Arizona weekly citizen., 1891-02-28


self an unwilling commander Looking
at his field,' say Messrs Nicolay and Hay
in their "Life of Lincoln, with purely
professional eye the disproportion between
the magnitude of his task and the imme-
diate means for its accomplishment op-
pressed him like a nightmare"
His impatient temper soon set his rather
sarcastic tongue in most injudicious action.
Secretary Cameron came in person to lis
ten to his complaints and asked what he
wanted
Sixty Thousand men at once, and 200, 900
before we are DONE" was his reply.
1t is definitely recorded that for once in
his life Simon Cameron was shut up.
When he repeated this to Adjt. Gen. Lo-
renzo Thomas he added: Sherman Is
crazy. He wants 200, 900 men sent to Ken
tuckyr The next day it was in the papers
that the secretary thought Gen. Sherman
crazy-a newspaper correspondent was
present to hear the remark And every
word that Sherman said to Cameron was
in print within a week. In another week
Gen. Sherman was relieved and ordered
to report at st. Louis''-to Gen. Halleck-
Shiloh and vicksburg.
One of the most fortunate things that
happened to Sherman and the Union cause
was the order for him to report to Grant
at Paducah. He had started out with the
same disposition as other generals, who
were destined to become gigantic failures,
TO magnify the difficulties in the way and
take a discouraging view Of his own re-
sources In Grant be found a man who
was always ready to act with what mate
rials were at hand, who from the first
was looking at his front rather than his
rear. Sherman was man who could profit
by the contact, and doubtless to this fact
more than any other is due his final tn
umph as one of the great leaders Of the
war.
He was at Paducah when Fort Henry
and Fort Donaldson were taken. On the
10th of March, by order OIL Halleck, he en-
barked his division at Paducah and at
Fort Henry reported to Gen. c. f. Smith.
by whose orders he joined Grant at Pitts
burg Landing.
At the battle of Shiloh Sherman com
mantcd his division. For the second time
he had an opportunity to take part in a
great battle, and in command of three or
four times as many men as he led at Bull
Run
On the 11th of April Gen Halleck an
rived at Pittsburg Landing and assumed
personal command Commanding his
division with the right, Sherman was a
witness to Hallecks illustration of the art
Of war as laid down in the books by ed
vancing an army of over 10000 men, by
regular siege methods, on Corinth, place
of no especial natural strength and de-
Tended only by dirt and.about 5000 Con-
federateS- Grant knew that the siege of
Corinth was a farce, but Sherman, who
was full of impulse and still had great
deal to learn, spoke Of it as "a victory as
brilliant and important as any recorded in
history"
Then came the operations about Vicks-
burg and on the Yazoo river. SherInan's
command consisted of four divisions. He
attacked the Confederate forsifica<ions
above the Chickasaw bayou and wasdrisen
back. having lost 900 men to q Confeaer-
ate loss Of 200.
His failure in Kentucky had been fol-
lowed by his failure at VickSburg, and he
was neither trusted by the people nor by
the administration. McClernand assumed
command of Sherman's army, except two
divisions, and Sherman issued farewell