The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1867-01-31
.haracterized the Confederate troops on

During the winter and spring of 1868,
our army at Vicksburg, numbering about
$4,000 men, lay in its lines for many
months, without tents or any other shell
ter. The soldiers were scantily clad, few
of them had blahkets-many of them
were without sboes-during some weeks
of the most inclement season they were
without any meat-they received no cof.
fee. no tobacco, no whisky, but subsisted
on corn alone, sometimes musty, and al
yyavs very coarsely cracked in the horse
mills of the neighboring planters.
Yet these men evnced the most unfal-
tering determination in their duty. They
made no murmur. There were no unu-
sual desertions. They asked, through
their colonels, that the general command
| ING would look to their condition and ap-
ply such remedy as he could, at the same
time ayowing their determination. to en-
dure their present privations, and even
greater if their country's necessity i'm
posed them.
The last scene Of all that ends this
strange. eventful history, must always
be contemplated with respect and inter
est by those who take pleasure in the no
BILE traits of men, When Mobile was at
tackled it was chiefly, defended by the
SCARED veterans of the army of Tennes-
see.e For three weeks these noble fell
lows withstood the attack of tenfold their
numbers. Along the weak lines of Span:
ish Fort and Blakely the disparity was
even greater. On every occasion, from
the beginning to the end of these trying
scenes, the troops who defended Mobile
exhibited in the highest degree. the self.
respect and the virtue of the patriot SOL
dier. All orders were obeyed and execu-
ted by that little army, up to the last
moment, with quietude and alacrity
worthy of any troops of any army. AT
ter the city was evacuated and the army
had arrived at Meridian, it was encamped
tor several weeks in that vicinity, and
prepared to march and join Joe Johnston.
All of us knew that Lee had surrendered,
and that Mr.. Davis was probably cap
tured: we believed, too, that. we must
soon surrender, yet there was no depar-
ture from the usual discipline and good
order of our camp. There was no levi
ty, no drinking, but q deep and solemn
sadness peryaded all hearts, as we await
cd the moment when we were to surren-
der our arms and our cause forever.
Much as the self-denial, the virtue, the
religion of our revolutionary armies have
been eulogized, the honest historian will
find them overmatched by the recent IL
lustrations drawn from the war of the
Southern Confedcracy.
The Federal authorities, with far great
er advantages than we had for maintain
ing the discipline of their armies, soon
discarded the appointment of officers by
election, and before the war ended it was
competent for corps commander in that
service to degrade an unworthy officer by
his simple order.
In some European services they pro-
mote for we'll established merit only. The
soldier who is promoted to corporal is
transferred to another company, and the
sergeant who is promoted to lieutenant is
transferred to another regiment.
While our line officers were thus rem
dcred responsible to the soldiers of their
command, the officers of, our staff corps
were made irresponsible to the generals
within whose departments they were
serving.
Quartermasters, commissaries, ETC.,
were held accountable only to the central
power in Richmond, vested in the hands
of the respective departments.
Under no emergency which might
arise, could supplies be issued without
first procuring the sanction of the chief
of bureau in Richmond.
A general commanding a department
remote from the capitol, was thus embar.
rassed in his control over the munitions
upon which the movements and the eff
cheney Of his troops depended.
Furthermore, he WAS impeded in his
duty of correcting the wrongs. sometimes
the malfeasance of staff officers, who in
his immediate presence, were abusing the
trust and powers confded to them !; for
he could not correct one OF them without
previous reference of the case to the chief
in Richmond.
The generalization, the ineficiency,
which resulted from this anomalous con-
dition of affairs. is incalcuable. Scarcely
less, perhaps, than that which followed
the election of officers At least our peo-
pie more plainly felt this evil than the
other, for it was operating under their
immediate observation. There was scarce
IL a town in the South which did not
have it's quartermaster and commissary.
Sometimes ten or twelve Of these were
congregated in one town, and the people
were unable to discover the good service
they were rendering to the country. It
is not surprising that the idleness and the
unfaithfulness Of this class of officers be-
came proverb and reproach.
With so many causes of harm to the
constancy and efficiency of our soldiers,
it is inexplicable that the discipline of our
armies was not earlier guarded by regu-
lations, based on sound military expert
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