Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1865-12-14

mattox rivers, the enemy intrenching
himself str,Nugly in his front, thus Gov
erIng his rsilr, Nads, the city, and all that
was valuable TO h I'm, His army, there
fore, though In a pos ton of great secu-
rlty, was as completely shut on nom
all further operations against hlehmond
as if it had been In bottle strongly
corked. 1t required but comparative
ly small force OF the enemy TO hold 1t
there"
In reference to Gen. Sigel, who by
some means had got separated from
Gen. Averill with whom he was to have
co-operated in certain demonstrations
upon the Virginia and Tennessee rail
road, the report says;
General Slgel moved up the Shenan-
doah Valley, met the enemy at New
Market on the 10Th Of May, and, after
severe engagement, was defeated, with
heavy loss, and retired behind Cedar
Greek. Not regarding the operations of
General Sigel as satisfactory, | asked
his removal from command, and General
Hunter was appointed TO supersede
him"
Gen. Hunter was ordered to reach
Lynchburg If possible, and destroy the
James River canal, but failed, and was
compelled to fall back. In reference to
his movements Gen. Grant concludes the
account 10y saying;
"Had General Hunter moved by way
of Charlottesville, instead OF Lexing-
ton, as his instructions contemplated,
he would have been in a position to have
covered the Shenandoah Valley against
the enemy, should the force he met have
seemed to endanger It. If it did not he
would have been within easy distance
Of the James River Canal, on the main
line of communication between Lynch
burg and the force sent for its defence,
have never taken exceptions to the OPP
erations of General Hunter, and / am
not disposed uow to find fault with him,
for / have no doubt he acted within
what he conceived to be the spirit of
his instructions and the interests of the
service The promptitude Of his move
ments and his gallantry should entitle
him to the commendation of his cOun-
try"
The enemy emboldened by their par
tial success, proceeded to execute one Of
their favorite "back- door approaches
towards Pennsylvania and Washington.
The importance of taking care Of that
region, the impossibility Of forwarding
dispatches speedily from City Point, and
| other considerations induced the Lieu
tenant General To secure the appoint
ment OF Gen. Sheridan to the command
of all the forces against Early who at
that time, Aug. 5, had concentrated his
forces near Winchester. The two Gen
erals with their armies watched and
skirmished with each other for month
or more, when Gen. Grant feeling uneasy,
and not knowing exactly how Gen. sher
idan felt, says finally:
81 left City Point on the 18th of Sep
TENDER to visit him at his headquarters,
to decide, after conference with hiE,
what should be done. l met him at
Charleston. and he pointed out SO dis
tinetly how each army lay, what he
could do the moment he was authorized,
and expressed such confidence of sue
cess, that saw that there was but two
words of instruction necessary-Go IN !
For the convenience Of forage, the teams
for supplying the army were kept at
Harper's Ferry. l asked him if he could
| get out his teams and supplies in time
to make an attack on the ensuing Tues
day morning. His reply was that he
| could before daylight Monday. He was
| Off promptly to time, and / may here
add that the result was such that have
never since deeme it necessary to visit
Gen. Sheridan before giving him orders.
General Sherman moved from Chatta
nooga on the 9th of May. His move
ment to Atlanta Is declared to have beer
prompt, skillful and brilliant. "Th'
history of his flank movements and bat
ties during that memorable campaign
will ever be read with an interest I'm
surpassed by anything in history
: Meanwhile General Thomas had seei
placed in command at Nashville. ant
Hood instead Of following Gen, sher
man ON his march to Savannah, moveC
northward (which" says Gen. Grant
I, "seemed to me to be leading to his certai
doom. At all events, had had the pow
, er to command both armies, shoul
, not have changed the orders unde
which he seemed to be acting
Gen. Thomas attacked Hood befpr
Nashville on the 18th of December, de
, feated and drove him from the fell
: with terrible loss. In reference to tn
5 movements of those two Generals, tn
report says. .-.
Before the battle Of Nashville,
{ grew very impatient over as 1T appeare
q to me the unnecessary delay. This i'm
patience was increased upon learniD
that the enemy had sent force OF cav
airy across the Cumberland river Int
r Kentucky. I feared Hood would eros
r. his whole army and give US great troy
d BILE there. After urging upon Gener!
,f Thomas the necessity of immediatel
assuming the offensive, started west
superintend matters there in perso
70 Reaching Washington city, 1 receive
le General Thomas dispatch, announcir