Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1879-09-11


Government whose cornerstone was slavery
Besides that, though Irishmen were revolu
tionists at home, they were conservatives in
the United States, and that there was an infn
ite difference between war in the interest Of
oppression and one in favor of the op
pressed.
Adverting to the character of the Irish as
soldiers, the General was very enthusiastic
saying that they played prominent part in
all the wars of the world for the last three
centuries-now on one side, now on the other
'The Irish soldier fights not so much for lucre
as through the reckless love of adventure
and, moreover, with chivalrous devotion to
the cause he espouses for the time being
Cleburne, on our side, inherited the intrepid.
ty of his race. On field of battle he shone
like meteor on cloudy sky! AS a dashing
military man he was all virtue a single vice
does not stain him as warrior. His gener.
osity and benevolence had no limits. The
care which he took of the fortunes Of his
officers and soldiers, from the greatest to the
least, was incessant. His integrity was pro-
verbal, and his moGesty was an equally con.
spicuous trait in his character.
"Meagher on your side, though not Gle
burne's equal in military genius, rivalled him
in bravery and in the affections of his soldiers.
The gallant stand which his bold brigade
made on'the heights of Fredericksburg is we'll
known. Never were men so brave. They
ennobled their race by their splendid gallan-
try on that desperate occasion. Though to-
tally routed, they reaped harvests of glory.
Their brilliant, though hopeless, assaults on
our lines excited the hearty applause Of my
officers and soldiers, and Gen. Hill exclaim.
ed, There are those green flags again"
HIS ESTIMATE OF WEBSTER, CLAY AND CALL
:: HoUN.
Then as we talked of the causes of the war
we drifted to the old statesmen. Gen. Lee
referred despondingly to the nations lack of
statesmen. Speaking of Webster he said: 81
never saw more striking object than Webster
in the Senate. The effect of his fine figure
and princely air, when speaking, was like
that of vivid flash in the midst of darkness.
What Paganini was in music, that Webster
was in oratory the one charmed Europe
with one string, the other. electrified multi.
tudes with his eloquence. He once complain.
ed to me of the wrongs done him by the re-.
porters, but in vain the world would read
whatever bore his honored name, and the
grub worms were ever ready to crafty the de-
sire by fragments or rather caricatures OF his
mighty eloquence His speeches indicate the
powers of the great rator-they are lofty but
not impassioned, correct but not fluent. Hen
ry Clay was every inch patriot and an ora
tor. l heard him on British aggressions. New.
er, certainly, had ever beheld so powerful an
exhibition of natural oratory. The grace of
the attitudes into which he threw his flexible
figure, the striking gestures of his arms, and,
above all, the fire which shot from his bril-
liant eyes, impaired an effect to the continu-
ally charming accentsof his voice OF which
the most accomplished actor might be proud.
At one moment leaning forward when stating
circumstantially the grievances Of which the
nation complained, and then standing bolt
upright, with clenched hands and counte-
nance distorted with passion, he poured out a
tide of invectives. The effect on his audience
was electric-one and all, they stood regard
ing him with sparkling eyes and trembling
limbs, as though they were listening to the
inspired voice of a prophet. Henry Clay was
the greatest actor off the stage. Calhoun was
the favorite of the South. Morally, he is to
be rated higher than either Webster or Clay.
He was keen in the observation of whatever
was minute. He was attracted by the lofty
and ideal. Similarity, resemblance, pictures
and analysis caught his eye. They were
seized and secured and thrown down upon his
page in gorgeous groups and splendid coloring.
His logic was compressed and concealed the
train Of reasoning he seemed to be pursuing
might be clear and continuous to his own
mind all its facts logically articulated from
end to end but it was like stream of water,
working its way under ground, that showed
itself now and then, or by a succession of
openings and jets, the one apparently deep,
the other light and sparkling. He was dis
tinguished for his power of condensation.
Metaphors, tropes and figures Of all kinds
we're never found in his speeches. His elo-
quence and logic set on fire. heard him in
one of his alterations with Clay. was sur
prised that Mr.. Calhoun's eloquence did not
produce the least reply. It fell like thun,
derbolt upon an iceberg, glanced along, hlssed
and was extinguished.'
Jefferson Davis, Yancy, Breckenridge and
Toombs, whose names he mentioned, as we'll
as set Of equally prominent men in the
North, Gen. Lee characterized as "polltl-
cians," and "they," said he, drought on the
war;" He went on to say: IL was opposed
to war at the outset. wept when heard OF
the bombardment of Fort Sumter! sought
retirement so that I might not hear or see
any of the political leaders, the great end
and aim of whose craftsmanship was to pre-
cepitate the havoc that subsequently swept
their fields and cities. But when Virginia,
nv native State, seeded, there was only one
course for me to pursue, namely, to follow her
fortunes"
sTONEWALL JACKSON.
Referring to the great loss sustained by
the Confederacy in the death of Stonewall
jackson, Gen. Lee remarked:
"In surprise marches and in the art of Gre
ating the resources of the war, jackson far
surpassed the level Of his age, and rose to
comparison with Hannibal and Napoleon,
the two greatest commanders of ancient and
modern times. In every relation OF private
and public life his character was perfect.
The South has produced some able soldiers,
and few in point of military talent were his
equals, but it cannot and never could boats
of one more beloved, not by personal friends
alone, but by every soldier, and officer that
served under him. His dispatches, even
when announcing the grandest success, were
brief statements of facts unvarnished ; many
such passages as this would occur:
"'We are about to open the campaign. |
have prayed earnestly to God that He will
enable me to pass through it in His fear, know
ing no greater earthly blessing than to have
conscience at ease in the discharge Of
duty"