The National tribune., 1897-05-06

TO anu apie for SerSlce, 10 SCCompllSu tue Ac
Huit
MY countrymen, respond to this call as you
have done in days that are past and, with the
blessing of kind and overruling Providence.
the enemy shall be driven from your soil. The
security of your wives and daughters from the
insults and outrages of a brutal foe Shall be
established soon, and be followed by a. .perma-
nent and honorable peace.
The claims of home and country, wife and
children, uniting with the demands of honor
and patriotism, summon us TO the field. We
cannot. dare not will not fail to respond. Full
of hone and confidence, 1 come TO join you In
your struggles. sharing your privations, and,
with your brave and true men, to strike the
blow that shall bring success to our arms.
triumph to our cause. and peace to our country
@. T. BEAUREGARD, General
Notwithstanding this somewhat boast
full order or appeal, Gen. Beauregard
did not actually accompany Gen. Hood
on his disastrous march to Nashville, but
took post at Corinth, Miss, to control
the movement of his supplies and to
watch me.
At Gaylesville the pursuit of Hood
by the army under my immediate COM
mand may be said to have ceased.
During this pursuit, the Fifteenth Corps
was commanded by Its senior Major
General present, p. j. Osterhaus, in the
absence Of Gen. John A. Logan; and
the Seventeenth Corps was commanded
by Brig.-Gen. I. E. 6. Ransom, the
senior officer present, in the absence of
Gen. Frank 2. Blair.
DEATH OF GEN. RANSOM.
Gen. Ransom was Young, most gal
liant, and promising officer, son of the
Col. Ransom who was killed at Chapul-
tepec, in the Mexican War. He had
served with the Army of the Tennessee
in 1862 and 1868, at Vicksburg, where
he was severely wounded. He was not
well at the time we started from At
lanta, but he insisted on going along
with his command. His symptoms be-
came more aggravated on the march,
and when we were encamped near
Gaylesville / visited him, in company
with Surgeon John Moore, United States
Army, who said that the case was one
of typhoid fever, which would likely
prove fatal.
a few days after, viz, the 2Sth, he
was being carried on a litter toward
Rome, and as | rode from Gaylesville
to Rome / passed him by the way,
stopped and spoke with him, but did not
then suppose he was so near his end.
The next day, however, bis escort
reached Rome, bearing his dead body.
The officer In charge reported that,
shortly after had passed, his symptoms
became so much worse that they stopped
at a farmhouse by the roadside, where
be died that evening.
His body was at once sent to Chicago
for burial, and a monument has been Or
dered by the Society of the Army of the
Tennessee to be erected in his memory.
On the 26th of October learned that
Hoods whole army had made its ap-
pearance about Decatur, Ala, and at
once caused strong reconnaissance to
be made down the Coosa to near Gads-
den, Which revealed the truth that the
enemy was gone, except small force of
cavalry, commanded by Gen. Wheeler,
which had been left to-watch us. then
finally resolved on my future course,
which was to leave Hood to be encount-
cred by Gen. Thomas, while | should
carry into full effect the long-contem-
plated project of marching for the sea
coast, and thence to operate toward
Richmond. But it was all-important to
me and to our cause that Gen. Thomas
should have an ample force, equal to
any and every emergency.
GEN. THoMAss FORCES.
He then had at Nashville about eight
or ten thousand new troops. and as many
more civil employees Of the Quartermas-
ter's Department, which were not suited
for the field, but would be more useful
in manning the excellent forts that
already covered Nashville. At Chatta-
nooga, he had Gen. Steedman's Division,
about FIVE thousand men, besides garri-
cons for Chattanooga, Bridgeport, and
Stevenson; at Murfreesboro' he also had
Gen. Rousseau's Division, which was full
5000 strong, independent of the neces-
sary garrisons for the railroad.
at Decatur and Huntsville, Ala, was
the infantry division Of Gen. r. S. Gran
ger, estimated at 1000; and near Flor
ence, Ala, watching the crossings of the
Tennessee. were Gen. Edward Hatch's
Division Of cavalry, 1000; Gen. Crox-
tons Brigade, $500; and Col. Capron's
Brigade, 1000, besides which Gen. j.
II. Wilson had collected in Nashville
about 10000 dismounted cavalry, for
which he was rapidly collecting the nec-
essary horses for a remount.
All these aggregated about $4,000
men. Gen. A. j. Smith at that time was
in Missouri, with the two divisions of the
Sixteenth Corps which had been diverted
TO that quarter to assist Gen. Rosecrans
in driving the rebel Gen. Price out of
Missouri. This object had been accom-
plished, and these troops, numbering
from eight to ten thousand. had been or
dered TO Nashville
To these / proposed at first to add only
the Fourth Corps (Gen. Stanley, Is, 900,
and that corps was ordered from Gayles.