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at their head. We all were covered with mudand straining every muscle to extricate the gun,when the general, resplendent in uniform, whitegauntlets, and polished cavalry boots, rode upand halted by our side. I gave the military saluteand stood like a criminal awaiting sentence.To my surprise he remarked in a very kindly tone :“ Well, Lieutenant, you seem to be in trouble.”“Yes, sir,” I replied; “and I am afraid we shall
have to abandon this gun.” “ Oh, no ; I reckon not!Let me see what 1 can do.” Whereupon he leapedfrom his horse, waded out in the mire, seized one ofthe wheel-spokes, covered as it was with mud, andcalled out, “Now, boys, altogether!” The effectwas magical, and the next moment the gun jumpedclear of the mud-hole. After that our battery usedto swear by “ Old Joe.”
Santa Kosa, Cal., August 10th, 1886.
II.—HOOD “FEELING THE ENEMY.” BY J. II. L.
Immediately after the battle of Williamsburg ,as the Confederates under Johnston were movingback toward Richmond , neither by land nor water,but by a half-and-half mixture of both, GeneralJohnston ordered me to go at once to GeneralHood. “Tell him,” he said, “that a force of theenemy, estimated at from three to five thousand,have landed on York River, and are ravaging thecountry. His brigade must immediately check theadvance of this force. He is to feel the enemy gen-tly and fall back, avoiding an engagement anddrawing them from under the protection of theirgun-boats, as an ample force will be sent in theirrear, and if he can draw them a few miles from theriver, their capture is certain.”
The order was given. General Hood repeated itto the colonel of his brigade ; and the Texas boys,who were “ sp’iling for a fight,” charged upon theenemy, who outnumbered them greatly, drove themback to the shelter of their gun-boats, killing and
capturing several hundred. Returning to head-quarters, I had to report a result not at all inaccordance with the orders or expectations of thegeneral in command. General Johnston seemedgreatly annoyed, and sternly ordered me to repeatthe exact verbal orders given Hood. Just as I didso, General Hood rode up. He was asked by Gen-eral Johnston to repeat the orders received fromme. When he did so, “Old Joe,” with the soldierlyand game-cock air which characterized him, said :“General Hood, have you given an illustration ofthe Texas idea of feeling an enemy gently and fall-ing back? What would your Texans have done,sir, if I had ordered them to charge and driveback the enemy? ” Hood replied: “I suppose,General, they would have driven them into theriver, and tried to swim out and capture the gun-boats.” With a smile, General Johnston replied:“ Teach your Texans that the first duty of a soldieris literally to obey orders.”
III.— CHARACTERISTICS OF GENERAL WISE. BY J. H. L.
Governor Henry A. Wise was one of the mostgifted men it has been my fortune to know. Hiseloquence produced a greater effect upon a popularassembly than that of any one I ever heard; hewould dazzle, surprise, and shock with electrictouches of sentiment, wit, and pathos. Thoughbrave, vigilant, and fertile in resource, his militarycareer was by no means a success. Floyd and him-self quarreled in West Virginia , and his relationshad not been pleasant with any commanding offi-cer. When General Wise was in command of theJames River defenses opposite Drewry’s Bluff, Ivisited him on official business. He receivedme most cordially, walked with me all the morn-ing round his lines, explaining his views mosteloquently, quoting from the great masters inthe art of war,—with whom he seemed to be per-fectly familiar,— interspersing these learned andscientific disquisitions with the most scathing criti-cisms on men and measures, denouncing the Con-federate Executive and Congress and the narrowcurriculum of West Point, but winding up alwayswith a stream of fiery invective against the Yan-kees. General Wise was camped on the plantationof one of the richest and most influential citizensof Richmond . He annoyed Wise greatl\ p with com-plaints of depredations committed by the WiseLegion on his property. Wise was greatly enragedwhen he presumed to charge some of his men withstealing, and after a fierce altercation ordered him
out of his tent. As the gentleman was mounting hishorse Wise came out, and, callinghimbyname, said:“ Sir, before you leave, I think it due both to youand myself to make you an apology.” “I’m glad,General Wise , that you show some sense of whatis becoming to us both.” “My apology,” repliedGeneral Wise , “ is that, having on my slippers, Icould not possibly do you justice: I ought tohave kicked you out of my tent, and will do sonow if you will wait till I pull on my boots! ”Then he poured a broadside upon his retreatingenemy.
A few days after this Wise said : “ General Lee came down to see me; fortunately, my wife andseveral other ladies were spending the day at myheadquarters. We had a good dinner and a charm-ing time. You know ‘ Marse Bob ’ was always veryfond of ladies’ society, and when he asked me totake a walk with him, I suspected what was com-ing. After telling me of the complaints made ofmy treatment of the Richmond man, and hearingmy account of the affair, not omitting the apologyand broadside, he laid his hand upon my arm, and,with that grace and cordiality which at such timestempered his usual stately dignity, said: 1 Wise ,you know, as well as I do, what the army regula-tions say about profanity; but,.as an old friend, letme ask you if that dreadful habit cannot be broken— and remind you that we have both already passedthe meridian of life,’ etc. Seeing he was in for a