The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-02-07
SIDNEY HERBERT'S LETTER.
Continued from Sixth Page.

Mrs. Florida Welborn, who survived
him, but when he died his body was
carried to Gainesville and buried be-
side that of his first wife Recent
attention has been called to the neg
lected condition of the graves Of sew
eral other deceased Governors.
This Gainesville correspondent refers
to Rufus B. Bullock as military Gov
ernor'' before Smith was elected. This
Is an error. Bullock may have been
counted in" as charged, but he was
not a military Governor" for he is
a Confederate veteran, although a Re-
publican. think the only military
Governor" in those days was Gen.
Thomas H. Kruger, u. S. A., colonel
of the Eighteenth United States Infan-
try, who served from January to July,
1868. Gen. Meade, however, was in COM
mand of the Department Of the South
at that time. and exercised q superior
authority over Gen. Kruger. But the
Hon. James Johnson of Columbus was
appointed provisional Governor" in
1865, preceding Gov. Charles j. Jenkins,
who was compelled to give way to
Gen. Kruger. Then followed Bullock
and Conley and Smith.
The heroic conduct of Sergt. William
Jasper of Revolutionary fame, whose
ndHQSOIue MONUMENT STANDS IN the
square near the De Soto Hotel in
Savannah, bids fair to be honored as
long as brave soldiers wear the Ameri-
can uniform. In the January illustrat-
ed supplement to the Army and Navy
Register, Jan. 2, of Washington, D. c.,
appears a very fine group photo-en-
craving of the soldierly looking uni
formed members of the "Sergt. Will
liam Jasper, Garrison of the Regular
Army and Navy Union" taken at Fort
Terry, N. Y. The Jasper Greens of
Savannah should get a copy. of this
supplement-probably EstilPs News
Depot has it-and have the picture
properly framed and hung in their
armory. 1t will do the Savannah SOL
diers good to look at this fine body of
regulars who have thus honored brave
Sergt. Jasper. When the Jasper CEN
tennial was held in Savannah. on Oct.
8, 1879. my wife wrote some verses
not poetry-for the occasion, and one
Of them may not be inappropriate here:
80 long as deeds of great renown
And thus is handed proudly down
and thus is handed proudly down
The fame of those who bravely died,
Our Jasper's fame will thus descend
With Count Pulaski's, to the end"
1t is hardly necessary to repeat what
! have so often said in these letters.
that I am always glad to be corrected
when in error Mr.. S. L. Meigs of
Philadelphia, in the Morning News of
Jan. 2S, copies my paragraph about
Cabin John Bridge" in a previous
letter. and states that Congressman
g. A .Grout says he never visited the
bridge nor called his brother mai Gen.
M. G. Meigs) that rebel Meigs" Now,
In view Of the fact that Mr.. Meigs
says the Philadelphia Times and other
newspapers have printed this Islander.
but with that id rebel Meigs" in II,
/ wish to state that my information
did not come from a newspaper-too
often unreliable-but from an elegant
Washington I'd. CO guide book, called
picturesque Cabin John; A Bit OF
History" Like good deal of so-cailed
modern history, il is very misleading
If Congressman Crows emphatic dis
claimer is to be credited. Engineer
William r. Hutton is the authority in
this guide for the statement that Con-
gresham Grow did visit the bridge in
a party, and made the statement
charged. Then Secretary Smith turned
to him (I1utton) and said: THE first
order I give you is to cut Jeff Davis
name off the bridge" Readers of nv
letters will recall that denounced this
act, and also denied that Gen. Meigg.
although born in Georgia, was
"rebel" IT is simply a question OF
veracity between Engineer Hutton and
Congressman Grow. This Hutton saws
he was a few days later appointed
chief engineer OF the bridge, and that
Secretary Smith told Contractor Nc
Intyre to cut JEFF Davis name off the
tablet, which bore the names of Presi-
dent Pierce and Secretary of War
Davis and President Lincoln and Sec
rotary Of War Cameron; and II was
done. The guide books illustration
shows the defaced tablet Mr. Melgs'
correction, therefore, does not in the
least reflect upon my paragraph, which
was based upon what appeared to be
reliable serni-ohicial data.
Sidney Herbert