The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-02-28
BOOKS OF THE TIME.
Memoirs OF Gen. Thomas KiIby Smith,
Edited by His Son.

this narrative of the life of their fellow
soldier is dedicated" is the dedication of
Life and Letters of Thomas Kilby Smith,"
by his son, Walter G.. Smith. General
Smiths military record is part of the his
tory of the country. 1t was not more re-
markable or brilliant than that of many
others, yet it was creditable and honorable.
AS commander of a brigade in the battle
of Shiloh he bore himself with conspicuous
gallantry and saw much severe service
afterwards. He was In the siege of Corinth,
bore an active part in Sherman's co-opera-
tive movements at Vicksburg and was in
many battles. BY special assignment he was
for some months on the staff Of General
Grant. and afterwards saw much active
service in the field He enjoyed the conf
dence and personal friendship of Generals
Grant and Sherman. both of whom recon-
mended him for promotion as brigadler gen.
eral. After the war General Smith engaged
in politics and died in 1887. The present
volume contains a sketch OF his life and
military services and his letters to his fam
lily during the war. These letters show him
to have been a loving son. father ana fam
lily man, but they do not add much to the
history of the war, and for the most part
are too personal to be of general interest.
lished hitherto which contain some points of
interest. One of these was written by Gen.
Sherman to General Smiths mother. Mrs.
Eliza B. Smith, Of Cincinnati whom Gen.
Sherman knew personally. 1t is dated from
before Vicksburg, Feb. IS, 1868. Mrs. Smith
had written asking for her sons promotion.
After speaking in complimentary terms of
Colonel Smiths military services General
Sherman wrote: Il know that am either
hr6f IND hon 81 fhn ffr,anc In
praise which, degenerating into adulation
or fiattery ofrends proud and conscien-
tious gentleman. / am not one OF those who
fear that this war will cease before al are
gratified with the full measure of military
fame and glory. / know our enemy, ana
think ] know enough OF the deep-sea at1
every ambitious man will have ample op-
portunity to reap fame and distinction. TO
your son and others In whom l have felt q
special interest have ever counseled pa
thence: Go on; watch the developments or
war; study it; learn from the experience or
others the true art knowledge, experience
and true merit in time will be worth more
than rank The old leaven of party politics
is so deeply implanted in the American
heart. time is necessary to eradicate 1t, but
it will be eradicated. and the soldier who,
by close observation, by experience, and by
real courage has gained a reputation among
his fellow-soldiers will be called out to lead
regardless of the mere rank conferred for
political reasons or newspaper fame. The
man who is TO lead our country out or an
archy and chaos may be, as Napoleon,
captain still. and no one should covet honor
too early. With this honest conviction, |
have not pushed forward the young and
ambitious soldiers who have looked to me
for counsel and advice. l inclose
letter to my brother John, which you can
use according to the judgment of your
friends" The man who was to lead the
country out of anarchy and chaos was then
conducting the siege of Vicksburg, but Gen.
Sherman had not yet discerned his coming
greatness. In his letter to Senator Sher-
man. written on the same day as the one
Gv,0ffh ln In mil m az n or
Smith and said: 81 honestly think that serv-
ices on the battle field or wherever his men
are. should be one of the reasons for promo
ton: but I am sorry TO observe, In the long
lists published, that the old maxim holds
good: One campaign at court Washing
tom is worth five in the field BY TINS
war, and war alone. can restore the Just
power of the government and the first
steps must be In recognizing military serv-
ice in the field. and In encouraging those
who seek the enemy in the South and
not at Chicago. When you observe this
change. I beg you will assist the friends OF
Col t. Kilby Smith in being promoted to
the rank of brigader general. the command
of which he now exercises, only liable to
appointee who may not have smelt gun
powder or heard bullet in earnest" These
quotations from General Sherman's letters
have a wider interest than their relation
to Colonel Smiths promotion since they
reveal Sherman's opinions of political gen
erals and his ideas of what should conSt1-
tute the basis of promotion Th9 memoirs
contain rather too much evidence OF Col:
Smiths extreme anxiety for promotion and
the active and persistent efforts Of his
friends to secure it, He got 1T at last, and
no doubt he deserved this superior OIL
GERS said he did--but probably 1t would
have come just the same If his relatives
had not been SO persistent In urging 1t,
and in that case ii would have looked bet
ter. In writing to Colonel Smiths mother
after his promotion General Grant said: II
congratulate you upon his promotion you
will believe me when I say sincerely; be-
cause it was upon by recommendation that
he has been promoted. / do not know that
Colonel Smith was aware of my having
reH,omimended him At all events. ddd no nor
he was sincerely the friend of General
Smith, with whom he had now become
intimately acquainted" and acquaintance
with him only rpens into friendship"
General Smiths letters to members of his
family are more personal than historical.
They are we'll written and contain some
graphic pictures of camp life, but they re-
lates more TO his personal movements and
affairs than to those of the army. Thus in
a letter to his mother, written from near
Memphis in July. 1862. he wrote: The re-
suit of this struggle no human mind can
foretell the farther penetrate the bowels
convinced that its inhabitants are a people
not to be whipped II some miracu-
not put an end to the unnatural strife, we
shall fight as long as there is a Southerner
left to draw sword. Congress has
forced a new issue. Slavery is doomed.
New evies must be forced. Three hundred
thousand men from the North will not
obey the Presidents call and volunteer.
Drafting the one side and CONSUMPTION
on the other. The result is palma mill
tary dictatorship, then consolidation. The
days of the Republic are numbered. But
little while and the strong right arm is
the only protection to property, the value
of property existing only in name" If this
letter had been published before Colonel
Smiths promotion it would not have helped
him. This gloomy prediction was not veri-
fled any more than was political prophecy
he made in a letter to his son written
from New York Sept. l. 1880. He had been
making speeches for General Hancock,
and he wrote ''You may regard Hancock's
election as an accomplished fact. / shall
probably be regarded as one who had some
hand in it. The letters abound with evil
dences of the writer's self-appreciation not
to saw egotism, though it must be remem-
bered they were written in confidence to
members of his family. They also contain
unmistakable evidence that the writer pos
sessed gentle affectionate and noble quail
tiles of character. The entire work is one
TO interest General Smiths personal friends
and comrades rather than the general
reader There is a full-page frontispiece
portrait of him. New York. c.. z. Put
snamS Sons.
A Note Book I'm Northern Spain.
The portions of Spain which are chiefly
visited by travellers are the southern and
southeastern. The regions embraced in the
Cantabrian and PyreneeS mountains are