Major General Albert Sidney Johnston to the Army of the Mississippi, April 3, 1862

    Source citation
    Reprinted in Frank Moore, ed., The Rebellion Record: A Diary of American Events, with Documents, Narratives, Illustrative Incidents, Poetry, Etc. (New York: G.P. Putnam, 1862), IV: 75-76.
    Type
    Military record
    Date Certainty
    Exact
    Transcriber
    John Osborne
    Transcription date
    The following text is presented here in complete form, as it originally appeared in print. Spelling and typographical errors have been preserved as in the original.
    Soldiers of The Army of The Mississippi:
     
    I have put you in motion to offer battle to the invaders of your country, with the resolution and discipline and valor becoming men, fighting, as you are, for all worth living or dying for. You can but march to a decisive victory over agrarian mercenaries sent to subjugate and despoil you of your liberties, property and honor.
    Remember the precious stake involved, remember the dependence of your uiothers, your wives, your sisters, and your children, on the result.  Remember the fair, broad, abounding lands, the happy homes, that will be desolated by your defeat. The eyes and hopes of eight million people rest upon you. You are expected to show yourselves worthy of your valor and courage, worthy of the women of the South, whose noble devotion in this war has never been exceeded in any time. With such incentives to brave deeds, and with the trust that God is with us, your general will lead you confidently to the combat, assured of success.
     
    A.S. Johnston, Commanding 
    How to Cite This Page: "Major General Albert Sidney Johnston to the Army of the Mississippi, April 3, 1862," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, https://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/index.php/node/38981.