We, the people of Tennessee, solemnly impressed by the perils which surround us, do hereby adopt and ratify the Constitution of the Provisional Government of the Confederate States of America, ordained and established at Montgomery, Alabama, on the 8th of February, 1861, to be in force during the existence thereof, or until such time as we may supersede it by the adoption of a permanent Constitution.

The sixth section provided that all voters in favor of adopting the Provisional Constitution, and thereby securing to Tennessee equal representation in the deliberations and councils of the Confederate States, should have written or printed on their ballots the word "Representation;" opposed, the words "No Representation."

The seventh section provides for an election of delegates to the Confederate Congress in case the Provisional Constitution was adopted. The vote on the Declaration of Independence in the Senate was-yeas 20, nays 4; in the House, yeas 46, nays 21.

By this act, provision was made to submit to the vote of the people of the State, the adoption or rejection of a "Declaration of Independence," whereby they were to separate themselves from the Union, and adopt the insurrectionary States' Constitution, and abrogate that part of their own Constitution which required every person chosen or appointed to any office of trust or profit under it, or any law made in pursuance of it, before entering on the duties thereof, to take an oath to support the Constitution of the State and of the United States; and requiring each member of the Senate and House of Representatives, before proceeding to business, to take an oath to support the Constitution of the State and of the United States. (Constitution of Tennessee, art. x., sections 1, 2.) By another act the Governor was required to raise, organize, and equip, a provisional force of volunteers for the defence of the State, to consist of 55,000 men; 25,000 of whom, or any less number demanded by the wants of the service, were to be fitted for the field, at the earliest practicable moment, and the remainder to be held in reserve, ready to march at short notice. It authorized the Governor, should it become necessary for the safety of the State, to "call out the whole available military strength of the State," and to determine when this force should serve, and direct it accordingly. To defray the expenses of this military organization, the Governor was authorized "to issue and dispose of $5,000,000 of the bonds of the State," in denominations of not less than $100, or greater than $1,000, to run ten years, and bear interest at the rate of 8 per cent.

Thus provided with a semblance of authority, the Governor hastened the organization of the provisional force of 25,000 men, and before

the day of the election, June 8, 1861, he had most of it on foot, and distributed in camps around Nashville and elsewhere, armed and equipped, so far as it could be, with the munitions of the United States in possession of the State, and with such as could be obtained from the arsenal at Augusta, Georgia, from which they were brought by Gen. Zollicoffer. Thus, on the morning of the election, the people of Tennessee, for the first time in their lives, went to the polls conscious that they were no longer a free people; knowing that the Executive and Legislative Departments of the State, with its Treasury in their hands, and with all the arms of the State in their possession, and with a formidable army in their pay, had joined a conspiracy to overthrow their Government, and that nothing remained for them but to reverse their vote of the 9th of February, and to ratify what their self-constituted masters had already accomplished. Even by voting against the Declaration of Independence, and by refusing to absolve their officers from the oath to support the Constitution of the United States, and declining to accept the Constitution of the insurrectionary States, they could not free themselves from the military incubus which had been imposed upon them. In these circumstances it is not to be wondered at that the election showed an apparent majority of 57,667 for secession. It must not be concluded, however, that this majority was real; for the men who could so wantonly contemn the obligations of the law as to resort to the measures above detailed, could not escape from the suspicion of having filled the ballot-box with spurious votes.

By such means was Tennessee carried over to the insurrectionary States, and in the employment of these means there does not appear to have been any semblance of regard, among the actors, for oaths or for the observance of the most solemn obligations of legal and constitutional duty.

The aggregate votes in the several divisions of the State were announced to be as follows on the ordinance of separation:

Fentress, Wheeler, and Cumberland. Cleveland was also declared a military station. The mails of the United States were, by order of the proper department, continued in twenty-six of the counties of East Tennessee at this time, in consequence of the Union feeling which was manifested. They were as follows: Anderson, Bledsoe, Blount, Bradley, Campbell, Carter, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Green, Hamilton, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson, Knox, Marion, McMuir, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Polk, Rhea, Sevier, Sullivan, and Washington.

On the other side every effort was made to procure arms. The Governor sent instructions to the clerks of all the county courts, requesting them to issue to each constable in their respective counties an order requiring him to make diligent inquiry at each house in his civil district for all muskets, bayonets, rifles, swords, and pistols belonging to the State of Tennessee, to take them into possession, and deliver them to the clerks. A reward of one dollar was to be paid to the constable for each musket and bayonet or rifle, and of fifty cents for each

sword or pistol thus reclaimed. The arms thus obtained were to be forwarded, at public expense, to the military authorities at Nashville, Knoxville, and Memphis, as might be most convenient, and information sent to the military and financial board at Nashville, of the result.

Stringent measures were adopted with the Union people of East Tennessee. Many, upon bare suspicion, were arrested and taken prisoners, insulted, abused, and carried into camps, there to be disposed of as the insurrectionary mob thought proper. Squads of cavalry and infantry were scouring over the country, offering the people, male and female, every indignity that ruffian bands are capable of; destroying crops and substance without regard to the condition or circumstances of the persons; pasturing their horses in corn-fields; wasting hay-stacks, taking provisions of every description without regard to quantity, not even asking the price or tendering an equivalent therefor in any shape whatever. Nashville was put under martial law, passports were required, and all baggage was examined under directions of the Committee of Safety.

THE appearance of the proclamation of the President, calling for seventy-five thousand men, caused the most active efforts both at the North and South to raise and equip troops. This was immediately followed by hostile movements of Southern forces upon the most important positions. At the North it was feared that Washington would be captured at once, unless it was quickly garrisoned. Thither, therefore, the troops from Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts immediately moved. The advance of the 6th Massachusetts regiment through Baltimore on April 19th, has already been described. At Washington, in the meanwhile, preparation for defence was commenced with the small military and naval force on hand. But on the 18th, three days after the appearance of the proclamation, several car loads of troops, numbering about 600 men, arrived from Harrisburg via Baltimore, and were quartered in rooms in the Capitol. Other troops were also expected soon to arrive, and the Massachusetts regiment was the next which reached there.

During the whole day and night of the 18th, the avenues of the city were guarded and closely watched. Cannon were planted in commanding positions so as to sweep the river along that front, and these were supported by

infantry. A proclamation was also issued by Mayor Berret, exhorting "all good citizens and sojourners to be careful so to conduct themselves as neither by word or deed to give occasion for any breach of the peace." After the outbreak at Baltimore on the 19th, no mail was received at Washington, either from the North or South, except from Alexandria on the one side and Baltimore on the other, until the 25th. On the 27th the New York 7th regiment arrived, having left New York on the 18th. A delay took place between Annapolis and Washington, in consequence of the damage done to the railroad track. The news brought to Washington by the 7th was that four New York regiments were at Annapolis, with a part of a Massachusetts regiment, the remainder of which was at the Junction. The 7th, therefore, as they marched up Pennsylvania Avenue, preceded by their band, and making a fine appearance, were received with the wildest demonstrations of pleasure on the part of the citizens. On the next day another body of troops arrived. They consisted of one-half of the Rhode Island regiment, 1,200 strong, commanded and headed by Gov. Sprague; and the Butler brigade, under Brig.-Gen. Butler, of Massachusetts, numbering nearly 1,400 men. They

were met at the depot by the 6th Massachusetts regiment, stationed in the Capitol, who greeted their friends with the heartiest cheers. These men, though severely worked by the toilsome labor requisite to repair the bridges and road track from Annapolis to the Junction, presented a fine appearance as their long and serpent-like lines wound through the streets. Troops now began to arrive daily, and Washington soon became the most military city on the continent. Meantime hostile movements were commenced at Harper's Ferry, where a United States Armory and a National Arsenal were located. The situation of this town is at the confluence of the Shenandoah River with the Potomac, in Jefferson County, Virginia, on the line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. At the armory 10,000 muskets were made annually, and the arsenal often contained 80,000 to 90,000 stand of arms. On the 2d of January, orders were received from Washington for the Armory Guard, Flag Guard, and Rifles to go on duty, as a precautionary measure. A few days afterwards a detachment of unmounted United States Dragoons, numbering sixty-four, under command of Lieut. Jones, arrived there. Affairs remained in a quiet condition until the excitement created through the country by the capture of Fort Sumter, and the issue of the first proclamation by the President calling out troops. A movement was immediately made by friends of the rebellion in Northern Virginia, to take possession of Harper's Ferry Arsenal. As early as the 18th of April, Lieut. Jones was informed that between 2,500 and 3,000 State troops would reach the ferry in two hours. Deeming the information positive and reliable, he gave orders to apply the torch to the buildings. In ten minutes or less both the arsenal buildings, containing nearly 15,000 stand of arms, together with the carpenter's shop, which was at the upper end of a long and connected series of workshops of the armory proper, were in a complete blaze. Lieut. Jones then withdrew his small force, and marching all night, arrived at Carlisle barracks at half-past 2 o'clock the next afternoon. This was done by orders of the Government. The place was then taken possession of by the Virginian troops. Most of the machinery which was not destroyed was removed to Richmond. About six hundred arms were recovered. But the severest blow at this time was given near Norfolk, a city in Norfolk County, Va., situated on the right or north bank of Elizabeth River, eight miles from Hampton Roads. A navy-yard was located at Gosport, a suburb of Portsmouth, on the side of the river opposite, accessible to the largest ships. A naval hospital and a large dry-dock were also prepared

there.

At the time of the secession of Virginia, April 18th, the marines and Government forces at the yard numbered nearly eight hundred men. The vessels of war there at that time were as follows;

Ships of the Line.-Pennsylvania, 120 guns; Columbus, 80; Delaware, 84; New York (on stocks), 84. Frigates.-United States, 50 guns; Columbus, 50; Raritan, 50. Sloops-of-War.Plymouth, 22 guns; Germantown, 22. Brig.Dolphin, 4 guns. Steam frigate-Merrimac, 40 guns.

As to their condition, there was the liner Columbus, useless; liner Delaware, useless; liner New York, never launched; frigate Columbus, out of order; frigate Raritan, out of order; steam-frigate Merrimac, needing full repairs; corvette Germantown, almost ready for sea. The force of the Government was distributed as follows: The flag-ship Cumberland, 300 men; receiving-ship Pennsylvania, 350; marines at the barracks, 70; steamer Pocahontas, 60; total, 780.

Upon the first excitement, a party of men, without any authority, had seized the lightboats, and floating them to the shallowest point at the mouth of the harbor, had sunk them, to prevent the removal of the vessels of war from the navy-yard.

On the 19th Gen. Taliaferro and staff arrived at Norfolk. He had command of all the Virginia troops in that section, and was waited on shortly after his arrival by the captains of the several military companies of the city and vicinity for the purpose of reporting their strength, condition, &c., and receiving orders.

On Saturday, the 20th, the greatest excitement prevailed in the city. It was reported that the Cumberland was about to sail from the navy-yard, and preparations were made to prevent her. At twelve o'clock an officer came from the yard bearing a flag of truce, and was conducted to Gen. Taliaferro's headquarters, where a consultation was held, which resulted in a promise from Com. Macauley, the commandant of the yard, that none of the vessels should be removed, nor a shot fired except in self-defence.

This quieted the excitement; but it was renewed at a later hour, when it was ascertained that the Germantown and Merrimac had been scuttled, and that the heavy shears on the wharf at which the Germantown was lying had been cut away and allowed to fall midships across her decks, carrying away the main topmast and yards. It was also perceived that the men were busily engaged in destroying and throwing overboard side and small arms, and other property, and boats were constantly passing between the Pennsylvania, Cumberland, and other vessels.

About midnight a fire was started in the yard. This continued to increase, and before daylight the work of destruction extended to the immense ship-houses known as A and B (the former containing the entire frame of the New York, 74, which had been on the stocks, unfinished, for some thirty-eight years), and also to the long ranges of two-story offices and stores on each side of the main gate of the yard. The flames and heat from this tremendous mass

of burning material were set by a southwest wind directly toward the line of vessels moored on the edge of the channel opposite the yard, and nearly all of these, too, were speedily enveloped in flames.

The scene, at this time, was grand and terrific beyond description. The roar of the conflagration was loud enough to be heard at a distance of miles; and to this were added occasional discharges from the heavy guns of the old Pennsylvania, ship-of-the-line, as they became successively heated.

When the destruction of the ship-houses was certain, the Pawnee, which arrived on Saturday, and had been kept under steam, was put in motion, and, taking the Cumberland in tow, retired down the harbor, out of the reach of danger, freighted with a great portion of valuable munitions from the yard, and the commodore and other officers. The ships proceeded as far down as the barricades at the narrows, where the Cumberland was left at anchor, and the Pawnee continued on to Fortress Monroe. The Cumberland subsequently passed out.

It afterwards appeared that the ship Penn-, sylvania was burnt, and the Merrimac, Columbus, Delaware, and Raritan, Plymouth, and Germantown were scuttled and sunk, and a vast amount of the machinery, valuable engines, small arms, chronometers, &c., had been broken up and rendered entirely useless. Besides the ship-houses and their contents, the range of buildings on the north line of the yard (except the Commodore's and Commander's houses), the old marine barracks, and some workshops were burnt. Much of value, however, was not destroyed. The great dry-dock was uninjured. The large number of two thousand five hundred cannon, of all kinds and sizes, fell into the hands of the State of Virginia; also shot, shell, and other warlike missiles to a very large amount. Besides these, the machinery of the yard was generally uninjured. A collection of ship-building and outfitting material, large and valuable, including a number of steel plates and iron castings, was found ready for use, and capable of being turned to account.

Old Fort Norfolk, used as a magazine, was taken by the Virginia authorities without resistance. Within were three thousand barrels of powder, containing three hundred thousand pounds; also, a large number of shells and other missiles, loaded, and for that reason necessary to be kept in magazines.

The value of the property destroyed was estimated at several millions. The cost of the immense and magnificent ship-houses and their contents formed a considerable item in the account, and so did that of the Pennsylvania. "It brings tears into our eyes," said a citizen of Norfolk, "when we realize the destruction of this noble ship, so long the ornament of our harbor, and the admiration of thousands from all parts of the country who visited our waters." That splendid specimen of naval architecture,

the new and beautiful frigate Merrimac, and four or five other vessels, were given to the flames, or with their valuable armament sunk in the deep water.

On the same day an order was issued by Gen. Taliaferro, prohibiting the collector of the port from accepting any draft from the United States Government, or allowing the removal of deposits, or any thing else, from the custom-house. The collector, being informed that on his refusal to obey the order a file of men would be sent down to occupy the premises, acquiesced.

On the 20th the Richmond Grays, a fine company numbering one hundred rifle muskets, arrived. They brought with them fourteen pieces of rifle cannon of large size, one of the pieces weighing ten thousand pounds, and three box cars filled with ammunition of various kinds, to be distributed to the patriotic companies by the wayside.

On the night previous, four companies of Petersburg riflemen and infantry, numbering in all four hundred men, reached Norfolk. They were followed by two additional companies of one hundred each.

On the 22d, three companies of troops from Georgia arrived in the express train from Weldon; the Light Guards, from Columbus, numbering eighty men; the Macon Volunteers, eighty men; and the Floyd Rifles, from Macon, eighty men. The first and last commands marched immediately to the naval hospital.

About the same time the hull of the old ship United States, in which Com. Decatur captured the Macedonian, was taken possession of at the navy-yard by an efficient crew, and towed down to the narrow part of the channel, a mile below Fort Norfolk, where she was moored across the channel and sunk. Only a few feet brought her in contact with the bottom. Any naval force that might attempt to pass up the harbor must remove the hulk, while, in the mean time, the shot and shells from the two forts aboveone on the right and the other on the leftwould be poured into them. Norfolk thus was occupied by Confederate troops, who remained in undisturbed possession through the year.

Excitement both at the North and the South now ran high. Events daily occurred which added fuel to the flame. Besides those already narrated in connection with the secession of the several States, space will permit here merely a summary of other isolated incidents in the order of time in which they took place. On April 19th, the steamer Star of the West was boarded off Indianola, by a party of volunteers from Galveston, and captured without resistance. She had been sent out to convey to New York the force of regular troops to be withdrawn from that State. On the same day the President issued another proclamation declaring a blockade of the Southern ports.

On the 21st, Senator Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee, was mobbed at Lynchburg, Va., and narrowly escaped.

On the 22d, the arsenal at Fayetteville,

North Carolina, was surrendered to a force of about eight hundred men, with thirty-five thousand stand of arms and some cannon, and considerable quantities of ball and powder. On the 25th, the Legislature of Vermont, being in session, appropriated $1,000,000 to equip her volunteers.

At this time a large number of the officers of the army and navy who were natives of Southern States, sent in their resignation.

On the 26th, twenty-one thousand stand of arms were removed, by order of the Federal Government, from the arsenal at St. Louis, and taken to Springfield, Illinois, for safety.

On the 29th, the Legislature of Indiana being in session, appropriated five hundred thousand dollars to equip her volunteers. On the same day a number of Northern steamers at New Orleans were seized and appropriated.

On the 30th, the Legislature of New Jersey assembled in extra session, and authorized a loan of two millions of dollars to fit out her troops. The command of her force was given to Gen. Theodore Runyon. It immediately started from Trenton for Annapolis, in fourteen propellers, by canal to Bordentown, thence down the Delaware River. The whole brigade was armed with Minié rifles, and took also four pieces of artillery. It was stated that "the fleet of transports with a strong convoy made a novel and splendid appearance steaming in two lines up the Chesapeake Bay."

On May 3d, the Connecticut Legislature appropriated two millions of dollars for the public defence. These appropriations continued to be made in the first months of the war, by States, cities, and towns, until the amount exceeded thirty-seven millions of dollars.

On the same day, May 3d, Gov. Letcher, of Virginia, called out the State militia to defend Virginia from invasion by Northern troops.

On the 9th, a resolution was adopted by the Congress at Montgomery, authorizing their Government to accept all the volunteers who might offer.

On the 13th, a Convention assembled at Wheeling, in Western Virginia, for the purpose of separating the counties represented from being a part of Virginia, and forming a Union State Government. On this same day the proclamation of Victoria, Queen of England, was issued, recognizing the insurrectionary States as belligerents.

On the 14th, a schooner at Baltimore found to be loaded with arms was seized by the Federal authorities.

On the 16th, the first injury was done to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, by the destruction of several bridges and portions of the track.

On the same day, the brigade of State militia under Gen. Frost at St. Louis, Missouri, surrendered to Gen. Lyon, an officer in the United States service. A camp of instruction had been formed under Gen. Frost in the western suburbs of the city, in pursuance of orders from

the Governor of the State. He had directed the other militia districts also to go into encampments with a view of acquiring a greater proficiency in military drill. It had been reported to Gen. Frost that Gen. Lyon intended to attack him, and, on the other hand, it had been reported to Gen. Lyon that it was the intention of Gen. Frost to attack the arsenal and United States troops. On the 16th, Gen. Frost addressed a note to Gen. Lyon alluding to these reports.

About the same time Gen. Lyon's troops were put in motion, to the number, as was represented, of four or five thousand, and proceeded through the city to the camp of Gen. Frost, and surrounded it, planting batteries on all the heights overlooking the camp. Long files of men were stationed in platoons at various points on every side, and a picket guard established, covering an area of two hundred yards. The guards, with fixed bayonets and muskets at half cock, were instructed to allow none to pass or repass within the limits thus taken up.

By this time an immense crowd of people had assembled in the vicinity, having gone thither in carriages, buggies, rail cars, baggage wagons, on horseback, and on foot. Numbers of men seized rifles, shot-guns, or whatever other weapons they could lay hands on, and rushed to the assistance of the State troops, but were, of course, obstructed in their design. The hills, of which there are a number in the neighborhood, were literally black with people—hundreds of ladies and children stationing themselves with the throng, but as they thought out of harm's way. Having arrived in this position, Gen. Lyon addressed a letter to Gen. Frost demanding an immediate surrender.

Immediately on the receipt of the foregoing, Gen. Frost called a hasty consultation of the officers of his staff. The conclusion arrived at was that the brigade was in no condition to make resistance to a force so numerically superior, and that only one course could be pursued -a surrender.

The State troops were therefore made prisoners, but an offer was made to release them on condition they would take an oath to support the Constitution of the United States, and not to take up arms against the Government. These terms they declined on the ground that they had already taken the oath of allegiance, and to repeat it would be to admit that they had been in rebellion.

About half-past five the prisoners left the grove and entered the road, the United States soldiers enclosing them by a single file stretched along each side of the line. A halt was ordered, and the troops remained standing in the position they had deployed into the road. The head of the column at the time rested opposite a small hill on the left as one approaches the city, and the rear was on a line with the entrance to the grove. Vast crowds of people covered the surrounding grounds and every