The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-08-21
GENERAL HARDEE.

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the cotton planters who owned the land
and comprised the society, they and their
! families, up to 1861, when the Confederacy
was formed Instances are not wanting
where the sons Of the planters of the
slave regime moved later on in a higher
sphere of action than their fathers
reached, perhaps The history of Ala
bama cannot avoid them. They were
not of the old plantation story, however,
except incidentally.
General Iardee could hardly be counted
cotton planter of the slave regime.
| Fourteen months before Appomattox he
| came in possession by marriage of some
canebrake plantations and slaves on them
| in the upper part of Marengo county.
| When the Confederacy fell he brought MS
young wife, formerly Miss Mary Fore
man Lewis, to live on one of these es-
tates. With them came the general s
grown daughters all a few years younger
| than his wife 1t was a most cultured
and hospitable home in roomy log
cabin.
1 would that a Byron held this pen
Those gentlemen of the canebrake VINO
survived the great war, and their sons,
became most devotedly attached to Gen
eral Hardee as he lived and moved among
them for several years. "Hardee was the
| wisest man l ever knew" declared SEN
ator Morgan.
I have seen the diary of the late Prof.
Samuel L. Robertson, kept while he was
private in Colonel Woods Alabama reg
| iment at Pensacola, in 1872. He speaks
| of a grand review of Bragg's army there;
how we'll General Bragg sat his spirited
horse, and of various impressions the
ranking officers made on his mind. Re
ferring to Colonel Hardee, he was special
| " complimentary. The voice OF that
officer in command was very animating TO
the troops he said. The prediction was
ventured upon If long war was ahead,
that Hardee would be heard from
General Hardee found on his canehrake
plantations a considerable number OF
bales of cotton, stored during the war.
AS the military rule required, he obtained
a permit from the provost at Selma to
sell a part of 1t. He went to Selma and
procuring the assistance of an informed
larry, he sent several hundred dollars to
President Davis in durance at FORTRESS
Monroe The donors name was sup
pressed for very delicate reason. For
many years and up to the last months of
the great contest Hardee was favorite
friend of Mr.. Davis. On one occasion, Tor
example, as the Presidents car reached
Demopolis, Gems. J. e. Johnston and Har-
dee entered 1t together to greet him. HOW
are you, Harder was the welcome 10
one. This was pfeceueu WIN Sun
bow-"General Johnston"
The estrangement had this beginning:
Hardee declined appointment to command
the army of Tennessee when Bragg re-
signed. The President believed the re-
fusal was intended to keep the place open
to Joseph E. Johnston. and so resented
IT, Six months later Johnston was re-
moved from that command, which had
been most reluctantly conferred on him
oil HaTdee
was present and ranked Hood, who was
also present, the latter succeeded that
great soldier Vice President Stephens
told me, face to face, that he regarded
Johnston the ablest of all Confederate
generals. Hardees civil life abounded IN
examples like the case with the money
and his open enemy. Hood made nu1ner-
Gus most serious-even appalllng-charBes
against Hardee In. the battles around At
lanta. No soldier believed them, but on
Hardees repeated requests he was taken
from the army of Tennessee and sent, IN
Beauregards place, to Charleston.
In the winter after the war Gen
eral and Mrs. Hardee took steamer
to Mobile. AS soon as he wrote ms
name on the Battle House register the
MANY West Point men, then forming
a part of the United States garrison,
rushed to shake hands with him. They
sent in a formal invitation to din
ner in his honor. The general f1xed
the date to suit his tailor in the
city, that he might complete suit
for him The new suit was Confeder-
ate gray in every piece. So the blue
and the gray mingled in harmony
probably for the first time.
The general did not remain long on
the plantation and soon abandoned
purpose to purchase more canebrake
land He bought some stock in the
Selma and Meridian railroad and was
elected president of the board of di-
rectors. In this capacity he discovered
the highest order of administrative
ability The affairs of the road were
in wretched confusion, following the
military use of it for four years. On
the occasion of an early meeting of
the board at Demopolis while the mem
bers were intently engaged around the
table a knock at the door summoned
Mr. J. w. L. one of the charter MEM
bers. Without notice to the president,
who occupied the chair, Mr.. l.. re-
sponded to the call at the door. Hardee
| promptly announced: Gentlemen, we
will suspend discussion until Mr.. L. re-
turns" No one was more shocked at
the discipline than Mr.. L. himself. The
president and his family now took up
residence in the home of Mr.. Gains
| Whitfield in Demopolis in order that he
might devote his entire time to his
| office.
| AS remember, the last great din
ner ever given at walnut Grove,
| the home of Major and Mrs. John Will
| liam Tayloe, came off in November,
| 1865, in honor of General Hardee, who
| then lived nearby on the plantation
Mrs Hardee and Mrs. TayloN were the
| only ladies present. The affair was
very handsome, continuing from p.
| m to O'Clock at table. Gentlemen
from long distances were guests
subsequently General Hardee took his
| family to live in Selma. 1t may be
safely said he was the most univer-
sally beloved citizen of the town. Daily
he rode BLACK Auster," the horse that
he rode at Shiloh, where with rider
and horse were bleeding from the COM
bat down the broad streets to his bus
mess, the observed of all observers.
In the last summer of his life Cen
! eral and Mrs Hardee- sought at the
Virginia Springs some relief from his
malady, internal cancer. The sick man
| lay on an improvised cot on the car.
Unexpectedly, Gen. and Mrs. Joseph e.
Johnston entered. The scene was de-
| scribed by witnesses as exceedingly af-
fecting and remarkable. The moment
Johnston's eye caught the recumbent
figure, pale unto death. he rushed for
ward and threw his arms around it,
remaining In profound grief.
Some days later death came. The
body was met at the Selma station by
the whole town. The display of feeling
| surpassed any like exhibition ever
| known in the town.
Lieutenant General Hardee must
stand on his military record as one of
the great subordinate commanders OF