 |
| Charles Scott Venable (1827-1900) |
"Mr Venable* don't mince matters. 'If we do not [strike] a blow—a blow that will be felt—it will be soon all up with us. The Southwest will be lost to us. We cannot afford to shilly-shally much longer.
'Thousands are enlisting on the other side in New Orleans. [Benjamin] Butler holds out inducements. To be sure, they are principally foreigners who want to escape starvation.
'Tennessee we may count as gone, since we abandoned her at Corinth, Fort Pillow, and Memphis. A man must be sent there—or it is all gone.'
In my heart I feel 'all is gone' now."
*Charles Scott Venable, a Virginian, was present at the bombardment of Fort Sumter in April 1861. At the time he was serving in the South Carolina militia. In Spring 1862 he joined Robert E. Lee's staff and remained with him to Appomattox Court House, earning the moniker "Faithful Old Venable" from Lee himself.
