[
344]
Chapter 13: Chattanooga and Knoxville.
July to December, 1863.
After the
fall of Vicksburg, and its corollary,
Port Hudson, the
Mississippi River was wholly in the possession of the
Union forces, and formed a perfect line of separation in the territories of our opponents.
Thenceforth, they could not cross it save by stealth, and the military affairs on its west bank became unimportant.
Grant's army had seemingly completed its share of the work of war, and lay, as it were, idle for a time.
In person
General Grant went to New Orleans to confer with
General Banks, and his victorious army was somewhat dispersed.
Parke's corps (Ninth) returned to
Kentucky, and afterward formed part of the Army of the Ohio, under
General Burnside;
Ord's corps (Thirteenth) was sent down to
Natchez, and gradually drifted to New Orleans and
Texas;
McPherson's (Seventeenth) remained in and near
Vicksburg;
Hurlbut's (Sixteenth) was at
Memphis; and mine (Fifteenth) was encamped along the Big Black, about twenty miles east of
Vicksburg.
This corps was composed of four divisions:
Steele's (the First) was posted at and near the railroad-bridge;
Blair's (the Second), next in order, near Parson
Fox's; the Third Division (
Tuttle's) was on the ridge about the head of
Bear Creek; and the Fourth (
Ewing's) was at Messinger's Ford.
My own headquarters were in tents in a fine grove of old oaks near Parson Fox's house, and the battalion of the Thirteenth Regulars was the Headquarters guard.
All the camps were arranged for health, comfort, rest, and
[
345]
drill.
It being midsummer, we did not expect any change till the autumn months, and accordingly made ourselves as comfortable as possible.
There was a short railroad in operation from
Vicksburg to the bridge across the Big Black, whence supplies in abundance were hauled to our respective camps.
With a knowledge of this fact
Mrs. Sherman came down from
Ohio with Minnie, Lizzie, Willie, and Tom, to pay us a visit in our camp at Parson
Fox's. Willie was then nine years old, was well advanced for his years, and took the most intense interest in the affairs of the army.
He was a great favorite with the soldiers, and used to ride with me on horseback in the numerous drills and reviews of the time.
He then had the promise of as long a life as any of my children, and displayed more interest in the war than any of them.
He was called a “sergeant” in the regular battalion, learned the manual of arms, and regularly attended the parade and guard-mounting of the Thirteenth, back of my camp.
We made frequent visits to
Vicksburg, and always stopped with
General McPherson, who had a large house, and boarded with a family (
Mrs. Edwards's) in which were several interesting young ladies.
General Grant occupied another house (
Mrs. Lum's) in
Vicksburg during that summer, and also had his family with him. The time passed very agreeably, diversified only by little events of not much significance, among which I will recount only one.
While we occupied the west bank of the Big Black, the east bank was watched by a rebel cavalry-division, commanded by
General Armstrong.
He had four brigades, commanded by
Generals Whitfield,
Stark,
Cosby, and
Wirt Adams.
Quite frequently they communicated with us by flags of truce on trivial matters, and we reciprocated, merely to observe them.
One day a flag of truce, borne by a Captain B----, of
Louisville, Kentucky, escorted by about twenty-five men, was reported at Messinger's Ferry, and I sent orders to let them come right into my tent.
This brought them through the camps of the Fourth Division, and part of the Second; and as they drew up in front of my tent, I invited
Captain B----and another officer with him (a major from
Mobile) to dismount, to enter my tent, and to make
[
346]
themselves at home.
Their escort was sent to join mine, with orders to furnish them forage and every thing they wanted.
B----had brought a sealed letter for
General Grant at
Vicksburg, which was dispatched to him. In the evening we had a good supper, with wine and cigars, and, as we sat talking, B----spoke of his father and mother, in
Louisville, got leave to write them a long letter without its being read by any one, and then we talked about the war. He said: “What is the use of your persevering?
It is simply impossible to subdue eight millions of people;” asserting that “the feeling in the
South had become so embittered that a reconciliation was impossible.”
I answered that, “sitting as we then were, we appeared very comfortable, and surely there was no trouble in our becoming friends.”
“Yes,” said he, “that is very true of us, but we are gentlemen of education, and can easily adapt ourselves to any condition of things; but this would not apply equally well to the common people, or to the common soldiers.”
I took him out to the camp-fires behind the tent, and there were the men of his escort and mine mingled together, drinking their coffee, and happy as soldiers always seem.
I asked B----what he thought of that, and he admitted that I had the best of the argument.
Before I dismissed this flag of truce, his companion consulted me confidentially as to what disposition he ought to make of his family, then in
Mobile, and I frankly gave him the best advice I could.
While we were thus lying idle in camp on the Big Black, the Army of the Cumberland, under
General Rosecrans, was moving against
Bragg at
Chattanooga; and the Army of the Ohio,
General Burnside, was marching toward
East Tennessee.
General Rosecrans was so confident of success that he somewhat scattered his command, seemingly to surround and capture
Bragg in
Chattanooga; but the latter, reenforced from
Virginia, drew out of
Chattanooga, concentrated his army at
Lafayette, and at
Chickamauga fell on
Rosecrans, defeated him, and drove him into
Chattanooga.
The whole country seemed paralyzed by this unhappy event; and the authorities in
Washington were thoroughly stampeded.
From the
East the
[
347]
Eleventh Corps (
Slocum), and the Twelfth Corps (
Howard), were sent by rail to
Nashville, and forward under command of
General Hooker; orders were also sent to
General Grant, by
Halleck, to send what reenforcements he could spare immediately toward
Chattanooga.
Bragg had completely driven
Rosecrans's army into
Chattanooga; the latter was in actual danger of starvation, and the railroad to his rear seemed inadequate to his supply.
The first intimation which I got of this disaster was on the 22d of September, by an order from
