Saturday May 18

Mr. Waters and Mr. Hovey came down to see William today.  They want him to go to Columbus Monday.  They are dissatisfied at the neglect of the Governor to send forces to Camp Putnam.  This and some other matters they wish him to attend to.  

Jefferson Davis

There has been talk of removing the capital of the southern Confederacy from Montgomery to Richmond, Va., but it has not been done yet.  It has been proposed at Montgomery and advocated in some southern papers to invest Jeff Davis with dictatorial powers;:  What next?  A large proportion of the southern army is now in Virginia.  It is believed that Davis designs to command it in person.  Davis is more than fifty years old.  It is said of his personal appearance:  "He might be a preacher for any fire-eating expression about him.  But for the square and straight opened eyes and habitually closed mouth, firm as iron no one would suspect Davis of being the civil and military leader of the great national movement."  
It is said now that the Government has 40,000 men at the Capital, 5000 at Fortress Monroe, from 5000 to 10,000 in Maryland and overlooking the borders of Virginia.  50,000 more are standing to their arms east of the Alleghenies ready to be precipitated on the point that needs them most.  All this has been accomplished since the President's proclamation four weeks ago, while at the west war-like preparations have been pushed forward with astonishing vigor. 
"Ohio alone is putting in motion an army twice as large as that commanded by Napoleon the first in his earliest and most brilliant campaign in Italy."  "A wild enthusiasm" has swept the whole northwest like a prairie fire, -- the men and the money free will offerings.  
God grant to our soldiers patient endurance under hardships, nerve and valor in the day of battle and victory for the right.


Editor's comments:

William Cutler, Julia's brother, had been elected to the House of Representatives from Ohio.  He was a well respected speaker in south-eastern Ohio and a well-respected business man.  Fort Putnam was near Marietta and its citizens were concerned for their safety.