Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1879-08-30

bAA tn0 A1r0iA WIZ AiltAt
= the pursuit was permanently
/. checked and the enemy came no
= more. Gen. Wilson, who ignores
d this fight, says he was out of ratiOns;
n could not bring Forrest to a fight,
: and heard the main body Of rebels
I had already crossed the Tennessee,
and therefore halted. The truth Is
? the infantry had not all reached the
T river, and the ordnance train left
I Sugar creek that morning. Gen.
: Thomas, speaking of Hoods army,
{ says: "With the exception Of his
: rear-guard, his army had become u
disheartened and disorganized rab-
BILE. The rear-guard. how
! ever, was undaunted and firm, and
did its work bravely to the last"
: Forrest was now admitted by all
to be
MILITARY GENIUS,
which distinguished military wri-
ter thus describes:
There is no art that requires greater natu-
raj gifts than the art OF war. mind and
body must here cooperate, and both must
be sound and vigorous.
The talent to seize, rs II were, with q
glance, the advantages and disadvantages
which may arise nom the situation 81
ground or troops, and 10 single them out
man born 70 become a general. This coup
d'oil, namely, the comprehensive one which
| in unexpected results and I'm the most vi0-
lent changes of fortune and calculations, en-
ables the general 10 discern quickly aud TO
Judge correctly OF his situation, and then,
| with firm determination, 70 eXtort, az ~
We're, from fortune that which she viii not
| freely give or prudent and sagncious TO eN-
I tricate himself from "A dangerous position.
| This Is not to be acquired this cnn be re-
4 ducesi to no general formula, nor be deline-
ated upon plans and hlackboards; but Is, In
laI
MUS.
FALL OF SELMA.
Gen. Forrest was now promoted
to Lieutenant General, and his COM
mand largely increased and reOrgan-
ized. The First division, cOmman-
ded by Chalmers, was composed of
all the Mississippi cavalry, reorgan-
lied into three brigaoes, under
Armstrong, Writ, Adams and
Starke.
The Second division, commanded
by Buford, was composed Of the
Kentucky brigade and the Aieba-
ma cavalry.
The Third division, commanded
by w. ii. jackson, was composed
of all the Tennessee cavalry in two
brigades, under Bell and Campbell
Ia force of not less than ten thous-
and effective men if they could have
been concentrated.
At the same time MajOr-General
James Wilson was reorganizing his
cavalry lust north of the Tennessee
river, at points favorable for the
passage of that stream, either to In
wade Mississippi or Alabama; and
on the 18th of March he crossed near
,faffnn 10 xtffth
enteen thousand men, FIVE thous-
and of whom were dismounted, ac-
cording To- Andrews history OF the
Mobile campaign.
On the 10Th of March, 1865, Gen.
Dick Taylor held a coucil Of war In
West Point, Mississippi, at which
were present Forrest, Chalmers, Bu-
ford and Jackson, and il was then
determined that the object OF Will
sons movements was the destruc-
tiOn Of the iron works at Monte
Vallo and the shops at Selma, and
ii was decided that all our forces
should move by the shortest lines TO
Selma, and engineer officers were
sent at once to construct pontOOn
bridges over the Black Warrior and
Catawba. On the 24th of March,
Wilson started from ChiclSasaw sta
tion. On the 25th two brigades of
the First division started from Pick
ensville, Ala, and Jackson from
West Point, Miss. The bridge
across the Warrior had not been
completed when Armstrong; brig
ade reached il, and ii was detained
here one day. On the 30th they
reached Marion, Ala, and finding
that nothing had been done towards
bridging the Catawba, a staff officer
was sent by railroad to Selma for
pontoon boats, and the division
commander was preparing TO move
on, when an order came from Gen.
Forrest, telling him Of the enemy's
on Tuscaloosa, and order
ing him TO halt and await orders.
This caused a delay of one day,
when Gen. Taylor, at Selma, hear
ing of it, telegraphed orders for the
First division to move TO Planters
vile. Before the division could
reach Plantersville, orders came
from Gen. Forrest to move to Ran
dolph, about twenty miles further
north. Before the division could
reach Randolph, Forrest had been
driven from there, and ii turned To
again. The Ochmul-
gee swamp had now to be crossed,
and Armstrong; brigade was five
hours in going one mile across IL.
When this brigade had gone over,
It was utterly impossible to the ar
-illery and Starke's brigade; and
these, under the direction Of a neigh
Dorhood guide, were moved TO n
five miles above, and after
working all night, got over about
daylight the next morning, and
moving rapidly reached Selma lust
n time to see it burn.
Forrest, moving with JacksOn's
division, heard of Croxton's move
nent on Tuscaloosa, and changed
he march Of this division by that
llace. Jackson gallantly met and
defeated CTOxtOn, but by this move
nent was thrown so far out Of his
inc Of march that Ii was imDOssi-
,le for him to reach Selma I'm time
o assist in its defense and it fell.
'he fall of Richmond soon followed
he fall of Selma, and the Confed-
rate flag went down to rise no more
Orever,
HIS FAREWELL ADDRESS.
II Has Dtth HdlA tllhl Il IoIIt.t WAS
and this is true but
lis ideas, when properly clothed in
orrect language, were pointed and
trong, aud he was exceedingly tena-
ious that his own ideas, and not
hose Of the writer, should be ex-
lressed by those who wrote for him.
lis strong and touching final adj
lress 10 his troops, though shaped
~ another, was his own creation,
md he felt all that the language im-
ported when he said: "Civil war,
uch as you have just passed through
naturally, engenders feelings Of an~
mostly, hatred and revenge. 1t Is
lur duty to divest ourselves Of all
uch feelings, and as far ms in our
,ower to do so, to cultivate friendly
ceilings towards those with whom
ve have so long cOntended and
so widely differed. Neigh
feuds, personal animOsities
nd private differences should be
dotted out, and when you return
iome q manly and straightforward
curse of conduct will secure the re-
pect of even your enemies. What
yer your responsibilities may be to