the ruins as residuary legatee. It seemed absurd for the
few there present to continue the struggle against a million of men. We
could only secure honorable interment for the remains of our cause--a
cause that for four years had fixed the attention of the world, been
baptized in the blood of thousands, and whose loss would be mourned in
bitter tears by countless widows and orphans throughout their lives. At
the time, no doubts as to the propriety of my course entered my mind,
but such have since crept in. Many Southern warriors, from the hustings
and in print, have declared that they were anxious to die in the last
ditch, and by implication were restrained from so doing by the readiness
of their generals to surrender. One is not permitted to question the
sincerity of these declarations, which have received the approval of
public opinion by the elevation of the heroes uttering them to such
offices as the people of the South have to bestow; and popular opinion
in our land is a court from whose decisions there is no appeal on this
side of the grave.

On the 8th of May, 1865, at Citronelle, forty miles north of Mobile, I
delivered the epilogue of the great drama in which I had played a humble
part. The terms of surrender demanded and granted were consistent with
the honor of our arms; and it is due to the memory of General Canby to
add that he was ready with suggestions to soothe our military pride.
Officers retained their side arms, mounted men their horses, which in
our service were private property; and public stores, ordnance,
commissary, and quartermaster, were to be turned over to officers of the
proper departments and receipted for. Paroles of the men were to be
signed by their officers on rolls made out for the purpose, and I was to
retain control of railways and river steamers to transport the troops as
nearly as possible to their homes and feed them on the road, in order to
spare the destitute people of the country the burden of their
maintenance. Railways and steamers, though used by the Confederate
authorities, were private property, and had been taken by force which
the owners could not resist; and it was agreed that they should not be
seized by civil jackals following the army without special orders from
Washington. Finally, I was to notify Canby when to send his officers to
my camp to receive paroles and stores.

Near the Tombigby River, to the east of Meridian, were many thousands of
bales of cotton, belong