The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-03-04
WASHINGTON THE MAN
What His Staff Officers and Init
mate Friends Said of Him.
His Greatness Lay i'm His Self-Poise and
His Power to Govern Men-A Splen-
did Shot and SwOrdsman.


interesting. 1t is not OF Washington. the
first President, that the world now wishes to
know; it is Washington, the man, who is
most interesting. The writer has known
several gentlemen whose fathers or near
relatives were intimate friends of General
Washington, and even some knew him in
person.
In 1857 a gentleman who had been his
neighbor at Mount Vernon, and whose
father was joint owner with the General in
a ferry and an enormous seine for taking
shad and behring's in the Potomac, died,
aged eighty-five. He was twenty-four years
old when Washington died. This was a son
Of Colonel Ramsey, OF General Washing
toms military staff during the revolutionary
war. Then from Charles Carter Lee, eld-
est brother of Gen. r. Z. Lee, and Light
Horse Harry Lees eldest son, some very
interesting incidents were obtained. A near
relative of Colonel Simms, who was the
commander of the Sixth Virginia Regiment
OF the line in the continental army, has
furnished some valuable data n nephew
of Col. Tench Tighlman, General Washing
tons military secretary, gave much i'm
portant information that has never been
published until now: from a grandson of
Major Piercey, senior aid-de-camp to
General Washington from the time he took
command of the continental army until the
close Of the war, who was with him in
every engagement except the final one at
Yorktown, when an. ugly wound kept him
from the side of his illustrious chief in the
hour of his greatest triumph, and from
several venerable Virginia ladies facts
about, Washington, the man, have been OBJ
tanned.
The first question always asked of any
body who had known-or known of-Gen.
Washington well, was: What was his real
intellectual measure? How great a mind
did he have; or, in our modern parlance,
how big was his brain?" In the replies to
this question: there has been a singular
unanimity of opinion.
Colonel Tighlman said: "I have often
asked my grandfather that very question.
He always answered that General Wash
ington was not a genius in anything. His
greatness consisted in his admirable self
poise. Each of his intellectual qualities
was very much above the ordinary, and
never were characteristic tendencies more
admirably blended"
''He had the stuff in him and the kind of
mind that enables nan to govern and in
fluence other men," said Gen. William O.
Butler, a son of one of the four famous
fighting Buffers of the revolution, him
self a major general in the Mexican war,
and a candidate for the vice presidency.
who barely missed being elected. MY
timately did any of his staff said Cen
Butler, when the writer visited him in 1865.
He was then a very old man, but his mind
was as clear as bell.
QUALITIES OF GREATNESS.
He always said that General Washing
ton possessed more of the qualities that go
to make up a great man than any of the
leading figures OF the Revolution. Greene
came next to Washington, he thought, in
force and ability. No other man could
have done what he did. Modern historians
have bat little idea of the difficulties
Washington experienced. Outside of his
position as general in chief, there were SO
many things to worry and annoy him. The
chief military trouble was With his own
intimate friends. relating to questions of
rank. Especially difficult twas General
Washington's position when Lafayette came
10 our. aid. and Congress, as you know,
action greatly offended the older officers,
hot-headed fellows, sturdy dashing fight
ers. generals of brigades, and colonies who
and yet they had to take their orders
from man but twenty-five years of age,
even unable at first to communicate with
his officers, except through an interpreter"
I'm the pacifcation of these officers Cen
eral Washington shows the greatest tact"
said both Colonel Piercey and General
Butler. Yes, gentlemen he said 10
them. it is true that Lafayette is but
general by Congress upon my recommended
ton. But what else could | do? He
best muskets Europe could pro-
duce, .the French musket of
was very carefully made, had particularly
good lock, while the English fire lock
weighed eleven pounds, and its lock was
clumsy, badly fitted, and very prone to
miss fire., and 5000 sabres, 1000 pairs of
military pistols, and bits for brides. and
the stirrups and other iron work for sad
dies, besides 1,S00 cavalry carbineS or mus
ketoons. Without these arms we never
could have equipped our army. Then he
brought and caused to be sent to us about
100000 in gold. 1t is not too much 10 say
that but for Lafayette's aid just at the
time IT came our army must have been dis
banded for want of equipment and arms.
These representations soon qUieted the
testy and hot-blooded continental generals
when they were made in his forcibie way
by General Washington. IL calmed the
storm. But said my grarduncle, though
/ saw General Washington daily during the
seven years war, and passed two hours
out of each twenty-four in taking his per-
sonal orders, except when L was twice
wounded, there was something about him
that no man have ever known possessed
though he was always most cour-
and very kind TO me personally. he was
hedged about with dignity a something
that no living mortal ever broke through.
1t was not mannerism. 1t was not stiffness
nor hauteur. | cannot define it, But this
do know, that he inspired feeling in ev-
than any other the moral ever created. We
his old staff officers, felt it just as deeply
in the last days of our service with him
as we did when we went upon his staff
A GOOD JUDGE OF MEN.
washington was admirable judge of
men and their fitness for duty of any kind.
AS illustrating this peculiar power take the
instance of Baron Steuben- He was the
most accomplished officer of his time in
Europe when he came to us and the best
drilled. He spoke English badly always,
but very bad indeed, when he first Joined
the army. We had a number of young
officers from New York who understood
Dutch. Steuben spoke that language as
well as he did German. Under General
Washingtons orders Steuben formed an
officers corps from these young Knicker-
bockers. and taught them the Prussian
drill the best then in Europe. They, speak
ing English well as Dutch taught this
drill to the continental line. When the war
closed our army was as we'll drilled as
any in the world.
"Speakine of Baron Steuben," continued
General Butler, "our generation has very
little appreciation or understanding of what
III owes to this officer. General Washington
made him the inspector-Seneral OF the con-
tinental army at first With the rank of
brigadier general, then major general In
that capacity he organized, drilled and mus
tered into service the entire force of CONT
valuable in thus putting our little army
upon a thorough military footing. He
equipped the artillery, drilled IL, AMI so
o-era nizad In that IL had "a value and iIODCr-