Embattled Rebel Read online

  21.Richmond Dispatch quoted in Ballard, Long Shadow, 20; Wiggins, Journals of Gorgas, 151, entry of Feb. 10, 1865; Jones, Rebel War Clerk’s Diary, 2:411, entry of Feb. 6, 1865.

  22.Thomas Robson Hay, “Lucius B. Northrop: Commissary General of the Confederacy,” Civil War History 9 (1963): 19; Jeremy P. Felt, “Lucius B. Northrop and the Confederacy’s Subsistence Department,” Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 69 (1961), 190–92; Crist, PJD, 11:312n.

  23.Howell Cobb to Davis, Jan. 20, 1865, Henry D. Clayton to Davis, Feb. 15, 1865, Crist, PJD, 11:343, 403.

  24.Jones, Rebel War Clerk’s Diary, 2:413, entry of Feb. 8, 1865; Rowland, JDC, 6:491–503.

  25.Robert E. Lee to Davis, Feb. 23, 1865, Crist, PJD, 11:421 and 422n.

  26.Jones, Rebel War Clerk’s Diary, 2:343–44, entry of Dec. 1, 1864; Crist, PJD, 11:193–94. See also William C. Davis, Jefferson Davis: The Man and His Hour (New York: HarperCollins, 1991), 458; Woodworth, Davis and Lee, 254, 303.

  27.E. B. Long, The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac, 1861–1865 (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1971), 706.

  28.Crist, PJD, 10:183n.

  29.Benjamin F. Rollins to Davis, July 24, 1863, I. H. M. Barton to Davis, July 29, 1863, Leonidas N. Walthall to Davis, Aug. 11, 1863, ibid., 9:304, 312–13, 339–40.

  30.Montgomery Weekly Mail, Sept. 2, 1863, Mobile Register, Nov. 26, 1863, in Robert F. Durden, The Gray and the Black: The Confederate Debate on Emancipation (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1972), 33, 44.

  31.O.R., ser. 1, vol. 52, pt. 2:586–92.

  32.Ibid., pt. 2:598–99.

  33.Maj. Gen. William H. T. Walker to Davis, Jan. 12, 1864, Isham G. Harris to Davis, Jan. 16, 1864, Crist, PJD, 10:170, 177–78.

  34.Davis to Gen. Walker, Jan. 23, 1864, Rowland, JDC, 6:159–60; Crist, PJD, 10:178–79n.

  35.Rowland, JDC, 6:394–97.

  36.Crabtree and Patton, “Journal of a Secesh Lady,” 639, entry of Nov. 20, 1864.

  37.Richmond Examiner, Nov. 8, 1864, Charleston Mercury, Nov. 12, 1864, in Durden, The Gray and the Black, 108–9, 112–13.

  38.“Farmer” to Davis, Jan. 7, 1865, Samuel Clayton to Davis, Jan. 10, 1865, Crist, PJD, 11:285–86, 301.

  39.Davis to John Forsyth, Feb. 21, 1865, ibid., 11:412–13.

  40.David Yulee to Davis, Oct. 27, 1864, ibid., 11:125–26; Cobb to James Seddon, Jan. 8, 1865, forwarded to Davis with an endorsing cover letter from Seddon, Jan. 21, 1865, ibid., 11:347.

  41.Mississippi congressman quoted in Durden, The Gray and the Black, 140; Louis T. Wigfall quoted in E. Merton Coulter, The Confederate States of America, 1861–1865 (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1950), 268.

  42.Lee to Andrew Hunter, Jan. 11, 1865, Lee to Ethelbert Barksdale, Feb. 18, 1865, in Durden, The Gray and the Black, 206–9.

  43.Durden, The Gray and the Black, 268–70; George C. Rable, The Confederate Republic: A Revolution Against Politics (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1994), 295–96.

  44.Davis to Lee, Mar. 13, 1865, Davis to William Smith, Mar. 30, 1865, Rowland, JDC, 6:513, 523; Davis to Lee, Apr. 1, 1865, Crist, PJD, 11:492.

  45.Craig A. Bauer, “The Last Effort: The Secret Mission of the Confederate Diplomat, Duncan F. Kenner,” Louisiana History 22 (1981): 71–75; Cooper, Davis, 514–15.

  46.Frank Lawrence Owsley, King Cotton Diplomacy: Foreign Relations of the Confederate States of America (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1931), 550–61, quotation from p. 560.

  47.Ballard, Long Shadow, 25.

  48.Ibid., 22–23, 28; William C. Davis, An Honorable Defeat: The Last Days of the Confederate Government (New York: Harcourt, 2001), 27–48.

  49.Rowland, JDC, 6:386–87.

  50.Crist, PJD, 11:430.

  51.Davis to Braxton Bragg, Apr. 1, 1865, ibid., 11:489–90.

  52.Rowland, JDC, 6:529–31.

  53.Crist, PJD, 11:532.

  54.John Dooley, quoted in Ballard, Long Shadow, 112.

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  INDEX

  The page numbers in this index refer to the printed version of this book. To find the corresponding locations in the text of this digital version, please use the “search” function on your e-reader. Note that not all terms may be searchable.

  Anderson, Robert, 21–22

  Antietam, Battle of, 100–101, 104, 248

  Appomattox, Lee’s surrender at, 241

  Arkansas:

  governor threatens secession from Confederacy, 107–8

  defense of, 109–10, 145–46

  Army of Northern Virginia, 115, 126, 180, 187

  Lee named commander of, 86, 90

  Seven Days’ Battles, 94

  Battle of Chancellorsville, 127–29

  Lee opposes weakening of, 130

  Gettysburg casualties of, 143

  defense of Petersburg, 191

  Army of Tennessee:

  plans to invade Kentucky, 101

  dissension in, 115–17, 125–27, 148–49, 153–57, 251

  routed at Missionary Ridge, 158

  Hood becomes corps commander in, 180

  command reshuffle after fall of Atlanta, 208, 210

  vir
tually destroyed at Nashville, 216

  debate about enlisting slave soldiers, 229–30

  Atlanta:

  defense of, 194–201

  fall of, 204–6, 248

  Beauregard, Pierre G. T., 47, 48, 143, 156, 159

  on Davis, 6, 70

  and Fort Sumter, 22, 25

  First Manassas, 37–43

  postbattle tensions with Davis, 43–46

  proposed offensive in fall 1861, 49–50

  transferred to Kentucky, 58, 60

  Battle of Shiloh, 67–68

  evacuates Corinth, 69

  relieved of command, 70, 116

  named commander at Charleston, 108

  Davis refuses to appoint commander of Army of Tennessee, 156, 159

  Battle of Drewry’s Bluff, 188–89

  Davis rejects as Johnston’s replacement, 199

  commander of Military Division of the West, 210

  Davis’s hostility toward, 251–52

  Beaver Dam Creek, Battle of, 91–92

  Benjamin, Judah P.:

  secretary of war, 35

  quarrel with Beauregard, 44

  and Roanoke Island, 62

  named secretary of state, 64

  meets with Northern envoys, 202

  and peace moves in 1865, 222, 224

  Kenner mission to Europe, 235–36

  black soldiers proposed for Confederate army: see slaves as soldiers in Confederacy

  black Union soldiers:

  Davis approves execution or reenslavement of, 121, 170–72

  Blair, Francis Preston, 221–22

  Bragg, Braxton, 132, 136, 182, 197, 238

  and Fort Pickens, 22, 24

  transferred to Tennessee, 60

  named commander of Western army, 70

  invasion of Kentucky, 101–4, 248

  criticism of, by subordinates, 115–17

  Battle of Murfreesboro, 118

  quarrels with subordinates, 125–27

  Tullahoma and Chickamauga campaigns, 148–50

  Battle of Chickamauga, 152

  postbattle conflict with subordinates, 153–57

  resigns command, 158–59

  named chief of staff, 180, 183

  recommends Johnston’s removal, 198

  Davis’s relations with, 251

  Bragg, Thomas, 61

  Breckinridge, John C.:

  at Missionary Ridge, 158

  secretary of war, 226

  favors peace negotiations, 238

  Brewster, Henry, 193

  Brown, Joseph:

  wants Georgia troops kept in state, 34, 35

  offers pikes for army, 68

  opposes conscription, 72–73

  urges invasion of North, 89–90

  rebukes Davis’s role in Atlanta campaign, 194–95, 198

  faith in Northern Copperheads, 207

  Browne, William M., 178

  Buchanan, James, 22, 61

  Buckner, Simon Bolivar:

  surrenders Fort Donelson, 61

  part of anti-Bragg cabal, 154, 156

  Buell, Don Carlos, 58, 60

  at Shiloh, 67–68

  and Corinth campaign, 69

  advance on Chattanooga, 101

  and Confederate invasion of Kentucky, 102, 104

  replaced by Rosecrans, 106

  Bull Run, Battles of: see Manassas

  Burnside, Ambrose, 106

  Butler, Benjamin, 120, 188–89

  Calhoun, John C., 29

  Campbell, John A., 222, 238

  Canada, Confederate operations in, 176–77

  Cedar Mountain, Battle of, 95, 97

  Chancellorsville:

  Davis ill during campaign, 7–9

  Battle of, 127, 129, 130

  Charleston Mercury:

  critical of Davis, 48

  hopes for Northern Democratic victory in 1864, 204

  opposes enlistment of slaves as soldiers, 231–32

  Cheatham, Benjamin F., 156

  Chesnut, James:

  aide to Beauregard, 38, 43, 46

  on Joseph Johnston, 138

  Chesnut, Mary Boykin, 38

  on Davis at First Manassas, 43

  on Davis-Johnston hostility, 138–39

  on Lucius Northrop, 165

  on Bragg’s appointment as chief of staff, 183

  on Johnston’s Georgia campaign, 193

  on fall of Atlanta, 205

  Chickamauga, Battle of, 152–53, 180

  Chickasaw Bluffs, Battle of, 110, 118, 122

  Clay, Henry, 53

  Cleburne, Patrick, 229–30

  Cobb, Howell, 16, 216, 247

  presses Davis to reinstate Johnston, 226

  opposes enlistment of slaves, 234

  conscription, Confederate enactment of, 70–71

  opposition to, 72–73

  Cooper, Samuel, 38, 41, 46

  Corinth (Miss.):

  Confederates evacuate, 68–69, 101

  Battle of, 104

  Daniel, John Moncure, 138

  Davis, Jefferson:

  historical reputation, 3–4, 250–52

  personality of, 5–7, 113

  defense of slavery, 5, 10, 28–30

  illnesses of, 7–9, 15, 47, 130, 132

  functions of, as commander in chief, 9–11, 19, 163

  commander of Mississippi militia, 15–16

  elected provisional president, 16, 247

  threatens North with invasion, 18

  strategic options constrained by shortages, 20–21, 48–49, 95, 248

  and Fort Sumter, 21–25

  expects long war, 26

  invasion of border states, 28

  strategy of dispersed defense, 30–37, 248

  strategy of offensive-defensive, 38, 66–67, 84, 90–91, 95, 248

  and campaign and battle of First Manassas, 37–43

  postbattle differences with Beauregard, 44–46

  quarrel with J. E. Johnston over rank, 46–48

  and occupation of Kentucky, 53–56

  names A. S. Johnston to command in West, 57

  and loss of Fort Donelson, 61–62

  blamed for defeats in 1862, 62–64

  elected to full term as president, 64

  and Battle of Shiloh, 68

  relieves Beauregard, 69–70

  supports conscription, 71–73

  suspends habeas corpus and declares martial law, 73–74, 119, 174–75

  and J. E. Johnston’s withdrawal from Centreville, 74–75

  recalls Lee from South Carolina, 77

  and Johnston’s defense of Richmond, 78–85

  at Battle of Seven Pines, 85

  names Lee as commander in Virginia, 86

  and Seven Days’ Battles, 91–95

  and invasion of Maryland, 97–101

  and invasion of Kentucky, 102–4

  need for concentration of forces, 106–7

  command problems in Arkansas, 108–10

  administrative micromanagement by, 110–13, 191

  and dissension in Army of Tennessee, 115–16

  names J. E. Johnston to command of Department of the West, 117

  visits Department of the West, 118

  alleges enemy atrocities, 119–20

  denounces Emancipation Proclamation, 120

  approves execution or reenslavement of black soldiers, 121, 170–72

  and command problems in Army of Tennessee, 126–27, 148, 153–58

  and Vicksburg campaign, 129–33

  blames Johnston for loss of Vicksburg, 134–36, 138–39<
br />
  defends Pemberton, 136–38

  and Stephens peace mission in 1863, 140–42

  and Battle of Gettysburg, 143

  refuses Lee’s resignation, 145

  names Kirby Smith to command Trans-Mississippi Department, 146, 148

  sends Longstreet to reinforce

  Bragg, 150

  reluctantly names J. E. Johnston to command Army of Tennessee, 159–60

  and Lucius Northrop, 165, 166, 250–51

  opposes trade with enemy, 167

  and Richmond bread riot, 168–69

  and Abraham C. Myers, 169–70

  on peace movement in North Carolina, 172–75

  appoints agents to operate in Canada, 176

  urges Johnston to take offensive, 177–78, 182–83

  orders Johnston to send Hardee against Sherman’s Meridian campaign, 179

  gives Hood corps command, 180

  death of son Joseph, 184

  active command role in defense of Richmond in 1864, 187–91

  concern about Johnston’s Georgia campaign, 192–97

  removal of Johnston, 198–99, 201, 252

  cautions Hood, 200

  and peace pressures in 1864, 202–04

  blamed for Atlanta’s fall, 205

  Southern trip in 1864, 206–7

  command reshuffle in Army of Tennessee, 208, 210

  determination to fight on, 212, 220, 225, 238–39, 241

  and Hood’s invasion of Tennessee, 215–16, 249

  names Lee general-in-chief, 218–19

  and peace moves in 1865, 221–24

  restores Johnston to command in 1865, 225–26

  on deserters, 228

  opposes proposals to enlist slaves as soldiers, 229–31

  favors enlistment of slaves, 232, 234

  and Kenner mission, 235–36

  flight from Richmond, 239, 241

  capture of, 244

  and guerrilla warfare, 250

  appraisal of, as commander in chief, 250–52

  Davis, Joseph (brother), 29, 34

  Davis, Joseph (son), 184

  Davis, Varina, 15–16, 170

  draft: see conscription

  Drewry’s Bluff, Battle of, 189

  Early, Jubal, 221, 249

  Emancipation Proclamation (Lincon’s), Davis denounces, 121, 136