San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-10-24

Gettysburg on the south of James river
and staid there with Richmond all but in
his graspSYet there were some bold spirits
who held that the god of battles might see
to it that the weaker side should have one
more chance with fair play and no favor
and one of those was Gen. j. b. Hood, that
dashiug daring Texan, who saucily made
faces around the corner at Sherman after
the latter had hustled him oui If Atlanta
by giving him the toe of the boot, as it
were.
Hood candidly admitted to himself and
his superiors that he couldn't cope with
Sherman in open battle. but he hoped by
skillful maneuvers to draw him away from
his long line of communication between At
lanta and Nashville and worry him into an
abandonment Of all that the Union army
had gained south Of Tennessee river. With
this project in view he turned and doubled
on the track northward again toward Chat
tanooga At various points he threatened
or attacked Shermans liue Of communica
ton, notably at Allatoona pass where
brave Corse "held the fort" and he soon
had the satisfaction OF finding Sherman
army all broken up in the haste to cover
the vital points in its rear, only one corps
remaining in Atlanta.
After two weeks of a game of fox and
geese Hood found himself in the presence
of a large body of Sherman's troops in the
mountains of northwestern Georgia and
determined to offer battle, but when he
canvassed his own soldiers he found that
the spirit of fighting had vanished. Re.
peated disaster and retreat had filled the
hearts of his battle SCARED veterans with
the prevailing hopelessness In this crisis
nothing would fit so well as the motto, BE
bold, be bold, and evermore be boldp' and
of boldness Hood had an apparently eX,
haustless supply. He resolved to give Sher.
man the slip once more and march rapidly
to Nashville, Louisville and Cincinnati,
strike terror to the north, win the smiles
of France, who only waited good excuse
for aiding the Confederacy, and bring up at
last on Grants rear in northern Virginia,
after crossing Ohio and the Blue Ridge
Was ever the dream of daring military
adventurer wilder than that? But what
was to hinder? Sherman, distance and the
scattered Union troops to be met with on
the way! AS for the last two obstacles
Hoods soldiers were equal to the march,
and equal also he believed to any impro-
vised force that could be raked up to i'm
pede him in all the west. Sherman, him
self, he believed, would turn to and go back
south, and that is just what he did do
Grant and Sherman had discussed plan
after Atlanta fell for drawing Hood away
from his rich base of supplies in Alabama
by marchinga Union army through Georgia
to the gulf or to the sea. Both agreed then
that in such event Hood would certainly
f.l H. l.. r
time this conclusion was reached. But
when he abandoned his camps, stripped
for the race, about the middle of October
and struck ont westward, leavingSherman
in northern Georgia, he was to all lntents
and purposes loose in Tennessee for Sher
man had nothing in the field to prevent
the Confederates crossing from Alabama
anywhere they chose. Nevertheless. Sher
man chung to the theory that If he marched
the main portion of his army to the sea
Hood would follow, and though Grant at
the last moment advised him to ruin Hood
before starting off at II tangent and Lin
coin was anxious, If not fearful" he be
gan the historic and picturesque march.
Hood marched westward across Alabama
$50 miles, victualing and equipping his
army en- route for their wonderful venture
into hostile territory. By the middle of
November he was crossing the Tennessee
at Florence, Ala. His numbers, including
the cavalry that would join him, were
about 10000. Another theory Sherman
held about this remarkable campaign was
that his lieutenant, Gen. Thomas, with a
corps of about 1900 men under Gen. d. NJ
Stanley, and an indefinite force of mounted
and dismounted cavalry, could hold the