The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1876-05-10

IenneaSee river. This movement
|threakened fheY very vitals of the Con.
fedetScy and it was necessary to com.
pei Buell. to- fail back. Gen. Brace
the rebel commandor, not feelimc
strong senoIgh Ito make direct at'
tack. resolved to accomplish by STRAIT.
|egy that which he was unable to do hv
Fforce OF arms. For this reason the in
VISION OF Kentucky was planned.
Bragg crossed the Tennessee river at
OF near Chattanooga, assembled the
Cumberland mountains, thence down
into the Sequatchy valley, from which
position he could strike for Nashville
or louisville as circumstances micht
seem to direct: This movement Buell.
saw at once threatened his entire line
OF communication. 1t was evidently
bragg 3 intention. to move on Nash
vile, but BY the rapid movement Of
Gen. Buell. he kept his army at all
times between the rebel army and it's
objective point. 49,. ~S--~,1
SO soon as Bragg discovered that he
could not hope to reach Nashville
without a battle, he detected his
course and marched upon Louisville.
This movement was promptly met, and
for some days the question seemed to
be, which army will reach that .city
first! ~ WY
In Louisville the rebel element was
IN fine spirits, while the Union people
seemed greatly depressed. At last the
advance. guard of Buell's. dusty vet
Grams, entered the city and ioy. and
gtadness filled the hearts of the loyal
people. The streets were filled with
the populace and from doors, windows
and balconies ladies and children
waved handkcrchiefs and tiny flags in
exuitation over their deliverance from
anxiety and fear The army was
posted around the. city and Louisville
was once more a military camp. AS
soon as the soldiers were clothed and
other necessary arrangements made.
Buell. moved to, meet Bragg. This
meeting took place at Perryville and
resulted in one of the fiercest battles
OF the war. BY some unaccountable
reason all the troops were not engaged
at any one time. Buell. was censured
for this, while he cast the blame upon
some OF his subordinate commanders
VINO failed to report the actual state
OF things in their immediate front.
IL was quite common during the war
to charge treason upon any commander
who met with reverse. On this 0cca-
sion the absurd report gained credence
with the rank and file that Buell. and
Bragg actually slept in the same tent
during the night preceding this battle.
me writer knew this report was false
but he undertook to trace it back to it's
origin and found it to proceed from
an ''lntelligent contraband.'' the
source whence proceeded all the wild
reports and rumors so prevalent in our
camps during the war.
The government became dissatisfied
with Gen. Buell. after this battle and
he was superseded by Gen. w. S. Rose
Grams, whose brilliant exploits in Mis-
slsslppi had brought him prominently
forward as great leader. When he
arrived Bragg's army was in full re-
treat and did not stop until it reached
Murtreesboro, Tennessee. Here Bragg
fortified himself and threw out several
outposts. Rosecrans pushed his army
forward to Nashville, which he occu-
pied as his headquarters, posting his
troops in continuous line around the
city from the river above to the river
below.
In the change of commanders the
country seemed satisfied. Buell's star
had gone down and Rosecrans' was in
the zenith Of its glory. A court of
inquiry was ordered on Buell. and it sat
in Nashville for many months. Finally
the record was forwarded to Washing
ton where it was pigeon-holed and
never published. The general impress
sion is that Buell. was fully exonerated,
yet for some unknown reason he was
never restored to his command. Chat.
fling under the great injustice which he
felt had been done him he rendered
his resignation and bid farewell to his
noble army which he had disciplined
and made one of the most efficient on
the Union side. We have always re-
GREETED the course he pursued. He
should have submitted like Sherman.
when relieved in Kentucky, and Grant
when he was placed as second in COM
mand after the battle of Shiloh, trust
ing to the future for complete vindi-
cation.
When the historian sits down to
write the history of the rebellion.
after its principal actors have passed
away, the services of Gen. Buell. will
be- recognized, and his splendid cam
paigns will serve as lessons to the stu.
dents in the military art.
Let us return to Rosecrans. The
army under his command arrived in
Nashville on the seventh day of Novem-
per. From this date to December
10Th he was untiring in his labors to
nTQn0 70 for