It is all moonshine about twenty or thirty leaving. H—s and W—s flattered themselves as being leaders and that their influence would be fatal to us. We have not lost a drill, a recitation, and have all slept more comfortably since. Indeed had I yielded one jot last Sunday and Monday, farewell to government, cadets, not professors would have ruled. I believe all now see their mistake. W—s and H—s thought we could not do without them. The new Orderly Sergeant Cushman is a better soldier than either today.
The affair of H—h was thus: last Saturday at supper, we heard too much noise at the table. Mr. Smith stepped to the door and whilst there H—s, the younger, the one now here made some offensive remark—he was the head of one table; S. M. H—s, the elder, the head of another; Mr. Smith at once removed H—s from his place, and allowed H—h who sat next to him to act as carver temporarily.
He is no longer carver, was changed as soon as this inference was noticed—the boy only acted as marcher from the porch to the table – he had no authority, but even that was temporary. Of course I had nothing to do with this. It fell exceedingly under Mr. Smith, and was accidental. The elder H—s was not spoken to, in no wise concerned, and sat as the carver at the head of his table up to the time of his departure. Therefore no distinction was made between them—both on the same footing. I understand he is over at Mrs. W—s. I enclose a note I got from her yesterday. She understands the point. The whole truth is this: both H—s and W—s presumed on their importance and feeling others creeping up to and past them thought to soften their certain downfall.
I enclose to Bragg to-day your bill (a copy thereof) and wrote him to favor Wickliffe's bill. Let any one who finds fault with the removal of obstreperous apply to Bragg—he understands the case.
Yesterday morning all the blackboards and chairs in Dr. Vallas's section room were bedaubed with hair grease. It took the drummer and two black boys all day to clean it off with hot soap suds; but I got a thread, unravelled it and found the party to blame. He insisted he did not do it and as the proof was not conclusive, I told him he should be charged the expense of cleaning and repainting, which he consented to do. I cannot now overlook anything.
SOURCE: Walter L. Fleming, General W.T. Sherman as College President, p. 144-5
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