The Orpheus C. Kerr Papers, Series 2Newell, R. H. (Robert Henry)
History
The Orpheus C. Kerr Papers, Series 2
Newell, R. H. (Robert Henry)
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Fiction
The other day, I paid another visit to the Mackerel camp across the
river, and was present at a meeting of officers called to debate upon
the propriety of presenting a sword to the beloved general, for his
heroism in the late great battle. Captain Samyule Sa-mith was in favor
of the presentation, and says he: "Our inimitable leader, which is the
admiration of everybody, richly deserves the blade in question. In the
thickest of that deadly fray, his coat-tails were torn entirely off by
a parrot shell."
Captain Villiam Brown placed the bottle on the table again, and says he:
"At which joint were the tails amputated, Samyule?"
Samyule took a little more sugar with his, and says he:
"Close to the buttons."
"Ah!" says Villiam, "which way was the conqueror's face turned at the
time?"
"I can't say," says Samyule; "but I don't see what that has to do with
it."
"That's because you have a feeble intelleck, Samyule," says Villiam,
mildly. "The human form," says Villiam, reasoningly, "has such
variations of surface, that a projectile hurled at it in a straight
line, cannot simply graze it to any extent without making a wound in
some place. The coat-tails of the human form," says Villiam, lucidly,
"could not without injury to that form be severed at the buttons by a
ball, unless they were _sticking straight out_ at the instant; and it
is important that the United States of America should know whether the
face of the wearer was turned toward the Southern Confederacy, or in an
opposite direction, at the exact moment of the disaster."
The electrifying wisdom of this thoughtful speech, my boy, had the
effect to produce an immediate adjournment of the general's friends;
for when the test of anatomy is applied to a man's bravery, that
bravery becomes a mere matter of form.
The general, my boy, is the idol of his Mackerel children, and as our
armies slowly advance to deal the death-blow to this impious rebellion,
it will be proved that he was not responsible for a single one of the
mistakes he has made, and could have taken Richmond long ago, but for
his inability to do so. Heaven forgive these Jacobin black-republicans
who object to his being President in 1865! This is the prayer of twenty
millions of free white men under the Constitution, as was very justly
observed to me by a political chap from New Haven last week. On
Tuesday, the Mackerel Brigade was on the outskirts of Accomac--Company
3, Regiment 1, being sent ahead, under Colonel Wobert Wobinson, to
watch the movements of some regiments of Confederacies, who were
believed to be either there or in South Carolina. The advance-guard
stayed there two days, my boy, and then an orderly came riding in to
the general, with the request that he would immediately send
re-enforcements and provisions, as Company 3, Regiment 1, was in danger
of starvation and defeat, at short notice.
The general ceased fanning himself for a moment, and says he to the
perspiring orderly:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account