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2 JEFFERSON DAVIS. A Long and Eventful Career in Business, War and Politics. Font SCORE YEARS AM) MORE. The Two Kentucky ltoyi, Uncolii ami* Davis On th Northern Frontier —A. Cotton IManter —Filters Congress Tho 9 Mexican Wnr President of the Confederacy- Imprisonment, Release and! Old Age. More than eighty years ago two Kentucky! boys, born in widely different social spheres,? entered upon still more widely diverse careers:; Abraham Lincoln, in Hardin (now Larue); county, and Jefferson Davis, in Christian* (now Todd) county: Lincoln born February* 12, 1801), and Davit; on the 8d of Juuepre-; ceding. JEFFERSON DAV IS. [From a v. af time portrait.] No dark sibyl hailed them at their birth ax the coming exponents of an awful struggle. 1 . No prophet would have dared predict la the days of their prominence that the rugged Lincoln was soon to fall, while the defeated, an invalid during a t hird of Iris life, would survive his great antagonist for a quarter of a century, outliving all the actors of his age in the great struggle, yt t su. h was to be the iron vof fate. History presents many para i doxos, but none greater than this: that the' victor A uld fall in the very hour of victory, and the defeated live till almost every trace] of the conflict had vanished, to die of mere’ old age. ij The ancestors of Jefferson Davis were of pure English stock, but. so long resident in America that th-‘ type had become thorough-'] ly southern American. On both sides theyj served in the war for American independ ence, his father, Samuel Davis, winning soil# distinction in the mounted troops of GeorgutT came a soldier, while Joseph, a man of talent, scarcely, if at all, inferior, gained a local success as lawyer and planter in Mississippi. The brothers were notably affectionate in childhood, and remained through life devoted to each other. Soon after the birth of Jefferson, Samuel Davis removed to Mississippi, locating near Woodvillo, in Wilkinson county. The sons there acquired an unusually good English education for the time, and at an early age Jefferson entered Transylvania college, Ken tucky. Jn 1824, however, President Monroe appointed him a nndet ar West Point, whence he was gr* „uatdr-iir 1 yi, at the early ago of 20. He hml stood high in his class, aud at once entered on active duty, though fdr some time eommis. oned only as a brevet second lieuteiinin. promotion was very slow in those peaceful times, but he soon won his full com mission, and in the next three years demon strated his organizing capacity, both as in fantry and staff’ officer on the northwestern frontier. The year 1831 brought a surprise and many promotions. Black Hawk entered on his fa mous campaign, and Jefferson Davis was at once given an active and responsible position to muster in and organize the new recruits. There bas long been a tradition that in this capacity he mustered in the company of Illi nois volunteers from New Salem and vicinity commanded by Capt. Abraham Lincoln, but there is no record of it. CAMPAIGN'S AGAINST TIT K INDIANS. Early in 1833 Lieut. Davis was transferred from his place in Company B, First United States infantry, and ;:i recognition of his services in the Black H.twk wur was promo ted to a first lieutenancy in the First United! States dragoons, of which command lie was; soon made adjutant. In this position lie, made a very brilliant record, not only as an 1 organizer ami efficient administrator in gar-j rison life, but in several active campaigns; against the Comanehes, Pawnees and other] Indians. Audit is at thi; stage of LA career 1 that active, one might say acrid, criticism! first concerns itself with Jefferson Davis. I Those writers who persist in attributing the] downfall of the Southern Confederacy to! President Davis all- ge that thus early he ex-! hibited the same faults and virtues which 1 marked his administration in greater and] greater degree with each successive increase of rank and power. The greatest fault al leged, perhaps, is unreasonable attachment to a few friends and corresponding prejudice against other persons. It was while in this service that Lieut. Da vis wooed and won a daughter of the eminent general and president. Zachary Taylor. Her father was in command of Fort Crawford,, near Prairie Du Chien, and ais daughter, a beautiful and refined young lady, was the center of attraction among the subordinate officers, innumerable are the romantic sto ries of their rivalries, the final success of Lieut. Davis, the bitter opposition of the "stern parent*’ and old Indian fighter, and the final departure by night of the young couple to be married by a priest on the western bank of JEFFERSON DAVIS* BIRTHPLACE, the Mississippi. Let the young ami romantic continue to read and believe. Suffice it that the father remained obdurate for some time, and was not completely reconciled to his son in-law till the latter luy wounded in his tent after the battle of Buena Vista. There are as many accounts of what was said there as jf the battle of Shiloh. Gen. Taylor’s words j appear to have been these, or very near them j ] “Colonel, you have saved the day—God ■ bless you! When Dolly would have you. she was a better judge of a man than 1 was.” EIGHT YEARS A PLANTER. June 30, 1835, Lieut. Davis v ’ his 90&nuis$iou and located in Misw e he lived for eight years the quiet life of a cotton planter. Then came a “orisis;” the annexation of Texas may bo taken as the first issue over which distinctively northern and southern parties confronted each other. In 1843 Lieut. Davis took an active and most effective part in the state campaign aud in 1814 ho was one of the Democratic electors for Mississippi. In 1845 he was elected a representative in congress, and in December; of that year took his seat in the house. It was called then a “stormy session,” but in r etrospect after the long session of 1849-’SO, it. was thought mild. jj Mi*. Davis took an active part in the dis | missions on the tariff, the Oregon boundary • issue, the Mexican imbroglio, t.ml the slavery] E quest ion so far as it came up, hut lat that time indicate a position far more; J moderate than was afterwards attributed to' [ him. It is of no gr at conseqi ence now. but {worth noting as curious matter of history,! ? that in the heated discussions regarding! j Texas the threats of disunion came largely! I from the extreme northern laeit, while the; most eloquent eiik>£. ies upon tie union came! (from the south. In a speech on the Oregon) | question, Feb. 6,18 Hi, Mr. Dads said: “From sire to son has desc ended the love; lof union in our heirts, as in our history are: \ mingled the names if Concord and Camden,* I <>f York town and Saratoga, o. Moultrie and, \ Flattsburg, of Chippewa and Erie, of New] ; Orleans and Bunker Hill. Gr Duped together] ■ they form a monument to the common glory] ■ of our common country; and where is the] southern man who would wish that that’ ' monument were less by one of the northern: I names that constitute the mass.”’ COL. JEFFERSON DAVIS. I His Heroic anil Successful Action at Buena Vista. I While Mr. Davis was active in congress in] • July, the First regiment of Mississippi volun-j [ teers enrolled for he Mexicsn war elected \ Him their colonel. He resign*-1 at once, over-1 jj took his regiment at New Oi 1 ans, organized; j and drilled it to a high stale of efficiency,? ] and early in September was on the Rio] \ Grande, in the army of his father-in-law,? : Gen. Zachary Taylor. A few days later hc-1 bore a conspicuous part in the siege and! r storming of Monterey, and, a*- commissioner,? j aided in drawing u o the terms of capituia-j ? tion. j Five months of comparative quiet followed,? i and then came the crowning glory of hit] ■ military career, the achievement of which,] more than all else, fixed him firmly in the] \ affections of the southern people, aided him; ) effectively at each turning point in his subse-j ; queut career, made him secret try of war and I finally president of the Sout lern Confeder-S \ acy. This was his gallantry, loolness in dan-2 . ger and soldierly skill at tho I uttle of Buena] j Vista, Feb. 23, 1847. • In July, 1810, Mi. Davisw it in congress, in* | September he was leading his regiment’ against Monterey; in Februaiy, 1847, he was? jut Buena Vista, ami July of the saie/tVcar : found him again a peaceful pi mV , theregi-j j merit's term of sei vice hay expired. In | August, 1847, the of Mississippi ap-j [ pointed InmjferY id e<l States senator to iili - a^yat/aucy; the legs-datura in 1848 re-elected r. him to complete lie term, mid in 1850 re-] ? elected him for a full term. The ever mem- 1 k orable congress of iB4O-*sl, at ts long session,' ]' had adopted the noted “con. promise meas ure,” but fully satisfied neither party. IflA c*\ /ill )iA ]iw hVA jl§P®^ Imy A-J '/. l3 1 Ij / ' f i \ • - / r-y i MEKMIXOSR. WALKER. MALI/> li. V STEPHENS. REAOAN. 3 RENJAMIN. TOOMBS. | COM KDKKATE CABINET AND V CE PRESIDENT. I The result was the famous Foote-Davis | gubernatorial campaign of IS.SL The “Union" ? party, as it was ended, carried the state by | 7,500 majority on the convention question, i but Mr. Foote's majority for governor was 9 but Ofifi—a remarkable proof of the popular I ity of Col. Davis. He had resigned his seat |in the senate, and now remained in retire- I ment till i 852, when he can assed several I states for the Democratic cum. ii lutes, WAR SECRETARY DAVIS. I II is Able Adlninis: ration of the War Im port moot. I March 4, 1853, I‘resident Franklin Pierce! I named Col. Jeffers ni Davis as secretary oil I war. That of Pierce was a strong cabinet, | and secretary Davi; was certa idy among the i strongest men in i.. Men of ail parties agree ! that his administrt tion of lie war depart | incut was marked I v ability a id energy, and I many old <.Hirers estify tha of all secre- Itaries in their time Col. Davis was (save for I ids quarrel with Gen. Hcottl most popular I with the army. H- reorgani ;ed almost the Bentire service, draited anew code of army I regulations, introt need the light infantry rifle system of taelirs, tried the experiment of camels for transportation on the south western deserts, added four regiments to the regular army, and improved the entire sys tem of sea coast defenses. He also had the boundaries between Mexico t.rd the United States fixed accurately, and secured the com plete survey and almost the i.doptiou of the southern route for a Pacific railroad. He sent Capt. George 11. McC.ellau and two other officers to the Crimea to study the mili tary tactics of the armies Pure (in 1854-’o), and was so pleased with their report thut he retained warm personal feelngs for them even through the civil war. With the events of President Pierce’s ad ministration congress and tho country mir bo said to have en ered in full course upon the proceedings which led to the civil war. It is not to be expected that any American could at thb time take a dbpassionate and philosophical view if that pert- of history. All that remains t.ien is to re rite the princi pal events aud quote briefly the matured judgment of friends and foes. At Ids retirement from the cabinet in March, IS.'ii', the legislature of Mississippi had elected Mr. Davis as United States senator for the term to close Mart h 4. 1868. He plunged at.once into the heatet. debates of the time, maintaining the rather extreme southern view, and with an ability and courtesy which elicited warm praise even from his foes. The editor of Harper's Weekly tia.- this sketch of him in 1858: “In the north, Col. Davis is regarded— somewhat unjustly, perhaps—as a type of the southern fire eater. Many persons who have never seen him fancy him quarrelsome, petu , hint, hot headed, M l bulent. His uppearauce ini I the senate does not ji stify these views. A prim,l j smooth looking mr.r, with a precise manner, (stiff soldierly camige, and txld expression;] [ his head fuller, seemingly, of statistics and] ■ hard, dry principles than anything else; his voice cool and firm without tremor or ex-j citement; he is the last persen a spectator I THE DAILY TIMES: SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7 1880. j would pick out as ‘the lire eater.’ in bis own ‘country he is intensely beloved, chiefly from iii?: a kind and gv.itle disposition. He is a mm; jc? v. hom Mississippi may well be proud.” He also uyk *ui active part in opposing tln- French spoliation biii and advocating tin southern route for the Pacific railroad. Hi led the so-called ‘ Leconqitou party” in con ] gress in opposition to Menu tor Dougß s. and in debate with the latter propound *d the uuce| coleb*nated queries and proposiiinns wliiclii drew from the* Illinois senator i is famom! theory as to the right of a territo/iai iegisla-l ture to adopt “unfriendly legislation" against! slavery, and his article in Hurpei'V Magazine ■ which set forth the creed of the “Douglmi Democrats.” The breach was nmv complete! Meantime, in tho summer of 185S, he madi j a tour for health and pUiasure ti rough tho eastern states, delivering several addresses J in which the warmest attachment, to tin union was avowed —always, howc' r, with it proviso, expressed or implied, i!: t aggros j sions upon the south would certainly he met] with resistance. Some of these uddresse: have a strange sound now. In a letter ae j kuovvledging an invitation to join in a BostojJ celebration of the birthday of Daniel Web ster. in January, 1859, he wrote: **l send you my cordial greetings to the | friends of the const iiution, and ask to be en ! rolled among those whose mission is, by fra | ternity and good faith to every constitu tional obligation, to insure that, from th | Aroostook to Son Diego, from Key West t< j Puget sound, the grand arch of our political ! temple shall stand unshaken.” DID WAR BEGIN IN 1859? An event was at hand, however, which waj to precipitate the conflict— the en! j terprise of John B: -wn. A million southern men and women, who had laughed at the idea j of danger from “northern aggression,” wen suddenly corn erted, saying, as one of then] expressed it, “We can no longer live in peace with the north; our allies have become oui enemies, and we must seek release from th< connection while we can do so with safety.’ Tho feelings of Jefferson Davis for the nexi fifteen months may be gathered from the fol lowing letter, written at the close of the dis mission to his long time friend, ex-President! Pierce: \Vash 1 noton, I). C., Jail. 20, 18*31. I My Dear Friend —I have often and sadly turner] my thoughts to you during the troublous times through which wo have been passing, and now i ; come to the hard task of announcing to you ihrJ the hour is at hand which closes my connection with the United States, for the independence our union of which my father toiled and in the servicl of which I have sought to emulate the example he set for my guidance. Mississippi, not as ;.| matter of choice, but of necessity, has resolved t| enter on the trial of secession. Those who h.v driven her to tiffs alternative threaten to depriv.l her of the right to require that her governmoin| shall rest on the consent of the governed, to sub stitute foreign force for domestic support, tore duoe a state to the condition from which the col ony rose. In tin* attempt to avoid tlie issue which had been joined by the ad Vu.? .np f *ioated and preeipitater •Yi*e question. Even now. if the duty ‘*to preserve I tho public pro; rly" was rationally regarded, th* J probable colli si on at Charleston would be avoided j Security far b iter than any which the I’edera troops can give might be obtained in considera tion of the lit tle garrison of Fort Suinter. If th disavowal of any purpose to coerce South Can lina be sincere, the possession of a work to com uiand the harbor is worse than useless. When Lincoln comes in he will have but to con linuo in the path of his predecessor to inauguratt a civil war, and leave a soi-disant Democratic ad ministration responsible for the fact. Gen. Cusli ing was here last week, and wlien he parted r seemed like taking a last leave of a brother. I leave immediately for Mississippi, aryd knov not what may devolve upon me after return Civil war has only horror for me, berthateve circumstances may demand shall I.la as . duty, and I trust be so discharged wi. not be ashamed of our former connect or ceas to be my friend. ■%''mt * Mrs. Davis join§ me in kind re*-*4K lancet Mrs. Pierce, and the expression id th&rjrxjn ho we may yet have you both at ouif ho- ie DO me the favor to write to me U'ten. A dares Hurricane P. O.,.Warren county, Miss. May God bless you, is ever the prayer of you friend. Jeff'n Davis. President F. Pierce. In that fifteen months events had move* rapidly towards the dread culmination. Ii the first Democratic convention of I 'GO, Mi Davis received some votes, Benjamin F Butler voting for him 57 times. In th subsequent election the “two northern candi dates,” as Mr. Blaine styles them, received ai the votes of the northern states sa*. 1 a mer handful, less than 100,000, while Breckin ridge and Bell received the almost s did vot of the southern states. “In truth 1 - well a in appearance,” adds Mr. Blaine, “ t was ; sectional contest, in which tiie north suppon ed northern candidates and the sou ii south *rn candidates. ” “Disunion was aLread. completed in the hearts of the peoj ’ q” say Tourgee, “the sections simply fell apart be cause there was no cohesion.*' These < pinion of philosophic observers long after the strug glo, have their value. THE CONFEDERACY FORMED. j Jefferson Davis Sees Washington for tin Dost Time. South Carolina led off* in secession; Mis sissippi soon followed, and five 111010 states It is idle to recount the futile attempts at compromise. Senator I) .vis was named on* of the committee of thirteen in the senate but asked to be excused on the ground tha propositions for compromise at such a tiim ought to come from northern men, and men whoso party standing was a guar an tee of good faith—a position highly praised in the north at the time. A little later he consented to assist, saying: Sim! P'fis jiife' THE WHITE HOUSE OF THE CONFEDERACY. “If, in the opinion <>f others, it be possible for ine to do anything for tho public good, the last moment while I stand here is at the command of the senate. If I could see any means by which I could avert the catastro phe of a struggle between the sections of tho union, my past life, I hope, gives evidence of the readiness with which I woukV make ihe effort. If there be any sacrifice which I could offer on the altar of my couutry to heal all the evils, present or prospective, no man has the right to doubt my readiness to] do it.” With only two or three exception- the de-! parture of southern statesmen as their states' seceded was singularly calm and dignified.] On the 21st of January, 1801, the senators from Florida, Alabama and Mississippi with-: drew. Mr. Blaine praises the manner of Sen ator Davis, adding: “No man gave up •lore than Mr. Davis in joining the revolt against the Union. 1u his farewell address to the 'senate there was a tone of moderation and not unmixed with regretful aud ten der emotions.” j Before Senator Davis could reach home Mississippi had appointed him commander in [chief of all }w>r forces, with the rank of major | general. O the 4th of February, ISfil, dele gates from s* verd states convened in Moifi goiii: ry, Ma.. an i so *ll adopted a uonstitu ition for tho Con federate states. On the 9tb the convention unanimously elected Jefferson ! Davis president. Alexander H. Stephens waf- !named for vice president .and inaugurated at once. On the lfith Mr. Davis arrived; on j the 18th he was inaugurated. '] f5 CONFEDERATE CABINET, i He named for his cabinet: Robert Toombs J of Georgia, secretary of state; Leroy Popcl [Walker, of Alabama, secretary of war.l Charles G. M.cnuninger, of South Carolina. I secretary of the treasury; Stephen R. Mai lory, of Florida, secretary of the navy; Juffah B. Bjiijumin, atioruey general, and John H Reagiin, iff Te::as, postmaster general. In the divisions which soon arose, Messrs Toombs, Walker and Memminger retired ifie others remained in the cabinet to the last Mr. Benjamin was popularly credited witl | being the “ruling spirit.” He was anion;. ] the last to leave Richmond and to part with j President Davis; lie escaped arrest and im i prisonment by flight to London, where In I became a British subject, and soon entered o: a career at the bar so brilliant and successfu that it caused his American failures to be al most forgotten. • yf - 'U' rm S | ’ 7 // // 1 DAVIS IN PRISON. The inaugural address of President Davhj was read with breathless interest in everjj part of the country, as, in the prevalent) ignorance and confusion, men sought in it tin! indications of peace or war. But it was not! in the power of any man, however wise, at| that time to give assurances. The most sig! nifleant passage in it, perhaps, was this: j j “We have entered upon a career of inde j pendenee, and it must be inflexibly pursue-d] Through many years of controversy with! our late associates of the northern states wa have vainly endeavored to secure t.i-anqnil-j i|ty, and obtain respect for the rights to which we are entitled. Asa necessity, not of choice] we have restated to the remedy of separation] and henceforth our euergies must be directed] to the conduct of our own affairs, and tin perpetuity of the Confederacy which we have I formed. Commissioners were sent to Washington land fruitless negotiations conducted. Be tween the inauguration and the Ist of April public opinion in both sections turned to the contemplation of war. 111 vain did President Lincoln proclaim that he “certainly had 11c [desire and believed he had no authority to interfere with slavery.” 111 vain did Presi I dent 1 avis reiterate that he longed to avoid I the effusion of blood. 011 the 12th of April. 1 1301, the war began with t]|p attack on %•;*t I Sumter. I “The uprising of the nopch”—that nos\t I marvelous of ali recent popular I followed at once. The uprising of the south I was scarcely, if at all, -osk prompt and umlini | miJus, save in the norrtiern tier of states. Virginia seceded April 17; Tennessee aud Arkansas followed May 6, and on May 30 North Carolina completed the list of eleven Confederate states. May 20 the Confederat government was transferred to Richmond and President Davis followed in a few days. His journey was a continued ovation; hi speeches were chiefly exhortations to unit} and courage, with brief arguments which were merely variations of the clause i; liis first message to congress, April 29 viz., “All we ask is to be let alone—tha 1 hose who never held power over u hall not attempt our subjugation by arms' This we will, we must, resist to tho direst! •xtremity.” At Montgomery the congress had already irovidcd for “a vigorous prosecution of th var”—that is, for a loan of $59,000,000 at : >crcenf.,in addition to a previous loan o. 515,090.000. and liio creation of an arm; a hicii “might, in the discretion of the presi lent, be increased to 100,000 men!” Priva Leering was also organized. Tho people i\ I-ponded with such alacr'ty that Presiden ! Davis, on arriving at Richmond, hal only t j iflicially confirm their action. In a surpri:- I ingly short time GO,OOO men were organize, j in Virginia, and fifteen vessels commissione rs privateers. The Federal government wn 1 iso moving with a celerity that now seem wonderful, but to the impatient people at tin ime seemed criminal slackness. A blockad :f all Confederate ports was proclaimed April 19, and nearly 100 vessels were soon nned to enforce it. By the Ist of July ;; Federal army of over 200,000 men was or 'ganized. A PERSONAL DIGRESSION. : /aults of Administration Urged Against President I>avis. And here the biographer of Jefferson Ba vis is compelled to take notice of a con fro versy whicn '.'eat on in a quiet way during the war and more openly afterwards, till ii readied a furious climax, and is still waged with much bitterness. Without indorsing the harsh philippics of Edwin Pollard and ■Jen. Thomas Jordan, or even the milder criticisms of Gens. Johnston and Beauregard Federal and Confederate may now agree that President Davis made two serious— should one say fatal! —mistakes: the one was common to him and nearly ali the leaders on both sides, the other peculiarly his own. Ii was a manifestation of that spirit which is often praised as the quality of “always sticking to one’s friends”—a very amiable quality indeed in a private man, but one which in a commander-in-chief in time of war may be a criminal folly. A most un happy instance is thus set forth by Gen. Thomas Jordan, chief of staff to Gen. Beau regard: “Mr. Davis lmd been at West Point, an subsequently served for several years in tin dragoons at a frontier post with a Lieut. Nor throp, to whom lio became attached. Tin latter was disabled by an accident, went tt. I his home and turned parish doctor. Mr. IDavis became in time a politician. Lieut. Northrop grew so eccentric and full of mental crotchets as to be generally regarded ill Charleston as of unsound intellect and unfit Ifor the management of his own small affairs. I He had not served long enough in the army Sto acquire familiarity with military adminis [trution; neither hail his avocation in Charles jton brought him in relation with men engaged jin large commercial affairs. This man, with $ whom Davis had no personal association since 'they were cavalry lieutenants together on the Indian frontier, lie did not hesitate to make j his chief of subsistence, nor scruple to intrust ; with the organization and administration of a bureau upon which she very existence of 1 the Confederate armi-ss must depend, aud for| the labors of which it is apparent the sound-y esf practical order of intellect was essential.”! It would be easy to find Confederates of % high rank and approved judgment in mili- f tary affairs who still look upon this appoint- jj ment and two others as the main causes of ? the downfall of the Confederacy. WHO FORESAW A LONG WAR? As to the other charge so persistently urged," that Mr. Davis was “not able to compre-| [bend the proportions of the struggle^upend-jj ling,” the obvious answer is, Who was? A| few, a very few, thoughtful men in the north,f who drew their conclusions largely from his-f tory, predicted a long and bitter struggle; in * the south it is exceedingly doubtful if there • were fifty men who believed the contest. would outlast a year. If there was one w ho, \ from the beginning, anticipated a four years’! war, he succeeded admirably in concealing ) his views. That President Davis, his cabinet j and all his advisers shared the current delu-j sion that the war would be short and its thea-J tre confined principally to the coast and the* bordor between the two sections, is certain.3 Such belief was the parent of many errors. | 111 tho first place, it was estimated that the , south had almost arms enough, and the first or- ’ der sent to Europe was for but 10,000 Enfield] rifles! Before the blockade could be made] effective it was urged that the Confederates government should take tho cotton and to-i bacco, of which a large stock was still on ] band, issue bonds to pay the owners, export* the stuff to Europe, and make it the basis of! a fund to draw upon. The owners generally j w T ere willing, and the effect would have been tremendous. At the same time a cousidera-’’ ble amount of foreign exchange in the banks : w’as offered to the government 011 favorable; terms. Both propositions were ••.••fected or ignored, and tho golden O’ v soon passed, never to return. It noted, also that the legislation • sionaJ congress, and of the first \gu-! Lar congress at Richmoi >ne . I lack of perception as to tie cli€^ [ impending struggle. | On the Federal side of the li the . j froth and nonsense about “a s was: I swept away by tho battle of * n; the ’ I rest was done for at Shiloh. After the latter thoughtful men both north and south made up their minds that the issue was to be tena- ] ciously fought to a close. The north erred often in expecting great and decisive vie to-’ ries; the south quite as often in expecting foreign interference or a division in the north. True, Mr. Benjamin at Richmond continued, to promise “pacification in ninety days” long; after Mr. Seward at Washington had cease | to do so, but he found few echoes. AN APPALLING DIFFICULTY. The victory of Bull Rim produced great exultation in the south, but appears to have had a decidedly sobering effect upon Presi-j dent Davis and cabinet. It may now be con-, I sidered proved that he was in for aggressive I action immediately after that battle, but: I yielded to the adverse opinions of Johnston] I and Beauregard, and thereafter, with rare. I exceptions, insisted upon a defensive policy J During the long period of inaction which fol lowed ho embraced every opportunity to do } clare his earnest desire for peace. He even, excited criticism by suggesting conciliatory measures; for many months all his utter " ances were amplifications of that passage in* his first regular message. “The moment that this pretense of our subjugation is abandoned,) the sword will drop from our grasp and w r ej shall be ready to enter into treaties of amity] and friendship.” MR. DA Vis’ HOUSE, BEAUVOIR. In November, 1861, a general election was' held, and President Davis and Vice President Stephens were re-elected for the full term of; six years. Feb. 18, 1862, the first congress* under the permanent constitution assembled, in Richmond; on the 22d, President Davit : was inaugurated, and delivered a carefully; I prepared message. Disasters had already set; in, to continue with scarcely an intermission! for three months. Before President Davis was this ominous situation: In ail the Cou-j federate states there were not quite 6,000,00c 1 white people, among whom the per cent, of men capable of bearing arms was surprise ingly small. In the Federal or “adhering; states,” excluding all the doubtful and dis" puted strip, were at least 18,000,000 white people, among whom the per cent, of adult; males was phenomenally, one might say un-l naturally, large. ; By the census of 1860 tlie south contained about 300,000 more women than men, the north about 400,000 more men than women j so the north could send into the field ‘>oo,ooo men and still have at home a percentage of 3 men equal to that of the south in peace. Of tho enormous immigration of 1845-’6l, con-j sisting largely of young and strong men, only! 3 per cent, had located in the south. Thie explains the paradox that such states as Kan-* B sas and Nevada sent a larger per cent, of; their total population into the field than any] state of the south, aud } r et had many more men left at home than older states ever have l during tlie longest peace. Tlie disparity in wealth was far greater —by some estimates four times as great. Without accepting so strong a statement it may .yet be admitted) that the Federals wore three times as uumer-j ous and eight times as rich as the Confeder-! ates. “THE LOST CAUSE.” The Confederacy Overthrown—Twentv*fiVO; Years In Pence. Nevertheless hope aud confidence wera strong. President Davis’ first state papers) showed great ability, and he assented, some what reluctantly, to a conscription law.’ which was among the first acts passed by the! congress. It excited much opposition, of! course, and a little later the habeas corpus] was suspended in a district ten miles around Richmond, and a military police organized under Gen. Winder, which continued during the remainder of the war. The summer! closed favorably to the Confederates though] they regained little or none of the ground lost in tho spring; and in December Presi ) dent Davis made a tour of the western] camps, from which he returned greatly eu-j couruged. In April, 1883, he issued a rather j exulting address to the people, hut the! claims in it were just. Tlie Confederacy was] then at its maximum as a military power.! The disasters of that summer from Gettys-j burg to Vicksburg need not be detailed.! The year closed under the black shadow of! coming doom. The real greatness of Jefferson Davis shone’ fconspicuously as disasters thickened. He! Sresolutely defended his appointees, and as-] | sumed the responsibility wherever it was nots S clearly theirs. He regained the hearts of.! 8 the people and almost nullified tho opposition s Sin the congress. A committee of investiga-j ftion entered upon its work in a hostile spirit, ■ [and ended by indorsing almost every one of j [the president’s acts, and even exonerated; him from serious blame in the matter of Commissary Northrop. He exerted himself heroically in preparing for the campaign of 1864, and it opened with some slight, successes. All the rest of the year presents a painful record of desperate struggle against the inevitable; every vic tory was barren, every defeat irremediable. As tlie ship of state sank deeper in the vortex, mutual recriminations naturally multiplied. The removal of Joe Johnston, the enterprise of Hood and the restoration of Johnston, the “shelving” of Beauregard and the break with i Governor Brown, of Georgiu—there is not space to discuss them. Are they not argued and reargued at length in the magazines? Gen. Hood came nobly to tho rescue by as suming full responsibility, and Governor Brown was so far reconciled as to cease seri ous opposition. FLIGHT AND CAPTURE. The wild projects in the Confederate con | gress in the winter of ISO4-’5 were hut the j frenzies of dissolution and despair. Military | movements really decided everything and in j \ Ur '£• :i \ ‘' 'l s j .I']. a [From a recent portrait.] 6 them this fact was ever prominent: A man | lost by Grant could be replaced if desired by I three; a man lost by Lee was a final loss. lOn the 2d of April. 1865, seated in his pew lin St. Paul’s church, Richmond, President | Davis received the dispatch from Gen. I.ee | announcing his complete discomfiture. At 8 Ip. m. the president, cabinet and other offi s cials left for Danville, at which point Presi | dent Davis issued his last proclamation, his | last state paper. Ten days later he was at 1 Greensboro, N. C.; a week later he halted at I Charlotte, where he first learned that SIOO,- 1000 reward had been offered for his capture las an instigator of the assassination of Presi- Ident Lincoln. All men now admit that the I charge was false. I Another week found him almost alone, a I in the forests of Georgia, with his | wife an<h, a few devoted adherents. On th 6 110th of Mpy he was canty red near Irwins -1 viile, Ga.,4by a body of cavalry under Lieut. I Col. Pritchard. “Mr. Davis,” says one of his 1 captors, “had on when arrested an ordinary | suit, with a very long raglan overcoat aud a a shawl on his shoulders.” In the dim light of I morning he was at first taken for a woman, 1 hence the story so widely published. He was I conveyed at once to Fortress Monroe, which | lie entered on the 10th of May, to remain a | captive for nearly two years. I And so ad was over. The Southern Con | federacy had dropped to pieces like a house lof cards, and im president, once the beloved I colonel, the honored senator, the Federal sec | retary of war, the successful statesman and 1 aspiring politician, was a prisoner—in irons I I Yes, all that was bright and hopeful was I gone; nothing now remained but to hang the j prisoner, as had been so ofteii promised; to I write his history so as to fix Ins name in in gfamy, and in no long time his own people I would disown him as the cause of their woea. I All this, in the opinion of many sanguine I Olios,v. as soon to be. Only it did not prove so. | Tlie world was now to witness another of i those revulsions in popular feeling which so | often delight the emotional and puzzle the I philosophic. At sight of this sorely stricken I man all southern criticism was instantly | hushed, and in due time thoughts of some- I hing far nobier than vengeance pervaded | is: north. Mr. Davis bore his sufferings I with such Roman fortitude that southern J :carts were knitted to him ac never before. I His critics apologized, even when truth was Son their side. His wife shared his captivity 1 and excited the world's interest in his case. > ills first wife, daughter of (leti. Tavlpr, had | died many years hefore.but theone who shared 1 uis fortunes as official and as captive was Ia lady of refinement and intellect worthy of i any station. His oldest and most inveterate I opponents were first to soften; the Abolition- S isls asked clemency, and in May, IMIT, before | the United States circuit court at. Richmond, a Horace Greeley and Gerritt Smith joined I with many southern men in signing his hail * bond. He had been formally indicted for | treason; but, in December, 1868, by the same I oui t, a nolle prosequi was entered, and tho lease of “The United States vs. Jefferson | Davis” w as ended forever and to the satisfac- I lion of almost every American. | RETIREMENT AND A QUIET LIFE. H After a brief tour in Europe he located at I Memphis as president of a life insurance com jpany, but soon re- Ito emerge only jnewed expressions 1 sympathy. Abe- SA j&Wggfc r Equest by a southern W' | lovely To in'" t I | uis son, a manly w fgentleman, by vel- Winnie davis, | low fover at Mem- “ The c ! lild of the Con jpbis, was a severe federacy.” [blow; but his wife and two daughters re mained to Inin. Of these tlie vcuu-er | anna Davis, affectionately-known at VVinl [ is “ty'ed “The Child of the Confederacy ’> ; having been born in the presidential mansion ! m Richmond during the war. She has lately , shown ;literary ability of a high order, and i ma y - vet ratlk among the noted authoresses [America.