The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-06-29

niles CockrcE never forgcts either tho
nnme OF the face of any person To whom he
has boon introduced. This faculty Is sim.
ply Invaluable to public man and has,
boon OF incalculablc benefit to tho distin-
guishcd Missouri senator.
Luck! Go 10! Suppose General Cock
rcll had defeated Hardin? The chances
are thousand to ono that he never would
have had the opportunity to prevent innu-
mcrablc raids upon the federal treasury
thereby saving untold millions to the pco-
pie He ought to hunt up tho delegate who
cast that fractional vote against him and
dress him III purple anu flno linen the rem
nant of his days.
Some people say-among others that
eminent publicist, orator and Journalist
Henry Wattcrson-that Stoncwall Jackson
was tho one Puritan soldier of our civil
war. They speak without knowledge
Stonowall was Puritan indeed, worthy
to have charged with mighty Oliver at
Nascby, Marston Moor and Dunbar, shout
ing, God with us!' but so was Francis
Marion Cockrcll. He fought and prayed
and prayed and fought and it remains to
this day mootcd question whether he
fought more than he prayed or prayed
more than he fought. If Jackson was tho
superintendent of u Sunday school at Lex
ingtOn, Va, Cockrell was engaged In the
same way mt Warrcnsburg, Mo. Ho started
III as private in April 1861; no surren-
dcrcd MS major general during the very
last days of tho war. He was d volunteer
without military training, and that fact
eX ncccssitatc deprived him of any particu-
lar favor in tho Confederate war depart
mcnt, where the delusion prevailed that
no man could be u great soldier unless he
had graduated from West Point which de-
fusion seems to have prevailed also in the
federal war Office. Nevertheless events ap-
pear to Indicate that, even with this han
dicap, had the war lasted four years longer
General Cockrcll would have risen to the
highest command
He fought. That made his soldiers love
him, and that is ono thing which makes
tho people of Missouri lovo him. He is
just about us popular with tho cx-Union
soldiers among his constituents us with
those who followed the stars and bars.
General Cockrcll, being volunteer,
evolved some original theories on war
which are calculated to stun the typical
martincts. For instance, after tho first
battle In which hn fought green as he was
i'll things martial he would never permit
an army engineer to select his limo of bat
tie for him. He said that as tho duty of
defending the line dcvolved on him he
knew better than any engineer what was a
dcfcnsiblo line and what was not This
may have seemed presumptuous in u raw
recruit, bu1 his military history furnishes
his justification.
Another thing that he sticks to to this
day, and which will give tho souls of tho
professionals u rude shock, is that the most
effective weapon with which infantry can
be armed is n double bnrrclcd shotgun. He
claims that it will discount all the new
tangled rifles ever made His logic runs rs
follows, and to civilian appears absolute
ly convincing: Ono wounded man on the
battlefield is ever 50 much moro trouble
than so many dead men. Tho double bar
relied shotgun is unequaled us producer
of wounded mon; therefore 1t Is tho best
thing to arm troops with
ASA clinchcr he states that In u certain
battle in which he was engaged when he
was colonel two companies of his regi-
mcnt wcro armed with double barrclcd
shotguns, tho other eight with Enfield
rifles. and that when the lighting was over
there were more dead and wounded men in
front of tho two companies with shotguns
than in front Of the eight armed with
rifles. If seeing Is believing, then any RI
tional being not under tho tyranny of
prcconccivcd opinions ought to be CON
WINGED by General Cockrell's reasoning"
WALTER WELLMAN.