Grant Moves South (77 page)

1
.

Major David Reed,
Campaigns and Battles of the 12th Iowa Volunteer Infantry
, p. 18 ff. For regimental reports on the night and the activities at dawn, see O. R., Vol. VII, pp. 188, 190, 194, 201, 215.

2
.

Colonel John W. Emerson, “Grant's Life in the West,” in the
Midland Monthly
for June, 1898.

3
.

Brinton, pp. 144–145; Grant to Halleck, February 14, O. R., Vol. VII, p. 613; Grant to Cullum, pp. 613–614.

4
.

Grant to Halleck, February 14, O. R., Vol. VII, p. 613.

5
.

Wallace, pp. 413–414; Walke,
B. & L.
, Vol. I, pp. 433–36; Foote's report, O. R., Vol. VII, p. 166.

6
.

For a discussion of Grant's dispositions, see Conger, p. 169. In his report to Halleck, dated February 16, Grant says: “I concluded to make the investment of Fort Donelson as perfect as possible, and partially fortify and await repairs to the gunboats.” (O. R., Vol. VII, p. 159.) See also Grant's Memoirs, Vol. I, pp. 303–305.

7
.

Colonel Charles Whittlesey,
War Memoranda
, pp. 30–31.

8
.

Whittlesey, as Note 7, p. 31; Grant's Memoirs, Vol. I, p. 304; M. F. Force,
From Fort Henry to Corinth
, p. 48. (Hereafter cited as Force.)

9
.

McPherson's report, O. R., Vol. VII, p. 163; Grant's Memoirs, Vol. I, p. 305.

10
.

Wallace, pp. 415–418.

11
.

Force, p. 50; Wallace, pp. 419–421; Whittlesey,
War Memoranda
, pp. 34–35.

12
.

Chicago Tribune
for September 23, 1865, reprinting a September 18 article in the
Galena Northwestern Gazette
.

13
.

Wallace, pp. 421–422.

14
.

Grant's Memoirs, Vol. I, p. 307;
Galena Northwestern Gazette
, as Note 12; Grant in O. R., Vol. VII, pp. 159–160.

15
.

Grant to Foote, O. R., Vol. VII, p. 618.

16
.

This paragraph is based on a manuscript draft signed by Thomas J. Newsham, in the C. F. Smith Papers. The reference to Grant's ride
along the lines with McClernand is from the previously quoted article in the
Galena Northwestern Gazette
. For an account very similar to Newsham's, see John G. Greenwalt, War Papers No. 87, District of Columbia Commandery of the Loyal Legion.

17
.

Brinton, pp. 120–121; Newsham, in the C. F. Smith Papers.

18
.

There is a good discussion of the Confederate command situation in Stanley Horn, pp. 93–96. The dreary explanations by Floyd and Pillow are in O. R., Vol. VII, pp. 269–275, 283–284, 287–289,
et seq
. Forrest's report is pp. 383–387.

19
.

Whittlesey, as Note 7, pp. 36–37; letter of Private William H. Tebbetts of the 45th Illinois, in the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society for June, 1940, p. 232; A. H. Markland, interviewed in the
Washington Star
for August 1, 1885, quoted in the
New York Times
of August 4, 1885.

20
.

Emerson, “Grant's Life in the West,” in the
Midland Monthly
for June, 1898.

21
.

Whittlesey, as Note 7, p. 37.

22
.

Newsham, in the C. F. Smith Papers; Brinton, p. 129; Richardson, p. 225.

23
.

For the odd sequence of events at Confederate headquarters, see Wallace, pp. 425–426; Robert Selph Henry,
First with the Most: Forrest
, pp. 58–61.

24
.

Whittlesey, as Note 7, pp. 37–38; unidentified clipping, apparently from the
Chicago Tribune
, bearing a Fort Donelson dispatch dated February 18, in the Lloyd Lewis Papers; Wallace, p. 428.

25
.

New York Tribune
dispatch reprinted in an undated clipping from the
Chicago Tribune
, in the Lloyd Lewis Papers; Arndt M. Stickles,
Simon Bolivar Buckner
, p. 173.

26
.

Grant to Halleck, Feb. 16, O. R., Vol. VII, p. 625.

1
.

Newspaper clippings give details about the public response to news of Fort Donelson in Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati and Washington; stories cited here are from the
Chicago Tribune, Cincinnati Commercial, New York Herald
and
St. Louis Republican
, all of Feb. 18, 1862.

2
.

Whittlesey's “
War Memoranda,
” pp. 38–39 (hereafter cited as Whittlesey); Brinton, p. 142; O. R., Vol. X, Part Two, p. 62.

3
.

O. R., Vol. VII, p. 626; Whittlesey, p. 39.

4
.

Brinton, pp. 125–126, 133.

5
.

O. R., Vol. VII, p. 629.

6
.

Same, p. 629; Vol. VIII, p. 555.

7
.

O. R., Vol. VII, pp. 422–423.

8
.

Same, pp. 423–424, 648.

9
.

On November 27, 1861, Grant wrote to his father: “I am somewhat troubled lest I lose my command here, though I believe my administration has given general satisfaction not only to those over me but to all concerned. This is the most important command within the Department however, and will probably be given to the senior officer next to General Halleck himself.” Three weeks later, however, Grant wrote to his sister Mary: “I do not now see that the probabilities are so strong that I will likely be removed. A full disposition seems to have been made of all my seniors.” (Cramer, pp. 71, 75.) For Halleck's letter of February 8 about Hitchcock, see O. R., Vol. VII, p. 594.

10
.

O. R., Vol. III, p. 208: Stanton to Halleck, February 8, Halleck to Sherman, February 9. For Halleck's proposed Western Division and its three Departments, see his February 8 dispatch to McClellan in O. R., Vol. VII, p. 595. Long afterward, Grant wrote that the fall of Fort Donelson opened the Southwest to Federal conquest: “If one general who would have taken the responsibility had been in command of all the troops west of the Alleghanies, he could have marched to Chattanooga, Corinth, Memphis and Vicksburg with the troops we then had.” (Grant's Memoirs, Vol. I, p. 317.)

11
.

In his diary, Hitchcock wrote that he declined the appointment partly because of his delicate health and partly because he felt that it would be unfair for him to take a field command which he had not earned: “As soon as Donelson surrendered to Grant I felt it a positive duty to decline the commission & did so.” (Ethan Allen Hitchcock Diaries; original in the Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma; copies in possession of Harvey Snitiker.) There is a good brief sketch of Hitchcock's career in the
Dictionary of American Biography
.

12
.

O. R., Vol. VII: Halleck to McClellan, February 17, pp. 627, 628; Halleck to Buell, February 18, p. 632; to McClellan on Smith, February 19, p. 637.

13
.

Same, Halleck to McClellan, February 20, p. 641; Halleck to Scott, February 21, p. 648; to Stanton, p. 655.

14
.

The replies of McClellan and Stanton are in O. R., Vol. VII, pp. 645, 652.

15
.

Confederate losses at Fort Donelson have been in dispute for years, but it seems clear from an examination of Federal Reports in the Official Records (O. R.) that Grant captured somewhere between 14,000 and 16,000 men. On February 19 General Cullum at Cairo wrote that he had sent 9,000 prisoners to St. Louis and 1,000 to Chicago, with 500 more ready to leave the next day; on the same day, Rawlins notified General Buckner that transportation was available to send 6,000 men north “this evening” from Fort Donelson. (O. R., Series Two, Vol. III, pp. 282–283). On Feb. 24, Assistant Quartermaster
J. A. Potter notified Washington that “at least 10,000 prisoners” were being held in Chicago and Springfield, Illinois, and on February 27 the adjutant general of Indiana reported 4000 prisoners at Indianapolis, 500 at Terre Haute and 800 at Lafayette. (O. R., Series Two, Vol. III, pp. 317, 333.)

16
.

Grant's order to Nelson is printed in a message he sent to Cullum on February 24, O. R., Vol. VII, pp. 662–663.

17
.

Grant to Julia Dent Grant, in the U. S. Grant Papers, Missouri Historical Society.

18
.

Grant to Sherman, February 25, O. R., Vol. VII, p. 667.

19
.

O. R., Vol. VII: Grant to Cullum, February 25, p. 666. As noted, February 21 Grant had written Cullum: “It is my impression that by following up our success Nashville would be an easy conquest” (p. 424), and on the same date Foote wrote Cullum that “General Grant and myself consider this a good time to move on Nashville.” For Buell's state of mind, see pp. 659, 668, 944–945.

20
.

Grant's Memoirs, Vol. I, pp. 320–321.

21
.

Grant to Buell, February 27, O. R., Vol. VII, p. 670.

22
.

Grant's Memoirs, Vol. I, p. 321.

23
.

For an excellent study of this strange administrative arrangement, and some of its damaging consequences, see Roscoe Pound,
The Military Telegraph in the Civil War
, in Vol. 66 of the Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society.

24
.

Halleck to Sherman, with a message for Grant, February 24, O. R., Vol. VII, p. 655; Halleck to Cullum and Sherman, February 25, p. 667; Halleck to McClellan, February 27, O. R., Vol. LII, Part One, p. 217.

25
.

Halleck to Cullum and Halleck to Grant, dispatches dated March 1, O. R., Vol. VII, p. 674.

26
.

O. R., Vol. VII, p. 674. Grant to J. C. Kelton, March 1, and Buell to Halleck, also March 1, pp. 674–675.

27
.

For McClellan's rebukes to Halleck, see O. R., Vol. VII, pp. 645, 646.

28
.

Halleck to McClellan, in a message whose date, March 3, is apparently the date of its receipt; O. R., Vol. VII, pp. 679–680.

29
.

McClellan to Halleck, March 3, O. R., Vol. VII, p. 680; Halleck to McClellan, March 4, p. 682; Halleck to Grant, March 4, O. R., Vol. X, Part Two, p. 3.

1
.

Grant to Halleck, March 5, O. R., Vol. X, Part Two, pp. 4–5.

2
.

Grant to Smith, in the C. F. Smith Papers; Grant to Halleck, March 10, O. R., Vol. X, Part Two, p. 25.

3
.

This note, in Grant's handwriting, is in the C. F. Smith Papers.

4
.

Gwin to Foote, March 5, O. R., Vol. X, Part Two, p. 8; A. T. Mahan,
The Gulf and Inland Waters
, p. 28; Grant to Smith, March 5, in the C. F. Smith Papers; Smith's letter dated March 9 to Wm. L. Martin, also in the Smith Papers.

5
.

Halleck to Grant, March 5, O. R., Vol. X, Part Two, p. 7.

6
.

O. R., Vol. X, Part Two: Halleck to Grant, March 6, and Grant to Halleck, March 7, p. 15.

7
.

Same, Halleck's retort, and Grant's reply with the troop returns, p. 21.

8
.

Same, Halleck to Grant, March 9, p. 22.

9
.

Same, Halleck to Grant, March 6, p. 13. The unsigned letter to David Davis is p. 14; Grant's reply, dated March 11, is p. 30; Halleck's answer to this is p. 32.

10
.

Thomas's March 10 dispatch to Halleck, and Halleck's reply dated March 15, are in O. R., Vol. VII, pp. 683–684.

11
.

Grant to Halleck, O. R., Vol. X, Part 2, pp. 36, 63: Grant's Memoirs, Vol. I, pp. 327–328.

12
.

Brinton, p. 147; Rowley to Washburne, March 14, and Chetlain to Washburne, March 16, in the Washburne Papers. General John M. Schofield, who insisted that “I knew personally at the time the exact truth” about the matter, believed that Halleck simply wanted to replace Grant with C. F. Smith and that he was checkmated by “Grant's soldierly action” in asking to be relieved. (Lieutenant Gen. John M. Schofield,
Forty-six Years in the Army
, p. 361.)

13
.

Garland, p. 198.

14
.

It must be remembered Grant's final bitterness against Halleck did not develop until after the war, when he saw the dispatches Halleck sent to McClellan and realized that Halleck had been playing a double game with him.

15
.

Grant to Washburne, March 22, in the Washburne Papers.

16
.

Brinton, p. 148; Rowley to Washburne, November 20, 1862, and December 16, 1862, in the Washburne Papers;
History of Alexander, Union and Pulaski Counties, Illinois
, p. 60; W. T. Sherman to Dr. W. G. Eliot, Sept. 12, 1885, in the W. T. Sherman Papers, Library of Congress;
Cincinnati Commercial
for March 11, 1862.

17
.

M. F. Force,
From Fort Henry to Corinth
, pp. 96–97.

18
.

Grant to Smith, March 11, O. R., Vol. X, Part Two, p. 29.

19
.

Halleck to Grant, March 13, and March 16; O. R., Vol. X, Part One, pp. 32, 41.

20
.

O. R., Vol. X, Part Two: Halleck to Grant, March 18, p. 46; Grant to Smith and Wallace, March 20, p. 52; Grant to Halleck, March 19, p. 49.

21
.

Same, Halleck to Grant, March 20, p. 51; Grant to Capt. N. H. McLean at St. Louis, March 20, p. 51; Grant to Halleck, March 21, p. 55; Grant to Smith, March 23, p. 62.

22
.

Letter dated Pittsburg Landing, March 26, addressed to “My Dear William,” in the C. F. Smith Papers.

23
.

Confederate numbers, expedients and troop movements are admirably detailed in Horn, pp. 107–115. See also T. Harry Williams,
Beauregard; Napoleon in Gray
, p. 119 ff. For Beauregard's estimate of his numbers, and his desperate efforts to increase them, see O. R., Vol. VII, pp. 899–900. On February 24, Secretary of War Judah P. Benjamin was notifying Robert E. Lee, then in charge of Confederate defenses along the southeast coast, that “the recent disaster to our arms in Tennessee” made it necessary to send all possible troops to the Tennessee front. (O. R., Vol. VI, p. 398.) Horn (p. 115) remarks of this crisis that “fortunately for the Confederate plans, the Federals had been behaving with inexplicable deliberation and want of enterprise.”

24
.

Halleck to Assistant Secretary of War Thomas Scott, March 6, O. R., Vol. X, Part Two, p. 10.

25
.

Colonel William Preston Johnston,
Albert Sidney Johnston at Shiloh
, in
B. & L.
, Vol. I, p. 555.

26
.

Captain C. L. Sumbardo, “Some Facts about the Battle of Shiloh,” in
Glimpses of the Nation's Struggle
, Vol. III, pp. 31–32.

27
.

New York Herald
for April 3, quoting a
St. Louis Republican
dispatch of March 29; Grant to Julia Dent Grant, letter of March 29, in the Grant Papers, Illinois State Historical Society; Lieutenant S. D. Thompson,
Recollections with the Third Iowa
.

28
.

Grant to Sherman, April 4, O. R., Vol. X, Part Two, pp. 90–91; Captain Charles Morton, “A Boy at Shiloh,” in the
Papers of the New York Commandery of the Loyal Legion
, Vol. III; statement of Captain I. P. Rumsey, from the printed Proceedings of the Reunion of Taylor's Battery in Chicago, 1890, p. 46; Lieutenant Colonel E. C. Dawes in
The History of the 53rd Ohio
.

29
.

Grant's April 5 dispatch to St. Louis, O. R., Vol. X, Part One, p. 89; Grant's letter to the Cincinnati
Commercial
, reprinted in the
New York Herald
, May 3, 1862.

30
.

Ammen's account of the conversation is in O. R., Vol. X, Part One, pp. 330–331.

31
.

Lieutenant S. D. Thompson,
Recollections with the Third Iowa;
J. F. C. Fuller,
The Generalship of Ulysses S. Grant
, p. 104.