He was

within the Union and that the act of separation meant war. opposed to disruption. At the Charleston convention he had refused to join the southern revolt led by Wm. L. Yancey, believing that the only hope of success lay in the consolidation of forces under the banner of the national democracy. Judge Nisbet felt that since the fundamental law of the land had been repudiated by the anti-slavery aggressors the cause of constitutional liberty was imperiled and the time had come for the state to resume her sovereign rights.

Twenty years before, Judge Nisbet and Judge Warner had differed even more widely, the former having been a whig and the latter a democrat. At the present time they were both democrats, separating only upon the great issue of secession. As soon as Georgia had spoken Judge Warner, with patriotic submission, accepted the result and gave to Georgia his undivided allegiance; but he performed this act of patriotic surrender without in the least modifying his conviction that the course which the state had taken was unwise. Without stopping to measure consequences, Judge Nisbet felt that grievances had become so multiplied that Georgia was left no choice in honor and in self-respect except to withdraw from the compact.

Both men could boast of ancestries whose principles had been put to the most rigid test. Judge Warner had come from Puritan New England, where his forefathers, between the Indians on one hand and the icicles on the other, had mastered the difficult lessons of life in the bitterest school of hardships. Judge Nisbet had always lived in Georgia, but he had sprung from sturdy old Scotch Presbyterian Covenanters, one of whom, Capt. John Nisbet, had been executed on the streets of Edinburgh because he refused to surrender the supreme tribunal of his conscience even to the royal edict of his king.

Both brought to bear in serving Georgia, under circumstances of peculiar stress, the same rugged principles which had come down to them from ancestral molds; and tried though they were in the very fires and found to be pure gold, they both missed the gubernatorial chair which they had honorably coveted and which they would have richly adorned. What seem to be the ingratitudes of politics are sometimes difficult to explain; but neither Judge Nisbet nor Judge Warner were politicians in the fiddle-dancing sense of the term. They were rugged old jurists, who understood better how to construe laws and hold principles than to make votes, and, besides, in fearlessly wielding the ax with honest strokes from the shoulder, they gave far more heed to the mark than to the chips. One of the most striking of what may be called the judicial characteristics of Judge Lumpkin was his pronounced aversion to the mere technicalities of court procedure. Wherever vital principles were involved he refused to play the iconoclast; but no amount of antiquity could make him venerate forms and ceremonies which possessed no essential value; and toward the task of simplifying the routine of the court he bent all the reforming zeal of Martin Luther. "Where lies the justice of the case?" was the question uppermost in the mind of Judge Lumpkin, and he almost savagely tore aside the husks to lay bare the hidden grain of truth.

Vol. II-6

CHAPTER XXX

WAR WITH MEXICO OVER THE ANNEXATION OF TEXAS-THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CALLS UPON GEORGIA FOR A REGIMENT-IN RESPONSE TO THIS CALL, TEN COMPANIES ARE ORGANIZED AT COLUMBUS, UNDER HENRY R. JACKSON AS COLONEL GEORGIANS IN THE REGULAR ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES-GEN. W. H. T. WALKER-GEN. W. S. WALKER-COL. JAMES MCINTOSH OTHERS IN THE VOLUNTEER SERVICE ACHIEVE DISTINCTION-GEN. DAVID E. TWIGGS-COL. ROBERT M. ECHOLS COMMODORE JOSIAH TATTNALL COMMANDS THE FAMOUS "MOSQUITO FLEET"-THE WILMOT PROVISO PRECIPITATES A GREAT DEBATE IN THE NATIONAL HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES-MEMBERS OF CONGRESS DURING THIS PERIOD-WALTER T. COLQUITT RESIGNS THE TOGA-HERSCHEL V. JOHNSON SUCCEEDS HIM UNTIL WILLIAM C. DAWSON IS ELECTED GEORGE W. TOWNS, A DEMOCRAT, DEFEATS GEN. DUNCAN L. CLINCH, A WHIG, FOR GOVERNOR-THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN OF 1848-GEORGIA SUPPORTS THE WHIG CANDIDATE, GEN. ZACHARY TAYLOR-"ROUGH AND READY" IS ELECTED-EXGOVERNOR CRAWFORD BECOMES SECRETARY OF WAR-JOSEPH E. BROWN MAKES HIS ADVENT IN GEORGIA POLITICS HOWELL COBB BECOMES SPEAKER OF THE NATIONAL HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESPRESIDES OVER A STORMY SESSION-THE RESULTS OF THE MEXICAN WAR-THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN THE SIERRAS CALIFORNIA SEEKS ADMISSION AS A FREE STATE-AN ERA OF VIOLENT PASSION-THE COMPROMISE OF 1850-MR. CLAY'S LAST GREAT ACHIEVEMENT-THE GEORGIA RESOLUTIONS-SECESSION FIRES EXTINGUISHED GOVERNOR TOWNS RE-ELECTED TWO NEW COUNTIES CREATED CLINCH AND GORDON-THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH OF GEORGIA ORGANIZES INTO A SEPARATE JURISDICTION-STATISTICS OF GEORGIA IN 1850.

In May, 1846, the United States War Department called upon Georgia for a regiment of infantry to serve in Mexico. Nor was the state long in responding to this call. Ten companies were selected; and these, meeting in June at Columbus, formed a regiment the numerical strength of which aggregated 898 officers and men. The field officers chosen at this time were: Henry R. Jackson, colonel; Thomas Y. Redd, lieutenant-colonel; Charles J. Williams, major, and John Forsyth, adjutant. The Georgia Regiment of Volunteers was composed of the following companies: The Columbus Guards, 87 members; the Georgia Light Infantry, 91 members, and the Crawford Guards, 83 members, all from Columbus; the Richmond Blues, of Augusta, 93 members; the Jasper Greens, of Savannah, 86 members; the Macon Guards, of Macon, 92 members; the Sumter County Volunteers, of Americus, 89 members; the Fannin Avengers, from Pike County, 93 members; the Kenesaw

Rangers, from Cobb County, 92 members; and the Canton Volunteers, from Cherokee, 90 members.

This regiment left at once for Mexico. But it was destined to see little fighting. Twelve months-the entire period of enlistment-passed without bringing them into hostile encounter with the foe; and except to furnish details of soldiers for guarding money trains and provision wagons, it took no part in the campaign. To men who were full of the ardor of conflict, such inaction was galling; but to make matters infinitely worse an unhealthy camp site, amid tropical surroundings, superinduced fever, from which many of these volunteers died.

However, there were other companies to enlist. Besides, there were many recruits from Georgia to join the regular army of the United States. Some of the Georgians who distinguished themselves in the Mexican war were: Gen. David E. Twiggs, Gen. W. H. T. Walker, Gen. William S. Walker, Col. James McIntosh, Col. Robert M. Echols, Lieut. James Longstreet, Lieut. William M. Gardiner, and others. Col. James McIntosh, a hero of the War of 1812, fell at the head of his regiment, when in sight of the walls of the City of Mexico. He belonged to the regular army and at Palo Alto had been severely wounded. Colonel Echols was thrown from his horse at the Natural Bridge, in Mexico, sustaining injuries from which he died; but he had already been breveted a brigadier-general. Lieut. James Longstreet, destined to be known in. the history of the great Civil war as "Lee's Old War Horse," earned his spurs in the Mexican campaign and was wounded at Chapultepec. Commodore Josiah Tattnall, of the American navy, also won distinetion in command of his famous "Mosquito Fleet."

Two brilliant victories achieved in the fall of 1847 brought the Mexican war to a close. Gen. Zachary Taylor's defeat of Santa Anna gave him possession of the northern provinces, after which the City of Mexico capitulated to General Scott. On February 2, 1848, a treaty of peace was signed under which the United States acquired a vast area of territory, acquiring California, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada and Texas. Mexico, in return, was to receive $15,000,000 from the United States.

It was while the Mexican war was in progress that the famous Wilmot Proviso was introduced in Congress by its author, precipitating a debate whose thunders rocked the continent and threatened to rend the Union in twain. On August 8, 1846, pending the consideration in Congress of a bill placing $2,000,000 at the disposal of President Polk to negotiate a peace with Mexico, David Wilmot, a representative from Pennsylvania, offered the following amendment: "Provided, that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist in any part of the territory acquired from Mexico, except for crime, whereof the party shall be duly convicted." This was the famous Wilmot Proviso whose discussion fired the country from ocean to ocean. It was adopted in the House by a vote of 94 to 78, and was under debate in the Senate when the hour previously fixed for adjournment of the session arrived. At the next session, Mr. Wilmot again introduced it; and again the House remained firm in favor of the amendment, passing it once more. by a decided majority; but no action was taken by the Senate. Eventu

ally, however, an adjustment was reached under the compromise measures of 1850.

Georgia sent to the Twenty-eighth Congress (1843-1845) the following delegation: Edward J. Black, Absalom H. Chappell, Howell Cobb, Hugh A. Haralson, William H. Stiles, John H. Lumpkin, John Millen, and Mark A. Cooper. Only two of these were out and out whigs, Messrs. Black and Chappell. The latter was a brother-in-law of Gen. Mirabeau B. Lamar. John Millen died before taking his seat and to succeed him Gen. Duncan L. Clinch, a whig, was elected. Mark A. Cooper resigned to become the democratic candidate for governor in 1845 and was succeeded by Alexander H. Stephens, a whig. When Mr. Stephens entered Congress, the delegation was evenly divided between the two parties. Mr. Stiles, at the close of his term, was appointed charge d'affaires to Austria by President Polk, holding this important diplomatic office from 1845 to 1849.

Four members of the old delegation were re-elected to the Twentyninth Congress (1845-1857): Howell Cobb, Hugh A. Haralson, John Lumpkin and Alexander H. Stephens. The other members were: Seaborn Jones, a democrat; Thomas Butler King, a whig; Washington Poe, a democrat, and Robert Toombs, a whig. Mr. Poe declined a seat in Congress, and to succeed him, George W. Towns, a democrat, was elected. There were only three whigs in the Georgia delegation at this time, to wit, Messrs. King, Stephens and Toombs.

Most of these were re-elected to the Thirtieth Congress (1847-1849). There were only two new members in the state's delegation chosen at this time, viz., Alfred Iverson, a democrat, and John W. Jones, a whig. Dr. Jones was a physician and a resident of Griffin. Mr. Iverson afterwards succeeded to the toga. There were four whigs on the Georgia delegation in this Congress.

Hon. Walter T. Colquitt, having resigned the toga in 1848, Hon. Herschel V. Johnson was appointed to succeed him as United States senator for the unexpired term; but in the fall of 1847 Hon. William C. Dawson had already been elected by the Legislature to serve for a full term of six years, to begin March 4, 1849.

George W. Towns, formerly a member of Congress, received the democratic nomination for Congress in 1847 and defeated his whig antagonist, Gen. Duncan L. Clinch. General Clinch had spent most of his life since attaining manhood in the regular army of the United States. He had fought in the War of 1812 and in the war against the Seminoles, gaining a decisive victory over the great chief, Osceola, in the Battle of Withlacoochee, in 1835, at which time he was in full command of the American forces. But finally provoked by the inefficient. tactics of the War Department, he relinquished the military service with the rank of brigadier-general and retired to his plantation near St. Mary's. In 1844, General Clinch was elected to Congress to fill a vacancy caused by the death of John Millen.

It was a spirited contest waged in 1847 between the whigs and the democrats for the office of governor. But General Clinch was a soldier, not a politician. On the other hand, his successful competitor was a trained public speaker, a shrewd organizer of men, and a man of rare gifts. Nevertheless, it was by a slender majority that Mr. Towns car

ried the state and became Georgia's next governor. The vote stood: Towns, 43,220; Clinch, 41,931.*

The Legislature was largely concerned with matters of finance and there were few measures of general interest enacted into law. During the next year, as we have already noted in this chapter, the Mexican war was brought to a successful conclusion.

General Zachary Taylor became the idolized popular hero. "Old Rough and Ready," the sobriquet by which he was known to his men, received universal adoption. In the campaign of 1848, General Taylor was made the standard bearer of the national whig party for president. He received Georgia's support and won the presidency over General Lewis Cass and ex-President Martin Van Buren. Georgia's electors in 1848 were as follows: From the state at large, William Terrell and Seaton Grantland; district electors, H., W. Sharp, Warren Akin, William H. Crawford, Asbury Hull, A. W. Redding, Y. P. King, William Moseley and George Stapleton.**

But General Taylor was already well advanced in years when he entered the White House; and too feeble to sustain for a protracted season the weight of great official responsibilities he died in 1850 and was succeeded by Vice-President Millard Fillmore.

On organizing his cabinet, General Taylor appointed George W. Crawford, of Georgia, secretary of war, an office which he continued to hold under President Fillmore. Mr. Crawford had just relinquished the governorship of his native state when called to this high official responsibility at the national seat of government.

Joseph E. Brown first made his appearance on the stage of Georgia politics in the fall of 1849 as a member of the State Senate. He represented what was then the Forty-first District, under the old division. Slight of figure, in manner somewhat reserved, he took no declaratory or boisterous part in the debates, spoke seldom, was always calm, unemotional, and to the point. Except for an accent peculiar to the mountaineer, there was little about the new senator to attract a superficial observer. But Judge Andrew J. Miller, one of his colleagues, was not slow to discover in him one of the coming men of Georgia; nor did he hesitate to put himself on record with this prediction: "Joe Brown will yet stamp the impress of his genius upon the future history of the state." Alfred H. Colquitt was at this same session an assistant secretary of the Senate. Here were two Georgians for whom the highest honors of the state were reserved, including both the governorship and the toga.t

H-J, 1847, p. 29.

**"'Lanman's Biographical Annals of the United States Government,'' "History of Georgia, 1850-1881,'' I. W. Avery, p. 21.

p. 529-530.

One of the notable battles in this Legislature was over a measure that became in those days known as the hobby of Andrew J. Miller, called his "Woman's bill.'' The object was to secure to married women their own property independent of the husband. Miller was sent to the Legislature time and again, and at every session he introduced this measure, only to be repeatedly defeated. It finally became the law, and its success was due to the persistent agitation of the persevering Miller. Joseph E. Brown had the old-fashioned notions of the marital relation and fought all of these new-fangled ideas. Miller's Woman's Bill was defeated by a vote of twenty-one yeas to twenty-three nays in the Senate, Brown voting no. A bill to limit