The Alabama in the Civil War Message Board

Secession Fever & Some Flags, Nov '60

Although material from several states is included in the following, there is enough Alabama specific items to make it applicable for the present forum, hopefully. For the flag people, a couple or three mentions of flags as "secession fever" sweeps the South in late 1860.
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Affairs at the South.
the flags — the Bill for Arming South
Carolina — feeling in Alabama, &c.

Charleston is gay with State-Rights flags floating from public and private buildings.-- at the theatre the Palmetto has been substituted for the national flag, and, in some cases, a flag with two stars, representing Georgia and South Carolina, has been hoisted. A dispatch from Judge Perryman, of Alabama, to the Governor of that State, places ‘"two sons and $10,000 worth of railroad stock"’ at his service. At the public meeting in Savannah, Ga., Friday night, the resolutions (already published) declaring that Lincoln's election should not be submitted to, were adopted, the people rising and cheering, and the following was also carried without a dissenting voice:

resolved. that our thanks are due, and are hereby tendered, to those noble men of the North who attempted, at the ballot-box, to roll back the Black tide of fanaticism. They failed, but we shall ever recognize them as brothers, and shall expect their assistance in the great struggle this night begun.

the Savannah Republican, noticing the meeting, says:

Three thousand people turned out to enter their solemn protest against the election of a sectional Black Republican Executive over the American people. The movement commenced early in the afternoon, when the Colonial flag was raised on the base of the Greene Monument, in Johnson square, amidst the plaudits of the multitude, who were addressed by a number of speakers. On either side of the flag, which was in the form of a transparency, were branches of Palmetto. The device was a rattlesnake in a striking attitude; the inscription above, "Southern Rights and the Equality of the States;" below, "Don't Tread on me."

in the Hall, the people collected in such numbers that the meeting was opened nearly a half hour in advance of the time appointed. The President of the meeting was a Union Democrat, who had been the leader of that wing of the party for many years past. The speakers were both old line Whigs, who were never connected with the Democratic party, though Mr. Bartow voted with the Breckinridge wing in the late election. The meeting was opened in most solemn form by prayer from the Rev. Dr. Axson, of the Independent Presbyterian Church, upon the announcement of which the whole assemblage rose to their feet with one accord, and perfect silence prevailed from its beginning to its close. After the meeting adjourned, a large procession, accompanied by a band of music, paraded the streets almost the entire night, and serenaded a number of citizens.

Gov. Brown, of Georgia, has authorized C. A. L. Lamar to raise and equip 100 mounted men, "ready to meet any call from the South."

the South Carolina Army Bill.

the following is the Bill reported by the Committee on Military of the South Carolina

Legislature:

Sec. 1. Best enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives now met and sitting in General Assembly, and by the authority of the same, That his Excellency, the Governor, be and is hereby authorized and required to issue. in the name of the State. Bonds or Stock to be countersigned by the Comptroller General, for the amount of four hundred thousand dollars. bearing interest at the rate of 6 per cent. per annum, payable semiannually at the Treasury of the State and redeemable thereat; that is to say, two hundred thousand dollars on the first day of January, which will be in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, and two hundred thousand dollars on the first day of January, which will be in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy six.
Sec. 2. That the faith of the State is hereby pledged for the punctual payment of the interest on said Bonds or Stocks, and for the redemption of the principal of the same when it shall become due.
Sec. 3. That all money arising from the sale of said Bonds or Stock shall be placed in the Treasury, subject to the draft of the Ordnance officer, (hereinafter provided for.)
Sec. 4. That the Bank of the State of South Carolina is hereby appointed the agent of the State for the sale of said Bonds or Stock, and is authorized to sell the same at the market value; and the said Bank shall furnish the means to the Ordnance Officer to make such purchases as may be directed by the Board of Ordnance, hereinafter to be provided for. until the said Bonds or Stock have been sold, and the proceeds there of deposited in the Treasury, subject to the draft of the Ordnance officer aforesaid.
Sec. 5. That a Board of Ordnance be and is hereby established, to consist of the Governor of the State, the Adjutant and Inspector General, and three other persons to be appointed by the Governor, and that the Governor be ex-officio President of said Board. And it shall be the duty of the said Board to determine the condition of all ordnance, ammunition, small arms, ordnance stores, gun carriages and other equipments, shot, shells, &c., belonging to the State; and for this purpose they shall have power to call upon all Officers of the State, who have such matters in charge, for reports on the condition, location, &c. of such articles; and the said Board shall have access to the arsenals, magazines and other depots of the State, at such times as they shall deem proper.
Sec. 6. That the said Board shall take the proper means for the preservation of the articles before named, and for the storage and other disposal of them. and shall disburse the fund raised by the sale of the Bonds and Stocks issued as herein before provided for, in the purchase of such improved fire arms, ordnance and other munitions of war, as may be deemed expedient by them, and the said purchases shall be under the direction and control of the said Board.
Sec. 7. That the said Board shall be authorized to engage a fit and competent Ordnance officer, who shall open an Ordnance Bureau, inspect all arms and ordnance purchased by the direction of the Board, organize an Ordnance Department, and perform all such other duties as may be designated by the said Board, and the said officer shall have the rank of Colonel of Artillery with a salary of three thousand dollars per annum.
Sec. 8. That the said Board shall make to the Legislature of each session a report of their proceedings, in either a public or private communication, as may seem to them most expedient for the public service.
Sec. 9. That the said Board be and are hereby authorized to employ a scientific and competent Military Engineer, who shall, as soon as possible, make an examination of the Coast of this State, with a view to the defence of the same, and make a report, or reports, to the said Board as to the points which need defence, with plans for the same.

To carry out this bill, the Committee on Military report in favor of an appropriation of $400,000.

In Florida, a public meeting was held at Fernandina, on the 5th inst., at which resolutions were adopted calling on the Legislature to call a State Convention. The following resolutions were also adopted:

Whereas, We are advised of the certainty of the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, and Hannibal Hamlin, Vice-President, upon a sectional platform, at variance with the Constitution of the United States, and derogatory to the rights and interests of the Southern States: Therefore, be it

Resolved. That we regard such election as a virtual dissolution of the Union under the present Constitution.

Resolved.That we have heard with great satisfaction the resignation of the Hon. A. G. McGrath, United States District Judge for the State of South Carolina, and James Conner, Esq. United States District Attorney, and feel assured that a similar course will be pursued by the United States Judges and District Attorneys in Florida.

Resolved, That the assurance of the Hon-W. F. Colcock, Collector of the port of Charleston. and M. Jacobs, Esq., Surveyor, that they will not hold office under a Black Republican Administration, has been received with great satisfaction.

Resolved, That the determination of our Collector and Deputy Collector to pursue a similar course meets with the hearty approval of this meeting.

The Southern Press contains appeals on both sides of the disunion question. The Southern Confederacy, of Atlanta, Ga., says:

We ask the people of Georgia to be not ensnared or entrapped by the disunion party. --Listen not to the mad rantings of Toombs, or the deceitful sophistries of Cobb. But let the councils of Stephens, of Johnson, of Lumpkin, of Jenkins, and of Warner, be heard. If Georgia, in her sovereign capacity, declares for secession upon the election of Lincoln, be it so; we are ready to follow her mandates, and defend her from federal coercion or abolition aggression. But we counsel the people against rashness, or a commitment to any act until the State, in her reserved sovereignty, shall decide upon the momentous question.--Let National men stand firm, and at the proper time we shall be ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with the bravest in defence of our section, our State, or our common country.--Again we say to all conservative men, that, let the result be as it may, we should calmly and dispassionately reflect before committing ourselves to any line of policy which tends to extreme measures. Let us be moderate, but firm.

The Augusta (Ga.) Democrat, speaking of the position of South Carolina, says:

This day she stands in the Union an object of respect and a rallying point for the true friends of the South. She is still abused by some, but hundreds, yes, thousands, who once talked lightly of her chivalry, are now forced to regard her, in her true light, as a star of brilliant and enduring lustre. Such is her position that patriots in every Southern State watch her movements with interested sympathy, and feel attracted to her as a sister possessing virtues of the first magnitude for the trying

crisis which is upon us. "I thought, in the past, that the was hot-headed and foolish, " says one, "but now I recognize her sagacity and foresight." "I was prejudiced against South Carolina," says another, "believing that she complained without cause and magnified mole-hills into mountains; but, it is clear she saw the danger ahead and wished to prepare against it. I am with her now." It is common to hear such expressions as these fall from the lips of those who formerly looked upon South Carolina as a blustering bragadocio who carried a dagger upon the tongue and cowardice in the heart. Now, how differently is she estimated. Her narrow limits are covered with heroes, and friends may be counted by thousands who would fly to her rescue and make common cause with her in the defence of common interests and honor so imminently imperilled.

A telegram from Mobile says:

The military companies of this city, fully armed and equipped, have tendered their services to the Governor. Our citizens are all unanimous for disunion. A plan for secession will be organized next week. The Governor, Supreme Court Judges, Circuit Judges, both the Senators, and all the Congressmen, save one, are for disunion.

The city of Mobile will be against secession, but nine-tenths of the country districts are for disunion.

The Minute Men are organizing, and will have 30,000 members enrolled before the 1st of January.

A meeting of the leading politicians of the State, of all parties, has just-been held, and resolved to insist upon an immediate Convention. The citizens endorse-the action of their leaders.

Gov. Moore has not yet reached Montgomery, but will undoubtedly recede from his first position, and call a Convention forthwith. No other course will satisfy the people.

The Columbus Sun says:

On Thursday a large meeting of all parties was held in Eufaula, Ala., and the crowd voted a unit for secession. A salute of fifty guns were fired in honor of South Carolina. --The day previous all stores were closed, and the citizens proceeded to bury the hatchet in honor of their release from all party bonds and one and all went for secession.

Much importance seems to be attached to the flag under which the seceders are to fight. The Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser describes one to be presented to the Secessionists of that city. It has a blue ground, and on its face the representation of a cotton plant. At the foot of the stalk lies a representation of a rattlesnake with head erect, and fifteen rattles. --The motto is, Noli me tangere. On the reverse of the banner is the map of the State, with the word Alabama across it.

The following very important dispatch we find in some of our Southern exchanges, dated Charleston, Nov. 9th:

The representative of one of the Imperial powers of Europe, in view of the prospective separation of one or more of the Southern States from the present Confederacy, has made such propositions in advance for the establishment of those relations between it and the Government about to be established in this State, as will insure a future supply of cotton for that power, which their growing wants for that article will in the future require.--This information is perfectly authentic.

The Daily Dispatch (Richmond, VA) 13 Nov 1860.