Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1889-12-12

source OF newspaper misinformation
The Intelligent eontraband l"-why,
he rose almost to the dignity Of an
historical character in those DAYS. He
was continually " reaching Washington
with reliable information" that Rich
mond had been evacuated; that jeff
Davis was sick; that General Beaure-
gard was dead; and similar improbable
reports, all of which were greedily
swallowed by credulous thousands who
pleased themselves by thinking that
the war was to have some sudden and
semi-miraculous termination.
Any reader who may think that all
the foolishness of the time was con-
fined to the North is referred to an
instructive little volume, called "a
Rebels Recollections, by George Cary
Eggleston. He will learn from it,
among other things, how at the militia
musterings in Virginia to prepare for
war, which followed secession, every
soldier brought a servant, and some
brought two; and how each private
wore epaulets. He will learn about
the Bombastes Furioso speech making
with which small lawyers deluged the
Old Dominion before the people set
tied down to condition of actual war,
a fair specimen of which was the ora
tion of the militia colonel who went to
Richmond, found that he had no mis-
sion there whatever, and could get no
place., and then returned home and
made a speech at the railroad station,
in which he said that he had been in
consultation with the authorities; that
while it would not be proper for him
to reveal even to these, his patriotic
countrymen, the plans contided to
him, he might at least say to them that
the government within ten days would
have fifteen Thousand men in line on
the Potomac, and then, with perchance
bloody but very brief struggle, this
overwhelming force would dictate
terms to the tyrants at Washington.
And more to the same effect.
True it is that in the first summer
of the war Folly wore the cap and
shook the bells, both North and South.
There was rude and serious awaken
ing to the gravity of the situation,
soon!
During the mutiny of the natives in
India, in 1857, there was British Off
Ger of some distinction serving there,
General Sir Henry Havelock. He was
brave man and good officer, but he
is destined to go down in history only
as the inventor probably not the pat
entee) of an astonishing piece of mill
tary head-gear called the "Havelock,
in honor of himself. 1t was stiff
canvas cap-cover, terminating behind
in long pendant coming down to the
shoulders, the object of which was to
protect the back of the soldiers neck
from the fierce rays of the Indian sun.
the article was at that time widely
adopted in the British army, and the
fame of it, with the pictures of the IL
tuStrated London Nelvs, having reach
ed this once happy land, somebody
suggested upon the breaking out of
our war that every soldier ought to
have havelock. The idea took i'm
mensely in the early summer of 1861,
North and South, and the patriotic
ladies went zealously to work to pro-
vide for this "long-felt want" Thou
sands, tens of thousands-nay, I know
not but that hundreds of thousands-of
these things were made and forwarded
to the armies. But very few of them
were worn; this craze speedily ran
itself out of breath. The soldiers who
were SO unfortunate as to get the things
on found that they were stiff, hot, and
uncomfortable, and quickly shed them.
They might do for the British in India
for American soldiers at home they
were positive nuisance Our soldiers
came to care very little for their COM
plexions, and their skins got so thick
with exposure that they would neither
burn nor blister. General D. H.
Strother, of West Virginia, styled these
articles "silly-clouts," which we'll de-
scribes them. But 1 think that cne of
them should be preserved somewhere
in museum of war-relics.
The pronunciamentos of some of our
alleged statesmen, that the war was to
end in thirty, sixty, OF ninety days,
were part of the early war nonsense.
The ridiculous "stump-speech" general
orders of some volunteer generals of
both sides were most striking specimens
of utter nonsense. But none of these
follies outlasted the first year of the
war. We soon settled down to serious
business.-ChicGgo Ledger.
His Prisoner ArreSted Him