He is a small, thin, old gentleman, set off by a large
pair of brilliant epaulets,--the only pair, so far as my observation
went, that adorn the shoulders of any officer in the Union army. Either
for our inspection, or because the matter had already been arranged, he
drew out a regiment of Zouaves that formed the principal part of his
garrison, and appeared at their head, sitting on horseback with rigid
perpendicularity, and affording us a vivid idea of the disciplinarian of
Baron Steuben's school.
There can be no question of the General's military qualities; he must
have been especially useful in converting raw recruits into trained and
efficient soldiers. But valor and martial skill are of so evanescent a
character (hardly less fleeting than a woman's beauty), that Government
has perhaps taken the safer course in assigning to this gallant officer,
though distinguished in former wars, no more active duty than the
guardianship of an apparently impregnable fortress. The ideas of
military men solidify and fossilize so fast, while military science makes
such rapid advances, that even here there might be a difficulty. An
active, diversified, and therefore a youthful, ingenuity is required by
the quick exigencies of this singular war.
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