Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of a manuscript essay possibly written by Jon Rice in Pacolet, South Carolina, in 1861.
The essay was written by a Southerner attempting to rally Southern spirits in response to the advancement of the Northern States. The Confederacy was established on February 8, 1861; this essay was written sometime after that. It was attributed to Jon Rice, of whom little is known, though other speeches and essays have been attributed to him. One stated he had studied medicine and dentistry.
This collection contains a three-page manuscript essay. Believed to have been written in Pacolet, South Carolina, in 1861, the author expressed early defiance about Northerners and anger towards Abraham Lincoln for "invading Confederate soil." The essay began, "We have every reason to believe that we are close to a crisis in the present struggle." He continued, "To arms, to arms, the Northern people through their congress at Washington will soon declare war in the most official manner or make a treaty with us--they need never, never ask us to be their sister states again. We will prepare for the worst. We will clean our guns, repair them, pick the flints, season hickory clubs, whet our knives and be ready. We repeat it 'the ultimate anysis [sic] of liberty is blood.'" The manuscript ends with "my sincere thanks to this audience," implying it was either published or orated. Location, date, and attribution were later added in pencil.
The Library purchased this manuscript in 2020.
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