The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-08-15
GEN. JOHN B. HOOD,
 A>MODERN KNIGHT
(Continued from Page Five.l

suffolk. and Gettysburg, and then he was sent to the West
 It was the belief of Hood, and his belief that shared by many other sol olers, that If he had been permitted to advance on the first day at Gettys- burg and capture a position he sug- gested Meades army would have been crushed
 But the permission was not given and before the battle closed Hood had other things to think about. He was sunering from a wound in the reg before the engagement and had to be lifted onto his horse. | In the thick of the fight on. the ,sec- ond day his horse was killed under him. He was assisted to mount an- other and little later was shot from | the saddle
 At Chickamauga. two months later. ne commanded the left wing of braggs army anj led the principal charge in that bloody battle, one of the most deadly of all the war. Chickamauga marked the summit of success for Hood. His gallantry and daring thrilled the South, So far he had proved himself equal to every task to which he has been assigned. He was promoted to be lieutenant gen eraI, and fin July. 1884. he succeeded Gen. Joseph E. Johnston in command or the army opposing sherman. Against such a master of strategy as William T. Sherman. Hood, could not hold out. It Is true, of course, that the spirit of the South was brok- en and that the men fought out of pure doggedness, and not with con- fidence of victory. sherman had little respect for Hoods ability, considering him less able. in fact than Joe John ston. and not few Southern soldiers think sherman was partly right.
 Hood like many other brave sol- ! dAer,. probably was more capable of carrying out the brilliant plans of an- other commander than of concaivinu brilliant plans of his own account and then attending to their execution sherman drove Hood before him steadily and surely from point to point until Hood made his final stand at Atlanta
 When that city fell Hood made one despalring effort to turn the tide. He raced around Sherman's forces and 1 tried to cut the Union general off from his communications. expecting to compel Sherman to turn back. But the backbone of the Confectionery was broken, and minor defeats and minor victories cut no figure in the inevit- able results.
 Hood came in for bitter criticism
 
 the campaign against Sherman Los CTS generally are blamed. Johnston was one of the most savage of his critics, and the two had some sharp correspondence as a result of John ston's biting, satirical reflections re- garding Hoods capacity as a com mander.
 But then Johnston was caustic in his observations as to every promin- ent Confederate general
 To Hood the winter of '64 was the most sorrowful of his life. His army crushed and ragged. he held respon- hible by many for its defeats, the cause of-the South hopeless, surrender was inevitable
 He Faced Bitter Defeat.
 April. '65, brought Appomattox. In June Hood surrendered, and he wrote | the letter to the woman he loved, and l she refused to release him. Then there opened a new life to the sadly crippled soldier. When the lovers married they made their home in New Orleans. Their union was blessed with many children.
 For a time Hood prospered. He showed an excellent capacity for business, and as an officer of an in surance company he managed its af- fairs in fine style. He might have ac- | cumulatel. modest fortune had he confined his attentions to that one branch of industry. but to provide for the big family he had dependent upon him he invested all his savings in a new enterprise and the whole amohnt was lost
 Tn 1879 yellow fever appeared in New Orleans His wife and eldest child were stricken and died within a few hours of each other Then Hood was stricken, and on August 30, 1873 he died.
 When the news of Hoods death was telegraphed to the outside world one of those great waves of sympathy that sometimes spread over the land went through the South.
 What is to become of the children of John Hood?" some one asked.
 The response was immediate. Nc one doubted that the children of such noble father and such a noble moth CT were worthy of the best tribute ] the South could pay.
 From one end of the Southland to the other came offers to adopt one, two. three or more of the children Rich families and families in moder- ate circumstances vied with each oth- CT in their efforts be befrienl the or | Dhans.
 And the poor! Who e'er knew the