The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1898-10-06
SOME HISTORY OF THE WAR"


sometimes quitei amusing, to note The
blunders made by writers who pretend
to discuss phases of, the history of the
War of the Rebellion. A string of the
latter occurs in a story in the last mum
Der of Lippincott'st Magazine, entitled
Confessions of an Aid Camp,
and written by a man who signs him.
self " Capt. +. A. Mitchell, late of u.
S A." In the opening he makes one
of his principal characters, Gen.
Heath, say to Gen. Grant:
Use for me, General? But just released on
one charge of treachery, and re-arrested on
| another. Who would follow such leader ?
| | would much rather YOU would procure the
acceptance of my resignation. Why should
serve a Government which distrusts me =?
| My friends, my family in Virginia, begged
me TO stay with them, to fight for them. !
remained true TO the Union. What has
been the result? At the very outset in the
Spring of 'G1, | was accused OF cOnniying to
surrender my command in Texas Then
| there were those rumors Of treachery at
| Shiloh-that had withdrawn the picket in
my front in order to leave the way open to
attack-and my arrest and confinement by
the Secretary of War. What use to BEG for
Il copy of the charge? What use to demand
| for a trial? No accuser, no accusation
ffnr he la1, ia 10
attention being attracted elsewhere by
another battle the Secretary, finding it in
expedient to hold me longer, turns me out of
prison and orders me to report to you, ex-
pecting YOU 10 utilize disgracel man. And
now, before you gan assign me to duty, q
| Scapegoat being needed for the disaster at
| Chickamauga, an order comes for my rear
| rest The blunderer who left the gap
| through which Bragg hurled Hood has sue
ceeded in covering up his identity, while |,
who commanded cavalry, and had nothing
to do with the main line-of-battle, must be
sacrificed to appease the public, who are look
ing for victories, and get nothing but de-
featS."
This is an unusually bad scramble of
history. The first allusion, of course,
would seem to be to Gen. Thomas, who
was Virginian and all that, but the
rest of the description doesn't fit. There
was nobody in the Armies of the Ten
nessee or Cumberland who was accused
Of attempting tozsuffender his command
hot
done by Gen. ,TWjggs, in February,
1861. Then, there was no General off
Ger at Chickamauga who was in the
first days fight at Shiloh. There was
no accusation of the pickets being with
drawn at Shiloh b. They were all at
tending to their business. The trouble
was that Gen. Sherman had not placed
them far enough out. There was but
one General during the wir arrested by
order of the Secretary Of war and put
in prison. That was Gen. G. =. Stone,
Massachusetts, man, who was arrested
for the Balls Bluff disaster and confined
in Fort Warren. When released he
was not sent to the Army of the Cum
berland, but to Gen. Banks, at New
Orleans. No General was arrested for
the disaster at Chickamauga" Gems
McCook, Crittenden, and Negley were
relieved from their commands for their
conduct on that occasion. The
blunderer who left the gap" did not
succeed in covering up his identit y"
1t was Gen. Thomas j. Wood. Ever v
body knew who did it, and he success
fully defended himself for doing so by
the production of Gen. Rosecrans's
written order for the movement. No
General who commanded cavalry at
Chickamauga was sacrificed to appease
the public The cavalry was COM
manded on that occasion by Gen. Rob-
ert B. Mitchell, who commanded the
Corps; Col. 4. M. McCook, the First
Division; Gen. Geo. Crook, the Second
Division, and Coils. A. p Campbell, l.
D. Watkins, r. II. G. Minty, and Eli
Long, who commanded brigades. Col.
John T. Wilder commanded brigade
of mounted infantry. All were highly
praised for their conduct in the battle
The public was not getting nothing
but defeats about that time" They had
only recently had the victories at Vicks-
burg, Port Hudson and Gettysburg.
The Tullahoma campaign had been a
brilliant success and that for Chatta-
nooga a grand success.
This is only the beginning of Capt.
+. A. Mitchell late of L. S. AS comical
wrestle with the, facts of the war, but it
is a good sample of 1.-THE whole.