Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 08.djvu/420

408 Johnston, who had fallen back from Nashville in the direction of Stevenson, to join his forces to your own at the same point, and with the army thus assembled to fall upon and crush the Federal army at Pittsburg landing before it had been fully concentrated for offensive operations.

One or more of your communications to this effect you sent by Captain J. M. Otey, of the Adjutant-General's staff, and by an Aid-de-Camp, Captain Ferguson, I believe. General Johnston, however, did not seem to see the necessity of the proposed concentration, but turning from the direction of Stevenson, preferred for the time to occupy Huntsville and the line of the Memphis and Charleston railroad for a short distance westward and separated about one hundred miles from your army.

Your own forces you had organized into two nearly equal corps, the one under Major-General Polk, the other under Major-General Bragg, and these were subdivided respectively into two divisions. While at Jackson (West Tennessee) you had applied to the War Department once more for the officers from the Army of the Potomac upon whose promotion and assignment to your command you had based your voluntary assent to your proposed separation from that army. But the answer was that the officers in question could not be spared from their several positions, and, moreover, that you must find your proper brigade commanders within your new command. You, therefore, recommended for the promotion requisite for their assignment to brigade command, certain officers designated by Generals Polk and Bragg as best fitted for such promotions. These promotions the Confederate authorities at Richmond declined to make, for the alleged reason that the President preferred that you should have some previous, personal knowledge of the fitness of officers recommended for promotion to such positions.

In the meantime, the Federal forces at Pittsburg landing were gaining more and more menacing volume; and it was now very apparent that if they were to be offensively met at all, it must be very soon, or at latest by the first of April. Hence, about the middle of March, you were induced to apply once again to General Johnston for reinforcements, asking him to spare you, as well as I recollect, at least five thousand men, and to send them by rail with as little delay as possible. His answer was the immediate announcement that he had now concluded to make the junction of his forces with your own. This was done without delay, so far as