October, 1863, when there was another moment of intense military
anxiety, Davis again visited the front; and of a third journey
which he undertook in 1864, we shall hear in time. It is to be
noted that each of these journeys was prompted by a military
motive; and here, possibly, we get an explanation of his
inadequacy as a statesman. He could not lay aside his interest in
military affairs for the supremely important concerns of civil
office; and he failed to understand how to ingratiate his
Administration by personal appeals to popular imagination.

In October, 1863,--the very month in which his old rival Rhett
suffered his final defeat,--Davis undertook a journey because
Bragg, after his great victory at Chickamauga, appeared to be
letting slip a golden opportunity, and because there were reports
of dissension among Bragg's officers and of general confusion in
his army. After he had, as he thought, restored harmony in the
camp, Davis turned southward on a tour of appeal and inspiration.
He went as far as Mobile, and returning bent his course through
Charleston, where, at the beginning of November, less than two
weeks after Rhett's defeat, Davis was received with all due
formalities. Members of the Rhett family were among those who
formally received the President at the railway station. There was
a parade of welcome, an official reception, a speech by the
President from the steps of the city hall, and much applause by
friends of the Administration. But certain ominous signs were not
lacking. The Mercury, for example, tucked away in an obscure
column its account of the event, while its rival, the Courier,
made the President's visit the feature of the day.

Davis returned to Richmond, early in November, to throw himself