The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1871-11-23
<. Sketch of Gen. john D. Magrader.

A Sketch of Gen. John D. Magrnder.
= This old warrior sleeps the sleep of soldie
in q rude Texas grave, over which there is n!
monument The grass was growing about it, il
the, earlYIsummer, and there were some flower
there, withered and faded, scattered by We
.harshanda Asvotary at the shrine Of natGre
and, finished diplomat at the court of4Yenus, /
was fitting, that there should be larqesse O
green- n-growing GRASSES and live flowers. I
roses are the tear drops Of angels, as the beau
if1l- ARAB belief pnts forth poetry, then Is thi
lowly mound q; a;halloYed spot, and needs mo
the seuptured stone, the fretted column, the ivy
and the obelisk.' %
Magruder was wonderful man. He stood
six feet four inches in height, and had form
men enyied, and women adored. His nerves
were all iron. Foreign travel and comprehen-
siye culture. had given to his wit a zest thai
was alWaysi crisp and Sparkling. He never
lacerated.lr To the sting ofia repartee he added
the hoheyof' the clover He could fight al
day and dance all night. In the morning
glass of brandy and strong cigar renewed his
strength. and caused the cup Of his youth to
run oyer with the precious wine of health and
high spirits. he loved magnificent. uniforms
magnificent horses, magnificent riders, and
inagnifceht women. ncu Is- ~ j.n los y
D' Gifted and graceful in conversation, he was a
pei, JIM the louaoir and logician in the bar
racks He had studied French in Paris, ,Ital-
ian in Rome, and Spanish IN the Halls of the
Montezumas. The sabre exercise he learned
from a Turk. His l,orsemanship was of the
English kind, that is to say, not graceful but
impossible to be surpassed for firm riding and
endurance. He wrote little love songs that
were set to music one Of them, "Imogene," had
in it the plaiDtive melody of lover and the
sad rythm of burial bugies. d., = !
In the Crimea he astonished the French off,
GERS by sleeping atIthe front with the chasseurs
under fire. In Mexico he sent back to the
archbishop a lady's perfumed glove he had
found in his palace when the city was won, and
with it note which read sit is pretty enough
to have, belongedto Queen. Would she have
parddhed me if had appropriated it?" As
the archbishop sent him thelneSt day basket
Of delicious wine, it is supposed that the fair
ownerlof the glove must have looked lenieutly
upon the handsome American soldier Later,
and he was riding with Gen. Scott down the long
street of Iturbide. Gen. Garnett Joined them,
and Magruder drew little back for his supe-
riors to confer together. A white puff of smoke
eurledlout from an open window, sudden re.
port followed speedily, and Garnett and horse
fell hard and bloody. An ounce ball, intended
for Scott, had broken Garnett's thigh, and
killed his charger Fearing another fire, Ma
gruder galloped to the side of his chief and
covered his body with his own. The old mans
eyes never dropped; nor his voice changed an
"How long will it take you to
batter down that house?" he spoke curtly to
Lieutenant Magruder, pointing with sweep
of his finger to the one nearest, and from which
The bullet came Gan hour by the watch, gen.
md leave not one stons me aboR0 s oR0aRSlepk range
Itwas done, and well done, and those who
saw Magruder soonest afterwards noticed that
he had another bar on his epaulettes-he had
been made captain. War was his clement,
the bivouac his delight, and the battle his per-
feet happiness. Besides, prodigal, fashionable,
toolishly brave sometimes, spendthrift gen.
erous, true friend and staunch comTade, the
surrender at Appomattox made him an aged
man-in his prime, and wrinkled his features,
which had before resisted. all the attacks OF
time. f,. .c.a :.
What book his life would make in the
hands of some men. He once intended to write
an autobiography. Whether it was begun or
not, we do not know-most certainly 1t was
never finished.
The brave, fond heart is pulseless now. Inc
form of the stalwart soldier is dust in its far
away grave. The laurels that he gathered and
wore so we'll are faded and gone. Back from
the unknown land no voice will come to tell of
what rank he takes in the spectral columns,
closed MP and silent, waiting the resurrection
day., Yet God deals gently with soldier
When he is brave, and noble, and courteous,
ana mercifnI, he has those attributes which as
similete heaven, and, therefore, is he foreor-
dained to Happiness after death. It may be
late in in" coming the biEouacs are right cold
and dreary, we know, for some, but after the
night the morning, and after the judgment day
the New Jerusalem.