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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Military Reminiscences of the Civil War V2, by 
+Jacob Dolson Cox
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
+other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
+whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
+the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
+www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
+to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
+
+Title: Military Reminiscences of the Civil War V2
+
+Author: Jacob Dolson Cox
+
+Posting Date: October 12, 2014 [EBook #6962]
+Release Date: November, 2004
+First Posted: February 17, 2003
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MILITARY REMINISCENCES--CIVIL WAR V2 ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Steve Schulze, Charles Franks and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+MILITARY REMINISCENCES OF THE CIVIL WAR
+
+BY JACOB DOLSON COX, A.M., LL.D.
+
+_Formerly Major-General commanding Twenty-Third Army Corps_
+
+VOLUME II.
+
+NOVEMBER 1863-JUNE 1865
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+GRANT IN COMMAND--ROSECRANS RELIEVED
+
+Importance of unity in command--Inevitable difficulties in a double
+organization--Burnside's problem different from that of
+Rosecrans--Co-operation necessarily imperfect--Growth of Grant's
+reputation--Solid grounds of it--Special orders sent him--Voyage to
+Cairo--Meets Stanton at Louisville--Division of the Mississippi
+created--It included Burnside's and Rosecrans's
+departments--Alternate forms in regard to Rosecrans--He is
+relieved--Thomas succeeds him--Grant's relations to the change--His
+intellectual methods--Taciturnity--Patience--Discussions in his
+presence--Clear judgments--His "good anecdote"--Rosecrans sends
+Garfield to Washington--Congressman or General--Duplication of
+offices--Interview between Garfield and Stanton--Dana's
+dispatches--Garfield's visit to me--Description of the rout of
+Rosecrans's right wing--Effect on the general--Retreat to
+Chattanooga--Lookout Mountain abandoned--The President's
+problem--Dana's light upon it--Stanton's use of it--Grant's
+acquiescence--Subsequent relations of Garfield and
+Rosecrans--Improving the "cracker line"--Opening the
+Tennessee--Combat at Wauhatchie.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+SIEGE OF KNOXVILLE--END OF BURNSIDE'S CAMPAIGN
+
+Departments not changed by Grant--Sherman assigned to that of the
+Tennessee--Burnside's situation and supplies--His
+communications--Building a railroad--Threatened from Virginia--His
+plans--Bragg sends Longstreet into East Tennessee--Their
+cross-purposes--Correspondence of Grant and Burnside--Dana and
+Wilson sent to consult--Grant approves Burnside's course--Latter
+slowly retires on Knoxville--The place prepared for a siege--Combat
+at Campbell's station--Within the lines at Knoxville--Topography of
+the place--Defences--Assignment of positions--The forts--General
+Sanders killed--His self-sacrifice--Longstreet's lines of
+investment--His assault of Fort Sanders--The combat--The
+repulse--The victory at Missionary Ridge and results--Division of
+Confederate forces a mistake--Grant sends Sherman to raise the siege
+of Knoxville--East Tennessee a "horror"--Longstreet retreats toward
+Virginia--Sherman rejoins Grant--Granger's unwillingness to
+remain--General Foster sent to relieve Burnside--Criticism of this
+act--Halleck's misunderstanding of the real situation--Grant's easy
+comprehension of it--His conduct in enlarged responsibility--General
+Hunter's inspection report.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+AFFAIRS IN DISTRICT OF OHIO--PLOT TO LIBERATE PRISONERS AT JOHNSON'S
+ISLAND
+
+Administrative duties--Major McLean adjutant-general--His loyalty
+questioned--Ordered away--Succeeded by Captain Anderson--Robert
+Anderson's family--Vallandigham canvass--Bounty-jumping--Action of
+U. S. Courts--of the local Probate Court--Efforts to provoke
+collision--Interview with the sheriff--Letter to Governor
+Tod--Shooting soldiers in Dayton--The October election--Great
+majority against Vallandigham--The soldier vote--Wish for field
+service--Kinglake's Crimean War--Its lessons--Confederate plots in
+Canada--Attempt on military prison at Johnson's Island--Assembling
+militia there--Fortifying Sandusky Bay--Inspection of the
+prison--Condition and treatment of the prisoners.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+A WINTER RIDE ON THE CUMBERLAND MOUNTAINS
+
+Ordered to East Tennessee--Preparation for a long ride--A small
+party of officers--Rendezvous at Lexington, Ky.--Changes in my
+staff--The escort--A small train--A gay cavalcade--The blue-grass
+country--War-time roads--Valley of the Rockcastle--Quarters for the
+night--London--Choice of routes-Longstreet in the way--A turn
+southward--Williamsburg--Meeting Burnside--Fording the
+Cumberland--Pine Mountain--A hard pull--Teamsters' chorus--Big Creek
+Gap--First view of East Tennessee--Jacksboro--A forty-mile
+trot--Escape from unwelcome duty--In command of Twenty-third
+Corps--The army-supply problem--Siege bread--Starved
+beef--Burnside's dinner to Sherman.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI
+
+WINTER BIVOUACS IN EAST TENNESSEE
+
+Blain's Cross-roads--Hanson's headquarters--A hearty
+welcome--Establishing field quarters--Tents and houses--A good
+quartermaster--Headquarters' business--Soldiers' camps--Want of
+clothing and shoes--The rations--Running the country
+mills--Condition of horses and mules--Visit to Opdycke's camp--A
+Christmas dinner--Veteran enlistments--Patriotic spirit--Detachment
+at Strawberry Plains--Concentration of corps there--Camp on a
+knoll--A night scene--Climate of the valley--Affair at Mossy
+Creek--New Year's blizzard--Pitiful condition of the
+troops--Patience and courage--Zero weather.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII
+
+GRANT'S VISIT--THE DANDRIDGE AFFAIR
+
+Grant at Knoxville--Comes to Strawberry Plains--A gathering at
+Parke's quarters--Grant's quiet manner--No conversational
+discussion--Contrast with Sherman--Talk of cadet days--Grant's
+riding-school story--No council of war--Qualities of his
+dispatches--Returns by Cumberland Gap--Longstreet's
+situation--Destitution of both armies--Railroad repairs and improved
+service--Light-draught steamboats--Bridges--Cattle herds on the
+way--Results of Grant's inspection tour--Foster's movement to
+Dandridge on the French Broad--Sheridan--His qualities--August
+Willich--Hazen--His disagreement with Sheridan--Its causes and
+consequences--Combat at Dandridge--A mutual surprise--Sheridan's
+bridge--An amusing blunder--A consultation in Dandridge--Sturgis's
+toddy--Retreat to Strawberry Plains--A hard night march--A rough
+day--An uncomfortable bivouac--Concentration toward
+Knoxville--Rumors of reinforcement of Longstreet--Expectation of
+another siege--The rumors untrue.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII
+
+WINTER QUARTERS IN EAST TENNESSEE--PREPARATIONS FOR a NEW CAMPAIGN
+
+Sending our animals to Kentucky--Consultations--Affair with enemy's
+cavalry--Roughing it--Distribution of troops--Cavalry engagement at
+Sevierville--Quarters in Knoxville--Leading Loyalists--Social and
+domestic conditions--Discussion of the spring campaign--Of Foster's
+successor--Organization of Grant's armies--Embarrassments in
+assignment of officers to duty--Discussion of the system-Cipher
+telegraphing--Control of the key--Grant's collision with
+Stanton--Absurdity of the War Department's method--General Stoneman
+assigned to Twenty-third Corps--His career and character--General
+Schofield succeeds to the command of the Department of the Ohio.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV
+
+SCHOFIELD IN EAST TENNESSEE---DUTIES AS CHIEF OF STAFF--FINAL
+OPERATIONS IN THE VALLEY
+
+Fresh reports of Longstreet's advance--They are unfounded--Grant's
+wish to rid the valley of the enemy--Conference with
+Foster--Necessity for further recuperation of the army--Continuance
+of the quiet policy--Longstreet's view of the situation--His
+suggestions to his government--He makes an advance again-Various
+demonstrations--Schofield moves against Longstreet--My appointment
+as chief of staff in the field--Organization of the active
+column--Schofield's purposes--March to Morristown--Going the Grand
+Rounds--Cavalry outpost--A sleepy sentinel--Return to New
+Market--Once more at Morristown--Ninth Corps sent East--Grant
+Lieutenant-General--Sherman commands in the West--Study of plans of
+campaign--My assignment to Third Division, Twenty-third
+Corps--Importance of staff duties--Colonel Wherry and Major
+Campbell--General Wood--Schofield and the politicians--Post at
+Bull's Gap--Grapevine telegraph--Families going through the
+lines--Local vendetta--The Sanitary Commission--Rendezvous assigned
+by Sherman--Preliminary movements--Marching to Georgia--A spring
+camp on the Hiwassee--The Atlanta campaign begun.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV
+
+GRANT, HALLECK, AND SHERMAN--JOHNSTON AND MR. DAVIS
+
+Grant's desire for activity in the winter--Scattering to
+live--Subordinate movements--The Meridian expedition--Use of the
+Mississippi--Sherman's estimate of it--Concentration to be made in
+the spring--Grant joins the Potomac Army--Motives in doing so--Meade
+as an army commander--Halleck on concentration--North Carolina
+expedition given up--Burnside to join Grant--Old relations of
+Sherman and Halleck--Present cordial friendship--Frank
+correspondence--The supply question--Railway administration--Bridge
+defences--Reduction of baggage--Tents--Sherman on spies and
+deserters--Changes in Confederate army--Bragg
+relieved--Hardee--Beauregard--Johnston--Davis's suggestion of
+plans--Correspondence with Johnston--Polk's
+mediation--Characteristics--Bragg's letters--Lee writes
+Longstreet--Johnston's dilatory discussion--No results--Longstreet
+joins Lee--Grant and Sherman have the initiative--Prices in the
+Confederacy.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI
+
+ATLANTA CAMPAIGN: DALTON AND RESACA
+
+The opposing forces--North Georgia
+triangle--Topography--Dalton--Army of the Ohio enters
+Georgia--Positions of the other armies--Turning Tunnel Hill--First
+meeting with Sherman--Thomas--Sherman's plan as to
+Dalton--McPherson's orders and movement--Those of Thomas and
+Schofield--Hopes of a decisive engagement--Thomas attacks north end
+of Rocky Face--Opdycke on the ridge--Developing Johnston's
+lines--Schofield's advance on 9th May--The flanking march through
+Snake Creek Gap--Retiring movement of my division--Passing
+lines--Johnston's view of the situation--Use of temporary
+intrenchments and barricades--Passing the Snake Creek defile-Camp
+Creek line--A wheel in line--Rough march of left flank--Battle of
+Resaca--Crossing Camp Creek--Storming Confederate line--My division
+relieved by Newton's--Incidents--Further advance of left
+flank--Progress of right flank--Johnston retreats.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII
+
+ATLANTA CAMPAIGN: ADVANCE TO THE ETOWAH
+
+Tactics modified by character of the country--Use of the
+spade--Johnston's cautious defensive--Methods of Grant and
+Sherman--Open country between Oostanaula and Etowah--Movement in
+several columns--Sherman's eagerness--Route of left wing--Of
+McPherson on the right--Necessity of exact system in such
+marches--Route of Twenty-third Corps--Hooker gets in the way--Delays
+occasioned--Closing in on Cassville--Our commanding
+position--Johnston's march to Cassville--His order to fight
+there--Protest of Hood and Polk--Retreat over the Etowah--Sherman
+crosses near Kingston--My reconnoissance to the Allatoona
+crossing--Destruction of iron works and mills--Marching without
+baggage--Barbarism of war--Desolation it causes--Changes in our
+corps organization--Hascall takes Judah's division--Our place of
+crossing the Etowah--Interference again--Kingston the new
+base--Rations--Camp coffee.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII
+
+ATLANTA CAMPAIGN: NEW HOPE CHURCH AND THE KENNESAW LINES
+
+Sherman's plan for June--Movements of 24th May-Johnston's position
+at Dallas and New Hope Church--We concentrate to attack--Pickett's
+Mill--Dallas--Flanking movements--Method developed by the character
+of the country--Closer personal relations to Sherman--Turning
+Johnston's right--Crossroads at Burnt Church-A tangled
+forest--Fighting in a thunderstorm--Sudden freshet--Bivouac in a
+thicket---Johnston retires to a new line--Formidable character of
+the old one--Sherman extends to the railroad on our left--Blair's
+corps joins the army--General Hovey's retirement--The principles
+involved--Politics and promotions.
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIX
+
+ATLANTA CAMPAIGN: MARIETTA LINES--CROSSING THE CHATTAHOOCHEE
+
+Continuous rains in June--Allatoona made a field depot on the
+railway and fortified--Johnston in the Marietta lines--That from
+Pine Mountain to Lost Mountain abandoned--Swinging our right
+flank--Affair at Kolb's farm--Preparing for a general attack--Battle
+of Kennesaw-The tactical problem--Work of my division--Topography
+about Cheney's--Our advance on the 27th--Nickajack valley
+reached--The army moves behind us--Johnston retreats to the
+Chattahoochee--Twenty-third Corps at Smyrna Camp-ground--Crossing
+the Chattahoochee at Soap Creek--At Roswell--Johnston again
+retreats--Correspondence with Davis--Mission of B. H. Hill--Visit of
+Bragg to Johnston--Johnston's unfortunate reticence--He is relieved
+and Hood placed in command--Significance of the change to the
+Confederacy and to us.
+
+
+CHAPTER XL
+
+HOOD'S DEFENCE OF ATLANTA--RESULTS OF ITS CAPTURE
+
+Lines of supply by field trains--Canvas pontoons--Why replaced by
+bridges--Wheeling toward Atlanta--Battle of Peachtree Creek--Battle
+of Atlanta--Battle of Ezra Church--Aggressive spirit of Confederates
+exhausted--Sherman turns Atlanta by the south--Pivot position of
+Twenty-third Corps--Hood's illusions--Rapidity of our troops in
+intrenching--Movements of 31st August--Affair at Jonesboro--Atlanta
+won--Morale of Hood's army--Exaggerating difference in
+numbers--Examination of returns--Efforts to bring back
+absentees--The sweeping conscription--Sherman's candid
+estimates--Unwise use of cavalry--Forrest's work--Confederate
+estimate of Sherman's campaign.
+
+
+CHAPTER XLI
+
+THE REST AT ATLANTA--STAFF ORGANIZATION AND CHANGES
+
+Position of the Army of the Ohio at Decatur--Refitting for a new
+campaign--Depression of Hood's army--Sherman's reasons for a
+temporary halt--Fortifying Atlanta as a new base--Officers detailed
+for the political campaign-Schofield makes inspection tour of his
+department--My temporary command of the Army of the Ohio--Furloughs
+and leaves of absence--Promotions of several colonels--General
+Hascall resigns--Staff changes--My military family--Anecdote of
+Lieutenant Tracy--Discipline of the army--Sensitiveness to approval
+or blame--Illustration--Example of skirmishing advance--Sufferings
+of non-combatants within our lines--A case in point--Pillaging and
+its results--Citizens passing through the lines--"The rigors of the
+climate"--Visit of Messrs. Hill and Foster--McPherson's death--The
+loss to Sherman and to the army--His personal traits--Appointment of
+his successor.
+
+
+CHAPTER XLII
+
+CAMPAIGN OF OCTOBER--HOOD MOVES UPON OUR COMMUNICATIONS
+
+Hood's plan to transfer the campaign to northern Georgia--Made
+partly subordinate to Beauregard--Forrest on a raid--Sherman makes
+large detachments--Sends Thomas to Tennessee--Hood across the
+Chattahoochee--Sherman follows--Affair at Allatoona--Planning the
+March to the Sea--Sherman at Rome--Reconnoissance down the
+Coosa--Hood at Resaca--Sherman in pursuit--Hood retreats down the
+Chattooga valley--We follow in two columns--Concentrate at
+Gaylesville--Beauregard and Hood at Gadsden--Studying the
+situation--Thomas's advice--Schofield rejoins--Conference regarding
+the Twenty-third Corps--Hood marches on Decatur--His explanation of
+change of plan--Sherman marches back to Rome--We are ordered to join
+Thomas--Hood repulsed at Decatur marches to Tuscumbia--Our own march
+begun--Parting with Sherman--Dalton--Chattanooga--Presidential
+election--Voting by steam--Retrospect of October camp-life--Camp
+sports--Soldiers' pets--Story of a lizard.
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIII
+
+NASHVILLE CAMPAIGN--HOOD'S ADVANCE FROM THE TENNESSEE
+
+Schofield to command the army assembled at Pulaski--Forrest's
+Tennessee River raid--Schofield at Johnsonville--My division at
+Thompson's--Hastening reinforcements to Thomas--Columbia--The
+barrens--Pulaski--Hood delays--Suggests Purdy as a base--He advances
+from Florence--Our march to Columbia--Thomas's distribution of the
+forces--Decatur evacuated--Pontoon bridge there--Withdrawing from
+Columbia--Posts between Nashville and Chattanooga--The cavalry on
+29th November--Their loss of touch with the army.
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIV
+
+NASHVILLE-HOOD'S ARMY ROUTED
+
+Defensive works of Nashville--Hood's lines--The ice
+blockade--Halleck on remounts for cavalry--Pressing horses and its
+abuse--The cavalry problem--Changes in organization--Assignment of
+General Couch--Confederate cavalry at Nashville--Counter-movements
+of our own--Detailed movements of our right--Difference of
+recollection between Schofield and Wilson--The field
+dispatches--Carrying Hood's works--Confederate rout.
+
+
+CHAPTER XLV
+
+PURSUIT OF HOOD--END OF THE CAMPAIGN
+
+Night after the battle--Unusual exposure--Hardships of company
+officers--Bad roads--Halt at Franklin--Visiting the
+battlefield--Continued pursuit--Decatur reoccupied--Hood at Tupelo,
+Miss.--Summary of captures--Thomas suggests winter-quarters--Grant
+orders continued activity--Schofield's proposal to move the corps to
+the East--Grant's correspondence with Sherman--Schofield's
+suggestion adopted--Illness--I ask for "sick-leave"--Do not use
+it--Promotion--Reinforcements--March from Columbia to
+Clifton--Columns on different roads--Western part of the
+barrens--Fording Buffalo River--An illumined camp--Dismay of the
+farmer--Clifton on the Tennessee--Admiral Lee--Methods of
+transport--Weary waiting--Private grumbling--Ordered East--Revulsion
+of spirits--On the transport fleet--Thomas's frame of mind at close
+of the campaign.
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVI
+
+CAMPAIGN IN NORTH CAROLINA--CAPTURE OF WILMINGTON
+
+Rendezvous at Washington--Capture of Fort Fisher--Schofield ordered
+to North Carolina--Grant and Schofield visit Terry--Department of
+North Carolina--Army of the Ohio in the field--Correspondence of
+Grant and Sherman--Sherman conscious of his risks but hopeful of
+great results--His plan of march from Savannah--Relation of
+Wilmington to New Berne--Our arrival at Washington--The Potomac
+frozen--Peace conference at Fort Monroe--Interview with Mr.
+Stanton--The thirteenth amendment of the Constitution--Political
+excitement at the capital--A little dinner-party--Garfield, H. W.
+Davis, and Schenck--Davis on Lincoln--Destination of our
+army--Embarkation--Steamship "Atlantic"--Visit to Fort Monroe--The
+sea-voyage--Cape Fear Inlet--General Terry's lines--Bragg the
+Confederate commander--Reconnoitring his lines--The colored
+troops--"Monitor" engaged with Fort Anderson--Alternate
+plans--Marching on Wilmington by the west bank of the river--My
+column opposite the town--Orders not applicable to the
+situation--Difficulty of communication--Use of
+discretion--Wilmington evacuated--A happy result.
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVII
+
+THE CONFEDERACY IN STRAITS--JOHNSTON COMMANDS IN THE CAROLINAS--OUR
+OPERATIONS FROM NEW BERNE--BATTLE OF KINSTON
+
+The Confederates lose Charleston and Columbia--Facing a
+crisis--Hopeless apathy of Southern people--Mr. Davis's
+perplexity--Beauregard startles him--Lee calls Johnston to
+command--Personal relations of leading officers--Dwindling
+armies--The cavalry--Assignments of generals--The Beaufort and New
+Berne line--Am ordered to New Berne--Provisional corps--Advance to
+cover railway building--Dover and Gum swamps--Bragg concentrates to
+oppose us--Position near Kinston--Bragg's plan of attack--Our own
+movements--Condition of railroad and river--Our advance to Wise's
+Forks and Southwest Creek--Precautions--Conference with
+Schofield--Battle of Kinston--Enemy attack our left front--Rout of
+Upham's brigade--Main line firm--Ruger's division reaches the field
+Enemy repulsed--End of first day's fight--Extending our trenches on
+the left--Sharp skirmishing of the 9th--Bragg's reinforcements--His
+attack of the 10th--Final repulse and retreat of the enemy.
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVIII
+
+JUNCTION WITH SHERMAN AT GOLDSBOROUGH--THE MARCH ON
+RALEIGH--CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES
+
+Occupation of Kinston--Opening of Neuse River--Rebel ram
+destroyed--Listening to the distant battle at Bentonville--Entering
+Goldsborough--Meeting Sherman--Grant's congratulations--His own
+plans--Sketch of Sherman's march--Lee and Johnston's
+correspondence--Their gloomy outlook--Am made commandant of
+Twenty-third Corps--Terry assigned to Tenth--Schofield promoted in
+the Regular Army--Stanton's proviso--Ill effects of living on the
+country--Stopping it in North Carolina--Camp jubilee over the fall
+of Richmond--Changes in Sherman's plans--Our march on
+Smithfield--House-burning--News of Lee's surrender--Overtures from
+Governor Vance--Entering Raleigh--A mocking-bird's greeting--Further
+negotiations as to North Carolina--Johnston proposes an
+armistice--Broader scope of negotiations--The Southern people desire
+peace--Terrors of non-combatants assuaged--News of Lincoln's
+assassination--Precautions to preserve order--The dawn of peace.
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIX
+
+THE SHERMAN-JOHNSTON CONVENTION
+
+Sherman's earlier views of the slavery question--Opinions in
+1864--War rights vs. statesmanship--Correspondence with
+Halleck--Conference with Stanton at Savannah--Letter to General
+Robert Anderson--Conference with Lincoln at City Point--First effect
+of the assassination of the President--Situation on the Confederate
+side--Davis at Danville--Cut off from Lee--Goes to
+Greensborough--Calls Johnston to conference--Lee's surrender--The
+Greensborough meeting--Approach of Stoneman's cavalry raid--Vance's
+deputation to Sherman--Davis orders their arrest--Vance asserts his
+loyalty--Attempts to concentrate Confederate forces on the
+Greensborough-Charlotte line--Cabinet meeting--Overthrow of the
+Confederacy acknowledged--Davis still hopeful--Yields to the
+cabinet--Dictates Johnston's letter to Sherman--Sherman's
+reply--Meeting arranged--Sherman sends preliminary correspondence to
+Washington--The Durham meeting--The negotiations--Two points of
+difficulty--Second day's session--Johnston's power to promise the
+disbanding of the civil government--The terms agreed
+upon--Transmittal letters--Assembling the Virginia
+legislature--Sherman's wish to make explicit declaration of the end
+of slavery--The assassination affecting public sentiment--Sherman's
+personal faith in Johnston--He sees the need of modifying the
+terms--Grant's arrival.
+
+
+CHAPTER L
+
+THE SECOND SHERMAN-JOHNSTON CONVENTION--SURRENDER
+
+Davis's last cabinet meeting--Formal opinions approving the
+"Basis"--"The Confederacy is conquered"--Grant brings disapproval
+from the Johnston administration--Sherman gives notice of the
+termination of the truce--No military disadvantage from
+it--Sherman's vindication of himself--Grant's admirable
+conduct--Johnston advises Davis to yield--Capitulation assented to,
+but a volunteer cavalry force to accompany Davis's flight--A new
+conference at Durham--Davis's imaginary treasure--Grant's return to
+Washington--Terms of the parole given by Johnston's army--The
+capitulation complete--Schofield and his army to carry out the
+details--The rest of Sherman's army marches north--His farewell to
+Johnston--Order announcing the end of the war--Johnston's fine
+reply--Stanton's strange dispatch to the newspapers--Its tissue of
+errors--Its baseless objections--Sherman's
+exasperation--Interference with his military authority over his
+subordinates--Garbling Grant's dispatch--Sherman strikes
+back--Breach between Sherman and Halleck--It also grew out of the
+published matter--Analysis of the facts--My opinion as recorded at
+the time.
+
+
+CHAPTER LI
+
+PAROLING AND DISBANDING JOHNSTON'S ARMY--CLOSING SCENES OF THE WAR
+IN NORTH CAROLINA
+
+General Schofield's policy when left in command--Lincoln's
+Emancipation Proclamation in force--Davis's line of flight from
+Charlotte, N. C.--Wade Hampton's course of conduct--Fate of the
+cabinet officers--Bragg, Wheeler, and Cooper--Issuing paroles to
+Johnston and his army--Greensborough in my district--Going there
+with Schofield--Hardee meets and accompanies us--Comparing
+memories--We reach Johnston's headquarters--Condition of his
+army--Our personal interview with him--The numbers of his
+troops--His opinion of Sherman's army--Of the murder of
+Lincoln--Governor Morehead's home--The men in gray march
+homeward--Incident of a flag--The Salisbury prison site--Treatment
+of prisoners of war--Local government in the interim--Union
+men--Elements of new strife--The negroes--Household service--Wise
+dealing with the labor question--No money--Death of
+manufactures--Necessity the mother of invention--Uses of
+adversity--Peace welcomed--Visit to Greene's battle-field at
+Guilford-Old-Court-House.
+
+
+
+APPENDIX C
+
+INDEX
+
+
+
+
+MILITARY REMINISCENCES OF THE CIVIL WAR
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+GRANT IN COMMAND--ROSECRANS RELIEVED
+
+
+Importance of unity in command--Inevitable difficulties in a double
+organization--Burnside's problem different from that of
+Rosecrans--Cooperation necessarily imperfect--Growth of Grant's
+reputation--Solid grounds of it--Special orders sent him--Voyage to
+Cairo--Meets Stanton at Louisville--Division of the Mississippi
+created--It included Burnside's and Rosecrans's
+departments--Alternate forms in regard to Rosecrans--He is
+relieved--Thomas succeeds him--Grant's relations to the change--His
+intellectual methods--Taciturnity--Patience--Discussions in his
+presence--Clear judgments--His "good anecdote"--Rosecrans sends
+Garfield to Washington--Congressman or General--Duplication of
+offices--Interview between Garfield and Stanton--Dana's
+dispatches--Garfield's visit to me--Description of the rout of
+Rosecrans's right wing--Effect on the general--Retreat to
+Chattanooga--Lookout Mountain abandoned--The President's
+problem--Dana's light upon it--Stanton's use of it--Grant's
+acquiescence--Subsequent relations of Garfield and
+Rosecrans--Improving the "cracker line"--Opening the
+Tennessee--Combat at Wauhatchie.
+
+
+It is very evident that, at the close of September, Mr. Lincoln and
+Mr. Stanton had become satisfied that a radical change must be made
+in the organization of the Western armies. The plan of sending
+separate armies to co-operate, as Rosecrans's and Burnside's had
+been expected to do, was in itself vicious. It is, after a fashion,
+an attempt of two to ride a horse without one of them riding behind.
+Each will form a plan for his own army, as indeed he ought to do,
+and when one of them thinks the time has come for help from the
+other, that other may be out of reach or committed to operations
+which cannot readily be dropped. It is almost axiomatic that in any
+one theatre of operations there must be one head to direct.
+[Footnote: Napoleon used to ridicule the vicious practice of
+subdividing armies in the same theatre of war. He called it putting
+them up in small parcels, "_des petits paquets_." Memoirs of Gouvion
+St.-Cyr, vol. iv.] In the present case it ought to have been evident
+to the authorities at Washington that as soon as Burnside occupied
+East Tennessee, both distance and the peculiar conditions of his
+problem would forbid any efficient cooperation with Rosecrans. The
+latter was the junior in rank, and knew that, whatever might be
+Burnside's generosity, there were many possible contingencies in
+such a campaign in which the War Department might find it the easy
+solution of a difficulty to direct the senior officer to assume the
+command of both armies. So long as matters went well, Rosecrans had
+little or no communication with Burnside; but as soon as the enemy
+began to show a bold front, he became impatient for assistance. The
+perplexities of his own situation made him blind to those of
+Burnside. This is human nature, and was, no doubt, true of both in
+varying degrees. Halleck, at Washington, was in no true sense a
+commander of the armies. He had given peremptory orders to advance
+in June and again in July, but when asked whether this relieved the
+subordinate of responsibility and took away his discretion, could
+make no distinct answer. The unpleasant relations thus created
+necessarily affected the whole campaign. Halleck hesitated to advise
+a halt when he learned that Longstreet had gone to reinforce Bragg,
+and Rosecrans dreaded the blame of halting without such suggestion.
+So the battle had to be fought, and the ill consequences had to be
+repaired afterward as best they could.
+
+The official correspondence of the summer shows a constantly growing
+faith in Grant. His great success at Vicksburg gave him fame and
+prestige, but there was beside this a specific effect produced on
+the President and the War Department by his unceasing activity, his
+unflagging zeal, his undismayed courage. He was as little inclined
+to stop as they at Washington were inclined to have him. He was as
+ready to move as they were to ask it, and anticipated their wish. He
+took what was given him and did the best he could with it. The
+result was that the tone adopted toward him was very different from
+that used with any other commander. It was confidently assumed that
+he was doing all that was possible, and there was no disposition to
+worry him with suggestions or orders.
+
+When the operations in the Mississippi valley were reduced to
+secondary importance by the surrender of Vicksburg, it was certain
+that Grant would be called to conduct one of the great armies which
+must still make war upon the rebellion. In a visit to New Orleans to
+consult with Banks, he had been lamed by a fractious horse and was
+disabled for some days. As soon as he was able to ride in an
+ambulance he was on duty, and was assured by General Halleck that
+plenty of work would be cut out for him as soon as he was fully
+recovered. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxx. pt. iv. p. 274.]
+At the beginning of October he was ordered to take steamboat and go
+to Cairo, where he would find special instructions. This dispatch
+reached him on the 9th, and the same day he sailed for Cairo,
+arriving there on the 16th, when he learned that an officer of the
+War Department would meet him at Louisville. Hastening to Louisville
+by rail, he met Mr. Stanton himself, who had travelled _incognito_
+from Washington. The Secretary of War produced the formal orders
+which had been drawn at the War Department creating the Division of
+the Mississippi, which included Rosecrans's, Burnside's, and his own
+departments, and put him in supreme command of all. [Footnote:
+_Id_., p. 404.] The order was drawn in two forms, one relieving
+Rosecrans and putting Thomas in command of the Department of the
+Cumberland, and the other omitting this. After consultation with Mr.
+Stanton, the order relieving Rosecrans was issued and Grant
+published his own assumption of command. His staff had accompanied
+him, on a hint contained in an earlier dispatch, and after a day
+spent with the Secretary of War (October 18-19) he immediately
+proceeded to Chattanooga. He was hardly able to mount a horse, and
+when on foot had to get about on crutches.
+
+It has been commonly assumed that the choice whether he would remove
+Rosecrans was submitted to Grant as a personal question affecting
+his relations with his subordinates, and that he decided it on the
+ground of his dislike of Rosecrans. The records of the official
+correspondence seem to me to show the fact rather to be that
+Rosecrans's removal was thought best by the Secretary, the doubt
+being whether Grant would prefer to retain him instead of meeting
+the embarrassments incident to so important a change in the
+organization of the beleaguered army. Grant was always disposed to
+work with the tools he had, and through his whole military career
+showed himself averse to meddling much with the organization of his
+army. He had strong likes and dislikes, but was very reticent of his
+expression of them. He would quietly take advantage of vacancies or
+of circumstances to put men where he wanted them, but very rarely
+made sweeping reorganization. If any one crossed him or became
+antagonistic without open insubordination, he would bear with it
+till an opportunity came to get rid of the offender. He hated verbal
+quarrelling, never used violent language, but formed his judgments
+and bided his time for acting on them. This sometimes looked like a
+lack of frankness, and there were times when a warm but honest
+altercation would have cleared the air and removed
+misunderstandings. It was really due to a sort of shyness which was
+curiously blended with remarkable faith in himself. From behind his
+wall of taciturnity he was on the alert to see what was within
+sight, and to form opinions of men and things that rooted fast and
+became part of his mental constitution. He sometimes unbent and
+would talk with apparent freedom and ease; but, so far as I
+observed, it was in the way of narrative or anecdote, and almost
+never in the form of discussion or comparison of views. It used to
+be said that during the Vicksburg campaign he liked to have Sherman
+and McPherson meet at his tent, and would manage to set them to
+discussing the military situation. Sherman would be brilliant and
+trenchant; McPherson would be politely critical and intellectual;
+Rawlins would break in occasionally with some blunt and vigorous
+opinion of his own: Grant sat impassable and dumb in his camp-chair,
+smoking; but the lively discussion stimulated his strong
+commonsense, and gave him more assured confidence in the judgments
+and conclusions he reached. He sometimes enjoyed with a spice of
+real humor the mistaken assumption of fluent men that reticent ones
+lack brains. I will venture to illustrate it by an anecdote of a
+date subsequent to the war. One day during his presidency, he came
+into the room where his cabinet was assembling, quietly laughing to
+himself. "I have just read," said he, "one of the best anecdotes I
+have ever met. It was that John Adams after he had been President
+was one day taking a party out to dinner, at his home in Quincy,
+when one of his guests noticed a portrait over the door and said,
+'You have a fine portrait of Washington there, Mr. Adams!' 'Yes,'
+was the reply, 'and that old wooden head made his fortune by keeping
+his mouth shut;'" and Grant laughed again with uncommon enjoyment.
+The apocryphal story gained a permanent interest in Grant's mouth,
+for though he showed no consciousness that it could have any
+application to himself, he evidently thought that keeping the mouth
+shut was not enough in itself to ensure fortune, and at any rate was
+not displeased at finding such a ground of sympathy with the Father
+of his country. Grant's telling the story seemed to me, under the
+circumstances, infinitely more amusing than the original.
+
+During the month which followed the battle of Chickamauga, Rosecrans
+had elaborated his report of the campaign. On the 15th of October he
+ordered General Garfield to proceed to Washington with it and to
+explain personally to the Secretary of the War and the
+General-in-Chief the details of the actual condition of the army,
+its lines of communication, the scarcity of supplies and especially
+of forage for horses and mules, with all other matters which would
+assist the War Department in fully appreciating the situation.
+Garfield's term as member of Congress began with the 4th of March
+preceding, but the active session would only commence on the first
+Monday of December. There was some doubt as to the status of army
+officers who were elected to Congress. General Frank P. Blair had
+been elected as well as Garfield, and it was in Blair's case that
+the issue was made by those who objected to the legality of what
+they called a duplication of offices. Later in the session of
+Congress it was settled that the two commissions were incompatible,
+and that one must choose between them. Blair resigned his seat at
+Washington and returned to Sherman's army. Garfield, who had found
+camp life a cause of oft-recurring and severe disease of his
+digestive system, resigned his army commission and retained his
+place in Congress. When he left Rosecrans, however, he was still
+hopeful that the two duties might be found consistent, and looked
+forward to further military employment.
+
+On his way to Nashville, Garfield made a careful inspection of the
+road to Jasper and Bridgeport, and reported it with recommendations
+for the improvement of the transportation service. He arrived at
+Nashville on the 19th of October, and was met by the rumor that the
+Secretary of War and General Grant were at Louisville, and that
+Grant would come down the road by special train next day. He
+telegraphed the news to Rosecrans with the significant question,
+What does it mean? Rosecrans knew what it meant, for Grant's order
+assuming command and relieving him had been earlier telegraphed to
+him, and he had already penned his dignified and appropriate
+farewell order to the Army of the Cumberland.
+
+Mr. Stanton awaited Garfield's coming at Louisville, and there was a
+full and frank interview between them. The order relieving Rosecrans
+ended Garfield's official connection with him, and, even if it had
+not been so, it would have been his duty to make no concealments in
+answering the earnest and eager cross-questioning of the Secretary.
+Mr. Stanton had not only had dispatches full of information from
+General Meigs, who now also met him at Louisville, but his
+assistant, Mr. Charles A. Dana, had gone early to Chattanooga, had
+been present at the battle of Chickamauga, and had there some
+perilous experiences of his own. Dana was still with Rosecrans, and
+had sent to the Secretary a series of cipher dispatches giving a
+vivid interior view of affairs and of men. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xxx. pt. i. pp. 220, etc.; vol. xxxi. pt. i. pp.
+69-74, 265; pt. ii. pp. 52-70.] The talented journalist had known
+how to give his communications the most lively effect, and they had
+great weight with the Secretary. They were not always quite just,
+for they were written at speed under the spell of first impressions,
+and necessarily under the influence of army acquaintances in whom he
+had confidence. There is, however, no evidence that he was
+predisposed to judge harshly of Rosecrans, and the unfavorable
+conclusions he reached were echoed in Mr. Stanton's words and acts.
+[Footnote: Since this was written Mr. Dana has published his
+Recollections, based on his dispatches, but the omissions make it
+still important to read the originals.] The Secretary of War was
+consequently prepared to show such knowledge of the battle of
+Chickamauga and the events which followed it, that it would be
+impossible for Garfield to avoid mention of incidents which bore
+unfavorably upon Rosecrans. He might have been silent if Mr. Stanton
+had not known so well how to question him, but when he found how
+full the information of the Secretary was, his duty as a military
+subordinate coincided with his duty as a responsible member of
+Congress, and he discussed without reserve the battle and its
+results. Mr. Stanton also questioned General Steedman, who was on
+his way home, and wrote to his assistant in Washington for the
+information of the President, that his interview with these officers
+more than confirmed the worst that had reached him from other
+sources as to the conduct of Rosecrans, and the strongest things he
+had heard of the credit due to Thomas. [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. xxxi. pt. i. p. 684.]
+
+Garfield came from Louisville to Cincinnati, where I was on duty at
+headquarters of my district, and found me, as may easily be
+believed, full of intense interest in the campaign. I had been kept
+informed of all that directly affected Burnside, my immediate chief,
+but my old acquaintance with Rosecrans and sincere personal regard
+for him made me desire much more complete information touching his
+campaign than was given the public. Garfield's own relations to it
+were hardly less interesting to me, and our intimacy was such that
+our thoughts at that time were common property. He spent a day with
+me, and we talked far into the night, going over the chief points of
+the campaign and his interview with Mr. Stanton. His friendship for
+Rosecrans amounted to warm affection and very strong personal
+liking. Yet I found he had reached the same judgment of his mental
+qualities and his capacity as a commander which I had formed at an
+earlier day. Rosecrans's perceptions were acute and often
+intuitively clear. His fertility was great. He lacked poise,
+however, and the steadiness of will necessary to handle great
+affairs successfully. Then there was the fatal defect of the
+liability to be swept away by excitement and to lose all efficient
+control of himself and of others in the very crisis when complete
+self-possession is the essential quality of a great general.
+
+We sat alone in my room, face to face, at midnight, as Garfield
+described to me the scene on the 20th of September on the
+battlefield, when through the gap in the line made by the withdrawal
+of Wood's division the Confederates poured. He pictured the
+astonishment of all who witnessed it, the doubt as to the evidence
+of their own senses; the effort of Sheridan further to the right to
+change front and strike the enemy in flank; the hesitation of the
+men; the wavering and then the breaking of the right wing into a
+panic-stricken rout, each man running for life to the Dry Valley
+road, thinking only how he might reach Chattanooga before the enemy
+should overtake him, officers and men swept along in that most
+hopeless of mobs, a disorganized army. He described the effort of
+Rosecrans and the staff to rally the fugitives and to bring a
+battery into action, under a shower of flying bullets and crashing
+shells. It failed, for men were as deaf to reason in their mad panic
+as would be a drove of stampeded cattle. What was needed was a fresh
+and well-organized division to cover the rout, to hold back the
+enemy, and to give time for rallying the fugitives. But no such
+division was at hand, and the rush to the rear could not be stayed.
+The enemy was already between the headquarters group and Brannan's
+division which Wood had joined, and these, throwing back the right
+flank, were presenting a new front toward the west, where
+Longstreet, preventing his men from pursuing too far, turned his
+energies to the effort to break the curved line of which Thomas at
+the Snodgrass house was the centre.
+
+The staff and orderlies gathered about Rosecrans and tried to make
+their way out of the press. With the conviction that nothing more
+could be done, mental and physical weakness seemed to overcome the
+general. He rode silently along, abstracted, as if he neither saw
+nor heard. Garfield went to him and suggested that he be allowed to
+try to make his way by Rossville to Thomas, the sound of whose
+battle seemed to indicate that he was not yet broken. Rosecrans
+assented listlessly and mechanically. As Garfield told it to me, he
+leaned forward, bringing his excited face close to mine, and his
+hand came heavily down upon my knee as in whispered tones he
+described the collapse of nerve and of will that had befallen his
+chief. The words burned themselves into my memory.
+
+Garfield called for volunteers to accompany him, but only a single
+orderly with his personal aide-de-camp followed him; and he made his
+way to the right, passed through the gap at Rossville, saw Granger,
+who was preparing to move Steedman's division to the front, and rode
+on to join Thomas, running the gantlet of the enemy's fire as he
+passed near them on the Kelley farm. He never tired of telling of
+the calm and quiet heroism of Thomas, holding his position on the
+horse-shoe ridge till night put an end to the fighting, and then
+retiring in perfect order to the Rossville Gap, to which he was
+ordered. This part of the story has been made familiar to all. An
+eyewitness has told how, when Rosecrans reached Chattanooga, he had
+to be helped from his horse. His nerves were exhausted by the strain
+he had undergone, and only gradually recovered from the shock.
+[Footnote: Cist, The Army of the Cumberland, p. 226.] His first
+dispatch to Washington was the announcement that his army had met
+with a serious disaster, the extent of which he could not himself
+tell. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxx. pt. i. p. 142.] The
+most alarming feature of the news was that he was himself a dozen
+miles from the battlefield and had evidently lost all control of
+events. The truth turned out to be that two divisions would include
+all the troops that were broken,--namely, Sheridan's, two brigades
+of Davis's, and one of Van Cleve's,--whilst seven other divisions
+stood firm and Thomas assumed command of them. As these retired in
+order, and as the enemy had suffered more in killed and wounded than
+our army, Bragg was entitled to claim a victory only because the
+field was left in his hands with large numbers of wounded and
+numerous trophies of cannon. It was then claimed by some of our best
+officers, and is still an open question whether, if Rosecrans had
+been with Thomas and, calling to him Granger's troops, had resumed
+the offensive, the chances were not in our favor, and whether Bragg
+might not have been the one to retreat.
+
+Unfortunately there was no doubt that the general was defeated,
+whether his army was or not. The most cursory study of the map
+showed that the only practicable road by which the army could be
+supplied was along the river from Bridgeport. Lookout Mountain
+commanded this; and not to hold Lookout was practically to announce
+a purpose to retreat into middle Tennessee. Dana informed the
+Secretary of War that Garfield and Granger had urged Rosecrans to
+hold the mountain, but that he would not listen to it. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xxx. pt. i. p. 215.] He could much better
+afford to intrench a division there than Bragg could, for the
+Confederates were tied to Mission Ridge by the necessity of covering
+the Atlanta Railroad, which was their line of supply, and any troops
+put across the Chattanooga valley were in the air and likely to be
+cut off if the long and thin line which connected them were broken.
+Had Lookout Mountain been held, Hooker could have come at once into
+his place in line when he reached the Tennessee, and the reinforced
+army would have been ready, as soon as it was rested and supplied,
+to resume an offensive campaign. Instead of this, the country was
+for a month tortured with the apprehension that the Army of the
+Cumberland must retreat because it could not be fed by means of the
+mountain road over Walden's Ridge. After the fortifications at
+Chattanooga were strong enough to put the place beyond danger from
+direct assault, it would only be adding to the danger of starvation
+to send more men there before a better line of supply was opened.
+
+The problem which the President and Secretary of War pondered most
+anxiously was the capacity and fitness of Rosecrans to conduct the
+new campaign. Would he rise energetically to the height of the great
+task, or would he sink into the paralysis of will which so long
+followed the battle of Stone's River? Dana's dispatches were studied
+for the light they threw on this question more than for all the
+other interesting details they contained. For the first three or
+four days, they teemed with impressions of the battle itself and the
+cause of the disaster to the right wing. Then came the assurance
+that Chattanooga was safe and could withstand a regular siege. Next,
+in logical order as in time, was the attempt to look into the future
+and to estimate the commander by the way he grappled with the
+difficulties of the situation. On the 27th of September Dana
+discussed at some length the army feeling toward the corps and
+division commanders who had been involved in the rout, and the
+embarrassment of Rosecrans in dealing with the subject. "The defects
+of his character," he wrote, "complicate the difficulty. He abounds
+in friendliness and approbativeness, and is greatly lacking in
+firmness and steadiness of will. He is a temporizing man, dreads so
+heavy an alternative as is now presented." [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xxx. pt. i p. 202.] On the 12th of October he returned
+to the subject of Rosecrans's characteristics, mentioning his
+refusal to listen to the urgent reasons why he should hold Lookout
+Mountain to protect his supply line. "Rosecrans," he said, "who is
+sometimes as obstinate and inaccessible to reason as at others he is
+irresolute, vacillating, and inconclusive, rejected all their
+arguments, and the mountain was given up." [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xxx. pt. i. p. 215.] Picturing the starvation of the
+horses and mules and the danger of it for the soldiers, he added:
+"In the midst of this the commanding general devotes that part of
+the time which is not employed in pleasant gossip, to the
+composition of a long report to prove that the government is to
+blame for his failure. It is my duty to declare that while few
+persons exhibit more estimable social qualities, I have never seen a
+public man possessing talent with less administrative power, less
+clearness and steadiness in difficulty, and greater practical
+incapacity than General Rosecrans. He has inventive fertility and
+knowledge, but he has no strength of will and no concentration of
+purpose. His mind scatters. There is no system in the use of his
+busy days and restless nights, no courage against individuals in his
+composition, and with great love of command he is a feeble
+commander." [Footnote: _Ibid_.]
+
+It needs no proof that such a report would have great influence at
+Washington, and if it at all harmonized with the drift of
+impressions caused by the inaction and the wrangling of the summer,
+it would be decisive. It was with it in his pocket that Mr. Stanton
+had cross-questioned Garfield, and drew out answers which, as he
+said, corroborated it. The same correspondence had set forth the
+universal faith in Thomas's imperturbable steadiness and courage,
+and the admiring faith in him which had possessed the whole army.
+The natural and the almost necessary outcome of it all was that
+Thomas should be placed in command of the Department and Army of the
+Cumberland, and Grant in supreme control of the active operations in
+the whole valley of the Mississippi. As to Rosecrans's removal,
+Grant did not bring it about, he only acquiesced in it; willingly,
+no doubt, but without initiative or suggestion on his part.
+[Footnote: Grant's Personal Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 18.]
+
+It may be well here to say a word upon the subsequent relations of
+Garfield and Rosecrans. In the next winter a joint resolution was
+offered in Congress thanking General Thomas and the officers and men
+under his command for their conduct in the battle of Chickamauga.
+The established etiquette in such matters is to name the general
+commanding the army, whose services are recognized, and not his
+subordinates; these are included in the phrase, "officers and men
+under his command." To omit Rosecrans's name and to substitute
+Thomas's was equivalent to a public condemnation of the former.
+Garfield had been promoted to be major-general for his conduct in
+the battle, and it was popularly understood that this meant his
+special act in volunteering to make his way to Thomas after
+Rosecrans and the staff were swept along the Dry Valley road in the
+rout. The promotion was recognized as a censure by implication on
+his chief. As Garfield was now chairman of the committee of the
+House of Representatives on military affairs, he was placed in a
+peculiarly embarrassing position. His sincere liking for Rosecrans
+made him wish to spare him the humiliation involved in the passage
+of such a resolution, and his generosity was the more stimulated by
+the knowledge that his own promotion had been used to emphasize the
+shortcoming of his friend. He could not argue that on the
+battlefield itself there had been no faults committed; but he was
+very earnest in insisting that the general strategy of the campaign
+had been admirable, and the result in securing Chattanooga as a
+fortified base for future operations had been glorious. He therefore
+moved to amend the resolution by inserting Rosecrans's name and
+modifying the rest so as to make it apply to the campaign and its
+results. He supported this in an eloquent speech which dwelt upon
+the admirable parts of Rosecrans's generalship and skilfully avoided
+the question of personal conduct on the field. He carried the House
+with him, but a joint resolution must pass the Senate also, and it
+never came to a vote in that body.
+
+When in 1880 Garfield was elected President, and in the midst of a
+heated campaign had to run the gantlet of personal attacks
+infinitely worse than the picket fire under which he had galloped
+across the Kelley farm, a letter was produced which he had written
+to Mr. Chase, Secretary of the Treasury, in June, 1863, when he was
+urging Rosecrans to terminate the inglorious delays at Murfreesboro
+by marching on Tullahoma. In his letter to Mr. Chase he had
+expressed in warmest terms his personal affection for Rosecrans, but
+had also condemned the summer's delays as unnecessary and contrary
+to military principles. In the violence of partisan discussion the
+letter was seized upon as evidence of a breach of faith toward his
+chief, who was now acting with the political party opposed to
+Garfield's election. The letter was a personal one, written in
+private friendship to Mr. Chase, with whom Garfield had kept up an
+occasional correspondence since the beginning of the war. I had done
+the like, for Mr. Chase had admitted us both to his intimacy when he
+was Governor of Ohio. It cannot for a moment be maintained that
+military subordination is inconsistent with temperate and respectful
+criticism (for such this was) of a superior, in private
+communications to a friend. But it was argued that the relation of
+chief of staff involved another kind of confidence. It
+unquestionably involved the duty of observing and maintaining
+perfectly every confidence actually reposed in him. But the public
+acts of the chief were anything but confidential. They were in the
+face of all the world, and these only were the subject of his
+private and friendly criticism. That criticism he had, moreover,
+expressed to Rosecrans himself as distinctly as he wrote it to Mr.
+Chase, and had declared it publicly in the written consultation or
+council of war to which the corps and division commanders were
+called. [Footnote: _Ante_, vol. i. p. 483.]
+
+But Garfield was also at that time a member of Congress, having
+duties to the President, the Cabinet, and his colleagues and fellow
+members growing out of that relation. Rosecrans not only knew this,
+but was supposed by many to have invited Garfield to take the staff
+appointment partly by reason of this. Under all the circumstances,
+therefore, the ground of complaint becomes shadowy and disappears.
+Rosecrans, however, was made to think he had suffered a wrong. He
+forgot the generosity with which Garfield had saved him from
+humiliation in the session of 1863-64, and said bitter things which
+put an end to the friendly relations which had till then been
+maintained.
+
+To return to Chattanooga in October, 1863: one thing remained to be
+done before a new campaign could begin. A better mode of supplying
+the army must be found. Thomas had answered Grant's injunction to
+hold Chattanooga at all hazards by saying, "I will hold the town
+till we starve." The memorable words have been interpreted as a
+dauntless assurance of stubborn defence; but they more truly meant
+that the actual peril was not from the enemy, but from hunger.
+Rosecrans had begun to feel the necessity of opening a new route to
+Bridgeport before he was relieved, and on the very day he laid down
+the command, he had directed Brigadier-General W. F. Smith, sent to
+him to be chief engineer of his army since the battle, to examine
+the river banks in the vicinity of Williams Island, six or seven
+miles below the town by the river, and to report upon the
+feasibility of laying a pontoon bridge there which could be
+protected. The expectation had been that Hooker would concentrate
+his two corps at Bridgeport, make his own crossing of the Tennessee,
+and push forward to the hills commanding Lookout Valley. By
+intrenching himself strongly in the vicinity of Wauhatchie, he would
+confine the Confederates to Lookout Mountain on the west, and cover
+the roads along the river so as to make them safe for supply trains.
+The only interruption in the connected communications would then be
+around the base of Lookout itself, where the road could not be used,
+of course, so long as Bragg should be able to hold the mountain. If,
+however, a bridge could be laid somewhere in rear of such a
+fortified position, the road on the north bank of the river could be
+used, for this road ran across the neck of Moccasin Point, out of
+range of a cannonade from the mountain, and after a short haul of a
+mile or two, the wagon trains could recross the river by the bridge
+at the town.
+
+Hooker had showed no eagerness to take the laboring oar in this
+business, and excused his delay in concentrating at Bridgeport by
+the lack of wagons. General Smith's reconnoissance satisfied him
+that Brown's Ferry, a little above the island, would admirably serve
+the purpose. A roadway to the river on each side already existed. On
+the south side was a gorge and a brook, which sheltered the landing
+there, and would cover and hide troops moving toward the top of the
+ridge commanding Lookout Valley. Smith reported his discovery to
+Thomas and suggested that pontoons be built in Chattanooga, and used
+to convey a force by night to the ferry, where they might be met by
+Hooker coming from below. Thomas approved the plan, and as soon as
+Grant arrived, he inspected the ground in company with Thomas and
+Smith, and ordered it to be executed. The boats were completed by
+the end of a week, and on the night of the 26th of October the
+expedition started under the command of General Smith in person.
+Brigadier-Generals Hazen and Turchin and Colonel T. R. Stanley of
+the Eighteenth Ohio [Footnote: Colonel Stanley had been one of my
+associates in the Ohio Senate in the winter of 1860-61. On the
+origin and development of the plan and its complete execution, see
+Reports of General Smith and others, Official Records, vol. xxxi.
+pt. i. pp. 77-137.] were assigned to command the three detachments
+of troops and boats assigned to the duty, and reported to Smith.
+Covered by the darkness and in absolute silence, they were to float
+down the stream which flowed around Moccasin Point in a great curve
+under the base of Lookout, on which batteries commanded long reaches
+of the river both above and below. Reaching the ferry on the enemy's
+side, they would land and carry the picket posts with a rush, Hazen
+to move to the left and seize the ridge facing the mountain, and
+Turchin to do the like toward the right, facing down stream. Colonel
+Stanley's detachment had the charge of the boats, which were fitted
+with row-locks and oars, and these were to do the ferrying when the
+proper place was reached. Each boat contained a corporal and four
+men as a crew, and twenty-five armed soldiers. They were fifty in
+number, besides two flatboats to be used as a ferry to cross the
+artillery. The whole force consisted of 5000 men and three batteries
+of artillery. The boats carried about a third of the whole, and the
+principal columns marched by the road on the north bank to the
+places assigned and were concealed in the forest. The plan worked
+beautifully. Starting at three o'clock in the morning of the 27th,
+the darkness of the night and a slight fog hid the boats from the
+Confederate pickets. The oars were only used to keep the boats in
+proper position in the current, and great care was taken to move
+silently. Colonel Stanley took the lead with General Hazen in one of
+the flatboats, having a good guide. The landing on the south bank
+was found, and the troops landed and drove off the enemy's picket,
+which was taken completely by surprise. The boats were swiftly
+pulled to the north bank, where the troops which marched by the road
+were already in position. The ferrying was hurried with a will, and
+before the Confederates had time to bring any considerable force to
+oppose, strong positions were taken covering the ferry, these were
+covered by an abatis of slashed forest trees and intrenched. The
+surprise had been complete, and the success had been perfect.
+
+Hooker crossed the river on the bridge at Bridgeport, and on the
+morning of the 28th marched by way of Running Waters and Whitesides
+to Wauhatchie. Geary's division reached Wauhatchie about five in the
+afternoon, and about midnight was fiercely attacked by Jenkins'
+division of Longstreet's corps. The combat continued for some time,
+the enemy having some advantage at first as they attacked Geary's
+left flank in a direction from which he did not expect them. Other
+troops were urged forward to Geary's assistance, but the enemy
+retired as they approached the scene of action and only his division
+was seriously engaged. He reported a list of 216 casualties, whilst
+the Confederates admitted a loss of about 400. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xxxi. pt. i. pp. 119, 233.] Hooker's position was made
+strongly defensible, so that Bragg did not again venture to disturb
+it, and the easy lines of supply for Chattanooga were opened. The
+subsistence problem was solved.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+SIEGE OF KNOXVILLE--END OF BURNSIDE'S CAMPAIGN
+
+
+Departments not changed by Grant--Sherman assigned to that of the
+Tennessee--Burnside's situation and supplies--His
+communications--Building a railroad--Threatened from Virginia--His
+plans--Bragg sends Longstreet into East Tennessee--Their
+cross-purposes--Correspondence of Grant and Burnside--Dana and
+Wilson sent to consult--Grant approves Burnside's course--Latter
+slowly retires on Knoxville--The place prepared for a siege--Combat
+at Campbell's station--Within the lines at Knoxville--Topography of
+the place--Defences--Assignment of positions-The forts--General
+Sanders killed--His self-sacrifice--Longstreet's lines of
+investment--His assault of Fort Sanders--The combat--The
+repulse--The victory at Missionary Ridge and results--Division of
+Confederate forces a mistake--Grant sends Sherman to raise the siege
+of Knoxville--East Tennessee a "horror"--Longstreet retreats toward
+Virginia--Sherman rejoins Grant--Granger's unwillingness to
+remain--General Foster sent to relieve Burnside--Criticism of this
+act--Halleck's misunderstanding of the real situation--Grant's easy
+comprehension of it--His conduct in enlarged responsibility--General
+Hunter's inspection report.
+
+
+One of the first questions which General Grant had to decide was
+that of the continuance of the three separate departments of the
+Ohio, the Cumberland, and the Tennessee. It was very undesirable to
+concentrate the ordinary administrative work of these departments at
+his own headquarters. It would overburden him with business routine
+which need not go beyond a department commander. He needed to be
+free to give his strength to the conduct of military affairs in the
+field. It was also convenient to have the active army under a triple
+division of principal parts. All these reasons led him to a prompt
+determination to preserve the department organizations if the War
+Department would consent. The very day of his arrival at Chattanooga
+(October 23) he recommended Sherman for the Department of the
+Tennessee and the continuance of the others. His wish was approved
+at Washington, and acted upon, so that from this time to the end of
+the war the organization in the West remained what he now made it.
+
+Before reaching Chattanooga, Grant had telegraphed to Burnside and
+had received from him a detailed statement of the numbers and
+positions of his troops. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxi. pt.
+i. pp. 680, 681.] Burnside also laid before him the dearth of
+supplies and short stock of ammunition, with the great need of
+clothing. Unless the railroad to Chattanooga could be fully
+reopened, he suggested making a depot at McMinnville, where was the
+end of one of the branches of the railway, from which the road to
+Knoxville would be considerably shorter than from Kentucky. He also
+informed Grant that he had taken steps to repair the wagon road from
+Clinton in East Tennessee to the mouth of South Fork of the
+Cumberland, the head of steamboat navigation when the stream should
+be swollen by the winter rains. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. iii. pp. 33,
+34.] The problem of supplies for him was as difficult as for the
+Cumberland army, and was not so soon solved. It grew more serious
+still when the siege of Knoxville interrupted for a month all
+communication with a base in Kentucky, in middle Tennessee, or at
+Chattanooga.
+
+In reply to an inquiry from General Grant, Burnside, on the 22d,
+[Footnote: _Id_., pt. i. p. 702.] gave his opinion as to the
+relative importance of points in East Tennessee, pointing out that
+unless communication with Kentucky were to be wholly abandoned, the
+valley must be held nearly or quite to the Virginia line; Knoxville
+would be the central position, and Loudon would be the intermediate
+one between him and Chattanooga. In a dispatch to the President of
+the same date, Burnside said that his command had been on half
+rations of everything but fresh beef ever since his arrival in the
+valley. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 701.] He also explained that he was
+improving the wagon road along the line of projected railroad down
+the South Fork of the Cumberland, so that sections of it could be
+laid with rails and the wagoning gradually shortened. He had been
+able to make an arrangement with the railroad company in Kentucky to
+assume the cost of the extension of the line from the northward, and
+by using his military power to call out negro laborers and to
+provide the engineering supervision, was making considerable
+progress without any money appropriations from Congress for this
+specific purpose. The quartermaster's department had taken issue
+with the general as to his authority to do this; but the President
+and Secretary of War sanctioned his acts and would not allow him to
+be interfered with. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxx. pt iii,
+p. 787.] The work stopped when he was relieved of command; but so
+long as he was in power, his clear apprehension of the vital
+necessity of a railway line to feed and clothe his army kept him
+persistent and indomitable in his purpose. The withdrawal of the
+enemy southward from Chattanooga, and the conversion of that place
+into a great military depot in the spring superseded Burnside's
+plan, but he had been right in concluding that East Tennessee could
+not be held if the troops depended upon supply by wagon trains.
+
+Grant had hardly reached Chattanooga when Halleck informed him that
+it was pretty certain that Ewell's corps of 20,000 or 25,000 men had
+gone from Lee's army toward East Tennessee by way of southwestern
+Virginia. [Footnote: _Id_., vol. xxxi. pt. i. p. 712.] There thus
+seemed to be strong confirmation of rumors which Burnside had before
+reported. Before the end of the month there were also signs of a
+concentration south of Loudon, and the question became a pressing
+one, what line of action should be prescribed for Burnside if the
+Confederates should thus attack him from both ends of the valley. He
+did not credit the rumor as to Ewell's corps, but began to think
+that a large detachment from Bragg's army would attack him from the
+south. It is curious to find the report rife that Longstreet would
+march against Burnside, even before Bragg had issued orders to that
+effect. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxi. pt. i. p. 718. Oct.
+24.] Burnside himself proposed to take up the pontoon bridge at
+Loudon, and move it to Knoxville, for both the Holston and the
+Little Tennessee were now unfordable and would protect his flank
+against small expeditions of the enemy. [Footnote: 2 _Id_., p. 756.]
+His plan was to hold all the country he could and to concentrate at
+Knoxville and stand a siege whenever the enemy should prove too
+strong for him in the open field. Grant was not yet persuaded that
+this was best, and wanted the line of the Hiwassee held for the
+present, so that Burnside should draw nearer to Thomas rather than
+increase the distance before the Cumberland army should be prepared
+for active work in the field. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 770.]
+
+Bragg's order to Longstreet to march against Burnside was issued on
+the 4th of November. [Footnote: _Id_. pt. iii. p. 634.] Railway
+transportation was provided for the first stages of the movement,
+but it was not efficiently used. Longstreet had no confidence in the
+result of the expedition, as his correspondence with Bragg very
+plainly shows. Stevenson's division of Hardee's corps was at
+Sweetwater, the end of the railway at that time, and about a day's
+march from the crossing of the Holston at Loudon. Ten days had been
+wasted in getting Longstreet's corps to Sweetwater, and Bragg and he
+each charged the other with the responsibility for it. Longstreet
+asserted that he had been given no control over the railway, and
+Bragg insisted that the control was ample. Then the former had urged
+that Stevenson's division should be attached to his command, saying
+this was his understanding at the start. Bragg replied that he never
+had any such intention and that Stevenson could not be spared.
+Longstreet retorted that with his present force it would be
+unreasonable to expect great results. [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. xxxi. pt. iii. pp. 635-637, 644, 670, 671, 680, 681, 687:
+Longstreet's Report, _Id_., pt. i. pp. 455, etc.]
+
+Meanwhile Sherman was hastening to Chattanooga, and the chances for
+making the diversion against Burnside profitable to the Confederate
+cause were rapidly diminishing. They soon vanished entirely, and
+Grant's great opportunity came instead. Longstreet's corps consisted
+of nine brigades of infantry in two strong divisions under
+Major-General McLaws and Brigadier-General Jenkins, two battalions
+of artillery aggregating nine batteries, and a cavalry corps of
+three divisions and three batteries of artillery under Major-General
+Wheeler. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 451, 454.] Besides these troops a
+force was collected in the upper Holston valley to operate from the
+northeast in conjunction with Longstreet and under his command. At
+its head was Major-General Ransom, and it consisted of three
+brigades of infantry and three of cavalry, with six batteries of
+artillery. The column with Longstreet numbered 14,000 infantry and
+artillery, and about 6000 cavalry. It was strengthened when before
+Knoxville by Buckner's division about 3300 strong. Ransom's forces
+numbered 7500. [Footnote: These numbers are taken from the official
+returns for October 31st, except Wheeler's cavalry, which was not
+then reported and is estimated. Longstreet's corps is given in the
+tables, Official Records, vol. xxxi. pt. ii. p. 656. Ransom's,
+_Id_., pt. iii. p. 644.] On November 22d Bragg wrote to Longstreet
+that nearly 11,000 reinforcements were moving to his assistance, but
+of what these were made up (except Buckner's division) does not
+clearly appear. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 736.]
+
+The information Halleck collected at Washington indicated that
+Longstreet's column was a strong one, possibly numbering 40,000, but
+he urged that Burnside should not retreat. [Footnote: _Id_., p.
+145.] The National forces in East Tennessee consisted, first, of the
+troops under General Willcox at Cumberland Gap and the vicinity,
+4400; the Ninth Corps, Brigadier-General Potter commanding, 6350;
+and part of the Twenty-third Corps, 7800, with two bodies of cavalry
+numbering 7400. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxi. pt. i. p.
+811.] Willcox's troops and part of the cavalry were ordered to hold
+in check the Confederates under Ransom, one brigade of cavalry under
+Colonel Byrd was posted at Kingston to keep up communication with
+Chattanooga, and the rest was available to meet Longstreet, either
+in the field or behind intrenchments at Knoxville, as Grant should
+direct.
+
+Longstreet's army was considerably overrated in the information
+received from Washington, but not unnaturally. [Footnote: Halleck to
+Grant, _Id_., pt. iii. p. 145.] It was assumed that he had with him
+all three divisions of his corps, and it was not known that Walker's
+division was detached. It had also been known that Stevenson's
+division was at Sweetwater two or three weeks before Longstreet
+assembled his forces there, and it seemed certain that it was the
+advance-guard of his whole command. Indeed Longstreet himself
+supposed so, and complained because it was not allowed to remain
+with him. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 635.] Concluding, therefore, that
+Burnside could not safely meet Longstreet in the field, Grant
+proposed that he should hold the Confederates in check, retreating
+slowly. He believed that in a week from the time Longstreet showed
+himself at the Holston River, he could assume the aggressive against
+Bragg so vigorously as to bring Longstreet back at speed and relieve
+Burnside of the pressure. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 143; to Halleck, p.
+154.] Bragg also expected this, and had ordered that the railway
+connection should be maintained as far as possible, looking for a
+crushing blow at Burnside and a quick reassembling of his forces.
+The delays between the 4th and 14th of November had been fatal to
+this plan, and it would have been the part of wisdom to abandon it
+frankly.
+
+Neither the authorities at Washington nor Grant gave Burnside
+credit, at first, for the cheerful courage with which he was ready
+to take the losing side of the game, if need be, and thus give a
+glorious opportunity to the co-operating army. His chivalrous
+self-forgetfulness in such matters was perfect, when it was likely
+to lead to the success of the larger cause he had at heart. To reach
+a more perfect understanding than could be had by correspondence
+Grant sent Colonel J. H. Wilson of his staff to Knoxville to consult
+personally with Burnside. This officer was accompanied by Mr. Dana,
+and their dispatches to Grant and to the Secretary of War give a
+clear and vivid picture of the situation. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xxxi. pt. i. pp. 258, etc; pt. iii. pp. 146, 154.]
+Burnside clearly saw the importance of making his stand at
+Knoxville, and proposed to fortify that place so that he could stand
+a siege there. [Footnote: Burnside to Willcox, _Id_., p. 177. B.'s
+Report, _Id_., pt. i. p. 273.] He proposed to draw back slowly from
+the Holston at Loudon, tolling Longstreet on and getting him beyond
+supporting distance of Bragg. When Grant should have disposed of the
+weakened enemy in his front, he could easily drive Longstreet out of
+East Tennessee into Virginia. Grant approved without qualification
+the course taken by Burnside. [Footnote: Grant to Burnside, _Id_.,
+pt. iii. p. 177.] During the siege which followed, there was a good
+deal of solicitude about Burnside, but it should be remembered in
+justice to him that his own confidence never faltered and was fully
+justified by the result.
+
+Prior to the visit of Wilson and Dana he had sent his engineer,
+Captain O. M. Poe, to Loudon to remove the pontoon bridge before the
+occupation of the south bank of the Holston by the enemy should make
+it impossible to save it. The bridge had been made of unusually
+large and heavy boats, and it was a difficult task to haul them out
+of the water and drag them half a mile to the railway. The south end
+of the bridge was loosened and the whole swung with the current
+against the right bank, where the dismantling and removal of the
+boats was successfully accomplished under the eyes of a cavalry
+force of the enemy which watched the performance from the opposite
+bank. The bridge was carried to Knoxville and laid across the
+Holston there. Its size and weight proved to be great points in its
+favor for the special use there, and it was of inestimable value
+during the partial investment of the town. [Footnote: Poe's Report,
+Official Records, vol. xxxi. pt. i. p. 294. Century War Book, vol.
+iii.]
+
+On the 13th of November Longstreet brought up his own pontoons and
+laid a bridge near Loudon, and the next day began a vigorous advance
+upon Knoxville. Burnside had matured his plans, and opposed the
+advance of Longstreet with one division, Hartranft's of the Ninth
+Corps, and another, White's of the Twenty-third Corps. He was weak
+in cavalry, however, and could only meet Wheeler's corps with a
+single division under Brigadier-General Sanders. Burnside had
+secured Sanders's promotion from Mr. Stanton when the Secretary was
+at Louisville in October, in recognition of the ability and
+gallantry shown in the expedition to East Tennessee in June and his
+other services during the campaign. By giving Shackelford charge of
+the cavalry operating in the upper valley and putting Sanders in
+command of those resisting Wheeler, Burnside was sure of vigor and
+courage in the leadership of both divisions. Longstreet kept Wheeler
+on the left bank of the Holston, directing him to overwhelm Sanders
+and move directly opposite Knoxville, taking the city by a surprise
+if possible. But Sanders opposed a stubborn resistance, falling back
+deliberately, and held the hills south of Knoxville near the river.
+Wheeler was thus baffled, and returned to Longstreet on the 17th of
+November. The absence of his cavalry had been a mistake, as it
+turned out; for the Confederate infantry, after crossing at Loudon
+to the right bank, had not been able to push Burnside back as fast
+as Bragg's plans required, nor had they succeeded at all in getting
+in the rear of the National forces.
+
+As soon as it was definitely known at Knoxville that Longstreet was
+over the Holston, Burnside went to the front at Lenoir's to take
+command in person. [Footnote: Burnside's Report, Official Records,
+vol. xxxi. pt. i. p. 273.] He left General Parke as chief of staff
+in general charge of affairs at headquarters, with Captain Poe in
+charge of the engineer work of preparing lines of defence connecting
+the forts already planned and partly constructed. Wilson and Dana
+stayed in Knoxville till the 15th, and then rode rapidly to the
+westward, passing around Longstreet's columns and rejoining Grant at
+Chattanooga on the night of the 17th, with latest assurances from
+Burnside that he would hold Knoxville stubbornly. Longstreet's
+tactics were to move one of his infantry divisions directly at
+Burnside's position, while with the other he turned its flank and
+sought to get to the rear. Burnside met the plan by the analogous
+one of alternate withdrawals of a division, one holding the enemy at
+bay while the other took post in echelon in the rear and opposed the
+flanking column till a concentration could be made.
+
+At Campbell's Station Longstreet attacked with vigor, determined to
+finish matters with the force before him. Ferrero's division of the
+Ninth Corps had now joined. Hartranft repulsed an attack by McLaws,
+whilst the trains and the division of Ferrero passed on, and Ferrero
+took a strong position half a mile in rear covering the junction of
+roads. White then retired and came into line on Ferrero's left. When
+these were solidly in place Hartranft took an opportune moment to
+withdraw and came into line on the left of White. The manoeuvres
+were perfectly performed, and the fighting of our troops had been
+everything that could be desired, meeting and matching Longstreet's
+veterans in a way to establish the soldierly reputation of all. The
+comparatively new organization of the Twenty-third Corps proved
+itself equal to the best, and Burnside declared that he could desire
+no better soldiers. The same tactics were continued through the day,
+and Burnside followed the hard labor and the fighting of the day
+with a night march which brought him to Knoxville on the morning of
+the 17th. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxi. pt. i. pp. 274,
+275, 296.] He had personally handled his little army through the day
+with coolness and success, and had raised to enthusiasm the
+confidence and devotion of his men. Each side had a casualty list of
+about 300.
+
+Wheeler had marched back along the left bank of the Holston half-way
+to Lenoir's and crossed at Louisville, joining Longstreet again near
+Knoxville on the 17th, as has been already stated. He now took the
+advance and pressed sharply in upon the town. General Sanders had
+been recalled by Burnside from the south, and entering Knoxville by
+the pontoon bridge, passed out to the westward on the Loudon road,
+meeting the enemy as he advanced, and gradually falling back to a
+position a mile beyond the lines, where he made a stubborn stand and
+held Wheeler at bay till night closed the combat. From the fortified
+points about the city the cavalry engagement had been in full view,
+and the heroism of Sanders and his men was in the presence of a
+cloud of witnesses. They made little barricades of rail piles, and
+though these were frequently sent flying by the cannon balls and
+shells with which Alexander's artillery pounded them all day, they
+held at nightfall the line Sanders had been directed to hold in the
+morning, and had not given back an inch. [Footnote: Colonel O. M.
+Poe, in "Century War Book," vol. iii. p. 737.]
+
+Knoxville was so situated that its outline was a sort of
+parallelogram of high ground, averaging a hundred and fifty feet or
+more above the river which ran along the town on the south. Two
+creeks ran through the town in little valleys, and in the northern
+suburbs where the land was much lower than the town it had been
+practicable, by damming these streams to make inundations which
+covered a considerable part of the northern front and added very
+materially to the defences. At the four corners of the
+parallelogram, enclosed works had been planned for use by a small
+garrison, and these had been partly constructed. Captain Poe, the
+chief engineer, had staked out infantry lines connecting these
+forts, with epaulements for artillery at intervals, and work had
+been hastened during the days from the 13th of November, as soon as
+Burnside's plan of holding the city had been approved. When the
+troops approached the city on the morning of the 17th, the position
+for every brigade and every battery had been assigned, and officers
+were in waiting to lead each to its place. All the infantry was put
+in line except Reilly's brigade of the Twenty-third Corps, which was
+placed in reserve in the streets of the town. [Footnote: Poe's
+Report, Official Records, vol. xxxi. pt. i. p. 295.]
+
+The most important of the forts was at the northwest angle of the
+works, upon a commanding hill. It was afterward called Fort Sanders
+in honor of the cavalry commander who lost his life in front of its
+western face. This work was planned as approximately a square with
+sides of about a hundred yards and bastions at the corners. The
+eastern front had not been completed, and was now left entirely
+open, as the northern face connected with the infantry trench. The
+ditch was twelve feet wide and about eight deep, and the parapet was
+about twelve feet high, making its crest about twenty feet above the
+bottom of the ditch. The berme usually left between the bottom of
+the parapet slope and the ditch was cut away so as to leave no level
+standing-place at the top of the scarp. This was the work which
+Longstreet afterward assaulted. Its chief defect was due to the
+situation and the contour of the ground around, which made its
+position so prominent a salient in the lines that the flanking fire
+was necessarily imperfect, leaving a considerable sector without
+fire beyond the angle of the northwest bastion. The point of the
+bastion was truncated, and a single gun put in the _pan coupé_. The
+three other forts were less elaborate but of similar profile.
+
+As soon as the infantry took position, the men were set
+industriously to work to strengthen the defences. The first infantry
+trench between the forts had been a mere rifle-pit two and one half
+feet deep with the earth heaped in front as it was thrown out, to
+raise a parapet. Every hour made the line stronger, and work on it
+was continued till nearly every part of it was a good cover against
+artillery fire. The critical time was during the 18th of November,
+when as yet there was practically no cover between the forts. The
+cavalry was ordered to oppose the most determined resistance to the
+establishment of close investing lines by the enemy, and Sanders set
+his men a most inspiring example. He was a classmate of Captain Poe
+at West Point, and on the night of the 17th he shared Poe's blanket.
+Before dawn he went to the front, and passed from one to another of
+the little barricades held by his dismounted troopers. The
+Confederates increased the vigor of their attacks, and if any of our
+men were driven back by the hot fire, Sanders would walk
+deliberately up to the rail-pile and stand erect and exposed till
+his men rallied to him. For hours he did this, and his life seemed
+to be charmed, but about the middle of the afternoon he was mortally
+wounded, and the screen he had so resolutely interposed between the
+enemy and our infantry digging in the trenches was rolled aside.
+[Footnote: Paper by General Poe in "Century War Book," vol. iii. p.
+737.] The time thus gained had been precious, though it was bought
+at so high a price. The lines were already safe against a _coup de
+main_. [Footnote: Poe's Report, Official Records, vol. xxxi. pt. i.
+p. 296.]
+
+Longstreet's principal lines were north of Knoxville beyond the
+railway and the station buildings. He also occupied a line of hills,
+but pushed forward strong skirmish lines and detachments to cover
+the making of intrenchments closer to the town. There were frequent
+bickering combats, but no general engagement. The enemy made efforts
+to destroy the pontoon bridge by sending down logs and rafts from
+above. These were met by an iron cable boom stretched across the
+river above the bridge, borne on wooden floats to keep it at the
+surface. [Footnote: Century War Book, vol. iii. p. 739.] Several
+efforts were made to drive Burnside's men from the hills covering
+the town on the south side of the river, but they were defeated, and
+communication was kept up with the valley of the French Broad River,
+and supplies enough were brought in to make it certain that Burnside
+could not be starved out, although the rations were reduced to the
+smallest quantity and the fewest elements which would support life.
+
+A week passed thus, Burnside being shut off from all communication
+with the outer world. The 25th of November came with the almost
+miraculous storming of Missionary Ridge by the army under Grant at
+Chattanooga. Bragg retreated southward and Longstreet had no longer
+a possibility of rejoining him. Yet Burnside knew nothing of it, and
+did not dream of the more than complete justification his slow
+defensive campaign was having, in the tout and demoralization of the
+Confederate army in Georgia in Longstreet's absence. The latter was
+now forced to attack the fortifications or to raise the siege of
+Knoxville. He knew, at least by rumor, what Burnside was ignorant
+of,--not only the defeat of Bragg, but that a force was already
+moving from Grant's army to the relief of Knoxville. Bragg had also
+sent to him a staff officer with exhortations to prompt action. For
+a day or two Longstreet tried to attract Burnside's attention to the
+south of the river and to other parts of the lines, and then on the
+28th prepared a desperate assault upon the great salient of Fort
+Sanders.
+
+The artillery in the fort was under the command of Lieutenant Samuel
+N. Benjamin, Second U. S. Artillery, whose battery of twenty-pounder
+Parrotts had done good service at South Mountain and Antietam. The
+infantry was of Ferrero's division of the Ninth Corps. There was a
+slight abatis in front of the fort, and on the suggestion of Mr.
+Hoxie, an officer of the railway, some old telegraph wire left at
+the depot was used by Captain Poe to make an entanglement by
+fastening it between small stumps of a grove which had been felled
+along the slope northwest of the bastion at the salient.
+Longstreet's plan of assault was to attack the northwest angle of
+the fort with two columns of regiments, consisting of Wofford's and
+Humphrey's brigades of McLaws's division. Anderson's brigade was to
+attack the infantry trench a little east of the fort. Longstreet's
+instructions were to make the assault at break of day on the 29th.
+The columns were to move silently and swiftly without firing and
+endeavor to carry the parapet by the bayonet. [Footnote:
+Longstreet's Report, Official Records, vol. xxxi. pt. i. p. 461.]
+The determined advance of the enemy's rifle pits by his skirmishers
+in the night of the 28th gave warning of what was to be expected.
+The morning of the 29th was damp and foggy, but the watchful pickets
+detected the formation of the enemy's columns. About six o'clock the
+Confederate batteries opened a heavy fire on the fort, which did not
+reply, ammunition being too precious to be wasted. In about twenty
+minutes the cannonade ceased and the columns moved to the assault.
+The fire of our lines was concentrated upon them, and they lost
+heavily; but they kept on, somewhat disordered by the entanglement
+as well as by their losses, and came to the ditch. No doubt its
+depth and the high face of the parapet surprised them, for they had
+no scaling ladders. They jumped into the ditch and tried to scramble
+up the slope of the earthwork. Some got to the top, only to be shot
+down or captured. The guns flanking the ditch raked it with double
+charges of canister. Shells were lighted and thrown as hand-grenades
+into the practically helpless crowd below. Those who had not entered
+the ditch soon wavered and fell back, at first sullenly and slowly,
+then in despair running for life to cover. Those who remained and
+could walk surrendered and were marched to the southwest angle of
+the fort, where they were brought within the lines.
+
+The remnants of the broken columns were rallied behind their outer
+lines, but no effort was made to renew the assault. They had done
+all that was possible for flesh and blood. The casualties in the
+assault had been about 1000, whilst within the fortifications only
+13 killed and wounded were reported. [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. xxxi. pt. i. pp. 277, 278, 344, 461, 487, 490, 519, 520.]
+Buckner's division had joined Longstreet a day or two before the
+assault, but took no active part in it. Their absence from
+Missionary Ridge still further reduced Bragg's army, whilst it did
+not give to Longstreet any practical benefit. The division of the
+Confederate forces had thus proved to be a great military mistake.
+Its only chance had been in a swift attack upon Burnside and a
+prompt return, and this chance had vanished with the delays in the
+railroad transportation of Longstreet's men to Sweetwater. Prudence
+dictated that the expedition should be abandoned on the 13th of
+November; but the fear of seeming vacillating, a weakness of
+second-rate minds as great as vacillation itself, had made Bragg
+order the column forward. Burnside's well-conducted retreat, on the
+other hand, had lured Longstreet forward, and the patient endurance
+of a siege had kept the enemy in front of Knoxville, and even led to
+the further depletion of Bragg by the detachment of Buckner, giving
+to Grant the very opportunity he desired. The good fortune of the
+National commander culminated at Missionary Ridge. Soldiers believe
+in good luck quite as much as in genius, and follow a leader whose
+star is in the ascendant with a confidence which is the guaranty of
+victory. Great opportunities, however, come to all. The difference
+between a great soldier and an inferior one is that the great man
+uses his opportunities to the full, and so fortune seems to be in
+league with him. When Grant had driven Bragg back on Dalton, the
+latter could realize what he had lost by his errors. It was now
+impossible for Longstreet to rejoin him. It was even doubtful if
+Wheeler's cavalry could do so. The whole National army was between
+the widely separated Confederate wings, and nothing was left to
+Longstreet but a humiliating march back to Lee by way of the upper
+Holston and the headwaters of the James River. Pride delayed it, and
+the depth of winter favored the delay; but it was a foregone
+conclusion from the hour that Wood's and Sheridan's divisions
+crowned Missionary Ridge.
+
+For two weeks there had been no communication between Burnside and
+the outer world. Lincoln had been full of anxiety, but had found
+some comfort in the reports from Cumberland Gap that cannonading was
+still heard in the direction of Knoxville. It proved that Burnside
+held out, and gave additional earnestness to the President's
+exhortation to hurry a column to his relief immediately after
+Grant's victory. Grant needed no urging. A report had reached him
+that Burnside still was confident on the 23d, and had supplies for
+ten or twelve days on the scale of short rations he was issuing. On
+the very evening of his success he wrote to Sherman, "The next thing
+now will be to relieve Burnside." He directed Thomas to detach
+Granger's Corps, and this with part of the Army of the Tennessee
+would make a column of 20,000 men to march at once for Knoxville
+under Granger's command. Three days passed, and Grant, being
+dissatisfied that the relieving column was not already far on its
+way, directed Sherman on the 29th to take command in person and push
+it energetically toward Burnside. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xxxi. pt. ii. pp. 45, 49; Sherman's Memoirs, vol. i. pp. 366, 368.]
+Sherman immediately went forward, and on the 1st of December he was
+over the Hiwassee River, approaching Loudon. He telegraphed Grant
+that he would let Burnside hear his guns on the 3d or 4th at
+farthest; but he added what throws much light on the feeling of
+military men in regard to campaigning in East Tennessee. In his
+frank and familiar style he said, "Recollect that East Tennessee is
+my horror. That any military man should send a force into East
+Tennessee puzzles me. Burnside is there and must be relieved; but
+when relieved, I want to get out and he should come out too."
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxi. pt. iii. p. 297.] From a
+strictly military point of view this was sound; but Burnside had
+been sent there more from political than from military reasons, and
+it was now too late to think of letting the loyal mountaineers
+return under Confederate rule.
+
+Meanwhile at Knoxville Burnside was closely watching the evidences
+of Longstreet's purposes and eagerly listening for news from
+Chattanooga. On the 1st of December wagon trains began to move
+eastward from the besiegers' camp, and on the 3d and 4th more of
+them, so that it became probable that Longstreet was about to raise
+the siege. In the night of the 3d Captain Audenried, Sherman's
+aide-de-camp, came into Knoxville from the south, having made a long
+circuit with a small body of cavalry, from Sherman's camp, which on
+the night of the 2d was forty miles from the city by the direct
+road. Colonel Long, commanding Sherman's cavalry, had selected part
+of his best mounted men for the expedition, and Audenried had
+accompanied him. The good news of Sherman's approach was thus made
+certain, and it was evident that Longstreet's information was
+earlier than Burnside's. The Confederate camps were evacuated on the
+night of the 4th, and on the 5th Burnside, sending a detachment to
+follow up Longstreet's retreat toward the east, sent one of his
+staff with an escort in the other direction to meet Sherman. The
+messenger from Burnside met the head of the relieving column at
+Marysville, a day's march for infantry. Sherman halted his little
+army, and wrote Burnside that he felt disposed to stop, "for a stern
+chase is a long one," since Longstreet had retreated. He rode in to
+Knoxville the next day and consulted with Burnside. He was evidently
+dubious of any advantage from a pursuit of Longstreet, and
+Burnside's disposition was to avoid urging any comrade to undertake
+an unpleasant task for his sake. He therefore cordially assisted
+Sherman in solving his doubts in favor of taking back all his troops
+except Granger's Fourth Corps, and wrote a letter of warm thanks for
+the prompt march to his relief, adding his opinion that the Fourth
+Corps would make him strong enough to meet Longstreet, and that it
+was advisable for Sherman to rejoin Grant with the rest. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xxxi. pt. ii. p. 36.] This was accordingly
+done, and Sherman was free to give his attention to a winter
+campaign toward the Gulf, from which he hoped important results.
+
+Granger did not relish the prospect of a protracted absence from the
+Army of the Cumberland, and protested in vigorous and long
+dispatches to Thomas, to Grant, to Burnside, to Sherman, and later
+to Foster, [Footnote: _Id_., pt. iii. pp. 358, 365, 391-393;
+Sherman's Memoirs, vol. i. p. 368.] but with no effect, except that
+Grant was displeased with his original reluctance to march to
+Burnside's relief as well as with these protests. The result showed
+itself in the spring, when Granger was relieved from the command of
+the corps, which was conferred upon Howard.
+
+The raising of the siege brought Burnside into communication with
+Cumberland Gap, and he learned that Major-General John G. Foster was
+at Tazewell, under orders to relieve him of the command of the
+department. This was in apparent accord with the wish which Burnside
+had expressed, [Footnote: _Ante_, vol. i. pp. 527, 528.] but as
+action had been postponed it was reasonable to expect that further
+consultation would be had before he should be relieved, and that
+Grant's judgment would be asked in regard to it. After the
+controversies which followed the battle of Fredericksburg, Halleck
+was habitually unfriendly to Burnside, and we have seen how
+uniformly a wrong interpretation was given to the events of the
+current campaign. Foster's appointment to succeed Burnside was dated
+the 16th of November, [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxi. pt.
+iii. p. 166.] and he had been in Kentucky or near Cumberland Gap
+during the siege of Knoxville. The day the order was made relieving
+Burnside was that on which he was battling with Longstreet at
+Campbell's Station, holding him at bay in the slow retreat upon
+Knoxville, where he arrived on the 17th. On this morning Grant was
+writing him, "So far you are doing exactly what appears to me
+right," [Footnote: _Id_., p. 177.] and this was written after the
+receipt of Dana and Wilson's full dispatches of the 13th and 14th,
+as well as Burnside's of the 13th. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 138.] Yet so
+strangely was the same information misread by Halleck, that on the
+16th he was telegraphing Grant that Burnside was hesitating whether
+to fight or retreat out of East Tennessee. "I fear he will not
+fight," he added, "although strongly urged to do so. Unless you can
+give him immediate assistance, he will surrender his position to the
+enemy." [Footnote: _Id_., p. 163. This dispatch of Halleck seems to
+have been called out by one of Dana to Stanton on the 14th in which
+he said, "Burnside has determined to retreat toward the Gaps."
+(Official Records, vol. xxxi. pt. i. p. 259.) Halleck failed to
+interpret this in connection with one of the 13th in which Dana had
+stated alternate lines of retreat, "if finally compelled," and
+Burnside's judgment in favor of the line of Cumberland Gap in such
+last resort rather than toward Kingston. (_Ibid_.) Dana had fully
+conveyed, however, Burnside's determination to hold Knoxville "as
+long as possible," and his reasons for making a stubborn fight
+there. By failing to keep this in mind, the Secretary and
+General-in-Chief became unnecessarily agitated, and forgot in their
+conduct what was due to Grant almost as much as what was due to
+Burnside.] On the next day Burnside entered Knoxville, where
+fortifications had been hurriedly built, and the siege began. The
+heroic defence of Knoxville lasted three weeks, and when Longstreet
+withdrew toward Virginia, the successful general learned that he had
+been removed from command at the very moment he was completing, with
+Grant's unqualified approval, the preparation for that stubborn
+resistance which saved East Tennessee and averted the "terrible
+misfortune" which Halleck feared. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. iii. p.
+145.] The importance of holding East Tennessee, now that it had been
+liberated, was urged upon the War Department by Burnside from the
+beginning. He had pointed it out when ordered to abandon it and
+march to Rosecrans's assistance. [Footnote: _Id_., vol. xxx. pt.
+iii. p. 904.] So far from hesitating to fight Longstreet, Dana found
+him determined to "expose his whole force to capture rather than
+withdraw from the country." [Footnote: _Id_., vol. xxxi. pt. i. p.
+260.] It was not till Mr. Dana's later dispatches were received that
+the misapprehensions were corrected at Washington. Then the story of
+the occupation and defence of East Tennessee was explained, and
+justice was done the wisdom of the general's course as well as his
+patriotic and unselfish spirit. A part of the trouble had been due
+to the fact that after Grant reached Nashville Burnside's
+correspondence was with him, and, in accord with military usage, he
+dropped direct correspondence with Washington, except when addressed
+from there.
+
+It was too late, however, to undo what had been done. Foster was in
+Kentucky, carrying forward into East Tennessee such detachments as
+could be picked up. He reached Knoxville on the 10th of December,
+and the next day Burnside turned over the command to him, and
+started for Cincinnati by way of Jacksboro and Williamsburg.
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxi. pt. iii. pp. 372, 384.] The
+President was most hearty in his approval of Burnside's conduct when
+once he understood it, and insisted that after a brief rest he
+should again enter into active service. Congress passed strong
+resolutions of thanks to him and to his troops, [Footnote: _Id_.,
+pt. i. p. 281.] and it began to be understood that the campaign had
+been a creditable one.
+
+It was in such a command that Burnside appeared at his best. The
+independence of his campaign gave full play to his active energy,
+whilst the bodies of troops were not so large as to prevent his
+personal leadership in their combats. In a great army he was at a
+disadvantage from lack of true system in handling great and
+complicated affairs when he was in chief command; and if his
+position was a subordinate one he lacked the sort of responsibility
+which called out his best qualities, and he was therefore liable to
+become the formal intermediary for the transmission of orders. In
+such cases, too, he was in danger of suffering from faults of
+subordinates whom his kind heart had permitted to retain important
+positions for which they were not fit. When acting immediately under
+his eye, he could give them energy and courage which they would lack
+when left to themselves. The sore spot in his experience in 1864 was
+the failure to make full use of the explosion of the mine at
+Petersburg, and the Court of Inquiry made it clear that the fault
+lay with inefficient subordinates. One of the most prominent of
+these was said to have stayed in a bomb-proof instead of leading his
+command. But the same officer had done the same thing in Fort
+Sanders at Knoxville, as had been officially reported by Captain
+Benjamin, the Chief of Artillery; [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xxxi. pt. i. p. 344.] and Benjamin was an officer of such military
+and personal standing that a court-martial should certainly have
+investigated the case. A mistaken leniency brought bitter fruit.
+
+The campaign had been a new test for General Grant also, and it is
+instructive to follow him in grasping the details of his enlarged
+responsibility. When communication with Burnside became difficult
+and infrequent, he gave orders to Willcox at Cumberland Gap and to
+subordinates of Burnside in Kentucky and Ohio. He provided for
+starting supplies to Knoxville by all practicable routes as soon as
+the siege should be raised. He cut trenchantly through pretences
+where he thought a lack of vigorous performance was covered up by
+verbosity of reports. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. iii. p. 233.] He was
+quietly but easily master, and showed no symptom of being
+overweighted by his task or flurried by the excitements of a
+critical juncture in affairs. He does not impress one as brilliant
+in genius, but as eminently sound and sensible. His quality of
+greatness was that he handled great affairs as he would little ones,
+without betraying any consciousness that this was a great thing to
+do. He reminds one of Wellington in the combination of lucid and
+practical common-sense with aggressive bull-dog courage. Some
+telling lines, developing his traits as he appeared to a critical
+observer, are found in a dispatch of General David Hunter to the
+Secretary of War, giving a report of his visit to Chattanooga where
+he was sent to inspect the army. Hunter was one of the oldest of the
+regular officers in service, knew thoroughly Grant's history and
+early army reputation, and his words have peculiar significance.
+Grant had received him with a sort of filial kindness, making him at
+home in his quarters, and opening his mind and his purposes to him
+with his characteristic modesty and simplicity of manner. Hunter
+says: "I saw him almost every moment, except when sleeping, of the
+three weeks I spent in Chattanooga.... He is a hard worker, writes
+his own dispatches and orders, and does his own thinking. He is
+modest, quiet, never swears, and seldom drinks, as he took only two
+drinks during the three weeks I was with him. He listens quietly to
+the opinions of others and then judges promptly for himself; and he
+is very prompt to avail himself in the field of all the errors of
+his enemy. He is certainly a good judge of men, and has called
+around him valuable counsellors." He naively adds: "Prominent as
+General Grant is before the country, these remarks of mine may
+appear trite and uncalled for, but having been ordered to inspect
+his command, I thought it not improper for me to add my testimony
+with regard to the commander." [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xxxi. pt. iii. p. 402.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+AFFAIRS IN DISTRICT OF OHIO--PLOT TO LIBERATE PRISONERS AT JOHNSON'S
+ISLAND.
+
+
+Administrative duties--Major McLean adjutant-general--His loyalty
+questioned--Ordered away--Succeeded by Captain Anderson--Robert
+Anderson's family--Vallandigham canvass--Bounty-jumping--Action of
+U. S. Courts--of the local Probate Court--Efforts to provoke
+collision--Interview with the sheriff--Letter to Governor
+Tod--Shooting soldiers in Dayton--The October election--Great
+majority against Vallandigham--The soldier vote--Wish for field
+service--Kinglake's Crimean War--Its lessons--Confederate plots in
+Canada--Attempt on military prison at Johnson's Island--Assembling
+militia there--Fortifying Sandusky Bay--Inspection of the
+prison--Condition and treatment of the prisoners.
+
+
+In the sketch I have given of the campaign in East Tennessee, I have
+reached the time when I joined the Twenty-third Corps in front of
+Knoxville, and became part of the organization with which my
+fortunes were to be united till the end of the war. It is necessary,
+however, to go back and pick up the threads of personal experience
+during this autumn of 1863.
+
+The arrangement of the business of the department which I have
+mentioned [Footnote: _Ante_, vol. i. p. 492.] gave me some work in
+addition to that which properly belonged to the District of Ohio and
+Michigan. I did not appear officially in it, but under Burnside's
+instructions to his adjutant-general on leaving Cincinnati, the
+questions arising in daily administration were submitted to me, and
+on my advice current orders were issued in Burnside's name. This
+kept me in close communication with the general personally as well
+as officially, and made me aware of the progress of events more
+perfectly than I could otherwise have been. The adjutant-general in
+charge of the Cincinnati headquarters was Major N. H. McLean, an
+experienced officer of the regular army, and most systematic and
+able in his administrative duties. He was punctilious in his
+performance of duty, and was especially averse to having his
+military conduct seem in any way influenced by political motives.
+Like many other officers of the army, he made his devotion to his
+government as a soldier the basis of all his action, and disclaimed
+any interest in politics. But in the summer of 1863 politics in Ohio
+became too heated to allow any neutrality or even any hesitation in
+open declarations of principle. Vallandigham was a candidate for
+governor, although an exile under the judgment of the military
+court. Local politicians were not always discreet, and some of them
+demanded avowals of Major McLean, which he refused to make, not
+because of any sympathy with Vallandigham's partisans, but because
+he thought it unbecoming his military character to submit to
+catechising. This was enough to condemn him in the eyes of those who
+literally enforced the proverb that "he that is not for us is
+against us," and they sent to the War Department a highly colored
+statement of McLean's conduct, accusing him of disloyalty. Mr.
+Stanton, in his characteristic way, condemned him first and tried
+him afterward. The first we knew of it, an order came sending McLean
+off to the Pacific coast,--to Oregon, I believe. General Burnside
+protested, and warmly sustained the major as a loyal man and able
+officer; but the mischief was done, and it was months before it
+could be undone. Indeed it was years before the injury done him in
+his professional career was fully recognized and a serious attempt
+was made to recompense him.
+
+When Major McLean was thus removed, the business of his office fell
+into the hands of Captain William P. Anderson of the
+adjutant-general's department, who issued the orders and conducted
+the correspondence in General Burnside's name. The captain was a
+nephew of General Robert Anderson, and though the general had no
+sons himself, his near kinsmen gave striking evidence of the earnest
+and militant patriotism of a loyal Kentucky stock closely allied to
+a well-known Ohio family. The roster of the members of the family
+who saw military service is an exceptional one. [Footnote: Colonel
+Charles Anderson, brother of the general, was in Texas when the
+Civil War began, but abandoned his interests there, and coming back
+to Ohio was made colonel of the Ninety-third Ohio Infantry, which he
+led in the battle of Stone's River, where he was wounded. He was in
+1863 made the Union candidate for lieutenant-governor on the ticket
+with John Brough, whom he succeeded as governor when Brough died in
+1865.
+
+Colonel Latham Anderson, son of Charles, graduated at West Point in
+1859 and became a captain in the Fifth U. S. Infantry and colonel of
+the Eighth California Volunteers. His war service was mostly in New
+Mexico and on the frontier.
+
+Larz Anderson, another brother of the general, was represented in
+the War of the Rebellion by five sons who had honorable records: (1)
+Nicholas Longworth Anderson was adjutant, lieutenant-colonel, and
+colonel of the Sixth Ohio Infantry. He was severely wounded at
+Stone's River and Chickamauga. He left the service at the close of
+the war as brevet-major-general.
+
+(2) William Pope Anderson enlisted as a private in the Sixth Ohio
+Infantry, became sergeant-major and second lieutenant. He was then
+appointed assistant-adjutant-general with rank of captain. He was
+slightly wounded in the battle of Shiloh.
+
+(3) Edward Lowell Anderson was first lieutenant and captain in the
+Fifty-second Ohio Infantry. He was wounded at Jonesboro, but
+continued in service to the end of the war.
+
+(4) Frederick Pope Anderson was first lieutenant in the One Hundred
+and Eighty-first Ohio Infantry.
+
+(5) Larz Anderson, Jr., was a mere lad, but served without
+commission as volunteer aide-de-camp on the staff of
+Brigadier-General N. C. McLean.
+
+William Marshall Anderson, of Chillicothe, Ohio, another brother of
+the general, had two sons in the war service: (1) Thomas McArthur
+Anderson was captain in the Fourteenth U.S. Infantry, and after the
+war became its colonel, and later a general officer in the
+Philippines.]
+
+Including the general himself, his brother Charles, and the nephews,
+ten kinsmen supported the flag of the country in the field. Such a
+family record is so remarkable as to be worthy of preservation.
+
+To return to the affairs of our military administration of the
+department and district, the situation was complicated by the fact
+that Vallandigham had openly declared a purpose to return to Ohio
+during his candidacy. I did not hesitate to let it be known that
+upon his doing so, the alternative in his sentence would be
+enforced, and that he would be sent to Fort Warren for imprisonment.
+Mr. Pugh, who had been induced to accept the nomination for
+lieutenant-governor with him, made a visit to Windsor, in Canada
+(opposite Detroit), where Vallandigham met him. The result of the
+conference was that Vallandigham remained quietly in Canada till the
+election was over, leaving it to his friends to make as much
+political capital out of his exile as they could.
+
+As evidence of the fierceness of the passions roused among his
+partisans, a few significant facts may be mentioned. The
+conscription law had led, as we have seen, [Footnote: Henry Reuben
+Anderson was second lieutenant in the Forty-third Ohio Infantry,
+captain in the Sixth U.S. Volunteer Infantry, and after the war was
+transferred to the Fourth U.S. Artillery as first lieutenant.] to
+wholesale frauds in the form of "bounty-jumping." It was of course
+the duty of the military authorities to prevent this by arresting
+deserters and holding them to military service and discipline under
+their enlistment. A common form of fraud was for a well-grown young
+man to offer himself as a recruit, take the oath that he was of
+lawful age, receive the hundreds of dollars of bounty, and then
+bring forward his parents to claim him as a minor enlisting without
+their permission. We always recognized promptly the authority of a
+writ of _habeas corpus_ from the Federal courts in such cases, and
+the judges examined the recruit and his friends carefully, to detect
+a fraudulent conspiracy if there was one. If the case appeared to be
+free from collusion and the evidence of minority sufficient, an
+order of release was made, conditioned on the repayment to the
+government of the bounty received and the expenses of the
+proceeding.
+
+The depot of recruits for the army was on the south side of the
+river in Kentucky; but in any case that was not palpably fraudulent
+I directed the officers in charge to bring the recruit to
+Cincinnati, where Judge Leavitt's writ could reach him, and to
+submit the case to the United States District Court. The following
+letter will illustrate this, being one addressed by me to General
+Tillson, who commanded in Covington, which, with the region within a
+radius of some fifteen miles, was part of my district:--
+
+"HEADQUARTERS, DISTRICT OF OHIO, CINCINNATI,
+
+9th September, 1863.
+
+
+GENERAL,--Judge Leavitt of the United States District Court called
+this morning with a Mr. Eckmann, who wishes to get his son, a minor,
+out of the First Heavy Artillery. The boy is named Summerfield
+Eckmann, and is in Company C. As you have stated to me that it is
+practicable to fill up the place of minors and invalids as fast as
+they can be got rid of, I would like to have the case looked into at
+once, and unless some reason unknown to me exists, have him sent to
+report to Colonel Boone at Kemper Barracks, where the writ from the
+Federal Court may be served. By agreement with the father, if the
+judge should discharge him, the bounty will be paid back, and you
+will please send a statement of what amount was paid and how his
+account with the government stands.
+
+Very respectfully, your obed't serv't,
+(Signed) J. D. Cox,
+B. G. Commanding.
+
+Brig. Gen. Davis Tillson,
+Com'g, etc., Covington, Ky."
+
+
+All honest and deserving cases could be satisfactorily disposed of
+in this way. But the fraudulent "bounty-jumpers" wanted nothing so
+little as a full investigation before the United States Courts.
+These cases, therefore, if they appeared in court at all, would be
+brought before local judges supposed to be prejudiced against the
+government and who would not require restitution. To prevent this,
+the War Department issued instructions based on the decision of the
+United States Supreme Court in Ableman v. Booth, in which Chief
+Justice Taney had delivered the opinion. These instructions directed
+that in cases arising under the conscription and recruiting laws,
+the writ of habeas corpus should be obeyed only when issued by
+United States courts. With full knowledge of these instructions and
+of the Supreme Court decision which had been a party shibboleth in
+the fugitive-slave cases before the war, the Probate judge of the
+county seemed bent on provoking a collision with the National
+authorities. His court was, among courts of record, that of inferior
+jurisdiction in the county, and the higher courts gave us no
+trouble. A letter which I wrote to Governor Tod at the close of
+August so fully gives the details of the matter and of the view I
+then took of it, that I prefer to let it stand as my statement of
+it, rather than any paraphrase I could now make. I said:--
+
+"I have the honour to call your attention to a persistent effort on
+the part of the Probate Judge of the county to produce a collision
+between the sheriff and posse of the vicinity and the United States
+government.
+
+"You have probably noticed the newspaper accounts of a habeas corpus
+case before Judge ------ some time since, in which the writ was
+issued to Lieutenant-Colonel Boone, One Hundred and Fifteenth Ohio
+Volunteer Infantry, commanding at Kemper barracks in this city,
+directing him to bring before the court one Hicks, held as a
+deserter from the army.
+
+"In accordance with instructions from the War Department, based upon
+the decision of Chief Justice Taney in the case of Ableman v. Booth,
+Lieutenant-Colonel Boone answered in writing, stating that the man
+was held by the authority of the United States as a deserter, and
+that, without intending any disrespect to the court, it was
+impossible for him to deliver the prisoner to the officers of a
+State court. Lieutenant-Colonel Boone further attached to his answer
+and made part of it the instructions from Washington and the order
+of Major-General Burnside promulgating the same, and it was thus
+made matter of record in the court that the case was one directly
+affecting the government of the United States. The judge was also
+notified by counsel that it was the purpose of the Federal officers
+to take the case to the courts of last resort should his decision be
+in accordance with that which he had rendered in other cases, and
+that the matter would thus, without doubt, be ultimately determined
+by the judicial decision of the highest courts having cognizance,
+and that there could be no occasion for collision between himself
+and the military authorities.
+
+"The judge issued an attachment against Lieutenant-Colonel Boone for
+contempt, and directed Major-General Burnside to be made party to
+the record. General Burnside answered in a similar manner to Colonel
+Boone. The court made no personal order in General B.'s case, but
+directed the sheriff of the county to arrest Lieutenant-Colonel
+Boone and bring him before the court. The sheriff went to Colonel
+Boone's quarters and was there informed that the writ could not be
+executed, as, under orders received, the military authorities would
+not permit it. The sheriff so made return to the court, and has, as
+he informs me this morning, been again directed peremptorily by the
+judge to execute the writ at every hazard.
+
+"The sheriff came to me to know what would be our course if he
+should raise the posse comitatus in obedience to the writ. My answer
+was that the United States forces would use no aggression, but that
+I wished him and the judge to understand distinctly that the writ
+could only be executed by overpowering the United States troops in
+open fight, and that it became all concerned to consider well before
+they became overt traitors by levying war against the Federal
+government; that I should regard them as public enemies at the first
+overt act and use the utmost vigor against them; and that after
+suppressing any disturbance they might create, my first duty would
+be to arrest the judge and himself and hand them over to the United
+States courts to be tried for treason. I likewise expressed my
+surprise that in a matter which was avowedly an undisguised attempt
+to bring the State authorities into open conflict with the National
+government, he had not appealed to the governor of the State, its
+chief executive (he being himself but a subordinate), for
+instructions. As he professed embarrassment as to his duty, I told
+him I would state what in my opinion a loyal sheriff should do in
+such a case; and that was to make a written return upon the writ
+saying that it could not be obeyed without levying open war against
+the United States, and was therefore returned unexecuted.... In view
+of the circumstances, I have thought best to lay the matter before
+you, that you may, if you see proper, direct the sheriff to take no
+steps calculated to bring the State and National authorities into
+collision, without full communication with and instruction from
+yourself as chief executive. I have no concern as to the success of
+any forcible attempt upon Colonel Boone, but regard it as very
+desirable that no such attempt should be made, and especially that
+it should not be precipitated, without your knowledge, by the action
+of the Probate Court of this county in overruling a decision of the
+Supreme Court of the United States.
+
+"I shall forward a copy of this letter to the Secretary of War for
+his information, and have the honor to remain," etc.
+
+There were some amusing incidents connected with the sheriff's
+embarrassment which could not properly appear in my letter to the
+governor. Both he and the Probate judge were candidates for
+re-election, and it seemed certain that the aggressive Vallandigham
+faction in the party would control the nominations in the party
+convention. In such excited times extreme men are almost sure to
+take the lead. The sheriff saw very clearly that there was nothing
+profitable to him in a forcible attack upon the United States troops
+in barracks, and knew that a call upon the _posse_ would be
+responded to by nobody but ruffians of the criminal class who might
+like an opportunity to gather as a mob with a pretext of lawful
+authority. He complained to me with a comical distress that the
+judge had taken advantage of him to gain with the extremists of his
+party the credit for bold defiance of the government, whilst he, the
+sheriff, was left to bear the brunt of the real danger. I had told
+him in an earlier interview that if he called out the _posse_ it
+would be his duty to lead it in person, and had intimated that I
+should direct the soldiers to save bloodshed by carefully marking
+the leaders in an attack. I now suggested that if he should inform
+the judge that he should summon him first as one of the _posse_ and
+require him to march beside him, he would probably find the zeal for
+a collision diminished.
+
+Whatever were the reasons which controlled, there was no _posse_
+summoned, and I heard no more of the arrest of Colonel Boone. Both
+judge and sheriff lived to look back upon the episode in their lives
+with other feelings than those which excited them nearly to
+desperation in that singular political campaign. It was not always
+easy to draw a satisfactory line in dealing practically with such
+powdery elements and social conditions as those of 1863, but the
+best results seemed to come from carefulness not to provoke
+unnecessary collision with political prejudices and not to interfere
+with personal liberty more than was necessary, whilst showing
+inexorable firmness in carrying out such measures as we had to
+adopt. Two cases which arose in Dayton made it necessary to
+distinguish between two possible courses, and though there was a
+good deal of difference in judgment among loyal men I thought the
+event fully justified us in that which we pursued.
+
+The arrest of Vallandigham had left a certain class of people in
+Dayton on the verge of violent outbreak. A mob had wrecked the
+publishing office of the Union party paper, and we had kept a small
+garrison at the city to preserve the peace, The "roughs" of the
+place were insolent to the soldiers and their officers, and it
+required firm discipline to keep our men as patient as we wished
+them to be. One day a wrangle began, and one of the city "rowdies"
+pulled a pistol and fired upon a soldier. We arrested the criminal,
+but whilst we held him, an indictment was found against him in the
+local court, and he was demanded by the civil authorities for trial.
+We knew very well that in any jury of that county enough partisans
+of Vallandigham would be found to prevent a conviction, but I
+ordered the man to be delivered up. This was pretty sharply
+criticised by the more ardent Union men, but I answered that it was
+necessary to find out whether justice could be administered by the
+civil authorities before applying military rule.
+
+The delivery of the man was no doubt looked upon as an act of
+timidity, and it was not long before we had a repetition of the
+offence. I had taken pains to have the garrison at Dayton carefully
+instructed that they must be patient and cool, avoiding every
+provocation, but if attacked, the aggressor must be punished on the
+spot. In the second case, the man who drew his weapon was instantly
+shot down. There was now a demand for the soldier to be tried by the
+local civil court; but I said that the boot was on the other foot.
+The charge against the soldier was for an act performed in the line
+of his military duty, and of this our military courts had
+cognizance. The case was investigated by a military tribunal and the
+man justified. The result was every way satisfactory. Assaulting
+soldiers lost its attractiveness to town bullies, and the case in
+which the civilian had been left to the action of the civil courts
+was a standing proof of the inefficiency of those tribunals in
+matters where partisan passions entered, and where the unanimity of
+a jury was consequently impossible.
+
+The State election occurred in October, and although there had been
+great fears of rioting and bloodshed, these fears were happily
+disappointed. There had been enough of the preliminary education as
+to the relations of the military authorities to the preservation of
+the peace, to make it generally understood that disturbances would
+be dangerous. The soldiers were, however, kept carefully out of
+sight except as they exercised their personal right to vote. They
+were under arms at their barracks, and no leaves of absence were
+given. These precautions were all that was needed. In Cincinnati the
+election was said to be one of the quietest and most orderly ever
+known. The people seemed to appreciate the gravity of the situation
+and to realize that it must be soberly and thoughtfully met. Hosts
+of men who would willingly have been in opposition to the
+administration party on questions of economy or of details in the
+conduct of the war declined to vote for Vallandigham, whose
+utterances had been the great matter of debate during the canvass,
+and whose disloyalty being thus brought home to the voters in every
+neighborhood, had repelled all but the most passionate of his party
+friends. John Brough, the Union party candidate, himself a "war
+democrat," was elected governor by an unprecedented majority of over
+a hundred thousand. The soldiers' vote had helped to swell this
+majority, and as returns had to be made from polling-places opened
+for each Ohio regiment in the field, there was considerable delay
+before the extent of the political victory was fully known. The home
+vote was enough for every practical purpose, and it, of course, was
+known at once. The returns from the army vote kept adding to the
+majority, and gave, day by day, a new stimulus to political
+interest, one party rejoicing over the unanimity of the country's
+defenders, and the other affecting to see dangers of military
+despotism. For this reason it was fortunate that the soldiers' vote
+was not necessary to decide the election, and that without it
+Brough's triumph went beyond any ordinary measure of party success.
+
+The remarkable result of the election was felt throughout the
+country as an indication of renewed determination of the people that
+the war must be fought out to the complete crushing of the Rebellion
+and the restoration of the Union. There was a noticeable
+crystallization of public opinion after it. Reasonable men in the
+defeated party found it easy to accept conclusions which were backed
+up by so great majorities. Agitation was quieted, and there was an
+evident disposition to acquiesce in what was so evidently the
+popular current.
+
+My aversion for the anomalous position of a military commandant out
+of the actual field of war had not been lessened by my experiences
+of the summer, and both directly and indirectly I renewed my
+requests for a field command. I had been told that the Secretary of
+War awaited only an opening which would permit him to assign me to
+duty with the advanced grade which had been given me after Antietam,
+and I had been advised, in a way that seemed authoritative, to wait
+patiently for this. It became evident in the autumn that such
+waiting was likely to be profitless as well as wearisome. A regular
+army officer had a backing in the _esprit de corps_ at the
+departments, and Halleck was watchful to give the full weight of his
+official influence in favor of such a one. It was, perhaps
+naturally, assumed that a volunteer would be assisted by political
+friends, and if he did not make use of such influence he would fall
+between two stools. After my first appointment I was never aware of
+receiving any help from these personal influences, and had gotten
+whatever recognition I had from my immediate commanders in the
+field. Burnside had intimated that if Hartsuff's ill health should
+make that officer retire from the command of the Twenty-third Corps,
+he would assign me to it in the expectation that the corresponding
+rank would then be conferred by the President. If I have any regret
+respecting my own action in seeking active duty, it is that I did
+not ask for the command of one of the divisions in the corps on the
+movement into East Tennessee. It was Burnside's wish that I should
+remain in Cincinnati and I acquiesced; but I have had a lingering
+belief that my influence with him would have helped decide him to
+remain in the West had I been with him in Knoxville in October and
+November. Be that as it may, I was fully determined after the Ohio
+election was over to cease looking for anything more than a field
+command, according to my present rank, and to be urgent till I
+obtained it.
+
+In this year the first volume of Kinglake's "History of the Crimean
+War" was published, and reading it in the intervals of other duty in
+Cincinnati, I found in it lessons of hope and confidence in our
+armies that were to me both stimulating and encouraging. It would
+not be strange if an English soldier should feel that Kinglake was
+quite too frank in his revelation of the mistakes and
+discouragements which attended England's first military operations
+after the "forty years' peace." But it was precisely this
+photographic realism and unreserve which gave the book its peculiar
+value. I found Lord Raglan and his subordinates intelligent men,
+feeling their way through doubts and mistakes to a new experimental
+knowledge of their task. I compared them and their work with what I
+had seen in our own service when a great army had to be organized
+and put in the field and everything had to be created anew. I saw
+that we had been no worse off than our neighbors, and that our
+tuition in the school of experience had gone on quite as rapidly as
+theirs. I thanked Kinglake in my heart for telling us that Raglan
+tested what he was doing by asking himself how "the Duke" would have
+done had he been there. It was only another way of applying the
+lessons of past experience to the present duty; but it seemed
+peculiarly human that the English general in the perplexities of his
+troublesome problem in the Crimea should summon up the shade of
+Wellington and ask how the practical soldier of the Spanish
+Peninsular War would act were he deciding for his old staff officer
+what he must do at the Alma or in front of Sebastopol.
+
+The student of military history sees that the weak points in the
+British army on the peace establishment had been that systematic and
+continuous preparation for active war had not been insisted on. It
+needed the organizing genius of Roon and Moltke in the Prussian army
+to make such a mobilization as that of 1866 and that of 1870, and to
+show what is possible in preparing an armed host to take the field.
+Preparation for war has had a totally different meaning since those
+campaigns, and the start of a day or two in reaching the field was
+shown to involve the winning and losing a great campaign. As matters
+stood in 1854, however, the great military powers of Europe should
+be considered as having only the raw material of armies as they had
+depots of military stores, and true organization in every department
+had to be effected after a declaration of war. Studying it in 1863,
+it seemed to me that the only advantage England or France would have
+had over us at the outbreak of the Rebellion would have been in the
+greater number of men partly drilled and the greater quantities of
+arms and ammunition in store. Kinglake taught us that others would
+have had to go through most of the discouragements we had
+experienced, and that our aptitude in learning had been perhaps
+greater than theirs would have been. His unreserved disclosure of
+the errors and the miseries of the siege of Sebastopol was
+infinitely more instructive than any history which hid the
+humiliating facts and covered all with the glamour and glory of the
+final success. His faithful dealing was in the line of true
+discipline, though the reading of his story must have been a sore
+chastisement of spirit for many an English soldier and statesman. It
+was more effective than the comments of any "war correspondent,"
+however capable; for it was free from every suspicion of
+unfriendliness, and was written with the fullest access to official
+evidence. I cannot help believing that the book was no small factor
+in the general movement in Europe toward a much more scientific
+comprehension and a much better practical mastery of the elements of
+army organization and administration in times of peace.
+
+But what I am quite sure of is that its perusal was a source of
+great comfort and encouragement to me in the midst of our own
+struggle; because it assured me, as I compared Raglan's experience
+with ours, that we had not gone so far astray in learning our
+lesson, and were not so completely on the dunces' bench, as I had
+been disposed to fear. We had plenty of blunders to confess, and
+there was no room for over-confidence; but the book prompted every
+earnest soldier among us to believe that we could make still better
+use of our experience, and to feel bolder in relying on his own
+judgment and courage in drawing new expedients from our peculiar
+circumstances and in developing new adaptations of military science
+to our own campaigns. Staff schools cannot turn out great generals
+to order, and the man who leads will continue to be more important
+than any other element of an army; but no leader can work well with
+dull and antiquated tools, and the present generation can hardly see
+a great war begun with so little adequate preparation for it as was
+common before our great civil strife.
+
+On the 9th of November the humdrum routine at my district
+headquarters was interrupted by a dispatch from the officer
+commanding at Detroit, Michigan, giving warning of what was more
+explicitly reported in one of the 10th, saying that he was
+positively informed that within forty-eight hours two armed steamers
+would attack Johnson's Island and release the prisoners held there.
+[Footnote: Official Records, series ii. vol. vi. pp. 491, 495, 635.]
+
+The military prison at Johnson's Island was built for the
+confinement of Confederate officers who had been captured in battle,
+and their number was so large that to release them would be an
+enterprise of no little importance, if successful. The island lay in
+Sandusky Bay, within a few hours' sail of several Canadian ports.
+Its garrison consisted of a single regiment which had all the
+employment it needed to furnish the ordinary prison guards, and
+would be entirely too weak to oppose any considerable force
+attacking from without, especially as it would be prudent to assume
+that such an attack would be accompanied by an outbreak of the
+prisoners within.
+
+I immediately communicated with Governor Tod and with the Commissary
+of Prisoners at Washington, Colonel Hoffman, and on the same day
+sent a battery of three-inch rifled cannon and 500 newly raised
+recruits to Sandusky. I telegraphed the Hon. Joshua R. Giddings, our
+consul-general at Montreal, asking what he could learn in Canada as
+to the threatened expedition. He thought it was the mere "bombast"
+of Confederate emissaries and refugees in the Canadian provinces,
+and made light of it. On the 12th, however, the Secretary of War
+telegraphed me that Lord Lyons, the British ambassador, confirmed
+the report, and directed me to take energetic action to defeat the
+expected raid. The dispatch reached me at nine o'clock in the
+morning, and as it would be necessary to consult with the governor
+and get him to call out a force of State militia, I telegraphed him
+that I would go to Columbus on the half-past-ten train from
+Cincinnati, and asked him to be ready to call out the militia as
+soon as I could see him. I then sent messages to the commandants of
+militia regiments near the railway line, requesting them to call out
+their men at once in anticipation of an order from the governor to
+proceed to Sandusky. I also communicated with my subordinates in
+command at Detroit, Sandusky, and Columbus, giving a hint of my
+purposes. Finding I was likely to be late at the railway station, I
+sent a message to Mr. Woodward, the superintendent of the Little
+Miami Railroad, asking him to hold the train for me. The train had
+gone when the message reached him, but he ordered out an extra
+locomotive, and when I reached the station it was under orders to
+overtake the regular train. With an aide-de-camp I mounted the
+locomotive, and we were off at speed. The train was overtaken at
+Xenia, half-way to Columbus, and I was able to keep my appointment
+with the governor.
+
+It happened that there was at this time a plot also to take the camp
+of military prisoners at Columbus, indicating a wide-spread scheme
+among the Confederate prisoners in Ohio, and General Mason, who
+commanded there, did not think it would be safe to reduce his
+garrison. The governor acted at once upon my suggestion, and ordered
+out the militia regiments which I had warned before leaving
+Cincinnati. My regular train had gone on, but Mr. Woodward had
+provided for a special one from Columbus, and we were soon speeding
+on in the hope of making the connection with a train going West on
+the Lake Shore Railway. The connection was made, though it became
+necessary to make what was then regarded as extraordinary speed to
+do it. Over one stretch of the road we ran twenty miles in eighteen
+minutes by the watch, and our average rate was high enough to make
+it a noteworthy journey. I reached Sandusky at midnight, and found
+reports of the militia regiments already on the way, and that the
+hostile expedition had not yet left Canada.
+
+There is always a considerable amount of business labor connected
+with the sudden assembly of new troops in a city like Sandusky.
+Provision must be made for quarters and for their subsistence. The
+militia were not like troops accustomed to take the field, and were
+not provided with tents. The autumn was well advanced, and severe
+winter weather was likely to come at any time. Competent officers
+had to be selected to take responsible charge of each of the supply
+departments, including arms and ammunition. A battery of
+Parrott-rifled cannon was ordered to report to me as well as some
+heavy coast artillery. The first organization of means to look after
+the coming troops and the artillery being made, the next duty was a
+personal reconnoissance of my field of operations. A gentleman put
+at my disposal a small sailing yacht of light draught, and with a
+good crew and a fresh breeze the principal points of the lower bay
+were visited, including Johnson's Island.
+
+Sandusky Bay is the largest land-locked body of water connected with
+Lake Erie. It is some twenty miles long by three or four wide, its
+length running east and west, and narrow tongues of land separating
+it from the lake. The mouth of the bay is about a mile wide, but the
+water is quite shallow except in the narrow channel, which is
+sinuous and runs very close to Cedar Point, the extremity of the
+long, low sandy cape which separates the eastern part of the bay
+from the open water. A lighthouse on the point and range lights near
+it give direction to vessels approaching, which run from the
+northwest, head on, till they seem almost ashore at the foot of the
+lighthouse tower, when they turn sharply to the southwest, the
+channel being zigzag up to the city, which lies on the southeast
+shore. It did not need a second glance to determine that Cedar Point
+was the place to fortify, and that batteries there would rake any
+vessel approaching the harbor, as well as on its way in, if it
+should succeed in passing the point.
+
+Johnson's Island lies a mile or two inside the entrance to the bay
+on the western side. A narrow channel separates it from the land on
+that side, which is a high rocky peninsula called Marblehead. The
+island had been cultivated as a farm, containing a hundred acres or
+more, with some pleasant groves amid the fields, and with a gently
+undulating surface which gave it an agreeable variety and a
+picturesque appearance. The landing at the island was on the bay
+side, three or four miles from the city wharves. If a hostile force
+should land on the peninsula at Marblehead, it could not reach the
+island by reason of the channel which separates it from the land on
+the west. The only chance of success for such a raid was to make a
+surprise of it before Cedar Point could be fortified, to enter the
+bay and land a force sufficient to overpower the prison garrison
+before it should be reinforced.
+
+Under the terms of the treaty with Great Britain, our navy was
+represented by a single vessel of war on Lake Erie, the steamer
+"Michigan," which carried a battery of eight or ten guns. She was
+ordered to Sandusky to co-operate with me at the same time that I
+was directed to go there. She was commanded by Captain John Carter,
+a bluff and hearty seaman of the old school, whom I found cordially
+ready to work with me in the most perfect harmony and mutual
+understanding. I lost no time in transporting my two rifled
+batteries to Cedar Point, and throwing up hasty earthworks to cover
+them. From the moment they were in position it was certain that no
+unarmed steamboat could enter the harbor. A part of my infantry was
+encamped in rear of the batteries, covered by a grove of evergreen
+trees, near enough to support the guns if an effort were made to
+land there. The rest of the infantry was assigned to increase the
+garrison on Johnson's Island itself. The news had spread that there
+was a concentration of our forces at Sandusky, and by the time we
+were ready for an attack the raiders were well aware that their
+plans had failed.
+
+Their project had not been a hopeless one if they could have kept it
+secret, but that was almost impossible. The leaders in it were
+commonly reported to have been some of Morgan's men who had made
+their way to Canada when he was captured. By the aid of Confederate
+agents they had procured the means to organize a considerable band
+of adventurers, and had chartered two steamboats which were to meet
+them at the mouth of the Detroit River. The assembly of such a body
+of men attracted the attention of the Canadian authorities, and
+information was sent to Lord Lyons at Washington. Our officers at
+Detroit also got wind of it, and employed the police and detectives
+to ferret out the facts. The raiders had assembled, and the boats
+were ready, when, on the 14th of November, they learned that their
+plans were exposed and the chance to succeed was lost. The less
+eager ones were quick to abandon the enterprise, and the bolder
+spirits found themselves reduced to a handful. So they scattered,
+threatening to try it again at some more convenient time.
+
+As soon as the work of preparation at Cedar Point was well under
+way, I accepted the invitation of Captain Carter to make a
+reconnoissance in the "Michigan." We sailed out of the harbor and
+made the tour of the beautiful group of islands known as the Bass
+Islands, in the midst of which is the little harbor of Put-in-Bay.
+We were on the classic ground where Perry had won his naval victory
+in the War of 1812, and although we found no trace of the threatened
+raid, the circumstances which took us there added to the interest
+with which we examined the scene of Perry's glory. On my return I
+reported to the Secretary of War that all present danger had passed,
+and asked to be allowed to send the militia home. The weather had
+become stormy, and the State troops naturally became impatient when
+the need of their continued exposure seemed to be at an end. They
+were soon allowed to go, but it was wisely determined to put the
+heavy guns in a fortification on the island, where they could
+command the entrance to the bay and yet be so connected with the
+permanent garrison as to avoid the establishment of two camps with
+the necessary increase of expense as well as numbers.
+
+This delayed me a fortnight at Sandusky, and the delay was quite as
+unwelcome to me as to the militia. I had been away from Cincinnati
+but a few days when I received a dispatch from General Burnside,
+saying that if I was still minded to accept a field command he
+thought he could give me one of his corps. As this was exactly what
+I had been wishing for, it will be easily believed that I chafed at
+the circumstances which seemed to tie me to the shore of Lake Erie
+when I longed to be on my way to East Tennessee. I laid the matter
+before the War Department by telegraph, and begged to be allowed to
+go. Mr. Stanton answered on the 22d that I could not yet leave
+Sandusky. I hurried the work to be done there with all possible
+energy, so as to remove the cause of delay, and on the 3d of
+December was gratified to learn that the order had been issued
+directing me to report in person to the general in command at
+Knoxville. I was not informed that I should not find Burnside there
+when I should arrive, and assumed that my work at Sandusky was the
+only cause of delay in my orders to go; but I was soon to learn of
+other changes which I did not anticipate.
+
+My stay at Sandusky gave me the opportunity to make an inspection of
+the military prison at Johnson's Island, and I availed myself of it.
+As only officers were confined there, the high average intelligence
+and character of these would of course show itself in their personal
+habits and in their methods of employing the time, which hung heavy
+on their hands. In all such situations the energy and hopefulness of
+the individual are the best guaranty for continued good health,
+whilst ennui, listlessness, and idleness are the pretty sure
+forerunners of melancholy and homesickness, which lead to serious
+maladies. It would be hard to find a more salubrious site for a camp
+than Johnson's Island. Naturally well drained, diversified with
+grove and meadow, open to the breeze from every quarter, washed by
+the pure waters of Lake Erie, it is to-day, as it was then, a
+beautiful and attractive spot. The winter there is not usually
+severe. The vast body of water comprising the Great Lakes modifies
+the climate and tempers it so that the autumn is generally prolonged
+and pleasant. Winter begins late, but is apt to be changeable and
+disagreeable, and a raw and backward spring, with chilling winds off
+the frozen waters, is the part of the year most to be dreaded.
+Native Ohioans insist that there is no climate more wholesome and
+pleasant than this lake-shore belt, which is now the land of
+continuous vineyards and peach orchards. A native of the Gulf States
+would, however, find its winter and spring severe and trying, more
+from sudden changes than from any extremely low temperature. Taking
+it all in all, it is probable that no place for a prison camp could
+be found in the Northern States which would be liable to fewer
+objections.
+
+The prison itself was constructed in the manner which seemed
+simplest and cheapest. A large square on the sloping hillsides was
+surrounded with a high wooden fence. On the outside of this, near
+the top, was a gallery or balcony supported on brackets.
+
+This was the walk for the sentinels, and from it they had a
+commanding view of the interior of the enclosure. Sentry-boxes,
+looking like turrets, were at the corners and at intervals on the
+sides. Within, the barracks for the prisoners were on the west or
+northwest side, leaving the larger space open in front for exercise.
+The buildings were of pine boards, roughly but well constructed, so
+that they were dry and tight. Rows of bunks ran along the sides,
+filled with beds of straw. The shelter and accommodation was
+decidedly better than that which we made for our own troops at Camp
+Dennison, our first camp of instruction. Through most of the year
+there was no ground for complaint. In winter, and especially on
+winter nights, it would be impossible to keep up anything like a
+steady temperature, and the thin shell of the building would soon
+chill through in a nipping and frosty air. We had to meet this
+difficulty in all winter quarters for troops, and there seemed to be
+no way to remove it. If one could be heavily clad, it was generally
+more healthful to endure a steady low temperature, than to meet the
+alternations of heat and cold which came of the replenishing and
+dying out of the fires in stoves during the long winter night. As
+many men have many minds, it was almost impossible to secure
+anything like system in a long shed-like building occupied by a
+little democracy of hundreds of persons.
+
+The food was plain but good in quality, similar to the army ration,
+and at the time of my visit was abundant. I took occasion to go
+through the barracks unattended by the officers of the garrison, and
+encouraged the prisoners to make known any complaints. There were
+practically none that were not necessarily incident to the position
+of a prisoner of war in actual confinement. The loss of liberty, the
+weary pacing of the enclosure in front of their barracks, the lack
+of interesting occupation, home-sickness, and general
+discomfort,--these were the ills of which they spoke. Among the
+prisoners was General Jeff. Thompson, of Missouri,--the ranking
+officer among them, as I recollect,--and I sought an introduction to
+him and talked with him in regard to the prison life. He was
+depressed and ailing, though not consenting to go into hospital, and
+spoke feelingly of the discouraging monotony and ennui of their
+existence, but made no complaint of the administration of the prison
+in any way. To be exchanged was the burden of their wishes and
+prayers, and in this every one with ordinary human sympathies must
+feel with them. Games of chess, draughts, dominoes, and cards were
+their indoor amusements, and some of the more energetic kept up an
+attempt at regular out-door exercise.
+
+It happened that the chief surgeon of the camp was an old neighbor
+of mine, Dr. M. C. Woodworth, and I questioned him closely as to the
+medical and sanitary condition. He was a man of the highest
+character in his profession and as a citizen. I had absolute
+confidence in his uprightness as well as his ability. His statements
+fully corroborated the conclusions I drew from my own observation. I
+was fully satisfied that the garrison administration was honest and
+humane, and that the prisoners suffered only such evils as were
+necessarily incident to confinement in a narrow space, and to life
+in temporary barracks of the kind used in all military camps.
+
+I learned that those prisoners who had means of their own were
+permitted to open private accounts with merchants and bankers in the
+city of Sandusky, and had little difficulty in increasing their
+physical comforts in many ways. Since the war I have conversed with
+business men of that town who personally knew of these arrangements,
+and who have given me details of remittances and credits furnished
+to prisoners, and of some considerable investments made for them. A
+certain surveillance was necessary in such cases to give assurance
+that no unlawful advantage was taken of such opportunities, but
+there was very little if any reason to believe such leniency was
+abused.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+A WINTER RIDE ON THE CUMBERLAND MOUNTAINS
+
+
+Ordered to East Tennessee--Preparation for a long ride--A small
+party of officers--Rendezvous at Lexington, Ky.--Changes in my
+staff--The escort-A small train--A gay cavalcade--The blue-grass
+country--War-time roads--Valley of the Rockcastle--Quarters for the
+night--London--Choice of routes--Longstreet in the way--A turn
+southward--Williamsburg--Meeting Burnside--Fording the
+Cumberland--Pine Mountain--A hard pull--Teamsters' chorus--Big Creek
+Gap--First view of East Tennessee--Jacksboro--A forty-mile
+trot--Escape from unwelcome duty--In command of Twenty-third
+Corps--The army-supply problem--Siege bread--Starved
+beef--Burnside's dinner to Sherman.
+
+
+The order of the War Department directing me to report in person to
+the general commanding in East Tennessee was issued on the 2nd of
+December. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxi. pt. iii. p. 314.]
+It was to take effect when I should have completed my duties at
+Sandusky, but as I had pressed all my work forward to completion
+some days before, in the expectation of the order, I was prepared to
+leave at once. A copy of the order was telegraphed to me on the 3rd,
+and I left for Cincinnati the same evening. On reaching the district
+and department headquarters, I learned that Burnside was relieved,
+and that General Foster had passed through the city, going on toward
+East Tennessee to assume command of the department. Longstreet
+raised the siege of Knoxville the very day I reached Cincinnati, but
+this was not yet known, and several days passed before we had
+authentic information that the way to Knoxville was open. There was
+work to do in closing up the business of the district, packing
+papers and books pertaining to my headquarters, and providing for
+their safe-keeping. A number of officers belonging to Burnside's
+command were waiting an opportunity to rejoin the army, and I
+arranged a rendezvous for these at Lexington, Ky., where I would
+join them. A small troop of cavalry was detailed to act as our
+escort, and the quartermaster's department promised wagons for our
+baggage and supplies. On the 8th the news of Longstreet's retreat
+indicated that the road through Cumberland Gap to Knoxville was
+probably open, and sending our horses and baggage to Lexington by
+railroad, I left Cincinnati with my staff on Wednesday, the 9th, for
+the same place. Reaching there at evening, the next day was spent in
+packing our wagons and organizing our little party, and the
+cavalcade marched out of the pretty town of Lexington early on the
+11th.
+
+My staff was not altogether the same as it was in my Virginia
+campaigns. I had lost my friend, Surgeon Holmes, by death. He had
+been assigned to duty with me in Cincinnati, but his lungs had
+become diseased through exposure in the field, and he had died of
+consumption a few weeks before. My aide Captain Christie was
+similarly affected, and resigned to prolong his life. He ultimately
+died of the illness thus contracted. My aide Lieutenant Conine was
+appointed colonel of one of the new colored regiments, and went with
+it to Virginia. Major Bascom, my adjutant-general, Major Treat, my
+commissary, and Lieutenant Theodore Cox, my aide-de-camp, were
+ordered to accompany me, and were all that remained of my old staff.
+In the place of Conine I secured the detail of Captain E. D.
+Saunders, assistant-adjutant-general, who had served temporarily on
+my staff during the preceding season. He was the son of an old
+resident of Cincinnati, an excellent officer in his department as
+well as a gallant soldier, and he remained with me in closest
+relations till he fell by my side in the Atlanta campaign in the
+following year. His assignment as aide-de-camp was out of the usual
+course, but it was allowed in view of the contingency that Major
+Bascom could not remain with me if I should not continue in command
+of an army corps. In this case Saunders would become my
+adjutant-general, and this was what in fact occurred a little later.
+
+At Lexington I found a group of ten or a dozen officers who were
+eager to join my party in the ride over the mountains. The one of
+highest rank was Lieutenant-Colonel J. H. Strong of General Foster's
+staff, who had been allowed a short leave of absence when his chief
+started for the West, and was now hastening back to duty. I found a
+ground for pleasant acquaintance with him in his relationship to
+Bishop Bedell of Ohio, a venerated friend of mine as long as he
+lived. Colonel Strong was a brother of Mrs. Bedell, and was a
+refined and cultivated gentleman. Lieutenant-Colonel James T.
+Sterling of the One Hundred and Third Ohio Infantry was also on his
+way to join his regiment at Knoxville. He had been a captain in the
+Seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served with me in my first
+campaign in West Virginia, where I had become attached to him for
+his military as well as his personal character. He became my
+inspector-general in the field. Captain D. W. H. Day, assistant
+quartermaster, was also en route to the Twenty-third Corps in the
+field, and was directed to take charge of our little train. His
+unbounded energy and his power to surmount obstacles so impressed me
+that on our reaching Knoxville I had him also assigned to permanent
+duty with me in his department. The others passed out of the circle
+of permanent acquaintances when the journey was over, but they were
+all pleasant travelling companions, and one or two of them would
+have been remarkable anywhere for their wit and cheerfulness. It was
+as happy and jolly a party as one need wish for in a rough ride of a
+couple of hundred miles over the mountains.
+
+Our escort turned out to be only twenty horsemen instead of a full
+troop, but these were enough for protection against mere marauders,
+and we had to take the chance of meeting organized bodies of the
+enemy. Four army wagons were furnished us. One of these was loaded
+with oats for our horses, and carried the personal baggage of the
+cavalry troop. Another was loaded with ordinary army rations. A
+third was devoted to mess supplies of the officers of the party, and
+as we were going into a country wasted by war and almost
+famine-stricken, we each tried to carry with us a small stock of
+choice provisions which might eke out a little comfort to the mess.
+The fourth wagon carried our personal baggage. Captain Day had
+carefully selected strong and serviceable horses for the teams, and
+the wagons were minutely inspected to see that they were fit for the
+mountain work in a wilderness where wheelwrights could not be found.
+It was our purpose to get both forage and provisions on the road if
+we could buy them, and to save the stock in our wagons for a time of
+necessity or to carry as much as possible into Knoxville.
+
+I had telegraphed to Burnside as soon as I reached Cincinnati,
+formally reporting myself as under his orders for duty in the field
+by permission of the Secretary of War. I expressed my regret to hear
+of his leaving the command, and urged my assignment to duty before
+he laid down his authority. No answer to my dispatch was received,
+and the fact was that full communication with Burnside by the
+Cumberland Gap route was not opened till the 9th of December, so
+that my letter was among the correspondence received by Burnside the
+day he turned over the command to Foster. Another cause of
+uneasiness to me was the change of department boundaries made in the
+order assigning General Foster to command. The States north of the
+Ohio were separated from the department, and I was apprehensive that
+other changes might occur which would make me fall between two
+stools. That there was danger of just such disappointments turned
+out to be very true. My anxious determination to get forward to
+Knoxville with the least possible delay was justified, and I had
+reason to congratulate myself on acting promptly upon it.
+
+Our cavalcade presented a gay appearance as we marched out of
+Lexington on Friday morning. There were twelve or fifteen officers,
+all well mounted and followed by a group of servants riding and
+leading our extra horses. Part of the cavalry troop led the way, the
+guidons fluttering in the van. Behind us came an ambulance and the
+army wagons with clean white canvas covers and well-groomed teams of
+four horses each, driven in army fashion by a driver astride of the
+near wheel-horse, a mounted wagon-master superintending the whole.
+The little column was closed by a squad of the cavalry acting as
+rear-guard. There had not been any severe winter weather as yet, and
+though the road was sloppy, the sun was bright overhead, and its
+beams flashed from our side-arms and equipments. Our first day's
+ride was to take us to Richmond, a thriving town twenty-five miles
+away, the county-seat of Madison County, and a good turnpike road
+made this an easy day's journey. We were in the rich blue-grass
+region, and though all of central Kentucky showed the marks of war's
+ravages, this region was comparatively unscathed, and the beautiful
+rolling country was neither abandoned nor untilled. Horses and
+cattle were noticeably few, for raids like Morgan's had been
+frequent enough to teach the peril of having flocks and herds to
+tempt the enemy. Farmers gave more attention than before to
+agriculture proper and the raising of crops which would directly
+support the family. There was nothing dispiriting in the view of the
+country on this first day's ride, and though a winter landscape can
+hardly be exhilarating when it is leafless and bare, gray, and a
+little sombre in color, we found ourselves under no stress of
+sympathy with misfortune or want, as is so often the case with the
+soldier.
+
+On leaving Richmond our really rough work began. The roads would
+have been bad enough at any time, but the hard use by army trains in
+bad weather and the entire lack of repair had made them execrable.
+All the ordinary methods of keeping highways in order by local
+administration were suspended by the war, and the only work done
+upon them was what each wagon-master could do with his drivers to
+mend the worst places so that his train could get through. As we
+could not be sure of finding food for man or beast on the road, it
+was necessary to gauge our speed by the distance our wagons could
+make, so that we should not be separated from them. About twenty
+miles a day was the maximum, and though we sometimes got a little
+further, there were days when our journey was much less. South of
+Richmond and on the border between Madison and Rockcastle counties,
+we crossed Big Hill, the first of the outlying ranges of the
+Cumberland Mountains. These great ridges are nearly parallel to each
+other, and even the "gaps" in them are so high that there is always
+a long and hard pull for wagon teams in surmounting them. Over the
+summit we came down into the valleys tributary to the Rockcastle
+River. Twenty or twenty-five miles away another summit marks the
+boundary between this valley and the principal depression in which
+the Cumberland River finds its devious course to the south and west.
+The rocks are sandstone through which the Rockcastle River has cut
+deep gorges and chasms, and the weathering of the cliffs has left
+the strata and crevices exposed with so much of the regularity of
+layers of masonry as to tell at once the story of the impression
+made on the early explorers of the region, and the suggestion by
+Nature herself of a name for the beautiful stream that dashes along
+to join the Cumberland many miles below.
+
+Our second day's journey ended far from any village or tavern, in
+this romantic valley. A pouring rain had begun about noon, and we
+plodded and splashed along till we reached a large log house which
+seemed a convenient halting-place as far advanced as our wagons
+could be brought. The house belonged to a thrifty widow. Half of it
+was simply furnished, and in this part she and her children lived.
+The other half was a large unfurnished room with the walls of hewn
+logs and a great fireplace of stone in the middle of the long side
+of the room. Out of this opened a little bedroom, a mere closet, in
+which the spare bed for guests was placed. The widow put these two
+rooms at our disposal. A roaring fire was soon burning on the
+hearth, our saddles and horse trappings were arranged on the sides
+of the room to serve as pillows, and blankets were brought in from
+the ambulance. Supper was got, partly from our own stores, cooked
+with the help of the family, and we were early ready for bed. The
+guest chamber was assigned to me, but it was so small that for the
+sake of ventilation the door was kept open, and the ruddy firelight
+flashed upon as picturesque and as merry a group as one could wish
+to see. A weary day in the saddle made all of us ready for sleep,
+and quips and jokes soon died out as one after another seemed to
+drop off into forgetfulness. The physical fatigue of the day made
+one of the party develop a phenomenal capacity for snoring in his
+heavy sleep, and in the quiet his nasal trumpeting grew more
+pronounced. It proceeded by phrases, as it were, each effort
+stronger than the preceding, till a fortissimo passage came and
+ended with a snort which echoed through the room and was followed by
+perfect silence. From the corner of the room came a drawling voice
+with a sigh as of deep relief, "Thank God _he's_ dead." The shout of
+laughter which followed showed that nearly all had roused themselves
+for the _finale_, and the badgered performer of the music lost much
+of the real comfort of his night's rest by his fear of committing
+himself to a complete oblivion which might subject him to another
+chaffing bout from his companions.
+
+Another wet and uncomfortable day's ride brought us to London, an
+unattractive village at the parting of the ways, the principal road
+leading on to Cumberland Gap, and another on the right going to a
+ford of the Cumberland River at Williamsburg, where there would be
+again a choice of routes up the Elk Fork of the Cumberland between
+the ridges known as Jellico Mountain and Pine Mountain. The left
+wing of Burnside's column had taken this route in October, and after
+crossing the Cumberland had climbed Jellico Mountain on their right
+hand, and reached the headwaters of Emory River, a tributary of the
+Tennessee which breaks through the mountains at Emory Gap, the
+easiest route into East Tennessee. Another road kept in the valley
+of Elk Fork till a place was reached where Pine Mountain, on the
+left, could be scaled, and once over its summit a hard road led to
+Big Creek Gap in the Cumberland Mountains, and thence by way of
+Jacksboro to Knoxville.
+
+At London we were met with news from East Tennessee which made me
+reconsider the question of our route. We heard from Cumberland Gap
+that after General Foster had joined Burnside at Knoxville,
+Longstreet had moved in force to Rutledge, where he intercepted this
+line of communication, and that Knoxville could not be reached by
+that road for some time to come. This seemed to make it necessary to
+turn off to the south. As between the road to Emory Gap over Jellico
+Mountain and that to Big Creek Gap over Pine Mountain, the best
+evidence seemed to indicate the latter as the easier, but with the
+qualification which travellers in so wild a region have often to
+face, that whichever way you go you will wish you had gone the
+other. The name of Williamsburg on the Cumberland sounded as if it
+might be a considerable town, but the man who gave us the route
+warned us that we should find "it's not much of a 'burg neither when
+you git thar." Our ride into London had been on Sunday, and was
+surely a work of necessity if not of mercy. Captain B. had found his
+horse a little shaky in coming down the steep hills, and at one
+little stream the jaded beast came down on his knees in the water.
+The captain with affected seriousness argued that it was a
+punishment for travelling on the day of rest, but was effectually
+silenced by the wag of the party, who humorously remarked, "Ah! if
+your horse is so weak on Sunday what would have become of him and
+you on a week day?" London did not afford us any lodgings that
+tempted us indoors, and we wrapped ourselves in our blankets and
+slept on the open veranda of a dilapidated house, building a
+camp-fire in the yard in front. The rain had ceased, and we
+preferred the frosty air to the narrow and stuffy quarters we should
+otherwise have had to take.
+
+The evening of the 14th of December brought us to the Cumberland
+River, and as it was rising from the heavy rain of the preceding
+week, we should have been glad to get over at once, but the wagons
+could not overtake us till night, and we stopped at a country-house
+on the north side where we were made quite comfortable. About one
+o'clock in the morning, however, I was awakened by voices in the
+room below me, and recognized that of Captain French of Burnside's
+staff, who was asking the farmer to light a fire and prepare to
+receive the general and his party, who were a little behind, wet and
+nearly frozen. I got up and dressed myself, went downstairs to greet
+the captain, who was soon joined by the rest of the party. The
+general had come by the route I was taking, but his wagons had
+broken down on the mountain-side, and he had been obliged to abandon
+them. The party had picked up somewhere an old-fashioned stage-coach
+on thorough braces, and this was drawn by ten mules. They had packed
+on the backs of other mules such of their personal effects and
+stores as they could, and had left the rest by the roadside. They
+had halted for the night on the south side of the river, but at
+midnight had been roused by the news that the river was rising, and
+that they must pass the ford at once if they expected to get over.
+In the darkness of the night it had been both difficult and
+perilous, for the ford was diagonal to the course of the stream, and
+there was great danger of getting into deep water. They were all
+soaking wet and chilled, covered with mud, and as forlorn and
+unkempt a set of men as was ever seen. They warmed and partly dried
+themselves by the fire, and pushed on as soon as day began to break,
+for the general was impatient to get forward. Colonel Goodrich,
+Colonel Richmond, Major Van Buren, and the personal staff were with
+him, and as my own staff had been well acquainted with them, it was
+an interesting rencounter with all the events of the Knoxville
+campaign to discuss. The general had sent his proposal to me to join
+him, the very day Longstreet reached the Holston River at Loudon,
+and when it had become evident that the Confederates were committed
+to an active campaign in East Tennessee. General Hartsuff had found
+that he could not endure the work, and had decided to leave before
+Knoxville should be invested. My regret that I could not start at
+once was diminished by the fact that the investment was complete
+before I could possibly have reached Knoxville, so that no time had
+been lost. But all the circumstances showed that Burnside had
+regarded his request to be relieved as indefinitely postponed, and
+the appointment of General Foster to succeed him was unexpected. He
+had not heard that I was on my way, but after meeting me sent a
+dispatch to Foster as soon as he reached the telegraph line. He had
+informed Foster at Knoxville of his purpose in having me join him,
+and sent this message in a friendly wish to promote my interests.
+
+As soon as the general and his party were off, we began our
+preparation to cross the river. Their experience had shown that the
+increase of difficulty in keeping the ford at night was more than
+would probably come from the rise of the water. I therefore ordered
+everything to be ready as soon as it was broad daylight. We had
+eaten our breakfast and were in the saddle as soon as we could see
+clearly. Captain Day carefully examined the ford with a few of the
+cavalrymen, and fixed the landmarks which would guide us to the
+shallowest places. With these precautions and by carefully following
+directions we got over without mishap. The water did not quite reach
+the bodies of the wagons, and by lifting our feet out of our
+stirrups we got over dryshod. The stream was swift, and the only way
+to keep one's direction safely was to look ahead and not downward.
+Had we tried it in the night, we should no doubt have fared as badly
+as our friends who had preceded us.
+
+A day's hard journey for the wagon teams brought us to the foot of
+Pine Mountain at the point where the road leaves the bed of Elk Fork
+to climb the steep ascent. We were now only nineteen miles from
+Jacksboro, in the valley of the Clinch, but the distance was
+multiplied by the cumulating difficulties of the way. We were not
+far from Cross Mountain, a ridge which, as its name indicates,
+connects the long parallel ranges of Jellico, Pine, and Cumberland
+mountains. We must climb Pine Mountain to its crest, descend along
+the shoulders of Cross Mountain near the head of the valley, then
+scale the side of Cumberland Mountain to reach Big Creek Gap, from
+which the valley of East Tennessee would open before us. We camped
+for the night and prepared for an early start in the morning. The
+teams were well fed and groomed, and the whole equipment was
+carefully inspected to see that everything was ready for the strain
+of the rough work of the morrow.
+
+The morning of the 16th was fair and frosty, and we were astir
+early. Pine Mountain loomed before us like the steep roof of some
+vast gothic cathedral. The ridge seemed as straight as a house
+ridge, and we could not see that any natural depression made the
+ascent much easier in one place than another. Our road ran up a spur
+of the mountain till the regular slope was reached, then turning to
+the right it gradually mounted the steep incline by a diagonal
+course on a long shelf cut in the hillside, with here and there a
+level spot on which the teams could breathe. From where we stood in
+the valley the mountain face looked precipitous, and the road a mere
+line gradually rising along its front. It would have been bad enough
+if it had been a metalled road in good order; but it was only a
+rough track alternating in mud and rock, that had never been good
+even in mid-summer, and it was now next to impassable. Under the
+direction of Captain Day and the wagonmaster the teams were doubled,
+two of the wagons being left in the valley till the others should
+reach the summit, when the teams were to be brought back. When they
+came to the long and hard pull, the drivers gave us a good sample of
+army wagoning, their yelling and cracking of whips keeping up a
+continual chorus, and at specially hard points the quartermaster and
+wagon-master joined in the music like the baying of a pack of
+hounds, while the horses seemed to be stimulated to almost frantic
+action. This could not be kept up long, and when one of the level
+breathing-places was reached all subsided into quiet, while the
+steaming and puffing horses regained their wind for another effort.
+
+Five miles of advance was the utmost we could make on that day, but
+this was fifteen for the teams, as they had to be brought down the
+mountain over the same road and drag up the wagons which had been
+left at the foot. Our party of cavaliers waited lazily in the valley
+till the first of the wagons were near the summit, and then rode on
+to overtake them on the other side of the ridge. It was an easy and
+picturesque ride for us who were well mounted, but a wearing labor
+and strain for the teamsters and their animals. We congratulated
+ourselves on the care with which the "outfit" had been selected at
+Lexington, for we came through without accident on a road where
+wrecks were plentier than milestones.
+
+We had sweet slumber that night in the keen air of the mountain top,
+and were ready for the last day of mountain work. We were fourteen
+miles from Jacksboro, and were resolved to reach the little town
+before night. The road was unlike the long inclined plane cut in the
+side of Pine Mountain. We were in the midst of a mass of irregular
+stony hills, all of them part of the highlands between the summits
+of the two ranges. It was hard and rough work, but we were not
+obliged to double the teams again. The last ascent of the Cumberland
+Mountains toward Big Creek Gap was over bare rock much of the way,
+the sandstone strata lying horizontal, and the road being a gigantic
+staircase in which the steps were sometimes a foot each, but oftener
+more, with an occasional rise of fully four feet in the edge of the
+rocky outcrop. In the road the sharp edges of these stairs had been
+rounded off, partly by wear and a little by mechanical means, but
+they distinctly retained the stair-like character and looked
+absolutely impracticable. At the worst places the teamsters would
+halt and throw together stones or branches of trees to fill the
+angle in the rock, then mounting, a whoop and a crack of the whip
+was the signal for the team to dash at the obstacle. The horses'
+shoes would strike fire from the level rock of the long "treader"
+above, the wagon would be bounced up the step, when a little bit of
+level would bring them to another rise in the staircase. We
+zigzagged along as the road sought the easiest places among the
+rocks, and perseverance at last had its reward when we crowned the
+summit and looked down into the broad and beautiful valleys of the
+Clinch and the Holston, the lovely tributaries which form the
+Tennessee River.
+
+Our first look into Big Creek Gap was a startling and pleasurable
+surprise which has remained indelibly fixed in memory. Clouds had
+been hanging about the top of the mountain, and as we ascended the
+last slope and reached the crest, they hung so low over us that we
+could almost touch them. It was not like going into a fog, as is
+usually the case in climbing mountains, but these seemed smooth as
+silk on the under surface and hung over us as well defined as the
+covering of a tent. This gave to the prospect an accidental and very
+peculiar effect that one might not see again in crossing the pass a
+hundred times. As we looked eastward from the depression in the
+crest in which our roadway ran, a great circling amphitheatre lay
+before us, almost perfect in the symmetry of its curves. The ridge
+on right and left which formed its outer margin was higher than the
+spot on which we stood, and the silky clouds over our heads rested
+on it as on the walls of a natural coliseum, like the _velum_ of
+canvas of the ancient gigantic structure in Rome, except that here,
+nature outdoing all art, spread the lovely awning over the whole
+vast and cavernous auditorium a mile or more across. The gloom of
+the interior threw the retreating slopes into a mysterious shadow in
+which it were easy to imagine them peopled with ranks of ghostly
+auditors gazing upon the stage. It was there, full in our faces,
+that the most startling and almost incredible effect was visible.
+The circle of the mountains was there broken by an opening flanked
+on either side by stupendous perpendicular cliffs, and we looked
+through it upon a charming landscape bathed in glorious sunshine. A
+blue stream dashed foaming through the great gap and wandered off to
+join the river beyond. The broad and undulating valley fifty miles
+across was backed by another mountain wall which towered opposite to
+that from whose battlements we were gazing, not a long and level
+ridge like so many of those in the Alleghanies, but a picturesque
+Alpine mountain scene, with peaks snow-clad and dazzling in the
+sunlight,--the Great Smokies, the noblest of all the mountain groups
+of the Appalachian chain. The gloom and shadow of our vast
+amphitheatre held us in awe, while the brilliancy of the scene
+beyond the great stage opening seemed to draw us to it as to a
+promised land. We sat upon our horses, spellbound, gazing upon what
+seemed at once too grand and too beautiful to be real. Had we been
+superstitious like soldiers of an ancient time, we might have seen a
+miraculous portent in it; and even as it was, such sentiment as may
+be permitted in the sceptical spirit of our own day could find a
+happy omen in the scene. We were entering upon a new chapter in our
+military lives, and it was cheering to us, in entering East
+Tennessee, through the great gate that opened before us, to have so
+charming a picture to lure us on. We wound down the mountain side,
+happy but quiet. There was no one among us so lacking in earnest
+character as to be unmoved. We had left the wagons far behind, and
+the clinking of our horses' shoes upon the rocks was the only sound
+which broke the silence till the roaring and laughing brook that
+gives a name to the pass met us and rollicked beside us, as we went
+out between the giant cliffs into the broad and cheerful valley.
+
+At Jacksboro we entered the theatre of active warlike operations,
+and found ourselves in the usual atmosphere of rumors. It was of
+course known that Longstreet had retreated to the northeast after
+raising the siege, but some insisted that he was moving down the
+valley again, and that Foster was to be shut up in Knoxville as
+Burnside had been. It was evident that there was no definite
+information on which any of these local opinions were based, and I
+was satisfied that our road was open and safe. The only risk was
+from some raiding column of cavalry, and we must take our chances as
+to that. After a good night's rest, I decided on the morning of the
+18th to take with me Colonel Strong of General Foster's staff and
+Colonel Sterling, and leaving the wagons behind, to make the forty
+miles to Knoxville in a single day's ride. What we had heard of the
+destitution in the city made it seem best that most of the party
+should remain with the wagons and the supplies, and so avoid the
+risk of throwing too many guests upon the hospitality of
+headquarters. We took a few of the cavalry as an escort, and both
+horses and men were in such good condition and so hardened to the
+road that we scarcely broke from a trot in the whole distance,
+except to stop for resting and feeding our nags at noon.
+
+We reached Knoxville in the afternoon, and Colonel Strong was warmly
+welcomed by those of the staff who were present, but the general was
+absent at the front. He was expected back the next night, however,
+and comfortable quarters were provided for us meanwhile. My
+instinctive fears of complications in regard to my own assignment to
+duty proved to be true. The very day I left Lexington General Foster
+had issued an order assigning me to command the District of
+Kentucky, and it had passed me on the road. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xxxi. pt. iii. pp. 383, 394.] My determination to obey
+literally the order from the War Department to report in person, and
+the haste with which I had started, proved my salvation from the
+kind of duty at the rear which I was bent on escaping. The District
+of Kentucky would have been even worse than that of Ohio, for the
+strife between political factions embroiled every one who commanded
+there, and the order to me had been issued because the officer in
+command was obnoxious to one of these factions.
+
+General Foster returned on the 19th, and on my reporting to him I
+found at once the benefit of General Burnside's representations in
+regard to me. Colonel Strong was also well aware of my earnest wish
+for field service, and the friendship which had grown up on the
+road, no doubt, made him an influential advocate with his chief. The
+general received me very kindly, and said that his action had been
+based on the supposition that I would prefer duty in Kentucky during
+the winter rather than make the rough journey over the mountains at
+that season. On my assuring him that my coming without waiting to
+communicate with him was because of my earnest request to the War
+Department for service in the field, he was evidently pleased and
+immediately revoked the orders already made, and assigned me to the
+Twenty-third Corps, to command it as the senior general officer
+present. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxi. pt. iii, p. 457.]
+
+I had been eight days on the road from Lexington, and the rest of
+the party who remained with the wagons were a day longer in reaching
+Knoxville. It had given me a vivid appreciation of the impossibility
+of supplying an army in East Tennessee by wagon trains over the
+mountains. The roads by Cumberland Gap or by Emory Gap were less
+precipitous, but they were more muddy. The forage was exhausted
+along all the routes, and till grass should grow large trains of
+supplies were not to be thought of. The effort to force trains
+through in the autumn had been most destructive to the teams.
+Noticing how the way was lined by the carcasses of dead horses and
+mules, we kept an accurate count one day of the number of these. In
+the twenty miles of that day's journey we counted a hundred and
+fifty dead draught animals. The movement of wagon-trains had, of
+course, been suspended when Longstreet advanced upon Knoxville, and
+bad weather had hardly begun then. Beef cattle could be driven in
+herds, but the country was so stripped of forage that the danger of
+starvation by the way made this mode of supply nearly as hopeless as
+the other.
+
+The only permanent solution of the subsistence problem was to be
+found in enlarging the facilities for railway communication at
+Chattanooga so that that town might become a great depot from which
+the East Tennessee troops could draw as soon as the railroad to
+Knoxville should be repaired, or light steamboats be brought to the
+upper Tennessee and Holston rivers. They showed us at Knoxville
+samples of the bread issued to the garrison during the siege. It was
+made of a mixture of all the breadstuffs which were in store or
+could be procured, but the chief ingredient was Indian corn ground
+up cob and all. It was not an attractive loaf, but it would support
+life, though the bulk was out of proportion to the nutriment. The
+cattle had been kept in corral till they were too thin and weak to
+be fit for food, but there was no other, and the commissaries killed
+the weakest and issued them as rations because these would otherwise
+die a natural death. Sherman and his staff had expressed their
+astonishment that an appetizing dinner had been spread for them at
+Burnside's headquarters; [Footnote: Sherman's Memoirs, vol. i. p.
+368.] but they would have wondered more if they had known of the way
+in which the town and vicinity had been ransacked to do honor to the
+welcome guests who had relieved the beleaguered army. General Poe
+vividly describes the straits they were in, and the heroic sort of
+hospitality which had hunted far and wide for something fit to set
+before the leader of the column which had raised the siege.
+[Footnote: Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, vol. iii. p. 745.]
+There had been no danger of actual starvation, but only the coarsest
+of bread and the poorest of beef could be distributed. Eating, in
+such circumstances, was not a pleasure, and the pangs of real hunger
+were necessary to make the ration at all palatable. The withdrawal
+of the enemy relieved the situation somewhat, for it opened the
+country to foraging parties, and every kind of produce which money
+could tempt the people to part with was bought and brought into the
+camps. It was little enough at best, and three months of pinching
+want were to be endured before anything like regular supplies could
+be furnished to the army. It was to such a house of destitution we
+had come, but we had come voluntarily to share the labors and the
+triumphs of our comrades in the field and we had no regrets.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI
+
+WINTER BIVOUACS IN EAST TENNESSEE
+
+
+Blain's Cross-roads--Hanson's headquarters--A hearty
+welcome--Establishing field quarters--Tents and houses--A good
+quartermaster--Headquarters' business--Soldiers' camps--Want of
+clothing and shoes--The rations--Running the country
+mills--Condition of horses and mules--Visit to Opdycke's camp--A
+Christmas dinner--Veteran enlistments--Patriotic spirit--Detachment
+at Strawberry Plains--Concentration of corps there--Camp on a
+knoll-A night scene-Climate of the valley--Affair at Mossy
+Creek--New Year's blizzard--Pitiful condition of the
+troops--Patience and courage--Zero weather.
+
+
+The Twenty-third Corps was encamped at Blain's Cross-roads,
+seventeen miles northeast of Knoxville, on the road to Rutledge,
+where Longstreet was supposed to be. The Fourth Corps, under General
+Granger, and the Ninth, under General Parke, were in the same
+neighborhood. The cavalry corps covered the front and flanks on both
+sides of Holston River. A concentration of the Army of the Ohio and
+its reinforcements had been made there to meet a rumored return of
+the Confederates toward Knoxville after an affair at Rutledge in
+which Longstreet had captured a wagon-train loaded with supplies for
+us. I left Knoxville on the morning of the 21st of December,
+accompanied by my staff officers, and rode to Blain's Cross-roads. I
+found the corps under temporary command of Brigadier-General Mahlon
+D. Manson, of Indiana, who had commanded one of the divisions in the
+preceding campaign. Manson occupied an old log house too small for
+himself and staff. There was but one bed in it, and at night the
+general occupied this, whilst his staff slept in their blankets on
+the floor. We had travelled leisurely, as I wished to study the
+country between Knoxville and the camp, and we reached the corps too
+late to make any arrangement for the night, and had to cast
+ourselves on our comrades' hospitality. I was most heartily welcomed
+by General Manson, who did the best he could for me by offering me
+the half of his own bed, whilst the staff took similar lodgings with
+his officers in a shed veranda at the back of the house lying snugly
+together, wrapped in their blankets. Manson was a burly,
+whole-souled man, brave and loyally unselfish, and turned over the
+command to me with a sincerity of subordination which won my
+confidence at once. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxi. pt. iii.
+pp. 462, 463.] It was not a comfortable night in the overcrowded log
+house for either hosts or guests, but it was made cheery by the
+hearty soldiers' welcome we received, and we sat late around the
+crackling fire in the stone chimney after we had eaten with a
+relish, known only in camp, the best supper which the meagre rations
+of the army could furnish.
+
+Our first occupation next day was to establish my own headquarters,
+for a military man does not feel at home until his little camp is
+set in some decent nook with the regularity and order which shows
+good system, and with the sentinel pacing before the entrance. I
+have always found it most comfortable and most healthful to live
+under canvas, even in winter, in the sparsely settled parts of the
+country. It might be different in Europe or in the more densely
+peopled States at the East, but in the West and South a house cannot
+always be found in proper proximity to the line, and changing from
+house to tent and back again is much more dangerous to health than
+adherence to what seems the more exposed kind of life. There is also
+a question of discipline and _morale_ involved, and the effect of
+example at headquarters is felt through the whole command. With no
+little difficulty we found four old tents without flies, but these
+were carefully pitched in a clean place accessible to all parts of
+the corps, and when we were installed in them we had a real
+satisfaction in being at home and ready for business. Our difficulty
+in procuring four poor tents was simply an index of the scarcity of
+all supplies and equipments. The depots at Cincinnati and Nashville
+were packed with everything we wanted, but there had been no time to
+get them forward when the siege began, and now the impassable
+mountain roads cut us off as completely as a circle of hostile
+camps. We especially felt the lack of the flies for the tents in
+roughing it. This extra roof makes as great a difference in keeping
+a tent habitable in wet weather, as an extra cape or a poncho does
+in keeping the rain off one's person, or in civil life the
+omnipresent umbrella. Our overcoats and ponchos kept out the wet in
+the longest march, but without a fly the tent roof and walls would
+drip with moisture. In Captain Day, however, I had a quartermaster
+whose indomitable energy would not be long baffled, and in his
+journeys to and fro in charge of the supply trains of the corps he
+kept a sharp eye out for whatever would make our headquarters outfit
+more efficient. The warehouses at Knoxville were searched, and a
+better tent found in one place and a fly in another gradually
+brought our little camp into what soldiers regard as a home-like
+condition. The clerical work and the official correspondence of the
+command could then go on; for the headquarters of an army corps in
+the field is as busy a place as a bank or counting-house in a city.
+It is the business centre for a military population of 12,000 or
+15,000 men, where local government is carried on, and where their
+feeding, clothing, arming, and equipping are organized and directed,
+to say nothing of the military conduct in regard to the enemy, or of
+the administration of affairs relating to the neighboring
+inhabitants.
+
+The troops were in bivouac, generally in the woods about us, where
+shelter could be made in ways well known to lumbermen and hunters.
+The most common form was a lean-to, made by setting a couple of
+crotched posts in the ground with a long pole for a ridge. Against
+this were laid other poles and branches of trees sloping to the
+ground on the windward side. The roof was roughly thatched with
+evergreen branches laid so that rain would be shed outward. A bed of
+small evergreen twigs within made a comfortable couch, and unlimited
+firewood from the forest made a camp fire in front that kept
+everybody toasting warm in ordinary weather. The regimental and
+company officers had similar quarters, improved sometimes by a roof
+of canvas or tarpaulin beneath the evergreen thatch. There were but
+few days in the East Tennessee winters when such shelter was not a
+sufficient protection for men young and accustomed to hardship. It
+was in fact more comfortable than life in tents at division and
+corps headquarters, but with us tents were a necessity on account of
+the clerical business which I have mentioned.
+
+The want most felt was that of clothing and shoes. The supply of
+these had run very low by the time Burnside had marched through
+Kentucky and Tennessee to Knoxville, and almost none had been
+received since. Many of the soldiers were literally in rags, and
+none were prepared for winter when Longstreet interrupted all
+communication with the base of supplies. Their shoes were worn out,
+and this, even more than their raggedness, made winter marching out
+of the question. The barefooted men had to be left behind, and of
+those who started the more poorly shod would straggle, no matter how
+good their own will was or how carefully the officers tried to
+enforce discipline and keep their men together.
+
+The food question was in a very unsatisfactory way, but had improved
+a good deal after the siege of Knoxville was raised. Some herds had
+been brought part of the way, and had been kept together, so that
+they were driven in as soon as the road was open. Some were captured
+and some were lost, but enough arrived so that the meat ration was
+pretty regularly issued in full weight. A large amount of pork had
+been salted and packed at Knoxville, and was issued as an occasional
+change from the ordinary ration of fresh beef. The "small rations"
+of coffee, sugar, salt, etc., were almost wholly wanting, and our
+soldiers had been so accustomed to a regular issue of these that the
+deprivation was a very serious matter. As to breadstuffs, none could
+be got from our depots and we were wholly dependent upon the
+country. We put all the mills within our lines under military
+supervision, and systematized the grinding so that the supply of
+meal and flour should be equitably distributed to the army and to
+the inhabitants. As the people were loyal, there was no wish on the
+part of the military authorities to take corn or other grain without
+payment, and the people brought in freely or sold to us on their
+farms all that they could spare. Still the supply was short, and was
+soon exhausted in the vicinity of the army, so that we had to send
+forage trains to great distances and with very unsatisfactory
+results. During the whole winter we rarely succeeded in obtaining
+half rations of bread, and oftentimes the fraction was so small as
+to be hardly worth estimating. In such a situation corn could not be
+taken for horse-feed, and as the long forage in our vicinity was
+exhausted, the animals were in pitiful condition. In many instances
+artillery horses dropped dead of starvation at the picket rope.
+
+The Fourth Corps was no better off than ourselves. Granger had left
+the Army of the Cumberland immediately after the battle of
+Missionary Ridge, and although the situation at Chattanooga had been
+a good deal mitigated, no considerable supplies of clothing had then
+arrived. The distress was therefore universal in our East Tennessee
+army. Learning that Sheridan's division was encamped not far from us
+at Blain's Cross-roads, I rode over to find Colonel Emerson Opdycke
+of the One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Ohio, who was in that division.
+He was a townsman of mine, and our families were intimate, and other
+neighbors and friends were with him. I could give them later news
+from home than any of them had, for until the end of the year the
+newspapers I brought from Cincinnati were the latest in camp. I
+found Opdycke's camp like our own. He was in the woods, under a
+lean-to shelter such as I have described, with a camp-fire of great
+logs in front of it. He was just opening the first letters he had
+got from home since the battle of Chickamauga in September, and
+these had been a long time on the way, for they had gone to
+Chattanooga and had come by casual conveyance from there. His
+statements fully agreed with the reports I had got from the
+Twenty-third Corps officers in regard to the condition of the
+troops. It was the same with all. They would not suffer greatly if
+they could remain in the forest encampments till shoes and clothing
+could come to us, but any active campaigning must produce
+intolerable suffering.
+
+Our mess wished to celebrate Christmas by a dinner at which a few of
+our comrades might share the luxury of some canned vegetables and
+other stores we had brought from Ohio, and we sent a man with a
+foraging party that was going twenty miles away for hay and corn.
+After a diligent search he succeeded in getting a turkey and a pair
+of fowls, and we kept the festival in what seemed luxurious style to
+our friends who had been through the campaign. The spirit of
+officers and men was all that could be wished, for they thoroughly
+understood the causes of their privation, and knew that it was
+unavoidable. Their patriotism and their moral tone were
+magnificently shown in the re-enlistments which were at this time
+going on. The troops of the original enlistment of 1861 were now
+near the end of their term of three years, and it was the wise
+policy of the government to let the question of a new term be
+settled now while the winter was interrupting active operations.
+Regiments whose term of service would expire in the spring or summer
+of 1864 were offered a month's furlough at home and the title of
+"veterans" if they would re-enlist. The furlough was to be enjoyed
+before the opening of the next campaign, and the regiments were to
+be sent off as fast as circumstances would permit. We knew that the
+home visit would be a strong inducement to many, but we were
+astonished and awed at the noble unanimity of the popular spirit of
+the men. Almost to a man they were determined to "see it out," as
+they said. The re-enlistment was accepted by companies, but there
+was great pride in preserving the regimental organization as well.
+The closing week of the year was devoted to this business, other
+duty being suspended as far as circumstances would permit. When a
+company had "veteranized" by the re-enlistment of a majority, they
+announced it by parading on the company street and giving three
+rousing cheers. These cheers were the news of the day, and the
+company letter and the number of the regiment passed eagerly from
+mouth to mouth as the signal of a new veteran company was heard.
+Some companies re-enlisted without an exception. In one regiment
+there were only 15 men in the ten companies who did not sign the new
+rolls. In fact only the physically disabled with here and there a
+discontented man were omitted in the veteran enlistment. It was a
+remarkable incident in the history of the war and a speaking one. It
+illustrates better than anything, except the original outburst of
+patriotism in 1861, the character of the men who formed our rank and
+file. Could we only have had then an efficient system of filling up
+these veteran regiments by new recruits, the whole would have made
+an incomparable army; but, alas, we were to see them reduced to a
+handful while new regiments were organized, only (as it looked to us
+in the field) to give the "patronage" of the appointments to
+politicians, or to reward successful recruiting instead of soldierly
+ability tested in action.
+
+Soon after General Foster was assigned to the department he reissued
+an order which Burnside had made earlier but had revoked, by which
+Brigadier-General Samuel D. Sturgis was appointed to the command of
+the cavalry corps. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxi. pt. iii,
+p. 394.] Sturgis had commanded a division of the Ninth Corps in
+Maryland and Virginia, and was one of those whose dismissal Burnside
+had demanded for the insubordination which followed the battle of
+Fredericksburg. Good policy would have dictated that he should be
+sent to some other command; but he was ordered to report to
+Burnside, and had no active employment until Foster arrived. The
+cavalry corps had had several lively engagements with the
+Confederate horse, and was now concentrated near Mossy Creek, where
+it was supported by a brigade of infantry from the second division
+of the Twenty-third Corps, in command of Colonel Mott of the One
+Hundred and Eighteenth Ohio. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 488, 489, 562.]
+Our information showed that Longstreet's forces were now
+concentrated about Morristown, and that nothing larger than scouting
+parties came across to the west side of the Holston. It became
+prudent, therefore, to transfer part of our forces from the Rutledge
+road over to that which runs from Knoxville along the line of the
+railroad to Morristown. Both the railroad and the wagon-road cross
+the Holston at Strawberry Plains and go up the valley on the east
+side of the river by way of New Market and Mossy Creek. On the 24th
+and 25th I was directed to send two more brigades to Strawberry
+Plains, [Footnote: _Id_., p. 490.]one of which was put over the
+river to cover the reconstruction of the railway bridge which was
+going on. This was the long trestle which had been burned by Sanders
+in the preceding summer, and had since been repaired and destroyed
+by the opposing armies alternately. On the 27th I was ordered to
+move the other division of the corps to Strawberry Plains, thus
+concentrating my command in that vicinity. Our distance from
+Knoxville would be about the same as at Blain's Cross-roads, but the
+divergence of the roads made our march some six or eight miles
+across the country.
+
+It was a great hardship to the men to abandon the huts they had made
+with a good deal of labor, and which were the more necessary for
+them by reason of the destitution which I have described. Nor was it
+pleasant for us at headquarters, for we had got our own
+establishment into a condition of tolerable comfort. Some brick had
+been got from a ruined and abandoned house, and with them a chimney
+with an open fireplace had been built at the back of one of our
+tents, which thus made a cheerful sitting-room for our mess. It is a
+soldier's proverb that comfortable quarters are sure to bring
+marching orders, and we were only illustrating the rule. The march
+was made in the afternoon through rain and mud, and we reached
+Strawberry Plains just before nightfall in the short midwinter day.
+The Plains were a nearly level space in a curve of the river, though
+the village of the name was on some rough hills on the other bank at
+the end of the long trestle bridge. The level lands had been for
+some time occupied by the cavalry, and were so cut into mud-holes
+and defiled in every way as to be unfit for an infantry camp. A
+little on one side, however, was an isolated gently rounded hill
+covered with a mixed forest of oak and pine. With a little crowding
+this would make a clean and well-drained camp for the division I had
+brought with me. The brigades were placed so that they encircled the
+hill on the lower slopes with openings between leading to the top,
+on which I placed my headquarters. The little quadrangle of tents on
+the top, the forest-covered slopes, the busy soldiery below making
+new camps for themselves, made a romantic picture despite the
+discomforts. I cannot better show the impression made at the moment
+than by quoting from a letter written home the next day: "When we
+arrived, the rain was pouring in torrents, the dead leaves, wet and
+deep, soaked our boots and made it slow work to kindle a fire, and
+as we stood about in our overcoats heavy with water, we were not
+especially impressed with the romance of the scene; but when we had
+found a few old pine-knots to start the fire with, and the heavy
+smoke of the damp leaves changed to a bright flame,--when the tents
+were pitched, a cup of hot coffee made, and we sat about the fire
+watching the flashing light on the deep green of the pines and the
+beautiful russet of the oak leaves with the white of the tents
+beneath, the few square yards about us were made as lovely as a
+fairy scene shut in by the impenetrable gloom beyond. The old
+witchery of camp life now came over us, we forgot rain and cold,
+singing and chatting as merrily as if care were dead, till finally
+rolling in our blankets under our tents, we went to sleep as sweetly
+and soundly as children."
+
+A day or two of bright mild weather followed, and the troops got
+themselves fairly well sheltered again. The cutting of trees for
+huts and for firewood thinned out the forest, and the elevation of
+the camp above the surrounding country exposed us to the wind, as we
+soon learned to our cost. Whilst the fair days lasted, we had a
+favorable example of an East Tennessee winter, as is shown by the
+further quotation from the home letter just cited. "I am sitting in
+the open air," I said, "before the camp-fire of great logs, writing
+upon my atlas on my knee, which is more comfortable than doing it in
+the chilly shade of the tent. I wish you could have seen our camp
+last night. We were grouped around the fire, some sitting and
+lolling on the logs drawn up for fuel, some in camp chairs. The
+smoke from the camps about us made the whole air hazy. Over the
+tents through a vista of pine-trees the moon was rising red through
+the thickened air, while overhead the stars were shining. The
+wonderful perspective the firelight makes in the forest, here
+brought out and deepened the mass of color of the evergreens, there
+made the bare trunk and limbs of a leafless oak stand like a chalk
+drawing against the black background, and again it gave rich velvety
+warmth to the brown of the dead leaves which hung thick on some
+trees, while the gloom beyond and the snug enclosure of our little
+quadrangle of tents shut us in with a sense of shelter, and
+completed a picture that would have made Rembrandt die of envy." We
+were hardened by our continuous exposure so that we felt no
+discomfort in sitting thus in the open air till late in the evening,
+though we woke in the morning to find the dead leaves which made our
+carpet stiff and crisp with the frost. Still, it was much milder
+than the Christmas weather of northern Ohio, or we could not have
+taken it so easily.
+
+On the 29th the cavalry had a lively affair with the enemy at Mossy
+Creek, some twenty miles above us. General Sturgis was making a
+reconnoissance of the country between the French Broad and the
+Holston rivers, sending the cavalry partly toward Dandridge on the
+former stream, under command of Colonel Foster, and partly toward
+Morristown, under Brigadier-General W. L. Elliott of the Cumberland
+army. Elliott was supported by Mott's brigade of infantry, part of
+which acted under his orders. Foster found no enemy, but Elliott had
+advanced about three miles beyond Mossy Creek when he encountered
+the cavalry corps of the Confederates, advancing, apparently, with a
+purpose similar to ours. The infantry were posted by Sturgis upon a
+ridge half a mile beyond the railway bridge at Mossy Creek, and the
+cavalry with the artillery were ordered to retire slowly to the same
+position. The enemy under Major-General William T. Martin consisted
+of two divisions of horsemen and two batteries of artillery. They
+closely followed our retiring troops, who made cool resistance and
+drew back slowly and in order. When the position of the infantry was
+reached, the whole force was halted to receive the Confederate
+attack. Sturgis had two batteries of artillery with his corps, but
+had sent a section of each with Colonel Foster, and Elliott now
+placed the remaining sections on right and left of the road, each
+supported by infantry. Martin boldly attacked till he found himself
+confronted by Mott's infantry, which opened upon him with a
+withering fire. The artillery also fired canister upon the advancing
+enemy, and our horsemen, dismounting, extended the line and did good
+execution with their carbines. The first assault being repulsed,
+Martin was unwilling to give it up so, and bringing his artillery
+into better position renewed the fight. A sharp skirmishing combat
+was kept up for several hours, when the enemy retreated. Darkness
+came on soon after, and the pursuit was not pushed far. Our losses
+had been 17 killed and 87 wounded. That of the enemy was reported to
+be much more severe. The result of the engagement was to repress the
+enterprise of the Confederates, so that Mossy Creek remained for
+some time our undisturbed outpost in the valley. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xxxi. pt. i. pp. 625-641.]
+
+On New Year's eve we had a change of weather which rudely broke in
+upon our dream of a steady and mild winter. It had been raining
+nearly all day, and we had just turned in about ten o'clock in the
+evening when a sudden gale sprung up from the northward. The
+water-soaked ground did not hold the tent pins very well, and the
+rattling of canvas warned us to look after the fastenings. The staff
+were all quickly at work, the servants being, as usual, slow in
+answering a call in the night. The front of our mess tent blew in,
+and the roof and sides were bellying out and flapping like a ship's
+sail half clewed up. I caught the door-flaps and held them down to
+the pole with all my strength, shouting to the black boys to turn
+out before the whole should fly away. Then we had a lively time for
+an hour, going from tent to tent to drive the pins tighter and make
+things secure. We had just got them snug, as we thought, and began
+to listen to the roaring of the wind with something like defiance,
+when a "stick-and-clay" chimney, which Colonel Sterling and my
+brother had at the back of their tent, took fire and was near
+setting the whole encampment in a blaze. This made another shout and
+rush, till the chimney was torn away from the canvas and the fire
+extinguished. The gale was so fierce that the sparks from the
+camp-fires rolled along the ground instead of rising, and we should
+have burned up had not the rain kept the tents soaking wet. It grew
+cold so fast that by the time we had made the encampment safe, the
+wet canvas froze stiff. It must be confessed that we did not sleep
+well that night, and we got up in the morning aching with cold. It
+still blew a gale, though the sky was clear and the thermometer had
+fallen to zero. It was a typical cyclone coming as a cold wave from
+the North, and, as we afterward learned, was exceptional in its
+suddenness and bitterness along the whole line from Minnesota to
+northern Georgia.
+
+The soldiers in the camps had slept but little, for they were
+obliged to keep awake and near the fires to escape freezing. No one
+who has not lived in tents or in bivouac in such a time can
+understand what real suffering from cold is. Exposure by day is easy
+to bear compared with the chill by night when camp-fires burn low
+and men lie shivering, their teeth chattering, while extreme
+drowsiness makes exertion painful and there is danger of going off
+into the sleep that knows no waking. On New Year's day morning the
+ground was frozen solid. All huddled about the fires, but the gale
+was so fierce that on the windward side there seemed to be no
+radiation of heat, so completely was the fire blown away from that
+side of the logs. On the leeward side the smoke suffocated and the
+sparks burned one, and men passed from one side to the other
+doubting which was the more tolerable.
+
+I spent a good part of the morning going through the regimental
+camps and giving such encouragement and cheer as I could. The
+patience and courage of the troops were marvellous, though many of
+the men were in a pitiable condition as to clothing. They were
+tatterdemalions in appearance, but heroes at heart. Some had nothing
+but drawers upon their legs, their trousers being utterly worn to
+rags. Some had no coats and drew their tattered blankets about them,
+sitting upon their haunches, like Indians, about the camp-fires. I
+do not recall a single querulous or ill-natured complaint. It was
+heart-breaking work to see their misery, but they were so
+intelligent that they knew as well as I did that it had grown out of
+the inevitable fortunes of war, in spite of the utmost efforts of
+their commanders to get supplies forward as soon as the siege of
+Knoxville had been raised. I estimated that fully one-third of the
+command had lost and worn out some material portion of their
+clothing, so as to be suffering for lack of it. A little thing which
+added greatly to the discomfort of the men was that in some whole
+brigades they had been without soap for two months. This made
+cleanliness impossible, and clustering about the fires as they were
+forced to do, they became so begrimed that a liberal supply of soap
+would have been necessary to restore their color and show to what
+race they belonged. Yet, hungry, cold, ragged, and dirty, they
+responded cheerily to my New-Year's greetings, and at this very time
+the "veteranizing" was going on without a check until nearly every
+one of the old regiments re-enlisted for another term.
+
+At our headquarters on the hill-top we realized that our picturesque
+situation had its disadvantages, for we were doubly exposed to the
+force of the wind. We were on a high dome, as it were, with nothing
+whatever to make a lee or break the power of the icy gale. In one or
+two of the tents, furnaces or stoves of stone had been made, on the
+pattern of those we had used in West Virginia in 1861. The trench in
+the ground with flat stone covering level with the tent floor and
+connected with an opening on the outside, proved the most successful
+device. We collected in these, and used every manner of pastime to
+kill the tedious hours till the subsidence of the wind made our
+usual outdoor life and activity possible again. Our efforts at meals
+were a woeful sort of failure. Cooking under such difficulties was
+more a name than a fact, and we left the mess tent shivering and
+hardly less hungry than we entered it. But all things have an end,
+however tedious they seem in passing, and the 2d of January seemed
+pleasant in the comparison, for the "blizzard" was over, and the
+weather was calm though cold.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII
+
+GRANT'S VISIT--THE DANDRIDGE AFFAIR
+
+
+Grant at Knoxville--Comes to Strawberry Plains--A gathering at
+Parke's quarters--Grant's quiet manner--No conversational
+discussion--Contrast with Sherman--Talk of cadet days--Grant's
+riding-school story--No council of war--Qualities of his
+dispatches--Returns by Cumberland Gap--Longstreet's
+situation--Destitution of both armies--Railroad repairs and improved
+service--Light-draught steamboats--Bridges--Cattle herds on the
+way--Results of Grant's inspection tour--Foster's movement to
+Dandridge on the French Broad--Sheridan--His qualities--August
+Willich--Hazen--His disagreement with Sheridan--Its causes and
+consequences--Combat at Dandridge--A mutual surprise--Sheridan's
+bridge--An amusing blunder--A consultation in Dandridge--Sturgis's
+toddy--Retreat to Strawberry Plains--A hard night march--A rough
+day--An uncomfortable bivouac--Concentration toward
+Knoxville--Rumors of reinforcement of Longstreet--Expectation of
+another siege--The rumors untrue.
+
+
+In the midst of the severest suffering of the army from cold and
+want, General Grant came in person to inspect the condition of
+affairs in East Tennessee. He reached Knoxville on the 30th of
+December, and after spending two or three days with General Foster,
+came up to Strawberry Plains. The first intensity of the cold wave
+had passed by, but it was still "zero weather" when he came: indeed
+he had waited in Knoxville for a little moderating of the
+temperature, but finding that it continued very cold, his desire to
+complete the inspection hurried him on. The corps and division
+commanders accompanied him in a ride through the camps that he might
+see the destitution of the army, and the necessity for sparing the
+troops all unnecessary exposure. The great trestle bridge across the
+Holston was examined, and the features of the topography which made
+Strawberry Plains an important point in military operations covering
+Knoxville and the line of communication with Cumberland Gap.
+
+At the end of the ride we gathered in General Parke's quarters for
+what I supposed would be a discussion of the situation and a
+comparison of views as to our future work. It was my first meeting
+with Grant, and I was full of interest in observing him. On the ride
+he had been quietly attentive, making no show of curiosity, asking
+few questions, carrying himself in an unpretentious business-like
+way. In the social meeting at General Parke's I was disappointed
+that the conversation did not take the direction of a military
+discussion. Grant did not seem to desire further information, but
+was satisfied with what he had seen. He took no lead in
+conversation, and it was evident that he almost wholly lacked
+facility in that way. What he said was kindly; there was nothing
+like surliness in his manner; but he seemed to be without the
+faculty of drawing other people out and putting himself in easy
+accord with them. No doubt his interviews with General Foster had
+contained all that was necessary for making up his mind as to our
+situation except the personal inspection he was now engaged in; but
+had he been Sherman, he would have gone over the phases of the
+matter which could properly be made the subject of general
+discussion, would have emphasized whatever could be made
+encouraging, and exhorted to patience and courage in doing the
+present duty. Grant did nothing of the kind. He smoked and listened,
+and did not accept any of the openings which others made for
+conversation upon the campaign.
+
+A majority of the officers in the group were West Point men, and
+college life is always a resource for small-talk when other subjects
+fail. The experiences of the military school, the characteristics of
+friends and classmates there, the qualities of the officers and
+professors, escapades and larks at Benny Havens' were found to have
+perennial freshness and interest. Grant evidently enjoyed this, and
+began to talk more freely. One could see that he did not lack the
+sense of humor, and he told an anecdote simply but without failing
+to make its points tell. His voice lacked volume, and seemed thin
+and rather high-keyed. It was half-deprecatory in tone, with an air
+of shyness, and he had a way of glancing quickly from one to
+another, as if looking for signs of response to his venture into
+talk. As he went on, this wore off to some extent, and he laughed
+quietly over the reminiscences he was telling. He told very well a
+story of his experience in the riding-school, where the
+riding-master in his time was an amusing sort of tyrant. Grant's
+strong point was horsemanship, and the riding-master, whether
+seriously or as a joke, determined to "take down" the young cadet.
+At the exercise Grant was mounted on a powerful but vicious brute
+that the cadets fought shy of, and was put at leaping the bar. The
+bar was raised higher and higher as he came round the ring, till it
+passed the "record." The stubborn rider would not say enough, but
+the stubborn horse was disposed to shy and refuse to leap. Grant
+gritted his teeth and spurred at it, but just as the horse gathered
+for the spring, his swelling body burst the girth and rider and
+saddle tumbled into the ring. Half stunned, he gathered himself up
+from the dust only to hear the strident, cynical voice of the
+riding-master calling out, "Cadet Grant, six demerits for
+dismounting without leave!"
+
+I believe Grant's story is the only memory I brought away from what
+I had imagined would be a council of war presided over by the most
+prominent figure in our armies, soon to command them all. As a
+council of war it certainly did not fill the ideal of an eager and
+earnest young officer; but if we supplement it by a reading of the
+daily and hourly dispatches in which the clear practical judgment,
+the unswerving faith in final success, the unbending will, the
+restless energy and industry, the power to master numberless
+details, and a consciousness of capacity to command, all plainly
+stand forth as traits of Grant's character, we can see that a
+judgment based only on the incidents of the meeting around the
+fireplace in the shabby house at Strawberry Plains after our ride on
+that bitter winter's day would be very misleading.
+
+Grant's visit had plainly shown him that the great problem with us
+was the clothing and subsistence of the troops, and that our very
+existence depended on it. He therefore determined to ride over the
+mountains by way of Cumberland Gap, and form his own judgment as to
+the truth of the reports of the impassable condition of the roads.
+The weather had hardly moderated at all when he left us on the 4th
+of January, and this long and severe journey was proof of his
+forgetfulness of personal comfort in his devotion to duty. Before
+following him further in his investigation, it may be profitable to
+go back and note some of the circumstances which brought him to
+Knoxville.
+
+When Longstreet raised the siege of Knoxville, he took position near
+Rogersville, where he would be in reach of the unbroken part of the
+railway connecting him with Virginia, which now became his base. His
+force continued unchanged, and was not materially increased or
+diminished until the winter was nearly over, when the cavalry which
+belonged to the Army of Tennessee was ordered back into Georgia.
+Like Foster, he was reduced to inaction for lack of clothing and
+supplies. Forage had become very scarce in every part of Tennessee,
+and it was with great difficulty that the horses were kept alive in
+either army. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxi. pt. iii. pp.
+817, 819.] To go into cantonments, sheltering the men as well as
+possible, to send all extra horses to the rear and wait for the
+springing of the grass and the settling of the roads when winter
+should be over, was the dictate of common-sense, as was clearly seen
+by everybody on the ground. It was not pleasant to leave the loyal
+men of the upper counties of the valley to suffer under the
+Confederate occupation; but nothing short of a continuous and
+reliable line of supplies would enable Foster to occupy the country
+up to the Virginia line. There was no gate to be shut behind
+Longstreet if he were driven out. He could come back as soon as our
+troops withdrew. Marching and countermarching would destroy the
+nearly naked and barefoot troops without accomplishing any permanent
+good.
+
+The authorities at Washington were beset by the well-grounded
+complaints of the loyal representatives of the upper valley, and had
+become blind by habit to the difficulties of supplying and moving
+troops among the mountains in winter. From the first week after
+Foster relieved Burnside, Halleck complained that Longstreet was not
+driven beyond the Virginia line and kept there. These complaints
+were repeated to Grant, and the latter promised, in dispatches of
+the 23d and 24th of December, to go to Knoxville in person.
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxi. pt. iii. pp. 472, 479.] In
+the last of these he said, "If Longstreet is not driven from
+Tennessee, it shall not be my fault." He came, and saw that it was
+not Foster's fault, and that no more than Foster could he make a
+winter campaign with men in such a state of destitution. As I have
+already said, droves of beef, cattle, and hogs could be brought "on
+the hoof," in poor condition it is true, but fit to be eaten. Yet
+soldiers could not campaign on fresh beef and pork only, and bread
+stuffs and all vegetable food were practically not to be had; so of
+coffee, sugar, salt, and the small rations generally. This, however,
+was the least part of the trouble, for the condition of the army as
+to clothing and shoes was simply appalling. When many had not even
+rags to cover their nakedness, and none were clad as civilized men
+should be to face the winter's snows and rains, it was nonsense to
+talk of campaigning. Grant saw this at a glance when he reached our
+camps. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxii. pt. ii. pp. 19, 43.]
+We have not the whole situation when even this is told. Wagons and
+teams, artillery with their horses, cavalry with theirs, are as
+necessary as infantry; and when foraging trains could hardly collect
+forage enough to feed the animals seeking it, those that were left
+at the picket rope had to die there. To talk, then, of hauling
+supplies for man and beast in a marching column was preposterous.
+
+It was quite proper to ask whether the impracticability of bringing
+wagon trains over the mountains was as complete as we reported, and
+Grant's horseback journey back into Kentucky when the thermometer
+was at zero is sufficient proof that he found it imperatively
+necessary to settle that question also with his own eyes and without
+delay. We shall see presently what he reported. He knew before he
+left Chattanooga that the railroad from Nashville was hardly
+supplying Thomas's army. To Foster's appeals for at least some
+clothing and shoes by that route, General Meigs, who was there,
+replied that it could only be done "at the cost of starvation to our
+animals or short rations to our men" in the Army of the Cumberland.
+[Footnote: _Id_., vol. xxxi. pt. iii. p. 476.] He said that the
+railroad must be "not only repaired, but rebuilt," before it could
+do more than supply the troops already dependent on it. General
+McCallum, the superintendent of military railroads, had gone west,
+and was inspecting the Nashville and Chattanooga Road, and carefully
+studying the problem of its possible capacity. [Footnote: _Id_., pp.
+422, 444.] In consequence of this a change was made in the local
+superintendence, and Mr. Adna Anderson was put in charge of
+operating the line, while Mr. W. W. Wright was made constructing
+engineer. [Footnote: _Id_., vol. xxxii. pt. ii. pp. 371, 372.] Under
+their energy and ability it was repaired and operated so that East
+Tennessee as well as Sherman's army in Georgia were abundantly
+supplied during the Atlanta campaign; but this is part of the
+history of the next spring and summer. To reduce the number of
+mouths to feed at Chattanooga, Grant sent portions of the Army of
+the Tennessee into northern Alabama, where they could be supplied by
+boats coming up the Tennessee River. [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. xxxi. pt. iii. pp. 429, 496, 502.] The same considerations
+influenced him in assenting to Sherman's plan of the Meridian
+Expedition, where the troops engaged in it could live partly at
+least on a country not yet ravaged by armies, whilst they would make
+a diversion in favor of the weakened army left with Thomas. It is
+safe to say that no such division of efforts would have occurred if
+the railroad had been ready to supply the concentrated army on an
+advance into Georgia. Sherman understood it to be an interlude, and
+expected to be back and join the main army by the time the railroad
+should be repaired and supplies accumulated. [Footnote: _Id_., p.
+498.] As auxiliary to the line of supplies, the railroad from
+Bridgeport to Decatur was also to be repaired, so as to connect with
+steamboats at the latter place.
+
+In Foster's department the same energy was directed toward improving
+the communication with Chattanooga. The hull of the light-draught
+steamboat which Colonel Byrd had found under construction at
+Kingston was taken as a model, and two more were put on the stocks.
+[Footnote: _Ante_, vol. i. p.523. Official Records vol. xxxi. pt.
+iii. p. 483.] Pontoon bridges were prepared for use at different
+points on the river. Lumber was cut to rebuild the great railway
+bridge at Loudon and the long trestle at Strawberry Plains. The
+little train of "twenty-odd cars" which Burnside had captured was
+carefully guarded and kept running on the only bit of railroad in
+East Tennessee that was now open, viz., that from Loudon through
+Knoxville to Strawberry Plains. Herds of cattle were threading
+mountain paths to avoid the deep mud of the wagon roads from
+Kentucky, and on those roads desperate but too often fruitless
+efforts were making to push forward some wagon-loads of shoes and
+clothing.
+
+In the consultations at Knoxville Foster had plainly stated his own
+conviction that the only wise course was to abandon the thought of
+aggressive warfare until spring; to station the troops so as to
+cover Knoxville, but to select their positions chiefly with
+reference to collecting forage and breadstuffs; to send all
+unnecessary animals to the rear and in every way to simplify to the
+utmost the problem of carrying the army through the winter,
+preserving it for active use when the change of season and the
+improvement of the railway line should make regular supplies
+possible. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxi. pt. i. pp. 281 _et
+seq_.] Grant listened and suspended his judgment till he had
+examined the situation for himself. An accident to General Foster
+had increased the complication of affairs. He was occasionally
+suffering from lameness resulting from an old wound in the leg, and
+had found on his first journey over the mountains that he was in
+danger of being disabled by it. Within a fortnight after he reached
+Knoxville, his horse fell with him in passing over some slippery
+rocks, and caught the wounded leg under him. [Footnote: _Id_., pt.
+iii. p. 502.] This completely disabled the general for active field
+service, and on the advice of his surgeon he asked to be relieved.
+This request was forwarded on the 26th of December, and Grant had
+been notified of it on the same day. It could not be acted on at
+once, and during the few weeks that Foster remained at the head of
+the department, he was obliged to remain in Knoxville, entrusting to
+General Parke, as senior officer, the active command of combined
+movements in the field.
+
+When General Grant reached Nashville, he reported to the War
+Department the results of his visit to us. [Footnote: _Id_., vol.
+xxxii. pt. ii. p. 99.] He said that he found the troops so destitute
+of clothing and shoes that not more than two-thirds of them could
+march; that the difficulty of supplying them even with food was so
+great that it was not advisable to send reinforcements; consequently
+that the policy advised by Foster must be followed and active
+operations suspended. Of his own journey he said, "From the personal
+inspection made, I am satisfied that no portion of our supplies can
+be hauled by teams from Camp Nelson [Ky.]." He proposed, on the
+first rise of the Cumberland River, to send supplies by steamboat up
+the Cumberland to the mouth of the Big South Fork, in the hope that
+as this was a new route some forage for the teams could be got along
+it, and that wagoning would be possible by that line into East
+Tennessee. It did not turn out to be so, and the only relief we got
+was by way of Chattanooga, where light-draught steamboats added
+something to the facilities for supply. As his own most pressing
+needs were relieved, General Thomas sent the steamboat "Lookout"
+with a small cargo of shoes and clothing to Loudon. There our little
+railway train met the boat and brought the goods to Knoxville, so
+that in my own command we began to receive a little about the 10th
+of January. It was very little, but it was greatly encouraging as a
+foretaste of better things to come.
+
+On the 12th General Foster was obliged to telegraph Grant that
+things had grown worse rather than better since his visit.
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxii. pt. ii. pp. 71, 72.] Many
+animals were dying daily. The weather was still intensely cold, and
+floating ice combined with high water, in the Holston had twice
+broken the pontoon bridge at Knoxville. Food for man and beast was
+all eaten out on the north side of the Holston River, and he
+proposed to move most of the troops to the south and east of the
+French Broad, in the hope of finding a region in which some corn and
+forage might still remain. The great trestle bridge at Strawberry
+Plains was completed, and a strong post would be left there to
+protect it. A regiment was at work upon the bridge at Loudon. To
+diminish the number of mouths to be fed, Foster gave the "veteran
+furlough" at this time to several more of the regiments which had
+re-enlisted. Trustworthy evidence showed that Longstreet was quite
+as badly off as we were, and that he was not likely to move unless,
+like us, he was forced to do so to find forage. Cavalry parties had
+reported to us that there were considerable quantities of corn in
+the neighborhood of Sevierville, and this was the inducement to send
+most of our troops to that side of the French Broad River. To avoid
+any appearance of retreat, it was ordered that we march from
+Strawberry Plains to Dandridge, which was a flank movement to our
+right, one day's march. There we should extemporize some sort of
+ferry to cross the French Broad and seek camps in regions which
+promised some supplies, but within supporting distance of our
+several detachments. The men whose clothing was most lacking and who
+were without shoes would remain in our present camp and be
+temporarily attached to the post established to protect the bridge.
+The cavalry, which had been near Mossy Creek (fourteen miles up the
+Holston), was directed to move straight across the angle between the
+two rivers, and cover the flank march of the infantry to Dandridge.
+It was thought probable that the cavalry might subsist for a short
+time in the neighborhood of Dandridge and in the valley of the
+Nolachucky, the principal tributary of the French Broad from the
+north; indeed, the time of crossing the larger river by the infantry
+was not fixed, but would be determined by our good or bad fortune in
+finding forage and bread-stuffs near Dandridge. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xxxii. pt. ii. pp. 82, 87, 99, 101.]
+
+The 15th of January was the day fixed for the march. The weather was
+not so cold as it had been, but was very raw and uncomfortable. At
+the last moment General Foster found it necessary to have a
+consultation with Parke and Granger; and Sheridan, whose division of
+the Fourth Corps led off on the road, was directed to select
+positions for the infantry of that corps and mine as we reached
+Dandridge. He was also authorized to assign mills to the use of the
+different commands so as to systematize our means of supply and
+prevent disorder. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxii. pt. ii.
+p. 102.] The march was nineteen miles to Dandridge, and our
+positions were about a mile in front of the village, on the hills
+covering it. Both the Fourth and the Ninth Corps had remained in
+their camps at Blain's Crossroads up to this time, and the Ninth now
+took my place at Strawberry Plains, covering Knoxville from that
+direction. It had less than 4000 men present for duty. [Footnote:
+_Id_., p. 292.] Our moving column consisted of Sheridan's and Wood's
+divisions of the Fourth Corps and parts of three brigades from the
+Twenty-third; less than 10,000 men in all. The ground was frozen,
+and as we were moving over roads which had not been much travelled,
+the way was comparatively smooth for our artillery and wagons. It
+was not so much so for the infantry, and the little unevenness being
+sharpened by frost, quickly cut through the men's old shoes. Those
+who were barefoot were ordered to stay behind, but the shoes of
+others were in so bad a state that there were places where I saw the
+road marked with bloody tracks from the wounded feet of the
+soldiers.
+
+Reaching Dandridge a little in advance of my command, I reported to
+Sheridan, and he showed me the line he had selected, on which we
+were to occupy the left. Colonel Sterling, my inspector-general, was
+assigned the duty of placing the brigades in position as they
+arrived. The cavalry had preceded us, and we found them occupying
+the town and picketing the roads toward Morristown and the elbow of
+the Nolachucky River northeast of us, locally called the Bend o'
+Chucky. A range of hills known as Bay's Mountain was the water-shed
+between the valleys of the Holston and the French Broad, and we
+expected the cavalry to cover the front on a line from Kimbrough's
+Cross-roads near the mountain to the Bend o' Chucky. This line would
+be nine or ten miles from Dandridge, and would communicate also with
+Mott's brigade of my command, which had been left in its post at
+Mossy Creek, on the Holston, under orders to fall back deliberately
+to Strawberry Plains if attacked by superior forces. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xxxii. pt. ii. p. 99.] If these positions
+could be held, the cavalry could not only collect the forage in the
+Nolachucky valley as far up as their detachments could reach, but
+would also threaten the left flank of Longstreet's position at
+Morristown.
+
+Those who only knew Sheridan after the war would hardly recognize
+him in the thin and wiry little man I met at Dandridge. His hollow
+cheeks made his cheekbones noticeably prominent, and his features
+had a decided Milesian cast. His reputation at that time was that of
+an impetuous and vehement fighter when engaged, rousing himself to a
+belligerent wrath and fury that made his spirit contagious and
+stimulated his troops to a like vigor. At other times he was
+unpretentious and genial, and whilst regarded as a good division
+commander was not thought of as specially fitted for large and
+independent responsibilities. He was not considered cool enough for
+the broader duties of a commander, and indeed had had rather bad
+luck in the great battles of Stone's River and Chickamauga, where
+the qualities called for were those which enable a perfectly
+self-possessed officer to extricate his command from a perilous
+position. He has told me himself that he was slow in learning to
+have confidence in his own power to direct in such cases, and that
+it was only after he had tested himself, step by step, that he came
+to rely on his own judgment and will, as he did in the Shenandoah
+valley and at Five Forks. It was his blazing impetuosity in action
+that made Grant think of him as specially fitted for a cavalry
+leader, and his growth into the able commander of an army was a
+later development of his talents. He received me very cordially, and
+in our trying wintry experience at Dandridge began a friendly
+acquaintance which continued unbroken till his death.
+
+General Thomas J. Wood was not with his division, and it was under
+the command of General August Willich, whom I had seen drilling
+Robert McCook's German regiment, the Ninth Ohio, as its adjutant, at
+Camp Dennison in the spring of 1861. I had expected to find
+Brigadier-General William B. Hazen in temporary command during
+Wood's leave of absence, but when I went to his quarters was
+surprised to find him in arrest. Hazen had been one of the first of
+the officers of the regular army with whom I became acquainted at
+the beginning of the war, and he had offered to accept a staff
+position with me. I had a real regard for him, and naturally offered
+my friendly services in his present predicament. It seemed that
+Sheridan had called on him for a report as to the condition of
+things in his front, and Hazen had taken advantage of some
+peculiarity of the situation which he thought Sheridan did not
+sufficiently understand, to make a report which was ironical and so
+irritating that Sheridan's answer was to order him to keep his
+quarters in arrest. Their quarrel, however, dated from the battle of
+Missionary Ridge, where Sheridan accused Wood's division, and Hazen
+in particular, with usurping the honors of being first on the crest
+and capturing part of Bragg's artillery. Sheridan honestly thought
+his division entitled to the honor, but the official evidence seems
+to me to be against him. At any rate, it began a very pretty quarrel
+which never was wholly made up, and which had many queer little
+episodes, in war and in peace, on the Indian frontier and at
+Washington, for many years thereafter. Hazen was an officer of real
+ability, of brilliant courage and splendid personal presence. His
+fault was that he was too keen in seeing flaws in other people's
+performance of duty, and apt to dilate upon them in his official
+reports when such officers were wholly independent of him. This made
+him a good many enemies notwithstanding his noble qualities and his
+genial kindliness to his friends. A military officer usually finds
+it hard enough to submit gracefully to the criticisms of his
+superiors, and naturally takes it ill if this prerogative is
+exercised by those of equal grade without authority. Such a practice
+puts into the official records matter which does not belong there,
+and which, however honestly stated, may be very unjust, because all
+the explanatory circumstances are not likely to be known to the
+critic. At any rate, the person criticised is not amenable to that
+tribunal, and this is enough in itself to cause a sense of injury.
+[Footnote: See Review of General Hazen's Narrative of Military
+Service, "The Nation," Nov. 5, 1885.] Sheridan took very kindly my
+mediation in Hazen's behalf, and probably had never intended more
+than a temporary arrest. After Granger came to the front and resumed
+command of the corps, I heard no more of the trouble.
+
+We had escorted a small train in which were some wagon-loads of
+clothing and shoes for the cavalry, and the mounted corps remained
+at Dandridge during the 15th of January, issuing these supplies. The
+rear of our infantry column came up on the next day, so that we were
+assembled and in position before evening. The cavalry moved out in
+the afternoon of the 16th, part on the right toward the Nolachucky
+River, and the left toward Kimbrough's Cross-roads on the Morristown
+road. The right wing found the enemy's cavalry in their front about
+five miles from town, but the left wing found Kimbrough's occupied
+by Longstreet's infantry. His whole force, except Ransom's division,
+had advanced upon information of the movement of our cavalry on the
+14th. In doing this Longstreet had turned the position of the
+brigade of infantry left at Mossy Creek, and Colonel Mott retired on
+the 16th to Strawberry Plains in accordance with his orders. Toward
+evening the cavalry on our right were driven back in a lively
+skirmish, and those on the left were recalled to give them support.
+The whole were united and repulsed the enemy's horsemen, taking
+position for the night about a mile in front of our infantry camps.
+On the 17th the enemy's infantry advanced, and reached the posts of
+our cavalry in the afternoon. Longstreet now made a vigorous attack
+with his troops of both arms, and gradually drove back our horsemen,
+who resisted him with their carbines, fighting dismounted. Sheridan
+supported the cavalry with some infantry and a lively skirmishing
+combat continued for an hour or two till darkness came on. The
+affair was something of a surprise to both parties. Longstreet had
+evidently made his movement in the hope of giving our cavalry a
+lesson which might check their enterprise and make them keep their
+distance, and was astonished to come upon our infantry at Dandridge.
+We were in motion to put our infantry on the south side of the
+French Broad, and were equally surprised to find the enemy in force
+on the same route.
+
+General Parke and General Granger had ridden over from Strawberry
+Plains and reached Dandridge in the afternoon. Hearing of the
+presence of what was reported to be the whole of Longstreet's army,
+and not liking to accept battle with superior forces with the river
+at his back, Parke had caused an examination of the river to be
+made, and learned that just below the town was a shallow, fordable
+at an ordinary stage of water, and now about waist-deep for the men.
+In the low physical condition of our troops and their lack of
+clothing he very wisely thought it would not do to make them march
+through the river, but devised a foot-bridge by putting army wagons
+end to end and making a path over the boxes of the wagons. Sheridan
+was ordered to detach a brigade immediately to make this bridge, and
+it set to work at once. The plan was to march the infantry to the
+south side of the river and afterward remove the wagons, covering
+the operation by the cavalry who could then ford the stream, which
+though very cold and running with ice was not impracticable for
+horsemen.
+
+About dusk, as the skirmishing in front ceased, Sheridan and myself,
+with Sturgis, the commandant of the cavalry, were called to meet
+Generals Parke and Granger at a house in the town to report the
+condition of affairs in our front and to receive orders for
+marching. The bridge had been completed, as was supposed, and the
+brigade which had made it had been ordered across, when, on reaching
+the land on the left bank, they found, to their amazement, that they
+were upon an island with an equally deep and wide channel beyond!
+This news had just been received when we assembled at headquarters.
+Sheridan was greatly mortified at the blunder, but there was then no
+help for it. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxii. pt. i. p. 79.]
+It was impracticable to complete the bridge before morning, and it
+was doubtful if wagons enough could be got together. My own command
+was on the extreme left of the line, partly covering the road back
+to Strawberry Plains, and we had not been engaged. The fighting had
+been in front of the centre and right. I could therefore throw no
+light on the question of the enemy's force. The information from
+other parts of the line and from prisoners left no doubt that
+infantry had engaged in the attack late in the afternoon and that
+Longstreet was present in force. There was therefore no dissent from
+the conclusion that it would be unwise to accept a battle with the
+river behind us, and orders were given to leave the position in the
+night and retire to Strawberry Plains. The wagons and most of the
+artillery were to follow the advance-guard, which was Sheridan's
+division, my command to march next, and Willich's (Wood's) division
+of the Fourth Corps to be the rear-guard. The cavalry were to march
+on a road a little to the right, leading to New Market, and would
+thus cover our flank. [Footnote: For the Dandridge expedition, see
+Official Records, vol. xxxii. pt. i. pp. 79 _et seq_.]
+
+Granger had been ailing for a day or two and had not been with the
+troops. He was lying on a bed in the room where we met, and the rest
+of us sat about the fireplace, a tallow candle being on a rude table
+in the middle of the floor. Sturgis came in later than the others,
+having had a longer ride. He was a handsome fellow, with full, round
+features, sharp black eyes, and curly black hair and mustache. He
+had been seated but a few minutes when he noticed a bottle of
+whiskey on the table and a glass which had been placed there as camp
+hospitality for any one that wanted it, but had apparently been
+neglected. Glancing that way, Sturgis said, "If I had a little bit
+of sugar, I believe I'd take a toddy." A colored boy produced a
+sugar-bowl and the toddy was taken. The conversation ran on a few
+moments, when, as if it were a wholly new suggestion, the same voice
+repeated, "If I had a little bit of sugar, I believe I'd take a
+toddy;" and again the attendant did the honors. Our orders were
+received and we were about ready to go to our commands, when again,
+with polite intonation and a most amusing unconsciousness of any
+repetition, came the words, "If I had a little bit of sugar, I
+believe I'd take a toddy." The incident was certainly a funny one in
+itself, but I should not have cared to repeat it had not the
+official records of Sturgis's defeat by Forrest in the Tishimingo
+affair later in the year emphasized the mischief of lax habits as to
+temperance. The judgment of his superiors and of those who knew him
+well was made severer by the knowledge of his weakness in this
+respect. Railway officers insist upon absolute sobriety in
+locomotive engineers; but if there be one employment in which such
+coolness of head is more absolutely essential than in another, I
+believe it is in commanding troops in the field. [Footnote: See
+Marbot's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 242, for results of Wittgenstein's
+reliance on an intemperate officer, Kulnieff, in the Russian
+campaign of 1812.] Sturgis's military downfall was a severe lesson,
+but he gave every evidence afterward of having learned it, and
+"lived cleanly" through many years of service after the Civil War
+was over.
+
+The march back to Strawberry Plains began by starting the wagon
+train to the rear as soon as it was dark. Sheridan's division was
+drawn out soon afterward. My command was ordered to leave the line
+at eight o'clock, and Willich's to follow when the road should be
+clear as far as the first defensible ridge beyond the village where
+a rear-guard could make a successful stand. The cavalry were to
+maintain their position till morning and cover the movement. It was
+about half-past eight when my column closed up upon the wagons ahead
+of me, but as they had not yet climbed the first hill, we found
+ourselves necessarily halted in the main street of the village.
+General Willich had prudently placed a tent a little to the right of
+the road where it leaves the town, and there he made his quarters
+until the column should completely pass that point. He could thus
+keep his division in their bivouac in support of the cavalry till he
+knew the rest of the little army had cleared the place and could
+secure some rest, whilst he was still in easy communication with
+both the marching column and his own men. He reaped the advantage of
+his forethought. As my command had to assist the wagons and the
+artillery, no such means of bettering the situation was possible for
+us. I had notified Willich that I would be in person at the extreme
+rear of my command so that he could communicate with me most
+promptly and obtain my support if he were seriously attacked. The
+brigade in the lead was directed to give the wagons and cannon every
+help in getting forward, and the column was ordered to keep well
+closed up.
+
+The day had been a mild one in comparison with the fortnight
+preceding, and rain set in early in the evening. The surface of the
+clayey roads soon became very slippery, then cut into deep ruts, and
+the moisture was just enough to give the mud the consistency of
+tenacious putty. The teams, half starved, were very weak, and it
+seemed as if they would never mount the hills before them, which
+were the southern end of the ridge of Bay's Mountain, separating the
+Holston valley from the Nolachucky. Three or four teams had to be
+united to drag up a single cannon or caisson, and the time as well
+as the distance was thus trebled or quadrupled. In some instances
+more than twenty horses were thus hitched to a single piece, besides
+having infantrymen at the wheels as thick as they could cluster,
+pushing and lifting. The column which was halted thus waiting for
+the wagon trains and artillery to climb a hill, grew weary of
+standing. The men would break ranks and sit down in the fence
+corners, where they built little camp-fires, and, rainy as it was,
+they fell asleep leaning against each other in these little
+bivouacs. Then would come word from the front to close up, and the
+regimental officers would give the command to fall in. The men would
+rouse themselves, the column would march, perhaps less than a
+hundred yards, when the road would be blocked again, the men would
+again seek the fence corners and stir up the fires that had been
+left by those who were now in advance. Thus in cold and wet and
+weariness the night wore on, till when day broke about six o'clock
+next morning we had put a distance of less than two miles between us
+and the village, and Willich's division had barely reached the first
+wooded ridge beyond the town.
+
+During all the last hours of the night we were anxious lest we
+should be attacked by the enemy, who by crowning the hills above the
+road would have had us at great disadvantage. I had concerted with
+General Willich a plan of action if we were assailed, but the enemy
+took no advantage of our situation, and I have always believed that
+as the meeting at Dandridge was a mutual surprise, by a similar
+coincidence both parties were retiring at the same time. Our cavalry
+moved off toward New Market at daybreak, but it was not till late in
+the forenoon, when we had toiled on several miles further, that the
+Confederate cavalry approached our infantry rear-guard and
+accompanied its march for a time with some light skirmishing.
+
+The weather grew colder during the day, and in the afternoon the
+rain changed to moist driving snow. The sleepy, weary troops toiled
+doggedly on; the wagons and the cannon were helped over the bad
+places in the way, for we were determined not to abandon any, and
+the enemy was not hurrying us. When night fell, on the 18th, my own
+command and Willich's division were still three miles from
+Strawberry Plains, though Sheridan's division and part of the wagon
+train had reached that place and crossed the Holston. We halted the
+men here and went into bivouac for the night. It had been a
+wretchedly cheerless and uncomfortable march, but the increasing
+cold and flying snow made the camp scarcely less inclement. The
+officers were, as was frequently the case, worse off than the men,
+for they could not carry their rations in haversacks, and the
+separation from the wagons in such a desolate country meant a
+prolonged fast. The delay caused by the rain and mud had been
+unexpected, and the march we had hoped to make in the night had
+taken more than twenty-four hours. During that time myself and staff
+had not eaten a mouthful, and we had no expectation of seeing food
+till we should get across the Holston next day and reach our
+headquarters wagons. Better luck happened us, however. We found a
+deserted and unfinished log cabin which had a roof and a
+stick-and-clay chimney, though it had no floor or chinking. The snow
+drove through between the logs, but the roof was over our heads and
+we soon had a lively fire roaring in the chimney. Some bundles of
+corn-stalks were found in a field near by, and of these we made a
+bed on the ground in front of the fire, and began to think we might
+forget our hunger in thankfulness for fire and shelter such as it
+was. But still better was in store for us. One of our tired forage
+trains had gone into park near us, and the teamsters offered to
+share their supper with us. They had corn "pone," some salt pork,
+and for a rarity some newly arrived coffee. We sat on the
+corn-stalks around the fire with an iron camp-kettle in the midst
+containing the black coffee which we dipped out with battered tin
+cups, and we held in our hands pieces of the corn-pone and slices of
+fried pork, congratulating each other on the unexpected luxury of
+our supper. Hunger and fatigue were so good a sauce that it seemed
+really a luxury, and we banished care with an ease which now seems
+hardly credible. The supper ended, sleep was not long a-wooing,
+though my rest was more broken than that of the others, for frequent
+dispatches came from headquarters which I had to answer, and orders
+had to be sent to the troops to continue the march on the morrow in
+accordance with the directions which I had received. I had provided
+myself in Cincinnati with a field dispatch book in form of a
+manifold letter-writer which I myself carried in a sabretasch during
+all the rest of the war. In this, by means of the carbon sheets and
+agate-pointed stylus, a dispatch and its copy were written at once,
+and a valuable record kept of every day's business. I could sit by
+the bivouac fire and write upon my knee without troubling a weary
+aide-de-camp to make a copy. I had in my saddle portmanteau also a
+little pair of brass candlesticks screwing together in form of a
+large watch-case, so that I could be provided with a light at the
+root of a tree in the darkness, if it was necessary to send or
+receive dispatches where there was neither shelter nor fire. These
+were necessaries; for food we could take our chances.
+
+We halted the troops in wooded slopes where they were sheltered from
+the storm and where the evergreen boughs were speedily converted
+into tents of a sort, as well as soft and fragrant beds. Their
+ration was still scant, but nearly all of them picked up some
+addition to it on a day's march, so that the camps were more
+cheerful than they had been in the intensely severe weather of the
+first half of the month. On the next day we continued the movement,
+passing through Strawberry Plains and three miles further on the
+road to Knoxville. The Fourth Corps troops were ordered to go to the
+last-named city, there to cross the Holston and move out toward
+Sevierville into the country we had expected to reach by way of
+Dandridge. The Ninth Corps remained a little longer at Strawberry
+Plains.
+
+On the 18th of January General Foster's plans were unsettled by a
+dispatch received from General Grant, dated at Nashville on the
+16th, but in some manner delayed in transmittal. This conveyed the
+rather startling information that Longstreet had been reinforced by
+a division of Ewell's Corps with expectation of another also, and
+that the Confederate commander was in fact moving in force on
+Knoxville. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxii. pt. ii. pp. 109,
+127.] The source of the information is not disclosed, but the news
+was stated with a positiveness uncommon with Grant. It reached
+Foster just as he had Parke's report of our having most unexpectedly
+met Longstreet's infantry at Dandridge and of our retreat on
+Strawberry Plains. The news was without foundation, for Longstreet
+had not been reinforced and his movement had no other significance
+than that which I have given it; but, coming on the heels of the
+accidental collision at Dandridge, there was a curious coincidence
+in the events which gave strong apparent confirmation to the report,
+and it was a matter of course that Foster should accept it as true
+and act upon it.
+
+He directed the sick and all extra baggage to be sent at once to
+Knoxville. Part of the Fourth Corps troops were ordered to the same
+place. The cavalry, except two regiments left with General Parke for
+picket duty, was ordered to pass through Knoxville toward
+Sevierville to obstruct any further movement of the enemy on the
+Dandridge line. Parke was ordered to hold the rest of the army
+together, resisting Longstreet's advance, and retiring deliberately
+on Knoxville. Preparations were made to destroy the long trestle
+bridge at Strawberry Plains, and this important structure was
+devoted to ruin for the third or fourth time since Sanders entered
+the valley in the preceding summer. [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. xxxii. pt. ii. pp. 129, 162.] Grant had said to Foster that the
+impossibility of supplying more troops in East Tennessee made it
+useless to send reinforcements, and that he must keep between
+Longstreet and Thomas, retiring toward Chattanooga if necessary.
+Halleck complicated the situation by telegraphing direct to Thomas
+that he must aid Foster to any extent needed, and that the line from
+Knoxville to Cumberland Gap must be maintained at all hazards.
+[Footnote: _Id_., p. 130.] Foster reported to Grant that he had so
+greatly improved the defences and armament of Knoxville that it
+could not be taken, and that he would not retire further than this
+place unless it were explicitly ordered. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 138.]
+This was in accordance with General Grant's wish, and his confidence
+in the information as to Longstreet's reinforcement was such that he
+telegraphed Halleck on the 20th that the siege of Knoxville was
+about to be renewed. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxii. pt.
+ii. p. 149.] The chronic inability of Halleck to understand East
+Tennessee affairs is shown in his insistence on still maintaining
+the Cumberland Gap line, which was necessarily uncovered whenever
+the enemy approached Strawberry Plains. Chattanooga had now become
+our base, and remained so for all troops in East Tennessee till the
+end of the war. We at the front got the first authentic information
+which disproved the report of Longstreet's reinforcement and showed
+that he had retired to Morristown. Foster was thus enabled to
+telegraph Grant on the 20th that the evidence did not sustain the
+report, and that he doubted whether the Confederate commander would
+again attempt Knoxville. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 151.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII
+
+WINTER QUARTERS IN EAST TENNESSEE--PREPARATIONS FOR A NEW CAMPAIGN
+
+
+Sending our animals to Kentucky--Consultations--Affair with enemy's
+cavalry--Roughing it--Distribution of troops--Cavalry engagement at
+Sevierville--Quarters in Knoxville--Leading Loyalists--Social and
+domestic conditions--Discussion of the spring campaign--Of Foster's
+successor--Organization of Grant's armies--Embarrassments in
+assignment of officers to duty--Discussion of the system--Cipher
+telegraphing--Control of the key--Grant's collision with
+Stanton--Absurdity of the War Department's method--General Stoneman
+assigned to Twenty-third Corps--His career and character--General
+Schofield succeeds to the command of the Department of the Ohio.
+
+
+In connection with the movements of concentration about Knoxville,
+General Foster carried out his scheme of sending back to pasture in
+Kentucky and Tennessee all the horses and mules, except a very few
+teams needed to distribute supplies and two or three horses at each
+division headquarters for the commanding officer and an aide or two.
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxii. pt. ii. pp. 203-204.] The
+animals were herded and driven together, an escort of cavalry
+accompanying them, and the whole put in charge of Captain Day of my
+staff, as quartermaster, the same whose energy in our journey over
+the mountains I have already noted. This measure definitely
+committed us, of course, to a quiet and defensive line of conduct
+for the next three months. On the 21st of January we were
+deliberately closing in around Knoxville, where the Fourth Corps was
+already concentrated, and General Foster had called upon the three
+corps commanders to meet him at his headquarters in the city for the
+purpose of putting in official form our opinion upon the necessity
+of suspending active operations in view of the condition of the
+troops and animals. We met there on the next day, and submitted our
+reports in response to interrogatories on several points. My own
+statement summarized the facts in regard to the supplies of food,
+forage, clothing, and the impossibility of drawing anything more
+from the country except some very limited quantities of
+bread-stuffs. My conclusion was that economy of life, animals,
+property, and (taking the next six months together) of time also,
+required that the troops should go into permanent quarters for a
+short period to be devoted to recuperation, drill, and instruction,
+organization of means of supply, and general preparation for an
+active campaign in the spring. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xxxii. pt. ii. p. 176.] I, however, added that this was on the
+hypothesis that no imperative military reasons existed for continued
+active campaigning; for in presence of such a necessity every
+officer and man of the corps would most cheerfully continue to
+undergo every hardship and endure every privation. There was
+complete unanimity among us in regard to the subject, and General
+Foster's orders were issued accordingly.
+
+Whilst we were in conference, reports came in from General Willcox,
+who had been left in command of the Ninth Corps at Strawberry
+Plains, that the enemy were pressing him rather vigorously. Word
+came also from General Spears that hostile infantry and cavalry had
+appeared in large force at Blain's Cross-roads. Sturgis also
+reported from the direction of Sevierville that the whole rebel army
+had gone to Strawberry Plains. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 163, 174.]
+Toward evening of the 22d our troops had come within some five or
+six miles of Knoxville, but the enemy showed so strong a disposition
+to attack that Foster ordered me to return to the front, take
+command of both corps (Ninth and Twenty-third) and of the cavalry
+with them, and check the Confederates, as there was some danger that
+our troops would change the concerted movement into a precipitate
+retreat. General Parke was suffering in health from recent exposure
+and remained in Knoxville. Galloping out from the town, I reached
+the troops a little before dark, halted them, and by a personal
+reconnoissance satisfied myself that only cavalry were before us.
+Our men had passed some wooded hills which were important to cover
+our position and give a starting-point for an aggressive movement on
+our part. Reversing their movement, I reoccupied these hills,
+brusquely driving back the enemy's advance-guard and checking their
+main body. It was now dark, and putting our forces in line of battle
+ready for an advance at daybreak, they were allowed to bivouac for
+the night, whilst I rode rapidly back to Knoxville, in accordance
+with my arrangement with General Foster to report to him in person
+the particulars of the situation. He approved my suggestion that I
+should advance the whole line in the morning and settle the question
+what force was before us. The wagons had come into the town, and my
+headquarters with them; so taking each of us a blanket, myself and
+the two staff officers who had accompanied me (Colonel Sterling and
+my brother) rode back again at midnight to the front, and rested
+till daybreak on the rough floor of a log cabin. The line then was
+advanced, but the enemy had taken the hint from the preparations of
+the evening and had decamped. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xxxii. pt. ii. p. 184.] Detachments went in pursuit some eight
+miles, but the Confederates had definitely withdrawn, and we
+obtained conclusive proof that only their cavalry had followed us
+across the Holston River.
+
+The interrupted movement toward Knoxville was resumed, but it
+required me to remain another night in roughest bivouac, and another
+day without food, except as a mouthful could be found at hazard. I
+had begun the Dandridge movement with a cold which threatened
+pneumonia, but had grown steadily better through all the exposure,
+finding, as often happened to me in the course of the war, that the
+physical and mental stimulus of active campaigning even in the worst
+of weather was tonic and health-giving.
+
+As soon as the situation was cleared up by trustworthy information
+of Longstreet's movements, General Foster resumed his plans for
+winter quarters. His first intention of sending the Fourth Corps
+toward Sevierville was modified by Grant's directions to put that
+corps where it could most readily rejoin the Army of the Cumberland.
+He therefore ordered me to move the Twenty-third Corps in that
+direction, and formally united to the corps the brigade of East
+Tennessee troops under Brigadier-General James G. Spears, which had
+theretofore been an independent organization. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xxxii. pt. ii. p. 162.] Sturgis, who had marched with
+most of the cavalry on the route thus assigned to me, reported that
+the road was the worst he ever saw, and, with all the experience of
+bad roads we had had, this meant that it was impracticable for our
+few and weak teams. [Footnote: _Ibid._] This put an end to all hope
+of living on the country, and Foster accepted the necessity of
+distributing his troops about Knoxville and along the lines leading
+to Chattanooga.
+
+On the 22d of January orders were issued assigning the Fourth Corps
+to quarters extending from Kingston to Loudon along the river and
+railroad. The Ninth Corps took post between Campbell's Station and
+Knoxville. The Twenty-third Corps encamped at Knoxville and in the
+immediate vicinity. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 183.] The cavalry occupied
+the country southeast of the Holston holding a front on the French
+Broad River. A few small outposts further up the valley were
+maintained for observation.
+
+A brilliant cavalry combat near Sevierville on the 27th ended the
+active work under General Foster's command. Longstreet, hearing of
+the presence of our cavalry south of the French Broad, directed
+General Martin, commanding his cavalry corps, to get his forces
+across the river and meet Sturgis at once. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xxxii. pt. ii. p. 611.] The latter had McCook's
+division in advance, supported by Garrard's near Pigeon River.
+Martin advanced upon McCook, but was surprised to find his adversary
+seize the initiative. Learning of the Confederate advance, McCook
+marched to meet them on the road leading to Fair Garden. Martin was
+driven back, his right (Morgan's division) being routed by a gallant
+charge led by Colonel La Grange, First Wisconsin Cavalry, who
+commanded a brigade. [Footnote: Id. pt. i. pp. 139, 141.] Two
+regimental commanders, seven other commissioned officers, over a
+hundred privates, and two pieces of artillery were captured by the
+charge. General Morgan's battle-flag was also among the trophies.
+Our own casualties amounted to only thirty-one. Martin beat a hasty
+retreat across the French Broad to Dandridge, and Longstreet frankly
+admitted Martin's defeat with a loss of 200 men and the two guns.
+[Footnote: _Id_. pp. 149-150.] He attributed it to the inefficiency
+of his cavalry commander, and urged that one more competent be sent
+him. [Footnote: _Id_pt. ii. p. 632.] Sturgis followed on the 28th to
+Fair's Island Ford near Dandridge, where he was met by Armstrong's
+division of the Confederates. Longstreet now passed over an infantry
+force in rear of our cavalry, and they fell back to Maryville.
+[Footnote: _Id_., p. 653.] Both parties found the winter work too
+costly, and were now glad to take a few weeks for rest and
+recuperation.
+
+As my headquarters were assigned to Knoxville, I had the opportunity
+of increasing my knowledge of the people and of the social
+complications which grew out of the war. I found quarters for myself
+and Lieutenant Theodore Cox, my aide, at the house of Mr. Cowen, a
+young merchant of the city, whose father was one of the prominent
+business men. The house was on the north side of a suburban street
+running parallel to the river, and not far from the buildings of the
+East Tennessee University, which were partially fortified and
+connected with Fort Sanders by a line of infantry trench. The fields
+on the opposite side of the road were open, and sloped down to the
+river bank, and in these my headquarters guard pitched their tents
+and the general quarters of the staff were also placed. A near
+neighbor, in the direction of the college, was the Rev. Dr. Humes,
+rector of the Episcopal parish, and after the war President of the
+University. General Burnside had spoken of him as a noble man, of
+devoted loyalty as well as earnest piety, and I was glad to know him
+as one who by his high intelligence and character was an authority
+on all that related to Holston valley. [Footnote: Thomas W. Humes,
+S.T.D. He has, since the war (1888), published a volume devoted to
+the East Tennessee loyalists, entitled "The Loyal Mountaineers of
+Tennessee."] John Williams, John M. Fleming, and O. P. Temple were
+among those who represented the Union sentiment of Knoxville, as did
+Perez Dickinson among the merchants. [Footnote: Since this chapter
+was written, Chancellor Temple has contributed a valuable work to
+the history of the Rebellion, in his "East Tennessee and the Civil
+War," Cincinnati. 1899.] John Baxter, afterward Judge of the United
+States Circuit Court, was a strong and wise friend of the
+government. Horace Maynard represented the district in Congress both
+before and after the war, and was regarded at Washington as its
+official representative even in the period when the Confederate
+occupation made him an exile from his home. William G. Brownlow was
+in Knoxville also, having returned as soon as our army had opened
+the way. His son, "Colonel Jim," was doing gallant service at the
+head of the First East Tennessee Cavalry. Around this group of
+leading men were arrayed the great majority of the people, devoted
+in their attachment to the Union. The men of property among them had
+sometimes been forced to dissimulate in order to protect their
+persons and their possessions; but now that the National army was in
+the valley, there was no mistaking the earnest satisfaction and the
+hearty sympathy of these people. There was a minority who had been
+open Secessionists, and these had been influential beyond their
+numbers, by reason of their wealth and social standing; for here, as
+well as everywhere else in the South, owners of slaves easily became
+champions of the extreme doctrines of what they called the
+constitutional guaranty of their property. They claimed to include
+most of the "upper class" in their numbers, though this was by no
+means true in this region.
+
+The feelings of both Union men and Secessionists were very bitter,
+and social life was as strongly marked by these divisions as the
+hostile camps. The number of slaves was comparatively small, but
+they were the house servants in the towns, and their disposition to
+assert their liberty added to the social turmoil. The mistress of
+the house where I lodged hired her cook from a neighbor who claimed
+the woman as a slave; but the employer found herself obliged to make
+another bargain with the cook, and to pay her a second wage in order
+to keep her at work at all. The Unionists of East Tennessee were not
+yet fully advanced to the emancipation of the slaves as a result of
+the war. Parson Brownlow had fiercely denounced the Secessionists
+for arguing that secession was necessary to preserve property in
+slaves. Our army commanders thought it prudent not to agitate this
+question, and contented themselves with keeping within the limits of
+the statutes and the general orders of the War Department, which
+forbade military interference to return fugitives to the masters or
+to compel their obedience. The matter was left to work itself out,
+as it rapidly did.
+
+After the first of February the weather became settled and gave us a
+more favorable opinion of the East Tennessee climate. We had sharp
+frosts at night with occasional light flurries of snow, but the days
+were usually bright, it thawed about midday, and the average
+temperature was such as to make active exercise delightful. The
+summits of the Great Smoky Mountains were covered with snow, and
+made a picturesque framing for the natural loveliness of the
+valleys. The roads were nowhere metalled, and the alternate freezing
+and thawing made them nearly impassable; but if we had been able to
+bring forward proper forage and supplies, we should have overcome
+the other obstacles to active campaigning. As it was, we could only
+await the approach of spring, when the settling of the roads and the
+opening of railroad communication with Chattanooga and Nashville
+would make it possible to bring back from Kentucky and feed our
+horses which had been sent to the rear.
+
+There was, beside, the question of the change necessary in the
+command of the department, since there was no probability that
+General Foster's health would permit him to retain it and he had
+urgently requested that his successor should be assigned to duty.
+Indeed, the question of organization reached down to the regiments
+and brigades, and was a burning one in all the armies of Grant's
+Military Division. Besides this, the revival of the grade of
+Lieutenant-General was already mooted in Congress, and it was nearly
+a foregone conclusion that Grant would have the command of all the
+armies and the task of co-ordinating their movements. Our little
+army in East Tennessee was agitated not only with the speculations
+as to our new commander, but with debates as to our probable part in
+the next campaign, and the forces which would be given to us with
+which to do our work. Would the Ninth Corps remain in the
+department, or would it be ordered to the East for duty under
+Burnside, as was already rumored? Would our task be simply to
+garrison East Tennessee; should we make Longstreet's army our
+objective and follow him into Virginia; or should we be united to
+Sherman's and Thomas's armies for a campaign in Georgia? We eagerly
+listened for every hint which might be dropped at headquarters, but
+Grant's proverbial reticence left us to our conjectures, and each
+question was answered only when official orders were finally
+published. Much that was very blind to us is now easily traced in
+the Official Records.
+
+When General Foster informed the War Department that the opening of
+his old wound made it necessary to relieve him of command in East
+Tennessee, the President was in some perplexity in regard to several
+prominent officers. He was disposed to find some adequate employment
+for Rosecrans, who was still backed by a very strong political
+coterie in Washington. He was convinced that injustice had been done
+Burnside, and was thinking of sending him with the Ninth Corps,
+largely increased in numbers, to his old field of successful work on
+the Carolina coast. The opposition of influential politicians of
+Kansas and Missouri to Schofield, whose confirmation as
+major-general was still obstructed in the Senate, he felt as a
+personal hostility to himself. Grant was also desirous of suitable
+assignments to command for McPherson, W. F. Smith, and Sheridan. The
+almost certain passage of the bill to give a higher grade in the
+army, and the assumption that Grant would be promoted to it, gave
+the opportunity to make a satisfactory arrangement of all these
+cases. Burnside's return to active work and the removal to the East
+of the Ninth Corps were determined on, with General Parke's return,
+at his own desire, to the position of Burnside's chief of staff.
+McPherson was to take the Army of the Tennessee when Sherman should
+be promoted to the command of the Military Division of the
+Mississippi. Smith and Sheridan were to have high assignments in the
+Eastern army. Rosecrans was sent to Missouri, and Schofield, to his
+great content, was appointed to command the Army of the Ohio. These
+changes were gradually shaped in the correspondence of Grant with
+army headquarters during the fall and winter. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xxxi. pt. iii. pp. 122, 277, 458, 529, 571; vol.
+xxxii. pt. ii. pp. 79, 80, 182, 202, 209, 229, 230, 251, 336; also a
+curious letter of Hooker to Stranton, _id_., pp. 467-469. See also
+Schofield's "Forty-six Years in the Army," pp. 108-110. I have
+treated these changes more in detail in chapter vii. of Force's
+"General Sherman" (Great Commanders' series). See preface of the
+work last named.] They were followed by others in the corps
+divisions and brigades, so that the organization of all the Western
+armies took permanent form before Grant was called to Washington to
+assume his new rank at the beginning of March.
+
+In regard to general officers the question of assignments and
+promotions was always an embarrassing one for commanders of armies
+in the field. As the law prescribed the maximum number of
+major-generals and of brigadiers, political and military pressure
+combined to keep the list always full. [Footnote: In reply to
+Grant's request for the promotion of General W.F. Smith, Halleck
+Informed him, on Jan. 13, 1864, that there was not only no vacancy,
+but that by some error more had again been appointed that the law
+authorized, and some already in service would have to be dropped.
+Official Records, vol. xxxii. pt. ii. p. 80. As to brigaders, see
+Halleck to Grant, _Id_., p. 481.] Closest watch was kept by
+politicians and others at Washington, and if a vacancy occurred, the
+pressure to fill it was exactly such as would be made for a civil
+office in the gift of the government. Officers of the regular army
+found in General Halleck a powerful support, and it was assumed that
+those appointed from civil life would be looked after by their
+political friends. The effort which was made by the War Department
+in the winter to force into active service or into retirement all
+officers who for any cause had been "shelved" was well intended, but
+in practice it accentuated the feeling of experienced commanders
+that a radical reform was essential. An intelligent system was
+demanded, reaching from top to bottom of the army, separating its
+discipline, its assignments to duty, its promotions and its removals
+from political influences, and making merit alone the basis of
+advancement. In the condition of public affairs no such thorough
+work was possible. The embarrassments of army commanders had been
+very bluntly explained to the War Department in the confidential
+dispatches of Mr. Dana from Chattanooga. His judgments may sometimes
+have been hasty, but he gives a very vivid picture of the mischiefs
+which follow from having incompetent, intemperate, or inefficient
+men saddled upon an army. The same dispatches, however, showed also
+how unwillingly the commanders resorted to extreme severity with men
+toward whom they had feelings of personal kindness. In strong hands
+like Grant's or Sherman's the power to get promptly rid of such
+incumbrances (which Dana recommended) would be ably used and work
+well. As to political considerations, the President on more than one
+occasion admitted that he felt obliged, at times, to let these
+control his action, instead of reasons based on the efficiency of
+the army. [Footnote: For Dana's dispatches on this subject, see
+Official Records, vol. xxx. pt. i. p. 220; vol. xxxi. pt. i. pp. 69,
+73, 265; pt. ii. pp. 54, 63. In his published "Recollections of the
+Civil War" (1898), Mr. Dana has omitted some of his most trenchant
+personal criticisms.]
+
+Along with the graver embarrassments which General Grant found in
+organizing his armies for a new campaign were smaller ones, which
+though sometimes concerned with trivial matters were not on that
+account likely to be less annoying. When the general visited us at
+Knoxville and Strawberry Plains in the severe weather of early
+January, he came practically unattended. He had with him
+Lieutenant-Colonel C. B. Comstock of the engineers, who continued in
+confidential staff relations to him to the end of the war, well
+known then and ever since as an officer of rare ability and
+discretion. At Knoxville Grant received a dispatch in cipher which
+he could not read because the telegraph operator at his headquarters
+at Nashville alone had the key. This gave him great annoyance and
+might have had very serious consequences. When therefore he reached
+Nashville on his return ride over the mountains, he directed the
+operator to reveal the key to Colonel Comstock, who was always with
+him. The operator of course reported the fact to the superintendent
+of military telegraphs at Washington (Colonel Anson Stager), and on
+the report of the latter to the Secretary of War, Mr. Stanton
+ordered the operator summarily dismissed from his employment, and
+formally reprimanded Colonel Comstock as if the revelation had been
+merely on his personal order. Of course Grant, who had never dreamed
+that he was treading upon anybody's toes, immediately assumed the
+full responsibility. He showed the folly of making details of method
+override the public necessity to which they were subservient, and
+asked that the operator should be restored to his employment and not
+made to suffer for obeying his personal order. He said: "I could see
+no reason why I was not as capable of selecting a proper person to
+intrust with this secret as Colonel Stager." One would think this
+ought to have ended the matter, but it did not, though the operator
+was restored to duty. Mr. Stanton had the old cipher thrown away,
+issued a new one, and stuck to the plan of trusting it to an
+ordinary civilian operator, whilst it was not allowed to be known to
+the commanding general or the most responsible staff officer. Grant
+made the sensible suggestion that the key be given to military
+officers only, and be kept from the civilian operators; but Mr.
+Stanton adhered to the farcical notion of carrying on a cipher
+correspondence which should be open to the irresponsible
+transmitter, but secret as to the responsible commanding general to
+whom it was addressed. If it were meant for a system of espionage
+upon the general by thus inseparably tying to him a civilian over
+whom he had no control, like an agent of a secret police reporting
+to a Fouche or a Savary, it would be an intelligible though bungling
+contrivance; but as a means of secret communication with a general
+it was ridiculous in the extreme. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xxxii. pt. ii. pp. 150, 159, 161, 172, 323, 324, 361.]
+
+The telegraph operators were young men who had learned the art
+usually in the northern telegraph offices and were hired for
+military service like other civilian employees. The operator at
+Grant's headquarters at Nashville had a busy place, and could not be
+spared to accompany the general whenever he visited a distant post,
+even if such inseparable attendance had been agreeable to the
+commander. Many of the operators were faithful and intelligent men,
+but there were some who were not; and an incident occurred in the
+Nashville campaign in the next year which showed what mischiefs were
+likely to happen when a telegraph operator was cowardly or
+untrustworthy. [Footnote: See "The Battle of Franklin," by the
+present writer, pp. 29, 30.]
+
+Returning to the affairs of the Army of the Ohio, at the same time
+that General Schofield was ordered to report to Grant for duty,
+Major-General George Stoneman was sent from the East with a similar
+order. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxii. pt. ii. pp. 166,
+182.] It had not then been announced that the Ninth Corps would
+return to the East, and apparently assuming that the Army of the
+Ohio would include more than one corps of infantry, General Grant
+suggested the assignment of Schofield to the department and Stoneman
+to the Twenty-third Corps. This was ordered accordingly on the 28th
+of January. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 229, 251.] Stoneman's last service
+had been as Hooker's chief of cavalry in the Chancellorsville
+campaign, and under Hooker's orders he had been upon a separate
+expedition of cavalry during that unfortunate battle. In the general
+miscarriage of the campaign, he was, with questionable justice, held
+responsible in part for the failure and was displaced. In the
+general plan of setting everybody to work again, he was sent to
+Grant, though, as time had brought about a more favorable judgment
+regarding him, it would have been fair to assign him to duty again
+with the Army of the Potomac. I think he expected the command of the
+cavalry of the western army, but Grant had selected
+Brigadier-General William Sooy Smith for that position, and looking
+about for suitable duty for Stoneman, the Twenty-third Corps was
+seen to have no permanent commander assigned by the President, and
+Stoneman was nominated for it. As events turned out, the appointment
+was for a very short period.
+
+My command of the corps with the rank of brigadier was of course
+anomalous, and would necessarily be temporary unless the appropriate
+rank were restored to me. Had Burnside remained in East Tennessee,
+it is probable that his wish would have prevailed; but he was
+absent, and I was a comparative stranger, forming new relations to
+Grant and his principal subordinates. Foster had also assured me
+that he would wish no change in the corps command if he stayed at
+the head of the Department, but as his health caused his withdrawal,
+the new arrangements were made without consulting him. Under these
+circumstances there was nothing for me to do but to accept the
+inevitable and take such active work as my seniority in my present
+rank would give.
+
+When General Foster learned that he would soon be relieved, he very
+cordially offered to do anything in his power to further my wishes
+in regard to any choice of duty when I should be superseded in the
+corps. I replied that my strong desire was to get the most active
+field service, and as it was doubtful whether the corps would not be
+kept to garrison East Tennessee, I would like to be transferred to
+the Army of the Cumberland, which was certain to make the next
+campaign in Georgia. On his suggestion I wrote a letter to General
+Grant asking the transfer on the grounds stated. This application
+General Foster forwarded with a letter of his own supporting it in
+very friendly manner. Nothing came of this, but it was the reason
+for the delay which occurred in my assignment to permanent work in
+the Army of the Ohio. Some of my friends in the Fourth Corps,
+knowing that Sheridan was to leave his division, had suggested my
+appointment there, but the surplus of general officers prevented.
+Major-General Newton, one of those who came west from the Potomac
+army, was assigned to that division. [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. xxxii. pt. i. p.18.]
+
+Generals Schofield and Stoneman reached Knoxville on the 9th of
+February, and the changes in command were promptly made. [Footnote:
+_Id._, pt. ii. pp. 356, 358, 359, 364, 365.] For a fortnight I was
+off duty, awaiting orders. General Foster took his leave of us,
+thoroughly respected by all, though his crippled physical condition
+had interfered with his personal activity.
+
+My separation from the corps command only affected myself and my two
+personal aides-de-camp. I had recommended Major Bascom, my
+adjutant-general, and Major Treat, my commissary, for permanent
+positions on the corps staff, and these recommendations were kindly
+adopted by General Stoneman, so that they ceased to belong to my
+military family, though both offered to follow my fortunes. The
+other staff appointments were in the nature of details, most of
+which were temporarily continued. Pending General Grant's action on
+my application, I remained at Knoxville, looking on and making the
+acquaintance of the officers newly arrived.
+
+General Stoneman was a tall, thin man, full bearded, with large
+eyes. He had an air of habitual sadness, or gravity approaching it,
+and was commonly reputed to have an irritable temper, but I saw
+nothing of it. I think he would have made an acceptable commander of
+the corps if fortune had left him in that position. His place in the
+regular army (Major of the Fourth United States Cavalry [Footnote:
+He and General Sturgis were the two majors of the same regiment.])
+had led to his assignment to a cavalry command at the East, and he
+returned to that arm of the service a little later. Grant took a
+dislike to Stoneman, partly on account of the manner in which he had
+been sent to him from the East. When the suggestion was made that,
+if the opposition in the Senate to Schofield's confirmation should
+defeat his promotion, Stoneman should succeed to his command, Grant
+dryly replied that he did not know General Stoneman's merits.
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxii. pt. ii. p. 394] Even a year
+later he showed the same distrust by speaking of him as an officer
+who had failed. This was by no means just, but showed the
+persistence of Grant's impressions. [Footnote: General Stoneman
+retired from the army at the close of the war and made his home in
+California, of which State he became governor.]
+
+With General Schofield's arrival began my close association with him
+which was to last until the end of the war. In person he was a
+solid, rather stout man, of medium height, with a round bald head
+and long black beard coming down on his breast. He had a reputation
+for scientific tastes, and had, after his graduation at West Point,
+been instructor in astronomy there. He was two or three years my
+junior in age, and was among the younger general officers. The
+obstruction, thus far, to his confirmation in his higher grade so
+far resembled my own experience as to be a ground of sympathy
+between us. As I was glad of his better luck in his prompt
+reappointment, I may also say that his hearty recognition of my own
+service and experience inspired me with sincere friendship. I look
+back to my service as his subordinate with unmixed satisfaction.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV
+
+SCHOFIELD IN EAST TENNESSEE--DUTIES AS CHIEF OF STAFF--FINAL
+OPERATIONS IN THE VALLEY
+
+
+Fresh reports of Longstreet's advance--They are unfounded--Grant's
+wish to rid the valley of the enemy--Conference with
+Foster--Necessity for further recuperation of the army--Continuance
+of the quiet policy--Longstreet's view of the situation--His
+suggestions to his government--He makes an advance again--Various
+demonstrations--Schofield moves against Longstreet--My appointment
+as chief of staff in the field--Organization of the active
+column--Schofield's purposes--March to Morristown--Going the Grand
+Rounds--Cavalry outpost--A sleepy sentinel--Return to New
+Market--Once more at Morristown--Ninth Corps sent East--Grant
+Lieutenant-General--Sherman commands in the West--Study of plans of
+campaign--My assignment to Third Division, Twenty-third
+Corps--Importance of staff duties--Colonel Wherry and Major
+Campbell--General Wood--Schofield and the politicians--Post at
+Bull's Gap--Grapevine telegraph--Families going through the
+lines--Local vendetta--The Sanitary Commission--Rendezvous assigned
+by Sherman--Preliminary movements--Marching to Georgia--A spring
+camp on the Hiwassee--The Atlanta campaign begun.
+
+
+On assuming command in East Tennessee, Schofield was met by
+directions from General Grant, full of fresh urgency that Longstreet
+should be driven beyond the Virginia line. The occasion for this was
+the receipt of new intelligence that Longstreet was reinforced from
+the East, and would make another effort at an aggressive campaign.
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxii. pt. ii. p. 337.] The
+recurrence of this stereotyped form of alarm looked very much like
+information sent from the Confederates themselves for the purpose of
+keeping us on the defensive; but perhaps it is only of a piece with
+other evidence which shows the slight value of all information which
+is not got by contact with the enemy. The truth was that none of the
+reports that Ewell and others had been sent to Longstreet had any
+foundation. He was left to his own resources, with only the
+authority to call his next neighbor in southwestern Virginia to his
+assistance if he were in danger of being overwhelmed. But Grant was
+annoyed by these recurrent alarms, and his aggressive nature chafed
+at it. "I intend to drive him out or get whipped this month," he
+said to Thomas before Schofield's arrival; and on the 11th of
+February he wrote to the latter: "I deem it of the utmost importance
+to drive Longstreet out immediately, so as to furlough the balance
+of our veterans and to prepare for a spring campaign of our own
+choosing, instead of permitting the enemy to dictate it for us."
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxii. pt. ii. p. 367.]
+
+Nothing would have pleased Schofield better than to have had
+Longstreet come down to Knoxville and fight there, but the cogent
+reasons which had made Foster suspend active operations and devote
+every energy to getting his men and animals in condition for a
+vigorous spring campaign, had lost none of their force. Our animals
+had already been sent away to save their lives, and by the help of
+the little steamboats built at Kingston and for which General Meigs
+had sent engines from the North, we were beginning to receive at
+Knoxville some of the clothing for which our men were suffering.
+
+Grant had already ordered Thomas to be prepared to march at once to
+reinforce Schofield, [Footnote: _Id._, p. 359.] when he had a
+personal interview at Nashville with General Foster, who was on his
+way home. Foster so fully explained the impossibility of supplying
+troops much further up the valley than Knoxville, and the absolute
+need of building up the physical strength of man and beast after the
+half starvation since winter set in, that Grant yielded to the
+inevitable and directed Schofield to remain on the defensive till
+the approach of spring should give a prospect of activity which
+should not be destructive to the little army. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xxxii. pt. ii. pp. 373-375.] He ordered that the
+re-enlisting veterans should have their furloughs as soon as
+possible, and that men and animals should have all the rest they
+could get, preparatory for early operations in the spring.
+
+After his retreat from Knoxville, Longstreet had kept up an active
+correspondence with Mr. Davis, and with Lee, Johnston, and
+Beauregard, in reference to further plans of campaign. The ease with
+which Thomas could reinforce Schofield was so plain to him that he
+saw nothing attractive in another advance on Knoxville. The plan
+which seemed to attract him most was to mount his infantry on mules
+and make a dash through the mountains into Kentucky by way of Pound
+Gap. [Footnote: _Id._, pp. 652-789, 790-792.] To collect ten
+thousand mules and send them to him, to make a depot for rations and
+forage at Abingdon sufficient to support the column on its journey
+through the mountains, to furnish a train to carry it,--all this
+seemed evidently chimerical to those to whom he proposed it.
+[Footnote: _Id._, p. 760.] The Confederacy had all it could do to
+feed its existing armies where they were, and was living from hand
+to mouth.
+
+The thing which the Confederate government seemed most to desire was
+that Longstreet should effect a junction with Johnston and the two
+open an offensive campaign against Thomas. [Footnote: _Id._ pp. 806,
+808, 810.] The evil consequences of Bragg's blunder in detaching
+Longstreet before the battle of Missionary Ridge became more evident
+every day; but how were the commands to be reunited? A long and
+perilous flank march must be made by both armies, with an almost
+certainty that Grant would concentrate first and fall upon them in
+succession.
+
+Longstreet was restless and anxious to do something pending this
+discussion, [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxii. pt. ii. p.
+699.] and resolved to try an advance from Morristown upon Knoxville.
+He began his movement just as Grant had concluded to allow
+Schofield's army to remain quiet till spring. On the 19th of
+February he reached New Market, seven or eight miles above
+Strawberry Plains and twenty-five from Knoxville. The information he
+got gave him the idea that our troops were "demoralized," and that
+it was a favorable opportunity for an effort to capture Schofield's
+army. [Footnote: _Id.,_ p. 735.] He was quite wrong as to the
+_morale_ of our troops, though we were depleted by furloughs and
+were nearly immovable for lack of train animals. He urged Johnston
+to move toward Knoxville to co-operate with him, [Footnote: _Id.,_
+p. 744.] but Polk was now in trouble by reason of Sherman's march
+from Vicksburg upon Meridian and Johnston was ordered to assist
+Polk. [Footnote: _Id.,_ p. 763.] Then Grant, to balk both efforts,
+ordered Thomas to make a demonstration against Johnston, which was
+effective in preventing co-operation in either direction. [Footnote:
+_Id.,_ p. 480.]
+
+Schofield was at first disposed to regard the enemy's advance as an
+effort to find forage and to strip the country more bare than it
+already was, if that were possible. On the 18th, however, Longstreet
+advanced again, and threatened to cross the Holston at Strawberry
+Plains, scouring the country in the angle between that river and the
+French Broad. The rumors which reached Schofield were [Footnote:
+_Id.,_ p. 415.] that his real purpose was to cross the French Broad,
+move along the foot of Chilhowee Mountains and make his way to
+Johnston. It is very probable that this was his real purpose. On the
+19th he was ordered to send at any rate Martin's cavalry to rejoin
+Johnston, [Footnote: _Id.,_ p. 772.] and to make the junction
+complete would so evidently please the Confederate government that
+it may be assumed Longstreet would do it if he saw the way open.
+Schofield therefore prepared to concentrate and move in either
+direction, but took no active step for a few days. On the 23d the
+information was sufficient to make it clear that Longstreet was not
+moving in force toward Georgia, but was retiring toward Morristown,
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxii. pt. ii. pp. 449, 455.] and
+Schofield immediately issued orders of march to his troops to
+follow. The fact was that Longstreet was so much disturbed by the
+withdrawal of Martin's cavalry [Footnote: Martin's cavalry at this
+time was what remained of Wheeler's corps which had accompanied
+Longstreet from Bragg's army the previous autumn.] that he declared
+this forced him to leave East Tennessee and place his forces at
+Bristol on the Virginia border. On getting a second dispatch from
+Mr. Davis, he modified his reasons, saying that Schofield had been
+reinforced from Chattanooga. [Footnote: _Id._, pp. 788-790.] This
+was incorrect, for the Fourth Corps was the only part of the Army of
+the Cumberland which joined the Army of the Ohio at any time during
+the winter, and only Wood's division of it participated in
+Schofield's present movement. He also wrote as if he had been near
+enough to Knoxville to discover for himself that the fortifications
+were greatly strengthened;[Footnote: _Id._, p. 810.] but as he had
+not approached nearer than seventeen miles, he could hardly have
+gained much information on this subject. No doubt rumors of work on
+the defences of the city had spread through the country during the
+winter, but there could hardly have been any discovery at this time.
+The use of it to smooth the appearance of an abortive effort was
+only a passage in military apologetics.
+
+I had been awaiting orders in Knoxville a fortnight when the advance
+against Longstreet began, and as no definite answer had come to my
+application for transfer, General Schofield invited me to act as his
+chief of staff in the field during active operations or until my
+assignment to permanent duty should be settled. I gladly accepted
+the general's proposal and joined headquarters at once. [Footnote:
+See Official Records vol. xxxii. pt. ii. p. 495.] Our little army
+consisted nominally of parts of three corps, but the column in the
+field consisted of one division of the Twenty-third Corps, under the
+immediate command of General Stoneman, one of the Fourth Corps under
+Brigadier-General Thomas J. Wood, and the skeleton of the Ninth
+Corps under General Parke. [Footnote: _Id_. p. 455.] We had also
+Colonel Garrard's division of cavalry. Another division of the
+Twenty-third Corps under Brigadier-General Milo S. Hascall was left
+as the garrison of Knoxville, with the heavy artillery organization
+under Brigadier-General Davis Tillson and a small detachment of
+cavalry. Hascall was particularly directed to scout far out to the
+eastward, watching for any attempt of the enemy to pass along the
+mountain base, as well as against any effort to capture the city by
+a _coup de main_.
+
+Our marching column numbered 13,873 officers and men, distributed
+thus: Wood's division, 5477; Parke's detachments of two divisions of
+the Ninth Corps, 3031; Stoneman with the second division of the
+Twenty-third Corps, 3363; Garrard's cavalry, 2002. [Footnote: _Id_.
+pp. 502, 504.] Longstreet's forces were 20,787, of which 5034 were
+cavalry. Schofield's purpose was essentially that of a
+reconnoissance in force to learn definitely the composition and
+apparent plans of the enemy, though willing to accept a defensive
+battle if a favorable opportunity should occur. If Longstreet were
+finally leaving East Tennessee, Grant's intention was to send all
+troops of the Fourth Corps back to Thomas, so as to concentrate the
+Army of the Cumberland in preparation for the spring campaign in
+Georgia. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 456, 490.]
+
+On the 24th of February we were at Strawberry Plains. The long
+trestle bridge of the railway had been destroyed when our forces had
+concentrated at Knoxville a month before, and our first task was to
+complete a wagon bridge across the Holston so that we could move
+onward toward New Market and Morristown with a possibility of
+keeping up a supply of food. We did not wait for the bridge to be
+completed, however, and orders were issued on the 26th to begin
+crossing, [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxii. pt. ii. p. 474.]
+using flatboats for the men, whilst the artillery and wagons used a
+ford that was then passable. Grant did not expect Schofield to march
+his infantry farther than Strawberry Plains, but to push the
+reconnoissance beyond that point with cavalry. [Footnote: Id., p.
+495.] Schofield, however, felt that to do his work thoroughly, his
+horsemen should be strongly and closely supported. On the 29th our
+headquarters were at New Market and the column on its way to
+Morristown. We overtook it in the afternoon and occupied the town
+that evening. As so often happens in war, our movement had hardly
+begun when the fine weather ended, and we marched from Strawberry
+Plains in pouring rain, over wretched roads which rapidly became
+worse. This delayed the troops and only part were at Morristown when
+darkness fell. These were disposed so as to cover the town in front
+with pickets well out, and a detachment of cavalry a mile or two
+farther forward. Most of the horsemen were on our flanks, covering
+roads by which our position could be turned.
+
+All the information we could get pointed to an abandonment of East
+Tennessee by the enemy, but it was hard for us to believe that the
+sudden retreat of Longstreet, after his announced intention to
+attack Knoxville, was not under orders which indicated a plan we
+ought to fathom. We had heard of his first purpose at many places on
+our road, for it is almost impossible to keep the people of the
+country from learning the destination of a moving column, and now
+the inhabitants who remained at Morristown were aware that
+Longstreet's men regarded Bristol as their destination. There were,
+however, rumors and some evidence that Longstreet had stopped his
+retreat and was about to turn upon us. This called for a careful
+disposal of our troops and preparation for supporting them promptly
+with those that were still on the road. As nothing came of it, there
+would be no reason for mentioning it, except that it was the
+occasion for an amusing bit of personal experience of my own.
+
+Some of the more pronounced Secessionists had left the town with
+Longstreet, through fear that the loyalists might take vengeance on
+them for some of the wrongs they had suffered. We occupied as
+headquarters a house thus vacated, but it was absolutely empty and
+gave us only a roof over our heads. We had a few camp stools and a
+camp desk or two, and slept on the bare floor wrapped in our
+blankets, with our saddles for pillows. Late in the evening some
+loyal men brought in such reports of the enemy advancing to attack
+us at daybreak, that as a measure of prudence determined to go the
+"grand rounds" an hour or two before day, and especially to visit
+the cavalry outpost at the front and send forward a reconnoissance
+from it to make sure of full warning if there was any need of it.
+When I was roused by the sergeant of the headquarters guard and my
+horse was brought to the door, it was not a night for a pleasure
+excursion. A cold winter rain was pouring down, and the blackness of
+darkness was intense. I took only a single orderly with me, buttoned
+my cape close over my great-coat, pulled down the rim of my felt hat
+and started off, trusting to my horse to keep the road till my eyes
+should get a little used to the darkness. As both armies had
+encamped around the town, the fences were of course all gone and the
+wagons had cut so many tracks to right and left that it seemed all
+road, or rather all mire and no road. Whilst we were among the camps
+the smouldering camp-fires were of some help, but when we got beyond
+these we could only splash along cautiously, steering for the
+smaller fires which marked the picket reserves. Beyond the line of
+sentries there was nothing to guide us, and keeping our direction as
+well as we could, we plodded on until a faint glimmer showed the
+camp of the cavalry outpost. It was in an open wood, and the dying
+camp-fires gave only light enough to show the tall trunks of the
+forest trees, black against a background of dull red. Part of
+Longstreet's army had been in cantonments here during the winter,
+and many of the huts were still standing, their dim outlines and
+irregular forms hardly visible, but giving an air of weird mystery
+to the surroundings. Some of these huts were occupied by the
+cavalry, and the first we came upon had as its tenant an Irish
+dragoon, and him we turned out to guide us to the captain's
+quarters. The occasionally flashing light only seemed to make the
+darkness visible, and the Irishman told us to follow him closely,
+"and look out," says he, "for there's pits every little way where
+thim ribils dug foundations for their chimbleys." He started on and
+I followed, keeping my horse's nose close to his shoulder. Suddenly
+he disappeared, and as I jerked my horse back on his haunches, Paddy
+sung out: "Och! I've found one, sorr!" and sure enough he had gone
+in, head and heels, in one of the "pits." He scrambled out and
+cautiously led my horse around the hole, but we had hardly gone a
+rod further before Pat went out again, like a candle, with "Be
+jabers, I've found another." But he took his mud baths
+good-humoredly, and led us without further accident to the captain.
+From him I got the reports from the vedettes at the front, and after
+ordering a reconnoissance to be pushed well forward, turned back to
+inspect the infantry line of sentinels. These were generally found
+on the alert and well instructed, but as we went across ditches and
+miry fields we came suddenly upon one asleep in a fence corner where
+he had tried to make some shelter from the storm. When the horses
+halted beside him, he sprang up bewildered, and stood bolt upright,
+trying to look at us, evidently uncertain whether we were rebels,
+but too confused to utter a single word. I ordered him to call the
+corporal of the guard, and asked him if that was the way he guarded
+the camp. He began to stammer out denials of being asleep with a
+foreign accent and in broken English, which made his stupidity seem
+more stupid. I reported him to the officer of the guard, but finding
+he was a raw recruit, I refrained from ordering him before a general
+court-martial, and directed a lighter summary punishment that his
+regimental officers could impose.
+
+After examining the more important part of the line, we splashed
+back to quarters as day was breaking, got a fire built in our
+cheerless room, hung my coat, which was heavy with water, before it
+to dry, and crossing my mud-cased legs, sat down for half an hour of
+rest and revery, listening for carbine shots at the front that would
+tell if the scouting party had found an enemy. The rest of the staff
+were still sleeping, oblivious of war's alarms and preparing for the
+work of the day by trusting the watching to those on duty, as they
+would be trusted in turn when similarly on guard. How often were
+such incidents repeated, night and day, through campaign after
+campaign, till they became so familiar that it seems almost puerile
+to mention them!
+
+On beginning the movement to Morristown, orders had been given to
+press the rebuilding of the railroad bridge at Strawberry Plains,
+for our continuance so far from our supplies depended upon it. We
+had no trains of wagons to keep up our communication with our base,
+and the utmost we could do was to carry four or five days' supply
+with us. We therefore spent three or four days in vigorous efforts
+to gain information of the enemy by means of our cavalry. We learned
+that Longstreet held the line of Bays Mountain, where the railway
+passes through Bull's Gap, thirteen miles above Morristown. His
+right flank seemed to be at Rogersville on the Holston, and his left
+rested near the Nolachucky beyond Greeneville. We could not learn
+that any of his forces except Martin's cavalry had left him, though
+we were mystified by the disappearance of Ransom's division from the
+accounts of the enemy's organization. The fact was that that officer
+was transferred to the cavalry command, and the organization of his
+division was merged in the others.
+
+On the 2d of March Grant directed that McCook's division of cavalry
+should go back to Thomas as soon as they could possibly be spared,
+and on Schofield's reporting the results of our reconnoissances, he
+advised the latter not to bring on an engagement, but to content
+ourselves with holding as much of the country as we could.
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxii. pt. iii. p. 14.] The bill
+creating the grade of lieutenant-general was now the law, and Grant
+had been promoted to it. On the invitation of the President he was
+about to go to Washington for consultation, keeping in telegraphic
+communication with his department commanders. [Footnote: _Id_., p.
+17.] Consequently it agreed well with his views to let affairs
+remain quiet during his absence. The rains continued, however, and
+even if he had desired further advance it would have been out of the
+question till the bridge at Strawberry Plains was rebuilt. The
+rations brought with us were exhausted, and on the 4th we withdrew
+the infantry fourteen miles, to a position four miles above New
+Market, where we hoped to be able to feed the troops with our few
+wagons, until the railroad should again be available.
+
+Headquarters in the field were established at New Market, and I
+remained there with authority to direct and support the cavalry
+movements actively kept up in our front. General Schofield was thus
+enabled to spend part of his time at Knoxville attending to the
+clothing and supply of the troops, the gathering of reinforcements,
+return of veterans, and all the matters of department administration
+which centred there. In case of the necessity of combined action in
+Grant's absence, Thomas was authorized to assume command.
+
+The Holston bridge at Strawberry Plains was completed on March 11th,
+and our forces were at once put in motion for Morristown, where we
+once more encamped on the 12th. Nothing new had been learned of the
+enemy; but there was nothing to learn, for Longstreet quietly
+occupied the line of Bays Mountain, and, like ourselves, was busy
+getting his troops clothed and shod, while he discussed with the
+Richmond authorities various plans of campaign. The cavalry ordered
+back to Johnston was making its way along the base of the mountains,
+and occasional news of their advance was exaggerated into stories of
+all Longstreet's army being in motion. Schofield very wisely thought
+the best way to know what his enemy was doing was to be as near him
+as practicable without assaulting his strong positions with an
+inferior force, and therefore ordered the fresh advance as soon as
+the railway could be made to transport supplies.
+
+On the 14th Grant was again at Nashville, and took immediate steps
+to send the Ninth Corps to Burnside at Annapolis, [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xxxii. pt. iii. p. 67.] in accordance with an
+arrangement which was settled at the Washington conferences.
+Schofield was directed to have no delay in getting the Ninth Corps
+off, and he issued his formal orders to that effect on the 16th.
+[Footnote: _Id_., p. 82.] This reduced the forces in East Tennessee
+to a very small number, but a bold front was preserved and active
+reconnoitering kept up. On the 18th Stoneman's infantry was placed
+at Mossy Creek, between New Market and Morristown, and Wood with two
+brigades of his division was ordered to Rutledge about half-way to
+Cumberland Gap. The other brigade was placed at Strawberry Plains to
+protect the stores accumulated there. The cavalry which remained to
+Schofield was divided, part reporting to Stoneman and part to Wood,
+and the country was carefully watched from the Nolachucky on the
+east to Cumberland Gap on the northwest. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xxxii. pt. iii. pp. 88, 89.] I was personally directed
+to keep headquarters in the field, with power to act, in emergencies
+and in matters of detail, in Schofield's name, while the general
+returned to the department headquarters at Knoxville, where he made
+to Sherman, as his now superior, a full report of the situation,
+with suggestions as to the future work of the army of the Ohio.
+[Footnote: _Id_., p. 96.] It was now settled that a new campaign,
+both East and West, should open in April, if possible, and
+everything else was to be made subservient to preparation for it.
+Steps were taken to bring back the furloughed veterans, to remount
+the cavalry in Kentucky and bring it forward, and to secure such
+additional infantry as should enable Schofield to take the field
+with three strong divisions of foot, and at least two of horse,
+besides leaving about ten thousand men in Kentucky and five thousand
+in East Tennessee.
+
+The question what should be the work of the Army of the Ohio had
+naturally interested us who belonged to it, and while Grant was in
+Washington I prepared and submitted to General Schofield a sketch of
+a plan of campaign. It was based on the assumption that the Army of
+the Potomac would not operate by its left along the lowlands of
+Virginia, as McClellan had done, but would follow the railway
+through Culpepper and Orange Court House to Richmond. This route was
+in a high and healthy country, the streams would be crossed where
+they were comparatively insignificant, and the natural obstacles to
+an advance seemed much less formidable than upon the coast line.
+True, the army would have to depend upon the railway for its
+supplies, but so must Sherman in the West, and the Virginia line was
+only a fraction of his in length. It had the advantage of covering
+the Shenandoah valley as it advanced, and saving the large
+detachment which had to be devoted to that region and to the
+protection of Washington. But besides this (and this was the feature
+directly affecting us in East Tennessee), it opened for the Army of
+the Ohio a rôle of usefulness which seemed to me very important.
+
+If Schofield were to take the field in Georgia, he could carry to
+Sherman, at most, some twelve or fourteen thousand infantry and six
+or eight of cavalry. The proper protection of Kentucky and East
+Tennessee required just about the same number of troops. His active
+column in the decisive campaign would therefore be only half of the
+forces in his department. Whenever it should be apparent that
+Georgia was our field of operations, Longstreet's twenty thousand
+men would be set free to join Lee in Virginia (as actually
+happened), or could be used in any other theatre of operations,
+whilst our garrisons could not be greatly reduced because small
+raids of mounted men could harry the wide expanse of country behind
+us unless all the important points were fully guarded. This also was
+demonstrated by our actual experience, and was a plain deduction
+from facts and principles. To drive Longstreet into Virginia and
+destroy the railroad so that he could not return was, therefore, to
+force the enemy to do the thing most advantageous to himself; that
+is, to concentrate his forces at the East in entire security that he
+would not be troubled by any advance on our part into southwestern
+Virginia.
+
+If, on the other hand, we could move eastward along the railroad, we
+could bring our supplies to our camps as we advanced. Sherman's army
+behind us would make our base at Chattanooga safe; the great
+mountain barrier on the right would so cover our flank that scarce
+any force need be left in Tennessee, but all could be put in the
+aggressive column: the troops in Kentucky could be brought forward
+as we progressed, for our movement would cover that district;
+finally, on reaching the New River valley we could be joined by the
+forces in West Virginia. The advance, therefore, instead of being
+with a dwindling column would be with a growing one, and when the
+Army of the Potomac should approach the valley of the James, we
+should be ready with about forty thousand to come into line as the
+right wing of that army. Approaching Richmond from the north and
+west, the south side railroad would be at once in our grasp, and
+that to Petersburg within easy reach.
+
+The objection to such a plan which would first occur to a critic,
+would be that convergent movements from so distant bases are
+proverbially uncertain; but this objection is greatly weakened by a
+study of the topography of the country. The Holston valley is so
+isolated that, approached by the railway line with a good base
+behind the column, it is strongly defensible, and if the advance is
+so timed as not to pass the New River before the Army of the Potomac
+should be swinging in toward Richmond from the northwest, Lee's army
+would be too fully occupied to make a detachment strong enough to
+oppose us, and the line by which he would operate against us would
+be threatened by the army of our friends. There would also be a safe
+line of retreat always open for us, in case of check. [Footnote:
+Napoleon was a master of strategy who fully appreciated the
+objections to exterior lines, but in the campaign of Wagram in 1809
+he ordered Marmont to lead a column from Italy to Vienna by a route
+having strong resemblances to that which I have sketched. He
+regarded the character of the route itself, protected as it was by
+mountain ranges, and giving the assurance of a line of retreat, as
+making an exception to ordinary cases and overcoming the objections
+which would have been conclusive against attempting it in an open
+country.] Another interesting feature in this plan is that if
+railway communication between Sherman and the Potomac Army had been
+opened in the summer of 1864, it would have been an interior line of
+immense importance, not improbably modifying essentially the final
+campaign of the war.
+
+General Schofield thought well enough of my sketch to adopt it as a
+suggestion to General Grant, which he submitted as soon as the
+latter returned from the East. The General-in-Chief had, however,
+already made arrangements which committed him to operating by the
+left of the Potomac Army. He had sent General W. F. Smith to
+Fortress Monroe for the purpose of taking the field at the head of
+the movable part of Butler's Army of the James, and Burnside's
+command at Annapolis was at that time expected to make another line
+of operations from the seacoast in North Carolina. There was also a
+disposition to leave in Sherman's hands all the departments which
+constituted the Military Division of the Mississippi, and allow him
+to concentrate the movable forces of all in his operations against
+Johnston. Grant therefore adhered to his original purpose of
+destroying enough of the railroad near the Watauga River to make a
+serious obstruction to hostile movements against East Tennessee from
+the east, and turn everything that could be spared into the advance
+upon Atlanta. Another thing which had weight with him was the fact
+that Schofield's confirmation as major-general was still delayed and
+opposed in the Senate, and he intended, if it were finally defeated,
+to consolidate the Department of the Ohio with that of the
+Cumberland under General Thomas. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xxxii. pt. iii. p. 11.]
+
+On the 29th of March General Sherman visited Schofield at Knoxville,
+and a full understanding was reached regarding the place the Army of
+the Ohio was to take in the great campaign of the spring. All the
+troops in the department were to constitute the Twenty-third Corps,
+and Schofield was to command the moving column in the field as well
+as the department. To avoid the inconvenience of having a double
+head to this column, Stoneman was to be transferred to the command
+of the cavalry in place of Sturgis, and Schofield was to be assigned
+to the formal command of the corps. [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. xxxii. pt. iii. pp. 221, 268, 312.] Sturgis was then to be sent
+to Memphis to take command of the column there organizing for the
+purpose of operating against Forrest.
+
+As to operations in the upper valley of the Holston, it was
+determined to occupy Bull's Gap at an early day, and to keep up such
+an apparent purpose of advancing as should detain Longstreet in East
+Tennessee as long as possible. If he retreated he was to be
+followed, so as to induce him to burn the railway bridges, and thus
+to avoid disclosing our own purpose of leaving that portion of the
+valley which we should plainly proclaim if we ourselves should
+destroy the railway. Everything was to be ready for movement, and at
+the last moment, if the enemy had not already done it, we were to
+burn railway bridges and tear up the track for a considerable
+distance. Then the divisions which were to take the field in Georgia
+were to march rapidly to Cleveland, and come in on the left of
+Sherman's grand army as he advanced from Chattanooga.
+
+As the plan of campaign thus took definite shape, it gave the
+occasion also for a settlement of my personal problem of permanent
+assignment to duty. It had become evident that there was no room for
+transfer to another command, and the active part marked out for the
+Twenty-third Corps removed the only ground for wishing it. No better
+soldiers could be found than those which made up our divisions, and
+my acquaintance with General Schofield had ripened into a confidence
+which made me entirely content to follow him as my commander. He
+warmly invited me to continue permanently in the position of chief
+of staff, but gave me the alternate choice of one of the divisions
+of the active column. My preference for responsible command in the
+field decided me to take a division, and by his further permission I
+chose the third, in which were a considerable number of officers who
+had served with me in other campaigns. [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. xxxii. pt. iii. p. 245.] I would not be understood, however, to
+depreciate the position of chief of staff of such a department and
+army. Properly filled, few positions in active service could be
+pleasanter or more useful. I had tested this during the six weeks
+preceding, and had found the associations and the duty every way
+most agreeable. The general was always prompt to assume his proper
+responsibility and to order the movements or the administrative acts
+which are peculiarly the province of the commander; but he gave me
+the task of arranging the subordinate details, and the authority to
+direct them in his name. To distribute the parts each corps or
+division was to perform; to co-ordinate all the arrangements so that
+they should move harmoniously; to bring to a common centre all the
+information, external and internal, which affected the conduct and
+efficiency of the whole; to supervise the matters of organization,
+of equipment, and of supply; to consult with the medical director as
+to hospital work and the sanitary condition of the army, and to be
+guarantor that the common end is vigorously and intelligently
+pursued by every part of the army,--all this, as scarcely needs
+telling, makes a chief of staff the right arm of the commander, and
+his most trusted adviser and confidant. He makes his commander feel
+free to give his own thought to the larger problems of a campaign,
+with confidence that the whole machinery of the army will work
+smoothly toward the object which he has in view. I did not then, nor
+do I now, underestimate the importance of the duty which an
+industrious staff officer may thus perform, and I had found it made
+personally pleasant by the even temper and appreciative justice of
+General Schofield's rule. I had, however, formed so strong a
+predilection for the immediate and active conduct of troops in the
+field, that this determined me to choose the division command. In
+the new organization of the corps I should, in this, report directly
+to the general, and should be next in rank to him (in the infantry)
+by virtue of seniority, so that in his absence, or when two
+divisions were temporarily detached from the army, I should exercise
+a superior command. These were advantages which every experienced
+soldier estimates highly, and I was to enjoy them, until good
+fortune and the steady friendship of my superiors gave me, a second
+time, and this time in permanent form, the corps command with the
+rank belonging to it. There was no mistake, therefore, in my choice
+of duty; and considering the part Sherman's whole army was to play
+in the remaining campaigns of the war, it was a matter of personal
+good fortune also that the Army of the Ohio became an integral part
+of the great western organization, and marched southward, not
+eastward.
+
+On the staff I had been thrown into intimate relations to Colonel
+William M. Wherry, senior aide-de-camp, and Major J. A. Campbell,
+adjutant-general. These officers continued to the end of the war in
+these positions, which they filled with great credit and usefulness.
+Major Campbell was admirably fitted for the supervision of the
+records and the correspondence of the army, and for reducing to the
+form of clear and succinct orders the directions of the general. He
+was accurate, systematic, and untiring; always at his post, whether
+it were at his desk in camp, or by the side of his chief in the
+field. Of slight, almost frail body, with an intellectual face, he
+looked unequal to rough field work, but showed a stamina in fact
+which many a more robust man envied. Colonel Wherry was the
+incessantly active personal representative of the general, intrusted
+with his oral orders, and making for him those examinations and
+investigations which are only satisfactory when the commander has
+learned to trust the eye and the cool judgment of his assistant as
+his own. Wherry had been with General Schofield from the first
+campaign in Missouri in 1861, and both were with Lyon when he fell
+at Wilson's Creek. He remained his confidential aide through the
+whole war, and for years afterward, being early appointed from
+Missouri to the line of one of the new regiments of the regular
+army. Lithe, graceful, and genial, he was always welcome, when he
+came to a point where fighting was going on, to learn for the
+general the actual situation or to bring his orders. [Footnote:
+Wherry is now (1899) Brigadier-General of the United States Army,
+retired, after brilliant service in the campaign of Santiago, Cuba.]
+
+During the winter the division of the Fourth Corps commanded by
+Brigadier-General Thomas J. Wood had been in closest connection with
+us. It had taken part in all the marchings and countermarchings of
+the period when I was chief of staff, and I had thus begun an
+acquaintance with its commander which was to grow into lasting
+friendship. General Wood was colonel of the Second Regular Cavalry,
+a Kentuckian who had earnestly taken the National side, and an
+influential officer of the old army. His intelligence and activity
+were very marked, and his courage was of the cool indomitable
+character most highly prized in divisions of a great army. Of medium
+height, solid but not large build, dark hair and complexion, high
+forehead, he was a noticeable man in any assemblage of officers. A
+fluent talker, attentive to polite forms of speech as well as of
+conduct, he was liked and respected throughout the army, and
+especially in the Army of the Cumberland, where he had served
+throughout the war. He had won promotion by gallant and meritorious
+services again and again, when at the battle of Chickamauga it was
+his ill fortune to receive the famous order to "close up on Brannan
+and support him." The situation made the order ambiguous, but Wood
+understood it to mean that he should move to the left till he should
+find himself in rear of Brannan's division, since another division
+was between them in the line. He thought it a strange order, but
+thought also that Rosecrans must know why he sent it, and that it
+was "his not to reason why" but to obey. The obedience opened the
+gap through which Longstreet's men poured, breaking the line and
+routing part of the right wing. Wood took the place assigned him by
+Thomas in the horse-shoe curve around the Snodgrass hill, and did
+his full share of the desperate fighting which held that part of the
+field. But he had thus become the subject of a controversy, and the
+friends of Rosecrans charged him with a too literal obedience, and a
+failure to use a sound discretion in his action. The result was that
+whilst Rosecrans was removed from active field service, Wood still
+found himself under a cloud, and opposed by influences which stood
+in the way of his promotion till the war was almost ended. He
+continued to be distinguished in every engagement of the Atlanta
+campaign and that of Nashville, and no division saw harder or more
+honorable service than his.
+
+The first week in April saw the changes in the organization of the
+Twenty-third Corps which I have indicated. On the 3d I was relieved
+of staff duty and assigned to the third division, with orders to
+proceed at once to Bull's Gap and take temporary command of the
+corps whilst General Stoneman should hasten to Kentucky to prepare
+the cavalry corps for active service. [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. xxxii. pt. iii. pp. 245, 259, 268.] I think the change was
+agreeable to Stoneman, for he was most at home with mounted troops
+and liked that service. Schofield's permanent assignment to the
+Twenty-third Corps was made on April 4th by the President, though
+the general had still to await for some time the action of the
+Senate on the confirmation of his promotion. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xxxii. pt. iii. p. 258.] His enemies were still
+persistent, and even succeeded in obtaining a report of the Senate
+committee against his confirmation. General Sherman wrote to his
+brother, the senator, in behalf of his subordinate;[Footnote: _Id_.,
+pp. 332, 343.] but it was not till General Grant was back in
+Washington and used his powerful personal influence that the
+confirmation was finally secured after the campaign had opened. It
+seemed at one time that not even the manifest mischief of deranging
+the organization of the army, as deliberately settled by both Grant
+and Sherman, would overcome the political hostility arrayed against
+him. This was without any reasonable foundation. Although Schofield
+was not given to political discussion, my closeness to him enabled
+me to know that he was an earnestly loyal man whose heart was warmly
+engaged in the National cause. He believed in emancipation as a
+right and politic war measure, and in fighting the rebellion
+vigorously till it should be conquered. He had made enemies among
+the Kansas politicians because he tried to prevent the war on that
+frontier from degenerating into a vendetta when murder and robbery
+should take the place of civilized warfare. Some influential
+radicals in Missouri were hostile because he held the scales even
+between them and the conservative Union men.
+
+At Bull's Gap I found the corps headquarters in a shingle-palace
+which had been built for a hotel at the railway station, and which
+was now the only house there. It was empty as a barn and fast going
+to ruin, but it gave shelter for our office work. Wood's division of
+the Fourth Corps was put in march to join the Army of the
+Cumberland, and we were left to watch the enemy and await the moment
+when the destruction of the railway and our own march southward
+should begin. We soon had a curious bit of evidence that Longstreet
+had finally abandoned the expectation of re-occupying East
+Tennessee. It was found in the applications made by women to join
+their husbands who were in the Confederate service. The "grapevine
+telegraph" was an "institution" during the whole war. News which was
+either interesting or important was passed on through the lines, and
+it was impossible to be so rigid in precautions as greatly to delay
+it. To stop it was utterly futile. Longstreet had hardly received
+the orders from his government to prepare to rejoin Lee's army in
+Virginia, when the headquarters of our army at Knoxville felt the
+pressure of applications for leave to pass the lines. On the 6th of
+April a party of forty women and children came up by railway, to be
+sent through the lines under a flag. They were of course without
+tents or any means of camping out, and the crazy building in which I
+had my quarters was that night as crowded and as picturesque as an
+Asiatic caravanserai. The rain and the almost impassable roads made
+their journey anything but one of pleasure, but by the aid of the
+few wagons at the post they went forward in a day or two. A second
+party, about as large, followed in the course of a week, and had
+even a rougher time than the first. There were delays on the part of
+their friends, in sending trains and escort to meet them at the
+break in the railway, but the hope of rejoining loved ones gave them
+courage, and they bore cheerfully their sufferings and privations.
+
+The bitterness of the feud between the loyalists and disunionists in
+the Holston valley can hardly be imagined by those who did not
+witness it. The persecutions of the loyal mountaineers had been such
+that when their turn of ruling came they would have been more than
+human if they had not retaliated. The organization of home-guards
+gave to these armed bodies of men the power, and with it came the
+temptation to abuse it. The memory of the men who had been hanged
+for bridge-burning, and of those who had languished and died in
+prison charged with no crime but disloyalty to the Confederacy, was
+a constant stimulus to severity. Their blood seemed to cry from the
+ground. We found a constant necessity for moderating their passions,
+and it was not always possible to keep them within the bounds of
+civilized warfare. My experience in West Virginia was repeated with
+some phases of still greater intensity. When we got these loyal men
+away from home, campaigning on distant fields, there was no trouble
+in enforcing discipline, and they showed no more fierceness of
+personal retaliation than other troops. I suspect this will
+everywhere be true, in greater or less measure, and that in all wars
+it will be found for the interest of humanity not to allow local
+troops to garrison their own homes.
+
+The scouts and irregular organizations were, as usual, the most
+likely to fall into excesses. I had an example of this, falling
+under my own eye at the time I am speaking of, and showing how,
+under this intense exasperation, the "bush-whacking" degenerated
+into guerilla war in which no quarter was given on either side. I
+had sent out a reconnoissance of a party of Indiana cavalry
+accompanied by some thirty of the Tennessee scouts, the whole force
+about a hundred in number. They had encountered a hostile party of
+"irregulars" some thirty strong, and had routed them. They brought
+in fifteen prisoners, and reported ten of the enemy killed. Those
+who were captured had all surrendered to the Indiana men, and the
+Tennesseeans were disposed to complain that quarter had been given.
+True, the party which had been attacked was said to have committed
+great outrages, and to have been engaged in forcing loyal men into
+the Confederate Army under their conscription laws. The chief of the
+scouts came to my quarters, and I put to him the ordinary question
+as to the luck of his last expedition. "Oh," said he, in a dejected
+nasal tone; "some pretty good luck and some bad luck." "What bad
+luck?" said I, thinking some of his men had got hurt. "Oh, them
+Indiana cavalry fellows let the captain of the gang and fourteen of
+his men surrender to 'em." "And what became of the rest?" "_We_ had
+to deal with them," said he, significantly; "and they didn't
+surrender." Such is civil war when it becomes a deadly feud between
+old neighbors and acquaintances.
+
+The month of April ran on with continued activity of reconnoitring
+parties, but no larger movements. The spring was unusually backward.
+There was a flurry of snow on the 16th, but it did not lie on the
+ground, and about the 20th lovely spring weather began in earnest.
+The best evidence we had that our lines of communication were
+getting in more efficient condition, was the arrival of an agent of
+the Sanitary Commission with a large shipment of fresh vegetables
+for gratuitous distribution. We were sorely in need of them. There
+was a good deal of incipient scurvy in camp, and scarce any one was
+wholly free from disorders caused by too restricted diet. Our
+regular rations were bacon and flour, varied occasionally by a small
+issue of dried white beans or rice. This was nutritious enough, but
+after some months' steady use, nature pretty imperatively demanded a
+change. The noble organization of the Commission had been watching
+for the opportunity, and the arrival of a generous supply of
+potatoes, onions, and pickled cabbage made feast days for everybody
+from the general down. At my headquarters we had been confined to
+the soldiers' rations, and it was impossible to get anything else.
+The only ferment to raise our bread was saleratus, and we had become
+very tired of saleratus biscuit. No luxuries ever tasted so well as
+these plain vegetables. Our physical condition craved them, and they
+were food and medicine at once. The sauerkraut was finely shaved
+cabbage laid down in brine, and a steaming platter of it made the
+_pièce de résistance_ of our camp dinner as long as it lasted. The
+onions we sliced and ate raw with a dressing of vinegar. The gusto
+with which we enjoyed this change of diet remains a vivid
+remembrance after a quarter of a century, and is the best proof of
+our need of it. The health of the whole camp was restored, and we
+were "hard as nails" during the year of rough campaigning that was
+to follow.
+
+The first week in May was the time of rendezvous for Sherman's grand
+army in northern Georgia, and with the opening of the last week in
+April the signal was given to destroy the railroad between Bull's
+Gap and the Watauga River, or further if the enemy should leave the
+crossing of that stream unharmed. Our position at the gap was high
+in the cleft of Bays Mountain through which the railway passes and
+then turns southeastward to the Nolachucky. The road then goes up
+the valley of that stream and over a ridge to the Watauga, which
+runs to the northwest, joining the Holston again by a route which is
+nearly at right angles to the general trend of the valley. The
+Watauga is not easily fordable at an ordinary stage of water, and
+thus the triangle between the Holston on the left, the Watauga in
+front, and the Nolachucky on the right, made the debatable ground of
+the upper valley. Whilst we held the barrier at Bull's Gap the enemy
+could not stay on the hither side of the Watauga, nor could we pass
+the river and stop short of a strong position an equal distance
+beyond.
+
+We made a strong demonstration of cavalry supported by infantry, as
+if we were determined to cross the Watauga and push on into
+Virginia. The Confederate cavalry set fire to the bridge, as we
+expected them to do. One brigade was ordered to Jonesboro, to march
+back destroying all the railway bridges and tearing up and twisting
+the iron rails as far as possible. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xxxii. pt. iii. pp. 477, 492.] With another force I began in person
+a similar work of destruction on the section nearest Bull's Gap.
+Time could only be given us for this work till the 27th of April,
+but on the evening of that day my division was reunited at the gap,
+having torn up and twisted about one third of the track over a space
+of fifty miles, and thoroughly destroyed all the wooden bridges.
+[Footnote: _Id_., pp. 500, 512.]
+
+The footsore and sick were put on a railway train, and with the rest
+I began the march for Knoxville. As General Sherman was urgent for
+speed in our movement, the columns were kept near the railway and
+the trains were run to meet them, taking the men in detachments. The
+first day of May found us at Charleston, the crossing of the
+Hiwassee River, with two divisions of the Twenty-third corps and
+with General Schofield in our midst. A new division from Indiana was
+on its way, by rail, to join us at Cleveland, and it was certain
+that we could be in our place as left wing, before the 5th, the day
+assigned by Sherman. Two days were given to getting up and
+organizing our trains, and on Tuesday, the 3d, we marched at
+daybreak, with our field organization complete. The Atlanta campaign
+was begun. General Schofield went over to Chattanooga to meet
+Sherman, and the command of the corps on the march was committed to
+me. [Footnote: _Id_., xxxviii. pt. iv. pp. 5, 22, 32, 48.] On the
+4th, leaving Cleveland, we crossed the Georgia line and advanced to
+Red Clay, where, with the Army of the Cumberland on our right, the
+union of Sherman's forces in the field was completed.
+
+At the Hiwassee we were a hundred and forty miles from Bull's Gap,
+and had made the distance in three days, marching half the way and
+being carried the other half by rail. In going south we seemed to
+meet the advancing spring. In the upper valley we could only see a
+suspicion of green, here and there, on an early tree, but at our
+Sunday camp at Charleston in a fine bend of the Hiwassee, a fresh
+green robe covered all the hills, and the sun was so bright and warm
+that the shade of my clean new tent was very comfortable. It would
+be hard to find a scene better making a romance of campaigning than
+that about us. Chilhowee and the great Smoky Mountains piled their
+deep blue masses against the eastern horizon, whilst at our feet
+rolled as beautiful a river as ever bore a musical Indian name. The
+grassy banks rise about a hundred feet above the water, and then the
+hills roll and rise around us in charming variety. Near the water's
+edge a great spring pours out from the bank in a swift steady stream
+two yards wide and six inches deep, giving sweet and pure water
+enough for a whole army, and the zigzag paths to it are filled with
+picturesque groups of soldiers loaded with camp kettles or canteens.
+We should have been dull indeed if we had not felt the exhilaration
+of the scene.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV
+
+GRANT, HALLECK AND SHERMAN--JOHNSTON AND MR. DAVIS
+
+
+Grant's desire for activity in the winter--Scattering to
+live--Subordinate movements--The Meridian expedition--Use of the
+Mississippi--Sherman's estimate of it--Concentration to be made in
+the spring--Grant joins the Potomac Army--Motives in doing so--Meade
+as an army commander--Halleck on concentration--North Carolina
+expedition given up--Burnside to join Grant--Old relations of
+Sherman and Halleck--Present cordial friendship--Frank
+correspondence--The supply question--Railway administration--Bridge
+defences--Reduction of baggage--Tents--Sherman on spies and
+deserters--Changes in Confederate army--Bragg
+relieved--Hardee--Beauregard--Johnston--Davis's suggestion of
+plans--Correspondence with Johnston--Polk's
+mediation--Characteristics--Bragg's letters--Lee writes
+Longstreet--Johnston's dilatory discussion--No results--Longstreet
+joins Lee--Grant and Sherman have the initiative--Prices in the
+Confederacy.
+
+
+The threshold of the new campaign is a fit place to pick up the
+threads of the relations of Sherman to his superiors and his
+subordinates, and to notice the manner in which he laid out the
+responsible work before him.
+
+Grant had no thought of suspending operations in winter, further
+than circumstances should make it imperative. As soon as the siege
+of Knoxville was raised, he applied himself earnestly to the
+question, What next? His first choice would have been to start from
+Chattanooga as a base, and make the Confederate Army his object. The
+insuperable obstacle to this was the impossibility, at the time, of
+supplying the forces already collected on the upper Tennessee.
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxi. pt. iii. p. 503.] The
+railroad to Nashville must be practically rebuilt and made much more
+efficient than it was, or both Thomas's and Foster's armies would be
+tied fast without the possibility of advancing. To make it possible
+to feed Sherman's auxiliary force, he sent it down the river to
+Bellefonte, some thirty miles below Bridgeport, opened steamboat
+communication with it, and set it at work repairing the railway from
+Nashville to Decatur and from Decatur to Stevenson. This would
+furnish an additional line to Chattanooga when completed, and would
+make an accumulation of stores there a possibility. He saw the risks
+involved in this scattering of forces, but he had no choice; they
+must scatter to live. He did not mean that the army should be
+inactive, however; as early as the 7th of December, 1863, he wrote
+quite fully to Halleck suggesting a movement from the lower
+Mississippi on Mobile, using for this purpose the forces that would
+be relieved from guarding the lines about Chattanooga. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xxxi. pt. iii. p. 349.]
+
+By the middle of the month he had begun to organize a cavalry force
+under Gen. W. Sooy Smith, to move against Forrest in West Tennessee,
+and was giving shape to other plans of activity. [Footnote: _Id._,
+pp. 429, 431, 473.] Sherman had taken a short leave of absence to
+visit his family upon the death of one of his sons, a bright lad,
+whose loss was a severe bereavement. On his return to duty, he was
+directed to go down the Mississippi, visit the important posts of
+his department, and take steps to suppress guerilla interference
+with the navigation of the Mississippi. Before leaving his command,
+he had suggested an active movement of part of his army in northern
+Alabama, to break up the railroad in the neighborhood of Corinth,
+whilst he himself led a force up the Yazoo River to attack Granada
+from the south, with a similar purpose. He thought he could do this
+and get back in time to take part in the "plan of grand campaign"
+which Grant was studying. In the same letter he said he deemed Sooy
+Smith "too mistrustful of himself for a leader against Forrest," and
+suggested Brigadier-General Joseph A. Mower, of whose energy and
+courage he had a high opinion. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xxxi. pt. iii. p. 445.]
+
+On the subject of the necessity of protecting the river navigation
+by every means, Sherman expressed himself in superlatives, as he was
+apt to do, but his meaning was plain and sensible. He said to Logan,
+to secure its safety "I would slay millions. On that point I am not
+only insane, but mad," and will convince the natives that "though to
+stand behind a big cotton-wood and shoot at a passing boat is good
+sport and safe, it may still reach and kill their friends and
+families hundreds of miles off." [Footnote: _Id._ vol. xxx. pt. iii.
+p. 459.] Out of this discussion came finally his suggestion of an
+extensive movement from Vicksburg upon Meridian for the purpose of
+destroying the railway lines, especially in the vicinity of the
+latter place, and of isolating the region bordering on the
+Mississippi, so that a small force could garrison it and protect
+commerce. The suggestion was adopted by Grant. With Sherman's column
+the cavalry under Sooy Smith was to co-operate. [Footnote: _Id._,
+pp. 473, 527.]
+
+Meridian was made the objective point of this movement, though Grant
+intimated to Halleck that if Sherman found it would not too greatly
+prolong the subordinate campaign, he might march on Mobile.
+[Footnote: _Id._, vol. xxxii. pt. ii. p. 100.] When the march began,
+Sherman allowed it to be given out that he would attack Mobile, but
+this was to deceive the enemy. In his correspondence with General
+Banks he limited his task to that which has been stated, though he
+asked Banks to help him keep up the notion that Mobile was aimed at,
+as it would deter the enemy from heavily reinforcing General Polk by
+the garrison there and by troops sent from Atlanta. "I must return
+to the army in the field in Alabama in February," said he, "but
+propose to avail myself of the short time allowed me here in the
+department, to strike a blow at Meridian and Demopolis." [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xxxii. pt. ii. p. 114.] In this view the
+movement was a success, notwithstanding the failure of the cavalry
+column to co-operate. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 498.] The biographer of
+General Polk disputes the importance and the permanence of the
+interruption of railway communication in Mississippi; [Footnote:
+Leonidas Polk, Bishop and General, vol. ii. p. 309.] but it is
+certain that no important hostile movement from that region was made
+again till Hood's campaign against Thomas a year later, and that was
+seriously if not fatally delayed by the want of railway
+communication between Florence or Tuscumbia and the interior of the
+Gulf States.
+
+On his first visit to Washington after he became lieutenant-general,
+Grant found that it was the general expectation of members of
+Congress that he should infuse his personal energy into the next
+campaign of the army in Virginia. He learned also that the
+President, the Cabinet, and General Halleck despaired of the
+accomplishment of this by any stringency of orders from a distance,
+and thought it could be done only when he should be near enough to
+solve questions as they arose by his personal presence and
+influence. As a subordinate, few men could do better service than
+General Meade; but he seemed to develop a caution amounting almost
+to inaction in the presence of the Confederate Army under General
+Lee. This had allowed the Richmond government to send Longstreet's
+corps to reinforce Bragg at the west; and it was because the grand
+opportunity was not improved by Meade that it became necessary to
+send Hooker a thousand miles with the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps to
+reinforce Rosecrans. Halleck expressed the sentiment of the
+administration and of the country when he wrote to Grant on December
+13th, "As General Meade's operations have failed to produce any
+results, Lee may send by rail reinforcements to Longstreet without
+our knowing it. This contingency must also be considered."
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxi. pt. iii. p. 396.] It was, in
+fact, what Longstreet strenuously urged his government to do. As
+late as February 17th, when it was certain that Grant would soon be
+in command of all the National armies, Halleck, in a long letter of
+which the burden was that Lee's army must be made the objective in
+the Eastern campaign, plainly intimated that Meade could not give
+the Army of the Potomac the necessary aggressive energy. "Meade
+retreated before Lee with a very much larger force," he said, "and
+he does not now deem himself strong enough to attack Lee's present
+army." [Footnote: _Id_., vol. xxxii. pt. ii. pt. ii. p. 411] After
+mentioning the opportunities to break or defeat the enemy which had
+been lost or not improved at Antietam and Chancellorsville, he adds
+that of Meade after Gettysburg, and continues: "I am also of opinion
+that General Meade could have succeeded recently at Mine Run had he
+persevered in his attack." [Footnote: _Id_., p. 412.] Pointing out
+that McClellan had operated by exterior lines, and Burnside, Hooker,
+and Meade by interior ones, and that all had alike failed, he argues
+that this does not prove anything against either line of operation,
+whether by the James River or by Culpepper; but the sound military
+principle still is to avoid scattering the eastern army by North
+Carolina expeditions and the like, which were then mooted, and to
+concentrate the forces in the east against Lee's army and fight it
+out to a finish. [Footnote: _Id_. p. 413.] The letter is an able
+one, but the reference to it is now made for the sole purpose of
+showing how the problem was placed before General Grant when the
+supreme responsibility was cast upon him. He accepted the view so
+ably presented. He did not allow the proposed expedition to be made
+by Burnside, though he had himself favored it before; but united his
+troops to the army on the Rapidan. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xxxii. pt. ii. p. 143.] He kept up for a time a nominal duality of
+organization, not putting Burnside under Meade or Meade under
+Burnside. This made an ostensible reason for the next step, which
+was to take the field there in person and try what effect his own
+inflexible will might have in giving an aggressive impetus to that
+army. It seemed to him to be a choice between that and a continued
+dead-lock to the end of the chapter. Thus it was that Grant gave up
+his own desire to continue at the head of the western armies which
+he had led to successive and glorious victories. Thus it was that
+Sherman was right in saying to him, "Like yourself, you take the
+biggest load." [Footnote: _Id_., pt. iii. p. 313.] The decision was
+not prompted by egotism. There was no vanity in Grant's composition.
+He simply saw, as he thought, that in that way decisive progress
+might be made, and so he quietly went that way.
+
+Sherman's relations to Halleck had always been close and most
+friendly. Outside of official communications they had kept up a
+personal correspondence, part of which is found in the Official
+Records. From the day when it became apparent that Grant was to
+become lieutenant-general, Sherman yielded to his impulse to comfort
+and reassure his older friend on what must necessarily involve
+disappointment if not humiliation. In a long letter from the
+Mississippi in January, he takes pleasure in telling how he had
+spoken in public of Halleck's good qualities and talents. "I spoke
+of your indomitable industry and called to mind how, when Ord,
+Loeser, Spotts, and I were shut up in our stateroom, trying to keep
+warm with lighted candles and playing cards on the old Lexington,
+off Cape Horn, you were lashed to your berth studying, boning harder
+than you ever did at West Point." [Footnote: _Id_., pt. ii. p. 261.]
+This was on their voyage out to California during the Mexican War.
+In a cordial answer (February 16th), Halleck said he expected Grant
+to receive the promotion, and should most cordially welcome him to
+the chief command, glad himself to be relieved from so thankless and
+disagreeable a position. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxii.
+pt. ii. p. 408.] He enlarged upon its difficulties, though he did
+not see, apparently, that it had been in his power to take the field
+as Grant afterward did, and that it was by his own act that he had
+become "simply a military adviser of the Secretary of War and the
+President." He bore witness to the fact that there was more harmony
+in the western army than in the eastern, saying, "There is less
+jealousy and backbiting and a greater disposition to assist each
+other." [Footnote: _Ibid_.] In reply Sherman assured Halleck of his
+own belief that Grant would prefer to command the "army of the
+centre" which was to advance from Chattanooga, and did not want the
+position of general-in-chief at Washington. [Footnote: _Id_., p.
+498.]
+
+At the beginning of April Sherman wrote again to Halleck, expressing
+his belief that he could make his army a unit in action and feeling.
+"We have never had," he said, "and God grant we never may have the
+dissensions which have so marred the usefulness of our fellows whom
+a common cause and common interests alone ought to unite as
+brothers." [Footnote: _Id_., pt. iii. p. 222.] It was in this letter
+that he asked Halleck to say to the President that he would prefer
+not to be nominated to the vacant major-generalship in the regular
+army. "I have now all the rank necessary to command, and I believe
+all here concede to me the ability, yet accidents may happen, and I
+don't care about increasing the distance of my fall. The moment
+another appears on the arena better than me, I will cheerfully
+subside. Indeed, now, my preference would be to have my Fifteenth
+Corps, which was as large a family as I feel willing to provide for;
+yet I know Grant has a mammoth load to carry. He wants here some one
+who will fulfil his plans, whole and entire and at the time
+appointed, and he believes I will do it. I hope he is not mistaken.
+I know my weak points, and thank you from the bottom of my heart for
+past favors and advice, and will in the future heed all you may
+offer, with the deepest confidence in your ability and sincerity."
+
+A single reference more will complete this sketch of the relations
+of those prominent men. The week before the opening of his campaign
+(April 24th) Sherman wrote again: "I see a mischievous paragraph
+that you are dissatisfied and will resign; of course I don't believe
+it. If I did, I would enter my protest. You possess a knowledge of
+law and of the principles of war far beyond that of any other
+officer in our service. You remember that I regretted your going to
+Washington for your own sake, but now that you are there you should
+not leave." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxii. pt. iii. p.
+469.] This hearty friendship and cordial comradeship lasted unbroken
+till Halleck's too famous advice to Mr. Stanton after Lincoln was
+assassinated, to direct Sherman's subordinates in the Gulf States
+and in the West not to obey the orders he might issue in pursuance
+of his convention with the Confederate General Johnston. That was a
+sore blow which shattered this lifelong friendship, though it now
+seems probable that had Halleck's dispatch to Stanton not been
+published without the rest of the correspondence, Sherman might have
+found possible a more innocent meaning for his words than they
+seemed to have when they were read by themselves. This, however, is
+not the place to discuss that subject. [Footnote: See Chap. L.,
+_post_.]
+
+In considering Sherman's means of supplying his army in the field,
+we must note the situation and connections of Nashville, which made
+it naturally the principal depot for operations in Alabama and
+Georgia. A hundred and eighty-six miles by rail south of the Ohio
+River, centrally situated as the capital of Tennessee, it was
+directly connected with Chattanooga by a hundred and fifty miles of
+railroad, and indirectly by way of Decatur, Alabama, and Stevenson,
+a line thirty-five miles longer. These railway connections would of
+themselves make Nashville an important post, but it had also the
+advantage of water communication with the Ohio. It lies at the
+southern bend of the Cumberland River, the course of which is nearly
+due north from the city to its mouth, and the stream is navigable
+for steamboats the greater part of the year. The Tennessee, a much
+larger river, is nearly parallel to the Cumberland in this part of
+its course, and a partially constructed railroad from its banks at
+Johnsonville to Nashville, seventy-odd miles, was completed during
+the winter. With these three lines of communication, there was very
+little danger that the great Nashville depot could run short of
+munitions or rations, or be seriously isolated by raids of the
+enemy. It was to communication between Chattanooga and Nashville
+that Sherman had to give his best thought and will. The War
+Department had sent out Colonel McCallum, the General Superintendent
+of Military Railways in January, and improvements had then been
+begun, which under Sherman's energetic command made a brilliant
+success of this part of the military administration through the
+whole campaign. [Footnote: See "Sherman" (Great Commanders Series),
+pp. 199 _et seq_. Also letter of McCallum to Stanton, Official
+Records, vol. xxxii. pt. ii. pp. 143-145: Order appointing Adna
+Anderson general superintendent of transportation and W. W. Wright
+chief engineer of construction, _Id_., p. 365: Sherman's order
+organizing the military use of the railways, _Id_., pt. iii. p.
+279.] The management of the railways in use was given to Adna
+Anderson, and the engineering and bridge-construction to W. W.
+Wright. These gentlemen were both civil engineers and experts in
+railroad building and management. Military rank was given them later
+in order to enable them to control officers and men of the army on
+proper occasions. Their skill and energy were of inestimable value
+to the army, and gave them brilliant reputations which they fully
+earned. They remained in their military railway duties to the end of
+the war, and were distinguished in the same profession in civil life
+to the end of their lives. When Sherman assumed command of the
+Division of the Mississippi, about eighty carloads a day was the
+limit of the capacity of the road and the delivery at Chattanooga.
+It was only half of what was needed to insure rapid progress of the
+campaign. By the 1st of May it had increased to a hundred and thirty
+cars a day, with exceptional days on which the delivery ran higher;
+but a steady average of a hundred and fifty (the needed quantity)
+had not been reached, and every day's advance into Georgia would
+increase the length of the line. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xxxii. pt. iii. pp. 466, 490.]
+
+In a characteristic letter to General Thomas, Sherman explained the
+necessity of having the railway management directed from his own
+headquarters instead of those of the Army of the Cumberland, and in
+one to Mr. Lincoln he tersely repelled the idea that he was unduly
+hard on the inhabitants of the country and their business.
+[Footnote: _Id_., p. 489; and vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. pp. 25, 33.]
+General Meigs, the quartermaster-general, who knew the country by
+personal inspection, fully agreed with Sherman and wrote him on
+April 20th, advising him to "resist the pressure of civilians and
+private donations and supplies; march your troops, and devote the
+cars solely to transportation of military necessities.... Many
+civilians," he added, "can give charitable, patriotic, benevolent,
+and religious reasons to be allowed to go to the front; the reasons
+are so good that nothing but an absolute and unchangeable
+prohibition of all such travel will do any good." [Footnote: _Id_.,
+vol. xxxii. pt. iii. p. 434.]
+
+The business management of the military railways was a matter of
+greatest importance, but it must be supplemented by an adequate
+system of defence. To cut the long line and interrupt the
+communications of the army would, of course, be the constant effort
+of the enemy. Every wooden bridge across a stream was a most
+vulnerable point. A burnt bridge meant a delay of trains till it
+could be rebuilt, and Sherman's estimate that he must receive at the
+front a hundred and fifty car-loads daily, shows how soon trouble
+would be caused if the steady roll of car-wheels should cease. For
+the freight cars of that day, ten tons made a load, and with the
+light locomotives and iron rails then in use, twenty or thirty cars
+made a full train. A system of blockhouses for the protection of the
+bridges had been gradually developed by the engineers of the Army of
+the Cumberland on suggestions made by General Halleck and others,
+and was under the charge of Colonel W. E. Merrill, who enlarged and
+improved it. This able officer was retained at the head of the
+defensive system, and his success in it was noteworthy. [Footnote:
+Colonel Merrill has given a valuable memoir on the construction and
+use of the blockhouses, in "Ohio Loyal Legion Papers," vol. iii. p.
+389. After the war, he was for many years United States Engineer in
+charge of Ohio River improvements.]
+
+With a careful system of railway work went also thorough study of
+the wagon trains necessary in the field to carry the baggage of the
+army, its ammunition, and a few days' rations, its hospital
+supplies, and the records and papers of all the business
+departments. Besides the supplies for men, the food for the teams,
+for the cavalry horses, and for the horses of mounted officers makes
+in the aggregate a bulk and weight astonishing to those who for the
+first time undertake the calculation. Great droves of beef cattle
+accompanied the march, and were coming forward on all the roads from
+the country in the rear where they could be bought and collected.
+The purchase, driving, coralling, feeding, and distributing of these
+made, of itself, a great business for the commissaries of
+subsistence. The introduction of the shelter tent of two
+india-rubber blankets got us rid of the regimental trains, which at
+the beginning of the war had been the most unwieldy of all our
+_impedimenta_. The two soldiers who were thus partners in the little
+house they carried on their backs, clubbed all their arrangements
+for comfort, and by working together greatly reduced the hardships
+of campaigning. Sherman applied the full force of his mind and the
+strong impulse of his personal example to discarding everything not
+essential to the army work, and to securing the utmost mobility in
+his columns. Throughout the campaign his own headquarters looked
+small and bare compared with those of many of his subordinates. Some
+writers have ridiculed this, as if it were a mere "fad" of the
+general; but it was both wise and shrewd to keep before the army the
+constant lesson that privation was necessary, and that the orders on
+the subject must be obeyed, since the commander set the example of
+obedience. It was akin to Bonaparte's marching on foot through the
+burning sands of Syria after his repulse from St. Jean d'Acre. It
+was speaking to the soldiers in the ranks a language which they
+understood, and which helped them in their arduous work more than
+proclamations.
+
+A marked trait of Sherman's military intellect was his accurate
+judgment of the force of his enemy, and his freedom from the common
+fault of overestimating the army opposed to him. In his
+correspondence with General Thomas in April, discussing the
+preparations for the campaign and the severe reduction of burdens to
+a scale which was "rather the limit of our aim than what we can
+really accomplish," he had occasion to acknowledge the receipt of
+information concerning the enemy which Thomas had collected. "I read
+the reports of your scouts with interest," he said, but added, "I
+usually prefer to make my estimate of the enemy from general
+reasoning rather than from the words of spies or deserters."
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxii. pt. iii. p. 323.] The
+remark is significant. Prior to the opening of a campaign, whilst
+affairs are quiet, pretty reliable information of an enemy's
+strength and positions may usually be got; but when the time of
+action comes, the very air is full of excitement, and the "secret
+service" is apt to be a machine for self-delusion. Precedent
+knowledge supplemented by actual contact with the enemy is the best
+reliance for a capable general. His own reasoning from trustworthy
+data at the earlier point of departure, is, with such aids, his best
+guide. He knows where his enemy must be and what his force ought to
+be, better than his spies, or the enemy's deserters who, by a common
+stratagem, may be really hostile spies stuffed with the disturbing
+information they are sent to reveal.
+
+In the Confederate Army changes had also been occurring under the
+stress of Bragg's great defeat which culminated in the loss of
+Missionary Ridge on the 25th of November. Dissatisfaction with the
+conduct of the campaign was prevalent in both military and civil
+circles. Lee pointed out the embarrassment which must result to
+Longstreet from Bragg's misfortune, especially as the retreat of the
+latter had been promptly followed by Grant's occupation of
+Cleveland. Communication between Longstreet and Bragg was thus
+interrupted, and unless short work was made of Burnside, Longstreet
+would have to retreat into Virginia or North Carolina. [Footnote:
+_Id_., vol. xxxi. pt. iii. p. 779.] In the letter to President Davis
+which contained these suggestions, Lee added a strong hint that
+Beauregard was the most available officer of proper rank to succeed
+to the command of which Bragg asked to be relieved on the 29th.
+[Footnote: _Id_., pt. ii. p. 682.] The unfortunate Bragg coupled
+with this request another; namely, that the causes of the defeat
+should be investigated. In his official report [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xxxi. pt. ii. p. 665] he attributed it to a panic
+amongst the troops holding the apparently impregnable heights of
+Missionary Ridge, and he characterized the conduct as shameful. "The
+position was one," he said, "which ought to have been held by a line
+of skirmishers against any assaulting column." He declared that our
+troops reached the crest so exhausted by climbing as to be
+powerless, and that "the slightest effort would have destroyed
+them." One who stands on that ridge and looks down into the valley
+can easily agree with this opinion, and believe that no commander
+would order his troops to attack the position in front. The impulse
+of Wood's and Sheridan's divisions to attack, and the feebleness of
+the resistance of the astonished Confederates, are both phenomenal,
+and in a superstitious age would certainly have been attributed to
+supernatural influences.
+
+The truth, however, seems to be that the confidence of the
+Confederate Army in its leader had declined so far that it lost hope
+when opposed to the prestige of the conqueror of Vicksburg, and was
+morally prepared for disaster. Mr. Davis's prompt acceptance of
+Bragg's retirement can only be understood in this way, for the
+general was with good reason reckoned a favorite with the
+Confederate President. Except for this loss of prestige he would
+have been answered as Lee was when he made a similar suggestion
+after Gettysburg,-that confidence was undiminished, and that neither
+the army nor the people wished for a change.
+
+Bragg was directed to turn over the command to Lieutenant-General
+William J. Hardee, next in rank, and the evidence indicates that
+Hardee could have retained it, had he been willing. But, surpassed
+by none in ability and soldierly quality in command of a corps, he
+shrunk from the burden of chief responsibility for a campaign, and
+declined the permanent appointment. [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. xxxi. pt. iii. p. 764.] Mr. Davis seems to have taken no notice
+of Lee's suggestion of Beauregard, but asked whether Lee himself
+could not, even temporarily, go to the West and by a vigorous
+campaign restore the prestige of the Army of Tennessee. Lee calmly
+presented the objections to this, from the point of view of the army
+of northern Virginia as well as that of the western army; though he
+submitted fully to the decision the President might reach after
+further consideration. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 785, 792.] Mr. Davis
+was convinced that it would be unwise to transfer Lee, but he did
+not take kindly to the idea of appointing Beauregard. The
+estrangement between them which began in the first campaign in
+Virginia had not been removed, but had rather been intensified by
+the fact that Beauregard had, as he thought, failed in the command
+of the army after A. S. Johnston fell at Shiloh, and now seemed to
+have a party of friends and supporters in the Confederate Congress
+who were looked upon as an organized opposition to his
+administration. [Footnote: For some indications of this, see
+Beauregard's letters to Pierre Soulé and to W. Porcher Miles,
+Official Records, vol. xxxi. pt. iii. pp. 812, 843. Davis's Rise and
+Fall of the Southern Confederacy, vol. ii. p. 69.]
+
+Whilst the subject was under consideration, General Polk, who was a
+warm friend both of President Davis and of General Johnston, wrote
+to Mr. Davis a strong letter urging Johnston's appointment. He
+advocated it on the double ground of the wish of the army and of the
+country. He did not ignore the fact that the personal friendship
+once existing between Davis and Johnston had been broken, but
+appealed to the sense of public duty to yield to a general desire,
+and to motives of magnanimity to overlook personal differences.
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxi. pt. iii. p. 796.]
+
+Beauregard and Johnston were in fact the only ones, out of the five
+officers of the full rank of general, who were available to take
+Bragg's place; for the Confederate grades were much less flexible
+than ours, where any major-general by assignment of the President
+acquired the legal right to command an army, and a superiority over
+him who had just laid down the power. [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. xxxi. pt. iii. p. 835.] Mr. Davis felt the embarrassment
+keenly, but finally decided to appoint Johnston. On the 16th of
+December the latter was ordered to turn over the command of the Army
+of the Mississippi to Lieutenant-General Polk, and proceed to Dalton
+to assume command of the Army of Tennessee. [Footnote: General W. W.
+Mackall, who had been chief of staff to Johnston and Bragg in turn,
+wrote to Johnston on December 9th: "I never did believe that Mr. D.
+would give you your place as long as he can help it; but he can't."
+The letter has other piquant passages. _Id_., p. 801.]
+
+The result of conferences with Lee, and correspondence with
+Longstreet and others, had been the conviction on the part of the
+Confederate President that the only promising military policy in the
+West was for the Army of Tennessee to take early aggressive action,
+turning Chattanooga by the east, getting between Thomas and
+Schofield by the occupation of Cleveland, and, if both the National
+commanders kept within their fortifications, move boldly over the
+Cumberland Mountains by way of the gaps near Kingston. As part of
+this plan Longstreet should advance close to Knoxville, and join
+Johnston either by turning Knoxville on the east before Johnston
+passed far beyond Cleveland, or by the west if Johnston had got to
+Kingston.
+
+This indication of the wishes of the Richmond Government was
+gradually developed. The earliest suggestions were of the necessity
+for a prompt renewal of the aggressive. Mr. Seddon, Secretary of
+War, in the letter informing Johnston of his transfer (December
+18th), had said it was hoped that he would assume the offensive as
+soon as the condition of the army would allow it. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xxxi. pt. iii. p. 843.] A few days later
+(December 23d) Mr. Davis himself wrote, quoting General Bragg as to
+the good effect a prompt resumption of the initiative would have on
+the _morale_ of the army, and General Hardee as to the fit condition
+of the troops for action. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 856.] To this he
+added that an "imperative demand for prompt and vigorous action
+arises, not only from the importance of restoring the prestige of
+the army, and averting the dispiriting and injurious results that
+must attend a season of inactivity, but from the necessity of
+reoccupying the country upon the supplies of which the proper
+subsistence of our armies materially depends."
+
+Johnston's reply (January 2d) was a presentation of the difficulties
+in the way of action. [Footnote: _Id_., vol. xxxii. pt ii. p. 510.]
+He said that Bragg and Hardee had made the considerable
+reinforcement of the army a precedent condition of resuming the
+offensive. His conclusion was that without large reinforcements
+there was "no other mode of taking the offensive here than to beat
+the enemy when he advances and then move forward." A fortnight later
+he said: "My recent telegrams to you have shown, not only that we
+cannot hope soon to assume the offensive from this position, but
+that we are in danger of being forced back from it by the want of
+food and forage, especially the latter." [Footnote: _Id_., p. 559.]
+The shortness of forage he attributed to bad management of the
+Georgia Railroad, owned by the State. Supposing this were remedied
+(as a little later he said it was), he compared the advantages of
+two routes of advance into Middle Tennessee,--one by Rome,
+Gunterville, and Huntsville, the other by East Tennessee through the
+Cumberland Mountains. He pronounced in favor of the former, which
+would turn the mountains by the south and save the task of
+surmounting them. If, whilst this was going on, the National army
+should push for Atlanta, two or three thousand cavalry could, he
+thought, prevent it from reaching that place in less than a month.
+Large reinforcements were, however, essential for any aggressive
+movement. He was willing to try the East Tennessee route and unite
+with Longstreet, if he were satisfied that the country could furnish
+the provisions and forage for the march. To both of these routes, he
+preferred one which should make a base still farther west, in
+northern Mississippi.
+
+At the beginning of February he reviewed the situation as he then
+believed it to be, and concluded that it was impracticable to assume
+the offensive from northern Georgia. He advised the collection of as
+large an army as possible in northern Mississippi, with a bridge
+equipage for the passage of the Tennessee. This army, he thought,
+should be larger than his and Folk's united. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xxxii. pt. ii. p. 644.]
+
+Sherman's Meridian expedition now interrupted the discussion of
+plans for a month, except that Mr. Davis suggested a movement of
+Johnston's army to strike Sherman's column in co-operation with
+General Polk. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 729.] Assuming that Sherman was
+aiming at Mobile, Johnston declared it impossible to strike him
+before he should establish a new base. Hardee's corps was, however,
+put in motion to reinforce Polk. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 769.]
+Beauregard was ordered to send ten thousand men from his department
+on the southern seacoast to Johnston, if possible, but he reported
+that it was not practicable. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 772.]
+
+It must be said that making the correspondence a personal one on the
+part of Mr. Davis, instead of carrying it on through the War
+Department, was a waiving of etiquette, and thus it was also a step
+toward a cordial and frank understanding. It must equally be noted
+that General Johnston's tone remained that of cold formality, and
+his letters do not show the hearty readiness to bend his views to
+meet those of the President which is always apparent (for instance)
+in the letters of General Lee. The situation was not one in which a
+general may say, "I need certain supplies, equipment, transportation
+or pontoon bridges, and must have them before I can move." The
+Confederate cause was unquestionably in great straits, and calling
+for men and means was a good deal like Glendower's call, "Will they
+come?" Every commanding officer was expected to act with what he had
+or could get, were it much or little. Very warm friends of Johnston
+saw that his attitude was one likely to increase estrangement.
+General Polk, the mutual friend who had probably thrown the casting
+influence which gave Johnston the command, wrote to him through a
+confidential intimate of both (Colonel Harvie, Johnston's
+inspector-general), suggesting that he take private steps toward a
+reconciliation with Mr. Davis. He urged the general, as he had urged
+the President, that private feeling and personal pride should be
+sacrificed to the cause in which both were engaged. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xxxii. pt. ii. p. 593.] The appeal seems to
+have failed, and cold formality continued to be the tone of
+Johnston's communications with the government. About the first of
+March Mr. Davis dropped the correspondence, turning it over to
+General Bragg, now his chief of staff.
+
+Johnston had written to Bragg (February 27th) that the President's
+letters had given him the impression that a forward movement was
+intended _in the spring_; but if this were so, much preparation
+would be necessary, and large reinforcements and equipment.
+[Footnote: _Id_., p. 808.] He assumed that Longstreet was to unite
+with him, if the President's plan had not changed. This treatment of
+the matter as problematic and intended only as a plan for the
+spring, must be admitted to be somewhat exasperating to Mr. Davis,
+as the pressure from Richmond since the 18th of December had been
+for immediate aggressive action, and had been so emphatically put
+that to speak of it as creating only "an impression" sounded very
+like a sneer, and was unfortunate if not so intended.
+
+Bragg answered in good temper, and after disposing of the matters of
+business, he added: "The enemy is not prepared for us, and if we can
+strike him a blow before he recovers, success is almost certain. The
+plan which is proposed has long been my favorite, and I trust our
+efforts may give you the means to accomplish what I have ardently
+desired but never had the ability to undertake. Communicate your
+wants to me freely and I will do all I can to give you strength and
+efficiency. We must necessarily encounter privations and hardships,
+and run some risk; but the end will justify the means." [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xxxii. pt. iii. p. 592.]
+
+This, of course, implied prompt action whilst Grant's forces
+remained scattered and were still suffering from the dearth of
+supplies which had so nearly approached starvation and nakedness.
+Schofield's forces were at Knoxville, over a hundred miles northeast
+of Chattanooga. Part of Sherman's were on the Meridian expedition or
+now returning to Vicksburg on the Mississippi. Another part, under
+Logan, were about Huntsville, as far to the southwest as Schofield
+was to the northeast. In this condition of things a quick blow at
+Thomas would find him isolated. He could be turned by the north
+before Schofield could join him if he stayed in his fortifications,
+and he could be fought on equal terms in the field if he came out of
+his lines. This made the southern opportunity. To wait for spring
+was to wait for Grant and Sherman to concentrate the now scattered
+armies, to have them clothed and fed, and to have the horses and
+mules ready for a campaign. It is no wonder the government at
+Richmond thought it worth while to "encounter privations and
+hardships and to run some risk."
+
+Lee had been in Richmond and was in accord with this plan. He wrote
+to Longstreet on the day after the date of Bragg's letter just
+quoted, urging him to drop all other schemes and to unite in
+influencing Johnston to adopt it. "If you and Johnston could unite
+and move into Middle Tennessee," he said, "it would cut the armies
+of Chattanooga and Knoxville in two and draw them from those points,
+where either portion could be struck at as opportunity offered....
+By covering your fronts well with your cavalry, Johnston could move
+quietly and rapidly through Benton, cross the Hiwassee, and then
+push forward in the direction of Kingston, while you, taking such a
+route as to be safe from a flank attack, would join him at or after
+his crossing the Tennessee River. The two commands, upon reaching
+Sparta, would be in position to select their future course; would
+necessitate the evacuation of Chattanooga and Knoxville, and by
+rapidity and skill unite on either army." [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xxxii. pt. iii. p. 594.]
+
+There were no doubt difficulties in the way--when are there not? But
+we who were in Grant's command are glad that we were not called upon
+to meet the enemy under this plan of campaign vigorously executed.
+We did not lack faith that we could defeat it, but we were much
+better pleased to have the enemy await the completion of our own
+preparation and allow us to take the initiative. It cannot be denied
+that it was based on sound strategy. With his usual considerateness,
+Lee said that Johnston and Longstreet on the ground should be better
+able to judge the plan and to decide; but he urged it with much more
+earnestness than was common in his letters. That Johnston rejected
+it must be admitted to be very strong evidence that he lacked
+enterprise. His abilities are undoubted, and when once committed to
+an offensive campaign, he conducted it with vigor and skill. The
+bent of his mind, however, was plainly in favor of the course which
+he steadily urged,--to await his adversary's advance, and watch for
+errors which would give him a manifest opportunity to ruin him.
+
+Longstreet had written to Johnston on the 5th of March that Mr.
+Davis had directed a conference between them on the practicability
+of uniting their armies between Knoxville and Chattanooga, with a
+view to the movement into Middle Tennessee. Longstreet thinks he can
+make his part of the movement, but must leave the question of
+supplies to Johnston after they unite. [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. xxxiii. pt. ii. p. 587.] Lieutenant-General John B. Hood, who
+had been assigned to a corps in Johnston's army, wrote to Mr. Davis
+on the 7th that the army was well clothed, well fed, with abundant
+transportation, in high spirits, anxious for battle, and needing
+only a few artillery horses. A junction with Longstreet's army he
+thought would make it strong enough to take the initiative, and he
+strongly supported the plan of moving before Grant could
+concentrate. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 606.]
+
+Johnston wrote to Bragg on the 12th that no particular plan of
+campaign had been communicated to him. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 613.] He
+does not appear to have telegraphed a brief inquiry on this subject,
+but wrote at some length in regard to his requirements before he
+could be in condition to take the field. He referred to his first
+opinion in favor of a defensive campaign as unchanged. The ordinary
+course of mail seems to have required about a week for a letter to
+reach Richmond. It happened that on the same day Bragg at Richmond
+was writing to Johnston outlining the plan of campaign mentioned
+above, adding that it was intended to throw a heavy column of
+cavalry into West Tennessee as a diversion, and that if by rapid
+movement Johnston could capture Nashville, Grant would be in a
+precarious position. The President, on assurance of the immediate
+execution of the plan, would order to him 5000 men from General
+Polk, 10,000 from Beauregard, and Longstreet's command estimated at
+16,000, but which was really nearer 20,000. Putting these
+reinforcements and Johnston's own army at lowest figures, his column
+would amount to 75,000 men. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxii.
+pt. iii. p. 614.]
+
+After posting his letter of the 12th, Johnston went on an inspection
+tour to Atlanta, and there on the 13th he received and answered
+Longstreet's letter of the 5th. He pronounced impracticable the plan
+submitted to them, and reiterated his fixed opinion that it was best
+to wait for Grant's advance. In any event, he thought a forward
+movement should "wait for the grass of May." [Footnote: _Id_., p.
+618.] He argued that it was better to let the enemy's forces
+advance, and fight them far from their base and near his own. Bragg,
+on the other hand, had urged the recovery of the populous region of
+Middle Tennessee as necessary both for obtaining army subsistence
+and forage, and for the recruitment of the ranks. Both these
+resources he estimated very highly, and as Tennessee was still
+claimed as a seceding State, the Confederate conscription laws would
+be enforced there. On the other hand, every movement in retreat cut
+off a part of their area for supplies and men, was discouraging to
+the army, and was followed by numerous desertions of soldiers whose
+families were within our lines.
+
+In answering Longstreet, Johnston had said that he would execute
+zealously any plan the President would order; but he evidently
+insisted on definite and formal commands if he were to depart from
+his preconceived views to which he held tenaciously. On the 16th of
+March he wrote again, this time in answer to Bragg's of the 7th.
+After telling of the impossibility of collecting artillery horses in
+northern Georgia, he mentions Longstreet's letter to him, to say
+that he thinks the point of junction suggested is too near the
+enemy, and that his army should have an accumulation of eighteen or
+twenty days' supplies before entering upon such a movement. They
+must also have ordnance stores for a campaign, and wagon trains to
+carry it all. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxii. pt. iii. p.
+636.] Two days later he received Bragg's full letter of the 12th
+sent by the hand of Colonel Sale as special messenger, and he now
+answers by telegraph. He says that Grant is back at Nashville, and
+is not likely to stand on the defensive. To meet at Dalton his
+expected advance, the reinforcements that had been spoken of must be
+sent at once. "Give us those troops," he says; "and if we beat him
+we follow. Should he not advance, we will thus be ready for the
+offensive. The troops can be fed as easily here as where they now
+are." [Footnote: _Id_., p. 649.] Next day he elaborated the same
+ideas in a letter, adding the suggestion before made by him that the
+line of advance by way of North Alabama was a preferable one to the
+route through East Tennessee.
+
+The telegram was answered from Richmond whilst the longer letter was
+on its way. The answer conveyed the information that Grant would not
+personally lead the western army, but would turn over its command to
+Sherman. It also briefly noted the fact that Johnston had not
+accepted the aggressive policy on which the large reinforcements
+were made conditional. [Footnote: I do not find this dispatch in the
+Official Records. It is given in Johnston's "Narrative of Military
+Operations," p. 298.] He replied that his dispatch expressly
+accepted taking the offensive, and the only difference was as to
+details. He therefore repeats the urgent request that the troops be
+sent at once. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxii. pt. iii. p.
+666.]
+
+It is not easy to accept his interpretation of his former dispatch.
+Waiting indefinitely to see whether the National army would advance,
+and declaring the administration plan impracticable, hardly looks
+like assuming the initiative. It was not a difference as to details.
+The very gist of the subject under discussion was a prompt advance
+against the parts of our army before they could be united for any
+purpose. The question would naturally arise, What might happen in
+the places from which troops were drawn, if they were not used by
+Johnston immediately? The latter had already said to Longstreet that
+his requisitions on the commissaries and quartermaster's departments
+for supplies and wagon-trains were so large as to make filling them
+"a greater undertaking than anything yet accomplished by those
+departments, and if they succeed, it will not be very soon."
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxii. pt. iii. p. 618.] Yet these
+were only part of the conditions which he considered essential to
+any advance.
+
+There seems to have been no rejoinder to Johnston's last telegram,
+and the subject was dropped. Longstreet was persuaded by his
+correspondence with Johnston that the combined movement could not be
+made, and turned to the scheme (already mentioned), of mounting his
+troops and making an expedition from southwestern Virginia into
+Kentucky. This was decisively rejected by the Richmond government.
+[Footnote: _Id._, p. 748.] Grant was now known to be in Virginia,
+inspecting the commands there and preparing for an active campaign.
+Concentration on both sides, and not further morselling of armies
+was to be the wholesome order of the day, and Longstreet was soon
+ordered to report to Lee. Between Bragg and Johnston correspondence
+was limited to the current business of the army, and general plans
+of campaign were not again mentioned. In April, Johnston became
+uneasy at the silence which indicated that the President regarded it
+unprofitable to discuss plans with him, and sent Colonel B. S. Ewell
+of his staff to Richmond to make explanations in person. He was
+politely received, and his visit no doubt tended to relax a little
+the strain in the relations between Mr. Davis and Ewell's chief; but
+it was too late to accomplish what had been hoped for in January.
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxii. pt. iii. pp. 839, 842.]
+Spring had come, and Sherman's concentration was in progress; indeed
+it was almost completed. Ewell reported to Johnston again on the
+29th of April. On the 1st of May Schofield was at the Hiwassee River
+in touch with the left wing of Thomas's army, whilst McPherson was
+closing in on the right.
+
+The certainty that Grant was in Virginia had brought the Confederate
+government to the conclusion that Lee must be reinforced by
+Longstreet and by whatever troops Beauregard could spare. The
+Atlantic coast States were thus to supply Lee with men and means.
+About four thousand men were to be immediately added to Johnston's
+army, mostly drawn from Mobile. Polk's infantry would be sent to him
+also, if, as was nearly certain, Sherman's advance on Atlanta should
+prove to be our great effort in the West. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 841.]
+The doubt whether one of our columns might not move through Alabama
+made it necessary to continue to the last moment ready for either
+event. The Gulf States would then become the feeders of Johnston's
+army in the campaign.
+
+The very unsatisfactory relations between Mr. Davis and General
+Johnston cannot be overlooked if we would judge intelligently the
+events of the Atlanta campaign. It may be that the general was right
+in thinking a winter advance impracticable, though Lee's concurrence
+in the President's plan is no small argument in its favor. It is,
+nevertheless, the indisputable province of a government to
+determine, in view of the whole situation, political and military,
+whether continued operations are necessary. The army is organized
+for the sole purpose of reaching the ends at which its government
+aims in the war. The expenditure of life and treasure should be
+stopped and the government should sue for peace, unless its armies
+can be relied upon to act in hearty subordination to its view of the
+existing exigencies. The general should meet it with absolute
+ingenuousness and the promptest and clearest decision. He should act
+at once or ask to be relieved in time to let another carry out the
+plan. Mr. Davis, like Mr. Lincoln on several occasions, had reason
+to feel that a prolonged discussion had in fact thwarted him, and
+that he had not the cordial service he might fairly expect.
+
+One of the results of the financial embarrassments of the
+Confederacy was the great and growing depreciation of its paper
+currency. Its officers in the field found their pay a merely nominal
+pittance, and those who had no independent fortune were reduced to
+the greatest straits. Interesting evidence of this has been
+preserved in petitions forwarded to the War Department in February,
+asking that rations might be issued to them as to the private
+soldiers. The scale of prices attached to their petition was that at
+which the government sold the enumerated articles to its officers,
+and was supposed to show the average cost and not a market price
+fixed by the retail trade. They paid for bacon $2.20 per pound, for
+beef 75 cents, for lard $2.20, for molasses $6 per gallon, for sugar
+$1.50 per pound, for a coat $350, for a pair of boots $250, for a
+pair of pantaloons $125, for a hat from $80 to $125, for a shirt
+$50, for a pair of socks $10. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xxxii. pt. ii. p. 658.] Their statements were verified and approved
+by their superiors, and General Johnston, in forwarding the
+petitions, said that at existing prices the pay of company officers
+was worth less than that of the private soldiers. [Footnote: _Id._,
+p. 661.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI
+
+ATLANTA CAMPAIGN: DALTON AND RESACA
+
+
+The opposing forces--North Georgia
+triangle--Topography--Dalton--Army of the Ohio enters
+Georgia--Positions of the other armies--Turning Tunnel Hill--First
+meeting with Sherman--Thomas--Sherman's plan as to
+Dalton--McPherson's orders and movement--Those of Thomas and
+Schofield--Hopes of a decisive engagement--Thomas attacks north end
+of Rocky Face--Opdycke on the ridge--Developing Johnston's
+lines--Schofield's advance on 9th May--The flanking march through
+Snake Creek Gap--Retiring movement of my division--Passing
+lines--Johnston's view of the situation--Use of temporary
+intrenchments and barricades--Passing the Snake Creek defile--Camp
+Creek line--A wheel in line--Rough march of left flank--Battle of
+Resaca--Crossing Camp Creek--Storming Confederate line--My division
+relieved by Newton's--Incidents--Further advance of left
+flank--Progress of right flank--Johnston retreats.
+
+
+The history of the campaigns of 1864-1865 under Sherman have been
+given in another form, and I need not repeat the narrative of the
+connected movements of his forces. [Footnote: See "Atlanta," and
+"The March to the Sea, Franklin and Nashville."] I shall confine
+myself to the more personal view of events as they came under my own
+eye, and to such additional knowledge as the publication of the
+Records has brought within our reach.
+
+Nashville and Chattanooga, being large depots of supply, were
+fortified and furnished with garrisons. A few other points had also
+to be garrisoned in some force, besides the numerous small posts and
+blockhouses. But after all deductions, Sherman still expected to
+take the field with an army of a hundred thousand men of all arms,
+and this was what he did. His returns for the 30th of April show his
+strength to have been 93,131 infantry, 12,455 cavalry, and 4537
+artillery. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. i. p.
+115.] His cavalry were not all at the front, and fell short of the
+nominal strength. [Footnote: Memoirs, vol. ii. pp. 23, 24; Official
+Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. p. 26.]
+
+General Johnston's similar returns for the end of April show his
+army actually present at Dalton to have consisted of 54,500
+infantry, cavalry, and artillery, not including part of a brigade at
+Resaca and some detachments _en route_. [Footnote: _Id._, vol.
+xxxii. pt. iii. p. 866.] General Polk was on his way to join with
+14,000 men, [Footnote: _Id._, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. pp. 670, 737,
+740.] and these with about 5000 increase of Hardee's and Hood's
+corps reached Johnston before he was seriously engaged with Sherman,
+giving him an army of 75,000 men. [Footnote: For a careful analysis
+of these forces, see "Century War Book," vol. iv. p. 281, a
+statistical paper by Major E. C. Dawes; also "Atlanta," Appendix A.
+For the meaning of "effective total" in Confederate returns, see
+_ante_, p. 482.] The Richmond government only delayed ordering Polk
+to join Johnston until it was certain that Sherman intended to
+operate with a single army upon the Atlanta line, and Polk went even
+beyond what they seemed to expect of him in carrying the troops of
+his department to the army at Dalton.
+
+Although he was not aware of the urgency of the Confederate
+government with Johnston to induce him to take the initiative and
+operate by turning our left flank, Sherman had considered the
+possibility of this. The Fourth Corps had been concentrated at
+Cleveland on the East Tennessee and Georgia Railway about a dozen
+miles north of the Georgia state line and thirty-five miles from
+Dalton. The line of this railway was the easy road out of northern
+Georgia into Tennessee, and pretty closely followed the old Federal
+road. Had Johnston marched northward, he must have taken this route,
+and would have found his way barred by the Fourth Corps, which was
+strong enough to retard his advance till Sherman could have
+concentrated to meet him. The railways made a nearly equilateral
+triangle of the country between Cleveland, Chattanooga, and Dalton.
+It was thirty-eight miles from Chattanooga to Dalton, and
+twenty-seven to Cleveland. The east side of the triangle was near
+the Cooyehuttee Creek, a stream heading quite close to Cleveland and
+uniting, below Dalton, with the Connasauga. This valley is narrow
+west of the river, and is, much of the way, separated by a high and
+sharp ridge from the very broken country, which makes up the greater
+part of the triangle, where the branches of the Chickamauga run
+northward in parallel valleys till they unite near Chattanooga, and
+empty into the Tennessee. For nearly forty miles, therefore, the
+waters on the east side of the dividing ridge run southward to the
+Gulf of Mexico, whilst on the west side they run northward to the
+Ohio.
+
+Going south from Chattanooga, the railroad and the wagon roads have
+to thread their way from one valley to another, the latter climbing
+painfully the high ridges intervening, the former taking shorter
+cuts by deep excavations and tunnels. Within sight of Chattanooga
+the north end of Missionary Ridge is pierced for the railway where
+Grant's left wing fought in the battle which closed General Bragg's
+career as a commander in the field. Some twenty miles further on,
+another ridge is tunnelled where the railroad passes from the
+Chickamauga valley into that of Mill Creek, a small tributary of the
+Cooyehuttee, flowing eastward into that river in front of Dalton.
+Here, at Tunnel Hill, had been Johnston's advanced post during the
+winter, and Thomas's had been above Ringgold on the top of Taylor's
+ridge facing it on the west. But as Tunnel Hill did not extend many
+miles northward, and could be turned in that direction, the
+Confederates had made Dalton their intrenched camp, and were
+prepared to retire from Tunnel Hill whenever Sherman should advance
+in force.
+
+[Illustration: Map]
+
+The position at Dalton was an impregnable one to an attack in front
+on the Chattanooga road. Mill Creek breaks through the Chattanooga
+Mountains (here known by the local name of Rocky Face), by a crooked
+gorge flanked by precipitous cliffs called the Buzzards Roost. The
+west side of Rocky Face is a nearly perpendicular wall, and in the
+Mill Creek gorge, spurs from the sides so project as to enfilade the
+entrance like bastions. A little north of the gorge a larger spur
+from the ridge runs down to the east, connecting with a subordinate
+parallel ridge, and from the lower slope a line of heavy earthworks
+continued the defences toward the Cooyehuttee. Mill Creek had been
+dammed so as to make an inundation in the gorge, and the
+Confederates held the ridge and cliffs on both sides as well as the
+fortified line in the lower ground. Some three miles north of Mill
+Creek Gap, Rocky Face and Tunnel Hill break down into smaller
+disconnected hills, and here about Catoosa Springs a bit of more
+open country made a practicable connection between the centre of the
+Union Army at Ringgold and its left wing advancing from Cleveland.
+Johnston hoped that Sherman would dash himself against the walls of
+Rocky Face and suffer severe loss in doing so; and if the ridge was
+turned on the north by part of the Union Army, this wing would find
+itself in presence of the strong earthworks skirting Mill Creek, and
+would be so separated from the centre that he could reasonably hope
+to crush it. Sherman, of course, could know little of the
+Confederate position till he was near enough to reconnoitre it, and
+must find out by experiment how the nut was to be cracked.
+
+On Thursday, the 5th of May, the Army of the Ohio under General
+Schofield was at Red Clay, a hamlet just south of the Georgia state
+line. My own division (the third) was encamped a mile in advance, at
+some springs which furnished a good supply of water. General Judah's
+division (the second) was at Red Clay. General Hovey's division (the
+first) was still at Blue Springs, Tennessee, covering the army
+trains and the repairs of the railway. The cavalry covered the left
+flank and reconnoitred forward toward Varnell's Station, skirmishing
+with the enemy's horse. The valley was a narrow one, tributary to
+the principal valley of the Connasauga, and, near my camp, was
+filled with a dense thicket of loblolly pine, a second growth which
+came up in the exhausted light soil of abandoned fields, and which
+we were to become very familiar with as we advanced into Georgia. As
+we could not see out in any direction except that of the road, I
+covered my front with a slashing of the trees by way of a rough
+abatis to prevent a surprise. We were now the left flank of the
+grand army.
+
+When we passed Cleveland, the Fourth Corps took up its line of
+march, bearing away to the westward of ours and went into position
+at Catoosa Springs, about eight miles southwest of Red Clay, with a
+ridge intervening. Here General Howard became the left of the Army
+of the Cumberland, having Palmer's Corps (the Fourteenth), next
+beyond him facing Tunnel Hill, and Hooker's (the Twentieth) still
+farther to the southwest, marching by way of Woods Station over
+Taylor's Ridge upon Trickum in the upper valley of the East
+Chickamauga. Thomas's army was the heavy centre of the grand army,
+and his infantry was about two-thirds of the whole. This great
+preponderance of one organization was faulty in a purely military
+point of view, but Grant and Sherman both felt that it would not be
+wise to disturb the _esprit de corps_ of the Cumberland Army by
+subdividing it, or to offend Thomas by diminishing it, and, anyhow,
+no such change could have been made without the concurrence of the
+President.
+
+General McPherson's Army of the Tennessee was to constitute
+Sherman's right, but was a little delayed in its concentration. At
+this time it contained only Logan's Corps (the Fifteenth) and the
+left wing of the Sixteenth (Brigadier-General G. M. Dodge in
+command). It was moving behind the Army of the Cumberland, to Lee
+and Gordon's Mills, and thence upon Villanow. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. p. 39.] General Kenner Garrard's
+strong division of cavalry accompanied McPherson's movement.
+
+Sherman was anxious to allow the enemy as little time for
+preparation as might be, yet, as he had to give McPherson a day or
+two to come into line, he set Saturday the 7th of May as the time
+for the more complete concentration, and an attack upon Tunnel Hill
+if Johnston should continue to hold it. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 38.]
+Accordingly, on Saturday morning all the columns were in motion.
+Palmer advanced against the ridge of Tunnel Hill in front, and
+Howard coming from the north turned the flank of the ridge. The hill
+was held by the Confederate cavalry under Wheeler, supported by
+Stewart's division of infantry, who were ordered to resist our
+advance with stubbornness enough to force the display of Thomas's
+forces. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 672.] A lively skirmishing fight was
+kept up till Howard's men advanced toward the flank and rear of the
+position, when the enemy retreated within Mill Creek Gap. Wheeler
+was ordered to let a brigade of cavalry retire up the valley of Mill
+Creek, outside of Rocky Face, and to cover Dug Gap, through which
+runs the road from Villanow to Dalton. [Footnote: _Ibid_.]
+
+My division marched from its camp in front of Red Clay over the
+ridge by Ellidge's Mill to Dr. Lee's on the main road from Varnell's
+Station to Ringgold, and near the northern end of Tunnel Hill ridge.
+Here we came into close connection with the Fourth Corps. The rest
+of the Army of the Ohio followed, the rear-guard holding a gap
+looking eastward above Ellidge's Mill, and the cavalry covering the
+front and flank to Varnell's Station. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 48, 54.]
+Our supply station was moved over to Ringgold on the Chattanooga
+line, and the railroad at Red Clay was soon abandoned. In the
+movement all the division commanders were ordered to report to me in
+the absence of General Schofield.
+
+At Dr. Lee's I met Sherman and Thomas for the first time. They had
+come over from Ringgold to reconnoitre for themselves and observe
+the effect of Howard's movement turning Tunnel Hill. The house stood
+upon a knoll looking southward over farm fields and rolling country
+to the sharp end of Rocky Face, and when my column halted near by, I
+rode forward with General Schofield to meet the army commander. It
+was a bright May morning, and a picturesque group was gathered on
+the sloping lawn in front of the house. The principal officers were
+dismounted, their horses and escort in the background. An occasional
+puff of white smoke on the slope of Tunnel Hill in the distance
+marked the attack going on there, but it was too far away for the
+cannonade to be more than a muffled sound, not interrupting the
+conversation. Sherman was tall, lithe, and active, with light brown
+hair, close-cropped sandy beard and moustache, and every motion and
+expression indicated eagerness and energy. His head was apt to be
+bent a little forward as if in earnest outlook or aggressive
+advance, and his rapid incisive utterance hit off the topics of
+discussion in a sharp and telling way. His opinions usually took a
+strong and very pronounced form, full of the feeling that was for
+the moment uppermost, not hesitating at even a little humorous
+extravagance if it added point to his statement; but in such cases
+the keen eye took a merry twinkle accentuated by the crow-foot lines
+in the corner, so that the real geniality and kindliness that
+underlay the brusque exterior were sufficiently apparent. The
+general effect was of a nature of intense, restless activity, both
+physical and mental. In conversation he poured out a wealth of
+original and striking ideas, from a full experience, observation,
+and reading; his assertions would be strong and confident, highly
+colored by the glow of momentary feeling, unsoftened by the
+modifications and exceptions which have to tame down broad
+generalizations before they are put in practice. One did not know
+him long before discovering that in responsible action he did not
+lack the prudence which took all probable contingencies into
+account. His practical work in the field was never reckless, but his
+boldest outlines of plan were worked out with thoughtful caution in
+detail and full provision for possible disappointment. When
+discussing a situation with his familiars, after strongly stating
+his own view he would add, "Now what is Joe Johnston's game?" and he
+would analyze his adversary's possible moves with a candor and
+insight that left no doubt of his full comprehension of the problem
+before him. In carrying out a plan he was free from the common
+weakness of giving increased weight to doubts when the conflict is
+joined, and making a timid execution of a strong purpose; he knew
+when it was time for debate to stop (even with his own thoughts),
+and to bend every energy to decisive action. All this was, of
+course, not visible in the first meeting at Dr. Lee's, but no one
+could doubt that here was a most original and interesting character,
+and I soon acquired an undoubting conviction that of all the men I
+had met, he was the one to whose leadership in war I would commit my
+own life and the lives of my men with most complete confidence. In
+him the combination of intellectual insight with fertility of
+invention and with force of will in execution was of the highest
+order. I felt that if the end we aimed at was a noble and worthy
+one, the price he asked us to pay was reasonable, and the object was
+worth the sacrifices he called for: we were therefore enthusiastic
+in our obedience.
+
+General Thomas was in person and manner a strong contrast to
+Sherman. Equally tall, he was large and solidly stout, with an air
+of dignified quiet and deliberation. His full beard was not of so
+stubbly a cut as Sherman's, his countenance was almost impassive,
+and the lines of his brow gave an air of sternness. His part in the
+conversation was less, his words much fewer and less expressive, but
+always clear and intelligent. His manner was kindly, but rather
+reserved, and one felt that his acquaintance must be gradually
+cultivated. His reputation for cool intrepidity and stubborn
+tenacity could not be excelled, and no soldier could approach him
+without a deep interest and respect that was not diminished by his
+natural modesty of demeanor. Better acquaintance with him made one
+learn that his intellect was strong and broad, and his mind had been
+expanded by general reading, with some special scientific tastes
+beyond his military profession. He was a noble model of patriotic
+devotion to country, and of the private virtues that make a great
+citizen. His military career had been an important one from the
+beginning of the war. Second in rank in the armies of Buell and
+Rosecrans in 1862 and 1863, at the great battles of Stone's River
+and Chickamauga he had held his wing of the army defiant and
+invincible when other parts were swept back by the Confederate
+impetuosity. No sobriquet conferred by an admiring soldiery was more
+characteristic than the "Rock of Chickamauga." Between him and
+Sherman the old affection of schoolmates at the Military Academy was
+still warm. Sherman still called him "Tom," the nickname of cadet
+days, and Thomas evidently enjoyed, in his quiet way, the vivacious
+talk and brilliant ideas of his old friend, now his commander. His
+army so much outnumbered the organizations of McPherson and
+Schofield that, as a massive centre, it was necessarily the chief
+reliance of Sherman for the results of the campaign, and was
+personified in its leader's weight and deliberation; while the
+lighter organizations of the Tennessee and the Ohio were thrown from
+flank to flank in zigzag movements from one strategic position to
+another as we penetrated into Georgia.
+
+Grant's plan of having the armies of the East and West begin
+simultaneous movements on the first days of May had been responded
+to by Sherman with the information that on the first of the month
+his three armies were in mutual support, and that he would "draw the
+enemy's fire within twenty-four hours of May 5th." [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. p. 1.] The delay in
+McPherson's reaching his position, slight as it was, had to be
+considered in ordering other movements in view of the promise to
+Grant to get into immediate contact with the enemy, and helped in
+the decision to let Thomas's army advance strongly in the centre and
+engage the enemy if the chance seemed at all favorable, while
+McPherson made the flanking movement by way of Snake Creek Gap. On
+the 4th Sherman had telegraphed Grant that he would "first secure
+the Tunnel Hill, then throw McPherson rapidly on his (the enemy's)
+communications, attacking at the same time cautiously and in force."
+[Footnote: _Id_., p. 25.]
+
+McPherson's orders went to him on the evening of the 5th, directing
+that whilst the movements of Thomas and Schofield already described
+were in progress, on Saturday the 7th he should "secure Snake Creek
+Gap, and from it make a bold attack on the enemy's flank or his
+railroad at any point between Tilton and Resaca." [Footnote: _Id_.,
+p. 39.] Sherman expressed the hope that Johnston would fight at
+Dalton, but should he fall back along the railroad McPherson was to
+hit him in flank. "Do not fail, in that event," he continued, "to
+make the most of the opportunity by the most vigorous attack
+possible, as it may save us what we have most reason to apprehend, a
+slow pursuit, in which he gains strength as we lose it." McPherson
+was assured that Thomas and Schofield would prevent Johnston from
+turning on him alone, and the sound of battle at the north would
+show the greater necessity for rapid movement on the railroad. "If
+once broken to an extent that would take them days to repair, you
+can withdraw to Snake Creek Gap, and come to us or await the
+development according to your judgment or information you may
+receive." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. p. 39.]
+
+Sherman's orders to Thomas were to take Tunnel Hill, and threaten
+Dalton in front, but not to attack its defences "unless the enemy
+assume the offensive against either of our wings, when all must
+attack directly in front toward the enemy's main army, and not
+without orders detach to the relief of the threatened wing."
+[Footnote: _Id_., p. 40.] With similar orders to Schofield, Sherman
+added: "As soon as Tunnel Hill is secured to us, I shall pause to
+give McPherson time for his long march; but we must occupy the
+attention of all the enemy, lest he turn his whole force on
+McPherson, which must be prevented. Therefore, on the sound of heavy
+battle always close up on Howard and act according to circumstances.
+We will not be able to detach to McPherson's assistance, but can
+press so closely from this direction that he (Johnston) cannot
+detach but a part of his command against him." [Footnote: _Id_., p.
+38.]
+
+These lucid orders show that Sherman was not contemplating merely a
+flanking movement to make Johnston retreat and yield territory; on
+the other hand he strongly expressed the desirability of forcing
+conclusions as near his own base as possible, and showed his
+apprehension of the disadvantages which must come from stretching
+still further his long line of communications. The same desire and
+the same apprehension were constant with him throughout the
+campaign, and it was with an unwillingness growing at times into
+impatience that he found himself compelled to follow Johnston's slow
+and skilful retreat. It was not till the change of the Confederate
+commanders that aggressive tactics on the part of the enemy gave the
+opportunity for severe punishment and led to the speedy destruction
+of the hostile army. Herein lies the key of the whole campaign.
+
+The possession of Tunnel Hill enabled Sherman to look into Mill
+Creek Gap, the break in Rocky Face, and the first look was enough to
+show how desperate would be an attack either upon the precipitous
+cliffs or into the fortified gorge. His orders for the 8th of May
+were for Thomas to threaten the Buzzard Roost pass and try to get a
+small force on Rocky Face ridge. Schofield from Dr. Lee's was to
+feel along the same ridge southward toward the gap and the signal
+station which the enemy had established above it on Buzzard Roost.
+It was to be a skirmishing advance, but no battle, attracting the
+enemy's attention whilst McPherson was seizing on Snake Creek Gap in
+Johnston's rear. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv.
+p. 56.]
+
+On our part, Schofield ordered Judah's division to ascend the north
+point of Rocky Face and press along the sharp ridge southward. My
+own division was to occupy the passes looking toward Varnell's
+Station, sending a regiment to support the cavalry there. [Footnote:
+_Id_., pp. 55, 66, 85.] General Thomas, seeing no chance of getting
+to the top of Rocky Face from the west, had ordered the Fourth Corps
+to attempt it from the north, and Howard had sent in Newton's
+division to do this before Schofield received his orders for the
+day. The latter therefore put Judah's division in support of
+Newton's, extending the line along the east base of the ridge, and
+called up Hovey's division into close support. With my own division
+I advanced southeastwardly to hills in that direction, keeping
+abreast of the movement on Rocky Face. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 82, 83;
+pt. ii. p. 675.]
+
+Sherman had conjectured that the hill-tops would be found to be
+plateaus on which troops might manoeuvre to some extent, but they
+proved to be sharp and steep to the very summits, and composed of
+loose rock of every size, but all as angular as if from fresh
+cleavage. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. ii. p. 675;
+pt. iv. p. 84.] Harker's brigade of Newton's division had the
+advance, but even a brigade was too large a body for combined
+action, and Colonel Opdycke with his regiment (One Hundred and
+Twenty-fifth Ohio) took the lead. He made a demonstration as if to
+turn the north point and go up the eastern side; then leaving the
+brigade skirmish line to continue to push there, he rapidly moved
+again to the west side and climbed swiftly to the ridge. Here was
+only room for four men to march abreast, but charging from rock to
+rock he succeeded in advancing about a third of a mile southward
+along the ridge to a breastwork of stone where the enemy, who had
+fought bravely for every "coign of vantage," were finally enabled to
+check him. He also threw together a heap of stones to cover and
+enable him to hold the ground he had gained. [Footnote: _Id_., pt.
+i. p. 367.]
+
+Schofield in person had followed the advance of Judah's division,
+and reconnoitred along the ridge parallel to Rocky Face on the east.
+It was plain that there was little chance of getting near Buzzard
+Roost by following Harker's path along the knife-like summit, and he
+was disposed to let Judah try the effect of a night attack upon the
+fortified outpost at the enemy's signal station in front of Harker.
+[Footnote: _Id_., pt. iv. p. 83.] Sherman realized that he could not
+hope to carry the Dalton lines from the west and north, and that
+Johnston was too well satisfied with his defensive position to leave
+it unless some part of our army was compromised by making a false
+move. McPherson, however, was entering Snake Creek Gap with so
+little opposition as to show that the importance of that pass was
+not understood by Johnston, if indeed he knew of its existence.
+Sherman therefore determined to keep up active demonstrations with
+watchful observation of the enemy for another day, whilst the
+decisive part of McPherson's movement should go on, and was already
+planning to transfer Hooker's Corps to McPherson's column as soon as
+the latter should hold the outlet of his gap. He wrote to Schofield,
+"We must not let Johnston amuse us here by a small force whilst he
+turns on McPherson." He sometimes suspected this was being done, and
+had been uneasy during the day at the absence of cannonade from
+Johnston's lines. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv.
+pp. 83, 84.] The orders for the 9th were that Thomas should continue
+to push along the crest of Rocky Face from the north and make
+demonstrations on other parts of his line, whilst Schofield
+cautiously swung his left flank out toward the east at right angles
+to the principal ridge and made a strong reconnoissance of the
+enemy's lines in the immediate front of the town. At midnight
+Sherman learned that Hooker had made an effort to carry Rocky Face
+at Dug Gap, two or three miles south of Buzzard Roost, and had
+failed with considerable loss to Geary's division, which was
+engaged.
+
+At daybreak on the 9th, my own camp was astir. The division advanced
+beyond the left flank of the position of Hovey's, then swung the
+left forward and moved southward astride of the ridge parallel to
+Rocky Face on the east. Judah's division connected our movement with
+the left flank of the Fourth Corps across the intervening valley.
+Hovey's division marched in rear of my left flank as a reserve.
+McCook's division of cavalry covered the extreme flank at Varnell's
+Station, under orders to demonstrate on the direct road to Dalton as
+our infantry advanced. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 98-100.] The enemy
+resisted with strong outposts and skirmish lines posted in several
+strong barricades of timber and stones. We drove him from these and
+continued the movement till we confronted the main line of
+intrenchments. Schofield intended to attack these as soon as
+Newton's division of the Fourth Corps (which was our pivot) should
+be able to force the position in its immediate front on the crest of
+Rocky Face, but Newton was obliged to report that Harker's brigade
+had failed in its effort, [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii.
+pt. iv. p. 102.] and Schofield ordered us to stand fast where we
+were.
+
+McCook had found a superior force of Confederate cavalry under
+Wheeler on the Dalton road; his advanced brigade under Colonel La
+Grange had been roughly handled, and that officer was captured.
+[Footnote: _Id_., p. 96.] General Stoneman was, however, advancing
+from Charleston with the cavalry of the Army of the Ohio, and the
+affair was of no great significance, though the Confederates claimed
+a considerable victory for their horse. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 683.]
+
+Our movement had been an interesting one. As we went forward on the
+ridge, we could see Judah's line keeping pace with us in the valley
+and on the lower slopes of Rocky Face, whilst Newton's men continued
+the line to the summit, where Harker was having a sharp combat in
+which both artillery and small arms were brought into play. Off
+beyond our left was a separate rounded height, Potato Hill, on which
+the enemy had artillery which annoyed us, and to which our own guns
+answered. The space between was filled with skirmishers, horse and
+foot, and a rattling fusillade accompanied our march. It was evident
+that the lines before us were very formidable and held in force, and
+that the reconnoissance had been pushed as far as possible; to go
+further would commit us to a desperate attack upon intrenchments.
+[Footnote: When Johnston's retreat gave us possession of Dalton, we
+found the works of a very strong character, putting that front quite
+beyond a _coup-de-main_. I examined them myself later in the
+campaign.] But Sherman did not desire to do this. He wished to keep
+the enemy employed so that he could not send a great force against
+McPherson, and thus to give the latter a chance to make a success of
+the movement against Resaca. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xxxviii. pt. iv. p. 98.] Toward evening he directed Schofield to
+fall back to a strong defensive position again, as from the news he
+got from McPherson he was sure Johnston must either attack us or
+retreat on the next day, and he wished to be ready for a prompt
+transfer of his army to Snake Creek Gap. But Schofield thought a
+night movement too uncertain in that broken and tangled country,
+especially as he had not been pleased with the handling of Hovey's
+division during the day, and obtained permission to bivouac for the
+night where we were, sending a couple of infantry regiments to
+support McCook's cavalry and cover our flank. [Footnote: _Id_., pp.
+99, 119.]
+
+During the night Sherman learned that McPherson had not succeeded in
+taking Resaca or breaking the railroad, and had retired to the mouth
+of Snake Creek Gap. Johnston was, of course, now aware of the
+turning movement, and before morning we had evidence that he was
+changing the positions of his army to meet the new situation.
+Sherman immediately turned his whole energy to transferring his army
+to McPherson's position. Hooker's Corps leading off was followed by
+Palmer's, and this by ours. Howard's was ordered to remain in
+position covering the Chattanooga railway, and to follow Johnston
+directly through Dalton when he left his intrenchments. The movement
+could not be begun till the 11th, as Stoneman with the cavalry of
+the Army of the Ohio was marching from Cleveland, and another day
+was needed to enable him to get upon our left flank, the place
+assigned him in the combined advance. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 112,
+113, 126.] Three days' rations in haversacks and seven more in
+wagons gave provisions for a short separation from our base, and
+orders to send back all baggage to Ringgold were strictly enforced.
+
+At daybreak of the 10th I advanced my skirmishers to reconnoitre the
+enemy's lines, which were found to be still held in force, and his
+troops on the alert. We then proceeded to wheel the whole of the
+corps backward in line of battle, ready to halt at any moment, and
+engage the enemy if he should come out and attack us. My division
+being on the flank, it was to regulate the movement, Judah's
+conforming to mine on the right, and Hovey's in reserve immediately
+in rear of mine. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv.
+pp. 123, 131.] We were under a warm skirmish fire of infantry in
+front, and the enemy's cavalry on our left flank also followed up
+the movement sharply. Reinforcing the skirmish line till the enemy
+was driven back, a good position in rear was selected for my second
+line and it was made to lie down. My first line was then marched
+slowly to the rear over the other, to another position, where it
+halted and lay down in turn, whilst the other rose and marched to
+the rear in a similar manner. Making the troops lie down avoided the
+danger, incident to such a manoeuvre under fire, that the men in
+second line would be confused by the passing of the first line
+through their ranks and break their organization. [Footnote:
+Officers experienced in war know that manoeuvres which are easy and
+of fine effect on parade are difficult and even dangerous under
+fire, and that it is wise to simplify the tactics as much as
+possible. Marshal Saint-Cyr, whose reputation for tactical skill was
+second to none in the wars of the French Republic and Empire, thus
+speaks of the matter in his comments on the battle of Novi, apropos
+to the break of the French division Watrin, which was in two brigade
+lines: "La première, attaquée avec vigueur par le général Lusignan
+appuyé par Laudon, ne soutint qu'un moment le choc, et se rabattit
+sur la seconde; elle espérait se reformer en arrière de celle-ci, en
+faisant ce qu'on appelle une passage de ligne; mais il fut démontré
+une fois de plus, que cette manoeuvre, qui fait un assez bel effet à
+la parade, ne peut réussir à la guerre lorsqu'on est suivi par un
+ennemi actif. La premiere entraîna la seconde dans un mouvement
+rétrograde; de plus elle y apporta assez de confusion pour que ces
+deux lignes réunies crussent n'avoir d'autre parti à prendre que
+celui de la fuite," etc. Mémoires, vol. i. p. 257. There can be no
+question as to the general soundness of this criticism, and we
+should not have continued the movement described if we had been
+attacked in force. We should then have fought where we stood,
+bringing the reserves to support the front line. It justifies,
+however, the precaution of selecting carefully the alternate
+positions and making the rear line lie down.] When we came opposite
+the positions assigned us in the extension of the Fourth Corps line,
+the division changed front to rear on right battalion and so swung
+into its place. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. ii.
+p. 675.] Sherman had sent Captain Poe, his chief engineer, to
+observe our movement from the crest of Rocky Face held by Newton's
+troops, and congratulated Schofield upon it, saying it "was
+described to me by Captain Poe, as seen from the mountain, as very
+handsome." [Footnote: _Id_., pt. iv. p. 121.] In his full report
+made at the close of the campaign, General Schofield referred to it
+as "a delicate and difficult one, owing to the character of the
+ground, the position and strength of the enemy, and our comparative
+isolation from the main army." He adds: "I regarded it as a complete
+test of the quality of my troops, which I had not before had
+opportunity of seeing manoeuvre in presence of the enemy."
+[Footnote: _Id_., pt. ii. p. 510.]
+
+Schofield had been so dissatisfied with General Hovey that on the
+same day he asked to have him removed from the command of the
+division, notwithstanding his high personal esteem for him and his
+confidence in his personal gallantry. The trouble seemed to be in
+the comprehension of orders and in the grasp of the surrounding
+circumstances. Sherman did not feel at liberty to act on the
+request, as Hovey had been assigned to the new division, before it
+took the field, in fulfilment of a promise of General Grant under
+whom Hovey had served in the Vicksburg campaign, and had been
+recommended for promotion as a recognition of good conduct at the
+affair of Champion Hill. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. iv. p. 122.
+Brigadier-General Alvin P. Hovey had been a Judge of the Supreme
+Court of Indiana, and a "War Democrat" in politics. His subsequent
+withdrawal from the army and his connection with Sherman's famous
+protest against promotions given under stress of personal and
+political influences at Washington would not be entirely clear
+without mention of the incident here told.]
+
+Johnston seems to have heard rumors of Sherman's original plan to
+send McPherson's column against Rome, much further in rear, and he
+remained under the impression that this was the meaning of the
+movements he now heard of, until McPherson was in possession of
+Snake Creek Gap. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv.
+pp. 674, 675.] On the 7th he had urged Polk to hasten his
+concentration at Rome, and ordered Martin's division of cavalry to
+Calhoun to cover the communications with Polk, and protect the
+railroad south of the Oostanaula. Brigadier-General Cantey was at
+Resaca with at least four thousand men, his own and Reynolds's
+brigades with fourteen pieces of artillery. [Footnote: _Id_., pp.
+679, 682.] Movements toward his rear were reported to Johnston, and
+all his subordinates were on the alert to find out what it meant;
+the cavalry was ordered to watch all gaps south of Dug Gap, but no
+mention is made of Snake Creek Gap till McPherson had passed through
+it. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 681, 683, 686, 687.] Then Cantey was told
+to hold Resaca firmly, and call on Martin for assistance if he
+needed it. Cars were sent to bring a brigade from Rome,
+intrenchments were made to cover the south end of the Resaca bridge;
+Major Presstman, chief engineer, was sent to mark out more extensive
+works about Resaca, and Hood was ordered there with considerable
+reinforcements. As soon, however, as it was known that McPherson had
+retired to Sugar Valley, Hood was called back to Dalton, and
+Johnston requested Polk to hasten in person to Resaca and take
+command, hurrying forward his corps as fast as possible. [Footnote:
+_Id_., pp. 687, 689.] This was the situation on the evening of the
+10th of May.
+
+When we took our position on the ridge of Rocky Face as the left of
+the line, the division was somewhat exposed to a flank attack, and I
+ordered the fallen timber on the hillside to be thrown together to
+make obstruction to any hostile advance, besides the usual tactical
+precautions of outposts and reserves. This, like the slashing made
+at Red Clay a few days before, was suggested by the difficulty of
+knowing what was going on around us in a country covered by dense
+forests with only small cultivated openings here and there. In this
+instance it was only the gathering of logs and tree-tops already
+lying on the ground, and utilizing them as a means of delaying an
+enemy till our lines could be formed. From such beginnings grew up
+our more and more elaborate system of intrenched camps; a natural
+evolution of campaigning in a country only partially cleared, with
+no roads worthy of the name.
+
+To pass such a defile as Snake Creek Gap with an army was no small
+undertaking. Hooker was ordered to clear a second track, so that two
+lines could march by the flank at once, but this could only be
+imperfectly done in the time at command. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. pp. 126, 135, 145.] Careful orders in
+detail were made, fixing the time for each corps and division to
+move, keeping the roads filled night and day. Wagons were sent by
+the rear to Villanow, and the regular subsistence trains were
+stopped at Ringgold and Tunnel Hill till the Confederate army should
+be dislodged. For night marching men were stationed with torches at
+the forking of paths, and boards were nailed to trees as
+finger-posts.
+
+Early on the morning of the 12th May, my division left its position
+on Rocky Face and marched through Tunnel Hill station. General
+Schofield, finding the shorter road to Snake Creek Gap blocked by
+wagons of the Cumberland Army, ordered a detour to the west, and we
+marched over to the Trickum and Villanow road, some two miles, and
+then pushing southward got within three miles of Villanow. It was
+evident that our movement and that of the whole army were visible
+from the high ridge of Rocky Face. Johnston was aware of them, and
+telegraphed to Richmond that Sherman was moving to Calhoun or to
+some point on the Oostanaula. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xxxviii. pt. iv. p. 698.] He put everything in motion upon his
+interior line to Resaca, and the last of his infantry left Dalton
+that night, covered by a cavalry rear-guard. [Footnote: _Id_., p.
+160.] Howard entered the place next morning.
+
+[Illustration: Map]
+
+Taking only a short rest, my division marched again at one o'clock
+through Villanow and Snake Creek Gap into Sugar Valley, followed by
+Judah's division of our corps, the other (Hovey's) being left to
+guard the gap and the trains. McPherson's army covered the direct
+road to Resaca, having Kilpatrick's cavalry on its right flank
+toward the Oostanaula; Thomas's army was in the centre, consisting
+of two corps (Hooker's and Palmer's) in Howard's absence; and
+Schofield was ordered to continue the curve to the left, my own
+division being the flank and directed to rest the left upon the
+ridge or near it, facing northward.
+
+The different corps advanced from McPherson's intrenchments to the
+new line which was near Camp Creek on the Resaca road, facing east,
+thence curving north and west through a quarter circle to my
+position on the left close to the dominant ridge, and about four
+miles north of Sugar Valley P. O. on the main Dalton road. I sent
+Hanson's brigade forward to reconnoitre toward Tilton (where Howard
+was), and it reached Martin's store, at the forks of the Dalton and
+Tilton roads and the crossing of Swamp Creek. A Confederate division
+had left that position only an hour before, marching toward Resaca.
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. ii. p. 675. In the
+official Atlas (compiled after the war), plate lvii. map 2, Martin's
+Store is given as Roberts' Store, and the position of the enemy
+there is marked.]
+
+Later in the afternoon the centre and left of the whole army swung
+forward toward the east into the line along Camp Creek, quite away
+from the Dalton road. Reilly's brigade of my division was therefore
+left as a detachment covering that road until we should know that
+Howard had advanced beyond Tilton. A regiment of Hanson's brigade
+was left as an outpost at Martin's store, and the rest of the
+brigade marched across country by the right of companies to the
+front, keeping touch with Judah's division and this with the left of
+the Army of the Cumberland. It was a rough march over ridges and
+streams through the forest, on the long outer curve, of which the
+pivot was several miles to the southeast.
+
+Sherman had hoped to be in time to interpose between Resaca and
+Johnston's army, as he had said in his orders of the 12th,
+[Footnote: _Id_., pt. iv. p. 158.] but the Confederates had the
+short interior line, and Johnston had been able to concentrate about
+Resaca in the course of the 13th, his rear-guard resisting Howard's
+advance at Tilton, and his left under Polk holding some high hills
+west of Camp Creek in front of Resaca which commanded the railroad
+bridge over the Oostanaula. With the latter exception his chosen
+line of defence was on the broken ridge between the Connasauga River
+and Camp Creek, which were nearly parallel to each other for some
+miles.
+
+On the morning of the 14th the advance was renewed, guided as before
+by the progress of the Army of the Tennessee on the right and
+continuing the wheeling movement toward the east. My right brigade
+(Manson) continued its connection with the rest of the army, but
+Reilly's had a very difficult and laborious march. I ordered it to
+advance a mile upon the road it had covered during the night, and
+then by the right flank to position in line with the rest of the
+command. After leaving the road Reilly had to break his way through
+the woods, crossing sharp and deep ravines and watercourses, with no
+path or landmark to guide him. It was especially difficult for the
+artillery, and that they got through at all proved that the officers
+and men were experts in woodcraft. The regiment at Martin's store
+remained there as an outpost during the day.
+
+Reilly came into line about ten o'clock, and we rested an hour till
+our flankers reported Howard's corps within supporting distance
+coming from Tilton. We were on the west bank of the main stream of
+Camp Creek, where its upper course makes an angle with the lower,
+some small branches coming into it from the northeast. The valley
+itself was open, and the change in its direction allowed it to be
+enfiladed by the enemy's batteries at the angle. Generals Thomas and
+Schofield were together upon a hill having a commanding view, and at
+the word from them, "The line will advance," we moved forward into
+the valley from the slope before them. Each brigade was in two
+lines, and the artillery was left on the hither side of the valley
+to cover the movement and reply to the enemy's cannonade. The
+skirmish line had been advanced to the edge of the woods on the far
+side, and kept the lead until we approached the Confederate
+trenches. We passed over two or three ridges and ravines, driving
+back the skirmishers of the enemy, and charged the line of
+earthworks on the crest of a higher ridge. Our men dropped fast as
+we went forward, but the line was carried and the Confederates broke
+from the next ridge in rear, some two hundred yards away. The
+direction of these ridges was such that our left was constantly
+thrown forward as we passed from one to another.
+
+Judah's division on our right had not succeeded in crossing Camp
+Creek, and our flank was exposed to a galling artillery fire, as the
+ridge on which we were had its shoulder bare when it came out into
+the valley, whose curve gave the enemy an enfilading fire upon us.
+His infantry sought also to drive us out of the position we had
+captured, and the fighting was heavy for an hour or two. But
+Howard's corps came up on our left, and we made firm our hold on the
+hills we had gained, forcing the Confederates to adopt a new line
+curving to the eastward.
+
+The division had lost 562 men, and our ammunition was nearly
+exhausted. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. ii. pp.
+676-679.] Wagons could not follow us, and toward evening Generals
+Thomas and Schofield arranged to relieve us with Newton's division
+of Howard's corps, let us replenish the cartridge boxes, and then
+pass to the left. This brought again the Army of the Cumberland
+together, and gave us our usual position on the flank. Newton's men
+came over part of the ground we had traversed, and as they crossed
+the open we saw them under the enemy's cannonade, the balls here and
+there bowling them over like tenpins. Harker's brigade came up to
+relieve Manson's, which was the most exposed, and Manson and I were
+standing together arranging the details, our horses being under
+cover in the edge of the wood. Harker rode up to confer with us and
+learn the situation, and as we talked, a shell exploded among us,
+the concussion stunning Manson and a fragment slightly wounding
+Harker. Manson's experience was a curious illustration of the effect
+of such an accident. He was unaware of his hurt, and only thought,
+in the moment of failing consciousness as he fell, that the motion
+was that of his companions flying upward instead of his own falling;
+and on coming to himself in the hospital began to speak his sorrow
+for what he supposed was the death of his friends. He himself never
+fully recovered from the effects of the concussion. Colonel
+Opdycke's regiment was one of the first in the winning column, and
+his men were hardly placed in the line before he was led back,
+wounded; but as soon as his wound was dressed and he had recovered a
+little from the shock, he was back at his post. The place was so hot
+a one that Harker's brigade also exhausted its ammunition and had to
+be relieved before the left of my own line was moved.
+
+The captured position was firmly held by Howard's corps, whilst
+Hooker's, which had been relieved by the Army of the Tennessee, was
+marched to the left of Howard's, extending the line across the ridge
+toward the Connasauga and turning the enemy's flank. The whole
+Twenty-third Corps was also united during the night and moved to
+Hooker's support, where next day Hood made strong efforts to drive
+our line back. My own and Judah's division were held in reserve, but
+Hovey's was put in on Hooker's left, extending the line practically
+to the river, and the division took a gallant part in repulsing
+Hood. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. ii. p. 511.]
+
+On the extreme right McPherson had bridged the Oostanaula at Lay's
+Ferry and made demonstrations on Calhoun. The whole Army of the
+Tennessee had pressed forward to Camp Creek, and toward evening of
+the 14th forced a crossing and carried some hills near its mouth
+which commanded the railway bridge. [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. xxxviii. pt. iii. pp. 92, 377.] Polk's Confederate corps made
+strong efforts to dislodge McPherson's men, but failed, and the
+latter intrenched the position. As Johnston had not succeeded in
+dislodging Sherman at either flank of the position, and the course
+of the Oostanaula made it possible for Sherman to put himself upon
+the railway near Calhoun, the Confederate general evacuated the
+Resaca position in the night of the 15th, retreating southward
+toward Kingston and Cassville.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII
+
+ATLANTA CAMPAIGN: ADVANCE TO THE ETOWAH
+
+
+Tactics modified by character of the country--Use of the
+spade--Johnston's cautious defensive--Methods of Grant and
+Sherman--Open country between Oostanaula and Etowah--Movement in
+several columns--Sherman's eagerness--Route of left wing--Of
+McPherson on the right--Necessity of exact system in such
+marches--Route of Twenty-third Corps--Hooker gets in the way--Delays
+occasioned--Closing in on Cassville--Our commanding
+position--Johnston's march to Cassville--His order to fight
+there--Protest of Hood and Polk--Retreat over the Etowah--Sherman
+crosses near Kingston--My reconnoissance to the Allatoona
+crossing--Destruction of iron works and mills--Marching without
+baggage--Barbarism of war--Desolation it causes--Changes in our
+corps organization--Hascall takes Judah's division--Our place of
+crossing the Etowah--Interference again--Kingston the new
+base--Rations--Camp coffee.
+
+
+The opening period of the campaign had developed the conditions of
+warfare in so broken and difficult a country, and they were only
+emphasized by the later experiences of both armies. Positions for
+defence could be intrenched with field-works whilst the hostile army
+was feeling its way forward through dense forests and over mountain
+ridges. To carry such positions by direct assault was so costly that
+the lesson of prudence was soon learned and such attacks were more
+and more rarely resorted to. Sherman had moved upon the enemy at
+Resaca as promptly as the deployment and advance could be made after
+the turning movement and the passage of the Snake Creek defile; but
+we found Johnston strongly placed, on ground naturally difficult of
+approach, with works which gave his men such cover as to overcome
+any advantage we had in numbers. Still, the enemy found in turn that
+we could make counter-intrenchments and quickly extend them till we
+turned his flanks and threatened his communications, when he must
+either retreat or assault our works, and that, if he assaulted, the
+balance of losses would turn so heavily against him as to fatally
+deplete his army. Johnston carefully and systematically maintained
+this defensive, and in Virginia, after Lee had tried the policy of
+attack in the Wilderness, he became as cautiously defensive as
+Johnston. Grant was slower than Sherman in learning the
+unprofitableness of attacking field-works, and his campaign was by
+far the more costly one. The difference in such cases goes much
+farther than the casualty list; it was shown in October, when
+Sherman's army was strong and well-seasoned, but Grant's was so full
+of raw recruits as almost to have lost its veteran quality. There
+were special reasons which led Grant to adhere so long to the more
+aggressive tactics, which would need to be weighed in any full
+treatment of the subject; but I am now only pointing out the fact
+that in both the East and the West the lesson was practically the
+same. Aggressive strategy had the advantage it always has, but
+defensive tactics proved generally the better in so peculiar a field
+of operations.
+
+Between the Oostanaula and the Etowah was the most open portion of
+northern Georgia, and it was possible for Sherman to move his army
+southward in several columns of pursuit on parallel roads (such as
+they were) without extending his front over a width of more than
+eight or ten miles. He was eager to bring the Confederates to battle
+in this region, and urged his subordinates to make haste. The
+assignment of routes to the different columns gave the centre to
+General Thomas, following the railroad in general, but putting his
+three corps upon as many country roads, when they could be found.
+General Schofield with the Twenty-third Corps was ordered to get
+over to the old Federal road which runs through Spring Place (east
+of Dalton) to Cassville. General McPherson with his two corps was
+sent by the Rome road and such parallel road as might be available,
+keeping communication with the centre. [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. p. 216.] Beyond him, on the extreme right,
+Davis's division of the Cumberland Army supported Garrard's cavalry
+division in a movement upon Rome by the west side of the Oostanaula.
+[Footnote: _Id_., pp. 198, 202-204.] The object of the
+last-mentioned movement was the destruction of the Confederate
+machine-shops and factories at Rome, as well as to cover the flank
+against movements along the main route of travel from Alabama. The
+extreme left flank was to be covered by the cavalry of the Ohio Army
+under General Stoneman.
+
+In making such an advance, success as well as comfort depends upon
+the care with which the several columns are led, so that each shall
+keep its place, progressing equally with the others, and avoid above
+all things cutting into and interrupting those moving on its right
+or left. Each must keep the common purpose in view, and avoid
+obstructing the rest, for nothing is more wearisome to the troops
+and ruinous to the plans of the commander than to have the lines of
+advance cross each other. In our march of the 17th our own corps was
+fated to feel the full annoyance and delay of such an interference.
+
+General Thomas ordered Howard's corps to cross by the bridges at
+Resaca, followed by Palmer's, which was diminished by the absence of
+Davis's division. He also ordered Hooker's corps to march by the
+long neck between the Oostanaula and Connasauga rivers to Newtown,
+and cross the Oostanaula there. Hooker would then follow such roads
+as he could find within two or three miles of Howard's line of march
+toward Adairsville. Sherman and Thomas both were with Howard.
+[Footnote: _Id_., pp. 202, 209, 210, 216, 217.]
+
+Schofield ordered the divisions of the Twenty-third Corps to cross
+the Connasauga at different places, and make their way by different
+roads eastward to the Federal road crossing of the Coosawattee,
+turning south after crossing that river and marching till abreast of
+Adairsville and some four or five miles distant from it. As we had
+to gain several miles of easting and to cross two rivers before
+marching southward, ours was, of course, much the longer route; and
+as the pontoons were all in use at Resaca and Lay's Ferry, we had to
+find fords or build trestle-bridges.
+
+I marched my own division to Hogan's Ford on the Connasauga, two
+miles below Tilton, and there crossed in water so deep that the men
+had to strip and carry their clothes and arms on their heads. Once
+over we pushed for the Federal road and the crossing of the
+Coosawattee at Field's Ferry. The other two divisions of the corps
+crossed the Connasauga at or near Fite's Ferry, where were
+trestle-bridges. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv.
+p. 210.]
+
+General Hooker started upon the Newtown road, which runs southward
+some miles upon a long, narrow ridge which here separates the
+Oostanaula from its tributary; but before he had gone far he learned
+that the crossing at Newtown (the mouth of the Connasauga) was
+unfordable, and other means of getting over doubtful. He now turned
+abruptly to the east, crossed the Connasauga at Fite's, and marched
+toward McClure's Ford on the Coosawattee. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 205,
+206.] In moving out from Hogan's (or Hobart's) Ford, I had learned
+that the road from the north which crosses the Coosawattee at
+McClure's was probably the principal and shortest route to Cassville
+and had reported this to General Schofield, who ordered Judah's and
+Hovey's division to take the most direct roads to McClure's. These
+columns, however, ran into Hooker's, which were making for the same
+point and had headed Schofield's off, having the inner of the
+concentric routes on which we were marching. Neither at McClure's
+nor the more distant ferry at Field's Mill was there any bridge or
+tolerable ford, and Hooker was no better off than he would have been
+at Newtown. This movement had wholly disjointed Sherman's plan of
+keeping the three armies upon separate lines of march. Finding no
+means for rapid crossing at McClure's, he pushed one of his
+divisions to Field's, and so occupied and blocked both of the
+Coosawattee crossings, which by the orders should have been wholly
+at Schofield's disposal. We found ourselves obliged therefore to
+camp on the north side of the Coosawattee on the night of the 16th,
+instead of being well over that river and ready for a prompt advance
+on the 17th. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. pp.
+210, 211, 220, 221, 225, 226.] Hooker himself might much better have
+obeyed his original orders. He reported to Thomas at ten o'clock on
+the morning of the 17th that he was not yet over, and had not the
+means of constructing a bridge that would stand; in short, that he
+had been "bothered beyond parallel." [Footnote: _Id_., p. 221.] When
+Schofield requested that he would allow our troops to take
+precedence of the Twentieth Corps wagons at either the ferry or the
+bridge, so that Sherman's expectation might not be disappointed,
+Hooker suggested that we should march back to Resaca and follow
+Thomas across the bridges there, thus getting into the place he
+himself should have taken if the Newtown crossing had been really
+impossible! [Footnote: _Id_., p. 227.]
+
+Modern systems lay great stress upon the most scrupulous care on the
+part of corps commanders to follow the roads assigned them, and to
+avoid trespassing upon those assigned to others. Moltke has even
+condensed the whole strategic art of moving troops into "marching
+divided in order to fight united," and to avoid interference and
+confusion of columns _en route_ is quite as essential as to keep
+tactical manoeuvres on the battle-field from crossing each other.
+[Footnote: See Prince Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen's Letters on Strategy
+(Wolseley Series), vol. ii. pp. 160, 161, 185, 237, etc.] No better
+proof of the necessity of the rule could be given than this. Sherman
+was most anxious to bring Johnston to battle in the open country
+between the two rivers, and ordered his subordinates to press the
+pursuit and to engage the enemy wherever he might be overtaken,
+trusting to the quick advance of the several columns to their
+support. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. pp. 201,
+202, 211, 220, 232, 242.] Anything which delayed the columns or put
+them on different roads from those indicated by the commanding
+general, directly tended to thwart his plans. All of Sherman's
+dispatches during the 17th, 18th, and 19th of May show his
+disappointment at not getting forward more rapidly.
+
+Johnston seemed disposed, in the afternoon of the 17th, to meet
+Sherman's wish for a decisive battle, and had selected a position a
+mile or two north of Adairsville, where the valley of the Oothcaloga
+Creek seemed narrow enough to give strong positions for his flanks
+on the hills bordering it. Preliminary orders were given and the
+cavalry was strongly supported by infantry to hold back Sherman's
+advance-guard till the deployment should be completed. The
+skirmishing was so brisk that, at a distance, it sounded like a
+battle; but upon testing the position by a partial deployment,
+Johnston concluded that his army would not fill it, and he resumed
+his retreat on Cassville and Kingston, hoping that Sherman's columns
+would be so separated that he could concentrate upon one of them,
+and so fight his adversary in detail. [Footnote: Narrative, pp. 319,
+320.]
+
+Schofield had pressed the march of his troops after getting over the
+Coosawattee, but the interruptions had been such that the distance
+made was not great, though the time was long and the troops were
+more tired than if they had made double the number of miles on an
+unobstructed road. My division was on the extreme left flank and in
+advance. After crossing the river at Field's Mill, the infantry by
+Hooker's foot-bridge and the artillery by the flat-boat ferry, I
+marched at ten o'clock in the evening and reached Big Spring Creek
+at two o'clock in the morning of the 18th. Resting only till five
+o'clock, we marched again, going southward on the Cassville road
+three miles, thence westward on the Adairsville road five miles to
+Marsteller's Mill. The other divisions of our corps took roads
+westward of that which I followed, and the cavalry under Stoneman
+passed beyond our left flank, scouting up the valley of Salequa
+Creek as far as Fairmount and Pine Log Post-Office. Hooker moved two
+of his divisions toward Calhoun after getting over the Coosawattee,
+and these regained the position relative to the rest of Thomas's
+army which the corps had been ordered to take. The other division
+(Butterfield's), which had crossed in advance of my own at Field's
+Mill, was necessarily on roads assigned to Schofield's command, and
+a good deal of interference was inevitable. Hooker was personally
+with this division, and in the afternoon of the 18th met General
+Schofield at Marsteller's Mill, and then went forward about six
+miles to the foot of the Gravelly Plateau, Butterfield's division
+going still further forward on its top. [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. pp. 238-242. The Atlas of the Official Records
+does not give the routes of all the columns of either Hooker's or
+Schofield's corps, nor does it give the line of march of the cavalry
+on our left. The march of my own division is fixed by the memoranda
+of my personal diary of the campaign. The official "Atlas" (Plate
+lviii.) gives two mills as Marsteller's. It is difficult to identify
+the several roads, but my own line of march was the principal
+Cassville road leading from Field's Mills and ferry through Sonora
+until we reached the road running directly to Adairsville. On this
+last we marched to Marsteller's Mills. Our route on the 19th is also
+incorrectly marked on the map. See Official Records, vol. xxxviii.
+pt. iv. p. 256.]
+
+General Schofield assembled the corps at the mills and rested for
+the night. Early on the 19th my division took the advance and
+marched southward on by-roads till we overtook Hooker's corps and
+found it in line of battle, its movement being disputed by the
+enemy's cavalry. Schofield deployed his corps on Hooker's left, my
+division taking the extreme flank and advancing in line to the south
+fork of Two Run Creek. Crossing this, we went forward to a position
+a mile northeast of Cassville, briskly skirmishing with part of
+Hood's corps. We found that we were opposite the extreme right of
+the Confederate position, which was a strong one on the hills behind
+Cassville; but an exchange of artillery shots satisfied us that we
+to some extent enfiladed their intrenchments. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. ii. p. 680.] The concentration of
+Thomas's army with Schofield's made a continuous line facing the
+enemy on the north and west. Night was falling as we took position.
+
+Johnston had followed the railroad to Kingston, where he was joined
+by French's division coming to Polk's corps from Rome, and still
+stuck to the general line of the railway to Cassville, though this
+led him by a considerable detour to the east. His manifest policy
+was to make the largest use of the railroad to move his baggage and
+supply his troops, for wagon trains were not over-abundant with the
+Confederates. He naturally reckoned also that Sherman could not go
+far from the same line, and as the road crossed the Etowah near the
+gorges of the Allatoona hills, he wished to lead the national
+commander into that difficult country from the north, instead of
+taking the more direct wagon-roads from Kingston toward Marietta.
+Could Sherman have been sure of the route his adversary would take,
+no doubt he would have concentrated his columns by shortest roads on
+Cassville, gaining possibly a day thereby. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. iv.
+pp. 242, 266.]
+
+The position on the hills behind the village of Cassville was so
+strong a one, and Johnston so much desired to offer battle at an
+early day, that he resolved to retreat no further and to try
+conclusions with Sherman here. He signified this in an unusually
+formal manner by issuing a brief and stirring address to his troops,
+in which he said that as their communications were now secure, they
+would turn and meet our advancing columns. "Fully confiding in the
+conduct of the officers and the courage of the soldiers," he said,
+"I lead you to battle" [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii.
+pt. iv. p. 728.] But when our left flank crossed Two Run Creek and
+partly turned the right of his position, his corps commanders, Hood
+and Polk, became so uneasy that they protested against giving battle
+there, and induced Johnston to continue the retreat through
+Cartersville across the Etowah River. He saw the mistake he had made
+as soon as it was done, and never ceased to regret it. [Footnote:
+Narrative, p. 323, etc.] The Richmond government had been
+disappointed at his retreat from Dalton and Resaca and its
+continuation through Adairsville. His strained relations with Mr.
+Davis were rapidly tending toward his deprivation of command. But
+more strictly military reasons made his change of purpose very
+undesirable. Hardly anything is more destructive of the confidence
+of an army than vacillation. The order to fight had been published,
+and even a defeat might be less mischievous than the sudden retreat
+in the night without joining the battle which had been so formally
+announced. Either the order had been an error or the retreat was
+one. Every soldier in the army knew this, and the _morale_ of the
+whole was necessarily affected by it.
+
+Sherman had no mind to follow the enemy into the defiles of
+Allatoona from Cartersville. His position at Kingston offered a far
+more easy way to turn that fastness by the south, if he could
+replenish his stores, rebuild the bridges behind him, and make
+Kingston the base for a march upon Dallas and thence on Marietta. On
+the 20th of May his orders were issued for the new movement, to
+begin on the 23d with preparation for a twenty days' separation from
+the railroad. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. p.
+271.] My own duty on the 20th was to follow the enemy's rear-guard
+to the river and learn the condition of the bridges and crossings.
+The division marched early, most of the distance to Cartersville
+being made in line of battle, the opposition being at times
+stubborn. The purpose of this was probably to prepare for the
+destruction of the bridges, which were burned as soon as the
+rear-guard crossed. We sent detachments to destroy the Etowah Mills
+and Iron Works a few miles above; [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 286, 298.]
+meanwhile General Schofield concentrated the Army of the Ohio at
+Cartersville, General Thomas occupied Kingston as the centre, and
+McPherson came into position on the right near the same place.
+General J. C. Davis's division had occupied Rome, finding there
+important iron-works and machine-shops as well as considerable
+depots of supplies. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 264.] General Blair was
+advancing from Decatur, Ala., with the Seventeenth Corps, under
+orders to relieve Davis at Rome, when the latter would rejoin
+Palmer's corps at the front.
+
+The ten days which had passed since the movement to turn the enemy's
+position at Dalton was begun, had been in literal obedience to the
+order to march without baggage. At my headquarters we were, in fact,
+worse off than the men in the ranks, for, although the private
+soldier finds his knapsack, haversack, canteen, and coffee-kettle a
+burden and a clattering annoyance, he soon learns to bear them
+patiently, for they are the necessary condition of the comparative
+comfort of his bivouac when the day's march is over. The veteran,
+indeed, clings to them with eager tenacity, when he has fully
+learned that they are his salvation from utter misery. But the
+officer, whose hours of halting are crowded with important business,
+and whose movements must be light and quick whenever occasion
+arises, cannot carry on his person or on his horse the outfit
+necessary for his cooking and his shelter. We had been full of the
+most earnest zeal to respond thoroughly to the general's wishes, and
+had not tried to smuggle into wagons or ambulances any extra
+comforts. We had left mess chests behind, and had used our fingers
+for forks and our pocket-knives for carving, turning sardine boxes
+into dishes, and other tins in which preserved meats are put up into
+coffee-cups. Such roughing can be kept up for a week or two, but it
+is not a real economy of means to make it permanent. A compromise
+must be found in which the wholesome cooking of food and the shelter
+in a rainstorm, without which no dispatches can be written or
+records kept, may be made to consist with the lightness of
+transportation which active campaigning requires. The simple,
+closely packed kitchen kit of a Rob-Roy canoe voyager was more or
+less completely anticipated by the devices and inventions born of
+necessity in our campaign in Georgia. The remainder of the season
+bore witness that we could organize our camp life so as to secure
+cleanliness of person and healthful living without transgressing the
+reasonable rules as to weight and bulk of baggage which Sherman
+insisted on. Every day proved the reasonableness of his system,
+without which the campaign could not have been made.
+
+The tendency of war to make men relapse into barbarism becomes most
+evident when an army is living in any degree upon the enemy's
+country. Desolation follows in its track, and the utmost that
+discipline can do is to mitigate the evil. The habit of disregarding
+rights of property grows apace. The legitimate exercise of the rules
+of war is not easily distinguished from their abuse. The crops are
+trampled down, the fences disappear, the timber is felled for
+breastworks and for camp-fires, the green forage is used for the
+army horses and mules, barns and houses may be dismantled to build
+or to floor a bridge,--all this is necessary and lawful. But the
+pigs and the poultry also disappear, though the subsistence officers
+are issuing full and abundant rations to the troops; the bacon is
+gone from the smoke-house, the flour from the bin, the delicacies
+from the pantry. These things, though forbidden, are half excused by
+sympathy with the soldier's craving for variety of food. Yet, as the
+habit of measuring right by might goes on, pillage becomes wanton
+and arson is committed to cover the pillage. The best efforts of a
+provost-marshal with his guard will be useless when superior
+officers, and especially colonels of regiments, encourage or wink at
+license. The character of different commands becomes as notoriously
+different as that of the different men of a town. Our armies were
+usually free from the vagabond class of professional camp-followers
+that scour a European battlefield and strip the dead and the
+wounded. We almost never heard of criminal personal assaults upon
+the unarmed and defenceless; but we cannot deny that a region which
+had been the theatre of active war became desolate sooner or later.
+A vacant house was pretty sure to be burned, either by malice or by
+accident, until, with fences gone, the roads an impassable mire, the
+fields bare and cut up with innumerable wagon-tracks, no living
+thing to be seen but carrion birds picking the bones of dead horses
+and mules, Dante's "Inferno" could not furnish a more horrible and
+depressing picture than a countryside when war has swept over it.
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. pp. 273, 297,
+298.]
+
+The orders issued from our army headquarters in Georgia forbade
+soldiers from entering houses or stripping families of the
+necessaries of life. Most of the officers honestly tried to enforce
+this rule; but in an army of a hundred thousand men, a small
+fraction of the whole would be enough to spoil the best efforts of
+the rest. The people found, too, that it was not only the enemy they
+had to fear. The worse disciplined of their own troops and the horde
+of stragglers were often as severe a scourge as the enemy.
+[Footnote: See Hood's orders, Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. v.
+pp. 960, 963.] Yet I believe that nowhere in the world is respect
+for person and property more sincere than among our own people. The
+evils described are those which may be said to be necessarily
+incident to the waging of war, and are not indications of ferocity
+of nature or uncommon lack of discipline.
+
+In the organization of the Army of the Ohio, General Schofield made
+an important change by assigning Brigadier-General Hascall to
+command the second division in place of General Judah. In the battle
+of Resaca the division suffered severe loss without accomplishing
+anything, and General Schofield found, on investigation, that it was
+due to the incompetency of the officer commanding it. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. p. 243.] The brigade
+commanders, in their reports, complained severely of the way in
+which the division had been handled, and the army commander felt
+obliged to examine and to act promptly. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. ii.
+pp. 581, 610, 611.] Judah was a regular officer, major of the Fourth
+Infantry, a graduate of West Point in the class of 1843, but lacked
+the judgment and coolness in action necessary in grave
+responsibilities. General Schofield kindly softened the treatment of
+the matter in his report of the campaign, but in his personal
+memoirs he repeats the judgment he originally acted upon. [Footnote:
+Schofield's Report, _Id_., pt. ii. p. 511; Forty-two Years in the
+Army, p. 182. In the passage of his memoirs last referred to,
+General Schofield had been using the case of General Wagner at
+Franklin to give point to "the necessity of the higher military
+education, and the folly of intrusting high commands to men without
+such education" (p. 181); but he also distinctly recognizes the fact
+that such education is gained by experience, and the fault of those
+he uses as illustrations was that they had not learned either by
+experience or theoretically. I have discussed the subject in vol. i.
+chapter ix., _ante_. There must be knowledge; but even this will be
+of no use unless there are the personal qualities which fit for high
+commands.] The crossing of the Etowah River on May 23d was again the
+occasion of an interference of columns, because Sherman's orders
+were not faithfully followed. To McPherson was assigned a country
+bridge near the mouth of Connasene Creek, to Thomas one four miles
+southeast of Kingston, known as Gillem's Bridge, and to Schofield
+two pontoon bridges to be laid at the site of Milam's Bridge, which
+had been burned. There were fords near all these crossings which
+were also to be utilized as far as practicable. [Footnote: Sherman's
+general plan was given to his subordinates in person, but he
+repeated it to Halleck, Official Records vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. p.
+274. Thomas's order is given, _Id._, p. 289, and accompanying
+sketch, p. 290. Gillem's Bridge in the Atlas is called Free Bridge,
+plate lviii. Schofield's place for pontoon bridges is fixed by his
+dispatch to Sherman, _Id._, p. 284, my own dispatch, _Id._, p. 298,
+and my official report, _Id._, pt. ii. p. 680. The line of march and
+place of crossing as given in the Atlas are incorrect.] We marched
+from Cartersville on the Euharlee road by the way of the hamlet of
+Etowah Cliffs, till we reached the direct road from Cassville to
+Milam's Bridge, when we found the way blocked by Hooker's corps,
+which had possession of the pontoons which Schofield's engineer had
+placed. Hooker, however, was not responsible for this, as he had
+been ordered to change his line of march by a dispatch from Thomas's
+headquarters written without stopping to inquire how such a change
+might conflict with Schofield's right of way and with Sherman's
+plans. Halted thus about noon, we were not able to resume the march
+till next day, as Hooker had ordered his supply trains to follow his
+column. [Footnote: _Id._, pt. iv. pp. 283, 291. Schofield to Sherman
+and reply, _Id._, pp. 296, 297. When I wrote "Atlanta," I supposed
+Hooker acted without orders.] The incident only emphasizes the way
+in which we learned by experience the importance of strict system in
+such movements, and the mischiefs almost sure to follow when there
+is any departure from a plan of march once arranged. There was, of
+course, no intention to make an interference, and the difficulty
+rarely, if ever, occurred in the subsequent parts of the campaign.
+
+In preparation for the movement to turn Johnston's new position at
+Allatoona we were ordered to provide for twenty days' absence from
+direct railway communication. Within that time Sherman expected to
+regain the railway again and establish supply depots near the camps.
+Meanwhile Kingston was made the base, and was garrisoned with a
+brigade. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. pp. 272,
+274, 278.] The returning veterans were coming back by regiments and
+were fully supplying the losses of the campaign with men of the very
+best quality and full of enthusiasm. Nine regiments joined the
+Twenty-third Corps or were _en route_ during the brief halt at the
+Etowah. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 291.] The ration was the full supply of
+fresh beef from the herds driven with the army, varied by bacon two
+days in the week, a pound of bread, flour, or corn-meal per man each
+day, and the small rations of coffee, sugar and salt. [Footnote:
+_Id._, p. 272.] Vegetables and forage were to some extent gathered
+from the country. The coffee was always issued roasted, but in the
+whole berry, and was uniformly first-rate in quality. The soldiers
+carried at the belt a tin quart-pail, in which the coffee was
+crushed as well as boiled. The pail was set upon a flat stone like a
+cobbler's lapstone, and the coffee berries were broken by using the
+butt of the bayonet as a pestle. At break of day every camp was
+musical with the clangor of these primitive coffee-mills. The coffee
+was fed to the mill a few berries at a time, and the veterans had
+the skill of gourmands in getting just the degree of fineness in
+crushing which would give the best strength and flavor. The cheering
+beverage was the comfort and luxury of camp life, and we habitually
+spoke of halting to make coffee, as in the French army they speak of
+their _soupe_.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII
+
+ATLANTA CAMPAIGN: NEW HOPE CHURCH AND THE KENNESAW LINES
+
+
+Sherman's plan for June--Movements of 24th May--Johnston's position
+at Dallas and New Hope Church--We concentrate to attack--Pickett's
+Mill--Dallas--Flanking movements--Method developed by the character
+of the country--Closer personal relations to Sherman--Turning
+Johnston's right--Cross-roads at Burnt Church--A tangled
+forest--Fighting in a thunderstorm--Sudden freshet--Bivouac in a
+thicket--Johnston retires to a new line--Formidable character of the
+old one--Sherman extends to the railroad on our left--Blair's corps
+joins the army--General Hovey's retirement--The principles
+involved--Politics and promotions.
+
+
+Sherman's general plan of campaign for the month of June was to move
+his army in several columns upon Dallas, and then along the ridge
+between the Etowah and Chattahooche rivers on Marietta. As Johnston
+was at Allatoona and his cavalry was active all along the south bank
+of the Etowah, our left flank was not only covered by Stoneman's
+cavalry, but Schofield was purposely held back a day's march so as
+to cover the rear as well as the flank, which was exposed to a
+possible attack from Johnston as we marched south and opened a space
+between us and the river, uncovering the supply trains which filled
+the roads over which the troops had passed.
+
+After crossing the river at Milam's bridge on May 24th, we turned
+eastward through Stilesborough, to and across Richland Creek,
+reaching the road on the upland which runs from Cassville to
+Marietta by way of Rowland's Ferry. Stoneman, who had crossed the
+Etowah with his division of horse at Shellman's Ford on the 22d, and
+covered the laying of the pontoon bridges at Milam's, went back to
+look after a raid by the Confederate cavalry at Cass Station, and
+was not able to return to his position south of the river until the
+evening of the 24th, when he scouted the road toward Allatoona.
+Having the advance, my division marched southward on the Marietta
+road to Sligh's Mill, where the road forks, the right-hand branch
+turning southwest, along the ridge, to Huntsville, better known in
+the neighborhood as Burnt Hickory. This place was about half-way on
+the direct road from Kingston to Dallas, and was the rendezvous for
+the Cumberland Army for the night. We camped at Sligh's Mill, being
+joined by Hascall's division of our corps. Hovey's division and the
+corps trains took the road from Stilesborough up Raccoon Creek, some
+miles west of us and covered by our march. The Army of the Tennessee
+reached VanWert, some miles west of Burnt Hickory, on the Rome and
+Dallas road.
+
+We lay at Sligh's Mill during the 25th, till five P.M., [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. p. 311.] giving time for
+McPherson to approach Dallas, and for Thomas to continue his
+movement of the centre upon the same place. We were then to march to
+Burnt Hickory and follow Thomas to Dallas. But the enemy was also
+active and modified our program. His cavalry had reported our
+concentration in front of Kingston, and the laying of our pontoons
+at Milam's bridge on the 23d. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 737.] They had
+also made a reconnoissance to Cass Station, and found nothing there
+but the wagons of the Twenty-third Corps, of which a number were
+captured and destroyed. Satisfied that Sherman was marching
+southward in force, Johnston immediately put his army in motion.
+Hardee's Corps, being his left, marched to Dallas and took position
+south of the town, covering the main road to Atlanta and extending
+its line northeast toward New Hope Church. Hood was assigned to the
+right at the church, and Polk had the interval in the centre, upon
+the main road they had travelled from Allatoona. The line was along
+the ridge dividing the headwaters of Pumpkin Vine Creek, which flows
+northward into the Etowah, from the sources of the Sweetwater and
+Powder-spring creeks which empty into the Chattahoochee at the
+south.
+
+The movement was begun on the 24th, and in the forenoon of the 25th
+the Confederate troops were taking the positions assigned them,
+covered by their cavalry. A captured dispatch gave Sherman useful
+information, and he directed that instead of marching straight to
+Dallas, Hooker should test the appearance of hostile force toward
+New Hope Church, turning off on the Marietta road at Owen's Mill.
+This brought on the fierce combat at New Hope Church, where Hood's
+Corps held its line against Hooker's very vigorous attack. The
+fighting began about four o'clock in the afternoon and lasted till
+darkness put an end to it. All the other troops of the grand army
+were hurried forward. McPherson continued his march to Dallas,
+Thomas hastened the Fourth Corps to Hooker's support, holding part
+of the Fourteenth as a general reserve, and Schofield was directed
+to hasten the march of the Twenty-third Corps by way of Burnt
+Hickory.
+
+My division marched from Sligh's Mill at five o'clock, and on
+reaching Burnt Hickory took the road Hooker had travelled to Owen's
+Mill, accompanied by Hascall's division, Hovey's being left near
+Burnt Hickory to protect the trains. A thunderstorm with pouring
+rain came on soon after we started and lasted through the night. On
+reaching the road behind Hooker, we found it filled with his wagons,
+and the storm, the darkness, and the obstructed road produced a
+combination of miseries which made the march slow and fatiguing to
+the last degree. We plodded on till midnight, but had not yet
+reached Pumpkin Vine Creek, when we halted for a little rest, and to
+get further orders from Schofield, who had before nightfall gone on
+to communicate with Sherman. Word came that he was disabled by an
+accident when on his way back to us, and I was directed to lead the
+two divisions forward and report to Sherman. After a halt of an hour
+the men fell into ranks again, and pressing the toilsome march,
+reached the field at daybreak. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xxxviii. pt. iv. pp. 303, 311, 320. The official Atlas is again
+inaccurate in making our line of advance from Sligh's Mill follow
+the Marietta road instead of that to Burnt Hickory (Huntsville).]
+
+By Sherman's orders we joined the Fourth Corps (Howard's), extending
+its line to the left, and the whole swung forward through a terribly
+tangled forest till we passed Brown's saw-mill and reached the open
+valley which was the continuation of that in front of Hooker, and
+took our extreme left over the Dallas and Allatoona road. We had met
+with a strong skirmishing resistance, for Johnston was manifestly
+unwilling to give up the control of the road we had crossed. Having
+thus partly turned the Confederate position on our left, Sherman
+hoped that McPherson might complete their dislodgment by a similar
+flanking movement through Dallas on our right. [Footnote: _Id._, pp.
+321, 322.] The distances, however, were greater than we estimated,
+and though McPherson kept with him Davis's division of Palmer's
+Corps (greatly to Palmer's disgust), [Footnote: _Id._, pp. 316,
+324.] he was still unable to connect his line with Hooker's, and
+occupied an isolated, salient position in front of Dallas which
+would be perilous if Johnston were able to concentrate upon him.
+
+The enemy's line was along one of the smaller branches of Pumpkin
+Vine Creek, and Sherman ordered for the 27th that McPherson should
+press toward the left down the little valley, whilst Howard, with
+one division of his own corps withdrawn from the line and one
+division of Palmer's which had been in reserve, should push out
+beyond our left and turn the enemy's right near Pickett's Mill. A
+brigade of the Twenty-third Corps moved in the interval to cover
+Howard's flank and keep connection with the intrenched line. The
+almost impenetrable character of the forest made the movement slow,
+and it was late in the afternoon when Howard reached the enemy's
+position. He found they too had been busy in extending their lines,
+though pretty sharply recurved, to the eastward. The fierce combat
+did not succeed in carrying the Confederate position, but it gained
+good ground near the mill, better covering all the roads toward the
+railway. The left wing of the Twenty-third Corps swung forward to
+Howard's position, and all intrenched strongly upon it.
+
+On May 28th McPherson was ordered to prepare for moving to the
+extreme left, continuing the extension of our line toward the
+railroad. Suspecting this, the Confederates made a fierce attack
+upon the position in front of Dallas, but were repulsed with heavy
+loss. At McPherson's request his movement was delayed a little, lest
+it should seem to be forced by Johnston's attack. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. pp. 339, 340.]
+
+Sherman had been very unwilling to give up the hope of putting
+Johnston's army to rout in a decisive engagement, and to accept,
+instead, the patient flanking movements by which he should force
+upon his adversary the dilemma of abandoning more and more of
+Georgia, or of himself making attacks upon intrenched lines. In
+writing to Halleck after the battle of Resaca, he had said that
+although the campaign was progressing favorably, he knew that his
+army "must have one or more bloody battles such as have
+characterized Grant's terrific struggles." [Footnote: _Id._, p.
+219.] But the affairs at New Hope Church and Pickett's Mill show
+that the country was so impracticable that it was not possible to
+deliver an attack by his whole army at once, and so to give real
+unity to a great battle. He was therefore brought, perforce, to
+accept the systematic advance by flanking movements, and to avoid
+assaults upon intrenched positions on the forest-covered hills. He
+knew that this policy would bring a time when the enemy could no
+longer afford to retreat and must resort to aggressive tactics, even
+at the risk of destruction to his army. It was a curious repetition
+of the ancient colloquy,--"If thou art a great general, come down
+and fight me.--If thou art a great general, make me come down and
+fight thee." It may be readily admitted that in such a country as
+Central Europe other methods would have been feasible and
+preferable; but in the tangled wildernesses of Virginia and Georgia
+the matter was brought to the test by leaders who had courage and
+will equal to any, and the result was a system which may be
+confidently said to be the natural evolution of warfare in such
+environment. Johnston knew that his retreat, though slow, was giving
+dissatisfaction to President Davis at Richmond, but he saw also that
+to assault Sherman's lines meant final and irretrievable disaster,
+and he continued his patient and steady defence. Our progress around
+his right warned him that the New Hope Church position must soon be
+abandoned, and a new one was already selected, closer to Marietta,
+with Kennesaw, Pine and Lost mountains, for its strongholds.
+
+The two or three days during which General Schofield had been
+disabled had brought me into closer personal relations with Sherman
+than I had enjoyed before, and was the beginning of an intimate
+friendship which lasted as long as he lived. I had the opportunity
+of learning more of his characteristics and his methods, and saw how
+sound his judgment was, and how cool a prudence there was behind his
+apparent impulsiveness. The untiring activity of his mind turned
+every problem over and over until he had viewed it from every point
+and considered the probable consequences of each mode of solving it.
+At bottom of all lay the indomitable courage and will which were
+only stimulated by obstacles, and which stuck to the inexorable
+purpose of keeping the initiative and making each day bring him
+nearer to a successful end of the campaign.
+
+By the 1st of June McPherson had brought the Army of the Tennessee
+into close connection with the centre, where Palmer's Corps of the
+Cumberland Army had its three divisions reunited (except one
+brigade), relieving us and enabling Thomas to draw out Hooker's
+Corps as a reserve. The orders for the 2d were that we were to pass
+to the left beyond Howard's Corps, and push out upon the Burnt
+Hickory and Marietta road, turning the enemy's flank and reaching,
+if possible, the cross-roads where it intersected a second road
+leading from New Hope Church to Ackworth, a little in rear of the
+enemy's lines. The object was to cover more completely the
+connections with the railroad south of the Etowah, and to gain
+positions which would take in reverse portions of the Confederate
+lines. Hooker's Corps was ordered to support this movement on our
+extreme left. The cavalry were ordered to make a combined effort to
+reach Allatoona Pass on the railroad, and to hold it till Blair's
+(Seventeenth) Corps, coming from Alabama by way of Rome, could
+arrive and occupy it in force. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xxxviii. pt. iv. pp. 348, 349, 362, 366, 367.]
+
+Stoneman with the cavalry of the Army of the Ohio entered Allatoona
+on June 1st, and reported the gorge a place he could hold against a
+superior force. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 379.] General Johnston was so
+well persuaded that his position was no longer tenable that he
+issued the same day a confidential order directing a withdrawal, but
+recalled it late in the day in view of the changes evidently going
+on at our extreme right, and so remained a few days longer.
+[Footnote: _Id_., p. 753.] On the morning of the 2d, the preliminary
+changes in the line being completed, Schofield marched with the
+Twenty-third Corps to the left until he reached the Burnt Hickory
+and Marietta road, near the Cross Roads Church, or Burnt Church,
+[Footnote: _Id_., p. 396.] then turning to the east and guiding his
+left on the road he pushed forward through an almost impenetrable
+forest where it was impossible to see two rods. There was great
+difficulty in keeping the movement of the invisible skirmish line in
+accord with the line of battle, which we directed by compass, like a
+ship at sea. In the advance, my adjutant-general, Captain Saunders,
+was mortally wounded by my side, as we were riding, unconscious of
+our danger, through an opening out of our skirmishers in a momentary
+loss of direction. There were extensive thickets of the loblolly
+pine occasionally met, where these scrub trees were so thick and
+their branches so interlaced that neither man nor horse could force
+a way through them, and the movement would be delayed till these
+densest places were turned by marching around them. The connection
+would then be made again, the direction of the skirmishers
+rectified, and the advance resumed. The regiments advanced by the
+right of companies in columns of fours at deploying distance, but
+not even the men of a company could see those on right or left, so
+dense was the tangle.
+
+We passed over the divide separating Pumpkin Vine Creek, and its
+branches from Allatoona Creek, and the sharp skirmishing began as we
+approached the latter. The afternoon was well advanced when we
+reached the creek, and a heavy thunderstorm broke as our line forded
+the stream and pushed up the hill on the other side. We now drew the
+artillery fire from an intrenched line on the crest which we could
+not see, and for a time the mingled roar of the thunder and of the
+enemy's cannon was such that it was hard to tell the one from the
+other. My advanced line closed in as near the intrenchments as
+possible, whilst the second remained on the hither side of the
+creek. At my request Hascall's division swung still farther out to
+the left to develop the line of the enemy's works, and Schofield
+asked Butterfield's division of Hooker's Corps to advance on the
+extreme flank. He found that Hascall developed the full extent of
+the Confederate line, and thought it a good opportunity to take the
+position in reverse. Butterfield, however, declined to do more than
+move up to Hascall's support in rear, and night fell before
+Schofield could accomplish anything decisive. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. p. 386. In this instance the question
+of relative rank by date of commission was slightly involved.
+Butterfield claimed to rank Schofield and declined to do more than
+is stated. Schofield's Report, _Id_., pt. ii. p. 512; Schofield's
+Forty-six Years in the Army, p. 130.]
+
+The downpour of rain had been such that the creek, which was
+insignificant when we first came to it, became unfordable before
+sunset, and gave me no little concern for the first line of my
+division, which was over it. It was ordered to cover itself with
+such abatis as could be speedily made and to intrench, whilst we
+improvised footbridges for crossing to its support if it should be
+attacked. I announced that my headquarters for the night would be
+immediately in rear of the centre of my second line; but when the
+pressure of duty was off and I was at liberty to go to the position
+I had named, I found that it was one of the densest parts of a pine
+thicket, and I could not even get back of the troops in line till a
+path was cut for me by a detachment of men with axes. They cleared a
+narrow way for a few rods, and then widened it out into a circular
+space at the foot of the trunk of a great tree so that there was
+room for a camp-fire, and for two or three of us to bivouac, but
+most of the staff remained at a more approachable place a little in
+rear. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. p. 396.] We
+regarded it so important that the notice given to subordinates of
+our whereabouts at night should not be misleading, that we stuck to
+the place that had been named, in spite of the inconvenience and
+discomfort. The fall of rain is amusingly illustrated by the fact
+that in the height of the storm my knee-boots filled with the water
+running off me, and I emptied them as I sat in the saddle by lifting
+first one leg and then the other up in front of me till the water
+ran out of the boot-top in a stream. I had been a little ailing for
+a day or two, and my sleep was not as sound as it usually was even
+in close contact with the hostile lines. In the wakeful hours the
+loss of my friend and able staff officer, Captain Saunders, filled
+me with mournful thoughts; for though the daily work under fire had
+exposed all the little circle at headquarters to casualties, our
+good fortune hitherto had bred a sort of confidence in immunity, and
+the sudden fall of him who had been the centre of the staff group
+and a personal favorite with all was a heavy blow to us when we had
+time to think of it.
+
+Next morning Schofield arranged with General Thomas to relieve
+Hovey's division of our corps which had been on our right, and
+marching this division beyond Hascall's on our extreme left, the
+whole line went forward. The Confederate intrenchment in my
+immediate front was completely outflanked, and was found to be a
+detached position which the enemy abandoned when threatened by
+Hascall's advance, and my men at once occupied it. The movement was
+continued until Hovey's division was upon the interior Dallas and
+Ackworth road near Allatoona church, whilst my division and
+Hascall's held the cross roads which had been covered by the
+fortifications we had captured. Hooker's Corps passed beyond Hovey,
+covering the flank to the eastward. Sherman now hastened the
+extension of the line toward the railroad by passing the whole army
+behind us, till by the 6th we became the extreme right flank of the
+army. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. ii. p. 681;
+_Id._, pt. iv. p. 407.] Johnston had abandoned his position on the
+night of the 4th, falling back on the new line he had selected with
+his left resting on Lost Mountain and his right upon Brush Mountain,
+the next eminence north of Kennesaw. [Footnote: _Id._, pt. iv. pp.
+408, 758.]
+
+The abandonment of the New Hope line gave us the opportunity to
+examine it, which, of course, we did with great interest. It was
+about six miles long, of the most formidable character of field
+fortifications. The entry in my diary says of them that we found
+them "very strong, both for artillery and infantry, with abatis
+carefully sharpened and staked down. They have never before shown so
+much industry and finished their defensive works with so much care."
+When it is remembered that these lines could only be approached
+through forests which hid everything till we were right upon them,
+it will easily be believed that we congratulated ourselves that the
+enemy was manoeuvred out of them and was being crowded back till he
+must soon assume the aggressive and assault our works.
+
+Sherman's new positions placed McPherson's army on Proctor's Creek,
+a branch of the Allatoona in front of Ackworth on the railroad,
+Thomas's army between Mt. Olivet Church and Golgotha, covering the
+principal roads from Cassville and Kingston to Marietta and Lost
+Mountain, whilst Schofield was placed in echelon on the right flank,
+covering the hospitals and trains until the base could be
+transferred to the railway. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xxxviii. pt. iv. pp. 423, 428, 430.] My own division was left for
+some days in the position we had carried on the 3d, about a mile
+separated from the rest of the line. A pontoon bridge was laid at
+the Etowah railway crossing till the great bridge could be
+constructed, and General Blair, who was on the 6th at Kingston, with
+two divisions of the Seventeenth Corps, was ordered to march to
+Ackworth by this direct road. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 424.] Blair's
+command was the only important reinforcement received by Sherman
+during the campaign, and just about made up for the losses by battle
+and by sickness up to the time of its arrival. A more open belt of
+country lay along the western side of the line from Kennesaw to Lost
+Mountain, and Sherman hurried the readjustment of his forces in the
+hope of a decisive engagement with Johnston by the 9th of June or
+soon afterward.
+
+A change now occurred in the organization of our corps which
+afterward became a matter of so much historical notoriety that it
+may be worth while to give the particulars with accuracy. General
+Hovey tendered his resignation as a division commander, and asked a
+leave of absence to await the action of the President upon it. The
+reasons assigned by him were his dissatisfaction and unwillingness
+to serve longer with his division, which he claimed should be
+increased by five regiments of Indiana cavalry, recruited at the
+same time and in connection with his infantry regiments, and, as he
+asserted, with some assurance that they should be one organization
+under him. He also intimated that he had reason to expect promotion
+which had not been given him.
+
+I have already mentioned some dissatisfaction on General Schofield's
+part with him at the beginning of the campaign, [Footnote: _Ante_,
+p. 214.] but the middle of the campaign seemed so inconvenient a
+time to make a change that Schofield sought earnestly to smooth the
+matter over, and tried to obtain for Hovey other troops to increase
+the size of his division. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii.
+pt. iv. p. 439.] Sherman had no infantry which was not a regular
+part of other divisions, and could not increase Hovey's command in
+that way. He said that he could not tolerate the anomaly of
+combining five cavalry regiments with infantry in a division of
+foot, and that, in fact, the regiments were along the railroad,
+protecting our communications and could not be spared. He invited
+Hovey to a personal conference, and urged him to withdraw his
+resignation, to take time at least for reflection, and not insist
+upon changes in the midst of a campaign and in the presence of the
+enemy. The appeal was unsuccessful, and Sherman telegraphed to the
+War Department that Hovey was discontented because he was not made a
+major-general, and that, though he esteemed him as a man, he should
+recommend the acceptance of the resignation. On the paper itself he
+endorsed a full statement of the circumstances and his
+recommendation that General Hovey be allowed to resign. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. pp. 433, 439, 443, 448.]
+
+The official censure of General Sherman having been thus spread upon
+the records of the War Department, and that department having made a
+tender of resignation in the presence of the enemy a cause for
+summary dismissal of inferior officers, the surprise of the army may
+be imagined when, on July 25th, Sherman was notified from Washington
+that Hovey and Osterhaus had been promoted to be
+major-generals,--the first by brevet, the other to the full grade.
+To Sherman himself the thing was exceedingly galling, for not only
+was his action in Hovey's case reversed, and that which he condemned
+made the occasion for reward, but he had, only the day before, in
+asking to have Howard transferred to the command of the Army of the
+Tennessee, made vacant by McPherson's death, added a special request
+on the general subject of promotions. "After we have taken Atlanta,"
+he had said, "I will name officers who merit promotion. In the mean
+time I request that the President will not give increased rank to
+any officer who has gone on leave from sickness, or cause other than
+wounds in battle." [Footnote: _Id_., pt. v. p. 241.] This language
+had manifest reference to the cases in hand, and was, no doubt,
+based on rumors of what was about to happen: but it was too late,
+for a dispatch from Colonel Hardie, Inspector-General, was already
+on the way to him, announcing the promotions by order of the War
+Department.
+
+Sherman's indignation boiled over in his reply, which said: "I wish
+to put on record this, my emphatic opinion, that it is an act of
+injustice to officers who stand by their posts in the day of danger
+to neglect them and advance such as Hovey and Osterhaus, who left us
+in the midst of bullets to go to the rear in search of personal
+advancement. If the rear be the post of honor, then we had better
+all change front on Washington." [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xxxviii. pt. v. p. 247.] The vigor of this protest carried it to Mr.
+Lincoln's personal attention, and he answered it, admitting that it
+was well taken, but urging reasons for his action which show only
+too well that they were more political than military. A Presidential
+campaign had just begun, and with all his great qualities, Mr.
+Lincoln was susceptible to reasons of political policy in the use of
+appointments to office. He referred to the recommendations for
+promotion that Grant and Sherman had given these officers in a
+former campaign, and to "committals" which had been drawn from him
+which he "could neither honorably nor safely disregard." [Footnote:
+_Id_., p. 259.] In the case of Osterhaus the President added that
+his promise had been given "on what he thought was high merit and
+somewhat on his nationality." In short, Indiana and Missouri were
+doubtful States, and the German vote was important. But what idea of
+military promotions was that which, in such a war and in the midst
+of such a campaign, advanced officers to the highest grade upon
+personal importunity, not only without consultation with their
+commanding general in the field but in spite of his protest; which
+does not seem even to have asked the question what was going on in
+Georgia and what would be the effect of such action upon the army
+there! If there had been unlimited power of promotion, the case
+might have been less mischievous; but Congress had limited the
+number of officers, so that vacancies were now filled, and, for the
+Atlanta campaign and Sherman's army in Georgia, these two were the
+only promotions that could be given, and of those whom Sherman
+recommended for the grade of major-general for service in that
+campaign when Atlanta was taken, not one then received it. When
+these things are remembered, Sherman's indignation will be seen to
+be righteous, and his protest a memorable effort in favor of good
+military administration. In replying to the President he apologized
+for the freedom of his language and assured Mr. Lincoln of his
+confidence in the conscientiousness of his general course, but he
+did not soften or blink the facts. "You can see," said he, "how
+ambitious aspirants for military fame regard these things. They come
+to me and point them out as evidence that I am wrong in encouraging
+them to a silent, patient discharge of duty. I assure you that every
+general of my army has spoken of it, and referred to it as evidence
+that promotion results from importunity and not from actual service.
+I have refrained from recommending any thus far in the campaign, as
+I think we should reach some stage in the game before stopping to
+balance accounts or to write history." [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. xxxviii. pt. v. p. 271.]
+
+Some promotions to the rank of brigadier were made in the Potomac
+Army at this time, and Grant was notified that there were three or
+four other vacancies in that grade. This led him to say he would
+like to have them given to such men as Sherman might recommend. He
+added: "No one can tell so well as one immediately in command the
+disposition that should be made of the material on hand. Osterhaus
+has proved himself a good soldier, but if he is not in the field I
+regret his promotion." [Footnote: _Id_., p. 260.] As it had been
+Grant's former recommendation which had been the strongest
+ostensible ground of the promotion, this remark of his is important
+as pointing out the true principle in such matters. Recommendations
+of such a sort are always on the implied condition that the claim
+shall not be forfeited by subsequent conduct, and Grant said in
+substance that the circumstances had altered the cases and relieved
+him (and the administration too) of any obligation.
+
+To complete the discussion, it must be noted that there were three
+brigadiers from Indiana in the Twenty-third Corps at this time, and
+Hovey was not only the junior of the three but had been the least
+actively employed in the campaign. Manson had been stricken down in
+the battle of Resaca whilst heroically leading his men to the
+capture of the rebel position, and never fully recovered from the
+injury. [Footnote: _Ante_, p. 221.] Hascall distinguished himself at
+every step of the campaign. Both left the service at last without
+any further recognition. It was common fame in the army that they
+were not favored by Governor O. P. Morton, the dominant political
+influence in their State. Hovey's further service was not in the
+field, but as commandant of the District of Indiana. Osterhaus
+returned to the Fifteenth Corps and served creditably in Sherman's
+remaining campaigns. Hovey's division was broken up, one brigade
+being added to Hascall's division and the other to mine. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. p. 448.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIX
+
+ATLANTA CAMPAIGN: MARIETTA LINES--CROSSING THE CHATTAHOOCHEE
+
+
+Continuous rains in June--Allatoona made a field depot on the
+railway and fortified--Johnston in the Marietta lines--That from
+Pine Mountain to Lost Mountain abandoned--Swinging our right
+flank--Affair at Kolb's farm--Preparing for a general attack--Battle
+of Kennesaw--The tactical problem--Work of my division--Topography
+about Cheney's--Our advance on the 27th--Nickajack valley
+reached--The army moves behind us--Johnston retreats to the
+Chattahoochee--Twenty-third Corps at Smyrna Camp-ground--Crossing
+the Chattahoochee at Soap Creek--At Roswell--Johnston again
+retreats--Correspondence with Davis--Mission of B. H. Hill--Visit of
+Bragg to Johnston--Johnston's unfortunate reticence--He is relieved
+and Hood placed in command--Significance of the change to the
+Confederacy and to us.
+
+
+In the month of June we had more than three weeks of pouring rains,
+making a quagmire of the whole country. The "dirt roads," which were
+the only ones, were soon destroyed by the heavy army wagons, and
+even the place where they had been could not be distinguished in the
+waste of mud and ruts which spread far and wide. Sherman found the
+intrenchments Johnston had left "an immense line of works," and
+congratulated himself that they had been turned with less loss to
+himself than he had inflicted on the enemy. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. p. 408.] The first reconnoissances
+found that Johnston had retreated so far that, from the commander
+downward, we all harbored the hope that he had retreated beyond the
+Chattahoochee. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 427.] To prepare for our next
+step, the railway crossing of the Etowah must be completed and our
+depot of supplies advanced to Allatoona. The gorge there was almost
+as defensible on the south as on the north, and Sherman set Captain
+Poe, his engineer, to work laying out fortifications to cover its
+southern mouth and thus prepare for holding it by a small garrison
+as a secondary base if we should have to leave it again to make a
+wide turning movement. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii.
+pt. iv. p. 428.]
+
+[Illustration: Vicinity of Marietta, June 20,--July 4, 1864.]
+
+We were not long in learning that Johnston was not over the
+Chattahoochee, but had only fallen back to a shorter and more
+formidable line about Marietta, covering the railway where it passed
+through the defiles of Kennesaw Mountain, extending his left centre
+to the isolated knob of Pine Mountain, and thence recurving his
+flank by way of Gilgal (Hard-Shell Church in local nomenclature)
+toward Lost Mountain, which was held by his cavalry.
+
+At the first appearance of a retreat by the Confederates beyond the
+Chattahoochee, Sherman's mind naturally turned to the plans of
+campaign which should follow his approach to Atlanta as they had
+been indicated by General Grant at the beginning of operations in
+the spring, and he inquired of Halleck whether the intended movement
+of the fleet under Farragut and part of the southwestern army under
+Canby against Mobile had been ordered. [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. p. 418.] Halleck answered that it had been
+suggested to Canby, but that Grant had, just then, all he could
+attend to on the Chickahominy. The fierce battles in Virginia had
+culminated on June 3d, in the terrible struggle at Cold Harbor,
+where the assault had been so costly as almost to produce dismay
+throughout the country, and in all our armies to enforce the lesson
+of caution in attacking such works as the enemy was now habitually
+constructing. The feeling was hinted at by Sherman in his dispatch
+to Washington on the 5th, when he said that although he should
+probably have to fight Johnston at Kennesaw, he would not "run head
+on to his fortifications." [Footnote: _Id_., p. 408.]
+
+Amid the discouragements incident to the incessant rains the army
+gained positions closely enveloping Johnston's lines, and we who
+constituted the right flank, pushing out from hill to hill and from
+brook to brook, gradually outflanked the enemy and forced him to
+swing back his left. On the 14th he let go of Pine Mountain, where
+General Polk was killed and General Johnston himself had a narrow
+escape from our artillery fire while they were reconnoitring our
+positions from its summit. On the 16th we were close upon the Gilgal
+and Lost Mountain line, and the enemy again withdrew that flank
+beyond Mud Creek, which with Noyes's Creek [Footnote: Noyes's Creek
+was pronounced Noses Creek by the negroes and the people of the
+neighborhood, and the name took that form in our reports at the
+time. It was afterward corrected in the Official Records.] and
+Olley's are the tributaries of the Sweetwater (before mentioned)
+which flows southward into the Chattahoochee. Sherman was on the
+lookout for weak places in his adversary's line where he might break
+through and change into a rout the war of positions which was too
+much like siege operations to suit him. He said to Halleck that
+Johnston had declined the assault which must have followed our so
+close contact, "and abandoned Lost Mountain and some six miles of as
+good field-works as I ever saw." [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xxxviii. pt. iv. p. 498.] Still keeping the right shoulder forward,
+we crowded in upon the new line, and in the night of the 18th the
+enemy retreated from the intrenchments behind Mud Creek to those of
+Noyes's Creek, whilst at the same time he drew back his extreme
+right behind Noonday Creek, compacting his lines with the purpose of
+transferring a corps to his left, where we now began to threaten his
+communications.
+
+Again there was a momentary belief that Marietta was abandoned, but
+again it was premature, for the apex of the angle was stoutly held
+at the rocky crest of Kennesaw. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 519.] There was
+nothing for it but to continue the swing of the right flank. In his
+instructions to Thomas, Sherman said, "Until Schofield develops the
+flank we should move with due caution; but the moment it is found or
+we are satisfied the enemy has lengthened his line beyond his
+ability to defend, we must strike quick and with great energy."
+[Footnote: _Id_., p. 509.]
+
+The waters were up in all the streams, and Noyes's was wholly
+unfordable. Following the Sandtown road southward, my division was
+stopped by the creek, and the enemy's artillery and dismounted
+cavalry held a good position on the other side, having removed the
+flooring of the bridge. In a brilliant little affair by a part of
+Cameron's brigade, the bridge was carried, and the whole division
+was soon across and intrenched at the crest on the south side,
+covering the intersection of the Sandtown road with that from
+Marietta to Powder Springs Church. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xxxviiii. pt. iv. pp. 534, 540.] On the morning of June 22d, the
+rest of Schofield's corps crossed the creek and took the Marietta
+road, whilst Hooker's corps swung forward from the right of the
+Cumberland Army to keep pace with Schofield. My own division at the
+same time marched southward on the Sandtown road to Cheney's farm,
+near the crossing of Olley's Creek, the next in the series of
+parallel valleys trending to the southwest. Cheney's was also at the
+crossing of the lower road from Marietta to Powder Springs village,
+which forked near Kolb's farm, the northern branch being that on
+which Schofield was advancing with Hascall's division. But Hood's
+corps was also upon this road, having marched in the night from the
+extreme right of Johnston's army to extend the left and meet our
+aggressive movement. This brought on the bloody affair of Kolb's (or
+Culp's) farm, Hood making a fierce attack on Schofield's left and
+Hooker's right, which was repulsed. [Footnote: Atlanta, p. 108,
+etc.] The enemy had to content himself with extending southward the
+line confronting ours, till it passed over the ridge behind Noyes's
+creek and covered the valley of Olley's. Schofield had called me
+with three brigades to Hascall's support, leaving one (Reilly's) at
+the Cheney farm. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv.
+pp. 558, 559, 566-569.]
+
+Hood's attack had checked the flanking movement from which Sherman
+had hoped good results. Johnston had also been able to stretch out
+his right so that the works in front of McPherson seemed to be held
+in force enough to make an assault unpromising. On the reports of
+subordinates as to their uneasiness at the stretching of their
+lines, Thomas suggested to Sherman that the lines be contracted and
+strengthened. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 581.] At the same time reports
+were received that Confederate cavalry had crossed the Etowah in our
+rear, and had begun to make use of torpedoes to derail and destroy
+trains on the railway. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii.
+pt. iv. p. 579.] Yet Garrard's cavalry on our left reported the
+enemy's horse superior in numbers, and were unable to make such
+progress there as Sherman had expected. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 542,
+555.] It began to look like a dead-lock, and that, of all things,
+was what Sherman could not endure. With grim humor he wrote to
+Thomas, "I suppose the enemy with his smaller force intends to
+surround us!" [Footnote: _Id_., p. 582.] The only alternative seemed
+to be to find the places where that smaller force was most
+attenuated and break through by main strength. He notified his
+subordinates that this must be done on the 27th. [Footnote: _Ibid_.
+and p. 588.] As a preliminary, he ordered demonstrations to be kept
+up on both flanks to draw the enemy away from the centre. His formal
+order, issued on the 24th, directed General Thomas to select a point
+of attack near his centre. McPherson was directed to make a feint
+with his cavalry and one division of infantry on the left, but to
+make his real attack at a point south and west of Kennesaw.
+Schofield was likewise to make a demonstration on the extreme right,
+in front of my division, but to attack a point as near as
+practicable to the Powder Springs road, which was the scene of the
+affair of the 22d. [Footnote: _Ibid_.] The tactical details were all
+left to the subordinate army commanders.
+
+On the 25th Sherman visited our positions in person, and accompanied
+the active reconnoissances which we were making. The result he
+stated in an evening dispatch to Thomas, saying, "I found that the
+enemy had strengthened his works across the Powder Springs road very
+much, having made embrasures for three complete batteries, all
+bearing on that road. Line extends as far as can be seen to the
+right, mostly in timber and partly in open ground. The enemy is also
+on his [Schofield's] right flank on the other side of Olley's
+Creek." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. p. 589.]
+The outcome of this was a modification of Schofield's orders, so
+that instead of attacking seriously in force, he should make strong
+demonstrations to attract the enemy to our wing of the army as much
+as possible, and thus assist Thomas and McPherson in their attacks
+near the centre.
+
+It was with reluctance that Sherman was brought to the determination
+to make a front assault. His preference and his earlier purpose had
+been to make an equal force to Johnston's keep the Confederates in
+their works whilst the remainder of his own army should move from
+our right and attack beyond Johnston's left flank. He had thought
+the opportunity was come when we had secured the crossing of Noyes's
+Creek, and he indicated the morning of the 22d for an advance on the
+Powder Springs and Marietta road which we then commanded. In his
+dispatch to Thomas on the 21st, he said, "I feel much disposed to
+push your right, supported by Schofield and Stoneman's cavalry,
+whilst McPherson engages attention to his front, but keeps ready to
+march by his right to reinforce you." [Footnote: _Id_., p. 546.]
+
+The founderous condition of the whole region had made every movement
+slow, and in the same note to Thomas, Sherman had summed it up in
+the two words: "Roads terrific." Yet on the morning of the 22d the
+way to Marietta by the Powder Springs road was only contested by
+cavalry, though Johnston's ever-watchful eye had seen the danger and
+by his order Hood was marching his corps from the other flank of the
+army to meet Sherman's extension by our right. In going to examine
+McPherson's lines himself, Sherman had added to his dispatch, "If
+anything happens, act promptly with your own troops and advise me
+and your neighbor, Schofield, who has standing orders to conform to
+you." [Footnote: _Ibid_.] The situation was, in fact, exactly what
+he had been hoping for. The flank of the enemy was exposed, and we
+had the opportunity to use the broad road leading to Marietta to
+turn it. Could Hooker, supported by Hascall's division of our corps,
+have reached Zion's Church before Hood, or at the same time with
+him, it seems almost certain that the position gained would have
+compelled Johnston to abandon Kennesaw and Marietta at once, and
+fall back to the line of the Nickajack if not beyond the
+Chattahoochee. In that case the battle of Kennesaw would not have
+been fought.
+
+In the evening of the 22d, when Sherman received Hooker's answer to
+a question sent him during the progress of the combat in the
+afternoon, and found the latter laboring under the conviction that
+the whole of Johnston's army was in his immediate front, he was
+naturally annoyed at so exaggerated a view of the situation.
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. p. 558.] Thomas
+received similar reports from Hooker and a call for reinforcements,
+and though he said he "thought at the time he was stampeded,"
+[Footnote: _Id_., p. 559.] he sent to him a division from Howard's
+corps. The truth was that one brigade of Hooker's corps and one of
+Schofield's were the only ones that had suffered at all severely,
+the total list of less than 300 casualties being about equally
+divided between them. Hood had been repulsed with a loss of more
+than 1000. [Footnote: Atlanta, p. 113.] When to these circumstances
+are added those which have before been mentioned, [Footnote: _Ante_,
+pp. 258, 259.] we can understand how Sherman began to fear that, in
+the systematic flanking operations he had been carrying on, his army
+was losing the energetic aggressive character without which he could
+not profit decisively by the opportunities which might offer.
+[Footnote: See Sherman's personal letters to Halleck of July 9th,
+Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. v. p. 91; to Grant of June 18th,
+_Id_., pt. iv. p. 507; and of July 12th, _Id_., pt. v. p. 123.]
+Adding still further the difficulty, amounting almost to an
+impossibility, of supplying the wing of the army most distant from
+the railroad, and the probability that Johnston's army was stretched
+into a line even thinner than his own, it will not seem strange that
+he concluded it was time to try whether a bold stroke would not
+break through the Confederate defences and rout his adversary. I am
+saying this from the standpoint of our own experience in the wooded
+and sparsely settled region we were operating in. From a European
+point of view, an aggressive policy of attack would be taken as a
+matter of course, and the only questions open for debate would be
+the tactical ones as to the method of making the assault and the
+points at which to deliver it. [Footnote: For a recent summary of
+the discussion of "Attack or Defence," see Letters and Essays of
+Captain F. N. Maude, R. E. (International Series), p. 70; also his
+"Cavalry and Infantry" (same series), p. 127, etc.]
+
+The attack was made on the 27th, and failed to carry the enemy's
+works, though our troops were able to hold positions close to the
+ditch and to intrench themselves on a new line there. The casualties
+in the action were 2164. [Footnote: In Logan's Corps, 629 (Official
+Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iii. p. 85); in Howard's, 756 (_Id_., pt.
+i. p. 205), and in Palmer's, 779 (_Id_., p. 509).] Some of the best
+officers who took part in the assault were of the opinion that had
+the supports been well in hand, so as to have charged quickly over
+the first line when it was checked and lost its impetus, the works
+in front of Davis's division would have been carried. [Footnote:
+McCook's Brigade at Kennesaw Mountain, by Major F. B. James of the
+Fifty-Second Ohio; Ohio Loyal Legion Papers, vol. iv. pp. 269, 270.]
+It is hardly necessary to say that at the present day an entirely
+different deployment and organization of the attacking forces would
+be considered essential, and the preparation by concentrated
+artillery fire would be much more thorough than was practicable
+then. The dense forest made the cannonade almost harmless at the
+points chosen for assault, and the attack was one of infantry
+against unshaken earthworks. [Footnote: For description of the
+battle, see "Atlanta," chap. x.]
+
+In Sherman's visit to our position on the 25th, he had arranged with
+Schofield the general plan for our demonstrations on the 26th and
+27th. Hascall's division was to make a feint of attack near the
+Powder Springs road, whilst mine should force the crossing of
+Olley's Creek near Cheney's, on the Sandtown road, build a temporary
+bridge over the creek a mile or two above, and make a strong show of
+a purpose to attack beyond Hascall's right flank by crossing with a
+brigade there. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv.
+pp. 589, 592.]
+
+The valley of Olley's Creek was broad and open, and the country
+beyond my right was more practicable than the tangled wilderness on
+the northern slope of the watershed. We had got beyond the denser
+thickets of the loblolly pine, and could better see what we were
+about. The old Sandtown road south of Cheney's crossed the creek on
+a wooden bridge which was commanded by a fortified hill a little
+beyond where a battery of artillery swept the bridge and its
+approaches. The stream widened out after passing the bridge and ran
+between low and marshy banks with bluffs further back. I had placed
+Reilly's brigade astride the road at Cheney's with Myer's Indiana
+battery of light twelves, smooth-bore bronze guns. A gap of more
+than a mile lay between Reilly and the other three brigades of the
+division after I had marched to Hascall's support on the 22d. The
+lower branch of the Powder Springs road was parallel to the creek
+and not far from it, and my artillery near the right of the three
+brigades was on an advancing knoll where the guns not only commanded
+the valley before them, but Cockerill's Ohio battery of three-inch
+rifles swept nearly the whole space to Reilly's position. [Footnote:
+_Id._, p. 568.]
+
+To give more effect to our demonstration, Sherman directed that it
+begin on the 26th, and preparations were made to build a bridge in
+front of Byrd's brigade, which was ordered to cross the stream when
+Reilly's effort against the lower bridge should begin. Our first
+information was that the fortified hill in front of Reilly was held
+by infantry, and as the work was in form a redoubt, its garrison of
+course on foot, we assumed that it was a detached outwork of the
+Confederate line. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv.
+p. 597.] Reilly kept up a cannonade of the hill in front of him
+during the 26th, and made some attempts to get over the stream at
+the bridge, but did not seriously try to force the passage. A
+temporary bridge was laid at Byrd's position, and soon after noon he
+crossed the creek with little opposition, our artillery thoroughly
+commanding the further bank. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 599] I personally
+accompanied Byrd's movement. The artillery of Hascall's division as
+well as my own was turned on the enemy's works when they came out
+into the open. The hills along this part of Olley's Creek were not a
+continuous ridge, but knobby and somewhat detached; the higher land
+marking the edge of the plateau about Marietta was further back, and
+the Confederate line of works followed it. Byrd's direction of march
+was nearly parallel to the Sandtown road, and by advancing about a
+mile and a half he reached the summit of a rough wooded hill about
+six hundred yards from the main ridge, with open ground intervening.
+He was here from half a mile to a mile east of the Sandtown road,
+and from the fortified hill in front of Reilly, which was on the
+continuation of the same ridge, though with ravines interrupting it.
+The position was a very threatening one, and if any demonstration
+could draw the enemy in that direction, this seemed likely to do it.
+I directed Byrd to intrench on the crest, drawing back the flanks of
+the brigade so as to be ready for attack from any direction. Our
+movement had been sharply resisted by the enemy, but so far as we
+could see, only by dismounted cavalry. Sherman had said that he did
+not care to have Reilly force the passage of the creek that
+afternoon, for a strong threatening of the fortified hill would be
+more likely to draw the enemy that way than actually capturing it.
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. p. 597.] On my
+reporting to General Schofield in the evening the position of Byrd's
+brigade with the favorable look of the country beyond, it was
+arranged that Byrd's bridge should be made stronger for permanent
+use, and that Cameron's brigade should follow him at daylight in the
+morning. With my whole division except Barter's brigade, which was
+left to cover Hascall's right flank, I was to test what further
+progress could be made on the Sandtown road. [Footnote: _Id._, pp.
+598-600.]
+
+At peep of day on the 27th we were astir, anxious to get our part of
+the day's work well advanced before the more serious engagement at
+the centre should begin. Another battery had been sent to Reilly,
+and he was directed to silence the enemy's guns and find a way
+across the creek under cover of his own if he could, but if this
+failed, to storm the bridge.
+
+Cameron was over Byrd's bridge at four o'clock, and was ordered upon
+reaching the ridge in rear of Byrd to push boldly along it toward
+the fortified hill the other side of the Sandtown road in front of
+Reilly. Byrd's orders were to hold his position with the main body
+of his brigade, but to throw out detachments and skirmishers in all
+directions to watch the enemy and to get information of the country.
+Leaving Cameron as soon as he was well on his way, I rode to Reilly
+in front of the Cheney farm, and found that at five his dispositions
+for forcing the passage of the stream were well under way. He had
+determined to try it some distance below the bridge, at a place
+where, though the banks were swampy, the creek was fordable, and the
+hills behind gave good opportunity to use the artillery and put the
+men across under shelter. My chief of artillery, Major Wells, was
+with him, selecting places for the batteries and getting them in
+position. Soon after six I was with Cameron again, and before eight
+was back at Reilly's position, urging each to all the speed which
+the strong skirmishing opposition would permit. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. p. 619.] As it was necessary to pass
+from one position to the other by way of the roads at the rear, it
+made hard riding for one who wished to be as much as possible with
+the active heads of columns.
+
+Soon after eight o'clock part of Reilly's brigade got over the swamp
+and creek under cover of the artillery, uncovering the bridge at the
+road where the rest crossed; Cameron's was now coming into close
+co-operation from the east, and a dashing charge by both carried the
+hill. [Footnote: _Id._, pt. ii. pp. 683, 703, 720.] It was now
+half-past eight, and the cannonade which preceded the attacks at the
+centre was opening heavily behind us. [Footnote: _Id._, pt. i. pp.
+199, 632.] The captured position was a commanding one, and the view
+from it covered the whole region from Kennesaw to Lost Mountain.
+Cameron was left there whilst Reilly followed the retreating enemy
+with orders to advance as far as he could toward the Marietta and
+Sandtown road, which was supposed to come into the old Cassville and
+Sandtown road a mile or two ahead. We now knew from prisoners that
+the force opposed to us was the division of Confederate cavalry
+under Jackson, and that they were not closely supported by infantry.
+
+The hill had been held by Ross's brigade, which retreated to another
+eminence half a mile further down the road. Reilly again advanced,
+supported by Cameron. Ross was again dislodged and retreated upon
+the rest of the division at the junction of the roads above
+mentioned. [Footnote: _Id._, pt. iv. pp. 799-801.] As we advanced it
+became evident that the principal ridge on which Johnston's army was
+broke down into separate hills as it came forward toward the forks
+of the main roads, and it seemed feasible to hold some of these in
+such a way as to make mutually supporting positions from Byrd to
+Reilly, covering a front of two miles and commanding the lower part
+of the Nickajack valley, in which the Marietta road ran. Reilly was
+put in one of these positions with his right across the road on
+which we had come, two miles south of Cheney's; Cameron was ordered
+forward upon high ground near Reilly's left, and Byrd was directed
+to straighten out his line on his right and reach as far as he could
+toward Cameron. All were ordered to intrench as rapidly and
+thoroughly as possible, for it was plain that we now commanded a
+short road to the railway in Johnston's rear, and that he must drive
+us out or abandon the Kennesaw line he had clung to so stubbornly.
+
+I had sent my aide, Mr. Coughlan, with the orders to Byrd, and when
+the line was extended and skirmishers partly covered the front, he
+came back to me by a direct course from Byrd to Cameron and Reilly,
+with the daring and intelligence which made him a model staff
+officer, and reported that a continuous ridge connected the brigades
+so that pickets could be well placed in the interval to give warning
+of any hostile attempt to pass between. [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. pp. 620, 621. Lieutenant Coughlan was
+afterward killed in the heroic performance of duty at the battle of
+Franklin. See "Franklin," p. 114.] A small hill a few hundred yards
+in front of the main line better commanded the Marietta road, and
+upon this I directed Reilly to build a lunette for an advanced guard
+of a regiment and a battery.
+
+The whole affair was one of the minor class in war, but it had a
+special interest, in our ignorance of the topography of the country,
+because it revealed a way to Johnston's line of communications,
+which could not be seen and was not suspected when Sherman made the
+reconnoissance with us on the 25th, and saw the Confederate lines
+crossing the Powder Springs road and stretching away far beyond our
+right. In my field dispatch to General Schofield I said: "The
+possession of the end of the ridge, if we can hold it, I am now sure
+will prevent the enemy from extending his line along it, since it
+would be necessarily flanked and enfiladed by our positions. The
+only objection is the extension relatively to the strength of my
+command and the distance from supports. Upon carefully re-examining
+the ground my conviction is strengthened that it is exceedingly
+desirable to hold all we have gained, and if Hascall's place could
+possibly be filled by troops drawn from other parts of the line, it
+would give all the force needed to make a _point-d'appui_ which
+would be safe and exceedingly available for future movements in this
+direction if they become necessary. I only suggest this by way of
+indicating the impression made on my own mind by the position."
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. p. 621.]
+
+Reilly was three miles distant from Barter's brigade, which covered
+the right of the continuous line of the army intrenchments, and it
+was certainly risking something to extend the brigades of a single
+division so far, but it would have been a great disappointment to us
+to have been called back. General Schofield instantly saw the
+advantage, and in answering my dispatch, said, "I do not think the
+importance of the position you have gained can be over-estimated,
+especially in view of the failure elsewhere and probable future
+movements." [Footnote: _Ibid_. See map, p. 255.] He ordered
+Stoneman's cavalry to aid me in holding the ground and in picketing
+the intervals, and reported to General Sherman the details of the
+operation. The latter determined to make use of the advantage
+gained, and said, "If we had our supplies well up, I would move at
+once by the right flank, but I suppose we must cover our railroad a
+few days." [Footnote: Dispatch to McPherson, _Id._, p. 622.] We were
+left, therefore, for a little while in our exposed position, whilst
+the whole army made strenuous efforts to get forward supplies enough
+for a few days' separation from the railway. The weather had begun
+to favor us. The day of the affair at the Kolb farm (22d) had been
+the first fair day of the month, and the continuous clear skies and
+hot suns rapidly dried the roads. Sherman sent Captain Poe to make
+an engineer's examination of our position and reconnoissance in
+front. The report confirmed his purpose of making us the pivot in a
+swinging movement of the whole army. On the 29th Generals Thomas and
+Howard accompanied General Schofield and myself in a similar
+inspection, to help fix the details of the movement for the Army of
+the Cumberland. Crittenden's brigade of dismounted cavalry reported
+to me for temporary duty as infantry with my division. On the 1st of
+July Hascall's division was relieved by the extension of Hooker's
+corps, and Schofield with his whole corps in hand advanced a mile
+upon the Marietta road toward Ruff's Mill. Johnston's failure to
+attack was proof that he was preparing for retreat, and Sherman
+pressed the movement of his own army.
+
+On the 2d Johnston knew that McPherson's army was marching to
+interpose between him and the Chattahoochee, and issued his orders
+for the evacuation of the Marietta lines in the night, and the
+occupation of the position beyond the Nickajack. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. v. p. 860.] But Thomas and McPherson both
+followed so vigorously that the Confederate general saw that he
+could not cover the crossings of the river which Stoneman's cavalry
+was already reaching on our right, and in the night of the 4th he
+again retired, this time to intrenchments with both flanks resting
+on the river and covering the railway bridge with two or three of
+the principal ferries. With his usual prudence, Johnston had
+prepared both these lines with the aid of the Georgia militia under
+General Gustavus W. Smith, who, being himself an engineer, was
+admirably fitted to co-operate with the plans of the staff.
+
+Again a few days had to be given to repairs of the railroad and a
+readjustment of the depots and means of supply, whilst careful
+reconnoissances of the river were made both above and below the
+Confederate position. Schofield's corps was placed in reserve near
+the railway, at Smyrna Camp ground, and on the 8th my division was
+assigned the duty of making a crossing of the Chattahoochee, and
+laying pontoon bridges at Isham's ford and ferry at the mouth of
+Soap Creek, [Footnote: In the official Atlas, pl. lx., two creeks
+are named Rottenwood. The upper one of these with paper-mills upon
+it is Soap Creek. The ford was sometimes called Cavalry Ford in the
+Confederate dispatches. For particulars of the movements at this
+period of the campaign, see "Atlanta," chap. xi.] about nine miles
+above the railway crossing of the river. Johnston does not seem to
+have been well served by his cavalry on this occasion, for the
+crossing was gained and two bridges laid with only trifling
+opposition, and my division was over and strongly intrenched before
+any concentration of the enemy was made in my front. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. v. pp. 85, 89, 93.] This, of
+course, decided Johnston to abandon the northern bank of the river,
+and he selected a strong position behind Peach-tree Creek as the
+next line of defence for Atlanta, burning the railway bridge and
+other bridges behind him.
+
+Several days were occupied by Sherman in moving McPherson's command
+to Roswell, twenty miles above the railway, and building a
+trestle-bridge there, in accumulating supplies and organizing
+transportation for another considerable absence from the railroad.
+By the 17th the army was over the Chattahoochee, McPherson on the
+left, Schoneld next, and Thomas from the centre to the right. A
+general wheel of the whole toward the right was ordered, to find and
+drive back the enemy upon Atlanta.
+
+Meanwhile the relations between General Johnston and the Confederate
+government had reached a crisis. He had regularly reported the
+actual movements of his army, but had carefully avoided any
+indication of his intentions or of his hopes or fears. When, on the
+5th of July, he retreated to the position at the Chattahoochee
+crossing, his dispatch briefly announced that "In consequence of the
+enemy's advance toward the river below our left, we this morning
+took this position, which is slightly intrenched." [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. v. p. 865.] Mr. Davis replied on
+the 7th, expressing grave apprehensions at the situation, pointing
+out the dangers of the position, and saying that other places had
+been stripped to reinforce him, that further increase was
+impossible, and that they now depended on his success. [Footnote:
+_Id_., p. 867.] By an unfortunate blunder of a subordinate, the
+dispatch was not sent in cipher as was intended, and Johnston knew
+that the contents with its implied criticism was known to the
+telegraphers along the line and was practically public property.
+[Footnote: _Id_., p. 871] this was not soothing to the general's
+feelings, even when explained. His answer said that he had been
+forced back by siege operations, and had no opportunity for battle
+except by attacking intrenchments. He suggested that the enemy's
+purpose to capture Atlanta might be foiled by sending part of the
+16,000 cavalry believed to be in Alabama and Mississippi to break up
+the railroads behind Sherman and force him to retreat. Davis replied
+with the intimation that Johnston must know that no such force was
+available in the West, and that it would be much more to the purpose
+to use the cavalry he had for that task of pressing importance.
+[Footnote: _Id_., p. 875] He sent also by letter fuller details of
+the stress under which General S.D. Lee was in the Department of
+Mississippi, showing that the hands of that officer were more than
+full. [Footnote: The letter, however, did not reach Johnston till
+after he had been relieved of command.] On the 10th Johnston had
+forwarded a laconic dispatch, saying, "On the night of the 8th the
+enemy crossed at Isham's Cavalry Ford; intrenched. In consequence we
+crossed at and below the railroad, and are now about two miles from
+the river, guarding the crossings." [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. xxxviii. pt. v. p. 873.] On the 11th he telegraphed,
+recommending the immediate distribution elsewhere of the prisoners
+at Andersonville. [Footnote: _Id_., p.876]
+
+It cannot be denied that there was a certain justification for Mr.
+Davis's conclusion that the circumstances foreboded the yielding of
+Atlanta without the desperate struggle which the importance of the
+position demanded. Had Johnston expressed any hopefulness, or said,
+what was the fact, that he was himself coming to the determnation to
+try the effect of a bold attack whilst Sherman's army was in motion,
+he would probably have been left in command. But the personal
+estrangement had gone so far that he confined himself rigidly to the
+briefest report of events, leaving the Richmond government to guess
+what was next to happen. His attitude was in effect a challenge to
+the Confederate President to trust the Confederate cause in Georgia
+to him absolutely, or to take the responsibility of removing him.
+The Hon. B. H. Hill, who was in Richmond, at Johnston's request, to
+learn if it was possible to reinforce him, telegraphed him on the
+14th, "You must do the work with your present force. For God's sake,
+do it." [Footnote: _Id_., p. 879.] Governor Brown offered to furnish
+5000 "old men and boys" for the local defence of Atlanta in the
+emergency, in addition to the similar number of the militia reserves
+already in the field. These were 'promptly accepted by Mr. Davis and
+the order was issued to arm them. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 878, and vol.
+lii. pt. ii. pp. 691-695, 704. The correspondence between Mr. Hill
+and Mr. Seddon, Secretary of War, is especially instructive as to
+the issue between Johnston and Davis.]
+
+Before acting further the Confederate President sent out General
+Bragg to Atlanta to examine on the spot and report upon the
+condition of affairs. Bragg arrived on the 13th and reported that an
+entire evacuation of Atlanta seemed to be indicated by what he saw.
+The army was sadly depleted, he said, and reported 10,000 less than
+the return of June 10th. He could find but little encouraging.
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. v. p. 878.] On the
+following two days he visited Johnston twice and was "received
+courteously and kindly." "He has not sought my advice," Bragg added,
+"and it was not volunteered. I cannot learn that he has any more
+plan for the future than he has had in the past. It is expected that
+he will await the enemy on a line some three miles from here, and
+the impression prevails that he is now more inclined to fight. The
+enemy is very cautious, and intrenches immediately on taking a new
+position. His force, like our own, is greatly reduced by the hard
+campaign. His infantry now very little over 60,000. The morale of
+our army is still reported good." [Footnote: _Id._, p. 881.]
+
+The receipt of this dispatch with Johnston's of the 16th seems to
+have decided President Davis to make a change in the command of the
+army, and on the 17th Hood was appointed to the temporary rank of
+general in the Provisional Army and ordered to relieve Johnston.
+[Footnote: _Id._, pp. 885, 887, 889.] Hood shrank from the
+responsibility in the crisis which then existed, and suggested delay
+till the fate of Atlanta should be decided; but Mr. Davis replied,
+"A change of commanders, under existing circumstances, was regarded
+as so objectionable that I only accepted it as the alternative of
+continuing in a policy which had proved so disastrous. Reluctance to
+make the change induced me to send a telegram of inquiry to the
+commanding general on the 16th instant. His reply but confirmed
+previous apprehensions. There can be but one question which you and
+I can entertain: that is, what will best promote the public good;
+and to each of you I confidently look for the sacrifice of every
+personal consideration in conflict with that object." [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. v. p. 888.]
+
+Johnston magnanimously assisted Hood in completing the movements of
+the army during the 18th to the Peachtree Creek position and
+explained to him his plans. These were, first, to attack Sherman's
+army when divided in crossing that difficult stream, and, if
+successful, to press the advantage to decisive results. If
+unsuccessful, to hold the Peachtree lines till Governor Brown's
+militia were assembled;[Footnote: Johnston says ten thousand of
+these were promised him instead of five. Narrative, p. 348.] then,
+holding Atlanta with these, to draw the army back through the town
+and march out with the three corps against one of Sherman's flanks,
+with the confidence that even if his attack did not succeed, with
+Atlanta so strongly fortified he could hold it forever. [Footnote:
+Narrative, p. 350.]
+
+In reading his more elaborate statement of the plans of which the
+above is an outline, one cannot help thinking how unfortunate for
+him it was that he did not give them to Mr. Davis as fully as he
+gave them to Hood! In answer to the pressing inquiry of the 16th for
+"your plan of operations so specifically as will enable me to
+anticipate events," he had replied, "As the enemy has double our
+number, we must be on the defensive. My plan of operations must
+therefore depend upon that of the enemy. It is mainly to watch for
+an opportunity to fight to advantage. We are trying to put Atlanta
+in condition to be held for a day or two by the Georgia militia,
+that army movements may be freer and wider." [Footnote: _Id_., p.
+883.] A good understanding with his government was so essential,
+just then, that the most reticent of commanders would have been wise
+in sending in cipher the whole page in which he tells the specific
+details of his purposes and their alternates as he gave them to
+Hood. Had he done so, it is quite safe to say that he would not have
+been removed; but reading, in the light of the whole season's
+correspondence, the dispatch he actually sent, we cannot say that
+Mr. Davis was unreasonable in finding it confirm his previous
+apprehension. Had the general fully and frankly opened to Bragg the
+same purposes, the latter could not have sent the hopeless message
+which clinched the President's decision.
+
+Johnston said in his final message to Davis that the enemy had
+advanced more rapidly and penetrated deeper into Virginia than into
+Georgia; and that confident language by a military commander is not
+usually regarded as evidence of competency. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. v. p. 888.] There was much force in both
+points, but they do not touch the heart of the matter. Between Lee
+and his government there was always a frank and cordial comparison
+of views and perfect understanding; so that even in disaster it was
+seen that he had done the best he could and was actively planning to
+repair a mischief. On the other hand, they got from Johnston little
+but a diarist's briefest chronicle of events with no word of hopeful
+purpose or plan. It was not necessary that he should use "confident
+language," but words were certainly called for which expressed
+intelligent comprehension of the situation and fertility in purposed
+action according to probable contingencies. His advice to Hood
+showed that he only needed to be equally frank with the Richmond
+authorities. [Footnote: Mr. Davis has discussed his relations to
+Johnston in chapter xlviii. of his "Rise and Fall of the Confederate
+Government," vol. ii. pp. 547, etc.; but the most succinct statement
+of his views is found in a paper prepared for the Confederate
+Congress, but withheld. See his letter to Colonel Phelan, Meridian,
+Miss., O. R, vol. xlvii. pt. ii. pp. 1303-1311.]
+
+The assignment of Hood to the command was, of course, in the belief
+that he would take a more energetic and aggressive course. He seems
+to have been free in his criticisms of his commander, and upon
+Bragg's arrival had addressed to him a letter which it is hard to
+view as anything else than a bid for the command. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. v. p. 880.] It said Johnston had
+failed to use several opportunities to strike Sherman decisive
+blows; that yet the losses of the army were 20,000; that under no
+circumstances should the enemy be allowed to occupy Atlanta; that if
+Sherman should establish his line at the Chattahoochee, he must be
+attacked by crossing that river; that he had so often urged
+aggressive action that he was regarded as reckless by "the officers
+high in rank in this army, who are declared to hold directly
+opposite views." He concluded by saying that he regarded it a great
+misfortune that battle was not given to the enemy many miles north
+of the present position.
+
+When Johnston learned from Hood's report [Footnote: _Id._, pt. iii.
+p. 628.](dated February 15, 1865) the nature of the latter's
+statements and criticisms, he notified the Richmond government as
+well as Hood that he should demand that the latter be brought before
+a court-martial; [Footnote: Id., p. 637.] but it was then April, on
+the very eve of the collapse of the Confederacy, and the discussion
+was left for continuance in the private writings of the parties and
+their friends. Johnston affirmed that in the only instances in the
+campaign in which it could be said that a favorable opportunity for
+battle had not been seized, Hood himself had been prominent in
+protesting against an engagement or had himself failed to carry out
+the orders given. In his service as commander of the army, Hood
+became involved in disputes as to fact with Hardee and Cheatham as
+well as with Johnston, and the result was damaging to his reputation
+for accuracy and candor. [Footnote: Johnston's case is stated in his
+"Narrative," chapters x. and xi.; Hood's in his "Advance and
+Retreat," chapters v. to ix. In connection with these, Hardee's
+Report of April 5, 1865, is of interest (Official Records, vol.
+xxxviii. pt. iii. p. 697), and his letter to General Mackall (_Id._,
+pt. v. p. 987).]
+
+The change of commanders undoubtedly precipitated the ruin of the
+Confederate cause; yet we must in candor admit that the situation
+was becoming so portentous that human wisdom might be overtaxed in
+trying to determine what course to take. Of one thing there is no
+shadow of doubt. We of the National Army in Georgia regarded the
+removal of Johnston as equivalent to a victory for us. Three months
+of sharp work had convinced us that a change from Johnston's methods
+to those which Hood was likely to employ, was, in homely phrase, to
+have our enemy grasp the hot end of the poker. We knew that we
+should be kept on the alert and must be watchful; but we were
+confident that a system of aggression and a succession of attacks
+would soon destroy the Confederate army. Of course Hood did not mean
+to assault solidly built intrenchments; but we knew that we could
+make good enough cover whilst he was advancing against a flank, to
+insure him a bloody repulse. The dense forests made the artillery of
+little effect in demolishing the works or weakening the _morale_ of
+the defenders, and it was essentially an infantry attack upon
+intrenched infantry and artillery at close range.
+
+The action of the Confederate government was a confession that
+Sherman's methods had brought about the very result he aimed at. The
+enemy had been manoeuvred from position to position until he must
+either give up Atlanta with its important nucleus of railway
+communications and abandon all northern Georgia and Alabama, or he
+must assume a desperate aggressive with a probability that this
+would fatally reduce his army and make the result only the more
+completely ruinous. This was the meaning of the substitution of Hood
+for Johnston.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XL
+
+HOOD'S DEFENCE OF ATLANTA--RESULTS OF ITS CAPTURE
+
+
+Lines of supply by field trains--Canvas pontoons--Why replaced by
+bridges--Wheeling toward Atlanta--Battle of Peachtree Creek--Battle
+of Atlanta--Battle of Ezra Church--Aggressive spirit of Confederates
+exhausted--Sherman turns Atlanta by the south--Pivot position of
+Twenty-third Corps--Hood's illusions--Rapidity of our troops in
+intrenching--Movements of 31st August--Affair at Jonesboro--Atlanta
+won--_Morale_ of Hood's army--Exaggerating difference in
+numbers--Examination of returns--Efforts to bring back
+absentees--The sweeping conscription--Sherman's candid
+estimates--Unwise use of cavalry--Forrest's work--Confederate
+estimate of Sherman's campaign.
+
+
+In advancing from the Chattahoochee, the arrangements Sherman made
+for the supply of his army provided separate lines for the trains of
+the three columns. McPherson' s wagons would reach him from Marietta
+by way of Roswell and the bridge which General Dodge built there.
+Schofield's had their depot at Smyrna and came by the wooden bridge
+which we built at the mouth of Soap Creek to replace the pontoons.
+The latter were of canvas, and whilst unequalled for field use, were
+unfit for a bridge of any permanence, because the canvas would be
+destroyed by long continuance in the water. As soon as they could be
+replaced by a pier or trestle-bridge of timber, they were taken up,
+cleaned and dried, and then packed on their special wagons for
+transport. This train was in charge of a permanent detachment of
+troops who became experts in the handling and care of the material
+and in laying the bridge. The brigade of dismounted cavalry in my
+division was left at the river as a guard for the wooden bridge
+which was kept up till the railway bridge was built and opened for
+use. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. v. p. 163.]
+Thomas's troops, who were more than half the army, drew their
+supplies from Vining's Station byway of bridges at Power's Ferry
+(mouth of Rottenwood Creek) and Pace's Ferry, a mile below.
+
+Grant sent warning of rumors afloat that reinforcements would be
+sent Johnston from the east, and in advancing from the Chattahoochee
+by a great wheel to the right, Sherman extended his left so that
+McPherson should move to the east of Decatur and break the Georgia
+Railroad there, whilst Garrard with his division of cavalry should
+continue the destruction toward Stone Mountain and make the gap as
+wide as possible. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 158.]
+
+This movement made the distance travelled by McPherson and Schofield
+a long one, and extended their front largely, whilst Thomas was much
+more compact. But when once the railway should be so broken that
+Johnston's direct communication with the east would be interrupted,
+McPherson and Schofield would both move toward their right, and in
+closing in upon Atlanta, come into close touch with Thomas.
+[Footnote: _Id_., p. 167.]
+
+It was whilst this movement was progressing, on the 20th of July,
+and was near its completion, that Hood made the attack already
+planned by Johnston, upon Thomas's columns, crossing Peachtree Creek
+by several roads converging at Atlanta. It involved the right of
+Howard's corps, the whole of Hooker's, and the left of Palmer's. It
+was a fierce and bloody combat, in which the Confederates lost about
+6000 men in killed and wounded, whilst the casualty lists of
+Thomas's divisions amounted to 2000. Again, on the 22d, the second
+part of Johnston's plan was tried, and Hardee's corps, moving by
+night through Atlanta and far out to the southward of Decatur,
+advanced upon the flank of McPherson's army, whilst Cheatham at the
+head of Hood's own corps advanced from the Atlanta lines and
+continued the attack upon the centre and left of McPherson and upon
+the right of Schofield. A great battle raged along five miles of
+front and rear, but at evening the worsted Confederates retired
+within the fortifications of the city, a terrible list of 10,000
+casualties showing the cost of the aggressive tactics. The losses on
+the National side were 3500, heavy enough, in truth, but with very
+different results on the relative strength of the armies and their
+_morale_. But the end was not yet. On the 28th McPherson's army, now
+under the command of Howard, was marching from the left wing to the
+right, to extend our lines southward on the west side of Atlanta,
+when once more Hood struck fiercely at the moving flank at Ezra
+Church, but again found that breastworks grew as if by magic as soon
+as Howard's men were deployed in position, and again the gray
+columns were beaten back with a list of 5000 added to the killed and
+disabled. Howard had less than 600 casualties in the action. It was
+only a week since Johnston had been relieved, and matters had come
+to such a pass in his army that the men stolidly refused to continue
+the assaults. From our skirmish line their officers were seen to
+advance to the front with waving swords calling upon the troops to
+follow them, but the men remained motionless and silent, refusing to
+budge. [Footnote: For details of these engagements, see "Atlanta,"
+chaps, xii.-xiv.]
+
+During the first half of August Sherman extended his lines
+southward, until my own division, which was the right flank of the
+infantry lines, was advanced nearly a mile southeast of the crossing
+of the Campbelltown and East Point roads on high ground covering the
+headwaters of the Utoy and Camp creeks. We were here somewhat
+detached and encamped accordingly in a boldly curved line ready for
+action on the flanks as well as front. It was now the 18th of August
+and Sherman devoted the next week to the accumulation of supplies,
+the removal of sick and wounded to the rear, getting rid of
+impedimenta, and general preparation for a fortnight's separation
+from his base. My position had been selected with reference to this
+plan, as a pivot upon which the whole of the army except the
+Twentieth Corps should swing across the railways south of Atlanta.
+
+[Illustration: Map of the Atlanta, GA area, showing the Federal and
+Confederate lines.]
+
+The movement began on the 25th, and we stood fast till the 28th,
+when we began our flank movement on the inner curve of the march of
+the army, taking very short steps, however, as we must keep between
+the army trains and the enemy. On the 30th Schofield moved our corps
+from Red Oak Station, on the West Point Railroad, a mile and a half
+directly toward East Point, so as to cover roads going eastward
+toward Rough-and-Ready Station on the Macon road. We were hardly in
+position before our skirmishers were briskly engaged with an
+advancing force of the enemy's cavalry, and we felt sure that it was
+the precursor of an attack by Hood in force. It proved to be nothing
+but a reconnoissance, and showed that Hood was strangely
+misconceiving the situation. Its chief interest to me at the moment
+was in the experiment it enabled me to make of the speed with which
+my men could cover themselves in open ground in an emergency. The
+division was astride the East Point road, the centre in open fields
+where no timber could be got for revetment, and only fence rails to
+give some support to the loose earth. Giving the order to make the
+light trench of the rifle-pit class, where the earth is thrown
+outward and the men stand in the ditch they dig, in fifteen minutes
+by the watch the work was such that I reckoned it sufficient cover
+to repel an infantry attack, if it came. It would be an
+extraordinary occasion when we did not have more warning of an
+impending attack; and the incident will illustrate the confidence we
+had that in forcing the enemy to assume aggressive tactics, the
+campaign was practically decided.
+
+On the 31st, as Sherman's left wing, we held the Macon Railway at
+Rough-and-Ready Station, Howard, as right wing, was across Flint
+River, closing in on Jonesboro, whilst the centre under Thomas
+filled the interval. Hood had sent Hardee with his own and Lee's
+(late Hood's) corps to defeat what was supposed to be a detachment
+of two corps of Sherman's army, and a sharp affair had occurred at
+the Flint River crossing, where Howard succeeded in maintaining his
+position on the east side. On hearing of our occupation of
+Rough-and-Ready, Hood jumped to the conclusion that it was
+preliminary to an attack on Atlanta from the south, and ordered
+Lee's corps to march in the night and rejoin him at once. Getting a
+better idea of the situation before morning, he stopped Lee and
+prepared to evacuate Atlanta. On September 1st Sherman closed in on
+Jonesboro, his latest information indicating that two corps of the
+enemy were assembled there. Late in the day he learned of the
+disappearance of Lee's corps, but assumed that Hood was assembling
+somewhere near. He tried hard to concentrate his forces to prevent
+Hardee's escape, but his scattered army could not be united till
+nightfall.
+
+In the night Hood blew up the ordnance stores at Atlanta, and
+hastening to join Lee by roads east of Sherman's positions, he
+marched on Lovejoy Station. Hardee evacuated Jonesboro also, and
+before morning the Confederate army was assembled again upon the
+railroad, five miles nearer to Macon. Atlanta was occupied by the
+Twentieth Corps on the 2d, and Sherman ordered his army to return to
+the vicinity of that city for a period of rest. Hood's conduct for
+the past three days had been the result of complete misapprehension
+of the facts; but its very eccentricity had been so incomprehensible
+that no rule of military probabilities could be applied to it, and
+before Sherman could learn what he was doing, the time had passed
+when full advantage could be taken of his errors.
+
+The condition of Hood's army at the close of the campaign was
+anything but satisfactory to him. His theory was that his offensive
+tactics would keep up the spirit and energy of his men and
+constantly improve their _morale_. When he found that they were, on
+the contrary, discouraged and despondent, and could not be induced
+to repeat the assaults upon our positions which had followed each
+other so rapidly in the last days of July, he querulously laid the
+blame at the door of his subordinates. He called the attack upon
+Howard's advance at Flint River "a disgraceful effort" because only
+1485 were wounded, and asked to have Hardee relieved and sent
+elsewhere. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. v. pp.
+1021, 1023, 1030. Hardee had before asked to be relieved. (_Id_.,
+pp. 987, 988.) For Hood's final, urgent request and the result, see
+vol. xxxix. pt. ii. pp. 832, 880, 881.] True, he had telegraphed
+Hardee that the necessity was imperative that the National troops
+should be driven into and across the river, and that the men must go
+at them with bayonets fixed; but it was his own old corps, now under
+Lieutenant-General S. D. Lee, that made the principal attack and was
+repulsed. Lee was not one of the officers who might be presumed to
+be discontented with Johnston's removal, but had been brought from
+the Department of Mississippi, at Hood's suggestion, to take the
+corps when the latter was promoted, and had won Davis's admiration
+by his zeal. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 892, and vol. lii. pt. ii. p.
+713.] It would be hard to find better proof that the trouble lay in
+the consciousness of the men in the line that they were asked to lay
+down their lives without a reasonable hope of benefit to their
+cause. The discouragement pervaded the whole army, and is seen in
+Hood's own dispatches hardly less than in others. [Footnote: Hood to
+Davis, September 3, two dispatches, _Id_., vol. xxxviii. pt. v. p.
+1016. In another, p. 1017, he repeated an earlier suggestion to
+remove the prisoners from Andersonville. When Johnston had done
+this, it was made one of the charges against him. See Davis to Lee,
+_Id_., vol. lii. pt. ii. p. 692. For Hardee's opinion of the
+situation, see _Id_., vol. xxxviii. pt. v. p. 1018.] In a labored
+letter to Bragg on September 4th, he unconsciously shows how his own
+total misunderstanding of Sherman's movements was the prime cause of
+his disaster, whilst the shame at the result leads him to charge it
+upon others. As to the spirit of the army, nobody has given more
+telling testimony, for he says, "I am officially informed that there
+is a tacit if not expressed determination among the men of this
+army, extending to officers as high in some instances as colonel,
+that they will not attack breastworks." [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. lii. pt. ii. p. 730. This letter seems to have come to light
+since the first publication of the records of the campaign, and is
+found in the supplemental volume.]
+
+In the correspondence between Johnston and the Confederate
+government regarding the numerical force of his army, he naturally
+emphasized his inferiority to Sherman in numbers as an explanation
+of his cautious defensive tactics and his retreating movements. The
+introduction into the Southern returns of a column of "effectives"
+as distinguished from the number of officers and men "present for
+duty," [Footnote: _Ante_, vol. i. p. 482.] led to a habitual
+underestimate by their commanding officers. On several occasions
+Johnston defended his conduct of the campaign by asserting that his
+army was less than half the size of Sherman's, [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. p. 795.] and this necessarily led to
+an examination of his returns. These regular numerical reports are
+of course the ultimate authority in all disputes, and we find the
+Richmond government doing just what the historian has to
+do,--comparing the estimates of the general with his official
+returns. Officers of all grades and of the highest character fall
+into the error of memory which modifies facts according to one's
+wish and feeling. Thus at the beginning of this campaign we find
+General Bragg, speaking for the President, saying that General
+Polk's "estimates and his official returns vary materially."
+[Footnote: _Id._, vol. lii. pt. ii. p. 659.] Nobody could be freer
+from intentional misstatement than the good bishop-general. We find
+the same discrepancies at the East as well as the West. Lee,
+Jackson, Longstreet, and their subordinates fall into the same
+error. It is therefore the canon of all criticism on this subject,
+that nothing but the statistical returns in the adjutant-general's
+office shall be received as proofs of numbers, though, of course,
+the returns must be read intelligently.
+
+Conscious of straining every nerve to reinforce the great armies in
+the field, Mr. Davis naturally asked what it meant when the army in
+Georgia was said to be so weak. General Bragg assisted him with an
+analysis of Johnston's last returns. Writing on June 29th, he refers
+to the last regular return, that of June 10th, which is the same now
+published in the Official Records. In using it, therefore, we agree
+with the Confederate government at the time in making it conclusive.
+It shows that Johnston's army had present for duty 6538 officers and
+63,408 enlisted men, or, in round numbers, was 70,000 strong.
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iv. p. 805; _Id_.,
+pt. iii. p. 677.] The "effectives" are given as 60,564; but this, as
+we know, is the result of subtracting the number of the officers and
+non-commissioned staff from the aggregate present for duty. But in
+addition to the troops named, Bragg very properly adds that Johnston
+"has at Atlanta a supporting force of reserves and militia,
+estimated at from 7000 to 10,000 effective men, half of whom were
+actually with Johnston near Marietta." We thus have from Confederate
+authorities the proof that the army was nearly 80,000 strong on June
+10th, after the first month of the campaign had closed, including
+the engagements at Dalton, Resaca, New Hope Church, Dallas, and
+Pickett's Mill.
+
+To complete the examination of the same return, it is necessary to
+notice that the "aggregate present" is given at 82,413, or 12,500
+more than the "present for duty." This includes "extra-duty men,"
+such as clerks at headquarters of the organizations from Johnston's
+own down to brigades and regiments, men permanently detailed for any
+special service, men in arrest, etc. [Footnote: Hood's dispatch of
+September 5, _Id_., pt. v. p. 1021; and his Order No. 19, vol.
+xxxix. pt. ii. p. 835.] It is here that good administration in an
+army seeks to reduce the number of those who are withdrawn from the
+fighting ranks, and to make the "aggregate present" agree as closely
+as possible with the "present for duty." I shall presently note the
+result of such an effort.
+
+Sherman's return of "present for duty" on May 31st, just after Blair
+had joined him with the Seventeenth Corps, was the largest of the
+campaign, being 112,819. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxviii.
+pt. i. p. 117.] By the end of June it was reduced to 106,070, when
+Johnston's was 59,196 without the reserves and militia. [Footnote:
+_Id._, pt. iii. p. 679.]
+
+When Hood assumed the command, Bragg visited the army a second time,
+and gave new impulse to the effort to increase its effective force.
+On July 27th, in a very full report to Mr. Davis, he says, "the
+increase by the arrival of extra-duty men and convalescents, etc.,
+is about 5000, and more are coming in daily. The return of the 1st
+of August will show a gratifying state of affairs." [Footnote:
+_Id._, vol. lii. pt. ii. p. 714.] This promise was fulfilled when
+that return showed a diminution in the "present for duty," since the
+10th of the month, of only 7403, [Footnote: _Id._, vol. xxxviii. pt.
+iii. p. 680.] although the period included the bloody engagements of
+Peachtree Creek, Atlanta, and Ezra Church.
+
+The Confederate conscription included the whole able-bodied
+population, and details as for extra duty were the means by which
+physicians, clergymen, civilian office-holders, etc., were exempted
+from service in the army. These lists were rigidly scrutinized, and
+the laxity which had grown was corrected as far as possible. The
+aggregate of Hood's army, "present and absent," on August 1st, was
+135,000, though his "aggregate present" was only 65,000. [Footnote:
+_Ibid._] It included, of course, prisoners of war, deserters, and
+men otherwise missing, besides the class last mentioned. The extent
+to which the efforts to bring back absentees succeeded, is shown by
+the return for September 20th, when the aggregate of the "present
+and absent" falls to 123,000, [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xxxviii. pt. iii. p. 637.] though the "present for duty" are almost
+as numerous as at the end of July. The difference of 12,000 shows
+how many were added to the army in this way, and these are in
+addition to the thousands which Bragg spoke of as gained by
+transferring non-combatants present with the army to the list of
+those present for duty.
+
+It is only by examining Hood's returns in this way that they become
+intelligible, for his rolls of those present for duty hardly
+diminish at all during the whole month of August, being 51,793 on
+the 1st, 51,946 on the 10th, and 51,141 on the 31st. [Footnote:
+_Id_., pp. 680-683.] On September 10th he reports 46,149, and on the
+20th 47,431, the first of these returns including his losses in the
+final combats of the campaign and the fall of Atlanta, and the
+latter indicating a gain by the exchange of prisoners with General
+Sherman. [Footnote: _Id_., vol. xxxix. pt. ii. pp. 828, 850.] By
+ignoring all the additions to his fighting force from the sources
+which I have enumerated, Hood was able to claim that his total
+losses while in command of the army were 5247. [Footnote: _Id_.,
+vol. xxxviii. pt. iii. p. 636.] The absurdity was indicated by
+Hardee, who replied in his official report that the losses in his
+own corps, which was only one third of the army, "considerably
+exceeded 7000" during the same period. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 702.]
+
+Sherman's returns show a steady diminution of his available numbers
+during July and August, though, as he himself has said, it was not
+altogether from casualties on the battlefield and the diseases of
+the camp. [Footnote: Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 134.] The term of service
+of all the troops enlisted in the spring and summer of 1861 for
+three years was now ended, and an interval occurred in which the new
+levies under the law to enforce the draft had not yet reached the
+field, and the army was depleted by the return home of the regiments
+which had not "veteranized" in the last winter. He had present for
+duty, on July 31st, 91,675 officers and men; on August 31st, 81,758.
+Sherman's statement of his losses in battle and his comparison of
+them with his opponents is a model of candor and fairness. With the
+light we now have, he might properly have increased considerably his
+estimate of Johnston's casualties. [Footnote: Memoirs, vol. ii. pp.
+131-136.]
+
+General Hood was quite right in arguing, in his memoirs, that the
+wounded in a campaign are not all a permanent loss to an army,
+"since almost all the slightly wounded, proud of their scars, soon
+return to the ranks." [Footnote: Advance and Retreat, p. 217.] But
+what I have said above shows that he was entirely astray when he
+concluded that the difference in the returns of his effective force
+at the beginning and end of the campaign would show the number of
+killed and permanently disabled. The absence of data as to the
+additions to his field force through the means which I have
+analyzed, shows how absurd a result was drawn from his premises. The
+reports of casualties are not unfrequently faulty, but with all
+their faults they would be much more valuable if a complete series
+existed which could be compared and tested. It would require a
+minute examination of all returns, from companies to divisions, to
+determine accurately how many men returned to duty after being
+wounded or captured. The imperfect state of the Confederate archives
+would prevent this, if it were otherwise practicable. The
+statistical returns are conclusive for what they actually give, but
+inferences from them must be drawn with care. As an illustration (in
+addition to those already given) it may be noted that the
+Confederate cavalry made no returns of casualties or losses, and
+they do not appear at all in the Medical Director's report which
+General Hood makes the basis of his own assertions. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. iii. p. 687.] How grave an
+omission this is will be partly seen from the fact that Wheeler's
+corps, which reported 8000 men present for duty on August 1st (the
+last return made), was in such condition when he reached Tuscumbia
+after the raid in the rear of Sherman's army, that its
+adjutant-general doubted if more than 1000 men could be got
+together. [Footnote: Letter of General Forrest to General Taylor,
+Sept. 20, 1864, Official Records, vol. xxxix. pt. ii. p. 859.]
+
+The use of the cavalry in "raids," which were the fashion, was an
+amusement that was very costly to both sides. Since Stuart's ride
+round McClellan's army in 1862, every cavalry commander, National
+and Confederate, burned to distinguish himself by some such
+excursion deep into the enemy's country, and chafed at the
+comparatively obscured but useful work of learning the detailed
+positions and movements of the opposing army by incessant outpost
+and patrol work in the more restricted theatre of operations of the
+campaign.
+
+From Chattanooga to the Chattahoochee, good work was done by
+Stoneman and McCook in scouting upon the front and flanks of the
+army, and by Colonel Lowe in vigilant guard of the railway close in
+rear of Sherman's movements; but the use of mounted troops in mass
+was not satisfactory, and as to the raids on both sides, the game
+was never worth the candle. Men and horses were used up, wholesale,
+without doing any permanent damage to the enemy, and never reached
+that training of horse and man which might have been secured by
+steady and systematic attention to their proper duties. Forrest, of
+the Confederates, was the only cavalry officer whom Sherman thought
+at all formidable, and he showed his high estimate of him by
+offering, in his sweeping way, to secure the promotion of the
+officer who should defeat and kill him. In another form he expressed
+the same idea, by saying he would swap all the cavalry officers he
+had for Forrest. [Footnote: The matter took an odd turn, when on the
+report that General Mower had defeated Forrest in West Tennessee and
+that the brilliant cavalry leader had fallen in the action, Mower
+got his promotion, but it turned out that it was Forrest's brother,
+a colonel, who was killed--"a horse of another color." Mower,
+however, was worthy of promotion "on general principles." See
+Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. v. p. 471; vol. xxxix. pt. i. p.
+228; _Id_., pt. ii. pp. 130, 142, 219, 233.]
+
+High as was the National estimate of the importance of Sherman's
+campaign, Southern men rated it and its consequences quite as high
+as we did. In the conferences at Richmond, at which Mr. Hill had
+represented the strong desire of Governor Brown and General Johnston
+for reinforcements, Mr. Davis had made his apprehension of the
+disastrous results which would follow the loss of Atlanta the reason
+of his urgency for a more aggressive campaign. In closing the
+interviews, Mr. Seddon, the Secretary of War, and Mr. Hill showed
+their sense of the importance of the crisis by exchanging letters
+which were diplomatic memoranda of the conversations. Mr. Hill
+repeated his conviction that the fate of the Confederacy hung upon
+the campaign. He said that the failure of Johnston's army involved
+that of Lee; that not only Atlanta but Richmond must fall; not only
+Georgia but all the States would be overrun; that all hopes of
+possible foreign recognition would be destroyed; in short, that "all
+is lost by Sherman's success, and all is gained by Sherman's
+defeat." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. lii. pt. ii. p. 706.]
+Governor Brown had accompanied Mr. Hill's effort by a dispatch in
+which he declared that Atlanta was to the Confederacy "almost as
+important as the heart is to the human body." [Footnote: _Id_., p.
+680.] So far from taking exception to these strong expressions, Mr.
+Davis based his action in regard to General Johnston upon the
+absolute necessity of a military policy in Georgia, which would hold
+Atlanta at all hazards. When the city fell, the whole South as well
+as the North knew that a decisive step had been taken toward the
+defeat of the rebellion.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLI
+
+THE REST AT ATLANTA-STAFF ORGANIZATION AND CHANGES
+
+
+Position of the Army of the Ohio at Decatur--Refitting for a new
+campaign--Depression of Hood's army--Sherman's reasons for a
+temporary halt--Fortifying Atlanta as a new base--Officers detailed
+for the political campaign--Schofield makes inspection tour of his
+department--My temporary command of the Army of the Ohio--Furloughs
+and leaves of absence--Promotions of several colonels--General
+Hascall resigns--Staff changes--My military family--Anecdote of
+Lieutenant Tracy--Discipline of the army--Sensitiveness to approval
+or blame--Illustration--Example of skirmishing advance--Sufferings
+of non-combatants within our lines--A case in point--Pillaging and
+its results--Citizens passing through the lines--"The rigors of the
+climate"--Visit of Messrs. Hill and Foster--McPherson's death--The
+loss to Sherman and to the army--His personal traits--Appointment of
+his successor.
+
+
+At the close of the first week in September the Army of the Ohio
+encamped at Decatur, and prepared for a month's rest. My division
+took position on the east of the little town, Hascall's on the
+south, and our division of cavalry under Colonel Israel Garrard was
+east of us, with outposts and patrols watching the roads in that
+direction as far as Stone Mountain. [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. xxxviii. pt. v. p. 828.] The Army of the Cumberland was
+encamped about Atlanta itself, and the Army of the Tennessee was at
+East Point. As Sherman cheerily announced in general orders, we
+might expect "to organize, receive pay, replenish clothing, and
+prepare for a fine winter's campaign." [Footnote: _Id._, p. 801.]
+
+It was of course probable that Hood would use the interval, which
+was even more welcome to him than to us, in similar preparation for
+resuming the struggle, though the resources of the Confederacy were
+so strained that the Treasury was in debt to the soldiers for ten
+months' pay. He told the government that "it would be of vast
+benefit to have this army paid," [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xxxviii. pt. v. p. 1027.] but this expressed his desire rather than
+a hope. Depression reigned in his camps about Lovejoy's Station, of
+which the name was a mockery. Dissent was rife among his general
+officers, and with the whole army he had lost prestige by the costly
+failure of his campaign. A period of rest might relieve the
+discouragement somewhat, and stringent means were to be used to
+bring absentees and conscripts to the ranks. Hardee was transferred
+to Savannah; Mackall, Johnston's devoted friend, was removed from
+the head of the staff, and other changes of organization were made
+with a view to give Hood the men of his own choice in important
+positions. [Footnote: These were mostly in accordance with Hood's
+recommendations to General Bragg when the latter visited him at the
+end of July. See Bragg to Davis, _Id._, vol. lii. pt. ii. p. 713.]
+
+Sherman was fully aware that he would have many advantages in
+pushing after Hood at once, but besides his army's real need of
+rest, he was clear in his judgment that he must, at this stage of
+affairs, prepare for a campaign on a great scale to be continued
+through the winter till great results should be achieved. If the
+line of operations was to be extended toward Mobile, as was
+contemplated by General Grant at the opening of the campaign, or if
+Hood should retreat toward the east, in either case he must make
+Atlanta a fortified base. Experience had proven that his long line
+of communications was liable to interruption, and would be still
+more so as he penetrated further into Georgia. He must have a
+well-supplied and well-protected depot in the same relations to the
+next forward movement that Chattanooga had been to the campaign just
+finished. He wanted to get his share of the drafted men under the
+conscription law now in operation, to fill up the places of
+regiments whose terms had expired, and to be assured that Canby from
+New Orleans would co-operate in a settled plan. He was already
+revolving in his mind other problems which Hood might possibly open
+for solution; but the probability seemed strong that the Confederate
+army would bar the way to his advance, and must be beaten and driven
+back again. His first task, therefore, was to prepare Atlanta for
+his uses. "I want it," he said, "a pure Gibraltar, and will have it
+so by October 1st." [Footnote: Dispatch to Halleck, September 9th.
+See also that of September 4th, in which his ideas were fully
+outlined. Official Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. v. pp. 794, 839.] This
+use of the town made it necessary to remove the resident citizens,
+sending north those who were loyal and ordering south those who
+adhered to the Confederacy. As a fortified depot must be ready for a
+siege, trade and free intercourse with the surrounding country could
+not go on. The inhabitants, therefore, would be dependent on the
+army for food, their industries must cease, and it was more merciful
+to them, as well as a military necessity, to send them away.
+[Footnote: Sherman to Hood, _Id_., p. 822.]
+
+The temporary interruption of active campaigning was eagerly seized
+upon as an opportunity for leaves of absence by those whose private
+and family affairs urgently called for attention. The presidential
+campaign was on, and in consultation with Governor Morton of
+Indiana, Secretary Stanton selected half a dozen officers from that
+State, which was politically a doubtful one, to vary their labors in
+the field by "stumping the State" for a month. The form of the
+request indicates the feeling as to the character of the civil
+contest. "In view," said the Secretary, "of the armed organizations
+against the Government of the United States that have been made
+throughout the State of Indiana and are now in active operation in
+the campaign for Jefferson Davis, this department deems it expedient
+that the officers named should have leave to go home, provided they
+can be spared without injury to the service." [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. v. p. 802. Among these appears the name
+of Colonel Benjamin Harrison, 70th Indiana, afterward President.
+Sherman's characteristic reply was sent from camp near Jonesboro, on
+6th September: "The officers named in your dispatch of the 5th will
+be ordered to report to the Governor of Indiana for special duty, as
+soon as I return to Atlanta, which will be in a day or two unless
+the enemy shows fight, which I am willing to accept on his own terms
+if he will come outside of his cursed rifle-trenches." _Id_., p.
+809. I don't recall any other instance of a regular military detail
+for a political campaign.] Generals Logan and Blair also went North
+for similar work in Illinois and Missouri.
+
+In the middle of September General Schofield left the army for a
+time, to visit Knoxville and Louisville, within his department, on
+official business, and extended his absence for a brief reunion with
+his family north of the Ohio. [Footnote: _Id_., vol. xxxix. pt. ii.
+p. 379; pt. iii. p. 10.] This left me in command of the Army of the
+Ohio, and Hood's later movement upon our communications prevented
+Schofield's return till the end of our active campaign in October. A
+liberal issue of furloughs to enlisted men, especially convalescents
+in hospital, was made, so that we might get them back in robust
+health and good spirits when the fall campaign should open. General
+Hascall resigned and left us, and the command of his division passed
+to General Joseph A. Cooper, who had been promoted from the
+colonelcy of the Sixth East Tennessee. My own division was
+temporarily commanded by General James W. Reilly, who had been
+promoted on my recommendation from the colonelcy of the One Hundred
+and Fourth Ohio. Hascall had commanded his division with marked
+ability throughout the campaign, but had become discouraged by the
+evidences that he need expect no recognition from the Indiana
+governor, [Footnote: See _ante_, vol. i. pp. 406, 485; vol. ii. p.
+253.] whose influence was potent if not omnipotent in the promotion
+of Indiana officers. The recently announced promotion of Hovey over
+him seemed to him equivalent to an invitation to resign, and he
+acted upon it.
+
+The resting-spell at Decatur was the natural time for such changes
+in organization as had become necessary. The death of my
+adjutant-general, Captain Saunders, in June, made it necessary to
+fill that very important position, and my aide, Lieutenant Theodore
+Cox, was promoted to it. His regiment (the Eleventh Ohio) was just
+completing its term of enlistment, and he would be mustered out of
+service with it, unless a new appointment were given him, fairly
+won, as it had been, by two years of meritorious service. My request
+was so cordially backed by Generals Schofield and Sherman that there
+was no hesitation at Washington, and I secured for the rest of the
+war an invaluable assistant, whose system, accuracy, and neat
+methods made the business of my headquarters go on most
+satisfactorily.
+
+My inspector-general, Lieutenant-Colonel Sterling, felt obliged to
+resign for business reasons connected with events in his father's
+family, and I had to part with another faithful friend and able
+officer. As the adjutant-general is the centre of the formal
+organization, keeping its records, carrying on its correspondence,
+and formulating the orders of his chief, so the inspector-general is
+the organ of discipline and of soldierly instruction as well as the
+superintendent of the outpost and picket duty, which makes him the
+guardian of the camp and the head of the intelligence service when
+no special organization of the latter is made. He should be one of
+the most intelligent officers of the command, and a model of
+soldierly conduct. It was no easy thing to fill Colonel Sterling's
+place, but I was fortunate in the selection of Major Dow of the One
+Hundred and Twelfth Illinois, a quiet, modest man, a thorough
+disciplinarian of clear and strong intellect, and of that perfect
+self-possession which is proof against misjudgment in the most
+sudden and terrifying occurrences.
+
+I had brought with me from East Tennessee, as my chief of artillery,
+Major Wells, who had commanded an Illinois battery, and who directed
+the artillery service of the division with great success. My medical
+director was Surgeon-Major Frink, of Indiana, who, though he took
+the position by virtue of his seniority in the division medical
+staff, was as acceptable as if I had chosen him with fullest
+knowledge of his qualifications. The topographer was Lieutenant
+Scofield of the One Hundred and Third Ohio, educated in civil
+engineering, and indefatigable in collecting the data by which to
+correct the wretched maps which were our only help in understanding
+the theatre of operations. He was a familiar figure at the outposts,
+on his steadily ambling nag, armed with his prismatic compass, his
+odometer, and his sketch-book. The division commissary of
+subsistence was Captain Hentig, a faithful and competent officer who
+worked in full accord with Captain Day, the energetic quartermaster
+who had come with me over the mountains the preceding year.
+
+A general officer's aides-de-camp are usually his most intimate
+associates in the military family, and were sometimes selected with
+too much regard to their social qualities. Those of a major-general
+were appointed on his nomination, but a brigadier-general must
+detail the two allowed him, from the lieutenants in his command.
+When commanding a division, custom allowed him to detail a third.
+They were the only officers technically called the personal staff,
+the others being officers of the several staff corps, or merely
+detailed from regiments to do temporary duty. Thus, no
+inspector-general was allowed to a brigadier, but when commanding a
+division or other organization larger than a brigade, he was
+permitted to detail an officer of the line for the very necessary
+and responsible duty. The aides are authorized to carry oral orders
+and to explain them, to call for and to bring oral reports, and as
+the general's confidential and official representatives they should
+be of the most intelligent and soldierly men of their grade. All the
+other staff officers may be called upon to act as aides when it is
+necessary, but these are _ex officio_ the ordinary go-betweens, and,
+if fit for their work, are as cordially welcomed and almost as much
+at home with the brigade commanders as with their own chief.
+
+My senior aide, after my brother's promotion, was Lieutenant
+Coughlan of the Twenty-fourth Kentucky, a handsome young Irishman of
+very humble origin, to whom the military service had been the
+revelation of his own powers and a noble inspiration. He was lithe
+and well set up, though by no means a dandy; would spring at call
+for any duty, by night or by day, and delighted the more in his
+work, the more perilous or arduous it was. He was captured in the
+last days of our operations about Atlanta; [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. v. p. 623.] but the exchange of prisoners
+negotiated by Sherman gave me the opportunity to secure his return
+after a month's captivity and imprisonment at Charleston. Two months
+later he died heroically in the battle of Franklin. [Footnote:
+_Id_., vol. xlv. pt. i. p. 356.]
+
+Lieutenant Bradley of the Sixty-fifth Illinois was second on the
+list, an excellent officer who was competent and ready to assist the
+adjutant-general in his department when work there was pressing.
+
+The third was Lieutenant Tracy of the One Hundred and Fourth Ohio, a
+man of original character. Tall and angular, there was a little
+stoop in his shoulders and a little carelessness in his dress. His
+gait was a long stride, and he was not a graceful horseman. His
+exterior had a good deal of the typical Yankee, and our Connecticut
+Reserve in Ohio, from which he came, has as pure a strain of Yankee
+blood as any in New England. But whoever looked into his sallow and
+bony face was struck with the effect of his large, serious eye,
+luminous with intelligence and will. Devotion to duty and perfect
+trustworthiness, with zeal in acquiring military knowledge, were the
+qualities which led to his selection for staff duty. When we were
+preparing for the great swing of the army to the south of Atlanta,
+my division had been advanced close to the enemy's position near
+East Point, where, from a strong salient in their works, their line
+curved back toward the east. Our position was to be the pivot of the
+movement, and we intrenched the top of a forest-covered knoll
+separated from the Confederate lines by a little hollow in which ran
+a small affluent of Camp Creek. Our pickets were directed to advance
+as close to the enemy as practicable, so that any attempt to make a
+sally would be detected promptly. Tracy had been directed to
+accompany the officer of the day and see that the outposts were in
+proper position. Early next morning General Schofield visited me,
+and desired to see in person the point most advanced. I called Tracy
+for our guide, and from the trenches we went down the slope, through
+the woods, on foot. A spur of the hill went forward, and as we
+neared the edge of the forest Tracy signalled to go quietly.
+Stooping carefully in the undergrowth, we noiselessly advanced to a
+fence corner where a sentinel stood behind a tree. Halting a few
+paces away, Tracy motioned to us to avoid moving the bushes, but to
+approach the fence and look between the rails. Doing so, we found
+the fence at the border of a little strip of hollow pasture in which
+the brooklet ran, and across it on the other slope, frowning upon
+us, was a formidable earthwork, an embrasure and the muzzle of a
+great Columbiad looking directly at us. The enemy's sentinels had
+been driven in, so that, where we looked, one was pacing his beat at
+the counterscarp of the ditch. As we drew back to a distance at
+which conversation was prudent, Tracy asked with a grim little smile
+whether the picket line was sufficiently advanced. The whole was
+characteristic of his thoroughness in the performance of duty and
+his silent way of letting it speak for itself. He was struck in the
+breast and knocked down by a spent ball in the assault by Reilly's
+brigade at Utoy Creek on August 6th, but in a week was on duty
+again, though he never wholly recovered from the injury to his
+lungs. [Footnote: Being in delicate health after the war, he was
+made Governor of the National Home for disabled soldiers at Dayton,
+Ohio, and died in 1868 from an abscess of the lung caused by the old
+injury.]
+
+Officers were detailed from the line for other staff duty, such as
+ordnance officer, commissary of musters, etc., and there was no lack
+of good material. The general officer who sought for sober, zealous,
+and bright young soldiers for his staff could always find them. They
+were his eyes and his hands in the responsible work of a campaign,
+yet their service was necessarily hidden a good deal from view, and
+their opportunities for personal distinction and rapid promotion
+were few compared with those of their comrades in actual command of
+troops.
+
+It was interesting to observe the rapid progress in all the
+essentials of good discipline made in commands which were permanent
+enough to give time for development of order and system. We were
+fortunate in Sherman's army in having in himself and in the three
+commanders next in rank examples of courteous treatment of
+subordinates coupled with steady insistence upon the prompt and
+right performance of duty. Under such a _régime_ intelligent men
+grow sensitive to the slightest indication of dissatisfaction, and a
+superior officer has to weigh his words lest he give more pain than
+he intended. An amusing instance of this occurred during the
+campaign just ended. Late one evening my division was directed to
+make a movement at sunrise next day, and the camp was quiet in sleep
+before my orders were sent out to the brigade commanders. He who was
+assigned to lead the column was an excellent officer, but irascible,
+and a little apt to make his staff officers feel the edge of any
+annoyance he himself felt. Some strain of relations among his
+assistants at his headquarters happened to be existing when my order
+came. He had turned in for the night and was asleep when his
+adjutant-general came to his tent to report the order. Not fully
+aroused, he made a rough and bluff reply to the call, really meaning
+that the staff officer should issue the proper orders to the
+brigade, but in form it was a petulant refusal to be bothered with
+the business. The adjutant took him literally at his word and left
+him. Next morning I was in the saddle at the time set, and with my
+staff rode to the brigade to accompany the head of the column, when,
+lo, his command was not yet astir, though in the rest of the camp
+breakfast was over, the tents struck, and officers and men were
+awaiting the signal to fall in. I rapped with my sword-hilt on the
+tent-pole, and when the dishevelled head of the colonel appeared,
+his speechless astonishment told the story of some great blunder. I
+did not stop for particulars, but only said, "Your brigade, colonel,
+was to have had the place of honor in an important day's work; as it
+is, you will fall in at the rear of the column. Good-morning, sir."
+He stood, without a word, till we rode off, and then turning to an
+aide who had come to him, exclaimed, "I wish to God he had cursed
+me!"
+
+In the movement upon Atlanta, after crossing the Chattahoochee, we
+were not met in force till we came to Peachtree Creek and the
+extension of that line southward. The country was similar in
+character to that near Marietta, with openings of farming lands
+along the principal roads, but probably three fourths of the country
+was covered with forest. In answer to questions from home as to what
+our continuous skirmishing in such advances was like, I took as a
+sample the 20th of July, when we were pushing in to connect with
+General Thomas's right, and he was making his way to and across
+Peachtree Creek, where the battle was to rage in the latter part of
+the day.
+
+"My camp last night," I said, "was formed of three brigades in two
+lines across the principal road, another brigade in reserve, and the
+artillery in the intervals, all in position of battle. A strong line
+of pickets and skirmishers covered the front and flanks some three
+hundred yards in advance. In the morning we drew in the flanks of
+the skirmish line, reducing it to about the length of one brigade
+across the road, and it was ordered to advance. The men go forward,
+keeping the line at right angles to the road, stopping for neither
+creek nor thicket; down ravines, over the hills, the skirmishers
+trotting from a big tree to a larger stone, taking advantage of
+everything which will cover them, and keeping the general form of
+the line and their distance from each other tolerably correct. The
+main body of the troops file into the road marching four abreast,
+with a battery near the leading brigade. Presently a shot is heard,
+off on the right, then two or three more in quick succession, and a
+bullet or two comes singing over the head of the column. 'They've
+started the Johnnies,' say the boys in the ranks, and we move on,
+the skirmish line still pushing right along. It proves to be only a
+rebel picket which has fired and run to apprise their comrades that
+the 'Yanks' are coming. Forward a few hundred yards, when, bang,
+bang, and a rattle of rifles too fast to count. The column is
+halted, and we ride to the skirmish line to see what is up. A pretty
+strong body of 'rebs' is about some old log houses with a good
+skirmish line on either side where our men must approach over two or
+three hundred yards of open fields. A regiment is moved up to the
+nearest cover on each side of the road, a section of artillery
+rattles up to the front, the guns are smartly unlimbered and pointed
+and a couple of shells go screaming into the improvised fort,
+exploding and scattering logs and shingles right and left. Out run
+the rebs in confusion, and forward with a rush and a hurrah go our
+men over the open, getting a volley from the other side. Into the
+woods they go. The rebs run; two or three are caught, perhaps, as
+prisoners, two or three of ours are carried to the rear on
+stretchers, and on we go again for a little way. This is light
+skirmishing. Sometimes we find extemporized breastworks of rails or
+fallen trees, requiring more force to dislodge the enemy, and then,
+finally, we push up to well-constructed lines of defence where we
+halt for slower and heavier operations."
+
+The inhabitants within our lines about Atlanta had a hard time of
+it, in spite of all efforts to mitigate their suffering. Their
+unwillingness to abandon their homes was very great, and it was very
+natural, for all they had was there, and to leave it was to be
+beggared. They sometimes, when within range of the artillery, built
+bomb-proofs near their houses, and took refuge in them, much as the
+people of the Western plains seek similar protection from tornadoes.
+In closing in on the west side of the town, near the head of Utoy
+Creek, we took in a humble homestead where the family tried to stay,
+and I find that I preserved, in another of my home letters, a
+description of the place and their life there.
+
+"Just within my lines" (this was written on August 11th), "and not
+ten paces from the breastworks, stands a log house owned by an old
+man named Wilson. A little before the army advanced to its present
+position, several relatives of his, with their families, came to him
+from homes regarded as in more imminent danger, and they united
+their forces to build, or dig, rather, a place of safety. They
+excavated a sort of cellar just in rear of the house, on the
+hillside, digging it deep enough to make a room some fifteen feet
+square by six feet high. This they covered over with a roof of
+timbers, and over that they piled earth several feet thick, covering
+the whole with pine boughs, to keep the earth from washing. In this
+bomb-proof four families are now living, and I never felt more pity
+than when, day before yesterday, I looked down into the pit, and saw
+there, in the gloom made visible by a candle burning while it was
+broad day above, women sitting on the floor of loose boards, resting
+against each other, haggard and wan, trying to sleep away the days
+of terror, while innocent-looking children, four or five years old,
+clustered around the air-hole, looking up with pale faces and great
+staring eyes as they heard the singing of the bullets that were
+flying thick above their sheltering place. One of the women had been
+bed-ridden for several years before she was carried down there. One
+of the men was a cripple, the others old and gray. The men ventured
+up and took a little fresh air behind the breast-works; but for the
+women there is no change unless they come out at night. Still, they
+cling to home because they have nowhere else to go, and they hope we
+may soon pass on and leave them in comparative peace again."
+
+In an earlier chapter I have spoken of the easy descent from careful
+respect for the rights of property to reckless appropriation of what
+belongs to another, to robbery and pillage. [Footnote: _Ante_, pp.
+233-235.] I find an instance of it given in one of the letters I
+have been quoting, which is the contemporary record of the thing
+itself which we had to deal with. It occurred on July 5th, when the
+whole army was in motion, hurrying past our position southeast of
+Marietta and following up Johnston's retreating army. "Some soldiers
+went to a house occupied only by a woman and her children, and after
+robbing it of everything which they wanted, they drove away the only
+milch cow the woman had. She pleaded that she had an infant which
+she was obliged to bring up on the bottle, and that it could not
+live unless it could have the milk. They had no ears for the appeal
+and the cow was driven off. In two days the child died, of
+starvation chiefly, though the end was hastened by disease induced
+by the mother's trying to keep it alive on food it could not digest.
+I heard of the case when the child was dead and two or three of the
+neighbors were getting together stealthily to dig its grave." One of
+them came to me to beg permission to assist, and to explain that the
+little gathering meant nothing hostile to us. I got the facts only
+by cross-questioning, for the old man was abject in his solicitude
+not to seem to be complaining, and did not give the worst of the
+story till my hot indignation at what I heard assured him of
+sympathy and of a desire to punish the crime.
+
+"A woman came to me the same morning, and said the cavalry had taken
+the last mouthful from her, telling her they were marching and
+hadn't time to draw their rations, but that she would be fed by
+applying to us of the infantry column. The robbers well knew that we
+were forbidden to issue rations to citizens. They sacked the house
+of an old man with seven daughters by a second wife, all young
+things. He came to me in utter distress--not a mouthful in that
+house for twenty-four hours, their kitchen garden and farm utterly
+ruined, the country behind in the same condition, and he without
+means of travelling or carrying anything if he tried to move away."
+I added, "Of course in such extreme cases I try to find some way of
+keeping people from death, and usually send them to the rear in our
+empty wagon trains going back for supplies, but their helpless
+condition is very little bettered by going."
+
+Such things were done chiefly by the professional stragglers and
+skulkers, and the stringent orders which were issued in both
+Sherman's and Hood's armies did not easily reach men who would not
+report for duty if they could help it. The country people could not
+tell who had done them the mischief, and the rascals would be gone
+before the case came before any superior officer who would interest
+himself in it. I must not, however, suppress the comment I made in
+the letter quoted. "The evil is the legitimate outgrowth of the hue
+and cry raised by our Christian people of the North against
+protecting rebel property, etc. Officers were deterred from
+enforcing discipline in this respect by public opinion at home, and
+now the evil is past remedy. The war has been prolonged, the army
+disintegrated and weakened, and the cause itself jeoparded, because
+discipline was construed as friendliness to rebels." Straggling and
+its accompanying evils may be said to be the gauge of discipline in
+an army. There were brigades and divisions in which it hardly
+occurred; there were others in which the stragglers were a
+considerable fraction of the whole.
+
+During the evacuation of Atlanta by the citizens, there was a good
+deal of migration beyond our lines among those who were not
+compelled to go. In Decatur applications were made to me daily, and
+we kept a record of the passes we issued, trying to know the purpose
+and motives of those going away, for, of course, a good deal of it
+was with the intent to carry intelligence to the enemy. The reasons
+given were often amusing. Two ladies applied, one day, for leave to
+go to Florida, which they claimed as their home. They said they had
+been visiting kinsmen in Decatur when the advance of our army
+brought them within our lines before they were aware of it. When
+asked why not stay with their friends till the armies should move
+away, they answered that they were sure they could not endure the
+rigors of the climate! The phrase became a byword at our
+headquarters, where we were longing for the invigorating breezes of
+the North.
+
+We had a visit, about the middle of September, from two gentlemen of
+some prominence in the public affairs of Georgia,--Mr. Hill and Mr.
+Foster. They came ostensibly to seek to obtain and remove the body
+of Mr. Hill's son, who had fallen in the campaign, but I suspected
+that they represented Governor Brown, who was known to be in a state
+of exasperation at the results to Georgia of a war begun to assert
+an ultra doctrine of State rights, but which had destroyed every
+semblance of State independence and created a centralized government
+at Richmond which ruled with a rod of iron. Mr. Hill was the same
+who had represented Governor Brown and General Johnston at Richmond
+in the mission in July, [Footnote: _Ante_, p. 272.] and whilst he
+did not formally present any subject except that of getting his
+son's body, our conversation gave me sufficient knowledge of his
+views on the subjects of controversy to make me deeply interested in
+the outcome of the visit to General Sherman which I arranged for
+him. [Footnote: See Sherman's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 137.] Nothing of
+present practical importance came of the interviews, but the
+voluminous and bitterly controversial correspondence between the
+Georgia Governor and the War Department of the Confederacy is a
+curious revelation of the antagonistic influences which had sprung
+up in the progress of the war. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+lii. pt. ii. pp. 736, 754, 778, 796, 803.]
+
+The death of General McPherson in the battle of Atlanta had been a
+great loss to the army, but to Sherman it was the loss of an
+intimate friend as well as an able subordinate. They had been
+closely associated under Grant in all the campaigns of the Army of
+the Tennessee, and their mutual attachment and confidence was as
+strong as their devoted loyalty to their great chief. My own
+acquaintance with McPherson had been slight, but yet enough to
+enable me to understand the warm personal regard he inspired in
+those who came to know him well. I met him first on the day we
+passed through Snake Creek Gap into Sugar Valley, before the battle
+of Resaca. We had to learn from him the positions of the troops
+already advancing toward the town, and I rode with General Schofield
+to his tent for this purpose. Schofield and he had been classmates
+and room-mates at West Point, and McPherson revealed himself to his
+old friend as he would not be likely to do to others. His affability
+and cordial good-will struck one at once. His graceful bearing and
+refined, intelligent face heightened the impression, and one could
+not be with him many minutes without seeing that he was a lovable
+person. An evenly balanced mind and character had given him a high
+grade as a cadet, and at the beginning of the war he was serving as
+a captain of engineers. Being appointed to General Grant's staff, he
+won completely the general's confidence, and his promotion was
+rapid, following closely behind that of Sherman.
+
+His death was sincerely mourned, and his place as a soldier was not
+easy to fill. Sherman would have given the command of the Army of
+the Tennessee to General Logan, who was next in rank in it, but the
+strong opposition of General Thomas made him conclude that this
+would be unwise. [Footnote: See Sherman, in The Great Commanders
+Series, pp. 229, 332.] If he made a selection outside of the Army of
+the Tennessee, Hooker had first claim by seniority of rank, but both
+Sherman and Thomas lacked confidence in him. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xxxviii. pt. v. p. 272.] When Howard was selected on
+Thomas's suggestion, Hooker was doubly offended, for Howard had been
+his subordinate at the beginning of the year, and there had been no
+love lost between them. Hooker now asked to be relieved from further
+service in Sherman's army, and he retired from active field
+service,--Slocum, another of his former subordinates, with whom he
+had a violent quarrel, being appointed to the command of his corps
+on Thomas's nomination. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 272, 273.] Halleck, in
+a letter to Sherman of September 16th, gave pointed testimony to
+facts which showed why Hooker was personally an unacceptable
+subordinate. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 857.] Sherman insisted, with good
+reason, that Hooker had no real grievance, as he was left in command
+of his corps, and Howard's promotion was in another and independent
+organization, the Army of the Tennessee. He also declared that no
+indignity was intended or offered, and that he simply performed his
+own duty of selection in accordance with what he believed to be
+sound reasons. As to Logan, he took pains to praise his handling of
+the Army of the Tennessee after McPherson's death, and to emphasize
+his own high opinion of him as an officer and the respect in which
+he was held by the whole army. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xxxviii. pt. v. p. 522.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLII
+
+CAMPAIGN OF OCTOBER--HOOD MOVES UPON OUR COMMUNICATIONS
+
+
+Hood's plan to transfer the campaign to northern Georgia--Made
+partly subordinate to Beauregard--Forrest on a raid--Sherman makes
+large detachments--Sends Thomas to Tennessee--Hood across the
+Chattahoochee--Sherman follows--Affair at Allatoona--Planning the
+March to the Sea--Sherman at Rome--Reconnoissance down the
+Coosa--Hood at Resaca--Sherman in pursuit--Hood retreats down the
+Chattooga valley--We follow in two columns--Concentrate at
+Gaylesville--Beauregard and Hood at Gadsden--Studying the
+situation--Thomas's advice--Schofield rejoins--Conference regarding
+the Twenty-third Corps--Hood marches on Decatur--His explanation of
+change of plan--Sherman marches back to Rome--We are ordered to join
+Thomas--Hood repulsed at Decatur marches to Tuscumbia--Our own march
+begun--Parting with Sherman--Dalton--Chattanooga--Presidential
+election--Voting by steam--Retrospect of October camp-life--Camp
+sports--Soldiers' pets--Story of a lizard.
+
+
+General Hood had been pretty well informed of what was going on in
+Sherman's army, and was disposed to take advantage of the reduction
+of our forces by furloughs and the absence of numerous officers on
+leave. The Confederate President had visited him, and changes in his
+army had been ordered which made the organization more to his mind.
+Hardee being sent to Savannah to command a department on the coast,
+General Cheatham succeeded to the command of the corps. Hood
+proposed to cross the Chattahoochee some twenty miles west of
+Atlanta, and move on Powder Springs, where he could reach the
+railroad and force Sherman to attack him or to move south. In the
+latter case he proposed to follow, and had urged that the forces in
+central Georgia be increased so as to resist Sherman's progress if
+it should be toward Augusta or Macon. [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. xxxix. pt. ii. pp. 847, 862.]
+
+Mr. Davis had been convinced by the campaign just ended that Hood's
+fiery energy needed the guidance of a better military intellect, and
+the plan of placing a common head over Hood's and Taylor's
+departments had occurred to him. Beauregard was the officer whose
+rank, next to Johnston, indicated him for the command, but he was
+disaffected toward Davis, and his friends in Congress were active in
+opposition to the government. [Footnote: _Ante_, p. 183.] General
+Lee had suggested Beauregard to take Hood's place, and had sounded
+him as to his willingness to do so after discussing with him the
+whole situation in Georgia. Lee felt able, thereupon, to assure the
+President that Beauregard would accept the assignment; saying, "I
+think you may feel assured that he understands the general condition
+of affairs, the difficulties with which they are surrounded, and the
+importance of exerting all his energies for their improvement."
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxix. pt. ii. p. 846.] But having
+learned Hood's plan of operating upon Sherman's communications, and
+being impressed anew by his visit with the energy of Hood's nature,
+which quickly reacted from the discouragement following the fall of
+Atlanta, he partly accepted Lee's suggestion, modifying it by giving
+Beauregard the supreme direction of affairs in Georgia, Alabama, and
+Mississippi, whilst leaving Hood free to carry out the plan of
+campaign which he proposed, and to retain the command of his army
+except when Beauregard might be actually present with it. [Footnote:
+_Id_., p. 880.]
+
+General Forrest with his cavalry corps had already been ordered to
+make a raid upon the railways in Tennessee in pursuance of a
+suggestion of his own, and on September 16th he started northward.
+[Footnote: _Id_., pp. 818, 835.] This plan very well accorded with
+Hood's, and when the latter determined, later in the campaign,
+himself to invade Tennessee, Forrest's orders were extended so as to
+direct a junction with him. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxix.
+pt. iii. p. 843.]
+
+On September 24th Sherman learned that Forrest was at Athens and
+Pulaski on the railway from Decatur to Nashville. He had sent a
+detachment to burn bridges on the Memphis road also, and the whole
+of middle and western Tennessee was afire with the excitement of the
+new raid by the doughty Confederate leader. He received the
+surrender of the garrison at Athens without serious resistance, but
+by the time he approached Pulaski, burning bridges as he went,
+General Rousseau, who was in command of the district, had
+concentrated force enough to repulse him. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. ii.
+pp. 450, 455, 456, 870, 876, 879.] After that Forrest attacked no
+considerable post, and did not reach Sherman's principal line of
+communications, but making circuitous routes in the region about
+Columbia, finally retreated across the Tennessee River at Florence
+on the 5th and 6th of October. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. i. p. 547.]
+
+On getting the news of Forrest's raid, Sherman sent back two
+divisions of the Army of the Cumberland to Chattanooga, and one from
+the Army of the Tennessee to Rome. He also sent General Thomas to
+Chattanooga to bring into co-operation all the troops posted in
+Tennessee and northern Georgia. This scattering of his forces to
+protect his railways proves how low an estimate he put upon the
+efficiency of Hood's army, and his willingness to receive an attack
+from it. When he moved northward after Hood, a week later, he left
+the Twentieth Corps to hold Atlanta, and had with him little more
+than half of the forces with which he had made the Atlanta campaign;
+but they proved enough.
+
+My own command had been quietly resting at Decatur with nothing more
+exciting to do than to send out foraging parties and
+reconnoissances, when on Friday, September 30th, I got a dispatch
+from General Sherman which put us on the alert. He told me that Hood
+had part of his infantry over the Chattahoochee, and was evidently
+combining desperate measures to destroy our railways. After
+referring to his arrangements to checkmate Forrest, he gave the
+"nub" of his own ideas as follows: "I may have to make some quick
+countermoves east and southeast. Keep your folks ready to send
+baggage into Atlanta and to start on short notice.... There are fine
+corn and potato fields about Covington and the Ocmulgee bottoms. We
+are well supplied with bread, meat, etc., but forage is scarce, and
+may force us to strike out. If we make a countermove, I will go out
+myself with a large force and take such a route as will supply us
+and at the same time make Hood recall the whole or part of his
+army." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxix. pt. ii. p. 540.] I
+answered that we would be "minute men," and also informed General
+Schofield by telegraph that we might resume active work any moment.
+[Footnote: _Id_., p. 541.]
+
+Next day Sherman had evidence that Hood was crossing the
+Chattahoochee with his whole army, and wrote to General Howard and
+to me that if Hood should swing over to the Alabama railroad and try
+to get into Tennessee, he would, if Grant consented, draw to him the
+troops south of the Etowah, leave Thomas with the rest, and make for
+Savannah or Charleston by way of Milledgeville and Millen. By the
+destruction of the east and west roads, Georgia would thus become a
+break in the Confederacy. But should Hood move upon our
+communications between the Chattahoochee and the Etowah, he would
+turn upon him. [Footnote: _Id_., vol. xxxix. pt. iii. p. 6.] The
+latter was the movement Hood actually made, and the March to the Sea
+was postponed for a few weeks.
+
+I need not repeat here the details of the October campaign, which I
+have given elsewhere. [Footnote: See "Atlanta," chap. xvii.; and for
+the growth and completion of the plan of the March to the Sea,
+reference is made to the Life of General Sherman (Great Commanders
+Series), chap. x.] On the 2d Sherman was aware that the enemy was
+advancing on Marietta; but far from hurrying to anticipate him
+there, we were held back yet another day that Hood might be lured
+far enough to let us strike him in rear. General Corse at Rome was
+ordered to reinforce Allatoona pass and hold stubbornly there,
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxix. pt. iii. p. 8.] and then,
+on the 3d and 4th, Sherman was in motion, trying to catch the enemy
+in that rough country on the border of the Etowah. On the 2d I had
+sent a division to make a strong reconnoissance eastward to Flat
+Rock, and a brigade to Stone Mountain to make sure that no enemy was
+near us in that direction, [Footnote: _Id_., p. 33.] and on its
+return we followed the rest of the army northward, Slocum's corps
+remaining in garrison at Atlanta, as before mentioned.
+
+There had been continuous heavy rains, and all the rivers were
+swollen, which retarded Hood's movements as well as ours; but he
+showed commendable prudence, did not advance with his main body
+beyond Dallas, and operated by detachments on the railway, which he
+broke near Ackworth, but did no serious damage. On the 5th Corse and
+Tourtelotte made their fine defence of the position at Allatoona
+against French's division, and on the 6th my reconnoissance proved
+that Hood had concentrated again in the neighborhood of Dallas. The
+two most important bridges on the railroad were now safe, those
+crossing the Chattahoochee and the Etowah; and as Forrest had failed
+to reach the line from Chattanooga to Nashville, Hood's plan of
+campaign had failed and Sherman's communications were unbroken.
+Unwilling to confess defeat, Hood now determined to make a
+considerable circuit westward, cross the Coosa below Rome and march
+by the Chattooga valley upon Resaca, where the bridge over the
+Oostanaula was next in importance to that at Allatoona. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xxxix. pt. iii. p. 804.] As the enemy's first
+movement from Dallas was westward, Sherman had to look for
+information as to his further course. Strengthening the garrison at
+Rome, he waited at Allatoona for news, discussing with General Grant
+by telegraph his own plan of marching upon Savannah if Hood moved
+far westward. The latter repeated to his government his purpose to
+follow Sherman if he did so. [Footnote: _Ibid_.] The storms and
+floods had done much more damage than Hood, several of the large
+bridges being injured and smaller ones carried away.
+
+At Allatoona Sherman's headquarters were close to my own, and he
+opened to me his views of the situation. He did not propose to leave
+the railway line to follow Hood far; but if the opportunity offered
+to fight him near the line, he would seize it. If Hood entered
+Tennessee near the Georgia line, he would follow and destroy him;
+but he was already confident that his enemy would not dare do this,
+and pointed to Muscle Shoals as the nearest point at which he was
+likely to cross the Tennessee River. He hoped that General Grant
+would consent, in this case, to his own march on Savannah, and
+promised to lead Hood a lively chase if the latter turned back to
+follow him. Once a new base on the sea was reached, he would turn
+upon and crush his opponent.
+
+His plan had a personal interest for myself, for as we were out of
+communication with General Schofield and might march southward any
+day, he thought it probable that he should separate the Twenty-third
+Corps from the Department of the Ohio and take it with him, making
+my command of it permanent. He assumed that Schofield would prefer
+to remain in the higher position of department commander, rather
+than leave it for the field command of the corps, which was a good
+deal weakened by the hard service of the summer.
+
+From the 10th to the 13th of October the army moved in echelon by
+short marches to Rome, and on the date last named I was ordered to
+push a reconnoissance with the corps and General Kenner Garrard's
+division of cavalry down the Coosa far enough to settle the question
+where Hood had gone. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxix. pt.
+iii. p. 230.] We started early and made thirteen miles in the
+forenoon, routing the enemy's cavalry holding that road and
+capturing two cannon. It was definitely learned that Hood had taken
+up the pontoon bridge and gone north. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 250.]
+Meantime the enemy had appeared at Resaca, and as soon as it was
+certain that they were in force Sherman put everything in rapid
+motion in that direction. He had warned Thomas on the 11th, and
+directed him to reinforce Chattanooga and Bridgeport. [Footnote:
+_Id_., p. 251.] There was again a chance that Hood might be caught
+between the forces. He had approached Resaca from the west, by the
+north bank of the Oostanaula, on the 12th, but his summons of the
+place being defied, he did not assault, but after some threatening
+demonstrations marched north to Dalton. He plainly felt that he had
+no time to spare, but it was just as plain that in his haste he was
+accomplishing nothing.
+
+My march down the Coosa had put me in the rear on the movement north
+from Rome. I reached Resaca on the 15th, in the early afternoon,
+having received authority from Sherman to pass the trains and push
+forward. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 294.] The Army of the Cumberland had
+followed Hood to Dalton and Buzzard Roost, the Army of the Tennessee
+had driven his cavalry out of Snake Creek Gap and occupied it, and
+we were halted at Resaca to support either. General Schofield had
+reached Chattanooga on the 13th, and was given command of all troops
+in that vicinity by General Thomas, who was at Nashville. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xxxix. pt. iii. p. 253.] Schofield had in
+hand the two divisions which had been sent back from Atlanta a
+fortnight before, besides the garrison; and other troops were on the
+way to him from Nashville. But communication with Sherman was
+interrupted, and Hood had better knowledge of the full situation.
+Learning that Chattanooga was held strongly, Hood marched from
+Buzzard Roost by way of Villanow over Taylor's Ridge into the
+Chattooga valley, up which he had just come. Prisoners told us that
+his army was out of provisions, as they had failed in the hope of
+capturing depots of stores. [Footnote: _Id._, pt. i. p. 791.] He
+must get back within reach of his own depots. Gadsden had been made
+a temporary base, and he made haste to reach the valley of the
+Coosa, in which it lay.
+
+Sherman had wished that the rumor would turn out to be true which
+gave the neighborhood of Bridgeport as the place at which Hood would
+enter Tennessee; [Footnote: _Id._, pt. iii. pp. 296, 312.] but if he
+did so anywhere from Guntersville to Chattanooga, it would be
+possible to head him off by General Thomas's forces whilst our
+principal army closed in upon him from the rear. During the 16th
+Snake Creek Gap was cleared of the timber blockade which Hood had
+made to delay our chase, and my corps reached Villanow. The Army of
+the Tennessee was at Ships Gap, and that of the Cumberland in close
+support. We here learned definitely that Stewart's corps of Hood's
+army had marched southward from Villanow to Subligna on the east
+side of Taylor's Ridge, and the main body from Lafayette to
+Summerville on the west side. [Footnote: _Id._, pp. 310, 311.]
+
+After a day spent in reconnoissances and renewal of communications
+with Chattanooga and Nashville, we marched again on the 18th,
+Sherman leading the main army from Lafayette southward, whilst he
+ordered me to march from Villanow by way of Subligna to Gover's (or
+Mattox's) Gap, and thence to Summerville, following the enemy's
+corps which had gone that way. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xxxix. pt. iii. p. 325.] We reached Subligna at noon, driving
+vedettes and patrols of the enemy's cavalry as we advanced. From
+Subligna I sent Major Wells of my staff with a regiment over the
+mountain by a bridle path, to inform General Sherman of our
+progress. He had an unexpectedly long and rough march, but reported
+as ordered. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 351.] We continued the march to
+Gover's Gap, drove away a cavalry rear-guard, and repaired the road
+which ran along a bench cut in the precipitous hillside. An easy way
+of communication with Sherman in the Chattooga valley was thus
+opened, after a day's march of twenty-two miles. General Kenner
+Garrard with his cavalry had followed a parallel valley further
+east, toward Dirt-town, and joined me at Gover's Gap soon after my
+arrival there. We now marched through Melville to Gaylesville, where
+the army was concentrated on the 20th. The Twenty-third Corps was
+placed in advance, near Blue Pond, where a bridge over the Chattooga
+was to be rebuilt, and one division was sent to Cedar Bluff, a
+pretty village on the Coosa, where it covered the main road down the
+valley from Rome to Gadsden. I made a reconnoissance to Center, over
+the Gadsden road, and learned definitely that the whole army of Hood
+was at Gadsden. [Footnote: _Id._, pp. 346, 357, 359, 361, 364, 369.
+376, 399, 423.]
+
+Sherman's wish that Hood would cross the Tennessee near Stevenson
+was very sincere. He approved the movement by Schofield to occupy
+Trenton with the two divisions still under his command, but he
+disapproved the directions given by Thomas to place troops at
+Caperton's Ferry, which was on the direct road to Stevenson. He
+wanted that door left open till Hood should have part, at least, of
+his army over the Tennessee River. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 335.] He
+felt so sure, however, that Hood would not fall into such a trap,
+that his dispatches reiterate the opinion that if the enemy crossed
+the river at all, it would be west of Huntsville or at Muscle
+Shoals. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxix. pt. iii. pp. 333,
+357, 395.] He was turning his whole mind to the March to the Sea,
+and studying the contingencies which it involved. In a long dispatch
+to Halleck on the 19th [Footnote: _Id._, pp. 357-358.] he had mapped
+out his general scheme, and gave his reasons why he must have
+alternates in his choice of objectives, though his real aim would be
+Savannah. He therefore named, as the points where the Navy should
+watch for him, Charleston, Savannah, Pensacola, and Mobile, saying,
+"I will turn up somewhere." On the 22d, writing to General Grant, he
+reviewed the ground and the effect which it would have on the
+Confederacy when the Georgia railroads were destroyed and he should
+"bring up with 60,000 men on the seashore about Savannah or
+Charleston," concluding, "I think this far better than defending a
+long line of railroad." [Footnote: _Id._, p. 395.] At the outset
+Thomas had advised Sherman, in view of the fact that General Grant
+had not yet been able to carry out his plan to take southern
+seaports as a preliminary to an advance beyond Atlanta, to "adopt
+Grant's idea of turning Wilson loose rather than undertake the plan
+of a march with the whole force through Georgia to the sea."
+[Footnote: Id., p. 334.] General James H. Wilson had been sent from
+Grant's army to be chief of cavalry with Sherman, and Thomas's
+suggestion was that until Grant's part of the general plan should be
+accomplished, activity should be limited to the defence of the
+territory already occupied, except as cavalry raids might harry the
+Confederate country. But Sherman answered, "To pursue Hood is folly,
+for he can twist and turn like a fox and wear out any army in
+pursuit. To continue to occupy long lines of railroad simply exposes
+our small detachments to be picked up in detail and forces me to
+make countermarches to protect lines of communication. I know I am
+right in this, and shall proceed to its maturity." [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xxxix. pt. iii. p. 378.] He set to work to
+organize the two armies in such force that Thomas should feel
+content with his means of meeting Hood if the latter should not turn
+back after the Georgia column.
+
+General Schofield had been feeling his way southward with Wagner's
+and Morgan's divisions, and on the 19th Sherman ordered him to move
+by the most direct route to Alpine, overtaking the column which was
+marching on the west side of the Chattooga valley, as I was doing on
+the east. Sherman added the direction to keep the command as it was
+till they should meet in person. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 366.] This had
+reference to his purposes in regard to myself and the Twenty-third
+Corps, which have been mentioned.
+
+On the 21st Schofield's column reached Alpine, and he rode forward
+to Sherman's headquarters at Gaylesville. I had gone up from my own
+headquarters to make some report to Sherman, and was with him when
+Schofield arrived. Our greeting was a warm one. The present
+situation and what had occurred since the parting at Atlanta was of
+course the first topic of conversation, and I had the keen pleasure
+of hearing Sherman praise the handling of the corps during the past
+months in much stronger terms than he had used to me alone. Then
+followed the forecast of the future. Sherman put strongly his belief
+that Hood would not cross the Tennessee above the Shoals, and his
+purpose to march to Savannah as soon as the enemy should be
+definitely committed to a movement across Alabama. He then touched
+upon the details of organization, and referring to the fact that the
+corps was weak in numbers and that it would be perhaps unpleasant
+for Schofield to leave the command of his department for an
+indefinite period, suggested that he should consent to the temporary
+absence of the corps. Schofield very promptly replied that he should
+prefer almost any alternative to the mere administrative work of the
+department and its garrisons in East Tennessee and Kentucky. He said
+that if Hood should not follow the southern movement, but should
+turn his whole force upon Thomas with desperate purpose to drive him
+out of Tennessee, another veteran corps, though a small one, might
+make all the difference between defeat and victory. Sherman replied
+that he would consider the whole matter carefully and adjourned the
+discussion, requesting that Schofield should confer fully with me.
+
+We continued the conference at the corps headquarters, and I agreed
+with General Schofield that no military duty was so little
+attractive as the perplexing semi-political administration at the
+rear, adding that till the war ended I desired to be with the
+biggest and most active column in the west. I frankly said that it
+was this consideration that made with me the great attraction of the
+arrangement Sherman had suggested. Schofield expressed the strong
+conviction that Hood would not follow Sherman, and that in middle
+Tennessee the real fighting must be done. He had no idea of putting
+the corps in garrison anywhere, but felt sure that Thomas must
+concentrate everything he might have for most active field work, and
+that in strictest military sense our task, if we were there, would
+be not less important or less honorable than that of our comrades
+who marched eastward. It would, besides, give us the opportunity to
+fill up the corps with the new regiments that were coming forward,
+when otherwise, with the expiration of the term of some we had and
+the casualties of a new campaign, we should probably find it reduced
+to a single division. Schofield's clearly expressed purpose to seek
+the most active field work with Thomas in a campaign against Hood's
+army if we went back to middle Tennessee brought me to agreement
+with his views, and I promised to support them in my next interview
+with General Sherman, as I did. I still look back with pleasure to
+this incident as proof of the hearty comradeship between Sherman and
+his subordinates, which continued to be shown toward me by both him
+and Schofield to the end. [Footnote: My memory is supported, in this
+matter, by home letters written at the time.]
+
+Sherman postponed his decision till he was quite sure what course
+Hood would take, for the latter was concentrating his army at
+Gadsden and having a conference with Beauregard on the day of the
+interviews on our side which I have narrated. After agreeing with
+his immediate superior upon the plan of entering Tennessee at or
+near Guntersville, Hood started on the morning of the 22d, but in
+accordance with confidential directions he gave his corps
+commanders, his column changed direction at Benettsville, taking the
+Decatur road, which there branched to the left and forced the
+marching westward. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxix. pt. iii.
+pp. 831, 835, 81, 843.] The gloss which he afterward put on the
+matter was that he changed his plan in consequence of information
+that Forrest could not join him as he expected. [Footnote: Advance
+and Retreat, p. 20.] This does not bear examination. Forrest was,
+under the orders of General Taylor, preparing a raid into western
+Tennessee to bring out all the supplies that country contained and
+to break up the railway to Memphis, sending the iron to repair the
+road in the vicinity of Tuscumbia, where the base for the new
+operations in middle Tennessee would be. On the 20th Hood had
+himself informed Taylor of his purpose to cross at Guntersville,
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxix. pt. iii. p. 835.] and
+Wheeler's cavalry was relied upon to cover the movement till middle
+Tennessee should be reached. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 845.] On the 22d
+Taylor was directed to have Forrest open communication with Hood "by
+letter or otherwise," and act for the time under his orders,
+[Footnote: _Ibid._] but no immediate interference with what Forrest
+was doing in western Tennessee was indicated. The only reasonable
+interpretation of Hood's conduct is that when he faced the
+consequences of a movement to Guntersville with Sherman at
+Gaylesville ready to close the _cul de sac_ behind him, even his
+audacity shrunk from the plan, and he proved the truth of Sherman's
+prediction that he would not dare to do it. Beauregard explicitly
+says that the change in Hood's plan was made after leaving Gadsden,
+where it had been definitely arranged. [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. xlv. pt. i. p. 662.]
+
+On our side several days were spent in watchful observation. I
+returned to my division, Schofield resumed the command of the Army
+of the Ohio, and the divisions he had led from Chattanooga joined
+the Fourth and Fourteenth Corps, to which they belonged. [Footnote:
+_Id._, vol. xxxix. pt. iii. pp. 401, 402.] Thomas was informed that
+the Fourth Corps would be sent back to him with about 5000 men from
+other commands who were not quite in condition for the March to the
+Sea, but who would be fit for post garrison. [Footnote: _Id._, p.
+408.] Sherman's recommendations for promotions earned in the past
+campaigns were made on the 24th, in urgent and explicit terms,
+endorsing the approval expressed by the separate army commanders,
+and saying that if the law did not allow the addition to the number
+of general officers, he believed that "the exigencies of the country
+would warrant the muster out of the same number of generals now on
+the list that have not done service in the past year." We who were
+thus recommended thought we had the right to feel that the terms of
+approval used by such a commander gave a military standing hardly
+less than the actual gift of a grade from the government. [Footnote:
+_Id._, p. 413. See Appendix C for the language used by Sherman, and
+for the recommendation of General Schofield.]
+
+On the 25th reports came from the light-draft gunboats patrolling
+the Tennessee River that the enemy was making demonstrations at
+several points below Guntersville, [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xxxix. pt. iii. p. 436.] and next day Sherman ordered the Fourth
+Corps to march to Chattanooga and report to General Thomas. He also
+issued his order that "in the event of military movements or the
+accidents of war separating him from his military division," Thomas
+should "exercise command over all troops and garrisons not
+absolutely in the presence of the general-in-chief." [Footnote: Id.,
+p. 442.] He pointed out to Thomas that Chattanooga and Decatur were
+the points to be held "to the death;" that it would not be wise to
+move into West Tennessee unless he knew that the enemy had followed
+south, as he thought they would do when they found him starting from
+Atlanta; and that when Thomas was ready for aggressive movements,
+his line of operations should be against Selma. [Footnote: Id., pp.
+448, 449.]
+
+On the 27th of October Schofield wrote to Sherman, giving details of
+the reduction in numbers of the divisions of the corps now in the
+field, and renewing his urgency for some arrangement to increase its
+force. [Footnote: Id., p. 468.] The news from the west now made it
+certain that Hood was before Decatur, and Sherman issued orders on
+the 28th for the army to march to Rome. His purpose in this was
+double. He would try the effect on the enemy of the apparent start
+toward the east, whilst he concentrated his army on the railroad
+which was now repaired and which gave him the means of rapidly
+reinforcing General Thomas to any extent that might become
+necessary. He informed Halleck that he had sent the Fourth Corps
+back and that he might send ours also, though he still thought it
+probable that his movement on Macon would make Hood "let go." He
+urged the hastening of reinforcements to Thomas. Rosecrans promised
+to send General A. J. Smith with his two divisions back from
+Missouri, and Sherman only waited to get his sick and wounded to the
+rear, and to accumulate at Atlanta the supplies he reckoned it
+necessary to take with him. His determination to send us back to
+join the Fourth Corps was shown by his confidential dispatch to
+Colonel Beckwith, his chief commissary, that he might reduce his
+estimates for rations to enough for 50,000 men to go south.
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxix. pt. iii. pp. 476, 477.]
+
+Our orders to march came at noon, and we started at once, with the
+information that from Rome we should go back to Tennessee.
+[Footnote: Id., pt. i. p. 793.] In the evening of the same day
+Sherman definitely advised Thomas of his decision to send Schofield
+to him, and the outline of the arrangements for the new campaign was
+completed. [Footnote: Id., pt. iii. p. 484.] General R. S. Granger
+went with reinforcements to the aid of Colonel Doolittle, who
+commanded the post at Decatur, and that place was held against Hood,
+who was too short of supplies to delay long. He hastened on to
+Tuscumbia, where his new base was established, and where he halted
+to collect the means for the invasion of Tennessee, near the great
+bend of the river. He first gave orders to lay his pontoons at
+Bainbridge, at the foot of Muscle Shoals, the place named by Sherman
+as his probable crossing; but the lack of supplies and the desire
+for better preparation prevented, and he moved on, reaching
+Tuscumbia on the 30th. [Footnote: Id., p. 866.]
+
+Our march to Rome was lengthened by our taking the right, leaving
+the more direct roads for other parts of the army. We crossed the
+Coosa, following the road to Jacksonville for five miles, and then
+turned east on the so-called river road. This, however, proved
+impassable, and, next morning, we were obliged to retrace our steps
+to the Jacksonville road, and going an hour's march on it reach the
+road from Centre to Cave Spring, which we followed to the latter
+place, which takes its name from a remarkable spring breaking out
+beneath a mountain, a considerable brook at once. Some sixty feet up
+the hill-side is the mouth of a cave at the bottom of which is the
+underground stream, which finds its way out by another fissure. The
+village was the rendezvous where Beauregard overtook Hood on the
+evening of the 9th of October, and held their first consultation in
+regard to the campaign. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxix. pt.
+i. p. 796.] It was a pretty place which had not suffered the ravages
+of war; the situation was a lovely one, and there were there a
+public Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb and some other public buildings.
+Our countermarch had lengthened the day's journey to twenty-two
+miles.
+
+On the 30th my division marched to Rome and encamped on the Calhoun
+road, two or three miles northeast of the town. At Rome I made my
+farewell visit to General Sherman at his headquarters. He talked
+freely of his plans to the group of officers who were present, and
+in the final hand-shaking with me said that Hood had now put so
+large a space between them that the March to the Sea could not be
+interfered with, and that whatever hard fighting was to come in the
+campaign would fall to the lot of us who were going back to middle
+Tennessee. [Footnote: The fullest resume of Sherman's views when on
+the point of starting is found in his letter to Grant of November
+eth. Official Records, vol. xxxix. pt. iii. pp. 658-661.] Our
+movement northward was through Calhoun and Resaca to Tilton, where
+we were to take railway trains for Nashville; but the rolling stock
+was overtasked in the rush of work to complete Sherman's
+preparations, and we marched on to Dalton. An autumnal rainstorm had
+come on, and though we had good camping ground, our impatience at
+the delay made our stay of three or four days at the ruined village
+anything but pleasant. On the 3d of November I noted in my
+pocket-diary that it was one of those rainy, gusty days "when the
+smoke from the camp-fire fills your eyes whichever side of the fire
+you get." As we had gone northward we met large numbers of officers
+and men who had been on leave, and who were now hurrying to join
+their commands. Two of my own staff rejoined us in this way, and a
+brand-new brass band that had been recruited for Casement's brigade
+came also, making that command proud as peacocks for a while.
+
+Our stay at Dalton gave me the opportunity in the intervals of the
+storm to ride out and carefully examine the positions the enemy had
+held at the beginning of May. In the progress of an active campaign
+the soldier rarely has an opportunity to make such an examination of
+fortified positions out of which the enemy has been manoeuvred, and
+I had eagerly seized every chance to do this interesting and
+instructive work as we had come back through our lines about
+Marietta and Allatoona. Here at Dalton Johnston's positions had been
+plainly impregnable, and I congratulated myself that my division had
+not been ordered to assault them when we made our reconnoissance in
+force, before Sherman began the turning movement through Snake Creek
+Gap.
+
+Whilst waiting for our railway trains we heard of Hood's
+demonstration at Decatur, and of his repulse and his march toward
+Florence. We knew that he had not yet crossed the Tennessee, and
+that our delay was not causing embarrassment to General Thomas at
+Nashville. I got one of my brigades away on November 6th, and the
+others on the 7th, going with Casement's, which was the last.
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxix. pt. iii. pp. 655, 673.] As
+we ran into Chattanooga, we were all alert to see the place which
+had become of such historical importance, for we had advanced into
+Georgia in the spring by roads far to the east, and I had never
+visited it. We reached the town just as the sun was setting and the
+long storm was breaking. My headquarters were in a freight car, and
+with the side doors slid wide open, we sat on our camp-stools in the
+doorway watching our progress. Fort Phelps on its isolated hill
+stood up black and sharp against the western sky, which was
+gray-clouded, with a long rift, blood red where the sun was breaking
+through, whilst still further to the left the huge shoulder of
+Lookout Mountain threw its deep shadows over the landscape. From the
+other side a fine reach of the Tennessee River opened before us,
+backed by the mountainous ridges on the north, gleaming in the level
+sunlight.
+
+We did not leave our train, but after a short delay started again
+for Nashville. The crowded state of the road made frequent halts
+necessary, and when day broke we had made only eight miles. As we
+ran between the high hills, they were in their most gorgeous autumn
+dress; and, free from care, we enjoyed it all as a holiday outing,
+calling each other's attention to every new combination of mountain
+and river, and of changing schemes of brilliant color. It was the
+Presidential election-day, and in accordance with the provisions of
+the statutes, we opened the polls in my box car, and the officers
+and men voted at the halts of the train when they could get to the
+voting place. Colonel Doolittle of the Eighteenth Michigan,
+commandant of the post at Decatur, joined us at Stevenson, coming
+into my car to vote. From him we learned the details of Hood's
+attempt upon the Decatur post, and got interesting news, throwing
+light upon the situation before us. At my invitation he remained
+with us till we reached Nashville, and the acquaintance thus formed
+led to an arrangement for his temporary service with me after the
+battle of Franklin. As I wrote home, we voted by steam for "A.
+Linkum," seeing the end of the war manifestly approaching. The
+election for Ohio State officers had occurred in October when we
+were on the march after Hood, and at a noon halt we turned an
+ambulance into a polling booth in a grove on the banks of the Etowah
+River, where I voted with one of the Ohio regiments.
+
+Our little October campaign had been a good example of what soldiers
+regard as pleasant work. There had been constant activity, with no
+severe fighting, and the weather had been, for the most part,
+magnificent. The rains had ceased at the end of the first week of
+the month, and from that time till we halted from our chase on the
+banks of the Coosa in the edge of Alabama we had a succession of
+bright, cool days, and comfortable nights. It had been like a hunt
+for big game on a grand scale, with excitement enough to keep
+everybody keyed up to a high pitch of physical enjoyment, ready for
+every call to bodily exertion. The foliage was ripening and changing
+in the equable autumnal airs without frost, and the results were
+often very surprising and very beautiful. The gum-tree [Footnote:
+Liquidambar Styraciflua.] is very common in the open fields of that
+part of Georgia, and each fine rounded mass had its own special
+tint, bright crimson, green-bronze, maroon, or pure green; and when
+a camp-fire was lighted in a grove of such trees the evening effect
+was a thing to remember for a lifetime. The regimental camps were
+all alive with diversions of different sorts from the time of the
+halt at the end of a march till tattoo sounded. Each had its trained
+pet animals, and the soldiers exhausted their skill and patience in
+teaching these varied tricks. One regiment had a pair of
+bull-terrier dogs that played a game which never failed to amuse. At
+a signal one of the dogs would seize a firebrand by the unburnt end
+and start off on a run through the camp; the other would follow at
+speed, trying to trip up the first, to collar him or push him over,
+and so force him to drop the brand. The second would then grasp it
+and the chase would be renewed, doubling in and out, over logs, or
+through a group of lounging men, scattering them right and left, the
+yelp of the chasing dog accompanying the blazing meteor as it cut
+odd figures in the darkness, and the shouting laughter of the men
+encouraging the dogs to new efforts to outdo each other. The
+intelligence of the dogs in playing the game with apparent
+recklessness, yet without getting burnt, was something wonderful.
+
+I had myself an interesting experience with a beautiful little
+creature. Coming one day suddenly into my tent, I surprised a little
+gold and green lizard on my camp desk. The desk was a small portable
+one, with lid falling to make the writing-table, set on a trestle,
+and my appearance scared the little animal into a pigeon-hole, which
+it took for a way of escape. I sat down on my camp stool in front of
+the desk, and resumed my writing, watching, also, to see what my
+prisoner would do. Its little jewel eyes shone in the recess of its
+prison cell, and soon it cautiously came to the front; but the first
+move of my hand toward it made it dodge back into the darkness. Two
+or three times this was done, and I got no nearer to it; so I
+changed my tactics. I placed my hand against the next pigeon-hole,
+extending one finger over the occupied one, and waiting in perfect
+quiet for a few moments, my beauty came slowly forward over the
+paper files to the mouth of the pigeon-hole near my finger. With
+great caution and gentleness I stroked its head and it remained
+quiet. A few more strokes and it seemed pleased and rapidly grew
+tame. It ceased to be afraid of my motions, and did not try to get
+away. At intervals, as I sat, the acquaintance was renewed, and the
+little thing seemed to become fond of me, running about on my
+papers, climbing my arm to my shoulder, and running back to its home
+if any one entered the tent. In short, I had followed the example of
+the private soldiers and had a pet. When we marched I put it on my
+hat rim as I mounted my horse, thinking it would soon leave me; but
+it did not. It sat on my hat-crown like a most gorgeous aigrette, or
+took a little tour around the hat-band or down on my shoulders. I
+forgot it when busy, but it stayed by, and at the end of a march,
+when my tent was pitched again and my desk in the usual place, it
+resumed its home there and thrived on the flies it caught. It was
+with me for some weeks and became known at headquarters as an
+attache of the staff. The day we followed Hood westward from Resaca
+through Snake Creek Gap, I had dismounted, and was talking with
+General Whitaker, commanding a brigade in the Fourth Corps, whose
+men with mine were cutting out the timber blockade in the Gap. I had
+no thought of my lizard, but one of his orderlies caught sight of it
+on my shoulder. With the common prejudice among the soldiers that
+the harmless thing was a deadly poisonous reptile, he stood a moment
+staring and half transfixed, thinking me in deadly peril. Then, with
+a jump, he struck it off my shoulder with his open hand, and stamped
+it dead with his heavy boot heel, sure he had saved my life. But
+when one of my attendants exclaimed reproachfully, "There, you've
+killed the general's pet," the poor fellow slunk away, the picture
+of shame and remorse. Pets were sacred by the law of the camp, and
+he felt and looked as if he were a murderer. No doubt he was also
+stupefied at the idea that such a thing could be a pet, but in the
+matter of pets, as in some other things, he bowed to the law, "His
+not to reason why!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIII
+
+NASHVILLE CAMPAIGN--HOOD'S ADVANCE FROM THE TENNESSEE
+
+
+Schofield to command the army assembled at Pulaski--Forrest's
+Tennessee River raid--Schofield at Johnsonville--My division at
+Thompson's--Hastening reinforcements to Thomas--Columbia--The
+barrens--Pulaski--Hood delays--Suggests Purdy as a base--He advances
+from Florence--Our march to Columbia-Thomas's distribution of the
+forces--Decatur evacuated--Pontoon bridge there--Withdrawing from
+Columbia--Posts between Nashville and Chattanooga--The cavalry on
+29th November--Their loss of touch with the army.
+
+
+Our railway train reached Nashville in the forenoon of Wednesday the
+9th of November, and I at once visited General Schofield to report
+my arrival and get further orders. He had himself reported to
+General Thomas by telegraph when we reached Calhoun on the last day
+of October, and Pulaski, eighty miles south of Nashville, had been
+given as the rendezvous for our corps with the Fourth. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xxxix. pt. iii. p. 538.] Thomas was taking a
+cheerful view of the situation now that the Twenty-third Corps had
+been ordered to him, and on the 3d of November, in giving Sherman an
+outline of the progress of events, said that if Beauregard "does not
+move before Sunday (6th), I will have Schofield and Stanley together
+at Pulaski, and he can then move whenever he pleases." [Footnote:
+Id., p. 618.] Schofield got part of Cooper's division off on
+Thursday, with arrangements for the rest to follow, and took the
+railway train himself next day. Thomas's plans then were to send the
+troops through Nashville without stopping, but he asked Schofield to
+stop for a short consultation. [Footnote: Id., p. 624.] Without
+waiting for this, however, he issued his order on Friday, assigning
+Schofield to command the troops assembling at Pulaski to operate in
+front of that place. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxiv. pt.
+iii. p. 638.] This was a graceful act toward an officer of his own
+grade as a department commander, when as yet it was an open question
+whether the assignment by the President to command a department and
+army in the field gave precedence over officers in other
+organizations, senior in date of commission, but not so assigned.
+[Footnote: The matter has been decided in the affirmation by the War
+department and the decision had been transmitted in Halleck's letter
+to Sherman dated October 4th, but the interruption of communications
+had prevented its reaching Sherman for some time, and Thomas had not
+received it when he made the order. For the whole discussion and
+correspondence, see _Id_., vol. xxxviii. pt. v. pp. 734, 753, 797;
+vol. xxxix. pt. iii. pp. 64, 638, 666, 684, 685, 691, 692, 703, 704;
+vol. xlv. pt. i. p. 959.]
+
+When Schofield reached Nashville on the 5th, he found Thomas busy
+with a new problem. Forrest had set for him by his raid down the
+Tennessee valley on the west side. A gunboat had been captured, and
+demonstrations opposite Johnsonville by the raiders had been
+followed by the unnecessary destruction of a fleet of transports,
+three gunboats at the landing, and vast quantities of stores.
+[Footnote: _Id_., vol. xxxix. pt. i. p. 861, 864, 866.] The place
+was the terminus of a railway from Nashville to the Tennessee River,
+and was an intermediate depot of supplies in a low stage of water in
+the rivers. At other times steamboats could ascend the Cumberland
+all the way to Nashville. The exaggerated reports of the enemy's
+force and apparent purpose to cross the river there made Thomas
+think it wise to modify his plans for the moment, and he ordered
+Schofield to proceed at once to Johnsonville with the two brigades
+of the Twenty-third Corps then in hand, Moore's and Gallup's,
+intending to concentrate the whole corps there as fast as they
+should come from Georgia. [Footnote: _Id_., vol. xxxix. pt. iii. p.
+647.]
+
+As soon as Sherman could decipher Thomas's dispatches, he warned the
+latter of the danger of a false move, as only Forrest's cavalry was
+down the river, and Hood's army was known to be at Florence.
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxix. pt. iii. p. 647.] When
+Schofield got to Johnsonville, he soon saw the real state of
+affairs, and advised Thomas that the two brigades were enough. He
+instructed General Cooper as to improving the defences of the town,
+and returned to Nashville on the 7th. Next day he made a hurried
+visit to Pulaski to examine the situation there, [Footnote: _Id_.,
+p. 708.] where was now the railway terminus of the line to Decatur,
+the bridges and trestles about Athens having been destroyed by
+Forrest in his September raid. He got back to Nashville before day
+on the 9th, and was ready to meet me on my arrival there. From him I
+got full information of the situation, and orders to take my
+division to Columbia, where he expected to join me in two or three
+days.
+
+Leaving Nashville in the afternoon, we learned on reaching Franklin
+that a wreck on the railway near Spring Hill obstructed the track,
+and our trains were halted till the way should be cleared. We had
+made only twenty miles; the weather had changed again to a cold,
+drenching rain. Thursday, the 10th, was clear and cold, and whilst
+waiting for the railway to be open again, I made my first
+acquaintance with the pretty village on the banks of the Harpeth in
+which I was to feel a much more lively interest three weeks later.
+As soon as the railway officials could put the trains in motion we
+resumed our journey. Reilly's brigade gets to Spring Hill, half-way
+to Columbia, but the insufficiency of siding at that place makes it
+impracticable to handle all the trains there, and the rest of us are
+stopped at Thompson's Station, three miles short. We leave the cars
+and go into camp so as to release the trains for other work, whilst
+we organize again for field operations, though our wagons had not
+reached us. Strickland's brigade of Cooper's division has
+accompanied us and is attached to my command temporarily. Some five
+miles north of Columbia there is a break in the railway, and we are
+delayed till it can be repaired and communication with Columbia
+fully opened. The two or three days intervening are spent in getting
+forward horses for the artillery, rations, and advance stores, so as
+to become again a self-dependent unit of the army. We found the
+country in this part of Tennessee richer and finer than any we had
+campaigned in, much more open, with well-tilled farms.
+
+The news we got indicated that Forrest had joined Hood at Florence,
+and that the enemy was preparing there for a forward movement. I
+opened communication with the Fourth Corps at Pulaski, and was under
+orders, to join them whenever an advance of Hood should make it
+necessary. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxix. pt. iii. pp.
+748, 749.] On the 11th Sherman still inclined to the opinion that
+Beauregard would order Hood to follow him, as soon as his southward
+march should really begin. "I rather think you will find commotion
+in his camp in a day or two," he said to Thomas; for his own
+preparations were now complete, and his communications with the
+North were to be cut next day. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 746.] The
+humorous side of things struck him forcibly, and in giving to
+Captain Poe, his engineer, directions to destroy the foundries,
+workshops, and railway buildings at Atlanta, he had added,
+"Beauregard still lingers about Florence, afraid to invade
+Tennessee, and I think slightly disgusted because Sherman did not
+follow him on his fool's errand." [Footnote: _Id_., p. 680.] The
+irony fitted Hood better than Beauregard, for the latter had not
+taken personal direction of the active army; but the relations
+between the two Confederate generals were very imperfectly known to
+us, and we naturally assumed that Beauregard was himself responsible
+for the immediate conduct of the whole.
+
+The progress of the work of reinforcing Thomas was not quite as
+rapid as it seemed. Grant had sent General Rawlins, his chief of
+staff, from Petersburg to St. Louis to see that A. J. Smith's corps
+went promptly forward from Rosecrans's department. Besides the 9000
+in Smith's immediate command, 5200 men were collected from posts on
+the Mississippi and Ohio, and were put in motion toward Nashville.
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxix. pt. iii. p. 684.] Rawlins's
+report on the 7th, that these were starting, was understood by
+Thomas to apply to the whole of Smith's force, and he therefore
+reckoned on their reaching him in a few days. [Footnote: _Id_., p.
+685.] Rawlins in fact expected Smith's own divisions to leave St.
+Louis on the 10th, but even this was much sooner than they reached
+the river. The same news was sent to Sherman, and he expressed his
+joy that these veteran reinforcements were on the way, and his
+confidence that the enemy was now checkmated. [Footnote: _Id_., p.
+686.] The result was a little over-confidence in all quarters, which
+probably had its influence in making Thomas less energetic in
+concentrating the troops available in Tennessee than he would have
+been had he known that Smith's 9000 would not reach Nashville till
+the last day of the month. [Footnote: See "Franklin and Nashville,"
+pp. 132 _et seq_.; "Battle of Franklin," pp. 40, 41.]
+
+On the 13th I marched to Columbia, and Schofield went in person to
+Pulaski, where he assumed command. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xxxix. pt iii. pp. 764, 768.] Wooden pontoons were sent the same day
+to Columbia for the crossing of the Duck River there, and the bridge
+was completed at ten o'clock in the evening. [Footnote: _Id_., pt.
+i. p. 795.] As the river was too high to ford, we had encamped on
+the north side, in the tongue made by the horse-shoe bend to the
+southward. We occupied the fine open wood on rolling ground, and
+made ourselves as well acquainted with the village and surrounding
+country as time would allow. Columbia, on the south bank of the
+river, had been a centre of education and refinement, and several
+college buildings were there, surrounded by ample groves. The
+neighborhood was the home of the Polks and the Pillows and other
+people of national reputation, whose ample estates lay on the roads
+diverging from the town. Between the village and the railway bridge
+below the place was an isolated hill on which was an enclosed
+redoubt, commanding the crossing. It was a strong position when
+connected with sufficient forces near by, but too small and too
+detached to have much independent value.
+
+Leaving Strickland's brigade as a garrison for the town, the rest of
+my command marched next morning toward Pulaski, reaching Lynnville,
+eighteen miles south of the river, where a road from Lawrenceburg
+comes into the turnpike. I was pretty strong in artillery, having
+five batteries, two of which properly belonged to the second
+division. Ten miles south of Columbia we left the open country and
+entered a hilly, forest-covered region, with cultivation only in the
+narrow valleys of small streams. This high water-shed between the
+Duck River and the Elk extends nearly all the way from the plateau
+of the Cumberland westward to the Tennessee River, where it has made
+its great bend to the north. It is known as the "barns" (barrens),
+and is desolate enough. In many places one may travel for miles
+without seeing a house. Wood-chopping and charcoal-burning for
+smelting furnaces seemed to be the principal industry.
+
+On the 15th we continued our march in a heavy, cold rain to Pigeon
+Creek, two miles north of Pulaski, making sixteen miles. General
+Schofield met me there, and we examined the country westward some
+three miles, our reconnoissance determining him to keep the division
+at the turnpike crossing of the creek, where we accordingly
+encamped. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlv. pt. i. p. 357.] It
+had been confidently expected that Hood would march northward by the
+time we could reach Pulaski, but he delayed, and it was a week later
+before he really opened his new campaign. Various things combined to
+give plausible reasons for his delay. He could not get the supply of
+stores which he needed. The gap in his railroad from Cherokee to
+Tuscumbia was not rebuilt. The weather was continuously cold with
+heavy rains, and the roads going from bad to worse. The truth, no
+doubt, was that Sherman's march southward had a most perplexing
+effect, raising portentous problems as to its result upon the
+Confederacy, and reducing Hood's own campaign to a secondary place
+in the general progress of the war. Torn by doubts, he seemed
+willing to find excuses for postponing action, hoping to see clearer
+light on the future before committing himself to a decisive
+movement. An interesting item in the discussion between the
+Confederate generals was that Hood suggested Purdy as a better base
+than Tuscumbia, and proposed to abandon the work of rebuilding the
+railroad near that place. Purdy was some twenty-five miles north of
+Corinth on the Mobile and Ohio Railway, and not far from the old
+battlefield of Shiloh. Its landing-place on the Tennessee River was
+nearly opposite Savannah, and it was there that Grant had stopped
+his steamboat for a conference with General Lew Wallace on his way
+to Pittsburg Landing the morning of the great battle. It is probable
+that Hood thought it advantageous to take a line by which he might
+avoid the risk of expeditions from Decatur, and could more safely
+turn Schofield's position at Pulaski, by operating further from our
+line of railroad and making it necessary for us either to retire
+rapidly toward Nashville, or meet him so far from our supply line as
+to be dependent, like himself, on wagon transportation. Beauregard
+approved the change of base if made after the first stage of the
+campaign should be complete, and planned a scheme of floating booms
+armed with torpedoes to protect the pontoon bridge when it should be
+laid there. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxix. pt. iii. pp.
+900, 905; vol. xlv. pt. i. p. 1210.] The road from Savannah through
+Waynesborough to Columbia was a turnpike, and would be safer for
+wagon trains than that from Florence, because so much further from
+posts on our railway. It would also be a better line of retreat in
+case of disaster. The plan was not tried, because the withdrawal of
+our forces from Decatur and Pulaski removed the dangers which Hood
+apprehended, and made his communications secure. The rains raised
+the river so much that the bridge laid at Florence was no longer
+protected by its situation between Muscle Shoals above and Colbert
+Shoals below, and the Confederates had reason to fear that it would
+be destroyed by gunboats coming up the river. The navy had been
+unfortunate in the destruction of gunboats at Johnsonville, but
+Rear-Admiral S. P. Lee had been sent to take command of the river
+fleets co-operating with Thomas, and was planning active work with
+heavier vessels. [Footnote: _Id_., vol. xxxix. pt. iii. p. 734.]
+
+On the 14th the river had risen eighteen feet at Florence, and
+Hood's bridge was with great difficulty kept in its place.
+[Footnote: _Id_., vol. xlv. pt. i. p. 887.] The same day General
+Wheeler informed him of Sherman's concentration at Atlanta, the
+destruction of the railroad above, and the strong rumors of the
+march on Augusta and Savannah. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 1206.] Forrest
+had not yet joined Hood, but did so in two days. Beauregard heard,
+through Taylor, of the movement of reinforcements to Thomas from
+Memphis and below, as well as of A. J. Smith's from St. Louis.
+[Footnote: _Id_., pp. 1208-1209.] On the 17th he got authentic news
+of Sherman's start from Atlanta, and ordered Hood to "take the
+offensive at the earliest practicable moment, and deal the enemy
+rapid and vigorous blows, striking him while thus dispersed, and by
+this means to distract Sherman's advance into Georgia." Hood replied
+that he had only one third of the quantity of rations accumulated
+which he needed for beginning the campaign. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xlv. pt. i. p. 1215.] Beauregard himself left
+Tuscumbia for Montgomery and Macon, giving Hood the choice either to
+send part of his troops to Georgia or to take the offensive
+immediately. Under this spur Hood gave orders for an advance on the
+19th, but there was still some cause of delay, and Beauregard
+reiterated, on the 20th, the peremptory order to "push an active
+offensive immediately." Next day all were in motion, and Hood issued
+a brief address to his troops, saying, "You march to-day to redeem
+by your valor and your arms one of the fairest portions of our
+Confederacy." [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 1220, 1225,1226,1236.]
+
+During the week we were at Pulaski the rain had made our camp
+anything but a pleasant one, yet, as we were daily in expectation of
+Hood's advance, we could do nothing to improve our shelter or the
+means of warming our tents. The forests were near enough to furnish
+us the fuel for rousing camp-fires, and we made the most of them. At
+night I fastened back the flaps of my tent, and a blazing pile of
+logs threw in heat enough to temper the cold, and one slept sweetly
+in the fresh air as long as the wind was in the right direction. The
+day Hood advanced the rain changed to snow, driving in flurries and
+squalls all day. Marching orders for the 22d came in the evening,
+and we prepared for an early start to Lynnville, for the enemy was
+making for Columbia through Lawrenceburg, and we must anticipate
+him. The night was a freezing one, the mud was frozen stiff on the
+surface in the morning, making the worst possible marching for the
+infantry, while the artillery and horses broke through the crust at
+every step. Our only consolation was in the reflection that it was
+as bad for Hood as for us. By getting off at break of day my
+division reached Lynnville by noon, and took position on the north
+and west of the village. Wagner's division of the Fourth Corps
+followed and reported to me. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlv.
+pt. i. pp. 974, 985.] I gave them positions on the south and west.
+Schofield remained another day at Pulaski with two divisions of the
+Fourth Corps, but joined me at noon of the 23d, and under his orders
+I marched my division ten miles further north to the crossing of the
+road from Mount Pleasant to Shelbyville. Starting at three, we
+forced the pace a little, and went into position at six in the
+twilight. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 357, 998.] The rest was a short one,
+for we were off again at four in the morning, hastening the march
+for Columbia in the cold and thick darkness. Schofield had learned
+in the night that the cavalry on the Lawrenceburg road had been
+driven back to Mount Pleasant, and that the advance of Hood's
+infantry was at the former place. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 989.] There
+was no time to lose if we were to reach Columbia in time to cover a
+concentration there. At the two-mile post south of the town a
+cross-road turns westward, leading into the Mount Pleasant turnpike
+where it crosses Bigby Creek, three miles out from Duck River. I
+turned the head of column upon this road, and reached the turnpike
+just in time to interpose between Capron's brigade of cavalry
+retreating into Columbia and the Confederates under Forrest who were
+sharply following. The rest of our horse were covering the flank of
+the Fourth Corps, which was on the march from Lynnville. It was
+close work, all round. My men deployed at double-quick along the
+bank of the creek, and after a brisk skirmish Forrest withdrew out
+of range. The head of the Fourth Corps column came up about eleven
+o'clock, having left Lynnville at three. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 1017,
+1018, 1020, 1021.] We naturally supposed Hood's infantry to be in
+close support of the cavalry, but they were still at Lawrenceburg,
+and learning that Forrest had been foiled in the effort to take
+Columbia, did not advance beyond Mount Pleasant till the 26th,
+though the cavalry made a vigorous reconnoissance on the 25th,
+giving us another lively skirmish in which my division had some
+fifteen casualties. My headquarters' tents were pitched in the
+grounds of Mrs. Martin, a member of the Polk family.
+
+At Columbia we found General Ruger in command when we arrived. He
+had been transferred from the Twentieth Corps, and ordered to ours
+at the time we left Georgia, and Schofield had assigned him to the
+second division. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxix. pt. iii.
+pp. 661, 682, 700, 748.] He joined the two brigades at Johnsonville,
+but at Schofield's request Thomas ordered him on the 20th to bring
+one brigade (Moore's) to Columbia, where Strickland's of the same
+division already was. The railroad from Johnsonville was broken by
+some raiders on the 21st, so that Ruger was delayed, and only
+reached Columbia himself in the afternoon of the 23d. Moore's
+brigade did not arrive till half-past two o'clock of the morning of
+the 24th. Under Thomas's orders he at once, upon his arrival, sent
+two regiments of Strickland's brigade down Duck River to
+Williamsport and Centreville to hold crossings there. It thus
+happened that Strickland was left with only his own regiment
+(Fiftieth Ohio), till, some new reinforcements coming forward, other
+regiments were temporarily assigned to him. [Footnote: _Id_., vol.
+xlv. pt. i. pp. 378, 955, 985, 999.] Until he reached Columbia,
+therefore, Schofield did not know that Strickland had been
+reinforced, and we all supposed that our safety depended on my
+getting there before the enemy.
+
+Thomas also ordered General Cooper to march from Johnsonville on the
+24th, with his own brigade, direct to Centerville and Beard's Ferry,
+some fifty miles. There he would be in communication with the two
+regiments sent down from Columbia to Williamsport, and he was put in
+command of the whole. He was thirty miles from our principal column,
+and posted his troops to observe the crossings through some fifteen
+miles of the river's course. He arrived at Beard's Ferry on the
+evening of the 28th, and was there only a day and a half, when our
+retreat to Franklin made it necessary for him also to fall back. He
+was beset by guerilla parties, so that he was almost without
+communication with his commanders, and being thrown on his own
+resources, made his way back to Nashville with a series of
+adventures. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlv. pt. i. p. 370.]
+Ruger's division was thus deprived of half its veteran troops at the
+battle of Franklin.
+
+It must be noted also that it was not till the 24th that the troops
+at Decatur and Huntsville were ordered back, the withdrawal being
+made on the 25th. General R. S. Granger's old troops were then
+placed at Stevenson, and those recently recruited were sent to
+Murfreesborough.
+
+Granger reported that the public property, except some forage, had
+been removed; but by what seems to have been a misunderstanding with
+the naval officers about convoying transports, the pontoon bridge
+was only detached at its southern end, and was neither taken up
+stream nor destroyed. It swung with the current against the northern
+shore, and proved of great use to Hood in his retreat a month later.
+[Footnote: _Id_., pp. 1003, 1027, 1046. See also "Franklin and
+Nashville," p. 125.] The continued hope that A. J. Smith's corps
+would arrive in time to reach Pulaski or Columbia before we should
+have to retreat counted for much, no doubt, in Thomas's postponement
+of decisive action; but it can hardly be disputed that the true
+military course would have been to strip his garrisons to the bone
+immediately after Sherman marched southward, concentrate at Pulaski
+a force superior to Hood's, and give him battle if he dared to
+advance north from Florence. [Footnote: For the forces on both sides
+in Tennessee, see Official Records, vol. xlv. pt. i. pp. 52-54,
+678-679; "Franklin and Nashville," pp. 132-136; "The Battle of
+Franklin," pp. 9, 208. I discussed the same subject in "The Nation"
+for Nov. 9, 1893, p. 352.]
+
+As it was too late for concentration at Duck River or south of it,
+Schofield was limited to a careful defensive, though he was willing
+to receive Hood's attack upon our lines. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xlv. pt. i. p. 1017.] The latter, however, did no more
+than keep up a combat of skirmish lines, whilst he looked for ways
+to turn the position. Schofield, on his part, prepared a short
+interior line to be held by part of his troops when it was time to
+cross the river with the rest. In the night of the 25th this
+movement was made, and for a couple of days more our forces were
+divided, part holding the short line on the south side, and the
+greater portion encamped in the bend on the north bank, closely
+watching the development of the enemy's evident purpose to cross
+some miles above us. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 1039, 1086-1091.]
+
+The crossing of the river had been arranged for the early evening,
+the Fourth Corps moving first into the short line on the south of
+the river; and when this was done, I was to march two brigades of my
+division through the lines and across the river to the north bank by
+the pontoon bridge. There were delays in the change of position by
+the Fourth Corps, and it was past midnight when I was notified that
+they were in place and commenced my own movement. At that time a
+rain-storm had set in which made our whole operation uncomfortable
+in the wet and darkness, but especially the seeking a bivouac for
+the troops after we got over the river. We halted the men and parked
+the trains about a mile from the bridge at three o'clock. [Footnote:
+_Id_., p. 358.] I had a tent roughly pitched, and got a little
+sleep, but was roused at daybreak by musket firing, which sounded as
+if it were right among us. I sprang up with the feeling that I had
+been caught napping in a double sense; but a little examination
+showed that the enemy's pickets and our own were skirmishing on the
+other side of the river. The Confederates had pushed in a
+reconnoissance to find out what we had been at, and in the damp air
+the sound of the firing on the opposite bank where the flank of our
+new line rested was so loud and seemed so close that it had deceived
+me.
+
+The remainder of our little army was brought over in the night of
+the 27th, and on the 28th Forrest's cavalry was over the upper fords
+of the river, pushing back our mounted troops and covering the
+laying of a pontoon bridge at Davis's ford, five or six miles above
+Columbia, where Hood's principal column of infantry crossed next
+day.
+
+In the night of the 27th it occurred to General Thomas that Hood's
+advance left the bridge at Florence open to an attack, and on the
+next day he sent an officer to General Steedman, commanding at
+Chattanooga, with the suggestion that the latter should throw his
+force of 5000 men against Tuscumbia and destroy Hood's crossing of
+the Tennessee. Steedman was to use the railroad to Decatur, taking
+along the pontoons which Thomas supposed had been carried to
+Chattanooga from Decatur two days before, and relaying that crossing
+for the purposes of the expedition. [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. xlv. pt. i. pp. 1100, 1125, 1126.] There seems to have been
+hesitation in letting Thomas know that the Decatur pontoons had not
+been brought away, and Steedman said he would take his infantry by
+rail, send his cavalry by steamboat transports, and use these boats
+to cross the troops instead of pontoons. On further reflection,
+however, Thomas found that Hood's movement on the 28th to turn
+Schofield's left made the plan too adventurous, and on the 29th he
+revoked the order, directing Steedman to take his men to Cowan.
+Strong posts were thus established at Murfreesborough, Stevenson,
+and Cowan on the railroad between Nashville and Chattanooga, under
+the impression which Thomas retained till after the battle of
+Franklin, that Hood would not advance on Nashville, but would march
+toward one of the three places named. [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. xlv. pt. i. pp. 1159, 1160.]
+
+A concentration in force at Decatur two weeks earlier, and an
+advance toward Tuscumbia, would have had much to recommend it, and
+it would perhaps have been the surest way to defend the line of the
+Tennessee; but it was now too late for that, as it was also too late
+to affect Hood's determination to seek an early battle with
+Schofield. Despite his hesitation to leave Florence and Tuscumbia,
+and his plea that his supplies were insufficient, Hood had found on
+reaching Mount Pleasant that he could live on the country, and
+telegraphed Beauregard that he found food enough and anticipated no
+further trouble on that score,--a confession that he might have
+advanced at the beginning of the month. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 1245,
+1254.] If Steedman had made the expedition, therefore, it would not
+have brought Hood back, and would only have wasted a strong division
+in a useless collateral operation. The scattering of 20,000 men
+along the Chattanooga route, "in small packages" (to use Napoleon's
+phrase), cannot be regarded as sound, though Steedman was more
+available at Cowan than at Chattanooga, and he got to Nashville "by
+the skin of his teeth" when the battle of Franklin proved that the
+enemy was aiming at that place, and made Thomas see the desirability
+of greater concentration. [Footnote: Thomas's order to Steedman to
+bring his troops from Cowan to Nashville was dated at 5.35 P. M. of
+the 30th, and his forces arrived, part on the 1st and part on the 2d
+of December, the last of the trains being attacked by the enemy five
+miles out of Nashville. _Id_., pp. 503, 1190.] He then ordered
+Steedman to bring his division to Nashville; but Rousseau, with
+Milroy's and Granger's commands, were still left at Murfreesborough
+and beyond. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 1153.]
+
+I have already told the story of the march to Franklin, and the
+fierce battle at that place, in the Scribner Series, "March to the
+Sea; Franklin and Nashville," and in "The Battle of Franklin," and
+will not repeat it here. The effect of the belief that Hood would
+march eastward toward Murfreesborough had, however, so strong an
+influence upon General Wilson, the cavalry commander, that it is
+instructive to trace it in his dispatches. It seems to have been the
+cause of the loss of touch with our infantry during that important
+movement.
+
+In the middle of the night of the 28th Wilson had reason to think
+that two divisions (Buford's and Jackson's) of Forrest's cavalry
+were north of Duck River upon the Lewisburg and Franklin turnpike,
+about Rally Hill, the rest of Hood's army on the Columbia and
+Shelbyville road in rear. They had driven our own horse away from
+the river, and the best Wilson had been able to do was to
+concentrate his troops about Hurt's Cross-roads, some miles further
+north on the same road. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlv. pt.
+i. p. 1143.] His communication with Schofield was through Spring
+Hill by a cross-road, and by that route he sent a report at three
+o'clock in the morning of the 29th. [Footnote: _Ibid_.] He then had
+information that the enemy were laying pontoon bridges for the
+infantry, though the place was not accurately fixed. He thought it
+very clear that they were aiming for Franklin by the turnpike he was
+on, and said he would stay on that road and hold them back as much
+as he could. He indicated Spring Hill or Thompson's Station as the
+points on the Columbia turnpike where cross-roads would bring
+Schofield's couriers to him, and said he would try to get no further
+back than the Ridge meeting-house, due east from Thompson's Station.
+There he would leave the turnpike and take a still more eastern
+course toward Nolensville. He closed the dispatch with, "Get back to
+Franklin without delay, leaving a small force to detain the enemy.
+The rebels will move by this road toward that point." [Footnote:
+_Ibid_.]
+
+These positions will be understood if we note that the Lewisburg and
+Franklin turnpike is some twelve miles in a direct line east of that
+from Columbia to Franklin where they cross the river, and that these
+roads converge toward the last-named place twenty-three miles north.
+Nolensville is about twelve miles northeast of Franklin and
+considerably nearer Nashville. As one goes north on the Lewisburg
+turnpike, after passing Rally Hill and Hurt's Cross-roads, the next
+important crossing is at Mount Carmel, where the road from Spring
+Hill to Murfreesboro intersects the turnpike. Three miles still
+further on, a road from Thompson's Station is crossed at the
+so-called Ridge meeting-house. All these cross-roads gave the means
+of regaining touch with Schofield's main column; but the cavalry
+commander was so dominated by the belief that Forrest was making
+directly for Nashville by roads still further east, that he proposed
+neither to join the infantry by the cross-roads, nor to adhere to
+the converging one leading to Franklin, but would go to Nolensville.
+The imperative form of his suggestion to his commanding officer to
+"get back" shows not only the force of this mental preoccupation,
+but a forgetfulness that Schofield might have other information and
+be under a necessity of forming other plans for the day's operations
+to which the cavalry must be subordinate.
+
+The whole of Hood's force had not crossed the river, but two thirds
+of Lee's corps and nearly all the artillery were still in Columbia,
+and made their presence known by a vigorous cannonade in the early
+morning of the 29th. The enemy's infantry was not marching to the
+Lewisburg turnpike, but was seen making for Spring Hill by roads
+five miles east of Columbia, and Forrest was in touch with their
+right flank. Schofield, under orders from Thomas, was obstructing
+the lower fords of the river, and trying to get orders through to
+General Cooper, directing him to concentrate his forces and retire
+from Centerville. The concentration of our cavalry had been so
+complete that when it took an independent line of retreat it ceased,
+for the time, to be any efficient part of Schofield's forces, and
+left him without cover for his flank or means of rapid
+reconnoissance. For conclusive reasons he held during the day of the
+29th the line from Spring Hill to the Duck River; but after ten
+o'clock in the morning Wilson was wholly out of the game, looking
+off to the east for Forrest, who had gone west from Hurt's
+Cross-roads and Mount Carmel to attack our infantry at Spring Hill.
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlv. pt. i. pp. 1144, 753, 769.]
+
+At noon, north of the Ridge church and the road to Thompson's
+Station, Wilson was still of the opinion that the whole of the
+enemy's cavalry had gone to Nashville by eastern roads through
+Peytonsville, Triune, and Nolensville. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 1144.]
+At two in the afternoon he repeated the same opinion in a dispatch
+to Thomas, although he had heard heavy artillery firing in the
+direction of Spring Hill since eleven o'clock. He warned Thomas to
+look out for Forrest at Nashville by next day noon, but promised to
+be there himself before or very soon after he should make his
+appearance. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 1146.] At four o'clock he was four
+miles east of Franklin, still looking toward Nolensville for the
+enemy, who had "disappeared," and still of the opinion that Forrest
+had turned his left flank before he left Hurt's Cross-roads in the
+morning. The heavy firing he had heard all day had, however,
+awakened solicitude for Schofield. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 1145.] After
+nightfall he sent a scout back on the road he had travelled, nearly
+to the Ridge meeting-house, where was found a cavalry picket of the
+enemy, and a large camp was said to be discovered near by,--probably
+the light of the camp-fires at Thompson's Station, where they were
+still burning when Schofield placed Ruger's division there in the
+evening. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 342.] At ten o'clock Wilson had
+concluded that it was "probable that a part of the enemy's cavalry
+this afternoon aimed to strike your rear or flank at Thompson's
+Station," as he wrote to Schofield, and had marched a mile and a
+half toward Franklin, [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlv. pt. i.
+p. 342.] where at the Matthews house his headquarters remained next
+day, when connection with the army had again been made. Nothing more
+than scouting parties and patrols from Forrest's column had gone
+north of Mount Carmel during the day. The adventures of the march
+had emphasized the danger that a preconceived opinion of
+probabilities may make an officer misinterpret such real facts as he
+may learn, or let very slight evidence take the place of thorough
+knowledge got by bold contact with the enemy. The experience also
+teaches how sure mischiefs are to follow the forgetfulness of the
+principle that, in such operations, it is the primary duty of the
+cavalry to keep in touch with the main body of the army, and where
+orders from the commanding general may be promptly received and
+acted on. Schofield, in fact, had no communication with his cavalry
+during the whole day, and none of Wilson's messages had reached him
+after the retreat from Hurt's Cross-roads began. [Footnote: _Id_.,
+p. 343.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIV
+
+NASHVILLE--HOOD'S ARMY ROUTED
+
+
+Defensive works of Nashville--Hood's lines--The ice
+blockade--Halleck on remounts for cavalry--Pressing horses and its
+abuse--The cavalry problem--Changes in organization--Assignment of
+General Couch--Confederate cavalry at Nashville--Counter-movements
+of our own--Detailed movements of our right--Difference of
+recollection between Schofield and Wilson--The field
+dispatches--Carrying Hood's works--Confederate rout.
+
+
+At Nashville, when we reached there on the 1st of December, after
+the battle of Franklin, we were left for a couple of days in
+bivouac. The city had been covered by a line of interior earthworks,
+suitable for a moderate garrison, with strong forts on commanding
+hills. The Cumberland River, in its general course from east to
+west, partially encloses the town on north and west by one of its
+bends, and the Chattanooga Railroad runs out of the place not far
+from the river, passing under St. Cloud Hill, on which was Fort
+Negley, one of the strongest of the defensive works. Southwest of
+this, about eight hundred yards, was the Casino block-house on a
+still higher eminence, and some five hundred yards northwest of the
+Casino was Fort Morton, on a summit connected with the other. My
+division was assigned to the line including these forts, which
+formed the strong southern salient of the original city defences.
+Other troops of our corps continued the line on my left to the
+river, and Steedman's division was placed in advance of the left,
+along Brown's Creek, which was crossed by the Murfreesborough
+turnpike. From Fort Morton the original works continued
+northwestwardly, skirting the city to the Hyde's Ferry turnpike.
+[Footnote: Official Atlas, pl. lxxiii.] But the army now collected
+needed more room, and instead of turning back at the Casino the line
+was continued southwest till it reached a prominent hill near the
+Hillsborough turnpike. There it turned to the northwest, following a
+succession of hilltops to the river, enclosing the whole of the bend
+in which the city was. The Fourth Corps occupied the part of the
+line next to us on the right, and General A. J. Smith's detachment
+of the Army of the Tennessee was on the right of all. Until the eve
+of the battle of Nashville the cavalry were concentrated at
+Edgefield, on the north side of the Cumberland.
+
+Hood had followed us up promptly from Franklin, and established his
+lines nearly parallel to ours on our centre and left, though they
+were shorter in extent, and a wide space near the river on our right
+was only occupied by his cavalry. In my own immediate front, looking
+down from the Casino block-house, were the Nolensville and Franklin
+turnpikes with the Alabama Railroad, along which we had retreated.
+Near my right was the Middle Franklin turnpike, which goes
+southward, a mile or two distant from the main road, into which it
+comes again below Brentwood. It is known locally as the Granny White
+pike. My headquarters were in rear of Fort Morton, at the dwelling
+of Mrs. Bilbo, a large house with a pillared portico the full height
+of the front. We had two rooms in the house for our clerical work,
+and pitched our tents in the dooryard. A short walk along the ridge
+led to the Casino, from which was a fine outlook southward and
+eastward.
+
+During the time of the ice blockade from the 9th of December to the
+13th, the slopes in front of the lines were a continuous glare of
+ice, so that movements away from the roads and broken paths could be
+made only with the greatest difficulty and at a snail's pace. Men
+and horses were seen falling whenever they attempted to move across
+country. A man slipping on the hillside had no choice but to sit
+down and slide to the bottom, and groups of men in the forts and
+lines found constant entertainment in watching these mishaps. There
+had been a mingling of snow and sleet with the rain which began on
+the 8th, and this compacted into a solid ice sheet. On a level
+country it would have caused much less trouble, but on the hills and
+rolling country about Nashville manoeuvres were out of the question
+for nearly a week.
+
+The dissatisfaction of General Grant with the delay in taking the
+aggressive had begun with the withdrawal from Franklin on the 1st.
+Objections to waiting for new supplies of cavalry horses were not
+peculiar to this campaign. The waste of animals had been a constant
+source of complaint through the whole war. On the 5th Halleck made a
+report to Grant that 22,000 new cavalry horses had been issued at
+the posts where Thomas's forces were equipping, since September
+20th. This was exclusive of those used in Kentucky or sent to
+Sherman. "If this number," he said, "without any campaign is already
+reduced to 10,000 mounted men, as reported by General Wilson, it may
+be safely assumed that the cavalry of that army will never be
+mounted, for the destruction of horses in the last two months has
+there alone been equal to the remounts obtained from the entire
+west." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlv. pt. ii. p. 55.] It was
+on this report that Stanton's famous dispatch was based, "If he
+waits for Wilson to get ready, Gabriel will be blowing his last
+horn." [Footnote: _Id_., p. 84.] Halleck repeated the same in
+substance to Thomas, adding, "Moreover, you will soon be in the same
+condition that Rosecrans was last year,--with so many animals that
+you cannot feed them. Reports already come in of a scarcity of
+forage." [Footnote: _Id_., p. 114.] Yet, to remove as far as
+possible the causes of delay, Grant directed mounted men from
+Missouri to be sent to Nashville, [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xlv. pt. ii. p. 130.] and even the "pressing" of horses in Kentucky
+was permitted, sure as it was to be abused in practice. This soon
+brought protests from the leading loyal men of Louisville. Mr. Speed
+(U. S. Attorney-General) and Mr. Ballard (afterward Judge of the U.
+S. Courts) telegraphed Mr. Stanton, "Loaded country wagons with
+produce for market are left in the road; milk-carts, drays, and
+butchers' wagons are left in the street--their horses seized."
+[Footnote: _Id_., p. 139.] Indeed, from the very beginning of the
+war, the cavalry problem had been an insoluble one. Raw recruits
+could not be made to take proper care of horses, to groom them, to
+ride them with judgment, or to save their strength. We campaigned in
+regions where forage was scarce and where it could not be brought up
+from the rear. A big cavalry force would starve when not moving, yet
+exaggerated reports of the enemy's mounted troops made a constant
+clamor for more. [Footnote: An interesting contribution to the
+practical discussion of the subject is found in Sherman's letter to
+General Meigs, Quartermaster-General from Savannah, December 25th,
+ending with, "If my cavalry cannot remount itself in the country, it
+may go afoot." (Official Records, vol. xliv. p. 807.) For the
+discussion of it in Rosecrans's campaign of '63, see _ante_, chap,
+xxiii. See also Official Records, vol. xxiii. pt. ii. pp. 300, 320.]
+The attempts to use them in large bodies were rarely successful, and
+the more modest duties of outpost and patrol in connection with the
+infantry columns were distasteful. All this knowledge, combined with
+the special causes of impatience now existing, gave to Grant's
+dispatches a more and more urgent tone, leading up to the "Delay no
+longer" of the 11th. [Footnote: _Id_., vol. xlv. pt. ii. pp. 70, 97,
+143.] To judge fairly the attitude of both Grant and Thomas, this
+must not be overlooked, whilst we must also remember that the new
+element of the icy covering of the earth in the immediate vicinity
+of Nashville was so exceptional that it was not appreciated or fully
+understood at the East.
+
+The halt at Nashville was the occasion for some temporary changes in
+the organization of my division. Colonel Henderson had not fully
+recovered from the ill-health which had interrupted the command of
+his brigade, and having obtained a leave of absence to go home for a
+few weeks, the command of this brigade remained with Colonel Stiles.
+General Reilly also found the need of recuperation and was granted a
+short leave. It happened that Colonel Doolittle, who had
+distinguished himself in command of the post at Decatur, had got
+back from a short absence, and reached Nashville after
+communications with Murfreesborough were interrupted. Not being able
+to join his proper command, I was glad to make arrangements to give
+him temporary service with me and to renew the pleasant acquaintance
+made on our journey from Georgia. He acted as chief of staff for a
+few days till Reilly left, and I then assigned him to command
+Reilly's brigade, where there was no officer of sufficient
+experience. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlv. pt. ii. pp. 86,
+187.]
+
+Another change which occurred was among the general officers, and
+strongly illustrated the chafing likely to arise under such
+circumstances. In pursuance of a policy before mentioned, the War
+Department was bringing pressure to bear upon officers to make them
+accept any active service suitable to their rank, or resign and
+leave room for promotions for others, since Congress refused to
+enlarge the number of general officers. Major-General Darius N.
+Couch had been, during the war, hitherto connected with the Army of
+the Potomac, but had drifted out of active service and was "waiting
+orders." Grant had suggested that he be sent to command the district
+of Kentucky, relieving Burbridge, whose administration was not
+satisfactory to the General-in-Chief. [Footnote: _Id._, pp. 16,28.]
+But political influences at Washington did not favor this change,
+and Couch was ordered to report to General Thomas for duty, and by
+him was sent to the Fourth Corps to report to General Stanley.
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlv. pt. ii. p. 58.] The latter
+was just going on "sick leave" on account of his wound received at
+Franklin, and without being assigned to any division, Couch, by
+rank, assumed temporary command of the corps in the absence of the
+regularly assigned commandant. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 72.] The
+immediate result of this was to supersede Brigadier-General Wood,
+who had been second in rank in the corps through the year, and was
+one of the oldest officers in the Army of the Cumberland. In the
+rearrangement of divisions when the temporary command would cease,
+it would displace General Kimball, who was also one of the most
+experienced brigadiers, and would reduce him to a brigade. The
+dissatisfaction thus caused in Thomas's own department made him
+transfer the problem to Schofield and the Army of the Ohio. Thomas
+proposed to Couch to take a division, therefore, in the Twenty-third
+Corps. [Footnote: _Ibid_.] Schofield was induced to consent to this,
+as it was accompanied by an arrangement for the speedy organization
+of a division of new troops, to which General Ruger could be
+assigned whilst Couch should take that which Ruger now commanded.
+When the new scheme was laid before Couch, he replied with dignity
+that he would readily serve where he was ordered, but could not, of
+his own election, take a position that would throw him into a lesser
+command. The formal orders making the changes were then issued.
+[Footnote: _Id_., pp. 86, 103, 104.] We had two good brigadiers in
+our corps, who had recently proved their capacity to take the new
+division,--Reilly, who had been distinguished in the battle of
+Franklin, and Cooper, who had conducted his brigade by a most
+perilous and circuitous retreat from Centerville to Nashville;
+[Footnote: "Battle of Franklin," chap. vii. and p. 206.] but the
+commissions of these dated only from the taking of Atlanta, and
+being juniors on the list of general officers, their claims to the
+larger command were not considered very strong.
+
+My own position was the one most affected by the advent of a senior
+in rank into the corps. I had been senior of the division commanders
+in East Tennessee as well as in the Atlanta campaign, and actually
+in command of the corps in the absence of its regular chief or his
+assumption of still wider duties. As second in rank, one is
+necessarily in confidential possession of much knowledge which he
+would not otherwise have, for the possibility that accidents of the
+campaign may throw the larger command upon him requires that he
+should have the means of judgment and action in such an event. He is
+therefore in much closer relations to his superiors than he would be
+as division commander merely. Again in marches and in any scattering
+of forces, as senior, his command will be extended over other
+portions of the corps in the absence of the commander, and I had not
+infrequently found myself in command of another division beside my
+own, either by definite orders or by operation of the articles of
+war. [Footnote: "Battle of Franklin," pp. 277, 278.] When to this is
+added such command as fell to me in the October campaign in Georgia,
+and in the battle of Franklin, which could not have been mine if I
+had not stood next to Schofield in the corps, it will be seen that
+for me it was the practical loss of a grade, as it would have been
+for General Wood in the Fourth Corps if General Couch had remained
+there. My only purpose in noting these things is to make
+intelligible the feeling in the army that such transfers are not
+good administration, except where they are in the nature of
+promotion for brilliant service. The feeling was also strong that
+the loss of one's footing in one large army, unless caused by
+exceptional reasons, fully understood, is a reason against a
+transfer to another, where, in generous rivalry, all have been
+striving to merit advanced instead of diminished grades. In justice
+to General Schofield, however, I must not omit to say that he fully
+appreciated my situation, and with an earnestness which outran
+anything I could claim, exerted himself to secure my promotion and
+to make me eligible to the permanent assignment to the corps'
+command when his own authority was afterward enlarged. General
+Couch's position was by no means a desirable one for him; for he
+could not be ignorant of the sentiment of the army, and he would
+probably have preferred a division in the Potomac Army to one in
+ours, for there in spite of a temporary eclipse, he had a fixed and
+honorable reputation which would justify a reasonable expectation of
+regaining prominence in it. [Footnote: In the spring of 1863 General
+Couch was the senior corps commander in the Army of the Potomac, and
+as such was nominally in command on the field in the battle of
+Chancellorsville during the temporary disability of General Hooker.
+Shortly after that battle he asked to be transferred to some other
+command, and was assigned to the Department of the Susquehanna in
+Pennsylvania, where the duty was merely administrative. In reducing
+these organizations in the fall of 1864, he became a supernumerary.
+See Walker's Second Army Corps, pp. 234, 235.]
+
+Without going into a narration of the battle of Nashville, it may be
+worth while to remark that the publication of the official records
+increases the importance of the absence of Forrest's cavalry, which
+gave the opportunity for an almost unopposed advance of Thomas's
+right in the manoeuvres of the 15th December to turn Hood's flank.
+We had known that Chalmers, one of Forrest's division commanders,
+had been sent to cover the four miles of space intervening between
+the left of the Confederate line and the river. [Footnote: "March to
+the Sea, Nashville," etc., pp. 107, 114.] Chalmers' report now tells
+us that he had only Colonel Rucker's brigade with him, the rest of
+the division having been sent to the other flank. He asserts that,
+after leaving one regiment on the Granny White turnpike in immediate
+touch with the infantry line, he had only 900 men left. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xlv. pt. i. p. 765.] With so small a force
+he, of course, could hardly do more than observe and report the
+advance of our three cavalry divisions. Coleman's brigade of
+infantry which had held the Hillsborough and Hardin turnpikes was
+recalled to the main line early in the day, [Footnote: Walthall's
+Report, Official Records, vol. xiv. pt. i p. 722] and as it moved
+away without his knowledge, Chalmers, on learning it, supposed it
+was driven back. It left uncovered the cavalry baggage train on the
+Hardin turnpike, which was captured by part of Colonel Coon's
+brigade of our horse. [Footnote: Chalmers' Report. _Id_., p. 765;
+Coon's Report, _Id_., p. 589.] Chalmers then took Rucker's brigade
+to the Hillsborough turnpike so as to cover more closely the
+infantry flank, and left only one regiment to delay the advance of
+our cavalry on the roads nearer the river.
+
+[Illustration: Map: Battle of Nashville.]
+
+During the night of the 15th and the morning of the 16th the
+movement of Cheatham's corps to Hood's left had been observed by
+both our infantry and our cavalry. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xlv. pt. ii. pp. 217, 224.] As part of these troops had been seen
+marching northward on the Granny White turnpike, Schofield very
+naturally took into consideration the probability of their being new
+reinforcements coming to Hood from the rear. [Footnote: _Id_., p.
+214.] The extension of the enemy's fortified line to our right had
+made it necessary to extend my division in single line without
+reserves, and even then they were stretched almost to the
+breaking-point. [Footnote: Cox's Report, _Id_., pt. i. p. 407.]
+Thomas began his inspection of the line at Wood's position on the
+left in the forenoon, and came westward visiting the commands in
+turn. [Footnote: Wood's Report, _Id_., p. 131; A. J. Smith's Report,
+_Id_., p. 435; "Franklin and Nashville," p. 118; Schofield's
+"Forty-six Years in the Army," p. 246.]
+
+At ten o'clock in the morning Wilson had most of his cavalry
+"refused, on the right of Schofield, the line extending across and
+perpendicular to the Hillsborough turnpike." [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xlv. pt. ii. p. 220. In the dispatch quoted, the name
+is given "Murfreesborough" by a manifest clerical error. Schofield's
+right was near the Hillsborough turnpike, the Murfreesborough
+turnpike being beyond the other flank of the whole army.] A regiment
+had been sent to try to reach the Granny White turnpike, but had
+been driven off and reported Cheatham's infantry moving to the left
+upon it. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 224.] Wilson reported this to
+Schofield, adding, "The country on the left of the Hillsborough
+pike, toward the enemy's left, is too difficult for cavalry
+operations. It seems to me if I was on the other flank of the army I
+might do more to annoy the enemy, unless it is intended that I shall
+push out as directed last night." [Footnote; _Id_., p. 216. See also
+Schofield's "Forty-six Years," p. 244.] Schofield acknowledged the
+receipt of this information at 11.15, and forwarded it to General
+Thomas. In view of the apparent concentration of the enemy's forces
+in his front, he advised Wilson, until he should receive other
+orders from Thomas (who was then on the left with General Wood), to
+hold his forces "in readiness to support the troops here, in case
+the enemy makes a heavy attack." [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xlv. pt. ii. p. 216. See also Schofield's "Forty-six Years," p.
+244.] At half-past one his dispatch to Thomas, from his position on
+the field close to my own, fixes with clearness the situation at
+that hour. "Wilson is trying to push in toward the Granny White
+pike, about a mile south of my right. My skirmishers on the right
+are supporting him. The skirmishing is pretty heavy. I have not
+attempted to advance my main line to-day, and do not think I am
+strong enough to do so. Will you be on this part of the line soon?"
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlv. pt. ii. p. 215; see also
+Stiles's Report, _Id_., pt. i. p. 431.]
+
+In a letter written in 1882, to assist me when preparing to write my
+account of the battle of Nashville, [Footnote: "Franklin and
+Nashville," etc., chap. vi.] General Schofield gave me his
+recollection of the situation on our right during the morning of the
+16th of December. [Footnote: Letter of June 1, 1882.] "I had gone
+back to Nashville in the night preceding," he said, "to persuade
+Thomas to order Wilson to remain on my right and take part in the
+battle the next morning, and A. J. Smith to close up on our left.
+Thomas had only partially adopted my views, and had not given Wilson
+any orders to attack. I had waited impatiently all the morning, and
+until some time after noon for Wilson to get orders from Thomas, or
+to comply with my request to put his troops in without waiting for
+orders. Finally, some time after noon, Wilson had consented to go in
+with his cavalry (I relieving him of all responsibility), and I had
+directed you, with your reserve brigade, which was not then in
+contact with the enemy, to support Wilson or join with him in
+attacking the enemy's flank." When Schofield received the proposal
+from McArthur through Couch, that an assault should be made on Shy's
+hill, in the angle of the enemy's line, by one of McArthur's
+brigades, supported by Couch, he "became impatient," he says, "for
+Wilson and Stiles [my flank brigade] to get possession of the
+commanding ground to the enemy's left-rear, so as to prepare the way
+for your [my] assault upon his intrenched line." [Footnote: See also
+General Schofield's discussion of the events of the 16th, in his
+"Forty-six Years," pp. 263-275.] The field dispatch of General Couch
+in regard to supporting McArthur was dated at 2.30 P.M. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xlv. pt. ii. p. 217.]
+
+General Schofield sought an opportunity to compare recollections
+with General Wilson, and wrote me again on the 29th of June, 1882,
+saying that he was greatly surprised to find that Wilson did not
+recollect the proposal and request stated above, but thought that
+General Thomas had come in person to his position on the
+Hillsborough turnpike, and about 10 or 10:30 o'clock A.M. had given
+him the orders under which he then undertook to advance against
+Hood's left-rear. Wilson also associated with it the capture of a
+dispatch from Hood to Chalmers, urging the latter to drive the
+Yankee cavalry from his left and rear, as otherwise he could not
+hold the position. This dispatch, Wilson said, he promptly sent to
+Thomas. As the conference between Schofield and Wilson was for the
+purpose of assisting me in getting undisputed facts for the history
+of the campaign, I was permitted to know the result and to have the
+contents of a letter from Wilson to Schofield of date of June 28,
+1882, restating his recollection. In pursuance of my rule to avoid
+as far as possible the debate of subsidiary controverted points in
+my connected history, I omitted any reference to them in this
+instance. General Schofield's memory is, however, so strongly
+supported by the field dispatches, that it does not seem difficult
+now to reach a sound historical judgment.
+
+It is plain that during the earlier part of the day General Wilson
+was reporting through General Schofield, who forwarded to General
+Thomas the information received. At some time before noon the latter
+had completed his examination of the position of the Fourth Corps on
+the left of the army, so that General Wood was at liberty to ride to
+General Steedman's headquarters on the Nolensville turnpike.
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol xlv. pt. i. p. 131.] Thomas passed
+westward to General Smith's headquarters at the centre, where he
+seems still to have been at three o'clock, [Footnote: _Id_., p.
+435.] or at the time of the arrangement between McArthur and Couch,
+which the latter places at half-past two. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. ii.
+p. 217.] Thomas then visited General Schofield's position, where he
+was when the final assault was made and the enemy routed. General
+Wilson's reports make no mention of a visit from General Thomas on
+the 16th, and the contents of his dispatches show that there had
+been none up to eleven o'clock, when Thomas was with Wood on the
+other flank of the whole army. It can hardly be necessary to mention
+the extreme improbability of the commander's omission to visit
+Schofield's quarters near the Hillsborough turnpike, if he were
+going by that road to Wilson, who was also on it. We must conclude
+that General Wilson is mistaken in his recollection. That he saw
+General Thomas at Schofield's position late in the day, is conceded
+by all. [Footnote: The account in "Franklin and Nashville," etc., p.
+119, must be modified in accord with the facts above stated.]
+
+We find no mention in the records of any capture of an important
+dispatch from Hood to Chalmers, except that found on the person of
+Colonel Rucker, when he was wounded and captured at 6.30 P.M.,
+trying to hold the pass of the Brentwood hills on the Granny White
+turnpike, in the darkness, two hours after the collapse of Hood's
+line. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlv. pt. ii. p. 218.] This
+dispatch seems to have strongly resembled the language used by
+Wilson in his letter to Schofield in 1882. It is said to have stated
+that Chalmers' cavalry must take care of this flank. In sending the
+information to General Johnson, Wilson added, "Go for him with all
+possible celerity, as Hood says the safety of their army depends
+upon Chalmers." [Footnote: Wilson to Johnson, Id., p. 222.] As we
+have already noted, Rucker's brigade, just routed, was all there was
+of Chalmers' division on that flank except a regiment covering
+trains making for Franklin.
+
+The Confederate records support this view. Chalmers' report relates
+the skirmishing during the morning in which Rucker was holding the
+Hillsborough turnpike against Wilson, and the attempt on our side to
+move to the Granny White turnpike, from which Hammond's detachment
+was driven back. He says that with one regiment and his own escort
+he "held the enemy in check for more than three hours." [Footnote:
+_Id._, pt. i. p. 765.] This agrees very well with the situation as
+indicated in General Schofield's dispatch of 1.30 P.M., when a
+serious effort was making on our side to reach that road. Chalmers
+reported the fact that the regiment was hotly beset, and Hood's
+adjutant-general, in acknowledging it at 3.15 P.M., said, "Your
+dispatch, saying you were fighting the enemy with one regiment on
+the Granny White pike, received. General Hood says you must hold
+that pike; put in your escort and every available man you can find."
+[Footnote: _Id._, pt. ii. p. 697.] Chalmers reports that he received
+this about 4.30, when the regiment had been driven back; that he
+then moved up Rucker's brigade, which had reached the same turnpike
+nearer Brentwood, and after a sharp struggle it was routed. "By this
+time," he adds, "it was so dark that it was impossible to re-form
+the men, or, indeed, to distinguish friend from foe, so closely were
+they mingled together." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlv. pt.
+i. p. 766.] It was in this _mêlée_ that Rucker was wounded and
+captured.
+
+In preparation for the attack in concert with A. J. Smith's command,
+my flank brigade (Stiles's), which had been in echelon on our right,
+was ordered to swing forward in touch with our cavalry advance.
+[Footnote: My Report, _Id_., p. 407.] My own main attack was to be
+upon the bastion which made the flank of the enemy's works before
+us. I ordered Doolittle's brigade to charge straight at it.
+Casement's brigade, on Doolittle's left, was to march by the right
+flank at double-quick in rear of Doolittle, so as to become a second
+line to him and support the advance as might be necessary. The
+skirmishers of Stiles's brigade had accompanied the cavalry advance
+since half-past one, and in the final effort his troops in line were
+to take part as already stated. [Footnote: See Schofield to Thomas,
+1.30 P. M., _Id_., pt. ii. p. 215; Stiles's Report, _Id_., pt. i. p.
+431; my own Report, _Id_., p. 407, and sketch map accompanying the
+latter, _Id_., p. 408; also "Franklin and Nashville," etc., pp.
+119-122.] After personal conference with my brigade commanders to
+insure complete mutual understanding, I rode to the hill in rear of
+my lines where Thomas and Schofield were together, [Footnote: Marked
+2 in map, p. 359.] watching for the concerted attack upon Shy's hill
+in the salient angle of Hood's lines.
+
+When Smith's men were seen to reach the summit of Shy's Hill, I
+received the signal from Schofield, and galloped down the hill
+toward Doolittle; but he also had caught sight of the movement, and
+his brigade was already charging on the run when I reached him. The
+excited firing of the enemy was too high, and Doolittle's men
+entered the works with very little loss. The collapse was general.
+As soon as we were over the works, I was ordered to stand fast with
+my command and give General Smith's command the right of way down
+the Granny White turnpike. Doolittle's brigade had carried the
+bastion in front of our right and the curtain adjoining it, and his
+line halted immediately in rear of these, partly facing the
+turnpike. He had captured a four-gun battery of light twelves in the
+bastion and another of the same number in the curtain, with the
+artillerists and part of the supports. [Footnote: See the official
+reports cited above, and special reports as to the guns, Official
+Records, vol. xlv. pt. ii. pp. 234, 235; also regimental reports,
+Twelfth Kentucky, _Id_., pt. i. p. 417, One Hundredth Ohio, _Id_.,
+p. 420, and Eighth Tennessee, _Id_., p. 423.] Stiles, advancing with
+the cavalry, was halted a short distance in front of Doolittle,
+facing southward on the right of the turnpike. Casement was halted
+in the trenches from which Doolittle had started. [Footnote:
+Casement's Report, _Id_., pt. i. p. 425. All the reports on the
+National side except that of the cavalry refer to the concerted
+attack on Shy's hill as the signal for the general advance. The
+Confederate reports also speak of the carrying of that salient as
+the cause of the rout. In his second report, dated Feb. 1, 1865, and
+in his letter to General Schofield in 1882, cited above, General
+Wilson says that it was on his personal report of what his men were
+doing on the enemy's left rear that Thomas ordered the final
+assault.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLV
+
+PURSUIT OF HOOD--END OF THE CAMPAIGN
+
+
+Night after the battle--Unusual exposure--Hardships of company
+officers--Bad roads--Halt at Franklin--Visiting the
+battlefield--Continued pursuit--Decatur reoccupied--Hood at Tupelo,
+Miss.--Summary of captures--Thomas suggests winter-quarters--Grant
+orders continued activity--Schofield's proposal to move the corps to
+the East--Grant's correspondence with Sherman--Schofield's
+suggestion adopted--Illness--I ask for "sick-leave"--Do not use
+it--Promotion--Reinforcements--March from Columbia to
+Clifton--Columns on different roads--Western part of the
+barrens--Fording Buffalo River--An illumined camp--Dismay of the
+farmer--Clifton on the Tennessee--Admiral Lee--Methods of
+transport--Weary waiting--Private grumbling--Ordered East--Revulsion
+of spirits--On the transport fleet--Thomas's frame of mind at close
+of the campaign.
+
+
+The night after the battle of Nashville was one we were not likely
+to forget. Twilight was falling when we halted, after the crushing
+of the Confederate lines, and as we were likely to join in the
+pursuit before morning, I had announced that I would be found with
+Doolittle's brigade. Owing to the darkness and a gathering storm,
+the troops having the advance did not get far, but the risks of
+missing dispatches that might be sent in haste made me adhere to my
+rule of staying where I had said I might be found. This kept the
+staff and headquarters in the space a little in rear of the captured
+line of works, a spot unclean and malodorous. We built a camp-fire,
+and tried to clean off spots on which we could sit on the ground;
+but a heavy rain soon came on, and as we were in the woods, the
+light soil soon made a mire, and we were forced to stand upright and
+take the weather as it came. The extreme weariness of standing
+about, with nothing to vary the monotony, physically tired and
+sleepy, in the reaction from the excitement of the afternoon, was
+something which cannot be understood unless one has had a similar
+experience. We had hoped our servants might find us during the
+evening and bring us something to eat; but the advance over hills
+and intrenchments had made it hard to follow our course even in
+daylight; but in the darkness and storm they entirely failed to find
+us. We felt a good deal like "belly-pinched wolves," but we had no
+den in which we could "keep the fur dry." Indeed, the suffering of a
+dog that was with us was a thing we often referred to as
+illustrating our utter discomfort. A fine pointer, astray in
+northern Georgia, had attached himself to me in October, and had
+been constantly with us, leaping and barking with joy whenever I
+mounted my horse. He was with us now, and when the rain came on he
+stood in the mud like the rest of us, finding no spot to lie down
+in. He grew tired and sleepy, and looked wistfully about for a place
+he could consent to lie in, but gave it up, and spreading all four
+legs well apart he tried to stand it out. Occasionally his eyes
+would close and his head droop, his body would slowly sway back and
+forth till he made a greater nod, his nose would go into the mud,
+and gathering himself up he would lift his head with a most piteous
+whine, protesting against such headquarters.
+
+The longest night must have an end, and early in the morning one of
+our black boys found us, bringing with him on horseback a haversack
+full of hard-tack, and in his hand a kettle of coffee which we soon
+made piping hot at the camp-fire, and found the world looking much
+more cheerful. The storm continued, however, and made the pursuit
+slower and more difficult than it would have been in better weather.
+The cavalry had the advance, supported by A. J. Smith's troops on
+the Granny White turnpike, and by Wood's Fourth Corps on the
+Franklin turnpike. We were ordered to follow Smith. Our camp on the
+evening of the 17th was not far from Brentwood between the two roads
+which come together a little further on after crossing the Little
+Harpeth, some seven miles from Franklin and the larger stream of the
+same name.
+
+Our headquarters the second night after the battle were an
+improvement on those of the night before. We found a knoll which was
+fairly drained, we borrowed a tarpaulin from a battery, and with
+fence-rails made of it a lean-to with back to the storm. A pile of
+evergreen boughs made a couch on which we lay, and a camp-fire
+blazing high in front made a heat which mitigated even the driving
+December storm. Our faithful black boys had coffee-pots and
+haversacks, so that we did not go supperless. I wrote home that my
+overcoat with large cape weighed about fifty pounds with the water
+in it, but it kept my body dry, and I found it better to wear it
+than to put on a rubber waterproof, for perspiration did not
+evaporate under the latter.
+
+Our private soldiers wore the rubber poncho-blankets above their
+overcoats in wet weather, and two "pardners" would make a shelter
+tent of the pair of waterproofs which had metal eyelets to adapt
+them to this use. Veterans carefully selected the place for the
+tent, pitched it in good form, trenched it so that the water would
+flow off and not run into the tent; then with their bed of cedar
+boughs, their haversacks and coffee-kettles, they were not worse off
+than the officers,--better off indeed than their company officers
+who trudged afoot like themselves.
+
+Transportation was so difficult to get that, in pressing forward,
+baggage was reduced to smallest possible allowance. In bad roads
+such wagons as we had were far behind the troops, and the company
+officers were exposed to severe hardships by the delay. I laid their
+condition before General Schofield, in a letter which better tells
+the tale than I could now give it from memory alone. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xlv. pt. ii. p. 312.] "From the time we left
+Nashville," I wrote, "until last night [21st December], these
+gentlemen had no shelter, and only such food as they could obtain
+from the private soldiers, being far worse off than the men, since
+the latter had their shelter-tents and their rations in haversacks.
+The officers' rations and their cooking utensils are in the
+regimental wagons, which are necessarily left behind in movements
+such as we have lately made, and they must either furnish themselves
+with knapsacks and haversacks, and carry their cooking utensils upon
+their own persons or those of their servants, or be utterly
+destitute. Even if they do this, the wagons of the commissary of
+subsistence are also at the rear, except upon ordinary days of
+issue, and it would be necessary to issue to them precisely as is
+done to the soldiers in the ranks, and so break down the last
+vestige in distinction in mode of life between them and their
+commands. As it is, I state what I know from personal observation
+when I say that no individuals in any way connected with the army
+are enduring so much personal suffering and privation upon the
+present campaign as the officers of the line. As I know the
+commanding general will be most desirous to make any arrangement
+which is feasible to reduce the amount of discomfort, I take the
+liberty of suggesting that during the winter campaign the
+transportation for each regiment be one wagon for regimental
+headquarters and for company books and papers, desks, etc., as now,
+and in addition one pack-mule for each company. The pack-mules make
+little or no obstruction in the road, are easily moved to flank or
+rear in case of manoeuvre of troops, and will be up with the command
+when the regiment goes into camp. Unless some such arrangement is
+made, I fear many of our officers will break down in health, and
+many more, becoming disgusted with the hardships of the service, and
+especially with the difference between themselves and their more
+fortunate brethren of the staff and staff-corps, will seek to leave
+the army. In many commands some similar arrangements to the one I
+have suggested have been surreptitiously made; but as I have rigidly
+enforced the rule turning over to the quartermaster all unauthorized
+animals, I am the more desirous of obtaining for the gentlemen of
+the line whom I have the honor to command such authority to regulate
+their transportation as will save them from the apparently
+unnecessary hardships they have of late endured, without detracting
+from the mobility of the division." The plan suggested was one we
+had used in exigencies in the Atlanta campaign, and General
+Schofield immediately authorized it for winter use.
+
+The cold rainstorm, in which the battle of Nashville had ended,
+lasted for a week, turning to sleet and snow on the 20th and
+clearing off with sharp cold on the 24th. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xlv. pt. i. pp. 360, 361.] Worse weather for field
+operations it would be hard to imagine. The ordinary country roads
+were impassable, and even the turnpikes became nearly so. They had
+never been very solidly made, and had not been repaired for three
+years. In places the metalling broke through, making holes similar
+to holes in thick ice, with well-defined margin. These were filled
+to the brim with water, and churned into deep pits by the wheels of
+loaded wagons. It required watchfulness to see them, as the whole
+surface of the road was flowing with slush and mud. When a wheel
+went into one, the wagon dropped to the axle, and even where there
+was no upset it was a most difficult task to pry the wagon out and
+start it on the way again. The wagon-master was lucky if it did not
+stop his whole train, and it was no uncommon thing for a mule to be
+drowned by getting down in one of these pits. Hood's rear-guard
+under Forrest and Walthall destroyed bridges behind them, of course,
+and that our cavalry with the head of our infantry column were able
+to keep close on the enemy's rear till they passed Pulaski is good
+proof of the energy with which the pursuit was conducted. Yet it was
+necessarily slow, for it was confined to one road, the rest being
+impassable, and flanking operations could only be made on a small
+scale when in contact with the enemy.
+
+When we reached Franklin on our southward march, we were halted for
+a day, so that we might not crowd too much upon the rest of the
+column, and I took advantage of the opportunity to study the
+condition of the battlefield there. My division camped between the
+Columbia and the Lewisburg turnpikes, on the ground over which the
+Confederates had advanced to attack it in the battle. Portions of
+the second line of works close to the Carter house and the
+retrenchment across the Columbia road had been levelled, but the
+principal defences were as we had left them. The osage orange-trees
+which we had used for abatis had been evenly cut away by the
+bullets, and the tough fibres hung in a fringe of white strings, the
+upper line quite even, and just a little lower than the top of the
+parapet. The effect was a curiously impressive one as we looked down
+the line we had held and thought what a level storm of lead was
+indicated by this long white fringe, and what desperate charges of
+Hood's divisions they were that came through it, close up to the
+line of this abatis. Every twig was weeping with the cold pouring
+rain of the dark midwinter storm, and this did not lessen the gloomy
+effect of the scene. At the Carter house we learned from the family
+many incidents of their own experience during the battle and of the
+scenes of the next day. [Footnote: See "Franklin," chap. xv.]
+
+Our position in the rear of the marching columns put upon us the
+duty of building bridges, repairing roads, and improving the means
+of supplying the troops in front. We consequently made halts, one of
+two or three days at Spring Hill, and another in our old camps north
+of Duck River, where we had held the line of the river on the 28th
+and 29th of November. The day after Christmas we moved over the
+river and encamped in front of Columbia, on the Pulaski turnpike. We
+remained here for several days, whilst the Fourth Corps and the
+cavalry, making Pulaski their depot for supplies, followed Hood
+until he crossed the Tennessee on the 28th and 29th of December. The
+line of the Confederate retreat was stripped bare of supplies and
+forage, and every energy was devoted to rebuilding railroad bridges
+and getting the road opened to Pulaski so that wagon transportation
+might be limited to the region beyond the head of the rails. Thomas
+had ordered Steedman's and R. S. Granger's divisions to Decatur by
+rail, going by way of Stevenson. Once there, they were to operate in
+the direction of Tuscumbia and Florence, seeking to destroy Hood's
+pontoon bridges crossing the Tennessee. [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. xlv. pt. ii. p. 260.] The light steamboats in the upper river
+were reckoned on to take supplies from Chattanooga, where an
+abundance was in depot. Steedman reached Decatur on the 27th of
+December, and Granger joined him from Huntsville, but Hood had
+reached Bainbridge, at the foot of Muscle Shoals on the 25th;
+[Footnote: _Id_., p. 731.] and next day had a bridge there, built in
+part of our pontoons which had been floated down from Decatur.
+[Footnote: _Ante_, p. 343.] He assembled the remnants of his army at
+Tupelo, Miss., fifty miles south of Corinth. The inspection report
+of January 20th showed 18,708, infantry and artillery, present for
+duty; Forrest's cavalry not reported. [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. xlv. pt. i. p. 664.] Thomas's prizes in the two days' fighting
+at Nashville were reported by him as amounting to 4462 prisoners and
+fifty-three pieces of artillery. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 40.] The
+pursuit after the battle doubled the number of the prisoners,
+gathered large numbers of deserters, and considerably increased the
+number of guns captured. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 46, 48, 51.]
+
+On the 29th of December Thomas indicated to General Halleck his
+opinion that all had been done which was now practicable, and his
+purpose to put his forces into winter quarters,--A. J. Smith's corps
+with most of the cavalry at Eastport, where the Mississippi and
+Alabama line reaches the Tennessee River; the Fourth Corps at
+Huntsville, Ala., and the Twenty-third at Dalton, Ga. Steedman's and
+Granger's divisions were already at Decatur, and would hold that
+important position, with which direct railway communication from
+Nashville would be opened as quickly as the road could be repaired
+from Pulaski southward. Thomas also outlined for the spring a
+concerted advance of the columns into southern Alabama. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xlv. pt. ii. p. 402.] The same day he issued
+his order to Schofield to prepare at once for the march of a hundred
+and fifty miles to northern Georgia. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 409.] A
+march of the same distance southward along the Mobile and Ohio
+Railway would have carried us to Hood's camps at Tupelo, with a
+prospect of immediate results, and we were not exhilarated by the
+order, which, however, was countermanded on the 30th in consequence
+of dispatches received by Thomas from Halleck.
+
+General Grant had, on the 16th, authorized Sherman to make his own
+plan for a new campaign, and the latter had indicated the march from
+Savannah to Columbia and thence to Raleigh as that which he would
+make if left to himself. [Footnote: _Id._, vol. xliv. pp. 727-729.]
+The necessity of reducing the war expenses as soon as possible, as
+well as more purely military reasons, seemed to the General-in-Chief
+to make a continuous winter campaign imperative, and by his orders
+Halleck had directed Thomas not to go into winter quarters, but to
+assemble his army at Eastport and prepare for further active work.
+[Footnote: _Id._, vol. xlv. pt. ii. p. 441.] Grant rightly concluded
+that Hood's army would be sent to the Carolinas as soon as Sherman
+marched northward. He was therefore considering combinations of
+Thomas's with Canby's forces for the capture of Mobile and a
+movement on Selma, Ala., which was the only great armory and
+manufacturing centre now remaining to the Confederates in the Gulf
+States. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlv. pt. ii. pp. 419,
+420.] Our army was a good deal worn with the hardships of the
+campaign, our wagon trains had not been brought up to the
+requirements for full field service, and we were receiving new
+troops which were not yet fully assimilated to the old; but the
+advantages of following up our successes by unflagging efforts in
+the West as well as in the East, and of making the "long pull and a
+pull all together" which would end the war, were so plain that all
+responded cheerily to the call.
+
+But in the Twenty-third Corps a new element entered into the debate,
+which resulted, a fortnight later, in orders for us to move in a
+widely different direction. On the 27th, the day that we received at
+Columbia the news that Sherman had taken Savannah, Schofield wrote
+an unofficial letter to Grant, suggesting that the corps would no
+longer be needed for the spring campaign which Thomas was then
+planning, and that with its increase of strength it might be of more
+use in Grant's own operations in Virginia if it was not practicable
+for us to rejoin Sherman. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 377.] Circumstances
+were making Schofield's situation in Tennessee uncomfortable, for,
+as he said in the same letter, he was in an anomalous position,
+nominally commanding a department and an army, but practically doing
+neither. Such considerations reinforced the military reasons, but
+the latter were strong enough to establish the wisdom of his
+suggestion to Grant. He wrote at the same time to General Sherman,
+indicating that his strongest wish would be to join the army at
+Savannah if it should be feasible, for he recognized the great
+military importance of now concentrating against Lee. [Footnote:
+"Forty-six Years," p. 254.] It happened that on the same day that
+Schofield was writing these letters, Grant was writing to Sherman,
+expressing his pleasure in the latter's confidence of his ability to
+march through the Carolinas, and his own belief that it could be
+done. "The effect of such a campaign," he said, "will be to
+disorganize the South, and prevent the organization of new armies
+from their broken fragments." [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xliv. p. 820.] Giving a sketch of the situation in the West, he
+thought Sherman's advance would force the Confederacy to use Hood's
+broken army without allowing it time to collect its deserters and
+reorganize. As it would thus be "wiped out for present harm," he was
+considering the plan of ordering A. J. Smith away from his temporary
+connection with Thomas's main army, and bringing him with ten or
+fifteen thousand men to Virginia to make his own army strong enough
+to deal effectually with Lee, whether the Confederate general
+continued to defend Richmond or should abandon that city. [Footnote:
+_Ibid_.] Schofield's suggestion fitted so well the plan Grant was
+revolving in his mind, that he decided to bring the Twenty-third
+Corps East, instead of Smith's. On the 7th of January he directed
+Thomas to send Schofield and the corps to him with as little delay
+as possible, if he were sure that Hood had gone further south than
+Corinth. [Footnote: _Id_., vol. xlv. pt. ii. p. 529.] When Thomas
+received the order on the 11th, he was at Paducah on the Ohio River,
+and about to start up the Tennessee by steamboat. We were at Clifton
+on the Tennessee, after a hard march of some seventy miles southwest
+from Columbia, and were awaiting steamboats to take us up to
+Eastport, wholly ignorant of the surprise that was in store for us.
+[Footnote: _Id_., pt. i. p. 363.] Even Schofield had received no
+word from Grant as to his action.
+
+In making this outline of the changing plans of our superiors, I
+have outrun the current of my personal experience in which some
+things may be worth noting. On the day after the battle of
+Nashville, I was conscious of malarial poisoning from the specially
+unwholesome conditions of our bivouac on the night of the 16th, but
+was so confident in the vigor of my constitution in throwing off
+such ailments that I paid no attention to my health, and kept about
+my duties with my ordinary activity. I found, however, that my
+strength was not equal to the demands upon it, and by the time we
+reached the Duck River on the 23d of December, I was glad to find
+quarters at the house of Mrs. Porter, in the bend of the river,
+where we had been during the two days before the battle of Franklin,
+and where we were again received with a kindness and hospitality
+which was wonderful when one considers how the passing and repassing
+of armies had ruined the country and overstrained the sympathies of
+the people.
+
+Fortunately for me, our movements were suspended for a week and we
+made but one change of camp, crossing to the south side of the
+river, and taking the position in front of Columbia which I have
+already mentioned. [Footnote: _Ante_, p. 373.] My medical director,
+Surgeon Frink, gave me heroic treatment, and by the time we marched
+again on the 2d of January, I was able to do my ordinary duties,
+though I did not become quite well again till I reached the
+sea-coast and got a complete change of climate. At this time we were
+expecting to go into winter quarters, and when, on 29th December, I
+learned that orders were issued for the corps to winter at Dalton, I
+requested and received a leave of absence for thirty days, to go
+home and recover my health. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlv.
+pt. i. p. 361.] My order had been issued, turning over the command
+to Colonel Doolittle, the senior brigade commander present,
+[Footnote: _Id._, pt. ii. p. 476.] when I learned from General
+Schofield that the active campaign was to be resumed and that he had
+abandoned the purpose he had formed of going north himself as far as
+Louisville. I immediately rescinded my own order, and marched with
+the command. [Footnote: _Id._, pp. 426, 474, 475, 486.]
+
+During the pursuit of Hood from Nashville, Thomas had followed in
+person the Fourth Corps, which was in advance of ours, and Schofield
+had no opportunity of personal conference with him, so that our only
+knowledge of his purposes was got from the formal correspondence
+with his headquarters. When Colonel Doolittle sent forward his
+communication reasserting the capture of the battery in the curtain
+of the Confederate works on the 16th of December, [Footnote: _Ante_,
+p. 366.] it was accompanied by my own and indorsed by General
+Schofield. It reached Thomas at Duck River, and he made it the
+occasion of indorsing upon it a recommendation for my promotion to
+the grade of Major-General. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlv.
+pt. ii. pp. 234, 235.] On the 19th, from Franklin, General Schofield
+made his own recommendation in terms which I may be pardoned for
+feeling more pride in than in the promotion itself. [Footnote: See
+Appendix C.] This was earnestly supported by General Thomas and
+forwarded on the 20th. The only vacancy in the grade was one made by
+the resignation of General McClernand, and to this I was assigned,
+as of the 7th of December, the date of General Schofield's report of
+the battle of Franklin, though the official notice of the promotion
+did not reach me till the 15th of January, at Clifton, as we were
+about to take steamboats for our movement to the East. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xlv. pt. ii. pp. 273, 274; _Id_., pt. i. p.
+364. Army Register for 1865, pp. 54, 95. Another vacancy occurred on
+the 13th December, by the resignation of General Crittenden, and to
+this General W. B. Hazen was appointed for his assault of Fort
+McAllister near Savannah. (_Ibid_.) On December 22d Mr. Stanton
+asked Thomas to make a list of promotions he desired to recommend,
+but informed him that there was then no vacancy in the grade of
+Major-General, and only two in that of Brigadier. (Official Records,
+vol. xlv. pt. ii. p. 307.) General Schofield thinks that Stanton, in
+the dispatch last mentioned, referred only to vacancies in the
+regular army. (Forty-six Years, p. 279.) The circumstances and the
+whole correspondence seem to me inconsistent with this view. Thomas
+made out his list on the 25th, and it was for promotions in the
+volunteer service only. (Official Records, vol. xlv. pt. ii. p.
+343.) Thomas's own promotion as Major-General in the regular army
+was made on the 24th. (_Id_., pp. 318, 329.)]
+
+Before leaving Columbia, General Schofield had, on the 28th of
+December, a consultation with his three division commanders in
+regard to the assignment of the new regiments, to the number of
+twelve or thirteen, which had been added to the corps. [Footnote:
+These included two or three which had been temporarily attached at
+Franklin, but were now made permanent parts of the organization.] It
+was agreed that it was best to preserve the older organizations of
+divisions and brigades, and to strengthen these by some new
+regiments, while the rest of the new regiments were organized into a
+division under General Ruger. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlv.
+pt. ii. p. 409.] Schofield had the promise of several other
+regiments whenever they should come forward; and by correspondence
+with Halleck and with the Governor of Illinois, as well as with
+Thomas, he was actively striving to bring the corps to the proper
+strength of three full divisions. At the end of the month we had
+15,000 men, with at least two other regiments ordered to join us,
+one of them convalescing from the measles, which was very apt to run
+through a new organization taking the field. [Footnote: _Id._, pp.
+426, 436, 445, 461, 473, 475.] The new troops were nearly all
+officered by men of experience, and contained many veterans who had
+re-enlisted. We thus welcomed back valuable men who had served in
+the corps, and came to us with increased rank and a renewed zeal
+which made our reinforcements at once nearly equal to seasoned
+troops.
+
+Our orders to march from Columbia on the 1st of January were in
+pursuance of the orders Thomas had received to concentrate his army
+at Eastport and Tuscumbia for the continuance of the campaign. The
+Fourth Corps was _en route_ to Huntsville, and Thomas did not change
+its destination, as he thought it could take part in new movements
+as well from that position as from Tuscumbia. A. J. Smith's corps
+had already been ordered to Eastport for winter quarters, and had
+marched from Pulaski by way of Lawrenceburg and Waynesborough,
+reaching Clifton on the 2d of January, where it awaited steamboat
+transportation. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlv. pt. ii. pp.
+396, 410, 420, 427, 486. Clifton is called Carrollville in official
+Atlas, pl. cxlix. The former name is that used in the dispatches and
+which we found in use by everybody. The roads and topography in the
+map are very incorrect.] Thomas himself was at Pulaski, and went
+back by rail to his headquarters at Nashville, whence he took a
+steamer to convey his field headquarters and staff by way of the
+Cumberland and Tennessee rivers to Eastport. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xlv. pt. ii. pp. 470, 530, 567.]
+
+We marched from Columbia on the morning of the 2d of January, 1865,
+following the turnpike to Mt. Pleasant, ten miles, through some of
+the finest farms in the State. The afternoon was spent in organizing
+the corps to move in separate columns by division, each with its own
+supply train; for the information we got as to the condition of the
+roads made it wise to try any country roads which had not been used
+by the armies. It was arranged that Couch's division should march by
+the turnpike to Waynesborough, wind by a ridge road through the
+"barrens" north of the turnpike, and Ruger should follow me some
+distance, and then take an intermediate road through Laurel-Hill
+Factory, leaving an interval of a day's march between our columns.
+Couch's division was preceded by the engineer battalion of the
+corps, as pioneers to repair the turnpike. [Footnote: _Id_., pp.
+475, 486.] Promptly at six o'clock on the 3d, my division marched
+from Mt. Pleasant, continuing for five miles on the Waynesborough
+turnpike, then turning to the right upon the Gordon road, we climbed
+by a steep and long hill to the barren ridge which is the watershed
+between the Duck River and Buffalo River. Five miles from the
+turnpike our way ran into the Beaverdam road, which we kept for five
+miles further to the fork of the Ashland road, turning to the left.
+Here we camped and waited for our trains, which had slow work in
+climbing the ridge, for it had rained all the morning, and the roads
+were slippery. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. i. p. 362; pt. ii. p. 498.]
+
+It was noon of the 4th before the trains overtook us, and I then
+ordered an issue of rations to lighten them, and we started again,
+with a citizen for a guide. We followed the Perryville road seven
+miles to the headwaters of Grinder's Creek, a tributary of Buffalo
+River, and down the creek three miles, the road being a mere track
+in its bed. We now turned to the right over a ridge and came down
+into Rockhouse Creek, the course of which we followed to the river.
+I had learned that we must ford the Buffalo, and from the wet
+weather it would be whole leg deep. It was getting late in the day,
+and Rockhouse Creek had to be crossed many times; so I passed the
+order along the line not to try to bridge, but to march straight
+through the creek and make the more important crossing of the river
+before going into camp. This seemed hard, in the month of January,
+when, as it had cleared and was cold, ice was forming in the still
+places of the stream; but I heard that open farm lands bordered the
+river on the other side, and if our wading was done all at once, we
+could make the men dry their clothes and shoes with less danger to
+health than if we began another day with a soaking. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xlv. pt. i. p. 362.]
+
+It grew dark several hours before we reached Buffalo River, the
+column plodding along in the wooded ravine. I had turned out from
+the road to wait for the brigades to pass, and have a word with the
+commanders in turn, and was picking my way to the head of column
+again, when I overheard one of those little colloquies between
+soldiers which give real pleasure to an officer. A fresh recruit was
+grumbling at marching in the darkness and in the water, and
+wondering what generals could mean by putting such hardships upon
+the soldiers, when a veteran by his side answered cheerily, "When
+you've been in this division as long as I have, you'll know there's
+some good reason for pushing us this way; so take it easy, and don't
+growl. The General knows what he's about." I turned further out into
+the darkness, with a feeling that it would cheapen the brave man's
+words to let him learn who had heard him, but the evidence of the
+trust which is the foundation of soldierly devotion gave a deep
+satisfaction. When the column reached the river, which was about
+seventy-five yards wide, fires were lit on both sides as guides to
+the ford, and though it was near nine o'clock, the men were not
+permitted to rest till they had thoroughly dried themselves around
+the great fires of fence-rails. They did not need orders to boil
+their coffee and cook a hot supper in their bivouac. The broad
+fields between the hills and the river were illuminated far and
+wide, and the stillness of the dark valley was transformed into the
+noisy activity of the armed host. All in the camp were "merry as
+grigs," and did not need to be told why the march had been prolonged
+into the night. But the fun of the soldier was the grief and dismay
+of the farmer.
+
+The place belonged to an elderly man named Churchill. We had to make
+use of his house for headquarters, and while our boys were cooking
+our supper, a busy group of officers was seated about the crackling
+fire in an open fireplace, writing dispatches and orders, receiving
+reports, and sending messages, while in the shadows of the
+background the farmer and his wife were moving uneasily about,
+looking out of door or window, and wringing their hands at the
+vision of destruction which had suddenly descended upon them. The
+old man protested at the burning of his fences, naturally enough,
+and all we could say was that, in the end, if he could prove his
+loyalty, he would be indemnified for his loss; but this was small
+consolation, and we pitied him whilst we applied the pitiless code
+of military necessity to save the troops from worse mischiefs.
+
+The ridge road we had followed had been so completely a wilderness
+that we saw but one inhabited house for fifteen miles. The hillsides
+were covered with a young forest, the original woods having been cut
+off and made into charcoal for the iron furnaces of the region. In
+good weather it would have been easy marching through the region,
+for the top of the ridge was fairly level, winding along in a
+general westerly direction; but as the road had never been "worked,"
+and was a mere wagon track, it soon became muddy, and our wagons cut
+it so deeply as to spoil it for the use of any who were to follow
+us, and to make about fifteen miles a day the most we could
+ourselves accomplish.
+
+Starting again on the 5th, we marched through Ashland, [Footnote: In
+the Atlas, pl. cxlix., Ashland is erroneously placed north of
+Buffalo river.] up the valley of Forty-eight-mile Creek and thence
+along a ridge to Waynesborough, encamping just beyond the town. Our
+road ran into the turnpike two miles east of the village, and we met
+Couch's division at the junction of the roads. We took the advance,
+which we kept during the next day's march to the Tennessee, reaching
+Clifton toward evening of the 6th, after a very hard day's work, the
+weather beginning with rain in the morning and turning to sleet and
+snow after noon. We pitched our tents in the snowstorm, locating the
+camp more than a mile from the landing-place, as the eligible ground
+nearer was occupied by Smith's corps, which was waiting for
+transports to take them up the river.
+
+It was a desolate outlook. A few chimneys and two or three houses
+marked the site of what had once been a flourishing village, but
+which had been burned in the guerilla warfare of the last year. The
+landscape was bare, the trees having disappeared in the demand for
+camp-fires, as different bodies of troops had camped there from time
+to time. The bluff above the river was level and monotonous, and the
+great turbid stream rolling northward reflected only the heavy
+stormy skies. The only consolation we could gather was that
+Eastport, for which we supposed we were bound, was more desolate,
+more muddy, and a worse camping-ground.
+
+The other divisions of the corps halted at Waynesborough for two or
+three days, till transports should take Smith's corps away and give
+us our turn at the landing. General Schofield joined me on the
+afternoon of the 7th, and on Sunday, the 8th, a fleet of transports
+came down the river, convoyed by three gunboats under Rear-Admiral
+Lee. They had taken part of Smith's troops to Eastport and had
+returned for the rest. A pleasant recollection of the time is the
+acquaintance then begun with the Admiral, which was afterwards
+renewed at Washington when I met him in the attractive circle of the
+Blair families, both the elder Francis P. Blair, and Montgomery,
+with whom Admiral Lee was connected by marriage. When the fleet was
+gone again, the rest of our corps gathered at Clifton, but we seemed
+shut off from all communication with the outer world. We had broken
+our connection with the country we had left, in the expectation of
+having our base on the lower Tennessee, and our supplies were
+getting short. An occasional steamboat would go by us, steaming up
+the river without stopping. Feeling the necessity of getting news
+from General Thomas below, General Schofield ordered me, on the 9th,
+to send a piece of artillery to the river bank and force up-bound
+boats to stop and report. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlv. pt.
+ii. p. 557.] On the same day Schofield issued his order for the
+movement by transports up the river, giving the method of shipping
+the troops by divisions, each with its own artillery, baggage, and
+ordnance trains. Open barges were provided for the artillery and
+ordnance, and these were to be lashed alongside the steamboats on
+which the troops and the regimental baggage would be loaded. The
+method was arranged in consultation with Admiral Lee, to whom the
+division commander was ordered to report during the transit.
+[Footnote: _Ibid._] The intent was to keep each division together as
+a military unit, with its baggage, guns, and trains, so that it
+could take care of itself when landed. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 557.]
+
+Nearly a week passed, the only variation in the monotony being the
+changes of the weather, which went through the cycle of raining,
+snowing, clearing, thawing, and freezing which had been regularly
+marked during the season. The delays in reaching the up-river
+rendezvous, the complete absence of all news, the wearying effect of
+waiting, all told upon the troops in a depressing way. General
+Schofield evidently had little faith that much would be done before
+spring, and the fact that he had heard nothing from his letters to
+Grant and Sherman left him without the means of relieving the
+general tendency to apathy and discontent under which we were
+suffering. In my own case I had the further discomfort of physical
+ailing, for though the worst symptoms of my illness had been
+mitigated, I was far from my usual vigor. The undeniable result of
+this appeared in my home letters, and it would not be altogether
+honest to suppress the hearty bit of private grumbling which I
+indulged in.
+
+Writing on the 13th, after noting the utter lack of stability in the
+weather and its effect on our operations, I broke out on the
+personal results of the winter campaigning. "I am getting ragged and
+barefoot," I said. "My boots are worn out, my coat is worn out, my
+waistcoats are worn out, my hat is worn out, and I am only whole and
+respectable when I am in my shirt and drawers. If I ever get near
+civilization again, I shall be obliged to lie abed somewhere till I
+can get some clothes made. I don't wonder the Washington people want
+to have the campaign go on, and if they would apply a little of the
+'go ahead' to the army on the James, would appreciate it still
+better. Here we know to an absolute certainty that the army is stuck
+in the mud; but the administration would not believe General Thomas
+when he told them so, and force him to pretend to move, with the
+fear of being superseded hanging over him, whilst he knows that any
+effective movement is impossible. We can ruin our horses and mules,
+and put half our men in hospitals without getting twenty-five miles
+from the Tennessee unless the weather changes, and this is all we
+can do. Hood can laugh at us unless the Mobile and Ohio Railroad can
+be repaired as we go and be made to furnish us supplies. If this
+could be done, or if the season would permit us to chase the rebels
+right into the gulf, I would be perfectly content to stay, and in
+fact couldn't be coaxed to go home; but knowing what I know, I feel
+perfectly sure that I might as well be making a biennial visit to my
+family as not."
+
+On the day after this letter was written General Thomas came up the
+river with a fleet of transports which we were ordered to take for a
+movement down instead of up the river. The word spread that we were
+going to join Sherman, and though this meant journeys by boat, by
+rail, and by ocean ships, two thousand miles or more, our camps
+leaped from apathy to enthusiasm, such creatures of circumstance we
+are! Looking back at the situation, I have to admit that Grant's
+plan of keeping everything moving was the right one, and that if
+hopeful energy and enterprise could have combined Canby's movements
+with ours, and we had all been told that this active co-operation
+was afoot and would soon take us southward where we would meet the
+coming spring while Tennessee was still shivering in the winter
+storms, we should all have caught the spirit of the opportunity and
+cheered our leaders on. But this impulse in an army must come from
+the head downward. The trudging columns perfectly know the fatigue,
+the cold, the mud. They very imperfectly catch the larger view which
+stimulates to great effort by the hope of great results. In a
+council of war the division commanders would probably advise delay
+in sympathy with the hardships of the troops, when the same officers
+would have sprung with ardor to the work under a brief and strong
+appeal from a confident leader, presenting the broader reasons for
+energetic persistent activity. It was this quality of leadership in
+Sherman which made Grant say to Stanton in December, "It is
+refreshing to see a commander, after a campaign of more than seven
+months' duration, ready for still further operations without wanting
+any outfit or rest." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlv. pt. ii.
+p. 264.]
+
+Thomas did not stop at Clifton except to send us his orders, and
+went on to Eastport, arriving there on the morning of the 15th. From
+that place he reported that Hood's infantry, much disorganized, was
+at Tupelo, West Point, and Columbus, Miss. Forrest's cavalry, in
+similar condition, was about Okolona. Roads were almost
+impracticable, but the high water in the river made it easy to get
+supplies to Eastport by the largest steamers. [Footnote: _Id_., pp.
+586, 593. General Schofield does not remember seeing General Thomas
+in Tennessee after December 25th ("Forty-six Years," p. 276), and
+this accords with my impression that Thomas did not stop at Clifton
+long enough for us to visit him.] As to our new movement, Mr.
+Charles A. Dana, Assistant Secretary of War, had been intrusted with
+the supervision of the transfer, and sent west Colonel L. B. Parsons
+of the Quartermaster's Department to collect a fleet of steam-boats
+at Louisville for the purpose. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 560, 568, 586.]
+But meanwhile, under Thomas's orders, the fleet of transports had
+been collected and had come for us, and the troops were joined by
+Colonel Parsons when they reached the Ohio. He then took charge of
+the transportation by boat and by rail. [Footnote: Dana's
+Recollections, pp. 253, 254.] As the transfer would take ten days or
+more, Schofield arranged to go on in advance to close up business at
+Louisville and for consultations with Grant and Halleck by
+telegraph. I went with him to Cairo, where we took railway trains,
+and I was authorized to go to my home in Ohio to recuperate until he
+should telegraph me from Washington. The command of the corps _en
+route_ was given to General Couch. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xlv. pt. ii. p. 588.] As we were leaving the Military Division of
+the Mississippi, Colonel Doolittle was obliged to give up the
+command of Reilly's brigade and return to his own regiment. Reilly
+rejoined the corps after we reached North Carolina. The
+convalescents of Sherman's army and his recruits were collected in a
+provisional division under General Thomas Francis Meagher, took
+steamboats at Nashville, and made part of the same general transfer
+to the East. There was an amusing coincidence when the brilliant
+Irish "patriot" telegraphed that his fleet had started, "the Saint
+Patrick leading the way." [Footnote: _Id._, pp. 564, 600, 613.]
+Colonel Wright, Sherman's efficient chief of railway construction,
+had been ordered, a little earlier, to proceed eastward with one
+division of the construction corps with the object of joining
+Sherman at Savannah. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 393.] Changing
+circumstances, however, brought him as well as Meagher's division
+into our column a little later, as will soon appear. In a similar
+way General S. P. Carter joined us by transfer from duties at
+Knoxville, [Footnote: _Id._, p. 620.] and General George S. Greene,
+of the Twentieth Corps, who had been serving on a court-martial at
+Washington, was also temporarily attached to our command till he was
+able to join his own organization, which was with Sherman.
+[Footnote: _Id._, p. 623.]
+
+The reduction of Thomas's forces could not have been altogether
+agreeable to him, though he no doubt preferred it to the continuance
+of a winter campaign under imperative orders from Washington. He had
+not ceased to believe that it was better to rest and refit his army
+till spring;[Footnote: _Id._, p. 621.] but Grant insisted that he
+"must make a campaign or spare his surplus troops," and though
+Thomas was a model of obedience to orders, his continued opposition
+of opinion, frankly expressed, naturally led to the detachment of
+our corps. The discussion of the subject between Grant and Halleck
+clearly stated the reasons which were conclusive. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xlv. pt. ii. pp. 609, 610, 614; also vol.
+xlvii. pt. ii. pp. 101, 859.] Thomas suffered mentally under the
+pressure and the criticisms of the whole campaign, and we may
+personally share his pain in sympathy with the noble man, whilst we
+admit that Grant's views were such as the situation demanded. Those
+who knew Thomas intimately knew that he was a man of quick feeling
+if of slow action; and his nature was truthfully described by his
+quartermaster, Colonel Donaldson (who was an old and intimate
+friend), in a letter to General Meigs, after a parting interview on
+the steamboat as Thomas left Nashville for Eastport. "He opened his
+heart to me," says Donaldson. "He feels very sore at the rumored
+intentions to relieve him, and the major-generalcy does not
+cicatrize the wound. You know Thomas is morbidly sensitive, and it
+cut him to the heart to think that it was contemplated to remove
+him. He does not blame the Secretary, for he said Mr. Stanton was a
+fair and just man." [Footnote: _Id_., vol. xlv. pt. ii. p. 561.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVI
+
+CAMPAIGN IN NORTH CAROLINA--CAPTURE OF WILMINGTON
+
+
+Rendezvous at Washington--Capture of Fort Fisher--Schofield ordered
+to North Carolina--Grant and Schofield visit Terry--Department of
+North Carolina--Army of the Ohio in the field--Correspondence of
+Grant and Sherman--Sherman conscious of his risks but hopeful of
+great results--His plan of march from Savannah--Relation of
+Wilmington to New Berne--Our arrival at Washington--The Potomac
+frozen--Peace conference at Fort Monroe--Interview with Mr.
+Stanton--The thirteenth amendment of the Constitution--Political
+excitement at the capital--A little dinner-party--Garfield, H. W.
+Davis, and Schenck--Davis on Lincoln--Destination of our
+army--Embarkation--Steamship "Atlantic"--Visit to Fort Monroe--The
+sea-voyage--Cape Fear Inlet--General Terry's lines--Bragg the
+Confederate commander--Reconnoitring his lines--The colored
+troops--"Monitor" engaged with Fort Anderson--Alternate
+plans--Marching on Wilmington by the west bank of the river--My
+column opposite the town--Orders not applicable to the
+situation--Difficulty of communication--Use of
+discretion--Wilmington evacuated--A happy result.
+
+
+On Thursday the 26th of January, 1865, I received a telegram from
+General Schofield directing me to join my command without delay, and
+I started from my home in northern Ohio the same evening. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii. p. 131.] I had spent a week in
+a delightful visit with my family after two years of absence from
+them, and had been rapidly improving in health. The growing faith
+that the campaign of the winter and spring would end in complete
+victory for the national arms created an ardent zeal to be about it
+and to have an active hand in the final scenes. Our orders had
+indicated Annapolis as our port of rendezvous, and our destination
+the Army of the Potomac in front of Petersburg. [Footnote: _Id._,
+vol. xlv. pt. ii. pp. 529, 586.] On reaching Annapolis Junction in
+the night of the 28th, I learned that my division was in Washington,
+and followed it, arriving there in the morning of the 29th.
+[Footnote: To get an adequate idea of the task of transporting an
+army corps so great a distance, one should look at Colonel Parsons's
+report, including 250 dispatches. Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt.
+ii. pp. 215-284.]
+
+The change from Annapolis to Washington and Alexandria had been made
+by Grant upon a suggestion of General Halleck that there was no
+shelter at Annapolis for such a body of troops, whilst there was
+enough at the capital. As the winter weather was then severe, this
+thoughtfulness saved the command much suffering. [Footnote: _Id_.,
+vol. xlv. pt. ii. p. 596.] The military situation had also changed
+materially by the capture of Fort Fisher on the North Carolina
+coast, on the very day we embarked on the transports at Clifton
+(January 15th). This capture by the forces under General A. H. Terry
+was one step in the preparation of a new base for Sherman in his
+march northward through the Carolinas, and Grant was most anxious
+that it should be followed by the occupation of Wilmington. His
+desire to strengthen his own army was made secondary to his
+determination to make Sherman's movement an assured success. He
+wrote to Sherman on the 21st that he would send Schofield to
+Wilmington, if, as was rumored, the fall of that place had followed
+the capture of Fort Fisher. [Footnote: _Id_., vol. xlvii. pt. ii. p.
+102.] On the 24th he had made up his mind to send Schofield there
+anyhow, and was going himself to inspect the fort and the situation
+at the mouth of Cape Fear River. He telegraphed for Schofield to
+join him on this visit to Terry, and the outline of the new campaign
+was then arranged. A new department of North Carolina was decided
+upon, Schofield was to command it, his army in the field to consist
+of two provisional corps besides the Twenty-third, of which Terry
+was to command one, and the other for a time fell to me. This field
+force was to retain our old title of the Army of the Ohio. On
+Schofield's recommendation the brevet rank of major-general was
+given to General Ruger, and that of brigadier to Colonel Henderson
+of the One Hundred and Twelfth Illinois, for services at Franklin.
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii. pp. 121, 179, 190,
+201.] Sherman had heard of the fall of Fort Fisher before he broke
+his communications with Savannah, and was assured of a new base
+there, even if the line from New Berne to Goldsborough should not be
+opened.
+
+The correspondence between Sherman and Grant at this time is very
+characteristic of both men, and throws a bright light on their
+unselfish friendship and their earnest purpose to bring the war to a
+successful end without rest or delay. In his letter of the 21st of
+January, after giving the latest details of his situation, Sherman
+adds: "I am told that Congress meditates a bill to make another
+lieutenant-general for me. I have written to John Sherman to stop it
+if it is designed for me. [Footnote: See Sherman Letters, p. 245.]
+It would be mischievous, for there are enough rascals who would try
+to sow differences between us, whereas you and I now are in perfect
+understanding. I would rather have you in command than anybody else,
+for you are fair, honest, and have at heart the same purpose that
+should animate all. I should emphatically decline any commission
+calculated to bring us into rivalry, and I ask you to advise all
+your friends in Congress to this effect, especially Mr. Washburne. I
+doubt if men in Congress fully realize that you and I are honest in
+our professions of want of ambition. I know that I feel none, and
+to-day will gladly surrender my position and influence to any other
+who is better able to wield the power. The flurry attending my
+recent success will soon blow over and give place to new
+developments." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii. p.
+103. In the same letter Sherman referred to the farewell order
+General Butler had addressed to his troops on being relieved of
+command. "I am rejoiced that Terry took Fisher," Sherman said,
+"because it silences Butler, who was to you a dangerous man. His
+address to his troops on being relieved was a direct, mean, and
+malicious attack on you, and I admired the patience and skill by
+which you relieved yourself and the country of him." In the address
+referred to, Butler had said: "I have been chary of the precious
+charge confided to me. I have refused to order the useless sacrifice
+of the lives of such soldiers, and I am relieved from your command.
+The wasted blood of my men does not stain my garments." (O. R, vol.
+xlvi. pt. ii. p. 71.) Such a publication made its author liable to
+court-martial, but Grant took no public notice of it, except to
+oppose his further assignment to duty. _Id_., vol. xlvii. pt. ii.
+pp. 537, 562. See also Sherman to Admiral Porter, _Id_., p. 104, and
+Grant to Sherman, _Id_., p. 859.]
+
+Replying on the 1st of February, Grant said: "I have received your
+very kind letter, in which you say you would decline, or are opposed
+to, promotion. No one would be more pleased at your advancement than
+I, and if you should be placed in my position and I put subordinate,
+it would not change our relations in the least. I would make the
+same exertions to support you that you have ever done to support me,
+and I would do all in my power to make our cause win." [Footnote:
+_Id_., p. 193.]
+
+That Sherman knew his campaign in the Carolinas would involve great
+risks, and had no blind confidence in his fortune, was shown by his
+reply to the well-known letter of congratulation which President
+Lincoln sent him upon the surrender of Savannah: [Footnote: _Id_.,
+vol. xliv. p. 809, and Sherman's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 166.] "The
+motto 'Nothing venture, nothing win,' which you refer to, is most
+appropriate, and should I venture too much and happen to lose, I
+shall bespeak your charitable inference." [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii. p. 18.]
+
+In writing to Grant also, on the 29th of January, in a very full and
+interesting letter, he said: "I expect Davis will move Heaven and
+earth to catch me, for success to my column is fatal to his dream of
+empire. Richmond is not more vital to his cause than Columbia and
+the heart of South Carolina." [Footnote: _Id_., p. 155.]
+
+[Illustration: Map: Northeast Georgia / South Carolina border area]
+
+
+The general plan which he adopted was to threaten both Charleston
+and Augusta with the wings of his army, keeping the enemy in doubt
+as to his purpose as long as possible, whilst he pushed his centre
+rapidly toward Columbia. He had no mind to waste time in serious
+operations against Charleston, for he knew that it must fall when
+his advance threatened to cut it off from communication with
+Richmond. From Columbia he planned to march on Raleigh by way of
+Goldsborough, the last-named place being connected by railroad with
+both Wilmington and New Berne, and being therefore the objective of
+General Schofield's movements from both seaports. Beaufort, the
+harbor of New Berne, was deeper than the mouth of Cape Fear River,
+and was therefore to be made the principal base of supply for
+Sherman when he should enter North Carolina; but Wilmington was so
+much further south that prudence required it to be first occupied
+and provisioned to give Sherman temporary supply, if any contingency
+should make it necessary to him before the railroad from New Berne
+to Goldsborough could be rebuilt. These subsidiary operations in
+North Carolina were to be our special task. [Footnote: For connected
+historical treatment of Sherman's march northward, and of the
+capture of Fort Fisher, see "March to the Sea," etc., chaps,
+viii.-xi.: Life of Sherman (Great Commanders' Series), chap. xii.]
+
+On reaching Washington, I found that my troops were just arriving on
+trains from the West. They were temporarily placed in barracks in
+the city, till the fleet of transports should be ready. The unusual
+severity of the winter had frozen the Potomac, and Annapolis was
+also blocked with ice, so that the quartermaster's department had to
+wait two or three days for a change of weather, before fixing the
+point of departure. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii.
+p. 154.] The time passed pleasantly for me, since it gave me the
+opportunity of renewing old acquaintance with public men, and of
+observing for myself the spirit which animated political circles at
+the capital. Mr. Lincoln with Mr. Seward had gone to Fort Monroe to
+meet Mr. Stephens and others, commissioned by the Richmond
+government to confer informally as to the possibilities of peace.
+The Confederate officials were at Grant's headquarters on the 1st of
+February, "very desirous of going to Washington to see Mr. Lincoln,"
+as the General-in-Chief wrote Sherman incidentally. From his
+interview with them, Grant was convinced that "the peace feeling
+within the rebel lines is gaining ground rapidly," but he added,
+"This, however, should not relax our energies in the least, but
+should stimulate us to greater activity." [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii. p. 194.]
+
+Going to pay my respects to Secretary Stanton at the War Department,
+I was met by him in an exceedingly cordial way, and in parting,
+after an interesting visit, he congratulated me on my promotion,
+saying I owed nobody any thanks for it, as it had been fully and
+fairly won. I owe it to him to mention this, for so much was current
+about the brusqueness of his intercourse with army officers, that he
+is entitled to the testimony that, on this as on all other occasions
+when I met him personally, nothing could be kinder or more
+considerate than his manner to me.
+
+My visit to Washington happened to include the day on which the
+constitutional amendment abolishing slavery passed the House.
+Breakfasting with Chief-Justice Chase, I met also Henry Ward
+Beecher, and the great historical event was, of course, the central
+subject of conversation. The forecast by such men of the effect upon
+the country and upon the world made a blending of solid wisdom with
+brilliant eloquence not to be forgotten. My friend Governor Dennison
+was Postmaster-General, and in his house I had full opportunity to
+judge of the keen, almost feverish interest with which public men
+and leading citizens were following the rapid march of both military
+and civil affairs. Coming, as I was, out of the rough winter
+campaign of the West for a brief halt in the centre of political
+activity, before sailing to the swamp-lined shores of Carolina,
+there was something almost unreal, though fascinating, in the
+contrast of the excitement of the field with the totally different
+but scarcely less absorbing excitement which I saw in every face.
+
+Garfield arranged a little dinner at which, besides himself, I met
+General Schenck and Henry Winter Davis, all of them playing leading
+roles in the House of Representatives. We four were alone, and it
+was a rare opportunity for me to hear unrestrained discussion of
+everything in public affairs. Nearly every phase of current
+political and military events was treated in brilliant and trenchant
+criticism, and the conversation turned at last upon the peace
+conference going on at Fort Monroe. Mr. Davis was a Marylander, who
+was second to none in uncompromising loyalty to the Union, and had
+an acknowledged pre-eminence in eloquent advocacy of the National
+cause. He, however, did not understand or appreciate Mr. Lincoln,
+and in the celebrated "Wade and Davis manifesto" of the previous
+year, had opposed the re-election of the President. He now let loose
+in a witty and scathing denunciation of Lincoln and all his works.
+The current epithets among the President's opponents, of which
+"baboon" was one of the mildest, were flung at him with a venom
+that, to me, was half shocking and half comical. The soldier habit
+of making the Hurrah for Lincoln our answering war-cry to the Hurrah
+for Davis of our enemies in the field, made a bewildering puzzle of
+such an outburst. The meeting with the Southern commissioners was
+denounced as a weak compromising of our cause. He saw no force in
+the argument that weak hearts among us would be strengthened when
+they saw that now as upon former overtures the Confederate
+authorities insisted upon independence as the necessary condition of
+peace, whilst Mr. Lincoln stood firmly for restoration of the Union
+and abolition of slavery as the essentials. The curious fact was
+that such a man, ably busied for four years in political
+co-operation with the President, living in the same city, in
+frequent personal contact with him, had utterly failed to measure
+his character and his intellect, or to get even a glimmering idea of
+what lay beneath that ungraceful exterior and that quaint and
+humorous speech. The elegant orator and polished man of the world
+felt no magnetism but that of repulsion; and his senses were so
+dulled by it that he never guessed the wisdom and the breadth, the
+subtle policy and the deep statesmanship, the luminous insight and
+the unfaltering purpose which now seem writ so plain in Lincoln's
+words and deeds.
+
+General Schenck did not appear to differ greatly from Davis, but
+what he said was in short, trenchant sentences, interjected from
+time to time. Garfield treated the outburst as a sort of
+extravaganza, and in his position as host did not seriously debate,
+but rallied his friend with good-humored persiflage, met his
+outbursts with jovial laughter and prodded him to fresh explosions
+by shafts of wit. It was a strange and not altogether exhilarating
+experience for me; but I had afterward to learn that the belittling
+view of Lincoln was the common one among public men in Washington.
+The people at a distance got a juster perspective, and knowing him
+by his written papers and his public acts, divined him better and
+gave him a loyal support hardly to be distinguished from their
+devotion to the cause of the country itself. We may fairly conclude
+that the failure of so many men near the President to understand him
+is not creditable to their sagacity; but we must also admit that a
+first impression and a superficial view would in his case be almost
+surely misleading, and that to correct it would take better
+opportunities for an intimate study of the man than most public men
+would have, and most would not care to seek them. The belittling
+view of men in power fits best our self-esteem.
+
+As soon as General Schofield got back from his trip to Fort Fisher
+with Grant, he had issued his orders for our movement which was to
+take place as soon as the ice would permit our transports to enter
+or leave the harbors on Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac. My own
+division was to take the lead and sail to Cape Fear River. Couch's
+would come next and land at Beaufort for operations on the New Berne
+line. Ruger's (the new troops) would sail last, and find orders at
+Fort Monroe in going down the bay, deciding whether its destination
+should be Wilmington or Beaufort. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xlvii. pt. ii. p. 135.] Meagher's provisional division of
+detachments belonging to Sherman's army was temporarily attached to
+us, for it was too late to join Sherman by way of Savannah. Meagher
+had ordered it to rendezvous at New York, but Grant changed its
+destination to Washington with the purpose just stated. Its
+commander had gone on to New York in advance without any
+understanding with army headquarters, and the convivial and
+unsystematic Irishman thereby fell into trouble. [Footnote: _Id._,
+pp. 116, 119, 126, 204, 293.]
+
+On Thursday the 2d of February, General Schofield was able to issue
+his final orders for embarkation. Only vessels enough for two
+brigades of my division had been able to reach Alexandria, and
+Casement's brigade was sent by rail to Annapolis to take ship there
+and to be followed immediately by Meagher's provisional command.
+[Footnote: _Id._, p. 213.] Friday was spent in getting troops on
+board the ships at Annapolis and systematizing their accommodation
+for the voyage. One of our transports was the "Atlantic," Captain
+Gray, which, as the crack ship of the Collins Line of New York and
+Liverpool packets, had led the van of the ocean greyhounds in the
+days of wooden hulls and side-wheels. General Schofield and myself
+made our headquarters on this ship. On each of the other vessels the
+senior officer was made responsible for all the troops on board, and
+was confidentially authorized, after it should enter Chesapeake Bay,
+to instruct the master of the ship to make the best of his way to
+Cape Fear Inlet as the rendezvous for the division. [Footnote:
+_Id._, p. 293.] General Grant had asked the War Department to
+arrange for a patrol of the coast by the navy during the transit of
+Schofield's little army. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 284.]
+
+On Saturday the 4th we had expected to start at daybreak, but a
+heavy fog delayed us. When it lifted, we made our way slowly down
+the Potomac, the drifting ice obstructing the passage so that we
+could only go at a snail's pace, backing and filling to keep in the
+ice openings and to save injury to the vessel. Starting at ten
+o'clock, we only reached the head of Kettlebottom Shoals by
+nightfall of the short winter day, making less than twenty miles.
+The passage of the shoals was too dangerous for so large a vessel in
+the dark, and we dropped anchor for the night. I had made it my
+first task on Friday evening to have a complete understanding with
+Captain Gray, and to get his suggestions as to the orders I desired
+to issue for the conduct and discipline of the troops while on board
+ship for which I was responsible. He was a gentleman of ability and
+large experience in his profession, and co-operated with me so
+cordially that our week on board the "Atlantic" was a most
+comfortable one, full of interest and enjoyment, though we met rough
+weather outside the capes. My order was issued on Saturday and
+rigidly enforced during the voyage. By Captain Gray's invitation I
+made my office in his chart-room on the upper deck, enforcing
+regular tours of duty for officers and men of the division, of whom
+nearly 2000 were on board. In the intervals, when the captain was
+not himself on the bridge, we exchanged stories of our very
+different experiences, and I found his conversation both interesting
+and instructive. We had besides, of course, the large circle of
+comrades and old friends in the cabin, and for those who escaped
+sea-sickness the hours never hung heavy. [Footnote: As the Records
+do not seem to contain many orders for the conduct of troops on
+transport ships, I insert that which I made for this voyage. It was,
+of course, supplemental to the Army Regulations of 1863, chap,
+xxxvii.
+
+"Special Orders
+
+No. 9.
+
+
+HEADQUARTERS, THIRD DIV., 23D ARMY CORPS,
+Steamship Atlantic, February 4, 1865.
+
+
+The following regulations will be strictly observed by the officers
+and men of this command during the present voyage:
+
+1. No open lights will be allowed in any part of the ship occupied
+by troops. The ship's lanterns will be arranged by the officers of
+the vessel in such a way as to light the decks during the night, and
+will not be opened or interfered with by the men.
+
+2. No smoking will be allowed in any part of the vessel used for
+sleeping except the open decks. The men may smoke in the open air
+upon the upper decks, and the brigade commander will provide for
+giving proper airing, and opportunity to smoke, to the men quartered
+below. Officers will smoke, either upon deck or in the smoking-room
+near the water-closets.
+
+3. The division and brigade commissaries will make arrangements with
+the steward of the ship for cooking the men's coffee and doing other
+necessary cooking for the command, and for serving the same out at
+regular hours.
+
+4. The canteens of the men may be filled with drinking water once
+each day, the men being marched by companies under their proper
+officers to the pump in the fore part of the ship for that purpose.
+
+5. The brigade commander, in consultation with the commander of the
+ship, will arrange for the perfect policing of the quarters, sinks,
+etc.
+
+6. The starboard side of the upper and main decks abaft of the
+engine, will be kept clear of men and reserved for the use of
+officers, both of the command and of the ship, during the day; and
+such portion of this space as may necessarily be occupied by the men
+for sleeping at night, will have a passage kept entirely clear for
+the use of the officers and crew of the vessel in working her at
+night. No men will at any time be allowed to go upon the roofs of
+the houses on the upper deck.
+
+7. Proper roll-calls will be established, and the line officers will
+be strictly required to attend them, and to make close personal
+inspections daily of the condition of their men, and to be
+personally in command of them when marched out for water, or coffee,
+or when on duty.
+
+8. An officer of the day will be daily appointed by the brigade
+commander, and shall have full charge of the execution of this
+order, and supervision of all the police arrangements of the
+command. Proper line officers will be detailed on guard duty, and
+sentries will be regularly posted at the bulkhead of the ship
+storeroom on the forward lower deck, at the sinks, over the lights
+at night, and on the middle line of the decks reserved under
+paragraph six.
+
+9. The officer of the day, after reporting at brigade headquarters
+each day, will report to the captain of the ship, in order that the
+ship's officers may know to whom to apply for any enforcement of
+these regulations.
+
+By command of Major-General Cox.
+
+
+(Signed) THEO. Cox,
+Capt. and Ass't Adj't-General."
+
+
+Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii. p. 303.]
+
+Weighing anchor at daybreak on Sunday morning, we passed Kettle
+Bottom Shoals safely, and found much more open water in the lower
+river. The day was mild and calm, and we made good progress to Fort
+Monroe, where we stopped in the evening to take on board a supply of
+ammunition. While this work was going on, I took advantage of the
+opportunity to land in a small boat and pass through the place by
+moonlight. As one of the largest and most important of the
+fortresses of the old style, with heavy walls of masonry, casemated,
+and with regular moat, it was an interesting study to a soldier, and
+all the more so as we were then in the full heat of the discussion
+of the relative value of such formal works compared with mere
+earthworks, of which Fort Fisher, to which we were bound, was a very
+striking example. It was admitted that modern ordnance could soon
+knock the walls into a rubbish-heap, but Fort Sumter had raised the
+supplementary debate, whether the rubbish-heap did not begin a new
+chapter in the defence, longer and more important than the first
+period of attack.
+
+As soon as the ammunition was on board and properly stowed, our
+voyage was resumed, and at daybreak we had passed out of Chesapeake
+Bay, joining our consorts of the transport fleet near Cape Henry,
+and were running down the coast along the even line of keys which
+lie as a breastwork against the Atlantic Ocean outside of the much
+indented coast proper of North Carolina. The wind was moderate and
+off shore, so that Captain Gray laid his course straight for Cape
+Hatteras, with only offing enough to keep in a good depth of
+water,--say fifteen or twenty miles. At intervals during the day we
+could see isolated clumps of pine-trees rising out of the water,
+like low-lying, blue clouds, so that we could hardly say that we
+were wholly out of sight of land. We passed Cape Hatteras late in
+the afternoon, about sunset, and as the coast now trends much more
+to the westward, with concave lines from Hatteras to Cape Lookout
+(near Beaufort), and from Lookout to Cape Fear, our course took us
+farther out to sea. I woke on Tuesday morning to find the ship
+pitching heavily and heavy rain sounding loud on the deck over my
+head, driven by gusts of wind. Doubts as to the reliability of my
+"sea legs" made me prudently keep my berth till about ten o'clock,
+when I went on deck to find a [Illustration: [map of south-central
+North Carolina at the South Carolina border]] dense fog and a high
+running sea. The rain had ceased, but the succeeding fog was a worse
+obstacle to navigation. We were nearly at our destination, and were
+feeling our way slowly along. My "doubts" vanished in the fresh air,
+and the bit of real seafaring was exhilarating. Most of the cabin
+passengers, however, failed to show themselves on deck, and the
+soldiers and officers whom duty kept there did not all enjoy it
+greatly. The recruiting regulations, just then, allowed transfers to
+the gunboat service of soldiers who had any experience even in
+inland navigation, and the impulse to change had made the subject a
+"burning question," even while we were in the West The inveterate
+practical jokers now had their opportunity, and a man leaning
+uneasily over the lee rail was sure to be offered the chance to
+enlist in the navy, with glowing eulogies of its superior comfort
+compared with marching in the mud. In the middle of the afternoon we
+dropped anchor in nine fathoms, but toward evening the fog lifted,
+and we ran further in, anchoring in seven fathoms, about a mile off
+the shore. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. i. p. 927.]
+Fort Fisher was abreast of us, on Federal Point, its big parapet
+looking like a long, low hill, with knobs upon it, rising from the
+beach of glittering white sand against a background of the pine
+forest. Admiral Porter's fleet lay at their moorings all around us,
+a few of the lighter vessels having crossed the bar and run into the
+mouth of Cape Fear River behind the fort, where the river channel
+was nearly parallel to the sea beach and less than a mile from it.
+We were at New Inlet, between Federal Point and Smith Island, or
+rather the long, narrow key which runs northward from the island.
+Cape Fear is the sharp southern point of Smith Island, some seven
+miles south of where we lay, and the old entrance was south and west
+of the cape, between the island and the mainland. [Footnote: See
+official Atlas, pl. cxxxix.]
+
+The landing of the troops was a difficult task, for the roughness of
+the sea made it impossible for another vessel to lie alongside the
+transports, and we had to resort to the slow and somewhat dangerous
+method of transferring the men from the ships to a light-draft
+steamer in the ship's small boats. A little wharf was on the inner
+side of Federal Point, but there the water was so shallow that even
+the light-draft propeller could not get to the wharf, and another
+transfer had to be made. Crossing the bar could only be done at high
+water or near it, and the time for work was consequently so much
+shortened that the whole of the 8th and 9th was used in landing the
+division. At sunset of the 9th the sea went down enough for the
+propeller to come alongside; the headquarters tents and baggage were
+transferred to her, and we took leave of the good ship "Atlantic."
+By the time this transfer was made, the tide was too low to let us
+pass in over the bar, and we had to pass the night on the dirty
+propeller, lying outside till eight o'clock of Friday the 10th, when
+we ran in at high tide, and after the second transfer resumed our
+character of land forces on the sandy shore of North Carolina. All
+the saddle horses of the command were, however, upon a freight ship
+that did not arrive for several days, and mounted officers who had
+lived in the saddle for years found it slow and tiresome work to
+wade on foot through the soft sands in the performance of military
+duty.
+
+General Terry with his forces was holding a line across Federal
+Point about two miles above Fort Fisher, [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xlvii. pt. i. p. 910.] and I directed my own troops to
+encamp a little in rear of Terry's line. My own quartermaster
+arranged with the chief of that department on the ground to send our
+headquarters tents and baggage with the division. Meanwhile, taking
+the little river steamboat which had made our final transfer to the
+shore, I visited General Schofield, who had his headquarters
+temporarily on the steamer "Spaulding," assigned to the medical
+department for hospital use, but which at the time had no sick or
+wounded on board. Like myself, he was for the nonce dismounted, and
+as he was contemplating movements up both sides of Cape Fear River,
+some means of ready communication with both banks was a necessity.
+With him I visited Admiral Porter on the flag-ship "Malvern," and a
+movement for next day, the 11th, was arranged. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xlvii. pt. i. p. 927.]
+
+[Illustration: Map]
+
+General Bragg was in command of the Confederate Department of North
+Carolina, to which he was assigned when General Lee, being made by
+law general-in-chief of the army, superseded him in the similar
+duties he had been performing by appointment of President Davis.
+Bragg's headquarters were at Wilmington. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii. pp. 1088, 1099.] Hoke's division was
+mostly in intrenchments across Federal Point about four miles above
+Fort Fisher, his right resting at Sugar-loaf Hill on the left bank
+of the river, and his left near the lower end of Myrtle Sound.
+Opposite Sugar-loaf, at Old Brunswick, was Fort Anderson, a strong
+earthwork with ten pieces of heavy ordnance, garrisoned by General
+Hagood with his brigade of two thousand men. [Footnote: Official
+Atlas, pl. cxxxii.; Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. i. pp. 911,
+1077.] The channel of the river was obstructed by torpedoes and
+other defensive devices. The enemy's fortifications on Smith Island
+and near Smithville had been abandoned when Fort Fisher fell,
+opening the way into the river above them.
+
+On board the "Malvern" it was arranged that a monitor and other
+vessels of the fleet which could cross the bar should ascend the
+river and engage Fort Anderson, whilst Terry's troops, supported by
+my division, should make a strong reconnoissance of Hoke's lines
+and, if they were found to be strongly held, establish counter lines
+near them, so that most of the forces could then be used for
+flanking operations. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 958.] Returning to my
+command, I found it encamped as had been ordered, and our
+headquarters tents in comfortable shape by the zealous labors of our
+servants aided by the headquarters guard. General Terry kindly sent
+over four horses as a mount for myself and my most necessary staff
+officers in the movement to begin in the morning. One of the first
+questions a soldier asks in regard to his camping-place is, Where is
+water to be got? One's first impression would be that on this flat
+tongue of sand covered only with a sparse growth of pines and scrub
+live-oak, with the ocean on one side and a tidal river on the other,
+fresh water would be scarce and brackish. But we were agreeably
+disappointed to find that near us, in the middle of the sands, was a
+juniper swamp and pond of which the water was sweet and wholesome,
+though from the juniper roots it had the bright brown color of
+coffee.
+
+On the 11th the movement was made as planned. Hoke's outposts and
+pickets were driven from their rifle-pits, and his main line at
+Sugar-loaf well reconnoitred. Terry's new line was established
+within small-arm range of the enemy and intrenched so that Hoke
+might be obliged to hold his own position in force. In the advance I
+was much interested in observing the conduct of the colored troops
+in General Paine's division, for I had never before seen them in
+action. They were well disciplined and well led, and went forward
+with alacrity in capital form, showing that they were good soldiers.
+I rode well forward purposely to watch their skirmishers, and was
+greatly pleased to see the pace they took and the lively way in
+which they followed up the Confederate outposts when once these were
+started.
+
+When the new position was taken up, I went to the river bank, and
+there, from a sand breastwork so white that it looked like a
+snow-drift, I watched with my field-glass a duel between the monitor
+"Montauk" and Fort Anderson. The monitor, which lay about a mile
+from the fort, was of the original single-turret form, armed with
+the large-calibre smooth-bores, which were fired with great
+deliberation and with surprising accuracy. I could not see how any
+rifled guns could have improved on their practice. The conical shot
+would, of course, have excelled in penetrating power and in range,
+but the big round shells seemed to be put just where the gunners
+wished. A group of men stood on the deck of the monitor behind the
+turret, and they frequently came out from its cover to watch the
+effect of the firing, having time to step back again, between the
+flash of the enemy's gun and the passing of the shot. The deck of
+the monitor, being almost awash, was no mark at all for the
+artillerists in the fort, and it would be the merest chance if a
+ricochet shot struck it. If it did, the very low angle of impact
+made it fly off without doing any harm. The turret was dented with
+some centre shots, as I saw when I visited the vessel later, but it
+was practically impregnable to the ordnance the Confederates used.
+On the other hand, the direct fire from the ship was limited in its
+effect to the displacement of earth on the parapet or the knocking
+away of the cheeks of the embrasures. The body of the garrison was
+kept out of range, and the artillerists were so close to the rampart
+that when shells exploded over them, the fragments flew beyond and
+there were few casualties.
+
+General Terry was left to hold the new line established in face of
+Hoke with Paine's division and Abbott's brigade, whilst my division
+and Ames's (of Terry's command) were marched back to camp near Fort
+Fisher. Schofield's own idea had been to send me with my own and
+Ames's divisions across the river to operate against Fort Anderson
+by the west bank and, by taking it, force the enemy to evacuate the
+Sugar-loaf position opposite. By thus concentrating on the bank most
+weakly held, we would by a sort of see-saw work them back till they
+must give up Wilmington or fight for it in the open. I was directed
+to be ready to cross the river on the 12th, but the order was
+countermanded, and it was determined to try a plan which would avoid
+the necessity of dividing the forces on the two sides of a large
+river. Colonel Comstock of Grant's staff, who had accompanied Terry
+as engineer in the taking of Fort Fisher [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xlvi. pt. ii. p. 30.] and who was still with us, had
+made a reconnoissance up the coast on the 11th, and found at Big
+Hill, three miles south of Masonboro Inlet, a position from which it
+seemed practicable to cover the collection and launching of enough
+pontoon boats to ferry a column of troops across Myrtle Sound. If
+this could be done with secrecy and speed till enough were over to
+make head against the enemy while the rest were crossing, Hoke's
+position would be turned and he would have to fall back upon more
+open country, where our whole force could be manoeuvred against him.
+
+On Comstock's suggestion Schofield determined to try the plan, which
+was a promising one if winds and waves would permit. The navy was to
+tow the boats to the place of rendezvous with a body of engineer
+troops under Comstock's orders, whilst Schofield led Ames's and my
+divisions by the shore. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt.
+ii. pp. 403,404.] The movement was made after dark on the evening of
+the 12th, but the bad weather had hardened down into a regular
+northeaster, and it proved impossible to tow the pontoon boats
+through the heavy sea. After a night of severe exposure we returned
+to camp to find many of our tents flattened by the gale. After a
+day's rest the effort was renewed on the 14th, but as the admiral
+reported that the sea was too rough for even the smaller steamers to
+go outside, the plan was modified so as to try drawing the boats on
+their trucks, though the number of our draft animals was as yet very
+small. [Footnote: _Id._, pp. 426, 427.] What with the heavy surf on
+the beach and the deep, soft sand beyond it, the weak teams could
+not pull the trucks far, and gave out before we reached the chosen
+position. As we turned back after midnight the moon was just rising,
+and the scene was a wild one, with the flying clouds and the foaming
+waves silvered by the moonlight; but the rarest sight was, just as
+half the moon's great disk was above the horizon, a ship of war
+stood against it, exactly framed in the semicircle of light as if
+drawn in black on the silver surface. The plan was an interesting
+one and would probably have succeeded in favorable weather, but the
+winter storm forbade. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt.
+ii. p. 437.]
+
+Then came the resumption of the original purpose, and I was assigned
+to command the column advancing from Smithville up the other bank of
+the river. One brigade of Couch's division (Moore's) had arrived,
+and it was ordered to report to me. Ames's division was also in the
+column till Fort Anderson was evacuated in the night of the 18th,
+when it rejoined Terry and I moved on against the Confederate
+position at Town Creek. [Footnote: _Id._, pt. i. p. 960; pt. ii. pp.
+492, 493.] Ferrying the unfordable stream, Hagood's brigade was
+attacked and routed on the 20th, capturing two cannon and nearly 400
+prisoners, including Colonel Simonton the commandant, Hagood himself
+having gone to Wilmington. [Footnote: _Id._, pp. 495, 509.] On the
+21st we pressed on to Brunswick Ferry, and saved part of the pontoon
+bridge there which the enemy had not been able to destroy
+completely. An advance-guard was got over on Eagle Island, the large
+swampy island lying in front of Wilmington, where the remnant of
+Hagood's brigade held the narrow causeway. Bragg had been to
+Richmond on an official visit, but was back at Wilmington and saw
+that the time to evacuate had come. The naval stores were set on
+fare, and the dense black pillars of smoke from the warehouses of
+resin and turpentine told us the story. [Footnote: _Id._, pp.
+1241-1245.]
+
+My route from Town Creek around Mcllhenny's mill-pond to Brunswick
+Ferry had taken me some three miles back from the river, and the
+broad swamps and rice-fields intervening made communication with
+General Schofield on the "Spaulding," very slow and difficult.
+[Footnote: Official Atlas, pl. cxxxii.] The sequel well illustrates
+the importance of complete confidence on the part of a subordinate
+that his chief will sanction and heartily approve the use of full
+discretion in circumstances where quick and full intercourse is
+impossible. By long service with General Schofield, I knew that he
+was no martinet, snubbing any independence of action, but an officer
+of sound and calm judgment, fairly considering the reasons we might
+have for any departure from the letter of an order. General Terry's
+troops were facing the greater part of Hoke's division in a position
+nearly opposite the mouth of Town Creek, and were meeting with
+stubborn resistance. It was known that Hardee's command, having
+evacuated Charleston, was moving northward to unite with the
+Confederates in North Carolina, and it was supposed to aim at
+reaching Wilmington. There were rumors that he had already joined
+Bragg.
+
+In these circumstances General Schofield had said to me, by a
+dispatch in the morning, "If you can destroy the bridge over
+Brunswick River or break the railroad to-day, do so, but be ready to
+cross the river early this evening near the mouth of Town Creek."
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii. p. 520] Early in
+the afternoon I reported progress, saying: "My head of column
+reached this place [Brunswick Ferry] about one o'clock. The rebels
+had partially destroyed their pontoon bridge, but from the creek I
+got several boats, and have put a regiment over on the island. They
+got most of the way across, when the enemy opened with one gun,
+commanding the straight road. As the rest of the island seems
+impracticably swampy, this checked our reconnoissance; but there can
+be little doubt the rebels are evacuating. They have made immense
+fires, the smoke of which you must have seen, indicating that they
+are destroying turpentine, etc. A few skirmishers were on the
+opposite side of Brunswick River when we reached it, but they ran at
+once. The enemy has destroyed all flatboats within reach, but I may
+hunt some up. I am pushing a reconnoissance further up the river, by
+way of threatening to cross above the island, and so hasten their
+movements. I shall put my command in position covering the crossing
+and the Georgetown road, and watch the movements, in the town. The
+railroad bridge across Brunswick River is partially destroyed, and
+we hear the cars on the other side of the town from here. I cannot
+doubt that General Terry will have an open road in the morning, and
+think from the general indications that I am entirely secure here. I
+will face in all directions and get all the intelligence I can,
+while awaiting orders. There is no railroad or other bridge over
+Cape Fear River." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii.
+p. 521.]
+
+Whilst this report was on the road to Schofield, a messenger who
+left the general about noon was slowly working his way to me,
+bearing this message: "My last report from General Terry indicates
+that he will not be able to force the enemy back from the position
+held by him last evening. General Terry thinks Hoke has his whole
+force in his front. It will therefore be necessary to transfer your
+troops to the east bank of the river to-night. The men will be put
+across in small boats near the mouth of Town Creek, unless Terry
+succeeds in effecting a lodgment higher up. In the latter event I
+will signal you. Otherwise move your troops to the mouth of Town
+Creek without further orders. Let your artillery and animals go down
+to Fort Anderson. I will have them sent from that place by steamers
+to Federal Point this evening. If you can destroy the bridges over
+Brunswick River to-day, do so; but in any event be ready to commence
+crossing the river by dusk or earlier, if practicable. You might
+perhaps send back a brigade or two while the others are doing the
+work." [Footnote: _Ibid._]
+
+At six o'clock, in the dusk of the evening, this letter reached me,
+and I instantly replied: "Your dispatch directing movement is only
+just received, the messenger having lost his way. As I am eight
+miles from the mouth of Town Creek, and it is already dark, your
+directions cannot be literally followed, and the circumstances
+impress me so strongly with the belief that the enemy are about to
+evacuate Wilmington to-night that I venture to send one brigade now
+and wait further orders before withdrawing all. It will take all
+night to get the whole command to Town Creek, and it seems
+impossible to cross them all, beginning at an hour so much later
+than you anticipated when sending the dispatch. Some engineers on
+the railroad who have come into my lines, several other citizens,
+and a number of slaves, all agree in reporting the intention of
+evacuating immediately. The destruction of immense quantities of
+property since I came up this evening looks the same way. I have
+collected and repaired nearly all of the pontoons and materials of
+the bridge, and had begun relaying them when your dispatch came. I
+cannot retire my own force now without it appearing a retreat. I
+would be entirely willing to stay here with one brigade, and should
+feel quite confident that I could at any time bring it off safely,
+if we remained here several days even. Thinking you would not desire
+more troops at Town Creek than you can cross to-night, I ... think
+it right to send the one brigade, and if more can cross, I can still
+send them, so as to be not much behind the others if the messenger
+makes reasonable haste. I believe I mentioned in a former dispatch
+that the rebels themselves destroyed the Brunswick River railroad
+bridge." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii. p. 522.]
+
+The orderly who reached me had been landed from a small boat and
+made his way to me on foot, and as he had eight or nine miles to
+walk by a wretched road, it was not strange that he was late in
+reaching me. Giving him his supper whilst I wrote my dispatch, I
+then mounted him on a horse, and sent with him another mounted man
+to bring the return message. My first messenger had tried to reach
+the river through the swamps at several points, but had not
+succeeded in getting within hailing distance of any vessels in the
+stream. He happened, however, to fall in with the second messengers
+in his wanderings, and was now taken to the place where a small boat
+was to be sent, and so it happened that both my dispatches reached
+Schofield together, but not till about half-past ten. Meanwhile, the
+general having heard nothing whatever from me, and getting
+unfavorable reports from Terry, wrote me again at a quarter-past
+seven.
+
+He said: "My orderlies and your signal officer seem to have got
+lost, and I have heard nothing from you since 10.30 A. M. I sent an
+order to you by an orderly on foot about noon, but do not feel at
+all certain that it has reached you. I want you to move back abreast
+of the fleet, just above the mouth of Town Creek, to-night, and be
+ready to cross the river at dawn of day in the morning. Send all
+your wagons and horses to Fort Anderson. The men will cross in small
+boats. Better send a regiment with your wagons, horses, and
+artillery. Should the enemy be in force in your front, it might be
+necessary to cross Town Creek before crossing the river. About this,
+act according to your judgment. I intended you to cross the river
+to-night, but it is now too late." [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xlvii. pt. ii. p. 522.]
+
+But whilst this last orderly was on his dark and weary way to me, my
+two dispatches finally got through, and at 10.20 Schofield wrote me
+from the cabin of the "Spaulding" as follows: "Your dispatch of 6
+P.M. is just received, and is highly satisfactory. The one of an
+earlier date, but the hour not given, came at the same time. About
+seven o'clock I sent another to you directing you to come back. I
+hope this will reach you in time to take its place. My orders were
+based on General Terry's report of an increase of the force in his
+front, and that of prisoners that Hardee's forces had arrived from
+Charleston. I think you would certainly have learned it if the
+latter were true That you have sent one brigade back is well. You
+may send another as soon as you get this dispatch. Keep the other
+two where you are until daylight in the morning. Then, if the rebels
+have gone, you can enter the town, taking care to hold the river
+crossings. If the enemy has not gone, or you are not positive that
+he is going, then move back and cross the river as before directed."
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvit. pt. ii. p. 522.]
+
+Immediately after this, Schofield wrote me another dispatch,
+briefer, but of the same general purport. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 523.]
+It was probably sent by way of precaution, in case any accident
+happened to the bearer of the other. Arrangements had been made to
+get over some horsemen so as to speed these dispatches, and they
+came through to me by midnight. But meanwhile my perplexity as to my
+duty was intensified. I had put over the Sixteenth Kentucky upon
+Eagle Island, and made them throw up a breastwork across the
+cause-way facing that of the enemy, which was near the main channel
+of Cape Fear River. They were exploring the swamps, seeking
+information and preparing to force the position in the morning. My
+confidence in my forecast was such that I did not cease work on the
+repair of the pontoons, and had the crossing ready for use late in
+the evening, but awaited further orders with great anxiety. At
+11.45, however, came the order dated at 7.15, reiterating the
+direction to withdraw. Moore's brigade had gone under the first
+order, Henderson's was waiting ready to march, and I started it for
+Town Creek. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 524.] Reilly's (Colonel Sterl in
+command) began to follow. The march in a dark night made it proper
+to leave reasonable intervals between the brigades, and I was still
+waiting with Casement's brigade, and had not destroyed the pontoon
+bridge, when, at midnight, I got Schofield's dispatch of 10.20,
+which had come through in less than half the time other messages had
+taken, under his eager orders to force the horses through at speed.
+I at once recalled Sterl, and with great satisfaction wrote to the
+General, "Your dispatch of 10.20 received in time to stop two
+brigades. Henderson's and Moore's have gone forward and will report
+at the river above Town Creek. I will inform you of any changes in
+the morning. The railroad employes who came in to me informed me
+positively that Hardee's troops had not come here." [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii. p. 523.] My outpost on the
+island was replaced, and before day dawned we knew that the last of
+the enemy had disappeared from our immediate front and that
+Wilmington was evacuated. Bragg had carefully removed all boats from
+our side of the channel, but citizens anxious to prevent us from
+firing on the town came over in skiffs, and we learned that the
+Confederate forces had marched away toward Goldsborough, leaving the
+way open for Terry's march into the city, which took place in the
+early morning of the 22d, which we were happy to recall was
+Washington's Birthday.
+
+It has seemed worth while to give the correspondence at such length,
+because it well illustrates the difficulties under which officers
+must labor in war, and the necessity for a good deal of freedom of
+action and of discretion in deciding upon his course, when the
+commander of a detached column finds his communication with
+headquarters obstructed and retarded by accidental circumstances.
+Had General Schofield's methods been rigid in requiring literal
+obedience, my command would have abandoned the advantages we had
+gained, and the campaign might have taken quite another turn. My
+complete confidence in the liberality of his judgment when the facts
+should be all known, encouraged me to a course which would otherwise
+have been impossible. [Footnote: In 1870 Moltke had adopted the wise
+rule of leaving to subordinates of the higher grades very large
+discretion, and to avoid trammelling them by detailed orders or by
+prematurely communicated plans. "The very lack of instructions gave
+them liberty and imposed on them the duty of acting on their own
+responsibility, in case unforeseen events should require such prompt
+action that orders from the Supreme Commander could not be waited
+for." (Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen, Strategy, vol. i. p. 324.) It was even
+looked upon as "an unwarranted censure" on the subordinate "if
+anything was enjoined unnecessarily," or which was within the proper
+knowledge and discretion of the officer. _Id_., vol. ii. p. 39.]
+There was with me a very efficient squad of the Signal Corps, under
+Lieutenant Ketchum, which had kept up flag communication with the
+"Spaulding" and across the river in our advance from Smithville to
+Town Creek, but when we advanced to Brunswick Ferry, Mr. Ketchum
+found it impossible, on account of the course of Brunswick River and
+the dense woods upon the banks, to establish any station from which
+he could communicate with any of the vessels in the river below, or
+with General Terry on the east bank of the Cape Fear. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. i. pp. 915, 916.] This threw us
+unexpectedly upon messengers as the only go-betweens, and led to the
+embarrassments which have been described.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVII
+
+THE CONFEDERACY IN STRAITS--JOHNSTON COMMANDS IN THE CAROLINAS--OUR
+OPERATIONS FROM NEW BERNE--BATTLE OF KINSTON
+
+
+The Confederates lose Charleston and Columbia--Facing a
+crisis--Hopeless apathy of Southern people--Mr. Davis's
+perplexity--Beauregard startles him--Lee calls Johnston to
+command--Personal relations of leading officers--Dwindling
+armies--The cavalry--Assignments of generals--The Beaufort and New
+Berne line--Am ordered to New Berne--Provisional corps--Advance to
+cover railway building--Dover and Gum swamps--Bragg concentrates to
+oppose us--Position near Kinston--Bragg's plan of attack--Our own
+movements--Condition of railroad and river--Our advance to Wise's
+Forks and Southwest Creek--Precautions--Conference with
+Schofield--Battle of Kinston--Enemy attack our left front--Rout of
+Upham's brigade--Main line firm--Ruger's division reaches the
+field--Enemy repulsed--End of first day's fight--Extending our
+trenches on the left--Sharp skirmishing of the 9th--Bragg's
+reinforcements--His attack of the both--Final repulse and retreat of
+the enemy.
+
+
+Upon our occupation of Wilmington, Bragg retreated northward along
+the line of the railroad toward Goldsborough, which was the crossing
+of the Wilmington and Weldon Railway with that from New Berne to
+Raleigh. Sherman had captured the capital of South Carolina, and in
+his movement northward his left wing had followed the railroad from
+Columbia toward Charlotte, N. C, as far as Winnsborough, forty
+miles, for the purpose of making a permanent break in that line of
+communication before turning his columns eastward toward Cheraw and
+Fayetteville on his way to Goldsborough, the rendezvous he had fixed
+for his junction with Schofield's army. Beauregard, whose command
+now included South Carolina, [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xlvii. pt. ii. pp. 1202, 1204.] had moved with the forces under his
+immediate command from Augusta, through Columbia to Charlotte, and
+was calling to him all the Confederate troops operating against
+Sherman. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii. pp. 1193,
+1202, 1217, 1238.] On the 14th of February he had ordered Hardee to
+evacuate Charleston, and the unwelcome proof that South Carolina was
+lost so alarmed Mr. Davis that he urged Hardee to hold on as long as
+possible. But both Lee and Beauregard became uneasy lest Hardee
+should be caught before he could join the rest, and despite Mr.
+Davis's bitter disappointment, the evacuation was made in the night
+of the 17th, Hardee being sick abed for a few days, and turning over
+the command to General McLaws. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 1177, 1181,
+1195, 1201-1202, 1204, 1223, 1258.]
+
+The loss of Charleston, the original cradle of secession, seemed a
+portent to the people of the South, and well-nigh destroyed all
+hope. Governor Magrath of South Carolina had written Mr. Davis, a
+month before, that the fate of the Confederacy was involved in the
+early movements of Sherman's march from Savannah, and that he was in
+earnest correspondence with the Governors of North Carolina and
+Georgia, urging extraordinary efforts. "Richmond will surely fall
+when Charleston is lost," he said, adding emphatically, "To retain
+Richmond until Charleston is lost is to sacrifice both." [Footnote:
+_Id_., p. 1035.] Davis was not blind to the consequences, or to the
+nature of the crisis. A week before Magrath's letter was written,
+the Confederate President had sent a dispatch to Governor Brown of
+Georgia, declaring the absolute necessity of making Hardee strong
+enough to stop Sherman on the line of the Combahee, which he rightly
+said was stronger than any position that could be occupied further
+north. He ended with the appeal, "We must look forward, and leave
+discussions of the past to a more convenient season." [Footnote:
+_Id_., p. 1016.] Governor Vance of North Carolina issued a
+proclamation powerfully appealing to his people for a final rally,
+using the failure of the recent peace conference at Fort Monroe as
+proof that there was only subjugation offered us, the mere details
+of which they [Lincoln and Seward] proposed to settle. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii. p. 1189.] But the whole South
+was already in apathetic despair under the conviction of their
+helplessness to check the triumphant march of Sherman's 60,000
+veterans or prevent his junction with Schofield's 30,000. Instead of
+growing by an enthusiastic rally of the old men and the boys, the
+Southern army was dwindling by steady small streams of deserters, no
+longer able to repress the impulse to go to their helpless families
+within the Union lines. [Footnote: Lee to Vance, Id., p. 1270.] The
+appeals of the governors produced no result, or only called out
+responses in the press, never ventured before, saying the desperate
+efforts had already been made, the physical power of the States was
+exhausted, it was vain to talk of independence, it was time to make
+real overtures for peace. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii.
+pt. ii. pp. 1250-1255.]
+
+The military outlook for the South was certainly gloomy enough.
+Distrusting Beauregard's ability to deal with his perplexing
+problem, Mr. Davis had asked Lee (on the 19th) whether it was
+possible for him to get away from Petersburg long enough to go to
+Beauregard and advise him after a personal conference. [Footnote:
+_Id._, p. 1222.] But Lee could not leave his post for a moment with
+any confidence that Grant's iron grip would not crush the defences
+of Petersburg and bring the final struggle. Davis became still more
+troubled when, on the 21st, Beauregard sent him a dispatch
+indicating his belief that Lee must join him at Salisbury with part
+of his forces, say 20,000 men, give Sherman battle there," crush
+him, then to concentrate all forces against Grant, and then to march
+on Washington to dictate a peace." Beauregard's evident opinion that
+he was wholly unable to cope with Sherman was much more depressing
+than his light-hearted suggestion of marching on Washington to
+dictate a peace was inspiring. Davis sent it to Lee, saying it was
+"of a startling character," and urged that the General-in-Chief
+should direct the concentration of the forces in the Carolinas. He
+sent also General Gilmer, his chief of engineers, to Beauregard to
+examine the situation, to advise with him and report. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii. pp. 1229, 1237, 1238.]
+
+In this condition of affairs, Beauregard's retreat into North
+Carolina, where Bragg commanded and was senior in rank, made a new
+complication; whilst the fall of Wilmington and the danger of
+Hardee's being cut off before he could unite with the Confederate
+forces trying to resist Sherman, made a climax of embarrassments
+which imperatively required the appointment of some one to command
+in chief in the Carolinas. The same current of opinion in the
+Confederate Congress which had resulted in Lee's assignment by law
+(February 9th) [Footnote: _Id_., pt. i. p. 1.] to command all the
+Confederate armies, indicated General Johnston for the post second
+in importance. Indeed, the knowledge of Mr. Davis's determination
+not to intrust Johnston with another army in the field entered into
+the motives for taking the military command out of the President's
+hands, for it was understood that Lee believed Johnston to be the
+man best fitted for the second place. Action could be no longer
+delayed, and the very day of our occupation of Wilmington, Lee
+telegraphed to Johnston to assume command, concentrate all available
+forces, and drive back Sherman. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. ii. p. 1247.]
+For the moment Bragg was not directed to report to Johnston, but
+consideration for the unpleasant personal relations between them
+since the Atlanta campaign could not stand long in the way.
+Beauregard accepted loyally his subordination to Johnston, and, his
+health not being very strong, was assigned at his own request to
+administrative duties at Raleigh, including the collection and
+forwarding of troops, their supply in the field and the management
+of the relations to the civil authorities of North Carolina, with
+nominal position of second in command. [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. xlvii. pt. ii. pp. 1248, 1399.]
+
+Johnston had been at Lincolnton, N. C., when notified of his
+appointment, and in accepting the call to duty, gave his opinion
+that it was too late to concentrate troops enough to drive back
+Sherman. He promised, however, to learn from Beauregard the actual
+situation, and to do all in his power to collect the army and resist
+Sherman's advance. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 1047.] He met Beauregard at
+Charlotte, and on the 25th of February assumed command. As to his
+means of resistance, the returns show a significant dwindling in
+each of his corps. Hardee had reported, on January 20th, 25,290
+present for duty in his department. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 1032.]
+Hood's army at Tupelo, at the same date, returned 18,708 infantry
+and artillery, which were soon nearly all in motion for the
+Carolinas. [Footnote: _Id_., vol. xlv. pt. i. p. 664. General Taylor
+volunteered to send the whole to Beauregard except French's
+division, which he said was very weak. Some Mississippi troops were
+given a short furlough, others took "French leave" (_Id_., vol.
+xlvii. pt. ii. pp. 1059, 1174, 1194), and delays in transportation
+occurred, so that it is very hard to say how many of the Army of
+Tennessee were actually in the final combats in North Carolina. They
+all seem to have gathered there before the final surrender at
+Greensborough.] Bragg's return for his command in North Carolina on
+February 10th was 11,206. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 1154.] Besides these,
+there were some militia from Georgia and South Carolina estimated at
+1450, [Footnote: _Id_., p. 1084.] and Butler's division of cavalry,
+more than 3000 strong, had been sent from Lee's army in Virginia.
+[Footnote: _Ibid_.] Here were, then, between 55,000 and 60,000 men
+apparently available to oppose Sherman, and making a larger army
+than the Confederate generals attributed to him when he started from
+Savannah. [Footnote: When Beauregard took command of the forces in
+South Carolina, etc., on February 16th, he reckoned them at "about
+20,000 effective infantry and artillery, more or less demoralized,"
+and said of Sherman's army that it numbered "nearly double our
+force." (Dispatch to Lee, Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii. p.
+1202.) This would make Sherman about 40,000 strong. Beauregard's
+underestimate of his own force is in accordance with the common
+habit of officers who are somewhat discouraged and wish to be
+reinforced.] It was not strange, therefore, that when, at a
+conference of Beauregard with Hardee and others in Augusta on
+February 3d, the troops relied on for the campaign were estimated at
+33,450, [Footnote: _Id._, p. 1084.] Mr. Davis noted by his
+indorsement on the paper that the previous returns showed a larger
+force present for duty. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 1086.] He however added
+that the language "relied on as effectives" might account for the
+difference. But when on the 21st Beauregard, in the dispatch
+proposing that Lee should send part of his army to Salisbury, N. C.,
+said, "Hardee and myself can collect about 15,000 exclusive of
+Cheatham and Stewart, not likely to reach in time," [Footnote:
+_Id._, p. 1238.] the startling effect on the Confederate President
+was the most natural thing in the world. Armies seemed to vanish in
+thin air.
+
+On taking command, Johnston had accepted his predecessor's estimates
+of both his own forces and those of Sherman. From Charlotte, N. C.,
+he wrote Lee that his opponent now seemed to be moving eastward,
+aiming at Fayetteville. This place he thought he might make the
+point of concentration for Hardee's troops, coming from Charleston
+to Cheraw by railroad, and those with Beauregard, which were in the
+main the divisions of Hood's army, coming forward piecemeal, and now
+amounting to something over 9000 men. He suggested that Bragg should
+join him at Fayetteville also. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 1271. At the end
+of February, the portions of S. D. Lee's corps which had joined
+Beauregard had 2502 present for duty, Cheatham's 4697, Stewart's
+1694, Engineers 185; total, 9078. (_Id._, pp. 1285, 1326.) The rest
+of the Army of Tennessee were still in Georgia on their way to the
+front.] The Confederate cavalry was now led by Wade Hampton, who was
+made lieutenant-general to outrank Wheeler, who was not regarded
+equal to the responsibility. The latter retained two divisions, and
+the rank of corps commander under Hampton. [Footnote: The complaints
+of marauding by Wheeler's cavalry had been loud and bitter, and
+inefficiency was charged. D. H. Hill to Hardee, Official Records,
+vol. xlvii. pt. ii. p. 1046; Do. to Iverson, pp. 1047, 1068;
+Beauregard to Lee, p. 1165; Davis to Hampton, 1207. For Wheeler's
+earnest defence, see _Id_., pp. 987, 1004.] As soon as it was
+evident that Sherman was likely to reach the North Carolina border,
+Johnston was authorized to control Bragg's operations also.
+[Footnote: _Id_., p. 1320.] This was, of course, a personal grief to
+the latter, who asked to be relieved; but in the critical condition
+of affairs personal feelings had to give way, and Bragg's request
+went unanswered. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 1328.] He did not insist upon
+it and gave loyal support to Johnston. General D. H. Hill had been
+sent from Virginia to report to Beauregard, and was commanding at
+Augusta, Ga., when Sherman's march eastward from Columbia relieved
+Augusta from danger, and Hill at his own request was ordered to join
+Beauregard. S. D. Lee was absent from his corps by reason of a wound
+he had received at Nashville, and Hill was assigned to its temporary
+command. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 1002, 1003, 1272, 1317.] The growing
+decay of discipline and organization was shown by the irregularity
+of reports, and for the few weeks the war still went on, Johnston
+had to content himself with abbreviated returns, which contained
+only the numbers of effectives and aggregates present. [Footnote:
+_Id_., p. 1382.] Even these were not regularly sent up, and could
+not be made to agree with the lists of paroles when the surrender
+finally occurred. [Footnote: See chap. li. _post_.]
+
+Upon our occupation of Wilmington, Schofield turned his attention at
+once to the opening, of the line from Beaufort and New Berne to
+Kinston and Goldsborough. Terry's troops were sent to follow Bragg
+northward. Couch's division of the Twenty-third Corps joined mine at
+Wilmington. Meagher's provisional command of detachments of
+Sherman's army had reached New Berne; but its commander had given
+such dissatisfaction by his failure to remain with it and conduct
+its shipment from Annapolis, that Grant directed that he should be
+relieved and sent home. Such had been the result of a spicy
+correspondence between Grant and Halleck which called up poor
+Meagher's notorious failings. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xlvii. pt. ii. pp. 305-306, 316-318, 501, 509, 561.] Schofield had
+asked for the assignment of Terry to a corps to comprise the troops
+in the department not belonging to the Twenty-third Corps, and of
+myself to the permanent command of the latter corps;[Footnote:
+_Id._, p. 559.] but, pending action on this, he determined to send
+me to New Berne to take command of the so-called District of
+Beaufort and the troops assembling there, which would constitute
+three divisions. [Footnote: _Id._, pp. 579, 580.] General Palmer,
+who had been there for a long time, coming in the small steamer
+"Escort" to visit Schofield and consult concerning the advance from
+that base, I went back with him, and was accompanied by General
+Carter, whose coming from Tennessee has already been mentioned and
+who was to supersede Meagher. [Footnote: _Id._, pt. i. pp. 930,
+931.] As my assignment to this duty was intended to be temporary, I
+took only part of my staff with me, and assigned General Reilly, who
+had now joined us, to the temporary command of the division. General
+Couch was assigned to command the two divisions of our corps which
+were at Wilmington. [Footnote: _Id._, pt. ii. pp. 581, 607, 620.] A
+storm delayed the departure of the "Escort" from Cape Fear Inlet,
+but we reached New Berne in the evening of the last day of February.
+Next day I formally assumed command and organized the forces,
+distributing the garrison troops and Meagher's men between the two
+divisions to be commanded by Palmer and Carter, but keeping Ruger's
+division of the Twenty-third Corps intact. This last had been sent
+direct to Beaufort and arrived there about the same time with
+myself. It had not been with us on the Cape Fear River. An immediate
+advance was ordered for the 2d of March, to cover the work of
+railroad building. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii.
+pp. 607, 620, 637, 638.]
+
+Colonel Wright, chief of railway construction, had joined Sherman at
+Savannah, and from thence had been sent to Schofield to rebuild the
+New Berne-Goldsborough road under his directions. [Footnote: _Id_.,
+pp. 157, 356, 384.] Palmer's forces occupied a position at
+Batchelder's Creek, nine miles above New Berne on the road to
+Kinston, and the railroad building began there. Had we been well
+provided with wagon-trains, it would have been easy to march at once
+to Kinston, on the left bank of the Neuse, a little over thirty
+miles from Newberne, and hold that place whilst the railroad was
+built, obstructions removed from the river, and easy communications
+opened both by rail and by water. But we were almost destitute of
+wagons, having only ten to a division. This tied us close to the end
+of the rails, for after carrying our necessary baggage to the
+camping-place, it was the utmost the few wagons could do to bring
+rations and ammunition a very few miles from the nearest temporary
+station on the railroad. Dover and Gum swamps were practically
+continuous to within three miles of Kinston, and steady rains had
+put most of the road under water. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 654, 683.]
+This necessarily slow progress gave the enemy time to arrange for
+concentrating upon us.
+
+The importance of trying to check our columns advancing from the
+sea-coast was seen by General Johnston as soon as he learned the
+situation in North Carolina. On the 3d of March, when he supposed
+Schofield to be continuing his movements up Cape Fear River, he had
+inquired of Bragg whether it were not feasible to interpose between
+Schofield and Hardee. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt.
+ii. p. 1318, 1329.] As soon as it was known that Schofield was not
+marching against Hardee, Bragg sent Hoke with his division to
+Kinston, and on the 6th telegraphed to Johnston that my forces were
+advancing and were within nine miles of the town. He believed that
+the union with him of the troops near Goldsborough would "insure a
+victory." [Footnote: _Id._, pp. 1334.] Johnston immediately ordered
+all the forces he was moving towards Hardee to report to Bragg at
+Goldsborough for use in a quick effort to defeat us, with the
+purpose of uniting them with Hardee immediately afterward to strike
+at Sherman's advancing columns. [Footnote: _Ibid._.] It was boldly
+conceived, and was manifestly the best plan the circumstances
+admitted. All the detachments of the Army of Tennessee were hurried
+without change of cars toward Kinston. D. H. Hill had command of
+them as ranking officer present. It was not pleasant for him to
+report to Bragg, for a bitter quarrel begun in the Chickamauga
+campaign had never been appeased, and in giving him the order,
+Johnston added, "I beg you to forget the past for this emergency."
+[Footnote: _Id._, p. 1338.] From Davis downward, personal griefs had
+to be smothered in the crisis, and it is due to them all to remember
+that they did work together earnestly for their dying cause.
+
+On the 7th of March, Hill reached Kinston with Lee's corps. Hoke's
+division had preceded him and advanced to Southwest Creek and
+occupied the lines of intrenchments earlier made along its left
+bank. This stream was a tributary of the Neuse River and was then
+unfordable. It described roughly a curve with a radius of about
+three miles around Kinston, and had for a long time been regarded as
+the principal defensive line against National troops advancing from
+New Berne. Several roads radiated from Kinston, crossing Southwest
+Creek. The Neuse road kept near the bank of the river, going east.
+Then came the railroad following a nearly straight line to New
+Berne. The Dover road forked from the Neuse road not far from the
+town, and took a devious way through the swamps in the same general
+direction. The upper Trent road ran more nearly south toward
+Trenton, and followed the course of the Trent River. The Wilmington
+road went southwesterly toward the city of that name. The several
+bridges over the creek were from a mile to two miles apart, but had
+been destroyed or dismantled, and earthworks for artillery had been
+prepared commanding them. The whole constituted a formidable line of
+fieldworks when held by an adequate force. Whitford's brigade and a
+detachment of cavalry had been the only Confederate force at Kinston
+at the beginning of our campaign, but Bragg had now assembled there
+Hagood's brigade, which had numbered 2000 in front of Wilmington,
+and a similar force of North Carolina militia under General Baker,
+besides Hill and Hoke. [Footnote: Hill's Report, Official Records,
+vol. xlvii. pt. i. p. 1086.] Johnston had also informed Bragg that
+Cheatham's corps and more than half of Stewart's were on the way by
+rail, under the same orders as Hill's. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. ii. p.
+1339.] These constituted in fact all of Johnston's army except
+Hardee's column, which was still in South Carolina.
+
+The necessity for haste was such, however, that upon Hill's arrival
+in the night of the 7th, Bragg determined to attack me at once, in
+the belief that he was strong enough to do so successfully. Hill's
+corps was accordingly marched to Southwest Creek before day, and
+relieved Hoke's division in the works extending from the Dover road
+crossing to the railroad, whilst Hoke, with Clayton's division of
+Lee's corps besides his own, marched to the upper Trent and
+Wilmington bridges with orders to sweep down and attack my lines in
+flank and rear. The plank had been relaid on the bridges which had
+been held by outposts, and a new bridge had been built of felled
+trees between the Dover road bridge and the railroad. At the sound
+of Hoke's attack, Hill was to cross by the last-mentioned bridges,
+and fall upon our front with all the rest of the Confederate forces.
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. i. p. 1087.]
+
+On our side, Colonel Wright had found that some miles of the
+railroad had only been partially destroyed, and as iron for six
+miles had been received when I reached New Berne, he was able to put
+seven miles of track in passable condition by the evening of the
+4th. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. ii. pp. 654, 683.] On that day I had
+concentrated at Core Creek, twenty miles from New Berne by the wagon
+roads, and the head of the rails was only one or two miles behind.
+On the 6th Palmer's and Carter's divisions were advanced to Gum
+Swamp, seven miles further, taking four days' rations, and Ruger's
+was to follow on the 7th. On this march I found that for five miles
+beyond Core Creek the railway had only been capsized, ties and rails
+together, and was lying in the ditch by the roadside. [Footnote:
+_Id_., pp. 706-708.] Relying on the more rapid construction this
+would enable Colonel Wright to make, I ordered a still further
+advance for the 7th, hoping to reach Southwest Creek. There we must
+expect to halt for several days, for the total destruction of the
+railroad for the last ten or twelve miles from Kinston made it
+probable that a mile a day was the utmost the construction corps
+could rebuild, to say nothing of the bridging which would also be
+necessary.
+
+For our own sake, as well as to provide for getting forward large
+quantities of supplies for Sherman's army when we should join him,
+it would be necessary to organize a line of river transportation to
+supplement the railroad. Heavy obstructions to navigation had been
+placed in the Neuse River, a little above New Berne, as a defence
+against an iron-clad ram the Confederates had built at Kinston. As,
+however, she could only come down the river on a freshet, owing to
+her great draft, I had, upon leaving New Berne, ordered that the
+obstructions be removed, and light-draft steamboats and flats
+procured to bring supplies to some point near our camp, or to ferry
+troops across if I found it advisable to shift my line of operations
+to the north bank of the river. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xlvii. pt. ii. p. 707.]
+
+On Tuesday, the 7th, the command was in motion, Palmer's division
+following the railroad, except Claassen's brigade, which had been
+sent the previous afternoon by the Dover road to Wise's Forks, where
+it crosses the lower Trent road, which ran diagonally across our
+front toward the Neuse River. In the skirmish at Wise's Forks, and
+from a deserter, it was learned that Hoke had joined the Kinston
+forces with his division, and there were rumors of other
+reinforcements arriving. Advancing along the railroad, Palmer
+reached the drier ground near Southwest Creek and came under
+artillery fire from guns intrenched on the other side of the creek.
+The country here was wooded, and was traversed by an old road,
+called the British road, running parallel to the creek from half a
+mile to a mile from it. The lower Trent road also crossed the
+railroad not far from the British road crossing. Palmer halted his
+line in front of the British road covering all the crossings, and
+advanced outposts and pickets to the creek. Boughton's brigade was
+on the left of the railroad, and Harland's on the right. The latter
+detached a regiment to the Neuse road to guard against any attempt
+by the enemy to cross the creek beyond our right. Major Dow of my
+staff was also sent with a troop of cavalry to reconnoitre the banks
+of the river, seeking for a place where steamboats might land
+supplies and communicate with us. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xlvii. pt. ii. pp. 723-725.] Ruger's division moved forward from
+Core Creek to Gum Swamp.
+
+On my left, the Twelfth New York Cavalry, Colonel Savage,
+reconnoitred both Trent roads, under orders to reach out as far to
+the south as they could, covering Claassen's position at Wise's
+Forks and giving early notice of any hostile movement in the
+vicinity. Carter's division delayed its march till it could load up
+with rations and then followed the Dover road to Claassen's
+position. On reaching Wise's Forks we found that Claassen had most
+of his brigade at the crossing of the British road in front, with a
+detachment of 300 men at Jackson's Mills, where the Dover road
+crossed the creek. He had smaller detachments also upon the British
+road on both flanks. [Footnote: _Id._, pt. i. pp. 976, 981, 989.] I
+directed General Carter to relieve Claassen's brigade with one of
+his, that Claassen might rejoin Palmer and make the latter strong
+enough to spare a detachment to test the condition of the Neuse road
+crossing of the creek and the presence of the enemy there. Carter
+sent Upham's brigade to the British road crossing to relieve
+Claassen, and put the other two in line across the Dover road in
+front of Wise's Forks, Malloy's on the right of the road and
+Splaine's on the left with a recurved flank. Upham seems to have
+marched the whole of his brigade to Jackson's Mills and to have left
+only a picket post at the British road. He established a skirmish
+line in rifle-pits close to the creek, and placed a section of
+artillery which was with him where it would command the bridge site
+on the Dover road. His picket line connected with Palmer's division
+on the right, and with the outpost at the British road on the left.
+[Footnote: _Id._, pp. 993, 997.] Toward evening the cavalry reported
+that they had found a picket post of the enemy at the bridge on the
+upper Trent road, had driven it off, taken up the plank of the
+bridge and piled them on the hither side of the creek, and had
+established there a picket of their own. Their scouting parties
+reported no enemy at the Wilmington road crossing. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. i. p. 976.] The division
+commanders were directed to have Southwest Creek in front carefully
+reconnoitred, to find narrow places where an infantry crossing might
+be made by an improvised bridge of felled trees. [Footnote: _Ibid_.]
+
+[Illustration: Map]
+
+My habit was to keep my own headquarters well at the front, and I
+had purposed moving them from Gum Swamp to Wise's Forks on the 7th,
+but during the day I received word that General Schofield had
+arrived at Beaufort from Wilmington, coming by sea. We arranged that
+he should come up for a consultation with me next morning, and to
+facilitate this, I left my headquarters with Ruger's division, and
+after a personal visit to Palmer and Carter, I rode back to Gum
+Swamp in the evening. General Schofield was to come up to the end of
+the track on the railroad in the morning, and I sent led horses to
+meet him. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii. pp.
+722-724.] The telegraph was made to keep pace with the progress of
+the railway, and from its upper station we had the aid of flag
+signals along the railroad bed to Palmer's headquarters. [Footnote:
+_Id_., pt i. p. 918.] The information we had received of Hoke's
+presence made it all the more important that we should get out of
+the swamps, where we could only operate by head of column, to the
+drier region along Southwest Creek, where the lower Trent road and
+the British road would give us communication between our flanks and
+some chance to manoeuvre. These reasons had made me push forward on
+the 7th, though the movement put us ten miles above the head of the
+rails and made it sure that we should be short of supplies. As soon
+as the troops were in position the few wagons with them were
+unloaded and hurried back, first for ammunition and then for
+rations. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. ii. p. 734.] We then had no knowledge
+of the arrival of any part of Hood's army in North Carolina, and
+although my provisional corps was far short of being solidly
+organized, and the troops were either new or unused to field
+service, I felt no concern lest Hoke should take the offensive
+alone.
+
+General Schofield had joined me at Gum Swamp about nine o'clock on
+the morning of the 8th, and after our conference we had mounted to
+ride to General Palmer's headquarters to see what prospect there
+might be for securing a crossing near the railroad which would
+permit preparation for rebuilding the railroad bridge. A note now
+came from General Carter at Wise's Forks telling of information
+received from a negro that a large body of the enemy had crossed
+Southwest Creek at the Wilmington road early in the morning. As the
+cavalry had a picket at the upper Trent bridge and were supposed to
+be patrolling beyond the Wilmington road, the information did not
+seem threatening, but I sent back directions to have the cavalry
+ordered to do their work thoroughly by instantly testing the truth
+of the information. Carter was also ordered to support the cavalry
+with a regiment of infantry. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xlvii. pt. ii. p. 734.] The message from the front was followed
+almost instantly by another, saying that a heavy force of the enemy
+had penetrated between Upham's brigade and the rest of the division,
+almost simultaneously with a report from the cavalry that their
+picket had been driven from the bridge at the Trent road. As that
+picket was two miles in front of Upham's left on the British road,
+it was too evident that the duty of the horsemen had not been well
+done. Ruger was ordered to march his division at speed to the front,
+and we galloped to Wise's Forks. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. i. pp. 977,
+994.]
+
+The account I have before given of the enemy's dispositions for the
+day's work [Footnote: _Ante_, pp. 429, 430.] makes it easy to
+understand the situation as we found it. Hoke, with his own and
+Clayton's divisions, had turned northward on the British road after
+getting over Southwest Creek, and as he approached the Dover road,
+had deployed and advanced upon Upham's flank. The latter, upon the
+first intimation of an enemy's approach, had hurried the
+Twenty-seventh Massachusetts to the British road and placed it in
+line about a quarter of a mile south of the Dover road, which was,
+of course, his connection with the rest of the division. He also
+ordered to the same point the section of artillery, and directed the
+left battalion of his other regiment (Fifteenth Connecticut) to
+change front also to the south. These orders were judicious, but the
+odds were too great to make them successful. Far outflanked on
+either hand, the Massachusetts regiment was put to rout, all the
+horses of one of the guns were killed, and though the men cut the
+traces and tried to save the gun by hand, they had to abandon it,
+while the other retreated on the run toward the main position.
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. i. pp. 997-999.]
+General Hill had crossed the creek at the improvised bridge on
+hearing the sound of Hoke's engagement, but finding a swamp between
+him and Upham's right, had to make a circuit of it, driving back our
+pickets in the interval between Carter's and Palmer's divisions.
+Turning toward the noise of Hoke's firing, he intercepted the right
+battalion of Upham's Connecticut regiment, and took many of them
+prisoners. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 1087.] Most of the rest of the
+regiment finding Hoke's division partly surrounding them, and all
+other retreat cut off by Hill, surrendered to Hoke. Colonel Upham
+and most of the Massachusetts regiment succeeded in reaching our
+main lines, though in confusion. All this was not done, however,
+without fighting, which took time, and as the whole engagement was
+in forest or swamp, the enemy was a good deal delayed in his
+movements and in rectification of lines.
+
+When we reached the field Carter had gone in person toward Upham's
+position, having first sent a regiment forward on the Dover road to
+try to reopen communication with him. Palmer was ordered to send his
+reserve brigade rapidly to extend his left and assist Carter. But as
+there was still an interval between them, the regiment of cavalry
+which had come in on the left was transferred to the centre and
+ordered to make a strong skirmishing fight till Ruger's division
+could arrive on the ground. Palmer at the same time was ordered to
+demonstrate strongly toward the creek. Riding forward on the Dover
+road, I found Carter with the regiment from his division, still
+energetically striving to reach Upham. As the sound of the battle
+showed that the enemy was also in front of our centre, it was
+evident that we must make a concentration of our forces till the
+divisions were in touch with each other. I therefore directed Carter
+to make his main line in front of Wise's Forks as solid as possible,
+concentrating his artillery near the Dover road, and to limit the
+activity of the advanced regiment to bold skirmishing, drawing it
+back to the main line as the enemy advanced in force.
+
+Hoke had evidently supposed that Upham's detachment on the British
+road was the flank of our principal position, and was surprised at
+finding strong demonstrations from the direction of Wise's Forks,
+now partly in his own rear. This checked his progress and made him
+turn upon Carter. The advanced regiment retired as ordered, and when
+it was within the lines the enemy was saluted with such a fire of
+artillery and musketry as instantly checked him. Although he
+repeated his efforts to force the position at the Forks several
+times, they all were futile, and Carter had at no time the least
+difficulty in holding his main line firmly.
+
+In Palmer's division, when Hill's advance across the creek drove
+back the pickets and threatened to pass the left flank of Boughton's
+brigade, this officer drew back his left to the British road and
+threw up a hasty barricade there. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xlvii. pt. i. p. 992.] Claassen's brigade was sent to prolong
+Boughton's line to the left, and Ruger's division having come up,
+the connection between Palmer and Carter was secured, the latter
+advancing his brigades so as to make a better continuous line. The
+attacks of Hoke and Hill extended across Ruger's front, but nothing
+heavier than brisk skirmishing occurred on Boughton's line.
+Claassen's brigade was sent forward toward Jackson's Mill,
+accompanied by my aide, Captain Tracy, in order to locate the left
+of the enemy's line, and determine the extent of his forces in front
+of our left and centre. No strong opposition was met till the Dover
+road came in sight, where the enemy were seen moving toward Hoke's
+position in front of Carter. Claassen was followed back in his
+orderly retirement to his position on Ruger's right, and was
+attacked there, but easily repulsed his assailants. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. i. pp. 982, 990.]
+
+Palmer had reported sharp skirmishing across his front all the way
+to the Neuse road on his right, and had drawn his lines back a
+little, so as to keep them in front of the British road, contracting
+his right and extending his left, as the sound of the fighting
+showed that the heaviest attacks were falling upon Carter. By the
+middle of the afternoon a continuous line of breastworks had been
+made along the whole of Palmer's division in front of the British
+road. Ruger had extended it diagonally till it joined Carter's
+right, the latter continuing it across the Dover road in front of
+Wise's Forks to a difficult swamp on the extreme left. For our left,
+the lower Trent road served for our communication along the front,
+and for our right the British road was used in like manner.
+
+Late in the day there were indications of an attempt to turn
+Palmer's right on the Neuse road, and this, which added to the
+complexity of the situation, seems to have grown out of an excentric
+movement of the Confederate left under Hill. In crossing Southwest
+Creek to make his attack, he tells us the plan had been that when
+Hoke should strike our flank on the Dover road, he should cut off
+any retreat on the British and Neuse roads. This would be best
+accomplished by pushing straight from his bridges for the British
+road. But having made a circuit about a swamp to the rear of Upham's
+right, he received a note from Bragg's headquarters saying that Hoke
+wished he would enter the British road from the Neuse road, which
+implied a long circuit to their left. As Hoke had himself made the
+bridge by which Hill had crossed, and knew the field better than the
+rest by his skirmishes of the previous day, it is evident that there
+was an error in interpreting his wish. But as Hill was on ground
+unknown to him, and Bragg's dispatch directed Hoke's suggestion to
+be carried out, Hill obeyed, and turned his troops down the right
+bank of Southwest Creek, feeling the way to the Neuse road through
+swamps and woods. Reaching the outlet of the British road at
+half-past four without seeing signs of our retreat that way, and the
+distant firing showing that Hoke was not advancing, Hill thought it
+too late to venture further, and marched back by the way he had come
+five miles to his bridge. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii.
+pt. i. p. 1087.] His presence had been observed by our pickets and
+skirmishers, and was naturally interpreted by Palmer as the advance
+of a new column which had crossed the creek by the Neuse road. It,
+of course, gave an exaggerated impression of the enemy's strength,
+and as prisoners had been taken belonging to Lee's corps, who
+reported part of Hood's old army present with Bragg in command of
+the whole, we had to take into account the contingency of our having
+on our hands the formidable force thus indicated. Hill was met at
+his bridge by orders to cross to the left bank and join Hoke by
+recrossing at Jackson's Mills and following the Dover road. He
+effected the junction about midnight. [Footnote: _Ibid_.] Hoke had
+been keeping up a skirmishing fight in the latter part of the day,
+and at night intrenched himself across the Dover road just in front
+of the British road. Hill, after joining him, continued the line
+northward, parallel to ours, and therefore crossing the British road
+again, recurving toward the creek. Our breastworks were made
+stronger, and we kept our teams hard at work bringing up ammunition
+and supplies. General Schofield went back to New Berne to get into
+communication with the rest of his department, and try to hurry
+forward the two old divisions of the Twenty-third Corps, who were
+marching to join us. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt.
+ii. pp. 743-751.] My own orders were to remain on the watchful
+defensive whilst the construction of the railroad toward us went on
+energetically. On Thursday, the 9th, we husbanded our resources, for
+our ammunition was running short and the roads through the swamp
+were nearly impassable. We extended our works on Carter's left,
+recurving them so as to cross the lower Trent road, and, though we
+had no troops at the moment except one regiment of Ruger's to put
+into these intrenchments, they were ready for prompt occupation by
+any we might send there if another effort were made to turn that
+flank. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. i. pp. 978, 995.] With this in view,
+General Ruger was directed to put one of his brigades in reserve,
+extending the rest of his troops to fill the vacancy so made, and
+covering the front with abatis and slashed timber. Pickets were
+advanced and every effort made to obtain information and keep close
+watch of the enemy's movements. About ten o'clock General Palmer
+reported a force moving toward the Neuse road which, after
+demonstrating there for some time, marched back again. [Footnote:
+_Id_., pt. ii. pp. 747, 749-750.] This seems to have been an effort
+to repeat the movement of Hill on the previous afternoon, but this
+time by Hoke's division. Finding Palmer's line in good earthworks,
+Hoke made no attack, and returned to his position, though Bragg's
+order declared that "success must be achieved." [Footnote: _Id_., p.
+1359.] While this was going on, Hill advanced his line and drove in
+Carter's skirmishers; but these being reinforced, quickly retook
+their rifle-pits, and Hill retired to his own works. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. i. p. 1087.] Bragg's delay in
+testing conclusions with us was due, in part no doubt, to the fact
+that Stewart's corps of the Army of Tennessee was _en route_ to him,
+and the railway was being worked energetically to bring up these
+reinforcements. They arrived during the day, and the final attack
+upon us was arranged for Friday, the 10th. Stewart's men were under
+the command of General Walthall, the senior division commander
+present. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 1088.]
+
+In the night of Thursday and the early morning of Friday, the active
+skirmishing of the enemy was so continuous as to remind us of the
+days in the Georgia campaign when the intrenched lines of the
+opposing armies faced each other in the narrow valley near New Hope
+Church. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. ii. p. 769.] Bragg ordered Hoke's
+troops to be relieved by Walthall's, and to make a considerable
+circuit to their right, seeking to reach the lower Trent road in our
+rear, and, advancing upon it, attack Carter's division in reverse.
+The sharp skirmishing had covered these changes of position. Upon
+hearing the sounds of Hoke's attack, Walthall and Hill were to
+assist him by strong demonstrations, but, as the latter says, in
+deference to his report that the men were very unwilling to attack
+earthworks, "their experience in the late campaign [in the west] not
+being favorable to such an undertaking," no actual assault was
+ordered, but doubled skirmish lines were to advance as far as
+possible. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. i. p. 1088.]
+
+On our side we were watchful and expectant, my orders to the
+divisions being that whenever one part of the line should be
+engaged, the rest should push forward strong skirmish lines to test
+the extent of the enemy's deployment, and gain the information on
+which I could act in reinforcing either wing from the other. General
+Greene, who was on his way to rejoin Sherman, volunteered for duty
+as a staff officer, [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. i.
+p. 979.] as did General Stiles of my own division of the
+Twenty-third Corps, who was likewise returning to his proper
+command. [Footnote: General George S. Greene, division commander in
+the Twentieth Corps, had commanded a division in the Twelfth Corps,
+before its consolidation into the other. He was the same who was
+distinguished at Antietam (_ante_, vol. i. pp. 321-331). He
+graduated at West Point in 1823, and was a descendant of General
+Greene of the Revolutionary War, a military stock well continued in
+F. V. Greene of the Engineers, a general officer in the late Spanish
+War.] The absence of most of my own staff made their help most
+acceptable.
+
+General Schofield was on his way up from New Berne, and horses were
+awaiting him at the end of the railway when, about half-past eleven,
+Hoke's attack came with much more energy and resolution than the
+Confederates had shown before. Ruger's reserve brigade (McQuiston's)
+was ordered over to the left at once, a brigade he had loaned to
+Palmer (Thomas's) was ordered back, and Palmer was ordered to send
+another brigade if the enemy was quiet in his front. Hoke's attack
+lapped so far over the lower Trent road as to threaten the Dover
+road also, and lest General Schofield should be in danger of
+capture, I directed Palmer to signal down the railroad track for him
+to await further news from us before leaving the train. [Footnote:
+_Id._, pt. ii. p. 772.]
+
+The artillery of both Carter's and Ruger's divisions were
+concentrated upon Hoke, who was surprised to find our line so well
+prepared to meet him. For nearly an hour, however, the fighting was
+fierce; but it then began to flag a little, and I at once ordered
+McQuiston's brigade to charge, throwing the left forward upon Hoke's
+flank. This was decisive, and the enemy broke and fled. Walthall and
+Hill were now advancing against Carter's right and against Ruger,
+and as the line of the latter was very thin, I had to recall
+McQuiston in the full tide of pursuit and send him back to the
+centre double quick. He brought in nearly 300 prisoners, and our
+left was relieved of all danger. For a while my headquarters group
+was in a hot place. General Greene had his horse shot under him, one
+orderly had an arm taken off by a shell, two others were wounded,
+and several had horses killed.
+
+The men of Stewart's and Lee's corps were to have co-operated with
+Hoke, but the difficulty of movement over such blind and wooded
+country caused delay which gave time for me to reinforce the centre.
+The artillery was hurried to the same position, and the Confederates
+were defeated easily, their unwillingness to assault breastworks
+being increased by the sight of Hoke's men in disordered flight. At
+half-past twelve I was able to send word to General Schofield that
+the road was no longer threatened by the enemy, and he joined us
+before the fighting at the centre was over. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xlvii. pt. i. p. 978; pt. ii. p. 772.] Bragg withdrew
+to the intrenchments he had occupied on the 9th. The certainty that
+two corps of the Army of Tennessee were represented in the attack
+besides the troops of Bragg's own department, added to the lack of
+supplies and munitions, made us quite willing to remain on the
+defensive and await the arrival of Couch, who was within a day's
+march of us with the two veteran divisions of the Twenty-third
+Corps. The construction of the railroad and the hurrying forward of
+ammunition were ordered with strenuous urgency, and messages to
+Couch made him force the marching to join us. [Footnote: The officer
+who was sent by Schofield to hasten Couch's march found my old
+division at the head of the column slowly filing over a rickety
+foot-bridge in the darkness, grumbling at the continued plodding in
+the mud. He shouted to them the news of our fighting and my possible
+need of help. The cry went up from the men, "If General Cox wants
+us, he can have us," and they dashed into the stream in solid
+column, forcing the pace till they reached the field.] Bragg
+retreated in the night of the 10th and was speeding back to
+Goldsborough by rail, for Johnston was now hastening to join Hardee,
+who was retreating before Sherman out of South Carolina.
+
+The numbers which Hill and Walthall brought to Bragg were smaller
+than we inferred from our knowledge of the organizations present. We
+took prisoners belonging to four divisions of Hood's old army.
+Hoke's division and the brigades of Whitford, Hagood, and Baker had
+all been stronger in numbers than similar organizations of our own.
+We were necessarily wholly ignorant of the causes which had reduced
+the divisions coming from the West, and indeed learned of their
+presence in North Carolina only through the prisoners we took in the
+engagement and the deserters who came into our lines. As we have
+seen, [Footnote: _Ante_, p. 424.] the number of Hood's men in the
+State at the beginning of the month was over 9000, with other
+detachments on the way. Bragg's other forces were an equal number.
+After all the casualties of the campaign, the Army of Tennessee
+reported 11,442 present on April 7th, of which 8953 were
+"effectives." When they were paroled at Greenesborough on April
+26th, 17,934 appeared and signed the papers. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xlvii. pt. i. pp. 1059, 1066. In the table of the
+paroled, Cheatham's two divisions (his own and Brown's) are listed
+in Hardee's corps, and with those of Stewart's and Lee's corps, less
+Anderson's (late Talliaferro's) division, make the total given.] It
+is impossible to tell exactly what part of these were at Kinston.
+Hill's claim that he had but little over 1300 effectives in five
+brigades of Lee's corps is not credible. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 1088.
+For my criticism of his amusingly erroneous statements in regard to
+Antietam, see "The Nation," No. 1538, p. 462, and No. 1543, p. 71.]
+It is certain that Bragg knew I had three divisions and that he
+believed his force was the stronger. Our losses had been 1337, of
+which 900 were the "missing" in Upton's brigade and the cavalry.
+Bragg made no formal report of the campaign or of his losses in this
+part of it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVIII
+
+JUNCTION WITH SHERMAN AT GOLDSBOROUGH--THE MARCH ON
+RALEIGH--CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES
+
+
+Occupation of Kinston--Opening of Neuse River--Rebel ram
+destroyed--Listening to the distant battle at Bentonville--Entering
+Goldsborough--Meeting Sherman--Grant's congratulations--His own
+plans--Sketch of Sherman's march--Lee and Johnston's
+correspondence--Their gloomy outlook--Am made commandant of
+Twenty-third Corps--Terry assigned to Tenth--Schofield promoted in
+the Regular Army--Stanton's proviso--Ill effects of living on the
+country--Stopping it in North Carolina--Camp jubilee over the fall
+of Richmond--Changes in Sherman's plans--Our march on
+Smithfield--House-burning--News of Lee's surrender--Overtures from
+Governor Vance--Entering Raleigh--A mocking-bird's greeting--Further
+negotiations as to North Carolina--Johnston proposes an
+armistice--Broader scope of negotiations--The Southern people desire
+peace--Terrors of non-combatants assuaged--News of Lincoln's
+assassination--Precautions to preserve order--The dawn of peace.
+
+
+Reconnoitring parties sent toward Kinston on the 11th showed that
+only a rear-guard occupied that town and that we could occupy it
+when we pleased. General Couch joined us on the 12th, and Hoke
+having sent in a flag of truce offering to exchange prisoners, of
+whom we had nearly 400, I sent Major Dow of my staff with General
+Schofield's answer declining to do so. The major found no enemy on
+our side of the Neuse. The railroad bridge was burned and the middle
+part of the wagon bridge destroyed. The roads were so nearly
+impassable that we could hardly feed the troops where we were, and
+whilst the railroad building went on, we hastened also the opening
+of a supply line by water. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii.
+pt. i. pp. 933, 934; pt. ii. pp. 801, 802, 814.] Commander Rhind of
+the navy efficiently co-operated in this, and we marched to Kinston
+bridge on the 14th, laid pontoon bridges on the next day, and
+occupied the town. The Confederate ram had been burnt and her wreck
+lay a little below the bridge. The transports and their convoying
+war vessel did not get up till the 18th, but as they then brought a
+hundred thousand rations, we were able to begin accumulating stores
+at Kinston as an advanced depot. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xlvii. pt. ii. pp. 836-839, 880, 883.] Small additions to our
+wagon-trains also arrived, and orders were issued to march toward
+Goldsborough on the 20th. Meanwhile 2000 men had been set at work
+getting out railroad ties and timber for bridges. [Footnote: _Id._,
+pp. 836, 851.]
+
+During the halt at Kinston we partly reorganized the troops in view
+of the approaching union with Sherman. The officers and men who
+belonged to the divisions in Sherman's army were separately
+organized into a division under General Greene, so that they could
+easily be transferred to their proper commands. The rest of Palmer's
+and Carter's divisions were united in one under Carter, and Palmer
+was assigned to the District of Beaufort, from which I was relieved.
+Ruger's division remained in my provisional corps with the other
+two. General Stiles was assigned to a brigade in Ruger's division.
+[Footnote: _Id._, pp. 839, 895.]
+
+On Monday, the 20th, we were in march for Goldsborough, leaving a
+brigade to garrison the post at Kinston and protect the growing
+depot there. On Sunday we had heard all day the very distant
+artillery firing, which we knew indicated a battle between Sherman
+and Johnston. It was a scarcely distinguishable sound, like a dull
+thumping, becoming somewhat more distinct when one applied his ear
+to the ground. We judged that this final battle in the Carolinas was
+near Smithfield, and we were not far out of the way, for Bentonville
+was only a little south, and either place about fifty miles from us.
+Two days' march took us into Goldsborough with no opposition but
+skirmishing with the enemy's cavalry. We found the railroad
+uninjured, except that the bridges were burned; but they were small
+and would not delay Colonel Wright long when the large one at
+Kinston should be completed. Captain Twining, General Schofield's
+engineer and aide, had carried dispatches to Sherman on the 20th,
+and the latter was now in full possession of the story of our
+movements since the fall of Fort Fisher. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii. p. 942.] On the 22d Sherman was able to
+announce in field orders the retreat of Johnston toward Raleigh and
+our occupation of Goldsborough, whilst Terry had laid his pontoons
+across the Neuse completing the connection with Wilmington also. His
+declaration for the whole army that the "campaign has resulted in a
+glorious success" was more than justified. [Footnote: _Id._, pt. i.
+p. 44.]
+
+On Thursday, the 23d, Sherman joined us in person, and we paraded
+the Twenty-third Corps to honor the march-past of Slocum's Army of
+Georgia, the Fourteenth and Twentieth Corps, as they came in from
+Bentonville. Sherman took his place with us by the roadside, and the
+formal reunion with the comrades who had fought with us in the
+Atlanta campaign was an event to stir deep emotions in our hearts.
+The general did not hesitate to speak out his readiness, now that
+his army was reunited, to meet the forces of Lee and Johnston
+combined, if they also should effect a junction and try to open a
+way southward. The men who had traversed the Carolinas were ragged
+and dirty, their faces were begrimed by the soot of their camp-fires
+of pine-knots in the forests, but their arms were in order, and they
+stepped out with the sturdy swing that marked all our Western
+troops. Our men were in new uniforms we had lately drawn from the
+quartermaster, and the tatterdemalions who had made the march to the
+sea were disposed to chaff us as if we were new recruits or pampered
+garrison troops. "Well, sonnies!" a regimental wag cried out, "do
+they issue butter to you regularly now?" "Oh, yes! to be sure!" was
+the instant retort; "but _we_ trade it off for soap!" The ironical
+emphasis on the "we" was well understood and greeted with roars of
+laughter, and learning that our men were really those who had been
+with them in Georgia and had fought at Franklin and Nashville before
+making the tour of the North to come by sea and rejoin them in North
+Carolina, they made the welkin ring again with their greeting
+cheers.
+
+Keeping close watch of Sherman's movements, as hinted at in the
+Southern newspapers, [Footnote: Till the capture of Columbia, the
+Southern newspapers gave Sherman's movements with satisfactory
+accuracy, and Grant's information on the subject was chiefly drawn
+from them. Afterward a more rigid censorship was enforced. Official
+Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii. pp. 385, 405, 428, 441, 455, 472, 499,
+etc.] Grant concluded on the 22d that he must have reached
+Goldsborough, and wrote him congratulations on the same day that
+Sherman announced to his army the good result. "I congratulate you
+and the army," said Grant, "in what may be regarded as the
+successful termination of the third campaign since leaving the
+Tennessee River less than one year ago." [Footnote: _Id._, p. 948.]
+He briefly but clearly outlined his own plans. Sheridan was to start
+with his cavalry on the 25th, and, passing beyond the left of the
+lines before Petersburg, to strike the Southside railroad as near
+the town as might be, and destroy enough of it to interrupt its use
+by the enemy for three or four days. This done, he was to push for
+the Danville Railroad, do the like, and again cut the Southside road
+near Burkesville. After that Grant would leave Sheridan at liberty
+to join Sherman or to return to his own army. At the same time he
+would himself diminish the forces in his investing lines to the
+smallest that could hold them, and with all the rest crowd to the
+westward to prevent Lee from following Sheridan. He would attack if
+Lee should detach part of his army to follow Sheridan or to join
+Johnston, or would fight a decisive battle if the Confederates came
+out in force. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii. p.
+948. See also p. 859.] The general principles which resulted in Five
+Forks and the abandonment of Richmond are here clearly evident, and
+Sherman could plan his own work accordingly.
+
+The latter was also writing on that day to the Lieutenant-General,
+taking up the thread of his own story from the time he reached
+Fayetteville and learned that Johnston had been put in command of
+all the forces opposing him. He sketched the sharp combat between
+Slocum and Hardee at Averasborough on March 16th, where the latter
+had taken a strong position across the narrow swampy neck between
+Cape Fear River and North River at the forks of the Raleigh and
+Goldsborough roads. Hardee was working for time, as Johnston was
+collecting his forces at Smithfield after Bragg's unsuccessful blow
+at us near Kinston. A day's delay was gained at heavy cost for the
+Confederates. At Bentonville, on the 19th, Johnston had concentrated
+his army and struck fiercely at Slocum again, for the almost
+impassable mud had made it necessary for Howard's wing to seek roads
+some miles to the right. Slocum had to give some ground and draw
+back his advanced division to a better position, on which he formed
+the rest of his troops, Kilpatrick's cavalry covering his left. Here
+he repulsed all further efforts of Johnston and held his ground till
+Sherman could bring forward the right wing, when the enemy was
+forced to intrench and was put on the defensive. On the 21st
+Howard's extreme right broke through or turned the line, and nearly
+reached Johnston's headquarters. The blindly tangled swampy ground
+prevented full advantage being reaped from this success, and
+Johnston managed to hold on till night, when he abandoned his lines
+and retreated on Raleigh. Sherman's casualties of all sorts in the
+two engagements of Averasborough and Bentonville were 2209. He had
+buried on the abandoned fields 375 of the Confederate dead, and held
+2000 prisoners. Johnston's wounded were 1694 at Bentonville, besides
+several hundred at Averasborough. [Footnote: Sherman to Grant,
+Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii. p. 949; his report, Id., pt.
+i. pp. 27, 66, 76; Johnston's do., Id., pp. 1057, 1060.] The last
+battle in the Carolinas had been fought, Johnston had added to his
+reputation as a soldier by quick and strong blows skilfully
+delivered, first at Schofield, then at Sherman; but his numbers were
+not enough to make either blow successful, and the junction of our
+armies at Goldsborough made further fighting a mere waste of life,
+unless he and Lee could unite for a final effort. This Grant would
+not permit, and Johnston's message to Lee on the 23d was in
+substance the old one from Pavia, "All is lost but honor."
+"Sherman's course cannot be hindered by the small force I have. I
+can do no more than annoy him. I respectfully suggest that it is no
+longer a question whether you leave your present position; you have
+only to decide where to meet Sherman. I will be near him."
+[Footnote: _Id._, p. 1055.]
+
+General Lee, from his own point of view, saw with equal clearness
+the net that was closing round him. He had telegraphed to Johnston
+on the 11th, "I fear I cannot hold my position if road to Raleigh is
+interrupted. Should you be forced back in this direction both armies
+would certainly starve." [Footnote: _Id._, pt. ii. p. 1372.] On the
+15th he repeated, "If you are forced back from Raleigh and we
+deprived of the supplies from east North Carolina, I do not know how
+this army can be supported." [Footnote: _Id._, p. 1395.] But while
+he pointed out the vital importance of repulsing Sherman, he did not
+urge rashness in giving battle without prospect of success. Supplies
+in Virginia, he said, were exhausted. The western communication by
+Danville was now his only reliance. Since sending Hoke, Conner, and
+Hampton south, his forces were too weak to extend his lines, and he
+apprehended the very break in the Danville road which Grant was
+planning to make by Sheridan. "You will therefore perceive," he
+added, "that if I contract my lines as you propose, with the view of
+holding Richmond, our only resource for obtaining subsistence will
+be cut off and the city must be abandoned; whereas, if I take a
+position to maintain the road, Richmond will be lost." If Sherman
+could not be checked, "I cannot remain here, but must start out and
+seek a favorable opportunity for battle. I shall maintain my
+position as long as it appears advisable, both from the moral and
+material advantages of holding Richmond and Virginia." [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii. p. 1395.] Danville, he saw,
+was his necessary aim if he broke away, and he pointed out the
+advantages they would have for manoeuvre if Sherman could be kept
+well to the east, giving them more room and a wider region to live
+upon after uniting. But Grant saw all this too, and the inexorable
+tenacity and vigor with which, a few days later, he pushed Lee north
+of the Danville line and cornered him at Appomattox, showed that his
+measure of the situation was as accurate as Lee's, and that he knew
+the quick ending of the war depended on his preventing at all
+hazards the junction of the Confederate armies. Nothing in military
+history is more interesting than the comparison of the letters and
+dispatches of the leaders on both sides in this crisis. Grant was
+not content with being upon Lee's heels when he abandoned Richmond,
+as he had promised Sherman he would be. He would do better. Well
+served by Sheridan's fiery energy, he would out-foot his adversary
+in the race for Danville, and even block his path on the road to
+Lynchburg when the junction with Johnston had to be given up.
+
+For us at Goldsborough a day or two was delightfully spent in free
+conferences with Sherman and in getting from his own lips the story
+of his wonderful campaigns since we parted from him in Georgia. All
+the empty wagons of his enormous trains were now sent back to
+Kinston under escort to bring up clothing and supplies, and he
+thought a delay of a fortnight might be necessary to get ready for
+further active movements. He fixed April both as the date for
+opening a new campaign, and suggested to General Grant that when he
+had his troops properly placed and the supplies working well, he
+might "run up and see you for a day or two before diving again into
+the bowels of the country." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii.
+pt. ii. p. 969.] On the 25th the railroad was running to
+Goldsborough, and Colonel Wright was anxious to have the general go
+over the road with him and see for himself its condition and what
+had been acomplished as well as what was still needed to make its
+equipment ready for the heavy work of another campaign. Accordingly
+Sherman put Schofield temporarily in chief command, and after an
+inspection trip on a locomotive with Colonel Wright, he continued
+his journey to City Point in a steamer belonging to the
+quartermaster's department. [Footnote: _Id._, pt. iii. pp. 19, 20.]
+His memorable visit to Grant and Lincoln, there, will be considered
+in connection with the negotiations with Johnston a little later.
+Having spent the 27th and 28th of March there, he was sent back by
+Admiral Porter in a fast vessel of the navy, reached New Berne on
+the 30th, and rejoined us at Goldsborough the same evening.
+
+His return was a matter of some personal interest to me, for it
+brought my permanent assignment to the command of the Twenty-third
+Corps by Presidential order. The other troops under Schofield were
+organized into a new corps with Terry for commandant, and as changes
+had vacated the original Tenth Corps organization, that number was
+given to Terry's. Schofield had asked for these appointments
+immediately after our occupation of Wilmington, but the letters had
+not reached General Grant, and action had not been taken. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii. p. 559.] At Goldsborough he
+had renewed the request which Sherman cordially indorsed, and the
+latter carried the papers with him to City Point, where the matter
+was acted upon at once by the President and General Grant.
+[Footnote: _Id._, pp. 960, 961; pt. iii. pp. 18, 34. See also
+Appendix C.]
+
+Schofield's promotion to the rank of brigadier-general in the
+regular army had been recommended by Grant as a reward for the
+capture of Wilmington, with the remark that he ought to have had it
+from the battle of Franklin. [Footnote: _Id._, pt. ii. pp. 545,
+558.] Mr. Stanton replied that the nomination would be made as
+requested, "subject, however, to his obedience to orders. I am not
+satisfied with his conduct in seizing the hospital boat 'Spaulding'
+to make it his own quarters," he said; adding, "I have directed him
+to give it up. If he obeys the order promptly, I will send in his
+nomination; otherwise I will not." [Footnote: _Id._, p. 562.] By an
+odd coincidence, the order to Schofield with the Secretary's
+reprimand was written on the same day Grant was making his
+recommendation for promotion, [Footnote: _Id._, p. 545.] and it well
+illustrates Stanton's characteristic impulsiveness and hasty temper
+which made him act on first reports, when a quiet investigation of
+facts would have changed his view and saved the feelings of his
+subordinates. An order forbidding the use of hospital boats for
+other military purposes, diverting them from hospital use, had been
+issued on February 8th, the day we reached Cape Fear Inlet after our
+sea voyage, [Footnote: _Id._, p. 342.] and by another coincidence
+Schofield had made the "Spaulding" his temporary headquarters on the
+same day. [Footnote: _Id._, pt. i. p. 927.] Not being a clairvoyant,
+Schofield knew nothing of the order which was then being written in
+the adjutant-general's office at Washington, and which did not reach
+him till his temporary use of the vessel had ended. Moreover, as he
+was as yet without his tents or horses, and as he intended his
+troops to operate on both sides of Cape Fear River, his prompt
+progress with the campaign depended on his ready communication with
+both banks, [Footnote: _Ante_, p. 405.] and the boat had been named
+as available for the purpose by the quartermaster responsible for
+the army transports and vessels. As it was a question of successful
+handling of his forces, the discretion would have belonged to the
+general commanding the department to make an exception to a rule, if
+the order had been in his hands instead of being wholly unknown to
+him. Still again, the use he made of the boat helped instead of
+hindering its availability as a hospital, for he kept it close to
+the advancing lines on the river banks so that the wounded were
+brought to it with greatest ease, and it had in fact no sick or
+disabled men on board till they were brought there under these
+circumstances. Lastly, the superior medical officer of the
+department was a member of Schofield's staff, wholly in accord with
+his views, and the complaint had been sent by the subordinate
+surgeon on the boat directly to the surgeon-general at Washington
+without the knowledge of the department medical director. To have
+referred it back to the general for his comments, calling his
+attention to the order, would have been regular and would have
+resulted in commendation of his action instead of disapproval. When
+Grant received the Secretary's dispatch, Colonel Comstock had
+returned from Wilmington, and from him the general got the
+information which enabled him to remove Stanton's misapprehension,
+so that the appointment was made before Schofield knew of the
+complaint. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii. pp. 562,
+582.] Nearly a month later he made a full statement of the
+circumstances to put himself personally right with the Secretary.
+[Footnote: _Id._, p. 832.] The latter had borne no ill-will to
+Schofield, but even at the closing period of the war had not learned
+to temper his zeal with considerate patience.
+
+The work which occupied us the ten days of April which we spent at
+Goldsborough was chiefly that of organizing our trains and
+collecting supplies in our depots, so that the foraging on the
+country which had been necessary in Georgia and South Carolina might
+cease, now that we had railway communication with a safe base on the
+Atlantic. Sherman had informed his principal subordinates that when
+he reached North Carolina he would resume the regular issue of
+supplies as far as possible, and put an end to the indiscriminate
+seizing of whatever the army needed. It had answered its purpose in
+the long marches from Atlanta to Savannah and from Savannah to
+Goldsborough, where the condition of success was cutting loose from
+the base; but the tendency to demoralization and loss of discipline
+in troops which practise it too long, made a return to regular
+methods very desirable.
+
+As the army had approached the North Carolina line, General Blair,
+commanding the Seventeenth Corps, had written to Howard, his
+immediate superior: "Every house that we pass is pillaged, and as we
+are about to enter the State of North Carolina, I think the people
+should be treated more considerately. The only way to prevent this
+state of affairs is to put a stop to foraging. I have enough in my
+wagons to last to Goldsborough, and I suppose that the rest of the
+army has also. . . . The system is vicious and its results utterly
+deplorable. As there is no longer a necessity for it, I beg that an
+order may be issued to prohibit it. General Sherman said that when
+we reached North Carolina he would pay for everything brought to us
+and forbid foraging. I believe it would have an excellent effect
+upon the country to change our policy in this respect." [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii. p. 717; pt. iii. pp. 46, 47.]
+Stringent orders were at once issued to modify the system and
+prevent the abuses of it, but it was not practicable to stop
+foraging entirely till the junction of the forces was made at
+Goldsborough. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii. pp.
+718, 728, 760, 783.] The regular issue of rations furnished by the
+government was then resumed, except that long forage for horses and
+mules could not be obtained in this way and was collected from the
+country;[Footnote: _Id._, pt. iii. pp. 7-9.] but even then the
+correction of bad habits in the soldiery was only gradually
+accomplished.
+
+The evacuation of Richmond and Petersburg on the morning of the 3d
+of April was not known to Sherman till the 6th, when Grant's letter
+reached him containing the joyful news. On Saturday, the 8th, it was
+confirmed, with particulars of Lee's disastrous retreat. [Footnote:
+_Id._, pp. 89, 99, 100, 109.] That night there was a noisy jubilee
+in our camps. Regular artillery salutes were fired, but the soldiers
+also extemporized all sorts of demonstrations of their joyfulness.
+The air resounded with cheers, with patriotic songs, with the
+beating of drums, with the music of the brass bands, with musket
+firing; whilst beautiful signal rockets rushed high into the air,
+dropping their brilliant stars of red, white, and blue from the very
+clouds. [Footnote: _Id._, pt. i. p. 936.]
+
+So long as Lee held fast at Petersburg, Sherman's plan had been to
+feint on Raleigh, but make his real movement northward, crossing the
+Roanoke above Gaston and marching between Johnston and Lee.
+[Footnote: _Id._, pt. iii. p. 102.] Now, however, as he wrote
+Halleck, he would move in force upon Raleigh, repairing the railroad
+behind him and following the Confederate army close in whatever
+direction it should move. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 118.] Grant's letter
+of the 5th, giving his opinion that Lee was making for Danville with
+an army reduced to about 20,000 men, [Footnote: _Id._, P. 99.]
+reached Sherman on the 8th, and he immediately answered it, saying:
+"On Monday [10th] all my army will move straight on Joe Johnston,
+supposed to be between me and Raleigh, and I will follow him
+wherever he may go. If he retreats on Danville to make junction with
+Lee, I will do the same, though I may take a course round him,
+bending toward Greensborough for the purpose of turning him
+north.... I wish you could have waited a few days or that I could
+have been here a week sooner; but it is not too late yet, and you
+may rely with absolute certainty that I will be after Johnston with
+about 80,000 men, provided for twenty full days which will last me
+forty. I will have a small force here at Goldsborough and will
+repair the road to Raleigh." [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xlvii. pt. iii. p. 129.]
+
+On Monday we marched,--Slocum with the Army of Georgia straight for
+Smithfield, Howard with the Army of the Tennessee going north to
+Pikeville and then turning toward Raleigh, keeping to the right of
+Slocum and abreast of him on parallel roads. Schofield with our Army
+of the Ohio moved a little to the left of Slocum in echelon, my
+corps taking the river road on the left (north) bank of the Neuse to
+Turner's Bridge, a little below Smithfield, and Terry's going
+through Bentonville somewhat further to left and rear. Kilpatrick
+with the cavalry covered the march of this flank. [Footnote: _Id_.,
+p. 123.] It will be seen that this order of movement assumed that
+Johnston was at or near Smithfield, where our latest information put
+him. My corps had been somewhat scattered to cover our
+communications with Kinston and Newberne, and I was ordered to
+concentrate at Goldsborough on the 10th, advancing-from there on the
+11th. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 134.] My old division, which had been
+commanded by General Reilly since he joined us at Wilmington, was
+for the rest of the campaign led by General Carter, Reilly's
+uncertain health making him anticipate the quickly approaching end
+of the war by resigning. Ruger and Couch continued in command of the
+first and second divisions respectively. [Footnote: _Id_., pt. i. p.
+936.]
+
+My own march was impeded by the slow progress of the pontoon-train
+which had been sent ahead of my column, where a part of Slocum's
+supply-train also moved. For this reason we found numbers of
+stragglers on our way and evidences of pillaging by which I was
+exasperated. We halted at noon of the 11th near a large house
+belonging to a Mr. Atkinson, a man of prominence in the region. The
+mansion had a Grecian portico with large columns the whole height of
+the building. Part of the furniture and the carpets had been
+removed, but evidences of refinement and intelligence were seen in
+the piano and the library with its books. With my staff I rested and
+ate my lunch in the spacious portico, and moving on when the halt
+was over, I had hardly ridden half a mile when a pillar of white
+smoke showed that the house was on fire. I sent back a staff officer
+in haste to order an instant investigation and the arrest of any
+authors of this vandalism. The most that could be learned was that
+some stragglers of another corps had been seen lurking in the house
+when we moved on, and soon after fire broke out in the second story,
+having been set, apparently, in a closet connected with one of the
+chambers. Efforts were made to extinguish it, but it had found its
+way into the garret and had such headway that the house was doomed.
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. i. p. 936.] This was
+the first instance in my experience where a dwelling had been burned
+when my troops were passing, and I was greatly disturbed by their
+apparent responsibility for it. My anger was increased by
+repetitions of similar outrages during the afternoon. From our camp
+at Turner's Bridge I issued an order directing summary trial by
+drum-head court-martial and execution of marauders guilty of such
+outrages, whether belonging to my own corps or stragglers hanging on
+at its skirts. [Footnote: _Id._, pt. iii. p. 189.] The evidence
+seemed conclusive that the crimes were committed by "bummers" who
+had separated themselves from the army when marching up from
+Savannah, and were following it for purposes of pillage. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. p. 281.] It was reported that
+Atkinson was a "conscription agent" of the Confederate government,
+and this perhaps was the incentive in his case for the outrage. As a
+precaution, I ordered sentinels to be left at dwellings on our
+march, to be relieved from the divisions in succession, the last to
+remain till our trains had passed and then join the rear-guard.
+[Footnote: _Id_., p. 189.]
+
+In the march of the 12th Howard remained on the east side of the
+Neuse with a pretty widely extended front, aiming for the crossing
+of the river due east of Raleigh, at the Neuse Mills and Hinton's
+Bridge. Slocum crossed at Smithfield and took the roads up the right
+bank of the Neuse. Schofield crossed at Turner's Bridge, and sought
+roads further west, intending to reach the main road leading from
+Elevation to Raleigh. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 163, 164, 187-189.] At
+Smithfield we learned that Johnston was at Raleigh, but we did not
+know that he had heard of Lee's surrender and had no longer a motive
+to hold tenaciously to the central part of the State. [Footnote:
+_Id_., p. 777.] It was on our march of Tuesday, the 12th, that the
+news of the surrender reached us, and was greeted with extravagant
+demonstrations of joy by both officers and men. [Footnote: For a
+vivid description of the scene, see "Ohio Loyal Legion Papers," vol.
+ii. p. 234, by A. J. Ricks, then a lieutenant on my staff, since
+Judge of U. S. District Court, N. Ohio.] Sherman had got the news in
+a dispatch sent by Grant on the 9th, as soon as the capitulation was
+complete, and which contained the terms he had offered Lee, with
+their acceptance. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii.
+p. 140.] Replying at once, Sherman said, "I hardly know how to
+express my feelings, but you can imagine them. The terms you have
+given Lee are magnanimous and liberal. Should Johnston follow Lee's
+example, I shall of course grant the same. He is retreating before
+me on Raleigh, but I shall be there to-morrow." [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. p. 177.] He indicated his hope that
+Johnston would surrender at Raleigh, but should he not do so, his
+own plan would be to push to the south and west to prevent the
+enemy's retreat into the Gulf States. "With a little more cavalry,"
+he said, "I would be sure to capture the whole army." He issued also
+a Special Field Order, announcing to the army the momentous news.
+"Glory to God and to 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 years of bloody war." [Footnote: _Id._, p.
+180.] Such were the words which created a tumult of emotion in the
+heart of every soldier, when they were read that day, a beautiful
+spring day, at the head of each command. The order reached me near
+mid-day at a resting halt of the corps, and with bared heads my
+staff listened to the reading. We then greeted it with three cheers,
+I myself acting as fugleman, and the tidings sped down the column on
+the wings of the wind.
+
+Late in the same day a delegation met Slocum's advance-guard coming
+from Raleigh in a car upon the railroad with a letter from Governor
+Vance making overtures to end the war, so far as North Carolina was
+concerned. The little party was headed by ex-Governor Graham and Mr.
+Swain, men who had led the opposition to secession till swept away
+by the popular whirlwind of war feeling, and who now came to
+acknowledge the victory of the National Government. Mr. Graham had
+been the candidate for Vice-President in 1852, nominated by the Whig
+party on the ticket with General Scott. Sherman received them
+kindly, and gave a safeguard for Governor Vance and any members of
+the State government who might await him in Raleigh, though, after a
+conference with Graham and his party in regard to their present
+relations to the Confederate government, he wrote to Vance, "I doubt
+if hostilities can be suspended as between the Army of the
+Confederate Government and the one I command, but I will aid you all
+in my power to contribute to the end you aim to reach, the
+termination of the existing war." [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xlvii. pt. iii. p. 178.]
+
+The Twenty-third Corps marched eighteen miles on the 12th, and, as
+General Schofield reported, found that "Slocum's bummers had been
+all over the country," foraging it bare. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 187.]
+On the 13th we marched within two miles of Raleigh, making nineteen
+miles, the Army of Georgia entering the city just ahead of us.
+Sherman was with the head of Slocum's column, expecting to meet
+Governor Vance, but such delays had occurred to the train taking his
+messengers that Vance lost confidence, and had left the city ahead
+of Hampton's cavalry, the rear-guard of Johnston's army. Hampton was
+bitterly opposed to all negotiation by Vance, holding it to be
+treasonable, and had put such obstacles in the way of Graham's party
+as to make Vance think that they had been arrested and that the
+mission had failed. [Footnote: _Id._, pp. 178, 196.] Graham and
+Swain, however, were still there, and at once waited upon Sherman,
+who established his headquarters in the governor's mansion. The
+news, as it came to us in the marching column, was that Vance had
+met Sherman in person and surrendered the capital of the State; but
+the facts turned out to be as I have stated them. [Footnote: _Id._,
+pt. i. p. 937.]
+
+A trifling incident gave us pleasure as we were approaching our camp
+near Raleigh, and, with the soldiers' disposition to interpret
+fortuitous things in earth and air, was greeted as a good omen. A
+great tree stood at the roadside, and, perched upon a dead limb high
+above the foliage and overhanging the way, a mocking-bird poured
+forth the most wonderful melodies ever heard even from that prince
+of songsters. Excited but not frightened away by the moving host
+beneath, the bird outdid its kind in its imitations of other birds,
+and in its calls and notes of endless variety, whistling and singing
+with a full resonant power that rose above all other sounds. The
+marching soldiers ceased their talk, listening intently and craning
+their necks to get a sight of the peerless musician. It was a
+celebration of the coming peace, unique in beauty and full of sweet
+suggestions.
+
+On the 14th the greater part of the army moved westward a few miles
+in front of Raleigh, the Twenty-third Corps closing up to the
+eastern suburbs of the town. Sherman issued his marching orders for
+the 15th, beginning, "The next movement will be on Ashborough, to
+turn the position of the enemy at Company's shops in rear of Haw
+River Bridge and at Greensborough, and to cut off his only available
+line of retreat by Salisbury and Charlotte." [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. pp. 208, 217.] This march had hardly
+begun, however, when it was temporarily suspended and was never
+resumed. Our last hostile march against the Confederate armies had
+been made. Mr. Badger, the last senator from the State in the
+National Congress, and other leading men, including Mr. Holden, the
+leader of the Union element in the State, had joined Mr. Graham's
+party, and Sherman had been busy with them, negotiating informally
+to obtain the withdrawal of North Carolina from the Confederacy. The
+general was willing that the executive and legislature of the State
+should come to Raleigh for this purpose, but refused to suspend
+hostilities against Johnston's army except upon direct overtures for
+surrender on the part of the latter. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 221.]
+Whilst these conferences were in progress, others had been going on
+at Greensborough, and as a result General Johnston had sent a letter
+requesting an armistice. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 206.] Sherman
+immediately replied in terms which brought about the halt and
+temporary truce between the two armies and a personal conference
+three days later. Thus opened the famous negotiations, the story of
+which will be told in the next chapter.
+
+Whilst the Southern people had shown wonderful fortitude and
+patience as long as a hope of success remained, they were most
+anxious to be spared the horrors of war when there was no
+compensating advantage to be looked for. The dread of our armies had
+been increased by the exaggerations which the Confederate
+authorities had used to excite the people to desperate resistance,
+and the terror now reacted in a general popular demand for
+surrender. The story of the burning of Columbia had been given to
+them as a wanton and deliberate barbarity on Sherman's part, and the
+delegation which met him could hardly believe their own senses when
+they heard his earnest expressions of desire to end the war at once
+and save the people from suffering and the country from devastation.
+
+An experience of my own as we entered Raleigh gave me a startling
+view of the abject terror which had seized upon helpless families
+when they found themselves defenceless in our hands. In the night of
+Wednesday, the 12th, Hampton had made it known that the rear-guard
+which he commanded must retire before daylight, and the frightened
+people had at once begun to close their windows and sit in gloomy
+expectation of what the morning would bring. Early on Thursday
+Kilpatrick's cavalry clattered through the town, and on the further
+side some skirmishing occurred and an occasional cannon shot was
+thought to be the opening of battle. Slocum's infantry marched
+through after the cavalry advance-guard, and the heavy rattling of
+cannon and caissons with the shouting of the drivers of the trains
+seemed a pandemonium to unaccustomed ears. Sherman had issued
+stringent orders that no mischief should be done and no looting
+permitted in the city, and all the superior officers were earnest in
+enforcing the orders, so that I believe no town was ever more
+quietly occupied by an army in actual war. On Friday morning I was
+placing my own troops in the suburb and arranging to assume the
+guard of the city, left to us by the camping of the main body of the
+army beyond its western limits. An officer of the general staff came
+to me, saying he had been appealed to in a most piteous way for
+protection by a lady who with her household of women and children
+could endure the terror and suspense no longer. Knowing that I was
+to be in immediate charge of the place, he had given assurances that
+I would remove all cause for fear, but had still been begged to ask
+me to come in person and relieve their great distress. I went with
+him to one of the most comfortable homes of the town. The family had
+been collected in the parlors since midnight of Wednesday. They had
+not dared to retire to sleep, but clung about the mother and
+mistress. The windows were close shut, the rooms lit by candles, and
+pale, jaded with the long nervous strain, momentarily fearing the
+breaking in of those they had been taught to look upon as little
+better than fiends, their hollow eyes showed they were perilously
+near the limit of human endurance. I earnestly vouched for the good
+intentions of our generals, and promised the most ample protection.
+I assured them of sympathy and a purpose to give them the same
+safety as I should wish for my own wife and children if they were in
+a like situation. A guard was ordered for the house and the
+neighborhood. They were urged to open the windows to the cheerful
+light and to resume their ordinary way of life. The passing of the
+panic and the revival of confidence was a sort of return from the
+shadow of death and was most touching to behold. It added a new
+element of thankfulness that such terrors for the helpless were not
+to be renewed, since peace was really coming to heal the terrible
+wounds of war.
+
+There was a moment when we once more feared we might not be able to
+save the city from vengeance. It was when, on the 17th of April, the
+news of Lincoln's assassination reached us. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. p. 221.] Sherman had received the
+dispatch in cipher just as he was starting for his conference with
+Johnston at Durham Station, and had enjoined absolute secrecy upon
+the telegraph operator till his return in the evening. General
+Stiles, one of my most trusted subordinates, had been made
+commandant of the post of Raleigh with a garrison of three
+battalions of infantry, a brigade of reserve artillery, and the
+convalescents of the Army of the Ohio. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 217.] As
+soon as Sherman returned from his visit to Johnston, he sent for me
+and told me the terrible news of Lincoln's murder. He expressed the
+great fear he had lest, on its becoming known, it should be the
+occasion of outbreaks among the soldiers. He charged me to
+strengthen Stiles's garrison to any extent I might think necessary,
+to put strong guards at the edge of the city on the roads leading to
+the several camps, to send all soldiers off duty to their proper
+commands, and in short, till the first excitement should be over, to
+allow no one to visit the city or wander about it, and to keep all
+under strict military surveillance. Schofield and the other army
+commanders were with him, and all were seriously impressed with the
+danger of mischief resulting and with the need of thorough
+precautions. Sherman's general order announcing the assassination
+was then read, but its distribution and publication to the army was
+delayed till I should have time to prepare for safeguarding the
+city. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 238.] Fortunately the announcement of the
+first convention for the disbanding of all the remaining armies of
+the Confederacy accompanied the exciting news, and as it was
+regarded as the return of general peace, the effect on our army was
+that of deep mourning for the loss of a great leader in the hour of
+victory rather than an excitement to vengeance in a continuing
+strife. There was no noteworthy difficulty in preserving order, and,
+though the inhabitants of Raleigh had a day or two of great
+uneasiness, the beautiful town did not suffer in the least. Its
+broad streets, lined with forest trees, and the ample dooryards in
+the lush beauty of lawns and flowers were no more trespassed upon
+than the avenues and gardens of Washington, and nobody suffered from
+violence.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIX
+
+THE SHERMAN-JOHNSTON CONVENTION
+
+
+Sherman's earlier views of the slavery question--Opinions in
+1864--War rights vs. statesmanship--Correspondence with
+Halleck--Conference with Stanton at Savannah--Letter to General
+Robert Anderson--Conference with Lincoln at City Point--First effect
+of the assassination of the President--Situation on the Confederate
+side--Davis at Danville--Cut off from Lee--Goes to
+Greensborough--Calls Johnston to conference--Lee's surrender--The
+Greensborough meeting--Approach of Stoneman's cavalry raid--Vance's
+deputation to Sherman--Davis orders their arrest--Vance asserts his
+loyalty--Attempts to concentrate Confederate forces on the
+Greensborough-Charlotte line--Cabinet meeting--Overthrow of the
+Confederacy acknowledged--Davis still hopeful--Yields to the
+cabinet--Dictates Johnston's letter to Sherman--Sherman's
+reply--Meeting arranged--Sherman sends preliminary correspondence to
+Washington--The Durham meeting--The negotiations--Two points of
+difficulty--Second day's session--Johnston's power to promise the
+disbanding of the civil government--The terms agreed
+upon--Transmittal letters--Assembling the Virginia
+legislature--Sherman's wish to make explicit declaration of the end
+of slavery--The assassination affecting public sentiment--Sherman's
+personal faith in Johnston--He sees the need of modifying the
+terms--Grant's arrival.
+
+
+To understand Sherman's negotiations with Johnston, we must recall
+the general's attitude toward the rebellious States and his views on
+the subject of slavery. Originally a conservative Whig in politics,
+deprecating the anti-slavery agitation, as early as 1856 he had
+written to his brother, "Unless people both North and South learn
+more moderation, we'll 'see sights' in the way of civil war. Of
+course the North have the strength and must prevail, though the
+people of the South could and would be desperate enough." [Footnote:
+Sherman Letters, p. 63.] In 1859 he was still urging concessions
+instead of insisting on the absolute right, saying, "Each State has
+a perfect right to have its own local policy, and a majority in
+Congress has an absolute right to govern the whole country; but the
+North, being so strong in every sense of the term, can well afford
+to be generous, even to making reasonable concessions to the
+weakness and prejudices of the South." [Footnote: Sherman Letters,
+p. 77.] He returned to the same thought in 1860, saying, "So certain
+and inevitable is it that the physical and political power of this
+nation must pass into the hands of the free States, that I think you
+all can well afford to take things easy, bear the buffets of a
+sinking dynasty, and even smile at their impotent threats."
+[Footnote: _Id._, p. 83.]
+
+The world is familiar with the ringing words with which he threw
+away his livelihood and turned from every attractive outlook in
+life, when, Secession having actually come, he said to the governor
+of Louisiana, "On no earthly account will I do any act or think any
+thought hostile to or in defiance of the United States." [Footnote:
+_Id._, p. 106.] But he was also one of the clearest-sighted in
+seeing that when slavery had appealed to the sword it would perish
+by the sword. In January, 1864, he expressed it tersely: "The South
+has made the interests of slavery the issue of the war. If they lose
+the war, they lose slavery." [Footnote: _Id._, p. 222.] At the end
+of the same month he said, "Three years ago, by a little reflection
+and patience, they could have had a hundred years of peace and
+prosperity; but they preferred war. 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." [Footnote: Official Records, vol, xxxii. pt. ii. p.
+280.] And in the same letter, written to a subordinate with express
+authority to make it known to the Southern people within our lines,
+he said of certain administrative regulations: "These are
+well-established principles of war, and the people of the South,
+having appealed to war, are barred from appealing for protection to
+our Constitution, which they have practically and publicly defied.
+They have appealed to war, and must abide _its_ rules and laws."
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxxii. pt ii. p. 279.]
+
+Two years later Thaddeus Stevens, as radical leader in Congress,
+enounced the same doctrine in no more trenchant terms. Sherman was
+explicit in regard to its scope, but he differed from Stevens in the
+extent to which he would go, as a matter of sound policy and
+statesmanship, in applying the possible penalties of war when
+submission was made. It is clear that he insisted there could be no
+resurrection for slavery, and that the freedmen must be protected in
+life, liberty, and property, with a true equality before the law in
+this protection; but he held that they were as yet unfit for
+political participation in the government, much less for the
+assumption of political rule in the Southern States.
+
+In a friendly letter which General Halleck wrote to Sherman
+immediately after the capture of Savannah, he said with a freedom
+that long intimacy permitted: "Whilst almost every one is praising
+your great march through Georgia and the capture of Savannah, there
+is a certain class, having now great influence with the President
+and very probably anticipating still more on a change of cabinet,
+who are decidedly disposed to make a point against you--I mean in
+regard to 'Inevitable Sambo.' They say that you have manifested an
+almost _criminal_ dislike to the negro, and that you are not willing
+to carry out the wishes of the government in regard to him, but
+repulse him with contempt." [Footnote: _Id_., vol. xliv. p. 836.] In
+short, it was said that his march through Georgia might have been
+made the means of a general exodus of the slaves, and ought to have
+been.
+
+Sherman made a humorous reply, saying he allowed thousands of
+negroes to accompany his march, and set no limit but the necessities
+of his military operations. "If it be insisted," he said, "that I
+shall so conduct my operations that the negro alone is consulted, of
+course I will be defeated, and then where will be Sambo? Don't
+military success imply the safety of Sambo, and _vice versa_?...
+They gather round me in crowds, and I can't find out whether I am
+Moses or Aaron or which of the prophets. . . . The South deserves
+all she has got for her injustice to the negro, but that is no
+reason why we should go to the other extreme. I do and will do the
+best I can for negroes, and feel sure that the problem is solving
+itself slowly and naturally. It needs nothing more than our
+fostering care." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii. p.
+36.]
+
+The Secretary of War was broadly hinted at in Halleck's letter, but
+when Mr. Stanton visited Sherman at Savannah, the latter understood
+that his mind was disabused of any unfavorable impressions he may
+have had. Mr. Stanton had assembled a score of the leading colored
+preachers as the most intelligent representatives of their race, and
+examined them by written questions respecting their hopes and
+desires, their attitude in regard to military service, and in regard
+to living among the whites or separately. He learned that they
+generally preferred to try life in a separate community of their
+own, and that they were strongly opposed to the methods by which
+State agents were trying to enlist them as substitutes for men
+drafted in the Northern States. He even went so far as to ask these
+men whether they found Sherman friendly to the colored people's
+rights and interests or otherwise! The answer was that they had
+confidence in the general, and thought their concerns could not be
+in better hands. Some of them had called upon him on his arrival,
+and now said that they did not think he could have received Mr.
+Stanton with more courtesy than he showed to them. [Footnote: _Id._,
+p. 41.] Sherman's order relating to the allotment of sea-island
+lands to the freedmen for cultivation, and to the methods of
+procuring their enlistment as soldiers [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. xlvii. pt. ii. p. 60.] was drafted while Mr. Stanton was with
+him, and he affirms that every paragraph had the Secretary's
+approval. [Footnote: Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 250.]
+
+In his feelings toward the men chiefly responsible for secession and
+the war, Sherman had never measured his words when expressing his
+condemnation and wrath. In a letter to General Robert Anderson,
+written only a few days before meeting Johnston in negotiation, he
+had spoken with deepest feeling of his satisfaction that Anderson
+was to raise again the flag at Fort Sumter on April 14th (the fatal
+day on which also Lincoln died), saying he was "glad that it falls
+to the lot of one so pure and noble to represent our country in a
+drama so solemn, so majestic, and so just." To him it looked like "a
+retribution decreed by Heaven itself." Reminded by this thought of
+those who had caused this horrid war, he exclaimed: "But the end is
+not yet. The brain that first conceived the thought must burst in
+anguish, the heart that pulsated with hellish joy must cease to
+beat, the hand that pulled the first laniard must be palsied, before
+the wicked act begun in Charleston on the 13th of April, 1861, is
+avenged. But 'mine, not thine, is vengeance,' saith the Lord, and we
+poor sinners must let him work out the drama to its close."
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. p. 107.] Such was
+the man who went to meet General Johnston on the 17th of April; and
+in considering what he then did, we must take into the account the
+principles, the convictions, and the feelings which were part of his
+very nature.
+
+Still further, we must remember that he had, less than three weeks
+before, a personal conference with the President at City Point, and
+had obtained from him personally the views he held with regard to
+the terms he was prepared to grant to the several rebel States as
+well as to the armies which might surrender, and the method by which
+he expected to obtain an acknowledgment of submission from some
+legally constituted authority, without dealing in any way with the
+Confederate civil government. General Sherman is conclusive
+authority as to what occurred at a conference which was in the
+nature of instructions to him from the Commander-in-Chief; and the
+more carefully we examine contemporaneous records, the stronger
+becomes the conviction that he has accurately reported what occurred
+at that meeting.
+
+"Mr. Lincoln was full and frank in his conversation," says Sherman,
+"assuring me that in his mind he was all ready for the civil
+reorganization of affairs at the South as soon as the war was over;
+and he distinctly authorized me to assure Governor Vance and the
+people of North Carolina that as soon as the rebel armies laid down
+their arms and resumed their civil pursuits, they would at once be
+guaranteed all their rights as citizens of a common country; and
+that to avoid anarchy, the State governments then in existence, with
+their civil functionaries, would be recognized by him as the
+government _de facto_ till Congress could provide others."
+[Footnote: Sherman's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 327.]
+
+When the general met Mr. Graham and others, he was aware that
+General Weitzel at Richmond had authorized the Virginia State
+government to assemble, Mr. Lincoln being on the ground. The views
+expressed in the famous interview at City Point had taken practical
+shape. In correspondence with Johnston while they were awaiting
+action on the first convention, Sherman referred to Weitzel's action
+as a reason for confidence that there would be "no trouble on the
+score of recognizing existing State governments." [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. p. 266.]
+
+With the burden of the terrible news of Lincoln's assassination,
+Sherman went up to Durham Station to meet the Confederate general on
+the 17th of April. His grief was mingled with gloomy thoughts of the
+future, for it was natural that he as well as the authorities at
+Washington should at first think of the great crime as part of a
+system of desperate men to destroy both the civil and the military
+leaders of the country, and to disperse the armies into bands of
+merciless guerillas who would try the effect of anarchy now that
+civilized military operations had failed. We did injustice to the
+South in thinking so, but it was inevitable that such should be the
+first impression. As soon as we mingled a little with the leading
+soldiers and statesmen of the South we learned better, and the
+period of such apprehensions was a brief one, though terrible while
+it lasted.
+
+But we must here consider what were the motives and purposes which,
+on his part, Johnston represented, when he came from Greensborough
+to meet his great opponent. To understand these we must trace
+rapidly the course of events within his military lines. When
+Petersburg was taken and Richmond evacuated, Mr. Davis with the
+members of his cabinet went to Danville, where he remained for a few
+days, protected by a small force under General H. H. Walker.
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. pp. 741, 750.]
+Beauregard was at Greensborough, collecting detachments to resist an
+expedition which General Stoneman was leading through the mountains
+from Tennessee. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 751.] Johnston was at
+Smithfield with the main body of his forces, watching our army at
+Goldsborough and preparing to retreat toward Lee as soon as the
+latter might escape from Grant and give a rendezvous at Danville or
+Greensborough. The retreat from Petersburg made a union east of
+Danville probably impracticable. [Footnote: _Id._, pp. 682, 737.]
+
+Grant's persistent and vigorous pursuit soon turned Lee away from
+the Danville road at Burkesville, pushed him toward Lynchburg, and
+destroyed all hope of union with Johnston. Davis had no direct
+communication with Lee after reaching Danville, and his position
+there being unsafe, after Grant had occupied Burkesville, he went to
+Greensborough. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. pp.
+750, 787.] From Danville, on the 10th, he telegraphed Johnston that
+he had a report of the surrender of Lee, which there was little room
+to doubt. He also asked Johnston to meet him at Greensborough to
+confer as to future action. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 777.] The dispatch
+was, by some accident, prevented from reaching Johnston on the 10th,
+and Davis repeated it on the 11th, so that the news reached the
+Confederate headquarters only a day before we got it, on our march
+from Smithfield. On the same day (11th) Davis informed Governor
+Vance of the disaster, and suggested a meeting with him also.
+[Footnote: _Id_., p. 787.] He also forwarded to Johnston the
+suggestion of Beauregard (which he approved), that all the
+Confederate forces north of Augusta should concentrate at Salisbury.
+
+The best evidence that Vance regarded the cause of the Confederacy
+as lost is found in his resolve to send a deputation to meet Sherman
+without waiting to confer with Davis. Johnston issued on the 11th
+his orders for the continued march of his army westward from Raleigh
+along the railroad, [Footnote: _Id_., p. 789.] and himself proceeded
+to Greensborough by train, to have the appointed conference. Whilst
+Davis and he were together on the 12th, Stoneman's cavalry, which
+had been in the vicinity the day before and had made a break in the
+Danville road, was heard of at Shallow Ford, on the Yadkin, about
+thirty miles west. Part of the troops at Greensborough were at once
+sent to Salisbury, which was about the same distance from the Yadkin
+ford. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 791.] At the same time came a cipher
+dispatch from Colonel Anderson of Johnston's staff, whom the latter
+had left at Raleigh, saying that Governor Vance was sending Messrs.
+Graham and Swain to meet Sherman, presumably by permission of
+Hardee, who was senior officer in Johnston's absence. Colonel
+Anderson had taken the responsibility of asking Hampton not to let
+them pass his cavalry outposts. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xlvii. pt. iii. p. 791.] By Davis's direction, Johnston at once
+telegraphed Hardee to arrest the delegation and to permit no
+intercourse with us except under proper military flag of truce.
+[Footnote: _Ibid._] Vance was of course informed by Hardee, and
+replied that he intended nothing subversive of Davis's prerogative
+or without consulting him. He also said that Johnston was aware of
+his purpose. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 792.] In saying further, however,
+that the initiative had been on Sherman's part, he was dissembling.
+[Footnote: See the letters, _Id._, p. 178.] The difficulty put in
+the way of his representatives in getting beyond the Confederate
+lines is thus accounted for, as well as his failure to remain in
+Raleigh on our arrival. Davis found it politic to accept the
+explanation, [Footnote: _Id._, p. 792.] but we may safely assume
+that the matter was discussed between him and Johnston, and that it
+led to its discussion with his cabinet also; for Johnston remained
+with him till the 14th, leaving to Hardee the direction of the army
+on the march, which was ordered to be pressed towards Greensborough.
+[Footnote: _Id._, pp. 796, 797.] The troops at Danville were called
+to the same rendezvous, and General Echols, with those in West
+Virginia, was ordered to make his way through the mountains to the
+northwestern part of South Carolina. [Footnote: _Id._, pp. 795,
+796.]
+
+In a formal conference with his advisers on the 13th (Thursday), all
+of the cabinet officers except Benjamin declared themselves of
+Johnston's and Beauregard's opinion, that a further prosecution of
+the war was hopeless; that the Southern Confederacy was in fact
+overthrown, and that the wise thing to do was to make at once the
+best terms possible. [Footnote: Johnston's Narrative, pp. 397-400.]
+Davis argued that the crisis might rouse the Southern people to new
+and desperate efforts, and that overtures for peace on the basis of
+submission were premature. The general opinion, however, was so
+strong against him that he reluctantly yielded, and, to make sure
+that he should not be committed further than he meant, he himself
+dictated, and Mr. Mallory, the Secretary of the Navy, wrote, the
+letter to Sherman, signed by Johnston, asking for an armistice
+between all the armies, if General Grant would consent, "the object
+being to permit the civil authorities to enter into the needful
+arrangements to terminate the existing war." [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. p. 206.] The form of each sentence of
+the letter is significant, in view of its authorship, but most so is
+the plain meaning of that just quoted, to make a complete surrender
+upon such terms as the National government should dictate. In like
+manner the opening sentence, "The results of the recent campaign in
+Virginia have changed the relative military condition of the
+belligerents," was a confession in diplomatic form of final defeat.
+Before sending the letter to Sherman, Johnston copied it with his
+own hand, in order, no doubt, to have a duplicate for his own
+protection, as well as to preserve secrecy. [Footnote: The only
+difference is that in his copy he put the date of the 13th at its
+head (the true date), whilst the original which he says he sent to
+Sherman (Narr., p. 400) was dated the 14th, when it would be sent
+from his outposts; a bit of forethought on Mr. Davis's part, which
+guarded against Sherman's suspicion that it had been prepared at a
+distance and had travelled more than a day's journey. Both of the
+duplicates are in the war archives, that written by Mr. Mallory
+having the indorsement in Sherman's own hand of its receipt on the
+14th. (Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. p. 206, note.) In the
+Records Sherman's indorsement of the receipt of Johnston's dispatch
+is "12 night." This seems to be a clerical error, and should be
+"noon." (See _Id_., pp. 209, 215, 216, and Sherman's Memoirs, vol.
+ii. p. 346.) Mr. Davis's account is not inconsistent with
+Johnston's, which he had seen. (Rise and Fall, vol. ii. pp. 681,
+684.)]
+
+Sherman lost not a moment in answering, 1st, that he had power and
+was willing to arrange a suspension of hostilities between the
+armies under their respective commands, indicating a halt on both
+sides on the 15th; 2d, that he offered as a basis the terms given
+Lee at Appomattox: 3d, interpreting Johnston's reference to "other
+armies" which he desired the truce to include as referring to
+Stoneman (whom we had heard of in Raleigh as burning railway bridges
+on both sides of Greensborough [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xlvii. pt. iii. p. 197.]), he said that Stoneman was under his
+command, and that he would obtain from Grant a suspension of other
+movements from Virginia. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 207.] All this was
+strictly within the limits of Sherman's military authority and
+discretion.
+
+The 15th of April (Saturday) was a day of pouring rain, making the
+roads almost impassable for wagons, as they were already cut up by
+the retreating army and by our advance. Sherman expected a reply
+from Johnston early, for he had directed Kilpatrick on Friday
+afternoon to send his answer at once to the Confederate lines.
+[Footnote: _Id._, p. 215.] He was annoyed at the delay, and sent up
+Major McCoy of his staff to Morrisville on the railway, where
+Kilpatrick's headquarters were, taking with him a telegraph operator
+to open an office there. But Kilpatrick had gone to his own outposts
+toward Hillsborough, and his staff seem to have been in no hurry to
+forward Sherman's letter, so that it was delivered to Hampton at
+sundown of the 15th instead of the 14th. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 222,
+233, 234.] A locomotive engine was sent to McCoy on Sunday (16th),
+and with it he went on to Durham, taking his telegrapher along. Some
+torpedoes had been found on the road below, and McCoy diminished the
+risk from any others, by putting some empty cars ahead of the
+locomotive to explode them if there should be any. He got through
+safely, however, found Kilpatrick at Durham, opened telegraphic
+communication with headquarters at Raleigh, was authorized to read
+and transmit by the wire Johnston's reply, and so was able before
+night to give his impatiently waiting chief the Confederate
+general's proposal to meet in conference between the lines next
+morning, and to return Sherman's consent. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. pp. 229-231.]
+
+Meanwhile Kilpatrick had been sending dispatches saying he did not
+believe Johnston could be trusted, that his whole army was marching
+on, that the delay was a ruse to gain time, and that no confidence
+could be placed "in the word of a rebel, no matter what may be his
+position. He is but a traitor at best." [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 224,
+233.] Sherman answered: "I have faith in General Johnston's personal
+sincerity, and do not believe he would use a subterfuge to cover his
+movements. He could not stop the movement of his troops till he got
+my letter, which I hear was delayed all day yesterday by your
+adjutants' not sending it forward." His faith in Johnston's
+honorable dealing was justified, but the delay had brought the
+Confederate infantry to the neighborhood of Greensborough.
+[Footnote: _Id_., p. 234. Also Johnston's Narrative, p. 401.]
+
+On the 15th Sherman had sent both to Grant and to the Secretary of
+War copies of Johnston's overture and his own answer. He added that
+he should "be careful not to complicate any points of civil policy;"
+that he had invited Governor Vance to return to Raleigh with the
+civil officers of the State, and that ex-Governor Graham, Messrs.
+Badger, Moore, Holden, and others all agreed "that the war is over
+and that the States of the South must resume their allegiance,
+subject to the Constitution and laws of Congress, and that the
+military power of the South must submit to the National arms. This
+great fact once admitted," he said, "all the details are easy of
+arrangement." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. p.
+221.] He directed this to be sent by a swift steamer to Fort Monroe
+and from there by telegraph to Washington. As this dispatch was sent
+part of the way by telegraph, it should have reached Washington more
+than three days ahead of the convention signed on the 18th and
+carried to the capital by Major Hitchcock, who left Raleigh in the
+night of that day:[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii.
+p. 246.] but no answer seems to have been made to it, unless it be
+in a dispatch of Grant on the 20th in which he directed the movement
+of Howard's and Slocum's armies to City Point in case Johnston
+surrendered. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 257.]
+
+On Monday (April 17th), with the burden of the knowledge of
+Lincoln's assassination on his mind, Sherman went up to Durham by
+rail, accompanied by a few officers. There he met General
+Kilpatrick, who furnished a cavalry company as an escort, and
+led-horses to mount the party. [Footnote: _Id._, pp. 234, 235.] The
+bearer of the flag of truce and a trumpeter were in advance,
+followed by part of the escort, the general and his officers came
+next, the little cavalcade closing with the rest of the escort in
+due order. They rode about five miles on the Hillsborough road, when
+they met General Wade Hampton advancing with a flag from the other
+side. The house of a Mr. Bennett, near by, was made the place of
+conference. When Sherman and Johnston were alone, the dispatch
+announcing Mr. Lincoln's murder was shown the Confederate, and as he
+read it, Sherman tells us, beads of perspiration stood out on his
+forehead, his face showed the horror and distress he felt, and he
+denounced the act as a disgrace to the age. [Footnote: Memoirs, vol.
+ii. p. 349,] Both realized the danger that terrible results would
+follow if hostilities should be resumed, and both were impelled to
+yield whatever seemed possible to bring the war to an immediate end.
+In this praiseworthy spirit their discussion was carried on,
+Johnston saying that "the greatest possible calamity to the South
+had happened." [Footnote: Johnston's Narrative, p. 402.]
+
+Johnston's first point was that his proposal of the 14th had been
+that the civil authorities should negotiate as to the terms of
+peace, while the armistice should continue. Sherman could not deal
+with the Confederate civil government or recognize it. It could only
+dissolve and vanish when the separate states should make their
+submission, and these were the only governments _de facto_ with whom
+dealings could be had. Postponing this matter, they proceeded to the
+practical one,--the terms that could be assured to the armies of the
+South and to the States.
+
+Here they found themselves not far apart. As to the troops, nothing
+more liberal could be asked than the terms already given to Lee.
+Sherman knew of Mr. Lincoln's willingness that the State governments
+should continue to act, if they began by declaring the Confederacy
+dissolved by defeat, and the authority of the United States
+recognized and acknowledged. He had no knowledge of any change in
+the policy of the government in this respect, and what he had said
+to Governor Vance's delegation was satisfactory to both negotiators.
+
+But how as to amnesty? Here Sherman was also able to give Lincoln's
+own words, declaring his desire that the people in general should be
+assured of all their rights of life, liberty, and property, and the
+political rights of citizens of a common country on their complete
+submission. Lincoln wanted no more lives sacrificed, and would use
+his power to make amnesty complete. He could not control the
+legislative or the judicial department of the government, but he
+spoke for himself as executive. An agreement was easy here also.
+
+What, then, as to slavery? Sherman regarded it utterly dead in the
+regions occupied by the Confederates at the time of the Emancipation
+Proclamation (Jan. 1, 1863), and Johnston frankly admitted that
+surrender in view of the whole situation acknowledged the end of the
+system which had been the great stake in the war. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. p. 243.] The Thirteenth
+Amendment of the Constitution, abolishing slavery, had then been
+accepted by twenty States, Arkansas did so three days later, and the
+six Northern States which had been delayed in action upon it were as
+certain to ratify as that a little time should roll round.
+[Footnote: Rickey's Constitution, p. 43.] It was therefore no figure
+of speech to say that slavery was dead: Sherman, Johnston, and
+Breckinridge knew it to be true. But Johnston urged that to secure
+the prompt and peaceful acquiescence of the whole South, it was
+undesirable to force upon them irritating acknowledgments even of
+what they tacitly admitted to themselves was true; further, that the
+subject was not included in the scope of a military convention. If
+slavery was in fact abolished by Mr. Lincoln's proclamation, it was
+for Congress and the courts so to declare it, and two soldiers
+arranging the surrender had no call to assert all the legal
+consequences which would flow from the act. Sherman yielded to this
+argument, not from any doubt as to the fact of freedom, but from a
+certainty of it so complete that he would not prolong dispute to
+obtain a formal assent to it. He was the more ready to do so as he
+insisted that he acted simply as the representative of the Executive
+as Commander-in-Chief, and neither could nor would promise immunity
+from prosecutions under indictments or confiscation-laws. He said
+also that whilst he agreed with Mr. Lincoln in hoping no executions
+or long imprisonments would occur, he advised the leading men in the
+Confederate Government to get out of the country.
+
+As to the disposal of the arms in the hands of the Confederate
+soldiers from North Carolina to Texas, both knew that little of
+practical moment depended on the form of the agreement. So many arms
+were thrown away, so many were concealed by soldiers who loved the
+weapons they had carried, that even in our own ranks no satisfactory
+collection of them could be made. But a real and present
+apprehension with both officers was the scattering of armed men in
+guerilla bands. If the law-abiding were disarmed and those who
+scattered and refused to give up their weapons were at large, how
+could the States preserve the peace? To this point Sherman said he
+attached most importance. This was not an afterthought when
+defending his action; he wrote it to Grant in the letter
+transmitting the terms when they were made. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. p. 243.] The same thought was forced
+home on the Confederates by their experience at the time. Before the
+negotiations were finally concluded, bands of paroled men from Lee's
+army, and stragglers were able to stop trains on the railroad on
+which Johnston's army was dependent for supplies, and it would have
+been intolerable to leave the country at the mercy of that class.
+[Footnote: _Id_., pp. 818, 819.] To keep the troops of each State
+under discipline till they deposited the arms at State capitals,
+where United States garrisons would be, and where the final disposal
+of them would be "subject to the future action of Congress," seemed
+prudent and safe; and this was agreed to. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 243,
+244.]
+
+In the first day's conference it seemed clear that the generals
+could easily agree upon all they thought essential, except the
+exclusion of Mr. Davis and his chief civil officers from any part in
+the negotiations and making the terms of amnesty general. An
+adjournment to Tuesday was had to give Johnston time to consult with
+General Breckinridge, the Secretary of War, and for Sherman to
+reflect further on the amnesty question. [Footnote: Sherman's
+Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 350; Johnston's Narrative, p. 404.] As soon as
+the latter reached Raleigh, he dispatched to Grant, through a staff
+officer at New Berne, a brief report of the "full and frank
+interchange of opinions" with Johnston. "He evidently seeks to make
+terms for Jeff. Davis and his cabinet," he said. The adjournment was
+mentioned with its reason; and to negative any thought that he might
+neglect military advantages by the delay, he said, "We lose nothing
+in time, as by agreement both armies stand still, and the roads are
+drying up, so that if I am forced to pursue, we will be able to make
+better speed. There is great danger that the Confederate armies will
+dissolve and fill the whole land with robbers and assassins, and I
+think this is one of the difficulties that Johnston labors under.
+The assassination of Mr. Lincoln shows one of the elements in the
+rebel army which will be almost as difficult to deal with as the
+main armies." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. p.
+237.]
+
+When the two generals met again on Tuesday, General Breckinridge was
+with Johnston's party, and the latter requested that he might take
+part in the conference; but Sherman adhered to his position that he
+would deal only with the military officers and objected to
+Breckinridge as Secretary of War. Johnston suggested that he might
+be present simply as a general officer, but adding that his personal
+relations to Mr. Davis would greatly aid in securing final approval
+of anything to which he assented. With this understanding he was
+allowed to be present. Mr. Reagan, Postmaster-General, had also come
+with Breckinridge to General Hampton's headquarters, but did not
+proceed further. He was busy there, Johnston tells us, in throwing
+into form the terms which the general thought were fairly included
+in the conversational comparison of views on the previous day, with
+the exception of the amnesty, which was made general without
+exceptions. [Footnote: Johnston's Narrative, p. 404.] This must, of
+course, have been from notes written at Johnston's dictation.
+
+Sherman was now informed that the Confederate general had authority
+to negotiate a military convention for the surrender of all the
+Confederate armies, and that if the terms could be agreed upon, the
+Davis government would disband, like the armies, and use the
+influence of its members to secure the submission of all the several
+States. Johnston, on his part, would be content with the conclusions
+informally reached on Monday, except that he wanted the principle
+inserted of amnesty without exceptions. Mr. Reagan's draft was
+produced and read. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii.
+p. 806.] It contained a preamble stating motives for the action
+proposed, and professed to be no more than a basis for further
+negotiation. A note appended to it referred to several things
+necessary to a conclusion of the business which might be
+subsequently added. The preamble, as well as this note, was no
+proper part of the terms, and Sherman entirely objected to any
+preamble of the kind, wishing to include only the things necessary
+to an agreement. He therefore took his pen, and then and there wrote
+off rapidly his own expression of the points he had intended to
+agree to, but explicitly as a "memorandum or basis" for submission
+to their principals.
+
+They were, _First_, the continuance of the armistice, terminable on
+short notice; _Second_, the disbanding of all the Confederate armies
+under parol and deposit of their arms subject to the control of the
+National government; _Third_, recognition by the Executive of
+existing State governments; _Fourth_, re-establishment of Federal
+Courts; _Fifth_, guaranty for the future of general rights of
+person, property, and political rights "so far as the Executive
+can;" _Sixth_, freedom for the people from disturbance on account of
+the past, by "the Executive authority of the government;" the
+_seventh_ item was a general résumé of results aimed at. [Footnote:
+_Id_., p 243.] The most striking difference between this statement
+and that which Mr. Reagan had drawn, besides the omission of the
+preamble, was the express limitation of the proposed action by the
+powers of the National executive, with neither promise nor
+suggestion as to what the courts or Congress might or might not do.
+
+In transmitting the memorandum through General Grant, Sherman wrote
+that the point to which he attached most importance was "that the
+dispersion and disbandment of those armies is done in such a manner
+as to prevent their breaking up into guerilla bands," whilst there
+was no restriction on our right to military occupation. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. p. 243.] As to slavery, he
+said, "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." [Footnote:
+_Ibid._] He also referred to the financial question, and the
+necessity of stopping war expenditures and getting the officers and
+men of the army home to work. Writing to Halleck as chief of staff
+at the same time, he referred to the same topics, expressed his
+belief, from all he saw and heard, that "even Mr. Davis was not
+privy to the diabolical plot" of assassination, but that it was "the
+emanation of a set of young men of the South who are very devils."
+[Footnote: _Id._, p. 245.] He told Halleck that Johnston informed
+him that Stoneman's cavalry had been at Salisbury, but was then near
+Statesville, which was on the road back to Tennessee, about forty
+miles west of Salisbury and double that distance west of
+Greensborough.
+
+A week now intervened, in which the important papers were journeying
+to Washington and the orders of the government coming back. On the
+20th Sherman had occasion to inform Johnston of steps he had taken
+to enforce the details of the truce, and as evidence that he had not
+mistaken Mr. Lincoln's views in regard to the State governments, he
+enclosed a late paper showing that "in Virginia the State
+authorities are acknowledged and invited to resume their lawful
+functions." [Footnote: _Id._, p. 257.] The convention seemed
+therefore in harmony with the course actually pursued by the
+administration at Washington, and the negotiators were justified in
+feeling reassured.
+
+Another day passed, and as other incidents in the relations of the
+armies needed to be communicated to Johnston, Sherman recurred again
+to the encouraging feature of the leave to assemble the Virginia
+legislature, but added some reflections on points which he thought
+might require more explicit treatment than they had given, and he
+suggested Johnston's conference with the best Southern men, so that
+he might be ready to act without delay if modifications should be
+required in the final convention. "It may be," he said, "that the
+lawyers will want us to define more minutely what is meant by the
+guaranty of rights of person and property. It may be construed into
+a compact for us to undo the past as to the rights of slaves, and
+'leases of plantations' on the Mississippi, of 'vacant and
+abandoned' plantations. I wish you would talk to the best men you
+have on these points, and if possible, let us, in the final
+convention, make these points so clear as to leave no room for angry
+controversy. I believe if the South would simply and publicly
+declare what we all feel, that slavery is dead, that you would
+inaugurate an era of peace and prosperity that would soon efface the
+ravages of the past four years of war. Negroes would remain in the
+South and afford you abundance of cheap labor, which otherwise will
+be driven away, and it will save the country the senseless
+discussions which have kept us all in hot water for fifty years.
+Although, strictly speaking, this is no subject of a military
+convention, yet I am honestly convinced that our simple declaration
+of a result will be accepted as good law everywhere. Of course I
+have not a single word from Washington on this or any other point of
+our agreement, but I know the effect of such a step by us will be
+universally accepted." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt.
+iii. p. 266.]
+
+On the same day (21st), he was replying to a letter from an
+acquaintance of former days residing at Wilmington. In this reply he
+spoke out more vigorously his own sentiments: "The idea of war to
+perpetuate slavery in the year 1861 was an insult to the
+intelligence of the age." War being begun by the South, "it was
+absurd to suppose we were bound to respect that kind of property or
+any kind of property. . . . The result is nearly accomplished, and
+is what you might have foreseen." [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xlvii. pt. iii. p. 271.]
+
+On the 23d he sent a bundle of newspapers to Johnston and Hardee,
+giving the developments of the assassination plot and the hopes that
+the Sewards would recover. In the unofficial note accompanying them,
+he said: "The feeling North on this subject is more intense than
+anything that ever occurred before. General Ord at Richmond has
+recalled the permission given for the Virginia legislature, and I
+fear much the assassination of the President will give a bias to the
+popular mind which, in connection with the desire of our
+politicians, may thwart our purpose of recognizing 'existing local
+governments.' But it does seem to me there must be good sense enough
+left on this continent to give order and shape to the now disjointed
+elements of government. I believe this assassination of Mr. Lincoln
+will do the cause of the South more harm than any event of the war,
+both at home and abroad, and I doubt if the Confederate military
+authorities had any more complicity with it than I had. I am thus
+frank with you, and have asserted as much to the War Department. But
+I dare not say as much for Mr. Davis or some of the civil
+functionaries, for it seems the plot was fixed for March 4, but
+delayed awaiting some instructions from Richmond." [Footnote: _Id._,
+p. 287.]
+
+The whole tenor of this letter speaks most clearly the faith which
+personal intercourse with Johnston had given Sherman in his honor
+and his sincerity of desire that the war should end. The same had
+been expressed in an official note of the same date in which Sherman
+had said in regard to his directions to General Wilson in Georgia:
+"I have almost exceeded the bounds of prudence in checking him
+without the means of direct communication, and only did so on my
+absolute faith in your personal character." [Footnote: _Id._, p.
+286.] The faith was not misplaced and was not disappointed.
+
+The correspondence thus quoted reveals to us Sherman's thoughts from
+day to day, the real opinions and sentiments which he intended to
+embody in the convention, and his recognition of the probability
+that its provisions would need more explicit definition before the
+final acts of negotiation. It shows, too, how frank he was in
+warning Johnston that the terrible crime at Washington had changed
+the situation. It seems indisputable that this open-hearted dealing
+between the generals made it much easier for them to come together
+on the final terms, by having revealed to Johnston the motives and
+convictions which animated his opponent in seeking the blessing of
+peace as well as in applying the scourge of war.
+
+As further evidence of what Sherman told us, his subordinates, of
+the terms agreed upon, I quote the entry in my diary of what I
+understood them to be, on the 19th, the day following the signing of
+the convention, after personal conversation with the general:
+"Johnston's army is to separate, the troops going to their several
+States; at the State capitals they are to surrender their arms and
+all public property. Part of the arms are to be left to the State
+governments and the rest turned over to the United States. The
+officers and soldiers are not to be punished by the United States
+Government for their part in the war, but all are left liable to
+private prosecutions and indictments in the courts." [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. i. p. 938.]
+
+In the evening of the 23d Sherman heard of the arrival at Morehead
+City of Major Hitchcock, his messenger to Washington, and he at once
+notified Johnston that the dispatches would reach him in the
+morning. He asked the latter to be ready "to resume negotiations
+when the contents of the dispatches are known." [Footnote: _Id_.,
+pt. ii. p. 287.] When Major Hitchcock came up on a night train
+reaching Raleigh at six in the morning, to Sherman's great surprise
+General Grant came also, unheralded and unannounced. [Footnote:
+_Id_., p. 286.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER L
+
+THE SECOND SHERMAN--JOHNSTON CONVENTION--SURRENDER
+
+
+Davis's last cabinet meeting--Formal opinions approving the
+"Basis"--"The Confederacy is conquered"--Grant brings disapproval
+from the Johnston administration--Sherman gives notice of the
+termination of the truce--No military disadvantage from
+it--Sherman's vindication of himself--Grant's admirable
+conduct--Johnston advises Davis to yield--Capitulation assented to,
+but a volunteer cavalry force to accompany Davis's flight--A new
+conference at Durham--Davis's imaginary treasure--Grant's return to
+Washington--Terms of the parole given by Johnston's army--The
+capitulation complete--Schofield and his army to carry out the
+details--The rest of Sherman's army marches north--His farewell to
+Johnston--Order announcing the end of the war--Johnston's fine
+reply--Stanton's strange dispatch to the newspapers--Its tissue of
+errors--Its baseless objections--Sherman's
+exasperation--Interference with his military authority over his
+subordinates--Garbling Grant's dispatch--Sherman strikes
+back--Breach between Sherman and Halleck--It also grew out of the
+published matter--Analysis of the facts--My opinion as recorded at
+the time.
+
+
+When Grant reached Sherman's headquarters on the morning of the 24th
+of April, Johnston had not yet been notified of the action of the
+Confederate government as to the agreed "Basis" of surrender. Having
+got Sherman's dispatch of the evening before, he telegraphed to
+General Breckinridge, the Secretary of War at Greensborough, that
+there must be immediate readiness to act. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. p. 834.] Breckinridge, however, had
+gone to Charlotte, about eighty miles down the road, near the South
+Carolina line, where Mr. Davis held the last meeting of his cabinet,
+and procured from each of them his formal, written opinion and
+advice. Davis himself now telegraphed the result to Johnston,
+saying: "Your action is approved. You will so inform General
+Sherman, and if the like authority be given by the Government of the
+United States to complete the arrangement, you will proceed on the
+'Basis' adopted." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii.
+p. 834.] He added that further instructions would be given as to the
+subordinate details which, by common consent, must be added to the
+"Basis" to perfect it.
+
+The cabinet opinions were unanimous in favor of approving the
+"Basis." Benjamin's, Reagan's, and Attorney-General Davis's were
+dated the 22d, Breckinridge's the 23d, and Mallory's the 24th.
+[Footnote: _Id_., pp. 821, 823, 827, 830, 832.]
+
+In varying words they all admitted what Mallory put most tersely, in
+saying "The Confederacy is conquered." [Footnote: _Id_., p. 833.]
+Several of them discussed the possibility of carrying on a guerilla
+warfare, but could see in it no useful result. They agreed that if
+Johnston retreated to the Gulf States, the troops would disperse
+spontaneously. Virginia and North Carolina would separately withdraw
+from the Confederacy, and the other States would follow. Benjamin
+expressed the common opinion that the terms of the convention "exact
+only what the victor always requires,--the relinquishment by his foe
+of the object for which the struggle was commenced." [Footnote:
+_Id_., p. 822.] He also well formulated their judgment that, as
+political head, Davis could not make peace by dissolving the
+Confederacy; but as commander-in-chief he could ratify the military
+convention disbanding the armies. "He can end hostilities. The
+States alone can act in dissolving the Confederacy and returning to
+the Union according to the terms of the convention." [Footnote:
+_Ibid._] Reagan alone spoke of hopes that by submission the States
+might procure advantages not mentioned in the "Basis," and found
+comfort in the fact that it contained "no direct reference to the
+question of slavery." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt.
+iii. p. 824.] Taken together, these important documents contain the
+strongest possible admission of the utter ruin of the Confederacy
+and of the simple truth that there was nothing left for them but to
+surrender at discretion, with such dignity as they might. Of
+themselves the cabinet opinions changed the situation, and made it
+impossible to resume plans of further resistance after the
+convention was rejected at Washington. With them the Confederate
+Government vanished.
+
+For it was a disapproval that Grant had brought. On receiving the
+"Memorandum, or Basis," from Sherman, on the 21st, he had at once
+seen that the latter had acted in ignorance of the facts: first,
+that Mr. Lincoln had himself, two days before his death, withdrawn
+the permission for the Virginia legislature to assemble; and second,
+that he had, a month before Lee's surrender, directed that military
+negotiations should not treat of any subject of civil policy. In
+view, therefore, of the tendency to severity which followed the
+assassination, it was evident that the convention would not be
+approved, and, as soon as action had been taken by the President in
+cabinet meeting, Grant wrote a calm and friendly letter to Sherman,
+in explanation of the rejection of the "Basis," inclosing Stanton's
+formal notice and order to resume hostilities. [Footnote: _Id._, pp.
+263, 264.] These were intrusted to Major Hitchcock, but, as we have
+seen, Grant accompanied the messenger in person.
+
+Sherman having, only the day before, learned of the change of policy
+with regard to Virginia, and notified Johnston of its probable
+effect, was prepared in part for the disapproval, and was personally
+glad to be rid of political negotiation. He made no objection or
+remonstrance, but even before discussing the subject with Grant,
+wrote his notice to Johnston of the termination of the truce within
+forty-eight hours, as agreed. With this he sent a note stating his
+orders "not to attempt civil negotiations," and demanding surrender
+of Johnston's own army "on the same terms as were given General Lee
+at Appomattox." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii.
+pp. 293, 294.] These dispatches were dated at six in the morning of
+the 24th, a few minutes after Grant's arrival. [Footnote: Grant to
+Stanton, _Id_., p. 293.]
+
+Sherman then explained to the General-in-Chief the military
+situation, the position of his several corps, his readiness to make
+the race with Johnston for Charlotte, the completed repair of the
+railroad through Raleigh to Durham, the accumulation of supplies,
+and the improved condition of the country roads. The truce had
+worked him no disadvantage from a military standpoint, but the
+contrary. The only thing which annoyed him in the dispatches from
+Washington was the last sentence in Mr. Stanton's communication to
+Grant, saying, "The President desires that you proceed immediately
+to the headquarters of General Sherman and direct operations against
+the enemy." [Footnote: _Id_., p. 263.] The implication in this was a
+distrust of him which was wholly unjust, and he replied to it, "I
+had flattered myself that by four years' patient, unremitting, and
+successful labor I deserved no such reminder." [Footnote: _Id_., p.
+302.] In a letter to Grant of the same date he put upon record the
+fact that he had reason to suppose that his "Memorandum" accurately
+reflected Mr. Lincoln's ideas and purposes, and that he was wholly
+uninformed of the instructions in regard to negotiating upon civil
+questions. He stood by his opinions on the propriety of using the
+_de facto_ governments in the separate States as agents of
+submission for their people. He pointed out that the military
+convention did not meddle with the right of the courts to punish
+past crimes, and stated that he admitted the need of clearer
+definition as to the guaranty of rights of person and property.
+[Footnote: _Ibid._] The points he thus discussed were those he got
+from Grant orally, for he had, as yet, no other knowledge of the
+criticisms made by President Johnson or his cabinet.
+
+Grant's sincere friendship and his freedom from the least desire to
+exhibit his own power had made him act as a visitor rather than a
+commander. He appreciated Sherman's perfect readiness to accept the
+methods dictated by the civil authorities, and saw that his zeal was
+as ardent as it was at Atlanta or Savannah. The results of the
+honest frankness of the dealings between Sherman and Johnston were
+speedily seen. The Confederate general perfectly understood the
+meaning of the notice to end the truce, and that his great opponent
+would do his military duty to the uttermost. Whilst ordering his
+army to be ready to move at the expiration of the truce, he also
+declared to Mr. Davis, in asking for instructions, that it were
+better to yield than to have Sherman's army again traverse the
+country. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. p. 835.]
+Davis suggested, through Breckinridge, that the infantry and
+artillery might be disbanded, but the cavalry and horse-batteries
+brought off to accompany the high civil officers who would try to
+reach the Southwest. [Footnote: _Ibid._] Johnston replied that this
+would only provide for saving these functionaries from captivity.
+This might be done by Mr. Davis moving with a smaller cavalry
+escort, without losing a moment. To save the people, the country,
+and the army, an honorable military capitulation ought to be made
+before the expiration of the armistice. He said that his subordinate
+commanders did not believe their troops would fight again, and that
+news was received of the fall of Mobile, with 3,000 prisoners, and
+the capture of Macon, with a number of prominent generals.
+[Footnote: _Id._, P. 836.] Early on the 25th Breckinridge assented
+to the capitulation, but directed that General Wade Hampton, with
+the mounted men who chose to follow him, might join the President.
+[Footnote: _Id._, p. 837.] Upon this, Johnston wrote Sherman, asking
+that instead of a surrender and disbanding in the field, his army
+might have the arrangement for going home in organizations which had
+been made by the Memorandum of the 18th, giving as a reason that
+Lee's paroled men were already afflicting the country, collecting in
+bands which had no means of subsistence but robbery. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. p. 304.] Sherman then
+appointed a new conference at Durham, for the 26th, at noon.
+[Footnote: _Ibid_.] He had learned from Grant that it was believed
+at Washington that Davis had with him a large treasure in specie,
+making for Cuba by way of Florida, and sent at once a dispatch to
+Admiral Dahlgren, naval commander at Charleston, asking that officer
+to try to intercept him. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 310.]
+
+General Grant's complete satisfaction with Sherman's personal
+attitude and readiness to accept the action of the President was
+shown in his wish to return at once to Washington. He prepared to
+start from Raleigh on the morning of the 26th, taking a steamer from
+New Berne on arriving there. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 309.] He expected,
+of course that the surrender would be completed and the result
+telegraphed him by the time his vessel was ready to start, but he
+was also moved by delicacy toward Sherman and the desire to relieve
+him from every appearance of supervision which his stay at Raleigh
+might give. Sherman, however, was also chivalrous, and requested
+Grant not to leave till he should see the capitulation finally
+signed. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 312.] All this, it must be remembered,
+was in entire ignorance of the follies perpetrated at the War
+Department during those days.
+
+The hour fixed for the new conference at Durham was the same at
+which the armistice would expire; but Sherman, having the troops in
+readiness to start at a moment's notice, ordered that no movement
+should be made till his return. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 314.] An
+accident to his railroad delayed Johnston two or three hours, but on
+his arrival a brief conference satisfied him that the only course to
+pursue was to surrender on the terms given to Lee, and to trust to
+Sherman's assurance that such arrangements would be made in
+executing the capitulation as would guard against the evils of the
+dispersion of his army without means of subsistence, which both
+officers justly feared. As in Lee's case the language used avoided
+terms which implied being prisoners of war even momentarily, but
+provided that after delivering the arms to an ordnance officer at
+Greensborough (excepting side-arms of officers) and giving an
+"individual obligation not to take up arms against the Government of
+the United States, . . . 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 obligation and the laws in
+force where they may reside." [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xlvii. pt. iii. p. 313.]
+
+At half-past seven in the evening Grant was able to write his
+dispatch to Stanton, Secretary of War, that the surrender was
+complete, and by using the telegraph to New Berne and Morehead City,
+and from Fort Monroe to Washington, the news reached Washington at
+ten in the morning of the 28th. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 311.] The same
+evening, and by same means of transmittal, he also informed Halleck
+at Richmond of the surrender, and recalled all his troops out of
+Sherman's theatre of operations. [Footnote: On April 16th Halleck
+had been assigned to command the Department of Virginia, thus
+relieving him of duty as chief of staff of the army in which General
+Rawlins succeeded him. On April 19th his command was made the
+Military Division of the James, including besides Virginia such
+parts of North Carolina as Sherman should not occupy. (Official
+Records, vol. xlvii. pt, iii. pp. 230, 250.) In reading the Official
+Records of this period, it must be borne constantly in mind that
+from two to four days was required to convey dispatches from Sherman
+to the War Department and _vice versa_,--the longer time in case
+they were sent by mail, and the shorter when use was made in part of
+the telegraph lines.] After hearing the details of Sherman's
+conversations with Johnston, and approving the suggestions of
+liberal arrangements looking to getting the Confederate troops
+quickly and quietly back to peaceful industry at their homes, Grant
+parted with us at Raleigh on the 27th, and returned as rapidly as
+possible to Washington, where the influence of his calm judgment and
+executive ability was sorely needed.
+
+The orders for National forces in North Carolina except Schofield's
+troops to march homeward were issued on the 27th. Kilpatrick's
+division of cavalry was attached to Schofield's command, and the
+Army of the Ohio thus reinforced was left to garrison the Department
+of North Carolina. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii.
+p. 323.] To General Schofield was also intrusted the preparation of
+the printed paroles for all the troops included in the capitulation,
+so that there might be uniformity. To him also was committed the
+conclusion of the supplementary terms needed for the liberal
+execution of the convention, as had been discussed at the personal
+meeting of the commanders, at which he had been present. [Footnote:
+_Id_., pp. 320, 322.] Johnston sent in a draft of what he had
+understood to be thus informally arranged, the most important items
+of which were the "loan" to the Confederates of their army animals
+and wagons for farming purposes, the retention of a portion of their
+arms to enforce order and discipline till the separate organizations
+should reach their homes, and the extension of the privileges of the
+convention to naval officers of the Confederacy. [Footnote: _Id_.,
+p. 321.] With slight modifications these were accepted by General
+Schofield and carried out. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 350, 355, 482.] A
+large issue of rations to Johnston's troops had been voluntarily
+added without any request or stipulation. [Footnote: Schofield's
+Forty-six Years in the Army, p. 352, etc.; Sherman's Memoirs, vol.
+ii. pp. 362, 363; Johnston's Narrative, pp. 412-420. General
+Schofield's recollection is that he wrote the convention of the
+26th, Johnston and Sherman being unable to agree: but as it was in
+substance a transcript of the Grant-Lee terms of April 9th,
+according to Sherman's note to Johnston of the 24th demanding their
+acceptance "purely and simply" (Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt.
+iii. p. 294), the account I have given seems to me best supported by
+all the evidence.] Both parties understood that Johnston's command
+included all Confederate troops east of the Chattahoochee, though
+this is not stated in the terms. [Footnote: Grant to Halleck,
+Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. p. 312; Johnston to York,
+_Id._, p. 854; Do. to Governor Brown, _Id._, p. 855. Sherman's Field
+Order No. 65, _Id._, p. 322.] At the earnest request of the
+Confederate general, none of our troops were sent up to
+Greensborough, where his headquarters and principal camp were, until
+the printing of the paroles was completed and staff officers sent to
+issue them on April 30th. [Footnote: _Id._, pp. 349, 350, 35l. 483.]
+Sherman wrote a farewell letter to Johnston on the 27th, telling of
+his instructions to General Schofield to give him ten days' rations
+for 25,000 men, "to facilitate what you and I and all good men
+desire, the return to their homes of the officers and men composing
+your army." [Footnote: _Id._, p. 320.] He spoke also of his
+directions to "loan" to them enough animals fit for farming purposes
+to insure a crop. Concluding, he said: "Now that war is over, I am
+as willing to risk my person and reputation as heretofore, to heal
+the wounds made by the past war, and I think my feeling is shared by
+the whole army. I also think a similar feeling actuates the mass of
+your army, but there are some unthinking young men who have no sense
+or experience, that unless controlled may embroil their neighbors.
+If we are forced to deal with them, it must be with severity, but I
+hope they will be managed by the people of the South." [Footnote:
+_Ibid._] His Field Order No. 65, announcing the end of war east of
+the Chattahoochee, referred to the same purpose "to relieve present
+wants and to encourage the inhabitants to renew their peaceful
+pursuits and to restore the relations of friendship among our
+fellow-citizens and countrymen." He directed that "great care must
+be taken that all the terms and stipulations on our part be
+fulfilled with the most scrupulous fidelity, whilst those imposed on
+our hitherto enemies be received in a spirit becoming a brave and
+generous army." [Footnote: _Id._, p. 322]
+
+A copy of this order was enclosed in Sherman's letter to Johnston,
+and the latter replied in a similar noble tone. "The enlarged
+patriotism manifested in these papers," he said, "reconciles me to
+what I had previously regarded as the misfortune of my life--that of
+having had you to encounter in the field. The enlightened and humane
+policy you have adopted will certainly be successful. It is
+fortunate for the people of North Carolina that your views are to be
+carried out by one so capable of appreciating them. I hope you are
+as well represented in the other departments of your command; if so,
+an early and complete pacification in it may be expected.... The
+disposition you express to heal the wounds made by the past war has
+been evident to me in all our interviews. You are right in supposing
+that similar feelings are entertained by the mass of this army. I am
+sure that all the leading men in it will exert their influence for
+that object." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. p.
+336.]
+
+Down to this moment the progress of events had been full of
+satisfaction to Sherman, and of gratification to his noble ambition.
+If the implication contained in the order sending Grant in person to
+his headquarters had pained him, Grant's perfect handling of the
+situation had prevented the wound being deep, and Sherman was
+pleased, on the whole, to be relieved of negotiations on all civil
+questions. But the day after Grant had left him,--when he had issued
+his admirable Order No. 65, and exchanged chivalrous sentiments with
+Johnston,--when he had completed his work in his great campaign and,
+leaving to Schofield the finishing of the administrative task in
+North Carolina, was turning his face homeward full of anticipation
+of rejoining family and friends, with his great career in a
+retrospect which was altogether gratifying--at this culmination of
+his glory as a soldier and his pride as a patriot, he received the
+sorest blow and the deepest wound he ever knew.
+
+The mail, on the 28th, brought a copy of the "New York Times,"
+containing Mr. Stanton's now famous dispatch to General Dix dated
+the 22d, sent for the purpose of general publication, in which he
+made known the fact that Sherman had entered into a convention with
+Johnston, that it was disapproved by the President, and that Sherman
+was ordered to resume hostilities. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xlvii. pt. iii. p. 285.] Had the newspaper publication stopped here,
+it would still have been a grave indiscretion, for the news of what
+was done in Washington usually reached the enemy more promptly than
+it came to our officers at the front, and the enterprising spies at
+the capital would have thought their fortunes made by getting on the
+22d orders which did not reach Sherman, in fact, till the 24th, with
+official comments of which the general was ignorant till the 28th.
+
+But this was the least of the faults of this curious document. It
+said that Sherman had entered into "what is called a basis of
+peace." No such name was given the paper, and the manner of
+attributing it misled the public as to its character. It suppressed
+the fact that the "Memorandum" was by its terms wholly without
+binding effect if not approved by the President. Without saying so,
+it persuasively led the reader to believe that Sherman had violated
+instructions issued by Mr. Lincoln on March 3d, which in fact were
+never published till it was done in this dispatch, and were wholly
+unknown to the general, who believed he was acting in accordance
+with President Lincoln's wishes given him orally at the end of
+March. It spoke of orders sent by Sherman to Stoneman "to withdraw
+from Salisbury and join him" as opening "the way for Davis to escape
+to Mexico or Europe with his plunder, which is reported to be very
+large." Only complete ignorance of the actual military situation
+could account for so erroneous a statement. Davis was in the midst
+of Johnston's whole army, most of which was halted by the truce at
+Greensborough. Stoneman, on a brilliant cavalry raid, passed rapidly
+from the North near Greensborough a week before, had struck
+Salisbury on the 13th, and immediately marched northwest, on his
+return to East Tennessee, whence he had started. He was at
+Statesville, forty miles on his way, when Sherman and Johnston made
+the armistice on the 18th, of which he did not hear a word till he
+was over the mountains on the 23d. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xlvii. pt. i. pp. 334, 335.] Sherman first heard of Davis's
+"plunder" from Grant on the 24th, and immediately asked the navy to
+frustrate any efforts to take it out of the country. [Footnote:
+_Ante_, p. 494.] Davis did not leave the protection of Johnston's
+army till he knew that Stoneman was far away and his road was clear.
+In fact, it was only when, after the rejection of the first
+convention, Johnston had begun negotiations for the separate
+surrender of his own forces, and further delay would have made him a
+prisoner. As to the "plunder of the banks" thus published by the
+Secretary, it turned out that officers of Carolina banks who had
+taken their assets to Richmond for protection against the perils of
+war, had taken advantage of the protection of Mr. Davis's escort to
+carry them home when Richmond fell. As to the specie treasure,
+rumored to be many millions, about forty thousand dollars was at
+Greensborough paid to Johnston's soldiers at the rate of $1.17 to
+each, and the remainder, except a small sum, seems to have been
+distributed to the cavalry escort, about 3000 strong, which
+protected Mr. Davis to the Savannah River and then dispersed; the
+sum was thirty-five dollars per man, given as part of their arrears
+of pay. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. pp. 801,
+803, 820, 850; _Id._, vol. xlix. pt. i. pp. 548, 551, 552, 555;
+Davis's Rise and Fall, vol. ii. pp. 691, 695; Johnston's Narrative,
+p. 408; Sherman's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 373.] The statement in Mr.
+Stanton's dispatch regarding this "plunder," copied from one
+received from Halleck, which in turn was based on anonymous rumor,
+was so couched as to give credit to the imputation that Sherman was
+to be duped or bribed to allow Davis with his effects, "including
+this gold plunder," to escape. Not only did the form of the
+publication give this impression, but that it was in fact so
+understood and treated is simple matter of history.
+
+Even this was not all. There were appended to this nine enumerated
+criticisms, most of which were baseless. The first declared that
+both Sherman and Johnston knew the former had no power to do what
+was done in the Memorandum. What was done in fact was to transmit to
+the government, for its acceptance or rejection, Johnston's offer to
+disband all the remaining armies of the Confederacy, wherever
+situated, on the terms which were stated. The "Memorandum" itself
+said that the generals lacked power "to fulfil these terms;" but
+that they had power to make a truce till the government of the
+United States considered the proposal, is too plain for serious
+dispute. Yet Mr. Stanton's criticism implied that the arrangement
+had not been merely proposed, but had been actually concluded, for
+the strictures otherwise had no meaning.
+
+The second said that "it was a practical acknowledgment of the rebel
+government." On the other hand, Sherman had utterly refused to deal
+with or acknowledge that government in any way. The effect of
+ratification of the terms would have been its silent disappearance
+without being named. If the argument were worth anything, it would
+have been much more potent against the exchanges of prisoners which
+had been carried on through commissioners of both governments. But
+the next clause had the added bugbear that the arms when deposited
+at the State capitals might be "used to conquer and subdue the loyal
+States." This suppressed the fact that by the "Memorandum" the arms
+were "to be reported to the chief of ordnance at Washington City
+subject to the future action of the Congress of the United States."
+The allowance of arms to local authorities to preserve order was a
+necessity so self-evident that, in the face of this objection by Mr.
+Stanton, General Schofield, in supplementary terms of the final
+surrender, allowed Johnston's troops to retain part of the arms in
+this way, and no whisper of further objection was made. [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. p. 482.]
+
+The third objection was that "it undertook to re-establish the rebel
+State governments that had been overthrown." This was untrue in
+fact. It proposed that the executive should recognize actually
+existing governments _de facto_ in the States, for the purpose of
+renouncing the Confederacy and acknowledging under oath their
+allegiance to the United States. For the purpose of such submission,
+it would seem clear that it would be an advantage to have it made by
+Vance, and Magrath, and Brown, and the rest who had been the real
+rebels, rather than by new men whose essential representative
+character might be denied. The subsequent history of reconstruction
+gives small support to the opinion that anything was gained which
+might not have been got more effectively by dictating the civil
+changes and terms of peace to these old State governments rather
+than to such provisional makeshifts as were afterward used. But the
+objection was, after all, not against Sherman, but against the dead
+Lincoln under whose oral authority Sherman was acting, and who had
+put the same in clearest written terms in his correspondence with
+General Weitzel and Judge Campbell after Richmond was in our
+possession. [Footnote: Dana to Stanton, April 5th: "Judge Campbell
+and Mr. Meyer had an interview with the President here this morning
+to consider how Virginia can be brought back to the Union. All they
+ask is an amnesty and a military convention to cover appearances.
+Slavery they admit to be defunct," etc. (_Id_., vol. xlvi. pt. iii.
+p. 575.) Lincoln to Grant, April 6th, says he had put into Judge
+Campbell's hands "an informal paper" repeating former propositions
+and adding "that confiscations shall be remitted to the people of
+any State which will now promptly and in good faith withdraw its
+troops and other support from resistance to the government. Judge
+Campbell thought it not impossible that the rebel legislature of
+Virginia would do the latter if permitted, and accordingly I
+addressed a private letter to General Weitzel with permission for
+Judge Campbell to see it, telling him that if they attempt this, to
+permit and protect them, unless they attempt something hostile to
+the United States," etc. (_Id._, p. 593.) Lincoln to Weitzel, April
+6th. (_Id._, p. 612.) Dana to Stanton, April 7th. (_Id._, p. 619.)
+Dana to Stanton, April 8th, with enclosures of papers by Judge
+Campbell giving the contents of Mr. Lincoln's written memorandum to
+him. (_Id._, pp. 655-657.) When Mr. Lincoln got back to Washington,
+Lee having surrendered with the Virginia troops and the rebel
+legislature of Virginia not having assembled or acted, the President
+withdrew his permission for them to meet, saying he had dealt with
+them as men "having power de facto" to do what he wished but which
+was already done. Lincoln to Weitzel, April 12th. (_Id._, p. 725.)]
+
+The fourth criticism was that by the terms proposed the State
+governments "would be enabled to re-establish slavery." Apart from
+the admissions of leading men of the South, and the facts already
+collated, [Footnote: _Ante_, pp. 481, 485.] Mr. Stanton, in saying
+this, ignored the Proclamation of Emancipation, on which, in his
+conversation with Judge Campbell, Mr. Lincoln had been entirely
+willing to rest. The Southern jurist had recognized the solidity of
+the legal ground "that if the proclamation of the President be valid
+as law, it has already operated and vested rights." This the judge
+had stated to his fellow-citizens as a fact in the situation not to
+be ignored, and had repeated it in his letter of April 7th to
+General Weitzel in a stronger form, if possible, saying, "The
+acceptance of the Union involves acceptance of his proclamation, if
+it be valid in law." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvi. pt.
+iii. pp. 656, 657.] The condition of its legal validity was not an
+insertion by Campbell--it was the expression of Mr. Lincoln himself,
+conceding the authority of the courts to pass upon the question as
+he had done in his amnesty proclamation. [Footnote: Gorham's
+Stanton, vol. ii. p. 235.] Mr. Stanton had these things before him,
+hardly a fortnight old, when he made his singular publication. They
+add no little to the difficulty of determining the true motives of
+his appeal to the public.
+
+The fifth objection was the possibility of resulting liability for
+the rebel debts, which could hardly have been seriously meant.
+
+The sixth was that it put in dispute the loyal State governments and
+the new State of West Virginia. As to the latter, the "Memorandum"
+was based on Mr. Lincoln's action in Virginia, and assumed that
+question to have been determined, so far as the executive was
+concerned. The criticism, like some of the rest, was aimed at what
+Mr. Lincoln had done, which was thus flogged over Sherman's
+shoulders; for the latter was, as we have to reiterate, ignorant
+that on Mr. Lincoln's return to Washington he had been induced to
+cancel what he had done. From any point of view but that of a
+momentary party advantage, it is hard to see the evil of submitting
+contesting State governments to the decision of the Supreme Court.
+Those of Louisiana and Arkansas were swept away very soon by
+Congressional action, and they were the only ones intended to be
+reached by the Sherman-Johnston "Memorandum."
+
+The seventh declared that it "practically abolished the confiscation
+laws and relieved the rebels of every degree, who had slaughtered
+our people, from all pains and penalties for their crimes." Those
+who had "slaughtered" were primarily the officers and soldiers of
+the armies, and no fault was found with Grant's extension of amnesty
+to them by the Appomattox terms. It was true, besides, that the
+whole male population of the South, of military age, was part of the
+army, and that even State officers were "furloughed" to enable them
+to perform public duties of a civil nature. We have seen that
+Sherman carefully limited immunity to the action of the executive,
+that he meddled with no laws, and said that all the people were
+still liable to what the judicial department of the government might
+do. But he had also acknowledged, upon reflection, that clearer
+definition would be desirable in this respect, and had asked
+Johnston to be ready to act upon this. [Footnote: Official Records,
+vol. xlvii. pt. iii. p. 266.] It is our privilege, moreover, judging
+after the fact, to note how little Stanton's objection practically
+meant, and how much better Sherman represented the deeper purpose of
+the American people, since neither Mr. Davis nor any of his chief
+counsellors suffered "the pains and penalties for their crimes."
+
+The eighth criticism was that the "Memorandum" offered terms "that
+had been deliberately, repeatedly, and solemnly rejected by
+President Lincoln, and better terms than the rebels had ever asked
+in their most prosperous condition." Mr. Stanton could hardly have
+forgotten, when writing this, that they were in fact not only based
+on what Sherman had learned of his policy from Mr. Lincoln himself,
+as we have seen, but they were what President Lincoln had repeatedly
+offered and the Confederates had repeatedly rejected, the last
+rejection being after the Hampton Roads conference in the first days
+of February. [Footnote: Nicolay and Hay's "Lincoln," vol. x. pp.
+122, 123, 128]
+
+Exactly what was meant by the ninth criticism it is hard to say. It
+is said that the "Memorandum," if adopted, would "relieve the rebels
+from the pressure of our victories" and leave them "in condition to
+renew their efforts to overthrow the United States government and
+subdue the loyal States whenever their strength was recruited and
+any opportunity was offered." As it provided for the disarming and
+disbanding of every Confederate company, left our victorious troops
+free to garrison every State, and gave protection to individuals
+only so long as they were obedient to the National government, we
+must regard the apprehension of new efforts to subdue the loyal
+States as fantastic and not serious.
+
+It was inevitable that such a manifesto to the public should be
+greatly exasperating to Sherman. Seeing also the manner in which it
+was interpreted by the newspapers, he believed that it was purposely
+so worded as to imply what it did not explicitly assert, and to hold
+him up to the nation as one little better than a traitor. He was
+very emphatic in saying that being overruled did not trouble him; it
+was the public perversion of what he had done, attributing to his
+"Memorandum" what the publication of its text would have
+contradicted, which outraged his feelings. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. pp. 335, 345.] Grant frankly adhered
+to his opinion that in the actual condition of affairs he could not
+himself advise the ratification of the terms proposed; yet he saw
+the injustice done Sherman, and condemned it. [Footnote: _Id_., pp.
+410, 531.] Their relations continued as cordial as ever, and his
+influence was potent in preventing further ill results from
+following the quarrel.
+
+The publication was followed by other acts of Mr. Stanton which
+increased the irritation. On the 27th of April he informed Halleck,
+Canby, and Thomas that "Sherman's proceedings" were disapproved, and
+ordered them to direct their subordinates "to pay no attention to
+any orders but your own or from General Grant." [Footnote: _Id_.,
+vol. xlix. pt. ii. p. 484; vol. xlvii. pt. iii. p. 321.] This was a
+day after Johnston had made his final surrender under the second
+convention, and when Grant had been two days with Sherman. It led to
+Halleck's ordering Meade to pay no attention to the truce, even
+after the surrender of Johnston was signed, and might have caused
+serious results if Grant had not been very prompt in giving
+counter-orders to Halleck. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 312.] All the
+department commanders naturally understood Stanton's language in
+sending Grant to North Carolina, as superseding Sherman in command,
+though in fact this was not done. They concluded that if any new
+terms were made with Johnston the action would be in Grant's name,
+and his signature would verify the truce. But as Grant did not do
+this, and everything remained in Sherman's hands as before, the
+actual surrender was ignored and credit refused, by order of the
+Secretary of War, to the armistice declared while the paroles were
+being issued. Stanton took no steps to correct this, and for two
+weeks the strange muddle continued in the Southwest. This came to
+such a pass that on May 8th Sherman inquired of Grant whether "the
+Secretary of War's newspaper order" had taken Georgia out of his
+command. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. p. 434.]
+Grant replied, "I know of no order which changes your command in any
+particular," and, in his patient rôle of peacemaker, suggested that
+the necessity of prompt communication when Sherman was not in
+telegraphic communication with Washington had caused some
+irregularities. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 445.]
+
+One of the minor incidents in Stanton's course of action throws so
+strong light on his methods and was so irritating an example of the
+_suppressio veri_ that it must be mentioned. Immediately after his
+interview with Sherman in the early morning of the 24th, Grant had
+sent a dispatch to Stanton, which the latter sent to General Dix for
+publication in the following form: "A dispatch has just been
+received by this department from General Grant, dated Raleigh, 9 A.
+M., April 24th. He says: 'I reached here this morning, and delivered
+to General Sherman the reply to his negotiations with Johnston. Word
+was immediately sent to Johnston, terminating the truce, and
+information that civil matters could not be entertained in any
+convention between army commanders.'" [Footnote: _Id_., p. 311.]
+Taken in connection with the previous publication, this was
+naturally interpreted to mean that Grant had sent the "word" to
+Johnston, and it strengthened the current against Sherman. The
+dispatch as sent by Grant was this: "I reached here this morning and
+delivered to General Sherman the reply to his negotiations with
+Johnston. _He was not surprised, but rather expected their
+rejection_. Word was immediately sent to Johnston terminating the
+truce, and information that civil matters could not be entertained
+in any convention between army commanders. _General Sherman has been
+guided in his negotiations with Johnston entirely by what he thought
+was precedent authorized by the President. He had before him the
+terms given by me to Lee's army and the call of the rebel
+legislature of Virginia authorized by General Weitzel, as he
+supposed with the sanction of the President and myself. At the time
+of the agreement General Sherman did not know of the withdrawal of
+authority for the meeting of that legislature. The moment he learned
+through the papers that authority for the meeting had been
+withdrawn, he communicated the fact to Johnston as having bearing on
+the negotiations had_." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt.
+iii. p. 293.] I have italicized the omitted parts to show how
+absolutely essential they were to a true statement of Sherman's
+attitude, and how grave was the offence against fair dealing to
+suppress them after the appeal to the public had been made by the
+first publication. The dispatch is also historically important as
+proof of the ideal character of Grant's disinterestedness and frank
+friendship for Sherman in this juncture.
+
+Mr. Stanton's habit of impetuous action without reflection, upon
+first impressions and imperfect knowledge, was notorious, as was his
+constitutional inability to admit that he had been in the wrong.
+Once aroused, he was a fierce combatant, using any weapon that came
+to hand, inquiring only whether it would hurt his opponent. When
+obliged to see that he had judged wrongly, his silence was the only
+confession: he was seldom equal to a candid apology. If a tacit
+retreat was accepted by the other party, he might endeavor to
+compensate for the wrong in some other manner. [Footnote: On this
+subject General E. D. Townsend, as adjutant-general, is a most
+competent and conclusive witness. (Townsend's Anecdotes of the Civil
+War, p. 137.) Two little matters occurring at nearly the same time
+with the Sherman quarrel perfectly illustrate this characteristic in
+Stanton. General Townsend was in charge of the funeral escort of
+Lincoln's body, and in New York a photograph was taken of the
+coffin, in state, in the City Hall, with the drapery of the alcove
+formed of national flags and crape, with Admiral Davis and General
+Townsend as guard of honor at head and foot. Stanton read of it in a
+newspaper, and without further knowledge sent a violent and
+undignified reprimand to Townsend, ordering him to relieve and send
+back to Washington the officers on duty, and to seize and destroy
+the plates. A telegraphic correspondence followed, bringing in the
+photographers, Henry Ward Beecher, H. J. Raymond, and the military
+officers, with the proof that there was nothing to find fault with,
+but rather the desirable preservation of a memento of a memorable
+scene. There was a retreat, but no apology by the Secretary.
+(Official Records, vol. xlvi. pt. iii. pp. 952, 965, 966). The other
+was the permission given the Episcopal clergy in Richmond to
+continue Divine service in the churches if they omitted the prayer
+for the Confederate President in their liturgy, that being treated
+as a demonstration in favor of the insurgent government. General
+Weitzel was in command, and Mr. Lincoln was in the city when the
+question first arose whether, in addition to the above prohibition,
+the clergy should be required to insert, affirmatively, a prayer for
+the President of the United States. Weitzel supposed he was acting
+in accordance with Mr. Lincoln's direction not to be sticklish in
+little things, stopped at the prohibition, as was generally done by
+commanders in the field, on the ground that to order a form to be
+inserted in any liturgy where it did not exist, would be ridiculous
+for a government based on total separation of church and state.
+Stanton, hearing of it through Mr. C. A. Dana, informed Weitzel that
+his action was "strongly condemned," and that he was "unwilling to
+believe that a general officer of the United States, commanding in
+Richmond, would consent to such an omission of respect to the
+President." Weitzel asked whether the direction would apply to Roman
+Catholics, Hebrews, and other churches having a prescribed liturgy,
+and Stanton replied _ex cathedra_, in the affirmative, repeating his
+reprimand. Weitzel now appealed to the President, and the absurd
+controversy was stopped. Stanton seems to have acted at first in
+ignorance that individual ministers had no power to insert a prayer
+into the formal liturgy; but he could not yield when better
+informed, and a temperate memorial of the local clergy stating the
+canonical difficulty and their earnest intention to have the change
+made with all speed possible, is in the Records, "disapproved by
+order of the Secretary of War"! (_Id_., pp. 619, 677, 678, 684, 696,
+711, 737). Perhaps the nearest historical parallel is Napoleon's
+order to the Russian clergy to pray for him instead of the Czar in
+1812. (Fezensac, Souvenirs Militaires, 4th ed., liv. 2, chap. i. p.
+233.)]
+
+Sherman was not the man to submit to what he considered and called
+an outrage, and when made aware of it, he struck back with all his
+force. He exposed and denounced the perversions of fact and
+misstatements of what he had done, and demanded the publication of
+the original "Memorandum" with his statement of its relations to Mr.
+Lincoln's policy and wishes as stated by the dead President himself.
+Grant advised him to omit some of the expressions of his official
+report, but he refused and courted an official investigation, whilst
+he clearly stated his duty and his purpose to obey without question
+such orders as were given by competent authority. He was quite too
+large a man to be made the victim of a manifest wrong, and when once
+the case was fairly presented, the purity of his motives and the
+reasonableness of his belief that he was acting under highest
+authority were generally acknowledged, even by those who supported a
+severer policy toward the Southern States. The President and nearly
+all the members of the Cabinet assured him that the published
+bulletins had been without their knowledge, and cordially strove to
+soothe his wounded feelings. [Footnote: For the correspondence, see
+Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. pp. 302, 334, 345, 371, 410,
+476, 515, 547, 576, 581, 582, 586, 662; _Id_., pt. i. p. 40. See
+also Sherman's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 375; Conduct of the War, vol.
+vi. p. 3.] The genuineness of character, patriotism, and
+subordination tempered by proper self-respect, which he exhibited,
+did not diminish the public regard, but rather heightened it. As to
+the debatable questions of policy involved in his first convention,
+he proudly left them to the judgment of time.
+
+The breach of friendship between Sherman and Halleck, which was also
+caused by Mr. Stanton's bulletins, was especially to be regretted.
+Their early close relations as young officers going "around the
+Horn" to California have already been mentioned, as well as the warm
+personal correspondence between them during the Atlanta campaign.
+[Footnote: _Ante_, pp. 174-176.] He had been grateful also for
+Halleck's friendly conduct toward him in his period of depression in
+1861, and expressed it strongly in a long letter when Atlanta had
+fallen and he had won his commission as major-general in the regular
+army. "I confess I owe you all I now enjoy of fame," he said, "for I
+had allowed myself in 1861 to sink into a perfect 'slough of
+despond.'" Halleck's friendship and encouragement had put him in the
+way of recovering from this. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xxxviii. pt. v. p. 791.] But now his faith in human nature was
+rudely shocked by finding, apparently, this friendly hand joining in
+the hardest blows at his fame and honor.
+
+In the first of Stanton's bulletins concerning him, Sherman found
+copied the dispatch from Halleck giving the rumor of Davis's great
+"plunder," and the hope of the Confederate leaders to "make terms
+with Sherman or some other commander," by which they would be
+permitted to escape out of the country with this treasure.
+[Footnote: _Id_., vol. xlvii. pt. iii. p. 286.] The sting of this
+was in the apparent insinuation that Sherman might be bought. It
+naturally roused him to explosive wrath. Had Mr. Stanton quoted the
+final sentence of Halleck's dispatch, it would have shown that the
+latter intended no such thing. It concluded, "Would it not be well
+to put Sherman and all other commanding generals on their guard in
+this respect?" [Footnote: _Id_., vol. xlvi. pt. iii. p. 887.] The
+apparent insinuation was in the Secretary's bulletin by the omission
+of this sentence from the quoted dispatch. Had Sherman seen the
+dispatch as Halleck wrote it, he would not have been angered by it.
+
+But on the 28th there appeared in the New York papers another
+dispatch of Halleck to Stanton, dated the 26th, and saying that his
+subordinates were ordered "to pay no regard to any truce, or orders
+of General Sherman suspending hostilities, on the ground that
+Sherman's agreements could bind his own command and no other."
+[Footnote: _Id_., p. 953.] This was upon receipt of a dispatch from
+Beauregard stating "that a new arrangement had been made with
+Sherman." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvi. pt. iii. p. 953.]
+In the same dispatch Halleck suggested that orders be telegraphed
+through General Thomas to General Wilson, at the head of a strong
+cavalry column in Georgia, to mind no orders of Sherman, but, with
+other commanders in the Gulf States, to "take measures to intercept
+the rebel chiefs and their plunder," now estimated, rather
+indefinitely, at "from six to thirteen millions."
+
+The folly of such publications was egregious, and justified
+Sherman's sarcasm that if anybody was conniving at Davis's escape,
+it was the officer who gave them to the public. It was, however, the
+direction to disregard his new truce, embracing Johnston's troops
+alone and based on their actual surrender, that stirred anew his
+indignation. He had made a short inspection tour down the coast
+after starting his columns northward, and saw the dispatch in
+newspapers he received at Morehead, May 4th, on his return there by
+steamer from Savannah. In writing General Grant, he characterized
+Halleck's action as an insult. [Footnote: _Id_., vol. xlvii. pt.
+iii. p. 388.] Fortunately, he had met at Savannah an officer of
+General Wilson's staff, Captain L. M. Hosea, who had made an
+adventurous journey across half Georgia to open communications,
+[Footnote: _Id_., p. 371.] and in sending a steamboat up to Augusta
+with supplies for Wilson, he had hurried Captain Hosea back with
+such full information as enabled Wilson to observe scrupulously the
+final convention with Johnston whilst vigorously pushing his efforts
+to capture Davis. These efforts were successful on the 10th.
+[Footnote: _Id_., vol. xlix. pt. i. pp. 515, 526.]
+
+Sherman's sense of military honor was violated and shocked by the
+orders disregarding his truce, which were "cordially approved" by
+the Secretary of War. [Footnote: _Id_., vol. xlvi. pt. iii. p. 967.]
+Grant suggested that Halleck's action was so connected with Mr.
+Stanton's orders that it might not seem so bad on fuller
+information, [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. p.
+410.] but Sherman's sense of injury was such that in passing
+Richmond on the 8th he refused Halleck's offered hospitality, saying
+that after the dispatch of the 26th of April friendly intercourse
+was impossible. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 435.] Halleck's was the "soft
+answer which turneth away wrath," and it is due to him to remember
+it. "You have not had during this war, nor have you now, a warmer
+friend and admirer than myself. If, in carrying out what I knew to
+be the wishes of the War Department in regard to your armistice, I
+used language which has given you offence, it was unintentional and
+I deeply regret it. If fully aware of the circumstances under which
+I acted, I am certain you would not attribute to me any improper
+motive. It is my wish to continue to regard and receive you as a
+personal friend. With this statement I leave the matter in your
+hands." [Footnote: _Id_., p. 454.]
+
+But what had occurred seemed to Sherman to be so ingeniously fitted
+together as parts of a malignant plan, that he replied, "I cannot
+consent to the renewal of a friendship I had prized so highly till I
+can see deeper into the diabolical plot than I now do." [Footnote:
+_Ibid_.] His words were all the bitter expression of a heart wounded
+beyond endurance by wrongs which seemed too palpable and plain for
+discussion or explanation. In the distribution of commands on the
+peace establishment made soon afterward, Halleck went to the Pacific
+coast and did not live long. It is to be feared that no opportunity
+for a full understanding between him and Sherman occurred, though
+the latter was as placable as he was impetuous; and when he found,
+as he soon did, that his fame and reputation had not suffered
+permanent injury, he ignored the past so far, at least, as to show
+that he harbored no lasting enmity.
+
+Yet Halleck was probably right in saying that he had done nothing
+but what he deemed his duty, and with no unfriendly purpose toward
+Sherman. His dispatch of the 26th of April was only one of a series,
+and it was made to have a different effect, taken by itself, from
+what it would have had if read in its connection with the others.
+There is no reasonable doubt that Stanton's angry purpose had been
+to humiliate Sherman by practically superseding him in command.
+Halleck knew this and went to Richmond, where he assumed command on
+the 22d, with full knowledge of the sentiment which then ruled the
+War Department. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvi. pt. iii. p.
+891.] In the afternoon of the same day, Grant, on his way to North
+Carolina, telegraphed him that the truce would be ended as soon as
+he could reach Raleigh, and ordered him to send Sheridan with the
+cavalry toward Greensborough, sending also a corps of infantry along
+as far as Danville. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 888.] This assumed that by
+the time these troops could enter Sherman's theatre of operations
+the truce would have been terminated; for Sheridan was then at
+Petersburg, and the Sixth Corps at Burke's Station. [Footnote:
+_Id_., p. 895.] The cavalry could not be ready to march before the
+24th (at the earliest) and did not start in fact till the 25th or
+26th. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 931, 947.] Neither it nor the infantry
+got beyond Danville or entered North Carolina before they were
+halted by Grant's order to Halleck of the 26th, received in the
+morning of the 28th. [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 954, 997.] No
+interference with Sherman's truce, either the first or the second,
+actually occurred. Halleck knew that the first truce would be ended
+as soon as the two days' notice could expire after Grant reached
+Raleigh, and long before his troops could come into contact with
+Johnston's. But he was also moving them by Grant's order, and must
+not only obey, but must assume that the first truce was no longer in
+question. It was not necessary or proper for him to explain fully to
+his subordinates all he knew of Grant's journey and purpose. For
+their direction it was enough to say they were not to regard the
+truce which had been made on the 18th and was currently spoken of as
+"Sherman's truce." Had Sherman known of Grant's order to Halleck and
+the assumed situation on which it was based, he would not have
+regarded Halleck's language an insult. Without such knowledge it
+looked very much like it.
+
+Halleck, however, had to face the question how his subordinates must
+act if, on coming near the enemy, Johnston should claim a new
+armistice. He shared the War Department opinion that the negotiation
+was not sincere on the part of the Confederates, but was a ruse to
+gain time for Davis's escape with the imaginary "plunder." A
+pretended armistice is an old and familiar stratagem in warfare. It
+would seem that Halleck fully believed that Grant would assume
+actual command, on reaching Sherman (as he had commanded when with
+Meade during the past campaign), and concluded that any real
+armistice again made would be in Grant's name. Any other would be a
+sham or would have been made before Grant was present. Under such
+circumstances he could not be blamed for telling his subordinates
+that only Grant's authority or his own must bind them. He was
+mistaken, in fact, for Grant's arrival was not even known to
+Johnston, and Sherman concluded the final convention as if Grant had
+still been in Washington. The curtness of telegrams often creates
+ambiguities, and when Sherman saw in print Halleck's dispatch of the
+26th separated from the rest of the series, he naturally gave to it
+the meaning which hurt him so. Had he known the rest of the story,
+he would have seen no treachery to old friendships. The sin was in
+the unprecedented publications which embroiled everything. In truth,
+Halleck's order to Meade was more guarded in form than the language
+of his dispatch to Stanton, for Meade was only told to ignore "any
+agreements made by General Sherman before the arrival of
+Lieutenant-General Grant." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvi.
+pt. iii. p. 941.]
+
+A curious theoretic question was raised by Halleck's incidental
+statement that an armistice by Sherman could only bind his own army.
+Sherman said he must defend his truce at all hazards till it was
+duly terminated. Each was right in a sense, but fortunately the laws
+of war and military regulations would prevent practical difficulty
+arising. If Sheridan had advanced to Greensborough, Sherman would
+have met him there, and by virtue of his superior rank would have
+assumed command and responsibility for the united forces. Besides
+the orders and instructions from the President he already had, he
+would have to act in view of any authentic instructions or
+information which Sheridan might bring. On the other hand, if
+Halleck had accompanied his own forces, his seniority would have
+made Sherman his subordinate in the common field of operations; but
+as commander, he would have to respect, at his own peril, all the
+rights which Johnston had acquired under the principles of
+international law. The situation had perplexities only so long as
+the generals were playing at cross-purposes by reason of imperfect
+knowledge. Their intelligence and character were such that duty
+would have been plain to both as soon as they came together.
+
+Stanton made no public explanation of his conduct, but in a
+conversation with General Howard, he asserted that Sherman's order
+to his troops announcing the armistice, by saying that when ratified
+it would "make peace from the Potomac to the Rio Grande," had put
+the government on the defensive, and made it seem proper to publish
+reasons for disapproving the terms. [Footnote: _Id_., vol. xlvii.
+pt. iii. p. 476.] This does not touch the question of the wisdom or
+folly of the matter published, or of its form. Sherman's reason for
+mentioning the prospect of a general and speedy peace was that the
+condition of his army under the news of Lincoln's assassination was
+such that he felt it necessary to soothe his excited soldiery with
+the hope of soon marching home in triumph, thus turning their
+thoughts from the vengeance which would have been inevitable if
+fighting were to be resumed. Instead of appreciating this, Mr.
+Stanton seems to have jumped to the conclusion that it was an act of
+vanity or of political ambition which was to be squelched _per fas
+aut nefas_, and in his passionate and hasty action he compromised
+the whole administration.
+
+We who were Sherman's subordinates in the field knew so well his
+integrity and patriotism that we sympathized strongly with his
+indignation at the appeal to popular sentiment against him. Yet the
+sense of duty to the country and to the government prevented
+thoughtful men from being blind partisans of our chief. Without full
+means of judging of the possible effect of the first convention, if
+carried out, some of us were disposed to believe that there must
+have been a mistake on his part, since we were not able to believe
+that the Secretary of War would publish his "nine reasons" if they
+had no solid support and were not approved by the President and
+Cabinet. My personal opinion I wrote in my diary at the time, and I
+reproduce it to show the contemporaneous sentiment of one who was
+both a warm supporter of the government and a warm friend of the
+general. What I have written above will also show how far further
+investigation and fuller knowledge have modified my judgment.
+"Friday, April 28th.... Some of the Northern papers are very bitter
+on Sherman for the terms first offered by him, and it is manifest
+from the dispatches sent by the Secretary of War to New York to be
+published there, that the new administration is willing to give
+Sherman a hard hit. He made a great mistake in offering to Johnston
+the terms he did, but he has done the country such service that the
+administration owed it to him to keep the thing from the public and
+to come kindly to an understanding with him, instead of seeming to
+seek the opportunity to pitch upon him as if it desired to humble
+him. In conversation this morning he showed that he felt their
+conduct very sorely, but I hope he will keep out of controversy with
+them in regard to it. He complains with justice that they have
+refused to give any instructions to guide military officers as to
+the policy to be adopted, and then, when these are forced to act,
+seem to take pleasure in repudiating what the officers have done,
+and in humbling them or exposing them to popular odium."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER LI
+
+PAROLING AND DISBANDING JOHNSTON'S ARMY--CLOSING SCENES OF THE WAR
+IN NORTH CAROLINA
+
+
+General Schofield's policy when left in command--Lincoln's
+Emancipation Proclamation in force--Davis's line of flight from
+Charlotte, N.C.--Wade Hampton's course of conduct--Fate of the
+cabinet officers--Bragg, Wheeler, and Cooper--Issuing paroles to
+Johnston and his army--Greensborough in my district--Going there
+with Schofield--Hardee meets and accompanies us--Comparing
+memories--We reach Johnston's headquarters--Condition of his
+army--Our personal interview with him--The numbers of his
+troops--His opinion of Sherman's army--Of the murder of
+Lincoln--Governor Morehead's home--The men in gray march
+homeward--Incident of a flag--The Salisbury prison site--Treatment
+of prisoners of war--Local government in the interim--Union
+men--Elements of new strife--The negroes--Household service--Wise
+dealing with the labor question--No money--Death of
+manufactures--Necessity the mother of invention--Uses of
+adversity--Peace welcomed--Visit to Greene's battlefield at
+Guilford-Old-Court-House.
+
+
+On Thursday, the 27th of April, the same day on which Sherman issued
+his order announcing the final agreement for the surrender of
+Johnston's army and the homeward march of most of his own forces,
+General Schofield issued his own order declaring "the duty of all to
+cultivate friendly relations with the same zeal which has
+characterized our conduct of the war, that the blessings of union,
+peace and material prosperity may be speedily restored to the entire
+country." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. 330.] He
+invited all peaceably disposed persons to return to their homes and
+resume their industrial pursuits. He promised also the loan of
+captured horses, mules, and wagons to those who had been deprived of
+their own by the armies, and food for the needy during the period
+when all must be busy planting if the season were to be made of any
+avail for agriculture. His order concluded with these words: "It
+will be left to the judicial department of the government to punish
+those political leaders who are responsible for secession,
+rebellion, and civil war with all its horrors. Between the
+Government of the United States and the people of North Carolina
+there is peace." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii.
+p. 330.]
+
+In a separate order of the same date, to remove all doubt as to the
+end of slavery, he declared that "by virtue of the proclamation of
+the President of the United States, dated January 1, 1863, all
+persons in this State heretofore held as slaves are now free, and it
+is the duty of the army to maintain the freedom of such persons."
+[Footnote: _Id_., p. 331.] He recommended immediate fair contracts
+of hiring and the resumption of profitable industry, so that
+disorganization of labor might be avoided. He told the freedmen that
+it was not well for them to congregate about towns or military
+camps, and that they could not be supported in idleness. All classes
+of people were thus put upon the footing Sherman had intended in his
+first convention with Johnston, and Schofield's orders issued whilst
+Sherman was still with us at Raleigh may be received as an
+authoritative interpretation of the latter's views.
+
+The Confederate troops were mostly concentrated about Greensborough
+upon the railroad from Richmond through Danville and Charlotte to
+Columbia in South Carolina, and the line of railroad we had followed
+from Goldsborough to Raleigh continued westward to Greensborough.
+Outposts, Confederate as well as National, remained at stations
+between the two armies, but no collision had occurred since the
+truce established on the 19th. [Footnote: _Id_., p. 250.] Mr. Davis
+had remained at Charlotte in the interval between the two
+conventions, but when the separate surrender of Johnston's army was
+determined, he started southward with a vague purpose of joining
+some of the smaller organized armies released from the armistice by
+our administration's rejection of the terms of Sherman's first
+convention. He tells us that he still hoped that he might cross the
+Mississippi with such forces as could be concentrated, joining Kirby
+Smith, who commanded there, and in the last resort carrying a body
+of irreconcilables out of the country into Mexico. [Footnote: Davis,
+Rise and Fall, vol. ii. pp. 694, 696.] A line of retreat southward
+had been agreed upon in case Johnston should not surrender, and some
+accumulations of supplies had been made at Chester, S. C., and other
+points upon it. General Bragg had been placed in command there,
+reporting directly to Davis or the Confederate War Department,
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. p. 836.] and some
+cavalry in West Virginia under General Echols had been ordered to
+pass by mountain routes to the same region. [Footnote: _Id._, p.
+795.] As soon as the truce was ended by the notice of the 24th,
+Davis started southward by the route indicated, which kept well to
+the westward of Columbia by way of Abbeville, aiming to cross the
+Savannah River above Augusta at the pontoon bridge near the junction
+of Broad River with the Savannah. [Footnote: _Id._, vol. xlix. pt.
+i. p. 548.] His party disintegrated before he entered Georgia, and
+he was nearly alone with his family when he was captured thirty or
+forty miles southeast of Macon.
+
+General Wade Hampton was one of those who preferred any alternative
+rather than surrender, and had opposed even the terms of the first
+convention to which Davis had assented. [Footnote: _Id._, vol.
+xlvii. pt. iii. p. 813.] He promised that he would bring to Davis's
+support "many strong arms and brave hearts,--men who will fight to
+Texas, and who, if forced from that State, will seek refuge in
+Mexico rather than in the Union." [Footnote: _Id._, p. 814.] On the
+25th, when Johnston's surrender was already resolved upon,
+Breckinridge sought to arrange that Hampton, with his cavalry, might
+join Davis, [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. p.
+837.] but Sherman insisted on the capitulation of the army as a
+unit, and Hampton was included. The latter had visited Davis during
+the first armistice and obtained his permission to bring out the
+cavalry before the surrender, but on his return to his command, on
+April 26th, he found that the surrender had been made. Setting up
+the claim that the arrangement made with Davis had detached his
+troops from Johnston's army, although they were actually serving in
+it, he notified Johnston that they and he would not regard
+themselves as embraced in the capitulation, unless Breckinridge, the
+Secretary of War, should say they were within it. [Footnote: _Id._,
+p. 841.] He had given orders to Wheeler to move the command toward
+South Carolina, and Butler's division was moving in the same
+direction. [Footnote: _Id._, pp. 841,847.] Johnston, feeling that
+his honor as a commander was involved, sent peremptory orders to
+Hampton to march back to the position near Hillsborough which he had
+abandoned. He gave Wheeler similar orders. [Footnote: _Id._, pp.
+844, 846. See also Johnston to Sherman, _Id._, p. 336.] Breckinridge
+gave Hampton the opinion that the troops were bound by the
+capitulation, though Hampton himself might not be. [Footnote: _Id._,
+p. 851.] The latter thereupon informed Butler and Wheeler that he
+could give them no orders, and asked leave of Johnston to withdraw
+his former letter, substituting one which only claimed personal
+exemption from the surrender. [Footnote: _Id._, pp. 845, 847.] In
+transmitting this, he sent a long letter of apology, explaining his
+embarrassment. He asserted that in his consultation with Mr. Davis a
+plan was agreed upon to enable the latter to leave the country. He
+must now either leave him to his fate or go with him under the ban
+of outlawry. He thought his personal duty was to go, but would leave
+his command to abide the terms of the convention, or if any joined
+him, he said, "they will be stragglers like myself." [Footnote:
+Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. p. 846.] Enough "straggled"
+to make up Davis's escort to about 3000 men, comprising six brigade
+organizations; but Hampton seems to have thought better of the
+determination to be an outlaw, and though he did not give his parole
+with the rest of Johnston's command, he did not join Davis.
+[Footnote: Davis, Rise and Fall, vol. ii. pp. 689, 690.] His
+explicit statement of the aim of Davis's flight warrants us in
+concluding that the dream of further military operations beyond the
+Mississippi was never a serious purpose. After the disbanding of the
+escort at the Savannah River, Breckinridge and Benjamin reached the
+coast of Florida and escaped to Cuba. Mallory and Attorney-General
+Davis seem to have reached their own homes; Reagan remained with his
+chief, and was captured; [Footnote: _Id_., pp. 694, 695.] Bragg and
+Wheeler were captured near Athens, in Georgia, using questionable
+ruses to escape. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlix. pt. i. pp.
+550, 551.] General Cooper, the adjutant and inspector-general of the
+Confederate army, remained at Charlotte, and received the benefit of
+Johnston's capitulation, while he did all in his power to preserve
+the Confederate archives, which were there in railway cars.
+[Footnote: _Id_., vol. xlvii. pt. iii. pp. 842, 848.] This
+digression to follow the fate of Mr. Davis and the group of civil
+and military notables who were with him in his southward flight,
+will help us understand some of the peculiar incidents attending the
+paroling of Johnston's army at Greensborough. I will now return to
+events of which I was a witness.
+
+On Sunday, the 30th April, the printed blanks for the paroles were
+ready, and Brevet Brigadier-General Hartsuff, inspector-general on
+Schofield's staff, was put in charge of the details of their issue.
+He went up to Greensborough from Raleigh, accompanied by about a
+dozen officers detailed from the department and corps staff. It had
+been intended that he should take with him a guard of a regiment I
+had selected for the purpose, but at Johnston's request the troops
+were held back a few days. [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii.
+pt. iii. pp. 349, 351, 483.] Schofield had arranged the general
+scheme of subdividing the State into military districts, of which I
+was to command the western, whilst Major-General Terry took the
+central, and Brigadier-Generals Palmer and Hawley retained the coast
+districts which they already had. In anticipation of the formal
+order, [Footnote: _Id._, p. 396.] the detachment to guard the arms
+and stores which should be received came from my command, and I
+detailed the One Hundred and Fourth Ohio, a regiment which had won
+high praise in the review at Raleigh for its splendid form and
+discipline, and which was an orderly, reliable body of men in battle
+as on parade. It was ordered to take along also its excellent brass
+band and drum corps, for I meant to have the duties of a garrison
+performed in the presence of the Confederates with all the honors.
+
+Sherman had left Raleigh in the evening of Friday (28th), to make a
+brief tour to Charleston and Savannah, by sea, nominally to inspect
+that part of his command, but really to pass the time whilst the
+body of his army was marching to Washington, and to avoid visiting
+that city in the irritation he felt at his treatment by the
+Secretary of War. [Footnote: _Id._, pp. 337, 338.] Johnston had
+arranged, on the 1st of May, to send General Hardee down to Raleigh
+for personal consultation with Schofield in regard to details of the
+homeward march of his troops, but the satisfactory arrangement of
+the supplementary terms made this unnecessary. [Footnote: _Id._, pp.
+366, 857.] Schofield determined to go to Greensborough himself,
+starting early on Tuesday morning (2d), and I was asked to accompany
+him. [Footnote: _Id._, p. 376.] We left Raleigh by train at seven
+o'clock, with the One Hundred and Fourth Ohio as a guard, and at
+Durham were met by a dispatch from General Hartsuff, saying that the
+whole Confederate army was "dissolving and raising the devil." I
+telegraphed for another regiment to follow us, and we went on to
+Hillsborough. There we met General Hardee, who joined our party, and
+we went on to Greensborough. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xlvii. pt. iii. p. 376.]
+
+As the train left Hillsborough, we passed through a body of
+Confederate cavalry, and were within the enemy's lines. I confess it
+was with a curious, half-uneasy sensation that I thus for the first
+time found myself on the wrong side of the Confederate outposts
+without having driven them in by a hostile advance. It was not easy
+to orient one's self at once with the new condition of things, and
+it would hardly have been a surprise to find that we had been
+entrapped by a ruse.
+
+This soon wore off, however, and Hardee made the journey a very
+agreeable one to us. He had been commandant of cadets at West Point
+just before the war, and had from the first an "inside" view of the
+rebellion. His "Tactics," adapted to our army use from the French,
+had been the authoritative guide of our army drill, and by that
+means his name had been made very familiar to every officer and man
+among us. His military career had been among the most distinguished,
+and he had commanded a corps in front of us during the whole Atlanta
+campaign. There was therefore no lack of subjects for conversation,
+and the time ran rapidly away. Hardee was in person and bearing a
+good type of the brilliant soldier and gentleman. Tall and well
+formed, his uniform well fitting and almost dandyish, his manner
+genial and easy, his conversation at once gay and intelligent, it
+would be hard to find a more attractive companion, or one with whom
+you would be put more quickly at ease.
+
+Our mission naturally led us into a review of the war, and we asked
+him what had been his own expectation as to the result, and when he
+had himself recognized the hopelessness of the contest. "I confess,"
+said he, laughing, "that I was one of the hot Southerners who shared
+the notion that one man of the South could whip three Yankees; but
+the first year of the war pretty effectually knocked that nonsense
+out of us, and, to tell the truth, ever since that time we military
+men have generally seen that it was only a question how long it
+would take to wear our army out and destroy it. We have seen that
+there was no real hope of success, except by some extraordinary
+accident of fortune, and we have also seen that the politicians
+would never give up till the army was gone. So we have fought with
+the knowledge that we were to be sacrificed with the result we see
+to-day, and none of us could tell who would live to see it. We have
+continued to do our best, however, and have meant to fight as if we
+were sure of success."
+
+Amongst many other things, our talk turned upon the Atlanta
+campaign, and he told some interesting facts in regard to Hood's
+obstinate holding on at Atlanta when Sherman was executing the
+movement around the place on the south. It happened that my own
+division held the pivot point close to the works of the city on the
+southeast, and Hardee's corps occupied the lines in front of us. He
+said an old woman had been brought to him who said she had gone to
+General Cox's headquarters to beg some provisions, and the general
+had told her she could have none, as the soldiers had not enough for
+themselves. I had no remembrance of such an incident, and such
+applications were hardly likely to reach a general officer unless he
+wished to catechise the person for information's sake; but a laugh
+was raised at my expense as Hardee in telling the story repeated
+some profane camp expletives as having added emphasis to the
+refusal, according to the old woman's account of it. Schofield
+merrily rallied me on a change of habits of speech when not with my
+usual associates, and refused to credit my protestation that the
+story only proved that she had seen some wicked commissary of
+subsistence. Hardee helped the fun by pretending to think of other
+proof that the woman was right; but he went on to give the matter
+real historical interest by telling how he had taken the woman to
+Hood that he might learn what she said she had seen and heard. On
+her repeating the expression about our not having rations enough for
+ourselves, Hood exclaimed, "There, Hardee! It proves that it is just
+as I told you. Wheeler [his cavalry commander who was on a raid] has
+broken Sherman's communications; he is short of provisions and is
+retreating north by the Sandtown road. The troops that have moved
+from the north of the city have gone that way."
+
+The Sandtown road was a well-known road going northward from the
+Chattahoochee River at the place named, which was some miles west of
+the Chattanooga Railroad. It was a plausible explanation of
+Sherman's movements as far as they then knew them, but had no better
+foundation than Hood's own hopes and wishes. Yet, Hardee said, Hood
+stuck to this view till in our swinging movement to the south, we
+broke his railway communication with Jonesboro. Then came his hasty
+evacuation of Atlanta, the destruction of his stores, the explosion
+of his ammunition, and the night march to reassemble his army at
+Lovejoy's station. He confidently believed that the siege was raised
+till Sherman's army was astride of his principal line of retreat,
+and it was only by the most desperate exertion that he escaped from
+utter ruin.
+
+On reaching Greensborough we were at once escorted to General
+Johnston's headquarters, the One Hundred and Fourth Ohio being
+ordered to remain near the station till more complete arrangements
+were made. Our object had been to have force enough to guard the
+arms and stores against petty pillage or destruction, but not enough
+to provoke a collision with the larger organizations of the
+Confederates. Johnston had declined the hospitality of citizens of
+Greensborough, partly from a motive of delicacy, as I suspect,
+fearing he might compromise those who would thus be indicated as his
+friends, though his usual custom was to live under canvas rather
+than in a house. His tents were pitched in a grove in the outskirts
+of the town, and he awaited us there. It seemed to us, as we
+approached, that the little encampment was not quite so regular and
+trim as our own custom required. The wall tents did not sit quite so
+squarely upon the ground, and the camp was not laid out with
+regularity. The general indirectly apologized for some of these
+things by saying that we could not expect the discipline in his army
+to be fully maintained when all knew that it was on the eve of being
+disbanded. Indeed our presence there with a detachment of our own
+troops was partly the consequence of the tendency to disintegration
+and the consequent breaking down of discipline which was rapidly
+going on, of which the dispatch which met us on the way was a
+warning. We learned that the officers of the staff had for several
+nights stood guard over their own horses, efforts to steal them
+having been successful in one or two instances. The general himself
+was the only one who had been exempt from guard-duty. The soldiers
+knew that the war was over and that there was in fact no superior
+power to enforce military subordination. They were anxious to make
+their way homeward, and fearful that they might be treated as
+prisoners of war if they remained. A horse or a mule was too
+valuable a prize not to be a great temptation; they naturally
+thought that as there was no longer a Confederate States government,
+the men to whom arrears of pay were due had a right to whatever they
+could seize, and they were not disposed to distinguish between
+public and private property. The guards set to protect the
+commissary stores would wink at the pillage of them or assist in it,
+and the men were inclined to defy any authority exercised in the
+name of the Confederacy. They remembered the relentless character of
+the conscription which put them in the ranks, and were kept together
+chiefly by the assurance that they should all be promptly paroled
+and helped on their homeward way. The strongest consideration was
+perhaps the announcement that the parole would be a necessary
+protection to them against subsequent arrest. It was a curious fact
+that the moment the blue-coated sentinels began to pace the "beats"
+around the warehouses, parks of artillery, etc., the submission of
+these men to the United States authority was most complete. They
+were scrupulously respectful in their bearing and language, and the
+groups of them who gathered about with an earnest sort of interest,
+would obey the slightest direction of the sentry with a cordiality
+and alacrity which was in singular contrast with the sort of
+ostentation of defiance they showed toward their own officers.
+
+I have anticipated a little in order to give some idea of the
+condition of things in Johnston's army, and will return to our
+interview with the general himself. He welcomed us with dignity,
+though there was a little reserve in his courtesy that was naturally
+due to the gravity of the responsibility and the duty imposed upon
+him. Hardee, as a subordinate, free from this burden, could afford
+to give way to a natural _bonhommie_, and the difference of
+situation emphasized the distinctive traits of the men. Johnston was
+a smaller man than Hardee, his uniform showed less care for
+appearances, his manner was quieter, but no one would for a moment
+fail to see that he was the commander. His quiet tones were clear,
+his gravity was full of conscious power, and the deference shown him
+by his subordinates was earnest and respectful.
+
+The preliminary details of our task were soon settled. General
+Schofield had already promised rations to the Confederate troops
+whilst awaiting the issue of the certificates of parole, and on
+their way home; to give them railway transportation as far as
+railroads were running, and to carry out Sherman's offer to let the
+Confederate horses and mules be distributed as far as they would go,
+to assist the men on their way, and in putting in a crop for their
+families' support as soon as possible. When the necessary business
+was disposed of, the conversation became more general.
+
+General Schofield inquired what was the number of officers and men
+to be paroled. Johnston replied that he could hardly be definite as
+he would like to be: his morning report of "effectives" gave only
+the men answering to their names with arms in their hands in the
+line of battle. It would not include stragglers or men detached or
+on special duty. His last return of effectives showed, as he said,
+about 16,000 men. Wade Hampton, with much of his cavalry, had
+refused to come in to Greensborough to be paroled with the rest, and
+were supposed to be either disbanded or to be making their way
+southward. Johnston thought the place of these might be made up by
+the classes not enumerated in the return of effectives, and that
+there might therefore still be about 16,000 in camp who would
+present themselves to be paroled. He then added that in this
+campaign their reports and returns had not been kept up promptly,
+and that he had relied for practical use upon a summary of the
+morning reports of "effectives." [Footnote: See pp. 424, 425,
+_ante_.] There could be no question as to his complete frankness and
+sincerity in this. The inquiry was put to make sure that we had
+enough printed blanks for the paroles, and it was a matter of mutual
+interest to get their issue completed with as little delay as
+possible. The Official Records, moreover, confirm his statement as
+to the abbreviated returns and the numbers they gave, while making
+clear their loose inaccuracy. [Footnote: Official Records, vol.
+xlvii. pt. ii. p. 1382; pt. i. p. 1059; pt. iii. p. 839.] The most
+important fallacy in the Confederate return of "effectives" was that
+by giving only the arms-bearing men answering to the roll-call, it
+omitted the growing large class of stragglers hanging about the
+camps many of whom might be in line when an engagement occurred.
+
+The number of officers and men actually paroled by us in the
+Carolinas turned out to be 39,012, which included men in hospitals,
+some naval officers and sailors, the quartermaster's and other
+special duty, detachments, etc. [Footnote: _Id._, pt. i. p. 1066.]
+Johnston's inspector-general reported on 3d May the number of "final
+papers" issued to the army proper at 27,749, and the number of men
+who received their share of the silver distributed on April 28th was
+32,174, [Footnote: _Id._, pt. iii. pp. 850, 867.] the difference
+being in the cavalry, where 5000 men disbanded or went off with
+Hampton before the paroles were issued. The report of the paroles
+shows also that the Carolina troops had nearly all vanished during
+the campaign, the Western troops of Hood's old army making the great
+bulk of those who stayed with the colors.
+
+Johnston was very warm in his recognition of the soldierly qualities
+and the wonderful energy and persistence of our army, and the
+ability of Sherman. Referring to his own plans, he said he had hoped
+to have time enough to collect a larger force to oppose Sherman, and
+to give it a more complete and efficient organization. The
+Confederate government had reckoned upon the almost impassable
+character of the rivers and swamps to give a respite till
+spring,--at least they hoped for this. "Indeed," said he, with a
+smile, "Hardee here" (giving a friendly nod of his head toward his
+subordinate) "reported the Salkehatchie swamps as absolutely
+impassable; but when I heard that Sherman had not only started, but
+was marching through those very swamps at the rate of thirteen miles
+a day, making corduroy road every foot of the way, I made up my mind
+there had been no such army since the days of Julius Caesar." Hardee
+laughingly admitted his mistaken report from Charleston, but
+justified it by saying that all precedent was against such a march,
+and that he would still have believed it impossible if he had not
+seen it done.
+
+All the Confederate officers from Johnston downward were very
+earnest in impressing upon us their confidence that the army gave up
+the struggle without bitterness, and that we could rely not only
+upon their keeping their parole in good faith, but in their anxiety
+to become again good citizens of the United States in every sense of
+the word. The assassination of Mr. Lincoln was spoken of, as both an
+odious crime and an extremely great misfortune to the South, tending
+to involve the future in gloomy doubt by reason of the probable
+effect upon Northern public sentiment and upon the policy of
+Congress and the new administration. Hardee said that for himself he
+thought he should go abroad for a time, till the heated and
+exasperated feeling at the North should subside, and then return to
+his home and his private affairs. I do not remember that Johnston
+opened his mind on this point, and think he was gravely reticent,
+scarcely choosing to share with strangers, in our relation to
+affairs, the deep anxiety he must have felt. Hardee's means were
+understood to be more ample than most of the Southern officers
+possessed, and a course that was feasible for him was not so for
+most of them. The task of winning a mere livelihood was by no means
+a promising one for men left without a profession and without
+property, in a country that seemed to be irretrievably ruined.
+
+When we closed the interview, I am very sure that we of the National
+side had already formed a very high opinion of the personal
+character of the distinguished officers we had met, and had begun to
+feel a sincere sympathy with them in their manifest purpose to meet
+honorably and manfully the demands of the new situation. I recorded
+at the time my own feeling that I had rarely met a man who was
+personally more attractive to me than General Johnston. His mode of
+viewing things was a high one, his thoughts and his expression of
+them were refined, his conscientious anxiety to do exactly what was
+right in the circumstances appeared in every word and act, his
+ability and his natural gift of leadership showed without effort in
+his whole bearing and conduct.
+
+An incident which occurred at the time General Johnston left
+Greensborough is striking proof of the scrupulous exactness he was
+determined to exercise in carrying out the terms of the surrender.
+He had gone southward as far as Charlotte to superintend the last
+movement of his forces as a body and the final disbanding, and
+before parting with the members of his staff learned that one of
+them had preserved as a relic a little cavalry guidon of silk in the
+form of a national flag scarce larger than a handkerchief. The
+general immediately reclaimed it, and afterward sent it back under
+the provision of the surrender which agreed that all captured flags
+in the hands of the Confederates should be restored. He apologized
+for the staff officer, saying that he knew no wrong had been meant
+and the little flag had been regarded as a trifling but interesting
+relic; yet he felt that there should be no limitation on their part
+in carrying out strictly the terms agreed upon. The manner in which
+all this was done, quite as much as the thing itself, showed the
+earnestness and sincerity of his purpose to do everything in his
+power to enforce the spirit as well as the letter of every promise
+he had made for himself and his army. He had returned to his home at
+Danville, Va., before he had been able to send to us this flag with
+another that had been omitted, and his solicitude in regard to it,
+even in the midst of anxiety in regard to his family, was shown by a
+note which accompanied the parcel. It ran as follows:--
+
+"DANVILLE, June 5th, 1865.
+
+GENERAL,--I have requested Major Shackford, Provost Marshal of this
+post, to forward to you a small box containing the color, standard,
+and guidon which I mentioned to you in Greensborough.
+
+I beg you to explain to Major-General Schofield that they were not
+in my possession when we were in Greensborough, nor until I reached
+Charlotte, and that they were not sent to him from that place
+because I expected to visit Raleigh and there deliver them to him.
+This visit was prevented by the condition of my family. You may
+remember that the same cause, as I explained to you orally,
+prevented my delivering them to you in person.
+
+Most respectfully,
+
+Your ob't serv't,
+
+J. E. JOHNSTON.
+
+
+MAJOR-GENERAL Cox,
+U. S. Army."
+
+
+General Schofield and myself passed the night at the house of
+ex-Governor Morehead, who had urged us to do so. Our host had been
+one of the leading Whigs of North Carolina in the _ante-bellum_
+days, and with his friends and neighbors Gilmer and Graham had
+opposed secession at the beginning; but with the instinct of
+politicians, they had striven to lead the current they could not
+stop when once it had carried them away. The house was a comfortable
+villa in the Italian style, with a tower overlooking the rolling
+country for a long distance. The architecture was simple but
+effective, and the house had evidently been a home of comfort and
+ease in better times. We were frankly and cordially welcomed, and
+allowed to see the mixed feelings with which the reassembled family
+accepted the collapse of the Confederacy. Among the young people was
+a son of the governor who had been desperately wounded but had
+recovered. The rebellion had had their devoted support, but they
+said, "That is all past now," and seemed eagerly desirous to get
+into accord with the new order of things. The young man told of his
+army adventures, and compared notes with us as to camp life in the
+different armies. We were struck with the strong comparison he made
+in speaking of his wound. A bullet had entered his mouth and passed
+out at the back of his neck, and he said it felt, for all the world,
+as if a city lamppost with its cross-bar had been dragged through
+his head. I have no doubt this gave as good an idea of the sensation
+as possible, for I have often heard wounded men speak of the feeling
+of having received a terrible blow from some big and heavy thing,
+when hit with a musket-ball. The ladies entertained us with
+half-gay, half-pathetic stories of the way home-life had run on
+during the long campaigns, and of the ingenuity they were obliged to
+use to supply the place of tasteful articles of dress or adornment
+when the blockade had become stringent, and when each little
+community was thrown almost wholly upon its own resources. The head
+of the house discoursed more gravely of the situation of the country
+at large, and tried to forecast the future. Now that the surrender
+was made, he was anxious that the army should be disbanded and sent
+home as soon as possible, for the disposition of the Confederate
+soldiers to pay their arrears by pillage made him fear that his own
+farm would be stripped bare before they got away. There is no doubt
+that there was a good deal of cause for such anxiety, especially for
+leading men whom the private soldiers were disposed to hold largely
+responsible for all their woes. It was no slight test of character
+and good breeding, under such anxieties, for the family to pay
+delicate and courteous attention to the comfort of their guests, and
+to keep as far as possible in the background everything that might
+betray their own troubled feelings.
+
+On Wednesday (3d May) General Schofield returned to Raleigh, leaving
+me in responsible command of the district. [Footnote: Official
+Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. pp. 394, 407.] By administering the
+parole to the troops by companies and regiments, keeping a number of
+officers at work and using abundant clerical assistance in verifying
+the copies of rolls, the task had been completed in a couple of
+days, and General Johnston began to move his men southward. General
+Cheatham with the Tennessee troops marched across the Great Smoky
+Mountains, but the others were ordered to rendezvous at West Point
+in Georgia, which was a central place for all who lived in the Gulf
+States, from which they could most readily reach their homes. While
+they remained together they were fed by us, and we furnished rations
+sufficient to sustain them on the journey. Our ration, too, was
+quite a different thing from theirs, and the men seemed more
+affected by this bestowal of unwonted and abundant supplies than by
+any other incident in the surrender. They said it seemed hardly
+possible that men who were but yesterday arrayed in deadly hostility
+to them, could now be supplying their wants so liberally.
+
+Whilst they stayed they seemed never to tire of watching our men on
+duty and on the various parades. Our guard-mounting was particularly
+a show affair. From the moment the music struck up on the parade
+ground, and the detachments for the guard from the different
+companies began to file out and march into place, there was always a
+large concourse of the men in gray making a most interested body of
+spectators. The smart appearance of the men, the rapid inspection of
+arms, of haversacks and knapsacks, the march in review, the
+assignment to posts, the final marching off the field, all seemed to
+give them great enjoyment. They said they had not paid much
+attention to the formalities which so greatly relieve the drag and
+labor of military life even in the field, and they were ready with
+cordial and appreciative praise of the discipline and finish in
+drill which they saw.
+
+As the Confederate troops left Greensborough, I concentrated my own
+corps there, [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. pp.
+376, 384, 396, 502.] sending one of the infantry divisions to
+Salisbury, and Kilpatrick's cavalry division to posts still farther
+toward the southwest. A visit of inspection which I made to
+Salisbury gave me the opportunity of examining the site of the
+recent prison camp there. The treatment of our prisoners by the
+Confederate authorities is a repellent subject, and I would gladly
+pass it by and say nothing discordant with the tone of high honor
+and respectful good-will which marked the conduct of the leading
+officers of the Confederate forces in the field. We may fairly admit
+that the resources of the Confederacy had been so taxed that food
+and clothing were hard to procure, and that their armies in the
+field were ill-fed and in rags. There is, however, a limit beyond
+which a government calling itself civilized may not go, and as the
+public opinion of the world, crystallized into what we call
+international law, will not permit the wholesale decapitation of
+prisoners, as might be done by a king of Ashantee or Dahomey, so it
+forbids the herding of captive men in a mere corral, leaving them
+utterly without shelter of any sort through the sleet and rain of
+winter, near the North Carolina mountains. It forbids starving them
+to death or leaving them to rot with scurvy because they are not
+supplied with wholesome food and medicines. It is the plain duty of
+a civilized government to parole and send home military prisoners
+who cannot be fed or sheltered. If controversies as to exchange
+existed, such conduct would have been the surest way to shame us out
+of any position that was wrong, and the public opinion of the world
+would have been powerful in making it the more profitable way, as it
+was the only one not utterly barbarous. I speak with a solemn sense
+of the obligation to avoid every railing accusation when I say that
+it would have been humane and civilized in the comparison, if the
+prisoners at Andersonville and Salisbury had been shot down by
+fusillades or quickly poisoned by wholesale (as Napoleon was accused
+of doing at Jaffa) instead of subjecting them to death by starvation
+and exposure which swept them away at a rate no plague ever rivalled
+or approached. I have seen too much of the Southern people, in arms
+in the field and in their homes, to believe for one moment that they
+would knowingly approve the treatment our prisoners received. But
+their own reputation before the world makes it their duty to fix the
+responsibility for a great crime upon those whose commands or whose
+criminal negligence caused horrors which are among the most odious
+things in the world's history.
+
+I had seen at Wilmington and Goldsborough the condition of
+train-loads of these released captives. Their situation has been
+surgically and medically recorded in the surgeon-general's official
+reports. There is no room for dispute. They were men reduced to
+idiocy and to the verge of the grave by the direct effects of hunger
+and exposure and the diseases necessarily connected with such
+suffering. They were not of the dregs of humanity, who might be said
+to fall into animality when the restraints of society and of
+discipline were removed. They were many of them men who had
+respected positions and refined surroundings at home. These were the
+victims who looked vacantly with glazed eyes and could mumble no
+intelligent response when asked their names, where was their home,
+what was the name of the mother that bore them.
+
+At Salisbury the pen in which part of the prisoners had been kept
+was still to be seen. There were, as I remember it, two levels or
+"benches" in it, and in the little bluff or slope from one to the
+other were still to be seen the holes the poor prisoners had dug to
+make a little cave in the earth that would drain itself and give
+some shelter from the winter weather. I talked to women of the place
+who with tears upon their faces told of the efforts some of them had
+made to have the worst of the treatment corrected, or to procure
+some mitigation of the want and hardship. The evidence seemed
+conclusive that any marks of common sympathy or Christian pity were
+repelled by the officials in charge of the prisoners and treated as
+indications of disloyalty to the Confederate government.
+
+The Confederacy was full of places where the almost limitless forest
+afforded timber without end, and the labor of the prisoners
+themselves under the same guards that garrisoned the prison would
+have comfortably housed and warmed them, and then the scant and
+wretched rations would not so soon have been the cause of emaciation
+and disease. The risk of escape would not have been great, and I
+doubt if as many would have got away as in fact managed to do so in
+the actual circumstances. The almost certainty of sickness and death
+nerved many a man to incredible exertions to be free, who would have
+waited more patiently for an exchange if his condition had been less
+intolerable or less sure of a fatal result. But even if there had
+been some more escapes, it would be no argument in favor of the
+horrible system which was adopted. There is no resemblance between
+the situation of prisoners in a pen, and that of soldiers in
+bivouac. The latter build shelters of rails or of brushwood, if they
+have no shelter-tents, and they are very rarely stinted in firewood.
+Their active life helps to preserve their vigor. To liken these to
+men without shelter of any kind and without fire enough to cook by,
+herded inside a ring-fence in winter weather, is an abuse of words.
+Enough of the shocking subject!
+
+As soon as headquarters baggage could be brought up I established my
+own camp in the northern edge of Greensborough, in a grove which was
+part of the grounds attached to the mansion of Mr. Dick, since that
+time judge of the United States District Court. The first impression
+of the people was that all government was now in the hands of the
+army, and we had no little difficulty in correcting it. The policy
+of the government was to recognize the ordinary courts and local
+magistrates, and to support their authority in preserving the peace,
+punishing crimes, and determining ordinary civil rights. The
+political organization of the State was left subject to such changes
+or conditions of reconstruction as might be prescribed by national
+statute. The army, however, was the present palpable fact. The
+muskets and the cannon were physical engines of power that everybody
+could see, and everybody knew that the commandants of department and
+district could use them if need be. There was, therefore, a national
+tendency, both in civil magistrates and in the people, to refer all
+sorts of questions to the military authorities. I tried in good
+faith to make it understood within my own district that we were
+averse to meddling with local affairs, and wished the ordinary
+current of civil administration to run on in its accustomed channels
+till it should be replaced by that which should have the new
+authority of a reconstructed state under Acts of Congress. I not
+only promulgated this through the military channels, but I accepted
+several invitations to address the people at different points and
+explain our attitude and purpose during the interregnum, and to give
+them serious advice as to their conduct in the very trying
+circumstances in which they were. It need hardly be said that the
+gist of this advice was to recognize the absolute death of the
+system of slavery, to deal with the freedmen with perfect sincerity
+as free laborers who were at liberty to make the best bargain they
+could for their labor, and to confine for the present their
+political activity to the duty of keeping alive such local
+magistracies as would prevent the community from falling into
+anarchy. There was a wistful solicitude noticeable in people of all
+classes to know what was to become of them. Their leaders had
+educated them to believe that the success of the National arms would
+mean the loss of every liberty and subjection to every form of
+hateful tyranny. Yet they almost universally showed a spirit of
+complete resignation to what might come, and a wish to conform
+obediently to everything enjoined by the officers of the occupying
+army. It was the rarest thing in the world to meet with anything
+like sullen resistance or hostile or unfriendly utterances.
+[Footnote: The same disposition in the people was noticed elsewhere
+in the South. Halleck said, in a dispatch of April 22d, "From all I
+can learn, Richmond is to-day more loyal than Washington or
+Baltimore." (Official Records, vol. xlvi. pt. iii. p. 888.) Sherman
+sent similar reports from Savannah. (_Id_., vol. xlvii. pt. iii. p.
+371.)] My own stay in North Carolina did not extend into the period
+of the provisional governments authorized by Acts of Congress, and I
+was not personally witness to the varying phases of sentiment among
+the people at that time.
+
+The political character of North Carolina during the war had been
+different from that of the Gulf States. We found very few indeed who
+were known as "original Secessionists." The "old Whigs" had given
+the tone to public sentiment, and the community as a whole had
+sincerely desired that the Union might be preserved. Yet a society
+based upon slavery had such community of interest with the States
+further south that it was soon dragged into the secession vortex.
+When once war had begun, the growth of hostility against what was
+regarded as their public enemy was rapid, and in every State a war
+party in time of war has a great advantage over the opposition. The
+charge of "giving aid and comfort to the enemy" is too powerful a
+weapon against the minority, and the outward appearance was soon
+that of almost complete unanimity in the desperate struggle to make
+secession a success. Party leaders were borne along upon the
+current, and vied with each other in extravagant professions of
+devotion to the Confederacy.
+
+In such circumstances the men who were at heart opposed to the war
+thought they were doing all that was wise or prudent in making what
+they called a constitutional opposition to the Davis government,
+professing to acquiesce in the Confederate organization, but urging
+the negotiation of peace on the best attainable terms. In the fever
+of actual conflict the following of such men was small, although it
+seemed plain to me that a majority of the people of the State
+sympathized with them at heart.
+
+The outspoken Union men were, almost as a matter of course, treated
+as traitors, and lived under a reign of terror. In the mountains,
+where their numbers were considerable, they were the victims of a
+relentless guerilla warfare, as the same class was upon the other
+slope of the Great Smokies in East Tennessee.
+
+Out of these classes came the elements of new struggles for
+political power. The minority naturally felt that their time had now
+come, and were not altogether patient with the principles of our
+democratic Constitution, which require that a majority shall not be
+disfranchised, and which therefore make it practically impossible
+that a minority shall rule. At the time I am speaking of, these
+elements were quiet in the first stunning effect of the collapse of
+the Confederacy; but we could see the tendencies to antagonisms that
+were to agitate the State during the next decade.
+
+The negroes were, of course, of none of these parties. Very few of
+the whites were in favor of emancipation on principle, though all
+accepted it as the inevitable result of the war. Tacitly or
+avowedly, they all admitted that the fate of the "system" had been
+the real issue at stake, and that the surrender meant universal
+freedom. But the colored people were ignorant, and had cherished
+strange illusions as to the change which was to come to them. It was
+a common belief among them that the whites were to be stripped of
+all property, and the land to be given to them. We had heard curious
+discussions among them around the camp-fires, in which they had
+apportioned the real and personal property among themselves. The
+faith that they were each to have "forty acres and a mule" was of a
+little later growth. The first noticeable thing among them after the
+surrender was the almost universal disposition to quit work. It
+would have been very natural that they should wish for a great
+holiday, and try to realize their freedom by extending it at their
+own will, and thus prove to themselves that no man was their master.
+But in addition to this, they seemed to fear that any continuance of
+the relation of laborers for their former masters would cover some
+waiver of their right to freedom. Yet, as they had hopes that the
+real estate would be given to them by the National government, they
+were disinclined to leave the old home. The outcome was that for a
+time they occupied their old quarters and asserted a kind of
+proprietorship in them, whilst they "struck" from labor.
+
+When it is remembered that the kitchen of Southern houses is a
+detached building of which the servants have exclusive occupation,
+it will easily be understood that the situation was anything but
+comfortable for housekeepers. Oftentimes they could neither hire
+cooks nor get access to the open kitchen fire and the rude utensils
+which the colored people appropriated as their own. According to my
+observation, the Southern white women were very systematic and
+thorough in the supervision of household work, but were necessarily
+ignorant of the actual manipulation. They knew what flour and other
+ingredients to weigh out for a batch of bread, but they had never
+done the baking. Some of them tried their first experiments over the
+open fire with "Dutch ovens" and other primitive implements, whilst
+a group of colored women sat around commenting drolly but most
+exasperatingly upon the results. As a temporary compromise, we were
+obliged to "clear the kitchen" by military authority, making it
+known that that was part of the "house," and that if the mistresses
+of the mansion had to do their own work, it was not necessary that
+it should be done before such an "audience." Such a social crisis is
+always short, but it is very severe. No doubt those who have gone
+through it look back upon it as one does upon the day after a fire,
+when the wretchedness of dirt and destruction seems hopeless, but,
+like other mundane things, soon passes away and is spoken of as all
+"part of a lifetime."
+
+A delicate and amiable lady, whose fortune at her marriage had been
+of that ample sort which was measured in Southern parlance as "a
+hundred negroes," herself told me, with a mixture of tearful pathos
+and recognition of the comic side of it, of her own first efforts to
+make a batch of soda biscuit for her husband and children after she
+got possession of her kitchen. She knew all about the rule, but in
+new practice the rule didn't work. The ingredients got wrongly
+mixed; the fire was too hot or not hot enough; some biscuits were
+burnt to a crisp, some were not cooked, and none were eatable, and
+her heart was ready to break at the prospect of her family's
+condition till something could be done to remedy the trouble. In
+more than one household our officers' messes helped tide over the
+painful interval by giving camp hospitality and friendly assistance
+to their new neighbors. We frequently heard housekeepers say that if
+they only had the snug ranges of Northern kitchens within the house
+they would have made light of the labor; but their outdoor kitchens
+and primitive methods, which produced appetizing results in the
+hands of colored cooks who had been brought up to them, were killing
+upon those who had been delicately reared.
+
+We saw more of the domestic form of this social anarchy than of farm
+labor, for the outdoor work could wait, whereas the indoor work
+could not. The same difficulty was everywhere, however, and the
+intelligence of the community soon hit upon temporary expedients.
+Such men as Mr. Gilmer and Judge Dick took the lead in advising the
+colored people to avoid their apprehended risk of compromising their
+freedom, by hiring out temporarily to work for others than their old
+masters. By thus changing about, the consciousness of working under
+a voluntary contract was stronger, and the uneducated brain was less
+puzzled to tell whether any change of situation had really come. We
+did our best to dispel the notion that wealth and idleness were to
+follow emancipation, and to encourage the freedmen to resume
+industrious labor as the foundation of real freedom and
+independence. [Footnote: See General Schofield's Order No. 46;
+Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. p. 503.] The peaceful
+character of the colored people was shown even in what they supposed
+was a great revolution in their favor. There was no rioting or angry
+disturbance,--no effort to accomplish anything by force. They
+abandoned for the time their usual employments, and congregated in
+their quarters or in groups about the streets, waiting for some
+great thing to happen. There was, of course, plenty of talk and some
+excitement, but even this gradually diminished; and as they began to
+realize that without work there would be no food, they made such
+bargains as suited them, and the affairs of the plantation and of
+the house began to move on. The owners of property did not hope for
+profits; they expressed themselves earnestly as anxious only that
+such crops might be raised as would save the community, white and
+black alike, from absolute destitution. I know of prominent examples
+of well-known men offering the farm hands all that they could raise
+for that season if they would only go to work and plant something
+which could still ripen into food. The season was advancing, and a
+little delay was very dangerous. The last chance for a crop in that
+year would soon be gone. The influence and advice of sagacious and
+prudent men was never more useful, for society seemed to be resolved
+into its original elements when all authority but the military went
+for nothing. As soldiers, we refrained from meddling in civil
+affairs, but it was understood that we should preserve the peace and
+allow no force to be used by others. It was a time when everybody
+felt the need of being patient and conciliatory, and the natural
+authority of known character and wisdom asserted itself. Everybody
+soon went to work to make a living, and the burning problems of
+political and social importance were postponed.
+
+A serious inconvenience was immediately felt in the lack of a
+circulating medium. The Confederate currency was at once made
+worthless by the failure of the rebellion, and there was nothing to
+take its place. The extent to which its depreciation had gone was
+amusingly shown by a printed notice and list of prices I found
+posted in a country tavern, already some months old. In it the price
+of a dinner was put at ten dollars, and other meals and
+accommodation in proportion. Still this currency had served for
+business purposes, and it being gone, the community had to go back
+for the time to primitive barter.
+
+We had opportunity to notice to what great straits the people had
+been reduced for two years in the matter of manufactured goods of
+all kinds. Factories of every sort were scarce in the South when the
+war began, and resources of every kind were so absorbed in the war
+that there was no chance for new ones to spring up. Carriages,
+wagons, and farm implements went to decay, or could only be rudely
+patched up by the rough mechanics of the plantation. The stringent
+blockade shut out foreign goods, and the people were generally
+clothed in homespun. In many houses the floors were bare because the
+carpets had been cut up to make blankets for the soldiers. Ladies
+made their own shoes of such materials as they could find. They
+braided their own hats. They showed a wonderful ingenuity in
+supplying from native products the place of all the articles of use
+which had formerly been imported from foreign lands or from the
+North. Taste asserted itself, perhaps all the more in such
+discouraging circumstances, and feminine refinement and love of
+adornment worked marvels out of the slenderest materials. A
+home-made straw hat ornamented with feathers of barnyard fowls and
+domestic birds was often as jaunty and as pretty as any Parisian
+bonnet. Simple dyes were made to give to coarse cotton stuffs a
+lively contrast or harmony of pure colors as effective as the varied
+and elaborate fabrics from the European looms. In some respects this
+self-dependence heightened the personal advantages of those who
+excelled in ingenuity, in taste, and in skill; for the clothes
+indicated better the character of the wearer than those which are
+made on one pattern in the shop of a fashionable mantua-maker.
+
+Adversity has such uses and such compensations that I should hardly
+reckon the poverty of the Southern States during 1864-65 as a burden
+greatly felt in private life. All such things are comparative, and
+where all the people undergo the same privations, the odious
+comparisons and jealousies between richer and poorer disappear in a
+measure. A simple life full of great enthusiasms is one a
+philosopher may find much satisfaction in, and has, many a time,
+been pictured as an ideal calculated to bring out the best qualities
+of men and women and therefore to make life more truly enjoyable. I
+greatly doubt if Southern people, in looking back on the war time,
+find anything to regret in the simple fare and plain dress of the
+enforced economy of that period. The real griefs and burdens, if I
+am not mistaken, came from other sources. Among thoughtful people
+there must have been from the summer of 1863 serious doubts of the
+possibility of a successful outcome of their struggle, and a growing
+and unhappy conviction that the fearful waste of life and treasure
+would be in vain. They must have had grave misgivings also as to the
+righteousness of a cause which championed an institution condemned
+by the whole world and in conflict with the general progress of
+Christendom. To see their best and bravest consumed in the fire of
+successive battles, and to be waiting only till the slaughter should
+make it impossible to keep armies in the field, must have been a
+grief and a suffering which made all physical deprivations seem
+small indeed.
+
+I think I cannot be mistaken in the judgment I formed at the time,
+that to the great body of the Southern people it was a relief that
+the struggle was really over; that they breathed more freely and
+felt that a new lease of life came with peace. They had been half
+conscious for a good while that it must end so, and they were in the
+mood to be at least resigned, if not readily to profess the pious
+conviction that "it was all for the best." With the reactions and
+political exasperations that came later, I have here nothing to do.
+My purpose has been to reproduce, as far as my memory serves, the
+scenes and the surroundings of that last military duty of the great
+war. Why it was that the mellowness of spirit which seemed then so
+prevalent could not have ripened without interruption or check into
+a quicker and more complete fraternization, belongs to another field
+of inquiry. The military chronicler stops where he was mustered out.
+
+A summer ride which a party of us took to the battlefield of
+"Guilford-Old-Court-House" may be worth noting as an encouragement
+to believe that our descriptions of the scenes of our own
+engagements need not become unintelligible even in the distant
+future. Among the combats of our Revolutionary War, Guilford Court
+House ranks high in importance; for the check there given to the
+invading British army under Lord Cornwallis by the Continental
+forces under General Greene was the turning-point in a campaign.
+Greensborough is the present county-seat of Guilford County, and the
+"Old Court House," a few miles distant, has disappeared as a
+village, a few buildings almost unused being the only mark of the
+old town. Natural topography, however, does not change its material
+features easily, and in this case a cleared field or two where the
+forest had formerly extended seemed to be the only change that had
+occurred in the past century. With General Greene's official report
+of the battle in our hands, we could trace with complete accuracy
+every movement of the advancing enemy and his own dispositions to
+receive the attack. We could see the reasons for the movements on
+both sides, and how the undulations of surface and the cover of
+woods and fences were taken advantage of by either commander.
+Military principles being the same in all times, we found ourselves
+criticising the movements as if they had occurred on one of our own
+recent battlefields. It brought the older and the later war into
+almost startling nearness, and made us realize, as perhaps nothing
+else could have done, how the future visitor will trace the
+movements in which we have had a part; and when we have been dust
+for centuries, will follow the path of our battalions from hill to
+hill, from stream to stream, from the border of a wood to the open
+ground where the bloody conflict was hand to hand, and will comment
+upon the history we have made. It pointed the lesson that what is
+accurate in our reports and narratives will be recognized by the
+intelligent critic, and that the face of the country itself will be
+an unalterable record which will go far to expose the true reasons
+of things,--to show what statements are consistent with the physical
+conditions under which a battle was fought, and what, if any, are
+warped to hide a repulse or to claim a false success. Nature herself
+will thus prove the strongest ally of truth.
+
+NOTE.--General Cox was the spontaneous choice of the "Union Party"
+of Ohio for Governor, and was nominated at its Convention held in
+Columbus, June 21,1865, while he was still engaged in his military
+duties in North Carolina. At a ratification meeting, held in the
+evening after the Convention, Senator Sherman said, speaking of the
+ticket: "It is headed by a gentleman who is not only a soldier, but
+a statesman and scholar,--a man of the highest and purest
+character,--a man who, in all the walks of life, will be a model for
+us all. I thank you for that nomination,--although I believe the
+people made it before the Convention met." At a reception in honor
+of General Sherman given in Columbus, July 13, 1865, the general
+himself was called on to speak. After mentioning Grant, whose fame
+was secure, and McPherson, his beloved companion in arms, he said:
+"And here is General Cox, who is your candidate for Governor,--a man
+who did his whole duty from first to last and did it well and will
+do it to the end."
+
+General Cox was elected by a handsome majority, served one term,
+returned to the practice of the law, and in 1869 was appointed
+Secretary of the Interior, by General Grant. Retiring to private
+life at the end of twenty months, he occupied many positions of
+trust and honor: President of the Toledo and Wabash Railroad, Member
+of Congress from the Toledo District, President of the Cincinnati
+University, Dean of the Cincinnati Law School, etc. His reading was
+extensive; his scholarship profound. In microscopic research he
+attained world-wide distinction and he received the Gold Medal of
+Honor at the Antwerp Exposition of 1891, for excellence in
+micro-photography.
+
+He was thrice honored with the degree of LL.D., the last time by
+Yale College, in June, 1877. As an indication of the esteem in which
+he was held by those among whom he went as an armed invader, it
+should be mentioned that one of the degrees was conferred by the
+University of North Carolina, in June, 1870.
+
+He was a member of the American Philosophical Society, the
+Massachusetts Historical Society, the Royal Microscopical Society,
+the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the
+Military Historical Society of Massachusetts, the Cobden Club, and a
+number of others.
+
+His contributions to the magazines, historical, literary, and
+scientific, were numerous, and his series of critical and
+biographical reviews in "The Nation," from the beginning of its
+publication to the summer of 1900, constitutes a most valuable and
+interesting commentary on public men and affairs and military
+operations at home and abroad.
+
+His public addresses, many of which were published in pamphlet form,
+were marked for their literary finish, their wealth of learning and
+suggestion, their deep philosophical insight, and their lofty
+patriotism.
+
+He had little leisure for writing books, but has contributed to the
+literature of the war several articles in "Battles and Leaders of
+the Civil War"; the volumes on "Atlanta," and "The March to the Sea,
+Franklin and Nashville," in the Scribner War Series; "The Second
+Battle of Bull Run," in which he took issue with the findings of the
+Second Court of Inquiry in the Fitz-John Porter case; "Franklin," a
+detailed account of that battle, together with the events leading up
+to it and the controversies following it; the last half of Force's
+"Sherman" in the Great Commander Series; and the above "Military
+Reminiscences." However much men may differ with his conclusions,
+none who knew him personally ever questioned his candor and
+sincerity, and his disposition to be absolutely fair in his
+treatment of others.
+
+W. C. C.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX C
+
+
+TESTIMONIALS OF COMMANDERS
+
+
+_Rosecrans, in his Report of the Campaign of_ 1861, _Nov._ 25, 1861.
+_Official Records, vol. v.p._ 259.
+
+"It is a great pleasure to say to the commanding general that I have
+found General Cox prudent, brave, and soldierly, and I specially
+commend his prudence and firmness in occupying Cotton Hill, details
+of which are given in his report in the appendix."
+
+
+
+_Rosecrans, in Correspondence with McClellan_, _Nov._ 19, 1861,
+_asking for Changes in Officers, etc._ _Official Records, vol. v.p._
+657.
+
+"General Cox is the only reliable man here;" _i. e._, of the
+brigadiers with him at Gauley, Schenck having gone home sick.
+
+
+
+_McClellan, to Army Headquarters, after South Mountain and
+Antietam_, _Oct._ 5, 1862. _Official Records, vol. xix. pt. ii. p._
+383.
+
+"MAJOR-GEN. HALLECK, General-in-Chief.
+
+In compliance with your instructions, General Cox has been ordered
+to report to you for duty on the Kanawha. General Cox's gallant
+services in the battle of South Mountain and at Antietam, during
+which, after Reno's fall, he commanded an army corps, contributed
+greatly toward our success in those hard-fought engagements. He has
+been recommended by General Burnside, his immediate commander, for
+promotion. Although I am now to lose the services of this valuable
+officer with this army, it is no more than an act of justice to him
+that I should concur in the recommendation of General Burnside,
+which I do most cordially and earnestly, and request that the
+promotion be made at once. (Signed) GEORGE B. McCLELLAN, Maj.-Gen."
+
+
+
+_Schofield to Sherman, after the Atlanta Campaign. Official Records,
+vol. xxxix. pt. ii. p_. 366.
+
+"HEADQUARTERS, ARMY OF THE OHIO,
+DECATUR, GA., Sept. 12th, 1864.
+
+
+MAJOR-GEN. W. T. SHERMAN, Commanding Military Division of the
+Mississippi.
+
+GENERAL,--I have the honor to recommend for promotion the following
+named officers of my command for gallant and meritorious services
+during the campaign just ended:
+
+Brigadier-General J. D. Cox is now the senior Brigadier-General of
+Volunteers in active service. He has held various important commands
+during the war and was appointed Major-General in 1862, but his name
+was withdrawn from the list sent to the Senate for confirmation,
+because of the limitation by law of the number of Major-Generals
+authorized to be appointed. General Cox commanded the 23d Army Corps
+for some time previous to the assignment of Major-General Stoneman
+to that command. During the summer's campaign he has commanded the
+third division of that corps under my immediate personal
+observation. I have no hesitation in saying that I have never seen a
+more able and efficient division commander. General Cox is possessed
+of a very high order of talent and superior education. As a
+commander he is discreet, energetic, and brave. As a just reward for
+long, faithful, and efficient service, and as an act of justice to
+the army and the country, I earnestly recommend that
+Brigadier-General J. D. Cox be appointed Major-General of
+Volunteers.
+
+I earnestly hope all the appointments above recommended may be made.
+Should the number of vacancies in the grades of Major-General and
+Brigadier-General not justify the appointment of so large a number
+from this army, I respectfully request that the officers who may not
+be appointed may receive the Brevet of the rank for which they are
+recommended. Very respectfully,
+Your obedient servant,
+(Signed) J. M. SCHOFIELD,
+Major-General Commanding."
+
+
+
+
+_Sherman to Halleck, after the Atlanta Campaign. Official Records,
+vol. xxxix. pt. iii. p._ 413.
+
+"HEADQUARTERS, MIL. DIV. OF THE MISS.
+IN THE FIELD, GAYLESVILLE, ALA., Oct. 24,1864.
+
+
+GENERAL H. W. HALLECK, Chief of Staff, etc.
+
+GENERAL,--I always designed to canvass the claims to promotion of
+all aspirants in the army, so as to save the President the invidious
+task of judging among so many worthy men, all of whom can only be
+known to him by the record. But events and movements have followed
+each other so rapidly that my army commanders have not been able to
+attend to the matter, but have sent into my office the detached
+papers of each. These I herewith inclose, indorsed with my own
+individual opinion. I have not General Thomas' list, but will
+instruct him to send it direct from Nashville, where he now is. If
+necessary [_sic_] to promote to divisions and brigades the officers
+now exercising the rank of major-general and brigadier-general, it
+be necessary to create vacancies, I do think the exigencies of the
+country would warrant the muster out of the same number of generals
+now on the list that have not done service in the past year.
+
+The following persons should be promoted to the rank of
+major-general: . . .
+
+Army of the Ohio: Brig.-Gen. J. D. Cox to be major-general....
+
+All these are actual division commanders, men of marked courage,
+capacity, and merit, who are qualified to separate commands....
+
+I am, with respect, your obedient servant,
+(Signed) W. T. SHERMAN,
+Major-General."
+
+
+
+_Schofield to Thomas, after the Battles of Franklin and Nashville.
+Official Records, vol. xlv. pt. ii._ p. 273.
+
+
+"HEAD QUARTERS, ARMY OF THE OHIO,
+FRANKLIN, TENN., Dec. 19, 1864.
+
+
+MAJ.-GEN. GEORGE H. THOMAS, Commanding Dep't of the Cumberland.
+
+GENERAL,--I have the honor to enclose herewith a letter to Maj.-Gen.
+Halleck, Chief of Staff, urging the promotion of Brig.-Gen. Cox, and
+to urge that it may be forwarded with your indorsement. Unless
+General Cox can obtain the promotion which he has so often earned,
+he will soon quit the service, which would be an irreparable loss to
+my command.
+I am, general, Very Respectfully,
+Your obed't serv't,
+(Signed) J. M. SCHOFIELD, Maj.-Gen."
+
+
+
+_Schofield to Halleck, after the Battles of Franklin and Nashville.
+Official Records, vol. xlv. pt. ii. p. 273._
+
+"HEADQUARTERS, ARMY OF THE OHIO,
+FRANKLIN, TENN., Dec. 19, 1864.
+
+
+MAJOR-GENERAL H. W. HALLECK, Chief of Staff, U. S. Army, D. C.
+GENERAL,--I desire earnestly to ask your attention, and, through
+you, that of the President and Secretary of War, to the claims of
+Brigadier-General J. D. Cox to promotion. It is unnecessary to
+recite, in detail, the services of so distinguished an officer. He
+has merited promotion scores of times by skilful and heroic conduct
+in as many battles. He is one of the very best division commanders I
+have ever seen, and has often shown himself qualified for a higher
+command.
+
+Permit me to say that in overlooking the merits of such an officer
+as General Cox, the Government has, unintentionally of course,
+committed an act of great injustice, and one which must soon deprive
+the country of his services. An officer cannot exercise for three
+years a command which he is universally admitted to be eminently
+qualified for, and yet be denied the corresponding rank, while his
+juniors, notoriously less deserving, are promoted, without feeling
+such mortification and chagrin as must drive him from the army.
+
+Excuse, General, the earnestness with which I refer to this matter.
+I do not exaggerate the merits of the case; on the contrary, I do
+not half state it.
+I am, General, very respectfully,
+Your obedient servant,
+J. M. SCHOFIELD,
+Major-General."
+
+
+
+_Thomas to Halleck, after the Battles of Franklin and Nashville.
+Official Records, vol. xlv. pt. ii. p. 274._
+
+[Indorsement] "HEAD Q'RS, DEP'T OF THE CUMBERLAND.
+IN THE FIELD, TENNESSEE, Dec. 20, 1864.
+
+
+Respectfully forwarded, earnestly recommending the promotion of
+Brig.-Gen. J. D. Cox to the grade of Major-General. His services on
+the Atlanta campaign entitle him to the promotion asked for, and at
+the battle of Franklin he was eminently distinguished for personal
+courage as well as for the skilful management of his command.
+
+(Signed) GEORGE H. THOMAS,
+Maj.-Gen. Com'g."
+
+
+
+_Thomas to Halleck, Dec. 23, 1864, again recommending General Cox
+for Promotion. Official Records, vol. xlv. pt. ii. pp. 234, 235._
+
+"HEADQUARTERS THIRD DIVISION, 23D ARMY CORPS.
+ON GRANNY WHITE PIKE, December 17, 1864.
+
+
+MAJ. J. A. CAMPBELL, Ass't Adj't-Gen., Army of the Ohio.
+
+MAJOR,--I have the honor to claim for my command the capture of
+eight pieces of the enemy's artillery, in the charge made by the
+first brigade last evening. The four pieces captured by the Eighth
+Tennessee Infantry, as stated by Colonel Doolittle in the
+accompanying dispatch, were not put under guard at the moment, and a
+guard was subsequently put over them and the pieces claimed by
+McArthur's division, Sixteenth Corps.
+
+J. D. Cox,
+Brigadier-General Commanding."
+
+
+
+ [Inclosure] "H'DQ'RS, 1ST BRIGADE, 30 Div., 23d ARMY CORPS. IN THE
+FIELD, December 17, 1864.
+
+CAPT. THEODORE Cox, Ass't Adj't-General.
+
+SIR,--I have the honor to report that in the charge on the enemy's
+works yesterday, my brigade captured eight pieces of artillery,
+light twelves, instead of four as reported verbally. The four pieces
+claimed by McArthur's division, Sixteenth Corps, were taken by the
+8th Tennessee, who drove the enemy from them. The 12th Kentucky took
+the other four pieces. CHAS. C. DOOLITTLE, Col. 18th Michigan
+Inft'y, Commanding."
+
+
+[First Indorsement] "HEAD Q'RS, ARMY OF THE OHIO, FRANKLIN, TENN.,
+Dec. 19th, 1864.
+
+Respectfully forwarded to Head Quarters Department of the
+Cumberland.
+
+(Signed) J. M. SCHOFIELD, Major-General."
+
+
+[Second Indorsement] "H'DQ'RS DEP'T OF THE CUMBERLAND, DUCK RIVER,
+TENN., Dec. 23, 1864.
+
+Respectfully forwarded to Maj.-Gen. H. W. Halleck, Chief of Staff,
+recommending that Brig.-Gen. J. D. Cox be promoted to the grade of
+Major-General.
+
+(Signed) GEO. H. THOMAS,
+Maj.-Gen. U. S. Vols., Commanding."
+
+
+
+
+RECOMMENDATION FOR CORPS COMMAND
+
+"HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF NORTH CAROLINA, WILMINGTON, N. C.,
+February 24, 1865.
+
+LIEUT.-GEN. U. S. GRANT, Commanding Armies of the United States.
+City Point, Va.
+
+GENERAL,--I respectfully request that the troops in this department
+which do not belong to the Twenty-third Army Corps may be organized
+into an army corps, and that Maj.-Gen. Alfred H. Terry be assigned
+to its command. Also that Maj.-Gen. J. D. Cox may be assigned to the
+command of the Twenty-third Army Corps.
+
+I am, General, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
+J. M. SCHOFIELD,
+Major-General."
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii. p. 559.]
+
+
+
+[_Letter of same date_.]
+
+"... I have asked for the assignment of General Cox and General
+Terry to corps commands, both because the strength of my command
+renders it desirable, and because it will enable me to leave either
+the one or the other in command of the column which I may not be
+with at any time." [Footnote: _Ibid_.]
+
+
+
+"HEADQUARTERS, ARMY OF THE OHIO,
+GOLDSBOROUGH, N. C., March 22, 1865.
+LIEUTENANT-GENERAL GRANT, City Point, Va.
+
+
+Near a month ago I wrote you a letter requesting that Maj.-Gen. J.
+D. Cox be assigned to the command of the Twenty-third Army Corps,
+and that the remaining troops in this department be organized into a
+corps in command of Maj.-Gen. A. H. Terry. Having received no reply,
+I presume that my letter did not reach you; therefore I beg leave to
+renew the request. But if it be not deemed advisable to organize a
+corps for General Terry, I nevertheless respectfully request that
+Major-General Cox may be assigned to the command of the Twenty-third
+Corps.
+J. M. SCHOFIELD,
+Major-General."
+
+
+
+[Indorsement] "GOLDSBOROUGH, N. C., March 23, 1865.
+
+I approve this. I know that General Cox is a good officer, and
+General Terry has the best possible reputation. General Schofield
+will want two corps organizations as soon as possible.
+W. T. SHERMAN,
+Major-General, Commanding."
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. ii. pp. 960, 961.]
+
+
+
+"CITY POINT, VA., March 25, 1865.
+
+HON. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War, Washington.
+
+General Schofield recommends and I approve the appointment of
+General Cox to the command of the Twenty-third Corps. He also asks
+the organization of the balance of the troops in his department into
+a corps under General Terry. This will be of great advantage to his
+command. I would suggest that Terry's corps be called the Tenth.
+
+U. S. GRANT,
+Lieutenant-General."
+[Footnote: _Id._, pt. iii. p 18.]
+
+
+
+"GENERAL ORDERS No. 49.
+
+WAR DEP'T, ADJ'T-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
+WASHINGTON, March 27, 1865.
+
+
+By direction of the President, the following assignments are hereby
+made:
+
+I. Maj.-Gen. A. A. Humphreys, to the command of the Second Army
+Corps.
+
+II. Maj.-Gen. J. G. Parke to the command of the Ninth Army Corps.
+
+III. Maj.-Gen. J. D. Cox to the command of the Twenty-third Army
+Corps.
+
+IV. All other troops in North Carolina not belonging to corps in
+General Sherman's army will constitute the Tenth Army Corps, of
+which Maj.-Gen. A. H. Terry is assigned to the command.
+
+By command of the Secretary of War,
+E. D. TOWNSEND,
+Assistant Adjutant-General."
+[Footnote: Official Records, vol. xlvii. pt. iii. p. 34.]
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+
+NOTE. For economy of space the usual abbreviations for proper and
+geographical
+names are employed. Other abbreviations are:
+
+A., army;
+a. a. g., assistant adjutant-general;
+a. d. c., aide-de-camp;
+adm., admiral;
+adm'n, administration;
+A. C., army corps;
+art., artillery;
+bat., battery;
+br., brevet;
+brig., brigade, brigadier;
+capt., captain;
+cav., cavalry;
+ch., church;
+ch'f, chief;
+C. H., courthouse;
+co., company;
+col., colonel;
+com., commodore;
+com'd'g, commanding;
+com'r, commander;
+conf., confederate;
+cr., creek;
+C. S. A., Confederate States Army;
+dep't, department;
+dist., district;
+div., division;
+gen., general;
+Gov., Governor;
+h'dqu'r's, headquarters;
+inf., infantry;
+insp., inspector;
+l't, lieutenant;
+maj., major;
+mt., mountain;
+pos., position;
+reg., regular;
+reg't, regiment;
+R., river;
+R. R., railroad;
+Sec'y, secretary;
+sta., station;
+U. S. A., United States Army;
+U. S. V., United States Volunteers.
+
+The rank of officers is given as of the date when the events
+described in the text occurred.
+
+
+ABBOTT, Jos. C., colonel 7th New Hampshire, commanding brigade, at
+Federal Point, North Carolina.
+
+Aides-de-camp,
+  intimate association with commanding officer;
+  how appointed;
+  duties of,
+
+Ames, Adelbert, brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  commanding division at Federal Point and Ft. Fisher, North
+Carolina;
+  with General Cox's column on Cape Fear River.
+
+Amnesty,
+  approved by Lincoln;
+  discussed by Sherman and Johnston;
+  extended to all in arms at Lee's surrender;
+  sustained by popular feeling.
+
+Anderson, Adna, operates Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad.
+
+Anderson, Chas., colonel 93rd Ohio;
+  wounded at Stone's River;
+  elected Lieutenant Governor of Ohio.
+
+Anderson, Edw. L., captain 52nd Ohio,
+  wounded at Jonesboro.
+
+Anderson, Fred. Pope, lieutenant 181st Ohio.
+
+Anderson, Geo. B., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  at South Mountain.
+
+Anderson, Geo. T., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  assaults Ft. Sanders.
+
+Anderson, Henry R., captain 6th U. S. Infantry
+
+Anderson, Larz, brother of General Robt.
+  Anderson, had five sons in Union army.
+
+Anderson, Larz, Jr., aide-de-camp on staff of
+  General North Carolina McLean.
+
+Anderson, Latham, colonel 8th Cal.
+
+Anderson, Nicholas L., colonel 6th Ohio,
+  wounded at Stone's River and Chickamauga.
+
+Anderson, Richard H., major general Confederate States Army,
+  at Maryland Heights;
+  at Antietam.
+
+Anderson, Robt., lieutenant colonel 9th Pennsylvania, commanding
+  brig, at Antietam.
+
+Anderson, Thos. McA., captain 14th U. S.
+  Infantry, later colonel same.
+
+Anderson, Wm. M., brother of General Robt.
+  Anderson, had two sons in Union army.
+
+Anderson, Wm. P., captain and assistant adjutant-general at
+  Cincinnati.
+
+Andersonville, confederate treatment of prisoners at.
+
+Ankele, Chas., major 37th Ohio, at Princeton,
+  West Virginia
+
+Andrews, Lorin, President Kenyon College,
+  colonel 4th Ohio.
+
+Anthony, Sister, hospital work at Camp
+  Dennison.
+
+Antietam, battlefield described;
+  map of;
+  fords of;
+  battle on the right;
+  battle on the left;
+  conduct of, criticised; losses at.
+
+Appointments, general officers U. S. A.,
+  laws regulating;
+  practice concerning.
+
+Army of the Potomac, shares in McClellan's
+  errors as to enemy's strength and supports his views;
+  its failures contrasted with success of western armies.
+
+Army Corps,
+  1st,
+    at South Mountain and Antietam;
+    losses at Antietam;
+  2nd,
+    at South Mountain and Antietam;
+  4th,
+    marches to relief of Knoxville;
+    at Blain's Cross-roads;
+    privations in E. Tennessee;
+    withdrawn to Knoxville;
+    winter quarters between Kingston and Loudon;
+    Wood's div in pursuit of Longstreet;
+    returns to Army of the Cumberland;
+    concentrates at Cleveland;
+    connects Army of Cumberland with Army of the Ohio;
+    at Tunnel Hill;
+    Newton's division at Rocky Face;
+    during Hood's Tennessee campaign;
+    General Couch assigned to;
+    dissatisfaction in corps;
+    at battle of Nashville;
+    in pursuit of Hood.
+  5th,
+    at Antietam.
+  6th,
+    at Alexandria;
+    in reserve at Crampton's Gap;
+    not at Antietam when fight began.
+  9th,
+    Kanawha division attached to;
+    at Fox's Gap, South Mountain;
+    extreme left at Antietam;
+    waiting for orders to advance;
+    difficulties in carrying bridge and fords over the Antietam;
+    overcomes them all and drives enemy into Sharpsburg;
+    attacked in left and rear by A. P. Hill's division;
+    maintains its position;
+    losses at Antietam;
+    moved by sea from North Carolina to Ft. Monroe;
+    sent to Falmouth, Virginia, and Warrenton to join Pope;
+    Kanawha division detached and sent to West Virginia;
+    sent to Kentucky much weakened by malarial disease;
+    recuperates in Kentucky;
+    moves into E. Tennessee;
+    movements in E. Tenn;
+    at siege of Knoxville;
+    at Blain's Cross-roads;
+    Strawberry Plains;
+    in winter quarters;
+    ordered East again with Burnside in command.
+  12th,
+    covers trains of Pope's army;
+    at Antietam;
+    losses at Antietam;
+    in support of Sedgwick.
+  14th,
+    at Tunnel Hill;
+    at Resaca;
+    deprived of Davis' division;
+    reunited at New Hope Church;
+    at Peachtree Creek;
+    at Averasborough and Bentonville.
+  15th,
+    at Villanow;
+    at Dallas;
+    at Roswell;
+    at Atlanta;
+    at Ezra Church;
+    at Bentonville;
+    on march to Raleigh.
+  16th, same as last.
+  17th
+    moves from Decatur, Alabama, via Rome to Allatoona;
+    and Ackworth;
+    in North Carolina
+  20th,
+    at Bridgeport and Wauhatchie, Tennessee;
+    at Dug Gap;
+    through Snake Creek Gap;
+    at Resaca;
+    off its beat;
+    again, at crossing of the Etowah;
+    assaults confederate lines at New Hope Church and is repulsed;
+    in reserve;
+    flanking movement near Ackworth;
+    at Kolb's farm;
+    at Peachtree Creek;
+    holds Atlanta;
+    at Averasborough and Bentonville;
+    on march to Raleigh;
+    marches through Raleigh.
+  23d,
+    organized;
+    pursuit and capture of Morgan raiders;
+    scattered and fatigued by the chase;
+    ordered back to Kentucky;
+    advance into E. Tennessee;
+    service in E. Tennessee;
+    at Loudon;
+    in battle of Campbell's Station;
+    at siege of Knoxville;
+    at Blain's Cross-roads;
+    privations;
+    unanimous re-enlistment;
+    at Strawberry Plains;
+    sufferings from intense cold;
+    marches to Dandridge;
+    back to Strawberry Plains;
+    winter quarters at Knoxville;
+    march to Morristown;
+    good soldiers;
+    at Rocky Face;
+    at Resaca;
+    reinforced by nine new regiments at the Etowah;
+    at Burnt Hickory;
+    swings to the left;
+    forces crossing of Noyes's Creek;
+    advances to Cheney's;
+    at battle of Kolb's farm;
+    forces crossing of Olley's Creek and gains threatening position
+beyond enemy's left flank;
+    holds position while Sherman's army passes to rear and right;
+    forces crossing of Chattahoochee at Soap Creek;
+    extreme right flank of army southwest of Atlanta;
+    Cox's division covers itself by field intrenchments in fifteen
+minutes;
+    October campaign, 1864, General Cox in command;
+    ordered to report to Thomas;
+    march to Dalton;
+    cars to Nashville;
+    at Columbia, Tennessee;
+    at Pulaski;
+    race back to Columbia;
+    at Columbia;
+    at battle of Franklin;
+    at battle of Nashville;
+    follows Smith's corps in pursuit of Hood;
+    recruited to 15,000;
+    hard winter march from Columbia to Clifton, Tennessee;
+    transported from Clifton to Washington: shipped to North
+Carolina;
+    ascends right bank of Cape Fear River, captures Ft. Anderson,
+Town Creek, and compels evacuation of Wilmington;
+    at battle of Kinston;
+    losses at Kinston;
+    dress parade at Goldsborough in honor of Sherman's arrival;
+    march to Raleigh;
+    at Raleigh;
+    at Greensborough.
+
+Army Headquarters, business centre for a large military population.
+
+Army Pets.
+
+Army Regulations, necessity for careful study of.
+
+Atlanta Campaign;
+  decisive importance of, recognized by Southern leaders.
+
+Atlanta, Battle of.
+
+"Atlantic,"
+  Collins line steamship used in transporting part of 23d army corps
+to North Carolina.
+
+Audenreid, Jos. C., captain,
+  and aide-de-camp on Sherman's staff, rides around enemy's lines
+into Knoxville.
+
+Augur, Christopher C., appointed major general
+
+Averasborough, North Carolina, battle of.
+
+Badger, George E.,
+  ex-senator from North Carolina, joins Graham's peace delegation;
+  mentioned.
+
+Baker, Lawrence S., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  in command of North Carolina militia at Kinston.
+
+Ball, Hon. Flamen,
+  attorny for Burnside in Vallandigham _habeas corpus_ case.
+
+Ballot,
+  extension of, to soldiers in the field.
+
+Baltimore and Ohio Railroad,
+  importance of;
+  Union forces collected on line of.
+
+Banks, N. P., major general United States Volunteers,
+  commanding forces in Shenandoah Valley;
+  defeated by "Stonewall" Jackson;
+  in charge of defences of Washington.
+
+Barbarism,
+  tendency of war to make men relapse into;
+  efforts of officers to curb tendency;
+  of Union armies exaggerated to keep up war spirit of Southern
+people.
+
+Barker, C. W., major 12th Ill. cavalry,
+  in West Virginia
+
+Barlow, Francis C., colonel 61st New York,
+  desperately wounded at Antietam.
+
+Barnett, James, colonel 1st Ohio Artillery,
+  in West Virginia
+
+Barriger, John W.,
+  captain and commissary on General Cox's staff;
+  good qualities.
+
+Barter, Richard F., colonel commanding brigadier,
+  in 23d army corps, at Olley's Creek
+
+Bascom, Gustavus M.,
+  aide-de-camp on General Cox's staff;
+  promoted to major;
+  accompanies General Cox to E. Tennessee;
+  transferred to Stoneman's staff.
+
+Bates, Joshua H., brigadier-general Ohio Vol. Infantry,
+  at Camp Dennison.
+
+Batteaux,
+  used for transportation of supplies from head of navigation to
+Kanawha Falls;
+  more economical than wagon transportation.
+
+Baxter, John, loyalist,
+  lawyer at Knoxville, afterwards U. S. Circuit Judge for 6th
+Circuit.
+
+Beauregard, P. G. T., lieutenant general Confederate States Army,
+  suggested by Lee to succeed Bragg;
+  Davis takes no notice of suggestion;
+  ordered to reinforce Polk with 10,000 men;
+  replies, impracticable;
+  in command Western Department;
+  confers with Hood;
+  says latter departed from plans agreed on;
+  criticised by Sherman;
+  hears of Thomas' expected reinforcements and orders Hood to take
+aggressive immediately;
+  commands forces in the Carolinas;
+  orders Hardee to evacuate Charleston;
+  confesses inability to resist Sherman's march;
+  startles Davis;
+  retreats into North Carolina;
+  superseded by Johnston;
+  estimates of forces contradicted by official returns;
+  at Greensborough;
+  declares further prosecution of war hopeless.
+
+Becker, Gottfried, lieutenant colonel 28th Ohio,
+  at South Mountain.
+
+Beecher, Henry Ward,
+  meeting with General Cox;
+  correspondence with Stanton about photographs of Lincoln cortege.
+
+Bell, T. S., Pt colonel 51st Pennsylvania,
+  killed at Burnside bridge.
+
+Benham, H. W.,
+  captain of engineers;
+  consults about fortifying Gauley Bridge;
+  appointed brigadier general;
+  at Carnifex Ferry;
+  Cross Lanes;
+  near Gauley Bridge;
+  ordered to move to rear of Floyd's position on Cotton Hill and
+intercept retreat;
+  fails to do so;
+  Rosecrans orders court-martial, but McClellan suppresses it;
+  transferred to another department.
+
+Benjamin, Judah P., attorny-general Confederate States Army,
+  at Davis' last cabinet meeting;
+  decides States alone can dissolve confederacy and return to their
+allegiance;
+  escapes to Cuba.
+
+Benjamin, Samuel N., lieutenant 2nd U. S. Artillery,
+  at Antietam;
+  at Ft. Sanders;
+  reports cowardice of commanding officer.
+
+Bennett, residence of, near Durham, North Carolina,
+  where Sherman and Johnston discussed terms of surrender.
+
+Bentonville, North Carolina,
+  battle of;
+  sound of battle heard fifty miles away.
+
+Beverly, West Virginia,
+  concentration of confederate troops at;
+  importance of situation;
+  abandoned after battle of Rich Mountain
+
+Big Creek Gap, fine view through.
+
+Big Sandy River,
+  as transportation route to E. Tennessee
+
+Big Sewell Mountain,
+  reached by Cox's advance;
+  occupied by General Cox;
+  difficulty of hauling supplies to;
+  compels retirement.
+
+Birkhimer's "Military Government and Martial Law" cited.
+
+Blair, Frank P., major general United States Volunteers,
+  prefers command in Sherman's Army to seat in Congress;
+  commands 17th army corps;
+  marches from Decatur, Alabama, to Rome, Kingston, and Ackworth;
+  his corps makes good Sherman's losses in Atlanta campaign;
+  sent to Missouri to stump;
+  wants to stop foraging in North Carolina
+
+Blenker, Louis, brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  ordered to join Fremont;
+  does not arrive in time to participate in advance.
+
+Blizzard,
+  fearful in E. Tennessee, Jan. 1864.
+
+Blockhouses,
+  construction and use in railroad defence.
+
+Bloodgood, Edw., lieutenant colonel 22nd Wisc.,
+  captured with his command by Forrest.
+
+Bloody Lane,
+  at Antietam.
+
+Bluestone River, West Virginia,
+  operations on.
+
+Bondurant, J. W., captain Alabama artillery,
+  at South Mountain
+
+Bonticou, Jos. C., lieutenant 2nd Kentucky, scout,
+  mistakes McCook's tents for enemy's camp.
+
+Boone courthouse, West Virginia,
+  confederate militia routed at.
+
+Boone, Thos. C., lieutenant colonel 115th Ohio,
+  commanding Kemper Barracks, Cincinnati.
+
+Border States,
+  slavery question most troublesome in;
+  military administration in;
+  distasteful.
+
+Boughton, Horace, colonel 143rd New York,
+  commanding brig, at battle of Kinston.
+
+Bounty Jumping,
+  evils and extent of;
+  arrest of deserters and efforts to prevent frauds.
+
+Boyle, Jere. T., brigadier-general United States Volunteers,
+  in Morgan raid;
+  commanding 1st division 23d army corps
+
+Bradley, D. C., lieutenant 65th Ill.,
+  aide-de-camp on General Cox's staff.
+
+Bragg, Braxton, general Confederate States Army,
+  invades Kentucky;
+  sends large forces to Johnston's assistance in Mississippi;
+  reinforced by Longstreet's corps before Chickamauga;
+  forces of, opposing Rosecrans;
+  weakened by absence of Morgan;
+  losses at Chickamauga;
+  unable to break line of supplies for Chattanooga;
+  orders Longstreet to E. Tennessee;
+  intends crushing Burnside and quick return;
+  defeated at Chattanooga;
+  Longstreet's return cut off;
+  evil consequences;
+  asks for investigation;
+  want of confidence in;
+  directed to turn command over to Hardee;
+  quoted by Davis;
+  correspondence with Johnston;
+  with Hood;
+  goes to Atlanta to examine condition of affairs and reports;
+  exposes habitual underestimate of their forces by confederate
+generals;
+  commanding department of North Carolina;
+  headquarters at Wilmington;
+  forced to evacuate by General Cox;
+  forces of, Feb. 10th;
+  serves under Johnston;
+  concentrates all forces and attacks General Cox at Kinston;
+  mistaken order;
+  waits for reinforcements;
+  final attack at Kinston;
+  repulsed;
+  forces of, at Kinston;
+  at Chester, South Carolina;
+  captured near Athens, Georgia
+
+Brannan, John M., brigadier-general United States Volunteers;
+  at Chickamauga.
+
+Breckinridge, John C., Secretary of War Confederate States Army,
+  admits slavery to be dead;
+  takes part in Sherman-Johnston conference;
+  at Davis' last cabinet meeting;
+  decides Hampton's troops bound by capitulation but H. himself free
+to ignore;
+  escapes to Cuba.
+
+British Army,
+  weak points revealed;
+  not so apt in learning new lessons as our own.
+
+Brough, John, Union Democrat,
+  defeats Vallandigham.
+
+Brown, Rev. Fred. T., chaplain 7th Ohio,
+  trip from Sutton to Gauley through enemy's lines to bring Cox
+information.
+
+Brown, Jos. E., Governor of Georgia,
+  tenders 5000 militia for defence of Atlanta;
+  urges reinforcements to prevent fall of Atlanta;
+  exasperation with confederate government;
+  bitter correspondence with confederate war department;
+  mentioned.
+
+Brownlow, James P., colonel 1st E. Tennessee Cav.
+
+Brownlow, Wm. E., "Parson,"
+  leading loyalist at Knoxville.
+
+Buckner, Simon B., major general Confederate States Army,
+  commanding in E. Tennessee;
+  joins Longstreet in siege of Knoxville.
+
+Buell, Don Carlos, major general United States Volunteers,
+  General Cox ordered to join;
+  order countermanded on Rosecrans' protest;
+  objects to invasion of E. Tennessee;
+  sends Garfield to Big Sandy, and Morgan to Cumberland Gap;
+  retreats before Bragg;
+  ordered before military commission;
+  why Rosecrans chosen to succeed.
+
+Buford, Abram, brigadier-general Confederate States Army,
+  commanding division Forrest's cavalry
+
+Buford, N. B.,
+ appointed major-general United States Volunteers;
+ not confirmed.
+
+Bull Run,
+  second battle of, guns heard at Washington;
+  news of Pope's defeat reaches Washington.
+
+Bull Run bridge,
+  stout defence by Scammon.
+
+Burbank, Sidney, major, mustering officer at Camp Jackson.
+
+Burdsall, Henry W., commanding ind. Co. Ohio Cavalry.
+
+Burnside, Ambrose E.,
+  twice declines command of Army of Potomac and urges McClellan's
+retention;
+  commanding right wing;
+  first impressions of;
+  at South Mountain;
+  sharp reply to Hooker's report;
+  relations with McClellan;
+  command divided at Antietam;
+  leaves Cox in command of 9th army corps;
+  understanding of McClellan's plans;
+  practically without command;
+  order to attack, when received;
+  efforts to hurry advance;
+  McClellan's true friend;
+  heartily advocates emancipation and advises McC. on subject;
+  forwards Porter's dispatches about Pope to Washington;
+  held responsible by Porter for his court-martial;
+  grieved by division of his command, and McC.'s withdrawal of
+confidence;
+  and unjust reprimand;
+  explains delay;
+  fine appearance on field;
+  cordial manners, popularity with his troops;
+  sincerity and unselfishness;
+  appointed to succeed McC. in spite of his protests;
+  dispiriting effect of his defeat at Fredericksburg;
+  ordered to Department of the Ohio;
+  plans for occupying E. Tennessee;
+  headquarters at Cincinnati;
+  character and habits of;
+  General Order No. 38;
+  warns Cincinatti papers against publishing military information;
+  causes arrest and trial of Vallandigham;
+  suppresses "Chicago Times";
+  overruled by the President;
+  plans campaign into E. Tennessee;
+  efforts to agree with Rosecrans on plan of advance;
+  directed to send 9th army corps to Vicksburg;
+  departure with staff for E. Tennessee;
+  recall;
+  organizes raids into West Virginia, E. Tennessee, and S. W.
+Kentucky;
+  efforts to catch Morgan;
+  declares martial law in southern Ohio, during Morgan raid;
+  imprisons Morgan and his officers in Ohio penitentiary;
+  dramatic announcement of fall of Vicksburg;
+  rejoices in return of 9th army corps;
+  Halleck's unjust treatment of;
+  concentrates forces and advances into E. Tennessee;
+  captures General Frazer and 2500 men at Cumberland Gap;
+  impossibility of co-operating with Rosecrans;
+  congratulated by President and Halleck;
+  asks to be relieved;
+  organizes and arms E. Tennessee volunteers;
+  directed to move toward Chattanooga and support Rosecrans;
+  inability to reach River before battle of Chickamauga;
+  explains to War Department;
+  concentrates near Loudon;
+  attacks confederate General Jones and drives him into Virginia;
+  relations with Rosecrans;
+  informs Grant of his situation and necessities of troops;
+  opposes Longstreet;
+  well-conducted retreat to Knoxville;
+  relieved of command;
+  habitual unfriendliness of Halleck;
+  Congress passes resolutions of thanks;
+  at his best in such commands;
+  lack of system and other faults;
+  offers General Cox corps command in E. Tennessee;
+  recommends him for such appointment to General Foster;
+  plans another expedition to North Carolina;
+  not allowed to carry it out.
+
+Burnside's Bridge,
+  across the Antietam;
+  least promising point of attack;
+  carried by Cox's command;
+  losses at.
+
+Butler, Benj. F., major general United States Volunteers,
+  relieved of command;
+  criticises Grant in farewell order;
+  further assignment to command opposed by Grant.
+
+Butler, M. C., major general Confederate States Army,
+  sent to assist Johnston in driving back Sherman;
+  included in Johnston's capitulation.
+
+Butterfield, Daniel, major general United States Volunteers,
+  interferes with Schofield's advance;
+  declines to act on his request;
+  claims to outrank S. and disputes his authority.
+
+Buzzard Roost,
+  strong defensive position at Dalton, Georgia;
+  attacks on, by Newton, and Geary.
+
+Byrd, Robt. K., colonel E. Tennessee volunteers;
+  commanding cavalry in E. Tennessee;
+  at crossing of Olley's Creek
+
+
+Cameron, Daniel, commanding brig, in Cox's division 23d army corps,
+  carries bridge over Noyes' Creek;
+  supports Byrd beyond Olley's Creek;
+  intrenches between Byrd and Reilly.
+
+Camp Dennison, Ohio
+  camp of instruction;
+  laid out by General Cox;
+  huts built;
+  floors laid;
+  drilling of militia;
+  water works;
+  routine at;
+  measles at;
+  re-enlisting of three months men at.
+
+Camp Jackson, near Columbus, Ohio,
+  first depot of recruits.
+
+Camp Lookout, West Virginia;
+  amusing incident.
+
+Campbell, John A., ex-justice U. S. Supreme Court,
+  confederate peace commander.
+
+Campbell, John A., major and assistant adjutant-general on
+Schofield's staff.
+
+Canby, Edw. R., major general United States Volunteers,
+  Grant plans movement by.
+
+Cantey, James, brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  at Resaca.
+
+Carnifex Ferry, West Virginia,
+  map of;
+  battle of.
+
+Carrington, Henry B., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  superseded by Hascall at Indianapolis;
+  restored at Morton's request;
+  active in prosecuting Knights of Golden Circle.
+
+Carter, John C.,
+  captain U. S. steamer "Michigan";
+  aids in defeating plot to release rebel prisoners.
+
+Carter, Samuel P.,
+  assists in re-occupation of Kanawha valley;
+  commanding division of mounted troops;
+  advance into E. Tennessee;
+  joins 23d army corps;
+  succeeds Meagher in command of division at Beaufort, North
+Carolina;
+  in advance on Kinston;
+  good conduct in first day's battle;
+  again, on final assault;
+  commanding division composed of Palmer's and his own;
+  transferred to third (Cox's) division of 23d army corps, when
+latter assumes corps command.
+
+Casement, John S., major 7th Ohio,
+  brings 400 to Charleston after surprise at Cross Lanes;
+  colonel of 103rd Ohio;
+  recruits new brass band for his brigade;
+  at battle of Nashville;
+  on expedition to North Carolina;
+  on advance up right bank Cape Fear River
+
+Cavalry,
+  activity of confederate;
+  raids usually costly affairs;
+  difficulties of mounting;
+  enormous waste of horses;
+  outpost and patrol duties more important than showy raids.
+
+Cave Spring, Georgia,
+  description of;
+  rendezvous for Hood and Beauregard.
+
+Chalmers, James R., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  commanding division in Forrest's cavalry, at battle of Nashville.
+
+Chantilly, battle of.
+
+Chaplains, army.
+
+Charleston, South Carolina,
+  fall of, has depressing effect on Confederacy.
+
+Charleston, West Virginia,
+  strategic position;
+  taken by General Cox;
+  inundated;
+  headquarters of General Cox winter of 1861-2;
+  remissness of city officials;
+  reoccupied by General Cox.
+
+Chase, Salmon P.,
+  Secretary of Treasury;
+  differences with President Lincoln:
+  corresponds with Garfield;
+  chief justice, entertains General Cox.
+
+Chattanooga, Tennessee,
+  siege by Bragg;
+  line of supplies opened;
+  lines of communication with Nashville and North;
+  fortified and garrisoned.
+
+Cheatham, Benj. F., major general Confederate States Army,
+  controversy with Hood;
+  at battle of Atlanta;
+  succeeds to command of Hardee's corps;
+  at battle of Nashville;
+  joins Bragg's army in North Carolina;
+  after capitulation, moves across Great Smoky Mountains with
+Tennessee troops.
+
+Chickamauga, battle of.
+
+Chief Command, strain of, as compared with subordinate position.
+
+Chief of Staff, importance of position
+
+Christ, B. C., colonel 50th Pennsylvania,
+  commanding brigade at South Mountain;
+  at Antietam.
+
+Christian, Wm. A., colonel 26th New York,
+  commanding brig, at Antietam.
+
+Christie, S. L.,
+  captain and aide-de-camp on General Cox's staff;
+  resigns on account of ill health.
+
+Cincinnati,
+  headquarters Department of the Ohio;
+  in 1863 a centre for rebel sympathizers;
+  refuge for Southern women;
+  defended against Morgan raiders;
+  enthusiasm over surrender of Vicksburg.
+
+Claassen, Peter J., colonel 132nd New York,
+  commanding brig at battle of Kinston.
+
+Clarke, Melvin, lieutenant colonel 36th Ohio,
+  at South Mountain
+
+Clay, Cassius M., major general United States Volunteers,
+  not assigned to duty;
+  resigns and is appointed min. to Russia.
+
+Clayton, H. D., major general Confederate States Army,
+  at Kinston;
+  falls on Upham's flank.
+
+Cluseret, Gustave,
+  colonel and aide-de-camp on Frémont's staff;
+  amusing controversy with General Milroy;
+  military chief of Paris commune in 1870.
+
+Cobb, Howell, brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  at South Mountain
+
+Coburn, John, colonel 33rd Indiana commanding brigade,
+  captured by Van Dorn.
+
+Cochrane, John, brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  war Democrat, consults McClellan about Emancipation Proclamation;
+  publishes recollections of interview;
+  attempts to bring McClellan and Chase into harmony.
+
+Cockerill, Giles J., commanding battery D 1st Ohio artillery,
+  at Kolb's farm.
+
+Coffee,
+  value of, in army rations;
+  improvised coffee-mills.
+
+Colburn, A. V., colonel and assistant adjutant-general on
+McClellan's staff,
+  accompanies him on rides about Washington.
+
+Coleman, Aug. H., lieutenant colonel 11th Ohio,
+  leads charge up Cotton Mountain, West Virginia;
+  at South Mountain;
+  killed at Burnside bridge.
+
+Coleman, D., colonel Confederate States Army,
+  commanding brigade at battle of Nashville.
+
+Colored Troops,
+  excellent conduct in skirmish at Federal Point.
+
+Colquitt, Alfred H.,
+  colonel Confederate States Army commanding brigade at Antietam.
+
+Comly, James M.,
+  major 23d Ohio;
+  repulses attack at Pack's Ferry, West Virginia
+
+Comstock, C. B.,
+  lieutenant colonel engineers on Grant's staff;
+  gets key to cipher dispatches;
+  reprimanded by Stanton;
+  accompanies Terry's expedition against Ft. Fisher;
+  suggests flanking Hoke's position at Federal Point;
+  plan adopted by Schofield, but fails on account of heavy gales and
+deep sands;
+  explains Schofield's use of hospital steamer "Spaulding".
+
+Confederate Army,
+  dwindles as hopes of success vanish;
+  disorders threatened on capitulation;
+  complete submission to U. S. authority;
+  paroled and sent home;
+  manifest interest in drill and discipline of U. S. troops.
+
+Confederate Currency,
+  enormous depreciation of. 195.
+
+Conine, Jas. W.,
+  lieutenant and aide-de-camp on General Cox's staff;
+  appointed colonel of 5th U. S. Colored troops.
+
+Connecticut Troops,
+  8th Infantry at Antietam;
+  11th Infantry at Antietam;
+  15th Infantry at Kinston.
+
+"Contrabands,"
+  slaves of confederate officers coming into Union lines;
+  term gradually applied to all escaped slaves;
+  difficulties in treatment of.
+
+Cook, Asa M., captain 8th Massachusetts Artillery,
+  at South Mountain
+
+Coon, Datus E., colonel United States Volunteers,
+  commanding 2nd brigade Wilson's cavalry at Nashville;
+  captures enemy's cavalry baggage train.
+
+Cooper, Jos. A., colonel 6th E. Tennessee,
+  promoted brigadier general and assigned to command 2nd division
+23d army corps;
+  at Johnsonville, Tennessee;
+  ordered to Beard's Ferry;
+  masterly retreat from.
+
+Cooper, Samuel, adjutant and inspector general Confederate States
+Army,
+  capitulates with Johnston's army;
+  tries to preserve confederate archives.
+
+Corps Commander,
+  takes precedence over ranking major generals not assigned to corps
+command.
+
+Corse, John M., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  successfully defends Allatoona.
+
+Cotton Mountain, West Virginia,
+  overlooking Gauley, seized by Floyd;
+  annoying fire from;
+  Floyd's position on, carried by Cox and Schenck.
+
+Couch, Darius N., major general United States Volunteers,
+  at Yorktown;
+  ordered to observe A. P. Hill at Harper's Ferry;
+  should have come on field of Antietam not later than Hill;
+  but did not appear;
+  reports to General Thomas for duty, assigned to 4th army corps;
+  owing to dissatisfaction in that corps assigned to 23d army corps;
+  outranks General Cox and displaces him as second in command;
+  at battle of Nashville;
+  on march from Columbia to Clifton;
+  commands 23d army corps _en route_ from Clifton to Washington;
+  sails with his division to Beaufort, North Carolina;
+  commands two divisions 23d army corps left at Wilmington;
+  ordered to support of Cox at Kinston;
+  commands 2nd division 23d army corps under General Cox.
+
+Coughlan, James,
+  lieutenant 24th Kentucky and aide-de-camp on General Cox's staff;
+  daring ride at Olley's Creek;
+  captured near Atlanta, exchanged, and killed at Franklin.
+
+Councils of War,
+  why they never fight.
+
+Cox, Jacob D.,
+  in Ohio Senate;
+  assists Governor Dennison in enrolling and organizing State
+militia;
+  appointed brigadier general O. S. V. April 23d, 1861;
+  inspects State arsenal with McClellan;
+  in command of Camp Jackson;
+  inspects site with McClellan and lays out Camp Dennison;
+  first lessons in camping out and brigade drill;
+  extensive reading of military works;
+  all but one of his regiments ordered away;
+  ill effects of repeated change of command;
+  appointed brigadier general United States Volunteers;
+  confirmed;
+  ordered to Kanawha valley with raw regiments not yet equipped;
+  begins operations on a base 100 miles broad;
+  with 3400 men ordered to drive out Wise, who had 4000;
+  begins advance July 11th;
+  wild rumors;
+  affair at Scary Creek;
+  turns enemy's flank at Tyler Mountain;
+  captures Charleston;
+  presuming colonels;
+  quiet manner often led to similar difficulties;
+  experience with newspaper correspondents;
+  captures Gauley Bridge with 1500 stands of arms and munitions of
+war;
+  congratulated by McClellan and Rosecrans;
+  establishes post at Gauley, scouts in all directions, sends out
+detachments to deceive enemy;
+  left with only 1800 men to oppose Wise and Floyd with 8000;
+  suppresses mutinous excitement;
+  meets Rosecrans at Cross Lanes;
+  joined by McCook's brigade;
+  at Camp Lookout;
+  at Big Sewell Mountain;
+  skirmish with Wise's legion;
+  difficulty of obtaining supplies forces retirement to Camp
+Lookout;
+  holds post at Gauley during occupation of Cotton Mountain by
+Floyd;
+  carries Cotton Mountain by front attack up river face;
+  commands District of Kanawha, headquarters at Charleston;
+  ordered to report to Buell in Kentucky, countermanded on
+Rosecrans' protest;
+  first military execution ordered;
+  weeding out incompetents and improving drill and discipline of
+Kanawha division;
+  scrutiny of correspondence between confederates and residents
+within the lines;
+  dealing with non-combatants;
+  disapproves of test oaths;
+  policy with regard to escaped slaves;
+  controversies with owners;
+  prefers seasoned volunteers to regulars;
+  rapid improvement of volunteer officers;
+  rebuilds bridge at Gauley;
+  uses batteaux for transportation on upper Kanawha;
+  reports to Frémont 8500 seasoned troops under his command;
+  pursuant to Frémont's plan of campaign moves to Princeton, West
+Virginia;
+  affair at Princeton;
+  retires to Flat Top Mountain, on advices that Jackson's defeat of
+Banks upsets campaign;
+  ordered to Washington with his command;
+  Kanawha division marches 90 miles in 3-1/2 days fully equipped,
+over mountain roads;
+  impressions of Secretary Stanton;
+  in defences of Washington under McClellan;
+  meets Pope and McDowell retreating to Washington;
+  commends general scheme of Pope's campaign;
+  learns through his scouts of Lee's invasion of Maryland;
+  methods of collecting and sifting information;
+  condemns McClellan's spy system;
+  ordered to report to Burnside;
+  first impressions;
+  attached to 9th Corps and takes advance;
+  shocked at straggling in Army of Potomac;
+  meets General Reno;
+  good impression made by Kanawha division;
+  at the Monocacy;
+  at Frederick, Maryland;
+  supports Pleasanton;
+  commands in action at Fox's Gap, South Mountain;
+  Reno arrives late in day, is killed almost immediately, and Cox
+succeeds to command of the corps;
+  expresses his pride in the conduct of the Kanawha division;
+  meets McClellan and principal officers of Army of Potomac at
+headquarters;
+  retained in command of 9th Corps;
+  part it was to take in the battle;
+  carries Burnside bridge and fords in front and drives confederate
+right wing back to Sharpsburg;
+  movement arrested by arrival of A. P. Hill's division from
+Harper's Ferry and flank attack;
+  holds his position and sleeps on battlefield;
+  gets hints of a project to make McClellan dictator;
+  consulted by McC. as to how he should treat Emancipation
+Proclamation;
+  warns him against putting himself in opposition to administration;
+  accompanies Lincoln in ride over battlefield of Antietam;
+  promoted to major general and command of 9th Corps;
+  ordered to return to Kanawha valley, overrun by confederate forces
+in his absence;
+  commands District of West Virginia;
+  takes leave of 9th Corps;
+  Stanton;
+  and Chase;
+  reports to General H. G. Wright at Cincinnati;
+  impressions of;
+  inspects commands of Morgan and Lightburn;
+  contracts for wagons and transportation;
+  reoccupies Kanawha valley, driving out Loring, Echols, and
+Jenkins;
+  administration of affairs in West Virginia;
+  headquarters at Marietta;
+  staff reorganized;
+  appointment as major general not confirmed;
+  severe disappointment;
+  evils of subjecting military appointments to political action;
+  reports to General Schenck at Baltimore;
+  ordered to Columbus to assist Governor in enrolling and organizing
+conscripts;
+  commands Military District of Ohio, headquarters at Cincinnati;
+  relations to Burnside;
+  disinclined to arrest Vallandigham followers;
+  District of Mich, added to his command;
+  acting chief of staff for Burnside;
+  transacts business of the Department of the Ohio, in Burnside's
+name;
+  firm dealing with extreme Democratic partisans;
+  nomination fails because it had support of neither regular army
+officers nor politicians;
+  secures approval of immediate commanders;
+  urgent to obtain field command;
+  reads Kinglake's "Crimean War" and derives comfort from record of
+experiments and blunders in English Army;
+  defeats plot to free prisoners on Johnson's Island;
+  offered corps command in E. Tennessee by Burnside;
+  investigates treatment of prisoners at Johnson's Island;
+  ordered to report to commanding general in E. Tennessee;
+  winter ride over Mountains;
+  meets Burnside and staff coming out;
+  assigned to command District of Kentucky;
+  distaste for such commands;
+  assigned to command 23d army corps;
+  at Strawberry Plains;
+  first meeting with Grant;
+  reports to Sheridan at Dandridge, in;
+  retreat to Strawberry Plains;
+  drives back rebel advance toward Knoxville;
+  threatened with pneumonia;
+  winter quarters at Knoxville;
+  yields command of 23d army corps to Major General Stoneman;
+  asks for command of Sheridan's division 4th army corps;
+  Major General Newton gets it;
+  meets Schofield;
+  acts as chief of staff for Schofield;
+  amusing occurrence on grand rounds;
+  at Newmarket, E. Tennessee;
+  at Morristown;
+  offers plan of campaign for Army of the Ohio;
+  approved by Schofield;
+  offered permanent position as chief of staff, or division in 23d
+army corps;
+  takes latter;
+  second in command to Schofield;
+  ordered to join Sherman, drives enemy out of E. Tennessee and
+destroys railroad back to Knoxville;
+  march to Dalton;
+  first meeting with Sherman and Thomas;
+  commands extreme left at Dalton;
+  retires left wing in presence of enemy;
+  movement praised by Sherman and Schofield;
+  protects exposed flank by fallen timber;
+  beginning of field intrenchments;
+  marches through Snake Creek Gap and takes position on left of
+army;
+  carries intrenchments on confederate right at Resaca;
+  commands advance and extreme left on march from Resaca to
+Cassville;
+  outflanks confederate army and forces abandonment of position
+before Cassville;
+  follows confederate rearguard to crossing of Etowah River;
+  privations when marching without baggage;
+  on march to New Hope Church lines;
+  assumes command of 23d army corps on Schofield's becoming
+disabled;
+  turns confederate position at New Hope Church;
+  closer relations with Sherman;
+  unseen perils, narrow escape;
+  heavy rains and discomfort;
+  gloomy thoughts;
+  occupies position on extreme right, separated a mile from rest of
+army;
+  forces crossing of Noyes' Creek;
+  supports Hascall at Kolb's farm, against Hood's attack;
+  forces crossing of Olley's Creek, intrenches in commanding
+position beyond enemy's left flank;
+holds position gained, three miles from continuous lines of
+Sherman's army, for several days;
+  effects crossing of Chattahoochee at Soap Creek;
+  extreme right flank southwest of Atlanta;
+  his division covers its front with intrenchments in fifteen
+minutes;
+  at Decatur, Georgia;
+  in command of Army of the Ohio during October campaign;
+  mild reproof of brig, commander who prefers a cursing;
+  in pursuit of Hood;
+  Sherman plans to take 23d army corps on march to the sea with Cox
+in command;
+  Schofield protests, Cox yields;
+  resumes command of his own division;
+  recommended for promotion by Schofield and Sherman, App. C;
+  farewell to Sherman;
+  march to Dalton; visits Chattanooga;
+  and Nashville;
+  votes for Lincoln, on train;
+  pet lizard; at Franklin, Tennessee;
+  at Columbia;
+  at Pulaski;
+  race back to Columbia;
+  writes book on "Battle of Franklin;"
+  at Nashville, after retreat from Franklin;
+  position as second in command, reduced by appointment of Major
+General Couch to a division;
+  at battle of Nashville;
+  exposure on night after battle;
+  pursuit of Hood;
+  revisits Franklin and studies battlefield;
+  also Spring Hill and Columbia;
+  rebuilds bridges and improves roads;
+  suffers from malarial poisoning;
+  obtains sick leave;
+  does not use it, as active campaigning is proposed;
+  earnestly recommended for promotion by Schofield and Thomas, App.
+C;
+  appointed major general as of Dec. 7, to fill vacancy caused by
+McClernand's resignation;
+  hard march from Columbia to Clifton;
+  still suffering from malaria;
+  goes home while 23d Corps is transported from Clifton to
+Washington;
+  rapid improvement in health, and new zeal; rejoins corps at
+Washington;
+  interviews with Stanton, Chase, Garfield, Dennison, Schenck, Henry
+Ward Beecher, Henry Winter Davis, and others;
+  sails with his division to Cape Fear River, North Carolina; at
+Federal Point;
+  commands column ascending right bank of Cape Fear River, capturing
+Ft. Anderson
+and Town Creek, with two cannon and 400 prisoners, and compelling
+evacuation
+of Wilmington;
+  uses discretion in not strictly obeying Schofield's orders;
+  permanent assignment to command 23d army corps urged by Schofield,
+App. C;
+  takes command of troops at New Berne, North Carolina, and advances
+on Kinston;
+  two battles at Kinston;
+  losses at Kinston, chiefly in Upham's brigade, which was
+surprised;
+  hears sound of battle of Bentonville, fifty miles away;
+  occupies Goldsborough;
+  permanently assigned to command 23d army corps, App. C;
+  march to Raleigh;
+  vigorous measures to stop pillage and arson;
+  precautions against soldiers wreaking vengeance for assassination
+of Lincoln;
+  commands western district of North Carolina, with headquarters at
+Greensborough;
+  interview with General Hardee;
+  with Johnston;
+  visit to Salisbury, confederate treatment of prisoners denounced;
+  recognizes local courts and magistrates;
+  notes complete submission on part of North Carolina people to
+results of the war;
+  limits authority to preserving the peace;
+  visits Guilford-Old-Court-House, and battlefield;
+  sentiments inspired thereby.
+
+Cox, Theodore, brother of above, vol.
+  aide-de-camp, at South Mountain and Antietam;
+  lieutenant in 11th Ohio and aide-de-camp by appointmentt;
+  at skirmish before Knoxville;
+  at Knoxville;
+  adjutant general on General Cox's staff;
+  accuracy and business system of;
+  issues orders for good conduct of troops on shipboard.
+
+Crane, Orrin J., major 7th Ohio, at Antietam.
+
+Cranor, Jonathan, colonel 40th Ohio, in West Virginia
+
+Crawford, Samuel W., brigadier general United States Volunteers, at
+Antietam.
+
+Creighton, Wm. R., lieutenant colonel 7th Ohio,
+  comes in with Tyler after surprise at Cross Lanes;
+  reproaches himself with cowardice;
+  record of gallantry, until killed at Ringgold, Georgia
+
+Crittenden, Eugene W., colonel commanding cavalry
+  brigade in 23d army corps, reports to General Cox at Olley's Creek
+
+Crittenden, Thos. L., major general United States Volunteers, in E.
+Tennessee.
+
+Crome, G. L., lieutenant McMullin's battery;
+  killed at South Mountain
+
+Crook, Geo., captain 4th U. S. Infantry, colonel
+  36th Ohio, at Cross Lanes;
+  Summersville;
+  personal description of;
+  captured at Cumberland;
+  first vote; at Lewisburg, West Virginia;
+  defeats Heth;
+  attached to Kanawha division;
+  reports to Pope at Warrenton, Virginia;
+  commanding brig, in Kanawha division;
+  supports Scammon;
+  at South Mt;
+  attached to Sturgis' division at Antietam;
+  carries ford of Antietam above Burnside bridge;
+  promoted brig, general;
+  ordered to Clarksburg, West Virginia;
+  commands Kanawha division;
+  marches from Clarksburg to Gauley Bridge;
+  at Gauley Bridge;
+  transferred to Rosecrans' command in Tennessee;
+  commends discipline of Kanawha division,
+
+Cross Lanes, West Virginia,
+  7th Ohio surprised at and routed;
+  consultation of Rosecrans and Cox at.
+
+Cutler, Hon. Wm. P.,
+  M. C. from Marietta, Ohio, expresses popular distrust of Lincoln's
+ability.
+
+DALTON, Georgia,
+  geography of vicinity;
+  impregnable to attack from north or west;
+  operations about;
+  strong character of defensive works.
+
+Dana, Chas. A.,
+  Assistant Secretary of War;
+  cipher dispatches to Stanton about Rosecrans and his officers;
+  visits Burnside at Knoxville;
+  reports to Grant;
+  judgment of army officers at Chattanooga;
+  advises Stanton concerning interview between Lincoln and
+confederate peace commanders;
+  concerning prayers for the President in Episcopal churches at
+Richmond.
+
+Dandridge, E. Tennessee, affair at;
+  a surprise all around;
+  both armies retreat.
+
+Davis, David, Justice of U. S. Supreme Court,
+  change in views regarding trial by military commissions in
+Indiana;
+
+Davis, Henry Winter, M. C. from Maryland,
+  dines with General Cox in Washington;
+  opposes re-election of Lincoln;
+  witty and scathing denunciation of L.
+
+Davis, Jefferson, President Confederate States Army, advises
+  with Lee about successor to Bragg;
+  differences with Beauregard and Johnston;
+  finally appoints Johnston;
+  urges aggressive action;
+  correspondence with Johnston;
+  plans thwarted by long discussion;
+  begs Johnston to retreat no further;
+  receives no encouragement from him;
+  sends Bragg to Atlanta to examine and report on condition of
+affairs;
+  relieves Johnston and appoints Hood;
+  convinced Hood needs intellectual guidance;
+  urges Hardee to hold Charleston, and stop Sherman on line of
+Combahee River;
+  startled by Beauregard's confession of inability to stop Sherman;
+  notes difference between B.'s estimate of forces available and
+official returns;
+  goes to Danville on fall of Richmond;
+  thence to Greensborough, North Carolina;
+  orders arrest of Governor Vance's peace commanders;
+  advised by all his generals and cabinet that further prosecution
+of war was hopeless;
+  authorizes Johnston to negotiate with Sherman;
+  holds last cabinet meeting at Charlotte;
+  unanimous decision that confederacy is conquered;
+  assents to Johnston's surrender;
+  reputed "plunder" nearly all paid out to Johnston's troops and his
+personal escort;
+  tries to escape beyond Mississippi;
+  captured S. E. of Macon.
+
+Davis, Jeff. C., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  commanding division in Army of the Cumberland;
+  movement on Rome;
+  occupies Rome;
+  attached to McPherson's command temporarily;
+  assault on Kennesaw.
+
+Dawes, Ephraim C., major 53rd Ohio,
+  analysis of opposing forces in Atlanta campaign.
+
+Dawes, Rufus R., lieutenant colonel 6th Wisc.,
+  at Antietam;
+  "Service with the Sixth Wisconsin," cited.
+
+Day, D. W. H., captain and assistant quartermaster,
+  accompanies General Cox on winter ride to E. Tennessee;
+  selects wagons and teams;
+  marks fords;
+  keeps teams moving;
+  secures tents and flies for army headquarters;
+  in charge of horses and mules sent from E. Tennessee to Kentucky
+for pasture;
+  energy commended.
+
+Dayton, Ohio,
+  assaults on soldiers at, not punished by local courts;
+  how punished.
+
+DeCourcey, John F., colonel 16th Ohio,
+  in West Virginia campaign fall of '62;
+  moves on Cumberland Gap.
+
+Defensive Tactics,
+  generally better in rough country.
+
+Dennison, Wm., Governor of Ohio,
+  prepares State for war;
+  appoints McClellan major general;
+  sends two regiments to Washington;
+  incessant work;
+  urges McClellan to occupy West Virginia in force;
+  at Washington;
+  mediates between Lincoln and McClellan;
+  supported by Cox in Ohio senatorial contest;
+  postmaster general;
+  entertains General Cox.
+
+De Trobriand, P. R., colonel 55th New York,
+  says New York 7th furnished 300 officers for Union army.
+
+De Villiers, Chas. A.,
+  brigadier major on General Cox's staff;
+  captured outside of lines at Scary Creek;
+  escapes and reports for duty at Gauley;
+  hazardous ride to report occupation of Cotton Mountain by Floyd;
+  crosses New River, scales cliffs and assaults enemy on Cotton
+Mountain.
+
+Devin, Thos. C., colonel 6th New York Cavalry,
+  ordered to report to General Cox.
+
+Dick, Robt. P., resident of Greensborough, North Carolina,
+  in whose grove army headquarters were established, since appointed
+U. S. District Judge;
+  advises colored people to hire out to others than their old
+masters.
+
+Dickson, Wm. M.,
+  cited as to Key's influence over McClellan.
+
+Discretion,
+  to be exercised by subordinate on detached service in obeying
+orders issued without full knowledge of his position.
+
+Doddridge, cashier of a Charleston, West Virginia bank,
+  Union man;
+  paymaster in Union army.
+
+Dodge, Grenville M., major general United States Volunteers,
+  commands 16th Corps;
+  builds bridge over Chattahoochee at Roswell.
+
+Donaldson, James L., colonel United States Volunteers, chief
+quartermaster at Nashville,
+  describes Thomas's feelings after Nashville campaign.
+
+Doolittle, Chas. C., colonel 18th Michigan,
+  commanding post at Decatur, repulses Hood;
+  joins General Cox at Stevenson;
+  chief of staff for General Cox;
+  takes command of Reilly's division 23d army corps;
+  carries enemy's intrenchments and captures eight guns at battle of
+Nashville;
+  and returns to his own regiment when 23d Corps goes to Washington.
+
+Doubleday, Abner, brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  commanding division, at Antietam.
+
+Douglas, Stephen A.,
+  speech at Columbus after fall of Ft. Sumter;
+  pledges support of Dem. party to Lincoln's administration.
+
+Dow, Tristram T., major 112th Ill.,
+  appointed inspector general on Cox's staff;
+  reconnoitres fords before Kinston;
+  carries message from Schofield to Hoke.
+
+Draft,
+  preferred to system of raising new regiments and letting old ones
+die out;
+  Sherman cited;
+  act providing for;
+  weakened by commutation clause;
+  insignificant numbers drafted in Ohio.
+
+Drayton, Thos. F., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  at South Mountain
+
+Duke, Basil W., brigadier general Confederate States Army, history
+  of Morgan raid cited.
+
+Dunham, Robert T., captain and assistant adjutant-general on
+  General Geo. W. Taylor's staff at Bull Run
+  bridge,
+
+Dunker Church, on battlefield of Antietam,
+
+Durell, Geo. W., captain battery D Pennsylvania Artillery,
+  at South Mountain;
+  at Antietam.
+
+Duryea, Abram, brigadier general United States Volunteers, at
+  Antietam.
+
+Early, Jubal A., brigadier general Confederate States Army, at
+  Antietam.
+
+East Tennessee,
+  plans for Union advance into, Rosecrans';
+  approved by McClellan;
+  Frémont's;
+  ignorance of topography: combination of the two adopted;
+  fails because separate columns defeated and driven back by Jackson
+before concentration effected;
+  occupation of E. Tennessee urged by Lincoln on all general
+officers in the West;
+  Burnside's plan;
+  proposes railroad from Danville to;
+  Chattanooga best base for supplies;
+  confederate forces in;
+  map of;
+  rejoicing of people at Burnside's coming;
+  terror and indignation when he was ordered to leave and join
+Rosecrans;
+  military operations in;
+  Sherman's horror of;
+  importance of holding;
+  impossibility of supplying army in, by mountain roads;
+  terrible destruction of draft animals;
+  privations of army in, during winter of;
+  almost unanimous re-enlistment, in spite of hardships;
+  absence of forage;
+  fearful blizzard;
+  sufferings of troops;
+  bitterness of feeling between loyalists and secessionists.
+
+East Tennessee troops,
+  unwillingness to serve away from home;
+  discipline lax, courage and devotion unexcelled;
+  1st Cavalry;
+  1st Infantry;
+  6th Infantry;
+  East Tennessee University, at Knoxville, fortified;
+
+Echols, John C., brigadier general Confederate States Army, pursues
+  Lightburn down the Kanawha;
+  supersedes Loring in command of West Virginia forces;
+  resumes positions abandoned by Loring;
+  retreats before General Cox;
+  ordered to make his way from West Virginia into N. W. part of
+South Carolina,
+
+Effective Total,
+  meaning of, in confederate reports;
+  leads to habitual underestimate of their forces by confederate
+commanders.
+
+Elliott, Washington L., colonel 47th Ohio, in
+  West Virginia;
+  in E. Tennessee;
+  at Mossy Creek
+
+Ellsworth Zouaves, equal in drill to West Point cadets,
+
+Emancipation Proclamation, how received in McClellan's army.
+
+Enyart, David A., lieutenant colonel 1st Kentucky,
+  routs confederate militia at Boone courthouse, West Virginia;
+  crosses Kanawha, scales cliffs and helps capture Cotton Mountain
+
+Episcopal Clergy, at Richmond,
+  ordered by Stanton to pray for the President of the U. S.
+
+Evans, N. G., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  in Maryland campaign;
+  at Antietam.
+
+Ewell, Benj. S., colonel Confederate States Army,
+  on Johnston's staff;
+  sent to Richmond to explain Johnston's position;
+  reports to Johnston.
+
+Ewell, R. S., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  division of, at Antietam,
+
+Ewing, Hugh, colonel 30th Ohio,
+  in Kanawha Division;
+  reports to Pope at Warrenton, Virginia;
+  at South Mountain
+
+Executive Power,
+  exercised in spite of adverse judicial decisions,
+
+Ezra Church, battle of,
+
+Fairchild, Harrison S., colonel 89th New York,
+  at South Mountain; at Antietam.
+
+Fayette courthouse, West Virginia,
+  advanced post;
+  Union troops.
+
+Ferrero, Edw., colonel 51st New York,
+  at South Mountain;
+  at Antietam;
+  in E. Tennessee;
+  at Ft. Sanders.
+
+Field Intrenchments,
+  development of;
+  facility in making;
+  costliness of assaulting;
+  at New Hope Church;
+  at Cold Harbor; at Ezra Church;
+  confederate troops refuse to assault breastworks;
+  at Kinston.
+
+Fitch, E. P.,
+  quartermaster on General Cox's staff;
+  arrives at Alexandria with trains and baggage of Kanawha Division;
+  at Antietam; chief quartermaster District of West Virginia
+
+Flat-top Mountain, West Virginia,
+  barrier to approach from S. W. Virginia;
+  advance of Kanawha Division to;
+  key point for movement to S. West Virginia;
+  description of;
+  abandoned by U. S. troops.
+
+Floyd, John B.,
+  unites with Wise to drive Union forces out of Kanawha valley;
+  surprises and routs 7th Ohio at Cross Lanes;
+  mysterious inaction thereafter;
+  defeated at Carnifex Ferry;
+  differences with Wise;
+  marches to Fayette courthouse;
+  and occupies Cotton Mountain, from which he shells Gauley Bridge;
+  driven off the Mountain by General Cox;
+  escapes capture by reason of Benham's inactivity;
+  indirectly commends General Cox's administration of Kanawha
+District.
+
+Foraging,
+  easily degenerates into pillaging and arson;
+  Blair and Howard recommend its prohibition;
+  Sherman promises to stop it after reaching North Carolina;
+  vigorous measures of General Cox to repress;
+  country near Raleigh stripped bare by Slocum's "bummers".
+
+Force, Manning F.,
+  lieutenant colonel 20th Ohio;
+  brig, general, married sister of General Pope's wife.
+
+Foreign Intervention, threatened. 485.
+
+Forrest, Nathan B., brigadier general cavalry Confederate States
+Army,
+  captures Col. Bloodgood's command near Nashville;
+  compared with Morgan;
+  successful handling of mounted troops;
+  Mower promoted for reputed defeat of;
+  ordered to join Hood, captures Athens, repulsed at Pulaski;
+  ordered to raid Western Tennessee;
+  causes panic and destruction of three steamboats and stores at
+Johnsonville;
+  joins Hood at Florence;
+  covers Hood's turning movement east of Columbia;
+  attacks at Spring Hill;
+  absence seriously felt by Hood at battle of Nashville;
+  commands rearguard on Hood's retreat;
+  at Okolona.
+
+Forts,
+  masonry and earthworks discussed.
+
+Ft. Anderson, Cape Fear River,
+  attacked by "Montauk" and gunboats;
+  captured by General Cox.
+
+Ft. Fisher,
+  captured by General Terry;
+  where described.
+
+Ft. Sanders, Knoxville, E. Tennessee,
+  named after General W. P. Sanders;
+  described;
+  assault on, by Longstreet's forces, repulsed.
+
+Ft. Sumter,
+  bombardment announced in Ohio Senate;
+  occasions popular uprising, without distinction of party;
+  flag raised again by Anderson.
+
+Foster, Abby Kelley,
+  shouts "Glory to God" when bombardment of Sumter announced.
+
+Foster, John G.,
+  appointed major general United States Volunteers;
+  succeeds Burnside in E. Tennessee;
+  assigns General Cox to command 23d army corps;
+  Sturgis to cavalry corps;
+  demonstrates to Grant impossibility of winter campaign;
+  disabled by fall of horse;
+  gives veteran furlough to several regiments;
+  concentrates at Knoxville;
+  sends horses and mules to pasture in Kentucky;
+  permanent winter quarters;
+  retires from command on account of ill health;
+  again explains to Grant, at Nashville, impossibility of winter
+campaign in E. Tennessee.
+
+Foster, John W. colonel United States Volunteers,
+  operations in E. Tennessee;
+  at Mossy Creek
+
+Fourth U. S. Artillery, battery B,
+  at Antietam.
+
+Fox's Gap, in South Mountain,
+  captured by Kanawha Division under General Cox.
+
+Franklin, battle of,
+  undeceives Thomas as to Hood's intentions;
+  where described.
+
+Franklin, F. E., major 37th Ohio,
+  at Princeton, West Virginia
+
+Franklin, Wm. B., major general United States Volunteers,
+  ordered to join Pope;
+  slow in moving;
+  assigned position near Alexandria;
+  relieved on charges preferred by Pope;
+  reinstated at McClellan's request;
+  with 6th army corps, held in reserve, at Antietam.
+
+Frazer, John W., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  captured with 2500 men by Burnside at Cumberland Gap.
+
+Frederick, Maryland,
+  confederate army concentrates near;
+  evacuated by;
+  a loyal city;
+  demonstration on arrival of Union troops;
+  grand army encamped near.
+
+Frémont, John C., major general United States Volunteers,
+  commands Mountain Department;
+  appointment on political grounds;
+  plan for advance on E. Tennessee;
+  modifies it on Rosecrans' suggestion;
+  separate columns defeated before concentration effected;
+  relieved of command;
+  not again assigned to duty.
+
+French, Samuel G., major general Confederate States Army,
+  joins Johnston's army at Kingston, Georgia
+
+French, W. H.,
+  captain and commissary on Burnside's staff.
+
+French, Wm. H., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  at Antietam.
+
+French's Mill, West Virginia,
+  operations near.
+
+Frietchie, Barbara,
+  a fictitious character.
+
+Frink, Chas. S.,
+  surgeon major, General Cox's division;
+  treats General Cox for illness due to exposure after battle of
+Nashville.
+
+Frizell, Jos. W.,
+  lieutenant colonel 11th Ohio;
+  traps confederate cavalry near Hawk's Nest, West Virginia
+
+Fry, Jas. B., colonel and assistant adjutant-general U. S. A.,
+  on Lincoln's reasons for certain military appointments;
+  provost-marshal-general at Washington;
+  ably administers draft laws.
+
+Furnace,
+  for tent, field construction.
+
+Gallup, Geo. W., lieutenant colonel 14th Kentucky commanding brigade
+in 23d army corps,
+  at Johnsonville, Tennessee
+
+Garfield, Jas. A.,
+  in Ohio Senate;
+  resolves to enter army;
+  defeated in election for colonel of 7th Ohio;
+  appointed colonel of 42nd Ohio;
+  in Big Sandy valley;
+  Rosecrans' chief of staff;
+  sums up answers of general officers and urges Rosecrans to
+advance;
+  influence of his report;
+  sent to Washington with Rosecrans' report after battle of
+Chickamauga;
+  questioned by Stanton;
+  tells General Cox the story of Chickamauga;
+  leaves army to enter Congress;
+  chairman of commission on military affairs;
+  regard for Rosecrans;
+  letter to Chase about R.'s inaction at Murfreesborough;
+  defended;
+  entertains General Cox in Washington;
+  draws out his guests.
+
+Garland, Samuel, Jr., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  killed at South Mountain
+
+Garnett, Robt. S., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  at Beverly, West Virginia;
+  retreats after battle of Rich Mountain;
+  killed near Carrick's Ford;
+  lacking in enterprise.
+
+Garrard, Israel, colonel cavalry United States Volunteers,
+  in East Tennessee;
+  at Decatur and Stone Mountain, Georgia
+
+Garrard, Kenner, brig, general,
+  commanding cavalry division in McPherson's army;
+  movement on Rome;
+  reports confederate cavalry at Kennesaw superior in numbers;
+  destroys Georgia RAILROAD east of Atlanta;
+  in pursuit of Hood.
+
+Garrett, John W., President B. and Official Records R. Co.,
+  suggests dictatorship of McClellan.
+
+Gauley Bridge, West Virginia,
+  key point of Kanawha valley;
+  captured by General Cox with 1500 stand of arms and munitions of
+war;
+  importance of position;
+  map of;
+  how fortified;
+  Rosecrans' headquarters;
+  cannonaded from Cotton Mountain by Floyd;
+  bridge reconstructed;
+  burned on Lightburn's retreat;
+  supplies forwarded to, by batteaux on upper Kanawha;
+  Lightburn's abandonment of, criticised;
+  reoccupied by General Cox.
+
+Geary, John W., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  at Wauhatchie;
+  assaults Rocky Face, at Dug Gap, repulsed with loss.
+
+Georgia,
+  map of northern.
+
+Gibbon, John, brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  high opinion of volunteers;
+  deficient knowledge of military history;
+  at South Mountain;
+  at Antietam.
+
+Gibbs, Ira B.,
+  lieutenant and com's'y on General Cox's staff;
+  shoots Serg. Joyce of 2nd Kentucky for refusing to obey orders;
+  courtmartialed and acquitted;
+  excused from attending execution of a mutineer.
+
+Gibson, Horatio G., captain 2nd Ohio Artillery,
+  at South Mountain
+
+Giddings, Hon. Joshua R., consul general at Montreal,
+  makes light of plot to releases confederate prisoners.
+
+Gilbert, Samuel A., colonel 44th Ohio,
+  in second Kanawha campaign;
+  marches his brigade 60 miles in 52 hours, in E. Tennessee
+
+Gillmore, Quincy A.,
+  brigadier general commanding District of Kentucky;
+  resists Pegram's raid and drives him out of Kentucky
+
+Gilmer, Jeremy F., major general Confederate States Army, Davis'
+Chief of Engineers,
+  sent to advise with Beauregard.
+
+Gilmer, John A.,
+  one of Governor Vance's peace commanders.
+
+Goldsborough, North Carolina,
+  place of meeting of Sherman's and Schofield's armies.
+
+Goodrich, E. R.,
+  lieutenant colonel, and chief comm's'y on Burnside's staff.
+
+Goodrich, Wm. B.,
+  colonel commanding brigade in Greene's division at battle of
+Antietam;
+  killed at Antietam.
+
+Gordon, Geo. H., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  at Antietam.
+
+Graham, Milton,
+  lieutenant colonel 11th Kentucky Cavalry
+
+Graham, Wm. A., ex-Governor of North Carolina,
+  heads Vance's peace delegation;
+  candidate for Vice President on ticket with Scott;
+  mentioned.
+
+Granger, Gordon,
+  captain and mustering officer at Camp Dennison;
+  states reasons why theoretical knowledge of regular army officers
+so small;
+  appointed major general United States Volunteers;
+  at Chickamauga;
+  sent to relief of Knoxville;
+  dissatisfaction of Grant and Sherman;
+  in E. Tennessee;
+  at Dandridge.
+
+Granger, Robt. S., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  sent to reinforce Col. Doolittle at Decatur;
+  posted at Stevenson;
+  suffers pontoon bridge to fall into hands of Hood;
+  ordered to Decatur again.
+
+Grant, U. S., major general United States Volunteers,
+  high opinion of volunteers;
+  accepts emancipation policy as best;
+  policy of attrition;
+  captures Vicksburg;
+  "copious worker and fighter, but a very meagre writer";
+  growing faith of administration in;
+  in command of Division of the Mississippi;
+  approves substitution of Thomas for Rosecrans;
+  reticent and averse to controversy;
+  hears in silence and decides;
+  good story about Washington;
+  at Chattanooga;
+  culmination of good fortune;
+  sends Granger and Sherman to relief of Knoxville;
+  characteristics;
+  visits army in E. Tennessee;
+  reticence;
+  riding-school story;
+  sees for himself condition of troops and mountain roads;
+  reports destitution and impracticability of supplying army by
+mountain roads;
+  correspondence with General Foster;
+  asks promotion of Sherman, McPherson, and W. F. Smith;
+  embarrassments about cipher dispatches;
+  objects to Stoneman;
+  correspondence with Schofield;
+  appointed lieutenant general and goes to Washington;
+  scatters army at Chattanooga, to secure supplies and forage;
+  puts Sherman in charge of Western armies and assumes command in
+Virginia;
+  plans simultaneous advance of eastern and western armies;
+  slow to learn unprofitableness of assaulting intrenched positions;
+  on appointments of brigadiers in Sherman's army;
+  confidence in McPherson; secures his rapid promotion;
+  dissatisfied with Thomas;
+  reasons for his feeling;
+  favors winter campaigns by Sherman and Thomas;
+  plans advance on Selma and Mobile;
+  orders Schofield and 23d corps sent to Washington;
+  praises Sherman's readiness for further operations;
+  sends Schofield to carry out new plan of campaign in North
+Carolina;
+  unselfish attitude toward Sherman;
+  relieves Butler and opposes his further assignment to command;
+  receives confederate peace commanders at his headquarters;
+  congratulates Sherman;
+  outlines his own plans;
+  prevents Lee's union with Johnston;
+  recommends Schofield's appointment as brigadier in regular army
+and permanent assignment of Cox and Terry to corps commands;
+  brings administration's disapproval of Sherman-Johnston convention
+to Sherman;
+  considerate treatment of Sherman;
+  returns to Washington;
+  condemns injustice to Sherman;
+  smooths away causes of Sherman's irritation.
+
+"Grape Vine Telegraph,"
+
+Great Smoky Mountains,
+  picturesque character of.
+
+Greene, Geo. S., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  at Antietam;
+  in 20th Corps and on court-martial at Washington;
+  goes to North Carolina, with General Cox and volunteers as staff
+officer at Kinston;
+  commands provisional division of returning officers and men
+belonging to Sherman's army.
+
+Grigsby, A. J., colonel commanding Winder's brigade, Jackson's
+division,
+  at Antietam.
+
+Guerillas, in West Virginia,
+  annoyance by and suppression of.
+
+Guilford-Old-Court-House, North Carolina,
+  and battlefield visited.
+
+Gunn, W. A.,
+  locates line for railway from Danville to E. Tennessee
+
+Guthrie, J. V., colonel 1st Kentucky,
+  correspondence with General Cox, App. Army;
+  in West Virginia
+
+Guyandotte, West Virginia,
+  taken by 2nd Kentucky;
+  occupied.
+
+Habeas Corpus, writ of,
+  used to release minors enlisting without parents' consent;
+  U. S. officers directed not to recognize, unless issued by U. S.
+Courts.
+
+Hagood, Johnson, brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  at Ft. Anderson, N. C;
+  routed at Town Creek by General Cox, losing two cannon and 400
+prisoners;
+  repulsed at Kinston.
+
+Halleck, Henry W.,
+  commands Western Department;
+  authorizes Pope to send for General Cox's Kanawha Division;
+  commits defence of Washington to McClellan;
+  sacrifices Pope;
+  owed his appointment as commander in chief largely to Pope;
+  expected to take command in the field;
+  but does not, and remains bureau officer until close of war;
+  responsible in part for McClellan's slow pursuit of Lee in
+Maryland;
+  sends McClellan peremptory orders to advance after Antietam;
+  persistently favors regular army officers over volunteers;
+  directs Burnside to advance into E. Tennessee;
+  correspondence with Burnside shows forgetfulness and lack of
+appreciation;
+  inconsistency between official and private letters to Rosecrans;
+  fails to understand distances and difficulties of transportation
+in E. Tennessee;
+  indecision of character;
+  wrong interpretation of Burnside's reports and action;
+  thinks personal presence of Grant with Army of Potomac
+indispensable;
+  criticises Meade;
+  friendly relations with Sherman;
+  correspondence with;
+  on enormous waste of cavalry horses;
+  tells Sherman he is accused of hostility to the blacks;
+  assigned to command Department of Virginia;
+  orders Meade to pay no attention to Sherman's truce;
+  forfeits Sherman's life-long friendship by his orders and
+dispatches after Sherman-Johnston convention;
+  goes to Pacific coast at close of war and dies soon after;
+  disclaims personal hostility to Sherman;
+  explanation of his attitude;
+  notes complete submission to U. S. authority at Richmond.
+
+Hamilton, Schuyler,
+  appointed major general United States Volunteers;
+  resigns.
+
+Hammond, John W.,
+  lieutenant colonel 65th Indiana at battle of Nashville.
+
+Hampton, Wade, brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  at the Monocacy;
+  at South Mountain;
+  appointed lieutenant general to outrank Wheeler;
+  opposed to Vance's peace negotiations;
+  retires from Raleigh;
+  arranges for interview bet. Johnston and Sherman;
+  refuses to be included in Johnston's capitulation.
+
+Hancock, Winfield S., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  at Antietam;
+  sent from 6th Corps to command Richardson's division 2nd Corps;
+  classmate of McClellan.
+
+Hanson, Chas. S., lieutenant colonel 20th Kentucky,
+  captured at Lebanon, Kentucky
+
+Hardee, Wm. J.,
+  lieutenant general Confederate States Army;
+  succeeds Bragg in temporary command Army of Georgia;
+  declines permanent command;
+  quoted by Davis;
+  sent to reinforce Polk;
+  forces increased;
+  at Dallas;
+  at battle of Atlanta;
+  controversy with Hood;
+  at Jonesboro;
+  impeaches Hood's statement of his losses;
+  transferred to Savannah;
+  evacuates Charleston;
+  rumored junction with Bragg;
+  fails to reach Wilmington;
+  forces of;
+  low estimate contradicted by official reports;
+  reports to Bragg at Goldsborough;
+  at Averasborough;
+  commands army in absence of Johnston;
+  arranges details of capitulation with Schofield;
+  reputation and character of;
+  end of war only a question of time after first year;
+  humorous report of General Cox's treatment of old woman asking for
+provisions;
+  reported Salkehatchie swamps impassable when Sherman was marching
+through them at rate of 13 miles a day;
+  determines to go abroad for a time.
+
+Hardie, Jas. A.,
+  colonel United States Volunteers and inspector general
+
+Harker, Chas. G., commanding brig, in Newton's division 4th army
+corps,
+  at Rocky Face;
+  relieves Hanson's brigade at Resaca;
+  wounded at Resaca.
+
+Harland, Edw., colonel 8th Conn.,
+  at South Mountain;
+  at Antietam;
+  commanding brigade in Palmer's division at Kinston.
+
+Harper's Ferry,
+  attacked by Jackson;
+  and taken;
+  A. P. Hill left in charge of.
+
+Harrison, Benj., colonel 70th Indiana,
+  detailed to stump State of Indiana in 1864.
+
+Hartranft, John F., colonel 51st Pennsylvania,
+  at Antietam;
+  in E. Tennessee;
+  repulses McLaws at Campbell's Station
+
+Hartsuff, Geo. L.,
+  captain and assistant adjutant-general on Rosecrans' staff;
+  appointed brigadier general, wounded at Antietam and appointed
+major general;
+  assigned to command 23d army corps;
+  sent to arrange plans with Rosecrans for simultaneous advance;
+  commands District of Kentucky;
+  directed to capture Morgan raiders;
+  disabled by old wounds;
+  attends to office business at Knoxville;
+  decides to retire;
+  inspector general on Schofield's staff, in charge of paroling
+Johnston's army;
+  telegraphs "Johnston's army dissolving and raising the devil".
+
+Harvie, Edwin J.,
+  inspector general on General Johnston's staff.
+
+Hascall, Milo S.,
+  commands District of Indiana;
+  removed on Governor Morton's application;
+  commands 3rd division 23d army corps;
+  in E. Tennessee;
+  transferred to 2nd division same;
+  near New Hope Church;
+  distinguished services throughout campaign, never recognized;
+  not favored by Governor Morton;
+  at Kolb's farm;
+  moves to Cox's position south of Olley's Creek;
+  at Decatur, Georgia;
+  resigns on account of Governor Morton's hostility and Hovey's
+promotion over him.
+
+Hatch, John P., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  calls for three cheers from Pope's army on learning that McClellan
+was in command again;
+  Pope's dissatisfaction with;
+  takes position on Cox's left in defences of Washington.
+
+Haupt, Herman, colonel and military superintendent of railways,
+  at Alexandria, Virginia,
+
+Hawley, Jos. R., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  commands coast District of North Carolina
+
+Hayes, Rutherford B., lieutenant colonel 23d Ohio,
+  Judge Adv. at trial of Gibbs;
+  at Princeton, West Virginia;
+  criticised by General Reno;
+  charge of pillaging brought out in Presidential campaign;
+  wounded at South Mountain;
+  letter in regard to discipline of Kanawaha Division
+
+Hazen, Wm. B., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  at Chattanooga;
+  ordered in arrest by Sheridan at Dandridge;
+  good qualities and faults of;
+  released on mediation of General Cox.
+
+Heintzelman, Samuel P., major general United States Volunteers,
+  temporarily commanding Franklin's corps.
+
+Henderson, Thos. J., colonel 112th Ill., commanding brig, in Cox's
+division 23d army corps,
+  absence on account of illness;
+  brevet brigadier general;
+  in advance up right bank Cape Fear River
+
+Heth, Henry, brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  in West Virginia;
+  at Pearisburg;
+  at narrows of New River;
+  French's;
+  defeated by Crook at Lewisburg, West Virginia
+
+Hill, Ambrose P., major general Confederate States Army,
+  at Bull Run bridge;
+  at Harper's Ferry;
+  at Antietam.
+
+Hill, Benj. H.,
+  goes to Richmond to ask that Johnston be reinforced;
+  correspondence with Seddon;
+  visits Union army to obtain body of son and confer with Sherman.
+
+Hill, Chas. W., brigadier general Ohio Valley Infantry,
+  in West Virginia
+
+Hill, Daniel H., major general Confederate States Army,
+  left to guard Richmond;
+  rearguard in Maryland;
+  at South Mountain;
+  at Antietam;
+  commanding at Augusta, Georgia, ordered to join Johnston in North
+Carolina;
+  reports to Bragg at Kinston;
+  captures many prisoners from Upham's brigade;
+  attack on hastily intrenched line repulsed;
+  forces of, at Kinston.
+
+Hines, Jonathan D., major 12th Ohio,
+  in charge of scouts in W, Virginia;
+  on reconnoitring expeditions;
+  in charge of sentinels in rear on retreat from Big Sewell Mountain
+
+Hines, Thos. H.,
+  captain cavalry in Morgan's raid.
+
+Hitchcock, Ethan A., major general United States Volunteers,
+  chairman committee to revise Articles of War, and army
+regulations.
+
+Hitchcock, Henry, major and assistant adjutant-general on General
+Sherman's staff,
+  carries "Memorandum" between Sherman and Johnston to Washington;
+  brings back disapproval--and Grant.
+
+Hobson, Edw. H., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  in Morgan raid.
+
+Hoffman, Wm.,
+  colonel and comm's'y of prisoners at Washington.
+
+Hofmann, J. Wm., lieutenant colonel 56th Pennsylvania,
+  succeeds to command of brigade, at Antietam.
+
+Hoke, Robt. F., major general Confederate States Army,
+  at Federal Point, North Carolina;
+  retreats when General Cox threatens Wilmington;
+  opposes advance of General Cox at Kinston;
+  routs Upham's brigade of new troops;
+  repulsed by Carter;
+  repulsed again with heavy loss;
+  offer to exchange prisoners declined.
+
+Holden, Wm. W., leader of Union element in North Carolina,
+  joins Graham's peace delegation,
+  mentioned.
+
+Holmes, Wm. W., major, surgeon 12th Ohio,
+  brigadier surgeon on General Cox's staff;
+  dies of consumption.
+
+Holmes Co., Ohio,
+  armed resistance to draft.
+
+Hood, John B., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  at South Mountain;
+  at Antietam;
+  mentioned;
+  rosy picture of condition of Johnston's army;
+  corps increased;
+  at Resaca;
+  at New Hope Church;
+  repulses Hooker's assault;
+  attacks advanced brigades of Hooker's and Schofield's corps at
+Kolb's farm;
+  succeeds Johnston, and assumes aggressive;
+  criticism of Johnston;
+  involved in disputes with Hardee and Cheatham as well as Johnston;
+  reputation for accuracy and candor damaged;
+  appointment gives satisfaction to Union army;
+  unsuccessful attacks on Union forces at Peachtree Creek;
+    Atlanta;
+    Ezra Church;
+  at Jonesboro;
+  evacuates Atlanta;
+  reports refusal of his army to attack intrenched positions;
+  forces of, Aug. 1st;
+    Sept. 20th;
+  absurd minimizing of his losses in battle;
+  depression in his army;
+  changes his subordinate officers;
+  plans to renew struggle;
+  recrosses Chattahoochee;
+  fails to injure Sherman's communications;
+  futile October campaign;
+  plans for invasion of Tennessee;
+  repulsed at Decatur, Alabama;
+  delays crossing the Tennessee River;
+  ordered by Beauregard to resume offensive at once;
+  adopts tactics of skirmishing advance while looking for ways to
+turn Schofield's position;
+  terrible repulse at Franklin, where described;
+  takes position at Nashville;
+  at battle of Nashville;
+  escapes owing to cold rainstorms and impassable roads;
+  severe losses at Franklin, Nashville, and on retreat;
+  forces of Jan. 20, 1864;
+  part of his army present at battle of Kinston, North Carolina;
+  constitutes bulk of those who capitulated with Johnston.
+
+Hooker, Jos., major general United States Volunteers,
+  assigned to command Porter's corps;
+  afterwards, McDowell's;
+  in pursuit of Lee;
+  at South Mountain;
+  Burnside's stinging reply to untrue report of, note;
+  ordered to extreme right at Antietam;
+  his march;
+  at battle of Antietam;
+  wounded and retires;
+  sent with two corps to reinforce Rosecrans at Chattanooga;
+  at Tunnel Hill;
+  assault on Rocky Face, fails;
+  at Snake Creek Gap;
+  at Resaca;
+  ordered to cross Oostanaula at Newtown;
+  instead, takes route assigned to Schofield and delays latter;
+  does same at crossing of Etowah;
+  assaults confederate lines at New Hope Church repulsed;
+  movements near;
+  repulses attack by Hood's corps at Kolb's farm;
+  reports whole of Johnston's army in his immediate front;
+  reinforced;
+  at Peachtree Creek;
+  offended at Howard's promotion to command Army of Tennessee;
+  unacceptable to Halleck, retires from active service.
+
+Hopkins, Henry H.,
+  notorious secessionist in Kanawha valley;
+  controversy with General Cox over escaped slave.
+
+Hosea, Lewis M.,
+  captain on General Wilson's staff, adventurous ride through
+Georgia and
+    back to carry dispatches to Sherman.
+
+Hovey, Alvin P., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  at Dalton;
+  at Rocky Face;
+  handling of division not satisfactory to Schofield;
+  who asks his removal;
+  Sherman declines to remove;
+  at Snake Creek Gap;
+  at Resaca;
+  hindered by Hooker on march to Cassville;
+  movements near New Hope Church;
+  tenders resignation as division commander;
+  its acceptance recommended by Sherman;
+  promoted to be major general by brevet, on political grounds;
+  Sherman's indignation;
+  honored above other brigadiers in same corps who outranked him and
+    were rendering distinguished service.
+
+Howard, Oliver O., major general United States Volunteers,
+  commands 4th army corps;
+  at Tunnel Hill;
+  at Rocky Face;
+  at Dalton;
+  at Resaca;
+  comes to support of Cox;
+  holds position captured by Cox;
+  crosses at Resaca;
+  turns confederate right at Pickett's Mill;
+  at Olley's Creek;
+  at Peachtree Creek;
+  commands Army of the Tennessee;
+  at battle of Ezra Church;
+  at Jonesboro;
+  accompanies Sherman's march to the sea;
+  turns Johnston's left at Bentonville;
+  on march to Raleigh.
+
+Howe, Albion P., captain 4th U. S. artillery,
+  in West Virginia
+
+Humes, Rev. Thos. W., S. T. D.,
+  loyalty and learning;
+  President of E. Tennessee University;
+  author of "The Loyal Mountaineers of Tennessee".
+
+Humphreys, Benj. G., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  assaults Ft. Sanders.
+
+Hunter, David, major general United States Volunteers,
+  sent to inspect army at Chattanooga;
+  report concerning Grant.
+
+Hurlbut, Stephen A.,
+  appointed major general
+
+Illinois Troops,
+  19th Infantry;
+  65th Infantry;
+  112th Infantry;
+  5th Cavalry;
+  Barker's Cavalry;
+  Schambeck's Indiana Cavalry
+
+Inactivity in field, evil results of.
+
+Indiana Troops,
+  6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 13th, 14th, and 15th Infantry;
+  33rd Infantry;
+  51st Infantry;
+  63rd Infantry;
+  65th Infantry;
+  70th Infantry;
+  23d Cavalry
+
+Information of enemy's strength, how gained.
+
+Inspector General, important duties of.
+
+Intemperance in army officers, evils of.
+
+Interference with lines of march of other columns condemned;
+  illustrations.
+
+Irvine, James, colonel 16th Ohio,
+  fails to intercept remnant of Garnett's force.
+
+Irwin, Wm. H., colonel 49th Pennsylvania,
+  commanding brigade at Antietam.
+
+Jackson, Thos. J. ("Stonewall"),
+  defeated at Kernstown;
+  defeats Milroy at McDowell;
+  Banks in Shenandoah valley;
+  captures Manassas Junction, burns Bull Run bridge;
+  at Antietam.
+
+Jackson, Wm. H., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  commanding division in Forrest's cavalry
+
+Jenifer, W. H.,
+  colonel at Princeton, West Virginia
+
+Jenkins, A. G.,
+  colonel of cavalry under Floyd;
+  trapped by Frizell at Hawk's Nest;
+  cavalry raid in West Virginia;
+  opposed by Cranor;
+  covers Loring's retreat;
+    and Echols';
+  abandons Tyler Mountain;
+  forces of.
+
+Jenkins, Micah, brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  at Wauhatchie;
+  in E. Tennessee
+
+Johnson, Andrew, Mil. Governor of Tennessee,
+  asks to have E. Tennessee troops returned to their homes;
+  Governor of Tennessee
+
+Johnson's Island, Sandusky Bay,
+  military prison;
+  plot to release confederate prisoners at, defeated;
+  description of, and surroundings;
+  treatment of prisoners.
+
+Johnson, Richard W., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  in Tennessee;
+  at Battle of Nashville.
+
+Johnston, Jos. E., lieutenant general Confederate States Army,
+  resigns commission in U. S. army;
+  McClellan's principal opponent;
+  urged by Longstreet to unite with him near Knoxville;
+  ordered to assist Polk near Meridian;
+  prevented from doing either by demonstration of Thomas;
+  appointed as successor to Bragg;
+  expected to assume aggressive;
+  objects;
+  prolonged discussion;
+  lack of enterprise;
+  bent on defensive campaign;
+  demands reinforcements;
+  unsatisfactory relations with Davis;
+  forces opposed to Sherman;
+  skilful avoidance of battle in the open;
+  fails to anticipate McPherson's move;
+  fortifies Resaca, abandons Dalton;
+  evacuates Resaca;
+  careful defensive;
+  decides to give battle near Adairsville;
+  concludes not to;
+  retreats to Kingston and Cassville;
+  issues orders to join battle at Cassville;
+  revokes them on statements of Hood and Polk that Union left
+(General Cox) enfiladed their position;
+  retreats across the Etowah;
+  abandons New Hope lines;
+  lets go Pine Mountain;
+  withdraws left flank behind Mud Creek;
+  abandons lines about Marietta;
+  retires behind Chattahoochee;
+  relations with confederate administration reach a crisis;
+  gives Davis no encouragement that he will hold Atlanta or attack
+enemy;
+  had he revealed his plans would have been retained;
+  demands that Hood be courtmartialed;
+  removal equivalent to a Union victory;
+  attacks at Peachtree Creek and Atlanta made in accordance with his
+plans;
+  underestimate of his forces;
+  assumes command in the Carolinas;
+  forces at his disposal;
+  foresees importance of checking Schofield's advance;
+  orders Bragg to strike at General Cox;
+  attacks Slocum at Bentonville;
+  repulsed;
+  losses at Averasborough and Bentonville;
+  at Raleigh;
+  requests armistice;
+  confers with Davis;
+  declares further prosecution of war hopeless;
+  sends dispatch to Sherman requesting conference;
+  distress when advised of Lincoln's assassination;
+  admits slavery is dead;
+  will surrender all armies east of Mississippi;
+  notified of termination of truce;
+  signs capitulation on terms granted to Lee;
+  form of parole;
+  asks for loan of confederate animals and enough arms to enforce
+discipline;
+  capitulation includes all east of Chattahoochee River;
+  reply to Sherman's farewell letter;
+  orders to Hampton;
+  sends Hardee to confer with Schofield about details;
+  meets Schofield and Cox;
+  unable to approximate number of troops to be paroled;
+  praises Sherman and his army;
+  "no such army since days of Julius Cassar";
+  gives up struggle without bitterness;
+  denounces assassination of Lincoln;
+  scrupulous integrity illustrated;
+  moves southward with his troops.
+
+Jomini,
+  importance of his books to theoretical training of an officer.
+
+Jones, David R., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  at South Mountain;
+  at Antietam.
+
+Jones, John R., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  at Antietam.
+
+Jones, Samuel, major general Confederate States Army,
+  commanding in E. Tennessee;
+  forces of;
+  retreats and burns bridges;
+  resumes the aggressive;
+  driven out of E. Tennessee
+
+Judah, Henry M., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  commanding division in 23d army corps;
+  on Morgan raid;
+  at Dalton;
+  at Rocky Face;
+  near Resaca;
+  on march to Cassville;
+  hindered by Hooker;
+  relieved.
+
+Kanawha Division,
+  training of;
+  marching powers;
+  hardiness and self-reliance;
+  composition of;
+  marches 90 miles over rough mountain roads in 3-1/2 days;
+  transferred to Washington;
+  train of, supplies 9th army corps with rations;
+  two regiments report to Pope at Warrenton;
+  two resist Jackson at Bull Run bridge;
+  rest occupy defences about Washington;
+  united again;
+  temporarily attached to 9th Corps;
+  takes advance from Washington to South Mountain;
+  reviewed and praised by General Reno;
+  wrongly accused of straggling and pillaging;
+  at the Monocacy;
+  captures Fox's Gap and turns confederate position at South
+Mountain;
+  opposed to more than double its number;
+  fine conduct of;
+  losses at South Mountain;
+  captures 600 prisoners;
+  on march to Antietam;
+  divided just before battle of Antietam;
+  at Antietam;
+  ordered to Clarksburg, West Virginia;
+  leaves Army of the Potomac.
+
+Kanawha River,
+  course and character of;
+  advance of General Cox up;
+  impracticability of invading E. Virginia by this line;
+  unpublished letters and dispatches relating to campaign in;
+  abandoned by Lightburn;
+  annexed to Department of the Ohio;
+  recovered and occupied by General Cox.
+
+Kautz, August V., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  pursues Morgan raiders.
+
+Kearney, Philip, brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  killed at Chantilly.
+
+Keith, F. M., major 117th Ohio,
+  defends Hamilton, Ohio, against Morgan raiders.
+
+Kelley, B. F.,
+  colonel 1st West Virginia;
+  takes Philippi, West Virginia;
+  character and services of;
+  under McClellan;
+  commands upper Potomac;
+  guards B. & Official Records R.
+
+Kelley, Wm., jailer at Charleston, West Virginia,
+  denounced.
+
+Kennedy, Robt. P.,
+  lieutenant and assistant adjutant-general on Scammon's staff.
+
+Kentucky Troops,
+  1st Infantry;
+  2nd Infantry;
+    threatened mutiny;
+    mentioned;
+  14th Infantry;
+  16th Infantry;
+  20th Infantry;
+  24th Infantry;
+  5th Cavalry;
+  9th Cavalry;
+  11th Cavalry;
+  Simmonds' battery in West Virginia;
+  attached to Kanawha division;
+  at South Mountain;
+  at Antietam.
+
+Ketchum, Edgar, lieutenant signal corps U. S. A.,
+  at Cape Fear River
+
+Key, Thos. M.,
+  Democratic leader in Ohio Senate;
+  thought people gone stark mad;
+  supports war measures;
+  aide-de-camp on McClellan's staff;
+  satisfied slavery ought to be abolished;
+  influence over McClellan.
+
+Kilpatrick, Judson, brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  commanding cavalry at Resaca;
+  covers Union left at Bentonville;
+  on march to Raleigh;
+  clatters through Raleigh;
+  thinks Johnston not to be trusted;
+  furnishes escort for Sherman on way to meet Johnston;
+  attached to Schofield's command.
+
+Kimball, Nathan, brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  commanding division in 4th army corps;
+  displaced by assignment of Couch to the corps.
+
+Kinglake's Crimean War,
+  published in 1863;
+  read with interest by General Cox;
+  inspires him with hope and confidence in Union army.
+
+Kingsbury, Henry W., colonel 11th Conn.,
+  at Antietam;
+  killed at Burnside bridge.
+
+Kinston, North Carolina,
+  situation of;
+  field works before;
+  battles of;
+  confederate ironclad in Neuse River destroyed;
+  map of vicinity;
+  occupied by Union forces;
+  base of supplies.
+
+Knights of the Golden Circle.
+
+Knoxville, E. Tennessee,
+  situation and fortifications;
+  invested by Longstreet.
+
+Kolb's (Culp's) Farm,
+  battle of.
+
+Kountz, W. J.,
+  captain in charge of water transportation on Kanawha.
+
+La Grange, Oscar H., colonel 1st Wisc. Cavalry,
+  at Sevierville, E. Tennessee;
+  captured by Wheeler at Dalton.
+
+Lane, P. P., captain in 11th Ohio,
+  bridges Elk River at Charleston, West Virginia;
+  manages ferries across Kanawha, improvises ferryboats, etc.;
+  later colonel of regiment.
+
+Laurel Mountain,
+  fortified and held by Garnett.
+
+Lawton, Alex. R., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  at Antietam;
+  wounded.
+
+Leavitt, Humphrey H., Judge U. S. District Court. Cincinnati,
+  hears Vallandigham _habeas corpus_ case and refuses writ;
+  good effects of his decision;
+  issues writs of _habeas corpus_ for release of minors enlisting
+without parents' consent.
+
+Lee, FitzHugh, brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  at South Mountain
+
+Lee, Robt. E.,
+  resigns commission in U. S. Army;
+  appointed major general and commander in chief of Virginia forces;
+  plans invasion of West Virginia;
+  arrives at Lewisburg, West Virginia, and takes command of army;
+  at Big Sewell Mountain;
+  retires to Meadow Bluff;
+  admits quieting effect of Cox's administration in Kanawha valley;
+  moves into Maryland;
+  accurate information as to Cox's transfer to Washington;
+  unites with Jackson;
+  concentrates near Frederick, Maryland;
+  copy of orders for Maryland campaign falls into McClellan's hands;
+  escapes disaster by McClellan's slowness;
+  withdraws to Sharpsburg;
+  plans with reference to McClellan's lack of aggressiveness;
+  force greatly inferior to McClellan's for two days before battle;
+  enabled to concentrate whole army except one division;
+  left wing almost destroyed at Antietam;
+  had no better success than western generals when opposed to Grant;
+  orders Loring to clear Kanawha valley;
+  learned that General Cox was ordered to return to Kanawha valley
+within three days after order was issued;
+  defeated at Gettysburg;
+  suggests Beauregard as successor to Bragg;
+  declines to assume command of Bragg's army;
+  deference and cordiality in dealings with confederate
+administration;
+  urges union of Johnston and Longstreet and aggressive campaign;
+  becomes as cautiously defensive as Johnston;
+  general in chief of Confederate States Army;
+  sees net closing around him;
+  too weak to extend lines at Petersburg;
+  unable to unite with Johnston;
+  surrender reported to Davis and Johnston.
+
+Lee, S. D., lieutenant general Confederate States Army,
+  in Department of the Mississippi;
+  at Jonesboro;
+  ordered to Atlanta;
+  commands Hood's old corps;
+  at Flint River;
+  at Columbia;
+  wounded at Nashville, turns command over to D. H. Hill.
+
+Lee, Samuel P., rear admiral U. S. N.,
+  in command of river fleets co-operating with Thomas;
+  transports A. J. Smith's corps to Eastport.
+
+Letcher, John, Governor of Virginia,
+  proclaims secession of State, transfers Virginia troops to
+Confederate States Army.
+
+Liberty of speech,
+  abused by Vallandigham and followers.
+
+Lightburn, Jos. A. J., colonel 4th West Virginia;
+  character of;
+  protects line of supplies, Kanawha division;
+  suppresses guerillas;
+  left in command of Kanawha district, when General Cox was
+transferred to Washington;
+  Lee learns forces of;
+  destroys stores and bridges, and retreats down valley;
+  retreat panicky and unnecessary;
+advances up valley under General Cox;
+relieved of command of division.
+
+Lincoln, Abraham, President of U. S.,
+  restores McClellan to command;
+  embarrassed by dissensions of officers;
+  grants all of McClellan's requests;
+  distrusted by his party;
+  Emancipation Proclamation;
+  visits battlefield of Antietam;
+  urges McClellan to follow up his success;
+  military sagacity;
+  exceeds authority in appointing major and brig, generals;
+  proclamation against treasonable practices;
+  commutes Vallandigham's sentence;
+  practically revokes his own proclamation and Burnside's order No.
+38;
+  ardent wish to relieve loyal E. Tenneseeans;
+  quaint description of Grant;
+  congratulates Burnside;
+  authorizes him to hold E. Tennessee;
+  anxious about B.'s safety;
+  approves B.'s conduct in E. Tennessee;
+  makes promotions on political grounds;
+  congratulates Sherman;
+  popular estimate of, better than politicians';
+  policy as to confederate States on submission announced to and
+followed by Sherman;
+authorizes Virginia legislature to assemble;
+  recalls permission;
+  policy opposed and criticised by Stanton;
+  funeral cortége photographed, in New York City Hall;
+  in Richmond, when Stanton orders prayers for the President of the
+U. S. to be read in churches.
+
+Logan, John A., major general United States Volunteers,
+  at Huntsville, Alabama;
+  commands 15th army corps;
+  sent to Illinois to stump State;
+  why not promoted to command Army of the Tennessee;
+  praised by Sherman for his handling of that army at battle of
+Atlanta.
+
+Long, Eli, colonel 4th Ohio Cavalry,
+  on relief expedition to Knoxville,
+
+Longstreet, James, major general Confederate States Army,
+  unites with Jackson against Pope;
+  at Boonsboro, Maryland;
+  at South Mountain;
+  withdraws to Sharpsburg;
+  at Antietam;
+  no more successful than western generals when transferred to the
+West;
+  sent to reinforce Bragg;
+  at Chickamauga;
+  moves on Knoxville;
+  invests city;
+  assaults Ft. Sanders;
+  repulsed;
+  raises siege and retires toward Virginia;
+  at Rutledge, E. Tennessee;
+  at Morristown;
+  lack of clothing and supplies;
+  attacks Union forces at Dandridge;
+  admits defeat at Sevierville;
+  plans of campaign;
+  forces, opposed to Schofield;
+  ordered to rejoin Lee's army;
+  later to join Johnston;
+  again to report to Lee.
+
+Loomis, Cyrus O., colonel 1st Mich, Artillery in West Virginia
+
+Loring, Wm. W.,
+  brigadier general Confederate States Army, in West Virginia;
+  reinforces Lee;
+  sent to Stanton;
+  commanding all West Virginia forces;
+  ordered to push things in West Virginia;
+  attacks Siber, and is repulsed;
+  drives Lightburn out of Kanawha valley;
+  retreats on arrival of General Cox;
+  relieved from command;
+  forces of.
+
+Love, John, brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  defends Vernon, Indiana, against Morgan raiders.
+
+Lowe, John W., colonel 12th Ohio,
+  at Scary Creek, West Virginia;
+  killed at Carnifex Ferry.
+
+Lowe, Wm. W., colonel 5th Indiana commanding 3rd Cavalry Division,
+  protects railway in rear of Sherman's advance.
+
+Lyons, Lord, British Ambassador,
+  reports plot to release confederate prisoners;
+
+Lytle, Wm. H., colonel 10th Ohio;
+  wounded at Carnifex Ferry.
+
+
+McArthur, John, brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  at battle of Nashville.
+
+McCallum, Dan'l C., superintendent of transportation,
+  inspects Nashville and Chattanooga railroad;
+  suggests needed improvements.
+
+McClellan, Geo. B.,
+  consulted by Governor Dennison;
+  personal appearance;
+  appointed major general Ohio Valley Infantry;
+  inspects Ohio State arsenal;
+  selects site for Camp Dennison;
+  takes General Cox's regiments to West Virginia;
+  appointed major general in regular army;
+  victory at Philippi credited to;
+  moves against Garnett;
+  Pegram surrenders to;
+  appointed commander Army of the Potomac;
+  rhetorical dispatches contrasted with personal demeanor;
+  characteristic faults shown in first campaign;
+  relieved from command of all other forces except Army of Potomac;
+  at Alexandria, Virginia;
+  greets General Cox cordially, explains importance of his duties;
+  discusses Peninsular campaign;
+  dress and popular bearing;
+  in command again;
+  cheered by Pope's army;
+  habitual overestimate of Lee's army;
+  victim or accomplice of secret service;
+  false estimates fatal to success;
+  predicted Pope's defeat;
+  responsible for delay in Franklin's movement;
+  Porter and Franklin reassigned to their commands and McDowell
+    relieved at his request;
+  plenary powers;
+  slow advance in pursuit of Lee;
+  secures copy of Lee's orders;
+  loses his advantage by delay;
+  at South Mountain;
+  breaks up organization of his army on eve of battle;
+  examines battlefield under fire;
+  does not appreciate importance of time;
+  personally selects positions for different divisions;
+  plan of battle at Antietam;
+  dilatory habits and orders responsible for failure to crush Lee;
+  no co-ordination of corps movements;
+  orders Burnside to attack;
+  unjust criticism of 9th Corps advance;
+  fails to support 9th Corps when attacked by fresh troops from
+    Harper's Ferry;
+  talks with General Cox;
+  politics;
+  consults his officers about emancipation proclamation;
+  issues General Order No. 163;
+  tempted to assume dictatorship;
+  chafes at Lincoln's suggestion to follow up victory;
+  defeats Lincoln's plans without openly antagonizing;
+  compared to Marshal Daun;
+  weakened morale of army;
+  removed from command;
+  "Own Story" exposes his weakness;
+  confidential relations with Burnside;
+  favoritism toward Porter;
+  jealous of Burnside;
+  unjust reprimand of B. in unsigned dispatch;
+  effect of reprimand on their relations;
+  not assigned to duty again;
+  superior to any other commander of Army of Potomac until Grant
+came.
+
+McCook, Alex. McD.,
+  inspector and mustering officer at Camp Jackson;
+  colonel 1st Ohio Inf;
+  opinion on expediency of Rosecrans' advance.
+
+McCook, Daniel, major and paymaster U. S. A.,
+  mortally wounded in fight with Morgan raiders.
+
+McCook, Edw. M., brigadier general U. S. Cavalry,
+  at Sevierville, E. Tennessee;
+  rejoins Thomas;
+  covers left flank at Varnell's;
+  defeated by Wheeler;
+  useful scouting in Atlanta campaign.
+
+McCook, Robt., colonel 9th Ohio;
+  at Carnifex Ferry;
+  Cross Lanes;
+  character of;
+  brigade attached to Cox's command;
+  "Battle of Bonticou";
+  at Gauley Bridge;
+  advance on Fayette courthouse
+
+McCoy, James C., major and aide-de-camp on Sherman's staff,
+  opens communication with Johnston.
+
+McDowell, Irvin, major general United States Volunteers,
+  maps country about Washington;
+  disliked by McClellan;
+  under McC.'s orders at Washington;
+  absence from his command before second battle of Bull Run,
+    disarranges Pope's plans;
+  relieved at McClellan's request;
+  requests Court of Inquiry;
+  unscrupulously maligned;
+  ordered before a courtmartial.
+
+McElroy, Jas. N.,
+  captain and assistant adjutant-general on General Cox's staff;
+  appointed major 20th Ohio;
+  lieutenant colonel, returns to duty on General Cox's staff as
+inspector general.
+
+McLaws, Lafayette,
+  major general Confederate States Army;
+  at Antietam;
+  in E. Tennessee;
+  commands troops on evacuation of Charleston.
+
+McLean, N. H.,
+  major and assistant adjutant-general at Cincinnati;
+  accused of disloyalty and sent to Pacific coast;
+  Burnside's protest.
+
+McMullin, Jas. R., captain 1st Ohio Battalion;
+  attached to Kanawha division;
+  at South Mountain
+
+McPherson, Jas. B.,
+  appointed major general United States Volunteers;
+  assigned to command Army of the Tennessee;
+  Sherman's right before Dalton;
+  goes through Snake Creek Gap, without opposition;
+  fails to take Resaca, or break railroad;
+  captures position commanding railroad bridge at Resaca, and
+compels its evacuation;
+  march to Kingston;
+  crosses the Etowah;
+  moves on Dallas;
+  repels fierce assault;
+  swings over to Ackworth;
+  seeks to interpose between Marietta and the Chattahoochee;
+  moves to Roswell and crosses Chattahoochee;
+  attacked on front and left flank at Atlanta;
+  death of, a great loss to army and personal loss to Sherman;
+  affability and high character.
+
+McQuiston, John C., colonel 50th Ohio,
+  commanding brig, in Ruger's div, 23d army corps at Kinston;
+  captures 300 prisoners.
+
+McRae, D. K., colonel 5th North Carolina,
+  at South Mountain;
+  at Antietam.
+
+Mackall, W. W., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  chief of staff to Bragg and Johnston;
+  removed from that position by Hood.
+
+Magilton, Albert L., colonel 4th Pennsylvania res.
+  commanding brigade at Antietam.
+
+Magrath, A. G., Governor of South Carolina,
+  says fate of confederate involved in Sherman's march from
+Savannah;
+  mentioned.
+
+Mahone, Wm., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  at South Mountain
+
+Mallory, S. R., Secretary of Navy in Davis' cabinet,
+  writes letter sent by Johnston to Sherman inviting conference;
+  at last cabinet meeting;
+  reaches his home after capitulation.
+
+Malloy, A. G., colonel 17th Wisc,
+  commanding brigade in Carter's division at Kinston.
+
+Mansfield, Jos. K. F., major general United States Volunteers,
+  assigned to command Banks' (12th) corps;
+  at Antietam;
+  mortally wounded;
+  movements and losses of his corps.
+
+Manson, Mahlon D., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  pursues Morgan raiders;
+  commands 2nd division 23d army corps;
+  relieved by White;
+  in temporary command of corps;
+  turns command over to General Cox;
+  at Resaca;
+  severely injured.
+
+Marcy, Randolph B.,
+  father-in-law of General McClellan and chief of staff;
+  responsibility for Burnside's reprimand.
+
+Marietta, Georgia,
+  military operations near;
+  map of vicinity.
+
+Marshall, Humphrey,
+  brigadier general Confederate States Army
+
+Martial Law,
+  when proper, outside field of military operations;
+  declared in S. Ohio counties during Morgan raid.
+
+Martin, Wm. T., major general Confederate States Army,
+  in E. Tennessee;
+  defeated at Sevierville;
+  ordered to join Johnston with cavalry;
+  at Calhoun and Resaca.
+
+Mason, John S., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  commanding camps at Columbus;
+  ordered to suppress draft riots;
+  precautions against plots to release confederate prisoners.
+
+Massachusetts Troops,
+  21st;
+  27th;
+  8th Artillery,
+
+Matthews, Stanley,
+  lieutenant colonel 23d Ohio,
+
+Maury, Dabney H., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  in E. Tennessee;
+  at Mobile.
+
+Maynard, Horace,
+  M. C. from E. Tennessee;
+  asks to have E. Tennessee regiments returned to their homes;
+  influential  representative,
+
+Meade, George G., brigadier general,
+  at Antietam;
+  succeeds to command of 1st Corps;
+  appointed major general;
+  inactivity after Gettysburg and consequences;
+  excessive caution.
+
+Meagher, Thos. F., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  commanding provisional division of Sherman's convalescents and new
+recruits;
+  leaves his command without authority;
+  relieved;
+  spicy correspondence concerning;
+  command turned over to General Carter.
+
+Measles,
+  a dangerous camp disease,
+
+Meigs, Montgomery C., quartermaster general,
+  nearly correct estimate of Lee's forces;
+  at Chattanooga;
+  never saw such roads;
+  reports strength of position and confidence of army;
+  approves seizure of railroads by Sherman.
+
+Merrill, W. E.,
+  colonel and eng., in charge of railroad defences;
+  on construction and use of blockhouses.
+
+Michigan Troops,
+  18th;
+  25th;
+  1st Artillery
+
+Military Executions,
+
+Militia,
+  contained more well-drilled regiments than regular army at
+outbreak of war.
+
+Militia, Ohio,
+  lack of uniforms and equipment;
+  elect their own officers;
+  should have been officered by young regular army officers;
+  re-enlistment of;
+  high character of;
+  called out during Morgan raid;
+  and to resist attempt to release confederate prisoners.
+
+Miller, D. R.,
+  house and barn at Antietam,
+
+Milligan, Lambdin P.,
+  condemned to death for treasonable practices by military
+commission;
+  discharged by U. S. Supreme Court.
+
+Milroy, Robt. H.,
+  brigadier general in West Virginia;
+  defeated by Stonewall Jackson;
+  ordered to Kanawha valley;
+  character of;
+  promotion urged by Governor Morton;
+  lack of transportation;
+  at Beverly;
+  controversy with Col. Cluseret;
+  lacked judgment.
+
+Minors,
+  enlisting without parents' consent, how released,
+
+Missionary Ridge,
+  depressing effect of loss on confederacy;
+  natural strength of;
+  no commander would have ordered front attack.
+
+Monocacy River,
+  skirmish at.
+
+"Montauk," monitor,
+  excellent practice in bombardment of Ft. Anderson, North Carolina,
+
+Moor, August, colonel 28th Ohio,
+  in West Virginia;
+  at Raleigh courthouse;
+  at Princeton;
+  at Wolf Creek;
+  French's;
+  commanding 2nd brigade Kanawha division;
+  at the Monocacy, captured;
+  paroled;
+  valuable hint.
+
+Moore, Orlando H., colonel 25th Michigan,
+  repulses Morgan's attack on Green River bridge;
+  commanding brigade in 23d army corps;
+  at Columbia;
+  in movement up right bank, Cape Fear River
+
+Morehead, John M., ex-Governor of North Carolina,
+  entertains Schofield and Cox at Greensborough;
+  war experiences of family.
+
+Morell, Geo. W., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  at Antietam,
+
+Morgan, Edwin D., major general United States Volunteers,
+  resigns.
+
+Morgan, Geo. W., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  Cumberland Gap expedition;
+  bad condition of command;
+  E. Tennessee and Kentucky troops discontented;
+  in Kanawha valley;
+  ordered to Cincinnati.
+
+Morgan, John H., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  raid into Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio;
+  captured and imprisoned in Ohio penitentiary;
+  escapes;
+  futility of raid from military standpoint;
+  wholly unauthorized.
+
+Morris, Thos. A.,
+  brigadier general commanding Indiana brigade;
+  takes Philippi, West Virginia;
+  pursues Garnett;
+  captures cannon and wagons.
+
+Morton, Oliver P., war Governor of Indiana,
+  favors Milroy's promotion;
+  urges appointment of Rosecrans to succeed Buell;
+  dominant influence in Indiana appointments and promotions;
+  asks for detail of army officers to stump State.
+
+Mott, Samuel R., colonel 118th Ohio,
+  in E. Tennessee;
+  at Mossy Creek
+
+Mountain Department,
+  constituted, and Frémont placed in command;
+  abolished when Frémont relieved.
+
+Mountain Howitzers,
+  use of.
+
+Mower, Jos. A., brigadier general U. S. A.,
+  recommended by Sherman to succeed Sooy Smith in cavalry command;
+  promoted major general on mistaken report that he had defeated and
+killed Forrest.
+
+Mumma House,
+  at Antietam.
+
+Myers, Jas. H., captain 23d Indiana Bat.,
+  at Cheney's.
+
+Nagle, James, brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  at South Mountain;
+  at Antietam.
+
+Nashville,
+  situation and lines of communication;
+  fortified and garrisoned;
+  conditions before battle of;
+  map of part of battlefield;
+  Schofield and Wilson's attack at.
+
+Neff, Geo. W., lieutenant colonel 2nd Kentucky,
+  captures Guyandotte, West Virginia;
+  taken prisoner at Scary Creek;
+  defends Camp Dennison against Morgan raiders.
+
+New Berne, North Carolina,
+  base of supply for Sherman's army.
+
+New Hope Church,
+  fighting at;
+  formidable character of works.
+New Jersey,
+  Taylor's brigade, disorderly retreat from Bull Run bridge;
+  honorable exceptions;
+  13th Infantry at Antietam.
+
+Newspaper Correspondents,
+  difficulties of officers in field with;
+  "write down" some;
+  and make fictitious reputations for others.
+
+Newton, John, major general United States Volunteers,
+  assigned to command Sheridan's division, 4th army corps;
+  at Rocky Face, Georgia
+
+New York Seventh Regiment,
+  equal in drill to West Point cadets;
+  furnished 300 officers for other volunteer regiments.
+
+New York Troops,
+  51st;
+  6th Cavalry, attached to Kanawha division temporarily;
+  12th Cavalry, at Kinston;
+  4th Heavy Artillery, reports to General Cox.
+
+Night retreats,
+  not to be commended, panicky conditions.
+
+Noble County, Ohio,
+  resists the draft.
+
+Non-Combatants,
+  usual treatment of;
+  losses and perils of, in field of operations;
+  straits of.
+
+Officers,
+  qualifications of good;
+  business training helpful to;
+  Union, usually serving in grades above their rank;
+  unfit, retained upon roster, deprived capable, of their just
+reward;
+  best qualities not learned at school;
+  good subordinates not always fit for high command.
+
+Official Returns,
+  preferable to general estimates of commanding generals;
+  of confederate forces in North Carolina confessedly defective.
+
+Ohio Democrats,
+  at first opposed to putting down secession;
+  revulsion of feeling after bombardment of Sumter;
+  nominate Vallandigham for Governor.
+
+Ohio Senate,
+  when bombardment of Sumter announced;
+  members drill on State House terrace.
+
+Ohio State Election, fall of '63,
+  excitement attending;
+  soldiers vote in;
+  overwhelming defeat of Vallandigham;
+  good effect of, felt throughout North.
+
+Ohio Troops,
+  in general;
+  1st;
+  3rd;
+  4th;
+  5th;
+  7th;
+  8th;
+  9th;
+  10th;
+  11th;
+  12th;
+  13th;
+  14th and 15th;
+  16th;
+  17th;
+  18th;
+  19th;
+  20th;
+  21st;
+  22nd;
+  23d;
+  26th;
+  28th;
+  30th;
+  34th;
+  37th;
+  40th;
+  42nd;
+  44th and 47th;
+  50th;
+  52nd;
+  61st;
+  89th, 91st, and 92nd;
+  93rd;
+  100th;
+  103rd;
+  104th;
+  115th;
+  118th;
+  125th;
+  Cavalry, see BURDSALL, LONG, and PFAU;
+  Artillery, see BARNETT, COCKERILL, and McMULLIN.
+
+Osterhaus, Peter J., brig, general,
+  promoted major general on political grounds;
+  returns to 15th army corps, and serves throughout war.
+
+Paine, Chas. J., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  commanding div of colored troops at Federal Ft., N C..
+
+Palmer, Innes N., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  at Beaufort, North Carolina;
+  Batchelder's Creek;
+  Gum Swamp;
+  in front of British Road;
+  ordered to support Carter;
+  and demonstrate toward Southwest Creek;
+  exaggerated impression of enemy's strength;
+  at second battle of Kinston;
+  division incorporated with Carter's under command of latter;
+  commands District of Beaufort.
+
+Palmer, John M.,
+  major general United States Volunteers;
+  at Tunnel Hill;
+  in Snake Creek Gap;
+  at Resaca;
+  crosses river at Resaca, following Howard;
+  deprived of Davis' division;
+  complains;
+  corps reunited;
+  at Peachtree Creek
+
+Parke, John G.,
+  Burnside's chief of staff;
+  character and services;
+  appointed major general;
+  assigned to command 9th army corps;
+  sent to Vicksburg with corps;
+  returns and goes on sick leave;
+  leads 9th army corps to Cumberland Gap;
+  chief of staff in E. Tennessee;
+  in command 9th army corps;
+  meeting with Grant;
+  at Dandridge;
+  resists Longstreet's advance toward Knoxville;
+  health impaired;
+  resumes staff position.
+
+Paroles,
+  for Johnston's army prepared by Schofield;
+  General Hartsuff takes charge of their issue;
+  difficulty of ascertaining number required;
+  number actually paroled;
+  speedy accomplishment of.
+
+Parsons, L. B., colonel quartermaster's department,
+  supervises transfer of 23d army corps from Clifton, Tennessee, to
+Washington.
+
+Partisan Rangers,
+  organized under confederate auspices, little better than
+guerillas,
+  methods of, condemned by Stuart;
+      Lee;
+      and Rosser
+
+Patrick, Marsena B., brig, general,
+  reports to General Cox in lines about Washington;
+  appointed provost marshal with extended powers to prevent
+straggling
+  at Antietam
+
+Peachtree Creek, battle of;
+  planned by Johnston, fought by Hood
+
+Pearisburg, Virginia, operations near
+
+Pegram, John, lieutenant colonel,
+  held position at Rich Mountain;
+  attacked in rear by Rosecrans;
+  surrenders to McClellan.
+
+Peirpoint, F. H., Governor of West Virginia;
+  holds rebel sympathizers as hostages for safety of Union men;
+  courts established by, ignored;
+  calls for help in West Virginia
+
+Pemberton, John C., lieutenant general Confederate States Army,
+  surrenders Vicksburg.
+
+Peninsular Campaign,
+  discussed by McClellan.
+
+Pennsylvania Troops,
+  10th res. infantry;
+  51st;
+  8th Cavalry;
+  Bat. D.
+
+Perry, Hon. Aaron F.,
+  attorny for Burnside in Vallandigham _habeas corpus_ case.
+
+Pfan, Philip, captain 3rd Ohio ind. cavalry,
+  at Princeton, West Virginia
+
+Phelps, Walter, Jr., colonel 22nd New York,
+  at Antietam.
+
+Philippi, West Virginia,
+  captured by Morris.
+
+Pickett's Mill, Georgia,
+  operations at.
+
+Pine Mountain, E. Tennessee,
+  difficulties of ascent.
+
+Piper's house,
+  at Antietam.
+
+Pleasanton, Alfred, brigadier general
+  commanding cavalry division Army of Potomac;
+  at South Mountain;
+  classmate of McClellan.
+
+Poe, Orlando M., lieutenant of topographical engineers on coast
+survey.
+  assists Governor Dennison in organizing regiments;
+  engineer on Burnside's staff, E. Tennessee;
+  removes heavy pontoon bridge from Loudon to Knoxville;
+  fortifies Knoxville;
+  describes privations during siege;
+  praises Cox's movement retiring left wing at Dalton;
+  fortifies Allatoona;
+  examines Cox's position south of Olley's Creek
+
+Poffenberger, J.,
+  house and barn at Antietam.
+
+Political Appointments,
+  mostly lawyers;
+  political leaders naturally foremost in enlisting men;
+  President selected from these officers for 3 months service;
+  not bad, if method adopted to get rid of known incompetents;
+  evils in actual practice;
+  condemned by Governor Tod;
+
+Polk, Leonidas, lieutenant general C. S, A.,
+  opposes Sherman in Mississippi;
+  urges Johnston's appointment as successor to Bragg;
+  commands Army of the Mississippi;
+  reinforced;
+  urges reconciliation of Johnston with Davis;
+  ordered to reinforce Johnston;
+  concentrates at Rome;
+  at Resaca;
+  position between Dallas and New Hope Church;
+  killed at Pine Mountain;
+  underestimate of his own forces.
+
+Pontoons, canvas,
+  unequalled for field use, but unfit for permanent bridges.
+
+Pope, John, captain,
+  consulted by Governor Dennison;
+  commands Army of Virginia;
+  orders ridiculed;
+  drafted under direction of Stanton;
+  admits bad taste of;
+  hostility of Army of the Potomac;
+  General Cox ordered to join, with Kanawha division;
+  disliked by McClellan;
+  retires within defences of Washington after second Battle of Bull
+Run;
+  army affronts him by cheering McClellan;
+  character and mistakes of;
+  unfair treatment of;
+  general conduct of campaign skilful;
+  plans disarranged by McDowell's absence from his command and
+Porter's inactivity;
+  slow movement of Peninsular Army to his relief;
+  prefers charges against Porter and Franklin;
+  permanently retired from active service;
+  orders on assuming command disapproved by Lincoln and McClellan;
+  sarcastically criticised by Fitz-John Porter;
+
+Porter, David D., rear admiral with fleet off Cape Fear;
+  visited by Schofield and Cox;
+  transports Sherman from City Point to New Berne.
+
+Porter, Fitz-John, major general United States Volunteers,
+  inaction before second battle of Bull Run;
+  relieved from duty and corps assigned to Hooker;
+  reinstated at McClellan's request;
+  on march, South Mountain to Antietam;
+  classmate and intimate friend of McClellan;
+  in reserve at Antietam;
+  with John W. Garret at McClellan's headquarters;
+  letters to Burnside forwarded to Washington;
+  sarcastic comments in, most damaging evidence against Porter;
+  becomes unfriendly to Burnside;
+  notoriously favored by McClellan;
+  extraordinary effort to make a record against Burnside;
+  erroneous report in regard to withdrawal of Burnside's corps at
+Antietam;
+  ordered before a court-martial;
+  cashiered.
+
+Porterfield, G. A.,
+  colonel commanding confederate forces at Philippi, West Virginia
+
+Potter, Robt. B., colonel 51st N.Y.,
+  at Antietam;
+  president military commission to try Vallandigham;
+  commanding division in 9th army corps, returns from Vicksburg ill
+and unfit for service;
+  commands 9th army corps temporarily.
+
+"Present for Duty,"
+  only fair basis of comparison between Union and Confederate
+armies;
+  See EFFECTIVE TOTAL.
+
+Presstman, Stephen W., major and church engineer on Johnston's
+staff,
+  marks out defences at Resaca.
+
+Prices in Confederacy in 1864.
+
+Princeton, West Virginia,
+  battle of.
+
+Privations of officers,
+  when marching without baggage.
+
+Probate Court, Hamilton Co., Ohio,
+  tries to arrest U. S. officers for contempt of court.
+
+Promotions,
+  affected by politics;
+  should be based on merit alone;
+  evil tendency of opposite policy;
+  those recommended by Sherman for promotion on account of
+distinguished services in Atlanta campaign could not be advanced
+because vacancies had already been filled by appointments made on
+political grounds.
+
+Pugh, Geo. E.,
+  counsel for Vallandigham;
+  visits V. in Canada.
+
+Raglan, L'd,
+  dependence on what Wellington would have done.
+
+Railroads,
+  in Kentucky and Tennessee seized and administered by Sherman in
+interests of his army;
+  system of defences for.
+
+Raleigh, North Carolina,
+  occupied by Union troops;
+  abject terror of inhabitants;
+  guarded by General Cox;
+  measures taken to prevent outbreak on news of Lincoln's
+assassination.
+
+Raleigh courthouse, West Virginia
+
+Ransom, Robt., major general Confederate States Army,
+  in E. Tennessee;
+  transferred to cavalry command.
+
+Rawlins, John A., brigadier general United States Volunteers, chief
+of staff for General Grant,
+  sent to St. Louis to hurry reinforcements to Thomas.
+
+Raymond, H. J.,
+  correspondence with Stanton about photograph of Lincoln cortège in
+City Hall, New York.
+
+Reagan, John H., p. m. general in Davis' cabinet,
+  excluded from conference between Sherman and Johnston;
+  draft of agreement presented by Johnston and rejected by Sherman;
+  at last cabinet meeting;
+  captured with Davis.
+
+Rear-guard,
+  place of honor on retreat.
+
+Regimental Histories,
+  value to the historian limited to actual experience of regiment,
+camp gossip about other commands and generals usually worthless.
+
+Regular Army officers,
+  should have officered volunteer regiments at the start;
+  professionals usually more likely to succeed than amateurs;
+  lacked, however, experience in high command or large operations;
+  few above rank of captain fit for field service;
+  theoretical knowledge comparatively small;
+  contempt for books;
+  study of strategy and grand tactics, begun after war broke out;
+  familiar with post and garrison duty and army regulations;
+  slavish adherence to French precedents;
+  marked conservatism prevented adoption of new and improved
+weapons;
+  indifference and lack of patriotism;
+  unwillingness to go beyond orders;
+  spontaneity drilled out of;
+  superiority to volunteer officers limited to knowledge of company
+and battalion drill, army regulations and administration;
+  keeping up separate organization with its grades, belittled actual
+command in military operations, and resulted in grading regular
+officers who had done little or nothing, above volunteers who had
+worthily commanded divisions and corps.
+
+Reilly, Jas. W., colonel 104th Ohio,
+  commanding brigade in 23d army corps, at siege of Knoxville;
+  at Resaca;
+  at Cheney's;
+  forces crossing of Olley's Creek at Cheney's;
+  intrenches three miles from continuous line of Union
+intrenchments;
+  in temporary command 3rd division 23d army corps;
+  promoted on recommendation of General Cox;
+  at Spring Hill, Tennessee;
+  gets leave of absence, after Franklin;
+  rejoins corps in North Carolina;
+  commands Cox's division when latter assumes command of corps;
+  resigns on account of ill health.
+
+Reno, Jesse L., major general United States Volunteers,
+  commands 9th army corps;
+  praises marching of Kanawha division;
+  observes affair at the Monocacy;
+  approves Cox's advance on Fox's Gap;
+  comes to Cox's position just before sunset;
+  killed a few minutes afterward;
+  succeeded by General Cox in command of corps;
+  classmate of McClellan.
+
+Resaca,
+  fortified and occupied by Johnston;
+  map of;
+  natural strength of position;
+  battles around;
+  evacuated by Johnston.
+
+Reynolds, D. H., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  at Resaca.
+
+Reynolds, Jos. J.,
+  in command of Cheat Mountain district;
+  repulses attack by Loring;
+  at Romney;
+  opinion as to expediency of Rosecrans' advance.
+
+Rhind, Alex. C., commander U. S. N.,
+  at Kinston.
+
+Rice, Henry M., senator from Minnesota,
+  questions power of President to appointment additional major and
+brig, generals.
+
+Rich Mountain, West Virginia,
+  fortified by Garnett;
+  held by Pegram;
+  battle of.
+
+Richardson, Israel B., major general United States Volunteers,
+  supports cavalry advance toward Antietam;
+  at Antietam;
+  mortally wounded.
+
+Richmond, Lewis,
+  lieutenant colonel and assistant adjutant-general on Burnside's
+staff, leaves E. Tennessee.
+
+Ricketts, Jas. B., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  at Antietam.
+
+Ricks, Augustus J., lieutenant on staff of General Cox, since Judge
+of U. S. District Court N. District of Ohio,
+  vivid account of celebration of Lee's surrender in Sherman's army.
+
+Rifled Guns,
+  superiority over smooth-bores.
+
+"Rigors of Climate,"
+  laughable excuse for going South in August.
+
+Ripley, Roswell S., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  at Antietam.
+
+Rockcastle River, Kentucky,
+  picturesque character of.
+
+Rocky Face, Georgia,
+  description of;
+  natural defence of Dalton;
+  northern extremity carried by Newton;
+  sharp and rugged character of ridge.
+
+Rodman, Isaac P., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  in Maryland campaign;
+  at South Mountain;
+  first position at Antietam;
+  ordered to cross at ford below Burnside's bridge;
+  killed at Antietam;
+  on left at Antietam.
+
+Rosecrans, Wm. S.,
+  captain and engineer on McClellan's staff;
+  appointed brigadier general in regular army;
+  at Rich Mountain, West Virginia;
+  succeeds McClellan in Department of West Virginia;
+  comes to Gauley and assumes chief command;
+  defeats Floyd at Carnifex Ferry;
+  characteristics of;
+  at Big Sewell Mountain;
+  on the retreat;
+  in camp near Gauley;
+  mode of dealing with privates;
+  strong excitement when Floyd seized Cotton Mountain;
+  plan for capturing Floyd's army;
+  foiled by Benham's inactivity;
+  plans expedition into E. Tennessee;
+  physical obstacles;
+  winter quarters at Wheeling;
+  sends reinforcements to Buell;
+  attitude in regard to escaped slaves;
+  new plan for advance into E. Tennessee;
+  turns over command to Fremont;
+  sent to conduct Blenker's division to Fremont;
+  regards Porter as McClellan's confidential adviser;
+  appointed major general;
+  directed to move on Chattanooga;
+  inability to agree with Burnside;
+  unwillingness and inaction;
+  secures opinions of division commanders;
+  Garfield's summing up;
+  dissatisfaction of administration;
+  forces of, opposed to Bragg;
+  inactivity enables Bragg to send reinforcements to Johnston;
+  on promotion as a reward for merit;
+  again urged by Stanton and Halleck to advance;
+  querulous disposition;
+  drives Bragg out of Tennessee;
+  plans, after reaching Chattanooga;
+  demoralized by defeat at Chickamauga;
+  relations with Burnside;
+  relieved from command;
+  sends Garfield to Washington with his report;
+  conduct at Chickamauga;
+  described by Dana;
+  House resolution of thanks fails in Senate;
+  resents Garfield's letter to Chase;
+  plans for supplying army at Chattanooga;
+  sent to Missouri;
+  sends A. J. Smith with two divisions to Thomas.
+
+Ross, L. S., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  at Olley's Creek;
+  driven off by Reilly and Cameron.
+
+Rosser, Thos. L.,
+  colonel 5th Virginia Confederate States Army;
+  condemns "Partisan Rangers" in Virginia
+
+Rousseau, Lovell H.,
+  appointed major general;
+  repulses Forrest at Pulaski;
+  at Murfreesborough.
+
+Rucker, E. W., colonel Confederate States Army,
+  commanding brigade in Chalmers' cavalry division at battle of
+Nashville;
+  wounded and captured.
+
+Rue, Geo. W., major 9th Kentucky Cavalry,
+  in Morgan raid.
+
+Ruffin, Thos. Jr.,
+  colonel 13th North Carolina
+
+Ruffner, Lewis,
+  prominent Union man in West Virginia
+
+Ruger, Thos. H., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  transferred from 20th army corps to 2nd division 23d army corps;
+  joins at Johnsonville, Tennessee;
+  at Columbia;
+  Franklin;
+  assigned to command new division 23d army corps;
+  on march from Columbia to Clifton;
+  brevet major general;
+  reports to General Cox at Beaufort, North Carolina with new
+division;
+  at Gum Swamp;
+  at battle of Kinston;
+  repulses Hoke's attack;
+  mentioned.
+
+Rullett and Clipp houses,
+  at Antietam.
+
+Sale, John B., military secretary of General Bragg,
+  takes special message to Johnston.
+
+Salisbury, North Carolina,
+  confederate treatment of prisoners at;
+  prison pen described.
+
+Sanders, Wm. P., colonel 5th Kentucky cavalry,
+  raid into E. Tennessee;
+  pursuit of Morgan raiders;
+  defeated at Richmond;
+  turns tables on Scott at Lancaster;
+  made brigadier general;
+  resists Wheeler in E. Tennessee;
+  splendid conduct before Knoxville;
+  mortally wounded.
+
+Sanitary Commission reaches E. Tennessee with needed supplies.
+
+Saunders, E. D.,
+  assistant adjutant-general on Gen Cox's staff;
+  killed while riding at his side;
+  loss severely felt.
+
+Savage, Jas. W., colonel 12th New York Cavalry,
+  at Kinston.
+
+Scammon, E. P., colonel 23d Ohio,
+  at Canfex Ferry;
+  history and characteristics;
+  succeeds to command of Schenck's brigade;
+  at Fayette courthouse;
+  at Flat Top Mountain;
+  at Princeton;
+  at French's;
+  commands 1st brigade Kanawha division;
+  at Bull Run bridge;
+  at the Monocacy;
+  supports Pleasanton;
+  attached to Rodman's division;
+  at Antietam;
+  promoted;
+  commands division in Kanawha valley;
+  at Fayette courthouse;
+  heads off Morgan at Pomeroy, Ohio
+
+Scary Creek, West Virginia,
+  skirmish at.
+
+Schenck, Robt. C., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  in West Virginia;
+  movements near Gauley;
+  efforts to intercept Floyd;
+  leaves West Virginia on account of ill health;
+  under Fremont in Mountain Department;
+  appointed major general;
+  political acquaintance and influence secures confirmation;
+  commands District of Maryland with West Virginia annexed;
+  attitude toward Lincoln.
+
+Schleich, Newton,
+  brigadier general Ohio Valley Infantry.
+
+Schofield, John M.,
+  appointed major general in 1862, not confirmed;
+  reappointed as of first date;
+  opposition to confirmation;
+  appointed to command Army of the Ohio;
+  arrives at Knoxville;
+  instructed to drive Longstreet out of E. Tennessee;
+  impossibility of making campaign explained;
+  remains on defensive;
+  reports to Sherman;
+  instructed to join him;
+  even temper;
+  permanently assigned to command 23d army corps;
+  unites with Sherman's army;
+  left wing of army before Dalton;
+  manoeuvres at Dalton;
+  dissatisfied with Hovey;
+  asks to have him removed;
+  praises Cox's movement, retiring left wing;
+  orders advance at Resaca;
+  advances on extreme left from Resaca to Cassville;
+  hindered by Hooker's getting on his line of march;
+  concentrates at Cartersville;
+  appoints Hascall commander 2nd division in place of Judah;
+  again hindered by Hooker;
+  movements south of the Etowah;
+  disabled by fall of horse;
+  turns command over to General Cox;
+  resumes command;
+  question of rank with Butterfield;
+  outflanks confederate army and compels abandonment of New Hope
+lines;
+  at Kolb's farm;
+  demonstrates on extreme right;
+  says importance of position gained by General Cox, south of
+Olley's Creek, cannot be overestimated;
+  at Smyrna;
+  across the Chattahoochee;
+  builds wooden bridge;
+  wide circuit east of Atlanta;
+  attacked by Cheatham at Atlanta;
+  at Rough and Ready;
+  at Decatur, Georgia;
+  turns command of corps over to General Cox during October;
+  classmate and roommate of McPherson;
+  commands all troops in Chattanooga and vicinity;
+  objects to being relegated to Department command;
+  resumes command of Army of the Ohio;
+  wants corps filled up to its quota;
+  reports to Thomas;
+  commands all forces assembling at Pulaski;
+  at Columbia;
+  limited to careful defensive;
+  holds on at Columbia under orders from Thomas;
+  deprived of benefit of cavalry;
+  earnestly demands General Cox's promotion;
+  at battle of Nashville;
+  in pursuit of Hood;
+  asks to have 23d corps transferred to eastern army;
+  corps filled up;
+  at Clifton, Tennessee;
+  transferred with corps to Washington;
+  appointed to command Department of North Carolina;
+  headquarters on steamer "Spaulding," controversy over;
+  efforts to flank Hoke out of position on Federal Point;
+  approves General Cox's discretion in not obeying orders;
+  asks permanent assignment of General Cox to 23d Corps command, and
+General Terry to new corps
+  in advance on Kinston;
+  in temporary command of Sherman's army;
+  promoted to brigadier general in regular army;
+  on march to Raleigh;
+  commands District of North Carolina;
+  prepares paroles and arranges details of capitulation of
+Johnston's army;
+  loans horses to the needy and issues rations to Johnston's troops;
+  proclaims an end of slavery;
+  confers with Hardee at Greensborough.
+
+Schurz, Carl,
+  appointed major general United States Volunteers
+
+Scofield, Levi T., lieutenant 103rd Ohio,
+  topographer on General Cox's staff.
+
+Scott, Thos. M., brig, gen, Confederate States Army,
+  raid into southern Kentucky;
+  defeated by Sanders at Lancaster.
+
+Scott, Winfield, General U. S. A.,
+  mistake in discouraging service of regular army officers with
+volunteer regiments.
+
+Seddon, Jas. A., Secretary of War, Confederate States Army,
+  correspondence with Johnston;
+  correspondence with B. H. Hill.
+
+Sedgwick, John, major general United States Volunteers,
+  at Antietam;
+  severely wounded.
+
+Separate Commands,
+  evils of, in same field of operations;
+  ridiculed by Napoleon.
+
+Sevierville, E. Tennessee,
+  cavalry combat at.
+
+Seward, Wm. H., Secretary of State,
+  goes with Lincoln to meet confederate peace commander's.
+
+Seymour, Truman, brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  at Antietam.
+
+Shackelford, Jas. M., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  in Morgan raid;
+  captures Morgan and most of his command;
+  operations in E. Tennessee
+
+Shelter Tent,
+  substituted for all other kinds;
+  advantages of.
+
+Sheridan, P. H.,
+  first vote;
+  appointed major general United States Volunteers;
+  reasons for opposing Rosecrans' advance in Tennessee;
+  at Chickamauga;
+  at Missionary Ridge;
+  in E. Tennessee;
+  at Dandridge;
+  personal appearance;
+  slow development as a commander;
+  builds bridge which lands on an island;
+  retreats to Strawberry Plains;
+  transferred to eastern army;
+  part assigned in final round-up of Lee's army.
+
+Sheriff of Hamilton Co., Ohio,
+  directed to arrest U. S. officers for contempt of court;
+  comical perplexity.
+
+Sherman, Hon. John,
+  senator from Ohio;
+  correspondence with Wm. T.
+
+Sherman, Wm. T.,
+  appointed colonel of regulars;
+  high opinion of volunteers
+  studies evolutions of the line after Bull Run;
+  acquiesces in Emancipation policy;
+  urges draft to fill up regiments in the field;
+  commands Department of the Tennessee;
+  hastens to Chattanooga;
+  marches to relief of Burnside;
+  horror of E. Tennessee;
+  dissatisfied with Granger;
+  good dinner at Burnside's headquarters, explanation of;
+  Meridian expedition;
+  promoted to command Mil. Division of the Mississippi;
+  visits Schofield at Knoxville;
+  urges confirmation of his appointment as major general;
+  correspondence with Halleck;
+  modest estimate of his own powers;
+  studies problem of supplying his army in the field;
+  takes possession of railroads from Louisville to Nashville and
+Nashville to Chattanooga;
+  cuts down personal and headquarters baggage to bare necessities
+and sets example himself;
+  accurate judgment of opposing forces;
+  concentrates for Atlanta campaign;
+  forces of;
+  personal appearance and characteristics;
+  cordial relations with Thomas;
+  orders for operations about Dalton;
+  satisfied Johnston's position could not be carried by assault;
+  orders demonstrations to cover McPherson's movement;
+  congratulates Schofield on Cox's movement retiring left wing;
+  declines to relieve Hovey;
+  presses after Johnston when he evacuates Resaca;
+  unwilling to give up hope of general engagement;
+  compelled by results to avoid assaults on intrenched positions;
+  losses on campaign compensated by arrival of Blair's (17th) corps;
+  recommends acceptance of Hovey's resignation;
+  indignation at promotion of Hovey and Osterhaus;
+  foresees probable necessity for attack at Kennesaw;
+  uneasy at stretching of lines;
+  hopes to break through enemy's lines;
+  orders demonstrations on both flanks and assaults by two columns
+in middle
+  both assaults fail;
+  might have succeeded if followed up;
+  recognizes importance of position gained by General Cox on right
+flank forces confederates to give up Atlanta or assume desperate
+aggressive;
+  closes in on Jonesboro;
+  occupies Atlanta;
+  steady diminution in forces of;
+  offers promotion to any one who will capture or kill Forrest;
+  odd mistake, resulting in promotion of General Mower;
+  orders citizens to leave Atlanta;
+  leaves of absence and furloughs freely granted;
+  orders certain officers to report to governors of Indiana and Mo.
+for duty--on the stump;
+  courteous treatment of subordinates;
+  would have given Logan command of Army of Tennessee but for
+Thomas' opposition;
+  praises L.'s handling of that army at battle of Atlanta;
+  sends back troops to protect railroads against Hood's raid;
+  leaves 20th army corps to garrison Atlanta;
+  plans March to the Sea;
+  pursuit of Hood;
+  tires of countermarching to protect his communications;
+  praises Cox's management of 23d army corps;
+  recommends his promotion to be major general;
+  urges Halleck to send reinforcements to Thomas;
+  orders Schofield to report to Thomas with 23d Corps;
+  cuts communications and starts on March to the Sea;
+  plans campaign from Savannah, north;
+  inspiring quality of his leadership;
+  unselfish relations to Grant;
+  opposes bill providing for another lieutenant general;
+  knows Carolina campaign involves great risks;
+  where described;
+  general outline;
+  captures Columbia;
+  effects junction with Schofield and Terry, confident he can whip
+Lee and Johnston combined;
+  battles of Averasborough and Bentonville;
+  losses at;
+  leaves Schofield in command, goes to City Point to consult Lincoln
+and Grant;
+  endorses Schofield's request that Cox be assigned to permanent
+command of 23d Corps and Terry, of new corps;
+  prohibits foraging after reaching Goldsborough;
+  moves upon Raleigh;
+  extravagant demonstrations of army, on learning of Lee's
+surrender;
+  receives Governor Vance's peace delegation;
+  negotiates informally for withdrawal of North Carolina from
+confederacy;
+  on Johnston's request agrees to an armistice;
+  stringent orders against pillage and arson;
+  fears outbreak of army on hearing news of Lincoln's assassination;
+  measures to prevent;
+  announces first step toward disbandment of confederate armies;
+  attitude before war on slavery question;
+  emphatic statements that if the South loses the war it loses
+slavery;
+  freedom for the blacks to be secured, but they are unfit to assume
+political rule;
+  set no limits on their following the army, except military
+necessity;
+  representative colored men had confidence in him;
+  allots Sea-island lands to freedmen for cultivation with Stanton's
+approval;
+  wrath against men chiefly responsible for secession and war;
+  conference with Lincoln only three weeks before he met Johnston;
+  understood his policy to involve guaranty of rights as citizens,
+as soon as rebels laid down their arms, and recognition of existing
+State governments as _de facto_ to prevent anarchy;
+  aware that Weitzel had authorized Virginia legislature to assemble
+with Lincoln's consent;
+  not aware that permission was revoked;
+  meets Johnston with heavy burden of Lincoln's assassination on his
+mind;
+  expresses full confidence in Johnston's sincerity;
+  sends full copies of Johnston's overture and his reply to Grant
+and Stanton;
+  no notice taken of them;
+  witnesses Johnston's distress when advised of Lincoln's
+assassination;
+  declines to deal with confederate government;
+  will recognize _de facto_ State governments only;
+  gives Johnston Lincoln's views;
+  regards slavery as utterly dead, but does not insist on irritating
+acknowledgments;
+  reasons for depositing arms at State capitals;
+  loses nothing by delay, while negotiations in progress;
+  drafts memo or basis of agreement to be submitted to respective
+principals;
+  sends it to Grant;
+  urges on Johnston a public declaration that slavery is dead and
+predicts an era of good feeling to follow;
+  says war to perpetuate slavery was an insult to the intelligence
+of the age;
+  warns Johnston of intense feeling at the North over Lincoln's
+assassination;
+  changes the situation;
+  notifies Johnston of termination of truce and demands surrender of
+his army on terms given to Lee;
+  resents Stanton's distrust as evidenced in orders to Grant to
+direct operations against the enemy;
+  supposed the memo reflected Lincoln's ideas and purposes;
+  asks Grant to remain until capitulation finally signed;
+  farewell letter to Johnston;
+  field order No. 65;
+  deeply wounded by Stanton's press dispatches condemning his
+conduct;
+  first heard of Davis' "plunder" through Grant;
+  takes immediate steps to prevent his escape with it;
+  imputation of Stanton that he could be bribed;
+  strikes back at Stanton in letter to Grant and in his report;
+  popular regard for, soon asserts itself;
+  life-long friendship for Halleck destroyed by latter's "plunder"
+dispatch, and orders to disregard his truce;
+  refuses H.'s proffered hospitality, and denounces "diabolical
+plot" to ruin him;
+  says he will defend his truce at all hazards;
+  theoretic discussion of his right and ability to do so;
+  sympathy of his subordinates;
+  leaves Raleigh, visits Charleston and Savannah;
+  notes complete submission to U. S. authority in Savannah.
+
+Siber, Edward, colonel 37th Ohio,
+  at Raleigh courthouse;
+  retreats before Loring;
+  operates on south bank of Kanawha.
+
+Sigel, Franz, major general United States Volunteers,
+  commands 11th Corps;
+  Pope's proposal to consolidate Kanawha division with, and put all
+under Hooker.
+
+Sill, Joshua W.,
+  ordnance officer at Camp Dennison;
+  character and heroic death at Stone's River
+
+Simmonds, Seth J., captain Kentucky battery,
+  attached to Kanawha division;
+  at South Mountain;
+  at Antietam.
+
+Simonton, Chas. H., colonel commanding brigade Confederate States
+Army,
+  captured at Town Creek by General Cox.
+
+Sisters of Charity,
+  in hospitals at Camp Dennison.
+
+Skirmishing Advance,
+  described.
+
+Slack, John Jr.,
+  deputy U. S. Marshal at Charleston, West Virginia
+
+Slavery,
+  question, most troublesome in all border States;
+  admitted to be dead as result of war;
+  Sherman urges upon Johnston frank acknowledgment of fact, as
+likely to usher in era of good feeling;
+  end of, in North Carolina, proclaimed by Schofield.
+
+Slaves,
+  common belief among, that property of whites was to be taken away
+and divided among them;
+  difficulties in getting them to work;
+  embarrassments of housekeepers.
+
+Slemmer, Adam J., major 16th U. S.,
+  at Ft. Pickens;
+  inspector general on Rosecrans' staff;
+  good qualities.
+
+Slocum, Henry W., major general United States Volunteers,
+  at Antietam;
+  succeeds Hooker in command of 20th Corps;
+  left to garrison Atlanta;
+  commands Army of Georgia, composed of 14th and 20th Corps;
+  march past 23d Corps at Goldsborough;
+  chaffing between soldiers;
+  at battles of Averasborough and Bentonville;
+  on march to Raleigh;
+  "bummers" of, forage country bare near Raleigh;
+  marches through Raleigh.
+
+Smith, Andrew J., major general United States Volunteers,
+  ordered to reinforce Thomas at Nashville;
+  delayed in starting;
+  at Nashville;
+  at battle of Nashville;
+  supports cavalry in pursuit of Hood;
+  ordered to Eastport;
+  at Clifton awaiting transportation.
+
+Smith, Benj. F., leading lawyer and "new state man,"
+  in West Virginia;
+  U. S. District Atty., father of Major Smith of Confederate States
+Army;
+  demands return of son's escaped slave, refused by General Cox;
+  acts as advocate for return of others' slaves.
+
+Smith, E. Kirby, major general Confederate States Army,
+  threatens Cincinnati;
+  commanding in trans-Miss, department.
+
+Smith, Gustavus W., major general Confederate States Army,
+  commands Georgia militia and prepares line of defence on Nickajack
+Creek, and Chattahoochee.
+
+Smith, Wm. F., major general United States Volunteers,
+  at Antietam;
+  consulted by McClellan as to what he should do about Emancipation
+Proclamation;
+  chief engineer, Army of the Cumberland;
+  opens new line of supply for Chattanooga;
+  transferred to Eastern Army;
+  on the James.
+
+Smith, W. P.,
+  master of transportation on Kanawha River
+
+Smith, Wm. Sooy, brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  selected by Grant to command cavalry of Western army;
+  ordered to co-operate with Sherman's column;
+  fails to do so.
+
+Soldier Vote,
+  in Ohio State election, 1863;
+  in 1864.
+
+Southern People,
+  complete submission immediately after the war;
+  reaction and political exasperation.
+
+South Mountain,
+  passes of;
+  battle of.
+
+Spears, Jas. G., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  in Morgan's command;
+  at Blain's Cross-roads;
+  assigned to 23d army corps
+
+Spies,
+  army, false reports of Lee's strength;
+  worse than useless to McClellan;
+  conscious, or unconscious, purveyors of false news.
+
+Splaine, Henry, colonel 17th Massachusetts,
+  commanding brigade in Carter's division at battle of Kinston,
+North Carolina.
+
+Sprague, Wm., Governor of R. I.,
+  on McClellan's favoritism for Porter.
+
+Staff Officers,
+  services hidden from view, chances for promotion less than those
+of line officers;
+  qualifications and appointment of.
+
+Stafford, Leroy A., colonel 9th La.,
+  commanding brigade at Antietam.
+
+Stager, Anson, colonel,
+  suerintendent of military telegraphs at Washington.
+
+Stahel, Julius,
+  appointed major general United States Volunteers.
+
+Stanley, David S.,
+  appointed major general United States Volunteers.
+
+Stanley, Timothy R., colonel 18th Ohio,
+  at Chattanooga;
+  in Ohio Senate at outbreak of war.
+
+Stanton, Edwin M., Secretary of War,
+  first meeting with;
+  disapproves of restoring McClellan to command;
+  pleasant leavetaking;
+  maintains right of President to appoint additional major and
+brigadier generals;
+  reports six major generals at home with no assignments to duty;
+  informs himself about conditions of things in Rosecrans' army;
+  dismisses telegraph operator for revealing cipher to Grant's
+engineer;
+  adopts new cipher known only to operators;
+  this system criticised;
+  asks Sherman to detail certain officers to stump northern States;
+  impatience with Thomas before battle of Nashville;
+  cordial manner with General Cox;
+  petulance about Schofield's use of hospital steamer for
+headquarters;
+  inquires about Sherman's treatment of the negro;
+  approves his allotment of sea-island lands to the freedmen;
+  dispatch to Dix, reflecting on Sherman;
+  false implications of;
+  refutation;
+  nine criticisms of Sherman-Johnston Convention considered;
+  objections, really to Lincoln's policy;
+  position against amnesty not sustained by the people;
+  orders Sherman's subordinates not to obey his orders;
+  ignores capitulation, while paroles were being issued;
+  _suppressio veri_;
+  mutilates Grant's dispatch for publication;
+  constitutional inability to admit that he was in the wrong;
+  publishes Halleck's "plunder" dispatch in garbled form;
+  evident purpose to humiliate Sherman;
+  makes no public explanation;
+  tells Howard that Sherman had put administration on the defensive;
+  regarded Sherman's convention and dispatch as acts of vanity to be
+put down.
+
+Starke, Wm. E., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  at Harper's Ferry;
+  killed at Antietam.
+
+Steedman, James B., brig, gen, United States Volunteers,
+  questioned by Stanton about Rosecrans and Thomas;
+  at Chickamauga;
+  ordered to Tuscumbia to destroy Hood's bridge of boats;
+  later ordered to Cowan and Nashville;
+  at Nashville;
+  at battle of Nashville;
+  ordered to Decatur, Alabama
+
+Sterl, Oscar W., colonel 104th Ohio,
+  commanding Reilly's old brigade in 23d army corps, in movement up
+right bank of Cape Fear River.
+
+Sterling, Jas. T., lieutenant colonel 103rd Ohio,
+  accompanies General Cox on winter ride to E. Tennessee;
+  at Dandridge;
+  at skirmish before Knoxville;
+  inspector general on General Cox's staff, resigns for business
+reasons.
+
+Stevens, Isaac J., major general United States Volunteers,
+  killed at Chantilly.
+
+Stevens, Thaddeus,
+  radical leader in Congress.
+
+Stevenson, Carter L., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  in E. Tennessee
+
+Stewart, Alex. P., major general Confederate States Army,
+  at Tunnel Hill;
+  on way to join Bragg at Kinston, North Carolina;
+  arrives in time for second battle.
+
+Stiles, Israel N., colonel 63rd Indiana,
+  succeeds Henderson in command of brigade in 23d army corps;
+  at battle of Nashville;
+  volunteers as staff officer at battle of Kinston;
+  commands brigade in Rugers division;
+  commands post at Raleigh;
+  garrison under, strengthened to prevent outbreak after news of
+Lincoln's assassination.
+
+Stone's River, battle of,
+  resemblance to Antietam.
+
+Stoneman, Geo, major general United States Volunteers,
+  reports to Grant for duty;
+  assigned to command 23d army corps;
+  why relieved from command in Army of Potomac;
+  arrives at Knoxville;
+  personal appearance;
+  disliked by Grant;
+  in pursuit of Longstreet;
+  at Mossy Creek;
+  placed in command of cavalry;
+  on march, Resaca to Cassville;
+  movements near the Etowah;
+  enters Allatoona and reports ability to hold it;
+  aids General Cox in holding position south of Olley's Creek;
+  crosses Chattahoochee;
+  good work from Chattanooga to Chattahoochee;
+  raid from E. Tennessee into North Carolina
+
+Straggling,
+  in Army of Potomac;
+  in confederate army;
+  measures to prevent;
+  in Kanawha division
+
+Strategy,
+  principles of, easily learned;
+  same in all times.
+
+Strawberry Plains, E. Tennessee,
+  strategic importance of;
+  railroad bridge at, alternately destroyed and rebuilt;
+  hardships of troops at;
+  threatened by Longstreet.
+
+Streight, Abel D., colonel 51st Indiana commanding cavalry brigade,
+  captured with his brigade near Rome, Georgia
+
+Strickland, Silas A., colonel 50th Ohio,
+  commanding brigade in Cooper's division 23d A.C., at Columbia.
+
+Strong, Jas. H., lieutenant colonel on Foster's staff,
+  accompanies General Cox on winter ride to E. Tennessee;
+  advocates General Cox's appointment to field command.
+
+Stuart, J. E. B., major general Confederate States Army,
+  praises fighting of 11th and 12th Ohio, at Bull Run bridge;
+  learns of Cox's transfer from West Virginia to Washington on day
+he left Parkersburg;
+  at the Monocacy;
+  covers movements of Lee's army in Maryland;
+  at South Mountain;
+  at Antietam;
+  ride around McClellan's army arouses false ambition in cavalry
+commanders.
+
+Sturgis, Samuel D., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  commanding division in 9th army corps;
+  at South Mountain;
+  first position at Antietam;
+  carries Burnside bridge;
+  on the left before Sharpsburg;
+  in pursuit of Morgan raiders;
+  commands cavalry, corps in E. Tennessee;
+  skirmish at Mossy Creek;
+  "takes a toddy";
+  at Sevierville;
+  reports hopeless condition of roads;
+  sent to Memphis to operate against Forrest.
+
+Summers, Geo.,
+  ex-M. C. and prominent citizen of West Virginia;
+  compelled by force and imprisonment to take oath of allegiance to
+Confederacy;
+  offers to take oath of allegiance to U. S.
+
+Sumner, Edwin V., major general United States Volunteers,
+  commands left wing (2nd and 12th Corps) in Antietam campaign;
+  none of his command in 2nd battle of Bull Run;
+  placed in centre at Antietam;
+  his corps ordered to support Hooker;
+  left practically without command;
+  misconception of Hooker's position;
+  died March 21, 1863.
+
+Supplies for army in Chattanooga,
+  how forwarded;
+  for Sherman's army, arrangements for forwarding.
+
+Susini, famous basso,
+  helps celebrate fall of Vicksburg.
+
+Swain, David L., ex-Governor of North Carolina,
+  in Vance's peace delegation to Sherman;
+  mentioned.
+
+Swinton, Wm., newspaper correspondent,
+  threatens and proceeds to "write Cox down"; inconsistency exposed.
+
+Taylor, Geo. W., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  fatally wounded at Bull Run bridge.
+
+Taylor, Richard, lieutenant general Confederate States Army,
+  orders Forrest to raid Western Tennessee;
+  informs Beauregard of reinforcements moving to Thomas;
+  offers to send all of Hood's army, except French's division, to
+Beauregard.
+
+Temple, O. P., Chancellor, Knoxville, Tennessee,
+  author of "East Tennessee and the Civil War".
+
+Tents,
+  preferable to houses for army officers.
+
+Terry, Alfred H., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  captures Ft. Fisher;
+  at Federal Point;
+  unable to force Hoke's position opposite Town Creek;
+  enters Wilmington after Cox's flanking movement compels
+evacuation;
+  follows Bragg northward;
+  assigned to command new corps designated as the 10th;
+  on march to Raleigh;
+  commands central district of North Carolina
+
+Test Oaths, little value of;
+  illustrated by case of Summers.
+
+Thirteenth Amendment to U.S. Constitution, abolishing slavery,
+  ratified by requisite number of States.
+
+Thomas, Geo. H., major general United States Volunteers,
+  reasons for opposing Rosecrans' advance in Tennessee;
+  saves day at Chickamauga;
+  succeeds Rosecrans in command of Army of the Cumberland;
+  House resolution of thanks;
+  at Chattanooga;
+  sends part of his own supplies to army in E. Tennessee;
+  commands centre of Sherman's army in Atlanta campaign;
+  personal appearance and characteristics;
+  cordial relations with Sherman;
+  at Tunnel Hill and Dalton;
+  at Resaca;
+  from Resaca to Kingston;
+  changes Hooker's line of march so as to interfere with Schofield;
+  supports Hooker at New Hope Church;
+  suggests necessity of contracting and strengthening lines about
+Marietta;
+  visits Cox's position south of Olley's Creek;
+  follows up Johnston's retreat from Marietta vigorously;
+  at Peachtree Creek;
+  at Jonesboro;
+  warned to protect Chattanooga and Bridgeport;
+  advises Sherman to turn Wilson loose;
+  reinforced and put in command of all forces not taken by Sherman;
+  cheerful over prospects;
+  disturbed by Forrest's raid;
+  does not concentrate rapidly; reinforcements delayed;
+  wrong impression as to Hood's intentions;
+  at battle of Nashville;
+  prizes in battle and in pursuit of Hood;
+  proposes going into winter quarters;
+  ordered to send 23d army corps to Grant;
+  urges promotion of General Cox;
+  personal movements in Tennessee;
+  mental suffering under unjust criticism.
+
+Thomas, Minor T., colonel 8th Minn.,
+  commanding brig, in Ruger's division at battle of Kinston.
+
+Thompson, M. Jeff., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  prisoner at Johnson's Island.
+
+Tillson, Davis, brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  commanding post at Covington, Kentucky;
+  commanding heavy artillery at Knoxville.
+
+Tod, David,
+  Governor of Ohio;
+  bewails system of military appointments;
+  warns persons resisting the draft to desist;
+  calls out militia to oppose Morgan;
+  advised of Hamilton Co. sheriff's attempt to arrest U. S.
+officers;
+  calls out militia to defeat plots to release confederate
+prisoners.
+
+Toland, J. P., lieutenant colonel 34th Ohio.
+
+Tompkins, C. Q., colonel Confederate States Army,
+  ex-U. S. officer;
+  home near Gauley;
+  courteous treatment of family;
+  residence of, used as headquarters by Rosecrans.
+
+Toombs, Robt., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  at Antietam.
+
+Tourtelotte, John E., colonel 4th Minn.,
+  commanding brig, at Allatoona.
+
+Town Creek, North Carolina,
+  confederate position at, captured by General Cox with two guns and
+400 prisoners.
+
+Townsend, E. D., adjutant general U. S. A.,
+  anecdotes of Stanton;
+  in charge of funeral escort of Lincoln's body.
+
+Tracy, Edw. E., lieutenant 104th Ohio,
+  aide-de-camp on General Cox's staff;
+  wounded at Utoy Creek;
+  appointed Governor of Dayton Soldiers' Home;
+  personal appearance and characteristics;
+  anecdote;
+  reconnoissance with Claassen's brigade at Kinston.
+
+Transfers of officers from one army to another not generally good
+administration.
+
+Treasonable practices,
+  President's proclamation against;
+  Burnside's order No. 38;
+  Burbridge's order No. 42;
+  practically annulled.
+
+Treat, Richard B.,
+  brigadier quartermaster on General Cox's staff;
+  adjutant general;
+  transferred to Stoneman's staff.
+
+Trimble, Isaac R., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  at Antietam.
+
+Tunnel Hill, Georgia;
+  view of confederate position at Dalton, from.
+
+Turchin, John B., colonel 19th Ill.,
+  court-martialed;
+  sentenced to be dismissed Aug. 6, 1862;
+  appointed brigadier general Aug. 5, 1862, and confirmed;
+  opinion as to expediency of Rosecrans' advance;
+  at Chattanooga.
+
+Twining, Wm. J.,
+  captain eng. and aide-de-camp on Schofield's staff, takes message
+to Sherman.
+
+Tyler, Erastus B.,
+  colonel 7th Ohio;
+  surprised at Cross Lanes.
+
+Upham, Chas. L., colonel 15th Conn.,
+  commanding brig, in Carter's division at battle of Kinston;
+  cut off from rest of division and routed by Hoke;
+  losses at Kinston.
+
+Upton's Hill,
+  fortified for defence of Washington;
+  occupied by General Cox.
+
+Upton's Manual,
+  an improvement on the book previously studied at West Point.
+
+Vallandigham, Clement L.,
+  sensational case of;
+  character and views;
+  speech at Mountain Vernon, Ohio;
+  arrested by Burnside;
+  tried before military commission;
+  convicted and sentenced to confinement in Ft. Warren;
+  application for _habeas corpus_ refused;
+  sentence commuted by Lincoln to expulsion beyond our lines;
+  incites Holmes Co. to resist the draft;
+  application to U. S. Supreme Court to annul sentence denied;
+  nominated for Governor of Ohio and overwhelmingly defeated.
+
+Van Buren, James L., major and aide-de-camp on Burnside's staff,
+  leaves E. Tennessee
+
+Vance, John L., captain 4th West Virginia
+
+Vance, Zebulon, Governor of North Carolina,
+  issues proclamation calling for final rally to repel invaders;
+  makes overtures to Sherman to end war;
+  loses confidence and leaves Raleigh;
+  Davis orders arrest of his peace commanders;
+  invited by Sherman to return to Raleigh;
+  mentioned.
+
+Van Cleve, Horatio P., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  opinion against expediency of Rosecrans' advance;
+  at Chickamauga.
+
+Van Dorn, Earl, major general Confederate States Army,
+  captures Coburn's brigade near Franklin, Tennessee
+
+Vicksburg, news of surrender,
+  how received in Cincinnati.
+
+Virginia,
+  passes ordinance of secession;
+  admitted to confederacy;
+  topography of.
+
+Virginia Troops,
+  22nd, largely composed of young men from Charleston West Virginia;
+  44th, at Beverly, West Virginia;
+  8th Cavalry
+
+Volunteers,
+  high character and spirit of;
+  superior to recruits for regular army;
+  many volunteer regiments not excelled in drill by regulars;
+  methods of discipline necessarily milder;
+  after a year's service, superior in everything that gives
+assurance of victory in battle;
+  in 1862 as well fitted for their work as any army in the world;
+  so said Grant and Sherman;
+  many need not have shunned competitive examination with regulars
+in studies pursued at West Point.
+
+Volunteer Officers,
+  at first elected by militia;
+  afterwards appointed by Governor;
+  necessity for sifting;
+  military aptitude often wanting in men brave and intelligent;
+  fitness in subordinate position not always proof of capacity for
+high command;
+  ignorance of tactics and regulations seldom overcome by men of
+advanced age;
+  business training helpful to;
+  rapid advance of many young volunteers;
+  peers of any officers of their grade in regular army or any other;
+  value of West Point training before the war exaggerated;
+  comparative merits and defects of regular army officers;
+  costly conservatism of regular officers and prejudice against
+improved weapons;
+  distinction between volunteers and regulars should have been
+abolished, and officers promoted on their merits.
+
+Von Blessingh, Louis,
+  lieutenant colonel 37th Ohio.
+
+Von Borke, Heros, major on staff of J. E. B. Stuart,
+  amusing report of.
+
+Von Moltke favors giving largest discretion to subordinates on
+detached service.
+
+Wade, Hon. Benj. F., Sen. from Ohio,
+  opposes re-election of Lincoln;
+  "Wade-Davis Manifesto."
+
+Wagner, Geo. D., brigadier general commanding division in 4th army
+corps,
+  reports to General Cox.
+
+Wagner, O. G., lieutenant of eng.,
+  superintends fortifications at Gauley;
+  modest young man of great promise, killed at Yorktown.
+
+Walker, Henry H., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  protects Davis and cabinet at Danville, Virginia
+
+Walker, John G., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  at Harper's Ferry;
+  at Antietam.
+
+Walthall, E. C., major general Confederate States Army,
+  commands rear-guard on Hood's retreat from Nashville;
+  destroys bridges and obstructs roads;
+  commands Stewart's corps at battle of Kinston;
+  forces of, at Kinston.
+
+Washington,
+  at time of General Cox's arrival with Kanawha division;
+  defences of;
+  country about;
+  McClellan in charge of defence;
+  necessity for covering and defending prevented full adoption of
+McClellan's plans.
+
+Watson, P. H., Assistant Secretary of War.
+
+Way, Wm. B., major 9th Michigan Cavalry,
+  in Morgan raid.
+
+Webb, Alex. S., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  estimate of Lee's forces in seven days' battles.
+
+Weitzel, Godfrey, brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  mentioned;
+  major general at Richmond, Virginia
+
+Welker, Hon. Martin, M. C. from Wayne Co., Ohio,
+  urges arrest of Vallandigham followers;
+  appointed judge of U. S. District Court N. District of Ohio.
+
+Wells, Henry W.,
+  major and chief of artillery on General Cox's staff;
+  rough march over mountain road to carry information to Sherman.
+
+Welsh, Thos., colonel 45th Pennsylvania,
+  commanding brigade at South Mountain;
+  at Antietam;
+  returns from Vicksburg with 9th army corps, and dies of malarial
+fever.
+
+West Point Academy,
+  course limited before the war;
+  requirements for admission, common country school education;
+  graduates of, equal to sophomores in leading colleges;
+  no instruction in strategy or grand tactics;
+  little French;
+  mental furnishing for field work not superior to that of any
+well-educated man;
+  physical training and drill, good;
+  but no opportunity for most to exercise command;
+  battalion evolutions the highest known;
+  graduates of, not fitted--by their course alone--for high command.
+
+West Virginia,
+  importance of occupying;
+  map of;
+  loyalty to Union;
+  mountain regions impracticable for military operations on large
+scale;
+  sentiment of leading families divided;
+  bitter feeling between Union men and secessionists;
+  intensified by Loring's invasion;
+  attached to District of Maryland
+  See KANAWHA VALLEY.
+
+West Virginia Troops,
+  in general;
+  1st and 2nd;
+  4th;
+  5th;
+  8th;
+  9th;
+  13th;
+  and Cavalry;
+  Daum's battery
+
+Wharton, Gabriel C., colonel commanding brigadier Confederate States
+Army,
+  in West Virginia;
+  repulsed at Pack's Ferry;
+  in pursuit of Lightburn.
+
+Wheeler, Jos., major general Confederate States Army,
+  authorizes Morgan's raid into Kentucky;
+  in E. Tennessee;
+  at Tunnel Hill and Dug Gap;
+  defeats McCook and captures Col. La Grange;
+  forces of, reduced from 8000 to 1000 after raid in rear of
+Sherman's army;
+  relied on to cover Hood's movement into Tennessee;
+  informs Hood of Sherman's rumored march to the sea;
+  complaints of his inefficiency;
+  included in Johnston's capitulation;
+  captured when trying to escape.
+
+Wherry, Wm. M.,
+  colonel and aide-de-camp on Schofield's staff;
+  brigadier general in war with Spain.
+
+White, Carr B., lieutenant colonel 12th Ohio,
+  in Kanawha valley;
+  in Kanawha division;
+  at South Mountain
+
+White, Julius, brig, general,
+  expedition into West Virginia;
+  pursues Morgan raiders;
+  succeeds Manson in command and division 23d army corps;
+  in E. Tennessee
+
+Whitford, John N., colonel commanding brigade Confederate States
+Army,
+  at Kinston.
+
+Whiting, W. H. C., major general Confederate States Army,
+  at South Mountain
+
+Whittier, John G.,
+  his poem "The River Path," recalled at Gauley.
+
+Whittlesey, Chas.,
+  colonel and eng. on Cox's staff;
+  appointed colonel of 20th Ohio.
+
+Willcox, Orlando B., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  reports to General Cox at South Mountain;
+  first position at Antietam;
+  at Burnside bridge;
+  on heights near Sharpsburg;
+  commands District of Indiana, returns to 9th army corps, with new
+division of Indiana troops;
+  goes to Cumberland Gap;
+  to Morristown;
+  posted at Greeneville;
+  at Cumberland Gap and vicinity.
+
+Williams, Alpheus S., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  succeeds to command of 12th army corps on death of Mansfield;
+  at Antietam.
+
+Williams, John S., colonel 5th Kentucky, commanding brigadier
+Confederate States Army,
+  at Princeton, West Virginia;
+  pursues Lightburn down the Kanawha.
+
+Williams, Seth, brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  assistant adjutant-general on McClellan's staff;
+  afterwards served on Burnside's staff.
+
+Willich, August,
+  adjutant 9th Ohio;
+  commands Wood's division on march to Dandridge;
+  commands rear-guard on retreat from D.
+
+Wilmington, North Carolina,
+  importance of, as base of supplies for Sherman's army;
+  General Cox compels evacuation of.
+
+Wilson, Hon. Henry, Sen. from Massachusetts, chairman committee on
+Military Affairs,
+  offers resolution questioning power of President to appoint
+additional major and brigadier generals.
+
+Wilson, Jas. H., colonel on Grant's staff,
+  sent to Knoxville to consult with Burnside;
+  reports to Grant;
+  sent to be chief of cavalry for Sherman;
+  deceived as to Hood's intentions;
+  at battle of Nashville;
+  operating in Georgia;
+  captures Jeff. Davis.
+
+Winter Quarters,
+  in E. Tennessee
+
+Wisconsin Troops,
+  6th Infantry;
+  22nd Infantry;
+  1st Cavalry
+
+Wise, Henry A., ex-Governor of Virginia,
+  invades Kanawha valley;
+  forces of, opposing General Cox;
+  retreats beyond Gauley;
+  forces of, not well handled;
+  ludicrous contrast between promise and performance;
+  joined by General Floyd;
+  fails to co-operate with Floyd;
+  repulsed at Pig Creek;
+  retreats beyond Hawk's Nest;
+  and Big Sewell Mountain;
+  quarrels with Floyd, ordered to report to Richmond.
+
+Wofford, Wm. T., brigadier general Confederate States Army,
+  assaults Ft. Sanders.
+
+Wolf Creek, West Virginia,
+  affair at.
+
+Wolford, Frank, colonel 1st Kentucky Cavalry,
+  famous command "Huddle on the hill, boys";
+  pursues Morgan raiders;
+  commands ind. cavalry brigade;
+  defeated near Loudon.
+
+Wood, Thos. J., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  advises against Rosecrans' advance in Tennessee;
+  at Chickamauga;
+  at Missionary Ridge;
+  in pursuit of Longstreet;
+  at Rutledge;
+  character of;
+  explanation of error at Chickamanga;
+  returns to Army of the Cumberland;
+  dissatisfied with Couch's assignment to 4th army corps;
+  at battle of Nashville;
+  supports cavalry in pursuit of Hood;
+  to winter at Huntsville, Alabama
+
+Woodruff, W. E., colonel 2nd Kentucky,
+  captured outside the lines at Scary Creek
+
+Woodward, E. W.,
+  suerintendent Little Miami railroad
+
+Woodworth, Dr. M. C.,
+  surgeon at Johnson's Island.
+
+Worthington, Thos.,
+  publishes abridgment of Hardee's Tactics;
+  furnishes waterworks for Camp Dennison;
+  irascible temper.
+
+Wound,
+  sensation produced by bullet.
+
+Wright, Elias, lieutenant 4th N. J.,
+  reports ten men to Scammon at Bull Run bridge.
+
+Wright, Horatio G., brigadier general United States Volunteers,
+  commanding Department of the Ohio;
+  description of;
+  plan of West Virginia campaign;
+  appointed major general, and fails of confirmation;
+  suppresses disloyal newspapers.
+
+Wright, W. W.,
+  constructing engineer Nash. and Chatt. railroad;
+  ordered east with view to joining Sherman at Savannah;
+  sent to North Carolina, to rebuild New Berne and Goldsborough
+railroad;
+  rapid work;
+  bridging Neuse River;
+  completes railroad to Goldsborough.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Military Reminiscences of the Civil
+War V2, by Jacob Dolson Cox
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MILITARY REMINISCENCES--CIVIL WAR V2 ***
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