Following the April 17 secession vote at the convention in Richmond, former Virginia governor Henry A. Wise, leader of the secessionist faction, retired to his home at Rolleston Hall outside Norfolk, afflicted with illness and exhaustion. Laid up in bed, he dispatched a flurry of letters requesting offices in the Confederate government for his friends and relatives. For himself, he sought an officer’s commission, despite having no formal military training or experience.
On the 23rd of April, Wise wrote to Virginia’s sitting governor, John Letcher, asking to be appointed “in the highest military command you will confer on me.” Getting no response, he decided to appeal directly to provisional Confederate President Jefferson Davis, then in Montgomery, Alabama. His May 15 letter to Davis requested a brigadier general’s commission for himself and the appointment of James Lucius Davis as colonel to raise and lead a “partizan [sic] Legion of mounted men.”
Wise did not wait for a response from Davis before dispatching letters to friends and acquaintances he thought might be interested in joining him, explicitly referring to an executive approval he didn’t yet have. The following letter to Thomas P. McCandlish, a professor at the College of William and Mary, ended up among among Virginia Governor John Letcher’s papers.
Out of context, historians have referenced this letter as proof that Jefferson Davis authorized what became known as the Wise Legion as early as May, when, in fact, it wasn’t until June 3rd that Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General Samuel Cooper first wrote to Wise “In relation to the legion proposed to be raised by you.”
Wise’s appointment as brigadier general came two days later, June 5, 1861, as recorded in the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General’s Office records.
Rolleston near Norfolk
May 26th 1861
Thos. P. McCandlish Esq.
Dear Sir,
President Davis has authorized me to raise a legionary Brigade, and I now tender to you, the opportunity of raising a company under my command. If you accept commence recruiting at once, to be commissioned when the Brigade is raised. If you do not accept, regard this as an endorsement of your application for a Lieutenancy in the State’s Army, and present it to Gov. Letcher as my strongest testimonial in your behalf.
Very truly your friend
Henry A. Wise
Sources
Crist, Lynda Lasswell and Mary Seaton Dix, eds. The Papers of Jefferson Davis, Vol. 7. Louisiana State University Press, 1992.
Simpson, Craig M. A Good Southerner: The Life of Henry A. Wise of Virginia. University of North Carolina Press, 1985.
The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Series I, Vol. II. With additions and corrections. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1902.
The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Series I, Vol. LI, Part II. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1897.
The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Series IV, Vol. I. With additions and corrections. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1902.
Wise, Barton H. The Life of Henry A. Wise of Virginia, 1806-1876. The Macmillan Company, 1899.
