Memoirs of General Sherman, vol 2

Memoirs of General Sherman,
vol 2

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Title: The Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman, v2
Author: William T. Sherman
Release Date: May, 2001 [Etext #2617] [Yes, we are more than one
year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted: April, 2000] [File
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEMOIRS
GEN. W. T. SHERMAN, V2 ***

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MEMOIRS OF GENERAL W. T. SHERMAN
By William T. Sherman

VOLUME II

CHAPTER XVI
.

ATLANTA CAMPAIGN-NASHVILLE AND CHATTANOOGA TO
BENEBAW.
MARCH, APRIL, AND MAY, 1864.
On the 18th day of March, 1864, at Nashville, Tennessee, I relieved
Lieutenant-General Grant in command of the Military Division of the
Mississippi, embracing the Departments of the Ohio, Cumberland,
Tennessee, and Arkansas, commanded respectively by Major-Generals
Schofield, Thomas, McPherson, and Steele. General Grant was in the
act of starting East to assume command of all the armies of the United
States, but more particularly to give direction in person to the Armies
of the Potomac and James, operating against Richmond; and I
accompanied him as far as Cincinnati on his way, to avail myself of the
opportunity to discuss privately many little details incident to the
contemplated changes, and of preparation for the great events then
impending. Among these was the intended assignment to duty of many
officers of note and influence, who had, by the force of events, drifted

into inactivity and discontent. Among these stood prominent Generals
McClellan, Burnside, and Fremont, in, the East; and Generals Buell,
McCook, Negley, and Crittenden, at the West. My understanding was
that General Grant thought it wise and prudent to give all these officers
appropriate commands, that would enable them to regain the influence
they had lost; and, as a general reorganization of all the armies was
then necessary, he directed me to keep in mind especially the claims of
Generals Buell, McCook, and Crittenden, and endeavor to give them
commands that would be as near their rank and dates of commission as
possible; but I was to do nothing until I heard further from him on the
subject, as he explained that he would have to consult the Secretary of
War before making final orders. General Buell and his officers had
been subjected to a long ordeal by a court of inquiry, touching their
conduct of the campaign in Tennessee and Kentucky, that resulted in
the battle of Perryville, or Chaplin's Hills, October 8,1862, and they
had been substantially acquitted; and, as it was manifest that we were
to have some hard fighting, we were anxious to bring into harmony
every man and every officer of skill in the profession of arms. Of these,
Generals Buell and McClellan were prominent in rank, and also by
reason of their fame acquired in Mexico, as well as in the earlier part of
the civil war.
After my return to Nashville I addressed myself to the task of
organization and preparation, which involved the general security of
the vast region of the South which had been already conquered, more
especially the several routes of supply and communication with the
active armies at the front, and to organize a large army to move into
Georgia, coincident with the advance of the Eastern armies against
Richmond. I soon received from Colonel J. B. Fry-- now of the
Adjutant-General's Department, but then at Washington in charge of
the Provost-Marshal-General's office--a letter asking me to do
something for General Buell. I answered him frankly, telling him of my
understanding with General Grant, and that I was still awaiting the
expected order of the War Department, assigning General Buell to my
command. Colonel Fry, as General Buell's