Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 19.djvu/316

 310 Southern Historical Society Papers.

imprisoned our helpless old men, behaved like an organized band of cut-throats and robbers (as they often did), that they should be treat- ed like highwaymen and assassins. He hated no individual north- erner not one so far as I know, but he hated the whole northern race. He told me once that he had but one objection to General Lee, and that was that he did not hate the Yankees bad enough ; that Lee was the only man he knew that he would follow blindfolded.

" The cry that he (Jackson) had been educated at West Point and was indebted to the Federal Government, was to him a farce. Who more than his own State made West Point ? Who contributed to her glory as much as the men of Virginia and the south ? Whose names in the wars of 1812 and 1848 live in history to-day ?

" His allegiance was to his State. He loved it better than his fame or life, better than everything else on the face of this earth save his own honor, and anything or anybody that impeded the establishment of her sovereignty would be swept aside if it was in his power.

HIS HIGH OPINION OF NAPOLEON.

11 In listening to Jackson talking of Napoleon Bonaparte, as I often did, I was struck with the fact that he regarded him as the greatest general that ever lived. One day I asked him something about Wa- terloo. He had been over the field, inspected the ground, and spent several days in studying the plan of battle. I asked who had shown the greatest generalship there, Napoleon or Wellington ? He said, ' Decidedly, Napoleon.' I said, ' Well, why was he whipped, then ?' He replied, ' I can only explain it by telling you that I think God in- tended him to stop right there.' '

" Did he exert much vigilance regarding the movements of the enemy ? " was the next question asked.

"Jackson's knowledge of what the enemy were doing or about to do was sometimes very wonderful. I have already stated what he said to President Davis at First Manassas, and it turned out after- wards that he was right, and that with the number of men he asked for he could easily have captured Washington.

JACKSON'S PLAN AT FREDERICKSBURG.

"At Fredericksburg when he wanted to make an attack upon Burnside in the night, as I knew he did, he realized the demoraliza- tion of the Federal army and how easily they might have been driven into the river. He had made all of his arrangements to