Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1886-02-05

that the question raised is one of gosd
manners and proper courtesy rather
than OF conduct subjscting Gen. Fry
to military discipline. l sm, Gen
eral, very respectfully. your obedient
servant, r G.. DRUM
Aojutant General.
Then followed two letters from Gen.
Sherman. as follows:
mo 912 GARRISON AVE. ST. LOUIS.
Mo-, Jan. 2. 1SS6.-Allen Thorndlke
Rice, Esq North American Review.
My Dear Sir: l have the Review
for January and notice the manner
In which you treat the Sherman-Fry
matter. 1t is we'll and skiIfully done,
but you do not know Fry as well ss
Grant and l did. He invented that
quotation 10 set up man of straw for
the honor of knocking it down. Gen.
Grant always regarded him (FyI) as
one OF the men most active in spread
ing the lies about us at Shiloh-'sur-
prise, 'bayonetted in our BEDS de
moralized, a covering mass on the
river bank, etc, etc and his De-
cember article shows that Grant lis,
tened to him. as he could not help de-
ing, replying little Now, for illustrs-
ton, send to Van Nostran for little
book published in 1884, The Army
Under Buell. Fry, on page s, says:
During the seven months, including
the winter season, he (BueiD organ
lied and disciplined an army which
had no superior, etc. moved With the
main body of his army 20 Pittsburg
Landing, rescued Grants army at the
battle of Shiloh, and converted the
disaster of the first day on that mem
orabie field isto the victory of the
second day Agsih, on page 10:
Pressing their advantage the Union
armies of the Tennessee under Grant
and of the Ohio, under Buell., concen-
trated at Pittsburg Landing, on the
Tennessee, when, being attacked on
the 9th of April they gained the vic
tory of Shiloh. Then turn to Grants
Memoirs" pages 330-33l, ct. seq, and
read his plain, truthful narrative.
BATTLE OF SHILOH
Gen. Buell. did not reach the field
of battle until the first day was over.
He came out to me mile and half
from the landing after dark with Fry
and others, and I talked with both.
On that first day We had fought from
morning till night short of one divis-
of our own army Lew Wallace's);
had sustained loss of 5000 men, and
IL tiicted like loss to Our enemy,
holding our ground against superior
numbers and covering every vital
point of our position. We, of the
army of the Tennessee claimed a vic
tory at nigh, Lew Wallace having ar
rived with 6 600 men before buell. ap
peared, Gen. Grant ordered me
in person to assume the offensive the
next morning at daylight. Now, on
the morning of the 9Th of April,
Wallace was only six miles off, and
we expected HIM momentarily; still
he did not cross the bridge, which l
covered till night. One division of
Buell's army <Nelson's), which had
marched from Nashville to Savannah
NEST leisurely, was there on the even
ing of April 5, and Gen. Grant
ordered it to march toward Pittsburg
Landing. The firing was heard at
Savannah early the morning of the
OH, yet the division did not start till
the afternoon of the 6sb, and its sd
vance brigade (Ammen's) only reach
ed the Landing about dark, after the
days battle was over, losing, as Gen.
Grant describes, two men killed
and one wounded Official report,
one killed, two wounded. That night
the bells were as much demoraiIz I'd
and more than we. Buell. got up two
other divisions (Crittenden's and Nc
Cook's), and the battle of the IA was
walk-over, the losses being not
one-fourth of the day before.
We were everywhere victorious.
We did not know that we had been
surprised and slaug htered IN our beds.
We believed we had heroically de-
Tended our position till reinforcements,
near, and long expected, did arrive,
until the newspapers came from the
north full and complete. Our fami
lies mourned us as dead, with the
blush of shame that we had sat down
like parcel of towards to be knocked
over with clubs. These accounts
were written by towards and fugitives
who fled from the f-ld and did not
stop till they reached Paducah, Cairo,
and Cincinnati. Their accounts were
verified by men who never command
ed even brigade, and who reached
the battle field from the rear, always
presenting sickening sight, and sent
forth their reports damaging to the
brave and gallant men of the Army
of the Tennessee, who did fight hard
and successfully on the 9Th of April,
1862. Gen. Grants account is as near
correct and true as any single man
WHO was on the field can make it. l
can have no newspaper controversy
with Gen. Fry or anybody else, If
avoidable: but when Fry sent his vol
ume before referred to, ] called his
attention to the renewal of his old
controversy, sent the letter to Gen.
Grant, who, Aug. 4, 1884, wrote me
that he, too, had noticed Fry's as
SUM ptioa, but in his memoirs he
would confne himself to the simple
statement of facts.
FRY loves nototiety, and coptro-
versy; is woldy, but not profound.
He wants to be considered Buell's
mouthpiece, and the champion of the
army of the Cumberland. He quotes
me; refuses to give me the source of
his quotation, but admits his liability
10 you. l will be pleased if you call
on him to substantlate his quotation.
With resp;cf, yours. etc.
w Z. SHERMAN.
Signs OF the Zodiac