Clarksville evening chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn) 1886-1890, 1888-10-05

/ faithful In eXpedients prompt in action and
always ready for fight. He won victory on
many well-cont, sled field; butt best of all /,
he ruled his own spirit.
Born in Davidson county in the year 1919, he
was brought up upon his fathers farm accus-
toned to worl; from his boyhood, he was
never ashamed of it after he became a man.
In lSi0 he went to Mexico as Captain of q
Company in the First Tennessee Regiment.
With this company he fought at Monterey,
and there first attracted marked attention
for his promptness, Skin, and daring courage.
His regiment, foremost amongst the bravest
baptized in its own blood, came forth from
the conflict the "Bloody First" n cognomen
signinoant Of Its fearful christening. After
the battle, Captain Cheatham volunteered,
with characteristic courage and humanity, TO
remain and bring in the wounded, who dur
ing the long and arduous conflict of the day
lay where they had fallen in the field. With
his regiment he had participated in the pre-
cedlng battles OF Palo Alto and Resaca de la
Palma. After the time fo6 which his com
pany had enlisted had expired, he returned
to Nashville aud raised segiment, of which
he was made Colonel by acclamation. On
reaching Vera Cruz as senior Colonel, he had
command OF brigade and joined General
Scott on his march to the capital ofthe coun-
try. He participate In nearly all the battles
around the City OF Mexico.
The late war found him engaged in the
peaceful pursuits of agriculture. In May,
1861, he was made a Brigadier-General of the
Confederate army, and was sent to the assist
ance of General Pillow at New Madrid. He
remained with the army in Missouri til IL
crossed over to Tennessee and Kentucky;
repulsed the Federal gunboats Lexington"
and "Conestoga" in the first naval engage
ment on the Mississippi; rallied our scattered
troops at Belmount, attacking the enemy In
flank and putting them to flight and pursuing
the fugitives to their gunhoats. At the battle
of Shiloh lie was under fire. with his COM
mand, all the first day ON the extreme right,
and, till after two o'clock of the second day
the extreme left Here he received his we'll
merited commission as Major-General Of the
Confederate States Army, bearing date March,
1862. In the Kentucky campaign he led the
van OF the right wing, and at the battle OF
Perryville his division bore the brunt of the
conflict and won brilliant honors, During
the battle he rode along the lines through an
incessant shower of shot and shell, calmly
smoking his pipe, and breathing the very
men.
That day he captured three or four bat
teries. Iieutenant-General Polk, in his report
of the battle of Perryville, says; "To Major
Generals Hardee and Cheatham feel under
obligations for the judgment and skill mani
tested in conducting the operations of their
respective commands and for the energy and
vigor with which they directed their move
ments. Few instances are on record where
such successes have been obtained against
snch disparity of numbers"
AT Murfreesboro, in The two actions Of Chick
amauga and Visionary Ridge, and during all
of Hoods campaign, and on many a field
beside, he exhibited the most perfect self
possession, the utmost disregard of peril, the
sublimest enthusiasm of heroic battle while
in the disposition and management of his
forces he united the discernment Of the COM
mander to the ardor of the soldier. Wherever
he appeared he gave q new zest to the conflict
and a new impulse TO victory. On Hoods
campaign 1t has been charged that Cheatham
failed to give battle when the ''enemy was
marching along the road almost under the
camp fires OF the main body of the army" II
is sufficientto to say that Cheatham possessed in
an eminent degree thatindispensable quality
of soldier which enabled him TO go wherever
duty or necessity demanded his presence. He
understood thoroughly thatit was better that
"A leader should lose his life than his honor
and we may believe his statement that "dur-
ing my services as q soldier under the flag of
my country in Mexico, and as an officer Of
the Confederate armies, l cannot recall an
Instance where / failed to obey an order
literally, promptly and faithfully" We may
accept the statement of Major D. W. Saunders,
A. A. G., of French's Division. "The assump-
ton that Scofelds army would have been
destroyed at Spring Hill, and one of the most
brilliant victories of the war achieved had it
not been for tho misconduct of Cheatham, Is
one of the delusions that has survived the
war; "No circumstance or incident that his
strategy developed can be found that iustifes
Hoods attack on the military reputation OF
General Cbeatham." The TRUTH is plainly
brought out in the letter of Governor Isham
G. Harris, addressed to Governor James d.
Porter:
0ISernGr Dear SIR o"'''e' - o ~ General Hood on
the march to Franklin, spoke to me, In the
presence of Major Mason, Of the failure Of
the failure Of General Gheatham TO make the
right attack at Spring HILL and Censured him
in severe terms for his disobedience OF orders.
Soon after this, being nlOre with Major Ma
son, the latter remarked that General Cheat
ham was not to blame about the matter last
night. 81 did not send him the orderW j
asked him IL he had communicated the fact
TO General Hood. He answered that he had
not, replied that ait is due General Cheat
ham that this explanation should be made -
Thereupou Major Mason Joined General Hood
and gave him the information. Afterward
General Hood said to me that he had done
injustice 10 General Cheatbam, and requested
me to inform him that "he held him blame
less' for the failure at Spring Hill and on
the day following the battle of Franklin /
was Informed by General Hood that lie had
addressed n note TO General Cheatham assur-
ing him that he did not censure him with
the failure TO attack. Very e.pectfully,
ISHAM q. HARRIS.
Memphis, Tenn, May 20, 1877.
The communication referred to in the letter
Of Governor Harris wac received by General
and was read by Governor Harris
General Porter, Major Cummins, Of Georgia,
and Colonel John &. Burch; but General
Cheatham, as he says, mot having been in
the habit Of carrying certificate of military
attached no special value 10 the
paper and lost 1t during the campaign in
North Carolina.
The story Of his military career Is yet TO be