St. Paul daily globe., 1889-05-13
CRICKANlAUGA. a

questionable quality, it becomes an alb
solute pleasure to find book so
thoroughly reliable and so replete with
details as Gen. JOHN B. TURCHIN's his
tory of the battle of Chickamauga. 1t is
one of the few war publications that
will have permanent value, because it
is a most thorough and accurate de-
scription of battle that is shrOuded in
more obscurity than any of the battles
of the great Rebellion. and for the ad-
ditional reason that the author OF the
work was peculiarly qualified for the
task that he has performed. Gen.
TURcHIN was Russian officer of dis
tinetion, and for several years held high
rank in the Imperial guard. but gave
his services to the Union cause in our
late civil struggle and held an import
ant command in the Western army.
His brigade performed brilliant service
in the battle of Chickamauga, so that his
treatment of his subject is from the
standpoint of an active participant as
well as from that of an educated soldier.
AS we have said, the battle of Chicka-
maugais less understood and less known
about its details than any of the great
battles of the war. 1t was because OF
the prevailing doubts and disputes con-
cerning it that last fall the war depart
ment assigned certain officers OF the
regular army to visit the scene Of the
conflict, with instructions to carefully
trace out the original lines of battle and
to gather testimony from competent
witnesses on both sides as to the exact
location and movement of the troops
engaged in the battle. Gen. TURcHIN
had previously given several years of
careful investigation to the matter, had
made various visits to the battlefield,
had given its topography and lines
close inspection, and had at his own eX-
penSe caused many accurate surveys to
be made Oh the ground to clear up the
disputed points. But he again visited
the field in company with the commits
sion appointed by the war department.,
and it is proof of the accuracy of his
work that but few discrepancies, and
they of very minor detail, exist between
his account of the battle and the report
OF the military commission.
Chickamauga was expected to be the
Gettysburg of the war, in the sense that
it was contemplated to make it the
turning point. Yet, tactically, it was
Union defeat, although it did not pre-
vent the campaign Of RosEcRANs from
reaching its original object; but its
lack of deciSiveness necessitated an
other battle, which resulted in GRANTS
victory at Missionary Ridge. If Chicka
mauga had been the high water ma rk
of Confederate aggression, as Gettys-
burg was, then RosECRANs would have
been crowned as the hero of the war.
In his treatment of the battle, Gen.
TURcHIN does not consider it a Union
defeat, Notwithstanding the Federal
army fell back. He gives in detail the
movements by which the detached
Union army was concentrated in
the face of a powerful enemy watching
its opportunity to fall on the separated
Federal divisions and destroy them.
The fact that RosECRANs saved his
army at all. was victory in itself.
Chick amauga was drawn battle, but it
was the ruin of the Confederate army in
Tennessee, and was Union victory in
the sense that it resulted in giving the
Federals permanent possession of Chat
tanOoga.
Gen. TURcHIN is more just to Rose
GRAMS than the Comte de Paris, who
finds fault with him for quitting the
field and giving up the fight prema-
turely. But in rendering justice to
RosECRANs no effort is made to detract
from the fame THOMAS won as "The
Rock of Chickam auga." In fact, he
renders to all the officers who held COM
mand at Chickamauga the praise that is
due them. The only Federal general
who is punctured by his pen is HAL
LEcK, who, as he thinks, gave too much
of his time to luxurious dinners, and
not enough to field operations. Our
townsman. Gen. r. W. JOHNSON, COM
manded division in MCCoOK'S corps
at Chickamauga, and is cOmplimented
by Gen. TURCHIN with number Of
favorable notices.