Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 10.djvu/11

 Vol. X. Richmond, Va., Jan. and Feb., 1882. Nos. 1 & 2.

The Battle of Chickamanga—Letter from Captain W. N. Polk.

To the Editor of the Southern Historical Society Papers:

, — Will you kindly give a place to the following account of the Chickamauga campaign. It is an extract from a work shortly to be given to the public, " The Life of Leonidas Polk," and as such may possess some historical interest. The occasion of my request is an address upon the Campaign and Battle of Chickamauga, made by Col- onel Archer Anderson, in your city, and recently published in your journal. This battle is one about which there has been from the first a great deal of controversy. The close of the war and the dire necessities pressing upon all Confederates, buried such questions for a time, and perhaps it is a mistake to revive them now; but history is being written, and articles such as Colonel Anderson's will exercise no light influence upon the compilers. The paragraphs to which we ask special attention are those that cover the movements of Generals Crittenden and Polk on September 12th and 13th, and those describing the formation of General Bragg's line of battle on September 20th, together with such, as dwell upon the efforts made to correct the errors of that formation.