Augusta County: "Reminiscences of Lee and Jackson," by John D. Imboden, November 1871
Summary: General Imboden writes his own personal experiences with and opinions concerning Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.
Four years of active service in the Confederate army in Virginia brought me into close personal and official relations with many of the most distinguished men of that side, whose daily life was thus revealed to me, and whose characteristics deeply impressed me. And I find everywhere I chance to be in society intelligent people who are pleasantly entertained by facts I happen to know about some of these Southern leaders that have not been published, either because they were unknown to the historians of the war or were deemed of too little consequence for publication. Judging from these indications of interest in the narrow circle of my personal acquaintance, I am satisfied that a large part of the general reading public would be to some extent entertained by brief, off-hand, and unstudied sketches of some of the characteristics of leading Confederates, whose names are familiar to the whole country.
I write in the first person and under my own signature, both for convenience in narration and to assume the proper responsibility for my statements. It will he understood that nothing more is attempted than to state facts and reproduce impressions made on my mind by the peculiar circumstances existing at the time. I am not writing biography nor history, but making such fragmentary and mixed contributions to both as the limited means at my command will allow. Naturally, the first and most prominent of those I shall mention is
GENERAL R. E. LEE.
Long before the close of the war General Lee was almost universally regarded by us as the ablest and best of all our generals, and by many as a statesman superior in forecast and judgment to any in the Confederate councils. He was the only than in the South, so far as my knowledge extends, who at the commencement of hostilities, fully appreciated the character and magnitude of the struggle we had engaged in. And I know that even then, while he was hopeful of success, he had serious forebodings of failure.
Virginia seceded on the 17th of April, 1861, and on the 19th we occupied Harper's Ferry with about one thousand volunteer militia under the command of General Kenton Harper of my own county, Augusta. I commanded the artillery of the expedition. The excitement throughout the State was at fever heat, and was intensified in our little army at the "Ferry" by daily rumors that a large force was preparing to move against us from Washington. We had no line of telegraph that we could use to Richmond, and it took two days to send a letter and as long to get a reply. Under these circumstances General Harper, who was urgent for reinforcements, selected me, his county man, to go to Richmond and lay before the military authorities a statement of our condition and necessities. I arrived in the city, I think, on the 2d of May about 12 o'clock, and immediately saw Governor Letcher. From him I learned for the first time that the Convention haul conferred the command-in-chief of the Virginia troops on General Lee, and that he had accepted it and established his headquarters in the city. The Governor sent me to him. It was Sunday, and I found the General entirely alone in a small room on Bank street near the Capitol. It was the first time I had met him, and I am sure he was then the handsomest man I had ever seen. His hair and moustache-he wore no beard-were only slightly silvered with gray, just enough to harmonize fully with his rich ruddy complexion, a little bronzed, and to give perfect dignity to the expression of his grand and massive features. His manner was grave, but frank and cordial. He wore a simple undress military suit, without badge or ornament of any kind, and there was nothing in his surroundings to indicate high military rank.
He received my despatches quietly, ran his eye over them hastily, and as General Harper referred to me for additional general information in regard to the situation at the "Ferry," General Lee, by a series of questions directly to the point, soon obtained from me every fact I possessed, and informed me that by 12 o'clock the next day be would have his despatches ready for me.
I rose to take my leave, when he asked one to resume my seat, remarking that he wished to talk with me about the condition of the country, and the terrible storm which was so soon to burst upon it in all its fury. Alluding to the fact that I had represented Augusta, the most populous and wealthy county in the State, for several years in the Legislature, he said he desired to impress me as he should endeavor to impress every other Virginian he met, whose position might be assumed to give him some influence over the people of his acquaintance, with the gravity and danger of our situation, and the imperative necessity for immediate and thorough preparation for defence. Growing warm and earnest, he said: "I fear our people do not yet realize the magnitude of the struggle they have entered upon, nor its probable duration and the sacrifices it will impose upon them. The United States Government," he said, "is one of the most powerful upon earth. I know the people and the Government we have to contend with. In a little while they will be even more united than we are. Their resources are almost without limit. They have a thoroughly organized government, commanding the respect and, to some extent, the fears of the world. Their army is complete in all its details and appointments, and it will be commanded by the foremost soldier of the country, General Scott, whose devotion to the Union cause is attested by his drawing his sword against his native State. They have also a navy that in a little while will blockade our ports and cut us off from all the world. They have nearly all the workshops and skilled artisans of the country, and will draw upon the resources of other nations to supply any deficiency they may feel. And above all, we shall have to fight the prejudices of the world, because of the existence of slavery in our country. Our enemies will have the ear of other powers, while we cannot be heard, and they will be shrewd enough to make the war appear to be merely a struggle on our part for the maintenance of slavery; and we shall thus be without sympathy, and most certainly without material aid from other powers. To meet all this we have a government to form, an army to raise, organize, and equip, as best we may. We are without a treasury and without credit. We have no ships, few arms, and few manufactures. Our people are brave and enthusiastic, and will be united in defence of a just cause. I believe we can succeed in establishing our independence, if the people can be made to comprehend at the outset that to do so they must endure a longer war and far greater privations than our fathers did in the Revolution of 1776. We will not succeed until the financial power of the North is completely broken, and this can occur only at the end of a long and bloody war. Many of our people think it will soon be over, that perhaps a single campaign and one great battle will end it. This is a fatal error, and must be corrected or we are doomed. Above all, Virginians must prepare for the worst. Our country is of wide extent and great natural resources, but the conflict will be mainly in Virginia. She will become the Flanders of America before this war is over, and her people must be prepared for this. It they resolve at once to dedicate their lives and all they possess to the cause of constitutional govern- meant and Southern independence, and to suffer without yielding as no other people have been called upon to suffer in modern times, we shall with the blessing of God succeed in the end; but when it will all end no man can foretell. I wish I could talk to every man, woman, and child in the State now, and impress them with these views."
This is almost literally his language, though many of the positions taken by him were elaborated and enforced with the greatest earnestness. His views made a most profound impression on sue at the time, and, as he designed, were afterwards repeated whenever the opportunity occurred. He talked in this way to many others. One corroborative anecdote I recall. Colonel T. S. Flournoy, once a leading Whig member of Congress from Virginia, and the opponent of Henry A. Wise in 1855 for Governor, had been a Union member of the Secession Convention; but when the State went out he was one of the first to raise a regiment of cavalry for the field, which was mustered into service early in 1861. A gallant son of Colonel F., who was afterwards killed in battle, was captain of a splendid company of young fellows well mounted; but the Governor, having only called for infantry, did not accept them, much to their disappointment. Thereupon they prevailed on Colonel Flournoy, who was in the Convention, to see General Lee and appeal to him to use his influence with Governor Letcher to accept the company as cavalry, or they would dismount and go in as infantry. General Lee listened attentively, and when he had heard all the facts he replied: "Colonel Flournoy, tell your son to go home and drill his men thoroughly, and not to become impatient. They will have the opportunity to see service to their hearts' content, and the time will come when they will be far more anxious to get out of the army than they now are to get in." His prediction proved to be literally true.
The prophetic forecast of General Lee became widely known, and as subsequent events verified his judgment, it aided materially in giving him that control over the public mind of the South that enabled him often by a simple expression of his wishes to procure larger supplies and aid for his army than the most stringent acts of Congress and merciless impressment orders could obtain. The people came to regard him as the only man who could possibly carry us through the struggle successfully. The love of his troops for him knew no bounds, because they had implicit faith its his ability, and knew he was a sympathizing friend in all their trials. I witnessed an incident that showed his tenderness of heart and sympathy for his men.
About a week after the seven days' battles around Richmond, which ended in McClellan's retreat to the James at Harrison's Landing, I had business at headquarters, then established about three miles out of Richmond. On my arrival I learned he had been called to town by President Davis, but would return about noon. By the time he came half a dozen generals were waiting for him. He saw them one at a time and despatched their business, and they departed. My business required me to wait till a written order could be prepared for me. During this delay a fine-looking, tall, and stalwart soldier came in, dressed in dirty shirt and trousers, and with an old slouch hat in his hand. The General accosted him: "Well, my man, what can I do for you?"
"General, I have come straight to headquarters to get a furlough for a few days."
The General said: "Don't you know I have issued a general order that no furloughs can be granted at this time?"
"Yes; that order was read at dress-parade last night, and that's the reason I have come to you, for I knew it was no use for me to apply through my captain and colonel."
"Then do you expect me to be the first to disregard my own rders?"
"Yes, General; and if you will listen to me, I think you will do it."
"Well, let me hear what you have to say."
"You see, General, I am from the Eastern Shore of Maryland. I left my wife and children there last summer on my farm with plenty of 'niggers' to support them well, and came over and volunteered for the war. I have been in all the fights, and have never been absent a day from duty. I get letters from home now and then, and everything has been going on well till lately. Here is a letter from my wife, brought over lately by some scouts, and she says since the Yankees have got to scouting about there the 'niggers' are doing badly, and she thinks they will all run away. Now, General, I am in for the war, and my wife backs me in it, but you see if I lose them 'niggers' it will leave my wife and little children in a mighty bad fix. I want a furlough for about a week. I know where I can get a boat and some help, and I'll go over there some dark night and bring the 'nigger' men over here and hire them out to support my family. My mind will then be easy, and I'll never ask for another furlough. Now, General, take the thing home to yourself and you can't refuse me, I know."
The General directed him to wait on the porch outside and he would think about it. The man retired, and the General walked the room several times and remarked to those present, "That is a hard case. That man is evidently honest and truthful, and I am sure is a good soldier, and the poor fellow is in great trouble. But I can't violate my own orders and give him a furlough." After some reflection he remarked, "I have it," and called to one of his staff and said, "Ascertain that man's name, company, and regiment, and make an order detailing him for secret service across the Potomac for ten days." He then informed the soldier what he had done, and directed him to cross the river and procure all the information he could, and before his return he might make his own arrangements about his negroes, and when he came back to report any information he obtained about the enemy to headquarters.
It was this sort of interest in his men that endeared him so much to them. At the time of this incident his mind was occupied with the great events of the preceding two weeks, and, with his generals and the Cabinet at Richmond, he was doubtless absorbed with the gravest public questions; and yet he took time to hear a soldier's story of family troubles, and actually to invent a way to relieve him without impairing his discipline.
The great simplicity of his habits was another ground of popularity. He fared no better than his troops. Their rough, scant rations were his as well. There were times when for weeks our army had nothing but bread and meat to live on, and not enough of that. On one occasion some molasses was obtained and sent to the field. One of General Lee's staff who was caterer that week-that is, he drew the rations for the headquarters mess-set a small pitcher of molasses before the General at dinner, who was delighted to eat it with his hot corn-bread. Seeing his satisfaction, the catering colonel remarked, "General, I secured five gallons for headquarters." "Was there so much for every mess the size or ours?" said the General. "Oh , no. The supply won't last a week" "Then I direct, Colonel, that you immediately return every drop you have, and send an order that no molasses shall be issued to officers or men except the sick in hospital." The Colonel was dumfounded, and never afterward boasted of his superior providence as caterer for the mess.
When the two armies were on the opposite banks of the Rappahannock in the winter of '63-'64, meat was sometimes very scarce in ours. Even the usual half-pound per diem ration could not always be issued. During one of these periods of scarcity, on a very stormy day, several corps and division generals were at headquarters, and were waiting for the rain to abate before riding to their camps, when General Lee's negro cook announced dinner. The General invited his visitors to dine with him. On repairing to the table a tray of hot corn-bread, a boiled head of cabbage seasoned with a very small piece of bacon, and a bucket of water constituted the repast. The piece of meat was so small that all politely declined taking any, expressing themselves as "very fond of boiled cabbage and corn-bread," on which they dined. Of course the General was too polite to eat meat in the presence of guests who had declined it. But later in the afternoon, when they had all gone, feeling very hungry, he called his servant and asked him to bring him a piece of bread and meat. The darkey looked perplexed and embarrassed, and after scratching his head some time said in a deprecating tone, "Lord, Mas Robert, dat meat what I sot before you at dinner warn't ours. I had jest burrowed dat piece of middlin' front one of de couriers to season de cabbage in de pot, and seein' as you was gwine to have company at dinner I put on de dish wid de cabbage for looks. But when I seed you an' none of de genelmen toche it I 'cluded you all knowed it was borrowed, and so after dinner I saunt it back to de boy whar it belonged to. I's mighty sorry, Mas Robert, I didn't know yon wanted some, for den I would a trick a piece off'n it any how 'fore I saunt it home."
So the General got no meat that day. Anecdotes like these, founded on actual fact, would spread through the army, and often reconciled a hungry, ragged Confederate to his hardships.
General Lee never indulged himself in any of the formal pomps of high military rank. All was simplicity around him, and he was as accessible to the private soldier as to the corps commander. But there was a grandeur and dignity of character about the man that was a perfect barrier to all levity of deportment and unbecoming familiarity in his presence. He was possessed, too, of the loftiest courage, and his men knew it. On one occasion in battle a portion of his line gave way under a terrible fire, and when rallied showed some hesitation in resuming their lost ground. He rode to the front and ordered them to follow him. Not a man moved. Some one cried out:
"General! that's no place for you, and we will not move an inch until you go to our rear, and then we will charge the enemy."
He had to yield, and as he rode slowly back a wild yell went up, and at a run the line rushed forward, regained their position, and drove the enemy back.
Can the world wonder that when this leader laid down his sword and ordered his handful of ragged and famishing veterans to stack arms as prisoners of war, and bade them a long and last farewell, they crowded round his horse in weeping groups, and in the excess of their sorrowing embraces almost pulled him to the ground?
Were it not for my aversion to controversy, I would here present what I have reason to believe-though I do not affirm that I know positively-was his plan of the famous campaign of 1863, ending in the disaster, to us, at Gettysburg. I know enough, however, to express the conviction that his plan of that campaign was not executed, and further, that in my opinion it never yet has been made public, and may not be till some other leading actors in the war on our side have passed away.
"STONEWALL" JACKSON.
To a large extent dividing the affections of the Southern people with General Lee, and challenging the respect and admiration of the world for his military genius, was General T. J, ("Stonewall") Jackson, one of the most remarkable men of the war. I knew him intimately. When General Lee was appointed by the Convention to the command of the Virginia troops, as I have above stated, about the 1st of May, 1860, that body decapitated all our Virginia militia officers above the rank of captain, and conferred upon Governor Letcher and an advisory military council the power of appointing field and general officers. Under this authority Jackson, who was then a professor in the Military Institute at Lexington, Va., was commissioned colonel and ordered to Harper's Ferry to take command; so that when I returned from my interview with General Lee at Richmond, as above detailed, I found Colonel Jackson in command of a mob.
The ordinance of the Convention removing the militia officers above the rank of captain had given great offence to our volunteers, who theretofore, in old American democratic style, had elected all their officers, either directly or through their representatives; and the idea of having these popular favorites superseded was abhorrent to the rank and file. It must be remembered that. our volunteer uniformed companies, a sort of holiday soldiery up to that time, were made up of our best young men, who felt they had certain inalienable rights, among which was the right to elect their own officers; and glorious good fellows were these officers in times of peace, and many of them rose to high positions during the war-but there were some unfit for their places in time of war, and to get rid of these the convention had to make a clean sweep of all.
Up to this time our little army at Harper's Ferry was a curiosity. We had about one thousand rank and file. There was one major-general in command, with three brigadiers under him, and a corresponding number of field and staff officers; all were magnificently attired and epauletted-splendidly mounted, and surrounded with gorgeous retinues. Troops were scarce, but as for officers, we were simply magnificent in numbers and display. When, therefore, Colonel Jackson, a quiet and taciturn gentleman, appeared upon the scene, with only an adjutant who was also from the Institute, and both clad in old threadbare undress uniforms, and took a little room at the village hotel, and issued a short simple order assuming the command, and dismissing all our generals, and colonels, and lieutenant-colonels, and majors, and a multitude of staff officers "like unto the sands upon the seashore," there was great commotion, consternation, and indignation, all of that night; and the next day a mass meeting was called of the troops and deposed officers to consider what was best to be done. Jackson knew what was going on, but kept quietly in his quarters awaiting orders from Richmond. These were brought by me from General Lee, and were the fruit of General Harper's despatches which I had taken to Richmond. I delivered them to Colonel Jackson and repaired to my camp. My men were not much excited, because my battery was independent and was not affected by the decapitation of officers. But the indignation meeting was in full blast hard by, and defunct officers were denouncing the action of the Convention. Among the orders I had brought to Colonel Jackson was one directing him to muster all the companies into service for a year or during the war, at their option. I called my men together and explained this order, and they unanimously decided to muster in for the war. On reporting this to Colonel Jackson a half hour later, he was much gratified, and had the company mustered in that evening. He then gave the first exhibition of his qualities as a commander by issuing a peremptory order to captains to muster in their companies by 10 o'clock next day, and never was the moral power of a determined will more clearly manifested than in the result of this order. The mass meeting had adjourned until next day. It never met again, for there was not an officer or man who dared resist the Colonel's order.
In less than five days after Jackson took command, where all had been uproar and confusion the utmost quiet and most perfect order prevailed. The men were drilled four or five hours a day, and in ten days were in good fighting condition. Jackson was omnipresent. At daybreak in the morning he was up and out among the men, encouraging them by kindly words and his gentle manners. In a little while he became exceedingly popular, and never lost his popularity to the day of his death.
No one at that time even suspected Jackson to be a man of great genius. He soon exhibited the qualities of a good soldier. He obeyed his superiors implicitly and promptly, and exacted from his subordinates the most unquestioning obedience. He was the most pleasant officer in our army to those under his command who performed their duties faithfully, but inexorable toward a delinquent, no matter what his rank or personal relations with him. His whole military creed may he summed up in one word, "duty." He performed every duty imposed upon him as if his life depended upon its fulfilment, and he could not understand how any one could wilfully do otherwise. And if they did, and he found it out, punishment was sure to follow. He was no martinet, however. He knew the profession of arms required study and long training to attain efficiency, and his kindly, generous nature prompted him to correct errors that he saw were honestly committed, and impart instruction with the gentleness of a father training his child.
Colonel Jackson was superseded in the command at Harper's Ferry about the middle of May, 1861, by General Joseph E. Johnston, who proceeded promptly to organize four brigades from the original three at the "Ferry" and the reinforcements which had then arrived from various States.
Colonel Jackson was assigned to the command of the Virginia brigade, which on the 21st of July following won the title by which it was ever afterward known, as the "Stonewall" brigade. That singular appellation of a body of troops originated in this wise:
In the early part of the day we had the worst of it decidedly. The battle occurred at least five miles from the ground upon which it had been expected by our generals, and upon the extreme left of our position in the morning. Bee's, Evans's, and Bartow's brigades, together with my own and Latham's batteries, were the troops chiefly engaged in the early part of the action, and we suffered very severely. Bartow's and Bee's brigades were terribly cut up and driven from the field for a time and all seemed lost, when Jackson suddenly appeared upon the scene with his splendid brigade, and with magical rapidity took in the situation, and formed his lines to resist the rapid advance of the enemy. The heroic Bee of South Carolina and Bartow of Georgia had succeeded in rallying fragments of their brigades. To reassure his men Bee addressed them briefly, and pointing to Jackson's men as a worthy example of courage and coolness he exclaimed, "Look at those Virginians! They stand like a stone wall." A few minutes later Bartow was killed and Bee mortally wounded. The next day Bee's compliment to Jackson's men was repeated all over camp, and the name stuck to the brigade and its commander ever after.
It was not until his famous Shenandoah Valley campaign in the summer of 1862 that Jackson began to attract the attention of the whole country. I will not recount the battles and marches of the thirty days in which, with less than 15,000 men, he defeated successively Milroy, Banks, Fremont, and Shields, and recovered possession of that fruitful region. For a long tune there were many people in the South who gave Jackson credit for the great fighting qualities he displayed in that campaign, but attributed the splendid strategy to his superiors at Richmond. I was in a position to know that the plan of that rapid series of operations was conceived as well executed by Jackson.
The morning after the battle of McDowell, in which Milroy was routed, I was alone some time with General Jackson, and was intrusted by him with his telegraphic report of the action to be transmitted to the Government at Richmond from Staunton, where I was then stationed and raising troops from the mountain counties. Two days later, Jackson, having left Ashby's cavalry in front of Fremont and Milroy in the mountains of Pendleton county, and fallen back to within twelve mills of Staunton in the valley, sent a courier to me with a telegram for General Lee at Richmond, which I was directed to transmit immediately, and on receiving the reply to send it to Jackson with all possible expedition. The message he sent was about in these words: "I think I ought to attack Banks, but under my orders I don't feel at liberty to do so." General Banks was then at Strasburg, seventy miles north of Staunton. This despatch was sent to General Lee about noon on Sunday. Within two hours a reply came couched in about these terms, from General Joseph E. Johnston, who then commanded the army at Richmond: "If yon can beat Banks, you may attack him. My orders were only intended to caution you against attacking fortifications." I forwarded this to General Jackson immediately, and that evening he commenced his march down the Shenandoah, and three days later struck Banks in flank at Front Royal. The result of the next three weeks' operations is known to the country. I have never had a doubt that General Jackson was entitled to the whole credit of the strategy of the campaign no less than of the fighting.
He was a remarkably taciturn and reticent officer. He never disclosed his plans to any one. His troops were often completely mystified by his movements, which were for a time inexplicable and apparently absurd, till suddenly a brilliant denouement would burst upon all and slow the consummate generalship of the movement.
One secret of his success was the accuracy of the information he always had of the enemy. His "right bower" was the gallant and chivalrous Colonel Turner Ashby, who commanded his cavalry, and was as indefatigable as Jackson, and kept the latter always thoroughly informed of the enemy's position and movements. I think that on the field of battle Jackson surpassed all our generals in his displays of military genius. Nothing escaped his observation, and he was as quick as lightning in taking advantage of any circumstance favoring success. A false or injudicious movement by his adversary was fatal. Numerous instances could be cited in which the scales of victory were equally poised, till some incautious advance or change of position by the enemy gave Jackson his opportunity to have his entire force upon a weak point and overcome all resistance.
Except as a soldier, Jackson was a man of ordinary talents. He was slightly deaf and appeared to disadvantage in company. He talked very little, and his conversation was commonplace. He was exceedingly modest, and never spoke of his achievement unless drawn out, and then with evident reluctance. He was as simple as a child in his manners, and as easily amused by pleasant little anecdotes. He never ventured upon the humorous in his conversation, but enjoyed displays of wit in others. His religious feelings were very strong, and marked his whole career. But for the length to which it would extend this article, I could relate many anecdotes illustrating the child-like simplicity of character of this remarkable soldier. I may do so in a future number when I come to treat of Ashby.
J. D. IMBODEN.
Bibliographic Information: Source copy consulted: The Galaxy, Vol. 12, Issue. 5, p. 627-634
