Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 18.djvu/168

 168 Southern Historical Society P-apers.

This aspect of his genius shone with resplendent brightness in his fighting march from Dalton to Atlanta.

COMPARED WITH LEE*S LAST CAMPAIGN.

"The brilliancy of this campaign," the speaker continued, "will further appear by comparison with that of the last of General Robert E. Lee's, which is justly considered one of the most skilfully con- ducted in the annals of war. When Lee reached Petersburg Grant gained a better base of operation and a shorter line of communica- tion than he had ever before possessed; but when Johnston reached Atlanta he was nearer his own base of supplies, while Sherman, in the language of a brilliant military critic, was dragging a lengthening chain of weak and attenuated communication.

" Sherman, too, was greatly the superior of Grant. Sherman was a wily adversary, whose well -laid plans were difficult to forecast and hard to defeat. Grant, conscious of his overwhelming numbers and resources, and reckless of the lives of his followers, hurled them upon the daily diminishing ranks of Lee with the single object of destroying him by the mere force of attrition. With this one object in view his plans were not difficult to foresee, nor hard to defeat. Sherman, like a skilled pugilist, evaded every blow of his adversary that was possible, and effected by manoeuvre what he could not accomplish by force. His greatly superior numbers enabled him to flank Johnston with comparative ease and safety whenever he offered him battle."

HIS DECISION OF CHARACTER.

Referring to General Johnston's decision of character, the speaker said : " He formed his plans only after mature reflection and upon accurate knowledge, and once made he rarely changed them. Neither the smile of friends nor the scorn of foes could turn him from what he believed to be right. This decision of character, which is one of the essential qualities of a great commander, more than once subjected him to the mistrust of the Government and to the severe criticism of his friends. This trait of his character is strikingly illustrated in his retreat from Dalton to Atlanta. Both the Government and the people clammored for battle. But he knew better than either that the army which he confronted, three times that of his own in number, under a sagacious and resolute leader, and covered by entrenchments, was not to be beaten by greatly inferior numbers. He himself says: ' I thought it best to stand on the defensive, to spare the blood of our