Confederate Generals. Most of them passed their closing years in poverty. [from the Richmond, Va., times, July 26, 1894.]
Twenty-five Unpensioned heroes who suffered the Stings and Arrows of Outrageous fortune.It is a melancholy fact that almost every Confederate General who did not succumb to disease or fall in battle, died in poverty he brought on by his devotion to the cause espoused, says the Brooklyn Eagle. Raphael and Paul Semmes both died poor themselves, but a daughter of the former married a prosperous lawyer, General Zollicoffer. She left nothing to a family of five daughters, four of whom, however, married well. The fifth may have done likewise, although accurate trace of her has been lost. General Pillow left his family so poorly provided for that they were compelled to sell his library and his house, also, although friends rebought it by subscription. General T. C. Hindman died penniless, so did General Dick Taylor, and his two daughters made their home with an aunt. He published a book, but it did not prove a monetary success, and left him in worse circumstances than before. Stonewall Jackson left his wife and daughter without means, but they were reasonably helped by legacies. General Polk left nothing to his family, but his son, Dr. Polk, located in New York, and built up a very large and profitable practice. General Forrest, who became a farmer, labored hard to succeed as a planter, but at his death left only a meagre inheritance to his family. Mrs. General Ewell, who died three days after her husband, owned a very considerable property in St. Louis, and maintained a very comfortable establishment. General Bragg left no property, and his widow went to live with her sister in New Orleans. General Hood was far from being wealthy, and General S. Cooper was absolutely poor. Major-General Whiting, of Fort Fisher fame, who died in prison in 1864, left nothing, and General L. M. Walker, killed by Marmaduke in a duel, left but little to his wife.
