'The recognition of your birthright- community independence'

After the 'Seven days battle' outside Richmond in 1862, Gen. Lee and President Davis sent orders to the Confederate troops congratulating them on the success of repulsing Gen. McClellan's army at all points. It was a brilliant victory, that saw the likes of Gen. Jackson surprise the enemy by coming from the Shenandoah Valley, after just defeating three armies and alarming Lincoln that Washington could be attacked next, to McClellan's flank outside of Richmond. I give to you here President Davis's orders to the troops, Mr. Davis, having been with the army constantly during the whole battle. The final words are very interesting, with Davis telling them to remember why they have fought and must continue to fight, for 'constitutional liberty' and 'community independence'. From Life and Letters of Gen. Robert Edward Lee, by Dr. John William Jones.

"Richmond, July 5, 1862.

To the Army in Eastern Virginia.

"Soldiers: I congratulate you on the series of brilliant victories which, under the favor of Divine Providence, you have lately won; and, as the President of the Confederate States, do heartily tender to you the thanks of the country whose just cause you have so skilfully and heroically served. Ten days ago an invading army, greatly superior to you in numbers and in the material of war, closely beleaguered your Capital and vauntingly proclaimed its speedy conquest; you marched to attack the enemy in his entrenchments; with well-directed movements and death-defying valor you charged upon him in his strong positions, drove him from field to field over a distance of more than thirty-five miles, and, despite his reinforcements, compelled him to seek safety under cover of his gunboats, where he now lies cowering before the army so lately derided and threatened with entire subjugation. The fortitude with which you have borne toil and privation, the gallantry with which you have entered into each successive battle, must have been witnessed to be fully appreciated; but a grateful people will not fail to recognize your deeds and to bear you in their loved remembrance. Well may it be said of you that you have "done enough for glory," but duty to a suffering country and to the cause of constitutional liberty claims from you yet further effort. Let it be your pride to relax in nothing which can promote your future efficiency- your one great object being to drive the invader from your soil, and, carrying your standards beyond the outer boundaries of the Confederacy, to wring from an unscrupulous foe the recognition of your birthright-- community independence."

Jefferson Davis"

Sacred Principles

I have been trying to keep up with something great that has been happening in the state of Mississippi. The citizens there have been working very hard to get the 89,000 signatures needed to begin the process of amending their state constitution to define personhood as beginning at conception. They are fighting for the unalienable rights of the unborn children in that state. It has been inspiring and convicting, to me to read how the Lord is honoring the work that is being done there and the sacrifices that many have made to travel the state to get the signatures needed. I read this first quote from Gen. Lee and thought it was very fitting. These men were fighting for liberty, justice and truth at a different time in history and in a different way, but nevertheless these quotes are about the duty of the people, when they see the need, to fight for what is right no matter what the outcome.

A day or two before the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, General Lee said this to General Pendleton:

“... I have never believed we could, against the gigantic combination for our subjugation, make good in the long run our independence unless foreign powers should, directly or indirectly, assist us... But such considerations really made with me no difference. We had, I was satisfied, sacred principles to maintain and rights to defend, for which we were in duty bound to do our best, even if we perished in the endeavour.”

From Recollections and Letters of General Lee by his son, Robert E. Lee Jr..

Jefferson Davis, in his ‘second’ inaugural address, had this to say:

“...It was to be expected, when we entered upon this war, that it would expose our people to sacrifices, and cost them much both of money and blood. But we knew the value of the object for which we struggled, and understood the nature of the war in which we were engaged. Nothing could be so bad as failure, and any sacrifice would be cheap as the price of success in such a contest.
But the picture has its lights as well as its shadows. This great strife has awakened in the people the highest emotions and qualities of the human soul. It is cultivating feelings of patriotism, virtue and courage. Instances of self-sacrifice and of generous devotion to the noble cause for which we are contending are rife throughout the land. Never has a people evinced a more determined spirit than that now animating men, women, and children in every part of our country. Upon the first call, the men fly to arms; and wives and mothers send their husbands and sons to battle without a murmur of regret.
It was, perhaps, in the ordination of Providence that we were to be taught the value of our liberties by the price which we pay for them.”

From Jefferson Davis and the World’s Tribute to His Memory-Memorial Volume 1890 by John W. Jones.

Here is a link to the Personhood Mississippi site.

No Word Magician

I was looking back over a book I have about Jefferson Davis today, entitled: "Jefferson Davis and the World's Tribute to His Memory-Memorial Volume 1890", by John William Jones, who wrote Christ in the Camp, and came across a few lines that I wanted to share. I came across a speech given to the General Assembly of Virginia on January 25, 1890 by Senator John W. Daniel. Mr. Daniel goes on to talk about the character of Jefferson Davis and the man of principle that he was. With so many things going on in Washington and even here in Kentucky, and after another speech last night that makes you scratch your head at what was just said... I thought these few lines to be helpful and so needed now in this Country again. Yet always remembering that it is Christ who is our perfect example of a King that rules justly.

John W. Daniel writes of Jefferson Davis:

"Sternly did he stand for principle. He was no courtier, no flatterer, no word magician, no time-server, no demagogue unless that word shakes from it the contaminations of its abuse and return to its pristine meaning- a leader of the people. Like King David's was his command, 'There shall no deceitful man dwell in my house.' A pure and lofty spirit breathed through his every utterance, which, like the Parian stone, revealed in its polish the fineness of the grain. I can recall no public man who, in the midst of such shifting and perplexing scenes of strife, maintained so firmly the consistency of his principles, and who, despite the shower of darts that hurtled around his head, triumphed so completely over every dishonoring imputation."

"He was always ready to follow his principles to their logical conclusion, to become at any sacrifice their champion; to face defeat in their defense, and to die, if need be, rather than disguise or recant them."

On receiving a commission as brigadier-general by President Polk for his actions in the Mexican War, Daniel writes: "But he had taught the doctrine that the State, and not the Federal government, was the true constitutional fountain of such an honor, and from another hand he would not bend his knightly brow to receive it."

"It was fortunate for the South, for America, and for humanity that at the head of the South in war was a true type of its honor, character, and history- a man whose clear rectitude preserved every complication from impeachment of bad faith; a patriot whose love of law and liberty were paramount to all expediencies; a commander whose moderation and firmness could restrain, and whose lofty passion and courage could inspire; a publicist whose intellectual powers and attainments made him the peer of any statesman who has championed the rights of commonwealths in debate, or stood at the helm when the ship of State encountered the tempest of civil commotion. In the tremendous storm which has scarce yet subsided Jefferson Davis never once forgot that he was a constitutional President under the limits of the fundamental law of the Confederate republic."

Oh that this were our Thanksgiving Day Proclamation

I have been looking back over Christ in the Camp and while in the appendix, which deals with other accounts of the Revival work in other parts of the Confederate Armies, I came across another Proclamation for a day of Prayer and Fasting, this one issued by the Confederate Congress and President Davis. I also flipped back to look at some quotes from Gen. Robert E. Lee and found that an order issued to the soldiers, was given for this very Proclamation handed down by the Government. Oh that the Lord would cause His people in this day, to turn towards Him and spend a 'Day of Thanksgiving' to Him who is the source for thankfulness and goodness.


"[Proclamation by the President of the Confederate States of America]

"The Senate and House of Representatives of the Confederate States of America have signified their desire that a day may be recommended to the people, to be set apart and observed as a day of humiliation, fasting and prayer, in the language following, to wit:
'Reverently recognizing the Providence of God in the affairs of man, and gratefully remembering the guidance, support and deliverance granted to our patriot fathers in the memorable war which resulted in the independence of the American colonies, and now reposing in Him our supreme confidence and hope in the present struggle for civil and religious freedom, and for the right to live under a government of our own choice, and deeply impressed with the conviction that without Him nothing is strong, nothing wise and nothing enduring; in order that the people of this confederacy may have the opportunity, at the same time, of offering their adoration to the great Sovereign of the Universe, of penitently confessing their sins and strengthening their vows and purposes of amendment, in humble reliance upon His gracious and almighty power.
'The Congress of the Confederate States of America do Resolve, That it is recommended to the people of these States, that Friday, the 8th day of April next, be set apart and observed as a day of humiliation, fasting and prayer that Almighty God would so preside over our public councils and authorities; that He would so inspire our armies and their leaders with wisdom, courage and perseverance, and so manifest Himself in the greatness of His goodness and majesty of His power, that we may be safely and successfully led through the chastening to which we are being subjected, to the attainment of an honorable peace; so that, while we enjoy the blessings of a free and happy government, we may ascribe to Him the honor and the glory of our independence and prosperity.'
"A recommendation so congenial to the feelings of the people will receive their hearty concurrence; and it is a grateful duty to the Executive to unite with their representatives in inviting them to meet in the courts of the Most High. Recent events awaken fresh gratitude to the Supreme Ruler of nations. Our enemies have suffered repeated defeats, and a nefarious scheme to burn and plunder our capital, and to destroy our civil government by putting to death the chosen servants of the people, has been baffled and set at naught. Our armies have been strengthened; our finances promise rapid progress to a satisfactory condition; and our whole country is animated with a hopeful spirit and a fixed determination to achieve independence.
"In these circumstances it becomes us, with thankful hearts, to bow ourselves before the throne of the Most High, and, while gratefully acknowledging so many mercies, confess that our sins as a people have justly exposed us to His chastisement. Let us recognize the sufferings which we have been called upon to endure, as administered by a fatherly hand for our improvement, and with resolute courage and patient endurance let us wait on Him for our deliverance.
"In furtherance of these objects, now, therefore, I, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, do issue this, my proclamation, calling upon the people of the said States, in conformity with the desire expressed by their representatives, to set apart Friday, the 8th day of April, as a day of humiliation, fasting and prayer, and I do hereby invite them on that day to repair to their several places of public worship and beseech Almighty God 'to preside over our public councils and so inspire our armies and leaders with wisdom, courage and perseverance; and so to manifest Himself in the greatness of His goodness and in the majesty of His power, that we may secure the blessings of an honorable peace and of free government; and that we, as a people, may ascribe all to the honor and glory of His name.'
"Given under my hand and the seal of the Confederate States of America, at the city of Richmond, on this 12th day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.

Jefferson Davis."

Here is what Gen. Lee added to this Proclamation in announcement to the soldiers.

"Head-Quarters, A.N. Va., March 30, 1864.

"General Order No. 23.
"In compliance with the recommendations of the Senate and House of Representatives, His Excellency the President has issued his proclamation calling upon the people to set apart Friday, the 8th of April, as a day of fasting, humiliation and prayer. The commanding general invites the army to join in the observance of the day. He directs due preparation to be made in all departments to anticipate the wants of the several commands, so that it may be strictly observed. All military duties, except such as are absolutely necessary, will be suspended. The chaplains are desired to hold services in their regiments and brigades. The officers and men are requested to attend.
"Soldiers! let us humble ourselves before the Lord our God, asking through Christ the forgiveness of our sins, beseeching the aid of the God of our forefathers in the defence of our homes and our liberties, thanking Him for His past blessings, and imploring their continuance upon our cause and our people.

"R. E. Lee, General."

So that we may turn from evil paths

Proclamation Appointing a Day of Public Worship

"It is meet that the people of the Confederate States should, from time to time, assemble to acknowledge their dependence on Almighty God; to render devout thanks for His manifold blessings; to worship His holy name; to bend in prayer at His footstool; and to accept, with reverent submission, the chastening of His all-wise and all-merciful providence.
"Let us, then, in temples and in the field, unite our voices in recognizing, with adoring gratitude, the manifestations of His protecting care in the many signal victories with which our arms have been crowned; in the fruitfulness with which He has inspired our hearts, and strengthened our arms, in resistance to the iniquitous designs of our enemies.
"And let us not forget that, while graciously vouchsafing to us His protection, our sins have merited and received grievous chastisement; that many of our best and bravest have fallen in battle; that many others are still held in foreign prisons; that large districts of our country have been devastated with savage ferocity, the peaceful homes destroyed, and helpless women and children driven away in destitution; and that, with fiendish malignity, the passions of a servile race have been excited by our foes into the commission of atrocities from which death was a welcome escape.
"Now, therefore, I, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, do issue this my proclamation, setting apart Wednesday, the 16th day of November next, as a day to be specially devoted to the worship of Almighty God. And I do invite and invoke all the people of these Confederate States to assemble on the day aforesaid, in their respective places of public worship, there to unite in prayer to our Heavenly Father, that He bestow His favor upon us; that He extend over us His protection of His almighty arm; that He sanctify His chastisement to our improvement, so that we may turn away from evil paths and walk righteously in His sight; and that He may restore peace to our beloved country, healing its bleeding wounds, and securing to us the continued enjoyment of our own right of self-government and independence; and that He will graciously hearken to us, while we ascribe to Him the power and the glory of our deliverance.
"Given under my hand and the seal of the Confederate States, at Richmond, this 26th day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-four."

Jefferson Davis.

taken from Christ in the Camp.

My trip to Boston

Inside Faneuil Hall

I just returned from my trip to Boston with my good friends Adam and Hillary. I wish we would have had more time to see all the rich history there associated with our Nations founding. I believe my favorite sites we were able to see in only a couple of short days were Faneuil Hall and the old South Church. I had meant to post a little before we left for our trip, quoting a speech given by Jefferson Davis at Faneuil Hall on October 12th, 1858. I realized that a few past quotes I have posted from Mr. Davis are also from this same speech. I wanted to quote what Davis said about Boston, and particularly Faneuil Hall. As I sat inside this historic building, I tried to call to mind what Jefferson Davis had said about the patriotism of many of those men who had spoken there before him leading up to the Revolution. Here is part of that speech, given three years before the 'Second War for Independence' was fought.

"When I see Faneuil Hall thus thronged it reminds me of another meeting when it was found too small to contain the assembly that met here, on the call of the people, to know what should be done in relation to the tea-tax, and when, Faneuil Hall being too small, they went to the old South Church, which still stands a monument of your early day. I hope the time will soon come when many Democratic meetings in Boston will be too large for Faneuil Hall. I am welcomed to this hall, so venerable for all the associations of our early history; to this hall of which you are so justly proud, and the memories of which are part of the inheritance of every American citizen; and I felt, as I looked upon it, and remembered how many voices of patriotic fervor have filled it; how here the first movement originated from which the Revolution sprang; how here began the system of town meetings, and free discussion- that, though my theme was more humble than theirs, as befitted my humbler powers, I had enough to warn me that I was assuming much to speak in this sacred chamber. But, when I heard your distinguished orator say that words uttered here could never die, that they lived and became a part of the circumambient air, I felt a hesitation which increases upon me with the remembrance of his expressions. But, if those voices which breathed the first impulse into colonies- now the United States- to proclaim independence, and to unite for resistance against the power of the mother-country; if those voices live here still, how must they fare who come here to preach treason to the Constitution and to assail the union of these States? It would seem that their criminal hearts would fear that those voices, so long slumbering, would break silence, that those forms which hang upon these walls behind me might come forth, and that the sabres so long sheathed would leap from their scabbards to drive from this sacred temple those who desecrate it as did the money-changers who sold doves in the temple of the living God.
Here you have, to remind you, and to remind all who enter this hall, the portraits of those men who are dear to every lover of liberty, and part and parcel of the memory of every American citizen; and highest among them all I see you have placed Samuel Adams and John Hancock.....
But it is not here alone, nor in reminiscences connected with the objects which present themselves within this hall, that the people of Boston have much to excite their patriotism and carry them back to the great principles of the Revolutionary struggle. Where will you go and not meet some monument to inspire such sentiments? Go to Lexington and Concord, where sixty brave countrymen came with their fowling-pieces to oppose six hundred veterans- where they forced those veterans back, pursuing them on the road, fighting from every barn, and bush, and stock, and stone, till they drove them retreating to the ships from which they went forth. And there stand those monuments of your early patriotism, Breed's and Bunker's Hills, whose soil drank the martyr-blood of men who lived for their country and died for mankind! Can it be that any of you should tread that soil and forget the great purposes for which these men died?"

This is only a small part of this beautiful speech that goes on to talk about community independence, and state sovereignty. I found myself at times, visiting these truly historic sites of our liberty wondering what these great men and women that Mr. Davis refers to would think of this country now. I can only think that they would be disappointed that we have squandered so much of what they bravely fought and died defending. So many places preserved from our history, only seem like more of a theme park for many people. It struck me as very weighty ground that I stood upon. The bravery of these men, to do more than just talk, but to act upon those principles they lived by in the face of the might of England, ought to make us brave to act peaceably to see that our government honors and lives by these same principles.

Quote is taken from Jefferson Davis, Ex-President of The Confederate States of America Volume 1: A Memoir By His Wife by Varina Howell Davis.

Old South Meeting House

Fenway Park

Old North Church

Faneuil Hall

Old State House

Community Independence

Here is part of a speech Jefferson Davis gave while serving Mississippi in the United States Senate. I never really understood how important 'States rights' or a State's soveriegnty was to the Constitution. The whole union hinges on that one thing, that the several states have the right to run themselves, not a coercive Federal Government in Washington that doesn't even know what the people need being so disconnected from them. These words of Davis have great weight, especially today with the huge and out of control Federal Government in Washington right now. Davis writes:

"In the beginning the founders of this Government were true democratic State-rights men. Democracy was State-rights, and State-rights was democracy, and it is so to-day. Your resolutions breathe it. The Declaration of Independence embodied the sentiments which had lived in the hearts of the country for many years before its formal assertion. Our fathers asserted the great principle- the right of the people to choose their own government- and that government rested upon the consent of the governed. In every form of expression it uttered the same idea, community independence and the dependence of the Union upon the communities of which it consisted. It was an American declaration of the unalienable rights of man; it was a general truth, and I wish it were accepted by all men. But I have said that this State sovereignty- this community independence- has never been surrendered, and that there is no power in the Federal Government to coerce a State. Will anyone ask me, then, how a State is to be held to the fulfilment of its obligations? My answer is, by its honor. The obligation is the more sacred to observe every feature of the compact, because there is no power to enforce it. The great error of the Confederation(Articles of Confederation) was, that it attempted to act upon the States. It was found impracticable, and our present form of government was adopted, which acts upon individuals, and is not designed to act upon States. The question of State coercion was raised in the Convention which framed the Constitution, and , after discussion, the proposition to give power to the General Government to enforce against any State obedience to the Laws was rejected. It is upon the ground that a State cannot be coerced that observance of the compact is a sacred obligation. It was upon this principle that our fathers depended for the perpetuity of a fraternal Union, and for the security of the rights that the Constitution was designed to preserve.....

"And among the things most odious to my mind is to find a man who enters upon a public office under the sanction of the Constitution, and taking an oath to support the Constitution- the compact between the States binding each for the common defence and general welfare of the other- and retaining to himself a mental reservation that he will war upon the institutions and the property of any of the States of the Union. It is a crime too low to characterize as it deserves before this assembly. It is one which would disgrace a gentleman- one which a man with self-respect would never commit. To swear that he will support the Constitution, to take an office which belongs in many of its relations to all the States, and to use it as a means of injuring a portion of the States of whom he is thus an agent, is treason to everything that is honorable in man. It is the base and cowardly attack of him who gains the confidence of another in order that he may wound him."

Shedding some light on Liberty

I am currently finishing up my reading of Jefferson Davis, Ex-President of the Confederate States of America Part Two V2 A Memior by his Wife by Varina Howell Davis. After Jefferson Davis was released from being in prison for at least a year and a half with no trial, him and his family spent time in Canada, New Orleans, and Europe before eventually settling at the Beauvoir House near the Gulf Coast. Mr. Davis tried his best to stay away from politics, being disfranchised by the Federal Government and not being able to hold office, he did not want to influence what he could not be a part of. At this time around 1887, the state of Texas was debating the question of prohibition. I think Mr. Davis's response to a letter seeking his opinion by his friend F. R. Lubbock is brilliant. If you, like me are trying to understand the meaning behind the Constitution and Constitutional liberty, this letter has helped shed light on some of the same type of issues today. So, here is the letter in full:

"Beauvoir, Miss, June 20, 1887.

"Colonel F. R. Lubbock.
"My Dear Friend.... My reason for not replying was an unwillingness to enter into a controversy in which my friends in Texas stood arrayed against each other.
In departing from the rule heretofore observed, I trust that it will not be an unwarrantable intrusion.
Reared in the creed of Democracy, my faith in its tenets has grown with its growth, and I adhere to the maxim that 'the world is governed too much.'
When our fathers achieved their independence, the corner-stone of the governments they constructed was individual liberty, and the social organizations they established were not for the surrender, but for the protection, of natural rights. For this, governments were established deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. This was not to subject themselves to the will of the majority, as appears from the fact that each community inserted in its fundamental law a bill of rights to guard the inalienable privileges of the individual.
There was then a two-fold purpose in Government: protection and prevention against trespass by the strong upon the weak, the many on the few.
The world had long suffered from the oppressions of government under the pretext of ruling by divine right, and excusing the invasion into private and domestic affairs on the plea of paternal care for the morals and good order of the people.
Our sires rejected all such pretensions, their system being: Government by the people for the people, and resting on the basis of natural inalienable rights. Upon the basis of these general propositions I will briefly answer the inquiry in regard to the prohibition amendment at issue.
'Be ye temperate in all things,' was a wise injunction, and would apply to intolerance as well as to drunkenness. That the intemperate use of intoxicating liquors is an evil, few, if any, would deny.
That it is the root of many social disorders is conceded, but then the question arises, what is the appropriate remedy, and what the present necessity? To destroy individual liberty and moral responsibility would be to eradicate one evil by the substitution of another, which it is submitted would be more fatal than that for which it was offered as a remedy. The abuse, and not the use, of stimulants, it must be confessed, is the evil to be remedied. Then it clearly follows that action should clearly be directed against the abuse rather than the use. If drunkenness be the cause of disorder and crime, why not pronounce drunkenness itself to be a crime, and attach to it proper and adequate penalties? If it be objected that the penalties could not be enforced, that is an admission that popular opinion would be opposed to the law; but if it be true that juries could not be impanelled who would convict so degraded a criminal as a drunkard, it necessarily follows that a statutory prohibition against the sale and use of intoxicants would be a dead letter.
The next branch of the inquiry is as to the present necessity. I might appeal to men not as old as myself to sustain the assertion that the convivial use of intoxicants, and the occurrence of drunkenness, had become less frequent within the last twenty years than it was before. The refining influences of education and Christianity may be credited with this result. Why not allow these blessed handmaidens of virtue and morality to continue unembarrassed in their civilizing work. The parties to this discussion in your State have no doubt brought forward the statistical facts in regard to the effect produced in other States by this effort to control morals by legislation, and I will not encumber this letter by any reference to those facts.
You have already provision for local prohibition. If it has proven the wooden horse in which a disguised enemy to State sovereignty as the guardian of individual liberty was introduced, then let it be a warning that the progressive march would probably be from village to State, and from State to United States.
A Governmental supervision and paternity, instead of the liberty the heroes of 1776 left as a legacy to their posterity. Impelled by the affection and gratitude I feel for the people of Texas, and the belief that a great question of American policy is involved in the issue you have before you, the silence I had hoped to observe has been broken. If the utterance shall avail anything for good, it will compensate me for the objurgations with which I shall doubtless be pursued by the followers of popularism of the day.
I hope the many who have addressed me letters of inquiry on the same subject will accept this as an answer, though somewhat long delayed. Faithfully yours,
"Jefferson Davis."

A few more words from Jefferson Davis

I finished reading Four Years With Lee by Walter Taylor a couple of weeks ago. It was a quick read, mainly dealing with the strength of numbers known to both sides of the Army of Northern Virginia and that of the Army of the Potomac under its various leaders. The one striking thing about these numbers was just how outnumbered the Confederate Armies were, though they never seemed to make that a hindrance to success in the field. Their victories are all the more brilliant knowing how decidedly disadvantaged they were as far as men available. Well, the point of this post was to highlight a quote from Jefferson Davis. I finally received the last part of Volume 2 of Varina Howell Davis's Memoir of her husband.

This quote is from a conversation that Jefferson Davis had with his wife shortly before the fall of Richmond. This is Mrs. Davis's account of that time when she would soon depart from her husband and go toward Charlotte, North Carolina and safety as Mr. Davis would continue the fight for the South's independence. Mrs. Davis writes:

"Darkness seemed now to close swiftly over the Confederacy, and about a week before the evacuation of Richmond, Mr. Davis came to me and gently, but decidedly, announced the necessity for our departure. He said for the future his headquarters must be in the field, and that our presence would only embarrass and grieve, instead of comforting him. Very averse to flight, and unwilling at all times to leave him, I argued the question with him and pleaded to be permitted to remain, until he said: "I have confidence in your capacity to take care of our babies, and understand your desire to assist and comfort me, but you can do this in but one way, and that is by going yourself and taking our children to a place of safety." He was very much affected and said,"If I live you can come to me when the struggle is ended, but I do not expect to survive the destruction of constitutional liberty."

What I had not realized was that the Confederate Government was trying to uphold the principles of the Constitution and that it was a radical and tyrannical government in Washington that they faced. There are many good books to read about how President Lincoln and his staff destroyed the Constitution in the North during the war. When one understands more what truly happened at that time, this quote from Jefferson Davis is very heartbreaking. For we have not seen real constitutional liberty in this country since that time and the rights of states to govern themselves is becoming more clear as each day passes while this Federal Government usurps more and more power that by the Rule of Law they do not have.

I have just gotten off work and sat down at the library computer, to write about how we have been out of power here in Louisville, at least where I live for almost seven days now due to the ice/snowstorm that hit our area last week. The good news I just received from my roommate, Darren, who has diligently kept a fire going in the fireplace for these last seven days, that our power is now back on! Honestly though, I meant to write how really nice for us it has been not to have power this last week not to mention how beautiful it has been with snow and ice covering every tree and fence and anything it could cling to. Many here have found this beauty to be a big hindrance, but it has helped us to realize that there are many, many things that we think are necessities but really are just luxuries or hindrances from being able to see the kindness and goodness of God's creation and to read! The history of New England in the 1640's has received some consideration these last few days. Now, it has been work, cutting, splitting, hauling lots of firewood, waking every couple of hours to stoke the fire, cooking on the fire, waking as soon as the sun starts coming up to prepare things at home just to be able to go to work and shovel snow. One really learns how to take advantage of the daylight. All to us has been enjoyable as well. I guess you could say we have been quite content.

It was difficult to keep up with current events, namely the passage of this supposed stimulus bill in the U.S. House of Representatives last week. The more I read about the Founders and the Constitution and what true Liberty really is, the more these things are apt to make one angry and yet what can we do? Over 600 pages of this legislation, all of which should be read carefully and come to the floor as separate pieces of legislature to be debated and if our Constitution was followed they would not be passed. Sadly, this does not happen. I have read recently many statements that have started ' In those days', well in 'these days' our government is a very sad picture of the ideas and PRINCIPLES that were once very important for our government officials to have. Here are a few things written about the government and what kind of MEN were recommended for office in the 1800's. Sorry that many of these are still about Jefferson Davis, that is currently where I am reading and there is just so much that I have never heard before and want to share it.

"In those days men were sent to the Senate because of their ability and their purity of character, and not because of great wealth or capacity as political tricksters and successful partisans." - John William Jones

Written about Jefferson Davis after his death : "His lofty patriotism, immaculate integrity, and firmness of purpose, which never yielded principle for expediency nor abandoned the right for success will be held up for emulation by the aspiring youth of Texas who would achieve an honorable distinction among their fellow-men." -Gov. L. S. Ross, in Austin, Texas

A dispatch sent on the day of Jefferson Davis's death said this:
"He was a leading man in the Senate, and gave every one who saw him the impression that he was a born leader. He was not a demagogue, and would always take the unpopular side of any question when he believed he was right."

This quote is about the Senate of 1850:
"Never before at one time did so many illustrious men sit in the highest council of the nation. The States sent their foremost men to the Senate. Few were sent to the Senate for their wealth, or family or party influence. Ability, Experience and integrity were the tests by which the perspective States tried the men who were to represent them in that then truly venerable and venerated august body." -John William Jones

These quotes from Mr. Frank H. Alfriend are about the speeches Mr. Davis was apt to give while in the Senate:
"Never for one instant varying from the principles of his creed, he never doubted as to the course of duty; profound, accurate in information, there was no question pertaining to the science of government or its administration that he did not illuminate with a light clear, powerful and original."

and again, "For mere rhetorical glitter, Mr. Davis's speeches afford but poor models, but for clear logic and convincing argument, apt illustration, bold and original imagery, and genuine pathos, they are unsurpassed by any ever delivered in the American Senate."

Here Mr. Alfriend was comparing Stephen A. Douglas and Jefferson Davis:
"For mere party success Douglas cared everything, and Davis nothing, save as it insured the triumph of constitutional principles."

All quotes were taken from: Jefferson Davis and the World's Tribute to his Memory- Memorial Volume 1890. written by J.W.M. Jones.

A man may be a great man...

This quote,which I will get to in a second, is part of what makes looking at history, especially because there have been so many Godly examples to read about, help us to look to Christ even while reading about someone else. I know many people, thanks to the providence and kindness of the Lord, have spent years reading about great people in history and have had wonderful examples of true christian character from others around them. Even though my eyes have been opened much later in life, it is that same providence and kindness of the Lord who has brought me now to be able to read about the truth of the Scriptures and of history. One man whom I have had a very wrong idea of probably much of which I learned from my public education, is Jefferson Davis. Many have been taught much that is far from the truth about the 'War between the states', the causes of that war, what happened before and after, and the character of some of those that were made famous by those times. I have come to believe that Jefferson Davis should be regarded with the founders as a patriot and defender of true constitutional liberty and a man whom demonstrated true christian character in a most perilous time and in times of peace.

This quote is from Bishop J.C. Kenner of the Methodist Episcipal Church South. Bishop Kenner, at the end of his sermon in Felicity Street Church in New Orleans on December 8th, 1889, gave a tribute to Jefferson Davis, whose hope was in Christ for salvation, after he had died.

"A man may be a great man, a magistrate; he may be the centre of all thought and all eyes; he may be a great figure in history, and yet when he comes to die he dies like any one else; he is only a man; has to have the same repentance, the same assurance, the same faith in Christ; goes out the same way, passes through the same passages the Saviour passed through; is in all points a man; and as Christ was the Son of Man, it is essentially all that can be said; he is a man saved by Christ."

Jefferson Davis and the World's Tribute to His Memory- Memorial Volume 1890 J.W.M. Jones

As we have come to this day when the new president is inaugurated we are reminded of how much energy and money is spent on just one occasion. I have heard that this inauguration is by far the most expensive we have ever seen covering three days, and as you could see how excessive were the guards and police as they were everywhere. I went back and found some accounts I recently came across that dealt with Jefferson Davis concerning some of these matters.

This first account if from the Richmond Dispatch:
"Proud of becoming the capital of the Confederacy, desirous to do honour to President Davis, and anxious to give him the heartiest possible welcome here, the city council purchased and furnished what was ever afterwards known as 'the Jeff. Davis mansion,' and offered it to him as a free gift.
"He declined it.
"He would not accept any present of value; but he agreed to make the house his home upon condition that the city should receive from the government, whose duty it was to furnish him a home, rent therefor. He occupied the house in the early summer of 1861, and bade farewell to it April 2, 1865."

This next account comes from the recollections of Hon. George Davis, of North Carolina, Confederate Attorney-General about his time with Jefferson Davis as President.

"I never saw a man more simple in his habits of life. He surrounded himself with no barriers of forms and ceremonies. The humblest soldier in the ranks, the plainest citizen in the Confederacy, could have as easy access to him as the members of his cabinet when such demands on his time were consistent with the interests of his country. No man ever lived who more thoroughly despised the mere show and tinsel of state and power, and the trappings of office."
"Mr. Davis was at the head of one of the grandest armies that the world ever saw in a time when 'laws were silenced in the midst of arms,' and I give you my word I never saw him attended by a guard or by an orderly. His domestic servants were all that were needed and all that he would have. I say he was never attended by a guard; he was once, and I shall never forget his delight when he told me of it. When General Lee was encamped on the banks of the Chickahominy near Richmond, Mr. Davis was in the habit every afternoon after the business of his office was over of riding out to his headquarters. Upon these visits he always went on horseback and generally alone. Upon one occasion he was detained later than usual, and night had fallen before he left General Lee's tent. As he rode along he heard a horse approaching rapidly and presently a cheery young voice called out 'Good evening,' and, as he turned to salute, a young lad rode up to his side-a young boy of some 16 or 17 years of age, but he wore the gray jacket, and had his rifle on his shoulder and his revolver in his belt. 'Good evening. Is your name Davis- Jefferson Davis?' 'Yes.' 'Well, don't you think you are doing very wrong to be riding around in the dark by yourself?' Mr. Davis said he was within our lines and had nothing to fear from Confederate soldiers. 'It ain't right,' said the boy, 'for there are bad men in our army as well as in all armies.' When about two miles from Richmond and the outposts were reached he said: 'Well, I reckon I'll go back now.' The brave lad thought of the President as in danger and he made himself his body guard, determined to see him through; and he would have died for him there upon that lonely road with as much bravery and cheerfulness as thousands of his comrades were dying every day for the cause Mr. Davis represented."

All these accounts are from Jefferson Davis and the World's Tribute to His Memory- Memorial Volume 1890 by J.W.M. Jones.

Jefferson Davis: Second Inaugural Address

This quote is rather long, but I think carries the most weight when read in full. The southern states having left the Union came together in Convention and formed the Provisional Confederate States Government located at Montgomery, Alabama on a temporary basis. Jefferson Davis was unanimously selected by the states to become the President of the new Confederacy. Davis was inaugurated and hoped that his role would only be temporary until the permanent government was established. Jefferson Davis was again selected to remain as the President of the newly formed government and commenced to give his second inaugural address on the 22nd of February, 1862 in front of a monument to George Washington at Richmond, Virginia.

"Fellow-citizens: On this, the birthday of the man most identified with the establishment of American independence, and beneath the monument erected to commemorate his heroic virtues and those of his compatriots, we have assembled, to usher into existence the permanent government of the Confederate States. Through this instrumentality, under the favor of Divine Providence, we hope to perpetuate the principles of our revolutionary fathers. The day, the memory, and the purpose seem fitly associated.
"It is with mingled feelings of humility and pride that I appear to take, in the presence of the people, and before high Heaven, the oath prescribed as a qualification for the exalted station to which the unanimous voice of the people has called me. Deeply sensible of all that is implied by this manifestation of the people's confidence, I am yet more profoundly impressed by the vast responsibility of the office, and humbly feel my own unworthiness.
"In return for their kindness, I can only offer assurances of the gratitude with which it is received, and can but pledge a zealous devotion of every faculty to the service of those who have chosen me as their chief magistrate.
"When a long course of class legislation, directed not to the general welfare, but to the aggrandizement of the northern section of the Union, culminated in a warfare on the domestic institutions of the Southern States; when the dogmas of a sectional party, substituted for the provisions of the constitutional compact, threatened to destroy the sovereign rights of the States, six of those States, withdrawing from the Union, confederated together to exercise the right and perform the duty of instituting a government which would better secure the liberties for the preservation of which that Union was established.
"Whatever of hope some may have entertained that a returning sense of justice would remove the danger with which our rights were threatened, and render it possible to preserve the union of the constitution, must have been dispelled by the malignity and barbarity of the Northern States in the prosecution of the existing war. The confidence of the most hopeful among us must have been destroyed by the disregard they have recently exhibited for all the time-honored bulwarks of civil and religious liberty. Bastiles filled with prisoners, arrested without civil process, or indictment duly found; the writ of habeas corpus suspended by executive mandate; a State legislature controlled by the imprisonment of members whose avowed principles suggested to the Federal executive that there might be another added to the list of seceded States; elections held under threats of a military power; civil officers, peaceful citizens, and gentle women incarcerated for opinion's sake, proclaimed the incapacity of our late associates to administer a government as free, liberal, and humane as that established for our common use.
"For proof of the sincerity of our purpose to maintain our ancient institutions, we may point to the constitution of the Confederacy and the laws enacted under it, as well as to the fact that, through all the necessities of an unequal struggle, there has been no act, on our part, to impair personal liberty or the freedom of speech, of thought, or of the press. The courts have been open, the judicial functions fully executed, and every right of the peaceful citizen maintained as securely as if a war of invasion had not disturbed the land.
"The people of the States now confederated became convinced that the government of the United States had fallen into the hands of a sectional majority, who would pervert the most sacred of all trusts to the destruction of the rights which it was pledged to protect. They believed that to remain longer in the Union would subject them to a continuance of a disparaging discrimination, submission to which would be inconsistent with their welfare and intolerable to a proud people. They, therefore, determined to sever its bonds, and establish a new confederacy for themselves.
"The experiment, instituted by our revolutionary fathers, of a voluntary union of sovereign States, for purposes specified in a solemn compact, had been prevented by those who, feeling power and forgetting right, were determined to respect no law but their own will. The government had ceased to answer the ends for which it had been ordained and established. To save ourselves from a revolution which, in its silent but rapid progress, was about to place us under the despotism of numbers, and to preserve, in spirit as well as in form, a system of government we believed to be peculiarly fitted to our condition and full of promise for mankind, we determined to make a new association, composed of States homogeneous in interest, in policy, and in feeling.
"True to our traditions of peace and love of justice, we sent commissioners to the United States to propose a fair and amicable settlement of all questions of public debt or property which might be in dispute. But the government at Washington, denying our right to self-government, refused even to listen to any proposals for a peaceful separation. Nothing was then left to us but to prepare for war.
"The first year in our history has been the most eventful in the annals of this continent. A new government has been established, and its machinery put in operation, over an area exceeding seven hundred thousand square miles. The great principles upon which we have been willing to hazard every thing that is dear to man have made conquests for us which could never have been achieved by the sword. Our Confederacy has grown from six to thirteen States; and Maryland, already united to us by hallowed memories and material interests, will, I believe, when able to speak with unstifled voice, connect her destiny with the South. Our people have rallied, with unexampled unanimity, to the support of the great principles of constitutional government, with firm resolve to perpetuate by arms the rights which they could not peacefully secure. A million of men, it is estimated, are now standing in hostile array, and waging war along a frontier of thousands of miles; battles have been fought, sieges have been conducted, and, although the contest is not ended, and the tide for this moment is against us, the final result in our favor is not doubtful.
"The period is near at hand when our foes must sink under the immense load of debt which they have incurred-a debt which, in their efforts to subjugate us, has already attained such fearful dimensions as will subject them to burdens which must continue to oppress them for generations to come.
"We, too, have had our trials and difficulties. That we are to escape them in the future is not to be hoped. It was to be expected, when we entered upon this war, that it would expose our people to sacrifices, and cost them much both of money and blood. But we knew the value of the object for which we struggled, and understood the nature of the war in which we were engaged. Nothing could be so bad as failure, and any sacrifice would be cheap as the price of success in such a contest.
"But the picture has its lights as well as its shadows. This great strife has awakened in the people the highest emotions and qualities of the human soul. It is cultivating feelings of patriotism, virtue and courage. Instances of self-sacrifice and of generous devotion to the noble cause for which we are contending are rife throughout the land. Never has a people evinced a more determined spirit than that now animating men, women, and children in every part of our country. Upon the first call, the men fly to arms; and wives and mothers send their husbands and sons to battle without a murmur of regret.
"It was, perhaps, in the ordination of Providence that we were to be taught the value of our liberties by the price which we pay for them.
"The recollections of this great contest, with all its common traditions of glory, of sacrifices and of blood, will be the bond of harmony and enduring affection amongst the people, producing unit in policy, fraternity in sentiment, and joint effort in war.
"Nor have the material sacrifices of the past year been made without some corresponding benefits. If the acquiescence of foreign nations in a pretended blockade has deprived us of our commerce with them, it is fast making us a self-supporting and an independent people. The blockade, if effectual and permanent, could only serve to divert our industry from the production of articles for export, and employ it in supplying commodities for domestic use.
"It is a satisfaction that we have maintained the war by our unaided exertions. We have neither asked nor received assistance from any quarter. Yet the interest involved is not wholly our own. The world at large is concerned in opening our markets to its commerce. When the independence of the Confederate States is recognized by the nations of the earth, and we are free to follow our interests and inclinations by cultivating foreign trade, the Southern States will offer to manufacturing nations the most favorable markets which ever invited their commerce. Cotton, sugar, tobacco, provisions, timber, and naval stores will furnish attractive exchanges. Nor would the constancy of these supplies be likely to be disturbed by war. Our confederate strength will be too great to attempt aggression; and never was there a people whose interests and principles committed them so fully to a peaceful policy as those of the Confederate States. By the character of their productions, they are too deeply interested in foreign commerce wantonly to disturb it. War of conquest they cannot wage, because the constitution of their Confederacy admits of no coerced association. Civil war there cannot be between States held together by their volition only. This rule of voluntary association, which cannot fail to be conservative, by securing just and impartial government at home, does not diminish the security of the obligations by which the Confederate States may be bound to foreign nations. In proof of this, it is remembered that, at the first moment of asserting their right of secession, these States proposed a settlement on the basis of a common liability for the obligations of the general government.
"Fellow-citizens, after the struggles of ages had consecrated the right of the Englishman to constitutional representative government, our colonial ancestors were forced to vindicate that birthright by an appeal to arms. Success crowned their efforts, and they provided for their posterity a peaceful remedy against future aggression.
"The tyranny of an unbridled majority, the most odious and least responsible form of despotism, has denied us both the right and the remedy. Therefore we are in arms to renew such sacrifices as our fathers made to the holy cause of constitutional liberty. At the darkest hour of our struggle, this provisional gives place to the permanent government. After a series of successes and victories, which covered our arms with glory, we have recently met with serious disasters. But, in the heart of a people resolved to be free, these disasters tend but to stimulate to increased resistance.
"To show ourselves worthy of the inheritance bequeathed to us by the patriots of the Revolution, we must emulate that heroic devotion which made reverse to them but the crucible in which their patriotism was refined.
"With confidence in the wisdom and virtue of those who will share with me the responsibility and aid me in the conduct of public affairs; securely relying on the patriotism and courage of the people, of which the present war has furnished so many examples, I deeply feel the weight of the responsibilities I now, with unaffected diffidence, am about to assume; and, fully realizing the inadequacy of human power to guide and sustain, my hope is reverently fixed on Him, whose favor is ever vouchsafed to the cause which is just. With humble gratitude and adoration, acknowledging the Providence which has so visibly protected the Confederacy during its brief but eventful career, to Thee, O God! I trustingly commit myself, and prayerfully invoke Thy blessing on my country and its cause."

-Jefferson Davis from Jefferson Davis and the World's Tribute to His Memory-Memorial Volume 1890 by J.W.M. Jones. pp.319-324.

I am currently reading "Jefferson Davis, Ex-President of the Confederate States of America Part One Volume 2: A Memoir By His Wife" written by Varina Howell Davis. I have had a hard time putting it down, for Mrs. Davis has given such a lively account of the times and her husband's life, most of which I have never encountered before. Here are a few accounts given by Mrs. Davis that I found very warm and personal.

Mrs. Davis writes: "In one of the most disheartening periods of the War, when Norfolk had been evacuated and the Virginia destroyed, he (Jefferson Davis) came home, about seven o'clock, from his office, and laid down. He declined dinner, and I remained by his side, anxious and afraid to ask what was the trouble which so oppressed him. In an hour or two he told me that the weight of responsibility oppressed him so, that he felt he would give all his limbs to have someone with whom he could share it. I found that nothing comforted him, and at last picked up Lawrence's "Guy Livingstone." Knowing the he had not read it, I thought it might distract his mind. The descriptions of the horses and the beau sabreur Guy interested him at first, in a vague kind of way, but gradually he became absorbed, and I read on until the sky became gray and then pink. He was so wrapped in the story that he took no notice of time. When Guy's back was broken, and when Cyril Brandon in the interview that followed, struck him, my husband rose up, in the highest state of excitement, and called out,"I should like to have been there to punish the scoundrel who would strike a helpless man when he was down."p.301-302

Later Mrs. Davis writes,"Novels were to him only a means of driving out thoughts of more serious things."p.302

While Jefferson Davis and his wife lived in Richmond shortly after the first battle of Manassas many wounded men had been sent to the city to recover in hospitals. Mrs. Davis gives a very touching account that she witnessed. Mrs. Davis writes," Here I saw a remarkable instance of the position our private soldiers occupied at home. Some money had been sent to me from Vicksburg to relieve the "boys from Warren County." Hearing that there were several at this hospital, I walked from one end to the other and tried in vain to find a man who desired pecuniary aid. One fair-haired boy, with emaciated face and armless sleeve, looked up and whispered,"There is a poor fellow on the other side who I think will take a little, I am afraid he has no money; my father gives me all I want." I crossed the room and asked the sufferer, who had neither hand, if I could not get him something he craved. He flushed and said,"I thank you, madam, for your visit, but I do better than that poor fellow over there; he has lost his leg and suffers dreadfully." And so on to the end of the ward."p.205