The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-09-08

walker and Rosser became Republic
cans. But Fitz Lee, G. C. Wharton,
W. II. Payne. G. w. c. Lee, T. T.
Munford and Eppa Hunter are still
aiive and don't attend Republican con-
ventions. The Richmond Dispatch,
however, claims Bradley T. Johnson
ana L. l.. Lomax, but they belong to
maryland rather than Virginia. Lomax
was born in Rhode Island. but his
father was Maj. Mann p. Lomax. u.
5. A., of Virginia, a distinguished Of
nicer OF the ordnance department, who
dleo In 1872. For several years Gen.
l.. l.. Lomax was president of the
maryland Agricultural College, but
now resides in Washington, D. C.
The Washington, D. c., Star pays a
deserved tribute to the late Brig. Gen.
William Ludlow, U. S. A., but errs in
GAZING him "a star graduate of West
Point" as he stood No s in the class
of 1864. Savannah furnished one of the
star graduates (No. y of that class,
the late Maj. James w. Cuyler of the
engineer corps, son of the late Brig.
zen. John M. Cuyler, medical director
on zen. Hancock'S staff. The other star
cadets We're Garrett j. Lydecker "a;
Arthur HI. Durham (2); Amos Stick
ney cd, and Alexander Mackenzie (5).
The fact that Gen. Ludlow was not
star gradute did not prevent him from
winning In active service the highest
nonor, being the first member of his
class to become a brigadier general.
Lydecker, Stickney and Mackenzie are
now colonelS in the engineer corps.
Burnham died in 1877 a captain and
Drevet major of engineers, and both he
and Cuyler were engineer officers of
rare promise when death cut short their
army careers. Gen. Ludlow was not
only most accomplished officer, but
gentleman of the finest character, and
the nation may well mourn his loss
with deepest grief. His father went
into the Civil War from New York as
major of volunteers in 1861 and came
out In 1865 a brevet brigadier and ma
jor general.
was gratified to see the very manly
and prompt response of Col. McGlash-
an In Mondays Morning News, in re-
gard to his Confederate army rank. 1t
shows him to have been brave, faith
ful and patriotic soldier, and also con-
firms my statement that there is no
ofhcfal record of his deserved promo
ton to the rank of brigadier general.
He, like hundreds of other brave colo
nels, was overlooked in the final wind
| up or official control of the armies from
| the Richmond war department. might
| mention Col. John S. Prather of Allan
ia, the late Col. (Dr.) Vol H. Taliaferro
| of Columbus, the late Col. Isaac W.
| Avery of Savannah, and Col Chas. T.
Zachary of McDonough, known to me
| personally, who also failed of deserved
promotion, although commanding brig
aces. And yet, Col. G. J. Wright
| Judge Glib" Wright) of Cobb's Le-
| gion, has always been recorded as a
brigadier general. He told me, how
ever, before his death, that he was
never promoted, and not to put his
name in my list of Confederate gen.
erals.
A recommendation, however strong,
and from the most distinguished gem
eral in the field, does not always ac-
complish its object. Hundreds of such
failures in the Union army were
smoothed over at the close of the war
with brevets of various kinds. But in
| the Confederate army, when the coll
lapse came, there was nobody thought
full enough to adopt this plan before IT
was too late. Ex-President jefferson
Davis, in revising my list of Confeder-
ate generals, when presented the case
OF Gen. Francis S. Barlow, said: I'm
the case presented, that of a colonel
who had been promoted to be a briga-
der general, but was killed before the
commission reached him, 1 would say,
certainly, he is to be placed among the
brigadier generals. 1 would make no
distinction between those who had been
appointed in recess of the Senate, and
who consequently had not been con-
firmed at the time of their death, for
their commission was valid when they
died, and the presumption was GER
tainly in favor of their confirmation. ="
In this opinion Gen. Leroy Pope
Walker, ex-Secretary of War. fully
concurred. 1t applies not only to Gen.
Barlow, but to all other colonies killed
while commanding brigades of their
own, and which had no other COM
mander.
OF another class of generals ex-
President Davis ruled as follows. and
Gen. Walker concurred: Where a
nomination was submitted to the SEN
ate and rejected, or by the adjourn
ment of the Senate without action, be-
came a dead letter, in either of those
cases / would say the rank was never
attained" This is the same iron-clad
rule that prevails in the United States
army. 1 remember that when Cen
Ruger was in command of the Depart
HlSIlt Oh the south, WIN headquarters
in Atlanta, his chief paymaster was
Col Daniel Mcclure. Now, the Colonel
had been promoted to be a brigadier
general but the Senate for some rea-
son failed to confirm his appointment.
Mrs. Mcclure, whenever she talked
with me about her husband, always
called him Gen" Mcclure, but Gen.
Ruger and all his officers invariably
referred/to him as Col" Mcclure. One
of the Confederate heads of the War
Department, / think it was Secretary
Benjamin, went so far as to decide that
certain brigadier generals ceased to be
such when their brigades were dis
solved and they became "fioaters," as
it were.
OF still another class, and perhaps
Col. McGlashan may have been in it,
ex-President Davis said: There were
probably colonies commanding brig
AIDES at the close of the war. but to
whom commissions had never been is
sued, and could not be, because the
brigadier general was absent, perhaps
wounded, or a prisoner, or sick, yet In
each event entitled to resume the COM
mand of his brigade whenever he
could join it; such temporary COM
manders could not be classed as brig
adler generals under any circum-
stances" Gen. Walker also took the
same view of the matter, But where a
colonel commanded a brigade of his
own. with no absent commander, as
above stated by Mr.. Davis, and sur
rendered as such commander, he was