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.
_______________
* Of November 1, p. [576, the footnote is in error and sited the page number as 676.]
SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of
the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume
39, Part 3 (Serial No. 79), p. 594-5
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