Document text
- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us October 12, 2005 Food & History Confederate mettle wasn’t all in the brass Jeff Cheek There is a myth that most West Point graduates sided with the south in our Civil War. Actually, just over one-fourth joined the Confederacy. And two civilians without any military training were outstanding Confederate generals. The first was a barely literate slave dealer, Nathan Bedford Forest. At the military academy, cadets learned the Principle of Mass: concentrate your forces at the point of attack. Forest instinctively understood this principle, and simplified it. “Git thar first with the most.” Jefferson Davis sniffed that Forest “was not a gentleman.” His language was crude but succinct. The Confederate Museum in Richmond has a copy of a detailed request for leave from a major in his command. Forest wrote across it: “I done tolded you twiest. No, Goddammit, No.” He also understood the Principle of Offense. When his command was trapped by Union forces on both sides, he did not panic. “Split up and charge bof’ ways,” he ordered. His cavalry escaped with minimal losses. President Davis held him in contempt, but Union General Sherman respected him. He said having Nathan Bedford Forest in the field gave the Confederates an extra division. Another civilian who turned into a great field commander was Adam “Stovepipe” Johnson. Unfortunately, his spectacular career was cut short a year before the war ended. Adam Rankin Johnson was born in Kentucky Feb. 6, 1834. At 20 he left for Texas where he worked as a stagecoach driver and won local fame as an Indian fighter. When the Civil War broke out, he left his wife, Josephine, and returned to Kentucky to enlist in the Confederate army. His experience as an Indian fighter earned him a colonel’s commission as a partisan (guerrilla) unit leader assigned to the 7th Tenneessee Cavalry Regiment. Johnson won his nickname on a raid into Indiana on July 18, 1862, when he captured the city of Newburgh. The city was defended by about three dozen Yankee soldiers. Johnson had only 12, and an outrageous idea. He found an old wagon, detached the front wheels, and created an impressive artillery piece by adding a length of stovepipe. He positioned this formidable looking “cannon” where the Yankees could see it, then demanded their surrender. Believing they were outgunned, the Yankees gave up. He and Forest were both at Fort Donelson in February 1862 when it surrendered to General Grant. Instead of surrendering, both escaped and continued to fight. Johnson was part of General John Hunt Morgan’s command when Morgan staged his famous 24-day raid into Ohio in 1863. Having spent 21 hours in the saddle, every day, Morgan and 384 of his exausted men surrendered. Not “Stovepipe” Johnson. He and a handful of his troopers escaped by swimming the Ohio River. Now a rebel general, in August 1864 Johnson attacked a federal camp at Grubbs Crossroads, Ky. In the melee, one of his own men shot him, blinding their commander. He spent the rest of the war as a POW. Yankee doctors tried but were unable to save his sight. When the war ended he made his way back to Texas. He and Josephine had six children. He earned a fortune as a contractor for Overland Mail, and founded the City of Marble Falls, Texas, which still carries the nickname “the blindman’s town.” When “Stovepipe” died on Oct. 20, 1922, he was given a state funeral at the capital in Austin. Part of his eulogy read: “No man in the Confederate army, no matter how high his rank, displayed more military skill.” Okey D’Okra is a Southern dish from my friend Anita Braasch’s whimsical “Gastrological Cook Book.” Okey D’Okra 3 slices bacon cut into half-inch pieces 2 cups cooked rice 1 cup okra cut up and stewed 2 tablespoons tomato sauce Salt and pepper to taste Fry bacon in skillet until crisp. Remove and set aside. Add other ingredients to drippings. Stir well and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Add bacon bits and serve. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Deep Muscle Stimulator Free Music Downloads Slippers Ceramic Piggy Banks Online Casinos FREE Entertainment Guide Calenders 2006 Calendar Women's & Men's Slippers Accelerate Weightloss Products best online casino tcg student loan consolidation teleconferencing cortisol; weight loss Diamonds Vegas Travel Guide Search Engine Optimization Southern Oregon Loans Sportsbook Ztech Media Hosting Student Loans Hotel & Airline Reservations African Safari Myspace Layouts Helzberg Diamonds Online Casinos Community Student Loans Bonus Casino ink cartridges Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Mailing Lists Canadian Pharmacy Casino Gambling Sites Backpacks Click Here .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams