The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1881-01-26
SAD HISTORY OF THE GONFEDER-
ATE GENERALS.
The Men who offered Up Their Lives
anu Property On the Altar Of r. cir
Country. Rnd How They Accepted the
ded by II.

Country. and How They Accepted the
Arbitrnment of the sword and Abi-
dcd by Ii.
| What strange, and in the main, what
a sad history is that of the generals who
led the confederate armies in the late
war. 1t isa story Of poverty and dcpri-
walton, lit up here and there by CLEAN
! of good luck-but Of poverty borne man
! fully, and of deprivation met with the
same courage that led these men to the
front Of their legions.
The fate of the "rebcl brigadier" at
the close of the war was enough to de-
press the most bouyant among them.
They had put everything on the turn of
the sword and had lost Property, bust
ness and all had been sacrificed in the
ardor of war, and they were left, in the
fierce light of fame, without any resource
expected to support certain dignity
and nothing to support it on. There was
no standing army into which they could
he retired with adequate salary. There
was no hope for them in the thousands
of lucrative offices that the republicans
distributed among the federal generals.
Their States were impoverished and were
unable to support civil establishments
that would furnish offices out of which
anything could be hoped for. OF course
the pdyatcs of the confederate army
were deserving of all sympathy; but it
seems to me that the generals had some
what harder times. At any rate | am
sure that there is no old soldier that fol-
lowed the stars and bars that will not
read with interest a kindly inquiry into
| the history of these old leaders and their
families. | believe the annexed will he
entirely accurate, certainly Y nearly 70.
hardly know where to begin, but
suppose we take the living Lees with
which to open the hurried review W. II.
f. Lee, the oldest son of Robert f. Lee
is living at present in Fairfax county,
on farm that belonged to the estate of
his aunt, Mrs. Fitzhugh. 1t is a fine
place; the General is an attentive and
| successful farmer, and he gets a comfort
| able living out of it. Gusts Lee, the
next son, succeeded his father as I'rcsi-
don't of Washington-Lee University and
lives in Lexington. He is Il bachelor,
and his two sisters live with him. He
has fine expectations, Judge Hughes hav-
ing decided that the Arlington estate,
now used as Il federal cemetery is his by
right of law. The case has been appealed
| but the Judgment will hardly be reversed
and the place will be appraised and
| payment made for it. Robert Lee lives
on the old Lee estate in Wcstmorcand
county, where he is moving along
smoothly, making enough to supply his
wants General Fit2hugh Lee has a farm
on the Potomac, that belonged to bis
aunt Mrs. Fitzhugh, and it is said is
showing considerable enterprise though
not amassing money. He has Il saw mill,
| think, in connection with his farm.
The House and the Senate have Il good
many of our generals. and | think with
the exception Of Generals Cockrcll and
Vance, all of them find their salary very
important. General Vance was living
very easily, and added to his fortune bv
his late marriage. Senator Cockrell,
who was a brave and dashing officer,
built up Il lucrative practice in st. Louis
before he came to the Senate, and is well
fixed. Besides these there are in the
Senate, Major-Gcncral Matt Ransom who
is struggling to clear his property of en-
cumbranccS that he was forced to put
upon it to make it productive Briga-
dicr-Gcncral John T. Morgan, of Ala |
bama, who depended upon his law prac-
licc, which was larger in vclme than in |
income; Lieutenant General Hampton,
oi South Carolina, who is a comparative |
ly poor man, though large land owner
Major General Butler, his colleague, who |
lost all in the war and has not recovered |
much Maior-Gcncral Maxcy, of Texas,
who by the way has an Independent in
come from his practice, and owns u beau
tilul home in Paris, Texas.
In House there are many brira-
dirr,, and a few heavier generals. Gen
craI Joe johnson leads in rank, though |
his service in the House has not been
brilliant He has a fine insurance bust
ness, and his wife, daughter of Judge |
Mclean, had considerable property. His
book has not paid him much, hear, be-
ing published under a poor contract.
Alabama has done well by her generals,
having in the House Major-Gencral
w. IT. Forney, who has little beyond his
salary, and Brigadier-General c. NJ.
Shcdlcy who is in about the same condi-
ton. Georgia has Brigadicr-G General Phil |
Cook, who has good law practice in
Americas, Ga, and who has had four |
terms in the House. Brigadicr-Gcncral |
nibrcll, of Tennessee, is comfortably |
fixed and is reelected to the House for |
his third term-and Atkins and White |
thornc, of the same State were generals
of State troops. Virginia has Brigadier-
General Bcalc, who is doing well outside
Of Congress, and General Eppa Hurton,.
who retirCs at the close of the present
Congress, perfectly able to take care of
himself. North Carolina has General
Robert Vance in the House. to balance |
General Xcb in the Senate. Louisiana |
has General Randall Gibson, who has
been elected to the next House, and to
the Senate also. He is rich man, hav-
ing had means of his own, and his wife,
having had some property. General
Chalmers is Representative of the fam us
oe-string district of Mississippi, and is
moderately well of. This finishes up the
list of "rebel" generals in the House and
Senate think, without omission.
There are number of confedc rat
generalsin the departments and in variou
service in Washington. First in the i'm
portance of his work is General Marcu,
j. Wright, who has charge of the Con-
federate records, and who was looking
towards literary connection when he
was offered this place that would have
brought him fame and money. Major
General c. w. Field, who fought to the
last day in the morning with Lee, is
door-keeper of the house having former
" had an insurance business that gave
him living, but not much more. Ma
jor-General l.. l.. Lamar, who was a
brave soldier, has some position about
tbo bouuo prohohIy hoino in tho doom |