Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1869-04-10

General Johnston, accompanied by two
member of his staff, came in from Can.
ton. Johnston Immediately recogniz ID
Bell with the words:
So you have come back from Grant s
lines ?"
Calling him into his private Office, be
spread map, which be produced from
his breast pocket, upon the table, and
began to question Bell eagerly as TO the
information which he had obtained from
| the Union army.
Johnston was at this time meditating
an attack on Grant, possibly in coDjuuc.
ton with the force in Vicksburg, for the
purpose of attempting to break the siege,
and he was urged to this action by daily
kilograms from Davis at Richmond. The
President foresaw the disasters which
would inevitably follow the fall of Vicks-
burg, and he desired that the whole
available force of the Confederacy should
be interposed to prevent such result.
Bell knew these facts, and knew, also,
that general engagement at the present
time with Johnston's army would be
hazardous to Grant. Whenever, there
foro, he could mislead Johnston as to the
defensive capacity of the Union army, he
felt it his duty to do so, and he gave his
estimate of Grants force at eighty.eight
thousand instead of sixty-five thousand,
which was his real strength. Johnston
decided not to attack Grant at that time,
as the result, perhaps, of this impression
given him by Bell; and when, several
days later, he learned that Bell had mis-
led him, and moved his army forward to
the banks of the Big Black river, Vicks-
burg had just surrendered.
He was confronted by the rear of
Grants army under Sherman, and speed
lily compelled TO retrsce his steps to
Jackson. That city had been abandoned
by the Union troops when they moved
westward, aud was now again in the pos
session of the Confederates.
During the first week of July, Bell re-
turned to Panola, where. Chalmers had
again taken up his headquarters, and re.
ported to his commanding officer. Find
ing that there was nothing going on that
would be of interest to General Hurlbut,
he decided to return to Johnston's army
in order to watch its movements, and re-
port them to General Sherman. He
therefore applied to General Chalmers
for an order directing to report to John
stoD, which he obtained, as follows:
HEADQRs FIFTH MIL. DIsT.)
DEPT. MISS. AND b. Ia. 7
PAYoLA, July 8, 1881
Special Order No..
Lieutenant Charles Pierson will report
for duty with Captain Sam'l Henderson,
commanding Confederate scouts, at Gen
eral Johnston's headquarters. By order
Of Brigadier General Chalmers.
w. A. GOODMAN, A. A. Gen.
Vicksburg, with happy and surpris-
ing coincidence, which seems peculiarly
to have marked many of the great events
and circu m stances in the life of General
Grant, had fallen on the 4th of July, the
anniversary of national independence.
Johnston was making stand at Jack
sou against the advance of that portion
of the victorious Union troops under
command of General Sherman.
Bell procured transportation for him.
self and horse as far as Canton, and find
ing railroad communication cut off from
there to jackson, mounted his horse and
proceeded to the latter place, stopping
over night on his way at house in the
pine woods on the east side of Pearl
river.
As be approached Jackson in the
morning, he heard the continuous roar OF
artillery and the rattle of musketry. An
attack had been made by General Lam
man, but it had been done from misap-
prehension of orders. A single Union
division had attacked the whole rebel
army, and was repulsed with a loss of
about eight hundred men. Bell saw large
numbers of Federal wounded brought into
the Confederate lines in ambulances,
maugled and blood-stained, and many
of them suffering the intensest agony.
The Confederate surgeons attended them,
and Bell thought that some of them man
ifested AN undue recklessness in ampu-
tating the limbs of Union soldiers when
their wounds we're quite slight, and sp-
pareutly did not warrant so serious an
operation but the idea that this ives
actually done to render them unfit for
future service, seemed too bsrbarous to
be entertained 10 passing the hospital,
on the same day, he shuddered at the
sight of pile of legs and arms that had
been cut from the living bodies of brave
men, as the horrid but necessary con-
comitant of the ravages of great bat
tie.
Before reporting to Johnston, Bell
passed about the city, aud observed care
fully the Notifications and the position
of the troops aud trains of Johnston's
army. He then, late in the efternoon,
handed in the order which be had re-
ceiyed from General Chalmers. John
s,on viewed Bell with evident disfavor,
bnt allowed him to 90 out to Heuderson's
camp, at q cane,brake back Of jackson.
in the vicinity OF the Pearl river. After
remaining two days about the lines, Hen
derson sent for him and said that he had
more scouts than be could employ, and
endorsed on the back of the order which
Bell had brought 8 direction to report
back for duty to General Chalmers.
As a further evidence that Johnston
regarded him With slight degree Of suss
picion since being Hisled in reference 10
the strength of Grants force, the scout
found that an officer, who WAS going on
furlough nearly to Grenada, on the roas
toward Pamela, proposed to accompany
him on his journey. To this, Of course,