The National tribune., 1883-09-13
A MYSTERY EXPLAINED.
How it Was that General McCook Was Not Re-
enforced ut Perryviiie, ky.

How it Was that General McCook Was Not Re-
enforced ut Perryyile, hy.
To the Editor NATIONAL TRIBUNE:
/ read an article in THE tribune of August
IS, headed What Puzzles Kentucky Soldier"
in which Mr. d. Dunn states that his brigade
was near the grounds and not engaged. Our
brigade. composed of the Thirty-sixth Indiana
volunteer Infantry, Sixth and Twenty-fourth
Ohio volunteer infantry, Eighty fourth Illinois
volunteer infantry and the Twenty third Ken
tucky volunteer iniantry,l commanded by Gen
eral Grose, of Palmer's DIVISION Crittenden's
corps, was also there in line of battle, ready and
anxious to go into the battle, and never fired o
gun, and l have always been puzzled to know
why General Crittenden's corps should have
lain idle while General McCook's corps were so
severely engaged. / have often heard it stated
that General McCook brought on the engage
ment contrary to General Buells orders, and
this was the reason General Buell. would not
re-enforce him, but l find nothing in history
which warrants such a statement.
/ served under General Buell. from the time
he took command of the army in Kentucky
until he was relieved of the command, and
have, and always have had more confidence in
him as general than most people, aud as he is
vet alive why can't we have a letter from him
through THE TRIBUNE explaining why Cen
eral Crittenden's corps was not engaged at the
battle of Perryville. L. j. PENTEcosT,
Co. G, 36th Ind. Vol. Inf.
PANoRA, Iowa.
TThe inquiry made by Comrade Pentecost
involves the whole question which caused the
subsequent court OF inquiry upon General
Buell's conduct in the Kentucky campaign in
1862. The writer, serving as staff officer with
hIaior-General Thomas l.. Crittenden on that
campaign, was with him during the entire day
ON which the battle took place. General VIM.
Souey Smiths division afterwards Palmer's)
occupied the right of our line, General Wood
the center, and General Van Cleve the left,
joining the right Of General Gilbert's line.
Between our lines the right wing and Me-
Cooks Cleft wing lay the center, comprising
three large divisions, extending from Gordons
place on the Lebanon pike northward to Nc
Cooks left, about two and a quarter miles.
Major General Geo. II. Thomas having declined
to relieve Gen. Buell. in command of the army,
was second in command and accompanied
General Crittenden He had full command
of the right of the line, and about noon, when,
in obedience to General BuelPs order, he had
placed Crittenden's command in line of battle
on Gilbert's right, he sent his aid, Captain
Mack, to General Buelrs headquarters, report
ing his position and asking for orders. During
| the absence of Captain Mack the engagement in
McCook's front commenced. While at its height
about g. D. M, General Crittenden, who had
been lying upon the ground, turned TO General
| Thomas and remarked, Gay is giving those
fellows fits with his artillery on the left )"
! to which General Thomas assented. 1t will be
remembered that Captain Gay had command OF
brigade of cavalry which marched in advance
of McCook's Corps. to which was attached a
section of light artillery. Those guns had been
| kept actively employed for several days. shell
| ling the woods as the troops advanced, and
| both General Thomas and General Crittenden
discovered no material increase in the volume
! of sound on that day. General Van Cleye rode
| up soon after and said the sound of musketry
was distinctly audible from the crest of hill on
/ his left Still no orders came for an advance.
| Captain Mack returned about p. m. with
| verbal orders from General Buell. to hold one
i division in readiness TO Te-enforce the center
! if necessary, and also to reconnoiter the front
| to see if Bragg had REINFORCED his left or was
| withdrawing, which information was TO be re-
! ported to him Immediately. At $50 p. m.
| soon after the departure of Captain Mack from
! Buell's headquarters, information reached Gen.
| eral Buell. that McCook had been seriously en-
gagged for several hours, and that he required
re-enforcemeuts Captain FitZhugh, an aid
de-camp, was at once dispatched with orders tC
| General Thomas to push forward the right
wing and attack the enemys left. This i'm
portant order shOuld have reached General
| Thomas, three and half miles away, in hal
Captain Fitzhugh having lost his way ani
Travelled far out of his route. Comrade Pente
| cost will, doubtless, remember the movement
near nightfall, and the disgust which wa
prevalent in the right wing when it wa
found that the prey had flown. With re
gard to the charge made against MeCoot
that he brought on the battle without orders
the records docno bear out the assertion
| He advanced his skrmish-line, by Buell.
consent, to enable his men to fill their canteen
from the pools in the beds of Doctors Creek
This movement brought ON the engagement
| and although the battle was fought without th
| knowledge of General Buell., whose headquar
ters were FIVE miles in rear of the center, i
must be said in favor of the latter that he hat
formed his line of battle in anticipation of
general engagement with Bragg's whole army
aud the attack upon his left by three divisions
was in his opinion, only preliminary to TIN
real fight that Bragg would make before evacu
| ating Kentucky. A full account OF the Ken
tucky campaign, including the battle of Perry
vile, compiled from official sources expressl.
for this paper, will soon appear in our columns
Ed