The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1897-12-13
HOW THEY BECOME COLONIES

Many Men in South With Military
Titles.
The Chicago Post is authority for the
following statement:
For many years-indeed, since the
close of the civil war-it has been
standing joke among the photographers
and in variety theatres that the Con-
deferate army was composed almost
wholly of staff officers, and that the
number of colonies distributed through
out the South and in the States of the
southwest, was materially greater than
the number of male adult civilians. 1t
is certainly fact, as all travellers at
test. that there are more colonies. ma
jors and generals in the Southern than
in the Northern States, and this is a
fact, despite what is matter of gen.
eral knowledge, too, that the Southern
army was materially smaller through
out the war than the Northern forces.
An explanation of the apparent ano-
maly has recently appeared in a state
ment which shows in detail that the
number of Southern officers was rela-
lively larger than the number of North
| ern officers during the civil war. The
| official Confederate army list shows
one general in chief, Robert E. Lee,
and seven full generals, as follows:
Cooper Albert Sydney Johnston, Beau
regard, Joseph e. Johnston, Smith,
Bragg and Hood The number of lieut.
enant-generals in the Confederate
Army, Stonewall Jackson, Hill, Early,
Buckner, Wade Hampton and Gordon
besides 81 majors generals, and more
than 200 rigadier-generals This was
very much larger than the army roll
in respect of staff officers on the Union
side at corresponding period Before
the establishment of the Office of lieut.
enant-general there were four major
generals and II acknowledgements in
the regular army, and 20 major-gen-
erals and $50 brigadier-generals in the
volunteer service. There was. CORE
spondingly, a larger number of colo
nels and majors in the Southern than
in the Northern Army, and the reason
for this was to be found in the fact
that the commands of Southerners were
generally smaller and more widely sep
arated. The Northern forces consti-
tuted the attacking army; the Southern
forces, after the battle of Gettysburg,
were on the defensive, and much of the
conflict which continued during the
closing years of the strife was, so far
as the Southern men were engaged in
it, of a desultory guerrilla character
The services of sharpshooters, of small
attacking columns, of commands or
gained for foraging purposes, or to
cover retreat, were in detail, and the
commander of each detail took, by
courtesy and under military usage, a
title as high In it's way as a Northern
commander would receive if in charge
of force perhaps eight or 10 times
larger. 1t is a well-known fact that
military men having titles are as slow
to surrender them and to forego their
use as office-holders are to retire from
the honors and emoluments of public
station. The rule, "once colonel, al
ways a colonel" still prevails in the
South, and it applies in like manner to
generals, majors and captains as we'll
A man who may have acted for a few
hours, perhaps, at the head of a de-
tachment as it's colonel, though actual
ly corporal, has, since the close of the
war, continued to be known as colonel.