The Savannah morning news., 1901-03-03

I critical in any position he may occupy
that he will find the same blunders and
errors in the official reports of Confeder-
| ate and Union officers, even noted gen
| erals. From personal experience and
| close observation / can make oath that
many official reports of bait es are wholly
unreliable; and any book called history
| cannot be history that basis its narrative
| of such battles upon the official reports
referred to. The real and reliable future
| standard authority must be the impartial
historian who shall view these events
from every possible standpoint, and cor
| rect official plumbers and erorrs by per-
sonal narratives from reliable partici-
pants.
Washington's birthday called forth
many gems of patriotic eloquence, one of
the very best that have seen being that
| delivered before the Atlanta Chapter of
the Daughters of the American Revolu-
| ton by Hon. Eb T. Williams formerly
member of the Legislature from Augusta,
| but now talented Atlanta lawyer. He
is a brother of the wife of DR.. Nolan, a
prominent Jacksonville physician and his
Florida friends are greatly pleased at his
| continued success as an orator. mo char
acter," said Mr.. Williams, sis great I'M
less built on self-denial Sacrifice is the
measure of all great human lives" Then
followed fine description of Washing
toms self-denial and sacrifices at Valley
Forge. All true and noble patriots and
heroic soldiers of the Revolutionary per-
iod were full of this spirit of sacrifice
and self-denial. Another fine tribute to
Washington came from the eloquent lips
| of Bishop Henry B. Whipple of Mime
sofa, whose winter home is here in Matt
land. He is chaplain general of the Sons
of the Revolution. and on both his
fathers and mothers side is a descend
ant of some of the bravest and noblest
heroes and patriots of that period. The
Bishop, therefore, was inspired in his adj
dress.
The death of Brig. Gen. Charles D. An
derson of Fort Valley, at an advanced
age, removes, i think, the last of long
line of generals who commanded local
Georgia troops during the last part Of the
Civil War. Wayne, Cobb, Toombs. jack
son, Walker, McCay, Harrison. Phillips,
Carswell. Foster, Capers, Williams and
others have all passed away, and cannot
now recall the name of a single survivor.
OF Gen. Anderson's early history I have
no record There was a Lieut.. Charles
D. Anderson of South Carolina, but ap-
pointed from Texas, in 1856, who resigned
from the Fourth United States Artillery
in April, 1861, but that's all 1 know about
him. In the fighting around Atlanta a
| Col c. d. Anderson commanded the
Second Regiment of State Troops. This,
1 presume, was the lately deceased Gen.
| c. d. Anderson, who is said to have
| served four years in the war and to have
| risen from a captaincy to a brigadier
| generalship by virtue of his efficient SER
vice. l feel safe in saying, just here,
| that no Drawer men went to battle
within the borders of Georgia than the
cadets of the Georgia Military Institute
and the State Troops organized by Gov.
Brown for active and arduous home SER
vice. This was the united and voluntary
! testimony of Gen. Joseph e. Johnston
and Maj. Gen. Gustavus W. Smith, the
/ commanding generals of all the forces
| in the field at that critical period.
The Union pensioners of Florida, and of
Georgia and South Carolina, I think, are
paid their quarterly amounts from the
| United States pension Office at Knoxville,
| Tenn, and under Gen. John T. Wilder's
present administration of it's affairs, as
| pension agent, these amounts have been
| paid more promptly than ever before AS
a notary public, simply to help old sol
diers free of charge, 1 have had much to
do with that Office, and recently wrote a
| letter of thanks from the old soldiers to
| Gen. Wilder. In his reply he modesty
| says. II IS very gratifying 10 one VINO
| Is trying to do his whole duty to the
government and to his old comrades, TO
| receive such commentator as your letter
| gives for duty performed Since 1 have
| held this office l have reduced the time
| of payment to the pensioners from nearly
| twenty-five days, when l came in, to ten
days; and no letter of inquiry from pen
| sioner goes unanswered twenty four
hours. But this is as it should be, and
1 I. I l,.oTl
| you sincerely for your kind expressions
| concerning my work as you see 1t. Please
| bear my good wishes for the pensioners
| of your department to them, and be as
! sured that as long as 1 am pension agent
here their business will be promptly and
carefully attended to in all respects"
To an outsider this matter may seem
OF small Importance, but to the thou
sands of business men in Florida, Geor.
gia and South Carolina, who read the
| Morning News, it means a great deal.
Many of the pensioners in Florida, and
[ presume the same is true of the other
two states named, are old and infirm,
and with scarcely any thing to live on
except their pensions. The merchants
therefore, are obliged to give most of
them credit for groceries, ETC., for three
| months, and then wait for the pension
| money for their pay. Under the former
agent it ran from twenty to twenty-five
days, but Gen. Wilder has reduced it to
ten days, thus giving the old soldiers and
their store keepers. tthe advantage of
nearly fifteen days earlier payments. 1
am in position to know, as a soldiers
notary public who officially approves
their pension vouchers, how very poor
these veterans are many of whom al
most entirely depend upon a pension Of
four, six, eight, ten or twelve dollars
a month for the support of their families.
and the prompt quarterly payment Of
this sum means much to them, and any
Ordinary in Georgia will bear witness
that the condition OF many Confederate
state pensioners is much the same
They are always eager for a prompt
payment of the amount due them. A
grateful people can never do too much
for the comfort of these needy soldiers.
Senator Allen and Representative Berry,
! in Congress, were quite correct in stating
that Rear Admiral w. T. Sampson was
! of common parentage and without cul-