Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-05-13
SHERMAN'S MEMOIRS.
The Autobiography OF william To-
cumseh-IncIdenfs Of the War.
~ vi Harald-

The Autobiography Of william To-
COMMUNICATIONS Of the War.
New York Herald.
Sherman shows that he can WELD the
pen as well as the sword. His style is as
much his own as that Of Cesar or Ma
poleon. 1t is winning style. We see a
gifted man telling his life in a plain, art
less fashion, but with trenchant rhetoric.
Whenever an opinion is demanded he gives
it. His picture Of the early days in Cali
fornia is as graphic as a chapter from Sir
Walter Scott. Now and then there are
criticisms upon his contemporaries which
will provoke comment; but plainly enough,
Sherman means what he says. This is the
value of the work. We are glad the Cen
eral has written it. In many cases it throws
new light upon the rebellion.
BULL RUN.
Sheman's comment upon this battle is
characteristic. sit is generally admitted
that that was one of the best planned bat
ties of the war, but one Of the worst fought
Our men had been told so often at home
that all they had to do was to make a bold
appearance and the rebels would run, and
nearly all of us for the first time then
heard the sounds of cannons Eand muskets
in anger, and saw the bloody scenes COM
mon TO battles, with which we were soon
to be familiar. We had no organization,
good men but no cohesion, no real discip-
line, no respect for authority, no real
knowledge Of war. Both armies were
fairly defeated, and whichever had stood
fast the other would have run. Though
the North were overwhelmed with mOrti-
fication and shame, the South really had
not much to boast of, for in the three or
four hours fighting their organization was
so broken up that they did not, and could
not, follow our army when it was known
to be in a state of disgraceful and causeless
flight. II is easy to criticise battle after
it is over, but all now admit that none
others, equally raw in war, could have
done better than we did at Bull Run, and
the lesson of that battle should not be lost
on a people like ours"
GRANT UNDER A CLOUD.
After Shiloh Gen. Halleck came and took
the field, and Gen. Grant, after winning
this battle, was substantially left out and
was named second in command, according
to some French notion, with no clear, we'll
defined command or authority" "FOr
more than month Grant thus remained
without any apparent authority, frequently
visiting me and Others, but rarely COM
planning; but 1 could see how deeply he
felt the Indignity if not the insult heaped
upon him." This overwhelming Of Grant
continued for a short time and evidently
moved Sherman's sympathies toward his
commander. One evening he learned that
Grant had asked for thirty days leave and
was going TO depart the next morning. "Of
course, we all knew" says Sherman, ''that
Grant was chatting under the Sights of his
anomalous position, and l determined to
see him on my way back. His camp was
short distance off the Monterey road in the
woods, and consisted of four or five tents
with a sapling railing around the front.
As l rode UP, Majors Rawlings, Logan and
Hillyer were in front Of the camp, and
piled up near them were the usual
effects and camp chests ready for start
ing in the morning. l inquired for
the General, and was shcwn to his
tent, where l found him seated upon
a camp stool, with some papers on a rude
camp table. He seemed to be employed in
asserting letters and tying them up with
red tape into convenient bundles. After
passing the usual compliments l enquired
if it were true that he was going away. He
said, Yes ! then inquired the reason.
He said: Sherman, you know. You know
that l am in the way here. l have stood it
as long as l IAN, and can endure it no
longer l inquired where he was going to.
He said, st. Louis 1 then asked if he
had any business there and he said, Not a
bit Ithen begged him to stay, lustrat-
ing his case by my own. Before the bat
tie Of Shiloh hadibeen cast down by "a
mere newspaper assertion Of crazy But
that single battle had given me new life,
and now was in high feather. l argued
with him that if he went away events
would 90 right along and he would be left
out, whereas if he remained some happy
accident might restore him to favor and
his true place. The result was that Gen.
Grant remained, and in a short time, by
the removal Of Halleck to Washington, be-
came the commander Of the Army
SHERMAN on POLITICS.
There is a long letter from Sherman to
Halleck, written on the 18th Of September,
1868, in which he gives his ideas about the
rebellion and its possible future. Lin
coin was anxious to publish this letter, but
Sherman would not consent TO il. He Op-
posed the revival Of State governments in
the South. Two more battles would have
to be fought before there could be civil
order, zone near Meridian, in November,
and one near Shreveport, in the spring"
A for the farming and artisan class in the
South they were the real third estate aud
would mOve,with the politicians. As for
the Union men Of the South, they were be-
meath contempt, and the "yOUng blOOds"
sons Of planters, lawyers, they were good
billiard players and sportsmen, but they
never did any work and never will. "War
suits them and the rascals are brave, fine
riders, utterly reckless, who must all
be killed or employed before there can be
peace" "Civil government would be re-
diculOus." There should only be "milita-
~ rule" until the armies Of the South
were conquered. The Union should be
paramount, and there could be no comprO-
mise and the war must be fought out
TO the end. If this letter had been pub
lished al the time it would have made a
profound impression, but Sherman was
resOlute in his determination not to take
any part in politics.