The Irish standard., 1891-04-18
CHAPTER XIII.
Arr END 4 TGrM NJ

Human interest is always stirred to
fever heat by a race, whether the COM
peting objects be men in the arena.
horses on the course Or yachts or ocean
steamers flying over. the foaming waves,
but here WAS a sight that made the dull
est pulse beat fast-two armies rushing
across State, as big as a European
country, in anxious haste to reach
spot that may be a key to pronounced
victory. Bragg and Buell. with their
thousands were the participators in this
stupendous struggle, with all the odds
of an early start in favor of the former,
but the Union General reached the goal
first, and SO foiled one Of the finest ef~
forts of his astute antagonist, whose
record during his brilliant career was
second only to Lees among the South
ern commanders as al expert tact1clan.
But though torestalled in his inten-
tions, the Confederate leader seized the
opportunities left to him, with consunl.
mate Skill flooding the State with ap'
peals to loyalty to his cause, inspiring
them by the presence and boasted sue
cesses of his troops to join his standard.
and making almost superhunan ef'
forts to win the Kentuckians to a
declaration of secession. He went
further than Lee had ventured to do in
Maryland, daring even to create apro-
yisional Governor and carry into effect
a stringent conscription law. Come
into the folds of your brotherhood"
was his passionate appeal by proclama~
tion ''Cheer us with the smiles of your
women, and lend your willing hands to
secure the heritage Of liberty!:'
And even when all this failed he won
success from defeat by turning his de-
1nand for men into one for supplies,
ravaging the rich lands of the northern
part of the State with it's fertile val
leys and green pastures, until he had
wagon-train of supplies forty miles
long--clothing, boots. arms, two hun
dred loads of bacon, six thousand bar
rels of pork, two thousand horses and
eight Thousand beeves, and all this vast
array o1s booty he dispatched IN safety
southwark. Then, when this valuable
feat was accomplished, he sullenly be-
gan retrograde movement with Buell.:
whose delay had fretted the gallant
troops he led almost beyond endur~
ance, in tardy pursuit. Day by day the
Union forces followed the retreatlng
host. when on the 9Th of October, as
they reached the village of Perryville,
Bragg turned upon them with sudden
fury, and fighting from noon till eve,
so crippled his pursuers that when
darkness came on he was allowed un-
molested to escape with all his plunder
to Chattanooga.
In Judging General Buells actions
during this campaign, it is but fair to
remember that many of his failures
were due to unavoidable misfortune and
false information, and that he was
pitted against leader of exceptionable
high qualities; but popular opinion did
not stop to weigh these considerations,
so on the last day of the same month he
met the fate SO often accorded to the
unsuccessful General, deprivation Of
command. Thomas had refused to re-
place him. so Rosecrans, whose brilliant
career in West Virginia had already be-
come matter of history, was appointed
to this important command, and under
these new auspices the Fighting Fourth
with the rest Of the army found them
selves once more at Nashville.
The dusky shades of night were fast
lengthening and the sun had set in
crimson glory-the last departing
blush Of Indian summer-when on an