The Papers of Jefferson Davis

1862

Jefferson Davis

• Publisher: LSU Press
• Year: 1995
• ISBN:
  9780807158838
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: American Civil War History
• Index: History

Volume 8 of The Papers of Jefferson Davis brings the Confederate president to the second year of the War Between the States and shows that during 1862 Davis was almost completely overwhelmed by military matters. Indeed, early that year, in an address to the Confederate Congress, he admitted that in trying to defend every part of its far-flung territory, the "Government had attempted more than it had power successfully to achieve."During 1862, Judah P. Benjamin was replaced as secretary of war by George W. Randolph, who was then succeeded by James A. Seddon. As the year advanced, Davis' relationships with certain key generals continued to sour. Chief among them were P.G.T. Beauregard, who was finally removed from his last significant command, and Joseph E. Johnston, whose fall from grace precipitated Robert E. Lee's rise to influence as commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. Lee proved to be as adept in communicating and coordinating plans with the president as Johnston had been inept.At the inconclusive Battle of Shiloh, Davis lost Albert Sidney Johnston, a trusted friend and the general he had most admired. Like Shiloh, many other campaigns of 1862 ended in stalemate and withdrawal, including Henry H. Sibley's New Mexico campaign, Braxton Bragg's Kentucky campaign, Earl Van Dorn's battle at Elkhorn Tavern, and the Confederacy's greatest gamble—Lee's Invasion of Maryland.Correspondence with Davis' brother, Joseph E. Davis, reveals the ever-worsening situation in Mississippi. The Federal occupation of New Orleans, the fall of new Madrid and Island No. 10, and Grants repeated attempts to capture Vicksburg heightened anxiety about the area and persuaded the president to tour the western theater in December.Because the Union's springtime invasion of Richmond prompted Davis to send his wife and children away, Volume 8 contains an unusually rich collection of letters exchanged during their separation. This correspondence offers a rare glimpse into the minds and hearts of Davis and his wife.Altogether, more than 2, 000 documents, many never before published, are included in Volume 8; 133 are printed in full. Culled from fifty-nine repositories, twenty-one private collections, and numerous printed sources, they reveal that despite the many setbacks he suffered in 1862, Davis maintained a deep devotion to duty and an unbending will to win.

INDEX

Abbeville, Miss., 447, 539, 541

Acee, Erasmus L.: Ls from, 145, 172

mentioned, 227

Acors, Almira P.: L from, 112

Acors, Thomas, 112

Adams, Charles Francis (sketch, 7:377), 22

Adams, Daniel W., 15, 266

Adams, John D. (sketch, 365), 362, 366

Adams, Samuel (armorer): L from, 526

Adams, Samuel (governor), 365

Adams, Stephen (sketch, 2:298): L to, 598

Adams, William Wirt (sketch, 15): criticized, 400

recommended, 370

L from, 11–13

mentioned, 190

Addington, Joseph E.: L from, 3

Adjutant and Inspector General's Office: appointments, 99, 114, 154

orders, 111

organization, 155, 404. See also Cooper, Samuel

African Americans. See blacks

Alabama: conscription, 166, 452, 468, 490, 493–94, 497, 541, 544

crops, 481

Davis on, 468, 588

defenses, 164, 452, 485, 579

disaffection, 164, 261, 549, (Davis), 551

invaded, 40, 41, 258, 497

munitions needed, 44, 152, 164–65, 451, 458

railroads, 92, 116, 130, 140, 142, 164, 166, 378, 383, 392, 403, 509

slaves, 414, 459, 494

support for CSA, 64, 164, 497, 527

threatened, 458, 481, 483

unionism, 458, 497

L from citizens, 445

Ls from congressmen, 414, 415

Alabama, CSS, 110, 190, 283

Alabama, University of, 159

Alabama & Florida Railroad, 130

Alabama & Mississippi Rivers Railroad, 92, 166, 383, 403, 415

Alabama and West Florida, Department of, 165

Alabama River, 164, 589

Alabama troops: 1st Artillery Battalion, 493, 495

Hilliard's Legion, 497

3d Infantry, 90, 263

4th Infancy, 301

5th Infantry, 78, 260

6th Infantry, 261

7th Infantry, 260

11th Infantry, 261

17th Infantry, 44, 257, 313, 314, 587

18th Infantry, 295

20th Infantry, 38, 261

21st Infantry, 112

22d Infantry, 112

25th Infantry, 112

26th Infantry, 112

29th Infantry, 155

36th Infantry, 147

Jeff Davis Artillery, 32

cavalry, 90, 414

commanders, 38, 145, 150, 165, 258, 300, 319, 414

criticized, 147

legion, 125

militia, 44, 80, 86, 90, 166

partisan rangers, 164, 295, 490

pay, 44

at Shiloh, 166, 258, 296

strength, 152, 258, 451

training, 152

alcoholism. See intemperance

Alcorn, James L. (sketch, 17), 15, 16

Alexander, Edward Porter: assignments, 204, 484

on Lee, 221, 355, 374–75

L from, 27

Alexander, J.: Ls from, 107, 467

Alexandria, La., raid, 300

Alexandria, Va., 119, 293, 301, 530

Alien Enemies Act, 461

Allen, Henry W, 463

Allston, Robert F. W : Davis and, 125

American Revolution: Davis on, 55, 588

Lee on, 398

American Union, 582

Ames, Edward R., 36

Anaconda plan, 137

Anderson, Edward C : Davis and, xlvii

Anderson, Edward W : L from, 233

Anderson, Ellen Mary Davis (niece)(sketch, 1:282): Davis visits, 560

mentioned, 180, 517

Anderson/George B. (sketch, 98), 97, 380

Anderson, George T., 423

Anderson, George W.: L from, 360

Anderson, James P., 129

Anderson, Joseph R.: L from, 111

mentioned, 303, 512

Anderson, Richard H. (sketch, 341): Antietam, 393

assignments, 230, 271, 339, 342, 345, 346

Manassas, 366, 370

praised, 229

promoted, 171, 230, 287

Williamsburg, 171, 230

Anderson, Robert N. (sketch, 353), 352

Anderson, Samuel R. (sketch, 3:38): resigns, 85

Ls from, 85, 273, 489, 508

Anderson, Samuel S. (sketch, 365), 362

Anderson, Van A. W.: L from, 489

Anderson, William B.: L from, 150

Andrews, George T. (ident., 7:26): L from, 599

Andrews, James J., 252, 385

Annie Childs (blockade-runner), 109

Antietam, Md., Battle of: aftermath, 420, 421, 484, 506

casualties, 394, 396, 398, 405, 443

G. W C. Lee on, 405

R. E. Lee on, 392, 393–94, 397–98, 415, 516

strength of armies, 389, 570

mentioned, xii, 6, 181, 207, 380, 423, 554

Apache, 348

Apalachicola, Fla., 487

Apalachicola River, 447, 487, 526

Archer, James J., 212, 394

Archibald, William L., 296

Archuleta, Diego (sketch, 594), 591

Arizona Territory, 50, 591

Arkansas: commander, 33, 108

conditions, 142, 193, 312, 360–63, 378, 585

CSA and, 142, 319

conscription, 361, 378

disaffection, 361, 585

martial law, 360, 378, 585

munitions needed, 142, 250, 361, supplied by, 142, 456

operations, 193–94, 234, 304, 361, 562, 585

slaves, 307, 467

strategy, 108, 126, 142, (Davis), 193–94, 562

U.S. troops in, 126, 142, 170, 214, 307, 362–63, 395, 467, 530, 585

Ls from congressmen, 142, 415

Arkansas, CSS: constructed, 20, 249, 251

described, 291

destroyed, 328–29

operations, 267, 288–89, 290–91, 292, 299, 300, 324, 343

Arkansas Post, Ark., 563, 585

Arkansas troops: 2d Cavalry, 247

1st Infantry, 365

17th Infantry, 527

recruiting, 108, 237, 250

strength, 142, 194

Arlington plantation, 245

Armistead, Lewis A., 346, 398

Armstrong, Frank C, 229, 587

army: acts concerning, 74, 78, 79

aid societies, 445, 488

casualties (1862), xiii

cavalry, 75, 309, 319, 551

cipher codes, 117, 391, 529

clothing, 138, 465, 473, 486, 509, 600

colportage, 10

commendations, 336

courts-martial, 26, 90, 119, 146, 198, 250, (Davis), 385

courts of inquiry, 29, 105, 146

criticized, 27, 93, 94, 107, 132, 147, 251, 295, 320, 351, 409, 482, 552

Davis addresses, 133, 217, praises, 138, 142, 217, 275, 278, 372, 470, 571, 576, 579, 588

desertion, 27, 86, 268, 307, 315, 326, 327, 376, 392, 398, 571, 585

disbursing officers, 76

discharges, 402, 481

discipline, 64, 289, 542–43, (Davis), 93, 102

dueling, 398, 403, 414

Fla. militia and, 349

food and rations, 11, 32, 36, 289, 362, 443, 473–74, 507, 541, 585

foreigners in, 272, 392

furloughs, 10, 34, 51, 73, 77, 318, 359, (Davis), 60, 77–78

general officers’ appointments, 69, 302, 408, 438, (Davis), 99, 128, 131, 150, increase, 336, 347

general staff, 431

health, 13, 51, 91, 148, 249, 250, 257, 268, 319, 322, 402, 423, 509, 585, 591

horses and mules, 11, 26, 358, 378, 454

increase (Davis), 79

Indian troops, 266, 319, 329

inspection report, 66

intemperance, 28, 29, 32, 50, 51, 73, 111, 128, 140, 146, 147, 287, 357, 383, 424, 436, 447, 457, 552

laborers, 225, 236

legions (Davis), 134

lieutenant generals, 346, 408, 421

medical care, 55, 281, 381, 388

military courts, 408, 421, 527

morale, 27, 29, 38, 54, 57, 58, 86, 116, 147, 159, 257, 258, 268, 289, 552, (Davis), 174, 269, 578

navy and, 20, 237, 252

officers’ appointments, 165, 167, 229, 251, 257, 260, 274, 289, 299, 320, 331, 336, 342, 386, 425, 438, 446, 473, 480, (Davis), 25, 31, 34, 69, 99, 101, 124, 125, 143, 154, 156, 227, 228, 316, 339, 347, 351, 404, 436, 508, 515, 550, criticized, 27, 172, 176, 177, 195, 272, 316, 319, 387, 425, 433, 446, election, 78, 143, 162, 184, 404

organization, 54, 55, 73, 78, 167, 251, 289, 330, 336, 441, (Davis), 15, 34, 42, 99, 125, 130, 134, 157, 171, 199, 201, 227, 264, 347, 427, 436, 441, 456, (J. E. Johnston), 559, (Lee), 125, by state, 79, 158, 170, 230, (Davis), 42, 456

partisan rangers, 235, 292, 336, 377

pay, 27, 138, 146, 234, 298, 307, 362, 378, 447, 521

Provisional, 135, 153, 251, 320, 426, 431

punishments, 391

recruiting, 78, 79, 80, 83, 127, (Davis), 117, 143

reenlistments, 32, 62, 72, 73, (Davis), 34, 72, 568

regulations, 329

religious needs, 45, 199, (Davis), 579

reserve, 120, 159, (Davis), 570

signal system, 27, 118, 272

and slaves, 144, 284, 372, 402

social classes, 296, (Davis), 569

staff officers, 31, 70, 450, (Davis), 99, 284

and state troops, 10, 25, 60, 223, 331, 338, 342, 384

stragglers, 447, 540

strength (Feb. 62), 60, 71, in Ala., 459, Ark., 585, at Baton Rouge, 324, in E. Tenn., 43, 91, Ky., 11–12, 16, 333, 351, La., 591, of Marshall's command, 301, 384, in Miss., 256, 268, 535, at New Madrid, 5, in N.M., 156, N.C., 45, 47, 534, projected, 453, in Tenn., 57, 93, 118, 128, 328, 462, 509, 535, Texas, 501, Trans-Miss., 376, 476, 558, 559, Va., 51, 69, 74, 80, 129, 212

substitutes, 202, 372, 392, 447, 484, 542

supplies, 139, 162, 326, 362, 446, 473–74, (Davis), 516, 579

telegraph operations, 596

training, 102, 107, 277, 315–16, 383

transportation, 70, 106, 347, 509. See also specific departments and districts; War Department

Army of Mississippi, 123, 509

Army of Northern Virginia: artillery, 225, 276, 374, 534

conditions, 373, 390–91, 398, 404, 406, 407, 412, 421, 522, 528

I Corps, 227

II Corps, 227

III Corps, 201, 303

Davis on, 20...