, 1865-10-19
Wt)ifaeo Qribnt1e.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10. 1865.
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
His Career Reviewed by a C0nsed-
crate Brigadier. &,

His Career Reviewed by ConEed.
crate Brigadier.
Gen. 5ordan:@ Article in 11arpcr.s n1as-
nzIne.
Tic article from which the following e.
tracts arc made was written By Drlg. Gen.
Thom:s Jordan, Chief Of Staff to Gen. Beau
regard, of the Confederate army. It Is pub
ushed in. the October number OF Harpcs's
Magazine:
TIE REuEL CoAM1ssAR1 GENERAL.
hfr. Davis had been at West Point, md sub
sceucntly serred for several years Ii the dra~
:oCns at a frontier post with subaltern off,
About The time the former resigned his com
mission to turn planter in Mississippi, the
latter was disabled by m accident, quit his
border post. likewise antltu1ncd parish doc
tor. Mr.. Dasis became IN time q politician,
Lieutenant Aorthror, q Catholic con-.
rert, bns 60 eccentrie and full Of mental
crotchets as to he generally regarded in
Charleston as OF unsound intellect, and unfit
for the management. Of lis own small affairs.
He had not served long enough In the army,
nor been thrown In connection with consid-
erablc operations, to acquire familiarity with
military administration; neither bad his re-
tired labits Of LIE. his cast Of thought, or
avocations IN Charleston, brought him In rola-
ton with mcn engaged In large commercial
affairs, or turned bis mind to the study of
such subjects, and in tbat way attained 10
that breadlA Of view and knowledge Of gen
eral business detai,s and Of men which may
mike up for the want OF professional bureau
experience after separation OF twenty-five
years from army life. This man, with whom
Mr. Davis had no personal association since
they were cavalry leutcnants together On the
Indian frontier, be did not hesitate to make
tis clicf Of subsistence, nor scrup.e to 1ntrust
with tho organization and administration Of
bureau riron which the very existence
Of tic Confederate armies must de-
END, and for the 1abors Of which it is appa-
rent ihe soundest practical order of Intellect
was essential. One member Of Mr. Dayis's
Cabinet, Cir. MelnminEyr: at least knew the
local renute Of DR.. AUrthrop; md We assert
thet had tie inquiry bccn made in Charleston,
Ills pre-cEiuent unatncss would hare been
universally certified. As might he anticipa-
ted, his administration at once took all the
characteristics Of that unhealthy. brain. Mr.
Davis supported him, however, in every IA
gary, permitted him to override Ill oppose
lion, and ignored the views Gnl wishes Of
every os1ny commander when, rs was Of daily
occurrence, they Glanced 10 differ from those
Of Colonel Northrop. Indeed, the crazy
courses in which this man was suffered to
indulge, 10 the mortal Injury Of every confed-
e1ute n1my, ere Incredible.
Eut We have not thespace for their relation,
which would Gil volume. Onc example
must eeve to Illustrate the surprising charac-
ter Of IN administration which made SUCCESS
ordnance, and the greater part Of the Qunricr-
masters supplies were necessarily transported
to the Confederate forces assembled al Manas-
sas Junction By the Alexandr1a 1; Orange rail-
road, which, oi course, WIS taus ta3kcd to The
ut1nost tension Of its resources. But another
communicated with the most fertile re-
sion Of Virginia, the famous Shenan-
aoah Valley, Which tccmcd with subsistence
that Was also abundant in The adjoining coun-
tics Ct Fanquicr and Loudon- Not required
for tie trlir] satlon Of troops or ordnance
supplies, that road WIS therefore available Tor
thc almost exclusive use Of the Subsistence
Department; and substantial supplies, we re-
pcnt, lay convenient TO It, sufficient for MI the
forces the Conicdcrates could possibly muster
i'll That quarter. Nothing, indeed, could be
more tnJorablc for The Confederates than the
But Ill this was lost sight of By Col. North
rop, who By some influence wls led to deter
mine that subsistence officers will Gen. Beau
regard should not drnw thcir flour or meat
till.cr from the rich garners and stores Of
Loudon, Fauquier, or tue .ya1lcy counties.
Forb:dding his subordinatcs, impcTatively and
ane,ily, from purchasing supplies within easy
transportation at hand, leaving them to fall
Into The hands oI the: enemy, he set other
subordinates to gathering subsistence in
thc rear, Of the . army, which he
was Obliged to send over the
already orerburdcued Alexandra aud Orange
RaiI1uad, for which he had to pay tnuch more
Than such supplies could have bccn bonglt
for in the Valley or IN London The couse-
qrerces were .he. there :aas never in depot
such supply Of subsistence as Gen. Beanre-
guId needed, and there Ma6 not one days ra-
tons for the army at the time Of the battle
OF Manassas Tor Bull Nun, as it Is usually
styledl nor moro than forty-cissht hours' sup
pics for weeks afterward Of the material part
! Of the rntion. Gen. BeaurcEard having urged
! the provision Of g forn1ght's s supply for como
twenty or twenty five thousand mcn, Nor
throp len into passion, wrote the General a
letter OF surprising insoIcncc, and Al the SANG
time relieved the staff officer from duty who,
under Gen. Beanregard's orders, had attempt
ed TO remove the evil. Mr. Dngis, blind to
the consequences, obdurately sustained this
extraordinary conduct. ..-.-
An army LEFT habItua11y without supplies
for more than twcnty-four hours, and the
wi.1ies and views Of whose commander In so
vital matter as its subsistence are oilcnsISe1y
thwarted. II Is needless to saxs, can hayc little
mobility. Its commander can not hare the
power to lacdle 1t At viii. 1'fis was signally
The ease with The Confederate army On the
z1tt OF July, 1861. Want. OF subsistence
rooted IL tisi 10 Its depot, through which
Col. NortArop Issued daily dole sent up
once in t~ cnty four hougs bs tho Alexandria
GnL Orange 1tailroad. Nor was this state Of
tfuiiB better rs late as the 18th August,
when Gen. john on, IN !. notc to Gea. EcIurc-
gard. wrote: ut Is Impossible, us the aBairs
ot Tie Cosamissariaf ore nor ,aanogtsl, to think
Ahua, <..f~
| Itnsirt 1ate.'
Why euch man Us Nocthrop WAS dragged
forth from lis seclusioa, Ills 1uyoyite church
! polcuics aud squablles and muuomaniRc
labi.rfcs, to be thrust into duties profoundly
| tuterMIxel with the very existence OF his
expIcah1c mysteries Of human history. Rcn-
deed arrogant beyond bearing, at length le
used languagc, one day, which his doting pa-
iron could not brook, and quarrel resulted,
| it il understood. It was only then-nbout
February, 1S65-that this vesitable tenacious
told Man Of the sea'' for the South was
shaken od and Ills successor appointed; but
loo late for any radical benefit, ior, in no snall
! degree from commissariat fo1ifes, the Confcd-
crate eanse wss already In the throes oideath:
DAVIS GENERAL 1ScArAc1Tr. ~
Without showing by his measures OF pre-
| paYa,fcn, by recommendations to Congress,
Or in any way Whatsoever, that be believed
the wnr would be prolonged beyoud year,
but the contrary indeed Jet before leaving
Montgomery for Eichmond he had declined
| to receive large number Of MN rendered for
| twelve months, for the rcasou that they were
! not offered for the war or three years. II be
had anticipated a long Wei, few and short in,
deed we're his steps for the contingency. But
his Cnbfnct indicate that lie looked for II
early pacldcation, either through TINT Tecog
milton BY France and England t'in ninety
dave" which MIR. Benjamin was ever conf
IDENTIFY looking for and predicting, or troH
other causes therefore II is hard to under
Stand why he should have 1nfle1ibly proscrib
ed these eurollments for Iess time than tlset
years OF the war at so early o day. By thai
course he greatly diminished tie effective
lorcc lint might have met Mcdowell -risket
we may say, that battle, and weakened John
ston and Beaurcrard especially; in caynlty-
one Of the reasons given By Gen: Johnston 70,
nut having been able to pursue his adversary
and discoIe. the actual extent Of the alsastcl
| inflicted.
Win It be credited, moreover, that as late a.
The middle Of August, 1861, there VAS no ensi
neer Or other officer On the staff Of Gen. J. 2
Johnston competent to plan m Ordinary rail-
road bridge. In fact I'LL the staf department.
.acaza1!s inadequate scale = -. !,
When Mr. Dnyis was On a visit ut the head
1ua1te1s Of the army, Gen. Johnston submit
ted plan, supported by Generals Beaurcsar'
and G.. " Smith for an offensive campaign.
These Generals urged the immediate concen
tration in that quarter Of the greater part Q
the forces dispersed along the sea-coast, Z
Pensacola; Savannah, Norfolk, Yorktown an'
Fredericksburg, for example; with which
addtd 10 the troops already in hand, . cam
Ial1n across tue Potomac should be initiated
before Gen. M'Ciel,an had completed tho Q,
snni.aticn Of his grand army. This, they be
lieyti; might be done without risk to the po
eitial,s weakened By 1Ae measurc-thongh, L