embarrassment, and the minute knowledge of the country which you had acquired will render you less dependent for topographical information.

But suppose, my dear friend, that I were to admit, with all their implications, the points which you present, where am I to find that new commander who is to possess the greater ability which you believe to be required? I do not doubt the readiness with which you would give way to one who could accomplish all that you have wished, and you will do me the justice to believe that if Providence should kindly offer such a person for our use I would not hesitate to avail of his services.

My sight is not sufficiently penetrating to discover such hidden merit, if it exists; and I have but used to you the language of sober earnestness, when I have impressed upon you the propriety of avoiding all unnecessary exposure to danger, because I felt our country could not bear to lose you. To ask. me to substitute you by some one in my judgment more fit to command, or who would possess more of the confidence of the army, or of the reflecting men of the country, is to demand an impossibility.

It only remains for me to hope that you will take all possible care of yourself, that your health and strength will be entirely restored, and that the Lord will preserve you for the important duties devolved upon you in the struggle of our suffering country for the independence which we have engaged in war to maintain.

As ever, very respectfully and truly,

JEFFERSON Davis.

GENERAL LEE'S FAREWELL TO HIS ARMY.

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA,

April 10, 1865.

After four years of arduous service, marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources. I need not tell the survivors of so many hardfought battles, who have remained steadfast to the last, that

I have consented to this result from no distrust of them; but, feeling that valor and devotion could accomplish nothing that could compensate for the loss that would have attended the continuation of the contest, I have determined to avoid the useless sacrifice of those whose past services have endeared them to their countrymen.

By the terms of the agreement, officers and men can return to their homes, and remain there till exchanged. You will take with you the satisfaction that proceeds from the consciousness of a duty faithfully performed, and I earnestly pray that a merciful God will extend to you his blessing and protection.

With an increasing admiration of your constancy and devotion to your country, and a grateful remembrance of your kind and generous consideration of myself, I bid you an affectionate farewell. R. E. LEE, General.

STONEWALL JACKSON is one of the most picturesque characters of the American civil war. His grim matter-of-fact character, earnest, old-fashioned piety, and his fierce relentless energy as a military leader have caused this rugged, self-taught soldier to be the subject of innumerable stories of adventure in camp and field.

Thomas Jonathan Jackson, better known as "Stonewall Jackson," was born at Clarksburg, among the mountains of Western Virginia, on

the 21st of January, 1824. His family, which was ScotchIrish, had settled in Virginia as early as 1748. His father, Jonathan Jackson, was a lawyer of good standing, a sociable, easy-tempered man, rather improvident and irregular in his habits. At a very early age Thomas was left an orphan, but was cared for by a near relative until he was invited to a pleasant home with his uncle, Cummins Jackson, who lived in Lewis County. The "old field school" made no pretensions to give anything beyond the merest rudiments of an education, and Thomas, seeking something better, discharged the office of constable and collector, in order to raise the fees for a higher course of instruction. He saw an excellent opportunity of securing a good education at the expense of the government through a vacancy at West Point, and applied to Mr. Hays, the member representing his congressional district. Letters of recommendation were immediately obtained and dispatched; but so eager was Jackson to secure

his appointment, that he set out for Washington to support his cause in person, and traveled a great part of the way on foot. Dusty and travel-stained as he was, he made his way to his patron's house, and without having changed. his dress, was introduced by him to the war department. The secretary was pleased with the lad's spirit and resolution, and at once made out a warrant for cadetship.

There was nothing brilliant in Jackson's four years' curriculum at West Point. He had entered upon his course with altogether inadequate preparation, and at the end of his first year barely escaped being ruled out as incompetent for the service. But he was plodding and laborious, and learned thoroughly what he did learn. Among his class-fellows were McClellan, Gibbon, Stoneman, Couch and Foster, afterwards of the Union army; and Hill, Maury, Pickett, Jones, Wilcox and W. I. Smith, of the Confederate army. Jackson was the last who would have been singled out for future eminence by any casual observer. As a youth, he was shy and awkward, rather disposed to silence and solitude, embarrassed in conventional intercourse and indifferent to every kind of amusement. His eccentricities were a subject of frequent comment among his companions, who were afterwards forced to the conclusion that these very peculiarities were in some measure characteristic of original genius.

He

Jackson was assigned to the first regiment of the heavy artillery in the Mexican war. His record shows active and daring achievements, which were officially recognized. was made first lieutenant after the siege of Vera Cruz. His services at Contreras and Cherubusco gained for him the brevet of captain. Having obtained a transfer to the light artillery, he was placed in charge of a section of Magruder's light field-battery at Chapultepec, and exhibited such gallantry that he received the brevet of major. His progress at West Point had been slow and not very certain; but in the field on active service, he made more rapid strides in rank than any other officer in the Mexican War. Within the short space of seven months, the brevet second-lieutenant had become a brevet major. He was by nature a soldier, although at first he was not aware of it, and from this time forward

concluded that the military career was the one for which he was best fitted. Magruder wrote of him: "If devotion, industry, talent and gallantry are the highest qualities of a soldier, then he is entitled to the distinction which their possession confers." Although we find Jackson afterwards a peaceful professor at the Virginia military institute, actuated by religious fervor, and delighting in exercises of piety, still he retained to the last the combative spirit, and felt a kind of exultation in the hot atmosphere of battle. In 1851 Jackson became professor at the Virginia Military Institute, at Lexington. He is described as a harsh and awkward teacher of youth, whose eccentricities drew upon him from his pupils the sobriquet of "Fool Tom Jackson."

When Virginia withdrew from the Union, Jackson decided to place his sword at the service of his State, and left Lexington for Richmond, on half a day's notice, without even taking time to arrange his private affairs. After performing various duties in the camp of instruction and the engineering department, he was nominated by Governor Letcher as colonel of the Virginia forces, and ordered to take command either at Norfolk or at Harper's Ferry. The State convention showed some distrust in this nomination to important positions, and some one asked who this Jackson was. The member from Rockbridge replied that "he was one, who if ordered to hold a post, would never leave it alive in the face of the enemy.' Such a recommendation was eminently agreeable to the convention, and Jackson's appointment was confirmed.

In May, 1861, Jackson took command of a number of raw recruits at Harper's Ferry. They were in a state of thorough disorganization, with scarcely six rounds of ammunition to a man. This was a severe test of his organizing ability; but in the course of a few weeks Jackson was able to show a little army of nine regiments and two battalions of infantry, four companies of artillery and a respectable squadron of cavalry. On May 23d Jackson was superseded by General Joseph E. Johnston and assigned to command the Virginia regiments, now formed into a brigade. For his energy at Harper's Ferry, and his activity in the field, Jackson received the commission of brigadier-general.