The National tribune., 1905-11-09
WAR OF THE REBELLION.
CONTINUED from page ID

Expeliing the enemy's pickets from Boil
ton the same day. YOU secured and held
that important position.
/ ON the 10th you led the advance. in
three columns upon three roads, against
Edwards Station. Meeting the enemy
on the way in strong force. you heavily
engaged him near Champions Hill. and
after a Sanguinary and obstinate battle.
with the assistance of Gen. McPher-
son Corps, beat and routed him, TAX
ing many prisoners and Smail-arms and
several pieces of cannon Continuing
10 lead the advance. you rapidly pur-
sued the enemy to Edwards Station,
capturing that place, large quantity
of public stores. and many prisoners.
Night only stopped you.
| AT day-daWn on the 18th YOU re-
sumed the advance. and early coming
| upon the enemy strongly intrenched in
elaborate works. both before and behind
! Big Black River, Immediately opened
with artillery upon him, followed by
| daring and heroic charge at the point
| of the bayonet, which put him to rout,
| leaving IS pieces of cannon and more
| than 1000 prisoners in your hands.
BY an early hour on the 18th you
! had constructed IL bridge across the Big
| Black, and had commenced the advance
upon Vicksbufg
"On the 18th, Goth and 21st you con-
| tinued to reconnoter and skirmish un-
til you had gained near approach to
the enemy's works.
"OD the 22d, in pursuance of the or
! aei; GHi6ili tn3 commander Of the de-
partment, You assaulted the enemy's
defenses in front at 10 a. m. and with
| in 80 minutes had made Judgment and
planted your colors upon two of his
bastions. This partial success called
into exercise the highest heroisn, and
was only gained by bloody and pro-
tracted struggle: yet it was gained, and
was the first and largest success
achieved anywhere along the whole line
of our army. For nearly eight hours, un-
| der scorching sun and destructive fire,
you firmly held your footing, and only
withdrew when the enemy had largely
| masSed their forces and concentrated
| their attack upon you. How and why
| the general assault failed it would be
| useless now to explain. The Thirteenth
| Army Corps. acknowledging the good
| intentions of all. would scorn indulgence
| iii weak regrets and idle ordinations.
According justice to all. it would only
defend itself. If, while the enemy was
maSSng to crush it, assistance was
asked for by a diversion at other points,
or by reinforcements. it only asked
| what in one case Maj.-Gen. Grant had
| specifically and peremptorily ordered,
namely, simultaneous and persistent at
| tack all along our lines until the enc
my's outer works should be carried,
and what. i'm the other. by massing a
\
point, would have probably insured sue
cess
Comrades. you have done much. yet
| something more remains to be done.
| The enemys Odious defenses still block
your access to Vicksburg. Treason still
rules that rebeliious city. and closes the
| Mississippi River against rightful use
by the millions who inhabit it's sources
and the great Northwest. Shall not our
| flag float over Vicksburg? Shall not
! q L. .Nf hA
| lawful commerce. Methinks the en-
phatic response of one and all of you
| is, 1t shall be So. Then let US rise to
| the level of a browning trial. Let our
common sufferings and glOries. while
| uniting as band of brothers, rouse us
| to new and surprising efforts. Let us
| resolve upon success God helping US
II join you, comrades. in your sym
pathy for the wounded and sorrow for
the dead. May we not trust, nay. is it
| not so, that history will associate the
| martyrs of this SCARED struggle for law
| and order, liberty and justice. with the
| honored martyrs of Monmouth and
| Bunker Hill?
| John A. McClernand, Major General.
Commanding"
| 1t is impossible to defend this order
| in any way. Several of it's main state
ments are misleading, with some actual
ly false, and the implications upon his
| brother commanders and their soldiers
are highly irritating and unsoldierlikc.
| Gen. Netherlands troops. bravely as
| they had fought, had not Penetrated
| any farther into the enemys lines than
| those of the Fifteenth and Seventeenth
| Corps, and there was no massing Of the
enemy against him because Of lack
| of pressure from the rest Of the line.
Gen. Netherlands call for reinforce
| ments was not at all justified, because
| he had not employed all of his own
4 MT ha nd .haa
| help was sent him from the other corps
he wantonly sacrificed them in sending
| them upon an unsupported attack
against one of the strongest parts Of
| the enemy's line. In this he wasted y
number Of valuable lives without IL hope
OF securing any permanent advantage.
| No wonder that ts$e explOSiv. Sherman
wrote the following fiery letter to Army
Headquarters Immediately upon reading
McClernands order:
| Sherman's Letter.
| Headquarters Fifteenth Army Corps
Camp on Walnut Hills, June II. 1863.
'Lieut.-Col. John A. Rawlins Assistant
Adjutant-General, Department Of the
Tennessee.
| "Sir: On my return last evening
from an inspection of the new works at
Snyder's Bluff, Gen. Blair, who COM
mands the Second Division of my corps,
called my attention to the inciosed pub
LEGATION in the Memphis Evening Bull
letin of June Is, instant, entitled Con-
gratulatOry Order OF Gen. McClernand
with request that j should notice it,
lest the statements of fact and infer
ence contained therein might receive
credence from an excited public. 1t
certainly gives me no pleasure or sat
isfactiOn to notice such catalogue of
lnonsense-such an effusion Of vain
glory and hypocrisy; nor can L believe
Gen. McClernand ever published such
an order officially to his corps. / know
too well that the brave and Intelligent
soldiers and officers who compose that
corps will not be humbugged by such
stuff.
If the order be a genuine produc-
ton and not a forgery. 1t is manifestly
addressed not to an army. but to a con-
lstituency in Illinois, far distant from
the scene Of the events attempted to be
described, who might innocently be in
duced to think Gen. McClernand the
sagacious leader and bold hero he so
complacently paints himself: but 1t is
barely possible the order is q genuine
one, and was actually read to the regi-
ments OF the Thirteenth Army Corps
In which case a copy must have been
sent office he SnP IT.