lete. General French, commanding our division,
issued a farewell order, a copy of which I would have been glad to
publish, but I have not been able to get it. It was, however, gratifying
in the extreme. He recounted our bravery under his eye in those battles
and our efficient service on all duty, and wound up by saying he felt
sure that men with such a record could not long remain at home, but
would soon again rally around their country's flag. Of General Couch,
our corps commander, we had seen but little, and were therefore very
pleasantly surprised at his visit. Of General French, bronzed and
grizzly bearded, we had seen much; all our work had been under his
immediate supervision. He was a typical old regular, and many were the
cuffs and knocks we received for our inexperience and shortcomings, all,
however, along the lines of discipline and for our good, and which had
really helped to make soldiers of us. These incidents showed that each
commanding general keeps a keen eye on all his regiments, and no one is
quicker to detect and appreciate good behavior than they. We felt
especially pleased with the praises of General French, because it
revealed the other side of this old hero's character. Rough in exterior
and manner of speech, he was a strong character and a true hero.

His position at the breaking out of the war will illustrate this. He was
a Southerner of the type of Anderson and Farragut. When so many of his
fellows of the regular army, under pretext of following their States,
went over into rebellion and treason, he stood firm and under
circumstances which reflect great credit upon him. He had been in Mexico
and had spent a life on the frontier, and had grown old and gray in the
service, reaching only the rank of captain. When the war finally came he
was in command of a battery of artillery stationed some three hundred
and fifty miles up the Rio Grande, on the border of Mexico. He was cut
off from all communication with Washington, and the commander of his
department, the notorious General David E. Twiggs, had gone over to the
Confederacy. He was, therefore, thoroughly isolated. Twiggs sent him a
written order to surrender his battery to the rebel commander of that
district. His characteristic reply was, that he would "see him and the
Confederacy in hell first;" that he was going to march his battery into
God's country, and if anybody interfered with his progress they might
expect a dose of shot and shell they