NOTORIOUS REBELS.--UNION OFFICERS.
Colonel Jefferson Davis--His Speech at Holly Springs, Mississippi--His
Opposition to Yankee Teachers and Ministers--A bid for the
Presidency--His Ambition--Burr, Arnold, Davis--General
Beauregard--Headquarters at Rienzi--Colonel Elliott's
Raid--Beauregard's Consternation--Personal description--His
illness--Popularity waning--Rev. Dr. Palmer of New Orleans--His
influence--The Cincinnati Letter--His Personal Appearance--His
Denunciations of General Butler--His Radicalism--Rev. Dr. Waddell of
La Grange, Tennessee--His Prejudices against the North--President of
Memphis Synodical College--His Talents prostituted--Union
Officers--General Nelson--General Sherman.
COLONEL JEFFERSON DAVIS.
In 1856 I heard Colonel Jefferson Davis deliver an address at Holly
Springs, Mississippi. The Colonel is about a medium height, of slender
frame, his nose aquiline, his hair dark, his manners polite. He is no
orator. His speech was principally a tirade of abuse against the North,
bitterly inveighing against the emigrant aid societies which had
well-nigh put Kansas upon the list of free States. He advised the people
to employ no more Yankee teachers. He had been educated in the North, and
he regarded it as the greatest misfortune of his life. Soon after Colonel
Davis visited New England, where he eulogized that section in an
extravagant manner. He was pleased with everything he saw; even "Noah
Webster's Yankee spelling-book" received a share of the Colonel's fulsome
flattery. On his return to the South, "a change came o'er the spirit of
his dream," and his bile and bitterness against Yankee-land returned in
all its pristine vigour. The Colonel was making a bid for the Presidency;
but New England was not so easily gulled; his flimsy professions of
friendship were too transparent to hide the hate which lay beneath, and
his aspirations were doomed to disappointment.
Though Colonel Davis is often called Mississippi's pet, yet he is not
regarded as a truthful man, and his reports and messages are received
with considerable abatement by "the chivalry." His ambition knows no
bounds. He would rather "reign in hell than serve in heaven."
Had Jefferson Davis been elected President of the United States, he would
have been among the last instead of the first to favour secession. Had he
been slain on the bloody fields of Mexico, his memory would have been
cherished. History will assign him a place among the infamous. Burr,
Arnold, and Davis will be names for ever execrated by true patriots. The
two former died a natural death, though the united voice of their
countrymen would have approved of their execution on the gallows. The fate
of the latter lies still in the womb of futurity, though his loyal
countrymen, without a dissenting voice, declare that he deserves a felon's
doom. An announcement of his death would suffuse no patriot's eye with
tears. What loyalist would weep while he read the news-item--the arch
traitor Jeff. Davis is dead.
GENERAL G. T. BEAUREGARD.
I met General Beauregard under very peculiar circumstances. I had gone to
Rienzi for the purpose of escaping to the Federal lines for protection
from the rigorous and sweeping conscript law. When I arrived, I found the
rebels evacuating Corinth, and their sick and wounded passing down the
Mobile and Ohio railroad to the hospitals below. General Beauregard had
just arrived in Rienzi, and had his headquarters at the house of Mr.
Sutherland. A rumour had spread through Rienzi that General Beauregard had
ordered the women and children to leave the town. Many of them, believing
that the order had been issued, were hastening into the country. In order
to confirm or refute the statement, I called upon General Beauregard, and
asked him whether he had issued such an order. He replied, "I have issued
no such order, sir." Just at that moment a courier arrived with the
information that the Yankees had attacked the advance of their retreating
army at Boonville, that they had destroyed the depot, and taken many
prisoners. The General told the courier that he must be mistaken; that it
was impossible for the Yankees to pass around his army. While he was yet
speaking a citizen arrived from Boonville, confirming the statement of the
courier. Beauregard was still incredulous, replying that they must have
mistaken the Confederates for the Yankees. In a few minutes the explosion
of shells shook the building. The General then thought that it might be
true that the Yankees had passed around the army; but on hearing the
shells, he stated that General Green (of Missouri) was driving them away
with his cannon. The truth was soon ascertained by the arrival of several
couriers. Col. Elliott, of the Federal army, had made a raid upon
Boonville, had fired the depot, and destroyed a large train of cars filled
with ammunition. The explosions of the shells which we heard was
occasioned by the fire reaching the ears in which these shells were
stored. The Colonel also destroyed the railroad to such an extent that it
required several days to repair the track.
General Beauregard is below the medium height, and has a decidedly French
expression of countenance. His hair is quite gray, though a glance at his
face will convince the observer that it is prematurely so. The General is
regarded as taciturn. His countenance is careworn and haggard. During the
winter of 1861-2, he was attacked with bronchitis and typhoid pneumonia,
and came near dying; and had not, at my interview, by any means recovered
his pristine health and vigour. His prestige as an able commander is
rapidly waning. For some time his military talents were considered of the
first order; now a third-rate position is assigned him. He is still
regarded as a first-class engineer. When General Sterling Price arrived at
Corinth, General Beauregard conducted him around all the fortifications,
explaining their nature and unfolding their strength; but no word of
approval could he elicit from the Missouri General. At length he ventured
to ask what he thought of their capacity for resisting an attack. General
Price replied, "They may prove effective in resisting an attack. These are
the second fortifications I ever saw; the first I captured." He had
reference to Colonel Mulligan's, at Lexington, Missouri. Sumter and
Manassas gave Beauregard fame. Since the latter battle his star has
declined steadily; and if the Federal generals prove themselves competent,
it will soon go out in total darkness, and the world's verdict will be, it
was a misfortune that Beauregard lived.
REV. DR. B. M. PALMER.
Dr. Palmer has done more than any non-combatant in the South to promote
the rebellion. He was accessory both before and after the fact. His
sermons are nearly all abusive of the North. The mudsills of Yankeedom and
the scum of Europe are phrases of frequent use in his public addresses,
and they are meant to include all living north of what is more familiarly
than elegantly termed in the South the "nigger line," although the North
is the land of his parental nativity.
A few years ago, Dr. Palmer wrote to a friend in Cincinnati respecting a
vacant church, in which he gave as one reason, among others, for desiring
to come North, that he wished to remove his family from the baleful
influences of slavery. That letter still exists, and ought to be
published.
Dr. Palmer's personal appearance is by no means prepossessing. He is small
of stature, of very dark complexion, dish-faced. His nose is said to have
been broken when a child; at all events, it is a deformity. He is fluent
in speech, has a vivid imagination, and has a great influence over a
promiscuous congregation.
After the reduction of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, and the capture of
New Orleans, Dr. Palmer came to Corinth, where he preached to the rebel
army. His text was invariably General Butler's "women-of-the-town order,"
which we fully believe he intentionally misconstrued. The conservation and
extension of slavery is a matter which lies near the Doctor's heart. He
urged secession for the purpose of extending and perpetuating for ever
the peculiar institution. His views, however, must have undergone a
radical change since the writing of the Cincinnati letter, as he then
regarded slavery with little favour. Love of public favour may have much
to do with his recently expressed views, for no true Christian and patriot
can wish to perpetuate and extend an institution founded on the total
subversion of the rights of man.
REV. DR. JOHN N. WADDELL.
Dr. Waddell is a man of considerable talent, but his prejudices are very
strong against the North. He cordially hates a Yankee, and his poor
distressed wife, who was a native of New England, was compelled to return
to her home, where she mourns in virtual widowhood her unfortunate
connection with a man who detests her land and people. Dr. Waddell's
sermons are very abusive. The North is the theme of animadversion in all
the published sermons and addresses I have seen from his prolific pen. He
has prostituted his fine talents, and his writings are full of cursing
and bitterness. As President of La Grange College, Tennessee, he might
wield a great influence for good--an influence which would tend to calm
the storm aroused by demagogues, rather than increase its power. His
memory will rot, for the evil which he has done will live after him.
MAJOR-GENERAL WILLIAM NELSON.
I met General Nelson frequently at his head-quarters at Iuka Springs,
Mississippi. Though the General was quite brusque in his manners, yet he
always treated me with kindness and marked attention. Once while seated at
the table with him, several guests being present, the following colloquy
ensued.
"Parson Aughey, I suppose you are well versed in the Scriptures, and in
order to test your knowledge, permit me to ask a question, which doubtless
you are able to answer."
"Certainly, General, you have permission to ask the question you propose.
I am not so sure, however, about my ability to answer it."
"The question I desire to propose is this--How many preceded Noah in
leaving the ark?"
"I am unable to answer, sir."
"That is strange, as the Bible so plainly and explicitly informs us. We
are told that Noah went _forth_ out of the ark; therefore _three_ must
have preceded him."
The General's wit "set the table in a roar." As soon as the mirth had
subsided, I addressed the General:
"It is my turn to ask a question. Do you know, sir, where the witch of
Endor lived?"
"I did know, but really I have forgotten."
"Well, sir, she lived at Endor."
The laugh was now against him, but he joined in it heartily himself.
Knowing that General Nelson had visited every quarter of the globe, I
asked him whether he had ever seen any of the modern Greeks.
"I never saw any of the ancient Greeks," was his curt reply.
General Nelson was regarded as a brave and skilful officer. He has done
good service in his country's cause. At Shiloh his promptness and
efficiency contributed greatly to retrieve the disaster which befell
General Grant on the first day of the battle. His rencontre with General
Davis, which resulted in his own death, is greatly to be regretted, though
his own ungovernable temper and inexcusable conduct caused his tragic end.
I once visited his headquarters late in the afternoon. On my arrival, he
informed me that I would confer a great favour upon him by guiding a
company of cavalry on an expedition to the south-eastern part of the
county, to which I consented. I rode in front with the officer in command.
When we had reached a point beyond the pickets, my companion informed me
that we would meet no more Federals; if we met any soldiers while outward
bound, we might take it for granted that they were rebels. After riding
about an hour longer, we encountered a company of cavalry, and were
ordered to halt by the officer in command. My companion, stating that they
must be rebels, rode up and gave the countersign. I felt somewhat uneasy
at the head of that company at this time, not knowing the moment that
bullets would be whistling around us. They proved however to be Federals,
returning from an extended scouting expedition. I conducted our company to
the house of a Union man, whom we aroused from his bed; and learning that
we were Federals, he took my place, and I returned to General Nelson. The
General now desired me to go as a spy, to obtain information as to the
number of troops stationed at Norman's Bridge, which spanned Big Bear
Creek. I replied that I had ridden sixty miles without sleep, but that I
would send two Union men of my acquaintance in my stead. This was
satisfactory, and my Union friends returned with accurate information as
to the number of rebel troops stationed at the bridge, and the best points
of attack. The attack was made on the next day after receiving the
information, and the rebels were surprised and totally defeated; but few
escaped death or capture.
GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN.
On the day that General Sherman reached Rienzi, I supped with him at the
house of a friend. At table the following dialogue took place between us.
"Are you the person from whom Sherman's battery took its name?"
"I am, sir."
"Many gentlemen in this county," said I, "and among them my father-in-law,
have pipes made of the fragments of the gun-carriages of Sherman's
battery, which was captured at Manassas by the Confederates."
"Sherman's battery was not captured at Manassas," replied the General.
"The honour of capturing Sherman's battery is generally accorded to the
second regiment of Mississippi volunteers, which went from this county and
the adjoining county of Tippah, though several regiments claim it, and
many of my friends declare that they have seen Sherman's battery since its
capture."
"I assure you, sir, Sherman's battery was not captured--so far from this,
it came out of the battle of Manassas Plains with two pieces captured from
the enemy, having itself lost none."
At this moment Colonel Fry, who killed Zollikoffer, rode up for orders.
While receiving them, the horses attached to a battery halted in front of
us. "There," said the General, "is every piece of Sherman's battery. I
ought to know that battery, and I assure you there is not a gun missing."
The pipes, canes, and trinkets supposed to be made of the wood of
Sherman's battery, if collected, would form a vast pile; and were you to
inform the owners of those relics that they were spurious, you would be
politely informed that you might "tell that tale to the marines," as their
sons and their neighbours' sons were the honoured captors of that battery;
a fact, concerning the truth of which they entertained not even the shadow
of a doubt.