I wrote a letter to Norton's wife for him. Dress parade and review.
Adjutant came and Mr. Wright also. Fine weather. Col. wants his room cleaned
for $1. I sent a paper to father.
SOURCE: Lewis C. Paxson, Diary of Lewis C. Paxson: Stockton,
N.J., 1862-1865, p. 10
Military school. Baldwin cleaned the colonel's room. I received $1 from
the colonel for it, and paid Baldwin $1. Capt. Atkinson received his clothing,
new suit, etc. Mack, Whitney, etc., gone down to Chippewa station.
SOURCE: Lewis C. Paxson, Diary of Lewis C. Paxson: Stockton,
N.J., 1862-1865, p. 10
I sold my traps again to Mr. Wright for $5.50. Lyceum. Beautiful
northern lights.
SOURCE: Lewis C. Paxson, Diary of Lewis C. Paxson: Stockton,
N.J., 1862-1865, p. 10
Unusually fine day. Letter to Stockton pupils, etc. Oyster supper, 50.
SOURCE: Lewis C. Paxson, Diary of Lewis C. Paxson: Stockton,
N.J., 1862-1865, p. 10
Mail came in this evening. Adj. Larned (the old man) and I had a long
talk. I wrote to Silas L. Slack.
SOURCE: Lewis C. Paxson, Diary of Lewis C. Paxson: Stockton,
N.J., 1862-1865, p. 10
I borrowed five stamps of Norton.
SOURCE: Lewis C. Paxson, Diary of Lewis C. Paxson: Stockton,
N.J., 1862-1865, p. 10
I finished my cap.
SOURCE: Lewis C. Paxson, Diary of Lewis C. Paxson: Stockton,
N.J., 1862-1865, p. 10
All as usual. I bought 2 1-2 lbs. of candles at 40c, $1.00.
SOURCE: Lewis C. Paxson, Diary of Lewis C. Paxson: Stockton,
N.J., 1862-1865, p. 10
Debate. I fixed up the skull with wax. Carr and I took a walk around.
Some curious specimens of quartz found in the well slough.
SOURCE: Lewis C. Paxson, Diary of Lewis C. Paxson: Stockton,
N.J., 1862-1865, p. 10
Dear Sir, When we
parted I hoped by this date to have been able to leave home free from the
inconvenience and disagreeable exposure of hopping on crutches.1 My
foot has not improved much and though just now its appearance is flattering I
have been so often disappointed that I await further evidence.
I thank you for the
interest you take in the appointment of U. S. Senator and am really obliged to
Gov. Brown for feelings which by others I had been led to believe he did not
entertain towards me.
With the hope that I
will soon have the pleasure of seeing you I am as ever very sincerely your
friend
* Chancellor
Mississippi Superior Court of Chancery from 1846 to 1853.
1 Col. Jefferson Davis and his regiment of
Mississippi Riflemen saved the army of General Taylor from defeat at the battle
of Buena Vista. He was painfully wounded in the foot during the engagement; and
after returning to his plantation at "Brierfield" in June 1847 he was
disabled for some time. It was during this period that he was appointed United
States Senator from Mississippi by Governor Brown.
SOURCE: Dunbar
Rowland, Editor, Jefferson Davis, Constitutionalist: His Letters, Papers
and Speeches, Volume 1, p. 88
War Department, July 16, 1847.
Sir: I am directed
by the President to inform you, in reply to your letter of the 26th ultimo,
that he will accept of such a Battalion of Riflemen as you suggest, to serve
during the war, to be raised in the State of Mississippi. You indicate the
employment of them under Major General Taylor, but it is probable that the more
active operations will be with the column under the command of Maj. Gen. Scott,
and their services may be required in connection with that column. Presuming
that they will prefer the most active service, and that a different destination
from that mentioned by you will not impede the raising of it, I shall send
forthwith a request to the Governor to aid in the organization thereof.
In regard to your
suggestion that the Battalion should be mounted, I would remark that the
mounted force already called out is deemed to be sufficient for the service
which may be required of that description of force, and it is not now proposed
to add to their number.
SOURCE: Dunbar
Rowland, Editor, Jefferson Davis, Constitutionalist: His Letters, Papers
and Speeches, Volume 1, pp. 88-9
Dear Sir: I send you
herewith the correspondence between the Secretary of War and our Governor, in
relation to the arms of the first Mississippi Rifles.
One of the letters
passed out of my possession at New Orleans, to satisfy the United States
Mustering officer of our right to retain the Rifles, and has been recently
recovered, or I should have presented this correspondence to you earlier, and
asked its insertion in your paper. The prompt and early attention of Gov. Brown
to a feeling so deep in our Regiment, has received as it deserved, our especial
thanks; and it has seemed to me worthy of being made public.
Very respectfully,
SOURCE: Dunbar
Rowland, Editor, Jefferson Davis, Constitutionalist: His Letters, Papers
and Speeches, Volume 1, p. 89
(From Vicksburg Sentinel, August 18, 1847.)
Sir: A number of the
volunteers in the first Regiment from this State have expressed a very natural
anxiety to be allowed to retain the Arms they have borne in Mexico. The
attachment which a soldier feels for his gun may easily be imagined. The
Mississippians of the first regiment will return home in the course of a few
weeks. The reluctance which many of them have expressed, and all of them feel
to giving up their guns, induces me to request an order that
they be allowed to retain them. If this request cannot be granted, I then
request that the arms in the hands of the volunteers belonging to the first
Mississippi Regiment may be issued to this State as a part of the quota due
her, in which event the State will present them to the volunteers. The Regiment
will feel gratified, as well as the citizens of Mississippi generally, if a
piece of ordnance taken at Monterey, were presented to the volunteers on their
return home as a trophy of that victory, which the Regiment from our State
assisted in achieving.
Very Respectfully,
SOURCE: Dunbar
Rowland, Editor, Jefferson Davis, Constitutionalist: His Letters, Papers
and Speeches, Volume 1, p. 89-90
(From Vicksburg
Sentinel, August 18, 1847.)
Sir: I have the
honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 20th ultimo,
representing the anxiety felt by a number of the volunteers in the first
Regiment from your State to retain the arms they have borne in Mexico, and
requesting that an order might be issued to that effect. In answer, I regret to
say that the Department has no power to dispose of the public property confided
to its charge, in the way here proposed. But with a view to gratify the natural
desire of the volunteers as far as may be consistently done, the Department
takes pleasure in adopting the suggestion of your Excellency, and has
accordingly directed that the arms in the hands of the volunteers belonging to
the first Mississippi Regiment be issued to the State as a part of her quota
under the act of 1808, agreeably to the report of the Ordnance Department
herewith enclosed.
It would give me
sincere pleasure to comply with your request in relation to presenting to the
gallant Mississippi Volunteers a portion of the trophies won at Monterey, but I
regret that I have not the right to dispose of them, even to those by whose valor
they were acquired. The right to dispose of them is in Congress, and I cannot
doubt they will readily and cheerfully gratify the wishes of your brave fellow
citizens as soon as it shall be made known to them.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully,
SOURCE: Dunbar
Rowland, Editor, Jefferson Davis, Constitutionalist: His Letters, Papers
and Speeches, Volume 1, pp. 90-1
(From Vicksburg
Sentinel, August 18, 1847.)
Sir: In relation to the letter of the Governor
of Mississippi, referred to this office, asking that certain Volunteers from
that State be allowed to retain the arms which they have used so efficiently in
Mexico, I have the honor to report as follows: With every disposition to
gratify the rational desire of the soldier to retain in his possession the
weapon, with which he has so successfully fought and gained imperishable
renown, there is no power in this Department to thus dispose of public
property. One thousand Percussion Rifles were issued to the Regiment commanded
by Col. Jefferson Davis. How many have been lost or destroyed in service, is
not known. The alternative proposed by Governor Brown, that these arms be
issued to the State of Mississippi under the law of 1808, as a part of her
quota, may be adopted provisionally, and the whole number stand charged to that
State until the losses are ascertained, or until legislation shall be had in
the case.
The number of
muskets usually apportioned to the State is about three hundred and fifty, so
that it would absorb the allotment for three years, were the whole number
issued to remain charged to the State.
The letter of
Governor Brown is returned herewith.
I am, sir,
respectfully,
SOURCE: Dunbar
Rowland, Editor, Jefferson Davis, Constitutionalist: His Letters, Papers
and Speeches, Volume 1, p. 91
(From Vicksburg
Sentinel, August 18, 1847.)
Sir: Enclosed you
will receive copies of letter received at the Executive Department, and which,
it is, doubtless, the desire of the Governor you should have as soon as
possible.
With the highest
respect,
And most sincere
consideration,
SOURCE: Dunbar
Rowland, Editor, Jefferson Davis, Constitutionalist: His Letters, Papers
and Speeches, Volume 1, p. 92
(From the
Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Letter Book of Governor Brown.)
I have the honor to
enclose you a commission as U. States Senator to fill a vacancy occasioned by
the death of the late General Speight.1 The people have experienced
deep and sincere regret in the mournful event, which deprived them of a
faithful friend and long tried public servant. In this feeling I have
participated to the fullest extent. The event has given us all an opportunity
which we embrace with melancholy pleasure of testifying our high appreciation
of your valuable services as a member of the twenty-ninth Congress, and your
more valuable and distinguished services at the head of the 1st Miss. Regt in
Mexico. The people will never cease to remember with pride and gratitude that
to you, Sir, and the brave Mississippians under your command, is our State
indebted for honors as imperishable as the soil on which you won them; honors,
which shall last as long as chivalry is respected or valor has a place in the
hearts of men. They expect me to offer you this commission, and it gives me
sincere personal pleasure to gratify that expectation. It is the tribute which
a grateful people speaking through their representative pays to heroic deeds of
disinterested patriotism. In returning to the arena of politics you may have it
in your power to counsel your Government in regard to a people whom you have
aided in conquering whose weaknesses & follies you have learned to
appreciate from personal observation, and to whom I am sure you are willing to
give an honorable peace whenever they and their rulers shall have the good
sense to accept it.
1 Jesse Speight, 1795-1847. Born in Greene
County, N. C. Congressman from that State. U. S. Senator from Mississippi Dec.
1, 1845 to May 1, 1847, the date of his death.
SOURCE: Dunbar
Rowland, Editor, Jefferson Davis, Constitutionalist: His Letters, Papers
and Speeches, Volume 1, pp. 92-3
(From Mississippi Free Trader, September 8,
1847.)
Warren County, Miss., 15th August, 1847.
Sir—I have the honor
to acknowledge the receipt of your very kind letter of the 10th inst.,
accompanying the commission (which you have conferred upon me) of U. States
Senator to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of the late Senator
Speight.
In the deep and
sincere regret experienced at the loss of our tried and faithful
representative, none can sympathize more truly than myself; none more fully
realize the calamity we have sustained, in the death of this pure politician,
this fearless exponent and vigilant guardian of the interests of our State.
It is with a
grateful sense of the distinction bestowed, and a high estimate of the
responsibilities which I am about to assume, that I accept the commission you
have tendered, with so much of delicate and gratifying encouragement.
The approbation
which you convey of my services in the twenty-ninth Congress is especially
pleasing, because therein was manifested my fixed opinion on the taxing and
expending powers of the federal government, my uniformly entertained and often
avowed creed of strict construction for the constitution of our Union.
I cannot express
adequately my thanks for the high commendation you bestow on the services
rendered in Mexico by the first Mississippi Riflemen. As the representative of
the people give us that meed of praise, which is the great incentive, the only
reward of the citizen soldier for all which he may suffer or do in the cause of
his country. As State troops, under your organization we entered the service of
the United States. Proud of the name of Mississippi; proud of her former
achievements in war; anxious to burnish on the battle field her shield, rusted
in the repose of peace; it was my wish, it was my effort to preserve my
distinct organization, our State individuality; that thus we might bring back
whatever of honorable distinction we should have the good fortune to acquire,
and lay it at the feet of Mississippi, as our contribution to the joint
property of her citizens, the reputation of the State.
You have justly
anticipated my views in relation to a peace with Mexico; an event to be desired
not merely from its influence on our domestic policy, but also to save from
monarchial alliance, or entire prostration, a republican confederacy, which,
despite our caution and magnanimous forbearance has forced us into war. The
common desire of our countrymen to see the principle of self-government
extended over this continent and recognized as the policy of America, has
justified past administrations in tolerating past offences by Mexico, and still
seeking to cultivate friendly relations. This desire has, I doubt not, led to a
general approval of the course pursued by the present administration, in its
steady efforts to open negotiations for a treaty of peace.
SOURCE: Dunbar
Rowland, Editor, Jefferson Davis, Constitutionalist: His Letters, Papers
and Speeches, Volume 1, pp. 93-4
(From Washington
Union, October 12, 1847.)
Brierfield, Sep. 19, 1847.
C. J. Searles, Esq.—My dear sir: Your highly valued letter of
the 3d inst. came duly to hand, but found me quite sick, and I have not
been able at an earlier date to reply to it. Accept my thanks for your kind
solicitude for my welfare.
Your past conduct
enabled me to anticipate this from you, and I am therefore doubly grateful.
The political
information you communicate was entirely new to me, and it is only under the
belief that the crisis renders important the views of every southern man, that
I can account for any speculations having arisen about my opinions as to the
next presidency. I have never anticipated a separation upon this question from
the democracy of Mississippi; and if such intention or expectation has been
attributed to me, it is not only unauthorized but erroneous.
It might become
necessary to unite us southern men, and to dissolve the ties which have
connected us to the northern democracy, the position recently assumed in a
majority of the non-slaveholding States has led me to fear. Yet, I am not of
those who decry a national convention, but believe that present circumstances
with more than usual force indicate the propriety of such meeting. On the
question of southern institutions and southern rights, it is true that
extensive defections have occurred among northern democrats; but enough of good
feeling is still exhibited to sustain the hope that as a party they will show
themselves worthy of their ancient appellation, the natural allies of the
south, and will meet us upon just constitutional ground. At least I consider it
due to former associations that we should give them the fairest opportunity to
do so, and furnish no cause for failure by seeming distrust or aversion.
I would say, then,
let our delegates meet those from the north, not as a paramount object to nominate
candidates for the presidency and vice presidency, but, before entering upon
such selection, to demand of their political brethren of the north a disavowal
of the principles of the Wilmot Proviso, an admission of the equal right of the
south with the north to the territory held as the common property of the United
States, and a declaration in favor of extending the Missouri compromise to all
States to be hereafter admitted into our confederacy.
If these principles
are recognised, we will happily avoid the worst of all political divisions—one
made by geographical lines merely. The convention, representing every section
of the Union, and elevated above local jealousy and factious strife, may
proceed to select candidates, whose principles, patriotism, judgment, and
decision indicate men fit for the time and the occasion. If, on the other hand,
that spirit of hostility to the south, hat thirst for political dominion over
us, which, within two years past, has displayed such increased power and
systematic purpose, should prevail, it will only remain for our delegates to
withdraw from the convention, and inform their fellow-citizens of the failure
of their mission. We shall then have reached a point at which all party
measures sink into insignificance under the necessity for self-preservation;
and party divisions should be buried in union for defence.
But, until then, let
us do all which becomes us to avoid sectional division, that united we may go
on to the perfection of democratic measures, the practical exemplification of
those great principles for which we have struggled, as promotive of the peace,
the prosperity, and the perpetuity of our confederation.
Though the signs of
the times are portentous of evil, and the cloud which now hangs on our northern
horizon threatens a storm, it may yet blow over with only the tear-drops of
contrition and regret. In this connexion it is consolatory to remember, that
whenever the tempest has convulsively tossed our republic and threatened it with
wreck, brotherly love has always poured oil on the waters, and the waves have
subsided to rest. Thus may it be now and forever. If we should be disappointed
in such hopes, I forbear from any remark upon the contingency which will be
presented. Enough for the day will be the evil thereof, and
enough for the evil will be the union and energy and power of the south.
I hope it will soon
be in my power to visit you and other friends at Vicksburg, from whom I have
been so long separated. I am, as ever, truly your friend,
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
SOURCE: Dunbar
Rowland, Editor, Jefferson Davis, Constitutionalist: His Letters, Papers
and Speeches, Volume 1, p. 94-6
