The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-02-22

medicines. He gains; you lose.
ate" refers to the oldest United States
| senator-Gen. E. w. Pettus of Ala
! bama-as having fought in the Next
can war" This may be true but the
| Congressional Directory says ne
served as lieutenant in the Mexican
! war If this is true, then he lost his
! identity and failed to be so recorded
! with the volunteer officers of that war,
! the only Pettus in the Roster being
| Edmond B. Pettus, second lieutenant
| of the Third Louisiana Infantry. Gen.
! Pettus may have fought in that war as
a private or 'non-com." from Alabama.
A sketch of the late Mai. Gen.
! John II. Forney, c. S. A, of Alabama,
! in the Montgomery Advertiser of Sun
| day last says he was quartermaster at
! West Point Military Academy when he
| resigned to enter the Confederate serv-
| ice. This is an error, as that position
| was filled by Maj. Gen. Samuel S.
| Carol, L. S. A, then second lieuten-
ant of the Tenth Infantry. Gen. For
| ney was first lieutenant in this regi-
ment, and an assistant instructor of in
| fantry tactics. He was relieved on Jan.
%, 1861, and resigned to take service in
Alabama, but later on went into the
Confederate States army
1t seems next to impossible to con-
vince even learned and intelligent peo-
pie that Gen. Lee never rendered his
sword TO Gen. Grant at Appomattox, as
reported, and the error promises to go
| marching down the corridor of Time
for years to come. But there was such
an event in our naval operations during
the Revolutionary War Before the
war Commodore Hull of the American
frigate Constitution and Capt. Dacres
of the British frigate Guerrero had
| been socially intimate, and one day, in
| telling what they would do in case Of
war, Hull said he would capture them
and bring them into an American port;
whereupon Dacres bet him a hat he
wouldn't be able to accomplish the feat.
So when the Constitution destroyed the
Guerrero in a later battle. and Dacres
handed Hull his sword the Commo-
dore, with gratified smile, returned it
to him and said: Il don't care for your
sword, but l will thank you for the
hat l have evidently won from you"
Years after these naval heroes met So
cially in Europe several times.
Rev. George A. Blount of Ellabell
Ga, writes me in regard to Deacon L.
D. Todd of Keller in Bryan county
Georgia, who, he says. is not only
deacon of the Baptist Church he for
| merly served as pastor; but is a man
of fine character in his county. Rev
Mr.. Blount. who enjoys reading my
letters in the Morning News, says he
has several times noticed that I take
the position that Gen. r. Z. Lee did
not offer his sword to Gen. L. S. Grant
when he surrendered his army to the
victor. But Deacon Todd does not
agree with me, as he told his pastor
some ten years ago, of a scene he wit
| messed at AppomattoX. My letters led
the pastor, in recent years, to question
the deacon, who stoutly re-affirms his
previous narrative, and is willing to
make oath to his statements. I will
give Rev. Mr.. Blount's report of the
| conversation he had with Deacon Todd
simply adding that both Gen. Lee and
Gen. Grant have denied that there was
any offer of his sword by Lee to
Grant. The scene narrated, however,
| may be true, but misunderstood. BY
| some oversight, perhaps, the name of
| IL. D. Todd" does not appear any
where in the printed official public
! records of the North Carolina troops.
| The Twentieth North Carolina Regi-
/ ment was at AppomattoX, and 1 pre-
sumo Deacon Todd was in it, as claim
| ed.
Deacon Todd gave this narrative to
| Pastor Blount: He was one of Lees
| old soldiers; and at the surrender was
| in the Twentieth North Carolina Reg
| iment, commanded by Col. T. F. Toon
| latter the consolidation of regimentsl
and on that fateful day the regiment
was placed near an old field, and in
| this field was an apple tree. Having
served under Gen. Lee for several
| years he knew him we'll and could not
| be mistaken in the officer A mounted
| Union officer. accompanied by others,
met Gen. Lee near the tree, and he saw
| Gen. Lee ride up to this officer, salute
| him with his sword, then toss the
| sword up so as to make it turn point
| to himself, catch the sword by the
point of the blade, and then offer the
| hilt to this Union officer. But this Of
| ficer made a motion with his hand, af
| ter which Gen. Lee again tossed the
| weapon up so as to make the hilt turn
| to himself, caught it in his hand and
| then returned it to its scabbard. Dsa-
| con Todd was not near enough to hear
| any words that passed, but was near
| enough to see everything that occurred
! clearly and distinctly. He had never
| seen Grant, so from personal knowl-
edge could not say that this Officer was
| Gen. u. S. Grant, but it was said at
! the time to be: and all the soldiers in
| the Confederate ranks, himself includ-
/ 60. uuutISlODu llldL IL NdS vi anu anu
! he has never had any doubt on his
| mind in regard to the matter"
The editor OF the Atlanta Journal
ought to read up on Confederate his
| tory and the Mexican War. The late
! Rev. DR.. ]. L. NJ. Curry was not an
/ officer in the Mexican War. He was.
/ think. in the Texas revolution and
/ served in the army of Texas. Nor
/ were he and Postmaster General Rea-
gan the sole survivors of the Confed-
/ crate Congress. as stated by the Jour
/ nal whose editor ought to know that
Hon. II. p Bell OF Cumming. Ga, Is
still alive. and two or three other eX-
I Confederate congressman. Nor did
Dr Curry leave Congress 10 Join the
/ Confederate army He WAS elected 10
| the Provisional Congress over William