Omaha daily bee., 1903-05-24
OF OUR CIVIL WAR
Few Of the Old Division Commanders Now
Among the Living.
RANKS OF THE UNION LEADERS THINNING
Anecdotes Recalled by
General "Ba1dy" Smiths Death
His COnspicuoua Part in the
Great struggle.

In this country We have no more forcible
reminder of the fact that we are entering
upon a new era in our national history
than the bulletins which announce TO US
from day to day the death of the men who
figured prominently in the command OF
our army during the civil war. The three
chief commanders long age passed away,
and since their deaths the ranks of the
men who actively upheld the Union have
been thinning with steadily increasing ra-
pldity. The deaths of General Benjamin
+. Butler, General Frankli and General
William Farrar Smith removes among the
last of the men who inaugurated and con-
Quoted separate campaigns. There are
now living but fourteen major generals who
held that rank during the civil war, and
Of. these only one or two ever commanded
independent divisions or corps. As these
figures pass from the scene of present day
affairs many contrasts between the way
in which they met and solved the problems
Of their day, and the methods followed at
the present time are presented. Much OF
the pictureJqueness of civil war times has
disappeared in our ordinary life, and this
Is even truer in the case of our military
and naval establishments. For instance, In
connection with the death of General
Smith. "Baldy'' Smith ne was always called
Dy MS mIlmdleSs II VIII NC PlCoSohN
to recall as a key to the mans character
the courage and resourcefulness with which
he conducted his campaign with the Army
of the Potomac in the action leading up to
the attack on Richmond. No more pic
turesque Incident stands out from the
history of the civil war. Smiths
| was a movable column" consisting OF
16, 600 infantry, sixteen pieces of artillery,
and a squadron of cavalry, and he was
ordered to Join the Army of the Potomac.
On June / he took up a position near Cold
Spring Harbor, engaged the enemy for
nine days, and on the fourteenth retired
to Bermuda Hundred. The next day he
was ordered to attack Petersburg, ana
that night moved forward, meeting the
enemy early next morning. Some rifle
| pits were captured, and Smith forme lines
in front OF the fortihcations of Peters
burg.
ActinG as His own Scout.
The enemy's artillery was strong and
well served, and Smith could not bring up
his own guns. He had no engineer oficer
to make a reconnaissance of the enemy's
line to discover it's weak points. and so
"Baldy' smith became his own scout.
crawling on his hands and knees for two
hours. He coaxed his men forward, in
small bodies, gradually getting his guns
into position, and this way they fought
until Z o'clock In the evening when a
general assault was ordered. Two hours
later the principal Notifications to the key
OF the confederacy were taken. Smith lost
$50 men in round numbers, 500 of whom
were negroes. He took sixteen guns, six
being captured by the black troops, WHIT
fought s~gallantiy. Hancock's troops had
been ordered to operate with Smith at this
battle. but the Instructions were defective
and the corps was delayed. Smith always
believed that the defective instruction.
were given to embarrass him.
OF General Smith General Grant once
said: Smith, while a very able officer, is
obstinate and is likely to condemn what
ever is not suggested by himself" He wal
not averse to criticising his superiors In
command. and this fact did not add tc
his popularity in certain quarters. He wal
a fighter, not a diplomat, and as a result
his career during the war was a stormy
one.
II was in the Virginia peninsular cam
paign that his real active service be.
gan, and out Of which there arose the
famous controversy which was ended bui
three years & After the battle Of
Chickamauga on September q, 1858, Gen
eral Rosencrans drew up his army near the
southern side OF Chattanooga, Tenn. Th'
railroad connecting Chattanooga will
Bridgeport, which formed the then only
available base of supplies from the north
left the city, crossed Chattanooga creel
near it's mouth, followed the river closely
to the north end of Lookout mountain
passed through a tunnel and then de