I Would Lay Down My Life To

He Has All The Characteristics Of A Dog - Except Loyalty.

I Beseech Those Whose Piety Will Permit Them Reverently To Petition, That They Will Pray For This Union, And Ask That He Who Buildeth Up And Pulleth Down Nations Will, The Mercy Preserve And Unite Us. For A Nation Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand. I Wish, If This Union Must Be Dissolved, That Its Ruins May Be The Monument Of My Grave, And The Graves Of My Family. I Wish No Epitaph To Be Written To Tell That I Survive The Ruin Of This Glorious Union.

Let Me Tell You What Is Coming. After The Sacrifice Of Countless Millions Of Treasure And Hundreds Of Thousands Of Lives You May Win Southern Independence, But I Doubt It. The North Is Determined To Preserve This Union. They Are Not A Fiery, Impulsive People As You Are, For They Live In Colder Climates. But When They Begin To Move In A Given Direction, They Move With The Steady Momentum And Perseverance Of A Mighty Avalanche.

I Would Not Be Gotten Into A Schoolhouse Until I Was Eight Years Old. Nor Did I Accomplish Much After I Started. I Doubt If I Had Gone To School Six Months In All When My Father Died. I Was Fourteen At The Time.

In The Name Of The Constitution Of Texas, Which Has Been Trampled Upon, I Refuse To Take This Oath. I Love Texas Too Well To Bring Civil Strife And Bloodshed Upon Her.