lification" had not yet subsided, and Pemberton imbibed the tenets
of the Calhoun school. In 1843 or 1844 I met him for the first time on
the Niagara frontier, and quite remember my surprise at his State-rights
utterances, unusual among military men at that period. During the war
with Mexico he was twice brevetted for gallantry in action. Later, he
married a lady of Virginia, which may have tended to confirm his
political opinions. At the beginning of civil strife he was in
Minnesota, commanding a battalion of artillery, and was ordered to
Washington. Arrived there with his command, he resigned his commission
in the United States army, went to Richmond, and offered his sword to
the Confederacy without asking for rank. Certainly he must have been
actuated by principle alone; for he had everything to gain by remaining
on the Northern side.

In the summer of 1862 General Van Dorn, commanding east of the
Mississippi, proclaimed martial law, which he explained to the people to
be the will of the commander. Though a Mississippian by birth, such a
storm was excited against Van Dorn in that State that President Davis
found it necessary to supersede him, and Pemberton was created a
lieutenant-general for the purpose. Davis could have known nothing of
Pemberton except that his military record was good, and it is difficult
to foresee that a distinguished subordinate will prove incompetent in
command. Errors can only be avoided by confining the selection of
generals to tradespeople, politicians, and newspaper men without
military training or experience. These are all great commanders
_d'etat_, and universally succeed. The incapacity of Pemberton for
independent command, manifested in the ensuing campaign, was a great
misfortune to the Confederacy, but did not justify aspersions on his
character and motives. The public howled, gnashed its teeth, and lashed
itself into a beautiful rage. He had joined the South for the express
purpose of betraying it, and this was clearly proven by the fact that he
surrendered on the 4th of July, a day sacred to the Yankees. Had he
chosen any other day, his guilt would not have been so well established;
but this particular day lacerated the tenderest sensibilities of
Southern hearts. President Davis should have known all about it; and yet
he made a pet of Pemberton. "Vox populi, vox diaboli."

Returned to Alexandria, I met my chief of artillery and ordnance, Major
J.L. Brent, just arrived from the ea