Page:A Life of Matthew Fontaine Maury.pdf/200

186 Officers of the Army and Navy—should war come between the sections—will have a hard time; and, indeed, who will not? No military man can permit himself to accept service with a mental reservation. All who are foes of his flag, and whom his country considers enemies of hers, are enemies of his; therefore, if we have war between the sections, every man who continues in "Uncle Sam's" service, is, in good faith, bound to fight his own, if his own be on the other side. The line of duty, therefore, is to me clear—each one to follow his own State, if his own State goes to war; if not, he may remain to help on the work of reunion.

If there be no war between the sections, we must hoist the flag of re-annexation, to carry the elections of '64 upon that issue, bring back the seceding States, and be happier and greater, and more glorious than ever. As soon as the smoke clears away, you will see that all the old party lines have been rubbed out. . ..

Virginia is not at all ready to go out of this Union; and she is not going out for anything that is likely to occur short of coercion—such is my opinion. . ..

Yours,

Civil war is like a conflagration! There is no telling when or where it will stop, as long as there is fuel to feed it. So I have been thinking it might be as well to have that thing that "pestered me so" back again, or in some other shape. Pray tell me what you think, and what you advise, and if, without inconvenience, you could realise for me, and when. . . . You know that in civil war men become fiends, and there is no telling where our divisions will end. As for me, I am getting old; my life is not worth much now at any rate, and if I do get knocked over, I would like to have my little savings and scrapings where wife and children could get them. Help me think how to arrange them.

I cannot tell you anything about public affairs, except what