Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-08-31
RICH ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.
Southern Leaders who Have Risen
from Poverty to Wealth.
Fyoo the ye,o York Tribune.


F,o,o The ye,o York Tribune.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 2T.-Gen. Marcus
J. Wright. Chief OF the Confederate
Records Office, is preparing biograph-
zeal work in which the fortunes of the ex-
Confederate Generals will be traced up TO
date. According to the information col
lected by him, large number OF the
Southern leaders, who found themselves
penniess after the war, have carved out
new fortunes for themselves, some OF
them even ranking among the million
aires. Gen. Malone, OF Virginia, is the
richest OF them After the surrender at
Appomattox he owned horse, some war
trappings, and his box Of surveying
instruments which he had before the war
used as a civil engineer. In less than
week after the last gun had been
fired he was employed by the Orange
and Alexandria railroad at civil engl-
neering. He bought stock with the saw
ings from his salary, sold it opportunity,
invested in other Virginia railroads, and
in few years retired from engineering TO
take the position of Vice President OF the
Danville road. From that position he
| graduated to the Presidency OF the Nor
folk and Tennessee road. After ten years
had passed he was the railroad prince of
| Virginia. His fortune is estimated at
SIS, zoo, 900, and he is adding to it daily by
shrewd Investments. Senator Malone Is
one of the few men who have never lost
in any enterprise undertaken. Whatever
he touches seems to turn to gold.
The two Senators from Louisiana, Glib
son and Eustis, rank next to Malone in
wealth. Gibson was Confederate Gen
eral and served throughout the war. AT
its close he had several hundred acres OF
land that had not been TILED for four years,
and he also had musty law office in New
Orleans, which he had not entered since
his brigade was ordered to the field With
borrowed money be undertook planting.
and at the same time began once more the
practice OF mis- profession. Now,
after lapse OF twenty years,
| he ranks among the wealthiest
planters in Louisiana, Is at the head OF
| the bar in New Orleans, and Is worth con-
| siderably more than halt million dollars.
This will be increased eventually to
million or more, as his wife Will come
into fortune at the death OF her mother,
Mrs. Montgomery. His colleague, Eustis,
after fighting under Johnston till the
close of the war, turned his attention to
law and sugar, and between the two has
eked out several hundred thousand dol
| lars. He is regarded as the shrewdest
man in the New Orleans Sugar Exchange.
| Nearly as wealthy is Gen. Brown,
of Tennessee, twice Governor of that
| State since the war and now receiver of
the Texas Pacinc railroad. Gen. Brown,
! like 80 many of his associates, took to
civil engineering and railroads when he
laid down his arms. After constructing
several small roads in Tennessee, he en-
| tered the service of the Texas Pacific at
a salary Of $40 900 a year, and has his
| headquarters at Dallas. AS a result Of
his railroad ventures ne is worth very
nearly million. After the surrender he
was as penniless as Gen. Malone, but
| like Malone, he did not lie back and com
pam. His first surveying sob" brought
HIM SIS a week, but in a year thereafter
he was receiving $1,000 salary as Presi-
| dent of the Nashville road. Gen. Rosser,
OF the Northern Virginia Cavalry, VINO is
| now living in retirement at CharlOttes-
vile, has an estate valued at $1,000 He
made 1t all since the war and at railroad
ing After surveying for several years in
tn eW estern States be became connected
with the Northern Pacific railroad and
| was elected It's vice president eight years
ago. His estate is almost adjoining the
old homestead OF Thomas jefferson, at
| Monticello, and is generally conceded to
be the finest in Virginia, He has hobby
which is laughed at throughout the State.
While In California he took much inter-
est in the grape culture there, so when he
settled at Charlottesville, a few years
since, he planted quite an extensive vine
yard and WAS always Boosting OF his
knowledge of the vine. 1t turned out
that his knowledge was incomplete. The
| vines grew not, neither did they bear
| fruit-eXcept the fruit of expense; still
the old General rides his hobby and is de-
termined to make California vines grow
in Virginia. He has lost many thousands
OF dollars in his vine venture, yet he can
not be said TO be poor with $TO0,0O0,
Gen. PoliSnac. who served in the West
ern Tennessee army, is worth not far
from a million. He is the French soldier
! who came to this country at the outbreak
of the war and offered his sword to the
Confederate cause. Though he did not
gain any special distinction in the field,
he fought bravely till 1865. Finding that
soldering did not pay he thereafter de-
voted his attention to civil engineering,
and soon attained distinction in the pro-
fessior. Several times he was sent by the
French government on surveying eXpedi-
tons into Africa and proved that his daring
was equal to his skill. He received sew
eral decorations from the government,
and what was better still, some large
government contracts, out OF which he
extracted a snug fortune. He is still en-
ployed in government work, and, it is said,
contemplates trip TO this country to see
once more his old companions in arms.
Gen. Trimble, who lives in Baltimore,
found fortune III liquor after the war.
The whisky which bears his name found
it's way into popularity at once, and has
so far yielded the General more than halt
a million. He owns extensive distilleries
near Baltimore, and, although very old,
he still superintends their operations.
Gen. Wheeler, OF Alabama, now Con-
gresham from the Eighth district. after
gaining a reputation of being the most
daring cavalry leader in the South after
j. K. b. Stuart, stepped from the saddle
into the cotton field, and from poverty
has risen TO be the wealthlest man in TIE
state. His estate is valued at nearly a
million.
Gen. Gordon, Of Georgia, has made a
fortune since the war, but lost IL recently
through iDjudcious speculatlons. Gen.
Johnston, United States Railroad Com
missioner, has snug fortune, and a few
other ex-Coniederato Generals are worth
a hundred thousand or mOre-all made
after laying down their arms.