The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-04-16
Did They Desert =?

|
Mr.. Editor
7 have been waiting patiently for some
| one to notice what l consider the graVest
and most reprehensible statement In
Mr. Pages communication, published in
| The Times. As for the nonsense about
"poor white trash" and half str;;iners -
| terms derived as he tells us, from the
negro and adopted. IL seems. by MINI
self-he has been well answered by Mr.
| Mccarthy. Everybody knows that these
devided classes. ard especially what ne
calls in another place the middle class,
have always been the strength and sup
port of the State. and have been pro mi
nent in its business and political affairs.
They have in large measure guided and
controlled the operations and manage
ment of its agriculture. manufactures,
railroads and commerce. and have con-
tributed their full share to the success
| Of the legislative, executive and 1udlclal
departments of the Government.
But what is especially Objectionable In
his article is the charge that the SOL
ders in the war deserted whenever
they became tired of camp life"
Can this be possible? / do not believe
II. and must have stronger proof than
Mr. Pages mere assertion. TINS is the
first time that the charge has ever been
Ushed. so far as l know. Perhaps DR..
] william Jones can tell us something
about 1t. He is always ready TO defend
the Confederate soldier whenever as
sailed by false friend or open foe.
Desertion is the highest crime known
10 military law, and was as much de-
tested and abhOrred by the private SOL
diers as by the officers.
Moreover this charge, II true, would
seriously reflect on General Lee ana
every commander in the army Was
discipline so lax and inefficient that these
soldiers could go and come, just as 1t
pleased them? or, as Mr.. Page expresses
it, desert when they got tired of camp
life and go back when they got ready
a very inelegant way OF expressing MS
idea?
Is II possible that an army composed
of such material could accomplish the
work done by the Army Of Northern
Virginia?
For thirty years the people Of the
South have been boasting Of the achieve
ments of this army, and have done
everything in their power to honor the
memory of its dead and take care OF the
living Shall we now, at the dictum or
Mr.. Page, abandon all our cherished
beliefs and mournfully conclude that
we have all this time been INDUCING a
false sentiment? l will not believe 1t. /
prefer to trust to the testimony Of those
who saw and knew these soldiers-who
were eye-witnesses OF their achieve
rnents in battle. their moderation in
victory, their uncomfortable resolution
in defeat. their cheerfulness and uncom-
planning endurance of privation and SUI
ferine in camp. and even in their desti-
ri n wants
at home. as when, in the winter OF 1864,
they sent one days rations as christ
mas present to the needy people OF Rlch-
mond. an instance OF generosity ana SELF
denial almost without parallel In the
worlds history.
Hear what General Rodes (than whom
there was no drawer soldier or more ac-
complished ofilcer) says pertinent to TINS
subject: After speaking Of some affair
which was attended with unusual Sc
verify, he proceeds 10 say: "All the cir
cumstances attending it combined to
make 1t an affair not only Of great
hardship but of great danger also 10
officers and men, but be ii said to the
everlasting honor OF these brave fellows,
they encountered it not only promptly
but actually with cheers and laughter
But alas! the time came when many
Of these brave men yielded to foe more
cruel than the pangs of hunger or the
rigor of ice-bound winter, or the crash Of
shot and shell. While lying in the
trenches around Petersburg. reports
came to them OF the hardships and suf-
ferings Of their families in far off Georgia.
and Mississippi. exposed as they were to
the barbarian cruelties of Sherman and
his savage horde. and flying. it may be.
I'm the dead of night from their burning
homes and their relentless enemy.
They saw that the end was nigh ut
hand and men who had stood mistaken
at Gettysburg and the Wilderness yielded
to the irresistible temptation.
Listen to Captain Gordon McCabe OHM
self gallant soldier during the war
and one who has maintained his integrity
snce-that is to say, has adhered stead
lastly 10 the faith once delivered to Con-
federate soldiers)
In this magnificent Grafton before the
Army Of Northern Virginia, after de-
scribing the deeds Of sufferings Of the
soldiers around PETERSBURG he continues:
"And now subtle enemy. till then we'll
nigh unknown. attacked in rear this
army, which still proudly held its front.
and men with bated breath. and cheeks
flushing through their bronze, whispered
the dread word, 'desertionr
1.-THE historian far removed from the
happiness OF the time, may coldly
measure out his censure. but we, com
rades. bound TO these men by countless
proud traditions. can only cry with the
old Hebrew prophet: Alas. my brotherv
and remember that these were valiant
souls. too severely tried"
And say we all: Alas. my brotherr
and we have no word of censure or re-
proach, but only tears for your mis-
fortunes. and sorrow that you were tried
beyond your strength.
A SOLDIER AND AN OFFICER OF
THE ARMY OF NORTHERN VIR-
GINA.
In Behalf NJ Mr.. rnVe