, 1865-05-13
.nr1Y 0F TEE TENNESSEE.
Armlts that Have Never Recu yvhip.
ped.

tQ,4
English writers on the American war have
f,couently complaint d, and with some show
al ,easop. perhap7, Of the total disregard Of
usage and precedent In the conduct of the
p1cnt struanlc inst closed on this continent.
The admirable C1ichtons Of the British press
have worried continually over the fact that
Grant and Sherman and She; toao seemed to
bnye read Of Marlborough, wellington, and
Napoleon, to little purpose, and that instead
0: profiting oy the experience Of such illus
trious Captains, they conducted their battles
and moved their bait lions in way peculi-
arly their own. We arc sorry to have to add
TO The long list of instances furnishing fruit
entire history Of the Army OF tho Tennessee.
1t has 50 far violated all preccdents in ancient
as will as modern wsr are rs to have fought
for mur years without being whipped once.
No doubt our military cen-0rs over the water
will see in this fact convincing proof of that
lack Of discipline which they hnye so much
dcp1czed in our behalf. But tho truth of hlz-
ring the sneors Of Blaekspood, Or the con-
tempt Of the Saturday .Rtr3c,p, ind, therefore,
we must frankly own that the American war
has produced, among other "anomalIes," an
army that has never been whipped.
The history Of the Army. OF. The Tennessee
in the southwest-a history, 30 far as that
army is.s concerned, Of ytctoty-a history
Of bunan courage and endurance which no
other Wat has furnished. The heroes of
Donelson suffered hardships aud prlvations
paralleled ou1y at Valley Forge, In the R.vo-
lutiopary struggle, and in the midst Of rig.
orous winter won the first great victory OF
the war. The came men aftcrward stormsd
the dreadful heights OF Vicksburg under a
Tropical sun In midsummer, They have suE-
ft1ed everything but defeat, Death has de-
cimatcd their ranks, but dtsaonor has never
sullled their banners. They have been hun-
gry often, almost naked at times, chilled py
fIos' 8 in winter and scorched by heat in sum.
mer-but hare never been whipped.
No army has transformed so many bars aud
eagles into single aud double stars 81 the
Army Of the Tennessee. An opportunity to
command such men has, With any moderate
ability, invariably secured promotion. Grant
ade commander, and nearly all the general
officers entered ut the head Of companies or
regiments. 1t will not do togive all the credit
to good generalship; much is, doubtless, due
to iAis-much more to the individual courage
and yalcr to be found In tue ranks, among
men who lett home and friends. not to win
renown, but to save their country.
And not clntent with proving to the world
that an army can fight lor four years against
powerful foe, in strongholds pronounced
impregraLle, without ever yielding mile of
efourd once gained, or leaving the dead and
wounded Of a'slngle skirm.sh In the hands Of
tho enemy, the Army Of the Tennessee has
tttingly closed q glorious career by the most
rclnn.k kable march on rccord-one hundred
and fifty five miles through the pine swamps
Of North Carolina, and over the mud roads Of
Virginia, In five days and half.
The Army Of the Cumbe1 land Was, nt Chic
ama,iga, beaten back BY oyerpowsring nun
bers Concentrated against 1t from the Rapl-
dan to the Mississippi, and yet held the OBJ.
jectfve point Of its campaigu-Chattauo0ga
The Army Of the Potomac failed In grand Of
fensive operations Mt Fredericksburg and
Charlottesville, but was not defeated, aud
never !uiled 10 bent Its cneuics when assaifed.
lfany thing has distinguished our armies In
this great war more than another, 1t has been
the tenaci'y Of their grip. They never let 20
any tirst-class position In the South, with the
exception Of Atlanta, and that was done to
get a better hold. At the beginning, St.
Louis, Louisville, Washington and Baltimore,
Next, Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans, and
Norfolk, were contested places. Once ii our
possession they were never 1ellnqulshed.
There has been in the progress that We have
made the most impressive coustaucy. While
we have never surrendered IN army. (unless
the imbecl1e capitnlation at Harper's Ferry
is m excepti6n,) though marching vast dis
tanccs in the hostile country, and taking cx-
traordlnaty risks: the rebels have surren-
dered i've armies :. ist. That under Buckner,
at Fort Donelson, to Grant 2d. Pemberton,
ut Fickaburg, to Grant; Sd. Lee, at Apo
mattox Court House, to Grant 4th. john
Taylor, in Alabama, to Canby. As Of the
Old Guard Of Napoleon, 1t may be sad OF the
soldiers Of the Union, that they learned to
die, but uos to surrender.