At the present moment,
when our very existence is threatened by armies vastly superior
in numbers to ours, the necessity for defense has induced a
call, not for 'the whole militia of all the States,' not for any
militia, but for men to compose _armies_ for the Confederate
States.
"Surely there is no mystery in this subject. During our whole
past history, as well as during our recent one year's experience
as a new Confederacy, the militia 'have been called forth to
repel invasion' in numerous instances, and they never came
otherwise than as bodies organized by the States with their
company, field, and _general officers_; and, when the emergency
had passed, they went home again. I can not perceive how any one
can interpret the conscription law as taking away from the
States the power to appoint officers to their militia. You
observe on this point in your letter that, unless your
construction is adopted, 'the very object of the States in
reserving the power of appointing the officers is defeated, and
that portion of the Constitution is not only a nullity, but the
whole military power of the States, and the entire control of
the militia, with the appointment of the officers, is vested in
the Confederate Government, whenever it chooses to call its own
action "raising an army," and not "calling forth the militia.
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