The National tribune., 1882-03-25

again after he reached East Tennessee,
were to connect with BosecraDs's left.
The allusiOn to General Burnside's move
ment up the valley towards Virginia is
tersely put by General Rosecrans: Burn
side was hunting, with % 00G men, for
General Sam Jones, who, with less than
COCO men, was toling him off up into
Virginia" The fact is, that this confederate
general, in response to 9 request from Gen
eral Buckner, to look after his department,
had come down the road from Dublin, Vir-
ginia, and arrived at Abingdon in time to
hear of Bhrnsides invasion of East Tennes-
see. General Jones at once dispatched a
messenger to Cumberland Gap, with orders
to General Frazier to hold out as long as
possible. The message reached Frazier on
the day of his surrender, on the 9th of Sep
tember Henceforth there was nothing for
Jones to do but to keep up q show of force
in Burnside's front, and, if possible, prevent
of his force to the aid of General Rosecrans.
He performed that service with force of
little over 5000 men, about one half of
which were fractional parts of companies
and regiments, bridge guards, and such odds
and ends as Buckner had not thought it
worth his while to gather up previous to
marching to the relief of Bragg. In spite of
the daily orders of General Hallecl to close
down on Gereral ROsecrans's left, the 10Th of
September found Burnside, with his army,
at Jonesboro, one hundred miles above
Knoxville, and more than two hundred
miles from Chickamauga battle ground, to
which point obedience to- the constantly
reiterated orders of General Halleck would
have led him, in ample time, to reinforce
Rosecrans with 10000 infantry before the
battle For this service General Jones
received the thanks of the president of the
conederacy; and the absence from the field
by Burnsides veteran infantry, afforded
Secretary Stanton pretext for removing
General Rosecrans from the command of the
army that he had three times within year
led in campaigns which resulted in wrestling
Middle and East Tennessee from the grasp
of the Southern Confederacy"
General Meigs who visited Chattanooga
shortly after the battle, pronounced the
work of transporting supplies to subsist
Rosecranss army twenty days, and ammuni-
ton for two great battles from Stevenson
over the mountains and down to Chatta-
nooga in the presence of the enemy, to be
mot only the greatest thing in this war, but
great thing in any war" While at Steven
son, and pending the execution of his plans
.. crossing the Tennessee, General Rose-
rs sent for Messrs. Fletcher & Co., of Chi
,s 0, and Messrs. Boomer & Co, of St. Louis,
h whom he contracted for railroad bridges
over the Tennessee and the Running Water
the former 300 feet long, and the latter re-
quirins piers 110 feet high, with span 10
feet in length. lie also contracted for the
construction Of six fiat -bottomed steamboats,,
to be used in transportation Of supplies on
the upper Tennessee. All his plans for hold
ing possession of Chattanooga were literally
carried out by General Thomas, who, with
the manliness which characterized that noble
man and true soldier, gave his predecessor
full credit in his official reports for having
originated them.