On Wednesday, February 17, 1864 the First Confederate Congress adjourned its fourth session after suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus until August 2, 1864, as requested earlier by President Jefferson Davis.
The Confederate Congress and President mutually agreed that something had to be done to counter the growing resistance within the South toward conscription measures and other disloyal activities. Suspension was, however, restricted only to arrests made under the direct authority of the President and the Confederate Secretary of War.
On this same day, still fearing that William Tecumseh Sherman intended to march from Meridian, Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico to establish a base for reinforcements and supplies, the Confederate president also transferred units from Joseph Johnston’s command in north Georgia to Leonidas Polk’s army in Mississippi.