Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1895-06-30

armies. Cockrell never forgets either
the name Of the face of any person to
whom he has been introduced. This
faculty is simply invaluable to a public
man and has been of incalculable ben
eht TO the distinguished Missouri Sen
ator.
Luck! Go to, Suppose General
COckrell had defeated Hardin? The
chances are q thousand to one that
he never would have had the oppOrtu-
nifty 10 prevent innumerable raids upon
the federal treasury. thereby saving I'M
told millions to the people He ought
20 hunt up the delegate who cast that
fractional vote against him and dress
him in purple and fine linen the rem
nant Of his days.
some people say-am0ng others that
eminent publicist, orator and journalist,
Henry Watterson-that StOnewall Jack
son was the one Puritan soldier of our
civil war. They speak without knowl-
edge. Stonewall was a Puritan indeed.
worthy to have charged with mighty
Oliver at Naseby Marston Moor and
Dunbar, shouting: God with us but so
was Francis Marion Coclrel. He
fought and prayed and prayed and
fought and iJ. remains 20 this day a
mOOted question whether he fought
more than he prayed or prayed more
than he fought. If Jackson was the
superintendent of a Sunday school at
Lexington, Va. Cockrell was engaged
in the same way at Warrensburg, Mo.
He started i'm as a private in April,
1861. he surrendered rs a major general
during the very last days Of the war.
He was q volunteer without military
training. and that fact eX necessitate
deprived him Of any particular favor
i'm the Confederate war department,
where the delusiOn prevailed that no
man could be q great soldier unless he
had graduated from West Point. which
delusi0n seems to have prevailed also
i'm the federal war Office. Nevertheless
events appear 20 indicate that, even
with this handicap, had the war lasted
four years longer General COckrell
would have risen TO the highest COM
mand.
HE fought That made his soldiers
love him. and that is one thing which
makes the people of Missouri love him.
He is lust about as popular with the
ex-Uni0n soldiers among his constiJU-
ents as with those who followed the
stars and bars.
General CocBTelL being a vOlun-
teer. evolved some original theories on
war which are calculated 10 stun the
typical mav-nets. For instance, after
the first battle i'm which he fought,
| green as he was in things martial he
would never permit an army engineer
/ 10 select his line of battle for him. He
said that as the duty of defending the
/ line devolyed ON him he knew better
than any engineer what was a defen-
I sible line and what was not. This may
/ have seemed preSUmp-uOus in raw
recruit but his military history fur
| niSheS his justification.
Another thing that be sticks 10 20 this
day. and which viii give the souls OF
the professionals a rude shock. is that
the most effective weapon with which
infantry can be armed is double bar
relied shotgun he claims that i, viii
/ discount an the new tangled rifles ever
I made. His logic runs as follows. and tc
civilian appears absolutely cOnvinc-
/ ing. one wounded man Of The battle
/ field is ever so much more trouble than
so many dead men, The double barrel
ed shotgun is uneQualed as a producer
of wounded men; therefore il is the beS'
thing 20 arm troops with
"As olincher he states that in GER
tain battle in which he was engaged
when he was a colonel two C0mpanie,
| Of his regiment were armed with d0u-
| bic barreled shOtgUns. the other eight
with Enfield rifles. and that when thC
fighting was over there were more dead
| and wounded men in front of the two
/ companies with sh0tEuns than in front
Of the eight armed with rifles. If see
| ing is believeing then any rational be
/ ing not under the tyranny Of prec0n-
ceived opinions ought to be convinced
/ 10y Generals CockrelIs reasoning.
WALTER WELLMAN.