Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1874-06-19
to the rank of Corps Commander, to
replace General Polk.

to the rank of Corps Commander, to
replace General Polk.
We rode on together to Gen. John
ston's quarters, which we reached
short time after dawD / at once
sought Gen. Johnston, and inquired
INTO the cause of this order. lie r,-
piled that he did not know; the Pres
dent had seen TT to relieve him.
then insisted that he should pocket
that dispatch, leave me in command of
my corps, and fight the battle for At
lanta-at the same time directing his
attention to the approach of General
Sherman; alleging that the enemy I'M
less checked would in a few days cap
ture the city. TO this appeal he re-
piled that the President had seen fit to
relieve him, and it wonld have SO TO
be, unless the order was counternland-
ed. Lieutenant Generals Hartlee and
Stewart then joined me in a telegram
to the President, requesting that the
order for the removal of General
Johnston be postponed, at least till
the fate of Atlanta was decided. The
following extracts from Il letter of
Lieutenant General A. L. Stewart will
show that [ was DESTROYS that General
Johnston should remain in command:
ST. LOUIS, August :, 1872.
General j. Il. Hood:
My DEAR GENERAL-Your letter of
the 10Th ultlmo was received some
days since, and [ avail myself of the
first opportunity to answer it.
You ask me 20 send you ga state
ment of the facts as You Cd under
stand them, of the circumstances at
tending the removal Of General J. E.
Johnston from the command of cur
army. in Georgia in 1864, and your APP
appointment to succeed him. It
request. !
Monday morning DULY 49,, you will
remember, we met about sunrise in
the road near Johnston's headGuarters,
and then informed you of the object
Of seeking an interview, and that was
that We should all three unite in an
effort to prevail OF General Johnston
to withhold the order and retain COM
| mand of the army until the impending
battle should have been fought. |
can bear witness to the readiness with
which you cOncurred. We went to-
! gether to JOhnston's quarters, and YOU
and he had long conversation
with each other, which [ did
not hear. 1t the close Of it, however,
! you and Gen. Hardee and I went into
| the AdJutart Generals Office and to-
| gether prepared telegram to the
| President, stating that in our iudg-
| ment 1t was dangerous to change COM
! manders at that Juncture, and I, quest
| ing him to recall the order removing
Johnston. at least until the fate of At
lanta should be decided. That was
the substance; cannot remember the
language. An answer was received
that afternoon from the President de-
Ginning to comply with our request or
suggestion, on the ground that the or
der having been issued, it would do
more harm than good to recall OF sus-
pend it,
Very sincerely, yours,
ALEX. 2. STEWART,
Late Lieut.. General c. S. Army.
l here give the Presidents answer ia
our telegram
RICHMOND, July IS, 1864
To generals UO0d, I{prdco 0ld
iNeU0rf
Your telegram Of this date received.
A change of commanders under exist
ing circumstances was regarded as so
objectionable that / only accepted it
as the alternative of continuing a poll
cy which had proved disastrous. Re-
luctance to make the change induced
me to send telegram Of inquiry to
the commanding general on the 10th
inst. His reply but confirmed previ-
Gus approximations. There can be but
one question which you and l can en-
terrain, that is, what will best pro-
mote the public good ? and to each of
you [ confidently lcob for the sacrifice
of every personal consideration in con-
tiict with that object The order has
been executed, and [ cannot suspend
1T without making the case worse than
1t was before the order was issued.
JEFFERSON DAVIS.
I After the receipt Of the above tele-
| gram, | returned 10 Gen. Johnston's
room alone, and urged him. for the
| good of the country, TO pocket all the
correspondence, remain in command
and fight for Atlanta, as Sherman was
at the very gates of the city. To this,
my second appeal, he made about the
| same reply as IN the first instance. /
! then referred to the great embarrass-
| ment of the position III which / had
been placed, saying that | did not even
| know the position of the two remain
ing corps of the army.
With all the earnestness Of which
man is capable, l besought him, if he
would, under no circumstances, retain
command and fight the battle for At
lanta, to remain with me, at least, and
| give re the benefit of his counsel,
whilst [ determined the issue. NY
| earnest manner must have impressed
him, as finally, with tear of emotion
gathering in his eye. he gave me the
promise that after riding to Atlanta,
he would return that evening. AL
though our relations were the same
they had been throughout the cam
paign, friendly and cordial, he not
only failed to comply with his prom
Use, but, without a word OF explanation
or apology, left that evening for Ma
con, Ga. J. Il. HOOP.