Des Arc weekly citizen., 1868-11-10
'Correspondence Norfolk yocrnS.J The Late General 1T. o. n1nd-
 man.

DEAR COLONEL Your own gallant conduct in the late war, and your devo- tion to the cause for which you fought, prompts me to presume upoa your kind ness to correct . statement which appears in your editorial columns tn the issue of October list. tn regard to Genersi T c.
 Hindman, late of Arkansas, whose recent assassination is fresh in the minds of all.
 1 quote from your article:
 "He { .encral Hindmsn) vas cot . very successful general, though consider ed very brave man" Allow me to remark that in the opin ion of many, General Hindman, as sol dier and commander, was successful {; measured by the san,e tests you would apply to l.oogstrcet. Hood and others of our prominent officers in the army of tho "Lost Cause"
 Your correspondent knew him well during the most arduous and trying part of his military career, and is prompted to this communication out of the regard he fees for his former association with him
 Early in tho war General Hindman organized and carried into service, what was then known as Hindmans Legion, a brave and gallant band of Arkansisns. He was promoted and made Brigadier General upon the recommendation of such men as Hardee and Sydney Johnson, for the soldierly qualities he displayed in the minor engagements and operations, prior to the fall of Fort Donelson. and for his conduct in the retreat to Nashville, made necessary thereby. But a short time elapsed before the desperate battle ot Shiloh was fought, and in that engage ment, 50 fatal to the fortunes of our Con federacy, by its want of results, General Hindmam fell, severely wounded by a shell, from the effects of which, he never fully recovered but not till'he had cover ed his command with glory, and won for himself, with Breckinridge, . Major Generals stars and, if am not mistaken, before his gallant rival, the lamcnted Cle- burne, of the same town and State, and been successful in securing his promotion to the same rank.
 In consequence of the effects of his wound uniting him for field service, Mir. Davis assigned him, at General Beaure- gards request, to the command of the Trans Mississippi Department, and there your correspondent first met him. Allow me to remark that it is perfectly impossi. be to conceive the condition of affairs which then existed in Arkansas and Texas
 Van Dorn had just left the State to join Beauregard, and had left only hospi- tals full of sick men, taking all others with him. There was not an organized and equipped body of troops of any kind in the State, and the Federal forces under General Curtiss were marching upon Lit tie Rock for the avowed purpose of cap turing it and organizing State govern ment. As if by magic, an army was call ed into being, and although the Missis sipn river WAS closed and no communica- ton could be had with General Beaure- gard, CT supplies obtained, he went vigor- cusiy to work, and threw up Notifications, erected arsenas and put them in success ful operation. brought forward Texas troops then being organized, and from raw, undisciplined mob he made an army. To do this strict discipline and harsh measures were necessary The Arkansas troops were mostly conscrip's, aud the Texans much dissatisfied by being dis mu,iny was open and avowed, snd nothing but the iron will and indom- table energy of General Hindman pre- vented the entire dsbandment of that ar my and the inevitable loss of Texns, Ar kansas and Louisiana to the Confectionery, which it could not then have survived.
 So every battle there ia secret his tory, and the battle of Prairie Grove, the only one he ever fought as an indepen- dent commander, is no exception to this rule. To enter into discussion of the causes which induced him to abandon the field for which he had fought and on which his troops were sleeping, under cover of nigh;, would only servo to p'o yoke controversy, which prefer to avoid, saying only that there are many men con versant with the whole subject who do not hesitate to attribute to other causes than a want of generalship on his part the loss of that campaign.
 Borne down by tbis want of success and the ou,cry which paralyzed Bragg, killed Sidney Johnston and ruined every man who attempted the role of disciplnarlan, General Hindman was relieved and order ed to Richmond. After presiding over the court martial for the trial of General Lowell, he was ordered to report to Gen eral Bragg. and commanded Withers' old division in the Army of Tennessee. In all the campaign from Chattanooga to At- lapta (save while under arrest after the battle of Chickamaugs for charges which were dismissed without trialD, his com mand was constantly in action, and he al ways led it, frequently setting as corps and invariably meeting with success in his operations.
 Other causes than military ones, for which 1 attempt no justification, are said to have caused him to leave Hoods army and there his military career closes
 Longstreet failed in his independent campaigns against Suffolk and Knoxville vet who dare say that he was an unsuc- cessful military man. Hood failed at Franklin and Nashville, but who will un dertake to strip from his brow one iaure, which Fame has so proudly entwlned there. Success is not the test of merit, nor the only proof of the existence of genius. ,., ;,
 To err is human. Hindman, like other men, had his faults, over which let char'- ty draw the veil, and let us who knew him remember only of the dead that which is good TRANs-Mississ'PP'.
 ... Tho pronrietors of the Little