THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD -1857-1864 91 



lives for their country, the English press, almost without 

 exception, from the Times down, was insisting that we 

 were fighting our battles with mercenaries. &quot; 



One way in which those of us who remained at the uni 

 versity helped the good cause was in promoting the mili 

 tary drill of those who had determined to become soldiers. 

 It was very difficult to secure the proper military instruc 

 tion, but in Detroit I found a West Point graduate, engaged 

 him to come out a certain number of times every week to 

 drill the students, and he cheered us much by saying that 

 he had never in his life seen soldiers so much in earnest, 

 and so rapid in making themselves masters of the drill 

 and tactics. 



One of my advisers at this period, and one of the no 

 blest men I have ever met, was Lieutenant Kirby Smith, 

 a graduate of West Point, and a lieutenant in the army. 

 His father, after whom he was named, had been killed at 

 the Battle of Molino del Rey, in the Mexican War. His 

 uncle, also known as Kirby Smith, was a general in the 

 Confederate service. His mother, one of the dearest 

 friends of my family, was a woman of extraordinary abil 

 ities, and of the noblest qualities. Never have I known a 

 young officer of more promise. With him I discussed 

 from time to time the probabilities of the war. He was 

 full of devotion, quieted my fears, and strengthened 

 my hopes. He, too, fought splendidly for his country, and, 

 like his father, laid down his life for it. 



The bitterest disappointment of that period, and I regret 

 deeply to chronicle it, was the conduct of the government 

 and ruling classes in England. In view of the fact that 

 popular sentiment in Great Britain, especially as voiced 

 in its literature, in its press, and from its pulpit, had been 

 against slavery, I had never doubted that in this struggle, 

 so evidently between slavery and freedom, Great Britain 

 would be unanimously on our side. To my amazement 

 signs soon began to point in another direction. More and 

 more it became evident that British feeling was against 

 us. To my students, who inquired how this could possibly 



