The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-09-20

D. c. Anderson then read the following letter
from General Lew. Wallace, the first colonel of
the Eleventh, now United States Minister at
Constantinople:
THE GENERALS LETTER.
UNITED STATES LEGATION,
CONSTANTINoPLE, Aug. II, 1883.
Ny dear Anderson and all my comrades of the brave
old Eleventh regiment:
The card inviting me to your reunion at
| Upton, Sept. 49, is at hand. 1t will not he pos
| slble for me to attend, though TO do so I would
| willingly cross the ocean. My son. Henry L. Wal
| lace will report himself to your presiding officer
| as my proxy. The regret of his life is that he
| was a child the years You were working round
the rebellion with no equals in drill, no super
iors In battle. He believes he VIII inherit por-
| ton of the great honor which belongs to me
/ your first reGimental commander. Be you the
judges then, if, IN sending him to represent me,
the next best thing to coming myself1s not done,
and whether, having possessed him with such
ideas, have no: done my duty In his education.
| 1t viii do him deal of good TO look at the tat
| tiers OF the dear old flags, for do not doubt you
will have them with you.
| Let me repeat that would willingly cross the
| ocean to be in Upton the 10Th OF September
| where, from the known character of the people,
am sure whole-hearted, generous reception is
| III store for you. | make the repetition because,
exaggerated AS it may at first appear, wish the
assertion it carries TO be believed. The ratiOns
which will be issued To you will be better than
! those you used to get in Old Virginia or down
| amongst the bayous OF louisiana, and they Will
| be issued without weighing, and by commits
sares fairer and more gentle than Joe Pope
was, though Joe was not bad fellow either; and
| know without your saying 1t that you would
share the best you get with nue., and loan
your knife and fork and your cup, did need
them; still, it is not for the good things of the
| table or any politenesses so wish to be with
you. Under the wish there is a reason for it
which grows with me the years pass, and
which, let the critics say what they please,
| will tell you, though the telling Will be to
like tearing the bandages from an old, unhealed
wound.
You all know it was found convenient, if not
necessary to the regulations of certain officers
| of high responsibility, TO make me the scapegOat
of the disaster which hefeil our army the first
| day of the battle OF P1ttsburg Landing You
also know how relentlessly the apOlogists of
those disasters have since hunted me. The
! charges you win remember, ~
that 1 refused to obey General Grants
order TO march to the battlefield, because the
order was not in writing, and ~ that when L
| did set ont with my division, the march before
me not exceeding six miles, and the sound of the
! guns and musketfy in my ears, lost the road.
| These were, indeed, grave accusations. If the
commanding General really believed me guilty,
| he should have sent me before court. Why
did he notl A asked for tho court, and it was
! refused. The crimes charged were the highest
| known to military law. There s no doubt that
the persecution thus started was effective. There
| were great names indorsing it-General Grants
amongst others. The splendid record made at
| Fort DoneIson and on the second day Pitts
burg Landing was not enough to save my dIvis-
| ion. 1t was broken up at Memphis. was then
| laid upon the shelf. Between that and the
time, months after, when President Lincoln
| took the authority in his own hands and gave
me duty chief of the middle department and
| Eighth army corps, headquarters at Baltimore,
| the services saw was as a volunteer AT Gov
ernor Morton's request, put my rank aside, and
led regiment into Kentucky. With nothing to
| coupon except telegraphic request from Cen
| eral Wright, at the mead or the department OF the
| Ohio, was in command of Cincinnati when that
| citY-thankS to the marvellous energy of its
| cltizens-was rescued from the detachments of
| General Bragg When our own State was invaded,
I shook myself off the shelf again, you
would have had me do. Down to this day
| the persecution so begun has been pushed
! without abatement. But through it all yOu my
comrades, have been true aud constant in my de
Tense. Now of what stuff must be not to wish
with all my soul TO be at meeting of such
| friends, if only, with every faculty possess to
| try and make them see that for their steadfast
faith they have from me all the love man can
| give to men. And that beg you to carry it In
memory-is a statement OF the measure as near
! w as can be III words of the feeling / bear the
Eleventh regiment, officers ana men-the feel
| ing which burns my eyelids now as think of you
at this great distance-the feeling which viii die
| only when die.
Having thus touched upon the subject of the
blame which has been cloud over my last
| twenty years. and trouble great enough to
keep me from the reunions of our OLD Army Of
! the Tennessee-from all reunions, in fact, except
| y0urs-I think best to go further with II. You
have rig hit to hear more about it from me; every
soldier OF the division has the same right; for
| the principle which gives chief credit for the
! good conduct of bis command sometimes
| operates iuversely, carrying to the com
| mand whatever OF dscredit may have attached
to the chief. Besides, as you made the march in
| question. your personal knowledge OF it will
| save my entering into details.
| AS to the charges-that l refused to obey Gen
| eral Grants order To InAfcD, ana lOSt my ROAD
You will have in your meeting at Upton two
| officers, General Fred. Knetfler and LIT. Col.
| James r. Ross. The former was my Adjntant-
| general at the happening OF the battle of Pitts
burg Landing, and the latter one of my aides-de-
| camp. Do me the favor, while you are all III as
| sembjy to call them to their feet, and let your
| chairman in the common hearing ask them
| each the following questions:
| l. Were you on duty the first day Of the bat
tie of Plttsburg Landing}
! 2 Did you see an order from General Grant
to General Wallace to march TO the feld2
| 3. At what hour was the order received
| 4. To what point did it direct him TO march?
| 5. How long after receipt OF the order before
| General Wallace set bis column IN motionf
! g. Did he take the dlrectest road to the point
| indicated in the orden
z. If he changed direction or route during
the march, by whose order did he 500
8. Was there any lettering OF delay during
| the movement
| You will not fail, my comrades to see the con-
venlency OF the method here suggested for you
| to get ut the exact truth, and SIX Thousand
| miles away. They are with you; Won have only
to call them mp; you know them; you know how
perfectly independent they are of me; you hon
| Ored them IN the field; their nelghbOrs honor
them now, brave men, true soldiers; in simple
declaration the truth Will be sacred on their
| tongues as if they were under formal oath ASK
| them the questions and then compare their an
| swers with the answers L now give you TO the
a. They saw the order received from Sen
eral Grant to march to the field, and they read
it, for 1t was in writing. q L. was 1:3O fore
| noon by watch when the order was put into my
| hands by officer Of General Grants. 49, 1t
| directed me- 10 form Junction Win the rlgnt OF
| army which. as you all know OF your own knowl-
edge, rested on the road from Pittsburg Landing
TO Purdv, at point about four miles out from
| the landing. a. They know, and you know, the
| column was the road in full movement by
| sharp noon. t5.) They know, and you know,
| for yOpr brigade was leading the column, that
! the road taken conducted to the point where the
right or the army was in camp in the morning,
and that il WAS the directest road from our po-
sitiOn TO that point. quite four miles
shorter than the one by way ~ P'ttshurg Land
ing. the latter being the only ot""r choice. (6).
The route was changed after tn march began,
that you also know from personal knowledge,
but General KueGer and Colonel Ross know
what you may noU-that officers from General
Grants staff overlook me with orders to move
with the greatest speed to PitUsburg Landing.