The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-08-04
SIDNEY HERBERT'S LETTER.
THE GROUND OF THE COMPLAINT
AGAINST SAMPSON.


the naval forces at Santiago. 1t is
a rule in both the army and navy to
give such credit as was awarded him
to the ranking commander. similar
case occurred here in Florida, during
the Civil War, at the battle of Olustee
or Ocean Pond. Gen. Joseph Finegan'
c. S. A., was in Command of the forces,
but not on the field, as 1 understand.
Gen. A. II. Colquitt and Col. George
p Harrison, Jr, were the heroes OF
the battle, and yet the Confederate
States Congress passed resolution
awarding all the credit to Gen. Fine
gan. The blame that rests on Samp-
son lies in the fact that he, being abb
sent, did not give. due credit to Schley
next in rank, who was present and an
active participant in the battle.
An Atlanta paper is father jubilant
over some promotions of naval off,
GERS from that city. These promotions
are neither fresh nor high" as
gunners rank with, but next to, en-
signs The promotions came in regular
course a few weeks ago and are in no
sense remarkable. AS / have before
written, Georgia has a fine representa-
ton in the navy, and several of the
younger officers have won deserved
commentator. The highest Georgia Of
ficer is Commander Richard G. Daven-
port, in charge of the training ship
Essex, and the lowest is Boatswain Lee
r. Boland, commanding the tug Ac-
tive at Mare Island, Cal, navy yard.
1t is singular fact that the
class of 1854 from West Point Militia
ry Academy with Cadet George Wash
ington Gusts Lee, son of Gen. Robert
E. Lee, at the head, put big squad
of generals into the Confederate army.
Beside Lee there were James Deshler,
Ala; John Pegram of Virginia; j. f.
B. Stuart of Virginia Archibald Ora
Gle of New York; Stpehen ID. Lee of
South Carolina; William d. Fender of
North Carolina; John B. Villepigue of
South Carolina; and John II. Mercer
of Georgia, who would have been
general had he not fallen In battle.
Abner Smead of Georgia was also in
this class. Gen. o. o. Howard, U. S.
A, was No. In the class.
Mrs. /. H. Raines of Savannah, very
kindly informs me that Mrs. Cassidy,
to whom l referred last Sunday, only
claims to be the first to use the name
Daughters of the Confederacy" for
local society in st. Louis. The question
as to who brought such local societies
into the United Daughters of the Con-
federacy, as one grand organization,
she says is still undecided. A commit
tee, with no Georgian or Tennesseean
on it, is now at work investigating the
claims of Mrs Goodlett of Tennessee,
and Mrs. Raines of Georgia, and will
report in November to the next gen
eral convention of the United Daugh-
ters of the Confederacy, to be held at
Wilmington, N. c. AS understand it,
in the first organization, Mrs. Raines'
claim was so far recognized as to make
her vice president next to Mrs. Good
lett, chosen president. The final decis-
ion win be awaited with deep interest
by the friends of both these patriotic
and jealous workers in the cause.
Col. Beverley w. Wrenn of the Plant
System, who was a Confederate boy
hero at the Battle of Lookout Noun
tain. says Maj. Gen. M. C. Meigs, u.
S. A. (born in Augusta. Ga, but of
Northern parents), was the author of
the familiar phrase, Battle above the
clouds" Two days after the battle he
reported, as quartermaster geneIal to
Secretary Stanton, of the operations
around Chattanooga, and thus referred
to the Lookout Mountain fight of Nov.
"a: 1.-The day had been one of driving
mists and rains, and much of Hool6er's
battle was fought above the clouds,
which concealed him from cur view,
but from which his musketry was
heard. A brigade sent from
Chattanooga crossed Chattanooga
creek and opened communications with
Hooker soon after nightfall.
At daylight on Nov. 25 the Stars and
Stripes were discerned on the peak of
Lookout. The confederates had evacu-
ated the mountain" Hooker had seal
ed the slopes of the mountain from
Lookout creek and driven the Confed-
crates around the Point, where he
made a stand high up the mountain
in full view of Chattanooga.
1t was not my intention to again
mention Gov. Gamblers female aide,
but some person-evidently a female
has sent me from Washington, d. c.,
a page of the Morning News of July
p, and marked a paragraph headed
"Our Lady Military Men," in the Geor-
gia news column. On the margin she
writes: who's wrong, or who's do
ing this?" AS to who is wrong 1 can
only say that am not the man. After
Adjutant General Robertson said there
We're no female aides the Governor did
admit that Miss Maymie was a sort of
social aide. Then, after Mrs. Bowles
was reported as a major general, he
frankly confessed that under the Geor-
gia military laws he could not issue
any such commissions. He said he
simply wrote a letter to Miss Maymie
who now signs herself Lieut. Colonel
and Aide to Gov. Gambler" (although
residing in another state) that she
might be a sort of outside honorary
appendage to his masculine staff oil
aides. AS to who is doing this?" ]
cannot reply. But Yankee Adams,
the comedian. used to say: such
things have been done and others are
doing"
It seems very proper that Secretary
Long should stop all discussion on the
Schley- Sampson matter by naval Of
ficers. Too much has already beer
published from that source, and / re-
greet to see that of Admiral Schley's
son, an officer in the regular army
has had the bad taste to inject some
very spicy charges into public print
My sympathes are all with Schley
who has been, for some reason. very
badly treated, but the whole case II
now in the hands of n court of in
quiry and should be left there until g
verdict is rendered The rumor thai
q court has been fixed to convict
does not surprise me. The same tactics
were played in the Fitz John Porter
case Gas l recently stated. having at.
tended that court-martial semi-ofn
cially), snd he was convicted before 8
single witness had testified. Capt
Schley, II. S. A., asks a pertinen