The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1870-04-19
DAILY PRESS.
Tuesday Morning, April 10, 1870.
Remin niscences of Gen. Thomn. bv &C.,
sherman.
AoS1'IaAND, a


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Remin iscences of Gen. Thoms. bv g.,
sherman.
The telegraph furnished but a meaere ab-
stract of the address of Gen. Sherman on the
occasion of the memorial services to General
Thomas at the capitol Tuesday evening. The
address partook largely of personal Iecollec-
tions, among which were the following:
My thoughts naturally turn to that earlier pc
riod of his life, thirty years ago, when life was
fresh and new, when little was behind aud all
before him, when we used to see him in full
manly strength on the beach at Lauderdale,
fla., spearing the sharks in the surf, or hauling
in red fish, padding his canoe, and steering it
IN the intricate waves Of the Everglades, hunt
ing for our then willy foe; marching for days
ana weeks In the swamps, carrying his hve
days ratIons, to last ten; ping up the brush
TO make his bed above water; sitting by the
camp fire, testing the comparative merits of
the alligator and coon as human food; or Ia
ter still, at Fort Moultrie, when we were stu.
dying and practising the new tactics, reading
history, discussing the relative merits of the
old hint-lock and the new percussion musket;
experimenting with round shot, shrapnel and
canister; lamenting that our fate had been
cast In an era OF peace, and grumbling at the
slowness of promotion. Even then some of
us thought we discerned in our comrade Thorn
as some attributes of Washington. In our then
secasion at Fort Moultrie we heard the rum
bling of the storm gathering at the Southwest,
of the establishment of the camp of observa-
tion in Louisiana, and then of the army of oc-
cupation in Texas. Soon came an order for
Rragg's company to 60 to New Orleans, and
how we all envied them the opportunity for
glory and renown! Thomas was the first
lieutenant OF the company, and it fell to my
share to command the battalion-to escort
it to the beach on which lay the low, dark
brig Hayne, ready to convey them to their
destination. AS the men embarked in the
boats could not restrain the impulse to give
three hearty cheers for our comrades bound
for the war, and in return got a reprimand
from the commanding officer of the post, Ma
jor Robert Anderson, for making such unmili-
tary noise on the beach. Soon the Mexican
war scattered our little garrison, and few now
remain. Some were killed in battle; some lie
in the deep blue sea, and others fell victims to
disease; yet Thomas was spared. In 1854, as
captain OF artillery, he came to California,
where was citizen, and we there inter-
changed the memories and experiences of that
interval in our lives. He was then sent to
Fort Yuma, and did not meet him again un-
til the civil war brought us again together in
Washington. Our old captain, Robert An
derson, had become brigadier- general, and
was assigned to command in Kentucky. He
applied for the assistance of Buell., Burnside,
Thomas and Sherman, and know that in
order to secure for Thomas a commission of
brigadier-general he had to pledge his perso-
nal faith, he being Verginian, that he would
remain true and faithful to the Union cause.
You all know how that pledge has been re-
deemed. This carried Thomas to Kentucky,
and this period of his history leave to others.
In the old army was always above Thom-
as, and was commissioned brigadier-general
OF volunteers before the war; but the bat
tie of Mill Spring won for him fairly the
grade OF majOr-general, so that when events
brought us together on the battlefield of Shi-
lob he was my superior officer, and / was
to serve under him. But events soon led him
eastward and me westward, so that did not
meet him again until after Vicksburg had
fallen and had ieached Chattanooga. Then
we were co-equals in rank and command,
having the same commissions-a common su-
perior present. But General Grant was re-
quired to leave us and take supreme COM
mand of all the armies in the field, and to
me was assigned the Army of the West, of
which General Thomas's command 1.-THE Army
of the Cumberland) formed part. He was
perfectly content, and often assured me-of
what knew full well-that he always shrank
from high and delicate responsibility. Dur
ing the whole of the Atlantic campaign there
was hardly day but we spent hours togeth-
er, and never made change in the subor-
dinate parts of his command without his
hearty consent. could fill pages of personal
"reminiscences of that period of his life, but
purposely abstain that others who were also
with him may illustrate it from their memo
ries. will only repeat that the last move
ment which resulted in the battle of Jones'
boro' and the occupation of Atlanta, was de-
layed nearly week in Difference to his usual
~-..+:---- --a-:-- I~t---a-e- 10 made, and
resulted in complete success, he was the first
to recognize it, and manifested his feelings of
delight in manner quite unusual for him.
When the war was over, Gen. Thomas
stood, deservedly, most high in the estimation
OF all. AS soon as the armies were discharged,
hurried 10 Nashville to see him, and know
that he preferred to remain in the command
OF the Department of the Cumberland, as he
said, to complete the records of its history.
His habits were slow, methodical and simple.
He wrote huently, neatly and well and when
the historian comes to seek for the accurate
statistics Of the war, 1 am sure he will find
those ofthe Army the Cumberland thorough
and complete.
During the administration of Mr.. johnson,
L have reason to know, he was offered other
and higher commands, but he declined them,
and when changes were made incident to the
elevation of General Grant to the presidency
know that he was consulted. He was here
in Washington at the time, and 1 repeatedly
assured him of the Presidents best wishes
and high regard assured him that he could
have the division of the Pacific, then held by
Gen. Halleck; or that the Department of the
Cumberland would be enlarged to any extent
he wanted. At first he thought that because
he had for so many years served on the ex-
treme frontier he was entitled to an eastern
station; but he at once realized that General
Meade, his senior, who had been already
named, had the better claims for the division
of the Atlantic; therefore he elected to be as
signed to the division OF the Pacific. He
chose it freely and knowingly, for he had been
there. He knew the importance of the COM
mand that San Francisco was one of the
most thriving and agreeable cities in our
country and was proverbial for its healthful
climate. l cannot learn that he had any
doubts or misgivings to the contrary, and
when we look for the cause of death appre-
hend it will be found far back, and may be
traced to past exposures, to the long, weary
days and nights incident to his life, to the
deep mental struggles that ever attend tu-
mults and wars, and to the providence of
God that rues all THINGS for the hest