Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 08.djvu/471

Rh It was claimed by some that the failure to attack the enemy on the 5th, the day appointed, was due to the delay of General Polk in getting his command up to the point of concentration—Mickey's House. We find no mention of it in any official document, but in a work partly written by the officer then acting as the Adjutant-General of the army, it appears as a distinct statement. The position occupied by this officer gives to his statements at least a semi-official force. To fully understand the point involved it is necessary to see what were General Polk's orders. Section 3 of the Special Orders as to the movements of troops towards Shiloh (page 189 1st Vol. Official Reports of Battles, published by Confederate Congress in 1862) reads:

By this it is seen that General Polk was charged with the movements of the First corps, except the detached divisions at Bethel. The assembling of the troops at Bethel and Purdy was delayed by circumstances incident to the position and not by any fault of theirs or of their commander. It was, therefore, unable to leave Purdy before the morning of the 5th, and owing to the condition of the roads did not effect a junction with the command of General Polk till 4 that afternoon. Consequently, up to that time, General Polk was in no way responsible for its movements, nor was he expected to be. So far, then, as the statement in question concerns him it can apply only to those troops with which he marched from Corinth—Clark's division. What is said in his official report is a sufficient answer to the charge, but other proofs may not be out of place. We give, therefore, the following extracts from a letter of that gallant soldier, and accomplished