The weekly standard. (Port Gibson, Miss.) 1865-1867, 1866-01-20
'V0E. I. J : 7 I !

elective sInfantfy cthefefdeg did not
exceed 10000 muskets, if it reached
that number. The cavalry divisions
were all weak, neither of them exceed
ing the strength Of aA good brigade.
The artillery was in proportion to the
other arms and was farT exceeded by
Grants, not only in the number of
.men and GINS, bnt in weight iohmetal,
and especially in quality of aminuni-
ton. Gen. Lees whole effective
strength, at the opening of the cam
paign, was not over fifty thousand
1 (50,0O0) men, of all arms. There were
no means of recruiting the ranks of
his army, and no reinforcements were
received until it reached Hanover
Junction on the 23d of May. It. WAS.
this force, therefore, which compelled
Grant, after the fghtingat the Wilder
ness and around Spottsylvania Court
House, including the memorable 18th
of May, to wait six days for reinforce
ments from Washington, before he.
could move, and bafied his fayorite
plan of reaching Richmond. At Ham
over junction Lee was joined by Pick
ett's division of Longstreet's corps,
one small brigade of nay division of
Ewells corps, which had been in North.
Carolina with Hoke, and two small
brigades, with a battalion of artillery,
under Breckenridge, which General
Grant estimates at $4,000, and which
was subsequently united to mine at
ILynchburg, didbnot exceed two thou
sand muskets At Coal Harbor, about
the 1st of June, Hoke's division, from
Petersburg, nioined GEN. Lee but
Breckenhages force was sent back inn
mediately after its arrival near that
place, on account of the defeat and
death of Gen. Wm, z. Jones, at Pied
ment, in Che Shenandoah Valley, and
Ewell's corps, with two battalions
of artillery, was detached. under my.
command, on the morning of the 18th
of June, to meet Hunter. This coun-
terbalancedr all reipforcements. The
foregoing statement, which fully covers
Gen. Lees strength, shows the dispar-i
ity of forces between the two armies in
the beginning, and it was never lessen
ed after they reached the vicinity of
Richmond and Petersburg, but was
greatly increased. The curious may
speculate as to what would have been
the result if the resources in men and
munitions of war of the two command
ers had been reversed, or if Lees
strength had approximated to Grants.
Occupying a neutral position, as be-
tween the Federal commanders, Grant
and Butler, and certainly having no
reason to admire the latter, I cannot
but be amused at the efforts of Grant,
by the use of few fash phrases, to
make Butler the scape-goat of all his
natures y0f2 uuf1f0oO
The disparity between the forces of
Sheridan and myself, in the Valley
campaign, was even greater than that
between Lee and Grant My forces
when arrived In front of the fortifca-
tionnas1 Of Washington, on the It'll of
July, 1864, was eight thousand $4,000
muskets, three small battalions of ar
,tillery, with about forty field pieces, of
which the largest were 12-pounder Ma
| poleons, and about two thousand bad
ly mounted and equipped cavalry, of
which a large portion had been de
atached to cut the railroads leading
from Baltimore, north. Gen. Grant
says that two divisions of the Sixth.
Corps and the adyanee. of the Nine
teenth Corps, arrived at Washington
before I did, and Mr. Stanton says i
was met there by the@Sixth Corps, a
part Of the Nineteenth Corps, under
Gen. Emory, and a part of the Eighth
Corps, under Gen. Gilmore My force
had then narchedS eyerGfvea hundred
miles, marching at least twenty miles
each day, except the day OF the fight at
Monocacy, when itI.lmpsr it marched b fourteen f9lreea
miles and fought and defeated Wal
laces il bra Hi17 ssl.:s4a dsas q sasv ri -eodT
At the battle of Winchester, or Ope-
qs1an, aslit is called by Gen. Grant, my
effective strength was about eight
thousand five hundred $500 mus.
kets, the three battalions of artillery,
and less than three thousand $4,000
cavalry. Sheridan's infantry consisted ste
of the Sixth, Nineteenth, and Cooks s
Cofpb conposed q of. zone tiisi-
sion Of0tAe Eighth Corps, and
what q was called j. the 4Arm3T Of
West Virginia. y Sons idea may BE
formed < Of the 81 strength sfsah of the Sixth