On the record
He had a genius for war, and in a purely military point of view it would perhaps have been better for the Confederates to lose the battle than to lose the most aggressive officer in their Army.
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gutenberg.orgEditor's note · Context
Blaine reflects on the strategic implications of losing a key Confederate general during the Civil War.
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It was the insane folly of the South, in drawing the sword against the life of the Nation, that led irresistibly to the abolition of slavery.
In turn, the course of the National Administration would certainly be influenced, and its fate in large degree determined, by the conduct of the Southern men, in whom the President was placing unbounded trust.
The feeling in many portions of the country toward the emancipated slaves, especially among the ignorant and uneducated, is one of vindictive and malicious hatred.
Such an opportunity would have been a menace to the public credit, and would have proved a constant source of corruption.
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