Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1863-03-23

lofel OF tha wafer, was aDQuL one udnlIe4 lee
SO thai it was necessary TO give great sleyatiO
TO his guns, 70 enable him TO fire over the baub
The consequences was that shots eould take el
feet only 81 points remote from tho rivers edge
They were comparatively harmless to our tro0D
nearest the bank and became increasingly so &
us as we drew near the enemy, and placed hin
between us and dis boats.
Here the impression arose that cur force
were Waging an unequal contest, and that they
! we're exhausted and suffering rom murderou
fre and by an order from the commanding
general they were Withdrawn from the field
/ One Of my divisions, that Of Gen. Clarke, con
sisting Of Stewards and Russelrs brigades
/ now under the command Of Gen. Stewart and
bivouaeed on the ground with the rest Of The
/ troops, were among the hrst to engage the enc.
( my on The following morning.
They were actively engaged during the day,
/ aud sustained the reputation they had won the
/ day before. The other division, under General
/ Cheatham, a brigade of which was separated
! from me at an early hour on the 9th, was fought
/ throughout the day with skill and courage
which distinguished that gallant officer, was
I moved by him to bis camp Of the night before
I They were taken there to obtain rstions and to
/ Frepare for the work Of the following day.
Hearing they had gone tbilher, informed Gen
Besuregsrd that / should follow them to insure
I their being on the ground at an early hour IN
the morning. This 7 did, and gave orders that
night in person TO Gen. Cheatham to be ready
TO move at daylight.
Before day i dispatched nv aid-de-camD.
Lieut.. Richmond, 20 put them in motion. Their
march was stopped for soma time 20 arrest a
stampede which came from the front They
then moved under the command Of General
Cheatham TO the field. I sent forward q staff
officer to Gen. Beauregard 70 inform him Of their
approach, and was directed to post them in the
rear Of the Shiloh church and hold them until
further orders. This was about o'clock, A. 81
1t was not long before an order from the com
manding general was received 10 move these
troops to ths support Of the line in my front
They were formed IN line Of batte and moved
forward half mile, to the position held by
Gen. Breckinndge. Finding be was able to
hold bis position without assistance they were
moved to the left flank. past Shiloh church, to
form on the left of our llne. Here they were
formed under the Supervision Of Gen. Cheathsm,
Immediately in from Of a very large force Of the
enemy, now pressing vigorously to turn our left
flank.
They engaged the enemy as soon as they were
formed, and fought him for four hours, one Of
tho most desperately contested conflicts Of the
battle. The enemy was driven gradually from
his position, and though reinforced several times
during the engagement he could make no i'm
preston on that part of our line. During this
engagement the command Of General Cheatham
was reinforced by Louisiana brigade, under
Colonel Gibson, and By the 33d Teanessee,
under MaJsT Campbell, and the 9th Tennessee,
under Major Love, al Of whom did admirable
service, and the last fell MORALLY wounded
Colonel Preston Smith, commanding brig
ede, was a. the same time severely wounded,
but retained his command. This force main
talued the position It had held for so many hours
haIfuuaE Eruo osa1oab- fha. - s--f--
orders were received from the commandment.
ersl TO Withdraw from the field. I gave orders
accordingly, and the command was retired
slowly and in good order in the direction Of our
camp, the enemy making no advance whatever
In the operations this morning, as well ss the
day before, those Of my troops Who acted
under the immediate orders Of Mai0r-GeneraI
Chestham, bore themselves with conspicuous
ga.lantTy. Oue charge particularly wss made
under the eye Of the eOmmander-iu-chief and
his staff, and drew forth expressions Of the most
unqualified sppsusa
For the details Of these operations as well as
for those Of the troops under Gen. Clarke, I beg
leave to refer to the reports of those generals.
herewith submitted, also 70 those Of their bri-
gade, Tegimentsl and battery commanders.
The conduct Of my corps, both officers and men,
was Of the most gratifying character. Many Of
them had never before been under fire, and one
company Of artillery, that Of Cspt Stanford,
from the scarcity Of ammunition, had never be-
fore heard the report Of their own guns; yet,
from that facility which distinguishes our South
ern people, under the inspiration of the cause
which suimsbes them, they fought with the
steedinsss and gallsntry of well trained troops
The fact that the corps lost One-third Of its
numbers in killed and wounded attests the ma [
ture of the service in which it was engaged
To my division commanders, Major General /
Chealham and Bugsdier-General Clarke, / feel
greatly indebted for their cordial cooperation /
and efficient support also TO Bdsaier- Generals !
Stewart and Johnson and GOloDels Russell, /
Nancy, Stephens and Preston Smith, command.
eTs Of brigades. Ny obligations are also due to
my personal and general staff, to Major George
williamson, my adjutant-gsnersl, who had bis
horse shot under him, and was himself wounded
To my inspector general, Lieut. Col. Blake TO
my chief of artillery, Msjor S P. Bsnkhead to
Captain Champneys my chief Of ordnance, to
whose vigilance and activity, in conjunction
with the energetic and vigorous admins tration
of my chief Of artillery, I am indebted for taking
off from the field thirteen of the fourteen guns
reported by the commanding general to have
bten secured by the army from the enemy.
To my sid-de-oamp, Lieutenant W B. Rich
m0nd and Lieutenant a. III. Polk, l am Bartic
ulsrly indebted for the promptifude and fidelity
with which they performed the duties Of their
office Their fearless bearing was emnently
conspicuous The former (LieBtenant Rich
mond) had two horses shot un ier him.
am under obligations also to Lieutenant
Spence, Lsnier aud Rawle, who acted on my
staff during the battle, also to Lieutsnaut w.
III. Porter, who acted as a volunteer sid during
the operations Of the 9th, also to my quarter
master, Major Thomas Peters, and my medical
director, DR.. W. P Lyle.
Above all I feel that I am indebted to Al
mighty God for the courage with which lie IN
spired our troops, and for the protection and de-
Tense with which He covered our heads in the
day Of battle.
Such is Gen. Polk's report Of the battle Of
Shiloh. I am too much weaYied by transcribing
It to attempt any comment. It needs none.
Simple, clear, accurate and distinct in al its
statements, it defes criticism. The cause
which led to our retreat from the gunb0sts is
clearly and Justly stated. The world had
learned it through the concurrent testimony Of
thousands Of soldiers. There was q blunder
there. 1t was not the fault Of General Polk.
Neither was the postpOnement Of the beginning
Of the battle Beaursgard may have thought so.
until Gen. Polk interrupted an int nterVieW alluded
to in the report, and made explanations. Not
withstandiBg the laboriousRess of the task L as
suued in tf6Dseu5ing this report al 3 single
sitting, yet the latter was not without its pleas
ures Bankhead, Richmond, Stephens and Pres
ton Smith, Peters and others, whose names are
hoDored By the model ehieftain Of our Western
army, were my friends long ago, and when We
have met since this war began, the memories OF
the olden time have basn revived, and with pc
culiar pleasure I witness their successes, and
gladly learn that their names are noW commit
ted to the hands Of history. s. l.
BRIDGE BURNER CAgeHT-A fellow nsmed
n l. J.