The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1889-05-09

fought the Drllisn I'VE W o'ie anu so'
whipped. Guilford Court House the
lecturer styled:a quarter race. lle said
when you came to think of it there was
mighty little killing. With three mil,
lions OF population the Continentals
never had an army of20 900 men. With
five millions of whites the Coniederacy
had a quarter Of million killed. \
skirmish in the Shenandoah Valley fur.
nished more graves than the whole
Revolutionary war No wonder the
Coutinentals gained the victory with such
luck
The Continentas had three great ma
tions, France, Spain and Holland, assist
ing them. The Confederacy had the
whole world frowning upon it.
The lecturer then proceeded at consid-
erable length to attempt to show that it
was only by luck that The Continentals
were yictorious-th hut for Burgoyne's
blunders aud the death of Give the
Revolution would have been put down.
If Give had lived, he said, the Revclu-
ton would have been crushed within
sixty days.
He ridiculed the Continentals during
their flight in North Carolina and Vir.
ginia, saying that the Continentals would
have been overtaken and routed alter
crossing the Catawba, but that the river
rose during the night that the same
thing saved them after they had crossed
the Yadin, and again after they had
passed the Dan. He drew somewhat
ridiculous picture of the condition OF
affairs in Virginia when CORVALLIS
reached sherc, and claimed had he remain
ed at Portsmouth lie could.s never have
been taken; also, that it was an accident
that he stopped at Yorktown.
Further, the lecturer claimed that it
was only by reason of a storm that Count
de Grasses French fleet was driven into
Chesapeake Bay, and that the same storm
which drove him there drove away the
British fleet coming to join CORVALLIS.
Then, again, that only the occurrence of
another storm prevented CornwaiiIs's
army from escapiug.across York river in
boats, and tnat the surrender which
ended the war was entirely the resul: OF
chapter Of accidents Or luck.
Calling the attention of his hearers 10
the Confederacy, the lecturer related that
Montgomery Blair, Postmaster General
under Lincoln, had told him a remarka-
BILE fact about the battle of Shiloh or
Pittsburg Landing Describing the
positions of The opposing forces, Mr..
Blair had said that over one half the
Federal troops had been driven back to
the river completely demoralized, and
That he WAS satisfied that if Gen. Albert
Sidney Johnston had lived thirty min
utes longer, the Federal army would
have surrendered. Gen. Blair, his own
brother, had said so. It was spent ball
which killed the champion ofthe South.
What luck or llluck came from an ounce
oflead
Take the fall of Stonewal Jackson.
He had just matured plan to get be-
tween Hooker and the Rappahannock.
AZ he was between the lines one evening
q bullet struck down the great warrior,
from whose gun, or from which side
never has been known. If Jackson had
put his army between Hooker and the
river one army or the other would have
had to surrender IfHooker had reached
that river it would have been over a
causeway of the corpses of every inan in
Stonewall Jackson Is command
General Lee on one occasion had been
waiting certain move of Grant ln the
movements around Richmond-that was
the division of his forces and the putting
ofa part OF his army the other side Of
Petersburg. The Federal troops we're
to go across pontoon land in the
distractions Of piles, etc, above an
opening had been left by the Corfeder-
ates. Iron.plated steamers had been
kept in readiness for just such an expe.
dition and when he learned that Grant
had actually moved portion Of his
troops Lee had the steamers made ready
to 90 down and destroy the bridge, thus
cutting communication between the two
parts of the Federal army, and he intend.
edit attack Grant on the Richmond
side. Tie pilot of the first steamer,
whethera traitor, or through accident,
iutead OF steering straight through the
opening in the piles, ran his boat upon
them, thus closing up the only gate of
egress and running the proposed expedi'
ton. What piece Of luck! Lee would
certainly have crushed Grants army but
for it.
In that campaign, in which Lee WAS
wiling to 50 down to The centuries and
10 be Judged by the military critics fall
time, from Spo.tsylyaniato Cold Ilarbor,
Lee Knocked down more men in the
Federal army than he had in his whole
army when he started.
At Cold Harbor the slaughter of the
redcrals WAS such the soldiers refused
to charge again. ~ dispatch was sent
to Seward. "The fight is out ofthe army
Of tic Potomac" Seward then begun 10
get ready 10 arrange an armistice, and
summoned to him Swinton the historian
lie showed To him the dispatch and took
| him in his private car to Albany, where
| there editorials were written by Swinton
| for die New York Times 10 prepare the
public mind for the proposed peace pro
| ceetlins. Tie manuscripts with Seward:
intcr.incatinrs are still in existence aut
sill be published nj Swinton's death
Just before they were put in type lh(
Army ofthc South at Atlanta gave way