The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1898-04-07
GEN. NELSON A. NILES.
Unworthy of the Honor Sought to be
Conferred Upon Him.

At a time when the North and
south are ablaze with patriotism it
does seem to us that Congress could
| be engaged in a better work than
furthering the selfish ends of Ma jor
General Miles. Since his advent in
the service, he has by pulling every
political string been putting himself
forward and selfishly disregarding
the feelings of brother officers. He
is now making every effort to push a
bill through Congress creating the
position Of Lieutenant General, so
that he may attain that rank. The
South has nothing but respect for
the great soldiers OF the North, but
it is difficult to see how any right
| thinking American can desire the
promotion Of man so brutal and
destitute of the instincts Of gentle
man as this man Miles is shown to
be by the extracts, which we today
| publish from the book by Mrs. Jetfer-
son Davis, entitled: Jefferson Davis,
Memoir BY His Wife," as follows:
I'm a little while General Miles
came in and assured me Of Davis
| good health. He showed the same eco
nomv of titles in speaking Of my hus-
| band from the time l went there
until our departure. Sometimes he
varied the nomenclature by calling
him jeff Davis or jeff. Page 1853.
The bed was so infected in insects
as to make perceptible odor to the
room. Page 759.
..He (Mr Davis was bitter at no
earthly creature, but expressed SUI
preme contempt for the petty insults
inflicted hourly upon him by General
Miles, who, he said, had exhausted
his ingenuity to find something more
otflicting to visit upon him. Page
| 500.
"General Burton, as accidentally
learned, said Mr. Davis, which state
ment was afterwards verified by him,
when deciding upon easement for
me, was advised by General Miles
to put me on the side of the fort oc-
cupied by the camp women; he said
there was an improperly in associa-
ting me with the families of the
| officers. but General Burton declined
to offer me the indignity, and assign
ed me a casemate in the row with
the officers wives. Page 1853.
1--WE excused much to General
Miles, whose opportunity to learn
the habits of refined people were
said to have been few, and his sec
tional feeling was very bitter, but that
he should not have been moved at the
age of 26 by the evident physical and
mental anguish of his prisoner and
should have devised ingenious
fortunes for him, we could not under
stand. Page 764.
Enough of this sickening retro
| spect, my memory does not furnish
a record of the thousand little stabs
he gave his emaciated, gray-haired
prisoner. Suffice it to say he used
| his power to insult and annoy to the
utmost, and in ways previously I'M
known and not to be anticipated by
gentlefolk Page 766.
.When he (Miles) was to be pro-
NOTED to higher grade, one of his
friends wrote to Mr.. Davis for an ex-
preston of his opinion about General
Miles conduct to him, saying that,
from Mr.. Davis not having chacterlz-
ed it IN his book, it was hoped he
would say there had been no UNI
soldierly persecution of a helpless
prinoner. To this Mr.. Davis sent a
most emphatic assertion of General
Miles unmanly and cruel conduct,
and also wrote letter to a Senator
from Mississippi. which did not
reach him, owing to his being out OF
town when the confirmation occurred,
else it would have been read in the
Senate. Page 100.
Sir Hudson Lowe has received
during the years that have elapsed
since Napoleon's death, the execra-
ton of all brave men for seventies
practiced on him at St. Helena; but
these were far less stringent, and the
insults much less overt and degrad-
ing to England and himself, than those
inflicted by General Miles upon Mr..
Davis. Mr.. Davis silence in his book
was. because he did not choose to
appeal to Il public tribunal to char
acterize the wrongs he could not,
in his old age and broken health
avenge. Page 1913.
General Miles is not worthy to hold
the rank of Lieutenant General OF the
United States army.-Richmond (Va..
| Times.