The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-08-12
SAVANNAH, GA.

|
ed the great and magnanimous Grant and
chivalric boys, whose fathers followed
! the unsurpassed and stainless Lee, are
enlisted in the same command and wear
/ the uniform of a CONNIE n country and
! battling in a common cause" (Applause)
| Was the term Unsurpassed and stainless
Lee" too strong? Why only the night be-
fore, just previous to his election as pres
ident of the society, Maj. Gen. w. j.
Sewell, L. s. v, senator from New Jer-
sey in Congress, had said in his opera
house address at Fredericksburg: Il
consider that while Robert K. Lee may
! have had peer in Gen. Grant, he did not
| have superior anywhere. During
/ all the months we encountered Gen. Lee,
his grt at gene ralship allowed him to meet
us at every point. While l glory
in Northern valor, 1 will admit that the
Confederacy did what no other nation l
know Of could have d ne in the four dark
years of war. . Now the time has
come. my friends, when the North and
South must pull together for the future
of this reunited country"
Although l have written more sketches
than any other person about West Point
graduates who went into the ministry,
Gen. o. o. Howard, U. S. A. (retired),
| surprised me a the Blue and Gray
union in Atlanta, by telling me that he
very narrowly ESCAPED being in my list.
He went to the military academy in 1850,
before the good influences of Chaplain
Chas p. McIlvaine, later the beloved
! Bishop of Ohio-had died out among the
cadets, and when he graduated he carried
into the army a serious view of Chris
J tianity that led to his conversion in the
! Methodist Church at Tampa, Fla, in 1851
VIII lie he was stationed a Fort Brooke
reservation as chief of ordnance during
the last Seminole outbreaks. This led to
! his preparation for the ministry for
the purpose in view of resi- ning his COM
mission in the army to become a preach
er Of the gospel. But the Civil War came
on before he had completed his studies,
and having been educated by the nation
for military service he felt that he must
obey his countrS's call, and remain in the
army. Since the war, however, Gen How
a; d has been an active lay preacher and
worker for religious and other noble move
ments. The Gettysburg, Pa Theological
Seminary and Waterville Me- College and
Shurtliff, H., College have conferred upon
him the degree of Doctor of Laws,
The case of Gen. Howard is similar to
! that of Capt. C. b. Satterlee, U. S. A.,
who had become a lay reader in the Epis-
copal Church. and applied for deacon's
orders. Just then the Spanish-American
war came on. and he felt. like Gen How
ard had felt years before, that having
been educated at government expense TO
be soldier, and to defend his country's
flag and honor in times of trouble, it
would not be right for him to resign until
the war was over. And so he remained in
| the service not to fall in battle, but TO
die of disease where his country's flag had
been unfurled over a foreign land. A
stainless soldier of Christ as we'll gal
liant soldier of his country, this beloved
Christian gentleman sleeps the sleep that
knows no waking until the resurrection
| morn, in the cemetery at Columbia, S. c..
| where his estimab.e widow and infant son
reside, with her distinguished father
Bishop Ellison Capers, formerly a Con-
| federate general. Gen. Howard remains
| therefore, the only army survivor of West
| Point TO preach as a layman the Gospel
of Christ. Rev. r. NJ w. Black, son of
the late Congressman George r. Black of
| Sylvania. is yet an Episcopal clergyman
| in North Carolina, but he was only ca
Diet at West Point, not having graduated.
Private letters are not intended for the
public, and yet there are often paragraphs
in such letters that the public would APP
preciste reading. and the printing of
which could not offend the writer. So
shall make public few such paragraphs
from recent letters written me by Brig.
Gen. Joseph Wheeler u. S. A.. in COM
mand of the Department of the Lakes
with headquarters in Chicago
My Dear Mai or ID was very
kind in you to mention the reason why |
could not be present at the Blue and Gray
Reunion in Atlanta. l regretted my in-
ability to be with you very much bur
situated as l am, it will not do for me to
be away from Chicago even for a part of
a day. as something is turning up so
frequently that requires my attention. +"
Every great preparations are being
made for the Grand Army Encampment
here. The Chicago people say they are
going to make il the most important of
any encampment which has ever been
held. Some persons contend that there
will be one million of visitors in Chicago
during that time. The President will be
here for three days, and after he leaves
Col. Bryan is coming.
You ask about Joe in your last letter
He is still in the Philippines and at last
accounts was very well. Most of the in
surgent generals have already surrender
ed and are in Manila. / now recollect Gen.
Conception, Gen. Macabulos, Gen. Garcia
Gen. Corona and others whose names do
not come to my mind at this time The
only gere ais that are sti'l active against
us are Gen. limo snd Gen. Musca do. and
have not heard of them for some time
The only fighting we hear of is by small
squads, who do not Sc, m to be acting I'M
der generals"
Since asking his father about young
Joe, | have heard from him officially
through the war department. Under date
of June 15 Gen. Lloyd Wheaton. L. S. A.
telegraphs thanks to Gen. Fred Funston,
| u. S. v. for the gallant conduct of his
troops in the Fourth District al San Isl
dro. where they destroyed the insurgent
forces. Mai. Joseph Wheeler, Jr. OF the
! Thirty-tourth Infantry, Volunteers, and
two other officers are spec ally commend
ell" for gallant conduct, and will be so
reported TO the war department. 1t seems
that young Joe is "a chip OF the old
block" when II comes TO lighting His re-
cord at West Point ard in the regular
army where he is a lieutenant OF artil-
lery, IL one that greatly pleases the old
friends OF his illustrious father-the grim
hero Of three bloody wars
4 Gtawnx