Hood  had  lost  a  leg  in  battle,  and  when  the  amputa
tion  was  completed  an  attempt  was  made  to  console  him
by  the  announcement  that  a  civil  appointment  was  ready
for  him.  With  characteristic  impetuosity,  he  replied:
"  No,  sir ;  no  bomb-proof  place  for  me.  I  propose  to  see
this  fight  out  in  the  field."  This  undiminished  ardor  for
military  service  calls  to  mind  the  many  other  soldiers
of  the  Civil  War,  and  of  all  history,  whose  loss  of  bodily
activity  in  no  way  impaired  their  mental  capacity.
Ewell,  with  his  one  leg,  not  only  rode  in  battle  like  a
cow-boy  on  the  plains,  but  in  the  whirlwind  of  the  strife
his  brain  acted  with  the  precision  and  rapidity  of  a
Gatling  gun.
