ranv D"ke University Libraries Memorial of Hon Conf Pam #684 MEMOEIAL OF PIOX^ JOHN TOWNSEND, llEV." BEXJ. M. PALMER^ IIOX. W. F. DeSAUSSUKE, AND PROF. M. LaBORDE, ON BEHALF OF THE "CENTRAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE RELIEF OF SOLDIERS OF SOUTH CAROLINA," PRAYING . FOR AN ABPROPRIATION OF MONEY FOR THAT OBJECT. lo the Honorable fhe Mcmhcrs of fhe Leji'slaliue of the Slate of South Carolina : The memorial of the undersigned respectfully slieweth : That they have been appointed on behalf of the " Central Associatioa for the Relief of the Soldiers of South Carolina," to invoke your attention to the eondition of our soldier.-s in the field, and in our hospitals, and to petition your interposition in their favor. The objcet and purposes of that Associatioa uiay bo understood by a reference to "The plan and Address adopted by the citizens of Columbia, October 20th, 18G2," a Copy of which we ask leave to lay before yout honorable body. We appear before you with freedom, and without reserve — first, be- cause we ask nothing for ourselves, personally; second, because the iffatter which we presume to lay before you is one in which every family in the State, with scarcely an exception, is -deeply concerned; and third, because from our past history, we have derived the confi- dence that a Legislature of Sovfth Carolina has never been appealed to r?i behalf of any culighteiicd plan of public beneficence by which the feeble were to be protected, and the poor cared for, and that ap- peal made in vain. To an intelligent body like the Representatives of the people, we deem it unnecessary to cnLirge upon the sufferings of our gallant sol- (licrs, arising from the want of clothes, of blarikcts, of shoes, ami proper hospital attention. Our newspapers arc filled with accounts of their privations in these particulars, and of their uiorc acute sufTcrinirs in the hospitals, when, wounded, sick and feeble, they arc unable to obtain the medical aid, or nurses, or food proper for the sick j and no man can live upon ouj hi;ih\vays of travel, or pass frequently upon our railroads, whose heart "will not be pained by the pitiable spectacles of wounded men, with their wounds, for days, undressed, and sick men iu every stage of disease (contracted, generally, frcuu want of proper clothing), dragging along their wasted frames, in search of their native homes, with none to care for tkcin by the "way, •or provide fur them the proper food. And who are these men so neglected in their distresses ? They are the sons, tlie brothers, and the fathei"?, who had gone forth at the call of our State to secure to us the protection which, as a people, we now enjo}', but who are now returning to tLcir tamilies, broken down by disease, or maimed or wounded, to be no longer the prop and support, but an incumbrance to their households. Can calamities like these be averted from these families ? Can such sufferings be, in any degree, alleviated ? THE MOST PRESSING EVIL. Your memorialists have supposed that if your honorable bodies an- swer the§e inquiries affirmatively, you will, without delay, put forth the strong arm of the Government to accomplish the object. The Central Association have believed that they can, and have acted ac- cordingly- And as they believe that the uio&t prc'ssiu(/ evil which now besets cur army, and threatens to destroy its efficiency, and bring dis- aster upon our cause, is the want of blanlcets, shoes and proper clothing for our soldiers in the Held, and that this evil is, the friytful cause of, much of the sickness and disease vhich tills our hospitals and thins our ranks, they have addressed themselves, as their lirst duty, to rctnove this evil, by sendinrg on as rapidly ac possible to our destitute soldiers, all the clothing, blankets and shoes, whica they could command by purchase or by having them made up, oV by the voluntary contributions of our generous and true hearted people. (These articles of such indis- pensable necessity to our soldiers have flowed in upon our Association , in one full, constant stream of gushing benevolence fi'om every part of this District, and, as information of the objects and aims of the Central Association is extended, tliey begin to pour in from other parts of the State. HOW THE CENTRAL ASSOCIATION ARE EMPLOYED. • Within less than four week?, after tlie organizati6n of the Associa- • tion, the cotitributious in money amounted to more than twenty-two thousand dollars, and in hkinhctx^ and carj-l^sf, to be converted jnto blankets, and clothing of all kinds — (some of it from the private ward- robes of our citizens) the contributions were valued at more than ten thousand dollars, and this liberal contribution has been made chiefly from the town of Columbia and its immediate vicinity — the remoter parts of the District of Kichland not yet being heard from. Prom this spontane- ous benevolence of the people of the neigh.boniood, the large warcroom of the Association soon became filled with the difi'crent needqd articles for oureoldicrs, which were assorted, boxed up, and directed to the dif- ferent brigades, regiments and companies of our army,, and all (as well the general contributions, as the ^^iccial donations of individuals to their friends), being two full carloads, were sent forward on the 7tli instant, to our troops, under the care of two trusty agents, selected especially for that purpose, with instructions not to lose sight of them until they M'erc delivered to the parties for whom they were inteftded. In like manner, another full car load will be sent forward on the 24th of this month, under another special agent, the Association having adopted the precaution, as the first step after their organization, to send on au active, intelligent messenger, with instructions to visit each brigade and regiment of our army, for the purpose of ascertaining personally the wants of each' man, and to report to the As.'tociation without delay. The result of that investigation, as it may be interesting to the mem- bers of your honorable bodies who have friends in the several brigades visited, is here submitted. On the next page \r\\\ be found du cxfract from the report of Mr. Edwin J. Scott, made to the Central Association, after his return from his visit to our armies in Yirsinia. 55 C5 o o t—l O P3 O W H O fa o CO 'SJdpaodsng •saAOfj) •sjOMt;j(j •s^Jiqg CO ^s< •S}jit[8Jopa|^ O Ci QO I-- »- :;^ Ci ■^ . oo oo t—t r^ -^ 1^ — o (M 1^ ! •SI[0Og •SI^H •BDoqg •f o »o r-l -t< h:- O (M CO CO lO CQ to CO CO CO Oi •rr O t— ■ I— I Oi I— I rH C ° - 53 M P5 to a tfl O'-' ■^ -£ Ph oh:? S to r « OH? a .^ O.^, O CLOTHING FURNISHED FBOM QUARTERMASTER'S !DEPARTMENT OE SOUTH CAROLINA. It may be interesting here to add, for the information of your hon- orable bodies, that soon after the organization of the Central Associa- tion, when they were anxiously looking about for a supply of proper clothing for the immediate use of our destitute soldier?, their attention ■was directed to the supply which liad been prudently accumulated in the stores of the Quartermaster's Deportment of this State, for the use of our troops in State scrvic'c. This stock, it was ascertained, the As- sociation would be permitted to purchiise sxt'cost, to the extent at least, that their funds would reach, on the express condition, however, that they were to be given only to the soldiers from South Carolina, in the armies of Virginia. But whilst tlrt) Association was in treaty with the- public authorities on that matter. Col. McGowan, from the army in Virginia, opportunely came forward and relieved the Association of that heavy purchase, and took the whole stock with him to the army, and by an arrapgement with the Quartermaster of the Confederate States, the cost of the articles will be charged against that Government in favor of this State, in^he future adjustments of the accduuts be- tween the two Governflicnts. It is most gratifying to think that this .supply, together with the several .car-loads of similar articles which have been sent on by the Central Association, will go far to supply the present and most pressing wants of our soldiers in Virginia. Some ar- ticles of indispensable necessity arfe still required, and to the procuring of these the Association is directing their earnest efforts. Should they be so fortunate as to procure these, our people may enjoy the high sat- isfaction of reflcctijig that their friends in the army are, for the 2)rescnt and /or a fi IV 7nont7is to come, so far provided with clothinc:, blankets, and partly in shoes, as to secure them from' those dangers which every one had such just cause to apprehend from their exposure, unprotected, to a rigorous climate. ANOTHER SUPPLY WILL SOON BE NEEDED. But even if our soldiers were, at this time, properly and fully equip- ped (which is far from bcrng the case), let it be carried in mind, that they have generally but a single suit of clothes; that many articles of that suit are not of ilie most durable texture, and that in a few brief months it will require to be renewed. Let It also be borne in mind, that long and rapid marches in pursuit of an enemy, or perchance in falling back to take new positions, might result (as it did after the 6 battles near Richmond and the marches into Maryland and the battle at Sharpsburfi) in depriving our soldiers of most of their clothinf^ and blankets, and leave them again shoeless and in rags. "What would then be our condition if wc had not a supply on hand ready to rdiove them ? and again, what would be the condition of our wounded and diseased, if after a series of those bloody battles, for which this merciless war is so dist1ngai.«hcd, there should be rjo adcqunte provision n)adc of hospi- tals and hospital stores' tc assuage the sufTorings of the wounded and the dying? Shall we depend upon the Confederate Government alone to provide these things ? It is their duiij^ we admit. ]^ut cc.n it do it ; at present, or in time for our wants ? Contemplate its condition, and then judge it with candor, and decide with generosity. THE CONFEDERATE GOVERNMENT ' AT PRESENT UNABLE TO SUPPLY THESE WANTS. — THE CAUSES OF THIS ' Brought into esist<;.iee during a period of intense political excite- ment, set upon, whilst yet in its swaddling clothes, by the most powerful and ferocious hulhj which disgraces the fajnily of nations, with no fiiendly allies to interpose their good ofEces, ^nd no armaments on foot to repel the first rude assaults, the Coufederitte Government has been strained to the utmost from the very beginning to maintain its cxisWnce. How has it been since? Unlike old :lnd established Governments, which have had time to Liy up great magazines of arms, ammunition and mili- tary stores of all kinds, the Confederate Government commenced its career witl¥)ut the possession of a solitary item of either; and the States, of which the Confederacy is composed, had but the scantiest supply. Of great public warehouses filled with soldiers' clothes, blan- kets, shoes and other provisions for an army, as itf older Governments, there were of these, in the Confederacy, absolutely none. Cutoff from all the marts of commerce, and shut up from from till intercourse with the outer world, by a rigorous blockade, which we had no navy to re- move, thrown upon our own resources, which, though naturally abun- dant, were almost entirely undeveloped, the Confederate Government was- almost left to the difficult, if not impo.ssible, task oH creating everything out of nothing. In the meantime our vindictive foe, with all the world open before him, from which to draw his supplies and his implements of destruction, has been pouring in his countless hosts upon us through every entrance by wl'ich he can assail us, from the PcJtomac to the llio Grande, and from the Atlantic to the borders of New Mexico. • Can it then, in candor, be expected that a Government so young, so unpro- vided, so scanty in its means, so restricted in its sources of supply, and so harassed by the invasion of its people at every assailable point, covering an area of over a thousand miles in extent; can it be QiS.pected, we say, that TjUcIi a Government, embarrassed by such circumstnnccs, ,can attend to the wants of our soldiers in every part of l^iis wide- spread territory, or have hospitals and hospital stores provided for our wounded and sick, wherever in the chances of war, , they may happeii to be stricken down? We think it cannot reasonabl}^ be expected. - Eut there is another consideration, too iu)portnnt to be lost sight of, in making up our judgment as to the inability of the Confederate Gov- ernment fully to clothe our soldiers, and care for our wounded and sick, and whicli, therefore, should claim from the States the duty, for the time, of attending to these matters. THE SPECULATORS, THE MONOPOLISTS, THE EXTORTIONERS,. THE MANUFACTURERS — THEIR SELIISH POLICY HOSTILE TO THE GOV- ERNMENT AND OUR PEOPLE. ' When the people of the South, for causes which no people on earth ever had stronger to justify them, determined to withdraw from the control of the Federal Governmen^ and when an abolition President, backed by an abolition Congress, undertook to reduce us to subjuga- tion, it was reasonably to have been expected that cverij man amongst) us (not Yankee at heart), would give his willing aid to our Government) and people in ridding ourselves of this vulgar despotism, in such form, and to such extent, as his peculiar pursuits or his means might justifj-. It was not expected that the capitalist, instead of employing his money in support of the Confederate Government, and in sticngthening its credit, would be found pursuing a course of conduct hostile to both. ■It was not expected. that he would pervert himself into an eager specn- lator, peering into all the byways of trafBc, and buying up all the salt, and svgnr, and bacon, and r/raln, and evcrijlhinrj -^Xuch, by his cunnintr, he could tempt out of first hands for the purpose of selling them again to Government, or the people, at extortionate advances. Again, it was not expected that the p^prietors of our factories would so soon have forgotten their duties as jSuuthcrii citizens, amidst their enormous dividends as stockholders, as to charge the Government for cloth to cloth'o our soldiers from four to six times as much as it cost thcui to make those fabrics; nor that they would charge the poor families around them for the yarn, from which to clothe their children, from five to eight times as much as they formeHy paid for it. Yet; such is tbe humiliating spectacle which the true men of Uie South have daily to contemplate ; the capilaUs(f sp'culalor. the monopolist, the ejclordoner, the manufacturer, all forgetting the South and her wrongs, and their duty to aid her, and all pressing on, with eager eyes, ia pur.-uit of "moncyj " all taking advantage of the. distresses of our. pecJple brought upon us by this cruel war; and most of them having, ap- parently, no other aim or aspiration than piling up dollar upon dollar and "making their fortunes," now (whilst the war is upon us and our ports blockaded) by etiormous extortions upon the Government, and the most grinding exactions upon the poor. And upon whom are these exactions practiced ? "Why upon the Government and the families of those soldiers whQ axe protect in f] their property, and allowing them the privilege of staying at home, which privilege they abuse by heartlessly robbing their families. TRUE ALLIES OF THE YANKEES. Surely our Yankee enemies without can desire no better allies than these men of Yankee souls amongst us, and our people have begun already to consider, whether. a class of men who isolate themselves so injuriously from the interests of our Government and from the sympa- thies of our citizens, deserve our conCdeuce; next, whether any cA/ss or interest, which so employs their capital or so regulates their business (with a view to income). as to make the continuance of the war neces- sary to the building up colos.sal fortunes, should be any longer allotced to conduct their business upon such principles as to tempt to unfaithful- ness to our cause; and, third, whether the Legislature may not consider how far it may be in their power to interpose to prevent these enor- mous extortions, and reduce these incomes somewhat within the bounds of moderation. , , These questions, in view of the eager speculations which are going on in the ^all, surjar and/oo^Zof tlie country, and in view of the ex- orbitant prices which are charged by manufacturers au^ others, the hoarders of cloths necessary for the clothiiig of our troops, are being earnestly agitated by our neople, and they look to the Legislature to devise some sharp, prompt remedies, in order that stillheavicr burdens may not be imposed upon the Government in supporting our armies, and upon our citizens in procuring tliesc'neccssarios of life. They ex- pect no relaxation in the policy of the manufacturers, the speculators and extortioners, utilil their hands are /ci?r/7/''// pulled out, by law, from the pockets of our people, where they are now thrust "down elbow deep. The enormous clividend^? wliieh have been so frequently distributed amongst the stockholders, have "blinded the eyes of their minds" to a true perception of their own position, to their duties to the com- munity in which they live, or to' the Government which protects them. They seem to be under the delusion that the public view their con- duct with the same complacency that they, regard it themselves; and they are not wanting in advocates, who, with the industry of a paid t agent, and the effrontery of the regular " Down Easter," juadft/ their course in the public prints, whilst there are others who prate about "do- mestic industry, and the laws of supply and demand," with a pedantry in using these maxims, as though the various employments of our people were flowing on, smoothly, in their accustomed channels, jftd were not, on t.he contrary, deranged, and cholced up, and perverted by our ene- mies abroad, and by the extortioners and speculators at home. The agency of these avfiricious men, in inflating prices and depreciating the Confederate currency, is most embarrassing to the vigorous action of the Government, and damaging to our cause, and should not be over- looked in considering the difiiculiies in the way of the Confederate Government in furnishing clothing to our armies. If, then, that Government, from those v;:rious causes, be unalle to clothe our soldiers, or minister as it ought, to our sick and wotindcd among them, shall they be loft to neglect and suffering, because some sharp logician, from motives of parsimony, would persuade u§ that' it is the duty of that Government and not our own, to provide for their relief? If these sufi'ering victims to the harshness of cruel war did not stand to us in the relation of brothers, ovsons, ox fathers, find, there- fore, had claims upon our gentleness and humanity, we would never^ thelcss be slow to believe that a Legislature of South Carolina gentlemen ' could be influenced by such austere principles, or penurious considera- tions, to withhold from them relief. 4 AID. FROM SOME SOURCE NECESSARY. ■ State aid or individual contrihutions we deem then essential, if'wc would relieve that suff'criug, or (what ife equally important) if we would keep our armies in the field in a state of efficiency, and not hare our men in*the hospitals in a state of uselcssness and expense to the Coun- try. Considerations of sound policy then, no less than of humanity,' call upon us to see that our soldiers be well clothed when on duty, and well cared for when sick. 10 SHALL IT BE BY Tl KLIC OR PRIVATE CONTRIBUTIONS. And here arises the questions which the "Central Association" has directed jour Memorialists to submit to your honorable bodies : " Shall this work be undertaken by priwitc individuals^ and supported by the voluntary contributions of the liberal, the public spirited and humane in the community ; or, second, will the State take the mattec under its own control ; or, third, merely uive its aid to private Associations on terms of strict accountability to the State, for all funds with which the Association may be. entrusted." The last is the plan pursued in Geor* gia. But any plan which will hcs( accomplish the object will be the one most acceptable to the friends of the soldier. In the opinion of yolir Memorialists the plan of individual contribudon and j^rivatc vian- aijcmcnt is the safest, most economical, and most effectual, as long'as it can be kept up. But- it soon wears out by the cxliaustion of the con- tributors. The same public spirited and liberal men^who contribute largely at first, will be likely to do the same at succeeding applications, until at length they have notlilng more to give, and the bcnovolent enterprise dies out for want of funds, whilst oftentimes much richer men around them give nothing, or but trifles, too paltry to be accepted. SOME MEN CONSTITUTIONALLY PENURIOUS. The experience of the Central Association," and no douot of all others, corroborates this view. "Whilst some men of comparatively moderate means have contributed to the cause their two hundred, their five hundred and their three hundred dollars, others much wealthier have given sums disgustingly insignificant for men of their means; and yet all are equally interested in keeping up our army in a state of highest efficiency, «s the best if not only iiieaus of defending our coun-'. try and ultimately establishing our independence. An appropriation from the public treasury is therefore the fairest mode of providing the funds, and coming as an asses.smeut upon property through the tax collector, every man, no matter how penurious in his habits, will be 7n(idc to contribute his share towards^hls own safety. " Who shall be appointed, to take tharge of this fund, and apply. it to its proper u.ses," your Memorialists would leave to the wisdom of the Legislature to decide. They shall have accomplished theij- object, if by their instrumentality a fund shall be provided by the Legislature and devoted to the proper clothing of our soldiers in the field and a humane watchfulness over them when suffering from wounds or sick- ness. • 11 The amount which, in the judgment of the Association, would be required for that purpose would be two hundred thousand dollars ; not a dollar of which should be allowed to be drawn out of the public treas- ury except under the most careful safeguards. Under favorable cir- cuilistances the half of that sum may not be called for; whilst emergencies may arise, in which the whole amount may be insuflScient. We therefore pray your honorable body that two hundred thousand dollars be appropriated for the purposes contemplate in this memorlQl, and with considerations of high respect, subscribe ourselves, Your fellow citizens, J. TO WNSEND, Chairman, B. M. PALMER, ,^ WM. F. DeSAUSSURE, M. LaBORDE, Committee on hclialf of Central Association. Columbia, November 22d, 1862. " ^ ! pH8J