The Red Cloud chief., 1878-10-17
Secretary Chase IN mn Emergency.

In thr October N~cr,br,r, General Egbcrt l..
Niclc, In a paper entitled ~ Trip with i.in.
coin Chase aud stanton" gives the follow iug
account ~ the march upon Norfolk, la ISL!
Starting at once 10 the front with our
escort, w had not gone very far bcfor,
IL brcam" evident that "A great deal of
confusion existed in the command in
TACT. that there was no organization,
and an utter absence Of definite ins,ruc.
tions or orders Of any kind. Ovcrtak.
ing regiment that was scattered along
the road most Of th. men lying down
whenever any shade could bc found, ~
the day was intensely warm - Mr..
Chase inquired Of the colonel Ia Whose,
command h" belonged and what his
orders were. He replied that he had
no idea Sho was his commander: that
some said Weber and some said Mans
field, He had received no orders, cx.
ccpt that when he landed he wa told
to take a certain road. and he thought
he would wait tn So" what was to he
done next. Ov%"rtaking another rcgi.
mcnt, a mile or two beyond. the Sccrr-
tary received the same answers. Go
my on still further, we came upon Gen.
Mansfield aud his staff. who had dis
mounted in the shade. near u spring of
cool water. Further still, another s,rag.
Cling regiment was found; vet no one
had u orders or instructions. Sud
dcnly the booming Of cannon was heard
Immediately in front. and, rs no artil-
lcry had been landed by us, it wa cyi-
dent that the firing proceeded from the
enemy, Struggling soldiers now came
running toward us, with exaggerated
runorS of the enemy being in force.
burning the bridges and con,cstirg
with artillcr, the p%assagcof the streams
that crossed the road. The ridiculous
ness of the situation would have been
amusing, if it had not been for the Sc
rious aspect that ii was gradually ~
summing. Two regiments ct cavalry had
been embarked, aud two batteries Of
artillery; yet no u horse or "A gun had
been sent to the front. -Four rrri-
mcntS OF infantry were marching along.
uncertain what road Ia take. and unaS.
signed Ia any brigade; two brigadicr
generals and their stats, without or
dcrs and without commands, were sit
ting by the roadside. waiting fer IN
thing Ia turn up.
This vas the situation. with the enc
" ' w Ii'lls '''l'ishN NHtFt
took it all in AT Il glance. and rose at
once To the necessities of the occasion.
Tearing some leaves from his memo
randum-hook, he directed me To send
M Of our cscort back tn General Wool
with n written requisition for artillery
and cavalry. This brought the general
to the front with two pieces of artillery
and some mounted troops, AS he rode
up Mr., Chase expressed tn him in very
strong language his astonishmcnt at
the condition of things. General Wool
replied 10y saying that he presumed
General Mansfield had felt some del.
icacy in assuming command ovcr Cen
cral Weber, and that General Weber
had hesitated To act while General
Mansfield was So nca Talk of del.
icacy,' exclaimed the Secretary, with
the enemy firing in front! What an alb
surdi,y' Let General Mansfield 20 to
the rear and bring up rc-cnforcements,
and that will settle all questions Of del
icacy."
This brought about II prolonged dis
cussion between Generals Wool and
Mansfield, which was carried on at a
short distance from the road, under the
shade Of II large sycamore tree. Losing
all patience, the Secretary exclaimed:
1.-Two cackling old hens"' and turning
to me with u voice and manner that
would have become Wellington or Soult,
he said:
''Sir! order YOU in the name of the
President Of the UniWd States tn take
command Of these troops and march
them upon Norfolk"
An infantry regiment was deployed
at double quick, as skirmishers in ad-
vance, and the other regiments were
o o moving rapidly down the Norfolk
road. They had proceeded some dis
tance before General Wool was aware
of the movement. lie was not long in
o~vertaking us, however, and on his de-
mand for an explanation from me Mr.,
Chase assumed the responsibility after
which we proceeded tremendously To.
ward our destination.