"I will explain that," said the Doctor, and he did so in these words:
"After peace had been declared and our army returned from Mexico, the War Department realized that there were certain features of the uniform and equipment of the men that might be changed to advantage. No action was taken in the matter until Jefferson Davis was Secretary of War, between 1853 and 1857; and I will here remark that Jefferson Davis commanded a regiment of Mississippi Volunteers during the Mexican War, and fought in this very battle of Monterey we have just been talking about. Well, Mr. Davis sent a circular letter to the officers of the army, stating that changes were contemplated, and asking for suggestions from them, and the inducement was held out that those who suggested changes which were adopted would be liberally compensated.
"One of the circulars was received by Lieut. George H. Derby, who afterwards obtained considerable literary reputation as 'John Phenix.' Derby was a born humorist, and generally saw the ludicrous side of a subject before anything else. In a short time after receiving the circular he sent a variety of suggestions to the Department which were very funny, to say the least.
"He designed a hat which, in addition to covering the head, could be used as a camp-kettle, a water-bucket, and a feed-bag for a horse, and with the design for the article, which was to be made of sheet-iron, there was a picture representing it applied to each of its proposed uses.
"Instead of the shoulder cross-belts, he proposed that the soldier should have a leather belt around his waist, and to this belt should be attached a stout hook with a shank six inches long, and the point of the hook standing outward from the man's back. On this hook the soldier could hang his knapsack or equipments when on the march. He could be harnessed by means of it so as to drag a wagon or a cannon; and in an assault on a fortress he could be made to drag a scaling-ladder up the walls by means of this hook. Derby also proposed that the officers should be provided with poles like rake-handles, ten or twelve feet long, with rings at one end, and if a soldier should try to run away in battle he could be dragged back to duty by means of the hook.
"Derby was skilful with the pencil, and he sent a sketch of a battle-field in which the various uses of the hook were depicted. To say that Jefferson Davis was angry when he read the letter is to put the case mildly; he turned red and blue with rage, and took the document to a cabinet meeting that was being held on the afternoon of the day he received Derby's communication. The members of the cabinet laughed over the suggestions and pictures, and when Davis declared he would have Derby cashiered for disrespect to the Secretary of War, they advised him to say nothing. 'If the story gets out,' said one of them, 'you'll be the laughingstock of the country from one end to the other, and will never hear the end of it. And, besides, there's some originality about the man, and he may yet send something that will be really useful.'
MOUNTAIN SCENE NEAR MONTEREY.
"Mr. Davis cooled down, and the story didn't come out until years afterwards. The result of the recommendations of various officers of the army was that the old 'bellows-top' cap disappeared, and so did other features of the soldier's uniform and equipment. That is why the picture of the battle of Monterey is so unlike that of any of the battles of the Civil War, so far as the uniforms of officers and men are concerned."