New-York tribune., 1901-08-10


as one OF the most important contributions -
an understanding OF its operations and OF the
,orces and personalities that operated III H.
General Cox was II not Of the corlilaHu
sn9 figures n the conflict, valuable anu u uS'0
assistant to the greater men, Ihls Dooh CIV
completely his experiences ana opseI
during the war; though, as ne says ne nos
avoided repetition Of his former hlstorlcal WIZ
inRs and has tried TO make the personal H
rative supplement and lend new interest 'o Inc
more formal story. In this he has been sue
cessful Besides his critical account oI 'h
onerat,ons in which he himself took part lhe
bool, gives q vivid picture of the facts OF war
. clear view Of the conditions. Of the temper
q, the people and of the soldiers, OF the per
sonslitv and characters and abilities OF many
az the leaders-the generals and statesmen WIZ
were foremost in the conduct Of affalrs'
AZ the outbreak OF the war General Cox was
@ roen,her of the State Senate OF Oho' anu as
he held q commission as brigadier IN the SlaIe
militia he was at once called upon TO give HiS
services in organizing the troops enlisted unue'
the Presidents first call. Mcclellan hao OeeN
,,ut ,n command in West Virginia, and Cox was
assigned to serve under him in the 1rea'
Kanawha district and later under Rosecrans,
TDreynont and Pope Then he was summoned
with his troops to washington TO cooperate
,n the defence Of the capital, where ne was
brought again and more closely into reialioiS
with Mcclellan during the dark days OF Iile
1atter's inactivity and Of the clsappoii'iIe4''
caused by his failures. Mcclellan oheFeu d
psvchological problem from the first IN inc
early West Virginia days the turgld rhelolic
and exaggerated pretence OF MS olsla'04'e''
7,roclamations and correspondence were III u''
accountable contrast with his kindly ana iiiou
hearing. Here too he showed the same as
nGSiE
estimate his enemy, TO interpret uhIa'oi a'-S
.hA sights and sounds in front that workeo
,,,.h ,niury with the Army OF the potomac
Il WAS no lack Of personal bravery. for ne was
cool and unconcerned under hre. McCIe'laH
,7ction as 10 the strength Of Lees FORCES IN Nii
einia General Cox calls THE most reiilai a''e
4, the history of modern wars" ana he even
goes so far as TO say:
Whether Mcclellan was the victim or the ac
eouplice of the inventions OF his secret .5tI sSi
vice" we cannot tell It is almost nv 5I,IJ
+hor he zboull be deceived except WllhhsIS'
The reports Of the Peninsula campaign re-
veal at times the difficulty there was IN Keep
ing up the illusion
1I,s ro,p,aritv with his men partly
personal one, gained by the evidences OF eooO
fellowship he showed to the troops and by the
fact that he had taught the army to oeHeNe
,mplicitly that the Confederate army was more
,ber twice as numerous as It was IN fact. ana
tenca +o admire the generalship that had saved
his own from annihation- General cox mas
only words of censure for the later facts "t
n,s csraer. his sacrifice Of Burnsides htelong
friendship for instance, and then the re'eia
tons made in his autobiography-'a most curl
Gus piece OF self-exposure," in which ne uncoh-
sciouslv showed that he had forgotten much'
but had learnel nothing.
General Cox's work took him to Frederick ana
on that day when Hampton's troops were driven
out the occasion being that which prompted
Whittier to write Barbara Frietchie'; but the
scrupulous historian is obliged to confess his
Ignorance of that poetical figure. Frederick was
a loyal town, and the Union troops were greeted
bv ladies waving their handkerchiefs and ma
tional dacx while the men came TO the column
with fruits and refreshments for the marching
soldiers as they went by in the hot sunshine OF
the September afternoon"-not then, "the cool
September morn General Cox adds:
Although at the head of the column. the truth
OF history compes me TO say that saw moth
ing OF Barbara Frietchie and heard nothlng OF
her tiIl I read Whittiers poem in later years.
When, however. I visited Frederick with Cen
eral Grant in 1869 We were both presented with
walking sticks male from timbers Of Barbara's
house which had been torn down, and, Of course,
] cannot dispute the story Of which have the
STICK AS eVloence; Ior Grant tnOusnt tie sII IN
shut me up from any denial and established the
legend.
General Cox participated in the battle Of An
tietam, and that great conflict gives him ma
teriaI for several of the most detailed and criti-
cal chapters in his book Ordered back TO East
Tennessee after an interval Of service in Ohio,
he served under Grant, and then under Sher-
man, making the famous march to the sea,
with all its quick succession of battles and ex-
citing movements, of which he gives a soldiers
story. He saw naturally much Of Grant and
Sherman at this period. Grant, he writes does
not impress one as brilliant in genius, but
eminently sound and sensible His quality OF
greatness was that he handled great affairs as
he would little ones, without betraying con-
seriousness that this was a great thing to do.
His taciturnty played an important part in gov
erning his actions. There were times when
warm but honest alteration with subordinate
general would have cleared the air and removed
MISUNDERSTANDING; but from behind his wall OF
taciturnity he was on the alert 10 all that was
within sight. and TO form opinions that became
part Of his mental constitution He had sort
OF shyness which curiously blended with
remarkable faith IN himself Lincolns charac-
terization OF him in dispatch 10 Burnside as "a
copious worker and fighter. but a very meagre
writer or telegrapher." gains point from the fact
that some other generals about that time had 10
be cautioned for their extravaganza in telegraph
tolls. Grant did not lack the sense of humor
and while he took little part in military discus
sions at meetings with his subordinates he en-
5oyed telling story, simply. though without
falling TO bring out its points.
His voice lacked volume and seemed rather
aim and high keyed II was half deprecatory in
tone, with an air OF shyness and he had a way
or glancing quickly from one to another as IL
looking Tor signs OF response to his venture into
talk AS he went on, this wore off TO some ex-
tent, and he laughed quietly over the reminis-