The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-05-10
HISTORICAL.

Battles of Mississippi--1s61- -65; by Mrs.
 John Ashcraft.
 There are two methods of warfare. One is to defeat the armies in battle; the other is to cut off their source of supplies.
 The North soon found that to defeat us in battle was a Herculean task; so, in adopting the latter method, part of their scheme was to sever conl- munication between the Eastern and Southwestern States of the Confeder- acy. t~
 The battles of Fort Henry, Donelson and Shiloh had established the fact that the Confederacy was at great disadvantages on the river courses Of course we had no substantial navy, and, the gunboats that were iuprovis- ed, were fewer in number and inferior in quality to the enemies. Highly ef- fectiye. they were, because manned by sons of the Southland. who took coun- ell of their country's need. rather than the implements with which they had to fight. Besides the superior equip ment of the enemy, they were, by means of the river, spared the fatigue of long marches, and their heavy guns and troops were much more rapidly transported.
 After the battle of Shiloh our army withdrew to Corinth, a town twenty miles west of the Tennessee river. and ninety miles from Memphis. It was at the crossing of the M. X c. Railroad. running west and east and the Mobile and Ohio, running south and north. The South then had very few railways. and this was a strategic point for either army. but 1t was in marsh and the water exceedingly bad. The Yankees had possession of the rail- roads in Northern Alabama. Mtssissip- pi and West Tennessee. and it was no place to have a vastly superior army thrown around one. General Halleck had reorganized the Federal army and had between S5,000 and 90.00O troops. He began to move on Corinth, twenty miles away (remember) April 2S. So cautious was he in approaching, that every night his army slept within en- trenchments. On May he was with in eight miles of Corinth and on the sist his batteries were three miles away. Roads were bad. but this ex- ceeding slowness was due to a mis- taken idea of our forces which in fact were less than 45.0oO effective.
 So adroitly were our forces led out that a complete evacuation was ef- fected, without the loss of piece of ordnancce, and without the enemy's knowledge. though then entrenched within 1000 yards of our main works.
 The retreat was continued to Tupelo without serious conflict. though seven locomotives were lost on account of a burning bridge, and the cars of stores were ordered to be burned.
 General Beauregard had been in very feeble health and his command was transferred to Bragg In an effort to thwart this general plan in the Missis- sippi Valley, General Bragg carried his army into Kentucky and thus man ouwered the invading host out of Northern Alabama and Middle Tennes- see, large and important territory. This. has been pronounced a brilliant piece of strategy.
 Van Dorn and Price were left in Mississippi to prevent Rosecrans at Corlnth from uniting with Buells's army in Tennessee. Thinking that Rosecrans was moving to effect this juncture. Van Dorn and Price united their armies and made a surprise at tack at Corinth, the strongest point of the enemy--on the 3rd of March. By 10 a. m. our force was within the much strengthened entT enchment of the en- emy. In half an hour, beyond his sec ond line of detached works. At sum- set, though every Inch of ground had been contested the enemy had retreat ed to his inmost lines. The battle had been fought mainly by Prices men, who had made a quick march of ten miles over a dusty road without water and formed into battle line in the un- derbrush of a thick forest and fought all day. The tax had been so great that General Price thought his brave soldiers unequal to further exertions, so he ordered the battle to cease
 During the night batteries were planted and the left wing was ordered to attack the town next morning at day break; but failed to do so, dis gaa wfaa I.~ h pushed forward made a gallant fight. silencing the enemy's heavy gun. but just as victory was won. fresh Union troops arrived and poured a heavy fire into Prices thin and exhausted ranks. The day was lost. but not un- til our officers and men had exhibited great ge and military skill; their gallant charges being made most ef- fective by a wise selection of time and place.
 Rosecrans so admired the brave charge of Colonel Rodgers, who fell here. that he caused his grave to be enclosed and marked with slab.
 Van Dorn extricated his beaten CD army in a most noteworthy way; re- pulsed Ord and held Rosecrans in check until he had turned aside his 400 wagons and 900 muskets without the loss of a wagon.
 Grant had massed an army of So.OOO on the M. C., thence was moving southward. We had no force in front to do him battle. so Van Dorn with drew his cavalry of less than 2,600 from the enemy's front and early on the 18th surprised the garrison at Holly Springs and before o'clock was in quiet possession of the town. He burned millions of dollars of Federal supplies here as it required only small quantity to equip his command Thus Grant was forced to hastily retire from the State. This is one of the most brilliant feats in military an- nalS
 Their design had been for Grant to attack Vicksburg by land sherman at the same time to attack by the rlVer' The Federals had gunboats at Memphis ard ona of their devices for reach kartM nrnyfEioaa