The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-10-04

identical form or CIVIL Sosot the one as the other. and that when they came to war against each other some of the principal armies or eacn bore the same names. Beauregaro commanded the Army of the Potomac at Centreville while in hostile array before him. Mcdonald commanded tne Army of the Potomac. There was the confederate Army of the Mississippi at Shiloh and the United States Army of the Mississippi under Grant at | Vicksburg. In the Dalton-Atlan.a campaign. J. E. Johnston command- | ed the Army of Tennessee while Mc- ! pherson's Army of the Tennessee 1 was perhaps the best of the three armies, under sherman, which con | fronted him
 The Army of Tennessee was a re- Organization of the Army of the Miss | issippi. The act of reorganization was performed at Murfreesboro by | General J. E. Johnston In December 1862. The name was chosen In honor | of the locality.
 | The first commander. Albert Sidney Johnston. collected the troops from New Orleans, from Pensacola, Mo bile. Jackson, Tenn, and Bowling | Green and Columbus, Ky. The nrst | battle was Shiloh. April 6th, 1S62. General Sherman, after the war, de- ] clared Shiloh the most desperate nght ever made on American soil. It was glorious victory for the Confederates. thrown away by mistaken order of the successor of the fallen commander giving in the closing hour Of the day.
 In June, 1882. General Braxton Bragg was in command of this army at Tupelo, Miss. The enemy was in possession of all the territory from Memphis to Huntsville, Ala. south of the Ohio. About two days march from Bragg, at corinth. General | Haileck had collected about 100000 choice troops. Grant, sherman. Buell. RosecransI Thomas, McPherson.. Crit tenden, Nelson, were among his sub- ordinate commanders All the prtn- cipal towns In Kentucky, West Ten nessee and North Alabama were gar risoned by Halleck, Braggs army was hardly 35.o0o effecttves.
 In this emergency. the question what should Bragg do arose Halleck's purpose was to run over him and. after taking Vicksbur9. so as to open the Mississippi in all it's length to the United States forces. to march to Mobile via Memphis. thus zion between that point and Montgom- cry. The strategy was comprehensive and the execution seemed feasible.
 It Is said with some show of prob ability, that General D. K. Smith, then at Knoxville, Tenn, with a small army, originated the movement by which Bragg extricated himself and completely frustrated Halleck's plans. In the whole war, no more nnasterly plan of field operations was put on trial than Bragg's escape from Hal leck.
 About July Ist Bragg ordered Col. onel Joseph Wheeler of the 18th Ala bama Infantry, to take a cavalry brt' gade to the rear of Halleck at Cor inth. ride rapidly into that risn agsi' cultural region which lies between tht Tennessee, running due north. and tht Mississippi running due south, knowr as West Tenn, capture and dlsperst | the garrisons scattered about ana spread the news that the entire arm, was coming that way on its nara tt Louisville, Ky. Wheeler had nevei commanded separate expedition. 1oI had he ever commanded any consid' erable body of cavalry. He performed his part now with distinguished suc~' cess. At the same time. Bragg ordered Col. Forrest to ride Into Middle Ten nessee and drive the garrisons, dis tributed from decherd to Nashville into the latter city or capture then Hence Forests historic capture oi Murfresboro, July 13, where among other interesting incidents, he releas. ed from the county jail Capt. William Richardson, now a Representative ir Corg ess fhom Alabama, who had been condemhed to death as a spy, the ex- ecutlon to take place immediately.
 These expeditions of the cavalry hav.LR succee led. Bragg had the sat is1cC tion of seeing all North Alabama I oh in al hU They concentrated at Nashville under Buell., where the Confederates had nc tn ought of disturbing them.
 Leaving Van Dorn and Price to threaten the enemy at Corinth. General Bragg now moved his entire army through Mobile, via Montgomery. to Chattanooga and through Demopolis and Selma to Chattanooga. He or- dered General E. K. Smith to move his 15,000 men out from Knoxville | flank the enemy at Cumberland Gap and march into Kentucky. where he would join him and take command of the united forces to capture Louisville,
 Bragg crossed the Tennessee at | Chattanooga on July 27 with about 25,000 men. Hardee commanded the advance, Polk commanded the centre and Buckner, with one small division, brought up the rear. Col. Joseph Wheeler commanded the cavalry, into | which column ultimately came the nrSt | Alabama Col. W. W. Allen, and the Srd Alabama, Col. Hagan. Buell. forti- fled Nashville. Bragg marched in the direction of that capital but turned al right angles north, passing through Sparta. At this latter point Forrest joined him, now with the. rank oi BrIgadler General, promoted for the brilliant affair at Murfreesboro.
 Buell. at last seeing the object oi the Confederate commander, set out on a race to beat him to Louisville l At this juncture of events Bragg's splendid early management seemed to desert him. The roads were dry and provisions along the route abundant The Confederates steered for Bowling Green, marching steadily every day and well fed. Buell. took the Louis vile and Nashville Railroad line. nov. Ing his guns and supplies by the cars l The armies thus advanced on parallel | lines. often not a days march apart every day fought the advance of the enemy and obstructed the railroad track. They did not act, however. as our body of cavalry but each on his 4 own orders or his own responsibility.
 Bragg and Buell. reached Bowling | Green about the same time, but by some apparent mismanagement. the 1 United States troops were permitted to get ahead of the Confederates and into Louisville in advance.
 At Louisville Buell. collected in a day or two a large and fresh army He immediately started back to meet the Confederates. At this time Cen. eraI E. K. Smith had reached Lexing.