Litchfield enquirer., 1879-08-21
General Longstreet's Views of the Con- duct of the War and the Capabil- ities of the Leaders


 noting the fact that individual bravery amounted to very little in modern warfare-a fact by the way that he at once disproved- General Longstreet said ... .
 Il was once dining with Horace Greeley and he asked me if it was not necessary to swear at your men and whoop them up.' l replied
 that thought not. There is nothing like quiet assurance and confidence. A general
 need never be noisy, and I think quiet troops are the best fighters. I once sent out brig ade to occupy certain point. As it was
 mounting a little crest it came full upon im-
 mense masses of Federals. The men were
 panic stricken and though had made mis-
 take in ordering them forward They halted irresolute and then dropped down upon the
 ground. It was important that they should
 advance and make feint, at least. 1 there fore rode quietly through their ranks on the
 crest, and there halting my horse adjusted my
 glasses and calmly surveyed the scene in front.
 l turned carelessly around, and as l expected
 there was my brigade at my back, every man | in position ready for anything-confdent and assured.
 "At another time, in the heat of the battle of Chattanooga, General Beming, of Georgia,
 one of the bravest men l ever saw, came
 charging up to me in great agitation. He was riding captured artillery horse, without any
 saddle, with the blind bridie on, and was using | rope trace as whip. His hat was gone and he was much disordered. General he said, my brigade is utterly destroyed and scattered | Is that SOP 1 asked quietly utterly de- | stroyed, you say ? Yes, sir he replied; | gone all to pieces r His great heart was l nearly breaking. Approached him and said
 quietly: Don't you think you could find one
 man, general? One man' he said in aston
 want with him i? Go and get him. said,
 still quietly, laying my hand en his arm, and
 bring him here. Then you and and he will
 charge together. This is sacred, general, and
 we may as we'll die here as anywhere He looked at me curiously moment, then laughed
 and, with an oath, lashed his horse with his
 rope trace and was off like flash. In few
 moments he swept bysme at the head of 8
 command that he had gathered together
 somehow or other and he was into the fight again."
 ! The correspondent then asked the general 1 whether the Southern motives were not strong | CT than those of the Union troops and the l general said:
 ''I think not. The sentiment in favor of the | Union and the memories that cling about the
 old flag were justas strong if not stronger than | the love of the soil of the States and 1 the feeling aroused in defending homes. 1 re-
 member myself after the battle of Chattanooga | General Breckenridge made speech congrat-
 ulating his men at being able for the first time l in their lives to sleep on the battlefield, and
 he said that they had to thank me for it. The | next day some one remarked that must feel
 very proud of this. I replied that the war and
 all connected with it filled me with inexpress- l ible sadness and that felt just as if 1 was
 being congratulated over whipping my own
 brother. The truth is the soldiers on both
 sides were neEyed by lofty and desperate | emotions, and 1 knew from the first that there
 would be heroism displayed by both armies
 and that the struggle must be prolonged and 1 strenuous" ...
 The general said he thought e>invasion of | Pennsylvania was wise plan, but the disas-
 trous battle of Gettysburg changed it. Said | he: Il felt then that we were beaten. l con- 1 sldered it simply question of time. Once | after this was there chance-a bare chance of saving the Confectionery. This was after 1 the battle of Chickamauga which was in many l respects the most brilliant victory of the war | The enemy was more thoroughly put to rout here than before or since If there ever was
 an occasion that demanded pursuit pell-mell
 this was the time. The Federals were rushing
 back on Chattanooga in the utmost confusion.
 It was bright moonlight night and our peo- 1 pie were anxious to pursue. We might actu- l ally have entered Chattanooga with the flying Federals and thus recovered the key to Georgia
 and East Tennessee. General Bragg declined
 to follow up his advantage. The enemy ral- l lied, reformed, and Bragg was driven back to | Missionary Ridge. 1 had talk with Mr. Davis shortly after Chckamauga. told him
 that there was no hope for the triumph of our
 arms. He was very much discouraged and l finally grew petulant. He said he never re-
 membered having seen such movement as proposed at Chickamauga l replled that if
 his memory would carry him as far back sas | the first Manassas he would see such a move l ment. He replied very tartly and we had some sharp words. These were arranged, l however, and we parted on good terms" 1 In regard to the Confederate leaders Gener- al Longstreet said II am inclined to think l that General Joe Johnston was the ablest and I most accomplished man that the Confederate | armies produced He never had the oppor- | tunlty accorded to many others, but he show cd wonderful power as a tactician and com l mander. do not think that we had his equal l for handling an army and conducting a cam palgn. General Lee was a great leader l wise, deep and sagacious. His moral influence l was something wonderful. But he lost his praise on certain occasions. No one who IS acquainted with the facts can believe that he would have fought the battle of Gettysburg l had he not been under great excitement, or that he would have ordered the sacrifice of Pickett and his Virginians on the day after l the battle He said to me afterwards. Why didn't you stop that thing that day?" At the l Wilderness when our lines had been driven in | and was just getting to the field General Lee l put himself at the head of my brigades, and | leading it into action my men pressed him l back, and l said to him that if he would leave | my commands in my own hands would re- form his lines. His great soul rose masterful Within him when crisis or disaster threaten l ed. This tended to disturb hls admirable l equipoise. I loved General Lee as brother while he lived and revere his memory. He l, was great man, born leader 8 wise gener- t..al i; but l think Johnston was the most accom- r pllshed and capable commander that we had" As to the Union leaders General Longstreet said exactly what any one knowing his history since the war would have expected him to say: Grant was incomparably the greatest He possessed an individuality that impressed itself upon all that he did. Mcclellan was a skillful engineer, but never rose above the average conclusions of his council Sherman never fought @ great battle and displayed no extraordinary power. But Grant was great He understood the terrible power of .eoncen- tration and persistency. How stubbornly he stuck to Vicksburg and to Richmond! He concentrated all his strength trained his ener- gies to single purpose, and then delivered
 terrible dge-hammer blows against which strategy and tactics and valor could avail notI-
 ing. He knew that majorities properly
 hand led must triumph in war as in politics, and he always gathered his resources together before strik ing"
 In regard to the Appomattox surrender he
 said: -,f 4 3a
 For some time had felt that we were fighting against hope. l kept my lips closed and fought ahead in silence. For the week ! preceding the surrender l fought almost with out teasing. I was covering General Lees retreat, while Gordon ooened a way for him in the front. I had Fields division all that was left The Federals pressed upon us re-
 lentlessly and we fell back, fighting night and day, inch by inch, covering the slow retreat of our wagon trains. Our lines were never once broken or disordered. My men fought with the finest regularity and heroism. Wherever Il placed brigade there it would stand until I ordered 1t away: was among my men con- sstantly, so that knew the general situation. Early in the morning General Lee sent for me and | at once went to him. He was in deep concern. He stated to me that his retreat had been cut off and it was impossible for him to fP,Nf fhn 13v volo |. |