in the war, towering above all on
both sides, as the pyramid of Ghizeh above the desert. Steadfast to the
end, he upheld the waning fortunes of the Confederacy as did Hector
those of Troy. Last scene of all, at his surrender, his greatness and
dignity made of his adversary but a humble accessory; and if departed
intelligences be permitted to take ken of the affairs of this world, the
soul of Light Horse Harry rejoices that his own eulogy of Washington,
"First in war, first in peace, first in the hearts of his countrymen,"
is now, by the united voice of the South, applied to his noble son.

Foregoing criticisms have indicated the tendency of engineer service to
unfit men for command. It was once said of a certain colonel that he was
an admirable officer when absent from soldiers. No amount of theoretical
training can supply the knowledge gained by direct and immediate
association with troops. The ablest and most promising graduates from
West Point are annually assigned to the engineer and ordnance corps.
After some years they become scientists, perhaps pedants, but not
soldiers. Whatever may be the ultimate destination of such young men,
they should be placed on duty for at least one year with each arm of the
service, and all officers of the general staff below the highest grades
should be returned to the line for limited periods. In no other way can
a healthy connection between line and staff be preserved. The United
States will doubtless continue to maintain an army, however small, as a
model, if for no other purpose, for volunteers, the reliance of the
country in the event of a serious war. It ought to have the best
possible article for the money, and, to secure this, should establish a
camp of instruction, composed of all arms, where officers could study
the actual movements of troops.

CHAPTER VII.

THE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA.

A month of rest at Richmond restored my health, which subsequently
remained good; but in leaving Virginia I was separated from my brigade,
endeared by so many memories. It remained with Lee's army, and gained
distinction in many battles. As the last preserved of Benjamin on the
rock of Rimmon, scarce a handful survived the war; but its story would
comprise much of that of the Army of Northern Virginia, and I hope some
survivor, who endured till the end, will relate it. A braver command
never formed line of battle.

And now I turned my steps toward the West, where, beyond the "fat