The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-12-13
DIR. j. WILLIAM JONES.
B1ohn Brown and "All Quiet
Along the Potomac Tonight

r 81
Editor Of Tho Timos.D Dispatch 4
e sir,-1 read with interest Tho yaiuaple
& rnnfcdorat.. matter that appears from
Il Tina 70 ( limo In your columns, ana am
sire YOU will indulge mo II, corree,,lns
& several recent errors tint l have not'ceu
IN these contributions TO the trhtil "
history. ,, c.,tos
u scnntor Cockrcll, Of Missouri, was not IN
the Confederate army Is n mistake. me
Y Confcderate roster shows that on July 20,
\ 1sRa he was commissioned brighdler- gen.
II eral. to rank as such from July u, 1873.
III at tho Confederate reunion at Column
bia, Mo-, September 24-26 last, Senh.ort
& i. M Cockrcll was one OF the aora.ors
by his old comrades, some or whom !
heard sneak very warmly of the gallantry
md skill which he displayed In battle
and of his rise from the ranks 10 D,
y bricatller- IN Bowen's Famous a.
vision. which remember to have Heard
General Dabney II. Maury say was me
Finest body OF troops he ever saw.
ii .. Your correspondent, Mrs. Mary wash
,rrton Early, in her very interesting no.
ticn of Songs Called Forth by the Civ,l
War" is entirely mistaken, thlhit. IN
D rivinr the authorship "All quiet along
Tho Potomac tonight to Lamar fon-
< tainc, Of Mississippi.
In Southern Historical Society Papers.
& Volume VIII. page s55-2G Rev. IiuGh
= oliver. of Georgia, shows conclusively,
think, that this exquisite poem was
written by his father Thaddeus Ollver
Il Of the Second Georgia regiment, VINO
h afterwards gave his life for the lahu ne
loved 50 we'll and served so fatthinily.
Thera have been various claimants 1or
the honor OF writing this poem, but ~
seems to me very clear that Lamar ron
~, IN II and that Ina0QCuS
Oliver who was an able lawyer ana a
man OF high literary culture. as wen
= as o. gallant soldier. was the real hutnot'
3. You have, very properly, reftited Inc
K romance or John Browns kissing a negro
habv on hts way to the gnllows, and MT.
= 'acy gives his recollections to the effect
that no such incident ever occurred.
But our Northern brethren, who have
!. canonized this bloody cut-throat as one
of their saints, thoroughly EalleVe m
and rejoice In this incident Ode gust)ro
4 non disputandum) and am perfectly
4 willing that those who believe IN KISS
ing negro babies should indulge their
tastc,.% and have but into art and lItera-
I ture this romance. There Is lie s NI
painting Of 1t in the art gallery of Cen
K tral Park. New York It Is well, there
K fore to give again and again the refuta-
lion Of the story, and IL any one inter.
ested will turn to Southern Historical
& Society Papers. Volume Kill, PIP. 3S6Taas'
he Will find a letter from Rev. Or. a.. O.
Is Hopkins, Of Charlestown. w. Va. and
sworn affidavit from Captain john avis,
the taller and executioner Of John Brown,
which fully refuta number Of romances
about the trial and execution or Brown,
this one among others.
II RI Captain Avis (page BAD says IN ms
sworn afiidavit: 1.-THE statement that ne
kissed a negro child In It's mothers
~ Nothing On
this sort occurred. Nothing of the sort
could have occurred. for his hands, as
usual IN such cases, were confined be-
hind him before he left the jail. lie was
between Sheriff Campbell and me, and a
guard Of soldiers surrounded him, ana
z allowed no person TO come between tneHa
and the prisoner from the jail 70 the
scaffold, except his escorts.
By the way, a reference to the volumes
of In, Southern Historical Society Pa
pers will refute n great deal OF the So
chilled history of the great War Between
the statcs'' never call II The Civil
War" which is. in my judgment, en-
'''s' - J. WILLIAM JONES.
Richmond, Va, Dec LIST. 1909
-
/. We do not recall the Cockrell item,
but no doubt DR.. Jones Is right as to the
error.
2. We, too. think Mrs. Mary Washing
ton Early made a mistake In attrbutnG
the authorship of can Quiet Along the
Potomac to Fontaine, but we are not SO.
sure that tha claim made for Thaddeus
George has been established.
3. Here there was no error. DR.. Jones
contribution Is In the way OF addition to
End confirmation of what we printed.
L. General John r, Gordon does not
hesitate to call the war "thc Civil War
His book CONTAINS, his "reminiscences OF
'the Civil WAR" However, we prefer
the term, 'War Between the States"
or "struggle for Southern Independence"
or "Corfederate Wharf.-The Timcs-Ds-