National Republican., 1883-10-24

IN tho face of the enemy, under mlscon-
stIuction Of that famous order about which
SO much has been said. Commenting on this
feature Of tho last days battle, Gen. Rose
Grams said: ''lom Wood always had a
genius for exercising his discretion as divi-
sion commander in constituting orders when nc
could get out Of fight by so doing, and of
Obcying orders with blind obedience when
blind obedience would got him out of a fight.
Io should havo been dismissed from
the army in disgrace for what he did that
day, and / am only sorry ! did not put him
under arrest at the close of the engagement.
If ever general meritod dismissal from the
army, Wood did,
In describing Longstroet's famous charge
whom he broke through the center, knocking
out two divisions. aud cutting OFF three others
on tho right, the general said:
"In conversation with Gen. Longstrect re-
Gently, | said to him, General, do you know
what was in mortal fear that you were going
to dop NO. said he. We'll, general an
swcrcd, Il was afraid you would sweep right
down the road and discover where our am
munition and supplies were-,iust behind the
mountain. was afraid you would seize these
supplies, and get in between the left and
Chattanooga, in which event you would
have left Thomas in barren, noun
famous region, destitute Of everything
Nothing could have saved the army thon. IL
would have melted away. Instead Of doing
",
Thomas and crush him with your hard
fighters
"'That was exactly what | wanted to do
said Longstrect. i thought you had your
supplies hidden back there somewhere, and
/ fairly begged Bragg to let me go for them,
but he was obstinate and would not let me.
What followed we all know"
Tho general spoke in terms of the deepest
affection of his heroic officers and soldiers,
and his eyes were moist when he alluded to
Gen Thomas. "Therc is one thing of which
i ought to speak," said Gen, Rosecrans,
"whilo on tho subject of the BATTLE not with
a view of taking from Gen. Thomas one iota
Of the glory that is his, for nober soldier
and truor man never lived, but because it Is
fact, and one which has been Intentionally
obscurod. That fact is this At the confer
ence of generals held on the night of the
nineteenth, at my headquarters, Gen. Thomas
was directed to hold the left at
all hazards, and l assured him then
and repeatedly the following day that l
would re-enforce him with tho full strength
of the army if it should prove necessary. All
the corps commanders, and / think nearly all
of the division commanders, thoroughly un-
derstood this. Gen. Crittenden and Gen.
McCook knew perfectly well that they were
to throw all their forces to the support of
Gen. Thomas, and defond the left come what
might. That was the plan of BATTLE"
Chickamauga was in reality great victory
for the union cause. AS a result of the battle
the army of the Cumberland was enabled to
occupy and hold Chattanooga which was one
of the very strongest positions that had
been wrested from the confederates up to that
time If Longstreet had pushed his men on
to Chattanooga when he broke through the
federal lines, instead of stopping to sacrifice
10000 Of his men in an attempt to crush the
left wing, the result might have been differ
ent. His failure to do that gave the army Of
the Cumbcrlanda q chance to fall back upon the
town and entrench themselves there. The
object and aim of the years campaign was
the capture of Chattanooga. 1t was for that
that tho advance was made from Win
chester. Tho position would have been
considered cheaply bought as tho con-
clusiun of a six months siege and all
expenditure of vast treasure and the lives
of an army of men. Although the battle of
Chickamauga has been set down as confod-
crate victory, the results show that it was in
point Of fact defeat for them. Bragg and
Longstrcct lost in killed, wounded, and pris-
oncrs about 25,0O0 mon; the union army
about 10000 men. If it was n con
fedcrate triumph, it was barren
triumph. AS matter of fact the
confcderates were as badly beaten and shat
tered as the union army, and they were
utterly unable TO take advantage of what
seemed to be victory. '''
Tho above paragraph is a skeleton outline
of Gen. Rosecrans's argument showing that,
disastrous Chickamauga," as 1t has been
called, should properly bo named "Glorious
Chickamauga," in the light of the advantages
to the union cause that resulted from the
fight.
"The confederates themselves have never
looked upon Chickamauga as victory for
their arms" said Gen Rosecrans. "Gen.
Longstreet, in talking about the fight, said {:
Il begged for three weeks to bo allowed to go
to Bragg's assistance with my corps before |
could obtain permission. | am sorry went
My going cost the lives of 10000 of my brave
soldiers, and L did no good Drawing his
hand across his brow he repeated sadly: l
AM sorry went; | did no good
AT the exchange of prisoners which took
place near Chattanooga soon after tho battle
of Chickamauga several confederate and
union officers met under flag of truce.
what is the prevailing opinion in re-
gard to the battle in your armyY Gen. Oracle
asked the union officers.
"'There is u difference of opinion was the
reply ~ , w,
talking it over and cannot make up our
minds whether it was victory or not. 1t
was terrible slaughter on both sides
"'Therc has been no time in the past six
months that we would not have bought Chat
tanooga at the price We have paid for it, said
Col. Bond, and the officers on both sides
agreed that he had stated the case exactly
Did you on your return to Chattanooga
on the afternoon Of the twentieth telegraph
Secretary Stanton, as he has stated and rs
has been charged, that the army was routed
and dcstroyed?'
If any such dispatch is in existence with
my name attached, il is - base and an in
famous forgery. Secretary Stanton's hatred
of me was malignant and unrcasoning, and |
believe that he was capable OF pcrpetrating
any infamy for my injury. If he ever had
such a dispatch as the one he is said to have
shown Gov. Morton and Gen. Stcedman, it
was forgery, rs | have said, and do not be-
lievo the forgery was committed at the other
end of the line. In short, believe the dis
patch-if there was or is such IL Dispatch
was manufactured in the war department,
and think know who did it,"
"What was tho cause of the misundcr-
standing between you and the secretary, gen-
eral?"
81 was Mordecai standing at the kings
gate. Ho would have liked me if he could
have used me, If had shown u disposition
to curry favor or to accent favors from him
in consideration of my allegiance to him |
would have gotten along with him all right.
My independence and blunt ways annoyed,
irritated, and then incensed him to such an
extent that the mere mention of my name
was enough to drive him wild with rage.
His hatred of me became malevolent and he
determined to destroy me. / always did
what | thought was my clear duty, utterly
regardless of fear or favor. Boot lick
ing was not in my line. | dis
trusted Stanton the first interview