RECOLLECTIONS OF A VIRGINIAN.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."] desire to express my pleasure on reading a very kind notice in the Spectator of August 17th, of a book written by me about a year ago. It is called "Recollections of a -Virginian." In the conclusion of his notice, the clever and kindly critic, with a pleasant sarcasm, notices what he calls
The General's little bounce," and calls for my authority for -saying wounded Arabs were killed, and the Ahb-bhu.-Clea -wells were filled up after that battle with the Soudanese. As he challenges the statement, re my authority, I can only cite from memory—a letter, published, I believe, in the St. James's .Gazette soon after that battle, "from a gallant young officer" of an English regiment, who writes to this effect :—"After the battle I found a splendid spear, and stabbed more than a -dozen wounded Arabs with it." The editor said he published it for the gratification of the friends of the young gentleman. Your kindly critic then desires to know why we did not win in the war between the States ? The plain answer is, because we were outnumbered in troops on every battle-field—and overborne by the vast resources for war, which our exhausted country could not meet. When in May, 1865, after the end of all things for our unhappy people, I arrived in Richmond, a prisoner of war, destitute of everything save memories of four years of con- stant struggle, I called upon General Lee, and gave him my report of the last battle of the war between the States, in which I had the honour to command the Confederate Army at Mobile. General Lee, after reading it, told me that on April 2nd his whole force amounted to thirty-two thousand men of all arms, and that General Grant told him at Appomattax, that on that day he held under his command a total force of two hundred and twenty thousand men ! That during the seven days of incessant fighting and marching without sufficient food, his [Lee's] whole fighting force was reduced by April 9th to eight thousand eight hundred effec- tives!
To illustrate still further our disparity by my humbler experience, General Canby attacked us at Mobile with three corps of infantry (say forty-five thousand men), a large park of artillery, and Farragut's fleet (Farragut was absent). Our whole fighting force about Mobile— and in the city— numbered about eight thousand six hundred effectives of all arms. We fought in skirmishes and field-works twelve miles from the city, and for twenty days four thousand seven hundred Confederates held Canby's whole army there, inflicting heavy losses upon it; and with our beer-keg torpedoes we sank twelve men-of-war and trans- ports of the Federal Fleet ! On April 12th, four thousand five hundred infantry and three field-batteries marched out of Mobile with colours flying, and sent a flag of truce out to the Fleet to inform the enemy that there were only non- combatants to hold it. These are now sorrowful but proud memories. In consideration of which I hope your critic, who is evidently a good sort of fellow, may excuse my " little bounce," whatever that may be. I only know it as a pleasant beverage of domestic concoction in Virginia. But let him reflect upon the unquestionable records of the war between the States, and he will understand why we failed. The published authentic records show that all of the Confederates enrolled in our armies numbered six hundred thousand men ; that all of the Federals numbered two million six hundred thousand men ; that we, always outnumbered on the battle- field, won many great victories, but were finally exhausted in winning them, and he may understand why we failed.—I am, Late Major-Gen. Confederate Army. [We doubt our correspondent's memory in regard to the letter in the St. ,Tames's Gazette.—En. Spectator.]
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