The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1898-02-10
Comrade Greenman Protests Against Re
cent Criticism of His Statements.


Comrade Greenmnn Protests Against Re
cent Criticism of His Statements.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: In your
issue of Jan. Is, l note the comment of
Comrade Randall, 102d H.. on the . cannon
charge" at Resaca, Ga, May 10, 1864. |
have in my possession letters from Gems.
Daniel Butterfield and II. T.. Tremain, to
whom the article was submitted before its
publication. 1t seems preposterous for any
one to assume that q task Of the nature of that
achievement could be accomplished by any
one brigade in that division, or any other IN
that army, for that matter, with the enemy'S
strength of position so well known by our
Generals commanding at that time.
In his reproduction of General Orders,
No. A, (of. which l have copy the cOmrade
omits that position which refers to the Third
Brigade in that division who fought so
raliantly, repulsing the enemy, estimated to
he twice their number, thereby enabling the
First and Second Brigades to obtain and
maintain the position they had gained by
heroic fighting.
My regiment constituted part of the
Second Brigade, yet | can fully appreciate
the fact that those brave and gallant soldiers
in that Third Brigade must have put up
tremendous fight, to have stopped that de-
termined onset, the success of which meant
so much to the opposing fore s, and also to
the result of that undertaking. Note the
diagram of the formation of the Third Divis-
ion in this historic charge, in columns of
regiments en- masse, advancing to the strongly
intrenched position of the enemy and also
that of the Third Brigade, and is it not
patent to the observer, with any knowledge
of evolutiOns. that the position Of advantage
gained by the First and Second Brigades
could not have been maintained but for the
brave, determined and tenacious opposition
that the enemy met with in their onslaught
against the soldiers of that command? d?
Had not the Third Brigade repulsed that
assault against them | opine the First and
Second Brigades would have been in as much
of hurry to get back to the point from which
they started as the Johnnies were to get far
ther south when they found out that the re-
suit Of that splendid assault by the Third
Division. Twentieth Corps had made their
position no longer tenable.
/ reiterate most emphatically that those
cannon were not in our possession at the end
of that afternoons battle, and that the honor
of that achievement belongs to no brigade, no
regiment but to the whole of that Third Di-
vision, Twentieth Corps.
Since writing that article / have seen and
read a number of official reports in the War
Records bearing on this subject and find in
them corroborations of my statement that the
position Of the troops on both sides after the
assault was such that the cannon were be-
yond the possession of either side
TO make the fact more evident / quote
from the War Records portion of the official
report of Lieut.-Col. PhilO b. buckingham,
goth Conn, who had charge Of that detail on
that memorable night when those cannon
were removed
with two companies from the Goth Conn.,,
two from the S5th Ind, and two from the
9 Ii Mich, we dug away the earth in front of
the redoubt, and with ropes drew out the
Confed. Div Genl {. L. Stevenson.