by Donna Andrews of the Femmes Fatales.
As I said recently in another context, I never got that much into the Civil War. Yorktown, where I grew up, remained in Union hands for most of the war, and in those days—both the 1860s and when I was growing up—Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy, seemed a long way off. By contrast the American Revolution, important parts of which took place (literally) in my back yard, seemed very immediate and a lot more interesting.
So I never bought into the whole idolization of Robert E. Lee. Oh,I read The Lady of Arlington, Harnett Kane's romantic biographical novel about Lee's wife. And since my family's vacations often involved visiting historical sites, I recall being dragged to to my share of Lee-related sites. Arlington, Straford Hall, I forget what else. But it never really took. He always seemed rather distant and. . . . well . . . just a little bit stodgy.
So I haven't been shaken by the various revelations over the years that suggest Lee was rather far from being a candidate for sainthood. But hearing about them recently inspired me to revisit the two Civil War figures that I did find somewhat interesting. John Singleton Mosby, the “Gray Ghost, and John Pelham, “the Gallant Pelham.”
There wasn't that much to find about Pelham, which is not surprising, since he died on March 17, 1863 at the age of 24. He was said to have revolutionized the use of light artillery as a part of the cavalry, by which I gather they mean he figured out that he could be a lot more useful if he gave all his artillerymen horses so they could drag their cannons around quickly to wherever they were needed. (Since he was trained in artillery tactics at West Point, maybe some professor there should get a share of the credit.) He was said to have impressed all who met him with his courage. Stonewall Jackson is reputed to have said “It is really extraordinary to find such nerve and genius in a mere boy. With a Pelham on each flank I believe I could whip the world." (Maybe we should be glad he had only one.)
I remember that as a teenager I read a biography of Pelham. Although I adored it at the time, what I recollect of it suggests, in hindsight, that was probably rather sappy. Still, I'm curious to revisit it. Finding that particular book might not be all that easy. Pelham's been the subject of rather a lot of biographies for someone who didn't even make it to the quarter-century mark. I've put in an order for a second-hand copy of the most likely one. If it's the right one, it will turn out to be a fascinating example of the sort of hagiography that happened in the years after the Civil War when it was romanticized in some quarters into the Lost Cause. And after I've revisited that book, I might find a more modern biography as a palate-cleanser. I'm always looking for non-fiction to read when I'm in the middle of a draft.
Mosby, on the other hand, lived on after the Civil War, which makes him a much more interesting character to the present-day me. Although he's now remembered mostly for having led Mosby's Rangers (or Raiders), a partisan ranger unit, after the war he went back to his law practice in Warrenton, Virginia. He became a supporter of President Grant and a Republication, which apparently earned him death threats in Reconstruction Era Virginia. He served as consul to Hong Kong from 1978 to 1885, where he brought to light the corruption of his predecessor. He worked as an attorney for the Southern Pacific Railroad. Under Theodore Roosevelt he became a special agent of the U.S. Department of the Interior, pursuing illegal land acquisition by the cattle barons. At the Justice Department he tried to bring cases against those who committed land fraud on Indian minors. A man who led a wide-ranging, interesting, and almost certainly useful life. A much more complex and nuanced person than the figure painted by popular legends (including the 1957-8 TV show).
And yet in the popular mind he will always be the Gray Ghost. As much as Pelham, he's defined by his actions during the five years of the Civil War.
A quote from Pelham: “. . . war is not glorious as novelists would have us believe. It is only when we are in the heat and flush of battle that it is fascinating and interesting. It is only then that we enjoy it.”
And yet: another quote from Pelham: “I see the horrors of war, but it is necessary: We are battling for our rights and our homes. Ours is a just war, a holy cause. The invader must meet the fate he deserves and we must meet him as becomes us, as becomes men.”
Not liking that second quote, but I'll give him some slack. He was at most 24. And a just-barely man of his time.
A quote from Mosby: “War loses a great deal of its romance after a soldier has seen his first battle. I have a more vivid recollection of the first than the last one I was in. It is a classical maxim that it is sweet and becoming to die for one's country; but whoever has seen the horrors of a battlefield feels that it is far sweeter to live for it.”
And another quote from Mosby: “I've always understood that we went to war on account of the thing we quarreled with the North about. I've never heard of any other cause than slavery."
Tell it like it is, Mosby.
Maybe it's not fair—after all, when you come right down to it, Pelham never really got a chance to grow up. He remains forever young, fair-haired and pink-cheeked. But I think if I ever met them, I'd probably have liked Mosby better, even if I hadn't met him until he was old, blind in one eye, and generally considered to be cantankerous.
And while I can't exactly call them childhood heroes—more subjects of teenage curiosity—I'm relieved to see that at least of them holds up as a genuinely interesting historical figure. Heck, maybe Pelham will too if I manage to get hold of a suitably unbiased biography.
You'll have to be sure to come back and let us know what you think of them after you've read these books. I'll be curious to know.
Posted by: Mark | February 18, 2019 at 08:56 AM