[271] government is to blame for his failure. It is my duty to declare that while few persons exhibit more estimable social qualities, I have never seen a public man possessing talent with less administrative power, less clearness and steadiness in difficulty, and greater practical incapacity than General Rosecrans. He has inventive fertility and knowledge, but he has no strength of will and no concentration of purpose. His mind scatters; there is no system in the use of his busy days and restless nights, no courage against individuals in his composition, and with great love of command, he is a feeble commander. He is conscientious and honest, just as he is imperious and disputatious; always with a stray vein of caprice and an overweening passion for the approbation of his personal friends and the public outside. Under the present circumstances, I consider this army to be very unsafe in his hands, but know of no man except Thomas who could now be safely put in his place.That same afternoon Dana reported Jefferson Davis as being present with Bragg's army. On the 12th he asks Stanton if it would not be possible for General Halleck to come to Chattanooga, adding, “What is needed to extricate this army is the highest administrative talent, and that without delay.” After thirty-six hours of heavy rain, which had swollen the rivers and greatly injured the roads, he reported the country as denuded of forage and food, that the troops had been put on three-quarter rations, and that it was imperatively necessary to open the river and shorten the lines of wagon transportation. On the 15th he reported that it was still raining with great violence, the mud in the roads was constantly growing deeper, that the troops had now been put on half rations, and that it would soon become necessary for all persons except soldiers to leave Chattanooga. In that case he asked if he should return to Washington or endeavor to make his way to Burnside. On October 16th he reported that although there had been but
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