Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-09-01

mess table was the never failing bottled
hospitality in the shape OF plantation
bitters or bourbon cocktails; under the
table a demijohn Of old rye or Xxx
cognac; within arm s length
mess chest rich with notifying
stores of English cheese, lemons,
crackers and condiments, while
a miniature vault below the floor of the
tent had only to be tapped to disclose
mine of madeira, sherry and champagne.
Such were the early experiences of
thousands of Southern soldiers. The
hardships were insignificant, the dis
cipline was not severe, and the fTaterni-
cation between the officers and men made
their then life one long holiday. With
the closing of the blockade, however, the
departure of the troops from their re-
spective states and the driving of the
tent pins in the soil of Virginia, luXuries
took their place among the things to be
remembered, and the army began to ex-
perience some of the vIcissitudes of real
war.
At The outset of the war it vas the
opinion of Gen Lee that the struggle
was to be decided by artillery. Other
leading men, however, dissented from
this view and believed that the Southern
volunteers would seek the closest quar-
tiers, using the bowie knife and bayonet.
That it was a popular notion Is illus
trated by the story OF a lot of mountain
bows in Virginia who went TO Harper S
Ferry without arms or ammunition.
When asked why they presented them
selves in that condition the reply was,
'RevOlyers is good enough for US, and
when they can't shoot we're mighty
good at throwing rocks.
Speaking of Harper's Ferry, 1t ap-
pears to have been the point first thought
of as the place where the movements on
the military chess board would begin,
and troops were accordingly hurried
thither as fast as railway trains could
carry them. The old town has under
gone great changes since that time, but
whoever was there with the Confederate
army in May, 1861, viii not forget the
scene. Ascend an eminence which rises
near the angle formed by the junction of
the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers,
and you may still enjoy the luxury of
being astonished at one of the most
magnificent pictures in the gallery
of American woodland beauty. On
every side is spread out the change
| less masonry of creation-felds swell
ing into hills, hills into noun
tains, and mountains mingling with the
| Alps and Andes of vapor that hang above
| their SUBMITS. High over the little
| town at your feet is the Potomac, drag
| ging its slow length along at the bese of
an almost perpendicular cliff almost a
! thousand feet high. 4 canal is just yis-
/ ible at its base, looking like a winding
| ribbon of brown. These are the famous
! Maryland heights that played their part
| in the strategy around Sharpsburg
| Though it would seem as if nothing but a
bird or an echo could live among the
! massive lodges, moss-bOund clefts and
dense forests that throw their shadows
| down, the Virginiaus had filled its hooks
| and craunies with artillery and its wood;
| with men.
|
The railroad by which We arrived al
Harper Ferry skirted for considerable
distance the borders of the Shenandoah
and from the time you touched the Dor
ders OF the town until you reached the
depot, you passed rows of government
workshops and the residences Of the op-
eratives and citizens. They were located
:. on a narrow strip of level land abOu
three hundred yards wide, which con