From Rosecrans’Army.

We have just been permitted to peruse a letter from John Bartholomew, of this city, who is a member of the battery connected with the 19th Illinois infantry, now with Rosecrans’ army. His letter is dated at the camp on Elk river, July 8th. He states that the march to that point from Tullahoma was a very hard one, through mud and rain. He says Bragg’s army is completely whipped, and would have been caught entire had it not been for the rain and mud. Several thousand were taken, and they come in every day to give themselves up, saying they are tired of the war and have come to the conclusion that their cause is a hopeless one. Rosecrans’ army was waiting for the supply train before moving forward.

SOURCE: Muscatine Weekly Journal, Muscatine, Iowa, Friday, July 24, 1863, p. 3

Major-General William S. Rosecrans to Edwin M. Stanton, July 7, 1863

TULLAHOMA, July 7, 1863.

Hon. E. M. STANTON:

Just received your cheering dispatch announcing the fall of Vicksburg and confirming the defeat of Lee. You do not appear to observe the fact that this noble army has driven the rebels from Middle Tennessee, of which my dispatches advised you. I beg in behalf of this army that the War Department may not overlook so great an event because it is not written in letters of blood. I have now to repeat, that the rebel army has been forced from its strong intrenched positions at Shelbyville and Tullahoma, and driven over the Cumberland Mountains. My infantry advance is within 16 miles and my cavalry advance within 8 miles of the Alabama line. No organized rebel force within 25 miles of there, nor on this side of the Cumberland Mountains.

W. S. ROSECRANS.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 23, Part 2 (Serial No. 35), p. 518

Major-General Henry W. Halleck to Major-General William S. Rosecrans, June 16, 1863 – 2 p.m.

WAR DEPARTMENT,

Washington, June 16, 1863 — 2 p.m.

Major-General ROSECRANS,

Murfreesborough, Tenn.:

Is it your intention to make an immediate movement forward? A definite answer, yes or no, is required.

H. W. HALLECK,

General-in-Chief.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 23, Part 1 (Serial No. 34), p. 10

Major-General William S. Rosecrans to Major-General Henry W. Halleck, June 16, 1863 – 6:30 p.m.

MURFREESBOROUGH, TENN.,

June 16, 1863 — 6.30 p.m.

Maj. Gen. H. W. HALLECK,  General-in-Chief:

In reply to your inquiry, if immediate means to-night or to-morrow, no. If it means as soon as all things are ready, say five days, yes.

W. S. ROSECRANS,

Major-general.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 23, Part 1 (Serial No. 34), p. 10