The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1885-04-30
THE sHERT.TAIL I'm VAR.
How stoIewan jackson Proposed to Mark
"a, Iais nan In o Night Attack. 1, rs


On the night of tho battle OF. Freder,
ickshurg, when Burnaide was trying te
get his army back to the Stafford eide oi
the river over the one pontonn bridge
that was left, Lee called q council, o!
war. Jackson had been holding n posi-,
tion some three miles down the river
from Marye's heights, where the fiercesi
fighting had taken place, but had moved
bis command up closer late In the AFTER
noon. The night was fearfully dark. and
q drlzzling rain had set In. jackson
came into the council, anlutad the officers
present aud took seat Off In; a corner
General Lee stated the purpose for which
the council had been: called, :snd asked
one of the senior officers for his opinion
and then. another, aud another, until ali
had spoken save Etonewall, Lee then
turned and aeked his opinion, but receiv.
ed no response. All turned to hear what
he would cay, aud there sat Jackeon, bolt
upright in his chair, fast asleep. "Why,
bless me,a said Lee, "the old fellow is
asleep" and going to him ha shook his
e!m and called his name, which awaken.
ed him. General jackson, will You
give US your opinion aa to whet should
Gentlemen" he said, II amBofry that
! have not heard all that has been eaid /:
but my plan is, II the council will agree
to 1t, to go back TO my corps and march
it into fredericksburg at once. The enc.
my hes met with eeyere reyerse. and ia
in all probability .demoralized. They
escape. One corps Is sufficient to do
this work, TO destroy. what remains Of
thot army on this aide of the river, and
that being done the campaign will be
over" I..rLE,.,
"But, General" said Lee, Consider
the fact that those men have only the one
bridge, over which to escape; they will
fight desperately
What If they do7 My corps is accuB.
toned to desperate fighting. But the very
fact that they have only one avenue OF
escape, in their demoraliEed condition.
viii Iau5o thum 10 make every effort to
use the bridge. They will not fight SO
desperately as you think" ,ss J.
"But consider the darkness of the
night. Your men will not be. able to
distinguish their own comrades"
81 have thought of oil that. will
make my men pull their. shirt. tails out
and march in; they will know one au.
Other then" IN
General Lee walked back and forth for
eyme time, deeply engaged ia thought.
Finally he said General Jackson, 7
cannot egree to your proposition; the
slaughter would be horrible, and my CON.
SCIENCE cannot approve Of it, tt
My conscience approves of 1t thor
oughly," said Jackson. "War -is war
the slaughter. today has been horrible,
and would have been worae had the
enemy gained those heights. The enemy
is in trap, and weshould take advantage
Of IL. If the tables were turned they
would march In on Us" -
"And ut this very time," said Union
officer to me last April, We were getting
out Of that place as fast as men could be
got over one bridge. We we're looking
every. minute for che Confederate troops
70 rush in upon ns, and If they had done
40 we would have been utterly ruined
Pope's army, when Jackson got behind
him, wat at picnic compared to our
situation that night" And when told
him Of Jackson's plan for enabling his
troops to know their comrades, he said |:
'Fabius Maximus is the only other man
who ever lived who would have thought
Of such q thing, aud his soldiers didn't
have the materials '"-&. Louis Globe
Democrat.