept them into the
army, and when once there, they must obey their officers upon pain of
death. To desert and join the Union army, was to abandon their homes
and families, and all their youthful associations. Yet many have done
it, and are now doing good service in their country's cause.
The rebels punished with death any who declared himself in favour of
the Union. In my presence at Tupelo, they were taken out daily and
shot for the expression of sentiments adverse to the rebellion. If the
Union troops at any time occupied a place, and the people expressed
any favourable sentiments to their cause, upon the evacuation of that
position, those who sided with the Union troops were cruelly treated.
All these causes, and many others which I might mention, have
prevented the full development of the true sentiments of the people. I
could name many localities within the rebel lines where the great
majority of the people bitterly denounce the Southern Confederacy and
all connected with it. I could name many individuals who have declared
to me that they would prefer death to a dishonourable compliance with
the conscript law. I could name localities within the rebel lines
where armed resistance to the conscript law has been made; but the
safety of those loyal citizens forbids it.
I know that there are some who assert that there is no Union feeling
in the South; but they are mistaken. The author of "Thirteen Months in
the Rebel Army" found but little. His situation was not favourable for
its discovery. He informs us in his work, that after he had been
compelled to _volunteer_, he regarded his oath (an oath much more
honoured in the breach than in the observance,) of such force that he
sought to obtain information, rather than to desert. He passed from
one post of preferment to another, till at length he was on duty under
the eye of Breckinridge himself, who complimented him upon his
alacrity in bearing dispatches; and this was truly great, as he rode
at one time sixty miles in seven hours, and at another, fourteen
miles in less than fifty minutes. He also exhibited a guarded zeal for
the secession cause. Who would have gone to an officer who was
apparently aiding and abetting the rebellion, ably and assiduously, to
communicate his Union sentiments? Any who would thus betray themselves
could not be sure that they would not be shot in twenty-four hours.
Had Mr. Stevenson been with me in Tupelo, and looked upon those
seventy or eighty prisoners who were incarcerated for their adherence
to the Union--had he witnessed the daily execution of some of them who
preferred death to _volunteering_ to defend a cause which they did not
hesitate to denounce at the peril of their lives--had he been with me
while in the midst of a host of Union citizens of Mississippi, who at
the noon of night had assembled in the deep glens and on the high
hills, for the purpose of devising means to resist the hated conscript
law--he would have come to a far different conclusion. I have seen the
cavalry go out to arrest Union men. I was at a Mr. William Herron's,
in South Carroll, Carrol county, Tennessee, and while there, several
companies of cavalry came up from Jackson to destroy the loyal
citizens of that vicinity, and they did destroy some of them and much
property. They passed within two hundred yards of fortifications
hastily thrown up to resist them, and would have been fired on had
they come within range. Before completing their mission, a messenger
came to inform them that Fort Henry was beleagured. They hastened to
the fort just in time to take part in the action. After the surrender
of the fort, they retreated to Fort Donelson, and were all captured at
the reduction of that fort, to the great joy of those Union citizens
whom they had driven from their homes, and whose property they had
destroyed.
The slaves add greatly to the strength of the rebellion. Slave labour
is extensively employed in the military department. They are the
sappers and miners, the cooks, the teamsters, the artisans; and there
are instances where they are forced to shoulder the musket and go into
the ranks. I have seen and conversed with slave soldiers who have
fought in every battle from Manassas to Shiloh.
Many strong secession counties send more soldiers to the rebel army
than there are voters in those counties. The slaves who remain at
home, labour to raise provisions for the sustenance of the families of
the soldiers, and a surplus for the army; hence every white man is
available for service in the field. Were this slave labour diverted to
some other channel, the result would follow, that a great proportion
of the rebel soldiers would be forced to return home to care for their
families, or those families must perish. In order to divert this
labour, it would be only necessary to encourage the negroes to leave
their masters. Wherever the Federal army has advanced in the
southwest, the slaves have crowded into their lines by hundreds, and
only desisted upon learning, much to their regret, that they would not
be received, many of them being tied up and whipped, and then sent
southward beyond the limits of the Federal army. Some who had
travelled seventy miles upon the underground railroad, to reach the
Union army, being asked by their fellow-servants upon their return,
how they liked the Yankees, replied that "General Nelson sort o'
hinted that he didn't want us." Upon being urged to be more explicit,
and to state more fully what was the nature of the hint which led them
to infer that General Nelson did not want them, their spokesman
replied: "Well, if we must tell, we must. General Nelson tied us up
and gave us fifty apiece, and sent us off, sw'arin' he'd guv us a
hundred ef we didn't go right straight back home to our masters. He
said this wa'n't no war got up to set the niggers free."
The Kansas Jayhawkers liberate all the slaves with whom they come in
contact. I passed four regiments of their cavalry last August, on
their way to Rienzi, Mississippi. They had about two thousand slaves
with them, of every age and sex. Those slaves groomed their horses,
drove their wagons, cooked their victuals, and made themselves useful
in a variety of ways, leaving every white man free to go into the
battle when the hour of contest arrived.
Slavery is a strong prop to the rebellion. Four millions of labourers
are able to furnish supplies for eight millions. Subtract that vast
resource from the rebellion, add it to the support of the Government,
and its stunning effect would be speedily demonstrated in the complete
paralysis of the Southern Confederacy. In order to supply the loss of
the slaves, half the soldiers in the army must return, or famine would
sweep both the army and the families of the soldiers from the face of
the earth. One cause of the long continuance of the war is, that the
Union army has endeavoured to conciliate the South, rather than crush
the rebellion. They have guarded the property of the rebels; they have
returned promptly their fugitive slaves; they have put down servile
insurrection with an iron hand, and in every possible way have shown
clemency instead of severity. But their kindness has been abused,
their clemency regarded as evidence of imbecility, and the humane
policy of the Government totally misconstrued. Captain John Rainey, of
Cambridge, Ohio, while on duty at Corinth, Mississippi, received an
application from a notorious secessionist for a guard to protect his
premises, which was obtained for him from the colonel, three soldiers
being detached for that purpose, who proceeded to the station assigned
them. About four o'clock in the afternoon they saw the owner of the
premises they were guarding, mount his horse and ride off. Supposing
him to be going on some ordinary errand, they took no further notice
of it. About nine o'clock, one of the guard who had strayed into the
orchard, some three hundred yards from the house, heard an unusual
sound, as of cavalry approaching. Concealing himself, he saw, by the
bright moonlight, this secessionist ride up with seven or eight rebel
cavalrymen, who, seizing his two companions, rode off with them as
prisoners. The ingrate who committed this base and perfidious act then
went into his house and retired to rest. As speedily as possible the
third picket returned to his company, and informed them of the
occurrence. Fired with indignation, twenty men volunteered to visit
summary punishment upon the perpetrator of this villany. Hastening to
his house, they aroused him from his slumbers, and in a few minutes
suspended him by the neck between the heavens and the earth. On their
return they reported to their companions what they had done, and,
through fear of punishment, took every precaution to prevent the act
reaching the colonel's ears. It was reported to the colonel, however,
whose reply to his informant was, "Served him right!" This policy of
guarding rebel property by Union troops must be abandoned, or the war
will never terminate. The Union army has been attacked by the rebels
when large numbers of the soldiers were absent as guards to protect
the plantations and all the interests of secessionists. Such gingerly
warfare must end, or the days of the Republic are numbered. Carrying
the war into the enemy's country has thus far proved a mere farce. The
retreating rebels destroyed tenfold more property than the pursuing
Federals. I would not counsel cruelty. I would not advise the
unnecessary destruction of life or property, for all wanton
destruction tends to weaken rather than to strengthen the cause of
those who perpetrate it. Vandalism is everywhere reprehensible. The
proper policy I believe to be this: Let the Union army be supplied
with provisions, so far as practicable, from the territory occupied.
Let the slaves find protection and employment on their arrival within
the Union lines. Despise not their valuable services. Let it be
proclaimed that for every Union citizen of the South who is slain for
his adherence to the old flag, a rebel prisoner shall be executed, and
that the confiscated property of Union men shall be restored, at the
cost of rebel sympathizers in the vicinity. Let these necessary
measures be carried out, and no well-informed person can doubt that
the war will cease before the end of six months. With slavery, the
rebels are powerful; without it, they are powerless. With slavery,
every white man between the ages of eighteen and sixty is available as
a soldier, and vast supplies are procured by servile labour. Abolish
slavery, and the army would be immediately reduced one-half, and
supplies would be diminished to a destructive extent. Slaves armed
and drilled would make effective soldiers. With a perfect knowledge of
the country, with an intense desire to liberate themselves and their
brethren from bondage, with an ardent hatred of their cruel masters
and overseers, (and the majority of them are cruel,) they would render
a willing and powerful aid in crushing the great rebellion. After the
war is ended, give them as much land as their necessities require,
either in New Mexico or Arizona, and they will furnish more sugar,
rice, and cotton, than were extorted from them by compulsory labour in
the house of bondage.
The desire for freedom on the part of the slaves is universal. It is,
according to my observation and full belief, a rule without exception.
These aspirations are constantly increasing as the rigours of slavery
are increased, and the slaves are as well prepared for freedom as they
would be a hundred years hence. The _Iron Furnace_ of slavery does not
tend to the elevation of its victims. There are better methods of
elevating a race than by enslaving it. The moral elevation of the
slave is no part of the reason why he is held in bondage; but the
convenience and profit of the master is the sole end and aim of the
peculiar institution. All attempts on the part of the slaves to obtain
their liberty are resisted by the slaveholders, by the infliction of
appalling and barbarous cruelties. Thirty-two negroes were executed at
Natchez, Mississippi, recently, because they expressed a determination
"to go to Lincoln." Six were hanged in Hoxubee county, and one burned
in the streets of Macon. The southern papers state that Hon. Mr. Orr,
of South Carolina, attempted to drive his slaves into the interior, to
prevent their escaping to the Yankees, and upon their refusal to go,
he ordered them to be driven at the point of the bayonet, and in the
execution of the order, fifty of them were slain. There are instances
in which the slave is greatly attached to his master's family, but his
love of liberty is greater than that attachment. It often transcends
his love for his own family, which he abandons for its sake, risking
his life on the underground railroad, and enduring the rigours of a
Canadian winter, that he may enjoy his inalienable rights.
The southwest is already nearly exhausted. The troops which first went
into the service were well supplied with clothing, provisions, and
money; but the conscripts were poorly clad, and received their wages
in Confederate bonds, which have so depreciated, that ten dollars in
gold will purchase one hundred dollars of the bonds. Great suffering
is the consequence, and desertions are of daily occurrence. While I
was in prison at Tupelo, eighty-seven of the Arkansas infantry
deserted in a body. One hundred cavalry were sent to arrest them, but
they defeated the cavalry in a fair fight, and went on their way
rejoicing. Tennesseeans and Kentuckians could not be trusted on picket
duty, their proclivity for desertion being notorious. They suffered no
opportunity to escape them, and often went off in squads. Many of them
being forced into the service, did not consider their involuntary oath
binding.
The wheat crop of 1862, in the southwest, was almost totally destroyed
by the rust, and the corn crop by the drought. Salt could not be
obtained at any cost, and every marketable commodity had reached a
fabulous price. Southern merchants feel that they are ruined. At the
commencement of the war they had made large purchases in the North,
mainly on credit. The rebel Congress passed a law that all who were
indebted to the North must pay two-thirds of the amount of their
indebtedness to the Southern Confederacy. This the merchants did. They
then sold their goods, taking cotton and Confederate money in pay. The
cotton was destroyed by order of Beauregard, and the Confederate scrip
is worthless, and the Federal generals are enforcing the payment of
Northern claims. This fourfold loss will beggar every southern
merchant subjected to it.
At the commencement of the war, strong drink was abundant, and it was
freely used by the soldiers. Drunkenness was fearfully prevalent. This
vice increased to such a degree that the army was rapidly becoming
demoralized. A large amount of grain was wasted in the manufacture of
liquor. At this juncture the rebel government wisely prohibited the
manufacture and sale of all that would intoxicate. Soon the wisdom of
this measure was apparent. For a time this contraband article was
smuggled in, yet it was only in limited quantities, and at the present
time a drunken soldier is a _rara avis_ in the army. At the first
promulgation of the law, a cunning countryman perforated a large
number of eggs, withdrew the contents, filled the shells with whiskey,
closed them up, and carrying them to the camp at Rienzi, sold them at
an exorbitant price. Others resorted to filling coffee-pots with
whisky, stopping up the bottom of the spout, filling it with
buttermilk, and if asked by the guards what they had for sale, would
pour out some of the milk in the spout, and by this deception gain an
entrance to the camp, and supply the soldiers with liquor. But all
these tricks were discovered, and since the manufacture, as well as
the sale, was prohibited, the supply on hand became exhausted, and
drunkenness ceased.