The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1896-07-18

lie mas Il SOluler : face-cSpcci1lly
The nose. Lord Napier himself did not
possess II iiercer eagles beak. Tine
and work have ravaged his cuuntenancc
now, but when | first saw linn. he was
an unusually handsome man in appear
ance, worthy To command that splendid
band of Mi sourianS whom Jefferson
DaviS-the hero of Bucna Nista-pro-
nounced the finest body of soldiers he
ever gazed upon.
Cockrell's reputation for work has
ov"rshadowcd the reputation he ought
To have for brains. Entering the senate
without legislative training of any sort
he has come TO be regarded rs one of
the great members of that body. He
Is lit for any position within the gilt Of
The American people.
| asked II of his Pix county
soldiers what was the secret of his
success IN war.
"Oh,' he replied, "'while the other
fellows were fuGsing and fumlng about
ranks and grades, Cockrell was fight
ing, and between battles was lying flat
OF his belly in the tent studying
Hardee's tactics.
| asked him how Cockrell acted IN
battle. lie SAID:
ole told us to come On, not 90 on,
At the battle of Corinth, Cockrell's
horse, odd Yellow was shot dead
under him, by n cannon ball while
leading n charge. As the horse fell
CocErell jumped over its head, lighted
on bis feet, and waving his sword
above his head marched straight
towards the enemy's center"
Cockrell never sets up for a wit.
Nobody ever thinks of him in thai
connection. If he were, Vicksburg
with its bloody horrors would have
been the most grewsome place on
earth for the exercise of that pleasing
gift, but in the excitement OF one of
the days when the work was the hottest
Cockrell perpetrated a bull worthy of
Sir Boyle Rich himself.
1t was when the works were being
sappcd, Colonel Erwin, a grandson of
Henry Clay, commanded the Sixth
Missouri Infantry. The Second was
Cockrell's own But being senior
colonel, Cockrell commanded both.
The Sixth was IN front of the Second.
A mine was exploded under the Sixth,
and many Il brave Missourian was
blown into eternity. Erwin jumped
on IL parapet and in the endeavor to
rally his men was instantly killed.
Cockre!l rushed to the front and in a
Voice which rang clear above the roar
of artillery, the groans of the wounded
and the bouts of the soldiers, called
out:
"Come on, Old Bloody Second Mis-
souri,, you hav died once and can die
agaIn,'',
There was no fun in it then, but his
soldiers got lots of amusement out of
1t afterward and ii was a long time
before Cockrell heard the last of that
unique invitation to the festival of
death. Subsequently,, when his brigade
was on the march and they got stuck in
the mud and mixed up in the darkness,
some soldier in some other regiment
would sing out:
''Comc on, Old Bloody Second Mis-
souri,, You have died once, and can die
again!7 and the pIny woods would ring
with 1t and with cheers for Frank
Cockrell-for that is what his men call
HIM to this day.
Colonel Elijah Gates was COckrell's
rival for the brIgadier generalship, and
it is said that he was more popular
than Cockrell; but Cockrell's reputa-
ton as a rigid disciplinarian gave him
the coveted prize.
In style of speaking Cockrell and
Vest are as wide apart as the poles.
There is nothing spectacular, humOr-
Gus, sarcastic, classic or eloquent
about Cockrell. Like Mark Antony,
he is ga plain, blunt man. and he
pounds away IN sledge hammer style,
pouring out from his wonderful mem
DRY every fact and figure tending to
sustain his sIde of the question till he
the opposition. In debate
he fights with the same grims deter
mination that he evinced on IA hundred
fields of carnage. His speeches are
rich mines of information.
Vest is the best hand in Missouri to
INTO II strong democratic COM
munity To arousc the faithful to enthu-
but COckrcll is far better TO
among the d~isgruntled TO soothe
them and induce their return To the
fold. AS n public speaker each has his
own proper uses and his own peculiar
held III any converts are ever made
by stump speeches., which | doubt
exceedingly, Cockrell would bag more
of them than Vest.
The secrets of Cockrell's influence
over his men were his personal courage
and his unfailIng kindness. In his
estimation superior rank did not place
him socially above his fellow citizens
who followed him enthusiastically from
| nNIn,rfnp tn tbn (tuIf He Vuao Tho
father of his soldiers. When sick,
weary, wounded or in distress, he
ministered to their wants as though
they were his children, and as ample
he has the love of all who
served under him. | doubt if he ever
made a speech in Missouri without
of his old brigade for auditors,
and they can always be depended on to
lead the applause. | have studied
about it n great deal and have come to
the conclusion that Il mere civilian can
comprehend nor appreciate the
deep devotion which is felt for each
other by men who have together faced
death upon the battlefield.
Before | knew General Cockrell |
wrote and delivered IL lecture on
memory i'll which | collated a great
many astounding instances of the
remarkable powers of that useful
When l rewrite it | propose
to illustrate 1t copiously from Cock
career.
Il he has ever forgotten the name or
face of any of his old soldiers, the fact
escaped the observation of all the
One example will suffice.
Dnrn when General CocErau waS
wounded he was confined in a hospital
with W. Il. Steele, Il boy soldier from
Lafayette county. From their hospital