Chapter 10:
- The battle of Atlanta and its political Generals.
General Sherman's recollections fail to supply the interesting and significant inside history of the battle of Atlanta, by which name the action of July 22d was usually known in his army. Speaking of two of the prominent actors in that battle, he says:
‘I regarded both Generals Logan and Blair as “volunteers,” that looked to personal fame and glory as auxiliary and secondary to their political ambition, and not as professional soldiers.’And again:
‘Both were men of great courage and talent, but were politicians by nature and experience, and it may be that for this reason they were mistrusted by regular officers like Generals Schofield, Thomas, and myself.’The first of these paragraphs suggests the reflection whether it is any more reprehensible for volunteer generals to be actuated by ‘political ambition,’ than for professional soldiers to look upon ‘personal fame and glory’ as their chief incentive—for such is the position in which General Sherman leaves his friends. The public will not judge them so harshly. These two brief extracts form a portion of General Sherman's comments upon the battle of Atlanta. At the very opening of this action, McPherson then commanding the Army of the Tennessee was killed, and the desperate battle was fought through from noon till after night by his troops, commanded by these same political Generals
