The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1892-11-20


all. Gen. Robert Il. Lee promptly sent the
body into the Union lines under flag of
truce without waiting for IL request Nc
Clelan wept uncomfortable tears when he
stood before the bier in Washington. When
"Stonewall's" career was ended by II ram
dom outpost shot at charlottesville. a
few months later, the world was not more
Mortified that war should be so cruel nor
the south more staggered by the blow than
the north was staggered and the world
Mortified over the skirmish line tragedy
that removed the most picturesque figure
of our time from the stage of war Kcarny
had it in him to make another Murat to
some modern Napoleon, and surely some
one Numbered when he went begging for
chance to draw sword in 1861, and cav
airy volunteers were snubbed and told,
This is not n war for horseback fighting"
Tho troopers had their day in the end, but
meanwhile kcarny, frettng and chatting
behind slow moving infantry, had thrown
his life away ignobly running after that
excitement which comes legitimately to IL
marshal of squadrons.
Kearny's career was an original one and
in some respects un-American in character.
His youth was passed in isolation, n ward
on the country estates OF his grandfather
He inherited soldier blood, but his grand
father wished to settle him as an Episco-
palian clergyman. The old man had lost
all his sons, one on the field of battle, and
he thought that his grandson would have
good, safe time" in the ministry The
lad had other notions. and his rural isola-
ton was cnlivened by object lessons in war.
He spent the leisure of many years in his
teens exercising OH mimic battlefields. with
thousands of lcaden soldiers, artillery
trains, spring guns, elaborate feldworks
and Notifications He carried his war plant
to college even. He idoliZed two masters in
war-Tilly, II Germany of the Seventeenth
century, styled the "Old Devil" on account
of his cruelty, and Count Lippc, of the
Eighteenth century, renowned disciplin-
arian, tactician and commander While
reverencing these heroes both of the schol-
arly type of soldiers, kearny yearned to he
dashing hussar and perform reckless
cavalry charges. lie early became noted
ms n horse killer and as n boy ran his grand
fathers blooded stock Mt Il breakncck pace
over the toughest courses he could find
When in Europe, Mt nineteen years of age,
he would sacrifice rest and food in order to
be on the battle-ground and witness cavalry
exercises.
Kearny was just twenty-one when his
grandfather died, and though born to am
pie fortune he put everything aside and
took second leutcnant's commission i'm
the cavalry, the famous First United
States Dungeons, then led by his uncle, S.
w. Kearny. That was in 1876, dull
time for American soldiers. kearny was
fortunately chosen to study cavalry tactics
abroad and went to Paris. In 1910 he
served through the French campaign in
Algiers as an aid OH the staff of the Duke
of Orleans, and had his baptism of fire in
driving the fierce Arabs from the noun
tain of Mouzaia, another celebrated "bat-
tie above the Clouds"
After kearny's return home in 1871
there was stagnation in the army for five
years, and he resigned his commission in
disgust OH the eve of the Mexican war.
Gen. Scott quickly reinstated him, and he
raised company of dragons, all picked
men on mounts of iron gray. The dragons
joined Gen. Taylor on the Rio Grande, only
to be recalled, without getting in saber
stroke, to march with Scott upon the City
of Mexico Kearny's troop was with Gen
Pillows division, and the "grays" quickly
became famous under their dashing lead
ers. AT dinner given the American Off
GERS i'll Pueblo Kearny discounted upon the
dizziness of the work assigned the cavalry
and said that he would gladly give an arm
to win brevet. But the mountain passes