To-day I had, in our office, a specimen of Mr. Memminger's
oratory. He was pleading for an installment of the claims of South Carolina on
the Confederacy; and Mr. Walker, always hesitating, argued the other side,
merely for delay. Both are fine speakers, with most distinct enunciation and
musical voices. The demand was audited and paid, amounting, I believe, to
several hundred thousand dollars.
And I heard and saw Mr. Toombs to-day, the Secretary of State.
He is a portly gentleman, but with the pale face of the student and the marks of
a deep thinker. To gaze at him in repose, the casual spectator would suppose,
from his neglect of dress, that he was a planter in moderate circumstances, and
of course-not gifted with extraordinary powers of intellect; but let him open
his mouth, and the delusion vanishes. At the time alluded to he was surrounded
by the rest of the cabinet, in our office, and the topic was the policy of the
war. He was for taking the initiative, and carrying the war into the enemy's
country. And as he warmed with the subject, the man seemed to vanish,
and the genius alone was visible, He was most emphatic in the advocacy of
his policy, and bold almost to rashness in his denunciations of the merely
defensive idea. He was opposed to all delays, as fraught with danger; the enemy
were in the field, and their purposes were pronounced. Why wait to see what
they meant to do? If we did that, they would not only invade us, but get a permanent
foothold on our soil. We must invade or be invaded; and he was for making the
war as terrible as possible from the beginning. It was to be no child's play;
and nothing could be gained by reliance upon the blunders and forbearance of the
Yankees. News had been received of the occupation of Alexandria and Arlington
Heights, in Virginia; and if we permitted them to build fortifications there,
we should not be able to expel them. He denounced with bitterness the neglect of
the authorities in Virginia. The enemy should not have been permitted to cross
the Potomac. During the month which had elapsed since the passage of the
ordinance in Virginia, nothing had been done, nothing attempted. It was true,
the vote on ratification had not been taken; and although that fact might
shield the provisional government from responsibility, yet the delay to act was
fraught with danger and perhaps irreparable injury. Virginia alone could have
raised and thrown across the Potomac 25,000 men, and driven the Yankees beyond
the Susquehanna. But she, to avoid responsibility, had been telegraphing Davis
to come to the rescue; and if he (Toombs) had been in Davis's place, he would
have taken the responsibility.
The Secretary of War well knew how to parry these thrusts;
he was not responsible. He was as ultra a man as any; and all he could do was
to organize and arm the troops authorized by Congress. Some thirty odd thousand
were mustered in already; and at least five thousand volunteers were offering
daily. Mr. Toombs said five hundred thousand volunteers ought to be accepted
and for the war. We wanted no six or twelve months' men. To this the Secretary
replied that the Executive could not transcend the limits prescribed by
Congress.
These little discussions were of frequent occurrence; and it
soon became apparent that the Secretary of War was destined to be the most
important man among the cabinet ministers. His position afforded the best
prospect of future distinction — always provided he should be equal to the
position, and his administration attended with success. I felt convinced that
Toombs would not be long chafing in the cabinet, but that he would seize the
first opportunity to repair to the field.
SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's
Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 1, p. 38-40
No comments:
Post a Comment