Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1892-12-25
THE CRITICS ERRORS
"Upland" Examined by an Admirer
Of Percy Greg.
"A SCHOLARLY IFE-WORK."
So Grsg's History IL Prouounced-ns 'ronE
Light Thrown on the Points
Discussed.
IL u. rditor Of ne Disnnteh .

To ne Editor of ne Dispdtch :
A book purportlng to give the history OF
n great people may be either good or bad,
bu, il can hardly be indifferent, or q sub
ject of indifference, If it runs through its
first edition in the course OF few weeks.
Such is GreG's History OF the united
states--a work published in London In
1897 and now republished by West. john
ston & Co., of your city.
In recent issue of the DISPATCH writer
under tho signature of upland" assails
this work, assails il at every point and
v,than exu berauce rarely INDUCED on sub
;ects of 80 weighty q nature. The history
ia described as being utterly and ire
deemably bad-false in its statements. cor
rupt in its morals. evil in its teachings
slanderous in its personal references,
and completely astray In its philosophical
deductions. But even this IS not the worst.
The book is declared to be more criminal
In its omissions than IN It's RECORDS, more
pernicious in what 1t suppresses than IN
what il sets down.
II "a hardly worth while to say that ac-
cusntions of this nature. so long as they
are expressed only in general terms, may
be easily pronounced against any DOCK or
any person, any party or any cause. II
will therefore be sufficient to examine the
specific examples which the critic gives
in support of his charges. and 1t IS proper
that this should be done with perfect can
dor and fairness.
ERRORS AND FACTS.
In this spirit / cheerfully meet Up
land on his lntrenched line, combining
al ~ nnlutg which
chosen for his assault. He tells us that
Greq's account of the Revolutionary war
contains errors so numerous and 80 glarlng
that "a volume would be required to de-
tail them" yet 1t is not until he comes
down TO the late war that the true climax
of erroi is reached, for there Greg be-
come; far more abu- liant IN errors than
In facts"
In proof Of this grove charge " Upland"
cltes sl1 examples, and avoid even the
possibility Of unfaiIpess will quote them
ali 10 full
PETTIGREw AT rTYsBURo.
Example /. Greg adopts the Sian
der against General Pettierew's Division
at Gettysburg. and says they faltered and
gave way before charge IL flank.
This accusation might be fully answered
by mentioning the tact that line of
troops when taken in flank must either
change front or retire unless supported
that under the circumstances described by
Greg G change Of front was out OF the
question, and that IL is o point OF common
history that Pettigrew WAS not supported.
That ends the matter. Here are Mr..
Gregs slanderous words: "Pettlgrew,
swept by fire compared TO which the
cannonades of Waterloo and Leipsic were
trivial, faltered and gave way before
charge in flank This exposed Wilcox, who
also fell back, uncovering Pickett,s TANKS;
The relics of force winch had
displayed a courage never surpassed IN the
history of modern warfare retired slowly
across the valley. The overwhelming force
that hung on their rear had no mind to
uursue The bravest among the
yictors of Inkerman or Albuera of Worth
and Gravelotte might envy the glory oil
that defeat" / venture the assertion that
Confederate soldiers will be able to muster
charity enough to condone ISLANDERS "
such as these.
THE FORT PILLOW MASSACRE"
Example Q. Greg "acauits Forrest per-
sonally as to Fort Pillow, but says his men
there butchefed negro troops III cold
blood after they had surrendered. There
is no truth in the charge"
In reply TO this / will say that the first
Confederate soldier that - Upland y may
chance TO meet will tell him that Greg's
account of that affair IS more acceptable
descriptions: The place was set on
fire and many corpses were conse-
uuently burned; some wounded pro-
bably persisted il the flames. That
in the hurry and confusion one or two
nav have been buried alive is probable
enough. Such things must happen on
every battlefield. That they were done
Intentionally 1 find myself, after studying
the evidence, unable to believe. Had the
Confederates shown disposition to refuse
quarter Oh the battlefield no one could
have wondered, considering all that they
and their families had had to suffer. But
no characteristic Of the war is better
attested than the soldierly humanity OF
the southern troops, except the extreme
and perhaps excessive unwililngness OF
their commanders to resort TO reprlsals tor
the MANY cold-blooded executions and
other violations of martial law committed
by Federal generals and troops-acts for
which redress was repeatedly demanded
from their government and refused with
insult. The story of Fort Pillow stands
alone, the sole case of lnhumanlty ecen
aLLeqed against Confederate troops
ldonot charge the critic with wilful per-
version of the authors meaning, but |
would respectfully suggest that the practice
of proving rules by their exceptions can
scarcely be successful unless there is at
least one valid exception available tor that
purpose.
BARBARA FRIETCHIE.
Example 8. Greg adopts the stupid
fiction about Barbara Frietchie and Gene
raj Stonewall jackson at Frederick. Md,
and even quotes Whittier as authority"
Here the critic Is hopelessly and gro
tesquely wrong. Greg's ouick lntultlons
dIscerned the true nature of the story and
he adopts the fiction" as fiction, and
adopts it TO some purpose. Hear him:
Northern party spirit inUalied, with
strange Inconsistencies of the true bear
inc of the story, q characteristic illustra-
ton of southern patience and chival-
~. Whittier brings out. the more
forcibly because unawares, the contrast
between the petulant impertinence of
Mistress Barbara and the forbear-
ance. tinged with contempt, of the
Confederate chief aud soldery. Such was
the temper and such the discipline of the
southern troops, with scarcely an eX-
ception, throughout the war. No retalia-
tory rudeness or severity was inflicted on
northern citizens. In no case had Penn
sylyania to complain of personal injury or
even discouftesy at the hands of those
whose homes they had burned, whose
families they had insulted, robbed, and
tormented." 1t is difficult to conceive the
attitude of mind that can so completely
misread the clear and vigorous English of
MIR. Greg.
GREG's GEOGRAPHY.
Example 4. Greg's geography is as
erroneous as his so-called history. He
says the Chickahominy river runs mile
and half north of Richmond"
II is true that the Chickahominy IS
within a slight fraction of five miles from
the centre of Capitol Square. and that the
suburbs do not extend three and a half
miles from that centre. But we should
bear in mind that the historian is de-
scribing beleaguered city and the inner
line of its defensive works. He Is not deal
ing with Richmond as a municipality or
tracing out its corporate boundaries. The
line of ramparts, or. in military phrase,
the city walls. is the line to which
he aliudes and which he describes,
In part by measurements. He gives
its location with the precise accu-
racy OF trained officer OF engineers.
The Cbickahominy runs mile and a half
from the " city walls" of Richmond, as
Mr. Greg states. Mr. Greg spent much
time in examining, not merely the battle
fields, but the mountain-passes and water
courses which were or which might have
been the scene OF military operations: and
his descriptions OF the various approaches
to Richmond are among the clearest and
most accurste we possess.
THE SPIRIT OF MINUTE INQUIRY.
Example g. land emnties into the