Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-10-12
IDOLS OF THE sOUTH.

The difference in the manner in which
Gems. r. f. Lee and T. J. jackson were
regarded by the Confederate army of
Northern Virginia, says the National Re
publican, is one Of the curious features Of
the war. Both Generals were recognized
as men Of genius, Of piety, and Of kindli-
ness Of heart; both were courteous and
dignified in their intercourse with others.
although Jackson was very abrupt and
curt IN speech and action, and vet they
were looked upon and treated by
the troops in a direct contrary manner.
For Gen. Lee the men had an implicit
trust and reverent affection that never
faltered from the time he took command
OF the army until they crowded around
him in fearful silence to bid him a last
farewell on the hill near AppomattOx
Court House, where the battle flags were
unfurled for the last time before being
piled upon the surrendered stacks Of
arms. To tell the truth, he was half del
fed in the thoughts OF his troops, and
they never doubted the issue of a cam
paign under his leadership, not even in
the beginning of the campaign of 1865,
when defeat was pressing all other sec
tons OF the COnfederacy, and had not
''the bottom Of the bucket so suddenly
fallen Out' it is more than likely that a
dictatorship would have been thrust upon
him as last resort to beat back the over
Whelming numbers Of the Federals.
Gen. Lee was a fine figure when
mounted on his iron-gray horse Traveller,
and even when on a hot and dusty march
looked always neat. His dress then was
simple gray sack coat, with the star of
General Cd the rundown collar, dark
SLOUGH hat lOOped up on the left side, gray
pants, and long riding boots. never saw
him with either sword or pistol buckled
oil hoe 10 h.
marching ranks, at the head of his staff,
ne always had his hat pulled down over
his brow, with his chin lifted as if gazing
lntently into the distance. He was al
ways cOnsideTate for the health and COM
fort OF his men. One Of the most pro-
Yoking things to a regiment of infantry
on not, dusty, and wearisOme march
was for some mounted officer Or man to
come dashlng along kickingu up more dust,
or attempting 70 make way along the
road, which the infantry always claimed,
as their right of way. Some Generals |
and their staff INDUCED in this /
practice, but Gen. Lee never He 1
was currently reported and believed that |
when the army was in straits for rations /
he utterly refused TO make use Of the del
fcacies which the farmers were eager to /
send TO his headquarters, but ordered /
them 70 be turned over to the field hospi- I
SICK and wounded, and many a Door fell |
Low was revived by his cheering words
and sympathy. All these things, and
others that might be enumerated, en-
deared him to his troops. On the march
the Generals presence among the col
umns was scarcely noticed, except that
the tired limbs were braced up and the
spirits raised for further effort; but when
he passed along the roads leading among
the bivouacs and camps, the men invaria-
bly, crowded to the roadside and greeted
him with a reverent silence that was more
eloquent, perhaps, than the widest cheer
ing. He no doubt was pleased and en-
couraged at this silent homage, yet he al
ways responded by gTayely lifting his hat
without a change OF cOuntenance. The
writer never TecOllects to have seen Gen.
Lees face otherwise than serious and pre-
Occup'
Two examples may be given to show
the estimation in which Gen. Lee was
held and to illustrate the belief that the
success of the cause was absolutely de-
pendent on him. At the battle Of Antie-
tam, late in the afternoon, Gen. Burnside
forced a passage of the bridge and as
sailed fiercely the thin Confederate line
on the ridge. This was before A. =. HIPS
division had come up from Harper's |
Ferry. Finally. the HOlcOmbe legion of
South CaTOlinians, after fighting brayely,
gave way in confusion, leaving a danger
Gus gap in the lines, and the day seemed
about lost on the right. At this critical /
juucture Gen. Lee rode up to them, and,
seizing their flag, shouted: 'Whatl my /
men, are you going desert your country |
in its hour of peril! Come on; your Gen /
eTal will lead your The legion rallied /
Immediately and reformed the line, but |
refused to charge until Gen. Lee had re- /
tired. He consented, and they gamely |
plunged into the fight and held their own |
until A. P. Hill came up.
Again, at SpOttsylvania Court House, |
when HancOck's men had swept over the |
salient, capturing the entire division and 1
guns Of Gen. Edward OhnsOn, and threat |
ening to break the Confederate Army in |
two, and when the battle seemed lost to /
the COnfederates, Gen. Lee, who never /
llesitated to expose himself at the point Of !
danger, dashed up to Gen. ]. B. GordOn's |
division aud announced his intention to /
lead them personally to the rescue. When |
b placed himself in front instantly cries |
arose from the ranks, "Lee to the rearP' |
"Lee to the rearP' Gen. Gordon seized |
the bride rein of Gen. Lee, and assuring |
him that the division would not bulge if /
he did not retire, Lee reluctantly rode |
back. wheTeupOn the division swept for |
ward in gallant style and re-established |
the broken lines.
venture to assert that no such regard |
would have been shown for the safety OF |
any other Confederate commander, |
whether johnson OF Beauregard, or even |
Jackson himself. IL this deep veneTatiOn !
was not inspired by elevation of character |
and by what is indefinitely styled ''per- |
sOnal magnetism" then l am at loss to |
account for the fact in the case.
And now as to Gen. Jackson. Before |
the war he had been plOGding professor
at the Virginia Military Institute, and had
been noted for nothing except close atten- |
ton to mis- professional duties, strict OBJ
Servance of his religious tenetS, and a |
general dittidenCe and awkWardness of |
manner that amounted to accertricity,
and which made him at times the butt of
the lively cadets. The firm stand of his
brigade at Manassas brought HIM respect
in the army, and gave to him the historic
sObriquet "StOneW2ll." The campaign in
the valley recalled the tactics of Bona
parte in the Italian quadrilateral, and
jackson lost nothing by the comparison.
From that time onward he was the idol
Of the army. For faculty Of combination,
for power Of concentration, for rapidity Of
calculation, for fierceness of execution,
Gen. jackson IN his valley campaign had
shown himself to be head and
shoulders above any subordinate CON-
mander of the Confederate armies, East
OF West. His name was in every mouth,
and nothing but praises went with 1t.
The masses of his cOuntrymen engaged in
battling for a cause they deemed to be
sacred found something in the character
of the man that suited their temperament
in their time of labor, and this was apart
from the services he had recently rendered.
1t was his retiring mOdesty, his utter care
lessness of pOmp and show, and his sim
pie trust in God, and if ever a man be.
lieved in the righteousness Of his cause,
and that the Giver of victories smiled
upon il, that man was Thomas Jonathan
Jackson. 1t may be said here that up to
this period Jackson was never understood.
When he made the celebrated forced
march to ROmney, Va, in the winter of
1852, there was a howl all along the line
for his removal as a fanatical incompe-
tent, but Gov. Letcher knew his man, and
refused to revoke his commission. Again.
before the war, IN 1860, he had gathered