The Critic and record., 1891-03-27
THE CRITIC ABROAD.

the latter said: YES, ! knew General
Joseph E. Johnston well. My first meet
ing With him was Mt Vera Cruz, soon
after the battle Of Cerro Gordo, where ne
had been badly wounded i'm making
dangerous reconnaissance Of the enemy's
position, in consequence " which the
doctors were sending him out of the
country. He was then q Captain Of
Typographical Engineers. While he was
at home recovering from his wound ten
additional regiments for the war were au-
thOrized by Congress, and Captain John
ston was appointed lieutenant-COlonel of
one Of them-the Noltigeurs-of which
paymastcr.General Timothy Andrews
was made the Colonel. As the latter was
a man past middle life and inlirm, on all
important occasions, rs well as in the drill
and discipline Of the regiment its real
commander was its Iieutcnant-C Coloncl.
and the high state Of efficiency II attained
was mainly due TO the latter.
This regiment joined General SCOTS
army at Pueblo, just in time to take part
in its movement on the enemy's capital
II was armed and drilled as foot riilemen,
and, mostly under its lieutenant-C COloncl,
took a distinguished part in the series Of
battles in the Valley Of Mexico, which
eliminated in the capture of the city on
the l4th Of September lSii. II particu-
larly distinguished itself in the storming
of ChapulteucC, and IL was said that IL
| hoisted the first national flag over the
| captured fortress.
'As was serving in different arm of
| the service saw but little of Colonel John
! stOn during our occupation of Mexico
| City, and we met but seldom in the years
between the Mexican war and the break
| ing out Of our civil strife. One Of our
| few meetings was In 1859, when he was
! Lieutenant-COlonel Of the First Cavalry,
| and on detail from the War Department
as Acting lnspeCtor-General in New Mex
| leo. In the fall of that year he visited my
! camp, near Fort Defiance, and inspected
squadron of mounted rifemen under
my command, aud spent several days rs
| my guest. remember With great pleasure
| the evenings we passed together around
the camp fire in listening to his entertain
| ing conversation. His reading was extern
| siye, his memory remarkable, and the
apt and striking way he had of illustrat-
ing his subjects, made his conversation
delightful and instructive. However, like
many other distinguished men at that
| period OF his life, he was more than
slightly dogmatic, and exceedingly im-
patient of any difference of opinion.
"While we were together on that oCca-
sion we received the news of John
Browns raid and | remember that the
General expressed the fear that IL was the
beginning of very troublous period for
| our country, but did not seem to apprehend
civil war in the near future. remem-
ber, however, he said he feared il would
come sooner or later, and when it did that
Virginia and Kentucky, from their geo
| graphical position, would be the Belgium
and Palatmate of the contest of arms
did YOU serve under General Johnston
during the civil war H' asked the reporter.
"Only for a short time, replied the
General, when Old joe as his soldiers
aifectionately called him, commanded the
Army Of Northern Virginia. AZ that
timed had command Of brigade and
heavy batteries AZ the mouth of QuNntico,
which blockaded fle Potomac during the
fall and winter Of i-H My command
thus formed the HYg ,ag, or rather
guarded the rith i'n, q The Army Of
Northern Virginia, o. ,uIl Of which lay
at Manassas.
Soon after geune my batteries in
effective working orde General Johnston
paid me a visit. Hy tH. time General
Sickles had established division on the
| Maryland side of the opposite my
position, and across which bur respective
batteries sent frequent compliments to
our friends the enemy ! he day of Gen
eral Johnston's visit the firing was more
than usually heavy and continuous, and
exposing himself. III is no more danger
Gus for me than for the others, be re-
Piled. But said ], we have pleuy Of
others but we have but one Gene ~ lhn-
ston.' oh, yes he replied, there are
two of us. And he continued q 0tuUpy
his dangerous position for an hoG- Or
more.
when our army fell back ir3nl
Manassas our positions at the QLantico
and Aqua Creek became untenable and
my brigade was sent to North Carolina
and did not return 70 Virginia until Gen-
eral Johnston had been wounded and su-
perseded in the command of the Army OF
Northern Virginia by General Lee"
I'm point of ability how did General
Johnston, in your Judgment, compare
with the other great Confederate leadersY'
asked the reporter.
"You must excuse me from institutiug
any comparison replied the General,
"but will saw this, that in what French
military writers term the l99istiQue (the
science of army mOvement) of an army,
as well as in its organization and general
well being, doubt if he had his equal,
certainly not his superior in either army.
There he was master. Whether Fabius
or Marcelus was needed between Dal-
ton and Atlanta opinions differ. But this
much is certain, that the removal of
Johnston from the command of the Army
of Tennessee gave the death blow TO the
Confederacy. Doubtless il was fore
doomed without this crowning act of
madness, but il is absolutely certain that
but for it, for Sherman there would have
been no marching TO the sea, and'a very
popular war lyric would never have been
written"
Thetalk about the appointment of a
colored man as one of the new United
States Court Judges is laughed at by most
prominent lawyers of this city. One al
these said to The CRITIC reporter this
afternoon: ~ am not prejudiced against
the black man, but / defy anybody To
name one of that race in the whole coun-
try who would make a competent Judge
II is true that the colored people are max
ing rapid progress in many fields, but
there is not one who has ever distinguished
himself in the law"
Judge Josyr at one time Assistant
Secretary of the Interior, was rather 9
quaint old character. The Judge used tC
swear like trooper. lie would curse be
fore women as well as before men. one
= day when Judge JOslyn was acting Secre
tary in the absence of Secretary Teller, d
female clerk marched into his room anj
said: See here, Judge Josslyn, ] want {
promotion Now this woman wa
, looked upon by her fellow clerks as th'
, poorest excuse for a clerk in the Who'll,
Interior Department. Judge JOslyI
looked mp and growled: "Do you ask FOL
promotion because you are such d--l
good clerk ?n
mo, responded the lady, II ask 1t be
, cause am poor clerk
Hand me your papers replied tin
Judge. The papers were given tn hin
, and he endorsed them thus: PROMOTED
, for telling the truth"
Say you know Billy Harding Of tn
2 Police Ga.cits, don't you?" said we'll
known sporting man to the Critic, "Yol
! do2 Wen, Of course you know that n