The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-12-29
SIDNEY HERBERT'S LETTER.
CONVENT ON THE PURCHASE OF
TIE PRIVATE PAPERS OF
JAMES X. POLK.

IL
;cised-MedaIs of Honor Given to
oslcsrs of the Army-The Denrh of
can Perry Not u Surprise-Some
V.cts About the United Daughters
Of the COnfederacy and Their
CI,.uters-Other Matters OF Cen
eyaI Interest.
pine Crest Villa, Maitland, Fla,
knsc 2s.-Capt. 7. A. Hill, of the old
kFortv-Second Georgia Infantry, who
r. now residing at Weimer, Tex, has
Recently visited the National Park at
&vicksburg, Miss, and writes to Col
+. p Thomas of Atlanta, about point
ene out to Gen. S. D. Lee the place
Accounted by Bartow's brigade" on that
battle field think this name should
be ''Barton's," as Gen. Barlow was
KILLED at the fierst Bull Run. Gen.
seth M. Barton of Virginia, was a.
West Pointer and an old army officer.
He belonged to the class of 1S49, from
which came a lot of Confederate gem
erals. among them Chas. w. Field, of
kentucky, Alfred Cumming, of Geor-
gia. J. K Duncan, of Pennsylvania,
John C. Moore, of Tennessee, John
1 Withers. of Tennessee, b. H. Robert
I son, of Virginia, and a number of grad
. yates not SO distinguished.
4 cannot understand why all the his
i torical societies in the South have al
4 lowed the Historical Society of Chicago,
Ill, to purchase for the paltry sum of
4 $500 the private papers of ex-Presi-
4 dent James K. Polk and transfer them
from Nashville, Tenn, to that far-off
Northern city. What were all the rich
men of Nashville doing while this
8 transaction was taking place? There
4 are a thousand men in that city who
i could have bought these valuable pa
pers and given them to some Nash
i Vile college or society for preservation.
When we remember that Polk was
Z President during the Mexican war some
4 idea may be formed of the great value
4 Of these documents to some future his
torlan. The rich men of the South
must wake UP and open their hearts
4 and purses in such manner as to stop
future similar transfers.
While 1t is true that the old SOL
Bers of the Army of the Potomac and
Army of Northern Virginia, all
hgs considered, think these were the
ndest armies ever array6d against
h other in deadly conflict for four
years, but few, very few of them,
10 give due credit to the armies
Sherman and Johnston, largely COM
osed OF Western and Southwestern
ldisrs. In some respects they were
different type of men, more stalwart
nd rugged, but none the less brave
and effective on the field of battle.
Y am, therefore, sorry to see the Mont
gomery, Ala, Advertiser extol Lees
army at the expense of Johnston's
lhrmy and those of, other commanders
;n the far South, and to do so in terms
4 far from polite or justifable. l am
i proud to have been in the Army of
i the Potomac, and to know from per-
i sonal experience the superior charac-
ter Of Lees army; yet I am sure that
the Nashville, Tenn, American is cor
4 rect in rebuking the Advertiser, and
i giving Johnston's army due credit.
4 Its long and steady mastery retreat
4 through Georgia stands out as a re-
buke to the Advertiser
4 The San Francisco Examiner, in it's
4 Sunday issue Magazines" recently
4 published all interview with q Major
n N~ti~A e-A OoNdi l|Ou5s ~. .. A.,
I about his wonderful plan of wireless
i Teegraphy to Keep Transports in AL
4 most Continual Communication" / am
AFRAID the Examiner rates Maj Long
100 high even as a "Brigadier Cen
i eral U. S. A." as he is also called
4 IN one part of the interview. Maj.
i Long has been brigadier general of
volunteers, but not of regulars He
was only promoted from captain to
major in the quartermasters de-
partment last February on the same
DAY that Fred G. Hodgson and John
B. Bellinger were made majors. But
4 Long is fine officer and wears a
i Medal of Honor" for heroic conduct
IN the Indian campaigns in Montana,
4 IN 1877, when he was only a second
4 lieutenant of infantry. His rank, how
4 ever, IN the regular army is that of
major, without the general.
AS to medals of honor given to
o1lcers in the regular army, I know of
/ only one Georgian who wears this
1 much-coveted tribute to extraordinary
4 nerolsm on the field of battle. Capt.
i mason Carter, u. S. A. retired), won
ms medal the same day and in the
same Indian fight in which Maj. Long
i won his, he being a first lieutenant In
4 n. ~S'itiV ASS iAIlSult the fIlIH united
states Infantry. Capt Carter enlisted
~ the regular army as a private, in
1851 under the name of Mason How
ara but In two years he secured a
commission as second lieutenant and
resumed his family name of Carter. He
proved himself a gallant soldier, win
H.hg the brevet of captain and then
u major for heroic service in Indian
nghts. He was retired" in 1893, as
captain and brevet major, and is now
n residing at Bronxville, N. Y. / think
aoout the last, if not the last. service
Of capt Carter was in his native state
Cl Georgia, at Fort Mcpherson, near
The Skyline press telegram from
Bowling Green, KY. of the death there
IN Dec. Is. of Brig. Gen. VIM. F. Perry,
4; 8 A., of pneumonia, after brief
xLness,' is not a surprise to me, as
~ was not only nearly 80 years old,
sut mad been very feeble for many
.nonths. He was born and partly reared
Jackson county, Georgia, his father
Eng Hiram Perry, who gave his son
me education. The family moved to
,aaoama in 1898, where, in early man
Sou Gen. Perry became a prominent
1ucator, and was at the head of sew
az nigh schools and colleges before
solhg into the Confederate army as a
Nate soldier. where he at once rose
major, then TO lieutenant colonel, to
o'onel and to brigadier general; and
al these positions he proved him
gallant and accomplished SOL
~. After the war he moved to Ken
10y ana became superintendent OF
& ny ltary college. In all the walks OF
q ~ Gen. Perry was beloved and hon