The President says Butler has been tendered Foster’s
department, while Foster goes to relieve Burnside, who resigns. It is not yet
known whether Butler will accept.
I asked about Rosecrans. The President says he sees no
immediate prospect of assigning him to command; — that he had thought, when the
trouble and row of this election in Missouri is over, and the matter will not
be misconstrued, of sending Rosecrans to Missouri and Schofield into the field.
He says that it was because of Grant’s opposition
that Rosecrans is not in the Army of the Cumberland. When it was decided to
place Grant in command of the whole Military Division, two sets of orders were
made out, one contemplating Rosecrans’s retention of the command of his own
army, and the other his relief. Grant was to determine the question for
himself. He said at once that he preferred Rosecrans should be relieved, — that
he (Rosecrans) never would obey orders. This consideration of course involves a
doubt as to whether Rosecrans should be placed in command of a district from
which Grant must, to a certain extent, derive supplies and reinforcements on
occasion.
To-night Schenck sent for copies of the correspondence
between the President and Bradford. The Tycoon came into my room with the
despatch in his hands, clad in an overcoat, pure and simple, reaching to his
knees, and sleepily fumbled for the papers in his desk till he found them, and
travelled back to bed. . . .
SOURCES: Clara B. Hay, Letters of John Hay and
Extracts from Diary, Volume 1, p. 117-8; For the whole diary entry see
Tyler Dennett, Editor, Lincoln and the Civil War in the Diaries and
letters of John Hay, p. 114-5.
No comments:
Post a Comment