54'
across mountain and desert the voice of the Southern people calling to h imfor help in their extremity. | His heart and intellect both recognized theirclaim upon his services, and he obeyed. At this time he wrote, “No onecould feel more sensibly the calamitous condition of our country than my-self, and whatever part I may take hereafter, it will always be a subject ofgratulation with me that no act of mine ever contributed to bring it about.I suppose the difficulties now will only be adjusted by the sword. In myhumble judgment, that was not the remedy.”
When he arrived in the new Confederacy, his coming was welcomed witha spontaneous outburst of popular enthusiasm, and deputations from theWest preceded him to Richmond , entreating his assignment to that depart-ment. President Davis said that he regarded his coming as of more worththan the accession of an army of ten thousand men; and on the 10th of Sep-tember, 1861, he was intrusted with the defense of that part of the Confed-erate States which lay west of the Alleghany Mountains , except the Gulf Coast
(Bragg having control of the coast offield Lovell of the coast of Mississipp:
4 - The following statement was written in re-sponse to an inquiry by the editors as to the detailsof the offer of high command referred to by Colo-nel Johnston:
“ The circumstances which gave rise to the ex-pressed desire of the Administration in 1861 toretain General Albert Sidney Johnston in theFederal army were as follows :
“Early in April, 1861, while on duty in the ad-jutant-general’s office in Washington , I learnedthat Colonel Sumner had been dispatched incog.to California , with secret orders to assume com-mand of the Department of the Pacific, and thatthis unusual course had been prompted by thefear that the forts and arsenals and garrisonson that coast would be placed in the hands ofthe secessionists by General Johnston , the thencommander , who was reported to be arrangingto do so.
“ I had just received a letter from General John-ston expressing his pleasure at the large andhandsome parade of State troops in San Fran-cisco , on February 22d, and at the undoubtedloyalty to the Union cause of the whole Pacificcoast, and also his earnest hope that the patrioticspirit manifested in California existed as stronglyin all other States, and would as surely be main-tained by them as it would be in the Pacific Statesin case of attempted secession.
“Fearing the effect of the superseding ordersupon a high-toned and sensitive officer, one whomI esteemed as a brother, and earnestly desired tobe secured to our cause, I induced Major McDow-ell to show the letter to Secretary Cameron, andto urge every effort to keep General Johnston from leaving the service. His superior qualifica-tions, his influence among prominent citizens atthe South, and especially among his relatives inhis native State, Kentucky, — which it was exceed-ingly desirable to keep in the Union,— were strong
Florida and Alabama , and Mans-l and Louisiana ). His command was
inducements to these efforts. My desire was metas cordially and earnestly as it existed, and Iwas authorized to send, as I did through myfriend ‘ Ben ’ Holliday, in New York , for trans-mission by telegraph to St. Louis , and thence byhis ‘ pony express ’ to San Francisco , the follow-ing message: ‘ I take the greatest pleasure inassuring you, for the Secretary of War, that hehas the utmost confidence in you, and will giveyou the most important command and trust onyour arrival here. Sidney is appointed to theMilitary Academy .’ This message reached Gen-eral Johnston after the arrival of Colonel Sumner.
“ In response to the above, and by the samechannel of communication, I received this mes-sage : ‘ I thank you and my friends for efforts inmy behalf. I have resigned, and resolved to followthe fortunes of my State.’ His letter of resigna-tion was soon received, and put an end to allhope, especially as Texas '—which had then se-ceded— was his adopted State .
“ I felt in 1861, as I now know, that the asser-tion that General Johnston intended to turn overto the secessionists the defenses of California , orany part of the regular army, was false and ab-surd. Under no circumstances, even if intended,could such a plan have succeeded, especially withthe regular army. But no such breach of trustwas intended, nor would any graduate of WestPoint in the army have committed or permitted it.It had no better foundation than the statement ofSenator Conness of California , who three yearslater urged and secured the assignment of Gen-eral McDowell to command on the Pacific coast,on the ground that after the war for the Unionshould have ended there would be in California amore powerful rebellion than that then existingamong the Southern States.
“New Yokk, December 8, 1884.”