laconic “no General” ?
150 years ago this month Joseph E. Johnston was in charge of the Confederate Departments of Alabama and Mississippi. Apparently he had enough time on his hands to make (tiny) speeches.
From the Richmond Daily Dispatch November 14, 1863:
Gen. Johnston’s Speeches.
–Whether Gen. Joe Johnston is “no General” or not, it cannot be denied that he is a great speaker. When he makes a speech, he speaks directly to the point, and quits as soon as he gets through — a secret of his which many long-winded Congressmen would do well to catch. Recently the General made a telling speech at Enterprise. “Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for this expression of your kindness.” (What could be more appropos than that?) “Soldiers, I hope soon to see you with arms in your hands in front of the enemy!” There! the whole ground was covered. Everything necessary to be said was said; and although the eloquent orator may have been thoroughly overcome and exhausted by the effort, yet it is said that he did not weary his audience in the slightest degree–Mississippian, Extra.
