The Savannah morning news., 1901-11-17

ropolitan's Snapshot does him great
| Injustice And just here I desire to
utter my solemn protst as journalist
/ of over fifty years experience against
/ the snapshot and interviewing meth
/ DDS of the newspaper reporters and
! correspondents of the present day. At
/ times the scenes about the neighbor-
| hood of the Milburn House we're SIM
! ply disgraceful. If Mark Hanna, or
/ Chauncey Depew. or Gen. Grosvenor,
or some other noted person arrived or
/ departed fifty or more snapshots were
made and fifty reporters surrounded
him, all after news.
have read with much interest the
article in Mondays Morning News,
| Nov 4. entitled, How Lee Ended the
War" copied from the New York Tri-
bune. Hon. Charles Francis Adams
may be correct in his statement about
| Gen. E. Porter Alexander. but l take
the narrative of Hon. John S. Wise
with many grains of allowance TOO
| much credit is given by Mr.. Adams 10
| Gen. Lee. in the matter of surrender,
and for his opposition 10 guerilla war
| fare So far as Lees army was con-
| cerned, the end had come without ms
consent, and there was no means OF
| ESCAPE. to the mountains" for the pnr-
pose of continuing a guerilla cam
| paign. l am surprised, from my lnu-
mate acquaintance with Gen. AleAan-
der. to hear at this late day that he
ever. at any time, made such sug-
gestion to Gen. Lee. the last man in
| the world in all its history, to whom
would have made such proposition.
yield to no one in appreciation OF Lee
| as an Officer and a gentleman, but
his time had come, and 1t was not
for him TO decide for peace or war
voluntarily, as he had no alternative
| but to surrender. His army OF half
starved. half-clothed soldiers had up
held and defended the flag he bore in
/ a manner that has won the applause of
| the world: but they could hold out no
longer surrounded by a well-fed, we'll
clothed, overwhelming army. and with
| ALI avenues of escape closed to them
| Gen. Lee had asked for a suspension
of hostilities. but in reply was told that
| nothing but an unconditional surren-
! der" would be considered. Gems. Cor
| don and Longstreet first accepted this
demand. in Lees absence, in order TO
| sion an immediate advance and at
| rack by Gems. Custer and Chamberlain.
Later on Gen. Lee met Gen. Grant ana
the formal surrender took place, as 1
understand the matter.
The case was somewhat different
| with Gen. Joseph E. Johnston. Ihe
| surrender of Lee came TO president
Davis 'like a thunderbolt from clear
sky." as there had been no immeolate
| ARRANGEMENT for such a calamity, Lee
| having acted in sudden emerEeucy
| that allowed of no consultation. with
| Johnston there were appeals TO holu
on and plans for guerrilla warfare
from both Lieut.. Gen. Wade Hampton
and President Davis. But, like Lee
| IF h1nXan6aTS
sition, Johnston scorned any such un-
| Christian mode of warfare Hampton
being absent when Johnston and Sher-
man made their armistice, claimed not
TO be included in it. and had arranged,
as 1 understand it, to form Dig
cavalry command and escape TO the
mountains" with President Davis and
keep UP the fight. Thls plan, now.
| ever. was dropped, as was President
Davis later plan to escape into the
Trans Mississippi department and
there renew the contest for the con-
tinuance of the life of the critically
endangered Confederacy The major.
ity of officers and soldiers opposed
both of these plans. A recent Writer
compared President Kruger to Presl'
| dent Davis, in this guerrilla warfare
matter, and several Southern soldiers
among them a writer in the Mornins
News. took issue with him. But he
was right. as President Davis held out
very strongly against giving up the
ships of state" to the lightning ano
the storm" of battle.
When all other hopes had failed
him, as they certainly, had then Pres
ident Davis appealed to his cabinet tc
settle the question of absolute and en-
tire surrender and he asked them to
nut their views in writing. This they
did at Charlotte, n. c., and every mem
Der was emphatically opposed to any
further continuance of the struggle. Or
the subject of guerilla warfare. Score
tary Judah Benjamin. the brains Of
the cabinet" made an elaborate pro-
test against it's adoption and all the
other members opposed it. This settled
the question finally and forever, and
the only other vexed question to be-
settled, was how to get themselves and
President Davis to place of confident
security. All praise to Gen. Lee ano
Gen. Johnston for so humanely and
promptly yielding to the unavoidable
emergency in which they found them
selves placed, but to neither of them
belongs the great credit given by Hon
Chas. Francis Adams. The Confederacy
expired naturally. or, as Bob" Toombs
used to declare: I'VE Confederates ex-
hausted ourselves in whipping you
Yankees" AS Admiral Schley nobly
said of Santiago There is glory
enough for ALI Cor similar Words so
say of the surrender: don't give all the
glory to Gen. Lee, but let some of II
go to the gallant heroes who bravely
bore aloft the star and Bars" long af-
ter the Light Of Hope" had gone out
forever.
Since writing the above ! have read
in Wednesdays Morning News the ad.
dress OF Mai. James r. Sheldon on the
Surrender and find that II confirms
my view of the situation. He admits
that Gen. Lees army was virtually
cut off from all means of retreat, and
that II was tight or surrender which
confronted as brave an army as ever
marched 20 battle. as well as the raost
completely exhausted and unprovideo
for army that was ever forced to meet
a vigorous. well-groomed enemy Tho
situation was such that there was nc
aiternativ but 10 surrender 10 an over
towering army which then surrounded
this faithful and fearless remnant OF
the once powerful Army OF Northern
virginia" But ! understand from my
old comrades, Gen, y. w. Whitaker
and Gen j. L. Chamberlain, who were
prominent Union cavalry and infantry
actors In the affair, that after Cen
Lee asked for an armistice, which wac
not granted. and he could not bs
found near al hand 20 receive the re.
ply, IN this emergency Gen. Gordon
ana Gen. LonEstTest virtually GurTen'
Z 49, $500 90 % saraas.iaa