Thomas Jewett Goree Quotes
We are more than all crippled by an unfortunate misunderstanding which unhappily exists between Pres. Davis and the leading generals of this army.... Mr. Davis’ motto seems to be: ‘Rule or Ruin.’ Mr. Davis is undoubtedly a great man, but he has his faults, his whims, and his unbounded prejudices. I have nearly lost all the admiration I ever had for him as an honest man and a patriot.
As in almost every war, there were disagreements between the Confederate Generals and the civilian authorities. See {633934} for another Civil War Southern example.
Thomas Jewett Goree, 1835–1905, Attorney & Confederate Military Officer, Writing when he was serving in the Confederate Army in the Civil War
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The Confederate War Department was directly giving instructions to other officers in his command. Jackson was about to resign. Lee had not yet been given command of all the Confederate forces, and one of his great contributions was to be a buffer between Jefferson Davis and his War Department vis a vis the Senior Confederate officers. See for another example of the friction in the Confederacy.
Morgan had just left his appointment at Annapolis and traveled to the then Confederate capital, Montgomery, AL to volunteer for the Confederate navy.
These failure of these secession opponents to influence most Southerners was one of the great tragedies of the war. William Tecumseh Sherman also counseled against the rebellion {627900}. Identity of many Americans at the time was defined by their State with less identification with the nation than today. Eggleston was an accomplished writer who had served in the Confederate army of the Civil War. 20 year after the war he wrote a series of articles for the prestigious Northern Atlantic Monthly trying to convey the war from the Southerner’s point of view.
"Imperium" is a Latin word which, in a broad sense, translates roughly as 'power to command'. In ancient Rome, different kinds of power or authority were distinguished by different terms "Imperium" referred to the sovereignty of the state over the individual—Wikipedia. The Consul was a wonderful diplomat. He had no respect for the South not only because they were fighting to maintain slavery, but also he found most of their diplomats and officials very incompetent. He found it hard to participate in all the Confederate ceremonies as he was their exhibit number one that they had International Recognition and they "exhibited him frequently. Despite this he was charming and never argumentative about slavery or other political positions that he loathed. As a matter of fact, the Southern Diplomats regarded him as a man sympathetic to the South with an understanding of their point of view. As a result he gained a huge amount of intelligence which he regularly dispatched back to London. England was neutral {35520} in the Civil War, but England did not recognize the Confederacy as a nation, else they would have sent an ambassador. The Southern politicians worked hard to get him to carry their message that if they would be recognized, they would grant England many favorable trade advantages as the English textile industry really wanted Southern cotton. While apparently sympathetic to the Southern cause, his reports contained all the negative information about the South and counseled against recognition just as the English Ambassador in Washington did—see {583131}.
While Jefferson appreciated Jackson’s military prowess, that was about all.
When George B. McClellan was commander of the Union army, he maintained a very conservative military strategy and would not initiate any attacks. Lincoln wrote:
This quotation was an attack on President George W. Bush who had argued to a nation hostile about the Iraq War that the decision on whether to continue the war should be determined in large part by the report that was to be given by the commander of our forces In Iraq, General David Petraeus. He reported that he thought we should give the situation some more time and effort, and that was the policy decision. Clark and others thought this was not fair to Petraeus whose job it was not to make the policy but to implement it. It was perhaps the only time in history where a President abdicated a major war policy decision to a field officer. The President even argued to Congress that they should all wait for the General to return to Washington. He argued that he made the decision; he just wanted to hear the General’s recommendation. Most believed that he could have obtained that without the General returning to Washington to talk to Congress and the American people.
That is what he did—returned to his farm.
Eggleston was an accomplished writer who had served in the Confederate army of the Civil War. 20 year after the war he wrote a series of articles for the prestigious Northern Atlantic Monthly trying to convey the war from the Southerner’s point of view.
That is the way he was killed. The phrase, “We are bound to believe that, anyhow” indicates that Stuart really realized how futile the Southern war effort would be but loyalty and patriotism required him to suspend his rational belief structure.
Most people are surprised that Lee suggested his being replaced when his army lacked military success. Strategically, he had a hopeless task. The incompetence of General McClellan and other Union Generals is the only reason that the war lasted as long as it did. However, Lee got about as much as any military commander could have given the greater manpower, industrial production, communications and transportation of the Union to say nothing of the much superior technology.
The historical import of this quotation is that North Carolina was unable to support its troops fighting in Virginia so they resorted to asking for private donations. In addition greedy speculators were offering inflated prices to citizens for needed military supplies and after buying them jacking the price up much higher and selling it to the state who because of the lack of productivity, the men in the field and the Union embargo had very few options to obtain needed supplies.
The only soldier ever so honored
Early in the Donald Trump Presidency, some of his first decisions, including his Anti-Muslim ban on immigration and vistitation from 7 Islamic nations, were very distrubing to amy politicians experienced in national security and defense. 100 leaders from past adminsitrations, Democratic and Republicans, signed a petition warning that the travek ban endangered our national security. Then 1000 U. S. State Department Diplomats signed a letter advising the President to recind the order for similar reasons. Malinowski was asked if this kind of opposition to a new presidents actions was unusual. This quotation was his reply. Not the use of sarcasim. He states what happened in very stark terms and then says that it is not unusual and there is notjing to worry about, when it was withotu precedent ever and very worrisome to him and others. Quotations using sarcasim are very problimatical becasue just a literal reading, would lead us to believe he was not concened with sich a common occurance.
Seward, the newly appointed Secretary of State was extremely concerned that if the radical direction that many of the Southern States were moving in turned into a Civil War, that the Union should not be seen as the precipitating initiator. His policy was followed and the secessionist extremists, not so politically sensitive, attacked Fort Sumter and became the initiator of the war so far as public opinion was concerned domestically and internationally. It was very important for the Union effort that the Confederates by seen as a group of radicals rebelling against the authority of a legitimate state. If that was the case, any effort to aid or help the South could be seen as an unfriendly act of war against the United States. Conversely, the South would have liked to be seen as an independent nation, no longer connected to the United States and entitled to diplomatic relations and foreign trade with all other nations. But the attack on Fort Sumter made that position much harder to maintain.
This has been a problem for not only Presidents and Governors, but all managers and administrators. When to terminate a subordinate who is not performing adequately. There is always the chance that the new appointee is no better or possibly even worse.
He was Chancellor of the Exchequer at the time of this speech. Gladstone was certain about most of his views on foreign policy but correct on only some with many blunders on his watch. This view was very important for the Confederacy as it was a prerequisite to diplomatic recognition. The latter never came.
He was a realist who foresaw that even though the South had been militarily defeated, there were those who would persist in their efforts to retain slavery or a de facto form where freedom is the form but subjugation was the substance. It would be Jim Crowe and terrorism in the form of the KKK and a successor to Lincoln who was very sympathetic to the aims and culture of the Southern Rebels.
by recent Southern military losses Ironically, it was the Southern States and Southern politicians who had ever since President Andrew Jackson, illegally appropriated most of the Indian lands. It was the Supreme Court who ordered Jackson not to remove the Cherokee, but he and the other Southerners did so anyway with mild protest coming from the North. Neither section treated the Indians fairly, but the South had been much worse.
There was some political pressure in the North, to offer terms to the South where they could cease the rebellion and return to the Union and return to the status quo ante—before the rebellion.
His aggressive tactics which had served him so well in the West got his army into trouble at the Second Battle of Bull Run, where he was out maneuvered by Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee. He was sent back to the West.
Many historians argue that at this point the Confederacy was beaten and had they then surrendered everyone would have been much better off. But Davis and other Southern leaders, with their ideological and twisted moral logic dragged the war on for two more years and much of the South was destroyed making things even harder for the Southerners during Reconstruction.
McClellan liked to parade and drill his troops but not fight them. Lincoln wanted him to take the offensive but the general always found an excuse not to. Many historians believe that McClellan wanted the war to end, the South to rejoin the Union and be allowed to maintain slavery. Others feel that he was just a military man who maintained his popularity by minimizing casualties. Finally, Lincoln fired McLellan and the complexion of the war changed thereafter. McClellan ran against Lincoln for the Presidency in 1864. See {633923}
- Born: November 14, 1835
- Died: March 5, 1905
- Nationality:
- Profession:
Thomas Jewett "TJ" Goree was a Confederate Captain in the First Corps, Army of Northern Virginia during the American Civil War. By the end of the war he was promoted to the rank of captain. He was one of Lt. General James Longstreet's most trusted aides.
