The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1905-09-08
A Grand Tribute to the Soldiers
Of the conisdesacy.
FOUGHT GREAT ODDS
But Always Acquitted Themselves Ia a
Way that Made Their Enemies Re.
spect Them. Some Interesting
Facts and Figures from
Friend and Foe.

from the writings OF Rev. j. William
Jones, who was first a private and
served In the ranks, then q chaplain
to the close of the o These extracts
arc taken from Vol. XII, "COnfeder.
ate Military History" The author is
nov Chaplain. General Of the United
Confederate Veterans. During the
war he was fittingly designated rs the
Fighting Parson." Chaplain Jones
Is q man Of marked ability, with both
pen ard tongue. He is a Baptist
minister. In his testimony before
THE committee on the conduct OF the
war;" Major Geneneral Hooker
Fighting Joe" he was afr%ectionately
and appropriately called by his mon
uses this remarkable and emphatic
language:
Our artillery had always been su,
peri0r to that Of the rebels, as was
also our infantry, except In discipline,
and that, for reasons not necessary to
mention, never did equal Lees army.
With q rank and file vastly inferior to
our own intellectually and physically,
that army had, by dicipllne alone, &C
quired a character for s%teadineSS and
efficiency unsurpassed, in my judge.
ment, in ancient or modegn times.
We have not been able to rival it,"
Now, we may fully accept the lat.
ter part OF this statement Of General
HOoker's as to the chatacter IF the
Confederate army, without cOnceding
that 1t was due alone tie discipline. 1t
was my privilege to be q member OF
the army of Northern Virginia. AS
private soldier or as Chaplain l follow.
ed it's flag from Harper's Ferry in 81
to Appomattox in IS, mingling freely
with the men in camp, on the march,
In the bivOuac, on the battlefield, and
in the hospital. l knew It's most con-.
spicuous leaders and made it my es
pecial business to know the heroes OF
the rank and file. 1 marched with
them along the weary road, bivouack-
ed with them in the polling storm,
went with them into the lcaden and
iron hail Cf battle, ministered to them
In the loathsome hospitals, labored
with among them in those glorious re.
vivals which made we'll nigh every
camp vocal with Gods praises, result
ting In the professed conversion Of
over Is, 900 mon; rejoiced with them
in that long series Of brilliant victories
which have illustrated brightest pages
of American history, and wept with
them when Lee was compelled to
yield to overwhelming numbers and re.
sources"
Since the wal ! have carefully
studied the oticial reports on both
sides and everything that has been
published which throws any light on
the history Of that army. L am pre-
pared, therefore, not only to fully In.
dorse General Hookers's opinion Of
the infantry Of the army Of Northern
Virginia, but to SO further and say
that our artillery, though inferior In
guns, ammunition and equipment,
was always q match for that to which
IT was exposed; that the men who
rode with Turner Ashby, Wade
Hampton and Fitz Lee, or followed
the feather of 'Jeb" Stuart, though
greatly inferior In mount and equip
ment to the Federal cavalry, we're
masters Of the situation on any fair
fields; and that the army Of Northern
Virginia as a whole, was, In gallant
dash, steady resistance, patient en-
durance, heroic courage, and all other
qualities which 60 to make up the best
soldiers, not only unrivaled, as the
gallant general says, by the army Of
the Potomac, but the equals of any
other army that eyer marched under
any flag, or fought for any cause.
And l give equal honor to the other
armies Of the C%onfederacy. The mon
who defended Fort Sumter and Char.
lesion and Savannah and Mobile and
Fort Fisher; vino fought under Albert
Sidney Johnson, Beauregard, Bragg,
Joseph 70. Johnson, Hood, Stepen d
Lee, Pemberton, Van Dorm, Price,
Dick Taylor, Kirby Smith, Forrest,
Joe Wheeler, John Morgan, and
others, were the peers Of those who
followed Lee and Stonewall Jackson
and deserve equal praise. The world
never saw better soldiers than those
who composed the Confederate armies.
But we must utterly repudiate the
reason General Hooker assigns for the
efficiency Of the Confederate soldiers.
So far from its being due to ''discip
line alone'--so far from it's being
true that the C~onfedcrates were
vastly inferior, intellectually and
physically" to the soldiers on the
other side it can be abundantly dem
onstrated that Just the reverse Is
ear the truth, and that the world
never saw al army composed OF more
superb material, intellectually, physi.
callY and morally, in all that consti.
tutes what we call morale In an army,
than the armies OF the Confederate
States Of America.
But perhaps the best evidence Of
the morale OF the Confederate armies
is their achievements, notwithstand-
ing the immense odds In numbers. re-
Bources and equipment against which
they fought. The population Of the
Northern States was about 20, 600, 600,
while the population Of the Confedero
ate States was only 5000, 600 whites.
There we're enlisted In the Federal
armies, as shown by the onicial re.
ports, 5,864,27t men, while there were
mustered In the Confederate armies a
total Of only 800,0 600 men. The block.
ade cut Of the Confederacy from the
factories and general supplies Of the
world and shut the South up to It's
own scant reese urces; while the FEEDER
ais had not only only the arsenals, the
navy yards and 1.-The shops OIL the
government, and the numerous facto.
ries Of the North, but those OF the
whole world from which to draw their
var material. The Federal armies
were equipped In complete style, their
arma and a~mmunitiOn ware NJ tho