RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE FIRST BULL RUN.

241

Army just before secession had been: 1st, J. E. Johnston , Brigadier-General;2d, Samuel Cooper, Colonel; 3d, A. S. Johnston, Colonel; 4th, R. E. Lee , Lieu-tenant-Colonel; and 5th, G. T. Beauregard, Major. All of them but the thirdhad had previous appointments, when, on the 31st of August, the ConfederateGovernment announced new ones: Cooper’s being dated May 16th, A. S.

Johnston’s May 28th, Lee ’sJune 14th, J. E. Johnston ’sJuly 4th, and Beauregard’sJuly 21st. So the law wasviolated, 1st, by disregard-ing existing commissions; 2d,by giving different instead ofthe same dates to commis-sions; and 3d, by not recogniz-in g previous rank in the UnitedStates Army . The only effectof this triple violation of lawwas to reduce J. E. Johnston from the first to the fourthplace, which, of course, musthave been its object. Mr.Davis continues:

“ It is a noteworthy fact that thethree highest officers in rank . . .were all so indifferent to any ques-tion of personal interest that theyhad received their appointment be-fore they were aware it was to beconferred” (p. 307).

This implies that the con-duct described was unusual.On the contrary, it was thatof the body of officers who leftthe United States Army to en-ter that of the Confederacy.It is strange that the authorshould disparage so many honorable men. He states (“R. and F.,” I., 309)that General Lee, when ordered from Richmond to the South for the firsttime, asked what rank he held in the army: “So wholly had his heart andhis mind been consecrated to the public service that he had not remembered,if he ever knew, of his advancement.”

As each grade has its duties, an officer cannot know his duty if ignorant ofhis rank. Therefore General Lee always knew his rank, for he never failedin his duty. Besides, his official correspondence at the time referred to showsthat he knew that he was major-general of the Virginia forces until May25th, 1861, and a Confederate general after that date.

VOL. I. 18

GENERAL SAMUEL COOPER, ADJUTANT AND INSPECTOR-GENERAL,C. S. A., RANKING OFFICER IN THE CONFEDERATE ARMY.FROM A PHOTOGRAPH.