Page:Southern Historical Society Papers volume 32.djvu/136

 124 Southern Historical Society Papers.

General Grant's "Memoirs" have been consulted in writing this article, as have all reports published in the official records, both Union and Confederate, and the Life of General Johnston, by his son, the late Colonel William Preston Johnston, and the writing ot others on both sides.

I give a brief resume of General Johnston's command, and what occurred previously, which led to the battle of Shiloh.

PRELIMINARIES TO THE BATTLE.

On the loth of September, 1861, General Johnston was assigned to the command of that part of the Confederate States which lay west of the Alleghany Mountains, except the gulf coast; General Bragg being in command of the coast of west Florida and Alabama and General Mansfield Lovell of the coast of Mississippi and Louisiana.

His command was very large in extent, and his powers and dis- cretion as large as the theory of the Confederate government per- mitted. He lacked nothing except men, munitions of war, and the means of obtaining them. ,The Mississippi river divided his de- partment into two distinct theatres of war. West of the river Fremont held Missouri with a force of from 60,000 to 80,000 troops confronted by Price and McCullock in the extreme southwest cor- ner of Missouri, with 6,000 men, and by Hardee in the northeast- ern part of Arkansas, with several thousand raw recruits, the major part of them suffering from diseases incident to camp life.

East of the Mississippi the northern boundary of Tennessee was held in sufferance from an enemy who for various reasons hesitated to advance. The Mississippi was open to a naval invasion unless it could be defended and held. General Grant was at Cairo, and had there and at Paducah about 20,000 men, and to oppose his invasion General Polk had seized Columbus Ky., with about 11,000 Confed- erates and had placed it in a state of defense. Tennessee was divided by the Tennessee river, and also by the Cumberland. In- significant works of defense had been erected on both sides at Forts Henry and Donelson, near the boundary line, but in fact there was no practical defense against the capture of Nashville by the Federals, which was the most important depot of supplies west of the Alleghanies. The defence of the border of Tennessee first engaged General Johnston's attention. Kentucky had assumed a position of neutrality, which was abandoned by act of its Legisla- ture in September. There were about 34,000 Federal volunteers