May 9, 1865---“You have been good soldiers, you can be good citizens.”

MAY 9, 1865:   

“You have been good soldiers, you can be good citizens.” --- General Nathan Bedford Forrest C.S.A.

I

After a long night’s thought, “The Wizard of The Saddle,” the implacable General Nathan Bedford Forrest C.S.A. announces to his men that their long fight is over. He announces an immediate surrender, and says in his Farewell Address:

By an agreement made between Lieutenant General Taylor, commanding the Department of Alabama. Mississippi, and East Louisiana, and Major General Canby, commanding United States forces, the troops of this department have been surrendered.

I do not think it proper or necessary at this time to refer to causes which have reduced us to this extremity; nor is it now a matter of material consequence to us how such results were brought about. That we are BEATEN is a self-evident fact, and any further resistance on our part would justly be regarded as the very height of folly and rashness.

The armies of Generals LEE and JOHNSON having surrendered. You are the last of all the troops of the Confederate States Army east of the Mississippi River to lay down your arms.

The Cause for which you have so long and so manfully struggled, and for which you have braved dangers, endured privations, and sufferings, and made so many sacrifices, is today hopeless. The government which we sought to establish and perpetuate, is at an end. Reason dictates and humanity demands that no more blood be shed. Fully realizing and feeling that such is the case, it is your duty and mine to lay down our arms -- submit to the “powers that be” -- and to aid in restoring peace and establishing law and order throughout the land.

The terms upon which you were surrendered are favorable, and should be satisfactory and acceptable to all. They manifest a spirit of magnanimity and liberality, on the part of the Federal authorities, which should be met, on our part, by a faithful compliance with all the stipulations and conditions therein expressed. As your Commander, I sincerely hope that every officer and soldier of my command will cheerfully obey the orders given, and carry out in good faith all the terms of the cartel.

Those who neglect the terms and refuse to be paroled, may assuredly expect, when arrested, to be sent North and imprisoned. Let those who are absent from their commands, from whatever cause, report at once to this place, or to Jackson, Miss.; or, if too remote from either, to the nearest United States post or garrison, for parole.

Civil war, such as you have just passed through naturally engenders feelings of animosity, hatred, and revenge. It is our duty to divest ourselves of all such feelings; and as far as it is in our power to do so, to cultivate friendly feelings towards those with whom we have so long contended, and heretofore so widely, but honestly, differed. Neighborhood feuds, personal animosities, and private differences should be blotted out; and, when you return home, a manly, straightforward course of conduct will secure the respect of your enemies. Whatever your responsibilities may be to Government, to society, or to individuals meet them like men.

The attempt made to establish a separate and independent Confederation has failed; but the consciousness of having done your duty faithfully, and to the end, will, in some measure, repay for the hardships you have undergone.

In bidding you farewell, rest assured that you carry with you my best wishes for your future welfare and happiness. Without, in any way, referring to the merits of the Cause in which we have been engaged, your courage and determination, as exhibited on many hard-fought fields, has elicited the respect and admiration of friend and foe. And I now cheerfully and gratefully acknowledge my indebtedness to the officers and men of my command whose zeal, fidelity and unflinching bravery have been the great source of my past success in arms.

I have never, on the field of battle, sent you where I was unwilling to go myself; nor would I now advise you to a course which I felt myself unwilling to pursue. You have been good soldiers, you can be good citizens. Obey the laws, preserve your honor, and the Government to which you have surrendered can afford to be, and will be, magnanimous.

N.B. Forrest, Lieut.-General

Headquarters, Forrest's Cavalry Corps

Gainesville, Alabama

May 9, 1865

II

Gideon Welles, the Secretary of the Navy, confides to his diary about dissensions in the Cabinet, particularly on the subject of suffrage for the former slaves. The rights of the former bondsmen would become a point of contention that would dog Andrew Johnson’s Presidency, impact a century of subsequent American history, and is a social issue that continues to this day.

Wrote Welles:

A proclamation of amnesty proposed by [James] Speed was considered and, with some changes, agreed to.

The condition of North Carolina was taken up, and a general plan of organization intended for all the Rebel States was submitted and debated. No great difference of opinion was expressed except on the matter of suffrage. Stanton, Dennison, and Speed were for negro suffrage; McCulloch, Usher, and myself were opposed. It was agreed, on request of Stanton, we would not discuss the question, but each express his opinion without preliminary debate. After our opinions had been given, I stated I was for adhering to the rule prescribed in President Lincoln's proclamation, which had been fully considered and matured, and besides, in all these matters, I am for no further subversion of the laws, institutions, and usages of the States respectively, nor for Federal intermeddling in local matters, than is absolutely necessary in order to rid them of the radical error which has caused our national trouble. All laws, not inconsistent with those of the conquerors, remain until changed to the conquered, is an old rule.

This question of negro suffrage is beset with difficulties growing out of the conflict through which we have passed and the current of sympathy for the colored race. The demagogues will make use of it, regardless of what is best for the country and without regard for the organic law, the rights of the State, or the troubles of our government. There is a fanaticism on the subject with some who persuade themselves that the cause of liberty and the Union is with the Negro and not the white man. White men, and especially Southern white men, are tyrants. Senator Sumner is riding this one idea at top speed. There are others, less sincere than Sumner, who are pressing the question for party purposes. On the other hand, there may be unjust prejudices against permitting colored persons to enjoy the elective franchise, under any circumstances; but this is not, and should not be, a Federal question. No one can claim that the blacks, in the Slave States especially, can exercise the elective franchise intelligently. In most of the Free States they are not permitted to vote. Is it politic and wise, or right even, when trying to restore peace and reconcile differences, to make so radical a change,—provided we have the authority, which I deny,—to elevate the ignorant negro, who has been enslaved mentally as well as physically, to the discharge of the highest duties of citizenship, especially when our Free States will not permit the few free negroes to vote?

The Federal government has no right and has not attempted to dictate on the matter of suffrage to any State, and I apprehend it will not conduce to harmony to arrogate and exercise arbitrary power over the States which have been in rebellion. It was never intended by the founders of the Union that the Federal government should prescribe suffrage to the States. We shall get rid of slavery by constitutional means. But conferring on the black civil rights is another matter. I know not the authority. The President, in the exercise of the pardoning power, may limit or make conditions, and, while granting life and liberty to traitors, deny them the right of holding office or of voting. While, however, he can exclude traitors, can he legitimately confer on the blacks of North Carolina the right to vote? I do not see how this can be done by him or by Congress . . .

This whole question of suffrage is much abused. The negro can take upon himself the duty about as intelligently and as well for the public interest as a considerable portion of the foreign element which comes among us. Each will be the tool of demagogues. If the negro is to vote and exercise the duties of a citizen, let him be educated to it. The measure should not, even if the government were empowered to act, be precipitated when he is stolidly ignorant and wholly unprepared. It is proposed to do it against what have been and still are the constitutions, laws, usages, and practices of the States which we wish to restore to fellowship.

Stanton has changed his position, has been converted, is now for negro suffrage. These were not his views a short time since. But aspiring politicians will, as the current now sets, generally take that road.

The trial of the assassins is not so promptly carried into effect as Stanton declared it should be. He said it was his intention the criminals should be tried and executed before President Lincoln was buried. But the President was buried last Thursday, the 4th, and the trial has not, I believe, commenced.

I regret they are not tried by the civil court, and so expressed myself, as did McCulloch; but Stanton, who says the proof is clear and positive, was emphatic; and Speed advised a military commission, though at first, I thought, otherwise inclined. It is now rumored the trial is to be secret, which is another objectionable feature and will be likely to meet condemnation after the event and excitement have passed off.

The rash, impulsive, and arbitrary measures of Stanton are exceedingly repugnant to my notions, and I am pained to witness the acquiescence they receive. He carries others with him, sometimes against their convictions as expressed to me.

The President and Cabinet called on Mr. Seward at his house after the close of the council. He came down to meet us in his parlor. I was glad to see him so well and animated, yet a few weeks have done the work of years, apparently, with his system. Perhaps, when his wounds have healed and the fractured jaw is restored, he may recover in some degree his former looks, but I apprehend not. His head was covered with a close-fitting cap, and the appliances to his jaw entered his mouth and prevented him from articulating clearly. Still, he was disposed to talk, and we to listen. Once or twice, allusions to the night of the great calamity affected him more deeply than I have ever seen him.

III

 

Georgia Governor Joseph Brown is arrested at Milledgeville by Union forces. His plan for an independent “Confederate Republic of Georgia" dies stillborn.