The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1863-09-19
Bragg's Army. and why ft retreat
ed from ChattanOOga.

Gu kEOAs
A correspondent of the New York Her
aid, writing from the army of the Cumber-
land, says-the force defending Chatta
nooga is the old army of Bragg, of two
corps, each Of two divisions. But there are
many. very many, changes in it since the
time it held Middle Tennessee. 1 have
prided myself on knowing as much about
Bragg's army as csuld be learned by the
best systems Of espionage: but l confess l
am now lost in the multitude of changes
which have taken place. The willy Bragg,
himself disgraced, had damned the rebel
Confederacy and JEFF. Davis, and has re-
tired to the bosom of his family, at Atlanta,
having previously tried to redeem his char
acter for unrelenting cruelty by turning
ed to death for struggling. jeff. Davis is
said to have sent him word that ''if he had
no better use for his soldiers than to shoot
them, to send them to him. -..s-.-...
So Bragg, the disciplinarian, turned his
condemned ones loose, at the same time
proclaiming forgiveness to all deserters
who might return Immediately. Butlately
gallant Joe Johnston, thinking the hills
around Chattanooga an excellent protec-
ton for his sacred and important person,
has relieved Bragg and taken command
himself. Hardee, disgraced by going to
picnic with the Lincolnite ladies' of Shelby
vile, and allowing cold Rosey'' to take
possession of the gaps of Middle Tennes-
see, has been relieved of his command, and
Lieut.. Gen. A. P. Hill now commands it.
Bishop Polk still remains in command of
his corps. But Bragg's .fayorite, Withers,
has got Disguised with the ungrateful ser
vice of the rebellion and has resigned
His division, encamped on Chattanooga
Creek, is now commanded py Brlgadler
General Dogs, formerly Colonel of the I'D
Alabama. Cleburne, the little Irishman,
and Stewart, the little pleasant hammered,
but somewhat foppish Tennessean, remain
constant to the cause, and their divisions
Of Hills corps, as does Cheatham, OF POLK 8
corps. Col. Strowbridge, lst Louisiana, is
Post Commandant at Chattanooga, and his
regiment, is headquarters guard. Straul
and ROddy are made Brigadier Generals.
Morgan is gone, and Forrest aspires to his
place and his renOwn. 4, @ ..
But these are the. changes of the surface
the wrinkles on the face. There are more
dangerous changes at the bottom OF the
channels there are deadlier changes nearer
the heart. When the army left Murfrees-
boro to attack Bragg at the gap, it was es-
timated he had thirty-nine Thousand three
hundred men-in round numbers. forty
thousand. He lost two thousand i've hun
dred by capture. The number OF deserters
il simply incalcuable. l have no doubt in
my mind that he has lost ten thousand
men since his retreat began. The logic by
which arrive at this conclusion is to be
found in the books Of the Provost Marshal
General. l am told by Captain Cosper,
Assistant Provost Marshal, that the num-
Der of deserters now in, since July lst,
reaches over five thousand. The greater
part of these have been paroled to so home
or North, aud are never likely to see
Dixie" again until the war is over.
Colonel X. w. McClaiD, 51st Ohio 1nfan-
try, Provost Marshal at McMinnville, re-
ports that 6l5 rebel soldiers, deserters from
Bragg's army, had been paroled by him
from the 7th Of July to the 10th Of August.
These are all men just from Bragg's army.
He also says that 96S citizens had volun-
tarily taken the oath of allegiance, and l55
had taken the non-combatant oath and
parole. Were these numerous desertions
from Kentucky and Tennessee regiments,
as they have hitherto uniformly been, they
would argue nothing more than disposf-
ton to get home. They would not indicate
an increase of the decentralization affecting
Brags's army. But as rats desert q sink
ing shin - so are the rebel soldiers DESERT
ing their armies. They begin to look ont
for No. I, and seek safety, by desertion,
for fear there never may be an amnesty de-
sared DesertiOns are now common from
regiments from all the rebel States. few
moments since, six deserters from the 5th
Arkansas were brought in. In list which
casually glanced at in the Provost Mar
shafs office, saw the names of deserters
from the 7th and 9Th mississippi, oth and
18th Arkansas, 4th, 18th, 26th, 49th and
5Oth Alabama, lst Louisiana and Sd Con-
federate. Even the Georgians are desert
ing-the flower of the western rebel armies
As they call themselves. The motive pow
er inducing these men to resign is nothing
less than the 'first law of nature" self
preservation, and they each snd all have a
greater love for themselves than Tor the
despotism they have served SO long. Hun
dreds of deserters have said that there are
thousands of men in the mountains wait
ing our coming to desert TO US. Ii the Ten
nessee did not present barrier, to them
impassable, the number of 4eserters now
In our hands would be doubled. Another
Such retreat as his last and Bragg is lost
Standing siege in his present stronghold,
MS army would eventually be forced TO
surrender. Dispensing in the mountains,
would be picked up by piece-meal by our
cavalry, successfully retreating. it would
De De totally and irretrievably demoralised.
Ihere can be no invasion OF Kentucky to
save 1t. 1t is therefore lost, whatever it
may do