Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 9.
Reverend J. William Jones, Ed.

The work of the Southern Historical Society in Europe.

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Letter from Major Scheibert.

We have several times had occasion to call attention to the fact that our Papers have been doing a most important work in giving our friends in Europe the material for vindicating the name and fame of our Confederate leaders and people, and in affording to those willing to do us ustice the means of doing so. [571]

The following private letter from our gallant friend, Major I. Scheibert, was not intended for publication, but it is so interesting as illustrating the point to which we have referred, that we take the liberty of Publishing it, and beg that our friend will excuse us:

Hirschberg Prussia, 13th October, 1881.
Rev. J. Wm. Jones:

my Dear Sir,--I hope you have not forgotten your old Southern friend; but I have not received the Southern Historical Papers since the month of April. You know how deeply I am interested in your Papers, and how I appreciate the valuable military study they afford me.

I am proud to say that the combined efforts of Heros Von Borcke and myself have brought it about that in the German-Prussian army nothing concerning the civil war in America is so in fashion as accounts of the deeds of Southrons.

Sherman and Grant, the pets of ten years ago, are forgotten, and Lee, Jackson and Stuart are now the favorite heroes of our officers.

Your friends will be interested by the statement that many of the Southern organizations have been a pattern for ours.

For the first time the cavalry has studied Stuart's movements, and General Von Schmidt, the regenerator of our cavalry tactics, has told me that Stuart was the model cavalry leader of this century, and has questioned me very often about his mode of fighting.

It will doubtless be of interest to you to know what parts of your Historical Papers I have translated, and commended to our German armies. Among them are the following:

General Early's Relative strength of the Confederate and Federal armies.

McCarthy's Detailed Minutiae of soldier life.

Stuart's Report of Cavalry operations in 1863.

Stuart's Report of the First Maryland campaign.

General R. E. Lee's Report of the Chancellorsville campaign.

Field Letters from Lee's Headquarters.

General Fitz. Lee's Address on Chancellorsville.

Colonel. William Allan's Address on Jackson's Valley campaign, (with maps.)

Lee and Gordon at Appomattox.

Hubbard's paper on “Operations of General Stuart Before Chancellorsville.” [572]

Pierce's Attempts at Escape from Prison.

Colonel Patton's Reminiscences of Jackson's infantry.

Kirkland, the hero of Fredericksburg.

Major McClellan's address on The life and Campains of General J. E. B. Stuart.

Two specimen cases of desertion.

General J. E. B. Stuart's Report of the Gettysburg campaign (with map.)

I have also translated many interesting parts of your Life of Lee.

I have also published biographies of R. E. Lee, Jackson, Stuart and Mosby, besides my larger History of the War.

I do not mention these things to glorify my poor efforts to bring my friends out of their modest shade into the clear sunlight of truth, but I do wish to prove to my old gallant and noble comrades of the South that I have not been ungrateful to their country and her heroes, whom I admire so much. Your obedient servant,

I. Scheibert, Major.

We need not comment on the above letter further than to say that if we had done nothing else than to afford our noble friend the material which he has so well used, then our work has not been in vain, and we have the ground of another strong appeal to our friends to sustain us in its further prosecution.

Of course we have sent Major Scheibert duplicates of the numbers of our Papers which he failed to receive, and shall continue to mail them to him regularly.