The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-11-12


"on tho contrary, hs was at frst
strongly opposed to my going and sus
J sested another advance into Maryland
mat fall instead. first proposed go.
| ins West In the spring OF 1863. after
| Chancellorsville. | hrmly believed up
| To gettysburg and Vicksbutg that NC
could win by concentrating an over
whelminS fcrco suddenly against Rose
crane. After whipping him and estab.
ushing ourselves on the Ohio, I held
/ that the Mississippi Valley would in
ttanty have cleared Itself UP to the
! ohio's mouth, as, Grant would have
! been Withdrawn to defend Ohio and
] Indiana. This would have saved to the
| Confcderscy some sixty thousand men
lost at Vicksburg, For, Hudson and
gettysburg.
The proposal vas coldly received
/ by the Richmond authorities. They
| preferred to meet tho enemy In tho
| West with detachments. always with
| the weaker force at the point " con-
! tact. After Vicksburg and Gettys-
burg, when tho darker clouds began
/ to gather l suggeste. 1t again to Lee,
! and wrote urging II upon Secretary
! Scddon. General Lee eventually went
down to Richmond upon this business,
/ and the western concentration was
| hnaliy agreed upon Something had to
| be done. In fact. It was then too late:
| we were too weak everywhere to effect
F, the concentration OF the force l con-
sidered necessary to accomplish Rose
| crans's destruction.
| What were your relations with Gem
cral Leo subsequently to gettysburg.
/ general; were they as cordial and con-
| iidentlal as before?" / asked.
Every bit" the general answered
quickly and unhesitatingly. They
F, continued to be of the closest and most
afectionatc character. I was unaware
! of the slightest diminution or conf
dence in my military Judgment. These
| friendly relations continued until long
after the close of tho war. My dis
agreement with him with some of tho
| details of the Gettysburg campaign had
no more effect to estrangc us than
my dissent from the sharpsburg tac-
tics of the previous year. Instead of
being dlscrcdited with Lee, he suE-
gested to President Davis that com
mand the consolidated forces against
Eosecrans in place OF Bragg. But
| Bragg. probably suspectlng something
of the kind, precip!tatcd the battle OF
| Chickanauga before my corps were all
| up. Some OF General Lees original
correspondence with me proves these
facts beyond all controversy"
The West and East
| Were the Western Confederate gen
erals Jealous OF your coming. gem
eral?" asked.
Il do not think the subordinatcs
were" ne answered. 'for they to a
man lacked confidence in Brngg's skill
and capacity. They filed written re-
| quest for his removal. There were owl
| dences, however, that General Bragg
himsclf did not like my coming
do you think, general the troops
yon took from Virginia behaved any
better at Chickamausa than the West
| crn Confederate troops? And were the
western Federal troops you met at
| Chickamauga any better than the Fed
| erals you had habitually met In Vir-
, ginia?"
General Lcngstrect thoughtfuiiy an
swered:
| MY troops were better disciplined
! than most OF Bragg's. hut l cannot say
| they were better lighters. ! am posi-
f, tive that the Western Federals were no
better lighters than their Eastern
! brethren, and they were not nearly so
well disciplined"
Rapidly of Jackson.
General, what about Stonewall
Jackson? Was he as great a man as
/ the people OF the South thought"
! Jackson was Undoubtedly a man OF
military ability. He was one OF the
most effective generals on our side.
| Possibly he had not tl-o requirements
in commander-in-ch chief, but no man
| In either army could accomplish more
with 10000 or 10000 men in an indie
| pendent Command. But In joint move
| ments he was not so reliable He was
very self-reliant and needed to DC alone
! to bring out his greatest qualities. lie
| was very lucky in the success OF his
| critical movements both in the Second
! Manassas campaign and at Chancellors-
| Vile"
Subsequently in the conversation
General Longstrcot said: 81 suggested
to General Lee that Stonewall jackson
be sent to the Trans mississippi in
stead or Kirby Smith. as tho best Mt
| ted among all the Confederate gem
| erals to make Roadway against the
| Fcderals in that region The sugges-
| ton met with General Lees approba-
| ton. but Lee wanted jackson him
| self"
This was new. and with consldcra bio
! surprise ] asked: Why did you as
| sumo that Jackson was better equip
ped for command I'm the Western coun-
| try. general than any cf your other
| ofiicers?"
he vas the very man to organize
| great war over there. Ito would have
marched all over Missouri. invaded
| Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa In fact
| tho very vastncss OF the theater was
well calculated to sharpen his facul-
| ties and g:ve scope to Jacksons pecu-
| liar military talents. His rapid style
OF campaigning. suddenly appearing at
| remote and unexpected points, would
, have denorallzed tho Fedcrals."
Did Generals Early, EwelI or y. T.
| Hill size UP anywhere near Jackson Us
| leaders III Independent commando"
HtIi ms a Curled Darling.
"Not by any means" replied General
| I.onsstrect. "Hll was q gallant, good
| soldier. There WAS good deal of
| curled darling and dress parade about
Hi; he was uncertain at times, falling
below expectations, while at others he
performed prodigies. a division was
| about IIill's capacity"
Sharp Criticism OF Early.
"Ewell was greatly Hills superior in
every respect; a safe, reliable corps
| comman der. always zealously seeking
TO do his duty. In execution he was