Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/717

 DAVIS 713 mission is, by fraternity and good faith to every constitutional obligation, to insure that, from the Aroostook to San Diego, from Key West to Puget Sound, the grand arch of our politi- cal temple shall stand unshaken." lie failed, however, to receive the nomination for presi- dent in 1860, and on the assembling of con- gress in December of that year he took an ac- tive part in the conspiracy which planned the secession of the southern states from the Union. He was a leading member of the secret caucus of the senators from Georgia, Florida, Ala- bama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas, which met on the night of Jan. 5, 1861, in a committee room of the capitol, and framed the scheme of revolution which was implicity and promptly followed at the south ; and he was chairman of the executive com- mittee of three appointed by that caucus " to carry out the objects of the meeting." The other members were John Slidell of Louisiana and Stephen R. Mallory of Florida. Their plan was to hasten the secession of the southern states, of which South Carolina alone had yet openly left the Union ; to call a convention of the seceded states at Montgomery ; to accumu- late munitions of war ; to organize and equip a force of 100,000 men ; and lastly, to hold on as long as possible to the southern seats in con- gress, in order to paralyze the government, and to gain time for the south to arm and organ- ize. Mississippi seceded Jan. 9, 1861 ; but it was not till the 21st of that month that Mr. Davis made his farewell speech in the senate, and departed for his home. Soon after his arrival there he was appointed commander-in- chief of the militia of the state, with the rank of major general. In a speech to the Missis- sippi legislature in December, 1862, he said: "I then imagined that it might be my fortune again to lead Mississippians in the field, and to be with them where danger was to be braved and glory won. I thought to find that place which I believed to be better suited to my ca- pacity, that of an officer in the service of the state of Mississippi." On Feb. 4, 1861, the confederate congress met at Montgomery, or- ganized a provisional government for the se- ceded states, and on the 9th, by a unanimous vote, elected Jefferson Davis " president of the Confederate States of America." He arrived at Montgomery on the 16th, and was inaugu- rated on the 18th, Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia having been inaugurated as vice presi- dent about a week earlier. There can be no doubt that in this selection of the president of the confederacy the congress ratified the previous choice of the southern people, who almost unanimously regarded Mr. Davis as the man best fitted for the position by ability, character, and political and military experience, lie selected for his cabinet Robert Toombs of Georgia as secretary of state, Leroy P. Walk- er of Alabama as secretary of .war, Charles Gl Memminger of South Carolina as secretary of the treasury, Stephen R. Mallory of Flor- ida as secretary of the navy, Judah P. Benja- min of Louisiana as attorney general, and John H. Reagan of Texas as postmaster gen- eral. The last three continued in the cabinet as long as the confederate government main- tained its existence. Toombs, Walker, and Memminger were sooner or later supplanted by others. In his speeches on his way to Montgomery Mr. Davis expressed himself in a confident manner as sure of ultimate success. In one he said : " England will recognize us, and a glorious future is before us. The grass will grow in the northern cities, where the pavements have been worn off by the tread of commerce. We will carry the war where it is easy to advance, where food for the sword and torch awaits our armies in the densely populated cities. The enemy may come and spoil our crops, but we can raise them as be- fore ; they cannot rear again the cities which took years of industry and millions of money to build. We are now determined to maintain our position, and make all who oppose us smell southern powder and feel southern steel." In marked contrast, however, to these confident menaces, Mr. Davis, in his first message to the confederate congress, April 29, concluded an argument in defence of the right of secession with the remark, "All we ask is, to be let alone," a phrase which gave rise to numerous carica- tures and parodies. A fortnight earlier Mr. Davis had ordered Beauregard, the confede- rate general at Charleston, to reduce Fort Sum- ter, the attack on which began the civil war. On May 20 the confederate government was transferred from Montgomery to Richmond, and a few days later Mr. Davis followed it. On the journey to Richmond he was received with every demonstration of popular favor and ex- ultation, and his first days in the new capital were devoted to ovations, reviews of troops, and speeches to the multitude. An army of 50,- 000 men, commanded by Beauregard and John- ston, had been gathered in northern Virginia. In July the Union troops advanced toward Manassas, and were routed in the battle of Bull Run. Mr: Davis left Richmond on the morning of the battle, intending to take com- mand in person ; but the victory was won be- fore he arrived. On his return to Richmond he was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd, to whom he addressed a short speech, in which he said : " We have taught them a lesson in their invasion of the sacred soil of Virginia ; and a yet bloodier and far more fatal lesson awaits them unless they speedily acknowledge that freedom to which you were born." A period of inaction on the part of the confederates fol- lowed their success at Bull Run, which it is said was in accordance with the policy adopted by the president in opposition to the advice of the generals, who were in favor of concen- trating the southern forces in Virginia and invading the north. Mr. Davis preferred the policy of diffusion, and of standing on the de- fensive. These and other differences of opin-