| Confederate States of America, War Department |
| Richmond, Va., July 28, 1864 |
| |
| His Excellency John Milton |
| Governor of Florida |
| |
| Sir, |
| Your letter of the 30th ultimo, relative
to the appointment of commissioners to take testimony concerning the
losses sustained by the citizens of Florida by the illegal conduct
of the military authorities of the Confederate States, also in
reference to the controversy between the railroad company and
certain officers of the Confederate States, involving a complaint on
the part of a circuit court in Florida, and requesting the
appointment of a suitable officer for the command of the troops in
that State, has been received. |
| The case you describe in your letter of
losses inflicted upon citizens by unauthorized or wanton acts of
military authorities has not been provided for by any act of
Congress. Congress has not acknowledged its responsibility to such
claims, nor have they provided for their examination. They have
provided for the sequestration of the property of alien enemies to
indemnify those who may suffer from confiscation acts of the United
States. |
| For the perpetuation of testimony in
cases in which property has been seized, wasted, or destroyed by the
enemy, and slaves captured or abducted by them; for perpetuation of
testimony where property has been destroyed, either by the military
authorities or by the owners, to prevent its falling into the hands
of the enemy, the act of the Provisional Congress, No. 270,
specifies the mode in which testimony in these cases shall be taken;
and as it is analogous to the case presented in your letter, I would
suggest to Your Excellency the adoption of the mode there
prescribed. The act of the first session of the First Congress,
chapter 5, page 2, relating to the destruction of property by
military authorities to prevent its capture, adopts the same act,
and directs that the mode of proceeding designated may be pursued in
that case. |
| The persons you have recommended will be
appointed commissioners under the act of Congress "for the
establishment and payment for a certain description of property
taken or impressed for the use of the Army." The title of the
act shows that it is limited to a certain class of property (army
supplies) for the use of the Army, and the object of the act is to
collect testimony of the claims for the consideration of the
accounting officers of the Treasury. The claims mentioned in your
letter are included in the act. The commissioners can be instructed
to receive testimony upon the class of claims you mention, but their
report will have to receive the sanction of Congress before the
accounting officer could act upon it. |
| No act of Congress has recognized the
liability of the Government for such claims as you mention, nor made
appropriation for their payment. The Department sincerely regrets
the disagreement, conflict, or irritation between the authorities of
Florida and the Confederate States. The patriotism and
self-sacrifice of the people of Florida and the cordiality with
which their government has supported the common cause are fully
recognized by this Department, and it would fail in its duty if it
did not avoid as far as practicable affording them any cause for
complaint. |
| Your Excellency must remember the
obstructions that have been opposed to the removal of the iron on
the Florida Railroad for the completion of the necessary military
connections between Florida and Georgia. You can testify to the care
that the Department has exercised in obtaining the best opinion and
in forming a just conclusion on the subject. You can bear witness to
the urgency of the measure for the common defense. Congress has
passed an act empowering the Secretary of War, "whenever he
shall be of opinion that it is necessary to take private property
for public use, by reason of the impracticability of procuring the
same by purchase, so as to accumulate necessary supplies for the
Army or the good of the service in any locality, he may, by general
orders, through the proper subordinate officers, authorize such
property to be taken for the public use." |
| The Confederacy is now in the fourth
year of the war. Its ports have been blockaded, and its foreign
commerce nearly destroyed. The great highways of commerce in time of
peace have been used as military highways in this war. They have
been greatly impaired by the use and have suffered from the raids of
the enemy. The necessity of taking iron from the less valuable roads
in order to repair those more necessary is an imperious necessity.
The Department cannot sustain the armies in the field without a
resort to this expedient. One would think that honor, patriotism,
and public spirit would dictate a proffer to the country of property
of the kind in such an emergency, and that shame would prevent the
use of any obstructive measures against an object so necessary to
the public safety. |
| The Department has not, for the most
part, had its expectations fulfilled in this particular. Injunctions
and other forms of delay have been resorted to in order to prevent
its action under the act of Congress in such cases by railroad
corporations and other representatives of individual interests. |
| The question arises, by what authority
does a circuit court in one of the States issue an injunction
against the officers of the Confederate Government who are
performing a duty under an act of Congress? Such a power war not
supposed to exist in the courts of the States under the Constitution
of the United States. The officers of the United States were
certainly liable to be sued in State courts for any misconduct or
illegality, but their official functions, whether they were judicial
or executive officers, were not supposed to be subject to the
jurisdiction or control of the State authorities. The consequences
of an attempt to exercise such a control would generally be
injurious and might be fatal. The Department does not know to what
length such an interposition might not be carried. |
| Are the generals on the field subject to
an injunction whenever they establish a camp on private property or
infringe the right of individual ownership? Must the collector of
taxes submit to restraints of the same kind in their functions of
assessing and collecting the revenues? Can the Department on Foreign
Affairs be enjoined from negotiating treaties or conceding
commercial advantages? Can the Postmaster-General be inhibited or
restrained from selecting a particular route for his post road? Are
the Executive Departments of the Confederate States, in exercise of
their ordinary functions under Confederate laws, subject to the
State writs of injunction, mandamus, &c.? |
| The power to take private property for
public use is one of the great powers of Government. In this case
its exercise has been delegated to one of the Executive Departments
of the Government. Its exercise at this time is invoked by a great
public exigency, in which all the Confederate States are concerned,
and it is affirmed that the power to prevent or restrain this can be
given to an inferior judge of one of the States, an officer in no
wise responsible to this Confederacy. |
| The Department has in a multitude of
cases yielded to the exercise of authority by State judicial
authorities in cases in which it was exceedingly clear the judgment
was erroneous and the power to decide did not exist. In some cases
the judges have undertaken to examine a conscript in open court, and
to pronounce, in opposition to the Medical Board, that he labored
under a physical incapacity for field service, and discharged him;
in other cases have withdrawn a soldier from the Army to detail him
to manage private business, and the Department would be glad in this
case to show its respect for the officers of Florida by yielding to
its claims for jurisdiction without any contest; but Your Excellency
must see that delays are dangerous, and may be to the last degree
pernicious to the interests of the whole Confederacy. |
| Concession here involves the necessity
for concession elsewhere. The great highway in Alabama has been
seriously damaged for twenty-five miles. Those of Georgia may be
reached by the enemy at any time. Those in Virginia and North
Carolina are at all times in peril. The Department must employ all
the power that it has to obtain the means to repair mischief and
damage. |
| A just regard for the structure of our
Government, for the grave and responsible duties that are imposed
upon its members at the present time, and for the imminent danger in
which we are all involved, would seem to require that the
authorities of Florida should not interfere to embarrass the
operations that have been commenced. Such have been the
interruptions in postal communication that this Department has not
had a copy of the record in the case, and does not know what the
allegations of the bill are. As soon as practicable answer will be
made to the mandate of the court, but it is urged and hoped that
there may be no delay in the prosecution of the necessary
construction of the road. |
| The Department will instruct the officer
commanding in Florida upon the subject of the treatment due to the
women and children who are referred to in your letter. There will
certainly be every disposition not to aggravate to them the
severities necessary to repress the crimes of deserters and
disloyalists. |
| The commissioners recommended by you
have been approved under the recent act to take evidence in case of
irregular impressment, &c. The President has now under
consideration the propriety of relieving Col. Caraway Smith by some
other officer, who may in some larger measure command your
confidence and that of the people of your State. |
| Very respectfully, your obedient servant, |
| James A. Seddon |
|
Secretary
of War |