The Humphreys family in America - citizen hylbom blog

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came to a stream greatly swollen by continued rains, and upon his arrival lie was invited to join
in council with his superior officers, concerning the situation, as there was no time for delay and
ni) means of bridging the stream. Declining to counsel his superiors, he simply requested that
he be allowed to act at his discretion with his immediate command. The permission was granted,
he plunged into the threatening stream with orders for his men to follow, and in a few moments
his brigade was safely over. And immediately there went up a shout from the troqps on the other
side, applauding the daring but successful deed, and as soon as General Humphreys discovered
that he was the subject of such applause, he put spurs to his horse and was soon out of sight in
the woodland, his modest spirit carrying him away.
"And likewise when he united with the church, he sought an occasion that woivld be free
from all notoriety. It seemed that he had heard his Master say to him, as He so often said to
' those who sought His grace when on earth, See that thou tell no man. ' Abundant in good deeds
—the very synonym of charity, kindness and brotherly love— yet he would have scorned as unworthy
and distasteful the publication of such acts, or the assumption of any r.ierit on account of them.
" But nowhere, perhaps, did he manifest so clearly his power and wisdom as when called
to the Governorship of his State. It was a perilous time; the sound of arms had scarcely ceased
its echo; all the disorganizing and demoralizing influences of war had to be met; a revolution had
been effected. Pre-e.xisting institutions having been swept away, every fortune gone, and every
home in mourning, a new beginning must be made. From every ijuarter there came the inquiry,
Who shall assume the leadership as we attempt to gather together the shattered pieces and rebuild?
Where is there a man who can awaken hopefulness in the heart of the despairing, and at the
same time check the heedless impetuosity of those maddened by defeat and restore their wrecked
government to active and efficient service ?
"The problem was solved by one of your own boys when he' suggested the name of General
Benjamin G. Humphreys. At once all parties acknowledged his peculiar fitness, and as by acclamation
he was made the custodian of the highest interests of the Commonwealth.
"And the success of his administration attests the wisdom of their choice.
" His wise counsels, and his conservative measures, had brought again the reign of peace
and prosperity—until he was called to meet a form of reconstruction, superinduced by the United
States Government, which was at once unconstitutional in form, and destructive in tendency, and
by which he was required to abandon his office, and give up the government. This he refused to
do, regarding as sacred the trusts confided to his care, until at length, at the point of the bayonet,
he was compelled to relinquish those trusts into the hands of strangers.
"Leaving now civil life, in so many phases of which we find him conspicuous, I must speak
of him as a soldier. So varied was the form of his genius that he was at home in any field that
demanded his service. It cannot be expected that I should now give a detailed account of his
military career. This part of his life I must leave chiefly to the pen of the historian. When he
saw there was no alternative but to fight, he gave himself, with all the energy and sincerity of his
nature, to the cause of the Confederacy. He raised a company, and became its captain; he joined
a regiment and became its colonel; was assigned to a brigade, and became its commander.
" By nature he was singularly fitted as an official soldier. He had courage without impetuosity,
fidelity without ambition, and firmness without oppression. Each soldier was his brother, and not
one should suff'er when it w^as in his power to furnish relief. He participated in nearly all the
hard-fought battles of his command, coming out of one after having had two horses shot from
under him, and with nine bullet-holes thrt)ugh his cloak within a radius of eleven inches from
his collar-button, and finally returned from the conflict bearing in his body four severe wounds,
that undermined his health and doubtless hastened his death.
' Other swords may he sheathed in scabbards of greater renown, but none m higher forms
of valor and patriotism than his.