The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1874-07-31
pe,ledtbe minority OF the male lear arms bearing
population CT The slave States TO give Up
home Nth ali Of It's holy lies, for the sake

home, with all OF It's nOiy TICS, lul Tug SUI Sun
Of country. Profound ignorance could
never baye converted this band Of civilians.
untutored 10 military arts, and with scarcely
nucleus for military instructors, into IN
army second to none In point of achieve
nent, and coping often with twice and three ll'
times their own numbers. But the Counts
misappreciation-no to say misrepresenta-
lion-on this point is too glaring to need
further notice. So we will see what else he
has to say:
"Moreoyer, there were in the armies or
the South none of those handy workmen, at
home in every craft, who were foupd I'D
| those of the North, and who enabled every
Federal regiment to undertake, on it's own
account, the reconstruction OF a railway, the
renair Of locomotive. or he-driring OF
train. Consequently, more than once the
Copfederates had recourse for these services
10 northerncrs whom they impressed by
force, or were reduced to contide them to
officials for whose inexperience they had to
pay very dearly. To the whites, who had
been taught to despise all manual labor, the
business of a soldier was what was formerly
called noble profession, and they felt hu-
| INFLATED if they were required to turn up
the EARTH They often refused to work at
the entertainments which prayed SO great
part in the war"
True it is that in the nature of things and
from the wide difference in their laboring in.
stitutons the North had largely the adTan-
tapc over the South as to the number of
skilled mechanics; but we had in our gov
ernmcnt workshops and among our en-
gipeer troops details to meet the necessities
that arose. The Count. evidently writes
"history" from what he hears or what he
reads at q safe distance from danger, and we
feel curiosity to know who or what record
&C d have gulled this noble historian " Of
high degree with the idea that the Con-
iederate soldiers refused to work at the en-
trenchments?
When fighting behind entertainments be-
came part of the mode of American war
fare we have seen men cheerfully go TO work
| when almost exhausted from marching and
! fighting with no other implements save
| their bayonets and the sides of their tin cam
teens, which they tore apart for the purpose,
and threw up within half night formida-
bic line of breastworks. The rapidity with
| which "JoLnny Reb7' could throw up dirt
| during the night before battle with such
scapt implements was simply wonderful and
| almost incredible. The Count proceeds:
= = "The Confederate foot soldier,
more easy TO direct and more excitable than
his adversary, rushed into the charge with
| Wild cries, and thus often carried positions
which the nor;herner, with equal courage,
| would not have been able to seize. But, on
the other hand, the Confederate, having
neither the patience of the latter nor bis firm
ness under deadly fire, was less capable OF
defending what he had gained. Thus we
snail see in the course Of the war the south
ern OIL erS always trying to surprise, with a
mass OF troops, now one point, now another,
of the Federal lines"
| The noble writer perhaps never was in the
neigbborhood of these wild cries, or else he
might have proved better judge of the
character of the soldier and Of his strategy,
than the language just quoted would indi-
cate him to be. Speaking of our cavalry,
he says:
| "The manners and training Of the Con-
| federate soldiers helped at first to give them
an especial superiority in cavalry. 1t is a
mistake to attribute this superiority to the
merit Of the officers; for if Ashby, Stuart,
and all those brilliant officers mo organized
the southern cavalry, inspired their enemies
with respect and admiration, they were also
confronted with generals equally expert in
| the management Of this arm. Sheridan,
| Stonenan. kilpatrick, and others proved that
sufficiently when they had good troops to
| handle
The Confederate cavalry would never have
lost its prestige, nor would SHERIDAN and
the others have gained theirs, could they
have kept up their supply of horses and
men. They dwndled down with such ra-
| pidity that they were toward the end only
available for accommodating and scouting
| parties, while SIERIDAS's forces increased
with equal rapidity, and towards the end be
had more cavalry In bis command than were
in the entire army Of Northern Virginia
cavalry, infantry, and artillery, all told. But
| the Count takes no note of such facts because
he writes from bis own distant perception,
and discards facts. entirely with regard to US.
"In artillery the Confederates were below
! their opponents. They had, no doubt, many
capable and well-instrucied officers, but in
general their soldiers had not that intell-
gence and taste for mechanics which enabled
the men of the North to become excellent
guuncrs in q short time. The nldteriet OF
1 the South was also inferior, and the courage
and daring of such men as Pemberton,
Stuart's chief of artillery, had to make up
for the disadvantage"
This is rich. "The courage and daring
of such men as PEABgRToS, SruART's chief
Of artillery, had to make up for the dsai-
vantage" What business had STUART's chief
of artillery to leave his commander and 60
off on his own hook to perform the courage.
Gus and daring feat OF surrendering Vicks.
burg, accounted to be impregnable? When
was PEMBERToN appointed STUARTs chief OF
artillery? They may know more about it in
the Counts study than we do over here, but
we might venture the opinion that PEMBER
TON was never STUART's chief of artillery
and that he was considered one of the most
inefficient Confederate soldiers who held his
rank-that of acknowledgement. So much
so, indeed, that he lost his position, despite Mr.
DAvIs's known favoritism towards him
and was ordered from the South to Rich
mond, where he assumed his rank as lieu
tenant-colonel In the regular Confederate
army, and bad charge of some Of the heavy