The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-03-04

u as q pn0tograp hic copy OF a painting BY an
| eminent artist OF Virginia Of the Battle or the
Crater at Petersburg at tue supreme moment
/ when Malone nlen were making the splendid
charge that re-establshed the Confederate line
In the forefront OF the battle a color bearer who
| has receive his dea wound reels BACKWARD.
but Is caught by the left arm OF q mere lad.
whose right hand grasps the falling cOlors and
upon whose face, lit by the fire OF war we see
the birth OF leadership. We hear his ringing
shout OF ENCOURAGEMENT, our frames tinZle with
responsive sympathy TO the nervous energy OF
his slight figure. and without rejection We feel
instlnctively that at such moment we would
follow such boy to the bitter end.
| And how many such there were among Us,
can you not recall themg does there not rise up
before your minds eye the portrait OF one and
another and another OF them. There ne goes
with that elastic lope of his along the dusty
cooked over his u brow, his Gi' faded ie
old uniform, stSiaed, weather-beaten
and scorched. his blanket in long roll festooned
| from the right shoulder TO the left hip, his
trousers stuffed into the legs of the stout, knit
| stockings that are thus made 70 do the duty Of
| ieggings. bis ''trdr bag" plethOric with three
days rattons OF corRsdodgers and bacon, and
perchance With other supplies of which the
ommissary department. knows nothing. but Of
which some farmer along the line of march
calling the roll OF hiSpoultry yard might have a
faint conception, his canfeen occasionally
dripping with water from the last branch"
that was crossed. but more frequently sticky
With sorghum aud sometimes distributing on
the circumambient air the faint order of apple
jack or ''stingaree. There is his cartri ige box
filled with the regulation forty rounds and at the
| right shoulder shift, tn lazy, careless route
step sort of a fashion, the trusty Enfield always
ready Tor service. see his form. erect, Wiry aud
supple without an ounce Of superiiuous flesh;
his face thin, lacking the delicate oval that be-
longs 10 youth, and with cheeks little inclined
to hollowness yet sglow With health while the
eyes dash and sparkle with every varying emo
| ton. Fun. mischief daring and dash are ali
| there A struggling cavalryman, like fish out
OF water. tries to run the gauntlet of the in
tantry column, and there comes with a shout
| from our hero the scornful order Butter
milks 20 the rear" For which, by the way he
10 sure TO receive as good as he sent He throws
kiss TO q group of country girls who stand
by the roadside in a half-frightened way
| to watch the passing rroops-the tread of Lhe
comp9ny begins to b. heavy with fatigue, and
his CHEEKY young "oice breaks into rhythmic
song o9d me column steps out with renewed
strength and Vigor, his quick eye detects that
comrade. perhaps his file leader. is weak or all
ing and IN an instant the lad is carrying two
muskets.
The night draws near He sees in the distance
the fringe or woods following some water course
Which experience tells him will probably be
selected by the inspectors for the bivouac and
oy al Instinct, bred OF long habit, he takes the
bearings ot every farm yard, orchard or other
foraging ground within the radius of a mile or
two. so that be the darkness of the night what
IL may he may make his course thither true as
the needle to the pole. The camp is reached,
the arms are stacked perhaps in driving storm
or rain, and then the fullness of his resources
becomes apparent.
While civilian would still be amenting the
hard fate that consigned him to such surround
trgs our young old soldier las made him
SELF conf and jolly in manner that
would have reJoiced the heart of Mark Tapley.
From some remote corner OF the haversack, are
produced a few pieces of dry wood, picked up
In all probability. early in the day and "toted'
until now with a view to Just this emergency. A
comrade suppliesa chunk Of fire that has been
gathered from some hearth by the wayside
and kept alive for the last two or three miles of
the march-the leaves aud wet earth are
scraped away from the underside of a recum-
bent log and II little b'aze is started there. The
members of the mess all are busy in finding aud
heaping additional fuel and in a moment as
It were, there Is a roaring cracking flame that
warns the body clear through and all around
aud that comforts I'd cheers beyond express
sion. With deft hands the frame work of q
shelter is formed from the nearest rail fence or
from saplings bent down and twisted together
rubber blankets or old pieces of tent flies ore
spread over theSe-aud then 1t makes but it'll.
dInerence whether 1t storms or not. The half
or an old canteen serves we'll for frying pan
Tor government bacon, and is sputtering on
the Goals side by side with an old tomato can
nlled to the brim and bubbling over with that
delectable compound known as CuSh, IA dish
that we were all familiar with but which, am
quite willing TO make my affidavit none Of us
have stuck to an article of diet.) Then the
pipes are brought out, and precious hits of to-
bacco, mixed very likely with sand and crumbs
| of corn bread. are hshed up from the bottom Of
4 pockets-and then-elysum.
but TO see our soldier at his best we must watch
him in action. whether in the rifle pits
| out on Lne picket line, or In the trenches pre-
pairing for the coming of the enemy, or in the
mad rush of attack when with fire In his heart
and blood in his eye he bore him like dem-
god. There let us leave him, there where his
valor, determination and constancy won for him
the respect and admiration of brave men wher-
ever the story of the conGederacy is told. Those
lads of '6l TO rs are the men upon whose stout
shoulders has rested since the war the burden Of
rebuilding the waste places of the south. And
was ever such work accomplished in so short
time? Look at this dear land of Dixie as it is to-
| a and of M ffnn hAr, I
and Johnston laid down their arms; the enor-
nous aggregation of capital represented by the
institution of slavery, swept out of existence as
| property-the entire system of banking upon
which all trade rests, absolutely gone-the rail
roads, with scarcely an exception, wrecked and
ruined-their rolling stock run down to worth
| lessness. their roadbeds torn up-brdges, fac.
tories, colleges and public buildings of all kinds
| destroyed by hundreds the stock of hors s.
cattle and saeep reduced to minimum the
| land without a circulating medium. so that in
interior places the people were reduced to
a system Of barter-on every hand ruin and
desoation. where to-day is peace pros
| uerity and happiness blessings on the brave
hearts that knew not what it was to yield 20
despair but have fought good fight to this
| glorious end.
l doubt if any feature of the composition of
our armies will r:ore readily attract the atten-
ton of the historian than the large number of
officers who, without previous military knowl-
edge or experience, filled creditably, with
honor to themselves and with glory TO the flag
| every rank from lieutenant general down to
second lieutenant junior. 1t will not be claimed
that they were all they should have been or
that, as a class, they possessed that accurate
| knowledge of detail in the art of war that comes
| from long study alone, and which we expect as
matter of course in the professional soldier
But what was lacking in the art soon was made
| up in the practice of war.
| Company officers soon learned how to manage
their commands upon the skirmish line. field
officers, to deploy regiments and battalions
under fire and to hold them to a point that was
ordered to be kept, with grim tenacity of pur-
pose that West Pointers could not surpass. And
| generals to take that broader OF fields that
enabled them to place brieades and divisions
, where they were wanted and with view TO the
carving out of the plan OF battle
Here and there would be found one in whom
the genius for war was positive instinct. A
| notable instance OF this was Lieut. GEN N
3. Forrest, the distinguished cavalry leader
| An officer who served on his staff throughout
the war told me that in every fight he seemed
to have the faculty of divnjng ct once the weak
, point of his enemy and then of hammering
away at 1t withoutinteFmission with ever thing
! he he'd until 1t broke. ii was in this way that
, he won the battle OF Tishamtngo in Northern
Mississippi which, though on u comparatively
small scale, was one of the most complete
victories of the war.
J In the, winter of 1sS4-'65 it was my lot to
, serve for a time under Gen. Forrest, and posi-
bly, few details about hun may not prove
interesting Our brigade was in front of Nash
vile with Hoods army. when orders came to