The Washington herald., 1909-08-08

made his way slowly through lane
made Of lines OF Union and Confederate
veterans every man saluted.
The great conflict was ended The
South. beaten. exhausted. and ravaged
by war. was overrun BY the soldiers Of
the armies Of the North. Lee, at Apo
mattox had surrendered two months be-
fore. and now this young man, who had
held rank second only 10 Lee. had laid
down his sword and been released on
parole. says the Baltimore Sun.
The man in the faded uniform OF gray
was the wreck OF human. One leg was
missing. shot away at Chickamauga:
one arm hung lifeless by his side. shat
tered and mangled at Gettysburg. a
wound made by rife ball that pierced
his body az Gaines Mil still troubled him.
and one OF his eyes was affected by the
fragment OF a shell that struck him iE
his retreat with his army after the fall
OF Atlanta.
He had gone into the war lieutenant,
as brave. as dashing. and as chivalrlc a
soldier as the South could furnish. and
now. at thirty-four. broken in body. his
fortune gone. crippled, disdgured. and al
most helpless, but wearing the stars or a
lieutenant general, he was little more
than a bit Of hotsam and jetsam cast
amid the debris by the tide Of fate
To & soldier Il IS bitter indeed 10 sur
render his sword, but upon John 7. Hood
that day In the early summer OF 1865
there devolvod another duty that required
By far n higher degree OF fortiJude
His Sweetheart's Answer.
When he left the headquarters OF the
Federal commander and went 70 thu
house in which he was living temporarily
il was 10 write a letter every word Of
which was anguish 70 his heart The let
ter was to the woman he loved. releasing
her from her promise 10 become his wife.
He told her hs was only the remnant
OF a man. and that Il would be wrong
for him 10 Hnk bis lie with hers. lie
loved her. loved her from the first day
they had met. loved her so well that he
had a rlght 90 demand this of her now
II would blight her life. he told her
10 be the wife OF such a crippled. help
less being, one whose days were num-
bered and whose course was run.
And the woman he loved replied as only
a woman who loves could reply.
John Hood, she wrote. If there was
only enough OF your body left 10 hold
your noble soul would hold you 20 your
promise. In place Of the limb that you
lost you have me as a crutch. For the
arm that IS shattered you have my two
arms. II your eyes fall. whose eyes
should see FOR you but mine"
And so these two were married 20 live
a life that was % have as its climax one
OF the most remarkable incidents In
American history.
To the South Hood always has seemed
a knightly character. As a boy and as
a man. in the camp and IN the home. he
was the same lofty spirit. He had all the
chivalry and sense Of honor OF the high
est type OF the SOutherner.
Knight OF other Days.
To 90 worthily 70 the best OF his ability
everything that was a duty was HIS cardi-
nal principle IN ufe. He personifed the
highest ideals Of the Southern soldier. To
bear on high the COlors and charge at
the head Of his column as he did at
Chickamauga appealed 70 him as one or
the most glorious privileges Of war.
From the day he was commissioned a
lieutenant until the day he surrendered
he carried on his sword the bit OF silk
he got from the woman ne loved. Just as
the knights Of a former day wore notices
Of their loves in that age Of chivalry and
romance
He was born !n Kentucky in 1881 and
was appointed a cadet In West Point in
iSi9 he was graduated IN the class OF
1853. along with Sheridan. Mcpherson.
Scoheld. and a host OF other gallant men
who were 10 play, prominent roles In the
great tragedy Of the civil war.
His first service was in San Francisco.
then the center about which was gathered
the greatest band OF fortune seekers the
world perhaps ever has known. The
region was mad with the fever Of gold.
and one Of the best pictures of the golden
city OF that period is that given by the
young lieutenant IN some letters he pen
ned az that time.
In 1855 he was transferred 70 Fort Bel
knap. Tex. % serve under Gen. Albert
Sidney Johnston. IL was IN Texas that
he had his baptism Of fire.
IN 1857 there was an Indian outbreak,
and Hood. with twenty men. was sent
in pursuit Of q band Of 100 braves. whose
raids on the settlements IN the southwest
ern part of the State had caused much
alarm.
For three weeks Hood followed the In
dams. who drew him farther and farther
away from any chance OF re-enforCe-
ments and who would not give battle
until their horses gave ont and those OF
the troopers were almost spent
Then there ensued a fight that FOR years
was the marvel of the frontier II was
in the Frio County. near Devils River,
that the forces met. sew Of Hoods little
command escaped unscathed, but the In
dians were routed utterly
Hood in the Civil War.
In 1861. at the outbreak Of the civil
war. Hood resigned. went 10 Kentucky,
and offered his services for the defense
OF the State But as Kentucky hesitated
ABOUT Joining the secession movement
Hood proceeded TO Montgomery. Ala. and
there was commissioned a lieutenant in
the Confederate army AID ordered TO
Richmond 20 report to Lee.
Promotion came rapidly. IN a few
months he was major, next lieutenant
colonel then brigadier general, and next
major general.
OF all tho generals who had commands
in the Southern armies il Is doubtful II
one. Lee excepted. participated in larger
number OF important engagements, and
II any received so many serious wounds
and continued IN the service.
Early in the war he got IN his brigade
regiments from Texas and Georgia He
drilled these men until they were as fine
a fighting force as the army possessed.
They exhibited much Of his own dash
and spirit and they were looked upon as
the flower OF Lees army.
And Lee saw that they had plenty OF
action At Gaines NH, where Hood
bore the brunt Of the battle. his brigade
lost more than half OF its number. He
was in the battles OF Malvern Hill, sec
ond Manassas. Boonesboro Gap. An
tietam. Fredericksburg, Suffolk. and Get
tysburg. and then he was sent 10 the