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diff --git a/44686-0.txt b/44686-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b1353ac --- /dev/null +++ b/44686-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16335 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44686 *** + +[Illustration: Wm. T. Sherman] + + + + + LIFE OF + WM. TECUMSEH SHERMAN. + + Late Retired General. U. S. A. + + A GRAPHIC HISTORY OF HIS CAREER IN WAR AND PEACE; HIS ROMANTIC + YOUTH; HIS STERN AND PATRIOTIC MANHOOD; HIS CALM AND BEAUTIFUL + OLD AGE; A MARVELLOUS MARCH FROM THE MOUNTAINS OF TIME TO THE + SEA OF ETERNITY. + + By W. FLETCHER JOHNSON, + + Author of "Stanley's Adventures in Africa," "History of the + Johnstown Flood," "Life of Sitting Bull and History of the Indian + Wars," etc., etc. + + Carefully Reviewed, Chapter by Chapter, and with an Introduction + + By MAJ. GEN. O. O. HOWARD, U. S. A. + + With Numerous Maps and Illustrations. + + EDGEWOOD PUBLISHING COMPANY. + + 1891. + + + + + COPYRIGHT 1891, BY A. R. KELLER. + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +The title of this work is hardly a fair index to the contents. + +The "Life of General Sherman," written with any reasonable detail so +as to depict his formative period, the gradual development of his +energies, the bulk of his achievements and the great consummation of +his genius, could not be contained in any three volumes of this size. + +The work, so far as the labor of the author, Mr. Johnson, is concerned, +is eclectic,--mainly a compendium. + +There are beautiful sketches, choice pictorial presentations of Sherman +and his environments from childhood to age. But, I do not think that +the work, valuable as it undoubtedly is, could in any degree take the +place of Sherman's Personal Memoirs. + +There are some chapters which have been furnished by war editorials +and the writings of field correspondents which the author must have +collected and carefully preserved. + +Many of these are life-like, and bear the impress and the inspiration +of the exciting events amid which they were composed. + +There are, furthermore, in this book, chapters which are ingeniously +formed and elaborated by quotations from officers who were themselves +part and parcel of the campaigns which they describe. + +To me, the author appears to have done exceedingly well, and has herein +furnished a choice entertainment to his readers. + +The part undertaken by me, and to which I have strictly confined +myself, has been to review the work, some of it already in proof +type, and the remainder in manuscript, going over each chapter with +considerable care, and suggesting such changes as I thought the truth +of history demanded. + +Where one has expressed an opinion and a quotation of that opinion +appears, of course no change was admissible; so that I am entirely +unwilling to assume that such a quoted writer gave utterance to my own +convictions. + +For example: different views are given of the fearful struggle during +the first day of "Shiloh" at Pittsburgh Landing. A famous journalist +takes General Sherman to task for want of epaulements, intrenchments, +and other means of defence. He claims that Sherman and Grant were both +surprised, as they had known for a week or more that the enemy was +close by, and liable to attack. + +Certainly the answer to this allegation, and it should be a very clear +and decided answer, would be found in any completed history. Our troops +had not yet, at that period of the war of the rebellion, made much use +of intrenching tools. Grant and Sherman did not design to put their new +troops into intrenched camps. + +They believed, and very justly, that it was next to impossible to +handle them offensively, as we say, against the enemy. But they did +have some cover. The woods, ravines, and general contour of the ground +gave them protection, and it was in faithful use of this cover that +during the battle-storm of the first day near Shiloh church, they were +able to hold out till reinforcements came. + +This example will suggest others to the reader. Still, the phases +presented by the different writers, from whom extracts are taken, +afford a kaleidoscopic variety, interesting especially to those of us +who lived at the time of the occurrences in question. + +Probably none of us can do more than our noble General Sherman, years +ago, suggested. He said in substance: We who were involved in the +controversies, the battles, and campaigns of the great war, are not the +men to write the history. We are like witnesses in court. Each should +give his own testimony of what he saw and knew. Somebody else, will in +the future, after passion and prejudice shall have subsided, rise up to +make a search, a selection, a summation, and so the better evolve the +true history. + +With regard to General Sherman and his career, in my judgment the more +of truthful statements that are made the better. Let eye witnesses give +all the evidence they can. + +In his heart was a love of truth, a phenomenal loyalty to his country, +a fearless and prompt devotion to duty and markedly an absence of +aught that was malicious. True, he resented wrong often with a fiery +indignation, but he forgave a fault confessed with quick generosity. So +that at Lancaster, Ohio, the home of his childhood, at West Point, N. +Y., in Florida and South Carolina, where were his early army stations; +in California and Louisiana, where he made his civil record; at all +places during the war of four years, and at his headquarters, or upon +extensive tours; as Commander, after the war, of a military division +and finally of a whole army; all his acts, all his orders, and all his +writings will bear most careful inspection. They, if truthfully given, +will furnish to our youth something for meditation, for instruction, +for emulation. + +To whatever extent this little volume may contribute such quota, it +will be a welcome guest to our people, North and South, East and West. + + O. O. HOWARD, + _Major-General U. S. Army_. + + GOVERNOR'S ISLAND, N. Y. CITY, + _March 19th, 1891_. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + CHAPTER I. + + THE SHERMAN FAMILY. + + Honorable Rank in the Mother Country--Early Migration to New + England--Settling in the Connecticut Valley--Playing an + Important Part at Woodbury--Long Term of Public Service-- + The Stoddards--A Militant Minister--Seeking New Fortunes in + the West--An Early Ohio Judge--The Mother of Great Men 17 + + + CHAPTER II. + + BOYHOOD AND CADETSHIP. + + Why He Was Named Tecumseh--His Adoption by Mr. Ewing-- + Character in Boyhood--Work as a Surveyor--Appointment to a + Cadetship--From Lancaster to West Point--"Old Hickory"-- + Letters to His Sweetheart--A Youthful Philosopher-- + Character and Standing as a Cadet 29 + + + CHAPTER III. + + EARLY MILITARY DUTIES. + + Winding up the Seminole War--Comedy and Tragedy in the Florida + Wilderness--The Capture of Coacoochee--Service at Fort + Moultrie--Getting Acquainted with the Scene of His Greatest + Campaign--Secession Talk--Outbreak of the Mexican War-- + Rebuked for too Much Zeal--The Long Voyage to California-- + Arrival at Monterey 40 + + + CHAPTER IV. + + AMONG THE FORTY-NINERS. + + Days of Idleness at Monterey--Adam and Eve--Sunday + Diversions--Who is Governor?--General Fremont--The + Discovery of Gold and the Rush for the Mines--Domestic + Economy of Camp Life--Negro Fidelity--Back to the East-- + Marriage of Sherman and Miss Ewing--How he Heard Webster's + Speech--A Shady Travelling Companion--Entering and Quitting + the Law 50 + + CHAPTER V. + + THE CRISIS OF A CAREER. + + Sherman in the Prime of Manhood--Great Events Approaching-- + How He Came to be a Schoolmaster--Organization of the + Seminary--Political Talk--His View on Slavery--The + Campaign of 1860 and Election of Lincoln--Secession-- + Sherman's Prompt Decision to Stand by the Union--Resignation + of His Principalship--Departure for the North--Fate of the + Seminary 62 + + + CHAPTER VI. + + THE OUTBREAK OF THE WAR. + + The South Excited and Ready--The North Indifferent and + Unprepared--Sherman's Interview with Lincoln--His Plain + Talk to his Brother--Disgusted with the Politicians--A St. + Louis Street Railroad President--War Talk in St. Louis-- + A Clerkship Declined--His Loyalty Doubted--Prophesying + a Great Struggle--Bloodshed in St. Louis--Back to + Washington--In Service at Last 75 + + + CHAPTER VII. + + BULL RUN. + + "On to Richmond!"--Sherman's Brigade at Bull Run--Features of + Battle--Sherman's Official Report--The Stampede Back to the + Potomac--How Sherman Dealt with Mutineers--A Threat that + the President Thought he would Execute--Re-organization and + Promotion--General McClellan Assumes Command--Sherman's + Frank Criticism and Uncomfortable Truth-Telling and + Consequent Unpopularity 85 + + + CHAPTER VIII. + + SERVICE IN KENTUCKY. + + Serving Under Anderson--Critical Condition of the State-- + Seeking Help in Other States--A Visit to Fremont--That + Famous Interview with Cameron--How the Story of Sherman's + Insanity was Started--Attacks and Insults--Sherman's + Official Correspondence--His Request for 200,000 Men-- + An Extraordinary Newspaper Article--Sherman Transferred + to Missouri--Halleck's Confidence in Him--Planning the + Donelson Campaign 99 + + CHAPTER IX. + + SHILOH. + + The Gloomy Winter of 1861-2--Exultation over Donelson--The + Advance up the Tennessee--Responsibility for the Encampment + at Pittsburgh Landing--Controversies over the Battle-- + Varying Accounts--Sherman's Personal Heroism--Number of + Troops Engaged on Both Sides--Services of the Army of the + Ohio--Losses of the two Armies 116 + + + CHAPTER X. + + OFFICIAL REPORTS ON SHILOH. + + Sherman's Own Story--How his Troops were Posted--The Attack-- + Troops in Disorder--Grant and Buell at the Bivouac--The + Battle Resumed in the Morning--Death of General Johnston-- + Gallant Conduct of Individual Officers--Grant's Official + Report--Special Mention of Sherman for his Gallantry as a + Soldier and his Skill as a Commander 124 + + + CHAPTER XI. + + "AGATE'S" STORY OF SHILOH. + + The Situation Before the Battle--The First Skirmish--Plans of + the Rebel Leaders--The Scene on Sunday Morning--Troops in + Disorder--Analysis of the Situation--Faulty Disposition of + the Federal Troops--Arrangement of Sherman's Division--The + Rebel Plan of Attack--Sherman's Old Friend Bragg among the + Rebel Leaders 142 + + + CHAPTER XII. + + "AGATE'S" STORY CONTINUED. + + The Battle of Sunday, April 6th--The Union Troops Surprised-- + An Army in Disorder--Sherman's Heroic Effort to Stem the + Tide--McClernand's Share in the Battle--The Rebels Pressing + their Advantage--The Assault on Sherman's Left--Men too + Brave to be Killed--Desperate Position of the Union Army-- + Looking to the Gunboats for Aid--Three Desperate Charges + Repulsed--Death of General Wallace 153 + + + CHAPTER XIII. + + "AGATE'S" STORY CONTINUED. + + The Close of Sunday's Fight--What had been Lost During the + Day--Five Thousand Cowards on the River Bank--Opportune + Arrival of General Buell--The Grand Attack and its Grand + Repulse--Aid from the Gunboats--The Night Between Two + Battles--Desperate Preparations for the Morrow--Gunboats on + Guard Through the Darkness 172 + + CHAPTER XIV. + + "AGATE'S" STORY CONCLUDED. + + The Work of Sunday Night--Landing of Buell's Troops--Effect + of the Bombardment--Lack of System in the Union Army-- + Renewing the Battle--A Change of Tactics--Turning the + Tide--Crittenden's Advance--The Advance at the Centre-- + A Grand Parade on the Field of War--Redeeming the Losses + of Sunday--Facing the Louisiana Troops--Silencing the + Battery--End of the Great Struggle 183 + + + CHAPTER XV. + + CORINTH. + + Halleck Takes the Field--Organization of the Army--Progress + at a Snail's Pace--Sherman's Advance--The Flight of the + Rebels--Sherman's Official Report--Congratulating the + Troops--Beauregard's Address to his Soldiers--Some Accounts + of Corinth--Abrupt Finale of a Rebel Harangue 196 + + + CHAPTER XVI. + + MEMPHIS, VICKSBURG AND ARKANSAS POST. + + Changes in Command--Restoring Order at Memphis--Sherman's + Views of the Situation--Grant's Critical Position--Moving + Against Pemberton--Meeting with Porter--The Expedition + Against Vicksburg--Why it did not Succeed--The Surrender at + Holly Springs--Sherman Removed from Command--The Capture of + Arkansas Post--General McClernand 219 + + + CHAPTER XVII. + + VICKSBURG. + + Co-operation of Grant and Porter--Grand Gulf and Sherman's + Demonstration on the Yazoo--The Advance on Vicksburg-- + Capture of Jackson--Gallant Assaults Upon the Works at + Vicksburg--The Siege--Sherman Holding Johnston at Bay-- + Surrender of Vicksburg--Flight of Johnston--Important + Results of the Campaign--Sherman's Meed of Praise 241 + + + CHAPTER XVIII. + + SOME WAR CORRESPONDENCE. + + Sherman's Characteristic Letters--Congratulations to Porter + at Vicksburg--Views of the Reorganization of the Army--The + Conduct of the War and the Spirit of the South--Manners and + Morals of the Soldiers--No Wanton Spoliation of the Enemy's + Property--The Heroic Cartridge Boy of Vicksburg 249 + + CHAPTER XIX. + + CHATTANOOGA. + + Dark Days in 1863--A Sunburst of Victory--Sherman Leaves + Vicksburg--Orders to his Troops--The March to Chattanooga-- + The Battle Above the Clouds--Sherman's Attack on Missionary + Ridge--The Victory Complete--Pursuit of the Enemy--A + Forced March to Rescue Burnside--Sherman's Report--Views + Concerning the Treatment of the Rebels 259 + + + CHAPTER XX. + + MERIDIAN. + + Freeing the Mississippi--A March of Destruction--Retreat of + the Enemy--Polk's Flight from Meridian--Failure of Smith's + Expedition--Destroying Rebel Property--Confiscating a + Chicken--Results of the Raid--Scenes Among the Liberated + Negroes--The Red River Expedition 286 + + + CHAPTER XXI. + + THE BEGINNING OF THE END. + + Grant Made Lieutenant-General--Correspondence with Sherman-- + Their Memorable Interview--Planning a Scientific Campaign-- + General Howard's Pen Picture of the Two Soldiers--Schofield, + McPherson and Thomas--Grant's Final Orders--Sherman's Army + in Line--Strength of Johnston's Army--General Howard's + Account of the Advance 298 + + + CHAPTER XXII. + + ATLANTA. + + The Turning of Rocky Face--Resaca--General Howard's + Narrative--Adairsville--Crossing the Etowah--Sherman on + Familiar Ground--Dealing with Breaches of Discipline-- + Allatoona Pass--The Siege and Turning of Kenesaw-- + Smyrna and Peach Tree--Hood Succeeds Johnston--Death of + McPherson--Howard in Command of the Army of the Tennessee-- + Ezra Church--Operations around Atlanta--The Rush to + Jonesboro--Capture of Atlanta 314 + + + CHAPTER XXIII. + + PREPARING FOR THE MARCH. + + Congratulations and Rejoicings--Sherman's Address to his + Army--Incidents of the Campaign--Appearance of Atlanta + and its Environs--Hood's Northward March--How Corse Held + the Fort--Sherman's Stern Work at Atlanta--Exchange of + Prisoners--Organizing for the March to the Sea--Sketches + of Howard and Slocum--Orders for the Campaign--Cutting off + all Communication with the North--Atlanta in Ruin--Marching + Toward the Sea 338 + + CHAPTER XXIV. + + "MARCHING THROUGH GEORGIA." + + The "Lost Army"--Speculations, North and South, as to + its Doings--Diary of an Officer--Keeping Thanksgiving + Day--Howell Cobb's Plantation--The Negroes--A Quaint + Philosopher--Strategy of the March--Howard's Brilliant + Advance--Investment of Savannah--Capture of Fort + McAllister--Fall of Savannah 364 + + + CHAPTER XXV. + + SHERMAN'S STORY OF THE MARCH. + + The Soldier's Modest Narration of his Arduous Deeds--Why + the March was Decided Upon--Operations around Savannah-- + Material Results of the Campaign--Handsome Tributes to the + Officers and Men of his Army 394 + + + CHAPTER XXVI. + + THE CAROLINA CAMPAIGN. + + In the Cradle of Secession--The Occupation and Destruction of + Columbia--Reprisals Against Wade Hampton: Men--Arrival at + Goldsboro--Summing up the Results of the Northward March-- + Work Accomplished by the Engineers 422 + + + CHAPTER XXVII. + + THE END OF THE WAR. + + Lincoln, Grant and Sherman at City Point--Surrender of Lee-- + Murder of Lincoln--Negotiations with Johnston--Stanton's + Disapproval--An Outcry Against Sherman--The Grand Review-- + Sherman's Refusal to Shake Hands with Stanton--Farewell + Address to the Army 435 + + + CHAPTER XXVIII. + + THE DUTIES OF PEACE. + + Aiding the Pacific Railroad--A Fool's Errand to Mexico-- + Political Intrigues at Washington--The Tenure of Office + Affair--Work Among the Indians--A Trip to Europe--The + Belknap Scandal--Sherman's Speech on Military Honor-- + Travels in the Northwest--Yellowstone Park--Writing His + Memoirs--Life in New York--Death of Mrs. Sherman 449 + + CHAPTER XXIX. + + DEATH AND BURIAL. + + A Fatal Cold--Lingering Between Hope and Fear--The + Last Rally--The End of Life's Campaign--A Son's Sad + Home-Coming--Preparations for the Funeral--Public Tributes + of Respect--The Military Parade in New York--Progress of + the Funeral Train Across the Country--Ceremonies at St. + Louis--The Warrior's Last Encampment by the Side of his + Loved Ones 474 + + + CHAPTER XXX. + + TRIBUTES. + + A National Outburst of Grief--The President's Message to + Congress--The Senate's Memorial Resolutions--Senator + Hawley's Eulogy--A Touching Tribute from a Southern + Senator--Speeches by Senators who were also Soldiers-- + Eloquent Words from Lawrence Barrett--Judge Gresham Recalls + Sherman's Prophetic Words--A Comparison Between Sherman and + Lee--General Slocum's Reminiscences--Chauncey Depew on + Sherman in Social Life 491 + + + CHAPTER XXXI. + + IN MEMORIAM. + + New York's Official Tribute--The Consolidated Stock Exchange-- + The Union League Club--The Republican County Committee--The + Grand Army of the Republic--The Chamber of Commerce--Speech + by the Hon. Carl Schurz--The Ohio Society--Brief Words from + Many Friends 512 + + + CHAPTER XXXII. + + TRAITS AND INCIDENTS. + + His Positive Refusal to be a Presidential Candidate-- + Remembering a California Drummer--Dealing with a Newspaper + at Memphis--Suppressing Praise of Himself at Savannah-- + Confiscating Medicine--The Electoral Commission--His Love + of Music--Excuses for Swearing--A Tribute to his Mother-- + An Incident at Yale--Expressions of Kind Feeling Toward the + South and Toward his Foes 537 + + CHAPTER XXXIII. + + REMINISCENCES. + + Life at the Fifth Avenue Hotel--Ex-President Hayes's + Memories--General Meigs's Tribute--Professor Howe on + Sherman's School Days--A Visit to the Catskills--Sherman + and Joe Johnston--Telling about Resaca--Thinking of + the Sea--Marvellous Versatility--General Rosecrans's + Reminiscences of Sherman at West Point 562 + + + CHAPTER XXXIV. + + SHERMAN'S OWN WORDS. + + Speech at a Clover Club Dinner--A Famous New England Society + Dinner--Teaching Geography in Georgia--Speaking for the + United States--Old Times in Ohio--At a Grand Army National + Encampment--Why he did not March to Augusta--One of + his Last Letters--A Story of Grant--Congratulations to + President Harrison 587 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. + + + GENERAL WM. TECUMSEH SHERMAN (frontispiece), Steel + + MRS. GENERAL SHERMAN, 20 + + SHERMAN'S BIRTHPLACE, 37 + + SHERMAN ENTERING U. S. SENATE, 56 + + HON. JOHN SHERMAN, 73 + + GENERAL JOHN C. FREMONT, 91 + + GENERAL THOMAS' BIVOUAC (after the first day's battle), 109 + + MAJOR-GENERAL O. O. HOWARD, 128 + + MAJOR-GENERAL SLOCUM, 145 + + LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SHERIDAN, 164 + + MAJOR-GENERAL BUTTERFIELD, 181 + + GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN, 200 + + GRANT'S MARCH UPON VICKSBURG, 217 + + ADMIRAL D. D. PORTER, 236 + + BATTLE OF LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, 253 + + SPRAGUE'S BRIGADE PROTECTING SHERMAN'S WAGON TRAIN AT + DECATUR, 272 + + CAPTURING THEIR HEADQUARTERS, 289 + + MAJOR-GENERAL SCHOFIELD, 308 + + MAP OF ATLANTA CAMPAIGN, 317 + + DEATH OF GENERAL J. B. McPHERSON, 325 + + BATTLE OF ATLANTA, 344 + + BATTLE OF ATLANTA--THE CONTEST OF BALD HILL, 361 + + A BIVOUAC AMONG THE GEORGIA PINES, 380 + + MAP OF ATLANTA TO SAVANNAH, 388 + + SHERMAN SENDING HIS LAST TELEGRAM BEFORE CUTTING THE WIRES, 397 + + CAPTURING THE FLAG, 416 + + CAMP OF THE SECOND MASSACHUSETTS--CITY HALL, ATLANTA, 433 + + BATTLE OF EZRA CHURCH, JULY 28TH, 1864, 452 + + THE ROAD FROM McPHERSONVILLE, 469 + + ARMY AND CORPS COMMANDERS OF THE ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE, 488 + + HEAD OF THE PROCESSION COMING DOWN BROADWAY, NEW YORK CITY, 505 + + THE CATAFALQUE PASSING FIFTY-SEVENTH STREET AND BROADWAY, + NEW YORK CITY, 524 + + THE RIDERLESS HORSE, 541 + + GENERAL LEW. WALLACE, 559 + + SHERMAN'S SENTIMENTS APPROVED, 578 + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE SHERMAN FAMILY. + + HONORABLE RANK IN THE MOTHER COUNTRY--EARLY MIGRATION TO NEW + ENGLAND--SETTLING IN THE CONNECTICUT VALLEY--PLAYING AN + IMPORTANT PART AT WOODBURY--LONG TERM OF PUBLIC SERVICE--THE + STODDARDS--A MILITARY MINISTER--SEEKING NEW FORTUNES IN THE + WEST--AN EARLY OHIO JUDGE--THE MOTHER OF GREAT MEN. + + +The artificial law of primogeniture has little effect upon the natural +law of heredity. In nations where the family descent outranks all +other personal or social considerations, degenerate sons--even first +sons--of noble sires are often found, and famous families become +extinct, or worse. In other nations, where descent is scorned, and +the proud individualism of democracy prevails, hereditary genius +appears, and families contribute to the service of society and of the +State generation after generation of great men. Thus human nature +vindicates its disregard of time and places, and establishes itself as +the one immutable factor in the life of the world, albeit changeful, +capricious, and kaleidoscopic. + +In the United States no laws of entail or descent prevail. Yet scarcely +elsewhere in the world, within two centuries and a-half, have there +appeared so many striking instances of worth and greatness made +hereditary. The names that lived at Plymouth and at Massachusetts Bay +in the early sixteen hundreds, live now in the late eighteen hundreds, +in old plantations, or in the greater and newer England that has risen +beyond the Appalachian ranges. With such a name this memoir has to deal. + +The name Sherman is not a common one in England, from which country +the family migrated to America, but where it occurs in that country's +annals it is mentioned with honor and respect. The will of Lord +Stanley, Earl of Derby, dated May 23d, 1521, bears the name of Sir +Henry Sherman as one of its executors. In the time of Henry VIII. one +William Sherman was invested with a knighthood. The Davy manuscripts +relating to the County of Suffolk, which are to be found in the +British Museum, contain much mention of the Shermans of Laxley, who +were the direct progenitors of the American branch of the family. The +direct line of the Laxley Shermans is recorded as follows: Thomas +Sherman, of Laxley; Thomas Sherman, 2d, of Laxley; Thomas Sherman, +3d, gentleman, of Laxley and Stutson, and afterward of Ipswich; John +Sherman, son of Thomas Sherman 2d; William Sherman, eldest son of John. +This William Sherman was born in 1588, and married Mary Lascelles, of +Nottinghamshire. Their son, John Sherman, came to America in 1634, and +settled at Watertown, Massachusetts. He took a prominent part in the +military operations of the infant colony, and was known as Captain +John Sherman; by which title he is distinguished from his cousin John +Sherman, who also lived at Watertown. This Captain John Sherman was the +grandfather of Roger Sherman, famous in American history as one of the +chief signers of the Declaration of Independence. + +[Illustration: MRS. GENERAL SHERMAN.] + +Two brothers, cousins of Captain Sherman, came to America at the same +time with him in 1634. One of these was the Rev. John Sherman, already +mentioned, who became famous throughout the New England colonies as +the most eloquent preacher and most accomplished mathematician and +astronomer of the day. The other was Samuel Sherman, the progenitor +of the illustrious subject of this work. These two brothers soon +removed from Watertown, Mass., to the Valley of the Connecticut, and +thenceforward for several generations the family was conspicuously +identified with that colony. + +In Cothren's "History of Ancient Woodbury," much mention of Samuel +Sherman is to be found. "The Court," says Cothren, "grants Mr. Samuel +Sherman, Lieutenant Wm. Curtice, Ensign Joseph Judson, and John Minor, +themselves and associates, liberty to erect a plantation at Pomperouge; +provided it does not prejudice any former grant to any other plantation +or particular person; provided any other honest inhabitants of +Stratford have liberty to joyne with them in setleing there, and that +they enterteine so many inhabitants as the place will conveniently +enterteine, and that they setle there within the space of three years." +Again, in the same work, appears the following: "In October, 1675, +Wm. Curtiss was appointed by the General Court captain of sixty men +to be raised in Fairfield County, to serve in King Philip's war, with +power to appoint his inferior officers. In May, 1676, when the people +of Woodbury were at Stratford, on account of this war, he and Mr. +Samuel Sherman were appointed Commissioners for Stratford and Woodbury. +Intimately associated with Captain Curtiss in all that related to +the welfare of the new town, was the Hon. Samuel Sherman. He was, +at the date of its settlement, undoubtedly the most distinguished +man connected with the enterprise. He was from Dedham, Essex County, +England. He came to this country in 1634, and previous to the date +of the new plantation, had been a leading man in the colony. He had +assisted in the settlement of several other towns in the colony, and +now undertook the same for Woodbury." + +Samuel Sherman died in 1682, leaving a son, John Sherman, who became +the leading man of Woodbury and one of the most conspicuous citizens +of the colony. Beginning in 1684, he was for forty-four years an +Associate County Court Judge; for seventeen sessions a Representative +in the Legislature; for two terms Speaker of the Law House; for +twenty-five years Town Clerk; and for nine years Judge of Probate for +the District of Woodbury, beginning with the organization of that +Court in 1719. A direct descendant of John Sherman was Daniel Sherman, +of whom it is recorded that on November 17th, 1774, he was Moderator +of a great town meeting at Woodbury, held to take into consideration +measures for carrying into effect the "Resolves of the late General +Congress," and of the House of Representatives of Connecticut, one of +which resolves was to have no dealing with the "foes to ye Rights of +British America." On September 19th, 1775, another mass-meeting of +the people of Woodbury was held, at which a "Committee of Inspection" +was appointed, consisting of thirty members. The heads of this +committee were Daniel Sherman and Gideon Stoddard, who held their +places during the entire War of the Revolution. Again, at a similar +meeting held on April 3d, 1777, Daniel Sherman was chosen Moderator +and it was "Voted, that the selectmen in this town, for the time +being, be a committee, as is specified in the Resolve issued by his +honor, the Governor and Committee of Safety, dated March the 18th, +1777, to take care of such soldiers' Famelys as shall Inlist into the +Continental army." This order was given by the Governor with the advice +and consent of the Council of Safety, which Council was appointed +annually by the Assembly and consisted of from nine to fourteen of +the most distinguished men in the colony, whose duty it was to assist +the Governor when the Assembly was not in session. Daniel Sherman +represented Woodbury in this Council for four years, beginning in May, +1777; and another member of the Council was his kinsman, Roger Sherman. + +To quote again from Cothren's history: "Daniel Sherman was perhaps the +most distinguished man that had arisen in the town to his day. He was +a descendant of Samuel Sherman, of Stratford, was a Justice of the +Quorum for twenty-five years, and Judge of the Litchfield County Court +five years, from 1786. For sixteen years he was Probate Clerk for the +District of Woodbury, and Judge of that District thirty-seven years. +He represented his native town in the General Assembly sixty-five +sessions. This was by far the longest period of time any one has ever +represented the town. He was of commanding powers of mind, of sterling +integrity, and every way qualified for the various public trusts +confided to his care. His son, Taylor Sherman, the fifth from Samuel, +was married in 1787 to Elizabeth Stoddard, the great grand-daughter +of the parson who shot one Indian after church on Sunday and another +before breakfast the next morning. He lived and died as a lawyer and +judge in Norwalk, Connecticut. He was one of those who went West to +arrange a treaty with the Indians in 1808, and the same year came to +Ohio again to make a partition of the Fire Lands. He died in May, 1815, +and his widow came to Ohio, and died in Mansfield, in 1848." + +The Stoddard family, which became closely allied with the Shermans, +demand some notice here. Their American progenitor, Anthony Stoddard, +came from the West of England to Boston in 1638 or 1639. His first +wife was Mary, daughter of the Hon. Samuel Downing, of Salem, and +sister of Sir George, afterwards Lord George Downing. Solomon Stoddard, +a son of Anthony, was graduated at Harvard College in 1662 and ten +years later was settled as minister at Northhampton, Mass. His son, +Anthony, was graduated at Harvard in 1697, and settled at Woodbury, +Conn. The first wife of this second Anthony Stoddard was Prudence +Wells, and his second, Mary Sherman. The great grand-daughter of +Anthony Stoddard and Prudence Wells, Elizabeth Stoddard has already +been mentioned as the wife of the Hon. Taylor Sherman, the grandfather +of the subject of this work. + +Anthony Stoddard was for sixty years minister of the church at +Woodbury, at the same time a successful lawyer and physician, and for +forty years Clerk of Probate for the District of Woodbury. One Sabbath +evening during the French and Indian war, it is related, while walking +in his garden after the services at church, the Rev. Anthony Stoddard +discovered an Indian skulking with hostile intent among the trees +and bushes near by. Without seeming to notice the movements of the +intruder, he managed to return to his house and obtain his gun. Going +back to the garden he crept to within easy range, took careful aim and +fired and the Indian fell dead. He then gave the alarm to his neighbors +who barricaded themselves within their houses and kept guard for the +night. The next morning Mr. Stoddard observed another Indian near his +house, and shot and killed him also. + +Both the Shermans and Stoddards were strict Presbyterians, and of +Mrs. Taylor Sherman (Elizabeth Stoddard) it is related that she could +never be induced to enter a church of any other denomination. "She +always made us stand around," says one of her grand-children. "Her +will was law. I could coax mother to let me do as I pleased, but never +grandmother." + +Judge Taylor Sherman, as already recorded, went to Ohio as a +commissioner to survey and apportion the Fire Lands. The State of +Connecticut ceded to the National Government in 1786 her claim to a +part of the great western domain, but reserved a considerable district +in what is now northern Ohio, which is even still known as the "Western +Reserve." Half a million acres of this, known as the Fire Lands, and +comprising the present counties of Huron and Erie, were to be divided +among the people of Norwich, Norwalk, New London and other Connecticut +towns whose houses had been burned by Generals Arnold, Tryon and other +British raiders, to indemnify them for their losses. Judge Taylor +Sherman received two sections of land in Ohio to pay him for his work +as commissioner, and was much impressed by that country's prospects of +future greatness. He, however, returned to Norwalk, where he died in +1815; after which the remainder of his family migrated to Ohio. His +wife and daughter went to Mansfield, where the latter married Judge +Parker; one of his sons, Daniel, settled at Monroeville as a farmer; +and of the other son, Charles R. Sherman, some more extended notice is +necessary. + +Charles R. Sherman was born in 1790, and during his early life lived +in Norwalk, Conn., of which place he was a conspicuous citizen. He was +married to Mary Hoyt, a member of a numerous and influential family, +who were among the first settlers of Norwalk. Mr. Sherman was admitted +to the bar in 1810, and during the administration of President Monroe +was appointed Collector of Internal Revenue. While he held this office +two of his deputies defaulted for large amounts, and as he was +responsible for them, almost his entire fortune was taken to make good +the loss. From this financial embarrassment he never fully recovered; +but the incident had a most important effect upon the future history +of the family, and indeed it is to this turn in affairs, apparently +so disastrous, that the subsequent prosperity and greatness of the +Shermans may be directly traced. + +Charles R. Sherman, being thus apparently ruined by his rascally +subordinates, determined to seek new fortunes in the Western country +of which his father had given such a glowing account. He at first +intended to settle at Zanesville, Ohio, but finally selected Lancaster, +in Fairfield County. Having established himself there as a lawyer, he +returned to Norwalk for his wife, who meanwhile had become the mother +of their first-born, Charles Taylor Sherman. Then, in 1811, he and his +wife set out on horseback for Ohio, he carrying their infant child on +a pillow on the saddle before him. After a weary and perilous journey, +largely through a wilderness, they reached the village of Lancaster and +there made their new home. By lovers of curious co-incidences it will +be observed with interest that Sir Henry Sherman, the first English +Sherman mentioned, was a resident of the County of Lancaster, England. + +Mr. Sherman rapidly rose to eminence in Ohio as a painstaking and +trustworthy counsellor at law and a most eloquent and forcible +advocate. He also maintained the reputation of his family for earnest +and practical piety. It is told that, failing one Saturday night to +reach the place where Court was to be held on Monday, he, in company +with several other eminent lawyers, resolved, out of regard to the day +of rest, to remain at the small town where they were over Sunday. +There was no minister of the Gospel in that place and so Mr. Sherman, +who was then Judge of the Supreme Court, was selected to preach a +sermon and conduct other religious exercises, which he did with great +acceptability. + +At the age of thirty-five, Mr. Sherman was made by the Ohio Legislature +a Judge of the Supreme Court. It was an honorable position, and offered +prospect of a brilliant future. He did not occupy it long, however. +While on the bench at Lebanon he was stricken with sudden illness, +and died on June 24th, 1829, being then only forty-one years old. His +salary had been small and he had been able to save almost nothing. His +widow therefore, was left practically penniless, with eleven children +to care for, the oldest eighteen years of age, and the youngest six +weeks. This was a desperate situation indeed. But Mary Hoyt Sherman was +not the woman to be daunted. She addressed herself to the training and +education of her children with energy, patience and prayer, and was +remarkably successful in her arduous work. From four of her children +she was for a time partially separated in order that they might enjoy +the advantages offered to them by kind relatives and friends. Two of +them were thus taken into the family of their aunt, Mrs. Parker, one +into the family of the Hon. Thomas Ewing and one into the family of +her kinsman, John Sherman, a merchant of Mount Vernon, Ohio. The last +mentioned child was John Sherman, who has since become one of the +foremost of American statesmen, while the ward of Mr. Ewing was William +T. Sherman, whose famous career we are now about to consider. + +The Hoyt family were Episcopalians, but Mrs. Charles Sherman, on +going to the West, found there no church of that denomination, and +accordingly attached herself to the Presbyterian Church, of which her +husband was a member. Later in life she had an opportunity to return to +the Episcopal Church, and remained in its communion until her death, +in 1852. She was a woman of quiet and unobtrusive, but most earnest +piety. In manner she was courtly and affable, and in temper calm and +placid. She had, however, a strong will and great energy. These latter +traits were inherited by her illustrious sons, and indeed it is to her +example, precepts and untiring labors that we must largely attribute +their sterling characters, and the great success which they have +achieved in their widely differing life works. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +BOYHOOD AND CADETSHIP. + + WHY HE WAS NAMED TECUMSEH--HIS ADOPTION BY MR. EWING--CHARACTER + IN BOYHOOD--WORK AS A SURVEYOR--APPOINTMENT TO A CADETSHIP-- + FROM LANCASTER TO WEST POINT--"OLD HICKORY"--LETTERS TO HIS + SWEETHEART--A YOUTHFUL PHILOSOPHER--CHARACTER AND STANDING AS A + CADET. + + +William Tecumseh Sherman was the sixth of the eleven children of Judge +Charles R. Sherman, and John Sherman, the great Senator and national +financier, the eighth. It is related that the distinctive family names +had been exhausted upon the first five children, and when the sixth +was born, perplexity arose as to how he was to be christened. William +was presently adopted, but the father was not satisfied with it alone. +Another must be chosen, and it must be a warrior's name; for, said the +Judge, "likely enough this little chap will be a fighter." Finally +Judge Sherman determined to call his baby by the name of Tecumseh, +the illustrious Shawnee warrior and statesman, who had been killed in +battle some seven years before. This Indian chief was well-known in +that part of Ohio, and had often saved the lives of settlers there and +averted bloodshed by his wise counsels and peaceful influence, and it +was in fact more because of these benign features than on account of +his powers in war that Judge Sherman admired him and gave his name to +the boy. + +Our hero was born at Lancaster, Ohio, on February 8th, 1820, and was +consequently nine years old when his father fell a victim to Asiatic +cholera. Little is to be recorded of those early years. They were spent +in the customary manner of childhood, modified in a measure by the +breezy, vigorous life of the sparsely settled frontier community, and +cherished tenderly by a fond father and mother. When the catastrophe of +death broke the family circle, "Cump" was a merry, active, bright-eyed, +red-haired boy, fonder of play than of work or study, but truthful and +trustworthy beyond a doubt. + +And what now? The members of the bar who had been associated with Judge +Sherman saw clearly that the widow could not properly care for all +those eleven children, and they felt that it would be a privilege to +aid her. The foremost of them, Thomas Ewing, a lawyer and statesman of +national reputation, was quick to act. "I will adopt one of the boys," +he said; and forthwith he proceeded to the stricken home and laid his +offer before Mrs. Sherman. He was a distant relative as well as a warm +friend of the family, and Mrs. Sherman, with mingled grief and joy, +accepted his proposition. But which boy should he take? "I must have +the smartest of the lot," said Mr. Ewing. "Well," replied the mother, +"come and look at them and take your pick." So they went out to where +the children were at play, but Mr. Ewing was undecided. "They all look +alike to me," he said. But the mother and her eldest daughter soon +made the choice. "Take 'Cump,' Mr. Ewing," they said; "he's by far the +smartest." So Mr. Ewing picked up the nine-years-old urchin from where +he was playing on a sand bank, and took him away in his carriage to +a new home. "He ever after treated me as his own son," wrote General +Sherman of his adopted father in later years; and indeed the boy soon +won the hearts of all the Ewings, so that they loved him as much as +though he belonged to them by birth instead of by adoption. + +For seven years thereafter "Cump" was a member of the Ewing household, +and attended the local school at Lancaster. He ranked high in his +classes and was generally regarded as a promising boy. "There was +nothing specially remarkable about him," Mr. Ewing wrote in later +years, "excepting that I never knew so young a boy who could do an +errand so correctly and promptly as he did. He was transparently +honest, faithful and reliable. Studious and correct in his habits, his +progress in education was steady and substantial." + +One other thing, however, is to be recorded of these years. Mr. Ewing +had a pretty little daughter, named Nellie, who was "Cump's" favorite +playmate and upon whom "Cump" untiringly lavished all the chivalric +attention of his boyhood. She was his sister by adoption, but even in +these early years the boy seemed to hope that one day she would be more +than a sister to him. And when he left home, at the age of sixteen, +his adieus to her were more tender and more reluctant than to all the +others. + +One incident of his boyhood life deserves to be recorded. In 1834 he +was large and strong for his age, and fond of labor and adventure. +Canal construction was then being greatly pushed in Ohio, and it was +planned to build one from the great Ohio Canal at Carroll, eight miles +from Lancaster, and run down the Hocking Valley to Athens and thence +to the Ohio River. A Mr. Carpenter, of Lancaster, had charge of the +preliminary surveys, and recruited his force of assistants from among +the youth of that town. Young Sherman was delighted at the opportunity +for serious work and adventure, and rejoiced when he was chosen +together with three other boys from his school. He was appointed a +rod-man. They worked during the fall of 1834 and spring of 1835, laying +out two experimental lines for the canal, and each boy received half a +dollar in silver for each day's work. This was the first money young +Sherman ever earned. + +Mr. Ewing was now United States Senator, and had within his gift an +appointment to a cadetship at West Point. During the fall of 1835 and +spring of 1836, Sherman devoted himself chiefly to grammar, geography +and mathematics, in which studies he would have to be examined +to enter the Military Academy. In the spring of 1836 he received +his appointment. Mrs. Ewing provided him with a liberal outfit of +clothes, etc., and on May 20th he left Lancaster in a stage coach for +Zanesville. There he took passage on a coach on the Great National +Road. Three days later he reached Frederick, Maryland, whence there +was a steam railroad to Washington. But he was afraid of this strange +device, and continued his journey by coach. When he got to Washington +he put up for the night at Gadsby's Hotel, and next morning hunted up +Senator Ewing. The latter lived in a boarding house, and to that house +young Sherman removed at once, for the week which he was to spend at +the Capitol. He saw more of Washington in that week than he ever saw in +his many subsequent visits. "Old Hickory" Jackson was then President, +and at the height of his fame. Sherman spent a full hour gazing at him +with boyish awe through the picket fence that surrounded the White +House grounds. Jackson was pacing up and down the gravel walks within. +"He wore a cap," says Sherman, "and an overcoat so full that his form +seemed smaller than I had expected. I also remember Postmaster-General +Amos Kendall, Vice President Van Buren, Messrs. Calhoun, Webster, Clay, +Cass, Silas Wright," etc. + +From Washington he went by rail to Baltimore, thence by boat to Havre +de Grace, by rail to Wilmington, Delaware, and by boat to Philadelphia. +Thence by boat to Bordentown, New Jersey, by rail over the old Camden +and Amboy railroad to Amboy, and by boat to New York. He spent a week +with his uncle on Brooklyn Heights, and with another relative on White +Street, New York, and then took passage on the steamboat "Cornelius +Vanderbilt," up the Hudson, to West Point, where he was duly entered +as a cadet. West Point was not as large a school then as now. But the +routine of military discipline and instruction was fully established, +very much as it has remained ever since. Colonel R. E. De Russy was the +Superintendent, and Major John Fowle, Commandant of Cadets. The chief +members of the faculty were: Professors Mahan, engineering; Bartlett, +natural philosophy; Bailey, chemistry; Church, mathematics; Weir, +drawing; and Berard, French. That was in June, 1836. In the summer of +1838 he had a vacation of two months, which he gladly spent with the +Ewings. With that exception, he was absent from Lancaster and present +at West Point continuously until his graduation in June 1840. His +scholastic career was not unlike that in the school at Lancaster. He +stood high, but not highest, in his class. There were forty-two men in +that class, Sherman ranked sixth. George H. Thomas was twelfth. Other +members were R. S. Ewell, Stewart Van Vliet, Bushrod R. Johnson, George +W. Getty, William Hays and Thomas Jordan. + +By far the most interesting feature of his cadet life was the +correspondence he maintained with Miss Ellen Ewing. More +characteristic letters were never penned. Years afterward the stern +War Secretary, Stanton, perusing his vigorous letters from the front, +declared that Sherman wrote as well as he fought. These earlier +epistles were a fitting prelude to the more serious writings of after +years. They were sprightly and vivacious, touched with humor, often +eccentric, sometimes inclining to egotism, but always intensely earnest +and decidedly vigorous. He was not as much a lover of "society" then as +in his later life, for on one occasion he wrote: "We have two or three +dancing parties each week, at which the gray bobtail is a sufficient +recommendation for an introduction to any one. You can well conceive +how the cadets have always had the reputation, and have still, here in +the East, of being great gallants and ladies' men. God only knows how +I will sustain that reputation." As he got nearer and nearer to the +actual army, he was more and more impressed with the responsibilities +that would be placed upon him, and he almost shrank from them. One day +in 1839 he wrote of himself: "Bill is very much elated at the idea of +getting free of West Point next June. He does not intend remaining in +the army more than a year, then to resign and study law, probably. +No doubt you admire this choice; but to speak plainly and candidly, +I would rather be a blacksmith. Indeed, the nearer we come to that +dreadful epoch, graduation day, the higher opinion I conceive of the +duties and life of an officer of the United States Army, and the more +confirmed in the wish of spending my life in the service of my country. +Think of that!" + +The commonest topics in his letters, however, related to the practical +details of life. "The last encampment," he once wrote, "taken all in +all, I think was the most pleasant one I have ever spent, even to me, +who did not participate in the dances and balls given every week +by the different classes; besides the duties were of altogether a +different nature from any previous ones, such as acting as officers +upon guard and at artillery drills, practicing at target-firing with +long twenty-fours and thirty-twos, mortars, howitzers, etc., as also +cavalry exercise, which has been introduced this year." He was not slow +in taking to the knack of command. "As to lording it over the plebs, to +which you referred, I had only one, whom I made, of course, 'tend to +a pleb's duty, such as bringing water, policing the tent, cleaning my +gun and accoutrements, and the like, and repaid in the usual and cheap +coin--advice; and since we have commenced studying, I make him 'bone,' +and explain to him the difficult parts of algebra and the French +grammar, since he is a good one and a fine fellow; but should he not +carry himself straight, I should have him 'found' in January and sent +off, that being the usual way in such cases, and then take his bed, +table and chair, to pay for the Christmas spree." + +Sherman had already learned to do his own thinking, in politics and +other matters, and he was not at all backward in revealing that fact +to his fair correspondent. He gravely discussed the most important +National topics, and hesitated not to express radical and positive +opinions. His foster-father, Mr. Ewing, was a Whig, but the bumptious +cadet did not approve of that party. In the Presidential campaign of +1840, when Mr. Ewing was laboring hard for the election of William +Henry Harrison, Sherman wrote to Miss Ewing: "You, no doubt, are not +only firmly impressed, but absolutely certain, that General Harrison +will be our next President. For my part, though, of course, but a +'superficial observer,' I do not think there is the least hope of such +a change, since his friends have thought proper to envelope his name +with log-cabins, ginger-bread, hard-cider and such humbugging, the sole +object of which plainly is to deceive and mislead his ignorant and +prejudiced, though honest, fellow citizens; whilst his qualifications, +his honesty, his merits and services are merely alluded to!" + +Nor was he overawed by the superior attainments of his instructors, +and of the Examining Board. Rather did he seem to regard the "Board +of Visitors" as subjects for him to examine and criticise. "There +is but little doubt," he wrote, "of the Board being nearly as well +selected as circumstances would admit of. Party seems to have had no +influence whatever, and, for my part, I am very glad of it. I hope +that our Army, Navy, and the Military Academy, may never be affected +by the party rancor which has for some time past, and does now, so +materially injure other institutions." Again he wrote: "I presume you +have seen the register of cadets for the last year, and remarked that +I still maintain a good standing in my class; and if it were not for +that column of demerits it would still be better, for they are combined +with proficiency in study to make out the standing in general merit. +In fact, this year, as well as the last, in studies alone, I have been +among the stars--" meaning among the first five in the class. "I fear +I have a difficult part to act for the next three years," he wrote, as +graduation day approached, "because I am almost confident that your +father's wishes and intentions will clash with my inclinations. In +the first place, I think he wishes me to strive and graduate in the +Engineer Corps. This I can't do. Next to resign and become a civil +engineer.... Whilst I propose and intend to go into the infantry, +be stationed in the Far West, out of the reach of what is termed +civilization, and there remain as long as possible." + +[Illustration: SHERMAN'S BIRTHPLACE, LANCASTER, OHIO.] + +In June, 1840, he received his diploma. The class had originally +numbered more than one hundred, but had been reduced to forty-three. In +reviewing, from the point of view of maturer years, his life at West +Point, General Sherman wrote: "At the Academy I was not considered +a good soldier, for at no time was I selected for any office, but +remained a private throughout the whole four years. Then, as now, +neatness in dress and form, with a strict conformity to the rules, +were the qualifications required for office, and I suppose I was found +not to excel in any of these. In studies I always held a respectable +reputation with the professors, and generally ranked among the best, +especially in drawing, chemistry, mathematics and natural philosophy. +My average demerits, per annum, were about one hundred and fifty, which +reduced my final class standing from number four to number six." + +It is of interest to observe that Sherman's rank at West Point was +higher than that of Grant, who was graduated three years later. Grant +stood twenty-first in his class. In the details of engineering and of +deportment, especially, Sherman surpassed his illustrious comrade. But +from this fact no moral may profitably be drawn, except that of Mr. +Toots, that such "grades" are of no consequence whatever. For many of +those who far outranked both Grant and Sherman at the school, remained +in after life unknown to fame. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +EARLY MILITARY DUTIES. + + WINDING UP THE SEMINOLE WAR--COMEDY AND TRAGEDY IN THE FLORIDA + WILDERNESS--THE CAPTURE OF COACOOCHEE--SERVICE AT FORT + MOULTRIE--GETTING ACQUAINTED WITH THE SCENE OF HIS GREATEST + CAMPAIGN--SECESSION TALK--OUTBREAK OF THE MEXICAN WAR--REBUKED + FOR TOO MUCH ZEAL--THE LONG VOYAGE TO CALIFORNIA--ARRIVAL AT + MONTEREY. + + +Immediately after his graduation at West Point, in June, 1840, Sherman +received the usual leave of absence of three months. He hastened back +to Lancaster, eager to be with Miss Ewing again, and spent most of +the furlough there, visiting his relatives at Mansfield for a short +time. Presently he received an appointment and commission as Second +Lieutenant in the Third Artillery, and was ordered to report for duty +at Governor's Island, New York, at the end of September. On going +thither he was assigned by Major Justin Dimock, who commanded the +recruiting rendezvous, to take charge of a company of recruits about +to sail for Florida. Early in October this company, with three others, +sailed for Savannah under command of Captain and Brevet Major Penrose. +At Savannah they were transferred to a small steamer which took them by +the inland route to St. Augustine, Florida. General Worth arrived at +St. Augustine at the same time with the Eighth Infantry, and General +Zachary Taylor had then the chief command in Florida, with headquarters +at Tampa. + +Sherman was now detached from the company of recruits, which belonged +to the Second Infantry, and sent to join his own regiment at Fort +Pierce, on the Indian River. He went thither by steamer and anchored +off the bar of Indian River. A whale boat came out and took him and +his baggage with the mails through the surf over the bar, and into the +mouth of Indian River Inlet. There he was transferred to a smaller +boat and pulled through a channel among the Mangrove Islands. It was +now night and thousands of pelicans and other birds were roused from +their roosts on the islands, while the water about them swarmed with +fish which could be seen in the phosphoric wake of the boat. The pilot +entertained Sherman with many stories of the Indian War, which was then +in progress, and of hunting and fishing in the Florida wilderness. +Thus they made their way up to Fort Pierce, which was situated on a +sand bluff. There were six or seven log houses thatched with palmetto +leaves, for the officers quarters, and large log barracks for the men. +Sherman was at once assigned to service with Company A, commanded by +Lieutenant Taylor. + +No Indian fighting was at this time in progress, so Sherman spent a +part of his time hunting, and fishing with the pilot who brought him +up the river. Thus he learned the arts of shark spearing, trolling +for red fish, and taking sheep's head and mullet, which were found +there in great abundance. He also caught many green turtles in nets, +these animals being so common that the soldiers actually grew tired of +eating them and preferred salt beef. In November, however, operations +against the Indians began. This work consisted chiefly in capturing +scattered fragments of the Seminole tribe and sending them on to the +Indian Territory. The expeditions were mostly made in boats, and there +was seldom much fighting. One day, however, several Indian warriors +were killed. One of the soldiers, Sergeant Broderick, was so elated +at his skill in shooting an Indian, that on returning to the post he +got very drunk. While in this condition he became too attentive to the +wife of one of his comrades, and the injured husband, a half-witted +man, appealed to Lieutenant Taylor for protection. Taylor carelessly +replied: "Haven't you got a musket? Can't you defend your own family?" +An hour later the husband actually did shoot and kill Broderick. For +this he was arrested and sent to St. Augustine, Lieutenant Taylor and +the pilot, Ashlock, going along as witnesses. + +About a month later, Ashlock re-appeared in his old boat with two +uncommonly pretty women, aged about fourteen and eighteen respectively. +They were sisters, and the elder was introduced as Mrs. Ashlock. The +pilot had met and married her during the progress of the murder trial +at St. Augustine. Soon after, Ashlock, leaving the ladies at the Fort, +started back with the whale boat across the bar. In crossing the bar +the boat was upset by the surf, and Ashlock and all his crew but one +man were drowned, Ashlock himself, strangely enough, being unable to +swim. The bereaved ladies were courteously cared for by the officers, +and presently returned to St. Augustine. Sherman afterward met these +ladies again at St. Augustine, and yet again he saw the younger one +many years later at Charleston, South Carolina. She was then happily +married to an army officer, who had a fad for inventing new guns, etc., +upon which Sherman did not look with much favor; he was bothered with +too many would-be geniuses. And thus ended this romance of the Florida +wilderness. + +One day in the summer of 1841 a number of Indians came to the post +accompanied by a negro named Joe, who spoke English. They said they +had been sent in by the famous Seminole Chief, Coacoochee, or Wild +Cat, and showed a passport signed by General Worth who had succeeded +General Taylor in supreme command at Tampa. They said that Coacoochee +himself was close by and would come to the post "if it was all right." +Major Childs said it was all right, and sent Sherman with eight or ten +mounted men to accompany Joe, and one Indian, to bring in the great +chief. Six or seven miles away they found Coacoochee, a handsome young +Indian of twenty-five years, and a dozen other warriors, and invited +them to go to the Fort. They had some little difficulty in persuading +them to do so, but finally Coacoochee dressed himself in all his finery +and went to the Fort. There he said he was tired of the war and wanted +to go with his people to the Indian Territory, but he wanted rations +for a month, which time it would take to get his people together for +the journey. This was agreed to and then the great chief got gloriously +drunk. A few days later he went away, but frequently sent back +messengers for more whiskey and provisions. At the end of the month he +was but little nearer ready to travel than before. + +A council was accordingly called, at which Coacoochee became drunk +again. Then Sherman and some of his men put the whole party in irons, +and they were promptly shipped off to the Indian Territory. Among +Sherman's associates were Lieutenants Ransom, Ord, George H. Thomas, +Field, and Van Vliet, all of whom afterward attained distinction. + +Writing from Fort Pierce in 1841, Sherman gave this sketch of his +existence there: "Books we have few, but it is no use--we cannot read +any but the lightest trash; and even the newspapers, which you would +suppose we would devour, require a greater effort of mind to reach +than we possess. We attribute it to the climate, and bring up these +lazy native Minorcans as examples, and are satisfied. Yet, of course, +we must do something, however little.... The Major and I have a parcel +of chickens in which we have, by competition, taken enough interest to +take up a few minutes of the day; besides I have a little fawn to play +with, and crows, a crane, etc., and if you were to enter my room you +would doubt whether it was the abode of man or beasts. In one corner is +a hen, setting; in another, some crows, roosted on bushes; the other is +a little bed of bushes for the little fawn; whilst in the fourth is my +bucket, washbasin, glass, etc. So you see it is three to one." Again: +"I have yet more pets than any bachelor in the country--innumerable +chickens, tame pigeons, white rabbits and a full-blooded Indian +pony--rather small matters for a man to deal with, you doubtless think, +but it is far better to spend time in trifles, such as these, than in +drinking or gambling." + +Life in Florida did not lessen his fancy for the Western frontier. +"We hear that the new Secretary of War intends proposing to the next +Congress to raise two rifle regiments for the Western service. As you +are in Washington I presume you can learn whether it is so or not, for +I should like to go in such a regiment, if stationed in the Far West; +not that I am the least displeased with my present berth, but when the +regiment goes North, it will, in all likelihood, be stationed in the +vicinity of some city, from which, God spare me." Lieutenant Sherman +prided himself on his downright way of saying things, and in one of +his letters he wrote: "If you have any regard for my feelings, don't +say the word 'insinuation' again. You may abuse me as much as you +please; but I'd prefer, of the two, to be accused of telling a direct +falsehood than stating anything evasively or underhand; and if I have +ever been guilty of such a thing it was unintentionally." + +On November 30th, 1841, Sherman was promoted to be First Lieutenant of +Company G, and was ordered on duty at St. Augustine, which place he +reached before Christmas. He had a pleasant time there, but in February +he was sent on to Fort Morgan, Mobile Bay, Alabama. There he remained +until June, when he was ordered to Charleston, South Carolina. There he +remained at Fort Moultrie for nearly five years. His life there was one +of strict garrison duty, with plenty of leisure for hunting and social +entertainment. He formed many pleasant acquaintances in Charleston, +especially among wealthy families, who spent the Summer on Sullivan's +Island. + +His duties and pleasures, did not, however, alienate him from the +sweetheart of his boyhood, for he kept up as frequent and interesting +a correspondence with Miss Ewing as he had done at West Point. In the +summer of 1863 he got a leave of absence for three months and spent +that time with her at Lancaster. In November of that year he set out +to return to Charleston by way of New Orleans. Part of the way he +travelled with Henry Stanbery, afterward Attorney General of the United +States. At Cincinnati he spent some time with his two brothers, who +were employed in the _Gazette_ printing office. He spent a week at +St. Louis, visiting the arsenal and Jefferson Barracks, and was much +impressed with the future possibilities of the city, which then had +only about 40,000 inhabitants. + +So he returned to Charleston, and there he was a busy student, +concerning himself chiefly with observations of the country from a +professional point of view. Says Mr. Reid in his "Ohio in the War": +"Nothing could more strikingly exhibit the foundations of that +wonderful knowledge of the topography and resources of the South which +was afterwards to prove so valuable, than this scrap of a letter to +Philemon Ewing: 'Every day I feel more and more in need of an atlas, +such as your father has at home; and as the knowledge of geography, in +its minutest details, is essential to a true military education, the +idle time necessarily spent here might be properly devoted to it. I +wish, therefore you would procure for me the best geography and atlas +(not school) extant.'" Writing from Fort Moultrie he said: "Since my +return I have not been running about in the city or the island, as +heretofore, but have endeavored to interest myself in Blackstone. I +have read all four volumes, Starkie on 'Evidence,' and other books, +semi-legal and semi-historical, and would be obliged if you would give +me a list of such books as you were required to read, not including +your local or State law. I intend to read the second and third volumes +of 'Blackstone' again; also 'Kent's Commentaries,' which seem, as far +as I am capable of judging, to be the basis of the common law practice. +This course of study I have adopted from feeling the want of it in the +duties to which I was lately assigned.... I have no idea of making the +law a profession; but as an officer of the army, it is my duty and +interest to be prepared for any situation that fortune or luck may +offer. It is for this alone that I prepare and not for professional +practice." + +Soon after getting back to Charleston he was assigned to duty in the +upper part of Georgia and Alabama, and on this errand he travelled +over the region in which, many years later, he conducted one of his +greatest campaigns. Thus he acquired knowledge which was afterward of +incalculable value to him and to the National Government. + +In the winter of 1844-45, he was on a deer hunting expedition on +the Carolina coast, and got his right arm thrown out of joint by an +accident. Being thus disabled he got a leave of absence and went North, +going as usual to the centre of attraction at Lancaster. In March he +returned to Fort Moultrie, just at the time when Congress provided for +the annexation of Texas and war with Mexico was expected. He remained +at Fort Moultrie, however, for some time longer. Charleston was then a +proud, aristocratic city, and considered itself a most important place +in the Union. There was already much talk about the right of secession +and there were often angry controversies over the subject, even at the +officers' own mess-tables. But Sherman at this time had no idea that +such talk would ever go further than it had already gone in 1832-33, +when "Nullification" was so promptly stamped out by President Jackson +and General Scott. + +In the spring of 1846 Sherman was at Fort Moultrie, under the command +of Captain, afterward General, Robert Anderson. Among other officers +there at the time were Henry B. Judd, George B. Ayres, William Gates, +Martin Burke, E. D. Keyes, T. W. Sherman, H. B. Field and Joseph +Stewart. George H. Thomas and John F. Reynolds had already gone on to +join General Taylor's army in Texas. In April, Sherman was sent to +Governor's Island, New York, and thence to the recruiting station at +Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Soon after this he received authority to open +a recruiting station at Zanesville, Ohio, to his great delight, for +Lancaster and Miss Ewing were only thirty-six miles away. + +When news arrived of the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma +he became much excited at the prospect of actual war and hurried back +to Pittsburgh. There he found a letter from his friend Ord, then at +Baltimore, saying that his company had just received orders to go to +California and urging him to go also. Sherman at once wrote to the +Adjutant-General, at Washington, D. C., applying for active service. +Then, in his impatience and without authority, he left a corporal in +charge of his office and hastened to Cincinnati. There he reported to +Colonel Fanning, a veteran officer, and asked to be sent on to the +front. But Fanning, instead of appreciating the young soldier's zeal, +gave him a hearty scoring for leaving his post without orders, and told +him to get back to Pittsburgh as quickly as he could. Sherman obeyed, +but of course stopped off at Lancaster on the way. He arrived at +Pittsburgh late in June and found there awaiting him an order relieving +him from the recruiting service and assigning him to Company F, then +under orders for California. He made up his accounts, turned over the +balance of cash to the physician, and in a few hours was on his way to +New York where his company was already aboard ship and ready to sail +for California by the way of Cape Horn. + +Sherman and his fellow officers went aboard on July 14th, 1846, and set +off on their long voyage. The "Lexington" was an old ship, formerly a +sloop of war but now a store ship. Sherman and Ord roomed together. +On the voyage they drilled the men as thoroughly as possible. They +amused themselves with various games, but no gambling was allowed. +On "crossing the line" a few of the greenhorns were put through the +usual ceremonies, but the officers were exempted. In sixty days they +reached Rio Janeiro, where they had a jolly time for a week. Sherman's +companion in his rambles about town was Lieutenant, afterward General +Halleck. They saw the Emperor and his family. Their first supper in the +city was a sumptuous meal and the bill footed up to 26,000 reis. This +sum staggered them, until they found out that it meant only about $16. + +From Rio they proceeded to Cape Horn, which they rounded in very rough +weather, and in sixty days reached Valparaiso, where they remained ten +days. About the middle of January they neared the California coast, +which they had to approach cautiously because no trustworthy charts +were then in existence. They made their landing at Monterey, and there +learned that the Californians had broken out into an insurrection, +that the fleet under Commodore Stockton was down the coast near San +Diego, that General Kearney had been defeated in battle, and that the +whole country was in a pretty bad plight. Accordingly they got their +weapons into shape for immediate use and expected to begin fighting the +moment they set foot on the shore. It was January 26th, 1847, when they +dropped anchor in the bay of Monterey, after a voyage of one hundred +and ninety-eight days from New York. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +AMONG THE FORTY-NINERS. + + DAYS OF IDLENESS AT MONTEREY--ADAM AND EVE--SUNDAY DIVERSIONS-- + WHO IS GOVERNOR?--GENERAL FREMONT--THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD + AND THE RUSH FOR THE MINES--DOMESTIC ECONOMY OF CAMP LIFE-- + NEGRO FIDELITY--BACK TO THE EAST--MARRIAGE OF SHERMAN AND + MISS EWING--HOW HE HEARD WEBSTER'S SPEECH--A SHADY TRAVELLING + COMPANION--ENTERING AND QUITTING THE LAW. + + +The voyagers of the "Lexington" found Monterey a particularly peaceful +and sleepy place, despite the war-like rumors that had greeted them, +and Sherman was compelled to drop into a life of dull routine in the +Quartermaster's department. Monterey was inhabited by about a thousand +persons, Americans, Spaniards, Mexicans and Indians, mixed. They were +a kind and pleasant people, apparently with nothing to do. Horses and +cattle were ridiculously cheap, and game of all kinds was abundant. +Coffee, sugar and such supplies were, however, scarce and costly. The +half dozen shops in the town were almost empty and seldom patronized, +and the people spent their time mostly in riding, dancing and shows of +all kinds. Every Sunday there was a grand ball, and Sherman pronounced +the girls very graceful dancers. Soon after their arrival the officers +were invited to witness a play called "Adam and Eve." "Eve was +personated," says Sherman, "by a pretty young girl known as Dolores +Gomez, who, however, was dressed very unlike Eve, for she was covered +with a petticoat and spangles. Adam was personated by her brother, who +has since become somewhat famous. God Almighty was personated, and +Heaven's occupants seemed very human." + +Sherman spent a month at Monterey, doing some routine work, studying +a little Spanish, and cultivating the acquaintance of the people. On +one occasion he and Ord went on an excursion inland. They stayed over +night at the house of Senor Gomez, father of the young people who had +played Adam and Eve, and then rode to the old Mission of St. John +the Baptist. It was Sunday, and they went to church, Ord's gorgeous +uniform attracting much attention. After church the priest tucked up +his robes, and betook himself to playing billiards, while the rest were +cock-fighting and horse racing. Sherman improved the opportunity to buy +a splendid new horse. + +News soon came of the quarrel between General Kearney, Colonel Fremont +and Commodore Stockton, as to the right of supreme authority on the +coast. General Mason and Commodore Shubrick also laid claim to supreme +control. So the young officers were asking, "Who the devil is Governor +of California?" One day Sherman and the others were aboard the frigate +"Independence" when General Kearney approached on board another ship, +the "Cyane." Kearney soon came aboard the "Independence," dressed in +an old dragoon coat, and an army cap to which he had added the broad +visor cut from a full dress hat, to screen his face and eyes from the +hot sun. As he was received by the officers on the "Independence" +one of them exclaimed, "Fellows, the problem is solved; there is the +Grand Vizier (Visor), ----! He is Governor of California!" And in fact +Kearney and Shubrick at that very meeting came to a most cordial +understanding, Kearney being recognized as the supreme commander. + +Fremont still disputed Kearney's authority, however, and soon came +down to Monterey. Sherman called on him and took tea with him, but, he +says, "left without being much impressed." Kearney and Sherman after +this went up to Los Angeles, to replace the authority which Fremont had +set up there. The country was peaceful and Sherman's experiences and +observations were picturesque rather than important. He also went up to +Sonoma, and Yerba Buena, as San Francisco was then called. + +In the spring of 1848, Sherman went with Colonel Mason to Santa +Barbara, where he had a good time hunting deer and bear in the +mountains, and ducks and geese on the Salinas Plains. In the course of +a few hours he had shot as many geese and ducks as could be loaded on a +mule's back. Sometimes he killed as many as nine with one discharge of +his gun. + +At about this time one day two Americans came to the office at Monterey +to see the Governor (Mason). Their business was most important, for +they brought specimens of placer gold which had just been found. +Captain Sutter had found it in the tail-race of a saw mill he was +building at Colma, and he wanted a title for his property. This was the +commencement of the gold discoveries which revolutionized California +and startled the world. Soon every one was talking of gold, and the +excitement became feverish. Soldiers began to desert and rush to the +mines. Sherman himself did not escape the infection, and soon convinced +Colonel Mason that it was their duty to go and investigate the matter +personally. So in June, 1848, Sherman set out with four soldiers, a +negro servant and a number of horses and mules. On reaching Sutter's +place he heard from Captain Sutter himself the story of the discovery +of gold by Marshall, the workman who built the mill. As Marshall was +working in the ditch which was to carry off the water, he saw some +particles of yellow metal. He picked them up and the thought flashed +into his mind that they were gold. He hurried to Captain Sutter and +showed them to him. Sutter attached little importance to the discovery +and told Marshall to go back to work and say nothing about it. But he +at once sent the specimens down to Governor Mason. Marshall could not +keep his secret, however, and soon the other men wanted to gather the +gold. Marshall threatened to shoot them if they did so. Thereupon they +went fifteen miles further down the stream, and they discovered one of +the richest placer mines in the world. + +While Sherman was travelling about in the gold country his soldiers +deserted him and all his followers, except the negro servant, and when +he got back to Monterey he found the same state of demoralization +there. Every one was crazy over gold. But in September, 1848, official +news of the treaty of peace with Mexico reached them, and most of +the soldiers were regularly mustered out. In September and October, +Sherman, Mason and others made a second visit to the mines, and during +that fall Sherman, Ord and Warner camped on the bank of the American +River, near Sutter's Fort. Sherman was cook, Ord washed the dishes +and Warner looked after the horses. They soon dismissed Ord from his +position, however, because he would only wipe the tin plates with a +tuft of grass, while Warner wanted them thoroughly washed with hot +water. So Warner took to washing the dishes and Ord cared for the +horses. + +General Persifer F. Smith came out to California in February, 1849 to +take supreme command, arriving at Monterey on the first steamship that +reached that coast. Sherman became his Adjutant-General, and went up to +San Francisco with him. General Smith and his family had much trouble +with their servants, who all deserted them for the gold mines excepting +one little negro, named Isaac, who was cook, chambermaid and general +man and maid of all work. Accordingly, domestic affairs were chaotic. +Breakfast was announced at any time between ten and twelve, and dinner +according to circumstances. "Many a time," says Sherman, "have I seen +General Smith, with a can of preserved meat in his hands, going toward +the house, take off his hat on meeting a negro, and on being asked the +reason of his politeness, he would answer that they were the only real +gentlemen in California." Indeed the fidelity of Isaac and of Colonel +Mason's negro boy, at a time when white men laughed at promises as +things made only to be broken, gave Sherman a kindly feeling of respect +for negroes which he never lost. + +Having little official business on hand, Sherman and some of his +comrades made a contract with Colonel J. B. Stevenson to survey his +projected city of "New York of the Pacific" at the mouth of San Joaquin +River and to mark out a channel through Suisun Bay. For this they were +well paid, but the city never was built. After this Sherman surveyed +a large ranch in Sacramento Valley and had some lively experiences +with grizzly bears. All his earnings he invested in real estate +at Sacramento, on which he made good profit. He was an interested +witness of the great rush of prospectors to the coast in 1849, of the +organization of government under a State Constitution, the election of +Fremont and Gwin as Senators, and all the picturesque scenes that the +rising community in those days presented. + +[Illustration: SHERMAN ENTERING U. S. SENATE.] + +In the fall of 1849 his friend Warner was surveying Feather River and +its source, Goose Lake. While engaged in that work he was murdered by +Indians, and Sherman was much shocked and grieved at the loss. It was +impossible at that time to punish his murderers, and it was not until +the next Spring that his scattered bones were found and buried. + +Sherman now became anxious to return to the East, chiefly, it is +surmised, on account of his old playmate at Lancaster. Accordingly, he +induced General Smith to send him home with dispatches. In January, +1850, he went down to Monterey to bid his friends there good-bye, and +then took passage on a steamer for Panama. There they crossed the +Isthmus, partly on mule-back and partly in a canoe. Thence they made +their way to New York by steamer. Senator Gwin, Ord and A. J. Smith +were members of the party, and Sherman brought along two Spanish boys +from Monterey to put into college at Georgetown, D. C. Sherman's party +on reaching New York put up at Delmonico's Hotel, on Bowling Green. The +next day Sherman went to General Scott's office and delivered General +Smith's dispatches, and was "ordered" (not invited) to dine with him +the next day. At the dinner General Scott entertained his guests with +stories of the Mexican war. Sherman felt deeply the fact that the +country had passed through a foreign war and that his comrades had +participated in great battles, while he himself had not even heard a +hostile shot. He thought that his last chance was gone and his career +as a soldier at an end. But Scott startled him with the prophecy that +the country would soon be plunged into a terrific civil war. + +After a few days in New York, General Scott sent him on to Washington. +Mr. Ewing was then Secretary of the Interior, and Sherman, of course, +became a member of his family. Sherman soon went to call on President +Taylor at the White House. He had never seen him before, though he had +served under him in Florida in 1840-41. He had a long and very pleasant +chat with him, and was, he says, most agreeably surprised at his fine +personal appearance, and his pleasant, easy manners. + +As soon as possible Sherman obtained six months' leave of absence. He +visited his mother at Mansfield, Ohio, and then returned to Washington. +There, on May 1st, 1850, he was married to his first and only love, +Ellen Boyle Ewing. The ceremony occurred at the house of Mr. Ewing, on +Pennsylvania Avenue, opposite the War Department building. A large and +distinguished company attended, including President Taylor and all the +members of his Cabinet, Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, Thomas H. Benton, +and many other prominent statesmen. The young couple made a wedding +journey to Baltimore, New York, Niagara Falls and Ohio, returning to +Washington on July 1st. + +President Taylor took part in the celebration of the Fourth of July, +and immediately afterward was taken ill and died. Sherman was present +in the gallery of the Senate chamber when Fillmore took the oath of +office and succeeded to the Presidency. He also attended General +Taylor's funeral as an Aid-de-Camp. + +Important political changes soon came on, which were watched by +Sherman with much interest. Mr. Ewing resigned his office as Secretary +of the Interior and became Senator. Sherman listened to many of the +interesting debates that took place in the Senate at this time. He +heard Webster's last speech in the Senate before he entered Fillmore's +Cabinet. Learning that Webster was to make a speech, he went to +the Capitol at an early hour, but found all the galleries already +overcrowded. Anxious to hear the speech, he appealed to Senator Corwin, +who asked him what he wanted. Sherman said he wanted him to take him to +the floor of the Senate, adding that he had often seen from the gallery +persons on the floor no better than he was. Corwin asked him in a +quizzical way if he was a foreign ambassador. Sherman said he was not. +A Governor of a State? No. A member of the House of Representatives? +No. Ever received a vote of thanks from either house? No. Well, Corwin +explained, those were the only persons entitled to go upon the floor; +but there was just one other chance. "Have you any impudence?" "Yes, +if occasion calls for it." "Could you become so interested in talking +with me as not to see that door-keeper?" "Yes, if you will tell me one +of your funny stories." So Corwin took Sherman's arm and walked around +the vestibule for a few minutes with him, and then led him through the +doorway into the Senate Chamber. The door-keeper began asking him if +he was an Ambassador, or Governor, or Representative, but Sherman paid +no attention to him, pretending to be so absorbed in Corwin's story as +not to hear him. Once in, Corwin told the young man to take care of +himself, and he did so. + +He sat near General Scott and not far from Webster, and heard the whole +of the speech. He has recorded that it was heavy in the extreme, and +he was disappointed and tired long before it was finished. The speech +could not, in Sherman's estimation, be compared with Mr. Clay's efforts. + +At the end of July all the family went home to Lancaster and Sherman +was soon sent to St. Louis. In September, 1852, he was sent thence to +New Orleans. But he soon applied for and obtained a leave of absence, +desiring to go to San Francisco with a view to settling there. So he +sent his family back to Ohio and went himself to California by the +way of Nicaragua. When he boarded the steamer bound from San Juan del +Sur for San Francisco there was a great rush for state-rooms. Just as +he had secured his, a lady who had been a fellow-passenger from New +Orleans asked him to secure one for her and her lady friend. The purser +answered that there was not another left, and so put down their names +for the other two berths in Sherman's state-room, promising to make +other arrangements as soon as the vessel was off. So down went the +entry, "Captain Sherman and ladies." A few minutes later the purser +gave Sherman a berth in another state-room, so that the two ladies had +the room to themselves. At every meal the steward invited Sherman to +bring "his ladies" to the table, and they had the best seats there. +The two ladies were, Sherman says, the most modest and best behaved on +the ship. But soon after his arrival at San Francisco he discovered +that one of them at least--the one who had asked him to secure the +state-room for her--was a notorious woman. + +It was a poor ship they travelled in, and the weather was foggy. In +trying to make San Francisco harbor they ran aground, and Sherman went +off in a small boat to reach the city and bring help. He came near +getting drowned, but finally reached the city and sent back help to the +stranded vessel. All the passengers were taken off and brought to the +city in safety and the next night the ship went to pieces. Had even +a slight storm arisen when they ran aground, probably not one of the +passengers would have escaped. + +Sherman now went into business in San Francisco. In the summer of +1853 he returned East and took his family back to the Pacific +coast. On September 6th he resigned his commission in the army and +devoted himself earnestly to various business enterprises, but the +unhealthy state of speculation disgusted him. Presently there was a +financial panic, in which Sherman and those associated with him lost +considerably. But he held on there with varying fortunes until the +spring of 1857, when he returned with his family to New York. Again in +1858, he went to San Francisco and closed up his business there, making +full payment of all dues and then after some experience in St. Louis +and elsewhere, settled his family at Lancaster in the fall of 1859. + +Among his various adventures at this period was the practice of law. +The young Ewings, his brothers-in-law, were establishing themselves +as lawyers at Leavenworth, Kansas, and Sherman, after living for some +time on a farm of 160 acres which he owned, near Topeka, joined their +law firm. For two years he strove to be a lawyer, but with indifferent +success. While the Ewings rose rapidly among the foremost leaders in +the law and the politics of the State, their eccentric office partner +gained but little influence and no prominence; the citizens knew little +of him. "It happened one day," says an old copy of _The Leavenworth +Conservative_, "that Sherman was compelled to appear before the Probate +Judge, Gardner, we believe. The other partners were busy; and so +Sherman, with his authorities and his case all mapped out, proceeded to +court. He returned in a rage two hours after. Something had gone wrong. +He had been pettifogged out of the case by a sharp petty attorney +opposed to him in a way which was disgusting to his intellect and his +convictions. His _amour propre_ was hurt, and he declared that he would +have nothing to do with the law in Kansas. That afternoon the business +was closed, partnership dissolved, and in a very short time Sherman was +on his way to a more congenial clime and occupation. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE CRISIS OF A CAREER. + + SHERMAN IN THE PRIME OR MANHOOD--GREAT EVENTS APPROACHING--HOW + HE CAME TO BE A SCHOOLMASTER--ORGANIZATION OF THE SEMINARY-- + POLITICAL TALK--HIS VIEW ON SLAVERY--THE CAMPAIGN OF 1860 AND + ELECTION OF LINCOLN--SECESSION--SHERMAN'S PROMPT DECISION TO + STAND BY THE UNION--RESIGNATION OF HIS PRINCIPALSHIP--DEPARTURE + FOR THE NORTH--FATE OF THE SEMINARY. + + +Sherman's real history begins with 1859. Up to that time, as we have +seen, his life was one of preparation, checkered, adventurous, often +picturesque, always earnest. Yet it comprised no word or act of vital +import or permanent value to the world. Whether hunting in Florida, or +mingling in gay society at Charleston, or watching the rush for gold +and the rise of a new State in California, or banking in New York, +or practicing law in Kansas, he did nothing that unfolded his own +character to the fullest extent, or seriously impressed the history +of the nation. The most interesting personal feature of those years +was his long courtship and happy marriage; the incident of most public +value, undreamed of at the time, was his horseback journeys through +Northern Georgia. Neither of these, however, had his career been ended +at that time, would have secured him more than a local and a transient +fame. The work of his life yet lay before him. + +It is interesting to observe, in passing, as significant of his +general character, that he was admitted to practice law at the Kansas +bar, not on the strength of his legal attainments nor because he +had successfully passed the required examination, but simply on the +score of his general intelligence. He did not, in fact, profess to be +a lawyer in the technical sense of the term. He had indeed studied +a few of the ordinary law books, but he could hardly have passed a +satisfactory examination. He arranged, therefore, to enter partnership +with Thomas Ewing, Jr., on this basis: Ewing, who was a thorough +lawyer, was to manage all the business in the Courts, and Sherman was +to look after collections, agency work, etc., such as his business +experience had qualified him to attend to. It was necessary even under +these circumstances for him to obtain a lawyer's license, so he went +one day to Judge Lecompte, of the United States Court, and mentioned +the matter to him. The Judge told him to go to the Clerk and get a +license. "But," said Sherman, "shall I have to be examined?" "No," +said the Judge, "we will admit you on the strength of your general +intelligence." + +Behold our hero, then, in the midsummer of 1859; a tall, slender man +in the prime of life, who had never known a day's ill health, and +whose mind and body were brimming with ambition and energy that had +not yet found scope for full expansion. He had weighed many things in +the balance of practical achievement, but had found them all wanting. +His heart was set upon a soldier's life, but as yet he had been +compelled to remain amid scenes of inglorious peace. He had missed the +opportunities of the Mexican war, and the sanguinary prophecies of +General Scott had lacked fulfilment. + +But now the shadows of great events began to fall thickly all about +him. He had already witnessed the Free State Struggle in California, +and had seen Fremont triumphantly elected Senator. The same conflict +was now rapidly assuming national dimensions. The old Whig party had +melted away, and a new and stronger party had arisen in its place. +Already the new organization had fought a great presidential campaign +with Fremont as its leader, and had shown a strength that promised +success when next it should measure forces with its opponent. In +Congress the new party was an important factor, and there Sherman's +brother, John, was one of its most conspicuous leaders. Although in +his cadet days Sherman had not been in full sympathy with the Whig +partisanship of his foster father, the whole bent of his nature was now +strongly toward freedom as against slavery, and toward nationalism as +against sectionalism and secession. But not yet did he even dream of +the nearness and the magnitude of the coming struggle, and the mighty +part that he was destined to play therein. + +He was invited, in July, 1859, to become the head of a new military +school at Alexandria, Louisiana. The national government sometime +before had given to that State a considerable tract of public land, +the proceeds from the sale of which were to be used in founding "a +seminary of learning." For some time the authorities of Louisiana +discussed the name and scope of the proposed institution, and finally +adopted the title of "Louisiana Seminary of Learning," to which +Sherman afterward added "and Military Academy." Sherman appears to +have obtained the principalship of this seminary through the influence +of Major Don Carlos Buell and General G. M. Graham, and not, as has +been alleged, through the personal friendship of General Bragg and +General Beauregard. Indeed, the latter two gentlemen had nothing to +do with it, and did not know of his appointment until it was actually +made. Sherman had written to Buell, who was on duty in the War +Department at Washington, applying for a place as army paymaster. Buell +replied by sending him a prospectus of the Louisiana Seminary and +advising him to apply for the principalship. Sherman did so, and soon +after was informed by Governor Wickliffe that he had been appointed +to the desired position. Sherman was made principal and professor +of engineering; Anthony Vallas was professor of mathematics and +philosophy; Francis W. Smith was professor of chemistry; David F. Boyd +was professor of languages, English and Ancient; and E. Berti St. Ange +was professor of French and Modern languages. + +Sherman went to Louisiana in the autumn of 1859 and reported for duty +to Governor Moore, who had succeeded Governor Wickliffe. Governor +Moore sent him in his own carriage to Alexandria, and there Sherman +and General Graham looked over the ground and made plans for the +Seminary. The college building stood on a tract of four hundred acres +of pine land, and was under the charge of a carpenter named James. It +was a large and handsome house, but did not contain a chair or table +or blackboard, or indeed any of the essentials of school work. Sherman +accordingly set to work at once to supply the deficiencies. He engaged +James and three other carpenters, and set them to work making furniture +out of some of the fencing of the place and a lot of boards that were +piled near the house. + +The Governor issued a notice on November 17th, announcing that the +seminary would be open on January 1st, 1860. On the latter date some +sixty students reported to the principal. Sherman organized the +school as nearly as possible on the basis of West Point, with roll +calls, etc., but without uniforms or muskets. He himself attended to +the business of the institution and gave but little actual class +instruction. There were seventy-three students during the first term, +and fifty-nine of them passed the examination on July 30th, 1860. +Meantime Sherman had secured new legislation, granting the school +a larger fund for its maintenance, and generally increasing its +efficiency and scope. + +While advocating the cause of the school before the legislature he +necessarily spent much time at Baton Rouge, and there was drawn into +the political discussions that were then rife. His brother, John +Sherman, was the Republican candidate for the Speakership of the +House of Representatives at Washington, and was regarded through the +South as an "Abolitionist"--a synonym for all that was monstrous +and devilish. For this reason W. T. Sherman was looked upon with +suspicion in Louisiana, and many people openly expressed their doubt +of the propriety of retaining him at the head of an important State +institution. One evening Sherman took dinner at the Governor's, and +there met General Bragg and a number of leading politicians. After the +ladies had left the table, the gentlemen took to talking politics, +and General Moore, referring to John Sherman's candidacy for the +Speakership, asked Colonel Sherman to speak his own mind frankly on the +subject of slavery and the political conflict between the North and the +South. + +Sherman responded frankly and fully. He declared that his brother +was not an Abolitionist in the radical sense of the term. He was, +of course, opposed to slavery, but did not advocate any forcible +interference with existing institutions at the South, although he would +resist their extension into other parts of the country. As for himself, +Sherman declared that if he were a citizen of Louisiana and a member +of the legislature, he would earnestly strive for the amelioration +of the condition of the negroes; he would forbid the separation of +families in the sale of slaves; and he would abolish the laws which +forbade slaves to learn to read and write. He talked in this strain +at some length and with his characteristic earnestness and vigor, and +supported his views by citing illustrations from his own experience and +observation. His remarks deeply impressed the whole country, and when +he stopped speaking the Attorney-General of the State, who was present, +struck the table a tremendous blow with his fist and exclaimed: +"By ----, he is right!" After that there were no complaints of Sherman's +political unfitness for his place. + +There was a vacation from August 1st to November 1st, and Sherman went +North, to New York, to purchase additional supplies for the school, and +then to Lancaster to visit his family, who had remained there pending +the construction of a suitable house at Alexandria. He also went to +Washington and influenced the War Department to grant to the school +a supply of muskets and other accoutrements for the military drill. +Returning to Alexandria in October he went to work with great energy to +get the new buildings ready for the opening of the school on November +1st. On the latter date about one hundred and thirty cadets were +present, and the work of the school was resumed. + +Sherman's house was now ready, and he moved into it. He did not, +however, send for his family because serious storms were visible +in the political skies. The presidential campaign then closing had +been unprecedentedly bitter, and it was evident that the election of +the Republican candidate would immediately be followed by the most +extreme measures on the part of the South. Sherman took no part in the +political discussion, although his associates tried to force him into +it. On election day he was openly told that it would be advisable for +him to vote for Bell and Everett, that being the Presidential ticket +most in favor in Louisiana. "I openly said I would not," says Sherman, +"and I did not." + +Lincoln was elected and the event startled the South. It was recognized +there at once that extension of the slave power into the territories +was impossible in the future, and that therefore the future growth of +the nation would be in the direction of free soil and free men. The +most incendiary and revolutionary talk was heard everywhere. Sherman +kept quietly at his work, but he noticed that his cadets began taking +their declamations from the speeches of Calhoun, Yancey and other +Southern extremists, selecting especially passages in defence of +slavery and in praise of State rights. + +No one ventured, however, to approach him upon the subject, although +his opinions were pretty generally understood, namely, that secession +was treason and treason meant war. When President Buchanan announced +in his annual message to Congress, in December, 1860, that the General +Government had no power to prevent a State from seceding, Sherman was +startled and began to fear the dissolution of the Union. + +South Carolina soon passed acts of secession, and agents came to +Louisiana to persuade the Government of that State to do likewise. +Sherman saw that the mass of the people were opposed to it, but that +the politicians would certainly force them into it. Such was the case. +But before the formal act of secession was passed, Governor Moore, +in the name of the State, seized upon all the United States forts at +the mouth of the Mississippi and the Federal arsenal at Baton Rouge. +He was prompted to do this by Benjamin and Slidell, the two Senators +from Louisiana. Sherman was strongly and bitterly impressed by the +seizure of the arsenal. The arsenal was commanded by Major Haskins, an +excellent and loyal officer, who, however, feared to resist the State's +demand, because he knew that the cowardly administration at Washington +would not support him in such a refusal; so he surrendered to General +Bragg. + +Some of the arms stored in the arsenal were sent up to Alexandria, and +Sherman was ordered by the Governor to receipt for them and take care +of them. Thus, he says, he was made the receiver of stolen goods, goods +that were the property of the United States; and this grated terribly +on his loyal feelings. Indeed it was this event that brought affairs, +with him, to a crisis, and immediately, a week before the actual +ordinance of secession was passed, he wrote as follows: + + "LOUISIANA STATE SEMINARY OF LEARNING + "AND MILITARY ACADEMY, + "JANUARY 18TH, 1861. + + "Governor THOMAS O. MOORE, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. + + "SIR: As I occupy a quasi-military position under this State, I + deem it proper to acquaint you that I accepted such position when + Louisiana was a State in the Union, and when the motto of the + Seminary was inserted in the marble over the main door: 'By the + liberality of the General Government of the United States. The + Union--esto perpetua.' + + "Recent events foreshadow a great change, and it becomes all + men to choose. If Louisiana withdraws from the Federal Union, I + prefer to maintain my allegiance to the old Constitution as long + as a fragment of it survives, and my longer stay here would be + wrong in every sense of the word. In that event, I beg you will + send or appoint some authorized agent to take charge of the arms + and munitions of war here belonging to the State or direct me + what disposition should be made of them. + + "And, furthermore, as President of the Board of Supervisors, I + beg you to take immediate steps to relieve me as superintendent + the moment the State determines to secede; for on no earthly + account will I do any act, or think any thought, hostile to or in + defiance of the old Government of the United States. With great + respect, etc., + + "W. T. SHERMAN." + +Accompanying this, he sent a private letter to the Governor, in which +he said: "I take it for granted that you have been expecting for some +days the accompanying paper from me. I have repeatedly and again made +known to General Graham and Dr. Smith that, in the event of a severance +of the relations hitherto existing between the Confederated States +of this Union, I would be forced to choose the old Union.... I have +never been a politician, and therefore undervalue the excited feelings +and opinions of present rulers, but I do think if this people cannot +execute a form of Government like the present, that a worse one will +result.... I entertain the kindest feelings toward all, and would leave +the State with much regret. Only in great events we must choose one way +or the other." + +To Dr. S. A. Smith, president of the Board of Supervisors, he wrote a +long letter, relating what he had written to the Governor, and saying +that under the circumstances he felt it would be highly improper for +him longer to remain at the head of the school. "The more I think of +it, the more I think I should be away, the sooner the better." + +A few days later he received a reply from Governor Moore, in General +Bragg's hand-writing, expressing much regret at the loss of his +services, and assurances of respect, confidence and admiration. Dr. +Smith also wrote to him in a similar strain on January 28th, and added +in a postscript: "Governor Moore desires me to express his profound +regret that the State is about to lose one who we all fondly hoped +had cast his destinies for weal or for woe among us." The Board of +Supervisors and the Academic Board also adopted resolutions expressing +deep regret at his departure and the highest appreciation of the value +of his services. + +In the latter part of February, 1861, Sherman turned over all the +Seminary property to his successor and then went down to New Orleans +to draw the salary due him and close up all his business relations +with the State. During the few days he spent at New Orleans, he lived +at the St. Louis Hotel, and usually sat at the same table with General +and Mrs. Bragg, with whom he was on most friendly terms. He also met +General Beauregard, two of whose sons had been at the Alexandria +Seminary. Beauregard was at that time sent for by Jefferson Davis to +be made Brigadier-General, and this made Bragg jealous, because in the +United States army Bragg had been Beauregard's senior officer. Talking +about this one day at the hotel table, Mrs. Bragg remarked to Sherman: +"You know that my husband is not a favorite with the new President." +"Why," said Sherman, "I did not know that he had ever met Mr. Lincoln." +"I didn't mean your President," replied Mrs. Bragg with emphasis, "but +our President." + +Business was going on in New Orleans as usual. The Louisiana State flag +was flying over all the Federal buildings and elsewhere throughout +the city, and along the river ships displayed every flag on earth +except the Stars and Stripes. Everybody seemed to regard the change of +government as complete and final, and believed that secession would be +quietly acquiesced in by the nation, although men were steadily being +enlisted and armed to defend the State. Amid such scenes, on February +25th, Sherman bade farewell to his friends, and set out for his old +home at Lancaster. + +The Alexandria Seminary was broken up by the war. All the faculty +and students joined the Rebel army excepting two professors and one +student. Sherman met several of his former associates during the war, +and for many years after the war maintained a friendly acquaintance +with them. The Seminary was re-organized in 1865, but a few years later +was totally destroyed by fire. Governor Moore's plantation was laid +waste during the war, and Sherman was afterward of great service to him +in regaining possession of his property. + +[Illustration: HON. JOHN SHERMAN] + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE OUTBREAK OF THE WAR. + + THE SOUTH EXCITED AND READY--THE NORTH INDIFFERENT AND + UNPREPARED--SHERMAN'S INTERVIEW WITH LINCOLN--HIS PLAIN TALK + TO HIS BROTHER--DISGUSTED WITH THE POLITICIANS--A ST. LOUIS + STREET RAILROAD PRESIDENT--WAR TALK IN ST. LOUIS--A CLERKSHIP + DECLINED--HIS LOYALTY DOUBTED--PROPHESYING A GREAT STRUGGLE-- + BLOODSHED IN ST. LOUIS--BACK TO WASHINGTON--IN SERVICE AT LAST. + + +It is not easy to imagine a greater difference between two sections +of one nation than existed between the North and South in the early +months of 1861. In both, the same great topic overshadowed all other +interests; and both enjoyed full information concerning it. Both, +indeed, were deeply and equally concerned in the settlement of the +great controversy that was already convulsing the nation. Yet the +sentiment that prevailed in the one section varied as widely from that +in the other as though they were situated upon different planets. + +In Louisiana, before he left that State, and in the other parts of +the South through which he travelled on his way to the North, Sherman +found everywhere the keenest public interest in the impending conflict, +which was, then and there, seen to be inevitable. Preparation was being +feverishly pushed on every hand. States were seceding. Federal forts, +arsenals and other property was being confiscated. Federal officers +were proving recreant to their trusts, and were casting in their lot +with the insurgents. Politicians were preaching secession, and the +public heart was rapidly being fired with the same unholy flame. + +But when he reached Illinois and Ohio and other Northern States, the +scene was entirely changed. All was calm and placid. No one seemed +seriously to think of serious trouble. The commercial instinct +prevailed. Men were too busy making money to pay attention to politics. +Others felt too secure in the established order of things to believe +that any great change was at hand. Sherman was impressed with the +idea that either the North had no adequate realization of the true +state of affairs, which was scarcely credible, or, which seemed far +more likely, it would tamely submit to a dissolution of the Union. +The supine weakness of Buchanan had not aroused the North to shame, +nor had the aggressive treason of the conspirators who surrounded him +excited its righteous wrath. It is related that Horace Greeley, on +hearing of the manner in which a long-suffering but at last indignant +public had overwhelmingly routed at the polls the venal ring that had +long plundered and oppressed it, threw up his hands in exultation and +exclaimed with an oath, "This is a great people when it gets mad!" The +North had not yet "got mad," and its greatness was not yet apparent. + +Soon after coming North, Sherman proceeded to Washington, where +Lincoln had just been inaugurated as President, John Sherman was now +a Republican leader in the Senate, having been appointed in place of +Chase, who had entered the Cabinet. Washington was enough of a southern +city to be filled with war talk. Sherman's old friend, Anderson, +had just moved his troops from Fort Moultrie into Fort Sumter, in +Charleston Harbor, and had announced his patriotic determination to +hold that post for the Government at all hazards. Southern members +of Congress and office holders in the Departments, even in the War +Department, were openly talking treason of the rankest kind. + +Sherman was one day at this time taken by his brother John to the White +House, where he had a long interview with the President. On learning +that Sherman had just come from the South, Lincoln inquired of him "how +they were getting along down there." Said Sherman, "They think they +are getting along swimmingly. They are preparing for war." "Oh, well," +replied Lincoln, "I guess we'll manage to keep house." This remark +greatly disappointed Sherman and he changed the subject as quickly as +possible. As he left the White House, however, he relieved his mind +most emphatically to his brother. "John," he exclaimed fiercely, "you +damned politicians have got things in a hell of a fix, and you may get +out of them as you best can!" + +Thoroughly disgusted with Washington and the politicians, Sherman went +back to Lancaster. His brother John begged him to remain at the Capitol +and to be more patient with the President, but the impetuous soldier +would not listen to him. At Lancaster he found letters from friends +at St. Louis urging him to come on there and assume the presidency +of a street railroad, which was sure to prove profitable. He quickly +decided to do so, and on March 27th set out for St. Louis with his +family. On April 1st they took possession of a house on Locust street, +where Charles Ewing and John Hunter, law partners, boarded with them. +Sherman was elected president of the street railroad company, which +had a paying line in full operation, and tried to devote himself +strictly to business. This, however, was impossible. The air was full +of politics and of war. The Governor of Missouri and all the leading +politicians openly sympathized with the seceding States. The troops +at the State Camp of Instruction in Lindell's Grove were commanded by +a Southern sympathizer, although he was a Northerner and a West Point +man. There were, however, some loyal men about, among them being John +M. Schofield, B. Gratz Brown, Clinton B. Fisk and Frank Blair--whose +brother, Montgomery Blair was in Lincoln's Cabinet. These patriotic men +had organized, chiefly among the German population of the city, four +or five regiments of loyal "Home Guards." Nathaniel Lyon, also, kept +his handful of Federal troops at the arsenal true to the Nation. Day +by day the situation grew more strained. Sherman tried to keep out of +the trouble, and talked freely with only a few intimate friends. But +day by day it became more evident that a tremendous conflict was close +at hand, and day by day the earnest soldier and ardent patriot felt +himself more strongly drawn away from his street railroad and toward +the defence of the Nation. + +Meantime he was not forgotten at Washington, where his brother John was +strongly urging his interests. On April 6th he received a telegraphic +dispatch from the Postmaster-General, Montgomery Blair, saying: "Will +you accept the chief clerkship of the War Department? We will make +you Assistant Secretary of War when Congress meets." Sherman promptly +telegraphed back, "I cannot accept," and then wrote by mail as follows: + +"I received, about nine o'clock Saturday night, your telegraph +dispatch, which I have this moment answered, 'I cannot accept.' I have +quite a large family, and when I resigned my place in Louisiana, on +account of secession, I had no time to lose; and, therefore, after +my hasty visit to Washington, where I saw no chance of employment, I +came to St. Louis, have accepted a place in this company, have rented +a house, and incurred other obligations, so that I am not at liberty +to change. I thank you for the compliment contained in your offer, and +assure you that I wish the Administration all success in its almost +impossible task of governing this distracted and anarchical people." + +This letter gave great offence at Washington, and some members of +the Cabinet prophesied that Sherman would join the secessionists. +Another attempt, however, was soon made to secure his services for the +Government, this time personally by Frank Blair. Blair asked Sherman to +come to his house one night, and there told him that the Government had +determined to relieve General Harney, who then commanded the Military +Department of Missouri, and that a change would soon be made. "It is in +my power," said Blair, "to appoint a Brigadier-General to command the +Department, and if you will take the place you shall have it." Sherman +replied that he had already, while in Washington, offered his services +to the Government, and that they had been declined; he had now made +business engagements which he could not readily break; and that while +the offer was complimentary and tempting, he must decline it. Blair +argued the point with him for some time, but to no avail, and soon +thereafter Nathaniel Lyon was appointed to the place. + +The attack upon Fort Sumter by the Charleston insurgents at last +startled the North, although even then not many seemed to realize the +magnitude of the struggle that had begun. Lincoln called for 75,000 +volunteers for three months, thinking this force would be sufficient +to suppress the rebellion. But Sherman regarded this movement with +contempt. "You might as well attempt to put out the flames of a burning +house with a squirt gun," he exclaimed, indignantly. And again, "You +want to organize the whole military power of the North at once for a +desperate struggle." A little later, at Washington, talking with Murat +Halstead, the editor of _The Cincinnati Commercial_, he said: "You +don't know anything about this people. Why, if we should have a reverse +beyond the Potomac, the very women of this city would cut the throats +of our wounded with case knives." So while Sherman's loyalty was +doubted by some, others began to regard him as an alarmist. + +The call of patriotism presently become louder and more urgent than the +demands of business, and on May 8th Sherman wrote as follows to Simon +Cameron, Secretary of War: + +"I hold myself, now, as always, prepared to serve my country in the +capacity for which I was trained. I did not and will not volunteer +for three months, because I cannot throw my family on the cold +charity of the world. But for the three years' call, made by the +President, an officer can prepare his command and do good service. I +will not volunteer as a soldier, because rightfully or wrongfully I +feel unwilling to take a mere private's place, and, having for many +years lived in California and Louisiana, the men are not well enough +acquainted with me to elect me to my appropriate place. Should my +services be needed, the records of the War Department will enable you +to designate the station in which I can render most service." + +From this it appears that Sherman fully appreciated his own abilities, +and was not willing to have them underrated by others. It should be +added in explanation that he had already declined to go Ohio and take +command of a three months' volunteer regiment, and that the Government +had now decided to add eleven regiments to the regular army. It was in +one of these new regiments of regulars that he offered to accept and +hoped to receive an appointment. + +On the very day after this letter was written, an incident occurred +at St. Louis which greatly strengthened Sherman's anxiety to get to +work in the national cause. On that day he took his children down to +the arsenal. Inside the arsenal walls they found four regiments of +the "Home Guards," receiving cartridges. General Lyon, who was then +in command, was rushing about in great excitement. Evidently serious +business was on hand; whether offensive or defensive did not appear. + +But the next morning the city was startled with the news that the +"Home Guards" were about to attack Camp Jackson--the State camp of +instruction in Lindell's Grove--where, as already stated, secession +influences prevailed. Throughout the city people shut up their houses +and prepared for fighting. Many of Sherman's friends set out for the +camp to see what would happen, but Sherman, although he felt intensely +interested and excited, remained at home. With his son Willie, seven +years old, he walked up and down the sidewalk before his house, +listening for sounds of war. A Miss Dean, who lived across the way, +called out to him and asked him if he knew what was going on, saying +that her brother-in-law was a surgeon in the camp, and she was afraid +he would get killed. Sherman replied that he did not think the soldiers +at the camp would attempt to resist General Lyon, who was in lawful +command. To this the fire-eating lady replied that the soldiers at the +camp belonged to the first families of St. Louis, and that they would +certainly fight to the bitter end. "Oh, pshaw," said Sherman, "the +first families don't like to get killed any better than common folks." +Just at that moment a man came running down the street from the camp, +shouting, "They've surrendered! The camp has surrendered!" And Miss +Dean, mortified at the cowardice of the first families, went into the +house and slammed the door. + +Sherman now started toward the camp, his boy Willie still with him. +Soon he met Frank Blair's regiment, escorting the Camp Jackson +prisoners. There was a great crowd in the street, some "damning +the Dutch," cheering the prisoners, and hurrahing for Jeff. Davis; +and others, though not so many, encouraging the loyal troops. Much +confusion prevailed everywhere. Presently a drunken rowdy tried to pass +through the ranks of the troops (Regulars). A sergeant pushed him back. +The fellow violently assaulted the sergeant, and then the sergeant +knocked him down, and he rolled some distance down a grassy bank. The +man gathered himself up, and, with a great deal of drunken backing and +filling, climbed up the bank again and drew a pistol. The Regulars had +by this time moved on, and a regiment of the Home Guards had come up +and occupied their place. The fellow fired his pistol at one of the +officers and struck him in the leg. Forthwith the soldiers began to +fire over the heads of the crowds, and there was a general stampede. +Some of the bullets went low, and several of the crowd were wounded. +Charles Ewing threw Willie Sherman on the ground and covered him with +his own body. Captain Sherman also lay down to escape the bullets, and +Hunter got behind a hillock. There they lay until the firing ceased, +when they got up and started for home by way of some of the back +streets. They afterward found that two or three men and a woman and a +child had been killed. General Lyon put a loyal guard in charge of the +vacant camp, and marched the prisoners down to the arsenal, where some +were paroled, and others held for a long time until they were regularly +exchanged as prisoners of war. + +Soon after this, on May 14th, Sherman received a letter from his +brother Charles, who was in Washington, telling him to come on to the +National Capitol at once, as he had been appointed Colonel of the +Thirteenth Regiment of Infantry in the Regular Army. To this there +could be but one reply. He wound up business affairs at St. Louis at +once and went on to Washington; leaving his family at their St. Louis +home, however, because he expected to be allowed to raise his own +regiment, and organize it, which he intended to do at St. Louis. On +reaching Washington he was gratified to find that, as he expressed +it, "the Government was trying to rise to a level with the occasion." +Lincoln had taken affairs into his own hands. Without any Congressional +authority he had ordered the raising of the new regiments of regulars, +in addition to the 75,000 State volunteers. "Even this call," says +Sherman, "seemed to me utterly inadequate; still it was none of my +business." Sherman took the oath of office and received a list of +officers who had been appointed to his regiment. Then he reported in +person to General Scott, and asked to be allowed to return to St. Louis +and enlist his regiment. To this the General would not agree. "Your +Lieutenant-Colonel can raise the regiment," he said. "I want you right +here." So, seeing that he would have to remain on duty in Washington, +Sherman sent word to his family to pack up and go home to Lancaster. +He also resigned the presidency of the railroad company, and thus once +more was wholly embarked upon a military career. + +"He was now," says Mr. Reid in "Ohio in the War," "in his forty-second +year.... His thirteen years of army life had brought no distinction. +McClellan, Fremont, Halleck, Hooker, Rosecrans and a score of other +young retired officers of the Army were remembered as brilliant +soldiers, according to the standard of those old army days. Sherman had +left no name. The eight years of civil life that followed had added +little to his fortune and nothing to his fame.... But the heart of the +man was sound to the core, and his impulsive abandonment of his place +in Louisiana did more than all his life thus far to fix him in men's +minds. He was soon to enter upon a wider career, but the days of his +success were still distant, and a severe probation yet awaited him." + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +BULL RUN + + "ON TO RICHMOND!"--SHERMAN'S BRIGADE AT BULL RUN--FEATURES OF + BATTLE--SHERMAN'S OFFICIAL REPORT--THE STAMPEDE BACK TO THE + POTOMAC--HOW SHERMAN DEALT WITH MUTINEERS--A THREAT THAT + THE PRESIDENT THOUGHT HE WOULD EXECUTE--RE-ORGANIZATION AND + PROMOTION--GENERAL McCLELLAN ASSUMES COMMAND--SHERMAN'S FRANK + CRITICISMS AND UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTH-TELLING AND CONSEQUENT + UNPOPULARITY. + + +When Sherman was at last assigned to active army duty at Washington, +on June 20th, 1861, Lieutenant-General Scott was Commander-in-Chief of +the Army, Brigadier-General J. K. Mansfield commanded the troops in +and about Washington, and Brigadier-General Irvin McDowell commanded +the Federal troops south of the Potomac. The North had come to a +realization of the fact that actual war was at hand, and the cry "On +to Richmond!" was being vigorously uttered. There was an idea that an +immediate and vigorous forward movement would crush the rebellion at +a blow. Sherman found that this view was generally held by the army +officers, among whom he moved a great deal in company with his brother +John, and his old friend and classmate, George H. Thomas. + +A considerable volunteer army under General Patterson moved down +from Pennsylvania and crossed the Potomac at the beginning of July, +and there were now plenty of troops at Washington to render that +city secure from attack. The appearance of the troops in and about +Washington was good, but they were evidently altogether unused to war. +Scarcely two regiments wore the same uniform, and their arms were of +all sorts and patterns. Sherman talked much with General Scott about +the plans for the war, and was taken deeply into his confidence. The +gallant old General fretted much at the clamors of the newspapers for +an immediate advance on Richmond, and at the frequent interference of +the President and Secretary of War with his plans. It was his idea to +organize a "Grand Army of Invasion," which he would lead in person, +although at that time he was very old and physically incapacitated for +service in the field. + +Congress met on July 4th, and Lincoln sent it a vigorous message, +announcing that war had begun, that there could be no more thought +of compromise, and that he wanted four hundred thousand men and four +hundred million dollars to suppress the rebellion and save the Union. +The Southern members of Congress had now left Washington, and the +general atmosphere of that Capitol was more wholesome and patriotic. +Indeed, Congress seemed fully in sympathy with the popular zeal +and daily re-echoed the cry "On to Richmond!" And the same cry was +taken up by the three months' volunteers; who were the first to be +panic-stricken, when actual fighting was begun. + +The Rebels now had two armies in front of Washington; one at Manassas +Junction, under General Beauregard, and the other at Winchester, under +General Joe Johnston. Goaded on by the popular clamor, General Scott +hurried his preparations for an advance, and about the middle of July +ordered his armies forward. McDowell was to attack Beauregard, and +Patterson was to move against Johnston. Sherman was put in command of a +brigade of five regiments at Fort Corcoran. This was the Third Brigade +of the First Division of McDowell's army, the division being commanded +by General Tyler, who was a West Point man, but had as yet seen no real +fighting. + +Sherman took command of these troops at the beginning of July, and at +once set about preparing four of the five regiments for service in the +field. These were the Thirteenth New York, the Sixty-ninth New York, +the Seventy-ninth New York, and the Second Wisconsin; all volunteer +regiments, strong and in good condition; and Sherman congratulated +himself on having the best brigade in the army. He had some difficulty +with the New York Sixty-ninth, an Irish regiment, which had volunteered +early in April for ninety days, but had not been mustered in for a +month thereafter. Many of the men wanted to go home at the end of +ninety days from the date of enlistment, but Sherman referred the +matter to the War Department, and obtained an authoritative decision +that the men must serve for ninety days from the date of mustering in. + +About the middle of July the division moved forward, and on July 18th +had a skirmish at Centreville, in which four or five of Sherman's men +were killed. This engagement assured the Federal commanders of the +fact that the Rebels were in strong force just beyond Bull Run, and +that a serious battle was imminent. That battle occurred on July 21st, +but there is no need here to rehearse its confused story in detail. +It was, in Sherman's judgment, afterward frankly expressed, one of +the best-planned battles of the war, but one of the worst fought. The +Federal army was composed of good troops, well organized; but they had +no real knowledge of war and had not yet learned the lesson of military +obedience. Moreover, they had the false idea that at their first +volley and charge the enemy would be routed. There have been volumes +of controversy about the battle in after years, mostly productive of +little good. Perhaps it need now only be said that the conflict was +little creditable to either side. + +Sherman personally led his brigade in the battle. It was his first +serious fighting, and he was of a nervous and excitable temperament; +yet he displayed remarkable coolness and steadiness. He entered the +action early in the afternoon, and pursued the retreating enemy for +more than a mile. Then he had to assume the defensive, and, after a +determined struggle, his brigade was beaten, regiment by regiment, and +driven back in disorder. When the panic set in his men joined in it, +and their retreat was, in his own words, "disorderly in the extreme." +The total loss of his brigade was 111 killed, 205 wounded and 293 +missing. His own conduct, however, was such as to impress favorably +his friends at Washington, and, on the request of the Ohio members +of Congress, he was, on August 3d, appointed Brigadier-General of +Volunteers. His commission was dated May 17th, and was accepted on +August 16th. + +Following is Sherman's official report of the operations of his brigade +at Bull Run, made to Captain Baird, Assistant Adjutant-General of the +First Division: + +"The brigade was composed of the Thirteenth New York Volunteers, +Colonel Quimby; Sixty-ninth New York, Colonel Corcoran; Seventy-ninth +New York, Colonel Cameron; Second Wisconsin, Lieutenant-Colonel Peck, +and Company E, Third Artillery, under command of Captain R. B Ayres, +Fifth Artillery. We left our camp near Centreville, pursuant to +orders, at 2.30 A. M., taking place in your column next to the brigade +of General Schenck, and proceeded as far as the halt before the enemy's +position, near the stone bridge at Bull Run. Here the brigade was +deployed in line along the skirt of timber, and remained quietly in +position till after 10 A. M. The enemy remained very quiet, but about +that time we saw a regiment leave its cover in our front, and proceed +in double-quick time on the road toward Sudley Springs, by which we +knew the columns of Colonels Hunter and Heintzelman was approaching. +About the same time, we observed in motion a large force of the enemy +below the stone bridge. I directed Captain Ayres to take position +with his battery near our right, and opened fire on this mass, but +you had previously directed the two guns belonging to this battery; +and, finding the smooth bore guns did not reach the enemy's position, +we ceased firing, and I sent a request that you should send to me the +thirty-pounder rifled gun attached to Captain Carlisle's Battery, at +the same time I shifted the New York Sixty-ninth to the extreme right +of the brigade. There we remained till we heard the musketry fire +across Bull Run, showing that the head of Colonel Hunter's column was +engaged. This firing was brisk, and showed that Hunter was driving +before him the enemy, till about noon when it became certain that the +enemy had come to a stand, and that our force on the other side of Bull +Run was all engaged, artillery and infantry. + +"Here you sent me the order to cross over with the whole brigade to the +assistance of Colonel Hunter. Early in the day, when reconnoitering +the ground, I had seen a horseman descend from a bluff to a point, +cross the stream and show himself in the open field. And, inferring +we should cross over at the same point, I sent forward a company +as skirmishers, and followed with the whole brigade, the New York +Sixty-ninth leading. We found no difficulty in crossing over, and met +no opposition in ascending the steep bluff opposite with our infantry, +but it was impassable to the artillery; and I sent word back to Captain +Ayres to follow, if possible, otherwise to use his discretion. Captain +Ayres did not cross Bull Run, but remained with the remainder of your +division. His report herewith described his operations during the +remainder of the day. Advancing slowly and continuously with the head +of the column, to give time for the regiments in succession to close up +their ranks, we first encountered a party of the enemy retreating along +a cluster of pines. Lieutenant-Colonel Haggerty of the Sixty-ninth +Regiment, without orders, rode over and endeavored to intercept their +retreat. One of the enemy, in full view and short range, shot Haggerty, +and he fell dead from his horse. The Sixty-ninth opened fire on this +party, which was returned; but, determined to effect our junction with +Hunter's Division, I ordered this fire to cease, and we proceeded with +caution toward the field, when we then plainly saw our forces engaged. +Displaying our colors conspicuously at the head of our column, we +succeeded in attracting the attention of our friends, and soon formed +the brigade in rear of Colonel Porter's. Here I learned that Colonel +Hunter was disabled by a severe wound, and that General McDowell was +on the field. I sought him out and received his orders to join in the +pursuit of the enemy, who were falling back to the left of the road +by which the army had approached from Sudley Springs. Placing Colonel +Quimby's Regiment of Rifles in front, in column by division, I directed +the other regiments to follow in line of battle, in the order of the +Wisconsin Second, New York Seventy-ninth, and New York Sixty-ninth. + +[Illustration: GEN. JNO. C. FREMONT.] + +"Quimby's Regiment advanced steadily down the hill and up the ridge, +from which he opened fire upon the enemy, who had made another stand on +ground very favorable to him, and the regiment continued advancing as +the enemy gave way, till the head of the column reached the point near +which Rickett's Battery was so severely cut up. The other regiments +descended the hill in line of battle, under a severe cannonading, and +the ground affording comparative shelter against the enemy's artillery, +they changed directions by the right flank and followed the road before +mentioned. At the point where this road crossed the bridge to our +left, the ground was swept by a most severe fire by artillery, rifle, +and musketry, and we saw in succession several regiments driven from +it, among them the Zouaves and battalion of marines. Before reaching +the crest of the hill the roadway was worn deep enough to afford +shelter, and I kept the several regiments in it as long as possible; +but when the Wisconsin Second was abreast of the enemy, by order of +Major Wadsworth, of General McDowell's staff, I ordered it to leave +the roadway by the left flank and to attack the enemy. This regiment +ascended to the brow of the hill steadily, received the severe fire of +the enemy, returned it with spirit, and advanced delivering its fire. +This regiment is uniformed in gray cloth, almost identical with that +of the great bulk of the secession army, and when the regiment fled in +confusion and retreated toward the road, there was a universal cry that +they were being fired upon by our own men. The regiment rallied again, +passed the brow of the hill a second time, and was again repulsed in +disorder. + +"By this time the New York Seventy-ninth had closed up, and in like +manner it was ordered to cross the brow of the hill and drive the +enemy from cover. It was impossible to get a good view of the ground. +In it there was one battery of artillery, which poured an incessant +fire upon our advancing column, and the ground was irregular, with +small clusters of pines, affording shelter, of which the enemy took +good advantage. The fire of rifles and musketry was very severe. The +Seventy-ninth, headed by its Colonel (Cameron), charged across the +hill, and for a short time the contest was severe. They rallied several +times under fire, but finally broke and gained the cover of the hill. +This left the field open to the New York Sixty-ninth, Colonel Corcoran, +who, in his turn, led his regiment over the crest, and had in full open +view the ground so severely contested. The firing was very severe, and +the roar of cannon, musketry, and rifles, incessant. It was manifest +the enemy was here in great force, far superior to us at that point. +The Sixty-ninth held the ground for some time, but finally fell back in +disorder. + +"At this time Quimby's Regiment occupied another ridge to our left, +overlooking the same field of action, and similarly engaged. Here +(about 3.30 P. M.) began the scene of disorder and confusion that +characterized the remainder of the day. Up to that time, all had kept +their places, and seemed perfectly cool, and used to the shell and shot +that fell comparatively harmless. Crossing Bull Run, I sought it at its +last position before the Brigadier crossed, but it was not there; then +passing through the wood, where, in the morning we had first formed +line, we approached the blacksmith's shop, but there found a detachment +of Rebel cavalry; then made a circuit, avoiding Cub Run bridge, into +Centreville, where I found General McDowell. From him I understood that +it was his purpose to rally the forces and make a stand at Centreville. + +"But about 9 o'clock at night I received from General Tyler, in person, +the order to continue the retreat to the Potomac. This retreat was by +night, and disorderly in the extreme. The men of different regiments +mingled together, and some reached the river at Arlington, some at +Long Bridge, and the greater part returned to their former camps at +or near Fort Corcoran. I reached this point at noon next day, and +found a miscellaneous crowd crossing over the aqueduct and ferries. +Conceiving this to be demoralizing, I at once commanded the guard to +be increased, and all persons attempting to pass over to be stopped. +This soon produced its effect. Men sought their proper companies and +regiments, comparative order was restored, and all now posted to the +best advantage. + +"Our loss was heavy, all around us; but the short exposure to an +intense fire of small-arms, at close range, had killed many, wounded +more, and had produced disorder in all the battalions that had +attempted to destroy it. Men fell away talking, and in great confusion. +Colonel Cameron had been mortally wounded, carried to an ambulance, +and reported dying. Many other officers were reported dead or missing, +and many of the wounded were making their way, with more or less +assistance, to the buildings or hospitals. On the ridge to the west we +succeeded in partially re-forming the regiments, but it was manifest +they would not stand, and I directed Colonel Corcoran to move along +the ridge to the rear, near the position where we had first formed the +brigade. General McDowell was there in person, and used all possible +efforts to reassure the men. By the active exertions of Colonel +Corcoran, we formed an irregular square against the cavalry, which was +then seen to issue from the position from which we had been driven, and +we began our retreat towards that ford of Bull Run by which we had +approached the field of battle. There was no possible order to retreat, +although for an hour it had been going on by the operations of the men +themselves. The ranks were thin and irregular, and we found a stream +of people stirring from the hospital across Bull Run, and far toward +Centreville. + +"After putting in motion the irregular square, I pushed forward to find +Captain Ayres's Battery, occupied chiefly at the point where Rickett's +Battery was destroyed. Lieutenant-Colonel Haggerty was killed about +noon, before we effected a junction with Colonel Hunter's Division. +Colonel Cameron was mortally wounded leading the regiment in charge, +and Colonel Corcoran has been missing since the cavalry charge near the +building used as a hospital." + +After the battle, Sherman made his way back to Centreville, where he +saw General McDowell, and reorganized as far as possible his disordered +regiments. During the night they marched back to Fort Corcoran, and +expecting the Rebels to pursue them, placed themselves in a state +of defence. By July 25th many of his men, especially the New York +Sixty-ninth Regiment, became sick of war, and wanted to go home. One +captain of the Sixty-ninth grew mutinous, and in the presence of a +number of the soldiers declared that he was going home at once, with or +without permission. Sherman turned upon him sharply and said: "If you +attempt to leave without orders I will shoot you like a dog!" The man +weakened and went back to his place in the fort, and no more such talk +was heard. + +That same day, Lincoln and Seward came down to the camp in an open +carriage. "We heard," said Lincoln, "that you had got over the big +scare, and we thought we would come over and see the boys." Sherman +escorted them about the camp, and then called out his troops on parade. +Lincoln stood up in the carriage and made a most effective address to +them. When the soldiers tried to cheer him he stopped them, saying: +"Don't cheer, boys. I rather like it myself, but Colonel Sherman says +it is not military, and we had better defer to his opinion." Lincoln +praised the condition of the troops highly, and the effect of his +speech and visit was excellent. + +When the President entered Fort Corcoran, Sherman in the carriage with +him, the mutinous captain of the Sixty-ninth New York, whom Sherman +had threatened to shoot, came forward and said: "Mr. President, +this morning I went to speak to Colonel Sherman, and he threatened +to shoot me." "Threatened to shoot you?" echoed Lincoln. "Yes, sir; +he threatened to shoot me." Lincoln looked at the officer, then at +Sherman, and then, stooping over, said to the Captain, in a whisper +loud enough to be heard by others: "Well, if I were you, and he +threatened to shoot, I would be mighty careful, for he looks like a +man who would do just what he says." The officer sneaked away amid the +laughter of the by-standers, and the President afterward remarked to +Sherman: "Of course, I didn't know anything about it, but I thought you +knew your own business best." + +General McDowell now had his headquarters at the Arlington House, +and was busily reorganizing his army. All the subordinate officers +were in great trepidation, lest they should be held responsible for +the disaster of the battle. General McClellan had been sent for, and +changes in command were occurring daily. One evening, as a number of +the officers were gathered in the Adjutant-General's office, a list of +newly-appointed Brigadiers was announced. The list comprised the names +of Sherman, Heintzelman and several other Colonels, all of whom had +shared in the panic at Bull Run. None of them could believe that they +had actually been promoted, and Heintzelman exclaimed, with an oath: +"It's all a lie! Every mother's son of you will be cashiered." The +appointments, however, were actually made; and when McClellan assumed +command, he confirmed the organization made by McDowell. Sherman +received several new regiments, built two new forts, and organized an +elaborate system of drills. He was now convinced that there was a long, +hard war ahead, and he made up his mind to prepare for it as thoroughly +as possible. + +During the month of August, troops kept pouring in. McClellan talked +about organizing an army of one hundred thousand men, with one hundred +field batteries. Sherman was anxious for him to come to the south of +the Potomac and prepare for real work in the field, but McClellan +tarried at his comfortable house in Washington. Sherman then thought, +and frankly declared that he thought, it a mistake, and this opinion +he always retained. On account of this and other expressions, Sherman +became unpopular both with McClellan and his favorites. His frank +truth-telling about the panic at Bull Run, both in his own command +and in the commands of others, gave great offense. He was never at +all backward in expressing his opinions, and at this time he enjoyed +unusual freedom of utterance. His nature was nervous, outspoken and +arbitrary, and his experience as Principal of the Military Seminary in +Louisiana had enhanced his mandatory air. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +SERVICE IN KENTUCKY. + + SERVING UNDER ANDERSON--CRITICAL CONDITION OF THE STATE--SEEKING + HELP IN OTHER STATES--A VISIT TO FREMONT--THAT FAMOUS INTERVIEW + WITH CAMERON--HOW THE STORY OF SHERMAN'S INSANITY WAS STARTED-- + ATTACKS AND INSULTS--SHERMAN'S OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE--HIS + REQUEST FOR 200,000 MEN--AN EXTRAORDINARY NEWSPAPER ARTICLE-- + SHERMAN TRANSFERRED TO MISSOURI--HALLECK'S CONFIDENCE IN HIM-- + PLANNING THE DONELSON CAMPAIGN. + + +The difference of military views between Sherman and McClellan +increased; and while Sherman was steadily striving to get his raw +troops into the best possible condition and ready to repulse the Rebel +attack that was hourly expected, he felt that there was no prospect of +future usefulness or advancement for him in the Army of the Potomac. +He was therefore much pleased and relieved, when, about the middle +of August, his old friend Robert Anderson, the hero of Fort Sumter, +now a Brigadier-General, asked him to accept a command in the Army of +the Cumberland, in Kentucky. The State of Kentucky was claimed by the +South, but the Legislature was now ready, as soon as the Government +offered it proper support, to take sides openly with the North. +Anderson had been appointed to command the military department of the +Cumberland, including Kentucky and Tennessee, and had the privilege +of selecting four of the new Brigadier-Generals to assist him. He +wanted Thomas, Don Carlos Buell, Burnside and Sherman. It had long been +Sherman's desire to return to the West, and he was very glad to be +associated with Anderson, under whom he had served at Fort Moultrie; so +he quickly accepted the proposition. A day or two later Anderson and +Sherman had a talk with President Lincoln about it, and secured his +consent to the arrangement, although Lincoln at first objected to the +appointment of Thomas, who was a Virginian. So many Southern officers +had gone over to the enemy, that Lincoln hesitated to commission any. +But Sherman and Anderson convinced him that Thomas was and would remain +as true as steel. "I'll be responsible for his loyalty," said Anderson, +"with my life." + +At this interview Sherman was careful to impress upon Lincoln his +earnest desire to fill a subordinate place and not, under any +circumstances, to be intrusted with independent command. Lincoln +declared himself delighted to hear this, saying that he had all along +been greatly troubled to find places for the many Generals who wanted +to be Commander-in-Chief. + +The official order, No. 114, making these appointments, was issued on +August 24th. A few days later Sherman was relieved, and was succeeded +by Fitz-John Porter, and immediately he set out for Cincinnati, where +he met Anderson and Thomas. On September 1st and 2d, these officers +met Messrs. Harlan, Speed, Jackson and other prominent Kentuckians, +and discussed with them the general political and military situation. +At this time the Legislature was in session, ready to declare for the +Union as soon as General Anderson was prepared to defend it against +the Southern armies. William Nelson, a naval officer, acting as +Brigadier-General of Volunteers, commanded a Federal force at Camp Dick +Robinson, near Nicholasville, and Brigadier-General Rousseau commanded +another camp at Jeffersonville, opposite Louisville. + +The State was threatened with invasion by two Rebel armies marching +from Tennessee. One came from Nashville, under the lead of Albert +Sidney Johnston and S. B. Buckner, and the other from Cumberland and +Gap, under Crittenden and Zollicoffer. Anderson soon realized that +the Federal forces at hand were not able to resist these two armies, +and decided at once to send Sherman to the Governors of Indiana and +Illinois for help, and also to General Fremont, who was now in command +at St. Louis, while Anderson himself and Thomas would go to Louisville +and organize the military forces there. + +Sherman found Governor Morton, of Indiana, as busy as could be raising +and equipping regiments, which, however, were all sent either to +McClellan or to Fremont. He found Governor Yates, of Illinois, equally +diligent, but all his troops were sent to Fremont. So he hastened +to St. Louis. There he found much activity and preparation. When he +inquired for General Fremont he was told, "You needn't suppose that he +will see you!" Then he was told that Fremont was assuming extraordinary +dignity, surrounding himself by elaborate guards and a showy court, and +that he delighted in showing his authority by keeping State Governors +and other important men waiting for days before he would condescend to +grant them an interview. + +"Oh, shucks!" said Sherman; "he'll see me!" So early the next morning, +at sunrise, he went to Fremont's headquarters. A sentinel with a naked +sword was on guard at the door. Sherman inquired if Fremont was up +yet. The guard said he didn't know. "Then find out!" said Sherman in a +peremptory tone. The sentry called for the corporal of the guard, to +whom Sherman addressed the same inquiry; the same answer was given, +and then Sherman repeated the same command. The corporal went into the +house, and a few minutes later the front door opened and Isaiah C. +Woods, an old California acquaintance of Sherman's, came out. Sherman +had a friendly chat with him, and told him that he must see Fremont +at once. So Woods returned to the house and in a few minutes Sherman +was ushered into Fremont's presence. Fremont was very cordial, but was +unable to offer Sherman any immediate assistance as, he said, he must +first drive the Rebel army out of Missouri. + +That afternoon Sherman left St. Louis and returned to Louisville. +He found that city surcharged with excitement. The Legislature had +declared for the Union, and the Rebel armies were rapidly advancing +through the State. A. S. Johnston was entrenched at Bowling Green, +Zollicoffer was at Somerset, Pillow and Polk occupied Columbus, and +Buckner was rapidly advancing on Louisville. The Federal commanders +were utterly unprepared to cope with them. Grant had a strong force at +Paducah, but Anderson at Louisville was practically helpless. Buckner's +Rebel army was only thirty miles away and would perhaps already have +been in Louisville had not a loyal citizen, named Bird, displaced a +railroad rail, and thus wrecked the train which was bringing Buckner's +advance guard. This incident caused some delay to Buckner and saved the +city. + +Sherman set to work vigorously, bringing into the city all available +troops and getting them ready for action. His headquarters were at +Muldraugh's Hill, where he massed his troops. But now a new trouble +arose. Worry and anxiety told seriously upon Anderson and he declared +that he must resign his command or he would die. On October 8th, he +did actually resign, and Sherman, as the senior Brigadier-General, +succeeded him in command. This was much against Sherman's own wishes, +and in direct violation of the agreement between him and President +Lincoln. He protested to the War Department against being put in +Anderson's place, and was assured that Buell would be soon appointed to +relieve him. + +The work of organizing for defence went steadily on, and the Rebel +advance was for a season checked. The Government at Washington +appeared, however, to be devoting nearly all its attention to McClellan +and Fremont, and to be neglecting the army in Kentucky altogether. This +was Sherman's feeling at the time. But about the middle of October, +Simon Cameron, the Secretary of War, accompanied by Adjutant-General +Lorenzo Thomas and six or seven newspaper men, paid Sherman a flying +visit at Louisville. Cameron asked Sherman to talk freely about the +situation, assuring him that the interview was entirely confidential. + +Sherman accordingly spoke with his customary frankness. He complained +that the new troops, as fast as they were enlisted, were sent either to +McClellan or to Fremont, and that he got none of them; that his forces +were utterly inadequate to cope with the enemy, and that the Rebel +army under Johnston could take Louisville any day. Cameron expressed +great astonishment at this, and declared that the Kentucky Senators +and Representatives had assured him that they had plenty of men in +Kentucky, and only needed arms. Sherman said that this was not true, +that the young men were going over to the Rebels wholesale, and that +the supply of arms furnished was scanty in quantity and defective in +quality. + +Cameron was alarmed at these statements, and promised to do all in +his power to help Sherman. Then Sherman unrolled a big map, and +pointed out the great importance of resisting the Rebel advance along +the Kentucky line. McClellan was guarding one hundred miles with +one hundred thousand men, and Fremont one hundred miles with sixty +thousand men, while he had only eighteen thousand men to guard over +three hundred miles. He ought to have, he said, sixty thousand men at +once for defensive purposes, and if he was to assume the aggressive he +would need two hundred thousand. These estimates startled Cameron, and +when he returned to Washington, a few days later, he spoke of them as +"insane." The word was quickly taken up, and soon the whole country +was ringing with the startling intelligence that the Commander of the +Army of the Cumberland was a madman. Before this, however, Sherman had +written as follows to Adjutant-General Thomas: + +"On my arrival at Camp Dick Robinson, I found General Thomas had +stationed a Kentucky regiment at Rock Castle Hill, beyond a river of +the same name, and had sent an Ohio and an Indiana regiment forward in +support. He was embarrassed for transportation, and I authorized him to +hire teams, and to move his whole force nearer to his advance-guard so +as to support it, as he had information of the approach of Zollicoffer +toward London. I have just heard from him, that he had sent forward +General Schoepf with Colonel Wolford's Cavalry, Colonel Steadman's +Ohio Regiment, and a battery of artillery, followed on a succeeding +day by a Tennessee brigade. He had still two Kentucky regiments, the +Thirty-eighth Ohio, and another battery of artillery, with which he +was followed yesterday. This force, if concentrated, should be strong +enough for the purpose; at all events, it is all he had or I could give +him. + +"I explained to you fully, when here, the supposed position of our +adversaries, among which was a force in the valley of Big Sandy, +supposed to be advancing on Paris, Kentucky. General Nelson, at +Maysville, was instructed to collect all the men he could, and Colonel +Gill's Regiment of Ohio Volunteers. Colonel Harris was already in +position at Olympian Springs, and a regiment lay at Lexington, which +I ordered to his support. This leaves the line of Thomas's operations +exposed, but I cannot help it. I explained so fully to yourself and the +Secretary of War the condition of things, that I can add nothing new +until further developments. You know my views, that this great centre +of our field is too weak, far too weak, and I have begged and implored +till I dare not say more. + +"Buckner still is beyond Green River. He sent a detachment of his men, +variously estimated at from two to four thousand, toward Greensburg. +General Ward, with about one thousand men, retreated to Campbellsburg, +where he called to his assistance some partially-formed regiments, +to the number of about two thousand. The enemy did not advance, and +General Ward was, at last dates, at Campbellsburg. The officers +charged with raising regiments must, of necessity, be near their homes +to collect men, and for this reason are out of position; but at our +headquarters near Greensburg and Lebanon, I desire to assemble as large +a force of the Kentucky Volunteers as possible. This organization is +necessarily irregular, but the necessity is so great that I must have +them, and, therefore, have issued to them arms and clothing during +the process of formation. This has facilitated their enlistment; but, +inasmuch as the Legislature has provided money for organizing the +Kentucky Volunteers, and intrusted its disbursement to a board of loyal +gentlemen, I have endeavored to co-operate with them to hasten the +formation of these corps. + +"The great difficulty is, and has been, that, as volunteers offer, we +have not arms and clothing to give them. The arms sent us are, as you +already know, European muskets of uncouth pattern, which the volunteers +will not touch. + +"General McCook has now three brigades--Johnson's, Wood's, and +Rousseau's. Negley's Brigade arrived to-day, and will be sent out +at once. The Minnesota Regiment has also arrived, and will be sent +forward. Hazzard's Regiment, of Indiana troops, I have ordered to the +mouth of Salt Creek, an important point on the turnpike-road leading to +Elizabethtown. + +"I again repeat that our force here is out of all proportion to the +importance of the position. Our defeat would be disastrous to the +nation; and to expect of new men, who never bore arms, to do miracles, +is not right." + +It does not appear that Secretary Cameron made any effectual effort to +correct the rumors of Sherman's insanity, and the latter accordingly +soon found himself a target for much merciless criticism. "My +position," says Sherman, "was unbearable, and it is probable that +I resented the cruel insult with language of intense feeling." His +resentment added fuel to the flames, and the situation became most +serious when, at the beginning of November, McClellan, who was probably +not favorably disposed toward him, was made Commander-in-Chief of all +the armies in the field. One of McClellan's first acts was to demand by +telegraph, a full report from Sherman of the disposition of the forces +in Kentucky. Sherman replied as follows on November 4th, addressing +himself to the Adjutant-General, Lorenzo Thomas: + +"In compliance with the telegraphic orders of General McClellan, +received late last night, I submit this report of the forces in +Kentucky, and of their condition: + +"The tabular statement shows the position of the several regiments. The +camp at Nolin is at the present extremity of the Nashville Railroad. +This force was thrown forward to meet the advance of Buckner's army, +which then fell back to Green River, twenty-three miles beyond. These +regiments were substantially without means of transportation, other +than the railroad, which is guarded at all dangerous points, yet is +liable to interruption at any moment, by the tearing up of a rail +by the disaffected inhabitants or a hired enemy. These regiments +are composed of good materials, but devoid of company officers of +experience, and have been put under thorough drill since being in camp. +They are generally well clad, and provided for. Beyond Green River, the +enemy has masked his forces, and it is very difficult to ascertain even +the approximate numbers. No pains have been spared to ascertain them, +but without success, and it is well known that they far out-number us. +Depending, however, on the railroads to their rear for transportation, +they have not thus far advanced this side of Green River, except in +marauding parties. This is the proper line of advance, but will require +a very large force, certainly fifty thousand men, as their railroad +facilities South enable them to concentrate at Munfordsville the entire +strength of the South. General McCook's Command is divided into four +brigades, under Generals Wood, R. W. Johnson, Rousseau and Negley. + +"General Thomas's line of operations is from Lexington, toward +Cumberland Gap and Ford, which are occupied by a force of Rebel +Tennesseeans, under the command of Zollicoffer. Thomas occupies +the position at London, in front of two roads, which lead to the +fertile part of Kentucky, the one by Richmond, and the other by Crab +Orchard, with his reserve at Camp Dick Robinson, eight miles south +of the Kentucky River. His provisions and stores go by railroad from +Cincinnati to Nicholasville, and thence in wagons to his several +regiments. He is forced to hire transportation. + +"Brigadier-General Nelson is operating by the line from Olympian +Springs, east of Paris, on the Covington and Lexington Railroad, toward +Prestonburg, in the valley of the Big Sandy, where is assembled a force +of from twenty-five to thirty-five hundred Rebel Kentuckians waiting +reinforcements from Virginia. My last report from him was to October +28th, at which time he had Colonel Harris's Ohio Second, nine hundred +strong; Colonel Norton's Twenty-first Ohio, one thousand; and Colonel +Sill's Thirty-third Ohio, seven hundred and fifty strong; with two +irregular Kentucky regiments, Colonels Marshall and Matcalf. The troops +were on the road near Hazel Green and West Liberty, advancing toward +Prestonburg. + +[Illustration: GEN. THOMAS' BIVOUAC AFTER THE FIRST DAY'S BATTLE.] + +"Upon an inspection of the map, you will observe these are all +divergent lines, but rendered necessary, from the fact that our enemies +choose them as places of refuge from pursuit, where they can receive +assistance from neighboring States. Our lines are all too weak, +probably with the exception of that of Prestonburg. To strengthen +these, I am thrown on the raw levies of Ohio and Indiana, who arrive +in detachments, perfectly fresh from the country, and loaded down with +baggage, also upon the Kentuckians, who are slowly forming regiments +all over the State, at points remote from danger, and whom it will be +almost impossible to assemble together. The organization of this latter +force is, by the laws of Kentucky, under the control of a military +board of citizens, at the capital, Frankfort, and they think they will +be enabled to have fifteen regiments toward the middle of this month, +but I doubt it, and deem it unsafe to rely on them. There are four +regiments forming in the neighborhood of Owensboro', near the mouth of +Green River, who are doing good service, also in the neighborhood of +Campbellsville, but it is unsafe to rely on troops so suddenly armed +and equipped. They are not yet clothed or uniformed. I know well you +will think our force too widely distributed, but we are forced to it by +the attitude of our enemies, whose force and numbers the country never +has and probably never will comprehend. + +"I am told that my estimate of troops needed for this line, viz., two +hundred thousand, has been construed to my prejudice, and therefore +leave it for the future. This is the great centre on which our enemies +can concentrate whatever force is not employed elsewhere." + +Two days later Sherman wrote again: + +"General McClellan telegraphs me to report to him daily the situation +of affairs here. The country is so large that it is impossible to +give clear and definite views. Our enemies have a terrible advantage +in the fact that in our midst, in our camps, and along our avenues +of travel, they have active partisans, farmers and business-men, who +seemingly pursue their usual calling, but are in fact spies. They +report all our movements and strength, while we can procure information +only by circuitous and unreliable means. I inclose you the copy of an +intercepted letter, which is but the type of others. Many men from +every part of the State are now enrolled under Buckner--have gone to +him--while ours have to be raised in neighborhoods, and cannot be +called together except at long notice. These volunteers are being +organized under the laws of the State, and the 10th of November is +fixed for the time of consolidating them into companies and regiments. +Many of them are armed by the United States as home guards, and many by +General Anderson and myself, because of the necessity of being armed to +guard their camps against internal enemies. Should we be overwhelmed, +they would scatter, and their arms and clothing will go to the enemy, +furnishing the very material they so much need. We should have here a +very large force, sufficient to give confidence to the Union men of the +ability to do what should be done--possess ourselves of all the State. +But all see and feel we are brought to a standstill, and this produces +doubt and alarm. With our present force it would be simple madness to +cross Green River, and yet hesitation may be as fatal. In like manner +the other columns are in peril, not so much in front as rear, the +railroads over which our stores must pass being exposed. I have the +Nashville Railroad guarded by three regiments, yet it is far from being +safe; and, the moment actual hostilities commence, these roads will be +interrupted, and we will be in a dilemma. To meet this in part I have +put a cargo of provisions at the mouth of Salt River, guarded by two +regiments. All these detachments weaken the main force, and endanger +the whole. Do not conclude, as before, that I exaggerate the facts. +They are as stated, and the future looks as dark as possible. It would +be better if some man of sanguine mind were here, for I am forced to +order according to my convictions." + +Distrust of Sherman increased at the War Department. Whether or not +he was really considered insane, the Government hesitated to intrust +to him the command of the increased forces it was presently to place +in Kentucky. Accordingly, on November 12th, Sherman was relieved from +command and was sent to the Missouri, to drill and organize volunteers. +His successor in command at Louisville was General Don Carlos +Buell. The extraordinary extent to which the rumors of his mental +unsoundness were carried, may be appreciated after perusal of the +following passage, which occurred in an editorial in _The Cincinnati +Commercial_--a paper supposed to be friendly to Sherman--early in +December, 1861: + +"The painful intelligence reaches us in such form that we are not at +liberty to discredit it, that General W. T. Sherman, late Commander +of the Department of the Cumberland is insane! It appears that he was +at times, when commanding in Kentucky, stark mad. We learn that he at +one time telegraphed to the War Department three times in one day for +permission to evacuate Kentucky and retreat into Indiana. He also, +on several occasions, frightened the leading Union men of Louisville +almost out of their wits by the most astounding representations of +the overwhelming force of Buckner, and the assertion that Louisville +could not be defended. The retreat from Cumberland Gap was one of his +mad freaks. When relieved from the command in Kentucky, he was sent +to Missouri and placed at the head of a brigade at Sedalia, where the +shocking fact that he was a madman was developed by orders that his +subordinates knew to be preposterous and refused to obey. He has, of +course, been relieved altogether from command. The harsh criticisms +which have been lavished upon this gentleman, provoked by his strange +conduct, will now give way to feelings of the deepest sympathy for him +in his great calamity. It seems providential that the country has not +to mourn the loss of an army through the loss of the mind of a General +into whose hands were committed the vast responsibilities of the +command in Kentucky." + +This article in _The Commercial_ was based on information furnished +by a Washington correspondent of that paper. Sherman received a copy +of the paper containing the editorial while he was with his family at +Lancaster. He read it carefully, threw down the paper, and exclaimed +nervously, "Well, now, I shouldn't be surprised if they fastened that +on me. It's the hardest thing in the world for a man to prove himself +sane when many people think him insane." His family and friends did +not take the matter so calmly. They attributed the article to General +McClellan, and would never be persuaded that he did not inspire it. +As a matter of fact, McClellan's confidential adviser, Colonel Key, +had actually been sent out to see Sherman and to report on his mental +condition, and had reported that, in his opinion, Sherman was not +sufficiently master of his judgment to warrant the intrusting to him of +an important military command. + +It will be of interest to quote at this point from a letter which was +written some months afterward by General Halleck, referring to the +current reports of Sherman's madness. + +"The newspaper attacks are certainly shameless and scandalous, but I +cannot agree with you, that they have us in their power 'to destroy us +as they please.' I certainly get my share of abuse, but it will not +disturb me." + +Among those who stood by Sherman firmly was Grant, who had from +the first unbounded faith in him; a feeling which Sherman fully +reciprocated. It is told that, late in the war, some one sought to win +Sherman's favor by speaking disparagingly of Grant. "It won't do, sir," +said Sherman. "It won't do at all. Grant is a great general, he stood +by me when they said I was crazy, and I stood by him when they said he +was drunk, and now, by thunder, sir, we stand by each other." + +Halleck treated Sherman kindly during the months of his career in +Missouri, but the popular clamor against him continued. After camp +inspection work at Sedalia and service at Benton Barracks, St. Louis, +Sherman was sent to Paducah, Kentucky, to command the post there. +This was on February 13th, 1862. At about this time Fort Henry and +Fort Donelson were captured, and Bowling Green was evacuated by the +Rebels. It is interesting to recall that one day, just before these +great events, Sherman, Halleck and other officers were discussing at +St. Louis the general plan of the campaign. The question arose, "Where +is the Rebel line?" It was indicated as passing through Bowling Green, +Fort Henry, Fort Donelson and Columbus. Halleck asked, "Where should it +be broken by our forces?" "In the centre," replied Sherman promptly. +Then Halleck pointed out that the line of the Tennessee River cut the +centre of the Rebel line, and that there would properly be the point +of attack. As Grant conducted the Donelson campaign under Halleck's +orders, Sherman always felt that Halleck was to be credited with the +strategy; but certainly the execution of it was due to Grant. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +SHILOH. + + THE GLOOMY WINTER OF 1861-2--EXULTATION OVER DONELSON--THE + ADVANCE UP THE TENNESSEE--RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ENCAMPMENT AT + PITTSBURGH LANDING--CONTROVERSIES OVER THE BATTLE--VARYING + ACCOUNTS--SHERMAN'S PERSONAL HEROISM--NUMBER OF TROOPS ENGAGED + ON BOTH SIDES--SERVICES OF THE ARMY OF THE OHIO--LOSSES OF THE + TWO ARMIES. + + +The winter of 1861-62 was a time of gloom and depression to the Union. +Vast armies were in the field, and the wealth of the Government was +being poured out most lavishly for their support. Yet they remained +chiefly inert, while the active and energetic Southern leaders +strengthened the position of the Rebel hosts and promoted the claims +of the Rebel cause upon the sympathetic interest of the world. A few +small bodies of Union troops encountered the enemy here and there, with +results not cheering to the Nation. And there was throughout the North +such a feeling of discouragement and gloom as only those who personally +experienced it can fully realize. + +The eyes of the Government and of the Nation were chiefly fixed upon +McClellan, the "Young Napoleon," from whom great things were expected. +But they were to be gladdened not by the glory of his achievements, but +by a sunburst of victory from another quarter, from that very central +western region which, according to Sherman's bitter complaints, had +hitherto been so much neglected. The news of the triumphs of Grant +and Foote at Forts Donelson and Henry, in February, 1862, literally +thrilled the heart of the Nation. For the first time Northern valor +was grandly vindicated, and for the first time since Bull Run, a +cheerful confidence in the victory of the Union cause prevailed. +"Unconditional Surrender" Grant became the hero of the hour, and his +terse message to Buckner, "I propose to move immediately upon your +works," was exultingly re-echoed from Maine to California. Even the +stern War Secretary, Stanton, who had succeeded Cameron, was moved to +enthusiastic expressions of joy. + +This campaign on the Tennessee, for the conception and direction of +which Sherman should doubtless be largely credited, was, however, +merely the beginning of incomparably greater operations, in which +Sherman himself played a most important part. After the fall of +Donelson, Grant incurred the displeasure of Halleck and was removed +from the command of the Army of the Tennessee, and General Charles F. +Smith, who had distinguished himself greatly at Donelson, was appointed +to take his place. Smith accordingly directed the forward movement of +the victorious army, southward, up the Tennessee River, but presently +fell sick, at Savannah, Tennessee, and a few weeks later died. Thus +Grant was restored to his command, and thenceforth was responsible for +the conduct of the campaign. + +Who was responsible for the encampment of the army at Pittsburgh +Landing, however, has been a matter of dispute. To place the army +there, instead of on the other side of the river, has been criticised +as a serious error. Grant's friends have sought to free him from +blame by saying that the choice was made by Smith, while Grant was in +disgrace and practically under arrest. As Smith was dead when this +statement was made, he could not reply to it. Grant himself made no +effort to exculpate himself at Smith's expense. He has left it on +record that when he was restored to his command, on March 13th, he +found his army partly at Savannah, on the northeast bank, and partly +at Pittsburgh Landing, on the southwest bank, nine miles apart. He at +once moved them all to the latter place, but personally remained at +Savannah, awaiting the arrival of Buell, who was to join him there with +his Army of the Ohio. Lew. Wallace was with his division at Crump's +Landing, on the southwest bank, five miles below Pittsburgh Landing, +where he had been placed by Smith and where Grant was well satisfied +to let him remain. By this acceptance of the place selected by Smith, +Grant practically approved it; and by remaining there for three weeks, +until the battle was fought, he made himself entirely responsible for +the whole situation, a responsibility which he never sought to evade. + +Concerning the arrangement and management of the Federal army during +the three weeks before the battle, there have been voluminous and +bitter controversies. Sherman was in a measure responsible for whatever +was done, or left undone, since he was at Pittsburgh Landing all the +time, while Grant spent half of his time at Savannah; and Sherman was +the adviser of McClernand, who was the actual senior. The Rebels were +known to be massed in force at Corinth, only a score of miles away, +under their ablest and bravest commanders. Sherman himself had been, +before the rendezvous was made at Pittsburgh Landing, sent out to cut +the communication between the two points, to prevent a sudden advance +of the enemy. In this he had not been successful. The errand was then +accomplished by W. H. L. Wallace, but the damage done was quickly +repaired by the Rebels and the line of approach restored. With such +danger of attack staring them in the face, the troops made no elaborate +preparations for defence. General Buell and other critics have charged +them with the most astounding and culpable negligence. The army, +according to Buell, had no line or order of battle, although it was on +the enemy's ground and the enemy was confronting it in force; it had no +defensive works of any sort; no outposts, properly speaking, to give +warning of or to check the advance of an enemy; and no recognized head +in the absence of its Commander, who spent half his time nine miles +away. And so, continues this drastic critic, the enemy advanced upon +it and formed in line of battle only a mile and a half away without +being checked or even observed; and the actual attack was a complete +and overwhelming surprise to the Union army. In this view the Rebel +commander, General Beauregard, coincides, characterizing the attack as +"one of the most surprising surprises ever achieved." + +Grant made no detailed reply to these charges, merely saying, as to +the lack of fortifications, that at that time the pick and spade were +little used in the Western armies, and that he considered drill and +discipline of more value than mere earthworks. Sherman himself thought +very highly of the Pittsburgh Landing site, as of great strategic +importance and as easy of defence. At a later period of the war, he +says, the place might in one night have been rendered impregnable. +That it was not fortified, he freely admits; and he adds that it was +probably well that it was not thus fortified. It was next to impossible +to move raw troops from fortified lines in such offensive work as +that contemplated by Grant and Sherman. The story of a surprise, he +indignantly repudiates, from first to last. + +As this volume is not written for purposes of controversy, no +discussion of these points will be indulged in here. The two sides +of the case will be presented to the reader, and he may draw his own +conclusions, if he has not already done so. Whatever that verdict may +be, it cannot seriously affect the transcendent fame of Sherman. + +Grant was superseded, as we have seen, by C. F. Smith, on March 4th, +1862. At this time Sherman was busy at Paducah, sending out boats and +organizing troops, which he hoped soon to be allowed to lead in the +field. The movement up the river was now begun, and on March 10th, +Sherman, to his great satisfaction, was ordered to join it. He at once +embarked with his four brigades, and proceeded to Fort Henry, where he +reported to Smith, and was ordered to wait near by for the remainder of +the army. A day or two later, he was sent on, escorted by two gunboats, +to cut the Memphis and Charleston Railroad between Tuscumbia and +Corinth. On his way up the river he was impressed with the importance +of Pittsburgh Landing, and sent back word to Smith that it ought to +be occupied. He landed at the mouth of the Yellow River, and tried to +reach the railroad and destroy it. But the country was flooded, and an +advance was impossible; so he returned. Smith sent him back to take +possession of Pittsburgh Landing, along with General Hurlbut, and told +him to make room there for the whole army. + +Sherman occupied Pittsburgh Landing on March 16th, and immediately +marched inland about ten miles to a cross-road hamlet called Monterey, +or Pea Ridge, where he learned that the enemy were gathering in +force at Corinth. His idea was to take the offensive. To throw up +fortifications would, he thought, make the raw recruits more timid. +Presently other divisions came up, until the bulk of the army was at +the landing. + +Pittsburgh Landing, then, was an insignificant settlement of two or +three cabins on the Tennessee River, near the mouth of Snake Creek. The +country there is rolling, almost hilly. The table-land comes boldly up +to the river, forming abrupt bluffs along the water-edge. At that time +the country was well wooded and thinly populated. A couple of miles +back from the Landing was a little log meeting-house, called Shiloh +Church, and from this the place has become popularly known as the +battleground of Shiloh. It was at such a place as this that the Union +army of 32,000 or 33,000 men lay, awaiting the enemy's attack, although +Sherman was anxious to attack the enemy instead. + +About the first of April, the Rebel cavalry began skirmishing and +raiding along the front of the Union camp, and on April 4th actually +captured a number of pickets. That was Friday. On Saturday nothing of +importance occurred, though skirmishing was continued, and the sounds +of battle were heard at Savannah, where Grant lay abed, injured by the +fall of his horse. The weather was wet, the roads miry. Sunday morning +there was more skirmishing, then the whole Rebel army came through the +woods with a rush, and one of the greatest battles of the war had begun. + +Accounts of this tremendous conflict vary greatly. In the succeeding +chapters will be found Sherman's own official report, giving his +version, and also that of _The Cincinnati Gazette's_ correspondent, +which presents most forcibly the other view--that of the surprise. But +upon one point all the numerous narratives are agreed, and that is, +Sherman's personal valor in the battle, and his consummate ability +in rallying and leading his men in action. Grant was on the field on +Sunday, going from division to division, to encourage the commanders; +but he "never deemed it important to stay long with Sherman." Sherman +held the most critical position, and his troops had never been under +fire before. But his constant presence inspired them with such courage +that the most of them stood and fought like veterans of a long +campaign. Sherman was shot twice, once in the hand and once in the +shoulder, and a third bullet passed through his hat; and several horses +were shot under him. But nothing made him waver for a moment. To him, +the post of danger was the post of honor. + +The severest critic of Sherman's management at Shiloh, was General +Buell. Yet he frankly says of Sherman that, when he met him on +that very field, he appeared a frank, brave soldier, ready without +affectation or bravado to do anything that duty required of him. + +When the battle began on Sunday morning there were about 33,000 Federal +troops at Pittsburgh Landing, and on the evening of that day General +Lew. Wallace arrived from Crump's Landing with some 5,000 more. But as +many men fled from the field, panic-stricken, without firing a shot, it +is not likely that on that day there were at any time more that 25,000 +men in line. This is Grant's estimate. The next day, Buell came up +with the Army of the Ohio, 20,000 strong. And then, there were the two +gunboats, the Tyler and Lexington, which rendered valuable service. + +Reports of the strength of the Rebel force vary. According to General +Beauregard, it contained more than 40,000 men on the first day of the +battle, although, he says, he was not able to get more than 20,000 +into action on the morning of the second day. Official records state +that the effective Rebel forces, at the beginning of the battle, +included 35,953 infantry and artillery and 4,382 cavalry, a total of +40,335. From these figures it is apparent that the two armies were, +on the first day, by no means equally matched, the Rebels having a +preponderance of about 7,000 men, while on the second day the Union +army was numerically by far the stronger. + +The Union loss in the two days' fighting was 1,754 killed, 8,408 +wounded and 2,885 captured or missing; total, 13,047. Of these, Buell's +Army of the Ohio lost 241 killed, 1,807 wounded and 55 captured or +missing; total, 2,103. The official report of Rebel losses was 1,728 +killed, 8,012 wounded, and 959 missing; total, 10,699. This, Grant +says, cannot be correct, for the Union troops after the battle buried, +by actual count, more Rebel dead than thus reported in front of +Sherman's and McClernand's divisions alone. The estimate of the Union +burial parties was that fully 4,000 Rebel dead lay on the whole field. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +OFFICIAL REPORTS ON SHILOH. + + SHERMAN'S OWN STORY--HOW HIS TROOPS WERE POSTED--THE ATTACK-- + TROOPS IN DISORDER--GRANT AND BUELL AT THE BIVOUAC--THE BATTLE + RESUMED IN THE MORNING--DEATH OF GENERAL JOHNSTON--GALLANT + CONDUCT OF INDIVIDUAL OFFICERS--GRANT'S OFFICIAL REPORT-- + SPECIAL MENTION OF SHERMAN FOR HIS GALLANTRY AS A SOLDIER AND HIS + SKILL AS A COMMANDER. + + +Few battles have been more discussed, or more vigorously discussed, +than that of Shiloh, or Pittsburgh Landing. In these often acrimonious +controversies, Sherman himself took a leading part. It is doubtful if +an agreement as to the facts in the case can ever be reached; certainly +the flood of argument, narration and abuse that has been poured forth +has not materially tended toward such a settlement. The chief point +at issue is, whether or not the Federal officers, especially Sherman, +were surprised by the enemy. That they were, and that they were not, +have both been stated and restated with every possible accumulation of +emphasis. Perhaps it will best serve the present purpose to rehearse +here, side by side, two narratives of the battle, both written at the +time and on the spot, the one giving, in his own language, Sherman's +account of the battle, the other the account written by one of the +ablest newspaper correspondents in the war. + +The gist of Sherman's own report, addressed to Captain Rawlins, Grant's +Assistant Adjutant-General, was as follows: + +"I had the honor to report that on Friday, the 4th instant, the enemy's +cavalry drove in our pickets, posted about a mile and a half in advance +of my centre, on the main Corinth road, capturing one First Lieutenant +and seven men; that I caused a pursuit by the cavalry of my division, +driving them back about five miles, and killing many. On Saturday the +enemy's cavalry was again very bold, coming down to our front; yet I +did not believe he designed anything but a strong demonstration. On +Sunday morning, early, the 6th instant, the enemy drove our advance +guard back on the main body, when I ordered under arms all my division, +and sent word to General McClernand, asking him to support my left; to +General Prentiss, giving him notice that the enemy was in our front in +force, and to General Hurlbut, asking him to support General Prentiss. +At this time, 7 A. M., my division was arranged as follows: + +"First Brigade, composed of the Sixth Iowa, Colonel J. A. McDowell; +Fortieth Illinois, Colonel Hicks; Forty-sixth Ohio, Colonel +Worthington; and the Morton Battery, Captain Behr, on the extreme +right, guarding the bridge on the Purdy road, over Owl Creek. + +"Second Brigade, composed of the Fifty-fifth Illinois, Colonel +D. Stuart; Fifty-fourth Ohio, Colonel T. Kilby Smith; and the +Seventy-first Ohio, Colonel Mason, on the extreme left, guarding the +ford over Lick Creek. + +"Third Brigade, composed of the Seventy-seventh Ohio, Colonel +Hildebrand; Fifty-third Ohio, Colonel Appler; and the Fifty-seventh +Ohio, Colonel Mungen, on the left of the Corinth road, its right +resting on Shiloh meeting house. + +"Fourth Brigade, composed of the Seventy-second Ohio, Colonel Buckland; +Forty-eighth Ohio, Colonel Sullivan; and Seventieth Ohio, Colonel +Cockerill, on the right of the Corinth road, its left resting on Shiloh +meeting-house. + +"Two batteries of artillery, Taylor's and Waterhouse's, were posted, +the former at Shiloh, and the latter on a ridge to the left, with a +front fire over open ground between Mungen's and Appler's Regiments. +The cavalry, eight companies of the Fourth Illinois, under Colonel +Dickey, were posted in a large open field to the left and rear of +Shiloh meeting-house, which I regarded as the centre of my position. +Shortly after seven A. M., with my entire staff, I rode along a portion +of our front, and when in the open field before Appler's Regiment, the +enemy's pickets opened a brisk fire on my party, killing my orderly, +Thomas D. Holliday, of company H, Second Illinois Cavalry. + +"The fire came from the bushes which line a small stream which rises +in the field in front of Appler's camp, and flows to the north along +my whole front. This valley afforded the enemy cover, but our men were +so posted as to have a good fire at him as he crossed the valley and +ascended the rising ground on our side. + +"About eight A. M. I saw the glistening bayonets of heavy masses of +infantry to our left front, in the woods beyond the small stream +alluded to, and became satisfied for the first time that the enemy +designed a determined attack on our whole camp. All the regiments of +my division were then in line of battle, at their proper posts. I rode +to Colonel Appler, and ordered him to hold his ground at all hazards, +as he held the left flank of our first line of battle, and I informed +him that he had a good battery on his right and strong support in his +rear. General McClernand had promptly and energetically responded to +my request, and had sent me three regiments, which were posted to +protect Waterhouse's battery and the left flank of my line. The battle +began by the enemy opening a battery in the woods to our front, and +throwing shell into our camp. + +[Illustration: MAJOR-GENERAL O. O. HOWARD.] + +"Taylor's and Waterhouse's batteries promptly responded, and I then +observed heavy battalions of infantry passing obliquely to the left +across the open field in Appler's front; also other columns advancing +directly upon my division. Our infantry and artillery opened along the +whole line, and the battle became general. Other heavy masses of the +enemy's forces kept passing across the field to our left, and directing +their course on General Prentiss. I saw at once that the enemy designed +to pass my left flank, and fall upon Generals McClernand and Prentiss, +whose line of camps was almost parallel with the Tennessee River, and +about two miles back from it. + +"Very soon the sound of musketry and artillery announced that General +Prentiss was engaged, and about 9 A. M. I judged that he was falling +back. About this time Appler's Regiment broke in disorder, followed +by Mungen's Regiment, and the enemy pressed forward on Waterhouse's +Battery, thereby exposed. The three Illinois regiments in immediate +support of this battery stood for some time, but the enemy's advance +was vigorous, and the fire so severe that when Colonel Raith, of the +Forty-third Illinois, received a severe wound, and fell from his horse, +his regiment and the others manifested disorder, and the enemy got +possession of three guns of this (Waterhouse's) battery. + +"Although our left was thus turned, and the enemy was pressing our +whole line, I deemed Shiloh so important, that I remained by it, and +renewed my orders to Colonels McDowell and Buckland to hold their +ground; and we did hold these positions until about 10 o'clock A. M., +when the enemy had got his artillery to the rear of our left flank, and +some change became absolutely necessary. Two regiments of Hildebrand's +Brigade (Appler's and Mungen's) had already disappeared to the rear, +and Hildebrand's own regiment was in disorder. I therefore gave orders +for Taylor's Battery, still at Shiloh, to fall back as far as the Purdy +and Hamburgh road, and for McDowell and Buckland to adopt that road as +their new line. I rode across the angle, and met Behr's battery at the +cross-roads, and ordered it immediately to come into battery, action +right. Captain Behr gave the order, but he was almost instantly shot +from his horse, when drivers and gunners fled in disorder, carrying off +the caissons, and abandoning five out of six guns without firing a shot. + +"The enemy pressed on, gaining this battery, and we were again forced +to choose a line of defence. Hildebrand's Brigade had substantially +disappeared from the field, though he himself bravely remained. +McDowell's and Buckland's brigades maintained their organization, and +were conducted by my aids so as to join on General McClernand's right, +thus abandoning my original camps and line. This was about half-past +10 A. M., at which time the enemy had made a furious attack on General +McClernand's whole front. He struggled most determinedly, but finding +him pressed, I moved McDowell's Brigade directly against the left flank +of the enemy, forced him back some distance, and directed the men to +avail themselves of every cover--trees, fallen timber, and a wooded +valley to our right. + +"We held this position for four long hours, sometimes gaining and at +other times losing ground, General McClernand and myself acting in +perfect concert, and struggling to maintain this line. While we were +so hardly pressed, two Iowa regiments approached from the rear, but +could not be brought up to the severe fire that was raging in our +front, and General Grant, who visited us on that ground, will remember +our situation about 3 P. M.; but about 4 P. M. it was evident that +Hurlbut's line had been driven back to the river, and knowing that +General Wallace was coming with re-enforcements from Crump's Landing, +General McClernand and I, on consultation, selected a new line of +defence, with its right covering a bridge by which General Wallace had +to approach. We fell back as well as we could, gathering in addition +to our own, such scattered forces as we could find, and formed the +new line. During this change the enemy's cavalry charged us, but were +handsomely repulsed by an Illinois regiment, whose number I did not +learn at that time or since. + +"The Fifth Ohio Cavalry, which had come up, rendered good service in +holding the enemy in check for some time and Major Taylor also came +up with a new battery, and got into position just in time to get a +good flank fire upon the enemy's column as he pressed on General +McClernand's right, checking his advance, when General McClernand's +Division made a fine charge on the enemy, and drove him back into +the ravines to our front and right. I had a clear field about two +hundred yards wide in my immediate front, and contented myself with +keeping the enemy's infantry at that distance during the day. In this +position we rested for the night. My command had become decidedly of +a mixed character. Buckland's Brigade was the only one that retained +organization. Colonel Hildebrand was personally there, but his brigade +was not. Colonel McDowell had been severely injured by a fall of his +horse, and had gone to the river, and the three regiments of his +brigade were not in line. + +"The Thirteenth Missouri, Colonel Crafts J. Wright, had reported to me +on the field, and fought well, retaining its regimental organization, +and it formed a part of my line during Sunday night and all Monday. +Other fragments of regiments and companies had also fallen into my +division, and acted with it during the remainder of the battle. + +"Generals Grant and Buell visited me in our bivouac that evening, and +from them I learned the situation of affairs on other parts of the +field. General Wallace arrived from Crump's Landing shortly after +dark, and formed his line to my right and rear. It rained hard during +the night, but our men were in good spirits and lay on their arms, +being satisfied with such bread and meat as could be gathered at the +neighboring camps, and determined to redeem on Monday the losses of +Sunday. At daybreak of Monday I received General Grant's orders to +advance and recapture our original camps. + +"I despatched several members of my staff to bring up all the men they +could find, and especially the brigade of Colonel Stuart, which had +been separated from the division all the day before; at the appointed +time the division, or rather, what remained of it, with the Thirteenth +Missouri, and other fragments moved forward, and occupied the ground on +the extreme right of General McClernand's camp, where we attracted the +fire of a battery located near Colonel McDowell's former headquarters. + +"Here I remained patiently awaiting for the sound of General Buell's +advance upon the main Corinth road. About 10 A. M., the firing in this +direction, and its steady approach, satisfied me, and General Wallace +being on our right, flanked with his well-conducted division, I led the +head of my column to General McClernand's right, formed line of battle +facing south, with Buckland's Brigade directly across the ridge, and +Stuart's Brigade on its right, in the woods, and thus advanced steadily +and slowly, under a heavy fire of musketry and artillery. Taylor had +just got to me from the rear, where he had gone for ammunition, and +brought up three guns, which I ordered into position to advance by +hand-firing. These guns belonged to Company A, Chicago Light Artillery, +commanded by Lieutenant P. P. Wood, and did most excellent service. + +"Under cover of their fire, we advanced till we reached the point +where the Corinth road crosses the line of General McClernand's camp; +and here I saw, for the first time, the well-ordered and compact +Kentucky forces of General Buell, whose soldierly movement at once +gave confidence to our newer and less disciplined forces. Here, I saw +Willich's Regiment advance upon a point of water-oaks and thicket, +behind which I knew the enemy was in great strength, and enter it in +beautiful style. Then arose the severest musketry fire I ever heard, +and lasted some twenty minutes, when this splendid regiment had to fall +back. This green point of timber is about five hundred yards east of +Shiloh meeting-house, and it was evident here was to be the struggle. +The enemy could also be seen forming his lines to the south. General +McClernand sending to me for artillery, I detached to him the three +guns of Wood's Battery, with which he speedily drove them back; and +seeing some others to the rear, I sent one of my staff to bring them +forward, when, by almost Providential decree, they proved to be two +twenty-four-pounder howitzers belonging to McAllister's Battery, and +served as well as guns ever could be. + +"This was about 2 P. M. The enemy had one battery close by Shiloh, and +another near the Hamburgh road, both pouring grape and canister upon +any volume of troops that advanced from the green point of water-oaks. +Willich's Regiment had been repulsed, but a whole Brigade of McCook's +Division advanced, beautifully deployed, and entered this dreaded wood. +I ordered my Second Brigade, then commanded by Colonel T. Kilby Smith, +(Colonel Stuart being wounded,) to form on its right, and my Fourth +Brigade, Colonel Buckland, on its right, all to advance abreast with +this Kentucky brigade before mentioned which I afterward found to be +Rousseau's Brigade of McCook's Division. I gave personal direction to +the twenty-four pounder guns, whose well-directed fire first silenced +the enemy's guns to the left, and afterward at the Shiloh meeting-house. + +"Rousseau's Brigade moved in splendid order steadily to the front, +sweeping everything before it, and at 4 P. M., we stood upon the ground +of our original front line, and the enemy was in full retreat. I +directed my several brigades to resume at once their original camps. I +am now ordered by General Grant to give personal credit where I think +it is due, and censure where I think it merited. I concede that General +McCook's splendid division from Kentucky drove back the enemy along the +Corinth road, which was the great centre of the field of battle and +where Beauregard commanded in person, supported by Bragg's, Polk's, and +Beckinridge's divisions. I think Johnson was killed by exposing himself +in front of his troops at the time of their attack on Buckland's +Brigade on Sunday morning, although in this I may be mistaken. + +"My division was made up of regiments perfectly new all having received +their muskets for the first time at Paducah. None of them had ever +been under fire, or beheld heavy columns of an enemy bearing down on +them, as this did on last Sunday. To expect of them the coolness and +steadiness of older troops would be wrong. They knew not the value of +combination and organization. When individual fear seized them, the +first impulse was to get away. My Third Brigade did break much too +soon, and I am not yet advised where they were during Sunday afternoon +and Monday morning. Colonel Hildebrand, its Commander, was as cool as +any man I ever saw, and no one could have made stronger efforts to hold +his men to their places than he did. He kept his own regiment, with +individual exceptions, in hand an hour after Appler's and Mungen's +regiments had left their proper field of action. + +"Colonel Buckland managed his brigade well. I commend him to your +notice as a cool, intelligent and judicious gentleman, needing only +confidence and experience to make a good commander. His subordinates, +Colonels Sullivan and Cockerill, behaved with great gallantry, the +former receiving a severe wound on Sunday, and yet commanding and +holding his regiment well in hand all day; and on Monday, until his +right arm was broken by a shot, Cockerill held a larger proportion men +than any Colonel in the division, and was with me from first to last. + +"Colonel J. A. McDowell, commanding the First Brigade, held his ground +on Sunday till I ordered him to fall back, which he did in line of +battle, and when ordered he conducted the attack on the enemy's left +in good style. In falling back to the next position he was thrown from +his horse and injured, and his brigade was not in position on Monday +morning. His subordinates, Colonels Hicks and Worthington, displayed +great personal courage. Colonel Hicks led his regiment in the attack +on Sunday, and received a wound which is feared may prove fatal. He +is a brave and gallant gentleman, and deserves well of his country. +Lieutenant-Colonel Walcutt, of the Ohio Forty-sixth, was severely +wounded on Sunday, and has been disabled ever since. My Second Brigade, +Colonel Stuart, was detached near two miles from my headquarters. He +had to fight his own battle on Sunday against superior numbers, as +the enemy interposed between him and General Prentiss early in the +day. Colonel Stuart was wounded severely, and yet reported for duty +on Monday morning, but was compelled to leave during the day, when +the Command devolved on Colonel T. Kilby Smith, who was always in the +thickest of the fight, and led the brigade handsomely. I have not yet +received Colonel Stuart's report of the operations of his brigade +during the time he was detached, and must therefore forbear to mention +names. Lieutenant-Colonel Kyle, of the Seventy-first, was mortally +wounded on Sunday, but the regiment itself I did not see, as only a +small fragment of it was with the brigade when it joined the division +on Monday morning. + +"Several times during the battle cartridges gave out, but General Grant +had thoughtfully kept a supply coming from the rear. When I appealed to +regiments to stand fast although out of cartridges, I did so because to +retire a regiment for any cause has a bad effect on others. I commend +the Fortieth Illinois and Thirteenth Missouri for thus holding their +ground under heavy fire, although their cartridge-boxes were empty. +Great credit is due the fragments of men of the disordered regiments +who kept in the advance. I observed and noticed them, but until the +Brigadiers and Colonels make their reports, I cannot venture to name +individuals, but will in due season notice all who kept in our front, +as well as those who preferred to keep back near the steamboat landing. + +"The enemy captured seven of our guns on Sunday, but on Monday we +recovered seven--not the identical guns we had lost, but enough in +number to balance the amount. At the time of recovering our camps, our +men were so fatigued that we could not follow the retreating masses +of the enemy; but on the following day, I followed up with Buckland's +and Hildebrand's Brigades for six miles, the result of which I have +already reported. Of my personal staff, I can only speak with praise +and thanks. I think they smelt as much gunpowder and heard as many +cannon-balls and bullets as must satisfy their ambition. Captain +Harmon, my Chief of Staff, though in feeble health, was very active in +rallying broken troops, encouraging the steadfast, and aiding to form +the lines of defence and attack. I commend him to your notice. Major +Sanger's intelligence, quick perception and rapid execution, were of +very great value to me, especially in bringing into line the batteries +that co-operated so efficiently in our movements. Captains McCoy and +Dayton, Aids-de-Camp, were with me all the time, carrying orders and +acting with coolness, spirit and courage. + +"To Surgeon Hartshorn and Doctor L'Hommedieu, hundreds of wounded men +are indebted for the kind and excellent treatment received on the field +of battle, and in the various temporary hospitals created along the +line of our operations. They worked day and night, and did not rest +till all the wounded of our own troops, as well as of the enemy, were +in safe and comfortable shelter. To Major Taylor, Chief of Artillery, I +feel under deep obligations for his good sense and judgment in managing +the batteries on which so much depended. I enclose his report and +endorse his recommendations. The cavalry of my command kept to the rear +and took little part in the action, but it would have been madness to +have exposed horses to the musketry fire under which we were compelled +to remain, from Sunday at 8 A. M., till Monday at 4 P. M. Captain +Kossack, of the Engineers, was with me all the time, and was of great +assistance. I enclose his sketch of the battle-field, which is the best +I have seen, and which will enable you to see the various positions +occupied by my division, as well as of the others that participated in +the battle." + +Said General Grant in his official report: + +"It becomes my duty again to report another battle fought between two +great armies, one contending for the maintenance of the best Government +ever devised, and the other for its destruction. It is pleasant to +record the success of the army contending for the former principle. + +"On Sunday morning our pickets were attacked and driven in by the +enemy. Immediately the five divisions stationed at this place were +drawn up in line of battle to meet them. The battle soon waxed warm on +the left and centre, varying at times to all parts of the line. There +was the most continuous firing of musketry and artillery ever heard on +this Continent, kept up until nightfall. + +"The enemy having forced the centre line to fall back nearly half +way from their camps to the Landing, at a late hour in the afternoon +a desperate effort was made by the enemy to turn our left and get +possession of the Landing, transports, etc. This point was guarded by +the gunboats, Tyler and Lexington, Captains Gwin and Shirk commanding, +with four twenty-four-pounder Parrott guns, and a battery of rifled +guns. + +"As there is a deep and impassable ravine for artillery or cavalry, and +very difficult for infantry at this point, no troops were stationed +here except the necessary artillerists and a small infantry force +for their support. Just at this moment the advance of Major-General +Buell's column and a part of the division of General Nelson arrived, +the two Generals named both being present. An advance was immediately +made upon the point of attack, and the enemy was soon driven back. In +this repulse, much is due to the presence of the gunboats Tyler and +Lexington, and their able commanders, Captains Gwin and Shirk. + +"During the night the divisions under Generals Crittenden and McCook +arrived. General Lew. Wallace, at Camp Landing, six miles below, was +ordered, at an early hour in the morning, to hold his division in +readiness to move in any direction it might be ordered. At eleven +o'clock, the order was delivered to move up to Pittsburgh, but owing to +its being led by a circuitous route did not arrive in time to take part +in Sunday's action. + +"During the night all was quiet, and feeling that a great moral +advantage would be gained by becoming the attacking party, an advance +was ordered as soon as day dawned. The result was the gradual repulse +of the enemy at all points of the line, from nine until probably +five o'clock in the afternoon, when it became evident the enemy was +retreating. Before the close of the action the advance of General T. J. +Wood's Division arrived in time to take part in the action. + +"My force was too much fatigued, from two days' hard fighting and +exposure in the open air to a drenching rain during the intervening +night, to pursue immediately. Night closed in cloudy and with a heavy +rain, making the roads impracticable for artillery by the next morning. +General Sherman, however, followed the enemy, finding that the main +part of the army had retreated in good order. + +"I feel it a duty, to a gallant and able officer, Brigadier-General W. +T. Sherman, to make special mention. He not only was with his command +during the entire two days of the action, but displayed great judgment +and skill in the management of his men; although severely wounded in +the hand on the first day, his place was never vacant. He was again +wounded, and had three horses killed under him. In making this mention +of a gallant officer no disparagement is intended to other Division +Commanders or Major-Generals, Jno. A. McClernand, and Lewis Wallace, +and Brigadier-Generals Hurlbut, Prentiss, and W. H. L. Wallace, all of +whom maintained their places with credit to themselves and the cause." + +A characteristic private letter of Sherman's will be read with interest +at this point. It was written many years after the battle of Shiloh, +and was addressed to Mr. Marshall P. Wilder, who had sent to Sherman a +copy of a paper containing a sketch of Shiloh as seen from the rear of +the army by a drummer boy. This is the letter: + + "NO. 75 WEST SEVENTY-FIRST STREET, + "NEW YORK, Jan. 1st, 1890. + + "MY DEAR FRIEND: I thank you for sending me the printed paper + containing the observations and experiences of our friend about + the battle of Shiloh, or Pittsburgh Landing, April 6th and 7th, + 1862. Having leisure this New Year's Day I have read every word + of it, and from his standpoint as a boy in the rear of where the + hard fighting was done his account is literally true. His father + (a noble gentleman) and I were fighting for time--because our + enemy for the moment outnumbered us, and we had good reason to + expect momentarily Lew. Wallace's Division, only six miles off, + and Buell's whole army, only twenty miles away. By contesting + every foot of ground the enemy was checked till night. Our + reinforcements came on the 7th, we swept on in front and pursued + a retreating enemy ten miles, and afterwards followed up to + Corinth, Memphis, Vicksburg, etc., to the end. + + "That bloody battle was fought April 6th and 7th, 1862. + After we had actually driven our assailants back to Corinth, + twenty-six miles, we received the St. Louis, Cincinnati and + Louisville newspapers, from which we learned that we were + 'surprised,' bayonetted in our beds (blankets on the ground), and + disgracefully routed. These reports were heard at the river bank + and from steamboats under high pressure to get well away, and + such is history. + + "In the rear of all battles there is a mass of fugitives. We had + at the time 32,000 men, of which, say, 5,000 or 6,000 were at the + steamboat landing--but what of the others? A braver, finer set of + men never existed on earth. The reporters dwell on the fugitives + because they were of them, but who is to stand up for the brave + men at the front? We had no reporters with us. Like sensible men + they preferred a steamboat bound for Paducah and Cincinnati, + whence they could describe the battle better than we who were + without pen or ink. + + "This to me is straw already threshed, for we have fought this + battle on paper several times, a much more agreeable task than + to fight with bullets. When in England some years ago, I was + gratified to listen to veterans fighting Waterloo and Sebastopol + over again. So I infer our children will continue the fight of + Shiloh long after we are dead and gone. Wishing you a happy New + Year, I am, sincerely yours, + + W. T. SHERMAN." + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +"AGATE'S" STORY OF SHILOH. + + THE SITUATION BEFORE THE BATTLE--THE FIRST SKIRMISH--PLANS OF + THE REBEL LEADERS--THE SCENE ON SUNDAY MORNING--TROOPS IN + DISORDER--ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION--FAULTY DISPOSITION OF THE + FEDERAL TROOPS--ARRANGEMENT OF SHERMAN'S DIVISION--THE REBEL + PLAN OF ATTACK--SHERMAN'S OLD FRIEND BRAGG AMONG THE REBEL + LEADERS. + + +In the records of the Rebellion, written amid the actual roar of the +conflict or years afterward amid the calm of reestablished peace, no +chapter is more noteworthy than the story of Shiloh, written for _The +Cincinnati Gazette_ by its correspondent "Agate," who has since become +famous throughout the world for his work as a journalist, historian and +statesman. No record of Sherman's campaigns would be complete without +it, and no other pen could write a chapter worthy to replace it. So it +is given here in full, as it was written from the "Field of Battle, +Pittsburgh Landing, Tenn., April 9th:" + +Fresh from the field of the great battle, with its pounding and roaring +of artillery, and its keener-voiced rattle of musketry still sounding +in my wearied ears; with all its visions of horror still seeming seared +upon my eyeballs, while scenes of panic-stricken rout and brilliant +charges, and obstinate defences, and succor, and intoxicating success +are burned alike confusedly and indelibly upon the brain, I essay to +write what I know of the battle of Pittsburgh Landing. + +Yet how bring order out of such a chaos? How deal justly, writing +within twenty-four hours of the closing of the fight, with all the +gallant regiments, of the hundred present, that bravely won or as +bravely lost, and with all that ignobly fled in panic from the field? +How describe, so that one man may leisurely follow, the simultaneous +operations of a hundred and fifty thousand antagonists, fighting +backward and forward for two long days, in a five miles' line and over +four miles' retreat and advance, under eight Division Commanders on one +side, and an unknown number on the other? How, in short, picture on a +canvas so necessarily small a panorama, so grandly great? The task is +impossible. + +But what one man, diligently using all his powers of observation +through those two days, might see, I saw, and that I can faithfully set +down. For the rest, after riding carefully over and over the ground, +asking questions innumerable of those who knew, and sifting consistent +truth from the multiplicity of replies with whatever skill some +experience may have taught, I can only give the concurrent testimony of +the actors. + +Our great Tennessee Expedition had been up the river some four weeks. +We had occupied Pittsburgh Landing for about three; had destroyed one +railroad connection, which the Rebels had restored in a day or two, and +had failed in a similar but more important attempt on another. Beyond +this we had engaged in no active operations. The Rebels, alarmed by our +sudden appearance, began massing their troops under our eyes. Presently +they had more in the vicinity than we had. Then we waited for Buell, +who was crossing the country from Nashville by easy marches. The +Rebels had apparently become restive under our slow concentrations, and +General Grant had given out that an attack from them seemed probable. +Yet we had lain at Pittsburgh Landing, within twenty miles of the +Rebels, that were likely to attack us in superior numbers, without +throwing up a single breastwork or preparing a single protection for a +battery, and with the brigades of one division stretched from extreme +right to extreme left of our line, while four other divisions had been +crowded in between, as they arrived. + +On the evening of Friday, April 4th, there was a preliminary skirmish +with the enemy's advance. Rumors came into camp that some of our +officers had been taken prisoners by a considerable Rebel force, near +our lines, and that pickets had been firing. A brigade, the Seventieth, +Seventy-second, and Forty-eighth Ohio, was sent out to see about it. +They came upon a party of Rebels, perhaps a thousand strong, and after +a sharp little action drove them off, losing Major Crocket, of the +Seventy-second Ohio, and a couple of lieutenants from the Seventieth, +prisoners, taking in return some sixteen, and driving the Rebels back +to a battery they were found to have already in position, at no great +distance from our lines. General Lew. Wallace's troops, at Crump's +Landing, were ordered out under arms, and they marched to Adamsville, +half-way between the river and Purdy, to take position there and resist +any attack in that direction. The night passed in dreary rain, but +without further Rebel demonstration; and it was generally supposed +that the affair had been an ordinary picket-fight, presaging nothing +more. Major-General Grant had indeed said there was great probability +of a Rebel attack, but there were no appearances of his making any +preparations for such an unlooked-for event, and so the matter +was dismissed. Yet on Saturday there was more skirmishing along our +advanced lines. + +[Illustration: MAJOR-GENERAL SLOCUM.] + +There can be no doubt the plan of the Rebel leaders was to attack and +demolish Grant's army before Buell's reinforcements arrived. There were +rumors, indeed, that such a movement had been expressly ordered from +headquarters at Richmond, as being absolutely necessary, as a last bold +stroke, to save the falling fortunes of the Confederacy in the West; +though of that, no one, I presume, knows anything. + +But the Rebel leaders at Corinth were fully aware that they largely +outnumbered Grant, and that no measures had been taken to strengthen +the position at Pittsburgh Landing; while they knew equally well that +when Buell's entire Kentucky army arrived, and was added to Grant's +forces, they could not possibly expect to hold their vitally important +position at Corinth against us. Their only hope, therefore, lay in +attacking Grant before Buell arrived, and so defeating us in detail. +Fortunately they timed their movements a day too late. + +The sun never rose on a more beautiful morning than that of Sunday, +April 6th. Lulled by the general security, I had remained in pleasant +quarters at Crump's, below Pittsburgh Landing, on the river. By sunrise +I was roused by the cry: "They're fighting above." Volleys of musketry +could sure enough be distinguished, and occasionally the sullen boom +of artillery came echoing down the stream. Momentarily the volume of +sound increased, till it became evident it was no skirmish that was in +progress, and that a considerable portion of the army must be already +engaged. Hastily springing on the guards of a passing steamboat, I +hurried up. + +The sweet Spring sunshine danced over the rippling waters, and softly +lit up the green of the banks. A few fleecy clouds alone broke the +azure above. A light breeze murmured among the young leaves; the +blue-birds were singing their gentle treble to the stern music that +still came louder and deeper to us from the bluffs above, and the frogs +were croaking their feeble imitation from the marshy islands that +studded the channel. + +Even this early the west bank of the river was lined with the usual +fugitives from action, hurriedly pushing onwards, they knew not where, +except down stream away from the fight. An officer on board hailed +numbers of them and demanded their reason for being there; but they all +gave him the same response: "We're clean cut to pieces, and every man +must save himself." + +At the landing appearances became still more ominous. Our two +Cincinnati wooden gunboats, Tyler and Lexington, were edging uneasily +up and down the banks, eager to put in their broadsides of heavy guns, +but unable to find where they could do it. The roar of battle was +startlingly close, and showed that the Rebels were in earnest attempt +to carry out their threat of driving us into the river. The landing and +bluff above were covered with cowards, who had fled from their ranks to +the rear for safety, and who were telling the most fearful stories of +the Rebel onset and the sufferings of their own particular regiments. +Momentarily fresh fugitives came back, often guns in hand, and all +giving the same accounts of thickening disasters in front. + +Hurrying out toward the scene of action, I was soon convinced that +there was too much foundation for the tales of the runaways. Sherman's +and Prentiss' entire divisions were falling back in disorder, sharply +pressed by the Rebels in overwhelming numbers, at all points. +McClernand's had already lost part of its camps, and it, too, was +falling back. There was one consolation--only one--I could see just +then; history, so the divines say, is positive on the point that +no attack ever made on the Sabbath was eventually a success to the +attacking party. Nevertheless, the signs were sadly against the +theologians. + +Let me return--premising that I have thus brought the reader into the +scene near the close of the first act in our Sunday's tragedy--to the +preliminaries of the opening of the assault. + +And first, of our positions. Let the reader understand that the +Pittsburgh Landing is simply a narrow ravine, down which a road passes +to the river bank, between high bluffs on either side. There is no town +at all--two log huts comprise all the improvements visible. Back from +the river is a rolling country, cut up with numerous ravines, partially +under cultivation, but perhaps the greater part thickly wooded with +some underbrush. The soil clayey, and roads on Sunday morning were +good. From the Landing a road leads direct to Corinth, twenty miles +distant. A mile or two out, this road forks, one branch is the lower +Corinth road, the other the ridge Corinth road. A short distance out +another road takes off to the left, crosses Lick Creek, and leads +back to the river at Hamburgh, some miles further up. On the right, +two separate roads lead off to Purdy, and another, a new one, across +Snake Creek to Crump's Landing on the river below. Besides these, the +whole country inside our lines is cut up with roads leading to our +different camps; and beyond the lines is the most inextricable maze of +crossroads, intersecting everything and leading everywhere, in which it +was ever my ill-fortune to become entangled. + +On and between these roads, at distances of from two to four or five +miles from Pittsburgh Landing, lay five divisions of Major-General +Grant's army that Sunday morning. The advance line was formed by three +divisions--Brigadier-General Sherman's, Brigadier-General Prentiss's +and Major-General McClernand's. Between these and the Landing lay the +two others--Brigadier-General Hurlbut's and Major-General Smith's, +commanded, in the absence (from sickness) of that admirable officer, by +Brigadier-General W. H. L. Wallace. + +Our advance line, beginning at the extreme left, was thus formed. On +the Hamburgh road, just this side the crossing of Lick Creek and under +bluffs on the opposite bank that commanded the position, lay Colonel +D. Stuart's Brigade of General Sherman's Division. Some three or four +miles distant from this Brigade, on the lower Corinth road and between +that and the one to Purdy, lay the remaining Brigades of Sherman's +Division, McDowell's forming the extreme right of our whole advance +line, Buckland's coming next to it, and Hildebrand's next. To the left +of Hildebrand's Brigade, though rather behind a portion of Sherman's +line, lay Major-General McClernand's Division, and between it and +Stuart's Brigade, already mentioned as forming our extreme left, lay +Brigadier-General Prentiss' Division, completing the front. + +Back of this line, within a mile of the Landing, lay Hurlbut's +Division, stretching across the Corinth road, and W. H. L. Wallace's to +his right. + +Such was the position of our troops at Pittsburgh Landing, at daybreak +Sunday morning. Major-General Lew. Wallace's Division lay at Crump's +Landing, some miles below, and was not ordered up till about half-past +seven o'clock that day. + +It is idle to criticise arrangements now--it is so easy to be wise +after a matter is over--but the reader will hardly fail to observe +the essential defects of such disposition of troops for a great +battle. Nearly four miles intervened between the different parts of +Sherman's Division. Of course to command the one, he must neglect the +other. McClernand's lay partially behind Sherman, and therefore, not +stretching far enough to the left, there was a gap between him and +Prentiss, which the Rebels did not fail speedily to find. Our extreme +left was commanded by unguarded heights, easily approachable from +Corinth. And the whole arrangement was confused and ill-adjusted. + +Confusion was not the only glaring fault. General Sherman's camps, to +the right of the little log-cabin called Shiloh Church, fronted on a +descending slope of a quarter to a half mile in breadth, mostly covered +with woods and bounded by a ravine. A day's work of his troops would +have covered that slope with an impenetrable abattis, thrown a line of +breastworks to the front of the camps, and enabled General Sherman to +sweep all approaches with artillery and musketry, and hold his position +against any force that was brought against it. But for three weeks +he had lain there, declaring the position dangerous, and predicting +attack; yet absolutely without making the slightest preparation for the +commonest means of defense. + +During Friday and Saturday the Rebels had marched out of Corinth, about +sixty thousand strong, in three great divisions. Sidney Johnston had +general command of the whole army. Beauregard had the centre; Braxton +Bragg and Hardee the wings. Polk, Breckinridge, Cheatham and others +held subordinate commands. On Thursday Johnston issued a proclamation +to the army, announcing to them in grandiloquent terms that he was +about to lead them against the invaders, and that they would soon +celebrate the great decisive victory of the war, in which they had +repelled the invading column, redeemed Tennessee, and preserved the +Southern Confederacy. + +Their general plan of attack is said by prisoners to have been to +strike our centre first, (composed, as the reader will remember, of +Prentiss's and McClernand's Divisions,) pierce the centre, and then +pour in their troops to attack on each side the wings into which they +would thus cut our army. + +To accomplish this, they should have struck the left of the three +brigades of Sherman's Division which lay on our right and the left +of McClernand's, which came to the front on Sherman's left. By some +mistake, however, they struck Sherman's left alone, and that a few +moments after a portion of their right wing had swept up against +Prentiss. + +The troops thus attacked, by six o'clock, or before it, were as +follows: The left of Sherman's Brigades, that of Colonel Hildebrand, +was composed of the Fifty-ninth Ohio, Colonel Pfyffe; Seventy-seventh +Ohio, Lieutenant-Colonel commanding Fifty-third Ohio, Colonel Appler, +and Fifty-third Illinois. + +To the right of this was Colonel Buckland's Brigade, composed of the +Seventy-second Ohio, Lieutenant-Colonel Canfield; Forty-eighth Ohio, +Colonel Sullivan, and Seventieth Ohio, Colonel Cockerell. + +And on the extreme right, Colonel McDowell's Brigade, Sixth Iowa, +(Colonel McDowell--Lieutenant-Colonel commanding;) Fortieth Illinois, +Colonel Hicks, Forty-sixth Ohio, Colonel Thomas Worthington. + +General Prentiss's Division was composed of the Twelfth Michigan, +Sixteenth Wisconsin, Eighteenth Wisconsin, Eighteenth Missouri, +Twenty-third Missouri, Twenty-fifth Missouri, and Sixty-first Illinois. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +"AGATE'S" STORY CONTINUED. + + THE BATTLE OF SUNDAY, APRIL 6TH--THE UNION TROOPS SURPRISED--AN + ARMY IN DISORDER--SHERMAN'S HEROIC EFFORT TO STEM THE TIDE-- + McCLERNAND'S SHARE IN THE BATTLE--THE REBELS PRESSING THEIR + ADVANTAGE--THE ASSAULT ON SHERMAN'S LEFT--MEN TOO BRAVE TO BE + KILLED--DESPERATE POSITION OF THE UNION ARMY--LOOKING TO THE + GUNBOATS FOR AID--THREE DESPERATE CHARGES REPULSED--DEATH OF + GENERAL WALLACE. + + +"Agate" continues the story of the great battle of Sunday, April 6th, +as follows: + +Almost at dawn, Prentiss's pickets were driven in; a very little later +Hildebrand's (in Sherman's Division) were; and the enemy were in the +camps almost as soon as were the pickets themselves. + +Here began scenes which, let us hope, will have no parallel in our +remaining annals of the war. Some, particularly among our officers, +were not yet out of bed. Others were dressing, others washing, others +cooking, a few eating their breakfasts. Many guns were unloaded, +accoutrements lying pell-mell, ammunition was ill-supplied--in short, +the camps were virtually surprised--disgracefully, it might be added, +unless someone can hereafter give some yet undiscovered reason to the +contrary--and were taken at almost every possible disadvantage. + +The first wild cries from the pickets rushing in, and the few +scattering shots that preceded their arrival, aroused the regiments +to a sense of their peril; an instant afterward shells were hurling +through the tents, while, before there was time for thought of +preparation, there came rushing through the woods with lines of battle +sweeping the whole fronts of the division-camps, and bending down on +either flank, the fine, dashing, compact columns of the enemy. + +Into the just-aroused camps thronged the Rebel regiments, firing sharp +volleys as they came, and springing toward our laggards with the +bayonet. Some were shot down as they were running, without weapons, +hatless, coatless, toward the river. The searching bullets found other +poor unfortunates in their tents, and there, all unheeding now, they +still slumbered, while the unseen foe rushed on. Others fell, as they +were disentangling themselves from the flaps that formed the doors to +their tents; others as they were buckling on their accoutrements; a +few, it was even said, as they were vainly trying to impress on the +cruelly exultant enemy their readiness to surrender. + +Officers were wounded in their beds, and left for dead, who, through +the whole two days' fearful struggle, lay there gasping in their agony, +and on Monday evening were found in their gore, inside their tents, and +still able to tell the tale. + +Such were the fearful disasters that opened the Rebel onset on the +lines of Prentiss's Division. Similar were the fates of Hildebrand's +Brigade in Sherman's Division. + +Meantime, what they could our shattered regiments did. Falling rapidly +back through the heavy woods till they gained a protecting ridge, +firing as they ran, and making what resistance men thus situated might, +Sherman's men succeeded in partially checking the rush of the enemy, +long enough to form their hasty line of battle. Meantime the other two +brigades of the division (to the right) sprang hastily to their arms, +and had barely done so when the enemy's lines came sweeping up against +their fronts too, and the battle thus opened fiercely along Sherman's +whole line on the right. + +Hildebrand's Brigade had been compelled to abandon their camps without +a struggle. Some of the regiments, it is even said, ran without firing +a gun. Colonel Appler's Fifty-third Ohio, is loudly complained of on +this score, and others are mentioned. It is certain that parts of +regiments, both here and in other divisions, ran disgracefully. Yet +they were not wholly without excuse. They were raw troops, just from +the usual idleness of our "camps of instruction;" hundreds of them had +never heard a gun fired in anger; their officers, for the most part, +were equally inexperienced; they had been reposing in fancied security, +and were awakened, perhaps from sweet dreams of home and wives and +children, by the stunning roar of cannon in their very midst, and the +bursting of bomb-shells among their tents--to see only the serried +columns of the magnificent Rebel advance, and through the blinding, +stifling smoke, the hasty retreat of comrades and supports, right and +left. Certainly, it is sad enough, but hardly surprising, that under +such circumstances, some should run. Half as much caused the wild panic +at Bull Run, for which the nation, as one man, became a loud-mouthed +apologist. + +But they ran--here as in Prentiss's Division, of which last more in a +moment--and the enemy did not fail to profit by the wild disorder. As +Hildebrand's Brigade fell back, McClernand threw forward his left to +support it. Meanwhile Sherman was doing his best to rally his troops. +Dashing along the lines, encouraging them everywhere by his presence, +and exposing his own life with the same freedom with which he demanded +their offer of theirs, he did much to save the division from utter +destruction. Buckland and McDowell held their ground fiercely for a +time. At last they were compelled to retire their brigades from their +camps across the little ravine behind; but here again they made a +gallant defence, while what was left of Hildebrand's was falling back +in such order as it might, and leaving McClernand's left to take their +place, and check the wave of Rebel advance. + +Prentiss was faring scarcely so well. Most of his troops stood their +ground, to be formed into line, but strangely enough, the line was +drawn up in an open space, leaving to the enemy the cover of the dense +scrub-oak in front, from which they could pour in their volleys in +comparative safety. + +The men held their position with an obstinacy that adds new laurels to +the character of the American soldiers, but it was too late. Down on +either flank came the overwhelming enemy. Fiercely pushed in front, +with a wall of bayonets closing in on either side, like the contracting +iron chamber of the Inquisition, what could they do but what they did? +Speedily their resistance became less obstinate, more and more rapidly +they fell back, less and less frequent became their returning volleys. + +The enemy pushed their advantage. They were already within our lines; +they had driven one division from all its camps, and nearly opened, +as they supposed, the way to the river. Just here--between 9 and 10 +o'clock--McArthur's Brigade of W. H. L. Wallace's Division came up to +give some assistance to Stuart's Brigade of Sherman's Division on the +extreme left, now in imminent danger of being cut off by Prentiss's +defection. McArthur mistook the way, marched too far to the right, +and so, instead of reaching Stuart, came in on the other side of the +Rebels, now closely pushing Prentiss. His men at once opened vigorously +on the enemy, and for a time they seemed likely still to save our +imperilled division. But coming unawares, as they seem to have done, +upon the enemy, their positions were not well chosen, and all had to +fall back together. + +General Prentiss seems here to have become separated from a large +portion of his command. The division fell into confusion; fragments of +brigades and regiments continued the fight, but there was no longer +concert of action or continuity of lines of defence. Most of the troops +drifted back behind the new lines that were being formed; many, as they +continued an isolated struggle, were surrounded and taken prisoners. + +Practically, by 10 o'clock the division was gone. General Prentiss and +the few troops that surrounded him maintained a detached position some +hours longer, till they were completely cut off and surrounded; and the +Rebels signalized their success by marching three regiments, with a +division general, as prisoners, to their rear. + +By 10 o'clock, however, this entire division was virtually _hors du +combat_. A deep gap in our front line was made, the Rebels had nearly +pierced through, and were only held back by McArthur's Brigade and +the rest of W. H. L. Wallace's Division, which hurried over to its +assistance. + +For the present, let us leave them there. They held the line from this +time until four. + +We left Sherman's Brigade maintaining a confused fight, Hildebrand's +about gone, Buckland's and McDowell's holding their ground more +tenaciously. The firing aroused McClernand's Division. At first they +supposed it to be a mere skirmish; perhaps even only the irregular +discharge of muskets by guards and pickets, to clean out their guns--a +practice which, to the disgrace of our discipline be it said, was well +nigh universal--and rendered it almost impossible at any time to know +whether firing meant anything at all, beyond ordinary disorder of our +own soldiers. But the continued rattle of musketry soon undeceived +them, and almost as soon the advance of the Rebels, pouring after +Hildebrand, was upon them. + +The division, it will be remembered, lay a short distance in the rear, +and with one brigade stretching out to the left of Sherman's line. +Properly speaking, merely from the location of the camp, McClernand did +not belong to the front line at all. Two-thirds of his division were +entirely behind Sherman. But as the latter fell back, McClernand had to +bear the shock of battle. + +His division was composed as follows: First Brigade, Colonel Hare +commanding, Eighth and Eighteenth Illinois, Eleventh and Thirteenth +Iowa; Second Brigade, Colonel C. C. Marsh commanding, Eleventh, +Twentieth, Forty-eighth and Forty-fifth Illinois, Colonels Ransom, +Marsh, Haynie and Smith (the latter is the "lead mine regiment"); +Third Brigade, Colonel Raith commanding, Seventeenth, Twenty-ninth and +Forty-ninth Illinois, Lieutenant-Colonels Wood, Farrell and Pease, +and Forty-third Illinois, Colonel Marsh. Besides this fine show of +experienced troops, they had Schwartz's, Dresser's, McAllister's and +Waterhouse's Batteries. + +As already stated, McClernand was first called into action shortly +after the surprise of Sherman's left Brigade (Hildebrand's)--about +7 in the morning--by having to move up his left brigade to support +Sherman's retreating left, and preserve the line. Then, as Sherman's +other brigades fell back, McClernand's moved up and engaged the enemy +in support. Gradually the resistance in Buckland's Brigade and what +was still left to its right of Hildebrand's, became more confused +and irresolute. The line wavered, the men fell back in squads and +companies, they failed to rally promptly at the call of their officers. +As they retreated, the woods behind them became thinner, and there was +less protection from the storm of grape that swept as if on blasts of +a hurricane among the trees. Lieutenant-Colonel Canfield, commanding +the Seventy-second Ohio, was mortally wounded and borne dying from +the field. Colonel Sullivan, of the Forty-eighth Ohio, was wounded, +but continued at the head of his men. Company officers fell and were +carried away from their men. + +At one of our wavering retreats, the Rebels, by a sudden dash forward, +had taken part of Waterhouse's Battery, which McClernand had sent +them over. Behr's Battery, too, was taken, and Taylor's Chicago Light +Artillery was so terribly pounded as to be forced to retire with heavy +loss. As the troops gave way, they came out from the open woods into +old fields, completely raked by the enemy's fire. For them all was +lost, and away went Buckland's and Hildebrand's Brigades, Ohioans and +Illinoisans together, to the rear and right, in such order as they +might. + +McDowell's Brigade had fallen back less slowly than its two companions +of the same division, but it was now left entirely alone. It had formed +our extreme right, and, of course, had no support there; its supporting +brigades on the left had gone; through the space they had occupied the +Rebels were pouring; they were in imminent danger of being entirely +cut off, and back they fell, too, still farther to the right and rear, +among the ravines that border Snake Creek. + +And here, so far as Sunday's fight is concerned, the greater part +of Sherman's Division passes out of view. The General himself was +indefatigable in collecting and reorganizing his men, and a straggling +contest was doubtless kept up along portions of his new lines, but +with little weight in inclining the scales of battle. The General bore +with him one token of the danger to which he had exposed himself, a +musket-ball through the hand. It was the common expression of all that +his escape so lightly was wonderful. Whatever may be his faults or +neglects, none can accuse him of a lack of gallantry and energy when +the attack was made on his raw division that memorable Sunday morning. + +To return to McClernand's Division: I have spoken of his sending up +first, his left, and then his centre brigade, to support Sherman, +shortly after the surprise. As Sherman fell back, McClernand was +compelled to bring in his brigades again to protect his left against +the onset of the Rebels, who, seeing how he had weakened himself there, +and inspired by their recent success over Prentiss, hurled themselves +against him with tremendous force. To avoid bringing back these troops, +a couple of new regiments, the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Iowa, were +brought up, but taking utterly raw troops on the field, under heavy +fire, was too severe a trial for them, and they gave way in confusion. +To meet the attack, then the whole division made a change of front, +and faced along the Corinth road. Here the batteries were placed in +position, and till 10 o'clock the Rebels were foiled in every attempt +to gain the road. + +But Sherman having now fallen back, there was nothing to prevent +the Rebels from coming in, farther out on the road, and turning +McClernand's right. Prompt to seize the advantage, a brigade of them +went dashing audaciously through the division's abandoned camp, pushing +up the road to come in above McClernand, between him and where Sherman +had been. Dresser's Battery of rifled guns opened on them as they +passed, and with fearful slaughter--not confined, alas! to one side +only--drove them back. + +But the enemy's reserves were most skillfully handled, and the constant +advance of fresh regiments was, at last too much for our inferior +numbers. Major Eaton, commanding the Eighteenth Illinois, was killed; +Colonel Haynie was severely wounded; Colonel Raith, commanding a +brigade, had his leg so shattered that amputation was necessary; Major +Nevins, of the Eleventh Illinois, was wounded; Lieutenant-Colonel +Ransom of the same regiment was wounded; three of General McClernand's +staff, Major Schwartz, Major Stewart and Lieutenant Freeman, were +wounded and carried from the field. Line officers had suffered +heavily. The batteries were broken up. Schwartz had lost half his guns +and sixteen horse. Dresser had lost several of his rifled pieces, +three caissons and eighteen horses. McAllister had lost half his +twenty-four-pound howitzers. + +The soldiers fought bravely to the last--let no man question that--but +they were at a fearful disadvantage. Gradually they began falling back, +more slowly than had Prentiss's regiments, or part of Sherman's, making +more determined, because better organized, resistance, occasionally +rallying and repulsing the enemy in turn for a hundred yards, then +being beaten back again, and renewing the retreat to some new position +for fresh defence. + +By 11 o'clock the division was back in a line with Hurlbut's. It still +did some gallant fighting; once its right swept around and drove the +enemy for a considerable distance, but again fell back, and at the last +it brought up near the position of W. H. L. Wallace's camps. + +We have seen how Prentiss, Sherman, McClernand were driven back; how, +fight as fiercely as they would, they still lost ground; how their +camps were all in the hands of the enemy; and how this whole front +line, for which Hurlbut and Wallace were but the reserves, was gone. + +But the fortunes of the isolated brigade of Sherman's Division, on the +extreme left, must not be forgotten. It was doubly let alone by the +Generals. General Grant did not arrive on the field till after nearly +all these disasters had crowded upon us, and each Division General +had done that which was good in his own eyes, and carried on the +battle independent of the rest; but this brigade was even left by its +Division General, who was four miles away, doing his best to rally his +panic-stricken regiments there. + +It was Commanded by Colonel David Stuart, (of late Chicago divorce-case +fame, and ex-Congressman,) and was composed of the Fifty-fifth +Illinois, Lieutenant-Colonel Malmbourg, commanding; Seventy-first Ohio, +Colonel Rodney Mason; the Fifty-fourth Ohio, (Zouaves,) Colonel T. K. +Smith. It was posted along the circuitous road from Pittsburgh Landing, +up the river to Hamburgh, some two miles from the Landing, and near +the crossing of Lick Creek, the bluffs on the opposite side of which +commanded the position, and stretching on down to join Prentiss's +Division on its right. In selecting the grounds for the encampment +of our army, it seems to have been forgotten that from Corinth an +excellent road led direct to Hamburgh, a few miles above this left wing +of our forces. Within a few days, the oversight had indeed been +discovered, and the determination had been expressed to land Buell's +forces at Hamburgh, when they arrived, and thus make all safe. It was +unfortunate, of course, that Beauregard and Johnston did not wait for +us to perfect our pleasing arrangements. + +[Illustration: LIEUTENANT GENERAL SHERIDAN.] + +When the Rebels marched out from Corinth, a couple of brigades (rumored +to be under the command of Breckinridge) had taken this road, and thus +easily, and without molestation reached the bluffs of Lick Creek, +commanding Stuart's position. + +During the attack on Prentiss, Stuart's Brigade was formed +along the road, the left resting near the Lick Creek Ford, the +right, Seventy-first Ohio, Colonel Rodney Mason, (late Assistant +Adjutant-General of Ohio, and Colonel of the Second Ohio at Manassas,) +being nearest Prentiss. The first intimation they had of disaster to +their right was the partial cessation of firing. An instant afterward +muskets were seen glinting among the leaves, and presently a Rebel +column emerged from a bend in the road, with banners flying and moving +at double-quick down the road toward them. Their supports to the left +were further off than the Rebels, and it was at once seen that, with +but one piece of artillery a single regiment could do nothing there. +They accordingly fell rapidly back toward the ford, and were re-formed +in an orchard near the other regiments. + +The Rebel column veered on further to the right, in search of +Prentiss's flying troops, and for a brief space, though utterly +isolated, they were unmolested. + +Before ten, however, the brigade, which had still stood listening to +the surging roar of battle on the left, was startled by the screaming +of a shell that came directly over their heads. In an instant the +batteries of the Rebel force that had gained the commanding bluffs +opposite, by approaching on the Corinth and Hamburgh road, were in +full play, and the orchards and open fields in which they were posted +(looking only for attack in the opposite direction) were swept with the +exploding shells and hail-storm rush of grape. + +Under cover of this fire from the bluffs, the Rebels rushed down, +crossed the ford, and in a moment were seen forming this side of the +creek, in open fields also, and within close musket range. Their +color-bearers stepped defiantly to the front, as the engagement +opened furiously, the Rebels pouring in sharp, quick volleys of +musketry, and their batteries above continuing to support them +with a destructive fire. Our sharpshooters wanted to pick off the +audacious Rebel color-bearers, but Colonel Stuart interposed: "No, no, +they're too brave fellows to be killed." Almost at the first fire, +Lieutenant-Colonel Barton S. Kyle, of the Seventy-first, was shot +through the breast. The brigade stood for scarcely ten minutes, when it +became evident that its position was untenable, and they fell rapidly +back, perhaps a quarter of a mile, to the next ridge; a few of his men, +at great personal risk, carrying Lieutenant-Colonel Kyle, in a dying +condition, from the field they were abandoning. Ohio lost no braver, +truer man that day. + +As they reached the next woody ridge, Rebel cavalry, that had crossed +the creek lower down, were seen coming up on their left; and to +resist this new attack the line of battle was formed, fronting in +that direction. For three quarters of an hour the brigade stood here. +The cavalry, finding its purpose foiled, did not come within range. +In front they were hard pressed, and the Rebels, who had followed +Prentiss, began to come in on their right. Colonel Stuart had sent +across to Brigadier-General W. H. L. Wallace, then not engaged, for +support. Brigadier-General McArthur's Brigade was promptly started +across, but mistaking the way, and bearing too much on the right, it +speedily found itself in the midst of the Rebel forces, that had poured +in after Prentiss. General McArthur could thus render Stuart's Brigade +no assistance, but he vigorously engaged the Rebels to his front and +flanks, fell back to a good position, and held these troops in bay +till the rest of his division came up to his aid. General McArthur was +himself disabled by a wound in the foot, but he rode into a hospital, +had it dressed, and returned to the brigade, which meantime sturdily +held its position. + +But this brought Stuart's isolated brigade little help. They were soon +forced to fall back to another ridge, then to another, and finally, +about 12 o'clock, badly shattered and disordered, they retreated to +the right and rear, falling in behind General McArthur's Brigade to +reorganize. Colonel Stuart was himself wounded by a ball through +his right shoulder, and the loss of field and company-officers was +sufficient to greatly discourage the troops. + +This clears our entire front line of divisions. The enemy has full +possession of all Sherman's, Prentiss's, and McClernand's camps. By 10 +o'clock our whole front, except Stuart's Brigade, had given way, and +the burden of the fight was resting on Hurlbut and W. H. L. Wallace. +Before 12 Stuart, too, had come back, and for the time absolutely only +those two divisions stood between our army and destruction or surrender. + +Still all was not lost. Hurlbut and Wallace began making a most gallant +stand; and meantime most of the troops from the three driven divisions +were still to some extent available. Many of them had wandered down +the river--some as far as Crump's Landing, and some even to Savannah. +These were brought back again on transports. Lines of guards were +extended to prevent skulkers from getting back to the Landing, and +especially to stop the shrewd dodge among the cravans of taking six +or eight able-bodied soldiers to assist some slightly-wounded fellow +into the hospital; and between this cordon and the rear of the fighting +divisions the fragments of regiments were reorganized after a fashion, +and sent back to the field. Brigades could not be got together again, +much less divisions, but the regiments pieced together from the loose +squads that could be gathered and officered, often by men who could +find scarcely a soldier of their own commands, were hurried to the +front, and many of them did good service. + +It was fortunate for us that the accidental circumstance that +Prentiss's portion of our lines had been completely broken sooner than +any of the rest, had caused the enemy's onset to veer chiefly to our +left. There we were tolerably safe; and at worst, if the Rebels drove +us to the river on the left flank, the gunboats would come into play. +Our weakest point was the right, and to turning this the Rebels do not +seem to have paid so much attention on Sunday. + +According to general understanding, in the event of an attack at +Pittsburgh Landing, Major-General Lew. Wallace was to come in on our +right and flank the Rebels by marching across from Crump's Landing +below. Yet strangely enough, Wallace, though with his division all +drawn up and ready to march anywhere at a moment's notice, was not +ordered to Pittsburgh Landing till nearly if not quite 12 o'clock. Then +through misdirection as to the way to come in on the flank, four miles +of marching were lost, and the circuitous route made it twelve miles +more, before they could reach the scene of battle. Meantime our right +was almost wholly unprotected. Fortunately, as I said, however, the +Rebels do not seem to have discovered the full extent of this weakness, +and their heaviest fighting was done on the centre and left, where we +still preserved our line. + +Hurlbut's Division, it will be remembered, stretched across the Corinth +road, facing rather to our left. W. H. L. Wallace's other brigades had +gone over to assist McArthur, and the division, thus reunited, steadily +closed the line, where Prentiss's Division and Stuart's Brigade, in +their retreat, had left it open. To Hurlbut's right the lines were +patched out with the reorganized regiments that had been resent to the +field. McClernand and Sherman were both there. + +Hurlbut had been encamped in the edge nearest the river, of a stretch +of open fields, backed with heavy timber. Among his troops were the +Seventeenth and Twenty-fifth Kentucky, Forty-fourth and Thirty-first +Indiana, constituting Lauman's Brigade; Third Iowa, Forty-first +Illinois and some others, forming Colonel Williams' Brigade. + +As Prentiss fell back, Hurlbut's left aided Wallace in sustaining +the Rebel onset, and when McClernand gave way, the remainder of the +division was thrown forward. The position beyond the camp, however, was +not a good one, and the division was compelled to fall back through +its camp to the thick woods behind. Here, with open fields before +them, they could rake the Rebel approach. Nobly did they now stand +their ground. From 10 to half-past 3 they held the enemy in check, and +through nearly that whole time were actively engaged. Hurlbut himself +displayed the most daring and brilliant gallantry, and his example, +with that of the brave officers under him, nerved the men to the +sternest endurance. + +Three times during those long hours the heavy Rebel masses on the left +charged upon the division, and three times were they repulsed, with +terrible slaughter. Close, sharp, continuous musketry, whole lines +belching fire on the Rebels as the leaden storm swept the fields over +which they attempted to advance, were too much for Rebel discipline, +though the bodies left scattered over the fields, even on Monday +evening, bore ghastly testimony to the daring with which they had been +precipitated toward our lines. + +But there is still much in the Napoleonic theory that Providence has a +tendency at least to go with the heaviest battalions. The battalions +were against us. The Rebel generals, too, handled their forces with a +skill that extorted admiration in the midst of our suffering. Repulse +was nothing to them. A rush on our lines failed; they took their +disordered troops to the rear, and sent up fresh troops, who, unknowing +the fearful reception awaiting them, were ready to try it again. The +jaded division was compelled to yield, and after six hours' magnificent +fighting, it fell back out of sight of its camps, and to a point within +half a mile of the Landing. + +Let us turn to the fate of Hurlbut's companion division--that of +Brigadier-General W. H. L. Wallace, which included the Second and +Seventh Iowa, Ninth and Twenty-eighth Illinois, and several of the +other regiments composing Major-General Smith's old division; with also +three excellent batteries, Stone's, Richardson's and Weber's (all from +Missouri), forming an artillery battalion, under the general management +of Major Cavender. + +Here, too, the fight began about ten o'clock, as already described. +From that time until four in the afternoon they manfully bore up. The +musketry fire was absolutely continuous; there was scarcely a moment +that some part of the line was not pouring in it rattling volleys, +and the artillery was admirably served, with but little intermission +through the entire time. + +Once or twice the infantry advanced, attempting to drive the +continually increasing enemy, but though they could hold what they had, +their numbers were not equal to the task of conquering any more. + +Four separate times the Rebels attempted to turn to charge on them. +Each time the infantry poured in its quickest volleys, the artillery +redoubled its exertions, and the Rebels retreated with heavy slaughter. +The division was eager to remain, even when Hurlbut fell back, and the +fine fellows with the guns were particularly indignant at not being +permitted to pound away. But their supports were gone on either side; +to have remained in isolated advance would have been madness. Just as +the necessity for retreating was becoming apparent, General Wallace, +whose cool, collected bravery had commanded the admiration of all, was +mortally wounded, and borne away from the field. At last the division +fell back. Its soldiers claim--justly, I believe--the proud distinction +of being the last to yield, in the general break of our lines, that +gloomy Sunday afternoon, which, at half past four o'clock, had left +most of our army within half a mile of the Landing, with the Rebels up +to a thousand yards of their position. + +Captain Stone could not resist the temptation of stopping, as he passed +what had been Hurlbut's headquarters, to try a few parting shots. He +did fine execution, but narrowly escaped losing some guns, by having +his wheel horses shot down. Captain Walker did lose a twenty pounder +through some breakage in the carriage. It was recovered again on +Monday. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +"AGATE'S" STORY CONTINUED. + + THE CLOSE OF SUNDAY'S FIGHT--WHAT HAD BEEN LOST DURING THE DAY-- + FIVE THOUSAND COWARDS ON THE RIVER BANK--OPPORTUNE ARRIVAL OF + GENERAL BUELL--THE GRAND ATTACK AND ITS GRAND REPULSE--AID + FROM THE GUNBOATS--THE NIGHT BETWEEN TWO BATTLES--DESPERATE + PREPARATIONS FOR THE MORROW--GUNBOATS ON GUARD THROUGH THE + DARKNESS. + + +The remainder of Sunday's desperate fighting, and the grim preparations +and anxieties of Sunday night, are rehearsed by "Agate" thus: + +We have reached the last act in the tragedy of Sunday. It is half-past +4 o'clock. Our front line of divisions has been lost since half-past +10. Our reserve line is now gone, too. The Rebels occupy the camps +of every division save that of W. H. L. Wallace. Our whole army is +crowded in the region of Wallace's camps, and to a circuit of one-half +to two-thirds of a mile around the Landing. We have been falling back +all day. We can do it no more. The next repulse puts us into the river, +and there are not transports enough to cross a single division till the +enemy would be upon us. + +Lew. Wallace's Division might turn the tide for us--it is made of +fighting men--but where is it? Why has it not been thundering on the +right for three hours past? We do not know yet that it was not ordered +up till noon. Buell is coming, but he has been doing it all day, and +all last week. His advance-guard is across the river now, waiting +ferriage; but what is an advance-guard, with sixty thousand victorious +foes in front of us? + +We have lost nearly all our camps and camp equipage. We have lost +nearly half our field artillery. We have lost a division general and +two or three regiments of our soldiers as prisoners. We have lost--how +dreadfully we are afraid to think--in killed and wounded. The hospitals +are full to overflowing. A long ridge bluff is set apart for surgical +uses. It is covered with the maimed, the dead and dying. And our men +are discouraged by prolonged defeat. Nothing but the most energetic +exertion on the part of the officers, prevents them from becoming +demoralized. Regiments have lost their favorite field-officers; +companies the captains whom they have always looked to, with that +implicit faith the soldier learns, to lead them to battle. + +Meanwhile, there is a lull in the firing. For the first time since +sunrise you fail to catch the angry rattle of musketry or the heavy +booming of the field-guns. Either the enemy must be preparing for the +grand, final rush that is to crown the day's success and save the +Southern Confederacy, or they are puzzled by our last retreat, and are +moving cautiously, lest we spring some trap upon them. Let us embrace +the opportunity, and look about the Landing. We pass the old log-house, +lately post office, now full of wounded and surgeons, which constitute +the "Pittsburgh" part of the landing. General Grant and staff are in +a group beside it. The general is confident. "We can hold them off +till to-morrow; and they'll be exhausted, and we'll go at them, with +fresh troops." A great crowd is collected around the building--all in +uniforms, most of them with guns. And yet we are needing troops in the +front so sorely! + +On the bluffs above the river is a sight that may well make our cheeks +tingle. There are not less than five thousand skulkers lining the +banks! Ask them why they don't go to their places in the line: "Oh! +our regiment is all cut to pieces." "Why don't you go to where it is +forming again?" "I can't find it," and the hulk looks as if that would +be the very last thing he would want to do. + +Officers are around among them, trying to hunt up their men, storming, +coaxing, commanding--cursing I am afraid. One strange fellow--a Major, +if I remember aright--is making a sort of elevated, superfine Fourth +of July speech to everybody that will listen to him. He means well, +certainly: "Men of Kentucky, of Illinois, of Ohio, of Iowa, of Indiana, +I implore you, I beg of you, come up now. Help us through two hours +more. By all that you hold dear, by the homes you hope to defend, by +the flag you love, by the States you honor, by all our love of country, +by all your hatred of treason, I conjure you, come up and do your duty, +now!" And so on for quantity. "That feller's a good speaker," was the +only response I heard, and the fellow who gave it nestled more snugly +behind his tree as he spoke. + +I knew well enough the nature of the skulking animal in an army during +a battle. I had seen their performances before, but never on so large +a scale, never with such an utter sickness of heart while I look, as +now. Still, I do not believe there was very much more than the average +percentage. It was a big army, and the runaways all sought the landing. + +Looking across the Tennessee we see a body of cavalry, awaiting +the transportation over. They are said to be Buell's advance, yet +they have been there an hour or two alone. But suddenly there is a +rustle among the runaways. It is! It is! You see the gleaming of +the gun-barrels, you catch amid the leaves and undergrowth down the +opposite side of the river, glimpses of the steady, swinging tramp +of trained soldiers. A Division of Buell's army is here! And the men +who have left their regiments on the field send up three cheers for +Buell. They cheering! May it parch their throats, as if they had been +breathing the simoon! + +Here comes a boat across with a Lieutenant, and two or three privates +of the signal corps. Some orders are instantly given the officer, and +as instantly telegraphed to the other side by the mysterious wavings +and raisings and droppings of the flags. A steamer comes up with +pontoons on board, with which a bridge could be speedily thrown across. +Unaccountably enough, to on-lookers, she slowly reconnoiters and steams +back again. Perhaps, after all it is better to have no bridge there. It +simplifies the question, takes escape out of the count, and leaves its +victory or death--to the cowards, that slink behind the bluffs as well +as to the brave men who peril their lives to do the State some service +on the fields beyond. Preparations go rapidly forward for crossing the +Division (General Nelson's, which has the advance of Buell's army) on +the dozen or so transports that have been tied up along the bank. + +We have spent but a few minutes on the bluff, but they are the golden +minutes that count for years. Well was it for that driven, defeated, +but not disgraced army of General Grant's that those minutes were +improved. Colonel Webster, Chief of Staff, and an artillery officer of +no mean ability, had arranged the guns that he could collect of those +that remained to us in a sort of semi-circle, protecting the Landing, +and bearing chiefly on our centre and left, by which the Rebels +were pretty sure to advance. Corps of artillerists to man them were +improvised from all the batteries that could be collected. Twenty-two +guns in all were placed in position. Two of them were heavy siege-guns, +long thirty-two. Where they came from I do not know; what battery they +belonged to I have no idea; I only know that they were there, in the +right place, half a mile back from the bluff, sweeping the approaches +by the left, and by the ridge Corinth road; that there was nobody to +work them; that Doctor Cornyn, Surgeon of Frank Blair's Old First +Missouri Artillery, proffered his services, that they were gladly +accepted, and that he did work them to such effect as to lay out ample +work for scores of his professional brethren on the other side of the +fight. + +Remember the situation. It was half past four o'clock--perhaps a +quarter later still. Every division of our army on the field had been +repulsed. The enemy were in the camps of four out of five of them. We +were driven to within a little over half a mile of the Landing. Behind +us was a deep, rapid river. Before us was a victorious enemy. And still +there was an hour for fighting. "Oh! that night, or Blucher, would +come!" Oh! that night, or Lew. Wallace, would come! Nelson's Division +of General Buell's army evidently couldn't cross in time to do us much +good. We didn't yet know why Lew. Wallace wasn't on the ground. In the +justice of a righteous cause, and in that semi-circle of twenty-two +guns in position, lay all the hope we could see. + +Suddenly a broad, sulphurous flash of light leaped out from the +darkening woods; and through the glare and smoke came whistling the +leaden hail. The Rebels were making their crowning effort for the day, +and as was expected when our guns were hastily placed, they came from +our left and centre. They had wasted their fire at one thousand yards. +Instantaneously our deep-mouthed bull-dogs flung out their sonorous +response. The Rebel artillery opened, and shell and round-shot came +tearing across the open space back of the bluff. May I be forgiven for +the malicious thought, but I certainly did wish one or two might drop +behind the bluff among the crowd of skulkers hovering under the hill at +the river's edge. + +Very handsome was the response our broken infantry battalions poured +in. The enemy soon had reason to remember that, if not "still in their +ashes live the wonted fires," at least still in the fragments lived the +ancient valor that had made the short-lived Rebels' successes already +cost so dear. + +The Rebel infantry gained no ground, but the furious cannonading +and musketry continued. Suddenly new actors entered on the stage. +Our Cincinnati wooden gunboats, the A. O. Taylor and the Lexington, +had been all day impatiently chafing for their time to come. The +opportunity was theirs. The Rebels were attacking on our left, lying +where Stuart's Brigade had lain on Licking Creek in the morning, and +stretching thence in on the Hamburgh Road, and across toward our old +centre as far as Hurlbut's camps. Steaming up to the mouth of the +little creek, the boats rounded to. There was the ravine, cut through +the bluff as if on purpose for their shells. + +Eager to avenge the death of their commanding General (now known to +have been killed a couple of hours before) and to complete the victory +they believed to be within their grasp, the Rebels had incautiously +ventured within reach of their most dreaded antagonists, as broadside +after broadside of seven-inch shells and sixty-four-pounds shot +soon taught them. This was a foe they had hardly counted on, and the +unexpected fire in flank and rear sadly disconcerted their well-laid +plans. The boats fired admirably, and with a rapidity that was +astonishing. Our twenty-two land-guns kept up their stormy thunder; +and thus, amid a crash and roar and scream of shells and demon-like +hiss of minie-balls, the Sabbath evening wore away. We held the enemy +at bay; it was enough. The prospects for the morrow was foreboding; +but sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. We had plenty of evil +that day--of course, therefore, the text was applicable. Before dark +the Thirty-sixth Indiana, from Nelson's Advance Brigade, had crossed, +advanced into line with Grant's forces at the double-quick, and had put +in fourteen rounds as an earnest of what should be forth-coming on the +morrow. + +The enemy suddenly slackened his fire. His grand object had been +defeated; he had not finished his task in a day; but there is evidence +that officers and men alike shared the confidence that their morning +assault would be final. + +As the sounds of battle died away, and Division Generals drew off their +men, Buell had arrived, and Lew. Wallace had been heard from. Both +would be ready by morning. It was decided that as soon as possible +after daybreak we should attack the enemy, now snugly quartered in our +camps. Lew. Wallace, who was coming in on the new road from Crump's +Landing, and crossing Snake Creek just above the Illinois Wallace +(W. H. L.) camps, was to take the right and sweep back towards the +position from which Sherman had been driven on Sunday morning. Nelson +was to take the extreme left. Buell promised to put in Tom Crittenden +next to Nelson, and McCook next to him by a seasonable hour in the +morning. The gap between McCook and Lew. Wallace was to be filled with +the reorganized division of Grant's old army; Hurlbut coming next to +McCook, then McClernand and Sherman closing the gap between McClernand +and Lew. Wallace. + +Stealthily the troops crept to their new positions and lay down in +line of battle on their arms. All through the night Buell's men were +marching up from Savannah to the point opposite Pittsburgh Landing +and being ferried across, or were coming up on transports. By an hour +after dark Lew. Wallace had his division in. Through the misdirection +he had received from General Grant at noon, he had started on the Snake +Creek road proper, which would have brought him in on the enemy's +rear, miles from support, and where he would have been gobbled at a +mouthful. Getting back to the right road had delayed him. He at once +ascertained the position of certain Rebel batteries which lay in front +of him on our right, that threatened absolutely to bar his advance in +the morning, and selected positions for a couple of his batteries, from +which they could silence the one he dreaded. Placing these in position, +and arranging his brigades for support, took him till one o'clock in +the morning. Then his wearied men lay down to snatch a few hours of +sleep before entering into the Valley of the Shadow of Death on the +morrow. + +By nine o'clock all was hushed near the Landing. The host of combatants +that three hours before had been deep in the work of human destruction +had all sunk silently to the earth, "the wearied to sleep, the wounded +to die." The stars looked out upon the scene, and all breathed the +natural quiet and calm of a Sabbath evening. But presently there came +a flash that spread like sheet lightning over the ripples of the +river-current, and the roar of a heavy naval gun went echoing up +and down the bluffs, through the unnatural stillness of the night. +Others speedily followed. By the flash you could just discern the +black outline of the piratical-looking hull, and see how the gunboat +gracefully settled into the water at the recoil: the smoke soon cast +up a thin veil that seemed only to soften and sweeten the scene, from +the woods away inland you caught faintly the muffled explosion of the +shell, like the knell of the spirit that was taking its flight. + +We knew nothing then of the effect of this gunboat cannonading, which +was vigorously kept up till nearly morning, and it only served to +remind us the more vividly of the day's disasters, of the fact that +half a mile off lay a victorious enemy, commanded by the most dashing +of their generals, and of the question one scarcely dared ask himself: +"What to-morrow?" We were defeated, our dead and dying were around +us, days could hardly sum up our losses. And then there came up that +grand refrain of Whittier's--written after Manassas, I believe, but +on that night, apparently far more applicable to this greater than +Manassas--"Under the Cloud and Through the Sea." + + "Sons of the Saints who faced their Jordan flood, + In fierce Atlantic's unretreating wave-- + Who by the Red Sea of their glorious blood + Reached to the Freedom that your blood shall save! + + O, countrymen! God's day is not yet done! + He leaveth not his people utterly! + Count it a covenant, that he leads us on + Beneath the clouds and through the crimson sea? + +[Illustration: MAJOR-GENERAL BUTTERFIELD.] + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +"AGATE'S" STORY CONCLUDED. + + THE WORK OF SUNDAY NIGHT--LANDING OF BUELL'S TROOPS--EFFECT OF + THE BOMBARDMENT--LACK OF SYSTEM IN THE UNION ARMY--RENEWING THE + BATTLE--A CHANGE OF TACTICS--TURNING THE TIDE--CRITTENDEN'S + ADVANCE--THE ADVANCE AT THE CENTRE--A GRAND PARADE ON THE FIELD + OF WAR--REDEEMING THE LOSSES OF SUNDAY--FACING THE LOUISIANA + TROOPS--SILENCING THE BATTERY--END OF THE GREAT STRUGGLE. + + +After giving the roll of the Federal troops engaged at Shiloh, "Agate" +concludes his remarkable narrative as follows: + +With the exception of the gunboat bombardment, the night seemed to +have passed in entire quiet. A heavy thunder-storm had come up about +midnight, and though we were all shivering over the ducking, the +surgeons assured us that a better thing could not have happened. The +ground, they said, was covered with wounded not yet found, or whom we +were unable to bring from the field. The moisture would to some extent +cool the burning, parching thirst, which is one of the chief terrors of +lying wounded and helpless on the battle-field, and the falling water +was the best dressing for the wounds. + +The regiments of Buell's Divisions were still disembarking at the +Landing. Many had taken their places, the rest hurried out as fast +as they landed, and fell in, to the rear of their brigade-lines, for +reserves. I stood for a few moments at the Landing, curious to see +how these fine fellows would march out to the field where they knew +reverses had crowded so thickly upon us the day before, and where +many of them must lie down to sleep his last sleep ere the sun, then +rising, should sink again. There was little of that vulgar vanity of +valor which was so conspicuous in all the movements of our rawer troops +eight or nine months ago. There was no noisy and senseless yelling, no +shouting of boasts, no calling on on-lookers, to "show us where the +cowardly Secesh is, and we'll clean 'em out double-quick." These men +understood the work before them; they went to it as brave men should, +determinedly, hopefully, calmly. + +It soon became evident that the gunboat bombardment through the night +had not been without a most important effect in changing the conditions +under which we renewed the struggle. The sun had gone down with the +enemy's lines clasping us tightly on the centre and left, pushing us +to the river, and leaving us little over half a mile out of all the +broad space we had held in the morning. The gunboats had cut the coils, +and loosened the constriction. As we soon learned, their shells had +made the old position on our extreme left, which the Rebels had been +pleasantly occupying, utterly untenable. Instead of being able to slip +up on us through the night, as they had probably intended, they were +compelled to fall back from point to point; each time as they had found +places, they thought, out of range, a shell would come dropping in. +Nowhere within range could they lie, but the troublesome visitors would +find them out; and to end the matter, they fell back beyond our inner +camps, and thus lost more than half the ground they had gained by our +4 o'clock retreat the afternoon before. + +Less easily accounted for was a movement of theirs on our right. They +had held here a steep bluff covered with underbrush, as their advanced +line. Through the night they abandoned this, which gave them the best +position for opposing Lew. Wallace, and had fallen back across some +open fields to the scrub-oak woods beyond. The advantage of compelling +our advance over unprotected openings, while they maintained a +sheltered position, was obvious, but certainly not so great as holding +a height which artillery and infantry would make as difficult to take +as many a fort. Nevertheless they fell back. + +The reader who is patient enough to wade through this narration, will +scarcely fail to observe that thus far I have said little or nothing of +any plan of attack or defence among our commanders. It has been simply +because I have failed to see any evidence of such a plan. To me it +seemed on Sunday as if every Division General at least--not to say in +many cases, every individual soldier--imitated the good old Israelitish +plan of action, by which every man did what seemed good in his own +eyes. There may have been an infinite amount of generalship displayed, +in superintending our various defeats and re-formations and retreats, +but to me it seemed of that microscopic character that required +the magnifying powers of a special permit for exclusive newspaper +telegraphing on government lines to discover. + +Sunday night there was a council of war, but if the Major-General +commanding developed any plans there, beyond the simple arrangement +of our line of battle, I am very certain that some of the Division +Commanders didn't find it out. Stubborn fighting alone delayed our +losses on Sunday; stubborn fighting alone saved us when we had reached +the point beyond which came the child's "jumping-off place;" and +stubborn fight, with such generalship as individual Division Commanders +displayed, regained on Monday what we had lost before. + +To those who had looked despairingly at the prospects Sunday evening, +it seemed strange that the Rebels did not open out on us by daybreak +again. Their retreat before the bomb-shells of the gunboats, however, +explained the delay. Our own divisions were put in motion almost +simultaneously. By seven o'clock Lew. Wallace opened the ball by +shelling, from the positions he had selected the night before, the +Rebel battery, of which mention has been made. A brisk artillery duel, +a rapid movement of infantry across a shallow ravine, as if to storm, +and the Rebels enfiladed and menaced in front, limbered up and made the +opening of their Monday's retreating. + +To the left we were slower in finding the enemy. They had been +compelled to travel some distance to get out of gunboat range. Nelson +moved his division about the same time Wallace opened on the Rebel +battery, forming in line of battle, Ammon's Brigade on the extreme +left, Bruce's in the centre, and Hazen's to the left. Skirmishers were +thrown out, and for nearly or quite a mile the division thus swept +the country, pushing the outlying Rebels before it, till it came upon +them in force. Then a general engagement broke out along the line, and +again the rattle of musketry and thunder of artillery echoed over the +late silent fields. There was no straggling this morning. These men +were better drilled than many of those whose regiments had broken to +pieces on the day before, and strict measures were taken, at any rate, +to prevent the miscellaneous thronging back to places of safety in the +rear. They stood up to their work and did their duty manfully. It soon +became evident that, whether from change of commanders or some other +cause, the Rebels were pursuing a different policy in massing their +forces. On Sunday the heaviest fighting had been done on the left. This +morning they seemed to make less determined resistance here, while +toward the centre and right the ground was more obstinately contested, +and the struggle longer prolonged. + +Till half-past ten o'clock, Nelson advanced slowly but steadily, +sweeping his long lines over the ground of our sore defeat on Sunday +morning, and forward over scores of Rebel dead, resistlessly pressing +back the jaded and wearied enemy. The Rebels had received but few +reinforcements during the night, their men were exhausted with their +desperate contest of the day before, and manifestly dispirited by the +evident fact that notwithstanding their well-laid plans of destruction +in detail, they were fighting Grant and Buell combined. + +Gradually, as Nelson pushed forward his lines under heavy musketry, +the enemy fell back, till about half-past ten, when, under cover of +the heavy timber and a furious cannonading, they made a general rally. +Our forces, flushed with their easy victory, were scarcely prepared +for the sudden onset, where retreat had been all they had been seeing +before. Suddenly, the Rebel masses were hurled against our lines with +tremendous force. Our men halted, wavered, and fell back. At this +juncture, Captain Terrill's regular battery came dashing up. Scarcely +taking time to unlimber, he was loading and sighting his pieces before +the caissons had turned, and in an instant was tossing shell from +twenty-four pound howitzers into the compact and advancing Rebel ranks. + +Here was the turning-point of the battle on the left. The Rebels were +only checked, not halted. On they came. Horse after horse from the +batteries were picked. Every private at one of the howitzers fell, and +the gun was worked by Captain Terrill himself and a corporal. Still +the Rebels advanced, till, in the very nick of time, a regiment dashed +up from our line, and saved the disabled piece. Then for two hours +artillery and musketry at close range. At last they began to waver. +Our men pressed on, pouring in deadly volleys. Just then Buell, who +assumed the general direction of his troops in the field, came up. At +a glance he saw the chance. "Forward at double-quick by brigades!" Our +men leaped forward as if they had been tied, and were only too much +rejoiced at suddenly finding themselves able to move. For a quarter +of a mile the Rebels fell back. Faster and faster they ran, less and +less resistance was made to the advance. At last the front camps on the +left were reached, and by half-past two that point was cleared. The +Rebels had been steadily swept back over the ground they had won, with +heavy loss as they fell into confusion; we had retaken all our own guns +lost here the day before, and one or two from the Rebels were left as +trophies, to tell in after days how bravely that great victory over +treason in Tennessee was won. + +I have sketched the advance of Nelson. Next to him came Crittenden. +He, too, swept forward over his ground to the front some distance +before finding the foe. Between 8 and 9 o'clock, however, while keeping +Smith's Brigade on his left up even with Nelson's flank, and joining +Boyle's Brigade to McCook on the right, in the grand advance, they came +upon the enemy with a battery in position, and well supported. Smith +dashed his brigade forward; there was sharp, close work with musketry, +and the Rebels fled, leaving us three pieces--a twelve-pound howitzer, +and two brass six-pounders. But they cost the gallant Thirteenth Ohio +dear. Major Ben. Piatt Runkle fell, mortally wounded. Softly may he +sleep, and green grow the laurels over his honored grave. None worthier +wear them living. + +For half an hour, perhaps, the storm raged around these captured +guns. Then came the reflex Rebel wave that had hurled Nelson back. +Crittenden, too, caught its full force. The Rebels swept up to the +batteries, around them, and on down after our retreating column. But +the two brigades, like those of Nelson to their left, took a fresh +position, faced the foe, and held their ground. Mendenhall's and +Bartlett's Batteries now began shelling the infantry that alone opposed +them. Before abandoning the guns so briefly held, they had spiked them +with mud, and the novel expedient was perfectly successful. From that +time till after 1 o'clock, while the fight raged back and forth over +the same ground, the Rebels did not succeed in firing a shot from their +mud-spiked artillery. + +At last our brigades began to gain the advantage again. Crittenden +pushed them steadily forward. Mendenhall (with his accomplished First +Lieutenant Parsons, one of our Western Reserve West Pointers), and +Bartlett, poured in their shell. A rush for the contested battery, +and it is ours again. The Rebels retreated toward the left. Smith and +Boyle, holding the infantry well in hand, Mendenhall again got their +range, and poured in shell on the new position. The fortune of the day +was against them as against their comrades to Nelson's front, and they +were soon in full retreat. + +Just then Brigadier-General Thomas J. Wood's advance brigade, from his +approaching division, came up. It was too late for the fight, but it +relieved Crittenden's weary fellows, and pushed on after the Rebels, +until they were found to have left our most advanced camps. + +Thus the left was saved. Meanwhile McCook, with as magnificent +regiments as ever came from the Army of the Potomac, or from any army +of volunteers in the world, was doing equally well toward the centre. +His division was handled in such a way as to save great effusion of +blood, while equally important results were obtained. Thus the reserves +were kept as much as possible from under fire, while those to the front +were engaged. The lists of killed and wounded will show that, while as +heavy fighting was done here as anywhere on the right or centre, the +casualties are fewer than could have been expected. + +It would scarcely be interesting to prolong details where the course +of one division so nearly resembled that of the others. But let me +sketch the close. An Illinois battery, serving in the division, was in +imminent danger. The Sixth Indiana was ordered to its relief. A rapid +rush; close musketry firing; no need of bayonets here; the battery is +safe. The enemy are to the front and right. Advancing and firing right +oblique, the Sixth pushes on. The Rebel colors fall. Another volley; +they fall again. Another volley; yet once more the colors drop. There +is fatality in it, so the Rebels seem to think at least, as they wheel +and disappear. + +And then Rousseau's Brigade is drawn off in splendid style, as if +coming in from parade, conscious of some grand master of reviews +watching their movements. So there was--the Rebel general. As he +saw the brigade filing back, he pushed his forces forward again. +Kirk's Brigade advanced to meet them, coming out of the woods into +an open field to do so. They were met by a tremendous fire, which +threw a battalion of regulars in front of them (under Major Oliver, +I think,) into some confusion. They retire to reform, and meanwhile +down drops the brigade, flat on the ground. Then, as the front is +clear, they spring up, charge across the open field--never mind +the falling--straight on, on to the woods--under cover, with the +enemy driven back by the impetuous advance. And now he rallies. +Fierce musketry firing sweeps the woods. They advance--thirty rods, +perhaps--when the Twenty-ninth Indiana gets into a marsh, and falls +partially to the rear. Heavier comes the leaden hail. Twenty-ninth +and Thirtieth both fall back fifteen or twenty rods; they rally and +advance; again they are hurled back; again they start forward; and +this time they come in on the vulnerable points. The enemy flees. +Colonel Waggoner's Fifteenth Indiana comes up to the support; the enemy +disappear; fresh troops take their places, and for them the fight is +ended. I might describe similar deeds of Willich's and Harrison's +regiments, but "from one learn all." + +Farther to the right, McClernand and Hurlbut were gallantly coming on +with their jaded men. The soldiers would fight--that was the great +lesson of the battle. If surprised, and driven off in consequence +of surprise, that can hardly be wholly charged on them. Four times +McClernand regained and lost again the ground to the front of his +division. Similar were Hurlbut's fortunes. + +But I must abandon these details. Beginning at the left we have +followed the wave of successes that swept us forward again, from spot +to spot, over the hard-lost fields of Sunday--our paeans of victory, +the wild cheers of our successful soldiers, sounding the requiem of the +fallen Rebels, who have atoned for their treason by the brave man's +death. Nelson, Crittenden, McCook, Hurlbut, McClernand have borne their +divisions through the fray. It lasted longer on the right, and was +as rarely interesting as the chess-game of a master. Let us trace it +through. + +In speaking of the beginning of Monday's battle, I mentioned +Major-General Lew. Wallace's opening the ball at seven o'clock, +by shelling with enfilading fires a Rebel battery. A few shots +demonstrated to the Rebels that their position was untenable. The +instant Sherman came in to protect his left, Wallace advanced his +infantry. The Rebel battery at once limbered up and got out of the +way. The advance had withdrawn the division from Sherman. Making +a left half-wheel, to get back into the neighborhood of our line, +they advanced some two hundred yards, which brought them to a little +elevation, with a broad, open stretch to the front. + +As the division halted on the crest of the swell, there passed before +them a rare vision. Away to the front were woods. Through the edge of +the timber, skirting the fields, the head of a Rebel column appeared, +marching past in splendid style on the double-quick. Banner after +banner appeared; the "stars and bars" formed a long line, stretching +parallel with Wallace's line of battle. Regiment after regiment +followed on, the line lengthened, and doubled and trebled; the head of +the column was out of sight, and still they came. Twenty regiments were +counted passing through these woods. The design was plain. The Rebels +had abandoned the idea of forcing their way through our left, and now +the manifest attempt was to turn our right. + +Batteries were ordered up--Thompson's and Thurber's--and the whole +column was shelled as it passed. The Rebels rapidly threw their +artillery into position, and a brisk cannonading began. After a time, +while the fight still rested with the artillery, the Rebels opened +a new and destructive battery to the right, which our men soon +learned to know as "Watson's Louisiana Battery," from the marks on the +ammunition-boxes they forced it from time to time to leave behind. + +Batteries, with a brigade of supporting infantry, were now moved +forward over open fields under heavy fire, to contend against this new +assailant. The batteries opened, the sharpshooters were thrown out to +the front to pick off the Rebel artillerists, the brigade was ordered +down on its face to protect it from the flying shell and grape. For an +hour and a half the contest lasted, while the body of the division was +still delayed, waiting for Sherman. By ten o'clock Sherman's right, +under Colonel Marsh, came up. He started to move across the fields. The +storm of musketry and grape were too much for him, and he fell back in +good order. Again he started on the double, and gained the woods. The +Louisiana Battery was turned; Marsh's position left it subject to fire +in flank and front, and it fled. The other Rebel batteries at once did +the same; and Wallace's Division, up in an instant, now that a master +move had swept the board, pushed forward. Before them were broad fallow +fields, then a woody little ravine, then corn-fields, then woods. + +The left brigade was sent forward. It crossed the fallow fields, +under ordinary fire, then gained the ravine, and was rushing across +the corn-fields, when the same Louisiana steel rifled guns opened on +them. Dashing forward they reached a little ground-swell, behind which +they dropped like dead men, while skirmishers were sent forward to +silence the troublesome battery. The skirmishers crawled forward till +they gained a little knoll, not more than seventy-five yards from the +battery. Of course the battery opened on them. They replied, if not so +noisily, more to the purpose. In a few minutes the battery was driven +off, with artillerists killed, horses shot down, and badly crippled +every way. But the affair cost us a brave man--Lieutenant-Colonel +Garber--who could not control his enthusiasm at the conduct of the +skirmishers, and in his excitement incautiously exposed himself. All +this while Rebel regiments were pouring up to attack the audacious +brigade that was supporting the skirmishers, and fresh regiments from +Wallace's Division came up in time to checkmate the game. + +But the battery was silenced. "Forward," was the division order. +Rushing across the corn-fields under heavy fire, they now met the +Rebels face to face in the woods. The contest was quick, decisive. +Close, sharp, continuous musketry for a few minutes, and the Rebels +fell back. + +Here, unfortunately, Sherman's right gave way. Wallace's flank was +exposed. He instantly formed Colonel Wood's (Seventy-sixth Ohio) in a +new line of battle, in right angles with the real one, and with orders +to protect the flank. The Eleventh Indiana was likewise here engaged +in a sharp engagement with the enemy attempting to flank, and for a +time the contest waxed fierce. But Sherman soon filled the place of his +broken regiments; again Wallace's Division forced forward, and again +the enemy gave way. + +By 2 o'clock the division was into the woods again, and for +three-quarters of a mile it advanced under a continuous storm of shot. +Then another contest or two with batteries--always met with skirmishers +and sharp-shooting--then, by 4 o'clock, two hours later than on the +right, a general Rebel retreat--then pursuit, recall and encampment on +the old grounds of Sherman's Division, in the very tents from which +those regiments were driven that hapless Sunday morning. + +The camps were regained. The Rebels were repulsed. Their attack had +failed. We stood where we began. Rebel cavalry were within half a mile +of us. The retreating columns were within striking distance. But we had +regained our camps. And so ended the battle of Pittsburgh Landing. + +I do not pretend to give more than an estimate; but I have made the +estimate with some care, going to the adjutants of different regiments +that had been in as heavy fighting as any--getting statements of their +losses, sure to be very nearly if not quite accurate, and approximating +thus from the loss of a dozen regiments to the probable loss of all. +I have ridden over the grounds, too--have seen the dead and wounded +lying over the field--have noted the number in the hospitals and on the +boats. As the result of it all, I do not believe our loss in killed and +wounded will number over five thousand. The question of prisoners is +another matter. + +The best opinions of the strength with which the Rebels attacked us +place their numbers at sixty thousand. They may have been reinforced +five to ten thousand Sunday night. + +Grant had scarcely forty thousand effective men on Sunday. Of these, +half a dozen regiments were utterly raw--had scarcely had their guns +long enough to know how to handle them. Some were supplied with weapons +on their way up. + +Buell crossed three divisions that took part in the action--Nelson's, +Crittenden's, and McCook's. They numbered say twenty thousand--a +liberal estimate. Lew. Wallace came up on Monday, with say seven +thousand more. That gives us, counting the Sunday men as all effective +again, sixty-seven thousand on Monday, on one side, against sixty to +seventy thousand Rebels. It was not numbers that gained us the day, it +was fighting. All honor to our Northern soldiers for it. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +CORINTH. + + HALLECK TAKES THE FIELD--ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY--PROGRESS + AT A SNAIL'S PACE--SHERMAN'S ADVANCE--THE FLIGHT OF THE + REBELS--SHERMAN'S OFFICIAL REPORT--CONGRATULATING THE TROOPS-- + BEAUREGARD'S ADDRESS TO HIS SOLDIERS--SOME ACCOUNT OF CORINTH-- + ABRUPT FINALE OF A REBEL HARANGUE. + + +The battle of Pittsburgh Landing unquestionably presented remarkable +features. The magnitude of the struggle, the panic that affected +some of the troops on the first day, the stern recovery and complete +triumph of the second day, all make the event notable in our military +annals. But far more remarkable, in an entirely different sense, was +the campaign that followed; a campaign that even now can scarcely be +contemplated with patience. It seemed as though the commanding General +(Halleck), conceding the truth of the charges of excessive rashness and +lack of preparation at Shiloh, had now resolved to atone therefore by +going to the opposite extreme of caution and deliberation. The results +of this policy were not disastrous; but they were exasperating. Had the +Union army promptly followed up its advantage, gained at Shiloh, it +could and doubtless would have annihilated the opposing forces and made +rebellion in that region a thing of the past. This probably would have +been done had Sherman been in command; for, as we have seen, his voice +was for an aggressive campaign. But Sherman was not in command. + +Immediately after the battle, Halleck came down from St. Louis and +took his place as commander of the army in the field. Perhaps he +believed the miserable slanders against Grant, charging him with +drunkenness at Shiloh; perhaps he merely retained his former feeling +of dissatisfaction with him. At any rate, he kept him under a cloud, +appointing him nominally second in command, but giving him nothing to +do. But it served his purpose to treat Sherman well, and he accordingly +took him into his confidence and gave him important commissions to +execute. He drew troops from other parts of the country, until he had +an army of more than a hundred thousand men. To Major-General Pope he +gave command of the left wing, to Major-General Buell the centre, to +Major-General Thomas the right, and to Major-General McClernand the +reserves. Lew. Wallace was under McClernand. Sherman was under Thomas, +in the right wing, and was glad to be there. They were classmates and +trusted friends, and, as Sherman afterward said, it made no difference +which of them commanded the other, they were bound to work together in +harmony for the good cause. + +The army was thus organized for an advance on Corinth, where the Rebel +army lay. This place was the junction of two great railroads, and +was of much strategic importance. The same Rebel army that had been +defeated at Pittsburgh Landing was gathered there, re-organized and +reinforced. Since Albert Sidney Johnston's death, General Beauregard +was in command, and on May 8th he issued this address to his troops: + +"Soldiers of Shiloh and Elkhorn! We are about to meet once more in +the shock of battle the invaders of our soil, the despoilers of our +homes, the disturbers of our family ties, face to face, hand to hand. +We are to decide whether we are freemen, or vile slaves of those +who are only free in name, and who but yesterday were vanquished, +although in largely superior numbers, in their own encampments, on +the ever-memorable field of Shiloh. Let the impending battle decide +our fate, and add a more illustrious page to the history of our +revolution--one to which our children will point with pride, saying, +'Our fathers were at the battle of Corinth.' I congratulate you on your +timely junction. With our mingled banners for the first time during the +war, we shall meet our foe in strength that should give us victory. +Soldiers, can the result be doubtful? Shall we not drive back to +Tennessee the presumptuous mercenaries collected for our subjugation? +One more manly effort, and, trusting in God and the justness of our +cause, we shall recover more than we lately lost. Let the sound of +our victorious guns be re-echoed by those of Virginia on the historic +battle-field at Yorktown." + +[Illustration: GEN. JOHN A. LOGAN.] + +It should be explained, concerning the first words of this address, +that among the reinforcements of Beauregard's army were Van Dorn's +troops, who had fought at Pea Ridge, Arkansas, a battle which the +Rebels called Elkhorn; and concerning the closing words, that on the +very day when this address was issued, the Rebels fled from Yorktown +before the advance of McClellan! General Bragg also made an address +to his soldiers, saying: "You will encounter the enemy in your chosen +position, strong by nature and improved by art, away from his main +support and reliance--gunboats and heavy batteries--and for the first +time in this war, with nearly equal numbers." This remark about equal +numbers was certainly untrue, since at Shiloh the Rebel army on the +first day actually outnumbered the Union troops. And now at Corinth +it is hardly possible to believe that the Rebels had anything like a +hundred thousand men. Forty-seven thousand is the estimate given by +one careful writer, and sixty-five thousand by another. There really +seems to be no good reason for believing that Beauregard had at most +more than two-thirds as many soldiers as Halleck, and there was no +prospect of his getting any more, for McClellan's huge army was +menacing Richmond, and all available Southern troops were needed there +to cope with it. Of course, Halleck's men were still comparatively +new to war, and it would have been injudicious to hurry them forward +against Beauregard's entrenched position. But under another leader they +doubtless might have been conducted with certain success against the +foe in half the time that Halleck took, and with far more satisfactory +results than those achieved by him. + +Shiloh was fought on April 6th and 7th. For twenty days thereafter +Halleck was preparing to pursue the enemy. His army really did need +much re-organization. Sherman's Division, for example, had suffered so +much that its four brigades were now consolidated into three, commanded +respectively by Morgan L. Smith, John A. McDowell, and J. W. Denver. +Supplies were plentiful, being brought up the river. But there was a +scarcity of wagon trains for the march inland to Corinth, and much +confusion occurred on this account. However, by April 14th Halleck +decided that some move must be made, so he sent Sherman to break the +Memphis and Charleston railroad at Bear Creek; which was done. Then +Halleck began his advance upon Corinth. And such an advance! If at +Shiloh the army had lain for weeks without intrenchments, here it +was not halted for a day without elaborate fortifications. The troops +literally burrowed their way across the country. It took, said the +Rebels, six weeks to move fifteen miles; and the statement is not far +from truth. On May 3d, General Pope's Division won a victory of some +importance at Farrington, five miles northwest of Corinth, and the +cavalry pushed on to Glendale and cut the Rebel line of communication +there. + +The Union army on May 17th was within five miles of Corinth. Sherman +was on that date sent forward to take the Russell house, about midway +between the two armies. This he did after a sharp action, in which he +handled his troops with credit. Recognizing the strength and importance +of the position, Sherman at once fortified it strongly. And at the +same time Halleck's whole army settled down to besiege Corinth after +the orthodox fashion now growing into use, _i.e._, with elaborate +intrenchments, parallels and battery epaulements. Halleck believed that +Corinth was strongly fortified, and that it could only be taken by +siege. On May 27th he was within a mile of the Rebel lines, with his +heavy siege guns in position. He now ordered Sherman to advance, drive +in the Rebel pickets, and make a strong demonstration against Corinth +itself. + +This task Sherman accomplished with masterly skill. He had under him, +on this occasion, McClernand, Hurlbut and John A. Logan. Generals Grant +and Thomas witnessed the engagement and expressed much admiration +of Sherman's ability in it. The position gained overlooked at close +quarters the Rebel fortifications around Corinth, and not only the drum +and bugle calls in the Rebel camp, but the noises of the town itself +were plainly audible. Sherman entrenched himself strongly and brought +up his artillery. Halleck was jubilant and was confident of capturing +the whole of Beauregard's army. But on the night of May 29th there were +strange sounds in Corinth. The rumble and roar of railroad trains was +incessant. At daylight of May 30th the town and the country about were +shaken by an explosion, and a vast cloud of smoke overshadowed Corinth. +Halleck had expected a battle before this, but there was no sign that +the Rebels would come out of their fortifications. + +When the explosion occurred, on May 30th, Sherman asked Halleck if he +had any idea what it meant. Halleck replied that he had not, and then +ordered Sherman to move forward with his division and find out. Sherman +did so, and lo! The Rebel works were abandoned, and Corinth itself was +evacuated. On February 26th, Beauregard had commenced hurrying his sick +troops and stores southward, on the night of the 28th he had sent the +bulk of his effective force, and on the night of the 29th, the rear +guard had fled, setting fire to the town and blowing up the magazine. +The Rebel pickets had not been called in, nor even notified of the +army's flight, so they fell into Sherman's hands, with the ruins of the +town. And thus ingloriously ended the Siege of Corinth. + +Following, is Sherman's official report of the capture of Corinth, +dated May 30th, 1862. + +"On the nineteenth instant, I reported the operations of this division +in taking from the enemy the positions at Russel's. After driving the +enemy away, we found it one of great natural strength, and proceeded +to fortify it. Lines were laid off by the engineer, Captain Kossak, +and a very excellent parapet was constructed by the men in a style +that elicited the approval of General Halleck. Men worked day and +night, and as soon as it was done and the dense trees and undergrowth +cleared away in front, to give range to our batteries, I directed our +pickets to drive the enemy further back behind a large open field to +our front and right. This was handsomely executed by the regular detail +of picket-guard under the direction of the field-officer of the day, +Lieutenant-Colonel Loudon of the Seventieth Ohio. + +"We remained in that intrenched camp at Russell's until the night +of the 27th, when I received from Major-General Halleck an order by +telegraph 'to send a force the next day to drive the Rebels from the +house in our front on the Corinth road, to drive in their pickets as +far as possible, and to make a strong demonstration on Corinth itself,' +authorizing me to call on any adjacent divisions for assistance; I +asked General McClernand for one brigade and General Hurlbut for +another to co-operate with two brigades of my own division. Colonel +John A. Logan's Brigade of General Judah's Division of McClernand's +Reserve Corps, and General Veatch's Brigade of Hurlbut's Division, were +placed subject to my orders, and took part with my own division in the +operations of the two following days, and I now thank the officers and +men of these brigades for the zeal and enthusiasm they manifested, and +the alacrity they displayed in the execution of every order given. + +"The house referred to by General Halleck was a double log building, +standing on a high ridge on the upper or southern end of the large +field before referred to as the one to which we had advanced our +pickets. The enemy had taken out the chinks and removed the roof, +making it an excellent block-house from which, with perfect security, +he could annoy our pickets. The large field was perfectly overlooked +by this house, as well as by the ridge along its southern line +of defence, which was covered by a dense grove of heavy oaks and +underbrush. The main Corinth road runs along the eastern fence, whilst +the field itself, about three hundred yards wide by about five hundred +yards long, extended far to the right into the low land of Phillips's +Creek, so densely wooded as to be impassable to troops or artillery. On +the eastern side of the field the woods were more open. The enemy could +be seen at all times in and about the house and the ridge beyond, and +our pickets could not show themselves on our side of the field without +attracting a shot. + +"The problem was to clear the house and ridge of the enemy with as +little loss as possible. To accomplish this, I ordered General J. W. +Denver, with his Brigade (Third), and the Morton Battery of four guns, +to march in perfect silence from our lines at 8 A. M., keeping well +under cover as he approached the field; General Morgan L. Smith's +Brigade (First), with Barrett's and Waterhouse's Batteries, to move +along the main road, keeping his force well masked in the woods to the +left; Brigadier-General Veatch's Brigade to move from General Hurlbut's +lines through the woods on the left of and connecting with General M. +L. Smith's, and General John A. Logan's Brigades to move down to Bowie +Hill Cut of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, and thence forward to the +left, so as to connect with General Denver's Brigade on the extreme +right; all to march at 8 A. M., with skirmishers well to the front, +to keep well concealed, and, at a signal, to rush quickly on to the +ridge, thus avoiding as much as possible the danger of crossing the +open field exposed to the fire of a concealed enemy. It was impossible +for me beforehand to ascertain the force of the enemy, and nothing is +more embarrassing than to make dispositions against a concealed foe, +occupying, as this was, a strong natural position. I then supposed and +still think, this position was held by a small brigade of the enemy. + +"My preliminary arrangements having thus been made, two twenty-pound +Parrott rifle-guns of Silfversparre's Battery, under the immediate +supervision of Major Taylor, Chief of Artillery, were moved silently +through the forest to a point behind a hill, from the top of which +could be seen the house and ground to be contested. The guns were +unlimbered, loaded with shell and moved by hand to the crest. At +the proper time I gave the order to Major Taylor to commence firing +and demolish the house, or render it decidedly uncomfortable to its +occupants. About a dozen shells well directed soon accomplished this; +then designating a single shot of the twenty-pound Parrott gun of +Silfversparre as a signal for the brigades to advance, I waited till +all were in position, and ordered the signal, when the troops dashed +forward in fine style, crossed the field, drove the enemy across the +ridge and field beyond into another dense and seemingly impenetrable +forest. The enemy was evidently surprised, and only killed two of our +men, and wounded nine. After he had reached the ridge, he opened on +us with a two-gun battery on the right and another from the front and +left, doing my brigades but little harm, but killing three of General +Veatch's men. With our artillery we soon silenced his, and by 10 A. M. +we were masters of the position. Generals Grant and Thomas were present +during the affair, and witnessed the movement, which was admirably +executed, all the officers and men keeping their places like real +soldiers. + +"Immediately throwing forward a line of skirmishers in front of each +brigade, we found the enemy reinforcing his front skirmishers; but +the woods were so dense as to completely mask his operations. An +irregular piece of cleared land lay immediately in front of Gen. +Denver's position, and extended obliquely to the left, in front of and +across Morgan Smith's and Veatch's brigades, which were posted on the +right and left of the main Corinth road, leading directly south. For +some time I was in doubt whether the artillery fire we had sustained +had come from the enemy's fixed or field-batteries, and intended to +move forward at great hazard to ascertain the fact, when, about 3 P. +M., we were startled by the quick rattle of musketry along our whole +picket-line, followed by the cheers and yells of an attacking column of +the enemy. + +"Our artillery and Mann's Battery of Veatch's Brigade, had been +judiciously posted by Major Taylor, and before the yell of the enemy +had died away arose our reply in the cannon's mouth. The firing was +very good, rapid, well-directed, and the shells burst in the right +place. Our pickets were at first driven in a little, but soon recovered +their ground and held it, and the enemy retreated in utter confusion. +On further examination of the ground, with its connection on the left +with Gen. Hurlbut, and right resting on the railroad near Bowie Hill +Cut, it was determined to intrench. The lines were laid out after dark, +and the work substantially finished by morning. + +"All this time we were within one thousand three hundred yards of the +enemy's main intrentchments, which were absolutely concealed from us by +the dense foliage of the oak forest, and without a real battle, which +at that time was to be avoided, we could not push out our skirmishers +more than two hundred yards to the front. For our own security I had to +destroy two farmhouses, both of which had been loop-holed and occupied +by the enemy. By 9 A. M. of yesterday, (twenty-ninth,) our works were +substantially done, and our artillery in position, and at 4 P. M. +the siege-train was brought forward, and Colonel McDowell's Brigade, +(Second) of my division, had come from our former lines at Russell's, +and had relieved General John A. Logan's Brigade. + +"I feel under special obligations to this officer, (General Logan) who, +during the two days he served under me, held the critical ground on my +right, extending down to the railroad. All the time he had in his front +a large force of the enemy, but so dense was the foliage that he could +not reckon their strength, save from what he could see in the railroad +track. He will, doubtless, make his own report, and give the names of +the wounded among his pickets. + +"I had then my whole division in a slightly curved line facing south, +my right resting on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, near a deep cut +known as Bowie Hill Cut, and left resting on the main Corinth road, +at the crest of the bridge, there connecting with General Hurlbut, +who, in turn, on his left, connected with General Davis, and so on +down the whole line to its extremity. So near was the enemy that we +could hear the sound of his drums and sometimes voices in command, +and the railroad cars arriving and departing at Corinth were easily +distinguished. For some days and nights cars have been arriving and +departing very frequently, especially in the night; but last night +(twenty-ninth) more so than usual, and my suspicions were aroused. + +"Before daybreak I instructed the brigade commanders and the +field-officer of the day to feel forward as far as possible, but all +reported the enemy's pickets still in force in the dense woods to our +front. But about 6 A. M. a curious explosion, sounding like a volley +of large siege-pieces, followed by others singly, and in twos and +threes, arrested our attention, and soon after a large smoke arose +from the direction of Corinth, when I telegraphed to General Halleck +to ascertain the cause. He answered that he could not explain it, but +ordered me 'to advance my division and feel the enemy, if still in +my front.' I immediately put in motion two regiments of each brigade +by different roads, and soon after followed with the whole division, +infantry, artillery and cavalry. + +"Somewhat to our surprise, the enemy's chief redoubt was found within +thirteen hundred yards of our line of intrenchments, but completely +masked by the dense forest and undergrowth. Instead of having, as we +supposed, a continuous line of intrenchments encircling Corinth, his +defences consisted of separate redoubts, connected in part by a parapet +and ditch, and in part by shallow rifle-pits, the trees being felled so +as to give a good field of fire to and beyond the main road. + +"General M. L. Smith's Brigade moved rapidly down the main road, +entering the first redoubt of the enemy at 7 A. M. It was completely +evacuated, and he pushed on into Corinth and beyond, to College Hill, +there awaiting my orders and arrival. General Denver entered the +enemy's lines at the same time, 7 A. M., at a point midway between the +wagon and railroads, and proceeded on to Corinth, about three miles +from our camp, and Colonel McDowell kept further to the right, near the +Mobile and Ohio Railroad. By 8 A. M. all my division was at Corinth, +and beyond. + +"On the whole ridge, extending from my camp into Corinth and to the +right and left, could be seen the remains of the abandoned camps of the +enemy, flour and provisions scattered about, and everything indicating +a speedy and confused retreat. In the town itself many houses were +still burning, and the ruins of warehouses and buildings containing +commissary and other Confederate stores were still smouldering; but +there still remained piles of cannon balls, shells and shot, sugar, +molasses, beans, rice, and other property, which the enemy had failed +to carry off or destroy. Major Fisher, of the Fifty-fourth Ohio, was +left in Corinth with a provost-guard, to prevent pillage and protect +the public stores still left. + +"From the best information picked up from the citizens who remained in +Corinth, it appeared that the enemy had for some days been removing +their sick and valuable stores, and had sent away on railroad-cars +a part of their effective force, on the night of the 28th. But, of +course, even the vast amount of their rolling stock could not carry +away an army of a hundred thousand men. + +"The enemy was, therefore, compelled to march away, and began the march +by 10 o'clock on the night of the 29th--the columns filling all the +roads reaching south and west all night--the rear guard firing the +train which led to the explosions and conflagration, which gave us the +first real notice that Corinth was to be evacuated. The enemy did not +relieve his pickets that morning, and many of them have been captured, +who did not have the slightest intimation of their purpose. + +"Finding Corinth abandoned by the enemy, I ordered General M. L. Smith +to pursue on the Ripley road, by which it appeared they had taken the +bulk of their artillery. + +"Captain Hammond, my chief of staff, had been and continued with +General Smith's Brigade, and pushed the pursuit up to the bridges and +narrow causeway by which the bottom of Tuscumbia Creek is passed. The +enemy opened with canister on the small party of cavalry, and burned +every bridge, leaving the woods full of straggling soldiers. Many of +these were gathered up and sent to the rear, but the main army had +escaped across Tuscumbia Creek, and further pursuit by a small party +would have been absurd, and I kept my division at College Hill until +I received General Thomas's orders to return and resume our camps of +the night before, which we did, slowly and quietly, in the cool of the +evening. + +"The evacuation of Corinth at the time and in the manner in which +it was done, was a clear back-down from the high and arrogant tone +heretofore assumed by the Rebels. The ground was of their own choice. +The fortifications, though poor and indifferent, were all they supposed +necessary to our defeat, as they had had two months to make them, with +an immense force to work at their disposal. + +"If, with two such railroads as they possessed, they could not supply +their army with reinforcements and provisions, how can they attempt it +in this poor, arid and exhausted part of the country? + +"I have experienced much difficulty in giving an intelligent account of +the events of the past three days, because of the many little events, +unimportant in themselves, but which in the aggregate form material +data to account for results. + +"My division has constructed seven distinct intrenched camps since +leaving Shiloh, the men working cheerfully and well all the time +night and day. Hardly had we finished one camp before we were called +on to move forward and build another. But I have been delighted at +this feature in the character of my division, and take this method of +making it known. Our intrenchments here and at Russell's, each built +substantially in one night, are stronger works of art than the much +boasted forts of the enemy at Corinth. + +"I must, also, in justice to my men, remark their great improvement on +the march--the absence of that straggling which is too common in the +volunteer service; and still more, their improved character on picket +and as skirmishers. Our line of march has been along a strongly marked +ridge, followed by the Purdy and Corinth road, and ever since leaving +the 'Locusts' our pickets have been fighting. Hardly an hour, night or +day, for two weeks, without the exchange of hostile shots. But we have +steadily and surely gained ground--slowly, to be sure, but with that +steady certainty which presaged the inevitable result. In these picket +skirmishes we have inflicted and sustained losses, but it is impossible +for me to recapitulate them. + +"These must be accounted for on the company muster-rolls. We have taken +many prisoners, which have been sent to the Provost-Marshal General; +and with this report I will send some forty or fifty picked up in the +course of the past two days. Indeed, I think if disarmed, very many of +these prisoners would never give trouble again; whilst, on the other +hand, the real Secessionists seem more bitter than ever." + +Sherman also issued a congratulatory address to his soldiers, in +which he indulged in some expressions that must now appear rather +extravagant, such as his characterization of the capture of Corinth as +"a victory as brilliant and important as any recorded in history." + +"But a few days ago," he said, "a large and powerful Rebel army lay +at Corinth, with outposts extending to our very camp at Shiloh. They +held two railroads extending north and south, east and west, across the +whole extent of their country, with a vast number of locomotives and +cars to bring to them speedily and certainly their reinforcements and +supplies. They called to their aid all their armies from every quarter, +abandoning the seacoast and the great river Mississippi, that they +might overwhelm us with numbers in the place of their own choosing. +They had their chosen leaders, men of high reputation and courage, +and they dared us to leave the cover of our iron-clad gunboats to +come to fight them in their trenches, and still more dangerous swamps +and ambuscades of their Southern forests. Their whole country, from +Richmond to Memphis and Nashville to Mobile, rung with their taunts and +boastings, as to how they would immolate the Yankees if they dared to +leave the Tennessee River. They boldly and defiantly challenged us to +meet them at Corinth. We accepted the challenge, and came slowly and +without attempt at concealment to the very ground of their selection; +and they have fled away. We yesterday marched unopposed through the +burning embers of their destroyed camps and property, and pursued them +to their swamps, until burning bridges plainly confessed they had fled, +and not marched away for better ground. It is a victory as brilliant +and important as any recorded in history, and every officer and soldier +who lent his aid has just reason to be proud of his part. + +"No amount of sophistry or words from the leaders of the rebellion can +succeed in giving the evacuation of Corinth, under the circumstances, +any other title than that of a signal defeat, more humiliating to them +and their cause than if we had entered the place over the dead and +mangled bodies of their soldiers. We are not here to kill and slay, but +to vindicate the honor and just authority of that government which has +been bequeathed to us by our honored fathers, and to whom we would be +recreant if we permitted their work to pass to our children marred and +spoiled by ambitious and wicked Rebels. + +"The General commanding, while thus claiming for his division their +just share in this glorious result, must, at the same time, remind them +that much yet remains to be done, and that all must still continue +the same vigilance and patience, and industry and obedience, till the +enemy lays down his arms, and publicly acknowledges for their supposed +grievances, they must obey the laws of their country, not attempt its +overthrow by threats, by cruelty, and by war. They must be made to feel +and acknowledge the power of a just and a mighty nation. This result +can only be accomplished by a cheerful and ready obedience to the +orders and authority of our leaders, in whom we now have just reason to +feel the most implicit confidence. That the Fifth Division of the right +wing will do this, and that in due time we will go to our families +and friends at home, is the earnest prayer and wish of your immediate +commander." + +A well-informed observer says of Corinth, after the capture: + +"Corinth is the only pleasant country village I have seen in this +section of the country. I was informed that it usually contained two +thousand two hundred inhabitants, of all colors, but I am inclined +seriously to doubt the assertion. From one thousand to one thousand two +hundred would be far nearer a true estimate. + +"The houses are built after the Southern fashion, with a front door +for every room looking toward the street. This is an odd feature to +one used to Yankee architecture, but it is the universal style of the +Southern States. The apartments of most of the houses are large and +airy, and surrounded with immense porticoes, where the high-toned +chivalry enjoy their siesta in the most approved Spanish manner, except +that they imbibe, before sleeping, a somewhat different beverage from +the Castilians. Instead of the wines of Andalusia, they consume almost +unheard-of quantities of Bourbon and rifle whiskey. + +"The yards of the rich are decorated with shrubbery, and what is far +more in accordance with good taste, forest trees are left standing and +neatly trimmed--a custom which has been too sadly neglected in the +North. There are several substantial brick and frame business-houses, +all of which have been stripped and deserted. + +"Not enough of the Corinthians remained to welcome us, to give me any +idea of what the mass of the citizens are like. A few poor persons, +the druggist referred to, and the Mayor's clerk, and two or three +wealthy females, were all that were to be found. The poor were nearly +starved, and were disposed to welcome any change, as it might bring +relief, but could not add to their suffering. They walked curiously +around, observing the movements of the soldiers, astonished at the +comparatively handsome uniform they wore, and gratified that the fears +they had felt had not been realized. The wealthy females looked from +the windows of their mansions upon the Union troops, affecting the +greatest scorn and disdain for the Yankees, who viewed them in return +rather in a spirit of pity than revenge. + +"One of the Rebel commanders, unaware of our presence, called around +him a brigade and commenced addressing them in something like the +following strain: + +"'SONS OF THE SOUTH: We are here to defend our homes, our wives and +daughters, against the horde of vandals who have come here to possess +the first and violate the last. Here upon this sacred soil we have +assembled to drive back the Northern invaders--drive them into the +Tennessee. Will you follow me? If we cannot hold this place, we +can defend no spot of our Confederacy. Shall we drive the invaders +back, and strike to death the men who would desecrate our homes? Is +there a man so base among those who hear me, as to retreat from the +contemptible foe before us? I will never blanch before their fire, +nor ----.' + +"At this interesting period the signal was given, and six shell fell in +the vicinity of the gallant officer and his men, who suddenly forgot +their fiery resolves, and fled in confusion to their breastworks." + +[Illustration: GRANT'S MARCH UPON VICKSBURG. + +Grant and Sherman seated on a log on East Bank. + +From Painting by J. E. Taylor.] + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +MEMPHIS, VICKSBURG AND ARKANSAS POST. + + CHANGES IN COMMAND--RESTORING ORDER AT MEMPHIS--SHERMAN'S VIEWS + OF THE SITUATION--GRANT'S CRITICAL POSITION--MOVING AGAINST + PEMBERTON--MEETING WITH PORTER--THE EXPEDITION AGAINST + VICKSBURG--WHY IT DID NOT SUCCEED--THE SURRENDER AT HOLLY + SPRINGS--SHERMAN REMOVED FROM COMMAND--THE CAPTURE OF ARKANSAS + POST--GENERAL McCLERNAND. + + +The meagre honors of the Corinth campaign belonged to Sherman. This +fact was recognized at the time by Grant, who wrote: "His services as +Division Commander in the advance on Corinth, I will venture to say, +were appreciated by General Halleck beyond those of any other division +commander." The War Department appreciated them, too, for on May 26th +gave him a commission, dated May 1st, as Major-General of Volunteers. +It has been said, probably with justice, that had Halleck remained +at St. Louis and let Grant conduct the campaign against Corinth, +Beauregard and his whole army would have shared the fate of Buckner +and his forces at Fort Donelson. But Halleck's over-cautiousness in +approaching fortifications that were armed chiefly with "Quaker guns," +allowed his prey to escape. And even after the flight of Beauregard +from Corinth, Halleck made no important effort to pursue and capture +him. Sherman was sent through the town, and a few miles beyond, to +see if he could find anybody to fight, and then, finding none, went +into camp at Chewalla, where he busied himself for a time with putting +railroad rolling stock in order for the use of the army. + +And now Halleck dispersed the great army he had gathered. He sent +Buell and his troops toward Chattanooga, and Pope to Missouri; while +Grant with a fragment was to remain in command in Western Tennessee +and Northern Mississippi. Halleck himself had intended doubtless to +pursue his march southward to the Gulf of Mexico, hoping to free the +Mississippi as he went, for Farragut had already opened the mouth of +that river. This was a magnificent programme, but the energy of the +Rebel government had materially disarranged it. Jefferson Davis became +furiously angry with Beauregard for his defeats at Shiloh and Corinth, +and removed him from command, putting Bragg in his place. At the same +time conscription enormously swelled the Rebel ranks. McClellan's +movements in Virginia did not seem to secure Washington. He, moreover, +was soon removed and Halleck was called from the West to take his +place. This left Grant in command in Tennessee. Buell as ordered, +hurried toward Chattanooga. But Bragg was there before him, and +fortified. Not only that, but he gathered such an army as was a menace +to Kentucky and Ohio. Buell retreated, and more troops had to be taken +from Grant's army to support him. This depletion of his forces made it +impossible for Grant to continue the southward march. But his stern +tenacity of purpose held him where he was, keeping an unyielding grip, +though against great odds, on all that had thus far been gained. + +On June 9th, Sherman set out for Grand Junction, an important railroad +centre and strategic point, fifty-two miles west of Memphis. He +took his own division and Hurlbut's, and on the 13th occupied Grand +Junction. The enemy were at Tupelo, Miss., forty-nine miles below +Corinth. Sherman remained at or near Grand Junction for some weeks, +engaged in repairing and protecting the railroads and in similar work. +His experience there was one long wrangle with the planters, who were +trying to cultivate the soil, and were constantly complaining of the +damage done by the moving armies. + +Halleck reached Washington early in July, and on the 15th of that month +Grant directed Sherman to proceed to Memphis and take command of that +important place. Memphis was in a bad plight. Nearly all the men had +left the city to enter the Rebel army or to avoid the Union troops, and +the place had fallen into the hands of a horde of speculators. Sherman +undertook to establish order and govern the place as a military post. +His instructions were few; he was to act upon his own discretion. +He assumed command at Memphis on July 21st, and immediately in his +vigorous way set about the construction of defenses and the evolution +of law and order from the prevailing anarchy. Wherever the head of +the family had joined the Rebel army, the family was compelled to +go South. All buildings belonging to Rebels were at once seized and +rented. The mayor and other civil officers were allowed to continue +their functions. No oath of allegiance was enacted from the residents +who remained in the city, Sherman regarding the fact of their remaining +as a profession of loyalty; but if they aided the Rebel cause in any +way, they were treated as spies. Trade in cotton, except on contracts +to be paid at the end of the war, was entirely prohibited. The slave +question then caused not a little trouble. The Government had not yet +fully decided to free them. But Sherman kept careful account of all +the work done for him by negroes, so that the Government might pay for +their services at the end of the war, if it so decided. Guerrillas he +suppressed remorselessly, hunting them down like so many wild beasts. +And he enforced the _lex talionis_. If a loyal family was harassed +by Rebels, he visited wrath upon the nearest secessionists. If the +property of a loyal man was destroyed, he destroyed an equal amount of +enemy's property. For every steamboat attacked by guerrillas, he drove +ten secessionist families into exile. These stern measures, which he +justified by the laws of war, soon restored order to Memphis. + +A capital idea of the situation in that part of the country in the +summer of 1862, may be obtained from the following characteristic +letter, which Sherman wrote to his brother John under date of Memphis, +August 13th: + + "MY DEAR BROTHER:--I have not written to you for so long that + I suppose you think I have dropped the correspondence. For six + weeks I was marching along the road from Corinth to Memphis, + mending roads, building bridges and all sorts of work. At last I + got here and found the city contributing gold, arms, powder, salt + and everything the enemy wanted. It was a smart trick on their + part, thus to give up Memphis, that the desire of gain to our + Northern merchants should supply them with the things needed in + war. I stopped this at once, and declared gold, silver, Treasury + notes and salt as much contraband of war as powder. I have one + man under sentence of death for smuggling arms across the lines, + and hope Mr. Lincoln will approve it. But the mercenary spirit + of our people is too much, and my orders are reversed and I + am ordered to encourage the trade in cotton, and all orders + prohibiting gold, silver and notes to be paid for it are annulled + by orders from Washington. + + "Grant promptly ratified my order, and all military men here saw + at once that gold spent for cotton went to the purchase of arms + and munitions of war. But what are the lives of our soldiers to + the profits of the merchants? + + "After a whole year of bungling the country has at last + discovered that we want more men. All knew it last fall as well + as now; but it was not popular. Now 13,000,000 (the General + evidently intended only 1,300,000) men are required when 700,000 + was deemed absurd before. It will take time to work up these raw + recruits and they will reach us in October, when we should be in + Jackson, Meridian and Vicksburg. Still I must not growl. I have + purposely put back and have no right to criticise, save that I am + glad the papers have at last found out we are at war and have a + formidable enemy to combat. + + "Of course I approve the Confiscation Act, and would be willing + to revolutionize the Government so as to amend that article of + the Constitution which forbids the forfeiture of land to the + heirs. My full belief is we must colonize the country _de novo_, + beginning with Kentucky and Tennessee, and should remove four + million of our people at once south of the Ohio River, taking the + farms and plantations of the Rebels. I deplore the war as much as + ever, but if the thing has to be done, let the means be adequate. + Don't expect to overrun such a country or subdue such a people in + one, two or five years. It is the task of half a century. + + "Although our army is thus far South, it cannot stir from our + garrisons. Our men are killed or captured within sight of our + lines. I have two divisions here--mine and Hurlbut's--about + 13,000 men; am building a strong fort, and think this is to be + one of the depots and bases of operations for future movements. + + "The loss of Halleck is almost fatal. We have no one to replace + him. Instead of having one head, we have five or six, all + independent of each other. I expect our enemies will mass their + troops and fall upon our detachments before new reinforcements + come. I cannot learn that there are any large bodies of men near + us here. There are detachments at Holly Springs near Senatobia, + the present termini of the railroads from the South; and all + the people of the country are armed as guerrillas. Curtis is at + Helena, eighty miles south, and Grant at Corinth. Bragg's army + from Tripoli has moved to Chattanooga and proposes to march on + Nashville, Lexington and Cincinnati. They will have about 75,000 + men. Buell is near Huntsville with about 30,000, and I suppose + detachments of the new levies can be put in Kentucky from Ohio + and Indiana in time. The weather is very hot, and Bragg cannot + move his forces very fast; but I fear he will give trouble. + My own opinion is, we ought not to venture too much into the + interior until the river is safely in our possession, when we + could land at any point and strike inland. To attempt to hold all + the South would demand an army too large even to think of. We + must colonize and settle as we go South, for in Missouri there is + as much strife as ever. Enemies must be killed or transported to + some other country. + + "Your affectionate brother, + "W. T. SHERMAN." + +Near the end of August, Sherman wrote to Grant as follows: + +"The guerrillas have destroyed several bridges over Wolf Creek; one at +Raleigh, on the road by which I had prescribed trade and travel to and +from the city. I have a strong guard at the lower bridge over Wolf +River, by which we can reach the country to the north of that stream; +but, as the Confederates have burned their own bridges, I will hold +them to my order, and allow no trade over any other road than the one +prescribed, using the lower or Randolph road for our own convenience. +I am still satisfied there is no large force of Rebels anywhere in the +neighborhood. All the navy gunboats are below, except the St. Louis, +which lies off the city. When Commodore Davis passes down from Cairo, +I will try to see him, and get him to exchange the St. Louis for a +fleeter boat, not iron-clad; one that can move up and down the river. +Of course, in spite of all our efforts, smuggling is carried on. We +occasionally make hauls of clothing, gold-lace, buttons, etc., but I am +satisfied that salt and arms are got to the interior somehow. I have +addressed the Board of Trade a letter on this point, which will enable +us to control it better. + +"You may have been troubled at hearing reports of drunkenness here. +There was some after pay-day, but generally all is as quiet and orderly +as possible. I traverse the city every day and night, and assert that +Memphis is and has been as orderly a city as St. Louis, Cincinnati, or +New York. + +"Before the city authorities undertook to license saloons there was +as much whisky here as now, and it would take all my command as +custom-house inspectors to break open all the parcels and packages +containing liquor. I can destroy all groggeries and shops where +soldiers get liquor, just as we would in St. Louis. + +"The newspapers are accusing me of cruelty to the sick; as base a +charge as was ever made. I would not let the Sanitary Committee carry +off a boat-load of sick, because I have no right to. We have good +hospitals here, and plenty of them. Our regimental hospitals are in the +camps of the men, and the sick do much better there than in the general +hospitals; so say my division surgeon and the regimental surgeons. The +civilian doctors would, if permitted, take away our entire command. +General Curtis sends his sick up here, but usually no nurses; and it +is not right that nurses should be taken from my command for his sick. +I think that when we are endeavoring to raise soldiers and to instruct +them, it is bad policy to keep them at hospitals as attendants and +nurses." + +Early in September the Rebels, under Van Dorn, seriously menaced the +line held by Grant's depleted army, and Grant had to call upon Sherman +for aid. All through that month Sherman held Memphis with a mere +handful of troops, and sent the rest of his forces out to make raids +and draw Van Dorn's attention away from Grant. But at the opening of +October the Rebels struck the blow they had so long threatened. Van +Dorn made a furious attack upon Corinth. Rosecrans defended the place +with equal vigor, and the Rebels were repulsed with dreadful slaughter. +Unfortunately this Union victory was not followed up with sufficient +celerity, and Van Dorn managed to retire to Holly Springs and there +reorganize his shattered forces. But the victory at Corinth changed +the condition of affairs throughout all that region. In Memphis the +Secessionists admitted that their cause was lost. The Union army, +so long on the defensive, resumed the offensive. Both sides were +reinforced, and preparations were made for another act in the great +drama. Of the Union reinforcements, two brigades were sent to Sherman, +at Memphis, and he began drilling them for more serious work. + +At the middle of November, Grant sent for Sherman to meet him at +Columbus, Kentucky, bringing with him a good map of the country to the +southward. At that meeting Grant explained his plans for the winter's +campaign. His army now occupied the line from Memphis to Corinth, +and he proposed to move at once against Pemberton, who was with the +Rebel army near Holly Springs, behind the Tallahatchie River. He +would personally move on Holly Springs, and McPherson would meet him +there with the forces now at Corinth. Sherman was to leave a small +garrison at Memphis, and lead the rest of his forces to meet Grant +and McPherson. This movement against Pemberton was preliminary to the +greater work of taking Vicksburg. The plan was carefully carried out. +The three forces moved simultaneously against Pemberton, and at the +same time General C. C. Washburne, under Sherman's orders, crossed the +Mississippi with five thousand cavalry, from Helena, Arkansas, and +marched toward Grenada, in the rear of Pemberton's army. This movement +alarmed Pemberton, and he hastily abandoned his works and retreated +to Grenada. Sherman joined Grant at Oxford, Miss., early in December, +and then a dispatch came from Halleck, who was at Washington, urging +Grant to proceed with the campaign against Vicksburg, with the aid of +Porter's fleet and any other available assistance. + +Grant and Sherman discussed the proposed movement fully, and finally +agreed upon a plan. Sherman was to be heavily reinforced at Memphis, +and would have the co-operation of Porter's gunboats. He was to make a +swift movement on the Yazoo, and take Vicksburg from the rear, while +Grant, at Oxford, held Pemberton in check. Banks was then supposed to +be moving up the river from New Orleans, and everything bade fair for +the opening of the whole Mississippi. Sherman would have about forty +thousand men, and would conduct the campaign almost entirely according +to his own discretion, Grant's instructions to him being of the most +rudimentary description. So he returned to Memphis and prepared for the +work before him. + +Sherman and Porter met at Memphis. Porter has left on record his +impressions of Sherman, and the latter's appearance and conduct at +their first interview there. Porter expected to find Sherman in +a full-dress uniform, and accordingly arrayed himself in all the +splendor of the Navy. But Sherman, having heard that Porter disliked +fuss and feathers, and generally dressed in working clothes, decided +to do likewise himself. The result was that when they met Porter +was sumptuously arrayed in blue and gold, and Sherman had on an old +and much worn suit of flannel, and each was much surprised at the +appearance of the other. Sherman's first words were: "Hello, Porter, +I'm glad to see you. You got here sooner than I expected, but I guess +we can get off to-night. Mighty cold, isn't it? Sit down and get +warm." Then he turned to a servant and told him to put some shirts and +underclothes in a gripsack, and "don't bother me with a trunk and traps +enough for a regiment." + +It was intended to set out on December 18th, but the lack of steamboat +transportation delayed them until December 20th, when the start was +actually made. Before embarking Sherman issued the following unique +orders: + +"I. The expedition now fitting out is purely of a military character, +and the interests involved are of too important a character to be mixed +up with personal and private business. No citizen, male or female, +will be allowed to accompany it, unless employed as part of a crew, or +as servants to the transports. Female chambermaids to the boats, and +nurses to the sick alone, will be allowed, unless the wives of captains +and pilots actually belonging to the boats. No laundress, officer's or +soldier's wife must pass below Helena. + +"II. No person whatever, citizen, officer, or sutler, will, on any +consideration, buy or deal in cotton, or other produce of the country. +Should any cotton be brought on board of any transport, going or +returning, the brigade quartermaster, of which the boat forms a part, +will take possession of it and invoice it to Captain A. R. Eddy, Chief +Quartermaster at Memphis. + +"III. Should any cotton or other produce be brought back to Memphis by +any chartered boat, Captain Eddy will take possession of the same, and +sell it for the benefit of the United States. If accompanied by its +actual producer, the planter or factor, the quartermaster will furnish +him a receipt for the same, to be settled for on proof of his loyalty +at the close of the war. + +"IV. Boats ascending the river may take cotton from the shore for +bulkheads to protect their engines or crew, but on the arrival at +Memphis it must be turned over to the quartermaster, with a statement +of the time, place and name of its owner. The trade in cotton must +await a more peaceful state of affairs. + +"V. Should any citizen accompany the expedition below Helena, in +violation of those orders, any colonel of a regiment, or captain of a +battery, will conscript him into the service of the United States for +the unexpired term of his command. If he shows a refractory spirit, +unfitting him for a soldier, the commanding officer present will turn +him over to the captain of the boat as a deck-hand, and compel him to +work in that capacity, without wages, until the boat returns to Memphis. + +"VI. Any person whatever, whether in the service of the United States +or transports, found making reports for publication which might reach +the enemy, giving them information, aid and comfort, will be arrested +and treated as spies." + +Sherman had full command of this expedition, which was organized in +three divisions. He appointed A. J. Smith commander of the First +Division, Morgan L. Smith of the Second Division, and G. W. Morgan +of the Third Division. These forces comprised thirty thousand and +sixty-eight officers and men, and at Helena they were joined by +Frederick Steele's Division, with twelve thousand three hundred and ten +more. On Christmas eve they reached Milliken's Bend, and on Christmas +day a portion of the First Division landed and broke up the Vicksburg +and Texas Railroad for a long distance near the crossing of the Texas. +Sherman meanwhile pushed on and landed the second division opposite the +mouth of the Yazoo, to break up the same road at another point, only +eight miles from Vicksburg. The next day the remainder of the army, +escorted by Porter's gunboats, went up the Yazoo about twelve miles. +At noon of December 27th, Sherman's entire command was landed on the +south bank of the Yazoo, near the mouth of the Chikasaw Bayou. They +were really on an island, densely wooded, and surrounded by swamps and +quicksand. They drove the enemy's pickets toward Vicksburg and then +began to explore the country, which they found to be the worst piece of +land they had ever been on. Nature seemed to have done her utmost to +prevent their further movement forward, and the art of the enemy had +greatly increased the difficulties of the situation. Several futile +attempts were made to advance to a more advantageous position, and +then, on the morning of December 29th, Sherman ordered a general show +of attack all along the line, while an actual advance across the bayou +was to be made at two points. + +The movement was as well planned as was possible under the +circumstances, and was executed with almost superhuman valor. Sherman's +men rushed at the bluffs which were crowned with Rebel batteries, +and fought their way up the steep front with desperate valor. They +actually with their fingers scooped out hollow caves in which to be +sheltered from the fire of the enemy, and all along the line performed +prodigies of heroism. But the Rebel works were impregnable, and they +had at last to fall back to their old position. Two other attacks were +planned, but were abandoned because of the inability of the gunboats to +co-operate. Meantime nothing was heard from Grant, who was to have come +up before this. So, on January 2d, Sherman reluctantly re-embarked his +troops, and returned to Milliken's Bend where, on January 4th, 1863, +he relinquished his command to McClernand who had been sent to relieve +him. Sherman took leave of his troops through the following farewell +order: + +"Pursuant to the terms of General Order No. 1, made this day by General +McClernand, the title of our army ceases to exist, and constitutes +in the future the Army of the Mississippi, composed of two 'army +corps,' one to be commanded by General G. W. Morgan, and the other by +myself. In relinquishing the command of the Army of the Tennessee, +and restricting my authority to my own 'corps,' I desire to express +to all commanders, to the soldiers and officers recently operating +before Vicksburg, my hearty thanks for the zeal, alacrity, and courage +manifested by them on all occasions. We failed in accomplishing one +great purpose of our movement, the capturing of Vicksburg, but we were +part of a whole. Ours was but part of a combined movement in which +others were to assist. We were on time. Unforeseen contingencies must +have delayed the others. + +"We have destroyed the Shreveport road, we have attacked the defences +of Vicksburg, and pushed the attack as far as prudence would justify; +and having found it too strong for our single column, we have drawn +off in good order and good spirits, ready for any new move. A new +commander is now here to lead you. He is chosen by the President of +the United States, who is charged by the Constitution to maintain and +defend it, and he has the undoubted right to select his own agents. I +know that all good officers and soldiers will give him the same hearty +support and cheerful obedience they have hitherto given me. There are +honors enough in reserve for all, and work enough too. Let each do +his appropriate part, and our nation must in the end emerge from this +dire conflict, purified and ennobled by the fires which now test its +strength and purity." + +It should be explained that Grant had not come up to join in the +demonstration against Vicksburg because, on December 20th one of +his subordinates had in a most disgraceful manner surrendered Holly +Springs, with its immense store of supplies, to the Rebels. The failure +of Sherman's expedition caused a great outcry against him throughout +the country, and he was charged with incapacity, how unjustly the +simple narrative fully demonstrates. Long afterward, when Vicksburg +had finally been taken, Grant officially declared: "General Sherman's +arrangement, as commander of troops in the attack on Chickasaw Bluffs, +was admirable. Seeing the ground from the opposite side of the attack +afterwards, I saw the impossibility of making it successful." Sherman's +losses in the attack were 175 killed, 930 wounded, and 743 prisoners. +The Rebel losses were 63 killed, 134 wounded, and 10 prisoners. As a +result of this miscarriage, and of the miserable surrender at Holly +Springs, Pemberton was left free, with his powerful army, to fall back +and occupy Vicksburg, and thus to hold it for a long time against the +combined attacks of the Union Army and Navy. Sherman's own estimate of +his work, in his farewell orders to his troops, must be regarded as +entirely just, and it is amply corroborated by the testimony of Grant +and Porter. + +"The expedition failed," says General Grant, "more from want of +knowledge as to what would be required to open this route than from +any impracticability in the navigation of the streams and bayous +through which it was proposed to pass. Want of this knowledge led +the expedition on until difficulties were encountered, and then it +would become necessary to send back to Young's Point for the means of +removing them. This gave the enemy time to remove forces to effectually +checkmate further progress, and the expedition was withdrawn when +within a few hundred yards of free and open navigation to the Yazoo." + +Admiral Porter also, in his official report, speaks of the want of +means of moving the troops through the bayous, as the chief difficulty; +"for," he remarks, "there were never yet any two men who would labor +harder than Generals Grant and Sherman to forward an expedition for +the overthrow of Vicksburg." He continues: "The army officers worked +like horses to enable them to accomplish what was desired.... No other +general could have done better, or as well as Sherman, but he had not +the means for this peculiar kind of transportation." + +Under orders brought by McClernand the Army of the Tennessee was +divided in four corps, known as the Thirteenth, Fifteenth, Sixteenth +and Seventeenth, commanded respectively by McClernand, Sherman, Hurlbut +and McPherson, Grant remaining commander of the whole. Sherman's +corps formed the right wing, and consisted of the First Division, +under General Steele, and the Second Division under General David +Stuart, in the absence of Morgan L. Smith. Immediately upon arriving +at Milliken's Bend, on January 4th, the expedition was sent on in the +same boats, escorted by Porter's gunboats, to attack Arkansas Post, +or Fort Hindman, an old settlement on the north bank of the Arkansas +River, fifty miles from its mouth. This Fort was a very strong work, +situated on a high bluff at the head of a horseshoe bend in the river. +It was strongly armed and garrisoned by five thousand men under General +Churchill, who had been directed to hold the place till his last man +was dead. Sherman himself suggested the movement against this place, +considering the capture of it necessary to the reduction of Vicksburg +and freeing of the Mississippi. + +[Illustration: ADMIRAL DAVID D. PORTER.] + +On the night of January 4th Sherman and McClernand went into Porter's +cabin on the Black Hawk, and discussed the expedition, asking Porter +for his co-operation. Porter sat up in his bed and told them that +he was short of coal and could not use wood for fuel. He addressed +McClernand with a curtness amounting almost to discourtesy and Sherman +watched his opportunity to get him to go into another room, and +there asked him what he meant by it. Porter replied that he did +not like McClernand, that he had long had a strong prejudice against +him. Thereupon Sherman begged him, for the sake of the Union cause, +to sink all personal feeling and do his best to work in harmony +with McClernand. Porter promised to do so, and the discussion with +McClernand was resumed. It was finally agreed that both McClernand and +Porter were to go along with the expedition. + +They proceeded up the White River and through the cut-off to the +Arkansas, and thus reached Notrib's farm, three miles from Fort +Hindman. There, on the evening of January 9th, they disembarked, and on +the next day moved forward to invest the fort. Sherman's men took the +advance and Sherman himself during the night crept forward to behind +a stump so close to the Rebel lines that he could hear them at work, +preparing for defence. He was thus listening to them, when, early in +the morning, a Rebel bugler sounded "as pretty a reveille as I ever +heard." Early on January 11th Sherman got his forces into position for +attack, and told McClernand that he was ready for the assault as soon +as the gunboats would open fire. At one P. M. the gunboats began and so +did the field batteries. The enemy did not reply, and in about fifteen +minutes Sherman ordered his columns forward. The infantry rushed +forward with a cheer, dashed across a hundred yards of open ground, +and then reached a strip about three hundred yards wide, covered +with timber, underbrush and logs, and much cut up with gulleys. Here +they encountered a fierce fire from the enemy, and their advance was +checked. But by three o'clock they were within a hundred yards of the +enemy's intrenchment, and could now see Porter's gunboats close to the +fort. + +For an hour the fight raged furiously, and then, at four o'clock, the +enemy raised white flags all along his line. Sherman instantly ordered +his men to stop firing, and at the same time sent General Steele +with a brigade down the bayou at the right to prevent the enemy from +retreating in that direction. He then sent an officer forward to the +enemy's lines and followed in person with his staff. He found that the +fire of his troops had destroyed the enemy's intrenchments and that +they could resist no longer. Meeting Colonel Garland, Sherman asked +him who commanded the fort. Garland replied that General Churchill +did. "Where is he?" asked Sherman. "Inside the fort," said Garland. +So Sherman rode into the fort, which, he observed, was well built and +capable of much further defence. He found it, however, full of soldiers +and sailors from Porter's gunboats, and the boats themselves were +anchored at the river bank close by. + +Sherman found Churchill in conversation with Porter and A. J. Smith. +But he had hardly greeted them before a report came in that General +Deshler, who commanded a brigade of Rebel forces, had refused to +surrender because he had received no orders from Churchill to that +effect, and the fighting was therefore likely to be resumed at once. +Accordingly Sherman and Churchill personally hurried to the scene. On +their way they met Colonel Garland, who had first displayed the white +flag, and Churchill angrily asked him why he had done so. Garland +replied that one of Churchill's own staff had ordered him to. Churchill +denied having authorized any such order, and a quarrel arose between +the two men, which Sherman ended by curtly remarking that it made no +difference whether Churchill had ordered the surrender or not, for they +and their troops were now all his prisoners. Then they went on to +where Deshler and his men were still holding out. Sherman rode straight +up to Deshler and asked him what he meant by his conduct, telling him +that he ought to know better. Deshler replied curtly, that he had not +been ordered by his superior officer to surrender. Thereupon Churchill +told him that he was in Sherman's power and might as well give in. This +ended the episode. Deshler told his men to stack arms, and the capture +of Arkansas Post was complete. + +The Union loss in this engagement was 129 killed, 831 wounded and 17 +missing, the majority being in Sherman's own corps. General Churchill +reported the Rebel loss at 75 or 80 wounded and an unknown number +killed, but these figures were grossly inaccurate; the Rebel loss was +much heavier than that of the Union army. By this surrender there +fell into the hands of the Union army five thousand men, seventeen +cannon, three thousand small arms in good condition, and forty-six +thousand rounds of ammunition. The prisoners were sent to St. Louis, +the fortifications were destroyed, and on January 15th the troops +re-embarked and returned to Milliken's Bend. Sherman was now anxious to +move directly toward Little Rock and drive the scattered Rebel forces +south of the river, but McClernand would not agree to this. + +McClernand was greatly elated over the result of this expedition, +and took the credit practically all to himself. "It is glorious, +glorious!" he exclaimed to Sherman, "my star is in the ascendant." He +praised the conduct of the troops highly, but almost ignored the Navy, +being exceedingly jealous of Porter. Indeed in his official report +of the capture, he scarcely mentioned the action of the fleet. This +was unjust, for the gunboats rendered highly important services and +Porter led the attack in person. McClernand, however, condescended to +speak pleasantly of his subordinate officers, saying: "General Sherman +exhibited his usual activity and enterprise; General Morgan proved his +tactical skill and strategic talent; while Generals Steele, Smith, +Osterhaus and Stuart, and the several brigade commanders, displayed the +fitting qualities o£ brave and successful officers." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +VICKSBURG. + + CO-OPERATION OF GRANT AND PORTER--GRAND GULF AND SHERMAN'S + DEMONSTRATION ON THE YAZOO--THE ADVANCE ON VICKSBURG--CAPTURE + OF JACKSON--GALLANT ASSAULTS UPON THE WORKS AT VICKSBURG-- + THE SIEGE--SHERMAN HOLDING JOHNSTON AT BAY--SURRENDER OF + VICKSBURG--FLIGHT OF JOHNSTON--IMPORTANT RESULTS OF THE + CAMPAIGN--SHERMAN'S MEED OF PRAISE. + + +The repulse of Sherman's expedition at Milliken's Bend only made Grant +the more determined to reduce Vicksburg, and, as he still retained +his well-grounded confidence in Sherman, he retained him as his chief +aid in the great work. His plan now was to conduct his army by land +to New Carthage, twenty-three miles below Milliken's Bend, to run +the transports thence through the canal or past the batteries, and +then to cross the river and attack Vicksburg from the west and south. +McClernand's corps commenced this movement on March 29th, and on +account of floods and bad roads made slow progress. Porter entered into +the execution of Grant's plans with his customary zeal, and on April +16th ran his fleet and three laden transports past the batteries of +Vicksburg. A few days later five more transports and twelve barges were +run past the batteries, a number of the barges being badly injured by +the enemy's fire. + +Grant issued final orders for this campaign on April 20th. McClernand +had the right, McPherson the centre, and Sherman the left. The army +moved forward slowly until April 26th, when it became evident that +the march must be continued beyond New Carthage. Grant then directed +Sherman to wait until the roads were in better condition, or the canals +were finished. + +Two days later he told Sherman that on the next day, April 29th, Grand +Gulf was to be attacked, and he suggested that Sherman would do well +to make at the same time a feint on the Rebel batteries on the Yazoo, +near Haines's Bluff. Sherman undertook to do this, making as great a +show of attack as possible, with the object of preventing the Rebels +from sending reinforcements from Vicksburg to Grand Gulf. This movement +succeeded admirably. Sherman went up the Yazoo with a number of +gunboats and on April 30th, early in the morning, began a vigorous fire +upon the enemy's batteries. This was continued for four hours. Later +in the day he landed his troops in full view of the enemy as though +about to order a charge upon their works. The Rebels evidently expected +that the charge was to be made, for they kept themselves in a state of +preparation to meet it. Sherman's troops, however, contented themselves +with keeping up appearances until night, when they returned to the +boats. The next day the same manoeuvres were continued. Then orders +came from Grant to proceed at once to Grand Gulf, and Sherman quietly +dropped back from the scene of the sham attack. His losses amounted to +one man wounded. + +Meantime the Thirteenth Army Corps had been moved down to Grand Gulf, +ready to storm the Rebel work as soon as Porter's gunboats had silenced +the batteries. A vigorous fire was kept up for more than five hours, +but the enemy's batteries proved too strong, and a change of plan +was necessary. Grant accordingly took his troops back some distance, +disembarked and marched across to the plain just below Grand Gulf. That +night the transports and barges were conveyed past the batteries in +safety, the gunboats following, and early on the morning of April 30th +the troops were taken across the river. Some days of skirmishing and +manoeuvring followed, and on the third of May it was found that the +enemy had fled from Grand Gulf, toward either Vicksburg or Jackson. +Grant accordingly halted his army to wait for Sherman's arrival, and +personally went back to Grand Gulf. + +Sherman reached Young's Point on May 1st, and the next morning sent +his Second Division up to Milliken's Bend. Sherman himself with the +other two divisions marched on to join Grant. The junction was effected +on May 8th. The day before Grant had ordered a general advance, which +was now begun. McPherson at the right, was to move by the way of Rocky +Springs and Raymond, to Jackson; McClernand at the left, was to go +through Willow Springs, keeping as near the Black River as possible; +while Sherman was to move on Edward's Station, striking the railroad +between that point and Bolton. On May 10th Sherman destroyed the bridge +over the Big Black River, and on the 11th he reached Auburn. The next +day he dispersed a small force of the enemy at the crossing of Fourteen +Mile Creek, and that evening met Grant just beyond the creek and went +into camp. Word now came from McPherson that he had defeated two Rebel +brigades at Raymond, and that the enemy had retreated to Jackson, where +reinforcements were arriving, and where Joseph E. Johnston was to +command. + +Grant now determined to make sure of Jackson, and to leave no enemy +behind him. So he directed Sherman and McClernand to march at once +to Raymond. On May 14th Sherman and McPherson met the enemy near +Jackson, and a lively engagement ensued. Before night the Rebels were +defeated, and were in full flight, and that evening Grant, Sherman +and McPherson met near the State House. The next day Sherman set one +division of his army to work destroying the railroad, the arsenal, +the government foundry, and various other military works. A valuable +cotton factory was also destroyed because the machinery it contained, +if regained by the Rebels, could be easily converted into hostile uses. +The penitentiary was burned by convicts, who had been released by the +Rebels, and some other buildings were accidentally destroyed. + +The Rebel General, Pemberton, with 25,000 men and 10 batteries, now +sallied out from Vicksburg to attack Grant, and the latter accordingly +called back all of his corps to assail Pemberton's position near +Edward's Depot. Sherman made a forced march of 20 miles, and that +night, arriving at Bolton, was ordered to move on Bridgeport to the +right. The enemy beaten, turned back to Vicksburg. At Bridgeport +Sherman was joined by Blair with his division, and they crossed the +Big Black River. Pressing steadily forward, by the morning of May +18th, Sherman was on the Benton Road, commanding the Yazoo, thus +putting himself between the enemy at Vicksburg and the forts on the +Yazoo. Grant soon came up and placed the whole army in line of battle, +Sherman being on the right. When the advance was ordered, Sherman +marched on the Haines's Bluff Road, capturing the enemy's works and +camp, and taking many prisoners. On the morning of May 19th the army +encompassed the enemy north of Vicksburg, Sherman's command resting on +the river, within view of the fleet, with Vicksburg itself in plain +sight. There was nothing between Sherman and the Rebel army but about +four hundred yards of ground, much cut up by almost impassable ravines +and intrenchments. Sherman quickly sent a regiment to secure possession +of Haines's Bluff, which was done. Communication was thus opened with +the fleet, and bridges and roads were constructed, over which to bring +up stores from the mouth of the Chickasaw Bayou, where the supply boats +were lying. From May 11th to May 18th Sherman's men had literally lived +upon the country. + +Vicksburg was now as completely invested as was possible with the +forces at hand, and the enemy was considerably demoralized. Grant +accordingly ordered a general assult at 2 P. M. on May 19th. The +attack was made by Sherman's men with great vigor. The ground was very +difficult and the enemy's works strong, and at nightfall Sherman had to +order his men to fall back a short distance to shelter. The next two +days were spent in placing artillery and bringing up supplies to the +troops, and on the morning of May 22d another general assult was made +all along the line. No men were visible in the hostile works except a +few sharpshooters, who were kept pretty quiet by the Union skirmishers. +A volunteer storming party led Sherman's column. As they neared the +works they had to cross a bit of open ground in full view of the enemy. +This they did at double-quick, and reached the salient of the bastion. +As they approached the sally-port they were met with by a withering +fire. The front ranks wavered. The rear pressed on valiantly, but it +was impossible to face the storm of lead and iron, and they had to +seek cover. But the head of the column scaled the outer slope of the +left face of the bastion, planted their colors, and then literally +burrowed into the earth to gain shelter from the flank fire. + +Other attacks were made with great vigor by other brigades, Sherman +keeping up meantime a furious artillery fire to occupy the attention of +the enemy. At one time it was announced that McClernand had captured +three of the Rebel forts and that his flag floated over the stronghold +of Vicksburg; but this proved untrue. On the strength of this report, +however, Sherman ordered General Mower to charge with his brigade. +This was done, with results similar to those at first achieved, the +colors being planted by the side of those of the first storming party. +There they remained until after nightfall, when they were withdrawn by +Sherman's orders. + +This assault failed simply because the enemy's works were too strong +to be taken in that way. The Rebels were able to mass at every point +all the men that were needed to defend it, while the nature of the +ground made it impossible for more than a few of the Union troops to +advance at once. Grant was not, however, discouraged. If he could +not take Vicksburg in one way, he would take it in another. If the +direct assult failed, he would see what could be done by a siege. At +the siege operations the troops worked diligently and cheerfully. The +intrenchments were pushed steadily forward until the evening of July +3d. At that time the saps were close to the enemy's ditch and the mines +were under his parapet. Everything was ready for the final attack. +Grant's army had been strengthened by various reinforcements. Indeed +it had been strengthened so much that he was able to spare Sherman +from the immediate work of the siege. So he placed him in command of +the Ninth Corps at Haines's Bluff to watch J. E. Johnston. The latter +had collected a large army at Jackson with the intention of attacking +Grant's force in the rear, and thus raising the siege of Vicksburg. +Sherman took up a strong position and easily held him at bay. Johnston, +however, became desperate in his desire to save Vicksburg from capture, +and on June 29th moved out to try conclusions with Sherman. But before +his preparations for battle were complete, on July 4th, 1863, Vicksburg +surrendered. + +In his official report of the operations around Vicksburg, dated +July 6th, Grant spoke thus of Sherman's work in holding the enemy at +bay: "Johnston, however, not attacking, I determined to attack him +the moment Vicksburg was in our possession, and accordingly notified +Sherman that I should again make an assult on Vicksburg at daylight on +the 6th, and for him to have up supplies of all descriptions ready to +move upon receipt of orders, if the assult should prove a success. His +preparations were immediately made, and when the place surrendered on +the 4th, two days earlier than I had fixed for the attack, Sherman was +found ready, and moved at once with a force increased by the remainder +of both the Thirteenth and Fifteenth Army Corps, and is at present +investing Jackston, where Johnston has made a stand." + +On July 9th, Sherman appeared before Jackson, having marched through +fifty miles of almost desert country. Three days later the town was +invested partially, and then Johnston, seeing that it was impossible +for him to hold his ground against Sherman's determined army, evacuated +the place and retreated to Meridian, a hundred miles away, burning the +bridges behind him. Sherman left a small garrison at Jackson, and then +returned to the line of the Big Black River. And thus was ended, one +hundred and nine days from its commencement, this great campaign. The +Union army had captured 37,000 prisoners, including fifteen Generals. +They had driven before them and partially dispersed another large army +under the ablest of the Rebel leaders. They had captured Vicksburg, the +Gibraltar of the South. They had freed the Mississippi River from Rebel +control. And they had split the Rebel Confederacy in twain. + +Of Sherman's part in the campaign General Grant remarks: "The siege of +Vicksburg and last capture of Jackson and dispersion of Johnston's army +entitle General Sherman to more credit than usually falls to the lot +of one man to earn. His demonstration at Haines's Bluff, in April, to +hold the enemy about Vicksburg, while the army was securing a foothold +east of the Mississippi; his rapid marches to join the army afterwards; +his management at Jackson, Mississippi, in the first attack; his almost +unequalled march from Jackson to Bridgeport, and passage of Black +River; his securing Walnut Hills on the 18th of May, may attest his +great merit as a soldier." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +SOME WAR CORRESPONDENCE. + + SHERMAN'S CHARACTERISTIC LETTERS--CONGRATULATIONS TO PORTER AT + VICKSBURG--VIEWS ON THE REORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY--THE CONDUCT + OF THE WAR AND THE SPIRIT OF THE SOUTH--MANNERS AND MORALS OF + THE SOLDIERS--NO WANTON SPOLIATION OF THE ENEMY'S PROPERTY--THE + HEROIC CARTRIDGE BOY OF VICKSBURG. + + +Early in this volume mention was made of Sherman's ability as a +letter-writer. Perhaps in no other way can so good an idea be gained +of his mental characteristics as by perusing a few of his epistles, +penned amid the scenes of war in which he was so important an actor. As +soon as Vicksburg had fallen, for example, and before any attempt was +made toward the next move in the bloody game, he wrote thus to Admiral +Porter, with whom he had formed a strong and lasting friendship: + +"I can appreciate the intense satisfaction you must feel at lying +before the very monster that has defied us with such deep and malignant +hate, and seeing your once disunited fleet again a unit; and better +still, the chain that made an inclosed sea of a line in the great river +broken forever. In so magnificent a result I stop not to count who +did it. It is done, and the day of our nation's birth is consecrated +and baptized anew in a victory won by the united Navy and Army of our +country. God grant that the harmony and mutual respect that exists +between our respective commanders, and shared by all the true men +of the joint service, may continue forever and serve to elevate our +national character, threatened with shipwreck. Thus I muse as I sit in +my solitary camp out in the wood far from the point for which we have +justly striven so long and so well, and though personal curiosity would +tempt me to go and see the frowning batteries and sunken pits that have +defied us so long, and sent to their silent graves so many of our early +comrades in the enterprise, I feel that other tasks lie before me, and +time must not be lost. Without casting anchor, and despite the heat +and the dust and drought, I must go again into the bowels of the land +to make the conquest of Vicksburg fulfil all the conditions it should +in the progress of this war. Whether success attend my efforts or not, +I know that Admiral Porter will ever accord to me the exhibition of a +pure and unselfish zeal in the service of our country. + +"Though further apart, the navy and army will still act in concert, +and I assure you I shall never reach the banks of the river or see a +gunboat, but I will think of Admiral Porter, Captain Breese, and the +many elegant and accomplished gentlemen it has been my good fortune to +meet on armed or unarmed decks of the Mississippi Squadron." + +In 1863 new levies were raised for the armies, by conscription. The +Conscription Act was resisted by Rebel sympathizers and the criminal +classes generally in several places, notably in New York City, where +the atrocious "Draft riots" occurred. Elsewhere the call was responded +to with patriotic cheerfulness. Sherman had some decided views as to +the manner in which the new troops should be employed. He thought it +would be a waste of material to organize new regiments, while in the +field there were skeleton regiments enough to make, if filled up, a +magnificent army. To the Governor of Ohio he wrote on this subject: + +"The President of the United States is now clothed with a power that +should have been conferred just two years ago, and I feel assured he +will use it. He will call for a large mass of men, and they should all +be privates, and sent so as to make every regiment in the field equal +to one thousand men. Time has convinced all reasonable men that war in +theory and practice are two distinct things. Many an honest patriot, +full of enthusiasm, zeal, and thirst for glory, has in practice, found +himself unequal to the actual requirements of war, and passed to one +side, leaving another in his place; and, now, after two years, Ohio has +in the field one hundred and twenty-six regiments, whose officers now +are qualified, and the men of which would give tone and character to +the new recruits. To fill these regiments will require fifty thousand +recruits, which are as many as the State could well raise. I therefore +hope and pray that you will use your influence against any more new +regiments, and consolidation of old ones, but fill up all the old ones +to a full standard. Those who talk of prompt and speedy peace know not +what they say." + +In the same letter he referred to the attitude of the South and the +probable future of the war. + +"The South to-day is more formidable and arrogant than she was two +years ago, and we lose far more by having an insufficient number of men +than from any other cause. We are forced to invade--we must keep the +war South; they are not only ruined, exhausted, but humbled in pride +and spirit. Admitting that our armies to the front are equal to the +occasion, which I know is not the case, our lines of communication are +ever threatened by their dashes, for which the country, the population, +and character of the enemy are all perfectly adapted. + +"Since the first hostile shot, the people of the North have had no +option, they must conquer or be conquered. There can be no middle +course. I have never been concerned about the copperhead squabblings; +the South spurns and despises this class worse than we do, and would +only accept their overtures to substitute them in their levies, in +the cotton and corn-fields, for the slaves who have escaped. I do not +pretend, nor have I ever pretended to foresee the end of all this, but +I do know that we are yet far from the end of war. I repeat that it is +no longer an open question; we must fight it out. The moment we relax, +down go all our conquests thus far. I know my views on this point have +ever been regarded as extreme, even verging on insanity; but for years +I had associated with Bragg, Beauregard and extreme Southern men, and +long before others could realize the fact that Americans would raise +their hands against our consecrated government, I was forced to know +it, to witness it. Two years will not have been spent in vain if the +North now, by another magnificent upheaving of the real people, again +fill the ranks of your proven and tried regiments, and assure them +that, through good report and evil report, you will stand by them. If +Ohio will do this, and if the great North will do this, then will our +army feel that it has a country and a government worth dying for. As +to the poltroons, who falter and cry quits, let them dig and raise +the food the army needs--but they should never claim a voice in the +councils of the nation." + +[Illustration: BATTLE OF LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN.] + +Another vigorous letter was called out by an order from the +Adjutant-General, under which all regiments which had been depleted +more than one-half were to be consolidated by reducing the number of +their companies, and mustering out the supernumerary officers. This +would have made many gallant regiments consist of only two or three +hundred men each, and indeed such was the actual result in many cases. +Against this order Sherman protested strongly and with effect. + +On one occasion a lady complained bitterly of some alleged misconduct +of the soldiers, and this prompted him to write a long communication on +the subject of army morals and discipline. + +"Mrs. Z----," he said, "has fallen into a common error in saying it +was useless to complain of a whole regiment to Brigadier-General +Smith or Major-General Sherman. We naturally demanded more specific +complaint against incendiary acts than a mere vague suspicion that +the ---- did all iniquitous things, when twenty other regiments were +camped round about Memphis, six thousand vagabonds and refugees +hanging about, and the city itself infested by gangs of thieves and +incendiaries, turned loose upon the world, and sheltered in their deeds +of darkness by charging them upon soldiers. Neither General Morgan L. +Smith or myself ever failed to notice a specific complaint against +any soldier of our command, if accompanied by reasonable proofs; but +we did, and rightfully too, resent a mere general charge that every +fire originating from careless chimneys, careless arrangement of +stove-pipes, and the designing acts of wicked incendiaries, should +without even an attempt at proof, be charged to the ----. That regiment +is one of the bravest and best disciplined in our service, and being +composed mostly of young and energetic men from the city of ----, is +somewhat famous for its acts of fun, frolic, mischief, and even crime, +with a perfect skill in evading detection and pursuit. They are lawless +and violent, and, like all other volunteer soldiers, have for years +been taught that the people, the masses, the majority, are 'king,' +and can do no wrong. They are no worse than other volunteers, all of +whom come to us filled with the popular idea that they must enact war, +that they must clean out the Secesh, must waste and not protect their +property, must burn, waste and destroy. Just such people as Mrs. Z. +have taught this creed, sung this song, and urged on our men to these +disgraceful acts; and it is such as Morgan L. Smith and W. T. Sherman +who have been combating this foul doctrine. During my administration +of affairs in Memphis I know it was raised from a condition of death, +gloom, and darkness, to one of life and comparative prosperity. Its +streets, stores, hotels, and dwellings, were sad and deserted as I +entered it, and when I left it, life and business prevailed, and +over fourteen hundred enrolled Union men paraded its streets, boldly +and openly carrying the banners of our country. No citizen, Union or +Secesh, will deny that I acted lawfully, firmly and fairly, and that +substantial justice prevailed, with even balance. I do feel their +testimony better than the hearsay of any would-be notoriety." + +Sherman did not approve of wanton destruction of the enemy's property, +although he was ruthless enough when the exigencies of war required it. +He wrote thus to General Steele: + +"I most heartily approve your purpose to return to families their +carriages, buggies, and farming tools, wherewith to make a crop. War +at best is barbarism, but to involve all--children, women, old and +helpless--is more than can be justified. Our men will become absolutely +lawless unless this can be checked. The destruction of corn or forage +and provisions in the enemy's country is a well-established law of +war, and is as justifiable as the destruction of private cotton by the +Southern Confederacy. Jeff. Davis, no doubt, agrees that they have +a right to destroy their people's cotton, but the guerrillas do not +stop to inquire whose cotton they burn; and I know, as you know, the +Confederate Government claim the war-right to burn all cotton, whether +belonging to their adherents or to Union men. We surely have a similar +right as to corn, cotton, fodder, etc., used to sustain armies and war. +Still, I always feel that the stores necessary for a family should +be spared, and I think it injures our men to allow them to plunder +indiscriminately the inhabitants of the country." + +An incident at Vicksburg, which has been immortalized in verse by +Whittier, formed the topic of one of Sherman's official dispatches to +Secretary Stanton, as follows: + +"I take the liberty of asking, through you, that something be done for +a young lad named Orion P. Howe, of Waukegan, Illinois, who belongs +to the Fifty-fifth Illinois, but is at present at his home wounded. I +think he is too young for West Point, but would be the very thing for +a midshipman. When the assault at Vicksburg was at its height, on the +19th of May, and I was on foot near the road which formed the line +of attack, this young lad came up to me wounded and bleeding, with +a good healthy boy's cry: 'General Sherman, send some cartridges to +Colonel Walmbourg, the men are all out.' 'What is the matter with my +boy?' 'They shot me in the leg, but I can go to the hospital; send the +cartridges right away.' Even where we stood, the shot fell thick, and I +told him to go to the rear at once, I would attend to the cartridges, +and off he limped. Just before he disappeared over the hill, he turned, +and called, as loud as he could, 'Calibre 54.' + +"I have not seen the boy since, and his Colonel, Walmbourg, on inquiry, +gives me his address as above, and says he is a bright, intelligent +boy, with a fine preliminary education. + +"What arrested my attention then, was--and what renews my memory of the +fact now, is--that one so young, carrying a musket-ball wound through +his leg, should have found his way to me on that fatal spot, and +delivered his message, not forgetting the very important part, even, of +the calibre of the musket, which you know is an unusual one. + +"I'll warrant that the boy has in him the elements of a man, and I +commend him to the Government as one worthy the fostering care of some +one of its national institutions." + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +CHATTANOOGA. + + DARK DAYS IN 1863--A SUNBURST OF VICTORY--SHERMAN LEAVES + VICKSBURG--ORDERS TO HIS TROOPS--THE MARCH TO CHATTANOOGA--THE + BATTLE ABOVE THE CLOUDS--SHERMAN'S ATTACK ON MISSIONARY RIDGE-- + THE VICTORY COMPLETE--PURSUIT OF THE ENEMY--A FORCED MARCH + TO RESCUE BURNSIDE--SHERMAN'S REPORT--VIEWS CONCERNING THE + TREATMENT OF THE REBELS. + + +Seldom has history recorded a more sudden and startling change in +National affairs than that of the United States in the midsummer of +1863. The closing days of June were dark and ominous. Milroy was +almost annihilated at Winchester. Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville +were still wet with fruitless blood. Rosecrans was helpless in +Tennessee. Banks was idle at Port Hudson. Grant had been checked at +Vicksburg. Lee, on the other hand, was carrying fire and sword through +Pennsylvania, while the Army of the Potomac, wandering no one knew +where, seemed given up to experimenting with new leaders. This, at any +rate, was the apparent situation, distressing to the faint-hearted +patriot, and consoling the sympathizer with the South. + +And so the Fourth of July came around, a day that a month before +bade fair to be a time of woe rather than of joy. An ex-President of +the United States, Franklin Pierce, was the orator of the day at +Concord, New Hampshire. "We have had," he said, "overwhelming sorrows, +but none like these which come welling up day by day from the great +fountain of National disaster; nor have the sorrows brought with them +any recompense of National pride or victorious arms." And he bitterly +denounced the "fearful, fruitless fatal civil war," and the "harvest +of woe," that it was ripening for the Republic. Other orators and +statesmen, of even more commanding rank than he, spoke that same day +in a similar strain. Yet almost at that very hour, Lee was reeling in +disaster back from "a stubborn Meade and a barren field" at Gettysburg, +Johnston in Mississippi was in full flight before Sherman's conquering +legions, and Grant was raising the Stars and Stripes above the +conquered ramparts of Vicksburg, the "Gibraltar of the South." Truly, a +grim and mighty transformation scene! + +For a time now Sherman lay comparatively quiet on the Big Black River, +while other armies in other regions pushed on the game of war. Baffled +and routed in Pennsylvania, the Rebels fell back toward Richmond, and +then strengthened their forces for another rush upon the centre of the +Union line, in Tennessee. There, Rosecrans had made a fair beginning. +He had driven the foe from middle Tennessee, and out-flanked Bragg +and forced him to abandon Chattanooga to a position south of Lookout +Mountain. In Eastern Tennessee, likewise, Burnside had been successful, +wresting Knoxville and Cumberland Gap from the enemy. So, all along the +line, from the Mississippi to the Potomac, the Rebels had been, when +early autumn came, defeated and forced back. They now determined upon +another effort, viz., to assail the National forces in Tennessee with +all possible energy, and "drive the Yankees across the Ohio." + +Reinforcements were accordingly sent to Bragg, from all quarters. Lee +sent him Longstreet's corps, or all that remained of it after that +fearful charge at Gettysburg; Johnston sent him Loring's Division, +and detachments were brought in. To meet this coming storm the Union +leaders made full preparation. Burnside moved down toward Loudon. The +Army of the Potomac sent Hooker, with Howard's and Slocum's Corps, to +Stevenson and Bridgport, Ala.; and every man that could be spared by +Hurlbut at Memphis and by Grant and Sherman at Vicksburg, was sent +toward Corinth and Tuscumbia, all to concentrate at last at Chattanooga. + +That was in the middle of September. On the 23d of that month Grant +called Sherman to Vicksburg and bade him hasten up to Memphis with his +whole corps, save one division, which should remain under McPherson, to +guard the Big Black. Low water caused slow transportation, and it was +October 4th when all of Sherman's men reached Memphis. Then orders came +from Halleck for them to join Rosecrans. Sherman set out, accordingly, +for Corinth on October 11th, and with his escort reached Colliersville +at noon in time to aid in defeating Chalmers. He hurried Frank P. +Blair with two divisions on to Iuka, and followed in person with the +remainder of the corps, reaching Iuka on the 19th. Again he sent Blair +forward, and the latter presently defeated S. D. Lee, and entered +Tuscumbia on October 27th. + +Rosecrans had not been faring well. He had, in fact, been sorely +stricken on the field of Chickamauga, and was now at Chattanooga, +almost surrounded by triumphant and aggressive foes. The army was +starving and the outlook was grave indeed. Secretary Stanton summoned +Grant to Louisville, and there personally invested him with the +command of the Division of the Mississippi and the three armies of the +Ohio, the Cumberland and the Tennessee. Then he, relieving Rosecrans, +made Thomas Commander of the Department of the Cumberland, and Sherman +of the Tennessee. Sherman was at Iuka, on October 25th, when Grant +sent him notice of his appointment, to succeed himself, with orders +to remain in the field. Thereupon Sherman gave McPherson full command +at Vicksburg, for all Mississippi, and Hurlbut at Memphis for Western +Tennessee. Very soon he issued the following remarkable orders, which +covered all the territory brought under his charge by his grand +promotion: + +"All officers in command of corps and fixed military posts will assume +the highest military powers allowed by the laws of war and Congress. +They must maintain the best possible discipline, and repress all +disorder, alarms, and dangers in their reach. Citizens who fail to +support the Government have no right to ask favors and protection, but +if they actively assist us in vindicating the national authority, all +commanders will assist them and their families in every possible way. +Officers need not meddle with matters of trade and commerce, which by +law devolve on the officer of the Treasury Department; but whenever +they discover goods, contraband of war, being conveyed towards the +public enemy, they will seize all goods tainted by such transactions, +and imprison the parties implicated, but care must be taken to make +full records and report such case. When a district is infested by +guerrillas, or held by the enemy, horses and mules, wagons, forage, +etc., and all means of war, can be freely taken, but must be accounted +for as public property. If the people do not want their horses and corn +taken, they must organize and repress all guerrillas or hostile bands +in their neighborhood. + +"It is represented that officers, provost-marshals, and others in the +military service, are engaged in business or speculation on their own +account, and that they charge fees for permits and passes. All this +is a breach of honor and law. Every salaried officer of the military +service should devote every hour of his time, every thought of his +mind, to his Government, and if he makes one cent profit beyond his +pay, it is corrupt and criminal. All officers and soldiers in this +department are hereby commanded to engage in no business whatever, save +their sworn duty to their Government.... In time of war and rebellion, +districts occupied by our troops are subject to the laws of war. +The inhabitants, be they friendly or unfriendly, must submit to the +controlling power. If any person in an insurgent district corresponds +or trades with an enemy, he or she becomes a spy; and all inhabitants, +moreover, must not only abstain from hostile and unfriendly acts, but +must aid and assist the power that protects them in trade and commerce." + +Sherman now marched eastward, with all the men that could be spared, +to join in the impending struggle at Chattanooga. There was no time to +build bridges, so rivers were forded or crossed in scows. On November +15th he rode into Chattanooga, and soon thereafter all his troops were +marshalled at that place, ready to deal with Bragg. Already Hooker's +two corps had entered Lookout Valley, and the Army of the Cumberland +was on the scene. Bragg had sent Longstreet to attack Burnside in +Eastern Tennessee, and Grant was anxious lest Burnside should be +overmatched. So, to prevent Bragg from sending more troops thither, and +even, if possible, to force him to recall Longstreet, Grant determined +upon an immediate attack by Sherman upon Missionary Ridge and Lookout +Mountain. + +The situation of the opposing forces, and the important issues at +stake, were well described at the time by Mr. Brigham, in the _New York +Tribune_: + +"When General Bragg followed timidly the broken array of General +Rosecrans on its retreat into Chattanooga, instead of pursuing that +part which did not make its escape--(for not doing which he has been +much blamed)--he halted the main body of his army on the morning of +the 23d of September, on Missionary Ridge, immediately in front of +our works, but mainly circling round from the left to the centre of +our line, his right resting on the river about three miles above +Chattanooga. The railroad to Cleveland--about twenty miles--connecting +there with the main line from Knoxville to Atlanta, and the road to +Dalton, some forty miles, connecting there with the same line, entered +Chattanooga through Missionary Ridge, so that their terminus came to +be near Bragg's headquarters, in sight of our works on the left. It +was on the first named road that Longstreet's corps departed lately +for East Tennessee, and over them Bragg has received most of his +supplies, and maintained his connection, not only with East Tennessee, +but with Georgia. The road to Knoxville once cut, or the connection +even rendered precarious, it was plain that the situation of affairs in +East Tennessee, especially with the rebels, would all at once become +materially changed. Should the main line connecting East Tennessee and +Georgia be broken, or seriously menaced, by driving the Rebels from +Missionary Ridge, or by our gaining a foothold on the south side of the +river on the flank of the Rebel position, the principal questions in +the case would be, how would Longstreet get out of East Tennessee, and +how far would Bragg be compelled to retreat? + +"To realize this, or any part of this state of things, it would be +necessary to cross the river above Chattanooga with a heavy force, and +assail the Rebels in their flank. To drive them from Missionary Ridge +would be to render the work complete. If, in addition to these, Lookout +Mountain should fall into our hands, little or nothing further could be +desired." + +The topography of the place was also described by Mr. Brigham: +"Missionary Ridge is a line of hills, ranging from 100 to 400 feet in +height, sweeping round from Chattanooga Valley on our centre to our +left, to less than one mile of the river above Chattanooga, and sloping +westwardly toward the town, thus confronting our line of defenses at +the point where the Ridge approaches the river, it backs up toward the +east on a general line with, and from one to two miles from the river, +toward which the hills have another sloping but rather abrupt face. On +the westward slope Bragg planted his works; on the north or river slope +he does not seem to have constructed permanent works. To cross the +river and assail the Rebels on their flank, while General Thomas opened +upon them in front, was the plan." + +The movement was begun on the morning of November 23d. Sherman's troops +had been joyfully greeted by the Army of the Cumberland as "Grant's +Gophers," in allusion to their sapping and mining achievements at +Vicksburg. They had just completed a long and arduous march, but were +in splendid condition, iron-framed veterans. And they had a task +before them worthy of their prowess. On the night of the 23d, amid fog +and rain, they silently crossed the Tennessee River, stealing up and +capturing the Rebel pickets. The morning of the 24th dawned, cold +and rainy. The crash of musketry was heard at the centre of the Union +line, where Howard and his men pressed close upon the foe. Next Jeff. +C. Davis's fine troops crossed over and joined Sherman, and with pick +and spade the lines of rifle pits were rapidly advanced. At noon the +artillery was taken across, a pontoon bridge having been constructed. +Howard gallantly drove Bragg's right flank skirmishers before him, and +forced a junction with Sherman. + +Now off on the other flank of Bragg came the "Battle above the Clouds" +along the grim slopes of Lookout Mountain. On the afternoon of the +24th, Hooker moved Geary's command by an extensive detour to the crest +of Lookout Mountain ridges, and Osterhaus's men were kept waiting in +Lookout Valley until Geary was seen marching along the ridge toward the +enemy's works, when the signal was given and Osterhaus was ordered to +charge up the precipitous height. "The audacity of this attack," said +a correspondent, "was its chief merit, and insured its success. No one +can appreciate the thing without an intimate acquaintance with the +topography of the country thereabout, and that it is useless for me to +attempt to indicate with words merely. To any casual observer it would +have seemed madness. Our men could and would have defended the position +successfully with hand grenades and loose rocks alone. The Rebels, +however, seemed filled with dismay when they saw their foes climbing +up the rocks as nimbly as if they had been so many mountain goats, and +they did not make half of the resistance they might. Then, too, the +disaffection among their conscripts, of which we have heard and read +so much manifested itself most palpably. They in some cases threw away +their arms by platoons and jumping over their breastworks, rushed down +the mountain side exclaiming, 'Don't shoot, we are your friends!' These +men seemed transported with joy on reaching our lines, and not a few +of them declared a willingness to take places in the ranks of our men +to fight those who had subjected them to tyranny unexampled. Those who +did use their weapons against the advancing columns, proved themselves +very poor marksmen. Nearly every shot went whistling down the mountain +over the heads of the men. And thus the chief obstacle to Osterhaus's +progress was from steep and hostile rocks. By dark the whole mountain +was in Hooker's hands, save a small plat of ground on the summit, and +that was virtually in his possession, as he only needed a little more +daylight to complete his victory. The next morning all the Rebels who +were not prisoners had vanished like the air, and our men could quietly +enjoy the view of the territory of four States to be had from this +great eminence. Our prisoners here will number at least 2,000, and the +capture of arms was more than proportionate. The works on the mountain +are not very artistic, nor are they extensive, but they were sufficient +for any purpose the Rebels seem to have had in holding the position. + +"The climbing of Lookout, if it were only by a pleasure party, would +necessarily be attended by amusing and stirring incidents; and +though Osterhaus's men believed they were engaged in a hazardous and +apparently foolhardy movement, they joked and laughed at one another +all the way up. Every fall was the signal for a shout of 'grab a root,' +in allusion to a camp story about a certain colonel who issued that +novel command to his regiment just as he lost his footing while making +a rather inglorious retreat down a hill, on an occasion not now to be +mentioned. One man, a Sergeant-Major in one of the Missouri regiments, +did 'grab a root' to swing himself round a sharp and protecting ledge +of rocks in the way of his ascent. The root, however, proved rotten, or +was not deeply imbedded in the ground, and broke just at the critical +moment. The sergeant executed an involuntary somersault or two, and +alighted on his feet unhurt. His regiment witnessed the acrobatic feat +extraordinary, and set up such a shout of applause and laughter as, I +have no doubt, made the butternuts quake in their boots. + +"The Twenty-ninth and Thirty-second Missouri Regiments have the honor +of being first to plant foot on the summit. They were closely followed, +however, by the whole of General Osterhaus's Command, and General +Geary's Division shares with this the honors of an achievement which +was beyond the hopes of one party or the fears of the other. So far +as I could learn, there was not a single regiment or even a single +individual that shrank for a moment from the appalling looking service. +An incident will serve to illustrate the common feeling. When the +order to charge up the mountain in the face of the Rebel works was +received, Colonel Peckham of the Twenty-ninth Missouri, an officer who +was himself wounded and who lost over sixty per cent. of his regiment +in the memorable charge upon the enemy's works in the Chickasaw Bayou +fight, in December last, and who was again wounded on the 19th of +May following, in the abortive charge made by his division (Blair's) +upon the enemy's works in the rear of Vicksburg, was fully impressed +with the idea that he was now in the way of another such slaughter. +He turned to one of his men in whose fate he felt a deep personal +interest, and pulling from his pocket a watch presented him by another +regiment in which he had at one time served, told the man to fall back +to the camp and take this watch and a message to his wife in case he +should be killed. The brave fellow demurred to the order, saying he +preferred staying with the regiment. 'I tell you,' said the Colonel, +'your going with the regiment will be but a useless sacrifice of one +more life.' 'I will not leave the regiment,' was the reply, 'unless you +make the order a peremptory one, and I beg you not to disgrace me in +that way.' The Colonel yielded the point. His fears for the man proved +groundless, but when I met him the next day, he could not shake hands +with me. He had a severe wound in the right shoulder, received making +his way on foot up the mountain at the head of his command." + +That night old Lookout was ablaze with the camp fires of the Union +army. But while Hooker was warring amid the clouds, his fellow-generals +were busy elsewhere. "Sherman," writes the correspondent, "has, on the +end of Mission Ridge, got his forces in position. His line of battle +is very extended. It is grand as well as formidable. Advancing a heavy +line of skirmishers, he moves over the low ground to the base of the +ridge, where the Rebels but a very short time before were massed in +force. They withdrew, offering but comparatively slight resistance +when Sherman commenced moving. Indeed the firing was mainly by the +skirmishers. Rising the crest of the ridge, Sherman takes possession of +the termini of the two railroads of so much importance to Bragg--that +running to Knoxville (over which Longstreet departed to East +Tennessee), and that running to Atlanta, over which Bragg receives his +supplies. It being near dark, Sherman halts on the ground he has won. + +"While these important operations are going on, General Wood's +Division, Granger's Corps, advances on the centre of our left, to +within 1,500 yards of the Rebel works, near the crest of Missionary +Ridge, plants Bride's Battery on Orchard Knob, and opens an enfilading +fire on the enemy, then annoying Howard's Corps." + +During the night the Rebels massed themselves in great force against +Sherman, but before daylight of the 25th that intrepid commander +was in the saddle, marshalling his troops to the completion of the +work so well begun. The day dawned clear and frosty, and the whole +vast panorama of war, yesterday veiled in mist, lay open to the eye. +The enemy fell back before Sherman, to the tunnel, but there made a +desperate stand, looking and hoping in vain for Longstreet's return +to their relief. Large portions of Bragg's army were there. He had +been reinforced by Buckner. Sherman (with Bushbeck's Brigade from the +Eleventh Corps added) made two attacks with only a portion of his +army, and was both times repulsed. Still, he sent Grant word that he +would do his work without assistance. Afternoon came, Grant watching +Sherman with an anxious eye, waiting to give Thomas the command to +scale the mountain side. "I saw him," said an eye witness, "frequently +carry his eye along the ridge where the main Rebel line was drawn out, +and survey the steep side up which the assault would be made. How +many thousands of others of the army that rested and waited for the +command, contemplated the ascent and estimated the chances! Taking it +for granted that Bragg was prepared for the assault, the records of +desperate undertakings do not afford many equalling this." + +[Illustration: SPRAGUE'S BRIGADE PROTECTING SHERMAN'S WAGON TRAIN AT +DECATUR.] + +"The hill which was being attacked by Sherman," said a _Cincinnati +Gazette_ writer, "is the highest peak of Mission Ridge, and though not +so rough and ragged as Lookout Mountain, is nevertheless very difficult +of ascent. The hill or hills taken by General Sherman on Tuesday did +not command this (Tunnel) hill, but from Sherman's position a fine view +could be had of the Rebel position, half a mile distant. + +"The fort built by the Rebels was plainly visible, the guns peering +over the ramparts with vicious looks. The hill upon which General +Sherman was posted formed a semi-circle, and lapping around as if to +inclose the Tunnel Hill. When on Sherman's right, you were west of +Tunnel Hill. When you were on Sherman's left, you were east of the +hill. The centre was so thrown out and retired that, like the wings, +it remained a respectful distance from the enemy, who formed the +centre, while Sherman formed the arc of the circle. It will be readily +understood from this that, making separate attacks from his right +and left, General Sherman approached the Rebel position on different +sides of the hill. So far separated were the two columns that the hill +prevented them from seeing each other's movements. They were hence +unable to act in concert--a fact which may have had something to do +with the result of the attacks. + +"The first attack was made by the brigades of General John W. Corse +and Colonel Jones, Fourth Virginia, from the left of the line. The +movement began at 11 o'clock in the morning and the assault lasted +only ten minutes. No sooner had our men appeared above the top of the +hill than they were received with a tremendous volley of musketry. But +nevertheless they advanced rapidly, charging a rifle-pit of the enemy, +and after a hand to hand conflict retired in some disorder, leaving +their dead and wounded inside the enemy's outer work. But it must not +be supposed that our men fled to the foot of the hill. No sooner had +they reached the protecting slope of the hill which hid them from +the view of the enemy than they reformed in good style and laid down +under the brow of the hill to await an attack in return. But the enemy +did not dare to attack, but contented himself with the repulse he had +succeeded in at quite heavy cost to both parties. The two brigades +remained quiet for some time. At 11.30 o'clock General Giles Smith with +his brigade, among which is the Fifty-seventh Ohio Infantry, went to +the assistance of General Corse, and after a short delay, the whole +proceeded to make a second attack. + +"This attack did not differ from the first in movement or result, but +it was more desperate and was persisted in much longer, the final +retirement of our men not taking place until half past twelve, an hour +having thus been consumed in the assault. There have been few more +desperate encounters in the war than was this engagement of an hour, +and it speaks volumes in praise of the men engaged that at its end, +though much broken, they rallied at the slope of the hill and held the +position gained." + +Then Sherman brought up all available troops and prepared for a third +and decisive attack; and the enemy did likewise to meet him. This +attack was not in itself successful. But it turned the fortunes of +the day. It gave Grant the opportunity for which he had been watching +through all those anxious hours. Standing on Orchard Knob, he saw the +Rebels massing against Sherman, and then, precisely at three o'clock, +he signalled to his two storming columns to make the grand assault +upon the works at the base of Missionary Ridge. Says the _Tribune_ +correspondent from the field: + +"Hardly had the roar of the signal guns ceased, when the cracking of +musketry commenced and vibrated up and down the line, which extended in +an unbroken chain quite two miles. The artillery stationed along the +crest of Missionary Ridge opened vigorously, raining down on our men a +perfect shower of shot and shell. To their fire our artillery replied +no less vigorously, and the attacking column moved forward to the music +of more than a hundred guns. + +"The distance between the rifle-pits and our skirmishers was probably +not to exceed three hundred yards. In less than ten minutes the Rebels +began to leave and climb the abrupt slope of the hill, in desperate +eagerness to take shelter in the main line--Hardee's Corps--on the top. +Cheer on cheer now go up from the attacking columns, and a galling fire +is poured into the fleeing Rebels. But not to escape, for so sudden was +the advance that many prisoners were taken in the pits. Notwithstanding +the order was to halt at the rifle pits, at the foot of the Ridge, +in the eagerness of the pursuit it seemed to be forgotten, and the +chase is kept up with eagerness. Seeing this, General Grant, contrary +to his original intention, directs the supporting column at once to +advance, and along the entire line black masses in regular columns move +forward to the grand assault. In the centre, where Wood's Division is +advancing, some of his men are already half way up the rugged steep. +The elevation is almost three hundred feet. Glancing up and down the +Ridge's slope you see a score of battle flags, some further advanced +than others; one or two so far ahead of the supports, save a few +impetuous spirits who seem determined to scale the height first, that +the attempt seems mere hardihood. From the crest of the Ridge the +Rebel artillery now belch forth more furiously than ever, and rain the +iron hail on the masses below. And yet there is no wavering or sign of +it. Cheer on cheer roll in waves up and down the advancing line. The +right, the centre, the left now go forward in order, to the support +of those who seem to have pushed too daringly to the assault, in the +determination to be first to make the ascent where the foe was in force. + +"The battle-flags are now seen everywhere, and those that have been +carried with so much daring almost to the crest now receive salvos +of cheers. In the centre, the Sixth Ohio Regiment, Hazen's Brigade, +Wood's Division, has from the first been ahead, the object of special +interest, and those who have watched their progress, while they have +admired their bravery, have almost regretted their impetuosity; for +it can scarcely be otherwise than that they will be hurled back by an +overwhelming opposing force the moment they reach the top. To the right +of this regiment is the Eighth Kansas, sharp competitors in the race, +whose colors have been carried so defiantly ahead. Volleys of musketry +are poured down upon the column of attack, which makes no reply but +keeps right on. The progress is slow, for the ascent is steep. Away +off to the left where the intrepid Howard has during the afternoon +had sharp work, his troops move forward in perfect order, shoulder to +shoulder with the supports of Baird. Howard's Corps passed over to +Sherman's left--except one brigade near the Tunnel. In the centre, +Granger's impetuosity and Wood's zeal have been communicated to the +men. On the right, Palmer is moving on steady, the dashing Sheridan, +with coat off and hat in hand, leading the way. + +"Scarcely have we time to take this rapid survey of the columns moving +to the grand assault when cheer on cheer comes rolling down to us from +the summit of the Ridge. The gallant Ohioans have made the ascent. The +Rebels flee before them, and they rest on the heights they have gained +so quickly. But the intrepid Major Irwin has fallen. Now, from the +right to the left of the whole line cheer on cheer announce that other +regiments have gained the summit, and that the Rebels flee. In the next +half hour the crest of the Ridge from right to left is swarming with +our men. And now gallop we to the height that has been gained. + +"So precipitately had the Rebels fallen back that _from forty to fifty +pieces of artillery and from three to five thousand prisoners fell into +our hands_. The guns were immediately turned on the foe, for, taking +up positions for which the ground was favorable, the Rebels opened a +vigorous fire of musketry. General Grant was among the first to reach +the summit after it had been carried. By his direction our men were +formed and placed so as to resist any attempt that might be made to +regain their ground. It was not long before almost the entire force of +General Thomas was on the Ridge. From it they could not be dislodged. +Hooker had been thundering on the Rebel flank coming up from the +direction of Rossville. He comes in good time, makes captures of men +and guns, and forms a junction with the main column. + +"Thus the Ridge, the portion which might have been made impregnable, +and so important to Bragg, has been carried with so little serious +fighting, with loss so insignificant, and in every respect so easily, +that it is difficult to comprehend the plan of the enemy. I suspect +that Bragg could not help it; that undertaking to defend himself +against Sherman, he lost all in another direction. In fact he was +circumvented, out-generaled. He was not equal to the strategy with +which he had to contend. The assault of Missionary Ridge was an +undertaking before which another army would have quailed. To give the +order required no common nerve, and it shows the manner of man of +General Grant. He had no right to expect the enemy would flee, unless, +indeed, he penetrated so far as to discover, which doubtless was the +fact, that the impetuosity of our men, their almost foolhardy daring, +confounded the enemy and struck him with awe. The assault of Lookout +Mountain and of Missionary Ridge will stand out in the annals of this +war as unequalled performances." + +Of the practical results of this victory, Quartermaster General Meigs +said in his report, dated the day after the battle, to the Secretary of +War: + +"Bragg's remaining troops left early in the night, and the battle of +Chattanooga, after days of manoeuvring and fighting, was won. The +strength of the rebellion in the centre is broken. Burnside is relieved +from danger in East Tennessee. Kentucky and Tennessee are rescued. +Georgia and the South-East are threatened in the rear, and another +victory is added to the chapter of 'Unconditional Surrender Grant.' +Bragg is firing the railroad as he retreats toward Dalton. Sherman is +in hot pursuit. + +"To-day I viewed the battle-field, which extends for six miles along +Mission Ridge and for several miles on Lookout Mountain. Probably not +so well directed, so well ordered a battle has been delivered during +the war. But one assault was repulsed, but that assault by calling to +that point the Rebel reserves, prevented them repulsing any of the +others. + +"A few days since, Bragg sent to General Grant a flag of truce, +advising him that it would be prudent to remove any non-combatants +who might be still in Chattanooga. No reply has been returned, but +the combatants having removed from this vicinity it is probable that +non-combatants can remain without imprudence." + +Bragg was now retreating, and Sherman adding other troops to his own +was in pursuit. Jeff. C. Davis had hurried across the Chickamauga by +the Pontoon Bridge, to the depot. Howard had reported to Sherman, and +was ordered to repair another bridge over the Chickamauga and then to +go on and join Davis. It was impossible to repair the bridges, however, +so the crossings had to be made by pontoons. Davis reached the depot +only to find it in flames, with the enemy intrenched just beyond. The +Rebels were quickly put to flight and many valuable stores rescued. + +Sherman, with Davis and Howard, pressed on till nightfall, engaging the +rear guard of the Rebels just at dark. Next day he reached Greysville, +where he was joined by Palmer's Corps, and where he could hear Hooker's +guns at Ringgold. Then he turned eastward, to keep Longstreet from +rejoining Bragg, leaving the pursuit of Bragg to Hooker. Howard was +sent to Parker's Gap, to destroy the Dalton and Cleveland Railroad, a +task that was promptly and thoroughly performed. Word now came from +Hooker that he wanted Sherman to hurry forward and turn the enemy's +position in the mountain passes near Ringgold. This was at this very +moment being done by Howard, and when Sherman reached Ringgold he found +that the Rebels had abandoned the Chickamauga Valley and the State of +Tennessee. Howard by Sherman's request was now sent on to Cleveland, +East Tennessee; and on the 30th to Charleston, where he put the enemy +to flight and captured valuable stores. Thus ended the first part of +this memorable campaign, with losses to Sherman's own corps of 258 +killed, 1,257 wounded and 211 missing, and with incalculable benefits +to the Union cause. + +The pursuit of Bragg would have been continued, but Grant saw that +Burnside needed succor at Knoxville, where he was besieged by +Longstreet. Sherman and Howard were accordingly sent thither with +all speed. Their troops were wearied with much fighting and long +marches. Food was scanty. They had no blankets. And the weather was +bitterly cold. But without a murmur from officers or men they faced +for Knoxville, eighty-three miles away, with as blithe a step as +though on a holiday parade. Howard and Sherman were abreast. At Loudon +they struck the enemy, who fled before them, burning the bridge and +forcing them to turn east and trust to crossing the Little Tennessee +by constructing, in a night, temporary bridges. It was now December +2d, and they knew Burnside's supplies would only last another day. So +Sherman told Colonel Long to take his pick of cavalrymen and dash on to +Knoxville regardless of the cost in life and limb. Knoxville was yet +forty miles away, and the roads were as bad as bad could be. The whole +army pressed on, however, with desperate zeal. When past the Little +Tennessee, a courier came from Burnside with the welcome news that +Long and his troopers had arrived, and that all was well at Knoxville. +That night another courier brought them word that Longstreet was +retreating toward Virginia, with the Union cavalry in full pursuit! He +had attacked Burnside, had been repulsed with great slaughter, and had +abandoned the siege at Sherman's near approach. + +Sherman and Howard, after a brief visit to Knoxville, then marched +their troops to Chattanooga, to prepare for a yet greater work. Sherman +made a long report on this campaign. A few extracts are of interest +here: + +"In reviewing the facts, I must do justice to my command for the +patience, cheerfulness, and courage which officers and men have +displayed throughout, in battle, on the march, and in camp. For long +periods, without regular rations or supplies of any kind, they have +marched through and over rocks, sometimes barefooted, without a murmur, +without a moment's rest. After a march of over 400 miles, without stop +for three successive nights, we crossed the Tennessee, fought our part +of the battle of Chattanooga, pursued the enemy out of Tennessee, and +then turned more than 100 miles north, and compelled Longstreet to +raise the siege of Knoxville, which gave so much anxiety to the whole +country. + +"It is hard to realize the importance of these events without recalling +the memory of the general feeling which pervaded all minds at +Chattanooga prior to our arrival. I cannot speak of the Fifteenth Army +Corps without a seeming vanity, but as I am no longer its commander, +I assert that there is no better body of soldiers in America than +it, or who have done more or better service. I wish all to feel a +just pride in its real honors. To General Howard and his command, to +General Jefferson C. Davis and his, I am more than usually indebted for +the intelligence of commanders and fidelity of command. The brigade +of Colonel Bushbeck, belonging to the Eleventh Corps, which was the +first to come out of Chattanooga to my flank, fought at the Tunnel +Hill in connection with General Ewing's Division, and displayed a +courage almost amounting to rashness, following the enemy almost to +the tunnel gorge, it lost many valuable lives, prominent among them +Lieutenant-Colonel Taft, spoken of as a most gallant soldier. In +General Howard throughout I found a polished and Christian gentleman, +exhibiting the highest and most chivalrous traits of the soldier. + +"General Davis handled his division with artistic skill, more +especially at the moment we encountered the enemy's rear guard near +Graysville, at nightfall. I must award to this division the credit of +the best order during our marches through East Tennessee, when long +marches and the necessity of foraging to the right and left gave some +reasons for disordered ranks. + +"I must say that it is but justice that colonels of regiments who have +so long and so well commanded brigades, as in the following cases, +should be commissioned to the grade which they have filled with so +much usefulness and credit to the public service, namely, Colonels J. +R. Cockerell, Seventieth Ohio Volunteers; J. M. Loomis, Twenty-sixth +Illinois; C. E. Wolcott, Forty-sixth Ohio; J. A. Williamson, Fourth, +Iowa; G. B. Raum, Fifty-sixth Illinois; J. J. Alexander, Fifty-ninth +Indiana." + +Early in January Sherman returned to Memphis, to attend to the +administration of affairs in that region. Both civil and military +matters were presented to him for disposal. His attitude toward the +South was here expressed by him in a letter to one of his subordinate +officers, as follows: + +"The Southern people entered into a clear compact of government, +but still maintained a species of separate interests, history, and +prejudices. These latter became stronger and stronger, till they have +led to a war which has developed fruits of the bitterest kind. + +"We of the North are, beyond all question, right in our lawful cause, +but we are not bound to ignore the fact that the people of the South +have prejudices, which form a part of their nature, and which they +cannot throw off without an effort of reason or the slower process +of natural change. Now, the question arises, should we treat as +absolute enemies all in the South who differ from us in opinion or +prejudice,--kill or banish them? Or should we give them time to think +and gradually change their conduct, so as to conform to the new order +of things which is slowly and gradually creeping into their country? + +"When men take arms to resist our rightful authority, we are compelled +to use force, because all reason and argument cease when arms are +resorted to. When the provisions, forage, horses, mules, wagons, etc., +are used by our enemy, it is clearly our duty and right to take them, +because otherwise they might be used against us. + +"In like manner, all houses left vacant by an inimical people, are +clearly our right, or such as are needed as storehouses, hospitals, +and quarters. But a question arises as to dwellings used by women, +children, and non-combatants, So long as non-combatants remain in +their houses and keep to their accustomed business, their opinions and +prejudices can in no wise influence the war, and, therefore, should +not be noticed. But if any one comes out into the public streets +and creates disorder, he or she should be punished, restrained, or +banished, either to the rear or front, as the officer in command +adjudges. If the people, or any of them, keep up a correspondence with +parties in hostility, they are spies, and can be punished with death, +or minor punishment. + +"These are well established principles of war, and the people of +the South, having appealed to war, are barred from appealing to our +Constitution, which they have practically and publicly defied. They +have appealed to war, and must abide its rules and laws. + +"The United States, as a belligerent party claiming right in the soil +as the ultimate sovereign, have a right to change the population; and +it may be, as is, both politic and just, we should do so in certain +districts. When the inhabitants persist too long in hostility, it may +be both politic and right we should banish them and appropriate their +lands to a more loyal and useful population. No man will deny that the +United States would be benefitted by dispossessing a single prejudiced, +hard-headed, and disloyal planter, and substituting in his place a +dozen or more patient, industrious, good families, even if they be of +foreign birth. I think it does good to present this view of the case +to many Southern gentlemen, who grew rich and wealthy, not by virtue +alone of their industry and skill, but by reason of the protection and +impetus to prosperity given by our hitherto moderate and magnanimous +Government. It is all idle nonsense for these Southern planters to +say that they made the South, that they own it, and that they can do +as they please,--even to break up our Government and to shut up the +natural avenues of trade, intercourse, and commerce.... Whilst I assert +for our Government the highest military prerogatives, I am willing to +bear in patience that political nonsense of slave-rights, State-rights, +freedom of conscience, freedom of press, and such other trash, as have +deluded the Southern people into war, anarchy, bloodshed, and the +foulest crimes that have disgraced any time or any people. + +"I would advise the commanding officers at Huntsville, and such other +towns as are occupied by our troops, to assemble the inhabitants and +explain to them these plain, self-evident propositions, and tell them +that it is for them now to say whether they and their children shall +inherit the beautiful land which by the accident of nature has fallen +to their share. The Government of the United States has in North +Alabama any and all rights which they choose to enforce in war--to +take their lives, their homes, their lands, their everything; because +they cannot deny that war does exist there; and war is simply power, +unrestrained by Constitution or compact. If they want eternal war, well +and good; we will accept the issue and dispossess them and put our +friends in possession. I know of thousands and millions of good people +who, at simple notice, would come to North Alabama and accept the +elegant houses and plantations now there. If the people of Huntsville +think differently, let them persist in war three years longer, and then +they will not be consulted. Three years ago, by a little reflection and +patience, they could have had a hundred years of peace and prosperity, +but they preferred war. Very well. Last year they could have saved +their slaves, but now it is too late: all the powers of earth cannot +restore to them their slaves, any more than their dead grandfathers. +Next year their lands will be taken--for in war we can take them, and +rightfully, too,--and in another year they may beg in vain for their +lives. A people who will persevere in war beyond a certain limit ought +to know the consequences. Many, many people, with less pertinacity than +the South, have been wiped out of national existence." + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +MERIDIAN. + + FREEING THE MISSISSIPPI--A MARCH OF DESTRUCTION--RETREAT OF + THE ENEMY--POLK'S FLIGHT FROM MERIDIAN--FAILURE OF SMITH'S + EXPEDITION--DESTROYING REBEL PROPERTY--CONFISCATING A CHICKEN-- + RESULTS OF THE RAID--SCENES AMONG THE LIBERATED NEGROES--THE + RED RIVER EXPEDITION. + + +The Mississippi had been freed from Rebel control by the capture +of Vicksburg. To keep it free was the task that now devolved upon +Sherman, and to the execution of which he addressed himself with +characteristic energy. His plan was to place a number of detachments +of his army at various points in the State of Mississippi, to observe +the movements of the enemy and operate against him, and then to send +a powerful force through the heart of the State, destroying roads and +military supplies--a raid of destruction. This campaign he planned +during January, 1864. The objective point of the raid was Meridian, +Mississippi. It was then the headquarters of General Polk, the Rebel +commander in that State, and garrisoned by French's Division of the +army. Of the Rebel leaders, Loring was at Canton, Forrest with his +cavalry was in the northern counties, and several others were in the +neighborhood of the Mississippi. + +Sherman put his cavalry under General William Sooy Smith, and directed +him to leave Memphis on February 1st for Meridian, by the way of +Pontotoc, Okolona and Columbus. The distance was two hundred and fifty +miles, and Smith was to reach his goal on February 10th. He was to +strike boldly at any large force that might menace him, to disregard +all petty bands of the enemy, and, above all, to arrive at Meridian at +the exact date named. Two minor expeditions were at the same time sent +out, up the Yazoo and to the Big Black, to keep the enemy quiet there. + +Then, on February 3d, Sherman himself set out from Vicksburg, with +Hurlbut, McPherson, and E. F. Winslow, having four divisions and a +brigade, marching in two columns. There were in all about 25,000 men. +Sherman himself was with Hurlbut's column. After crossing the Big Black +River they headed for Bolton, fifteen miles away. There they had a +skirmish with the enemy, resulting in the killing of twelve men and +the wounding of thirty-five. The Rebel loss was much larger, a number +of their dead being left on the field. McPherson's infantry forces +marched up rapidly, and dispersed Lee's cavalry, estimated at 6,000 +men, without any serious encounter. With his usual energy McPherson +continued to press them closely, and so hotly were the retreating +Rebels pursued that four miles east of Bolton, Winslow succeeded in +flanking them with a force of 1,400 cavalry. The capture of the whole +force seemed inevitable at this juncture, but the main body escaped, +and only a few prisoners were taken. + +Without much opposition the entire army marched rapidly toward Jackson, +Lee's cavalry fleeing in the greatest disorder in the direction of +Canton, a flourishing little town twenty miles north of Jackson. +Here Winslow's cavalry closed in upon the Rebel columns, capturing a +large number of prisoners and one piece of artillery, a ten-pounder +Parrott gun, together with a caisson stocked with ammunition, which was +subsequently used with good effect upon the enemy's lines. Jackson was +reached on the evening of February 5th, and McPherson at once ordered +the Tenth Missouri Cavalry Regiment to secure the Rebel pontoon bridge +across Pearl River. General French, the Rebel officer, had crossed this +bridge but a few moments in advance, and a large gang of Rebels were +busily engaged in destroying it, when the sudden appearance of the +Missourians caused them to retreat. The bridge was saved, and the next +day the troops found it convenient for crossing Pearl River. Sherman +ordered the advance to proceed to Brandon, some twelve miles distant, +meeting with but slight resistance on their march. + +At Jackson, some twenty buildings were destroyed by the slaves in +retaliation for the cruelties perpetrated upon them by their masters. +At Brandon, similar scenes were witnessed, and the outraged bondmen and +bondwomen revenged the brutality of those they once were compelled to +call masters. + +[Illustration: CAPTURING THEIR HEADQUARTERS.] + +"Our cavalry," wrote a correspondent who accompanied the expedition, +"arrived at Brandon on the afternoon of February 7th, skirmishing +all the way with a Rebel scouting party, who fired annoying volleys +at the advance guard and then ran. Nearly all the citizens had left +the place with the retreating Confederate army. It was found that the +enemy had succeeded in removing nearly everything with him. The work +of destruction was, however, most thoroughly done, and the houses of +prominent Rebels (of whom there was once a large number, though they +have now sought safety further east), were burned. Up to this point +every horse or mule that could be found had been gathered in, and +they had become so numerous that a special detail had to be made to +take care of them. Of hogs and beef-cattle there were but few, but +such as were found were taken possession of. In fact, everything of an +edible nature was levied upon and made an item in our commissariat. +Hundreds of blacks, who had been left to care for themselves by their +masters, came into our lines, begging for something to eat, and asking +Government protection. The railroad track had been torn up all the way +out, and every bridge and depot burned. We camped on the night of the +7th two miles east of Brandon. + +"The enemy's rear guard continued to hover over our advance during the +whole of the following day, and until we arrived within eight miles of +Morton. This was the next place of importance after leaving Brandon, +from which it is about twenty miles distant. It was understood that +a large quantity of Confederate stores had been accumulated at this +point, and that here Polk would certainly give battle. The march was +resumed early on the morning of the 9th, and by nine o'clock we were +in town. Finding no enemy, the advance was continued, with light +skirmishing, and progressed unchecked through the day. The 16th Corps +was now in advance. We went into camp for the night a few miles west +of Hillsboro. Here, again, it was thought the enemy would fight us, +and preparations were accordingly made. On the morning of the 10th +we entered Hillsboro without opposition, the enemy having retreated +further east toward Meridian. During this and the following day, our +advance was not disturbed by a single shot, but on the 15th we again +came up with the Rebels at Decatur. They were in force, and having +destroyed the bridge across Chunky Creek, were prepared to oppose our +crossing. + +"Some heavy skirmishing was had here, and the enemy for the first time +during the campaign showed a determined front. The cavalry division, +however, soon found a crossing place, and dashing over the stream +formed for action on the other side. But before they were in line the +enemy was gone. The main body immediately crossed over, and the cavalry +again pushed forward. + +"The Rebels seem at this time to have become thoroughly scared, and +retreated precipitately, felling trees across the road, and tearing up +bridges to retard our advance. But so rapidly were the trees removed, +and the bridges repaired, that by four o'clock of the 13th, we were +so near them that these futile attempts to check us were abandoned, +and they resorted for safety to hard running. During the day scores of +prisoners were captured, all of whom represented the Confederate army +as being utterly demoralized. The pursuit was kept up until after nine +o'clock, when we went into camp about seven miles from Meridian." + +Polk was supposed to have at least 20,000 men at Meridian, and Sherman +expected him to offer battle. But no. The Rebels fled without striking +a blow, carrying with them a goodly portion of their stores. As the +Union cavalry entered the town, the last train load of Rebels left it, +the locomotive whistle screaming a defiant farewell. Had Sherman been +sure that no resistance would be offered, he might have occupied the +town more quickly, and made more important captures. Yet the taking +of the town, as it was done, was a splendid stroke for the national +cause. An eye-witness relates that when the news was brought in to +Sherman that the Rebels had abandoned Meridian without a blow, and +that the destruction was accomplished, he is said by eye-witnesses +to have walked silently to and fro for some minutes, and then burst +out excitedly, "This is worth fifty millions to the Government." The +Rebels seemed, up almost to the last moment, to have regarded Mobile +as the point aimed at, Farragut's bombardment of Fort Powell serving +to keep up the impression. "I am warranted in saying that Sherman was +sanguine of his ability to have taken that city without difficulty, +and had the object of his expedition permitted, would have done so. He +states unhesitatingly that he felt sorely tempted to do so as it was, +and nothing but the fact of its possibly frustrating other important +movements already planned, prevented his undertaking it." + +The Union troops remained at Meridian seven days, destroying the +arsenal and many other buildings. "The Ragsdale and Burton Hotels were +destroyed after the furniture had been removed, it being the intention +of General Sherman to destroy nothing except that which might be used +by the Rebel Government. The State Arsenal was stocked with valuable +machinery for the manufacture and repair of small arms and all sorts +of ordnance stores, the destruction of which will prove a serious blow +to the enemy. Twelve extensive government sheds, a large building +called the Soldier's Home, and a number of hospitals and warehouses +filled with miscellaneous military stores, were set on fire and totally +destroyed. Two large grist mills were likewise burned, after our army +had ground a sufficient supply of corn meal. Twenty thousand bushels of +corn fell into our hands, and was speedily converted into corn cakes +for the hungry soldiers." + +General William Sooy Smith did not get to Meridian with his cavalry +expedition on February 10th, as Sherman had directed, nor did he get +there at all. Sherman waited in hope that he would come, and sent out +parties to look for him, but to no avail. He afterward found that +Smith had not left Memphis until February 11th, had gone as far as West +Point, and had returned to Memphis on February 22d. During his week's +stay at Meridian, however, Sherman was not idle. Beside the work of +destruction there, he sent out raiding parties in different directions, +for the purpose of destroying whatever might benefit the rebellion. +Among the places devastated were Enterprise, Marion, Quitman, +Hillsboro, Canton, Lake Station, Decatur, Bolton and Lauderdale +Springs. At Enterprise, the depot, two flour mills, 15,000 bushels +of corn, 2,000 bales of fine cotton, branded C. S. A., two military +hospitals, and several new buildings connected with a parole camp, were +laid in ashes. + +"At Marion the railroad station, wood-house, and a few small buildings +were burned. Quitman was visited and two flour mills, a fine saw-mill, +railroad depot and other storage buildings, with several thousand feet +of lumber, fell a prey to the fire king. At Hillsboro several stores +were set on fire. Seventeen damaged locomotives, six locomotives +in fine running order, a number of cars, and a repair shop, with +hand-cars, quantities of sleepers, and tool house, were destroyed at +Canton--all belonging to the Mississippi Central Railroad. No private +property was molested or injured at Canton, the inhabitants never +having fired upon our troops. Beyond the depletion of a few unguarded +hen-roosts, very little depredation was committed. + +"An ardent secession lady," continues the correspondent, "discovered a +vile Yankee surreptitiously purloining a pair of fat chickens. Terribly +incensed at this wanton robbery and gross violation of the rights of +personal property, she make a bold onslaught, but I regret to say that +all her expostulations failed to convince the demoralized and hungry +'mudsill' that he was sinning, for he replied, 'Madam! this accursed +rebellion must be crushed, if it takes every chicken in Mississippi.' +The door was slammed to with violence, and the enraged woman retired, +disgusted with 'Yankee' habits, to mourn over the loss of her plump +pair of chickens. + +"Our troops raised sad havoc with the Mobile and Ohio and the Southern +railroad lines. The Southern road was torn up, rails twisted, and +sleepers burnt from Jackson to twenty miles east of Meridian to Cuba +Station. The Mobile and Ohio road was destroyed for fifty-six miles, +extending from Quitman to Lauderdale Springs. Five costly bridges were +totally destroyed; the one spanning the Chickasawhay River was 210 +feet long with trestle-work which required four months' hard labor of +hundreds of mechanics to construct it. It was a substantial, covered +bridge. The bridges over Octchibacah, Alligator, Tallahassee, and +Chunky Rivers were also burned. The Mobile and Ohio road, which was +so thoroughly destroyed, was considered by engineers to be the finest +built road in the United States, costing $50,000 per mile. It was built +principally by English capitalists, and George Peabody, the London +banker, owned several thousand shares." + +After a week at Meridian, Sherman moved northward. On February 26th +he encamped near Canton, and the great raid was practically ended. +On March 3d, he was back in Vicksburg, exactly a month after he had +left it. He left his army at Canton. It had marched about four hundred +and fifty miles in less than a month, and had lived on the country it +marched through. And it was now in better health and general condition +than when it started. + +Its losses had been slight: 21 killed, 68 wounded, and 81 missing. It +brought in over 400 prisoners, 1,000 white refugees, 5,000 negroes, and +vast trains of cattle and wagons; while the damage it had done to the +Rebel cause was simply incalculable. In summing up the results of the +expedition, and describing one of its most picturesque and impressive +features, a _New York Tribune_ writer said: + +"Everywhere the blacks testified unmixed delight at our approach, +frequently meeting us with their wives and children 'toting' their +little all along with them, and apparently fully satisfied of the +advent of the 'day of jubilo.' Repeatedly were our men advised of +the hiding places of hoards of bacon, pork, hams, stock, carriages, +etc., the movements of Rebel military and the whereabouts of citizens +fighting in the Rebel army. It is in vain that the people have sought +to inspire them with aversion and terror of our Northern, especially +Yankee, soldiers. They know better, and in spite of the habit of years +to obey and believe their masters, they will not credit what they say, +but preferring to cut loose forever from the associations of youth and +all of home they know, throw themselves upon the uncertain issue of +their new condition with a faith that is sublime. + +"From 5,000 to 7,000 of these people accompanied the triumphal return +of Sherman's expedition, and I defy any human being with as much +feeling in his bosom as even Legree in Mrs. Stowe's immortal story +to look on such a scene unmoved. Old men with the frosts of 90 years +upon their heads, men in the prime of manhood, youth, and children +that could barely run, women with their babies at their breasts, girls +with the blood of white men in their veins, old women tottering feebly +along, leading children and grandchildren, dear to them as our own +sons and daughters are to us. They came, many of them, it is true, +with shout and careless laughter, but silent tears coursed down many +a cheek--tears of thankfulness for their great deliverance, and there +were faces in that crowd which shone with a joy which caused them to +look almost inspired. Those may smile who will, but the story of the +coming up of the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt can never +call up to my mind a more profound emotion than the remembrance of that +scene. + +"When I looked upon the long lane filing in through roads along which +our slaughtered brothers lie buried thicker than sheaves in a harvest +field, and reflected on the horrors to which this race had been +subjected, I felt faith in a God of Justice renewed in my heart, and +hope in the success of our cause rekindle to a brighter flame." + +From Vicksburg Sherman went to New Orleans to arrange with Banks and +Porter the details of the Red River expedition. Banks wanted 10,000 +of Sherman's men for thirty days, and Sherman promised that he should +have them. So, returning to Vicksburg, Sherman directed A. J. Smith to +take 7,500 men of Hurlbut's corps (Sixteenth), and 2,500 of McPherson's +(Seventeenth), and report to Banks for thirty days and no more, at +the end of which time he was to return to Vicksburg. The Red River +expedition was not successful, and it was two and a-half months before +A. J. Smith returned to Vicksburg, much of the delay being caused by +low water in the rivers, and consequent difficulties of transportation. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +THE BEGINNING OF THE END. + + GRANT MADE LIEUTENANT-GENERAL--CORRESPONDENCE WITH SHERMAN--THEIR + MEMORABLE INTERVIEW--PLANNING A SCIENTIFIC CAMPAIGN--GENERAL + HOWARD'S PEN PICTURE OF THE TWO SOLDIERS--SCHOFIELD, McPHERSON + AND THOMAS--GRANT'S FINAL ORDERS--SHERMAN'S ARMY IN LINE-- + STRENGTH OF JOHNSTON'S ARMY--GENERAL HOWARD'S ACCOUNT OF THE + ADVANCE. + + +March 4th, 1864, marked the beginning of the end of the great +rebellion. A law had been made by Congress, authorizing the appointment +of a Lieutenant-General, to command all the armies of the Nation. +President Lincoln promptly selected Grant for the position, and on the +date above named telegraphed to him at Nashville to come at once to +Washington. Grant received this exalted honor with his characteristic +modesty, and assumed the vast responsibility without hesitation. But +in this "crowded hour of glorious life," which to him was surely +"worth an age without a name," the great soldier instinctively turned +his earliest thoughts toward his comrades in arms, and first and most +toward Sherman. In the very hour in which he received the dispatch from +Washington, he wrote to Sherman, telling him the news, and generously +attributing a large share of his success to his faithful aids. + +"Dear Sherman," he said. "... I want to express my thanks to you and +McPherson, as the men to whom, above all others, I feel indebted for +whatever I have had of success. How far your advice and assistance have +been of help to me, you know. How far your execution of whatever has +been given you to do entitles you to the reward I am receiving, you +cannot know as well as I. I feel all the gratitude this letter would +express, giving it the most flattering construction. The word you I use +in the plural, intending it for McPherson also. I should write to him, +and will some day, but starting in the morning, I do not know that I +will find time just now." + +Equally generous and noble was Sherman's reply. After referring to +the transcendent importance of Grant's new rank, as "Washington's +legitimate successor," he said: "You do McPherson and myself too much +honor. At Belmont you manifested your traits--neither of us being near. +At Donelson, also, you illustrated your whole character. I was not +near, and General McPherson in too subordinate a capacity to influence +you. Until you had won Donelson, I confess I was almost cowed by the +terrible array of anarchical elements that presented themselves at +every point; but that admitted a ray of light I have followed since. + +"I believe you are as brave, patriotic, and just as the great +prototype, Washington--as unselfish, kind-hearted, and honest as a man +should be--but the chief characteristic is the simple faith in success +you have always manifested, which I can liken to nothing else than the +faith a Christian has in the Saviour. + +"This faith gave you the victory at Shiloh and Vicksburg. Also when +you have completed your best preparations, you go into battle without +hesitation, as at Chattanooga--no doubts--no reserves; and I tell you, +it was this that made us act with confidence. I knew, wherever I was, +that you thought of me, and if I got in a tight place you would help me +out, if alive. + +"My only point of doubts was, in your knowledge of grand strategy, and +of books of science and history; but, I confess, your common sense +seems to have supplied all these." + +The appointment of Grant was confirmed, and on March 9th, 1864, in +the presence of the Cabinet, Lincoln gave him his commission as +Lieutenant-General, saying as he did so: + +"General Grant: The Nation's appreciation of what you have done, and +its reliance upon you for what remains to be done in the existing +great struggle, are now present with this commission constituting you +Lieutenant-General of the Armies of the United States. With this high +honor devolves upon you also a corresponding responsibility. As the +country herein trusts you, so, under God, it will sustain you. I need +scarcely add that with what I here speak for the Nation goes my own +hearty personal concurrence." + +Grant's reply was brief and modest. He said: + +"Mr. President: I accept the commission with gratitude for the high +honor conferred. With the aid of the noble armies that have fought on +so many fields for our common country, it will be my earnest endeavor +not to disappoint your expectations. I feel the full weight of the +responsibilities now devolving upon me, and I know that if they are met +it will be due to these armies, and, above all, to the favor of that +Providence which leads both nations and men." + +By the same order that put Grant in command of all the armies, Sherman +was made commander of the Military Division of the Mississippi; and +McPherson, of the Department and Army of the Tennessee. This order +reached Sherman at Memphis on March 14th, just as he was starting +for Huntsville to prepare for a campaign in Georgia. Accompanying it +was a dispatch from Grant, asking Sherman to meet him at Nashville. +Sherman accordingly went to the last named place, met Grant there, and +travelled with him as far as Cincinnati on his way to Washington. In +the newspapers of March 21st appeared the following inconspicuous news +items: + + "LOUISVILLE, Saturday, March 19th 1864. + + "Lieutenant-General Grant passed through here to-night en route + for Washington. + + "Major-General Sherman also passed through here to-night en route + for Cincinnati. + + "CINCINNATI, March 20th, 1864. + + "Lieutenant-General Grant and staff arrived here this morning, + and left to-night for Washington. + + "Major-General Sherman also arrived here this morning." + +On that journey to Cincinnati, the death-warrant of the Southern +Confederacy was made out, and it was signed and sealed in the parlor of +the Burnet House, Cincinnati, when the two Generals bent together over +a map, marked out the great Richmond and Atlanta campaigns, and then, +with a silent hand-clasp, parted, not to meet again until each had done +deeds that made the world ring with his fame. + +Of these interviews and the illustrious men who participated in them, +and of the events immediately following, General O. O. Howard speaks as +follows: + +"Now behold these men together, Grant and Sherman! Grant of medium +size, of short neck, square shoulders, well proportioned head, and +firmly knit frame. His heavy brow and large eye, changeable surely, but +always masked by his strong self-control, accorded him quiet dignity +and becoming respect. His smile, which never failed him up to the last +sickness, lighted his face, bespoke humor and good-fellowship, and to +Sherman the utmost friendliness. Sherman appeared tall beside him; his +forehead high, his hair light and sandy, his eye keen and piercing, and +his frame though not so compact as Grant's, supple and expressive of +health and energy. Grant inspired you in his wholeness like a fertile +prairie, Sherman like a hill-country abounding in choice knolls and +mountain heights. His buoyant coming put one at ease. His deep pleasant +voice riveted attention, and his fast flowing conversation rewarded +your silence. + +"There at Nashville they met, and Grant turned over to Sherman the +Western armies. Grant hastened back to Washington, Sherman went with +him as far as Cincinnati. In a sentence, Sherman has summed up their +prolonged council of war: Amidst constant interruptions of a business +and social nature we reached the satisfactory conclusion that as soon +as the season would permit, all the armies of the Union would assume +the 'bold offensive' by 'concentric lines' on the common enemy, and +would finish up the job in a single campaign if possible. The main +objectives were Lee's Army behind the Rapidan in Virginia, and Joseph +E. Johnston's Army at Dalton, Georgia." + +"Johnston's army was our work, in a nut-shell. Substantially, take a +bold offensive--Beat Johnston--Get into the interior--Inflict damage, +and keep our enemy so busy that he cannot reinforce elsewhere. + +"To catch glimpses of how the work so ordered was undertaken, there +are other pictures. General Sherman had some original ways of rapid +transit. A special car took him, the 25th of March, to General G. M. +Dodge, a Corps Commander, then at Pulaski, Tennessee. Next he joined +McPherson at Huntsville, Alabama. The two latter were very soon with +Thomas at Chattanooga; and were after that speedily with Schofield a +hundred miles eastward without rail-cars at Knoxville. Schofield turned +back with them, so that shortly after, at Chattanooga, in the left hand +room of a one story house, now owned by Mr. J. T. Williams, took place +before the end of March another memorable war-meeting. + +"One figure there was that of General Schofield. He was to bring into +the field about fourteen thousand men. He was in form more like Grant +than Sherman. He combined intellectual vigor with marked judiciousness. +Another figure was McPherson. He had to furnish some twenty-five +thousand soldiers. He was equal to Sherman in quickness of thought, +but, like all engineers, more wary in his execution. + +"With his genial face, his large high head and fine figure, he stood +with the noblest. The third, General George H. Thomas, with his +nearly seventy thousand aggregate. He was tall and broad, and heavy +and handsome, of good judgment and sterling record. These three army +commanders were thus assembled, and the hearty Sherman was with them. +Of this group, Sherman in his story has said: 'We had nothing like a +council of war, but consulted freely and frankly on all matters of +interest to them, then in progress or impending.' At farthest the first +of May was to end the period of preparation, when the different clans +should be gathered and ready for the fray. The leaders of corps and +divisions, and the essential consolidations were there fixed upon; +and the great problem of safe supply was, at least to themselves, +satisfactorily solved. + +"The meeting broke up, the commanders returned to their places, taking +Sherman for awhile to Nashville. No man can tell the amount of hard +work that resulted from this interview. The next month was pregnant +with the faith and hope of the coming campaign. Behold the loaded +trains, following untiringly in sight of each other; but do not stop +to count the broken engines by the wayside, or the cars turned topsy +turvey. + +"Behold the duplicate and triplicate bridges, the hosts of mules +and horses in motion, the redoubts and blockhouses constructed, or +building, the sugar, the coffee, and the hard-bread and other supplies, +coming into Chattanooga, and the herds of cattle lowing along the +dusty roads leading to the front, all the way from Louisville and +Nashville. The soldiers said, 'Tecumseh is a great fellow. He means +business.' Thorough and confident preparations are always a source of +encouragement and inspiration." + +The nation was now to see scientific warfare. The campaigns of the +Union armies were planned with mathematical accuracy. There were three +grand divisions of attack upon the Rebellion. At the east, moving +directly against the Rebel capital, was Grant with the Army of the +Potomac. West of the Mississippi River was Banks. The great central +region was left to Sherman, and his objective point was Atlanta. +The Mississippi Valley was fully wrested from Rebel control, and a +series of brilliant victories marked the whole line from Vicksburg, on +that river, to Chattanooga, among the Appalachian Mountains. Between +the river and the mountains the war was practically ended and the +Confederacy crushed. But in the rich and populous country between the +mountains and the Atlantic coast the insurgents were still strong. +There was concentrated all the power that the Richmond Government +now possessed. And the people of Georgia and the Carolinas actually +believed themselves to be secure from "Yankee invasion," guarded as +they were by the powerful armies of Lee and Jackson, and by the mighty +natural ramparts of the mountain range. + +But Sherman proposed to cross the mountains and march through the heart +of this country to Atlanta, which was its industrial centre. This city +was the converging point of many important railroads, and here were the +principal machine shops and other factories of the Rebel Government. To +capture it would break the spirit of the South and cripple its military +power as no other blow, not even the capture of Richmond, could do. + +On April 4th, Grant outlined to Sherman his plans for the campaign, as +follows: + +"It is my design, if the enemy keeps quiet, and allows me to take +the initiative in the spring campaign, to work all parts of the army +together, and somewhat toward a common centre. For your information I +now write you my programme as at present determined upon. + +"I have sent orders to Banks, by private messenger, to finish up his +present expedition against Shreveport with all dispatch; to turn over +the defence of Red River to General Steele and the navy, and return +your troops to you, and his own to New Orleans; to abandon all Texas +except the Rio Grande, and to hold that with a force not exceeding +4,000 men; to reduce the number of troops on the Mississippi to the +lowest necessary to hold it, and to collect from his command not less +than 25,000 men. To this I will add 5,000 from Missouri. With this +force he is to commence operations against Mobile as soon as he can. It +will be impossible for him to commence too early. + +"Gilmore joins Butler with 10,000 men, and the two operate against +Richmond from the south side of James River. This will give Butler +33,000 men, W. F. Smith commanding the right wing of his forces, and +Gilmore the left wing. I will stay with the Army of the Potomac, +increased by Burnside's Corps of not less than 25,000 effective men, +and operate directly against Lee's army wherever it may be found. +Sigel collects all his available force in two columns--one, under Ord +and Averill, to start from Beverley, Virginia, and the other, under +Crook, to start from Charleston, on the Kanawha--to move against the +Virginia and Tennessee Railroad. Crook will endeavor to get in about +Saltville, and move east from there to join Ord. His force will be all +cavalry, while Ord will have from 10,000 to 12,000 men of all arms. You +I propose to move against Johnston's army, to break it up and get into +the enemy's country as far as you can, inflicting all the damage you +can against their war resources. + +"I do not propose to lay down for you a plan of campaign, but simply to +indicate the work it is desirable to have done, and leave you free to +execute it in your own way. Submit to me, however, as soon as you can, +your plan of operation. + +"As stated, Banks is ordered to commence operations as soon as he can; +Gillmore is ordered to report at Fortress Monroe by the 18th, or as +soon thereafter as practicable; Sigel is concentrating now. None will +move from their places of rendezvous until I direct, except Banks. I +want to be ready to move by the 25th instant, if possible; but all I +can now direct is that you get ready as soon as you can. I know you +will have difficulties to encounter in getting through the mountains to +where supplies are abundant, but I believe you will accomplish it." + +[Illustration: MAJOR-GENERAL SCHOFIELD, U.S.A.] + +And ten days later he added: + +"What I now want more particularly to say is that, if the two main +attacks, yours and the one from here, should promise great success, the +enemy may, in a fit of desperation, abandon one part of their line of +defence and throw their whole strength upon a single army, believing a +defeat with one victory to sustain them better than a defeat all along +their whole line, and hoping, too, at the same time, that the army, +meeting with no resistance, will rest perfectly satisfied with its +laurels, having penetrated to a given point south, thereby enabling +them to throw their force first upon one and then on the other. + +"With the majority of military commanders they might do this; but you +have had too much experience in travelling light, and subsisting upon +the country, to be caught by any such ruse. I hope my experience has +not been thrown away. My directions, then, would be, if the enemy in +your front shows signs of joining Lee, follow him up to the extent of +your ability. I will prevent the concentration of Lee upon your front +if it is in the power of this army to do it." + +Grant proposed to move against Lee on May 5th, and it was arranged that +Sherman should at the same time move against Johnston. For this work +Sherman now put forward his preparations with all possible zeal and +thoroughness. On April 27th he ordered all his troops to Chattanooga, +and the next day placed his own headquarters there. On May 6th his +mighty host was marshalled for the advance. Three armies were under +his command. The Army of the Tennessee was on the bank of Chickamauga +Creek, near Gordon's Mill. It comprised the Fifteenth and parts of the +Sixteenth and Seventeenth Army Corps, under Generals Logan, Dodge and +Blair, with the gallant McPherson in general command. The Army of the +Cumberland was at Ringgold. It included the Fourth, Fourteenth and +Twentieth Corps, under Generals Howard, Palmer and Hooker, with Thomas +in general command. The Army of the Ohio was near Red Clay, north of +Dalton, Georgia. It consisted of the Ninth and Twenty-third Corps, and +was commanded by General Schofield. The strength of these armies was +as follows: Tennessee--Infantry, 22,437; Artillery, 1,404; Cavalry, +624; total, 24,465; guns, 96. Cumberland--Infantry, 54,568; Artillery, +2,377; Cavalry, 3,828; total, 60,773; guns, 130. Ohio--Infantry, +11,193; Artillery, 679; Cavalry, 1,697: total, 13,559; guns, 28. +Sherman had planned an army of 100,000 men and 250 guns. He actually +had, according to the above statement, 98,797 men and 254 guns. + +The opposing Rebel army was now commanded by Joseph E. Johnston, who +had succeeded Bragg, and comprised three corps, under Hardee, Hood and +Polk. According to Johnston's official statement, its total strength in +April, 1864, was 52,992, and at the middle of May, when the battle of +Resaca was fought, 71,235. The number of guns on both sides was about +equal. + +The Army of the Potomac crossed the Rapidan on May 4th, and Grant, +sitting on a log in the Virginia woods, telegraphed to Sherman at +Chattanooga to move forward. General Howard's account of the opening of +the great march is as follows: + +"When we were ready for the bold offensive, the left of Thomas, +(Howard's Corps) rested at Catoosa Springs his centre, (Hooker) at +Ringgold, and his right, (Palmer) at Leet's Tan Yard. McPherson +was near Villanow, and Schofield moving southward from Cleveland, +Tennessee, approached Dalton. It was the sixth of May. + +"Notice Catoosa Springs, a summer resort. The surrounding hills were +covered with trees, light green, in tender leaf; and the mountain +ranges on two sides, Lookout and Taylor's Ridge, gave substantial +back ground to a variegated and charming landscape. The effect of war +had already nearly depopulated the village, so that there was little +use for the large hotel buildings or the smaller boarding-houses--a +few trembling citizens and a few dubious black people were all that +remained to satisfy official curiosity and supply local knowledge. + +"This bright May morning I saw Thomas and Sherman together. Sherman, +now that things were in motion, appeared happy and confident. With +a map before him, he gave us briefly the entire situation. Here +is Dalton,--there your force--on this side Schofield. Down there +McPherson, soon to pass the Snake Gap and strike Johnston's line. +Thomas in his quiet way put forth then the bolder view, viz: send at +once the larger force, not the smaller, through the gap. Sherman shook +his head, and signified that he was not yet ready to exchange bases +with Johnston. But there was no jar, only confidence in each other and +strong hope in our hearts as we separated that day. + +"Early the next morning was another meeting, out in the open field. +Stanley with his strong build, fine face and long beard. T. J. Wood of +smaller stature, grayish hair and decisive, caustic ways; and Newton +with his handsome figure and keen sensitive looks, never thoroughly +contented till the conflict was actually joined. These Division +Commanders of the fourth corps stood near each other intently gazing +upon the crest of Tunnel Hill. Our troops were already deployed and +advancing in the beautiful morning light--arms were never brighter--and +the Confederate cavalry, in full array, coming up from beyond the +ridge, with skirmish interval, added interest and emotion to the +parade. A battery or so, hastening to place, only deepened the feeling +in the breasts of our experienced veterans. + +"At a word of command and a bugle call the outer line took up the run, +and soon cleared the whole front. A few zip, zips of the foremost +rifles, a few cannon salutes, a few screeches of shells, a few men +wounded to the death or maimed for life! and that was all! When I took +my stand by Stanley's side on the crest of the hill just gained, and +thence sought to reconnoitre Tailor's craggy mountain range which still +sheltered the bulk of Johnston's host, Stanley cried out: General, the +ball is opened! And so it had. It was a curious ball, a long dance, +for more than one hundred days. And it was a terrible dance, wilder at +times than comes to foresters amid the bending and falling of trees in +a hurricane; it was fearfully suggestive of the savage war-dance of the +red men that ends in death to white men and desolation to homes. + +"Far off to the centre and right, Palmer with his strongly marked face +and Thomas-like proportions, and the handsome, 'fighting Joe' Hooker, +always a law unto himself, bore their part in the opening ball, closing +up speedily to the rocky face barrier, and estopping that mouth of +Georgia, whence issued stranger, screeching, whizzing birds than those +which gave the gaping mouth its name of Buzzard's Gap. One such savage +bird in the shape of a minie-ball flew between Howard and Thomas, wound +its way through their group of staff officers, grazed the limb of a +tree and fell upon the ground, tearing in its flight a general's coat +in three rents, and pecking an uncouth hole through the rim of a staff +hat. Mean while Newton and his brave men, against bloody resistance, +were dragging cannon to the very hostile crest northward; and Hooker +was ascending the mountain against heavy odds southward of the old +Buzzard's formidable roosts." + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +ATLANTA. + + THE TURNING OF ROCKY FACE--RESACA--GENERAL HOWARD'S NARRATIVE-- + ADAIRSVILLE--CROSSING THE ETOWAH--SHERMAN ON FAMILIAR GROUND-- + DEALING WITH BREACHES OF DISCIPLINE--ALLATOONA PASS--THE SIEGE + AND TURNING OF KENESAW--SMYRNA AND PEACH TREE--HOOD SUCCEEDS + JOHNSTON--DEATH OF McPHERSON--HOWARD IN COMMAND OF THE ARMY OF + THE TENNESSEE--EZRA CHURCH--OPERATIONS AROUND ATLANTA--THE + RUSH TO JONESBORO--CAPTURE OF ATLANTA. + + +Sherman moved forward on May 6th toward Dalton, where lay the enemy. +A direct attack on this position, however, was impossible. Dalton lay +behind a precipitous mountain ridge, called Rocky Face, which it was +impracticable to scale. The only passage way was through a narrow +gap called Buzzard's Roost, through which ran a railroad and a small +stream known as Mill Creek. The enemy had strongly fortified the +place, and Sherman quickly decided that it would be folly to try to +force his way through. He therefore gave orders to McPherson to move +rapidly southward to Snake Creek Gap, at the southern extremity of the +Rocky Face Ridge, where there was an easy passage through to Resaca, +at the railroad crossing over Oostanaula River, eighteen miles south +of Dalton. Thomas, on May 7th, took up a strong position on Tunnel +Hill, almost directly facing the Buzzard's Roost Gap, while Schofield +steadily approached Dalton from the north. Two days later, to keep +Johnston occupied, Thomas made a feigned attack upon the Gap, driving +the enemy's cavalry and skirmishers through it. The day was very +stormy, but the troops rushed on in high spirits and with enthusiastic +determination. A division of Howard's troops under Newton actually +surrounded the narrow ridge and carried a part north of the Gap, but +the crest was too strait for them to make much progress there. South +of the Roost some of Hooker's men also made a rush for the summit, but +found the enemy's works too strong to take and hold. + +The gallant McPherson had, meanwhile, reached Snake Creep Gap, and +surprised the Confederate cavalry brigade that had been posted +there. He marched practically without opposition to within a mile of +Resaca, but then found that Johnston had defended that place with +fortifications which he deemed too strong for direct assault; so, he +fell back to Snake Creek Gap and waited for reinforcements. + +Next, Sherman directed Howard to remain on guard at Buzzard's Roost +with the Fourth Corps and Stoneman's Cavalry, and sent forward +Schofield and Thomas, with Cox's, Hooker's, and Palmer's Corps, to aid +McPherson. Nearly the whole army was thus assembled on May 12th before +Resaca, so that Johnston, seeing his flank turned, that night abandoned +Dalton and concentrated at Resaca. Howard following close with his +horse and foot, pressed through Buzzard's Roost Gap, entered Dalton, +and pursued Johnston till he joined Sherman at Resaca. + +[Illustration: MAP No. 1. + +ATLANTA CAMPAIGN] + +Sherman now undertook to drive Johnston out of Resaca by attacking +him in front with his main army, while a detachment crossed over the +Oostanaula and threatened his communications. The latter movement +was effected by the way of Lay's Ferry and Calhoun. Early in the +afternoon of May 14th the grand attack upon Resaca began. Sherman's +left centre made a gallant assault, carried a work, captured some guns, +but was then checked. Then the famous Hood made a furious attack upon +Sherman's left flank and at first gained some advantage, which Howard, +aided by a division of Hooker's, repulsed with great loss to the enemy. +McPherson also gained a position from which he could pour an enfilading +fire into Johnston's intrenchments. Johnston tried to dislodge him, +but in vain, though the fighting was continued until nearly midnight. +Next morning while a detachment crossed the river to the south, the +battle was renewed, and by one o'clock the Union troops had captured +a portion of the Rebel lines, and were within gunshot of Johnston's +communications. That night he abandoned Resaca and fled to the south, +burning the railroad bridge behind him. But Sherman entered the town in +time to save the wagon bridge over the Oostanaula. In these operations +at Resaca, Sherman's total losses were between 4,000 and 5,000. +Johnston's were less, probably not over 2,500, since his men fought in +this roughest of country chiefly from behind fortifications. A general +pursuit of Johnston by Sherman's entire army was immediately ordered. + +Speaking of the battle of Resaca, General Howard says: + +"One scene at Resaca might be painted. Two rivers come together, one, +the Oostanaula flowing west, and its tributary, the Connassauga, south. +Confederate Johnston, after fleeing from Dalton, placed his army in +the northwest angle of the streams, resting Polk's Corps against the +Oostanaula, facing west, put Hardee's next above, running up a creek, +and then bore Hood back in a convex curve till his men touched the +Connassauga. Sherman made McPherson breast Polk; Schofield face +Hardee's intended lines, and Thomas take care of Hood. Thus we were +holding the outer or enveloping lines, all in the midst of forest land +exceedingly rough and wild. Thomas had not men enough to fill his +line and cover half of Hood's front. Stanley, of Howard's Corps, held +the left. He put much cannon on convenient knolls and had as large +reserves as he could spare; but either the indomitable Hood or the +wary Johnston had discovered the weakness of our left, so that about +3 P. M. the masses of Hood came pouring, like mountain torrents, upon +Stanley and far beyond the reach of his rifles and the staying force of +his artillery. Word came, "Stanley's left is turned." And so instantly +Howard rode to a group of mounted officers. Here were Hooker, Thomas +and Sherman together. "What is it, Howard?" asked Thomas anxiously. "I +want a division at once for my left." "General Hooker will give you +one." "Yes," said Hooker, "Williams' Division is right there." Colonel +Morgan, of Howard's staff, in less than five minutes was guiding +Williams' brave men in quick time, to the threatened flank. In less +than fifteen minutes Hood's masses were running back for cover to his +fortified ground. This was the crisis. Prompt action and fearless men +saved the left from impending disaster." + +The Union armies pressed forward as rapidly as possible, along roads +on which the dust lay a foot deep. The heat was intense and the men +suffered greatly. On the afternoon of the 17th the advance guards +struck the rear guard of the enemy at Adairsville, and had a sharp +skirmish. Here, between 4 and 5 P. M., Howard and Newton with their +respective staffs, all mounted, were watching from elevated ground, +Newton's skirmish line, as it joined fire with Johnston's rear guard. +"Musketry was lively," says Howard, "and a few cannon were sounding. +It was something like a lion's interrupted roar, or the thunder of an +approaching storm. Sherman and other officers rode up and began to take +observations. Suddenly, from a new place, from the edge of a wood, a +hostile four-gun battery took us for a practice-target. Shell after +shell cut the air and burst beside and behind us, and over our heads. +It was probably the fourth shot which exploded high up, skyward, but +at just the point to scatter its fragments among the men and animals +of our company; Colonel Morgan's horse was injured; Lieutenant-Colonel +Fullerton's was put _hors du combat_ and several others of the +orderlies and escort lamed or slain. Captain Bliss, of Newton's staff, +by a flying fragment lost his shoulder-strap, and he himself was +painfully hurt. Of course, that social crowd instantly altered the +shape of the practice-target and changed its location." + +That night the enemy hastened the flight, different divisions of the +army going in different directions, but on the next day Sherman came up +with Johnston again at Kingston. The two armies faced each other in a +rolling, wooded region, on to and beyond Cassville, and Sherman hoped +to bring on a decisive battle. But Johnston again retreated, and that +night, across the Etowah River, "a step," says Johnston, "which I have +regretted ever since." This step was taken, it was said, on the advice +of Polk and Hood, who regarded their position to be already turned and +untenable. By this retreat across the Etowah a valuable region was +given up to Sherman. + +The army now rested for three days, while supplies were brought +forward. Rome had been captured with its important foundries and +stores. The two bridges across the Etowah were secured, and all was +made ready for the next stage of the campaign. About this time a +remarkable thing began to be observed. Sherman displayed a knowledge +of the country through which they were marching that was most amazing +to his comrades, to whom it was an unknown land. He seemed to know by +intuition that this road ran so and that one so, that beyond this hill +was a pleasant valley, and beyond that an impassable swamp. The whole +topography of the country was at his command. But the explanation was +simple. They were now in the region that Sherman had travelled through +on horseback and afoot many years before. + +And it was one of Sherman's most notable traits of intellect to see +everything that was to be seen and to remember everything that he saw, +so that his mind became a perfect encyclopædia of useful information. +If he went through a cotton mill, or a salt work, or an iron foundry, +he was so observant, and his memory so retentive, that always +thereafter he appeared an expert on that industry. This knowledge of +the geography and topography of Georgia was of incalculable service to +him during the march to Atlanta. + +And at the same time many other interesting traits of Sherman's +personality began to show themselves. He was at times a strict +disciplinarian, and yet often so kindly and sympathetic that he +inclined to be lenient with offenders. At Resaca for instance, he +had been working all night, while the army slept, and in the morning +he fell asleep sitting on the ground, his head and shoulders resting +against a fallen tree. There he sat as some of the troops marched by, +and awoke just in time to hear a grumbling private remark, "That's a +pretty commander for an army." Instead of ordering the man's arrest, +Sherman simply remarked, "My man, I was working all night while you +were asleep. Now, don't you think I have a right to take a nap while +you are marching to your work?" + +Again, during the rest before crossing the Etowah, an incident occurred +which General Howard relates. It was Sunday morning, and E. P. Smith, +a member of the Christian Commission, mounted to the belfry floor, +and tried to ring the bell of the church at Kingston for service. He +slipped against a nail, and had his clothes badly torn. The noise of +the bell disturbed Sherman, and, not knowing who the ringer was, he +sent a guard to the church, and had Smith arrested. In spite of his +protests, Smith was marched to headquarters and kept in confinement +for an hour. Then, with his rent clothing, he was led into Sherman's +presence. The General, scarcely looking up from his writing, to see +who it was, and supposing it to be one of the army "bummers," demanded +abruptly, "What did you ring that bell for?" "For service, General; it +is Sunday," replied Smith. "Oh, is it Sunday?" said Sherman. "I didn't +know 'twas Sunday. Let him go." + +Johnston was now intrenched at Allatoona Pass, and Sherman knew +that the position was too strong to be carried by direct assault. +He therefore determined to make a circuit to the right, and marched +toward Dallas. Johnston detected this movement, and prepared to meet +it. On May 25th, the armies met again at New Hope Church, just north +of Dallas. Hooker led Sherman's advance, and ran against one of Hood's +brigades in a forest. A sharp conflict followed, while a terrific +thunder storm was raging. Hooker's men made repeated attacks upon the +enemy's position, but were hurled back from the log breastworks with +much loss. Heavy rain continued all that night, but Sherman's men +worked steadily constructing fortifications of earthwork and logs. +The next morning the engagement was continued, and for several days +thereafter there was almost continual skirmishing. On the 28th the +Rebels made a strong attack far to the right of Hooker, upon McPherson, +at Dallas, but were repulsed. Then the army began pushing to the left, +and by June 1st Allatoona Pass was completely within the national lines. + +"The picture of the field of New Hope Church," says General Howard, +"crowds memory like the painting of a young artist who has put too +much upon his canvas. There was Hooker just at evening in an open +wood--there were glimpses of log breastworks beyond him, from which +came fierce firing against his lines stretched out--there were +numberless maimed and many dead among the trees--and a little back was +a church with many wounded, and many surgeons doing bloody work. It was +dreadfully dark that night. Schofield's horse stumbled and disabled +him, and General Cox took his place. We had numerous torches, weird +in effect among the trees, as our men bravely worked into place and +intrenched the batteries, and covered their front. But the torches +seemed to make the darkness darker, and our hopes that night beat low. +Johnston had stopped us rudely at New Hope Church. But afterwards +Dallas and McPherson, off to our right, gave us the reverse side, and +so hopes which had drooped revived, when Confederates, and not Yankees, +were there several times driven back. + +"Another night scene, though not quite so gloomy as that of New Hope +Church, pictured itself the 27th of May at Pickett's Mill. Our enemy +thus describes its cause. He says: 'The fighting rose above the grade +of skirmishing, especially in the afternoon, when, at half-past 5, +the Fourth Corps (Howard's) and a division of the Fourteenth (Palmer) +attempted to turn our (Confederate) right, but the movement, after +being impeded by the cavalry, was met by two regiments of our right +division (Cleburn's) and two brigades of his Second brought up on +the first. The Federal formation was so deep that its front did not +equal that of our two brigades; consequently those troops were greatly +exposed to our musketry--all but the leading troops being on a hillside +facing us. They advanced until their first line was within twenty-five +or thirty paces of ours and fell back only after at least seven hundred +men had fallen dead in their places. When the leading Federal troops +paused in their advance, a color bearer came on and planted his colors +eight or ten feet in front of his regiment, but was killed in the act. +A soldier who sprang forward to hold up or bear off the colors was shot +dead as he seized the staff. Two others who followed successively fell +like him, but the fourth bore back the noble emblem. Some time after +nightfall, we (the Confederates) captured above two hundred prisoners +in the hollow before them.' + +"It was of that sad night that this was written: 'We worked our men all +that weary night in fortifying. The Confederate commander was ready at +daylight to take the offensive against us there at Pickett's Mill, but +he did not do so, because he found our position too strong to warrant +the attempt. With a foot bruised by a fragment of a shell, General +Howard sat that night among the wounded in the midst of a forest glade, +while Major Howard of his staff led regiments and brigades into the new +positions chosen for them. General R. W. Johnson, (Palmer's Division +Commander) had been wounded and Captain Stinson of Howard's staff had +been shot through the lungs, and a large number lay there on a sliding +slope by a faint camp fire, with broken limbs or disfigured faces.' +Actually but one division, and not a corps, made that unsuccessful +assault, and its conduct has received a brave enemy's high praise. The +fighting and the night work secured the object of the movement, causing +Johnston to swing back his whole army from Sherman's post to a new +position." + +Thus Johnson abandoned his lines at New Hope Church and retreated to +Marietta, taking up almost impregnable positions on Kenesaw, Pine and +Lost Mountains. Sherman marched to Ackworth, between Marietta and +Allatoona Pass, and fortified the Pass. He was here reinforced by two +divisions of the Seventeenth Corps and some other bodies of troops, +which nearly compensated him for the losses in the battles he had +fought. He had now driven Johnston before him nearly one hundred miles, +had forced him to abandon four strong positions, had fought him six +times, had captured over two thousand prisoners, twelve guns and three +colors, had weakened the Rebel army by about fifteen thousand men, and +had captured or destroyed many important factories, mills and other +works of a public character. + +[Illustration: DEATH OF GEN. J. B. McPHERSON. + +JULY 22D, 1864. + +From Painting by J. E. Taylor.] + +The line held by Johnston at Kenesaw and Pine Top was a strong one. But +it was twelve miles long, and he had scarcely enough men to hold it at +all points. To attack him on the crest of Kenesaw Mountain would be a +hopeless task. But Sherman thought he could break through his lines +on the gentler southern slope. On June 11th the advance began. Hooker +was at the right front and Howard at the left front, and they pressed +forward with great vigor. During their cannonading, on June 14th, they +inflicted heavy losses upon the enemy, killing General Polk. Next day +the Rebels abandoned Pine Mountain and retired to Muddy Creek, holding +the rugged range of hills between Kenesaw and Lost Mountains. Again +Sherman pressed the centre and turning to Johnston's flank on the 17th +captured Lost Mountain and all the hills except Kenesaw. For three +weeks thereafter the Union army vainly sought to dislodge Johnston +from the heights of Kenesaw. It seemed an impossible task. The whole +mountain was a fortress. There were miles of strong intrenchments. All +the time the rain fell in torrents and the low lands were flooded. The +roads were almost impassable. Sherman's soldiers at times worked knee +deep in mud. But they kept on working. + +The army was not content with besieging Kenesaw, but kept trying +to work its way around that mountain. Disquieted by these events, +the enemy sought to check them on June 22d, by a sharp attack upon +Hooker at Kulp's farm, which was repulsed with heavy losses. Five +days later, the 27th of June, Sherman ordered an attack to be made +just South of the mountain, by Thomas, and a supporting movement by +McPherson northward. They were both repulsed with heavy losses, and +Sherman then decided to waste no more lives in direct attacks, but to +turn the enemy's position, as he had done several times before. So +on July 1st, McPherson marched toward Turner's Ferry, there to cross +the Chattahoochee. The movement was effective. Johnston immediately +abandoned Kenesaw, and retreated five miles, to Smyrna Camp Ground. + +That Fourth of July Sherman was exultant. He did not believe the enemy +would make another stand that side of the Chattahoochee. But Howard +thought otherwise, and soon proved, by sending out a double line +of skirmishers, that he was right. Johnston had intrenched himself +strongly, and threatened to dispute Sherman's further progress toward +Atlanta. Schofield made a strong demonstration across a neighboring +ferry, however, and Johnston soon fell back to the Chattahoochee +bridge, Thomas following closely. The river was deep and swift, but +Sherman determined to cross it. Schofield went over first, near the +mouth of South Creek; then McPherson further up at Roswell; Thomas +built a bridge at Power's Ferry and crossed over, nearest of all to +the Rebel lines; and thus, by July 9th, they had crossed the river at +three points and commanded three good roads to Atlanta. And the Rebel +position was once more turned. Forthwith Johnston hurried across the +river, burning the bridges behind him. + +"At Smyrna," says General Howard, "Atlanta was in plain sight. Johnston +had bothered us long. He had repelled direct assaults with success +except, perhaps, at Muddy Creek where Baird and Harker had ditched and +covered their men, in the open, at one of his angles, and then had run +squarely over his barricades. But Sherman, by that unceasing flanking +operation of his, persistently undertaken and accomplished, while +Hooker, Palmer, and Howard were hammering away at the centre motes, +which had no approaches and no drawbridges, and now at last pressed +Johnston back, back across the Etowah and across the Chattahoochee. +Johnston had planned a final terrible blow for him at Peach Tree, when, +fortunately for Sherman and his army, Jefferson Davis, favoring, as he +claimed, the indications of Providence, relieved the able Johnston from +command, and put in charge the hardy but rash Hood. He at once, as was +expected, took the offensive. He came on, as at Gettysburg, from the +close wood into the valley, to welcome us in his charming way, several +miles out from Atlanta. His blows were so sudden and his onslaught so +swift, that at first it disturbed Hooker's breathing, made Williams +talk fast, and Geary suspend his favorite Kansas stories and tales of +the Mexican war. In the language of the football men, the Unions for a +few hours, 'had a hard tussle.' They lost heavily, but managed to keep +on the Atlanta side of the Peach Tree. Newton planted his big cross, +made of soldiers, at the east end of Thomas's line, and Newton, though +no doubt badly terrified, was as always, too obstinate to go back. +Thomas's modesty put in additional reserve batteries and kept pieces +of iron rattling among the chaparral and alders of those low-land +intervales. So Thomas and Newton preserved that weak left flank from +capture. Hood had put forth his tremendous energy, but was baffled and +turned back to his cover within the fortified lines of Atlanta." + +By this time the people of Georgia were fully roused from their +old feeling of false security. They had seen the Union Army march +triumphantly over the mountain barrier at the northwest. They had seen +their favorite commander, Johnston, and his great army, driven from +point to point and forced to surrender positions which had been deemed +impregnable. And now Sherman's conquering hosts, flushed with success, +had crossed the Chattahoochee and lay only eight miles from Atlanta. +Consternation prevailed throughout the State, and the people of Atlanta +itself were panic-stricken. Nor were they allowed to gain new courage +by a respite. Sherman's advance upon the city suffered no delay. A +strong cavalry force was pushed forward from Decatur, Alabama, to +Opelika, and thence to Marietta, completely cutting off Johnston's army +from all sources of supply and reinforcement in that direction. Sherman +also brought up fresh stores from Chattanooga. July 17th a general +advance was made. + +On this very day the Rebel government at Richmond committed an act +that was worth three victories to the Union Army. There had long been +antagonism between Joe Johnston and J. P. Benjamin, the Rebel Secretary +of War, and Jefferson Davis had sympathized with the latter. Benjamin +had now been removed from office, but his successor, Seddon, had +inherited the antagonism to Johnston. So now, on July 17th, a dispatch +came to Johnston from Richmond, saying that since he had failed to +check Sherman's advance the government had no confidence in his ability +to do so, and ordering him immediately to surrender his command to +General Hood. This did great injustice to Johnston, but it also did +greater injury to Rebel cause. Hood was a brave general, but rash and +not competent to direct the operations of a great army in an important +campaign. Indeed he himself felt most deeply his unfitness to continue +Johnston's work, although he of course resolved to do his best. + +In response to the harsh criticisms made upon him for not fighting a +decisive battle with Sherman, Johnston said: + +"Defeat would have been our ruin. Our troops, always fighting under +cover, had trifling losses when compared with the enemy, whose +numerical superiority was thus reduced daily and rapidly. We could, +therefore, reasonably expect to cope with him on equal terms by the +time that the Chattahoochee was passed. Defeat on our side of that +river would have been his destruction. We, if beaten, had a refuge +in Atlanta too strong to be assaulted, too extensive to be invested. +I also hoped, by breaking the railroad in his rear, that he might be +compelled to attack us in a position of our own choosing, or to a +retreat easily converted into a rout. After we crossed the Etowah, +five detachments of cavalry were successively sent with instructions to +destroy as much as they could of the railroad between Dalton and the +Etowah; all failed, because too weak. We could never spare a sufficient +body of cavalry for this service, as its assistance was absolutely +necessary in the defence of every position we occupied. Early in the +campaign the statements of the strength of cavalry in the Departments +of Mississippi and East Louisiana given me by Lieutenant-General Polk, +just from that command, and my telegraphic correspondence with his +successor, led me to hope that a competent force could be sent from +Mississippi and Alabama to prevent the use of the railroad by the +United States army." + +The Rebel army was now about 51,000 strong, and was strongly posted at +Peach Tree Creek, four miles northwest of Atlanta. The place had been +selected by Johnston for a decisive battle, and he had expected that +the Union Army, in spreading out to flank him, would weaken its centre +so that he could make an effective attack. Exactly this thing occurred, +and on the afternoon of July 20th, the Rebel blow was struck. Hood's +troops came rushing down the hillside against the Union lines with just +such fury as Stonewall Jackson's columns used to display. But they were +met by strong resistance, and after a bloody conflict, were driven to +their intrenchments. Thus the first of Johnston's plans which Hood +tried to execute, failed. The second plan and effort was to withdraw +the main army from Peach Tree Creek far to the right, leaving Atlanta +almost undefended, and then fall upon Sherman's left flank as his army +advanced upon the city. + +When Sherman came up and found the works on Peach Tree Creek abandoned, +he thought Atlanta also had been evacuated, and he marched right up +to within two miles of that city. Then after an all night circuit +the Rebel attack was made upon his left and rear. For four hours the +battle raged furiously. The Union lines were broken and some guns +captured. Sherman watched the struggle from a point between Schofield +and McPherson, John A. Logan and other officers performed prodigies of +valor, and finally the Rebels were checked and driven back, leaving +more than three thousand dead upon the field, together with other +thousands of wounded and about one thousand prisoners. Their total +loss must have been at least eight thousand, while Sherman's entire +loss, in killed, wounded and prisoners, was 3,722. But in this battle +almost in the outset the Union Army suffered an irreparable loss in the +death of the gallant and accomplished McPherson, who was shot by Rebel +skirmishers as he was hastening from Dodge's Corps to Blair's through +the woods, _i.e._, the left flank of the army, to meet there the Rebel +attack which first struck his rear. + +Who should succeed McPherson in command was a question that caused +some perplexity. Logan succeeding to McPherson in the battle had done +well, but was junior to several corps commanders, and had, as Sherman +thought, some other disabilities, as a rivalry between him and Blair, +and political aspirations. At last Sherman and Thomas agreed upon +the appointment of General O. O. Howard, a choice which was promptly +approved by the Government at Washington. This offended Hooker, +Howard's senior in rank. He had aspired to succeed McPherson, and so at +once asked to be relieved of the command of the Twentieth Corps. His +wish, as before Gettysburg, was granted, and General Slocum came from +Vicksburg to take his place. + +The 26th of July Sherman's army lay before Atlanta in this position: +the Army of the Tennessee was at the left, the Army of the Ohio, +under Schofield, came next; the Army of the Cumberland, under Thomas, +completed the line at the right. This line was about five miles long, +and strongly fortified. The cavalry and other minor detachments of the +army were posted at the rear and at the flank. + +The 27th, General Howard took command and marched around beyond Thomas. +At Ezra Church, due west from Atlanta, the next battle was fought on +July 28th. Howard, putting in his last corps, had led the way thither, +believing that at this point the Rebel attack would be made. Hood's +men came on with a rush, and some of them forced their way for a +space beyond the Union right. But Howard's troops, particularly the +Fifteenth Corps, under Logan, aided by detachments from Dodge and +Blair, stood like an iron wall, and repulsed the enemy with a coolness +and steadiness that has seldom been equalled. Artillery and repeating +rifles threw back the enemy's flanks. Attack after attack was made by +the Rebels, with the same result, and the engagement finally ended in +an unqualified victory for the Union army. "As this," says General +Howard, "was Hood's third attempt, anger and energy were engendered in +his heart and transfused into his charging lines; it showed itself in +the scream, the yell, the run, the brisk, unceasing musket-fire, and +the cannon roar. We who were there cannot forget them. But at last our +enemy was effectually repulsed and the sad field at night was ours. The +baffled Confederates again returned to the shelter of their protecting +batteries." + +This was Howard's first engagement after his appointment to succeed +McPherson, and both he and Sherman were deeply gratified at its result. +When the conflict was at its height, a straggler of some rank hurried +to Sherman with the report that Howard was proving incompetent and +that his army was going to pieces. Sherman asked him if Howard himself +was at the scene of action. He replied, "Yes, I suppose so." "Well," +said Sherman, "I will wait till I hear from him." + +During the early days of August Sherman kept extending his lines to +the right, with frequent demonstrations against the enemy at all +points. He brought down from Chattanooga some heavy rifled guns with +which to bombard the enemy's works. Many of the shells fell beyond the +enemy's fortifications in the city itself, and did much damage. At the +middle of the month it was decided to execute a grand flank movement +around the city. The advance was made toward the right or southward. +At the same time Hood sent a force of cavalry, from 6,000 to 10,000 +strong, to pass around Sherman's rear and cut off his communications +and lines of supply. Sherman was glad to learn this, for he knew +that the absence of these troops from the Rebel army would be a more +serious loss to Hood than they could possibly inflict upon the Union +army. He at once halted his flanking movement, and sent Kilpatrick +with 5,000 cavalry to break the West Point Railroad near Fairburn, +and then go on and break the Macon Railroad, cutting off Atlanta from +the Southern counties. Kilpatrick was not able to accomplish this +work as completely as Sherman desired, and the flanking movement was +soon resumed. On the night of August 26th, the Army of the Tennessee +moved to the South, followed by the Army of the Cumberland, while the +Army of the Ohio remained substantially in its position. The armies +thoroughly accomplished the destructive work which Kilpatrick had +tried to do, and then faced eastward. Howard encountered the enemy's +cavalry at several points, and drove it before him. "From the 25th to +the 30th of August," says General Howard, "Sherman's forces made a +curious manoeuvre. If you should face a line of cavalry, infantry and +artillery to the rear, and then make a little more than a half wheel +about its new left as a pivot, you would get some idea of the manner +in which we fell upon Hood's communications. Yet the line, like an +Indian rubber string, was stretched out till the Army of the Tennessee, +rapidly marching, reached Renfro Place, twenty-five miles from Atlanta. +Schofield kept near the pivot, and Thomas was between. + +"The evening of the thirtieth, after a weary day during which our +cavalry and infantry had been forcing a succession of log barricades +and repairing culverts and bridges, we came to a tract of barren +sand-banks, intending to camp there for the night. After a short halt, +I called Kilpatrick to me and said: 'It is but six miles to Flint +River, where a bridge crosses, and but a few more miles to Jonesboro, +the railway station. Can you send me an officer who can take a squadron +of cavalry and keep Wheeler's rear guard in motion?' 'Yes, here is +Captain Estes. He can do it if anybody can.' 'All right, go ahead, +Estes; I will follow you with infantry.' Wheeler's men, thinking we +had stopped for the night, had already dismounted and were preparing +to bivouac at a respectful distance, when suddenly they beheld +Captain Estes with his indomitable squadron charging down the road. +The Confederates sprang to their saddles and nobody tarried, neither +pursuer or pursued, till the Flint River bridge had been reached. Our +men extinguished the flames already kindled, saved the bridge, and +soon were crossing in force, just as the twilight was darkening into +the night. One corps, Logan's, was quickly marched over and along +the farther bank of the river and began to ascend the wooded hill +beyond. Hardee's Confederate Corps, hastily brought hither by rail +from Atlanta, now gave in the darkness only a feeble skirmish line +resistance. We charged the hill, cleared the way to the crest, and the +men, though exceedingly weary with a long march of twenty-five miles or +more, worked the whole night, so strong were they then to cover their +front with the habitual intrenchments. + +"The next day, the thirty-first of August, Logan's and Ransom's men +supported by Blair, received Hardee's renewal of the conflict. The +charges were not as vigorous as at Atlanta. They were, all along the +line, repulsed. Before the next day Thomas had closed in on my left; +had a combat, and the two together made a vigorous push for Jonesboro. +By this movement Hardee's half of Hood's army was dislodged. The +instant the situation was known Hood, still 25 miles back at Atlanta, +he abandoned the city and succeeded by a wonderful night march in +forming a junction with Hardee below us at Lovejoy station. + +"Slocum, who with the Twentieth Corps being left behind, had intrenched +himself in a strong fortified place across Sherman's northern +communications, soon had positive evidence by the city fires and +explosions, that Hood had left. He put his columns in motion at dawn of +September second and marched joyously into the lately beleaguered city. + +"General Sherman, who was near us at Jonesboro, gives a graphic +picture: that night, he says, he was so restless and impatient that he +could not sleep. About midnight there arose, toward Atlanta, sounds +of shells exploding and other sounds like that of musketry. He walked +to the house of a farmer close by his bivouac, and called him out to +listen. The farmer said, that these sounds were just like those of a +battle. An interval of quiet then ensued, when again, about 4 A. M., +arose another similar explosion. Sherman remained in doubt whether the +enemy was engaged in blowing up his own magazines, or whether General +Slocum had not felt forward and become engaged in a real battle. +Finally a note from Slocum himself assured the anxious General of the +facts. Then, as he turned back to take possession, Sherman sent Mr. +Lincoln that memorable despatch: 'Atlanta is ours and fairly won.' + +"Probably no words uttered at this date could give to our children +an idea of the joy and the assurance of hope that penetrated all +classes of society when the proclamation was made at Washington and +echoed through the North and West, 'Atlanta is won.' It meant that our +glorious cause had prevailed. Rebellion, it is said, cannot last much +longer. It spoke of the end of war, of the beginning of peace, glimpses +of which were already seen from the hilltops of Georgia. It meant +speedy emancipation to white men as well as to black. It spoke of happy +homes soon to be visited, of lovely women and precious children who had +long waited for such good news, and whose eyes were already sparkling +with delight to welcome us home. + +"Yes, yes, 'Atlanta won' was indeed a bow of promise set in the clouds, +though yet heavy; a bow of promise to America and to the world, that +right and justice should prevail, and God's will be done sooner or +later upon the earth." + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +PREPARING FOR THE MARCH. + + CONGRATULATIONS AND REJOICINGS--SHERMAN'S ADDRESS TO HIS ARMY-- + INCIDENTS OF THE CAMPAIGN--APPEARANCE OF ATLANTA AND ITS + ENVIRONS--HOOD'S NORTHWARD MARCH--HOW CORSE HELD THE FORT-- + SHERMAN'S STERN WORK AT ATLANTA--EXCHANGE OF PRISONERS-- + ORGANIZING FOR THE MARCH TO THE SEA--SKETCHES OF HOWARD AND + SLOCUM--ORDERS FOR THE CAMPAIGN--CUTTING OFF ALL COMMUNICATION + WITH THE NORTH--ATLANTA IN RUINS--MARCHING TOWARD THE SEA. + + +Sherman and his command took possession of Atlanta with mingled +emotions. There was much regret for the long line of graves of gallant +men that marked the path from Chattanooga; most of all, for that of +the loved and trusted McPherson. Yet there was much exultation at the +great victory won, which had struck the Confederacy a death blow and +sent rejoicing to every loyal heart in all the Union. Congratulations +poured in. Lincoln telegraphed to Sherman: "The National thanks are +rendered by the President to Major-General W. T. Sherman and the +gallant officers and soldiers of his command before Atlanta, for the +distinguished ability and perseverance displayed in the campaign in +Georgia, which, under Divine favor, has resulted in the capture of +Atlanta. The marches, battles, sieges and other military operations, +that have signalized the campaign, must render it famous in the annals +of war, and have entitled those who have participated therein to the +applause and thanks of the Nation." And Grant telegraphed from City +Point: "In honor of your great victory I have ordered a salute to be +fired with shotted guns from every battery bearing upon the enemy. The +salute will be fired within an hour, amid great rejoicing." + +These and other similar dispatches Sherman communicated to his army, +together with the news of illuminations, flag-raisings, bell-ringings, +mass-meetings and other scenes of rejoicing throughout the country. He +also issued the following congratulatory order: + +"The officers and soldiers of the Armies of the Cumberland, Ohio and +Tennessee, have already received the thanks of the Nation through its +President and Commander-in-Chief; and it now only remains with him +who has been with you from the beginning, and who intends to stay all +the time, to thank the officers and the men for their intelligence, +fidelity and courage displayed in the campaign of Atlanta. + +"On the first day of May our armies were lying in garrison, seemingly +quiet, from Knoxville to Huntsville, and our enemy lay behind his +rocky-faced barrier at Dalton, proud, defiant, and exulting. He had had +time since Christmas to recover from his discomfiture on the Mission +Ridge, with his ranks filled, and a new Commander-in-Chief, second to +none of the Confederacy in reputation for skill, sagacity and extreme +popularity. + +"All at once our armies assumed life and action, and appeared before +Dalton; threatening Rocky Face, we threw ourselves upon Resaca, and the +Rebel army only escaped by the rapidity of its retreat, aided by the +numerous roads with which he was familiar, and which were strange to +us. + +"Again he took post at Allatoona, but we gave him no rest, and by a +circuit toward Dallas, and a subsequent movement to Ackworth, we gained +the Allatoona Pass. Then followed the eventful battles about Kenesaw, +and the escape of the enemy across the Chattahoochee River. + +"The crossing of the Chattahoochee, and breaking of the Augusta road, +was most handsomely executed by us, and will be studied as an example +in the art of war. At this stage of our game, our enemies became +dissatisfied with their old and skilful commander, and selected one +more bold and rash. New tactics were adopted. Hood first boldly and +rapidly, on the 20th of July, fell on our right at Peach Tree Creek, +and lost. + +"Again, on the 22d, he struck our extreme left, and was severely +punished; and finally again, on the 28th he repeated the attempt on our +right, and that time must have been satisfied, for since that date he +has remained on the defensive. We slowly and gradually drew our lines +about Atlanta, feeling for the railroads which supplied the Rebel army +and made Atlanta a place of importance. + +"We must concede to our enemy that he met these efforts patiently and +skilfully, but at last he made the mistake we had waited for so long, +and sent his cavalry to our rear, far beyond the reach of recall. +Instantly our cavalry was on his only remaining road, and we followed +quickly with our principal army, and Atlanta fell into our possession +as the fruit of well-concerted measures, backed by a brave and +confident army. + +"This completed the grand task which had been assigned us by our +Government, and your General again repeats his personal and official +thanks to all the officers and men composing this army, for the +indomitable courage and perseverance which alone could give success. + +"We have beaten our enemy on every ground he has chosen, and have +wrested from him his own Gate City, where were located his foundries, +arsenals and work-shops, deemed secure on account of their distance +from our base, and the seeming impregnable obstacles intervening. +Nothing is impossible to an army like this, determined to vindicate a +Government which has rights wherever our flag has once floated, and is +resolved to maintain them at any and all cost. + +"In our campaign many, yea, very many of our noble and gallant comrades +have preceded us to our common destination, the grave; but they have +left the memory of deeds, on which a Nation can build a proud history. +McPherson, Harker, McCook, and others, dear to us all are now the +binding links in our minds that should attach more closely together the +living, who have to complete the task which still lays before us in the +dim future. + +"I ask all to continue as they have so well begun, the cultivation of +the soldierly virtues that have ennobled our own and other countries. +Courage, patience, obedience to the laws and constituted authorities +of our Government; fidelity to our trusts, and good feeling among each +other; each trying to excel the other in the practice of those high +qualities, and it will then require no prophet to foretell that our +country will in time emerge from this war, purified by the fires of war +and worthy its great founder, Washington." + +Sherman had, on August 12th, been made a Major-General in the Regular +Army. + +It was possible now and even after to recall many dramatic and even +humorous incidents of the campaign. At one point Sherman's soldiers, +looking back, saw a line of bridges in flames over a stream they had +just crossed. + +"Hello, Charley," exclaimed one, "Uncle Billy Sherman has set the river +on fire." "Well," replied Charley, "if he has I reckon its all right." +Their fun, even, showed their confidence. + +The Rebels also came to have a remarkable degree of confidence in +Sherman's ability. The rapidity of his marches and the readiness +with which his armies rebuilt roads and bridges bewildered them. It +was after a time a current saying in the Rebel camp that there was +no use in burning bridges, for Sherman carried a large assortment of +duplicates along with him to replace them. Then, when Wheeler's Cavalry +was sent north to cut Sherman's communications at the rear, a Rebel +soldier remarked one day: "Well, the Yanks will have to git up and git, +now, for I heard General Johnston himself say that General Wheeler had +blown up the tunnel near Dalton and the Yanks would have to retreat +because they could get no more rations." "Oh shucks," said another, +"don't you know that old Sherman carries a duplicate tunnel along?" + +On September 6th, a writer in _The New York Tribune_, described the +appearance of the captured city, at the entrance of the troops, as +follows: + +"The Twentieth Corps is now located in the famous city, occupying the +forts and earthworks so recently filled by the Rebels. The city was +captured by Colonel Coburn, Thirty-third Indiana, on the 2d inst., +who was sent by General Slocum from the Chattahoochee River on a +reconnoisance. The same day the corps followed in. The works of the +enemy are of the most formidable character, embracing a circuit of some +twelve miles. The abattis, palisades, rifle pits, ramparts, lunettes, +redoubts, redans and varied forms of earthworks, exhibit every variety +of defensive expedient used in modern warfare. Nothing in military +experience has surpassed the industry of the enemy, in this campaign, +except that of our own. Here, he had some 1,500 negro men constantly at +work, and marched them off, with tools on shoulder, when he left. The +hills at all points around the city afforded good positions for such +works. + +[Illustration: BATTLE OF ATLANTA. + +From painting by J. E. Taylor.] + +"This is a peculiar city, with streets diverging from the centre and +running out upon ridges while the intervening spaces are not built +upon, just as if the map were a wagon-wheel and the business were near +and around the hub and the residences were built along the spokes to +the outer rim. Many of these residences are elegant and convenient, +with large lots and fine shrubbery. The native growth is a mixture of +small oak and pine, while the hand of culture has interspersed the +China tree, Grape, Myrtle, Rose, Laurel, Holly, Honey-suckle, Sensitive +plant, and a multitude of beautiful shrubs, full of odors and rich +colors. Indeed, nothing can exceed the beauty of the plants and trees +of this region. + +"The city has contained a population of eighteen thousand inhabitants +(about six thousand are here now), and on account of the salubrity of +the climate and purity of its waters, it being on the dividing ridge +between the Gulf and the Atlantic, has become a place of residence to +many wealthy persons. + +"Here figs are now ripe and hanging on the trees, this being the second +crop. Grapes grow in abundance, and wine is made of a delicious flavor. + +"The houses are, many of them, disfigured with marks of our shot, +splintered cornices and doorways--shattered roofs and chimneys, +perforated walls and torn fences show the frightful look of these +swift messengers whirling night and day over the doomed place. Many +a tenement has its underground retreat; some are lined with cotton +bales, some with timbers, and some banked around with earth. + +"When the enemy's troops were about to leave they set fire to immense +trains of cars and wagons, loaded with army stores and ammunition. More +than a hundred cars were burned at the Augusta depot, shell, torpedoes, +fireballs, and boxes of ammunition popping, blazing and roaring, shook +the city and were heard plainly by us at the river. When Colonel Coburn +entered the city they were exploding in the forts, and sounded like the +continual discharge of artillery. + +"What machinery had not been removed has been destroyed. The great +rolling mill has been taken to Augusta, and it is said, will be taken +to Deep River, North Carolina, and put up. Our position here cuts the +enemy off from his greatest iron works in Northern Georgia. There are +some of considerable extent yet used by them near Selma, Alabama. We +see fire brick here which are made near Augusta, the bed of clay having +been discovered since the war; before that time they were procured in +the North. We see also in the ruins of the rolling mill a quantity of +gunboat iron five inches thick, ready rolled for plating. + +"The surrounding county is hilly and poor. South of this the water is +not good, and the land is much lower and richer. To the east, about +fifteen miles, is Stone Mountain, a grand elevation of more than two +thousand feet, affording a prospect of unequalled extent and beauty. + +"It is a solitary sugar-loaf, and looms up from the horizon gray and +grand. Northwest, some eight miles, is the Chattahoochee River, a +yellow, muddy and swift-running stream, some two hundred yards wide. +Chattahoochee means 'blossoming rocks.' The Cherokees so named it +from a great ledge of beautifully-colored rock on its banks, which +resembles flowers. The river of 'blossoming rocks' is anything but a +beautiful stream. Peach Tree Creek, the now famous scene of the battle +of the 20th of July, is three miles north, a muddy, deep slimy stream. +Its true name is 'Pitch-Tree,' from a great pitch-pine tree on its +banks. The Indians called it 'Pitch-Tree.' + +"The whole face of the earth is marked and scared for many miles around +with the rival fortifications." + +A quarter of a century has nearly obliterated them all. + +A series of military operations around Atlanta followed. Further +pursuit of Hood's army was for a time suspended while Sherman's army +rested, and its leader was planning the next step in the campaign. Thus +passed the month of September. Many changes occurred in the composition +and organization of the army. The field portion of the Army of the +Tennessee was consolidated into two corps numbered Fifteenth and +Seventeenth, and commanded, during the temporary absence of Logan and +Blair, by P. J. Osterhaus and T. E. G. Ransom, General Howard retaining +his place at the head of that army which now lay at East Point, and +the Sixteenth corps now in the Mississippi Valley. The Army of the +Cumberland, under General Thomas, was in Atlanta. The Army of the Ohio +was at Decatur under General Cox, General Schofield having returned +temporarily to Knoxville. Atlanta was carefully fortified, on a smaller +but stronger scale than had been done by Johnston, so that it might be +held by a comparatively small force when Sherman's main army had left. + +As for the Rebel army, it changed its tactics altogether, and was +soon moving westward and northward. Apparently Hood's intention was +by, as he said, towing him back, to cut Sherman's communications, and +if possible carry the war back into Tennessee. If Hood would only +march back to Tennessee, Sherman would gladly give him rations and +transportation for the journey. Hood did march back, and the result of +his doing so may be summed up at this point in a few words. He tried +to destroy the garrisons Sherman had left behind him here and there, +but Sherman turned on him all but Slocum's Corps, so that he utterly +failed to do so. French's Division of the Rebel army, for example, +attacked Allatoona, where Howard had placed a handful of troops. +General Corse hastened with help from Rome. French sent in a note to +Corse, summoning him to surrender, and threatening that if he did not +do so he would be attacked, and every man of his command massacred. To +this monstrous message the undaunted Corse defiantly replied that the +Rebels were welcome to come and take the place if they thought they +were able. French immediately assaulted the place with great fury, and +again and again his overwhelming columns surged against the works. +But at nightfall they were compelled to retire with dreadful loss. +Next morning Sherman reached the top of Kenesaw, to within signalling +distance of Corse, eighteen miles away. Signal flags waved from peak to +peak, conveying Sherman's message to Corse, which has been idealized +in a popular song, "Hold the fort, for I am coming." Corse's reply has +become historic. He had had a chip from his cheek shot away by a Rebel +ball, but was only the more determined to hold out. He said to Sherman, +"I am short part of an ear and cheekbone, but am able to whip all hell +yet!" + +During October, Hood moved to the northwest, Howard following him +up vigorously. At last, at the end of the month, as he ran toward +Gaylesville, Ala., Sherman decided to let Hood go, trusting to +Schofield and Thomas, whom he sent with troops to Nashville, to deal +with him, should he enter Tennessee. He did enter Tennessee, and met +his fate at Franklin and Nashville. + +But to return to Sherman's work at Atlanta, before Hood's flanking +and final flight. Sherman determined to march forward through Georgia +to the sea, and to make Atlanta, as he left it behind him, a purely +military post, occupied and controlled solely by his army. On September +4th he made this order: + +"The City of Atlanta, belonging exclusively for warlike purposes, it +will at once be vacated by all except the armies of the United States +and such civilian employes as may be retained by the proper departments +of the Government.... At a proper time full arrangements will be made +for a supply to the troops of all the articles they may need over and +above clothing, provisions, etc., furnished by Government, and on no +pretence whatever will traders, manufacturers, or sutlers, be allowed +to settle in the limits of fortified places; and if they manage to come +in spite of this notice the quartermaster will seize their stores, +apply them to the use of the troops and deliver the parties, or other +unauthorized citizens who thus place their individual interest above +that of the United States, over to the hands of some provost-marshal, +to be put to labor on forts or conscripted into one of the regiments or +battery already in service. The same military principles will apply to +all military posts south of Atlanta." + +If the people of Atlanta had already become panic-stricken, what shall +be said of their state of mind when this thunderbolt fell upon them? +Consternation is far too weak a word. The Mayor and City Council made +a formal and impassioned appeal to Sherman to revoke it. They said, in +part: + +"At first view, it struck us that the measure would involve +extraordinary hardship and loss, but since we have seen the practical +execution of it, so far as it had progressed, and the individual +condition of many people, and heard their statements as to the +inconveniences, loss, and suffering attending it, we are satisfied +that it will involve, in the aggregate, consequences appalling and +heartrending. + +"We know your mind and time are constantly occupied with the duties +of your command, which almost deters us from asking your attention to +this matter; but thought it might be that you had not considered the +subject in all its awful consequences, and that on more reflection you, +we hope, would not make this people an exception to all mankind, for we +know of no such instance ever having occurred; surely none such in the +United States; and what has this helpless people done that they should +be driven from their homes, to wander as strangers, outcasts, and +exiles, and to subsist on charity?" + +To this Sherman replied at considerable length, in explicit and +unmistakable terms. He had, he said, read their appeal carefully and +he gave full credit to their statements of the distress that was about +to be caused to the people of Atlanta. But there were greater issues +involved than the personal comfort and welfare of these people. He said: + +"I cannot revoke my order. I have to prepare for a future struggle in +which millions, yea, hundreds of good people outside of Atlanta have +a deep interest. We must have peace, not only in Atlanta, but in all +America. To have peace, the Rebel armies must be defeated. To defeat +them, we must reach them in their recesses. My military plans make +it necessary for the inhabitants to go away, and I can only renew my +offer of services to make their exodus in any direction as easy and +comfortable as possible. + +"War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it. Those who brought war on +our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour +out. I had no hand in making this war, and I will make more sacrifices +to-day than any of you to secure peace. But you cannot have peace and a +division of our country. We don't want your negroes, or your houses, or +your land, or anything that you have, but we do want, and will have, a +just obedience to the laws of the United States. That we will have, and +if it involves the destruction of your improvements we cannot help it. + +"You have heretofore read public sentiment in your newspapers. They +live by falsehood and excitement, and the quicker you seek for truth +in other quarters the better for you. You began this war without one +jot or tittle of provocation. I myself have seen in Missouri, Kentucky, +Tennessee, and Mississippi hundreds and thousands of women and children +fleeing from your own armies and desperadoes, hungry and with bleeding +feet. In Memphis, Vicksburg, and Mississippi we fed thousands upon +thousands of the families of Rebel soldiers, left on our hands, and +whom we could not see starve. Now that war comes home to you, you feel +very differently--you deprecate its horrors. But you did not feel them +when you were sending car-loads of soldiers and ammunition, and were +moulding shells and shot to carry war into Kentucky and Tennessee, and +desolate the homes of hundreds and thousands of good people who only +asked to live in peace at their old homes under the government of their +inheritance. + +"But, when peace does come, you may call upon me for anything. Then I +will share with you the last cracker, and watch with you to guard your +homes and families against danger from every quarter. Now you must go, +and take with you the old and feeble, feed and nurse them, and build +for them in more quiet places proper habitations to shield them against +the weather until the mad passions of men cool down, and allow the +Union and Peace once more to settle on your old homes in Atlanta." + +Sherman also had some correspondence with Hood on the same subject. He +notified Hood of the order he had issued and proposed that hostilities +be suspended for ten days while the people of Atlanta were being +removed. Hood agreed to the truce, saying that he did not consider that +he had any alternative in the matter. But he took occasion of this +correspondence to denounce Sherman's conduct in the strongest terms, +concluding his letter as follows: + +"Permit me to say, the unprecedented measure you propose transcends +in studied and iniquitous cruelty all acts ever before brought to +my attention in this dark history of the war. In the name of God +and humanity, I protest, believing you are expelling from homes and +firesides wives and children of a brave people." + +Sherman read these words with some irritation and with some contempt, +and then promptly replied, saying: + +"You style the measures proposed 'unprecedented,' and appeal to 'the +dark history of war for a parallel as an act of studied and ingenious +cruelty.' It is not unprecedented, for General Johnston himself very +wisely and properly removed the families all the way from Dalton down, +and I see no reason why Atlanta should be excepted. Nor is it necessary +to appeal to 'the dark history of war,' when recent and modern +examples are so handy. You yourself burned dwelling-houses along your +parapet; and I have seen, to-day, fifty houses that you have rendered +uninhabitable because they stood in the way of your forts and men. You +defended Atlanta on a line so close to the town that every cannon-shot, +and many musket-shots from our line of investment, that overshot their +mark, went into the habitations of women and children. General Hardee +did the same thing at Jonesboro' and General Johnston did the same last +summer at Jackson, Mississippi. + +"I have not accused you of heartless cruelty, but merely instance these +cases of very recent occurrence, and could go on and enumerate hundreds +of others, and challenge any fair man to judge which of us has the +heart of pity for the families of 'brave people.' I say it is kindness +to these families of Atlanta to remove them at once from scenes that +women and children should not be exposed to; and the 'brave people' +should scorn to commit their wives and children to the rude barbarians +who thus, as you say, violate the rules of war as illustrated in the +pages of its 'dark history.' + +"In the name of common sense, I ask you not to 'appeal to a just +God' in such a sacrilegious manner--you who, in the midst of peace +and prosperity, have plunged a nation into war, dark and cruel war; +who dared and badgered us into battle; insulted our flag; seized +our arsenals and forts that were left in the honorable custody of +a peaceful ordinance sergeant; seized and made prisoners even the +very first garrisons sent to protect your people against negroes +and Indians; long before any other act was committed by the, to you +'hateful Lincoln Government;' tried to force Missouri and Kentucky into +rebellion, in spite of themselves; falsified the vote of Louisiana; +turned loose your privateers to plunder unarmed ships; expelled Union +families by the thousands, burned their houses, and declared by acts of +your Congress the confiscation of all debts due Northern men for goods +had and received. Talk thus to the Marines, but not to me, who have +seen these things, and who will this day make as much sacrifices for +the peace and honor of the South as the best-born Southerner among you. +If we must be enemies, let us be men, and fight it out as we proposed +to-day, and not deal in such hypocritical appeals to God and humanity. + +"God will judge us in due time, and he will pronounce whether it will +be humane to fight with a town full of women and the families of 'a +brave people' at our back, or to remove them in time to places of +safety among their own friends and people." + +There was also some correspondence between the two Generals on the +subject of the exchange of prisoners. Hood began it, and Sherman +replied, consenting to such an exchange, man for man, and equal for +equal, and then added: + +"By your laws all men eligible for service are _ipso facto_ soldiers, +and a very good one it is; and, if needed for civil duty, they are +simply detailed soldiers. We found in Atlanta about a thousand of these +fellows, and I am satisfied they are fit subjects of exchange; and if +you will release an equal number of our poor fellows at Andersonville +I will gather these together and send them as prisoners. They seem +to have been detailed for railroad and shop duty, and I do not ask +for them an equal number of my trained soldiers, but will take men +belonging to any part of the United States Army subject to your control. + +"We hold a good many of your men styled 'deserters,' who are really +stragglers, and would be a good offset to such of our stragglers and +foragers as your cavalry picked up of our men; but I am constrained to +give these men, though sorely against the grain, the benefit of their +character, pretended or real." + +This did not suit Hood, who replied: + +"Your refusal to receive, in exchange, your soldiers belonging to +'regiments whose times are out, and who have been discharged,' +discloses a fixed purpose on the part of your Government to doom to +hopeless captivity those prisoners whose term of service have expired, +or will soon expire. + +"My offer to exchange the prisoners captured during the campaign +precludes an intention on my part in the delivery to discriminate +between your prisoners, as all would have been delivered; and even had +it been intended, this discrimination between your men, whose term of +service had and had not expired, would have been impossible, and could +not have been effected, as I had no reliable means of ascertaining what +portion of your men were entitled to their discharge. + +"Your avowal that this class of your soldiers will not be exchanged, +but will be rewarded by the sufferings and privations incident to +military imprisonment because their boldness and courage subjected them +to capture, although their terms of service has nearly expired, is +deeply regretted by me, as I have the earnest desire of my Government +to release from prolonged confinement the large number of prisoners +held by both parties." + +An exchange of about two thousand prisoners was, however effected. +During the truce, four hundred and forty-six families were sent South. +These comprised 705 adults, 860 children, and 79 servants, and each +family took on the average, 1651 pounds of furniture and other personal +effects. + +At the end of October, Sherman was ready to continue his campaign. +He had corresponded with Grant on the subject and had intimated to +him what he proposed to do. Grant replied to him, on November 2d, +"Go on, then, as you propose." Thus the credit of the historic march +that followed must be given to Sherman himself,--the conception of +it as well as its execution. "The honor is all yours," said Lincoln +afterward; "none of us went further than to acquiesce." + +But Sherman had not stated positively, not even to Grant, what his +objective point was, whether Charleston or Savannah, or even Pensacola. +He proposed to march from Atlanta to the sea; that was all. What road +he would follow, he would decide for himself and he would keep his +own counsel. And in order to isolate Atlanta and render it useless to +the enemy and that there might be no interference with his plans as +he proceeded, he performed the unique act of destroying utterly the +railways and telegraph by which he had communicated with the North. +When everything was ready, and the final messages transmitted between +himself and Grant, he cut the last remaining wire, and thence forward +for a time, was lost to the Nation's view. His conquering host became +known as "the lost army." This was on November 12th. On the 14th his +army was ready for the march, and on the 15th the drums beat and they +moved forward. + +Acting under the grim necessities of war, Sherman sent this order to +Captain Poe: "You may commence the work of destruction at once, but +don't use fire until towards the last moment." Thus much of the City +of Atlanta was destroyed, and it was past smoking ruins that Sherman's +army marched forward to the sea. + +The army was divided, for the purposes of this march, into two great +wings. The right, keeping its army name, was commanded by General +Howard, and consisted of the Fifteenth Corps, under Osterhaus, and the +Seventeenth Corps, under Blair. The left, called Army of Georgia, was +commanded by General Slocum, and consisted of the Fourteenth Corps, +under J. C. Davis, and the Twentieth Corps, under A. S. Williams. In +all there were about 60,000 infantry and 60 cannon. In addition, there +was a cavalry division of 5,500 men, under General Kilpatrick. + +General Howard was now 34 years old; a native of Maine, and a graduate +of West Point in the class of 1854. He had served in Florida against +the Indians, and as an instructor at West Point. He had joined the +army again as Colonel of the first three years' regiment that came +from Maine; had commanded a brigade at Bull Run and served with the +Army of the Potomac until the battle of Fair Oaks, where he had lost +his right arm while leading a gallant charge. Two months later, he had +returned to active service in time to be at the second battle of Bull +Run, where he commanded the rear guard on the retreat. He had rendered +distinguished service at Antietam and Fredericksburg, and also at +Chancellorsville. He had been one of the chief actors at Gettysburg, +being responsible for the selection of the invincible position at +Cemetery Ridge occupied by the Union Army. His gallantry at Missionary +Ridge has already been recorded in these pages, and he had also marched +with Sherman to the relief of Burnside at Knoxville. His Christian +character and his intellectual attainments made him as acceptable as a +man as he was as a brave and skilful General. + +General Slocum, a native of New York State, had been graduated at West +Point two years before Howard. After some military service he had +become a practicing lawyer and active in the politics of his State. +At the outbreak of the war he had returned to the army as Colonel of +one of the first three years' regiments sent from New York. He had +served with honor at Bull Run and with the Army of the Potomac on the +Rappahannock and at Yorktown and all through the Peninsula campaign +from West Point, Va., to Malvern Hill. He had won great distinction at +South Mountain and Antietam, at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and +Gettysburg. He and Howard were trusted lieutenants of Sherman in the +great campaign that was now to be undertaken. + +Kilpatrick came from New Jersey, and was only 26 years old. He had been +graduated at West Point in 1861, just in time to rush to the front with +Duryeas's Zouaves, and received a slight wound at Big Bethel. Then he +received a cavalry command and pursued a brilliant career with the Army +of the Potomac, until he was sent to assist Sherman in Georgia. + +General Thomas was now at Nashville, and Schofield en route near +Pulaski, Tennessee, ready to deal with Hood on his northwestern march. +In Sherman's army there were few non-combatants and sick men. There was +a goodly supply of ammunition, but provisions were scanty. It was the +intention of the army to live off the enemy's country as they marched +through it. Sherman's orders for the campaign were as follows: + + "I. For the purpose of military operations, this army is divided + into two wings, viz., the right wing, Major-General O. O. Howard + commanding, composed of the Fifteenth and Seventeenth Corps; the + left wing, Major-General H. W. Slocum commanding, composed of the + Fourteenth and Twentieth Corps. + + "II. The habitual order of march will be, whenever practicable, + by four roads, as nearly parallel as possible, and converging + at points hereafter to be indicated in orders. The cavalry, + Brigadier-General Kilpatrick commanding, will receive special + orders from the commander-in-chief. + + "III. There will be no general trains of supplies, but each + corps will have its ammunition and provision trains distributed + habitually as follows: Behind each regiment should follow one + wagon and one ambulance; behind each brigade should follow a + due proportion of ammunition wagons, provision wagons, and + ambulances. In case of danger, each army corps commander should + change this order of march by having his advance and rear + brigade unencumbered by wheels. The separate columns will start + habitually at 7 A. M., and make about 15 miles per day, unless + otherwise fixed in orders. + + "IV. The army will forage liberally on the country during the + march. To this end, each brigade commander will organize a good + and sufficient foraging party, under the command of one or more + discreet officers, who will gather near the route travelled corn + or forage of any kind, meat of any kind, vegetables, corn-meal, + or whatever is needed by the command, aiming at all times to + keep in the wagon trains at least ten days' provisions for the + command, and three days' forage. Soldiers must not enter the + dwellings of the inhabitants, or commit any trespass; but during + the halt, or at camp, they may be permitted to gather turnips, + potatoes, and other vegetables, and drive in stock which is + in sight of their camp. To regular foraging parties must be + intrusted the gathering of provisions and forage at any distance + from the road travelled. + + "V. To army commanders alone is intrusted the power to destroy + mills, houses, cotton-gins, etc., and for them this general + principle is laid down: In districts and neighborhoods where + the army is unmolested, no destruction of such property should + be permitted; but should guerrillas or bushwhackers molest our + march, or should the inhabitants burn bridges, obstruct roads, or + otherwise manifest local hostility, then army corps commanders + should order and enforce a devastation more or less relentless, + according to the measure of such hostility. + + "VI. As for horses, mules, wagons, etc., belonging to the + inhabitants, the cavalry and artillery may appropriate freely and + without limit, discriminating, however, between the rich, who are + usually hostile, and the poor or industrious, who are usually + neutral or friendly. Foraging parties may also take mules or + horses to replace the jaded animals of their trains, or to serve + as pack-mules for the regiments or brigades. In all foraging, + of whatever kind, the parties engaged will refrain from abusive + or threatening languages, and may, when the officer in command + thinks proper, give written certificates of the facts, but no + receipts, and they will endeavor to leave with each family a + reasonable portion for their maintenance. + + "VII. Negroes who are able-bodied, and can be of service to the + several columns, may be taken along, but each army commander will + bear in mind that the question of supplies is a very important + one, and that his first duty is to see to those who bear arms. + + "VIII. The organization at once of a good pioneer battalion for + each corps, composed, if possible, of negroes, should be attended + to. This battalion should follow the advance guard, should + repair roads, and double them if possible, so that the columns + may not be delayed on reaching bad places. Also, army commanders + should study the habit of giving the artillery and wagons the + road, and marching their troops on one side, and also instruct + their troops to assist wagons at steep hills or bad crossings of + streams. + + "IX. Captain O. M. Poe, chief engineer, will assign to each wing + of the army a pontoon train, fully equipped and organized, and + the commanders thereof will see to its being properly protected + at all times." + +[Illustration: BATTLE OF ATLANTA--THE CONTEST ON BALD HILL.] + +On November 12th, at Cartersville, Sherman sat on the edge of a porch +to rest. The telegraph wire had been torn down, but the operator +connected the end of it with a small pocket instrument which he held in +his hand as he stood at Sherman's side. A dispatch was received from +Thomas at Nashville. Sherman answered it, "All right." The wire was +detached from the instrument, and then a burning bridge fell in ruins, +dragging down more of the line, and Sherman was absolutely isolated +from the North. + +As they marched away from Atlanta, Slocum's men passed the very +spot where McPherson fell, and at the moment, doubtless with a grim +satisfaction, looked back at the pall of smoke that hung above Atlanta, +as above a fitting funeral pyre for their dead comrade and leader. Then +some one in the ranks, or one of the bands, struck up "John Brown's +Body," and a minute later the Army of Georgia was singing that famous +battle hymn, and marching forward with quickened pace to its inspiring +strains. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +"MARCHING THROUGH GEORGIA." + + THE "LOST ARMY"--SPECULATIONS, NORTH AND SOUTH, AS TO ITS DOINGS-- + DIARY OF AN OFFICER--KEEPING THANKSGIVING DAY--HOWELL COBB'S + PLANTATION--THE NEGROES--A QUAINT PHILOSOPHER--STRATEGY OF THE + MARCH--HOWARD'S BRILLIANT ADVANCE--INVESTMENT OF SAVANNAH-- + CAPTURE OF FORT McALLISTER--FALL OF SAVANNAH. + + +Volumes might be written about the march from Atlanta to the sea. It +abounded in picturesque and dramatic incidents, and in pathetic scenes +as well. Of real fighting there was scarcely any. There were no Rebel +armies left to oppose Sherman's progress. The negroes welcomed the +Union Army with fervent exultation, and the few loyal whites hailed its +advent as a time of deliverance. The soldiers fared reasonably well. It +was harvest time in the richest State of the South, and provisions were +abundant on Sherman's line. There was no wanton pillaging, but foraging +for the actual needs of the army was conducted on a generous scale. +Grain, vegetables, bacon, fresh meat, poultry and all other supplies +were taken from barns and houses. There were few conflicts between the +army and the people. Now and then resistance would be offered to a +foraging party, but with no serious effect. Occasionally, some soldiers +would become disorderly and commit acts of violence and pillage, but +such breaches of order were sternly repressed and punished whenever +knowledge of them came to the ears of the higher officers. + +So they marched on through the glorious Indian summer, more as if on +a holiday picnic than on an errand of actual war. Meantime the North +was wondering where they were. The only information of their movements +came through Rebel sources, which were generally either ill-informed +or untruthful. The Rebel authorities, indeed, were much mystified as +to Sherman's real purpose. Their uncertainty is shown by the following +extract from the columns of _The Richmond Dispatch_ of November 18th, +only a few days after the start: + +"The only official information received by the press yesterday was +that Sherman had destroyed the Northwestern and Atlantic railroad +from Atlanta to Allatoona, the Chattahoochee bridge included. This +movement is difficult to understand, except as explained by unofficial +reports that were in circulation during yesterday. If they be true, the +destruction of the railroad can be understood, though it will still +appear a superfluous labor. The reports had it that Sherman, having +burned Atlanta on the 15th, last Tuesday, had set out for Macon with +three corps, amounting together to thirty-five thousand men, and that +he had, on yesterday, reached Jonesborough, twenty-two miles south of +Atlanta. If there is truth in these accounts, as we believe there is, +Wheeler has much to answer for. It devolved upon him to watch Sherman +and keep posted as to his movements. Only four days ago he reported +him 'moving toward Bridgeport.' Now it is said, he reports him moving +toward Macon, as above stated. We regret to say this latter report is +corroborated by other evidence. + +"Sherman will, we think, meet with opposition he does not calculate +upon before he reaches the fortifications of Macon. These works, +should he ever reach them, he will find of the most formidable +character, and with the troops that before that time will be collected +in them, they must give him a vast deal more trouble than he evidently +counts upon. If the Georgians will battle for their trenches as the +Petersburg Militia did last June for theirs, or the Richmond Militia +did at Staunton River bridge later in the summer, Macon will be saved. + +"In undertaking this expedition, Sherman is too prudent a man to rely +upon subsisting his army on the country. It becomes interesting and +important to consider what point he calculates upon making his base of +supplies. His destruction of the railroad northwest of Atlanta proves +that he has cut loose from the Chattanooga base. He must, then, be +looking to some point on the Atlantic or the Gulf. We are disposed, for +several reasons, to believe that Pensacola is the selected point; this, +not because of its greater proximity than any other post to his present +field of operations, but because it is ascertained that for more than +a month very large supplies have been accumulated there. If he fail +to take Macon at the first dash, he will probably run for Pensacola, +and make it a new base of operations. It is not to be presumed that +he carries with him supplies sufficient to enable him to enter upon a +siege which shall occupy any considerable length of time. + +"We have ventured the opinion that Sherman had Pensacola in view as a +new base of supplies; but it is proper to say there are reasons why +he might select some point on the Atlantic as being nearer at hand. +Savannah, for instance, offers advantages, did its approach not involve +the certainty of a great deal of heavy fighting. + +"We look with intense interest to full and authentic news from Georgia." + +The following appeared in _The Richmond Whig_ of the same date: + +"It was officially reported at the War Department last night that +Sherman has torn up the railroad track between Atlanta and Allatoona, +and has burnt the bridge over the Chattahoochee. We also have +unofficial information that a part of Sherman's army, at last accounts, +had reached Jonesborough, thirty miles south of Atlanta. A more +extravagant and even more untrustworthy rumor advanced him to Selma. +Another rumor, which we chronicle as the 'latest,' was, that he was +advancing on Macon. While he can't possibly go to both places at the +same time, we have a strong hope that, in a fit of desperation, he will +essay a movement southward. The sequel will but develop that the evil +one does not always protect his own." + +The right wing, the Army of the Tennessee, did march on Macon, then +turned to the left to fight the battle of Griswoldville. + +The outlook entertained at the North was expressed by a wise editorial +in _The Cincinnati Gazette_, as follows: + +"From private advices, both by letter and telegraph, we learn that +Sherman is advancing from Atlanta toward Savannah River in two columns. +The first set out, one account says, the 7th, another the 9th inst. +(probably the last date), on the road to Macon. On the 13th or 14th +inst., it was seventy miles in advance, driving everything before +it, and destroying everything behind that could aid the enemy, and +intending to pursue this policy to the end. The other column, we +understand, set out three or four days later, and undoubtedly intended +to unite with the other at a suitable point. The army is stated in some +accounts at 45,000, and in others at 55,000, a large portion being +cavalry under Kilpatrick. The largest estimate is probable, the army +being composed of four corps, and largely reinforced. + +"Sherman took with him rations for many days, but expected to find +ample provisions on the route. Corn and sweet potatoes he will find in +abundance and probably hogs. + +"Such is our information from several sources; but at the same time it +should be recollected that a general, at the head of a movable army in +the field, must act according to circumstances, and he may have turned +from the course we suppose him to have taken by contingent events, of +which we have now no knowledge. We understand him to be on his march +through Georgia, to make the South Atlantic Squadron, at Beaufort, +his new base of supplies, if he needs one, but if the country, as we +suppose, is sufficient to maintain his army, there is no absolute need +of any new base. + +"Here it will be inquired, What opposition will he encounter, and what +is his object? There will be no army in front of him and the Georgia +militia will be utterly inefficient in obstructing his progress. Hood +is powerless; Lee has no men to spare, and if he had, it would take a +large army to encounter Sherman. The field is, therefore, open before +him, and the main question is, what can he accomplish? In our opinion, +he can accomplish the most important results reached in the war. +When a column reaches Macon, it can destroy, effectually, the only +remaining railroad communication between the eastern and western parts +of the Confederacy. When a column shall reach Augusta, it destroys the +largest manufactories and depot of military munitions in the South. +The greatest and almost only powder manufactory is there. When the +railroad to Augusta, and from Savannah to Charleston are destroyed, +there is no further practicable military communication between the +country east of the Savannah and west of it. We shall have severed the +Confederacy by another impassable line. + +"But this is only the beginning. If Sherman can reach Beaufort, +after a week's rest, he can move right on through North Carolina to +Danville, thus making Eastern Virginia a prison and a grave for Lee's +army and the Rebel Government. This, we say, is perfectly practicable +with an average share of luck. We do not know that General Sherman +has all this in his plan; but why not? Why should he not aim at the +greatest results? What is to prevent these results? He has a large, +well equipped disciplined army. What is there from the Roanoke to the +Tennessee to oppose him? Nothing that can oppose any serious resistance +to a disciplined army. + +"But what of Hood? Hood has no larger army than Thomas has, besides all +the garrisons, gunboats and militia in the rear. It will be less safe +for him to advance than to retreat. Such is the outline of the military +operations we suppose to be on foot. We wait further information +with solicitude, but with hope that the final will be brilliant and +decisive." + +A private letter from one of Sherman's officers, just before the start +from Atlanta, gave this view of the case: + +"We are under orders to prepare for a _sixty days' campaign_; so you +see that does not look much like spending the winter in Atlanta, +as many have hoped to do. It is not supposed that any below a +Major-General knows what is to be the programme--nor do they; but +it is generally conjectured that a large force is soon to start for +Savannah, via Augusta and Milledgeville. General Thomas will have +force, with what will be left him by Sherman, to 'do the agreeable' +to Hood. You may expect that 'something may turn up' before this army +settles down for the winter." + +Among the many accounts of the march to the sea, one of the most +graphic and accurate was furnished by an army officer to the New York +_Evening Post_. Writing from Atlanta on November 14th, he said: + +"On the 12th instant the last train of cars whirled rapidly past the +troops moving south, speeding over bridges and into the woods as if +they feared they might be left helpless in the deserted land. At +Curtisville the last communications with the North were served with the +telegraph wire. It bore the message to General Thomas, 'All is well.' +And so we have cut adrift from our base of operations, from our line +of communications, launching out into uncertainty at the best; on a +journey whose projected end only the general in command knows. + +"As for the army, they do not stop to ask questions. + +"Sherman says 'Come,' and that is the entire vocabulary to them. A +most cheerful feature of the situation is the fact that the men are +healthful and jolly as men can be, hoping for the best, willing to dare +the worst. + +"Behind us we leave a track of smoke and flame. Half of Marietta was +burned up, not by orders, however; for the command is that proper +details shall be made to destroy all property which can ever be of +use to the Rebel armies. Stragglers will get into these places, and +dwelling houses are leveled to the ground. In nearly all cases these +are the deserted habitations formerly owned by Rebels, who are now +refugees. + +"From Kingston to Atlanta the rails have been taken up on the road, +fires built about them, and the iron twisted in all sorts of curves; +thus they are left, never to be straightened again. The Secesh +inhabitants are in agony of wonder at all this queer manoeuvring. It +appears as if we intended evacuating Atlanta, but our troops are taking +the wrong direction for the hopes and purposes of these people. + +"Atlanta is entirely deserted of human beings, excepting a few soldiers +here and there. The houses are vacant; there is no trade or traffic of +any kind; the streets are empty. Beautiful roses bloom in the gardens +of fine houses, but a terrible stillness and solitude covers it all, +depressing the hearts even of those who are glad to destroy it. In your +peaceful homes at the North you cannot conceive how these people have +suffered for their crimes." + +The next night he wrote of the burning of Atlanta: + +"A grand and awful spectacle is presented to the beholder in this +beautiful city, now in flames. By order, the Chief Engineer has +destroyed by powder and fire all the store-houses, depot buildings +and machine shops. The heaven is one expanse of lurid fire: the air +is filled with flying, burning cinders; buildings covering over two +hundred acres are in ruins or in flames; every instant there is the +sharp detonation or the smothered burning sound of exploding shells +and powder concealed in the buildings, and then the sparks and flame +shooting away up into the black and red roof, scattering the cinders +far and wide. + +"These are the machine shops where have been forged and cast Rebel +cannon, shot and shell, that have carried death to many a brave +defender of our nation's honor. These warehouses have been the +receptacle of munitions of war, stored, to be used for our destruction. +The city, which next to Richmond, has furnished more material for +prosecuting the war than any other in the South, exists no more as a +means for the enemies of the Union." + +November 24th found the army of Georgia, Slocum commanding, at the +State capital, Milledgeville, which they captured without firing a +gun. The Legislature fled at their approach without waiting for the +formality of adjournment; and this panic, says the correspondent +quoted, "spread among the citizens to such an extent as to depopulate +the place, except of a few old gentlemen and ladies, and the negroes; +the latter welcoming our approach with ecstatic exclamations of joy: +'Bless de Lord! the Yanks is come; de day ob jubilee hab arribed'; and +then accompanied their words with rather embarrassing hugs. + +"General Slocum, with the Twentieth Corps, first entered the city, +arriving by way of Madison, having accomplished his mission of +destroying the railroads and valuable bridges at Madison. The fright +of the legislators, as described by witnesses, must have been comical +in the extreme. They little imagined the movement of our left wing, +hearing first of the advance of Kilpatrick on the extreme right toward +Macon, and supposed that to be another raid. What their opinion was +when Howard's army appeared at McDonough it could be difficult to say; +and their astonishment must have approached insanity when the other +two columns were heard from--one directed toward Augusta and the other +swiftly marching straight upon their devoted city. + +"It seemed as if they were surrounded upon all sides except toward the +east, and that their doom was sealed. With the certain punishment for +their crimes looming up before them, they sought every possible means +of escape. Private effects, household furniture, books, pictures, +everything was conveyed to the depot and loaded into the cars until +they were filled and heaped, and the flying people could not find +standing room. + +"Any and every price was obtained for a vehicle. A thousand dollars was +cheap for a common buggy, and men rushed about the streets in agony of +fear lest they should 'fall victims to the ferocity of the Yankees.' + +"Several days of perfect quiet passed after this exodus, when, on a +bright, sunshiny morning a regiment entered the city, with the band +playing national airs, which music had many a day since been hushed in +the capital of Georgia. + +"But few of the troops were marched through the city. Some two or three +regiments were detailed, under the orders of the engineers, to destroy +certain property designated by the general commanding. The magazines, +arsenals, depot buildings, factories of one kind and another, with +storehouses containing large amounts of government property, and some +1,700 bales of cotton burned. Private houses were respected everywhere, +even those of noted Rebels, and I heard of no instance of pillage or +insult to the inhabitants. One or two of the latter, known as having +been in the Rebel army, were prisoners of war, but the surgeons at the +hospitals, the principal of the insane asylum, and others, expressed +their gratitude that such perfect order was maintained throughout the +city. + +"General Sherman is at the Executive Mansion, its former occupant +having with extremely bad grace fled from his distinguished visitor, +taking with him the entire furniture of the building. As General +Sherman travels with a _menage_ (a roll of blankets and haversack full +of hard-tack), which is as complete for a life out in the open air +as in a palace, this discourtesy of Governor Brown was not a serious +inconvenience. + +"General Sherman's opening move in the present campaign has been +successful in the highest degree. At first moving his Army in three +columns, with a column of Cavalry on his extreme right, with eccentric +lines, he diverted the attention of the enemy, so that he concentrated +his forces at extreme points, Macon and Augusta, leaving unimpeded the +progress of the main body. In this campaign--the end of which does not +yet appear--it is not the purpose of the General to spend his time +before fortified cities, nor yet to incumber his wagons with wounded +men. His instructions to Kilpatrick were to report to Howard and so +demonstrate against Macon. + +"Slocum, with the Twentieth Corps, arrived at Milledgeville on the 22d +instant, preceding Davis, with the Fourteenth Corps, one day. On the +same day Kilpatrick struck the Macon and Western Road, destroying the +bridge at Walnut Creek. The day following Howard, with the Fifteenth +and Seventeenth Corps, after a battle, arrived at Gordon, and began the +destruction of the Georgia Central Railroad. + +"It was back of this that the most serious fight of the campaign +occurred to this date, supported by General Chas. R. Wood's entire +division. General Wolcot in command of a detachment of cavalry and +a brigade of infantry, was thrown forward to Griswoldville, toward +Macon, for demonstrative purposes merely. The enemy, some five +thousand strong, advanced upon our troops, who had thrown up temporary +breastworks, with a section of a battery in position. The cavalry fell +slowly back on either flank of brigade, protecting them from attack in +flank and rear. The Rebels are composed of militia chiefly, although a +portion of Hardee's old corps was present, having been brought up from +Savannah. + +"With that ignorance of danger common to new troops, the Rebels rushed +upon our veterans with the greatest fury. The rebels made the attack, +but with most fatal results and were soon in full flight, leaving more +than three hundred dead on the field. Our loss was some forty killed +and wounded, while their killed, wounded and prisoners are estimated to +exceed two thousand. A pretty severe lesson they have received." + +The whole army moved on, and three days later reached Tennille +Station, on the Georgia Central Railroad. Continuing his story, the +correspondent wrote on November 27: "General Sherman was with Slocum +at Milledgeville. The rebels seem to have understood, but too late, +that it was not Howard's intention to make a serious attack upon Macon. +They have, however, succeeded in getting Wheeler across the Oconee +at a point below the railroad bridge. We first became aware of their +presence in our front by the destruction of several small bridges +across Buffalo Creek, on the two roads leading to Sandersville, over +which were advancing the 20th and 14th Corps. + +"We were delayed but a few hours. The passage was also contested by the +rebel cavalry under Wheeler, and they fought our front all the way, +and into the streets of Sandersville. The 20th Corps had the advance, +deploying a regiment as skirmishers, forming the remainder of a brigade +in line of battle on either side of the road. The movement was executed +in the handsomest manner, and was so effectual as not to impede the +march of the column in the slightest degree, although the roll of +musketry was unceasing. Our loss was not serious, twenty odd killed and +wounded. + +"As the 20th Corps entered the town they were met by the 14th, whose +head of column arrived at the same moment. While these two corps had +met with the obstructions above mentioned, the army under General +Howard were attempting to throw a pontoon across the Oconee at the +Georgia Central Railroad bridge. Here they met a force under the +command of General Wayne, which was composed of a portion of Wheeler's +cavalry, militia, and a band of convicts who had been liberated from +the penitentiary upon the condition that they would join the army. + +"The most of these desperados have been taken prisoners, dressed in +their State prison clothing. General Sherman has turned them loose, +believing that Governor Brown had not got the full benefits of his +liberality. The rebels did not make a remarkably stern defense of the +bridge, for Howard was able to cross his army yesterday, and commenced +breaking railroad again to-day. In fact, all of the army, except one +corps, are engaged in this same work. Morgan, with his army, was hardly +able to reach this point when he met General Hardee, who has managed +to get around here from Macon. Our troops struck the railroad at this +station a few hours after the frightened band escaped. + +"We had been told that the country was very poor east of the Oconee, +but our experience has been a delightful gastronomic contradiction of +the statement. The cattle trains are getting so large that we find +difficulty in driving them along. Thanksgiving Day was very generally +observed in the army, the troops scorning chickens in the plentitude of +turkeys with which they have supplied themselves. + +"Vegetables of all kinds, and in unlimited quantities, were at hand, +and the soldiers gave thanks as soldiers may and were merry as only +soldiers can be. In truth, so far as the gratification of the stomach +goes, the troops are pursuing a continuous thanksgiving. + +"In addition to fowls, vegetables, and meats, many obtain a delicious +syrup made from sorghum, which is cultivated on all the plantations, +and stored away in large troughs and hogsheads. The mills here and +there furnish fresh supplies of flour and meal, and we hear little +or nothing of 'hard tack'--that terror to weak mastication. Over the +sections of country lately traversed I find very little cultivation +of cotton. The commands of Davis appear to have been obeyed; and our +large droves of cattle are turned nightly into the immense fields of +ungathered corn to eat their fill, while the granaries are crowded to +overflowing with both oats and corn. + +"We have also reached the sand regions, so that the fall of rain has +no terrors, the roads are excellent, and would become firmer from a +liberal wetting. The rise of the rivers will not bother us much, for +every army corps has its pontoon, and the launching of its boats is a +matter of an hour. + +"Just before his entrance into Milledgeville, General Sherman camped +on one of the plantations of Howell Cobb. It was a coincidence that +a Macon paper, containing Cobb's address to the Georgians as general +commanding, was received the same day. This plantation was the property +of Cobb's wife, who was a Demar. + +"We found his granaries well filled with corn and wheat, part of which +was distributed and eaten by our animals and men. A large supply of +syrup made from sorghum (which we have found at nearly every plantation +on our march), was stored in an out-house. This was also disposed +of to the soldiers and to the poor, decrepit negroes, which this +humane, liberty-loving Major-General left to die in this place a few +days ago. Becoming alarmed, Cobb sent to that place and removed all +the able-bodied mules, horses, cows, and slaves. He left here some +fifty old men--cripples, and women and children--with clothing scarce +covering their nakedness, with little or no food, and without means +of procuring any. We found them cowering over the fireplaces of their +miserable huts, where the wind whirled through the crevices between the +logs, frightened at the approach of the Yankees, who they had been told +would kill them. A more forlorn, neglected set of human beings I never +saw. + +"General Sherman distributed to the negroes with his own hands the +provisions left here, and assured them that we were their friends, and +they need not be afraid. One old man answered him: 'I spose dat you's +true: but, massa, you'll go 'way to-morrow, and anudder white man will +come.' + +"This terrorism, which forms so striking a feature of slavery, has had +marked illustrations ever since we left Atlanta. Many negroes were told +that as soon as we got them into our clutches they were put into the +front of the battle, and we killed them if they did not fight; that +we threw the women and children into the Chattahoochee, and when the +buildings were burned in Atlanta, we filled them with negroes to be +devoured by the flames. These stories, which appear so absurd to us, +are not too extravagant for the simple, untutored minds of the negroes. +They are easily frightened, and full of superstition. In most any other +instance, such bloody tales would have frightened them entirely out +of our sight to the woods and other hiding places; but they assert, +with much earnestness and glee that 'massa can't come dat over we; we +knowed a heap better. What for de Yankees want to hurt black men. Massa +hates de Yankees, and he's no fren' ter we; so we am de Yankee's bi's +fren's.' Very simple logic, that; but it is sufficient for the negroes. + +[Illustration: A BIVOUAC AMONG THE GEORGIA PINES.] + +"Near Covington, one Judge Harris has a large plantation; before +we arrived it was well stocked; I can't answer for its condition +afterward. A jollier set of negroes I never saw than his were when the +blue coats came along. Stories of their cruelty to the negroes were +also told by their masters to frighten them, but the negroes never put +faith in them. I asked Judge Harris's head man: 'Well, how do you like +the Yankees?' 'Like him! bully, bully, bully. I'se wanted to see 'em +long time; heard a heap 'bout 'em. Say, Sally, dese here be gentlemen +dat's passing.' A compliment to our soldiers, which they no doubt would +have appreciated could they have heard Mr. Lewis. + +"'Yass, sar; I'se hope de Lord will prosper dem and Mr. Sherman.' + +"'Why do you hope that the Lord will help the Yankee?' + +"'Because I t'inks, and so we all t'inks, dot you'se down here in our +interests.' + +"'You're about right there. Did you ever hear that President Lincoln +freed all the slaves?' 'No, sar; I never heard such a t'ing. De white +folks nebber talk 'fore black men; dey mighty free from dat.' In other +parts of the South the negroes I have seen seem to understand there is +a man named Lincoln, who had the power to free them and had exercised +it. We have reached here a stratum of ignorance upon that subject. All +knowledge of that nature has not only been kept from the blacks, but +only a few of the whites are well-informed. + +"General Sherman allows all able-bodied negroes (others could not make +the march) to join the column, and he takes especial pleasure when they +join the procession, on some occasions telling them they are free; +that Massa Lincoln has given them their liberty, and that they can go +where they please; that if they earn their freedom they should have +it--but that Massa Lincoln had given it to them anyhow. They all seem +to understand that the proclamation of freedom had made them free, and +I have met but few instances where they did not say they expected the +Yankees were coming down sometime or other, and very generally they are +possessed with the idea that we are fighting for them and that their +freedom is the object of the war. + +"'Stick in dar,' was the angry exclamation of one of a party of negroes +to another, who was asking too many questions of the officer who had +given them permission to join the column. 'Stick in dar, it's all +right; we'se gwine along, we'se free.' + +"Another replied to a question, 'Oh, yass, massa, de people hereabouts +were heap frightened when dey heard you'se coming; dey dusted out yer +sudden.' + +"Pointing to the Atlanta & Augusta Railroad, which had been destroyed, +the question was asked, 'It took a longer time to build this railroad +than it does to destroy it?' + +"'I would think it did, massa; in dat ar woods over dar is buried ever +so many black men who were killed a working on dat road.' + +"'Does the man live here who worked them?' + +"'Oh no, sar; he's dun gone long time.' + +"By the way, the destruction of railroads in this campaign has been +most thorough. The ordinary method of destruction was to place the +rails across a pile of burning sleepers, their own weight bending them. + +"But this does not injure the rail so much but that it may be heated +and straightened again. Instruments have been made; one is a clasp, +which locks under the rail. It has a ring in the top into which is +inserted a long lever, and the rail is thus ripped from the sleepers. +When the rail has become heated a wrench is applied, which fits close +over the ends of the rail; by turning them in opposite directions the +rail is so twisted that even a rolling machine could not bring it +back into shape. In this manner have been destroyed some thirty miles +of rails which lay in the city of Atlanta, and also all the rails on +the Augusta & Atlanta road from the last named place to Madison; and +thus far the Georgia Central road, from a few miles east of Macon to +Terryville Station, where I am now writing." + +The army reached Johnson's, on the south side of the railroad, on +November 29, when the writer continued: + +"General Sherman's second step in this campaign will have been equally +successful with the first, if he is able to cross the Ogeechee +to-morrow without much opposition. Davis and Kilpatrick's movement has +been a blind in order to facilitate the passage over the Ogeechee of +the main body of the army, which for two days past has been marching on +parallel roads south of the railroad. + +"Thus far, we have reason to believe that the rebels are ignorant of +our principal movement, and are trembling with fear that Augusta is our +objective. + +"Kilpatrick is doing the same work which he accomplished with such high +honor when covering our right flank in the early days of the campaign. +His column now acts as a curtain upon the extreme left, through which +the enemy may in vain attempt to penetrate. + +"The most pathetic scenes occur upon our line of march daily and +hourly. Thousands of negro women join the column, some carrying +household truck; others, and many of them there are, who bear the heavy +burden of children in their arms, while older boys and girls plod by +their sides. These women and children are, by some commanders, ordered +back, heartrending though it may be to refuse them liberty. One begs +that she may go to see her husband and children at Savannah. Long years +ago she was forced from them and sold. Another has heard that her boy +was in Macon, and she is 'done gone with grief goin' on four years.' + +"But the majority accept the advent of the Yankees as the fulfillment +of the millennial prophecies. The 'day of jubilee,' the hope and prayer +of a lifetime, has come. They cannot be made to understand that they +must remain behind, and they are satisfied only when General Sherman +sometimes tells them that we shall come back for them some time, and +that they must be patient until the proper hour of deliverance comes +(this because they so swarmed). + +"The other day a woman with a child in her arms was working her way +along amongst the teams and crowds of cattle and horsemen. An officer +called to her kindly: 'Where are you going, aunty?' + +"She looked up into his face with a hopeful, beseeching look, and +replied: + +"'I'se gwine whar you'se gwine, massa.' + +"At a house a few miles from Milledgeville we halted for an hour. +In an old hut I found a negro and his wife, both of them over sixty +years old. In the talk which ensued nothing was said which led me to +suppose that either of them was anxious to leave their mistress, who, +by the way, was a sullen, cruel-looking woman, when all at once the old +negress straightened herself up, and her face, which a moment before +was almost stupid in its expression, assumed a fierce, almost devilish +aspect. + +"Pointing her shining black finger at the old man crouched in the +corner of the fireplace, she hissed out: + +"'What for you sit dar; you 'spose I wait sixty years for nutten? +Don't yer see de door open. I'se follow my child; I not stay. Yes, +nodder day I goes 'long wid dese people; yes, sar, I walks till I drop +in my tracks.' A more terrible sight I never beheld. I can think of +nothing to compare with it, except Charlotte Cushman's 'Meg Merrilies.' +Rembrandt only could have painted the scene, with its dramatic +surroundings. + +"It was near this place that several factories were burned. It was odd +enough to see the delight of the negroes at the destruction of places +known only to them as task-houses." + +Sherman did cross the Ogeechee River without having to fight. The 20th +Corps moved down the railroad, destroying it to the bridge. The 17th +Corps covered the river at this point, where a light bridge was only +partially destroyed. It was easily repaired, so that the infantry and +cavalry could pass over it, while the wagons and artillery used the +pontoons. The Ogeechee is about sixty yards in width at this point. +It is approached on the northern or western side through swamps, +which would be impassable were it not for the sandy soil, which packs +solid when the water covers the roads, although in places there are +treacherous quicksands which the army had to span with corduroy roads. + +Here they met a quaint old man who had been station agent before the +railroad was destroyed. The correspondent had a long chat with him +about the war, and about Sherman's march, and the old man said: + +"'They say you are retreating, but it is the strangest sort of a +retreat I ever saw. Why, dog bite them, the newspapers have been lying +in this way all along. They allers are whipping the Federal armies, and +they allers fall back after the battle is over. It was that ar' idee +that first opened my eyes. Our army was allers whipping the Feds, and +we allers fell back. I allers told 'em it was a humbug, and now I know +it, for here you are, right on old John Wells's place; hogs, potatoes, +corn, and fences all gone. I don't find any fault. I expected it all.' + +"'Jeff. Davis and the rest,' he continued, 'talk about splitting the +Union. Why, if South Carolina had gone out by herself, she would have +been split in four pieces by this time. Splitting the Union! Why, the +State of Georgia is being split right through from end to end. It is +these rich fellows who are making this war, and keeping their precious +bodies out of harm's way. There's John Franklin went through here the +other day, running away from your army. I could have played dominoes on +his coat-tails. There's my poor brother, sick with smallpox at Macon, +working for $11 a month, and hasn't got a cent of the stuff for a year. +'Leven dollars a month and 11,000 bullets a minute. I don't believe in +it, sir.' + +"'My wife came from Canada, and I kind o' thought I would sometime go +there to live, but was allers afraid of the ice and cold; but I can +tell you this country is getting too cussed hot for me. Look at my +fence-rails a-burning there. I think I can stand the cold better.' + +"'I heard as how they cut down the trees across your road up country +and burn the bridges; why (dog bite their hides), one of you Yankees +can take up a tree and carry it off, tops and all; and there's that +bridge you put across the river in less than two hours--they might as +well try to stop the Ogeechee as you Yankees. + +"'The blasted rascals who built this yere bridge thought they did a big +thing. + +"'To bring back the good old times,' he said, 'it'll take the help of +Divine Providence, a heap of rain, and a deal of elbow grease, to fix +things up again.'" + +The steady progress of the army was recorded at Scarborough on December +3, thus: + +"Pivoted upon Millen, the army has swung slowly round from its +eastern course, and is now moving in six columns upon parallel roads +southward. Until yesterday it was impossible for the rebels to decide +whether or not it was General Sherman's intention to march upon +Augusta. Kilpatrick had destroyed the bridge above Wainesborough, and +falling back had again advanced, supported by the 14th Army Corps, +under General Davis. South of this column, moving eastward through +Birdsville, was the 20th Corps, commanded by General Slocum. Yet +further south, the 17th Corps, General Blair in command, followed the +railroad, destroying it as he advanced. West and south of the Ogeechee, +the 15th Corps, General Osterhaus in immediate command, but under the +eye of General Howard, has moved in two columns. + +"Until now Davis and Kilpatrick have been a cover and shield to the +real movements. At no time has it been possible for Hardee to interpose +any serious obstacle to the advance of the main body of our army, for +our left wing has always been a strong arm thrust out in advance, ready +to put in chancery any force which might attempt to get within its +guard. + +"The rebel councils of war appear to have been completely deceived, +for we hear it reported that Bragg and Longstreet are at Augusta with +ten thousand men, made up of militia, two or three South Carolina +regiments, and a portion of Hampton's Legion, sent there for one month. +It is possible, now that the curtain has been withdrawn, and as it may +appear that we are marching straight for Savannah, their generals may +attempt to harass our rear. + +[Illustration: ATLANTA TO SAVANNAH] + +"The work so admirably performed by our left wing, so far as it obliged +the rebels in our front constantly to retreat, by threatening their +rear, now becomes the office of the Fifteenth Corps, our right +wing, on the right bank of the river. Its two columns are moving one +day's march in advance of the main body of the army, marching down +the peninsula between the Savannah and Ogeechee rivers. The necessity +and value of these flank movements first of the right wing with +Kilpatrick's cavalry, then of Davis and Kilpatrick on the left, and +now of Howard on our right, is because we cannot run over and demolish +any and all the Rebel force in Georgia. They could not for a moment +stand before this army upon any ordinary battle-ground, but a very +small force of infantry or cavalry at a river could delay a column +half a day, and perhaps longer, and as our soldiers have got tired of +chickens, sweet potatoes, sorghum, etc., and have been promised oysters +on the half shell, oysters roasted, stewed, etc., in short, oysters; +they don't care to be delayed." + +The right, Blair and Logan, found a sparse population and rather meagre +supplies. The lessoning do not apply to them, the breadth swept by +their columns varied from 40 to 60 miles. + +That Sherman was marching on Savannah was at last clear to the Rebels; +and it was equally clear to them that they would not be able soon to +stop him. By December 6th the army was at Ogeechee Church, Logan's +Corps still on the west side of the river. Kilpatrick's Cavalry engaged +the enemy under Wheeler several times near Waynesborough, with success. +General Howard made a bold and brilliant movement between the Little +Ogeechee and the Great Ogeechee. He pushed ahead of the rest of the +army thirteen miles, to the canal connecting the Ogeechee and Savannah +Rivers, bridged the canal, crossed it and took up a strong position +beyond. This forced the enemy to abandon their line of works between +the rivers and fall back to the fortifications of Savannah. + +Sherman now moved forward more cautiously. The country was swampy and +the roads narrow causeways, and the enemy had great advantages in +defending the city. There was a Union fleet off the coast, and Sherman +sought to open communications with it. By December 12th his investment +of the city was complete, and only Fort McAllister barred his way to +the shore. General Howard had sent three scouts down the river in a +canoe past the fort and they had almost reached Admiral Dahlgren, +commander of the fleet; but did not venture to return. Next day Howard, +having consulted with Sherman, directed General Hazen's Division to +cross the Ogeechee by King's Bridge and move down toward the fort. Then +he went with Sherman to a signal station which he had established on +the roof of Cheves's rice-mill, and watched the operations. + +Hazen's advance, under Colonel W. S. Jones, reached a point only half +a mile from the fort early in the afternoon, but it was five o'clock +before a sufficient force could be brought up and made ready for the +assault. Sherman and Howard watched the scene, anxious, and impatient +to have the fort taken before dark. A boat from the fleet approached +and signalled the question: "Have you taken the fort?" Sherman +signalled back, "No; but we shall in a minute;" for Hazen was just +ordering the charge. A sharp struggle followed. The works were strong +and torpedoes did much damage. But in fifteen minutes all was over. +The garrison was captured, and the Stars and Stripes floated over Fort +McAllister. + +The army and the fleet now joined forces. Howard pressed the work +of building roads across the swamps and draining the rice fields. +On December 17th, Sherman summoned Hardee, the Rebel commander, to +surrender, but Hardee refused. Howard and Slocum brought up their +batteries and pressed the army forward, however, and Hardee, after a +detachment of Sherman had crossed the Savannah, saw the situation was +hopeless; so before his last road was taken he took to flight with his +troops and light artillery, leaving his heavy guns and stores behind. +At daybreak of December 21st the Union troops occupied the city, and +Sherman's official dispatch announcing the event reached Lincoln at +Washington on Christmas Day. "I beg to present you," he said, "as a +Christmas gift, the city of Savannah, with 150 heavy guns and plenty of +ammunition, and also about 25,000 bales of cotton." + +Before this, however, the Nation had been informed of the whereabouts +of the "lost army" by means of this dispatch, which was received at the +War Department, Washington, on December 14th: + + "HILTON HEAD, S. C, Monday, Dec. 12th, 1864, + "via FORT MONROE, Dec. 14th. + + "_To Major-General Halleck, Chief of Staff._ + + "GENERAL:--Captain Duncan, of General Howard's scouts, has just + come in from General Howard, having descended the Ogeechee + River in a small boat. They left the army on the evening of the + 9th. General Sherman's whole army was then within ten miles of + Savannah, advancing to attack it. The enemy's works, five miles + from the city, were probably attacked yesterday, as heavy firing + was heard in that direction. + + "Captain Duncan represents the army to be in the best spirits + possible, and the most excellent condition. Very little + opposition had been met with on the march, as the enemy could not + tell what routes were to be taken. The army has lived off the + country, and has accumulated a considerable number of horses and + cattle. It was also well supplied. + + "The following is a copy of the dispatch brought by Captain + Duncan: + + "'HDQRS. ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE, NEAR SAVANNAH + CANAL, December 9th, 1864. + + "'_To the Commander of the United States Naval Forces in the + vicinity of Savannah, Ga._ + + "'SIR:--We have met with perfect success thus far. The troops are + in fine spirits and General Sherman near by. + + "'Respectfully, O. O. HOWARD, Major-General, + "'Commanding Right Wing of the Army.' + + "Another dispatch brought by Captain Duncan, directed to the Signal + Officer of the fleet, from General Howard's Chief Signal Officer, + requests a good lookout to be kept for signals. + + "I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant, + + J. G. FOSTER, + "Major-General Commanding." + +Sherman afterward wrote of this great march and its results as follows: + +"I was left with a well-appointed army to sever the enemy's only +remaining railroad communications eastward and westward, for over one +hundred miles, namely, the Georgia State railroad, which is broken +up from Fairborn Station to Madison and the Oconee and the Central +railroad from Gordon clear to Savannah, with numerous breaks on the +latter road from Gordon to Eatonville, and from Millen to Augusta, and +the Savannah and Gulf railroad. We have consumed the corn and fodder in +a region of country thirty miles on each side of a line from Atlanta +to Savannah, as also the sweet potatoes, cattle, hogs, sheep, and +poultry. We have carried away more than ten thousand horses and mules, +as well as a countless number of slaves. I estimate the damage done to +the State of Georgia at a hundred millions of dollars, at least twenty +millions of which has inured to our advantage, and the remainder is +simply waste and destruction. This may seem a hard species of warfare, +but it brings the sad realities of war home to those who have been +directly or indirectly instrumental in involving us in its attendant +calamities. + +"The behavior of our troops in Savannah has been so manly, so quiet, +so perfect, that I take it as the best evidence of discipline and +true courage. Never was a hostile city filled with women and children +occupied by a large army with less disorder, or more system, order, and +good government." + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + +SHERMAN'S STORY OF THE MARCH. + + THE SOLDIER'S MODEST NARRATION OF HIS ARDUOUS DEEDS--WHY THE MARCH + WAS DECIDED UPON--OPERATIONS AROUND SAVANNAH--MATERIAL RESULTS + OF THE CAMPAIGN--HANDSOME TRIBUTES TO THE OFFICERS AND MEN OF + HIS ARMY. + + +After his safe arrival at Savannah, General Sherman made the following +official report on the great march "from Atlanta to the Sea": + + "HDQRS. MIL. DIV. OF THE MISSISSIPPI, + "IN THE FIELD, SAVANNAH, GA., Jan. 1st, 1865. + +"_Major-General H. W. Halleck, Chief of Staff, Washington City, D. D_. + +"GENERAL:--I have the honor to offer my report of the operations of the +armies under my command since the occupation of Atlanta in the early +part of September last, up to the present date. + +"As heretofore reported in the month of September the Army of the +Cumberland, Major-General Thomas commanding, held the city of Atlanta; +the Army of the Tennessee, Major-General Howard commanding, was grouped +about East Point; and the Army of the Ohio, Major-General Schofield +commanding, held Decatur. Many changes occurred in the composition of +those armies, in consequence of expiration of the time of service of +many of the regiments. The opportunity was given to us to consolidate +the fragments, reclothe and equip the men, and make preparations +for the future campaign. I also availed myself of the occasion to +strengthen the garrisons to our rear, to make our communications more +secure, and sent Wagner's Division of the Fourth Corps, and Morgan's +Division of the Fourteenth Corps back to Chattanooga, and Corse's +Division of the Fifteenth Corps to Rome. Also a thorough reconnoissance +was made of Atlanta, and a new line of works begun, which required a +small garrison to hold. + +"During this month, the enemy whom we had left at Lovejoy's Station, +moved westward toward the Chattahoochee, taking position facing us and +covering the West Point railroad, about Palmetto Station. He also threw +a pontoon bridge across the Chattahoochee, and sent cavalry detachments +to the west, in the direction of Carrolton and Powder Springs. About +the same time President Davis visited Macon, and his army at Palmetto, +and made harangues referring to an active campaign against us. Hood +still remained in command of the Confederate forces, with Cheatham, S. +D. Lee and Stewart, commanding his three corps, and Wheeler in command +of his cavalry, which had been largely reinforced. + +"My cavalry consisted of two divisions. One was stationed at Decatur, +under command of Brigadier-General Garrard; the other, commanded by +Brigadier-General Kilpatrick, was posted near Sandtown, with a pontoon +bridge over the Chattahoochee, from which he could watch any movement +of the enemy toward the west. + +"As soon as I became convinced that the enemy intended to assume the +offensive, namely, September 28th, I sent Major-General Thomas, second +in command, to Nashville, to organize the new troops expected to +arrive, and to make preliminary preparations to meet such an event. + +"About the 1st of October some of the enemy's cavalry made their +appearance on the west of the Chattahoochee, and one of his infantry +corps was reported near Powder Springs; and I received authentic +intelligence that the rest of his infantry was crossing to the west +of the Chattahoochee. I at once made my orders that Atlanta and the +Chattahoochee railroad bridge should be held by the Twentieth Corps, +Major-General Slocum, and on the 4th of October put in motion the +Fifteenth and Seventeenth Corps, and the Fourth, Fourteenth, and +Twenty-third Corps, to Smyrna camp-ground, and on the 5th moved to the +strong position about Kenesaw. The enemy's cavalry had, by a rapid +movement, got upon our railroad, at Big Shanty and broken the line of +telegraph and railroad, and with a division of infantry (French's) had +moved against Allatoona, where were stored about a million rations. +Its redoubts were garrisoned by three small regiments under Colonel +Tourtellotte, Fourth Minnesota. + +[Illustration: SHERMAN SENDING HIS LAST TELEGRAM BEFORE CUTTING THE +WIRES.] + +"I had anticipated this movement, and had by signal and telegraph +ordered General Corse to reinforce that post from Rome. General Corse +had reached Allatoona with a brigade during the night of the 4th, just +in time to meet the attack by French's Division on the morning of +the 5th. In person I reached Kenesaw Mountain about 10 A. M. of the +5th, and could see the smoke of battle and hear the faint sounds of +artillery. The distance, eighteen miles, was too great for me to make +in time to share in the battle, but I directed the Twenty-third Corps, +Brigadier-General Cox commanding, to move rapidly from the base of +Kenesaw due west, aiming to reach the road from Allatoona to Dallas, +threatening the rear of the forces attacking Allatoona I succeeded in +getting a signal message to General Corse during the fight, notifying +him of my presence. The defence of Allatoona by General Corse was +admirably conducted, and the enemy repulsed with heavy slaughter. His +description of the defence is so graphic that it leaves nothing for +me to add; and the movement of General Cox had the desired effect of +causing the withdrawal of French's Division rapidly in the direction of +Dallas. + +"On the 6th and 7th I pushed my cavalry well toward Burnt Hickory +and Dallas, and discovered that the enemy had moved westward, and +inferred that he would attempt to break our railroad again in the +neighborhood of Kingston. Accordingly, on the morning of the 8th I +put the army in motion through Allatoona Pass to Kingston, reaching +that point on the 10th. There I learned that the enemy had feigned on +Rome, and was passing the Coosa River on a pontoon bridge about eleven +miles below Rome. I therefore, on the 11th, moved to Rome, and pushed +Garrard's Cavalry and the Twenty-third Corps, under General Cox, across +the Oostanaula, to threaten the flanks of the enemy passing north. +Garrard's cavalry drove a cavalry brigade of the enemy to and beyond +the Narrows, leading into the Valley of the Chattooga, capturing two +field pieces. The enemy had moved with great rapidity, and made his +appearance at Resaca, and Hood had in person demanded its surrender. + +"I had from Kingston reinforced Resaca by two regiments of the Army of +the Tennessee. I at first intended to move the army into the Chattooga +Valley, to interpose between the enemy and his line of retreat down the +Coosa, but feared that General Hood would in that event turn eastward +by Spring Place, and down the Federal road, and therefore moved against +him at Resaca. Colonel Weaver at Resaca, afterward reinforced by +General Raum's brigade, had repulsed the enemy from Resaca, but he had +succeeded in breaking the railroad from Tilton to Dalton, and as far +north as the tunnel. Arriving at Resaca on the evening of the 14th, +I determined to strike Hood in flank, or force him to battle; and +directed the Army of the Tennessee, General Howard, to move to Snake +Creek Gap which was held by the enemy, while General Stanley, with the +Fourth and Fourteenth Corps, moved by Tilton, across the mountains, to +the rear of Snake Creek Gap in the neighborhood of Villianow. + +"The Army of the Tennessee found the enemy occupying our old lines in +Snake Creek Gap, and on the 15th skirmished for the purpose of holding +him there until Stanley could get to his rear. But the enemy gave way +about noon, and was followed through the gap, escaping before General +Stanley had reached the further end of the pass. The next day (the +16th) the armies moved directly toward Lafayette, with a view to cut +off Hood's retreat. We found him intrenched in Ship's Gap, but the +leading division (Wood's) of the Fifteenth Corps rapidly carried the +advanced posts held by two companies of a South Carolina regiment, +making them prisoners. The remaining eight companies escaped to the +main body near Lafayette. The next morning we passed over into the +Valley of the Chattooga, the Army of the Tennessee moving in pursuit by +Lafayette and Alpine, toward Blue Pond; the Army of the Cumberland by +Summerville and Melville Postoffice, to Gaylesville, and the Army of +the Ohio and Garrard's Cavalry from Villainow, Dirttown, and Gover's +Gap, to Gaylesville. Hood, however, was little incumbered with trains, +and marched with great rapidity, and had succeeded in getting into the +narrow gorge formed by the lookout Range abutting against the Coosa +River, in the neighborhood of Gadsden. He evidently wanted to avoid the +fight. + +"On the 19th all the armies were grouped about Gaylesville, in the rich +valley of the Chattooga, abounding in corn and meat, and I determined +to pause in my pursuit of the enemy, to watch his movements and live +on the country. I hoped that Hood would turn toward Guntersville and +Bridgeport. The Army of the Tennessee was posted near Little River, +with instructions to feel forward in support of the cavalry, which was +ordered to watch Hood in the neighborhood of Will's Valley, and to give +me the earliest notice possible of his turning northward. The Army of +the Ohio was posted at Cedar Bluff, with orders to lay a pontoon across +the Coosa, and to feel forward to Center and down in the direction +of Blue Mountain. The Army of the Cumberland was held in reserve at +Gaylesville; and all the troops were instructed to draw heavily for +supplies from the surrounding country. In the meantime communications +were opened to Rome, and a heavy force set to work in repairing the +damages done to our railroads. Atlanta was abundantly supplied with +provisions, but forage was scarce, and General Slocum was instructed to +send strong foraging parties out in the direction of South River and +collect all the corn and fodder possible, and to put his own trains in +good condition for further service. + +"Hood's movements and strategy had demonstrated that he had an army +capable of endangering at all times my communications, but unable to +meet me in open fight. To follow him would simply amount to being +decoyed away from Georgia, with little prospect of overtaking and +overwhelming him. To remain on the defensive would have been bad policy +for an army of so great value as the one I then commanded, and I was +forced to adopt a course more fruitful in results than the naked one +of following him to the southwest. I had previously submitted to the +Commander-in-Chief a general plan, which amounted substantially to +the destruction of Atlanta and the railroad back to Chattanooga, and +sallying forth from Atlanta, through the heart of Georgia, to capture +one or more of the great Atlantic seaports. This I renewed from +Gaylesville, modified somewhat by the change of events. + +"On the 26th of October, satisfied that Hood had moved westward +from Gadsden across Sand Mountain, I detached the Fourth Corps, +Major-General Stanley, and ordered him to proceed to Chattanooga and +report to Major-General Thomas at Nashville. Subsequently, on the 30th +of October, I also detached the Twenty-third Corps, Major-General +Schofield, with the same destination, and delegated to Major-General +Thomas full power over all the troops subject to my command, except +the four corps with which I designed to move into Georgia. This gave +him the two divisions under A. J. Smith, then in Missouri, but en +route for Tennessee, the two corps named, and all the garrisons in +Tennessee, as also all the cavalry of my Military Division, except +one division under Brigadier-General Kilpatrick, which was ordered to +rendezvous at Marietta. Brevet-Major-General Wilson had arrived from +the Army of the Potomac, to assume command of the cavalry of my army, +and I dispatched him back to Nashville with all dismounted detachments, +and orders as rapidly as possible to collect the cavalry serving in +Kentucky and Tennessee, to mount, organize and equip them, and report +to Major-General Thomas for duty. These forces I judged would enable +General Thomas to defend the railroad from Chattanooga back, including +Nashville and Decatur, and give him an army with which he could +successfully cope with Hood, should the latter cross the Tennessee +northward. + +"By the 1st of November Hood's army had moved from Gadsden, and made +its appearance in the neighborhood of Decatur, where a feint was made; +he then passed on to Tuscumbia and laid a pontoon bridge opposite +Florence. I then began my preparations for the march through Georgia, +having received the sanction of the Commander-in-Chief carrying into +effect my plan, the details of which were explained to all my corps +commanders and heads of staff departments, with strict injunctions of +secrecy. I had also communicated full details to General Thomas, and +had informed him I would not leave the neighborhood of Kingston until +he felt perfectly confident that he was entirely prepared to cope with +Hood, should he carry into effect his threatened invasion of Tennessee +and Kentucky. I estimated Hood's force at 35,000 infantry and 10,000 +cavalry. + +"I moved the Army of the Tennessee by slow and easy marches on the +south of the Coosa back to the neighborhood of Smyrna camp ground, and +the Fourteenth Corps, General Jeff. C. Davis, to Kingston, whither I +repaired in person on the 2d of November. From that point I directed +all surplus artillery, all baggage not needed for my contemplated +march, all the sick and wounded, refugees, &c., to be sent back to +Chattanooga; and the four corps above-mentioned, with Kilpatrick's +Cavalry, were put in the most efficient condition possible for a long +and difficult march. This operation consumed the time until the 11th of +November, when, everything being ready, I ordered General Corse, who +still remained at Rome, to destroy the bridges there, all foundries, +mills, shops, warehouses, or other property that could be useful to +an enemy, and to move to Kingston. At the same time the railroad in +and about Atlanta, and between the Etowah and the Chattahoochee, was +ordered to be utterly destroyed. + +"The garrisons from Kingston northward were also ordered to draw back +to Chattanooga, taking with them all public property and all railroad +stock, and to take up the rails from Resaca back, saving them, ready +to be replaced whenever future interests should demand. The railroad +between the Etowah and the Oostanaula was left untouched, because I +thought it more than probable we would find it necessary to re-occupy +the country as far forward as the Etowah. Atlanta itself is only of +strategic value as long as it is a railroad centre; and as all the +railroads leading to it are destroyed, as well as all its foundries, +machine shops, warehouses, depots, &c., it is of no more value than +any other point in North Georgia; whereas the line of the Etowah, by +reasons of its rivers and natural features, possesses an importance +which will always continue. From it all parts of Georgia and Alabama +can be reached by armies marching with trains down the Coosa or the +Chattahoochee Valleys. + +"On the 12th of November, my army stood detached and cut off from +all communication with the rear. It was composed of four corps, +the Fifteenth and Seventeenth constituting the right wing, under +Major-General O. O. Howard; the Fourteenth and Twentieth Corps, +constituting the left wing, under Major-General H. W. Slocum; of +an aggregate strength of 60,000 infantry; one cavalry division, in +aggregate strength 5,500, under Brigadier-General Judson Kilpatrick, +and the artillery reduced to the minimum, one gun per thousand men. + +"The whole force moved rapidly and grouped about Atlanta on the 14th +November. In the meantime Captain O. M. Poe had thoroughly destroyed +Atlanta, save its mere dwelling houses and churches, and the right +wing, with General Kilpatrick's cavalry, was put in motion in the +direction of Jonesborough and McDonough, with orders to make a strong +feint on Macon, to cross the Ocmulgee about Planters' Mills, and +rendezvous in the neighborhood of Gordon in seven days, exclusive +of the day of march. On the same day General Slocum moved with the +Twentieth corps by Decatur and Stone Mountain, with orders to tear +up the railroad from Social Circle to Madison, to burn the large and +important railroad bridge across the Oconee, east of Madison, and turn +south and reach Milledgeville on the seventh day, exclusive of the day +of march. + +"In person I left Atlanta on the 16th, in company with the Fourteenth +Corps, Brevet-Major-General Jeff. C. Davis, by Lithonia, Covington, +and Shady Dale, directly on Milledgeville. All the troops were +provided with good wagon trains, loaded with ammunition, and supplies +approximating twenty days' bread, forty days' sugar and coffee, a +double allowance of salt for forty days, and beef cattle equal to +forty days' supplies. The wagons were also supplied with about three +days' forage, in grain. All were instructed by a judicious system of +foraging, to maintain this order of things as long as possible, living +chiefly, if not solely, upon the country, which I knew to abound in +corn, sweet potatoes and meats. + +"My first object was, of course, to place my army in the very heart +of Georgia, interposing between Macon and Augusta, and obliging the +enemy to divide his forces to defend not only those points, but +Millen, Savannah and Charleston. All my calculations were fully +realized. During the 22d, General Kilpatrick made a good feint on +Macon, driving the enemy within his intrenchments, and then drew back +to Griswoldville, where Walcott's Brigade of infantry joined him to +cover that flank, while Howard's trains were closing up and his men +scattered, breaking up railroads. The enemy came out of Macon and +attacked Wolcott in position, but was so roughly handled that he never +repeated the experiment. On the eighth day after leaving Atlanta, +namely, on the 23d, General Slocum occupied Milledgeville and the +important bridge across the Oconee there, and Generals Howard and +Kilpatrick were in and about Gordon. + +"General Howard was then ordered to move eastward, destroying the +railroad thoroughly in his progress as far as Tennille Station, +opposite Sandersville, and General Slocum to move to Sandersville +by two roads. General Kilpatrick was ordered to Milledgeville, and +thence move rapidly eastward, to break the railroad which leads from +Millen to Augusta, then to turn upon Millen and rescue our prisoners +of war supposed to be confined at that place. I accompanied the +Twentieth Corps from Millegeville to Sandersville, approaching which +place, on the 25th, we found the bridges across Buffalo Creek burned, +which delayed us three hours. The next day we entered Sandersville, +skirmishing with Wheeler's Cavalry, which offered little opposition to +the advance of the Twentieth and Fourteenth Corps, entering the place +almost at the same moment. + +"General Slocum was then ordered to tear up and destroy the Georgia +Central Railroad, from Station No. 13 (Tennille) to Station No. +10, near the crossing of Ogeechee; one of his Corps substantially +followed the railroad, the other by way of Louisville, in support of +Kilpatrick's Cavalry. In person I shifted to the right wing, and +accompanied the Seventeenth Corps, General Blair, on the south of the +railroad, till abreast of Station No. 9-1/2, (Barton;) General Howard, +in person, with the Fifteenth Corps, keeping further to the right, and +about one day's march ahead, ready to turn against the flank of any +enemy who should oppose our progress. + +"At Barton I learned that Kilpatrick's Cavalry had reached the Augusta +railroad about Waynesborough, where he ascertained that our prisoners +had been removed from Millen and therefore the purpose of rescuing +them, upon which we had set our hearts, was an impossibility. But +as Wheeler's Cavalry had hung around him, and as he had retired to +Louisville to meet our infantry, in pursuance of my instructions not +to risk a battle unless at great advantage, I ordered him to leave +his wagons and all incumbrances with the left wing, and moving in the +direction of Augusta, if Wheeler gave him the opportunity, to indulge +him with all the fighting he wanted. General Kilpatrick, supported +by Baird's Division of infantry of the Fourteenth Corps, again moved +in the direction of Waynesborough, and encountering Wheeler in the +neighborhood of Thomas's station, attacked him in position, driving +him from three successive lines of barricades handsomely through +Waynesborough and across Brier Creek, the bridges over which he burned; +and then, with Baird's Division, rejoined the left wing, which in the +meantime had been marching by easy stages of ten miles a day in the +direction of Lumpkin's Station and Jacksonborough. + +"The Seventeenth Corps took up the destruction of the railroad at the +Ogeechee, near Station No. 10, and continued it to Millen; the enemy +offering little or no opposition, although preparation had seemingly +been made at Millen." + +"On the 3d of December the 17th Corps which I accompanied, was at +Millon; the 15th Corps, General Howard, was south of the Ogeechee, +opposite Station No. 7 (Scarboro); the 20th Corps, General Slocum, on +the Augusta Railroad, about four miles north of Millen, near Buckhead +Church, and the 14th Corps, General Jeff. C. Davis, in the neighborhood +of Lumpkin's Station, on the Augusta Railroad. All were ordered to +march in the direction of Savannah--the 15th Corps to continue south +of the Ogeechee, the 17th to destroy the railroad as far as Ogeechee +Church--and four days were allowed to reach the line from Ogeechee +Church to the neighborhood of Halley's Ferry, on the Savannah River. +All the columns reached their destinations in time, and continued to +march on their several roads--General Davis following the Savannah +River road, General Slocum the middle road by way of Springfield, +General Blair the railroad, and General Howard still south and west +of the Ogeechee, with orders to cross to the east bank opposite 'Eden +Station,' or Station No. 2. + +"As we approached Savannah the country became more marshy and +difficult, and more obstructions were met, in the way of felled trees, +where the roads crossed the creek swamps or narrow causeways; but our +pioneer companies were well organized, and removed the obstructions in +an incredibly short time. No opposition from the enemy worth speaking +of was encountered until the heads of columns were within 15 miles +of Savannah, where all the roads leading to the city were obstructed +more or less by felled timber, with earthworks, and artillery. But +these were easily turned and the enemy driven away, so that by the +10th of December the enemy was driven within his lines at Savannah. +These followed substantially a swampy creek which empties into the +Savannah River about three miles above the city, across to the head of +a corresponding stream which empties into the Little Ogeechee. These +streams were singularly favorable to the enemy as a cover, being very +marshy, and bordered by rice-fields, which were flooded either by the +tide-water or by inland ponds, the gates to which were controlled and +covered by his heavy artillery. + +"The only approaches to the city were by five narrow causeways, +namely, the two railroads, and the Augusta, the Louisville, and the +Ogeechee dirt roads; all of which were commanded by heavy ordnance, +too strong for us to fight with our light field guns. To assault an +enemy of unknown strength at such a disadvantage appeared to me unwise, +especially as I had so successfully brought my army, almost unscathed, +so great a distance, and could surely attain the same result by the +operation of time. I therefore instructed my army commanders to closely +invest the city from the north and west, and to reconnoitre well +the ground in their fronts, respectively, while I gave my personal +attention to opening communication with our fleet, which I knew was +waiting for us in Tybee, Warsaw, and Ossabaw Sounds. + +"In approaching Savannah, General Slocum struck the Charleston Railroad +near the bridge, and occupied the river bank as his left flank, where +he had captured two of the enemy's river boats, and had prevented two +others (gunboats) from coming down the river to communicate with the +city; while General Howard, by his right flank, had broken the Gulf +Railroad at Fleming's and way stations, and occupied the railroad +itself down to the Little Ogeechee, near 'Station No. 1;' so that no +supplies could reach Savannah by any of its accustomed channels. We, +on the contrary, possessed large herds of cattle, which we had brought +along or gathered in the country, and our wagons still contained a +reasonable amount of breadstuffs and other necessaries, and the fine +rice crops of the Savannah and Ogeechee Rivers furnished to our men +and animals a large amount of rice and rice straw. We also held the +country to the south and west of the Ogeechee as foraging ground. +Still, communication with the fleet was of vital importance, and I +directed General Kilpatrick to cross the Ogeechee by a pontoon bridge, +to reconnoitre Fort McAllister, and to proceed to Catherine's Sound, +in the direction of Sunbury or Kilkenny Bluff, and open communication +with the fleet. General Howard had previously by my direction sent one +of his best scouts down the Ogeechee in a canoe for a like purpose. But +more than this was necessary. We wanted the vessels and their contents, +and the Ogeechee River, a navigable stream, close to the rear of our +camps, was the proper avenue of supply. + +"The enemy had burned the road-bridge across the Ogeechee, just +below the mouth of the Canoochee, known as 'King's bridge.' This was +reconstructed in an incredibly short time, in the most substantial +manner, by the 58th Indiana, Colonel Buel, under the direction of +Captain Reese, of the Engineers' Corps, and on the 13th of December +the 2d Division of the 15th Corps, under command of Brigadier-General +Hazen, crossed the bridge to the west bank of the Ogeechee and marched +down with orders to carry by assault Fort McAllister, a strong inclosed +redoubt, manned by two companies of artillery and three of infantry, in +all about two hundred men, and mounting 23 guns _en barbette_, and one +mortar. General Hazen reached the vicinity of Fort McAllister about 1 +P. M., deployed his division about that place, with both flanks resting +upon the river, posted his skirmishers judiciously behind the trunks of +trees whose branches had been used for _abattis_, and about 5 P. M., +assaulted the place with nine regiments at three points; all of them +successful. I witnessed the assault from a rice-mill on the opposite +bank of the river, and can bear testimony to the handsome manner in +which it was accomplished. + +"Up to this time we had not communicated with our fleet. From the +signal station at the rice-mill our officers had looked for two days +over the rice-fields and salt marsh in the direction of Ossabaw Sound, +but could see nothing of it. But while watching the preparations for +the assault on Fort McAllister, we discovered in the distance what +seemed to be the smoke-stack of a steamer, which became more and +more distinct. Until about the very moment of the assault she was +plainly visible below the fort, and our signal was answered. As soon +as I saw our colors fairly planted upon the walls of McAllister, in +company with General Howard I went in a small boat down to the fort +and met General Hazen, who had not yet communicated with the gunboat +below, as it was shut out to him by a point of timber. Determined to +communicate that night, I got another small boat and a crew and pulled +down the river till I found the tug 'Dandelion,' Captain Williamson, +U. S. N., who informed me that Captain Duncan, who had been sent by +General Howard, had succeeded in reaching Admiral Dahlgren and General +Foster, and that he was expecting them hourly in Ossabaw Sound. After +making communications to those officers, and a short communication +to the War Department, I returned to Fort McAllister that night, and +before daylight was overtaken by Major Strong, of General Foster's +staff, advising me that General Foster had arrived in the Ogeechee, +near Fort McAllister, and was very anxious to meet me on board his +boat. I accordingly returned with him, and met General Foster on board +the steamer 'Nemeha,' and, after consultation, determined to proceed +with him down the sound in hopes to meet Admiral Dahlgren. But we did +not meet him until we reached Warsaw Sound, about noon. I there went +on board the Admiral's flag-ship, the 'Harvest Moon,' after having +arranged with General Foster to send us from Hilton Head some siege +ordnance and some boats suitable for navigating the Ogeechee River. +Admiral Dahlgren very kindly furnished me with all the data concerning +his fleet and the numerous forts that guarded the inland channels +between the sea and Savannah. I explained to him how completely +Savannah was invested at all points, save only the plank road on the +South Carolina shore known as the 'Union Causeway,' which I thought I +could reach from my left flank across the Savannah River. I explained +to him that if he would simply engage the attention of the forts along +Wilmington Channel, at Beaulieu and Rosedew, I thought I could carry +the defenses of Savannah by assault as soon as the heavy ordnance +arrived from Hilton Head. On the 15th the Admiral carried me back to +Fort McAllister, whence I returned to our lines in the rear of Savannah. + +"Having received and carefully considered all the reports of division +commanders, I determined to assault the lines of the enemy as soon as +my heavy ordnance came from Port Royal, first making a formal demand +for surrender. On the 17th, a number of thirty-pounder Parrott guns +having reached King's Bridge, I proceeded in person to the headquarters +of Major-General Slocum, on the Augusta Road, and dispatched thence +into Savannah, by flag of truce, a formal demand for the surrender of +the place; and on the following day received an answer from General +Hardee refusing to surrender. + +"In the meantime further reconnoissances from our left flank had +demonstrated that it was impracticable or unwise to push any +considerable force across the Savannah River, for the enemy held the +river opposite the city with iron-clad gunboats, and could destroy any +pontoons laid down by us between Hutchinson's Island and the South +Carolina shore, which would isolate any force sent over from that +flank. I therefore ordered General Slocum to get into position the +siege guns and make all the preparations necessary to assault, and +to report to me the earliest moment when he could be ready, while I +should proceed rapidly round by the right and make arrangements to +occupy the Union Causeway from the direction of Port Royal. General +Foster had already established a division of troops on the peninsula or +neck between the Coosawatchie and Tullifinney Rivers, at the head of +Broad River, from which position he could reach the railroad with his +artillery. + +"I went to Port Royal in person, and made arrangements to reinforce +that command by one or more divisions, under a proper officer, to +assault and carry the railroad, and thence turn toward Savannah until +it occupied the causeway in question. I went on board the Admiral's +flagship, the 'Harvest Moon,' which put out to sea the night of the +20th. But the wind was high, and increased during the night, so that +the pilot judged Ossabaw bar impassable, and ran into the Tybee, whence +we proceeded through the inland channels into Warsaw Sound, and thence +through Romney Marsh. But the ebb tide caught the 'Harvest Moon' and +she was unable to make the passage. Admiral Dahlgren took me in his +barge, and pulling in the direction of Vernon River we met the army tug +'Red Legs,' bearing a message from my Adjutant, Captain Dayton, of that +morning, the 21st, to the effect that our troops were in possession +of the enemy's lines, and were advancing without opposition into +Savannah, the enemy having evacuated the place during the previous +night. + +"Admiral Dahlgren proceeded up the Vernon River in his barge, while I +transferred to the tug, in which I proceeded to Fort McAllister, and +thence to the rice-mill; and on the morning of the 22d rode into the +city of Savannah, already occupied by our troops. + +"I was very much disappointed that Hardee had escaped with his +garrison, and had to content myself with the material fruits of victory +without the cost to life which would have attended a general assault. +The substantial results will be more clearly set forth in the tabular +statements of heavy ordnance and other public property acquired, and it +will suffice here to state that the important city of Savannah, with +its valuable harbor and river, was the chief object of the campaign. +With it we acquire all the forts and heavy ordnance in its vicinity, +with large stores of ammunition, shot and shells, cotton, rice, and +other valuable products of the country. We also gain locomotives and +cars, which, though of little use to us in the present condition of the +railroads, are a serious loss to the enemy; as well as four steamboats +gained, and the loss to the enemy of the ironclad 'Savannah,' one ram +and three transports, blown up or burned by them the night before. + +"Formal demand having been made for the surrender, and having been +refused, I contend that everything within the line of intrenchments +belongs to the United States; and I shall not hesitate to use it, +if necessary, for public purposes. But inasmuch as the inhabitants +generally have manifested a friendly disposition, I shall disturb them +as little as possible consistently with the military rights of present +and future military commanders, without remitting the least our just +rights as captors. + +[Illustration: CAPTURING THE FLAG.] + +"After having made the necessary orders for the disposition of the +troops in and about Savannah, I ordered Captain O. M. Poe, Chief +Engineer, to make a thorough examination of the enemy's works in and +about Savannah, with a view to making it conform to our future uses. +New lines of defenses will be built, embracing the city proper, Forts +Jackson, Thunderbolt, and Pulaski retained, with slight modifications +in their armament and rear defenses. All the rest of the enemy's forts +will be dismantled and destroyed, and their heavy ordnance transferred +to Hilton Head, where it can be more easily guarded. Our base of +supplies will be established in Savannah, as soon as the very difficult +obstructions placed in the river can be partially removed. These +obstructions at present offer a very serious impediment to the commerce +of Savannah, consisting of crib-work of logs and timber heavily bolted +together, and filled with the cobble-stones which formerly paved the +streets of Savannah. All the channels below the city were found more or +less filled with torpedoes, which have been removed by order of Admiral +Dahlgren, so that Savannah already fulfills the important part it was +designed in our plans for the future. + +"In thus sketching the course of events connected with this campaign, +I have purposely passed lightly over the march from Atlanta to the +seashore, because it was made in four or more columns, sometimes at +a distance of fifteen or twenty miles from each other, and it was +impossible for me to attend but one. Therefore I have left it to the +army and corps commanders to describe in their own language the events +which attended the march of their respective columns. These reports are +herewith submitted, and I beg to refer to them for further details. I +would merely sum up the advantages which I conceive have accrued to us +by this march. + +"Our former labors in North Georgia had demonstrated the truth that +no large army, carrying with it the necessary stores and baggage, can +overtake and capture an inferior force of the enemy in his own country. +Therefore, no alternative was left me but the one I adopted, namely, +to divide my forces, and with one part act offensively against the +enemy's resources, while with the other I should act defensively, and +invite the enemy to attack, risking the chances of battle. In this +conclusion I have been singularly sustained by the results. General +Hood, who, as I have heretofore described, had moved to the westward +near Tuscumbia with a view to decoy me away from Georgia, finding +himself mistaken, was forced to choose either to pursue me or to act +offensively against the other part left in Tennessee. He adopted the +latter course, and General Thomas has wisely and well fulfilled his +part in the grand scheme in drawing Hood well up into Tennessee until +he could concentrate all his own troops, and then turn upon Hood, as he +has done, and destroy or fatally cripple his army. That part of my army +is so far removed from me that I leave, with perfect confidence, its +management and history to General Thomas. + +"I was thereby left with a well-appointed army to sever the enemy's +only remaining railroad communication eastward and westward for over +one hundred miles, namely, the Georgia State Railroad, which is broken +up from Fairburn Station to Madison and the Oconee, and the Central +Railroad from Gordon clear to Savannah, with numerous breaks on the +latter road from Gordon to Eatonton, and from Millen to Augusta, and +the Savannah and Gulf Railroad. We have also consumed the corn and +fodder in the region of country thirty miles on either side of a line +from Atlanta to Savannah, as also the sweet potatoes, cattle, hogs, +sheep, and poultry, and have carried away more than ten thousand +horses and mules, as well as a countless number of their slaves. I +estimate the damage done to the State of Georgia and its military +resources at $100,000,000, at least $20,000,000 of which has inured to +our advantage, and the remainder is simple waste and destruction. This +may seem a hard species of warfare, but it brings the sad realities of +war home to those who have been directly or indirectly instrumental in +involving us in its attendant calamities. + +"This campaign has also placed this branch of my army in a position +from which other great military results may be attempted, beside +leaving in Tennessee and North Alabama a force which is amply +sufficient to meet all the chances of war in that region of our country. + +"Since the capture of Atlanta my staff is unchanged, save that General +Barry, Chief of Artillery, has been absent, sick, since our leaving +Kingston, Surgeon Moore, United States Army, is Chief Medical Director +in place of Surgeon Kittoe, relieved to resume his proper duties as a +Medical Inspector. Major Hitchcock, A. A. G., has also been added to +my staff, and has been of great assistance in the field and office. +Captain Dayton still remains as my Adjutant-General. All have, as +formerly, fulfilled their parts to my entire satisfaction. + +"In the body of my army I feel a just pride. Generals Howard and +Slocum are gentlemen of singular capacity and intelligence, thorough +soldiers and patriots, working day and night, not for themselves, but +for their country and their men. General Kilpatrick, who commanded the +cavalry of this army, has handled it with spirit and dash to my entire +satisfaction, and kept a superior force of the enemy's cavalry from +even approaching our infantry columns or wagon trains. His report is +full and graphic. All the division and brigade commanders merit my +personal and official thanks, and I shall spare no efforts to secure +them commissions equal to the rank they have exercised so well. As +to the rank and file, they seem so full of confidence in themselves, +that I doubt if they want a compliment from me; but I must do them +the justice to say that whether called on to fight, to march, to wade +streams, to make roads, clear out obstructions, build bridges, make +'corduroy,' or tear up railroads, they have done it with alacrity and +a degree of cheerfulness unsurpassed. A little loose in foraging, they +'did some things they ought not to have done,' yet on the whole they +have supplied the wants of the army with as little violence as could be +expected, and as little loss as I calculated. Some of these foraging +parties had encounters with the enemy which would in ordinary times +rank as respectable battles. The behavior of our troops in Savannah +has been so manly, so quiet, so perfect, that I take it as the best +evidence of discipline and true courage. Never was a hostile city, +filled with women and children, occupied by a large army with less +disorder, or more system, order, and good government. The same general +and generous spirit of confidence and good feeling pervades the army +which it has ever afforded me especial pleasure to report on former +occasions. + +"I avail myself of this occasion to express my heartfelt thanks to +Admiral Dahlgren and the officers and men of his fleet and also to +General Foster and his command, for the hearty welcome given us on our +arrival at the coast, and for their steady and prompt co-operation in +all measures tending to the result accomplished. + +"I send herewith a map of the country through which we have passed; +reports from General Howard, General Slocum, and General Kilpatrick, +and their subordinates respectively, with the usual lists of captured +property killed, wounded and missing, prisoners of war taken and +rescued, as also copies of all papers illustrating the campaign, all of +which are respectfully submitted by + + "Your obedient servant, + "W. T. SHERMAN, Major-General." + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + +THE CAROLINA CAMPAIGN. + + IN THE CRADLE OF SECESSION--THE OCCUPATION AND DESTRUCTION OF + COLUMBIA--REPRISALS AGAINST WADE HAMPTON: MEN--ARRIVAL AT + GOLDSBORO--SUMMING UP THE RESULTS OF THE NORTHWARD MARCH--WORK + ACCOMPLISHED BY THE ENGINEERS. + + +Sherman always contended that the war should have closed on July 4, +1863. The fall of Vicksburg and the battle of Gettysburg sealed the +doom of the rebellion, and the Southern leaders should have recognized +that fact and accepted the situation. But even now, with Atlanta and +Savannah captured, Hood's army destroyed, and a pathway driven by the +Union army through the heart of the South, they were still stubborn +and resolved, as they expressed it, to hold out till the last man +died in the last ditch. It was inevitable that this attitude should +be exasperating to the National leaders. Sherman himself doubtless +felt a certain grim determination, since the South wanted more war, +to give it war to its heart's content, and to carry the war through +South Carolina, the cradle of the rebellion. His army at Savannah was +in good condition. In twenty-seven days it had marched more than three +hundred miles, with losses of five officers and fifty-eight men killed, +thirteen officers and two hundred and thirty-two men wounded, and one +officer and two hundred and fifty-eight men missing. Seven thousand +slaves had joined the march to the coast. + +Twenty thousand bales of cotton had been burned and three hundred +and twenty miles of railroad destroyed, including all the stations, +engine-houses, turn-tables, etc. Ten million pounds of corn had been +captured and an equal amount of fodder; more than 1,200,000 rations +of meat, 919,000 of bread, 483,000 of coffee, 581,000 of sugar, and +137,000 of salt. + +Nor had the demoralization of the enemy been less than the material +loss inflicted upon him. Not only had the army swept the pathway +thirty miles wide through the heart of Georgia, but it had sent out +detachments in this direction and that, menacing many points which it +did not actually strike. For four weeks, therefore, all of Georgia, +Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina suffered painful suspense, not +knowing whither the army would march next. For this reason, also, it +had been impracticable for the rebels to mass any considerable force +against Sherman, even had such a force been at their command, for they +did not know where to meet him. + +It is not to be wondered at that universal rejoicing was caused at the +North by the results of this campaign, nor that those who had once +distrusted Sherman as a man of erratic judgment, now lavished upon +him exuberant confidence and praise. Not even Grant himself was more +applauded. It was from the depths of an appreciative heart that the +President wrote to Sherman as follows: + + "EXECUTIVE MANSION, + "WASHINGTON, D. C., Dec. 26, 1864. + + "_My Dear General Sherman_ + + "Many, many thanks for your Christmas gift--the capture of + Savannah. + + "When you were about to leave Atlanta for the Atlantic coast, + I was anxious, if not fearful; but feeling you were the better + judge, and remembering that 'nothing risked nothing gained,' I + did not interfere. Now, the undertaking being a success, the + honor is all yours, for I believe none of us went further than to + acquiesce. And taking the work of General Thomas into the count, + as it should be taken, it is indeed a great success. + + "Not only does it afford the obvious and immediate military + advantages, but in showing to the world that your army could be + divided, putting the stronger part to an important new service, + and yet leaving enough to vanquish the old opposing forces of the + whole--Hood's army--it brings those who sat in darkness to see a + great light. + + "But what next? I suppose it will be safe if I leave General + Grant and yourself to decide. + + "Please make my grateful acknowledgments to your whole army, + officers and men. + + "Yours very truly, + "A. LINCOLN." + +With characteristic generosity Sherman, in his official report on the +campaign, gave due credit to his subordinates for their work. He said: + +"Generals Howard and Slocum are gentlemen of singular capacity and +intelligence, thorough soldiers and patriots, working day and night, +not for themselves, but for their country and their men. General +Kilpatrick, who commanded the cavalry of this army, has handled it with +spirit and dash to my entire satisfaction, and kept a superior force +of the enemy's cavalry from even approaching our infantry columns or +wagon trains. All the division and brigade commanders merit my personal +and official thanks, and I shall spare no efforts to secure them +commissions equal to the rank they have exercised so well. + +"As to the rank and file, they seem so full of confidence in themselves +that I doubt if they want a compliment from me; but I must do them the +justice to say that, whether called on to fight, to march, to wade +streams, to make roads, clear out obstructions, build bridges, make +'corduroy,' or tear up railroads, they have done it with alacrity and +a degree of cheerfulness unsurpassed. A little loose in foraging, they +'did some things they ought not to have done,' yet, on the whole, they +have supplied the wants of the army with as little violence as could be +expected, and as little loss as I calculated. Some of these foraging +parties had encounters with the enemy which would, in ordinary times, +rank as respectable battles." + +Concerning the general situation of affairs in the South, or in that +part of it, Sherman wrote: + +"Delegations of the people of Georgia continue to come in, and I am +satisfied that, by judicious handling and by a little respect shown to +their prejudices, we can create a schism in Jeff. Davis's dominions. +All that I have conversed with realized the truth that slavery as +an institution is defunct, and the only questions that remain are +what disposition shall be made of the negroes themselves. I confess +myself unable to offer a complete solution for these questions, and +prefer to leave it to the slower operations of time. We have given the +initiative, and can afford to await the working of the experiment. + +"As to trade matters, I also think it is to our interest to keep the +Southern people somewhat dependent on the articles of commerce to +which they have hitherto been accustomed. General Grover is now here, +and will, I think, be able to handle this matter judiciously, and may +gradually relax, and invite cotton to come in in large quantities. But +at first we should manifest no undue anxiety on that score, for the +rebels would at once make use of it as a power against us. We should +assume a tone of perfect contempt for cotton and everything else in +comparison with the great object of the war--the restoration of the +Union, with all its right and power. If the rebels burn cotton as a +war measure, they simply play into our hands by taking away the only +product of value they have to exchange in foreign ports for war-ships +and munition. By such a course, also, they alienate the feelings of +a large class of small farmers, who look to their little parcels of +cotton to exchange for food and clothing for their families." + +Early in January the Secretary of War, Mr. Stanton, visited Sherman +at Savannah and spent several days with him there. They discussed +together many important topics, such as the disposition of the cotton, +treatment of the negroes, etc. The future of the war was also carefully +considered, and Sherman had much correspondence with Grant and Halleck +on the same subject. Sherman's own idea was that the rebels should +be thoroughly whipped and their pride broken. He would march to the +innermost recesses of their country and strike terror to every disloyal +heart. Toward the negroes his attitude was kindly, and he favored +enlisting them in the army and forming black regiments and brigades. + +And now the march Northward, to effect a junction with the army of the +Potomac and end of the war by capturing both Lee and Johnston, was +begun. It was Sherman himself who planned this Northward march through +the Carolinas, and it was not without opposition that he did so. Grant +wanted him to come on at once to Virginia by sea, and Sherman at first +desired it. But a few days later he wrote to Grant that he wanted to +march thither by land, by the way of Columbia, S. C., and Raleigh, N. +C. "You know," he said, "how much better troops arrive by a land march +than when carried by transports.... This march is necessary to the war. +It must be made sooner or later, and I am in the proper position for +it. I ask no re-enforcement, but simply with the utmost activity at +all other points, so that the enemy may not concentrate too powerfully +against me. I expect Davis will move heaven and earth to resist me, for +the success of my army is fatal to his dream of empire." Grant finally +consented to the march, to Sherman's delight, and by January 15 the +army was ready to move Northward. + +First, Howard led the right wing, all but Corse's Division, by water +to Beaufort and thence to Pocataligo, half way to Charleston, and +after a sharp engagement, established a sub-depot there, with easy +water connection with Beaufort and Hilton Head. Slocum, with the left +wing, Corse's Division, and Kilpatrick, with the cavalry, went up +the Savannah and via Sistus Ferry to Robertsville, S. C., some miles +further inland. On January 18 Sherman turned the command at Savannah +over to General Foster, and then went up to join Howard. + +Floods delayed Slocum and his army, but on February 1 Howard moved +forward. On February 3 he crossed the Salkehatchie, marching for three +miles in bitter cold weather through water from two to three feet deep, +while rain was falling in torrents. The Edisto was next crossed and the +whole army pushed on rapidly. Kilpatrick's cavalry, meanwhile, made +various raids and had some skirmishing with Wheeler. Sherman pursued +his old policy of directing no wilful damage to private property, +but the rumor got abroad that he was pillaging and burning houses +everywhere. So Wheeler presently wrote to him saying that unless he +stopped burning houses, he, Wheeler, would burn all the cotton in the +country. Sherman replied: + +"I hope you will burn all the cotton, and save us the trouble. We don't +want it. It has been a curse to our country. All you don't burn I will. +As to private houses occupied by peaceful families my orders are not +to molest or disturb them, and I think my orders are obeyed. Vacant +houses, being of no use to anybody, I care little about, as the owners +have thought them of little use to themselves; I don't wish to have +them destroyed, but do not take much care to preserve them." + +Sherman was as familiar with this country as he had been with Northern +Georgia, since he had often, years before, come up here on hunting +excursions while he was stationed near Charleston. The march was made +with great difficulty, however, as floods prevailed in the lowlands and +the weather was most inclement. By the middle of February they reached +Columbia, and Sherman issued the following orders for the occupation of +that city: + +"General Howard will cross the Saluda and Broad Rivers as near their +mouths as possible, occupy Columbia, destroy the public buildings, +railroad property, manufacturing and machine shops, but will spare +libraries, asylums, and private dwellings. He will then move to +Winnsborough, destroying utterly that section of the railroad. He +will also cause all bridges, trestles, water-tanks, and depots on the +railroad back to the Wateree to be burned, switches broken, and such +other destruction as he can find time to accomplish consistent with +proper celerity." + +A few cannon shots were fired into Columbia to drive away the lingering +rebel troops. Before abandoning the city, the rebels burned the +railroad station and fired some long piles of cotton bales. When +Sherman and Howard rode into the city they found the ruins of the +buildings still smouldering and the cotton still burning. Howard and +his troops took possession of the city, and worked vigorously to put +out the fires which had been started by the rebels, and spread rapidly +by a high wind. At night the wind became furious, and the air was soon +filled with sparks and bits of burning cotton. The result was that, +despite the utmost efforts of the Union troops, the heart of the city +was burned, including several churches and schools and the old State +House. Sherman was afterward accused by several writers of having +himself deliberately ordered the burning of the city. The falsity +of this charge has been abundantly demonstrated. Sherman himself, +doubtless with entire justice, threw the responsibility upon the +rebel general, Wade Hampton, and his cavalrymen, who were the last to +evacuate the city. Said Sherman in his official report: + +"I disclaim on the part of my army any agency in this fire, but, on +the contrary, claim that we saved what of Columbia remains unconsumed. +And, without hesitation, I charge General Wade Hampton with having +burned his own city of Columbia, not with a malicious intent, or as +the manifestation of a silly 'Roman stoicism,' but from folly and want +of sense, in filling it with lint, cotton, and tinder. Our officers +and men on duty worked well to extinguish the flames; but others not +on duty, including the officers who had long been imprisoned there, +rescued by us, may have assisted in spreading the fire after it had +once begun, and may have indulged in unconcealed joy to see the ruin of +the Capital of South Carolina." + +Columbia, the political capital of the foremost secession State, fell +on February 17, and the next day Charleston, the commercial and social +capital, was captured. Sherman then pressed on toward North Carolina. +Kilpatrick reported on February 22 that Wade Hampton's cavalry had +murdered some of his men, and left their bodies by the wayside with +labels on them threatening a like fate to all foragers. Sherman +promptly ordered him to retaliate upon the rebels, and to Hampton he +wrote as follows: + +"GENERAL--It is officially reported to me that our foraging parties are +murdered after being captured, and labelled, 'Death to All Foragers.' +One instance is that of a lieutenant and seven men near Chester, and +another of twenty, near a ravine eight rods from the main road, and +three miles from Easterville. I have ordered a similar number of +prisoners in our hands to be disposed of in like manner. I hold about +one thousand prisoners, captured in various ways, and can stand it as +long as you, but I hardly think these murders are committed with your +knowledge, and would suggest that you give notice to your people at +large that every life taken by them simply results in the death of one +of your Confederates." + +Chesterfield was captured on March 2 and Cheraw on March 3. On +the 8th Sherman crossed the line into North Carolina, and now the +weather became as fair as it had formerly been foul. The troops +entered Fayetteville in high spirits on March 11 and remained there +several days. The army now numbered 65,000 fighting men, with 25,000 +non-combatants, chiefly negro women and children, 40,000 horses and +cattle, and 3,000 wagons. On March 15, a stormy day, Slocum was at +Averysboro, and encountered the enemy, infantry and artillery, in +force, soon driving all before him. Near Bentonville, on the 18th, +there was another battle, with the same result, both wings, Slocum and +Howard, being engaged. Johnston was now in command of the rebel armies +ahead of Sherman and had gathered together all available troops from +all directions for a last struggle. Sherman occupied Goldsboro on March +21, and effected a junction with Terry and Scofield, who had after +Hood's defeat been brought hither, and thus had not less than 100,000 +men between Goldsboro and Bentonville. This concluded the hostile part +of the march through the Carolinas. In reviewing the campaign, Sherman +said: + +"I cannot, even with any degree of precision, recapitulate the vast +amount of injury done the enemy, or the quantity of guns and materials +of war captured and destroyed. In general terms, we have traversed +the country from Savannah to Goldsboro, with an average breadth of +forty miles, consuming all the forage, cattle, hogs, sheep, poultry, +cured meats, corn-meal, etc. The public enemy, instead of drawing +supplies from that region to feed his armies, will be compelled to send +provisions from other quarters to feed the inhabitants. A map herewith, +prepared by my chief engineer, Colonel Poe, with the routes of the four +corps and cavalry, will show at a glance the country traversed. Of +course the abandonment to us by the enemy" + +Colonel Poe, the chief engineer of the army, said in his report of the +march: + +"It involved an immense amount of bridging of every kind known in +active campaigning, and some four hundred miles of corduroying. The +latter was a very simple affair, where there were plenty of fence +rails, but, in their absence, involved the severest labor. It was +found that a fence on each side of the road furnished enough rails for +corduroying it so as to make it passable. I estimate the amount of +corduroying at fully one hundred miles for each army corps. This is a +moderate estimate, and would make for the four corps some four hundred +miles of corduroying. The cavalry did very little of this kind of +work, as their trains moved with the infantry columns. + +"The right wing built fifteen pontoon bridges, having an aggregate +length of 3,720 feet; the left wing built about 4,000 feet, being a +total of one and one-half miles. There were no measurements of the +amount of trestle bridge built, but it was not so great." + +[Illustration: CAMP OF THE SECOND MASSACHUSETTS, CITY HALL SQUARE, +ATLANTA] + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +THE END OF THE WAR. + + LINCOLN, GRANT, AND SHERMAN AT CITY POINT--SURRENDER OF LEE-- + MURDER OF LINCOLN--NEGOTIATIONS WITH JOHNSTON--STANTON'S + DISAPPROVAL--AN OUTCRY AGAINST SHERMAN--THE GRAND REVIEW-- + SHERMAN'S REFUSAL TO SHAKE HANDS WITH STANTON--FAREWELL ADDRESS + TO THE ARMY. + + +Soon after his arrival at Goldsboro, Sherman received a long letter +from Grant warmly congratulating him on the successful completion of +what was his third campaign since leaving the Tennessee River, less +than a year before. + +Grant cordially gave him a brief but comprehensive account of the +situation of the Army of the Potomac and of Lee's Army, and of his own +plans for the immediate future. He already pointed Appomattox as the +place at or near which he hoped to bring affairs to a crisis. Sherman +decided thereupon to go up to City Point and have a personal interview +with Grant. He issued orders, leaving Schofield in command and giving +general directions for the operation of the army in his absence. On +the evening of March 27 he reached City Point and was welcomed with +salutes from Porter's fleet. A number of officers met him at the wharf +and escorted him to headquarters, where he met Grant for the first +time since the memorable leave-taking in Cincinnati. Their meeting was +characteristic of the two men and deserves to be made historic. Sherman +spoke first: "How are you, Grant?" was all he said. "How are you, +Sherman?" was Grant's reply. Then Sherman, looking around at the other +officers who were assembled remarked: "I didn't expect to find all you +fellows here." That was all. No more time was wasted in compliments, +but the two generals in a few minutes were seated at a table poring +over maps and planning the ending of the war just as at Cincinnati they +had planned Sherman's Georgia Campaign. + +Sherman quickly indicated on the map what he thought best to do. He +would bring his army up to Weldon, where it would be within supporting +distance of Grant, and where he could quickly either join Grant or move +westward and head off Lee. Grant hesitated to have him come so near, +fearing that it would alarm Lee and put him to flight before he could +be captured. He told Sherman that he would best wait awhile while the +Army of the Potomac moved up to Dinwiddie in the hope of forcing Lee to +fight. + +Then the two generals went to the steamboat, "River Queen," to see +Lincoln, who was on board. A notable trio they made--Lincoln, the +tall, round-shouldered, loose-jointed, large-featured, deep-eyed, with +a smiling face, and dressed in black, with a fashionable silk hat on +his head; Grant, shorter, stouter and more compactly built, wearing a +military hat with a broad brim, a cigar in his mouth, and his hands in +his trouser's pockets; Sherman, almost as tall, but more sineury than +Lincoln, with sandy whiskers closely cropped, and sharp, flashing eyes; +his coat worn and shabby, his hat shapeless, and his trousers tucked +into his boot-tops. Sherman did most of the talking, speaking hurriedly +and moving about, often gesticulating. Presently Meade and Sheridan +joined them: the former tall and thin, stooping a little, with gray +beard and spectacles; the latter the shortest of all the party, with +bronzed face and quick, energetic movements. + +It was several times suggested that some of Sherman's men, or some +troops from the West, should be added to the Army of the Potomac, but +this Grant would not listen to. He deemed it wisest that the Army of +the Potomac should "finish up the job." They finally decided that +Sherman should come up to the Roanoke River, near Gaston, and if not +needed to head off Lee, make Johnston's army his objective point, +prepared, above all, to keep Lee and Johnston from joining forces. Says +Grant: + +"I explained to him the movement I had ordered to commence on the +29th of March, that if it should not prove as entirely successful as +I hoped, I would cut the cavalry loose to destroy the Danville and +Southside railroads, and thus deprive the enemy of further supplies, +and also prevent the rapid concentration of Lee's and Johnston's +armies. I had spent days of anxiety lest each moment should bring the +report that the enemy had retreated the night before. I was firmly +convinced that Sherman's crossing the Roanoke would be the signal +for Lee to move. With Johnston and Lee combined, a long, tedious, +and expensive campaign, consuming most of the summer, might become +necessary." + +With Grant's operations against Lee, and their successful termination +we have not here to deal, but with Sherman's movements, which were +directed against Johnston. Sherman had said at City Point, "I can +command my own terms, and Johnston will have to yield." Lincoln had +replied to this: "Get him to surrender on any terms." Grant said +nothing about it, so it was inferred that he approved of Lincoln's +remark. On April 10 Sherman's army moved toward Smithfield, reaching +that place the next day and finding it abandoned by Johnston. That +night word came from Grant that Lee had surrendered, and Sherman +announced the thrilling news to his army in the following terms: + +"The General commanding announces to the army that he has official +notice from General Grant that General Lee surrendered to him his +entire army on the 9th instant, at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. + +"Glory to God and our country, and all honor to our comrades in arms, +toward whom we are marching! + +"A little more labor, a little more toil on our part, the great race +is won, and our Government stands regenerated after four long years of +war." + +It was now evident that Johnston must quickly come to terms, and +Sherman was not surprised to receive, on April 14, a letter from the +rebel general requesting a truce and a conference. Sherman's chief +subordinates dreaded the consequences of chasing Johnston's army to the +West or back to the South, and agreed with Sherman that his surrender +should be obtained on any reasonable conditions. But before this could +be effected, the dreadful news came of the Good Friday tragedy at +Washington and of the death of Lincoln. This saddening event materially +changed the feeling of the Washington authorities toward the rebel +armies, and doubtless had much to do with the disagreement between the +former and Sherman that followed. + +On the beautiful morning of April 17, Sherman and Johnston met near +Durham's Station. Sherman first conveyed to Johnston the news of the +murder of Lincoln, at which Johnston was deeply affected. They then +discussed the terms of surrender and the best means of disbanding the +rebel army. Sherman urged Johnston to accept the same terms from him +that Lee had accepted from Grant, but Johnston hesitated, and asked for +a few days' delay, during which time he hoped to hunt up the fugitive +Jefferson Davis and get him to consent to a surrender of all the +remaining Southern armies. + +A second interview took place the next day. Johnston had not been +able to find Davis, but he brought with him to the meeting John C. +Breckinridge, the rebel Secretary of War. The conference broke up +without settling the surrender, but Sherman prepared a memorandum, +on which there was agreement, stating the terms on which he proposed +to receive Johnston's surrender. This he forwarded to Washington for +approval. It read as follows: + +"Memorandum or basis of Agreement, made this 18th day of April, A. D. +1865, near Durham's Station, in the State of North Carolina, by and +between General Joseph E. Johnston, commanding the Confederate Army, +and Major-General W. T. Sherman, commanding the Army of the United +States, both present. + +"I. The contending armies now in the field to maintain the _status +quo_ until notice is given by the commanding general of either to his +opponent, and reasonable time, say forty-eight hours, allowed. + +"II. The Confederate armies now in existence to be disbanded, and +conducted to their several State capitals, there to deposit their arms +and public property in the State Arsenal, and each officer and man +to execute and file an agreement to cease from acts of war, and to +abide the action of both State and Federal authorities. The number of +arms and munitions of war to be reported to the Chief of Ordnance at +Washington City, subject to the future action of the Congress of the +United States, and in the meantime to be used solely to maintain peace +and order within the borders of the States respectively. + +"III. The recognition by the Executive of the United States of the +several State Governments on their officers and Legislatures taking +the oath prescribed by the Constitution of the United States; and +where conflicting State governments have resulted from the war, the +legitimacy of all shall be submitted to the Supreme Court of the United +States. + +"IV. The re-establishment of all Federal courts in the several States, +with powers as defined by the Constitution and laws of Congress. + +"V. The people and inhabitants of all States to be guaranteed, so far +as the Executive can, their political rights and franchise, as well +their rights of person and property, as defined by the Constitution of +the United States and of the States respectively. + +"VI. The executive authority or government of the United States not to +disturb any of the people by reason of the late war, so long as they +live in peace and quiet and abstain from acts of armed hostility, and +obey the laws in existence at the place of their residence. + +"VII. In general terms, it is announced that the war is to cease; a +general amnesty, so far as the Executive of the United States can +command, on condition of the disbandment of the Confederate armies, +the distribution of arms, and the resumption of peaceful pursuits by +officers and men hitherto composing said armies. + +"Not being fully empowered by our respective principals to fulfill +these terms, we individually and officially pledge ourselves to +promptly obtain authority, and will endeavor to carry out the above +programme." + +This Sherman sent to Grant, inclosed with the following letter: + + "GENERAL:--I inclose herewith a copy of an agreement made this + day between General Joseph E. Johnston and myself, which, if + approved by the President of the United States, will produce + peace from the Potomac to the Rio Grande. Mr. Breckinridge was + present at the interview, in the capacity of a major-general, + and satisfied me of the ability of General Johnston to carry out + to the full extent the terms of this agreement; and, if you will + get the President to simply indorse the copy, and commission me + to carry out the terms, I will follow them to the conclusion. + You will observe that it is an absolute submission of the enemy + to the lawful authorities of the United States, and disperses + his armies absolutely; and the point to which I attach most + importance is, that the disposition and dispersement of the + armies is done in such a manner as to prevent their breaking up + into guerrilla bands. On the other hand, we can retain just as + much of an army as we please. I agree to the mode and manner of + the surrender of the armies set forth, as it gives the States the + means of suppressing guerrillas, which we could not expect them + to do if we strip them of all arms. + + "Both Generals Johnston and Breckinridge admitted that slavery + was dead, and I could not insist on embracing it in such a paper, + because it can be made with the States in detail. I know that + all the men of substance South sincerely want peace, and I do + not believe they will resort to war again during this century. + I have no doubt but that they will, in the future, be perfectly + subordinate to the laws of the United States. The moment my + action in this matter is approved, I can spare five corps, and + will ask for orders to leave General Schofield here with the + 10th Corps, and go myself with the 14th, 15th, 17th, 20th, and + 23d Corps, via Burkesville and Gordonsville to Frederick or + Hagerstown, there to be paid and mustered out. + + "The question of finance is now the chief one, and every soldier + and officer not needed ought to go home at once. I would like to + be able to begin the march North by May 1st. + + "I urge, on the part of the President, speedy action, as it is + important to get the Confederate armies home, as well as our own. + I am, with great respect, your obedient servant, + + "W. T. SHERMAN, Major-General Commanding." + +Grant's reply to Sherman was as follows: + + "GENERAL:--The basis of agreement entered into between yourself + and General J. E. Johnston for the disbandment of the Southern + army, and the extension of the authority of the General + Government over all the territory belonging to it, sent for + approval of the President, is received. + + "I read it carefully myself before submitting it to the President + and Secretary of War, and felt satisfied that it could not + possibly be approved. My reasons for these views I will give you + at another time in a more extended letter. + + "Your agreement touches upon questions of such vital importance + that, as I read, I addressed a note to the Secretary of War, + notifying him of its receipt, and the importance of immediate + action by the President, and suggested, in view of its + importance, that the entire Cabinet be called together, that + all might give an expression of their opinions upon the matter. + The result was a disapproval by the President of the basis laid + down; a disapproval of the negotiations altogether, except for + the surrender of the army commanded by Johnston, and directions + to me to notify you of the decision. I cannot do so better than + by sending you the inclosed copy of a dispatch penned by the late + President, though signed by the Secretary of War, in answer to + me on sending a letter received from General Lee proposing to + meet me for the purpose of submitting the question of peace to a + convention of officers. + + "Please notify General Johnston, immediately on receipt of this, + of the termination of the truce, and resume hostilities against + his army at the earliest moment you can, acting in good faith. + Very respectfully, your obedient servant, + + "U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant-General." + +The dispatch inclosed by Grant with this letter was signed by Stanton. +It stated that the agreement was totally disapproved, and that +hostilities should be resumed at the earliest moment. "The President +desires," added Stanton, "that you (Grant) proceed immediately to the +headquarters of Major-General Sherman and direct operations against +the enemy." Half distracted by the trying circumstances of the hour, +Stanton had apparently lost faith in Sherman. + +Immediately upon receipt of this, Sherman notified Johnston that the +truce would be ended in forty-eight hours, and renewed his demand +for a surrender on the same terms as Lee's at Appomattox. Grant now +proceeded to Raleigh, but did not assume command, preferring to let +Sherman complete the work he had begun. He, however, urged Sherman to +have another interview with Johnston, which the latter had requested, +and which was accordingly held on April 26. At this meeting, Johnston, +realizing that he was powerless to resist any longer, agreed to and +signed the following convention: + + "Terms of military Convention, entered into this Twenty-sixth + (26th) day of April, 1865, at Bennett's House, near Durham + Station, North Carolina, between General Joseph E. Johnston, + commanding the Confederate Army, and Major-General W. T. Sherman, + commanding the United States Army in North Carolina. + + "All acts of war on the part of the troops under General + Johnston's command to cease from this date. All arms and public + property to be deposited at Greensboro, and delivered to an + ordinance officer of the United States Army. Rolls of all + officers and men to be made in duplicate, one copy to be retained + by the commander of the troops, and the other to be given to an + officer to be designated by General Sherman. Each officer and man + to give his individual obligation, in writing, not to take up + arms against the government of the United States until properly + released from this obligation. The side-arms of officers, and + their private horses and baggage, to be retained by them. + + "This being done, all the officers and men will be permitted to + return to their homes, not to be disturbed by the United States + authorities so long as they observe their obligations, and the + laws in force where they may reside. + + "W. T. SHERMAN, + "Major-General, commanding the Army of the United States in North + Carolina. + + "J. E. JOHNSTON, + "General commanding the Confederate State Army in North Carolina + + "Approved. U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant-General. + "Raleigh, North Carolina, April 26, 1865." + +In the meantime intensely bitter attacks were made upon Sherman in +the Northern press, for which the Washington government was largely +responsible. Sherman was charged with exceeding his authority, with +actual disloyalty, with acknowledging the validity of the rebel +government, with attempting to re-establish rebel authority in the +Southern States, and even to restore slavery. These attacks were as +excessive as they were bitter, and after a time a reaction set in. +Sherman's worth was fully recognized, and he was hailed with acclaim +as second only to Grant in the leadership of the National hosts. After +these events Sherman, his army marching northward, reached Alexandria, +Virginia. He was so embittered against Stanton that he had determined +not to enter the City of Washington but to remain in camp with his +army. When Grant sent him word that the President wanted to see him, +however, he went to the White House, and there learned that apart from +Stanton the members of the Government had expressed no ill-will toward +him. + +The war was now ended and the armies of the Union about to be +disbanded. Grant proposed to accomplish this after a grand review in +the broad avenues of Washington. The Army of the Potomac was reviewed +on May 23, and Sherman's army on the following day. There was a vast +assemblage of the general public, as well as of all the officers of +the Government to witness the event. Sherman's army was uniformed +and equipped just as on a march in the field. There was no attempt +at a special display. The foragers had their pack-trains loaded with +provisions and forage, and the pioneer corps, composed of negroes, +carried axes, spades, and shovels. Sherman, taking with him Howard, who +had just been detached, rode at the head of the column. He was greeted +with cheers and pelted with flowers. As he passed the headquarters of +General Augur he halted and raised his hat with profound respect to +Secretary Seward, who stood at the window wrapped in blankets, being +too ill from his recent wounds to go to the reviewing stand with the +President. When Sherman went to the reviewing stand he shook hands with +President Johnson and with Grant, but curtly turned away from Stanton. + +Sherman's army now consisted of 65,000 men in splendid condition. It +is said he considered it the finest army in existence. For six hours +and a half it marched along Pennsylvania Avenue, and thus brought to a +fitting conclusion the triumphant campaign of more than two thousand +miles in which it had been engaged. + +On May 30 Sherman formally took leave of his comrades in the following +special field orders: + +"The General commanding announces to the Armies of the Tennessee and +Georgia that the time has come for us to part. Our work is done, and +armed enemies no longer defy us. Some of you will go to your homes, and +others will be retained in military service until further orders. + +"And now that we are all about to separate to mingle with the civil +world, it becomes a pleasing duty to recall to mind the situation +of national affairs when, but little more than a year ago, we were +gathered about the cliffs of Lookout Mountain, and all the future was +wrapped in doubt and uncertainty. + +"Three armies had come together from distant fields, with separate +histories, yet bound by one common cause--the union of our country and +the perpetuation of the Government of our inheritance. There is no need +to recall to your memories Tunnel Hill, with Rocky Face Mountain and +Buzzard Roost Gap, and the ugly forts of Dalton behind. + +"We were in earnest, and paused not for danger and difficulty, but +dashed through Snake Creek Gap and fell on Resaca; then on to Etowah, +to Dallas, Kenesaw, and the heats of summer found us on the banks +of the Chattahoochee, far from home, and dependent on a single road +for supplies. Again we were not to be held back by any obstacle, and +crossed over and fought four hard battles for the possession of the +citadel of Atlanta. That was the crisis of our history. A doubt still +clouded our future, but we solved the problem, destroyed Atlanta, +struck boldly across the State of Georgia, severed all the main +arteries of life to our enemy, and Christmas found us at Savannah. + +"Waiting there only long enough to fill our wagons, we again began a +march which, for peril, labor, and results, will compare with any ever +made by an organized army. The floods of the Savannah, the swamps of +the Combahee and Edisto, the 'high hills' and rocks of the Santee, the +flat quagmires of the Pedee and Cape Fear Rivers, were all passed in +midwinter, with its floods and rains, in the face of an accumulating +enemy; and, after the battles of Averysboro' and Bentonsville, we once +more came out of the wilderness, to meet our friends at Goldsboro. Even +then we paused only long enough to get new clothing, to reload our +wagons, again pushed on to Raleigh and beyond, until we met our enemy +suing for peace instead of war, and offering to submit to the injured +laws of his and our country. As long as that enemy was defiant, nor +mountains, nor rivers, nor swamps, nor hunger, nor cold, had checked +us; but when he, who had fought us hard and persistently, offered +submission, your General thought it wrong to pursue him farther, +and negotiations followed, which resulted, as you all know, in his +surrender. + +"How far the operations of this army contributed to the final overthrow +of the Confederacy and the peace which now dawns upon us must be judged +by others, not by us; but that you have done all that men could do has +been admitted by those in authority, and we have a right to join in +the universal joy that fills our land because the war is over, and our +Government stands vindicated before the world by the joint action of +the volunteer armies and navy of the United States. + +"To such as remain in the service, your General need only remind you +that success in the past was due to hard work and discipline, and that +the same work and discipline are equally important in the future. +To such as go home, he will only say that our favored country is so +grand, so extensive, so diversified in climate, soil, and productions +that every man may find a home and occupation suited to his taste; +none should yield to the natural impatience sure to result from our +past life of excitement and adventure. You will be invited to seek new +adventures abroad; do not yield to the temptation, for it will lead +only to death and disappointment. + +"Your General now bids you farewell, with the full belief that, as +in war you have been good soldiers, so in peace you will make good +citizens; and if, unfortunately, new war should arise in our country, +'Sherman's Army' will be the first to buckle on its old armor, and come +forth to defend and maintain the Government of our inheritance." + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + +THE DUTIES OF PEACE. + + AIDING THE PACIFIC RAILROAD--A FOOL'S ERRAND TO MEXICO--POLITICAL + INTRIGUES AT WASHINGTON--THE TENURE OF OFFICE AFFAIR--WORK + AMONG THE INDIANS--A TRIP TO EUROPE--THE BELKNAP SCANDAL-- + SHERMAN'S SPEECH ON MILITARY HONOR--TRAVELS IN THE NORTHWEST-- + YELLOWSTONE PARK--WRITING HIS MEMOIRS--LIFE IN NEW YORK--DEATH + OF MRS. SHERMAN. + + +Soon after the "Grand Review" and his farewell to his faithful +followers, Sherman went with his family to Chicago, to assist at a +large fair held for the benefit of impoverished soldiers' families; +thence to Lancaster, Louisville and Nashville, visiting old friends. He +was then, on June 27, 1865, put in command of the Military Division of +the Mississippi, afterward changed to the Missouri, with headquarters +at St. Louis. Immediately his attention was turned to the Pacific +Railroad, then in course of construction. Many years before, when that +great enterprise was scarcely dreamed of as a possibility, he had +written of it to his brother, urging that such a road should be built, +for the unification of the country, and saying that he would gladly +give his life to see it successfully carried through. It was with much +satisfaction that he witnessed the opening of the first division of +sixteen and a half miles of the Union Pacific, westward from Omaha. He +admired the energy with which the road was pushed forward, and looked +upon its completion, on July 15, 1869, as "one of the greatest and +most beneficent achievements" of the human race. It was to facilitate +the building of the road by protecting it from the Indians that Sherman +persuaded the President, in March, 1866, to establish the new Military +Department of the Platte and to place strong bodies of troops at +various points along the line. + +As the mustering out of the army proceeded, many changes in +organization occurred. The most notable was that of July 25, 1866, when +Grant was made a full General and Sherman was made Lieutenant-General. +At the same time political feeling was running high at Washington. +President Johnson had virtually left the Republican party, and was at +loggerheads with the majority of Congress. Grant was looked to as the +coming President, and accordingly many of Johnson's friends manifested +much jealousy and hostility toward him. Sherman was in the west and so +kept aloof from these controversies and intrigues, for which he had no +love. But he maintained his old friendship with Grant, and inclined +toward his side of every disputed question. + +While travelling on duty in New Mexico, in September, 1866, he was +summoned to Washington, in haste. Going thither, he reported to Grant, +who told him he did not know why the President had sent for him, unless +in connection with Mexican affairs. Maximilian, supported by French +troops, still held the imperial crown of that country, but was steadily +being driven to the wall by the Republicans, who had elected Juarez +President. The United States was about to send the Hon. Lewis Campbell +thither as Minister, accredited to Juarez as the rightful head of the +State, and President Johnson had ordered Grant to accompany him as an +escort. Grant told Sherman that he would decline to obey this order +as an illegal one, on the ground that the President had no right to +send him out of the country on a diplomatic errand unaccompanied by +troops; he believed it was a trick of Johnson's, to get rid of him. + +[Illustration: BATTLE OF EZRA CHURCH, JULY 28TH, 1864.] + +Then Sherman went to the President, who was very glad to see him. Said +Johnson: "I am sending General Grant to Mexico, and I want you to +command the army here in his absence." "But," said Sherman, "Grant will +not go!" That startled Johnson, and he began arguing to show the need +there was of Grant's going. Sherman repeated the positive statement +that Grant would not go, and added that he did not think the President +in that matter could afford to quarrel with the General. The upshot of +the matter was, that Johnson decided to send Sherman instead of Grant, +and Sherman consented to go, believing that thus he was preventing an +open rupture between Grant and the Administration. + +Sherman and Campbell went to Mexico, and spent some weeks in trying +to find Juarez, who was said to be with his army in the field. Not +succeeding in their quest, they returned to New Orleans, and by +Christmas Sherman was back at St. Louis, convinced that he had been +sent as a ruse, on that idle errand. The President, he believed, simply +wanted to send Grant somewhere to get him out of the way of his own +political ambition. + +Now came on the famous "Tenure of Office" affair. Congress enacted, +in March, 1867, a law providing that no civil officer appointed for a +definite term, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, should +be removed before the expiration of that term except with the consent +of the Senate. On August 5, following, the President demanded Stanton's +resignation as Secretary of War. Stanton, under the above named law, +refused it. A week later the President suspended him and appointed +Grant to act in his stead. Things remained in this state until January +13, 1868; when the Senate disapproved the President's action. Grant +immediately gave up the Secretaryship, handed the key of the office to +Sherman, and went back to army headquarters. Sherman took the key to +Stanton and gave it to him. + +Sherman was anxious to make peace, and strongly urged the President to +appoint General J. D. Cox, then Governor of Ohio, to succeed Stanton, +thinking he would be accepted by the Senate. This the President would +not do, and the storm increased. At the beginning of February Sherman +returned to St. Louis, glad to get away from the political intrigues +of Washington, and steadfastly refused to return unless ordered, +though the President himself requested him to do so. Then, determined +to bring him back, the President assigned him to the command of the +Division of the Atlantic. Sherman tried to avoid this appointment, and +threatened to resign rather than return East. Had the President's plans +been carried out there would have been at Washington these officers: +The President, commander in chief of the Army under the Constitution; +the Secretary of War, commander in chief under the recognition of +Congress; the General of the Army; the Lieutenant General of the Army; +the General commanding the Department of Washington; and the commander +of the post at Washington. And the garrison of Washington consisted +of an infantry brigade and a battery of artillery! Sherman protested +so vigorously against such an arrangement that the President finally +agreed to let him stay at St. Louis, and then appointed Lorenzo Thomas +Secretary of War _ad interim_. And soon the famous impeachment trial +came. + +Sherman was appointed, in July, 1867, a member of the commission to +establish peace with certain Indian tribes. In that capacity he +travelled widely through the Indian country and had many conferences +with the chiefs. He proposed that the great Indian reservations should +be organized under regular territorial governments, but the plan was +not approved at Washington. + +So the time passed until March 4, 1869, when Grant was inaugurated +as President. Sherman was then made General, and Sheridan +Lieutenant-General. Under this arrangement Sherman of course had to +return to Washington, and there he renewed his old association with +George H. Thomas, whom, however, he presently assigned, at Thomas's +request, to the command at San Francisco. There the hero of Chickamauga +and Nashville soon died, and Sherman thought his end was hastened +by supposed ingratitude. Congress ought, in Sherman's opinion, to +have made Meade, Sheridan and Thomas all Lieutenant-Generals, dating +their commissions respectively with "Gettysburg," "Winchester," and +"Nashville." + +On the death of General Rawlins, in the fall of 1869, Sherman was +called upon to act for a time as Secretary of War. The experience did +not please him. There was too much red tape, and too much division +of authority, and he was glad to be relieved by General Belknap. In +August, 1871, Rear-Admiral Alden asked him to go to Europe with him, in +the frigate Wabash, and Sherman joyously accepted the invitation, as +he had long wished to go abroad but had never yet done so. They sailed +on November 11, and Sherman did not return until September 22 of the +next year. He visited almost every part of Europe and Egypt, and had +an opportunity of observing European methods in the great German army +which had just been overrunning France. + +Life at Washington, with Belknap's assumptions, was now increasingly +distasteful to him, and he obtained permission from the President to +remove the army headquarters to St. Louis. Thither he went in the +fall of 1874, and once more was contented and happy. In the spring +of 1876, however, he was recalled to Washington, on account of the +Belknap scandal. General Belknap, Secretary of War, was charged with +corrupt practices, and resigned, to avoid impeachment. Sherman was much +shocked, for he had always esteemed Belknap highly. Referring to the +case in a speech at a public banquet at St. Louis, before returning to +Washington, he said: + +"The army of 1776 was the refuge of all who loved liberty for liberty's +sake, and who were willing to test their sincerity by the fire of +battle; and we claim that the army of 1876 is the best friend of +liberty, good order, and Government, and submits to any test that may +be imposed. Our ancestors never said the soldier was not worthy of his +hire; that the army was a leech on the body politic; that a standing +army of 20,000 men endangered the liberties of 40,000,000 of people. +These are modern inventions, modern party-cries to scare and confuse +the ignorant. We are not of those who subscribe so easily to the modern +doctrine of evolution, that teaches that each succeeding generation is +necessarily better than that which went before, but each tree must be +tested by its own fruit, and we can point with pride to our Sheridan, +Hancock, Schofield, McDowell, and a long array of Brigadier-Generals, +Colonels, Captains and Lieutenants, who, for intelligence, honor, +integrity and self-denial, will compare favorably with those of any +former epoch. We point with pride to our army, scattered through the +South, along our Atlantic, Gulf and Lake forts, and in the great West, +and claim that in all the qualities of good soldiers they are second +to none. I see that some of you shake your heads and whisper Belknap. +Why? What was his relation to the army? He was a Cabinet Minister, a +civil officer, did not hold a commission in the army at all. We contend +that when he was an officer he was an honorable man and rendered good +service, and that this entitles him to charitable consideration. 'Lead +us not into temptation' is a prayer some of us seem to have forgotten, +and we of the army can truthfully say that this offence, be it what it +may, is not chargeable to the army, for he was not subject to military +law or jurisdiction. + +"At this moment the air is full of calumny, and it is sickening to +observe that men usually charitable and just, are made to believe that +all honesty and virtue have taken their flight from earth; that our +National Capital is reeking with corruption; that fraud and peculation +are the rule, and honesty and fidelity to trust the exception. I do not +believe it, and I think we should resist the torrent. Our President has +surely done enough to entitle him to absolute confidence, and can have +no motive to screen the wicked or guilty. At no time in the history +of the country, have our courts of law, from the Supreme Court at +Washington down to the District Courts, been entitled to more respect +for their learning and purity; and Congress is now, as it has ever +been and must be from its composition, a representative body, sharing +with the people its feelings and thoughts, its virtues and vices. If +corruption exist, it is with the people at large, and they can correct +the evil by their own volition. If they have grown avaricious and made +money their God, they must not be surprised if their representatives +and servants share their sin. What are the actual facts? We have +recently passed through a long civil war, entailing on one moiety of +the country desolation and ruin,--on all a fearful debt,--States, +counties, and cities follow the fashion, until the whole land became +deeply in debt. The debts are now due, and bear heavily in the shape of +taxes on our homes, on property, and business. + +"Again, the war called millions to arms, who dropped their professions +and business, and found themselves without employment when the war was +over. These naturally turned to the National Government for help; and +the pressure for office, at all times great became simply irresistible. +The power to appoint to these offices is called 'patronage,' and is +common to all Governments. Then, again, arose a vast number of claims +for damages for seizures and loss of property by acts of war. These all +involved large sums of money, and money now is, as it always has been, +the cause of a life-struggle--of corruption. Yes, money is the cause of +corruption to-day as always. Men will toil for it, murder for it, steal +for it, die for it. Though officers and soldiers are simply men subject +to all temptations and vices of men, we of the army feel, or rather +think we feel, more in the spirit of Burns: + + "'For gold the merchant plows the main, + The farmer plows the manor; + But glory is the soldier's prize, + The soldier's wealth is honor.'" + +Sherman set out in July, 1877, for a tour through the Indian country +and the far Northwest. He was absent from home 115 days, and travelled +nearly 10,000 miles. After visiting Tongue River and the Big Horn, he +went to the Yellowstone National Park. In relating the story of his +adventures, he said: + +"Descending Mount Washburn, by a trail through woods, one emerges into +the meadows or springs out of which Cascade Creek takes its water, +and, following it to near its mouth, you camp and walk to the great +falls and the head of the Yellowstone canyon. In grandeur, majesty, and +coloring, these, probably, equal any on earth. The painting by Moran in +the Capitol is good, but painting and words are unequal to the subject. +They must be seen to be appreciated and felt. + +"Gen. Poe and I found a jutting rock, about a mile below the Seron +Falls, from which a perfect view is had of the Seron Falls canyon. The +upper falls are given at 125 feet and the lower at 350. The canyon is +described as 2,000 feet. It is not 2,000 immediately below the Seron +Falls, but may be lower down, for this canyon is thirty miles long, +and where it breaks through the range abreast of Washburn may be 2,000 +feet. Just below the Seron Falls, I think 1,000 feet would be nearer +the exact measurement; but it forms an actual canyon, the sides being +almost vertical, and no one venturing to attempt a descent. It is not +so much the form of this canyon, though fantastic in the extreme, that +elicited my admiration, but the coloring. The soft rocks through which +the waters have cut a way are of the most delicate colors,--buff, gray, +and red,--all so perfectly blended as to make a picture of exquisite +finish. The falls and canyon of the Yellowstone will remain to the end +of time objects of natural beauty and grandeur to attract the attention +of the living. + +"Up to this time we had seen no geysers or hot springs, but the next +day, eight miles up from the falls, we came to Sulphur Mountain, a +bare, naked, repulsive hill, not of large extent, at the base of which +were hot, bubbling springs, with all the pond crisp with sulphur, and +six miles from there up, or south, close to the Yellowstone, we reached +and camped at Mud Springs. These also are hot, most of them muddy. +Water slushed around as in a boiling pot. Some were muddy water and +others thick mud, puffing up just like a vast pot of mush. Below the +falls of the Yellowstone is a rapid, bold current of water, so full +of real speckled trout, weighing from six ounces to four and a half +pounds, that, in the language of a settler, it is 'no trick at all to +catch them.' They will bite at an artificial fly, or, better, at a +live grasshopper, which abound here; but above the falls the river is +quiet, flowing between low, grassy banks, and finally ending, or rather +beginning, in the Yellowstone Lake, also alive with real speckled +trout. Below the falls these trout are splendid eating, but above, +by reason of the hot water, some of the fish are wormy and generally +obnoxious by reason thereof, though men pretend to distinguish the +good from the bad by the color of the spots. I have no hesitation in +pronouncing the Yellowstone, from the Big Horn to the source, the +finest trout-fishing stream on earth. + +"From the Mud Springs the trail is due west, and crosses the mountain +range which separates the Yellowstone from the Madison, both +tributaries to the Missouri, descends this tributary to the West Fork +of the Madison, and here is the Lower Geyser Basin. It would require +a volume to describe these geysers in detail. It must suffice now for +me to say that the Lower Geyser Basin presents a series of hot springs +or basins of water coming up from below hot enough to scald your hand, +boil a ham, eggs, or anything else, clear as crystal, with basins of +every conceivable shape, from the size of a quill to actual lakes 100 +yards across. In walking among and around these one feels that in a +moment he may break through and be lost in a species of hell. + +"Six miles higher up the West Madison is the Upper Geyser Basin, the +spouting geysers, the real object and aim of our visit. To describe +these in detail would surpass my ability or the compass of a letter. +They have been described by Lieutenants Duane, Hayden, Strong, Lord +Dunraven, and many others. The maps by Major Ludlow, of the Engineers, +locate several geysers accurately. We reached the Upper Geyser Basin +at 12 M. one day and remained there till 4 P. M. of the next. During +that time we saw the old 'Faithful' perform at intervals varying from +sixty-two minutes to eighty minutes. The intervals vary, but the +performance only varies with the wind and sun. The cone, or hill, +is of soft, decaying lime, but immediately about the hole, which is +irregular, about six feet across, the incrustation is handsome, so that +one can look in safety when the geyser is at rest." + +Returning to Fort Ellis, they next rode to Helena, the Capital of +Montana Territory, 106 miles in one day, by a relay of stages. They +visited old Fort Benton, established long ago by the American Fur +Company, also Fort Shaw, and then striking over the country to Fort +Missoula, and then across the Bitter Root Mountains through Idaho and +across Washington Territory to the Pacific coast. + +Sherman devoted much time in his later years to literary work, chiefly +in the form of magazine articles, about the war, early days in +California, and other topics of historic and general public interest. +In 1875 he published his "Memoirs," a large volume recording his +military career. Its appearance caused a great sensation, as no other +prominent army officer had, at that time, done such a thing as to +write a history of his own career. The book was written in Sherman's +characteristic style, breezy, vigorous, frank, fearless. Many of its +statements of fact and opinion bore hardly upon others and provoked +contradiction. Sherman took all criticisms upon it kindly, and in +subsequent editions printed them, together with many other messages of +praise, in an appendix to the book. Moreover, there were, as Sherman +himself acknowledged, many errors in the book, originating in faults +of memory and otherwise. As fast as these were pointed out and proved, +Sherman corrected them. + +Referring one day, in conversation, to the criticisms of his "Memoirs," +he said:-- + +"They amuse me, make me laugh, and frequently, I am glad to say, serve +me a good purpose by calling attention to real defects and errors which +in time will be corrected. I have here a copy of my book with each +error, so far discovered, marked and carefully annotated. When the +work of correcting is completely finished, they will be made public, +either during my lifetime or when I am gone. These 'Memoirs' have been +the subject of much misconception in the public mind. I do not intend +them as history. I offered them as my testimony, simply. I endeavored +to describe accurately the stirring events therein referred to as I +saw them. I do not pretend to say that everything occurred as I say +it does, but as it occurred to me. Other men may have seen things +differently. None of us see things exactly alike. But the records +upon which my book is based are open to all. They consisted of my +correspondence and official reports, making forty volumes of manuscript +letters pasted in letter-books. These forty volumes are in the War +Department at Washington. I had a duplicate copy. One day I sat down +to glance at these letters, and conceived the idea of reducing their +contents to narrative form, but not for publication. I did not intend +that the public should ever read them, except as my posthumous papers. +After I had made some progress in the work, I showed the first sheets +to a few friends. I was urgently advised to complete the labor I had +begun, and submit it to the public in the shape of 'Memoirs.' I took +the advice and so published the book, expected severe criticism, and +got it. I had sense and foresight enough to know that everybody would +not agree with me. No writer ever gets justice from his contemporaries, +and, outside of this, I knew I was liable to err, and only pretended to +give things as they looked through my glasses. + +"Now, there were a good many little prejudices among the soldiers +and the armies of the West which the public, at this day, do not +appreciate. For instance, there were three grand Western armies--the +Army of the Tennessee, Army of the Cumberland and Army of the Ohio. +There were unavoidable jealousies between these armies and their +commanders. Their respective triumphs and defeats were the subjects +of undue taunts, ridicule or criticism. My particular army was that +of Tennessee, and it is more than possible, and quite probable, that +I have colored things highly in its favor. Doubtless I was much +prejudiced in its favor, just as you would be in favor of an old +acquaintance as opposed to a comparative stranger. I knew every brigade +and regimental commander in this army, and was familiar with the +fighting capacity of each corps. I knew exactly what division to hold +in reserve, and those to storm a breastwork. Besides I had this army +so organized that I had only to give an order and it was executed. No +red tape nor circumlocution was necessary. If I wanted one of Buell's +corps I had to issue a command, and that had to be repeated, perhaps +in writing from corps to division, and from division to brigade and +regiment, and thus would take two hours to get a body of troops in +motion when time was precious and impetuous action was needed. My army +was one of wild fighters, never so well pleased as when driving the +enemy before them. Buell had a splendid army, but it was slow and +conservative, composed of as brave and stubborn fighters as any other +command, and yet not accustomed to brilliant and quick movements. + +"The attack made on me about the 'political Generals' was unfair. I +never used such a term. My sole intention was to mention, in a spirit +of fair criticism, certain circumstances that in a measure defeated my +efforts to have a constantly efficient army. For instance, we would +have a big fight and come out victorious. We would go into camp for an +indefinite period, and with no prospect of an early campaign. At such +periods I noticed that my subordinate commanders who had previously had +political aspirations would strike out for home to see the 'people.' +They would make a few speeches, and as the fighting season approached +they would rejoin their commands. In the meantime, if I wanted to +find out anything about the exact condition of each division, the +transportation, or the commissary or quartermaster affairs, I could +find no responsible head to give me official information. Such things +tended to destroy the discipline, and consequently the efficiency of +the army, and it was a matter to which I had good reason to object. I +wanted commanders who would stay with their commands, and not those +who cherished ambitious political projects, and who were continually +running off to see the people at home." + +General Sherman in 1884 requested to be put on the retired list of +the army, in order that Sheridan might be promoted to the full rank +of General; and this was done on February 8 of that year. A couple of +years later he removed to New York and for the remainder of his life +made his home in that city. He was one of the most conspicuous figures +in society there, a welcome and honored guest everywhere. After living +for a couple of years in a hotel, he bought a house, at No. 75 West +71st St., and there gathered his family about him. In the basement +he fitted up a room which he called his office, and here he received +visitors and answered correspondence. In the hours which he devoted to +these duties he presented a picture which strikingly impressed itself +on the memories of all who saw it. His desk was in the middle of the +room, and there he sat, amid piles of books, records and papers, and +surrounded by old war maps and mementoes. He wore an easy office coat +or a dressing gown, and for aids to his eyesight he had a huge pair of +round-glassed, tortoise-shell-rimmed spectacles. Wielding his paper +knife and taking up his pen occasionally, he would keep busy and at the +same time would sustain conversation with a caller, on whom every now +and then, as he addressed him, he would bend his keen, direct gaze, +raising his brows and looking over the tops of his spectacles. The +walls of this room, too, have often rung with laughter, responsive to +the kindly joke, the ready jest, the queer reminiscence of old times, +inimitably told, with which he made the time pleasant for groups of +his intimate friends, especially his old comrades of the Army. When +a reporter visited him he would get a cordial enough welcome to the +General's nook, but presently old "Tecumseh" would look up and say +something like this: + +"Oh, what's the use of bothering with an old fellow like me? Haven't I +had enough publicity? Umph! More than I wanted. Now, my dear fellow, I +like you and your paper, but you mustn't print anything about me; you +really mustn't." + +He soon acquired a reputation as a ready and brilliant after-dinner +speaker, and in that capacity figured at many public banquets. His +first New York speech, after he made that city his home, was delivered +at the dinner of the New England Society, on December 22, 1886. At +this dinner Henry W. Grady made his memorable address on "The New +South." General Sherman directly preceded Mr. Grady in the order of +speech-making, and when he arose he got a tremendously enthusiastic +greeting, which visibly affected him. + +"Many and many a time," he said, "have I been welcomed among you. I +came from a bloody civil war to New York in years gone by--twenty or +twenty-one, maybe,--and a committee came to me in my room and dragged +me unwillingly before the then New England Society of New York, and +they received me with such hearty applause and such kindly greetings +that my heart goes out to you now to-night as their representatives. +God knows, I wish you, one and all, all the blessings of life and +enjoyment of the good things you now possess and others yet in store +for you, young men." + +With this introduction, he told them that he had been celebrating +the same event the night before in Brooklyn, that about two or three +o'clock in the morning he "saw this hall filled with lovely ladies, +waltzing," and he added, "here I am to-night." + +"I have no toast," he remarked, "I am a loafer. I can choose to say +what I may--not tied by any text or formula." Then he said that they +called him "Old General Sherman," but that he was pretty young yet, +"not all the devil out of me," and that he hoped to share with them +many a festive occasion. + +And he was with the New Englanders and with many other societies +and clubs and parties on "many a festive occasion." His speeches +were always brisk, spicy and enlivened by anecdote and reminiscence. +Chauncey M. Depew regarded him as "the readiest and most original +talker in the United States," and Mr. Depew had many opportunities to +study him in this character, for the two men frequently sat at the same +table and divided the oratorical honors of the evening. + +General Sherman was a frequent patron of the drama, and was usually +to be seen in important "first night" audiences. Among his personal +friends were many of the foremost actors and actresses of the day, and +he did many deeds of kindness to struggling but worthy members of the +profession. He was one of the first members of the Players' Club, and +made a notable speech at a supper given in honor of Edwin Booth. + +At reunions of army men he was, of course, a most popular figure, +and he greatly enjoyed such gatherings, where he could renew old +acquaintances and refresh his memories of the great campaigns of the +past. Sometimes he was called upon to preside at some army meeting, +and a rare treat it was to see him. For parliamentary law he had no +regard, but he "ran things" according to his own will, with charming +indifference to points of order and procedure. A reporter has given +this verbatim record of such a scene. Sherman took the chair and began +thus: + +"The meeting will come to order. Ah, yes! (Nodding to an officer about +to rise.) General Hickenlooper moves the appointment of a Committee on +Credentials (taking a paper from his left vest pocket). The committee +will consist of General Hickenlooper, Colonel A. and Major B. We must +be speedy, gentlemen, in arranging these details. + +"General Smith--Did I see General Smith rise?" (A voice: "He's gone +out for a moment.") "Well, never mind; it's all the same. General +Smith moves the appointment of a committee on Resolutions, and it +will consist of (taking a list from his right vest pocket) General +So-and-So. (Looks blank.) That's not the committee, either. This list +I just read is another committee, and it will be moved later. Here's +the right one. (Reads it.) You see, gentlemen, we get our young staff +officers who have nothing else to do to fix up these things in advance." + +A voice: "Move to adjourn." The Chair: "Oh, no use putting that motion. +We must fix these preliminaries first. I have three more committees +prepared here." + +And so on for an hour longer. But no one ever resented the old +warrior's genial "bossism." + +Sherman's last "interview" with a newspaper reporter occurred at his +New York home less than a fortnight before his death. + +When the reporter entered the General was seated at a square table in +the middle of the room, and in a despairing sort of way was trying to +find out from a directory where Dr. John Hall's church is situated. +He wore a very extraordinary pair of spectacles--each lens like a +jeweler's magnifying glass. When he had got the information he wanted, +he pushed his spectacles up on his forehead, shook hands and asked what +was wanted. + +"By the way," he said, suddenly, "I have seen you before." + +"Yes; at the Garfield memorial exercises in Cleveland." + +"I remember now," General Sherman continued; "sit down. What can I +do for you? I have very little time; I am going to a wedding at 12 +o'clock." + +He was asked to talk about Lincoln and old war-times. + +"No, no," he said, shaking his head; "I have said all I have to say and +written all I have to write on that subject and all others. I shall not +write any more nor talk for publication." + +[Illustration: THE ROAD FROM McPHERSONVILLE--Sherman and Staff Passing +Through Water and Mire.] + +Then he stood up and walked slowly about the room. After a bit he +pointed to a shelf of the book-case, where the bulky volumes of the +Nicolay-Hay memoirs stood. + +"There," he remarked, "in those ten volumes you'll find all the Lincoln +literature you want; I have made many speeches on Lincoln, but I don't +remember where they are now--I don't remember." + +Sherman's first family bereavement was the death of his son Willie, +from typhoid fever, at Memphis, October 3, 1863. The boy had shown +great fondness for military life, and had been playfully adopted as a +sergeant by the battalion that formed his father's headquarters guard. +He always turned out at drills and guard-mountings with a zeal that +both amused and delighted the general, and he was a great favorite with +all the soldiers who knew him. When he died, the battalion gave him a +military funeral, and the heart broken father thereupon wrote to its +commanding officer, Captain C. C. Smith, as follows: + +"MY DEAR FRIEND: I cannot sleep to-night till I record an expression of +the deep feelings of my heart to you and to the officers and soldiers +of the battalion for their kind behavior to my poor child. I realize +that you all feel for my family the attachment of kindred, and I assure +you of full reciprocity. + +"Consistent with a sense of duty to my profession and office, I could +not leave my post, and sent for the family to come to me in this fatal +climate and in that sickly period of the year, and behold the result. +The child that bore my name and in whose future I reposed with more +confidence than I did in my own plan of life now lies a mere corpse, +seeking a grave in a distant land, with a weeping mother, brother and +sisters clustered about him. For myself I ask no sympathy. On, on I +must go to meet a soldier's fate or live to see our country rise +superior to all factions, till its flag is adored and respected by +ourselves and by all the powers of the earth. + +"But Willie was, or thought he was, a sergeant in the Thirteenth. I +have seen his eye brighten, his heart beat, as he beheld the battalion +under arms, and asked me if they were not real soldiers. Child as he +was, he had the enthusiasm, the pure love of truth, honor and love of +country which should animate all soldiers. + +"God only knows why he should die thus young. He is dead, but will not +be forgotten till those who knew him in life have followed him to that +same mysterious end. + +"Please convey to the battalion my heartfelt thanks and assure each and +all that if in after years they call on me or mine and mention that +they were of the Thirteenth Regulars when Willie was a sergeant they +will have a key to the affections of my family that will open all it +has; that we will share with them our last blanket, our last crust." + +Willie Sherman's remains were afterward removed from Memphis and +interred at St. Louis, in Calvary Cemetery, by the side of another son, +Charles, who died in infancy, in 1864. In the same plot the body of +Mrs. Sherman was placed at her death, to be followed soon by the dust +of the great soldier himself. + +Mrs. Sherman died in New York on November 28, 1888, after a long +illness. After her burial at St. Louis, General Sherman wrote a brief +note to the editor of _The New York Tribune_, saying:-- + +"I and family are now returned from St. Louis, having deposited the +coffined body of Mrs. Sherman near 'Our Willie,' at the very spot +chosen by ourselves in 1866, reaffirmed in 1883, and often spoken of +as a matter of course between us. We have followed in the minutest +particular her every wish. Every member of my own family and hers, the +'Ewings,' are content, for no mortal was ever better prepared to 'put +on immortality' than Mrs. General Sherman. Of course, being the older +and subjected to harder strains, I expected to precede her; but it is +ordained otherwise. In due time I will resume my place by her side, +and I want my friends, especially my old soldier friends, to know that +they shall not be taxed one cent, for I have made, or will make, every +provision. I have received by telegraph, mail, card and every possible +way, hundreds of kind, sympathetic messages, all of which have been +read by myself and children. To make suitable replies to all is simply +impossible, and I offer the above as a general answer." + +There were left to him six children: The Rev. Thomas E. Sherman, a +priest of the Roman Catholic Church; P. Tecumseh Sherman, a lawyer in +New York; Mrs. A. M. Thackara, of Rosemont, Penn.; Mrs. T. W. Fitch, +of Pittsburg; Miss Rachel Sherman, and Miss Lizzie Sherman. Messrs. +Thackara and Fitch, to whom the two elder daughters were married, were +army officers. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + +DEATH AND BURIAL. + + A FATAL COLD--LINGERING BETWEEN HOPE AND FEAR--THE LAST + RALLY--THE END OF LIFE'S CAMPAIGN--A SON'S SAD HOME-COMING-- + PREPARATIONS FOR THE FUNERAL--PUBLIC TRIBUTES OF RESPECT--THE + MILITARY PARADE IN NEW YORK--PROGRESS OF THE FUNERAL TRAIN + ACROSS THE COUNTRY--CEREMONIES AT ST. LOUIS--THE WARRIOR'S LAST + ENCAMPMENT BY THE SIDE OF HIS LOVED ONES. + + +All roads lead to Rome, and end there. Many men who have acquired +greatness by their arduous achievements in various parts of the +country, toward the close of life have gravitated to New York and ended +their days there. Such was the case with Sherman's great comrade and +commander, Grant, and such was the case with Sherman himself. When he +came to New York to make his home he intended that it should be his +last in the earthly life. And so it was. His declining years were spent +in peace and comfort, surrounded by the love of kin and friends, and by +the admiration of the great Metropolis; and when the end came, after so +much marching and fighting, and so many bitter controversies, it came +at home and in profound peace. + +General Sherman's last illness was of little more than a week's +duration. Following a taste, natural and cultivated, which he loved to +gratify, he attended the performance of "Poor Jonathan," at the New +York Casino, on Wednesday night, February 4, 1891. It was, in fact, a +special performance. Invitations had been sent to the military officers +of the city, and General Sherman occupied one of the proscenium boxes +with a party of friends. He seemed to be in the best of health and +spirits, and gave every evidence of keen enjoyment of the opera. + +He returned to his home immediately after the performance, and, +although the weather was clear and bright, in some way he caught a +severe cold. Its first effects were noticed on the following morning. +His condition, however, did not prevent his attendance at the wedding +of Miss Shepard, daughter of Colonel Elliott F. Shepard, on that +afternoon. He coughed a little and complained of the cold while in the +church. On Friday morning his condition had become more uncomfortable, +but excited no alarm. His throat, however, had become affected in the +meantime, and he was obliged to give up a dinner with Lawrence Barrett +that evening at the Union League Club. On Saturday morning when he +began to show signs of facial erysipelas, accompanied by fever, he felt +some anxiety, and sent for Dr. C. J. Alexander, a surgeon of the army, +who had been his family physician for a number of years. On Sunday +the disease began to get a firm hold upon the old warrior. His face +and neck became much swollen and inflamed, and conversation became +difficult and painful. His condition was such that Dr. Alexander sent +for Dr. Janeway, for the purpose of holding a consultation. The General +was then confined to his bed, and it was found that the ordinary +treatment applied in cases of erysipelas would not answer the purpose, +in part owing to the General's advanced age. Sunday, by the way, was +the seventieth anniversary of his birth. + +The disease had developed to such an extent on Monday that it was +decided to summon the members of the family. Telegrams were sent at +once to Senator John Sherman, his brother; his daughters, Mrs. Thackara +and Mrs. Fitch. The other children, with the exception of the Rev. +T. E. Sherman, were at home. To him, however, a cable dispatch was +sent. He was a student in the Jesuit Seminary on the Island of Jersey. +Senator Sherman arrived at his brother's home on Monday night, and +his daughters on the following day. The arrival of Senator Sherman, +with the publication of the dispatch which called him, was the first +intimation that the people of New York City had of General Sherman's +illness. + +Dr. Alexander remained at the sick man's bedside on Tuesday night, and +when Dr. Janeway came to relieve him on Wednesday morning, February 11, +he found the General resting on his back in a state of semi-stupor. +His condition at that time was recognized as critical. He was in great +pain when he moved, and gave evidence of growing weaker, despite the +fact that whiskey and milk, which were used as nourishment throughout +the illness, were administered to him as often as possible. Intimate +friends of the family were then informed of his precarious condition. + +The General rallied somewhat at noon, and his family began to hope +that the illness was only temporary. But their hopes were delusive. In +the afternoon, the attending physicians, Drs. Alexander, Janeway and +Greene, began to send out hourly bulletins as an official answer to +the hundreds of inquiries that poured in upon them. At 2.15 they made +their first announcement, which read as follows: "General Sherman was +worse this morning, and his condition is critical. During the day his +condition has improved considerably." About 5 P.M. General Ewing said +that he had called on General Sherman, and had been recognized by him. +As soon as he saw General Ewing enter the room, the patient called out, +"Hello, Ewing." He did not make any attempt to sustain conversation, +however. His enunciation was difficult, and, besides, though he could +recognize his friends, he did not seem to be able to have enough energy +or command of his faculties to talk to them. + +He improved again slightly during the evening, so that two of the +physicians and Senator Sherman left the house. The Senator, however, +was recalled at two o'clock on Thursday, when the veteran again grew +worse. Thursday passed in much the same way as Wednesday, although it +was deemed advisable by the family, for their comfort, to have the last +rites of the Catholic Church administered to him, just before noon. In +the afternoon the sick man surprised his watchers by getting out of +bed and walking a few steps to an easy chair, where he sat for a few +moments. He showed the same marvellous will power again in the evening. +In his rallies he was able to clear his lungs a little. Whiskey and +milk were given to him as often as he could take nourishment. Late at +night it was said that if the General could maintain his state till +that time there would be hopes of ultimate recovery. + +Friday was another day of hope and disappointment. Several times it was +reported that the General was dying, but he managed to rally despite +his weakened condition. Said General Ewing that evening: "Sherman is +perfectly conscious, and when spoken to rouses up and makes a perfectly +intelligible answer to any question that may be asked. He is deaf, you +know, and it is necessary to address him in a pretty loud voice, in +order to be heard." + +"Does he recognize his friends?" + +"Not until spoken to, and I doubt if he recognizes them even then. I +doubt if he has recognized me in the last two days." + +"Yet he talks to them?" + +"He does not talk much. The tongue is much swollen and the jaw is +stiff, and he can speak only with difficulty." + +"Does he realize the serious character of the disease?" + +"It is hard to say. He has given no evidence of uneasiness, except when +he called for 'Cump' (P. T. Sherman, his son), on Thursday. It then +occurred to me that he wanted to say a last word to the young man. But +I may have been mistaken. At any rate, when 'Cump' went to him he was +unable to tell him what was on his mind." + +The illustrious patient grew weak again at midnight, and at an early +hour Saturday morning, February 14, it was known that his death was +only a question of a few hours. At four o'clock his family was all +summoned to his room and never left it, except for a few minutes, +until the end. The alarming attack which seized the patient soon after +six o'clock precipitated death. The doctors hurriedly held another +consultation, did what they could to relieve his distress and then +decided that hope must be abandoned. + +The chloroform plasters which had been placed on Sherman's chest, +failed to help. The police officers then cleared the sidewalk and +streets of all passengers, and people began to wait for the end. At +8.35 o'clock Dr. Janeway left the house, to which he did not again +return. His face and his few words told plainly that he had no hope. + +About half an hour before the General's death the watchers discerned +signs of approaching dissolution. First the old soldier's fingers began +to grow cold, then the fatal coldness crept slowly up his arms, and +over his body. As the end approached, the General's head, which had +been resting on a large pillow, was lowered gradually in the hope +that he might be enabled to breathe easier. Although he died from +suffocation, caused by the mucus from his inflamed throat filling his +lungs, there were no longer indications of suffering on his part. Those +who were nearest his head say that they heard a gentle sigh escape his +lips and then all was over. It was just 1.50 o'clock when the famous +soldier expired. There was no clergyman of any denomination in the +house during the day. + +Within a minute or two after General Sherman's death one of his +men-servants stepped outside of the front door and said: "It is all +over." + +Kneeling at the bedside, as the soldier's spirit left its earthly +tenement, were the General's son, P. T. Sherman, his four daughters, +the Misses Rachel and Lizzie Sherman, Mrs. Fitch and Mrs Thackara; his +brother, Senator John Sherman; his sons-in-law, Lieutenants Fitch and +Thackara; his brother-in-law, General Thomas Ewing; his physician, Dr. +Alexander, U. S. A., and his nurse, Miss Elizabeth Price, of the New +York Hospital. The other son, the Rev. Thomas E. Sherman, was on the +ocean, hastening homeward, but too late. Generals Slocum and Howard +were then in the room below. + +General Sherman seems to have had a presentiment of his fate some weeks +before it actually befell him. One day he said to General C. H. T. +Collis, who mentioned Grant's birthday--April 27: + +"Oh, well, Collis, I'll be dead and buried before then." + +"I tried hard to cheer him," said General Collis, "and pretended to +believe he was joking, but he became serious and added after awhile: +'I feel it coming sometimes when I get home from an entertainment or +banquet, especially these winter nights. I feel death reaching out for +me, as it were. I suppose I'll take cold some night and go to bed, +never to get up again.' The words were prophetic." + +In accordance with General Sherman's often expressed desire, the body +did not lie in state; and the public so respected the grief of the +family as not to besiege the house to gaze upon the remains of the +hero. General Howard sent over a guard from the army post on Governor's +Island, and with General Slocum, by invitation of the family, took +charge of the arrangements for the funeral obsequies. The body of the +deceased General was placed in a coffin exactly like that in which Mrs. +Sherman was buried. The General chose her's himself, and gave express +orders that his own should be like it. It was of oak, lined with +cream-colored satin, and had silver handles. On a silver plate was the +following inscription: + + WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN, + GENERAL, U. S. A. + Born February 8, 1820. + Died February 14, 1891. + +This coffin was inclosed for the journey to St. Louis in an outer +coffin of chestnut wood, brass bound, with a brass plate bearing the +same inscription as the inner. The General's body was dressed in the +full uniform of his rank. + +The following "Special Order No. 5" was issued from the headquarters of +the Grand Army of the Republic, at Rutland, Vt. + +"Grand Army of the Republic posts on the route of the funeral train +of General Sherman from New York to St. Louis will form at their +respective railroad stations and salute remains as train passes." + +The President and his Cabinet were invited by General Howard to attend +the funeral exercises in New York. Committees from both Houses of +Congress were appointed to pay their tribute of respect. From the +Senate came Messrs. Evarts, Hawley, Manderson, Pierce, Cockrell and +Walthall. From the House Speaker Reed appointed Messrs. Cutcheon, +Spinola, Cogswell, Cummings, Grosvenor, Kinsey, Tarsney, Henderson, of +Illinois, and Outhwaite. + +A sorrowful meeting of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion was held +on Monday, February 16, at which these resolutions were adopted: + +"In common with the entire country we lament the loss of a great +military chieftain whose loyal spirit rightly placed the love of +country higher than all earthly obligations, and who was individually +a distinct and glorious element in the triumphant struggle of that +country for its own survival and for the rights of man. + +"As once his fellow soldiers we mourn universally for the dead +commander, whose great heart made us all his own and made his own +virtues seem to us like personal benefactions. + +"As members of this Military Order we deplore the loss of a companion +whose honors added to the value of those ties which his fellowship +helped to endear, and whose frequent and cordial visits to the New York +Commandery will be cherished in our memories as so many occasions to be +often and affectionately recalled. + +"To his children and relatives, to whom his great renown, his honors +and his tenderness do but enhance their loss, we tender all that +sympathy may, and trust that a place in our regard henceforth may be +accepted by them as a little heritage from him." + +General Howard made a brief address, in the course of which his +emotion was strong and interrupted his utterances. + +"General Sherman," he said, "had more personal friends and could call +more men by name probably than any other man in the country. + +"A few days ago, Sherman and Slocum and I met in Brooklyn and the +conversation turned on death. Some one remarked that he hoped it would +not come to Sherman for many years. I exclaimed, on the impulse of +the moment, 'General, you will never die.' He answered, sharply and +strongly, 'My body will die.' God bless General Sherman," was the +peroration of General Howard's speech. + +General Slocum followed with a warm panegyric on the march to the sea. +"Sherman was to me something more than a companion," he said. "He gave +me his confidence in war and his friendship in peace. He opened to me +what is dear to every soldier, an opportunity to link my name with his. + +"In the coming time there will be no dispute about his career. It may +be in the future that some man will say that he furnished the idea of +the march to the sea to Sherman. That man must have been with him at +the time, or subsequent, when Sherman captured Atlanta, for when he did +so he had no idea of cutting aloof from his base of supplies. When he +got back from the battle of Jonesboro he took down a map and said, 'I +will make Atlanta my base of supplies.' He went so far as to throw up +intrenchments. That was before Hood pushed up toward the Tennessee and +Nashville; and then he changed his mind. + +"After Sherman had taken Savannah certain persons at Washington urged +him to take his troops to City Point by sea. Had he been a timid man +he would have been content to rest upon his laurels, knowing that he +had already won an imperishable fame, but he said: 'No; I will take my +chances in South Carolina,' and he did so, and everything went like +clockwork, and success again crowned his efforts." + +At the same time a meeting of representative citizens of St. Louis was +held in that city to make arrangements for the final services there; +and every city and town along the route prepared to salute the funeral +train with demonstrations of sympathy and honor. The orders for the +procession in New York were issued on February 18, as follows: + + HEADQUARTERS OF THE ATLANTIC, + GOVERNOR'S ISLAND, NEW YORK. + + The arrangements for the funeral of the late illustrious General + of the Army, William Tecumseh Sherman, having been entrusted by + his children and other relatives to the care of the undersigned, + they have agreed upon the details so far as they relate to the + ceremony in New York, which are now furnished for the information + and guidance of all who may participate therein: + + The regulation escort, under command of Loomis L. Langdon, 1st + Artillery, will consist of one regiment of United States marines, + four companies of United States engineers, and six companies foot + batteries of artillery; of a battalion of light artillery from + the Army and the National Guard of New York, and of two troops of + cavalry from the National Guard of New York. + + The remains will be received by the escort at the late residence + of the General, No. 75 West Seventy-first street, at 2 o'clock, + P. M., on Thursday next, the 19th inst. The body will be borne + on a caisson, preceded by the following-named pall-bearers in + carriages: Major-General J. M. Schofield, Major-General O. O. + Howard, Rear-Admiral D. L. Braine, Rear-Admiral J. A. Greer, + Professor H. L. Kendrick, Major-General H. W. Slocum, General + Joseph E. Johnston, Major-General D. E. Sickles, Major-General G. + M. Dodge, Major-General J. M. Corse, Major-General Wager Swayne, + Major-General Stewart L. Woodford, Brigadier-General Jno. Moore, + Brigadier-General H. G. Wright. These pall-bearers will accompany + the remains as far as the train at Jersey City. Six sergeants + will proceed to St. Louis. The special escort of honor from the + Grand Army, Lafayette Post, will form on the right and left of + the caisson. + + The order of column following the family and relatives will be as + follows: + + (1) The President and Vice-President of the United States. + + (2) The members of the Cabinet. + + (3) Ex-Presidents of the United States. + + (4) Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives. + + (5) The Governor of the State and the Mayor of the City of New + York. + + These officers will follow the family and relatives as + representative mourners. + + (6) The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, + and officers of the Army and Navy. + + (7) The Grand Army of the Republic. + + (8) The Corps of Cadets, United States Military Academy, + Lieutenant-Colonel Hawkins commanding. + + (9) The National Guard, under Brigadier-General Louis Fitzgerald. + + Delegates and representatives from veterans, sons of veterans + and other organizations unassigned, under charge of General David + Morrison. + + The line of march will be as follows: Eighth avenue to + Fifty-ninth street, to Fifth avenue, to Broadway, to + Fifty-seventh street, to Fifth avenue, to Washington Square: + there the column, excepting the regulation military escort, will + be dismissed. + + This escort will continue its march by Waverley Place to + Macdougal street, to King street, to Hudson street, to Watts + street, at corner of Canal, through Watts street to junction with + West street. + + Veteran organizations not moving with column will form across + West st. from Watts st. to the ferry landing, foot of Desbrosses + st. The carriages in the procession will be restricted to the + pall-bearers, family and relatives, and invited guests. + + The column will be commanded by Major-General O. O. Howard, + United States Army. + + Major-General Daniel Butterfield is designated as senior aide to + the General Commanding and as marshal. + + The following aides are announced: General Horace Porter, to + accompany the President of the United States; General M. D. + Leggett, to accompany the Cabinet; the Hon. Joseph H. Choate, + to accompany ex-President Hayes; the Hon. Chauncey M. Depew, + to accompany ex-President Cleveland; General Floyd Clarkson, + in charge of the Grand Army; Major-General H. A. Barnum, to + accompany the Superintendent of the Military Academy; General + Robert Nugent, formerly of General Sherman's regiment, to take + charge of the veterans at Desbrosses st. David Morrison, 79th + Veterans, in charge of veteran organizations in columns other + than the Grand Army; Mr. Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, to accompany + carriages of relatives. + + Mr. Loyall Farragut. + + Captain H. P. Kingsbury, 6th Cavalry. + + Captain A. M. Wetherill, 6th Infantry. + + First Lieutenant L. A. Craig, 6th Cavalry. + + First Lieutenant Guy Howard, 12th Infantry, Aide-de-Camp. + + First Lieutenant Harry C. Benson, 4th Cavalry. + + First Lieutenant Charles G. Treat, 5th Artillery, Aide-de-Camp. + + First Lieutenant W. W. Forsyth, 6th Cavalry; Second Lieutenant + Samuel Rodman, 1st Artillery, Aides-de-Camp. + + The churches of New York City are requested to have their bells + tolled at half-minute intervals during the movement of the + columns, from 2 until 4 P. M.; and the churches of Jersey City + are requested to toll their bells in like manner from 5 to 6 P. + M., on Thursday. + + The headquarters of the General commanding the column and + the Marshal, will be announced to-morrow. The details of + the formation in line of the respective divisions will be + communicated to the commander or chiefs from headquarters. + + H. W. SLOCUM. + OLIVER O. HOWARD. + +Late on Wednesday night the steamship Majestic arrived at New York, +with the Rev. Thomas E. Sherman among its passengers. When the pilot +boarded her, Mr. Sherman eagerly asked him about the General. + +"I'm unable to say," replied the pilot, adding that, he only knew of +General Sherman's sickness, as he had been out at sea for some days. + +When the mail steamer came alongside, Mr. Sherman repeated his anxious +inquiry. The answer came back, "General Sherman's funeral takes place +to-morrow." + +[Illustration: ARMY AND CORP COMMANDERS OF THE ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE. + +Sherman. Logan. Grant. Dodge. Blair. McPherson. Howard. + +From painting by J. E. Taylor.] + +The day before the funeral the house was opened for a few hours, +and the public were allowed to enter and view the face of the dead. +Thousands availed themselves of the privilege. "It was an interesting +crowd of people. There were white-haired veterans of the war; there +were people in the clothing of luxury, people clad like beggars, and +mothers with babies in their arms leading children by the hand. There +were schoolboys come to look at the man about whom their histories tell +them, come to see if the face they had seen in the pictures was indeed +the face of the great General. There were young girls there, and young +men also. It was a crowd representative of the whole American people. +Hebrews came out of the depths of the east side and Germans came from +Hoboken. All passed in review before the man who will review armies no +more. Their uncovered heads were bowed. Some of the very old women who +had given their sons to this leader for their country's sake sobbed as +they passed on." + +It was on a glorious winter day, February 19, that the dust of the +great soldier was carried from his former home to make the journey +to its final resting place at St. Louis. As the funeral procession +started, bells of the City were tolled; buildings everywhere displayed +tokens of honor and signs of mourning; the streets were thronged with +sympathetic spectators; and thirty thousand men marched with measured +tread behind the coffin that contained the earthly remains of their +loved and honored leader. Conspicuous in the company were General +Schofield, the head of the army; General Howard and General Slocum, +Sherman's lieutenants on the march through Georgia; General Corse, +of Kenesaw fame; General Johnston, Sherman's old antagonist; and +Professor Kendrick, one of those who taught Sherman the art of war. The +President, the Vice-President, the two living ex-Presidents, and the +members of the Cabinet were also in the company. + +There was a large contingent from the regular army, with General +Howard in command. Then came the Military Order of the Loyal Legion; +long columns of the Grand Army of the Republic; West Point Cadets; +the Sons of Veterans; and delegations from various clubs, commercial +organizations, and the municipal government. + +The long procession wound its way through the streets of New York +to the Jersey City ferry. There the coffin and its immediate escort +were taken across the river and placed on the funeral train. General +Sherman's horse, which with empty saddle had followed the funeral +caisson, was led up to the train and the saddle and boots were placed +by the coffin in the funeral car. The train consisted of an engine and +eight cars. Generals Howard and Slocum, and Surgeon Alexander, besides +six sergeants of the regular army, acted as a guard of honor. The +Governor of New Jersey through his staff acted as an escort through +Jersey City; and the Governor of Pennsylvania and his staff in a +special car went through to Harrisburg. + +It was early in the evening when the train left Jersey City. At almost +every station that it passed vast throngs assembled and bands of music +played solemn dirges. It was midnight when it reached Harrisburg, +Pennsylvania, yet a multitude stood in the darkness in the open air to +do it honor. In the morning it passed through Pittsburg in the midst +of a heavy rain storm. Later in the day the sky was clear and the sun +shone brilliantly. At Steubenville, Ohio, seventy-five veterans of the +army stood on the platform as the train went by, nearly all of them +old comrades of Sherman. At Columbus, Ohio, the train paused for a +few minutes while Grand Army veterans were allowed to gaze upon the +casket. At Indianapolis another stop was made while many distinguished +people paid their tribute of honor to the mighty dead. + +It was Saturday morning when the train reached St. Louis. For several +days the weather there had been stormy, but this morning the skies were +clear and the sunshine bright. Thousands of people thronged about the +station, waiting there for hours before the arrival of the train. At +last, at a little before nine o'clock, the funeral cars slowly rolled +into the station, the engine bell solemnly tolling. + +Elaborate preparations had been made at St. Louis for a military +funeral befitting the great soldier whose dust was to be returned to +the dust from which it came. Two hours after the arrival of the train +the procession was formed, under the lead of General Wesley Merritt, +and it solemnly wound its way through the city which for many years +was Sherman's favorite home, to Calvary Cemetery. The first division +consisted of detachments of the Regular Army, escorting the casket, +which was borne on a caisson drawn by four black horses and covered +with the stars and stripes. Ransom Post, No. 131, Department of +Missouri, G. A. R., acted as the immediate guard of honor. Following +closely were the members of the President's Cabinet and the committees +from the two houses of Congress. The second division was made up of the +Loyal Legion and the Society of the Army of the Tennessee. In it were +ex-President Hayes, Judge Gresham and General Lew Wallace. The third +division was composed of Posts of the Grand Army of the Republic and +Sons of Veterans. In the fourth division were militia regiments from +various States and many civil officials. Civic societies made up the +fifth division, and various city delegations and the general public the +sixth and last division. + +As the long procession wound its way up the slope to Calvary Cemetery +it presented a view of solemn but inspiring splendor. The arms of the +troops flashed in the sun-light, a multitude of flags fluttered on the +breeze, and the subdued strains of funeral music made the air tremulous. + +At last, six miles from the railroad station, the plot was reached +where were the graves of the wife and two children of the departed +hero. The flag covered casket was borne upon the shoulders of eight +sturdy soldiers to the open grave. Then came the command, "Present +Arms!" And every soldier stood motionless as a graven statue. Then the +Rev. Thomas E. Sherman, clad in slight vestments, stepped forward and +began the service for the dead over his father's dust, standing, as he +did so, in the shadow of his mother's monument. He repeated the words +of the Litany, translating prayer and scripture into English, in a +clear, manly voice, and offered a touching extemporaneous prayer. After +the last solemn words a company of troops stepped forward. Three times +were given the commands, "Load!" "Ready!" "Aim!" "Fire!" and three +times the rifles spoke their loud farewell salute. Then the artillery +posted near by thundered forth their echoing responses. When the last +reverberations died away a solitary trumpeter stepped forward to the +foot of the soldier's grave and sounded "Taps." + +Thus ended the last impressive scene. + +In his life Sherman had left with his friends full instructions +concerning his funeral, his grave and his monument. He directed that +the only inscription above his dust should be his name, his rank, the +date of his birth, the date of his death, and the simple words, "True +and Honest." A fitting epitaph for one who was truly, as was written of +another great soldier, "In his simplicity sublime." + + + + +CHAPTER XXX. + +TRIBUTES. + + A NATIONAL OUTBURST OF GRIEF--THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE TO + CONGRESS--THE SENATE'S MEMORIAL RESOLUTIONS--SENATOR HAWLEY'S + EULOGY--A TOUCHING TRIBUTE FROM A SOUTHERN SENATOR--SPEECHES + BY SENATORS WHO WERE ALSO SOLDIERS--ELOQUENT WORDS FROM + LAWRENCE BARRETT--JUDGE GRESHAM RECALLS SHERMAN'S PROPHETIC + WORDS--A COMPARISON BETWEEN SHERMAN AND LEE--GENERAL SLOCUM'S + REMINISCENCES--CHAUNCEY DEPEW ON SHERMAN IN SOCIAL LIFE. + + +During General Sherman's last illness the entire nation listened with +anxious suspense to every word of news that came from his home, and +millions of hearts hourly offered fervent prayers for his recovery. The +announcement of his death was not unexpected, for it had been known +for several days that recovery was impossible; but it was none the +less a shock to the public. Everywhere expressions of grief were heard +and emblems of mourning were seen. Flags were placed at half-mast and +buildings draped in black; bells were tolled and memorial meetings +held. Messages of sympathy and condolence came to his family by mail +and telegraph from every part of the world. Only a few irreconcilable +spirits here and there in the South spoke against him, and made his +death an occasion for venting their spleen against the patriot who had +subdued the rebellion. + +When the news of Sherman's death reached Washington, the President, +who had himself been an officer in Sherman's army in Georgia, sent a +message announcing the fact to Congress, in which he said: + +"The death of William Tecumseh Sherman is an event that will bring +sorrow to the heart of every patriotic citizen. No living American was +so loved and venerated as he. To look upon his face, to hear his name, +was to have one's love of country intensified. He served his country, +not for fame, not out of a sense of professional duty, but for love +of the flag and of the beneficent civil institutions of which it was +the emblem. He was an ideal soldier, and shared to the fullest the +_esprit de corps_ of the army; but he cherished the civil institutions +organized under the Constitution, and was a soldier only that these +might be perpetuated in undiminished usefulness and honor. He was in +nothing an imitator. + +"A profound student of military science and precedent, he drew +from them principles and suggestions, and so adapted them to novel +conditions that his campaigns will continue to be the profitable study +of the military profession throughout the world. His general nature +made him comrade to every soldier of the great Union Army. No presence +was so welcome and inspiring at the camp-fire or commandery as his. +His career was complete; his honors were full. He had received from +the Government the highest rank known to our military establishment, +and from the people unstinted gratitude and love. No word of mine can +add to his fame. His death has followed in startling quickness that +of the Admiral of the Navy; and it is a sad and notable incident that +when the Department under which he served shall have put on the usual +emblems of mourning, four of the eight Executive Departments will be +simultaneously draped in black, and one other has but to-day removed +the crape from its walls." + +Senator Hawley, of Connecticut, at once offered the following +resolutions, which were unanimously adopted by the Senate: + +"_Resolved_, That the Senate receive with profound sorrow the +announcement of the death of William Tecumseh Sherman, late General of +the armies of the United States. + +"_Resolved_, That the Senate renews its acknowledgment of the +inestimable services which he rendered to his country in the day of its +extreme peril, laments the great loss which the country has sustained, +and deeply sympathizes with his family in its bereavement. + +"_Resolved_, That a copy of these resolutions be forwarded to the +family of the deceased." + +Mr. Hawley said: "Mr. President, at this hour, the Senate, the +Congress and the people of the United States are one family. What we +have been daily expecting has happened; General Sherman has received +and obeyed his last order. He was a great soldier by the judgment +of the great soldiers of the world. In time of peace he had been a +great citizen, glowing and abounding with love of country and of all +humanity. His glorious soul appeared in every look, gesture and word. +The history of our country is rich in soldiers who have set examples +of simple soldierly obedience to the civil law and of self-abnegation. +Washington, Grant, Sheridan and Sherman lead the list. Sherman was +the last of the illustrious trio who were by universal consent the +foremost figures in the armies of the Union in the late war. Among the +precious traditions to pass into our history for the admiration of the +old and the instruction of the young was their friendship, their most +harmonious co-operation, without a shadow of ambition or pride. When +General Grant was called to Washington to take command of the armies of +the Union, his great heart did not forget the men who stood by him." + +Here Mr. Hawley read the letter from Grant to Sherman, written at that +time, expressing thanks to him and McPherson as the men, above all +others, to whom he owed success, and Sherman's letter, in reply, saying +that General Grant did himself injustice and them too much honor. + +Mr. Hawley closed his remarks, his voice frequently giving way from +grief and emotion, by reading the following passages from Bunyan's +"Pilgrim's Progress": "After this it was noised about that Mr. +Valiant-for-Truth was taken with a summons. When he understood it he +called for his friends and told them of it. Then said he, 'I am going +to my fathers; and though with great difficulty I got hither, yet now +I do not repent me of all the trouble I have been at to arrive where +I am. My sword I give to him that shall succeed me in my pilgrimage, +and my courage and skill to him that can get them. My marks and scars +I carry with me, to be a witness for me that I have fought His battles +who will now be a rewarder.' When the day that he must go hence was +come many accompanied him to the river side, into which as he went he +said: 'Death, where is thy sting?' And as he went down deeper he said: +'Grave, where is thy victory?' So he passed over and all the trumpets +sounded for him on the other side." + +Senator Morgan, of Alabama, said: "On this occasion of National +solemnity I would lead the thoughts and sympathies of the American +Senate back to those days in our history when General Sherman was, by +a choice greatly honorable to his nature, a citizen of the State of +Louisiana, and presided over a college for the instructions of Southern +youth in the arts of war and the arts of peace. Those were not worse +days than some we have seen during the last half of this century. In +those days, notwithstanding the conditions of the South, in view of +its institutions inherited from the older States of the East, every +American was as welcome in Louisiana and the South as he was elsewhere +in the Union. We are gradually and surely returning to that cordial +state of feeling which was unhappily interrupted by the Civil War. + +"Our fathers taught us that it was the highest patriotism to defend +the Constitution of the country. But they had left within its body +guarantees of an institution that the will of the majority finally +determined should no longer exist and which put the conscience of the +people to the severest test. Looking back now to the beginning of +this century and to the conflict of opinion and of material interests +engendered by those guarantees, we can see that they never could have +been stricken out of the organic law except by a conflict of arms. The +conflict came, as it was bound to come, and Americans became enemies, +as they were bound to be, in the settlement of issues that involved so +much of money, such radical political results and the pride of a great +and illustrious race of people. The power rested with the victors at +the close of the conflict, but not all the honors of the desperate +warfare. Indeed, the survivors are now winning honors, enriched with +justice and magnanimity, not less worthy than those who won the battles +in their labors to restore the country to its former feeling of +fraternal regard and to unity of sentiment and action and to promote +its welfare. The fidelity of the great General who has just departed in +the ripeness of age, and with a history marked by devotion to his flag, +was the true and simple faith of an American to his convictions of duty. + +"We differed with him and contested campaigns and battlefields with +him; but we welcome the history of the great soldier as the proud +inheritance of our country. We do this as cordially and as sincerely as +we gave him welcome in the South, as one of our people, when our sons +were confided to his care, in a relation that (next to paternity) had +its influence upon the young men of the country. The great military +leaders on both sides of our Civil War are rapidly marching across the +border to a land where history and truth and justice must decide upon +every man's career. When they meet there, they will be happy to find +that the honor of human actions is not always measured by their wisdom +but by the motives in which they had their origin. I cherish the proud +belief that the heroes of the Civil War will find that, measured by +this standard, none of them on either side were delinquent, and they +will be happy in an association that will never end--and will never +be disturbed by an evil thought, jealousy or distrust. When a line so +narrow divides us from those high courts in which our actions are to +be judged by their motives, and when so many millions now living, and +increasing millions to follow, are to be affected by the wisdom of our +enactments, we will do well to give up this day to reflection upon our +duties and (in sympathy with this great country) to dedicate the day to +his memory. In such a retrospect we shall find an admonition that an +American Senate should meet, on this side of the fatal line of death, +as the American Generals meet on the other side, to render justice to +each other and to make our beloved country as happy, comparatively, as +we should wish the great beyond to be to those great spirits." + +Senator Manderson said that as the hours of the last two or three days +passed away he had not had the heart to make such preparation for the +event which he had feared and dreaded, as might seem to be meet and +appropriate. The death of General Sherman came (although one might have +been prepared for it) as the unexpected. It was a day of mourning and +grief. Here, at the Capital of the Nation, lay the body of the great +Admiral, the chief of the Navy; and in New York was being prepared for +the last sad rites the corpse of the greatest military genius which +the Nation had produced. General Sherman had been great not only as a +military leader, but he had been great as a civilian. Who was there +that had heard him tell of the events of his wonderful career who had +not been filled with admiration and respect for his abilities? It +seemed to him that General Sherman was perhaps the only man in the +North who, in the early days of the war, seemed to appreciate what the +terrible conflict meant It was recollected how it was said in 1861 +that he must be insane to make the suggestions which he made. These +suggestions were so startling to the country that he (Mr. Manderson) +did not wonder that men doubted General Sherman's sanity. Like men of +great genius, he seemed to have lived in that debatable ground existing +between the line of perfect sanity and insanity'. + +After a review of General Sherman's military career, opening at Shiloh +and closing at Atlanta, Mr. Manderson read General Sherman's letter +to the Mayor and Common Council of Atlanta, beginning: "We must have +peace, not only at Atlanta, but in all America." + +In conclusion. Mr. Manderson said: "General Sherman was estimable as +a citizen, and as fully appreciated the duties of a civilian, as he +was admirable as a soldier. But this strife, which we have watched for +the last few days, has ceased. The conflict has ended. The Nation has +witnessed it. Sixty millions of people have stood in silence, watching +for the supreme result. Death, ever victorious, is again a victor. A +great conqueror is himself conquered. Our Captain lies dead. The pale +lip sayeth to the sunken eye: 'Where is thy kindly glance? And where +thy winning smile?'" + +Senator Davis said he could hardly trust himself to speak. He had been +a soldier under General Sherman, and had received acts of kindness from +him when he was a subaltern. As the years had gone by, and the widening +avenues of life had opened up ways of promotion, that acquaintance had +ripened into friendship, and, he might say, into intimacy. He had first +seen General Sherman at the siege of Vicksburg, twenty-eight years +ago, when he was the very incarnation of war; but to-day that spirit +had taken up its rest in the everlasting tabernacle of death. It was +fit that the clanging of the great city should be hushed in silence, +and that the functions of government should be suspended while the +soul of the great commander was passing to Him who gives and Him who +takes away. No more were heard the thunders of the captains, and the +shouting. The soul of the great warrior had passed and was standing in +judgment before Him who was the God of Battles, and was also the God of +Love. + +Senator Pierce, as one of the soldiers who had served under General +Sherman in the Army of the Tennessee, gave some reminiscences of the +war and paid a glowing eulogy to his old commander. + +Senator Evarts said that the afflicting intelligence of the death of +General Sherman had touched the Senate with the deepest sensibilities; +that that grief was not a private grief; nor was it limited by any +narrower bounds than those of the whole country. The affections of the +people toward its honorable and honored men did not always find a warm +effusion, because circumstances might not have brought the personal +career, the personal traits, the personal affectionate disposition +of great men, to the close and general observation of the people at +large. But of General Sherman no such observation could be truly made. +Whatever of affection and of grief Senators might feel was felt, +perhaps, more intensely in the hearts of the whole people. To observers +of his death, as they had been of his life, General Sherman had been +yesterday the most celebrated living American. He was now added to +that longer and more illustrious list of celebrated men of the country +for the hundred years of National life. One star differed from another +star in glory, but yet all of those stars had a glory to which nothing +could be added by eulogy, and from which nothing could be taken away by +detraction. They shone in their own effulgence, and borrowed no light +from honor or respect. It had been said already that General Sherman +was the last of the commanders. If those who had passed out of life +still watched over and took interest in what transpired in this world +(and no one doubted it), what great shades must have surrounded the +death-bed of General Sherman! And who could imagine a greater death-bed +for a great life than that which had been watched over in a neighboring +city during the week? It had been reserved for him (Mr. Evarts) at the +declining hour of the day, as a Senator from the State which General +Sherman had honored by his late home, and in which he had died, to +move, out of respect to his memory, that the Senate do now adjourn. + +Lawrence Barrett, the eminent actor, paid this eloquent tribute to his +friend in the columns of _The New York Tribune_: + +"The funeral cortege has passed. The emblems of war, which had +for many years been laid aside, have once again been seen sadly +embellishing the soldierly equipage whereupon the lifeless body rests. +Old comrades, lifelong friends, statesmen and great civilians have +followed the mournful pageant with fruitless regrets. The instruments +which in battle days sounded to the charge or the retreat, which sang +reveille to the waking morn or gave the sternest good-night, when all +was well; which through a quarter of a century of peace have greeted +the retired warrior at feast and civic parade with harmonies upon his +achievements--these now beat the last mournful cadences leading to an +earthly camping-ground beneath whose sod the mortal remains of our +great soldier shall rest beside his loved ones, forever dead to triumph +or threnody. + +"The last of the immortal trio has joined his waiting comrades. Already +in the fields of the blessed one may believe that their spirits sadly +regard our simple tributes to the earthly casket which holds the dust +of Sherman. The mourning thousands who have lined the highway of the +sad procession have gone to their homes with a tenderer reflection +upon the meanings of existence and death. And even as his valor in +the written story had awakened a stronger patriotism than had before +existed, so in his death and in the last tributes paid to the hero a +fresher and purer sense of patriotic duty springs up in our hearts to +link us to the inheritance he helped to gain. + +"History will gather up and weave into enduring form the achievements +of the soldier and the statesman. In that final summary sectional +prejudice and personal bias may bear their natural parts. Only in a +remote future, when all the sorrowful effects of the great Civil War +have lost their nearness--only when its beneficence in knitting closer +the bonds of friendship and National brotherhood shall be recognized, +when no newly-made grave sends up reproachful reminders to bereaved +hearts, only then can the hero's place be immutably fixed on the heroic +calendar. To the scholar and the sage may be left that office. The +records of his military life, his general orders, his plans, his deeds, +will guide the historian into a proper estimate of the dead soldier's +station in the military Valhalla. + +"But how shall the innumerable civic deeds of this dead man be recorded +or find place for reference? In the musty archives of no war office +are they registered. Upon no enduring parchment are they written. +They would escape definition in the attempt to define them. They +are engraved upon hearts still living--they sweeten the lives still +unsummoned--they are too sacred for utterance. Yet they are the crown +of Sherman's achievement. Wherever this man's hand was extended it +brought glad strength; wherever his voice was heard it aroused emotions +of grateful tenderness; wherever his form was seen it gladdened loving +eyes. He survived a civil war for a quarter of a century--to show to us +that the soldier's armor is less becoming than the garb of civil life, +that the pomp and circumstance of war are loud preludes of beneficent +peace. + +"No intrusion of personal relation shall sully this poor testament to +the dead. No one can claim the inheritance of such a large-hearted +bounty. But in the name of the drama which he loved, in the names of +the actors whom he respected, it is proper that no tardy recognition +should follow his death. He had a scholar's love for what was highest +in the art--whether in the walk of tragedy or comedy. He had a warm +affection for those who labored in this atmosphere. He had also a large +sympathy for those performances which afford recreation and amusement +to the largest class of the community. His voice was never hushed +when called to aid in the needs of the player. He was no ordinary +first-nighter. He had a simple and affecting belief that his presence +might be useful to those who were seeking public suffrage across +the foot-lights, and he could not but know that his indorsement was +valuable and trustworthy. He was one of the incorporators of 'The +Players,' upon whose muster-roll no nobler name appears. His imposing +character gave dignity to those deliberative meetings out of which that +organization grew into its present useful life. + +"And should contemporary history fail to do him justice--should +the bitterness of the Civil War make a just estimate of his worth +impossible in biographical annals--should envy or malice deface the +white shaft which should symbolize his deeds--then the dramatist will +lovingly bear up the garments of his glory--keep them from soil within +that Valhalla where Cæsar and Alexander, Frederick and Gustavus, live +imperishably enshrined. Therein shall be cherished the insignia and +the characteristics of the most notable figure of modern or ancient +soldiery. + +"Again in future nights shall we see the pomp and glory of Union making +war--once again its gallant leader shall pass before the eyes of a +curious posterity in the drama's immortal keeping, and the gallant +spirit whose influence in life so often attended the presentment of +Cæsar and Antony and Cassius and the Roman group shall, in death, +mingle with their essence, tenderly restored by the dramatists whom he +inspired, by the actors whom he loved." + +[Illustration: HEAD OF PROCESSION COMING DOWN BROADWAY, NEW YORK CITY.] + +Said Walter Q. Gresham, United States Judge: "I belonged to General +Sherman's command when he entered Kentucky, at Louisville, in the +summer of '61, since which time we have maintained an unbroken +friendship. + +"Besides being a man of great genius he was generous, frank and +confiding. No officer of high rank whom I met during the war was more +patient than General Sherman with subordinates, so long as he believed +that they were trying to do their duty; and no officer was more +merciless in dealing with shirks, cowards and pretenders. + +"In brilliancy of conception and boldness of execution, perhaps he +had no equal on either side during the civil war. Like other great +and successful men he encountered the envy and jealousy of those less +gifted and magnanimous than himself. + +"He was intensely patriotic and always willing to endure hardship and +privation. His patriotism was of that intense kind that he would at +any time have willingly sacrificed his life for the cause he served so +brilliantly and well. His great courage, generosity, frankness, and +patriotism endeared him to all the officers and men who served under +him, and in every State of the Union they are now mourning his loss. + +"I spent some time with him at his home in New York three weeks ago +last Sunday. He was then well, cheerful, and bright. He indulged much +during the afternoon in reminiscence, and related a number of incidents +of the war which I had forgotten. He mentioned a large number of mutual +army friends who had died, and remarked: + +"'Gresham, we will join them soon.'" + +Ex-President Hayes paid this tribute to his military genius: + +"The only comparison of value that I choose to offer comes from abroad. +We hear in regard to Sherman, from the French generals nothing but +praise; from the German generals the same; from the English, General +Wolseley speaks of him in terms that are altogether complimentary. +Says Wolseley, however, 'Lee was a great general, and next to him was +Sherman.' I would change the order. I admit for Lee a great character, +accomplishments as a soldier and as a man, praise in every way except +his unfortunate lack of wisdom. I do not now speak of motives, but +of the military genius who was the military genius of the war. Place +Lee where Sherman was. Place Sherman where Lee was. Place Lee at +Chattanooga, even with Sherman's army. Would he have found his way to +Atlanta, and at Atlanta cut loose from his base of supplies and entered +upon the wild march for the sea three hundred miles away? I believe no +man lacking the genius of Sherman would have entered on that march to +the sea. But come nearer home. Lee had the same opportunity, only it +was ten times better than that Sherman had at Atlanta. Suppose Sherman +had been in command of the army of Lee. Washington at that time lay +completely in the power of an enterprising and daring commander, and +with Washington captured, intervention from abroad would have come. +I do not predict final defeat, for throughout all the action the +finger of God was present, guiding and directing. I cannot believe +that under any circumstances the cause of liberty and union could have +failed, but at Washington was the chance of victory, and Lee failed +to take it. More than that, he went to the Potomac, crossed it, and +our disorganized army, without a commander, being divided between +Pope and McClellan, was ten days behind him, and he marched on into +Pennsylvania; and what did he do, and what would Sherman have done? +Lee did not dare to lose communication with his base of supplies, and +was driven back from Antietam with a divided army. Had Sherman been at +the head of that army, and that distance between him and the pursuing +forces, he would have gone to Philadelphia, Pittsburg, Buffalo, +Cleveland, Cincinnati, and then cut his road back into Virginia. A +little band of 4000 men under Morgan went through Ohio and Indiana, +and Lee, with his great army, with nothing before him but wealth and +supplies and cities able to pay tribute for not being burned, is not to +be compared with Sherman." + +General Slocum said: "I have been acquainted with General Sherman since +the beginning of the war. I first met him at Bull Run and afterward +in the West, when my corps was sent there to reinforce Rosecrans. At +that time he was tall and angular and his general appearance was much +the same as it was in later life. My services with him began just +before the capture of Atlanta. In that campaign the minutest details +were attended to by General Sherman himself. Details as to the exact +amount of ammunition to be taken by each corps, the exact amount of +stores of each and every kind, were specified in his orders. During +the campaign he alternated between General Howard and myself, riding +with General Howard one day and with me the next. He was a great +and most interesting talker, and the pleasantest days that I spent +during the war were those when I was accompanied by General Sherman. +He had been stationed at Charleston before the war and was familiar +with the topography of South Carolina. He had information that no +maps contained. He seldom forgot anything that could ever be of any +use to him to remember. Once I thought I would test his knowledge by +introducing the subject of the manufacture of salt, a subject with +which I thought I was perfectly familiar, having lived at Syracuse. I +found that he knew more about it than I did. He said that his wife had +some relatives there, and that years before he had visited them and +had been taken through the salt works. Not a fact connected with the +manufacture of salt had escaped his memory. + +"Sherman was greatly beloved by his soldiers, partly for their success +under him and partly for his kind treatment of them. He rarely +consulted his subordinates, however, though he accepted suggestions +when he thought them good. Still he was intolerant of negligence or +carelessness, and punished it severely. He was not a bigoted man on +the subject of religion. I am confident that while he felt deeply +disappointed at his son's becoming a Roman Catholic priest, the +disappointment was due more to his having abandoned a profession which +General Sherman had set his heart upon his following. He wanted his +oldest son to become a lawyer. The son studied for that profession and +the opening of his career was exceedingly brilliant. + +"General Sherman told me frequently that he wished to have nothing to +do with politics, and after General Grant had been elected President +he told me that he thought Grant had made a mistake, as his reputation +as a soldier was worth more than any office. The last time I saw him +was at the New England dinner in this city. We sat side by side, and he +referred to the subject, and spoke of the number of bright men he had +seen ruined by politics." + +Chauncey Depew also knew Sherman well, particularly in his later years, +in New York. "He was," said Mr. Depew, "at once the most distinguished +and delightful figure in our metropolitan society. He seemed to have a +most elastic constitution, and endured an amount of social obligation +which would have tired out and used up many a younger and stronger +man. He loved to be in the company of men and women. I think he dined +out every night of his life, and very often he would be found at late +suppers, especially theatrical suppers. + +"He was, easily, at any table, at the head wherever he sat, and had a +wonderful faculty for entertaining conversation. No person ever heard +him say a disagreeable thing. With the most positive, pronounced and +aggressive opinions on all questions, and never concealing them, he so +stated them as never to offend an adversary. His attention to ladies +was a most delightful exhibition of knightly and soldierly courtesy. +There was in his manner and speech something of deference, respect and +admiration, which conveyed a more signal compliment than can be wrought +in phrase or flattery. At a night supper where the guests were mostly +theatrical people he was, in his joyous hilarity, like a boy. In the +speech which he invariably made there was much of the fatherly feeling +of an old man rejoicing in the artistic success of his auditors, and +to those who deserved it, whether actors or actresses, a neatly turned +compliment which expressed all that a trained dramatic critic could +say, and became in the recollection of the happy recipient the best +memory of his or her life. + +"I have been with him at hundreds of public dinners, and in studying +closely his mental methods and habits of speech, have come to +regard him as the readiest and most original talker in the United +States. I don't believe that he ever made the slightest preparation, +but he absorbed apparently while thinking and while carrying on a +miscellaneous conversation with those about him, the spirit of the +occasion, and his speech, when he finished, seemed to be as much of +a surprise to himself as it was to the audience, and the work of a +superior and exceedingly active intelligence which included him as well +as the rest among its auditors. + +"Most men, and I have met several, who had this faculty, were cans of +dynamite, whose explosion was almost certain to produce most disastrous +results. But General Sherman rarely failed in striking out a line of +thought different from and more original than any other speaker, and +in sometimes giving utterance to the boldest thought, yet always in +harmony with the occasion. + +"I recall the last two times that I met him as especially significant +of his conversational talent and power of public speech on a sudden +call. I sat near him at the dinner given in his honor by ex-Chief +Justice Daly about a month ago. General Sherman rarely talked about +himself, but on this occasion he became reminiscent and entertained us +for more than an hour with free-hand sketches of his adventures on the +plains in early days, and of the original people whom he met among the +early settlers. These recollections if taken down at the moment would +have proved an invaluable contribution to the history of the period +covering the growth of transportation on the plains, from the wagon +to the railroad, and the story of the bold and adventurous spirits +who were the pioneers of Western civilization, many of whom he knew +personally. + +"The last time I met him he promised, after a dinner to which he was +engaged, to do me the favor, though he said it was asking a good deal +at his time of life, to come into the Yale Alumni Association dinner +and say a word to the guests. His appearance there, about half-past 11, +was an event which the alumni of Yale who were present, most of whom +were young men who had never seen him before, will remember as long as +they live. + +"I have felt for many years that, in the interests of the period during +which he was one of the most conspicuous actors, and with one exception +the most conspicuous, he ought always to have been accompanied by a +stenographer. + +"I have known most of the men who have been famous in the country, in +every walk of life, in the last twenty-five years sufficiently well +to hear them frequently talk in a free and confidential way. General +Sherman is one of the few who never bore you, whose conversation is +always interesting, and no matter how long he talks, he leaves you +eager and hungry for more. I was with him at the time I delivered +the oration before the Army of the Potomac at Saratoga. I was with +him from 10 o'clock in the morning until 6 in the afternoon, and he +talked without cessation for the whole period. It was a test that few +men could have stood, and the three others who were with him in the +carriage only regretted that day was limited by the light." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI. + +IN MEMORIAM. + + NEW YORK'S OFFICIAL TRIBUTE--THE CONSOLIDATED STOCK EXCHANGE-- + THE UNION LEAGUE CLUB--THE REPUBLICAN COUNTY COMMITTEE--THE + GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC--THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE--SPEECH BY + THE HON. CARL SCHURZ--THE OHIO SOCIETY--BRIEF WORDS FROM MANY + FRIENDS. + + +The official tribute of respect paid by New York City to General +Sherman was expressed by the Mayor in this message: + + "_The Honorable the Board of Aldermen_: + + "It is with great sorrow that I officially announce to you the + death of General William T. Sherman, the great soldier, the + distinguished patriot, and our most beloved citizen. On his + retirement from the Army of the United States he came to live + with us. Foremost in public spirit and always ready to aid in + charitable and civic enterprises, his loss, while a calamity to + the United States, is greatest to the people of the city of his + home. His services as chairman of the Johnstown Relief Committee + and as member of the World's Fair Committee and other public + bodies showed his value in civic life no less than in war. + + "Out of respect to his memory and as a token of the love + and esteem in which he is held by all the citizens of this + metropolis, as well as of the country, I recommend that the + public offices be closed on Thursday next--the day of his + obsequies--that all citizens be requested to close their places + of business from 1 to 5 o'clock on the afternoon of that day, and + that the flags be displayed at half-mast on public and private + buildings until Saturday next, and that your honorable body take + such further action as you may deem proper. + + "HUGH J. GRANT, _Mayor_." + +Appropriate resolutions were adopted by the Board of Aldermen, and the +city offices were closed on the day of the funeral. + +The Consolidated Stock Exchange voted this memorandum:-- + +"The death of General William Tecumseh Sherman has taken from us a man +dearly beloved by all citizens; one whose strong patriotism, unswerving +loyalty and eminent services to his country have given him a high place +in the roll of illustrious Americans. + +"As a soldier his record is among the highest in the world, and will +live always in the history of his country. As a citizen he was a type +worthy of emulation. Duty and patriotism were the watchwords of his +life. Without unworthy personal ambitions or desires he was always +self-sacrificing, and his blameless character, his genial and kindly +disposition have made him dearly beloved by his countless friends +throughout the country. + +"By his death the nation has lost a true and loyal son, one of the +most honored and beloved citizens. The members of this Exchange +desire to testify to the sorrow which they, in common with their +fellow-countrymen, feel at the loss which the nation has sustained by +this bereavement, and to add their tribute to his memory. + +"They tender to the family their most heartfelt and sincere sympathy +in the grievous affliction which they have been called upon to bear." + +A special memorial meeting of the Union League Club was held, at which +the following resolutions, read by Mr. Joseph H. Choate, were adopted: + +"The members of the Union League Club, of which General Sherman has +been an honorary member for more than a quarter of a century, desire to +put on record an expression of their heartfelt sorrow for his death, +of their tender sympathy for his bereaved children, and of their +profound appreciation of his matchless services to his country. A great +soldier whose brilliant and uniform triumphs in the field attested his +military genius, second only to that of his mighty chief to whom his +life to his last hour was a continual homage, he shared with Grant and +Sheridan the highest honors and the most terrible responsibilities of +the great struggle for liberty and union. Having by their swords made +these inseparable forever, their names will go down to the most distant +posterity as identified with the flag which they saved and glorified. + +"No test can measure the frightful strain which came upon those who +bore for us the chief burden of the war which involved the existence of +the Nation itself; but to-day the fresh graves of Sherman and Porter, +the last survivors of that glorious group, reveal its fatal force and +result. + +"Besides being a historic soldier and an ideal hero, it was General +Sherman's happy fortune in the twenty-five years that have elapsed +since the close of the war in which he bore so distinguished a part, +to come very near to the people of the land and to become every year +dearer and dearer to them by the merits and charms of his personal +character, so that it may truly be said that the death of no man in +America to-day could have left a void in the people's heart so deep and +wide as his has done. + +"Retaining to the last that rugged health and buoyant temperament with +which nature had blessed him, he retained also a keen and ever-living +interest in the affairs of the country which he had been so potent to +save. And believing that he and all that he was or had been or could +be belonged to the people, he moved freely among them and displayed a +never-failing sympathy in all that affected their fortunes and welfare. +He was everywhere known and recognized, not merely as the embodiment +of victory, but also as the exponent of that unconditional loyalty to +country which he taught and lived wherever he went. + +"This fierce and uncompromising spirit of nationality was the most +striking feature of his character. It was this that bound him to the +Nation's service. It was this that carried him from victory to victory. +It is this that he has left as an imperishable legacy to his loving +countrymen. + +"In every thought and feeling General Sherman was intensely American. +He believed in the abiding greatness and glory of his country, in the +form of government under which we live and in the capacity of the +people to maintain and preserve it, and he had no sympathy with or +toleration for those who affect to discover in every misadventure in +politics or blunder of government a symptom of National decline. In +every sense of the word he was a noble citizen and a splendid example +for all men to follow and imitate in his public spirit, his reverence +for law, his lofty standard of civic duty and his zeal for the honor +and good name of his country. + +"We cannot part with him without expressing our gratitude for his +genial companionship which we were for so many years permitted to enjoy +within these walls, where was his frequent and favorite resort. We +recall with delight the personal reminiscences in which he here so +freely indulged, historical always because they were his own, his blunt +and outspoken honesty which always induced him to speak as he thought, +and at the same time that hearty social spirit in which he welcomed us +all as friends and responded to every expression of good-will. + +"Peace to his ashes! Honor to his memory! In the day of her peril, if +any such day shall ever again come to her, may his country find another +like him, to defend, redeem and exalt her! + +"_Resolved_, That a copy of this minute be sent to the family of +General Sherman, and that a committee be appointed to represent this +club at his funeral." + +General Horace Porter seconded the resolutions in an eloquent and +touching speech. He said: + +"Mr. Chairman: I am very glad to lift my voice in favor of these +resolutions in honor of the memory of the illustrious dead, the last +of our prominent military chieftains. Nearly every great war has given +birth to but one great general. No other country but our own has +produced three such eminent commanders as Grant, Sherman and Sheridan. +The second in years was called from us first; the next followed next; +while the senior in age has been spared to us until the last. The +badges of mourning which were laid aside after the last sad funeral +rites of his illustrious predecessors are again brought forth to serve +as emblems of our sorrow in our recent loss, and the Nation again finds +herself standing within the shadow of a profound grief. + +"While General Sherman was a man of great versatility of talent, and +had filled many important positions in the various walks of life, his +great reputation will always be founded upon his merits as a soldier. +With him the chief characteristics of a soldier seemed inborn. There +was something in his very look, in the gait with which he moved, that +of themselves revealed him as a typical soldier. As we looked upon +his well-knit brow, his deep, penetrating, restless hazel eye, his +aquiline nose, we could see easily that there was something in these +outward appearances that betokened a great man. In war he was prompt +in decision and unshrinking under the great responsibilities. Prompt +in action, firm in purpose and untiring in effort, he had an intrinsic +knowledge of topography, and there was found in his person much of the +patience of a Fabius, with the restlessness of a Hotspur. He excited +confidence in his troops, which made them follow him to victory with +all the dash of Cæsar's Tenth Legion. The students of military history +at home and abroad have studied his campaigns as their models and +placed his works on a level with the grandest works of the masters of +military science. + +"The first time I met Sherman was when, as a staff officer, I conveyed +to him from Grant a message. As soon as he had read Grant's letter +and I heard what he had to say, I was lost in amazement at the grasp +and the comprehensiveness of that great mind. He gave me a letter to +take back to Grant, of which this was a part: 'I admire your tact, +perseverance and courage more than ever. I think if you can whip Lee +and I can march to Atlanta, old Uncle Abe will give us both twenty +days' leave of absence to go home and see the young folks.' + +"General Sherman to-morrow will begin his last march on earth, this +time homeward from the sea." + +General Charles H. T. Collis, followed in a brief speech, in which he +recalled many interesting reminiscences, touching the life of the dead +soldier, and pictured him, as was the custom of General Sherman at +all meetings of the club, coming in modestly while the president would +invariably beckon him to a seat on the platform. + +Chauncey M. Depew then said: + +"I had the pleasure and honor of being present at each of those famous +birthday dinners that General Sherman gave at his house. Every one +of them was an historic event and the guests historic personalities, +outside of Mr. Choate and myself, who were always the only civilian +guests. + +"In connection with the great Rebellion, in which General Sherman +played so conspicuous a part, it may be said that wars of not one-half +the magnitude or disastrous results have left their marks for centuries +upon the histories of nations; while, although only a quarter of a +century has elapsed since the close of the Rebellion, none of its +sorrows and few of its passions survive. The men who fought in that +rebellion, though not yet old men in the sense of decrepitude or +extreme age, are historical characters; and if the bitterness and the +bickerings of that struggle are largely forgotten, it is because in +its successful termination was accomplished the resurrection of the +American Republic. + +"The best causes have been lost where they have been badly led. It is +difficult in civil life, in statesmanship, to point out the statesman +to whom we can ascribe the origin of a principle or a policy, because +principles and policies are largely the evolution of time and the +creation of many minds and necessities grasped by many actors. But the +game of war is a game which is played by its masters, and the greatest +master wins the game. + +"But you may say the world will continue to go on in the same groove +no matter who dies. So it will. Still, there are men who will live a +thousand years hence, when no man of this century is remembered, save +Lincoln, who will hear of General Grant and General Sherman. + +"Sherman had the quality which belonged to none of our extremely great +men of civil or military life--that subtle, indefinable something which +is called genius. Lincoln came very near having it, but he didn't have +it entirely. Grant was the incarnation of war, but he was not touched +by the divine fire of genius. Assuredly Washington didn't have it, +though Hamilton may possibly have possessed it. But with Sherman it +made him the most original figure in the field, on the platform, in +society. In him was a touch of something which separated him from his +kind, and singled him out as a distinct individuality the moment he +spoke. In Europe, where they only judge Americans by those who travel +to that continent from time to time from this country, even the most +prejudiced among them I have heard say more than once: 'The most +interesting American, and I may say the most interesting man I ever +met, was your General Sherman.'" + +The Republican County Committee of New York expressed its appreciation +of the great commander in these terms: + +"WHEREAS, General William T. Sherman, in the fulness of years and the +ripeness of fame, has been removed from our midst by the decree of +Providence; and + +"WHEREAS, General William T. Sherman by his military genius, sacrifices +and achievements in behalf of the Union, endeared himself to the +grateful people of the United States as one of its greatest generals +and patriots; while his deeds of courage, valor and strategy placed him +in the foremost rank of military commanders of the world; his sterling +qualities of honesty, integrity and justice were recognized by all; +while his affable nature, kind courtesy and philanthropic disposition +won for him the admiration, esteem and friendship of the country which +he served, and the citizens of the city in which he dwelt; + +"_Resolved_, That in the death of General William T. Sherman the people +of the United States suffer an irreparable loss; the country loses a +patriot, a brave, self-sacrificing soldier, and a wise and sagacious +leader; his acquaintances, a generous and sympathetic friend, and his +family a devoted and indulgent father. + +"_Resolved_, That the Republican County Committee of the city of New +York, speaking for and on behalf of the Republican party represented by +it, recognizing as above the great service of General Sherman for the +maintenance and preservation of the Union, and his estimable qualities, +deeply mourns his death, and offers its sincere condolence to the +people of the United States and the afflicted family of the deceased. + +"_Resolved_, That a copy of these resolutions be sent by the officers +of this committee to the family of the deceased." + +The Memorial Committee of the Grand Army of the Republic, in New York +City, added this tribute:-- + +"_Resolved_, That the Memorial Committee of the Grand Army of the +Republic of the city of New York, sharing the grief of the American +people at the National bereavement, offers its sympathy to the +children of General William T. Sherman, and trusts that they may find +consolation for the loss of their illustrious father in the thought +that the world is better for his having lived in it. His fame has +filled the earth, his achievements having placed him in the front of +strategists, and his services in the war for the Union were second +only to those of the matchless Grant. His name was a tower of strength +to our cause in the supreme crisis of our Nation's life. His soldiers +trusted him, loved him, and cheerfully followed him. He was above the +temptations of money, or the seductions of political ambition. He was +kindly in his manners, cordial, open and generous. A commander in the +field he was in peace a comrade. He was a type of the true American; +undazzled by the glitter of aristocracy, and proud of the undecorated +honor of American citizenship. He was a comrade of the Grand Army of +the Republic, often the welcome guest of the posts of this city, and he +carried into his daily life the principles of our order--fraternity, +charity and loyalty. Though he filled the full measure of man's span of +earthly existence, his life was more full of honors than of years. His +death was happy in this, that he passed away with his eye not dimmed, +nor his natural force abated, and that he left no duty undone. His fame +is safe with posterity. His memory is precious to us who knew him and +were known to him. When the last sad offices have been performed he +will not disappear from our thoughts, but dwell in them cherished in +recollections of his relations, at once paternal and fraternal, with +the Grand Army of the Republic of this city." + +[Illustration: THE CATAFALQUE PASSING FIFTY-SEVENTH STREET AND +BROADWAY, NEW YORK CITY.] + +And in a General Order the Commander of the Grand Army, Department of +New York, General Floyd Clarkson, addressed his comrades thus:-- + +"The Commander of the Department has the sad duty to announce to the +comrades of this Department that on Saturday, the 14th inst., at 1.50 +P.M., the best beloved and noblest, grandest comrade of the Order, +General William T. Sherman, heard, while in his home in this city, +surrounded by his children, kindred and friends, the trumpet call +'Lights out,' and passed hence to the fruitions and glories of the +encampment across the river. + +"It is not necessary to recount his services and achievements. They +are closely interwoven with the history of our land for the past fifty +years; and as that is recited the name of our illustrious comrade +constantly appears as one of the most active workers in that marvellous +narrative; but it was in the great convulsions that were upon our +nation in the years '61 to '65 that the magnificent abilities and worth +of him whom we this day deplore shone out in their tenderness and +brilliancy. + +"He is the last of the great triumvirate who marshalled the forces of +the Nation, and so directed that mighty power that before 'Old Glory' +treason, beaten and disheartened, yielded the contest and accepted for +all time the fact as established that this was and is a Nation 'of the +people, by the people and for the people.' + +"As a comrade of the Grand Army of the Republic, no one emphasized more +than he did 'that the distinctions of rank necessary for active service +were here laid aside,' and no one more heartily grasped the hand and +welcomed to his presence and heart the man who carried the musket, or +swung the sabre, or pulled the lanyard, or manned the yards, than did +our well-beloved comrade, William T. Sherman; and no one could accept +more pleasantly and with deeper satisfaction the welling-up of the +long-cherished heart affection of the Boys in Blue." + +The memorial meeting of the New York Chamber of Commerce was one of the +largest ever held by that distinguished body. Resolutions expressing +sorrow at the General's death were presented by J. Edward Simmons. They +were as follows: + +"WHEREAS, The members of the Chamber of Commerce but a short time +since were called to assemble in the presence of a severe national +bereavement to pay their tribute of respect to the character and noble +labors of a distinguished civilian and statesman, having under his care +the fiduciary interests of the Republic: and + +"WHEREAS, To-day, by the dispensation of an all-wise Providence, we +meet to pay our tribute of affectionate regard to the memory of a +great soldier, whose splendid services in the long struggle for the +preservation of the Union were as brilliant as they were successful, +and whose achievements illustrated the greatness of a soldier who in +conquest knew no hate, and in whose magnanimity there was no revenge; +therefore + +"_Resolved_, That the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York +hereby places on record its unanimous sentiment of profound sorrow +because of the irreparable loss the Nation has sustained in the death +of our distinguished soldier-citizen, Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman. + +"_Resolved_, That by the death of Gen. Sherman, the world has lost one +of its greatest military heroes. Pure in heart, of spotless integrity, +cool and undismayed in danger, he not only won honor and renown from +the soldiers of his command, but he invariably inspired them with +friendship, affection, and confidence. He was the soldier of justice, +right and truth, and he has passed from our midst as a brilliant star +pales and vanishes from the morning sky. + +"_Resolved_, That the results achieved by the late war were largely due +to the consummate skill, adroit strategy, and matchless generalship +of William Tecumseh Sherman, and that the people of this Republic +are indebted to him for his eminent services in securing to them the +inestimable blessings of a united and prosperous country. + +"_Resolved_, That as a public-spirited citizen he has proved himself +to be a capable man of affairs, with a deep interest in many of our +local institutions. As an honorary member he has presided over the +deliberations of this Chamber, and his genial presence was seldom +missed at our annual banquets. Socially, he was the peer of those with +whom companionship had a charm, and illustrated in his intercourse +all the qualities of a nobleman in the amenities of life. His home +was a haven of repose, and love and gentleness were the angels that +ministered at his fireside. + +"_Resolved_, That the Chamber of Commerce hereby tenders to the family +of Gen. Sherman the expression of sincere sympathy in the hour of their +bereavement." + +On this memorial the Hon. Carl Schurz spoke, saying, in part: + +"The adoption by the Chamber of Commerce of these resolutions is no +mere perfunctory proceeding. We have been called here by a genuine +impulse of the heart. To us Gen. Sherman was not a great man like other +great men, honored and revered at a distance. We had the proud and +happy privilege of calling him one of us. Only a few months ago, at the +annual meeting of this Chamber, we saw the face of our honorary member +on this platform by the side of our President. Only a few weeks ago he +sat at our banquet table, as he had often before, in the happiest mood +of conviviality, and contributed to the enjoyment of the night with his +always unassuming and always charming speech. + +"And as he moved among us without the slightest pomp of self-conscious +historic dignity, only with the warm and simple geniality of his +nature, it would cost us sometimes an effort of the memory to +recollect that he was the famous Captain who had marshalled mighty +armies victoriously on many a battle-field, and whose name stood, and +will forever stand, in the very foremost rank of the saviors of this +Republic and of the great soldiers of the world's history. Indeed, no +American could have forgotten this for a moment; but the affections of +those who were so happy as to come near to him would sometimes struggle +to outrun their veneration and gratitude. + +"Death has at last conquered the hero of so many campaigns; our cities +and towns and villages are decked with flags at half-mast; the muffled +drum and the funereal boom of cannon will resound over the land as his +dead body passes to the final resting place, and the American people +stand mournfully gazing into the void left by the sudden disappearance +of the last of the greatest men brought forth by our war of +regeneration--and this last also finally become, save Abraham Lincoln +alone, the most widely beloved. + +"He is gone; but as we of the present generation remember it, history +will tell all coming centuries the romantic story of the great 'March +to the Sea'--how, in the dark days of 1864, Sherman, having worked +his bloody way to Atlanta, then cast off all his lines of supply and +communication, and, like a bold diver into the dark unknown, seemed +to vanish, with all his hosts, from the eyes of the world, until his +triumphant reappearance on the shores of the ocean proclaimed to the +anxiously expecting millions, that now the final victory was no longer +doubtful, and that the Republic would surely be saved. + +"Nor will history fail to record that this great General was, as a +victorious soldier, a model of republican citizenship. When he had +done his illustrious deeds he rose step by step to the highest rank in +the army, and then, grown old, he retired. The Republic made provision +for him in modest republican style. He was satisfied. He asked for +no higher reward. Although the splendor of his achievements and the +personal affection for him which every one of his soldiers carried +home, made him the most popular American of his day, and although the +most glittering prizes were not seldom held up before his eyes, he +remained untroubled by ulterior ambition. No thought that the Republic +owed him more ever darkened his mind. No man could have spoken to him +of the 'ingratitude of Republics' without meeting from him a stern +rebuke. And so, content with the consciousness of a great duty nobly +done, he was happy in the love of his fellow-citizens. + +"Indeed, he may truly be said to have been in his old age, not only +the most beloved, but the happiest of Americans. Many years he lived +in the midst of posterity. His task was finished, and this he wisely +understood. His deeds had been passed upon by the judgment of history, +and irrevocably registered among the glories of his country and his +age. His generous heart envied no one, and wished every one well; and +ill will had long ceased to pursue him. Beyond cavil his fame was +secure, and he enjoyed it as that which he had honestly earned, with a +genuine and ever fresh delight, openly avowed by the charming frankness +of his nature. + +"He dearly loved to be esteemed and cherished by his fellow-men, and +what he valued most, his waning years brought him in ever-increasing +abundance. Thus he was in truth a most happy man, and his days went +down like an evening sun in a cloudless Autumn sky. And when now the +American people, with that tenderness of affection which they have long +borne him, lay him in his grave, the happy ending of his great life +may, in their hearts, soothe the pang of bereavement they feel at the +loss of the old hero who was so dear to them, and of whom they were +and always will be so proud. His memory will ever be bright to us all, +his truest monument will be the greatness of this Republic he served so +well, and his fame will never cease to be prized by a grateful country +as one of its most precious possessions." + +General Horace Porter also seconded the resolutions. He paid a warm +tribute to General Sherman's memory, and continued: "By no act of ours +can we expect to add one laurel to his brow. The Nation raised him to +the highest rank in the army, universities vied with one another in +conferring upon him degrees. We can only come together to express our +esteem for the soldier, our respect for the man. There was something +characteristic of the soldier born within him. In war he was bold +in conception, fixed in purpose, untiring in action. He knew that +great danger makes brave hearts most resolute. He enjoyed a personal +reputation free from stain. It is no wonder that the world has placed +him in the ranks of its great captains. + +"There is one characteristic which I am sure all have noticed. He never +failed at all times and in all circumstances to breathe the loftiest +patriotism. And now the flag he has so often upheld has dropped to +half-mast, the booming of his guns has given way to the tolling of +cathedral bells. He has left behind him the glory of a good name, the +inheritance of a great example." + +The memorial resolutions of the Ohio Society, of New York, were as +follows: + +"The Ohio Society of New York recognizes in the death of General +Sherman not only a public calamity, which, in common with the people of +this great country, we deplore, but a personal loss, which no words can +express and no sentiment measure. + +"Not only was he our ideal soldier and citizen, but a complete +representative Ohioan. + +"True to his native State, as he was to his country and his duty, he +has ever been the pride of this society and the comfort and delight of +its members. + +"Wholly removed as he was by nature from arrogance and +self-glorification, he has ever been our friend, our kindly neighbor, +our sweet companion, our most honored member. + +"The lustre of his life sheds glory upon his State, and the mention of +his name will forever cause in our hearts a thrill of patriotic emotion +and fraternal love. + +"The Ohio Society of New York feels it to be its duty, as it is its +privilege, to make a record of these thoughts, and to join with the +citizens of this great country, which he did so much to save, in +rendering honor to the great captain, the brave soldier, the loyal +citizen and the true man, who now rests from his labors. + +"_Resolved_, That the Ohio Society of New York extend to the immediate +friends and family of our deceased member the sympathy and condolence +of loyal and honest hearts, and that a copy of these expressions be +sent to the family." + +Here are a few of the telegraphic messages of sympathy that came +pouring in upon the afflicted family in a grateful shower: + + +FROM MAYOR GRANT. + + BATTERY PARK HOTEL, ASHEVILLE, N. C., + Feb. 14, 1891. + + TO TECUMSEH SHERMAN:-- + + I am just informed by telegraph of the death of your + distinguished father, from the press despatches of the morning. I + was led to indulge the hope that I would, on my return from this + trip in search of health, again greet my old friend and neighbor. + No formal announcement of my condolence could convey to yourself + and family the sense of loss I feel at this moment. There has not + been a single occasion since he came to live in our city when his + advice and broad public spirit in all that concerns our welfare + have not been an aid to me. I join with millions of his fellow + countrymen in recognition of a nation's loss. I am awaiting + information from my Secretary as to the arrangements for the + funeral, which I hope to attend. + + HUGH J. GRANT. + + +FROM CHIEF JUSTICE FULLER. + + CHICAGO, Feb. 14th. + + _To Miss Rachel Sherman_:-- + + Our sincere sympathies with you all. + + MELVILLE W. FULLER. + + +FROM HENRY M. STANLEY. + + CHICAGO, Feb. 14th. + + _To Miss Sherman_:-- + + Deep and heartfelt sympathy for the irreparable loss both to you + and to America. + + H. M. STANLEY. + + +JUDGE GRESHAM'S TRIBUTE. + + CHICAGO, Feb. 14th, 1891. + + _To Mr. P. T. Sherman_:-- + + I am shocked and distressed. When I saw your father three weeks + ago he was cheerful and well. During and since the war he was my + faithful friend. His sorrowing children have my profound sympathy. + + W. Q. GRESHAM. + + +FROM GENERAL JOE JOHNSTON. + + WASHINGTON, Feb. 14th, 1891. + + _To the Misses Sherman_:-- + + Intelligence of General Sherman's death grieves me much. I + sympathize deeply with you in your great bereavement. + + J. E. JOHNSTON. + + +FROM SECRETARY RUSK. + + WASHINGTON, Feb. 14th, 1891. + + _To Hon. John Sherman_:-- + + Permit me to express to you and through you to the family of + General Sherman my deep sorrow at the loss of my old commander, + comrade and friend. No words will express my grief at this + irreparable loss. I can only join with his family and his country + in mourning one of our nation's greatest leaders and strongest + defenders in war and in peace. + + J. M. RUSK. + + +FROM SECRETARY BLAINE. + + WASHINGTON, Feb. 14th, 1891. + + _To Hon. John Sherman_:-- + + Convey to your brother's bereaved family our tenderest sympathy. A + very great man has gone. + + JAMES G. BLAINE. + + +FROM SECRETARY NOBLE. + + WASHINGTON, Feb. 14th, 1891. + + _To Hon. John Sherman_:-- + + The heartfelt sympathy of myself and Mrs. Noble goes forth to the + family of dear General Sherman and to you. Our countrymen mourn + one of our and the world's greatest heroes, but yours is the + deeper grief for the loss of the father, brother, friend. Heaven + bless you all. + + JOHN W. NOBLE. + + +FROM EX-SECRETARY ENDICOTT. + + SALEM, Feb. 14th, 1891. + + _To Miss Sherman_:-- + + I am distressed by the sad news. Accept my heartfelt sympathy. + Mrs. Endicott and I mourn with you and for you. We, too, have + lost a dear friend. + + W. C. ENDICOTT. + + +FROM LAWRENCE BARRETT. + + HOTEL METROPOLE, NEW YORK, Feb. 14th, 1891. + + _To Mr. and the Misses Sherman_:-- + + Let me express to you my profound sympathy in your great sorrow, + which is shared by one who recalls in a quarter of a century + of friendship such continued acts of kindness as cannot be + forgotten. I suffer with so many others a deep personal loss in + General Sherman's death. + + LAWRENCE BARRETT. + + +FROM THE MINISTER TO FRANCE. + + PARIS, Feb. 15th, 1891. + + _Rachel Sherman, Columbus Avenue_:-- + + We both share your sorrow in your and Nation's loss. + + WHITELAW REID. + + +FROM VICE-PRESIDENT MORTON. + + WASHINGTON, Feb. 14th, 1891 + + _To Miss Rachel Sherman_:-- + + The nation mourns and sympathizes with you all in your great + sorrow. Your illustrious father's death is, to Mrs. Morton, our + children and myself, the loss of a personal friend to whom we + were devotedly attached. + + LEVI P. MORTON. + + +FROM JUSTICE HARLAN. + + WASHINGTON, Feb. 14th, 1891. + + _To the Misses Sherman_:-- + + The death of my old commander causes deep sorrow to myself and + household. Our sympathies are with his family in their great + affliction. + + JOHN M. HARLAN. + + +FROM GENERAL RUSSELL A. ALGER. + + DETROIT, Feb. 14th, 1891. + + _To the Misses Sherman_:-- + + Our already overburdened hearts throb with the great sorrow + that overwhelms and darkens your home. "Lights out" on earth is + "reveille" to the dear General in heaven, where so many of his + old command await him. + + R. A. ALGER. + + +FROM SECRETARY TRACY. + + WASHINGTON, Feb. 14th, 1891. + + _To P. T. Sherman_:-- + + In this hour of affliction you have my deepest sympathy. The + memory of General Sherman will be forever cherished by the + American people as one of their most valued possessions. + + B. F. TRACY. + + +FROM RUTHERFORD B. HAYES. + + CLEVELAND, Feb. 14th, 1891. + + To the Hon. John Sherman:-- + + I mourn with the family and kindred of General Sherman. He + was beloved by me and by my family with the warmest personal + affection. I expect to reach the Fifth Avenue Monday. + + RUTHERFORD B. HAYES. + + +FROM GENERAL SHERMAN'S BIRTHPLACE. + + LANCASTER, Ohio, Feb. 14th, 1891. + + _To P. T. Sherman_:-- + + Lancaster, the birthplace and home of your illustrious father, + is enshrouded in gloom over the sad intelligence of his death. + Public action is being taken by the citizens, and the expression + of sorrow is universal. The town is draped in mourning, and a + memorial meeting will be held. All business will be suspended, + and every mark of love and respect will be shown the greatest + soldier of the war who first saw the light of day in the village + that now greatly reveres his memory. + + W. J. S. BRAZE. + C. D. MARTIN. + J. D. MARTIN. + JOHN C. TUTHILL. + H. C. DIMKLE. + W. A. SCHULTZ. + + +FROM GENERAL SCHOFIELD. + + WASHINGTON, Feb. 14th, 1891. + + _To Hon. John Sherman_:-- + + Please accept for yourself and all the members of your family + sympathy in the bereavement you suffer in the loss of the General + Commander, who was my dearest friend. + + J. M. SCHOFIELD. + + +FROM CONGRESSMAN HENDERSON. + + WASHINGTON, Feb. 14th, 1891. + + _To Hon. John Sherman_:-- + + With the most profound sorrow I have heard of the death of your + illustrious brother and my old commander. I loved and honored him + for his noble character and great service, and tender to you and + his bereaved family my heartfelt sympathy. + + THOMAS J. HENDERSON. + + +FROM FRANK THOMPSON. + + WASHINGTON, Feb. 14th, 1891. + + _To P. T. Sherman_:-- + + If we can be of any service to you please command us. We would + esteem it an honor to do anything in our power to facilitate the + journey to St. Louis. You have our sincerest sympathy. + + FRANK THOMPSON, + _Vice President Pennsylvania Railroad_. + + +FROM CONGRESSMAN ROOTS. + + LITTLE ROCK, Feb. 14th, 1891. + + _To the Misses Sherman_:-- + + Full of years and honor, rich in love of patriotic countrymen, + his passing beyond simply promotion. I extend you sympathy. + + LOGAN H. ROOTS. + + +FROM ARCHBISHOP KENRICK. + + ST. LOUIS, Feb. 14th, 1891. + + _To Mr. P. T. Sherman_:-- + + Accept my heartfelt sympathy with yourself and sisters. + + PETER RICHARD KENRICK, + _Archbishop of St. Louis_. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII. + +TRAITS AND INCIDENTS. + + HIS POSITIVE REFUSAL TO BE A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE--REMEMBERING + A CALIFORNIA DRUMMER--DEALING WITH A NEWSPAPER AT MEMPHIS-- + SUPPRESSING PRAISE OF HIMSELF AT SAVANNAH--CONFISCATING + MEDICINE--THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION--HIS LOVE OF MUSIC--EXCUSES + FOR SWEARING--A TRIBUTE TO HIS MOTHER--AN INCIDENT AT YALE-- + EXPRESSIONS OF KIND FEELING TOWARD THE SOUTH AND TOWARD HIS FOES. + + +The lives of few men have contained more picturesque incidents than did +Sherman's. His nervous, impulsive nature and frank, open manner made +him the hero of many episodes which are the delight of story-tellers. +His conversation, also, bristled with epigrammatic sayings well worth +repeating and preserving. His death called forth a perfect flood of +reminiscences. Every one who had ever known him had something to relate +regarding him; some humorous or dramatic incident, some kind deed, some +quaint or wise remark. Many of these are doubtless apocryphal; and of +those that are true even the compass of a biography will give space for +but few. But no biography of Sherman would be complete without some of +them, in which the nature of the man so clearly stands revealed. + +Reference has already been made to Sherman's dislike of politics. He +was often spoken of as a candidate for the Presidency, but never with +his own approval or consent. As early as February, 1876, he wrote to a +friend as follows: + +"I never have been, and am not now, and never shall be, a candidate +for the high office of President before any convention of the people. +I shall always prefer to see that office filled by one of the millions +who in the Civil War stood by the Union firm and unequivocally; and of +these I notice many names willing and capable. Prominent among them is +that of General Hayes, now Governor of Ohio, whom we know as a fine +officer and a gentleman in every sense. I do not, however, wish to be +understood as presuming to advise anybody in the choice of the man. My +wife and family are strong Catholics, but I am not; that, however, is +nobody's business. I believe in the common schools, and don't stop over +the little matters which seem to be exaggerated by the press. In some +quarters, however, these schools are extravagant and indulge in costly +buildings and expensive teachers, so as to be too heavy a burden to the +taxpayers. This tendency ought to be checked, which may easily be done +without making it a political question. Self-interest will regulate +this and make them free schools to all and capable of imparting the +rudiments of a good English education." + +Being asked, after the publication of this letter,--which by the way, +he did not expect,--whether he really meant it, he said he did. + +"Suppose you were nominated?" + +"I would decline." + +"Suppose the nomination were unanimous and enthusiastic?" + +"I would decline anyway. I cannot think of any circumstances that +would induce me to accept the nomination. There are so many men in +the country better fitted for the place than I am. I have no civil +experience, as every President should have. The country wants a change +in this respect. Military men know no way of settling troubles +except to fight, and our country is now so peaceful that a different +policy is needed. We want a civic President, and not a military one." + +[Illustration: THE RIDERLESS WAR-HORSE] + +And years after that he again declared that he was not a candidate for +the Presidency; that if nominated he would decline, and if elected he +would refuse to serve. + +An incident which occurred in Philadelphia some three years before his +death illustrates Sherman's remarkable powers of memory. + +He was visiting his daughter, and while sitting at the open window +smoking one midsummer night he saw the policeman pass, and as the +patrolman halted a moment the General was noticed to give him a keen +glance and utter an exclamation. The next evening he told some one to +say to the policeman on the beat, when he passed, that the General +wanted to speak to him. When the officer entered he straightened up and +gave General Sherman the regular military salute. + +"Ah, ha," said the General. "I thought so. Now, where was it I saw you +before? Do you know me?" + +"Oh, yes," said the bearded patrolman. "I knew you when you were a +lieutenant. I was your drummer in California." + +"Ha, ha, I thought so; and wait a bit. So you were that little drummer +boy, and your name--your name's Hutchinson." + +Another authentic story reveals the kindly humor of the man, even +amid the stern scenes of war. It is told by Mr. H. L. Priddy, who, +with a Mr. Brower, conducted _The Argus_ newspaper at Memphis when +Sherman was commander there. "_The Argus_" says Mr. Priddy, "was the +only paper published at Memphis then. Brower and I had to simulate a +degree of loyalty, but whenever we got a chance we cheered the Stars +and Bars. General Sherman gave us considerable latitude, but finally we +went too far, and he called us down. He did it in a gentlemanly way, +however, that didn't wound our feelings. He galloped up to the office +one day about noon, threw the bridle rein of his big black stallion +to an orderly and strode into the editorial room. A crowd of citizens +gathered on the other side of the street mourned for the fate of the +newspaper and the editors. I think they had an idea that Sherman was +going to amputate our heads and 'pi' all the forms. But he didn't. He +sat down and rested his feet on the table and said: + +"'Boys' (we were both youngsters), "I have been ordered to suppress +your paper, but I don't like to do that, and I just dropped in to warn +you not to be so free with your pencils. If you don't ease up you will +get into trouble." + +"We promised to reform, and as the General seemed so pleasant and +friendly, I asked him if he couldn't do something to increase the +circulation of currency. There was no small change, and we had to use +the soda water checks of a confectioner named Lane. We dropped soda +water checks in the contribution box at the church, paid for straight +whiskey with them and received them for money. If Lane had closed his +shop the checks would have been worthless. + +"General Sherman comprehended the situation, and quick as a flash said: +'You need a medium of exchange that has an intrinsic value. Cotton is +king here. Make cotton your currency. It is worth $1 a pound. Make +packages containing eight ounces represent 50 cents, four ounces 25 +cents, and so on. Cotton is the wealth of the South right now. Turn it +to money.' + +"'But the money drawers wouldn't hold such bulky currency,' said I. + +"'Make 'em larger,' said the General, and with that he strode off. + +"As he mounted his horse and galloped away he shook his whip at Brower +and me and shouted: 'You boys had better be careful what you write, or +I'll be down on you.'" + +At Savannah, just after he had captured it, Sherman had another +controversy with a newspaper man, one "Tom" Miles, from Boston. The +latter, on getting into Savannah with the army, went prospecting +round the city, and presently, according to the teller of the story, +in _The Boston Post_, found himself in a vacated printing office. It +presented a golden opportunity. There were types and presses and all +the paraphernalia essential to business, with a form on the press, +which the printer had left in his flight, and Miles, taking out the +editorial and other offensive matter, filled its columns with healthy +Union sentiment, with the aid of one or two of the craft whom he had +discovered in the army. His leader was a rich specimen of crowing over +the victory, in which he extolled General Sherman as the greatest hero +since Alexander, and his army the finest and best disciplined that the +world ever saw. With this grand flourish of trumpets the first number +was issued, and Miles lay back in his editorial chair, contemplating +his work with the belief that he had achieved the next triumph to +Sherman's, and wondered what the conqueror would say when he saw the +praises he had heaped upon him. The next morning as the General and his +staff were about taking breakfast, a paper was handed to him, and he +commenced to read the leader which was so lavish in his praise. + +"Look here!" said he, red and furious. "What the d----l does this +mean? Who knows anything about this paper?" + +His orderly, who had known something about its preparation, explained +to him that it was the work of the literary gentleman who had followed +the expedition. + +"Well," said the General, "go down to the office and tell him to +discontinue his paper or I'll put him under guard. I won't have such +cursed stuff printed about me when I can prevent it. Abuse is bad +enough, but this is a deuced sight worse." + +Down went the orderly, and the confusion of poor Miles was overwhelming +when he got the squelcher from the General commanding. + +"Why, it was all praise," said he. + +"No matter for that. If it had been the other way it would have been +treated just the same." + +So Miles moved a compromise--we hardly know what--and urged the +official to express his regrets and beg the removal of the injunction, +which was promised. The appeal was successful, and soon the officer +came back to inform him that permission was granted him to run his +paper, on condition that he should never mention the General's name +again. This was agreed to, and the paper appeared. After a day or two +an aide came down one morning with an order from General Sherman, for +publication. Miles glanced it over and handed it back. + +"It can't go in, sir," he said. + +"Why not?" asked the astonished messenger, who was a stranger. + +"Because it has Sherman's name to it," was the reply. + +"That's the reason why it _must_ go in," urged the aide. + +"And that's the reason why it _shan't_. He stopped my paper for +praising him, and I promised him that his name should never appear in +my columns again, and hang me if it shall." + +Miles stood resolute, and the officer returned for orders, expecting +the ordering out of a file of men and an arrest, but was astonished to +see the General burst into the heartiest laugh and hear him confess +that the printer had the best of it. The messenger was sent back with a +conciliatory note, and there was no more trouble. + +Sherman himself once related an interesting story about a prominent +citizen of Savannah who came to his headquarters after he had captured +that city. The gentleman was in great trepidation and informed the +General that he had some valuable pictures in his house. The General +said they were entirely safe. He said he also had a collection +of family plate of great intrinsic value, and, on account of its +associations, very precious to him and his family. The General told him +he would put a guard about his house if necessary. Then, in a burst +of frank confidence, produced by this generous response to his fears, +he revealed to General Sherman that he had buried in his back yard a +large quantity of priceless Madeira, of the oldest and rarest vintages, +and estimated to be worth over $40,000 before the war. The General +responded at once: "That is medicine, and confiscated to the hospital." +What the hospital did not need he distributed among the troops. + +General Sherman was fully informed of the movements of Jefferson Davis, +and in a position to put his hand upon and arrest him at almost any +time after Davis left Richmond. He consulted Mr. Lincoln as to what +he would better do, saying to the President that he did not know but +what he, the President, would be relieved by not having the President +of the Southern Confederacy on his hands, and asking for instructions. +President Lincoln's instructions were given in this form: "Sherman, +many years ago, up in Illinois, I knew a temperance lecturer who had +been an habitual drunkard. He met, on an anniversary occasion, a number +of his old boon companions. They were urging him to celebrate it with +them in the usual way, and he finally said: 'Boys, I must stick to my +principles; but if you could get some whiskey into my water unbeknownst +to me I might join you!'" + +The General after that made no effort to capture Jefferson Davis, and +regretted that he did not reach the schooner in which he was intending +an escape to Cuba. + +Abram S. Hewitt, in addressing the Chamber of Commerce, New York, told +of an experience of his with General Sherman, then in command of the +army, at the time of the Electoral Commission's existence. There was a +good deal of apprehension lest Congress might break up without settling +the contest for the Presidency. "If Congress failed to do its duty, +what will you do under the circumstances?" Mr. Hewitt asked the General. + +"I have sworn to obey the Constitution of the United States," was the +answer, "and I will do my duty. The term of President Grant expires +at noon on March 4. The people of the United States have elected a +President and competent authority will decide who is elected." + +"But if Senate and House fail to agree?" + +"Then, if I must, I shall obey the man selected by the Senate." + +"That reply," said Mr. Hewitt. "I felt meant much for the peace of +the country, although the General's choice was not my own. To him we +owe not only much for the termination of the civil war, but for the +preservation of peace." + +On one occasion, when visiting his sister, Mrs. Ewing, Gen. Sherman +met four or five Presbyterian clergymen, and his patience was rather +severely tried by their religious discussions, and what seemed to him +their intolerant and one-sided views. One of them challenged him to +offer any excuse for swearing, meeting him with the clinching statement +that there could be no redemption for blasphemers. + +"Were you," inquired the young soldier, "ever at sea in a heavy gale, +with spars creaking and sails flapping, and the crew cowardly and +incompetent?" + +"No." + +"Did you ever," he continued gravely, "try to drive a five-team ox-cart +across the prairie?" + +"No." + +"Then," said Capt. Sherman, "you know nothing of temptations to +blasphemy--you know nothing about extenuating circumstances for +blasphemers--you are not competent to judge!" + +Gen. Sherman was proud of tracing his powers of endurance to his +mother, to whom he also frequently ascribed the heritage of other +soldierly characteristics. + +"She married very young," said the General--"her husband, who was +not very much older, being a lawyer with hope and ambition for his +patrimony and all the world before him where to choose. He chose Ohio, +leaving his young wife in Jersey City while he made a home for her in +what was then a far country. + +"Soon as he had made a home for her she went to him. She rode on +horseback, with her young baby in her arms, from Jersey City to Ohio, +the journey occupying twenty-three days! What would a New York bride +say to such a journey as that? I'm afraid she'd want to wait until her +husband had made money enough to have a railroad built for her." + +Israel Smith, of New Bedford, was Band-master of the Massachusetts 33d +Regiment on the march from Atlanta to Savannah. In speaking of General +Sherman Mr. Smith said: "He was very fond of music, and the 33d gave +many a concert at his headquarters. One time when the regiment had gone +into camp, General Sherman sent word to me to come to his headquarters +and play for him. I sent word back that my men were mostly sick, not +enough being left to give a decent concert. Whereupon Sherman sends +back word. 'Bring over your band and play soft music to soothe my +nerves.'" When the Army was drawn up around Savannah, the first concert +in two weeks was given. When Smith was about to go away Sherman called +him and said: "I want you to have your band in readiness to play next +Thursday, in the square in Savannah." Early on Thursday morning Mr. +Smith received his orders to march to the square, and there, while the +city was being evacuated, he played the National airs. + +Sherman went to Yale College in 1876, to see his son graduated. He +was made the guest of honor of the occasion, given a seat next to +President Noah Porter at all the exercises, and the degree of LL.D. was +conferred on him. The displays of academic eloquence were long. During +the orations Sherman slipped out of the chapel, and his absence was not +noticed for some time. When it was noticed a deputation of the faculty +rushed off to discover the whereabouts of their distinguished guest. +Their quest was of short duration. On a bench in front of the chapel +General Sherman was seated, puffing his cigar and engaged in animated +conversation with an old negro who had just been discharged from the +workhouse and who was smoking one of the General's havanas. He felt the +need of a smoke, saw no reason why he should not take a cigar without +disturbing any one, and had fallen into conversation with the only +other occupant of the park bench. It afterward was made evident that +General Sherman in his short conversation had learned more about the +manner in which the New Haven workhouse was conducted than any member +of the Yale faculty knew. + +Sherman's interest in the Pacific Railroad was referred to by General +Wager Swayne, who said:-- + +"As long ago as 1849 General Sherman wrote a letter to his +brother, John Sherman, which the latter published in _The National +Intelligencer_, advocating the construction of a railroad across the +continent, and he was an untiring friend of the road from that time +until its completion, in the summer of 1869. + +"He told me that if at the time of writing that letter to his brother +John he could have secured the immediate construction of a railroad +across the continent by signing a contract to lay down his own life, he +should have done it, he thought. + +"In his "Memoirs" he gives an account of carrying from Sonoma, Cal., +to Sacramento, to the commanding officer of the United States forces +there, an order to make a survey of the Feather River, so as to +ascertain the feasibility of constructing a railroad through the valley +of that stream. That was the first survey ever made with a view to the +construction of a transcontinental road, and while the General does not +say so in his "Memoirs," I have from his own lips that the impulse and +the conception were his own, and he procured the signature to the order +of the commanding general by personal solicitation. + +"When, at the close of the war, General Granville M. Dodge was called +from the Army, being then still in service, to take charge of the +construction of the Union Pacific road, General Sherman not only +gave him leave cordially, but he also spontaneously promised him all +possible assistance, and General Dodge has testified, in an elaborate +paper, that he does not see how he could have built the road except +with the countenance and support which he received from General +Sherman, as the Indians were then a power on the plains. + +"In the summer of 1869, twenty years after his first letter on the +subject, General Sherman stood in the War Department, and heard the +strokes from an electric bell, which announced the successive blows of +the hammer on the last spike in the construction of the road, and he +told me that in view of his long interest in the enterprise, he felt, +as he himself put it, as if the Lord might come for him then." + +General Cyrus Bussey, assistant Secretary of the Interior, was an old +comrade and close friend of Sherman, and he said of him: + +"I first met General Sherman at Benton Barracks, Mo., in November, +1861. I had reported there with a full regiment of cavalry. General +Sherman had just assumed command, after having been relieved in +Kentucky under a cloud, being charged with insanity. I spent many +evenings with the General at his headquarters, and received from him +many valuable lessons which greatly aided me as an officer of the Army +during all my subsequent services. During the siege of Vicksburg I +was chief of cavalry, and served immediately under General Sherman's +command. I saw much of him during the siege, and led the advance of +his army in the campaign to Jackson, against Joe Johnston's army, +immediately after the fall of Vicksburg. After the enemy was routed and +driven out of the country my command occupied the rear, and General +Sherman accompanied me both on the advance and on the return to our +camps in the rear of Vicksburg. So I had an excellent opportunity of +becoming intimately acquainted with him, and there I formed a great +admiration for him as a man and a general. + +"One circumstance I wish to mention. While waiting at Jackson after +the retreat of Johnston, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of +Mississippi tendered to General Sherman and his staff a banquet, at +which General Frank P. Blair proposed a toast to General Grant. General +Sherman rose and said: 'I want to respond to that toast. I see that +many newspapers of the country have credited me with originating the +plan adopted by General Grant for the capture of Vicksburg. I want +to say that I am not entitled to this credit. General Grant alone +originated that plan and carried it to successful completion without +the co-operation of any of his subordinate officers, and in the face of +my protest as well as that of many of the officers.'" + +The question of the burning of Atlanta was often raised in the years +after the war, and to the end of his life Sherman was denounced by +many Southerners for what they were pleased to term his inhumanity and +malice. In the spring of 1880, Captain Burke, commander of the "Gate +City Guard," at Atlanta, wrote to him, calling his attention to a +proposed memorial hall in that city, and Sherman made this reply: + +"_My Dear Sir._--Your letter of March 6 with inclosure, is received, +and I assure you of my interest in the subject matter and willingness +to contribute to the execution of your plan to erect in the city of +Atlanta a memorial hall to commemorate the revival of sectional unity +and sentiment--but were I to do so for the reasons set forth in the +inclosed circular, I would be construed as indorsing the expressions +which are erroneous, viz: 'During the late unfortunate war the city +of Atlanta was destroyed by the forces of General Sherman,' and 'a +wilderness of blackened walls recorded the fratricidal strife that +deluged our country in misfortune,' + +"Atlanta was not destroyed by the army of the United States commanded +by General Sherman. No private dwelling was destroyed by the United +States army, but some were by that commanded by General Hood along his +line of defense. The Court House still stands; all the buildings on +that side of the railroad and all those along Peachtree street, the +best street in the city, still remain. Nothing was destroyed by my +orders but the depots, workshops, foundries, etc., close by the depots, +and two blocks of mercantile stores also close to the depot took fire +from the burning storehouse or foundry, and our troops were prevented +from checking the spread of the fire by reason of concealed shells +loaded and exploding in that old building. The railroad car and machine +shops on the edge of the town toward Decatur street, were burned before +we entered Atlanta, by General Hood's orders." + +To the Hon. Henry W. Grady, a few days later, Sherman said personally: + +"The city of Atlanta was never burned as a city. I notice that the +headquarters I occupied, all the houses about it, and the headquarters +of the other officers were all standing when I revisited the place a +year or two since. The residence streets were not burned at all." + +"It was your intention, then, to burn only the heart of the city?" + +"My intention was clearly expressed in a written order to General Poe. +It was simply to burn the buildings in which public stores had been +placed or would likely be placed. This included only four buildings, +as I recollect: not over five or six. One of these was a warehouse +above the depot, in which or under which were a number of shells. From +this building a block of business houses took fire and the destruction +went beyond the limits intended. The old Trout House was burned by some +of the men, who had some reason for burning it. I ordered the round +house burned. I wanted to destroy the railroad so that it could not be +used. I then wanted to destroy the public buildings, so that Atlanta +could not be used as a depot of supplies. I ordered, as I say, four or +five houses set on fire, but as far as burning the city in the sense +of wanton destruction, I never thought of such a thing. I shirked no +responsibility that war imposed, but I never went beyond my duty." + +His kindly feeling toward the city and people with whom he once dealt +so sternly was well shown in a letter which he wrote in 1879 to Captain +E. P. Howell, of the _Atlanta Constitution_. + +"My opportunities for studying the physical features of Georgia," he +said, "have been large. In 1843-4 I went from Augusta to Marietta +in a stage (when Atlanta had no existence); thence to Bellefonte, +Alabama, on horseback, returning afterwards, all the way on horseback, +to Augusta by a different road; again, in 1864, I conducted, as +all the world knows, a vast army from Chattanooga to Atlanta and +Savannah, and just now have passed over the same district in railway +cars. Considering the history of this period of time (35 years), the +development of the country has been great, but not comparable with +California, Iowa, Wisconsin, or Kansas, in all which States I have had +similar chances for observation. The reason why Georgia has not kept +pace with the States I have named is beyond question that emigration +would not go where slavery existed. Now that this cause is removed +there is no longer any reason why Georgia, especially the northern +part, should not rapidly regain her prominence among the great States +of our Union. I know that no section is more favored in climate, +health, soil, minerals, water, and everything which man needs for his +material wants, and to contribute to his physical and intellectual +development. Your railroads now finished give your people cheap +supplies, and the means of sending in every section their surplus +products of the soil or of manufactures. You have immense beds of iron +and coal, besides inexhaustible quantities of timber, oak, hickory, +beech, poplar, pine, etc., so necessary in modern factories, and which +are becoming scarce in other sections of our busy country. + +"I have crossed this continent many times, by almost every possible +route, and I feel certain that at this time no single region holds +out as strong inducements for industrious emigrants as that from +Lynchburg, Virginia, to Huntsville, Alabama, right and left, embracing +the mountain ranges and intervening valleys, especially East Tennessee, +North Georgia and Alabama. I hope I will not give offence in saying +that the present population has not done full justice to this naturally +beautiful and most favored region of our country, and that two or three +millions of people could be diverted from the great West to this region +with profit and advantage to all concerned. This whole region, though +called 'southern,' is in fact 'northern'--viz.: it is a wheat-growing +country; has a climate in no sense tropical or southern, but was +designed by nature for small farms and not for large plantations. In +the region I have named North Georgia forms a most important part, and +your city, Atlanta, is its natural centre or capital. It is admirably +situated, a thousand feet above the sea, healthy, with abundance of +the purest water and with granite, limestone, sandstone and clay +convenient to build a second London. In 1864 my army, composed of near +a hundred thousand men, all accustomed to a northern climate, were +grouped about Atlanta from June to November without tents, and were as +vigorous, healthy and strong as though they were in Ohio or New York. +Indeed, the whole country from the Tennessee to the Ocmulgee is famous +for health, pure water, abundant timber and with a large proportion of +good soil, especially in the valleys, and all you need is more people +of the right sort. + +"I am satisfied, from my recent visit, that Northern professional men, +manufacturers, mechanics and farmers may come to Atlanta, Rome and +Chattanooga with a certainty of fair dealing and fair encouragement. +Though I was personally regarded the bete-noir of the late war in +your region, the author of all your woes, yet I admit that I have +just passed over the very ground desolated by the Civil War, and have +received everywhere nothing but kind and courteous treatment from +the highest to the lowest, and I heard of no violence to others for +opinions' sake. Some Union men spoke to me of social ostracism, but +I saw nothing of it, and even if it do exist it must disappear with +the present generation. Our whole framework of government and history +is founded on the personal and political equality of citizens, and +philosophy teaches that social distinctions can only rest on personal +merit and corresponding intelligence, and if any part of a community +clings to distinctions founded on past conditions, it will grow less +and less with time and finally disappear. Any attempt to build up an +aristocracy or a privileged class at the South, on the fact that their +fathers or grandfathers once owned slaves, will result in a ridiculous +failure and subject the authors to the laughter of mankind. I refer to +this subject incidentally because others have argued the case with me, +but whether attempted elsewhere in the South, I am certain it will not +be attempted in Georgia. + +"Therefore, I shall believe and maintain that north Georgia is now in +a condition to invite emigration from the Northern States of our Union +and from Europe, and all parties concerned should advertise widely +the great inducements your region holds out to the industrious and +frugal of all lands; agents should be appointed in New York to advise, +and others at Knoxville, Chattanooga, Rome, Atlanta, etc., to receive +emigrants and to point out to them on arrival where cheap lands may +be had with reasonable credit, where companies may open coal and iron +mines, where mills may be erected to grind wheat and corn, spin cotton, +and to manufacture the thousand and one things you now buy from abroad; +and more especially to make known that you are prepared to welcome and +patronize men who will settle in your region and form a part of your +community. + +"Your growth and development since the war have been good, very +good--better than I was prepared to see; but compare it with San +Francisco, Denver, Portland, Oregon, Leavenworth, Chicago, St. Louis, +or hundreds of places I could mention, less favored in climate and +location than Atlanta. These cities have been notoriously open to the +whole world, and all men felt perfectly at liberty to go there with +their families, with their acquired wealth and with their personal +energy. You must guarantee the same, not superficially or selfishly, +but with that sincerity and frankness which carries conviction. + +[Illustration: GEN. LEW. WALLACE.] + +"Personally, I would not like to check the flow of emigration westward, +because of the vast natural importance of that region, but I do +believe that every patriot should do what he can to benefit every part +of our whole country, and I am sure that good will result from turning +a part of this great tide of human life and energy southward along +the valleys of the Allegheny Mountains, especially of East Tennessee, +northern Georgia and Alabama, and if I can aid you in this good work I +assure you that I will do so with infinite pleasure. + +"Excuse me if I ask you as an editor to let up somewhat on the favorite +hobby of 'carpet-baggers.' I know that you personally apply the term +only to political adventurers, but others, your readers, construe it +otherwise. I have resided in San Francisco, Leavenworth and St. Louis, +and of the men who have built up these great cities, I assert that not +one in fifty was a native of the place. All, or substantially all, +were 'carpet-baggers,' _i.e._, emigrants from all parts of the world, +many of them from the South. Our Supreme Court, Congress and our most +prominent and intellectual men, now hail from localities of their own +adoption, not of their birth. Let the emigrant to Georgia feel and +realize that his business and social position result from his own +industry, his merits and his virtues, and not from the accidental place +of his birth, and soon the great advantages of climate, soil, minerals, +timber, etc., etc., will fill up your country and make Atlanta one of +the most prosperous, beautiful and attractive cities, not alone of the +South, but of the whole continent, an end which I desire quite as much +as you do." + +In the Spring of 1876 he talked at some length with a newspaper writer, +about the South and the leaders of the late rebellion, and for the +latter he expressed only esteem and friendship. "About two weeks ago," +he said, "I received a letter from a mutual friend in New York, asking +if I would recommend General Braxton Bragg for appointment in the +Khedive's army. I promptly replied that it would afford me pleasure to +promote the interests of Bragg in that direction. I feel very kindly +to all the Southern Generals. In fact, I think people everywhere +throughout the North and West cherish no bad feeling. Jeff Davis is the +only exception made. I do not know why it is that the Northern people +hate him so, but they do, and will never get over their feeling in +that respect. Davis did no worse than anybody else, but I suppose the +people are bound to have somebody to hate. For instance, the Southern +people hate General Butler about as bad or worse than the Northerners +hate Davis. I suppose the two sections, while determined to cultivate +friendly feelings among the people at large, require something on which +to expend the hate that will unavoidably show itself at intervals. So +far as the Northern and Southern people are concerned, they are rapidly +assimilating, and in a few years they will be one people in fact as +well as in name. Put the Southern and Northern soldiers together and +you have the strongest element, in a military sense, that could be +gotten together for any national purpose. As fighters, they would be +invincible. The Southerners are impetuous and will fight quicker and +fiercer, but they give out sooner; the Northerners are slower, but they +stay longer; they have more endurance, and fight steadier and more +stubbornly. In fighting qualities, the South represents France, and the +North England. Put the two together and the devil couldn't whip them." + +"General, why don't you recommend Jeff Davis for an appointment in +Egypt?" + +"Oh, I wouldn't do that; anybody but Jeff; I would not indorse Jeff." + +"Perhaps it would be a public benefaction to do so?" + +"Well, I never viewed it in that light. On second thought, I would +gladly indorse Jeff, if he would leave the country." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII. + +REMINISCENCES. + + LIFE AT THE FIFTH AVENUE HOTEL--EX-PRESIDENT HAYES'S MEMORIES-- + GENERAL MEIGS'S TRIBUTE--PROFESSOR HOWE ON SHERMAN'S SCHOOL + DAYS--A VISIT TO THE CATSKILLS--SHERMAN AND JOE JOHNSTON-- + TELLING ABOUT RESACA--THINKING OF THE SEA--MARVELLOUS + VERSATILITY--GENERAL ROSECRANS' REMINISCENCES OF SHERMAN AT WEST + POINT. + + +A pleasant view of General Sherman's life in New York was given by Mr. +Hiram Hitchcock, of the Fifth Avenue Hotel, at which house Sherman +lived before he purchased a home. "He was," said Mr. Hitchcock, "a +guest of this house off and on for many years, and as such he naturally +became very much beloved by our whole household. After General Grant's +funeral was over I spent the evening with General Sherman and he told +me of his plans for the future; that he wanted to move quietly from St. +Louis and locate in New York. He said that he thought he should enjoy +New York very much, and his youngest son was then finishing his course +at Yale, and the change would bring him near to New Haven. After that +the General arranged by correspondence for his rooms on the parlor +floor, Twenty-fifth street side. He came here with Mrs. Sherman and the +daughters, and the youngest son used to come in frequently from Yale. +At his first after-dinner speech in New York--that at the New England +Society dinner--General Sherman referred to having moved to New York, +and said that he had gone into winter quarters down at the Fifth Avenue +Hotel, where there was good grass and water. + +"The General was very particular to have everything arranged to suit +Mrs. Sherman. He said that as to himself it did not make very much +difference. He was used to roughing it and he could take anything, but +he wanted Mrs. Sherman to be very nicely fixed and to have things to +her own mind. On the other hand Mrs. Sherman said to me: 'It doesn't +make so very much difference about me, but I wish to have the General +comfortable. Dear old fellow, he has seen a great deal of roughing +it, and I want him to be entirely at ease.' They were very happy and +comfortable here during their two years' stay, which began on September +1, 1886, and General Sherman's idea in having a house was mainly to +make it pleasanter and more agreeable, if possible, for Mrs. Sherman +and the daughters; to give Mrs. Sherman a little more quiet than she +could have at a hotel, although she lived very quietly here. + +"During the General's residence here he was, of course, a conspicuous +figure. He was always genial and affable to every one, very easily +approached, and he received and entertained a great many of his old +army companions and aided a vast number of them. In fact, no one +knows how many army men General Sherman has, first and last, assisted +pecuniarily and in various ways, helping them to get positions and +giving them advice and encouragement. He used to meet hosts of friends +and acquaintances in the hotel. I remember his saying once that he +would have to stop shaking hands, for he had lost one nail, and if he +didn't quit soon he would lose them all. If he went to the dining-room, +people from different parts of the country who knew him would get up +and go over to his table and talk to him. + +"It was a sort of a reception with him all the time--one continuous +reception. He was very democratic in all his movements, and he always +dined in the public room. + +"The General kept one room for a regular working-room for himself. +There he had his desk, a large library, scrap baskets, letter files, +etc., and that is where he was in the habit of receiving his friends. + +"As for the society side of his life here, Miss Sherman and her +father had regular weekly receptions during the season, in the large +drawing-room. + +"General Sherman was exceedingly particular with reference to financial +affairs. There never was a more honest man born than General Sherman. +He was particular to pay his bills of every sort in full and to pay +them promptly. He could not bear to be in debt. It actually worried him +to have a matter stand over for a day. He knew just exactly how his +affairs stood every day, and he could not bear to owe a man anything +for twenty-four hours. And he was just as honest and frank and faithful +in speech and in every other element of his character. He carried his +character right on the outside, and it was true blue. + +"When he went to his house at No. 75 West Seventy-first street, we +kept up our relations with him, and we would occasionally send up +some little thing to him. Soon after he moved we sent him a couple of +packages, and in acknowledgment he sent us this letter:-- + + "'75 WEST SEVENTY-FIRST ST., Sept. 28th, 1888. + + MESSRS. HITCHCOCK, DARLING & CO., Fifth Avenue Hotel, N. Y. + + _Dear Sirs_:--I am this moment in receipt of two boxes, the + contents of which will, I am sure, be most acceptable to self and + guests. With profound thanks for past favors, many and heavy, + and a hearty wish for your continued prosperity, I am, and always + shall be, your grateful debtor, + + W. T. SHERMAN.' + +"Whenever the old General would come to this part of the city he +would drop in. If he was going to the theatre he would call in before +or after the performance--at all hours, in fact, he would come, and +between his engagements. He used to sit in this office and chat. He +was in this office just after Secretary Windom's death, and was asking +about that sad occurrence. The last time he was here was only a night +or two before he was taken sick with the fatal cold which was the +beginning of his last illness. I went to the door with him and bade him +good-night, and he turned and said cheerily, 'Come up, Hitchcock, come +up.' I said, 'I'll be up in a few days,' and off he moved in his quick +way. + +"The General was, as everybody knows, a splendid conversationalist. He +had a wonderful fund of anecdote, story and reminiscence, and was a +capital story-teller. He was never at a loss for a ready reply. + +"This was one of his comments on a story that he was not quite ready to +believe. 'Oh, well, you can tell that to the marines, but don't tell it +to an old soldier like me.' + +"I think there was one very striking peculiarity about General Sherman. +Of course we have seen it in different public men, but I think it might +be said of Sherman fully as strongly as of any other public man, either +in military or civil life, that he was as brave as a lion and as gentle +as a woman. When anything touched him it revealed the sympathy of his +nature. He was wonderfully kind-hearted. + +"If there was an uncompromising patriot anywhere in the country it was +General Sherman, and he manifested that in every walk of life, every +expression, every look. He was a true hero. He was not only one of the +great men, but one of the purest men of his time." + +Ex-President Hayes was much affected by the death of Sherman, whom he +knew well, though he had not served under him in the army. He said: + +"My intimate acquaintance with General Sherman dates only since the +war. I had been on friendly terms with him for about twenty-five years. +He was so well known to the whole people, and especially to the Union +soldiers, that there is hardly any reason for off-hand talk about him. +There are probably few men who ever lived in any country who were known +and loved as General Sherman was. He was the idol of the soldiers of +the Union Army. His presence at soldiers' meetings and with soldiers' +societies and organizations was always hailed with the utmost delight. +When the General was present the enthusiasm created by his inspiring +presence was such as to make him the chief attraction at all important +gatherings. He was always cordial and very happy in his greetings to +his comrades. He was full of the comrade spirit, and all, from the +humblest soldier to the corps commander, were equally gratified by the +way in which they were met and greeted by General Sherman. + +"He will be greatly missed and greatly mourned by the whole body of men +who served with and under him, and, indeed, by all the soldiers of all +the armies. He was generally regarded by them as the military genius of +the war. He was a voluminous writer, and a ready, prompt and capital +talker. Probably no man who was connected with the war said as many +things which will be remembered and quoted hereafter as did General +Sherman. + +"In figure, in face and in bearing he was the ideal soldier. I think +that it can be said of him as he once said of another, that 'with +him gone, the world seems less bright and less cheerful than it was +before.' The soldiers in looking around for consolation for his death +will find much in the fact that he lived so long--almost twenty-six +years after the final victory. There is also probably some consolation +in the fact that he has gone before age and disease had impaired +his wonderful powers and attractions. He was, in short, the most +picturesque, magnetic and original character in the great conflict. He +was occasionally, in his writings and talk, wonderfully pathetic. I +recall nothing connected with the war that was finer in that way than a +letter which he wrote, probably during the second year of the war, when +his son, about ten years old, who was named after the General, died in +camp. The boy fancied that he belonged to a regiment of his father's +command, and the members of the regiment were very attentive to him +during his sickness, and at the time of his death. General Sherman +wrote a letter to the men of the regiment, thanking them for what they +had done. I cannot now recall the terms of that letter, but I doubt not +that if it were now published many an eye would moisten as it was read. + +"A very noble trait in the character of General Sherman was the +fidelity of his friendships. His loyal support of Grant under all the +circumstances cannot be surpassed in all the history of the relations +between eminent men engaged in a common cause." + +"I recall a telegram received from General Sherman one November day in +1864," said General W. S. Rosecrans, "while I was in the Department of +the Missouri. The telegram read: 'I start to-day for Atlanta and will +make Rome howl.' + +"And he did it, too," continued General Rosecrans. "I had known +General Sherman since 1838, although I was not thrown much with him +in service. In 1850 he was paying court to Miss Ewing, and after their +engagement he came all the way to Newport to invite me to the wedding. + +"I had always been a great admirer of General Sherman. His character +as a man was one to command admiration. Of course it is difficult to +select for comment thereon any particular passage of a life that was so +busy and so full of great deeds." + +General Meigs said: "The first time I met General Sherman was on the +return of McDowell's army. I called on him at his headquarters across +the river from Bull Run. Sherman at that time was in the prime of life, +and the measure I then took of him has been fully justified. His nature +was naturally genial and democratic, notwithstanding his West Point +training. + +"While we were talking, an enlisted man--an Irish soldier--approached, +and in rich Irish brogue asked the General to put his finger in the +muzzle of his gun to see that it was clean. Sherman tried to put him +off, but the Irishman insisted, when, to get rid of him, Sherman +complied and laughingly remarked: 'Now go off and mind your business.' + +"Previous to the war he had served on the Cherokee Commission, and his +experience at that time, he afterward told me, was valuable, as the +Cherokee reservation was located in a large portion of the country +through which he subsequently travelled with his army. Even while in +Washington he was continually exploring the country, and in a very +short time had its topography thoroughly mapped in his mind. I may +say that there never was a great general--and Sherman certainly ranks +among the greatest--who did not possess this invaluable faculty, which +Marmont, in his treatise on the service of war, says enables a man not +only to see what lies directly before him but what lies far beyond the +scope of his vision. Another valuable trait he possessed was that he +reached his conclusions promptly and then acted upon them. More than +one general failed to achieve greatness in the Union army because he +hesitated when he should have acted. + +"General Sherman socially was one of the most charming of men. If he +was brilliant on the field of battle, in the social circle he was the +prince of entertainers. His manhood was symmetrical, his talents as a +general of the first rank and his fame immortal." + +Professor W. P. Howe, of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, a son of Sherman's old +schoolmaster, wrote as follows in the Iowa _State Register_: + +"My father had the high privilege of very largely moulding the +character and the career of General Sherman, as well as the destiny of +many others who afterwards became distinguished in the history of our +beloved country. General Sherman and Senator John Sherman were both +students under my father's care and instruction for several years, +at the high school and female seminary located at Lancaster, Ohio. +My father, the late Professor Samuel L. Howe, was for many years the +principal of said academy, and here, in the above quiet little village, +was the family home of the Shermans. Mrs. Sherman, the mother, was at +the time a widow, living a quiet and secluded life, but a woman of +great force of character, and determined that her children should have +the fullest opportunity for mental and moral development. My father +fitted young Sherman for West Point, and was careful and thorough to +the last degree in everything pertaining to his profession. But he +was especially devoted to the inculcation of moral principle, heart +culture, in the minds of his pupils. He constantly instilled these +great essential principles into the receptive minds of the young men +under his care with all the power at his command. And when love failed +to accomplish the work, then physical discipline was called in. Now +the Sherman boys were proud, high-spirited fellows, like most American +lads, and often wanted their own way, and at one time the government +of the academy depended upon who should rule, they or their teacher. +Being duly informed, the widow Sherman attended the college in person +and said the proper correction should be administered under her own +eye,--and it was thus given, but I have often heard my good father +say that the boys gave him a long and severe struggle, and that his +clothing was badly torn and disarranged in the contest. But here was +General Sherman's first great and grand lesson in discipline; a lesson +no doubt, which proved of immense value to him during the remainder of +life. From this time forward the boys were the models of the school, +and occupied the front rank both in moral and mental leadership. + +"Brigadier-General Stone, who commanded a brigade in the Fifteenth Army +Corps in 1864, submitted for publication some personal reminiscences +of General Sherman. In one of these interviews, he (Sherman) paid the +following just and generous tribute to his old teacher: + +"'General Stone, I consider Prof. Samuel L. Howe to be one of the best +teachers in the United States. I owe more to him for my first start in +life than to any other man in America.' + +"Any teacher, any family, might well be proud of a tribute like the +above, coming from such an exalted source, and very truthfully may +I add to the above that during all of his life General Sherman +entertained the highest regard for, and ever manifested a lively and +affectionate interest in, his venerated teacher and his family. + +"In the year 1877 my revered and honored father departed this life at +Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, and perhaps the following autograph letter from +General Sherman, written to me in reference to that event, may still +more clearly illustrate the affectionate and lovable side of that great +man's character:-- + + "'HEADQUARTERS U. S. ARMY, WASHINGTON, D. C., + April 26th, 1877. + + WARRINGTON HOWE, ESQ. + + "'_Dear Friend_:--I have received your letter, with the newspaper + slip containing the full and just tribute to your father, the + late Samuel L. Howe. I regret extremely that in my perambulations + over this great country of late years, I never had the chance to + meet your father, which I wanted to do. And now, though forty + long and eventful years have passed since I left his school at + Lancaster, Ohio, I can recall his personal appearance to mind as + clearly as though it were yesterday. I have always borne willing + testimony to his skill and merits as a teacher, and am sure that + the thorough modes of instruction in arithmetic and grammar + pursued by him prepared me for easy admission to West Point, and + for a respectable standing in my class. I have heard from time to + time of the changes that attended his useful career, and am glad + to learn that he has left behind the flourishing academy at Mt. + Pleasant, Iowa, with children qualified to take up his work where + he left off, and carry it to completion. + + "'I beg you will convey to your mother the assurance of my great + respect and sympathy in her great affliction. I recall her also + to memory; a young mother, living in the house of "Papa" Boyle, + close by the school-house built by Mr. Howe in the old orchard, + and it is hard for me to realize that she is now a widow and a + grandmother. I feel sure, however, that Mr. Howe has left behind + him hundreds and thousands that revere his memory, and will + perpetuate it by deeds and virtues which his example and precept + suggested. Truly your friend, + + 'W. T. SHERMAN.' + +"The above letter has been preserved by me with religious care during +all these years, and will be so long as life shall last. In a few +brief closing words permit me to say that the high privilege of having +moulded and directed such a character as that of General Sherman--a +character which has so eminently honored our country and blessed the +age in which we live--is a matter of honorable and just pride to any +man and family and a constant source of inspiration to high and noble +living." + +Mr. Charles F. Wingate said of Sherman, as he knew him near the end of +his life: + +"I had heard General Sherman at the famous dinner given many years +ago, at the St. Nicholas Hotel, where General Grant, Henry Ward +Beecher, Lawrence Barrett and Joseph Howard, Jr., also made memorable +speeches, but I never came in personal contact with the hero of the +March to the Sea, until the summer of 1889, when he made a too brief +visit to Twilight Park, in the Catskills. He had been staying at the +Mountain House, I think, and rode over with two ladies of his family +to call upon some friends in the Park, so that I had an opportunity +of talking freely with him. My previous impressions were all upset by +this experience. Instead of the hard-featured, grim martinet, depicted +in his photographs, loquacious, opinionated and over-bearing, whom I +expected to see, the great General impressed me as almost handsome, +with fine, courtly, dignified bearing, affable, unpretentious, +kind-hearted and without the slightest trace of vanity or egotism. I +watched him critically during his entire stay, and was unable to detect +any sign of self-consciousness. He seemed as natural, as warm-hearted +and as simple as a child. He greeted everybody with cordiality, and +made us all feel at ease in his company. + +"There was a group of carpenters--all native Americans--working upon +a new cottage near by, who were naturally anxious to see the General, +especially as some of them had served in the war. He went over to meet +them in the frankest manner, and when an old veteran, some seventy +years of age, said to him, 'I am glad to see you, General,' Sherman +responded in his hearty manner, I know you're glad to see me and I'm +glad to see you, too,' and he shook hands with the delighted workman in +true democratic fashion. + +"His remarkable vigor was shown by the quietness with which he mounted +a steep stairway leading to a cottage on a hillside. The exertion +did not affect him in the least and he seemed the youngest and most +alert of the party. When offered some refreshment on the piazza, he +raised his glass and, glancing around, said, 'Gentlemen, in the famous +words of John Phenix, I impair my own health by drinking yours.' +While seated there, he told many interesting anecdotes of famous men +whom he met--Lincoln, Grant, Von Moltke, Bismarck and others. He did +not monopolize the conversation and only spoke of his experience in +response to questions. One of the gentlemen present had been connected +with the United States Sanitary Commission, and this fact suggested +some of the topics touched upon. Reference was made to the horrors +of war and the difficult position of a commander who has to order +an assault which he knows will lead to great sacrifice of life. +Sherman replied that such matters become a necessity, and are part of +the soldier's business, however trying. Personal feelings cannot be +considered on such occasions. + +"As we left the cottage, he turned and looked around, saying, with a +characteristic laugh, 'How are the points of the compass here? I am an +old campaigner and like to know the exact location of places where I +have been entertained, so that I can find them again.' + +"I was anxious that my boy, who was off fishing, should see the hero of +the war, at the impressionable age of youth, and he fortunately came up +just then with a son of MacGahan, the famous war correspondent in the +Balkans. Sherman had known the latter intimately, having traveled 500 +miles in his company during his Russian journey. He greeted both boys +in a fatherly fashion, and at my request gave each of them a visiting +card as a memento of the meeting. Presently I ventured to say: + +"'General, these youngsters have no conception of a commander doing +anything but prancing around in full uniform, on a fiery steed, or +leading charges sword in hand, and cutting down a score of fellows with +his own hand. Won't you tell them if you ever did any actual fighting +like Cæsar and Alexander, and how many hundred men you have killed?' + +"Sherman laughed good-naturedly, and patting the boys on the head said +that he was usually away from the thick of the fighting, and he only +remembered once engaging personally in it. He and his staff were under +fire, and he noticed one man on the other side who seemed to be in +plain view, and who was peppering them as fast as he could load and +fire. Acting upon a sudden impulse Sherman turned to a Union soldier +standing near by, and seizing his rifle took a snap-shot at the Rebel, +who disappeared, 'and that,' said Sherman, 'was the only time I ever +shot any one.' + +[Illustration: SHERMAN SENTIMENTS APPROVED.] + +"Reference being made to his Russian visit, he related an account of +a grand reception which he attended in St. Petersburg, where he was +introduced to two charming ladies who spoke English, and invited him to +call at their residence. To his dismay, Sherman could not find any card +or scrap of paper to set down the address, so he gallantly wrote it on +his white glove. + +"'It was one of those regular Russian names--two coughs and a sneeze,' +he explained, 'and I never could have remembered it otherwise.' + +"And so the hour passed pleasantly until the carriage returned, and the +hero drove off with his companions, leaving a delightful impression +upon all who had met him. These may seem trifling incidents, but +they picture the defender of the Republic as he appeared in familiar +intercourse toward the close of his remarkable career. Only a month +before his death I received a note written in his neat chirography +apologizing for his failure to attend the annual dinner of the Twilight +Club, to which he had been especially invited. There is a certain +quaintness in the abbreviations and a stately sweep in the signature +which suggests Washington's letters. It is a model of easy courtesy: + + "'_Dear Sir_: I thank you for your kind remembrance and + invitation for the 8th inst. of your Twilight Club, and regret + that during my two weeks' absence at Washington and Phila., from + which I have just returned, my factotum has committed me to more + engagements next week than I can fulfil. With best compliments to + Yr. brother, I am sincerely yours, + + WM. T. SHERMAN.' + +"Other and far less occupied men will ignore or forget such matters, +but General Sherman was punctilious in the performance of the smallest +duty." + +Some interesting personal reminiscences of Sherman, beginning at the +end of the war, were given by a writer in the New York _Evening Post_. +"The first time I remember seeing Sherman near at hand," he said, "was +at the grand review at Washington in May, 1865, when, dismounting from +his horse at the grand stand as his army marched by, he ascended the +steps to meet the President and Cabinet. My seat was close by, so that +I could almost touch him as he passed up, and I can never forget his +firm, vigorous step, still less the nervous quivering of his lip and +the bristling up of his tawny moustache as he met Secretary Stanton, +who had treated him so roughly about Johnston's capitulation. He drew +back as Stanton stood ready to extend his hand and, bowing slightly, +took his seat. It reminded me of a tiger-cat or lion meeting an enemy +and ready to spring at his throat. There is no question that Sherman, +though a generous enemy, was a good hater. + +"The next occasion which brings him to mind is my return from Florida +in 1870, when I met an ante-bellum acquaintance, Col. Archie Cole. +He had been on Lieut.-Gen. Joe Johnston's staff, and told me, in +grandiloquent language, of the plans they had concocted for trapping +and destroying Sherman at Atlanta, which he said would have changed the +whole result of the war. These plans, he boasted, were only disturbed +by Jefferson Davis's appointment of Hood in the place of Johnston. I +heard the story without much accepting it, but did accept Col. Cole's +invitation to meet Gen. Joe Johnston at his rooms at a Savannah hotel, +where, accordingly, I encountered the great rebel, and got from +him a pretty strong confirmation of the idea, then prevailing among +Gen. McClellan's friends, that he (McClellan), having the ironclad +_Merrimac_ on his flank at Norfolk, was fully justified by military +axioms in going to Yorktown instead of taking the James River base +before the wonderful _Monitor_ met and repulsed the Confederate ram. + +"I did not ask Johnston about his proposed capture of Sherman, but on +my way North met and sat by the latter at Wm. H. Aspinwall's dinner +party, in New York, given to General Sherman, two or three days after +I had seen Johnston and his staff officer at Savannah. Among others, +there was present a rebel, from Richmond, perhaps a Major-General, +who was then making iron at the Tredegar Works. In a pause in the +conversation I said to General Sherman: 'I have just been South, where +I saw your old opponent, Joe Johnston, and had a talk with him and one +of his staff officers; the latter thought you were in a very tight +place at Atlanta, and that Johnston's removal changed the whole history +of the war. I suppose when General Johnston was removed by Jeff. Davis, +you must have been mighty glad to see him replaced by an inferior, +mad-cap soldier like Hood? How was it?' 'Well,' said the General, with +his usual frankness, 'of course I was glad to lose Johnston from my +front, but it really made no great difference in the long run, and one +day, when Johnston (who had been at West Point with me) and I were +sitting under a shade tree in North Carolina, waiting to hear whether +his terms of capitulation were ratified by Grant, I said, "Tell me, +Joe, did it make any difference, except a few days, more or less in +time, and some bloodshed? We had beaten you then, and, with the pick of +the Northern armies at my elbow, you could not long have stopped our +march." Johnston readily acceded to that,' said Sherman, 'and that was +the simple truth and all there was to it.' + +"Finding him ready, as usual, to speak out, notwithstanding his having +the rebel Major-General sitting opposite, I said, 'I saw too, General, +what they call down there "Sherman's monuments"--blackened chimneys +and ruins--painting you as quite a monster of cruelty.' The General's +face grew grave, and he tersely said, the company all attention now, +'I'll just tell you the only case when I hesitated to push discipline +and punish my officers for wilful destruction. Of course marauders and +camp-followers burned, robbed, and committed outrages we could not +always reach, but the one other case was this. One day Colonel ---- of +the ----th Ohio, was brought to headquarters under arrest for burning a +plantation house. On being questioned he said: + +"'Well, General, I have no defence to make; shoot me, but hear my +story first. (He was not a literary fellow, and did not put into Latin +"Strike but hear.") Escaping from prison some time ago, I was caught by +bloodhounds and d----d rebels, and brought to this plantation house; +while I lay there, torn and bleeding, the owner came out and kicked and +cursed me, and I swore if I lived I would pay him off. I have gone and +done it, and am now ready for a file of men and muskets to square my +accounts.' + +"'What,' said Sherman, 'could I do? I had to pass it by quietly; but +that was the only case when I forgave such a breach of the orders only +to burn buildings under certain exigencies of war.' All this was said +earnestly, but without exaggeration, and I shall not soon forget his +face and the withering look he cast at our vis-á-vis rebel, who sat +and took the medicine like a good enough fellow, as he really was. + +"The last time I saw General Sherman was when Porter brought him, in +the _Tallapoosa_, to Cape Cod and stood next to him at a deer hunt. +The General was brimming over with the enjoyment of his holiday, and +when at night the boys and girls sang his old war songs, I thought they +would never get him back to the ship." + +One evening, it is related, General Sherman went into a club of which +he was an honorary member. At that time a hot Presidential campaign +was going on and the subject most warmly discussed at the club that +evening was politics. When the General entered the room there was a +spontaneous cry for his opinion. General Sherman was not a politician, +and he said that he would rather not say anything about the campaign. +But he told a story, and it was a good story--a military tale which +described a driving charge in the face of shot and shell. This story +was about the battle of Resaca, and when it was ended a young man went +up to General Sherman and asked him what the battle of Resaca was. For +a moment General Sherman was taken back. "Resaca," he said, "don't you +know about Resaca?" Then, while every one was waiting to shake hands +with him or to get a word with him, he stood in one corner with the +young man and spent fifteen minutes in telling him all about Resaca. +Meanwhile his many friends stood about waiting for him to end his +conversation with the young man, to whom the General had never before +spoken. + +Sherman once remarked, in conversation with a friend, that a woman had +asked him how he felt when he got ready to make his great march to the +sea. The General had a wonderful smile, which spoke volumes. He looked +afar off, and then turning quickly said: "When she asked me what I +thought, I said to her that I thought of the sea." + +Colonel L. M. Dayton, who served on Sherman's staff during the war, +said that what struck him most in the General's character was his +versatility. "I cannot help believing," he said, "that as a general he +was greater than any other the war produced. He planned a campaign to +its uttermost limit before he began active operations. For instance, in +the Vicksburg campaign, while General Grant might not have figured out +his movements beyond the actual capture of that city itself, General +Sherman in his place would have outlined clearly what he would do with +his men after the siege and what disposition he would make of the +baggage and siege guns. + +"When we started out from Atlanta on the march to the sea nobody knew +what our objective point on the Atlantic coast was except a few members +of the staff and the authorities at Washington. Everybody else simply +knew that we were going to march across Georgia to the coast. When +General Sherman reached Savannah, which of course was all along known +to the authorities as our objective point, he was greatly surprised +to find that a gunboat had been despatched down the coast to meet him +there. The captain of this gunboat had succeeded in ascending Ossabaw +Sound and the Ogeechee River, which lies just back of Savannah, and +made instant communication with the General. An important official +document which had been brought down in this way was handed to General +Sherman in my presence. When he received it he got excited and seemed +vexed about something. I noticed his color rising and a look of +irritation in his eye as well as the nervous motion of the left arm +which characterized him when anything annoyed him. It seemed, for +instance, as if he was pushing something away from him. + +"'Come here, Dayton,' said he, and we went into the inner room of the +building where he made his headquarters. As soon as we got inside he +began to swear, and I could see that he was greatly opposed to the +suggestions that had apparently been contained in the document. 'I +won't do it,' he would say to himself several times over; 'I won't do +anything of the kind.' + +"The document was an official order from Secretary Stanton, approved by +General Grant, for General Sherman to wait with his army at Savannah +for transports which had been sent down the coast to convey them by sea +to the mouth of the James, and then to ascend that river to co-operate +with Grant. General Sherman had all along intended to march his army up +the coast, across country, and he sat down at once and wrote a letter +to General Grant explaining to him why he was opposed to taking a sea +voyage with his men; how he thought such an experience would demoralize +them with sea-sickness, confinement in close quarters and lack of +exercise, and how he had decided to take all the responsibility and +march them up by land, in accordance with his original plans. He said +he would be at Goldsboro, N. C., on the 21st day of March, 1865, and +that if any other orders were sent to him there they would reach him +promptly. So closely did he calculate that on the 23d of March he was +in possession of Goldsboro. + +"As Sherman had at that time practically an army of a hundred thousand +men, which could easily annihilate any opposition he might meet with +on his march, the wisdom of his course was at once apparent to the +authorities, and no attempt was made to interfere with his execution of +his plans. As a matter of fact he did encounter Joe Johnston on the +way up the coast and defeated him at Bentonville. That, I believe, was +his last battle. No other general would have dared to do what Sherman +did in this instance. The boldness of his military genius and his keen +insight into the future were admirably illustrated by it." + +General Rosecrans, who has already been quoted, had many reminiscences +of Sherman, beginning with his cadet days at West Point, which school +he entered two years later than Sherman. To Mr. Frank G. Carpenter, the +well known writer, General Rosecrans said: + +"Sherman was two classes above me, but he was one of the most popular +and brightest fellows in the academy. I remember him as a bright-eyed, +red-headed fellow who was always prepared for a lark of any kind, and +who usually had grease spots on his pants. These spots came from our +clandestine midnight feasts, at which Sherman usually made the hash. +He was considered the best hash maker at West Point, and this in our +day was a great honor. The food given the cadets then was furnished by +contract. It was cheap and poor, and I sometimes think that the only +meals we relished were our midnight hash lunches. We prepared for them +by slipping boiled potatoes into our handkerchiefs when at the table +and hiding these away inside our vests. One of us would steal a lump of +butter during a meal, and by poking it into a glove we could fasten it +by means of a fork driven into the under part of the table and keep it +there until we got ready to leave. In addition to this we would steal +a little bit of bread, and some of the boys had in some way or another +got hold of stew-pans. After the materials were gotten, one of the +boys who had a retired room where there was least danger of discovery +would whisper invitations to the rest to meet him that night for a hash +feast. When we got there Sherman would mash the potatoes and mix them +with pepper, salt and butter in such a way as to make a most appetizing +dish. This he would cook in the stew-pan over the fire. We had grates +in those days, and when it was done we would eat it sizzling hot on our +bread, which we had toasted. As we did so we would tell stories and +have a jolly good time, and Sherman was one of the best story-tellers +of the lot. He was by no means a goody-goody boy, and he was one of +those fellows who used to go down to Benny Haven's of a dark night, at +the risk of expulsion, to eat oysters and drink beer. + +"Not long ago, while General of the army, he went to West Point, +and, in company with the commandant of cadets, made an inspection +tour of the barracks. He was'nt looking for contraband goods, but he +got to talking about our old school days at West Point, and he said: +'When I was a cadet one of the considerations was as to what we were +to do with our cooking utensils and other things during our summer +vacations, and we used to hide our things in the chimney during the +summer months. I wonder if the boys do so still.' This visit was made +during the month of June, and when Sherman said this he was in one of +the cadet's rooms. As he spoke he went to the fire-place and stuck his +cane up the chimney. As he did so a frying pan, an empty bottle, a suit +of citizen's clothes and a board which had been stretched across the +chimney came flying down, and the cadets who occupied the room were +thunder-struck. General Sherman laughed, and telling the commandant not +to report the young men, he went to another room. + +"Sherman," continued Gen. Rosecrans, "stood sixth in his class at West +Point, and he was very high in mathematics. He could have taken the +honors, but he did not care for study, and he was blunt in his ways. +He had no policy or diplomacy about him, and if one of the professors +asked him to do a problem he would blurt out at times, 'I can't do +it.' 'Why?' the professor would ask. 'Well, sir, to be frank with you, +I haven't studied it.' Nevertheless, he stood so well as an honest, +bright student that he was never punished for such remarks, but his +carelessness, of course, cut down his average." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV. + +SHERMAN'S OWN WORDS. + + SPEECH AT A CLOVER CLUB DINNER--A FAMOUS NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY + DINNER--TEACHING GEOGRAPHY IN GEORGIA--SPEAKING FOR THE + UNITED STATES--OLD TIMES IN OHIO--AT A GRAND ARMY NATIONAL + ENCAMPMENT--WHY HE DID NOT MARCH TO AUGUSTA--ONE OF HIS LAST + LETTERS--A STORY OF GRANT--CONGRATULATIONS TO PRESIDENT + HARRISON. + + +General Sherman displayed his marked ability as a letter-writer early +in life, as a lad at West Point. To the end of his days he wielded +the same vigorous and trenchant pen. Nor was he less effective as a +speaker. The graces of oratory, as taught in schools, he did not aspire +to display. His eloquence was of a more impressive type than that; it +was the eloquence of a man of action. Ideas were plenty in his fertile +brain, and, as an omnivorous reader he had acquired a vast vocabulary. +When he arose to speak, therefore, he had but one thing to do: to +express his thoughts in words with the same directness and vigor with +which he would, on occasion, have wrought them out in deeds. He was a +spirited and dramatic story-teller, and his fund of anecdotes seemed +inexhaustible. "Stage-fright" was of course unknown to him, though the +circumstances of his speaking affected him much. + +Some years before his death, it is related, he was a guest at a +Clover Club dinner, in Philadelphia. This Clover Club was composed +of newspaper men, authors, artists, etc., and its ruling idea was +non-formality. No guest was too eminent to be exempt from practical +jokes and guying. So when General Sherman rose to speak, having been +called upon, he was greeted by a storm of applause. This applause +was renewed whenever he attempted to open his mouth, until at last, +surprised, indignant and hurt, he shut his teeth together like a +sprung rat-trap and sat down. A moment later the Club struck up the +tune "Marching Through Georgia," and they all joined in the song with +a will. As the ringing words of that song filled the hall and the +compliment contained in them went into the heart of the old warrior, +he saw that the joking was all good-natured. He grew mellow again, and +as he looked about the board and saw good-fellowship, good-nature and +admiration in every countenance, the tears came to his eyes and he rose +and made one of the best speeches that has ever been delivered before +them. He made his speech without interruption, and the applause which +followed it at the end was genuine enough and not facetious. + +One of Sherman's most notable and most characteristic speeches was made +at the dinner of the New England Society, in New York, on December 22d, +1886. It was as follows:-- + +MR. PRESIDENT AND GENTLEMEN OF THE NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY OF NEW +YORK.--Were I to do the proper thing, I would turn to my friend on the +left and say amen, for he has drawn a glorious picture of the War, in +language stronger than even I or my friend Schofield could dare to use. +But looking over the Society to-night, so many young faces here, so +many old and loved ones gone--I feel almost as one of your forefathers. +[Laughter and applause.] Many and many a time have I been welcomed +among you. I came from a bloody civil war to New York in years gone +by--twenty or twenty-one, may be--and a committee came to me in my +room and dragged me unwillingly before the then New England Society +of New York, and they received me with such hearty applause and such +kindly greetings that my heart goes out to you now to-night as their +representatives. [Applause.] God knows, I wish you, one and all, all +the blessings of life, and enjoyment of the good things you now possess +and others yet in store for you, young men. + +"I hope not to occupy more than a few minutes of your time, for last +night I celebrated the same event in Brooklyn, and at about two or +three o'clock this morning I saw this hall filled with lovely ladies +waltzing [laughter,] and here I am to-night. [Renewed laughter. A +voice--You're a rounder, General.] But I shall ever, ever recur to the +early meetings of the New England Society, in which I shared with a +pride and satisfaction which words will not express, and I hope the few +words I now say will be received in the kindly spirit they are made +in, be they what they may, for the call upon me is sudden and somewhat +unexpected. + +"I have no toast. I am a loafer. [Laughter.] I can choose to say what +I may--not tied by any text or formula. I know when you look upon old +General Sherman, as you seem to call him [Oh, oh!]--pretty young yet, +my friends--not all the devil out of me yet, and I hope still to share +with you many a festive occasion--whenever you may assemble, wherever +the sons of New England may assemble, be it here under this Delmonico +roof or in Brooklyn, or even in Boston, I will try to be there. +[Applause.] + +"My friends, I have had many, many experiences, and it always seems +to me easier to recur to some of them when I am on my feet, for they +come back to me like the memory of a dream, pleasant to think of. +And now to-night, I know the Civil War is uppermost in your minds, +although I would banish it as a thing of trade, something too common +to my calling: yet I know it pleases the audience to refer to little +incidents here and there of the great Civil War, in which I took an +humble part. [Applause.] But I remember, one day away down in Georgia, +somewhere between, I think, Milledgeville and Milan, I was riding on a +good horse and had some friends along with me to keep good fellowship, +you know. [Laughter.] A pretty humorous party, clever good fellows. +[Renewed laughter.] Riding along, I spied a plantation. I was thirsty, +rode up to the gate and dismounted. One of these men with sabres by +their side, called orderlies, stood by my horse. I walked up on the +porch, where there was an old gentleman, probably sixty years of age, +white-haired and very gentle in his manners--evidently a planter of +the higher class. I asked him if he would be kind enough to give me +some water. He called a boy, and soon he had a bucket of water with a +dipper. I then asked for a chair, and called one or two of my officers. +Among them was, I think, Dr. John Moore, who recently has been made +Surgeon-General of the Army, for which I am very grateful--even to Mr. +Cleveland. [Laughter and applause.] He sat on the porch, and the old +man held the bucket up to me, and I took a long drink of water and may +have lighted a cigar [laughter], and it is possible I may have had a +little flask of whiskey along. [Renewed laughter.] + +"At all events, I got into a conversation; and the troops drifted +along, passing down the roadway closely by fours, and every regiment +had its banner, regimental or national, sometimes furled and sometimes +afloat. The old gentleman says: 'General, what troops are these passing +now?' + +As the color-bearer came by, I said: "Throw out your colors. That is +the 73d Iowa." + +"The 73d Iowa! 73d Iowa! Iowa! 73d! What do you mean by 73d?" + +"Well," said I, "habitually a regiment when organized, amounts to 1,000 +men." + +"Do you pretend to say Iowa has sent 73,000 men into this cruel Civil +War?" [Laughter.] + +"Why, my friend, I think that may be inferred." + +"Well," says he, "Where's Iowa?" [Laughter.] + +"Iowa is a State bounded on the east by the Mississippi, on the South +by Missouri, on the west by unknown country, and on the north by the +North Pole." + +"Well," says he, "73,000 men from Iowa? You must have a million men." + +Says I: "I think about that." + +Presently another regiment came along. + +"What may that be?" + +I called to the color-bearer: "Throw out your colors and let us see," +and it was the 17th or 19th--I have forgotten which--Wisconsin. + +"Wisconsin! Northwest Territory! Wisconsin! Is it spelled with an O or +a W?" + +"Why, we spell it now with a W. It used to be spelled 'Ouis.'" + +"The 17th! that makes 17,000 men?" + +"Yes, I think there are a good many more than that. Wisconsin has sent +about 30,000 men into the war." + +Then again came along another regiment from Minnesota. + +"Minnesota! My God! where is Minnesota? [Laughter] Minnesota!" + +"Minnesota is away up on the sources of the Mississippi River, a +beautiful territory, too, by the way--a beautiful State." + +"A State?" + +"Yes, has Senators in Congress, good ones, too. They're very fine +men--very fine troops." + +"How many men has she sent to this cruel war?" + +"Well, I don't exactly know; somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 men, +probably. Don't make any difference--all we want." [Laughter.] + +"Well," says he, "now we must have been a set of fools to throw down +the gage of battle to a country we didn't know the geography of! +[Laughter and applause.] When I went to school that was the Northwest +Territory, and the Northwest Territory--well," says he, "we looked upon +that as away off, and didn't know anything about it. Fact is, we didn't +know anything at all about it." + +Said I: "My friend, think of it a moment. Down here in Georgia, one +of the original thirteen States which formed this great Union of +this country, you have stood fast. You have stood fast while the +great Northwest has been growing with a giant's growth. Iowa to-day, +my friend, contains more railroads, more turnpikes, more acres of +cultivated land, more people, more intelligence, more schools, +more colleges--more of everything which constitutes a refined and +enlightened State--than the whole State of Georgia." + +"My God!" says the man, "it's awful. I didn't dream of that." + +"Well," says I, "look here, my friend, I was once a banker, and I have +some knowledge of notes and indorsements, and so forth. Did you ever +have anything to do with indorsements?" + +Says he: "Yes, I have had my share. I have a factor down in Savannah, +and I give my note and he indorses it and I get the money somehow or +other. I have to pay it in the end, on the crop." + +"Well," says I, "now look here. In 1861, the Southern States had +4,000,000 slaves as property, for which the States of Pennsylvania, +New York, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and so forth were indorsers. We +were on the bond. Your slaves were protected by the same law which +protects land and other property. Now, you got mad at them because they +didn't think exactly as you did about religion and about that thing and +t'other thing; and like a set of fools you first took your bond and +drew your name through the indorsers'. Do you know what the effect will +be? You will never get paid for those niggers at all. [Laughter.] They +are gone. They're free men now. + +"Well," says he, "we were the greatest set of fools that ever were in +the world." [Laughter.] + +"And so I saw one reconstructed man in the good State of Georgia before +I left it. [Laughter and applause.] + +"Yes, my friends, in those days things looked gloomy to us, but the +decree came from a higher power. No pen, no statesman, in fact, no +divine could have solved the riddle which bound us at that time; +nothing but the great God of War. And you and your fathers, your +ancestors, if you please, of whom I profess to be one [applause], had +to resort to the great Arbiter of Battles, and call upon Jove himself. +And now all men in America, north and south and east and west, stand +free before the tribunal of the Almighty, each man to work out his own +destiny according to his ability, and according to his virtue, and +according to his manhood. [Applause.] I assure you that we who took +part in that war were kindly men. We did not wish to kill. We did not +wish to strike a blow. I know that I grieved as much as any man when I +saw pain and sorrow and affliction among the innocent and distressed, +and when I saw burning and desolation. But it was an incident of war, +and was forced upon us--forced upon us by men influenced by a bad +ambition, not by the men who owned those slaves, but by politicians +who used that as a pretext, and forced you and your fathers and me and +others who sit near me, to take up arms and settle the controversy once +and forever. [Cries of "good," and loud applause.] + +"Now, my friends of New England, we all know what your ancestors are +recorded to have been; mine were of a kindred stock. Both my parents +were from Norfolk, Conn. I think and feel like you. I, too, was taught +the alphabet with blows, and all the knowledge I possessed before I +went to West Point was spanked into me by the ferule of those old +schoolmasters. [Laughter.] I learned my lesson well, and I hope that +you, sons of New England, will ever stand by your country and its flag, +glory in the achievements of your ancestors, and forever--and to a +day beyond forever, if necessary--giving you time to make the journey +to your last resting-place--honor your blood, honor your forefathers, +honor yourselves, and treasure the memories of those who have gone +before you." [Enthusiastic applause.] + +At the New York Chamber of Commerce dinner, on November 20, 1888, +General Sherman responded to the toast. "The United States--with an +educated community and patriotic people her success will continue to be +commensurate with her opportunities and her power coextensive with her +vast domain." He said: + +"MR. PRESIDENT AND GENTLEMEN--When I first received your invitation I +felt almost overwhelmed at the idea of being brought into the presence +of the old merchants of New York, who guide the destinies of your +city. Every man who loves his country, or who professes to do so, +honors the merchant, the far-seeing man of affairs, who takes the whole +universe into his calculations, and brings here the things we need and +sends forth the things that we can spare and sell, and every man who +honors the merchant must think with pride of New York, which exercises +an influence over civilization, I am inclined to think, second only to +London and greater than either Paris, Vienna or Berlin. [Applause.] And +I believe, gentlemen, your influence will continue to grow--provided +always that you deserve it. [Applause.]" + +"When I got the toast, I was somewhat startled. I didn't know whether +to take it in its grand sense or in its minor sense, like the motto +in the copy-book that we used to pass around in our school-rooms; "Be +virtuous and you will be happy." [Laughter.] That is a self-evident +proposition, and so is the toast. Nevertheless, I turned to "Cosmos" +and thought of Humboldt, and then to Burghaus, and then to my old +friend William Gilpin. I don't know whether you know my old friend +William Gilpin, but not to know him is to be yourself unknown. +[Laughter.] He lectured in London, and he proved to the satisfaction +of his small audience that wherever he was was the centre of creation. +[Laughter.] I remember him when he lived in St. Louis--and of course +that was the centre of the world [laughter], and when he moved up +to Independence the world went with him. Finally, President Lincoln +made him Governor of Colorado, and the centre of the world was easily +transferred to Colorado. [Laughter.] So it was to the Garden of the +Gods, when he subsequently went there. + +"Well, he was a graduate of West Point and traveled once with me across +this continent to San Francisco. Gentlemen, did it ever strike you +that when you get to San Francisco you are only half-way across the +United States? The Aleutian Islands, which we got with Alaska, extend +further toward Asia than the continent of North America does to the +east of San Francisco; and that was the fact that startled Gilpin. +Every foot of that land, too, we have honestly come by. + +"As to Canada, we want no part of that, any more than we do of Mexico. +We have enough poor land already. [Laughter.] Our present domain +comprises about 3,700,000 square miles, and that is bigger than the +civilized domain of any country except Russia. In Belgium and parts of +France the population is forty times denser than ours at present; so +we see what room we have to grow. I can remember when we used to cross +the San Joaquin valley, twenty or thirty years ago, and thought it was +a poor, miserable place, because our cattle suffered so in the passage, +but now the land is worth there $100 an acre, while I wouldn't have +given two cents for 1,000 acres then. [Laughter.] + +"But the country is growing in other ways. Up here at Harvard, we +have college youths spending $10,000 a year--more than the pay of a +Lieutenant-General, by the way [laughter]--and if De Witt Clinton, +who is entitled to the credit of building the Erie Canal, the first +great artery of internal commerce, were to rise and look around him +to-day, he would see many things to surprise him. Among others, he +would be startled at the spectacle presented four years ago in these +United States, of the election of a man to the Chief Magistracy and +the appointment of others in his cabinet, representing the opposition +that confronted us twenty years ago in the Civil War, when we fought +to save the country. The people submitted to that without one single +whimper. [Applause.] But they have again chosen a man of our own +style and stamp, and I, for one, say openly that I am glad of it. +[Renewed applause.] I am not only proud of Ben Harrison as one of our +soldier-boys, but I am glad that in the hour of our danger he stood by +the American flag and was true to it." + +At an Ohio Society dinner in New York, April 7, 1888, he made this +address, on old times in his native State: + +"My young friends from Ohio, whilst you bear your honored State in +memory, honored memory, never reflect upon others. [Laughter.] There +were good men born long before they were in Ohio. [Renewed laughter.] +There are a great many good men born in other States out of Ohio. +[Continued laughter.] I have encountered them everywhere on this broad +continent and in Europe. There seems to be a pretty fair representation +of Ohio in this great city of New York, and I claim you have the same +right here as the native-born citizens [laughter], not by sufferance +but by right; and I hope you will bear in mind that you are citizens +of a greater country, the United States of America. [Loud applause.] +As your president has well told you in eloquent words to-night, our +friends in Marietta are celebrating a past of vast importance in the +history of Ohio, and the United States, and of all mankind. One hundred +years ago there landed at Marietta that little body whose influence was +then felt and is now felt all over the earth's surface; an organized +body of men with discipline, seeking to make homes for themselves and +their families and to rear up a State, free, where all men could enjoy +liberty and the pursuit of happiness in their own way and at their +own time. Ohio was the first of the States created; not the first of +the thirteen, but it was the child of the Revolution, although the +ordinance of 1787 preceded the Constitution by two years. Yet it +was made by the same men, breathing the same spirit of freedom and +nationality. + +"I was born in the town of Lancaster, and I doubt if any town anywhere +possessed a larger measure of intelligence for its numbers, about +3,000. There was General Beecher, Henry Stanbury, Thomas Ewing, William +Irvine. [A voice--"Tom Corwin."] Yes; he belonged in Lebanon, and I +knew him well. His name suggests to me something which I am frequently +reminded of when I go to Ohio. In these modern times I don't think +they're as good as they used to be in those early days. I suppose it +is a common weakness with old men to view things in that way. I could +recount a great many things about those early days. My memory goes back +to 1826. I remember perfectly the election of General Jackson in 1828. +I remember the coffin handbills put out by _The Cincinnati Gazette_ +to stigmatize Armstrong and Arbuthnot. At that time I belonged to a +strict Whig family, and we all thought Jackson a tyrant. I have come +to the conclusion in later years that old Jackson was a very clever +fellow. There used to be a man in Columbus named Gustavus Swain, and +what he didn't know about Ohio nobody did. Ohio had its fun and its +serious times, and always bore in mind that they were the first free +State northwest of the Ohio. Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota +followed afterward by catching the inspiration from her. [Applause.] It +travelled beyond. I went with McCook to Arizona and found our fellows +there from Yellow Creek. Everywhere we stopped we met them. They didn't +know they were from Ohio, but he convinced them they were. [Laughter.] + +"My own father was Judge of the Supreme Court in Ohio when he died +in Lebanon, and 'Tom' Corwin was with him then. I remember perfectly +well how we were all cast down by the news of his death, sudden and +unexpected, with eleven children and a salary of $300 to bring them +up on. How that task was ever accomplished I don't know. [Laughter.] +You see some of us are still alive. [Renewed laughter.] I am one of +those living who, owing to the kindness of his father, stand before you +to-night as representative of the State of Ohio. [Applause.] Vive la +bagatelle. Enjoy the hour. Take the world as you find it. It will grow +vast enough, but I don't know whether it will grow better." [Applause.] + +One of his last speeches was made before his Grand Army comrades, at +their National Encampment at Milwaukee, August 28, 1889. "Boys," he +said, "my speaking days are over. I am not going to make any more +speeches. If you want a speech, take Senator Manderson. I think he can +make a good speech. I am always glad to see so many soldiers looking +hearty and healthy. I think we can stand on our legs yet. I like to see +that our old Uncle Sam takes pretty good care of these old soldiers. +Uncle Sam cannot make old men young, but he can make young men just as +good as you or I ever were. I see that Milwaukee is full of them, and +they are coming out of the bushes everywhere. If you think you are the +only old soldiers, you are mistaken. There were old soldiers before +you, and there will be again. Such is the providence of the world. Just +as good men were born a thousand years ago and will be born a thousand +years hence. All we have to do is to do our parts in this short period +of life honorably and honestly. I think we can pass the grand tribunal +and say, 'We have tried to do our best,' and the sentence will be, +'Well done.' + +"We have passed through one crisis of our country's history. I don't +see any chance of another, but nobody knows the future. Bring up your +children to love and venerate the old soldiers who fought in 1861 +and 1865, and make them uncover their heads when they see that little +banner that you followed in the days which tried us to the utmost. Let +us venerate that flag and love our country and love each other, and +stand by each other, as long as we have heads on our shoulders and +legs on our bodies. These old soldiers who marched against the enemy +in those trying days, a grateful country tries its best to assist, and +will, I think--in fact, I am sure--be good to you when you get too old, +all that is necessary. But keep young as long as you can, and do not go +into a soldiers' home if you can help it." + +At about this time he wrote to the editor of _The Chronicle_, at +Augusta, Georgia, this letter, in reply to the question why he did not, +on his great march through Georgia, go to that city instead of Savannah: + + "MY DEAR SIR: I am just back from a visit to my daughter, who + resides at Rosemont, near Philadelphia, and find your letter of + the 18th. + + "The 'March to the Sea,' from Atlanta was resolved on after Hood + had got well on his way to Nashville. I then detached to General + Thomas a force sufficient to whip Hood, which he, in December, + 1864, very handsomely and conclusively did. Still I had left a + very respectable army, and resolved to join Grant at Richmond. + The distance was 1,000 miles, and prudence dictated a base at + Savannah or Port Royal. Our enemies had garrisons at Macon and + Augusta. I figured on both and passed between to Savannah. Then + starting northward, the same problem presented itself in Augusta + and Charleston. I figured on both, but passed between. I did not + want to drive out their garrisons ahead of me at the crossings + of the Santee, Catawba, Pedee, Cape Fear, etc. The moment I + passed Columbia the factories, powder mills and the old stuff + accumulated at Augusta were lost to the only two Confederate + armies left--Lee's and Hood's. So if you have a military mind, + you will see I made a better use of Augusta than if I had + captured it with all its stores, for which I had no use. I used + Augusta twice as a buffer; its garrison was just where it helped + me. If the people of Augusta think I slighted them in the winter + of 1864-'65 by reason of personal friendship formed in 1844, they + are mistaken; or if they think I made a mistake in strategy, let + them say so, and with the President's consent I think I can send + a detachment of 100,000 or so of 'Sherman's bummers' and their + descendants, who will finish up the job without charging Uncle + Sam a cent. The truth is, these incidents come back to me in a + humorous vein. Of course the Civil War should have ended with + Vicksburg and Gettysburg. Every sensible man on earth must have + then seen there could be but one result. The leaders of the South + took good care not to 'die in the lost ditch,' and left brave men + like Walker, Adams, Pat Clebourne, etc., to do that. + + Yours truly, + W. T. SHERMAN." + +One of the last letters he ever wrote was as follows: + + "NO. 75 WEST SEVENTY-FIRST STREET, N. Y. + Thursday February 5, 1891. + + E. J. ATKINSON, ESQ., _Secretary Memorial Committee, G.A.R._ + + "_Dear Sir_:--Your communication inviting me to share in your + memorial services of Decoration Day, May 30, 1891, is received. + I hereby accept and have marked my engagement book accordingly, + so that I may not fall into the error of two years ago, which + actually compromised me. + + "The only probable interference is in the unveiling of General + Grant's equestrian statue in Lincoln Park, Chicago, on a day not + yet determined, when I must attend as President of the Society of + the Army of the Tennessee. This unveiling was to have occurred + in October, 1890, was postponed to this spring by reason of a + failure in the casting, and I believe it will not be ready till + this autumn. Therefore I beg you to remind me early in May, 1891, + of this, my promise. + + Sincerely yours, + W. T. SHERMAN." + +When General Beauregard wrote a letter accusing him of cruel practices, +in requiring prisoners of war to dig up torpedoes which the Rebel army +had planted, Sherman made no reply; but some time later he said to a +friend: + +"I did not take any notice of Beauregard's letter. He is a very clever +gentleman, and I like him personally; but he is wrong in his ideas of +civilized warfare. It was no new thing to require prisoners to remove +torpedoes which had been buried by the enemy. Wellington did it in +Spain, and history furnishes a number of similar instances. I was +justified not only by the rules of war but also by the best of humane +principles. In the first instance where I had prisoners to perform such +service, we were near a little town about forty miles from Savannah. +The name of the place escapes me just now. News was brought to me that +a gallant young officer had been frightfully wounded and his horse +killed by the explosion of a torpedo buried by the rebels in the middle +of the road. I filed my army to the right and flanked that part of the +road where the explosives were supposed to be planted. The wagon trains +had to pass over the dangerous ground, however, and I knew that the +tramping of the mules and the heavy weight of the loaded wagons would +surely explode any torpedoes which had been planted. I ordered a detail +of prisoners to be sent ahead of the train, and with picks and shovels +to dig up all explosives that could be found. It was not to protect my +soldiers that I did this, but to save my train. My army had already +obviated the danger by a right flank, and was safely out of harm's +way. Prisoners should be protected, but mercy is not a legitimate +attribute of war. Men go to war to kill and get killed, if necessary, +and they should expect no tenderness. Each side protects itself as +far as possible, and does all the harm it can to the opposing forces. +It was, I think, a much better show of mercy for me to have the enemy +do this work than to subject my own soldiers to so frightful a risk. +At McAllister, when I made Major Anderson remove the torpedoes that +had been planted there, he pretended that it was not civilized war to +make him perform such a perilous feat. I told him he knew where the +torpedoes were, and could safely remove them, while my men, in hunting +for them, would be blown to pieces. He replied that the engineer had +planted them, and he did not know where they were. I told him he knew +better how to locate them than I did, and therefore he should do +it. The fact that every torpedo was found and safely removed showed +that my reasoning was right. I am not afraid to be judged either by +contemporary or future historians on this subject." + +The following anecdote of Grant was told, and illustrated with +exquisite humor, by Sherman at a dinner:-- + +"Grant and I were at Nashville, Tenn., after the battle of Chattanooga. +Our quarters were in the same building. + +"One day Grant came into the room that I used for an office. I was very +busy, surrounded with papers, muster-rolls, plans, specifications, +etc., etc. When I looked up from my work I saw he seemed a good deal +bothered, and, after standing around awhile, with his shoulders thrown +up and his hands deep down in his trousers pockets, he said: + +"'Look here, there are some men here from Galena.' + +"'Well?' I said. + +"Looking more uncomfortable every minute he went on: + +"'They've got a sword they want to give me,' and, looking over his +shoulder and jerking his thumb in the same direction, he added: + +"'Will you come in?' + +"He looked quite frightened at the idea of going to face them alone, +so I put some weights on my several piles of papers to keep them from +blowing around and went into the next room, followed by Grant, who by +this time looked as he might if he'd been going to be court-martialed. +There we found the Mayor and some members of the Board of Councilmen +of Galena. On a table in the middle of the room was a handsome +rosewood box containing a magnificent gold-hilted sword, with all the +appointments equally splendid. + +"The Mayor stepped forward and delivered what was evidently a carefully +prepared speech, setting forth that the citizens of Galena had sent +him to present to General Grant the accompanying sword, not as a +testimonial to his greatness as a soldier, but as a slight proof of +their love and esteem for him as a man, and their pride in him as a +fellow-citizen. + +"After delivering the speech the Mayor produced a large parchment +scroll, to which was attached by a long blue ribbon a red seal as +big as a pancake, and on which was inscribed a set of complimentary +resolutions. These he proceeded to read to us, not omitting a single +'whereas' or 'hereunto.' And after finishing the reading he rolled it +up and with great solemnity and ceremony handed it to Grant. + +"General Grant took it, looked ruefully at it and held it as if it +burnt him. Mrs. Grant, who had been standing beside her husband, +quietly took it from him, and there was dead silence for several +minutes. Then Grant, sinking his head lower on his chest and hunching +his shoulders up higher and looking thoroughly miserable, began +hunting in his pockets, diving first in one and then in another, and +at last said: 'Gentlemen, I knew you were coming here to give me this +sword, and so I prepared a short speech,' and with a look of relief he +drew from his trousers pocket a crooked, crumpled piece of paper and +handed it to the Mayor of Galena, adding, 'and, gentlemen, here it is!'" + +When General Harrison was elected President, Sherman was called on for +a speech at the Union League Club, New York, and responded thus: + +"I am not, and never have been, and never will be, a politician; but +I take a deep and lively interest in everything which occurs in this +country. [Cheers.] I see yonder flag and beneath it the picture of +one of my old, favorite soldiers, one who learned many lessons under +my leadership. I know that he was true as steel then. I believe he +will be to the end. [Cheers.] As a father loves to see his children +advance in the scale of life, so I rejoice to hear of the good fortune +of my old soldiers. I remember General Harrison when he was a colonel. +He is not naturally a military man. His grandfather was, and I +remember his grandfather when he was living down at North Bend, below +Cincinnati. I knew his father. I was once at the old farm at North +Bend, and saw little Ben in his panta-lettes. [Laughter and cheers.] +Now he has become great. He is the impersonation of a cause. He is the +impersonation of the ruling spirit of America for the next four years, +and of its policy, according to Mr. Depew, for the next twenty-five +years." + + + + +Transcriber's Notes: + + +Punctuation and spelling were made consistent when a predominant +preference was found in this book. + +Incorrect and missing page references in the Table of Contents have +been corrected. + +Unbalanced quotation marks were repaired when the intent was clear; +otherwise they were unchanged. + +Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained. + +Some misspelled words or typographical errors occurred only once +and have been corrected to the following: consummation, admissible, +phenomenal, brimming, scandalous, iniquitous, poring, chaparral. + + +These typographical errors were not corrected: cravans (should +be cravens), reconnoissance, reconnoisance (both should be +reconnaissance), vis-á-vis (should be vis-à-vis). + +Text uses "assult" and "assault", "wasn't" and "was'nt"; none changed. + +The inconsistent spacing and use of small-caps for "A. M." and "P. M." +has not been changed. + +Page 180: "Red Sea" was misprinted as "Red Rea"; correction made based +on comparision with other printings of the same poem. + +Page 336: "the situation was known Hood" probably should be "known to +Hood". + +Page 341: "worthy its great founder" probably should be "worthy of". + +Page 347: "marked and scared" probably should be "scarred". + +Page 400: "Villianow" and "Villainow" both appear and are unchanged +here; current spelling is "Villanow". + +Page 410: "Buel" was spelled with just one "l". All other occurrences +are spelled "Buell" but as they may refer to different people, this +was not changed. + +Page 431: Text is missing after "Of course the abandonment to us by the +enemy". + +Page 436: "sineury" probably should be "sinewy". + +Pages 440 and 441 were printed in the wrong sequence; corrected here. + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Life of Wm. Tecumseh Sherman., by +W. Fletcher Johnson + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44686 *** |