The Nashville daily union. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1862-1866, 1864-05-01
The Rebel General Johnston and the
Rebel Brmy Of Tennessee.

The Rebel General Johnston and the
Rebel Brmy Of Tennessee.
The correspondent Of the Mobile
Advertiser and Register thus writes
from Dalton, Georgia
am happy to be able to say that the
condition OF our army is splendid in
every respect. II is well fed, well clad
in excellent health, and in high and
hopeful spirits For the first time in
its history it has no barefoot soldier
Would you believe that at Cnickamauga
Gen. Bragg lost the service of four
thousand otherwise efficient men be
cause they were barefoot Creditit or
not, the statement is true. And yet
shoes were within reach Of ordinary
quartermasterial energy. The same
happened again at Missionary Ridge,
where men were so sorely needed, and
where the barefooted men, had they
been shod and present, might have
turned the fortunes Of that sad day.
But now every soldier has shoes.
But | seriously doubt whether there
is any General in the Confederate army
who fully appreciate the military value
of shoes. Certainly the quartermasters
do not A soldier, to be efficient, must
not only have shoes, but good shoes
well fitting, broad bottoms and plant.
Upon this depends his capacity for
marching and to move with consistency
and celebrity in battle. There is a quaint
and wise old military maxim: Horse
man. look TO thy horse; footman, look
to thy feet
General Johnston IS unquestionably
a great captain in the science of war.
In ninety days he has so transformed
this army that can find no words to
express the extent Of the transforma-
ton; but the word regeneration 1t is
a regenerated army. He found it nine
ty days ago disheartened, despairing,
and on the verge Of dissolution. BY
iUdicious measures he has restored con
fidence, re-established discipline and
exalted the hearts of his army. The
army of Tennessee, the most illstarred
and successless Of all our armies, has
:een its worst days.
Let lis hope that it will have mo
more retreats and no more defeats.
have a fgm faith now in the future
Of the army Of Tennessee, and its
great captain Let him but be unfet-
tered, and furnished with adequate
means, and al viii be well He IS very
fortunate in having such thorough sol
diers as Hood, and Hardee, and Stewart,
and Cejurne, 10 direct his columns
and execute his orders. With such
leaders il seems to me that defeat is
impossible. The intrepid dash and the
young, burning enthusiasm Of Hood are
directed by military genius, and con
trOlled by rare and high intelligence
Hardee Is always prompt, ready, perfect
and successful The calm, stole Stew
art, silent, stern, poised, imperturbable
never fails, never eTrs, and never dal-
lies. He is ever at the right place, at
the Opportune moment Cleburne is !
not merely, though he Is altogether, |
lion IN battle, but he has the genius to |
" ride upon the whirlwind and direct /
the storm" of the mighty conflict. With /
these generals there viii be no dalying, |
no blunders, no "lostopportunities, no /
of orders.
General Johnston has two modes Of /
deserters One is by liberal
furloughs, allowing al to 20 home by
turns, and the other IS by the inexora-
bic doom Of death to deserters. lie
has announced in general orders that
be viii grant no pardons, and the doom
ed must die The court martial have at
last come to discover the necessity Of
furnishing deserters with death, and
few now escape There are upwards Of
4 dozen soldiers now awaiting execution
Of the death penalty for desertion
Some are 10 hang, some to be shot
What General Johnston viii do or not
10 is a secret which he locks up in his
own breast He gives nobody so much
IS a wink or a nod upon which to hang
. conjecture We are now very close
leighbors to the Yankees. They run
ars to Ringgold, we iun cars to Tunnel
I'LL The two points are seven miles
part The Yankees are in force at
}inggold Half a days march by either
would jump up the other.