The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1885-05-29
sTONEwALL JACKSON.
How His Men Were to Know
Each Other.
Lonisyille Conrier JournaI.

t1cn OIIheEs
Louisville Courier Journal.
On the night OF the battle of Fred.
ericksburg, when Burnside was try
ing to get his army back to the
Stafford side of the river over the
pontoon bridge that was left, Lee
called a council of war. Jackson
had been holding position some
three miles down the river from
Marye's heights where the fiercest
fighting bad taken place, but had
moved his command mp late IN the
afternoon. The night was fearful
ly dark aud "A drizzling rain had
set in. jackson came into the
council, saluted the officers pres
ent, and took a seat off in tue corn
er. General Lee stated the pur-
pose for which the council had
been called, and asked one of the
senior officers his opinion and then
another, and another, until all had
spoken but StOnewall. Lee then
turned and asked his opinion, but
received no response. All turned
to hear what he would say, and
there sat jackson, bolt upright in
his chair fast asleep. "Whtv bless,
me,n said Lee, "the old fellow is
asleep,' and going TO him he shook
his arm and called his name, which
awakened him. "Generat jackson
will you give us your opinion as to
what should be done Y,
"Gentlemcn," he said, ~ am sor-
ry that | have not heard all that
has been said but my plan is, 1t
the council will agree to it, TO 90 to
my corps and march them into Fred
ericksbnrg at once. The enemy
has met with severe reverse, and is
in all probability demorallzed,
They have only one bridge over
which to escape. One corps is suf-
ficlent to do this work, to destroy
what remains of that army on this
side of the river, aud that being
done the campaign is over.
"But. General" said Lee, "con-
slider the fact those men have only
the one bridge over which to eS-
cape they will fight desperately
"What if they do. My corps is
used TO desperate fighting. But
The very fact they have only one
avenue of escape, in their demord-
lized condition, will canse them to
make every effort to use the bridge.
They will not fight SO desperately
as YOU think"
"But consider the darkness of
the night. Your men will not be
able to distinguish their own COM
rades.'
81 have thought of all that. |
will make my men pull their shirt
tails out and march in; they will
know each other then"
General Lee walked back and
forth for some time, deeply engag-
ed in thought. Finally he said
"General JackOn, cannot agree
to your proposition the slaughter
would be horrible, and my con-
science cannot approve OF it,"
"My conscience approves of il
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 a
trap, aud we should take advantage
of il. Ii the tables were turned
they would march in on u.s.
"And at this very time,' said a
Union officer to me last April, "we
were getting out of that place as
fast as men could be got over one
bridge. We were looking every
minute for the Confederate troops
to rnsh in upon us, and if they'd
done so We would have been
utterly ruined. Pope's army,
when jackson got behind him, was
at u picnic compared to our situa-
ton that night" Aud when l told
him of JacksOn's plans for enabling
bis troops to know their comrades,
he said "Fabius Maximus is the
only other man who ever lived who
would have thought of such thing,
and his soldiers didn't have the