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within one hundred miles of being one himself. Two hundred and fifty " Tar Heels" and only forty of them engaged, saved the city oh, no! As the fellow who was dying said, I don't mind passing to to the realities of an unknown world ; I contemplate that with the most perfect composure, but it does break my heart to think that I am dying and am summoned to the Great Bar from the butt of a blamed little goat. If this could have been the active force that guided the deliberation of these historians, they were more discrim- inating and less candid than the writers of proud, imperial Rome, who did not hesitate to give to the discordant honk of geese the credit of their city's deliverance.
N. P. FORD, Captain Co. F. , First N. C. Cavalry.
[From the N. Y. Sun, Feb 28, 1897.]
DAVIS AND DAVIDSON.
A Chapter of War History Concerning Torpedoes.
The Correspondence that Passed Between Jefferson Davis and Captain Davidson in Relation to the Services of the Latter Officer.
A letter from Captain Hunter Davidson, formerly of the Confed- erate naval service, dated Villa Rica, Paraguay, December 14, 1896, places at the disposal of the Sun, a fragment of personal experience during the Civil War, which is also, in its way, a contribution of value to the literature relating to that period. It was originally published in the Buenos Ayres Herald, but will of course find an in- comparably greater circle of readers in this country.
Captain Davidson entered the navy with Admiral Luce in 1841, and they were together at the Naval Academy, Annapolis, twenty years later, while their friendship was renewed after the Civil War. As to the correspondence with Jefferson Davis, it speaks for itself, although it should be added that Captain Davidson considers that Mr. Davis was somewhat prejudiced against the navy, and that he attributes the particular omission of mention which he discusses, to Mr. Davis' having been informed of his criticism of the latter' s
