Chapter M: J. Foreman

_Answer._—Ranal S. Mackenzie was born in New York in August, 1840. Graduating from West Point in 1862, he was made Second Lieutenant of Engineers. He immediately entered active service in the Ninth Corps, and was wounded at the second battle of Bull Run. When Lee, in 1863, advanced into Maryland, Mackenzie was very busily employed in constructing bridges for the Union forces which followed in the rear of the rebel army. He took part in the various battles of the Army of the Potomac in Maryland and in West Virginia, and in May, 1864, had charge of a company before Richmond. He passed through the battle of the Wilderness, and in June was wounded before Petersburg. For his gallantry he was appointed Brigadier General of Volunteers. Resuming the command of his company, he continued his efforts against Petersburg. At the battle of Five Forks he commanded a division of cavalry with so much skill that he was brevetted Major General. After the close of the war he retained the command of a company in his old corps. In March, 1867, he was promoted to the Colonelcy, and in 1870 he was transferred to the cavalry and sent to the Mexican frontier. In quelling the depredations on the Texas border and in putting down the Indian insurrections in New Mexico and Arizona he has since displayed considerable military ability. Previous to his present promotion he had charge of the army in New Mexico, Santa Fe being his headquarters.

SOUND AND SENSE.

WYOMING, Ill.

Can sound be produced with no ear to hear?

WILLIAM E. WHITE.

_Answer._—The word sound is used in different senses. In the sense defined in the first definition given by Webster and Worcester, the answer to your question is “no;” but in the sense of his second definition, it is “yes.” This second definition, as given in the last edition of his Unabridged Dictionary, is as follows: “Sound—The occasion of sound: the impulse or vibration which would occasion sound to a percipient if present with unimpaired organs.” This use of the word is strikingly illustrated in the expression “inaudible sounds,” i.e., such as can only be heard by the help of instruments.

GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE.

MONTICELLO, Ill.

Please give a biographical sketch of the late rebel General, Robert
E. Lee.

JACOB A. RHOADS.

_Answer._—The Commander-in-chief of the rebel forces was born at Westmoreland, Va., Jan. 19, 1807. At the age of 18 he entered West Point, from which he graduated, the second in his class, in 1829. Receiving an appointment of Second Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers, he spent his time at various places, engaged in the government surveys, until the breaking out of the Mexican war. During the greater portion of the war he served under General Scott, who considered him a very capable officer. For his excellent services he was brevetted major, then lieutenant colonel, and soon afterwards he was made colonel. At Chapultepec, he was wounded, but not seriously enough to prevent his entering the City of Mexico. After the war he was engaged on the Atlantic coast until his appointment in 1852 to the superintendency of the Military Academy. In 1855 he was made Lieutenant Colonel of the Second Cavalry, and was transferred to the Texas border. While on leave of absence in Washington in 1859, he was placed in charge of the troops which quelled the raid at Harper’s Ferry. In March, 1861, he was made colonel, but when he learned of Virginia’s secession he resigned and accepted an appointment in the insurrectionary forces of his native State. Repairing to Richmond he was made commander-in-chief of the forces of Virginia, with the title of Major General. Soon after, by an act of the Confederate Congress, he was made third in rank of the entire rebel forces, Samuel Cooper and A. S. Johnston being his superiors. Because of his inactivity before Rosecrans he was transferred in December to North and South Carolina, where he remained until March, 1862, when he returned to accept the position of commander-in-chief of all the Confederate forces. In June he defeated McClellan and began his northward march, routing the forces of Pope and invading the State of Maryland. The bloody battle of Antietam was claimed as a victory by both sides, but Lee thought best immediately to retire into Virginia. Until his next invasion and defeat at Gettysburg in July, 1863, he remained on the defensive. His subsequent retreat, his generalship in the battle of the Wilderness and other engagements following it disclosed great tact and prudence. The ability which he displayed in the defense of Richmond excites the admiration of every impartial reader of history, and does great credit to his military genius. This genius was more than matched at last by that of General Grant, sustained by the greater resources of the North, and he was compelled to surrender his sword at Appomattox Court House. Subsequently he became President of Washington and Lee College, located at Lexington, Va., where he died Oct. 12, 1870.

VARIATIONS OF THE COMPASS.

KENSETT, Iowa.

It is said that the companions of Christopher Columbus were greatly
alarmed when the variations of the compass was first remarked.
Please explain why the needle of a compass points north, and also
give the amount of its variation for different places.