The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-12-13
THE ARMY OF TENNESSEE
NUMBER NINE
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of this rebellious organization was to stop the war. General Lee argued that Grant must move his army to Ohio from Virginia if this plan was al lowed. (See Longstreefs From Man assas to Appomattox.l
 Tine President and Secretary of War heard Lee argue for the transfer of the combat to the centre of the. enc my's territory away from his base on the sea. away from the political att mosphere of Washington City. but the Secretary failed to appreciate the great soldiers logic in counsel. What next? MT. Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers in April. 1881. to avsnge Sumter. He now called for 100000 drafted men to prolong the conflict. Grant had no policy of war save the simple resort to attritfOn. Hts re- | sources for the pursuit of his policy were limitless The Confederacy did not have, all told, in arms. more than half the number of men that Lincoln's s call for 500.000 recruits covered.
 On January l, 1864. at Dalton, Major General Patrick Clehurne sent out written invitation to all the division commanders of the army. there en- campsd. to meet at o'clock that eve ming at the headquarters of the gen eraI Commanding. Lieutenant General
 
 then with the army, was specially in vited. The meeting assembled and General Johnston was present. Cle- burne drew from his pocket an elab- crate argument carefully written out, first setting forth that the Army of Tennessee had accomplished nothing of permanent value to the cause; that from Perryville to Cfrickamauga great battlefields had attested the inoom- ra v.oh hTa x,ol oP Of thousands of the flower 0f fhe South had freely given their lives to the flag; that the farms and towns had been drained to the last available man for the ranks of the army; that conquest was inevitable and with con- quest negro supremacy must be the realization over the fairest of South erH cities. Southern homes and South efn governments. An eloquent plea was then made to the government at Richmond to call for volunteers from the slaves. It was not question whether the negroes should engage in the war but on what side of the con flict. Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, Northern Alabama, all the Atlantic coast had already contributed several hundred thousand negroes to the army of invasion. The United States boast ed of the valor of it's colored troops. W O0A0 ldOL tHG nGBNO AtAHI TUT 1NHG Confederacy7 Undoubtedly he would Thousands of slaves. body servants of Southern soldiers, were then in the field in every part of the Confederacy and all were brave and true. None deserted. Let the government enlist the negroes, promising freedom to each enlisted man on condition of duty well performed.
 The paper was 7 earnestly and impressively read in it's full length to the meeting by General Cleburne. No vote was taken and no motion to dispose of the subject was made. but a profound anxiety was de- veioped. Washingfon's generals at Val ley Forge held secret counsels. This was an open counsel. General Patton Anderson and General Walker of Georgia. became suddenly alarmed. . Here was a proposal. they said. eman- ating from. one of the two great armies of the Confectionery to overthrow the so- cial structure of the country and revo- Iutfonize the fabric in it's clements If the South was about tQ fall to the level of land of free negroes, the war was senseless. We could have the rule of free negroes by submitting to the inva- der. instantly. Nothing more could be looked for if General CiebuTne's scheme should be tolerated Patton Anderson { wrote at length to General Polk. then