The National tribune., 1901-05-16
INACCURATE SCHOOL HISTORIES.

children in the public schools of the Dis
trict of Columbia. At recent session OF
the Board of Education he took up Rid
paths History of the United States,
which is studied by the pupils in the
Sixth Grade, and gave the following list
of errors, with his comments:
Page 312-"At the beginning of the
; year the capture of Forts Henry and Don
elson, on the Tennessee and Cumberland,
, was planned by Gen. Hallcck-' The tax
/ ing of these forts was planned by Gen.
Grant, urged on Halleck by Grant and
Commodore Foote. and at first emphat-
ically opposed by Gen. Halleck.
Page 312-After Donelson. ''The de-
fense were manned by 10000 Confeder-
ates under Gen. Buckner:" Gen. Buck
ner surrendered over 14,600. Besides
these were the killed and the forces that
escaped with Floyd and Forrest, at least
5000
Page 15-Murfreesboro Jan. ., 1862.
Bragg withdrew his shattered columns
and fed off toward Chattanooga" Bragg
withdrew TO Tallahoma and Shelbyyille,
and did not move for Chattanooga until
the last day of June, or six months later.
Page 31S-After Yorktown. 'McClel-
Ian reached the Chickahominy without
serious resistance The intervening bat
sufficiently serious by those who took part
i'll it. The Union loss was 3,239 and the
| Confederate casualties i,251.
| Page 319-Antietam ended in a drawn
battle" 1t ended in defeating Lees in
vasion of Maryland, and forcing him to
retire into Virginia.
! Page 322-ln single paragraph of II
| lines, relating to the campaign for Chat
| tanooga, there are six serious errors,
among others, errors of six weeks i'll the
| dates of movements. and this as to losses
| at Chickamauga: The Union loss amount
lol 70 FnnD Dplx nd hat pf bn
| fcderates was even greater. The Union
| less was 1910. and that of the COnfed-
crates less than $4,000.
Page 322-0n this same page begins
| a paragraph of 10 lines, which are deemed
sufficient to cover the operations of
movement of Hooker's two corps from the
Army of the Potomac; Grants arrival and
assuming command; the reopening of the
Tennessee River; the arrival of Sherman
with two corps of the Army of the Ten
neSsee, and the battles of Wauhatchie.
Lookout Mountain, and Missionary Ridge.
In this condensed paragraph. Sherman S
forces Of two corps -four divisions) is
given as one division, and Hooker is repre-
sented as storming Lookout Mountain
with one division, instead of three.
Page 324-Jaclison at Charlottesville.
He burst upon the right wing and swept
everything to destruction 1t was all bad
enough, but there was something left of
the Army of the Potomac after that.
Page 325-"On the eve of battle the
command of the Union army was trans
ferred to Gen. George q. Meade, who
took up position on the hills around
Gettysburg" The Union army, advanc-
ing beyond Gettysburg, was driven back
through it to the hills in the rear of it.
Same page-"The battle reached its
climax on the Sd, when a Confederate
column, three miles long, headed by the
Virginians, under Gen. Pickett, made
final charge on the Union center" The
Confederate column of assault had front
of 1,600 yards-less than one mile-at the
start, and 600 yards at its farthest ad-
vance.
Same page-"The entire Confederate
loss was nearly 10000" The official re-
ports by the medical director of Lees
army, and the reports of each regiment
and battery engaged, place the loss at be-
tween 10000 and p 900.
Page 329-"Meanwhile Gen. Thomas,
with the Army of the Cumberland, had
been detached from Sherman's army and
sent northward to confront Hood Only
one small corps-the Fourth-of the
Army of the Cumberland was given to
Gen Thomas. The great bulk of that
army marched with Sherman to the sea.
Such are some Of the more serious err
rors on only II pages of the 30 devoted to
the civil war. There are others on these
and the remaining pages of the 30, but
they are of n minor character. 1t is re-
spectfully submitted that the teaching of
"Ridpath's History of the United States"
be suspended until its publishers correct |
its errors.
1t seems incredible that a man Of Prof. |
Ridpath's reputation, or a man of no rep
utation at ALL should make such mex
cusable bunders.
Take the statement about Fort Donel !
son for example: Everybody knows, who
is at all familiar with the history of the
war. that there was in all probability |
much over double 10000 rebels behind |
their works at Fort DonelsOn on the night |
of Feb. u, 1862, when Gen. Grant in
vested them with $4,000 men. He actual |
ly captured 1923 men, to whom ratiOns |
were issued at Cairo. Besides these were |
the killed, the wounded who could not be |
removed. Floyd's whole brigade, which |
seized the boats and escaped, with a large |
number Of Pillows men, and Forests |
regiment of cavalry, which forded the |
creek and escaped. These facts were so |
voluminously discussed at the time and |
since that there is no excuse for anyone |
being ignorant of them.
1t is pretty sloppy history to ignore
Rosecrans's brilliant Tulahoma Cam
pagn, which has few equals in history in |
strategic ability. Rosecrans had his faults |
and limitations, but there are men who |
have passed into history great COM
manders who have less basis for their !
regulations than his mastery movement |
with his sharp battles at Hoover's Gap, |
Liberty Gap, Shebyville, etc, by which |
Bragg was forced out Of his immensely |
strong lines around Tullahoma, and driven |
across the Tennessee River.
Instead of Jackson sweeping every. |
thing before him" at Charlottesville, he |
swept only a portion of the Eleventh |
Corps. The only men whipped at Chan
cellOrsyille were Gen. Joe Hooker and |
parts Of two divisions of the Eleventh |
Corps. The rest of the Army of the Po-
tomac was all right, and if it had been
properly led would have ended Lees army
right there.
On page 800. The Army of the Cum
berland, as organized for the Atlanta |
Campaign, consisted of the Fourth, Four
teenth and Twentieth Corps CT infantry,
with their artillery, and the Cavalry |
Corps, under command of Brighten. Ell
lott, and some garrisons along the rail
road. OF these only the Fourth Corps |
and the garrisOns were sent with Thomas |
and the TWenty-third Corps, under Scho- |