The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1883-04-05
TIE TRUTH AT LAST.
Discovery Of General Grants Order
Removing General Thomas.

l
! The following important document has just
| been unearthed in the Office of Colonel Scott,
who has charge of the publication of the War
Records and is regarded by him as authentic.
This interesting and historical paper Is as
| follows:
HEADQ'Rs OF ARMY, WAR DEPARTMENT,
/ ADJurAST GENERALS OFFICE,
| WASHINGTON, d. c., Dec. 9, 1854
In accordance with the following dispatch from
Leut.-Gen. Grant, viz:
| please telegraph orders relieving him Gen.
Thomasl at once, and placing Schofield in COM
| mand Thomas should be directed to turn over all
dispatches received since the battle of Franklin to
Schofield u. s. GRANT,
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.
The President orders:
First. That aj.-Gen. j. M. schofield assume
command of all troops in the departments OF the
Cumberland, the Ohio and the Tennessee.
Second. That Mai. Gen. George IL Thomas re-
port TO Gen. Schoteld for duty, and turn over to
him all orders and dispatches received by hum as
| specified above.
Signed by order of the Secretary of War.
t0hlciaD j. G. KELToE A. A. G..
1t is throu ghout in the handwriting of Colo
mel ]. c. Kelton, then Adjutant- General to Hal
! leck, on paper with the army headquarters let
ter-head and is attested as official by Colonel
Kelton. 1t was then ready to receive its num-
Der from clerk and be entered in the official
records General Halleek, however, not only
/ did not telegraph it to Nashville, but put the
into the records a few hours later Grant de-
cided to suspend his order, and telegraphed
General Haleck to that effect. The latter
however, had already suspended it in the very
practical manner stated.
The statement that such an order had been
given by General Grant and been withheld by
General Halleck, was first made public by Gen
eral Boynt0n, III his correspondence to the Gin
cinHati GGzette, in the fall of 1869 1t was
made upon the authority of a version of the
matter which General Halleek himself gave to
| General Thomas In san Francisco when the
latter relieved the former in that city. Soon
after General Badeau, Grants bographer de-
MED General Halleek's statement, and fur
nished partial extracts from the records, which
seemed to prove that General Halleck could
not have pocl1eted the order which he de-
scribed. Its existence has always been denied
by the friends of Generals Grant and Schofield.
The circumstances under which General
| Grant came near committing the greatest
blunder of his military career are familiar to
most soldiers, but for the information of gen.
Grafton which has come upon the stage since
the curtain fell upon the dramatic scenes of the
war of the rebellion brief resume of them is
herewith given.
After the fall of Atlanta and Hoods move
ment upon Shermans communications with
! Chattanooga, the latter moved his army back to
| Northern Alabama, leaving a garrison atA tanta.
Here the plan was formed of Shernan's IA
nous March to the Sea-" Mounting kilpat-
rick's division of cavalry upon the serviceable
horses the dismounted men of Wilson'S cavalry
corps were sent to Louisville, Kentucky, to be
mounted. BY General Sherman's order, issued
October % at Gaylesyille, Alabama, General
Thomas was placed III command of all troops
and garrisons not absolutely IN presence of the
general-in-ehief." BY the same order the gen
erals commanding the departments and Armies
of the Ohio and Tennessee" were directed TO
send abstracts of their returns to General
Thomas at Nashville, IN order that he may
understand the position and distribution of
troops, and General Thomas may call for such
further reports rs he may require The con-
fidence Of General Sherman in the military
skill and ability OF General Thomas was fur
ther displayed 81 leaving with him the two
smallest corps of his army with which to con-
front the same army that he had been fighting
all summer with the combined strength of the
Armies of the Ohio, Cumberland and Tennes-
see. Thus General Thomas was not only in
command Of the Army of the Cumberland his
old command but was, by order of General
Sherman, IN command of the military division
ofthe Mississippi, embracing the departments of
the Ohio the & Cumberland and the Ten
nessee." Maior-General Schofeld commanded
the department Of the Ohio, and was in per-
| sonal command OF the two divisions of the
Twenty-third Corps, Army of the Ohio, in
the field. The Fourth Corps Army of the
Cumberland. commanded by Major General
d. S. Stanley, detachment of the Sixteenth
Corps, Army Of the Tennessee, under Brigadier-
General 4. j. Smith, and the troops of the
District of the Etomah (colored), stationed in
, the vicinity of Chattanooga, under General
Steedman, with Hatchs and Gaproa's and few
small detachments Of cavalry, comprised the
force with which Thomas was left 10 confront
veteran army under General Hood. The forces
: under command of General Thomas We're
widely separated when it became known that
rfnEaJ
instead of undertaking a stern chase Of Sher-
mans army on its march to the sea- General
Smith was in Missouri and General Stegdman
was III Chattanooga Sehofcld's and SANKEY'S
T corps alone We're III position to oppose the ad-
vance Of Hoods veteran army, re-enforced by
Forests cavalry. Until Hoods objective
point OF attack became known il was obvious
that the removal of the garrisons from points
in the vicinity of Chattanooga would eopardize
! Kentucky and East Tennessee, provided Hood
should move in that direction or attempt to
flank Nashville and move into Kentucky.
Schofield and Stanley were, therefore, stationed
{ at Pulaski, IN Middle Tennessee, in the direct
} line Of march toward Nashville, with orders 10
2 delay Hoods advance as much as possible,
while General Thomas put forth every effort to
r concentrate his remaining troops at Nashville
! The Fourth and Iwenty-third Corps withdrew
none too soon from their exposed position at
{ Pulaski to prevent Hood from interposing his
army between them and Nashville. They
$ were overtaken at Franklin and the attack
handsomely repulsed on the Both of November
f The next day the two corps moved into posi-
ton in front of Nashville. The troops of lien-
g eFal A. j. Smith arrived the same day and
were posted in line on the right. Steedman
brought up his troops ON the I'd OF December
and posted them on the left in support OF the
t Fourth Corps, and, with the exception of Viii
sons cavalry, everything was in readiness to
t meet the enemy, who had arrived and formed
9 their line of investment, with their left flank
: resting on the river below the city efectually
: blockading. it and cutting off navigation.
e Thomas now stationed the cavalry on the
e north side Of the river to guard the L. g. N. r.
9 t., and urged on the reInounting of the main
3 cavalry force, which during these operations
had been in Kentucky remounting after their
arduous service on the Atlanta campaign. On
the 10th of December General Thomas an
o nounced himself ready to move upon the
|, enemy, and the attack would have been made
but for storm Of rain and sleet, which left the
= ground impossible for men and animals. He
y had determined that the attack should result
: il the utter destruction of Hoods army, and
" 10 the constantly reiterated orders from Gen.
era! Grant to attack replied calmly, stating his
e reaisons for delay. in this his corps com
7, manders agreed with him, and it is well known
d that if the alternative of attacking the enemy
5 before his troops could move or Telinquishina