The Hazlehurst signal., 1885-05-28
sToSRwALL JACKSON.
How His Men Were TO Know Each Other
a. at NiRht.

How His Men Were TO Know Each othe'
a. Mt Night.
On the night of the battle Of
Fredericksburg, when Burnside
was trying to get his army buck
to the Stafford side Of the river
over the one pontoon bridge that
was left, Lee called n council OF
war. jackson had been holding
ia position some three miles down
the river from Mpryo's heighrs,
where the Aercest fighting a6
taken place, but had moved ihil
command up late Ia The aftarn6on,
The night WIS {6arfpll dull and
u drizzlins f1.in had Set ID; aS|E:
son came into the council, saihthd
the officers present and, tookt,a q
seat off in q corner. General LSt
stated the purpose for which tht
council had been called, and ask.
cd one of the senior officers his
opinion, and then another, and
another, until all had spoken saw
Stonewall. Lee then turned aiid
asked his opinion, but received nc
response. All turned TO henl
what he would say, and thcro en-,
Jackson, bolt upright in his char
fast asleep. "Why, bless me-
said Lee, "the old fellow !,
asleep" and going TO him b,
shook his arm and called III
name, which awakened hilh'
"Gencral Jackson will you giv>
us your opinion rs to what shOuid
be done?"
"Gentlemen," he said, ] am
sorry that i have not heard all
that has been said but my plan
is, if the council will agree to it,
to 90 to my corps and march il
into Fredericksburg ut once. The
enemy has met with u severe re-
verse, and is in all probability
dcmoralized. They have only
one bridge over which to escape,
One corps is sufficient to do this
work, to destroy what remains of
that army on this side of the riv-
cr, and that being done the cam.
paign is over" .
"But, General" said Lee,
"consider the fact those men have
only the one bridge over which to
escape, they will fight desperate.
ly."
"What if they do. My corps
is used to desperate fighting. But
the very fact they have only one
avenue of escape, in their demor-
allied condition, will cause them
o make every effort to use the
bridge. They will not fight SO
desperate as you think ~
"But consider the darkness of
the night. Your men will not be
able to distinguish their own COM
radcs."
81 have thought Of all of that.
| will make my .mcn pull their
shirt tails out and march in they
will know one another them"
General Lee walked back and
forth tor some time, deeply en-
gagged in thought. Finally lie
said: General jackson, ! cannot
agree to your proposition; the
slaughter would he horrible, and
my conscience cannot approve OF
it."
"My conscience approves of it
thoroughly" said jackson. "War
is war; the slaughter to-day has
been horrible, and would have
been worse had the enemy gained
those heights. The enemy is in
u trap, and we should take the ad-
vantage of it. If the tables were
turned they would march in or
US. ,eSgs 3. i,
"And at this very time, ,,'said
n Union officer to me last April,
"we were getting out Of that
place as. fast rs men could be got
over one bridge. Nc were look
ing every minute for the Confed-
crate troops to rush in upon US,
and if they'd done 80 wo would
have been utterly ruined. Pope's
army, when Jackson got behind
him, was at o picnic compared
with our situation that night. y
And when ! told him of Jackson:
plans for enabling his troops t.
know their comrades, he said:
"Fabius Maximus is the only
other man who ever lived wht
would have thought Of such +,
thing, and his soldiers did no
have the materials" "-Couriel
Journal. ll ,@a 1i' 1a.
| slUfgu rAHS