1861 May 3 Culpeper Co House

Head Quarters Potomac Dept.
7 A.M.

A Proclamation
Amongst the first to be called, by authority of the state
to her defence, assigned to duty on the Potomac position,
within twenty four hours, I was in sight of the position
of the armed hosts of the North.

For a line of defence, reaching from the mouth
of the Potomac to the extreme mountain rills of
that great river; I come to organize for & maintain
its defence.

Men of Virginia: to arms! Men of the tidewater
of Piedmont, of the Valley, of trans Allegha-
ny, to the Ohio border: to arms!

The once peaceful Capital of the United States is
now the grand rallying point of the armed
military power of the North

The constitution of your country, the sovereign rights
of you state, truth justice and liberty are all
ignored & outraged amidst the brutal & frenzied
cry of the North for: force: force:

At this moment twenty five thousand armed men
profane, by their insolent presence, the city, the grave
and the memory of Washington, whilst an

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unbroken stream of thousands violate the soil of Mary-
land and murder her citizens, in their march
to reinforce & occupy the Capital: And for what?
the Capital has never been threatened. Tis not now
threatened! It is beyond & outside the limits of the free
& sovereign state of Virginia. The North has not openly
declared war on us. We make no war on them.
But should Virginia's soil and the grave of Washington
be polluted by the tread of a single man in arms
from north of the Potomac it will cause open war.

Men of the Potomac border. Men within the bounds
of the Military Potomac Department from the
Chesapeake to the Alleghany: to arms: to arms: to arms:
Your country calls you to her defence. Already you
have in spirit responded. You await but the order
to march, to rendezvous, to organize, to defend
your state. Your liberty and your homes

Women of Virginia cast from your arms all cowards
and breathe the pure and holy, the gentle & glowing
inspirations of your nature into the hearts and souls
of lover, husband, brother, father:

Almighty God: Author & Governor of the world,
from whom, cometh light, truth, justice, & power,
thou art our God,thou wilt be with us.
We fear not a world against us.

MSS 640