Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1861-11-14

Gen. Bucl,
Next to that Of Gen. Mcclellan, the mill
tsFy :.posit,On d Gen. Buel IS perhaps the
ua0st importsnt now in the country. Ken
lucky i5 to be fighting ground, and the des-
perate efforts of the rebels to secure the Stats
must be met BY wise strategy and bold exc
cutlOn. The following sketches, therefore, Of
General Buell. the new commander Of the
Department Of Kentucky, taken from the
Washington correspondence of the N. Y.
Times, will be read with interest as regard
ing the man under whom our Buckeye boys
are 70 do their lighting:
A few years ago st the pleasant little town
OF Indianola, Texas, situated on the white
shell beach Of Matagorda Bay, was to be
found a young Lieutenant of the United
States Army, then In charge of a small
schooner belonging TO the Government. His
duty was 70 take the vessel 70 Corpus Christi.
| AT the same time, in lndlanola, was the Ad-
jHtant General Of the Department Of Texas,
with his wife, seeking to go TO Uorpus Christi.
The Lieutenant promptly rendered the little
craft for the voyage, ii 1t should prove agree
able to himself and wife; sad the invitation
was cordially accepted. There Is O shoal
sound extending almost the entire distance
from Indianola to Corpus Christi through
which light draft vessels thread their way,
avoiding entirely the rough winds and waves
of the Gulf And Lieutenant Of the army
is quite as capable as a Lieutenant Of the
navy to navigate these convenient waters
the chief requirement Of the sailor being ply
scal strength to boost the boat nov and then
from the obstructing bars. In such crises
the navigators simply let themselves over
board, and standing in water three feet
scant,' apply their shoulders to the vessels
side. r.--.-
The usual number of such "perils by sea-
occurred to the party whose voyage we now
speak OF. The young Lieutenant, when his
vessel grounded, was always promptly over.
board, heaving her off. And the Adjutant.
General, sitting on deck and watching the
operations, constantly proffered his aid, and
more than once went overheard with the
Lieutenant, and did duty as q mud-marine
thus fairly "working bis passage" to Corpus
Christi. This was hardly six years since
The young Lieutenant was George B. Nc.
Olellan, new Msjor-General of the army o.
the United States, and the Adjutant, hi
passenger, was D. @. Buel, now a General in
the field, and Just assigned by Gen. McOlel
/. ian to the head Of the National armies il
Kentucky, a position that is regarded a
only second in importance 10 that filled By
Gen Mcclellan himself. The past relation!
of the two men suggest an obvious meta.
phor. Now, as then, they are in the same
} boat" polling their way through the shoals
and quick-sands Of a "Southern guilt, plung.
ing into troubled waters, and putting fheir
shoulders to the ship Of State, to buoy il
safely to the desired haven.
The appointment OF Gen. Boel to so i'm
portant command as that in Kentucky may
take the general public by surprise. But il
will surprise no one who knows the man and
can appreciate a meritorious soldier Gen
Buel was edrcatsd at West Point having
graduated in the class OF ls4l. He has
been, therefore, twenty years in the army,
and his service has been almost continuous
de has never asked or obtained so much as
q three months leave Of absence in that
time. Gen. Buel went with the army n
its victorious march from Vera Cruz to the
City Of Mexico as adjutaht of a regiment,
participating calamity in the severe battles
OF that remarkable campaign. In the battle
of CherubuscO he fell, dangerously wounded
by ball through the upper part of the chest
near the right shoulder, but in his prostrs-
ton and pain, preserved the port and mien
Of helo.
Now, a word or two of personal descrip.
ion and domestic narratiye ye. Gen. Buel
was born in the State of Ohio, and reared il
the State of Indiana. He is 40 years of age,
about five feet eight inches high, of compact
frame and very deep chest, Indicating great
vital power. he possesses almost bercu-
lean strength in his arms, and can lift a
weight at arms length that would seem too
much for one of twice his weight and muscle.
Bis hair is light and very thin on top, ap-
preaching baldne s; his beard of the same
hue, worn full and unshaven, is beg nning to
be sprinkled with gray. His eyes are blue
and firm, yet gentle in their expression; but
terribly steady and unmovsd in the midst of
excitement or danger. His weight is per-
haps l65 pounds; his carriage erect, his step
measured, his air quiet and easy, and not
calculated to provoke attention.
|