17th June, Wednesday.--We
reached Petersburg at 3 A. M., and had to get out and traverse this town in
carts, after which we had to lie down in the road until some other cars were
opened. We left Petersburg at 5 A. M. and arrived at Richmond at 7 A. M.,
having taken forty-one hours coming from Charleston.
The scenery near Richmond is very
pretty, and rather English-looking. The view of the James river from the
railway bridge is quite beautiful, though the water is rather low at present.
The weather was extremely hot and oppressive, and, for the first time since I
left Havana, I really suffered from the heat.
 |
| Richmond, VA taken in 1862 |
I kept my appointment with Mr. Benjamin
at 7 o'clock. He is a stout dapper little man, evidently of Hebrew extraction,
and of undoubted talent. He is a Louisianian, and was Senator for that State in
the old United States Congress, and I believe he is accounted a very clever
lawyer and a brilliant orator. He told me that he had filled the onerous post
of Secretary of War during the first seven months of the secession, and I can
easily believe that he found it no sinecure. We conversed for a long time about
the origin of Secession, which he indignantly denied was brought about, as the
Yankees assert, by the interested machinations of individuals. He declared
that, for the last ten years, the Southern statesmen had openly stated in
Congress what would take place; but the Northerners never would believe they
were in earnest, and had often replied by the taunt, "The South was so
bound to, and dependent on the North, that she couldn't be kicked out of the Union."
 |
| Judah P. Benjamin |
He
asserted that England had still, and always had had it in her power to
terminate the war by recognition, and by making a
commercial treaty with the South; and he denied that the Yankees really would
dare to go to war with Great Britain for doing so, however much they might
swagger about it; he said that recognition would not increase the Yankee hatred
of England, for this, whether just or unjust, was already as intense as it
could possibly be....
He said the Confederates were more
amused than annoyed at the term "rebel," which was so constantly
applied to them; but he only wished mildly to remark, that in order to be a
"rebel," a person must rebel against some one who has a right to
govern him; and he thought it would be very difficult to discover such a right
as existing in the Northern over the Southern States.
In
order to prepare a treaty of peace, he said, "It would only be necessary
to write on a blank sheet of paper the words 'self-government.' Let the
Yankees-accord that, and they might fill up the paper in any manner they chose.
We don't want any State that doesn't want us; but we only wish that each State
should decide fairly upon its own destiny. All we are struggling for is to be
let alone."
 |
| President Jefferson Davis |
Mr. Jefferson Davis struck me as
looking older than I expected. He is only fifty-six, but his face is emaciated,
and much wrinkled. He is nearly six feet high, but is extremely thin, and
stoops a little. His features are good, especially his eye, which is very
bright, and full of life and humor. I was afterwards told he had lost the sight
of his left eye from a recent illness. He wore a linen coat and gray trousers,
and he looked what he evidently is, a well-bred gentleman. Nothing can exceed
the charm of his manner, which is simple, easy, and most fascinating.
He
conversed with me for a long time, and agreed with Benjamin that the Yankees
did not really intend to go to war with England if she recognized the South;
and he said that, when the inevitable smash came--and that separation was an
accomplished fact--the State of Maine would probably try to join Canada, as
most of the intelligent people in that State have a horror of being "under
the thumb of Massachusetts." He added, that Maine was inhabited by a
hardy, thrifty, seafaring population, with different ideas to the people in the
other New England States. When I spoke to him of the wretched scenes I had
witnessed in his own State (Mississippi), and of the miserable, almost
desperate situation in which I had found so many unfortunate women, who had
been left behind by their male relations; and when I alluded in admiration to
the quiet, calm, uncomplaining manner in which they bore their sufferings and their grief, he said, with much
feeling, that he always considered silent despair the most painful
description of misery to witness, in the same way that he thought mute
insanity was the most awful form of madness.
When I took my leave about 9
o'clock, the President asked me to call upon him again. I don't think it is
possible for any one to have an interview with him without going away most
favorably impressed by his agreeable, unassuming manners, and by the charm of
his conversation. While walking home, Mr. Benjamin told me that Mr. Davis's
military instincts still predominate, and that his eager wish was to have
joined the army instead of being elected President.
During my travels, many people have
remarked to me that Jefferson Davis seems in a peculiar manner adapted for his
office. His military education at West Point rendered him intimately acquainted
with the higher officers of the army; and his post of Secretary of War under
the old government brought officers of all ranks under his immediate personal
knowledge and supervision. No man could have formed a more accurate estimate of
their respective merits. This is one of the reasons which gave the Confederates
such an immense start in the way of generals; for having formed his opinion
with regard to appointing an officer, Mr. Davis is always most determined to
carry out his intention in spite of every obstacle. His services in
the Mexican war gave him the prestige of a brave man and a good soldier. His
services as a statesman pointed him out as the only man who, by his unflinching
determination and administrative talent, was able to control the popular will.
People speak of any misfortune happening to him as an irreparable evil too
dreadful to contemplate....
(to be continued....)
Read more about the James Fremantle and the Gettysburg campaign my new book for teens just published by Sky Pony Press, Gettysburg: The True Account of Two Young Heroes in the Greatest Battle of the Civil War, available at Amazon and BN.com.
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Read more about the James Fremantle and the Gettysburg campaign my new book for teens just published by Sky Pony Press, Gettysburg: The True Account of Two Young Heroes in the Greatest Battle of the Civil War, available at Amazon and BN.com.
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