The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1867-05-01

Patrick R. Cleburne deserves q promi-
nent place among the great heroes who
have illustrated Southern heroism and
Southern history. His name brings a
thrill Of the heart to every true son of
the South, just as his presence brought
success wherever he moved on the field of
battle.
"Cleburne is here !" meant that sail was
we'll" Where he was, no masses of the
. enemy could break his lines, no matter
how fearful the odds. When he lead a
column, itB onslaught was irresistible, and
never failed to carry the opposing lines
save at ono point only, and there is the
grave of .she Stonewall of the Western
army, and his devoted division.
1t is not the intention of the writer Of
this article to give a history Of P. r. Gle
burne's life previous to the beginning Of
the past war; for of that he is ignorant
in the main nor of the achievements Of
Maj. Gen. P. R. Cleburne during the war,
for that is a part of the history of the
short lived Southern Confederacy, written
in the stricken hearts of all her mourning
sons and daughters. But we propose to
give to the world some few incidents in
The life OF this remarkable man, that
might be otherwise consigned 10 unde-
served oblivion, yet which give indica-
of interest sufficient to merit place
among the chronicles of the Land I've
Love.
Gen. Cleburne was rather above than
under ths medium height, perhaps FIVE
feet ten or eleven inches-sparely made,
growing thinner as the war progressed,
with the constant wear of mind and body
increasingly restless. He had a gray eye
of very changeful expression, sometimes
as cold and dead as that of fish, yet
when excited. itfashed like a broadsword.
His hair that was originally black became
very gray before the close of the war; and
being closely cropped, ,lit stood above his
forehead in bristly individuality. High
cheek bones with thin lower visage, q
rather sallow complexion, with but little
beard, and remarkably large ears; with
long limbs and heavy, emphatic steps in
walking, he was not one who in appear
ance or manners would have graced the
boudoir or the ballroom. He could have
been but little over forty years old, at the
time of his death. His accent would at
any time have betrayed his nativity, but
when giving emphatic orders on the field,
the harsh rolling Of his Rs was some
times startling Not one OF his soldiers
but can recall the peculiar intonation Civ.
en- to his command, For,uard MAR-R-R-oH"
the first word, being syllabled with re-
markable distinctness, while the latter
was given with the broadcast brogue i'm
aginable Nor can we forget his truly
Irish rendering (bar-r-r-'D of the word
"barrel" when lccturing his class of Off
GERS on the rifle, its parts, uses, etc. The
loss of two front teeth Carried away by
minnie ball at the battle of Richmond,
Ky.,) gave his voice Kissing sound,
when speaking hurriedly or angrily, that
was peculiarly unpleasant. Habtually
thoughtful and grave, he was considered
cold and repellant in manner by those
who only met him in his official capacity (;
bnt TO his intimate friends, he was genial
and pleasant in conversation with, at
times, real sparkling of Irish wit and
humor that would bring the hearty laugh
from auditors responsive to his rather
grim smile.
The writer recalls a broad laugh of
General .C.'s ct a witticism of his always
warm friend and admircr, Lieut. General
w. j. Hardee Owing to General C.'s
methodical habits and military precision
of movements, his division was always
! last of s.Hardce's Corps" to arrive on the
drill-feld, for which reason General Har-
dee gave him the sobriquet of "the late
General Cleburne."
While General Jos. E. Johnston's army
/ Law at Dalton, Ca, and "Cleburne's Di-
vision" occupied the advance at Tunnel
Hill, the writer was on one occasion at
''division headquarters" in familiar con-
versation with Gen. c. and one of his
staff, when he (Gen. O. chanced to make
some very apropos quotation from q well
known poet On an expression of sur
prise that he should be so familiar with
what we supposed he considered q very
useless branch of literature, he rather
thoughttuily remarked: call my knowl-
edgo of this character of reading was nc
quired during six CT eight months con-
fnement to the large hospital near Grave
send, England"
In reply to the interrogation, rather ex-
pressed in our faces than spoken, he went
on to say:
"Lizc good many others of my un-
fortunate countrymen, after crossing the
channel to better my fortune, [ found
that more difficult than I had imagined,
so 1 was compelled to accept the usual
dcrnier resort and join the British army,
whom l was about twenty-five years Old"
He here added a good deal of information
relative to the English army, its drills,
discipline, etc., that cannot be recalled to
mind, but Of himself he said: ~ was at
one time promoted, for good conduct, to
the rank of corporal. l was prouder of
that corporals commission than that of
major general But, disgraceful to tell,