The ladies sent a remonstrance to the general, and here is his reply:
“You women are the toughest set I ever knew. The men would have given up long ago but for you. I believe you would keep this war up for thirty years.”
TRIBUTE OF GENERAL BUELL
The following are some of the words quoted from General Buell, one of the most high-toned and gallant of the Federal generals, and who saved the Federal army from complete defeat at the battle of Shiloh. This appeared in the Century Magazine, and afterward in the third volume of “Battles and Leaders in the Civil War.” After speaking of the confidence of the Southern soldier in his commander, General Buell then speaks of another influence which nerved the heart of the Confederate soldier to valorous deeds:
“Nor must we give slight importance to the influence of Southern women who, in agony of heart, girded the sword upon their loved ones and bade them go. It was expected that these various influences would give a confidence to leadership that would tend to bold adventure and leave its mark upon the contest.
“Yes; the Confederate soldier has gone down in all histories as the most peerless, most gallant and matchless hero the world ever produced.”
TRIBUTE OF JUDGE ALTON B. PARKER, OF NEW YORK
Nothing in all recorded history of mankind has been more pathetic, more heroic, more deserving of admiration and sympathy than the attitude of the Southern people since 1865. As fate would have it, their defeat in war was the smallest of their woes, because it would neither threaten nor bring dishonor. But the new post-bellum contest with military power, with theft and robbery, with poverty and enforced domination of a race lately in slavery, forced as it was without time for recovery, and that, too, in their own homes, required a courage a little less than superhuman.