IN THE FIELD, June 15,
1864—6.30 p.m.
(Received 12 p.m.)
Hon. E. M. STANTON,
Washington, D. C.:
I will have the matter of Sturgis critically examined, and,
if he be at fault, he shall have no mercy at my hands. I cannot but believe he
had troops enough. I know I would have been willing to attempt the same task
with that force; but Forrest is the very devil, and I think he has got some of
our troops under cower. I have two officers at Memphis that will fight all the
time—A. J. Smith and Mower. The latter is a young brigadier of fine promise,
and I commend him to your notice. I will order them to make up a force and go
out and follow Forrest to the death, if it cost 10,000 lives and breaks the
Treasury. There never will be peace in Tennessee till Forrest is dead. We
killed Bishop Polk yesterday, and have made good progress to-day, of which I
will make a full report as soon as one of my aides comes from the extreme right
flank. General Grant may rest easy that Joe Johnston will not trouble him, if I
can help it by labor or thought.
W. T. SHERMAN,
Major-General,
Commanding.
SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of
the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume
38, Part 4 (Serial No. 75), p. 480
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