The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1893-12-28
BOLTON SPEAKS.
Tells What He Knows About the Notice of
Relief to Knoxville.

Relief to Knoxville.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: In your
issue of Dec. IA Comrade VIM. Schwartz, Co.
Ii, LIST Ohio Cav, undertakes to correct Com
rade w. E. Doyle's article Of Nov 9. 1t
seems to be a very common case in contro-
yersies, where each is right and each is
wrong.
In the Chattanooga Ringgold- Knoxville
campaign Col Long had the 95th III. and
18th Ind. Mounted Infantry, the I'd KY,
4th Mich, LIST, Sd, 4th (battallon), and 10Th
OniO Cav. and Lily's 18th Ind. battery
under him. The 9Sth ILL., and 18th Ind.
belonged 10 Wilder's Brigade, The balance of
which was about Maysville, Ala, under COM
mand of Col. A. o. Miller; the Chicago Board
of Trade Battery also there.
Gen. Burnside received word of Sherman's
advance on Dec. 2, but by whom and from
where / have not the information at hand
at present, but both Capt. X. X. Byrd, COM
handing at Kingston, and Gen. Foster, in
upper East Tennessee, were trying to reach
him.
On Nov. 20 Gen. Grant sent two dis
patches III duplicate to Capt. Byrd. One
was in Grants handwriting, and was to fall
into the bands of the rebels. The other was
only signed by Grant, and was to be de-
as soon as possible.
On Dec. l, at $50 p. M, Gen. Foster dis
patched Halleck that he had sent three
messages through to Gen. Burnside, giving
hun tull particulars of the advance of the
relieving force, so it is altogether likely that
the word which Gen. Burnside said he re-
ceived OH the I'd was either the dispatch
sent from Chattanooga by Gen. Grant or
one of those sent him by Gen. Foster.
Gen. Long, with his cavalry, part of which,
bear in mind, was properly Col. Wilder's or
Milier's, and was 80 called while up above
Knoxville shortly after, reached Knoxville
on the night of the Sd, accompanied by Capt
Audenried.
In Grants dispatch he stated that if it
should reach Burnside by Dec. / there
would then be three c0lumnS-Sherman
from Chattanooga, Elliott from Decherd and
Foster from Cumberland Gap-witbin "a
hours march of him, sufficient, as he said,
to crush Lopgstreet or drive him from the
valley.
There is a chance for one other dispatch
to have been the one that reached Burnside
on the ID; namely, one of Nov. 90, 1850 q.
m, from Grant to Foster. Gen. Wilcox
received it at Cumberland Gap, and dis
patched Grant on the 30 h, at 1915 D. M,
that he had sent copy of it by trusiy
carrier to Gen. Burnside, but on the 3Olh
Willc0xs cavalry, reaching within eight
miles of Knoxville, struck a rebel force too
strong to force and fell back, yet the mes
senger may have gone by roundabout way
and reached Knoxville ON the I'd of Decem-
Der.
1t should be stated that Col. Long had
only detachments of some Of the regiments
mentioned, and that on Dec. 2 he was Joined
by attachments of Sd u. s. and 9th OHIO
Cav. o. the I'd Col Long skirmished at
Loudon with rebel Gen. Vaughan and had
TO fall back about mile.
On the Sd he marched via Maysvilie. and
at about a. IN. of the Ash he struck Col.
Wolford's cavalry pickets and camped in
side his lines; Capt. Audenried proceeding
to Gen. Burnside's Headquarters and re-
porting.
shall be very grateful to Comrade Doyle
or anyone else for proof that the bri-
gade made the grand charge to get into
Knoxville, or any charge, or that it even
had q skirmish 10 accomplish it. Ii there
was any skirmish l should like to know
when and where it was and with what rebels
they skirmished.-G. i. DoLToN, 18 South
Main street, st. Louis, Mo.