THE SECESSION OF ALABAMA. 19 The Secession of Alabama. ALABAMA, the third in the list of States who have dissolved their connection with the Federal Government, contains a population of 955,917, of whom 435,473 are slaves. It is bounded N. by Tennessee, E. by Georgia, S. by Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, and W. by Mississippi. Its area is 46,000 square miles, or 28,160,000 acres. Mobile is the principal commercial port, and Tuscaloosa the capital; Montgomery is also a thriving place. Near the Gulf the country is low and swampy. Pine is the principal timber growth. The centre is an elevated table land, the soil rich and productive, the climate mild and healthy. The country is hilly and mountainous toward the North. Cotton is the chief production of the State. Wheat, Indian corn, tobacco, rice, oats, and potatoes are also largely produced. This State was originally included in the territorial limits of Georgia, except the part which belonged to Florida. In 1802 Georgia ceded all her territory west of Chattahooche river to the Mississippi river, to the United States. In 1817 it was constituted the Mississippi Territory, and Alabama continued a part of this territory until 1820, when it was admitted into the Union. On the 3d of January, 1861, Fort Morgan and the (Mount Vernon) United States arsenal at Mobile, were seized by the State troops. On the 11th of January, the delegates to the State Convention passed the following ordinance of secession-yeas 61, nays 39: ORDINANCE OF SECESSION. AN ORDINANCE to dissolve the Union between the State of Alabama and other States under the compact and style of the United States of America. Whereas, The election of Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin to the office of President and Vice-President of the United States of America, by a sectional party, avowedly hostile to the domestic institutions and peace and security of the people of the State of Alabama, following upon the heels of many and dangerous infractions of the Constitution of the United States by many of the States and people of the Northern section, is a political wrong of so insulting and menacing a character, as to justify the people of the State of Alabama in the adoption of prompt and decided measures for their future peace and security. Therefore, be it declared and ordained by the people of the State of Alabama, in Convention assembled, that the State of Alabama now withdraws from the Union known as the United States of America, and henceforth ceases to be one of the said United States, and is, and of right ought to be, a sovereign, independent State. SECTION 2. And be it further declared by the people of the State of Alabama, in Convention assembled, that all powers over the territories of said State, and over the people thereof, heretofore delegated to the Government of the United States of America, be, and they are hereby withdrawn from the said Government, and are hereby resumed and vested in the people of the State of Alabama. And as it is the desire and purpose of the people of Alabama to meet the slaveholding States of the South who approve of such purpose, in order to frame a provisional or a permanent government upon the principles of the Government of the United States, be it also resolved by the people of Alabama, in Convention assembled, that the people of the States of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Missouri, be, and they are hereby invited to meet the people of the State of Alabama, by their Delegates in Convention, on the 4th day of February next, in Montgomery, in the State of Alabama, for the purpose of consultation with each other as to the most effectual mode of securing connected, harmonious action, in whatever measures may be deemed most desirable for the common peace and security. And be it further resolved, That the President of this Convention be, and he is hereby instructed to transmit forthwith a copy of the foregoing preamble, ordinance, and resolutions to the Governors of the several States named in the said resolutions. Done by the people of Alabama, in Convention assembled, at Montgomery, this eleventh day of January, eighteen hundred and sixty-one. The Defences of Mobile. FORT MORGAN AND MOUNT VERNON ARSENAL. At the time Louisiana was purchased from France, in 1803, Mobile was claimed and held as a Spanish possession. The French claimed territory to the Perdido river flowing into the Gulf of Mexico and Pensacola. When we came into possession of Louisiana, we also claimed to the same boundary, while the Spanish Government claimed to a line considerably west of Mobile. The war of 1812 coming, the Spaniards continued in possession until 1813, when the Fort Conde, the principal work in Mobile, was surrendered to a force under Gen. Wilkinson, and our claim made good to the Perdido. The Americans, on taking possession, not only strengthened Fort Conde, but also manned the imperfect works at Mobile Point, which measurably commanded the entrance to the harbor. These were attacked in the autumn of 1814 by some British vessels of war. On this locality has since been constructed Fort Morgan-one of the strongest defensive works on the Gulf of Mexico. Fort Morgan alone commands the chief entrance to the bay. Vessels of large draft cannot pass over Dog Island bar, some miles below the city. The arsenal taken possession of by Alabama militia is known as the Mount Vernon Arsenal, and is situated thirty miles in the interior, north of Mobile. It stands on a high hill, which rises some 400 or 500 feet above the surrounding country. From the base of this hill to the city, and, in fact, to the Gulf of Mexico, is almost a dead level. The soil is sandy, and covered with an almost unbroken pitch pine forest, interspersed with alluvial creeks, small farms, and with glades and swamps, bearing magnolia trees, live oaks, and tangled thickets of undergrowth. The present Mobile and Tennessee Railroad passes near Mount Vernon. The view from the arsenal is magnificent, overlooking towards the Gulf an apparently interminable carpet of green, which is lost in dimness as it disappears at its junction with the distant horizon. The site was well chosen as a safe depository of arms and other munitions of war for the defence of New Orleans, Mobile, Pensacola, and the contiguous Gulf coast, and it is probably the strongest and best built arsenal to be found in the United States. It contains a vast store of army equipments of all kinds. SECESSION OF FLORIDA. 21 Secession of Florida. FLORIDA, the fourth of the retiring States, is about 400 miles in length, by an average breadth of 140, containing 50,000 square miles. It is bounded N. by Alabama and Georgia; E. by the Atlantic Ocean; S. and W. by the Gulf of Mexico. The population in 1860 was 145,694, of whom 63,809 were slaves. The face of the country on the sea-coast is flat, sandy and barren; in the interior it is in many places fertile, with natural meadows, well adapted to the culture of the sugar-cane. The leading productions are cotton, rice, sugar, oranges, and many other fruits. The forests abound with excellent timber, particularly live oak. The climate is in general healthy and delightful. St. Augustine, on the Atlantic coast, is a favorite resort in the winter for invalids from the Northern States. The principal towns are Pensacola, St. Augustine, and Tallahassee. Florida was discovered in 1512, by Ponce de Leon, a Spaniard, and was under the Spanish government until 1763, when it was ceded to Great Britain. It was re-ceded to Spain by the treaty of Paris, in 1783; and in 1821 the United States obtained a cession from Spain of the whole territory called East and West Florida, in consideration of claims for spoliations upon the commerce of the former by the latter nation. On the 11th of January, 1861, in convention assembled, by a vote of 62 to 7, Florida was declared a sovereign and independent nation. The Appalachicola arsenal, in the Chattaprochus, was seized by the Florida troops on the 6th of January, Fort McRae, at Pensacola, on the 10th, and Fort Barrancas and the navy yard at Pensacola on the 12th. Captain Armstrong, in command of the navy yard, surrendered without the slightest resistance. The following is a list of the forts on the coast of Florida, with the number of men that each requires for a war garrison; also the number of guns that each should have when completed: The forts at Key West and Tortugas are said to be the strongest in the world. They are the keys to the Gulf-every vessel crossing passing within sight of both. Fort Taylor has at present about sixty heavy guns mounted. Fort Jefferson has not yet received its armament. The Convention of delegates met at Tallahassee on the 3d of January, to the number of 67. On the 7th, the following preamble and resolution was passed, by 62 ayes; 5 nays: Whereas, all hope of preserving the Union upon terms consistent with the safety and honor of the slaveholding States has been finally dissipated by the recent indications of the strength of the anti-slavery sentiment of the free States; therefore, Be it resolved by the people of Florida in Convention assembled, That it is undoubtedly the right of the several States of the Union to withdraw from the said Union at such time and for such cause, as in the opinion of the people of each State, acting in their sovereign capacity, may be just and proper; and, in the opinion of this Convention, the existing causes are such as to compel Florida to proceed to exercise that right. ORDINANCE OF SECESSION. We, the people of the State of Florida, in Convention assembled, do solemnly ordain, publish and declare, that the State of Florida hereby withdraws herself from the confederacy of the States existing under the name of the United States of America, and from the existing government of the said States; and that all political connection between her and the government of said States ought to be, and the same is hereby totally annulled, and said union of States dissolved; and the State of Florida is hereby declared a sovereign and independent nation; and that all ordinances heretofore adopted, in so far as they create or reorganize said Union, are rescinded; and all laws, or parts of laws in force in this State, in so far as they recognized or assent to said Union, be and they are hereby repealed. FORT MARION Is situated at the extreme Southeastern part of Fernandina, while the soldiers are garrisoned at the barracks, situated in the opposite portion, and which was once the Convent of St. Francis. It is probably the oldest fortress in the United States, and is interesting as a relic of the style of ancient fortification, and for its association with events in the old Spanish, English and Indian wars. The precise year of its construction is not definitely known. It may have been commenced by the Spaniards in 1665, or not until many years later. It was named by them the Castle of St. Mark, and was completed in 1756. It was situated at the Northern extremity of the town. It is built of stone; its walls are about twentyone feet high, terminating in four bastioned angles, at the several corners, each of which is surmounted with towers corresponding. It is casemated and bomb proof. The work is enclosed by a wide, deep ditch, with perpendicular walls of masonry over which is thrown a bridge, which was originally protected by a draw. The fort has a sea wall a mile in length, built for the main purpose of a breakwater. The interior of this old fortress is said to be full of dark gloomy retreats, and subterranean passages. Within the bastion of the Northeast angle, far under ground, is a dark, dungeon like recess, constructed of solid mason work. This place was accidentally discovered soon after the work fell into the hands of the American army. It was then walled up. As to the history of the place whether it was once an inquisitorial chamber, or the scene of vengeance, there is silence. KEY WEST FORT. Fort Taylor is a large, first-class fortification, commanding the harbor Key-West and its entrance. It is complete except the barracks and a few platforms for the mounting of barbette ordnance. The officer in command of this fort is Captain John Brannan, of the First artillery, United States army, and he, with the force under his command, now constitute the garrison. The fortress forms an irregular quadrangle, having three channel curtains. It is 300 yards off the beach, and on the southwest point of the Island, and stands in a depth of seven or twelve feet of THE SECESSION OF MISSISSIPPI. 23 water. The foundation is granite, and the upper works are of brick. The scarp walls have a solidity of eight feet, rising forty feet above the water level. It is provided with three tiers-two of casement and one for barbette-and mounts 120 eight and ten-inch Columbiad guns on the seaward front, and 45 heavy pieces towards the beach. The armament is mostly mounted and prepared to stand a siege. The garrison are abundantly supplied with ammunition, provisions, fuel, water and all other important stores. With the assistance of the navy this fort can be defended against any force that may be rash enough to assail it. It is regarded as the key of the Gulf. Its only vulnerable point is from the land side, and to breach this shore front would require a force which would take weeks in preparation, a navy to transport, use up half a million of treasure, and sacrifice hundreds of lives. The officer in command will, like Major Anderson, act strictly on the defensive, and hold his position until ordered by the federal authorities to deliver up to the demand of the State, or the Southern confederacy. The officers at Fort Taylor are: Capt. John M. Brannan, commander; 1st Lieut. Alvan C. Gilhelm; 2d Lieut. Chas. H. Webber. Capt. E. B. Hunt, engineer corps, in charge of the construction and completion of the castle, has a force of 100 mechanics and laborers in his employment. Capt. Meigs has chartered the Whitney to transport a portion of the 8-inch Columbiads from Fort Taylor to Fort Jefferson. Three guns will be lightered to the ship, and the necessary ordnance will be supplied from Fort Taylor magazines. The Secession of Mississippi. MISSISSIPPI, the second State in the order of secession, is 338 miles in length, and 135 in breadth, containing 45,760 square miles, or 29,286,400 acres. The population in 1860 was 887,158, of whom 479,607 were slaves. Bounded N. by Tennessee, E. by Alabama, S. by the Gulf of Mexico and Louisiana, W. by Pearl and Mississippi rivers, which separate it from Louisiana and Arkansas, it has a sea-coast of about 70 miles, with no harbor in this distance which admits large vessels. The State is divided into 56 counties. The face of the country exhibits a diversified surface of hills and valleys. The soil is generally fertile, producing cotton of a superior quality, rice, tobacco, Indian corn, wheat, rye, barley, oats, potatoes, wool, wax, lumber, tar, pitch, turpentine, peaches, melons, grapes, and a great variety of fruits and vegetables. The palma Christi, which produces castor-oil, is also cultivated. The climate is mild but variable. From October to June it is bland and delightful. During part of the summer and autumn the people are subject to fevers, but generally they enjoy good health. The southern part of the State, for about 100 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, is a level country, covered with fine forests, cypress swamps, open prairies or inundated marshes. Advancing North, the soil, in its natural condition, is covered with oak, hickory, magnolia, sweet gum, ash, maple, poplar, pine and holly, with a variety of underwood, grape vines, spice wood, &c. Jackson is the capital of the |