The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-08-06
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH.
UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH,

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH,
July rs, 1873
Col. Columbus Fl. Allen. New Orleans, La:
Nm Dear Sri have to acknowledge the
receipt Of your note Of the twenty to-
gether with copy of the New Orleans DEMO
GRAF OF July 81, A. g., In which are several
communications bearing upon the question
to whom the credit Of the mastery operations
is due which eliminated in the battle of
Shiloh. Since, in one Of these, signed rus"
b. paper ID alluded to which was written by me
fourteen years ago. containing in part my
recollections of this interesting campaign in
our Confederate war history. permit me to
say the following:
The statements made In this paper in re-
gard to the late Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston,
O. s.. A.. were everywhere accepted at the
time. The work. containing this review Of
Uen. JUnnsJons lie aHti character, WIS fUr-
warded by the Confederate War Department
to all the prominent officers Of the army;
about seven hundred copies were thus dis
publishers and myself in commentator
Of it, from nearly every one Of the
Confederate leading generals, as well as
the large sale the work had among the
soldiers, lead to the assumption that the pa
per alluded to was. generally read. Nov, 1t
these statements referred to by /" Rus have
ever been questioned by any one, am not
aware OF 1t, and do not think they ever We're.
then wrote was that to Gen. Johnston is due
the conception and victorious execution Of the
campaign, and that it was thus ascribed to
be due TO him by the whole army during the
campaign, no one engaged In 1t can fail to re-
member. AS far as | know, there has never
been any question as to the proper conduct of
the campaign up to the hour when Gen. john
ston fell. From that minute, however, vari-
GUS questions have arisen, which can only be
decided upon q calm and comprehensive ex-
animation OF the materials available They
may be briefyput thus: Whether the order to
ceHse firing at an early hour on Sunday even
ing was iustitiable under the circumstances
When yet an hour or more of daylight re-
manned, would it have been possible to throw
the enemy into the Tennessee and thus, at
one blow, could we have regainsed all we had
campaign, after the glorious victory Of the
gth Of April, 1862, due or not to any
alleged premature cessation OF hostili-
ties on our part on the evening Of that
day2 We may have our Individual opinion on
these points, pro or CONTRA based upon the
more or less extended opportunities for OBJ
servation of the individual, and | am well
aware that we are often apt to attribute too
much value to our individual experience and
observation; that we are prone, in military
matters especially. to come thus to cOnclu-
sions exaggerated and erroneous, hence to ar
rive at q judicial verdict in such momentous
questions affecting the reputation Of a general
III the field at the head OF a large army and in
supreme command. A most exhaustive and
comprehensive examination of the material on
hand. written by both Southern and North
It would seem that until q future historian
shall have arisen, sufficiently impartial of
great military knowledge and genius as a
writer, who shall contemplate from the
height Of time the tout ensemble of the facts
befors him, opinions on these points must be
divided.
But 1t would appear d much easier question
to determine whether Gen. Johnston planned
his own campaigns or not. On the other hand
we have the universally. accepted belief OF
has been cherished. Besides the first publi-
cation already mentioned, upon the request
Of DR.. Bledsoe consented to its republication
U lii the Southern ReujeW of January, 1872, to
rescue it from oblivion, as he said. On page
seventy eight he says as follows: This
tribute is SO just and so eloquent that 1t
y should be forever preserved. It may,
perhaps, appear too highly colored to those
Gen. Johnston. But to our minds who have
long and intimately known him, it seems to
fall below the ordinary level, to say nothing
of the elevation of the peak and glory Of his
character" etc. Therefore, after expression
had been given to this universal belief by the
publication of the paper during the war, and
after 1t had been eight years in print, it was
reiterated In 1872 by q republication, and has
now again been six years In print and the
points stated were not individual opinions
merely but an attempt to comprise facts into
one paper showing all the salient features OF
great generals actual career Tt would
seem that sufficient opportunities had been
given TO advance the claim now foreshadoWed,
at a much earlier date.
But to close, Ere the honor we have in our
hearts believed to belong to Gen. Johnston
for one Of the finest operations of the war can
be assigned to another-sixteen years after
4 the hero laid down his life on the battlefield
u ii ID Imperative that the claimant himself
should produce the most unmistakable proofs
and In the dearest manner set forth his right
Ia such claim. Only after this is done
could 1t be said that any controversy had
arisen. and, tn truth, it would be q controversy
ord nary chara etp,. vet 70