Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-08-31

Candle Aestefs anu Lectures.
Fredericksburg hes nearly midway be-
tween Richmond and Washington. : Il lust
missed being the chief city of Virginia.
It's advantages for commerce and manu-
features are so great, that had it not been
for the railroads which carried to other
points the trade that would raturally have
come here, its later growth would have cor
responded with lis former prosperity. It
"a now much reduced, although its natural
advantages are far too great to allow 1t to
be permanently depressed. The frightful
drought here, as elsewhere, is wasting the
land. The country around, never fertile,
presents sad appearance. Still there is q
vigor snd calm perseverance among the
people :ilat will take them through. L re-
neEed acquaintance With a young man.
whose father was one of the prominent
men of the State, and who is himself an
alumnus of the University. In the var he
held q position In the army, won by COM
petitive examination, involving consider
able scientific attainments. He is now
keeping dairy, largely milking
his own cows, and cultivating
strawberries for the city markets. Such
people may be depressed, but It is only a
question of time before they wrest from
circumstances the most adverse, success the
most glorious.
But Fredericksburg to the outside world
means not the town, but the place where
Burnside attacked Lee. Looking for the
traces of the battle in the city find them
far fewer than l expected. True, many
houses are burned down, but many are
standing even about the point where the bat
tie ragged.
AS matter of course L visit the battle
field. The hind-sigh!s are proveralilly clea :
er than the fore-sights. But what could
have made man of the unquestioned sbil-
ity of Burnside select this one slope for his
attack. On the right hand, aud on the left,
are points where he could have sheltered
his troops. The approaches Of the point he
attacked are for nearly half mile, COM
manded by the guns aud ri1as on tho hill
in front. Worse still the advance was
made diagonslly so that his
lines were still more terribly
wasted by the conyerging fire
Of the Confederates.
1t Is the want Of great-souled mice, to
show their greatness by criticising those
contests of elephants, which they heard in
the deepest corner of their holes. Why did
not Lee, after be had given this terrible
blow, press on the broken Yankee columns,
capture the army and end the war. a late
article in BLdcktvOod, states that 1t was al
ways a matter of regret with Lee that he
had not yielded to the solicitation OF Jack
son and made great effort to improve his
advantage. Persons now in the town tell
me, the Generalization of the Yankees
was terrible, and that all the appearances
were that a vigorous movement would have
been successful. If 80, 1t might have end
ed the war. On the hand, Early with
whom / had a conversation on the subject
few weeks ago, and who may be regarded
as the highest living authority for these
points, said that had the effort been made it
would have resulted in a prob
able disaster TO tho Southern troops.
That the reconnoitre made by jackson
entirely satisfied that general Of The fearful
risk attending the assumption Of the otfeE-
sive. That the consunmate abilii ysCf Lee
was displayed in stopping just where he did
as well as In the other dispositions of the
day. And that the writer in Blackwood is
utterly mistaken in suppcsing that Lees
latter days were darkened with regrets for
his subsequent inacti0n. If an Illustration,
which is stepping from tho sublime to the
ridiculous, 1, allowable, there was a mau
who had scrub pig to which be used each
day carry tub of slop. Its enormous "a
pacity for receptivity excited his curiosity.
| So one day he caught the pig and putt In
| the tub it had Just emptied, and the man
| said il did not half fill the tub. But as this
| is the sDly well authenticated case on re-
| cord of a half sobbling down whole, the
vsst probabilities are, that under no possible
! circumstances could Lees small army baye
swallowed Burnsides' large one.
But terrible beyond conception was the
blow dealt to the Yankee army that day.
! On the northern slope Of the hill overlook
ing the field Of battle, where their hosts
crumbled in their desperate charge, is a
"banner wide displayed" 1t was at first
put on the summit, but twice or thrice the
rude southern winds snapped the staff. 50
at last 1t was planted on the northern side
where southern blasts do not blow. !
climb up the steep ridgs beyond this, and
find the wide level summit, acre on acre,
occupied with Yankee graves. 1t was un-
! der the indignant protest OF the citizens
that this site was selected. One even wrote
to the General commanding that when the
dead would awake and find themselves on
the hill they would DO sure they had never
got it by fighting, and would wonder how
they came there. stand in the center of
that city Of the dead, where ffteesthous'
and human beings hear of war and battle
DO more. Such sight never saw. a
Pere-le-C haise and other large con-
eteries one sees q succession OF
small views. Here, radiating from the
centre Ia every direction, can he seer
graves, streets Of graves, blocks of graves
unsheltered by trees. The mind is over,
whelmed with these signs Of wholesal7
death. The cemetery is beautifully kept
and at the head of each grave is an inscrip
ton. Here lies an unknown officer,
'Here lie three soldiers" "Hers eight IN
known soldiers" "Here twelve unknown
soldiers"
Boards arc put about on which is written
patriotic ''poetry." l glanced at ont
| which ran about thus:
UWeen for fnur hundred thousand men,