me for duty. I told him I had received no orders, and knew of no reason
why he should report to me, and that in all probability General Samuel
Beatty, of Van Cleve's division, was the person to whom he should
report. I regarded the matter as simply one of the many blunders which
were occurring because there were two men of the same name and rank
commanding brigades in this army; and so, soon after the officer left, I
went to bed. Before I had gotten fairly to sleep, some one knocked again
at my tent-door. While rising to strike a light the person entered, and
said that he had been ordered to report to me. Supposing it to be the
officer of the battery persisting in his mistake, I replied as before,
and then turned over and went to sleep. I thought no more of the matter
until 11:30 A. M. next day, when an order came which should have been
delivered twenty-four hours before, requiring me to get my brigade in
readiness, and with one regiment of Colonel Harker's command and the
Chicago Board of Trade Battery, move toward Nashville at two o'clock
Tuesday morning. Then, of course, I knew why the two officers had
reported to me on the night previous, and saw that there had been an
inexcusable delay in the transmission of the order to me. Giving the
necessary directions to the regimental commanders, and sending notice to
Harker and the battery, I proceeded with all dispatch direct to
Department head-quarters, whence the order had issued, to explain the
delay. When I entered General Rosecrans shook hands with me cordially,
and seemed pleased to see me; but I had no sooner announced my business,
and informed him that the order had been delivered to me not ten minutes
before, than he flew into a violent passion, and asked if a battery and
regiment had not reported to me the night before. I replied yes, and
was proceeding to give my reasons for supposing that the officers
reporting them were in error, when he shouted: "Why, in hell and
damnation, did you not mount your horse and come to head-quarters to
inquire what it meant?" I undertook again to tell him I had received no
order, and as my brigade had been detailed to work on fortifications I
was expecting none; that I had taken it for granted that it was another
of the many mistakes occurring constantly because there were two
officers of the same name and rank in the army, and had so told the
parties reporting; but he would not listen to me. His face was inflamed
with anger, his rage uncontrollable, his language most ungentlemanly,
abusive, and insulting. Garfield and many officers, commissioned and
non-commissioned, and possibly not a few civilians, were present to
witness my humiliation. For an instant I was tempted to strike him; but
my better sense checked me. I turned on my heel and left the room. Death
would have had few terrors for me just then. I had never felt such
bitter mortification before, and it seemed to me that I was utterly and
irreparably disgraced. However, I had a duty to perform, and while in
the execution of that I would have time to think.
My brigade, one regiment of Colonel Harker's brigade, and the Chicago
Board of Trade Battery, were already on the road. We marched rapidly,
and that night (Tuesday) encamped in the woods north of Lavergne. Rain
fell most of the night; but the men had shelter tents, and I passed the
time comfortably in a wagon. The next morning at daylight we started
again, and a little after sunrise arrived at Scrougeville. Here my
orders directed me to halt and watch the movements of the enemy. The
rebel cavalry, in pretty strong force, had been in the vicinity during
the day and evening before; but on learning of our approach had galloped
away. We were exceedingly active, and scoured the country for miles
around, but did not succeed in getting sight of even one of these
dashing cavaliers.
The sky cleared, the weather became delightful, and the five days spent
in the neighborhood of Scrougeville were very agreeable. It was a
pleasant change from the dull routine of camp duty, and my men were in
exuberant spirits, excessively merry and gay. While there, a
good-looking non-commissioned officer of the battery came up to me, and,
extending his hand, said: "How do you do, General?" I shook him by the
hand, but could not for the life of me recollect that I had ever seen
him before. Seeing that I failed to recognize him, he said: "My name is
Concklin. I knew you at Sandusky, and used to know your wife well."
Still I could not remember him. "You knew General Patterson?" he asked.
"Yes." "Mary Patterson?" "Yes; I shall never forget her." "Do you
recollect a stroll down to the bay shore one moonlight night?" Of course
I remembered it. This was John Concklin, Mary's cousin. I remembered
very well how he devoted himself to one I felt considerable interest in,
while his cousin Mary and I talked in a jocular way about the cost of
housekeeping, both agreeing that it would require but a very small sum
to set up such an establishment as our modest ambition demanded. I was
heartily glad to meet the young man. He looks very different from the
smooth-faced boy of ten years ago. I was slightly jealous of him then,
and I do not know but I might have reason to be now, for he is a fine,
manly fellow.
At Scrougeville--how softly the name ripples on the ear!--we were
entertained magnificently. Above us was the azure canopy; around us a
dense forest of cedars, and in a shady nook, a sylvan retreat as it
were, a barrel of choice beer. The mocking-birds caroled from the
evergreen boughs. The plaintive melody of the dove came to us from over
the hills, and pies at a quarter each poured in upon us in profusion;
and such pies! When night threw over us her shadowy mantle, and the
crescent moon blessed us with her mellow light, the notes of the
whip-poor-will mingling with the bark of watch-dogs and the barbaric
melody of the Ethiopian, floated out on the genial air, and, as
stretched on the green sward, we smoked our pipes and drank our beer,
thoughts of fairy land possessed us, and we looked wonderingly around
and inquired, is Scrougeville a reality or a vision? I fear we shall
never see the like of Scrougeville again.
On the morning of the 26th instant I received a telegram ordering our
immediate return, and we reached Murfreesboro at two o'clock P. M. same
day.
I had not forgotten the terrible scolding received from the General just
before starting on this expedition; in fact, I am not likely ever to
forget it. It had now been a millstone on my heart for a week. I could
not stand it. What could I do? At first I thought I would send in my
resignation, but that I concluded would afford me no relief; on the
contrary, it would look as if I had been driven out of the army. My next
impulse was to ask to be relieved from duty in this department, and
assigned elsewhere; but on second thought this did not seem desirable.
It would appear as if I was running away from the displeasure of the
commanding general, and would affect me unfavorably wherever I might go.
I felt that if I was to blame at all in this matter, it was in a very
slight degree. The General's language was utterly inexcusable. He was a
man simply, and I concluded finally that I would not leave either the
army or the department under a cloud. I, therefore, sat down and wrote
the following letter:
"MURFREESBORO, _April 27, 1863_.
"MAJOR-GENERAL W. S. ROSECRANS,
"_Commanding Department of the Cumberland_:
"SIR--Your attack upon me, on the morning of the
21st instant, has been the subject of thought
since. I have been absent on duty five days, and,
therefore, have not referred to it before. It is
the first time since I entered the army, two years
ago, as it is the first time in my life, that it
has been my misfortune to listen to abuse so
violent and unreasonable as that with which you
were pleased to favor me in the presence of the
aids, orderlies, officers, and visitors, at your
quarters. While I am unwilling to rest quietly
under the disgrace and ridicule which attaches to
the subject of such a tirade, I do not question
your right to censure when there has been
remissness in the discharge of duties; and to such
reasonable admonition I am ever ready to yield
respectful and earnest attention; but I know of no
rule, principle, or precedent, which confers upon
the General commanding this Department the right
to address language to an officer which, if used
by a private soldier to his company officer, or by
a company officer to a private soldier, would be
deemed disgraceful and lead to the punishment of
the one or the dismissal of the other. Insisting,
therefore, upon that right, which I conceive
belongs to the private in the ranks, as well at to
every subordinate officer in the army who has been
aggrieved, I demand from you an apology for the
insulting language addressed to me on the morning
of the 21st instant.
"I am, sir, respectfully,
"Your obedient servant,
"JOHN BEATTY, Brig.-Gen'l."
I sent this. Would it be regarded as an act of presumption and treated
with ridicule and contempt? I feared it might, and sat thinking
anxiously over the matter until my orderly returned, with the envelope
marked "W. S. R.," the army mode of acknowledging receipt of letter or
order. Fifteen minutes later this reply came:
"HEAD-QUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE CUMBERLAND,}
"MURFREESBORO, _April, 1863_. }
"MY DEAR GENERAL--I have just received the
inclosed note, marked "Private," but addressed to
me as commanding the Department of the Cumberland.
It compromises you in so many ways that I return
it to you. I am your friend, and regretted that
the circumstances of the case compelled me, as a
commanding officer, to express myself warmly about
a matter which might have cost us dearly, to one
for whom I felt so kindly. You will report to me
in person, without delay.
W. S. ROSECRANS, Maj.-Gen'l.
"BRIG.-GEN'L JOHN BEATTY, Fortifications, Stone
river.
"P. S.--It might be well to bring this inclosure
with you."
The inclosure referred to was, of course, my letter to him. The answer
was not, by any means, an apology. On the contrary, it assumed that he
was justifiable in censuring me as he did, and yet it expressed good
feeling for me. It was probably written in haste, and without thought.
It was not satisfactory; but I was led by it to hope that I could reach
a point which would be.
I obeyed the order to report promptly. He took me into his private
office, where we talked over the whole affair together. He expressed
regret that he had not known all the circumstances before, and said, in
conclusion: "I am your friend. Some men I like to scold, for I don't
like them; but I have always entertained the best of feeling for you."
Taking me, at the close of our interview, from his private office into
the public room, where General Garfield and others were, he turned and
asked if it was all right--if I was satisfied. I expressed my thanks,
shook hands with him, and left, feeling a thousand times more attached
to him, and more respect for him than I had ever felt before. He had the
power to crush me, for at this time he is almost omnipotent in this
department, and by a simple word he might have driven me from the army,
disgraced in the estimation of both soldiers and citizens. His
magnanimity and kindness, however, lifted a great load from my spirits,
and made me feel like a new man; and I am very sure that he felt better
and happier also, for no man does a generous act to one below him in
rank or station, without being recompensed therefor by a feeling of the
liveliest satisfaction. I may have been too sensitive, and may not,
probably did not, realize fully the necessity for prompt action, and the
weight of responsibility which rested upon the General. There are times
when there is no time for explanation; great exigencies, in the presence
of which lives, fortunes, friendships, and all matters of lesser
importance must give way; moments when men's thoughts are so
concentrated on a single object, and their whole being so wrought up,
that they can see nothing, know nothing, but the calamity they desire to
avert, or the victory they desire to achieve. Nashville had been
threatened. To have lost it, or allowed it to be gutted by the enemy,
would have been a great misfortune to the army, and brought down upon
Rosecrans not only the anathemas of the War Department, but would have
gone far to lose him the confidence of the whole people. He supposed the
enemy's movements had been checked, and was startled and thrown off his
balance by discovering that they were still unopposed. The error was
attributable in part possibly to me, in part to a series of blunders,
which had resulted from the fact that there were two persons in the army
of the same name and rank, but mainly to those who failed to transmit
the order in proper time.
29. Our large tents have been taken away, and shelter tents substituted.
This evening, when the boys crawled into the latter, they gave
utterance, good-humoredly, to every variety of howl, bark, snap, whine,
and growl of which the dog is supposed to be capable.
Colonel George Humphreys, Eighty-eighth Indiana, whom I supposed to be a
full-blooded Hoosier, tells me he is a Scotchman, and was born in
Ayrshire, in the same house in which Robert Burns had birth. His
grandfather, James Humphreys, was the neighbor and companion of the
poet. It was of him he wrote this epitaph, at an ale-house, in the way
of pleasantry:
"Below these stanes lie Jamie's banes.
O! Death, in my opinion,
You ne'er took sic a blither'n bitch
Into thy dark dominion."
30. This afternoon called on General Thomas; met General R. S. Granger;
paid my respects to General Negley, and stopped for a moment at General
Rousseau's. The latter was about to take a horseback ride with his
daughter, to whom I was introduced.
MAY, 1863.
1. The One Hundred and Thirteenth Ohio is at Franklin. Colonel Wilcox
has resigned; Lieutenant-Colonel Mitchell will succeed to the colonelcy.
I rode over the battle-field with the latter this afternoon.
4. Two men from Breckenridge's command strayed into our lines to-day.
7. Colonels Hobart, Taylor, Nicholas, and Captain Nevin spent the
afternoon with me.
The intelligence from Hooker's army is contradictory and unintelligible.
We hope it was successful, and yet find little beside the headlines in
the telegraphic column to sustain that hope. The German regiments are
said to have behaved badly. This is, probably, an error. Germans, as a
rule, are reliable soldiers. This, I think, is Carl Schurz's first
battle; an unfortunate beginning for him.
9. The arrest of Vallandingham, we learn from the newspapers, is
creating a great deal of excitement in the North. I am pleased to see
the authorities commencing at the root and not among the branches.
I have just read Consul Anderson's appeal to the people of the United
States in favor of an extensive representation of American live stock,
machinery, and manufactures, at the coming fair in Hamburg. Friend James
made a long letter of it; and, I doubt not, drank a gallon of good Dutch
beer after each paragraph.
11. The Confederate papers say Streight's command was surrendered to
four hundred and fifty rebels. I do not believe it. The Third Ohio
would have whipped that many of the enemy on any field and under any
circumstances. The expedition was a foolish one. Colonel Harker, who
knows Streight well, predicted the fate which has overtaken him. He
is brave, but deficient in judgment. The statement that his command
surrendered to an inferior force is, doubtless, false. Forrest had,
I venture to say, nearer four thousand and fifty than four hundred
and fifty. The rebels always have a great many men before a battle,
but not many after. They profess still to believe in the
one-rebel-to-three-Yankee theory, and make their statements to
correspond. The facts when ascertained will, I have no doubt, show that
the Union brigade was pursued by an overwhelming force, and being
exhausted by constant riding, repeated fights, want of food and sleep,
surrendered after ammunition had given out and all possibility of escape
gone. The enemy is strong in cavalry, and it is not at all probable that
he would have sent but four hundred and fifty men to look after a
brigade, which had boldly ventured hundreds of miles inside his lines.
In fact, General Forrest seldom, if ever, travels with so small a
command as he is said to have had on this occasion.
13. An order has been issued prohibiting women from visiting the army. I
infer from this that a movement is contemplated.
14. General Negley called to-day, and remained for half an hour. He is a
large, rosy-cheeked, handsome, affable man, and a good disciplinarian.
I am going to have a horse-race in the morning with Major McDowell, of
Rousseau's staff. Stakes two bottles of wine.
When we entered Murfreesboro, nearly a year ago, the boys brought in a
lame horse, which they had picked up on the road. The horse hobbled
along with difficulty, and for a long time was used to carry the
knapsacks and guns of soldiers who were either too unwell or too lazy to
transport these burdens themselves. The horse had belonged to a Texas
cavalryman, and had been abandoned when so lame as to be unfit for
service. Finally, when his shattered hoof got well, he was transferred
from the hospital department to the quartermaster's, where he became a
favorite. The quartermaster called my attention to the horse, and I had
him appraised and took him for my own use. Under the skillful and
attentive hands of my hostler he soon shook off his shaggy coat of ugly
brown, and put on one of velvety black. After a few days of trial I
discovered not only that he was an easy goer, but had the speed of the
wind. When at his fastest pace he is liable to overreach; it was thus
that his left fore hoof had been shattered. To prevent a recurrence of
the accident, I keep his hoof protected by leathers. I believe he is the
fastest horse in the Army of the Cumberland.
15. Major McDowell did not put in an appearance until after I had
returned from my morning ride. He brought Colonel Loomis with him to
witness the grand affair; but as it was late, we finally concluded to
postpone the race until another morning.
Some one has been kind enough to lay on my table a handsome bunch of red
pinks and yellow roses.
My staff has been increased, the late addition being "U. S.," a large
and very lazy yellow dog. The two letters which give him his title are
branded on his shoulder. He sticks very close to me, for the reason,
possibly, that I do not kick him, and say "Get out," as most persons are
tempted to do when they look upon his most unprepossessing visage. He is
a solemn dog, and probably has had a rough row to hoe through life. At
times, when I speak an encouraging word, he brightens up, and makes an
effort to be playful; but cheerfulness is his forte no more than "fiten"
was A. Ward's, and he soon relapses into the deepest melancholy.
16. Read Emil Schalk's article on Hooker. It is an easy matter for that
gentleman to sit in his library, plan a campaign, and win a battle. I
could do that myself; but when we undertake to make the campaign, fight
the battle, and win the victory, we find it very much more difficult.
Book farmers are wonderfully successful on paper, and show how fortunes
may be gathered in a single season, but when they come down to
practical farming, they discover quite often that frost, or rain, or
drouth, plays the mischief with their theories, and renders them
bankrupt.
It can be demonstrated, doubtless, that a certain blow, delivered at a
certain place and time, against a certain force, will crush it; but does
it not require infinite skill and power to select the place and time
with certainty? A broken bridge, swollen stream, or even the most
trifling incident, which no man can foresee or overrule, may disarrange
and render futile the best-laid plans, and lead to defeat and disaster.
After a battle we can easily look back and see where mistakes have been
made; but it is more difficult, if not impossible, to look forward and
avoid them. War is a blind and uncertain game at best, and whoever plays
it successfully must not only hold good cards, but play them discreetly,
and under the most favorable circumstances.
17. Starkweather informs me that he has been urged to return to
Wisconsin and become a candidate for governor, and for fear he might
accede to the wishes of the people in this regard, the present governor
was urging his promotion. He is still undecided whether to accept a
brigadier's commission or the nomination for this high civil office.
Wind.
18. Two deserters came into our lines to-day. They were members of a
regiment in Cleburne's division, and left their command at Fosterville,
ten or fifteen miles out. They represent the Southern army in our front
as very strong, in good condition and fine spirits. The rebel successes
on the Rappahannock have inspired them with new life, and have, to some
extent, dispirited us. We do not, however, build largely on the Eastern
army. It is an excellent body of men, in good discipline, but for some
reason it has been unfortunate. When we hear, therefore, that the
Eastern army is going to fight, we make up our minds that it is going to
be defeated, and when the result is announced we feel sad enough, but
not disappointed.
19. Generals Rosecrans, Negley, and Garfield, with the staffs of the two
former, appeared on the field where I was drilling the brigade. General
Rosecrans greeted me very cordially. I am satisfied that those who allow
themselves to be damned once without remonstrance are very likely to be
damned always.
I am becoming quite an early riser; have seen the sun rise every morning
for two weeks. Saw the moon over my right shoulder. Lucky month ahead.
Am devoting a little more time than usual to my military books.
Colonel Moody, Seventy-fourth Ohio, has resigned.
20. This afternoon I received orders to be in readiness to move at a
moment's notice.
21. The days now give us a specimen of the four seasons. At sunrise it
is pretty fair winter for this latitude. An hour after, good spring; at
noon, midsummer; at sunset, fall. Flies are too numerous to mention even
by the million. They come on drill at 8 A. M., and continue their
evolutions until sun-down.
Wilson, Orr, and DuBarry are indisposed. My cast-iron constitution
holds good. As a rule, I take no medicine or medical advice. In a few
instances I have acceded to the wishes of my friends, and applied to the
doctors; but have been careful not to allow their prescriptions to get
further than my vest pocket.
The colt has just whinnied in response to another horse. He is in fine
condition; coat as sleek and glossy as that of a bridegroom. Yesterday I
rode him on drill, and the little scamp got into a quarrel with another
horse, reared up, and made a plunge that came near unseating me. He
agrees with Wilson's horse very well, but seems to think it his duty to
exercise a sort of paternal care over him; and so on all occasions when
possible he takes the reins of Wilson's bridle between his teeth and
holds it tightly, as if determined that the speed of the Adjutant's
horse should be regulated by his own. My black is also in excellent
condition, and certainly very fast. My race has not yet come off.
23. Received a box of catawba wine and pawpaw brandy from Colonel James
G. Jones, half of which I was requested to deliver to General Rosecrans,
and the other half keep to drink to the Colonel's health, which at
present is very poor.
Colonel Gus Wood called this afternoon. He is one of those who were
captured on the railroad train near Lavergne, 10th of last April, and
has returned to camp via Tullahoma, Chattanooga, and Richmond. He says
the rebel troops are in good condition and good spirits; thinks there is
an immense force in our front, and that it would not be advisable to
advance.
The enlisted men of the Third are at Annapolis, Maryland, and will soon
be at Camp Chase, Ohio. The officers are in Libby.
The box of cigars presented to me by my old friend, W. H. Marvin, still
holds out. Whenever I am in a great straight for a smoke I try one; but
I have not yet succeeded in finding a good one. I affect to be very
liberal, and pass the box around freely; but all who have tried the
cigars once insist that they do not smoke. They will probably last to
the end of the war.
26. The privates of the Eighty-eighth Indiana presented a
two-hundred-dollar sword to Colonel Humphreys, and the Colonel felt it
to be his duty to invest the price of the sword in beer for the boys.
Lieutenant Orr was kind enough to give me a field glass.
Hewitt's Kentucky battery has been assigned to me. Colonel Loomis has
assumed command of his battery again. His commission as colonel was
simply a complimentary one, conferred by the Governor of Michigan. He
should be recognized by the War Department as colonel. No man in the
army is better entitled to the position. His services at Perryville and
Stone river, to say nothing of those in West Virginia and North Alabama,
would be but poorly requited by promotion.