The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-05-16
Gen. CIuseret Tells About His All
Day Fight with stcnewnII Jackson
and His Dictionary Interview
with Abraham LtncoIn After
From the Paris Figaro.


/ reason is that Cuba, like Canada, is a
Catholic country and the United States Is
a Protestant nation; and if two new Cath
! Ole states should join the union it would
change the political balance. had to deal
with this question thirty years ago, when
was commissioner of public instruction
In New York. Already at that time
showed the spirit of invasion on the part
of the Catholics tending toward the de-
struction of the school system which ex-
listed since the origin of the republic, They
wanted appropriations scattered proper
tionately according to the importance of
the religions from a numerical point of
view. This was sonderbund in the egg.
Since that time the Catholics have made
considerable progress, and / very much
| doubt If, in the presence of their Increase,
Congress will be disposed to change its
old-time policy. t2t
No, what the United States want is the
independence Of their capital, closely link
ed as il is with that of the Island of Cuba.
Now for the army. There is no army In
the United States Twenty-Five thou
sand men to look after the Indians in the
far West cannot be called al army.
There are solid volunteers, and as many
of them as the nation wants, or as it has
money to pay for e As4i
Now, what are these volunteers?
Having commanded them for four years
I know them. They are honest and brave
fellows, politicians above everything else
but a s professional soldiers they amount to
nothing. Not one single military genius
came out of the war of secession. From
tactical point of view there was not one
conception or one skilful maneuver. But
the triumph of numbers, of money and of
the essential quality of the Yankee race,
good sense and tenacity, is beyond ques-
ton.
I was at Gettysburg and at Antietam,
where stupid masses We're commanded by
stupidity in the presence of death. There
was not a movement, not a conception. Two
lines of men were moved down during an
entire day by $50 pieces OF artillery. What
was the result? Alignment in death as in
life. Go to Antetam to-day, and there you
viii find 10000 dead in line on their backs,
instead of being on their legs, with crosses
of wood over their heads instead of mus
l1ets in their hands-incapable Of moving,
dead, just as they were when liying-align-
ment in Immortality that is all. Grant
was grossly ignorant; he. did not possess
the smallest idea of maneuvering. The only
maneuverer was StonewaH Jackson my ad-
rersary The latter unanswered rapidly and
I naturally was Obliged to do the same
thing. sssts,.st
An example may nlalSeiii my meaning more
clear. At the beginning of the campaign
the men used innocently to ask me: Gen
eral, do you think that we will be afraid?"
They were honest fellows, and, as a rule,
honest fellows ask just such questions.
The troops wanted me to maneuyer them
even on days of repose,- As soon as they
were camped anywhere the exercise COM
menced. You see for yourself that there is
nothing like that among European arm
les
AT Cross Keys commanded the advance
guard of the army, which advance guard
during the battle became the right wing
From o'clock in the morning l was in
contact with the enemy. The general-in-
chief, a politician, sent me an order not to
engage the enemy. That did not prevent
the action from being engaged. AT O'clock
Stonewall Jackson, massing his troops.
charged upon the center, broke it, and
the left wing gave way. The right wing,
which commanded, still remained.
Stonewal, being compelled to make a
flank movement before my troops to break
the center, was Obliged to reasgemble his
line and to pass in front of me. was wait
ing for him. From o'clock to 8 in the
evening we made nine consecutive charges
upon the army OF Stonewall. He had for
him number and prestige. At the ninth as
sault little remained of my forees--a few
thousand exhausted men, but not a single
officer on my staff. This ninth assault was,
L
red everything before me, the headquar-
ters, prisoners, etc, etc 1t was a COM
plete success, followed by this phenome-
non: The general ln-chief in full retreat al
o'clock telegraphed to Lincoln, Battle
lost" and at O'Clock, Battle won" Lin
coin sent me by telegraph an order to come
TO the White House, and there occurred
between him and me the strangest inter
view that one could ina gine.. Lincoln did
fl.f rrJ Of 7
only speak four or 1--WE words of English.
But Lincoln would not have an Interpreter;
he wanted to know his army without hav-
ing recourse to the politicians. And there
in his cabinet in tete-a-tete he handed me
a pocket dictionary. He took another, and
for two mortal hours we struggled togelh-
Grand at last managed to understand each
other tolerably we'll
What a difference between such simplic-
ity and the Formally of the Elyseei on
leaving him 1t was midnight. Take that
TO Stanton said he.
Stanton was minister of war; and the
document that brought him was my an.
pointment to the rank of fun general Be
fore that was only acting general
The whole Yankee character Is in this
episode. Good sense and colossal energy.
Would it be possible TO charge any Euro
pean troops nine times in succession. upon
the same objective point and make them
fight from 10 o'clock In the morning unel
in the evening without food and without
repose? No, sir! .N
But that is the way II was throughout
the entire war. The war of secession only
came to a close for want Of complaints.
We had killed 800 900 Southern men, ana the
North lost even a larger number. And yet
IL was the North that triumphed
Therel 1t will be the same thing with
the Spaniards, and il would be the same
thing with any other nation, even Ger
many. England would be more difficult on
account Of the similarity of the race. The
Yankees are proud patriots. They will
spend their last dollar, fight to the bitter
end, and triumph, per fas ct nefas Make
no mistake about that There, sir, ac-
cor6ing 60 my best recoliections, Is what
/ can tell you. e Gen. Cluseret.