Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1896-08-29
WAR "REMINISCENCES.
GEN. PEMeERToN.

The Defender of vicksburg Pennsyl-
vnnlan by Birth.
In a recent address at San Antonio,
Ten, Hon. John II. Reagan said:
''While am speaking of matters con-
nected with the war which have not, so
far as know, gone into history, de-
sire to do an act of justice to the MEM
ory of Lieut.. Gen. John G. Pemberton,
who was in command at Vicksburg
when that city was surrendered. He,
with the balance of his command, was
paroled after their surrender. The
great strategic Importance OF ViclSs-
burg, commanding as it did the Missis-
sippi river, and the loss of which sub
stantially bisected the territory of the
confederacy by the line of that river,
was so important and was so keenly felt
by our people that it caused deep re-
gret and great dissatisfaction. And
many of the people questioned the fidel-
ity of Gen. Pemberton to our cause. 1t
Is of this that wish specially to speak
in justice to his memory.
.sHe was a citizen of the state of Penn
Isylvania and major of the federal
army when the war broke out His
mother lived in Philadelphia and was
wealthy. He believed the people of the
south were in the right and that their
cause was Just, and determined to enter
tthe confederate service. He notified his
mother of his intention, saying to her
that he was military man and that his
age would require him to participate in
the war, and that he could not afford
to risk his life in a cause which he be-
1ieved to be unjust. His mother pro-
tested against this course and threat
ened to disinherit him if he persisted
in it.
"You may well understand what a
trial it must have been to him to re-
fuse to comply with his mothers wish,
and to separate himself from his own
section of the country, greatly the
stronger, and unite with the weaker
section, placing his life at stake be-
cause of his conscientious conviction of
duty. On his merits as an officer he
rose to the rank of lieutenant general in
the confederate service. And on ac-
count of the confidence of the president
in his ability and fidelity to our cause he
was put in command of the important
military position of Vicksburg.
after he was exchanged as aprisoner
and released from his parole, 1 was with
President Davis in his Office when Gen.
iPemberton called on him, and stated
that the discomfort on account of the
fall of Vicksburg had destroyed his
usefulness in high command, and made
tit proper for him to resign his commis-
sion of lieutenant general, which he
then did, and he asked to be assigned
to the rank of lieutenant colonel of ar
ftillery in the regular army of the con-
federacy. The president, with express
sions of sympathy and regret, accepted
his resignation as lieutenant general,
and he was assigned to his line rank
of lieutenant colonel of artillery. This
was the only instance during the wal
of an officer voluntarily resigning q
high rank in the army and asking fo-
service in n lower one.
Not long after this Gen. Butler. in
command of the federal forces, moving
portion of the army from the south
to the north side of the James river
with a large force attempted TO cap.
ture the city of Richmond. Our line OF
works in front of him was defended