Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 20.djvu/111

 President Davis and General Johnston. 105

But public opinion warranted and even compelled Davis to assign Johnston to the chief western command in the following November. It included the departments of Bragg, Pemberton, Holmes and others. He at once began urging the policy of concentration, but says he soon found his command was really only nominal. In a letter as early as November 24, 1862, Johnston warned the military authorities that " as our troops are now distributed Vicksburg is in danger." Later, when Grant was closing his toils around Pember- ton, he peremptorially told the government that it must choose between Mississippi and Tennessee; but both would probably be lost, but that the one might be saved by concentrating all their available forces in its defence. These suggestions were not followed. Under Davis' obstinate adherence to the system of diffusion instead of concentration both were eventually lost.

Pemberton's disastrous Vicksburg campaign followed. Davis, to shift responsibility, was not slow in ascribing the misfortune mainly to Johnston's feeble policy. He endeavors to leave the impression that Johnston's general command gave him authority to transfer troops from one department to another, but, in fact, it appears that Johnston was prevented by the administration from giving any per- sonal attention to Vicksburg until it was too late. And the Presi- dent's telegram to Governor Pettus is proof of his knowledge that the force of Johnston was inadequate to relieve Pemberton.

It was to be expected that Pemberton would attempt 'to make a scapegoat of Johnston, but the latter correctly says that Pemberton either misunderstood or disobeyed all his orders and wholly misap- prehended Grant's warfare. The truth is that Grant outgeneraled them all. Davis' favorite was a mere child in this Union general's hands.

CONFEDERATE COMMANDERS IN THE WEST.

Davis was unfortunate in his western commanders. Pemberton went the way of A. S. Johnston, Beauregard and Van Dorn, losing the Mississippi as his predecessors had lost Kentucky and Tennessee. Then he spasmodically concentrated under Bragg in an abortive attempt to retrieve affairs at Chickamauga, but immediately afterward the old system of diffusion was resumed by sending Longstreet to Knoxville, affording Grant ample time on exterior lines to swoop down and clean out the last of the President's favorites. After this blow Davis was ready to give Johnston actual command of the active western army.