The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1909-04-06
ANNIVERSARY Of
MEMORABLE BATTLE
COL, MORTON TELLS or INCL
DENTS CONNECTED WITH THE
BATTLE or sHlLoH--LATE NAL
OR EDWARDS ONE OF suRviv.
oRs OF GREAT STRUGGLE.

In an interview with Forum re-
porter today Col, c. A. Morton related
some interesting "reminiscences relative
to the battle of Shiloh, one of the
famous struggle of the great Civil
war which was fought Al years ago
today. The colonel said:
"F'orty-seven years ago this morn
ing was inaugurated the bloodiest bat
| tie of the rebellion, numbers consider
ed. OF course I refer to the battle of
Shiloh, fought on April 6 and Z, 1852.
Our losses on both days aggregated
1901, or twenty-six and three quarters
per cent of General Grants entire
army. e-
| "The confederate loss was less than
ours, being 10.SsS. or twenty-four and
one-third per cent of their force en-
gagged. @ a
I'VE lost in general officers and regi-
mental commanders fifty and the en-
envy forty-four.
There has been much difference of
opinion among old soldiers who were
at Shiloh whether or not we were sur
prised on that fateful Sunday morn
ing. -
In an answer to an inquiry by
the secretary of war, General Halleck
wired, The newspaper accounts that
| our divisions were surprised are ut
terly false. Every division had notice
of the enemy's approach hours before
the battle commenced
| General Sherman up to the day of
his death insisted that there was no
4 surprise on Sunday morning, and that
the casualties on Sunday are only
what might have been reasonably ex-
pected when we remember that the
army of the Tennessee, with the ex-
| ception of those engaged at Forts
Henry and Donelson, had never be-
fore confronted an enemy.
| while we were badly beaten on
Sunday, every thing was regained on
Monday, and the enemy utterly rout-
| ed.
| IF Old Halleck had remained at
/ st. Louis. leaving the conduct of this
/ splendid army in the hands Of It's great
4 and victorious general the war might
have been concluded, and probably
would have been, a year earlier. But
Halleck, like Mcclellan in the east,
concluded to rely upon spades, in
| stead of muskets, and the result nat
urally was almost the entire balance
of the year in the west was frittered
/ away.
"Halleck Inundated Grant, relieving
him of his command, which the old
martinez took over himself, and but for
General Sherman's earnest importunl-
ties Grant would have left the army,
and with what dire disaster to the
union arms can only be estimated.
Indeed SO near were we to losing
u the services of Americas greatest gen.
II eral that when General Sherman
II called upon Grant the day after Hal
II leck relieved him he found him pack
ing his belongings preparatory to q
at least, that Halleck relieve him from
his present intolerable position.
General Sherman sympathized with
Grant but insisted that his duty to
his country demanded that he put
Il aside all personal feeling in the mat
ter, and accept the situation.
Fl General Sherman said, Think OF
what they did to me a year ago; Cam
eron (the then secretary of war;
4 said that was as crazy as a loon
Il unfit to exercise a command any
where. Even went so far as to write
q my wife, advising her to have me
looked after, that 1t was unsafe thai
i / should be suffered TO be at large.
would have quit then, as you propose
to do now, but that believed that my
duty to my country demanded that
| should give it the best possible service
in it's time of need
General Grant reluctantly promised
to accept the advice of this friend whc
was ever and always closer to him
. than brother.
There are only a few Of the ole
fellows that fought at Shiloh In tins
part of the country--indeed there -,
not a great many OF them now or
: top side OF terra firma. but those Of
J us who are still here remember al
ways that bright beautiful Sunday
morning that opened so auspiciousis
nearly half century ago, to close sc
disastrously that same evening.
However. we licked them good the
next day, but this grand old army o.
the Tennessee came nearer defeat al
Shiloh than ever afterward.
For thirty years, until last year, u
was seldom that my friend, the dear
old major and I did not get togethel
on April 8, to 60 over again, In .
Reminiscent way, the memories of thai
never to be forgotten day. Alas for
us, the major has Joined the heroes
of Shiloh field. and Ii now tenting on
the Eternal Camping Ground
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