The National tribune., 1908-03-19

Now. I had hoped that other COM
rades than myself. who fought in the
Federal army of Gen. Thomas thruout
| that hotly-contested battle, would, thru
your columns. challenge and deny the
above claim and statement of Gen.
Hood. AS one of the thousands of
Union soldiers who made up the ad-
vancing columns of Gen. Thomasis army
| on that celebrated occasion, l must re-
| Spectfully insist that the foregoing
statement of Gen. Hood iii so far as he
claims that "the Federal army throut
the first days fight, were rcpuised at
all points of the general line with heavy
loss" is historically untrue. and should
not be allowed to stand unchallenged.
| The facts, as we eye witnesses and par
| Elephants know them 10 be. are as fol-
lows: On the 18th OF December, 1864.
| Gen. ThomaS'S army having been rein
forced and accumulated at Nashville. to
the number of $4,000 or $4,000 (of all
arms), moved out of its defenses around
| Nashville, in the early dawn and fog of
that morning, and at once moved for
ward, in mighty line and force, against
| Gen. Hoods investing army, then only
few miles distant The fog of the
early morning soon cleared away. Civ
| ing place to the smoke of battle, the
enemy was directly found. and with the
rattle of musketry and boom of cannon
all along the lines the great fight was
on to finish. The contest was hot and
| fierce thru all that day, but the Union
| forces moved grandly forward with
continuous success. driving the Confed-
crates back, capturing many of their
defenses, guns and men, victorious at
all points from start TO finish on that
first day of the battle, until darkness
closed down on the movements of both
armies. The Confederate lines were
broken and beaten back uninterrupted
ly the frst day to near Brentwood Hills
and Overton Hill, mentioned by Gen.
Hood, with small loss to the Federals
and that night both armies camped and
slept on their arms in close proximity.
Certainly up to that time our army
had not been repulSed at all; but, hav-
ing carried everything before it on the
first day, dreamed only of complete
victory on the morrow. And it came
quick, sharp and decisive, for early in
the morning of the next day Gen. Thorn
ass army moved forward to the as
sault of the enemy's new line of de-
fense, and while there was fierce fight
ing, with the Confederates still holding
their position in the early part of the
second day, yet it is not historic fact, as
claimed by Gen. Hood, that 1.-The enemy
(the Federals) We're again and again
repulsed at all points, with heavy loss,
especially in Lees front" II may be
true that our forces did not succeed in
their first assaults made that second
day, but they held their own and lost
no ground until about the middle of the
afternoon, when they gallantly charged
up the nights of Brentwood Hills. broke
and carried the Confederate works and
lines. and put Gen. Hoods brave army
to utter rout and defeat. No, the Fed
eral army was not "repulsed again and
again with heavy loss on either of
those days, but was everywhere and
at all times successful. and Gen. Hood,
later on in his National Tribune arti-
cles, admits the completeness of our
victory and his defeat, when he says
of the final outcome of the two days
fight: "Our line, thus pierced, gave
way: soon thereafter it broke at all
points. and I beheld for the first and
only time Confederate army abandon
the field in confusion.'-W. w. Wood,
Adjurant, 95th ILL.,. Belvidere. Ill.