New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-09-04
A NEGLECTED BATTLE.

| Der of The atlantic U0nHtJ entitled, lhe Lasl
Chance of the Confederacy" relates to an engage
ment which, according to his view, had an impor-
tant effect upon the closing campaign of the war,
and yet has never received in the military reports
anything like the attention it deserves. We do not
think that the battle of BentOnsylle, or Benton
| vile, as it is generally called, has been quite so
| much neglected by historians General McClurg
presumably imagines, although I'm the rapid and
startling successOn of grand events which sgnalized
| the end of the Rebellion 1t natural that affairs
of lesser dimensions however brilliant and Impor-
tant should often get less than their right share OF
notice. But if a or less apprecative, albeit
| brief account of BentOnsyile IS to be found in
| various histories of the war; it cannot be denied
that General Sherman, who was re-
| sponsible for it, disnisses it rather
cavaery in his "Memors." 1t deserves com
memoraton; and we may congratulate ourselves
| that it has found competent historian in the au-
thor of the very graphic forcible and interesting
| narrative now considering.
| The battle took place near Goldsboro n c.. dur
| ing Sherman's march from Savannah toward Rich
| mond in the spring of 1865. Satisfied that there
was nothing within striking distance Of him OK
cept small body of Confederate cavalry, sherman
| was moving upon Goldsboro with his army pretty
widely dispersed. The right and left wings were
marching by parallel roads far apart and each wing
was extended in sections along its own route, with
| stretches of many miles Of nearly impossible miro
| between the corps. The right wing was commanded
| by Howard, the left by SlOcum. 1t was the left
that fought the battle. On the morning of the 18Th
| of March the advance of that wing, CON
| sistng of two divisions of the 14th,
| General J. c. Davis's, Corps, encountered
some resistance as it took ND the line
| of march but that was an ordinary incident, and
| Sherman, who was on the spot, convinced that the
| enemy were only Dibbrell's cavalry, bade DAVIS
brush them ont of the way" and rode off to join
the right wing. He little thought that he was rid
| ing away from battle in which his men were out
numbered three to one But the fact was that Gen
! cral Joseph l.. Johnston. recalled from undeserved
retirement, had rapidly assembled an army of
| 20 900 men Sherman's exposed flank and Da-
vs's s 900 marched blndly against the rebel earth
works and artillery. The surprise was complete.
| The leading division depOycd and attempted 10
| drive the enemy back, according to the daily GUS
tom and found to their astOnishrent that, as the
| men said d" they didn't drive worth damn" AL
| most every available man. except one brigade OF
reserve was in line of battle before Socum realized
| what was in front of him. AS late as IL
o'clock he sent word to Sherman that he had moth
ing in his front but division of cavalry and it was
afternoon when he discovered how the affair really
| stood.
Johnston's plan was we'll laid. The advance di-
| visions upon which he delivered the first blow
were only 5000 strong and they were divided by
| eight miles of mud from their nearest supports.
namely: two divisions of General Wlliams's Goth
Corps the rest Of the left wing, consisting OF one
division of the 14th and one of the GOTH beng still
| further in the rear escOrting the supply trains.
| The Rebel general with force which must have
| nhared fO counted a.
| sonably enough upon beating these scattered
divisions in detail "Then, with half his army de-
stroyed, with supplies exhausted and far from any
| base he believed General Sherman and his right
wing only would no longer be match for his
elated and eager troops. Never before III all the long
struggle had fortune and circumstance SO united
TO favor HIM, and never before had hope shOne so
brightly" The one thing upon which Johnston
could not calculate was the extraordinary behavior
of Socums advance divisions. 1t is General
McClurgs object to show how the fayOrs of fortune
and circumstance were neutralzed and the last
hopes of the COnfedcracy destroyed by one of the
finest exhibitions of gallantry, steadiness and
morale which ever illustrated the Federal arms.
These heroic 5000 reinforced by two brgades
from the Goth Corps in the course of the afternoon
held JohnstOn's whole army at bay TIL darkness
brought a truce losing 200 men and inhicting a
|
For the details of this remarkable battle, dis
| tingushed by dramatic and surprising incidents
| and by STEADY, plucby, persistent fighting on tho
part OF the troops such has seldom, if ever. been
| excclled" we must refer readers to tho admir-
able paper in the magazine. 1t was late in the
| evening when Sherman. then twenty miles away.
| was informed Of the posture of affairs. and the
night wing hurried to the relief of their battle tried
comrades Hazens advance division aching the
| field at daylight on the Goth. Of the two days
mannuvring and sldrmshing which followed the
history has often been told. But the losses of the
| whole army during these two days only 400,
and the soldiers of the two divisions which sacri-
feed three times that number of men in their gal
liant stand the first day, and who then destroyed
| the last chance of the COnfederacy" feel that
| fame has not been just to them. AS for Sherman's
error to say that he sometimes misudged is only to
say that he was not infallible. General McClurg's
remark upon this point is full of good sense.
There may be men who would not
| have made the mistake at Bentons-
| Vile but they are men who could
not have made that mastery five months campaign
when every hour brought its skrmsh, every day its
fight and every week its battle, which secured the
| tall of Atlanta. Nor could they have planned and
executed that great march. without example pre-
cedent which in its demoralizing effects crumblcd
the rebellion in the minds of its staunches uphold
ers and showed them that its end was near"
BY 10 means groundless appear to be the
anxiety and alarm of the Porte at the disappearance