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Life and Correspondence of John A. Quitman, Major-General, USA, and Governor of tte State of Mississippi PDF

401 Pages·1860·24.141 MB·English
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Preview Life and Correspondence of John A. Quitman, Major-General, USA, and Governor of tte State of Mississippi

ft Sarptr&Pn>tke LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF JOHN QUIT! A. AN, MAJOB-GENERAL, U.S.A., AND GOVERNOR OP THE STATE OP MISSISSIPPI. BY J. F. H. CLAIBORNE. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. NEW YORK: HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, FRANKLIN SQUABS. 1860. Entered,according toActofCongress,intheyearonethousand eighthundred andsixty,by HARPER & BROTHERS, IntheClerk'sOfficeoftheDistrictCourtoftheSouthernDistrictofNewYork. TO THE YOUNG MEN OF THE SOUTH, THIS MEMOIR OF ONEWHO BECAME, BYHIS OWN EXERTIONS, EMINENT AT THE BAR, ON THE BENCH, IN THE ARMY, AND IN THE COUNCILS OF HIS COUNTRY, AND MAINTAINED THROUGH LIFD HIS PERSONALVIRTUEAND POLITICAL INTEGRITY,IS INTRODUCTION. I PRESENT these volumes with diffidence to the public. They have been written from a sentiment of duty, under the drawback of ill health, and at in- tervals snatched from other pressing engagements. Myaimhasbeen to make them,likethe manwhose acts they recite, plain and frank, without pretension or parade. Wherever it has been practicable, I have preferred original letters to myown speculations, and thus the work may be considered an autobiography. Thedifficultyofprocuring documents has occasion- ed some delay, for it is no part of the merit of the South to attach the proper value to the materials of history. The reports madebythe field-officers ofthe first Mississippi regiment of the services of their re- spective commands at Monterey a document essen- tial to the glory of the state, and confided to its ar- chives can not be found, and our Legislature has beenvainlyappealedtofor someprovision topreserve the rich but perishable records now in private hands. My own stores, however, and the kindness offriends, have enabled me to complete this work. Ofthewarwith Mexico,Ihave, ofcourse,onlybeen able to review so much as was required to illustrate the services of Quitman. The glorious deeds of his comrades areinthe records ofthe country. No com- plete history of that war has yet appeared. Some v INTRODUCTION. militarywritershave severelycriticisedtheoperations of Taylor and Scott, and more than insinuated their incapacity to conduct armies in the field. It is easy to write after a campaign has ended, as it is easy to An moralize at the close ofa life oferror. ingenious casuist may demonstrate almost any thing on paper. British critics, enragedbypartyspirit, long contended that Sir.John Moore was no general, though Soult, Wellington, and Napoleon, according to Napier, ex- pressed a verydifferent opinion. Militarywriters for a long time questioned the capacity of Sir Arthur "Wellesley, and find fault often with the arrangements ofNapoleon. Some of them even charged him with cowardice. GeneralsLee, Conway, andGates, andthe officers of their school, habitually sneered at the gen- eralship of Washington. Taylor and Scott both conducted their campaigns, in a hostile and populous country, under many diffi- culties. Theyhadnot the confidence oftheirgovern- ment, and,inthat respect,wereinthepositionofMarl- borough harassed byDutchcivilians, oftheArchduke Charles by military councils,andWellesleybyPortu- guese juntas and Spanish regencies. But, like those great commanders, theytriumphed over the enemyin front and the "fire in the rear." They conducted theiroperations, inthemain, accordingtothe received principles of war, but neither ever hesitated to adopt any expedient deemed necessary by the emergency ofthe hour, and this it is that distinguishes the man of resourcesfrom the martinet. This was,in fact,the secret of Napoleon's first triumphs in Italy over the Austrians of the old school. These incompetent generals ofours conquered an INTRODUCTION. Vll empire older than our own in the course ofone cam- paign! Such men may defy criticism. Theory and specu- lation fall before facts. In another respect their moderation after victory they challenge the admiration ofthe world. Mata- Yera Mexico when moras, Monterey, Cruz, Puebla, before have such capitals been occupied by foreign troops without pillage, outrage, and massacre? The restraint, the discipline, the protection to persons and property, and the free exercise ofreligious and social duties, were as perfect during our domination as in any city ofEurope or America. The whole campaign was honorable to our arms and country. In relation to the political events discussed in this memoir,I have endeavored to be impartial, and to as- sign good motives where bad ones were not obvious. With a strong attachment and admiration for Gen- eral Quitman, I have not sought to represent him as infallible. I was his pupil in earlylife, but afterward differed with him on many important questions, as, for instance, when he supported nullification, and when he opposed that silent acquiescence in the com- promise measures which the Democratic party recom- mended. Ihave to acknowledge, however, that the courseof events has satisfied me that on both occasions he was right. Carolina stood on doctrines as old as the Con- stitution, and we have gained no security by a tem- porizing and conciliatory policy since. Ifthese volumes are favorably received, they may be followedby a more piquant volume illustrative of VU1 INTKODUCTION. parties and public men in the South. I have over two thousand letters not used herein. In relation to the letters submitted to the reader, I should perhaps observe that they are all on matters ofpublic concern. None of them are designated as private ; the parties that wrote them, if living, enter- tain the same opinions, and if dead, died with them ; and they are opinions that they never shrank from avowing. I feel that it is right to give them to the world. They illustrate the history of the past, and are applicable to passing events. In political cor- respondence there should be no secrets, and no false sensibility when they are submitted to the public. Mr. Hume, the English reformer, used to say, that whenever he heard the word "delicacy" mentioned in any argument or public document, he felt certain there was something wrong. I have now to express my acknowledgments for documents, facts, and dates, to Gov. Gist, Hon. J. W. Hayne, Dr. E. W. Gibbes, and Capt. Stanley,ofSouth Carolina Col. Thomas Williams, of Alabama John ; ; Marshall, Capt. Eogers, Capt. Duffau, and J. A. Quin- tero, ofTexas. Messrs.A.G. Brown,Jefferson Davis, J. J. M'Kae, John B. Nevitt, J. T. M'Murran, J. S. B. Thacher, E. Elward, W. W. W. Wood, Wm. Can- non, J. S. Holt, W. P. Mellen, J. D. Elliott, Henry Hughes, Thomas Eeed, B. W. Sanders, G. Y. H. Forbes, J. Eoach, E.Whaley,Eev. C. K.Marshall, and particularly my late lamented friends, Hon. Edward Turner and Hon. C. S. Tarpley, and since his death his estimable widow. To this accomplished lady I am under many obligations for valuable papers. BayofSt.Louis,Mississippi. CONTENTS OF VOL, I. CHAPTER I. Ancestors andParentage. John Frederick Quitman,D.D. Settles in Curagoa. Effects of the French Revolution on Society. His Views ofGovernment. The Constitution ofthe United States a Problem toEurope. Washington. His Character andCareer. Influence uponImmigrationandCapital. T)r. QuitmaninPhila- delphia. InterviewwithWashington. HisConnectionwithLiter- ature. ReviewofhisWorkon Magic. HisDeath Page 15 CHAPTER II. John A. Quitman. His Boyhood. Conduct at School. Tutor at Hartwick. Letter from Dr. Pohlman. Goes to Philadelphia. Assistant Professor in Mount Airy College. Familiar Letters. ResolvestoremovetoOhio. The GreatWest 25 CHAPTER HI. Keel-boating on the Ohio. Arrival at Chilicothe. Family Let- ters. Dr.Hosack ofNewYork,orYoungPhysicandOldPhysic. Removes to theVillage of Delaware. Ohio forty Years since. Admitted to the Bar. Letter from Mrs. Griffith. Departsfor the South 41 CHAPTER IV. TheJourney. JockeyedoutofhisHorse. FeelingsontheRoad. Embarks at Louisville. Arrives at Natchez. His first Letter. Low State ofhisFinances. Philosophy. William B. Griffith. Natchez in 1822. "Under the Hill." Mississippi Planters.-* ModeofLifeandRevenues. New-year'sDayinthe South. Ad- mitted to the Bar. Takes Charge of Mr. Griffith's Business. Southern Hospitality. Letter from Mr. Griffith. Northern No- tionsoftheSouth. OhioJudges. Dress. HisfirstCommission. Life at the South. Slavery and Slave. Life contrasted with A2

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