William Boynton, Sherman's Historical Raid

[70] gruel; there were officers of high rank, who lived for days on sour pork and wormy and moldy bread. But the lofty spirit of these men was unbroken, and no army stood any where during the rebellion whose faith in final victory was stronger than the faith of these soldiers under George H. Thomas; and yet at this late day, and in the light of the immortal charge they, as an army, made up the heights of Missionary Ridge, the General of the armies affirms that General Grant doubted whether they would come out of their trenches for a fight.

But let General Sherman speak for himself as he does on page 361 of his first volume. Before perusing it let the reader bear in mind that the line of supplies of Thomas' army had been fully opened before Sherman arrived, through the cooperation of Generals Howard and Slocum, and without any help from him, and that the suffering for food was entirely at an end and not a present thing, as his words imply; that Chattanooga was no longer besieged, except as a rebel army was in front of it, while the communications to the rear, though not all that could be wished, were still ample to enable General Thomas to hold the place.

Says General Sherman, speaking of his arrival:

Of course I was heartily welcomed by Generals Grant, Thomas, and all, who realized the extraordinary efforts we had made to come to their relief.

The next morning we walked out to Fort Wood, a prominent salient of the defenses of the place, and from its parapet we had a magnificent view of the panorama. Lookout Mountain, with its rebel flags and batteries, stood out boldly, and an occasional shot fired toward Wauhatchee or Moccasin Point gave life to the scene. These shots could barely reach Chattanooga, and I was told that one or more shot had struck a hospital inside the lines. All along Missionary Ridge were the tents of the rebel beleaguering force; the lines of trench from Lookout up toward the Chickamauga were plainly visible, and rebel sentinels in a continuous chain were walking their posts in plain view, not one thousand yards off. “Why,” said I, “General Grant, you are besieged;” and he said, “it is too true.” Up to that moment I had no idea that things were so bad. The rebel lines actually extended from the river below the town to the river above, and the Army of the Cumberland was closely held to the town and its immediate defenses. General Grant pointed out to me a house on Missionary Ridge where General Bragg's headquarters were known to be. He also explained the situation of affairs