The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-07-08
General Joe Johnston.

Here are few anecdotes of General
Joe Johnston, illustrative of his pecu-
liar powers of observation and other
characteristics of mind which have not
appeared in print: After assuming
command of the Army of the Tennessee,
at Dalton, a grand review was or
dered, and General Johnston, superbly
mounted on magnificent thorough
bred bay, came sweeping down our
line, followed by the usual cavalcade of
general and staff officers. He would
halt moment in front of the colors of
each regiment, face to the line and
raise his cap with martial grace never
excelled. In passing our regiment his
quick eye caught the gallant bearing of
our boy colonel, John E.Murray, then
about twenty-one years of age, who
had been cadet at West Point for two
years, and was notably distinguished
for what the boys called "gallus sa-
Lutte" After the parade, General
Johnston sought our brigadier, Govan,
and inquired the name of the Young
colonel of the "grand martial salute,0
and after hearing of his proud achieve
ments as the boy hero of the brigade,
he invited him to his headquarters and
entertained him for week. The colo
mel used to sag that "he picked up
more solid chunks of wisdom that week
than he had ever done in his life be-
fore" The brilliant career of this
gallant boy closed with the campaign in
the last battle around Atlanta, where he
foremost fighting fell - with bullet
hole through his commission of briga-
dier-general in his breast pocket. Dur
ing this Georgia campaign Gen. Johns
ton would often inspect the hastily
constructed line of rihe-pits, and in rid
ing down the line at full speed he would
sometimes halt suddenly and beckon
an officer of his staff, and with few
rapid motions of his hand order an
angle reversed or the line advanced or
retired in conformity with the contour
of the ground in front; and on one of
these occasions the writer, who was
lounging on the ground with his COM
rades some thirty PAGES in the rear,
made wager that he could attract the
generals attention by salute. Upon
arising and facing toward the general
as he rushed by, looking in the opposite
direction, the rider modestly raised his
" coonskin." When the generals white
hat shot up in the air in graceful recog-
milton, the boys all remarked that the
" old man could see as well in the rear
as he could in front" In passing
through Jackson, Miss, to take COM
mand of the army, large crowd of cit
liens and furloughed soldiers insisted
on his presenting himself on the plat
form of the car and making them
speech. He said: " If all the able-bodied
men l see before me were in line at the
front there would be no occasion for a
retreat of the army" When he was
relieved of command at Atlanta his
soldiers literally shed tears of hopeless
sorrow, and when General Hoods plan
of swinging around to General Sher-
mans rear was fully retailed 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 converse
ton 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 unfor-
tunate general in this respect he had
ever known. "No, sir" said he, I" the
most fortunate; for it was only by the
mercy of God 1 was not killed upon
either occasion. st. Louis Republican.