The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1899-03-24
SILVER LOCKS in BATTLE.

Years.

h1SSod, year, belonged distinctly % :
sby xoneera. Willie many OF his cor
teHporsaies on the Virginia au@ FEN
inesoee ~etLltfields have been ~cerpeb
'capf siguipg trom 1865 up tc eh,
present day, this representative of tf.
'old ssRsy an9sef tho srnlies Of 1859
wss compelled by age 10 put away IL.
@sword 'eose tlaa a eonecStion .ag,,
When be waved it in EeoRt .cf hn thin
'bvt 3ntreRid line On CGpA Hill
eGetylburg, in GS6S, he wa.Ha years
'oiG, OK ~ttdia two p ears of the cristne
age for army officers.
Strange as it may seem to readers
unfamiliar with the subject, the case
# Gen. Greene ia but ous of az any in
tine ANNALS IF tine American soidier.
The present com manding general G
rhe United States nrmy, Gea. Nelson
"A. Miles, fought his Grst bstus al
most 81 yeass ago, but he IS to-day
the youngest &C the rlest dialingciskeI
survivosu IF the civil war aow in har-
ness. Brooke, Merritt, Shateer, Msr-
rlam, Otis and Eesry wfll roach the
@ge KNIT ahead Uf Miles. Lee apS
WILSON are his sen;orr, alH 60 is
Wheeler wire is g. mo rvel Of activity
at 80. When the aruy wss nnsrshai-
led for the war with epsin, eR the
major generals OF the live, except
Wade, and not Fswer than q hundred
subordinate officers, were older than
Threesco-e 70 ,rs or ON hge approach
ing It fs a common one for American
leaders. When Winfield Scot stood
upon the dome of the capital of Cha.
pulpepeo, directing his bastslions in
the attsck on the City of Mexico, he
could look back 34 years to the day
Of his first battle wound. And Gen. !
II ichary Taylor, who initiated the |
Mexican war with all the fiery ardor
,,dt youth, was 62 when he crossed the
Rio Grande at The head of the Ameri |
can army. marching to Buena Vista
and Monterey. And it was only last
year that the worl applaudeI the
spectacle Of Dewey, in his 6lst year,
snashiDg $psnish sovereignty in the
but he was simply bring
ing TO- fruit, late iu life, lessons that
he had learned back in the sixties,
sailing under Farragut, then a veter-
an of NJ. re than threescore, having a
record Of almost SO years of active
va, fare behind him.
Readers of history know that these
martial veterans have not played the
role OF conservative cnunsellors mere
y y nas whs hss Rese fh fShssn
was lsshed to the shrouds ut the bat
tie of Mobile Bay. Juniors abou; him
shouted warnings that the eagship was
leading tie line Of vessels to a meet of
submarine torpeGoes, but with sn ex-
cusable oath, considering what 1t has
done for the American navy, the
gray. headed admiral cried out:
damn the torpedoes! Go ahead
And the old hero didn't stop with
mere words, but Immediately drove
his wooden flagship upon the low tor
y ard deck of the ram Tennessee IN an
effort to sink her with superior weight.
although he, knew that his own YES
eel must 60 down in the wreck.
Ia the same spirit Gen. Zachary
Taylor acted when his juniors appeal
ed to hirn to fall back at Buena Vista,
for the safety OF hie army. "No,'
said he firmly, CPL never pass my
wounded alive" He stayed on the
hard fought field aud was rewarded
the next morning by seeing that the
Mexicans had retreated in a ront, al
though they outnumbered his troops
four to'one." =; ="
Scott displayed equally aggressive
w;por when the American army lay In
front Of the forbidden heights of Chap
ultepec. After meeting with bloody
reception at atMolinos del Rsy be asked
the younger generals about him t.
suggest a plan for the capture OF the
CITY of Mexico, which lay beyond the
heights. All of them said that the
army should go around Chapultepec
--"ayoid' it was the military term
and approach the city from the west
aide. After each had spoken and
given his reasons Scott ended the
council by saying: Gentlemen, We
viii Grst storm Chapultepec, then look
to the city gates ON the west s'de.'
Chspultepec was stormed and won anc
the city fell without any defense o
its gates worthy the name.
1t is interesting to contrast tn