The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-28 00:00:00

JEFFERSON DAVIS.

"During the week, after the battle of Manassas, when
the weather had cleared and the scorching July sun blazed
again as of old, by common consent we all took to the woods,
and encamped there. As for ' Jeff Davis,' it appears that
when the rout of the enemy was complete, he had ridden
without escort along the lines—hut his features and figure
were so well known that he was quickly discovered, and
loud yells of delight rang out from our whole army. Taking
advantage of the fall of the evening, he dropped in' upon
our officers (many of whom were fellow-townsmen), or
ex 'members of the U.S. branches of Legislature) to
haves quiet chat. As I had never seen a live Pre-
sident, my curiosity was on the qui vine, and when
his presence was whispered to me, I found him sitting at
our colonel's tent door, with a circle of captains and lieu-
tenants, conversing very quietly on State affairs, but with
no more animation or sign of pleasure than if a victorious
army was not around, or a beaten one flying from him. in
citizen attire, with beaver hat, and smoking a cigar, he lis-
tened to all that was said, assented cr dissented with a nod
of the head, and some time after, mounting his grey mare,
ambled off to Manassas, as unostentatiously as if he were
the least person in the Confederacy. Since then I have
seen the President frequently on different fields of battle,
and have observed little change in his habitually modest and
thoughtful demeanour, although on many occasions his
proud and victorious troops, unconscious of his presence,
were rending the skies with their shouts, or charging the
enemy with unexampled fury."
" STONEWALL" JACKSON.

•
"Stonewall" may be a very fine old gentleman, and an
honest, good-tempered, industrious man. but I should
admire him much more in a state of rest than continually
seeing him moving in the front. And such a dry old stick,
too lAs for uniform, he has none—his wardrobe isn't worth
a dollar, and his horse is quite in keeping, being a poor lean
animal of little spirit or activity. And don't he keep his
aides moving about I Thirty miles' ride at night through
the mud is nothing of a job; and if they don't come up to
time, I'd as soon face the devil, for Jackson takes no ex-
cuses when duty is on hand. He is about thirty-five
years old, of medium height, strongly built, solemn and
thoughtful, speaks but little, and a:ways in a calm, de-
cided tone; and from what he says there is no appeal,
for he seems to know every hole and corner of
the Valley, as if he made it, or, at least, as if it had
been designed for his own use. He knows all the distances,
all the roads, even to cow-paths through the woods, and
goat tracks along the hills. He sits his horse very awk-
wavily, although, generally speaking, all Virginians are
fine horsemen, and has a fashion of holding his head very
high, and chin up, as if searching for something skywards ;
yet although you can never see his eyes for the cap-peak
drawn down over them, nothing escapes his observation.
His movements are sudden and unaccountable ; his staff
don't pretend to keep up with him, and, consequently, he
is frequently seen alone poking about in all sorts of holes
and corners, at all times of night and day. I have fre-
quently seen him approach in the dead of night and enter
into conversation with sentinels, and ride off through
the darkness without saying, God bless you,' or any-
thing civil to the officers. The consequence is, that the
officers are scared, and the men love him. He was a student
at West Point, but never remarkable for any brilliancy.
What service he has seen was in Mexico, where he served
as lieutenant of artillery. At one of the battles there his
saptain was about to withdraw the guns, because of the loss
suffered by the battery, and also because the range was too
great. This did not suit our hero ; he advanced his piece
several hundred yards, and 'shortened the distance,' dis-
ounted his opponent's guns, and remained master of the
posi don."
To the above the writer appends the following
note :-
6. General Jackson was never known to put his
horse out of a trot, except when desirous of escaping
the cheering of his men, on which occasions he
would raise his cap, discovering a high, bald fore-
head, and force his old 'sorrel' into a gallop. This
old sorrel' war-horse is well known throughout the army;
with head down it seldom attem more than a trot, but
and that may be the reason why the gene-
stands fire Well,
ral prefers and always rides him. Many gentlemen, im-
agining that the hero would appear to better advantage on
a blood animal, have presented several to him, but they are
seldom used. When our army entered Maryland, in Sep-
tember, 1862, in order to get in the rear of General Miles at
Harper's Ferry, and secure the 14,000 men under his com-
mand, Jackson's corps was stationed east of Frederick, and
an influential citizen, in token of admiration, gave the com-
mander a very valuable horse, that he might appear to
advantage. Jackson mounted in the public street, and was
immediately thrown into the mud I The old sorrel' was
again brought forth, and the general ambled off, very good
humouredly, never essaying to mount fine' horses again."