The Washington herald., 1914-12-20
GEN. GRANT LEAVES FOR
BATTLE OF NASHVILLE.
December IA.

army under Gen. George H Thomas,
which was confronting a Confederate
army under Gen. John B. Hood, before
that city.
II was Grants purpose to relieve Gen.
Thomas from command II he had not
moved against the enemy. Happily that
purpose was not carried out. Good news
. from Thomas cut Grants journey short,
and among the first and warmest con-
gratulations to reach Thomas were those
Of Grant.
The incidents Of Grants dealings with
Thomas have often been clted as evidence
Of Grants Limitation of character in al
lowing personal bias TO AFFECT his mill
tary judgment
The circumstances were such as to give
some color to such a view. The two gen.
erals had learned to respect but not to
admire each other.
Earlier in the war Grant had believed
himself Disseminated against in favor
OF Thomas After Grant had risen to
high command, he had ranked Thomas
at Chattanooga. There was a noticeable
Coldness between them. Grants favors
TO Sherman had widened the breach.
Then came Grants appointment to a
comand in Virginia, Sherman's elevation
to supreme command in the West, the
Atlanta campaign, and, in mid-November
1864, the beginning of the march to the
sea, when Thomas had been left behind
by Sherman to hold Tennessee. which
Confederates under Gen. Hood were then
about to invade.
Thomas Scattered Command.
The success or failure of Grants grand
strategy was in the balance. The march
to the sea had been undertaken with his
approval. BY it the Middle West had
been virtually stripped of troops.
Hood at once had marched into Ten
nessee. Thomas, to meet the situation.
had three small army corps which had
never served together and were made up
largely of recruits, a few negro regiments,
the convalescents whom Sherman had
sent North and a cavalry force under
Gen. James H. Wilson that was not
equipped.
Against this command. which was
widely scattered and which Thomas had
been given no opportunity to concentrate
before Sherman marched, Hood advanced
a thoroughly trained veteran army. For
the while il seemed as though all OF
Tennessee and Kentucky must again fall
before Hood.
When Gen. Hoods army. 5000 strong.
started North from Alabama toward
Nashville on November Il. Gen. Thomas
was working night and day to concen-
trate and equip his troops. The Fourth
and Twenty-third Corps. under Gen. J.
NJ. Schofield, numbering about aO.oo0.
were posted to meet the Confederate ad-
vance. The Sixteenth Corps under Gen.
4. ]. Smith. was in Missouri and the
balance of the command was scattered
at various garrison points.
Before an effective force could be gath
cred Gen. Hood had pushed north to
Franklin. seventeen miles south Of NASH
willie. There he Was checked on Novem-
her % by the FederaIs under Gen. Scho-
field; but the latter retired to the Nash I
willie defenses on December l. On that
and the following day the Cixteenth Corps
arrived from St Louis and other rein
forcements from Chattanooga The Con-
federates coming up, took position in
front of the city.
Grant Takes n Hand.
At night, on December l. Gen. Thomas
sent this dispatch to Gen. Halleck at
Washington:
After Gen. Schofield's fight of yester-
day, feeling convinced that the enemy
very far outnumbered him. both in in
fantry and cavalry. I determined to re-
tire to the fortifcations around Nash
willie, until Gen. Wilson can get his cav
airy equipped.
II Hood attacks me here, he will be
more seriously damaged than he was
yesterday; if he remains until Wilson
move against him at once.
The mention of delay was disquieting
to the Washington authorities. Secretary
Of War Stanton wired Grant next morn
ing:
The President feels solicitous about
the disposition of Thomas to lay in forti-
fications for an indefinite period, until
Wilson gets equipments This looks like
the Mcclellan and Rosecrans strategy
strategy of do-nothng. The President
wishes you to consider the matter"
Under sharp and repeated proddings
from Washington, which held Grant re-
sponsible for the situation at Nashville,
and put on him all the responsibility OF
relieving Thomas, II he were to be re-
lieved. Grant suffered from a state OF
f. mental torture quite unusual to him. He
feared the consequence OF delay, and he
had no data TO show how near Thomas
was to moving.
In these circumstances he sent success !
sive dispatches advising, urging. COM
Thomas, in an effort to get him to take |
the offensive without delay.
CThe correspondence, too extensive TO |
reproduce. may be found in Series l. |
NoiEne XIV, Part II of the Oficial |
Records OF the War)
To these kilograms Thomas replied that |
he would take the offensive just as soon
as zen WILSON COulO mount MS men
that TO move sooner would be to risk |
defeat or at least to throw away an op-
portUnity to crush the Confederates.
But Grant was highly impatient. He |
feared a Confederate advance 10 the Ohio /
River. Although on December he tele-
graphed to Secretary Stanton that "when |
an officer is intrusted with the command
OF a department he ought to be allowed |
to use the material given him in his own
way" on December he sent a peremp-
tory order to Thomas to attack Hood
mount of your cavalry"
Grant Orders Thomas Removal.
Thomas replied that he would attack
at the earliest possible moment.
On December S Grant telegraphed to
Gen HaIleck, chief of stah at Washing
ton: IF Thomas has not struck yet, he
ought to be ordered to hand over his COM
mand to SchofeId" To which Halleck
replied: If you wish Gen. Thomas re-
lieved from command, give the order.
No one here will, / think, interfere. The
responsibility. however, will be yours, as
no one here, So far as ! am informed,
wishes Gen. Thomas removal
On December Halleck informed
Thomas OF Grants dissatisfaction, to
which Thomas replied: Il feel conscious
that / have done everything in my power
to prepare and il he (GranD
should order me to be relieved, l Will
submit without a murmur."
On that day by Grants direction an