Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 204, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 August 1910 — STORIES OF CAMP AND WAR [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

STORIES OF CAMP AND WAR

THRILLING MEMORIES OF WAR General Longstreet Talks Interesting- * ly of Great Conflict—His Greatest Battle. It was in the early spring of 1883 that I bad the pleasure of calling for the first time upon Gen. James Longstreet, who, as one authority puts it, “enjoyed the distinction of being one of the greatest fighters of the Confederacy, and possessed the unbounded confidence and affection of his soldiers.” it was at his home in Atlanta, hnd the fragrance of early flowers and the glory that shone in the blossoming peach trees lent an especial attraction to the approach to his home, says E. J. Edwards, in Boston Globe. The picture I had in my mind’s eye of the great leader who had so often discomfited noted Union commanders was based on war-time prints, all displaying him with a long and flowing beard. But I found him without beard, except a tuft in front of each ear. His complexion was ruddy, his eyes were bright, and yet he seemed somewhat infirm. The really noticeable thing about his features was the scar that they bore, mute evidence of the frightful wound that he had received at the Wilderness (it a most critical moment in that battjp. “General,” I said, after a timfc, “I have heard that many military critics believe that had you not been wounded just when and where you were, you probably would have driven Grant back across the Rapidan.” “Perhaps,” was the reply; “no one can ever tell what the result of a battle will be until It is over.” For several moments he was thoughtfully silent. “That battle,” he said, “is one of my thrilling war recollections, of course; the twinges that the wound gives me, now in my cheek and now in my shoulder, will not let me forget it, I fear, until the day of my death. But I think that the most thrilling recollections, certainly the most pleasing, that I have of the late struggle are those which tell of the personal relations between the commanders upon one side with those of the other after battle, when prisoners were captured, and especially immediately after the war. They tell me”—questioningly—“that “Gen. Joe Johnston, who has just retired from congress, and General Sherman frequently sat side by side like two intimate friends in the house of representatives'at Washington?” “Yes, that is true,” I answered. “I have often seen them together there.

General Johnston’s seat was nepr the door. General Sherman had tfm privileges of the floor, and frequently he come In quietly, edged his way to a vacant seat beside Johnston, and there* they sat side by side like old cronies sometimes for two or three hours.” "Ah,” exclaimed General Longstreet, “that illustrates the real spirit which the men who were true soldiers —not political generals—on either side felt for their opponents when the fighting was all over, when duty to their cause was done. Why, that spirit began with that very kindly act that Grant did after Buckner had surrendered to him. You know the story—how Grant received Buckner as a personal friend and offered to share his purse with him. That spirit was characteristic of the personal relations of the opposing generals throughout the war and for a long time after, and I wish it could also have been characteristic of some of the politicians on either side. Then there would have been many irritations, many resentments, many difficulties of both war and peace eliminated. Oh, I sometimes wish that the reconstruction period could have been left to the direction of those who Were in important command at the time of the war. I am certain that they would have continued to show the utmost delicacy of consideration for each other. “Yes, the tenderest, the most permanent and in many respects the most thrilling recollections that I have* of the war are associated with the noble courage and dignity and true kindliness which were characteristic of the personal relations of opposing commanders. They are memories that will not fade—that not even thought L of otirring battle can displace," **• *