The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-07-22

Editor DemoCrGt-Allow me to refer to a
portion of the "Annals of the War" pub
Iished last Sunday, in which your correspond
ent unintentionally renders scant justice to
Major Gen M, l.. Smith, whom he describes
as "Gen. Lees chief OF engineers at this
time"-i. e, the campaign from the Wilder
ness to Petersburg. Your correspondent
says: "He was O. skillful engineer and the
long and complicated lines of defense In the
Wilderness, Spottsylvania and at the second
battle. OF Goal Harbor were built under his
direction"
To have selected the lines on which Lees
$4,000 immOrtals killed and disabled nearly
100000 of Grants massive armies was q won
derful work In the highest plane OF the mill
tary art, and Is famous enough to satisfy the
ambition OF o great soldier But your cor
respondent .narrows his praise considerably
when he adds: zone serious mistake he Gen
Smith) made, which was the construction of
the salient at SDottsylvania, assaulted and
captured by the enemy on the memorable
twelfth of May"
Gen Smith has described this and some
other operations in that series of conflicts in
one OF his letters to friend, by which it ap-
pears that he was in nOwise responsible for
the discontinue at the Spottsylvania salient.
He wrote: Gen. Lee had fought on my
lines from the Wilderness to Petersburg, and
in no one instance were the troops ever
wOrsted in positions | had selected. At
Spott5ylvania a portion OF Lees lines, COM
manded by Rhodes and Johnston, was forced,
with the loss OF some, 1000 prisoners and
twenty pieces of artillery. My opinion Is,
that the disaster was due to one of those ac-
cidents scarcely possible to foresee. Still, 1t
did so chance that that part Of the line was
one had advised Gen. Lee to abandon and
occupy one In the rear of it that was thought
to be stronger and better. Gen. Rhodes Op-
posed tho change, and although Gen. Lee
seemed to coincide with me in opinion, no
change was made beyond The preparation Of
the ,.eao lines TO the rear. The General after
Tf OIL IN INV IN
had not controlled"
The italics are mlne / believe those "new
lines to the rear" served materially to restore
the broken front Of battle,
Nor is your correspondent strictly accurate
as to the termination of Gen. Smiths service
with the Army OF Virginia. It was not latter
the second battle OF Coal Harber," but after
Petersburg had been beseiged and works Of
great Importance constructed there on plans
advised by Gen. Smith. The rearrange-
ment of the CoIqutt salient was a notable in
stance in which Gen. Lee adopted the views of
his chief engineer, though they differed from
those of Gen. Beauregard and involved a COM
plete withdrawal Of the artillery from that
point, placing it elsewhere and substituting
infantry. The Oracle salient where the great
mine was explOded) was fortified on the same
principle, and the enemy could not retain
possession after the had once gotten in.
When Gen. Joseph E. Johnston was re-
moved from command at Atlanta, President
Davis desired Gen. Lee to spare Gen. Smith
for service with Johnston's successor. Gen.
Smith was accordingly detached, and in re-
ference to this new assignment, Gen. Lee
wrote of him: "Gen. Smith has performed his
aChOJe duty with the Army Of Virginia"
When it Is remembered that Gen. Lee has
described duty" as the subIimest word in the
English language, the significance Of the COM
pliment conveyed in the above terms cannot
be too highly appreciated.
] should like to add, with reference to Gen.
Smiths services at Vicksburg, that he held
sole command Of the District of Vicksburg and
dependencies, and beat off the several land
and naval attacks during the summer OF
1862, thereby earning his promotion as major
general. Subsequently, In the last week OF
the same year, he defeated Gen. Sherman in
the most exemplary manner In the latters
efforts to break through the long line from
Vicksburg to Snyder's bluff, which was held
so well by Brig. Gems. Vaughan and Barter,
and especially S. D. Lee at Chckasaw Bayou,
about the centre of the line. Indeed, this was
the only thorough defeat Gen. Sherman re-
ceived during the war.
| At the siege Of Vicksburg, properly social
ed, in May, 1868, Gen. Smith commanded the
extreme left or upper division OF the defences,
confronting his old antagonist, Sherman,
with powerful body of Louisiana, Missis-
Sippi and Tennessee troops
| The concurrent testimony OF officers and
men proved his eminent fitness as a COM
mandeT, and their confidence in his steady
skill increased from day to day of the pro-
tracted siege. There was never mtsgiVing as
to the security Of that end OF the ltne D.