Murat Halstead to Salmon P. Chase, April 1, 1863

Copy.

Cincinnati, Apl. 1st., 1863.

Gov. Chase

You do once in a while, don't you, say a word to the President, or Stanton, or Halleck, about the

conduct of the War?

Well, now, for God's sake say that Genl. Grant, entrusted with our greatest army, is a jackass in the original package. He is a poor drunken imbecile. He is a poor stick sober, and he is most of the time more than half drunk, and much of the time idiotically drunk.

About two weeks ago, he was so miserably drunk for twenty-four hours, that his Staff kept him shut up in a state-room on the steamer where he makes his headquarters — because he was hopelessly foolish.

I know precisely what I am writing about and the meaning of the language I use.

Now are our Western heroes to be sacrificed by the ten thousand by this poor devil?

Grant will fail miserably, hopelessly, eternally. You may look for and calculate upon his failure in every position in which he may be placed, as a perfect certainty.

Don't say I am grumbling. Alas! I know too well I am but faintly outlining the truth.

Grant is shamefully jealous of Rosecrans, just as such an imbecile would naturally be of his superior; and he and his staff would chuckle to see Rosecrans cut to pieces.

Anybody would be an improvement on Grant!

If nothing else can be done, now while the Cumberland River is up send all Grant's army at once,

except a division or two, to join Rosecrans and he can instantly penetrate to Georgia.

Or let me suggest a plan. Have Grant's Army withdrawn from below Memphis, and suddenly, without warning, send the force amounting to at least 50.000 men up the Tennessee River as far as it is navigable. This would throw them in the rear of Bragg.

Anything to get the army of the Mississippi out of the control of the horrible fool, Grant!

There is another plan of operations. Here is Burnside's  corps in Kentucky. The rebel invasion of Kentucky is “played out”— Now then order Burnside to secure with his troops just arrived all the places in Ky., and the Louisville & Nashville R. R: and order a division of Grant's wasting and useless  army instantly up the Cumberland to garrison Nashville. Then Rosecrans can have concentrated in a mass all the old troops of his and Wright's command now in Ky., and at Gallatin, Tenn., and Nashville. He will thus have 120.000 men; and give Rosecrans that many men, and he will with absolute certainty, break the enemy's center. He will destroy Bragg's Army utterly, this side the Tennessee River.

Rosecrans is the man to strike the blow. For Christ's and the country's sake, put the weapon in his

hands.

With any sort of handling of the troops we have in the West under Grant, Rosecrans & Burnside, and our enormous steamboat transportation, not ten men of Bragg's Army of 65.000 should escape beyond the Tennessee River. All that is wanted is concerted action — that can only be had through an impulse from headquarters, which shall subordinate the proceedings of Grant & Burnside to those of Rosecrans who is in the center, at the post of danger; is the fighting man; and has the absolute and enthusiastic confidence of his troops

Can you not do something to put the spear in his hands? That is our only hope. If Burnside is allowed to fool away 50.000 men in Ky., and Grant to bury 100.000 in the Mississippi swamps, we are gone up.

M. H.

SOURCE: Library of Congress, Washington D.C.: Lincoln, Abraham. Abraham Lincoln papers: Series 1. General Correspondence. 1833 to 1916: Murat Halstead to Salmon P. Chase, Wednesday, Drunkenness of General Grant. April 1, 1863. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/mal2276900/.