"First.—That all commissioned officers in the command of said Benjamin F. Butler be declared not entitled to be considered as soldiers engaged in honorable warfare, but as robbers and criminals, deserving death; and that they, and each of them, be, whenever captured, reserved for execution.
"Second.—That the private soldiers and non-commissioned officers in the army of said Benj. F. Butler, be considered as only instruments used for the commission of crimes, perpetrated by his orders, and not as free agents; that they, therefore, be treated when captured as prisoners of war, with kindness and humanity, and be sent home on the usual parole; that they will in no manner aid or serve the United States in any capacity during the continuance of war, unless duly exchanged.
"Third.—That all negro slaves captured in arms be at once delivered over to the executive authorities, of the respective States to which they belong, and to be dealt with according to the laws of said States.
"Fourth.—That the like orders be executed in all cases with respect to all commissioned officers of the United States when found serving in company with said slaves in insurrection against the authorities of the different States of this Confederacy.
"Signed and sealed at Richmond, Dec. 23, 1862.
"JEFFERSON DAVIS."
This Proclamation was the hoisting of the black flag against the Phalanx, by which Mr. Davis expected to bring about a war of extermination against the negro soldiers.[28]
In his third annual message to the Confederate Congress, Mr. Davis said:
"We may well leave it to the instincts of that common humanity which a beneficient creator has implanted in the breasts of our fellow men of all countries to pass judgment on a measure by which several millions of human beings of an inferior race—peaceful and contented laborers in their sphere—are doomed to extermination, while at the same time they are encouraged to a general assassination of their masters by the insiduous recommendation to abstain from violence unless in necessary defence. Our own detestation of those who have attempted the most execrable measures recorded in the history of guilty man is tempered by profound contempt for the impotent rage which it discloses. So far as regards the action of this government on such criminals as may attempt its execution, I confine myself to informing you that I shall—unless in your wisdom you deem some other course expedient—deliver to the several State authorities all commissioned officers of the United States that may hereafter be captured by our forces in any of the States embraced in the Proclamation, that they may be dealt with in accordance with the laws of those States providing for the punishment of criminals engaged in exciting servile insurrection. The enlisted soldiers I shall continue to treat as unwilling instruments in the commission of these crimes, and shall direct their discharge and return to their homes on the proper and usual parole."
The confederate Congress soon took up the subject, and after a protracted consideration passed the following: