Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1891-02-20

sHEEMANs ARMY ENTERING SAVANNAH.
surrender them, but he thought Sherman
ought to give him some guarantee for the
men and officers of their political rights
Other prominent Confederate officers were
called in, and Sherman wrote terms for
surrender to submit to the new president,
Andrew Johnston. The papers were signed
and forwarded
The taking up of civil matters in this
cartel, proposing the guarantee to the "peo-
pie of all the states their political rights
and franchises" at once insured its disap-
proval at Washington. Grant joined Sher-
man at Raleigh, by direction of the presi-
dent, for the purpose of assuming COM
mand. New terms were drawn up between
Johnston and Sherman for the surrender
of Johnston's army alone and approved by
| Gen. Grant.
Then came the grand review in Wash
ington, the flags, the decorations, the en-
thusiastic multitudes, while hundreds of
| thousands of veterans marched through
the streets past the reviewing stand But
one shadow rested upon the throng and
the armies-the memory of those who had
| fallen, and that he whose patience, whose
wisdom, whose kindly disposition had
guided the nation, harmonizing the dis
cordant elements, pushing always forward
with sublime faith through four years of a
disheartening struggle, was not permitted
| to review the victorious armies. Abraham
Lincoln slept with those whom he had
sent into battle.
Gen. Sherman succeeded Grant in the
command of the armies of the United
States when Grant was made president
At the age of Ga he was retired, and eventu-
ally took up his residence in New York,
and each year has add to the popular
| love for the old hero The humorous feat
ures of his character have lately become
historical
The actual ability of any eminent man
cannot be weighed dispassonately in his
own time. Sherman failed signally in the
early part of the war but was eminently
successful in the latter part. He was al
ways true to his convictions, and to the
sight with which he saw the problems be-
fore him. He never did much with little,
but he did great deal when amply sup
piled with means. When Grant left him
in command in the west he was free to
prosecute any campaign in his own way.
That he prosecuted the campaign he saw
before him in a mastery way Except his
blunder at kenesaw), and handled his men
and kept open his communications with
great skill, no one can doubt, but it will
remain for the dispassionate military stu
dent to determine whether or not his plan
was at fault.
When he started for Atlanta his whole
army amounted to nearly POO, coo electives.
The combined Confederate forces that
could have opposed any move he chose to
make in the west were not more than 30
per cent of the number of his own. His
plan of following Johnston involved the
strnging out of his army from Louisville
to Atlanta. The situation WAS cumber
some for Sherman and greatly to his dis
advantage. The question for the military
critic is, whether he could have done any
better-anything to break up the status Of
chasing one small army which had the adj
vantage of engaging only portion of the
force opposed to it, and involving line Of
supply to defend extending through "a hos
tile country over 300 milesi These ques-
tons may at times puzzle students of
military history till some new war will
show the methods of 1875 to be out of
date.