Some were on old, raw-boned horses,
without saddles.
Hon. Jefferson Davis perhaps made blunders and mistakes, but I honestly
believe that he ever did what he thought best for the good of his
country. And there never lived on this earth from the days of Hampden to
George Washington, a purer patriot or a nobler man than Jefferson Davis;
and, like Marius, grand even in ruins.
Hood was a good man, a kind man, a philanthropic man, but he is both
harmless and defenseless now. He was a poor general in the capacity
of commander-in-chief. Had he been mentally qualified, his physical
condition would have disqualified him. His legs and one of his arms had
been shot off in the defense of his country. As a soldier, he was brave,
good, noble, and gallant, and fought with the ferociousness of the
wounded tiger, and with the everlasting grit of the bull-dog; but as a
general he was a failure in every particular.
Our country is gone, our cause is lost. "_Actum est de Republica_."
CHAPTER XVII
THE SURRENDER
THE LAST ACT OF THE DRAMA
On the 10th day of May, 1861, our regiment, the First Tennessee, left
Nashville for the camp of instruction, with twelve hundred and fifty men,
officers and line. Other recruits continually coming in swelled this
number to fourteen hundred.
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