The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1865-11-11
A Rebel Judged, By. = 4. AsRebel.

Se [The following is the close Of an. article, i
Harper's Monthly, ON Jefferson Davis, writer
by the rebel Gen. Jordan, chief of staff to Beau
regard 1 - ."t...... NoseemNiS N&oN
. Mr.. Davis must be judged at ,the bar 8
Il history by the aggregate results of his ad
ministration. He must be measured b,
what was done or left uhdone- successes
and reversesLeither directly by himself o
through the instruments Of his will The
men OH whom lie relied for the perlorlnancs
of the highest services Of the State
\ Btoughtto this rightful test what states
man of whom history tells us will be .fount
more deficient than Jefferson Davis
Had he been equal to his position be
would have known how TO develop, com
bine, awietd the splendid resources of his
land in such a manner as to produce the
largest possible results With his long
| experience andacquaintance with the pub
lie men OF, the United States he should have
known the best men, TO call around him
and should have known, too, the best course
| for battling the statesmen opposed to him
Foregoing his predilecti0nss as we'll as his
antipathies-lik Napoleon in the case oi
| Moreau and Talleyrand-he should ohave
| been wise enough to attach to his govern
ment and secure the services of men of tai
ent, even though perchance not we'll affect
ed personally toward them. A genuine
leader Of men would have done so-would
have stGed personal passions, which hialoha,
it would appear, have Influenced Mr. Davis
since an early day Swayed by these, and
amoEous to an incredible degree of the of,
ice-giying powers his place, and the ex-
ercise of which. absorbed BY far, The larger
part of his waking hours, he was blind
alike to those insuperable as to those favor
ing circumstances or favorable occasions
which the statesman will be- quick to re-
cognize.1 noisniaasW ri ,dgl0 baAl{1sN 9dT
inAsla natural consequence of the predom-
inant qualities of the man; there immedi-
ately grew up in the South party Of res
ident's Friends" from whose ranks ,as far
as possible, were drawn the occupants of
all civil places. Men for the most part
malleable to9his will who 'looking up aboih
civil iahdlmiltary affairs, nphelth,his views
and wishesias the only safe rule and law
for the times. Thus ina little while almost
every person of ability, nearly every one Of
spirit, was driven from the councils, of the
South and the direction Of affairs, leaving
the government to d large degree IN the
hands ofthOse from whom efficient admin
istmtion WAS MOTTO be xpected--selected
as they were for instruments thought, to be
best adapted to his, purpose that of ab-
tions of the State. - = = ''.,'
i AS obstinate as James II. or George ] II :,
whom he greatly resembled in many traits
of character, as in the management Of pub
lie business-with the same tendency to
employ mediocrity and the same dislike for
independent ability-4Jeff. Davis for four
years illustrated, like his monarchical, pro-
totypes, that no two natures are, so widely
Opposite, and unlike as, the -wilful and the
wise. 1mperous, yet without genuine vigT
or of character, pride and weakness. were
strangely blended in his actions IT was
said of George Ill. that heTe even scorned
victory whose laurels had'zbeen culled by
Cha:hain.s Mr.. Davis looked with moo
dy brow and skeptical lip when either
JohnSon or Beauregard rendered the tro-
phies, of, successful war; Napoleon. once
urged, by an undistinguished general to con-
fer upon him the marshal's baton, exclaim-
ed at is not who make marshals-it is
victories r. What Napoleon would not at
tempt, Mr.. Davis did without hesitation,
making major and lieutenant generals who
previously had not been in battle, and if
possibly capable, had never had the oppor
tunities to show capacity for high command;
some of whom, too, we may add, whose pro-
motion has not been justified by subsequent
events. "0it'N
The longersHe held power the narrower
grew his conceptions, the more fimperious
his will, until to.diifer from or cross the or.
bitsof his fapcies,9or even to run counterto
the plans and wishes of his fayorites, be-
came personal affront, No, man. in as
high and critical position ever less under
stood the value Of wise, Independent min
listers, or was ever less able to give up a
minor personal object for the sake of aimaii
ior advantage. He and his ministerial
clerks, always as sang uine as Napier de-
Scribes the British Cabinet tolhave been
in 1910, like that Cabinet were always ian
ticipatiDg success in q preposteroqs man
ner5-always displaying little practical in
dustry, and quite as little judgement in
preparing for q Contingencies. In no in
stance did he and his favorites comprehend
at their value the golden opportunities that
more than once were Voichsafed them, and
by Selling which with resolute hand they
might have neutralized the superior re-
sources Of the United States. With
leader like William Of Orange ir his stead
this had surely been accomplished.
We have heard much from Mr.. Davis and
his sfriends in the last months of the strug
GLE concerning the frightful extent OF de-
sertion from thea Confederate. armies. aaUn-
questonably this evil was very great; indeed
So numerous had desertions become, that,
added to the natural tendency of all but
regular troops to quit their coors in times
of Serious reverses, some Of the Confeder-
ate corps, like circle in the water, were
almost dispersed to naught.". But here,
too. the handiwork of JEFF. Davis may be
made apparent. The broadcast. inevitable
interposition, of his perogatiye of pardon
by the second year Of the, war had made it
plain to tile men Of the army that there was
the fullest immunity for desertion. A mer-
eiless, inexorable personal adversary we
know Mr. Davis ever was, and never lessso
than during the time OF the. giant struggle
ofihis section iforiudepend low then
may we account for this almost inyaTiable
mercy granted to those whose acts made
success impossible ?, y ,,i...,.,.. l,i7,g 81. !.
Gibbon, summing up the character OF
Constantine, uses language which we hnd
sngularly applicable to our sublect-InS
whom there has been manifestly the same
''timidt policy Of dividing whatever is uni.
ted,nof reducing whatever lisl elnlrent, OF
dreading every active power, andsof expect
ing that, the most feeble will prove the most
obedient,"n In fne,, his. course may De llken-
ed to that Of the captain Of ship Of war
in action with greatly superior adversary
who, while mailing his flag to the mast head
and shouting stout words of defiance to his
foe and Of supreme confidence to his crew,
nevertheless from the outset Of the battle
has been secretly scattiinge his vessel and
all hisoboats besides sea asgn4swsh 19is2
GYsAyouug lawyer lately concluded an
Argument in a; case, of trespass with the fol-