New Ulm weekly review., 1886-06-09
GRANTS SECOND yoIIT,1r 8
some Extracts Showing Opinion. 90 ~.
and Events.
. ON GENERAL T,Eu

anu Events.
ON GENERAL LEE.
General Lee, who had 1od -
- Nofthern Virginia in all these con
eescs, was a very highly estimated
man IN the confederathe arnn aaa
s.aees, and filed also a very high
place IN theestimation Of the northern
states. His praise was sounded
throughout the entire north aftor ~
~ action he was engaged in; the nun
per OF his forces was always lowered
ana that OF the National forcas oxoa
gerated. He was a large. arstaro @ naog roog
land, | judge, difficult OF annroanh liI''tt, ~
us MS supordlnates. To be extolled bv
one entire press OF the south after an
engagement, and by portion Of the
press north with equal vehemence.
~as calculated to give him the
tnclre confidence of his troops and
~ make hlm feared by his antago-
nisCs. Ii was not an uncommon thing
10r my staff officers to hear from
Eastern officers, "Well, Grant has
never met Bobby Lee vet" There
were good and true officers who believe
now that the Army of Northern Vir-
glnla was superior to the Army of the
foComac man to man. / do not be-
heve SO, except as the advantages
spoken OF above made them so. Be-
lore the end believe the difference was
the other way. The Army of North
ern Virginia became despondent and
saw the end. It did not please them.
The National army saw the same
tnlng' and were encouraged by it.
oN 'oHNSON's TACTICS AGAINST SHERMAN.
MY own judgment is that Johnston
acted very wisely; he husbanded his
men and saved as much OF his terri
tory as he could without fighting de-
clslve battles in which all might be
lost. AS Sherman advanced, as I have
SHOWN, his army became spread out,
until, II this had been continued, it
would have been easy to DESTROY it in
DETAIL. President Davis removed
Johnston and gave the command to
Hood. Both Sherman and I were re.
lolced when we heard of the change.
Hood was unquestionably brave,
gallant soldier, and not destitute Of
ability; but unfortunately his policy
was to fight the enemy wherever he
saw him, without thinking much of
the consequences of defeat.
Of Jefferson Davis, General Grant
says that |"on several occasions dur
Ing the war he came to the relief of the
Union army by superior military gen
lus," on which he plumed himself
Grant permitting himselfi in this phrase
a rare resort to italics He thinks
Davis was wrong in removing John
.ston, butin speaking of the subsequent
raldlng on Sherman's S communications
says that "this part of Mr.. Davis
military plan was most admirable"
ON GENERAL THOMAS.
AS my official letters on file in the
war department., as we'll as my re-
marks in this book, reflect upon Gen
eral Thomas by dwelling somewhat
upon his hardness, it is due to my
self, as we'll as to him, that 1 give my
estimate of him as a soldier. The
same remark will apply also in the
case of General Candy. had been at
West point with Thomas one year,
and had known him later in the old
army. He was a man Of commanding
appearance, slow and deliberate in
speech and action; sensible, honest
and brave. He possessed valuable
soldierly qualities in an eminent de-
gree He gained the confidence of all
who served under him, and almost
their love. This implies very valua-
BILE quality which calls out the most
efficient services of the troops serving
under the commander possessing it.
Thomas's dispositions were deliber-
ately made, and always good. He
could not be driven from q point he
was given to hold He was not as
good, however, in pursuit as he was
in action. l do not believe that he
could ever have conducted Sherman's
army from Chattanooga to Atlanta
against the defences and the command
er guarding that line in 1864. On the
other hand, ii it had been given him to
hold the line which Johnston tried to
hold, neither that General nor Sher-
man, nor any other officer, could have
,done;it better.
Thomas was a valuable officer, who
richly deserved, as he has received, the
.plaudits of his countrynen for the
pc1A v AAC DAc1yC ALI uA1O S5LCc1u VI 1C1SCuy Ol
.l861-'65.
MEADE AND BURNSIDE.
s'He had been an officer Of the Engi-
,neer Corps before the war, and conse.
,quently had never served with troops
until he was over forty-si years of
age. He never had, l believe COM
mand Of less than a brigade. He saw
clearly and distinctly the posi-
tion OF the enemy and thetopography
,of the country in front of his own
position. His first idea was to take
advantage of She lay OF the ground,
sometimes without reference ito the
direction we wanted to move after
ward. He was subordinate to his su-
aperiors in rank to the extent that he
scou]d,execute an order which ,ohanged
This own plans with the same zeal he
would lave displayed if the plan had
been his own. HeWas brave a.ndoon-
,scientioUss, and commanded there-
spect ;of all who knew him. He was