Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1898-08-25
AN OLD MEMS WAR.
But Few of the Commanding Ofncers
In the Field To-day Are
Youthful.

This is an old mems war, so far as
the army is concerned. When the civil
war broke out, Lee, the two john
stons, Cooper, and perhaps one or two
other men of years and rank, Joined
the confederacy, for most of these Off
GERS were from the southern states;
few elderly officers went into serv-
ice in the national armies, but with
rare exceptions it was the captains
and lieutenants of the regular army
who became the generals of the civil
war, and the civilians who were APP
pointed to military command were
usually young men. Most of the gen.
eral and field officers of what is known
as the old army were deemed phys
ically unavailable, and their names
are not known to a generation that re-
members well the names of scores of
military commanders who in 1861 were
company officers, or, if in civil life at
the time, were just beginning their
business or professional careers.
In 1861 the patriarchs of the United
States army were Sumner, aged Ga,
and Mansfield, aged IS. The latter was
killed at Antietam; the former, soon
after Fredericksburg, was relieved
from service in the field at his own re-
quest. Ormsby Mcknight Mitchell
was so when the war began; Hooker,
AZ; Meade, As; Thomas, As; Mcdowell,
Ord and Buell., 43; Sherman, Al; Aufur,
40; Grant and Pope, 80; Hancock and
Burnside, 81; Logan and Mcclellan, 35;
Mcpherson, 80; Howard, 81; Sheridan,
30, and Merritt, rs.
Most of the general officers of the
present army were the generals and
colonies of the regular army; few of
these are under 60 years of age. The
four original major generals of the
volunteers, appointed from civil life,
achieved high rank in the civil war
A man who was only 81 when that war
closed would Tow be CO. so that these
commanders are over that age, for
the youngest Of them, Gen. Wheeler,
was 20 at the end of the war. Gen.
Sewall declined his appointment, pre-
ferring to remain in the senate, and
the president added to this list But
Ter, of South Carolina, and Kiefer, Of
years old when the civil war closed,
and both of them had distinguished
themselves in that struggle.
Dandolo took Constantinople at so
or over, and Won Moltke was over 70
at the time of the Franco-German
war. Several other German officers
were well over 60, but these must be re-
garded as exceptional cases. Napoleon
and Wellington were about As at Wa.
terloo, and most of Napoleon's gen
erals were young men. Our officers
in the revolution were generally
young, but so were the leaders of civil
life; the active period of life seemed
then to begin and close earlier than
now. Scott and Taylor were past mid
die life in the war with Mexico. After As a
man is liable to develop physical weak.
nesses that interfere with campaigns
ing, and a man of so does not generally
take the chances that a man of 30 does.
and in war many chances must be
taken. If Gen. Shafter is to be crit
icised at all, however, it is for being
too aggressive, and not for being too
cautious. We 60 not criticise the gem
eral, but if he were to be criticised, 1t
would be for fault of youth, and not
for fault of age. But he is over CO.,
weighs over 300 pounds, and, on ac-
count of trouble with his legs, is I'M
able for days at time to stand. Gen.
Wheeler is 81, and was carried for
ward to the fighting before Santiago
on litter, but, against the protests
of the surgeons. he insisted on mount
ing his horse when he reached the
front. Gen. Young, also over 60, has
been invaded home because he can
not stand the climate of Cuba. Men be-
tween 30 and 40, the age of most of
the generals of the civil war, are at
present subalterns. Col. Roosevelt,
who is one of the boys of this war,
must be 40 or little over.-N. Y. Com
mercial Advertiser.
Army and Navy Surgeons.