The American Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Events of the Year, 1861-1865, vols. 1-5. New York: Appleton & Co., 1868.

Confederate States in 1861, Part 4: Tennessee through Texas

TENNESSEE. This fertile State lies south of Kentucky, and north of Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. North Carolina bounds it on the east, and the Mississippi River on the west. Its greatest length from east to west is about 430 miles, and its breadth 110 miles. The State is commonly divided into three sections; the part east of the Cumberland Mountains is called East Tennessee; that between the Cumberland Mountains and the Tennessee River, Middle Tennessee; and west of this river it takes the name of West Tennessee. On the east it is separated from North Carolina by the Appalachian chain of mountains, of which the Cumberland, an outlying ridge, enters the State from Kentucky. The height of the mountains of this ridge is estimated at from 1,000 to 2,000 feet. They arc wooded to the top, and embosom delightful and fertile valleys. Middle Tennessee is moderately hilly, while West Tennessee is either level or gently undulating. Indian corn, tobacco, and cotton are the great staples. The population of the State in 1860 was 826,828 white; 7,235 free colored; and 275,784 slaves; total, 1,109,847.

The Legislature of Tennessee holds its regular, sessions in the odd years, commencing on the third Monday of October. The members are elected on the first Thursday of the preceding August. After it has once adjourned sine die, it cannot hold a second session, unless convened by the Governor, who is authorized by the Constitution to call the General Assembly together on extraordinary occasions, by proclamation; and, in that case, he must state to them, when assembled, the purposes for which they were convened; and then, "they shall enter on no legislation except that for which they were specially called together."

In August, 1859, the members who were to constitute the 33d General Assembly were elected. At the canvass preceding the election, the people had presented to them no question regarding national affairs. The session was distinguished by nothing out of the ordinary course of State legislation. Before the adjournment, about the 24th of March, 1860, electoral tickets for President and Vice-President of the United States had been presented to the people of the Union; and, in Tennessee, there was a ticket for Breckinridge, another for Douglas, and a third for Bell, her own citizen. No ticket was offered for Lincoln. The electors for each of the candidates industriously canvassed the entire State, and each one represented his candidate as an unconditional Union man, while Bell was recommended to the people as the special advocate of the "Constitution, the Union, and the enforcement of the laws." He carried the State by a majority of 4,565 over Breckinridge, the next highest Page 677 candidate. The total vote of the State was as follows: Lincoln, ;Douglas, 11,350; Breckinridge, 64,709; Bell, 69,274. The election, however, having resulted in the choice of Lincoln, the people of Tennessee quietly acquiesced. But Isham G. Harris, the Governor, holding extreme opinions upon the subject of slavery, warmly sympathized with the secession movement, which followed in the Southern slave States immediately after the election, and maintained an active correspondence with its leaders. Accordingly he called a session of the General Assembly for the 7th of January, 1861; and in his message to the body, on its assembling, he stated that the purpose of the call was, that they should deliberate upon the "crisis" in the affairs of the country, which had been produced, as he said, by "the systematic, wanton, and long continued agitation of the slavery question, with the actual and threatened aggressions of the Northern States and a portion of their people, upon the well-defined, constitutional rights of the Southern citizens; the rapid growth and increase, in all the elements of power, of a purely sectional party, whose bond of union Is uncompromising hostility to the rights and institutions of the fifteen Southern States." After a long recital of grievances, he declared that he submitted to the discretion of the Legislature, "the whole question of our" (the State's) "Federal relations;" and though having no doubt himself as to the necessity and propriety of calling a State Convention, he yet recommended that the law to bo passed should submit " to the people of the State the question of convention or no convention." The evils complained of, he said, could be obviated by certain amendments to the national Constitution, which were: 1. The establishment of a line through the territories to the Pacific, all the territory north of which should be forever free, and all south of it forever slave. 2. Any State refusing to deliver a fugitive slave, to pay the owners double his value. 3. Security in the possession of slaves by masters travelling through, or sojourning in a free State; and slaves lost, in such cases, to be paid for by the State in which the escape occurred. 4. A prohibition against the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, and in dockyards, navy-yards, arsenals, or any other district in a slave State under the national jurisdiction. 5. These provisions never to be changed, except by the consent of all the slave States. He had, he said, no hope of such concessions, for "two months had passed since the development of the facts which make the perpetuity of the Union depend alone upon the giving to the South satisfactory guarantees for her chartered rights, yet no proposition at all satisfactory" had been made "by any member of the dominant and aggressive party" of the North. A controlling conservative sentiment manifested itself in the Legislature, which, while it endorsed the position that the grant of additional guarantees to the South should be made a condition of Tennessee's remaining in the Union, determined that the State should not be precipitated into secession. The bill calling for a convention of the people of the State, provided that any ordinance or resolution which might be adopted by said Convention having for its object a change of the position or relation of the State to the National Union, or her sister Southern States, should be of no binding force or effect until it was submitted to or ratified by the people, and required a vote equal to a majority of the votes cast in the last election for Governor to ratify it. Thus the people had an opportunity, in voting for delegates, to declare for or against secession: and should the action of the Convention contemplate any change in the Federal relations of the State, they had still the opportunity of endorsing or overruling alike their former decision and the action of the Convention. The election for members of the Convention was to be held on the 9th of February, the Convention to assemble on the 25th.

At this same date, in a public meeting, held in Nashville, it was urged that the third party at the last Presidential election, the "Constitutional Union party," and its champion, John Bell, had held the doctrine that the election of Mr. Lincoln would be a just cause for the dissolution of the Union. Mr. Bell, who was at the meeting, rose and denied the charge. Upon this, cheers rang through the hall, satisfying the audience of the predominant Union feeling in that assemblage, notwithstanding the disunion element had mustered its strength. Mr. Bell, before he sat down, expressed the hope and conviction that all would be well with the Union; and this declaration was received with great applause.

The resolutions of the Legislature of New York were replied to with moderation and also with great decision, as follows:

Resolved, That the Legislature of Tennessee has heard with profound regret the resolution come to by the Legislature of the State of New York, offering men and money to the Government, in order to coerce sovereign States. That the General Assembly of Tennessee sees in the action of the Legislature of New York an indication of the disposition to complicate existing difficulties, and to force the Southern States into submission; and, so regarding it, the State of Tennessee requests to inform the State of New York that, if any force be sent South for the purpose of subjugating the people thereof, the people of the State will join as one man to resist such an invasion at all hazards and to the last extremity.

The result of the election for delegates to a State convention was highly successful to the friends of the Union. Even West Tennessee gave a Union majority. The following returns, except a few counties, show the relative strength of union and disunion in the State: Union………… Disunion.

East Tennessee 80,903… 6,577

Middle Tennessee 86,809… 9,828

West Tennessee 24,091… 9,844

Total 91,803…. 24,749

Union majority….. 67,054

The returns from all the counties made the actual majority 64,114. The question of holding a convention was determined in the negative by a large majority, thus declaring that there was no need for a convention at all to determine where Tennessee should stand. The Union delegates at Memphis were elected by a majority of 400. The vote of the State on the convention question was as follows:

East Tennessee voted no convention by 25,611 majority, or four and a quarter to one. Middle Tennessee 1,382 majority; but West Tennessee gave for a convention 15,118 majority. The vote for no convention was 69,673. The total vote for and against convention was 127,471, with a majority against the meeting of a convention of 11,875.

The people decided that no convention should be held, chiefly because they had seen that all the conventions which had been held in the Southern States had withdrawn their States from the Union, and then had proceeded to sit on their own adjournments, as if they conceived they possessed the right to continue their own existence indefinitely. The loyal people of Tennessee now flattered themselves that they had thus put an effectual stop to the secession movement in the State, and so the secessionists thought as well; and even the Governor seemed, for a time, to have abandoned the scheme.

The proclamation of the President, on the 15th of April, produced an intense feeling throughout the State. The Governor immediately called an extra session of the Legislature, to be convened on the 25th of April. He refused the requisition of the President for troops saying:

Hon. Simon Cameron:

Sir: Your despatch of the 15th inst., informing me that Tennessee is called upon for two regiments of militia for immediate service, is received.

Tennessee will not furnish a man for purposes of coercion, but 50,000, if necessary, for the defence of our rights, and those of our Southern brothers.

ISHAM G. HARRIS, Governor of Tennessee.

At the same time an address was issued to the people of the State by some of her most eminent citizens, as Messrs. Neil S. Brown, Russell Houston, E. H. Ewing, C. Johnson, John Bell, R. J. Meigs, S. D. Morgan, John S. Brien, Andrew Ewing, John H. Callender, and Baylie Peyton.

Patriotic as were their views, they were unable to stem the tide of secession when it came in the flood. They say:

"We unqualifiedly disapprove of secession, both as a constitutional right, and as a remedy for existing evils; we equally condemn the policy of the Administration in reference to the seceded States. But while we, without qualification, condemn the policy of coercion as calculated to dissolve the Union forever, and to dissolve it in the blood of our fellow-citizens, and regard it as sufficient to justify the State in refusing her aid to the Government in its attempt to suppress the revolution in the seceded States, we do not think it her duty, considering her position in the Union, and in view of the great question of the peace of our distracted country, to take sides against the Government. Tennessee has wronged no State or citizen of this Union. She has violated the rights of no State, North or South. She has been loyal to all, where loyalty was due. She has not brought on this war by any act of hers. She has tried every means in her power to prevent it. She now stands ready to do any thing within her reach to stop it. And she ought, as we think, to decline joining either party; for in so doing they would at once terminate her grand mission of peace-maker between the States of the South and the General Government. Nay, more; the almost inevitable result would bo the transfer of the war within her own borders, the defeat of all hopes of reconciliation, and the deluging of the State with the blood of her own people."

On the 25th of April, the Legislature assembled for the third time, although the members had been elected without any reference to the momentous questions now about to be considered. In the Assembly, on the same day, the following resolution was offered:

Resolved, That upon the grave and solemn matters for our consideration, submitted by the Governor's Message, with a view to the public safety, the two Houses of this Legislature hold their sessions with closed doors whenever a secret session in either House may be called for by five members of said House, and. that the oath of secrecy be administered to the officers and members of said House.

The resolution was adopted. Ayes 42; noes 8.

The Message of the Governor was very strong and decided in urging immediate secession. In it he said:

"I respectfully recommend the perfecting of an ordinance by the General Assembly, formally declaring the independence of the State of Tennessee of the Federal Union, renouncing its authority, and reassuming each and every function belonging to a separate sovereignty; and that said ordinance, when it shall have been thus perfected by the Legislature, shall, at the earliest practicable time, be submitted to a vote of the people, to be by them adopted or rejected.

"When the people of the State shall formally declare their connection with the remaining States of the Union dissolved, it will be a matter of the highest expediency, I might almost say of unavoidable political necessity, that we shall at the same time, or as soon thereafter as may be, connect ourselves with those with whom a common interest, a common sympathy, and a common destiny identify us, for weal or for woe.

"I therefore further recommend that you perfect an ordinance with a view to our admission as a member of the Southern Confederacy, (which, it is evident, must soon embrace the entire slaveholding States of the South,) to be submitted in like manner, and at the same time, but separately, for adoption or rejection Page 679 by the people, so that they may have the opportunity to approve the former and reject the fatter, or adopt both, as in their wisdom may seem most consistent with the future welfare of the State. However fully satisfied the Executive and Legislature may be as to the urgent necessity for the speedy adoption of both these propositions, it is our duty to furnish the amplest means for fair and full expression of the popular will."

The Governor next proceeded to argue that, at the opening of a revolution so imminent, he could see no propriety for encumbering the people of the State with the election of delegates to do that which it is in the power of the Legislature to enable them to do directly for themselves. Since it is only the voice of the people that is to be heard, there was no reason, he thought, why they might not as readily and effectively express themselves upon an ordinance framed and submitted to them by the Legislature as if submitted to them by a convention. In case, however, it should be deemed advisable that a convention "representing the sovereignty of the people" should be called by the Legislature, he admitted that a greater degree of harmony and unanimity might bo thereby effected.

On the 30th of April, Henry W. Hilliard, commissioner from the Confederate States, appeared before the Legislature and made an address. He said his object was to establish a temporary alliance between Tennessee and the Confederate States, to continue until Tennessee should decide for or against adopting the Constitution of that Government, and becoming one of the Confederate States. He regarded the issue now pending between the North and the South something more than a mere right to hold slaves. It was a question of constitutional liberty, involving the right of the people of the South to govern themselves. "We have said that we will not be governed by the abolition North, the abolition North says we shall," and he would not hesitate to say there was not a true-hearted man in the South but would rather die than submit. He repudiated the idea of settling the pending questions between the North and South by reconstruction "by going back to our enemies." He regarded the Southern system of government established at Montgomery, and based upon slavery, as the only permanent form which could be established in this country.

A letter from Neil S. Brown, formerly Governor of the State, appeared at this time, in which he said:

"I have hoped obstinately against such an alternative, but the conviction is forced upon my mind that it is the settled policy of the Administration, and, so far as I can see, of the whole North, to wage a war of extermination against the South.

"The clouds are gathering in every direction, and the signs now are, that the Border States are to be the battle-ground. In this view, the first duty is to arm at once; and to talk of keeping out of such a contest, if it comes, is simply idle."

Another, from General Zollicoffer, afterwards a commander in the Confederate army, saying:

"We are involved in war and no mistake, waged for the purpose of humbling the Southern States. It cannot be done. But we must have unity, energy, and action, to save ourselves. Let us drop party and party names. Let us emulate the glorious example of our fathers in arms. We must not, cannot stand neutral, and see our Southern brothers butchered."

On the 29th of April Governor Harris had ordered to bo seized sixty-six thousand dollars' worth of Tennessee bonds and five thousand dollars in cash, belonging to the United States, which were in possession of the collector at Nashville. He said:

"This seizure was conditional; the property was to be held in trust until the Government restored the property of the State and its citizens involved in the seizure of the steamer Hillman by troops of the Federal Government."

The steamer Hillman was seized at Cairo by the Illinois troops, because she was laden with munitions and other articles contraband of war. The boat, and property not contraband, was subsequently surrendered to the owners.

The Legislature in secret session, immediately on the 1st of May, passed a joint resolution directing the Governor to enter into a military league with the Confederate States, subjecting "the whole military force of the State " to the control of the Confederate States. Acting upon this authority, the Governor immediately appointed Gustavus A. Henry, Archibald O. W. Totten, and Washington Barrow, as commissioners for that purpose. On the 7th of May he sent a Message to the Legislature, stating that he had appointed the said commissioners on the part of Tennessee, &c, as follows:

To enter into a military league with the authorities of the Confederate States, and with the authorities of such other slaveholding States as may wish to enter into it; having in view the protection and defence of the entire South against the war that is now being carried on against it.

The said commissioners met the Hon. Henry W. Hilliard, the accredited representative of the Confederate States, at Nashville on this day, and have agreed upon and executed a military league between the state of Tennessee and the Confederate States of America, subject, however, to the ratification of the two Governments, one of the duplicate originals of which I herewith transmit for your ratification or rejection. For many cogent and obvious reasons, unnecessary to bo rehearsed to you, I respectfully recommend the ratification of this league at the earliest practicable moment.

The convention was as follows:

Convention between the State of Tennessee and the Confederate States of America.

The State of Tennessee, looking to a speedy admission into the Confederacy, established by the Confederate States of America, in accordance with the constitution for the provisional government of said States, enters into the following temporary convention, agreement, Page 680 and military league with the Confederate States, for the purpose of meeting pressing exigencies affecting the common rights, interests, and safety of said States, and said Confederacy.

1st. Until the said State shall become a member of said Confederacy, according to the constitutions of both powers, the whole military force and military operations, offensive and defensive, of said State, in the impending conflict with the United States, shall be under the chief control and direction of the President of the Confederate States, upon the same basis, principles and footing, as if said State were now and during the interval a member of the said Confederacy—said forces, together with those of the Confederate States, to be employed for the common defence.

2d. The State of Tennessee will, upon becoming a member of said Confederacy, under the permanent Constitution of said Confederate States, if the same shall occur, turn over to said Confederate States all the public property, naval stores and munitions of war, of which she may then be in possession, acquired from the United States, on the same terms and in the same manner as the other States of said Confederacy have done in like cases.

3d. Whatever expenditures of money, if any, the said State of Tennessee shall make before she becomes a member of said Confederacy, shall be met and provided for by the Confederate States.

The vote in the Senate, on the adoption of this treaty, was 14 to 6—absent or not voting, 4; in the House, 42 to 15—absent or not voting, 18.

Meanwhile, the Legislature had not been idle. On the 6th of May it passed an ordinance entitled, "An Act to submit to a vote of the people a Declaration of Independence, and for other purposes." The first section provided that the Governor should, by proclamation, require the respective officers in each county to hold the polls open in their several precincts on the 8th day of June ensuing. The second section provided that the following declaration should be submitted to a vote of the qualified voters for their ratification or rejection:

Declaration of Independence and Ordinance dissolving the Federal relations between the State of Tennessee and the United States of America. 

1st. We, the people of the State of Tennessee, waiving an expression of opinion as to the abstract doctrine of secession, but asserting the right as a free and independent people to alter, reform, or abolish our form of Government in such manner as we think proper, do ordain and declare that all the laws and ordinances by which the State of Tennessee became a member of the Federal Union of the United States of America, are hereby abrogated and annulled, and that all obligations on our part be withdrawn therefrom; and we do hereby resume all the rights, functions, and powers which by any of said laws and ordinances were conveyed to the Government of the United States, and absolve ourselves from all the obligations, restraints, and duties incurred thereto; and do hereby henceforth become a free, sovereign, and independent State.

2d. We furthermore declare and ordain, that Article 10, Sections 1 and 2 of the Constitution of the State of Tennessee, which requires members of the General Assembly, and all officers, civil and military, to take an oath to support the Constitution of the United States, be and the same are hereby abrogated and annulled, and all parts of the Constitution of the State of Tennessee, making citizenship of the United States a qualification for office, and recognizing the Constitution of the United States as the supreme Taw of this State, are in like manner abrogated and annulled.

3d. We furthermore ordain and declare that all rights acquired and vested under the Constitution of the United States, or under any act of Congress passed in pursuance thereof, or under any laws of. this State, and not incompatible with this ordinance, shall remain in force and have the same effect as if this ordinance had not been passed.

The third section provided that the election should be by ballot, and that those voting for the declaration and ordinance should have on their ballots the word " Separation," and those voting against it should have on their ballots the words " No separation; " the returns should be made to the Secretary of State by the 24th of June, and if a majority of votes were given for separation, the Governor was required immediately to issue his proclamation declaring "all connection by the State of Tennessee with Federal Union dissolved, and that Tennessee is a free, independent Government, free from all obligations to, or connection with the Federal Government."

The fourth section authorized all volunteers to vote, wherever they may be in active service.

By the fifth section it was provided that, under the rules and regulations prescribed for the election above ordered, the following ordinance should be submitted to the popular vote:

An Ordinance for the adoption of the Constitution of the Provisional Government of the Confederate States of America.

We, the people of Tennessee, solemnly impressed by the perils which surround us, do hereby adopt and ratify the Constitution of the Provisional Government of the Confederate States of America, ordained and established at Montgomery, Alabama, on the 8th of February, 1861, to be in force during the existence thereof, or until such time as we may supersede it, by the adoption of a permanent Constitution.

The sixth section provided that all voters in favor of adopting the Provisional Constitution, and thereby securing to Tennessee equal representation in the deliberations and councils of the Confederate States, should have written or printed on their ballots the word "Representation ;" opposed, the words "No Representation."

The seventh section provides for an election of delegates to the Confederate Congress in case the Provisional Constitution was adopted. The vote on the Declaration of Independence in the Senate was—yeas 20, nays 4; in the House, yeas 46, nays 21.

By this act, provision was made to submit to the vote of the people of the State, the adoption or rejection of a "Declaration of Independence," whereby they were to separate themselves from the Union, and adopt the Confederate States Constitution, and abrogate that part of their own Constitution which required every person chosen or appointed to any office of trust or profit under it, or any law made in pursuance of it, before entering on the duties thereof, to take an oath to support the Constitution of the State and of the United States; and requiring each member of the Senate and House of Representatives, before proceeding to business, to take an oath to support the Page 681 Constitution of the State and of the United States. (Constitution of Tennessee, art. x., sections 1,2.)

By another act the Governor was required to raise, organize, and equip, a provisional force of volunteers for the defence of the State, to consist of 55,000 men; 25,000 of whom, or any less number demanded by the wants of the service, were to be fitted for the field, at the earliest practicable moment, and the remainder to be held in reserve, ready to march at short notice. It authorized the Governor, should it become necessary for the safety of the State, to "call out the whole available military strength of the State," and to determine when this force should serve, and direct it accordingly. To defray the expenses of this military organization, the Governor was authorized "to issue and dispose of $5,000,000 of the bonds of the State," in denominations of not less than §100, or greater than $1,000, to run ten years, and bear interest at the rate of 8 per cent.

Thus provided with a semblance of authority, the Governor hastened the organization of the provisional force of 25,000 men, and before the day of the election, June 8, 1801, he had most of it on foot, and distributed in camps around Nashville and elsewhere, armed and equipped, so far as it could be, with the munitions of the United States in possession of the State, and with such as could be obtained from the arsenal at Augusta, Georgia, from which they were brought by General Zollicoffer. Thus, on the morning of the election, the people of Tennessee, for the first time in their lives, went to the polls conscious that they were no longer a free people; knowing that the Executive and Legislative Departments of the State, with its Treasury in their hands, and with all the arms of the State in their possession, and with a formidable army in their pay, had joined a conspiracy to overthrow their Government, and that nothing remained for them but to reverse their vote of the 9th of February, and to ratify what their self-constituted masters had already accomplished. Even by voting against the Declaration of Independence, and by refusing to absolve their officers from the oath to support the Constitution of the United States^ and declining to accept the Constitution of the Confederate States, they could not free themselves from the military incubus which had been imposed upon them. In these circumstances it is not to bo wondered at that the election showed an apparent majority of 57,667 for secession. It must not be concluded, however, that this majority was real; for the men who could so wantonly contemn the obligations of the law as to resort to the measures above detailed, could not escape from the suspicion of having filled the ballot-box with spurious votes.

By such means was Tennessee carried over to the Confederate States, and in the employment of these means there does not appear to have been any semblance of regard, among the actors, for oaths or for the observance of the most solemn obligations of legal and constitutional duty. The Constitution of the United States ordains that "no State shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confederation;" nor, "without the consent of Congress, keep troops or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any agreement or compact with another State, or with a foreign power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will admit of no delay; " and that "the Constitution and laws of the United States, made in pursuance thereof, shall be the supreme law of the land ; and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any thing in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding." The State Constitution, as above stated, required every Tennessee official person, before assuming his office, "to take an oath to support the Constitution of the United States." The State declaration of rights acknowledges the supremacy of the Constitution of the United States, and explicitly admits that the people of the State themselves have the right of exercising sovereignty, and the right of soil over the territory of the State, only " so far as is consistent with the Constitution of the United States." Moreover, the State Constitution, enumerating the powers of the Governor, ordains that he shall be commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the State, and of the militia, except when they shall be called into the service of the United States, in which case, by the national Constitution, "the President shall be commander-in-chief of the militia of the several States." Finally, the Constitution of the State provides a method for its own amendment, by which the General Assembly, during its period of existence, can only propose an amendment, which it must cause to be entered on its journals, with the ayes and noes thereon.' This proposal must be referred by the General Assembly which makes it, to the General Assembly next chosen, first causing it to be published six months before such choice. If the proposal is agreed to by two-thirds of all the members elected to each house of such second General Assembly, then that body shall submit the proposal to the people; and, if the people approve and ratify the proposal by a majority of all those who voted for the members of the Assembly, voting for it, then the proposal becomes a part of the Constitution.

Such being the fundamental law of Tennessee, the thirty-third General Assembly appears before the world as striking out two sections of the State Constitution, by submitting a proposition to the people directly for the purpose; and, by a mere resolution, forming a military league with the Confederate States, and placing the whole military force of the State under the control of the President of those States; it also appears as setting aside the whole Constitution of the United States, and accepting another Constitution by means of a vote of the people of Tennessee, when that people had no sovereignty over their own territory except in subordination to the Constitution of the United Page 682 States; it also raises a formidable army for the express purpose of joining the Confederate States in a war against the United States, when, in case of war, the President of the United States is commander of the army and of the militia of the States. Such was the climax of usurpation and violence which the secession movement attained in Tennessee, and it is too plain to need a statement, that if the people of the United States ever come to submit to like pretensions on the part of the people of a single State, or of any number of States, there is an end of any real liberty or government in this country.

The Legislature also passed resolutions recommending a congress of the officers of banks in the Southern States. On the 16th of May the Governor issued a proclamation requiring all volunteer organizations in the State, who had heretofore drawn arms, and did not hold themselves in readiness for immediate service, to return them to the State arsenal in Nashville. The object was to disarm all organizations friendly to the Union.

An act to stop the collection of debts by citizens of Northern States wa3 also passed, of which the following were sections:

Sec. 1. That no person in any non-slaveholding State, or their agents or attorneys in this State, shall have power to sue or collect any moneys owing to or any property claimed by the citizens of any such State in Tennessee during hostilities between Tennessee and the Federal Government.

Sec. 2. That it may and shall be lawful for such debtors to pay such moneys into the treasury of the State, which sums shall bo receipted for by the treasurer, and shall be refunded with interest upon cessation of hostilities.

Meantime Union meetings of the most decided character were held in East Tennessee, and resolutions adopted, denouncing the action of the Legislature.

The progress of military affairs in the western part of the State had been such that at this time there were established on the Mississippi River five or six batteries of heavy guns, including mortars, columbiads, and 32 and 24-pounders, commanding the river from Memphis to the Kentucky line. About fifteen thousand troops were concentrated in "West Tennessee under Major-General G. J. Pillow, as commander-in-chief, with Brigadier-Generals Cheatham and Sneed. Eight thousand troops of all arms from Mississippi had passed up the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, at Corinth, and at Grand Junction, on the Mississippi Central Railroad, on their way to a rendezvous near the Kentucky line, to act under Major-General Clark, of Mississippi, in concert with Major-General Pillow, of Tennessee. With these troops were some cavalry and two light batteries. At least, seventy-five or one hundred heavy guns had been placed in battery, and other large guns were in the State ready for use. A corps d'armee, under command of Brigadier-General Foster, had assembled in Camp Cheatham. General William R. Caswell had assembled, and armed, and equipped a corps d’armee of some thousand men, in East Tennessee, ready to repel any attack in that division of the State.

In East Tennessee the attachment of the people to the Union continued very strong. On the 30th and 31st of May a Union convention was held at Knoxville, which manifested a determined spirit. This was shared by a large portion of the people in that part of the State. Their vote on the separation or secession ordinance was almost entirely in opposition. In several of the central and western counties a Union majority was given; but throughout the State only a portion of the vote was cast.

The Governor made an agreement with the Governor of Kentucky at this time, that no troops should cross the Tennessee line for any purpose, unless upon the invitation or permission of the latter. This proved worthless when the Confederate Government deemed it necessary to move a force into Kentucky. The rights of the State of Tennessee as a sovereign were not taken into account.

An adjourned session, and the fourth of the Legislature, was held about June 20, at which the Governor, in his address, brought to their notice the financial condition of the State. He said:

Under the provisions of the act of 1852 the principal and interest of the internal improvement State bonds are made payable in the city of New York. It will be impossible to pay the interest accruing at that point during the continuance of the war. I recommend that you so amend the laws referred to as to require the payment at the Bank of Tennessee, at Nashville, or at Charleston or New Orleans, of all sums which may be. come due from the State to the people of all Governments which arc on terms of peace and friendship with us, who are and were previous to the commencement of the war bona fide owners of our bonds, and that yon adopt such policy towards the owners and holders of our bonds who are citizens of States at war with us as is recognized and justified by the law of nations regulating their intercourse as belligerents.

The ordeal through which the country is now passing necessarily prostrates the trade and commerce of the country, and deranges the currency to a greater or less extent. Such legislation as will tend to secure a uniform currency throughout the Confederate States is of the highest importance. I therefore submit the question to your consideration for such action as, in your opinion, the general welfare demands.

By the section of the act of the 6th May, 1861, it is made the duty of the Governor to issue bonds of the State for the purpose of raising a fund with which to defray the expenses of the provisional army of the State. In view of the scarcity of a circulating medium, and the probable difficulty of converting any considerable amount of bonds into money in times like the present, I respectfully recommend that you so modify that act as to authorize the issuance of treasury notes to the extent of three-fifths of the amount of said bonds; and that the same, when issued, be made receivable by the State in payment of all taxes or government dues.

Bills were introduced to suspend the civil courts and the sale of property under execution; to prevent any one from holding any Federal office; to transfer the Hermitage to the Confederate States as the site of a military institution; to send representatives to the Montgomery Congress; to clothe the Governor Page 683 with power to enroll all free colored males between sixteen and fifty for building fortifications; to repeal all laws in regard to bowie knives; and to suspend the distribution of the common school fund.

On the 17th of June a large Union convention was held at Greenville, East Tennessee. All the counties were represented except Rhea. It continued for three days. A declaration of grievances was adopted, which stated facts showing that the right of free suffrage had been obstructed by a disunion government; that the people had been subjected to insults, their flags fired upon and torn down, their houses rudely entered, their families insulted, their women and children shot by a merciless soldiery, and their citizens robbed and assassinated; and that, in view of these facts, they resolved that the action of the State Legislature, in passing a declaration of independence, and in forming a military league with the Southern Confederacy, was unconstitutional,' and not binding upon loyal citizens. In order to avoid a conflict with their brethren, a committee was appointed to prepare a memorial, asking the consent of the Legislature that the eastern part of the State may form a separate government. The aggregate votes in the several divisions of the State were then announced to be as follows on the ordinance of separation:

For Separation,           No Separation.

East Tennessee 14,780     32,923

Middle Tennessee 58,265   8,198

West Tennessee 29,127      6,117

Military Camps 2,741

104,913

47,238       47,238

Majority 57,675

The commanding general, Pillow, of the State forces, issued, on the 21st of June, an order confiscating, under the State law, the stock and claims of non-residents belonging to the Northern States:

"All merchants, brokers, and other persons owing allegiance to the State of Tennessee, and all banks in the State having on deposit balances, or on hand balances of specie, bills of exchange, notes, or other funds, or causes in action for collection, and belonging to the enemies of Tennessee, are, by a law of the State Legislature of the State, and by the laws of war, due to the State, and are hereby declared seized and sequestered, in reprisal for illegal seizures by the people and Government of the North."

A report of assets was ordered to be made to the adjutant-general's office.

On the 6th July, the Legislature adjourned. It passed the bill exempting State bonds for military purposes from taxation. Another act authorized the Governor to issue treasury notes for three millions of dollars, of the denomination of not less than five nor more than five hundred dollars, with interest not exceeding six per cent., the same to be receivable as currency. An act was also passed to make the treasury notes of the Confederate States bankable in Tennessee.

The first day of August was fixed for the State election, for the purpose of choosing Governor, members of the Legislature, and representatives in Congress; and on the day of the general election, the people were to vote for or against the permanent Constitution of the Confederate States.

Confederate troops were sent at the earliest moment to take possession of the three gaps in the mountains of East Tennessee, known as the Fentress, Wheeler, and Cumberland. Cleveland was also declared a military station. The mails of the United States were, by order of the proper department, continued in twenty-six of the counties of East Tennessee at this time, in consequence of the Union feeling which was manifested.

They were as follows: Anderson, Bledsoe, Blount, Bradley, Campbell, Carter, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Green, Hamilton, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson, Knox, Marion, McMuir, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Polk, Rhea, Sevier, Sullivan, and Washington.

On the other side every effort was made to procure arms. The Governor sent instructions to the clerks of all the county courts, requesting them to issue to each constable in their respective counties an order requiring him to make diligent inquiry at each house in his civil district for all muskets, bayonets, rifles, swords, and pistols belonging to the State of Tennessee, to take them into possession, and deliver them to the clerks.

A reward of one dollar was to be paid to the constable for each musket and bayonet or rifle, and of fifty cents for each sword or pistol thus reclaimed.

The arms thus obtained were to be forwarded, at public expense, to the military authorities at Nashville, Knoxville, and Memphis, as might be most convenient, and information sent to the military and financial board at Nashville, of the result.

Stringent measures were adopted with the Union people of East Tennessee. Many, upon bare suspicion, were arrested and taken prisoners, insulted, abused, and carried into camps, there to be disposed of as the Confederate mob thought proper. Squads of cavalry and infantry were scouring over the country, offering the people, male and female, every indignity that ruffian bands are capable of; destroying crops and substance without regard to the condition or circumstances of the persons; pasturing their horses in corn-fields, wasting hay-stacks, taking provisions of every description without regard to quantity, not even asking the price or tendering an equivalent therefor in any shape whatever.

Nashville was put under martial law. Passports were  required, and all baggage was examined under directions of the Committee of Safety.

Meanwhile, soldiers from East Tennessee found their way to the camps in Kentucky. The first regiment which came was composed of men who had been driven from their homes for their Union sentiments. They were described in the following terms:

"A very large proportion of them are men of religious instinct and habits, and not a night passes without the voice of morning and evening prayer being heard in the Tennessee camps. These earnest and devoted men, far from their families and homes, which are left to bo desolated by ruthless hands, are yet firm and undaunted amid the calamity which has overtaken them. Their trust is in God and their own strong arms. A large proportion are young, unmarried men; but there are many heads of families and representatives of large landed estates. Some of the privates in the ranks, who have abandoned all they possessed rather than submit, are worth from $30,000 to $40,000 each. Some of the young men are willing to remain and assist in defending Kentucky, or serving anywhere that the Government may call them. But the great majority have set their hearts upon going back fully armed for the redemption of East Tennessee."

The act, forbidding payment to be made by citizens of Tennessee to Northern creditors, did not operate so favorably for the debtors as they "had anticipated. They were ordered to pay the amount of their indebtedness into the Treasury of the Confederate States. In Nashville the merchants asked of the Government the privilege of paying these amounts in good paper of their " country customers."

The military efforts of the State were described by the Governor, in a Message to the Legislature, with much detail.

Tennessee had no military organization, and was almost destitute of arms. Her Executive had no authority to raise troops or procure arms until the act of the 6th of May, and yet, within less than two months from the passage of this act, the Governor says thirty thousand volunteers were organized and thrown into the field. lie also stated that he had been compelled to decline the services of a large number tendered in excess of the demand.

In addition to the provisional army of the State, a number of regiments were raised for Confederate service, making in the aggregate thirty-eight infantry regiments, seven cavalry battalions, and sixteen artillery companies, which Tennessee had sent to sustain the Confederacy. To overcome the want of arms and ammunition cut off by the blockade and lack of access to Northern markets, an armory was established at Nashville, and the State had for some time been receiving about two hundred and fifty army guns per week. Cannon, also, were cast in the State, and one percussion cap factory in Tennessee had already furnished more than twelve millions of caps, and produced over a quarter of a million per day. The State had also made liberal advances to manufacturers of powder, to enable them to increase their machinery to the highest degree of efficiency. All this had been accomplished within six months from the first of May by Tennessee, and while the State was far from being a unit in support of the Confederacy. The facts might be taken as an evidence of what the Confederate States had done to sever the Union by force of arms. At this session of the Legislature an act was passed to authorize tax collectors and other revenue officers to receive treasury notes of the Confederate States in payment of taxes; also, an act to abolish the Courts of Chancery. As the year approached its close, the storm was rapidly gathering which was soon to burst over the State, and no one was more quick to foresee its coming than Governor Harris. On the 12th of November he issued the following proclamation:

Nashville, November 12, 1861.

The State must, and to the full extent of its resources shall, be defended. Threatened with invasion, all good citizens will regard it as a patriotic duty to make any reasonable sacrifice to repel the invaders. Regiments are now in camp and organized, while others are ready to organize, but for want of arms are not prepared to take the field.

Prompted by the noblest impulses of patriotism, these men are ready to take the field to defend your homes, and to prevent the theatre of this cruel and vindictive war being brought within our borders. They appeal to you, who quietly remain at home, to place arms in their bands, that they may give you protection and security.

If you fail to respond to this appeal, I shall be compelled by the sternest convictions of duty, charged as am with the responsibility of seeing that the State is defended, to disband these regiments of brave soldiers, and call you who have arms into the service as militia.

 I earnestly entreat that the people will bring forward and deliver to the clerk of the county court of their respective counties, or to such other agents as I may send to the various counties, every effective double barrel shot-gun and sporting rifle which they may have, to be immediately shipped to the arsenal at Nashville, Knoxville, or Memphis, where the same will be valued by a competent ordnance officer, and the value paid to the owner by the Confederate Government.

I urge you to give me your aid in the important work of arming our troops, with which we can repel the invaders; but if you refuse, prepare to take the field, for I am resolved to exhaust all resources, before the foot of the invader shall pollute the soil of Tennessee.   Respectfully,

ISHAM G. HARRIS.

At this time, the Confederate Government, through General A. S. Johnston, made a requisition upon the State for thirty thousand troops for immediate active service. The Governor accordingly issued a proclamation calling for that number of troops. Ho urged upon all who might be able to do so to supply themselves with the most effective arms the country afforded, such as the Tennessee rifle, the double and single shot-gun. These arms would bo replaced by famishing the troops with the regular army gun at the earliest practicable period.

The following is the proclamation issued by the Governor:

Page 685

Nashville, Tenn., November I9,1861.

To the officers in command of the Militia of the State of Tennessee in the Second, Third, and Fourth Divisions:

The danger of invasion on the part of the Federal forces is imminent. This invasion threatens the quiet and security of your homes, and involves the destruction of your sacred rights of person and property. The warning example of Maryland, Missouri, and Kentucky bids you, if you would preserve your firesides, your homes, and the sanctity of your wives and daughters, to meet the despotic invader and his minions at the threshold of your State and drive him hack. Let the soil of Tennessee be preserved from his unhallowed touch, and let him know that in defence of our liberties and our altars every Tennessean is ready to yield up his life. General A. S. Johnston, commanding the forces of the Confederate States in this department, in view of the threatened danger, has called upon me to send to the field such force as can be armed W the State.

In obedience to which requisition, and to repel the invader, thirty thousand of the militia of this State are hereby called into the field. Officers in command of the militia of the second, third, and fourth divisions will hold their commands in readiness to receive marching orders by the 25th inst., unless, in the mean time, a sufficient number of volunteers shall have tendered their services to fill this requisition.

Special orders to the commanders of the militia, apportioning this requisition among the different brigades of said divisions, will be immediately forwarded, accompanied with such instructions and directions as may be necessary for the movement of troops to the places of rendezvous.

In the mean time, captains will direct their companies to parade on some given day, with whatever arms they may have, and they will take all other proper and legal steps to possess the arms within the bounds of their respective districts, and immediately report to the commanding officer of their regiments the number of arms and accoutrements, as well as the strength of their companies.

Meanwhile Federal troops from the northwestern States were steadily pouring into the camp at Cairo, which was well known in Tennessee, where consternation began to prevail. In East Tennessee the Union men were strong in numbers, and now began to take courage. On the day for the election of President Davis under the permanent Constitution a very small vote was polled in that part of the State. In Roane County, which usually gave two thousand votes, less than three hundred and fifty were polled. In Knox County the submission candidate for the Confederate Congress received only eighty votes, where the Union men numbered over three thousand.

Animated by these encouraging indications, an attempt was made to embarrass the Confederate Government by burning the bridges on the great line of railroad connecting the Southwest with Virginia. In one week five bridges were burned in East Tennessee, to impede the movements of Confederate troops, a9 follows: bridge over the Hiawasse River at Charleston, on the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad; bridge over Lick Creek, on the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad; bridge over the Holston River at Union, on the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad ; two small bridges on the Chickamauga Creek, on the Western and Atlantic Railroad. The telegraph wires were cut at various places between Knoxville and Chattanooga, and Knoxville and Bristol. The damage was estimated at about $50,000, but the interruption of the trains was the most serious consequence.

On the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad, which extends from Knoxville to Bristol, a distance of 1301 miles, all in East Tennessee, there are 2,401 feet of trestle work; 11 truss bridges of a joint length of 2,815 feet, equal to an average length of 256 feet; 4 arch bridges of a joint length of 345 feet; and 40 stringer bridges of a joint length of 938 feet. Here are 6,499 feet, almost a mile of wooden structures, which are perishable by lire. And as the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad is a link in the great southern route from the Potomac to the Mississippi, the destruction of its bridges would necessarily be a severe blow to the Confederate strength in Virginia. Most stringent measures were adopted by the Confederate authorities, and the work of destruction ceased. (See Confederate States, page 153.) The representatives of Tennessee in the Confederate Congress were Gustavus A. Henry and Landon C. Haynes, senators; and 1). M. Currin, J. D. C. Atkins, H. E. Foster, Thomas Menees, Geo. "W. Jones, M. P. Gentry, "W. G. Swann, AV. H. Tibbs, E. L. Gardner, and J. T. Heiskell, representatives.

BRIDGEPORT, is a station on the Nashville and Chattanooga railroad near the State line of Tennessee. At this point the railroad crosses the Tennessee river by a bridge which was partly destroyed by the army of General Bragg on its retreat from the State—it was occupied by the force of General Hooker at the time when communication with Chattanooga was interrupted. Several boats were built at Bridgeport to be used as transports for the Federal army.

CHATTANOOGA was a flourishing village in Hamilton county, Tennessee, situated on the Tennessee river, two hundred and fifty miles below Knoxville, and one hundred and forty miles southeast of Nashville. It is the terminus of the Nashville and Chattanooga railroad, and of the Western and Atlantic railroad, which connects it with the chief towns of Georgia. The Tennessee river is navigable by steam during eight months in the year, and by small boats at all times. This has made Chattanooga one of the most important towns in the State. The surplus productions of East Tennessee, and mostly of Middle Tennessee, are shipped from this point. It was occupied by General Rosecrans in September, and subsequently held by the Federal army. Its location rendered it a very important military position.

TEXAS is, with the exception of Florida, the most southern portion of the United States. It is bounded on the north by New Mexico, Indian Territory, and Arkansas; on the east by Arkansas and Louisiana; on the southeast by the Gulf of Mexico; and on the southwest and west by Mexico and New Mexico. Its area of territory is nearly six times that of (he State of Pennsylvania. Formerly a part of Mexico, afterwards an independent State, it became one of the United States in 1846—reserving the right to be divided into five States. By the Compromise Act of 1850 the boundaries of the State were somewhat modified, she conceding to New Mexico a portion of her northern territory, in consideration of ten millions of dollars to be paid by the United States.

The Governor is elected for two years. The Senate consists of twenty-one members, elected for four years; and the House of sixty-six members, elected for two years. The Legislature meets biennially in December.

The population, in 1860, was 421,411 whites, 339 free colored, 180,682 slaves. Total, 602,432.

The secession sentiment, which manifested itself immediately after the election in November, was neither strong nor unanimous. It existed more through the inactivity and indecision of those inclined to the Union. In some parts of the State distant from the Gulf, it was almost unknown. Even in Austin, the capital, a counter demonstration was made as early as the 17th of December. Several young men, tired of the display of the Lone Star, and the overbearing course of the secessionists, drove through the city with national flags displayed from their carriages. This struck the chord in favor of the "Star-Spangled Banner," and they were  vociferously cheered. The spirit, once awakened, received volume, and on the night of the 17th December Governor Houston and F. M. White, Commissioner of the General Land Office, were serenaded by a procession of five hundred people. They both responded in enthusiastic Union speeches. On the 23d December, the largest meeting ever held at the Page 687 capital assembled; a pole ninety feet high was raised, from which streamed the Stars and Stripes. The masses came from the hills and mountains. Men, women, and children marched in procession to the capital, where they were addressed by distinguished citizens. Patriotic resolutions were passed amidst enthusiastic cheers for the Union. "Hail Columbia," and other patriotic airs were played by the German band and sung by the ladies. The crowd would not disperse, but at night formed a torchlight and transparency procession, and marched through the principal streets.

The Governor had thus far withstood all efforts to induce him to call a session of the Legislature. He was well known to the country for his public services during a long series of years. A Southern man by birth, he had shed his blood on more than one Southern battle field. About this time he issued an address to the people of the State, expressing the reasons why he did not call an extra session of the Legislature. In this address he declared that he had no intention or desire to thwart the wishes of the people, and believed that the time had come for the South to make a firm stand for its rights; but he believed that the precipitate action of two or three extreme Southern States would involve the Border States in destruction, drive slavery from them at once, and ruin their citizens. They had long stood the bulwark against abolitionism, and they had a right, now in their time of trouble, to expect their sister States to stand by them. They claimed, and with reason, that the South can maintain its rights in the Union. He therefore would not abandon them, but would counsel with them as to the wrongs of the South and the remedy therefor, and endeavor to bring the North to a sense of justice. With this object in view, he had transmitted to the Governor of each Southern State the Texan legislative resolutions providing for the election of seven delegates to meet delegates from other slaveholding States to confer upon measures for preserving the rights of the South in the Union. He had also taken measures for the election of such delegates in Texas. This, he thought, was sufficient, as but few counties had petitioned for an extra session of the Legislature, to hold which would involve an expense of a hundred thousand dollars, at a time when the treasury was nearly exhausted and a debt accumulating upon the State. Let the people at the ballot box select men to reflect their sentiments in a Convention of Southern States, and no one could complain. In closing, Governor Houston said: "The question now is, will Texas act a discreet part and unite with the other Southern States in a Convention which shall take into consideration the grievances we suffer through the passage of unconstitutional laws in some of the Northern States, calculated to defeat the execution of the fugitive slave law, and all other causes which have disturbed the harmony which should exist between the two sections of the Union? When such a Convention assembles, the sagacious statesmen of the South will be in its councils. They will look at the questions presented for their consideration like men who owe duties to themselves, their constituents, and posterity; and I trust that through the influence of their deliberations those States which, prompted by indignant feelings at the triumph of our sectional opponents, have resolved to precipitate the entire South into revolution, will hesitate to take such a step, but will make common cause with all the Southern States in the endeavor to preserve the equal rights of such States in the Union."

In his correspondence with the Commissioner, J. M. Calhoun, sent to Texas by the State Convention of Alabama, Governor Houston said that "secession will involve civil war and the ruin of our institutions, if not of liberty itself." He further expressed the opinion that Texas could not "rely for protection on an alliance with the Gulf States alone," and he therefore desired a consultation with the Border Slave States. He said further, that "Texas has views of expansion not common to many of her sister States," and he foreshadowed his policy of making a conquest of Mexico by the prowess of Texas alone, &c. The Governor said that he could not make up his mind to desert the true men in the North, and such he believed was the sentiment of the State, until at least one more effort was made to preserve her constitutional rights within the Union.

On the 3d of January, the office of the "Wochentliche Union," a German newspaper printed at Galveston, was sacked by a mob, because the "Union" had admitted articles against the secession movement. The editor had been for nineteen years a citizen of the State, and was a slaveholder.

The call for the Convention in Texas was revolutionary. It was signed by sixty-one individuals. Upon this call delegates were elected.

About the same time one of the members of the Legislature took the responsibility of issuing a call for the meeting of that body in extra session. To avoid a conflict between the State authorities and the revolutionists, Governor Houston convened the Legislature in extra session at Austin on January 22d.

The following is the proclamation issued by the Governor:

Whereas there has been and yet is great excitement existing in the public mind, arising from various causes, touching our relations with the Federal Government and many of the States, and a portion of the people have expressed a desire that the Legislature should be convened in extra session; and whereas the Executive desires that such measures should be adopted as will secure a free expression of the popular will through the ballot-box upon the question at issue, involving their peace, security, and happiness, and the action of the whole people made known in relation to the course which it may be proper and necessary for Texas, as one of the States of the Union, to pursue, in order to maintain, if possible, her rights in the Page 688 Union, as guaranteed by the Federal Constitution; and whereas our frontier is now invaded by Indians, and the lives of our citizens taken and their property destroyed; and whereas the treasury is without means either to defend the frontier or meet ordinary expenses of government:

Now, therefore, I, Sam Houston, Governor of the State of Texas, for the reasons herein set forth, do hereby issue this my proclamation, ordering the Legislature of the State of Texas to convene in extra session at the Capitol, in the city of Austin, on Monday, the 21st day of January, a. d. 1861.

"When the Legislature assembled, he addressed a message to them, in which he favored delay as long as possible, in holding a State Convention. He was himself opposed to calling one, and believed that the Union could be preserved.

The Legislature sanctioned the election of delegates to the State Convention, which assembled one week later, by the adoption of the following

Joint Resolution concerning the Convention of the people of Texas, called in pursuance of the Bill of Rights.

Whereas the people of Texas, being much concerned for the preservation of the rights, liberties, and powers of the State and its inhabitants, endangered by the political action of a majority of the States, and the people of the same, have, in the exercise of powers reserved td themselves in the Hill of Rights, called a Convention, composed of two members for each representative in the Legislature, from the various districts established by the apportionment law of I860, to assemble on the 28th day of January, 1861, at the city of Austin; which Convention, by the terms of the call, made by numerous assemblages of citizens in various parts of the State, was, when elected and assembled, to have power to consider the condition of public affairs; to determine what shall be the future relations of this State to the Union, and such other matters as are necessarily and properly incident thereto; and in case it should be determined by said Convention that it is necessary for the preservation of the rights and liberties aforesaid that the sovereignty of Texas should resume the powers delegated to the Federal Government, in the Constitution of the United States, and by the articles of annexation, then the ordinance of said Convention resuming said delegated powers, and repealing the ratification bv the people of Texas of said articles of annexation, should be submitted to a vote of the qualified electors of this State for their ratification or rejection: Therefore—

Be it resolved by the Legislature of the Slate of Texas, That the Government of the State of Texas hereby gives its assent to and approves of the Convention aforesaid.

Sec. 2. That this resolution take effect and be in force from and after its passage.

With a protest against the assumption of any powers on the part of said Convention beyond the reference of the question of a longer connection of Texas with the Union to the people, approved 4th February, 1861.

SAM. HOUSTON.

Resolutions had been offered for delaying the secession movement, but these were twice laid on the table. A resolution was also passed repudiating the idea of using forcible means for coercing any seceding State, and declaring that any such attempt would be resisted to the last extremity. A bill was passed requiring the ordinance of secession, if adopted by the State Convention, to be submitted to the people.

On the 28th of January, the State Convention assembled. The call having been irregular, the vote for members was very light.

There are 122 counties in the State, of which nearly half held no election, and were not represented in the Convention. Some of' these were: Old Nacogdoches, with 1,023 legal voters; Lamar, with 1,123 voters; Blanco, with 1,139 voters; Cherokee, with 1,644 voters; Fannin, with 1,183 voters.

The vote in some of the counties were as follows: Anderson, with 1,093 voters, only 387 voted; Bastrop, 769 voters, 153 voted; Collin, 1,119 voters, 211 voted; Grayson, 1,217 voters, 280 voted; Hays, 296 voters, 67 voted; Jackson, 296 voters, 40 voted; Lampasas, 285 voters, 50 voted; Red River, 879 voters, 60 voted; Travis, 1,011 voters, 842 voted. This county has Austin within its limits.

On the 5th of February, an ordinance of secession was passed in the Convention by a vote of ayes 106, nays 7. The following is the ordinance:

An Ordinance to dissolve, the Union between the State of Texas and the other States under the compact styled "the Constitution of lite United States of America."

Sec. 1. Whereas the Federal Government has failed to accomplish the purposes of the compact of union between these States, in giving protection either to the persons of our people upon an exposed frontier, or to the property of our citizens; and whereas, the action of the Northern States is violative of the compact between the States and the guarantees of the Constitution; and whereas, the recent developments in Federal affairs make it evident that the power of the Federal Government is sought to be made a weapon with which to strike down the interests and property of the people of Texas and her sister slaveholding States, instead of permitting it to be, as was intended —our shield against outrage and aggression—therefore, " Wo, the people of the State of Texas, by delegates in the Convention assembled, do declare and ordain that the ordinance adopted by our Convention of delegates on the fourth (4th) day of July, A. d. 1845, and afterwards ratified by us, under which the Republic of Texas was admitted into the Union with other States, and became a party to the compact styled 'The Constitution of the United States of America, be, and is hereby repealed and annulled."

That all the powers which, bv the said compact, were delegated by Texas to the Federal Government are resumed. That Texas is of right absolved from all restraints and obligations incurred by said compact, and is a separate sovereign State, and that her citizens and people are absolved from all allegiance to the United States or the Government thereof.

Sec. 2. The ordinance shall be submitted to the people of Texas for their ratification or rejection, by the qualified voters, on the 23d day of February, iS61; and unless rejected by a majority of the votes cast, shall take effect and be in force on and after the 2d day of March, a. d. 1861. Provided that in the representative district of El Paso said election may be held on the 18th day of February, 1861.

Done by the people of the State of Texas, in convention assembled, at Austin, the 1st day of February, A. D. 1861.

Public sentiment was in favor of joining a Southern Confederacy, and on the 11th an ordinance was passed favoring the formation of such a Confederacy, and electing seven delegates to a Southern Congress.

A report was received from a Committee of Safety, which had been appointed, accompanied with a resolution to the effect that said Page 689 committee should be authorized to act daring the recess of the Convention. They were to be authorized to hold their sittings at such times and places as might be most convenient. This was adopted.

On the 14th the Convention adjourned to the 20th of February.

The vote to refer the ordinance of secession to the people was quite as unanimous in the Convention as was that on the adoption of the ordinance. The election of delegates being to some extent informal, and scarcely half of the vote of the State having been cast, it was thought best that the ordinance of secession should receive the sanction of the people before it should be declared final.

The ordinance of secession was submitted to the voters of the State on the 23d of February, which election was legalized by the Legislature, and approved by the Governor under a protest against the shortness of time intervening between the passage of the ordinance and the day of election. The vote in eighty counties of the State was: For secession, 34,794; against secession, 11,285. Majority for secession, 28.559. The vote at the Presidential election in November previous was: Lincoln, ;Douglas, ; Breckinridge, 47,548; Bell, 15,438.

On the 2d of March the Convention reassembled without a quorum, and on the 4th the vote was counted. When the result was announced in the Convention, and the President declared that Texas was a free and independent State, there immediately ensued a tremendous burst of cheering and enthusiastic applause.

On the 5th the Convention passed an ordinance instructing the delegates, whom it had previously appointed to the Southern Congress, to apply for the admission of Texas into the Southern Confederacy, and to that end to give the adhesion of Texas to the Provisional Constitution of the said Confederacy.

A resolution was then introduced to appoint a committee to wait on Governor Houston and ask his cooperation, as the Executive of the State, with the Convention. This resolution caused some excitement in the Convention, and, after debate, the following was adopted in lieu of it, viz.:

Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed by' the President to wait on his Excellency the Governor, and inform him that the Convention has re-assembled; that the ordinance of secession has been ratified by the people; and that the State of Texas is and has been from the 2d of this current month a free, sovereign, and independent State.

The committee appointed in pursuance of the resolution waited formally upon the Governor, and presented to him a copy of the resolution, together with the following letter:

Austin, Texas, March 5th, 1861.

To his Excellency, &c.:

Dear Sir: The undersigned having been appointed a committee, by the Convention of the people of Texas now in session, to present to j our Excellency the accompanying resolution, passed this day by that body, this duty we now most respectfully perform, and will with pleasure be the bearer of any communication your Excellency may wish to make to the Convention in reply.

With sentiments of esteem and regard, we remain your Excellency's obedient servants, W. P. ROGERS, THOS. J. JENNINGS, J. B. ROBERTSON, A. S. BROADUS, W. A. MONTGOMERY.

Governor Houston, in reply to this letter, transmitted to the Committee on the 6th the following communication:

Executive Department, Austin. Texas, March 6,1861.

W. P. Rogers and others, Committee:

Gentlemen: In reply to your communication of the 5th I can say, when the Legislature authorized the Convention to submit the proposition to the people of Texas, on the subject of secession from the Federal Government of the United States, it was understood that the performance of that act, when done, would terminate the existence of the Convention. The Executive approved the same, with a protest against the shortness of the time allowed, owing to the great limits of our State. By a subsequent act of the Legislature it was required that the returns of the votes should be made at the office of the Secretary of State, and counted in the presence of the Governor and Attorney-General. The votes were counted, and the result declared, by proclamation, that a majority of the votes cast was for secession. By an act ot the Legislature the Convention was empowered only to submit the question of secession to the vote of the people. The Convention performed the functions assigned it by the Legislature, and, in the opinion of Executive, its powers were then exhausted. The Executive will recommend to the Legislature, which is to re-assemble on the 18th instant, to take into consideration the important issues arising out of the severance of our connection with the United States, with such recommendations and suggestions as he may think proper in the discharge of this duty. It will then be within the province of the Legislature to take such action on the subject as it may think proper; and also to call a convention, directly from the people, who will fairly represent their wishes and opinions, and who will have authority to make such changes in the constitution of the State as her present and future relations to the world at large may require. Until then, it will be the duty of the Executive, as well as all State officers, to continue in the lawful discharge of their functions, confining their action to the sphere of Texas only.

The Executive tenders his respects to the gentlemen, of the Convention, and assures you, gentlemen, individually, of his esteem.

Very truly, your obedient servant,

SAM HOUSTON.

This communication produced much feeling in the Convention, which was thus described by a spectator: "Some favored a reference of the communication to a committee of ten, with instructions to answer the alleged misstatements contained in it. Others favored the passing it by in contemptuous silence, and to instruct the Committee on the Constitution to prepare immediately an ordinance requiring all State and county officers to take the oath of allegiance to support the new Government and carry out in good faith the ordinances of the Convention. It was thought by many at the time that the Governor had commissioned several officers under the militia law, with a view of raising men for the purpose of resisting the action of the Convention. He opposed the confederation of Texas with the other Southern States, and favored her setting up for herself."

On the 8th, the Convention passed the following ordinance in relation to the Governor's letter:

Whereas, a letter bearing date March 6, 1S61, has been read before this Convention, written by the Executive of this State, addressed to a Committee of this body, calling in question the power of the Convention to do more than submit the ordinance of secession to the people of Texas for their ratification or rejection; and whereas it is important that there should be no misunderstanding on this subject—

Resolved, That this Convention do now declare that it not only had the power to pass and submit the ordinance of secession, but also that it possesses and will exercise the right, on behalf of the people of Texas, to do whatever may be incidental to the same, and that may be necessary and proper for the protection of the rights of the people and the defence of the State in the present emergency, and that it will as speedily as practicable consummate the connection of Texas with the Provisional Government of the Confederate States of America, whose Constitution has already been ratified by an ordinance of this Convention.

Resolved further, That this resolution be communicated by the Secretary of this Convention to the respective Departments of the State Government.

An ordinance was also passed declaring that vessels sent by the Federal Government to receive the returning troops should not he seized. The unexpected turn pf affairs in the Texas Department, by which all or nearly all of the troops had been suddenly discharged from service by the surrender of the various military posts in that State, devolved on the War Department the necessity of promptly furnishing them with the means of subsistence, and, if required, of conveyance to more northern posts. For this purpose, steamers were sent out from Now York by the authorities at Washington. The condition of affairs in the State at this time, as viewed under a commercial aspect, may be briefly told in the words of one who was a calm spectator of the passing scenes: "There is a wild spirit of legislation here, that will lead to improvident expenditure, onerous taxation, stay laws, prostration of credit, and mischief generally. You know nothing of the recklessness afloat here in all matters of law and government. Our interests here are at the mercy of a set of men who think they can legislate the State into glory and grandeur by passing stay laws, and who bid fair to legislate it, posthaste, into debt, bankruptcy, and another repudiation of the scaling sort. Several expeditions are already on foot to be paid for by taxation. Several sessions of Convention and Legislature are on hand to be paid for by taxation. A new Government is to be organized and got under way, with all its costly machinery, to be paid for by taxation. Every expenditure will bo of the most thriftless sort, and on a reckless scale, for we are no economists down here. Government has become a mere child's play, and law a thing to be made and unmade at pleasure. Of course the remedy may come after awhile, with the retribution, when the evils weigh heavily on the people. But, in the mean time, much mischief will have been done."

For the protection of the frontier, the Legislature passed an act to authorize the organization of mounted companies of sixty men in each frontier county. Ten men of the company were to be constantly in service, and the others called out for any time not exceeding twelve days at once. An issue of treasury warrants, receivable for taxes, was authorized to defray claims against the State.

The House also passed a bill authorizing the Governor to issue State bonds to the amount of five hundred thousand dollars, in case of invasion from any quarter, one fifth of the whole annual State tax to be appropriated as a sinking fund until the bonds were paid.

The numerical strength of the United States army in Texas was about 2,500 men, divided into thirty-seven companies—twenty-two infantry, five artillery, and ten cavalry. Twenty-companies were on the Rio Grande—fifteen infantry, and five artillery. The other seventeen companies—were stationed in the interior, from Camp Cooper, Phantom Hill, in the northern part of the State, south as far as San Antonio and Fort Inge, near Fort Duncan, on the Rio Grande.

On the withdrawal of these troops, their places on the Rio Grande were supplied by State militia from Galveston, and the neighboring counties.

Previous to this time, the surrender of Major-General Twiggs, the United States commander in that Department, to the authorities in Texas took place. This caused great astonishment at Washington, where it was hardly anticipated. The secession of the State was not then, in fact, consummated. There had been no vote of the people upon the ordinance. The United States army was allowed to march to the coast by the articles of agreement, and to take with them their side-arms, facilities for transportation and subsistence, as well as two batteries of flying artillery of four guns each. The means of transportation were to be surrendered, and left upon arrival at the coast. By this treaty, without one drop of bloodshed, and "without sullying in the least the honor of the United States army," Texas came into possession of over thirteen hundred thousand dollars' worth of property, principally consisting of munitions of war.

The seizure of all the property of the United States was complete. The revenue cutter was surrendered, and the lighthouse supply-vessel for the coast was captured. This vessel, the "Guthrie," sailed from New Bedford, Massachusetts, November 8,1860, with a full cargo of supplies for one year for all the lighthouses and light vessels between Amelia Island, Georgia, and the Rio Grande, Texas. The master in charge reached the bay at Galveston on the 5th of March, for the purpose of delivering the year's supply of oil, &c. to the Bolivar Point and other lighthouses in that vicinity. While he was absent from the vessel, attending to the delivery of the supplies, the Guthrie was boarded by Page 691 several men, accompanied by an individual calling himself General Sherman, claiming to act by authority, and under the orders of the " Committee of Safety at Galveston." These men got the vessel under weigh, and proceeded with her nearer the cutter, where she was detained.

Subsequently, in the Convention, an ordinance was passed requiring the State officers to appear before that body and take an oath, or that they, or either of them, who might refuse, should be considered as no longer in office. The Governor and the Secretary of State neglecting or refusing to comply, the Convention, on the 20th of March, passed an ordinance declaring vacant the Gubernatorial chair, and that of the Secretary of State, on account of the refusal of those holding these offices to appear before the Convention, as did the other State officers, to take the oath of allegiance to the Confederate States. Lieut.-Governor Clark was required to assume the functions of Governor at once, and the Secretary of State called on to hand over the great seal of office and his official records.

The Legislature of the State met again on the 18th. The members of the House and Senate took the new oath of allegiance. The archives, seal, &c, were surrendered by the Governor and Secretary of State.

Some detachments of United States troops still remained in the State, and these were made prisoners, and released upon parole. On the 24th of April, Colonel Van Dorn, with a Texan force on steamers, came down from Indianola to Saluria, and anchored near the schooners having on board the United States troops under Major Sibley, numbering 450. An interview took place during the next day between the commanding officers, which ended in the surrender of the entire Federal force as prisoners of war. The officers were to be released on parole, and the men on their oaths that they would not take up arras against the Southern Confederacy, after surrendering their arms and all the property of the companies such of the men and officers as desired were to be received into the Confederate army. Private property was not to be molested, and the soldiers were not permitted to leave the State except by way of Galveston and the Mississippi River.

On the 9th of May, six companies of the 8th United States Infantry, under command of Lieut.-Colonel Reeve, surrendered to a Confederate force under Colonel Van Dorn, near San Lucas Springs, about twenty-two miles west of San Antonio, and on the Castroville road. Colonel Reeve's command consisted of 366 rank and file, with their appropriate officers, together with Colonel Bumford and several other officers who were on leave, or under orders to report at other points, and who, taking advantage of the troops coming to San Antonio, sought and obtained the escort of the same.

Colonel Van Dorn left his camp on the Leon at four o'clock on Thursday morning, the 8th, and took a position previously selected, about two miles to the westward on the road leading to Castroville, where he formed his command into line of battle. Shortly after daylight the pickets and spies reported Colonel Reeve as having left his camp at two o'clock, a. m., as had been his custom on this march, and having reached the high ridge of land near San Lucas Springs, and at the ranch of Mr. Adams, where he had halted his command, taken possession of the large stone house, barricaded the road with his wagons, and placed his troops in position behind the strong corral fences and in the stone house, apparently to await the assault.

Upon this being announced to the colonel commanding the Confederate troops, he ordered a forward movement of the whole command and gave directions for the forming of the line of battle. The infantry, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Duff, were placed on the right; the battery of flying artillery—six pieces, 12-ponnders—under Captain Edgar, in the centre, with the cavalry and mounted troops under Colonel H. E. McCulloch on the left. The whole command, numbering some 1,600 troops of all arms, presenting a very fine appearance, with banners flying, drums beating, sabres and bayonets glittering in the meridian sun, horses pawing and neighing, the field officers flying from one end of the field to another, carrying the commands of their chief.

Under a flag of truce, borne by Capts. Wilcox and Majors, a demand was made of an unconditional surrender of the United States troops as prisoners of war, and five minutes given to answer it. Colonel Reeve would not agree to the terms unless Colonel Van Dorn would convince him that he had sufficient strength to enforce them, by permitting an officer of his command, whom he would designate, to see the troops and report to him; the prompt answer returned was, that he should have that opportunity to see the troops, and the more he saw of them the less he would like it. The officer designated by Colonel Reeve was Lieut. Bliss, a young officer of distinguished bravery, well known in the United States army, who mounted a horse, rode down the line of Confederate troops, and was repeatedly cheered. Suffice it to say, on his report, Colonel Reeve surrendered with his command, together with all the public property in his possession, unconditionally, as prisoners of war, giving his word of honor that  he would report himself and command at Colonel Van Dorn's camp on the Leon that evening at 6 o'clock.

The Confederates then retired to camp, where they arrived about 3 o'clock p. v. At 5 o'clock p. m. Colonel Reeve's command arrived in camp, and their ground being designated by the proper officer, they pitched their tents as orderly, 'and stacked their arms with as much precision as if on inspection parade. Next morning at 5 o'clock the infantry and cavalry struck their tents and marched into San Antonio, where they arrived in good condition at 6 o'clock. Colonel Reeve's command, marched to Page 692 the San Pedro Springs, two miles above San Antonio, to ft camp designated by a proper officer, where all the arms and Government property were given up.

On the 18th of May, Governor Houston addressed the people at Independence. The closing sentence of his speech was as follows:

"I have ever been conservative, was conservative as long as the Union lasted, am a conservative citizen of the Southern Confederacy, and, giving to the constituted authorities of the country, civil and military, and the Government which a majority of the people have approved and acquiesced in, an honest obedience, I feel that I should do less than my duty, did I not press upon others the importance of regarding this the first duty of a good citizen."

Still later in the year, near the latter part of September, the ex-Governor issued a letter explaining his position. In this letter he says:

"The time has been when there was a powerful Union sentiment in Texas, and a willingness on the part of many true patriots to give Mr. Lincoln a fair trial in the administration of the Federal Government. There was also a time when many of the best men in the country hoped that by an energetic demonstration they might bring about a reconstruction of the Government upon such principles as might guarantee the rights of the South. These times have passed by, while Union and reconstruction have become obsolete terms, or, if even mentioned, it is only in reference to past events. If there is any Union sentiment in Texas, I am not apprised of it.

"Mr. Lincoln and his Cabinet have usurped the powers of Congress, and have waged war against the sovereign States, and have thereby not only absolved the States, but all the people of the several States, from their allegiance to his Government, the Federal Government having ceased to exist by his acts of usurpation. He has, through his officers, suspended the writ of habeas corpus, the bulwark of American liberty, and proclaimed martial law in sovereign States. If I am to rely on the current intelligence of the day, he has, through his major-general, Mr. John C. Fremont, proclaimed martial law in Missouri, and assumed the civil administration of affairs in that State, thereby ignoring the Constitution and setting at naught the sovereignty of the people, and has, in fact, with more than Vandalic malignity and Gothic hate, sought to incite a servile insurrection in that State. If the last feather had been wanting to break the camel's back, this act of atrocity would have supplied it. His acts and feelings are such as have never failed to characterize the heart of a renegade. "If Mr. Lincoln, as he was the aggressor, by invading the soil of a sovereign State, and causing the blood of her sons to be shed, even in the neighborhood of the sacred remains of Washington, after having become President upon a sectional issue, in derogation of the teaching of his farewell address, wishes to make reparation for the wrongs inflicted, as has but one course left, and, in my opinion, that course is to propose an armistice that shall withdraw all the Federal troops from Virginia, suspend the action of all the Federal forces in all of the Southern States, the Confederate authorities at the same time guaranteeing that they will not advance their troops into any territory not occupied by them until the meeting of the Confederate and Federal Congresses at their next session. Should this course be pursued, there is little doubt but that the good sense and patriotism of the two sections would adopt such measures as would restore peace, arrest the further destruction of human life, and restore, to a great extent, the prosperity of the two sections, for it cannot be imagined that a vain hope of restoring the Union can ever be realized.

"The South can never reunite with the North, nor can the North entertain any rational hopes of her subjugation. The sooner war is ended, the greater will be the probability of establishing friendly relations between the two sections, and this cannot fail to promote the mutual prosperity of both. Should this be disregarded, a terrific responsibility must rest upon the heads of those who either interpose power or authority to prevent its consummation.

"Trusting that no further misapprehension of my opinions and feelings may be entertained by any one, I have been thus explicit, and submit them for what they are worth to the world."

The State had now become a member of the Confederacy, and her efforts were put forth to promote the success of that cause. On the 18th of June, Governor Clark issued a proclamation forbidding all intercourse with the people of the Northern States; all existing contracts were to be suspended, and all made during the war would be void. He said:

It will be regarded as treason against the Confederate States of America, and against the State of Texas, for any citizen of said State to donate, sell, or in any manner exchange any property or commodity whatsoever with any citizen or citizens of either of said States or Territories now at war with said Confederate States, without special permission from proper authority.

It will also be treasonable for any citizen of Texas to pay any debts now owing by him to a citizen or citizens of cither of said States or Territories, or to contract with them any new debts or obligation during the continuance of said war.

The statute of limitations will cease 16 run, and interest will not accrue during the continence of the war.

All citizens of Northern States were warned to leave Texas within twenty days.

No hostile movement against Texas was made by the Federal Government during the year, and the only hostile act which occurred was at Galveston. (Set Galveston.)

On the 5th of November the Legislature assembled at Austin. The state of affairs is thus described by a citizen:

"There is a good deal to be done, it is true, for we have an empty treasury, and our finances are in a woful condition. We cannot effect loans now as in peace times. Our United States bonds are not available. Our lands, in my opinion, cannot be made available now, and the only tiling I can see, which is a certainty, is taxation, and the people must face the music.

"I have no doubt ample relief will be extended to our citizens, by something akin to a stay law, and, indeed, there is a disposition already exhibited to extend relief wherever it is needed."

The election for Governor resulted in the choice of F. R. Lubback by a majority a little over 1,400.

The number of troops which Texas had in the Confederate army on the 1st of November, was estimated at nineteen regiments. These were all in the field, or on their way thither, and posted as follows:

Wigfall's, Hood's, and Archer's in Virginia; Terry's and Gregg's in Kentucky; Green's and Locke's in Missouri; Young's in the Indian Nation; Ford's in Arizona; H. E. McCulloch's on the Northern frontier; Reily's, Green's, and a third not yet organized in Sibley's brigade ; Lucket's, Garland's, Parson's, Moore's, Nelson's, and Bate's for the coast. In addition to these, Colonel Nichols was raising a regiment for six months' service on the coast; and there were also several more companies in service not attached to organized regiments.

The cereal crops of the State were unprecedentedly abundant last year all through the grain regions. Great quantities of wheat, corn, rye, and barley were raised by the German portion of the population. It was thus stated by a citizen: 11 The cattle upon a thousand hills and plains were never so thriving and well-conditioned, and if there were railroad communication, Western Texas could feed and forage all the army of the Confederacy at the lowest rates."

An attempt was made to prepare Galveston for a defence; for this purpose a battery of four columbiads and several rifled cannon was undertaken to be transported across Northern Louisiana by the State Government. A force of between two and three hundred oxen was employed, making a progress of about ten miles per day. The line of march commenced at Alexandria, on Red River, where the ordnance had been landed from New Orleans steamboats. These efforts do not appear to have been successful.

GALVESTON, TX has been the most populous and commercial city of Texas. It is situated on an island at the mouth of a bay of its own name, about 460 miles west by south of New Orleans, and 230 miles southeast of Austin City. The island which separates the bay from the Gulf of Mexico is about thirty miles long, from east to west, and about a mile and a half wide. The distance from the island across the bay by the railroad bridge to the mainland is about two miles. For the defence of the city during the year guns were placed at the east end of the island, at Bolivar Point, and at Pelican Spit Island, commanding the bay. The city is situated on the bay, and is a mile to a mile and a half from the Gulf. The population of the city, in 1853, was about 7,000. The commerce of the city continued as usual, until the commencement of hostilities, when it declined, and under the blockade ceased entirely, The cause of the South was ardently espoused by the inhabitants, and numbers entered the army. No important occurrence of a hostile nature, however, took place here, until the month of August.

On the 3d, a few shots were fired from the blockading schooner Dart at the batteries on Galveston Island. This was intended as a sort of reconnoissance. Again, on the 5th, the 6teamer North Carolina opened her fire upon the batteries, and threw some shells into the city. A large number of persons having collected on the sand hills, a little eastward of the batteries, a shell fell among them, killing one man and wounding three others. Tins led to a protest by the foreign consuls resident in the city, as follows:

Galveston, August 5,1861.

To Captain James Alden, commanding U. S. Steamer South Carolina:

Sir: The undersigned Consuls and Vice-Consuls at Galveston consider it their duty to enter their solemn protest against your bombardment of this city on the evening of the 3d inst., without having given notice, so that the women and children might have been removed; and also against your firing a shell in the midst of a large crowd of unarmed citizens, amongst whom were many women and children, causing thereby the death of an unoffending Portuguese, and wounding boys and peacefully-disposed citizens, as acts of inhumanity unrecognized in modern warfare, and meriting the condemnation of Christian and civilized nations.

ARTHUR S. LYNN,

British Consul.

JAS. FRKDRICH,

Hanoverian and Oldenburg Consul; and, in absence of James Jachurch, acting Consul for Prussia and Hamburg.

To this note Captain Alden, on the next day, sent a reply, stating the facts to have been as follows:

Early on the morning of the 8d, our gunboat found herself near the shore, and shortly after, as the result proved, within range of some of the batteries. The first warning she got was a shot—not a blank cartridge, but a shot—not fired ahead or astern of her to warn her off, but straight at her. She of course fired back, and some shots were exchanged; then she came back and reported the facts to me. This was in the morning. I waited till nearly five in the afternoon hoping explanation, some disavowal, of the act would be sent off. None came. I then got under way and stood in for the batteries, which, you are aware, are in the rear and close to the town, merely to see if they could, when they knew the town must be injured by our return fire, repeat such an act of aggression by commencing upon as. We were no sooner within range of their guns, however, than they opened their fire, when we, after exchanging a few shots, retired, preferring that it should appear that we were beaten off rather than continue a contest where, as the result shows, so many unoffending citizens must necessarily Buffer. If that act merits the condemnation of Christian and civilized nations, tell me, gentlemen, what would you have done were you in my place?

Again, you protest against my firing a shell into a crowd of unarmed citizens—amongst whom were many women and children. Good God I gentlemen, do you think such an act was premeditated? Besides, was it not the duty of the military commandant, who by his act in the morning had invited me to the contest, to see that all such were out of the way? Did he not have all day to prepare? It was evident to my mind they knew we were coming, or why was that demonstration of the steamer General Rusk?

In conclusion, let me add that no one can regret the injury done to unoffending citizens more than I do. Still, I find no complaints of my acts of the 3d instant coming from military or civil authorities of Galveston, and with due deference to your consideration and humanity, I must respectfully remark that it is the Page 331 first time I have ever heard that the women and children and unarmed citizens of an American town were under the protection of foreign Consuls.

Yours, etc., etc.,

JAMES ALDEN.

Later in the year apprehensions were entertained by the inhabitants that an attack would be made upon the city. On the 20th of November a consultation of the citizens was held, at which it was concluded that it was impossible to defend the town. The largest guns at the fortifications on the island were thirty-two pounders, smooth bores, having a range not exceeding two miles, while the Federal guns were of the largest calibre, shooting with accuracy three or four miles. To await an attack was simply to invite the surrender or the destruction of the troops and the city, without the power of inflicting injury upon the assailants. Under these circumstances it was concluded to evacuate the city, and occupy a position in the rear, so as to repel any advance of the Federal troops after they might land. Consequently, an order was issued for the removal of all hospital stores to Houston, which was immediately done. All the public and private property of a movable kind was sent to the same place. In order to prevent surprise, and to repel any attack that might be made, measures were adopted to watch the first approach of an enemy, and send the news to the interior, bo that a force might be rapidly concentrated. Videttes were stationed over the island, a line of telegraph made to convey the earliest information, and troops were stationed at various points to await orders and to be rapidly transported by railroad, to any point where they might be needed. No further attack, however, was made during the year.


Source: The American Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Events of the Year, 1861-1865, vols. 1-5. New York: Appleton & Co., 1868.