The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-03-25
SOUTHERN HISTORY.

years of the war, would have been thought
treason ITSELF when it is fashionable to de-
cry the merits of those who upheld the ma
TONS honor it may interest some of the boys
the boys who wore the blue-and some of the
mothers who gave their boys goodbye and
saw them no more, and some of the wives
who were deprived of the strong arm of low
ing husband forever, and some of the fathers,
grown gray with weary watching, to look back
twenty years ago and read little of the his
tory of those days written by Southern
man, who eft through the wah, sah"
In these days, when Fitz John Porter is
glorifed, and criticism on the true heroes of
the war is sharper than two-edged sword, it
may be well to read these extracts and get
new material. They are taken from the life
of StOnewall Jackson" written by Virgin
ian, who, in his preface says: "All I claim
for the narrative is truth" The book was pub
lshed in 1866, and is in general circulation.
As historical romance it is so bad that it is
good, and it certainly is amusing:
Turning to description of Front Royal, on
page 81, the writer says:
eve first drove the enemy from Front
Royal, defeating and capturing about six
hundred prisoners" ''In three
days we have captured about 800 prisoners.
This does not include the negro women our
men bring in with them. BY the way, while
here, three of the Yankees married negro
Wenches
'There never was a more successful and
more decided and overwhelming victory"
"Banks was with the main body of
his army at Strasburg when we took Front
Royal, and, alarmed by our guns they aban-
doned their works, which were quite extensive
at that point, and fell back toward Winches-
ter; but, before they had gotten half way, old
Stonewall was upon them, and their retreat
became rout. From Middletown to Win
chester and from thence to Martinsburg the
rush of the retreating wretches is represented
to have been more ridiculously terrible than
at Manassas.
cold Banks behaved in a most cruel and
cowardly manner on his retreat. He was ac-
companied by crowd of negroes, whom he
was running off to Yankee land, and he pre-
ferred to leave his own wounded in our hands
than to allow the negro women and children
TO be turned out of the wagons and have them
used for the transportation of the sick and
suffering white soldiers of his own army
cat the first salvo of artillery he put spurs
to his horse and distanced all competitors in
the race from the field. At Middletown he
stopped for drink of water, and was blubber-
ing like baby because reinforcements had
not been sent him.
'To give an idea of the decentralization of the
Yankees on their way from Stlasburg l will
only mention one fact: In the ardor of pursuit
Ashby had separated himself from his men,
and had gotten abreast of the Yankee column
of cavalry, which was rushing down the turn
pike. Alone he charged five hundred of
them, dashed through their line, firing his
pistol right and left he did so; then wheel
ing about, he again charged through them,
and summoned them to surrender. All who
heard his voice at once obeyed, threw down
their arms, dismounted and at the word
squatted as meekly so many mice upon the
ground until some of our men came up and
took charge of them. In one instance, he
took thirty in this way. When our men
would charge the federal cavalry, they would
tumble off their horses roll over scream and
scramble to the roadside in the most amusing
manner"
This is not bad for an author who says that
''all he claims for the narrative is truth"
Here is a description of the Northern sol
diers in General Pope's army, found on page
l42:
''Of the rank and file knew but little
Some companies seemed to be of decent ag-
ricultural or mechanical complexion; but by
far the greater part were the most unsavory-
looking wretches | ever beheld. The Irish
were the next best; then came the genuine
Dutch, about as clearly and intellectual as the
overgrown sows of der Vaterland.
Next came the selected assassins and
thieves, who were probably received upon GER
tifcates of their actual convictions and service
in the penitentiaries AT last, and worst of
all, the Puritans and psalm singers of pious
New England-their care to look after the lit
tie niggers' morals, and to attend to the gen
e1al business of the underground railroad"
The writer complains bitterly of the passing
of philadelphia confederate notes. by the
Union ldiers, and concludes with
"Such were the outrages practiced on the
unarmed inhabitants of Culpeper by this band
of bigands-this motley crew of jail birds,
malefactors released convicts and Dutch
Yankee vermin, from the cellars and rocker
les of Europe and the North"
Here is description of the Union dead. in
an account of the battle of Manassas, Aug 30,
1862;
"In August of 1862 as in July of 1861 the
writer Of these lines saw as he followed the
retreating horde, the rubbish of knapsacks,
oilcloths, swords, guns, bayonets artillery,
broken-down vehicles, and-worse rubbish
still-dirty federal stragglers in blue coats,
with coarse, low proved faces, full of deceit
and vulgarity-that vulgarity Of the soul