The Savannah morning news., 1902-02-09

Virginia, asked him if he put hand
cuffs" upon Jefferson Dayis. II he so
replied he must have lodged the real
facts in the case, as understand them.
Gen. Miles ordered ''shackles" not
handcuffs," placed upon Mr.. Davis.
One of the parties who helped to put
them on boasted that Mr.. Davis, fee
BILE as he then was from sickness, was
violently thrown to, the floor Of his
prison, and roughly handled while the
shackles" were being put upon his
legs. The mere putting of Handouts
on the distinguished prisoner would
have been small matter as compared
to the more disgraceful and
under the circumstances, inhuman, act
or Stacking a feeble old man who
could hardly walk at a moderate pace.
Gen. Miles can never outlive the STAN
this uncalled for and unauthorized act
of cruelty to q distinguished prisoner
oil war has left upon his military rec
ord. No brave and chivalrous Union
soldier has ever justified his extreme
action in this matter. Gen. Miles
latest excuse, that he was "a Veiy
young man at that time is weak
ore. He was a major general with an
important command and should have
known better.
atrical boards" of late, Nathan Hale,
the American spy, and now comes
Molly Pitcher" the Revolutionary
heroine, to be followed in the no dis
tant future by Major Andre, the Brit
ish spy. And yet Sam Davis, the Con-
federate spy, and Nancy Hart, the
| Georgia War Woman" offcls equally
as great-if not greater-attraction
for thrilling drama full of military
-. l. G
erary men and women SO neglect heine
material in their work? "The late
Maurice Thompson, born and raised in
Georgia, but living i'll Indiana, after
the Civil War, has immortalized "Alice
of Old Vincennes,' in Indiana, in che
of his. greatest hstorical-m1litary ro-
mances, which has also been put ,'pt n
the stage, while his own C )ri, 4 War
Woman" brave Nancy Hart is so un-
known, as to be called "a myth" by
some Georgia people. This reminds
me of the poets inquiry:
Why this longing, thus forever sigh
ing,
For the far-off unattained and dim.
While the Beautiful all around thee
lying,
Offers up its low. perpetual hymn?"
A recent item in the Morning News
referred to Hon. John FL. Reagan as
of Austin, Tex, but his home is Pal
estine, Tex; it also stated that he
was Postmaster General and Secre>
tary of the Treasury of the Confeder-
ate states. This is an error, as he was
only Postmaster General, from first
to last, of the Confederacy He and
the Secretary of the Navy Is. r. NAL
lory), were the only cabinet officers
who served during the entire life of the
Confederate government. The
proposed placing of Gen. James Long
street on the retired list" of the
United States army with his old rank
of major, needs a word of explana-
tion. He was not fighting major in
the old regular army, but sumply a
paymaster, with the rank of major,
| to which position he was promoted
on July 10, 1858, and from which he
resigned June l. 1861. But he had won
his promotion by active fighting service
| in the Mexican war as a lieutenant of
| infantry, having been brevetted cap
tain and major for gallantry in sew
eral bloody battles, in one of which he
was severely wounded.
Few people, even old army officers.
know that Gen. Longstreet came out
| of West Point Military Academy in one
| of the most remarkable of it's many
| noted classes. The class OF 1S41 has
| often been held up as a very remark
! able one, having given the army six
teen generals, two going into the Con-
| federate service. There were also many
| brilliant young officers who died OF