Apr. 29, 1865 main body, defending cities and houses along the railroad lines, and affording protection to depots of supplies, arsenals, and other important government works. The report of his operations, from November 1 to December 20, displays a dash, activity, vigilance, and consummate skill which justly entitle him to a prominent place on the roll of great cavalry leaders. By his indomitable energies, operating on all sides of Sherman's columns, he was enabled to keep the government and commanders of our troops advised of the enemy's movements, and, by preventing foraging parties from leaving the main bódy, he saved from spoliation all but a narrow tract of country, and from the torch, millions' worth of property which would otherwise have certainly been consumed." 9. Services in the Carolinas.-General Wheeler received the thanks of the State of South Carolina for his defense of Aiken. A week before the close of hostilities the fifty-first Alabama cavalry regiment, under his command, captured the first Alabama United States regiment. At Averysboro General Wheeler was in battle; at Bentonville he drove back Sherman's right from Johnston's line of retreat. 10. Farewell Address.-On April 29, 1865, he addressed this farewell to his command: "GALLANT COMRADES: You have fought your fight; your task is done. During a four years' struggle for liberty you have exhibited courage, fortitude, and devotion. You are the sole victors of more than two hundred severely contested fields; you have participated in more than a thousand conflicts of arms; you are heroes, veterans, patriots; the bones of your comrades mark the battlefields upon the soil of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi; you have done all that human exertion could accomplish. In bidding you adieu, I desire to thank you for your gallantry in battle, your fortitude under sufferings, and devotion at all times to the holy cause you have done so much to maintain. I desire to express my gratitude for the kind feeling you have seen fit to show toward myself, and to invoke upon you the blessing of our Heavenly Father, to whom we must always look for support in the hour of distress. "Brethren in the cause of freedom, comrades in arms, I bid you farewell. J. WHEELER." 11. Later Life.-After the war, General Wheeler settled in Lawrence county, Alabama, and engaged in merchandising, farming, and the practice of law. He was true to his friends, generous to everybody, and the very soul of popularity. In 1882, he was elected to Congress and served in that high office for eighteen years. Col. Robert Lowe once contested his election and served in his place for a part of one session of Congress. President McKinley appointed him a major-general of volunteers in the Spanish-American War, and at El Ca'ney his advice saved American arms from defeat and inspired the advance until Santiago fell. He saw brief service in the Philippines, and died a retired brigadier-general of the army of the United States. He was buried in Arlington Cemetery, and 1882 1898 1906 over his remains is the highest monument in that national burying-ground. SUMMARY Joseph Wheeler, a Georgia graduate of West Point, commanded a brigade at Shiloh and checked the advance of the right wing of the Federal army. Transferred to command of cavalry, he planned and executed one of the most daring cavalry raids of the war. He served with distinction in the campaigns in Tennessee, Georgia, and the Carolinas, and dismissed his troops with a touching farewell address. After the war he settled in Alabama, served in Congress for eighteen years, was a majorgeneral in the Spanish-American War, and died a brigadiergeneral of the United States army. QUESTIONS 1. How was General Wheeler regarded by the people at the close of the Spanish-American War? 2. Give an account of his early life. 3. What did he accomplish at the battle of Shiloh? 4. Why was he made a major-general? 5. Narrate the incidents of his daring cavalry raid. 6. What services did he render in the Tennessee campaign? In the Georgia campaign? 7. What did President Davis say about him? 8. What did General Wheeler accomplish in the Carolinas? 9. Give the substance of his farewell address. 10. Sketch his life after the war. CHAPTER XIX MOBILE DURING THE WAR 1. Loyalty of Its Citizens.-When the War between the States came, Mobile companies promptly left for the armies of the Confederacy. Its hospitals were all that skilled surgeons and loving women could make them. Its fortifications were among the last to admit the downfall of the Confederate States. Its military record on land and sea is bright with deeds of patriotism and bravery. John Newland Maffitt, in the Oreto (afterward the Florida), ran the Federal blockade into Mobile Bay. When his sick men and battle-shelled vessel were ready for active service, he again passed the blockade lines and began his career of naval successes, cheered by the loyal support of the citizens of Mobile. 2. Battle of Mobile Bay. On August 5, 1864, Admiral David Glasgow Făr' rå gut, assisted by a powerful land battery, moved his fleet into Mobile Bay. He had four ironclad monitors and fourteen steamers which carried one hundred and ninety-nine guns and twenty-seven hundred men. To oppose him were the Confederate forts and torpedo lines, and Admiral Franklin Buchanan with the ironclad Tennessee and three wooden gunboats which carried twenty-two guns and four hundred and seventy men. At the opening of the fight one of the Federal monitors, the Tecumseh, was blown up with one hundred and twenty men. As his vessels hesitated to Aug. 5, 1864 advance, Admiral Farragut stationed himself in the rigging of his flagship, the Hartford, and led the attack on the Tennessee until that vessel was captured. His victory made him master of the Bay. Aug. 8, Fort Gaines fell on August 8, and Fort Morgan surrendered fifteen days afterward. 1864 March, 1865 Admiral Farragut pronounced the battle of Mobile Bay "one of the fiercest naval combats on record." 3. Capture of Mobile.-In March, 1865, General Canby started from Fort Morgan with thirty-two thousand Federal troops to invest Mobile. He was opposed by three Confederate brigades-Gibson's Louisianians, Ector's North Carolinians and Texans, and Thomas's Alabama Reserves. The latter were Apr. 1, relieved by Holtzclaw's brigade from Blakeley. The whole force was less than four thousand men. 1865 Apr. 8, 1865 Apr. 12, 1865 Although mire and water helped to check the advance of the Federals, they approached nearer day by day to Spanish Fort and batteries Huger (yoo jee') and Tracy, which were defended by the Confederates. The doomed Spanish Fort fell. General F. Steele marched from Pensacola with nearly fifteen thousand men, destroyed railroads, and burned all public property about Pollard. He stormed and captured Blakeley. The garrison of thirty-five hundred Confederates under General Liddell defended gallantly, but were unable to save the town. This was April 9, the same day on which General Lee surrendered at Appomattox. Batteries Huger and Tracy fell two days later. General D. H. Maury was then in command at Mobile. When he saw the forts of its defense fall, |