The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1881-06-23
WHO WAS TO BLAME
Another Ch3ptor of Disputes Over Con.
fedefato War History.


Gen. Joseph z. Johnston. Fho Is now o
permanent resident OF Washington. denie,
oil the charges made against iiim III Jeff.
Davis new book. and says he had expected
the book would contain them, Although he
PAD denied them before In book published
In 1873. He saye it would have been gb.
surd Tor him TO have attempted after the
! Dattie OF Bull Run IN capture Washington,
as an army could not have been taken into
thar city from the Virginia side. 10 the
charge that he disobeyed JEFF Davis orders
IN such way that Gen. Sherman was cna.
bicd TO make the successful march TO the
sea, no snys I'm the spring OF 1894 when
l was was at Dalton, Ga, Mr.. Davis ordered me.
after having collected en- army OF 1900
lnen, Il then having 40,000,) TO Invade East
Tennessee. Gen. Sherman was nt that time
IN Chattanooga with his army. Now, in
order to invade East Tennessee with $4,000
men, i needed wagons, provisions, horses.
ana tho necessary means OF transporting
| and providing for an army. I could not
get them from where was; 1t was neces-
sary to bring them from beyond Atlanta.
Tho very moment that these provisions,
wagons. &c. weie started for me, Gen. Sher.
mar Will. his army could have prevented
their arrival. II was. in my judgment. i'm.
p0ssible to collect an ARM With the ncces.
sary means for transportation and provis-
ioning to invade East Tennessee. My
judgment was. and so Informed the Con-
tederate officials, that the Invasion Of East
Tennessee was only possible nfler we had
been attacked by Sherman and had beaten
hin. Ii we could have strengthened our
army and have defended Atlanta, which
was one of the best favored natural posi-.
tions for defence. we nigh. have repnised
Sherman, beaten him, and then have made
the contemplated raid. II could not have
been dono before. in my judgment, and to
have attempted IL might have been the All
tIxt tl,fs n
cd with my troops down to Atlanta, and In
July aiterward, while preparing for tho ex-
pected attack, was notified by telegram that
had been superseded by Gen. Hood"
TO the charge that he could have taken
his army In North Carolina and pressed
through after the evacuation OF Richmond
TO the Southwest, Gen. Johnston replied
that ct that time the war was ended, and it
was useless TO go through the farce Of try.
ing to prolong ii. / had seen the end for
long time. / wus satisfied that the Confctl.
erate armies were beaten when Hood evac.
uated Atlanta. and was afterwards defeated.
nnpihilated, ut Nashville. The war was
even ended before Gen. Grant compelled
the surrender Of Lees army. and there was
nothing to do but precisely what we did
do. Tie talk Of fleeing through tho conn.
try TO Texas or elsewhere was mere folly"
jeff Davis passed through Indianapolis,
Indiana, and To q Sentinel reporter, who in
do W iiio NiCWb VII bGntIuI
SheTman's speech at Hartford, said that
history had already decided that Sherman
burned Columbia TO crafty spirit of re-
venge, and deserves the glory Of having re-
viyed and given renewed force TO that most
infamous OF maximr, Hc rictis. He snid
that Sherman WINS vain man. who has
been nursed by success and fiuttery, aud iy
possessed Of chronic hallucinatiOn that lie
Is great General. ''He ia renIly," contin-
ued he, 70 mnn Of very mediocre talents,
either civil or military, and owed his Sue
cess entirely to superior numbers and the
lack Of enterprise on the part OF his antug-
unist. Had Stnnewnll Jackson confronted
sherman instead of Zoe Johnston in 1884,
n different tale would have been told in my
@ book: That tbs band Of 'bummers.s which
de.ers, .vaa NOT destroyed or captured was
not due to my generalship Of Sherman, but
tho folly OF the hot headed Hood, who, In
stead Of falling back beiure Sherman, went
recing off into Tennessee like mad-cup,
On the widest Of wild goose chases."