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manner in which
General Sherman has prepared his book Not only did
Grant make such a report, but it was written before the reports of any of the division commanders had been handed in, as is shown by their respective dates, so that it is valuable as containing
General Grant's own understanding of the events of the battle.
It has long been in the regular files, with the reports of one hundred and sixteen other officers, upon the part taken by their commands in this battle.
It was printed in the
Rebellion Record for 1862.
And, as
General Sherman, since the publication of his Memoirs, still maintains that
General Grant made no official report of
Shiloh, it is proper to present its formal official marks.
It opens and closes as follows:
Captain: It becomes my duty again to report another battle fought between two great armies—one contending for the maintenance of the best government ever devised, the other for its destruction.
It is pleasant to record the success of the army contending for the former principle.
(Then follows the body of the report.)
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
The document was forwarded to the War Department from
General Halleck's headquarters at
St. Louis, thus officially certified:
headquarters Department of the Mississippi,
St. Louis, April 14th, 1862.
Official copy.
On account of some delay, it was not transmitted to the Senate when that body called for all the reports of the battle.
Those forwarded in obedience to the call, were not described by
Mr. Stanton in his letter accompanying them, as
all the reports, but as ‘all the reports (one hundred and sixteen in number) which have yet been received by this Department.’
