By some of the senior
officers, however, his rigorous ideas of discipline were less
favourably considered. They were by no means disposed to quarrel with
the fact that the sentences of courts-martial in the Second Army
Corps were almost invariably confirmed; but they objected strongly to
the same measure which they meted out to the men being consistently
applied to themselves. They could not be brought to see that neglect
of duty, however trivial, on the part of a colonel or brigadier was
just as serious a fault as desertion or insubordination on the part
of the men; and the conflict of opinion, in certain cases, had
unfortunate results.
To those whose conduct he approved he was more than considerate.
General Lane, who was under him as a cadet at Lexington, writes as
follows:--
"When in camp at Bunker Hill, after the battle of Sharpsburg, where
the gallant Branch was killed, I, as colonel commanding the brigade,
was directed by General A.P. Hill to hold my command in readiness,
with three days' rations, for detached service, and to report to
General Jackson for further orders. That was all the information that
Hill could give me. I had been in Jackson's corps since the battles
round Richmond, and had been very derelict in not paying my respects
to my old professor.
Pages:
1365
1366
1367
1368
1369
1370
1371
1372
1373
1374
1375
1376
1377
1378
1379
1380
1381
1382
1383
1384
1385
1386
1387
1388
1389