“
[185]
men.
About sunset they made their last charge, when our men, being out of ammunition, rushed on them with the bayonet, and they gave way to return no more.”
In the mean time the enemy made repeated attempts to carry General Thomas's position on the left and front, but were as often driven back with loss.
At nightfall, the enemy fell back beyond the range of our artillery, leaving Thomas victorious on his hard-fought field.
As most of the corps of McCook and Crittenden were now in Chattanooga, it was deemed advisable, also, to withdraw the left wing to that place.
Thomas, consequently, fell back during the night to Rossville, leaving the dead and most of the wounded in the hands of the enemy.
He here received a supply of ammunition, and during all the twenty-first offered battle to the enemy, but the attack was not seriously renewed.
On the night of the twenty-first he withdrew the remainder of the army within the defences of Chattanooga.
The enemy suffered severely in these battles, and on the night of the twentieth was virtually defeated, but being permitted to gather the trophies off the field on the twenty-first, he is entitled to claim a victory, however barren in its results.
His loss, in killed, wounded, and missing, as reported in the rebel papers, was eighteen thousand.
Our loss in these battles was one thousand six hundred and forty-four killed, nine thousand two hundred and sixty-two wounded, and four thousand nine hundred and forty-five missing. If we add the loss of the cavalry, in its several engagements, about five hundred, we have a total of sixteen thousand three hundred and fifty-one.
We lost, in material, thirty-six guns, twenty caissons, eight thousand four hundred and fifty small arms, five, thousand eight hundred and thirty-four infantry accoutrements.
We captured two thousand and three prisoners.
After General Rosecrans retreated to Chattanooga, he withdrew his forces from the passes of Lookout Mountain, which covered his line of supplies from Bridgeport.
These were immediately occupied by the enemy, who also sent a cavalry force across the Tennessee, above Chattanooga, which destroyed a large wagon train in the Sequatchie Valley, captured McMinsville and other points on the railroad, thus almost completely cutting off the supplies of General Rosecrans's army.
Fortunately for us, the line of the railroad was well defended, and the enemy's cavalry being successfully attacked by Colonel McCook, at Anderson's Cross-Roads, on the second October; by General Mitchell, at Shelbyville, on the sixth; and by General Crook, at Farmington, on the eighth, were mostly captured or destroyed.
Major-General Grant arrived at Louisville, and on the nineteenth, in accordance with the orders of the President, assumed general command of the Departments of the Tennessee, Cumberland, and Ohio.
In accordance with his recommendation, Major-General G. W. Thomas was placed in the immediate command of the department of the Cumberland, and Major-General Sherman of that of the Tennessee.
As the supply of the army at Chattanooga demanded prompt attention, he immediately repaired to that place.
By bringing up from Bridgeport the Eleventh and Twelfth corps, under Hooker, and throwing a force from Chattanooga, under General W. F. Smith, on the south side of the river, at Burns's Ferry, the points of Lookout Mountain commanding the river were recaptured on the twenty-seventh, twenty-eighth, and twenty-ninth of October.
This important success restored his communications with his depots of supplies.
It is not my province, even if I had the means of doing so, to speak of the brilliant exploits of our navy in the western waters.
It may be proper, however, to remark, that General Grant and his department commanders report that Admirals Farragut, Porter, and their officers, have rendered most valuable assistance in all their operations.
General remarks and recommendations.
It has not been possible, in the foregoing summary, to refer to all the engagements which our troops have had with the enemy during the past year, as no official accounts or reports of some of them could be found, and the details given have been compiled from telegrams, despatches, and reports scattered through the various bureaus of the War Department. I respectfully recommend that all these official documents and reports, received since the beginning of the war, be collected and published in chronological order under the direction of the Adjutant-General's Department. Some have already been published by Congress, but they are so incorrectly printed and badly arranged as to be almost useless as historical documents. The rebel armies live mainly upon the country through which they pass, taking food and forage alike from friend and foe. This enables them to move with ease and great rapidity. Our commanders, operating in the rebel States, generally find no supplies, and in the Border States it is difficult to distinguish between real friends and enemies. To live upon the country passed over often produces great distress among the inhabitants, but it is one of the unavoidable results of war, and is justified by the usages of civilized nations. Some of our commanders have availed themselves of this right of military appropriation, while others have required too large supply trains, and have not depended, as they might have done, upon the resources of the country in which they operated. General Grant says in his official report:In the march from Bruinsburgh to Vicksburgh, covering a period of twenty days before supplies could be obtained from the Government stores, only five days rations were issued, and three of these were carried in the haversacks at the start, and were soon exhausted. All other subsistence was obtained from the country through which we passed. The march was
