The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-07-28
THE NEW ORLEANS DEMOCRAT SUNDAY. JULY g. 1878

nently to the command OF the Army of the
West is dated Richmond, June 20, and Is
signed Geo. W. Randolph, Secretary Of War.
On the same day he forwards TO Gen. Beaure-
gard the following:
Gen. G. T. Beauregard. Mobile, Ala:
Geaerat-Iinclosec copies Of a telegram from
the President to Gen Bragg, and OF q letter
which have addressed to him.
Gro. W. RANDOLPH,
Secretary of War
From that day, to the utter surprise Of Gen.
Beauregard, to the disappointtne Of the
whole Confsderacy he ceased to be the com
mander-in-chief of the Army of the
West. How It Is that Gen. Cooper
and the President never knew of Gen. Beaure-
CARDS intention TO retire, temporarily, from
his army, when telegram dated j ne IA, and
o letter dated June Is, were forwarded, from
six to nine days before the order superCedng
him was written, Is more than we can we'll ex
plain. But Gen. Beauregard had certainly in
formed the War Department In time. True,
he did following the formalities usually
observed by subordinate oificers-ask, in as
many words, for q leave OF absence; but we
must not forget that he was Commander-in-
chief of large department. and that he was
not going out Of it. He had, be-
sides, given sufficient notice of his in
tention to leave, temporarily for the
purpose Of restoring his health which for
months, had been gradually failing him. The
gave him at last the opportunity to seek the
rest SO persistently urged upon him by his
physicians. The sooner restored to complete
health, the sooner could he devote his re-
newed energies to the all-absorbing and so
wearing duties that would then devolve upon
| him. Conceding Gen. Beauregard's right to
| be i'll without any blame attaching to him for
| 1t, we can see nothing in his conduct, that
| could have been construed as subversiVe of
| good order and military discipline. He, one
| pf va q nj MIR bn hn
| had 80 often proven his unbOunded devotion
| to the cause, was not to be treated as IL he
were q junior second lieutenant; and here in
all earnestness do we say, there was
no, just reason, no reason whatever, for
relieving him from his command, as II, instead
of deserving reward, he had merited punish
ment and rebuke. Such was, at the time, the
verdict Of the entire South, and such Is its
verdict yet. In proof of which, we refer to
the petition signed by about fifty members
| of the Confederate Congress, entreatng Pres
ident Davis, for the good Of the cause-Gen.
Bragg aCqufescing-t0 relnstate Gen. Beaure-
gard in his command; We shall never forget
| the profound impression produced upon the
whole Confederacy by Mr.. Davis answer We
| abstain from giving It,
The same correspondent C'Rus") says,
| quoting the language used by one Col. Frank
| SChaller, IAN accomplished foreign soldier, ;"
he assures us, who was then he beieves) on
the staff Of Gen. Johnston that the latter,
upon looking over map with Col. Bower, Ia
mythical being, by-the-by, for there never
| spot marked, "ShilOh Church." here the
great battle of the Southwest will be fought"
| Now, we have no doubt Col Smaller did use
the above language in the book referred to by
your correspondent. But we cannot believe
and do therefore deny-that Gen. Johnston
ever made the remark attributed to him; for
| at that date-and Col. Smaller tells us 1t was
In January preceding the battle of Shiloh
90,
significant little ''meeting-house," then called
LOG Church" and in the immediate vicinity
of which we had bivouaked, with our own
regiment, about three weeks before the great
battle here spoken Of.
In the next place, until after the fall Of Forts
Henry and Donaldson, COrinth was no inn
portant strategic point, and the probable In
tention even then, of Gen. Johnston, in case OF
the fall of these forts, must have been what
he actually did, namely, to retire to Stevenson
for, being strategist, he had no right to sup
pose that Grant and Buell. would not have in
terposed between him and Gen. Polk at Col
umbuS or have captured the latter by march
ing from Fort Henry to the southwark OF
Columbus.
An additional reason which shows that
Gen. Johnston could not have thought oil
"Shiloh" and Corinth at that time, or even
aiterward, is that he was making no effort
whatever to reach that point until earnestly
and repeatedly urged to do so by Gen. Beau
regard, as evidenced by the kilograms and
| letters we have given above.
The object we had in view in this cOmmu.
} nication is now accom- plished. We have GOV.
ered we believe, the whole ground which oul
subject required and hope we have convinced
all unprejudiced persons who have read these
lines. Upon closing, we deem 1t but proper
to apologize for having occupied such a large
space in your columns, and thank you for SC
courteously opening them to US.
The revival of these memories some Of
them so sad, some of them so glorious, has
awakened in our breast feelings which we car
hardly analyze. We have seen passing be.
fore us the grand panorama Of our Confed
crate campaigns. More than ever, while con,
fronting the self-sacrtfce, the heroism, the
unyielding devotion of all our leaders and OF
all "our boys in gray" do we feel yearninp
to have justice, true, perfect justice, meteC
out to all. We have, we think, performed 6
duty to our fellow-citizens in presenting tc
them in their true colors facts which must have
destroyed many false impression upon theil
minds. They are now free to reward, by al
appreciative gratitude, one of Louisiana's
noblest sons-one Of the greatest leaders o.
the Confederate war. CY.
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE