Birmingham age-herald., 1895-09-20

I
 when said something concerning the de-
 mands of duty. General Longstreet an 1 swered me effectively: We must De 1 guided by the light within us; l have l tried all along to stand firm to that con 1 viction of duty, according to the light l l have had
 q have lately compared notes with prominent Confederate leader and ma 1 that we, have come together uncon- sciously, no doubt. Here is where we | now agree. The war was a necessity. 1 Nothing human could have warded 1t otf. l Slavery was the cause of division. It was 1 necessity that it ohould be completed | routed out. The providence of God went 1 far beyond the projects of men in it's de- struction Everything in our political methods in all parts of the country IS not yet all right. There are ballot stuf- | filings; there are corruptions of ofilce; | there is bribery in elections; there IS | cheating in legislation; there is selnsh- ness in great mouopolies, and there are political dangers, but the fundamental institutions remain to us, namely: | church, or a set of churches, where eV" cry man Is free to worship God according to the dictates of his conscience; a school or schools adequate to the necessities or | a great people well-established and free | toevery child, and an American home which in it's purity and simplicity cannot | be surpassed by those of any other peo- | pie on the globe. These with our free | ballot. are our peculiar institutions. They constitute the nuclus from which HOW | untold blessings and almost limitless streams of development. All American | volunteers of the whole land will pre- serve them"
 General Howard was followed by Con- gressman and Gen. Joseph w. Wheeler | of Alabama, who was described by Gen | eral Manderson last night as that able and alert and constantly harrassing cav | airy commander, late of the Confectionery, | now of the United States senate. | General Wheeler opened his remarks with a patriotic preclude stating that | the vast assemblage was gathered to- | gether to commemorate and honor Amer | ican valor and to make clear the fact | that the soldiers who once fought eacn other in deadly battle were now one peo- | pie with one interest, one flag, one coun- | try and one ambition.
 To the old soldiers of his command he | paid a warm tribute, first to his early | companions in arms in the Nineteenth Alabama infantry and next to his cav | airy. Of the latter he said:
 Always bravely leading the van when the army advanced and always with un- eXcelled skill and courage forming the rear guard in every retrogade movement, frequently engaging the opposing cav airy and always with credit to our armse. Some times on a successful raid destroy ing the federal wagon trains, lines Of communications and depots of stores; some times assaulting works held by strong lines of infantry and some times holding positions against the most ter rible assault of federal infantry columns | cers. who for a third of a century have l and lines of battle. To these brave off always been in my thoughts, for whom my heart is filled with love and grati- | tude, and whose courage and fort1tude I have always admired and revered, 10 l. them, I beg now to express my thanks, | my admiration and my love
 l. Passing to the special features as- signed him, the grouping together of the more important events connected with the history of the Army of the Tennessee,
 he said: "One of the striking features in the history of the Army of the Ten nessee and that section of our country
 which became the fields of our opera tions is the rather singular fact that al- though Virginia in the east and Mis- souri in the west were the scenes of ac- tive operations and were occupied py large armies early in the summer or 1861, the expanse of territory some 4oU
 miles in width, comprising the states of Kentucky and Tennessee lying between Virginia and North Carolina on the east
 and bounded by the Missouri river on the west escaped being the theater of actuat war until near a year later.
 He then traced in detail all the events leading up to the battel of Chickamauga. Of that engagement he said:
 "The battle of Chickamauga very dis tinctly marks the turning point In the great question of warfare, which 1n- volved the policy of aggressive and de- fensive tactics. Up to and including the battle of Chickamauga, the notable suc- l cesses of the Army of the Tennessee were achieved by bold and determined attack | upon the opposing army. rms was the | policy at Shiloh, at Perryville, at Mur- | freesboro, and most certainly it was the | policy at Chickamauga. It marked I new era. From that time the Confeder- l ate policy of attacking was not success | full, but was frequently the reverse. A i change of tactics was in measure | forced upon the Army of the Tennessee | by the overwhelming strength and inn proved administration and discipline of | the federal army.
 At the battle of Missionary Ridge, | and in all the battles in the Georgia cam paign, around Nashville and in the Caro- | linas the numerical superiority of the federal army was so great and their I plan of battle such that we had few op- portunitieS to adVantageously attack. | The most usual policy of General John | ston was. therefore, to use all his skill | in compelling an attack from the op- posing army.
 General Sherman's large army ena- l bled him to meet General Johnston's plans by confronting him with a line of | battle in breastworks and at the same | time extending his entrenched lines so as to encircle his flank and threaten his rear.
 "On June 27, 1864, General Sherman. for | the first time abandoned his cautious method and made a desperate charge upon General Johnston's line. It was brilliant exhibition of the most heroic courage Sherman's killed and wounded | in this battle was about 1000, while John- | stons were but about 400.
 "In future wars the plan of campaign adhered to by General Johnston will be- come more marked and universal, The great superiority of weapons today is l such that hereafter the main purpose of l each general will be to compel an attack l from his opponent and the one who 1 shows the most skill in maneuveres of | that character will be the successful and | victorious general"
 Practical Illustration.
 | Three years ago the exportation of l few millions of gold and a correspond