Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-06-02
GEN. LONGsTREET.
A walk and Talk With the Noted Ex-
Confederate.


John II. BeddIe, IN Rockville Tribune.
l spent good part of yesterday with
Gen. Longstreet, who lives in fine resi-
dence nearly two miles north Of Gaines
vile, Ga. He is delightful companion
and easy talker, and | enjoyed the day
very much, though L was greatly aston
ished at some of his opinions. He walked
over his farm, on which he is making n
large vineyard, part of 1t already in bear.
ing. He is enthusiastic about the ca
pacity OF this country for grapes, in which
agree with him. If the upper valleys
of the Etowah and Chattahoochec are not
the finest grape region in America. ma
ture has told a lie, for she has out all the
signs here. Gen. Longstreet said one
man had produced 1000 bushels per acre :
But this seems TO me incredible. And
yet there are not dozen vineyards in all
The nine counties.
The seasons here run thus: Mild win
Ter, wet spring, rather dry summer and
long dry autumn. 1t is plain, therefore.
chat it is not good corn country, and
where the soil suits is good grape
country. There is an old Bavarian Ger
man somewhere in this county who has
produced a good crop annually for thirteen
years. Yet his shiftless neighbors have
not planted a vine. ScuppernOng and
catRwba succeed the best. And bv the
zine he had given me this information
we reached his Gold Spring, as he calls it,
on a hillside, whore we We're out of the
cold wind; 80 we sat down and talked
some two hours about the war.
IL never doubted the final success of
the COniederates till after ChIckamauga.'
said he; cater that | knew we were
beaten just as well as | knew it after Ap-
pomatt0X. 1t WAS simply question OF
figures like a man in gallOping cOnsump-
ton; every ounce he loses is lost forever
no machinery in him to restore it. But
YOU Western bows are all wrong about
YOUR armies. The hest army vou had
was the army of the Potomac"
Considerably ast0nishod at this asked
why it was 81 Often defeated.
because it always fought at the great
est disadvantage, was badly generated.
and was opposed to orr best just see
how quick 1t came on top as soon as it met
us with equal advantages"
He then traced on the ground the plans
of the various battles in Virginia, and
showed that the Confederate advantages
balanced proportion Of three to one in
the two armies and rendered their victory
certain. Where the Federals had any adj
vantage whatever he knew in advance
that defeat was certain; at Gettysburg,
for instance, which he considered the
greatest blunder of the Confederates.
After that" he added, 81 went TO
Cbickamauga, with the assurance of our
government that if we whipped Rosecrans
we should have all the available forces to
drive him back 10 the Ohio or destroy his
army. The Richmond folks refused to
nd l.
there and waited till the Federals got
strong enough to drive lis away. Then |
knew that the end was near. Such a
chance could never come again."
did not venture to ask him why be
fought on year and half after he knew
the sacrifice was useless; but | wanted to
mighty bad.
Gen. LOngstreet has been in thirty-two
pitched battles, known and noted in his
tory, besides many skirmshes. He
graduated from West Point early enough
TO be a Lieutenant in Texas in 1874, and
then Adjutant of the Eighth United
States Infantry, in which position he took
part in every battle in Mexico except
Buena Vista. At MOlIB0 del Key his
regiment had 1865 killed and wounded: at
Chapultepec he was wounded in the
thigh, but was able TO join in the closing
battle and entrance into the city. At the
W luci ness ne WIS SuOJ through the
right breast and shoulder, which wound
has lately deprived him almost entirely of
the use of his right arm. Otherwise he is
IN fine health and remarkably we'll pre-
served for man up in 60. He laughed
with b0yish glee at the bombastic histo-
rles Of the first battlesin Mexico. At
PalO Alto, for instance. said he, the total
American loss in killed, wounded and
scared half to death was less than 30.
We all remember how, the fl 81 two or
three years OF the war, all the talk in the
North was The Union Generals did moth
Ing right, while the Confederates managed
with wonderful ability. Itis amusing now
10 hear that the same sort of talk was
even more common on this side Of the
line; The General SAYS the COnfederacV
was lost by three great blunders-bund-
ers that every cadet at West Point is
Taught to avoid in his first lessons The
nrst was the loss of Fort DonplsOn, which
could have been saved and Grant COM
Pietely broken up in thirty hours by an
advance from Bowling Green. The see
ono was at Gettysburg. the third was the
lalure to reinforce and follow up the vie
tory OF Cnickamauga. After that neither
bravery nor strategy could save the Con-
tderacy. 1t was gone case.