The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1885-07-09
General Joe Johnston.

Here are few anecdotes of Gen. Joe
Johnston, illustrative of his peculiar
power of observation and other charac-
teristics of mind which have not ap-
peared in print.
After assuming command of the
army of the Tennessee, at Dalton, a
grand review was ordered, and Gen.
Johnston, superbly mounted on mag
nificent thoroughbred bay, came sweep
ing 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 pas
sing our regiment his quick eye caught
the gallant bearing of our boy colonel.
John Z. Murray, then about 81 years of
age, who had been cadet at West
Point for two years. and was notably
distinguished for what the boys called
''gallus salute. After the parade
Gen. Johnston sought out brigadier,
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
brigade, he invited him to his head
quarters and entertained him for q
''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 battle before
Atlanta. where he foremost fighting
| fell'' with u bullet-hole through his
commission of brigadier-general in his
! breast-pocket.
! During this Georgia campaign Gen.
! Johnston would often inspect the hast
| ily-constructed line of rifle-pits, and in
| riding down the line in full speed he
would sometimes halt suddenly and
beckon an officer of his staff. and with
q few rapid motions of his hand order
| an angle reversed or the line advanced
! or retired in conformity with the con-
| tour OF the ground il front; and on one
of these occasions the writer, who was
/ lounging on the ground with his COM
rad-s some thirty PAGES in the rear,
| made wager that ne could attract the
| generals attention by salute. Upon
| arising and facing toward the general
as he rushed by, looking in the oppo-
| site direction, the writer modestly
raised his .'coonskin." When the
| generals white hat shot up in the air
IN graceful recognition, the boys all re-
I
in the rear as he could In front"
In passing through Jackson, Miss, to
take command of the army, a large
crowd of citizens and furloughed soldiers
insisted on his presenting himself on
the platform of the car and making
them Il speech. He said: IF all the
able-bodied men see before me were
IN line at the front there would be nc
occasion for a retreat of the army"
When he was relieved of command
at Atlanta his soldiers literally sheC
tears of hopeless sorrow, and wher
Gen. Hoods plan of swinging around
to Gen. Sherman's rear was fully de
tailed to him by staff officer and hi
opinion asked as to the wisdom of the
plan, he replied with sadness in the pro
phetic words, Too brilliant"
In social conversation with his staff
one OF them asked him how many timei
he had been wounded, Eight times.
The staff remarked that he was thu
most unfortunate general in this re
spect ne had ever known.
mo. SIT" said he, 1.-The most fortu
nate; for it was only by the mercy o
God I was not killed on either occa
sion. st. LOUIS Repu6LfcGn.