The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1878-08-01
GRANT AS A CRITIC.
His Views Of jackson, Lee and Ghe Bat
sIe OF shiloh.

81 had a letter from MOsby," said the
general, "some time ago, deprecating
some attack had made upon StonewalI
jackson. l wrote him there must be
some mistake, as I had never attacked
Jackson"
Your correspondent asked the general
how he ranked JACKSON among soldiers
knew Stonewall Jackson" said the
general, d" at West Point and IN Mexico
At West Point he came into the school
at an older age than the average and be-
gan with a low grade. But he had so
much courage and energy, worked so
hard and governed his life by discipline
so stern that he steadily worked his way
along and rose far above others who had
more advantages. StOnewall Jackson,
at West Point, was in a state of constant
improvement. He was a religious man
then. land some of US regarded him as q
fanatic. Sometimes his religion took
strange forms h ypOcbondria-f ancies
that an evil spirit had taken possession
of him. But he never realized in his
studies or his Christian duties. l knew
him in Mexico. He was always brave
and trustworthy officer, none more
50 in the army. I never knew him
or encountered him in the rebellion.
[ question whether his campaigns
III FhSLula JOobIiE lis 4Cl IoV1Oh
as a great commander. He was
killed too soon, and before his rank al
lowed him a great command. 1t would
had been test Of geneTalship if Jackson
had met Sheridan in the valley instead
Of some of the men he did meet. From
all know of Jackson and all see of his
campaigns have little doubt of the re-
suit. If jackson had attem pied on Sheri-
d8u the tactics he attempted so success
fully upon others, he would not only
have been beaten, but destroyed. Sud
den daring raids, under a fine general
like Jackson, might do against raw troops
and inexperienced commanders, such as
we had in the beginning of the var, but
not against drilled troops and command
er like Sheridan. These tactics, for
| which Jackson is famous and which
achieved such remarkable results, be-
| longed entirely to the beginning of the
! war and to the peculiar conditions under
which the earlier battles were fought.
| They would have insured destruction to
any commander who tried them on Sher-
man, Thomas, Sheridan, Meade, OIL, in fac
any of our great generals. Consequent
| ly, Jackson's fame as general depends
upon achievements gained before his gen
| eralship was tested, before he had chance
! of matching himself with a really great
| commander. No doubt so able and pa.
| tient man as Jackson, who worked so
hard at anything he attempted,
would have adapted himself to
new conditions and risen with
them. He died before his opportunity.
I always respected Jackson personally
and esteemed his sincere and manly
character. He impressed me always as
man of the Cromwell stamp, Puritan
much more OF the New Highlander than
the Virginian. If any man believed in
J the rebellion he did. And his nature was
such that whatever he believed in be-
came deep religious duty; q duty he
would discharge at any cost. 1t is
mistake to suppose that l ever had any
feeling for StOnewall Jackson but respect.
| Personally, we were always good friends;
his character had rare points of merit,
and although he made the mistake of
fighting against his country, if ever
man did 80 cOnscientiOUsly he was the
man."
LEE AS A COMMANDER.
This led to a remark as to the great
and universal fame of Lse-especially in
| Europ9-a reputation which seemed to
grow every day.
4 never ranked Lee as high as some
Others of the army" said the general,
g that is to say, l never had as much
anxiety when he was in my front as when
| Joe Johnston was in front. Lee was
good man, a fair commander, who had
| everything in his favor He was
man who needed sunshine He
was supported by the unanimous voice of
the south; he was supported by a large
party in the north; he had the support
and sympathy of the outside world. Ali
this is OF an immense advantage to a
general. Lee had this in remarkable
degree. Everything ne did was right.
He was treated like a demi-gOd. Our
generals had hostile press, luke, warm
| friends and a public opinion outside.
The cry was in the air that the north
only won by brute force; that the gen:
eralship and valOr were with the south.
This has gone into history, with so many
other illusions that are historical. Lee
was of a slow, conservative, cautious
nature, without imagination or humOr,
always the same, with grave dignity. l
never could see in his achievements
what justifies his reputation. The
illusion that nothing bnt heavy odds beat
him will not stand the ultimate light of
history. l know it is not true.
1.-The south and north were more
nearly matched than you would suppose.
The whole population were in the war.
The 4 600, 900 of negroes were the same
as soldiers, because, they did the work
in the fields which white men would
have to do. / believe the south had as
many men under arms as the north
What defeated the southern arms was
northern courage and skill, and this,
too, with detractiOn all round. You can
not imagine how disheartening it
was at the time, not only to
officers but men,"
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH.
"Take the battle Of Shiloh, for in
stance continued the general, "the
correspondents and papers at the time all
said that Shiloh was a surprise that our
men were killed over their coffee, and so
on. There was no surprise about it,
except" said the general, with a smile,
perhaps to the newspaper correspond
ents We had been skirmishing for two
days before we were attacked. Alright,
before Buells army came up, | WAS so
we'll satisfied with the result, and 80
certain that I would beat Beauregard,
even without BuelPs aid, that l went in
person to each division commander and
ordered an advance along the line at four
, in the morning. Shiloh was one of the
most important battles in the War. 1t
was there that our western soldiers met
/ the enemy in a pitched battle. From
, that day they never feared to fight the
enemy and never went into action
without feeling sure they would win.
Shiloh broke the prestige of the southern
confederacy so far as our western army
was concerned. Sherman was the hero
of Shiloh. He really commanded two
divisiOns-his own and McClernand's-
and proved himself to be censummate
| nnrrlI h, Ern- H., L