The National tribune., 1901-10-31

1t is hard for us to realize that, afte
six months preparation, our first step 10
ward Tullahoma was made only 1O day
ago, and yet it was so very quiet tina
even the Glorious Fourth" failed to dis
turb our serenity. The only occurrenc
worthy of mention was National salut
of 30 guns at noon by the 10th Ohl'
Battery.
That so much has been accomplished
in such a short time with so little Dlood
shed must be attributed to the brlllIan
strategy of Gen. Rosecrans. Consldel
what was before us 10 days ago: Al
army not greatly inferior to ours in mum
Der. well supplied with provisions, ammu
milton and artillery, in Il chosen posltlor
guarding the only accessible gaps IN 6
range of abrupt hills otherwise inacceS
sible. protected by deep river witt
marshy banks, and operating from 9
stronghold made almost impregnable by
six months labor
These difficulties appeared great enough
in ordinary weather, but when we encoun'
tered extraordinarily heavy rains every
day of the campaign, and roads became
muddy canals and streams raging torrents
aur task became doubly difficult, ana we
can only wonder that Rosecrans was able
under these unfavOrable circumstances, to
move us about in such n threatening man
ner that Bragg has abandoned Middle
Tennessee and apparently will feel secure
only when he has found lodgment behind
the Cumberland Mountains and the len
nessee River at Chattanooga.
TWO GREAT VICTORIES.
July cheering news came from Wash
ington in atelegram from the Secretary
of War to Gen ROsecrans that Lees
army had been defeated at Gettysburg,
Pa. thus ending the invasion of a North
ern State.
July I another dispatch from the Sec
retarv of War to Gen. Rosecrans an
nounced the surrender of Yicksburg on
July f. No further particulars given. Our
spirits are now raised to the highest
pitch. All are anxious TO 90 forward and
have it out with Bragg's army, in the
hope that a victory now on our part will
practically end the rebellion; but however
much we may wish it, we cannot move
very soon, the roads are too bad and sup
plies of all kinds too scarce. Salt pork
and hard crackers are almost as hard to
get as pies and cakes in our schOolboy
days, and taste just as good. We are
sent out on picket before breakfast with
empty haversacks. Our supply train IS
not far away, but a great gulf OF mud
intervenes which must be ''corduroyed"
before our wagons can reach us.
We hear very little from the two diyl-
sions of our corps which went in pursuit
of Bragg, except that they are halted at
Elk River to await supplies. While the
infantry is remaining quiet, our cavalry
appears to be active, judging from the
numerous squads of prisoners they pick
up daily.
THE CRACKER LINE OPENED.
A prolonged whistle of the locomotive
awOke us at midnight, July 8, and we re-
sponded with faint cheer in recognition
of the fact that the cracker line was
once more open. We arose early to catch
a glimpse of our friend, the iron horse"
and greeted him with enthusiastic demon
strations. Several trains arrived during
July 8. and in consequence our ratlons
are risibly increased.
The telegraph announces that Morgan
has crossed the Ohio River with IL regl-
ments and three batteries, and is making
his way north through Indiana, devastat-
ing the country as he goes. This raid in
thes end will be of advantage to us by
our people to the necessity of
sustaining the army instead of wasting
their time in 'Copperhead" meetings.
sTANLEY's CAVALRY.
The bridge over Elk River was com
pleted on the 18th, but there are no indi-
cations of any forward movement on our
part SUtIIutli lJih lSltu Is tHHhStu III
repairing the track as far as Bridgeport,
on the north bank of the Tennessee River,
a few miles below Chattanooga.
While our infantry columns are quiet,
the cavalry under Gen. Stanley is scour-
ing the country through north Alabama,
using Huntsville as a base of operations.
They have had several running fights with
Forests rebel cavalry, and succeeded in
bringing into camp large numbers of
81. M
negroes. The latter are the least desira-
bic, for while they represent certain
amount of labor withdrawn from the
fields that furnish subsistence to the Con-
federate army. they add capacious mouths
to be fed with our scanty ratiOns.
About 10 O'Clock p. m, July 2l, dis
patch was received from Gen. ROsecrans
that John Morgan's command, with the
exception of about 400 men, had been cap
tured in Ohio. Our Colonel at once com
municated the news to those who were
awake, and presently il had spread
through the quarters. Sleepers were
awakened, and the busy hun of conver-
sation succeeded the usual stiffness of the
hour. We attach great Importance to the
disastrous result OF Morgan's raid, as it
would seem to discourage future inyasions
of the Northern States, following as it
has the defeat of Lees army in Penn
sylyania.
DEATH OF GEN. KIRK.
The death of Brig,-Gen. Edward n.
Kirk at Chicago on July q, has caused
sincere sorrow. He was taken to that
city to have the ball which he received
at Stone River extracted from his body.
He did not long survive the operation.
His death brings to my mind a heroic
picture-a noble figure on horseback lead
ing handful of men into the middle Of
an open field to meet an army. He fell
with more than hundred brave men OF
his own beloved regiment-all sacrificed
in vain attempt to check 10000 assail-
ants by interposing $50 defenders.
News Of the capture of John Morgan
and the remainder of his band in Ohio
was received July 26.
THE CHATTANOOGA CAMPAIGN.
The first movement Indicative of the
opening of the campaign occurred Aug
IL, when Gen. Mitchell's cavalry Divi-
sion broke camp and rode away in the di-
rection Of Bridgeport, which is our from
tier. Beyond that point Bragg is pre-
pared 10 dispute our advance as an en-
croachment upon Chattanooga, which he
claims as his own.
We are stripping for the fight An or
der requires us to forward TO headquar-
tiers a list of those who cannot endure
hard, active service. These will be col
lected from all the different regiments and
transported to Louisville 10 be formed into
Reserve Corps for the protection of our
line of communication, service as i'm
portant, almost, as that of climbing the
mountains to meet the enemy.
The brigade Of Changers Corps passed
our camp Aug. 13 on its way to the front.
One regiment-the 10th Ohio-was left
in camp near ours. We believe that a