of November 8 to Stanley, and even went so far as to repeat those orders to me on the 19th; but that he promptly corrected that mistake when I pointed it out to him, and then authorized me to act upon my own judgment.
Now, at this late day, when I am so much older than General Thomas was at the time of these events, I feel at liberty to discuss them without reserve.
I am not criticizing the acts of my official superior.
In my mature judgment, General Thomas was not justifiable, in 1864– 1865, in claiming the credit for what had been done by his inferior in rank in actual command of the army in the field while General Thomas himself was absent.
So, in respect to the battle of Nashville, it would have been utterly impossible to have given any rational explanation of the action of my troops on December 15 under the published orders for that battle.
Hence I alluded, as lightly as possible, to the modification in those orders which accounted for what I had done, but gave no hint o