As commander of the company he made a requisition upon the
quartermaster--himself--for something he wanted. As quartermaster he
declined to fill the requisition, and endorsed on the back of it his
reasons for so doing. As company commander he responded to this, urging
that his requisition called for nothing but what he was entitled to, and
that it was the duty of the quartermaster to fill it. As quartermaster
he still persisted that he was right. In this condition of affairs
Bragg referred the whole matter to the commanding officer of the post.
The latter, when he saw the nature of the matter referred, exclaimed:
"My God, Mr. Bragg, you have quarrelled with every officer in the army,
and now you are quarrelling with yourself!"
Longstreet was an entirely different man. He was brave, honest,
intelligent, a very capable soldier, subordinate to his superiors, just
and kind to his subordinates, but jealous of his own rights, which he
had the courage to maintain. He was never on the lookout to detect a
slight, but saw one as soon as anybody when intentionally given.
It may be that Longstreet was not sent to Knoxville for the reason
stated, but because Mr.
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