The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 20, July 1916 - April, 1917 Page: 137
426 p. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Colonel John Marshall
possibly in range, and waited until she passed to safety. Then
they advanced from opposite sides of the Avenue, firing as they
came. They emptied their revolvers; then shot their Derringers;
then like Homer's Trojan heroes they picked up rocks and hurled
them at each other until a huge, lone constable, a Mr. McAnally,
reached them, seized each combatant by the collar and held him
at arm's length until a crowd rushed up and separated them. For-
tunately neither gentleman was seriously injured; but they were
both very willing souls.
When the Civil War commenced, Colonel Marshall did not adopt
the course pursued by the majority of editors-remain at home and
with his "gray goose quill" stir up the patriotism of others and
urge them to the front-but he said, "He wished to defend with
the sword the principles he advocated with his pen."
As stated before, when he lived in Mississippi, he had been a
personal friend and political supporter of Jefferson Davis; so he
went to Richmond, stated his wishes to President Davis, who
promptly appointed him lieutenant-colonel of the Fourth Texas
Infantry. John B. Hood was colonel. Soon Hood was promoted
to the rank of brigadier general, and Marshall became colonel of
the regiment. He had no opportunity to prove that he possessed
any military talent, as his duties consisted merely in executing
the general routine of camp life, such as drilling, guard mount-
ing, dress parade and occasional marching. I heard of an amus-
ing incident that occurred during one of those marches. On a
cold, frosty morning the command reached a wide stream; there
was neither boat nor bridge; the men halted. Colonel Marshall
rode up to the front and asked, "Why this halt?" Someone
answered, "How are we to cross this stream ?" He replied, "What !
Are you willing to face Federal bullets, yet afraid of a little cold
water? Forward !" The boys still hesitated, and one yelled out,
"Colonel, suppose you get down and lead us across, and see how
you like it yourself." He immediately sprang from his horse,
handed his bridle rein to the adjutant, and walked into the water
waist deep and said, "Follow me." This settled the cold water
question; the men gave him a rousing cheer and rushed after hiim.
Like the heroic Waxren at Bunker Hill, Marshall was killed
in his first battle, in the seven days' fight around Richmond, June,137
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 20, July 1916 - April, 1917, periodical, 1917; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101070/m1/143/: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.