Daily union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1865-1866, 1866-01-02
Union and American.
LETTER FROM GEN. EARLY.

He Does mot Want n Parslon-k History
ofthe Campaigns-The Real strength
Of the Confedcrates-Gene EarIy,s
DEMONSTRATION ON washingten-The
Strength of His FSrces-HiStory Of
His Valley Campaign, etc.
To the Editor of the New York Timesl
HAVANA, Dec is, 1S65.-Having seen it
stated in several papers published in the
United States that / am an applicant for
pardon, l desire to say, through your
columns, thatthere isno truth whateverinthis
statement i have neither made nor author
lied such application, and would not accept
pardon from the President of the United
States if gratuitously rendered me without
conditions or restrictions of any kind.
have nothing to regret in the course pursued
by me during the war, except that my SER
vices were not of more avail to the cause
for which / fought; and my faith in the
justice of that cause is not at all shaken by
the result.
l have not given parole or incurred any
obligation to the authorities of the United
States, and utterly disclaim all allegiance
to, or dependence upon, the Government Of
that -ountry.s l am voluntary exile from
my own country, because | am not willing
to submit to the foreign yoke imposed upon
it. All declarations attributed to me which
are inconsistent with the above statement,
are entirely without foundation, and hope
there will he no further misapprehension as
to my position.
The reports of the campaigns of 1864 and
1865 by Secretary Stanton and Lieut.. Gen.
Grant, recently published, contain many err
roneous statements which do great injustice
to the Confederate armies. The press in the
Southern States is at present efectually muz-
zled by military rule, and the Confederate
cause has no appropriate organ by which the
ears of the world can be reached. The time
will arrive, however, when true history of
the warfare can be written so as to enable
foreign nations and posterity to do justice to
the character of those who have sustained
so unequal a struggle for all that is dear to
man. In anticipation of that time, | will
call attention to some facts which will show
the tremendous odds the Confederate armies
had to encounter.
Mr.. Secretary Stanton's report shows that
the available strength present for duty in
the army with which Gen. Grant commenced
the campaign of 1864 was on the 1st of
May, 1864, as follows:
Army of the Potomac (under Gen. Meade) 120 3S6
Ninth Army Corps (under Gen. Burnside) D.IsO
Aggregate, ,l66
Besides this, he says the chief part of the
force designed to guard the Middle Division
and the Department of Washington, "was
called to the front to repair losses in the Ar
my of the Potomac" which doubtless was
done before that army left the vicinity of
Spottsylvania Court House, as Gen. Grant
says: "The 18th, 18th, 10Th, 18th, 18th and
18th (of May, 1864, )were consumed in ma
neuvering and waiting for reinforcements
from Washington" and Mr.. Stanton says
the sending of these troops to the front
caused the detaching from Gen. Lees army
of the force under me to threaten Baltimore
and Washington. The available strength of
the forces in those departments, on the lst OF
May, according to Mr.. Stanton's report, was
as follows:
In the Department of washington-........42,l
In the Middle Departm ent........-..''' o,6zT
Aggregate. .................47,7 ,7a
of which it may be safely assumed that at
least 10000 men were sent to the front, as
General Grant says that, when approached
Washington the garrisons of that place and
Baltimore were made up of heavy artillery
regiments, hundred days men, and detach-
ments from the Invalid Corps" and hence
it became necessary to send troops from his
army to meet me- This, therefore, made an
army of 10000 men which General Lees
army had to meet before, as / will show, it
had received any reinforcements whatever.
This estimate does not include the re-en-
foreements received in the way of recruits
received from voluntary enlistments and the
draft, which were entirely going on, nor does
it include re-enforcements from the North
ern Department and the Departments OF the
East and the Susquehanna, where there were,
by Mr. Stanton's showing, 1884 available
men for duty, the greater part of which, 1t
is presumed, were sent to Grant, as, other
wise. they might have been brought to
Washington to meet my force with more ease
than troops from his army.
General Lees army at the beginning OF
the campaign, consisted of two divisions OF
Longstreet's Corps. EwelPs Corps, A. Z:
HilPs Corps, three divisions of cavalry and
the artillery. / commanded, at different
times during the campaign, Hills and Ew-
ellis Corps, and am, therefore able to state
very nearly the entire strength of the army.
Ewelps Corps, to which L belonged, did not
exceed 14,O00 muskets at the beginning OF
the campaign When l was placed in COM
mand of Hills Corps on the 9Th of May, by
reason of General HIPS sickness, its effect
i've strength was less than $4,000 muskets,
and it could not ve.exceeded $4,000 IN
the beginning. Longstreet's Corps was the
weakest of the three when all the divisions
were present, and the two with him had just
returned from an arduous and exhaustlng
Winter campaign in East Tennessee. HIS
effective strength could not have exceeded
8;o09 muskets. General Lees whole effect
i've infantry, therefore, did not exceed 40
600 muskets, if it reached that number
The cavalry divisions were all weak, neither
of them exceeded the strength OF good
brigade The artillery was in proportion to
the other arms, and was far exceeded by
Grants mot only in the number OF men
and guns, but in weight of metal, and espe-
cially in the quality of the ammunition.
General Lees whole effective strength at the
opening of the campaign was not over
$4,000 men of all arms. There were no
means of recruiting the ranks OF his army,
and no re-enforcements were received until
it reached Hanover Junction, on the 23d OF
May. 1t was this force, therefore, when
compelled Grant after the lighting at the
Wilderness and around Spottsylyanla court
Honse. including the memorable 18th OF
May, 10 walt SIX OdSs iON lO-ChioASSHh~"'
from Washington before he could move,
and baffled his favorite plan of reaching
Biz hmond. At Hanover Junction General
Lee was Joined by Pickett's division OF
Longstreet's corps, one small brigade of my
division of EwelPs corps, which had been in
North Carolina with Hoke, and two small
brigades with battalion of aztAElery, under
Breckinridge. This force under Breckin-
ridge, which Gen. Grant estimates at
Is, 600, and which was subsequently united
to mine at Lynchburg, did not exceed 1000
muskets. At Coal Harbor, about the LIST OF
June, Hoke's division, from Petersburg
Joined Gen. Lee, but Breckinridge's force
was sent back Immediately after its arrival
near that place, on account Of the defeat
and death of General VIM. E Jones at
Piedmont, in the Shenandoah Valley, and
Ewell's corps, with two battallions OF artii-
lery, was detached under my command on
the morning of the 18th of June to meet
Hunter. This counterbalanced all re-en-
forcements The foregoing statement, which
fully covers General Lees strength, shows
the disparity of forces between the two
armies in the beginning, and it was never
lessened after they reached the vicinity oi