The sun., 1898-02-20

tion. After his gallant services In tho field and
his lonR and arduous work in camp he found
himself liable at any moment TO be turned adritt-
| az his friend Gen. Stuart was shortly after
| ward. In this predicamont he addressed letter
to his old friend, Salmon p. Chase, then Secretary
Of tho Treasury, and 1t seems to have been
| mainly through tho latter's Intervention that
he eventually received the appointment OF Brig
adier-G Gcneral OF Volunteers. which. howovor.
was not made until August 1868. In his now
capacity he was ordered to report to Mator-Gon
Mcpherson, commanding the Seventeenth Army
| Corps. Tho latter assigned him to tho command
| Of the Second Brigade of tho First Division
Of the Army Of tho Tennessee. then stationed
| at Natchez. Here and on the Black and YaZoo
| rivers, Gen. Smith remained In active field ser
vice until February, 1904 when. with his com.
mand. he took part In the Meridian expedition
| under the command Of Gen. Sherman. Meridian
| was railroad centre of great Importance. and
the object of the expedition was to break up the
| enemy's railroad connections. and thereby to
demoralize their army in that theatre Of oam-
paign. That part Of tho movement which was
under Shermans personal direction and with
which Kilby Smith was associated. was sue
cessful, and Meridian. with its dopots, store
| houses. arsenal. hospital, and cantonments was
| annhilated. The expedition tested the endur-
ance OF tho army on the march. and socms to
have influenced Gsn Sherman's opinion Of its
capacity to bear the long march to the sea,
which he carried out some months later.
On tho return from Meridian Gen. Kilby
Smith. nt tho head Of some detachments Of the
Seventeenth Corps was ordered to report 10
Gen. banks, who was about undertaking a
movement against Shreveport. in Texas. These
detachments were formed into two brigades.
and Gen. Kilby Smith was thus, for the first
time. assigned to tho command Of division.
The Shreveport expedition failed, owing prin-
cipally to the delay Of Banks's immediate COM
mand. So far as Kilby Smith was concerned,
although he was left by Banks's defeat in q po-
sition Of the utmost peril. he succeeded In ex-
tricating himself and bringing away his
troops In safety. Admiral Porter. who
had commanded the gunboats on the Red
River. thus testifes to tho value of Gen.
Smiths services Mt that time. The letter is nd
dressed to Brighten. A. ]. Smith, commanding
the divisions from the Sixteenth and Seven
teenth Army Corps: II have been SO engaged
since my return to this place that have not
had tho time to express to you tho high appre-
ciation have OF tho services Of that excellent
and gallant officer. Brig. ..Gen. Thomas Kilby
Smith. who, with detachment of 1000 men.
accompanied tho transports in the expedition to
Springfield Landing. cannot speak in
too high praise OF the manner in which Con.
Smith managed his part Of the expedition. do
ing everything in his power to make 1t success.
full. and cooperating in way to give me the
most entire satisfaction. hope 1t may
DO my good fortune to be associated with Gen.
Smith on some occasion where our exertions
will meet with better reward
The Red River expedition was the culminat-
ing point of Gen. Smiths military service. He
had entered the army in the vigor Of manhood,
and was endowed by nature with an iron
constitution. the strength of which, however,
had been steadily sapped by his energetic devo-
tion to duty during three years of nearly con-
tinuous held service. The failure Of Gen.
Banks's plans which, had they been successful,
would have enabled A. J. Smiths command to
have rejoined Shermans forces. debarred T.
Kilby Smith thenceforth from acting under the
eye of his friend and favorite chief. with whom
he had been closely associated from Feb
ruary. 1862, and he was thus deprived
Of an opportunity to participate In the cam
paign in Georgia and the Carolinas. Moreover,
the incessant exposure to q burning sun and the
anxiety attending Q difficult and delicate COM
mand had given q decisive blow to his physical
strength. He was sunstruck on the march to-
ward the Mississippi and fell senseless from his
horse. Recovering partially, but only partially.
he was enabled to discharge tho duties that had
been assigned to him. When tho command of
L. hloy Smitn reacnou memphis. on May ~,
1854, it was reduced to 1900 electives, and SO
exhausted were they that only about 800 were
in condition to take tho field. Their General,
the subject of this biography. was so pros
trated by his exposure In the field that
he was carried almost in o dying con-
dition to tho Gayoso House at Memphis
where he lay Ill until June 8. whom. having OBJ
tanned a sick-leave. tho first furlough of any
kind which he had received since he entered the
service. he proceeded to his home. Condemned
by his shattered health to many months OF In
action. 1t was not until Jan. 4. 1865 that Gen. T.
Kilby Smith rejoined his command at Clifton
Tenn, where ho was at once assigned to duty
On Jan. II he was directed to command an ex.
pedition Of reconnaissance. but on the same
day he was summoned to Washington to appear
as a witness respecting tho Red River expe-
dition before tho Committee on tho Conduct of
tho War. Gen. Smith remained at Washing
ton. or thereabouts. until Feb 1s, 1865
when he started for New Orleans, from
which city he WAS ordered to the army before
Mobile. After tho surrender of that place he
was assigned to the command of it. and made
his headquarters there. His military career had
now practically ended. He had heard for tho
last time the sound of hostile gun. By every
commanding officer under whom he had served
he had been praised. and no word of censure ap-
pears In tho record of his military or civil con-
duct. 1t had boon his misfortune to be separated
from Sherman by tho Red River expedition.
although he had been assigned to It as a
special compliment and proof of confidence.
The hardships. however, which he then in.
CURED had exhausted n physical strength al
ready seriously undermined. He had been I'M
able. as we have seen. TO return to the front In
time to take part in the field service at Nashville
and he was cut off from the bulk OF the Army
of tho Tennessee that sWept through Geor1io