The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-09-06


a bIsmish. The only attempt ever made to as
sail his record or bslittle his services was based
on the following letter, written by Gen. w. L.
Sherman:
HEADQUARTERS MILITARY DIVISION
OF THE MISSISSIPPI, IN THE FIELD,
NEAR ATLANTA, GA, JULY %, 1864.
Sol James Hardie. Inspector general, Washing
ton, ID. e:
II have your dispatch of yesterday " y =
! wish to put on record this. my emphatic opin-
ion. that it il an act of injustice to officers who
stand by their posts in the day Of danger, to
neglect them and advance such as General
Hovsy. who left us in the midst of bullets to go
If tho rear be the post of honor. then we had
better oil change front on Washington.
"W. T. SHERMAN,
Maj Gen. Com"
This letter found its way into print, and long
after the war it was used by General Hoveyis
political enemies as the basis of q cowardly at
tack on his military character. 1t was not ex-
actly an attack in the rear, but q stab in the
back. General Sherman's letter did General
Hoyey injustice, IS Sherman himself virtually
admitted later. That great and gallant soldier
sometimes spoke hastily. and even wrote with
out duly weighing his words. This was one Of
the instances. Many years later, in his pub
lished memoirs" he alluded to the matter as
follows:
o the oath of July, 1864, l received g dis
patch from nspector-general James A. Hardie.
then on duty at the War Department in Wash
ington. to the effect that Generals Osterhaus
and Alvin p. Hoyey had been appointed major
generals. Both Of these had begun the cam
paign with us in command of divisions, but had
gone 70 the rear-the former by reason Of sick
ness, and the latter dissatisfied with General
Schofeld and myself about the composition of
his division in the Twenty-third Corps. Both
were esteemed as frst-class officers. who had
gained special distinction in the Vicksburg
campaign. But up TO that time, when the
newspapers announced daily promotions else
whore. no prominent officers serving
with me had been advanced a peg,
and / felt hurt I answered Hardie
on the 25th, in a dispatch which has been made
public, closing with this language: If the rear
be tho pSst of honor, then we had better all
change front on Washington To my amaze
ment, in a few days l received from President
Lincoln himself an answer, in which he caught
me fairly. l have not preserved a copy Of that
dispatch. and suppose is was burned up in the
Chicago fire: but it was characteristic of Mr..
Lincoln, and was dated the Goth or 9th OF July.
containing unequivocal expressions of respect
for those who we're fighting hard and rnselfshly,
Offering US a full share Of the honors and re-
wards of the war, and saying that in the
cases Of Hovey and Osterhaus he was In
hueuced mainly by recommendations OF Generals
0uA w ~ IVA u CRAtQo
direct. apoloeizine somewhat for my message to
General Hardie. saying that 1 did not suppose
such messages ever reached him personally,
explaining that General Grants and Shermanfs
been made when the events OF Vicksburg were
fresh with US, and that my dispatch Of the 25th
to General Hsrdie bad reflected chiefly the feel
ines Of the officers then present with me before
Atlanta
This extract from Sbermon's Memoirs, writ
ten many years after the letter, explains it in Q
way entirely cred liable to General Hovey. 1t
will be observed that the letter contains no
word Of censure on Hovey. If it was a censure
Of anybody it was Of the President, from whom
all promotions came. Second, the letter en-
braced another brave and capable officer besides
Hovey, Of whom Sherman says: "Both were
esteemed as frst-clsss officers who had gained
special distinction in the Vicksbure campaign.
Third, the President turned the tables on Sher-
man by citing his own written recommendation
for Hovey's promotion. Finally, General
Sherman wrote to the President apoloeizing
for his hasty letter. and stating
that his letter to Hardie reflected chiefly the
feelings Of the officers then present with me be-
fore Atlanta This is equivalent to saying that
1t did not reflect his deliberate Judgment. At
all events his written recommendation for Ho-
vey's promotion silenced him. As q matter of
fact, the real injustice was to Hovey in not re-
ceiving an earlier promotion. for Grant and
Sherman bad recommended it in july, 1868, and
he did not receive IL till July, 1864. A short
time before he did receive it, being in Washing
ton, he called on the President to ask why he
had not been promoted when others
IA fe ~vn,,nftan o. kho <inn Nd haA.
President Lincoln, anticipating his complaint.
said: ''Your commission has long since been
made ont and signed, and you are q major gen.
eral already"
81 do not question your word said General
Hovey, ''but your mails seem to be q long time
coming. have never received a commission TO
be major general, although my juniors have
been appointed over me.
''The establishment of President Lincoln was
great. He babe General Hovey to return to his
home and be reconciled, assuring him that there
had been some great wrong committed; that the
commission for him az major general had been
directed from the White House two years be.
| fore, and that some one WAS to blame. General
Hovsy retired to his home, and shortly after
that his commission as msjor-gsneral reached
him. In the light Of these facts, and Of General
Sherman's explanation of the letter in his
Memoirs it cannot be construed Is in the
slightest degree discreditable to General Hovey.
In fact, as General Sherman distinctly terms
him . frstclass officer who had gained special
distinction in the Vicksburg campaign, the
whole incident inures to his credit"
The foregoing extract places the matter in
exactly its true light. The Sentinel prints
General Sherman's letter without any expla-
nation or reference to the Memoirs, thus
endeavoring to create the impression that he
had placed a slur on General Hovey's military
record. The indirect and sneaking method Of
the attack makes it the more contemplate.
1t is not surprising that the same Democratic
organ which was fOmentiDg treason in the