The Baltimore County union., 1883-11-24
JUDAH p. BENJAMIN ON THE RETREAT

JUDAHP. BENJAMIN ON THE RETREAT
Burton y. Harrison, OF the New York
bar, who was Jefferson Davis's private
secretary, describes in the November
Century the retreat from Richmond,
and "The Capture OF Jefferson Davis. "
Facts of historical interest and humorous
anecdotes abound in the paper. The
now famous Mr.. Benjamin good humor
during the retreat is described as follows: !:
"Wc moved southwark on, think, the
day following the council OF war held
with General Johnston, starting from
Greensboro in the afternoon. The
President, those of us who constituted
his immediate staff, and some members
of the cabinet, were mounted. Others
rode in ambulances, army wagons, or
such convcyances as could be got. Al.
most at the last minute was told must
provide an ambulance for Mr. Judah p.
Benjamin, Secretary OF State. His
figure was not we'll adapted for pro-
tracted riding, and he had firmly an.
nounccd that he should not mount a
horse until obliged to.
''By good fortune, was able To secure
an ambulance; but the horses were old
and broken down, of dirty gray color,
and with spots like hy.bites all over
them-and the harness was no, good. -
There was no choice, however, and in
to that ambulance 20, Mr. Benjamin,
General Samuel Cooper (Adju,an,
General, and ranking officer OF the
whole army Mr.. George Davis (of
North Carolina, Attorney. General, and
Mr.. Jules St. Martin, Benjamin S brother.
in-law.
"By the time they got off, the from,
of our column had been some time in
motion, and the President had ridden
down the road. Heavy rains had recent.
ly fallen, the earth was saturated with
water, the soil was sticky red clay.
the mud was awful, and the road. in
places, almost improcticablc. The
wheeled vehicles could move but slowly /;
and it was only by sometimes turning
into the fields and having ST. Martin
and the Attorney General get out to
help the horses with an occasional fence.
rail under the axles, that their party
got along at all--so difficult was the
road because OF the mud, and so formid-
able were the holes made during the
winter, and deepened by the artillery
and heavy wagons that day. was
near them from time TO time, and rem
dcrcd what assistance could. Dark
ness came on after awhile, and nearly
or quite everybody in the column pass
ed ahead Of that ambulance. Having
been kept lattcrly in the rear By some.
thing OBTAINING me, | observed, as |
rode forward, the tilted hind part OF an
ambulance stuck in the middle OF the
road, and recognized the voices inside,
as ! drew rein for one moment to
chucklc at their misforiuncs. The
horses were blowing like two rusty fog
horns; Benjamin scolding the driver
for not going on that functionary was
stoically insisting they could proceed
no wit further because the horses were
broken down; and General Cooper
faithful old gentleman he had been in
Richmond throughout the war, and had
| iiOb huOHu SiuNG ttlC spSHiiHOtS Wal
what it is to trough it") was grumblng
about the imprudence OF 4 subordinate
officer ('only brigadier-ge general, sir.
IL seems the offender had thrust himself
into the seat in another ambulance drawn
by good horses, that was intended for
the Adjutant General. Getting along
side, could see the front wheels were
over the hubs in hole; the hind legs
of the horses were in the same hole up
10 the hooks; and the feet of the driver
hung down almost into the mud. Mud
and water were deep all around them,
and their plight was pitiful indeed
They pluckcd up their spirits only when
! offered to get sombody to pull them
out. Riding forward, / found an ar
tillery camp, where some of the men
volunteered to go back with horses and
haul the ambulance up the hill; and,
returning to them again, could see
from altar the occasional bright glow OF
Benjamin's cheerful cigar. While the
Others of the party were perfectly silent,
Benjamin's silvery voice was presently
heard as he ryihmically intoned, for
their comfort, verse after verse of Tcnny.
sons ode on the death of Duke OF Wei.
lington The laureate would have en-.
joycd the situation could he have en-.
joyed the apprecia,ive rendering of his
noble poem-under the circumstances
Of that moment"