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The makings of a tragedy for the Union took further shape 150 years ago today as General Sherman's two corps arrived at Milliken's Bend north of Vicksburg. The army had been transported down the Mississippi to the mouth of the Yazoo River where they turned east and navigated the Yazoo to Johnson's farm where they disembarked.
Moving in advance of Sherman's force were Union gunboats serving as torpedo sweepers. While engaged in this activity, the USS Cairo struck a torpedo and was sunk.
If you look at the map below, you'll note that the space available for conducting an offense against Chickasaw Bluffs was quite narrow, hemmed in by the rivers, swamps and streams. It was terrible ground for attacking, wonderful ground for the defenders. Only if there was certainty that this area of the Vicksburg defenses was lightly defended, would it make sense to stage an assault there.
It wasn't lightly defended, at least not any longer. When General Grant turned his two corps around and began returning to Memphis to start planning a new and different campaign, General Pemberton's army, which had moved out of Vicksburg to find a suitable place to try and stop Grant, also turned around and headed back for their works surrounding the rebel city. By the time Sherman was ready to launch his attack, there would be more than 13,000 gray clad defenders on the bluffs.
Unaware that the campaign had been called off thanks to the wrecking of Federal telegraph communications, Sherman continued to conform with the original plan. He would attack the day after Christmas.
On Christmas Day, 150 years ago, General William Rosecrans convened a day long conference of his top ranking officers. After a protracted period spent coping with the serial demands from Washington to put his army into motion, Rosecrans had at last decided that he was ready.
There was some justice to Rosecrans' decision to delay. The force he had inherited from General Buell was not in good shape. A third were still under trained and inexperienced former militia, and another large segment's enlistments had expired at the end of November with not many electing to re-up. These men had to be replaced and the replacements trained.
Supply had been difficult. While General Bragg had settled into Murfreesboro and was inactive that late fall/early winter, the independent cavalry commands of Generals Morgan and Forrest had been the opposite. Ranging across middle Tennessee and southern Kentucky, their ongoing raids were causing the Union to have to detach more and more forces for garrison and pursuit duty, making the build up of an offensive force that much more time consuming.
And then there was the cavalry. Buell had not had a singular cavalry corps, instead assigning the horse divisions to be attached to his infantry and operate under the command of those division leaders. They had proven utterly hopeless in coping with Forrest and Morgan, and had allowed General Josesph Wheeler's cavalry (Bragg's) to frustrate the Union pursuit after Perryville. Further, men and mounts had been worn out by the long march to Louisville and back where they were constantly engaged by rebel horsemen.
Rosecrans had determined that this had to change and he collected his cavalry under the single command of General Davis Stanley, a process which had been delayed because it had taken Rosecrans a month of arguing with General in Chief Halleck to get Stanley transferred to his command.
Finally it was all done and Rosecrans announced that the army would be moving out the day after Christmas, their target, Bragg and Murfreesboro. The army, which at this point had not yet been designated Army of the Cumberland, was officially the 16th Corps, US Army. Rosecrans created three wings, the first under General McCook who had been knocked back at Perryville while the other two wings were inactive, and whose command included a division under General Jefferson C. Davis, who was back on front line duty after having shot General Nelson to death outside Buell's hotel room. The center and largest wing was under General George Thomas, the other under General Thomas Crittenden.
Rosecrans took a page from his predecessor, Buel, by planning on confusing his foe via deceptive movements. All three wings would move out in different directions, then at a planned moment, would turn and converge on Murfreesboro
Leaving behind 4000 to guard Nashville, Rosecrans would be bringing 60,000 to meet Bragg. "We move tomorrow!" he told his officers, "Make them fight or run! Strike hard and fast! Give them no rest! Fight them! Fight them! Fight I say!"
150 years ago today General Sherman discovered that before he could launch his men in an attack against the bluffs above Chickasaw Bayou, he was first going to be required to fight his way to a jumping off point.
Three brigades of General Pemberton's army were on hand, about 13,700 men. This section of the Vicksburg defenses was under the direct command of General Stephen D. Lee and he was making excellent use of the multitude of natural terrain features which favored the defenders. While Sherman's men were trying to navigate their way over or around swamps, bogs, and tree and grass choked streams, they came under harassing fire from the Confederate pickets and patrols. Where there was level, dry ground, the rebels had chopped down the trees to create more barriers. Chickasaw Bayou was about 50 to 70 feet wide, shallow in some places and suddenly dropping away in others. It ran a parallel course with the bluffs above its eastern side, and like all the water in this area, was chockablock with natural debris.
Sherman had to get his men on the other side of this bayou just so that he would then have a very narrow open plain from which his attack against the bluffs could be staged. It would take three days of hard slogging and slugging, Sherman's 30,000 would not reach their attacking ground until the 29th.
Several hundred miles to the northeast, on this same day, General Rosecrans' army departed Nashville via the multiple routes that they would take to Murfreesboro and a showdown with General Bragg.
1862 had been the bloodiest year in American history, and it was to get bloodier still before 1863 arrived.
General Sherman was determined to carry out his orders 150 years ago this morning. Following three rugged days of fighting his way to the front his 30,000 strong army was at last crammed into the narrow corridor which divided Chickasaw Bayou from the bluffs which barred the way to Vicksburg. As far as Sherman knew, General Grant was engaged against the bulk of General Pemberton's army somewhere to the NE and this attack would at least prevent the rebels who were present from assisting in defeating Grant.
By this time Sherman had a good appreciation that an attack here was not going to be a success. "We will lose 5,000 men before we take Vicksburg, and may as well lose them here as anywhere else" he commented before ordering his artillery to open the affair with a bombardment. This was answered by the rebel guns and went on for several hours. At noon Sherman sent his men forward.
They advanced through swampy ground, scaled or broke through the wood abatis which protected the forward rifle pits and chased the Confederate skirmishers and sharpshooters back up to the main line. When they tried to advance from the rifle pits, they were hit by volley after volley, their ranks were shredded by canister fire. Five times the Union line surged forward, and five times it was blown back.
Sherman called it off at that point, having lost 208 killed, 1,005 wounded and 563 captured. Confederate casualties were just over 200, 63 of them dead.
Sherman remained in the vicinity for another day before concluding any further attacks on this end of the Vicksburg defenses were doomed to futility. He withdrew his men and reported the failure to Grant, who was surprised to learn that the attack had still gone forward. Sherman would learn of the campaign's cancellation a few days later.
150 years ago today the armies of Generals Rosecrans and Bragg were in contact and skirmishing had been taking place for a few days. The weather had turned sour, sleet, rain, cold and heavy winds had hampered the Federal's march from Nashville. Bragg had at first been puzzled by the multitude of directions being taken by the wings of Rosecran's army, but he recognized that his army and Murfreesboro were the target and that movements in other directions were but feints. Bragg concentrated his army along a four mile front NW of Murfreesboro and for most of today, was unaware that only General McCook's wing had arrived, consequently he limited his actions to skirmishing while planning an attack for tomorrow.
Rosecrans' other divisions filed into place as the day wore on and by nightfall 76,000 men in blue and gray were dug in a few hundred yards apart. Like Bragg, Rosecrans planned on attacking in the morning. Like Bragg he decided to hold with his right and attack with his left, thus whichever side struck first would have the initiative and disrupt the opponent's plans.
A thousand miles due east, the early morning hours of this day also saw the end of a ship which had begun an era.
Since its battle with the CSS Virginia, the USS Monitor had remained on station in the Hampton Roads region, patroling on the James River and being brought to the DC Naval Yard in the early fall to undergo repairs and refitting. When ready, the ship would be towed to Wilmington, NC, to take part in a campaign against that heavily fortified haven for blockade runners.
Having not been in open sea since its near fatal voyage from New York, the officers and crew took a number of measures to try and rectify the problems which had arisen when the Monitor encountered a storm. Water had come in through the stacks, so they had been raised, the pumps had been inadequate so larger pumps were brought on board. The major problem had been leakage through he base of the turret, caused by the turret needing to be raised during sea voyages. Previously they had used coils of rope to try and keep the sea out, but that had failed badly.
Monitor designer, John Ericsson informed them that the problem could be solved by inserting a brass ring around the base, but the skipper of the ship, Lieutenant Samuel Greene, did not think that would work. Instead he had the base caulked with Oakum, a mixture of tar and fiber. He should have listened to Ericsson.
The Monitor departed Hampton Roads on the 29th and was taken under tow by the steamer USS Rhode Island, attached by two strong hawsers. It was smooth sailing for the first two days, but on the 29th, as the procession rounded the dangerous Cape Hatteras area, a storm came up from the south and began rolling the seas. The Monitors new pumping system seemed to be able to handle the job and it wasn't until mid afternoon that the water began gaining. The Oakum had been washed away and liberal amounts of ocean were being dumped through the base into the lower decks.
The Monitor was being towed into the waves, and each time it dropped down from the crest the ship would shudder, as though the hull were trying to separate itself from the armor. Still the ship held together and struggled on through the waves. Around 11 pm, things suddenly became worse. The water intake increased and the pumps were unable to keep pace. Then one of the hawser lines snapped and the Monitor began sliding out of control. It was decided that it would be better to sever the remaining tow line than to be pulled sideways into a wave, so four volunteers went forward to chop it loose. Three of the four were swept off deck and never seen again. The one survivor did manage to cut the line.
It was evident to the officers that the Monitor was sinking. Distress flares were sent up to notify the Rhode Island and the ship dropped its anchor in hopes that the drag would keep the bow to the wind. The Rhode Island bravely put out its small boats and the crews fought against the seas to reach the doomed ironclad. When they reached the distressed ship they discovered that their wooden rowboats were being ruptured each time the sea tossed them up against the iron sides of the Monitor. They patched their leaks and bailed, and continued their rescue mission.
Of the sixty five man crew, the Rhode Island managed to rescue forty nine, Lt. Greene being among the survivors. Twelve seamen and four officers drowned. Among those lost were two sailors were refused to leave the roof of the turret and take their chances boarding a lifeboat. Their remains were found when the Monitor was discovered and excavated 180 years later.
At 1 am on the 30th, with the survivors watching from the deck of the Rhode Island, the Monitor slipped beneath the surface and was gone, not to be seen again until discovered on the ocean floor in 1973.
Dawn on a deadly day 150 years ago today. General William Rosecrans 41,000 were preparing to assault General Bragg's 35,000 while Bragg was planning on doing the same to Rosecrans.
Situation at the start of the battle...
Bragg moved first. At 6 am General Hardee's corps on the rebel left, smashed into General McCook's wing on the Federal right. McCook's men were finishing their breakfast and the Confederates had advanced to within 200 yards before the Union men were formed into battle lines. Regiment after regiment gave way, a thousand prisoners were taken and the Federal line began to fold back in on itself like a jackknife, shoved two miles back from their original position. Within the first hour, Rosecrans' right flank had ceased to exist and he canceled his planned assault on the rebel right in order to deal with the emergency before him.
At Perryville it had been Hardee and Polk routing McCook's wing and General Phillip Sheridan coming to the rescue with his aggressive instincts. Here Sheridan once more saved the day. His division was on the far left of McCook's wing and if it gave way, the Union center would have been cut off from the Yankee left. Sheridan did not give way. He rallied his men to form an apex point, uniting the wings of Rosecrans' force at the fold of the jackknife. There Sheridan stood while absorbing and repelling all that Bragg could throw against it.
Situation around 10 am, the Federal left has been folded in on itself
Around 11 am Sheridan's men had exhausted their ammunition and were compelled to fall back, temporarily opening a gap in this utterly crucial point on the battlefield. Hardee rushed his troops into this opening but was repulsed by massed artillery fire and a heroic stand by Colonel William B. Hazen's brigade who occupied an area of the apex called the Round Forest. The afternoon was consumed with repeated assaults, all of which were eventually forced back.
On the rebel right, General Breckenridge held Federal general Crittenden in check, and vice versa. Breckenridge had mistakenly reported a heavier force in front of him than was actually there and this prevented Bragg from stripping his right to reinforce the attacks on the apex. This of course would magnify the already large amount of personal animosity between these two generals.
For his efforts, Bragg had actually only succeeded in driving the Union army into a stronger and more compact defensive position than it occupied in the morning, one with shorter interior lines. By 4:30 pm, the early winter darkness brought an end to the fighting for the day, leaving positions which looked like...
Bragg believed that he had won a great victory and that tomorrow would consist of mopping up what was left. He had suffered 9000 casualties, an incredible 26 % of his force, but thought that Rosecrans had been bled to an even greater degree, a conclusion he based on having taken nearly 3500 Yankee prisoners in the initial strike against McCook. He wired Richmond "The enemy has yielded his strong position and is falling back. We occupy [the] whole field and shall follow him. ... God has granted us a happy New Year."
In reality the Federal losses were about the same as the Confederate's. Rosecrans convened an officer meeting that night and they determined to stay in their present positions and fight it out.
************************************************** ****************************
Also on this day President Lincoln signed the enabling bill and West Virginia officially became a State, its previous political connections with the rest of Virginia, forever severed.
General Bragg woke this New Year 150 years ago today fully expecting to see that General Rosecrans army had quit the battlefield. His army had mauled the Federals throughout the day before, collapsing the Union left wing and converting their defensive line into a compact V shape.
Bragg's expectations were frustrated, the Yankees were still in place, and apparently still full of fight. As with his advance against Louisville, when he discovered that his plan had been disrupted, he was left in a muddled mental state and seemed unsure of what to do next. He decided to take a day to think about it, giving his men a much needed rest following a dawn to dusk rage of combat on the 31st. While the men in gray appreciated the breather, they were also apprehensive because the day passed with the sounds of the Yankee axes in their ears as the Federals worked to construct field works and trenches. A renewed attack the next day would mean advancing against a more prepared foe. By this time everyone on both sides had gained an appreciation of the price of attacking a well fortified enemy.
Rosecrans and his officers had concluded to remain on the battlefield and absorb whatever blows Bragg decided to deliver. Both generals concluded that further action would most likely take place on the rebel right, the portion which had been the least engaged the day before. Rosecrans sent General Crittenden's wing to occupy a high ridge on the west bank of the Stone's River, directly opposite General Breckenridge's Corps. These heights also afforded a commanding view to the front, so Rosecrans shifted a large portion of his artillery there as well. Generals Hardee and Polk's Corps had been bled badly on the 31st, so Bragg believed that Breckenridge's fresh troops might be his best hope for January 2nd. He would resume his attack then.
Also on this day, in one of America's most momentous moments, President Abraham Lincoln participated in a small formal ceremony where he signed the Emancipation Proclamation into law. The ninety days Lincoln had given the South to forsake their rebellion and rejoin the Union with their property still intact had expired and the Confederacy was put on notice, to lose the war now would also mean losing their slaves, the peculiar institution could only survive if there was a rebel victory and the establishment of Confederate independence.
That the president would sign it rather than withdraw it had been a matter of speculation among his cabinet members. They, as well as Congress, had been puzzled by Lincoln's failure to mention it in his December State of the Union message to Congress. Instead Lincoln had revived his plan for gradual, compensated emancipation and argued for that. Did that mean he had given up on the idea of this general emancipation? Senator Charles Sumner was tapped by the Republicans to feel out the president on the matter. When Sumner arrived to visit with Lincoln, he found him at work on the final draft. The president assured Sumner that the measure was going forward just as promised, but that it had been delayed because he wanted to get the language as precise and correct as possible. "I know very well that the name connected with this document will never be forgotten" Lincoln explained. Sumner spread the word that all was well.
This was an executive action, taken under the president's lawful war powers, and was promoted as strictly a war measure, not social engineering, a penalty for rebellion, not intrusive Federal morality.
It worked both ways as a war measure. The loss of the slaves would certainly hurt the ability of the Confederates to sustain their war effort, but simultaneously the threat of the loss of the slaves would inflate their motivation to win.
There were celebrations among the abolitionist circles of the north, although most of the radical Republicans didn't feel the measure went far enough. There were also great celebrations in the areas of the South currently occupied by Federal troops. There the former "contrabands" were now legally and forever free. About 200,000 former slaves, now behind Union lines, had their status altered from confiscated property to free men and women, so the often heard "The Proclamation didn't free a single slave at the time it was issued" is not truly correct. However, more than three million slaves remained in captivity, legally emancipated or not.
For most of the southern slaves, that freedom would have to wait for a Northern victory. For southerners, more than a billion dollars in private property had just been declared confiscated by the United States government. For them the Proclamation was cited as justification for the rebellion.. these black Republicans are just using the war as an excuse to do what they had always intended to do, free the slaves and destroy the southern way of life.
A Copy of the Emancipation Proclamation..the original was lost in a State Department fire.
General Bragg was set to renew his assault on this morning 150 years ago today, but decided to wait some more after his cavalry chief, General Joseph Wheeler, arrived with a report.
Wheeler had been operating in the rear of the Yankee army, harassing whatever traffic was going back and forth between Nashville and Murfreesboro. The previous night Wheeler had discovered the roads were suddenly crowded with Federal wagons in motion. He took this to be General Rosecrans trying to evacuate supplies in advance of a retreat. When this was reported to Bragg he took this to be a further sign that he had won a victory, so he waited for the Yankees to leave.
What Wheeler had actually seen was the extended ambulance train carrying the Federal wounded back to Nashville. No retreat was contemplated by Rosecrans and as the day wore on Bragg finally began to realize that their morning appreciation of the situation had been false. Frustrated by having wasted the day, at 4pm he ordered General Breckenridge to attack a Federal brigade which had crossed the Stones River and taken a position on a small hill. Breckenridge protested. Not only was there not enough daylight left to exploit any gains made by an attack, but his men would also be required to advance under the Union guns parked on the ridge across the river, positioned perfectly to fire into the flank of his lines. Breckenridge felt that this would be mindless suicide and informed Bragg of this opinion. Bragg explained that if the Yankees were still there in the morning, then he would send in Polk's Corps to assault the Union center. He wanted those guns cleared off so that they would not threaten Polk's flank when he charged. Breckenridge was justly puzzled by Bragg's reasoning. Allow the guns to destroy his flank today and they will still be there tomorrow to blast Polk, he argued.
Bragg was unmoved by the pleas from his subordinate. Breckenridge was already high on Bragg's Ugly List, marked down in Bragg's mind as coward going back to Breckenridge's failure to get east in time for the Heartland Campaign, and compounded by Breckenridge's failure to attack on the 31st. The assault would be made.
It was. Despite his reservations, and his contempt for his general, Breckenridge gave it an all out effort, aggressively attacking the Union brigade on his side of the river, forcing them back, but then coming under the massed fire of 58 artillery pieces from across the water. In less than an hour of this bombardment, Breckenridge lost 1800 men, a third of his force. When counter attacked by General James Negley's division, Breckenridge was forced to retire, ending the fighting on this day.
That night Wheeler was able to deliver a more accurate report...reinforcements from Nashville were on the march, Rosecran's army was likely to be doubled in size within the next two days. Having suffered enormous losses, Bragg decided that he had no option but to retreat, heading 35 miles south to Tullahoma. Thus, like his Perryville battle, Bragg converted a tactical victory into a strategic defeat.
It had been a costly one for both sides. In terms of the percentage of those engaged, Stones River was the bloodiest battle of the war. Rosecrans had lost 12,550, 31 % of his force. Bragg's casualties were 11,740, or 34% of his army.
The end result was that Murfreesboro was in Union hands, but Rosecrans went into winter quarters after the battle and it would be five months before any sort of campaigning would be renewed in this theater by either side.
President Lincoln was of course disappointed by Rosecrans' failure to pursue, to follow up the battle by catching and crushing Bragg. However, on the heels of the disaster at Fredericksburg and the repulse at Chickasaw Bayou, the president felt that it would be best to report and promote Stones River as much more of a triumph than it actually was. The North was informed a great victory had been won and Rosecrans was lauded a hero.
In the South, the bitter in fighting among Bragg and his senior sub commanders was instantly renewed. Much was made of Bragg having to retreat once again, and delivering to his nation a large butcher's bill in exchange for no apparent gain. Bragg focused on Breckenridge, blaming his failure to attack on the 31st, and his failed attack on the 2nd, as the reason for the Confederate loss. Polk, Hardee and Breckenridge saw Bragg as a man who went numb minded at critical points in a battle. And it wasn't just Bragg's officers who were highly displeased with their commander, throughout the ranks there was growing anger about the way that they were being used. Perryville and Murfreesboro, two fights where Bragg seemed to have won on the field, followed by retreats. The men began to question why they were fighting battles at all if regardless of the outcome, their commander ordered them to march away and leave the field to the enemy.
President Davis would have to make another personal visit to the western theater to try and restore harmony among his generals there....and he was still two days away from arriving back in Richmond following his first visit.
The Final Phase....Breckenridge's Assault Broken Up By Federal Artillery
Last edited by Grandstander; 01-01-2013 at 05:22 PM..
General Sherman was looking for some sort of redemption after the one sided repulse he had suffered at Chickasaw Bayou. General McClernand was looking for any sort of project that would bring him some glory and advance his ambitions.
Back in Memphis, McClernand at last regained command of the army he had raised, and then had "stolen" from him by the machinations of Generals Halleck, Grant and Sherman. To make sure that he had independent command, he named his 33,000 man force the Army of the Mississippi. Its current orders were none...simply awaiting Grant's next plan for taking Vicksburg.
Forty miles from where the Arkansas River emptied into the Mississippi there was a settlement called Arkansas Post, protected by a fort called Hindman which was manned by 5000 dismounted cavalrymen under General Thomas J. Churchill. This served as a base from which the rebels launched raids on Mississippi River traffic. It was considered a nuisance, but capable of only pin prick damage.
Sherman decided that in the absence of other duties, why not go ahead and swat this fly? He approached McClernand for permission to take his Corps to reduce Fort Hindman, but McClernand showed little interest. Sherman then approached Fleet Commander David Porter and discussed an expedition against Hindman. Porter offered to come along and command the boats used personally. When McClernand learned that Porter would cooperate with a move against Hindman, he suddenly did an about face. Recalling how Grant had received the credit when the navy had bombarded Fort Henry into submission, McClernand now saw the project as a can't miss vehicle for advancing his agenda. If Hindman fell to Porter's guns, McClernand would get the credit as overall commander. If the attack failed, the blame could be placed on Porter.
Of course this coming glory required that McClernand command in person, so instead of Sherman and one Corps assuming the task, now it would be the entire Army of the Mississippi plus a gunboat fleet to capture this one fortification. This was truly fly hunting with a howitzer.
150 years ago today the preparations began. What did not happen was McClernand bothering to notify his theater commander, Grant, the Army Chief, Halleck, the Secretary of War, Stanton, or the president. McClernand did not want to risk any one calling off his party, so he decided that he would inform Grant, the same day that his force embarked for Arkansas Post.
Confederate president Jefferson Davis arrived back in Richmond 150 years ago today following what had been an extended tour of the western theater which had been motivated by the bickering among his commanders. He had gotten things adequately patched up, but following the battle at Stones River which took place while he was traveling back east, the friction and animosity had rematerialized.
Davis was exhausted from the long trip and anxious for some private time with his family. It was not to be, at least not right away. Gathered outside the Confederate White House was a huge crowd which had turned out to welcome him home. They brought bands to serenade him and repeatedly called for a speech. Davis felt obliged to accommodate them and what might have been a few remarks and a thanks for the party, wound up being what was more or less a Confederate State of the Union address, one which summarized the war's progress and rallied the South to even greater efforts.
Davis reminded them of the justice of their cause..
Quote:
Anticipating the overthrow of that Government which you had inherited, you assumed to yourselves the right, as your fathers had done before you, to declare yourselves independent, and nobly have you advocated the assertion which you have made. Here, upon your soil, some of the fiercest battles of the Revolution were fought, and upon your soil it closed by the surrender of Cornwallis. Here again are men of every State; here they have congregated, linked in the defence of a most sacred cause. They haved battled, they have bled upon your soil, and it is now consecrated by blood which cries for vengeance against the insensate foe of religion as well as of humanity, of the altar as well as of the hearthstone.
Davis proudly spoke of the recent victory at Fredericksburg, and then like President Lincoln, put the best possible spin on the Stones River battle, fancifully linking it to some imagined scenario where the unity of the North was shattered.
Quote:
In the West, too, at Murfreesboro you have gained a victory over hosts vastly superior to our own in number. You have achieved a result there as important, as brilliant as that which occurred on the soil of Virginia; and cotemporaneously at Vicksburg, where they were struggling to get possession of the great artery, the control of the Mississippi river, to answer the demands of the North West. In every combat there they have been beaten, and I trust they will be beaten in future. Out of this victory is to come that dissatisfaction in the North West, which will rive the power of that section; and thus we see in the future the dawn--first separation of the North West from the Eastern States, the discord among them which will paralyze the power of both;--then for us future peace and prosperity.
He wrapped it up on a note of high optimism...
Quote:
-One year ago many were depressed and some despondent. Now deep resolve is seen in every eye, an unconquerable spirit nerves every arm. And gentle woman, too, who can estimate the value of her services in this struggle? The mother who has given her son, the wife who has given her husband, the girl who has given her sweetheart, are not all their fingers busy making clothing for the troops in the field, and their words of encouragement a most animating impulse to the soldier? Whilst their prayers go up for the safety of a friend or relative in the field, always coupled with them is the earnest aspiration for the independence of our country. With such noble women at home, and such heroic soldiers in the field, we are invincible.
The speech went over extremely well, Davis receiving a thunderous ovation. It had radiated the appearance of a spontaneous address, but actually was a cobbling together of the speeches he had been making all over the western Confederacy during his lengthy tour.
While those in the audience were heartened to find their president still full of fire and vigor, many also commented on how rapidly the job appeared to be aging him, the same observation which was being made about Abraham Lincoln by Northern observers.
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