182 PROCEEDINGS OF THE OHIO ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 



road between Corinth and Chattanooga. In a recent able review 

 of the civil war it is declared that "had [Mitchell been properly 

 reinforced, as he had expected to be on that occasion, he might 

 have forestalled the later victories of Grant and Sherman." 

 The exploit brought him a commission as ]\Iajor General and he 

 was given the command of the department of the south, but in 

 October, 1862, "Old Stars" as he was affectionately called by 

 his men, died of yellow fever at Hilton Head. 



The third member of our Cincinnati "quartet" Professor Dan- 

 iel Vaughan, was unquestionably the most profound scholar of 

 the group and it is my great regret that I know so little about 

 him. He was born in Cork, Ireland, about 1818-1821, the date 

 is uncertain. Coming to America at the age of sixteen years, his 

 first occupation was that of a teacher of boys in Bourbon County, 

 Kentucky. From an early age he had been absorbed in the study 

 of mathematics and natural science and lacking books he shortly 

 migrated to Cincinnati for the purpose of utilizing its library 

 facilities which even at that early day were considerable. In 

 Cincinnati he spent the remainder of his life, a recluse, indif- 

 ferent even to his own bodily comfort and physical condition in, 

 his devotion to his favorite studies. 



In order to be fully informed of the results of scientific 

 research throughout the world, he mastered the German, French, 

 Italian and Spanish languages as well as ancient and modern 

 Greek. He was chiefly interested in astronomy in its broader 

 aspects and he discussed the profounder problems of physical 

 science with the deep insight and perfect independence of a 

 strong and original thinker. Of his command of language a 

 competent critic has said, "His writings are marked by a daring 

 boldness and a splendor of diction which reveal the workings 

 of a poetic imagination coupled with a logical reason." He en- 

 joyed an extensive correspondence with learned men at home 

 and abroad and contributed about fifty papers to the scientific 

 journals of this country and of Europe. They bear such titles 

 as "The Doctrine of Gravitation ;" "The Cause and Efifects of the 

 Tides;" "The Light and Heat of the Sun," etc. He issued in 

 book form "Popular Physical Astronomy — or an Exposition 



