Beschreibung:

CIVIL WAR]. DAVIS, Jefferson (1808-1889), President, Confederate States of America . Letter signed ("Jeffers Davis") as President of the Confederacy, to Governor Joseph Brown Richmond, VA., 20 March 1863. 1 1/8 pages, 4to, reinforced with paper on left margin, old tape repair across page 1, integral blank . THE PREDICAMENT OF STATES' RIGHTS AND ITS IMPACT UPON CONFEDERATE NATIONALISM. A letter in which President Davis apologizes to Governor Brown of Georgia for a threat to seize the state railroad. Referring to an incident surrounding the transport of supplies to the army of General Braxton Bragg, Davis writes, "Genl. Bragg states, that the Ordnance officer at Atlanta asserted to him that the Road refused to transport arms and ammunition, and that then he (Genl. Bragg) directed the quartermaster's Department to use force, if necessary, to get forward their supplies... The supplies were forwarded and force was not used." Davis attempts to make amends for this intrusion upon state authority: "Such action on the part of the officers of the Confederate Government is much to be regretted; although force, as I am glad to learn, was not used in this case. Genl. Bragg has been directed in the event of similar difficulties hereafter arising, to call upon you for assistance," however, Davis implies that the Confederacy must come first, counseling Brown, "with the assurance that you will be always ready to further, in any proper manner, the interests of our common cause." Governor Joseph Brown (1821-1895) had a running feud with Jefferson Davis throughout the Civil War. He opposed Davis's war measures, particularly conscription, and, although he supported the war, he closely guarded state powers and rights from the authority of the central government. The wartime efforts of Davis created friction with men like Brown; "Davis moved early in the conflict to build a strong central government capable of meeting the requirements of war. His policies stirred opposition from a small core of leaders who held an extreme view of states rights. He underestimated this crucial challenge to his leadership and failed to produce the conditions in which Confederate nationalism could grow" (Escott, After Secession , pp. xi-xii). General Braxton Bragg (1817-1876), the primary Confederate commander in the Western theater from the Spring of 1862 until 1864, was known for his strong sense of duty, but was also irritable and prone to angry outbursts.