Campbell, Robert C. (fl. 1861) to James Beale
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC05127.01 Author/Creator: Campbell, Robert C. (fl. 1861) Place Written: Austin, Texas Type: Autograph letter signed Date: 1 February 1861 Pagination: 1 p. ; 24.8 x 20 cm. Order a Copy
Campbell, representing Galveston, Texas at the state Secession Convention, transmits several ordinances (not included) regarding Texas' secession to Beale (possibly Campbell's cousin). Declares "The Union is defunct -- dead, never to be revived. No concessions now would occasion its reconstruction. The South can not be conquered ... The cost has been counted and we are ready to pay it ... Had simple equality been conceded, the South would have submitted to every other wrong."
I am here attending upon the Convention. Today we adopted an Ordinance of Secession. Our connexion with the U.S. ends on the 2d....
You will recall what I said to you last summer. The Union is defunct--dead, never to be revived. No concessions now would occasion its reconstruction--The South cannot be conquered. Peace we prefer but do not dread war. The cost has been counted and we are ready to pay it.
We had a glorious country, great in all respects. Blind infatuation has destroyed it. Had simple equality been evinced, the South would have submitted to every other wrong.
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