The Valentine Democrat. [volume] (Valentine, Cherry Co., Neb.) 1896-1898, 1898-04-21
THE souTH's MANY COLONIES.
4 Possible Explanation of Their Num-
ber Suggested.

For many years, indeed, since the
close of the war, it has been stand
ing joke among the paragraphers and
in variety theaters that the COnfeder
ate army was composed almost wholly
of staff officers and that the number
of colonies distributed throughout the
South and in the States of the South
west, was materially greater than the.
number of male adult civilians. 1t is
certainly fact, as all travellers attest.
that there are more cOlOnels, majors
and generals in the Southern than in
the Northern States, and this is fact,
despite what is a matter of general
knowledge, too, that the Southern army
was materially smaller throughout the
war than the Northern forces
An explanation of the apparent an
omaly has lately appeared in a state
ment which shows in detail that the
number of Southern officers was rela-
lively larger than the number of
Northern officers during the civil war
The official Confederate army list
shows one general-in-chief, Robert
f. Lee, and seven full generals, as
follows: Cooper, Albert Sidney John
ston, Beauregard, Joseph E. Johnston,
Smith, Bragg and Hood. The number
of lieutenant generals in the COnfed-
crate army, Stonewall Jackson, Hill,
Early, Buckner, Wade Hampton and
Gordon among them, was nineteen,
and there were besides 81 major gen
erals and more than 200 brigadier-gen-
erals. This was very much larger than
the army roll in respect of staff officers
ON the Union side at Il corresponding
period. Before the establishment of the
office of lieutenant general there were
4 major generals and II brigadier gen
erals in the regular army and 20 majO
generals and 80 brigadier generals in
the volunteer service. There were cor
respOndingly, larger number of col
onels and majors in the Southern than
i'll the Northern army, and the reason
for this was to be found in the fact
that the commands of the SOutherners
were generally smaller and more wide
ly separated. The Northern forces con-
stituted the attacking army; the South
ern forces, after the battle of Gettys-
burg, We're 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, or small
attacking columns, of commands Or
ganized for foraging purposes, or to
cover retreat, were in detail, and the
commander of each detail took, by cOur-
tesy and under military usage, title
as high in its way as q Northern COM
mander would receive if in charge of
force perhaps eight or ten times larger.
1t is a weL-knOwn fact that military
men having titles are as slow to surren-
der them and to foregO their use as.
Off1ceholders are to retire from the hon
ors and emOluments of public station
The rule ''once a colonel always a coi-
onel,' still prevails in the South, ana 1t
applies in like manner to generals, ma
jors and captains as we'll. A man who.
may have acted for few hours, per-
haps at the head of Il detachment as its
colonel, though actually Il corporal. has
since the close of tho war continued to-
be known as colonel.