The National tribune., 1902-06-12

| Gen. Johnston to Gen. Hood. 1 took hin
over to the road upon which Sherman was
marching. He was with Gen. Schofeld's
column. Sherman and Schofeld and some
| one else whom l can not remember dis
| cussed the news. and remember distinct
ly Schofeld giving his opinion of Hood
that it meant fight.
while / stood there listening and
watching, Gen. Sherman sat down upon
stump and issued his orders that con-
centrated his armies and brought Nc
Pherson from Stone Mountain, some &c
miles away, and closed us all in on Thorn
as, showing he fully comprehended the
situation. Soon after Hood, with his
army, attacked Thomas, intending to dor-
BILE him up from right to left, knowing
how greatly extended Sherman's forces
were.
After the fight of July % was over,
and at 10 O'Clock at night, Logan called
Blair and myself to meet him. Logan then
being in command of the army (McPher-
son having been killed at 2 o'clock. We
met In the rear of the Fifteenth Corps,
under an oak tree ON the line of the Au-
gusta Railroad. and discussed the results
of the day. The fighting on Blair's right
and Logans left at Bald Hill was still
had held the enemy, and did not know
how much we had punished them.
''Blair's men were in the trenches. In
some places on his front the enemy held
one side and he the other. The men of
the Fifteenth Corps were still in their
own line, tired and hungry, but those of
the Sixteenth Corps, after their hard days
rnents on the field they had held and won.
At Logan's request l sent Mersey's Bri-
gade, which was in the bivouac near US,
to 60 in and relieve Blair's men at the
critical point on Bald Hill.
Logan and Blair thought that the
Army Of the Cumberland or the Army of
the Ohio should send a portion of the
forces and relieve some of our exhausted
men, and / was sent to see Sherman. My
recollection now is that l met him in a
tent, though 1t is said officially that he
had bis headquarters at the Howard
House. When ] met him he seemed sur
prised to see me, but greeted me cordially
and spoke of the great loss Of Mcpherson.
I stated to him my erranG. He turned
upon me and said. Dodge, you whipped
them today, didn't your l said: Yes, sir
morrow? and l said: Yes, SIR l babe
him goodnight and went back to my
own command, resolved never again to be
sent on such an GRAND.
Sherman explained to me afterward
that he knew what orders he had given to
press Atlanta and hold the forces in the
intrenchments surrounding it, and he
wanted it said that the little Army of the
Tennessee had fought the great battle
without any help, and he knew from the
punishment the rebel army had received
that Hood would not dare attack us in
the morning.
During the battles around Atlanta,
and after we had gone from the left to
the right, it was my misfortune to be
given a Confederate leave. / was sup
posed to be fatally wounded. The doctor
reported to Sherman and he, desiring to
keep the news from my family, instructed
every operator to send only his dispatches;
but in doing this he forgot that there was
over the wires Immediately.
$50 the news reached my people that
had been fatally wounded. Dispatches
came to my staff trying to obtain the facts,
but they could not reply, because Of Sher-
mans orders. In talking about it after
ward, he said: L acted from my instincts.
simply wanted to send the truth, but
only succeeded In making trouble; and
that has always happened to me when /
tried to he extra cautious; l always put
my foot in it; some smart Aleck gets
ahead Of me- AS soon as Sherman heard
was wounded he came to my tent with
Dr. Kidd. his Chief Surgeon, and found
a Surgeon of my own corps in charge of
me. As soon as the shock of the wound
passed away l gradually became conscious
as to hearing, but not as to seeing, and the
first words l heard were when Sherman
turned on DIR. Kidd and said
Kidd, Dodge is not going to die. See,
he is coming to all right You can imagine
what my feelings were on hearing talk of
that kind from Sherman. I recognized his
voice, and also the fact that probably l
was badly hurt. The doctors advised
Sherman to send me North, but Sherman
said: No; We can keep Dodge two weeks,
and then he will be all right. We want
him with his corps considered the fact
he would not let me go to the rear until
he was forced to swing around Atlanta to
the south and abandon everything to the
north one of the greatest compliments he
ever paid me.
II was taken to Greenville, Ind, to a
relative for rest before I was sent to
my own home in Iowa. The first or sec.
ond evening after 1 arrived in Greenville,
as 1 lay upon my cot, listened to the
demonstration being made by the return
of the delegates who had been sent to
Chicago and nominated Mcclellan. was