The National tribune., 1910-03-24


EGen Alexander says arrived exhausted
by its long march and its struggle with
the heat. dust and the smoke of the
fires still burning in the Wilderness.
Hills Corps, under Early. Hill being
Exhausted and ill from the strain, re-
mained behind to guard the trains un
til the morning of May 9. As fast as
the troops arrived and were put into
position they fell to work with the ut
most eagerness in building intrench-
ments under the eye of lie: and his
engineers.
| At Grants Headquarters.
Gen Horace Porter. in his Cam
paigning With Grant," says as to the
General-in-Chief:
The General and staff bivouacked
upon the ground. The night was quite
chilly, and a couple of fires were light
| ed to add to our comfort. Gen. Grant
| lay down with his officers beside one of
| the fires, without any covering; when
asleep an Aid quietly spread an over
coat over him. For about four hours
we all kept turning over every few
minutes SO as to get warmed on both
sides, initiating with our bodies the
| diurnal motion of the earth as it eX-
poses its sides alternately to the heat
of the sun. When daylight broke it
was seen that a low board structure
/
lain down was pig pen, but its former
| occupants had disappeared, and were
| probably at that time nouriShing the
stomachs of the cavalry troopers of the
invading army. Unfortunately the odOrs
of the place had not taken their de-
parture with the pigs, but remained to
add to the discomfort of the bivouack-
ers. Sheridan's cavalry had had to
fight at this place the afternoon before,
in which he had defeated the opposing
force, and the ground in the vicinity,
Strewn with the dead, offered ample
| evidence of the severity of the struggle.
About sunrise Gen. Grant, after TAX
ing off his coat and shaking il to rid it
of some of the dust in which he had
lain down, shared with the staff officers
some soldiers rations, and then seated
| himself on the ground by the roadside
to take his mornings smoke.
Soon afterward he and Gen. Meade
rode on, and established their respec-
tive headquarters near Piney Branch
| Church, about two miles to the east of
Todds Tavern. 1t was Sunday, but the
overrunning of the country by contend
Ing armies had scattered the little
church's congregation. The temple of
prayer was voiceIess. the tollng of its
peaceful bell had given place to the
echo of hostile guns, and in the excite
mcnt which prevailed it must be con-
LINSSNd iii6il ICN lttdiicu TACT tfldI
was the Sabbath day.
"A drum corps in passing caught
sight of the General, and at once struck
up then popular negro camp-meeting
air. Everyone began to laugh, and
Rawlins cried: Good fo1 the drum
mersn What's the fun?' inquired the
General Why was the reply, they
are PLAYING Amt ! glad to get out OBJ
de Wilderness The General smiled
at the ready wit of the musicians, and
said: Well with me a musical joke al
ways requires an explanation I know
only two tunes; one is Yankee Doodle"
and the other isn't'''"
Sheridan and Meade.
AS to the celebrated interview be-
tween the commander of the Army of
the Potomac and the Chief of Cavalry,
Gen. Porter says:
Sheridan had been sent for by
Meade to come to his headquarters, and
when he arrived between II and IL
o'clock that morning, very acrimoni-
Gus dispute took place between the two
Generals Meade was possessed of a
very eXcitable temper, which under irri-
tating circumstances became almost
ungovernable- He had worked him
| self into towering passion regard
! ing the delays encountered in the for
ward movement, and when Sheridan
1
tongs accusing him of blunders and
charging him with not making a prop
ler disposition of his troops and letting
the cavalry block the advance OF the
infantry. Sheridan was equally fiery.
and, smarting under the belief that he
was unjustly treated, all the hotspur in
his nature was aroused. He insisted
that Meade had created the trouble by
countermanding his (Sheridan's) or
ders, and that it was this act which
had resulted in mixing up his troops
with the infantry, exposing to great
danger Wilson's Division which had
advanced as far as Spotsylvania Court
, House, and rendering Intellectual all his
( com binations regarding the movements
of the Cavalry Corps. Sheridan de-
clarcd with great warmth that he
would not command the cavalry any
longer under such conditions, and
said IL he could have mat
tiers his own way he would
concentrate all the cavalry, move
lout in force against Stuart's command
land whip it. His language thruout was
highly spiced and conspicuously itali-
cized with expletives. Gen. Meade came
over to Gen. Grants tent immediately
after, and related the interview to him.
The excitement of the one was In sim
gular contrast with the calmness of the
other When Meade repeated the re-
IldihS IHtue DN SuefludD, lnat he could
move out with his cavalry and whiu
, Stuart, Gen. Grant quietly observed
Did Sheridan say that? Well, he gen.
orally knows what he is talking about
Let him start right out and do it, BY
l o'clock Sheridan had received his or
ders in writing from Meade for the
movement Early the next morning ne
started upon his famous raid to the
vicinity of Richmond in rear of tho
ienemys army, and made good his
word"
Gen. Lees Mistakes.
Gen. Lee had made serious mistakes
in his forecast of what his great oppo.
nent was doing. When his spies brought
him the news that our wagon trains
were all moving in an easterly direc.
tion he jumped to the conclusion tha
! the Army of the Potomac was retreat
! ing, and as late as the forenoon of the
Sth he telegraphed-to Richmond: "Tht
enemy has abandoned his position, anC
is moving toward Fredericksburg" Al
the talk about his foresight as tt
Grants moving to Spotsylvania is sim
ply baseless. 1t was late on the after
noon of May 8, and only after the bat
tie was several hours old, that he real
lied that division of his troops had by
. accident gotten across Grants pathwa,
and was checking his advance. Ther
lhe had generalship enough to know
I that he must strongly reinforce tina
portion of his command and continue
the fight which had begun. So littl,
+, did he know of the actual DOsition q