General Joseph E. Johnston to Senator Louis T. Wigfall, January 26, 1863

Chattanooga, Jany. 26th, 1863.

My dear Wigfall:

I have asked the government by telegraph if any additional troops, new or old, can be furnished for Bragg's Army, but have had no reply. Will you suggest to Mr. Seddon that we are in a very critical condition in Tennessee? The enemy has fully supplied his losses, I am officially informed, while our army has received stragglers and exchanged prisoners amounting to about a third of our killed and wounded. Such being the case, if there is any truth in arithmetic, another battle must drive us still farther back. If driven across the Cumberland Mountains we can not hold East Tennessee and once in possession of that country Rosecranz may choose his point on our South Eastern or Eastern frontier from Richmond to Mobile. It is of the utmost importance therefore to reinforce Bragg. The conscription is operating very slowly. Can no mode of expediting its enforcement be adopted? I cannot draw upon Pemberton, for his force is far too small now. I proposed the bringing to him 18,000 or 20,000 troops from Arkansas, none of whom ever came. The enemy is again at Vicksburg, too, in heavier force, and doubtless with a different plan — probably to attempt to attack from below instead of from the Yazoo.

Bragg has done wonders, I think — no body of troops has done more in proportion to numbers in the same time. At Murfreesboro’ he killed, wounded and took 17,000 and within the three weeks preceding 7,500. His own loss in all that time about 9,000. My own official position does not improve on acquaintance. It is little, if any, better than being laid on the shelf. I have endeavored to explain this to the President, but he thinks it essential to have one here who can transfer troops from this department to Pemberton's and vice-versa. That would be extremely well if either department could possibly spare troops, even for a short time, but that is not the case, each having too few for immediate purposes and the distance and character of the intermediate country such as completely prevents them from aiding each other, except an occasional cavalry movement. It is an attempt to join things which cannot be united. It would require at least a month to send 10,000 men from one of the two armies to the other. Each department having its own commander and requiring—indeed having room but for one. You perceive how little occupation I can find. I can not unite the two armies — because they are too far apart, and each is required where it is. Nor can I take command of one because each has its proper commander, and yet the country may hold me responsible for any failure between North Carolina and Georgia and the Mississippi, for I am supposed to be commanding in all that country. After commanding our most important, and I may add, best army for a year, it is hard to lose that command for wounds in battle and to receive a nominal one. I must confess I cannot help repining at this position. The President, however, evidently intends that I shall hold a high position and important one; but I think he mistakes the relation between Tennessee and Mississippi.

I flatter myself that I have never been so garrulous before and won't be so again.

We rarely see Richmond papers, so I don't know what you are doing for us. My cordial regards to Mrs. Wigfall and the young ladies.

If you can help me out of my present place I shall love you more than ever. It will require diplomacy and cunning, however, and I don't think you strong in the latter.

Yours truly,

J. E. Johnston.

SOURCE: Louise Wigfall Wright, A Southern Girl in ’61, p. 121-3

General Joseph E. Johnston to Senator Louis T. Wigfall, January 8, 1863

jackson, Jany. 8th, 1863.

My dear Wigfall:

Mrs. Johnston, who arrived evening before last, brought me your letter, which had come to Chattanooga before she left it. Your military criticism has been more strongly called for since the writing of that letter. And no doubt it has been made. I can't help thinking myself that we ought to have won at Murfreesboro'. You think I am sure, that we ought to have renewed the attack on the morning of the 1st, instead of postponing it nearly two days, when the enemy had reorganized his forces behind intrenchments. You think too, that having failed to attack on the 1st, we should either have turned the fortified position or cut off supplies from the enemy by our cavalry.

The present state of things fully confirms the opinion I expressed to the President here that this command of mine is a nominal one, imposing upon me responsibilities which I cannot possibly meet. It is not a unit; the armies of Bragg and Pendleton have different objects. They can't be united without abandoning one of them. I can have no command when they are not united except by taking the place of Bragg or Pemberton, which could not have been intended. As it would work great injustice to the officer thus superseded, without probabilities of benefit. I cannot, from an intermediate point, direct the operations of the two armies. No man could do it well; these departments are too completely separated to form one proper command — they ought to be separated. Tell Mr. Seddon so. Had I been in Tennessee I could have done nothing except by depriving Bragg of his command. Here in the recent battle I did nothing — not choosing to supersede Pemberton. I have asked the President to take me out of a position so little to my taste. It is very like being on the shelf with the responsibilities of command.  . . . I have just read a slip from the N. O. Delta, giving account of a glorious affair at Galveston; but am afraid to believe it. You will see it of course long before this reaches you. Mrs. Johnston is looking extremely well and I trust much to this mild climate for continued good health.

I have an office and staff here, but very little office work. Mrs. Johnston desires to be cordially remembered to Mrs. Wigfall, yourself and the young ladies.

Yours as ever,

J. E. Johnston.

Genl. Wigfall,

C. S. Senate.

SOURCE: Louise Wigfall Wright, A Southern Girl in ’61, p. 106-8

Diary of Judith Brockenbrough McGuire: January 8, 1863

On the 16th of December, the day after the last entry in my diary, I went to Richmond, and found Bowyer Brockenbrough at the house of Mr. Payne, on Grace Street, surrounded by luxury, and the recipient of unnumbered kindnesses; but so desperately ill! The surgeons had been up all night in the various hospitals, and, as numerous as they were, they were sadly deficient in numbers that night. The benevolent Dr. Bolton had taken his wife and her sister, who had learned the art of binding up wounds, to his hospital, and all night long they had been engaged most efficiently in their labour of love. Other ladies were engaged in offices of mercy. Women who had been brought up surrounded by the delicacies and refinements of the most polished society, and who would have paled at the sight of blood under other circumstances, were bathing the most frightful gashes, while others were placing the bandages. I found B. suffering the most intense agony, and Mrs. P. agitated and anxious. No surgeon could be obtained for private houses. I sent for one, who was not an army surgeon, to come at once. He sent me word that he had been up all night, and had just retired. Again I sent to implore him to come; in five minutes he was there. He told me at once that his situation was critical in the extreme; the Minié ball had not been extracted; he must die, if not soon relieved. He wanted assistance — another surgeon. To send in pursuit of Dr. Gibson for my brother, then stationed at Camp Winder, and to telegraph for his father, occupied but a few moments; but the surgeons could not come. Hour after hour I sat by him. To cut off his bloody clothes, and replace them by fresh ones, and to administer the immense doses of morphine, was all that Mrs. P. and myself could do. At dark, Surgeons G. and B., accompanied by my brother, arrived. They did what they could, but considered the case hopeless. His uncle, General R. E. Colston, arrived, to our great relief. He joined us in nursing him during the night. The cars were constantly coming in. Shouts of victory and wails for the dead were strangely blended. I was glad that I did not hear during that dreadful night that the body of that bright, beautiful boy, that young Christian hero, Randolph Fairfax, had been brought to town. The father, mother, sisters! — can they bear the blighting stroke? The hope, the pride, almost the idol of the family, thus suddenly cut down! We, too, mourn him dead, as we had loved and admired him living. We had watched his boyhood and youth, the gradual development of that brilliant mind and lofty character. His Christian parents are bowed down, but not crushed; their future on earth is clouded; but by faith they see his abundant entrance into the kingdom of heaven, his glorious future, and are comforted. Another young Christian soldier of the same battery was shot down about the same moment — our young friend David Barton, of Winchester. Three months ago his parents buried their oldest son, who fell nobly defending his native town, and now their second has passed into heaven. The Church mourns him as one who was about to devote his life to her sacred cause, but who felt it his duty to defend her against the hosts who are desecrating her hallowed precincts. How many, oh, how many of the young soldiers of the Cross are obliged to take up carnal weapons, to “save from spoil that sacred place!” Poor fellows! their life's blood oozes out in a great cause. But our church!

“Will she ever lift her head

From dust, and darkness, and the dead?”

Yes, the time is at hand when she, our Southern Church, shall

“Put all her beauteous garments on,

And let her excellence be known.

Decked in the robes of righteousness,

The world her glory shall confess.

“No more shall foes unclean invade

And fill her hallowed walls with dread;

No more shall hell's insulting host

Their victory and thy sorrows boast.”

The churches of Fredericksburg suffered dreadfully during the bombardment. Some were torn to pieces. Our dear old St. George's suffered very little; but a shell burst through her revered walls, and her steeple was broken by a passing shot. She stands a monument of Vandalism, though still a Christian chapel, from which the Gospel will, I trust, be poured forth for many years, when we shall no longer be surrounded by those who cry, “Raze it, raze it, even to the foundations thereof.”

But to return to my patient. After days and nights of watching, I left him improving, and in the hands of his parents. The physicians seem still doubtful of the result, but I am full of hope. The ball, after much difficulty, was extracted, since which time he has gradually improved; but his sufferings have been indescribable, W. B. C. is also slowly convalescing. One night while sitting up with B., together with a surgeon and General C., when we had not been able to raise him up for two days, we were startled by his springing from the bed in agony, and running to the fire; the surgeon (his uncle) gently put his arm around him and laid him on the couch. I hastened to the bed to make it comfortable; but it was so large that I could not raise it up; at last I called out, “General, help me to make up this bed; come quickly!" In an instant the large feather bed was grasped by him with strength and skill, turned over and beaten thoroughly, the mattrass replaced; then to help me to spread the sheets, smooth the pillows, etc., was the work of a moment. The patient was replaced in bed and soothed to sleep. Not till then did I remember that my companion in making the bed was one who but a short time before had led his brigade in the hottest of the fight, and would, perhaps, do it again and again. I complimented him on his versatility of talent, and a pleasant laugh ensued. During the Christmas holidays, while most anxious about our wounded, a letter from Kentucky reached us, announcing the death of my lovely niece, Mrs. Keene. As soon as her home on the Mississippi became surrounded by the enemy, she was obliged to leave it. She then joined her husband, who is on General Breckinridge's staff, and stationed near Knoxville. As her health was very delicate, she determined, as soon as General B. was ordered off, to attempt to get to her mother in Kentucky; her husband placed her in the care of an elderly physician and friend, who accompanied her in a carriage across the mountains, as the public conveyances between those hostile regions are, of course, discontinued. Before she had travelled many days she was compelled to stop at a small house on the roadside, and there, with much kindness from the hostess, and from her travelling companion, but none of the comforts to which she had been accustomed, she suffered intensely for many days, and then attempted to go on. She reached Georgetown, Kentucky, which was her summer home; her mother was telegraphed for, and reached her just three days before she breathed her last. Dear H.! another victim of the war; as much so as was her brother, who received his mortal wound at Dranesville, or her brother-in-law, who was shot through the heart at Pea Ridge. Her poor mother deemed it a blessed privilege to be able to be with her in her dying hour; a comfort which she did not experience after her long trip to see her son. I fear she will sink under accumulated misfortunes; cut off as she is from all that makes life bearable under such circumstances. During the campaign of last summer around Richmond, she describes her feelings as being anxious and nervous beyond expression. She heard nothing but threats against us, and braggadocio, until she believed that we must be crushed; the many Southerners around her could not express their feelings except in subdued whispers. The Cincinnati and Covington papers expressed their confidence of success. Each day she would go to Cincinnati to hear the news, and come back depressed; but on the sixth day after the battles commenced, as she took her usual morning walk, she observed that the crowd around the telegraph office was more quiet than usual. As she approached, “curses, not loud, but deep,” reached her ear. Hope dawned upon her subdued spirit. “Is there any thing the matter?” she asked, meekly, of the first gentlemanly-looking man she saw. “The matter!” he exclaimed. “Oh! madam, we are defeated. McClellan is retreating down the river towards Harrison's Landing. I don't know where that is, but we are shamefully beaten.” She did not allow herself to speak, but rapidly wended her way home, her face bathed in tears of thankfulness, and singing the Gloria in Excelsis.

Several days ago General Bragg reported a victory at Murfreesboro', Tennessee. There was certainly a victory on the first day, as 4,000 prisoners were secured, with thirty-one pieces of cannon, and sent to Chattanooga. On the third day the enemy were reinforced, and our army was obliged to fall back. A friend remarked that the Bragg victories never seem to do us much good. The truth is, the Western Yankees fight much better than the Eastern, and outnumber us fearfully. They claim the victory, but acknowledge the loss of 30,000 men. It must have been a most severe conflict. At Vicksburg they have made another attack, and been repulsed; and yet another misfortune for them was the sinking of their brag gun-boat Monitor. It went down off Cape Hatteras. In Philadelphia the negroes and Abolitionists celebrated the 1st of January with mad demonstrations of delight, as the day on which Lincoln's proclamation to abolish slavery would take effect. In Norfolk the negroes were deluded by the Abolitionists into great excitement. Speeches were made, encouraging them to take up arms against their masters! Hale has offered a resolution in the Northern Congress to raise two hundred regiments of negroes! The valiant knight, I hope, will be generalissimo of the corps. He is worthy of the position!

SOURCE: Judith W. McGuire, Diary of a Southern Refugee, During the War, p. 178-83

Colonel Thomas Kilby Smith to Eliza Walter Smith, January 20, 1863

Headquarters Second Brigade, Second Division,

Fifteenth Army Corps,

Steamer “Sunny South,” January 20, 1863.

My table is covered with orders, letters, plans, and maps, and my head full of business to the limit of its capacity, therefore, I propose to abandon business and for the small balance of this night, devote myself to you, my dear mother. This is the thirtieth day of this memorable expedition, a month has passed away since we left Memphis, a month fraught with startling events. Many a poor fellow has lost the number of his mess, and we are yet on the verge of the consummation of the great event. If you will look at the map, and running your eye down the Mississippi River seek a point first below the dividing line between Arkansas and Louisiana, say eighty-five miles above Vicksburg, you can form an idea of about the place where my headquarters, the Sunny South, is now plowing her way southward. Tomorrow we propose to debark at or near Milliken's Bend near the mouth of the Yazoo River, and this may be my last opportunity for some time to come, of writing home; the opportunity of sending, at any rate, is doubtful. I can only hope it will reach you, as I hope that other letters, cast as waifs upon the water, have reached, or will reach their haven at last.

I am in good condition in all respects for the next battle. The weather for the past two or three days has become delightful, neither too warm nor too cold, balmy and at the same time bracing. These southern winters are far preferable to those of Ohio and probably more healthful. The river is nearly bankfull, an immense wide expanse of water. We are passing beautiful plantations, with their long rows of neat, whitewashed negro quarters, every house deserted. Now and then we come to the cane, then the cottonwood. Sometimes, when we get to a long reach in the river, the view is beautiful; one great fleet of steamboats, keeping their regular distance in military style, sometimes as many as sixty in sight, the steam wreathing up in fantastic forms, the spray from the wheels forming rainbows in the bright sunlight; now and then a strain of martial music or the refrain of a cheery song from the soldiers. Soldiers are much like sailors in this regard; they will have their song and fiddle and dance, and we encourage it, because it keeps the devil down.

I notice I have had a good many friends killed and wounded at Murfreesboro — glorious spirits gone up as avant couriers.

Last night my own little fleet ran up one of the numerous chutes of this part of the river on the Arkansas side, and not long after we had landed I was boarded by a substantial-looking planter with a request for a guard to his house, as he had ladies in his domicile. I of course extended the desired protection and took occasion in person to see my orders carried out. Of course the hospitalities of the house were offered, and I passed a couple of hours very pleasantly in the society of the four ladies, who did the honors, a mother and three daughters, very fair samples of real Southern plantation society.

SOURCE: Walter George Smith, Life and letters of Thomas Kilby Smith, p. 264-5

Review: The Battle of Stones River

Battle of Stones River:

The Forgotten Conflict Between

the Confederate Army of Tennessee

and the Union Army of the Cumberland

By Larry J. Daniel

The three day battle between the Union Army of the Cumberland, commanded by Major General William S. Rosecrans, and the Confederate Army of Tennessee, commanded by General Braxton Bragg, at Murfreesboro, Tennessee between December 31, 1862 & January 2, 1863 was largely overshadowed by Abraham Lincoln’s signing of the Emancipation Proclamation on New Year’s Day, 1863.  Though the casualty figures equaled those at Shiloh in Western Tennessee nearly ten months earlier, it has since been largely overlooked and all but forgotten.

Larry J. Daniel, the author or coauthor of six books on the American Civil War, including Days of Glory: The Army of the Cumberland, 1861-1865 and Shiloh: The Battle That Changed the Civil War, has resurrected The Battle of Stones River from the shadows of the distant and murky past, and rightfully restored it to its place in the narrative of the American Civil War.

With only approximately 15% of the battlefield currently preserved within the boundaries of Stones River National Battlefield, nearly no monumentation, and large scale development encroaching over the ground on which the battle was fought, it is difficult to grasp the events that unfolded there during those three savage and bloody days when visiting the battlefield.  Matt and Lee Spruill’s guidebook, “Winter Lightning: A Guide to the Battle of Stones River,” can help guide you around Murfreesboro and the battlefield, and the military action that took place there, but it lacks a cohesive narrative that Daniel’s “Battle of Stones River: The Forgotten Conflict between the Confederate Army of the Tennessee and the Union Army of the Cumberland” possesses.

Drawing comparisons of the battle’s commanding generals, Rosecrans and Bragg, Daniel states they both made errors.  Both essentially had the same battle plan, to attack the other’s right wing. Bragg struck first and placed Rosecrans on the defensive.  While contrasting their leadership styles, he points out Rosecrans was personable and liked by the Union soldiers he commanded, whereas the cesspool of contempt against Bragg by the officers who served under him contributed to the dysfunction of the Confederate command structure and ultimately the loss of the battle.

Given Burnside’s bloody defeat at Fredericksburg, Virginia and Sherman’s loss at Chickasaw Bayou, the tactical draw at Murfreesboro was turned into a strategic victory for the North once Bragg and his troops retreat from the field giving the Union and its cause a boost to its morale.

“Battle of Stones River” is written in an easily read linear narrative.  Daniel’s book is well researched and more than a handful of scholars who study the battle contributed to the book, including Gib Buckland, Jim Lewis and John George, staff members at the Stones River National Battlefield, Lanny K. Smith, author of a two volume micro-study of the battle, and Dan Masters, the latter of which scoured dozens of Illinois and Ohio newspapers for soldier’s letters of the battle.  Daniel’s only flaw is that he leans a little too heavily on Master’s research and thus his narrative tilts more favorably in coverage to the Union.

ISBN 978-0807145166, Louisiana State University Press, © 2012, Hardcover, 336 pages, Maps, Photographs, Illustrations, Appendices, End Notes, Bibliography & Index. $38.50.  To purchase this book click HERE.

Major General George G. Meade to Margaretta Sergeant Meade, January 3, 1863

HEADQUARTERS FIFTH ARMY CORPS, January 4, 1863.

I was at general headquarters yesterday, and from what I heard I suspect an advance is not far off. Burnside had just received the telegram announcing the fight at Murfreesboro', and was chafing under the fear that part of Lee's forces in his front had been detached to help Joe Johnston down there. I told him I had no idea they had gone that far, and thought it more likely they had gone to assist in an attack on Gloucester Point or Suffolk, where we yesterday heard there was fighting.

Hooker has gone up to Washington, for what purpose I do not know, but I guess to see what chance he has for the command, in case Burnside is removed, although he asserts most positively that he will not command this army. I despair more and more of getting off, it is now so late and so much time has passed. Reynolds got back yesterday; he said he had seen you and the children in Philadelphia, but did not have much to say. He is a man of very few words. Baldy Smith has returned, and Franklin is off for a few days.

SOURCE: George Meade, The Life and Letters of George Gordon Meade, Vol. 1, p. 345-6

Diary of Alexander G. Downing: Tuesday, March 10, 1863

We heard again that Port Hudson was taken, and also that Rosecrans had a battle, but can learn nothing definite. A squad from our regiment mounted on mules and horses had an exciting experience while out scouting, about twelve miles from camp. Seeing some chickens in the yard of a farm house, they thought they might as well get a few to take along with them. When some of the boys, dismounting, entered the yard to catch the chickens, they were met by the woman of the house with a bucket of scalding hot water and they had a hard time trying to keep out of her way. Some of the boys got a touch of the hot water, but they caught their chickens.

Source: Alexander G. Downing, Edited by Olynthus B., Clark, Downing’s Civil War Diary, p. 104

Major General William S. Rosecrans to Abraham Lincoln, August 1, 1863

Unofficial

HEAD-QUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE CUMBERLAND,

Winchester, August 1, 1863.

His Excellency The President:

Major-general [sic] on his return from Washing[ton] told me you would not deem it improper for me to write you unofficially. General Halleck’s dispatches imply that you not only feel solicitude for the advance of this army, but dissatisfaction at its supposed inactivity. It is due to Your Excellency to state a few facts in a condensed form which from time to time [have] been laid before General Halleck and the War Department in my dispatches. First. What first delayed this army after I assumed command of it was that we were at Nashville, 183 miles by rail [from] Louisville, our depot of supplies, and had to bring them over this Louisville and Nashville Railroad, forty-five miles of which had been so destroyed that it took all the force we could work on it night and [day] for twenty days to put it in running order, and then it took twenty-five days more to bring over it our clothing, ammunition, and get thirty days’ rations ahead (the minimum deemed necessary to warrant an advance). Second. What hindered us from occupying the country and using its forage, subsistence, and animals was the want of an adequate cavalry force to beat the enemy's cavalry and cut off all his supplies beyond the reach of his infantry supports. The want of 5,000 more mounted men cost us all these, the battle of Stone’s River, and $50,000,000 by delay. Third. What prevented us from taking an advanced position after the battle of Stone's River was this same want of mounted force. Without one, advance beyond Murfreesborough would have increased our hazards and the wear and tear of our men and teams without countervailing benefit. In the nature of the soil in this part of Tennessee the rains of winter render wagoning on any but turnpikes next to impossible until the ground settles. Fourth. When the ground was settled the contest at Vicksburg was going on, and was deemed inexpedient by moving on Bragg to furnish the pretext for his retiring on Chattanooga, whence he could re-enforce Johnston again with comparative safety. Corps and division commanders with but two or three exceptions opposed the movement. Sixth. While the movement was successful in driving the rebels out of Middle Tennessee, it did not injure them as much as would have been done but for the unprecedented rains – fourteen days in succession – which delayed us nearly ninety hours and prevented us from gaining the rebel rear before he was aware of our intentions. Seventh. Compare the position of this army with that of any other in the United States. What [other] has to draw its supplies a distance of 260 miles inland through a country exposed to hostile cavalry raids? Your Excellency knows also that to move an army and subsist it during a certain [number] of days’ march is a very slight thing from [having] to subsist and supply it with ammunition. Nor is the latter problem to be solved by getting a sufficient number of wagons. You must have roads of such capacity as to enable the trains to pass each other and encamp. Eighth. We have now before [us] sixty miles of barren mountains, traversed by a few poor roads – to cross not the little Shenandoah a few miles from the Potomac. Our bridge material is brought from Louisville by rail and must [be] hauled over the mountains, a total distance of 300 miles, and we must cross a river, not at present fordable for a length of 500 miles, from 800 to 1,800 yards wide, and secure our crossing [in] the face of a strong opposing force. This problem is also one of the first magnitude. We have [no] gun-boats to aid us, and if our communications are interrupted no broad Mississippi, covered with transports, to supply us. Ninth. If we cross the Tennessee we must do so with expectation of maintaining ourselves, not only against the present, but any prospective opposing. The political moral injury to our cause of retrograde movements is such that it would be better for us to go a mile a day and make sure. You will not be surprised if in face of these difficulties it takes time [to] organize the means of success. Our roads must be opened, stores brought forward and put in places of security, bridging trains got ready, and the enemy must be kept in ignorance of our plans. We must learn the country, which appears very differently in reality from what is shown on map.

Asking pardon for the length of this letter, I remain, very respectfully,

 W. S. ROSECRANS,

Major-General.

SOURCES: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 52, Part 1 (Serial No. 109), p. 427-8; This letter, though faded and hard to read, can be found in The Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress

Abraham Lincoln to Major General William S. Rosecrans, August 10, 1863

Executive Mansion,

Washington, August 10, 1863.

My Dear General Rosecrans

Yours of the 1st was received two days ago. I think you must have inferred more than Gen Halleck has intended, as to any dissatisfaction of mine with you. I am sure you, as a reasonable man, would not have been wounded, could you have heard all my words and seen all my thoughts, in regard to you. I have not abated in my kind feeling for and confidence in you. I have seen most of your despatches to General Halleck – probably all of them. After Grant invested Vicksburg, I was very anxious lest Johnston should overwhelm him from the outside, and when it appeared certain that part of Bragg’s force had gone, and was going to Johnston, it did seem to me, it was the exactly proper time for you to attack Bragg with what force he had left. In all kindness, let me say, it so seems to me yet. Finding from your despatches to General Halleck that your judgement was different, and being very anxious for Grant, I, on one occasion told Gen. Halleck, I thought he should direct you to decide at once, to immediately attack Bragg or to stand on the defensive, and send part of your force to Grant. He replied he had already so directed, in substance. Soon after, despatches from Grant abated my anxiety for him, and in proportion abated my anxiety about any movement of yours. When afterwards, however, I saw a despatch of yours arguing that the right time for you to attack Bragg was not before but would be after the fall of Vicksburg, it impressed me very strangely; and I think I so stated to the Secretary of War and General Halleck. It seemed no other than the proposition that you could better fight Bragg when Johnston should be at liberty to return and assist him, than you could before he could so return to his assistance.

Since Grant has been entirely relieved by the fall of Vicksburg, by which Johnston is also relieved, it has seemed to me that your chance for a stroke, has been considerably diminished, and I have not been pressing you directly or indirectly. True, I am very anxious for East Tennessee to be occupied by us; but I see and appreciate the difficulties you mention. The question occurs, Can the thing be done at all? Does preparation advance at all? Do you not consume supplies as fast as you get them forward? Have you more animals today than you had at the battle of Stone River? and yet have not more been furnished you since then than your entire present stock? I ask the same questions as to your mounted force.

Do not misunderstand. I am not casting blame upon you. I rather think, by great exertion, you can get to East Tennessee. But a very important question is, “Can you stay there?” I make no order in the case – that I leave to General Halleck and yourself.

And now, be assured once more, that I think of you in all kindness and confidence: and that I am not watching you with an evil-eye.

Yours very truly

SOURCES: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 52, Part 1 (Serial No. 109), p. 433-4; Roy P. Basler, editor, Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Volume 6, p. 377-8; A copy of this letter can be found in The Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress 

Abraham Lincoln to Major General William S. Rosecrans, August 31, 1863

Executive Mansion,

Washington, August 31, 1863.

My dear General Rosecrans

Yours of the 22^nd was received yesterday. When I wrote you before, I did [not] intend, nor do I now, to engage in an argument with you on military questions. You had informed me you were impressed, through Gen. Halleck, that I was dissatisfied with you; and I could not bluntly deny that I was, without unjustly implicating him. I therefore concluded to tell you the plain truth, being satisfied the matter would thus appear much smaller than it would if seen by mere glimpses. I repeat that my appreciation of you has not abated. I can never forget, whilst I remember anything, that about the end of last year, and beginning of this, you gave us a hard earned victory which, had there been a defeat instead, the nation could scarcely have lived over. Neither can I forget the check you so opportunely gave to a dangerous sentiment which was spreading in the North.

Yours as ever

A. LINCOLN.

SOURCES: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 52, Part 1 (Serial No. 109), p. 442; Roy P. Basler, editor, Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, Volume 6, p. 424-5; A copy of this letter can be found in The Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress 

Major General William T. Sherman to Senator John Sherman, January 17, 1863

NAPOLEON, ARK.,

STEAMER FOREST QUEEN,

Jan. 17, 1863.

Dear Brother:

. . . The gun boats were handled beautifully, and without them we should have had hard work, with them it was easy. Our entire loss will be less than 1000. We took 5000 prisoners, killed and wounded some 500, took 16 guns, ammunition, corn and wagons, mules and all sorts of traps of which you will hear enough. My official report is in, will go up to Grant at Memphis to-morrow and right on to Washington. Halleck will let you see it, and you can understand the whole thing by a glance at the maps I send along. But McClernand's reports will precede it and of course will be the accepted history. . . .

On the supposition that Banks will have taken Fort Hudson and reached Vicksburg, we start back for that place to-morrow. Of ourselves we cannot take Vicksburg. With Banks and a fleet below us and a fleet above, we may make a desperate attempt, but Vicksburg is as strong as Gibraltar, and is of vital importance to the cause of the South. Of course they will fight desperately for it. We must do the same, for all are conscious that the real danger of the war, anarchy among our people, begins to dawn. The people of the North mistake widely if they suppose they can have peace now by opposing this war. . . .

Mr. Lincoln intended to insult me and the military profession by putting McClernand over me, and I would have quietly folded up my things and gone to St. Louis, only I know in times like these all must submit to insult and infamy if necessary. The very moment I think some other is at hand to take my corps I’ll slide out. . . .

I hope the politicians will not interfere with Halleck. You have driven off McClellan, and is Burnside any better? Buell is displaced. Is Rosecrans any faster? His victory at Murfreesboro is dearly bought. Let Halleck alone, and if things don't go to your liking don’t charge it to men but to the condition of things. Human power is limited, and you cannot appreciate the difficulty of moulding into an homogeneous machine the discordant elements which go to make up our armies. A thousand dollars a day would not pay me for the trouble of managing a volunteer army. I never dreamed of so severe a test of my patriotism as being superseded by McClernand, and if I can keep down my tamed (?) spirit and live I will claim a virtue higher than Brutus. I rarely see a newspaper and am far behind the times, indeed, am not conscious that a Congress sits, though I know it must. Do think of the army and try and give us the means to maintain discipline, prevent desertion, pillage and absenteeism. Under the present system of mere threats and no punishment, our armies melt away like snow before the sun. I doubt if Burnside, Rosecrans, Grant and Curtis now have, all combined, 300,000 in their front ranks. This army, 30,000 a month ago, though reinforced by 2400 men, is now down to 24,000, though we have lost only 2500 in battle — sickness and detachments make a perfect stream to the rear. Blair has a brigade in my corps and sees now the practices of war as contrasted with its theory, and could give some useful hints on these points.

Affectionately,

W. T. SHERMAN

SOURCE: Rachel Sherman Thorndike, Editor, The Sherman letters: correspondence between General and Senator Sherman from 1837 to 1891, p. 181-2

Joseph W. Maxwell

Private, Co. I, 21st Illinois Infantry

Killed December 30, 1862, Battle of Stones River

Stones River National Cemetery

Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Chalmers' Brigade At Murfreesboro: Stones River National Battlefield

CHALMERS’ BRIGADE

AT MURFREESBORO

General James R. Chalmers Mississippi Brigade (CSA) advanced across these fields at 10 a.m. on December 31, 1862, to attack the Union Center at the Round Forest.  Their advance was part of General Braxton Bragg’s Plan to crush the Union right flank early in the morning and then turn on the center.  After holding for 48 hours, Chalmers’ men left muddy rifle pits on a hill 200 yards southeast, and advanced past the Cowan House ruins, 100 yards to the southeast.

(Continued on other side)

CHALMERS’ BRIGADE

AT MURFREESBORO

(Continued from other side)

The Cowan House, which burned before the battle obstructed their advance, and forced the brigade to break and reform in the area under a murderous crossfire of Union artillery and infantry fire from the Round Forest, 200 yards to the northwest.  After Chalmers was knocked senseless by an exploding shell, the unit retreated.  Later in the afternoon it reformed under Colonel T. W. White of the Ninth Mississippi Regiment.

SOURCE:  Interpretive Marker, erected by the Tennessee Historical Commission, Stones River National Battlefield, at the intersection of North Thompson Lane and Old Nashville Highway (the historic Nashville Pike), Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Donelson's Brigade At Mufreesboro: Stones River National Battlefield

DONELSON’S BRIGADE

AT MURFREESBORO

General Daniel P. Donelson’s Tennessee Brigade (CSA) advanced across these fields on December 31, 1862, around 11 a.m. in support of Chalmers’ Brigade.  Donelson’s lines were broken by Chalmers’ retreat and by the Cowan ruins.  The brigade split in two, with part advancing west into the cedar woods, where Colonel William Moore of the 8^th Tennessee was killed.  They pushed back General Charles Cruft’s Brigade (USA) and captured over 1000 prisoners and seven cannons.

(Continued on other side)

DONELSON’S BRIGADE

AT MURFREESBORO

(Continued from other side)

The other part of the brigade advanced toward Round Forest which was defended by Colonel William B. Hazen’s Brigade (USA).  There the Savage of the 16^th Tennessee were halted in a field of corn stalks, where they held until relieved at 1 p.m. by additional attacks ordered by General Braxton Bragg.  At day’s end, Bragg had thrown four unsuccessful attacks against the Round Forest Position.

SOURCE:  Interpretive Marker, erected by the Tennessee Historical Commission, Stones River National Battlefield, at the intersection of North Thompson Lane and Old Nashville Highway (the historic Nashville Pike), Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Battle of Murfreesboro: Stones River National Battlefield

BATTLE OF MURFREESBORO

– JAN. 2, 1863 –

½ mile north is the hillock commanding a ford over Stone’s River.  Here Capt. John Mendenhall, 4^th US Artillery, artillery officer of Gen. Crittenden’s staff, set a groupment of 58 guns which broke up the assault across the river of Maj. Gen. John C. Breckinridge’s Confederate Division.  Tablets on the spot give details.

SOURCE: Interpretive marker and cannon at the corner of NW Broad Street and McFadden’s Lane (present day Van Cleve Lane), Murfrees-boro, Tennessee

Artillery Protects The Supply Line: Stones River National Battlefield

From this ideal position, Loomis’ Battery (1^st Michigan Light Artillery – six 2.9” Parrott rifles and Guenther’s Battery Co. H 5^th U. S. Artillery – six 12pdr. Napoleons) smashed Confederate attempts to capture the Nashville Pike, the only supply line open to the Union Army, on the afternoon of December 31, 1862.  Repeated charges of case shot and canister from these guns saved the day for the Union Army.  About 6 p.m. on the 3^rd of January 1863, the supporting fire from these two batteries helped two infantry regiments from Beatty’s Brigade and two infantry regiments from Spears’ Brigade drive the Confederates from the field, thus securing the battlefield of Stones River for the Union Army.

SOURCE:  Interpretive marker to the right of the cannon.

Parson’s Battery, 4th U. S. Artillery Co. “H” & “M”: Stones River National Battlefield

The most powerful federal battery on this field armed with four 3” Ordnance rifles and four 12 pdr. Howitzers.  This batter of battle hardened regulars poured charge after charge of canister at less than 100 yards into the oncoming grey ranks – helping stifle attacks on the Round Forest and the Nashville Pike, on the morning and early afternoon of December 31, 1862.  At times the Confederate Infantry were on three sides of the battery but Lt. Charles C. Parsons gave no ground.  During the entire battle Parsons fired more than any battery, 2,299 rounds, and suffered very few casualties due chiefly to the havoc caused by their deadly accurate fire.  Parsons was promoted to the rank of captain for his heroic action at Stones River.

SOURCE: The original interpretive marker at Stones River National Battlefield, pictured at right.

Parson’s Batteries Heavily Engaged

The 200 Regular Army gunners of Batteries H and M set up their eight cannon from here all the way to the Nashville Pike.  For four solid hours at brutal, sort range they fired many hundreds of rounds of munitions into the rebel ranks.  Their steady, punishing barrages helped dishearten their foes and encourage their comrades.

. . . my instructions from General Palmer were to remain in the position where I then was, in order to check the advance of the enemy, should he turn our right [flank].  At about 8 a.m. our infantry came falling back from the pine woods . . . our batteries were swung around and brought at once into action.  The approach of the enemy was parallel . . . to our front, and when he arrived within about 300 yards we opened upon his first line . . . [with] canister . . . the enemy fell back beyond our view.  He reappeared shortly afterward to our left, but again, receiving our fire, he fell back beyond our view . . . At about 12 [noon] just as I had nearly given out of ammunition, I received orders to retire.

– Charles Parsons, 1^st Lieutenant, commanding battalion, 4^th Regiment United States Artillery.

SOURCE: The new interpretive marker at Stones River National Battlefield, pictured at left.

Compiled Service Record of John A. DeLong, Pvt., Co F, 90th Ohio Infantry

Appears in the Company Descriptive Book of the organization named above.  Description.  Age 25 years; height 5 feet 6 inches.  Complexion: light.  Eyes: blue. Hair: dark.  Born in Perry Co., Ohio.  Occupation: farmer.  Enlistment.  Enlisted Aug. 4, 1862 at New Holland, Ohio by T. J. Watkins for a term of 3 years.  Honorably mustered out of service June 13 [1865].

Appears on Company Muster-in Roll of the organization named above.  Roll dated Aug 26, 1862, Camp Circleville, Ohio.  Muster-in to date Aug. 26, 1862.  Joined for duty and enrolled Aug. 4, 1862 at Williamsport, Ohio for a period of 3 years.  Age 25 years.

Appears on Company Muster Rolls for:

Aug 26 to Oct. 31, 1862.  Present.

Nov. & Dec., 1862.  Present

Feb. 28, 1863.  Present.

Apr. 10, 1863.  Present  [Special Muster Roll]

Mar. & Apr., 1863.  Present

Feb. 28 to June 30, 1863.  Present.  John A. Delong in "present column."

July & Aug., 1863.  Present.

Sept. & Oct., 1863.  Present

Nov. & Dec., 1863.  Present.

Jan. & Feb., 1864.  Present.

March & April, 1864.  Present.

May & June, 1864.  Present.

July & Aug., 1864.  Present

Sept. & Oct., 1864.  Present

Nov. & Dec., 1864.  Present.

Jan. & Feb., 1865.  Present.

Apr. 30, 1865.  Present.

Appears on Co. Muster-Out Roll.  June 13, 1865.  Muster-out to date June 13, 1865.  Last paid to Aug. 31, 1864.  Clothing account last settled on Oct. 31, 1863.  Am't for cloth'g in kind or money adv'd $51.29.  Bounty paid: $25.00; due: $75.00.  Age. 25 years.

Report of Wounded of the 2nd Division 14th Corps, dated Jan. 6, 1863.  Report of Gen'l Rosecrans. Page 402. J. Delong, Private, Company F, 90th Ohio Infantry.  Wounded in neck slightly.  Date of casualty, from Dec. 30, 1862 to Jan. 3, 1863.  [Casualty sheet.]

Report of Killed, Wounded and Missing of the 90th Ohio Infantry Regiment, 2nd Division, Left Wing, 14th Corps. in the battle before Murfreesboro. as far as reported by the Regt'l Surgeon up to this day, Jany. 6/63, detached from report signed by T. L. Crittenden Maj. Genl. Comdg Dept.  No. 2 Ind. Co. pg. 15.  J. Delong, Pvt. Company F, 90th Ohio Infantry.  Wounded - neck, slightly.  [Casualty sheet.]

SOURCE:  National Archives & Records Administration, Washington, D.C.

The war news of this week . . .

. . . are [sic] of but little importance.  Gen. Foster has fought a battle in North Carolina and whipped the enemy.  Report says, that there will be a great battle fought a Vicksburg in a few days; also that Gen. Rosecrans will attack the enemy shortly.

– Published in The Union Sentinel, Osceola, Iowa, Saturday, January 3, 1863

David Andrew Griffith, Sgt., 11th Ohio Infantry

D. A. GRIFFITH - The retired farmers living in Winterset are highly esteemed and contribute not a little to the advancement of the community. Among them is D. A. Griffith, who was born in Holmes county, Ohio, on the 15th of April, 1841, a son of Isaac and Margaret (Archibald) Griffith, the former born upon the ocean in 1808 while his parents were crossing to this country from Wales and the latter born in Jefferson county, Ohio, in 1816. Isaac Griffith was a miller and shoemaker and followed those trades in Holmes county, Ohio. In 1843 he removed to Portsmouth, Ohio, where he ran a mill until he removed to Scioto county, that state, which was his home for ten years before his death. He died in 1848 and was survived by his wife for three years.

D. A. Griffith at the usual age entered the city schools of Portsmouth, Ohio, and there laid the foundation of his education. When he was eleven years of age, however, his parents died and he was taken by a family who mistreated him and he accordingly ran away. He became a farm hand and thus provided for his support and was so engaged until the outbreak of the Civil war. On the I5th of April, 1861, he enlisted in Company C, Thirteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry under Captain Dan Parnell. The command rendezvoused at Columbus, Ohio, and Mr. Griffith was made first duty sergeant. After being three months with Company C he was transferred to Company D, of the Eleventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry and served as sergeant in that command for a year, after which he was made first lieutenant. He was under fire in Virginia, at the battle of Charleston, Maryland, at Bull Run, Antietam, South Mountain, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge and the siege of Chattanooga and accompanied Sherman on the memorable march to the sea. He was wounded by a bayonet thrust at South Mountain, Maryland, and lost his hearing at the battle of Antietam, as his regiment was for hours in the midst of eight hundred pieces of artillery. His regiment, which in that engagement lost five hundred men, together with the Eighteenth Pennsylvania, charged the Burnside bridge and took it. Colonel Coleman, who led the charge, fell pierced by seven bullets. Lieutenant Griffith succeeded in capturing some rebel cannon and his record throughout the war proved him a fearless and an able officer. He has a medal presented him by the state of Ohio for continuous and meritorious service. He was mustered out on the 3d of July, 1865, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and later in that year removed to Fairfield, Iowa.

In 1870 he came to Madison county and began farming in Jefferson township, where he lived for five years. At the end of that time he removed to Union township and engaged in agricultural pursuits there until 1893. In that year he purchased two hundred acres of land in Douglas township on North river and gave his time and attention to the operation of that farm. He was very successful in all that he attempted, his energy, determination and knowledge of the best methods of agriculture making him one of the leading farmers in his township.

On the 4th of March, 1866, Mr. Griffith was united in marriage to Miss Hester E. Miller, who was born in Brown county, Ohio, December 27, 1847, a daughter of Henry and Elizabeth (Hillis) [sic] Miller. Her father was born in Germany in 1822 and upon emigrating to this country settled in Cincinnati, where he followed the blacksmith's trade until his health failed. He then removed to Brown county, Ohio, which remained his home until 1865. In that year he migrated westward and settled in Jefferson county, Iowa, near Fairfield. Nine years later he homesteaded land in Buena Vista county, where his death occurred in 1875. His wife, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1820, passed away in Buena Vista county in 1904, having survived him for almost three decades.

Mr. and Mrs. Griffith are the parents of seven children: Anna B. gave her hand in marriage to Elias Van Scoy, of Logan county, Colorado, by whom she has four children. U. Grant, who was born May 7, 1868, died January 20, 1907. Isaac, born on the 5th of September, 1869, is a well-to-do farmer who is married and has three children, David A., Winifred and Hester. Jerome is represented elsewhere in this work. David T., whose birth occurred on the11th of July, 1879, is engaged in the implement business at Van Meter, Iowa. Linnie E., born November11, 1880, passed away February 4, 1890. Robert S. was born on the 16th of October, 1888.

Mr. Griffith is identified with the republican party and has always been as true to the best interests of his country in times of peace as he was when he led his command upon the battlefields of the south. None begrudges him the competence and the leisure which are now his, as they were won by industry and sound judgment.

SOURCE: History of Madison County Iowa and Its People, Volume 2, p. 285-7


NOTE: According to the Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, David A. Griffith of Companies D & H, mustered in as a private and out as a sergeant. David A. Griffith is listed on page 148 of J. H. Horton & Solomon Teverbaugh’s A History of the Eleventh Regiment (Ohio Volunteer Infantry) as “an original member; promoted to Sergeant; veteranized, and was left at Chattanooga.”