SOME CONTEMPORARY PORTRAITS.
Grant before his great fame--His friend and mentor, General
Rawlins--James Harrison Wilson--Two semi-official letters to
Stanton--Character sketches for the information of the President and
Secretary--Mr. Dana's early judgment of soldiers who afterward won
distinction.
Living at headquarters as I did throughout the siege of Vicksburg, I
soon became intimate with General Grant, not only knowing every
operation while it was still but an idea, but studying its execution on
the spot. Grant was an uncommon fellow--the most modest, the most
disinterested, and the most honest man I ever knew, with a temper that
nothing could disturb, and a judgment that was judicial in its
comprehensiveness and wisdom. Not a great man, except morally; not an
original or brilliant man, but sincere, thoughtful, deep, and gifted
with courage that never faltered; when the time came to risk all, he
went in like a simple-hearted, unaffected, unpretending hero, whom no
ill omens could deject and no triumph unduly exalt. A social, friendly
man, too, fond of a pleasant joke and also ready with one; but liking
above all a long chat of an evening, and ready to sit up with you all
night, talking in the cool breeze in front of his tent. Not a man of
sentimentality, not demonstrative in friendship, but always holding to
his friends, and just even to the enemies he hated.
After Grant, I spent more time at Vicksburg with his assistant adjutant
general, Colonel John A. Rawlins, and with Lieutenant-Colonel Wilson,
than with anybody else. Rawlins was one of the most valuable men in the
army, in my judgment. He had but a limited education, which he had
picked up at the neighbourhood school and in Galena, Ill., near which
place he was born and where he had worked himself into the law; but he
had a very able mind, clear, strong, and not subject to hysterics. He
bossed everything at Grant's headquarters. He had very little respect
for persons, and a rough style of conversation. I have heard him curse
at Grant when, according to his judgment, the general was doing
something that he thought he had better not do. But he was entirely
devoted to his duty, with the clearest judgment, and perfectly fearless.
Without him Grant would not have been the same man. Rawlins was
essentially a good man, though he was one of the most profane men I ever
knew; there was no guile in him--he was as upright and as genuine a
character as I ever came across.
James H. Wilson I had first met at Milliken's Bend, when he was serving
as chief topographical engineer and assistant inspector general of the
Army of the Tennessee. He was a brilliant man intellectually, highly
educated, and thoroughly companionable. We became warm friends at once,
and were together a great deal throughout the war. Rarely did Wilson go
out on a specially interesting tour of inspection that he did not
invite me to accompany him, and I never failed, if I were at liberty, to
accept his invitations. Much of the exact information about the
condition of the works which I was able to send to Mr. Stanton Wilson
put in my way.
I have already spoken of McClernand, Sherman, and McPherson, Grant's
three chief officers, but there were many subordinate officers of value
in his army, not a few of whom became afterward soldiers of distinction.
At the request of Secretary Stanton, I had begun at Vicksburg a series
of semi-official letters, in which I undertook to give my impressions of
the officers in Grant's army. These letters were designed to help Mr.
Lincoln and Mr. Stanton in forming their judgments of the men. In order
to set the _personnel_ of the commanding force distinctly before the
reader, I quote here one of these letters, written at Cairo after the
siege had ended. It has never been published before, and it gives my
judgment at that time of the subordinate officers in the Vicksburg
campaign:
CAIRO, ILL., _July 12, 1863_.
DEAR SIR: Your dispatch of June 29th, desiring me to "continue my
sketches," I have to-day seen for the first time. It was sent down
the river, but had not arrived when I left Vicksburg on the 5th
instant.
Let me describe the generals of division and brigade in Grant's
army in the order of the army corps to which they are attached,
beginning with the Thirteenth.
The most prominent officer of the Thirteenth Corps, next to the
commander of the corps, is Brigadier-General A. P. Hovey. He is a
lawyer of Indiana, and from forty to forty-five years old. He is
ambitious, active, nervous, irritable, energetic, clear-headed,
quick-witted, and prompt-handed. He works with all his might and
all his mind; and, unlike most volunteer officers, makes it his
business to learn the military profession just as if he expected to
spend his life in it. He distinguished himself most honorably at
Port Gibson and Champion's Hill, and is one of the best officers in
this army. He is a man whose character will always command respect,
though he is too anxious about his personal renown and his own
advancement to be considered a first-rate man morally, judged by
the high standard of men like Grant and Sherman.
Hovey's principal brigadiers are General McGinnis and Colonel
Slack. McGinnis is brave enough, but too excitable. He lost his
balance at Champion's Hill. He is not likely ever to be more than a
brigadier. Slack is a solid, steady man, brave, thorough, and
sensible, but will never set the river afire. His education is
poor, but he would make a respectable brigadier general, and, I
know, hopes to be promoted.
Next to Hovey is Osterhaus. This general is universally well spoken
of. He is a pleasant, genial fellow, brave and quick, and makes a
first-rate report of a reconnoissance. There is not another general
in this army who keeps the commander in chief so well informed
concerning whatever happens at his outposts. As a disciplinarian he
is not equal to Hovey, but is much better than some others. On the
battlefield he lacks energy and concentrativeness. His brigade
commanders are all colonels, and I don't know much of them.
The third division of the Thirteenth Corps is commanded by General
A. J. Smith, an old cavalry officer of the regular service. He is
intrepid to recklessness, his head is clear though rather thick,
his disposition honest and manly, though given to boasting and
self-exaggeration of a gentle and innocent kind. His division is
well cared for, but is rather famous for slow instead of rapid
marching. McClernand, however, disliked him, and kept him in the
rear throughout the late campaign. He is a good officer to command
a division in an army corps, but should not be intrusted with any
important independent command.
Smith's principal brigadier is General Burbridge, whom I judge to
be a mediocre officer, brave, rather pretentious, a good fellow,
not destined to greatness.
The fourth division in the Thirteenth Corps is General Carr's. He
has really been sick throughout the campaign, and had leave to go
home several weeks since, but stuck it out till the surrender. This
may account for a critical, hang-back disposition which he has
several times exhibited. He is a man of more cultivation,
intelligence, and thought than his colleagues generally. The
discipline in his camps I have thought to be poor and careless. He
is brave enough, but lacks energy and initiative.
Carr's brigadiers comprise General M. K. Lawler and General Lee, of
Kansas. Lawler weighs two hundred and fifty pounds, is a Roman
Catholic, and was a Douglas Democrat, belongs in Shawneetown, Ill.,
and served in the Mexican War. He is as brave as a lion, and has
about as much brains; but his purpose is always honest, and his
sense is always good. He is a good disciplinarian and a first-rate
soldier. He once hung a man of his regiment for murdering a
comrade, without reporting the case to his commanding general
either before or after the hanging, but there was no doubt the man
deserved his fate. Grant has two or three times gently reprimanded
him for indiscretions, but is pretty sure to go and thank him after
a battle. Carr's third brigadier I don't know.
In the Fifteenth Corps there are two major generals who command
divisions--namely, Steele and Blair--and one brigadier, Tuttle.
Steele has also been sick through the campaign, but has kept
constantly at his post. He is a gentlemanly, pleasant fellow....
Sherman has a high opinion of his capacity, and every one says that
he handles troops with great coolness and skill in battle. To me
his mind seems to work in a desultory way, like the mind of a
captain of infantry long habituated to garrison duty at a frontier
post. He takes things in bits, like a gossiping companion, and
never comprehensively and strongly, like a man of clear brain and a
ruling purpose. But on the whole I consider him one of the best
division generals in this army, yet you can not rely on him to make
a logical statement, or to exercise any independent command.
Of Steele's brigadiers, Colonel Woods eminently deserves promotion.
A Hercules in form, in energy, and in pertinacity, he is both safe
and sure. Colonel Manter, of Missouri, is a respectable officer.
General Thayer is a fair but not first-rate officer.
Frank Blair is about the same as an officer that he is as a
politician. He is intelligent, prompt, determined, rather inclining
to disorder, a poor disciplinarian, but a brave fighter. I judge
that he will soon leave the army, and that he prefers his seat in
Congress to his commission.
In Frank Blair's division there are two brigadier generals, Ewing
and Lightburne. Ewing seems to possess many of the qualities of his
father, whom you know better than I do, I suppose. Lightburne has
not served long with this army, and I have had no opportunity of
learning his measure. Placed in a command during the siege where
General Sherman himself directed what was to be done, he has had
little to do. He seems to belong to the heavy rather than the rapid
department of the forces.
Colonel Giles Smith is one of the very best brigadiers in Sherman's
corps, perhaps the best of all next to Colonel Woods. He only
requires the chance to develop into an officer of uncommon power
and usefulness. There are plenty of men with generals' commissions
who in all military respects are not fit to tie his shoes.
Of General Tuttle, who commands Sherman's third division, I have
already spoken, and need not here repeat it. Bravery and zeal
constitute his only qualifications for command. His principal
brigadier is General Mower, a brilliant officer, but not of large
mental calibre. Colonel Wood, who commands another of his brigades,
is greatly esteemed by General Grant, but I do not know him;
neither do I know the commander of his third brigade.
Three divisions of the Sixteenth Corps have been serving in Grant's
army for some time past. They are all commanded by brigadier
generals, and the brigades by colonels. The first of these
divisions to arrive before Vicksburg was Lauman's. This general got
his promotion by bravery on the field and Iowa political influence.
He is totally unfit to command--a very good man but a very poor
general. His brigade commanders are none of them above mediocrity.
The next division of the Sixteenth Corps to join the Vicksburg army
was General Kimball's. He is not so bad a commander as Lauman, but
he is bad enough; brave, of course, but lacking the military
instinct and the genius of generalship. I don't know any of his
brigade commanders. The third division of the Sixteenth Corps now
near Vicksburg is that of General W. S. Smith. He is one of the
best officers in that army. A rigid disciplinarian, his division is
always ready and always safe. A man of brains, a hard worker,
unpretending, quick, suggestive, he may also be a little crotchety,
for such is his reputation; but I judge that he only needs the
opportunity to render great services. What his brigade commanders
are worth I can't say, but I am sure they have a first-rate
schoolmaster in him.
I now come to the Seventeenth Corps and to its most prominent
division general, Logan. This is a man of remarkable qualities and
peculiar character. Heroic and brilliant, he is sometimes unsteady.
Inspiring his men with his own enthusiasm on the field of battle,
he is splendid in all its crash and commotion, but before it begins
he is doubtful of the result, and after it is over he is fearful we
may yet be beaten. A man of instinct and not of reflection, his
judgments are often absurd, but his extemporaneous opinions are
very apt to be right. Deficient in education, he is full of
generous attachments and sincere animosities. On the whole, few can
serve the cause of the country more effectively than he, and none
serve it more faithfully.
Logan's oldest brigade commander is General John D. Stevenson, of
Missouri. He is a person of much talent, but a grumbler. He was one
of the oldest colonels in the volunteer service, but because he had
always been an antislavery man all the others were promoted before
him. This is still one of his grounds for discontent, and in
addition younger brigadiers have been put before him since. Thus
the world will not go to suit him. He has his own notions, too, of
what should be done on the field of battle, and General McPherson
has twice during this campaign had to rebuke him very severely for
his failure to come to time on critical occasions.
Logan's second brigade is commanded by General Leggett, of Ohio.
This officer has distinguished himself during the siege, and will
be likely to distinguish himself hereafter. He possesses a clear
head, an equable temper, and great propulsive power over his men.
He is also a hard worker, and whatever he touches goes easily. The
third brigade of this division has for a short time been commanded
by Colonel Force. I only know that Logan, McPherson, and Grant all
think well of him.
Next in rank among McPherson's division generals is McArthur. He
has been in the reserve throughout the campaign, and has had little
opportunity of proving his mettle. He is a shrewd, steady
Scotchman, trustworthy rather than brilliant, good at hard knocks,
but not a great commander. Two of his brigadiers, however, have
gained very honorable distinction in this campaign, namely Crocker,
who commanded Quinby's division at Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson,
and Champion's Hill, and Ransom. Crocker was sick throughout, and,
as soon as Quinby returned to his command, had to go away, and it
is feared may never be able to come back. He is an officer of great
promise and remarkable power. Ransom has commanded on McPherson's
right during the siege, and has exceeded every other brigadier in
the zeal, intelligence, and efficiency with which his siege works
were constructed and pushed forward. At the time of the surrender
his trenches were so well completed that the engineers agreed that
they offered the best opportunity in the whole of our lines for the
advance of storming columns. Captain Comstock told me that ten
thousand men could there be marched under cover up to the very
lines of the enemy. In the assault of May 22d, Ransom was equally
conspicuous for the bravery with which he exposed himself. No young
man in all this army has more future than he.
The third brigade of McArthur's division, that of General Reid, has
been detached during the campaign at Lake Providence and elsewhere,
and I have not been able to make General R.'s acquaintance.
The third division of the Seventeenth Corps was commanded during
the first of the siege by General Quinby. This officer was also
sick, and I dare say did not do justice to himself. A good
commander of a division he is not, though he is a most excellent
and estimable man, and seemed to be regarded by the soldiers with
much affection. But he lacks order, system, command, and is the
very opposite of his successor, General John E. Smith, who, with
much less intellect than Quinby, has a great deal better sense,
with a firmness of character, a steadiness of hand, and a freedom
from personal irritability and jealousy which must soon produce the
happiest effect upon the division. Smith combines with these
natural qualities of a soldier and commander a conscientious
devotion not merely to the doing but also to the learning of his
duty, which renders him a better and better general every day. He
is also fit to be intrusted with any independent command where
judgment and discretion are as necessary as courage and activity,
for in him all these qualities seem to be happily blended and
balanced.
Of General Matthias, who commands the brigade in this division so
long and so gallantly commanded by the late Colonel Boomer, I hear
the best accounts, but do not know him personally. The medical
inspector tells me that no camps in the lines are kept in so good
condition as his; and General Sherman, under whom he lately served,
speaks of him as a very valuable officer. The second brigade is
commanded by Colonel Sanborn, a steady, mediocre sort of man; the
third by Colonel Holmes, whom I don't know personally, but who made
a noble fight at Champion's Hill, and saved our center there from
being broken.
General Herron's division is the newest addition to the forces
under Grant, except the Ninth Corps, of which I know nothing except
that its discipline and organization exceed those of the Western
troops. Herron is a driving, energetic sort of young fellow, not
deficient either in self-esteem or in common sense, and, as I
judge, hardly destined to distinctions higher than those he has
already acquired. Of his two brigadiers, Vandever has not proved
himself of much account during the siege; Orme I have seen, but do
not know. Herron has shown a great deal more both of capacity and
force than either of them. But he has not the first great requisite
of a soldier, obedience to orders, and believes too much in doing
things his own way. Thus, for ten days after he had taken his
position he disregarded the order properly to picket the bottom
between the bluff and the river on his left. He had made up his own
mind that nobody could get out of the town by that way, and
accordingly neglected to have the place thoroughly examined in
order to render the matter clear and certain. Presently Grant
discovered that men from the town were making their escape through
that bottom, and then a more peremptory command to Herron set the
matter right by the establishment of the necessary pickets.
I must not omit a general who formerly commanded a brigade in
Logan's division, and has for some time been detached to a separate
command at Milliken's Bend. I mean General Dennis. He is a
hard-headed, hard-working, conscientious man, who never knows when
he is beaten, and consequently is very hard to beat. He is not
brilliant, but safe, sound, and trustworthy. His predecessor in
that command, General Sullivan, has for some time been at Grant's
headquarters, doing nothing with more energy and effect than he
would be likely to show in any other line of duty. He is a
gentlemanly fellow, intelligent, a charming companion, but heavy,
jovial, and lazy.
I might write another letter on the staff officers and staff
organization of Grant's army, should you desire it.
Yours faithfully, C. A. DANA.
Mr. STANTON.
The day after sending to Mr. Stanton this letter on the generals of
divisions and of brigades in the army which besieged Vicksburg, I wrote
him another on the staff officers of the various corps. Like its
predecessor, this letter has never appeared in the records of the war:
CAIRO, ILL., _July 13, 1863_.
DEAR SIR: In my letter of yesterday I accidentally omitted to
notice General C. C. Washburn among the generals of division in
Grant's army. He is now in command of two of the divisions detached
from the Sixteenth Army Corps--namely, that of Kimball and that of
W. S. Smith--and, as I happen to know, is anxious to be put in
command of an army corps, for which purpose it has been suggested
that a new corps might be created out of these two divisions, with
the addition of that of Lauman, also detached from the Sixteenth,
or that of Herron. But I understand from General Grant that he is
not favorable to any such arrangement. Washburn being one of the
very youngest in rank of his major generals, he intends to put him
in command of a single division as soon as possible, in order that
he may prove his fitness for higher commands by actual service, and
give no occasion for older soldiers to complain that he is promoted
without regard to his merits.
I know Washburn very well, both as a politician and a military man,
and I say frankly that he has better qualities for the latter than
for the former function. He is brave, steady, respectable; receives
suggestions and weighs them carefully; is not above being advised,
but acts with independence nevertheless. His judgment is good, and
his vigilance sufficient. I have not seen him in battle, however,
and can not say how far he holds his mind there. I don't find in
him, I am sorry to say, that effort to learn the military art which
every commander ought to exhibit, no matter whether he has received
a military education or not. Washburn's whole soul is not put into
the business of arms, and for me that is an unpardonable defect.
But he is a good man, and above the average of our generals, at
least of those in Grant's command.
I now come to the staff organization and staff officers of this
army, beginning, of course, with those connected with the head of
the department. Grant's staff is a curious mixture of good, bad,
and indifferent. As he is neither an organizer nor a disciplinarian
himself, his staff is naturally a mosaic of accidental elements and
family friends. It contains four working men, two who are able to
accomplish their duties without much work, and several who either
don't think of work, or who accomplish nothing no matter what they
undertake.
Lieutenant-Colonel Rawlins, Grant's assistant adjutant general, is
a very industrious, conscientious man, who never loses a moment,
and never gives himself any indulgence except swearing and
scolding. He is a lawyer by profession, a townsman of Grant's, and
has a great influence over him, especially because he watches him
day and night, and whenever he commits the folly of tasting liquor
hastens to remind him that at the beginning of the war he gave him
[Rawlins] his word of honor not to touch a drop as long as it
lasted. Grant thinks Rawlins a first-rate adjutant, but I think
this is a mistake. He is too slow, and can't write the English
language correctly without a great deal of careful consideration.
Indeed, illiterateness is a general characteristic of Grant's
staff, and in fact of Grant's generals and regimental officers of
all ranks.
Major Bowers, judge-advocate of Grant's staff, is an excellent man,
and always finds work to do. Lieutenant-Colonel Wilson, inspector
general, is a person of similar disposition. He is a captain of
engineers in the regular army, and has rendered valuable services
in that capacity. The fortifications of Haynes's Bluff were
designed by him and executed under his direction. His leading idea
is the idea of duty, and he applies it vigorously and often
impatiently to others. In consequence he is unpopular among all who
like to live with little work. But he has remarkable talents and
uncommon executive power, and will be heard from hereafter.
The quartermaster's department is under charge of
Lieutenant-Colonel Bingham, who is one of those I spoke of as
accomplishing much with little work. He is an invalid almost, and I
have never seen him when he appeared to be perfectly well; but he
is a man of first-rate abilities and solid character, and, barring
physical weakness, up to even greater responsibilities than those
he now bears.
The chief commissary, Lieutenant-Colonel Macfeely, is a jolly,
agreeable fellow, who never seems to be at work, but I have heard
no complaints of deficiencies in his department. On the contrary,
it seems to be one of the most efficacious parts of this great
machine.
Lieutenant-Colonel Kent, provost-marshal general, is a very
industrious and sensible man, a great improvement on his
predecessor, Colonel Hillyer, who was a family and personal friend
of Grant's.
There are two aides-de-camp with the rank of colonel, namely,
Colonel ---- and Colonel ----, both personal friends of Grant's.
---- is a worthless, whisky-drinking, useless fellow. ---- is
decent and gentlemanly, but neither of them is worth his salt so
far as service to the Government goes. Indeed, in all my
observation, I have never discovered the use of Grant's
aides-de-camp at all. On the battlefield he sometimes sends orders
by them, but everywhere else they are idle loafers. I suppose the
army would be better off if they were all suppressed, especially
the colonels.
Grant has three aides with the rank of captain. Captain ---- is a
relative of Mrs. Grant. He has been a stage driver, and violates
English grammar at every phrase. He is of some use, for he attends
to the mails. Captain ---- is an elegant young officer of the
regular cavalry. He rides after the general when he rides out; the
rest of the time he does nothing at all. Captain Badeau, wounded at
Port Hudson since he was attached to Grant's staff, has not yet
reported.
I must not omit the general medical staff of this army. It is in
bad order. Its head, Dr. Mills, is impracticable, earnest,
quarrelsome. He was relieved several weeks since, but Grant likes
him, and kept him on till the fall of Vicksburg. In this he was
right, no doubt, for a change during the siege would have been
troublesome. The change, I presume, will now be made. It must be
for the better.
The office of chief of artillery on the general staff I had
forgotten, as well as that of chief engineer. The former is
occupied by Lieutenant-Colonel Duff, of the Second Illinois
Artillery. He is unequal to the position, not only because he is
disqualified by sickness, but because he does not sufficiently
understand the management of artillery. The siege suffered greatly
from his incompetence. General Grant knows, of course, that he is
not the right person; but it is one of his weaknesses that he is
unwilling to hurt the feelings of a friend, and so he keeps him on.
The chief engineer, Captain Comstock, is an officer of great merit.
He has, too, what his predecessor, Captain Prime, lacked, a talent
for organization. His accession to the army will be the source of
much improvement.
If General Grant had about him a staff of thoroughly competent men,
disciplinarians and workers, the efficiency and fighting quality of
his army would soon be much increased. As it is, things go too much
by hazard and by spasms; or, when the pinch comes, Grant forces
through, by his own energy and main strength, what proper
organization and proper staff officers would have done already.
The staff of the Thirteenth Corps was formed by General McClernand.
The acting adjutant general, Lieutenant-Colonel Scates, is a man of
about fifty-five or sixty years old; he was a judge in Illinois,
and left an honored and influential social position to serve in the
army. General Ord speaks in high terms of him as an officer. The
chief of artillery, Colonel ----, is an ass. The chief
quartermaster, Lieutenant-Colonel ----, General McClernand's
father-in-law, lately resigned his commission. He was
incompetent.... His successor has not yet been appointed. The chief
commissary, Lieutenant-Colonel ----, is a fussy fellow, who with
much show accomplishes but little. General McClernand's aides went
away with him or are absent on leave. Not a man of them is worth
having. The engineer on his staff, Lieutenant Hains, is an
industrious and useful officer. The medical director, Dr. Hammond,
had just been appointed.
In the Fifteenth Corps staff all have to be working men, for
Sherman tolerates no idlers and finds something for everybody to
do. If an officer proves unfit for his position, he shifts him to
some other place. Thus his adjutant, Lieutenant-Colonel Hammond, a
restless Kentuckian, kept everything in a row as long as he
remained in that office. Sherman has accordingly made him inspector
general, and during the last two months has kept him constantly
employed on scouting parties. In his place as adjutant is Captain
Sawyer, a quiet, industrious, efficient person. The chief of
artillery, Major Taylor, directed by Sherman's omnipresent eye and
quick judgment, is an officer of great value, though under another
general he might not be worth so much. The chief engineer, Captain
Pitzman, wounded about July 15th, is a man of merit, and his
departure was a great loss to the regular ranks. General Sherman
has three aides-de-camp, Captain McCoy, Captain Dayton, and
Lieutenant Hill, and, as I have said, neither of them holds a
sinecure office. His medical director, Dr. McMillan, is a good
physician, I believe; he has been in a constant contention with Dr.
Mills. The quartermaster, Lieutenant-Colonel J. C. Smith, is a most
efficient officer; he has been doing duty as commissary also.
On the whole, General Sherman has a very small and very efficient
staff; but the efficiency comes mainly from him. What a splendid
soldier he is!
The staff of the Seventeenth Army Corps is the most complete, the
most numerous, and in some respects the most serviceable in this
army.
The adjutant general, Lieutenant-Colonel Clark, is a person of
uncommon quickness, is always at work, and keeps everything in his
department in first-rate order. The inspector general,
Lieutenant-Colonel Strong, does his duties with promptness and
thoroughness; his reports are models. The chief of artillery,
Lieutenant-Colonel Powell, thoroughly understands his business, and
attends to it diligently. The provost-marshal general,
Lieutenant-Colonel Wilson, is a judicious and industrious man. Both
the quartermaster and commissary are new men, captains, and I do
not know them, but McPherson speaks highly of them. The medical
director, Dr. Boucher, has the reputation of keeping his hospitals
in better order and making his reports more promptly and
satisfactorily than any other medical officer in this army. General
McPherson has four aides-de-camp: Captain Steele, Captain Gile,
Lieutenant Knox, and Lieutenant Vernay. The last of these is the
best, and Captain Steele is next to him. The engineer officer,
Captain Hickenlooper, is a laborious man, quick, watchful, but not
of great capacity. The picket officer, Major Willard, whom I
accidentally name last, is a person of unusual merit.
In the staffs of the division and brigadier generals I do not now
recall any officer of extraordinary capacity. There may be such,
but I have not made their acquaintance. On the other hand, I have
made the acquaintance of some who seemed quite unfit for their
places. I must not omit, however, to speak here of Captain
Tresilian, engineer on the staff of Major-General Logan. His
general services during the siege were not conspicuous, but he
deserves great credit for constructing the wooden mortars which
General McPherson used near its close with most remarkable effect.
Both the idea and the work were Tresilian's.
Very possibly you may not wish to go through this mass of details
respecting so many officers of inferior grades, upon whose claims
you may never be called to pass judgment. But if you care to read
them here they are. I remain, dear sir,
Yours very faithfully, C. A. DANA.
Mr. STANTON.