Headquarters Military Division Of The Miss.,
Nashville, Tenn., Jan. 20, 1864.
Dear Washburne:
On my return from
the North I was pleased to find your very welcome and interesting letter of the
20th ultimo, and I hasten to assure you, your friendship for the General, your
devotion to our common country, and heroic manifestation of interest in the
welfare and success of our army here, through evil as well as good report, in
the dark hour of the Nation's despondency, as well as in the light of its
victories, are truly and honestly appreciated, and to you, more than any one in
Congress, the great heart of the army warms with gratitude as its true
representative and hold and uncompromising defender. So give yourself no
concern in the matter of the cavalry regiment you speak of, for the General
fully understands your motives and knows them to be prompted solely by a desire
for the public service and in friendship to him.
I see by the papers
the bill creating a Lieutenant Generalcy is still undisposed of. So far as
General Grant may be regarded in connection with it, I can only say that if the
conferring of this distinguished honor upon him would be the taking him out of
the field, or would supersede General Halleck, he would not desire it, for he
feels that if he can be of service to the Government in any place, it is in
command of the army in the field, and there is where he would remain if made a
lieutenant general; besides, he has great confidence in and friendship for the
General-in-Chief, and would without regard to rank be willing at all times to
receive orders through him.
The advocacy of the
New York Herald and other papers of the General for the Presidency gives
him little concern; he is unambitious of the honor and will voluntarily put
himself in no position nor permit himself to be placed in one he can prevent
that will in the slightest manner embarrass the friends of the Government in
their present grand effort to enforce its rightful authority and restore the
Union of the States. Of his views in this matter, I suppose he has fully
acquainted you.
The presence of
Longstreet in East Tennessee is much to be regretted. Had General Grant's order
been energetically and with a broader judgment executed by General Burnside,
Longstreet would have been forced to have continued his retreat from Knoxville
to beyond the Tennessee line. The General's official report will show the facts
and order and be satisfactory, I have no doubt, to the Government. Our forces
in the Holsten Valley, east of Knoxville, have been compelled by Longstreet to
fall back towards Knoxville. Whether he intends to again undertake the capture
of that place, or simply to extend his forage ground, is not as yet known. In
either design he must be foiled. General Grant, General W. F. Smith and myself
go forward to-morrow to Chattanooga, that the General may be enabled to give
his personal attention to affairs in the direction of Knoxville. Fred, the
General's oldest son, is lying very sick at St. Louis with the “Typhoid
Pneumonia,” and he was intending to start to see him this morning, but
despatches from Knoxville detained him, and he turns in the direction of duty
to his country, leaving his afflicted family to the care of friends.
I am sorry I did
not see you when in New York — there is much that I would have been pleased to
tell you that one cannot write.
While North, on the
23rd day of December, 1863, at Danbury, Conn., I was married to Miss Mary E.
Hurlbut, a native of that place and daughter of S. A. Hurlbut, Esq. I first met
her in Vicksburg in the family at whose house we made headquarters after the
fall of that place. She was in the city during the entire siege, having gone
South with friends previous to the breaking out of the rebellion. From my
acquaintance with her, she was in favor of the Union, and will instruct and
educate my children in the spirit and sentiment of true patriotism that I hope
will ever actuate them in the support and maintenance of the princely
inheritance bequeathed us by our revolutionary fathers and now being daily
enhanced in value and increased in endearment by the sacrifices we are making
for its preservation. She is now with my three little ones at the home of my
parents near Galena. I saw few of my friends in Galena, owing to my limited
stay, having been there only about six hours of daylight. I had hoped to spend
a week, but detention on the cars from snow prevented it. Galena was really
lively and all seemed well.
General Grant is in
excellent health and is “himself” in all things. Colonel Brown, Major Rowley,
etc., all send their regards to you. General Wilson has been ordered to
Washington to take charge of the Cavalry Bureau. He is a brave and accomplished
young officer, and has rendered valuable services in the field. I hope he may
be successful in his new duties and bespeak for him your kind offices of
friendship.
I met Russell Jones
in Chicago, and he made me go to see Mr. Autrobus's paintings of the General. They
are both very fine, and the full-size one I regard as the finest likeness I
ever saw. I am no judge of paintings, but I examined this one closely and
compared it in my own mind with the General and pronounced it like him, and
since my return I have looked at and watched the General with interest and
compared him with the picture, and am sure he is like it. . .
.
Hoping to hear from
you soon, I remain, your friend.
SOURCE: James H.
Wilson, The Life of John A. Rawlins, p. 387-9
