At Indianapolis I found Governor Morton _Memoirs of the Union's Three Great Civil War Generals

busy in equipping and providing for the new regiments, and my

object was to divert some of them toward Kentucky; but they were

called for as fast as they were mustered in, either for the army of

McClellan or Fremont. At Springfield also I found the same general

activity and zeal, Governor Yates busy in providing for his men;

but these men also had been promised to Fremont. I then went on to

St. Louis, where all was seeming activity, bustle, and preparation.

Meeting R. M. Renick at the Planters' House (where I stopped), I

inquired where I could find General Fremont. Renick said, "What do

you want with General Fremont?" I said I had come to see him on

business; and he added, "You don't suppose that he will see such as

you?" and went on to retail all the scandal of the day: that Fremont

was a great potentate, surrounded by sentries and guards; that he

had a more showy court than any real king; that he kept senators,

governors, and the first citizens, dancing attendance for days and

weeks before granting an audience, etc.; that if I expected to see

him on business, I would have to make my application in writing,

and submit to a close scrutiny by his chief of staff and by his

civil surroundings. Of course I laughed at all this, and renewed

my simple inquiry as to where was his office, and was informed that

he resided and had his office at Major Brant's new house on

Chouteau Avenue. It was then late in the afternoon, and I

concluded to wait till the next morning; but that night I received

a dispatch from General Anderson in Louisville to hurry back, as

events were pressing, and he needed me.

Accordingly, I rose early next morning before daybreak, got

breakfast with the early railroad-passengers, and about sunrise was

at the gate of General Fremont's headquarters. A sentinel with

drawn sabre paraded up and down in front of the house. I had on my

undress uniform indicating my rank, and inquired of the sentinel,

"Is General Fremont up?" He answered, "I don't know." Seeing that

he was a soldier by his bearing, I spoke in a sharp, emphatic

voice, "Then find out." He called for the corporal of the guard,

and soon a fine-looking German sergeant came, to whom I addressed

the same inquiry. He in turn did not know, and I bade him find

out, as I had immediate and important business with the general.

The sergeant entered the house by the front-basement door, and

after ten or fifteen minutes the main front-door above was slowly

opened from the inside, and who should appear but my old San

Francisco acquaintance Isaiah C. Woods, whom I had not seen or

heard of since his flight to Australia, at the time of the failure

of Adams & Co. in 1851! He ushered me in hastily, closed the door,

and conducted me into the office on the right of the hall. We were

glad to meet, after so long and eventful an interval, and mutually

inquired after our respective families and special acquaintances.

I found that he was a commissioned officer, a major on duty with

Fremont, and Major Eaton, now of the paymaster's Department, was in

the same office with him. I explained to them that I had come from

General Anderson, and wanted to confer with General Fremont in

person. Woods left me, but soon returned, said the general would

see me in a very few minutes, and within ten minutes I was shown

across the hall into the large parlor, where General Fremont

received me very politely. We had met before, as early as 1847, in

California, and I had also seen him several times when he was

senator. I then in a rapid manner ran over all the points of

interest in General Anderson's new sphere of action, hoped he would

spare us from the new levies what troops he could, and generally

act in concert with us. He told me that his first business would

be to drive the rebel General Price and his army out of Missouri,

when he would turn his attention down the Mississippi. He asked my

opinion about the various kinds of field-artillery which

manufacturers were thrusting on him, especially the then

newly-invented James gun, and afterward our conversation took a wide

turn about the character of the principal citizens of St. Louis,

with whom I was well acquainted.

Telling General Fremont that I had been summoned to Louisville and

that I should leave in the first train, viz., at 3 p.m., I took my

leave of him. Returning to Wood's office, I found there two more

Californians, viz., Messrs. Palmer and Haskell, so I felt that,

while Fremont might be suspicious of others, he allowed free

ingress to his old California acquaintances.

Returning to the Planters' House, I heard of Beard, another

Californian, a Mormon, who had the contract for the line of

redoubts which Fremont had ordered to be constructed around the

city, before he would take his departure for the interior of the

State; and while I stood near the office-counter, I saw old Baron

Steinberger, a prince among our early California adventurers, come

in and look over the register. I avoided him on purpose, but his

presence in St. Louis recalled the maxim, "Where the vultures are,

there is a carcass close by;" and I suspected that the profitable

contracts of the quartermaster, McKinstry, had drawn to St. Louis

some of the most enterprising men of California. I suspect they

can account for the fact that, in a very short time, Fremont fell

from his high estate in Missouri, by reason of frauds, or supposed

frauds, in the administration of the affairs of his command.

I left St. Louis that afternoon and reached Louisville the next

morning. I found General Anderson quartered at the Louisville

Hotel, and he had taken a dwelling homes on ______ Street as an

office. Captain O. D. Greens was his adjutant-general, Lieutenant

Throckmorton his aide, and Captain Prime, of the Engineer Corps,

was on duty with him. General George H. Thomas had been dispatched

to camp Dick Robinson, to relieve Nelson.

The city was full of all sorts of rumors. The Legislature, moved

by considerations purely of a political nature, had taken the step,

whatever it was, that amounted to an adherence to the Union,

instead of joining the already-seceded States. This was

universally known to be the signal for action. For it we were

utterly unprepared, whereas the rebels were fully prepared.

General Sidney Johnston immediately crossed into Kentucky, and

advanced as far as Bowling Green, which he began to fortify, and

thence dispatched General Buckner with a division forward toward

Louisville; General Zollicoffer, in like manner, entered the State

and advanced as far as Somerset. On the day I reached Louisville

the excitement ran high. It was known that Columbus, Kentucky, had

been occupied, September 7th, by a strong rebel force, under

Generals Pillow and Polk, and that General Grant had moved from

Cairo and occupied Paducah in force on the 6th. Many of the rebel

families expected Buckner to reach Louisville at any moment. That

night, General Anderson sent for me, and I found with him Mr.

Guthrie, president of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, who had

in his hands a dispatch to the effect that the bridge across the

Rolling Fork of Salt Creek, less than thirty miles out, had been

burned, and that Buckner's force, en route for Louisville, had been

detained beyond Green River by a train thrown from the track. We

learned afterward that a man named Bird had displaced a rail on

purpose to throw the train off the track, and thereby give us time.

Mr. Guthrie explained that in the ravine just beyond Salt Creek

were several high and important trestles which, if destroyed, would

take months to replace, and General Anderson thought it well.

worth the effort to save them. Also, on Muldraugh's Hill beyond,

was a strong position, which had in former years been used as the

site for the State "Camp of Instruction," and we all supposed that

General Buckner, who was familiar with the ground, was aiming for a

position there, from which to operate on Louisville.

All the troops we had to counteract Buckner were Rousseau's Legion,

and a few Home Guards in Louisville. The former were still

encamped across the river at Jeffersonville; so General Anderson

ordered me to go over, and with them, and such Home Guards as we

could collect, make the effort to secure possession of Muldraugh's

Hill before Buckner could reach it. I took Captain Prime with me;

and crossed over to Rousseau's camp. The long-roll was beaten, and

within an hour the men, to the number of about one thousand, were

marching for the ferry-boat and for the Nashville depot. Meantime

General Anderson had sent to collect some Home Guards, and Mr.

Guthrie to get the trains ready. It was after midnight before we

began to move. The trains proceeded slowly, and it was daybreak

when we reached Lebanon Junction, twenty-six miles out, where we

disembarked, and marched to the bridge over Salt River, which we

found had been burnt; whether to prevent Buckner coming into

Louisville, or us from going out, was not clear. Rousseau's Legion

forded the stream and marched up to the State Camp of Instruction,

finding the high trestles all secure. The railroad hands went to

work at once to rebuild the bridge. I remained a couple of days at

Lebanon Junction, during which General Anderson forwarded two

regiments of volunteers that had come to him. Before the bridge

was done we advanced the whole camp to the summit of Muldraugh's

Hill, just back of Elizabethtown. There I learned definitely that

General Buckner had not crossed Green River at all, that General

Sidney Johnston was fortifying Bowling Green, and preparing for a

systematic advance into Kentucky, of which he was a native, and

with whose people and geography he must have been familiar. As

fast as fresh troops reached Louisville, they were sent out to me

at Muldraugh's Hill, where I was endeavoring to put them into shape

for service, and by the 1st of October I had the equivalent of a

division of two brigades preparing to move forward toward Green

River. The daily correspondence between General Anderson and

myself satisfied me that the worry and harassment at Louisville

were exhausting his strength and health, and that he would soon

leave. On a telegraphic summons from him, about the 5th of

October, I went down to Louisville, when General Anderson said he

could not stand the mental torture of his command any longer, and

that he must go away, or it would kill him. On the 8th of October

he actually published an order relinquishing the command, and, by

reason of my seniority, I had no alternative but to assume command,

though much against the grain, and in direct violation of Mr.

Lincoln's promise to me. I am certain that, in my earliest

communication to the War Department, I renewed the expression of my

wish to remain in a subordinate position, and that I received the

assurance that Brigadier-General Buell would soon arrive from

California, and would be sent to relieve me. By that time I had

become pretty familiar with the geography and the general resources

of Kentucky. We had parties all over the State raising regiments

and companies; but it was manifest that the young men were

generally inclined to the cause of the South, while the older men

of property wanted to be let alone--i.e., to remain neutral. As to

a forward movement that fall, it was simply impracticable; for we

were forced to use divergent lines, leading our columns farther and

farther apart; and all I could attempt was to go on and collect

force and material at the two points already chosen, viz., Dick

Robinson and Elizabethtown. General George H. Thomas still

continued to command the former, and on the 12th of October I

dispatched Brigadier-General A. McD. McCook to command the latter,

which had been moved forward to Nolin Creek, fifty-two miles out of

Louisville, toward Bowling Green. Staff-officers began to arrive

to relieve us of the constant drudgery which, up to that time, had

been forced on General Anderson and myself; and these were all good

men. Colonel Thomas Swords, quartermaster, arrived on the 13th;

Paymaster Larned on the 14th; and Lieutenant Smyzer, Fifth

Artillery, acting ordnance-officer, on the 20th; Captain Symonds

was already on duty as the commissary of subsistence; Captain O.

D. Greene was the adjutant-general, and completed a good working

staff.

The everlasting worry of citizens complaining of every petty

delinquency of a soldier, and forcing themselves forward to discuss

politics, made the position of a commanding general no sinecure. I

continued to strengthen the two corps forward and their routes of

supply; all the time expecting that Sidney Johnston, who was a real

general, and who had as correct information of our situation as I

had, would unite his force with Zollicoffer, and fall on Thomas at

Dick Robinson, or McCook at Nolin: Had he done so in October, 1861,

he could have walked into Louisville, and the vital part of the

population would have hailed him as a deliverer. Why he did not,

was to me a mystery then and is now; for I know that he saw the

move; and had his wagons loaded up at one time for a start toward

Frankfort, passing between our two camps. Conscious of our

weakness, I was unnecessarily unhappy, and doubtless exhibited it

too much to those near me; but it did seem to me that the

Government at Washington, intent on the larger preparations of

Fremont in Missouri and McClellan in Washington, actually ignored

us in Kentucky.

About this time, say the middle of October, I received notice, by

telegraph, that the Secretary of War, Mr. Cameron (then in St.

Louis), would visit me at Louisville, on his way back to

Washington. I was delighted to have an opportunity to properly

represent the actual state of affairs, and got Mr. Guthrie to go

with me across to Jeffersonville, to meet the Secretary of War and

escort him to Louisville. The train was behind time, but Mr.

Guthrie and I waited till it actually arrived. Mr. Cameron was

attended by Adjutant-General Lorenzo Thomas, and six or seven

gentlemen who turned out to be newspaper reporters. Mr. Cameron's

first inquiry was, when he could start for Cincinnati, saying that,

as he had been detained at St. Louis so long, it was important he

should hurry on to Washington. I explained that the regular

mail-boat would leave very soon--viz., at 12 M.--but I begged him

to come over to Louisville; that I wanted to see him on business as

important as any in Washington, and hoped he would come and spend

at least a day with us. He asked if every thing was not well with

us, and I told him far from it; that things were actually bad, as

bad as bad could be. This seemed to surprise him, and Mr. Guthrie

added his persuasion to mine; when Mr. Cameron, learning that he

could leave Louisville by rail via Frankfort next morning early,

and make the same connections at Cincinnati, consented to go with

us to Louisville, with the distinct understanding that he must

leave early the next morning for Washington.

We accordingly all took hacks, crossed the river by the ferry, and

drove to the Galt House, where I was then staying. Brigadier-

General T. J. Wood had come down from Indianapolis by the same

train, and was one of the party. We all proceeded to my room on

the first floor of the Galt House, where our excellent landlord,

Silas Miller, Esq., sent us a good lunch and something to drink.

Mr. Cameron was not well, and lay on my bed, but joined in the

general conversation. He and his party seemed to be full of the

particulars of the developments in St. Louis of some of Fremont's

extravagant contracts and expenses, which were the occasion of

Cameron's trip to St. Louis, and which finally resulted in

Fremont's being relieved, first by General Hunter, and after by

General H. W. Halleck.

After some general conversation, Mr. Cameron called to me, "Now,

General Sherman, tell us of your troubles." I said I preferred not

to discuss business with so many strangers present. He said,

"They are all friends, all members of my family, and you may speak

your mind freely and without restraint." I am sure I stepped to

the door, locked it to prevent intrusion, and then fully and fairly

represented the state of affairs in Kentucky, especially the

situation and numbers of my troops. I complained that the new

levies of Ohio and Indiana were diverted East and West, and we got

scarcely any thing; that our forces at Nolin and Dick Robinson were

powerless for invasion, and only tempting to a general such as we

believed Sidney Johnston to be; that, if Johnston chose, he could

march to Louisville any day. Cameron exclaimed: "You astonish me!

Our informants, the Kentucky Senators and members of Congress,

claim that they have in Kentucky plenty of men, and all they want

are arms and money." I then said it was not true; for the young

men were arming and going out openly in broad daylight to the rebel

camps, provided with good horses and guns by their fathers, who

were at best "neutral;" and as to arms, he had, in Washington,

promised General Anderson forty thousand of the best Springfield

muskets, instead of which we had received only about twelve

thousand Belgian muskets, which the Governor of Pennsylvania had

refused, as had also the Governor of Ohio, but which had been

adjudged good enough for Kentucky. I asserted that volunteer

colonels raising regiments in various parts of the State had come

to Louisville for arms, and when they saw what I had to offer had

scorned to receive them--to confirm the truth of which I appealed

to Mr. Guthrie, who said that every word I had spoken was true, and

he repeated what I had often heard him say, that no man who owned a

slave or a mule in Kentucky could be trusted.

Mr. Cameron appeared alarmed at what was said, and turned to

Adjutant-General L. Thomas, to inquire if he knew of any troops

available, that had not been already assigned. He mentioned

Negley's Pennsylvania Brigade, at Pittsburg, and a couple of other

regiments that were then en route for St. Louis. Mr. Cameron

ordered him to divert these to Louisville, and Thomas made the

telegraphic orders on the spot. He further promised, on reaching

Washington, to give us more of his time and assistance.

In the general conversation which followed, I remember taking a

large map of the United States, and assuming the people of the

whole South to be in rebellion, that our task was to subdue them,

showed that McClellan was on the left, having a frontage of less

than a hundred miles, and Fremont the right, about the same;

whereas I, the centre, had from the Big Sandy to Paducah, over

three hundred miles of frontier; that McClellan had a hundred

thousand men, Fremont sixty thousand, whereas to me had only been

allotted about eighteen thousand. I argued that, for the purpose

of defense we should have sixty thousand men at once, and for

offense, would need two hundred thousand, before we were done. Mr.

Cameron, who still lay on the bed, threw up his hands and

exclaimed, "Great God! where are they to come from?" I asserted

that there were plenty of men at the North, ready and willing to

come, if he would only accept their services; for it was notorious

that regiments had been formed in all the Northwestern States,

whose services had been refused by the War Department, on the

ground that they would not be needed. We discussed all these

matters fully, in the most friendly spirit, and I thought I had

aroused Mr. Cameron to a realization of the great war that was

before us, and was in fact upon us. I heard him tell General

Thomas to make a note of our conversation, that he might attend to

my requests on reaching Washington. We all spent the evening

together agreeably in conversation, many Union citizens calling to

pay their respects, and the next morning early we took the train

for Frankfort; Mr. Cameron and party going on to Cincinnati and

Washington, and I to Camp Dick Robinson to see General Thomas and

the troops there.

I found General Thomas in a tavern, with most of his regiments

camped about him. He had sent a small force some miles in advance

toward Cumberland Gap, under Brigadier-General Schoepf. Remaining

there a couple of days, I returned to Louisville; on the 22d of

October, General Negley's brigade arrived in boats from Pittsburg,

was sent out to Camp Nolin; and the Thirty-seventh Indiana.,

Colonel Hazzard, and Second Minnesota, Colonel Van Cleve, also

reached Louisville by rail, and were posted at Elizabethtown and

Lebanon Junction. These were the same troops which had been

ordered by Mr. Cameron when at Louisville, and they were all that I

received thereafter, prior to my leaving Kentucky. On reaching

Washington, Mr. Cameron called on General Thomas, as he himself

afterward told me, to submit his memorandum of events during his

absence, and in that memorandum was mentioned my insane request for

two hundred thousand men. By some newspaper man this was seen and

published, and, before I had the least conception of it, I was

universally published throughout the country as "insane, crazy,"

etc. Without any knowledge, however, of this fact, I had

previously addressed to the Adjutant-General of the army at

Washington this letter:

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OP THE CUMBERLAND, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY,

October 22, 1881.

To General L. THOMAS, Adjutant-General, Washington, D. C.

Sir: On my arrival at Camp Dick Robinson, I found General

Thomas had stationed a Kentucky regiment at Rock Castle Hill,

beyond a river of the same name, and had sent an Ohio and an

Indiana regiment forward in support. He was embarrassed for

transportation, and I authorized him to hire teams, and to move his

whole force nearer to his advance-guard, so as to support it, as he

had information of the approach of Zollicoffer toward London. I

have just heard from him, that he had sent forward General Schoepf

with Colonel Wolford's cavalry, Colonel Steadman's Ohio regiment,

and a battery of artillery, followed on a succeeding day by a

Tennessee brigade. He had still two Kentucky regiments, the

Thirty-eighth Ohio and another battery of artillery, with which he

was to follow yesterday. This force, if concentrated, should be

strong enough for the purpose; at all events, it is all he had or I

could give him.

I explained to you fully, when here, the supposed position of our

adversaries, among which was a force in the valley of Big Sandy,

supposed to be advancing on Paris, Kentucky. General Nelson at

Maysville was instructed to collect all the men he could, and

Colonel Gill's regiment of Ohio Volunteers. Colonel Harris was

already in position at Olympian Springs, and a regiment lay at

Lexington, which I ordered to his support. This leaves the line of

Thomas's operations exposed, but I cannot help it. I explained so

fully to yourself and the Secretary of War the condition of things,

that I can add nothing new until further developments, You know my

views that this great centre of our field is too weak, far too

weak, and I have begged and implored till I dare not say more.

Buckner still is beyond Green River. He sent a detachment of his

men, variously estimated at from two to four thousand toward

Greensburg. General Ward, with about one thousand men, retreated

to Campbellsburg, where he called to his assistance some

partially-formed regiments to the number of about two thousand.

The enemy did not advance, and General Ward was at last dates at

Campbellsburg. The officers charged with raising regiments must of

necessity be near their homes to collect men, and for this reason

are out of position; but at or near Greensburg and Lebanon, I

desire to assemble as large a force of the Kentucky Volunteers as

possible. This organization is necessarily irregular, but the

necessity is so great that I must have them, and therefore have

issued to them arms and clothing during the process of formation.

This has facilitated their enlistment; but inasmuch as the

Legislature has provided money for organizing the Kentucky

Volunteers, and intrusted its disbursement to a board of loyal

gentlemen, I have endeavored to cooperate with them to hasten the

formation of these corps.

The great difficulty is, and has been, that as volunteers offer, we

have not arms and clothing to give them. The arms sent us are, as

you already know, European muskets of uncouth pattern, which the

volunteers will not touch.

General McCook has now three brigades--Johnson's, Wood's, and

Rousseau's. Negley's brigade arrived to-day, and will be sent out

at once. The Minnesota regiment has also arrived, and will be sent

forward. Hazzard's regiment of Indiana troops I have ordered to

the month of Salt Creek, an important point on the turnpike-road

leading to Elizabethtown.

I again repeat that our force here is out of all proportion to the

importance of the position. Our defeat would be disastrous to the

nation; and to expect of new men, who never bore arms, to do

miracles, is not right.

I am, with much respect, yours truly,

W. T. SHERMAN, Brigadier-General commanding.

About this time my attention was drawn to the publication in all

the Eastern papers, which of course was copied at the West, of the

report that I was "crazy, insane, and mad," that "I had demanded

two hundred thousand men for the defense of Kentucky;" and the

authority given for this report was stated to be the Secretary of

War himself, Mr. Cameron, who never, to my knowledge, took pains to

affirm or deny it. My position was therefore simply unbearable,

and it is probable I resented the cruel insult with language of

intense feeling. Still I received no orders, no reenforcements,

not a word of encouragement or relief. About November 1st, General

McClellan was appointed commander-in-chief of all the armies in the

field, and by telegraph called for a report from me. It is

herewith given:

HEADQUARTERS THE DEPARTMENT OF THE CUMBERLAND, Louisville,

Kentucky, November 4, 1861

General L. THOMAS, Adjutant-General, Washington, D. C.

Sir: In compliance with the telegraphic orders of General

McClellan, received late last night, I submit this report of the

forces in Kentucky, and of their condition.

The tabular statement shows the position of the several regiments.

The camp at Nolin is at the present extremity of the Nashville

Railroad. This force was thrown forward to meet the advance of

Buckner's army, which then fell back to Green River, twenty-three

miles beyond. These regiments were substantially without means of

transportation, other than the railroad, which is guarded at all

dangerous points, yet is liable to interruption at any moment, by

the tearing up of a rail by the disaffected inhabitants or a hired

enemy. These regiments are composed of good materials, but devoid

of company officers of experience, and have been put under thorough

drill since being in camp. They are generally well clad, and

provided for. Beyond Green River, the enemy has masked his forces,

and it is very difficult to ascertain even the approximate numbers.

No pains have been spared to ascertain them, but without success,

and it is well known that they far outnumber us. Depending,

however, on the railroads to their rear for transportation, they

have not thus far advanced this side of Green River, except in

marauding parties. This is the proper line of advance, but will

require a very large force, certainly fifty thousand men, as their

railroad facilities south enable them to concentrate at

Munfordsville the entire strength of the South. General McCook's

command is divided into four brigades, under Generals Wood, R. W.

Johnson, Rousseau, and Negley.

General Thomas's line of operations is from Lexington, toward

Cumberland Gap and Ford, which are occupied by a force of rebel

Tennesseeans, under the command of Zollicoffer. Thomas occupies

the position at London, in front of two roads which lead to the

fertile part of Kentucky, the one by Richmond, and the other by

Crab Orchard, with his reserve at Camp Dick Robinson, eight miles

south of the Kentucky River. His provisions and stores go by

railroad from Cincinnati to Nicholasville, and thence in wagons to

his several regiments. He is forced to hire transportation.

Brigadier-General Nelson is operating by the line from Olympian

Springs, east of Paris, on the Covington & Lexington Railroad,

toward Prestonburg, in the valley of the Big Sandy where is

assembled a force of from twenty-five to thirty-five hundred rebel

Kentuckians waiting reenforcements from Virginia. My last report

from him was to October 28th, at which time he had Colonel Harris's

Ohio Second, nine hundred strong; Colonel Norton's Twenty-first

Ohio, one thousand; and Colonel Sill's Thirty-third Ohio, seven

hundred and fifty strong; with two irregular Kentucky regiments,

Colonels Marshall and Metcalf. These troops were on the road near

Hazel Green and West Liberty, advancing toward Prestonburg.

Upon an inspection of the map, you will observe these are all

divergent lines, but rendered necessary, from the fact that our

enemies choose them as places of refuge from pursuit, where they

can receive assistance from neighboring States. Our lines are all

too weak, probably with the exception of that to Prestonburg. To

strengthen these, I am thrown on the raw levies of Ohio and

Indiana, who arrive in detachments, perfectly fresh from the

country, and loaded down with baggage, also upon the Kentuckians,

who are slowly forming regiments all over the State, at points

remote from danger, and whom it will be almost impossible to

assemble together. The organization of this latter force is, by

the laws of Kentucky, under the control of a military board of

citizens, at the capital, Frankfort, and they think they will be

enabled to have fifteen regiments toward the middle of this month,

but I doubt it, and deem it unsafe to rely on them: There are four

regiments forming in the neighborhood of Owensboro, near the mouth

of Green River, who are doing good service, also in the

neighborhood of Campbellsville, but it is unsafe to rely on troops

so suddenly armed and equipped. They are not yet clothed or

uniformed. I know well you will think our force too widely

distributed, but we are forced to it by the attitude of our

enemies, whose force and numbers the country never has and probably

never will comprehend.

I am told that my estimate of troops needed for this line, viz.,

two hundred thousand, has been construed to my prejudice, and

therefore leave it for the future. This is the great centre on

which our enemies can concentrate whatever force is not employed

elsewhere. Detailed statement of present force inclosed with this.

With great respect, your obedient servant,

W. T. SHERMAN, Brigadier-General commanding.

BRIGADIER-GENERAL McCOOK'S CAMP, AT NOLIN, FIFTY-TWO MILES FROM

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, NOVEMBER 4, 1861.

First Brigade (General ROUSSEAU).-Third Kentucky, Colonel Bulkley;

Fourth Kentucky, Colonel Whittaker; First Cavalry, Colonel Board;

Stone's battery; two companies Nineteenth United States Infantry,

and two companies Fifteenth United States Infantry, Captain Gilman.

Second Brigade (General T. J. WOOD).-Thirty-eighth Indiana, Colonel

Scribner; Thirty-ninth Indiana, Colonel Harrison; Thirtieth

Indiana, Colonel Bass; Twenty-ninth Indiana, Colonel Miller.

Third Brigade (General JOHNSON).-Forty-ninth Ohio, Colonel Gibson;

Fifteenth Ohio, Colonel Dickey; Thirty-fourth Illinois, Colonel

King; Thirty-second Indiana, Colonel Willach.

Fourth Brigade (General NEGLEY).-Seventy-seventh Pennsylvania,

Colonel Hambright; Seventy-eighth Pennsylvania, Colonel Sinnell;

Seventy-ninth Pennsylvania, Colonel Stambaugh; Battery, Captain

Mueller.

Camp Dick Robinson (General G. H. THOMAS).---Kentucky, Colonel

Bramlette;--Kentucky, Colonel Fry;--Kentucky Cavalry, Colonel

Woolford; Fourteenth Ohio, Colonel Steadman; First Artillery,

Colonel Barnett; Third Ohio, Colonel Carter;--East Tennessee,

Colonel Byrd.

Bardstown, Kentucky.-Tenth Indiana, Colonel Manson.

Crab Orchard.-Thirty-third Indiana, Colonel Coburn.

Jeffersonville, Indiana.-Thirty-fourth Indiana, Colonel Steele;

Thirty-sixth Indiana, Colonel Gross; First Wisconsin, Colonel

Starkweather.

Mouth of Salt River.-Ninth Michigan, Colonel Duffield;

Thirty-seventh Indiana, Colonel Hazzard.

Lebanon Junction..-Second Minnesota, Colonel Van Cleve.

Olympian Springs.-Second Ohio, Colonel Harris.

Cynthiana, Kentucky.-Thirty-fifth Ohio, Colonel Vandever.

Nicholasville, Kentucky.-Twenty-first Ohio, Colonel Norton;

Thirty-eighth Ohio, Colonel Bradley.

Big Hill.-Seventeenth Ohio, Colonel Connell.

Colesburg.-Twenty-fourth Illinois, Colonel Hecker.

Elizabethtown, Kentucky.-Nineteenth Illinois, Colonel Turchin.

Owensboro' or Henderson.-Thirty-first Indiana, Colonel Cruft;

Colonel Edwards, forming Rock Castle; Colonel Boyle, Harrodsburg;

Colonel Barney, Irvine; Colonel Hazzard, Burksville; Colonel

Haskins, Somerset.

And, in order to conclude this subject, I also add copies of two

telegraphic dispatches, sent for General McClellan's use about the

same time, which are all the official letters received at his

headquarters, as certified by the Adjutant-General, L. Thomas, in a

letter of February 1, 1862; in answer to an application of my

brother, Senator John Sherman, and on which I was adjudged insane:

Louisville, November 3, 10 p.m.

To General McLELLAN, Washington, D. C.:

Dispatch just received. We are forced to operate on three lines,

all dependent on railroads of doubtful safety, requiring strong

guards. From Paris to Prestonbnrg, three Ohio regiments and some

militia--enemy variously reported from thirty-five hundred to seven

thousand. From Lexington toward Cumberland Gap, Brigadier-General

Thomas, one Indiana and five Ohio regiments, two Kentucky and two

Tennessee; hired wagons and badly clad. Zollicoffer, at Cumberland

Ford, about seven thousand. Lee reported on the way with Virginia

reenforcements. In front of Louisville, fifty-two miles, McCook,

with four brigades of about thirteen thousand, with four regiments

to guard the railroad, at all times in danger. Enemy along the

railroad from Green River to Bowling Green, Nashville, and

Clarksville. Buckner, Hardee, Sidney Johnston, Folk, and Pillow,

the two former in immediate command, the force as large as they

want or can subsist, from twenty-five to thirty thousand. Bowling

Green strongly fortified. Our forces too small to do good, and too

large to sacrifice.

W. T. SHERMAN, Brigadier-General.

HEADQUARTERS THE DEPARTMENT OF THE CUMBERLAND, Louisville,

Kentucky, November 6, 1861

General L. THOMAS, Adjutant-General.

Sir: General McClellan telegraphs me to report to him daily the

situation of affairs here. The country is so large that it is

impossible to give clear and definite views. Our enemies have a

terrible advantage in the fact that in our midst, in our camps, and

along our avenues of travel, they have active partisans, farmers

and business-men, who seemingly pursue their usual calling, but are

in fact spies. They report all our movements and strength, while

we can procure information only by circuitous and unreliable means.

I inclose you the copy of an intercepted letter, which is but the

type of others. Many men from every part of the State are now

enrolled under Buckner--have gone to him--while ours have to be

raised in neighborhoods, and cannot be called together except at

long notice. These volunteers are being organized under the laws

of the State, and the 10th of November is fixed for the time of

consolidating them into companies and regiments. Many of them are

armed by the United States as home guards, and many by General

Anderson and myself, because of the necessity of being armed to

guard their camps against internal enemies. Should we be

overwhelmed, they would scatter, and their arms and clothing will

go to the enemy, furnishing the very material they so much need.

We should have here a very large force, sufficient to give

confidence to the Union men of the ability to do what should be

done--possess ourselves of all the State. But all see and feel we

are brought to a stand-still, and this produces doubt and alarm.

With our present force it would be simple madness to cross Green

River, and yet hesitation may be as fatal. In like manner the

other columns are in peril, not so much in front as rear, the

railroads over which our stores must pass being much exposed. I

have the Nashville Railroad guarded by three regiments, yet it is

far from being safe; and, the moment actual hostilities commence,

these roads will be interrupted, and we will be in a dilemma. To

meet this in part I have put a cargo of provisions at the mouth of

Salt River, guarded by two regiments. All these detachments weaken

the main force, and endanger the whole. Do not conclude, as

before, that I exaggerate the facts. They are as stated, and the

future looks as dark as possible. It would be better if some man

of sanguine mind were here, for I am forced to order according to

my convictions.

Yours truly,

W. T. SHERMAN, Brigadier-General commanding.

After the war was over, General Thomas J. Wood, then in command of

the district of Vicksburg, prepared a statement addressed to the

public, describing the interview with the Secretary of War, which

he calls a "Council of War." I did not then deem it necessary to

renew a matter which had been swept into oblivion by the war

itself; but, as it is evidence by an eyewitness, it is worthy of

insertion here.

STATEMENT.

On the 11th of October, 1861, the writer, who had been personally

on mustering duty in Indiana, was appointed a brigadier-general of

volunteers, and ordered to report to General Sherman, then in

command of the Department of the Cumberland, with his headquarters

at Louisville, having succeeded General Robert Anderson. When the

writer was about leaving Indianapolis to proceed to Louisville, Mr.

Cameron, returning from his famous visit of inspection to General

Fremont's department, at St. Louis, Missouri, arrived at

Indianapolis, and announced his intention to visit General Sherman.

The writer was invited to accompany the party to Louisville.

Taking the early morning train from Indianapolis to Louisville on

the 16th of October, 1861, the party arrived in Jeffersonville

shortly after mid-day. General Sherman met the party in

Jeffersonville, and accompanied it to the Galt House, in

Louisville, the hotel at which he was stopping.

During the afternoon General Sherman informed the writer that a

council of war was to be held immediately in his private room in

the hotel, and desired him to be present at the council. General

Sherman and the writer proceeded directly to the room. The writer

entered the room first, and observed in it Mr. Cameron, Adjutant-

General L. Thomas, and some other persons, all of whose names he

did not know, but whom he recognized as being of Mr. Cameron's

party. The name of one of the party the writer had learned, which

he remembers as Wilkinson, or Wilkerson, and who he understood was

a writer for the New York Tribune newspaper. The Hon. James

Guthrie was also in the room, having been invited, on account of

his eminent position as a citizen of Kentucky, his high civic

reputation, and his well-known devotion to the Union, to meet the

Secretary of War in the council. When General Sherman entered the

room he closed the door, and turned the key in the lock.

Before entering on the business of the meeting, General Sherman

remarked substantially: "Mr. Cameron, we have met here to discuss

matters and interchange views which should be known only by persons

high in the confidence of the Government. There are persons

present whom I do not know, and I desire to know, before opening

the business of the council, whether they are persons who may be

properly allowed to hear the views which I have to submit to you."

Mr. Cameron replied, with some little testiness of manner, that the

persons referred to belonged to his party, and there was no

objection to their knowing whatever might be communicated to him.

Certainly the legitimate and natural conclusion from this remark of

Mr. Cameron's was that whatever views might be submitted by General

Sherman would be considered under the protection of the seal of

secrecy, and would not be divulged to the public till all

apprehension of injurious consequences from such disclosure had

passed. And it may be remarked, further, that justice to General

Sherman required that if, at any future time, his conclusions as to

the amount of force necessary to conduct the operations committed

to his charge should be made public, the grounds on which his

conclusions were based should be made public at the same time.

Mr. Cameron then asked General Sherman what his plans were. To

this General Sherman replied that he had no plans; that no

sufficient force had been placed at his disposition with which to

devise any plan of operations; that, before a commanding general

could project a plan of campaign, he must know what amount of force

he would have to operate with.

The general added that he had views which he would be happy to

submit for the consideration of the Secretary. Mr. Cameron desired

to hear General Sherman's views.

General Sherman began by giving his opinion of the people of

Kentucky, and the then condition of the State. He remarked that he

believed a very large majority of the people of Kentucky were

thoroughly devoted to the Union, and loyal to the Government, and

that the Unionists embraced almost all the older and more

substantial men in the State; but, unfortunately, there was no

organization nor arms among the Union men; that the rebel minority,

thoroughly vindictive in its sentiments, was organized and armed

(this having been done in advance by their leaders), and, beyond

the reach of the Federal forces, overawed and prevented the Union

men from organizing; that, in his opinion, if Federal protection

were extended throughout the State to the Union men, a large force

could be raised for the service of the Government.

General Sherman next presented a resume of the information in his

possession as to the number of the rebel troops in Kentucky.

Commencing with the force at Columbus, Kentucky, the reports

varied, giving the strength from ten to twenty thousand. It was

commanded by Lieutenant-General Polk. General Sherman fixed it at

the lowest estimate; say, ten thousand. The force at Bowling

Green, commanded by General. A. S. Johnston, supported by Hardee,

Buckner, and others, was variously estimated at from eighteen to

thirty thousand. General Sherman estimated this force at the

lowest figures given to it by his information--eighteen thousand.

He explained that, for purposes of defense, these two forces ought,

owing to the facility with which troops might be transported from

one to the other, by the net-work of railroads in Middle and West

Tennessee, to be considered almost as one. General Sherman

remarked, also, on the facility with which reinforcements could be

transported by railroad to Bowling Green, from the other rebellions

States.

The third organized body of rebel troops was in Eastern Kentucky,

under General Zollicoffer, estimated, according to the most

reliable information, at six thousand men. This force threatened a

descent, if unrestrained, on the blue-grass region of Kentucky,

including the cities of Lexington, and Frankfort, the capital of

the State; and if successful in its primary movements, as it would

gather head as it advanced, might endanger the safety of

Cincinnati.

General Sherman said that the information in his possession

indicated an intention, on the part of the rebels, of a general and

grand advance toward the Ohio River. He further expressed the

opinion that, if such advance should be made, and not checked, the

rebel force would be swollen by at least twenty thousand recruits

from the disloyalists in Kentucky. His low computation of the

organized rebel soldiers then in Kentucky fixed the strength at

about thirty-five thousand. Add twenty thousand for reenforcements

gained in Kentucky, to say nothing of troops drawn from other rebel

States, and the effective rebel force in the State, at a low

estimate, would be fifty-five thousand men.

General Sherman explained forcibly how largely the difficulties of

suppressing the rebellion would be enhanced, if the rebels should

be allowed to plant themselves firmly, with strong fortifications,

at commanding points on the Ohio River. It would be facile for

them to carry the war thence into the loyal States north of the

river.

To resist an advance of the rebels, General Sherman stated that he

did not have at that time in Kentucky more than some twelve to

fourteen thousand effective men. The bulk of this force was posted

at camp Nolin, on the Louisville & Nashville Railway, fifty miles

south of Louisville. A part of it was in Eastern Kentucky, under

General George H. Thomas, and a very small force was in the lower

valley of Green River.

This disposition of the force had been made for the double purpose

of watching and checking the rebels, and protecting the raising and

organization of troops among the Union men of Kentucky.

Having explained the situation from the defensive point of view,

General Sherman proceeded to consider it from the offensive

stand-point. The Government had undertaken to suppress the

rebellion; the onus faciendi, therefore, rested on the Government.

The rebellion could never be put down, the authority of the

paramount Government asserted, and the union of the States declared

perpetual, by force of arms, by maintaining the defensive; to

accomplish these grand desiderata, it was absolutely necessary the

Government should adopt, and maintain until the rebellion was

crushed, the offensive.

For the purpose of expelling the rebels from Kentucky, General

Sherman said that at least sixty thousand soldiers were necessary.

Considering that the means of accomplishment must always be

proportioned to the end to be achieved, and bearing in mind the

array of rebel force then in Kentucky, every sensible man must

admit that the estimate of the force given by General Sherman, for

driving the rebels out of the State, and reestablishing and

maintaining the authority of the Government, was a very low one.

The truth is that, before the rebels were driven from Kentucky,

many more than sixty thousand soldiers were sent into the State.

Ascending from the consideration of the narrow question of the

political and military situation in Kentucky, and the extent of

force necessary to redeem the State from rebel thraldom,

forecasting in his sagacious intellect the grand and daring

operations which, three years afterward, he realized in a campaign,

taken in its entirety, without a parallel in modern times, General

Sherman expressed the opinion that, to carry the war to the Gulf of

Mexico, and destroy all armed opposition to the Goverment, in the

entire Mississippi Valley, at least two hundred thousand troops

were absolutely requisite.

So soon as General Sherman had concluded the expression of his

views, Mr. Cameron asked, with much warmth and apparent irritation,

"Where do you suppose, General Sherman, all this force is to come

from." General Sherman replied that he did not know; that it was

not his duty to raise, organize, and put the necessary military

force into the field; that duty pertained to the War Department.

His duty was to organize campaigns and command the troops after

they had been put into the field.

At this point of the proceedings, General Sherman suggested that it

might be agreeable to the Secretary to hear the views of Mr.

Guthrie. Thus appealed to, Mr. Guthrie said he did not consider

himself, being a civilian, competent to give an opinion as to the

extent of force necessary to parry the war to the Gulf of Mexico;

but, being well informed of the condition of things in Kentucky, he

indorsed fully General Sherman's opinion of the force required to

drive the rebels out of the State.

The foregoing is a circumstantial account of the deliberations of

the council that were of any importance.

A good deal of desultory conversation followed, on immaterial

matters; and some orders were issued by telegraph, by the Secretary

of War, for some small reenforcements to be sent to Kentucky

immediately, from Pennsylvania and Indiana.

A short time after the council was held--the exact time is not now

remembered by the writer--an imperfect narrative of it appeared in

the New York Tribune. This account announced to the public the

conclusions uttered by General Sherman in the council, without

giving the reasons on which his conclusions were based. The

unfairness of this course to General Sherman needs no comment. All

military men were shocked by the gross breach of faith which had

been committed

TH. J. WOOD, Major-General Volunteers

Vicksburg, Mississippi, August 24, 1886.

Brigadier-General Don Carlos Buell arrived at Louisville about the

middle of November, with orders to relieve me, and I was

transferred for duty to the Department of the Missouri, and ordered

to report in person to Major-General H. W. Halleck at St. Louis. I

accompanied General Buell to the camp at Nolin, where he reviewed

and inspected the camp and troops under the command of General A.

McD. McCook, and on our way back General Buell inspected the

regiment of Hazzard at Elizabethtown. I then turned over my

command to him, and took my departure for St. Louis.

At the time I was so relieved I thought, of course, it was done in

fulfillment of Mr. Lincoln's promise to me, and as a necessary

result of my repeated demand for the fulfillment of that promise;

but I saw and felt, and was of course deeply moved to observe, the

manifest belief that there was more or less of truth in the rumor

that the cares, perplexities, and anxiety of the situation had

unbalanced my judgment and mind. It was, doubtless, an incident

common to all civil wars, to which I could only submit with the

best grace possible, trusting to the future for an opportunity to

redeem my fortune and good name. Of course I could not deny the

fact, and had to submit to all its painful consequences for months;

and, moreover, I could not hide from myself that many of the

officers and soldiers subsequently placed under my command looked

at me askance and with suspicion. Indeed, it was not until the

following April that the battle of Shiloh gave me personally the

chance to redeem my good name.

On reaching St. Louis and reporting to General Halleck, I was

received kindly, and was shortly afterward (viz., November 23d)

sent up to Sedalia to inspect the camp there, and the troops

located along the road back to Jefferson City, and I was ordered to

assume command in a certain contingency. I found General Steels at

Sedalia with his regiments scattered about loosely; and General

Pope at Otterville, twenty miles back, with no concert between

them. The rebel general, Sterling Price, had his forces down about

Osceola and Warsaw. I advised General Halleck to collect the whole

of his men into one camp on the La Mine River, near Georgetown, to

put them into brigades and divisions, so as to be ready to be

handled, and I gave some preliminary orders looking to that end.

But the newspapers kept harping on my insanity and paralyzed my

efforts. In spite of myself, they tortured from me some words and

acts of imprudence. General Halleck telegraphed me on November

26th: "Unless telegraph-lines are interrupted, make no movement

of troops without orders;" and on November 29th: "No forward

movement of troops on Osceola will be made; only strong

reconnoitring-parties will be sent out in the supposed direction of

the enemy; the bulk of the troops being held in position till more

reliable information is obtained."

About the same time I received the following dispatch:

HEADQUARTERS, ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI

November 28, 1881.

Brigadier-General SHERMAN, Sedalia:

Mrs. Sherman is here. General Halleck is satisfied, from reports

of scouts received here, that no attack on Sedalia is intended.

You will therefore return to this city, and report your

observations on the condition of the troops you have examined.

Please telegraph when you will leave.

SCHUYLER HAMILTON, Brigadier-General and Aide-de-Camp.

I accordingly returned to St. Louis, where I found Mrs. Sherman,

naturally and properly distressed at the continued and reiterated

reports of the newspapers of my insanity, and she had come from

Lancaster to see me. This recall from Sedalia simply swelled the

cry. It was alleged that I was recalled by reason of something

foolish I had done at Sedalia, though in fact I had done absolutely

nothing, except to recommend what was done immediately thereafter

on the advice of Colonel McPherson, on a subsequent inspection.

Seeing and realizing that my efforts were useless, I concluded to

ask for a twenty days' leave of absence, to accompany Mrs. Sherman

to our home in Lancaster, and to allow the storm to blow over

somewhat. It also happened to be mid-winter, when, nothing was

doing; so Mrs. Sherman and I returned to Lancaster, where I was

born, and where I supposed I was better known and appreciated.

The newspapers kept up their game as though instigated by malice,

and chief among them was the Cincinnati Commercial, whose editor,

Halsted, was generally believed to be an honorable man. P. B.

Ewing, Esq., being in Cincinnati, saw him and asked him why he, who

certainly knew better, would reiterate such a damaging slander. He

answered, quite cavalierly, that it was one of the news-items of

the day, and he had to keep up with the time; but he would be most

happy to publish any correction I might make, as though I could

deny such a malicious piece of scandal affecting myself. On the

12th of November I had occasion to write to General Halleck, and I

have a copy of his letter in answer:

ST. Louis, December 18, 1881.

Brigadier-General W. T. SHERMAN, Lancaster, Ohio.

My DEAR GENERAL: Yours of the 12th was received a day or two ago,

but was mislaid for the moment among private papers, or I should

have answered it sooner. The newspaper attacks are certainly

shameless and scandalous, but I cannot agree with you, that they

have us in their power "to destroy us as they please." I certainly

get my share of abuse, but it will not disturb me.

Your movement of the troops was not countermanded by me because I

thought it an unwise one in itself, but because I was not then

ready for it. I had better information of Price's movements than

you had, and I had no apprehension of an attack. I intended to

concentrate the forces on that line, but I wished the movement

delayed until I could determine on a better position.

After receiving Lieutenant-Colonel McPherson's report, I made

precisely the location you had ordered. I was desirous at the time

not to prevent the advance of Price by any movement on our part,

hoping that he would move on Lexington; but finding that he had

determined to remain at Osceola for some time at least, I made the

movement you proposed. As you could not know my plans, you and

others may have misconstrued the reason of my countermanding your

orders....

I hope to see you well enough for duty soon. Our organization goes

on slowly, but we will effect it in time. Yours truly,

H. W. HALLECK.

And subsequently, in a letter to Hon. Thomas Ewing, in answer to

some inquiries involving the same general subject, General Halleck

wrote as follows:

Hon. THOMAS EWING, Lancaster, Ohio.

DEAR SIR: Your note of the 13th, and one of this date, from Mr.

Sherman, in relation to Brigadier-General Sherman's having being

relieved from command in Sedalia, in November last, are just

received. General Sherman was not put in command at Sedalia; he

was authorized to assume it, and did so for a day or two. He did

not know my plans, and his movement of troops did not accord with

them. I therefore directed him to leave them as they were, and

report here the result of his inspection, for which purpose he had

been ordered there.

No telegram or dispatch of any kind was sent by me, or by any one

with my knowledge or authority, in relation to it. After his

return here, I gave him a leave of absence of twenty days, for the

benefit of his health. As I was then pressing General McClellan

for more officers, I deemed it necessary to explain why I did so.

I used these words: "I am satisfied that General Sherman's physical

and mental system is so completely broken by labor and care as to

render him, for the present, unfit for duty; perhaps a few weeks'

rest may restore him." This was the only communication I made on

the subject. On no occasion have I ever expressed an opinion that

his mind was affected otherwise than by over-exertion; to have said

so would have done him the greatest injustice.

After General Sherman returned from his short leave, I found that

his health was nearly restored, and I placed him temporarily in

command of the camp of instruction, numbering over fifteen thousand

men. I then wrote to General McClellan that he would soon be able

to again take the field. I gave General Sherman a copy of my

letter. This is the total of my correspondence on the subject. As

evidence that I have every confidence in General Sherman, I have

placed him in command of Western Kentucky--a command only second in

importance in this department. As soon as divisions and columns

can be organized, I propose to send him into the field where he can

render most efficient service. I have seen newspaper squibs,

charging him with being "crazy," etc. This is the grossest

injustice; I do not, however, consider such attacks worthy of

notice. The best answer is General Sherman's present position, and

the valuable services he is rendering to the country. I have the

fullest confidence in him.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

H. W. HALLECK, Major-General.

On returning to St. Louis, on the expiration of my leave of

absence, I found that General Halleck was beginning to move his

troops: one part, under General U. S. Grant, up the Tennessee

River; and another part, under General S. R. Curtis, in the

direction of Springfield, Missouri. General Grant was then at

Paducah, and General Curtis was under orders for Rolls. I was

ordered to take Curtis's place in command of the camp of

instruction, at Benton Barracks, on the ground back of North St.

Louis, now used as the Fair Grounds, by the following order:

[Special Order No. 87].

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE MISSOURI

St. Louis, December 23, 1861

[EXTRACT.]

Brigadier-General W. T. Sherman, United States Volunteers, is

hereby assigned to the command of the camp of instruction and post

of Benton Barracks. He will have every armed regiment and company

in his command ready for service at a moment's warning, and will

notify all concerned that, when marching orders are received, it is

expected that they will be instantly obeyed; no excuses for delay

will be admitted. General Sherman will immediately report to these

headquarters what regiments and companies, at Benton Barracks, are

ready for the field.

By order of Major-General Halleck,

J. C. KELTEN, Assistant Adjutant-General.

I immediately assumed command, and found, in the building

constructed for the commanding officer, Brigadier-General Strong,

and the family of a captain of Iowa cavalry, with whom we boarded.

Major Curtis, son of General Curtis, was the adjutant-general, but

was soon relieved by Captain J. H. Hammond, who was appointed

assistant adjutant-general, and assigned to duty with me.

Brigadier-General Hurlbut was also there, and about a dozen

regiments of infantry and cavalry. I at once gave all matters

pertaining to the post my personal attention, got the regiments in

as good order as possible, kept up communication with General

Halleck's headquarters by telegraph, and, when orders came for the

movement of any regiment or detachment, it moved instantly. The

winter was very wet, and the ground badly drained. The quarters

had been erected by General Fremont, under contract; they were mere

shells, but well arranged for a camp, embracing the Fair Grounds,

and some forty acres of flat ground west of it. I instituted

drills, and was specially ordered by General Halleck to watch

Generals Hurlbut and Strong, and report as to their fitness for

their commissions as brigadier-generals. I had known Hurlbut as a

young lawyer, in Charleston, South Carolina, before the Mexican

War, at which time he took a special interest in military matters,

and I found him far above the average in the knowledge of

regimental and brigade drill, and so reported. General Strong had

been a merchant, and he told me that he never professed to be a

soldier, but had been urged on the Secretary of War for the

commission of a brigadier-general, with the expectation of be

coming quartermaster or commissary-general. He was a good,

kind-hearted gentleman, boiling over with patriotism and zeal. I

advised him what to read and study, was considerably amused at his

receiving instruction from a young lieutenant who knew the company

and battalion drill, and could hear him practise in his room the

words of command, and tone of voice, "Break from the right, to

march to the left!" "Battalion, halt!" "Forward into line!" etc.

Of course I made a favorable report in his case. Among the

infantry and cavalry colonels were some who afterward rose to

distinction--David Stuart, Gordon Granger, Bussey, etc., etc.

Though it was mid-winter, General Halleck was pushing his

preparations most vigorously, and surely he brought order out of

chaos in St. Louis with commendable energy. I remember, one night,

sitting in his room, on the second floor of the Planters' House,

with him and General Cullum, his chief of staff, talking

of things generally, and the subject then was of the much-talked-of

"advance," as soon as the season would permit. Most people urged

the movement down the Mississippi River; but Generals Polk and

Pillow had a large rebel force, with heavy guns in a very strong

position, at Columbus, Kentucky, about eighteen miles below Cairo.

Commodore Foote had his gunboat fleet at Cairo; and General U. S.

Grant, who commanded the district, was collecting a large force at

Paducah, Cairo, and Bird's Point. General Halleck had a map on his

table, with a large pencil in his hand, and asked, "where is the

rebel line?" Cullum drew the pencil through Bowling Green, Forts

Donelson and Henry, and Columbus, Kentucky. "That is their line,"

said Halleck. "Now, where is the proper place to break it?" And

either Cullum or I said, "Naturally the centre." Halleck drew a

line perpendicular to the other, near its middle, and it coincided

nearly with the general course of the Tennessee River; and he said,

"That's the true line of operations." This occurred more than a

month before General Grant began the movement, and, as he was

subject to General Halleck's orders, I have always given Halleck

the full credit for that movement, which was skillful, successful,

and extremely rich in military results; indeed, it was the first

real success on our side in the civil war. The movement up the

Tennessee began about the 1st of February, and Fort Henry was

captured by the joint action of the navy under Commodore Foote, and

the land forces under General Grant, on the 6th of February, 1862.

About the same time, General S. R. Curtis had moved forward from

Rolls, and, on the 8th of March, defeated the rebels under

McCulloch, Van Dom, and Price, at Pea Ridge.

As soon as Fort Henry fell, General Grant marched straight across

to Fort Donelson, on the Cumberland River, invested the place, and,

as soon as the gunboats had come round from the Tennessee, and had

bombarded the water-front, he assaulted; whereupon Buckner

surrendered the garrison of twelve thousand men; Pillow and

ex-Secretary of War General Floyd having personally escaped across

the river at night, occasioning a good deal of fun and criticism at

their expense.

Before the fall of Donelson, but after that of Henry, I received,

at Benton Barracks, the following orders:

HEADQUARTERS THE DEPARTMENT OF MISSOURI

St. Louis, February,13, 1862

Brigadier-General SHERMAN, Benton Barracks:

You will immediately repair to Paducah, Kentucky, and assume

command of that post. Brigadier-General Hurlbut will accompany

you. The command of Benton Barracks will be turned over to General

Strong.

H. W. HALECK, Major-General.

I started for Paducah the same day, and think that General Cullum

went with me to Cairo; General Halleck's purpose being to push

forward the operations up the Tennessee River with unusual vigor.

On reaching Paducah, I found this dispatch:

HEADQUARTERS THE DEPARTMENT OF MISSOURI

St. Louis, February 15, 1862

Brigadier-General SHERMAN, Paducah, Kentucky:

Send General Grant every thing you can spare from Paducah and Smith

and also General Hurlbut.

Bowling Green has been evacuated entirely.

H. W. HALLECK, Major-General.

The next day brought us news of the surrender of Buckner, and

probably at no time during the war did we all feel so heavy a

weight raised from our breasts, or so thankful for a most fruitful

series of victories. They at once gave Generals Halleck, Grant,

and C. F. Smith, great fame. Of course, the rebels let go their

whole line, and fell back on Nashville and Island No. Ten, and to

the Memphis & Charleston Railroad. Everybody was anxious to help.

Boats passed up and down constantly, and very soon arrived the

rebel prisoners from Donelson. I saw General Buckner on the boat,

he seemed self-sufficient, and thought their loss was not really so

serious to their cause as we did.

About this time another force of twenty or twenty-five thousand men

was collected on the west bank of the Mississippi, above Cairo,

under the command of Major-General John Pope, designed to become

the "Army of the Mississippi," and to operate, in conjunction with

the navy, down the river against the enemy's left flank, which had

held the strong post of Columbus, Kentucky, but which, on the fall

of Fort Donelson, had fallen back to New Madrid and Island No. 10.

CHAPTER X.

BATTLE of SHILOH.

MARCH AND APRIL, 1862.

By the end of February, 1862, Major-General Halleck commanded all

the armies in the valley of the Mississippi, from his headquarters

in St: Louis. These were, the Army of the Ohio, Major-General

Buell, in Kentucky; the Army of the Tennessee, Major-General Grant,

at Forts Henry and Donelson; the Army of the Mississippi,

Major-General Pope; and that of General S. R. Curtis, in Southwest

Missouri. He posted his chief of staff, General Cullum, at Cairo,

and me at Paducah, chiefly to expedite and facilitate the important

operations then in progress up the Tennessee, and Cumberland

Rivers.

Fort Donelson had surrendered to General Grant on the 16th of

February, and there must have been a good deal of confusion

resulting from the necessary care of the wounded, and disposition

of prisoners, common to all such occasions, and there was a real

difficulty in communicating between St. Louis and Fort Donelson.

General Buell had also followed up the rebel army, which had

retreated hastily from Bowling Green to and through Nashville, a

city of so much importance to the South, that it was at one time

proposed as its capital. Both Generals Grant and Buell looked to

its capture as an event of great importance. On the 21st General

Grant sent General Smith with his division to Clarksville, fifty

miles above Donelson, toward Nashville, and on the 27th went

himself to Nashville to meet and confer with General Buell, but

returned to Donelson the next day.

Meantime, General Halleck at St. Louis must have felt that his

armies were getting away from him, and began to send dispatches to

me at Paducah, to be forwarded by boat, or by a rickety

telegraph-line up to Fort Henry, which lay entirely in a hostile

country, and was consequently always out of repair. On the 1st of

March I received the following dispatch, and forwarded it to

General Grant, both by the telegraph and boat:

To General GRANT, Fort Henry

Transports will be sent you as soon as possible, to move your

column up the Tennessee River. The main object of this expedition

will be to destroy the railroad-bridge over Bear Creek, near

Eastport, Mississippi; and also the railroad connections at

Corinth, Jackson, and Humboldt. It is thought best that these

objects be attempted in the order named. Strong detachments of

cavalry and light artillery, supported by infantry, may by rapid

movements reach these points from the river, without any serious

opposition.

Avoid any general engagements with strong forces. It will be

better to retreat than to risk a general battle. This should be

strongly impressed on the officers sent with expeditions from the

river. General C. F. Smith or some very discreet officer should be

selected for such commands. Having accomplished these objects, or

such of them as may be practicable, you will return to Danville,

and move on Paris.

Perhaps the troops sent to Jackson and Humbolt can reach Paris by

land as easily as to return to the transports. This must depend on

the character of the roads and the position of the enemy. All

telegraphic lines which can be reached must be cut. The gunboats

will accompany the transports for their protection. Any loyal

Tennesseeans who desire it, may be enlisted and supplied with arms.

Competent officers should be left to command Forts Henry and

Donelson in your absence. I have indicated in general terms the

object of this.

H. W. HALLECK, Major-General.

Again on the 2d:

Cairo, March 1, 1862

To General GRANT:

General Halleck, February 25th, telegraphs me: "General Grant will

send no more forces to Clarksville. General Smith's division will

come to Fort Henry, or a point higher up on the Tennessee River;

transports will also be collected at Paducah. Two gunboats in

Tennessee River with Grant. General Grant will immediately have

small garrisons detailed for Forts Henry and Donelson, and all

At Indianapolis I found Governor Morton and all the State officials