Dixie Betrayed

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by David J. Eicher


  William Porcher Miles enjoyed a life of relative luxury after marrying into plantation money in 1863. At war’s end he began life as a Virginia country gentleman in Nelson County. In 1880 Miles became president of the University of South Carolina. Two years later he took over his father-in-law’s Louisiana sugar plantation and grew even richer. His health failed by 1899, when he died at age seventy-six, at his Louisiana estate.

  Lucius B. Northrop, stung by the constant criticism of his performance and finally pushed from office as commissary general, was captured by the Yankees in June 1865. A pseudogeneral whose commission had never been confirmed, Northrop’s career had crashed and burned. At age fifty-three he spent four months in prison several blocks from his old office, charged with deliberately starving Yankee prisoners. Released in October 1865 he took up farming near Charlottesville, Virginia. Bitter toward a cast of fellow officers, including Robert E. Lee, he stewed over the past and what might have been. In 1890 a stroke limited his physical movement; four years later he died in Maryland, his last home.

  Robert Barnwell Rhett never lived down his reputation as the ultimate fire-eater, the self-proclaimed “father of secession.” Rhett’s angry wartime editorials in the Charleston Mercury had scorched the Confederate president. At war’s end, at age sixty-four, Rhett fumed over the outcome, writing an unpublished history of his actions against Davis that was finally put into print in 2000 as A Fire-Eater Remembers. He eventually moved to Louisiana, where he died in 1876.

  Alexander H. Stephens, despite his chronic ill health, lived for nearly twenty years after the war. Disgusted by the mixed motives and complete lack of success of the Hampton Roads Conference, Stephens returned home to await his fate. On May 11, 1865, he was arrested. He spent five months in Fort Warren in Boston Harbor, where he kept a detailed diary before being released. Stephens attempted a return to the U.S. Senate, winning election but eventually barred from taking his seat. Over two years he wrote the ponderous and incredibly dull A Constitutional View of the War between the States, a two-volume legal harangue, and in 1873, he reentered politics. Elected from Georgia as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Stephens served in that capacity until 1882, when he was elected governor of Georgia. He died in 1883, at age seventy-one, after just three months in office.

  Robert A. Toombs fled to Cuba and then Paris immediately after the Confederacy’s demise, staying in Europe and then in Canada until 1867. Ultimately returning to the town of Washington, Georgia, he reestablished his law practice at age fifty-seven and reentered Georgia politics. A completely unreconstructed Rebel, Toombs pulled everything he could to thwart Federal authority in the New South. His health deteriorated for a number of years, until he finally died, in 1885.

  Louis T. Wigfall blamed Davis for the Confederacy’s defeat after the war even more than he had during the contest. After April 1865 he fled to England, where he attempted to incite Great Britain against United States policy. He returned to Maryland in 1872 and moved back to Texas two years later. That same year he died, at age fifty-seven, unheralded in his time but with few equals in his passion for the Southern Nation.

  John H. Winder never made it past the war. When he died of a heart attack in Florence, South Carolina, on February 7, 1865, he was wanted by the Union for his authority over the horribly mismanaged Confederate prison camps. Southerners had never learned to like him, either, because of his limiting controls over the citizens of Richmond. It was said that it was “fortunate” for Winder that he died before the Union captured him, or else he might have suffered a fate even worse than death.

  John H. Worsham outlived all the elder politicians who controlled his fate in the great war of 1861-65. The young man used his friendship with Richmond’s mayor, Joseph Mayo, to become toll keeper at Mayo’s Bridge in Richmond soon after he recovered from his wound. He later established a partnership in a tobacco firm, giving him the means to marry Mary Bell Pilcher, in 1871. He then entered the milling business, dabbled in the canal boat business, and subsequently became a bookkeeper, serving his son’s printing company for the remainder of his life. Worsham’s family included four children and six grandchildren. He remained active in Confederate historical activities, proud both of his part in the war and of what America had become in the Gilded Age. His deep blue eyes often displayed a “twinkle,” and he was known around Richmond as a soft-spoken old-timer, a veteran of the war who talked sparingly but was always listened to when he had something to say. In his old age Worsham suffered a fall and contracted pneumonia; he died at age eighty-one, on September 19, 1920, on the fifty-sixth anniversary of his wounding at the battle of Winchester. The South had lost a good man.

  Appendix: Executive Officers of the Confederate States, 1861–1865

  Presidents

  Howell Cobb II, Feb. 4, 1861-Feb. 17, 1862 (Provisional Congress)

  Jefferson Davis, Feb. 18, 1861-Feb. 17, 1862 (Provisional)

  Jefferson Davis, Feb. 22, 1862-surrendered May 10, 1865

  Vice Presidents

  Alexander H. Stephens, Feb. 9, 1861-Feb. 17, 1862 (Provisional)

  Alexander H. Stephens, Feb. 22, 1862-arrested May 11, 1865

  Secretaries of State

  Robert A. Toombs, Feb. 21, 1861-resigned Jul. 24, 1861 (Provisional)

  Robert M. T. Hunter, July 25, 1861-Feb. 17, 1862 (Provisional)

  William M. Browne, Mar. 7, 1862-Mar. 18, 1862 (ad interim)

  Judah P. Benjamin, Mar. 18, 1862-May 10, 1865

  Secretaries of the Treasury

  Christopher G. Memminger, Feb. 21, 1861- Feb. 17, 1862 (Provisional)

  Christopher G. Memminger, Mar. 18, 1862- resigned Jul. 18, 1864

  George A. Trenholm, Jul. 18, 1864-resigned Apr. 27, 1865

  John H. Reagan, Apr. 27, 1865-May 10, 1865 (acting)

  Secretaries of War

  Leroy P. Walker, Feb. 21, 1861-resigned Sept. 16, 1861 (Provisional) Judah P. Benjamin, Sept. 17, 1861-Nov. 21, 1861 (Provisional, acting)

  Judah P. Benjamin, Nov. 21, 1861-Feb. 17, 1862 (Provisional)

  Judah P. Benjamin, Feb. 17, 1862-Mar. 23, 1862 (acting)

  George W. Randolph, Mar. 18, 1862-resigned Nov. 17, 1862

  Gustavus W. Smith, Nov. 17, 1862-Nov. 21, 1862 (acting)

  James A. Seddon, Nov. 21, 1862-resigned Feb. 6, 1865

  John C. Breckinridge, Feb. 6, 1865-fled May 10, 1865

  Secretaries of the Navy

  Stephen R. Mallory, Feb. 28, 1861-Feb. 17, 1862 (Provisional)

  Stephen R. Mallory, Mar. 18, 1862-resigned May 2, 1865

  John H. Reagan, May 2, 1865-May 10, 1865 (acting)

  Postmasters-General

  Henry T. Ellett, Feb. 25, 1861-declined Mar. 5, 1861 (Provisional)

  John H. Reagan, Mar. 6, 1861-Feb. 17, 1862 (Provisional)

  John H. Reagan, Mar. 18, 1862-surrendered May 10, 1865

  Attorneys-General

  Judah P. Benjamin, Feb. 25, 1861-resigned Nov. 21, 1861 (Provisional)

  Thomas Bragg, Nov. 21, 1861-Feb. 17, 1862 (Provisional) Thomas H. Watts, Mar. 18, 1862-resigned Oct. 1, 1863

  Wade Keyes, Oct. 1, 1863-Jan. 4, 1864 (acting)

  George Davis, Jan. 4, 1864-resigned Apr. 26, 1865

  John H. Reagan, Apr. 26, 1865-May 10, 1865 (acting)

  Derived from John H. Eicher and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001).

  Congresses of the Confederate States, 1861-1865

  Provisional Congress

  First session. Assembled at Montgomery, AL, Feb. 4, 1861. Adjourned Mar. 16, 1861, to meet second Monday in May.

  Second session (called). Met at Montgomery, AL, Apr. 29, 1861. Adjourned May 21, 1861.

  Third session. Met at Richmond, VA, Jul. 20, 1861. Adjourned Aug. 31, 1861.

  Fourth session (called). Met at Richmond, VA, Sept. 3, 1861. Adjourned same day.

  Fifth session. Met at Richmond, VA, Nov. 8, 1861. Adjourned Feb. 17, 1862.

  First Congress

&nb
sp; First session. Met at Richmond, VA, Feb. 18, 1862. Adjourned Apr. 21, 1862.

  Second session. Met at Richmond, VA, Aug. 18, 1862. Adjourned Oct. 13, 1862.

  Third session. Met at Richmond, VA, Jan. 12, 1863. Adjourned May 1, 1863.

  Fourth session. Met at Richmond, VA, Dec. 7, 1863. Adjourned Feb. 17, 1864.

  Second Congress

  First session. Met at Richmond, VA, May 2, 1864. Adjourned Jun. 14, 1864.

  Second session. Met at Richmond, VA, Nov. 7, 1864. Adjourned Mar. 18, 1865.

  Members of the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States (Feb. 4, 1861-Feb. 17, 1862)

  Alabama

  William P. Chilton

  Jabez L. M. Curry

  Nicholas Davis

  Thomas Fearn

  Stephen F. Hale

  H. C. Jones

  David P. Lewis

  Colin J. McRae

  Cornelius Robinson

  John Gill Shorter

  Robert H. Smith

  Richard W. Walker

  Arkansas

  Augustus H. Garland

  Robert W. Johnson

  Albert Rust

  Hugh F. Thomason

  W. W. Watkins

  Florida

  J. Patton Anderson

  Jackson Morton

  James B. Owens

  John P. Sanderson

  George T. Ward

  Georgia

  Francis S. Bartow

  Nathan Bass

  Howell Cobb II

  Thomas R. R. Cobb

  Martin J. Crawford

  Thomas M. Foreman

  Benjamin H. Hill

  Augustus H. Kenan

  Eugenius A. Nisbet

  Alexander H. Stephens

  Robert A. Toombs

  Augustus R. Wright

  Kentucky

  Henry C. Burnett

  Theodore L. Burnett

  John M. Elliott

  George W. Ewing

  L. H. Ford

  George B. Hodge

  Thomas Johnson

  Thomas B. Monroe

  John J. Thomas

  Daniel P. White

  Louisiana

  Charles M. Conrad

  Alexander De Clouet

  Duncan F. Kenner

  Henry Marshall

  John Perkins Jr.

  Edward Sparrow

  Mississippi

  William S. Barry

  Alexander B. Bradford

  Walker Brooke

  J. A. P. Campbell

  Alexander M. Clayton

  Wiley P. Harris

  James T. Harrison

  John A. Orr

  William S. Wilson

  Missouri

  Caspar W. Bell

  John B. Clark

  Aaron H. Conrow

  Thomas A. Harris

  Robert L. Y. Peyton

  George G. Vest

  North Carolina

  W. W. Avery

  Burton Craige

  A. T. Davidson

  George Davis

  Thomas D. McDowell

  John M. Morehead

  R. C. Puryear

  Thomas Ruffin

  W. N. H. Smith

  Abraham W. Venable

  South Carolina

  Robert W. Barnwell

  William W. Boyce

  James Chesnut Jr.

  Lawrence M. Keitt

  Christopher G. Memminger

  William Porcher Miles

  James L. Orr

  Robert Barnwell Rhett

  Thomas J. Withers

  Tennessee

  John D. C. Atkins

  Robert L. Caruthers

  David M. Currin

  W. H. De Witt

  John F. House

  Thomas M. Jones

  J. H. Thomas

  Texas

  John Gregg

  John Hemphill

  William B. Ochiltree

  Williamson S. Oldham

  John H. Reagan

  Thomas N. Waul

  Louis T. Wigfall

  Virginia

  Thomas S. Bocock

  Alexander R. Boteler

  John W. Brockenbrough

  Robert M. T. Hunter

  Robert Johnston

  W. H. Macfarland

  James E. Mason

  Walter Preston

  William B. Preston

  Roger A. Pryor

  William C. Rives

  Charles W. Russell

  Robert E. Scott

  James A. Seddon

  Waller R. Staples

  John Tyler

  Senators of the First Congress of the Confederate States (Feb. 18, 1862-Feb. 17, 1864)

  Alabama

  Clement C. Clay Jr.

  Robert Jemison Jr.

  William L. Yancey

  Arkansas

  Robert W. Johnson

  Charles B. Mitchell

  Florida

  James M. Baker

  Augustus E. Maxwell

  Georgia

  Benjamin H. Hill

  Herschel V. Johnson

  John W. Lewis

  Kentucky

  Henry C. Burnett

  William E. Simms

  Louisiana

  Thomas J. Semmes

  Edward Sparrow

  Mississippi

  Albert G. Brown

  James Phelan

  Missouri

  John B. Clark

  Waldo P. Johnson

  Robert L. Y. Peyton

  North Carolina

  George Davis

  William T. Dortch

  Edwin G. Reade

  South Carolina

  Robert W. Barnwell

  James L. Orr

  Tennessee

  Landon C. Haynes

  Gustavus A. Henry

  Texas

  Williamson S. Oldham

  Louis T. Wigfall

  Virginia

  Allen T. Caperton

  Robert M. T. Hunter

  William B. Preston

  Members of the House of Representatives of the First Congress of the Confederate States (Feb. 18, 1862-Feb. 17, 1864)

  Alabama

  William P. Chilton

  David Clopton

  Jabez L. M. Curry

  E. S. Dargan

  Thomas J. Foster

  Francis S. Lyon

  James L. Pugh

  John P. Ralls

  William R. Smith

  Arkansas

  Felix I. Batson

  Augustus H. Garland

  Thomas B. Hanly

  Grandison D. Royston

  Florida

  James B. Dawkins

  Robert H. Hilton

  John M. Martin

  Georgia

  William W. Clark

  Lucius J. Gartrell

  Julian Hartridge

  Hines Holt

  Porter Ingram

  Augustus H. Kenan

  David W. Lewis

  Charles J. Munnerlyn

  Hardy Strickland

  Robert P. Trippe

  Augustus R. Wright

  Kentucky

  Robert J. Breckinridge Jr.

  Ely M. Bruce

  Horatio W. Bruce

  Theodore L. Burnett

  James S. Chrisman

  John W. Crockett

  John M. Elliott

  George W. Ewing

  George B. Hodge

  Willis B. Machem

  James W. Moore

  Henry E. Read

  Louisiana

  Charles M. Conrad

  Lucius J. Dupré

  Duncan F. Kenner

  Henry Marshall

  John Perkins Jr.

  Charles J. Villeré

  Mississippi

  Ethelbert Barksdale

  Henry C. Chambers

  J. W. Clapp

  Reuben Davis

  William D. Holder

  John J. McRae

  Otho R. Singleton

  Israel Welsh

  Missou
ri

  Caspar W. Bell

  Aaron H. Conrow

  William M. Cooke

  Thomas W. Freeman

  Thomas A. Harris

  George G. Vest

  North Carolina

  Archibald H. Arrington

  Thomas S. Ashe

  Robert R. Bridgers

  A. T. Davidson

  Burgess S. Gaither

  Owen R. Kenan

  William Lander

  Thomas D. McDowell

  J. R. McLean

  W. N. H. Smith

  South Carolina

  Lewis M. Ayer

  Milledge L. Bonham

  William W. Boyce

  James Farrow

  John McQueen

  William Porcher Miles

  William D. Simpson

  Tennessee

  John D. C. Atkins

  David M. Currin

  Henry S. Foote

  E. L. Gardenhire

  Meredith P. Gentry

  Joseph B. Heiskell

  George W. Jones

  Thomas Menees

  William G. Swan

  William H. Tibbs

  John V. Wright

  Texas

  M. D. Graham

  Peter W. Gray

  Caleb C. Herbert

  Frank B. Sexton

  John A. Wilcox

  William B. Wright

  Virginia

  John B. Baldwin

  Thomas S. Bocock

  Alexander R. Boteler

  John R. Chambliss

  Charles F. Collier

  Daniel C. De Jarnette

  David Funsten

  Muscoe R. H. Garnett

  John Goode Jr.

  James P. Holcombe

  Albert G. Jenkins

  Robert Johnston

  James Lyons

  Samuel A. Miller

  Walter Preston

  Roger A. Pryor

  Charles W. Russell

  William Smith

  Waller R. Staples

  Territories

  Arizona

  Marcus H. Macwillie

  Cherokee Nation

  Elias C. Boudinot

  Choctaw Nation

  Robert M. Jones

  Senators of the Second Congress of the Confederate States (May 2, 1864-Mar. 18, 1865)

  Alabama

  Robert Jemison Jr.

  Richard W. Walker

  Arkansas

  Augustus H. Garland

  Robert W. Johnson

  Charles B. Mitchell

  Florida

  James M. Baker

  Augustus E. Maxwell

  Georgia

  Benjamin H. Hill

  Herschel V. Johnson

  Kentucky

  Henry C. Burnett

  William E. Simms

  Louisiana

  Thomas J. Semmes

  Edward Sparrow

  Mississippi

 

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