The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-01-10
INTERESTING INCIDENTS
 IN LONGSTREET'S LIFE

Georgia friends and relatives made such for years afterwards they often referred to it in fondest memory.
 His Political Change. Like our own Joe Brown, General Long street was heralded as traitor and as a deserter to democracy, because he, in ad- vance of the most of the south, saw it to accept the situation after the war and because he accepted office under a repub- lican administration. He was profess sional soldier, and as such before the civil war he had never cast a vote The war being over, he honorably accepted the re- ! suit and was striving to live under the
 conditions as they then existed His fel- low cadet and former comrade in arms, General U S. Grant being President. and learning his strengthened circumstances,
 offered him an office of honor and profit in New Orleans Before he would accept
 and compromise southern honor he con-
 suited General Lee, President Davis and
 others, who earnestly besought him by all means to accept. This Is a matter
 of record.
 Saved Many Battles.
 Colonel A. J. Mcbride, colonel com.
 manding the Tenth regiment, Georgia
 Infantry, relates many personal remnis-
 
 street.
 Do you know, sir," says the colonel, , .I regard General Longstreet as the greatest stoutest and sturdiest fighter in the service. Why, sir, the records bear me out, in saying that his corps saved more battles and participated in more ! fiercely contested conflicts than any other command in Lees army. Personally. he was gentle, kind to fault. congenial and at ot,a fA soldier. It is true he was West Poini CT. a soldier in the strictest term. Yes.
 the grandest all round soldier that this country has probably ever had" He said that no one who ever knew him intimately could for moment believe the false charges sought to be brought
 against him. And mildly suggested that If some of these who are so busily en-
 gagged traducing his name had only been
 battling with the same sort of licks. no one knows what might have been the re- suit
 After the confederate failure to capture Knoxville, on that freezing Sunday morn irg in 1863 Colonel Mcbride received flag of truce sent by General Burnside after kindling fires. looking after the kill ed and wounded. General Longstreet or dered him to report to his headquarters, where he heard s lively discussion be- tween the assembled officers as to whs was to blame for our failure to take the place.
 The Fight at Gettysburg Every confederate who ever saw Gen. eral Longstreet in battle ranks say that he seemed to be oblivious to danger. As to the Gettysburg reports, Colonel Me Bride said: "Longstreet although pru-
 dent and cautious fighter. was not only always ready to fight, but he was always a wi md xua fa6 h oh On ond day he was not slow. but was sim ply putting himself in shape to do the bloodiest fight of the war. At least two thirds of the casualties in Americas greatest battle happened in front of
 Longstreet's corps. Reports show this.
 The records also show that he only obey ed Lees orders to the letter. At Sharpsburg. General Longstreet rode along the lines where the battle was forging thick. General Hill and other officers begged him to dismount as mat ter of safety He would not heed them.
 About this time, a well-dfrected ball cut off both of Hills horses forlegs The gen.
 erals dismounted, nothing dismayed. be-
 gan with their own hands at once to help the men to manage the artillery, thereby saving Lees army at this junc- ture from defeat.
 Helped Train the Guns. Here he had General IOOmDS to help
 him and Major w. B. F'robel and Cap tain J. Miller. They held back the ene- my, and when it seemed certain that the
 heavy columns of the federals would overrun the thin lines Of the confeder- ates, Lees old war horse, the stoutest and sturdiest fighter of them all, with his own hands trained his guns, Captain
 Fairfax and Captain Goree cheering and claping their hands as their grape and canister plowed through the lines of the enemy.
 In reporting this battle of Cedar Run, South Mountain Second Manassas. Thor oughfare Gap, and Sharpsburg General Longstreet said: sThe name of every man and officer who shared in the tolls and dangers of this campaign should be
 mentioned. In one month. they marched 200 miles on little more than half ra- tions fought ten battles and skirmishes, killed and wounded and captured as many
 men as we had in our ranks"
 Wounded by His Own Men.
 By forced marches and desperate fight ing on the Plank Road in the wilderness, on July G. 1864. Longstreet saved Lees army, and but for an unfortunate wound given him by his own men and the killing of General Jenkins. he would have driven
 Grant. in all probability, beyond the Rap pahannock I saw Longstreet when help ed from his horse. and gave him drink of water from my canteen sitting by a tree.
 Captain J. F. Edwards. now holding
 prominent position in the Atlanta post office. a grandnephew to the wife of Gen. General McClaws. who was so intimately