errible fighters, that
all the world knew they were. It largely explains their recorded deeds,
and their matchless achievements.

For instance, here at the Wilderness! What was it that made thirty-five
thousand men knowingly and cheerfully march to attack one hundred and
fifty thousand men, and stick up to them, and fight them for twenty-four
hours, without support or reinforcement? It was their good opinion of
themselves; their superb confidence. They felt _able_ with thirty-five
thousand men, _and General Lee_, to meet one hundred and fifty thousand
men, and hold them, till help came; _and didn't they do it_?

Well! they did _that kind of thing so often_ that they couldn't get
humble, and _they never have been able to get humble since_. They _try
to_--but--_they can't_!

But I return from this digression to say, that the different Arms of the
service had something of this same feeling, this good opinion of
themselves, as compared with one another. Each one had many jokes on the
others, and whenever they met, all sorts of "chaffing" went on. In all
this, the infantry and artillery felt closer together, and were rather
apt, when the occasion offered, to turn their combined guns on the
cavalry.

The general point of the jokes and gibes at the cavalry was their
_supposed_ tendency to be "_scarce_" when _big fighting_ was going on.

It wasn't that anybody doubted the _usefulness_ of cavalry, but their
usefulness was imagined to lie in other respects than fighting back the
masses of the enemy. And, it wasn't that anybody supposed that the
cavalry did not have plenty of fight in them, _if they could get a
chance_. We knew that when they were at home they were the same stock as
we were, and we believed, that if they were along with us, they would do
as well; but in the cavalry, well! we didn't know!

The leaders of the cavalry, Stuart, Hampton, Ashby, Fitz Lee and others,
were heroes and household names to the whole army. Their brilliant
courage and dare-deviltry, their hairbreadth escapes, and thrilling
adventures, their feats of skill, and grace were themes of pride and
delight to us all. These cavaliers were the "darlings of the army."
_Still_, the army would guy the cavalry every chance they got.

It was said that Gen. D. H. Hill proposed to offer a "reward of Five
Dollars, to anybody who could find a dead man with spurs on." And Gen.
Jubal Early once, when impatient at the conduct of certain troops in his
command