t-onf Pam #576 RESOLUTIONS OF WISE'S BRKiADE. Headquarters Wise's Brigade, ) Trenches near Petersburg. Va., > February 1st. ISGo. ) To Hon. Tnos. S. Bocock, Speaker of House of Representative?, Congress of C. S. Sir :_f am requested, as '^ou will gee by the inr.losed resolutions. to forward the within declaration of sentiments to you. I ask that you will present them to the House over which yon preside, and have them published in the papers at Richmond. With ?rcat respect, your obedient servant, HEXRY A. WLSE. Bria:adier General. RKSOLrTIONS. Trenches near PetersbuI^*', Va. Wises Brigade, January '2Stk, 1«G5. The officers and men of this bri.eadc secinii; that there is much anxiety and gloom in Congress and at the Capitol as to the war, and that portions of the army .are movingupon the subject of peace, and its terms, and the mode of negolinting with tlic enemy; they respectfully jiubmit their oi.iiiions and convictions, as those of a part of the people, to the Congress and the country of the Confed- eracy. They solemnly and earnestly declare that they will never consent to yield that their native State of Virginia, and her confederates, were not each and all made free, sovereign ard independent States, by their own act in 177G, and by the treaty of peace vith Great Britain in 1780 '81, or that they or cither of them have ever part- ed with or impaired their sovereignty and independence, by any act or in any respect or degree, whatever, since , but at all times have claimed and maintained both, and especially of late, by declaring •so:^T;^S paiiuQ „ oqj pauBO Diiqnday |i3jep9 j^ d}v\ oq; jo sa^njc? niui •joo mVw loomujaAO* uoramoo v ui Hnoijt3i9J Xub O], raoq^ Suipu}"i uomn iUJop9j a^ni aq-^ jo suontJ^iiqo \rp luo.ij poAiosqtj saAiosuiaq-i They will never consent that the tree, absolute and separate sovereignty and independence of these Confederate States Hiall be yielded or compromised in any particular, degree or form whatever. They will not consent to form any new Union or to renew any old Union, by " reconstruction " or otherwise, with any State or Statea of the late •' United States,"' which have failed to keep the cove- nants and faith pledged by the Constitution of the late " United States " They cannot trust their faith, and will not share their fate of a consolidated despotism. The officers and men of this bri.!:5ade have deprecated this unna- tural civil war, from the beginning; have taken up arms only for defence against invasion and domestic violence, to maintain their independence and right of self government, and to prevent the mon- strous conclusion that a political Union can l)e forced upon any free people. They are anxious for peace on the grounds of their independence and of a total separation from the foes of both ; but they will never accept terms of peace which ])roposc or purport a denial of either of these terms. They are willing and ready to sacrifice their pro- perty, of any kind to any amount to secure their freedom and inde- pendence, and to attain the just and pi'0{)er ends of peace. They will consent to any fair and equitable adjustment of past obliga- tions to the old Union which can be settled in a state of separate relations. They will consent to any rightlul rcgukitions of inter- nal navigation, riparian rights, or international intercourse. To any just partition or appointment of the formerly common territory and its eminent domains. To any convenient settlement of l)oundaries and border relations. To the comities usual and general among civilized nations; and, rather than risk being enslaved themselves by prose- cuting this war tlirougli all its chances and cruelties to its utmost extremities, ihcy will satisfy the moral sense of other nations, with- out meaning to impugn tlicir own, l)y agtocing to the gradual eman- cipation of African slaves, within any reasonable period of time. These terms, and the like, they will assent to, for the sake of peace and absolute and separate sovereignty and independence. l>ut they will never consent to any re union with States which have declared or waged the liostilitics of this war. They prefer, rather to give up slavery for sei)aration, than to be forced to a reunion for the sake of holding proj)c-rty in slaves. And they utterly abhor and denounce any treaty of peace, agreement or compromise which may propose or imply the degradation of the white race to the level of the negro, or which may alirogatc the distinctions between races. They will never consent to be dependent on any other powers for the rights of self-government, of comuaerce, of manufacturing or mining, or of the mechanic arts, or the means of paying or mode of contracting puljlic debts and of providing for their burthens ; or for the powers of war and peace, or taxation or revenues; and they will never consent to yield one ])art or parcel of their former ter- ritory and eminent domain. They insist upon the direct, usual and duly authorised and constituted mode of negotiation, by the Presi- dent and Senate, acting through commissioners or ministers, to form treaties or conventions for this Confederacy. They declare their resolution to abide by these opinions and con victions with arms in their hands, to defend the country until its soil is freed from invasion ; and they jirotest against any suspension of hostilities until the enemy shall evacuate our borders. And let others hesitate, tremble or despond as they may, they will firmly abide the issues of this war, constant and enduring, self-reliant, trusting in our own arms and the providence of a just and merciful God, resolved to perish in a righteous cause, rather than submit to the subjugation or consent ourselves to be slaves. The foregoing declaration of sentiments, made by Wise's Brig- ade, January 31st, 1865, are attested by me. HENRY A. WISE, Brig. General. Petersburg Defences, { January 31st, 1865. \ Brigadier General Wise: Dear Sfr : — At a meeting of the 34th, 46th, 26th and 59th Regi- ments of Virginia Infantry, Wise's Brigade, which assembled to- day for the purpose of giving some expression of tlieir views and sentiments on the state of the country and to listen to an address from you, the following resolutions, in addition to those on the war and state of tlie country, were unanimously adopted : Resolved, That the thanks of this brigade are eminently due, and are hereby tendered to Brigadier General Wise for the able and pa- triotic address delivered before us to-day, and that the views and sentiments so al)ly enforced in this address are heartily endorsed and approved by the officers and men of this brigade. Resolved, That General W^ise is earnestly requested to furnish us with a copy of this address for publication, and that copies of tlie resolutions, expressing the unanimous sentiments of this brig- ade on the war, Ije sent to Gen. R. E. Lee, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and to the newspapers in the city of Richmond for publication. l^Signed,) W. V. JORDAN, Captain, 34th Virginia Infantry. ^ M-.; pH8.5