The National tribune., 1906-06-21

pIlSouclS liolu L
we should, as soon as practicable. place
our army upon the communications OF
| the enemy, drawing our supplies from
the West Point & Montgomery Railroad
Looking to this, I shall at once proceed
to strongly fortify Macon. Please dc
not fail to give me advice at all times
1t is my desire to do the best for you
and my country. May God be with you
and us.
~. B. Hood, General"
Having requested and obtained au-
thority from the War Department to
propose an exchange of prisoners, cap
tured during the siege, / made on the
Sth of September, by flag of truce. a
proposition to the enemy to that effect
An exchange of 1000 was agreed upon
Some delay, however. resulted from q
refusal upon the part of Cen Sherman
| to exchange Confederates for Federal
prisoners whose term of service had
ceased or was about to expire.
Upon the 9Th was initiated the CORE
| spondence between Gen. Sherman and
| myself in regard to the treatment OF
| the inhabitants of Atlanta, and which
embodied in the narrative of the siege
of that city. On the 18th / sent every
| wagon which could be spared in the
| army to Rough and Ready, and per-
formed the sad duty of transferring
WllHiH our lines the NoHitn anu GILL
dren. the sick and the infirm.
In the meantime intelligence had been
received from Gen. Wheeler announc-
ing that he had destroyed several
bridges and about 80 miles of railroad
in Tennessee. and that he had thus far
been successful in every engagement
with the enemy.
During the progress of the exchange
of prisoners the transportation of the
n trrn- frillt inc Cd
paired, pontoon trains made ready for
active operation, and every exertion
made to inaugurate forward move
ment at the earliest hour possible. At
this period I deemed II to the interest
Of the Confederacy, because of Gen.
Hardee's failure to obev instructions on
the goth and 22d of July and 31st Of
August. to request thai this officer be
relieved from duty with his corps, and
that another be assigned TO its COM
mand. 1 dispatched to Gen. Bragg as
follows:
Hardee Retired.
tNo. 40
Sept. 8. 2:3O p. m.
81 suggest that all the reserves Of
Georgia. under Gen. Cobb. be- ordered
to this army. sinceothe prisoners have
been removed, and that Lieut.. Gen.
Taylor be ordered to relieve Gen. Har-
dee, bringing with him all the troops
he can.
~. 3. Hood, General"
The unfortunate events connected
with Gen. Hardee's service during the
siege of Atlanta rendered obligatory
this unpleasant duty on my part. I
have already stated the opinions at the
time OF Lieut.-Gens. Lee and Stewart
and of Maj.-Gen. G. w. Smith in regard
tn. h fcr ftr1 Co
these officers in their convictions that
determined to inform the President of
my own loss of confidence, and to in
vite him to visit the army, and confer
with the corps commanders in relation
to the operations around Atlanta. Ac-
cordingly, / sent the following telegram
to His Excellency:
(No. 24)
"Sept 49,
'In the battle of July 90 we faiied on
account of Gen. Hardee. Our success
on the 22d of July was not what it
should have been, owing TO this officer
Our failure on the 31st of August. / am
convinced, was greatly OWN to him.
Please confer with Lieut.-G ems. Stewart
and S. ID. Lee as 10 operations around
Atlanta. 1t is of the utmost i-lportance
that Hardee should be relieved at once
He commands the best troops of this
army. j must have another command
err Taylor or Cheatham will answer
Hardee handed in his resignation few
days since, but withdrew it, Can Gen.
Cobb give me all the reserve regiments
he has?
a. b. Hood General
Maj.-Gen. Gustavus W. Smith. in his
official report of the operations of the
Georgia State troops, dated 18th of Sep
tember, 1864, shortly after these occur
rences. says in this regard:
Commanding peculiar organiZa
ton, the ranking officer of the forces OF
the State in which you We're operating.
| was invited to. and participated in,
your councils. ! had every opportunit
of knowing what was gong on. Your
plans were fully explained to your
Lieutenant-Generals. your Chief of Ar
tillery. Chief Engineer. and myself
Opinions and views were called for
and then specific orders We're given. II
have never known one of them to dis
sent to any plan of yours, a doubt ex-
pressed as to the meaning or intent of
your orders. nor a suggestion made by
them of plan they supposed ould be
better than that you ordercd. If they
are not now unanimous, there is but
one, if any, who dissents from the opin-
ion expressed above, viz: Sherman
would have been beaten had your or
ueiS peei oDeyedf oH the ZUtn or july,
22d of July and s1st of August"
Gen. A. p. Stewart. in his official re-
port of the operations around Atlanta.
states in regard to the battle of the 10th
of July:
II cannot but think had the plan of
the battle, as l understood it, been car
ried out fully. we would have achieved
great success"
Lieut.-Gen. Lee expressed to me the
opinion that but for the delay before
the attack on the 31st of August the
result might have been different. Thisl
officer, Lieut.-Gen.nA P. Stewart. and
Maj.-Gen. G.. w. Smith were. at the
time, unanimous in the conviction thatt
had Gen. Hardee faithfully and earnest
ly carried out my instructions on the
Goth and 22 Of July, we would have
been victorious in the two battles. 1. e.,
had he attacked at l o'clock in lieu of |
p. m. on the Goth; had he appealed
to his troops in a manner to arouse |
their pride. patriotism and yalor. in
stead of giving utterance to expressions
of caution against breastworks; had he. |
on the 22d. marched entirely round and
In rear of McPherson's left flank, as
ordered, and attacked at daylight or
early morning, we would have gained
signal victories.
Hardee to Blame.
1t may very properly be asked why,
after failure on two consecutive occa-l
sions, was Hardee placed in command
at Jonesboro; why l did not relieve him
previously from duty with the army.
and thus avoid further cause of COM
plant.