A Card.
A report seems to have obtained currency to the effect that I am in favor of a reconstruction of the old Union, and as this rumor is not only injurious to myself, but may be, perhaps, hurtful to the country, I take this occasion to say that it is entirely erroneous.There is, perhaps, no person in the Confederacy to whose feelings and interests such an event would be more repugnant than to mine. I have always held that we ought to maintain the struggle for independence so long as there is hope of success. The General-in-Chief and the President of the Confederate States, as the highest military authorities, are best able to understand our resources and prospects. Whilst they have hope in the contest, it seems to me that we should do all in our power to strengthen their hands. But, after all, it is in a sense of the justice of their cause that the hearts of our people should be confirmed, and it is to the Chief Ruler of the Universe that they should look for aid in the mighty struggle in which they are engaged.
Richmond, March 20, 1865.
