The National tribune., 1909-09-30
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
Continued from page one. J

\
had encouraged him. and instead Of
following ThomaSs advice, holding his
army there and preparing 1t for the In
evftable struggle, he continued his cam
paign with the intention of forcing
Bragg clear back to Atlanta
Bragg had only withdrawn from
Chattanooga to get his own army con
centrated, and Jefferson Davis hurried
up to him not only the troops which
had been surrendered at Vicksburg, anc
all that could be taken from the garrl-
sons along the Gulf, but Longstreet'
Corps, which was detached from Lee:
army and sent by rail- to his assistance
Davis hoped, and with reason, that
force so collected would overwheln
Rosecrans, virtually destroy his army
carry the field of war back to the ONO
and restore the prestige which the Con.
federacy had lost at Gettysburg ano
Vicksburg.
This plan came perilously near sue,
ceeding. The two armies met at Chick-
amauga, Sept. 10. 1868, and for two
days there was the most sangulnary
fighting that the war had yet witnessed
So bitter was the struggle that num-
ber of Longstreets regiments lost as
high as 10 per cent of the number II
carried into action. The casualties on
the Union side were proportionately Sc
we're. BY most obstinate resistance
Gen. Thomas succeeded in holding the
Confederate army in check and making
the battle virtually a drawn one, retir-
ing himself in good order from the field
and being unpursued.
The Army of the Cumberland took up
it's position in Chattanooga, whittier 1t
was followed. closely besieged. and re-
duced to a condition of great danger by
cutting off its line of supplies. Secre-
| tary Stanton and Gen. Halleck rose to
the emergency, the Army Of the Cum
berland was reinforced by two corps
from the Army of the Potomac, and
Gen. Grants army, which, contrary to
| his wishes, had lain idle afte rthe cap
ture of Vicksburg, was also hurried to
| Chattanooga with its leader In COM
mand of all the forces so assembled.
With these he won the brilliant vic
tories of Lookout Mountain and Mission
| Ridge, driving off Bragg's army in a
seriously damaged condition.
Gen. Burnside had carried out Presi-
dent Lincoln's long-cherished desire by
taxing possession of East Tennessee and
relieving the loyal people of the oppres-
sions and prosecutions of the Confeder-
acy, so that the year 1868 ended with a
general Frightening of the Union skies
all around the horizon.
Gen. Burnside had been placed in a
very dangerous situation by the result
of the battle of Chickamauga, and was
for awhile besieged in Knoxville, with
many fears that he might be obliged to
surrender He was at last relieved by
| Grants mastery strategy, and the first
| thing that was heard from him in weeks
was loud cry for help. The President
frightened the situation with one of his
| telling stories. 1t reminded him, he
said, of the woman who lived in a for
est clearing in Indiana and had great
| trouble in keeping track of her chill
dren. When she would hear one of
y-allinO rnSSti1Iv fripbtonQd hv q
rattlesnake or wildcat, she would ex-
| claim fervently: Thank God, there's
one of my young ones that isn't lost"
The Last Half of 1858.
Intense anxiety possessed the Presi-
dent to have Meade inflict a crushing
blow upon Lee before the year ended.
The very salvation of the Nation seemed
to hang upon this. The debt was piling
up to proportions that made every
thinking man shudder as he studied
the monthly Treasury reports. 1t had
far passed the billion mark July
($1,119.77 1869, and Jan. l, 1854,
had passed beyond $1,500, 900. Sec
retary Chase had been obliged to ask
Congress to provide him with s904,300,-
700 in addition to the appropriations he
already had to run the Government un-
til July l, 1864. The issue of paper
money had been pushed as far-even
farther-than the people could stand.
There was outstanding S472, ,525,2S0 of
the various issues of United States notes
and their value has fallen off more
than one-third, being quoted at 64.3
Jan. l, 1864, with a strong downward
tendency. 1t seemed as if all the re-
sources of the country had been drawn
upon to a breaking strain. The green
back dollar had risen slightly in value
after the victories of Gettysburg and
Vicksburg, but now it was sinking
again, weighed down by the mountains
Of debt and the drain upon the coun
try's wealth. Men began to doubt if
the greenback would ever be redeemed.
1t might" the weak-hearted said. de
preciate, like the continental money,
into utter worthlessness" and President
Lincoln, Secretary Stanton and Gen.
Halleck repeated their urgings to Meade
to fight as far as they dared without
goading him to resign. Meade had in |
deed asked to be relieved, and Lincoln
had written this characteristic letter to |
him:
The President Writes Meade.
"I am very, very grateful to you for |
the magnificent success you gave the |
country at Gettysburg, and l am sorry |
now to be the author of the slightest |
pain to you; but L was in such deep dis |
tress myself that / could not restrain |
some expression of it. / have been |
at Gettysburg by what appeared to be |
evidences that yourself and Gen. Couch |
and Gen. Smith were not seeking a col |
Iision with the enemy, but were trying |
to get him across the river without |
another battle. What these evidences
were, if you please, L hope to tell you
at some time when we shall both feel |
better. The case, summarily stated, is
this: You fought and beat the enemy
at Gettysburg, and, of course, to say the
least, his loss was as great as yours. He
retreated, and you did not, as it seemed |
to me, pressingly pursue him; but q |
flood in the river detained him till, by
slow degrees, you were again upon him.
You had at least 10000 veteran troops
directly with you and as many more
raw ones within supporting distance, all
in addition to those who fought with
you at Gettysburg while it was not pos
sible that he had received a single re-
cruit, and yet you stood and let the
flood run down. bridges be built, and
the enemy move away at his leisure
without attacking him. And Couch and
Smith! The latter left Carlisle in time.
upon all ordinary calculation, to have
aided you in the last battle at Gettys-
burg, but he did not arrive. At the
end of more than 10 days, 1 believe II,
under constant urging, he reached Ha-
from Carlisle, which is not an
inch over SIS miles, If so much. and
Couch's movement was very little diff