The Savannah morning news., 1901-10-27

l am sustained in this view by the re-
cent action of the students at Cornell
University, where a disgraceful haZing
affair had created alarm. Every class
in the institution passed strong reso-
lutions against the practice and pledg-
ed each class to hereafter refrain from
any species of hazing. This is good
hint to the students of the University
of Georgia, who have been hazing
lately.
Columbus, Ga, proposes to build a
new steel bridge over the Chattahoo-
chez river at that place, and to put a
marble tablet on the Alabama end of
the bridge to commemorate the bloody
battle of April 16 1865. The claim that
this was the last real, legitimate bat
tie of the war, before the Confederacy
collapsed at Washington, Ga, follow
ed in a few days by the capture of
President Davis, seems to be we'll
founded, and affords a good reason for
making the event one of more than
ordinary prominence. The capture of
Fort Tyler, near West Point, Ga.
which occurred on the same day. has
been claimed as the last battle, but
the official reports do not appear to
sustain this claim as against Column
bus.
Col o. H. Lagrange, commanding the
Second Brigade of McCook's division,
under Maj. Gen. Emory Upton, attack
ed Fort Tyler early in the day, and
as he admits, "the resistance was stub
born and the loss severe" which pro-
longed the struggle until late in the
afternoon. Gen. F. S. Tyler c. S. A.
having been killed, and there not being
sufficient ammunition with which to
continue the unequal fight. the fort was
surrendered by Col. ]. H. Fannin, of
the Thirty Georgia reserves,
who had succeeded Gen. Tyler in COM
mand. Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas
U. S. A, considered the capture of
Fort Tyler. as one of the most praise
worthy acts of the cavalry during the
war, and strongly recommended the
ccnferring of brigadiership upon Col.
Lagrange for his able conduct of the
assault. All of which goes to the credit
of the small but determined force of
Confederates that held out bravely till
the end came.
Now, If the records are correct, the
capture of Columbus by Mai. Gen. Up
ton and Brig. Gen. E. +. Winslow of
Wilson's Cavalry did not take place I'M
til 10 o'clock at night, several hours
after the surrender of Fort Tyler at
West Point. Then, again, the magni-
tude of the attack and defense made
this in every sense a severe battle.
Maj. Gen. Howell Cobb commanded
over 1000 Confederates more than half
of whom were captured, with twenty
four field guns and one gunboat, with
six rified cannon. A very large amount
of Confederate property. arsenals, fac
tories, armory, etc, was also destroy
ed. But for the virtual ending of the
war with this battle, the loss. to the
Confederacy would have been immense
in ordnance and other stores. Col. c.
A. L. Lamar of Savannah. killed in
this battle. was the last field officer to
fall in defense of the Lost Cause"
and his heroic death should be duly
inscribed on the proposed tablet.
Since writing the above I have seen
Gen. Samuel G. Frenchs book, in
which he thus refers to the Columbus
battle: Gen. Howell Cobb was in
command of the troops in Columbus,
and he asked me to remain and take
the command of the forces. This 1 de-
clined, but I promised to return Mon
day morning and aid him. About 10 a.
m. we heard cannon at Columbus, and
knew that Wilson had attacked the
town" Now, if Gen. French is cor
rect in saying he heard the cannon at
10 a. m. Sunday morning, while he was
at Mrs. Campbelrs. some twenty-five
miles away, the attack must first
have been made in the morning; an6
if the capture, as Gen. Wilson says
was at 10 p. m, then it was an all day
| affair." and puts the West Point battle
second in the list of final bloody con-
| f1icts of the Civil War.
The reader must not infer that I ig-
more several small fights and Skin
mishes that occurred later than April
| IS. The very next day, Brig. Gen. A.
C. Gillem, L. S. ", advanced with
his command on Morganton, N. c., but
'ound the bridge destroyed over the
Tatawba river and the ford defended
~ Confederates under Mai. Gen. Nc
Gown, C. S. A. A short and sharp
engagement took place which resulted
in the retreat of the Confederates. On