Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 08.djvu/62

50 infantry; and that possibly General Polk, commanding the Department, and directing both bodies of troops, could see and comprehend more than was within the scope of his (Chalmers') vision—General Polk being cognizant of all the surroundings, and General Chalmers having only a limited field of observation. The prominent position of General Chalmers will pass his utterances into history unless controverted.

The paragraph alluded to reads as follows: "Thus ended Sherman's effort to crush Forrest and set free the large number of men required to hold him in check. Mississippi, with its immense stores of corn and beef, was still held, and the railroads soon repaired to feed our army in Georgia. But the student of military operations will be puzzled to understand how Sherman, with four divisions of infantry and a small force of cavalry, crossed such streams as the Big Black and Pearl rivers, and passed through the centre of Mississippi, in the face of two divisions of infantry and four splendid brigades of well-equipped and well-drilled cavalry under West Point officers, almost without firing a shot, while a man who could not well drill a company, with three thousand (3,000) cavalry, one-half raw troops, saved the State by defeating General Grant's Chief of Cavalry with seven thousand (7,000) picked troops."

The expedition of Sherman from Vicksburg to Meridian, Mississippi, in February, 1864, with an army of twenty-six thousand men, supported by W. Sooy Smith's cavalry raid from Collierville, Tennessee (near Memphis), to West Point, Mississippi, with seven thousand picked men, has been regarded by competent military critics as one of the very singular and erratic moves of that Federal General, who, ranking next to Grant among Federal Generals, can point to no pitched battle of his own risk and conception in a four years war, to sustain his reputation.

In July, 1863, the Confederacy was cut in two by the capture of Vicksburg and Port Hudson, including the Confederate States armies used in keeping closed the Mississippi river. This great river—and even most of its tributaries—was in the full and complete control of the Federal Government, being policed from Memphis to New Orleans so thoroughly that it was difficult for even an individual to cross. It was essentially free from annoyance, even of field batteries and riflemen. This was fully comprehended by General Sherman, who previously, by General Grant's direction, had penetrated Mississippi beyond Brandon, pushing