Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-01-16
GORDON AND HIS MEN
Stories of the Confederate Lead
 CTS Kind Deeds.
WHY THE SOLDIERS 1DoLIzED HIM

An Instance Of Gordon's Humanity
 In War.
 The following stories of the late Gen. eral John B. Gordon, the Confederate leader, are told by some of the men of his company, says writer in the At lanta Constitution:
 When General Gordon first rode into tho lines of his brigade that later took his name he saw two men astride wooden pole while guard paced up and down near by
 "'What are those fellows on that pole for?' demanded the new general.
 Some one told him the pair were cul. prits, court martialed for shooting am- intuition at squirrels in camp and now being punished for this infraction of orders. The general waited to hear no more, but sat down and wrote an or der directing the colonel of the regi- ment to which the two belonged to re- lease them both at once. That was the very first order John B. Gordon ever wrote as brigadier general, and the story, spreading through the brigade like wildfire, made him an idol from that moment.
 :That is why they called him kind hearted.' At least that is when they first spoke of him in that way. 4 "Major Robert Stiles of Richmond, author of Four Years Under Marse Robert says General Gordon in battle was the most glorious human being his eyes ever looked upon. He describes him in the first days fight at Gettys- burg, his face radiant, his figure erect, mounted on splendid ebony charger with gleaming eyes and proud arched neck The rider fairly stood in his stirrups and, bareheaded, waved both hands, while his sonorous voice rolled out such exhortations as only he knew charged, with the great black charger joyful in the midst of the flashing mus kets.
 "Gordon's Georgia brigade, which formed the right of Early's division, drove back the Federals from before Gettysburg. back through the town and beyond to the slopes of Cemetery hill, staying hundreds and capturing other thousands
 ''The battle is over. The sun Is sink ing deep in blood red glow. Men in the woods and fields are laying away the dead. The routed Federals cover on the hill beyond the town. Drawn up in long lines in the suburbs stand serried ranks of victorious men in gray, An officer on a superb black steed rides up to each section of the long gray line in turn. He stops one regiment.
 Thirty -firstv he calls, and his voice goes booming away on the evening breeze. Men of the Thirty first, Gen. eral Early says you're the bravest sol- diers he ever sawy
 1i9For an instant there is silence save for the echoes muttering among the hills, and then the slight figure of fair haired youth leaps out from the long line. Like flash he snatches the soldier cap from his head and shouts in answer:
 "sYou tell General Early, by -, we've got the bravest general he ever sawr a'ss, sisa 9tt
 And then from a thousand threats there rent the air rebel yelP of the kind that history will ever remember.
 "The man on the black horse before the lines was General John B. Cor don, and the boy who shouted back at him was young Sapp. who before that day had never taken part in battle.
 'These are some of tie stories told by Gordon's men, and there are count less others like them, showing what he was and the devotion paid him by his men, but here is another showing Gordon in a different situation:
 That point farthest north and far thest east ever reached by Confed- crate troops was Wrightsville, Pa., to which village General Gordon and his brigade marched one day to capture a certain bridge spanning the Susque hanna river. This bridge was about one mile long and led across the river directly into Wrightsville.
 "When the Georgians hove in sight they found force of about 1000 mi litiamen in posture of defense, but these fellows soon gave way, firing the bridge as they retreated. The men in gray swept on, fighting the flames as they marched, and reached the other side before the structure gave way, but the lire had spread. A lumber yard at the rivers edge and some of the houses in the town were burning.
 Now, General Gordon had received orders to let private property alone There was to be no burning and pillage charged against Confederate troops in Pennsylvania if 1t could be avoided. And so, though the militiamen them selves had started the work of destruc- tion, General Gordon assured the peo- pie the fire would be extinguished by his men. So the brigade stacked arms in the middle of the long street that formed the town. Hardware stores were broken into and dozens of buck cts secured. Then two long lines were formed by the men in gray, privates and officers alike. One line pissed back the empty buckets to the river, and the other passed the buckets filled with wa ter to their comrades, who dashed the water on to the flames till the danger sxyoc G.,o