Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 32.djvu/311

 Battle of Chickamauga. 299

[From the New Orleans, La., Picayune, September 11, 19C4.]

THE BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUGA.

An Address Delivered Before the United Confederate Vet- erans' Convention in Baton Rouge, September, 1904.

By Captain JAMES DINKINS, Member of the State History Committee.

[For the masterly address on the Battle of Chickamauga, deliv- ered before the Association of the Army of Northern Virginia, by Colonel Archer Anderson, see Southern Historical Society Papers, Vol. IX, p. 385. ED.]

I desire, in this necessarily imperfect sketch of the great battle of Chickamauga, to record, as far as I may be able, only the most important features and events, and it is not without diffidence that I have consented to do so.

The present war between Russia and Japan has been compared to the war between the States, and the Japanese are accredited with possessing equal strategy with Jackson and Forrest.

The Japanese soldiers are being spoken of as the greatest of the age, almost without comparison for dash and courage.

Comparison is too vast a subject to undertake in a short report, but it is well to remind those of the present generation that the South was plunged into the midst of war without any preparation, and without equipment, while Japan has for years been actively em- ployed in organizing her battalions and mobilizing her armies. We have great admiration for the Japanese, and earnestly hope they may be successful in crushing the menace which confronts them, and also check the madness of that barbarous and inhuman govern- ment which has for years oppressed and murdered a harmless and peaceful people. When a recent battle was fought reports were sent over the world stating that 800 men were killed or wounded, and people held their breath while they read the headlines, and gasped over the awful destruction of life.

I have selected Chickamauga as my subject, therefore, because it will illustrate the quality of the Confederate soldier, and will enable those who make comparisons to do so intelligently.