The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1878-05-03
SHERMAN AND SHILOH.
Col. Tom Worthington's Page Of Unwritten
Eistory-A Racy Review Of the Au-
thor Of Sherman's Kemoris-con-
Trajectory News Concerning
Grant, Ealleek and
TecumSeh.
Washington Post.

Only a small number of persons as
sembled at Tallade Hall last night to
hear what Col. Tom WorthingtOn had
to say about the battle of Shiloh and
Gen. Shermanis conduct thereat. He
began by saying he would not be
there if General Sherman had not de-
clined an investigation of his conduct
at the battlefield. He had none of
the graces or powers of OratOry, and
was an minteresting speaker, but he
had something interesting to say, and
asked the indulgence of his audience
while he said it. Everything he had
to say was supported by the testimony
of Grant, Sherman and Halleck.-
He then went into a detailed account
of the operations of the army of the
Tennessee for few days prior to the
battle, interspersed with many hu-
morous and sometimes bitter COM
ments on the conduct of Grant, Sher-
man and HalleckF and the details of
the field. Buell. was ordered on the
4th of April, 1862, not to move until
the Sth, vet Grant. in his report, says
they expected a battle on the 4th.-I
Then warming with his subject, the
old gentleman charged that the object
was to bring on battle, lose the army
and thereby ruin Buell. and advance
Sherman. Gen. Sherman said he did
not think the enemy were near in
force, but he blamed Gen. Buckland
for capturing some prisoners on the Sd
of April, saying it might have brought
on a battle. This showed he knew
the rebel army was near. Sherman
had withdrawn the artillery and the
cavalry the day they expected a
fight, and said on WOrthing toms
cOurt-martial that he had done so for
fear the artillery might be captured
and the horses injured. Among great
captains Hannibal had won his famous
victories over the Romans with his
Numidian cavalry, and Frederick the
Great succeeded in his woderful cam
paign almost solely by his cavalry
Napoleon conquered Europe with his
artillery. Yet Sherman, greater than
all three-in his own estimation-dis-
penses with both his artillery and cav
airy for fear the one may be captured |
and the horses of the other hurt. The |
contradictory orders to Gen. Lew |
Wallace We're shown as evidence that !
it was intended to lose the battle
The Colonel claimed that if Sherman
and Grant had not been treacherOus
the AsSyrian army of Sennacherib |
was no more completely i'll the power
of the angel that destroyed it than
was the Confederate army in the pow
er of the Union troops the Saturday
before the fight. He claimed that
Sidney Johnston had received informa-
ton from the Union commander that
Buell. wouldn't be on the grounds,
hence the attack. Many Of the Union
officers the night before the battle
wero III sherman's headquarters |
drinking There is 10 such ordinary
thing in the history of wars as u di- |
vision commander abandoning his
troops i'll the heat of a battle, which
Sherman did at Shiloh. He did not
think Sherman was a coward, but this |
showed either cowar1ice or treachery. |
He claimed that his own action in
changing the ordinary form of orders
to his regiment saved the battle, and
what was worse saved Grant and
Sherman, who had been at the head
of the Government ever since. Sher-
man posted his artillery to be cap
tured. Sherman had no consideration
for anybody or anything when his
own interests were concerned, The
Colonel found Grant ON board a gun
boat in the river, while the fight was
the thickest, engaged with his dinner,
his whisky and his cigars. He charged
Grant with deliberate falsehood.-I
Every thing was done to ruin the ar
my, except to send word to the Con-
federaIes that 1t would surrender,
which was rather too bold for the peO-
pie to stand. The Colonel said he was
cOurt-martialed for conduct mbecOm-
ing an officer and gentleman, and for
drunkenness. These charges were
based solely on the fact that he had
published a few extracts from his diary
concerning the battle, rejecting on
Sherman. Sherman had committed
deliberate perjury fifty times on the
trial of WOrthingtOn. He swOre to
what he knew to be lie when he tes-
titled that Worthington was drunk in
command of the Forty-sixth Ohio
To wind up Le sand the detention of
Gen. Nelson at Savanna, the not ta-
king of COrinth after the victory at
Fort Henry, the keeping of Buell. !
back, the contradictory orders to Gen. |
Lew Wallace, neglecting to have suf-
ficient gunboats on the river, the |
march OF Johnston along the river, all |
showed the deliberate treachery on |
the part of the Union authorities
The fact was the authorities at Wash |
ingtOn had cOnspired to lose the bat |
tie. Ben Wade told the speaker that |
they wanted to prolong the war at |
least ten years to punish the South
The Colonel claimed that the object |
was to turn the Republic inTo an en-
pire by prOlonging the war, piling up |
a heavy debt, keeping an immense ar |
my and finally Il military DICTATOR
And Grant was coming home after a |
while to be candidate for ''third |
term" Sherman, he said, was m-
dOubtedly insane. He says, in his |
Memoirs, that he was, during the bat /
tie, 100 yards inside the rebel ranks |
ahead OF the Fifty-third Ohio. In a
letter to Secretary Stanton he said he
was 500 yards to'the left of that regi-
ment. How can such statements be
recoucihadl