Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1863-05-22
Correspondence of tho Daily Journal.l
FROM WASHINGTON.

FROM WASHINGTON.
The Apotheosis Of Stones0aU Jackson!-His
Character-A Squad Of IoaoG Greybeards
Here ETC., etc.
st -a WASHINGTON, May IA.
The Daily Chronicle had leader yester-
day about the death of Stonewall jackson,
which, for a glorious jumbling up of right
and wrong, religion and blasphemy, truth and
falsehood, patriotism and treason, caps the
climax Of anything have ever happened to
see. According to this showing, Jackson's
sincerity, reputation as religionist, and mil
itary genius, make him demi-god. don't
see it in that light.
1t is so general that l suppose it may be
considered natural for men to look with re-
spect and Difference upon that indefinable
power which we call genius. So much so,
that it becomes like the best Of the Christian
graces, and covers more sins than charity
Nevertheless, genius is not one of the Chris
ton graces. l bow with as much respectful
Difference as any one can to him upon whom
God has bestowed the gift of great intcllectu-
al power, so long as he shall exercise it in
such way as shall be for the benefit of man.
kind. But the moment he allows his facul-
ties to be perverted to unholy uses he is to be
condemned with the severest condemnation
because of the greatness of his powers. l
look upon it as simply horrible to savagely
execrate the poor inebriate who beats his
wife, and excuse the wonderful Coleridge for
the shameless treatment he gave his family,
or to gloss over Napoleon's atrocious deser
ton Of Josephine. History is crowded full
of crimes committed by men of genius, by
reason of which people have suffered untold
miseries. The names of the great criminals
are emblazoned on every page-their count
less victims have enriched the earth, unwept,
unhonored, and unsung.
And now this rebel general, who has brought
lamentation and woe to so many firesides,
who has allowed his reason to be perverted,
his right love of country to be perverted, his
enthusiasm to be perverted into downright
diabolism, his very religion to be perverted
into most unreasonable fanaticism, is to be
made sainted hero of, because he could
scare Mcclellan into duck fits, make Banks
skedaddle down the Shenandoah, march his
ragamufin psalm-singers thirty or forty miles
a day, and compel them to fight like tigers
military genius, but if we are honest men,
and have the easy courage to follow our patri-
otto convictions to their logical result, we must
frightened at rejecting upon the "deep dam
, nation of his taking off,
This atrocious rebellion is without cause or
decent pretext On the side of the rebels,
the war is, therefore, shamelessly, unquali-
GIL ~, T1ns,, 1ooI
wholly responsible for all the bloodshed and
misery which have been brought upon the
land. If their revolution had it in view to
benefit the people, to give them better gov
eminent, to elevate them in the scale of civil.
ization its success would be their justification.
AS the fact is, even its success would be dis
astrous to the people Immediately concerned
and to the hopes of freedom everywhere
Among the eminent men of the South, not
one has been more guilty than Jackson
Other men may take his sincerity as an ex.
cuse for his guilt in seeking without real
cause to overthrow the American government
but as for me, have no more respect for him
even now that he is dead, than I have fol
) dead Benedict Arnold. Where the worm
dieth not and the fire IS not quenched, let him
rest his soul in patience if he can, in reflect
ing upon the innocent blood he has helped to
shed. That is my funeral grafton on Stone
wall Jackson.
He used to be queer chap. Major Breck
Asst. Adj. General, says he was greatly re
spected there for his brilliant talents and his
rigid conscienciousness, but that his excen
tricities amounted to degree of mania. HI
was as straight laced in his notions of duty
in scholarship, the exercises, and social amen
tiles as he has since become in his Presbyte
rianism-old school. He regulated his calls
on the ladies with the exactness of a chro
nometer or mathematical demonstration
He had just so many whom he visited, and
called as regularly, stayed just as long, a.
though he were machine, performing its
allotted functions. No matter how beautiful
was the lady or how interesting the CONVEX
satlon, the moment his time was up, away hi
y went, with his stiff "good evening"" and Sc
on until he had made the rounds. At the
pump he would daily exercise his arms, anc
always gave just so many strokes, neither
more nor less. He had log he used to mau
on for exercise too, and counted his blows
with strict exactness. He got notion into
his head once that his right leg was hollow
He would frequently startle his mess, after
swallowing a mouthful of bread or potatot
with the exclamation, There it SPY clap
ping his hand on his leg dare say he was
as sincere in that belief as in his views on the
rebellion, but reckon biscuits and potatoes
didn't fall pell nell into his leg for all that
He had other queer notions and habits, but
his most remarkable trait was his earnestness
He neither believed nor did anything by
halves. This is the secret of his success as q
General. But enough of Stonewall.
|, Second Sergeant Plum, of Dubuque county
privates Hawley, of Muscatine, Burley, o.
Tama, and McGaraugh. of Polk, all Of the
famous Iowa Greybeard Regiment, were in
the city day or two ago, having been sent
here from St. Louis in charge of an insane
, soldier from Illinois. They had good time
having an opportunity to visit all the public
buildings, the Navy Yard, ETC., which they
enjoyed with hearty zest. suppose these
} gentlemen are fair specimens o. the rank and
file of their regiment have rarely seen
, finer looking soldiers, or convcrsed with more
sensible, intelligent men. Put the Greybeard
regiment into fight, let it be posted to sup.
/ port battery or ward off an assault, and in
my opinion the men would stand as firm as
the everlasting hills, and perform deeds wor.
thy of the renowned veterans of France or Of
England.
Ny State pride was not little gratifed a
few days ago upon learning that citizen Of
Iowa, now sojourning here, bad ordered bill
of books which were written and printed in
our State Among them were the four vol
umes of Withrow's Reports, published in fine
style by Mills Co., of DesMoines. have
been giving them cursory examination my
self, that may keep posted in the line Of
studies to which l have devoted the best
years of my life, and am extremely gratifed
to learn that they are on all accounts an honor
to the reporter, the court, and to our State