The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-05-30
GENERAL JOE JOHNSTON.
Correspondence St. Louis Repuslican.

Correspondence St. Louis Republican,
 Here arc few anecdotes of Gen. Toe Johnston, illustrative of his peculiar pow. CTS of observation and other character. istics of mind which have not appeared in print:
 Alter assuming command of the army ofthe Tennessee, at Dalton, 6 grand re- view was ordered, and Gen. Johnston. superbly mounted on a magnificent thoroughbred bay, came sweeping down our line, followed by the usual cavslcade oi general and staE officers. He would halt moment in front of the coIors of each regiment, face to the line and raise his cap with martial grace never excelied. In passing our regiment his quick eve caught the gallant bearing of our boy colonel. John E. Murray, then about zI years of age, who had been a cadet at West Point for two years, and was nota- ply distinguished for what the boys called "gallus salute." After the pa- rade Gen. Johnston sought our briea- dier, Govan, and inquired the name of his young colonel of the grand martial salute; and after hearing of his proud achievements as the boy hero of the brig ade, he invited him to his headquarters and entertained him for a week. The colonel used to say that "he picked up more solid chunks of wisdom that week than he had ever done in his life before.' , The brilliant career of this gallant boy closed with the campaign in the last bat tie before Atlanta, where he foremost fighting fell with bullet-hole through his commission of brigadier-general in his breast-pocket.
 During this Georgia campaign Gen. Johnston would often inspect the hastily constructed line of frAe-pits, and in rid ing down the line at full speed he would some times halt suddenly and beckon an officer of his staff, and with a few rapid motions of his hand order an angle re- versed or the line advanced or retired in conformity with the contour of the ground in front; and on one of these oc- casions the writer, who was lounging on the ground with his comrades some thirty paces in the rear, made a wager that he could attract the generals atten- ton by salute. Upon arising and facing toward the general as he rushed by, look. ing in the opposite direction, the writer modestly raised his " coonskin." When the generals white hat shot up in the air in graceful recognition, the boys all re- marked the old man could see as we'll in the rear as he could in front"
 In passing through Jackson, Miss, to take command of the army, large crowd of citizens and furloughed soldiers in- sisted on his presenting himself on the platform of the car and making them a speech. He said: "If all the able. bodied men see before me were in line at the front there would be no occasion for retreat of the army"
 When he was relieved of command at Atlanta his soldiers literally shed tears of hopeless sorrow, and when Gen. Hoods plan of swinging around to Gen. Sherman's rear was fully detailed to him by staff officer and his opinion asked as to the wisdom of the plan, he replied with sadness in the prophetic words, "Too brilliant"
 In social conversation with his staff, one of them asked him how many times he had been wounded, "Eight times" The staff remarked that he was the most unfortunate general in this respect he had ever known.
 "No, sir" said he, "the most fortu- nate; for it was only by the mercy of God l was not killed on either occasion"