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 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS, 
 
 GRANT, SHERMAN, 
 
 THOMAS, S HE R I D A N , 
 
 FARRAGUT. 
 
 " Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem." 
 
 NEW YORK : 
 CHARLES B. RICHARDSON, 
 
 540 BKOADWAY. 
 1865.
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S65. 
 BY CHARLES 3. EICIIAEDSON, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the 
 Southern District of New Yurk. 
 
 B. CRAIGHEAD, PRINTER, 
 
 Cazlon Building 83 Centre street.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 LIEUTENANT-GENERAL ULYSSES SlMPSON GRANT 9 
 
 MAJOR-GENERAL WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN 87 
 
 MAJOR-GENERAL GEORGE H. THOMAS 163 
 
 MAJOR-GENERAL PHILIP HENRY SHERIDAN 187 
 
 VICE-ADMIRAL DAVID GLASCOE FARRAGUT 227 
 
 ^ -
 
 PREFACE, 
 
 THE biographies of living men who have achieved 
 distinction, are always so attractive to the public, that 
 we deem no apology necessary for presenting in a 
 single portable volume, sketches of the lives of those 
 who are pre-eminently our GBEAT CAPTAINS. There 
 have been, we are aware, four or five previous 'at- 
 tempts to give publicity to the life and services of 
 Lieutenant-General Grant ; but while the greater 
 part have dealt largely in fiction, none have at- 
 tempted, as we have done, to give the later incidents 
 of a military career now rounding into completeness, 
 by the suppression, through his skilful and persistent 
 strategy, of the Great Rebellion. The incidents of 
 General Sherman's life have also been once or twice 
 related, but with a want of appreciation of his pe- 
 culiar and transcendent genius, which leaves much to 
 be desired, and which we have endeavored to sup- 
 ply. ISTo carefully prepared biographical sketch of 
 Thomas, Sheridan, or Farragut has, we believe, been 
 hitherto attempted. 
 
 In essaying thus to bring before our own country- 
 men, and the people of other lands, authentic narra- 
 
 1*
 
 6 PREFACE. 
 
 lives of the military career of these men, who have 
 displayed abilities fully equal to those of the great 
 captains of other lands in the past hundred years, 
 we have been prompted by no vain-glorious desire 
 to extol unduly our own military chieftains, or to 
 bestow upon mediocrity the laurels due to extraor- 
 dinary merit, but have made it our sole object to 
 present the men as they were, and put on record, for 
 our own and other times, the deeds for which they 
 deserve the honor, admiration, and esteem of the 
 loyal citizens of the Republic. 
 
 The bearing, influence, and effect of some of the 
 great battles we have described, upon the struggle 
 in which we are engaged, are not generally under- 
 stood. We have tried to make these plain ; and to 
 show that through all the movements of our armies, 
 the shock of battles, and the desperate conflicts for 
 particular points, there has been a plan and purpose 
 which has made them, not, as some of our un- 
 friendly critics across the ocean have so often 
 charged, mere collisions of brute force, without 
 special aim or object, but portions of comprehensive 
 strategy, having for its objects the overthrow of the 
 Eebellion, and the re-establishment, at no distant 
 date, of the authority of the Republic in every por- 
 tion of our territory.
 
 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 > 
 I. 
 
 Lieutenant-General Ulysses Simpson Grant, 
 
 ALTHOUGH war has been, during the whole historic 
 period, so large a part of the business of the world, 
 yet the number of great captains, commanders pos- 
 sessing the highest military genius, has been compar- 
 atively small. The " art of war" is not a science to be 
 acquired simply by study ; its conditions are ever chang- 
 ing, and tactics which are successful in one age may be 
 ill adapted for another ; a strategy which may be ad- 
 mirable in one country, may be utterly inadmissible in 
 another ; and movements which, in a country of wide 
 plains, good roads, and few rivers, may be performed 
 with celerity and certainty, may prove entirely impos- 
 sible in a mountainous, heavily-wooded country, with 
 swamps, thickets, miry streams, and wretched roads. 
 
 We must, then, in judging of die military abilities of a 
 commander, take into account the age in which he lives, 
 the people whom he commands, the enemy with which 
 he has to contend, and the country he must traverse. 
 We must look also to the quality of his mental action. 
 If he possesses clear perceptions, foreseeing readily the 
 measures of his antagonist ; if he is fertile in resource, 
 remedying difficulties, overcoming seeming impossibi- 
 lities, and accomplishing his purposes in the face of the 
 greatest obstacles ; if he has the power, not only to plan
 
 10 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 combined operations, but to so control their details as 
 that they shall not fail ; if, above all, he possesses tact, 
 and a control over his troops which enables him to 
 wii-ld them at his will to execute his purposes, then 
 he is entitled to a place among the world's great com- 
 manders. It was in these qualities that Alexander, Han- 
 nibal, Czesar, and, in more modern times, Turenne, Marl- 
 borough, Frederick the Great, Wellington, and Napol|pn 
 surpassed the other generals of their time. But few as 
 have been these illustrious names in the past, we hope 
 to demonstrate that we have not simply one, but several 
 great captains. Among these, none is more deserving of 
 that title of honor than the general-in-chief of our armies. 
 It is now somewhere near one hundred years ago that 
 two young Scotchmen of the name of Grant left their 
 own land of the heather for the New World across the 
 Atlantic. Though brothers, they did not choose the 
 same location, one making his home in Canada, the 
 other in Pennsylvania. The latter took up arms in 
 defence of his. adopted country, and after the peace 
 settled upon a farm in Westmoreland county, Penn. 
 Here in 1794, his son, Jesse R. Grant, father of the 
 lieutenant-general, was born. In 1799, the attraction 
 of new lands in the northwestern territory drew the 
 sturdy Scotch farmer across the Ohio. For four or five 
 years we lose sight of him and his family, the forests of 
 Eastern Ohio being the favorite haunts of the Indian 
 tribes, who reluctantly, and often only by compulsion, 
 relinquished them to the inrolHng tide of emigrants. In 
 1804,* however, lie had become one of the early settlers 
 of the town of Deerfiekl, on the Western Reserve, and 
 now in Portage county. In 1805 Mr. Grant died, leav- 
 ing his son Jesse an orphan at the age of eleven years. 
 Not long after, the boy was apprenticed to the tanning
 
 GENERAL GRANT. 11 
 
 business, and when the barbarous alliance between the 
 British and the Indians, in the war of 1812, had made 
 the northern counties of Ohio an unsafe region for women 
 and children, he removed with his mother and family to 
 Maysville, Kentucky. In 1815 he returned to Portage 
 county, and established himself at Ravenna as'a tanner. 
 The prevalence of ague and fever in Ravenna di-ove 
 young Grant thence in 1820, and when after a few 
 months he returned to Ohio, it was to establish himself 
 in the southern part, near the banks of the beautiful 
 river. Here, in June, 1821, he married Hannah Simp- 
 son, the daughter of an emigrant from Pennsylvania, 
 and, like himself, a native of that State. The home of 
 the young couple was at Point Pleasant, on the Ohio 
 river, in Clermont county, but a few miles from th 
 city of Cincinnati. Here, on the 27th of. April, 1822, 
 was born their eldest son, the hero of our story. The 
 humble cottage which was his birthplace still stands, a 
 frame building one story in height ; and from its win- 
 dows there is a pleasant view of the Ohio, and of the 
 gently sloping Kentuckian farms on its further bank. 
 
 The name of the boy, bestowed at the instanc of his 
 maternal grandparents, was Hiram Ulysses, and so it 
 remained until the time of his admission to the Mili- 
 tary Academy at West Point, when, by the oversight 
 of the member of Congress who appointed him a cadet, 
 he was entered as Ulysses S. Grant ; and after attempting 
 in vain to have his baptismal name substituted, he sub- 
 mitted, and made his signature conform to that whicli 
 had thus been imposed upon him. As his mother's 
 maiden name was Simpson, the middle initial came to 
 be regarded as standing for Simpson. 
 
 The tanner's son proved to be a sturdy little urchin, 
 entirely devoid of fear ; not precocious, but persevering,
 
 12 CUE GEE AT CAPTAINS. 
 
 and with a Scotch pertinacity ot will in the achievement 
 of any object on which he had set his heart, while at the 
 same time he possessed an imperturbable good-humor 
 which rendered him a general favorite. 
 
 There have been in Lieutenant-Gen eral Grant's case, 
 as in that of most men who have attained high position, 
 numerous stories of his boyhood and yonth, which had 
 their origin only in the imagination of the writers who 
 have given them to the public. To repeat these would 
 be an insult to the illustrious name we commemorate, 
 but there are a few incidents which have been preserved 
 by his father, which, as illustrating the traits of character 
 which he has since developed, are worthy of record. 
 
 Mr. Grant relates that when Ulysses' was but two 
 ^ears old, he took him in his arms and carried him 
 through the village on some public occasion, and a 
 young man wished to try the effect of the report of 
 a pistol on him. Mr. Grant consented, though, as he 
 said, "the child had never seen a gun or pistol in his 
 life." The hand of tho baby was accordingly put on the 
 lock and pressed there quietly, until the pistol was dis- 
 charged with a loud report. The little fellow exhibited 
 no alarm, neither winking nor dodging, but presently 
 pushed the pistol away, saying, " Fick it again ! Fick 
 it again!" 
 
 The story of his being unable to understand the mean- 
 ing of the word can't has been too often told to need 
 repetition. It need hardly be said that he has never yet 
 succeeded in ascertaining its meaning in any thing which 
 he has undertaken to do. 
 
 A still more characteristic incident is related of him 
 by his father. When Ulysses was twelve years of age, 
 his father wanted several sticks of hewn timber from the 
 forest, and sent him with the team to draw them to the
 
 GENERAL GEANT. 13 
 
 village, telling him that raen would be there with hand- 
 spikes to help load them on to the wagon. The boy 
 went with the team, but on arriving at his destination 
 the men were not there, and after some little delay they 
 still did not appear. He had been sent for the timber, 
 however, and he had no intention of going home with- 
 out it. Looking about, he observed at a little distance 
 a tree which had fallen over, and was leaning against 
 another, its trunk forming an inclined plane. This, he 
 reasoned, would enable him to get the timber into his 
 wagon ; accordingly he took out his horses, and hitching 
 them to the logs, drew them up to the foot of the fallen 
 tree, and, backing his wagon to the side of the inclined 
 plane, he pushed and drew the timber, piece after piece, 
 up the inclined plane, and shoved it into the wagon, and 
 with his load secured, drove home triumphantly. The 
 incident exhibits very forcibly the energy, pertinacity, 
 and fertility of resource which have characterized the 
 man in all his subsequent career. 
 
 In school the boy was faithfial, diligent, and pains- 
 taking ; not a genius, who acquired knowledge without 
 study, but a boy who appreciated the value of an educa- 
 tion, and who was not to be disheartened in his efforts 
 to obtain one. However difficult his lessons might be, 
 and however severe the study required to master them, 
 he never gave up to discouragement, but if one method 
 or resource failed, was always ready to try another. 
 But the advantages of school training were limited by 
 the want of good schools in the village, the small por- 
 tion of the year (only three months) in which he could 
 attend, and the straitened circumstances of his father, 
 which did not permit him to send his son abroad for an 
 education. The education, however, young Grant de- 
 termined to have, and his father was also very desirous
 
 14 CUE GEEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 that he should obtain it. He had reached the age of 
 seventeen, when it was decided that the effort should be 
 made to secure an appointment as cadet at West Point. 
 Application was first made to Hon. Thomas Morris, then 
 U. S. Senator from Ohio, but Mr. Morris had already 
 pledged himself to another applicant, and so informed 
 Mr. Grant, but at the same time notified him of a va- 
 cancy in the gift of Hon. Thomas L. Hamer, the member 
 of Congress from Grant's own district, the young man 
 whom he had appointed having, for some cause, failed to 
 enter. Mr. Grant immediately corresponded with Mr. 
 Hamer, who promptly appointed Ulysses to the vacant 
 cadetship. Having successfully passed his preliminary 
 examination, the young cadet entered -the Academy, 
 July 1, 1839. 
 
 In the Military Academy, Grant was studious, attentive 
 to all his duties, and though he had not enjoyed the ad- 
 vantages of many of his classmates in early education, 
 he soon took a good position in scholarship, while his 
 amiable disposition won him the friendship of all his 
 classmates. The examinations at this period were very 
 severe, and of Grant's class, which numbered one hun- 
 dred in 1839, only thirty graduated in 1843. He stood 
 No. 21, his standing being very high in artillery and 
 infantry tactics, mathematics, engineering, and horse- 
 manship, and fair in the other studies. During his last 
 -year he was commanding officer of cadets. Major-General 
 Franklin, and Generals Ingalls, Steele, and Judah, were 
 among his classmates. As there was no existing va- 
 cancy, he was on his graduation breveted Second-lieu- 
 tenant of the Fourth Infantry regiment, and for a time 
 after joining his regiment, then at Jefferson Barracks, 
 near St. Louis, was required to perform the duties of a 
 private soldier. In 1844 he removed with his regiment
 
 GENERAL GKANT. 15 
 
 up the Red river, in Louisiana. There began now to be 
 rumors of war between Mexico and the United States, 
 in consequence of the annexation of Texas, and in 1845 
 General Taylor was sent to the border in command of 
 an " army of occupation," and of this army young 
 Grant's regiment, the Fourth Infantry, was a part. Grant 
 had meantime been promoted to the rank of first-lieu- 
 tenant of the Seventh Infantry ; but preferring to remain 
 with his old regiment, where there seemed more chance 
 of seeing service, he accepted instead the second-lieu- 
 tenancy, then vacant in that regiment. 
 
 In May, 1846, Lieutenant Grant, with his regiment, 
 moved forward to Palo Alto and Resaca de la Pal ma, 
 and in both those battles he distinguished himself for 
 gallantry and courage. In the subsequent storming of 
 Monterey, he received honorable mention from his com- 
 mander for his good conduct. In April, 1847, after the 
 capture of Vera Cruz, in which he had participated, the 
 young lieutenant was appointed quartermaster of his re- 
 giment, and served in this capacity through the re- 
 mainder of the catnfJHign ; but he showed no disposition 
 to avail himself of his privilege of remaining in his own 
 department in time of battle. In the autumn of 1847, 
 at the desperate assault of Molino del Rey, and at the 
 storming of Chapultepec five days later, Lieutenant 
 Grant exhillited such daring, and acted so promptly and 
 fearlessly, as to receive the high commendations of his 
 superior officers, and to be promoted to a first-lieutenancy 
 on the spot. Among those who spoke in the highest 
 terms of his gallantry and daring on these occasions was 
 Major Francis Lee, then commanding the Fourth In- 
 fantry. The following is the language of his. report of the 
 storming of Chapultepec : 
 
 "At the first barrier the enemy was in strong force,
 
 16 OTJK GREAT Gtt-PTAIKS. 
 
 which rendered it necessary to advance with caution. 
 This was done; and when the head. of the battalion was 
 within short musket-range of the barrier, Lieutenant 
 Grant, Fourth Infantry, and Captain Brooks, Second 
 Artillery, with a few men of their respective regi- 
 ments, by a handsome movement to the left turned the 
 right flank of the enemy, and the barrier was carried; 
 Lieutenant Grant behaved with distinguished gallantry 
 on the 13th and 14th of September." 
 
 Tin's, we presume, was the first of General Grant's flank- 
 ing movements, a kind of strategy which has since proved 
 so effective on moi*e extensive fields. Colonel Garland, 
 then in command of the First Brigade, added still stronger 
 testimony to the military skill and admirable conduct of 
 the young lieutenant on the same occasion. For this 
 achievement he was brevetted captain, his rank to date 
 from September 13, 1847. During the Mexican war 
 Lieutenant Grant participated in fourteen battles. 
 
 After the close of" the war the volunteers were 
 mustered out of service, and the officers and soldiers 
 of the regular army distributed aiflong the forts and 
 posts on the frontiers. In August, 1848, Lieutenant 
 Grant married Miss Dent, a young lady residing near 
 St. Louis, and soon after was ordered to Detroit, Mi- 
 chigan, and after a time to the post of Sackett's 
 Harbor, N. Y., where in the quiet of peace he im- 
 proved his leisure by the study of military science. 
 In the autumn of 1851 the Fourth Infantry was 
 ordered to the Pacific coast to preserve> order, which 
 was greatly endangered by the reckless and vicious 
 immigrants who flocked thither after the discovery of 
 The battalion which Lieutenant Grant com- 
 manded was sent into Oregon, and had its headquarters 
 for Bomo time at Fort Dallas, in that territory. While
 
 GENERAL GRANT. 17 
 
 on duty here, in August, 1853, Grant received his conT- 
 mission as captain. The times were, however, unfavor- 
 able to military advancement, and the young officer, 
 who had now served eleven years in the army, desirous 
 of getting on, and seeing but little prospect of promo- 
 tion till he would become too old to value it, resigned 
 his commission on the 31st of July, 1854, and returned 
 to civil life. 
 
 His first essay seems to have been as a farmer, on a 
 small farm belonging to his father-in-law, near St. Louis. 
 But though industrious and pains-taking, he was not re- 
 markably successful as a farmer. He was, after a time, 
 appointed collector of taxes for the county ; but his 
 straightforward honesty and truthfulness were no match 
 for the craft and deception of the delinquent tax-payers, 
 and he could not make as full collections as men of a 
 sterner and more unscrupulous character would have 
 done. The duties of an auctioneer, an avocation tried 
 for a brief period, were no better suited to his tastes. 
 He felt that none of these pursuits were such as he could 
 fill, either with credit or satisfaction to himself. In 1859, 
 his father, who had for many years conducted the tan- 
 ning business with success, proposed 1 to him to go into 
 the leather arid saddlery business, in partnership with 
 him, at Galdha, Illinois. He accepted the offer, and the 
 house of Grant & Son entered upon a prosperous busi- 
 ness from the start. The quality of their goods was of 
 the best, and their dealings were so honorable and fair 
 that customers flowed in from all quarters, and the house 
 soon became famous, and was rapidly attaining wealth. 
 Meantime there were dark clouds lowering in the na- 
 tional sky, and hoarse mutterings of a storm which was 
 soon to burst upon the land. The retired captain was 
 not so absorbed in his business as not to be a careful 
 
 2*
 
 18 OUR GBEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 Catcher of the coming event. When at last the echo of 
 the guns which were bombarding Fort- Sumter, on the 
 12th and 13th of April, 1861, resounded over the land 
 and gave token that the Rebel leaders had commenced war 
 upon the nation, the quiet business man, without ado or 
 delay, abandoned his business and gave himself to the 
 cause of his country. The nation had educated 'him, 
 and though he had served more than the prescribed time 
 to which he was pledged in the army, he still felt that 
 in the hour of his country's peril she had a strong claim 
 upon him for further service. To raise a company, and 
 march with it to Springfield and tender it to the gov- 
 ernor, was his first act, and was soon accomplished. 
 One of the members of Congress from Illinois wrote 
 to Governor Yates, recommending Mr. Grant for a 
 military command ; but at that time, inexperienced iti 
 the work of selecting officers to command his troops, 
 and naturally enough supposing that an officer should 
 be a man of imposing figure and lofty stature, Gov- 
 ernor Yates looked with some curiosity upon the 
 small man clad m homespun, who seemed so diminu- 
 tive in comparison. with some of the stalwart gigantic 
 applicants, and gave him no appointment. 
 
 It was not long, however, before the governor found 
 himself embarrassed by his want of knowledge of the 
 detail necessary in the organization of troops, and, call- 
 ing upon his congressional friend, he inquired if that 
 little man whom he had reconimended to him under- 
 stood these matters. The Representative answered by 
 bringing Grant to the governor, and finding on inquiry 
 that he was perfectly conversant with these details, the 
 governor at once made him his adjutant-general. In 
 this position he worked indefatigably, and soon suc- 
 ceeded in bringing order out of confusion. The gov-
 
 GENERAL GRANT. 19 
 
 ernor was now called upon by the President to name 
 two officers for promotion to the rank of brigadier- 
 general, and proposed the name of his adjutant-general 
 for one ; but Grant declined, as he had not earned the 
 promotion. In June, the three months' troops being 
 organized, Adjutant-General Grant made a flying visit 
 to his father at Covingtftn, Ky., and while there a com- 
 mission was sent him from Governor Yates'as colonel 
 of the Twenty-first Illinois Volunteers. The colonel 
 originally appointed to the command of this regiment, 
 one of Governor Yates's fine commanding-looking men, 
 had proved utterly wanting in military capacity, and his 
 regiment had fallen into disorder. The governor had 
 refused to commission him, and inquired of Grant by 
 telegraph if he would take the command of the turbu- 
 lent regiment. He consented, and hastened to join his 
 regiment at Mattoon, where it was organized, and re- 
 moved it to Caseyville for encampment. The new 
 colonel made no display of authority, and was not in 
 the least boisterous, but by the quiet influence of ex- 
 ample, and the exercise of his remarkable tact, he 
 soon had the regiment under the strictest discipline, and 
 in a month, from being the mo^t turbulent and disorderly 
 regiment in the State, it became the model organiza- 
 tion. At this time Quincy, Illirrois, was thought to 
 be in danger, and an ' application was made to the 
 governor for a force for its protection. It was difficult 
 to find transportation, for Quincy was a hundred and 
 twenty miles distant, and the railroads were unable to 
 furnish a sufficient number of cars. Colonel Grant heard 
 of the governor's difficulty, and sent him word, " Send 
 my regiment, and I will find the transportation." The 
 governor at once gave orders to send the Twenty- 
 first regiment, and before night it* commenced its
 
 20 OUK GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 march on foot, and arrived in due season in excellent - 
 order. 
 
 The first service to which the Twenty-first Illinois was 
 assigned was to guard the Hannibal and St. Joseph's 
 railroad. Several regiments having been ordered to this 
 service, it was necessary that one of the regimental com- 
 manders should become acting brigadier-general, and 
 control the whole, as no brigadier-general had been as- 
 signed to the command. For this office Grant, though 
 the youngest' colonel on the ground, was selected, and 
 took command at Mexico, Missouri, July '31, 1861. On 
 the 9th of August, Colonel Grant was commissioned 
 brigadier-general, and sent with an adequate force to 
 Southern Missouri, where the rebel General Jeff. Thomp- 
 son was threatening an advance. He visited Ironton, 
 superintended the erection of fortifications there and at 
 Marble creek, and, leaving a garrison in each place to 
 defend it, hastened to Jefferson City, which was also 
 threatened, and protected it from rebel attacks for ten 
 days, when Thompson, having abandoned his purpose, 
 General Grant left the Missouri capital to enter upon the 
 command of the important district of Cairo. 
 
 It was while he was in Southern Missouri, his biogra- 
 phers say, that he issued his famous special order con- 
 cerning Mrs. Selvidge's pie. The incident, which illus- 
 trates somewhat forcibly the quiet humor which is a 
 marked characteristic of the general, was something 
 like this: 
 
 In the rapid marches of his force in Southern Mis- 
 souri, their rations were often scanty, and not very 
 palatable, but the region was poor and sparsely set- 
 tled, and, for the most part, there was no chance of 
 procuring food from the inhabitants of the country 
 through which they were passing. At length, how-
 
 GENERAL GRANT. 21 
 
 ever, they emerged into a better and more cultivated 
 section, and Lieutenant Wickham, of an Indiana cavalry 
 regiment, who was in command of the advance guard of 
 eight men, halted at a farm-house of somewhat more com- 
 fortable appearance than any which they had passed, 
 and entered the dwelling with two second-lieutenants. 
 Pretending to be Brigadier-General Grant, he demanded 
 food for himself and his staff. The family, whose loyalty 
 was somewhat doubtful, alarmed at the idea of the Union 
 general being on their premises, hastily brought forward 
 the best their house afforded, at the same time loudly 
 protesting their attachment to the Union cause. The 
 lieutenants ate their fill, and, offering to compensate 
 their hosts, were told that there was nothing to pay ; 
 whereupon they went on their way, chuckling at their 
 adroitness in getting so good a dinner for nothing. Soon 
 after, General Grant, who had halted his army for a short 
 rest a few miles further back, came up, and being rather 
 favorably impressed with the appearance of the farm- 
 house, rode up to the door and asked if they would cook 
 him a meal. The woman, who grudged the food al- 
 ready furnished to the self-styled general and his staff, 
 replied gruffly, " No ! General Grant and his staff have 
 just been here, and eaten every thing in the house, ex- 
 cept one pumpkin-pie." 
 
 " Ah !" said Grant ; " what is your name ?" 
 
 " Selvidge," answered the woman. 
 
 Tossing her a half-dollar, the general asked, " Will 
 you keep that pie till I send an officer for it ?" 
 
 " I will," said the woman. 
 
 The general and staff rode on, and soon a camping 
 ground was selected, and the regiments were notified 
 that there would be a grand parade at half-past six for 
 orders. This was unusual, and neither officers nor men
 
 22 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 could imagine what was coming. The parade was 
 formed, however, ten columns deep and a quarter of a 
 mile in length. After the usual review, the assistant 
 adjutant-general read the following : 
 
 "HEADQUARTERS, ARMY m THE FIELD. 
 
 " Special Order, No. . 
 
 " Lieutenant Wickham, of the Indiana Cavalry, 
 
 having on this day eaten every thing in Mrs. Selvidge's 
 house, at the crossing of the Ironton and Pocahontas 
 and Black river and Cape Girardeau roads, except one 
 pumpkin pie, Lieutenant Wickfield is hereby ordered to 
 return with an escort of one hundred cavalry and eat 
 
 that pie also. 
 
 "U. S. GRANT, 
 " Brigadier-general commanding." 
 
 To attempt to evade this order was useless, and at 
 seven o'clock the lieutenant filed out of camp with his 
 hundred men, amid the cheers of the whole army. The 
 escort witnessed the eating of the pie, the whole of 
 which the lieutenant succeeded in devouring, and re- 
 turned to camp. 
 
 The post of Cairo, the headquarters of the district to 
 the command of which General Grant was now ordered, 
 was one, from its position, of great importance to the 
 Union cause. It commanded both the Ohio and the- 
 Upper Mississippi, and was the depot of supplies for an 
 extensive region above, and subsequently below. Grant's 
 command extended along the shores of the Mississippi 
 as far as Cape Girardeau, and on the Ohio to the mouth 
 of Green river, and included Western Kentucky. That 
 State at this time was trying to maintain a neutral posi- 
 tion, favoring neither the Union nor the rebels, a posi-
 
 GENERAL GRANT. 23 
 
 tion which was as absurd as it was soon found to be im- 
 possible. The rebels were the first to cross the lines 
 and take possession of the important towns of Columbus 
 "and Hickman, on the Mississippi, and Bowling Green on 
 the Green river, all of which they fortified. General 
 Grant was apprized of these violations of Kentucky's 
 professed neutrality, and as they afforded him ample 
 justification for occupying positions within the State, he 
 quietly sent a body of troops on the 6th of September 
 up the Ohio to Paducah, a town at the mouth of the 
 Tennessee, and took possession of it at the time when 
 the secessionists there were poking for the entry of the 
 rebel troops who were marching to occupy it. The rage 
 of these enemies of the country can be better imagined 
 than described. Rebel flags were flaunted in the faces 
 of our troops, and they were told that they should not 
 long retain possession of the town. 
 
 This did not, " however, in the least disturb the equa- 
 nimity of General Grant. He issued a proclamation to 
 the inhabitants, informing them of hjis reasons for taking 
 possession of the town, and that he was prepared to 'de- 
 fend the citizens against the enemy ; and added, signifi- 
 cantly, that he had nothing to do with opinions, but 
 should deal only with armed rebellion, and its aiders 
 and abettors. 
 
 On the 25th of September he dispatched a force to 
 Smithland, at the mouth of the Cumberland river, and 
 took possession of that town also. The principal avenues 
 through which the. rebels had obtained supplies of food, 
 clothing, arms, and ammunition, from the North, were 
 thus effectually closed. 
 
 When General Grant was assigned to the command 
 at Cairo, General McClernand's brigade and some other 
 troops were added to his own brigade. Having taken
 
 24 CUE GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 
 
 possession of Paducah and Smithland, he now began to 
 turn his attention to Columbus, Ky., an important posi- 
 tion, held by the rebel Major-General Polk (a former 
 bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church) with a force 
 of twenty thousand men. He had nearly completed his 
 arrangements for attacking this post, when the Govern- 
 ment ordered him to send five of his regiments tp St. 
 Louis ; this left him too weak to make the attack with 
 any hope of success. Meantime, there had been some 
 correspondence between General Polk and General 
 Grant, concerning an exchange of prisoners, of which 
 each side had taken a coi^iderable number. General 
 Polk commenced the correspondence, proposing the ex- 
 change, and referred repeatedly in his communication 
 to the Confederate army and the Confederate States. 
 General Grant replied that he had no authority to make 
 exchanges ; that he recognized no southern confederacy 
 himself, but would communicate with higher authorities 
 for their views, and, should he not be sustained, would 
 find means of communicating with him. 
 
 On the 16th of October, General Grant having learned 
 that the rebel General Jeff. Thompson was approaching 
 Pilot Knob, Mo., and evidently purposing an extensive 
 raid through Southeastern Missouri, ordered fifteen 
 hundred men, under Colonel Plummer, then stationed at 
 Cape Girardeau, to move towards Fredericktown, Mo., 
 by way of Jackson and Dallas, forming a junction at the 
 latter place- with Colonel Carlin, who had been ordered 
 to move with three thousand men from another point, 
 and, pursuing Thompson, to defeat and rout his force v 
 The expeditions were successful. Thompson was found, 
 on the 21st of October, not far from Dallas, on the 
 Greenville road, and, after an action of two and a half 
 hours, defeated and routed with very heavy loss. Co-
 
 GENERAL GRANT. 25 
 
 lonel Plummer captured in this engagement forty-two 
 prisoners and one twelve-pounder. 
 
 By this expedition, General Grant ascertained the posi- 
 tion and strength of Jeff. Thompson's forces, and learned 
 also that the rebels were concentrating a considerable 
 force at Belmont, Missouri, nearly opposite Columbus, 
 Ky., with a view to blockade the Mississippi river, and 
 to move speedily upon his position at Cftiro. Having 
 received orders to that effect from his superior officers, 
 General Grant resolved to break up this camp, although 
 aware that the rebels could be reinforced to almost any 
 extent from Columbus, Ky. 
 
 On the evening of the 6th of November, General 
 Grant embarked two brigades, hi all about two thou- 
 sand eight hundred and fifty men, under his own 
 and General McClernand's command, on board river 
 steamers, and moved down the Mississippi. He had 
 previously detached small bodies of troops to threaten 
 Columbus from different directions, and to deceive the 
 rebels as to his intentions. The ruse was successful, and 
 the force which he commanded in person reached the 
 vicinity of Belmont, and landed before the enemy had 
 comprehended their intention. The Union troops, dis- 
 embarking with great promptness, marched rapidly 
 towards the rebel camp, a distance of about two and a 
 half miles, and, forcing their way through a dense 
 abatis and other obstructions, charged through the 
 camp, capturing their camp equipage, artillery, and 
 small-arms, and burned the tents, blankets, &c. They 
 also took a large number of prisoners. The rebel force 
 at the camp was not far from 4,000, but General Polk, 
 learning of the attack, sent over as reinforcements eight 
 regiments, or somewhat more than 4,000 more troops, 
 \inder the command of Generals Pillow and Cheatham, 
 
 3
 
 26 OUR GEEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 and finally crossed the river himself and took com- 
 mand.' General Grant having accomplished all, and 
 more than he expected, and being aware that Belmont 
 was covered by the batteries at Columbus, and that 
 heavy reinforcements could readily be sent from thence, 
 made no attempt to hold the position, but withdrew in 
 good order. On their way to their transports, the 
 Union troops were confronted by the fresh rebel force 
 under Folk's command, and a severe battle ensued, 
 during which a considerable number of the rebel pris- 
 oners made their escape ; and there were heavy losses 
 in killed and wounded on both sides, the Union loss 
 amounting to nearly one hundred killed, and four hun- 
 dred or five hundred wounded and missing, the larger 
 part of whom were prisoners. What was the exact 
 rebel loss has never transpired, but it is known to have 
 been larger than this, the number of prisoners alone ex- 
 ceeding the total Union loss. The Union troops at 
 length succeeded in reaching their transports and re- 
 embarking, under the protection of the gunboats Tyler 
 and Lexington, which had conveyed them, bringing 
 with them two cannon which they had captured, and 
 spiking two others, which they were obliged to abandon. 
 This action, which was represented in some quarters as 
 a Union defeat, proved to have been rather a Union vic- 
 tory, the advantages being decidedly on the part of 
 General Grant, and his men having, by the action, 
 gained confidence in themselves and in their com- 
 mander. 
 
 On the 20th of December, General Halleck, who was 
 then in command of the western department, reorganized 
 the districts of his command, and enlarged the district 
 of Cairo, including in it all the southern portion of Illi- 
 nois, all of Kentucky west of the Cumberland river,
 
 GENEEAL GRANT. 27 
 
 and the southern counties of Missouri, and appointed 
 General Grant commander of the new district. Large 
 numbers of troops newly mustered into the service, and 
 as yet untrained to military duties, poured into this dis- 
 trict, some for service within its limits, others intended 
 to reinforce the armies in other districts. General Grant 
 maintained a vigilant supervision over these, and, where- 
 ever it was possible, subjected them to a thorough dis- 
 cipline, organization, and training, to qualify them for 
 service, and then distributed them as rapidly as pos- 
 sible to the various posts within his district, or, when 
 so directed, to other points. On the 10th of Janu- 
 ary, 1862, the troops under the command of General 
 McClernand were sent in transports, convoyed by two 
 gunboats, to Fort Jefferson, Ky., and landed there, the 
 gunboats being ordered to lie off the fort. The rebels 
 attacked these gunboats with three vessels the next day, 
 but were beaten off after a brisk engagement, and pur- 
 sued till they took refuge under the batteries of 
 Columbus. 
 
 On the 14th of January, 1862, General Grant made 
 an extended reconnoissance in force, moving in three 
 columns, by different routes, to explore the country east 
 of Columbus, and ascertain the rebel strength and posi- 
 tion, with a view to an important enterprise soon to be 
 undertaken. The reconnoissance was a severe and la- 
 borious one for raw troops, on account of the weather 
 and the condition of the roads, but it was in every 
 respect successful. On this march, General Grant issued 
 general orders, the first, it is believed, issued during the 
 war, prohibiting, under the severest penalties, all private 
 plundering and straggling, and directing the order of 
 march. The gunboats which had been constructed 
 during the autumn and winter on the Mississippi,
 
 28 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 above Cairo, were now completed, and General Grant 
 called for volunteers from the troops to man them, as 
 there was a lack of sailors to make up the complement 
 for their efficient management. The number of volun- 
 teers proved sufficient, and the gunboat flotilla, under 
 the command of Flag-officer (afterwards Rear-Admiral) 
 A. H. Foote, was soon ready for action. 
 
 Grant kept up his feint of attacking Columbus, and 
 by his movements and general orders, issued for effect, 
 led the rebels to concentrate at that point most of their 
 available forces, while he was preparing for a flank 
 movement in a different direction, which would compel 
 them to evacuate that post without his striking a blow. 
 Two large divisions were secretly concentrated at Pa- 
 ducah and Smithland, at the mouths of the Tennessee 
 and Cumberland rivers, under the command of Generals 
 C. F. Smith and Lewis Wallace ; and the other two di- 
 visions under his command, which were apparently ready 
 to pounce upon Columbus, were quietly withdrawn, and 
 one being left to hold his base at Cairo, the other was 
 transferred by night to Paducah, on the night of Feb. 
 2d, and, with the troops already there, moved directly 
 upon Fort Henry on the Tennessee river. The gun- 
 boats were also moving for the same point, and arrived 
 on the morning of February 6th, in advance of the 
 troops, who were delayed by the condition of the roads. 
 Grant was hastening forward as rapidly as possible, and 
 was prepared to cut off the retreat of the garrison. Flag- 
 officer Foote, having ascertained that the rebels were 
 expecting reinforcements, resolved to attack the fort 
 without waiting for the land forces to come up. He did 
 so; and, after an engagement of an hour and a quarter, 
 the garrison surrendered the fort, the rebel forces out- 
 side having made their escape to Fort Donelson.
 
 GENERAL GRANT. 29 
 
 General Grant came up within an hour, and the fort 
 and its contents was handed over to him. The disposi- 
 tions he had made would have insured its capture the 
 same day, had Flag-officer Foote not anticipated the 
 time of attack. 
 
 The capture of Fort Henry, however, was but one 
 item in the programme which General Grant had 
 marked out for accomplishment. Fort Donelson, a 
 much larger and stronger work, and defended by a 
 garrison of more than twenty thousand men, and lying 
 nearly east of Fort Henry, still obstructed the passage 
 of the Cumberland, and forbade the advance of the 
 Union forces southward. To possess himself of this im- 
 portant fortress was the design of General Grant, and 
 ordering up all the available forces of his district to join 
 him on the strip of land lying between the Tennessee 
 and Cumberland rivers, near the Kentucky line, on 
 the llth of February the three divisions constituting 
 his force, under the command of Generals McCler- 
 nand, C. F. Smith, and Lewis Wallace, moved by 
 different routes towards Fort Donelson, and by the 
 evening of the 12th were in front of the fort. General 
 Grant proceeded at once to put them in position to in- 
 vest the fort, though, owing to the non-arrival of the 
 gunboats, which had been obliged to descend the Ten- 
 nessee and ascend the Cumberland, the river front of the 
 fort was still open. On the morning of the 13th the 
 Carondelet, the only gunboat which had arrived, by 
 General Grant's direction engaged the fort for two 
 hours, and then withdrew. The object of this diver- 
 sion was to give time for the remainder of his troops 
 and the gunboats to arrive by way of the river. On 
 the 14th, the gunboats and troops having arrived, a 
 combined attack by the land and marine forces was 
 
 3*
 
 30 OTJK GKEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 ordered. The principal attack was made by the gun- 
 boats, which silenced the water-batteries; but, after a 
 protracted contest, two of the iron-clads were disabled 
 by plunging shots from the higher batteries, and two 
 others so much injured that a single shot might disable- 
 them entirely. Under these circumstances, Flag-officer 
 Foote, who had already been wounded*, decided to with- 
 draw from the action. General Grant now proposed to 
 reduce the fort by siege, but on the morning of the 15th 
 the enemy made a sudden and desperate sortie from 
 their works upon the extreme right of the Union line, 
 and at first broke it and captured two batteries of artil- 
 lery. Very soon the troops were rallied, reinforcements 
 brought up, and all but three of the captured guns re- 
 taken. The rebels in turn were reinforced, and again 
 broke through the Union lines and drove back the sup- 
 porting regiments, holding the position they had gained 
 with great tenacity. At this time the Union centre had 
 advanced and gained some successes in the rebel line, 
 but so successful had the rebels been on the right that 
 the day seemed lost. General Pillow, the second officer 
 in command in the rebel fort, telegraphed to Nashville, 
 " Upon the honor of a soldier, the day is ours." But 
 while some of the Union officers gave way to despond- 
 ency, no such feeling found a place in the heart of 
 General Grant. At the darkest moment, he exclaimed 
 to one of his staff, after comparing the reports of the of- 
 ficers sent into headquarters, "Good! we have them 
 now exactly where we want them." General C. F. 
 Smith, one of the ablest officers in the army, was ordered 
 to make a vigorous assault with his fresh troops on the 
 left of the line, and carry it at whatever cost; and, 
 meantime, Lewis Wallace was to hurl his force against 
 the enemy in their advanced position on the right, and
 
 GENERAL GRANT. 31 
 
 drive them back at the point of the bayonet. General 
 Smith's advance was one of the finest of the war. With 
 his cap lifted, and his gray hair streaming in the wind, 
 he galloped along the front of his men, unheeding the 
 missiles which flew thick around him like the pattering 
 of a heavy rain. " Steady ! men ; steady !" rang out in 
 his clear tones ; and steadily they advanced, though at 
 every step their lines were thinned by the deadly minie 
 balls. They reached the line of the rebel troops, and 
 drove them back, back, till they had gained a position 
 from which they could render the strongest portion of 
 the fort untenable. Then rang out their hurrahs, and 
 the whole army resounded with shouts of triumph. 
 Wallace had done his work well ; and at sunset the 
 Union army occupied a position along the whole line 
 which it was evident would give them the fort in an- 
 other day. That night the rebel generals held a council 
 to deliberate on their action for the morrow. General 
 Buckner, who had held the position on the left, from 
 which he had been driven by General Smith, declared 
 that he could not hold his post a half-hour if the Union 
 troops should attack, as they were certain to do, at day- 
 break ; that his men were too jmuch wearied and dis- 
 couraged to fight, and proposed to treat with Grant for 
 an armistice, and to capitulate on the best terms that 
 could be obtained. Floyd and Pillow objected to this ; 
 they were unwilling to be taken prisoners, Floyd, in par- 
 ticular, being conscious of a record as secretary of war 
 which would put his life in peril. There was some talk 
 of attempting to fight their way out, but Buckner de- 
 clared that three-fourths of the troops would be sacri- 
 ficed in the attempt ; and it was finally arranged that 
 Floyd and Pillow should relinquish their commands to 
 Buckner, and escape with what troops they could take
 
 32 OUK GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 away, and Buckner should surrender with the re- 
 mainder. Accordingly, Floyd and Pillow stole away 
 during the night with one brigade of rebel troops, and 
 embarking on some small steamboats in the river, made 
 their escape to Nashville. 
 
 At dawn of the 16th, a messenger, bearing a flag of 
 truce, approached the Union lines with a message for 
 General Grant. It was as follows : 
 
 " HEADQUARTERS, FORT DONELSON,) 
 FEBRUARY 16, 1862. f 
 
 "Sm, In consideration of all the circumstances gov- 
 erning the present situation of aifairs at this station, I 
 propose to the commanding officer of the Federal forces 
 the appointment of commissioners to agree upon terms 
 of capitulation of the forces and fort under my com- 
 mand, and in that view suggest an armistice till twelve 
 o'clock to-day. 
 
 I am, sir, respectfully, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 S. B. BUCKKER, Buia-GEN., C. S. A. 
 To BRIGADIER-GENERAL GRANT, commanding 
 
 United States forces near Fort Donelson." 
 
 The writer of this note knew what Grant did not, 
 that he was powerless to continue the contest another 
 hour, and that his two senior generals and a part of his 
 troops had already fled ; but Grant was fully assured 
 that before sunset of that day he could carry the fort by 
 force of arms, though perhaps with consideiable loss ; 
 but he had no disposition to hold parley long with a 
 traitor^ nor to yield other and better conditions fb. him 
 than such as he had the power to enforce within a few 
 hours, and he accordingly sent back by Buckner's mes- 
 senger the following brief but decisive reply:
 
 GENERAL GRANT. 33 
 
 " HEADQUARTERS, ARMY IN THE FIELD, ) 
 CAMP NEAR DONELSON, FEB. 16, 1862. ) 
 
 To GENERAL S. B. BUCKNER, Confederate Army, 
 
 Yours of this date proposing an armistice, and ap- 
 pointment of commissioners to settle terms of capitula- 
 tion, is just received. No terms other than uncondi- 
 tional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I pro- 
 pose to move immediately upon your works." 
 I am, respectfully, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 U. S. GRANT, 
 Brig.-Gen., U. S. A., commanding." 
 
 The rebel general was greatly chagrined at this reply, 
 but, knowing his inability to sustain another assault, he 
 was compelled to submit, which he did most ungra- 
 ciously in the following letter : 
 
 " HEADQUARTERS, DOVER, TENN., ) 
 FEB. 16, 1869. ) 
 
 To BRIGADIER-GENERAL U. S. GRANT, U. S. A. 
 
 SIR, The distribution of the forces under my com- 
 mand, incident to an unexpected change of commanders, 
 and the overwhelming force under your command, 
 compel me, notwithstanding the brilliant success of the 
 Confederate arms yesterday, to accept the ungenerous 
 and unchivalrous terms which you propose. 
 
 I am, sir, your very obedient servant, 
 S. B. BUCKNER, 
 
 Brig.-Gen., C. S. A." 
 
 g 
 By this surrender the Union troops received, and the 
 
 rebels lost, over thirteen thousand prisoners, including 
 one brigadier-general and numerous inferior officers, 
 three thousand horses, forty-eight field-pieces, seventeen
 
 34 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 heavy guns, twenty thousand stand of arms, and a large 
 quantity of commissary stores. The rebel loss, aside 
 from this, was 230 killed, and 1,007 wounded, some 
 of whom were prisoners. The Union loss was, killed 
 446, wounded 1,135, prisoners 150. The day after the 
 capitulation two regiments of rebel Tennesseans, num- 
 bering 1,745 officers arid men, who had been ordered to 
 reinforce Fort Donelson, but were unaware of the sur- 
 render, marched into the fort with colors flying, and 
 were at once made prisoners. 
 
 The capture of these forts having effectually flanked 
 the rebel posts of Columbus and Bowling Green, Ky., 
 the rebel commanders made all haste to evacuate them, 
 Polk descending the river to island No. Ten, and John- 
 ston making a hurried retreat to Nashville, Tenn. 
 
 The victory thus won caused the promotion of General 
 Grant to the major-generalship, his commission dating 
 Feb. 16, 1862. It may be as well in this place to meet 
 the charge which was about this time industriously prop- 
 agated, that General Grant was addicted to habits of 
 intemperance. The masterly manner in which he had 
 conducted the brief campaign just closed was in itself an 
 indication that he could not have been, as was freely 
 charged, an habitual drunkard ; but we have other and 
 conclusive evidence that the charge, however it origi- 
 nated, was wholly false. His father, and the officers of 
 his staff, who have been with him throughout the war, 
 testify that he is, and has been from his youth, one of 
 the most abstemious of men, rarely or never tasting in- 
 toxicating liquors, even as a medicine. 
 
 'On the 14th of February, General Halleck, foreseeing 
 the result which soon followed, announced the formation 
 of the new military district of West Tennessee, bounded 
 on the south by Tennessee river and the State line of
 
 GENERAL GKANT. 35 
 
 Mississippi, and west by the Mississippi river as far 
 north as Cairo. To the command of this new district 
 he assigned General Grant, with permission to select his 
 own headquarters. 
 
 In taking command of this new district, on the lYth 
 of February, General Grant first issued the following 
 congratulatory order to the troops which had aided in 
 the reduction of Fort Donelson : 
 
 " HEADOJTABTERS, DISTRICT OF WEST TENNESSEE, ) 
 FORT DONELSON, FEB. 17, 1862. y 
 
 General Order, No. 2. 
 
 The General commanding takes great pleasure in con- 
 gratulating the troops of this command for the triumph 
 over rebellion gained by their valor on the thirteenth, 
 fourteenth, and fifteenth instant. For four successive 
 nights, without shelter, during the most inclement wea- 
 ther known in this latitude, they faced an enemy in 
 large force, in a position chosen by himself. Though 
 strongly fortified by nature, all the additional safeguards 
 suggested by science were added. Without a murmur 
 this was borne, prepared at all times to receive an at- 
 tack, and with continuous skirmishing by day, resulting 
 ultimately in forcing the enemy to surrender without 
 conditions. The victory achieved is not only great in 
 the effect it will have in breaking down rebellion, but 
 has secured the greatest number of prisoners of war ever 
 taken in any battle on this continent. 
 
 Fort Donelson Avill hereafter be marked in capitals 
 on the map of our united country, and the men who 
 fought the battle will live in the memory of a grateful 
 people. 
 
 By order of 
 
 U. S. GRANT, 
 
 Brig.-Gen. commanding."
 
 36 OUB GKEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 It was no part of General Grant's policy to rest satis- 
 fied with this victory. The enemy whom he had thus 
 driven from one stronghold must be followed promptly, 
 and driven successively from each one where they might 
 seek shelter. The district of West Tennessee, now 
 nominally, must be very soon really in his possession, 
 and the rebel army captured or driven far towards the 
 Gulf. Immediate preparation was therefore made for 
 an advance. The gunboats were ordered to ascend the 
 Cumberland, and a land force, consisting of a division of 
 Grant's army, under command of General C. F. Smith, 
 marched along the west bank of that river to keep them 
 company. 
 
 On the 20th of February, Clarksville, the most im- 
 portant depot of supplies on the river, was captured 
 without a fight, and supplies sufficient to sustain Grant's? 
 whole Army for twenty days were found there. This 
 place was at once garrisoned and held, while the gun- 
 boats continued to ascend the river to open the way for 
 the Army of the Ohio, under command of General Bueli, 
 which was marching from Bowling Green to occupy 
 Nashville. On the 22d of February, General Grant, 
 who remained for a time at Fort Donelson to or- 
 ganize the troops constantly arriving, and to send 
 forward men and supplies, issued an order declaring 
 his district under martial 'law; and on the 25th, pub- 
 lished a general order received from General Halleck, 
 prohibiting, under severe penalties, all pillaging, ma- 
 rauding, the destruction of private property, and the 
 stealing and concealment of slaves, and defining the 
 status of non-combatants, and the rules to be ob- 
 served in obtaining forced contributions for supplies 
 and subsistence. 
 
 After the fall of Nashville, the gunboats returned to
 
 GENERAL GKANT, 37 
 
 the Ohio river, and ascended the Tennessee river as far 
 as Florence, Alabama. Their reconnoissance demon- 
 strated the fact that there were no considerable bodies 
 of rebel troops along the river, and that a base of opera- 
 tions could be established near the southern line of his 
 district. In the interval which must necessarily elapse 
 before this change could be effected, he removed his 
 headquarters to Fort Henry, and continued the organi- 
 zation of the troops now constantly ascending the Ten- 
 nessee river, sending small bodies in every direction to 
 scour the country, who occasionally encountered the 
 enemy, and, in one instance (at Paris, Tenn.) met and 
 defeated a considerable rebel force, causing them to lose 
 in killed, wounded, and prisoners, over one hundred 
 men. 
 
 While engaged in this work of organizing troops, on 
 the Hth of March, General Grant was presented with an 
 elegant sword by four of the colonels of regiments con- 
 stituting the garrison of Fort Henry. 
 
 The rebel commander-in-chief, Albert Sydney John- 
 ston, after he had been compelled to abandon Nashville, 
 concentrated his troops at Corinth, Mississippi, the point 
 of junction of the Mobile and Ohio and Memphis and 
 Charleston railroads, a position which, from its connec- 
 tions with the great network of railroads traversing the 
 Southern States, was admirably adapted to the collec- 
 tion of troops from all quarters, and, from its great 
 natural strength and capacity for fortification, could 
 readily be made a most formidable position. To this 
 point were brought, with the greatest possible rapidity, 
 all the rebel troops which could be collected from the 
 Southwest, and organized under the supervision of 
 Generals Johnston, Beauregard, Bragg, Hardee, and 
 Polk. Corinth was but little more than twenty-five 
 
 4
 
 38 OUR GEEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 miles from Savannah, Tennessee, the point first selected 
 by General Grant as his base of operations, and was still 
 nearer to Pittsburg Landing or Shiloh, on the west 
 bank of the Tennessee, the point finally selected from 
 strategic considerations by Major-General C. F. Smith, 
 who was in command in the absence of General Grant 
 at Fort Henry. General Buell with the army of the 
 Ohio, which had been in the service longer than most 
 of Grant's troops, was ordered by General Halleck to 
 march across the country from Nashville and join Grant 
 at Pittsburg Landing, and, the roads being heavy, made 
 but slow progress. 
 
 Meantime the rebel commander, who had assembled 
 at Corinth an army of full forty-five thousand men, 
 under his ablest generals, with thirty thousand more 
 under Van Dorn and Price, coming from Arkansas, 
 well disciplined, and provided with all that was ne- 
 cessary to its efficiency, had conceived the plan of 
 hurling his forces upon Grant before Buell could come 
 up, and while Lewis Wallace's division was at Crump's 
 Landing, some distance from the field of battle, and 
 thus conquei-ing the Union army in detail. The plan 
 was well devised, and came very near being successful, 
 Johnston at first fixed upon April 5th as the time for 
 making the attack, and had he adhered to this deter- 
 mination he would very possibly have succeeded j but, 
 desirous of obtaining Van Dorn's and Price's reinforce- 
 ments before moving, he delayed one day, in the hope 
 that they would come up, and that day's delay lost him 
 the battle. The roads in that region were so heavy that 
 though Pittsburg Landing was but twenty miles away, 
 it took the rebel army two days to reach it. General 
 Grant's suspicions had been aroused by the movements 
 of some of the rebel reconnoitering parties on the night
 
 GENERAL GRANT. 39 
 
 of the second of April, and he returned to the camp 
 that night from Savannah, ten miles away, where his 
 headquarters were, and reconnoitred in person. 
 
 As no sign of battle appeared, he returned to Sa- 
 vannah, leaving orders to fire a signal-gun if there were 
 any appearances of an approaching battle. The Union 
 army was surrounded by spies ; rebel citizens who, while 
 professing to be non-combatants, discovered and carried 
 to the rebel headquarters every position and movement 
 of the Union forces. 
 
 The forces under General Grant's command, consti- 
 tuting the army of West Tennessee, were organized in 
 five divisions, commanded as follows: First division, 
 Major-General John A. McClernand ; second division, 
 Brigadier-General W. H. L. Wallace; third division, 
 Major-General Lewis Wallace ; fourth division, Briga- 
 dier-General S. A. Hurlbut; fifth division, Brigadier* 
 General W. T. Sherman. Of these generals, McCler- 
 nand, W. H. S. Wallace, Hurlbut, and Sherman were 
 at Pittsburg Landing, and Lewis Wallace at Crump's 
 Landing, six miles distant. General Buell's forces, the 
 Army of the Ohio, were twenty miles distant. 
 
 The troops were arranged in the following order : 
 Prentiss's command, a subdivision of McClernand's, oc- 
 , cupied the extreme Union left, resting on Lick creek, a 
 distance of nearly three miles from the Tennessee river; 
 next came McClernand ; then W. H. L. Wallace, forming 
 the right, with Sherman partly in reserve as a support 
 on the right wing, extending along Snake creek. Gene- 
 ral Hurlbut's division acted as the supports of Prentiss 
 on the left wing, and were also partly in reserve. The 
 Union force that day in the battle did not exceed thirty- 
 eight thousand. The rebel commander had thrown a 
 detachment between Pittsburg and Crump's landings,
 
 40 CUE GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 and thus obstructed Lew. Wallace's division, and com- 
 pelled them to make so extended a detour that they were 
 unable to take any part in the first day's battle. 
 
 The battle commenced at daybreak of the 6th of 
 April (Sunday), by a sudden and desperate attack on 
 the extreme left, Prentiss's division, which was taken 
 somewhat by surprise, but fought bravely. The rebel 
 force was, however, massed so heavily upon them, that 
 they at last gave way, and the greater part of them were 
 captured. Hurrying these to the rear, the rebels next 
 hurled their forces upon W. H. L. Wallace and Sher- 
 man. Wallace was mortally wounded, and his troops 
 driven back some distance, but Sherman, making a 
 stubborn .resistance, held his position and repulsed the 
 enemy, who however rallied and returned to the attack, 
 flinging, meantime, a large force of fresh troops upon 
 McClernand's division, and that general, though doing 
 his utmost to keep his troops in line, was crowded back. 
 The rebels next having tried in vain to break Sherman's 
 lines, about two P.M. slackened their fire on him, and 
 threw their principal force on General Hurlbut's divi- 
 sion, gradually but surely pressing them back, till the 
 greater part of the line was two and a half miles in rear 
 of their first position, though still a half-mile from the 
 river. Sherman meanwhile had taken a new line in a 
 strong position, and repulsed all attacks, while Web- 
 ster, General Grant's chief of artillery, gathering the 
 batteries which had been scattered, and some of them 
 deserted, opened a steady and destructive fire upon 
 the enemy, who were making desperate efforts to turn 
 the Union left, rout General Hurlbut, and gain posses- 
 sion of the landing. The fire of the artillery, aided by 
 that of the gunboats Tyler and Lexington, which, 
 coming within range, opened heavily upon the rebel
 
 GENERAL GRANT. 41 
 
 ranks, caused them to give way a little, and General 
 T. J. Wood's division, the advance of Buell's corps, 
 coming up just at this time, aided in driving them back. 
 At nightfall the rebels rested on their arms in what had 
 been the Union camp ; but the Union forces, though 
 sadly shattered, looked forward with confidence to the 
 morrow, when they felt certain they would be able to 
 drive back and defeat the enemy. The rebel com- 
 mander-in-chief, General Albert S. Johnston, had been 
 mortally wounded early in the action, and died before 
 evening, and General Beauregard was now in com- 
 mand. 
 
 Where, in this day of desperate fighting, was General 
 Grant ? That he was in the battle during the day was 
 admitted, and was, indeed, evident from his own re- 
 port, though, with characteristic modesty, he does not 
 state when he reached the field. But his enemies, and 
 among them some who should have had more manhood 
 than to have brought false accusations against him, 
 charged that he was surprised, and was, indeed, de- 
 feated, until General Buell's coming and taking com- 
 mand reversed the tables, and from the misfortunes 
 of the first day's battle evoked the triumph of the 
 second. It was also charged that he was unjustifiably 
 absent on the morning of the first day's battle ; that his 
 place was with his troops ; that he did not arrive till 
 noon, and that he did nothing to prevent the demorali- 
 zation which was taking place among his raw troops. To 
 these charges, though knowing their falsity, General 
 Grant has never deigned reply, but within the past few 
 weeks we have had a refutation of them from the man 
 'of all others best qualified to testify to the truth in the 
 case, Major-General Sherman. He states, in a letter to 
 the editor of the " United States Service Magazine," that 
 
 4*
 
 42 OUK GKEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 the battle-field was chosen by the late lamented Major- 
 General Charles F. Smith, and that it was well chosen ; 
 that on any other the Union army would have been over- 
 whelmed. He further says that General Grant was early 
 on the field ; that he visited his division in person about 
 ten A. M., when the battle was raging fiercest ; approved 
 of his stubborn resistance to the enemy, and, in answer 
 to his inquiry concerning cartridges, told him that he 
 had anticipated their want, and given orders accord- 
 ingly ; and, remarking that his presence was more 
 needed over at the left, rode off to encourage the 
 hardly pressed ranks of McClernand's and Hurlbut's 
 divisions. 
 
 " About five P. M.," continues General Sherman, " be- 
 fore the sun set, General Grant came again to me, and, 
 after hearing my report of matters, explained to me the 
 situation of affairs on the left, which were not as favor- 
 able ; still, the enemy had failed to reach the landing of 
 the boats. We agreed that the enemy had expended 
 the furore of his attack, and we estimated our loss and 
 approximated our then strength, including Lew. Wal- 
 lace's fresh division, expected each minute. He then 
 ordered me to get all things ready, and at daylight the 
 next clay to assume the offensive. That was before 
 General Buell had arrived, but he was known to be near 
 at hand. General Buell's troops took no essential part 
 in the first day's fight, and Grant's army, though col- 
 lected together hastily, green as militia, some regiments 
 arriving without cartridges even, and nearly all hearing 
 the dread sound of battle for the first time, had success- 
 fully withstood and repelled the first day's terrific onset 
 of a superior enemy, well commanded and well handled. 
 I know I had orders from General Grant to assume the 
 offensive before I knew General Buell was on the west
 
 GENERAL GRANT. 43 
 
 side of the Tennessee I understood Grant's forces 
 
 were to advance on the right of the Corinth road, and 
 Buell's on the left (this was on the 7th), and accordingly 
 at daylight I advanced my division by the flank, the re- 
 sistance being trivial, up to the very spot where the day 
 before the battle had been most severe, and then waited 
 till near noon for Buell's troops to get up abreast, when 
 the entire line advanced and recovered all the ground 
 we had ever held. I know that, with the exception of 
 one or two severe struggles, the fighting of April 7th 
 was easy as compared with that of April 6th. I never 
 was disposed, nor am I now, to question any thing done 
 by General Buell and his army, and know that, ap- 
 proaching our field of battle from the rear, he en- 
 countered that sickening crowd of laggards and fugi- 
 tives that excited his contempt and that of his army, 
 who never gave full credit to those in the front line who 
 did fight hard, and who had, at four p. M., checked the 
 enemy, and were preparing the next day to assume the 
 offensive." 
 
 Thus far General Sherman. Let us now resume the 
 history of the battle. General Lew. Wallace's division 
 had reached the battle-field on the evening of the 6th, 
 too late to participate in the fighting of that day, but 
 fresh and ready for the severe work of the morrow. 
 General Nelson's division of Buell's army crossed the 
 river during the night, and were also ready to com- 
 mence fighting at dawn ; but the remainder of Buell's 
 army, owing to a deficiency of transportation and the ' 
 want of pontoons, did not cross till the morning of the 
 7th. General Grant assigned Wallace's division to the 
 right and Nelson's to the left of his line, and the divi- 
 sions which formed the centre were those which had so 
 bravely withstood the onset of the previous day. The
 
 44: OUK GKEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 attack on the 7th was made by the Union troops, 
 General Nelson, on the left, opening with a destructive 
 and galling fire, and advancing rapidly as the rebels fell 
 back. In a short time the fighting was general along 
 the whole line, and though the rebels maintained their 
 position with great tenacity at some points, and were 
 urged forward by their leaders, they at length began to 
 break, and, when the remainder of Buell's troops came 
 up towards noon, they gave evidence of thorough de- 
 feat, and, after an ineffective struggle, fled, abandon- 
 ing their artillery and small-arms, about five o'clock, 
 p. M. The battle had been the most sanguinary of the 
 war up to that time. Of the Union troops^ one thousand 
 six hundred and fourteen were slain, seven thousand 
 seven hundred and twenty-one were wounded, and 
 three thousand nine hundred and sixty-three were 
 missing, the greater part of them prisoners, making a 
 total of thirteen thousand two hundred and ninety- 
 eight hors de combat. The rebel losses, as stated by 
 Pollard, were, killed, one thousand seven hundred and 
 twenty-eight ; wounded, eight thousand and twelve ; 
 missing, nine hundred and fifty-nine ; making an ag- 
 gregate of ten thousand six hundred and ninety-nine. 
 
 There is abundant evidence that the amount of miss- 
 ing, which includes the prisoners not wounded, is greatly 
 understated, and from this statement it appears that the 
 number of their killed and wounded was considerably 
 in excess of that of the Union troops. The loss of 
 cannon by the Union troops on the sixth was nearly 
 or quite balanced by the loss of the rebels on the 
 seventh. General Grant was slightly wounded in the 
 ankle in this battle. The rebel loss of officers in high 
 command had been very severe. Besides their com- 
 mander-in-chief, General A. S. Johnston, General Glad-
 
 GENERAL GEANT. 45 
 
 den of South Carolina, General G. M. Johnston, pseudo 
 governor of Kentucky, and Colonels Adams, Kitt Wil- 
 liams, and Blythe were killed ; and Generals Breckin- 
 ridge, Hardee, Cheatharn, Johnson, and Bowen were 
 wounded. General Grant's troops were too completely 
 exhausted to make pursuit that night, and General Buell 
 did not order any of his force, which was less wearied, 
 to that duty. On the morning of the 8th, General Grant 
 ordered Sherman to follow the retreating rebel force. 
 He did so, and proceeding along the Corinth road, came 
 upon the rebel cavalry, whom he drove from the field 
 after a short skirmish, and, pressing forward, entered 
 and destroyed the rebel camp and considerable quan- 
 tities of ammunition. Proceeding onward, he found 
 abundant evidences of a hasty and disorderly retreat, in 
 the abandoned Wagons, ambulances, and limber-boxes 
 which strewed the road. 
 
 OB the evening of the 8th, General Beauregard sent by 
 flag of truce a note to General Grant, asking permission 
 to send a mounted party to the battlefield to bury the 
 dead, and that gentlemen wishing to remove the re- 
 mains of their sons and friends might accompany the 
 party. The next morning General Grant replied that, 
 owing to the warmth of the weather, he had made heavy 
 details of forces to bury the dead of both parties, and 
 that it had been accomplished. He therefore declined to 
 permit the approach of any party of the enemy to the 
 battle-field. 
 
 General Halleck, the commander of the Mississippi 
 department, on hearing of the battle of Pittsburg Land- 
 ing, hastened at once to the field to take command in 
 person, and on the 13th of April issued a general order 
 expressive of his thanks to General Grant and General 
 Buell, and the officers and men under their charge, for
 
 46 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 the results of the great battle. He also collected at the 
 camp at Pittsburg Landing all the troops which could 
 be spared from the other posts of the department, and 
 reorganized the army in sixteen divisions, eight of which 
 formed the Army of the Tennessee, under General Grant, 
 four the Army of the Ohio, under General Buell, and four 
 the Army of the Mississippi, under General John Pope. 
 On the 30th of April this grand army moved forward 
 to drive the rebels from their strongly fortified position 
 at Corinth. As they approached the stronghold several 
 sharp actions occurred between them and the rebels, 
 which however resulted, in each instance, in the repulse 
 of the latter. On the 1 7th of May the Union army com- 
 menced a series of regular approaches for the reduction 
 of the city. On the 19th, General Grant urged General 
 Halleck to allow him with his army to assault the 
 enemy's works, as he was satisfied that the rebel army 
 could be captured by a vigorous and concerted attack. 
 General Halleck refused, preferring the method of slow 
 approaches. General Grant still urged with great im- 
 portunity, and a quarrel threatened between the two 
 generals, the only one in Grant's military career. Hal- 
 leck, however, adhered to his plan, and, in spite of fre- 
 quent sallies on the part of the enemy, the parallels 
 were drawn closer and closer, and on the night of the 
 28th of May, Generals Beauregard and Bragg, with their 
 troops, evacuated Corinth, blowing up their caissons and 
 magazines, and, moving southward along the Mobile 
 and Ohio railroad, sought a safer position. They were 
 pursued by General Pope, but without any considerable 
 result, though their flight was somewhat accelerated., and 
 by the end of June there was no rebel force within fifty 
 miles of Corinth. Meantime, New Orleans and the forts 
 below it had been surrendered to the Union forces under
 
 GENERAL GKANT. 47 
 
 Farragut and Butler, and Memphis had been captured 
 by the Mississippi flotilla under Commodore Davis. On 
 the 17th of July, General Halleck was summoned to 
 Washington to take the position of general-in-chief 
 of the armies of the United States, and the new de- 
 partment of West Tennessee created, embracing North- 
 ern Mississippi, West Tennessee, Western Kentucky, 
 and Southei'n Illinois, and General Grant placed in com- 
 mand of it. General Curtis had succeeded General 
 Pope in command of the Army of the Mississippi, now 
 named the department of Arkansas, and General Buell 
 still commanded the Army of the Ohio, which had for 
 its department the region inclosed by the Tennessee 
 river. General Grant made his headquarters for a time 
 at Memphis, which, with its swarms of crafty secession- 
 ists, speculators, gamblers, and Jewish traders, desperate 
 for gain, bid fair to be of more value to the rebels, when 
 in possession of the Unionists, than when held by the 
 rebels themselves, inasmuch as every thing in the way of 
 supplies, which the enemy needed, was smuggled through 
 the lines to them on one pretence or another. This il- 
 licit traffic General Grant broke up with a strong hand, 
 and crushed the disloyal operators so effectually that the 
 unscrupulous traitors and spies were almost beside them- 
 selves with rage. 
 
 Meantime, General Bragg was moving with all speed 
 through Tennessee to Kentucky, and General Buell fol p 
 lowing, but not overtaking him ; and when he doubled 
 upon his track and again faced southward, Buell still 
 pursued, and, after fighting an indecisive battle at 
 Perryville, suffered him to make good his escape, with 
 his plunder, into Tennessee again. This expedition of 
 General Bragg was only one portion of a combined 
 movement of the rebels, having for its object the ex-'
 
 4:8 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 pulsion of the Union armies from Northern Mississippi, 
 West Tennessee, and West Kentucky, and the regain- 
 ing of the territory they had lost within the previous 
 seven or eight months. That portion of the programme 
 having for its object the expulsion of Grant from his 
 department was intrusted to Generals Van Dora, Price, 
 and Lovell. The first movement made by the rebels to 
 this end was the capture of luka, a Union post about 
 twenty miles from Corinth, and the subsequent battle of 
 luka, in which Price attacked General Rosecrans, then 
 one of Grant's lieutenants. The battle was a very severe 
 one, but Price was severely beaten and compelled to 
 evacuate the town. He retreated eastward instead of 
 northward, as Grant had expected, and managed to join 
 Van Dora and Lovell in Tippah county, Mississippi, 
 when the three, with a formidable force, determined to 
 repossess themselves of Corinth, and thus compel Grant 
 to loosen his hold on West Tennessee. General Grant 
 comprehended their plans, and was ready to thwart 
 them. It was at first somewhat uncertain whether they 
 would attempt to seize Corinth, where Rosecrans was 
 now stationed, or Bolivar, which was held by General 
 Ord, another of Grant's lieutenants, with a considerable 
 force, or Jackson, where General Grant had his own head- 
 quarters ; their position near Pocahontas, on the Mem- 
 phis and Charleston railroad, threatening all these about 
 equally. This will be evident from a glance at the map, 
 Jackson being the apex of an equilateral triangle formed 
 by the junction of the Mobile and Ohio and Mississippi 
 and Jackson railroads at Jackson, and their several cross- 
 ings of the Memphis and Charleston railroad at Lagrange 
 and Corinth. Corinth formed another angle of the tri- 
 angle, and Pocahontas was nearly midway between that 
 and Lagrange, and Bolivar about half-way between La-
 
 GENERAL GRANT. 49 
 
 grange and Jackson. But Grant had so arranged his 
 forces and timed his movements, that whichever point 
 might be attacked, a supporting force should be ready to 
 strike the enemy in the rear, or to cut off his escape. 
 General Hurlbut had been stationed between Pocahontas 
 and Lagrange, and when it became evident that Corinth 
 was the point aimed at by the enemy, he put himself in 
 position to intercept his retreat along the Hatchie river, 
 and General Ord was directed to move to his support. 
 We need not describe in detail the battle of Corinth ; 
 suffice it to say that General Rosecrans defeated the 
 combined rebel force after a severe battle on the 3d and 
 4th of October, and that the flying rebels were pursued 
 and terribly punished by Hurlbut and Ord, and by 
 General McPherson, whom he had detached from his 
 immediate command for the purpose. A more thorough 
 defeat and rout had not, up to that time, occurred during 
 the war, nor a more decided and zealous pursuit. On 
 the 25th of October, another change was made in the 
 boundaries of the department of Tennessee. General 
 Rosecrans was assigned to the command of the old de- 
 partment of the Ohio now somewhat changed in 
 boundary, and renamed the department of the Cumber- 
 land in place of General Buell, relieved ; and the de- 
 partment of Tennessee was extended down the Missis- 
 sippi to Vicksburg. This new department General 
 Grant divided into four districts, and assigned com- 
 manders to each, viz. : 1st. The district of Memphis, 
 General W. T. Sherman, commander ; 2d. The district 
 of Jackson, General S. A. Hurlbut, commander; 3d. The 
 district of Corinth, Brigadier-General C. S. Hamilton, 
 commander ; 4th. The district of Columbus, Brigadier- 
 General T. A. Davies, commander. 
 
 There was still much trouble in regard to trade at 
 5
 
 50 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 Memphis, and other points in his department. While 
 some of those engaged in trade were men of high and 
 honorable character, too many were unscrupulous specu- 
 lators, who were ready, for the sake of gain, to smuggle 
 through the lines weapons, ammunition, food, medicines, 
 and other articles contraband of war, to the rebels. 
 General Grant tried the most stringent rules and the 
 most critical examination, but the evil still continued, 
 and he was compelled to expel the Jews, who had been 
 the principal offenders, from the department. Amid the 
 almost universal corruption which prevailed at this 
 period very many officers in the army secretly engaging 
 in cotton speculations, and neglecting their duty to ac- 
 quire wealth in this way General Grant's reputation for 
 strict integrity, and avoidance of even the appearance 
 of evil, was never questioned. He was remarkably sen- 
 sitive to any thing which might seem to implicate his in- 
 tegrity in these matters. A friend, himself a man of un- 
 impeachable honor, proposed to him, at this time, that 
 he should designate Union men of high character to 
 conduct the necessary trade. "No!", was his prompt 
 reply, " I will do no such thing ; for, if I did, it would 
 be stated within a week, on the highest authority, that I 
 was a partner with every man I appointed ; and if any 
 of them were guilty of misconduct, the blame and guilt 
 would.fall on my shoulders." 
 
 Vicksburg was now the goal of Grant's hopes ; to 
 capture that stronghold, the great object of his ambition. 
 It was, indeed, a prize worth contending for. It was the 
 key to the navigation of the Mississippi ; strong by 
 nature, in its terraced bluffs rising high over the Mis- 
 sissippi, it had been made tenfold stronger by the en- 
 gineer's art, and was believed by the rebels to be 
 utterly impregnable. From the very commencement
 
 GENERAL GKANT. 51 
 
 of the war no pains had been spared in fortifying it, and 
 when the loss of the forts below New Orleans and of 
 Island No. Ten, and Memphis, had convinced the rebels 
 that this fortress must be their main dependence in 
 closing the river navigation, they redoubled their efforts 
 to make it a perfect Gibraltar. Not simply the city it- 
 self was surrounded with earthworks fort, bastion, 
 redan, and rifle-pits but Haines', Chickasaw, and Wal- 
 nut bluffs, to the northwest, north, and northeast of the 
 city, and Warreuton, commanding the lower approaches 
 to it, were also strongly fortified, and iron-clad vessels 
 of formidable character were built on the Yazoo river 
 above, out of harm's way, to descend at the proper time 
 and carry destruction among the gunboats of the Union 
 squadron. It had been assailed before its defences were 
 quite perfected, in the summer of 1862, by Admiral 
 Farragut's squadron, but a long bombardment had 
 proved ineffectual, so lofty were its bluffs, and so for- 
 midable at that time its batteries. An attempt during 
 the same summer, by General Williams (who was killed 
 in August of that year at Baton Rouge), to turn the cur- 
 rent of the Mississippi through a canal across the penin- 
 sula formed by the bend of the Mississippi in front of 
 Vicksburg, had proved a failure. General Grant was 
 well aware how formidable was the enterprise he was 
 about to undertake, and he made all possible prepara- 
 tion for it. The troops of the levy of July and August, 
 1862, were rapidly joining the army and rendering its 
 numbers large, far beyond any former precedent. The 
 supplies of food, ammunition, arms, clothing, &c., were 
 also collected in vast quantities at suitable depots, for 
 distribution to the forces of each disti'ict. Early in De- 
 cember, General Grant began to move his troops down 
 the Mississippi Central railroad, for the purpose of a
 
 52 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 flank movement upon Vicksburg, to be executed in con- 
 cert with an attack upon the north and northwest front 
 of the city, by a force under General Sherman descend- 
 ing the river from Memphis. About the 15th of De- 
 cember, General Grant's headquarters were at Oxford, 
 Mississippi, while his principal depot of supplies was at 
 Holly Springs, thirty miles above, guarded by a suffi- 
 cient garrison under a Colonel Murphy. A small rebel 
 force, by a detour to the east, managed to make a dash 
 upon Holly Springs on the 20th of December, but might 
 easily have been driven off by the garrison, whose com- 
 mander had been apprized of the attack by General 
 Grant as soon as possible, and ordered to hold his 
 ground and reinforcements should be sent to him. 
 Colonel Murphy, however, was either a coward or 
 traitor, and made but slight resistance, suffering the 
 vast accumulation of supplies to fall into the hands of 
 the rebels, who plundered and destroyed them, and 
 then made all haste to escape. This mishap deranged 
 General Grant's plans, compelling him to fall back to 
 Holly Springs and order forward other supplies, and 
 thus preventing him from making a simultaneous attack 
 with General Sherman upon Vicksburg. Nor was he 
 able to apprize General Sherman of the cause of his 
 failure. Sherman went forward, made the attack upon 
 Vicksburg, but, after a three days' struggle, was com- 
 pelled to withdraw his troops, defeated but not dispirited 
 at their want of success. Having renewed his stock of 
 supplies, and the time for success irf a movement south- 
 ward, by way of the Mississippi Central railroad, having 
 passed, General Grant next descended the Mississippi 
 to Young's Point, Louisiana, a short distance above 
 Vicksburg, where he devoted his whole attention to 
 solving the problem of capturing the stronghold which
 
 GENERAL GRANT. 53 
 
 frowned so loftily upon the Mississippi. The problem 
 proved a knotty one. An assault on the water-front was 
 impossible, and the heavy and repeated bombardments 
 of the squadron, though seemingly sufficient to reduce 
 any known fortress, made little impression upon this. 
 The approaches by way of Chickasaw bluffs, strong 
 enough in December to repulse Sherman's army, had 
 been fortified since that time, until they left no hope 
 of success in that direction. No siege was possible, 
 because, the rear being open, supplies and men could 
 be thrown in till the besieged could become the of- 
 fensive party. There remained three alternatives, all 
 attended with difficulty, and none giving very certain 
 promise of success. These were the renewal of the 
 canal project under more favorable auspices, with a view 
 to rendering the position of Vicksburg worthless in a 
 military point of view, and opening a new route for the 
 navigation of the Mississippi through the canal ; the ap- 
 proach to the city from the north and northeast by way 
 of the Yazoo river, which at several points above com- 
 municated more or less directly with the Mississippi, and 
 the passing of a land and naval force below Vicksburg, 
 and attacking the fortress from the south. 
 
 That dogged pertinacity which, when a school-boy, led 
 Grant never to give up till he had mastered a difficult 
 problem, an heir-loom, perhaps, of his Scotch ancestry, 
 now caused him to adhere to his purpose, hopeless as it 
 seemed to the rebels, and indeed to our own Govern- 
 ment, which at fh'st seemed hardly willing to brook the 
 delay. The canal was first tried, but owing to a sudden 
 flood in the Mississippi, which broke the dam and over- 
 flowed the adjacent country, it was abandoned. Attempts 
 were next made to enter the Yazoo by the old Yazoo pass, 
 and subsequently by a more circuitous route, through 
 
 5*
 
 54: OUR GBEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 Steel's bayou, Black bayou, Duck creek, Deer creek, 
 Rolling fork, and Sunflower river ; but neither of these, 
 though accomplishing much as raids into the enemy's 
 country, proved successful in opening the way for an at- 
 tack upon the city of Vicksburg. There remained, then, 
 the last alternative of bringing his troops, with their 
 supplies, to some point below Vicksburg, and thence at- 
 tacking the fortress from below. How to do this was a 
 serious question. From Vicksburg to Port Hudson, a 
 distance of two hundred and thirty-two miles, every 
 commanding bluff was fortified, and the batteries and 
 earthworks at Port Hudson, Natchez, Grand Gulf, etc., 
 were very formidable. Admiral Farragut had, indeed, 
 run past the Port Hudson batteries, but had lost a ship- 
 of-war in doing so ; and there was no possibility of bring- 
 ing troops for the purpose of attacking Vicksburg from 
 New Orleans. To run the batteries in front of Vicks- 
 burg, with transports loaded with troops, was impossible ; 
 and to lead them through the swamps on the west side of 
 the Mississippi, with their trains, at this time of the year 
 (February and March), equally so. By opening an old 
 channel of the Mississippi, into Lake Providence, and 
 thence passing down the Tensas, and through a bayou 
 discharging into the Mississippi some distance below 
 Grand Gulf, it might be possible to send down some 
 troops and supplies ; but the work would necessarily be 
 slow, as the route was tortuous, and only practicable for 
 small vessels of light draft. Little as it promised, this 
 route was tried, and a moderate amount of supplies for- 
 warded. But it was necessary that a part of the gun- 
 boat squadron should be below Vicksburg, as well as 
 transports to bring the troops and stores across the river, 
 and to engage the batteries at Grand Gulf. Accordingly, 
 after conference with Admirals Farragut and Porter, it
 
 GENERAL GRANT. 55 
 
 was determined to send a part of the gunboats, and six- 
 teen or eighteen transports, laden with forage and sup- 
 plies, past the batteries, in two divisions, on different 
 nights. This was accomplished with only the loss of two 
 transports, though under a most terrific fire continued 
 for hours, and was one of the most heroic acts of the war. 
 
 Meantime the roads having improved, and the worst 
 portions of them being corduroyed, General Grant com- 
 menced marching his troops by land, through the coun- 
 try west of the Mississippi, the Thirteenth Army Corps, 
 General McClernand's, taking the lead, and the Seven- 
 teenth, General McPherson's, following ; while the Fif- 
 teenth, General Shemran's, and a part of the Sixteenth, 
 were left to take care of the communications and supplies, 
 and to deceive the rebels as to the intentions of the com- 
 manding general. This march, which it was expected 
 would terminate at New Carthage, thirty-five miles be- 
 low Milliken's bend, the point of departure, was, from 
 the condition of the roads, the breaking of the levee, etc., 
 extended to Hard Times, Louisiana, a distance of seventy 
 miles, and over roads which almost any other general 
 would have pronounced impassable. The movement com- 
 menced March 29th, and occupied thirty days. 
 
 At first the attempt was made to land the troops near 
 Grand Gulf, and the squadon engaged the batteries there 
 with the intention of carrying the position, and thus af- 
 fording a base of operations. But the resistance was too 
 stubborn to be overcome by the gunboats, and, after a 
 fight of five hours and a half, the admiral (Porter) or- 
 dered their withdrawal. During the night following 
 the squadron and transports ran past the batteries, and 
 the next morning commenced ferrying over the troops 
 and landing them at Bruinsburg, ten miles below. March- 
 ing rapidly from this point northeastward towards Port
 
 56 OTJE GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 
 
 Gibson, the thirteenth and seventeenth corps encountered 
 a considerable force of the enemy, whom they defeated 
 after a sharp battle, and moved on .to and across Bayou 
 Pierre. The next day it was ascertained that Grand 
 Gulf, which had been flanked by this movement, had 
 been evacuated, and General Grant repaired thither 
 with a small escort, and made arrangements to make 
 it his base of supplies for a time. These arrangements 
 occupied nearly a week. By his orders, as nearly as pos- 
 sible simultaneously with the landing of the two corps 
 at Bruinsburg, General Sherman had made a strong de- 
 monstration towards Haines' Bluff and the Yazoo, and 
 had thus attracted the attention of the rebels towards 
 that quarter, where they believed the entire Union 
 army were concentrated, and prevented them from op- 
 posing their landing below. 
 
 This being accomplished, Sherman's troops made all 
 speed in marching to the rendezvous on the river, where 
 the transports were in waiting to take them over to 
 Grand Gulf. 
 
 Before leaving Young's Point, General Grant had also 
 ordered an expedition by a competent cavalry force, 
 under the command of Colonel, now General Benj. H. 
 Grierson, to start from Lagrange, at the junction of the 
 Mississippi Central and Memphis and Charleston rail- 
 roads, to follow the lines of the Mobile and Ohio and 
 Mississippi Central railroads, and destroy as much of 
 these, and the Meridian and Jackson railroad, as pos- 
 sible, capturing and destroying also all stores, ammuni- 
 tion, locomotives, and railroad cars possible, in their 
 route. This expedition was thoroughly successful, and 
 reached Baton Rouge on the 1st of May, at the time 
 Grant was fighting the battle of Port Gibson. Other 
 raids were ordered about, the same time from Middle
 
 GENERAL GRANT. 57 
 
 Tennessee, which aided in breaking up the railroad com- 
 munications and frustrating the plans of the rebels. 
 
 Our space does not allow us to go into details of the 
 subsequent masterly movements by which, while appa- 
 rently threatening an immediate attack on Vicksburg 
 from the south, the garrison there, under the command 
 of General Pemberton, were prevented from forming a 
 junction with General J. E. Johnston's troops, then in 
 the vicinity of Jackson, nor of the battle of Raymond, 
 the capture of Jackson, and the destruction of the prop- 
 erty and manufactories of the rebel Government there ; 
 the rapid march westward, the severe battles of Cham- 
 pion's hill and of Black River bridge, and the eminently 
 skilful management of the corps of Generals Sher- 
 man and McPherson. Suffice it to say that General 
 Grant interposed his army between the forces of John- 
 ston and Pemberton, drove the former broken and 
 routed northward, and compelled the latter to put him- 
 self and his defeated army as soon as possible within the 
 defences of Vicksburg; and on the 18th the Union army 
 sat down before Vicksburg, having completely invested 
 it on the land side and opened communication with their 
 squadron and transports by way of Walnut bluffs, above 
 the river. On the 19th of May, and again on the 22d, 
 General Grant ordered assaults upon the beleaguered city, 
 neither of which were successful, except in gaining some 
 ground and expediting the subsequent regular ap- 
 proaches. The army now became satisfied that the 
 stronghold could only be captured by a systematic 
 siege, and General Grant accordingly took all precau- 
 tions to make that siege effective, and to prevent the 
 rebel General Johnston from approaching with sufficient 
 force to raise the sioge. Day by day the parallels were 
 brought nearer and nearer, and finally came so near that
 
 58 OUE GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 the rebels could not use their cannon, while the Union 
 artillery from the adjacent hills, and from the squadron, 
 constantly showered their iron hail upon the devoted 
 city. The inhabitants and the rebel army dug caves in 
 the bluffs, and endeavored to shelter themselves from 
 the fiery storm, but these were often penetrated by the 
 shells from the batteries, or blown up in the explosion of 
 the forts. At length, on the third of July, General 
 Grant was prepared to order an assault, which could 
 not have failed of success, when overtures were made 
 for a surrender, and the city was delivered into the 
 hands of the Union army on the 4th of July, 1863. 
 
 It is stated that at the interview between General 
 Grant and General Pemberton, after shaking hands, 
 and a short silence, General Pemberton said : 
 
 " General Grant, I meet you in order to arrange terms 
 for the capitulation of the city of Vicksburg and its gar- 
 rison. What terms do you demand ?" 
 
 " Unconditional surrender," replied General Grant. 
 
 " Unconditional surrender !" said Pemberton. " Never, 
 so long as I have a man left me ! I will fight rather." 
 
 " Then, sir, you can continue the defence" replied 
 Grant. " My army has never been in a better condition 
 for the prosecution of the siege." 
 
 During this conversation, General Pemberton was 
 greatly agitated, trembling with emotion from head to 
 foot, while Grant was as calm and imperturbable as a 
 May morning. After a somewhat protracted interview, 
 during which General Grant, in consideration of the cour- 
 age and tenacity of the garrison, explained the terms 
 he was disposed to allow to them on their uncondi- 
 tional surrender, the two generals separated, an armis- 
 tice having been declared till morning, when the ques- 
 tion of surrender was to be finally determined. The
 
 GENERAL GKANT. 59 
 
 same evening General Grant transmitted to General 
 Pemberton, in writing, the propositions he had made 
 during the afternoon for the disposal of the garrison, 
 should they surrender. These terms were very liberal, 
 far more so than those usually acceded to a conquered 
 garrison. 
 
 The rebel loss -in this campaign had been very great, 
 larger than has often been experienced in the campaigns 
 of modern times, and utterly without precedent in the 
 previous history of this continent. The number of pris- 
 oners captured by the Union troops, from the landing 
 at Bruinsburg to, and including the surrender of Vicks- 
 burg, was 34,620, including one lieutenant-general and 
 nineteen major and brigadier-generals; and 11,800 men 
 were killed, wounded, or deserters. There were also 
 among the spoils of the campaign two hundred and 
 eleven field-pieces, ninety siege-guns, and 45,000 small- 
 arms. The Union losses had been 943 killed, 7,095 
 wounded, and 537 missing, making a total of casualties 
 of 8,575, and of the wounded nearly one-half returned 
 to duty within a month. 
 
 Having disposed of his prisoners at Vicksburg, General 
 Grant dispatched General Sherman with an adequate 
 force to Jackson to defeat and break up Johnston's army, 
 and destroy the rebel stores collected there, in both 
 which enterprises he was successful. 
 
 During the long period of two and a quarter years 
 since he had entered the army, General Grant had never 
 sought or received a day's furlough. But after this great 
 victory, and while the thanks of the President, the 
 Cabinet, Congress, and the people, were lavished upon 
 him without stint, he sought for a few days' rest with 
 his family, and received it. His stay with them was 
 brief, and he returned to his duties, descending the
 
 CO OUK GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 Mississippi now, thanks to his skilful generalship, open 
 to the navigation of all nations from its mouth to the 
 falls of St. Anthony to New Orleans, to confer with 
 General Banks relative to the operations of the au- 
 tumn. While here, on the 4th of September, he was 
 seriously injured by being thrown from his horse while 
 reviewing the troops of General Banks' department. 
 
 It had been the intention of the Government to place 
 him in command of all the troops west of the Alleghanies 
 and east of the Mississippi, on the resumption of active 
 warfare early in September, but this accident unfortu- 
 nately postponed that appointment. These troops were 
 at this time comprised in three distinct armies the Army 
 of the Cumberland, under the command of General Rose- 
 crans, the Army of the Tennessee, under General Sher- 
 man, and the Army of the Ohio, under General Burn- 
 side. The interest of the whole country* was now con- 
 centi'ating on the movements of the first of these, the 
 Army of the Cumberland. General Rosecrans, an able 
 officer, had fought a great battle^ at Stone river, near 
 Murfreesboro, Tenn., at the beginning of the year, with 
 the rebel General Bragg, and had compelled that general 
 to retreat to Tullahoma ; but both armies had maintained 
 a position of observation from that period until the last 
 of June, when Rosecrans made a movement forward, and, 
 threatening to flank Bragg, caused him to evacuate Tul- 
 lahoma and retreat upon Chattanooga, a strong position, 
 and one which it was very important to the United 
 States Government to have in its possession, as it was 
 the key to East Tennessee, which, though loyal, had long 
 been in the possession of the rebels. General Rosecrans 
 pursued slowly but steadily, and by an admirable flank 
 movement compelled Bragg to march out of Chattanooga 
 to give him battle, and occupied that important post
 
 GENERAL GRANT. 61 
 
 meanwhile with a small garrison. At this critical junc- 
 ture, Bragg was largely reinforced from the Army of 
 Virginia, and the battle of Chiokamauga was fought on 
 the 19th and 20th of September, and the result was in- 
 decisive, since the Union army, though driven back and . 
 losing heavily, still occupied Chattanooga, the goal for 
 which they fought, and had inflicted a loss equal to or 
 greater than their own upon the enemy. The condition 
 of the Army of the Cumberland was, nevertheless, pre- 
 carious for the next two months, and that of the Arrny 
 of the Ohio, which occupied Knoxville, Tenn., hardly 
 less so. The rebels held possession of Lookout Mountain 
 and Mission Ridge, and thus were able to lay an embargo 
 upon both railroad and river communication with Nash- 
 ville and Louisville, the real bases of the Army of the 
 Cumberland, and had moreover captured a large train 
 of supplies. ^Rations and forage could only be brought 
 for the supply of the Army of the Cumberland by sixty 
 miles' cartage over the worst roads in the Republic, and 
 the force, augmented in October and November by two 
 army corps from the Army of the Potomac, and by a 
 part of Sherman's Army of the Tennessee, was for some 
 months on half rations. It was at this time that General 
 Rosecrans was relieved of the command of the Army of 
 the Cumberland, and General Thomas made his suc- 
 cessor, while General Grant was put in command of the 
 grand military division of the Mississippi, comprising the 
 three armies already named. He had not long assumed 
 command when affairs put on a brighter aspect. By an 
 adroit movement, the sixty miles of wagon road was re- 
 duced to ten, over a good road, and presently, by an- 
 other equally adroit manoeuvre, the navigation of the 
 Tennessee below Chattanooga was secured, and arrange- 
 ments made for the speedy repair of the Nashville and 
 
 6
 
 62 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 Chattanooga railroad. Still, so sanguine was Bragg that 
 he should soon obtain possession of Chattanooga, that on 
 the 21st of November he sent this message by flag of 
 truce to General Grant : " Humanity would dictate the 
 removal of all non-combatants from Chattanooga, as I 
 am about to shell the city !" 
 
 The reply to this threat came promptly, but it was 
 not fully delivered until the evening of the 25th of 
 that month. 
 
 General Grant had been devising means and ways 
 for the expulsion of the rebel forces from the valley 
 of Chattanooga and its vicinity, and his plans were just 
 ripe for execution when this summons came from Bragg. 
 That general had been betrayed into the indiscretion of 
 sending Longstreet with about twenty thousand troops 
 to besiege Knoxville, and had thus fatally weakened his 
 force. Giving instructions to General Burnside to lure 
 him on, and while delaying his progress by occasional, 
 and, apparently, strenuous resistance to fall back after 
 each battle, till Longstreet was securely entrapped, he 
 made rapid dispositions to punish Bragg most severely 
 for his audacity. Pontoons were secretly transported to 
 the Tennessee, near the mouth of North Chickamauga 
 creek, and a sufficient body of troops crossed in boats 
 to drive off any rebel troops in the immediate vicinity ; 
 and then, at a preconcerted signal, the pontoons were 
 laid, a cavalry force crossed, and sent to cut t'he railroads 
 leading to Knoxville effectually, and, a large body of 
 troops following them, took possession of an isolated hill 
 between the Atlanta railroad and the river. This move- 
 ment was made under General Sherman's direction. 
 General Hooker, meantime, was dispatched with a suffi- 
 cient and resolute force to take possession of Lookout 
 Mountain and drive the rebels from it. He marches
 
 GENERAL GKANT. 63 
 
 down Lookout Valley, and seems to be intending to 
 reach and ascend a pass ten miles below, but, when 
 out of sight of the rebel camps on the brow of 
 the mountain, suddenly turns, ascends, and attacks 
 them in the rear, and after a series of gallant engage- 
 ments succeeds in driving them, with heavy loss, 
 from the mountain, which, the next morning, was 
 crowned with the Union flag. 
 
 On the previous day, simultaneously with Sherman's 
 movements, General Thomas had moved out of Chatta- 
 nooga with a heavy force, and, after a sharp action and 
 a brilliant charge, obtained possession of Orchard Knob 
 and another eminence in front of Chattanooga, on which 
 the rebels had a strong redoubt, and which commanded 
 a part of Mission Ridge and the principal forts of the 
 rebels on that ridge. 
 
 On the 25th of November, General Grant directed 
 General Sherman to make persistent and repeated de- 
 monstrations against Fort Buckner, situated on Tunnel 
 Hill, the northern extremity of the continuous Mission 
 Ridge, not in the expectation that he would be able to 
 carry the foi't by his assaults, but to draw the attention 
 of the rebels in that direction, while he was preparing 
 to attack them from Fort Wood. Sherman's first as- 
 sault was made about 10 A. M. ; it was repulsed, as were 
 other successive assaults delivered on one and the other 
 slope of the ridge on which Fort Buckner stood defiant, 
 and, as the rebels believed, impregnable. The assaulting 
 columns were reinforced again and again, and, though 
 not successful in carrying the fort, they had accom- 
 plished all that Grant desired ; they had drawn thither 
 a large portion of the rebel force, thus weakening the 
 garrisons of Forts Breckinridge and Bragg, further 
 south on the same ridge, and had been able to gain
 
 64: OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 and hold a position far up the slope, from which, when 
 the time came, they could deliver a crushing blow upon 
 the rebel fort. It had been announced to the corps in a 
 general order, that the firing of six guns was to be 
 the signal for the movement of the fourth army corps 
 (General Gordon Granger's) to the assault of Fort 
 Breckinridge, the largest and most formidable of the 
 enemy's works on Mission Ridge, situated nearly a mile 
 below Fort Buckner. This fort was about two miles 
 distant, and nearly northeast of Fort Wood, the earth- 
 work on the summit of Orchard Knob, where Thomas's 
 army were assembled. A little past 3 p. M., General 
 Sherman sent word to General Grant that he could hold 
 his position, and at twenty minutes to four the signal- 
 guns boomed from Fort Wood, and the divisions of 
 Wood, Sheridan, and Baird, forming the fourth army 
 corps, sprang to their positions, and in five minutes 
 were marching steadily towards the ridge. The rebel 
 batteries on the summit, and the rifle-pits which girded 
 the slope and the base of the ridge, commenced at once 
 a sweeping fire over the plain which the assaulting party 
 must cross, and the Union batteries Forts Wood and 
 Negley, Forts Palmer and King, from a point nearer 
 Chattanooga, Bridge's battery from the base of Orchard 
 Knob, and Moccasin Point battery, from the other side 
 of the Tennessee hurled in reply their heavy shot and 
 shell, at long range, on the rebel forts and rifle-pits. 
 Undismayed by the tempest of shot, and shell, and 
 bullets that rained so fiercely upon them, the veteran 
 troops pressed steadily and swiftly forward, cleared with 
 a hurrah the rifle-pits at the base of the ridge, sending 
 the rebel troops which had occupied it back as prisoners, 
 and instantly ascending the precipitous slope, a slope so 
 Bleep that it would task severely the powers of a skilful
 
 GENERAL GRANT. 65 
 
 climber to reach the top unopposed ; yet, with an ardor 
 that nothing could restrain, upward, still upward they 
 went, though every step was attended with loss from the 
 fire of the thirteen batteries on the summit, and the vol- 
 leys of musketry which belch forth from the rebel rifle- 
 pits and barricades half way up the slope. These last are. 
 soon carried with a shout, and their occupants sent reel- 
 ing down the slope under the fire of their own batteries, 
 and, without stopping for breath, the Union soldiers push 
 on up a steep so precipitous that the cannon in the forts 
 cannot be depressed sufficiently to reach them, and it is 
 only the musketry fire from the rebels on the summit 
 which opposes them. The rebels did not, would not, 
 believe that they could reach the top. Bragg himself 
 declared it utterly impossible. Five minutes before the 
 Union troops captured Fort Breckinridge, an old lady, 
 at whose house on the summit Bragg made his head- 
 quarters, said to him, " General, what shall we do if 
 the Yankees do get up here ?" " Oh ! never fear," 
 was Bragg's reply, " they cannot reach the top ; every 
 man of them will be killed before they get near it." 
 "But," said the old lady to a Union officer, "he had 
 hardly said so, when they came swarming up, and 
 General Bragg and General Breckinridge had to ride 
 for their lives." The top of the ridge was gained ; 
 Fort Breckinridge, after a brief but sharp struggle, 
 was captured ; and Bragg's army, routed, and abandon- 
 ing all their artillery and most of their small-arms, fled, 
 tumbled, and rolled clown the eastern slope of the ridge. 
 Instantly Sherman advanced and drove the rebels from 
 Fort Buckiae'r, while Hooker, who had been moving from 
 the eastern slope of Lookout mountain since early morn- 
 ing, and had ascended Mission Ridge some distance 
 below, came upon Fort Bragg two miles below, 
 
 6*
 
 66 CUE GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 and drove its garrison into the valley of the Chicka- 
 mauga. 
 
 General Bragg was answered. The non-combatants 
 were not removed from Chattanooga, and that redoubt- 
 able general, partly from the loss of most of his cannon, 
 and partly from the entire rout of his forces and their 
 'rapid retreat eastward, was unable to fulfil his threat of 
 shelling the city. 
 
 But General Grant had not yet done" with General 
 Bragg or his troops. On the morning of the 26th, 
 long before dawn, Davis's division of the fourteenth 
 corps were in rapid pursuit of the retreating foe, and 
 very soon after sunrise three corps, Hooker's, Palmer's, 
 and Sherman's, were on their way, and, overtaking the 
 rear of the enemy, drove them in confusion from 
 Chickamauga depot, capturing and destroying large 
 quantities of supplies and some cannon ; and thence 
 pushing forward to Pigeon Ridge and Graysville, still 
 skirmishing wherever the rebels would make a stand, 
 drove them eastward to Ringgold Gap, where they 
 fought for a time desperately, having every advantage 
 of position, but were eventually driven from the Gap 
 and beyond Red Clay station on the Dalton and Cleve- 
 land railroad ; and that railroad being destroyed, thus 
 eventually cutting off all communication between Bragg 
 and Longstreet, the pursuit was given over, and the shat- 
 tered columns of Bragg's army were gathered at Dalton, 
 where Bragg was at once displaced from command, and 
 Hardee, and eventually J. E. Johnston, put at the head 
 of the rebel army. 
 
 Meantime, General Grant had directed General Sher- 
 man, after pursuing the enemy a few miles, to turn north- 
 ward, and, marching with all practicable speed, put him- 
 self in communication with General Burnside and compel
 
 GENERAL GKANT. 67 
 
 Longstreet to raise the siege of Knoxville. This was 
 accomplished, and Longstreet, who, enraged at having 
 been outwitted, had dashed himself in vain against the 
 defences of Knoxville, found himself compelled, on the 
 4th of December, by the near approach of Sherman's 
 army, to abandon the siege and retreat towards Vir- 
 ginia, while both Foster's and Sherman's cavalry pur- 
 sued. 
 
 With this movement the campaign of Chattanooga 
 closed, a campaign hardly less brilliant than that of 
 Vicksburg, and one which paralyzed for months the 
 rebel army in the Southwest. 
 
 On the 7th of December it was announced that from 
 the commencement of the war, up to that date, the 
 armies under General Grant's particular command 
 had captured four hundred and seventy-two cannon, 
 ninety thousand prisoners, and more than a hundred 
 thousand stand of small-arms. 
 
 On the 8th of December the President of the United 
 States sent the following dispatch to General Grant : 
 
 WASHINGTON, DEC. 8, 1863. 
 MAJOR-GENERAL GRANT: 
 
 Understanding that your lodgment at Chattanooga 
 and Knoxville is now secure, I wish to tender you, and 
 all under your command, my more than thanks my pro- 
 foundest gratitude, for the skill, courage, and perse- 
 verance with which you and they, over so great dif- 
 ficulties, have effected that important object. God 
 bless you all! 
 
 A. LINCOLN. 
 
 On the 10th of December, General Grant issued the 
 following congratulatory order to the army under his
 
 68 OUR GKEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 command. Its quiet, self-possessed, and appreciative 
 tone, while they contrast favorably with the boastful 
 character of some of the general orders' of officers 
 whose achievements were far less conspicuous than his, 
 remind us forcibly of the orders of that other great 
 commander, whom in so many traits of character he 
 strikingly resembles, the Duke -of Wellington. 
 
 HEADQUARTERS, MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI, \ 
 IN THE FIELD, CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE, 
 
 Dec. 10, 1863. ) 
 General Orders, No. 9. 
 
 The general-commanding takes this opportunity of 
 returning his sincere thanks and congratulations to the 
 brave armies of the Cumberland, the Ohio, the Ten- 
 nessee, and their comrades from the Potomac, for the 
 recent splendid and decisive successes achieved over the 
 enemy. In a short time you have recovered from him 
 the control of the Tennessee river, from Bridgeport to 
 Knoxville. You dislodged him from his great strong- 
 hold upon Lookout mountain, drove him from Chatta- 
 nooga valley, wrested from his determined grasp the 
 possession of Missionary Ridge, repelled with heavy 
 loss to him his repeated assaults upon Knoxville, forcing 
 him to raise the siege there, driving him at all points, 
 utterly routed and discomfited, beyond the limits of the 
 State. By your noble heroism and determined courage 
 you have most effectually defeated the plans of the enemy 
 for regaining possession of the States of Kentucky and 
 Tennessee. You have secured positions from which no 
 rebellious power can drive or dislodge you. For all this, 
 the general-commanding thanks you, collectively and in- 
 dividually. The loyal people of the United States thank 
 and bless you. Their hopes and prayers for your sue-
 
 GENERAL GRANT. 69 
 
 cess against this unholy rebellion are with you daily. 
 Their faith in you will not be in vain. Their hopes will 
 not be blasted. Their prayers to Almighty God will be 
 answered. You will yet go to other fields of strife ; 
 and with the invincible bravery and unflinching loyalty 
 to justice and right which have characterized you in the 
 past, you will prove that no enemy can withstand you, 
 and that no defences, however formidable, can check 
 your onward march. 
 
 By order of 
 
 Maj.-Qen. U. S. GRANT. 
 T. S. BOWERS, A. A. GK 
 
 The honors lavished upon General Grant for this and 
 his previous successes, were not confined to the thanks 
 gent him by the President. On the 17th of Dec., 1863, 
 a joint resolution passed both houses of Congress", and 
 received the Executive approval, which, in addition to 
 the thanks of the national Legislature, provided for a 
 gold medal, with suitable emblems, devices, and inscrip- 
 tions, to be prepared and presented to General Grant. 
 This token of a nation's grateful regard was designed by 
 the artist Leutze. On one face of the medal was a pro- 
 file likeness of the hero, surrounded by a wreath of 
 laurels his name and the year of his victories inscribed 
 upon it ; and the whole surrounded by a galaxy of stars. 
 The design for the obverse was the figure of Fame seated 
 in a graceful attitude on the American Eagle, .which with 
 wings outspread seems about to take flight. In her right 
 hand she holds her trumpet, and in her left a scroll on 
 which are inscribed Corinth, Vicksburg, Mississippi riv- 
 er, and Chattanooga. On her head is an Indian helmet 
 with radiating feathers. In front of the eagle is the em- 
 blematic shield of the United States. Below the group,
 
 70 OUR GEEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 sprigs of the pine and palm, denoting the North and 
 South, cross each other. Above the figure of Fame in a 
 curved line is the motto, " Proclaim Liberty throughout 
 the Land." The edge is surrounded by a circle of By- 
 zantine stars, exceeding the number of the present States 
 of the Union. Resolutions of thanks were also passed 
 by the Legislatures of most of the loyal States ; and nu- 
 merous costly presents (swords, pistols, &c.) were made 
 by admiring friends. None of these honors, however, 
 produced on the part of the recipient of them any ela- 
 tion, or changed in the least the simplicity and modesty 
 of his manners, or his earnest devotion to the work of 
 putting down the rebellion. His health was not fully 
 re-established, after the severe injuries he had received 
 at New Orleans, but he toiled more continuously and 
 patiently than any officer in the service. The communi- 
 cations of his army with its bases at Nashville and Louis- 
 ville, which had long been broken or in indifferent con- 
 dition, must be put in the best order, and abundant 
 stores accumulated at Chattanooga, Nashville, and 
 Knoxville, for the coming campaign into the heart of 
 Georgia. His men, worn down by short rations and 
 severe labors, must be recruited by the best of care to 
 the highest degree of efficiency, and withal there must 
 be during the winter months a severe and crushing blow 
 struck upon some vital point of the Confederacy in the 
 Southwest. He had hoped to join in a co-operative 
 movement with the Department of the Gulf on Mobile, 
 but his plans in that direction were thwarted by some 
 adverse influences. He then determined upon an expe- 
 dition from Vicksburg eastward to reach Meridian, 
 Miss., and, if possible, Selma and Montgomery, Ala. ; 
 this expedition to be joined at or near Meridian by a 
 cavalry force dispatched simultaneously from Lagrange
 
 GENERAL GRANT. 71 . 
 
 southward, and the two to traverse at will the central 
 portions of Mississippi and Alabama. The enterprise 
 was a bold and daring one ; the army which should un- 
 dertake it must cut loose from their base, and obtain 
 their subsistence mainly from the enemy's country and 
 this with a force of twenty or twenty-five thousand men 
 was not an easy matter. The management and leader- 
 ship of the principal column, which was to move east- 
 ward from Vicksburg, he assigned to his tried and able 
 lieutenant, General William T.Sherman, and the command 
 of the cavalry co-operating force to his chief of cavalry, 
 General W. Sooy Smith. The expedition started early in 
 February, and penetrated as far as Meridian ; but the 
 cavalry failing to join them, they advanced no further 
 eastward, but returned to Vicksburg after an absence of 
 a month. In consequence of this failure on the part of 
 the cavalry to connect, which was not wholly their fault, 
 the expedition did not produce all the results expected 
 from it by General Grant ; but it greatly crippled the 
 resources of the rebels, made their railroads worthless as 
 communications, and by the alarm it awakened prevented 
 the forces in the vicinity of the Gulf from joining John- 
 ston, who had now succeeded Hardee in the command 
 of the rebel army at Dalton. 
 
 While this expedition was in progress General Grant 
 was summoned to new and higher responsibilities. Con- 
 gress resolved to revive the grade of Lieutenant-General, 
 which had been conferred by brevet only, on General 
 Scott, but as an actual rank in time of war had only been 
 bestowed on General Washington ; and a law to that 
 effect having been passed, the President at once con- 
 ferred the commission on General Grant, and the Senate 
 confirmed it. The commission bore date March 2d, 1864, 
 and on the 9th of that month the President presented
 
 72 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 to him in person this commission, assuring him of his 
 own hearty personal concurrence in the measure. General 
 Grant replied very briefly, but evidently with deep feel- 
 ing. On the 12th of March, the President, by official 
 order, assigned to the lieutenant-general the command 
 of the armies of the United States; at the same time ap- 
 pointing General W. T. Sherman commander of the grand 
 military division of the Mississippi, which General Grant 
 had previously commanded ; and General McPherson, an 
 able and accomplished officer, to succeed General Sher- 
 man in command of the Army of the Tennessee ; while 
 General Halleck, hitherto general-in-chief, Avas relieved 
 from duty, and made chief of staff to the army, at 
 Washington. 
 
 General Grant had, in January, 1864, visited all parts 
 of his command, the military division of the Mississippi, 
 and carefully observed its condition, but his position as 
 lieutenant-general required that he should spend some 
 time in ascertaining the condition of the other Western 
 departments, and that he should arrange with General 
 Sherman the future movements of the spring and sum- 
 mer campaign. This done, he returned as speedily as 
 possible, and made every preparation for the coming 
 campaign in Virginia. He purposed taking command in 
 person of the forces destined to assail Richmond, though 
 keeping a vigilant oversight of the movements in other 
 parts of the country. General Sherman, with his mag- 
 nificent force, composed of the three armies, of the Cum- 
 berland, the Tennessee, and the Ohio, had been ordered 
 to move, as nearly as possible, simultaneously with the 
 armies in Virginia, so that there should be no reinforce- 
 ments sent from one rebel army to the other, as there 
 had been during the previous autumn. 
 
 The force with which Grant took the field against
 
 GENERAL GRANT. 3 
 
 Lee, was such a one as has seldom been under a single 
 commander, or concentrated upon a single object. It 
 consisted, in fact, of three armies; the Army of the 
 Potomac, under the command of Major-General Meade, 
 consisting of three corps of infantry recruited up to their 
 foil strength, and numbering each nearly fifty thousand 
 men, with such corps-commanders as Hancock, Warren, 
 and Sedgwick ; a cavalry corps of extraordinary ability, 
 commanded by the gallant and fiery Sheridan, and a re- 
 serve corps of about 40,000 men, one-third of them 
 colored troops, under the command of the brave and 
 trusty Burnside ; the Army of the James, under the 
 command of Major-General Butler, composed of two 
 corps, one that was hitherto known as the Army of 
 Eastern Virginia and North Carolina, the other a fine 
 corps, partly composed of colored troops, under the com- 
 mand of General Gilmore, hitherto forming a part of the 
 Army of the Department of the South ; and the Army of 
 the Shenandoah, commanded by Major-General Franz 
 Sigel, and composed of the Army of Western Virginia, 
 under General Crooks, and to which was subsequently 
 added the nineteenth army corps, formerly from the 
 Department of the Gulf, commanded by General Emory, 
 and with these a considerable cavalry force. But, though 
 seeking the accomplishment of a common object the 
 reduction of Richmond these armies were moving from 
 different points, and over different fields, to effect it. 
 Lee's forces lay south of the Rapidan, stretching east- 
 ward from Orange Court-house, and his cavalry guard- 
 ing his left flank towards Gordonsville, and his right near 
 Chancellorsville. The Army of the Potomac, which for 
 months had been confronting him, lay north of the Rap- 
 idan, its headquarters being at Culpepper Court-house, 
 and its camps extending from Brandy Station to Robert-
 
 74: OUH GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 son's river. To this army was assigned the opening of 
 the conflict, and the mighty task of driving back Lee's 
 vast force, which possessed the advantage of interior 
 lines. The Army of the James had for its first duty the 
 seizing, by an adroitly executed feint, the position at 
 Bermuda Hundred, lying on the south or right bank* of 
 the James, nearly midway between Richmond and 
 Petersburg ; and, if it should prove practicable, the in- 
 terposition of a sufficient force pei'manently between 
 Richmond and Petersburg, and the capture of the latter 
 city. The Army of the Shenandoah, though not at first 
 existing under that title, had for its first mission a move- 
 ment upon Staunton, "VVaynesboro, and Lynchburg, with 
 the intent of crippling the resources and effectually cut- 
 ting off the supplies of Lee's army from the West, and 
 at the same time guarding against any sudden move- 
 ment of a rebel force down the Valley of the Shenan- 
 doah, and into Maryland and Pennsylvania. 
 
 Every thing being thus prepared, the order was given 
 on the night of May 3d, for the army of the Potomac to 
 break up camp, and on the morning of the 4th, the three 
 corps crossed the Rapidan, the Second corps (Han- 
 cock's) in front, crossing at Ely's ford, the Fifth (War- 
 ren's) and the Sixth (Sedgwick's) immediately following, 
 crossing at Germanna ford. This movement, which 
 aimed at flanking Lee's right, as his army were strongly 
 intrenched at Mine run, was at once observed by General 
 Lee, who, with his usual promptness, made a counter 
 movement to match it. From a short distance south of 
 Germanna ford, eastward to and beyond Chancellorsville, 
 stretches a tract of dense, tangled forest and undergrowth, 
 fifteen or twenty miles in length and about five miles 
 wide, traversed by few and indifferent roads, known as 
 the " Wilderness." It was in the eastern part of this
 
 GENEBAL GRANT. 75 
 
 that the battle of Chancellorsville was fought, in May, 
 1863. Into this desolate and difficult region the array of 
 the Potomac plunged, almost immediately on crossing the 
 Rapidan ; and against their line, at right angles, between 
 the Fifth and Sixth corps, Lee flung Longstreet's corps, 
 on Thursday, May 5th, before they had had the oppor- 
 tunity of getting into position, and while they were yet 
 embarrassed by the dense and tangled undergrowth of 
 the forest. The weight of the first attack fell on Sedg- 
 wick's corps, which, though losing heavily, succeeded in 
 holding its own. Drawing back momentarily, Long- 
 street returned to the attack with still greater despera- 
 tion, and at first seemed to be carrying all before him, 
 but Sedgwick's veterans would not yield, and the enemy, 
 sorely disappointed, withdrew ; then a fresh force was 
 hurled against the centre (Warren's corps), but, though 
 gaining a temporary advantage, was finally foiled, and 
 beaten back. The battle lasted far into the night, but 
 with indecisive results. At 4 o'clock, A. M., on Friday, 
 6th of May, Lee renewed the attack, again massing his 
 force, and attempting to break through the right and 
 centre : the attack was repulsed, and by 6 A. M., Han- 
 cock commenced driving the rebels, who fell back to a 
 high ridge, with a marsh in front, a position they had 
 previously fortified. Through the day the fighting was 
 terribly severe, each party in turn gaining some slight 
 success, though at the expense of terrible slaughter- 
 Towards dark an attack was made on the extreme right 
 of the Union lines, and they were turned, and the right 
 completely flanked. General Grant showed his military 
 skill and fertility of resources by extending his left and 
 centre, which were still firm, southward, and bringing 
 his right into a new position, changing his base mean- 
 while to Fredericksburg and the Rappahannock. He
 
 76 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 thus flanked Lee in turn, and out of threatened defeat 
 evoked success. He had also gained another advantage, 
 in getting out of the Wilderness into a more open 
 country, where he could use his artillery with greater 
 effect. Moreover, Burnside, with a part of the reserves, 
 Had come up in season to take part in the fight of Friday 
 afternoon. An advance at daybreak on Saturday (May 
 7th) showed that Lee had fallen back. Grant pursued 
 vigorously, and came upon him near Spottsylvania Court- 
 house, where he had taken a new and very strong po- 
 sition. On Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday there was 
 some sharp fighting, but without any decisive result. 
 On Wednesday the fighting was more severe, but still 
 without marked result. On Wednesday night (llth), 
 General Grant directed Hancock's (Second) corps to be 
 transferred to the left, taking up a position between 
 Sedgwick's (Sixth) and Burnside's (Ninth) corps. This 
 movement was made for the purpose of turning the 
 enemy's right, and at the same time forcing them further 
 from their connections with Richmond. At half-past 
 4 A. M., on the 12th, the Second corps (Hancock's) 
 moved on the enemy in a most terrible bayonet-charge, 
 which proved a perfect surprise to the rebels, winning the 
 day, capturing thirty heavy guns, and over four thousand 
 prisoners, including two generals. The Fifth and Ninth 
 corps also made successful charges. This was the first 
 great success of the campaign, and it rendered the rebels 
 desperate ; they made repeated and obstinate charges in 
 the attempt to retake the positions captured by Han- 
 cock, continuing their struggles, though at terrible cost, 
 till 3 o'clock on Friday morning. On Friday, Lee re- 
 formed his lines, moving further to the right, and Grant 
 kept pace with him. On Friday night the rebels at- 
 tacked the Fifth corps (Warren's), but were repulsed
 
 GENERAL GKANT. 77 
 
 with severe loss. From the 12th to the 18th of May 
 there was a lull in the fighting, both armies resting, and 
 receiving large reinforcements. On the 18th, General 
 Hancock attacked the right flank of the rebels, and 
 gained two lines of his intrenchments. Burnside was also 
 engaged the same day, but without decisive result. Gen- 
 eral Grant had already planned another flanking move- 
 ment, by way of Guiney's station, to Milford bridge, 
 which occupied the next three days, and which was suc- 
 cessfully executed, except some loss of wagons and am- 
 bulances, from an attack of Ewell. Lee meantime had 
 moved and occupied a strong position between the North 
 and South Anna. After some hard fighting, in which 
 the Union troops reaped partial success, General Grant 
 found their position too strong for direct attack, and 
 again prepared to make a flank movement. Ordering 
 the army to recross the North Anna, and making an at- 
 tack with his right wing, to cover the movement, he 
 burnt the bridge of the Virginia Central railroad, 
 rapidly crossed the Pamunkey, and on the 31st of May 
 had his entire army across the Pamunkey, and within 
 fifteen miles of Richmond. Here again he found Lee 
 ready to receive him, and, with reinforcements received 
 from the Shenandoah valley, presented a full front. For 
 two or three days there was cavalry fighting and skir- 
 mishing, but no general engagement. On the first of 
 June the Sixth corps took up a strong position near 
 Cold Harbor, where they were joined by a force under 
 General W. F. Smith, detached from the army of the 
 James. Here, on the third of June, a stubborn and 
 desperate battle was fought, which resulted in the pos- 
 session of Cold Harbor by the Union forces. The same 
 day the Union troops attacked the rebel position, and a 
 bloody and protracted engagement followed, but they 
 
 7*
 
 78 OTTK QEEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 failed to carry the rebel works. Finding that to dis- 
 lodge the enemy from his position by direct attack 
 would require too great a sacrifice of life, General Grant 
 now determined on the bold measure of crossing the 
 James river, and making his attack on Richmond from 
 that side. This movement was made in the face of the 
 enemy, though without his knowledge, in three days, 
 viz., from the 12th to the 15th of June. 
 
 General Butler had meantime been executing his part 
 of the programme with great skill. He had occupied 
 Bermuda Hundred, and fortified his position there ; had 
 cut the railroad below Petersburg, and made a dash 
 upon that city, but had not succeeded in capturing it ; 
 had laid siege to Fort Darling, but had been unable to 
 hold his position against the rebel force ; had repelled 
 the rebel attacks upon his lines, and was in position to 
 welcome the approach of the army of the Potomac, and 
 render it valuable assistance. The army of West Vir- 
 ginia, under General Sigel, had been less successful. On 
 the 15th of May he encountered a considerable rebel 
 force at Reed's hill, near Mount Jackson, in the valley 
 of the Shenandoah, and was severely handled. He was 
 then relieved of command, and succeeded by General 
 Hunter, who at first met with better fortune. He de- 
 feated General Sam Jones, near Staunton, and killed 
 him; .took 1,500 prisoners and several guns, driving the 
 rebels to Waynesboro. On the 8th he formd a junction 
 with Crook and Averill; and, while General Sheridan 
 moved towards Gordonsville, and defeated the rebels at 
 Trevilian station, Hunter pressed on towards Lynchburg, 
 destroying railroads and bridges on his way, but finding 
 it strongly defended did not venture to attack, and Early 
 marching against him, in turn, with a large force, re- 
 treated into the mountains, and made a forced march
 
 GENERAL GRANT. T9 
 
 into Western Virginia. On this march his army suffered 
 terribly, and he lost heavily in guns and wagons. 
 
 Sheridan, meantime, had made his famous raid around 
 Lee's lines, destroying railroads, trains, depots of sup- 
 plies, releasing our prisoners, and capturing many of the 
 enemy. He penetrated within the first line of works 
 around Richmond, and having cut all Lee's communica- 
 tions, reached Butler's headquarters in safety, five days 
 after starting. 
 
 The rebel General Early, finding himself unopposed, 
 extended his expedition down the Shenandoah, crossed 
 into Maryland, occupied Hagerstown and Frederick, 
 and plundered extensively, fought two or three battles 
 with the militia, which had been called out to oppose 
 him, threatened Baltimore and Washington, approach- 
 ing within two miles of the latter city, but finding that 
 the Nineteenth corps, from New Orleans, and^the Sixth, 
 from the Army of the Potomac, were ready to attack 
 him, and that General Couch, from Pennsylvania, was 
 threatening his rear, he hastened back into Virginia, 
 taking Avith him most of his plunder. 
 
 General Grant, having reached the south side of the 
 James, ordered an immediate attack on Petersburg. 
 This would probably have proved successful but for the 
 lack of co-operation on the pai't of the cavalry force, 
 through some misunderstanding. A series of attacks 
 were made upon the rebel works, and by the 22d of 
 June the city was invested, except on the north and 
 west. There was sharp fighting that day for the posses- 
 sion of the Petersburg and Danville or South side railroad, 
 which was finally held by the Union troops. Meantime, 
 an extensive raid was made by Wilson and Kautz's 
 cavalry upon the Weldon railroad, several miles of which 
 they destroyed, together with stores, &c. Before they
 
 80 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 ccmld reach our lines, however, they were surrounded 
 by a large rebel force, and lost seven or eight hundred 
 men. After an interval "of comparative quiet, during 
 which General Grant had succeeded in running a mine 
 nearly under the confederate fortifications, he ordered a 
 feint to be made on the north side of the James, to 
 divert General Lee's attention from an assault which he 
 purposed making on Petersburg at the time of exploding 
 the mine. The feint, better known as the action of 
 Strawberry Plains, was successful in turning the enemy's 
 left, and capturing four heavy guns. On the 30th of 
 July the mine, which was charged with eight tons of 
 powder, was exploded, and the assault commenced. 
 There was a disagreement between the commanders, and 
 fatal delays occurred, which permitted the rebels to re- 
 cover ftom their first panic, and make effectual resist- 
 ance, and the movement failed of success, and entailed 
 heavy losses upon the troops engaged in it. Not dis- 
 heartened by this failure, General Grant continued his 
 operations with renewed energy. The battle of Deep 
 Bottom, on the north side of the James, occurred on the 
 12th of August. The Second corps alone was engaged, 
 and dislodged the enemy from his position, taking 500 
 prisoners, six cannon, and two mortars. On the 18th of 
 August, the Fifth corps (Warren's) moved on Reams 
 station, on the Weldon railroad, surprised the rebel 
 force guarding it, and took possession of the road. On 
 the 19th a large rebel force attacked Warren with great 
 impetuosity, and breaking the right centre. The Union 
 troops rallied, however, and being reinfored by two di- 
 visions of the Ninth corps, retrieved measurably the for- 
 tunes of the day, holding a part of the road, though with 
 a loss of nearly 4,000 men. 
 During the next five weeks there were no movements
 
 GENEKAL GKANT. 81 
 
 of great importance in the vicinity of Richmond or 
 Petersburg, though a little advance had been made by 
 occasional attacks upon the enemy's lines. On the night 
 of the 28th September, General Ord crossed the James 
 to the north side, and early on the morning of the 29th 
 advanced on the intrenchments at Chaffin's farm, and 
 carried them without serious loss, capturing nearly 300 
 prisoners and fifteen pieces of artillery. General Birney, 
 at the same time, moved up the Newmarket road, and 
 carried the intrenchments there with perfect ease. The 
 Union forces then took possession of Fort Harrison, and 
 advanced as far as Laurel Hill. On the 30th, the rebels 
 made a desperate effort to capture Fort Harrison, but 
 failed, and the Union cavalry, on the 1st of October, 
 made a reconnoissance within less than two miles of Rich- 
 mond. On the *7th of October, the rebels attempted to 
 turn the right flank of the army of the James, but after 
 some temporary success and some sharp fighting they 
 were severely repulsed. On the 29th of October, Gen- 
 eral Grant ordered a reconnoissance in force against the 
 rebel position at Hatcher's run. A severe battle ensued, 
 with considerable loss on the part of the Union troops, 
 but the position was held until General Grant ordered 
 their withdrawal. 
 
 Dissatisfied with the inefficiency which had existed in 
 the Shenandoah valley, and Northern Virginia and Mary- 
 land, General Grant advised, in August, the organiza- 
 tion of a new and larger department, to be called the 
 Department of the Shenandoah, and the appointment of 
 Major-General Philip H. Sheridan to its command: This 
 was done, and after careful watching of the enemy for 
 some time, General Sheridan decided that the time for 
 action had come. He had at this time under his com- 
 mand the Army of Western Virginia, and the Sixth and
 
 82 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 Nineteenth corps. On the 19th of September wasfoughtthe 
 battle known as that of Oqequan creek, in which, after 
 a sharp contest, General Sheridan, by a brilliant cavalry 
 charge, drove Early's army from the field in confusion, 
 capturing over 2,000 prisoners and a large number of 
 guns. On the 22d he attacked them again at Fisher's 
 Hill, routing them completely, capturing their artillery, 
 horses, and ammunition, and pursued them as far as 
 Staunton, causing them a loss in the two engagements 
 of over 10,000 men. On the 9th, the rebel General 
 Rosser attacked Sheridan again at Fisher's Hill, but was 
 grievously defeated. On the 19th of October, General 
 Early attacked the Union forces again, when General 
 Sheridan was absent, and in the morning defeated it, 
 driving the Union troops three miles, and taking twenty- 
 four cannon ; but Sheridan coming up, rallied his men, 
 reformed them, and defeated the rebels in turn, utterly 
 routing them, capturing fifty-four pieces of artillery, in- 
 cluding all his own. 
 
 General Sherman had fulfilled, in the most brilliant 
 manner, the work assigned to him. After a campaign 
 of extraordinary vigor and many hard-fought battles, he 
 took possession of Atlanta on the 2d of September. Hood, 
 who was in command of the rebel force, rallying from 
 his severe defeats, attempted to cut Sherman's lines of 
 communication with his base ; and Sherman giving him, 
 for good reasons, every facility of doing so, sent General 
 Thomas with two corps to the Tennessee river to look 
 after Hood, who was by this time in Alabama, and then 
 tearing up the railroad between Atlanta and Chatta- 
 nooga, and cutting loose from his base, started with a 
 large force across the country, nearly three hundred 
 miles, to Savannah, which was surrendered to him on 
 the 22d of December.
 
 GENERAL GRANT. 83 
 
 Meantime, Hood rashly pushed on after Thomas, whose 
 instructions were to draw him on, and after fighting a 
 severe battle at Franklin, on the 30th of November, in 
 which he lost in killed, wounded, and prisoners, eighteen 
 generals and about 7,000 of his troops, attempted to in- 
 vest Nashville; but on the 15th of December General 
 Thomas attacked and routed him completely, pursuing 
 him to the Tennessee river. Hood's losses were about 
 17,000 men in these two engagements. 
 
 An expedition was planned late in the season by 
 General Grant against Wilmington, and sailed on the 
 13th of December from Hampton roads, under the com- 
 mand of Genei'al Butler, accompanied by a naval squad- 
 ron under Rear- Admiral Porter. This expedition was 
 unsuccessful, and the troops returned to City Point ; but 
 soon after, a second expedition, under the command of 
 General A. H. Terry, embarked f6r the same destina- 
 tion, and on the 15th of January captured Fort Fisher, 
 and effectually sealed the harbor of Wilmington, On 
 the 6th of February, General Grant ordered another 
 movement with four corps of the army to Hatcher's 
 Run, with the intention of establishing his lines in closer 
 proximity to the Weldon railroad. The struggle was a 
 desperate one, and on the second day the enemy was 
 successful, as before, in finding a gap in the Union lines, 
 through which he broke, causing a considerable loss ; but 
 the Union soldiers were able the next day to regain the 
 ground they had lost and hold it, and established them- 
 selves permanently four miles in advance of their pre- 
 vious position. On the 25th of March the rebels, by a 
 sudden attack in mass, seized Fort Steadman, near Pe- 
 tersburg, and captured the garrison; but the Union 
 troops rallying promptly, retook the fort, and drove the 
 rebels back into and beyond their lines, and the Sixth
 
 84: OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 and Second corps advancing at the same time, gained 
 and held a portion of their lines. The Union loss in this 
 affair was about 2,000, that of the rebels over 6,000, of 
 whom 2,800 were prisoners. On the 29th of March, the 
 Union army was, by General Grant's order, put in 
 motion, with a view to occupying the Southside rail- 
 road. For this purpose, General Sheridan, with a large 
 cavalry force, and one corps of infantry, was ordered to 
 make a wide detour, and threaten Burksville, at the junc- 
 tion of the Southside and Richmond and Danville rail- 
 roads, and when he had succeeded in compelling Lee to 
 detach a sufficient force to protect that important point, 
 to wheel suddenly, and, striking the Southside railroad 
 within eight or ten miles of Petersburg, and tearing it 
 up as he went, take the rebel army in flank. Meanwhile, 
 Grant ordered a decisive attack in front by the Army of 
 the Potomac, and on the right flank by the Army of the 
 James. After four days of severe fighting, during each 
 of which the Union Army had gained ground, Sheridan 
 succeeded in carrying the left flank and capturing about 
 4,000 prisoners, and the Army of the Potomac gained 
 possession of the rebel lines in front, and Petersburg 
 was at their mercy. During the night of Sunday, April 
 2d, PETERSBURG was evacuated, and RICHMOND also, 
 and both were occupied by Union troops the next morn- 
 ing, April 3d ; General Weitzel, with his corps of colored 
 troops, entering the latter city at 8.15 A. M. General 
 Lee fled, with his troops completely demoralized, towards 
 Danville, but finding his route obstructed, turned towards 
 Lyuchburg, and General Grant started in immediate pur- 
 suit. At the time of his retreat from Richmond, Lee 
 had lost about 18,000 prisoners, and probably from 8,000 
 to 10,000 in killed and wounded, or about one half his 
 army. On the 6th of April, he had reached Deatonville, a 
 point west of Amelia Court-House, where he was attacked
 
 GENERAL GEANT. 85 
 
 in the afternoon of that day by General Sheridan, with 
 his cavalry and^ the Fifth corps, and by General Meade, 
 with the Second and Sixth corps, and completely defeated 
 Lieutenant-General Ewell and six other generals, and 
 many thousands of his troops being taken prisoners, and 
 most of his cannon being captured. General Lee him- 
 self, with a small remnant of his troops, attempted to es- 
 cape to Lynchburg, but finding Hancock confronting 
 him from the Shenandoah valley, and Thomas from the 
 "West, while Sheridan and the Army of the Potomac 
 were pressing upon his rear, he was compelled to sur- 
 render, which he did on Sunday, April 9th, ac- 
 cepting the terms offered him by General Grant. 
 This grand success was the culmination of Gen- 
 eral Grant's efforts for the year, and the death-blow of 
 the Confederacy. 
 
 Meantime, General Grant has been directing import- 
 ant movements in other fields. Under his suggestion, 
 General Sherman has been moving northward in two 
 columns, which, now united, have by their flanking 
 movement rendered Charleston, so long the opprobrium 
 of our arms, worthless as a strategic point, and, without 
 striking a blow, has compelled its evacuation ; captured 
 Columbia, Cheraw, Fayetteville, and in concert with 
 Schofield, whose army has joined his, occupied Golds- 
 borough ; where he pauses only for a final spring upon 
 Johnston's daily weakening force, now almost, if not 
 quite, the only organized army of the rebels ; while at 
 the West, Thomas, after sparing a portion of his forces 
 to reinforce the Eastern armies, has sent a large force 
 southward to seize those vital points of the rebel 
 strength, Selma and Montgomery; and with another 
 force has entered West Virginia, destroyed the Virginia 
 and Tennessee railroad, and is making Lynchburg his 
 objective.
 
 86 OUR GBEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 In person General Grant is rather below the middle 
 size, but of firm well-knit figure, with a pleasant counte- 
 nance, a firmly-set mouth and chin, clear gray eyes, brown 
 hair, and a full beard, inclined to auburn. He smokes al- 
 most incessantly ; is quiet, reticent, thoughtful, yet quick 
 and prompt in action. There is not a particle of jeal- 
 ousy in his composition. He accords most heartily to 
 his lieutenants all the honors they can claim, and even 
 turns honors meant for himself upon them. A man of 
 less real greatness and magnanimity, placed in his position, 
 would have winced under the encomiums showered upon 
 Sherman and Sheridan, especially when comparisons not 
 in his favor were drawn, as they have been ; but he only 
 honors these brave generals the more. His resolute un- 
 yielding determination and perseverance is a marked fea- 
 ture of his character. Even his wife says, " Mr. Grant 
 is a very obstinate man," though she would not for the 
 world have him one whit less obstinate. He has never 
 yet, under any circumstances, been drawn or driven into 
 making a speech, and seldom writes a long letter, though 
 he can write, as his reports prove, with great force and 
 clearness. While some may question his possession of 
 genius in its highest sense, no one can doubt that 
 Lieutenant-General Grant is a clear-headed, persistent, 
 able general, with a tact for handling large bodies of 
 men effectively, a fertility of resource, and a practical 
 knowledge of military science which has not been 
 equalled or surpassed by a half-dozen men in the last 
 three hundred years. He is eminently a safe man, 
 yet not fearful of risks when they are necessary; a 
 man in whom the people may well confide, for his 
 sole ambition is to bring this war to a successful ter- 
 mination, to become, by virtue of hard and telling 
 blows, an arbiter of peace.
 
 II. 
 
 Major-General William Tecumseh Sherman, 
 
 IF it be one of the attributes of genius to rise superior 
 to the most adverse circumstances, and triumphing over 
 detraction, depreciation, and abuse, to secure to itself a 
 high place in the records of history, then it must be ad- 
 mitted that General Sherman has given no doubtful 
 proof of the possession of a high order of genius. The 
 sacrifices which his loyalty had prompted him to make 
 were not appreciated ; his warnings of the magnitude of 
 the Rebellion fell on inattentive ears, and were regarded 
 as the apprehensions of a distempered imagination ; his 
 estimate of the force necessary for the successful prose- 
 cution of the war at the West, though since proved to 
 have been within the bounds of strict moderation, were 
 then considered as the ravings of a melancholic mad- 
 man ; and the press 1 the great engine of power in this 
 country having been offended in the person of some of 
 its baser members, by the strictness of General Sherman's 
 discipline, undertook, with full confidence, the work of 
 writing him down. Thenceforward, for many months, 
 he was persistently represented as the " crazy general," 
 " the madman," the " lunatic ;" as incapable, by reason 
 of his mad fantasies, of any successful military operation, 
 or of commanding any considerable body of men. But, 
 like " Banquo's ghost," Sherman would not stay down. 
 His zeal, loyalty, and success constantly contradicted 
 the misrepresentations of his enemies, and the fiercer 
 their maledictions, the more he displayed the resources
 
 88 OUE GEEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 and abilities of a successful commander. Through all 
 this period of bitter misrepresentation, one man defended 
 him, believed in him, trusted him, and insisted on his ad- 
 vancement. That man was the present Lieutenant-Gen- 
 eral U. S. Grant. Never for a moment did he lose his 
 confidence in his abilities and genius ; and, with that fine 
 discrimination of character which is a marked trait in 
 his character, he insisted, at every step of promotion 
 conferred upon himself, on advancing General Sherman 
 also, let who might oppose. At length, after more than 
 two years' endurance, the storm of detraction began to 
 cease, and ere long those who had been most virulent, 
 finding that they were powerless to injure him, became 
 his most vehement admirers, until now, it would be hard 
 to find any who would acknowledge that they had ever 
 spoken disparagingly of one who has proved his claim 
 to be reckoned among the ablest generals of modern 
 times. 
 
 WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN, a son of the late Hon. 
 Charles R. Sherman, for sonre. years one of the judges 
 of the Supreme Court of Ohio, and brother of Hon. 
 John Sherman, TJ. S. Senator from Ohio, was born in 
 Lancaster, Ohio, February 8th, 1820. His education, up 
 to his ninth year, was obtained in the schools of his 
 native town; but on his father's death, in 1829, he be- 
 came a member of the family of Hon. Thomas Ewing, 
 and after enjoying the advantages of good schools, at 
 the age of sixteen entered the Military Academy at 
 West Point, being a classmate of Generals George H. 
 Thomas and W. Hays of the Union army, and of Gen- 
 erals -Ewell, McCown, and Bushrod R. Johnson of the 
 rebel army. He graduated June 30, 1840, ranking 
 sixth in his class, and was immediately appointed second 
 lieutenant in the Third Artillery, and ordered to duty in
 
 GENERAL SHERMAN. 89 
 
 Florida, where he served through the next year. In 
 November, 1841, he was promoted to a first-lieutenancy. 
 His service in Florida was enlivened by some encounters 
 with Billy Bowlegs' band, in one of which he achieved 
 some distinction in rescuing his little squad of men from 
 the utter destruction with which that wily savage had 
 threatened them. Late in the year, Lieutenant Sherman 
 was ordered to Fort Moultrie, Charleston harbor, where 
 he remained for several years. 
 
 In 1846 he was sent to California, where he was made 
 acting assistant adjutant-general, and performed his 
 duties with such marked ability, that, in 1851, Congress 
 conferred upon him the brevet of captain, to date from 
 May 30th, 1848, "for meritorious services in California, 
 during the war with Mexico." In 1850 he was pro- 
 moted to the rank of captain, and made commissary 
 of subsistence, being assigned to the staff of the 
 commander of the Department of the West, with head- 
 quarters at St. Louis. He married, the same year, 
 the daughter of his friend, Hon. Thomas Ewing. Soon 
 after, he was transferred to the military post of New 
 Orleans, where he became acquainted with the leading 
 men of Louisiana. In 1853, he resigned his commission 
 in the army, and -removed the same year to San Fran- 
 cisco, where he was for four years the manager of the 
 banking house of Lucas, Turner & Co. 
 
 In 1857, some of his friends in Louisiana, secretly, as 
 it afterwards appeared, making preparation for a seces- 
 sion movement, resolved to establish a State Military 
 Academy, and sought to secure his services as president 
 and superintendent. Their real object was carefully con- 
 cealed, and the reasons given fpr its establishment were, 
 that it would enable them more readily to suppress any 
 insurrection among the slaves ; that it would be of ser-
 
 90 OUR GKEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 vice in preparing them to repel Indian incursions, which 
 were giving trouble in the adjacent States of Arkansas 
 and Texas ; that it would give them a nucleus for a mil- 
 itary force in case of an attack by a foreign enemy, or 
 should the acquisition of Mexico become desirable. By 
 such plausible arguments, Mr. Sherman was induced to 
 accept the presidency of the Louisiana Military Academy, 
 without a suspicion of the treasonable purpose which had 
 led to its establishment. He entered upon his duties 
 early in 1858. 
 
 Soon after the cpmmencement of the presidential cam- 
 paign of 1860, he became convinced of the disloyal sen- 
 timents of a majority of the leading men of the State, 
 and of the motives which had led them to establish the 
 Military Academy, and they put forth their utmost 
 powers of persuasion to induce him to unite with them 
 in their revolutionary schemes. The thoroughness with 
 which he had trained his pupils, and his cool, calm, sol- 
 dierly bearing, had convinced them of his value to their 
 cause if he could once be induced to join it. For this 
 purpose they unfolded their plans, and sought by the 
 offer of high military position to win him from his alle- 
 giance. It was all in vain. Manly, honest, straight- 
 forward, and thoroughly loyal, neither the love of gold 
 or fame could cause him to swerve for an instant from 
 his duty* to his country. Convinced that war was in- 
 evitable, he dispatched the following letter to the chief 
 magistrate of Louisiana on the day of its date : 
 
 JANUARY 18, 1861. 
 GOVERNOR THOMAS 0. MOORE, 
 
 BATON ROUGE, LA. 
 
 SIR As I occupy a quasi-military position under 
 this State, I deem it proper to acquaint you that I ac-
 
 GENERAL SHERMAN. 91 
 
 cepted such position when Louisiana was a State in the 
 Union, and when the motto of the seminary was inserted 
 in marble over the main door, "By the liberality of the 
 General Government of the United States. The Union, 
 JZsto Perpetual Recent events foreshadow a great 
 change, and it becomes all men to choose. If Louisiana 
 withdraws from the Federal Union, I prefer to maintain 
 my allegiance to the old Constitution as long as a frag- 
 ment of it survives, and my longer stay here would be 
 wrong in every sense of the word. In that event, I beg 
 you will send or appoint some authorized agent to take 
 charge of the arms and munitions of war here belonging 
 to the State, or direct me what disposition should be 
 made of them. And furthermore, as President of the 
 Board of Supervisors, I beg you to take immediate steps 
 to relieve me as Superintendent, the moment the State 
 determines to secede ; for on no earthly account will I 
 do any act, or think any thought, hostile to or in de- 
 fiance of the old Government of the United States. 
 With great respect, &c., 
 
 (Signed) W. T. SHERMAN. 
 
 There spoke the true hero and patriot, " On no earthly 
 account will I do any act, or think any thought, hostile 
 to or in defiance of the old Government of the United 
 States." The same principle has actuated him in all his 
 subsequent career. Other generals, both in the East 
 and the West, have been suspected of disloyal leanings ; 
 but even the bitterest detractors of General Sherman 
 have never dared to whisper the slightest hint of dis- 
 loyalty in connection with his name. 
 
 His resignation was accepted, for what could the 
 rebels do with a man who was so thoroughly and deter- 
 minedly loyal? He removed in February with his
 
 92 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 family to St. Louis, and shortly before the attack on 
 Fort Sumter visited Washington. Here he found, to 
 use his own language, that " the men in authority were 
 sleeping on a volcano, which would surely burst upon 
 them unprepared." Thoroughly conversant as he was 
 with the intentions and plans of the leaders of the rebel- 
 lion, he was astonished at the apathy and incredulity of 
 the Government on the subject. None of the Cabinet 
 believed that there was to be any serious conflict. At 
 most, they thought it would be an affair of sixty or 
 ninety days. Sherman knew better, and in the hope of 
 arousing the Government to action before it should be 
 too late, he addressed a letter to General Cameron, then 
 Secretary of War, in which he forewarned him in the 
 most earnest language of the imminency of war and the 
 entire want of preparation for it. He stated also that 
 he was educated at the expense of the United States, 
 and feeling that he owed every thing to his country, he 
 had come to tender her his services as a soldier. He 
 also waited upon the President, and, stating to him his 
 views, tendered his services. The President replied, 
 laughing, " We shall not need many men like you ; the 
 whole affair will soon blow over." He urged, when the 
 fall of Sumter came, the importance of a gigantic army, 
 not called out for three months, but for the war, to put 
 down the rebellion at once, and denounced the calling out 
 of three months men as being as absurd as the attempt to 
 extinguish the flames of a burning building with a squirt- 
 gun. Neither the Government nor the people were then 
 prepared to comprehend the justice and clearness of his 
 views, and he passed for an ultraist. At the organization 
 of the new regiments of the regular army in June, 1861, 
 he was appointed colonel of the new 13th infantry, his 
 commission dating from May 14, 1861.
 
 GENERAL SHERMAN". 93 
 
 His first actual service in the war was at the battle of 
 Bull Run, or Manassas, as the rebels named it. Colonel 
 Sherman commanded the third brigade in the First 
 (Tyler's) division. That brigade consisted of the 13th, 
 69th, and 79th New York, and the 2d Wisconsin in- 
 fantry regiments, and Ayres' regular battery all troops 
 since renowned for their gallantry. There have been 
 many conflicting statements and opinions in regard to 
 this battle, but the best military authorities seem to have 
 settled the point that the fighting of that day was not 
 discreditable to either army, composed as both were of 
 raw troops. It is evident from the reports of the rebel 
 commanders that they themselves regarded the day as 
 lost, till the unexpected arrival of Johnston's troops 
 turned the scale, and communicating a sudden panic to 
 the Union troops, who had previously fought well, led 
 to that disgraceful rout which has made that day in- 
 famous. But whatever may be thought or said of the 
 fighting of other portions of the army, there is abundant 
 evidence that Sherman's brigade fought with desperate 
 and determined valor. " A part of Hunter's and Heint- 
 zelman's divisions," says Major-General McDowell in his 
 report, "forced the enemy back far enough to allow 
 Sherman's and Reyes's brigades of Tyler's division to 
 cross from -their positions on the Warrenton road. These 
 drove the right of the enemy, understood to have been 
 commanded by Beauregard, from the front of the field, 
 and out of the detached woods, and down the road, and 
 across it, up the slopes on the other side." They did 
 more than this : pressing forward, they came upon an 
 elevated ridge or plateau, where occurred the severest 
 fighting of the day. Sherman led his brigade directly 
 up the Warrenton road, and held his ground till the 
 general order came to retreat. Colonel Bowman, in a
 
 94: OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 biographical sketch of General Sherman in the "TJ. S. 
 Service Magazine," mentions an incident connected 
 with this battle which we have not seen elsewhere. It 
 was as follows. The order given to Tyler's division was 
 to cross Bull Run when possible, and join Hunter on the 
 right. In obeying this order, Sherman led off, with the 
 69th New York in advance. On their march they en- 
 countered a party of the enemy retreating along a clus- 
 ter of pines; and Lieutenant-Colonel Haggerty, then in 
 command of the 69th, rode over, without orders, to inter- 
 cept their retreat, and was instantly killed by the enemy's 
 fire. Haggerty was much beloved by his men, and they, 
 furious at his loss, sprang forward and opened fire, which 
 was returned. " But," says Colonel Sherman, " deter- 
 mined to effect our junction with Hunter's division, I 
 ordered the fire to cease, and we proceeded with caution 
 towards the field, where we then plainly saw our forces 
 engaged." Burnside, then a colonel commanding one 
 of the brigades in Hunter's division, was at this time 
 sorely pressed and nearly overwhelmed by the enemy 
 and was only relieved by the timely advent of Sherman's 
 brigade, which under his orders turned not aside either 
 to the right hand or the left, till the orders it had re- 
 ceived were obeyed. " It was Sherman's brigade," says 
 Burnside, " that arrived about twelve-and-a-half o'clock, 
 and by a most deadly fire assisted in breaking the enemy's 
 lines." The promptness and strict obedience to orders 
 which characterized Sherman's conduct on that day have 
 been marked traits in his subsequent career. 
 
 The vigor and determination with which Colonel 
 Sherman fought his brigade on this occasion, made their 
 share of the losses much heavier than those of any other 
 brigade in the Union army; his total of killed, wounded, 
 and missing, being six hundred and nine, while that of
 
 GENERAL SHERMAN. 95 
 
 the whole division was but eight hundred and fifty-nine, 
 and of the entire army, aside from prisoners and strag- 
 lers, but fifteen hundred and ninety. The flight of the 
 panic-stricken fugitives towards Washington disgusted 
 Colonel Sherman, and he was very severe in his denunci- 
 * ations of the militia officers, especially those in his own 
 command, for their part in the panic. Conscious of their 
 misconduct, some of these officers resented his rebukes, 
 and sought to injure his reputation. The Ohio delega- 
 tion in Congress having learned the good conduct and 
 valor of Colonel Sherman, urged his promotion, and on 
 the 3d of August he was confirmed a brigadier-general 
 of volunteers, his commission dating from May 17th, 
 1861. 
 
 Early in August, General Anderson having been as- 
 signed to the command of the department of the Ohio, 
 General Sherman was made second in command, and 
 sent soon afterwards with a force of seven thousand men, 
 composed of volunteers and Kentucky home-guards, to 
 occupy Muldraugh's hill, a point of considerable strategic 
 importance, south of the Rolling fork of Salt river. The 
 home-guards which there, as elsewhere, proved entirely 
 unreliable, soon abandoned his camp for their homes, and 
 the reinforcements intended to strengthen his command 
 were sent elsewhere. He now found himself with only 
 five thousand troops, badly armed, and in an unfriendly 
 region, confronted by the rebel General Buckner with a 
 rebel force of twenty-five thousand men. While affairs 
 were in this discouraging condition, General Anderson's 
 health failed so completely, that he resigned, and, on the 
 8th of October, General Sherman was appointed his suc- 
 cessor. 
 
 In no part of the c6untry, and at no time during the 
 war, were the prospects more gloomy than in the depart-
 
 96 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 ment of the Ohio at this period. The greater part of 
 the population of Kentucky capable of bearing arms had 
 joined the rebel army. Those who remained behind 
 were divided in sentiment, but most of them, from one 
 cause or another, unfriendly. The force at Sherman's 
 command was wholly inadequate, and what he had were 1 * 
 poorly armed. He was deficient also in munitions of 
 war, and in the means of transportation, while in his 
 front were rebel forces outnumbering his own at almost 
 every point, well supplied and confident of success. If 
 the rebel generals had known his actual condition, they 
 could have captured or driven his forces across the Ohio 
 in ten days. There were in his camps numerous news- 
 paper letter-writers, who, if loyal, were far from being 
 discreet, and whose communications made public the very 
 facts which it was all-important to conceal from the 
 enemy. These he excluded from his lines by a strin- 
 gent general order, and thus brought down upon his head 
 all the indignation of the press. 
 
 But a greater cause of alarm arose from the fact that 
 the Secretary of War, General Cameron, utterly failed 
 to comprehend the necessities of his position, or the im- 
 portance of holding it. No one doubts the loyalty of 
 General Cameron, but there can be no question that his 
 failure to comprehend the magnitude of the contest, and 
 the necessity of having a large and well-appointed army 
 promptly on the ground, to meet and crush out the re- 
 bellion during its first year, was the means of protract- 
 ing it through the years which followed. In the end, 
 the result may be better for the nation, but it reflects, 
 nevertheless, on the incapacity of the secretary. 
 
 General Sherman had an interview with Secretary 
 Cameron, at Lexington, Kentucky, in October, in pres- 
 ence of Adjutant-General Thomas. In this interview, he
 
 GENERAL SHEKMAN. 97 
 
 explained to the Secretary the critical situation of his 
 command, and the numbers and condition of the enemy's 
 troops, and to the question what force was necessary for 
 a forward movement in his department, which then in- 
 cluded all east of the Mississippi and west of the Alle- 
 ghanies, he replied promptly, "Two 'hundred thousand 
 men." " The answer," says Colonel Bowman, " was the 
 inspiration or the judgment of a military genius, but to 
 the mind of Mr. Secretary Cameron, it was the prophecy 
 of a false wizard," or, we may add, the raving of a 
 maniac. The secretary and the adjutant-general at 
 once pronounced Sherman crazy, and made themselves 
 merry over his extravagant demands, which the adjutant- 
 general was so indiscreet as to repeat and allow to find 
 its way into print, together with the details of the 
 strength of Sherman's position, thus informing the enemy 
 of the weakness of his lines. 
 
 On the 3d of November, General Sherman telegraphed 
 to General McClellan, then general-in-chief, detailing the 
 position and number of his several forces, showing that 
 everywhere, except at a single point, they were outnum- 
 bered, and concluded his dispatch with the remark, " Our 
 forces are too small to do any good, and too large to be 
 sacrificed." In reply, General McClellan inquired, " How 
 long could McCook (one of Sherman's generals) keep 
 Buckner out of Louisville, holding the railroad, with 
 power to destroy it inch by inch ?" Here was no hint 
 of any intention of sending reinforcements, but a proba- 
 ble purpose of abandoning Kentucky. Sherman, with 
 that sensitiveness which is peculiarly the attribute of a 
 gallant soldier, felt that he had incurred the displeasure 
 of the War Department by his frankness and his estimate 
 of the power and capacity of the enemy, and that, under 
 the circumstances, he could not conduct the campaign 
 
 9
 
 98 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 successfully ; he therefore asked to be relieved, and was 
 succeeded by General Buell, who was at once reinforced 
 and enabled to hold his defensive position till Grant was 
 ready to move in the spring. 
 
 Meantime, the press had revenged itself upon Sher- 
 man by pronouncing him crazy, and he was shelved by 
 being put in command cf Benton barracks, near St. 
 Louis. Not long after, General Halleck succeeded 
 General Fremont in command of the Western Depart- 
 ment, and he was too good a judge of character to allow 
 a man of General Sherman's abilities to be detained as 
 the commandant of recruiting barracks. He was accord- 
 ingly detailed to forward reinforcements and supplies 
 from Paducah to General Grant, then engaged in the 
 siege of Fort Dorielson, and after the capture of that 
 stronghold, he was put in command of the Fifth division 
 of Grant's army, and with it went into camp at Pitts- 
 burg Landing. The Fifth division was composed almost 
 wholly of raw troops, who had never been under fire. 
 In the short period which elapsed before the battle of 
 Shiloh, the men were drilled and trained as well as time 
 would permit, but they were still but indifferently pre- 
 pared for the fierce battle which was so soon to come. 
 
 When the battle of Shiloh commenced, April 6th, 
 1862, General Sherman had just taken his position at 
 Shiloh church, three miles out from the landing, on the 
 main road to Corinth. He was strongly and advanta- 
 geously posted. His first line of battle was formed on 
 the brow of a hill, or rather a ridge, on the west of Lick 
 and Owl creeks, which served as a natural fortification. 
 The men, by lying down or falling back a few steps, 
 were well covered; and by rising and advancing a few 
 paces could deliver their fire with terrible effect. The 
 rebel commanders soon appreciated the fact that this
 
 GENERAL SHERMAN. 99 
 
 position must be carried at all hazards if they would win 
 the day. Hence their assaults upon it were well-directed, 
 rapid, and persistent. A part of Sherman's regiments 
 were panic-stricken, broke, and fled ; but this he had 
 expected and was not disconcerted by it, and rallying 
 the remainder, he fought the enemy undismayed through 
 the day, and at 4 p. M., deliberately made a new line 
 behind McArthur's drill-field, placing batteries on chosen 
 ground, where he could protect a bridge which it was 
 necessary for General Lew. Wallace's division, then every 
 moment expected, to cross, and here repelled the assaults 
 of the enemy and drove them back. General Grant 
 visited him twice that day, approved of his movements, 
 and directed him to assume the offensive at daylight the 
 next day. He did so, and after some severe fighting, 
 the rebels were compelled to retreat. On the morning 
 of the 8th of April, he made a reconnoissance with his 
 division along the Corinth road, met and drove from 
 their position a considerable force of rebel cavalry, and 
 captured a number of prisoners, and large quantities of 
 arms, ammunition, &c. But it was not merely by his ad- 
 mirable management of his division that he saved the 
 day. Colonel Bowman well says of his conduct in that 
 battle, " There was not a commanding general on the 
 field who did not rely on Sherman, and look to him as 
 our chief hope ; and there is no question that but for 
 him our army would have been destroyed. He rode 
 from place to place, directing his men ; he selected from 
 time to time the positions for his artillery ; he dismounted 
 and managed the guns ; he sent suggestions to com- 
 manders of divisions ; he inspired everybody with confi- 
 dence ; and yet it never occurred to him that he had ac- 
 complished any thing worthy of remark." 
 
 General Nelson, himself a division commander in that
 
 100 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 battle, said, " During eight hours, the fate of the army 
 on the field of Shiloh depended upon the life of one man ; 
 if General Sherman had fallen, the army would have 
 been captured or destroyed." General Halleck, who ar- 
 rived on the field two or three days after the battle, 
 said, in a letter to the Secretary of War, "It is the 
 unanimous opinion here that Brigadier-General Sherman 
 saved the fortunes of the day ; he was in the thickest of 
 the fight, had three horsey killed under him, and was 
 twice wounded." 
 
 General Grant, in his report of April 9th, 1862, speaks 
 of his services as follows : "I feel it a duty, however, to 
 a gallant and able officer, Brigadier-General W. T. 
 Sherman, to make a special mention of his services. He 
 not only was with his command during the entire two 
 days of the action, but displayed great judgment and 
 skill in the management of his men. Although severely 
 wounded in the hand on the first day, his place was 
 never vacant. He was again wounded, and had three 
 horses killed under him." Again, after the capture of 
 Vicksburg, under date of July 26, 1863, General Grant 
 wrote to the War Department, of General Sherman : 
 " At the battle of Shiloh, on the first day, he held, with 
 raw troops, the key-point of the landing. It is no dis- 
 paragement to any other officer to say, that I do not be- 
 lieve there was another division-commander on the field 
 who bad the skill and experience to have done it. To 
 his individual efforts I am indebted for the success of 
 that battle." 
 
 A cavalry officer, who was in the battle of Shiloh, 
 gives some interesting incidents of his bearing on that 
 day, in a communication quoted by Colonel Bowman. 
 "Having," he says, " occasion to report personally to 
 General Sherman, about noon of the first day at Shiloh,
 
 GENERAL SHERMAN. 101 
 
 I found him dismounted, his arm in a sling, his hand 
 bleeding, his horse dead, himself covered with dust, his 
 face besmeared with powder and blood. He was giving 
 directions at the moment to Major Taylor, his chief of 
 artillery, who had just brought a battery into position. 
 Mounted orderlies were coming and going in haste; 
 staff officers were making anxious inquiries ; everybody 
 but himself seemed excited. The battle was raging 
 terrifically in every direction. Just then there seemed 
 to be unusual commotion on our right, where it was ob- 
 served our men were giving back. ' I was looking for 
 that,' said Sherman ; ' but I am ready for them.' His 
 quick, sharp eyes flashed, and his war-begrimed face 
 beamed with satisfaction. The enemy's packed columns 
 now made their appearance, and as quickly the guns 
 which Sherman had so carefully placed in position began 
 to speak. The deadly effect on the enemy was apparent. 
 While Sherman was still managing the artillery, Major 
 Sanger, a staff-officer, called his attention to the fact that 
 the enemy's cavalry were charging towards the battery. 
 ' Order up those two companies of infantry,' was the 
 quick reply ; and the general coolly went on with his 
 guns. The cavalry made a gallant charge, but their 
 horses carried back empty saddles. The enemy was 
 evidently foiled. Our men, gaining fresh courage, ral- 
 lied again, and for the first time that day, the enemy 
 was held stubbornly in check. A moment more, and he 
 fell back over the piles of his dead and wounded." 
 
 During the advance upon Corinth which followed the 
 battle of Shiloh, Sherman's division was continually in 
 the lead, and carried, occupied, and reintrenched seven 
 distinct rebel camps. On the 30th of May, 1862, Beau 
 regard retreated from Corinth, and it was occupied the 
 same day by Sherman's division. "His services as 
 
 9*
 
 102 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 division commander in the advance on Corinth," writes 
 General Grant, " I will venture to say, were appreciated 
 by the now general-in-chief (General Halleck) beyond 
 those of any other division commander." *At the earnest 
 request of Generals Halleck and Grant, General Sherman 
 was promoted to the rank of major-general of Volun- 
 teers, to date from May 1st, 1862. 
 
 On the 20th of June he advanced from Corinth and 
 captured the important post of Holly Springs, - Missis- 
 sippi, thoroughly destroying trestle-bridges and track on 
 the Mississippi Central railroad, so as to prevent any 
 sudden approach of the enemy. 
 
 Memphis, which had surrendered to our naval forces 
 in the spring of 1862, and was now in General Grant's 
 department, was in a sad condition. Around it, in all 
 directions, a guerilla warfare raged furiously, and the 
 city itself had become so thoroughly interested in the 
 contraband trade with rebels, that a prominent rebel 
 officer avowed his belief that it was more valuable to 
 them in the hands of the Federal Government than be- 
 fore its capture. General Grant had no intention of al- 
 lowing this state of things to continue, and knowing 
 General Sherman's hearty loyalty and decision of char- 
 acter, he appointed him to the command of the district 
 of -Memphis, with an injunction to suppress both the 
 guerillas and the contraband trade. This was accom- 
 jplished within the next six months so thoroughly, that 
 for many months subsequent, the place bore a high 
 character for loyalty, and the guerrillas confined their 
 raids to regions where they were in less danger of losing 
 their lives. 
 
 In December, 1862, General Grant made the first 
 movements in his operations against Vicksburg. His 
 first step was to appoint General Sherman to the com-
 
 GENERAL SHERMAN. 103 
 
 mand of the Fifteenth army corps, and to direct him to 
 make some reconnoissances near Tallahatchie river.. 
 These completed, he unfolded to him his plan for the 
 capture of Vfcksburg. Sherman, at the head of four 
 picked divisions, was to embark at Memphis, on the 20th 
 of December, and rendezvous at Friar's point, and from 
 thence move directly on Vicksburg, and attack it ; while 
 Grant himself, with a large force, was to proceed down 
 the Mississippi Central railroad to Jackson, Mississippi, 
 and hold and engage the enemy's forces there, and, these 
 defeated, move to the rear of Vicksburg. Holly Springs, 
 on the Mississippi Central, was to be his depot of sup- 
 plies, and he had already accumulated there the stores 
 necessary for the expedition. Sherman started promptly 
 on the 20th,* but on the same day Holly Springs was 
 attacked by the enemy under Van Dorn, and disgrace- 
 fully surrendered, and its stores destroyed. General 
 Grant, who was below Holly Springs at the time, was 
 
 * Sherman's general order on setting out with this expedition 
 is a remarkable document. Then, as always, he was opposed to 
 all military trading expeditions, and to permitting a motley and 
 irresponsible herd of camp-followers to accompany and betray the 
 purposes and numbers of the expedition. The order was as fol- 
 lows : " The expedition now fitting out is purely of a military 
 character, and the interests involved are of too important a nature 
 to be mixed up with personal and private business. No citizen, 
 male or female, will be allowed to accompany it, unless employed 
 as part of a crew, or as servants to the transports. No person 
 whatever citizen, officer, or sutler will, on any consideration, 
 buy or deal in cotton, or other produce of the country. The trade 
 in cotton must wait a more peaceful state of affairs. Any person 
 whatever, making reports for publication, which might reach and 
 inform, aid, or comfort the enemy, should be treated as a spy. A 
 citizen following the expedition in defiance of the above orders, 
 should be conscripted, or made a deck-hand on the transports."
 
 104 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 compelled to return towards Memphis, and accumulate 
 n.e\v supplies before he could move forward, and at the 
 same time was unable to communicate with Sherman. 
 
 Unaware of this failure, Sherman pressed on, and dis- 
 embarkina: on the 26th and 27th of December near the 
 
 O 
 
 mouth of the Yazoo, ordered a general advance at once 
 upon the city, and before night drove the enemy from 
 his outer lines. On the 28th and 29th the assault was 
 renewed, and on the latter day a series of brilliant 
 charges were made with the utmost fury. There have 
 been few instances of as desperate fighting during the 
 war. "Blair's brigade in the advance, emerging from 
 the cover of a cypress forest, came upon an intricate 
 abatis of young trees felled about three feet above the 
 ground, with the tops left interlacing in confusion. Be- 
 yond the abatis was a deep ditch with a quicksand at 
 the bottom, and several feet of water on the sand. Be- 
 yond the ditch was a more impenetrable abatis of heavy 
 timber. All this was swept by a murderous fire from 
 the enemy's artillery. Yet through and over it all the 
 brigade gallantly charged, and drove the enemy from 
 his rifle-pits, at the base of the centre hill, on which the 
 city lay. Other brigades came up in support, and the 
 second line was carried ; and still up the hill pressed the 
 heroic advance. But it was all in vain. The city was 
 impregnable to so small a force, and reluctantly the 
 storming party yielded up their hardly earned conquests, 
 Blair's brigade losing one third of its men in the daring 
 assault. Under a flag of truce, Sherman buried his dead 
 and cared for his wounded, and then promptly re-em- 
 barked. At this juncture General McClernand arrived, 
 and assumed command by virtue of his priority of com- 
 mission. Sherman at once announced the fact to his 
 " right wing of the Army of the Tennessee," praising
 
 GENERAL SHERMAN. 105 
 
 their zeal, alacrity, and courage, and adding, " Ours was 
 but part of a combined movement, in which others were 
 to assist. We were in time ; unforeseen contingencies 
 must have delayed the others. We have destroyed the 
 Shreveport road ; we have attacked the defences of 
 Vicksburg, and pushed the attack as far as prudence 
 would justify ; and having found it too strong for our 
 single column, we have drawn off in good order and in 
 good spirits, ready for any new move. A new com- 
 mander is now here to lead you. I know that all good 
 officers and soldiers will give him the same hearty sup- 
 port and cheerful obedience they have hitherto given 
 me. There are honors enough in reserve for all, and 
 work enough, too." 
 
 The patriotism and manliness of this order will be 
 more evident if we bear in mind that General Sherman 
 had just suffered the mortification of a repulse for which 
 he was in no sense blameworthy, the reasons which had 
 compelled General Grant to fail in his part of the attack 
 being unknown to General Sherman ; and that the subor-: 
 dinate officers not cognizant of all the facts, and the 
 newspaper correspondents who had an old grudge to 
 revenge, were heaping undeserved reproach upon him. 
 There was, beside this, the mortification of being re- 
 quired to yield his command to a man like General 
 McClernand, a civilian general, overbearing, ambitious, 
 and conceited, who never scrupled in the endeavor to 
 exalt his own reputation on the misfortune of others, or 
 to avail himself of their plans without ascribing to them 
 any portion of the credit. Yet Sherman acquiesced 
 gracefully and with true patriotism in the change, and 
 in handing over the command to McClernand, sought to 
 transfer to him also the affection and good-will of his 
 officers and men.
 
 106 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 But time makes all things even. This attack on 
 Chickasaw bluffs, for which Sherman was denounced in 
 the most violent and unmeasured terms by the Western 
 papers, was subsequently fully justified and approved by 
 General Grant in his report to the War Department, in 
 which he says : " General Sherman's arrangement as 
 commander of troops, in the attack on Chickasaw bluffs, 
 last December, was admirable ; seeing the ground from 
 the opposite side from the attack, afterwards, I saw the 
 impossibility of making it successful." 
 
 The troops which embarked at the mouth of the 
 Yazoo, under the command of General McClernand, 
 Consisted of part of two army corps, the Fifteenth, of 
 which Sherman still retained the command, and the 
 Thirteenth, which was properly McClernand's. They 
 proceeded at once to Arkansas Post, and, following out 
 a plan proposed by Sherman before the attack on Chick- 
 asaw bluffs, carried the position, capturing seven thousand 
 prisoners, several cannon, and a large quantity of supplies. 
 
 In the subsequent operations of General Grant for the 
 reduction of the rebel stronghold of Vicksburg, General 
 Sherman bore a distinguished part. His first achieve- 
 ment was the relief of Admiral Porter's fleet of gunboats 
 on the Sunflower river. It had been a favorite plan with 
 General Grant to reach the Yazoo river with gunboats, 
 from some point above Vicksburg, and descending it to 
 Haines' bluff, make an assault from that point upon the 
 city, which he believed would result in its capture. The 
 attempt had been made through the Yazoo pass, but had 
 failed. Admiral Porter, who was co-operating with Gen- 
 eral Grant, thought he had discovered another route 
 which promised better success, through the interlacing 
 streams which irrigate the tract between the Mississippi 
 and the Yazoo. He asked the co-operation of a skilful
 
 GENERAL SHERMAN. 107 
 
 and resolute land force ; and General Grant detailed 
 General Sherman, with one division of his Fifteenth army 
 corps. The gunboats pushed on through Steel e's and 
 Black's bayous, into Deer creek and Rolling fork, an 
 affluent of Sunflower river, which is itself a tributaiy of 
 the Yazoo, while the troops, following a more circuitous 
 route, were necessarily a day or two in the rear. On 
 the 21st of March, the admiral having entered the Sun- 
 flower river, found it full of obstructions, with formidable 
 batteries ahead, the enemy in heavy force, with artillery 
 in front and on both flanks, and the stream too narrow 
 to manoeuvre successfully. Fearing that the enemy 
 might blockade his rear by felling obstructions, he sent a 
 pressing message to Sherman, then many miles distant, 
 to come immediately to his relief, and awaited his coming 
 with the deepest anxiety, the enemy meantime endeavor- 
 ing to pass him on one or the other flank. Sherman re- 
 ceived his message at seven o'clock on the morning of the 
 22d, and started instantly with rather more than a brigade, 
 in a forced march over the most intolerable roads, to re- 
 lieve him. He pushed on with the utmost speed ; but 
 while yet several miles distant, a part of the rebel force 
 attempted to push across his flank, in order to reach the 
 boats first, and as they came in sight, the gunboats 
 opened fire on them. At the sound of the cannon, 
 Sherman, with his little band, struck out in a straight 
 line for the point whence the firing proceeded, and by 
 the greatest urgency brought his men through in about 
 an hour, and flung his force upon the rebels, who, aston- 
 ished at his appearance, fled instantly. Another hour, 
 and the gunboats would have been lost inevitably. As 
 it was, it required the utmost skill and generalship on 
 the part of both commanders to force their way back, 
 with the goal unattained.
 
 108 OUE GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 When General Grant determined to attack Vicks- 
 burg from below, by moving his force down the west 
 side of the Mississippi, landing at Grand Gulf, or below, 
 and marching first eastward to Jackson, he confided his 
 plan to General Sherman, and required of him a move- 
 ment, by way of feint, involving some danger and re- 
 quiring a high degree of military tact. The Thirteenth 
 and Seventeenth corps (McClernand's and McPherson's) 
 were put at once upon the line of march, over that weari- 
 some slouch of mud between Milliken's bend and Hard 
 
 O 
 
 Times, Louisiana ; but Sherman's corps was ordered to 
 remain at Milliken's bend, and keep up the semblance of 
 siege of the city from that position ; and when Grant 
 was ready to land his troops at Bruinsburg, he sent a 
 disp'atch to Sherman, who thereupon embarked his troops 
 on transports, and moving directly on Haines' bluif, 
 landed, and, with the co-operation of the gunboats, pre- 
 pared to assault. The gunboats maintained a terrible 
 fire for four hours to cover their landing. These demon- 
 strations were continued for two days with great success. 
 The enemy regarding it as a bona fide attack, concen- 
 trated almost their entire force at Haines' bluff, and 
 General Grant was thus enabled to land his troops without 
 opposition, and to proceed towards Port Gibson without 
 encountering any very large force. This accomplished, 
 General Sherman made a forced march of over sixty 
 miles of terrible roads in six days, and joined General 
 Grant at Grand Gulf on the 6th of May. The next day 
 the whole army advanced, and on the 12th Sherman's 
 and McClernand's corps had some skirmishing at Four- 
 teen Mile creek, while McPherson fought a sharp but 
 successful battle at Raymond. Generals Sherman and 
 McPherson then marched by different routes towards 
 Jackson, and while Sherman approached and at-
 
 GENERAL SHERMAN. 109 
 
 tacked on the south side, McPherson assailed it on the 
 north. Johnston, the rebel general, planted artillery, 
 and stationed a small infantry force under cover in front 
 of Sherman, but massed his troops against McPherson. 
 This ruse General Sherman promptly detected, and send- 
 ing a reconnoitering party to the right, flanked the position, 
 and held himself in readiness to support McPherson's at- 
 tack ; but after a sharp battle, that general had defeated 
 the rebels, who had fled northward. Sherman was now 
 left at Jackson to destroy the railroads, bridges, facto- 
 ries, arsenals, machine-shops, &c., belonging to the enemy. 
 He did this effectually, and, early on the 16th of May, re- 
 ceived orders from General Grant to move with all speed 
 till he came up with the main forces near Bolton. In one 
 hour from the time of receiving the dispatch, he was in mo- 
 tion with his troops. On reaching Bolton, he found that 
 the army had gone on and fought that day the battle of 
 Champion hills, and orders were left for him to go on to 
 Bridgeport, and by noon of the 17th he had reached that 
 point. From thence he asshmed the advance, starting 
 before dawn of the 18th, crossing the Black river on a 
 pontoon bridge, and marching rapidly towards Vicksburg. 
 Before night of that day, by a rapid detour to the right, 
 he threw himself on Walnut hills, and compelled their 
 evacuation by the enemy, passing between Snyder's and 
 Walnut bluffs, and thus cutting the rebel force in two. 
 This brilliant manoeuvre accomplished two results, both 
 of the greatest importance. It compelled the evacuation 
 of Haines' bluff, Snyder's bluff, and Walnut and Chicka- 
 saw bluffs by the enemy, with all their strong works, and 
 it enabled General Grant at once to open communication 
 with the fleet and his new base on the Yazoo and Mis- 
 sissippi, above Vicksburg. Of General Sherman's con- 
 duct during this preliminary portion of the campaign, 
 10
 
 110 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 General Grant wrote to the War Department : " His 
 demonstration at Haines' bluff in April, to hold the 
 enemy about Vicksburg, while the army was securing a 
 foothold east of the Mississippi ; his rapid marches to 
 join the army afterwards; his management at Jackson., 
 Mississippi, in the first attack; his almost unequalled 
 march from Jackson to Bridgeport, and passage of Black 
 river ; and his securing Walnut hills on the 18th of May, 
 attest his great merit as a soldier." It is worthy of no- 
 tice, that the position thus gained by General Sherman, 
 by a rear attack, was the one against the front of which 
 his troops had been hurled in vain less than five months 
 before. 
 
 On the morning of the 19th of May, at 2 A. si., Gener- 
 al Grant ordered a general assault on the enemy's lines, 
 and, of the three corps engaged, Sherman's alone suc- 
 ceeded in making a material advance. A second assault 
 was ordered for the 22d. This, though conducted with 
 great bravery and daring, proved unsuccessful, and resort 
 was had to the slower but surer process of a siege. The 
 city was surrendered on the 4th of July, and its reduc- 
 tion conferred lasting renown on General Grant and his. 
 brave Army of the Tennessee. To the remainder of that 
 army the surrender brought rest and relaxation from their 
 severe labor ; but Sherman's troops, increased by the ad- 
 dition of the 13th army corps, were ordered immediately 
 to look after Johnston. That rebel commander had made 
 great efforts to collect a force sufficient to enable him to 
 raise the siege of Vicksburg, but had found it impossible 
 to do so. He had, however, hovered in the rear of 
 Grant's army, prudently keeping the Big Black river be- 
 tween his force and theirs, but was on the alert to do 
 them a mischief. On the very day of the surrender 
 Sherman moved eastward, found and drove Johnston's
 
 GENERAL SHERMAN. lit 
 
 force back to Jackson, and promptly invested it there, 
 at the same time sending his cavalry to cut the railroads, 
 and destroy railroad bridges, culverts, depots, cars, &c., 
 above and below the city on the Mississippi Central rail- 
 road, and east on the Jackson and Meridian railroad. 
 Johnston made one desperate sortie, but, finding Gener- 
 al Sherman prepared for him, evacuated the city hastily 
 on the night of the 16th, at the only point not yet com- 
 pletely invested, abandoning every thing, except the arms 
 of the soldiers, to the Union troops. Of this last triumph 
 General Grant said, " It entitles General Sherman to more 
 credit than usually falls to the lot of one man to earn." 
 
 For two months General Sherman and his army corps 
 rested, lying in camp along the Big Black river, a rest 
 much needed after the hardships of the siege and subse- 
 quent pursuit of Johnston ; but the opportunity was im- 
 proved by the commander to refit and recruit his force, 
 and to bring and keep them in the highest state of effi- 
 ciency for service whenever they should be called upon. 
 The time soon came. On the 22d of September, General 
 Grant telegraphed him from Vicksburg to send a divi- 
 sion at once to reinforce Rosecrans, who had just fought 
 the severe and disastrous battle of Chickamauga. At 4 
 P.M., the same day, Osterhaus' division were on the road 
 to Vicksburg, and the next day ascending the river to 
 Memphis. On the 23d the order came for General Sher- 
 man to follow with the remainder of his corps. He started 
 instantly, every thing being in order for immediate move- 
 ment, and on the 27th was on his way to Memphis by 
 water. Owing to the low state of the river and the scar- 
 city of fuel, the voyage was very slow, and the general 
 found it necessary frequently to land forces and gather 
 fence-rails, and other fuel, to hasten their progress. They 
 finally reached Memphis on the 2d, 3d, and 4th of Oc-
 
 112 OUR GEEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 tober, Osterhaus' division having, meantime, advanced 
 as far as Corinth. At Memphis he found orders from 
 General Halleck to move his corps, and all other avail- 
 able troops in his vicinity, to Athens, Alabama, following 
 and repairing the railroad, and depending on the country 
 through which he passed for his supplies. Work was 
 instantly commenced on the railroad, and prosecuted day 
 and night, but, finding he could move his trains more 
 rapidly by turnpike with an escort, he dispatched them 
 by that route, and finally sent forward his fourth division 
 in the same way. 
 
 The rebels having learned of this movement, and being 
 alarmed by it, collected as rapidly as possible bodies of 
 troops at Salem, Mississippi, and Tuscumbia, Alabama, 
 to prevent the advance of Sherman, and his reinforce- 
 ment of Rosecrans. At Salem, the rebel General Chal- 
 mers had collected three thousand cavalry and eight 
 pieces of artillery, and moved forward with this force to 
 the Memphis and Charleston railroad to obstruct Sher- 
 man's progress. Having been informed of this, General 
 Sherman on the llth of October put his whole force in 
 motion towards Corinth, and himself started for that 
 place in advance by special train, having a battalion of 
 the 13th regular infantry (his own old regiment) with him 
 as escort. As he approached Colliersville, twenty-four 
 miles from Memphis, his train was fired upon, and it was 
 discovered that Chalmers was investing the place, which 
 was defended by a small garrison of Union troops in a 
 stockade. Springing from the train, and forming his 
 escort, he ordered them to charge the rebels, which they 
 did with great effect, scattering them in all directions, 
 and relieving the little garrison. Having driven the 
 rebels from the vicinity, he proceeded the next day to 
 Corinth, from whence he sent General Blair to luka with
 
 GENERAL SHEKMAN. 113 
 
 the first division, and, as fast as they came up, pushed 
 the other divisions along, with orders to stop at Big 
 Bear creek, five miles east of luka. Before leaving 
 Memphis he had sent a request to Admiral Porter to 
 send the gunboats up the Tennessee, and to General 
 Allen, at St. Louis, to send a ferry-boat to Eastport. 
 Both had complied with his wishes, and he resumed 
 work on the railroad with all possible energy, send- 
 ing General Blair, meanwhile, with two divisions to 
 drive the enemy out of Tuscumbia, which he accom- 
 plished on the 27th of October, having previously en- 
 countered the rebels in a severe fight at Qane creek. 
 
 While General Sherman was thus making as rapid 
 progress as he could in reopening communications be- 
 tween Memphis and Chattanooga, General Grant had 
 been advanced to the command of the grand military 
 division of the Mississippi, comprising the three armies 
 of the Cumberland, the Ohio, and the Tennessee, and 
 had asked and obtained for General Sherman the com- 
 mand of his own army of the Tennessee. He was in- 
 formed of this while at luka, and immediately com- 
 menced reorganizing his new command ; and on the day 
 of the battle of Cane creek he sent General Ewing with 
 a division to cross the Tennessee, and move with all 
 speed to Eastport. On the 27th of October, a messen- 
 ger arrived from General Grant, ordering him to drop 
 all work on the railroad east of Bear creek, and push on 
 to Bridgeport. With prompt obedience he immediately 
 ordered all his columns towards Eastport, as the only 
 practicable point where the Tennessee could be crossed. 
 On the 1st of November, General Sherman himself 
 crossed, and passed on to the head of the column, leav- 
 ing the rear in charge of General Blair, and marched to 
 Kogersville and the Elk river. Finding that river im- 
 10*
 
 114: OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 passable, and there being no time for building a bridge 
 or constructing pontoons, he marched on by the north 
 side of the Elk river to Fayetteville, and crossing there, 
 headed his column for Bridgeport ; and having prescribed 
 the route for each division, he hastened forward to 
 Bridgeport, telegraphed to General Grant the position 
 of his troops, and on the 15th of November, with his 
 escort, entered Chattanooga. He was welcomed by 
 General Grant, and at once received orders to move his 
 troops, as soon as they came up, across the Tennessee, 
 and effect a lodgment on the terminus of Missionary 
 Ridge, and at the same time demonstrate with a part of 
 his force against Lookout mountain. His men were 
 much exhausted by their long and terrible march from 
 Memphis, and most generals would have craved a brief 
 period of rest for them, but General Sherman was too 
 thorough a soldier to hesitate a moment in his obedience, 
 and he accordingly directed Ewing's division on Trenton, 
 to make the intended demonstration on Lookout moun- 
 tain, and himself returned to Bridgeport, rowing a boat 
 down the Tennessee from Kelly's ferry, and instantly 
 put his other divisions in motion, in the order in which 
 they had arrived. The roads were horrible, but by the 
 most incessant exertion night and day, he succeeded in 
 crossing three divisions over a pontoon bridge at 
 Brown's ferry by the 23d of November, while the fourth 
 division was left behind in Hooker's camp, in conse- 
 quence of the breaking of the bridge. The three di- 
 visions were the same day concealed behind the hills 
 opposite the mouth of Chickamauga river, and the same 
 night, by a dexterous manoeuvre, he moved a force 
 silently along the river, and captured every guard but 
 one of the enemy's picket of twenty men. By daylight, 
 on the 24th of November, he had crossed eight thousand
 
 GENERAL SHERMAN. 115 
 
 men on steamboats and pontoon boats to the east bank 
 of the Tennessee, and they had thrown up a strong rifle 
 trench, commanding both the Tennessee and the Chicka- 
 mauga river, as a tSte du pont. At dawn two pontoon 
 bridges were begun one thirteen hundred and fifty feet 
 long, over the Tennessee ; the other, across the Chicka- 
 mauga, perhaps two hundred and fifty feet. At 1 P. M., 
 both were done, and the remainder of the three divisions 
 crossed, and marched from the river en echelon^ so ar- 
 ranged as to be able to deploy promptly to the right on 
 meeting the enemy. After these came a considerable 
 cavalry force, which crossed the Chickamauga, and 
 dashed eastward, to cut the railroad lines upon the 
 Chattanooga ai*d Knoxville and Cleveland and DaltoA 
 roads. The movements of the infantry were so com- 
 pletely concealed by a rain and fog, that they pushed on 
 up the hill which forms the terminus of Missionary Ridge, 
 unseen, surprised the enemy, and took the log and earth- 
 work fort which crowned the hill by half-past three 
 o'clock p. M. The enemy, enraged at finding himself so 
 completely outmanoeuvred and outflanked, opened upon 
 Sherman's troops with artillery and musketry, but the 
 Union artillery, which had been dragged up the steep 
 ascent, opened in turn and soon silenced him. Looking 
 at the ridge from the summit of this hill, however, it 
 was evident that the grand objective was the next or 
 second spur, which was higher, steeper, and on the broad 
 plateau at the top had a very strong arid extensive earth- 
 work, known as Fort Buckner. To carry this must be 
 Sherman's effort on the following day. The commander- 
 in-chief held a consultation with his leading generals 
 that night, and fully aware of Sherman's abilities and 
 prompt obedience, assigned to him a difficult task, and 
 one which, for the time, could not increase and might
 
 116 OtJR GEEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 diminish his reputation, because the motives on which 
 he acted might not be fully understood. As he expected, 
 General Sherman promptly, and without objection, ac- 
 cepted his part of the duty of the morrow. He was to 
 make a persistent demonstration against Fort Buckner, 
 sending up column after column to assault it, and thus 
 drawing the rebel troops from Forts Bragg and Breck- 
 inridge below to Tunnel hill, on which Fort Buckner 
 was situated, leave those forts fatally weakened, when 
 General Grant would send a storming column to capture 
 them, and the enemy thus assailed in rear and flank 
 would be compelled to relinquish his position on the 
 ridge. It was not expected that Sherman's assaults 
 would be successful, though, to be effective, they must 
 cost heavy losses ; but it is not saying any thing deroga- 
 tory to the other able generals who participated in these 
 battles, to say that to none other would General Grant 
 have felt willing to have assigned a task requiring such 
 firmness and self-sacrifice without any immediate hope of 
 reputation or fame, but rather a certainty of reproach, 
 utterly undeserved, attaching to it ; and had he been 
 disposed to propose it to any other, he could hardly have 
 failed to have met with a protest. General Sherman ac- 
 cepted the duty, however, as he would have done any 
 other, satisfied that it was his part to perform whatever 
 duty was assigned to him, without complaint, so it would 
 inure to the overthrow of the rebellion and the end of 
 the war. 
 
 " Before dawn on the 25th of November," says Colonel 
 Bowman, " Sherman was in the saddle, and had made 
 the entire tour of his position in the dim light. It was 
 seen that a deep valley lay between him and the precip- 
 itous sides of the next hill in the series, which was only 
 partially cleared, and of which the crest was narrow and
 
 GENERAL, SHERMAN. 117 
 
 wooded. The further point of the hill was held by the 
 enemy, with a strong breastwork of logs and fresh earth, 
 crowded with men and carrying two guns. On a still 
 higher hill beyond the tunnel he appeared in great force, 
 and had a fair plunging fire ou the intermediate hill in 
 dispute. The gorge between these two latter hills, 
 through which the railroad tunnel passes, could not be 
 seen from Sherman's position, but formed the natural 
 place d'armes, where the enemy covered his masses to 
 resist Sherman's turning his right flank, and thus endan- 
 gering his communications with the Chickamauga de- 
 pot." 
 
 General Corse was to have the advance, " and," says 
 General Sherman, " the sun had hardly risen when his 
 bugle sounded the ' Forward.' " Down the valley and 
 up the steep sides of the hill in front they moved briskly, 
 and though at every step they encountered a murderous 
 fire from the enemy's artillery, yet they managed in spite 
 of all opposition to carry and hold a secondary crest or 
 ledge of rocks on Tunnel hill, although their position 
 was swept by the fire of the breastworks in front. For 
 more than an hour a conflict of the most desperate char- 
 acter raged, the Union troops now surging up close to 
 the breastwork, and apparently about to spring over, 
 and anon dashed back far away to their original position. 
 To draw the fire partially from these struggling heroes, 
 General Sherman opened a fire with his artillery upon 
 the breastwork, throwing shot and shell into it with 
 great accuracy. He also sent two columns, one to the 
 left of the ridge and one to the right, abreast of the tun- 
 nel, to distract the enemy's attention, and thus support 
 Corse's attack. About ten. o'clock A. M., the fight in- 
 creased in intensity, and General Corse was severely 
 wounded. Two brigades of reinforcements were sent
 
 118 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 up, but the crest was so crowded that they had to fall 
 away to the west side of the hill, and at once the enemy's 
 reserves, which had been lying in the gorge under cover 
 of the undergrowth, sprang out upon their right and 
 rear. Thus suddenly assailed, they fell back in some 
 confusion to the lower edge of the field, where they re- 
 formed in good order, and repelled the attempts of the 
 enemy to pursue. As these brigades constituted no part 
 of the real attack, this temporary rebuff was of no prac- 
 tical importance. General Corse's column and the two 
 brigades on the right and left still held their position 
 stubbornly on the crest. They might not be able to 
 drive the enemy from the hill, but neither would they 
 be driven from it themselves. 
 
 Regarding this as the main attack, and determined to 
 repel it, the enemy now began to draw, from his line be- 
 low, troops to mass against these stubborn assailants. 
 "At three P.M.," writes General Sherman, "column after 
 column of the enemy was streaming towards me, gun 
 after gun poured its concentric shot on us from every 
 hill and spur that gave a view of any part of the ground." 
 From Orchard knob General Grant watched, with deep 
 interest, the struggle ; and when, after another charge 
 of the most determined character had almost, but not 
 quite, won the goal, opposed, at the very last, by the 
 heavy reinforcements which the enemy had just brought 
 up, the commander-in-chief sent a division over to sup- 
 port him, Sherman sent it back, with a message, that he 
 had all the force necessary, and could hold his position 
 on Tunnel hill. Then came the moment so long watched 
 for, when the blow to which Bragg had unwisely ex- 
 posed himself, was to be struck, and the patient and gal- 
 lant heroes on Tunnel hill were to be avenged. Hooker 
 had already placed himself in rear of the enemy, on Mis-
 
 GENERAL SHERMAN. 119 
 
 sion ridge, and was at that moment thundering against 
 the walls of Fort Bragg, the southernmost of the 
 rebel earthworks on the ridge, which he carried a little 
 later and at twenty minutes to four, the fourth army 
 corps of Thomas' army charged in solid column up the 
 ridge, and carried Fort Breckenridge ; and the rebel gen- 
 eral and all his garrisons and army were forced, after a 
 very brief conflict, to fly in hot haste down the eastern 
 slope of Missionary ridge, and take refuge in the valleys 
 beyond. The battles of Chattanooga were won. Sher- 
 man's part in this conflict had been, as we have said, 
 not the brilliant one of the victor, before whom the 
 enemy fly in confusion ; rather had he at the first to 
 bear the odium of having sacrificed his men in a fruitless 
 though persistent assault on a fortification which could 
 not be carried by direct attack ; but when the whole 
 plan of the battles came out, and their mutual relations 
 were seen, it became evident that the glorious successes of 
 that day were due as much to the persistency and stub- 
 bornness with which General Sherman held the crest of 
 Tunnel hill, as to the brilliant charge of the fourth corps 
 against Fort Breckenridge. Without the former the lat- 
 ter could not, by any possibility, have proved successful. 
 But with the victory came no rest for Sherman's war- 
 worn veterans. The same night Sherman's skirmishers 
 followed the enemy, and long before dawn the next 
 morning Sherman was himself in the saddle, leading a 
 . division of Howard's corps in swift pursuit of the flying 
 foe. The remainder of his army, and portions of 
 Thomas's, as well as Hooker's grand division, followed 
 closely and persistently, skirmished with the enemy at 
 two or three points, and finally compelling him to stand 
 at bay at Ringgold, had a sharp action, but defeated the 
 rebels with considerable slaughter. General Grant now
 
 120 OUR GKEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 acceded to General Sherman's request, to be allowed to 
 destroy thoroughly the railroad communications of the 
 enemy with Knoxville, and thus effectually prevent the 
 reunion of Longstreet and Bragg. 
 
 Meantime, General Burnside, now besieged at Knox- 
 ville, had sent an urgent appeal to General Grant for 
 relief. Grant had already ordered General Granger to 
 march thither with his corps, but he had not yet got off, 
 and moved with reluctance and complaint. Nor had he 
 the number of men which General Grant had directed 
 him to take. "I therefore determined," says General 
 Grant, " notwithstanding the fact that two divisions of 
 Sherman's forces had marched from Memphis, and had 
 gone into battle immediately on their arrival at Chatta- 
 nooga, to send him with his command." Accordingly, 
 Sherman received command of all the troops designed 
 for relieving Knoxville, including Granger's. " Seven 
 days before," wrote Sherman, " we had left our camps 
 on the other side of the Tennessee, with two days' ra- 
 tions, without a change of clothing, stripped for the 
 fight, with but a single blanket or coat per man, from 
 myself to the private included. Of course, we then had 
 no provisions, save what we gathered by the road, and 
 were ill-supplied for such a march. But we learned that 
 twelve thousand of our fellow-soldiers were beleaguered 
 in the mountain-town of Knoxville, eighty-four miles 
 distant, that they needed relief, and must have it in three 
 days. This was enough ; and it had to be done." The 
 railroad bridge over the Hiawassee was repaired and 
 planked, and at daylight of the 1st of December the 
 army crossed upon it, and marched to Athens, fifteen 
 miles, through deep mud. On the 2d of December they 
 hurried forward to London, twenty-six miles distant, 
 while the cavalry pushed on in advance to endeavor to
 
 GENERAL SHERMAN. 121 
 
 save the bridge over the Tennessee, held by the rebel 
 General Vaughan's brigade. They found him strongly 
 posted in earthworks with heavy artillery, and were 
 compelled to wait for Howard's infantry to come up. 
 During the night, Yaughan retreated, desti'oying the 
 pontoon bridge, and running several locomotives and a 
 number of cars into the Tennessee, but leaving his guns 
 and provisions. But one day remained, and less than 
 half the distance was traversed, and the bridge gone. 
 General Sherman, therefore, sent word to Colonel Long, 
 the commander of the cavalry brigade, that General 
 Burnside must know within twenty-four hours that he 
 was on his way to relieve him, and directed him to se- 
 lect his best mounted men, start at once, ford the Little 
 Tennessee, and push into Knoxville, at whatever cost of 
 horseflesh. The road was long and almost impassable 
 for mud, but Colonel Long was off before dawn, and 
 reached there the same evening. The army turned 
 aside at Philadelphia, and struck the Little Tennessee at 
 Morgantown, but were obliged to extemporize a bridge, 
 and crossed in the night of the 4th of December, and on 
 the morning of the 5th received a message from General 
 Burnside that Long's cavalry had arrived in season, and 
 that all was well. The forced march was continued to 
 Marysville, where a staff-officer of General Burnside 
 arrived on the evening of the 5th, with the announce- 
 ment that Longstreet had raised the siege the night 
 before. 
 
 General Sherman now sent forward Granger's two 
 divisions to Knoxville, and at once ordered the remainder 
 of his gallant army to halt and rest, for their work was 
 done. For himself, he went to Knoxville ; and, having 
 found every thing safe there, returned leisurely with his 
 army, except Granger's divisions, to Chattanooga. The 
 
 11
 
 122 OUK GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 three months which had elapsed since they left Vicksburg 
 had been passed in a campaign unparalleled in the history 
 of war. Without a moment's rest, after a march of four 
 hundred miles, without sleep for three successive nights, 
 they crossed the Tennessee river, fought their part in 
 the battles of Chattanooga, pursued the enemy out of * 
 Tenesssee, then turned north more than a hundred miles, 
 and compelled Longstreet to raise the siege of Knox- 
 ville. These marches had been made much of the time 
 without regular rations or supplies of any kind, through 
 mud and over rocks, sometimes barefooted, and in a 
 mountainous region, in the depth of winter, Avithout a 
 murmur. 
 
 It is related of one of these veteran heroes, that after 
 his return to Chattanooga, he was, in passing through 
 the camps, challenged by a sentinel belonging to the 
 Eleventh corps, and made answer that he " belonged to 
 the Fifteenth corps." " Where's your badge ?" asked 
 the sentry. " What badge ?" inquired the veteran. 
 "The badge of your corps. We wear a crescent to 
 designate our corps." "Badge?" answered the hero. 
 " Oh yes ! Forty rounds of ammunition in our cartridge 
 boxes ; sixty rounds in our pockets ; a march from Mem- 
 phis to Chattanooga ; a battle and pursuit ; another march 
 to Knoxville ; and victory everywhere. That's all the 
 badge we want." 
 
 General Sherman possesses a highly cultivated mind, 
 well trained by study and observation in a wider range 
 of topics than usually come within the scope of military 
 men ; and in his letters and reports the evidences of this 
 thorough and thoughtful culture are often noticeable, a 
 single expression sometimes embodying some great prin- 
 ciple on which Vattel, Montesquieu, or Jornini would 
 have expended a hundred pages. We shall see instances
 
 GENERAL SHEKMAN. 123 
 
 of this further on. In all matters of military law, prin- 
 ciple, or custom he displays a profound knowledge, and 
 a facility in applying them to existing cases which few 
 military writers have possessed. His letters on the proper 
 treatment of disloyal people in conquered territory are 
 * models of military learning and judicial ability, and will 
 in all the future be quoted as authorities. One of these, 
 addressed to Assistant Adjutant-General Sawyer at 
 Huntsville, Alabama, and bearing date Jan. 24th, 1864, 
 is so clear and satisfactory in its enunciation of the posi- 
 tion of our government in relation to these disloyal resi- 
 dents, that we cannot forbear quoting a considerable 
 portion of it. 
 
 After citing historical precedents, and the authority of 
 Napoleon and William of Orange, for his views, he pro- 
 ceeds to say : 
 
 " The war which now prevails in our land is essentially 
 a war of races. The Southern people entered into a 
 clear compact of government, but still maintained a 
 species of separate interests, history, and prejudices. 
 These latter became stronger and stronger, till they 
 have led to a war which has developed fruits of the bit- 
 terest kind. 
 
 " We of the North are, beyond all question, right in 
 our lawful cause, but we are not bound to ignore the 
 fact that the people of the South have prejudices, which 
 form a part of their nature, and which they cannot throw 
 off without an effort of reason, or the slower process of 
 natural change. Now, the question arises, should we 
 treat as absolute enemies all in the South who differ from 
 us in opinion or prejudice, kill or banish them ? or 
 should we give them time to think and gradually change 
 their conduct, so as to conform to the new order of
 
 124: OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 things, which is slowly and gradually creeping into their 
 country ? 
 
 "When men take arms to resist our rightful au- 
 thority, we are compelled to use force, because all rea- 
 son and argument cease when arms are resorted to. 
 When the provisions, forage, horses, mules, wagons, &c., 
 are used by our enemy, it is clearly our duty and right 
 to take them, because otherwise they might be used 
 again st. us. 
 
 " In like manner, all houses left vacant by an inimical 
 people are clearly our right, or such as are needed as 
 storehouses, hospitals, and quarters. But a question 
 arises as to dwellings used by women, children, and non- 
 combatants. So long as non-combatants remain in their 
 houses, and keep to their accustomed business, their 
 opinions and prejudices can in no wise influence the war, 
 and, therefore, should not be noticed. But if any one 
 conies out into the public streets and creates disorder, 
 he or she should be punished, restrained, or banished, 
 either to the rear or front, as the officer in command ad- 
 judges. If the people, or any of them, keep up a cor- 
 respondence with parties in hostility, they are spies, and 
 can be punished with death, or minor punishment. 
 
 " These are well-established principles of war, and the 
 people of the South, having appealed to war, are barred 
 from appealing to our Constitution, which they have 
 practically and publicly defied. They have appealed to 
 war, and must abide its rules and laws. The United 
 States, as a belligerent party claiming right in the soil as 
 the ultimate sovereign, have a right to change the popu- 
 lation, and it may be, and is, both politic and just, we 
 should do so in certain districts. When the inhabitants 
 persist too long in hostility, it may be both politic and 
 right that we should banish them and appropriate their
 
 GENERAL SHERMAN. 125 
 
 lands to a more loyal and useful population. No man will 
 deny that the United States would be benefited by dis- 
 possessing a single prejudiced, hard-headed, and disloyal 
 planter, and substituting in his place a dozen or more 
 patient, industrious, good families, even if they be of 
 foreign birth. I think it does good to present this view 
 of the case to many Southern gentlemen, who grew rich 
 and wealthy, not by virtue alone of their industry and 
 skill, but by reason of the protection and impetus to 
 prosperity given by our hitherto moderate and magnan- 
 imous Government. It is all idle nonsense for these 
 Southern planters to say that they made the South, that 
 they own it, and that they can do as they please, even 
 to break up our Government, and to shut up the natural 
 avenues of trade, intercourse, and commerce. 
 
 ***** 
 
 "Whilst I assert for our Government the highest 
 military prerogatives, I am willing to bear in patience 
 that political nonsense of slave-rights, State rights, free- 
 dom of conscience, freedom of press, and such other 
 trash, as have deluded the Southern people into war, 
 anarchy, and bloodshed, and the foulest crimes that have 
 disgraced any time or any people. 
 
 " I would advise the commanding officers at Hunts- 
 ville, and such other towns as are occupied by our troops, 
 to assemble the inhabitants and explain to them these 
 plain, self-evident propositions, and tell them that it is 
 for them now to say whether they and their children 
 shall inherit the beautiful land which by the accident of 
 nature has fallen to their share. The Government of 
 the United States has in North Alabama any and all 
 rights which they choose to enforce in war, to take 
 their lives, their homes, their lands, their every thing ; 
 because they cannot deny that war does exist there ; 
 
 11*
 
 126 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 and war is simply power, unrestrained by Constitution 
 or compact. If they want eternal war, well and good ; 
 we will accept the issue and dispossess them and put our 
 friends in possession. I know thousands and millions of 
 good people who, at simple notice, would come to North 
 Alabama and accept the elegant houses and plantations 
 now there. If the people of Huntsville think differently, 
 let them persist in war three years longer, and then 
 they will not be consulted. Three years ago, by a little 
 reflection and patience, they could have had a hundred 
 years of peace and prosperity, but they preferred war. 
 Very well. Last year they could have saved their 
 slaves, but now it is too late ; all the powers of earth 
 cannot restore to them their slaves, any more than their 
 dead grandfathers. Next year their lands will be taken, 
 for in war we can take them, and rightfully too, and 
 in another year they may beg in vain for their lives. A 
 people who will persevere in war beyond a certain limit 
 ought to know the consequences. Many, many people, 
 with less pertinacity than the South, have been wiped 
 out of national existence." 
 
 The expedition of General Sherman into Central 
 Mississippi was projected by that general, but sanc- 
 tioned and ordered by General Grant. It was a grand 
 conception, the marching a movable column of twenty- 
 two thousand men, cut loose from any base, for a hun- 
 dred and thirty miles through the enemy's country, and 
 in modern times has hardly been surpassed except by 
 Sherman himself in his later movements. That it failed 
 of accomplishing all that was intended, and was in its 
 results only a gigantic raid, carrying terror into the 
 very heart of the Confederacy, and crippling the re- 
 sources of the enemy beyond effectual reparation, was
 
 GENERAL SHERMAN. 127 
 
 not the fault of General Sherman, but of the co-operat- 
 ing cavalry force, which failed to make its movement at 
 the proper time, and with the necessary resolution and 
 energy to effect a junction which might have swept 
 Mississippi and Alabama out of the grasp of the rebels. 
 
 Brigadier-General W. S. Smith was ordered to leave 
 I 
 Memphis on the 1st of February, with a force of 8,000 
 
 cavalry, and move down the Mobile and Ohio railroad, 
 from Corinth to Meridian, destroying the road as he 
 went. At Meridian he was to form a junction with 
 General Sherman, who left Vicksburg on the 3d of Feb- 
 ruary, and marched eastward with a force of twenty 
 thousand cavalry, twelve hundred infantry, and a train 
 carrying twenty days' rations. General Smith failed to 
 move at the proper time, and, indeed, did not leave 
 Memphis till the llth of February ; and the rebels, mean- 
 time, had collected a sufficient force on his route to op- 
 pose his progress, and induce him to turn back, after one 
 or two skirmishes. Meantime, Sherman had performed 
 his part of the expedition well. Moving directly across 
 the State of Mississippi from Vicksburg, through Clin- 
 ton, Jackson, Quitman, Enterprise, and Meridian, he 
 encountered no formidable opposition, and destroyed the 
 rebel communications and stores beyond their power to 
 replace them, and brought off large numbers of the able- 
 bodied negroes and their families from that region, the 
 centre of the cotton-growing country, and great num- 
 bers of horses, mules, and army wagons. Finding that 
 General Smith would not probably effect a junction with 
 him, he turned his face westward from Meridian, after a 
 stay of three or four days, meeting with no serious an- 
 noyance from the rebels, who followed at a respectful 
 distance. 
 The purpose of the expedition was to cut off Mobile
 
 128 OUR GKEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 from Johnston, and so annoy, harass, and cut up Folk's 
 force in Central Mississippi as to prevent its going to the 
 relief of Mobile, at which Farragut was pounding away 
 with his fleet. The failure of General Smith to co-operate 
 deranged this plan in part, and the assault on Mobile was 
 necessarily postponed for the time. 
 
 Oil the 12th of Match, 1864, the general order of the 
 War Department was issued, by virtue of which Lieu- 
 tenant-General Grant was put in command of all the 
 armies of the Union, and by the same order General 
 Sherman was assigned to the command of the grand 
 military division of the Mississippi, the position vacated 
 by General Grant. This division included the depart- 
 ments of the Ohio, the Cumberland, the Tennessee, and, 
 for the time, Arkansas. The forces under his command 
 numbered more than one hundred and fifty thousand 
 men, and were to be still further increased. His subor- 
 dinate commanders were General Thomas, at the head 
 of the Army of the Cumberland, General McPherson, 
 an accomplished officer, who succeeded him in the com- 
 mand of the Army of the Tennessee, General Schofield, 
 commanding the Army of the Ohio, General Hooker, 
 commanding two corps from the Army of the Potomac, 
 General Hurlbut, at the head of the large and efficient 
 Sixteenth army corps, General Howard, previously of 
 the Army of the Potomac, and General Logan, who 
 commanded his own old corps, the Fifteenth ; and, be- 
 sides these, nearly a score of able corps and division 
 commanders, conspicuous for their ability in previous 
 fields, men like Stoneman, Kilpatrick, Palmer, Wood, 
 Johnson, Davis, Rousseau, Newton, Geary, Williams, 
 Baird, and Brannan. 
 
 At an interview which General Sherman had with the 
 lieutenant-general, within a week after his promotion, the
 
 GENERAL SHEKMAN. 129 
 
 plans for the coming campaign were fully discussed, and 
 it was agreed that a simultaneous forward movement of 
 the Eastern and Western armies should be made early in 
 May, the one having Richmond, and the other Atlanta, 
 for its objective. Less than two months remained be- 
 fore the time of making this movement, and in that time 
 a vast amount of supplies must be sent forward to Chat- 
 tanooga, sufficient for at least sixty days beyond the cur- 
 rent expenditure of the army ; arms, ammunition, and 
 cannon must be collected in immense quantities ; the 
 scattered army corps concentrated at Chattanooga, and , 
 thoroughly reorganized and trained ; the cavalry re- 
 mounted, and increased in numbers and efficiency, and 
 all the details for a gigantic campaign completed. 
 With that promptness and celerity which has uni- 
 formly characterized his operations, General Sherman, 
 while visiting all the posts and garrisons of his com- 
 mand, took measures to perfect all these arrangements, 
 and accomplished them so thoroughly, that on the 7th 
 of May he moved forward with his army from its several 
 camps at Ringgold, Gordon's mill, and Red Clay. His 
 grand army numbered ninety-eight thousand seven hun- 
 dred and ninety-seven effective men, and two hundred 
 and fifty-four pieces of artillery. It was divided as fol- 
 lows : The Army of the Cumberland, Major-General 
 Thomas commanding, sixty thousand seven hundred 
 and seventy-three men, and one hundred and thirty 
 guns ; the Army of the Tennessee, Major-General Mc- 
 Pherson commanding, twenty-four thousand four hun- 
 dred and sixty-five men, and ninety-six guns ; the Army 
 of the Ohio, Major-General Schofield commanding, thir- 
 teen thousand five hundred and fifty-nine men, and 
 twenty-eight guns. Of these ti'oops, six thousand one 
 hundred and forty-nine were cavalry, four thousand four
 
 130 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 hundred and sixty artillery, and the remainder infantry. 
 The force opposed to him consisted of Hardee's, Hood's, 
 and Folk's corps, the whole under the command of 
 General Joseph E. Johnston, and numbered, according to 
 General Johnston's report, about forty-five thousand, 
 of whom four thousand were cavalry. The rebels re- 
 ceived during the campaign, according to the same re- 
 port, reinforcements to the amount of about twenty-one 
 thousand, of which nearly seven thousand were cavalry. 
 Sherman's army received only a sufficient number of re- 
 inforcements, and men returning from furlough and hos- 
 pital, to keep his army about tip to the original standard ; 
 while Johnston represents the number of troops turned 
 over to Hood as about six thousand greater than that 
 with which he commenced the campaign, although he 
 acknowledged a loss of about fifteen thousand previ- 
 ous to the battles near Atlanta. 
 
 The two armies were very differently situated in one 
 respect. Johnston's, if compelled to fall back, would be 
 only approaching nearer to his base of supplies ; while 
 Sherman, already fully three hundred and fifty miles 
 from his primary base at Louisville, and one hundred 
 and seventy-five from his secondary base at Nashville, 
 was compelled at every step for ward -to increase the dis- 
 tance, while his lines of communication were one, or, for 
 part of the way, two lines of railroad, and some slight as- 
 sistance, at certain stages of river navigation, from the 
 Tennessee river. To guard this long line of communi- 
 cations from the roving bands of rebel guerrillas, as well 
 as the regular cavalry of the rebel army, was, in itself, no 
 easy task, and by most generals would have been re- 
 garded as entirely impracticable, while every stage of 
 progress towards his objective, one hundred and thirty 
 miles distant from Chattanooga, only added to his diffi-
 
 GENERAL SHEKMAN. 131 
 
 culties. The rebel authorities constantly prophesied his 
 utter discomfiture from this cause alone, and continually 
 declared, till the phrase became a by-word, that they 
 had " now got Sherman just where they wanted him." 
 Yet it is one of the best evidences of his skilful general- 
 ship that, during a campaign of more -than five months, 
 General Sherman kept this line of nearly five hundred 
 miles of communications wholly within his own control, 
 and, with rare ability, turned every effort of the enemy 
 to sever or destroy his lines to their own signal disad- 
 vantage. 
 
 The portion of Northern Georgia through which 
 General Sherman must necessarily penetrate in order to 
 reach Atlanta, the goal of his hopes, is characterized by 
 peculiar topographical features. Parallel ridges of hills 
 of considerable height, and with bold rugged faces and 
 narrow and steep defiles, with valleys often gloomy and 
 dark, threaded by rapid and generally deep streams, 
 extend from north to south, broken through, in an east 
 and west line only, by the Coosa river and its principal 
 affluent, the Etowah. South of this latter river the 
 country is somewhat more open, though broken by 
 isolated peaks and narrow passes, and presenting a 
 rough and difficult region for military movements. The 
 route of the Chattanooga and Atlanta railroad was 
 through several of these mountain passes or gaps ; and 
 these, in addition to their great natural strength, had 
 been carefully fortified, and were impregnable to an at- 
 tack in front. General Johnston, an officer inferior in 
 ability to no one in the rebel army, had made the most 
 herculean exertions to prepare against every possible 
 contingency of attack from the Union forces, and 
 throughout the campaign displayed extraordinary skill 
 in falling back, when compelled to retreat from one
 
 132 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 stronghold to another, in such a way as to lose neither 
 prisoners nor material. 
 
 The first point to be carried was Dalton, a position of 
 great strength, occupied by a part of Johnston's force, 
 which extended to Buzzard's Roost gap, a high and 
 narrow defile in the Great Rocky-faced Ridge, a spur 
 from the Chattpogata mountain. This defile, which was 
 protected by a strong abatis, artificially flooded with the 
 waters of Mill creek, and commanded by batteries which 
 swept every foot of it, was the only gateway to Dalton 
 from the northwest, and through it the railway passed. 
 General Sherman sent McPherson's troops, by way of 
 Snake Creek gap, towards Resaca, a town lying on the 
 railroad, eighteen miles below Dalton, and subsequently 
 (on the 10th of May) ordered Hooker's and Palmer's 
 corps, and Schofield's Army of the Ohio (Twenty-third 
 corps), to follow; while Thomas, at first with his whole 
 army, and subsequently with Howard's corps, demon- 
 strated vigorously against Buzzard Roost gap. Johnston, 
 finding that he was outflanked, fell back over a good 
 road to Resaca, which he reached before McPherson had 
 been able to attack; and Ho ward, passing the gap, entered 
 Dalton and pressed on Johnston's rear. Arrived at 
 Resaca, and occupying a strong position, Johnston pre- 
 pared to give battle ; but while preparing to gratify him 
 with a fight, General Sherman had pontooned the Oosta- 
 naula, which flows south of Resaca, and sent Sweeney's 
 division forward to threaten Calhoun, the next point of 
 importance on the railroad, while he dispatched also a 
 cavalry division to break the railroad still further south, 
 between Calhoun and Kingston, thus compelling a 
 further retreat in any event. On the 14th, there was 
 heavy fighting in front of Resaca, without any perceptible 
 advantage being gained by the Union troops, but on the
 
 GENERAL SHERMAN. 133 
 
 loth the attack was renewed, and Hooker's corps gained 
 one of Johnston's strongest positions, capturing four guns 
 and many prisoners. That night, Johnston ascertaining the 
 danger of being flanked, escaped with his army, burning 
 the bridge over the Oostanaula behind him. 
 
 The losses of the Union army in these battles had been 
 heavy, nearly 5,000, a large proportion of whom, how- 
 ever, were but slighty wounded, and soon returned to 
 duty. Johnston's loss was not far from 3,500, a thou- 
 sand of whom were prisoners, eight guns, and a consider- 
 able amount of stores. After the evacuation, Sherman 
 pressed on in pursuit, detaching, on the 17th, Jefferson 
 C. Davis's division of the Fourteenth corps to Rome, 
 which was captured and garrisoned. The rebel army 
 was overtaken at Adairsville, and a sharp artillery en- 
 gagement ensued, when they continued their retreat ; 
 and on the 18th, after some heavy skirmishing, Johnston 
 crossed the Etowah, and Kingston fell into Sherman's 
 hands, and he gave his troops a few days of needed rest, 
 while he superintended the repair of the railroads, the 
 reopening communications to the Chattanooga, and the 
 bringing forward of supplies for his army. 
 
 On the 23d of May, having supplied his men with 
 twenty days' rations, General Sherman moved forward, 
 this time leaving the route of the railroad, which, just 
 after crossing the Etowah, entered a long and dangerous 
 defile known as Allatoona Pass, and turning directly 
 southward, advanced towards Dallas, which would en- 
 able him to flank the pass. Johnston, in order to pro- 
 tect his railroad communication, was compelled to leave 
 his fortified lines and advance upon Sherman's army. 
 His cavalry first came in collision with Hooker's corps 
 at Burnt Hickory, on the 24th; and on the 25th again 
 at Pumpkinvine creek, which ended in a general though 
 12
 
 134: OUR GREAT CAPTAIN8. 
 
 not severe engagement near Dallas. Then followed, the 
 same day, the severe struggle near New Hope church, 
 with heavy losses on both sides ; and after three days' 
 skirmishing and manoeuvring, the bold and daring as- 
 sault of Johnston on McPherson at Dallas on the 28th, 
 which resulted in the repulse of! the rebels with fearful 
 slaughter, their loss being over three thousand, and 
 McPherson's less than one thousand. During these four 
 days of battle, Sherman had been extending bis lines to 
 the left to envelop the rebel right, and occupied all the 
 roads leading eastward to Allatoona and Ackworth. 
 After the bloody battle at Dallas, General Sherman sent 
 his cavalry to seize and occupy Allatoona Pass, in the mean 
 time making' demonstrations looking to a further move- 
 
 o o 
 
 ment southward ; but on the 1st of June he pushed 
 McPherson rapidly to the left, and reached Ackworth. 
 Johnston sullenly abandoned his position at New Hope 
 church, and on the 4th of June fell back to Kenesaw 
 mountain. General Sherman now examined Allatoona 
 Pass in person, and finding it admirably adapted for a 
 secondary base, which he needed in that vicinity, had it 
 fortified and garrisoned, and the railroad communications 
 repaired, and on the 9th of June full supplies were 
 brought into his camp from Chattanooga by rail. Re- 
 ceiving reinforcements here, he moved forward, and be- 
 gan again to press Johnston in his strongly fortified po- 
 sition, extending in a triangle, and covering the northern 
 slopes of Pine, Kenesaw, and Lost mountains. On the 
 llth of June he made his dispositions to break the rebel 
 line between Kenesaw and Pine mountains. There was 
 considerable artillery practice for several days, and on 
 the 14th the rebel General Polk was killed. 
 
 On the morning of the 15th it was found that General 
 Johnston had abandoned Pine mountain, and maintained
 
 GENERAL SHERMAN. 135 
 
 a strongly intrenched line between Kenesaw and Lost 
 mountains. Pressing him. again, and assaulting his lines, 
 General Sherman compelled him to give up Lost moun- 
 tain, and the works connecting it with Kenesaw ; and, 
 as the Union army still crowded upon him, he partially 
 changed his position, and making Kenesaw his salient, 
 covered Marietta with his right wing, and intrenched his 
 left behind Nose's creek, thus securing his railroad line. 
 Still the relentless pressure continued, the crossing of 
 the Chattahoochie, near Sandtown, being threatened. 
 On the 22d, Hood's corps sallied and assaulted the 
 Union lines, but were repulsed with heavy loss, some 
 seven or eight hundred being killed, wounded, or cap- 
 tured. The time had come when Sherman must either 
 assault Johnston's position, or again make the effort to 
 outflank him ; and believing that the effect of an assault, 
 even if repulsed, would be better on the morale of his 
 army than a flank movement at that time, he ordered an 
 assault at two points on the 27th. It was repulsed by 
 the rebels with great loss on the part of Sherman's army 
 in killed and wounded, nearly three thousand being put 
 hors de combat, while the enemy, being behind their in- 
 trenchments, received but little damage. The Union 
 troops were not, however, in the least disheartened, and 
 Sherman, by a skilful manoeuvre (throwing McPherson's 
 entire corps forward towards the Chattahoochie), com- 
 pelled the evacuation of Marietta on the 2d of July, and 
 the Union army entered it next morning. He at once 
 moved upon the enemy, hoping to find him in confusion 
 in the crossing of the Chattahoochie ; but the rebel com- 
 mander had provided well against any chances of danger, 
 and remained strongly intrenched on the west bank of 
 the river till the 5th of July, when another flank move- 
 ment of Sherman, accompanied by active skirmishing,
 
 136 OUK GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 compelled him to cross, which he did in good order, pro- 
 tecting his crossing by a strong tete-du-pont. On the 
 7th of July, General Schofield effected a strong and com- 
 manding lodgment on the east bank of the river, sur- 
 prising the rebel guard, capturing a gun, and laying a 
 good pontoon and trestle-work bridge, and two days 
 later, General .Sherman had secured three good points 
 for passing the river ; and Johnston, who till that time 
 had held his position on the river-bank, now found him- 
 self compelled to fall back to Atlanta, and leave Sher- 
 man indisputable master of the Chatt'ahoochie. Atlanta 
 was but eight miles distant, and strong as it undoubtedly 
 was, General Sherman was determined to capture it. 
 But first he found it necessary to give his troops a little 
 rest; and meanwhile he put in operation a plan for cut- 
 ting off Johnston's supplies, which was characteristic as 
 showing the mental grasp and far-reaching foresight of 
 the man in all military movements. He knew that when 
 Johnston had crossed the Chattahoochie his supplies 
 must come mainly from the direction of the Montgomery, 
 Atlanta, and West Point railroad, as Central and South- 
 ern Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi were the source 
 from which the beef, pork, and corn were derived. 
 Foreseeing that he should drive him to Atlanta, he had 
 collected a force of two thousand cavalry, well-appointed, 
 at Decatur, Alabama, more than two hundred miles in 
 his rear, and had sent them orders, on receiving notice 
 by telegraph, to push immediately south, and break the 
 railroad from Montgomery, at Opelika, and as far as pos- 
 sible cast and west from that point, and then move on to 
 join him at Marietta. This would also prevent Johnston 
 from receiving reinforcements from Mobile or other 
 points west. The order was given on the 9th, and the 
 'cavalry, under the command of the gallant Rousseau,
 
 GENERAL SHERMAN. 137 
 
 marched at once, and within twelve days had broken up 
 thirty miles of the railroad, defeated the rebel General 
 Clanton, and reached Marietta on the 22d, with a loss of 
 only thirty men. Roswell, and the extensive factories of 
 army clothing for the rebels there, were burned on the 
 7th of July. 
 
 On the 17th of July, the grand army moved forward, 
 and formed its lines on the Peach-tree road ; and while 
 Thomas was crossing Peach-tree creek in force by means 
 of numerous bridges, thrown over in face of the enemy's 
 intrenched lines, McPherson and Schofield had swung 
 round upon the Augusta railroad, beyond Decatur, and 
 broken it effectually. There was heavy fighting daily 
 during these movements, and, on the 20th of July, Gen- 
 eral Hood (who had succeeded Johnston in the command 
 of the rebel army on the 17th) made a sudden and des- 
 perate assault upon the Union lines, aiming to take 
 advantage of a gap between Newton's division, of How- 
 ard's corps, and Johnson's, of Palmer's corps. These 
 two divisions, and the remainder of Hooker's corps, sus- 
 tained the full brunt of the attack of Hood's entire army, 
 and after a terrible battle drove the enemy back to his 
 intrenchments, with a loss of full five thousand men, 
 while the Union loss was only seventeen hundred and 
 thirty-three, which fell almost entirely on Hooker's corps, 
 all of which, except Newton's corps, went into the fight 
 without their usual intrenchments. On the 22d, Hood 
 having fallen back from his line of defence along Peach- 
 tree creek to his final interior position of redoubts, form- 
 ing 'the outer line of the defences of Atlanta proper, 
 resolved to stake all lipon a single die, and putting 
 force enough into his intrenchments to hold them, 
 massed all the rest of his army, and hurled it with terri- 
 ble force against Sherman's left. At first a part of the 
 12*
 
 138 OUR GliEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 Union lines gave way, for McPherson's position was 
 not fully established; but they soon rallied, and grew 
 stronger under the assaults of the enemy. Six times did 
 Hood fling his massed columns on the Union lines, at- 
 tacking in turn the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth 
 corps, but at night, after one of the bloodiest and most 
 skilfully fought battles of the war, victory perched 
 on the Union banners. Thirty-two hundred and forty of 
 the enemy's dead, a vast number of his wounded, and 
 ten hundred and seventeen unhurt prisoners fell into the 
 hands of the Union troops. Hood's entire loss could 
 not have been less than twelve thousand. Five thousand 
 stand of arms, and eighteen stand of colors were cap- 
 tured. The Union loss, by official count, was seventeen 
 hundred and twenty-two; but among the slain was 
 Major-General James B. JVlcPherson, the commander of 
 the Army of the Tennessee, and one of the ablest and 
 most skilful officers in the Union service. His loss was 
 a great national misfortune ; and none felt it more deeply 
 than General Sherman. On receiving intelligence of his 
 death, he was affected to tears, and in his report he al- 
 ludes to it in terms which show how tenderly he loved 
 him. "He was," he says, "a noble youth, of striking 
 personal appearance, of the highest professional capacity, 
 and with a heart abounding in kindness, that drew to 
 him the affections of all men." 
 
 General Sherman had on the 21st sent General Gar- 
 rard with a cavalry force to break the Augusta railroad, 
 and destroy the bridges over the Yellow and Ulcofau- 
 hatchee rivers in the vicinity of Covington, Georgia ; and 
 on the 23d he returned, having completely accomplished 
 that work, and, in addition, burned a train of cars, 
 2,000 bales of cotton, and large amounts of stores at 
 Covington and Conyer's station, and brought in 200
 
 GENEEAL SHERMAN. 139 
 
 prisoners. General Sherman now planned a more ex- 
 tensive expedition, having for its object the destruction 
 of the Atlanta and Macon as well as the West Point 
 railroad, his intention being to isolate Atlanta from all its 
 communications, and thus compel its surrender. The 
 expedition was to consist of two columns, one of 5,000 
 cavalry, under the command of General Stoneman, a 
 cavalry officer of high reputation, the other of 4,000 
 mounted troops, under command of General McCook. 
 They were to move off in different directions, one to. 
 wards McDonough, the other towards Fayetteville, and 
 having done what they could separately, unite at or near 
 Lovejoy's station, and destroy the Macon road thoroughly 
 for many miles. General Stoneman asked permission, 
 after this was accomplished, to take his own proper com- 
 mand, and go on to release the Union prisoners, then 
 suffering at Andersonville. General McOook performed 
 his part of the work speedily and well, but from some 
 unexplained cause, General Stoneman failed completely, 
 and was himself taken prisoner with several hundred of 
 his men, and McCook was placed in a critical position, 
 and compelled to fight his way out. The whole expedi- 
 tion proved a failure, and lost to the commanding gen- 
 eral a very considerable portion of his cavalry, which he 
 could not well afford to lose. 
 
 On the 28th of July, Hood, having been led by the 
 purposed movements of the Union troops of the Fifteenth 
 corps to believe that he could catch the right flank of the 
 army "in air," again massed his forces, and assaulted 
 that part of the Union lines with the utmost desperation, 
 repeating his assaults six times, but found the Union forces 
 perfectly ready for him on each occasion, his men only 
 reaching their lines to be killed or hauled over as pris- 
 oners. His loss in that battle was fully 5,000, while Lo-
 
 140 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 gan, whose corps was the one principally engaged, lost 
 less than 600. In the three battles of the 20th, 22d, and 
 28th of July, Hood had thus nearly one half of his force 
 thrown hors da combat, for Johnston states in his report 
 that the troops he transferred to him on the 17th of July 
 consisted of about 41,000 infantry and artillery, and 10,000 
 cavalry. He received, however, about this time a con- 
 siderable reinforcement of the Georgia militia, who, 
 though of little value for purposes of assault, were ser- 
 viceable as garrison troops, and mingled with his veter- 
 ans, who had no appetite for further offensive warfare, 
 lay safely ensconced behind the impregnable defences of 
 Atlanta. 
 
 General Sherman now extended his lines southwest- 
 ward towards East Point, in the hope of drawing the 
 enemy out, from the fear of having his communications 
 severed ; but Hood extended his fortified line correspond- 
 ingly, and refused to abandon his works. It began to 
 be evident that Atlanta could only be captured by 
 another flank movement of the whole army, a matter of 
 great difficulty, as it involved the apparent raising of the 
 siege, and the dependence of his army for supplies on the 
 stores accumulated at Marietta, from which he must 
 necessarily be separated by the Chattahoochie river, and 
 a considerable distance of travel over bad roads. He 
 therefore resolved to try first the expedient of a bom- 
 bardment of the city, and, if unsuccessful in that, to try 
 again the flanking process. Just at this juncture, he 
 learned that the rebel General Wheeler with the greater 
 part of Hood's cavalry had gone northward to attack his 
 communications between Allatoona and Chattanooga, 
 and as he had abundant supplies below that point, he 
 welcomed this movement as taking the rebel cavalry out 
 of the way, and leaving him a fair field. He now dis-
 
 OKNERAL SHERMAN. 14:1 
 
 patched Kilpatrick with 5,000 cavalry to break the 
 West Point and Macon railroads so thoroughly as to ren- 
 der them impassable. This, General Kilpatrick attempted 
 to do, but in the haste with which he operated, he did 
 not disable the roads sufficiently to prevent their speedy 
 repair, and General Sherman found it necessary to move 
 his whole army. Accordingly, on the night of the 25th 
 of August he commenced the movement, sending the 
 Twentieth corps, now under the command of General II. 
 S.Williams, back to the Chattahoochie, and with it all sur- 
 plus wagons, ambulances, and incumbrances of all kinds, 
 as well as all the sick and wounded, who were carefully 
 placed within the strongly intrenched position there. 
 Schofield remained in position, and the Army of the Ten- 
 nessee moved westward towards Sandtown and Camp 
 creek, as if about to cross the Chattahoochie, Avhile the 
 the Army of the Cumberland proceeded in the same di- 
 rection, though not so far. Hood congratulated his 
 troops that the siege of Atlanta was raised, and that the 
 Union army, alarmed for its communications, menaced 
 by Wheeler, was about to turn back to rescue them. 
 On the night of the 27th, Shei'man's troops had reached 
 the West Point railroad, in the vicinity of East Point 
 and below, and the 28th was devoted to the destruction 
 of that road, twelve and a half miles of which were so ef- 
 fectually obliterated, that there was no danger of their be- 
 ing renewed for months, and on the 29th, the army was 
 directed to move on the Macon road, and when opportu- 
 nity occuri-ed, destroy that in the same way. They 
 marched in three columns, and on the 29th, 30th, and 
 31st, had considerable skirmishing with Lee's and Har- 
 dee's corps, which Hood had sent to oppose them as 
 soon as he found that it was his communications in- 
 stead of their own that the Union troops were* bent on
 
 142 ODK GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 occupying. General Howard had some fighting (he was 
 now in command of the Army of the Tennessee) on the 
 afternoon of the 30th with the rebel cavalry; and on the 
 31st, Lee and Hardee attacked him in his temporary in- 
 trenchments, near Jonesboro, and were repulsed with a 
 loss of not less than twenty-five hundred. On the 1st of 
 September, the Macon railroad was destroyed for several 
 miles, and General J. C. Davis, supported by Howard 
 and Blair, assaulted Lee and Hardee, and defeated them, 
 capturing one brigade and two four-gun batteries. The 
 next day they pursued the enemy as far as Lovejoy's 
 station. 
 
 Meanwhile, on the night of the first of September, 
 Hood blew up his ammunition trains, and retreated south- 
 ward from Atlanta, which was occupied the next day by 
 the Twentieth corps. The remainder of the army came 
 back by easy marches to Atlanta, and General Sherman, 
 having determined to make Atlanta a strictly military 
 post, directed the removal of all the civilians fr.om it, 
 sending those who were loyal northward, and turning 
 the disloyal over to General Hood, with such precau- 
 tions for the prevention of suffering as could be devised. 
 
 Hood, smarting under a sense of being thoroughly 
 outgeneralled, was exceedingly restive, and determined 
 to revenge himself on his skilful antagonist. The loss of 
 Atlanta was a severe one to the leaders of the self-styled 
 Confederacy, and they, too, were determined that they 
 would not only win it back, but would recover Northern 
 Georgia and East and Middle Tennessee. The rebel 
 president, in a speech delivered at Macon in the latter 
 part of September, declared that this should be accom- 
 plished, and gave his instructions to General Hood for 
 effecting it. On the 24th of September, Hood suddenly 
 transferred his army, which had been encamped near
 
 GENERAL SHERMAN. 143 
 
 Lovejoy's station on the Macon railroad, to Newnan on 
 the West Point road. Sherman kept a watchful eye 
 upon his movements, and reconnoitred frequently in his 
 vicinity. On the 27th of September, he discovered that 
 he was moving towards the Chattahoochie ; and on the 
 1st of October, that he had crossed that river and concen- 
 trated his forces at Powder Springs, near Dallas, Ga. 
 On the 3d of October, General Sherman, who had previ- 
 ously strengthened his garrisons along the railroad, 
 started in pursuit, and on the 5th, when Hood's advanco 
 assaulted Allatoona, he was on Kenesaw mountain, signal- 
 ling to the garrison at Allatoona, over the heads of the 
 enemy, to hold out till he relieved them. The rebels 
 were repulsed at this point with heavy loss, and finding 
 themselves pressed in the rear by Sherman's forces, they 
 moved westward, and crossing the Etovvah and Oosta- 
 naula rivers by forced marches, attacked Dalton on the 
 12th, which was surrendered by the cowardly officer in 
 command. Finding himself still pressed by Sherman, 
 Hood obstructed Snake Creek gap, and crossing through 
 the gap in Pigeon mountain, entered Lafayette, whither 
 Sherman followed and sought to bring on a battle. This 
 Hood was not anxious for, and he accordingly retreated 
 southward to Gadsden, Ala., where he intrenched him- 
 self, taking possession of Will's Creek gap in Lookout 
 mountain. Sherman followed him to Gaylesville, but no 
 further. 
 
 It was generally supposed that this was the end of 
 Hood's raid upon the Union lines of communication, and 
 that he would retreat still further south, te wards central 
 Alabama and Mississippi. But Sherman had better com- 
 prehended his strategy, and was prepared to meet it by 
 a stroke of counter-strategy, evincing his possession of 
 the highest order of military genius. He knew that
 
 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 Dick Taylor had moved up to Tuscumbia, Alabama, and 
 reasoned that Hood would join him, and the two, serving 
 under Beauregard would strike a blow ere long for the 
 recovery of Middle Tennessee ; and if successful, then 
 for East Tennessee also. But he felt that Tennessee 
 would be safe in charge of his trusty lieutenant, General 
 Thomas, to whom he could assign a force sufficient to 
 grapple with Hood, Taylor, or Beauregard ; while for 
 himself he had projected a campaign which would speedily 
 cripple the power of the rebels. Turning eastward 
 then from Gaylesville, he announced to his army that he 
 should follow Hood no longer, but let him go north as 
 far as he pleased. " If he will go to the river," he said, 
 " I will give him his rations." Giving his instructions to 
 General Thomas, and dividing his army so as to spare 
 him a part of the Army of the Cumberland and the 
 Army of the Ohio, he moved southeast towards Atlanta 
 by the 1st of November, causing the railroad track to be 
 removed from Atlanta to Chattanooga, and sent to the 
 latter city, the property of value at Atlanta and along 
 the line having been first sent to Chattanooga, which 
 thenceforward became the outpost of the Union armies 
 in that direction. On the 4th of November he began 
 his preparations for his new movement, and the same 
 day telegraphed his intentions to Washington, in the 
 following words: "Hood has crossed the Tennessee. 
 Thomas will take care of him and Nashville, while 
 Schofield will not let him into Chattanooga or Knoxville. 
 Georgia and South Cai'olina are at my mercy and I 
 shall strike. Do not be anxious about me. I am all 
 right." The campaign he had projected was neither 
 more nor less than this. With the four corps, and the 
 fine cavalry force still under his immediate command, an 
 army of not far from sixty thousand infantry and artillery,
 
 GENERAL SHEKMAN. 145 
 
 and about ten thousand cavalry, he purposed cuttin^ 
 loose from all bases, and constituting a strictly movable 
 column, with thirty or forty days' rations, and his train 
 reduced to the smallest possible dimensions, to move 
 south-eastward, through the heart of the enemy's coun- 
 try, upon Savannah ; and thence', should circumstances 
 favor, northward through South Carolina and North 
 Carolina, to compel the surrender or evacuation of Rich- 
 mond. The project was one of the most magnificent 
 ever conceived by a military commander. The distances 
 were great, and the obstacles which might be interposed 
 unknown ; yet, impelled by a will " that could greatly 
 dare and do," while adopting all needful precautions 
 against surprise or disaster, he moved forward boldly to 
 the execution of his plan. As a preliminary step, he 
 deemed it necessary to destroy all the public buildings in 
 Atlanta. He then moved forward in two columns, Gen- 
 eral Howard commanding the right and General Slocum 
 the left, while his cavalry covered his flanks, and a part 
 of it now in advance, and now far in rear, mystified the 
 enemy continually as to his intentions. 
 
 General Howard's column moved through East Point, 
 Rough and Ready, Griffin, Jonesboro, McDonough, For- 
 sythe, Hillsboro, Monticello, and bridging the Ocmulgee 
 entered Milledgeville on the 20th of November. Here 
 General Sherman made his headquarters for a few days, 
 while Howard moved on through Saundersville, Gris- 
 wold, towards Louisville, the point of rendezvous, with 
 the left wing. That wing, under the command of Gen- 
 eral Slocum, had meantime passed through Decatur, 
 Covington, Social Circle, Madison ; made a feint of an 
 attack upon Macon ; passed through' Buckhead and 
 Queensboro, and dividing, one detachment moved to- 
 wards Augusta, and the other to Eatonton and Sparta. 
 
 18
 
 14:6 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 Uniting again, they entered Warrenton, and thence 
 moved to Louisville, where they joined the right wing ; 
 and passing down the left bank of the Ogeechee to Mil- 
 len, and thence to the Savannah canal, where on the 9th 
 of December, by means of scouts, they communicated 
 with General Foster and Admiral Dahlgren, who had 
 been awaiting their arrival. In this whole march of 
 about 300 miles neither of the main columns had en- 
 countered any serious opposition. There had been oc- 
 casional skirmishing, but with very slight results. The 
 cavalry had had one or two conflicts with Wheeler's 
 cavalry, but had repulsed them after a brief fight. The 
 rebels had concentrated what troops they could, includ- 
 ing militia and conscripts, into their service to oppose 
 the daring march of Sherman ; but they were not able to 
 assemble enough of these to oppose any considerable re- 
 sistance to his progress, and from his feints upon Augusta 
 'and Macon they were led to throw them into those cities, 
 where they were completely out of his way. Bragg, who 
 was in command of these troops, was thus beguiled into 
 remaining at Augusta, and thus when Savannah was ac- 
 tually assailed could not come to its relief. On the 13th 
 of December, General Sherman carried Fort McAllister 
 by storm. By some strange oversight on the part of 
 General Hardee, who was in command at Savannah, it 
 had a garrison of only one hundred and fifty men. By 
 the capture of this fort, General Sherman could commu- 
 nicate directly with the fleet. On the 16th he summoned 
 the city of Savannah to surrender. General Hardee re- 
 plied, refusing, and announcing his determination to hold 
 the city to the last. Thereupon Sherman commenced 
 investing the city, and bringing heavy siege-guns into 
 position, he was prepared to commence its bombard- 
 ment, his lines inclosing it on all sides, except the north
 
 GENERAL SHERMAN. 14:7 
 
 and east, where the river and the Union causeway lead- 
 ing to Charleston were not yet fully commanded by his 
 fire. On the afternoon of the 20th the rebel ironclads 
 moved up the river, and commenced a furious fire on 
 the Union left, supported by several of the rebel bat- 
 teries. This fire was continued all night, and under 
 cover of it Hardee escaped with his entire force, burning 
 the navy yard partially, and destroying such stores as 
 he could not remove. The two rebel ironclads were 
 blown up during the night. The next morning (Dec. 
 21st), General Sherman entered the city, which was en- 
 tirely uninjured. The captures included over one thou- 
 sand prisoners, one hundred and fifty guns, thirteen lo- 
 comotives, one hundred and ninety cars, a large supply 
 of ammunition and materials of war, three steamers, and 
 thirty-three thousand bales of cotton safely stored in 
 warehouses. Over twenty thousand slaves, freed by the 
 expedition, accompanied it to Savannah. The entire 
 losses of the expedition were less than four hundred 
 men. It had destroyed over two hundred miles of rail- 
 road, and thus effectually broken the enemy's communi- 
 cations with Hood's or Beauregard's army in Alabama 
 and Tennessee. Kilpatrick was sent at once on an ex- 
 pedition with cavalry and infantry to destroy thoroughly 
 the Gulf railroad, which he succeeded in doing for forty 
 or fifty miles. Having reduced Savannah to order, and 
 conciliated the inhabitants by his wise measures, General 
 Sherman issued the following congratulatory order to his 
 troops : 
 
 " HEADQUARTERS, MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI, ) 
 IN THE FIELD, SAVANNAH, Ga., Jan. 8, 1865. ) 
 
 " Spesial Field Orders, No. 6. 
 
 "The general commanding announces to the troops 
 composing the Military Division of the Mississippi that
 
 148 OUK GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 he has received from the President of the United States 
 and from Lieutenant General Grant, letters conveying 
 the high sense and appreciation of the campaign just 
 closed, resulting in the capture of Savannah and the de- 
 feat of Hood's army in Tennessee. 
 
 In order that all may understand the importance of 
 events, it is proper to revert to the situation of affairs in 
 September last. We held Atlanta, a city of little value 
 to us, but so important to the enemy, that Mr. Davis, 
 the head of the rebellious faction in the South, visited his 
 army near Palmetto, and commanded it to regain it, as 
 well as to ruin and destroy us by a series of measures 
 which he thought would be effectual. 
 
 That army, by a rapid march, first gained our rail- 
 road near Big Shanty, and afterwards about Dalton. "We 
 pursued, but it marched so rapidly that we could not 
 overtake it, and General Hood led his army successfully 
 far towards Mississippi, in hopes to decoy us out of Geor- 
 gia. But we were not then to be led away by him, and 
 purposed to control events ourselves. Generals Thomas 
 and Schofield, commanding the department to our rear, 
 returned to their posts, and prepared to decoy General 
 Hood into their meshes, while we came on to complete 
 our original journey. 
 
 We quietly and deliberately destroyed Atlanta and all 
 the railroad which the enemy had used to carry on war 
 against us ; occupied his State capital, and then captured 
 his commercial capital, which had been so strongly forti- 
 fied from the sea as to defy approach from that quarter. 
 
 Almost at the moment of our victorious entry into 
 Savannah came the welcome and expected news that our 
 comrades in Tennessee had also fulfilled, nobly and well, 
 their part ; had decoyed General Hood to Nashville, and 
 then turned on him, defeating his army thoroughly, cap-
 
 GENERAL SHERMAN. 149 
 
 turing all his artillery, great numbers of prisoners, and 
 were still pursuing the fragments down into Alabama. 
 So complete a success in military operations, extending 
 over half a continent, is an achievement that entitles it 
 to a place in the military history of the world. 
 
 The armies serving in Georgia and Tennessee, as 
 well as the local garrisons of Decatur, Bridgeport, Chat- 
 tanooga, and Murfreesboro, are alike entitled to the 
 common honor, and each regiment may inscribe on its 
 colors at pleasure the words " Savannah" or " Nashville." 
 
 The general commanding embraces in the same 
 general success the operations of the cavalry column, 
 under Generals Stoneman, Burbridge, and Gillem, that 
 penetrated into Southwestern Virginia, and paralyzed 
 the efforts of the enemy to disturb the peace and safety 
 of the people of East Tennessee. Instead of being put 
 on the defensive, we have, at all points, assumed the 
 bold offensive, and completely thwarted the designs of 
 the enemies of our country. 
 
 By order of 
 
 Maj.-Gen. W. T. SHERMAN. 
 
 L. W. DAYTON, Aid-de-Camp. 
 
 But his work was not yet completed, South Carolina 
 was to be humbled, the surrender of Charleston, the 
 " nest of the rebellion," compelled, Columbia to be cap- 
 tured, and North Carolina to be occupied. His troops 
 refreshed and recruited, and largely reinforced, he moved 
 about the 14th of January, northward, the Fifteenth and 
 Seventeenth corps going by transports to Beaufort, S. C., 
 and thence joined by Foster's command, moving on the 
 Savannah and Charleston railroad, and the Fourteenth 
 and Twentieth corps, crossing the Savannah river a few 
 later. Delayed at first by the overflowing of the swamps 
 from the heavy rains, and the terrible condition of the 
 . 13*
 
 150 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 roads, he struck the railroad between Branchville and 
 Charleston, early in February, compelled the enemy to 
 evacuate Branchville on the llth of February, and broke 
 up the South Carolina railroad, for sixty or seventy 
 miles, thus preventing any reinforcement from the West, 
 and moved north, entering Orangeburg on the 16th of 
 February, and Columbia, the capital of South Carolina, 
 on the 18th, Beauregard having evacuated it in great 
 haste on his approach. Charleston being flanked by this 
 movement, its evacuation was compelled without a fight, 
 and Hardee retreated, after setting fire to the cotton, 
 ammunition, &c., which caused a conflagration which laid 
 two-thirds of the business portion of the city in ashes. On 
 the morning of February 18th, the Union troops from 
 Morris Island entered the city, and the stars and stripes 
 once more floated over the ruins of Fort Sumter. 
 
 From Columbia the Seventeenth and Twentieth corps 
 moved in two columns upon Winnsboro, thirty miles north 
 on the Columbia and Charlotte railroad, the Seventeenth 
 destroying the railroad, and twisting the rails so that 
 they could not be used again. From Winnsboro, 
 where they found many of the refugees from Charleston 
 and Columbia, General Sherman sent Kilpatrick's cav- 
 alry still northward towards Chesterville, to keep up the 
 delusion of Beauregard, who believed that he was mov- 
 ing on Charlotte, and was laboring very diligently to 
 obstruct his progress in that direction; but Sherman him- 
 
 * The burning of a considerable portion of Columbia, which 
 Wade Hampton charged upon General Sherman, was really the 
 work of degraded camp followers, who had become drunk on 
 whiskey furnished by the inhabitants. General Sherman exerted 
 himself to the utmost to extinguish the flames, and about twenty 
 of the soldiers of the right wing were killed or seriously injured 
 in the effort to arrest the conflagration.
 
 GENERAL SHERMAN. 151 
 
 self with his main army moved directly eastward, crossing 
 the Catawba or Wateree nearly east of Winnsboro, and 
 moving his left wing directly towards Cheraw, while 
 the right threatened Florence. It was while in the vi- 
 cinity of the Catawba that intelligence came of the evac- 
 uation of Charleston as the result of Sherman's flanking 
 movement, and great were the rejoicings of the army 
 thereat. A heavy rain which came on at this time, and 
 damaged General Howard's pontoons, occasioned some 
 delay, and enabled the rebels to concentrate their forces 
 at Cheraw and its vicinity. Thus far the Union army 
 had encountered no serious opposition in its whole march 
 from Savannah, and, indeed, had hardly seen any rebel 
 troops ; but now there seemed a prospect that the rebels 
 would make a stand, and the Union leader, as cautious 
 as enterprising and daring, made all preparations to avoid 
 a surprise or repulse. The left wing had moved to Ches- 
 terfield, northwest of Cheraw, while the right (Howard's), 
 passing through Camden, and delayed one day by the 
 injury to their pontoons, had found, on approaching within 
 thirteen miles of Cheraw fom the southwest, the enemy's 
 pickets in their front, and indications of a battle in reserve 
 not far distant. They moved forward, however, after put- 
 ting themselves in communication with, the left wing, and 
 on the 3d of March, after a short and not very severe battle, 
 captured and occupied Cheraw, taking twenty-five pieces 
 of cannon, and a large quantity of small-arms and ammuni- 
 tion. The rebel force which opposed their progress 
 proved not to be as large as was at first supposed, consist- 
 ing of a division of Wade Hampton's cavalry, and the 
 infantry which had been in Charleston. They fled most 
 precipitately across the Great Pedee, and could not get 
 their cannon across, but succeeded in burning the bridge. 
 On the next day (March 4th) the army celebrated Mr.
 
 152 OUR GEE AT CAPTAINS. 
 
 * 
 
 Lincoln's second inauguration, firing a salute from the 
 Blakely guns captured from the enemy. A part of these 
 cannon, and a large amount of commissary stores, suffi- 
 cient to supply nearly two corps of Sherman's army, had 
 been brought from Charleston to Cheraw, as a place of 
 safety. After leaving Columbia, the rapidly increasing 
 mass of refugees, black and white, who followed the 
 army, were organized into an emigrant train, and put 
 under the charge of the officers and men who had escaped 
 from the rebel prisons at Salisbury and elsewhere on 
 the route. Under the direction of their escort they for- 
 aged for themselves, and being supplied liberally with 
 horses and mules, wagons and other vehicles, of which 
 large numbers were taken along the route, they 
 moved on with very little expense or trouble to the 
 army. General Sherman had won the good-will of the 
 negroes, both during this and his Savannah campaign, 
 by his thoughtful interest in their welfare. On the route 
 to Savannah, as well as in this campaign, he took great 
 pains to make them understand that they were free, and 
 to aid them in securing and maintaining their freedom. 
 Consulting at Savannah their preachers and most intelli- 
 gent men, as to the course best adapted to conduce to 
 their future elevation and independence, he established 
 colonies of them on the Sea-islands and the coast, where 
 they could have their lands in fee-simple, and cultivate 
 the Sea-island cotton and rice, and have schools and 
 churches established for them ; and during his campaign 
 northward he advised those who could to go to Charleston 
 after its evacuation, and procure work, and commence 
 the life of freemen. To those who followed the army in 
 the emigrant train, he was uniformly kind, and on sev- 
 eral occasions explained to them very -clearly their new 
 condition and responsibilities. The poor, ignorant, but
 
 GENERAL SHEEMAN. 153 
 
 truly loyal freedmen, looked upon him as almost a divinity; 
 and it was to them, at all times, a sufficient reason for 
 doing or abstaining from doing any thing, if they learned 
 that " Massa Sherman" wished it. 
 
 On the afternoon and night of the 6th of March, the 
 Union army crossed the Great Pedee river in safety, and 
 swept forward the next day, the main army, in four 
 columns, moving on Laurel Hill and Montpelier, North 
 Carolina, and the cavalry, under Kilpatrick, guarding the 
 extreme left, and approaching Rockingham, North Car- 
 olina, where they came in contact with Butler's division 
 of Wade Hampton's cavalry, which they repulsed with 
 considerable loss. The four columns, with the cavalry, 
 in moving from the Pedee, covered a belt of country 
 forty miles in width. On the 8th the central columns 
 entered Laurel Hill, N. C., and found the people of 
 North Carolina much more favorably inclined towards 
 the Union than those of South Carolina. The army now 
 refrained from destroying every thing in their line of 
 march, as they had done in South Carolina, and frater- 
 nized to some extent with the inhabitants. .On the 9th 
 of March they crossed the Little Pedee, or Lumber 
 creek, as it is called in the higher part of its course, and, 
 owing to the snaggy condition of the stream, built 
 bridges across, rather than use their pontoons. A long 
 and heavy rain delayed somewhat their approach to 
 Fayetteville, but that place was reached on the llth of 
 March. On the 10th the rebel General Hampton ap- 
 proached, before daylight, Kilpatrick's headquarters, at 
 Monroe's plantation, and at first captured his guns, and 
 a considerable number of prisoners ; but Kilpatrick rallied 
 his men, repulsed the enemy, recaptured his men and 
 guns, and drove Hampton off with severe loss. Sher- 
 man here communicated with Schofield at Wilmington,
 
 154. OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 and reported his army in fine condition, and his move- 
 ment thus far without serious loss. Indeed his losses up 
 to this time had been mostly in foragers, who had been 
 pounced upon by Wade Hampton's cavalry, and mur- 
 dered and mutilated in cold blood, after surrendering. 
 Of these victims to brutality, there were nearly one hun- 
 dred. General Sherman had some sharp correspondence 
 with the rebel general on the subject, and declared his 
 determination to retaliate unless these cowardly murders 
 were stopped ; and Hampton, though making a bluster- 
 ing reply, killed no more. Up to the date of his arrival 
 at Fayetteville, the results of this campaign of Sherman 
 had been : fourteen cities captured, hundreds of miles of 
 railroads and several thousands of bales of cotton de- 
 stroyed ; eighty-five cannon, four thousand prisoners, 
 and twenty-five thousand horses, mules, and cattle taken, 
 and fifteen thousand refugees, black and white, set free. 
 After a delay of two days at Fayetteville, General Sher- 
 man again moved forward, the rebel General Bragg 
 having meantime attacked Schofield at Kingston, and 
 been defeated with heavy loss. General Sherman had 
 fixed upon the vicinity of Goldsboro, as the place 
 where he would form a junction with Schofield, and the 
 22d of March as the time before leaving Savannah 
 and having brought his army thus far in time, he was 
 disposed to move with moderation, to allow Schofield 
 time to reach the rendezvous. On the 15th of March 
 Johnston attacked Kilpatrick's cavalry at Moore's cross- 
 roads, about four miles from, Averysboro, and at first 
 pushed it back, with some loss ; but a division of the 
 Fourteenth corps coming up, the Union troops held their 
 position. The next day, March 16th, the Twentieth and 
 Fourteenth corps attacked the rebels, who were in large 
 force, near Averysboro, and after a sharp battle drove
 
 GENERAL SHEKMAN. 155 
 
 them from the field, with the loss of their guns, and 
 leaving their dead and wounded on the field. 
 
 Sherman, who had met with but small loss, now moved 
 forward towards Goldsboro; but it was a necessity of 
 Johnston's position that he must, if possible, defeat and 
 cripple his great antagonist before he could form a junc- 
 tion with Schofield, as that once effected, his own force 
 would be so greatly inferior, that there could be no hope 
 of success for him. Accordingly, bringing his entire 
 force (he had about forty thousand effective men), by a 
 forced march, into position at Bentonville, on the 19th of 
 March, he massed them, and flung them upon the Union 
 lines of Slocum's (left) wing with the utmost fury. 
 Morgan's division of the Fourteenth corps was in ad- 
 vance of the line of Union defences, and this was driven 
 back and doubled upon itself by the sudden attack, 
 with the loss of three guns. General Slocuni promptly 
 brought up the remainder of the Fourteenth corps and 
 the Twentieth to the support of his lines, and sent to 
 General Sherman for the co-operation of the right wing. 
 Meanwhile the rebels charged fiercely again and again 
 upon the Union troops, making at one time three charges 
 in thirty-five minutes, and with such desperation, that 
 the whole ground in front of the Union lines was strewn 
 with their dead and wounded, and many of them had 
 fallen within the breastworks over which they had 
 thrown themselves in their fury. But the veterans of the 
 Fourteenth and Twentieth corps had withstood too many 
 headlong charges from the rebels to give way; they 
 stood firm as a rock, and repelled every charge with 
 grape and canister, and a most deadly musketry-fire, 
 till at length, exhausted with their efforts, and finding 
 that they could not make any impression on Sherman's 
 troops, they withdrew sullenly to their lines. The next
 
 156 <">UR GKEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 day, March -20th, was spent in intrenching and strength- 
 ening the position the Union troops had taken ; and the 
 rio-ht wino- having come up, moved forward, and flanked 
 
 ^ - 
 
 the enemy's position, keeping up a brisk artillery hre 
 upon them meanwhile. Finding that their communica- 
 tions with Raleigh were threatened, the rebels attempted 
 to fall back on Smithfield, but were pressed so closely by 
 the Union forces, that they lost seven guns, and more 
 than two thousand prisoners were captured from their 
 army, while the deserters came in by hundreds. 
 
 General Sherman, who had sent some of his staff to 
 Goldsboro on the 22d, came in himself with his army on 
 the 23d, having previously issued the following order. 
 
 " HEADQUARTERS, MILITARY DIVISION OP THE MISSISSIPPI, } 
 IN THE FIELD, NEAR BENTONVILLE, N. C., 
 
 Marcli 22, 1865. ) 
 "Special Field Orders, No. 35. 
 
 "The general commanding announces to the army, that 
 yesterday it beat, on its chosen ground, the concentrated 
 armies of our enemy, who has fled in disordei*, leaving 
 his dead, wounded, and prisoners in our hands, and burn- 
 ing his bridges on his retreat. 
 
 " On the same day Major-General Schofield, from New- 
 bern, entered and occupied Goldsboro, and Major-General 
 Terry, from Wilmington, secured Cox's bridge crossing 
 and laid a pontoon bridge across Neuse river, so that our 
 campaign has resulted in a glorious success. After a 
 march of the most extraordinary character, nearly five hun- 
 dred miles, over swamps and rivers deemed impassable to 
 others, at the most inclement season of the year, and draw- 
 ing our chief supplies from a poor and wasted country, 
 we reach our destination in good health and condition. 
 
 " I thank the army, and assure it that our Govern- 
 ment and people honor them for this new display of the
 
 GENERAL SHERMAN. 157 
 
 physical and moral qualities which reflect honor upon the 
 whole nation. 
 
 " You shall now have rest, and all the supplies that can 
 be brought from the rich granaries and storehouses of 
 our magnificent country, before again embarking on new 
 
 and untried dangers. 
 
 "W. T. SHERMAN, 
 " Major-General Commanding." 
 
 General Sherman reported to General Grant that his 
 entire losses in killed, wounded, and prisoners, from 
 the time of leaving Savannah till he encamped with his 
 army around Goldsboro, were less than twenty-five 
 hundred men. 
 
 After disposing his army in camp at Goldsboro, 
 and giving orders for their immediate supply with shoes 
 and clothing, General Sherman hastened to City Point, 
 for an interview with General Grant and the President. 
 He arrived on Monday evening, March 27th, and re- 
 turned the next day. The campaign was ended, and 
 though a new one might commence within a week, Gen- 
 eral Sherman was disposed to allow his soldiers all the 
 time for rest and recovery from fatigue possible, before 
 entering upon it. Between his army, augmented by the 
 corps of Schofield and Terry, and the fine army of Grant, 
 the rebellion was evidently destined to be crushed as be- 
 tween the upper and nether millstone. The two armies 
 were separated by only one hundred and fifty miles, and 
 a railroad, which could be rapidly put in ordei-, connected 
 them. Other forces were pressing upon the rebel com- 
 munications from the west, and within a few weeks, at 
 furthest, the toils would be woven so thickly about the 
 army and the leaders of the rebellion, that escape would 
 be impossible. It was a time Avhen waiting with up- 
 lifted arm ready to strike, was better, perhaps, than 
 
 14
 
 158 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 fighting, and the two great captains could wait as well as 
 fight. Here, then, for the present, we leave General 
 Sherman, content to know that his movements in the 
 future, as in the past, will display his rare and consum- 
 mate military ability. 
 
 In person, General Sherman is tall, slender, but vigor- 
 ous, and capable of extraordinary endurance of fatigue. 
 His eyes are gray, his hair and whiskers sandy, with a 
 reddish tinge. His temperament is highly nervous, and 
 he is one of the most restless of men, constantly in mo- 
 tion, and as constantly smoking; he requires but little 
 sleep, and is a close and somewhat abstracted thinker. 
 His manners are usually somewhat stern, or as a New 
 Englander would say, gruff, partly perhaps from his 
 quick nervous way of speaking, and partly from the im- 
 periousness of his will, which brooks no opposition, and 
 a naturally harsh temper, a fault which he freely admits 
 though he seldom controls it. He is careless in his 
 dress, and has no aspirations to be a military dandy. 
 He has a mind well cultivated by reading and study, 
 and is especially familiar with ancient and modern his- 
 tory. He possesses decided ability as a writer, express- 
 ing himself with great terseness and force, and often 
 condensing a whole volume of military law in a single 
 sentence. His style is, however, somewhat marred by 
 his habit of using short, jerky, sentences. In conversa- 
 tion he is very rapid and vehement, his sentences short, 
 and uttered in an imperious way. He never suffers any 
 one to complete a sentence in conversing with him, an- 
 swering before they have finished, but suffers no one to 
 interrupt him ; and while talking eagerly he has a habit 
 of pushing his interlocutor away. His decisions are so 
 quick as to seem to be intuitions, but are very rarely 
 wrong.
 
 GENERAL SHEKMAN. 159 
 
 Innumerable anecdotes are told of him which illustrate 
 these traits of his character. Just at the commencement 
 of his Atlanta campaign, while he was straining every 
 nerve to push forward supplies for his army, the Chris- 
 tian Commission telegraphed him, asking for transporta- 
 tion for two of their delegates, eminent clergymen of 
 New York, to visit his army with stores, tracts, &c. 
 " Certainly not," was the prompt reply, " crackers and 
 oats are more necessary for my men than ministers and 
 tracts." Though in general entertaining a dislike for 
 much of the female nursing in the camps and hospitals, 
 lie had taken a fancy to a Mrs. Bickerdyke, a resolute, 
 daring, strong-limbed, and strong-lunged woman, who 
 had really accomplished a vast amount of good by her 
 care for the interests of the private soldiers, especially 
 those who were sick or wounded, and would grant her 
 requests almost uniformly, even when he denied others 
 the same favors. Mrs. Bickerdyke was a sworn enemy 
 to indolent and unfaithful army surgeons, and often pro- 
 cured their dishonorable discharge when they were in- 
 competent or neglectful of their duties. One of these 
 surgeons who found himself summarily discharged from 
 the service through her influence, went to General 
 Sherman and asked to be reinstated, alleging that his 
 character had been misrepresented. "Who got you 
 discharged?" asked the general. "I was unjustly dis- 
 charged," said the surgeon, evasively. " But who got 
 you discharged ?" persisted the general. " Why, I sup- 
 pose it was that woman, that Mrs. Bickerdyke." 
 "Ah!" said Sherman, puffing at his cigar, violently; 
 " well, if it was Bickerdyke, I can't do any thing for you. 
 She ranks me." 
 
 To him, there are no such things as impossibilities. 
 In March, 1864, finding that only ninety car-loads of
 
 160 OUK GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 rations daily were forwarded from Nashville to Chatta- 
 nooga, he insisted that the number must be quadrupled, 
 and going to Louisville, he extended the Louisville and 
 Nashville railroad three miles to the Ohio river within 
 two days, brought the Jeffersonville railroad to the 
 north bank of the river, seized a ferry-boat, and had it 
 fitt'ed up for transporting locomotives and cars, had in- 
 clined planes erected, impressed as many locomotives and 
 cars as he wanted from the Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio 
 railroads, and rushed them through to Nashville. In 
 less than a month the railroad agents were running two 
 hundred and seventy cars per day through to Chatta- 
 nooga, but, not satisfied with this, he required a report 
 daily of the additions made to the rolling-stock, and on 
 the 28th of April had his three hundred and sixty cars 
 daily running to Chattanooga. On his march from Sa- 
 vannah to Goldsboro, a distance of five hundred miles, 
 the roads for great portions of the distance had to be 
 corduroyed, and bridges built over many of the streams, 
 yet he required and secured a march of from twelve to 
 fifteen miles a day with his immense army, a greater 
 rapidity of movement for a large infantry force, in so 
 long a march, than was ever recorded in history. No 
 wonder that when he reached Goldsboro twenty thou- 
 sand of his men were without shoes. 
 
 General Sherman is idolized by his men. They know 
 that he cares for them, and harsh and stern as he may 
 be to speculators, cotton-buyers, or even civilians or offi- 
 cers who come to his headquarters when he is out of 
 humor, no private soldier ever comes to him to have a 
 wrong redressed who does not have a patient hearing 
 and a just decision. His foresight and comprehension 
 of all the possible moves of the enemy, and his skill in 
 providing for them, are remarkable, and exhibit in the
 
 GENERAL SHERMAN. 161 
 
 strongest light his military genius. His patriotism is 
 undoubted and fervent. Knowing what the Southern 
 people are, and what they have done, he expostulates 
 with them in strong terms, but never attempts to pal- 
 liate their conduct, or to intimate that any thing short of 
 submission will secure to them the restoration of their 
 former privileges. 
 
 A letter of his, written in the summer of 1864 to a 
 lady in Baltimore, whom he had known years ago 
 "playing as a school-girl on Sullivan's Island beach," 
 expresses his sentiments on this subject so eloquently, 
 that we cannot refrain from quoting it. In justifica- 
 tion of the war, he says : 
 
 " All I pretend to say is, on earth as in heaven, man 
 must submit to some arbiter. He must not throw off 
 his allegiance to his Government or his God without just 
 reason and cause. The South had no cause not even 
 a pretext. Indeed, by her unjustifiable course, she has 
 thrown away the proud history of the past, and laid open 
 her fair country to the tread of devastating war. She 
 bantered and bullied us to the conflict. Had we declined 
 battle, America would have sunk back, coward and 
 craven, meriting the contempt of all mankind. As a 
 nation, we were forced to accept battle, and that, once 
 begun, it has gone on till the war has assumed propor- 
 tions at which even we, in the hurly-burly, sometimes 
 stand aghast. I would not subjugate the South in the 
 sense so offensively assumed, but I would make every 
 citizen of the land obey the common law, submit to the 
 same we do no worse, no better our equals, and not 
 our superiors." 
 
 He adds : " God' knows how reluctantly we accepted 
 the issue ; but once the issue joined, like, in other ages, 
 the Northern race, though slow to anger, once aroused^ 
 14*
 
 162 ODE GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 are more terrible than the more inflammable of the 
 South. Even yet my heart bleeds when I see the 
 carnage of battle, the desolation of homes, the bitter 
 anguish of families ; but the very moment the men of 
 the South say, that instead of appealing to war they 
 should have appealed to reason, to our Congress, to 
 our Courts, to religion, and to the experience of his- 
 tory, then will I say, Peace ! Peace ! Go back to your 
 point of error, and resume your place as American citi- 
 zens, with all their proud heritages." 
 
 With all his impatience of restraint, General Sherman 
 has always manifested his recognition of the maxim, that 
 " unhesitating obedience is the first duty of the soldier." 
 Though often tried sorely in this regard, he has never 
 failed to obey any order from his superiors in command, 
 however distasteful, with the utmost promptness. His 
 fealty to Lieutenant-General Grant is honorable to both. 
 It is related that a distinguished civilian, who visited him 
 at Savannah, desirous of ascertaining his real opinion of 
 General Grant, began to speak of him in terms of depre- 
 ciation. "It won't do; it won't do, Mr. ," said 
 
 Sherman, in his quick, nervous way; "General Grant 
 is a great general. I know him well. He stood by 
 me when I was crazy, and I stood by him when he 
 was drunk ;* and now, sir, we stand by each other 
 always." 
 
 In short, while we acknowledge, as he does also, most 
 frankly, that General Sherman is not wholly free from 
 faults, we think he has fairly won the right of being 
 reckoned as one of the half-dozen great captains of 
 the nineteenth century, and that none of his compeers 
 have cause to feel ashamed of his company. 
 
 * Alluding to the reports so maliciously circulated of Sherman's in- 
 sanity and Grant's intemperance.
 
 III. 
 
 Major-General George H, Thomas, 
 
 AMONG the few men of Southern birth and education, 
 who, at a period of wide-spread delusion and infatuation, 
 were not beguiled into following the ignis-fatuus of 
 the State Rights heresy, men who, like Milton's Abdiel, 
 in the midst of the rebellious host of fallen angels, were 
 
 " Faithful among the faithless found," 
 
 Major-General Thomas stands conspicuous alike in the 
 purity of his character, the intensity of his devotion to 
 the national cause, his undaunted bravery, and successful 
 generalship. 
 
 Born in Southampton county, Va., in the very heart 
 of the Old Dominion, and of a family possessing far more 
 than ordinary claims, both in wealth and social position, 
 to rank among the F. F. V.'s, he was never, for a mo- 
 ment, influenced by the twaddle which men in high posi- 
 tion were not ashamed to utter, of the necessity of "going 
 with their State," but promptly acknowledged, and 
 firmly held to his allegiance to the national flag and the 
 national cause, as paramount to all State ties, and, from 
 the first dawn of the rebellion, threw all the energies of 
 his great soul into the work of suppressing it. 
 
 He was born, as we have said, in Southampton county, 
 Va., July 31, 1816. His father, John Thomas, was of 
 English, or more probably, remotely of Welsh descent ; 
 his mother, Elizabeth Rochelle, of an old Huguenot family, 
 and both wealthy, respectable, and highly connected.
 
 164: OUR GKEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 His early education was obtained at the best schools of 
 that portion of Virginia, and at the age of nineteen 
 years he accepted the position of deputy clerk of the 
 county, under his uncle, James Rochelle, then county 
 clerk, and commenced the study of the law. In the 
 spring of 1836, through the influence of family friends, 
 he received an appointment as cadet, and entered the 
 Military Academy at West Point the following June. In 
 June, 1840, he graduated twelfth in a class of forty-five, 
 and was appointed second lieutenant in the 3d Artillery 
 on the 1st of July. In November of the same year he 
 joined his regiment in Florida, eighteen months before 
 the termination of the first Florida war. A year later 
 (November 6, 1841) he was brevetted first lieutenant "for 
 gallant conduct in the war against the Florida Indians." 
 In January, 1842, the regiment was ordered to the New 
 Orleans barracks, and in June of the same year to Fort 
 Moultrie, Charleston harbor. In both these migrations, 
 Lieutenant Thomas accompanied them. In December, 
 1843, he was ordered to duty, with company C of his 
 regiment, at Fort McHenry, Md. On the 17th of May, 
 1843, he was promoted to a first-lieutenancy, and in the 
 spring of 1844, joined company E at Fort Moultrie. 
 
 As there were indications of approaching war with 
 Mexico, Lieutenant Thomas was sent with his company 
 to Texas in July, 1845, with orders to report to General 
 Zachary Taylor. They arrived at Corpus Christi the 
 same month, in company with the Third and Fourth regi- 
 ments of infantry, being the first United States troops that 
 occupied the soil of Texas. Company E and its lieutenant 
 marched with the army of occupation from Corpus 
 Christi to the Rio Grande, and with, one company 'of 
 the First Artillery and six of the Seventh U. S. in- 
 fantry, was left to garrison Fort Brown, opposite Ma-
 
 GENERAL THOMAS. 165 
 
 tainoras; while General Taylor, with the main body 
 of his army, fell back to Point Isabel, to establish a 
 depot of supplies there. 
 
 On the 2d of May the Mexicans invested Fort Brown, 
 and the garrison sustained a bombardment until the af- 
 ternoon of the 8th, when the Mexican troops abandoned 
 the siege, and went to reinforce General Ampudia at Re- 
 saca de la Palma, that general having been on that day 
 driven from Palo Alto by General Taylor, while march- 
 ing to the relief of Fort Brown. On the 9th, General 
 Taylor defeated the Mexicans at Resaca de la Palma, 
 and drove them across the Rio Grande, near the fort, the 
 garrison contributing to this decisive victory by pouring 
 an unintermitting fire of shot and shell into the disordered 
 masses of the retreating enemy, as they rushed in confu- 
 sion to the river to escape the advancing columns of 
 General Taylor. After the evacuation of Matamoras, 
 Lieutenant Thomas was detached from his company 
 with a section of his battery, and for nearly four months 
 assigned to duty with the advance guard, first at Rey- 
 nosa, and afterwards at Camargo. In September he re- 
 joined his command, and marched to Monterey, and for 
 his gallant conduct at the battle of Monterey, Sept. 23d, 
 1846, was brevetted captain. About the 1st of No- 
 vember he took command of Company E as senior lieu- 
 tenant, retaining it till February 14, 1847. In December, 
 1846, he was again placed in the advance with Quitman's 
 brigade, and entered Victoria about January 1, 1847. 
 During this month General Scott, having assumed com- 
 mand of the army in the field, ordered General Taylor 
 to select a division, and with it occupy the country he 
 had conquered. General Taylor selected, among other 
 troops, companies, C and E of the Third Artillery, and 
 returned to Monterey about the last of January. Soon
 
 166 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 after, Santa Anna advanced upon him with a force qua- 
 druple that of Taylor, and on the 21st of February the 
 bloody but decisive battle of Buena Vista was fought, 
 and resulted in the complete defeat of Santa Anna, and 
 the dispersion of his army. In this battle Lieutenant 
 Thomas greatly distinguished himself, receiving the 
 highest encomiums of his commander, and on the 23d 
 
 S 
 
 of February he was bre vetted major for his gallant and 
 meritorious conduct. 
 
 In August, 1848, he recrossed the Rio Grande into 
 Texas, having been among the first to enter and among 
 the last to leave the Mexican territory. In September, 
 1848, he was placed in charge of a commissary depot at 
 Brazos Santiago, and in December was granted a six 
 months' leave of absence, the first he had had since enter- 
 ing the service. In June, 1849, he rejoined his company 
 at Fort Adams, Newport, R. L, and on the 31st of July 
 was placed in command of company B of the Third Ar- 
 tillery, with which he was ordered in September to pro- 
 ceed to Florida, to put down an Indian outbreak there. 
 He remained on duty in Florida till December, 1850, 
 when he received orders to go to Texas, but on reaching 
 New Orleans found later orders directing him to report 
 for duty at Fort Independence, Boston harbor. He re- 
 mained at Fort Independence till March 28th, 1851, 
 when he was relieved by Captain Ord, and assigned to 
 duty at West Point as Instructor of Artillery and Cav- 
 alry. He remained at West Point about three years, 
 having in December, 1853, been promoted to a full 
 captaincy. 
 
 On leaving West Point, Captain Thomas took com- 
 mand of a battalion of artillery, and sailed for California, 
 via Panama. On his arrival at Benicia barracks he was 
 assigned to Fort Yuma, Lower California, and reaching
 
 GENERAL THOMAS. 167 
 
 that place July 15th, with two companies of artillery, he 
 relieved Major Heintzelman. The next year Congress 
 authorized an increase of four regiments in the army, 
 two of infantry, and two of cavalry, and Captain Thomas 
 received the appointment of junior major in the Second 
 Cavalry, and, on the 18th of July, 1855, left Fort 
 Yuma to join his regiment at Jefferson Barracks, Mis- 
 souri. In the following spring the regiment was ordered 
 to Texas, where he was on duty from May 1st, 1856, to 
 November 1st, 1860. During this time he was for three 
 years in command of the regiment, and in August, 1859, 
 headed the escort which accompanied the Texas Reserve 
 Indians to their new home in the Indian Territory. In 
 the autumn of 1859, and the winter, spring, and summer 
 of 1860, he was engaged in an examination of the coun- 
 try on the headwaters of the Canadian and Red rivers, 
 and the Conchas, and collected much valuable geograph- 
 ical information concerning those regions which had 
 previously been entirely unexplored. He had, during 
 his last expedition, a rencounter with a party of preda- 
 tory Indians, whom he defeated, and recaptured from 
 them all the animals they had stolen from the settle- 
 ments. In this skirmish he was slightly wounded in the 
 face. In November, 1860, he obtained a short leave of 
 absence, the second in more than twenty years. In 
 April, 1861, he was ordered to Carlisle Barracks, Penn- 
 sylvania, to remount the Second Cavalry, which had 
 been dismounted and ordered out of Texas, by the traitor 
 Twiggs. When he arrived, two companies had already 
 been mounted, and sent to Washington ; four more 
 were sent forward at once, and the remaining four were 
 assigned to duty under his command, in the department 
 of Pennsylvania. On the 25th of April, Major Thomas 
 was promoted to a lieutenant-colonelcy, and on the 5th
 
 168 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 of May appointed colonel of the Fifth TJ. S. Cavalry. 
 In the same month he was assigned to the command of 
 a brigade in General Patterson's army, in Northern Vir- 
 ginia, and afterwards held the same position under Gen- 
 eral Banks. 
 
 On the iTth of August he was appointed a brigadier- 
 general of Volunteers, and on the 26th was relieved 
 from duty with the army of Northern Virginia, and or- 
 dered to report to Brigadier-General Robert Anderson, 
 commanding the Department of the Cumberland. On his 
 arrival at Louisville, September 6th, he was at once as- 
 signed to the command of Camp Dick Robinson, fifteen 
 miles southeast of Nicholasville, Kentucky, which he 
 reached September 15th, and relieved Lieutenant Nel- 
 son, U. S. N. (afterwards Major-General Nelson, U. S. V.). 
 Here were about six thousand troops collected by Nel- 
 son, and Thomas soon greatly increased the number, 
 and having organized them, sent four regiments of in- 
 fantry, a battalion of artillery, and Woolford's cavalry, 
 under command of Brigadier-General Schoepf, to Rock- 
 castle hills, thirty miles southeast, to establish Camp 
 Wildcat, and resist the advance of the rebels, who, un- 
 der General Zollicoffer, had entered Kentucky through 
 Cumberland Gap. On the 26th of October the battle 
 of Wildcat was fought, and Zollicoffer defeated, and 
 driven back to Cumberland Gap by the Union troops, 
 under the personal command of General Schoepf. Im- 
 mediately after this battle, General Thomas moved his 
 headquarters to Crab Orchard, and began preparations 
 for an advance into East Tennessee ; but General Buell, 
 who commanded the department, being desirous of driv- 
 ing the rebel General A. S. Johnston from Bowling 
 Green, where he had concentrated a large force, ordered 
 General Thomas to move, with all his force, except three
 
 GENERAL THOMAS. 169 
 
 regiments, to Lebanon, Kentucky, and put himself in a 
 state of readiness for an active campaign. General 
 Thomas obeyed promptly, and at Lebanon organized 
 the First division of the Army of the Cumberland. His 
 troops had, however, but just arrived there, when intel- 
 ligence came that Zollicoffer had advanced to Monticello, 
 and was threatening Somerset. He immediately sent 
 General Schoepf a battery of artillery and two regiments 
 of infantry, to prevent him from crossing the Cumber- 
 land river, and two days afterwards ordered two more 
 regiments and another battery to reinforce him; but 
 Zollicoffer had meanwhile succeeded in crossing the 
 river, and established himself on the north side, opposite 
 Mill Spring. On the 31st of December he took the field 
 in person, with six regiments of infantry, one of cavalry, 
 a battery of artillery, and four companies of engineers, to 
 march against Zollicoffer, and dislodge him from his po- 
 sition, if he did not come out to meet the Union forces. 
 
 The march was a most laborious one, occupying nine- 
 teen days, the roads being almost impassable, but General 
 Thomas at last succeeded in reaching Logan's cross-roads, 
 about ten miles north of Mill Spring, though two of the 
 regiments of infantry had fallen behind. He halted at 
 this point for these to come up, on the 18th of January," 
 and at the same time made arrangements to communicate 
 with General Schoepf, at Somerset, and undertake a com- 
 bined movement upon the enemy's intrenchments. This 
 movement was to be made on the 26th. The rebel com- 
 mander meantime having been informed that only two 
 resriments had reached Logan's cross-roads with General 
 
 O CJ 
 
 Thomas, resolved to surprise and overwhelm him before 
 the others could come up. He accordingly moved on 
 the evening of the 18th, reaching Thomas's camp about 
 daylight, and driving in the pickets in some confusion. 
 
 15
 
 170 OUK GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 General Thomas was not long in forming his troops and 
 advancing upon the enemy. The rebels assaulted with 
 great desperation, but without effect ; and the two regi- 
 ments which were behind having come up, a simulta- 
 neous assault was made upon the rebel front, right, and 
 rear, and, after a sharp struggle, they broke and fled, 
 retreating in great disorder towards their intrenchments. 
 They were pursued promptly to the river, and General 
 Thomas gave orders to storm their intrenchments early 
 the next morning ; but during the night they fled, aban- 
 doning their fortifications, artillery, ammunition wagons, 
 cavalry, horse, and camp equipage, provisions, and small- 
 arms. General Zollicofler was killed in the battle. 
 Many of the wealthy rebels in Middle Tennessee were so 
 terrified by this defeat that they removed, with their 
 slaves and property, to Alabama and Mississippi, regard- 
 ing Tennessee as unsafe. General Thomas now concen- 
 trated his force at Somerset, and prepared for an expedi- 
 tion into East Tennessee, the possession of which he re- 
 garded as of the first importance. He had nearly accu- 
 mulated the necessary supplies and subsistence for the 
 expedition, when General Buell again recalled him, 
 ordering him to move with all dispatch to Lebanon, and 
 thence to Mnnfordsville, where he was then concentrating 
 his forces for an attack on Bowling Green. Before the 
 troops could be assembled there, however, the rebels had 
 lost Forts Henry and Donelson, and had abandoned 
 Columbus, Bowling Green, and Nashville, and retreated 
 further south. General Thomas was met on his way to 
 Mnnfordsville by orders to go on with his division to 
 Louisville, and there take steamers for Nashville. He 
 arrived at Nashville on the 2d of March with his division, 
 in readiness to take the field. General Buell constituted 
 that division the reserve of the Army of the Cumberland,
 
 GENERAL THOMAS. 171 
 
 and it did not reach Pittsburg Landing till after the rebels 
 had retreated to Corinth. On the 25th of April, 1862, 
 Brigadier-General Thomas was appointed and confirmed 
 Major-General of Volunteers, and on the 1st .of May his 
 division was transferred, by General Halleck, to the 
 Army of the Tennessee, and he was assigned to the com- 
 mand of the right wing of that army, consisting of five 
 divisions viz., Brigadier-General T.W. Sherman's, Briga- 
 dier-General W. T. Sherman's (subsequently commander 
 of the Army of the Tennessee and of the Military Divis- 
 ion of the Mississippi), Brigadier-General S. A. Hurlbut's, 
 Brigadier-General T. J. McKean's, and Brigadier-General 
 Thomas A. Davies' divisions. 
 
 On the evacuation of Corinth by the rebels, General 
 Thomas's command was stationed along the Memphis 
 and Charleston railroad from luka, Mississippi, to Tus- 
 cumbia, Alabama, for its protection. On the 10th of 
 June he was retransferred to the Army of the Ohio, his 
 old associates, and ordered to concentrate his command 
 at Decherd, Tennessee. Leaving his command tempo- 
 rarily in charge of General Schoepf, he went on to Mc- 
 Minnville to take charge of the divisions of Generals 
 Nelson and Hood, then at that place. On the 3d of 
 September, General Buell sent him orders to join him 
 at Murfreesboro. On arriving there, he found that 
 General Buell had moved on to Nashville, whither he 
 followed promptly, and reached that city on the 8th 
 of September, when he was at once put in command 
 of the post, while General Buell pushed on towards Ken- 
 tucky. On the evening of the 13th General Thomas re- 
 ceived orders to follow ; and, leaving Negley's and Pal- 
 mer's divisions as a garrison at Nashville, he moved on 
 the 15th and overtook General Buell on the 19th near 
 Cave City, and was at once made second in command of
 
 172 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 the whole army. In that rapid race to Louisville' and 
 back, which followed, in which Bragg always managed 
 to be a little ahead, General Thomas took his full share of 
 the labor and responsibility. He reached Louisville on 
 the 26th of September. On the 29th the army was di- 
 vided into three army corps, under Generals McCook, 
 Crittenden, and Gilbert, and General Thomas was still 
 second in command ; and when on the 1st of October the 
 army moved from Louisville in pursuit of Bragg, now 
 retreating with his ill-gotten prey from Kentucky, 
 General Thomas took command of the right wing. 
 In the battle of Perryville the left wing was princi- 
 pally engaged, the right wing, from the position of 
 the two armies, being unable to come into action, ex- 
 cept in the way of skirmishing on the part of its cav- 
 alry. When General Rosecrans assumed command, 
 the name of the army was again changed to the " Army 
 of the Cumberland ;" and on the 5th of November, Gen- 
 eral Thomas was placed in command of the centre, the 
 14th army corps, consisting of five divisions, the 1st, 
 3d, 8th, 12th, and 13th, under the command of Gene- 
 rals Fry, Rousseau, Negley, Dumont, and Palmer. With 
 his corps he reached Nashville early in November, and 
 on the 26th of December advanced towards Murfrees- 
 boro. During the series of battles and skirmishes 
 which preceded the battle of Stone river he was cool, 
 active, and vigilant, cheering on his men by his ex- 
 ample, and sharing their dangers. In the battle of 
 Stone river, on the first day, it was his corps that ar- 
 rested the progress of Bragg's legions, flushed with vic- 
 tory, when, having routed and trampled down McCook's 
 corps and forced back Negley's division of Thomas's, 
 they were held firmly at bay by Palmer's veterans, while 
 General Thomas was aiding the commander in forming
 
 GENERAL THOMAS. 173 
 
 a new and impregnable line. Firm as a rock, they 
 stemmed the torrent of advancing rebels at a time 
 when every moment was of infinite value to the suc- 
 cess of the day and the retrieval of the disaster. Again 
 and again were Bragg's masses hurled upon them, but, 
 though sadly thinned, their lines were unbroken. It was 
 a portion of Thomas's corps that on the 2d of January 
 punished so effectually the rash attempt of Breckinridge 
 to advance and turn the Union left, and in forty minutes 
 strewed the line of their advance and retreat with two 
 thousand dead and wounded rebels ; and when on that 
 dark Saturday night, January 3d, 1863, Bragg's dispir- 
 ited legions fled from Murfreesboro, it was Thomas's 
 corps which advanced and drove them the next morning 
 towards Manchester. Well did General Rosecrans speak 
 of him in his report as " true and prudent ; distinguished 
 in counsel, and on many battle-fields celebrated by his 
 courage." 
 
 The two armies for the next five months lay twenty 
 miles apart watching each other, both considerably and 
 about equally reinforced, but neither strong enough for 
 an offensive movement. At length, late in June, General 
 Rosecrans having brought his cavalry up towards his 
 standard of perfection, and accumulated supplies at his 
 secondary base, moved forward, and by a series of bril- 
 liant strategic movements, in which General Thomas bore 
 a distinguished and honorable part, dislodged the rebels 
 from Shelbyville, Manchester, Tullahoma, Winchester, 
 and Decherd, and compelled them, by mountain passes 
 and devious routes, to seek refuge and safety in Chatta- 
 nooga. Then repairing the railroads, and constructing 
 bridges to make the route safe and easy for troops and 
 supplies, he moved forward again to capture Chattanooga 
 by a flank movement. For this purpose, General Rose- 
 
 15*
 
 174: OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 crans marched his army in three, or, including his cav- 
 alry, in four columns, moving by different routes ; Mc- 
 Cook crossing the Tennessee near Stevenson, and passing 
 down the west side of Lookout mountain to Valley Head 
 and Alpine, and thence ascending towards Chattanooga 
 by way of McLemore's cove ; Thomas crossing at Bridge- 
 port, and threatening Chattanooga along the railroad ; 
 while Crittenden, crossing at and above Bridgeport, and 
 at the same time threatening Chattanooga from the op- 
 posite bank of the Tennessee by a detachment of his 
 corps, caused Bragg to evacuate it speedily, and then, 
 leaving a small garrison there, passed over east towards 
 Ringgold, the cavalry meantime making an extensive 
 detour westward, and crossing the river near Athens, 
 Tennessee. The object of these movements had been 
 attained in part, for Bragg had been compelled to 
 abandon Chattanooga, or risk the loss of his communi- 
 cations ; but he was receiving large reinforcements, 
 which gave him greatly the preponderance in num- 
 bers over the Union army, and having retreated but 
 a short distance southward, he now proposed, by rapid 
 movements, to attack Rosecrans' scattered corps before 
 they could form a junction, and thus win back his 
 stronghold. 
 
 Rosecrans was fully aware of his critical situation, and 
 understood that he must fight a desperate battle at heavy 
 odds, for the possession of the prize he had captured. 
 By dint of extraordinary exertion, he succeeded in 
 bringing up McCook's corps from the south, and Crit- 
 tenden's from the east, to unite with Thomas, who was 
 already in a strong position in McLemore's cove ; but 
 McCook's corps were sorely jaded by their long and dif- 
 ficult march, and had had no time to rest. Meanwhile 
 Bragg, though annoyed at the failure of his plan for de-
 
 GENERAL THOMLA.S. 175 
 
 feating Rosecrans' army in detail, approached it with 
 great confidence, having a force outnumbering his as 
 three to two. On the first day of the battle, victory in- 
 clined to neither side. The attack, in which all of Bragg's 
 army did not participate, was made upon Thomas's 
 corps, and though outnumbered, they stood like a wall ; 
 and though, in the course of the day, the other corps 
 were brought into action, yet the heaviest blows had 
 been given and received by Thomas's veterans. It is 
 said that when Longstreet's corps, fresh from Virginia, 
 flung themselves upon Thomas's command, they would 
 call out, " You are not fighting conscripts now !" and as 
 Thomas's men charged back, they would shout in turn, 
 " You are not fighting with Eastern store-clerks !" On 
 the second day (September 20th), Thomas's corps was still 
 in front, supported by one division (Johnson's) of Mc- 
 Cook's corps, and one (Palmer's) of Crittenden's, while 
 the remainder of McCook's corps was posted on 
 Thomas's right, and the remainder of Crittenden's 
 placed in reserve, near the point of junction of the two, 
 to support either, as circumstances might require. The 
 battle commenced early, and the rebels came up in solid 
 masses, pressing heavily on Thomas's lines, and seeking 
 for some weak point which they might penetrate. They 
 sought in vain for hours: every attack was repulsed, 
 with heavy loss. The fighting had been continuous 
 from about sunrise till one o'clock, when the misconcep- 
 tion of an order of General Rosecrans afforded to the 
 rebels the opportunity they had so long sought of pen- 
 etrating the Union lines, and they were not slow to avail 
 themselves of it. They advanced rapidly and heavily, 
 and pouring their columns in at the gap, cut off a part 
 of Crittenden's and McCook's corps from Thomas, and 
 forced them back in confusion. Seven brigades were
 
 176 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 thus lost for the day, by an array already far inferior in 
 numbers to the enemy, and Thomas's command was 
 flanked. General Rosecrans and Generals McCook and 
 Crittenden were with the portion thus cut ofl*, and were 
 unable again to reach that portion of the battle-field where 
 .Thomas still held his ground, grim and defiant, against 
 the hosts which sought to swallow him up. Hitherto he 
 had been regarded by the generals commanding the 
 armies in which he had fought, as a brave, trustworthy, 
 prudent officer, one who would be found in his place, 
 doing his duty, but not as a man of genius or high 
 strategic ability ; but, in this time of peril he developed 
 qualities and improvised combinations which would have 
 done honor to any general of modern times. We have 
 said he was flanked by this disastrous break, and the 
 rush of the enemy into the gap ; we may add, that Gen- 
 eral Rosecrans, as well as Generals McCook and Critten- 
 den, believed the day lost, and so telegraphed from 
 Chattanooga. But Thomas had no idea of losing the 
 day. Wheeling his troops within the jaws of Frick's 
 gap, where the mountain-walls, precipitous and bold, 
 prevented another flank movement, he stood like a lion 
 at bay, and with the remnant of that army fought hour 
 after hour. Thrice he was compelled to change his po- 
 sition and shorten his lines, falling somewhat further 
 back into the jaws of the gap, and when at last his men, 
 exhausted by two days of hard fighting, without relief, 
 food, or rest, were compelled to stand up against the 
 whole force of the rebel army, now more than two to 
 their one, a force hurled upon them with all the rage of 
 wolves disappointed of their prey, Thomas called up 
 Granger's reserve, held back till then, and the three 
 fresh brigades under the immediate command of Gen- 
 eral Steedman of Ohio, repulsed them three times in the
 
 GENERAL THOMAS. 
 
 space of forty minutes with most frightful slaughter, and 
 compelled them to withdraw, leaving the field to Thomas 
 and his unconquered heroes. During the night General 
 Thomas fell back three miles, and took up a stronger 
 position near Rossville, where he formed his troops in 
 line of battle, and remained during the whole of the 
 next day (Monday, September 21st) ; but no enemy ap- 
 pearing, they marched in the evening to Chattanooga, 
 and entered it in order, and without loss of material 
 beyond that lost on the 20th. General Rosecrans had, 
 on reaching Chattanooga, immediately put the town in a 
 state of defence, had placed the train in safety, and re- 
 organized the retreating troops, so that on Monday 
 morning they were sent to support General Thomas ; and 
 Generals McCook and Crittenden had returned to Ross- 
 ville, and rendered assistance in placing the troops in the 
 new lines of defence there. But without detracting 
 in the least from the merits of General Rosecrans, and 
 his other corps-commanders, who on this occasion were 
 rather the victims of unfavorable circumstances than 
 personally blameworthy, the fact remains, that but for 
 the undaunted courage, and extraordinary military 
 ability of General Thomas on that day, we should have 
 lost our army,, lost 'Chattanooga, and the whole hard- 
 won fruits of the blood and toil of the Army of the 
 Cumberland for the previous year. It was an honorable 
 and deserved encomium which General Rosecrans paid 
 to him in his report, when he said : " To Major-General 
 Thomas, the true" soldier, the prudent and undaunted 
 commander, the modest and incorruptible patriot, the 
 thanks and the gratitude of the country are due for his 
 conduct at the battle of Chickamauga." 
 
 On the 19th of October, an. order was received from 
 the War Department, relieving General Rosecrans from
 
 OUR GKEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 the command of the Army of the Cumberland, and ap- 
 pointing General Thomas his successor. Meantime, a 
 part of the Army of the Ohio, then under the command 
 of General Burnside at Knoxville, Tennessee, had arrived 
 at Chattanooga. Two corps from the army of the Poto- 
 mac, under command of General Hooker, and the 
 Army of the Tennessee, under General W. T. Sher- 
 man, were ordered to Chattanooga ; and General Grant 
 was assigned to the command of all these armies, as 
 well as the other forces on the Mississippi, the whole 
 constituting the grand Military Division of the Mis- 
 sissippi. At the same time, with these changes of com- 
 manders, General Thomas was appointed a brigadier- 
 general in the regular army, for his gallant conduct at 
 the battle of Chickamauga, his commission dating from 
 October 27th, 1863. 
 
 On assuming command of the Army of the Cumberland, 
 General Thomas found that army in a critical condition. 
 The enemy had captured some of their supply trains, and 
 had obtained possession of a portion of the Nashville and 
 Chattanooga railroad, thus necessitating the transporta- 
 tion of all the supplies for this large army, and the re- 
 inforcements which it was receiving, over sixty miles of 
 the worst road in the United States,' across the Cumber- 
 land mountains and Walden's ridge, a road in which 
 from six to eight miles a day was the greatest distance 
 which the trains could accomplish, and even that dis* 
 tance at a terrible sacrifice of draft animals. The army 
 was placed upon half rations, and the cavalry horses (an 
 arm of the service of the greatest importance in that re- 
 gion) were dying by scores daily for want of forage. 
 Added to this, the rebel force, strengthened by still 
 further reinforcements, was daily growing bolder, and 
 threatened to bombard Chattanooga.
 
 GENERAL THOMAS. 179 
 
 In this emergency General Thomas did all in his power 
 to improve the condition of his command. The defences 
 of Chattanooga were strengthened, excursions made by the 
 cavalry in search of forage; pontoons prepared, guns 
 mounted ; and all that could be accomplished before the 
 other armies came up, was done. With the coming of 
 General Grant, and the arrival of the two corps from the 
 Army of the Potomac and the Army of the Tennessee, 
 aifairs assumed a more encouraging appearance. By a 
 bold and skilful stroke, the distance which supplies 
 were transported by wagon-train was reduced from sixty 
 miles to ten ; Hooker's command seized and held the 
 railroad to Wauhatchie ; Sherman was busy with his 
 boats and pontoons near the mouth of North Chicka- 
 mauga creek ; and Grant was arranging in silence and 
 quiet his plans for driving Bragg^S forces from the front 
 of Chattanooga. At length the full time had come; 
 Bragg had sent his insolent letter, requiring the removal 
 of non-combatants from Chattanooga, as he was about to 
 shell the city. Hooker's command -had by a dexterous 
 movement, supported by General Thomas, driven the 
 enemy from Lookout mountain, and planted the Union 
 flag on the bold brow of that lofty eminence ; Sherman 
 had crossed the Tennessee and Chickamauga creek, cap- 
 tured the first works of the enemy at the isolated ex- 
 tremity of Mission ridge, and sent his cavalry eastward 
 to cut the railroad lines; and Thomas's army, hitherto 
 spectators, were in their turn to be called upon for work. 
 On the 24th of November they sallied forth from Chat- 
 tanooga, and by a bold and rapid dash possessed them- 
 selves of the strong works of the enemy on Orchard 
 knob, fronting Chattanooga, and commanding a part 
 of the rebel fortifications on Mission ridge. To this 
 point General Grant advanced the same day with the
 
 180 OUK GKEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 whole of General Thomas's army, and a part of 
 the Army of the Tennessee, and Howard's corps from 
 the Army of the Potomac. On the 25th, after Sherman 
 had made his persistent attacks on Fort Buckner, and 
 Hooker had moved southward to take Fort Bivckinridge 
 in the rear, General Gordon Granger's Fourth corps, of 
 Thomas's army (the consolidated Twentieth and Twenty- 
 first corps, McCook's and Crittenden's), was ordered to 
 assault Fort Bragg, and in obedience to the order, made 
 that wonderful charge up Mission ridge which will live 
 in history as one of the most extraordinary and daring 
 assaults ever attempted. The soldiers of the corps were 
 bound to retrieve their reputation, and to wipe away any 
 disgrace which might attach to them for their retreat at 
 Chickamauga, and nobly they acccomplished their purpose. 
 After the defeat and flight of Bragg, the Army of the Cum- 
 berland, increased to 60,000 men, and brought up to the 
 highest state of efficiency by its able commander, remained 
 in the vicinity of Chattanooga, though detachments from 
 it occasionally reconnoitred the enemy's position, and on 
 two or three occasions had some severe fighting. When 
 General Grant was appointed lieutenant-general, and 
 promoted to the command of the armies of the United 
 States, General Sherman was, at his request, placed in 
 command of the grand Military Division of the Missis- 
 sippi, and General Thomas was thus subordinated to an 
 officer who was not only his junior in years and military 
 experience, but who had, in 1862, been a division com- 
 mander under him. Many of our generals would have 
 objected to serve under such circumstances, and would 
 have asked to be relieved from their commands; but 
 General Thomas was too pure a patriot and too good a 
 soldier to take oifence at General Sherman's promotion 
 over his head. He knew well Sherman's military abili-
 
 GENERAL THOMAS. > 181 
 
 ties, had confidence in his plans for the coming cam- 
 paign, and while doing his duty by his own command, 
 rendered all the service in his power to General Sherman, 
 and obeyed promptly and implicitly his orders. 
 
 When, on the 7th of May, 1864, the grand army of 
 General Sherman was put in motion for Atlanta, General 
 Thomas's army constituted the centre ; and at some peri- 
 ods of the campaign, when the position required the 
 transference of the Army of the Ohio to the right or 
 left, it acted as both centre and right or left wing. The 
 campaign, though, one of extraordinary hardship and en- 
 durance, was one of comparatively few battles, the princi- 
 pal being the battle of Buzzard's Roost gap, Resaca, 
 Dallas, Kenesaw mountain, the three battles of the 20th, 
 22d, and 28th of July, near Atlanta, and the battle near 
 Jonesboro. In all these General Thomas took an active 
 part ; at Buzzard's Roost, making the demonstration in 
 front ; at Resaca, pressing upon the enemy's lines and 
 ousting him from his position. In the actions about Dal- 
 las, he attacked and drove the enemy from his position 
 at New Hope church. At Kenesaw mountain, besides re- 
 ceiving and repulsing the assault of the enemy at the 
 Kulp house, he led one of the assaulting columns against 
 the impregnable position of the rebels on the mountain. 
 On the 20th of July, his army alone sustained the shock 
 of Hood's furious attack, and, after a severe battle, drove 
 the enemy back to his in trench merits, with very heavy 
 loss. The action of the 22d was confined mainly to the 
 armies of the Tennessee and Ohio, but General Thomas 
 had his army ready to close up and hold all that had 
 been gained. The battle of the 28th was fought by the 
 Army of the Tennessee, and Palmer's corps of the Army 
 of the Cumberland. At Jonesboro, it was Davis's Four- 
 teenth corps of his army that assaulted and drove the 
 
 16
 
 182 OUK GKEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 enemy southward, capturing almost an entire brigade, 
 while Slocum's (the Twentieth) occupied Atlanta. After 
 the capture of Atlanta, when Hood had succeeded in 
 rallying his beaten and shattered forces, and moved 
 northward to cut General Sherman's lines of communica- 
 tion, General Thomas was dispatched after him to pre- 
 vent him from accomplishing any considerable mischief. 
 When General Sherman had determined upon his expe- 
 dition towards Savannah, he placed all the troops he 
 could spare under General Thomas's command, with 
 orders to entice Hood westward, and fight him, if he 
 would fight, in the neighborhood of Nashville. The 
 policy suggested by Sherman was admirably carried out 
 by Thomas. Hood and Beauregard followed the course 
 of the Tennessee river as far as Athens, Tenn.,< while 
 Breckinridge was sent from Central Georgia north 
 towai-ds Knoxville ; and Hood believed he could form a 
 junction of the two forces somewhere near Nashville. As 
 Hood moved north from Athens, Thomas fell back 
 slowly but steadily, at the same time summoning rein- 
 forcements from all quarters to concentrate at Nashville. 
 Hood moved forward, reckless as usual, and confident of 
 an easy victory, which should fulfil Jefferson Davis's pre- 
 diction that within sixty days Tennessee should again be 
 in the possession of the Confederate government. 
 
 Thomas continued to fall back, leaving, however, a 
 strong force at Franklin, under General Schofield, and 
 a smaller one, though in a strong position, at Murfrees- 
 boro, while he himself made his headquarters at Nash- 
 ville. On came Hood, confident of victory, to Franklin, 
 where, at 4 p. M. of the 30th of November, he gave bat- 
 tle to General Schofield. His attack was so sudden that 
 he succeeded at first in penetrating to the second line of 
 the Union troops ; but General Stanley soon rallied his
 
 GENERAL THOMAS. 183 
 
 men, on whom the sharpest attack had fallen, and charg- 
 ing in turn drove the rebels back with fearful slaughter. 
 Again and again did the rebels charge up to the lines, 
 only to be repulsed each time with heavier loss. The 
 battle continued till 9 P. M., the Union troops swinging 
 round on the rebel flank, and mowing them down by 
 hundreds. The rebels lost in this battle nearly 6,000 in 
 killed and wounded, and 1,000 prisoners. Among their 
 losses were thirteen generals, of whom six were killed 
 (one the commander of a corps, Major-Gen eral Cle- 
 burne), six wounded, and one captured. After the bat- 
 tle, General Schofield fell back to Nashville, where were 
 .fast collecting a fine army materially outnumbering 
 Hood's. The rebel commander followed, and rashly at- 
 tempted to invest and besiege Nashville. Genei-al 
 Thomas permitted him to amuse himself in this way for 
 nearly two weeks, but on the 15th of December came 
 out and attacked his left with great fury, driving it from 
 the river below the city as far as the Franklin pike, a 
 distance of eight miles, capturing Chalmers' train and 
 headquarters, another train of twenty wagons, 1,000 
 prisoners, and sixteen pieces of artillery. The enemy 
 fell back in great confusion, and was pursued by our 
 forces. On the next day, December 16.th, General 
 Thomas followed Hood, and at about 8 A. M. gave battle 
 again, and after a most desperate conflict, lasting through 
 the entire day, routed him, right, left, and centre ; cut 
 his army in two, and hurled it back, broken, crushed, 
 and disorganized, towards Franklin, captured forty-nine 
 pieces of artillery and 5,0.00 prisoners, while the battle- 
 field was strewed with small-arms. Three thousand of 
 the enemy were killed and wounded, while Thomas's 
 entire loss was not quite 3,000. The pursuit was con- 
 tinued on the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th, the rear-guard
 
 OUK GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 being attacked and severely handled on the 17th. On 
 the 15th the rebel General Forrest attacked Generals 
 Rousseau and Milroy, at Murfreesboro, and was terribly 
 repulsed, losing over 1,500 in killed and wounded, all of 
 whom fell into Rousseau's hands. Hood finally made 
 his escape across the Tennessee river, with the shattered 
 remnant of his army, having lost eighteen generals, 
 17,000 men, and sixty-eight pieces of artillery; while the 
 remainder of his troops were too thoroughly demoralized 
 to be of much service for months to come. 
 
 For this gallant exploit, which was in reality one of 
 the most decisive victories of the war, General Thomas 
 was promoted to the rank of major-general in the regu- 
 lar army, in place of Major-General Fremont, resigned. 
 He also received a special vote of thanks from Congress. 
 
 Since this grand victory, there "being really no force 
 opposed to him, General Thomas has sent a considerable 
 portion of his troops eastward, where a part of them, 
 iinder the gallant Schofiekl, have participated in the cap- 
 ture of Wilmington, and another portion have reinforced 
 General Grant ; while General Thomas himself, after a 
 brief furlough, after sending a strong detachment to co- 
 operate with General Canby in Alabama, to secure the 
 capture of the strongholds of the rebels at Selma and 
 Montgomery, has moved with his main army, now 
 largely reinforced, towards the Virginia and Tennessee 
 railroad, with Lynchburg, Virginia, as hif5 objective. 
 General Thomas, being from a State now in rebellion, 
 has had no political influence at his back to advocate 
 his claims to advancement or extol his victories in Con- 
 gress, and he is of too modest and retiring a disposition 
 ever to push them himself. Hence he has not received 
 in the past the honor to which his great merit entitled 
 him ; but he has been content to work his way upward
 
 GENERAL THOMAS. 185 
 
 and let his countrymen judge of what he had been 
 able to do for his country ; and in the end, modest 
 merit has triumphed. 
 
 In person, General Thomas is tall, standing about six 
 feet two in his stockings, and finely proportioned. His 
 complexion is fair, though now bronzed by exposure, his 
 hair brown, his beard sandy, his eye blue and keen, his 
 countenance so frank, open, and winning, that it attracts 
 at once. He is thought personally to resemble Washing- 
 ton, with whom he has also many traits of character in 
 common. He is greatly beloved by his soldiers, who 
 speak of him as " Pap" Thomas, and feel the sort of con- 
 fidence in"his knowledge, his military skill, and his good- 
 ness, which a young child feels for its father. It would 
 be very hard to persuade those who have served under 
 him from Mill Spring onward, that any other general 
 in the army was quite equal to " Pap" Thomas. 
 
 If a blameless life, pure and noble aspirations, remark- 
 able modesty, an amiable and even temper, great 
 patience and perseverance, and untiring energy and per- 
 sistency, with a calm, clear head, close observation, and 
 a thorough mastery of his profession, are the qualities to 
 make a good general, then George H. Thomas is entitled 
 to rank among the great and good generals of our time. 
 
 16*

 
 IV. 
 Major-General Philip Henry Sheridan, 
 
 GENERAL SHERIDAN is by nearly ten years the youngest 
 officer among our " Great Captains," having been born 
 in 1831. The exact place of his birth is involved in some 
 uncertainty, the army registers crediting Massachusetts 
 with being the birth State of the hero ; while his friends 
 generally concur in stating that he was born in Perry 
 county, Ohio. His parents certainly resided in that 
 county when he was but little beyond infancy. An in- 
 cident of his early childhood is still told in that vicinity 
 which indicates his fondness for horsemanship even then, 
 and renders his subsequent success as a cavalry officer 
 less surprising. He was but five years of age when some 
 older boys, in a spirit of mischief, placed him on the back 
 of a spirited horse grazing in a field near his father's 
 house, and started the horse off at a run ; but to their 
 terror, the horse becoming frightened, leaped the fences, 
 and proceeded at a break-fleck pace along the highway, 
 the little urchin clinging fast to his back. The boys sup- 
 posed that the child would inevitably be killed, but after 
 a run of many miles the horse, completely exhausted and 
 covered with foam, stopped at the stable of an hotel where 
 its owner was accustomed to put up, the child still on its 
 back. The horse was recognized, and though the child's 
 statement that he had come so many miles on its back 
 without saddle or bridle was at first doubted, it was soon 
 confirmed, and the villagers began to question him. 
 " Who learned you to ride ?" asked one. " Nobody,"
 
 188 OUK GKEAT CAPTAIKS. 
 
 said the boy. "Did no one teach you how to sit on a 
 horse ?" inquired another. " Oh, yes ! Bill Seymour told 
 me ta hold on with my knees, and I did." " Weren't 
 you scared ?" asked the villager. " Nary a bit," said 
 the boy. " I wanted to go on further, but the horse 
 wouldn't go." " Aren't you sore ?" continued his ques- 
 tioner. " Kinder," said little Phil ; " but I'll feel better 
 to-morrow, and then I'll ride back home." " That boy," 
 said the villager to his companions, " has got pluck enough 
 to be an Indian hunter." The next day the little fellow 
 was sick and sore, but wanted to go home, but the kind- 
 hearted farmers would not let him go till he was well. 
 Meantime the owner came, and expressed his surprise 
 at the boy's having been able to keep his seat, as the 
 horse was vicious, and had thrown some superior horse- 
 men. 
 
 The influence of his friends was sufficient to secure 
 young Sheridan an appointment as cadet at West Point, 
 from the congressional district to which he belonged, 
 and in 1848, having passed with honor the preliminary 
 examination, he was admitted into the Military" Acad- 
 emy ; and though at first he was not remarkable for 
 proficiency, and remained a second year in the fourth 
 class, he improved rapidly in scholarship as he went on, 
 and exhibited superior excellence in the more active 
 duties of the course. He graduated in 1853 with honor, 
 having as classmates the lamented McPherson, Major- 
 General Schofield, Generals Terrill, Sill, and Tyler, and 
 the rebel General Hood. On his graduation, he entered 
 the army as brevet second-lieutenant of infantry, and was 
 attached to the first regiment U. S. A. He was at once 
 ordered to join his regiment, then serving in Texas, and 
 early in the autumn took his position in his company at 
 Fort Duncan. Here he was employed constantly.in ser-
 
 GENERAL SHERIDAN. 189 
 
 vice against the Apaches and Camanches, the robber 
 Indian tribes of the Southwest. On one occasion, he 
 and two of the soldiers belonging to the fort were at- 
 tacked a short distance from it by a band of Apaches, 
 when Sheridan, springing instantly upon the bare back 
 of the fiery Mustang from which the Indian chief had 
 just dismounted, galloped to the fort, called the soldiers 
 to arms, and seizing his pistols without dismounting, rode 
 back to the rescue of the two men he had left behind, 
 and who, armed with rifles, were still fighting. Riding 
 up to the Apache chief, he instantly shot him dead ; and 
 then, his comrades having come up, rode down and killed 
 most of the other savages. For this brilliant affair he 
 was entitled to distinction, but the commanding officer 
 (since a rebel general) was prejudiced against him for 
 his Northern birth, and declared him guilty of a breach 
 of discipline in being away from his command. 
 
 This petty persecution was followed by others, till 
 Lieutenant Sheridan felt himself compelled to seek a 
 transfer to some other department. This was accom- 
 plished in the spring of 1855, by his assignment to a full 
 second-lieutenancy in the Fourth infantry regiment, then 
 serving in Oregon. He returned to New York, in order 
 to sail thence to the Pacific coast ; and while waiting for 
 the recruits who were to go out with him, was for two 
 months in command of Fort Wood, in New York harbor. 
 In July, 1855, he sailed for San Francisco; and on ar- 
 riving there, was at once selected to command the es- 
 cort which accompanied the expedition for surveying the 
 route for the proposed branch of the Pacific railroad to 
 connect San Francisco with the Columbia river. This 
 accomplished, he was sent on expeditions into the Yakima 
 Indian country, to put down the threatened warlike de- 
 monstrations of that tribe. He succeeded in gaining the
 
 190 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 esteem and confidence of the Indians, and exerted his 
 influence successfully in keeping them on friendly terms 
 with the whites. He was subsequently selected to adjust 
 difficulties with other tribes of Indians, and accomplished 
 his mission so admirably as to receive high commendation 
 from the lieutenant-general. He continued in these im- 
 poi'tant duties, building posts among the Indian tribes, 
 and greatly beloved by them, till 1861 ; when, on the res- 
 ignation of several Southern officers in order to join the 
 Southern rebellion, Lieutenant Sheridan was advanced to 
 the rank of first-lieutenant, and ordered to return to the 
 East. On the increase of the regular infantry of the 
 United States army, he was promoted to the rank of 
 captain in the regular army, with a commission dating 
 from May 14, 1861, and assigned to the Thirteenth regi- 
 ment of infantry. 
 
 In September, 1861, Captain Sheridan was ordered to 
 join his regiment at Jefferson barracks, near St. Louis ? 
 Mo., and appointed to audit the claims arising from the 
 operations of the army during the campaign in Missouri ; 
 and this accomplished, he was appointed chief quarter- 
 master and commissary of the army then organizing for 
 operations in Southwestern Missouri. This proved a 
 laborious duty, but with his indomitable energy he suc- 
 ceeded in accomplishing it; and in March, 1862, he was 
 appointed chief quartermaster of the Western Department, 
 General Halleck's entire command of sixteen divisions, 
 with the rank of major. His service in this position was 
 short, for the necessity for good cavalry commanders 
 was such, that his superior officers were compelled to 
 consent to his service in the field in that capacity ; and 
 on the 27th of May he was commissioned colonel of the 
 2d regiment of Michigan Volunteer Cavalry, and imme- 
 diately ordered to the duty of joining in the expedition
 
 GENERAL SHERIDAN. 191 
 
 to cut the railroads south of Corinth, to prevent the 
 escape of the rebels southward on the evacuation of 
 Corinth. The expedition proved successful, though ex- 
 posed to some perils, from which they were relieved by 
 the adroit management of Colonel Sheridan. Immedi- 
 ately on their return they were sent out again to pursue 
 the rebels, who, at this time, were retreating from 
 Corinth, and in the pursuit Colonel Sheridan's regiment 
 encountered the rebel left wing, and resisted and repelled 
 the attack of two regiments of infantry, two of cavalry, 
 and a battery of artillery, capturing and bringing off, the* 
 guns of Powell's rebel battery. 
 
 On the 6th of June, Colonel Sheridan led a cavalry 
 reconnoissance below Boonesville ; and at Donaldson's 
 cross-roads met and signally defeated a force of rebel 
 cavalry, under the notorious Forrest. On the 8th of 
 June, in command of two cavalry regiments (his own 
 and the 2d Iowa), he started in pursuit of the enemy, 
 drove them through the town of Baldwin, which he cap- 
 tured, and to Guntown, where he engaged a force much 
 larger than his own, but with success, and before the 
 close of the engagement received orders to fall back to 
 Boonesville, from whence he accompanied the main army 
 back to Corinth. 
 
 On the llth of June, 1862, he was put in command of 
 a cavalry brigade, and on the 26th, ordered to take up 
 a position at Boonesville, twenty miles in advance of the 
 main army, and cover the front of the army, at the same 
 time watching the operations of the rebels whom he con- 
 fronted. 
 
 While at this place, on the 1st of July, 1862, he was 
 attacked by a rebel force of nine regiments, comprising 
 nearly 6,000 men, under command of General Chal- 
 mers. After skirmishing for some time he fell back
 
 192 OUR GKEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 towards his camp, which was situated on the edge of a 
 swamp, an advantageous position, where he could not 
 readily be flanked, and could hold the enemy at bay for 
 some time. Finding that the enemy, with their greatly 
 superior numbers, were likely to surround him, he had 
 recourse to strategy. Selecting ninety of his best men, 
 armed with revolving carbines and sabres, he sent them 
 around to the rear of the enemy by a detour of about 
 four miles, with orders to attack promptly and vigor- 
 ously at a certain time, while he would make a simulta- 
 neous charge in front. The plan proved a complete suc- 
 cess. The ninety men 'appeared suddenly in the enemy's 
 rear, not having been seen till they were near enough to 
 fire their carbines, and, having emptied these, they rushed 
 with drawn sabres upon the enemy, who, supposing them 
 to be the advance guard of a large force, were thrown 
 into disorder ; and, before they had time to recover, 
 Sheridan charged them in front with such fury that they 
 fled from the field in complete disorder, utterly routed. 
 Sheridan pui'sued, and they continued their flight, ut- 
 terly panic-stricken, to Knight's mills, twenty miles 
 south from Boonesville, throwing away their arms, 
 knapsacks, coats, and every thing which could impede 
 their flight. 
 
 General Grant reported this brilliant affair to the "War 
 Department, with a recommendation that Colonel Sheri- 
 dan should be promoted. This recommendation was 
 granted, and his commission of brigadier-general bore 
 date July 1, 1862. 
 
 At this time the rebels in his front had but one stream 
 (Twenty Mile creek) from which to water their live- 
 stock, and from his post at Boonesville General Sheridan 
 frequently made sudden dashes in that direction, and 
 captured large quantities of their stock, often two or
 
 GENERAL, SHERIDAN. 193 
 
 three hundred at a time. In August, 1862, he was at- 
 tacked by a rebel cavalry force under Colonel Faulkner, 
 near Rienzi, Mississippi, but after a sharp engagement 
 the rebels were defeated and retreated in haste, Sheridan 
 pursuing them to 'near Ripley, and, charging upon them 
 before they could reach their main column, dispersed the 
 whole force, and captured a large number of prisoners. 
 Early in September, 1862, General Grant having ascer- 
 tained that the rebel General Bragg was moving towards 
 Kentucky, detached a portion of his own forces to rein- 
 force the Army of the Ohio, then under command of 
 General Buell. Among these were General Sheridan, 
 and his old command, the Second Michigan Cavalry. 
 As General Grant expected, General Buell gave Sheri- 
 dan a larger command, assigning him to the charge of 
 the third division of the Army of the Ohio. He assumed 
 command of this division on the 20th of September, 1862. 
 At this time General Bragg was approaching Louisville, 
 which was not in a good condition for defence, and Gen- 
 eral Sheridan was charged with the duty of defending 
 it. In a single night, with the division under his com- 
 mand, he constructed a strong line of rifle-pits from the 
 railroad depot to the vicinity of Portland, and thus se- 
 cured the city against the danger of surprise. On the 
 25th of September, General Buell arrived at Louisville, 
 and soon commenced a reorganization of the Army of 
 the Ohio, now largely reinforced. In this reorganiza- 
 tion, General Sheridan was placed in command of the 
 eleventh division, and entered upon his duties on the 
 1st of October. 
 
 Buell soon took the ofiensive again, and began pushing 
 the rebels, who had already commenced a retreat, but 
 were embarrassed by the amount of plunder they had 
 collected. On the 8th of October, the rebels made a 
 
 17
 
 194 . .OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 stand near Perryville, Ky., for the double purpose of 
 checking the pursuit aud allowing their trains to move 
 forward out of harm's way. The battle which followed, 
 though a severe one, was not decisive, owing to some 
 defects in the handling of the forces, and Bragg was 
 allowed to make good his retreat with most of his plun- 
 der and with but moderate loss : but in it Sheridan 
 played a distinguished part, holding the key of the Union 
 position, and resisting the onsets of the enemy again and 
 again, with great bravery and skill, driving them at last 
 from the open ground in front by a bayonet charge. 
 This accomplished, he saw that they were gaining advan- 
 tage on the left of the Union line, and moving forward 
 his artillery, directed so terrible a fire upon the rebel ad- 
 vance that he drove them from the open ground on 
 which they had taken position. Enraged at being thus 
 foiled, they charged with great fury upon his lines, de- 
 termined to carry the point at all hazards ; but, with the 
 utmost coolness, he opened upon them at short range 
 with such a murderous fire of grape and canister, that 
 they fell back in great disorder, leaving their dead and 
 wounded in winrows in front of the batteries. The loss 
 in Sheridan's division in killed and wounded was over 
 four hundred, but his generalship had saved the Union 
 army from defeat. On the 30th of October, General 
 Rosecrans succeeded General Buell as commander of the 
 Army of the Ohio, which, with enlarged territory, was 
 thenceforward to be known as the Army of the Cumber- 
 land, and in the reorganization General Sheridan was as- 
 signed to the command of one of the divisions of 
 McCook's corps, which constituted the right wing of that 
 army. He remained for the next seven or eight weeks 
 in the vicinity of Nashville, and then moved with his 
 corps, on the 26th of December, 1862, towards Murfrees-
 
 GENERAL SHERIDAN. 195 
 
 boro. During the 26th, his division met the enemy on 
 the Nolensville road, and skirmished with them to No- 
 lensville and Knob gap, occupying at night the latter 
 important position. The next morning a dense fog ob- 
 scured the horizon ; but as soon as it lifted, Sheridan 
 pressed forward and drove the enemy from the village 
 of Triune, which he occupied. 
 
 The next three days were spent in skirmishing, and in 
 gradually drawing nearer, over the almost impassable 
 roads, to Murfreesboro, the goal of their hopes. At 
 length, on the night of the SOth of December, the army 
 was drawn up in battle array on the banks of Stone riv- 
 er ; and to the right wing was assigned the duty of re- - 
 pelling the first onset of the enemy, and holding it at 
 bay, while the left wing should swing round upon Mur- 
 freesboro. Sheridan's position was on the extreme left 
 of the right wing, joining the centre. To his right were 
 Davis's and Johnson's divisions ; on his left, Negley, in 
 command of one of Thomas's divisions. The record of 
 that fearful battle, the next day, belongs, properly, to 
 history. The enemy, at dawn, falling en masse upon the 
 extreme end (Johnson's division) of the right wing, rolled 
 it up, and drove back in utter discomfiture brigade after 
 brigade, till Johnson's and Davis's divisions were crum- 
 bled in pieces, and the victorious rebel column swept 
 down in irresistible force upon Sheridan's command, 
 hoping to roll that back also, but were met with a reso- 
 lution and determination which checked for the time 
 their further progress. His support on the right (Davis's 
 division) being gone, Sheridan wheeled in the face of 
 the foe, and changed front, so as to avoid being flanked 
 on the right. On came the enemy, only to be beaten 
 back ; but relying on their great superiority of numbers, 
 they returned to the charge four times ; and at length
 
 196 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 the rebels, having crushed Negley's division on his left, 
 and in spite of another change of front threatening to 
 outflank and surround him, and slain two of his brigade 
 commanders, and nearly every colonel in the division, he 
 found himself compelled to fall back, but did so in per- 
 fect order. This tenacity in holding his position against 
 such overwhelming odds aided materially in enabling 
 General Rosecrans to retrieve the disaster of the day, 
 and on the subsequent days turn this defeat into a glo- 
 rious victory. Falling back in good order, they did not 
 disturb the lines of Rousseau's division, but united with 
 and strengthened it to hold the rebels finally in check, 
 while General Rosecrans formed a new and impregnable 
 line. During the subsequent days, though holding an 
 important position, Sheridan's division were not seriously 
 engaged. 
 
 General Rosecrans, in his report of this battle, pays 
 the following high compliment to Sheridan's generalship : 
 "Sheridan, after sustaining four successive attacks, grad- 
 ually swung his right round southeasterly to a north- 
 western direction, repulsing the enemy four times, losing 
 the gallant General Sill of his right, and Colonel Roberts 
 of his left brigade ; when, having exhausted his ammuni- 
 tion, Negley's division being in the same predicament 
 and heavily pressed, after desperate fighting they fell 
 back from the position held at the commencement, 
 through the cedar woods, in which Rousseau's division, 
 with a portion of Negley's and Sheridan's, met the ad- 
 vancing enemy and checked his movements." 
 
 For his gallantry in this battle, General Rosecrans 
 suggested, and the President recommended Sheridan's 
 promotion to the rank of major-general, his commission 
 to date from December 31st, 1862. He was at once 
 confirmed by the Senate.
 
 GENERAL SHERIDAN. 197 
 
 In March, 1863, General Sheridan commanded a scout- 
 ing expedition, in which he fully reconnoitred the 
 enemy's position, took a considerable number of pris- 
 oners, and defeated several bodies of rebel troops which 
 were sent out to meet him, and returned with a loss of 
 only five killed and five wounded. For some months he 
 was engaged in bringing his men into the highest state 
 of drill and discipline 1 , while awaiting a forward move- 
 ment. 
 
 The advance, so long expected, took place on the 23d 
 of June, 1863, and to Sheridan's division was assigned 
 the duty of driving the rebels out of Liberty Gap, a 
 strong mountain pass which was one of the keys to the 
 rebel position. He was successful in this enterprise and 
 soon occupied Shelbyville, which had been evacuated by 
 the enemy as untenable after the capture of the gap. 
 He did not remain long here, however, but pushed for- 
 ward to Winchester, Tennessee, which, by a flank move- 
 ment, he had compelled the enemy to abandon. The 
 subsequent movements of the Army of the Cumberland 
 in approaching Chattanooga were slow, in consequence 
 of the necessity of repairing the railroad and bringing 
 forward supplies, and there were no incidents of import- 
 ance till about the beginning of September, when the 
 Army of the Cumberland crossed the Tennessee at dif- 
 ferent points, Sheridan's division moving to Bridge- 
 port, and crossing on a pontoon bridge, and thence pass- 
 ing by way of Trenton to Winston gap of Lookout 
 mountain, thus flanking the rebel position at Chatta- 
 nooga, and compelling them to evacuate that position. 
 Though General Rosecrans had put a small garrison 
 into Chattanooga, he well knew that he could only hold 
 it by fighting Bragg's army, which had retreated to- 
 wards Lafayette ; and General Sheridan, who had been 
 17*
 
 198 OTTK GEEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 ordered to make a reconnoissance, ascertained, on the 
 1 2th of September, that the rebels had been largely re- 
 inforced; the paroled prisoners of Vicksburg, one corps 
 from Lee's army, and considerable bodies of troops from 
 Charleston and Mobile having joined them. These ad- 
 ditions made their force materially larger than that of 
 General Rosecrans, which also, owing to the topograph- 
 ical difficulties encountered, was scattered. By great 
 efforts, however, he succeeded in concentrating them, 
 and.on the 19th and 20th of September was fought the 
 battle of Chickamauga a battle attended with great loss 
 of life and manifold disasters, but which, after all, left in 
 the hands of the Union army the substantial fruits of 
 victory, inasmuch as they held Chattanooga, the prize 
 for which both armies were contending. In this great 
 battle, General Sheridan bore an honorable part. On 
 the first day, his division, moving up promptly at the 
 word of command, saved Wood's division from, disaster, . 
 and retrieved the fortunes of the day. On the 20th, as 
 at Stone river, the breaking of Brannan's and Wood's 
 divisions imperilled Sheridan's, and though a part of it 
 charged gallantly against the on-cbming foe, it was at 
 last flanked and compelled to fall back by the enemy ; 
 but owing to the thorough discipline enforced by its 
 commander it rallied in good order in Dry valley, and 
 taking a circuitous route came up by the Lafayette road 
 in season to support General Thomas effectively in the 
 long and desperate struggle of the afternoon and even- 
 ing. It has always been a noticeable feature of General 
 Sheridan's military character, that he possessed in an ex- 
 traordinary degree the power of rallying, reforming, and 
 leading on his men to victory when they were broken 
 and discomfited. We shall see other instances of this in 
 his history.
 
 GENERAL SHERIDAN. 199 
 
 A change of commanders followed soon after. Gen- 
 eral Thomas succeeded General Rosecrans ; the two corps 
 commanded by Generals McCook and Crittenden were 
 consolidated into one, under the command of General 
 Gordon Granger ; and two corps of the Army of the Po- 
 tomac, under General Hooker, and the army of the Ten- 
 nessee, under General Sherman, were added to the force 
 at Chaitanooga, and the whole force placed under the 
 command of General Grant. General Sheridan com- 
 manded an enlarged division in General Granger's 
 corps. 
 
 Meantime Bragg still threatened the Union forces in 
 Chattanooga, and at last sent a message that he was 
 about to bombard the city. General Grant, who had 
 been watching all his manoeuvres as keenly as a tiger 
 watches its prey, ascertained that he had sent Long- 
 sti-eet with 20,000 men to reconquer East Tennessee, 
 and at once sprang upon him ; sending Hooker's force 
 to drive him from Lookout mountain, throwing forward 
 Thomas's army to seize Orchard knob and the forts in 
 front of Chattanooga, moving Sherman across the Ten- 
 nessee to carry his position at the termination of 
 Mission ridge, and assault persistently and determinedly 
 the strong fort and rifle-pits on Tunnel hill (a cavalry 
 expedition meantime cutting the East Tennessee rail- 
 road), and, when Sherman had drawn by his repeated as- 
 saults the greater part of Bragg's forces to Fort Buck- 
 ner, hurling Gordon Granger's corps upon Fort Bragg, 
 the strongest and most formidable of the defences of 
 Mission ridge. Each body of troops did its work splen- 
 didly ; but of all the movements in this grand combina- 
 tion, that of Granger's corps against Mission ridge was 
 the most brilliant and heart-stirring. Between three and 
 fcwr o'clock P. M., at the signal, the firing of six guns,
 
 200 OUR GKEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 that magnificent corps, almost wholly composed of vet- 
 erans, sprang at once to arms, and in five minutes were, 
 on their way across the plain swept by the fire of fifty 
 cannon and five thousand muskets, not a man flinching, 
 not a straggler falling back from the firm lines that 
 moved with the precision of machinery towards the 
 rndfcntain. With a shout they enter and clear the first 
 rifle-pits, flinging the captured rebels back into the 
 storm of iron and leaden hail through which they have 
 just passed. With another shout they commence the as- 
 cent of the mountain, a difficult taslf even without oppo- 
 sition, tenfold more difficult now, when the air is filled 
 with missiles which rain pitilessly upon them : up, up to the 
 second rifle-pits, which they clear with a bound, tum- 
 bling their occupants down the steep mountain-side; and 
 up, up again, though the ascent is almost perpendicular, 
 till almost breathless they reach the summit, and bound- 
 ing upon it, realize from the swift reti'eat of the foe that 
 the field is Avon. 
 
 In this grand assault. General Sheridan and his divis- 
 ion were nobly conspicuous. He had felt keenly the 
 breaking of his division at Chickamauga, though it was 
 so nobly atoned for in their subsequent support of General 
 Thomas, and riding in the advance, he called in thunder 
 tones to his division, " Show the Fourth corps that the 
 men of the old Twentieth are still alive and can fight. 
 Remember Chickamauga." Ever in the front, and 
 always coolest in the moment of the greatest peril, he took 
 a flask from one of his aids, filled the pewter cup, and 
 raising his cap to the rebel battery, drank it off with a 
 "how are you ?" never checking for a moment the speed 
 of his advance. The rebels most ungenerously respond- 
 ed by firing the six guns of one of their batteries at the 
 daring rider, and showering him with earth, but doing
 
 GENERAL SHERIDAN. 201 
 
 no other damage. Cheering his men forward to the 
 charge, he now put spurs to his noble steed, and ere 
 many minutes passed was on the summit, dashing after 
 the rebels. For a few minutes there was sharp fighting, 
 $nd General Sheridan's horse was killed under him, and 
 he leaped at once upon a rebel cannon ; but as he could 
 not keep up with his men on this, he soon found another 
 horse, and pushed on down the eastern slope of Mission 
 ridge, after the now fast-flying enemy, pushing them as 
 far as Mission mills, where, the next day, other troops 
 took up the pursuit. Two days later, he. was on his way 
 with his division, under General Sherman's command, to 
 raise the siege of Knoxville, and this accomplished, re- 
 turned to Chattanooga. In February, he was again sent 
 into East Tennessee, in command of two divisions of 
 troops, to drive the rebels out of East Tennessee, which 
 he accomplished, though not without great exposure and 
 suffering. 
 
 In March, 1864, General Grant having been promoted 
 to the rank of lieutenant-general, and appointed to the 
 command of all the armies of the United States, sum- 
 moned the principal generals in the "Western departments 
 to a special conference at Nashville. General Sheridan, 
 among others, was present at this conference, and at its 
 conclusion was ordered to report at Washington. At 
 the beginning of April he was appointed to the command 
 of the cavalry corps of the Army of the Potomac, reliev- 
 ing General Pleasonton, who was ordered to report to 
 General Rosecrans for duty in Missouri. 
 
 His corps thoroughly organized, and each of its three 
 divisions placed under the command of daring and capa- 
 ble generals, General Sheridan reported himself ready 
 for dftty ; and when the first movement commenced on 
 the 4th of May, 1864, the cavalry corps was actively en-
 
 202 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 gaged in protecting the flanks of the Army of the Poto- 
 mac, and reconnoitring the position and movements of 
 the enemy. In the performance of this duty they en- 
 countered the rebel force in considerable numbers ; and 
 actions of some importance occurred at Craig's church, . 
 at Parker's store, and at Todd's tavern. The cavalry 
 were also held responsible for the safety of the army 
 trains and the ambulances containing the sick and 
 wounded, for the first four or five days of the campaign. 
 On the 9th of May they were relieved from this duty ; 
 and General Meade directed him to select the best 
 mounted troops of his command and start off on an ex- 
 pedition to the rear of Lee's army, and cut off his com- 
 munications and supplies, allowing him full disci'etion as 
 to the best plan of effecting the object of the expedition. 
 General Sheridan at once made preparation for this im- 
 portant movement, selecting the staff-officers who were 
 to accompany him, ordering the issuing of three days' 
 rations to his men, and leaving behind every thing in 
 the way of a train except the ammunition-wagons and 
 two ambulances. The baggage actually indispensable 
 was carried on pack-mules. Thus freed from incum- 
 brances, he moved, on the same day on which General 
 Meade's order was given, towards Fredericksburg ; but 
 before reaching that city turned off towards Childsburg, 
 and after a short rest moved thence to Beaver Dam sta- 
 tion, on the Virginia Central road, crossing the North 
 Anna river at the fo/ds. At Beaver dam they found a 
 rebel provost-guard, with more than three hundred 
 Union prisoners, who had been captured the day before 
 at Spottsylvania ; these they promptly released, taking 
 the rebel guard prisoners. Thence moving towards 
 Richmond, a detachment was sent to Ashland station, 
 on the Fredericksburg road, where they destroyed rail
 
 GENEHAL SHEMDAN. 203 
 
 road-traclc, trains, station-houses, and other rebel gov- 
 ernment property, and then after a sharp fight rejoined 
 the main column. On the llth of May, Sheridan's com- 
 mand had reached a point within six miles of Richmond. 
 Here they encountered the rebel cavalry under the com- 
 mand of Lieutenant-General J. E. B. Stuart in person ; 
 and a seveYe battle took place, in which General Stuart 
 was killed, and some rebel guns captured. The next 
 morning, before daybreak, a detachment was sent tow- 
 ards Richmond to reconnoitre, and penetrated to the 
 second line of the defences of that city, within less than 
 two miles of the capital, and having captured a rebel 
 courier, withdrew. Early in the morning of May 12, 
 Sheridan's advance approached Meadow bridge on the 
 Chickahominy, where they again encountered the enemy, 
 who had destroyed the bridge and constructed defences 
 commanding the railroad bridge, over which the Union 
 troops must cross. Nothing daunted, Sheridan's gallant 
 troopers dashed across ; and though compelled to traverse 
 about half a mile of swampy ground, rushed on the rebel 
 works, and carried them after a most determined resist- 
 ance. 
 
 Meantime, another rebel force frad come up in his rear 
 and siirrounded his command. Cool and calm as the 
 Union commander habitually was in the most trying cir- 
 cumstances, here was a position to task his finest ener- 
 gies in generalship. To attempt to retreat would inevit- 
 ably be fatal ; to go forward was to encounter a rebel 
 force greatly outnumbering his own, and to cross a dif- 
 ficult river (the Chickahominy) under their concentrated 
 fire. His decision was quickly made. It was, to recon- 
 struct the Meadow bridge over the Chickahominy, and 
 cross it with his force and train. This he accomplished, 
 though under fire all the time, keeping the rebels at bay
 
 204: OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 with his artillery the while, and repelling their charges 
 by fierce counter-charges. Once or twice his men were 
 slowly pressed back, but he encouraged them, and, fight- 
 ing under his eye, they soon regained their position. At 
 length the bridge was completed, and his ammunition 
 train was to be taken across it ; and, if the rebel fire con- 
 tinued, it could scarcely escape destruction from explo- 
 sion, a destruction which would imperil his force and 
 render their capture or death inevitable. But not for a 
 single moment did his self-possession forsake him. When 
 the train was ready for advancing, he ordered up an am- 
 munition-wagon, supplied his 'men who had fallen back 
 with fresh cartridges, and, placing himself at their head, 
 said : " Boys, you see those fellows yonder ? They are 
 green recruits just from Richmond. There's not a veteran 
 among them. You have fought them well to-day, but 
 we have got to whip them. We can do it, and we 
 will !" The men responded with a rousing cheer, and 
 with the order, u Forward! Charge!" in his clear 
 ringing tones, he led them on in a charge which sent 
 the rebels flying back to their works ; and his artillery 
 opened upon them, adding greatly to their terror. 
 Under cover of this. charge the train crossed in per- 
 fect safety. Pressing hard upon the now beaten and 
 demoralized foe, amid a most terrific thunder-storm, 
 in which it was difficult to distinguish between the 
 artillery of heaven and the thunder of his guns, he 
 drove them back to Mechanicsville, and finally to Cold 
 Harbor, capturing a considerable number, and encamped 
 with his wearied command near Gaines' Mills, The next 
 day he moved on to Bottom's bridge, and the day fol- 
 lowing to General Butler's headquarters, not being mo- 
 lested in any of his movements. He then opened com- 
 munication with Yorktown, and thence with Washing-
 
 GENERAL SHEKIDAN. 205 
 
 ton. Other expeditions may have resulted in a larger 
 destruction of property, the capture of more prisoners, 
 or the traversing a larger region of territory, but none 
 during the war has carried greater terror into the hearts 
 of the enemy, or more gallantly extricated itself from a 
 position of extraordinary difficulty. 
 
 The next few days were spent in co-operation with the 
 great army, now on its way towards the Chickahominy. 
 General Sheridan's headquarters were at the White 
 House, on the Pamunkey ; but he was for the most part 
 at the front, directing the movements of the cavalry pro- 
 tecting both wings of Gi'ant's army, and several times 
 engaged in sharp conflicts with the rebel cavalry, now 
 under the command of Fitzhugh Lee. On the 31st of 
 May he took possession of Cold Harbor, his troops hav- 
 ing orders to hold it until relieved by the infantry. This 
 was done, though with considerable loss, for more than 
 twenty-four hours, when the infantry force came up ; and 
 General Sheridan then moved forward and guarded the 
 flank of Grant's army in its movement to and across the 
 James. This accomplished, he set out on the 8th of 
 June for a second cavalry expedition into the heart of 
 the rebel country. This time his .object was to penetrate 
 northward and westward of Lee's lines, and cut the Vir- 
 ginia Central railroad at some point which should effect- 
 ually prevent the movement of supplies or troops from 
 the Virginia and Tennessee railroad towards Richmond. 
 Gordonsville and Charlottesville were the objective 
 points at which he aimed ; and had his movements been 
 properly sustained by those of General Hunter, he would 
 have succeeded to the utmost of his hopes. As it was, 
 however, 'he accomplished very much in the way of em- 
 barrassing the enemy. Crossing the Pamunkey, he 
 moved at once to Aylett's station ; thence the next day 
 18
 
 206 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 to the Fredericksburg railroad at Chesterfield station, 
 where he seriously damaged the railroad ; thence to 
 Childsburg, Newmarket, and Mount Pleasant, and 
 crossed E. N. E. creek at Young's bridge. On the morn- 
 ing of the 10th of June he moved forward again ; and hav- 
 ing crossed both branches of the North Anna river, en- 
 camped at Buck Childs, a small village three miles north 
 of Trevilian station, on th^e Virginia Central railroad. It 
 had been his intention to destroy the railroad from this 
 point west for some distance, and then, marching through 
 Everittsville, to cut the railroad extensively between 
 Gordonsville and Charlottesville, and march at once 
 upon Charlottesville. On arriving at Buck Childs, how- 
 ever, he found the rebel cavalry in his front, and imme- 
 diately prepared to give them battle. Recalling his old 
 tactics at the West, he sent a part of his force to attack 
 the rebels in rear, while he assailed them in the early 
 morning of June, llth in front. The fighting was des- 
 perate, but he at last drove them back from line after 
 line of breastworks, through an almost impassable forest, 
 to the station at Trevilian ; and here his detached troops 
 attacking them in rear, their route was complete, and 
 Sheridan established his headquarters that night at Tre- 
 vilian. 
 
 The next morning, the railroad from Trevilian station 
 to Louisa Court-House was completely destroyed, the ties 
 burned, and the rails twisted and bent so as to be ut- 
 terly unserviceable. This occupied from daybreak to 3 
 p. M., of the 12th of June. The rebels, meantime, had 
 concentrated in considerable force at Gordonsville, and 
 advancing towards Trevilian, commenced the construc- 
 tion of rifle-pits at a distance of about four miles, to re- 
 sist the movements of Sheridan. After a careful recon- 
 noissance, General Sheridan found the enemy too strongly
 
 GENERAL SHEEIDAN. 207 
 
 posted to be effectively assailed Ijy his light artillery, es- 
 pecially as his ammunition was getting low, and there- 
 fore declined a general assault. On the extreme right, 
 however, the Union troops assaulted and carried the en- 
 emy's lines again and again, but were eventually driven 
 from them by the long-range guns of the rebel infantry ; 
 and finding his ammunition giving out, and being unable 
 to obtain forage for his horses, General Sheridan deter- 
 mined to withdraw ; but he carried out this determina- 
 tion in a characteristic way. Returning to Trevilian 
 station, he ordered supper, inviting his generals to sup 
 with him ; and having given orders for the removal of the 
 wounded who could be moved, and detailed surgeons to 
 stay with those who were most severely injured, and 
 perfected 'his order of march, he partook quietly of his 
 tea, and then set about the withdrawal of his force from 
 a position in which nearly the entire cavalry of the rebel 
 army confronted it. While the train and the rear di- 
 visions were moving off with the wounded, he ordered 
 forty rounds of canister to be fired at the rebel position ; 
 and when the enemy, sorely cut up by this fire, attempted 
 to take the battery by a bold, sudden dash, he charged 
 upon them with a regiment of cavalry, at the same time 
 pouring in a full round of canister at very short range, 
 and hurled them back, while the gun was withdrawn, 
 and then, when they were retreating, moved quietly 
 back ; and all his men being, by day-dawn, well out of 
 Trevilian station, he mai'ched the next day fifteen miles, 
 to Troyman's store, without the slightest opposition, and 
 the day following (June 14th) reached the vicinity of 
 Spottsylvania Court-house, which a month before had 
 been the scene of such bloody and terrible battles. Here 
 he remained a day, and on Wednesday evening reached 
 Guiney's station, on the Fredericksburg and Richmond
 
 208 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 
 
 railroad, where he established his headquarters for the 
 time, but soon moved to White House, and thence 
 marched to the James, to join General Grant. While 
 moving towards the James, they were attacked by the 
 enemy on the 23d of June, at Jones's bridge, over the 
 Chickahorniny, and on the 24th, near St. Mary's church, 
 the rebels being on both occasions in strong force, and 
 fully confident of their ability to overwhelm him. Sher 
 idan acted entirely on the defensive, but produced such 
 terrible havoc among the enemy with his artillery, fight- 
 ing at short range, that they were in the end very will- 
 ing to withdraw. During the afternoon and night of 
 June 25th, General Sheridan crossed the James river, 
 five miles above Fort Powhatan, on a pontoon bridge, 
 protected on either side by gunboats, without loss, the 
 enemy being kept at bay by the gunboats. 
 
 During the next thirty days, his cavalry were engaged 
 in cutting the railroads to the south and southwest of 
 Petersburg; and on the 27th of July, crossed the James 
 at Deep Bottom, and on the 28th, fought a severe battle 
 with the rebels near Malvern Hill, holding their position 
 for some hours against a greatly superior force. 
 
 Meantime the third rebel invasion of Maryland and 
 Pennsylvania, via the Shenandoah valley, was in prog- 
 ress, and the national capital was more seriously threat- 
 ened than ever before ; and Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, 
 Hagerstown and Frederick, Maryland, were occupied by 
 the rebel General Ewell, and Baltimore endangered. 
 This movement was intended to call off General Grant 
 from the siege of Richmond, where the pressure of his 
 grip was becoming unendurable ; but he was not to be 
 thus lured from his prey ; he could and did spare one 
 corps, the Sixth, to the defence of Washington ; but the 
 other forces for the defence of that region must be dra\vn
 
 GENERAL SHERIDAN. 209 
 
 from other sources. The Nineteenth corps, from the 
 Department of the Gulf, was on its way thither, and the 
 very considerable force in Western Virginia, Eastern and 
 Western Pennsylvania, and Maryland, though partly 
 composed of militia, Avas, if rightly handled, amply suffi- 
 cient to hold the territory around Washington, and 
 drive back the invader to Southern Virginia. It was, 
 however, the misfortune of these troops to be included 
 in four distinct military departments, the commanders of 
 which, jealous of their respective prerogatives, did not 
 co-operate harmoniously with each other. Washington 
 and Baltimore, and the country adjacent, formed the 
 Department of Washington ; Eastern and Central Penn- 
 sylvania and Northern Maryland, the Department of 
 the Susquehanna ; Northwestern Virginia and Western 
 Pennsylvania, the Department of West Virginia ; and 
 the region of the Slienandoah, and eastward to the Bull 
 Run mountains, the Middle Department. It was one of 
 those inspirations which have stamped General Grant as 
 one of the ablest military minds of the century, which 
 led him to propose the combination of these four depart- 
 ments into one grand military division, to be* called the 
 Middle Military Division, and subsequently the Military 
 Division of the Shenandoah. In the extent of its terri- 
 tory, this division was hardly inferior to any of the others, 
 and in the difficulty of its management, it yielded the 
 palm to none. For its command, which required mili- 
 tary genius of a very high order, General Grant, with 
 his usual sagacity, selected General Philip H. Sheridan. 
 Though the junior in years of every major-general in the 
 division, he had already exhibited a skill and tact in 
 handling tfoops, a combination of caution and audacity, 
 a celerity of movement, and a fertility of resource, which 
 indicated him as the man for the place. 
 18*
 
 210 OUR GREAT CAPTAIN'S. 
 
 On the 7th of August he received his command, and 
 on the same day established his headquarters at Har- 
 per's Ferry. Concentrating his troops at once along the 
 Potomac, in the immediate vicinity of the Shenandoah 
 Valley, whither General Early, now in command of the 
 rebel forces, had withdrawn with his troops and plunder, 
 General Sheridan gradually pressed the rebels back from 
 the important positions of Martinsburg, Williamsport, 
 &c., garrisoning these as fast as they were relinquished, 
 and establishing complete and prompt communications 
 between his headquarters and the advanced posts. He 
 then began to make feints of an advance, in order to test 
 the enemy's strength and position. Early, who prided 
 himself on his astuteness, fell back gradually, for the pur- 
 pose of luring Sheridan on; but Sheridan would not move 
 till he was ready, and understood too fully Early's plots, 
 and the objects to be accomplished, to make any prema- 
 ture movements. As Early retired, however, he grad- 
 ually occupied every important position, seizing and se- 
 curing Winchester on the 12th of August, and throwing 
 
 O O t O 
 
 out a cavalry detachment to Front Royal, where they 
 encountered and defeated, after a sharp struggle, the 
 rebel cavalry. This accomplished, he fell back in turn, 
 abandoning Winchester, and awaiting at Harper's Ferry 
 and its vicinity the concentration of his forces. As he 
 expected, this brought the rebel troops northward again, 
 and several sharp skirmishes took place, Sheridan's cav- 
 alry, under General Torbert, meantime reconnoitring 
 thoroughly the enemy's position, and taking note of all 
 his movements. Finding that there was some danger of 
 their moving southward to join General Lee, a move- 
 ment which was to be prevented at all hazards, Gen- 
 eral Sheridan again advanced, as if to give them battle, 
 and thus arrested their progress, and then again with-
 
 GENERAL SHEEIDAN. 211 
 
 drew towards Charlestown to attract them nearer to the 
 Potomac. General Early thought Sheridan was afraid, 
 and that by good management he might flank him, and 
 entering Maryland again, reap another harvest of 
 plunder. Accordingly, he moved east to Berryville, 
 and issued a long general order to his troops, forbid- 
 ding straggling and depredations upon the inhabitants 
 of the Shenandoah Valley. 
 
 General Early had entirely misconceived the character 
 and abilities of his opponent, as he soon found to his 
 cost. His movement to Berryville was made on the 16th 
 of September, and it found Sheridan fully prepared to 
 act. General Grant, by his heavy blows upon Lee's 
 forces at Richmond and Petersburg, was effectually pre- 
 venting that general from sending any aid to Early, and 
 Sheridan's force was sufficient to handle his opponent 
 very roughly. On the 18th of September hfs, cavalry 
 met and defeated the rebels at Darksville, on Ope- 
 quan creek, north of Winchester, while his infantry had 
 driven the main rebel force from Perry ville towards 
 Winchester, where they had been joined by the rebel 
 cavalry, retreating from Darksville. 
 
 Sheridan had now his antagonist in the very position 
 which he desired. He had crowded him west of 
 Opequan creek, and by the location of his own army was 
 between him and his true line of retreat towards Rich- 
 mond, southeast through the gaps in the Blue ridge. 
 If now, by quick and heavy blows, he could rout and 
 drive him southwestward, he would effectually cripple 
 him, for the time at least. The battle began at day- 
 light on Monday morning, September 19th, by the at- 
 tack of Wilson's cavalry on the rebels on the west bank 
 of the Opequan. By some misunderstanding the infantry 
 were not brought into the action till near noon, and
 
 212 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 though the resistance of the rebels was stubborn and 
 continued until 5 p. M., they Avere finally completely 
 routed, driven through, or, as General Sheridan very 
 forcibly expressed it in his dispatch, " sent whirling 
 through Winchester," and pursued relentlessly till they 
 -reached their defences at Fisher's Hill, thirty miles be- 
 low Winchester, where they succeeded in rallying for 
 another stand. In this disastrous battle and retreat 
 three of their ablest generals were killed and four more 
 severely wounded. Among the latter was Fitzhugh 
 Lee, the commander of the rebel cavalry of the Army of 
 Virginia. They lost, also, between 3,000 and 4,000 in 
 killed and wounded, nearly 5,000 prisoners, fifteen battle 
 flags, and five pieces of artillery. 
 
 With the celerity which has always marked his move- 
 menrts, Sheridan now brought up his entire force to as- 
 sault the strong position of the rebels on Fisher's Hill. 
 The works were too formidable to be carried by an at- 
 tack in front alone, and therefore, while keeping up a 
 feint of a front attack, the Eighth corps (General 
 Crooks') was sent far to the right, and sweeping about 
 the enemy's left, flanked him, attacked him in rear, in a 
 gallant charge, driving him out of his intrenchments ; 
 while the Sixth corps attacked at the same time in the 
 centre, front, and the Nineteenth (Emory's) on the left ; 
 Averill with his cavalry ranging the while along the base of 
 South Mountain. Confused and disorganized by attacks 
 at so many difierent points, the enemy broke at the cen- 
 tre, and the Sixth corps separating his two wings, he fled 
 in complete disorganization towards Woodstock. Artil- 
 lery, horses, wagons, rifles, knapsacks, and canteens were 
 abandoned and strewn along the road. Eleven hundred 
 prisoners and sixteen pieces of artillery were captured ; 
 the pursuit was continued until the 25th, and did not
 
 GKNIiKAL SHERIDAN. 213 
 
 conclude till the enemy had been driven below Port 
 Republic, and many of them had scattered in the moun- 
 tains, sick of the conflict and determined to abandon ft. 
 The loss of the enemy from the 19th to the 25th of 
 September, in killed, wounded, prisoners, and missing, 
 was not less than 10,000. 
 
 This victory occasioned great rejoicing throughout the 
 North. Salutes were fired on the 26th of September at 
 all military posts in the United States ; and the brave 
 and skilful commander of the Army of the Shenandoah 
 was appointed by the President a brigadier-general in 
 the regular army, to fill the vacancy occasione4 by the 
 death of the lamented McPherson. 
 
 While General Sheridan made his headquarters at 
 Port Republic, he sent his cavalry under General Torbert 
 forward to Staunton ; which place they captured, and de- 
 stroyed all the storehouses, machine-shops, and other 
 buildings, owned or occupied by the rebel government, 
 and also the saddles, small-arms, hard bread, and other 
 military stores found in the place. They then proceeded 
 to Waynesboro, also on the Virginia Central railroad ; 
 tore up seven miles of the railroad track, destroyed the 
 depot, the iron bridge over the Shenandoah, a govern- 
 ment tannery, and other stores. General Sheridan also 
 improved the time of holding possession of the Shenan- 
 doah valley to destroy all the grain, hay, and forage to 
 be found there, excepting what Avas necessary for the 
 subsistence of his own army ; and thus effectually crippled 
 both Eaiiy's army and Lee's, both of which had depended 
 upon this fertile valley as the gi'anary from which to 
 draw most of their supplies of grain and forage. The 
 whole valley being thus rendered untenable by the rebel 
 army, and the guerilla movements, which had been en- 
 couraged by the inhabitants, who had harbored them,
 
 214: OUK GKEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 sternly repressed, General Sheridan moved leisurely 
 northward, and on the 6th of October made his head- 
 quarters at Woodstock. South of this point, over two 
 thousand barns filled with wheat and hay, and over 
 seventy mills stocked with wheat and flour, had been 
 destroyed ; and a vast herd of stock, and more than 
 three thousand sheep, had been reserved for the supply 
 of the army. The Luray valley, as well as the Little 
 Fort valley, were subjected to the same devastation, the 
 inhabitants of both, like those of the Shenandoah, having, 
 while professedly loyal, engaged in guerilla operations 
 and the murder of Union soldiers. 
 
 On the 8th of October, the rebel General Rosser, a 
 cavalry officer of considerable ability, who had just been 
 promoted to the rank of major-general, thinking that he 
 had found an opportunity to achieve a reputation, began 
 to harass Sheridan's rear. He did, indeed, gain a reputa- 
 tion by this movement, but it was not an enviable one ; 
 for Sheridan, facing about, offered battle, and finding 
 him reluctant to accept it, ordered his cavalry to attack 
 by daylight on the morning of the 9th, one division 
 charging along the Strasburg pike, while another, mov- 
 ing by a back road, took the enemy in flank. The 
 rebels, after a short resistance, were severely beaten, and 
 eleven pieces of artillery, several caissons, a battery forge, 
 forty-seven wagons, and over three hundred prisoners, 
 captured by the Union troops. The rebel cavalry fled in 
 great terror on being charged by Sheridan's cavalry, 
 and were pursued " on the jump" for twenty-six miles, 
 the pursuit being continued beyond Mount Jackson, and 
 across the south fork of the Shenandoah. 
 
 General Early was not yet fully satis6ed with the 
 punishment he had received, and on the 12th of October, 
 having crept up quietly under cover of the forest on
 
 GENEKAL SHEKIDAN. 215 
 
 Little Korth mountain, he appeared in force on the 
 wooded slope south of Cedar creek, and commenced a 
 heavy and rapid artillery fire on Sheridan's lines. He 
 had not, however, approached so stealthily that General 
 Sheridan was unaware of his movements, and with a 
 promptness which showed that he was not surprised, he 
 returned the artillery fire, shot for shot, and then order- 
 ing forward his troops, sprang upon the foe, and after a 
 sharp action of three hours, terminating in a cavalry 
 charge, drove Early once more in confusion up the 
 valley. 
 
 Having thus disposed of General Early, General Sheri- 
 dan made a flying visit of inspection to his various- out- 
 posts, and employed a part of his cavalry meantime in 
 making a thorough devastation of Luray valley from 
 Front Royal to Sperryville, the inhabitants of that valley 
 having harbored and aided the guerrillas and bush- 
 whackers, who were murdering the operatives along the 
 Mauassas Gap railroad, which General Sheridan was put- 
 ting in repair. In this expedition sixty-five hundred head 
 of cattle and five hundred horses were captured, and 
 thirty-two large flouring-mills, thirty distilleries, four 
 blast-furnaces, and over fifty barns were destroyed. By 
 holding Front Royal, General Sheridan was enabled to 
 open communication, by way of the Manassas Gap rail- 
 road, with Washington, and thus transport his supplies 
 and troops more expeditiously than he could do by way 
 of Harper's Ferry. This railroad was opened on the 15th 
 of October, and General Sheridan passed over it to Wash- 
 ington. 
 
 It was while he was thus absent, that Early planned 
 another attack upon the Union army, which was well- 
 nigh successful, and which, in all respects, proved one of 
 the most remarkable battles of the war.
 
 216 OUK GKEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 After the battle of the 12th, General Early had fallen 
 back to his stronghold on Fisher's Hill, where the dense 
 forest screened his movements from the view of the 
 Union troops; and here, on the 18th of October, he had 
 been reinforced by about twelve thousand fresh troops, 
 half, or more than half of them without arms, bat organ- 
 ized and officered, and ready for battle so soon as they 
 should be able to obtain arms from prisoners or the slain 
 upon the battle-field. This accession made his force 
 twenty-seven thousand. He had learned of Sheridan's 
 visit to Washington, and believed that the Sixth army 
 corps had gone also, and that, with Sheridan, it was on 
 its way to join Grant's army. With this impression, 
 he regarded the occasion as an auspicious one to 
 make one more attack, and effectually revenge him- 
 self on the army which had thrice defeated him, and 
 twice sent his legions in wild confusion southward,- al- 
 most to the sources of the Shenandoah. In fact, the 
 Sixth corps was still with the Eighth and Nineteenth 
 forming the Army of the Shenandoah ; and General 
 Sheridan, whom he so justly dreaded, was on his way 
 back from Washington to his command, and, on the 
 night of the 18th, had reached Winchester. Had Early 
 known these facts, it is very questionable whether he 
 would have attempted the dating enterprise in which he 
 so nearly succeeded, only to fail most signally. 
 
 The Union position was an echelon of three lines, 
 posted on three separate crests of moderate height in 
 the vicinity of Cedar creek, near the point where it 
 crosses the Strasburg and Virginia turnpike, a short dis- 
 tance northeast of Strasburg. The Army of Western 
 Virginia formed the left wing, and occupied the most 
 advanced position on the eastern crest ; the Nineteenth 
 corps held the centre, half a mile in rear of this ; while
 
 GENERAL SHEKIDAN. 217 
 
 the Sixth corps occupied the right crest, which was also 
 furthest in the rear. The fronts and the flanks, to some 
 extent, of the Army of Western Virginia and the Nine- 
 teenth corps, were protected by breastworks of logs and 
 earth, with batteries in place, and the right was guarded 
 by Torbert's cavalry. In front, the position was impreg- 
 nable, except by a surprise, and to turn either flank was 
 an enterprise so rash and dangerous, that it was consid; 
 ered impossible by most of the officers. In Sheridan's 
 absence, the command devolved on General Wright, com- 
 manding the Sixth corps, as the senior corps commander. 
 With a rashness which could have only been inspired 
 by desperation, since at every point of his progress, ex- 
 cept the last, discovery would have been inevitable ruin, 
 Early resolved to attempt, by a nocturnal movement, to 
 turn the left flank of the Union army. To do this, it 
 was necessary to descend into the gorge at the base of 
 the Massanutten mountain, cross the north fork of the 
 Shenandoah, which was then fordable, and for miles to 
 skirt Crook's position (the Army of Western Virginia), 
 passing, at some points, within four hundred yards of his 
 pickets. Three days previous a brigade of Union cav- 
 alry had held the road along which the rebels now 
 passed, and would have rendered such an enterprise im- 
 possible, but by some strange oversight it had been 
 withdrawn. But even without this, the hazards which 
 Early ran might well have been sufficient to deter a 
 bold man. At almost any point of his march, had he 
 been discovered (and once he was on the very verge of 
 discovery), his army would have been cut in two by the 
 Union infantry, and the cavalry would have prevented his 
 retreat to Fisher's Hill, when he would have inevitably 
 lost half his force, and the Union loss would have been 
 
 trifling. 
 
 19
 
 218 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 His management of. his advance was admirable : his 
 canteens had been left behind in camp, lest they should 
 betray the movement by their clatter against the shanks 
 of the bayonets, and every precaution was taken to move 
 with the utmost stillness and quiet. At dawn they were 
 lying formed for battle, within six hundred yards of the 
 Union camps, enveloping completely Crook's flank. Just 
 at break of day, with the well-known rebel battle-yell, 
 and a sudden and terrific rattle of musketry, they flung 
 themselves on the camp of the Army of Western Vir- 
 ginia, and within fifteen minutes that body of veteran 
 troops, surprised, broken, and panic-stricken, were hurry- 
 ing back, a mass of fugitives, upon the centre, where the 
 Nineteenth corps, forewarned, had sprung into the 
 trenches, but found themselves almost immediately at- 
 tacked in flank and rear, while the rebel General Gordon 
 had seized a position which completely commanded their 
 camp. Early had sent his cavalry and light artillery to 
 the right, to menace the Sixth corps (or, as he supposed, 
 the Nineteenth) ; and this corps now occupied with that 
 force, whose strength, at that early hour, could not be 
 ascertained, could not come to the help of the imperilled 
 Nineteenth. For an hour and more of desperate de- 
 termined fighting that corps held its' position ; but Gor- 
 don's men reaching onward along and beyond its flank, 
 turned it, and fell upon its rear, and in its turn, it was 
 compelled to abandon its position, and retreat towards 
 Winchester, or rather towards Middletown, on he Win- 
 chester road. 
 
 The Sixth corps had by this time found what was the 
 force in its front, and had turned them over to Torbert's 
 cavalry, who were amply sufficient to take care of them, 
 while it came up to the support of the Nineteenth corps ; 
 but it, too, was flanked in its turn, and though it moved
 
 GENERAL SHERIDAN. 219 
 
 slowly and in good order, was compelled to retreat to a 
 position where it could fight to better advantage. The 
 train had been, by skilful management, removed out of 
 harm's Avay, and was well on the road to Winchester, but 
 the army had been driven off the pike, and it Avas neces- 
 sary to fall back until it could again obtain a position 
 upon it, and thus secure its communications. 
 
 Five hours had passed since the first attack, and the 
 Army of the Shenandoah was, for the first time, de- 
 feated ; not routed, but badly beaten. Their camps 
 were in the possession of the enemy, and their fortified 
 positions; they had lost twenty-four guns and twelve 
 hundred prisoners, and "they, had retreated full three 
 miles, and their stragglers a dozen or more. It was 
 about ten o'clock when Sheridan came up the pike 
 at full speed, his noble horse completely flecked with 
 foam, swinging his cap and shouting to the stragglers, 
 " Face the other way, boys. We are going back to our 
 camps. We are going to lick them out of their boots." 
 The effect was magical. The wounded by the roadside 
 raised their voices to shout; the fugitives, but now hur- 
 rying -forward to Winchester, turned about at sight of 
 him who had always led them to victory, and followed him 
 back to the battle-ground as hounds follow their master. 
 
 Still riding rapidly, he reachfd the main army, ordefpd 
 it to face about, form line, and advance to the position 
 it had last quitted. They obeyed without hesitation, 
 and for two hours he rode along the lines, studying the 
 ground and encouraging the men. " Boys," he said, in 
 his earnest animated way, "if I had been -here this never 
 should have happened. I tell you it never should have 
 happened. And now we are going back to our camps. 
 We are going to get a twist on them we are going to 
 lick them out of their boots!" For two hours more 
 v -
 
 220 OUR GKEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 there was silence, but rapid preparation. The Sixth 
 corps held the turnpike and its vicinity. The Nine- 
 teenth was formed on its right, in double line, under 
 cover of a dense wood. Rude temporary breastworks 
 were thrown up in an incredibly short time, and the 
 old animation and valor pervaded every heart. The 
 panic was over. Then came a message from Sheridan 
 to Emory (commanding the Nineteenth corps), that the 
 enemy were advancing against tnem in column. They 
 came, and were received with so deadly a fire of artil- 
 lery and musketry that they awaited no second fire, but 
 fell back at once out of sight, and Emory sent word to 
 the commanding general, that the attack had been re- 
 pulsed. Sheridan's delight at this was evident. " That's 
 good, that's good," he said eagerly. He then sent word 
 to Emory that, if they renewed the attack, he must meet 
 them by a counter-attack, drive them back, and follow 
 them up. At half-past three, orders came for the entire 
 line to advance, the Nineteenth corps to move in cojjnec- 
 tion with the Sixth, and the right of the Nineteenth to 
 swing towards the left, so as to drive the enemy upon the 
 pike. The enemy's left was now his strong position, 
 being supported by successive wooded crests, while his 
 right ran out to the pike, across undulating open fields, 
 A\^ich offered no natura^line of resistance. Sheridan's 
 plan was to push them off these crests by this swinging 
 movement of his right, and then, as they were doubled 
 up on the turnpike, hurl his cavalry upon them across the 
 Middletown meadows. Like most of his plans, it was en- 
 tirely successful ; the crests were carried by a charge of 
 infantry, and Gordon's division, which during the morn- 
 ing had so perseveringly flanked the Army of the Shen- 
 andoah, was itself flanked in turn by the Nineteenth 
 corps, and broke in confusion.
 
 GENERAL SHERIDAN. 221 
 
 The fighting which followed was desperate, and the 
 rebels held their position with great tenacity ; while the 
 Union soldiers, who had neither eaten nor drank any 
 thing since the previous day, and had been fighting since 
 five in the morning, were greatly exhausted ; but they 
 forgot their hunger, their thirst r and their weariness 
 forgot every thing but that they were Sheridan's sol- 
 diers, and that they must drive the enemy back. Again 
 they charged on the rebel second line, over stone walls, 
 over steep hill-sides, and through thickets ; Sheridan him- 
 self dashing along the front, cheering them with his con- 
 fident smile and his assurances of success, and giving his 
 orders in person to brigade, division, and corps com- 
 manders. The result could not be doubtful ; the second 
 charge carried the enemy's second line with the same 
 rush and with greater ease than the first, and the cavalry 
 swept on in magnificent line and pushed the routed foe 
 into more hopeless confusion and speedier flight than in 
 the. battle of the 19th of September. Desperate were 
 the efforts of the rebel officers to rally their men and 
 make another stand ; but they were utterly in vain, and 
 Early's army was again " sent whirling" up the valley. 
 The fighting soon swept far ahead of the tired infantiy, 
 who resumed their position in their old camps ; while the 
 cavalry pushed Early's jaded legions on and still- on 
 through Strasburg, past Fisher's Hill, till they reached 
 Woodstock, sixteen miles distant. The rebels aban- 
 doned every thing in their flight cannon, small- 
 arms, knapsacks, great-coats, baggage-wagons, caissons, 
 ammunition-wagons, and ambulances. The twenty-four 
 cannon captured from the Union troops in the morning 
 were retaken, and besides them twenty-five more of 
 Early's own. Besides these, there were fifty wagons, 
 sixty -five ambulances, sixteen hundred small-arms, several 
 
 19*
 
 222 OUR GEEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 battle-flags, fifteen hundred prisoners, and two thousand 
 killed and wounded left upon the field. The Union losses 
 during the day had been heavy, especially in the morning, 
 being in all about thirty-eight hundred, of whom eight 
 hundred were prisoners. From this last and stunning 
 defeat, Early's army never recovered. In all the records 
 of modern -history there are but three examples of such a 
 battle, lost and won on the same field, and in the same 
 conflict Marengo, Shiloh, and Stone river ; and in the 
 two former the retrieval was due mainly to reinforce- 
 ments brought up at the critical time, while the third 
 was not so immediately decisive ; but here, as is well 
 remarked by Captain De 'Forest (to whose graphic and 
 eloquent description of the battle in " Harper's Magazine" 
 we acknowledge our indebtedness), " the only reinforce- 
 ment which the Army of the Shenandoah received or 
 needed to recover its lost field of battle, camps, intrench- 
 ments, and cannon, was one man SHERIDAN." 
 
 Lieutenant-General Grant's opinion of this remarkable 
 battle may be gathered from the dispatch sent by him to 
 Secretary Stanton, on the evening of the 20th of October. 
 It was as follows : 
 
 . 
 
 HON. E. M. STANTON, Secretary of War : 
 
 I had a salute of ond hundred guns fired from each of 
 the armies here, in honor of Sheridan's last victory. 
 Turning what bid fair to be a disaster into a glorious 
 victory, stamps Sheridan, what I have always thought 
 him, one of the ablest of generals: 
 
 U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant-General. 
 
 General Sheridan also received an autograph letter of 
 thanks from the President, and on the 14th of Novem- 
 ber a general order, announcing General McClellan's
 
 GENERAL SHERIDAN. 223 
 
 resignation as major-general in the regular army, ap- 
 pointed General Sheridan to the same rank, to fill the 
 vacancy, to date from the 8th of November, as an ac- 
 knowledgment of his ability and generalship in the cam- 
 paign in the valley of the Shenandoah, and especially in 
 the battle of the 19th of October. 
 
 For six weeks after this battle there were occasional 
 skirmishes of greater of less severity, between Torbert's 
 cavalry or some portions of it, and the rebel cavalry offi- 
 cers Rosser and Lomax ; but Early, though moving un- 
 easily up and down the valley from Mount Jackson or 
 New Market to Fisher's Hill, carefully avoided any thing 
 like a general engagement, and in December sent a part 
 of his forces to strengthen General Lee. Meantime the 
 guerrilla warfai-e continued with all its vexatious annoy- 
 ances and stealthy murders, and General Sheridan found 
 it necessary to desolate the valley of the Blue Ridge by 
 his cavalry, as he had done the valleys west of it. In 
 two expeditions undertaken for this purpose, property to 
 the amount of nearly seven and a half millions of dollars 
 was either captured or destroyed ; vast herds of cattle, 
 sheep, and swine, and large numbers of horses and mules 
 brought in. Driven from the region, the guerrilla bands 
 have since concentrated near the upper Potomac, and at 
 Piedmont, New Creek, and other points, have done 
 some mischief; but their power has been greatly crippled 
 by the stern and thorough measures adopted by General 
 Sheridan. In December the Sixth corps was returned to 
 the Army of the Potomac ; and the Army of the Sheu- 
 andoah for nearly two months acted principally as an 
 army of observation. About the first of March, General 
 Sheridan moved with his magnificent cavalry force up 
 the valley towards Staunton ; and after the capture of 
 that town moved forward to Fisherville and Waynes-
 
 224: OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 boro, and near the latter place attacked and defeated 
 Early, capturing twelve hundred and fifty-two prisoners 
 (including eighty-seven officers), five cannon, one hun- 
 dred wagons, over one hundred horses and mules, &c., 
 &c. Early himself escaped with difficulty, some of his 
 staff-officers and his personal baggage being captured. 
 He was pursued as far as Greenwood Station, where 
 more cannon, and ordnance, and commissary supplies 
 were captured. Sheridan next entered Charlottesville, 
 where he remained two days bringing up his trains, and 
 dispatched from thence his First division to destroy the 
 James River canal, at Scottsville, and thence to Du- 
 guidsville, fifteen miles below, which they accomplished. 
 The Third division were sent at the same time to burn 
 the bridges and tear up the railroad track on the Lynch- 
 burg railroad. He himself moved to Columbia on the 
 James river, destroying the canal and its locks all the 
 way ; and turning thence to the Virginia Central railroad, 
 broke up its track thoroughly for fifteen miles, and de- 
 stroyed all bridges over the James and its tributaries. 
 On the 18th he reached the north bank of the Pamunkey 
 near White House, where he remained for a short time 
 with his troops. He desolated the country through 
 which he passed completely, and destroyed property 
 which the rebels themselves estimated at fifty millions of 
 dollars. The destruction of the James River canal and 
 the Lynchburg railroad were terrible blows to Lee's 
 army at Richmond, as by far the greater part of their 
 supplies were brought in by these routes. 
 
 On the 25th of March, Sheridan's army moved from 
 White House across the James river, at Wilcox's land- 
 ing, reaching their destination at night. After two days 
 spent in recruiting and preparing for another campaign, 
 they moved, accompanied by the Fifth army corps, on
 
 GENERAL SHEEIDAH. 225 
 
 the morning of the 29th of March, for Dinwiddie Court- 
 house a part of the force moving still further out towards 
 the Southside railroad, and menacing Burkesvilk, fifty- 
 three miles distant from Petersburg, at the junction of 
 that road with the Richmond and Danville railroad ; 
 and having succeeded in. inducing General Lee to send a 
 large force in that direction to protect so vital a point, 
 he wheeled suddenly, and striking the Southside railroad 
 within a few miles of Petersburg, commenced moving 
 towards that city, tearing up the road as he marched. 
 He soon encountered the enemy in this movement, and 
 on Thursday, March 3.0th, a battle was fought between 
 his cavalry and the enemy's infantry, in which the cav- 
 alry were repulsed. On Friday, the Fifth corps sup- 
 porting him, he again attacked the enemy, but with no 
 better success, the Fifth corps, under the command of 
 General G. K. Warren, failing to hold their position, 
 and suffering themselves to be driven back to Dinwiddie 
 Court-house. On Saturday, General Sheridan relieved 
 General Warren from command, and putting General 
 Griffin in his place, took command on Saturday of the 
 entire force (his own cavalry and infantry, and the Fifth 
 corps), and fought the severe battle of Five Forks, 
 while the remainder of the Army of the Potomac were 
 attacking the enemy's strong fortifications along the 
 Southside railroad in front, and the Army of the James 
 were assailing their left flank. By a masterly movement 
 he enveloped their right flank, and captured about six 
 thousand prisoners, besides possessing himself of the 
 Southside railroad, and the rear of the rebel works. The 
 simultaneous onset along the 'whole lines on Sunday, 
 April 2d, compelled the rebels to evacuate Petersburg 
 and Richmond, and Sheridan, leaving others to take care 
 of the captured cities, lost no time in moving towards
 
 226 OUK GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 Burkesville. Finding that Lee had not dared to cross 
 the Appomattox river, but was retreating along its north 
 bank, Sheridan moved on Tuesday, April 5, to Jetters- 
 ville, on the Danville railroad, twelve miles northeast 
 of Burkesville, and on the afternoon of April 6, having fol- 
 lowed them to Deatouville, near Amelia Court-house, the 
 remainder of the Army of the Potomac having come up, 
 he attacked them, and completely defeated the remnant 
 of Lee's army, capturing Lieutenant-General Ewell 
 (General A. P. Hill had been killed on Sunday), and six 
 other generals, many thousands of prisoners, and most of 
 their cannon; and on Sunday, April 9th, General 
 Lee, with the remainder of his army, surrendered to the 
 Union general. To the energy, perseverance, and in- 
 domitable resolution of General Sheridan was this glo- 
 rious result mainly due. 
 
 In person, Major-General Sheridan is small, about five 
 feet five inches in height, of dark complexion and hair, 
 with a piercing blue eye, and an*energetic, determined 
 face. In private life he is social and genial, with a ready 
 command of language. His manner is fascinating, and 
 wins for him at once the love and confidence of his sub- 
 ordinates. He is, with all his dashing qualities, calm, 
 cool, cautious, fertile in resources, careful of his men, and 
 thoroughly self-possessed at all times. No officer in the 
 army can rouse his troops to so high a pitch of enthusi- 
 asm, or hold them there so firmly, as "Little Phil 
 Sheridan."'
 
 V. 
 Vice-Admiral David Glascoe Farragut 
 
 HEROES have not been wanting in the history of mar- 
 jtime warfare, at any time 'in these last three hundred 
 years. Holland points, with pride, to her gallant De 
 Kuyter and Van Tromp, who made the little republic 
 among the marshes and canals that yield tribute to the 
 Zuyder Zee, famous the woi'ld over. England glories in 
 her Blake, her Collingwood, and most of all, in her Nel- 
 son, the model naval hero of all her history ; and we 
 cannot suppress our admiration of the daring of the 
 reckless John Paul Jomes, the matchless patriotism, of 
 Lawrence, and the gallant bearing and extraordinary suc- 
 cess of Perry, Bainbridge, Decatur, and the elder Porter, 
 while in the pi'esent war the heroic Foote, Dupont, 
 Winslow, D. D. Porter, and Rogers have covered their 
 names with glory. 
 
 But among all these illustrious names there is none 
 which so thoroughly awakens our enthusiasm, or so 
 readily calls forth our applause, as that of our illustrious 
 Vice-Admiral. With all of Nelson's courage and dar- 
 ing, he has more than his executive ability and fertility of 
 resource, a wider, and more generous intellectual culture, 
 and a more unblemished, naive, frank, and' gentle char- 
 acter. 
 
 He bears in his veins some traces of the best blood of 
 Spain, his father, George Farragut, having been a native 
 of Citadella, the capital of the island of Minorca, and a 
 descendant of an ancient and honorable Catalonian fam-
 
 228 OUR GREAT V "CAPTAINS. 
 
 ily. The father came to this country in 1776, and united 
 inost heartily in our struggle for independence, attaining 
 during the war the rank of major. After the conclusion 
 of the war, Major Farragut married Miss Elizabeth 
 Shine, of North Carolina, a descendant of the old Scotch 
 family of Mclven, and settled as a farmer at Campbell's 
 station, near Knoxville, Tennessee. Here, on the 5th of 
 July, 1801, his illustrious son was born. The father 
 seems to have been not altogether contented with a. 
 farmer's life in that mountainous region, for not long^ 
 after, we hear of him as a sailing-master in the navy, 
 and an intimate friend of the father of Commodore 
 David Porter, who then held a similar rank. Young 
 Farragut inherite'd bis father's love for the sea, and 
 though brought up so far inland, among the Cumberland 
 Mountains, he had hardly reached the age of nine and 
 a half years, when the longing for a sailor's life possessed 
 him so strongly, that his father consented ; and after 
 some little delay, a midshipman's warrant was procured 
 for him. 
 
 His first cruise was under the command of Captain 
 (then master-commandant) Porter, who, in July, 1812, 
 was promoted to the rank of captain, and soon after 
 sailed in the Essex for the South American coast and the 
 Pacific. To this famous frigate the young midshipman 
 was ordered, before her departure, and he remained on 
 her through the eventful two years that followed, when 
 she drove the British commerce out of the Pacific. When, 
 on the 28th- of March, 1814, the British frigate Phrebe, 
 36 guns, and sloop-of-war Cherub, 28 guns, without scru- 
 ple attacked the Essex in the harbor of Valparaiso, in 
 violation of the rights of a neutral nation (a precedent 
 which the British government seem to have forgotten of 
 late), there ensued one of the fiercest naval battles on
 
 VICE-ADMIRAL FAKKAGUT. 229 
 
 record. Though fighting against hopeless odds, the two 
 British vessels having twice the number of guns and men 
 of the Essex, Commodore Porter, with the reckless dar- 
 ing which was so marked a trait of his character, refused 
 to strike his colors till his ship had been three or four 
 times on fire, and was in a sinking condition, with her 
 rigging shot away, the flames threatening her magazine, 
 and 152, out of her crew of 255, killed, wounded, or 
 missing. The battle had lasted two and a half hours. 
 On his surrender, the Essex Junior, a whaling-ship which 
 he had converted into a sloop-of-war, but which had been 
 unable to take any part in the battle, was sent home with 
 the prisoners on parole. The young midshipman, then 
 a boy under fourteen, was in the hottest of the fight, and 
 Avas slightly wounded during the action. Before the loss 
 of the Essex, he had served as acting-lieutenant on board 
 the Atlantic, an armed prize. 
 
 On his return to the United States, Commodore Por- 
 ter placed him at school at Chester, Pa., where he was 
 taught, among other studies, the elements of military 
 and naval tactics; but in 1816 he was again afloat and 
 on board the flag-ship of the Mediterranean squadron,- 
 where he had the good fortune to meet, in the chaplain, 
 Rev. Charles Folsom, an instructor to whom he became 
 ardently attached, and to whose teachings he attributes 
 much of his subsequent usefulness and success. Mr. Fol- 
 som was appointed consul at Tunis, not long after, and 
 thither young Farragut accompanied him. In a letter 
 recently published, Mr. Folsom speaks thus of his inter- 
 course with the young hero : ..." All needed control 
 was that of an elder over an affectionate younger brother. 
 He was now introduced to entirely new scenes, and had 
 social advantages which compensated for his former too 
 exclusive sea-life. He had found a home on shore, and 
 
 20
 
 230 CUE GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 every type of European civilization and manners in the 
 families of the consuls of different nations. In all of 
 them my young countryman was the delight of old and 
 young. This had always been among his chief moral 
 dangers ; but here he learned to be proof against petting 
 and flattery. Here, too, he settled his definition of true 
 glory glory, the idol of his profession if not in the 
 exact words of Cicero, at least in his own clear thought. 
 Our familiar walks and rides were so many lessons in 
 ancient history, and the lover of historic parallels will be 
 gratified to know that we possibly sometimes stood on 
 the very spot where the boy Hannibal took the oath that 
 consecrated him to the defence of his country." 
 
 This pleasant period of instruction passed all too quick- 
 ly, and the boy, now grown to man's estate, after some 
 further service in the Mediterranean, was, on the 1st of 
 January, 1821, at the age of nineteen and a half years, 
 promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and ordered to duty 
 on the West India station. In 1824 he was assigned to 
 duty at the Norfolk navy-yard ; and with the exception 
 of a two years' cruise in the Vandalia, on the Brazil sta- 
 tion, remained at Norfolk till 1833. Here he married a 
 lady of highly respectable family, and during the long 
 years of suffering through which she was called to pass, 
 from a hopeless physical malady, he proved one of the 
 most tender and affectionate of husbands, never weary- 
 ing of administering all the relief and comfort to the suf- 
 ferer in his power. When death at last terminated her 
 protracted distress, he mourned her tenderly and long. 
 He subsequently married another lady of Norfolk, Miss 
 Virginia Loyall,.the daughter of one of the most eminent 
 citizens of that city. The issue of this marriage is a son, 
 now a cadet at West Point, who bears the honorable 
 name of LOYALL FAKRAGUT. That he may do honor to
 
 VICE-ADMIRAL FARRAGUT. 231 
 
 such a name and attain in another field to a reputation 
 as untarnished and a distinction as lofty as his father's, 
 must be the wish of all who know either sire or son. 
 
 In 1833, Lieutenant Fai'ragut was made executive 
 officer (lieutenant-commander) of the sloop of war Nat- 
 chez, and again ordered to the Brazilian coast, and in 
 1838 transferred to the West India or home squadron. 
 In 1841 he was commissioned as commander, and ordered 
 to the.sloop-of-war Decatur, on the Brazil squadron. In 
 1842 he received three years' leave of absence, and at its 
 expiration was again ordered to the Norfolk navy-yard, 
 where he remained till 1847, when he- took command of 
 the sloop-of-war Saratoga, of the home squadron. In 
 1850 he was again assigned to duty at Norfolk, where 
 in 1851 he was appointed assistant inspector of ordnance. 
 After serving in this capacity for three years he was sent 
 to California, in 1854, as commander of the Man Island 
 navy-yard. In 1855 he was commissioned captain ; and 
 from 1858 to May, 1860, he was in command of the 
 steam sloop-of-war Brooklyn, in the home squadron. 
 During all these years of service, Captain Farragut had 
 been a diligent student, ever seeking the opportunity of 
 increasing his professional and general knowledge. While 
 inferior to no officer of the navy in his acquaintance with 
 every thing appertaining to naval science or warfare, he 
 is superior to most of them in the wide range of his gen- 
 eral culture, especially in the languages. He speaks 
 with fluency and correctness most of the languages of 
 Europe, as well as Turkish and Arabic. 
 
 In 1860 he had spent nearly nineteen years afloat, 
 eighteen years and four months on shore duty, and ten 
 years and ten months either waiting orders or on leave 
 of absence. Forty-eight of his fifty-eight years had been 
 spent in the naval service.
 
 232 OUK GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 In April, 1861, came the rebellion. Captain Farragut 
 was at his home in Norfolk, surrounded by those who 
 wore sympathizers with the rebellion, and who were 
 already maturing plans for the seizure of the government 
 property, and its conversion to rebel uses. No more 
 loyal heart ever beat than his, and in frank and manly 
 terms he denounced the whole proceedings of the trai- 
 tors, and gave expression to his abhorrence of them. 
 This roused all the demoniac hatred of the plotters of 
 treason, and they told him at once, in tones of menace, 
 that he could not be permitted to live there, if he held 
 such sentiments. "Very well," was his prompt reply, 
 "then I will go where I can live and hold such senti- 
 ments." Returning to his home, he informed his family 
 that they must leave Norfolk for New York in a few 
 hours. They, immediately made their preparations, and 
 the next morning, April 18, 1861, bid adieu to Norfolk. 
 Arriving -at Baltimore, he found the mob in possession of 
 the city, and with difficulty secured a passage by steamer 
 and canal-boat to Columbia, Pennsylvania, from which 
 point he reached New York with his family by railway. 
 Securing a residence for his family at Hastings, on the 
 Hudson, he repaired at once to Washington and .asked 
 to be employed in the service of his country. But 
 though fully appreciating his loyalty and ability, the 
 government had no ship for him to command. The 
 treachery of the former Secretary of the Navy had sent 
 most of our ships to distant foreign ports, and of the 
 very few that were left, the best had been seized or de- 
 stroyed at Norfolk, and the remainder, to which they 
 were making additions as rapidly as possible, were in 
 command of his seniors in the service. The Navy De- 
 partment were, however, anxious to give him employ- 
 ment, and in default of any thing else he served for a
 
 VICE-ADMIRAL FAEKAGUT. 233 
 
 time as a member of the Naval Retiring Board, which 
 shelved the incompetent officers of the navy, and pro- 
 moted the active, loyal, and deserving. 
 
 Meantime, the government had resolved otf the cap- 
 ture of New Orleans, and entered with zeal upon the 
 work of fitting out a squadron, as well as an army for its 
 reduction. The squadron was to consist of a fleet of 
 armed steamers, and twenty bomb-schooners, each carry- 
 ing gigantic mortars, throwing fifteen-inch shells. 
 
 The bomb-fleet was to be under the command of 
 Commander David D. Porter, but he was to report to 
 Flag-Officer Farragut, who was to have charge of the 
 entire squadron. Selecting the Hartford as his flag-ship, 
 and having made all possible preparations for his expedi- 
 tion, Flag-Officer Farragut received his orders on the 
 20th of January, 1862, and on the 3d of February sailed 
 from Hampton Roads. Arriving at Sliip Island on the 
 20th of February, he organized the West Gulf Blockading 
 Squadron, and in spite of difficulties of all sorts, the de- 
 lay in forwarding coal, naval stores, hospital stores, am- 
 munition, etc., the labor of getting vessels drawing 
 twenty-two feet over the bars at Pass.L'Outre and South- 
 west Pass, where the depth was but twelve and fifteen 
 feet, the ignorance and stupidity of some of the officers, 
 and every other obstacle he had to encounter, made 
 steady progress. The difficulties were not all sur- 
 mounted until the 18th of April, when the bombard- 
 ment of Fort Jackson, the lowermost of the two forts 
 defending the passage of the Mississippi, was com- 
 menced. These forts were seventy-five miles below 
 New Orleans and possessed great strength. A continu- 
 ous bombardment was maintained for six days, by wliich 
 the forts were considerably damaged, but they still held 
 out stoutly. A heavy iron chain had been stretched 
 
 20*
 
 234: OUR GEE AT CAPTAINS. 
 
 across the river, supported by large logs, to obstruct the 
 passage of vessels, and was placed at a point where the 
 fire of the two forts could be most effectively concen- 
 trated, .fflbove this chain lay the rebel fleet of sixteen 
 gunboats and two iron-clad rams. Along the banks of 
 the river were land batteries, mounting several guns 
 each. 
 
 Finding that the forts were not likely to yield to the 
 bombardment, Flag-Officer Farragut called a council of 
 war, and after hearing their opinions, which were some- 
 what discordant, issued his general order of April 20th, 
 in which the spirit of the hero gleams out. This was his 
 language : " The flag-officer having heard all the opinions 
 expressed by the different commanders, is of the opinion 
 that whatever is to be done will have to be done quickly. 
 When, in the opinion of the flag-officer, the propitious 
 time has arrived, the signal will be made to weigh, and 
 
 advance to the conflict He will make the signal 
 
 for close action, and abide the result conquer, or be con- 
 quered." 
 
 After further and severe bombardment of the forts, 
 the flag-officer gave notice to the steam-vessels of the 
 squadron, of his determination to break the chain and 
 run past the forts, engage the rebel fleet, and having de- 
 feated it, ascend the river to New Orleans, and capture 
 that city. It was a most daring movement. The vessels 
 of the squadron would be exposed to the concentrated 
 fire of the forts until the chain was broken and they 
 were all past it ; and then they would encounter a fleet 
 nearly equal to their own in numbers, and two of its 
 vessels iron-clads, at that time an unknown power in 
 navai warfare. To rush on such dangers as these seemed 
 rash, reckless, almost foolhardy. But the flag-officer had 
 weighed well his chances, and believing that cool courage
 
 VICE-ADMIRAL FARRAGUT. 235 
 
 and prompt action were the principal requisites for suc- 
 cess, and that the prize to be won justified the risk, he 
 gave the order to start at 2 A. M., April 24th, and mean- 
 time visited each ship, and personally superintended the 
 adoption of the requisite measures for the preservation 
 of life and of the vessels, and gave his instructions to the 
 officers as to the mode of the attack. The different 
 plans adopted for protecting the ships and machinery 
 from injury were ingenious and proved effective. 
 
 The sheet-cables were stopped up and down on the 
 sides in the line of the engines, thus extemporizing an 
 iron plating over this most vulnerable portion ; and ham- 
 mocks, coal, bags of ashes, bags of sand, &c., were placed 
 in such a way as to protect the engines from shots coming 
 in forward or abaft. The bulwarks were lined either with 
 hammocks or splinter nettings. Some of the vessels 
 coated their sides with mud, to make them less visible, 
 and some whitewashed their decks, that objects might 
 be more visible by night. The signal was made at five 
 minutes before two, A. jr., but, some of the vessels having 
 trouble in weighing anchor, the fleet did not get under 
 way till half-past three, A. ar. The chain had previously 
 been broken, and the mortar-vessels movd up and an- 
 chored ready to pour in their fire as soon as the forts 
 should open. The steam-fleet moved up in two columns, 
 one led by Flag-Officer Farragut in person, in the Hart- 
 ford, the other by Captain Theodorus Bailey, as second 
 in .command, in the Cayuga. The left column (Farra- 
 gut's) was composed of the Hartford, Brooklyn, Rich- 
 mond, Sciota, Iroquois, Kennebec, Pinola, Itasca, and 
 Winona; the right (Bailey's) of the Cayuga, Pensacola, 
 Mississippi, Oneida, Varuna, Katahdin, Kineo, and Wis- 
 sahickon. .The right column was to engage Fort St. 
 Philip ; the left, Fort Jackson. The fleet were fairly
 
 236 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 abreast of the forts before they were discovered, and 
 fire opened upon them ; but from that moment the firing 
 was terrible, and the smoke, settling down like a pall 
 upon the river, produced intense darkness, and the ships 
 could only aim at the flash from the forts, the forts at the 
 flash from the ships. A fire-raft, pushed by the ram 
 Manassas against the flag-ship (the Hartford) set it on 
 fire, and at the same instant it ran aground ; but by the 
 prompt and disciplined exertions of the men it was ex- 
 tinguished in a few minutes and got afloat, never ceasing 
 for a moment its fire upon the enemy. At times the gun- 
 boats passed so near the forts as to be able to throw their 
 broadsides of shrapnel, grape, and canister with most 
 destructive force into their interior ; and the forts, in the 
 endeavor to depress their guns sufficiently to strike the 
 vessels, lost their shot, which rolled inU> the ditches. 
 They were nearly past the forts when the rebel fleet 
 came down upon them, the iron-clad ram Manassas 
 among them. Several of these gunboats were iron- 
 clad about the bow, and had iron beaks or spurs. The 
 Cayuga, Captain Bailey's flagship, was the first to en- 
 counter these; and soon after the Varuna, commanded by 
 Captain Boggs, found itself in a nest of rebel steamers, 
 and moved forward delivering its broadsides, port and 
 starboard, with fearful precision, into its antagonists, 
 four of which were speedily disabled and sunk by its 
 fire. The Varuna was finally attacked by the Morgan 
 and another rebel gunboat, both iron-clad at the bow, 
 which crushed in her sides ; but, crowding her steam, she 
 drew them on, while still fast, and poured broadsides 
 into both, which drove them ashore crippled and in flames. 
 Running his own steamer on shore as speedily as pos- 
 sible, the gallant Boggs fought her as long as his 
 guns were out of water, and then brought off his
 
 VICE-ADMIRAL FARRAGUT. 237 
 
 men, who were taken on board the Oneida and other 
 gunboats of the fleet. Several of the gunboats were 
 considerably injured, but none of them lost except the 
 Varuna. The Itasca, Winona, and Kennebec were dis- 
 abled, and obliged to fall back. Thirteen of the seven- 
 teen^ vessels composing Flag-Officer Farragut's squadron 
 were able to pass in safety these forts, and had defeated 
 a rebel fleet, destroying thirteen of their gunboats and 
 rams, and the iron-clad Manassas, and compelling the re- 
 mainder to shelter themselves under the guns of the forts. 
 The entire loss of the Union squadron was but thirty -six 
 killed, and one hundred and thirty-five wounded. 
 
 The gallant flag-officer now ascended the river, en- 
 countering slight opposition from the Chalmette bat- 
 teries, about three miles below New Orleans ; but they 
 were silenced in twenty minutes, and at noon of the 25th 
 of April he lay in front of the city, and demanded its 
 surrender. Four days later the forts were surrendered to 
 Captain Porter, and General Butler came up the river 
 to arrange for landing his troops, and taking possession 
 of the conquered city. Meantime, Farragut had as- 
 cended the river above the city to Carrolton, where had 
 been erected some strong works to oppose the progress 
 of Flag-Officer Foote, should he descend the river. 
 
 O ' 
 
 These, on the approach of the gunboats, were abandoned, 
 and their guns spiked. They were destroyed. 
 
 New Orleans being safely in the possession of the 
 Union forces, Flag-Officer Farragut ascended the Missis- 
 sippi, and, on the 27th of June, ran his vessels safely 
 past the rebel batteries at Vicksburg, and communicated 
 with Flag-Officer Davis, then commanding the Missis- 
 sippi Squadron, and arranged for a joint attack upon 
 Vicksburg. The attack failed, because the bluffs at 
 Yicksburg were too high to be effectively bombarded
 
 238 ODK GEE AT CAPTAINS. 
 
 by the gunboats, and the capture of the city required 
 the co-operation of a land force. He therefore repassed 
 the batteries in safety on the 15th of July, and, descend- 
 ing the river, made Pensacola the headquarters of his 
 squadron. On the 1 1th of July, the rank of rear-admiral 
 having been created in accordance with the recommen- 
 dation of a committee of Congress, Captain Farragut 
 was advanced to that rank, and placed first on the list 
 for his meritorious conduct in the capture of New. Or- 
 leans. He also received the thanks of both houses of 
 Congress. In the aatumn of 1862, he directed the naval 
 attacks on Corpus Christi, Sabine Pass, and Galveston, 
 which resulted in the capture of those points. In his. 
 duties, as the commander of a blockading and guarding 
 squadron, there was much of detail ; attacks of guerillas 
 along the river shores, to be parried and punished ; sur- 
 prises of the weaker vessels of the squadron, to be chas- 
 tised and revenged ; expeditions against rebel towns on 
 or near the coast, to be aided and sustained ; and careful 
 lookout to be kept for blockade-runners, who sought 
 their opportunity to slip into the ports of Mobile, Gal- 
 veston, and Aransas. These occupied much of his time 
 during the autumn and winter of 18623. 
 
 Early in March, 1863, General Grant, who was then 
 engaged in his campaign against Vicksburg, desired that 
 Rear- Admiral Farragut should force his way up the 
 Mississippi with some of his most formidable steamships, 
 and assault Vicksburg from below, believing that such 
 an assault would aid materially in its reduction. He 
 proposed also that a co-operating force from Rear- 
 Admiral Porter's squadron should run past the batteries 
 of Vicksburg and aid in this attack, and be prepared also 
 to assail and carry some of the river batteries below, 
 when he should have sent his troops down the west
 
 VICE-ADMIRAL FARRAGUT. 239 
 
 side of the Mississippi, as he had already determined 
 to do. 
 
 The hero of New Orleans promptly responded to Gen- 
 eral Grant's wish. He selected for the work eight of his 
 vessels, the Hartford, his flag-ship, the Richmond, a sis- 
 ter ship in size and armament, the Mississippi, a first 
 class steamship, the Monongahela, rated as second-class, 
 and with a lighter armament, and the gunboats Kineo, 
 Albatross, and Genesee. Besides these, there were six 
 mortar-boats, which Avere to take part in the bombard- 
 ment, but not to run past the batteries. The gunboats 
 were strengthened, and prepared to resist the terrible 
 ordeal of fire they would have to encounter in passing 
 the batteries of Port Hudson, two hundred and thirty- 
 two miles below Vicksburg, the most formidable line of 
 fortifications on the river except those of Vicksburg. On 
 the morning of the 14th of March, the squadron an- 
 chored near Prophet's Island, and at half past one o'clock, 
 p. ar., the mortar-boats commenced bombarding the 
 lower batteries, while a small land-force, sent to the rear 
 of the town to distract the attention of the garrison, on 
 attaining their position, opened fire. The steamships 
 meantime awaited nightfall for their movements ; and, at 
 half-past nine p. M., with lights out, and their decks 
 whitewashed, to enable the men to see their shot and 
 shell which were piled upon the decks, they moved 
 quietly up the river, lashed together, two and two, and 
 hugging the eastern bank. Dark as was the night, their 
 movements were watched, and signalled by the rebel 
 scouts, and an immense bonfire was instantly kindled, 
 which threw its lurid flames upon the river, in front of 
 the most powerful of the rebel batteries, and would re- 
 veal at once the form and position of any vessel which 
 might attempt to pass. The situation was evidently be-
 
 340 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 coming more desperate every moment ; but the stout 
 heart of the admiral did not quail for an instant, and his 
 squadron moved on swiftly towards the illumined point, 
 while as yet no gun had been fired. Suddenly a rebel 
 fieldpiece, concealed in the foliage along the shore, 
 opened fire upon the Hartford, and a broadside was re- 
 turned. Then opened upon the stately vessel and her 
 consort a storm of fire which seemed sufficient to anni- 
 hilate both. The rebel batteries, extending a distance 
 of nearly four miles, and rising tier above tier on the 
 lofty bluffs, showered their iron hail upon the doomed 
 vessels and the mortar-boats from below, and the vessels 
 of the squadron sent back their replies in tones of thun- 
 der. To add to their difficulties, the smoke here, as at 
 the forts below New Orleans, settled murky and thick 
 upon the river, and bewildered the pilots and gunners. 
 The rebels, from their stationary batteries, could fire with 
 more chance of success, but the gunboats were more 
 than once in imminent danger of firing into each other. 
 As yet, however, no one of the vessels had been dis- 
 abled ; but as they neared the line of light, at a point 
 where the Mississippi river curves and the channel runs 
 close to the eastern bank, thus bringing the vessels al- 
 most muzzle to muzzle with the water batteries which 
 lined the river-bank, the contest grew still- more furious. 
 /The Hartford and Albatross, which were lashed toge- 
 ther, succeeded in passing the batteries without serious 
 injury; the Richmond, with theGenesee attached to her, 
 had passed most of the principal batteries, though with 
 heavy loss of gallant officers, when a shot penetrated her 
 steam-chest and disabled her, and with her consort she 
 dropped down to Prophet's Island. The Monongahela 
 and Kineo came next, but the former grounded, and for 
 twenty-five minutes was exposed to the steady fire of
 
 ' VICE-ADM?RAL FARKAGUT. 241 
 
 the principal rebel batteries, and was badly cut up ; but 
 finally floating, through the exertions of her consort she 
 again attempted the passage, but was disabled and obliged 
 to drop down the river. The Mississippi and Sachem 
 came last, and had reached the point directly opposite 
 the town without any serious injury, when the Mississippi 
 grounded hard and fast on the west bank of the river, 
 where she was exposed to the concentrated fire of the 
 entire rebel batteries. Captain Smith, her commander, 
 while every effort was making to get her off, ordered his 
 gunners to keep up as rapid a fire as possible. In the 
 next thirty-five minutes they fired two hundred and fifty 
 shots. At the end of that time it became evident that 
 she could not be saved ; and providing promptly for the 
 preservation of his crew and his wounded men, Captain^ 
 Smith spiked the guns himself, and laid the combustibles 
 so as to burn the ship. He had just fired the combus- 
 tibles forward, and left the ship, when two rebel shells 
 striking her amidships set on fire some barrels of turpen- 
 tine, and in an instant she was enveloped in flame. 
 Lightened by the combustion and the removal of three 
 hundred men, she now floated ; and turning round, the 
 guns of her port battery, which had not been discharged, 
 now reached by the fire, poured a final and terrible 
 broadside into the rebel town.. Drifting on, a mass of 
 flame, she passed behind Prophet's Island ; and her mag- 
 azine exploding, she sank beneath the waters. 
 
 Of the whole fleet, then, only the Hartford and Alba- 
 tross passed the batteries, but the Mississippi alone was 
 destroyed ; the others, though injured, were soon repaired, 
 and subsequently rendered efficient service in the re- 
 duction 1 of the rebel stronghold. The Hartford and Al- 
 batross blockaded for several weeks the mouth of Red 
 River, from which supplies had been sent to Vicksburg ;
 
 242 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 and when Admiral Porter, in May, having run a part of 
 his squadron past the Vicksburg batteries, relieved Ad- 
 miral Farragut from this duty, he returned with his ves- 
 sels to New Orleans by way of the Atchafalaya, and 
 directed the naval operations against Port Hudson until 
 its surrender. 
 
 The admiral had long desired to attack the defences of 
 Mobile, and thus effectually check the blockade-running 
 which it -was impossible wholly to prevent while that 
 port was left unmolested. The three rebel forts, Morgan, 
 Powell, and Gaines, strong works at the entrance of 
 Mobile Bay, prevented the near approach of the vessels 
 of the blockading squadron, and protected the blockade- 
 runners in entering the bay. An attack on these forts 
 *had been several times projected, but as often delayed 
 from one cause or another. It was not till the summer 
 of 1864, that a combined attack of land and sea forces 
 could be arranged. On the 8th of July, Rear-Admiral 
 Farragut had an interview with Generals Canby and 
 Granger, and iirged the necessity of an immediate at- 
 tack. General Canby promised his assistance, but was 
 soon after compelled to retract his promise. On the 1st 
 of August, General Granger again visited the admiral, 
 and a definite arrangement was made for an attack on 
 the 4th. Owing to unavoidable delay, however, the at- 
 tack was not made till the morning of the 5th, though 
 the troops were landed on Dauphin Island. 
 
 The fleet which was to take part in the attack con- 
 sisted of fourteen sloops of war and gunboats, and four 
 iron-clad monitors. The admiral arranged them for the 
 attack as follows : the Brooklyn and Octorara were 
 lashed together, the Brooklyn being on the stsfrboard 
 side, nearest Fort Morgan the Brooklyn being, much 
 against the admiral's wishes, allowed the lead ; next, the
 
 VICE-ADMIRAL FARRAGUT. 243 
 
 Hartford and Metacornet, followed by the Richmond 
 and Port Royal, the Lackawanna and Seminole, the 
 Monongahela and Kennebec, the Ossipee and Itasca, and 
 the Oneida and Galena. The four monitors were ar- 
 ranged in the following order, to the right or starboard 
 of the gunboats : the Tecumseh, Commander T. A. M. 
 Craven, taking the lead, and followed by the Manhattan, 
 Commander Nicholson, the Winnebago, Commander 
 Stevens, and the Chickasaw, Lieutenant-Commander 
 Perkins. v 
 
 The rebels, in addition to three forts all manned with 
 large garrisons, had a squadron consisting of the iron- 
 clad ram Tennessee, regarded by them as the most for- 
 midable armed vessel ever constructed, and three pow- 
 erful gunboats, the Selma, Morgan, and Gaines. 
 
 The fleet steamed steadily up the channel, the Tecum- 
 seh firing the first shot at 6.47 A. M. The rebels opened 
 upon them from Fort Morgan at six minutes past seven, 
 and the Brooklyn replied, after which the action became 
 general. The Brooklyn now paused, and for good rea- 
 son the Tecumseh, near her, careened suddenly and 
 sank almost instantly, having struck and exploded a 
 torpedo ; and her gallant commander and nearly all her 
 crew sank with her. 
 
 Directing the commander of the Metacornet to send a 
 boat instantly to rescue her crew, Admiral Farragut de- 
 termined to take the lead in his own flag-ship, the Hart- 
 ford, and putting on all steam, led off through a track 
 which had been lined with torpedoes by the rebels ; but 
 he says, *' Believing that from their having been some 
 time in the water, they were probably innocuous, I de- 
 termined to take the chance of their explosion." 
 
 Turning to the northwestward to clear the middle 
 ground, the fleet were enabled to keep such a broadside 
 
 21
 
 2M OUK GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 fire on the batteries of Fort Morgan as to prevent them 
 from doing much injury. After they had passed the fort, 
 about ten minutes before eight o'clock, the ram Tennes- 
 see dashed out at the Hartford ; but the admiral took no 
 further notice of her than to return her fire. The rebel 
 gunboats were ahead and annoyed the fleet by a raking 
 fire, and the admiral detached his consort, the Meta- 
 comet, ordering her commander, Lieutenant-Commander 
 Jouett, to go in pursuit of the Selma, and the Octorara 
 was detached to pursue one of the others. Lieutenant- 
 Commander Jouett captured the Selma, but the other 
 two escaped under the protection of the guns of Fort 
 Morgan, though the Gaines was so much injured, that 
 she was run ashore and destroyed. The combat which 
 followed between the Tennessee and the Union fleet, 
 and resulted in the surrender of that formidable iron- 
 clad vessel, is best described in the admiral's own 
 words : 
 
 " Having passed the forts and dispersed the enemy's 
 gunboats, I had ordered most of the vessels to anchor, 
 when I perceived the ram Tennessee standing up for this 
 ship. This was at forty-five minutes past eig*ht. I was 
 not long in comprehending his intentions to be the de- 
 struction of the flag-ship. The monitors and such of the 
 wooden vessels as I thought best adapted for the purpose, 
 were immediately ordered to attack, the ram, not only 
 with their guns, but bows on at full speed ; and then be- 
 gan one of the fiercest naval combats on record. 
 
 " The Monongahela, Commander Strong, was the first 
 vessel that struck her, and in doing so, carried away his 
 own iron prow, together with the cutwater, without ap- 
 pai'ently doing her adversary much injury. The Lacka- 
 \wanna, Captain Marchand, was the next vessel to strike 
 her, which she did at full speed ; but though her stem
 
 VICE-ADMIKAL FAKKAQUT. 245 
 
 ts 
 
 was cut and crushed to the plank-ends for the distance of 
 three feet above the water's edge to five feet below, the 
 only perceptible eifect on the ram was to give her a 
 heavy list. 
 
 " The Hartford was the third vessel that struck her ; but, 
 as the Tennessee quickly shifted her helm, the blow was 
 a glancing one, and, as she rasped along our side, we 
 poured our whole port broadside of nine-inch solid shot 
 within ten feet of her casement. 
 
 " The monitors worked slowly, but delivered their fire 
 as opportunity oifered. The Chickasaw succeeded in 
 getting under her stern, and a fifteen-inch shot from the 
 Manhattan broke through her iron plating and heavy 
 wooden backing, though the missile itself did not enter 
 the vessel. 
 
 "Immediately after the collision with the flag-ship, I 
 directed Captain Dray ton to bear down for the ram 
 again. He was doing so at full speed, when, unfortu- 
 nately, the Lackawanna run into the Hartford just for- 
 ward of the mizzeu-mast, cutting her down to within two 
 feet of the water's edge. We soon got clear again, how- 
 ever, and were fast approaching our adversaiy, when she 
 f truck her colors and run up the white flag. 
 
 " She was at this time sore beset ; the Chickasaw was 
 pounding away at her stern, the Ossipee was approach- 
 ing her at full speed, and the Monongahela, Lackawanna, 
 and this ship were bearing down upon her, determined 
 upon her destruction. Her smoke-stack had been shot 
 away, her steering-chains were gone, compelling a resort 
 to her relieving-tackles, and several of her port shutters 
 were jammed. Indeed, from the time the Hartford 
 struck her, until her surrender, she never fired a gun. 
 As the Ossipee, Commander Le Roy, was about to strike 
 her, she hoisted the white flag, and that vessel immedi-
 
 246 OUR GREAT CAPTAINS 
 
 * 
 
 ately stopped her engine, though not in time to avoid a 
 glancing blow. 
 
 " During this contest with the rebel gunboats and the 
 ram Tennessee, and which terminated by her surrender at 
 10 o'clock, we lost many more men than from the fire of 
 the batteries of Fort Morgan." 
 
 The rebel Admiral Buchanan was severely wounded, 
 and subsequently lost a leg by amputation. Admiral 
 Farragut, as humane in bis feelings towards a wounded 
 foe as he was gallant and daring in action, immediately 
 addressed a note to Brigadier-General Page, the com- 
 mander of Fort Morgan, asking permission to send the 
 rebel admiral and the other wounded rebel office^ by 
 ship, under flag of truce, to the Union hospitals at Pensa- 
 cola, where they could be tenderly cared for. This re- 
 quest was granted, and the Metacomet dispatched with 
 them. 
 
 The admiral had statipned himself " in an elevated po- 
 sition in the main rigging, near the top," a place of great 
 peril, but one which enabled him to see much better than 
 if he had been on deck, the progress of the battle ; and 
 from thence he witnessed, and testified with great grati- 
 fication to, the admirable conduct of the men at theiiv 
 guns, throughout the fleet ; and, in the connection, gives 
 utterance to a sentiment which shows most conclusively 
 his sympathy and tenderness: " Although," he says, " no 
 doubt their hearts sickened, as mine did, when their ship- 
 mates were struck down beside them, yet there was not 
 a moment's hesitation to lay their comrades aside and 
 spring again to their deadly work." { 
 
 It is said that at the moment of the collision between 
 the Hartford and Lackawanna, when the men called to 
 each other to save the admiral, Farragut, finding the 
 ship would float at least long enough to serve his pur-
 
 VICE-ADMIRAL FARRAGUT, 247 
 
 pose, and thinking of that only, called out to his fleet- 
 captain, " Go on with speed ! Ram her again !" 
 
 The results of this victory were the destruction of the 
 rebel fleet ; the capture of the armored ship Tennessee, 
 and of two hundred and thirty rebel officers and men ; 
 the abandonment on the next day of Fort Powell, with 
 eighteen guns; the surrender on the 8th of Fort Gaines, 
 with fifty-six officers, eight hundred and eighteen men, 
 and twenty-six guns ; and on the 23d of August, after a 
 further bombardment of twenty-four hours, of Fort 
 Morgan, with sixty guns and six hundred prisoners. 
 By these captures, the port of Mobile was hermeti- 
 cally sealed against blockade-runners, and a serious 
 blow given to the rebel cause. 
 
 Rear- Admiral Farragut remained in command of the 
 West Gulf squadron till November, 1864, when here- 
 quested leave of absence, and was called to Washington 
 for consultation in regard to future naval operations. 
 Soon after the opening of Congress, a . resolution of 
 thanks was passed, to him, for his brilliant victory at 
 Mobile, and the rank of vice-admiral, corresponding to 
 that of lieutenant-general in the army, was created, and 
 David Glascoe Farragut promoted to it. This appoint- 
 ment makes him the virtual chief commander of the naval 
 forces of the United States. 
 
 The West Gulf blockading squadron, during all the 
 time Admiral Farragut was in command of it, had had 
 more fighting and less prizes than any other blockading 
 squaflron on the coast ; and while Admirals Dupont, Lee, 
 Porter, and Dahlgren had accumulated immense fortunes 
 by their shares of prize-money, Admiral Farragut had 
 received little beyond his regular pay. The merchants 
 of New York, understanding this, and recognizing the 
 great services he had rendered to commerce and to the
 
 248 OUR GKEAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 nation, subscribed the sum of fifty thousand dollars, which 
 was presented to him in U. S, 7.30 Treasury notes, in 
 January, 1865, in testimony of their appreciation of his 
 ability and success as a naval .commander. 
 
 We do not expect any praise, scarcely indeed common 
 civility, in speaking of our generals or admirals, from that 
 English journal which is so thorough an exponent of the 
 prejudices and hostility of the English aristocracy tow- 
 ards us, the " Army and Navy Gazette ;" yet that jour- 
 nal has found itself compelled to speak of Admiral Far- 
 ragut as " the doughty admiral whose feats of arms place 
 him at the head of his profession, and certainly constitute 
 him the first naval officer of the day, as far as actual repu- 
 tation won by skill, courage, and hard fighting goes." 
 
 In the first week of April, 1865, Vice-Admiral Farra- 
 gut visited Norfolk for the first time since he left it in 
 1861, and was welcomed to the city by a committee of 
 the Loyal League of that city, with an address, to which 
 he replied as follows : 
 
 " MR. CHAIRMAN, GENTLEMEN OF THE UNION LEAGUE, 
 FELLOW-CITIZENS, AND MY BROTHER OFFICERS OF THE 
 ARMY AND NAVY : I thank you for the kind remarks 
 which you have been pleased to make, and I wish that I 
 had the language to express myself as I have heard 
 others very near me four years ago, in this place, when 
 we had our best speakers standing forth for the Union, 
 and striving with all their rhetoric to persuade the peo- 
 ple to desist from their unholy resolution, and cast their 
 voters for the Union. This meeting recalls to me the 
 most momentous events of my life, when I listened in 
 this place till the small hours of the morning, and re- 
 turned home with the feeling that Virginia was safe and 
 firm in her place in the Union. Our Union members to
 
 VICE-ADMIRAL FARRAGUT. 249 
 
 the convention were elected by an overwhelming ma- 
 jority, and sent to Richmond, and w,e believed that 
 every thing was right. Judge, then, my friends, of our 
 astonishment in finding, a few days later, that the State 
 . had been voted out by a miserable minority, for the 
 want of firmness and resolution on the part of those 
 whom we trusted to represent us there, and that Vir- 
 ginia had been dragooned out of the Union. What was 
 the reason for this act? The President's call for 
 seventy-five thousand men ? Why, our arsenals, navy- 
 yards, money in the mint at New Orleans had been 
 seized, and Sumter bombarded. Was it then remark- 
 able that the Government of the United States should 
 call for troops to sustain itself? Would Jackson have 
 submitted to this ? No ; for I recollect that I myself 
 had the honor to be sent to South Carolina to support 
 his mandate that the Union must and should be pre- 
 served. I was told by a brother officer that the State 
 had seceded, and that I must either resign and turn 
 traitor to the Government which had supported me from 
 my childhood, or I must leave this place. Thank God ! 
 I was not long in making my decision. I have spent 
 half of my life in revolutionary countries, and I know 
 the horrors of civil war, and I told the people what I 
 r had seen, and what they would experience. They 
 laughed at me, and called me ' granny' and ' croaker ;' 
 and I said, ' I cannot live here, and will seek some other 
 place where I can live, and on two hours' notice ;' and I 
 suppose the conspirators said I left my country for my 
 country's good, and thank God I did. I went from here 
 with the few valuables I could hastily collect. I was 
 unwilling to believe that this difficulty would not have 
 been settled ; but it was all in vain, and, as every man 
 must do in a revolution as he puts his foot down, so it
 
 250 OUK GREAT CAPTAINS. 
 
 marks his life ; so it has pleased God to protect me thus 
 far, and make me somewhat instrumental in dealing 
 heavy blows at the rebellion. I have Jbeen nothing 
 more than an instrument in the hands of God, well sup- 
 ported by my officers and men, who have done their 
 duty faithfully. I hope,, my friends, that this day, with 
 its events, may prove the culminating point of our revo- 
 lution ; and I hope that before long all will be restored 
 to that peace and reunion which has been sought by the 
 Government and desired by everybody ; and then you, 
 gentlemen, who have deserved so well of your country 
 by your steady adherence to its Government, will receive 
 the reward which fidelity, and honesty, and moral 
 courage always deserve." 
 
 Notwithstanding the hardships and exposures he has 
 undergone in a life of which more than forty years have 
 been spent afloat, the sixty-four years of the vice-admi- 
 ral's life set lightly upon him, and his eye is as clear, his 
 v*>ice as hearty, his arm as vigorous, and his judgment 
 as sound as when, a dozen years ago, he trod the quarter- 
 deck of a man-of-war in foreign ports. Our brief sketch 
 is altogether inadequate to represent as we desire the 
 character of our naval hero ; but, in the words of a bril- 
 liant writer in the "United States Service Magazine" 
 for January, 1865, we may say: "When his biography 
 comes to be written, the public, who now see only high 
 courage and indomitable vigor, rewarded by great and 
 brilliant victories, will recognize the completeness and 
 harmony of a character that has so far appeared to them 
 only in profile. The stainless honor, the straightforward 
 frankness, the vivacity of manner and conversation, the 
 gentleness, the flow of good-humor, the cheerful, ever- 
 buoyant spirit of the true man, these will be added to
 
 VICE-ADMIRAL FARRAGUT. 251 
 
 the complete education, the thorough seamanship, the 
 careful preparation, the devotion to duty, and lastly, the 
 restless energy, the disdain of obstacles, the impatience 
 of delay or hesitation, the disregard of danger, that stand 
 forth in such prominence in the portrait, deeply engraven 
 on the loyal American heart, of the GREAT ADMIRAL." 
 
 THE
 
 . I
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 Los Angeles 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
 HilpUtt 
 
 ID-URC 
 
 DEC ?19M 
 V 1 1984 
 
 WD umr 
 
 JAN 1 3 1990 
 
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 ^ . ' FEB 1 z 1990 
 
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 ID
 
 7768 
 
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