The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-01-25
SIDNEY HERBERT'S LETTER.
THE HON. FRANK CLARK's AD-
DRESS AT GAINESVILLE.

tinEuish Between Volunteer OH
GERS and Regular Army Officers.
Sons of Army Officers Not Favored.
Mrs. Fremont other Matters of
Special Interest.
Pine Crest Villa, Maitland, Fla, Jan.
24.-The name United States Service"
monthly, in my last letter. should
have been The United Service"
monthly. 49, The republication,
alongside of my letter. of an extract
from the Outlook Magazine. by Ex
Secretary Long. puts me in a hole,
as the name of Commodore Tattnall
is there changed from Joseph Tattnall
to Josiah Tattnall." 1t appears in the
Outlook Magazine as Joseph Tatnall,"
Just as 1 stated. A correspon-
dent OF the Atlanta Constitution re-
fers to Lieut.. Marburg Johnson. L.
S. N, of that city. 1 tried to correct
a similar error in the Morning News,
but the printer made both names
Johnson. Lieut.. Johnston is his right
name. +'* I see that Mrs. Sarah H.
Butts, of Brunswick, has published a
book about the Mothers of Some
Distinguished Georgians." This is a
subject that has been familiar to me
for the past forty years, and l have
nearly completed a volume about the
Mothers of eminent men the world
over. 1t is a subject of profound in
terest, and Mrs. B. no doubt has done
a noble work for Georgia.
The biographical sketch of Benny
Ravens, loaned me by O. Pierre Hav-
ems states that Benny's young est
daughter, Emma-"married Gen. Rob
ert Ayers of the regular army"
This is an error. as there was no such
officer in the regular army. She may
have married Capt. Robert Ayers, of
the Nineteenth L. S. Infantry, a native
of Pennsylvania who came up from
the ranks in 1862 and was made a
brevet captain in 1863 for gallant con-
duct at Mission. Ridge. He was mus
tered out in 1871. Evidently the writer
COMPOUNDED Capt Ayres with my old
lamented comrade, Gen. r. B. Ayres.
The other daughter, Addie, is said to
have married Mr.. James Schepmoes,
of New Orleans. Gen. Robert f. Lee
is mentioned as one of Bennys friends.
I question very much if Cadet Lee
ever visited the Old Benny harms
Tavern" or even encoura ged other
cadets to go there is defiance of the
rules and regulations governing their
conduct.
The Hon. Frank Clark delivered an
eloquent address on Gen. Lees birth
day, at Gainesville, Fla, but he made
several mistakes in regard to Gen. Lee
in the old regular army. Cadet Robert
e. Lee graduated from West Point on
July 1, not 4, 1929, and not with the
highest honors of his class" as stated,
but carried off the second honor"
Hon. Charles Mason of New York, at
one time chief justice of Iowa, was
at the head Of the class, which gave
him the highest honor. But Cadet
Lees record for good conduct was
never surpassed, if matched, by any
other cadet. Gen. Lee did not "relin-
quish" the position of superintendent
of the Military Academy but was re
lieved." No officer, up to March 81, 1855,
/ had held this position who was not in
the engineer corps, and when Capt.
Lee was promoted to be lieutenant col
Sonel of the Second Cavalry he was
compelled to give up the superintend-
ency of the Academy, which he had
held as captain corps of engineers, and
blGNCL lllciIOls uGulGIldII COlOIlGl ana
colonel for gallant conduct in the Mex
lean War.
If Gen. Corbin gets homesick be-
cause he can't see a foreign military
company drill all he has to do is to
run up to Duluth. Mimi, where Com
pany c, of the Third Regiment, Ma
tional Guards of Minnesota, can give
him a sample of the dress, drill and
parade of the soldiers and sailors of
many foreign nations. No doubt the
general will find there evidence that
American soldiers are capable of MAX
ing just as fine an appearance and
executing just as meritorious move
ments as the soldiers of any army he
saw in Europe. The American Boy OF
Detroit Mich for November, contains
some excellent illustrations of the Du-
luth soldiers as representing in dress
and drill the sailors and soldiers OF
other lands. They appear as Japanese
French Swedish, German and British
soldiers and sailors, and both in dress
and drill clearly prove, what may sur
prise Gen. Corbin, that the American
soldier has no superior. IL an equal
in any army in the wide, wide World
1t seems impossible for editors OF
newspapers even, in military cities like
Atlanta, to distinguish between volun.
teer and regular army officers, or con.
tract surgeons and surgeons of the
regular army. In the Philippines, fol
example, we have the regular army
the volunteers, and the Philippine
scouts, and contract surgeons-aI dis.
tinct and separate. A Jacksonville pa.
per says Capt. w. H. Sims, of the
United States Army. who has recently
returned from the Philippines, whert
he greatly distinguished himself" is il
the city. This Capt. Sims may have
been volunteer officer, but he is no,
in the United States Army" 1 note
this case simply to call attention q
similar errors that are of daily oc
currence in newspapers. At
lanta's modesty is a proverb. She i.
not only after another million for tn,
national prison. and a second million
to build new postoffice, and a thirC
million or more for national miIitar,
park. and government roads. but is tC
entertain and tackle Gen. Chaffee. who
is to arrive there to-day, in the hope
that he will favor the new project IL
n Ian cf,.