The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1906-03-08

6i"sIS HiS RtFSOIlai aTlDltlOn, OF 10 sat
isfy the demands Of some influential
class Of his constituents II there was
not to be another session OF Congress
for years this question of amendment
might be a highly important one. But
when we reflect that Congress will as
semble again in about eight months.
with as full power over the matter as
has the present session. it will be seen
that the ardent amenders can be we'll
made to wait until we see how the bill
as it stands will meet the public re-
quirements. 1t is far better to do too
little now than too much.
-1-----= ----
AN INCIDENT OF CHICkAMAUGA.
The Army of the Cumberland was
iZation. and it's history was disturbed
by singularly few disputes. One of the
bitterest of these is recalled to mind
by the death, last week, of Maj. Gen.
Thomas J. Wood at his home in Day.
ton, 0. Gen. Wood was an accom-
plished soldier, and admitted by every
one to be one of the very ablest of the
division commanders of the Army Of
the Cumberland. He had been identi-
fed with that army from the very first,
and on every field of battle had won
commentator by his conspicuously-
able management of his command,
whether 1t was brigade or a division.
In the Chickamauga campaign he COM
manded the First Division of Critten-
denis Twenty-flrst Corps. On the first
and for large part OF the second day
his division was on the right of the
line, with Brannan's Division on it's
left and Davis's and Sherman's Divi-
sions on it's right. The forenoon Of
the Goth the Confederates were making
their main fight on Thomas on the left
to gain possession of the road to Chat
tanooga, and the right was for some
hours little engaged. Capt. Kellogg. of
Gen. ROsecrans's staff, in coming back
from the right of the line reported to
Rosecrans that there was gap to the
right of Gen. Reynolds which was dan
gerous. Apparently he did not note
the position of Brannan or miscon-
ceived it. Gen. Garfield, Rosecrans's
Chief-of-Staff who had the arrange
ment Of the line we'll in his mind, hap
pened~ to be absent at the time. and
der to Gen. Wood:
Headquarters Department Of the
Cumberland. Sept. 20: 10:45 a. m.
Brighten. Wood, Commanding Divi-
sion, etc.
'The General Commanding directs
that you close up on Reynolds as fast
as possible, and support him.
Respectfully, etc,
Frank S. Bond, Major and Aid
Orders were also sent to Gen. jeff c.
Davis to close up on Wood and to
Crittendenl and McCook to generally
move to the left to keep the line in
tact. What Gen. Wood did upon the
receipt of this, order became a matter
of the fiercest dispute. The partisans
Of Gen. Rosecrans claimed that he
knew that the order was q mistake
and should not, therefore, have Obeyed
it until he had called the attention Of
the commanding officer to the error.
Gen. Wood and his friends claimed that
Gen. ROsecrans knew, or thought he
knew, precisely what he was doing
when he issued the order, and that he
intended 1t to be obeyed as 1t was, not
knowing that Longstreet was massing
a heavy force on the right to sweep
away that portion Of our line. Gen.
Wood was not engaged at the time he
received this order, and says that he
supposed that the position that he was
then occupying would be taken care of
by the troops to his right. Therefore
he put his men in motion, left the line,
marched around 'Brannan and took po-
little later Gen. Longstreet who had
been massing 1000 men in front Of that
part of the line. poured through the gap,
struck JEFF C. Davis in flank and rear
as we'll as front, shattered Woods right
brigade as it was moving off the field
and threw back Brannan's right in
confusion. Sheridan and Davis made
the most desperate attempts to with
stand the shock. but were swept off
the field by the torrent OF men that
Longstreet rushed against them. Rose
Grams and his staff officers hurried to
the spot and tried to bring order out
Of the confusion, but were carried back
off the field by the routed brigades
Gen. Wood, in his official report, says
in regard to this order:
II received the order about II
o'clock. At the moment of its receipt
l was short distance in rear Of the
center Of my command. Gen. McCook
was with me when I received it. In
formed him that I would Immediately
carry 1t into execution. and suggested
that he should close up his command
rapidly on my right to prevent the oc-
currence of gap in our lines. He
said he would do so, and Immediately
rode away. 1 Immediately dispatched
my staff officers to the brigade COM
manders with the necessary orders, and
the movement was at once begun
Reynolds's Division was posted on the
left of Brannan's Division, which, in
turn, was on the left Of the position
was just quitting. I had consequently
to pass my command In rear Of Bran
mans Division to close up on and go in
to the support OF Reynolds"
When Gen. Wood arrived on Gen.
Reynoldss right he met Gen. Thomas.