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 Resolutions ado 
 Conf Pam #256 
 
[House.] 
 
 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Feb. 6, 1865.— Ordered 
 to be laid on the table and printed. 
 
 [Presented by Mr. Simpson.] 
 
 RESOLUTIONS 
 
 Adopted by Brattons Brigade^ South Carolina Volunteers 
 January 30iA, 1865. 
 
 At a mass-meeting of the officers .and men of Bratton's Brigade, 
 South Carolina Volunteers, held this day, (January .30th, 1865,) 
 Private John B. Erwin, 6th S. C. Vols., was called to the chair, and 
 the following preamble and resolutions, reported by a committee 
 of two from each regiment of the Brigade, were unanimously 
 adopted : 
 
 Whereas, The people of the several States of this Confederacy 
 were forced into the present struggle to preserve the inalienable 
 rights of freemen ; and, relying upon the justice of their cause and 
 the approval of High Heaven, pledged to each other " their lives, 
 their fortunes, and their sacred honor," to achieve their indepen- 
 dence ; and whereas, in support of their just rights, and in defence 
 of their homes and firesides, the best blood of our people has been 
 shed, and the bones of our dead lie scattered throughout every 
 State of the Confederacy, whilst at every stage of the unequal con- 
 flict, the valor, endurance and patriotic devotion of our people have 
 secured a succession of victories of which any nation might well be 
 proud ; and whereas, the contest is still undecided, and our inde- 
 pendence is still unachieved, but a proud and haughty foe, flushed 
 with temporary success, is attempting to extort unworthy terms of 
 submission from the timid counsels and the causeless despondency 
 of some weak minds in our midst, it becomes the citizen soldiery of 
 South Carolina to re-affirm the sacred principles of State Sover- 
 eignty and Independence, which their State was the first to an- 
 nounce ; to reject once again all terms of union and affiliation with 
 a base and unprincipled foe ; to rebuke tl||^ time serving policy of 
 those who, having counted the cost, are unequal to the exigencies of 
 the crisis, and who arc so insensible to the great principles which 
 form the ground-work of the present revolution, so unmindful of 
 the glorious recollections of the past history, and so regardless of. 
 the memory of its illustrious dead, as to counsel an unworthy sub- 
 mission to the enemy, and a base abandonment of our cause ; and, 
 
above all, to assure the true friends of liberty at home, and our fel- 
 low-soldiers in the army, that we have never yet " despaired of the 
 Republic," but that, inspired by the memories of the past, w^e enter- 
 tain briirht hopes of the future, and believe that one more deter- 
 mined effort is alone necessary to achieve our independence: Be it, 
 therefore, 
 
 Resolved, That we do this day renew our devotion to the great 
 principles of State Sovereignty and Constitutional Liberty, which 
 lie at the base of this Revohiticm ; that we again endorse the act of 
 Secession wliich separatid us from a hated foe ; and that with the 
 aid of Heaven, we will continue the struggle until our independence 
 be achieved or we perish in the attempt. 
 
 Resolved, That every consideration of honor, of duty, and of 
 patriotism, impel us to preserve the rich heritage of freedom which 
 we have received from our ancestors ; to emulate the valor, the en- 
 durance and heroic devotion of those who have fallen in the present 
 struggle, and to restrain us from abandoning a cause which has been 
 consecrated by so many costly sacrifices, and crowned by so many 
 illustrious victories. 
 
 Resolved, That we owe it to the glorious recollections of the past, 
 to the memory of our martyred dead ; we owe it to ourselves, to 
 the cause of human progress, to preserve our institutions from de- 
 struction, our homes from spoliation, and the tombs of our slain 
 from desecration, and our names and memories from being a by- 
 word and reproach among the nations of the earth, by mutually 
 working out our independence. 
 
 Resolved, That tlie outrages upon us by a base and unprincipled 
 foe, in violation of all the usages of civilized warfare, have created 
 an impassable gulf between tiie two sections, which must forever 
 prevent all union or affiliation between tliem, whilst the settled 
 policy and avowed principles of the Northern Government lead us 
 to expect, that no concessions on our part would be accepted by 
 them short of a state of complete subjection, Avhich would be worse 
 than death. 
 
 Resolvcil, That in the late reverses which have attended our arms, 
 we see nothing which shoidd obscure the light of our former glori- 
 ous victories, which should create a feeling of despondency or cloubt 
 of the ultimate success of our cause, but should rather nerve the 
 hearts and strengthen the hands of our people to renewed efforts in 
 the sacred cause of Independence. 
 
 Resolved, That the uncomplaining patience, inflexible firmness, 
 and distinguished ability with which President Davis has discharged 
 the weighty and delicate duties of his office, challenges the confi- 
 dence of our people, an4 we' beg leave to assure him of our esteem 
 and confidence ; and that for General Robert E. Lee, the great 
 Captain of this age, we have a regard little less than veneration, 
 and will gladly go wherever he mny direct us. 
 
 Resolved, That we assure the lovely women of the South that we 
 can never forget their sympathy. Their approbation is next to that 
 of Heaven. As soldiers in war, or freemen in peace, we will 
 
always be pioud to meet them. Let them continue to animate us 
 with the spirit of faith and devotion ; and above all, let them pray 
 without ceasing that the God of our Fathers may crown our arms 
 with victory, and they shall see the "Southern Cross" floating 
 proudly over a free and glorious land. 
 
 Resolved, That ihe Secretary of this meeting furnish a copy of 
 the proceedings and resolutions to one of the Richmond papers; 
 to the Columbia (South Carolina) papers; to the delegation in Con- 
 gress; to the Governor of South Carolina, anil to President Davis. 
 
 JOHN B. ERWIN, Chah-man. 
 J. C. J. WaRDLAW, Sccretartj. 
 
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