Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era

by James M. McPherson

Nevertheless, disaffection remained a serious problem. Another divisive controversy blew up over the question of martial law. This matter became an embarrassment to Davis. In his February 22 inaugural address he had contrasted the Confederacy’s refusal “to impair personal liberty or the freedom of speech, of thought, or of the press” with Lincoln’s imprisonment without trial of “civil officers, peaceful citizens, and gentlewomen” in vile “Bastilles.”15 Davis overlooked the suppression of civil liberties in parts of the Confederacy, especially east Tennessee, where several hundred civilians languished in southern “Bastilles” and five had been executed. Only five days after Davis’s inaugural address, Congress authorized him to suspend the writ of habeas corpus and declare martial law in areas that were in “danger of attack by the enemy.”16 Davis promptly proclaimed martial law in Richmond and other Virginia cities. He did so not only because of Union invasion but also because of rising crime and violence among the war-swollen population of the capital. General John H. Winder, provost marshal of the Richmond district, created an efficient but ruthless corps of military police. In addition to banning the sale of liquor, establishing a pass system, arresting drunken soldiers, gamblers, pickpockets, and thieves, Winder jailed without trial several “disloyal” citizens including two women and John Minor Botts, a venerable Virginia unionist and former U.S. congressman. The Richmond...