, 1902-05-19

hneecrans was not, however, IN
any better odor with his supericn than BE-
fose,and his occupancy of Missouri was not
marked by any notable eveatA. Dec. Q, 1854,
be was relieved Of his command without
warning - explaAatioA, In 1905 b WAS
mustered out Of the volunteer service and
resigned from the army in 1851.
Rosscrans asd His Soldiers.
Rosecrans wa . mar Of action in every
essential. His executive ability was i'm
His industry was untidng. He
spared nsithe. himself nor his subordi-
Mates. Staff oficeTB rarely lasted long with
him, though they remained As long a. ma
ture would sustain thar ambitioa. He Was
Always ready for work In headquarters at
10 o'clock. Being . devoted Catholic I've
rove early on Sundays and Wednesdays and
attended mass. He did not often retire till
3 o'clock in the morning. frequently not b.
fore =. and sometimes remained at work till
broad daylight. It was not unusual Tor hi.
aids to fall asleep in their chairs while lie
was still eagerly continuing his work over
his charts, and when he nav their extreme
WEAKNESS he would look at them ompas
~sionately, and waking them send them to
bed with an admonition rs to their sleep.
Whenever he found time In the afternoon
he used TO ride ont through the camp and
review and Inspect the troops. On such oe
casions his great popularity was evinced by
the rousing cheers with which he was re-
ceiyed His manner 1t once engendered q
genuine oordiality, between ofic, r and men,
The latter became convinced hat their COM
mRnder took n personal interest In their
welfare, although he examined their condi
tion and equipments with the most exact
ing scrutiny.
General Rosecrxn. WIN a keen observer,
and he was noted because Of the close at
tention be gave to the configuration of any
section Of country through which he might
be passing and the knowledge Of its mill
tary characteristics which he would absorb.
He paid great attention to details, and
therein lay perhaps an element Of weak
ness, for 1t took up much Of his time and
energy. 1t is claimed by his friends that
whatever he did himself was well done, and
that all his failures may he traced t the
Incompetence or lack Of energy Of subor-
dinates. His critics. rejoin hat even If this
view be correct 1t argues a fatal defect iu
his makeup-aiac Of knowledge Of humap
nature.
How He Told the Story.
Rosecrans did not consult with the menr
bers Of his staff ~ freely as some command
ing generals, hut In General Thomas
Pap" Thomas, the boys called him-hs
placed the utmost confidence, and with him
he consulted often. 1t was General Thorn.
~ to whom his command was turned over
after Ch~ickauauga, and Rosecraas At . no
union held In Washington same years ago
told the story Of how they met after the or
der to turn his command over came. II
was in Rosscrsns' tent At Chattanooga that
the interview took place. The relieving
order came at night, and Rosecrans vent fol
Thomasl HE came alone to the TENT
said Rosec1ans. II handed him the letter;
He read 1t, and as he did NO his breast began
to swell, and he turned pale. He did no,
want to accept the command, but we agreed
upon consideration that be must do 90.
told him that I could not bear to meet my
troops afterward. I want to leave,' said L
before the announcement Is made, and
will start In the early morning. packed
up thss night. and the next morning al
ahout . o'clock l rode away through the fog
which then hung over the camp. The hest
Of relations prevailed between General
Thomas md myself, and as to the state
ment that he considesed himself my supe
rior and obeyed my orders through q sens,
Of duty II u not 80"