The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1881-10-06
Carl mLD AT on1cKAMArGA.
General Eosecrans' Reply to General She
.nun AN A..

Nehefal losecfahs' Reply To General Sher-
man, AM AIlusions to the Late Presl-
dent.
The san Francisco Chronicle publishes
the following letter addressed 10 its editor
by Generl RosecranS:
| think Lat my whole life attests nv re-
luCtance TO obtrude my personality upon
public attention especially in times IF gen
eral anxiety OF sorrow. In proof of this |
need only I. call to your memory and that of
your reader, the autumn Of 1855, when after
the glorious campaign Of Chattanooga | was
relieved from, the command Of the army of
the Cumberland. To prepare the public
mind TO accept that unpopular measure
through official undercurrents, the Assoc
ciated Press dispatches were fed with a sue
cession Of unmitigated calumnie8 against
me, scattered broadcast over the land.
While knew these would excite only
sCOrn and contempt among those with
whom | served and lived among, the
struggle for life, too sternly forbade to excite
i'll feeling against the government by a
public and adequate demonstration of the
wrong and outrage | was enduring from
these calumnies And now, in.the midst of
a great national sorrow comes before tho
public from my former friend, Gen. Sher-
man, in his letter TO George G.. Gorham in
our San Francisco press ofthis date, another
crop Of the perennial outgrowth of historic
lies aoout the battle Of Chickamauga.
And ask myself Shall yield to my
own feelings of profound sorrow Tor the
cause of the nations grief and allow this re-
iteration to pass unChallenged, or shall |
repeat the truth of history and send to the
press correction while yet the errors are
fresh before the public? Con.
sideiin my own age and what
is due 80 my family, and the fact that
Genera herman has all the official records
within -ach, which should have prevented
him from making the statement contained
in the letters above referred to, | have re-
luctantly concluded that it is duty to state
through your columns the following facts:
When Davis two brigades, next to Sheri-
dams division on the right, were broken.
and that division thereby temporarily sep
arai from the rest of the army, General
GMheld, my chiefof staff, and Major Frank
s. Bond, senior aid, accompanied me to-
ward tho rear of our centre. When we
reached point near the Dry Valley road
on which our right rested, and the ROssville
road, leading up to our left, | addressed
General Garfield as follows;
"By the sound of the battle we yet hold
the field; but we do not know with what
force the enemy may come down the Dry
Valley road, through the gap Just opened.
General Posts brigade is over he ridge to
our west in the valley of Chattanooga
creek, with All our commissary stores, and
Mitchell, with the cavalry, is south of him.
Sheridan, cut off from us, is on the ridge
coming down this way. Orders must
so to Post So move with the
utmost dispatch with his COM
missary trains down Chattanooga creek
across the Chattanooga. Mitchell must be
ordered to cover the movement with his
cavalry, extending his left across the ridge
this way TO connect in this valley with
Shcridan's command and the remnants of
Davis division, which will concentrate on
this road and cover it, keeping the enemy
from penetrating to our rear I'M
less too heavily pushed. General Spcer
must be ordered 10 guard the
bridgeacross Chattanooga creek at the roll
ing mill, and be ready to move to the front
II required, as soon as our commisSary train
has passed over it, Wagner with his brig
AIDE, now in Chattanooga must he ordered
to park our spare artillcry train dcfensively
in the best position, and be ready to defend
it in case ofany emergency.
ders 2''
General Garfield replied: General
Rosecrans, they are too many and impor.
tant for me to feel sure of doing so.
sad They are indispensable precau-
tionSin the present condition of things, and
one of us must give them while the other
must 60 to General Thomas and ascertain
how the battle goes there"
lie replied: 81 can 60 to General Thorn
as and report the situation to you much
better than can give those orders"
said: "Well,go and tell General r. mas
nrppp11tipp "a hold ia,
road, and secure our commissar torres and
artillery, and to report the situation to me,
and to use his discretion as to continu.
ing the fight on tho ground We occupy at
the close of the afternoon, or retiring to Il
position in the rear near ROsSville.n
lilo obeycd these orders calamity and well
and by the time had made the disposition
above alluded to and reached the telegraph
Office, got dispatch from Gen. Garfield
over tho line from ROssvile announcing
that, having held the field till the close
Of the day in pursuance Of my d.
r1ctons to use his discretion, Gen. Thomas
had decided to withdraw to the Rossville
position, where the men could get drinking
water, which was not to be had ON that hot.
ly contested iield otbattlc. The withdraw
at was accordingly made on that evening
to the vicinity Of Rossviilc, and not.
as General Sherman says, to Chattan,
ooga, The next morning all our dis
positions for defensive battle al Ross
vile We're made, and, as the lines around
Chattanooga were all arranged during that
day, we withdrew FROM the Rossyillc posi-
ton ON The following night, and took firm
possession Of that objective point of the
campaign-Chattanooga.
This is the truthof history. There exists
abundance Of documentary evidence: and
there are living witnesses to place these
facts beyond controversy,