Williston graphic. (Williston, Williams County, N.D.) 1895-1919, 1899-11-16
UNDER A CLOUD.

I.
UNDER A CLOUD.
The silent soldier sat smoking at
Chattanooga. I can see him now as l
saw him then, his sword and sash laid
aside, his uniform coat thrown open
negligently, his whole appearance de-
noting rather one of the drudgery Of
ficers of the staff, whose soldierly bear
ing had given way under the continued
performance of clerical duties, than the
commander of an army. Before him on
table was bundle of papers, one OF
which he had taken up and was finger
ing absently. Directly opposite stood
1.-The general'-my general; we of the
staff always spoke of him as 1.-THE gen.
eral," though there were a hundred
generals in the army-with dogged
look on his face that BODIED no good to
himself or anyone else.
l had attended the general on sum-
mons to headquarters, and should have
waited in the hall, but curiosity to see
the new commander of the Army of the
Cumberland, who had achieved renown
at Donelson and Vicksburg, had over
come whatever of modesty I possessed
it was not gem of the first water
and, stalking confidently past staff Of
fcers and orderlies, entered the room
with my chief. Once there, stood back
in q corner where l would attract as
little attention as possible, fearing that
I would be ordered to betake myself to
parts more fitted for second lieuten-
ant than the apartment of the COM
handing general.
"Gen. Heath" said the commander,
II have sent for you to communicate
to you the contents of this paper which
I received this morning from the Sec
rotary of war"
The general started. 'The secretary
of war?'
eyes. lie directs your arrest and trial
by court-martial.'
"What new persecution is this?" ex-
claimed the general, impatiently.
THE secretary seems to hold you re-
aponsible for the disaster at Chicka-
manga"
"Chicl1amauga? In what way does he
connect me with that blunder"'
"You are accused of purposely leav-
ing the gap in our lines through which
the confcderates poured, thus etfecting
the rout of the Army of the Cumber-
land
Gen. Heath made no reply, standing
with his hand resting on his sword-hilt,
his brows knit, his lips compressed.
II regret this new complication" said
the general in chief, presently. II have
especial use for you. and at once
"Use for me, general? But just re-
leased on one charge of treachery, and
rearrested on another. Who would fol-
low such leader? Iwould much rath-
er you would procure the acceptance
of my resignation. Why should serve
a government that 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
conniving to surrender my command in
Texas. Then there were those rumors
of treachery at Shiloh-that had with
drawn the picket in my front in order
to leave the way open to attack-and
my arrest and confinement by the sec
rotary of war. What use to beg for Il
copy of the charge? What use to de-
mand trial? No accuser, no accusa-
ton. Then, after months behind bars,
the public gaze being attracted else
where by another battle, the secretary,
finding it inexpedient to hold me longer,
turns me out of prison and orders me
to report to you, expecting you to
utilize disgraced man. And now, be-
fore you can assign me to duty, scape-
goat being needed for the disaster at
Chickamauga, an order comes for my
rearrest. The blunderer who left the
gap through which Bragg hurled Hood
has succeeded in covering up his identi-
ty, while I, who commanded cavalry
and had nothing to do with the main
line of battle, must be sacrificed to ap-
pease the public, who are looking for
victories and get nothing but defeats
I should not have been present at
such an interview, a beardless boy
in my teens-but I had been Gen.
Heath's aide from the start, and had
served him through all his troubles,
often carrying his messages to those
high in authority in his efforts to gain
a hearing. could have withdrawn, Out
nothing short of an order would have
driven me from an interview which in
terested me intensely. Gen. Heath, nat
urally restless and sensitive, had been
maddened by his confinement and dis
grace. This new trial that doomed up
before him rendered him ready to turn
like hunted beast and rend his perse-
cutors. It was plain to me that the
general in chief was giving his sub
ordinate time to cool. I remembered
how he had himself been deprived of
his command after Shiloh and shelved
as a mere assistant to the commander
in chief, and could understand his pa
thence with one who had suffered so
much more keenly in similar manner.
When his subordinate had finished, the
superior gave few deliberate putfs at
his cigar, then asked:
"Have you no suspicion as to the ORR
gin of these rumors?"
"None whatever"
The general in chief sat thinking.
"The wrongs of this war" he said, pres
emily, Twill be righted only as oppor-
tunity is given the wronged to right
them"