The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1863-11-28
Gen. ID. III. HIPS Defence.

Gen. ID. III. Hill's Defence.
Gen. d. II. IIii, who was relieved from hia
coniuaad In Gen. Briggs army after the battle ol
Chickamauga, has published the following card In
his tefeuPe.
ACARD.-As several erroneous statements have
been made in regard to my beina relieved from
duty with the Army of Tennessee, II cannot be In,
proper ~ give the facts In the When the Or
der relieving me was received, called unOn Gen.
bragg and asked the eadse of 1t. He said that he
had no cause Of complaint against me up 10 the
close OF the battle on the 20th September that no
my military character, and that he would promptly
rebukc any one making such In his presence
then asked what could be- the reason for hi, ac
ton. lie alleged as the cause an expression of
opinion on my part Inquired why alone was
held responsible for this utterance when the other
three corps commanders, (l.Ongstreet, Buckner.
and Cheathain,) had c"ncurrrd in it, To this no
satisfactory answer was given.
The insinuatiOn made by some OF the army cox
respondents Of my being tardy In attacking on the
morning Of the 10Th september, Is unjust. The
first intlmatiOn that received that we were to be
the assailants was an order to advance from the
wing commander, (Gen. Polk, y received at 7:25 4.
M. And the first heard Of the contaminated a :
tack at daylight was from Gen. Bragg himself,
na't hour later. Ihe four essential preparations
for battle had not been made at 3 A. NJ, and, in
fact, could not be made without the presence OF
the Commander in Chief, who then appeared on
the field.
IAl Scu. LOuksUeet HAS since tOI0 me tn1t ne
was so tar from being ready ut daylight that he was
not even ready when / began the attack MY i'm
preston Is that my corps was engaged more Than
an hour before a trigger was drawn by any other
troops. To the ferceGesS Of the assault by this
heroic corps the Yankees ascribe their n,assi,g
on our right ff am not greatly mistaken, we had
gained the Chattanooga road, turned the Yankee
works, and nearly reached the X. ~ house, before
the LEFT wing came into action. The Yankees con
centrated their forces rapidly to regain the key point
of their position. Gems Helm and Deshler were
killed, and Gen. Adams was wounded and cap
tured by the overwhelming MASSES thrown against
my single corps. Gen. Adams told me that the
Yankees, in conversation with him, ascribed the
loss OF the battle to their Withdrawing too mahy
troops from their right TO meet this morning attack
OF my heroic men on their left. II would seem that
the delay In attacking on our left ted them TO be
heve that our forces were massed on our right. All
the Yankee accounts of the battle agree in this
view 0f our plan of attack.
heard no firing our left until after the fine
troops of Walker and Liddell had come to our sup
port.
The charge of tarness being disposed of 1t may
be well TO quote 10 the self constituted critics the
following extract from the letter of the Adjutant
General, i'll refusal of my application for Court of
Inquiry: "indeed, with an officer Of your past
service and approved galiantry. military dcinquen
cy is presumption not to be INDUCED by any one,
ard certainly net in the absence Of all charge Or
complaint sanct OAed by the Department.
D. Il. HIL1, 1t. Gen.
The following is the letter from the War Depart
mant to Gen. ID. II. Hill, who demanded an in
qniry into the OF his relief from command in
the Army Of Tennessee. Further reference Is un-
necessary. The letter from Adjutant- Genera
Cooper is sufficiently explanatory, and removes
the impstaiiOns that have been indulged In BY the
public and the press:
.ADJ'T AND INsP. GEMS OFFICE,)
Richmond, Nov. DO, 1863
Lieut. Gen. II. H. IfiH:
General: Your letter Of the 18th inst. request
ing that Court of Inquiry may be ordered TO in
vesligate your conduct while connected with the
army In Tennessee, has been submitted 10 the
Secretary of War. In reply, l. am instructed to
say that after careful consideration of the subject.
there does not appear any adequate cause to just
fy an order for such Court. No charges have been
preferred by your Commanding General or Others
against you and no complaint even of your military
conduct has been addressed to the Department You
have been simply relieved from duty AT the re-
quest of the Commanding General. Your own
military experience will readily satisfy you that the
relief of an officer frOha his command constitutes
no ground for Court of Inquiry, and to allow it
to be such could not fail TO be prejudicia to the
service. Other considerations than those Of mill
try delinquency, such as c0ntrarety OF views,
want of harmony, or the like, may have well in
dueed such application. Indeed, with an officer
Of your past service and approved gaiianIsy, mill
taTy delinquency Is presumption not tO be in
duiged by any one, and certainly not In the alb
sence of all charge or complaint sanctioned by
the Department. No injustice, therefore, is done
yOu As certainly reflection on your well earned
military reputati n is intended by The department,
Ia declining, from general considerations for the
interest of the service, TO grant Court OF Inquiry
your application.
Very respectfully, your obedicnt servant,
). COOPkR,
Adiutant and INSPECTOR General.