The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1906-03-15
THE OHIO TRUSS CO.. e. 9Th Street, Cincinnati, Ohio

X was much the same with field ariii
| lery. The regular establishments only
bad enough field batteries for 10.e0a
| Infantry, and nearly half Of this MAS
| lost when Twiggs surrendered the army
| in Texas The Confederates had less
| difficulty about supplies and transporta-
| ton. They put their men into the field
with what clothing they could get, and
| they solved the transportation problem
by seizing all the wagons in the coun-
| try, which they could do with good
| heart in Tory East Tennessee.
Therefore Gen. Thomas employed his
| Home Guard to cover Zoliicoffcrs
front, watch his advance and obstrnct
his progress. Right well did the Union
nountaineers with their squirrel-rifies
discharge this duty. Gen. Thomas
pushed forward couple of regiments
to occupy the Rock Castle Hills At
| Wild Cat Gap. to support the Home
! Guard. He called for reinforcements,
and more regiments were sent him;
| hut. like his present force, they were
deficient in equipment and particularly
| transportation.
Upon Zollicoffer renewing mis- activs-
~ and pushing out again across the
Cumberland, Gen. Thomas sent Gen.
| Albian Schoepf, who had recently re-
| ported to him. to take command at
| Wild Cat Gap. Other troops Were
thrown out ON the road to observe and
check any flank movement. Col. Gar
rard had been in command at Wild Cat
with a part Of his regiment. the Eth
Ky. and Gen. Schoepf reached there
on the afternoon Of Oct. 20, 1862, with
| the 22d Ind. Col. John Coburn. and
the 1st Ky. Cav, Col. Frank Wolford.
Col. Steedman was to follow the next
| day with the 18th Ohio and Standards
Battery.
The Battle OF Wild Cat.
\
of annoyance as he pushed forward
| from Cumberland Ford. The Home
| Guards, who knew the country thor
| oughly, lay in wait for his advance ut
| convenient points, deliberately shot
| down with their unerring rifles 4 few
of the foremost. and then retired, un-
harmed, to some other suitable spot TO
| repeat the performance. The effect Of
| this was very demoralizing upon the
! confederates, who marched forward
| with extreme caution and watched
| every possible ambuscade with painful
circumspection. In this way it took
| Zollicoffer several days to march from
Cumberland Ford to Wild Cat Gap.
| where he arrived on the forenoon of
| Oct. 81. The Union troops had Yet
| much to learn in war. and they had
| allowed a dense growth to stand but
little distance off from the light earth
| works which they had thrown UP. In
| spite Of the obstruction made by the
Home Guards the emergence of Zolli-
Golfers men from this curtain of woods
! and the sharp firing they opened caused
some confusion among the Union SOL
diers. but Coils. Coburn and Wolford
| quickly steadied their men, reformed
| their lines, and poured down the gulch
| such a sharp fire that ZOllicofer's men
| could not resist 1t and fed precipitate-
| ly.
In the meanwhile Col Connell, Of
the 18th, and Col. Steedman, of the
14th Ohio, came up with Standards
| Battery, and when Zollicoffer renewed
the attack in the afternoon he was Sc
verely repulsed at all points, and re-
treated to London with a loss of 80
killed and a large number wounded,
while Schoepf's entire loss was but five
killed and Is wounded. This brought
| to failure the grand combined move
ment which Zollicoffer had planned,
involving cooperating columns adj
vancing on other roads simultaneously
with his movement upon Wild Cat Gap.
| Gen. Thomas had in camp with him
a number Of prominent East Tennessee
public men. who were urging him to a
! forward movement, and their counsels
| fell on willing ears. AS soon as he re-
| ceived his promotion to Brigadier-
General, and knew that he was to be
| assigned to duty in the West, he Wis
| tied Gen. Scott and urged that he be
given a sufficient force to penetrate in
| to East Tennessee and cut the railroad.
Gen. Scott had acquiesced In this, and
| supplies. but the difficulties OF arming
| and supplying the force required We're
| next to insuperable.
Gen. Sherman's Baseless Fears.
Great as Gen. Sherman afterward
became, he had much to learn of the
art OF war when he succeeded Gen.
Anderson in command Of the Depart
A.. IL Lot t. r,c-S
singular is the way Sherman allowed
| himself to be deceived by the exag-
| gerated reports of Gen. Buckner's
forces at Bowling Green. A little later
| in the war Sherman would have dis
posed OF these men in buckram" In
short order. He would within day
or two have taken effective means to
| ascertain the truth about the strength
| of his enemy. After his advance to
| Muldraugh's Hill Sherman seemed to
have lost all his Initiative. and was
seriously fearful that Buckner was
| overwhelming forces. It Is true that
Sherman's regiments were raw, undis-
ciplined and poorly equipped, but they
| were quite as we'll off In that respect
as Buckner's troops, and If Sherman
| had possessed the traits OF Grant or
Lyon he would have made good use of
them in dispensing the enemy at Bowl
| ing Green. This lost opportunity seems
singular In a man who afterwards be-
came SO enterprising and aggressive as
w. T. Sherman, but 1t shows that he.
as we'll as others, had to learn his
trade, and learn it from the beginning.
| 1t is to Sherman's credit that he ap-
piled himself to hard study, and ac-
| quired the necessary knowledge to fit
him for the great and successful COM
| mander more rapidly than those who
| were associated with him. The effect
| of Gen. Sherman's caution was shown
| in orders to Gen. Thomas to advance
| no further: that his line was already
| too long and thin; that IL anything he
| must retire nearer his base of supplies.
| II he was not already engaged with
the enemy. he must take up a position
behind the kentucky River, and await
Zollicoffers attack there. Gen. Sher-
| mans alarm increased. and the very
| next day he sent the following extraor-
| binary letter to Gen. Thomas, at Crab
Orchard:
"Gen. Geo. H. Thomas, Commanding,
Crab Orchard:
''Sir: 1 sent a special dispatch to you
last night, intimating the necessity of
Withdrawing your forces further back.
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