The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1870-04-21
Sherman and Logan.


Major General James B. Mcpherson
commanded thehistoric Army Of tho
Tennessee, consisting Of tho 18th
Corps. General John A. Logan,
commanding; the 18th Corps, Gen. G.
NJ. Dodge, commanding; and the
18th Corps, Con. F. P. Blair, CON-
manding.
At high noon Of that day. rebcl
bullet sent Mcpherson, booted aud
spirred into tho presence Of his Ma
ker, and General John A. Logan, by
virtue Of his rank as the senior Corps
commander Of that army, assumed
command, and fought that sanguina-
ry battle to successful conclusion.
BY oil military rules and precedent,
General Logan was legitimatcly
entitled TO the command made va
cant by tho death of McP Phcrson, and
ho was moreover the ideal soldier,
and the first choice Of nia -tenths of
tho rank and flo Of that army ncv-
ertheless, General Sherman, for
reasons doubtless satisfactory 10
himself, saw lit TO 50 to another
army, to-wit: the army Of the Cum
berland, and from it select Maj. Gen.
O. .. Howard, an army Of tho Poto-
mac officer, and transferred him to
the army Of the Tennessee, and
assigned him to the command oft over
Logan and against tho wishes of a
vast majority ofthat army.
General Howard was q Regular
and friend and chum of Sherman's,
and Logan only belonged to the vol.
unteers. From that day to this,
Logan has been the determined and
vindictiye enemy Of the regular
branch of tho service.
Recently his Uncle, General John
Logan, late Colonel of the 3lst Ills.,
has been removed rs Marshal of
Illinois, and Colonel Routt appoin-
ted in his stead, and this has only
aided "Black Jack +" to nurse his
wrath to keep it warm.
We have made these statements
to enable tho public to understand
Logan's animus in making his raid
against tho Regular Army, and its
! officers.
Tn tho original new army bill, it
was provided that tho Indian Bureau
should be transferred to tho War
Department. where it properly he
longed, but Logan, in parsuaAeo Vi
his sweet revenge, moved to strike
that clause out, because of the then
newspaper report that regular Off.
Ger to.wit: Colonel Baker, had rather
irregularly killed some Pigean Indi.
ans out in Montana.
Tho Pigeans had boon killing and
scalping whito people in Montana
and in answer to importunate appeals
for protection from that people, Gen,
Sheridan, at Chicago, o thousand
miles away, telegraphed Baker, ''i1
the peace and quiet of tho people Of
Montana require that the Pigear
Indians should be struck, strike them
hard" and in pursuance of that or
der, Baker struck them very hard
and of course, as always happens il
the cruel and bloody alternative o
war, some fow non-combatants suff
red, but peace has reigned in Mon
tana since.
| This afforded however, the dema
gogues plea for another raid agains
Sheridan and Logan and the Copper
head allies Of his for the time being
were not slow to use it thorefor'
Sheridan was snubbed, and the Army
Bill had the Indian Bureau cmascu
lated from its provisions.
Furthermore. the Bill imposed tn
most odious and disgracefal task upol
the President, Of mastering out ant
reducing down the rank.of certain 0
tho General officers OF the army, an,
if the Bill had passed in time, ant
Thomas were unfortunately livini
to-day, the President would be a
this time, perhaps, hcsitating whcth
er to dispense with tho services o
the "Rock of Chickamauga"-th
hero Of Nashville, or tho gallant am
modest Meade, who gave us Gettys
burg, and tho first substantial victor.
to the Union arms east of tho ALE
ghanics.
The glory of Mcpherson, Thomas
Meade, Hancock and Schotield, is th
glory of the men who fought unde
them to make thcm great. Thci
greatness is the greatness Of tn
common soldier personitied. iol
cannot degrade them, or strip thcr
OF their rank or honor, without insul
ting or degrading tho mon VIII
fought under them to make then
heroes.
Reader, fyou can imagiue in you
minds eye, France reducing Dessai
to his rank as common soldier q
the close of the Italian Campaign
or England mastering out Colont
Wellesley down to his original CON
mand of q regiment, and thus wipin
out and obliterating the immort:
uame Of Wellington from histor,
then you can have somo adequat
conception Of the pucrilc efforts {
I General .'otn A. Logan in q fit {
I personal luminosity 10 rob the n,