HDQRS. MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI,
In the Field, Rome, Ga., November 2, 1864.
Lieut. Gen. U.S.
GRANT,
City Point, Va.:
Your
dispatch is received.* If I could hope to overhaul Hood I would turn
against him with my whole force. Then he retreats to the southwest, drawing him
as a decoy from Georgia, which is his chief object. If he ventures north of the
Tennessee I may turn in that direction and endeavor to get between him and his
line of retreat, but thus far he has not gone above the Tennessee. Thomas will
have a force strong enough to prevent his reaching any country in which we have
an interest, and he has orders if Hood turns to follow me to push for Selma. No
single army can catch him, and I am convinced the best results will result from
defeating Jeff. Davis' cherished plan of making me leave Georgia by
maneuvering. Thus far I have confined my efforts to thwart his plans, and
reduced my baggage so that I can pick up and start in any direction, but I
would regard a pursuit of Hood as useless; still if he attempts to invade
Middle Tennessee I will hold Decatur and be prepared to move in that direction,
but unless I let go Atlanta my force will not be equal to his.
W. T. SHERMAN,
Major-General, Commanding.
_______________
SOURCES: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of
the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume
39, Part 2 (Serial No. 79), p. 594-5; John Bell Hood, Advance and
Retreat, p. 265-6
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