E 467 ^ .R7 M9 Copy 1 MMWl IS9$9$MMS$M« n ~^" oCer^ ^^f^^^ >.^ .^c-J?^ ,,..— ^ Xl^..^^ . 4^^ <^^^-^^^^^ /^/iTr-y-'^-y-^rmont and New Hamp-; shire. Her father served in the war of 1812. In her childhood days she was a schoolmate of General and Bishop Rosecrans. She became a Catholic on her deathbed, influenced all her life by the thought of these 10 two childhood companions embracing the Catholic Faith." When the future General was yet quite young, his father moved across to Licking County, taking up his residence in the village of Homer, and, for a number of years, managed the village tavern, at the same time following farming. William attended, for a few months of each year, at the log school-house of the village, acquiring the rudi- ments of education. About IS-V^, a Lancaster mer- chant, George Arnold, opened a general country store at L'tica, Licking County, a few miles from Homer, and young Rosecrans went into the store as a clerk. With him, associated as a clerk, was J. D. Martin, still living and a venerable citizen of Lancaster, Ohio. Arnold moved his store to Mansfield in the course of a year or two, Rosecrans accompanying him. One conversant with the facts says: "While at Mansfield young Rosecrans was the driver for T. W. Bartley, the future Supreme Court Judge of Ohio, on a trip to Columbus. He proved to be an intelligent and inter- esting talker and so pleased Bartley that he urged him to obtain an education." With this in view, Rosecrans and his father opened a correspondence with the Con- gressman from that district and finally he was success- ful in obtaining an appointment to West Point. Tn the mean time he had spent some time at Kenyon College, Gambler, near Mt. Vernon, preparing him- self for the West Point examination. "He entered that institution in 1837, and graduated in 1842, standing fifth in general merit and third in mathematics in a 11 class which included Long^srreet, \'an Dorn, AIcLavvs;, Lovell, R. H. Anderson and Gustavus Smith, after- ward of the Confederate Army ; and Pope, Doubleday; and Newton of the Union Army. He entered the ser-i vice as Brevet 2nd Lieutenant of Engineers, and afteir a year as Assistant Engineer, building fortifications at Hampton Roads, Mrginia, he returned to Westt Point in 18-13 as Assistant Professor of Engineering.! In 1847 he was again put in active sevice at P^ort Adams, Newport, Rhode Island, to superintend somei repairs on that fortification. April 1, 1854. he resigned, W. S. ROSECRANS, AS LIEUTENANT. being then First Lieutenant of Engineers, journeyed to Cincinnati, and began business as a consulting en- gineer and architect; but while he acquired an enviable | reputation in his profession, his earnings were scanty 12 In 1855 he took charge of the Cannel Coal Company, Coal River, West Virginia, becoming also, in I80G, president of the Coal River Navigation Company; and in 1857 he organized the Preston Coal Oil Company for the manufacture of kerosene. THE CIVIL WAR. At the beginning of the Civil War he volunteered as aide to Gen. George B. McClellan, who was then commanding the department of the Ohio, and assisted in organizing and equipping home guards. He was appointed chief engineer of Ohio, with the rank of colonel, on June 9, 1861, and on June 10 was made colonel of the Twenty-third Ohio Volunteers. Soon after organizing Camp Chase at Columbus, O., he received a commission as brigadier-general in the reg- ular army to date from May 16, 1861 ; he took the field with command of a provisional brigade under Gen. McClellan in western Virginia. His first import- ant action was that of Rich Mountain, which he won on July 11, 1861. After Gen. McQellan's call to higher command, Rosecrans succeeded him, on July 25, in the department of the Ohio, which consisted of western Virginia, Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. He had command of the national forces, defeated Gen. John B. Floyd at Carnifex Ferry, September 10, 1861, and thwarted all Lee's attempts to gain a footing in western A'irginia; and when he went into winter quar- ters at Wlieeling, and announced that he had cleared West A^irginia of organized Confederate forces, he received the thanks of the Legislature of that State and of Ohio for his management of the campaign. 13 One of the queerest experiences of militarv history was his work in the spring of 1862, when he found and extricated Gen. Blenker, who had actually lost himself and his command in the mountains of West Virginia and whose whereabouts were unknown to his superior officers. In May, Rosecrans was sent to Gen. Halleck, who gave him command of the right wing before Corinth. BATTLES OF lUKA AND CORINTH. He succeeded Gen. Pope in the command of the Army of the Mississippi and, with four brigades, fought the battle of luka, September II), where he defeated Gen. Price; after which he returned to Corinth, where, anticipating an attack, he fortified the town, and or. October 3 and 4 defeated the Confederate army under Van Dorn and Price. On the first day of the l^attle the enemy was simply checked, and early on the morn- ing of the second day the whole rebel army assaulted Rosecrans' forces. The fighting was fierce, the enemy charging almost into the town. Once, the L'nion troops came near giving way, but Rosecrans rallied them in person and finally won the day. After this battle he received a letter from Lincoln couched in these words: 'T have received the reports of the various com- manders. I have now to tell you that the magnitude of the stake — the battle and the results — become more than ever apparent. Upon the issue of this figui depended the possession of West Tennessee, and per- haps even the fate of operations in Kentucky. The entire available force of the rebels in Mississippi, save 14 a few garrisons and a small reserve, attacked von. They were commanded by Van Dorn, Price and others in person. They nnmbered 40,00(1 men — almost double your own numbers. You fought them into the position we desired on the 3d, punishing them ter- ribly; and on the 4th, three hours after the infantry went into action, they were completely beaten. You pursued his retreating columns forty miles in force with infantry and sixty-nine miles with cavalry, and were ready to follow him to Mobile, if necessary, had you received orders. 1 congratulate you on these decisive results. In the name of the Government and the people, I thank you. I beg you to unite with me in giving humble thanks to the Great Master of all our victories." Rosecrans was much impressed by Sheridan's fight against the Confederate cavalry under Chalmers at Corinth and persistently and successfully urged the authorities at Washington to give him a command in which his ability and qualities would be more widely useful. This fact gave rise to the saying so commonly heard in after years, that Rosecrans "discovered" Phil. Sheridan. On October 25 he went to Cincinnati, where he found orders awaiting him to supersede Gen. Don Carlos Buell and was made commander of the DEPARTMENT OF THE CUMBERLAND. which was to consist of whatever territory south of the Cumberland he should take from the enemy. As Buell's successor, Rosecrans did an enormous quantity of work, the advantages of which were enjoyed 15 by the Federal forces to the end of the war. He estab- lished bases and lines of communication, established Inspector General's and topographical departments and engineer and pioneer corps, which he developed to a high state of efificiency. On October 30 he began his march to Nashville, and on November 5 he defeated a Confederate attack on that city. STONE RIVER. After providing twenty days' rations at Nashville,! he advanced on the enemy under Gen. Bragg, on Stone River, December 30, 18G2. This battle lasted four days. A current account of it says: "The right wing was commanded by Gen. A. Mc- Dowell McCook, a brave and gallant officer, and lie had under him as brave a corps of men as ever faced an cnemv. Earlv on the mornino- of the first dav's battle McCook's corps was fiercely attacked by the enemy in force and driven pell mell to the rear, but not without first making a most determined and dread- ful fight, suffering heavy loss. "This attack of the enemy commenced about G o'clock a. m., before daylight, and before many oi jMcCook's men had finished their bacon and coffee. "The heavv firing on the right naturally attracted the attention of Rosecrans, who had been closely watch- ing the movements of Bragg. About 9 o'clock on the morning of that day he saw that McCook's men were falling back rapidly and in disorder, and that some thing must be done and be done quickly to check the enemv's advance on his right wing. If not, his entire 16 army would be rtuited. It was a storm of shot and shell in which the right wing of the Union army was being driven like straws before a cyclone. Realizing the dreadful position into which the rebels were speed- ily crowding him, Rosecrans, unattended by guard or staff, rode quickly into t^e thickest of Ihe fight, and, drawing his sword, waved it over his head and yelled to his retreating men to halt, face and fight the enemy. "The sight of 'Old Rosy' in the thick of the fight, exposing liis life every moment, so inspired McCook's brave but broken ranks with sudden enthusiasm and '.determination that the retreating line halted, 'about faced,' and delivered a volley of musketry into the enemy's ranks that staggered and checked their fur- ther advance. "Two days later the battle was renewed by a furious assault on the national lines, but after sharp fighting the enemy was driven back with heavy loss. "T'n willing to engage in a general action, the Con- federate army retreated to the line of Duck River, md the Army of the Cumberland occupied Murfrees- boro. This battle was one of the bloodiest in the war, And resulted in a loss of 9,511 men by the national I jorces and 0,2.')() by the Confederates. As soon as .ft'icksburg was beyond the reach of possible succor rom Bragg, by a brilliant fiank movement Rosecrans islodged him from his intrenched camps at Shelby- ille and Tullahoma, and in fifteen davs, [une 24 to h\\v 7, ISd^), drove \mu out of the middle of Tennessee, ^s soon as the railway was re})aired he nccu]:)icd i Bridgeport and Stevenson. From July 7 to Angusi 14 railway bridges and trestles were rebuilt, the roa( and rolling stock put in order, supplies pushed forwarc; BRIG. GEN. ROSECRANS. Taken after the Battle of Stone River. and demonstrations made to conceal the point of cros hio- the Cumberland ^lountains and the Tennesst River." chickamauga. Rosecrans was constantly urged from Washingtc to dislodge the enemy from the mountains. But 1 delayed, repairing his railroad communications, askn for reinforcements, and waiting for corn to ripen f^ 18 food and forage. He reached the river on the evening of August 20 and the army, except the cavalry, safely crossed. Bragg withdrew from Chattanooga and re- tired behind Chickamauga until the arrival of Long- street's corps. Thus the first great move of Rose- crans' campaign was accomplished. He then began to concentrate his forces witli the utmost dispatch to meet the inevitable combat. The battle was commenced on September 19 by an attempt to gain possession of the road to Chattanooga, con- tinued through the day, and resulted in Rosecrans defeating the attempt and planting Gen. Thomas' corps, with Johnson's and Palmer's divisions, firmly upon that road; but during the night Longstreet came up and was immediately given command of the Con- federate left. On the following morning the contest was renewed by a determined attack on the national left and center. At this moment, by the misinterpretation of an order. Gen. Thomas J. Wood's division was withdrawn, leav- ing a gap in the center, into which Gen. Longstreet pressed his troops, forced Jefferson C. Davis' two 1)ri- gades out of the line, and cut off Philip H. Sheridan's three brigades of the right, all of which, after a gallant but unsuccessful effort to stem this charge, were ordered to reform on the Dry Valley road at the first good standing ground in rear of the position they had Iy lost. The two divisions of Horatio P. \^an Cleve anrl iu Davis, going to succor the right center, were partly shattered by this break, and four or five regiments were scattered through the woods, but most of the 19 stragg^lcrs stopped with Sheridan's and Davis' com- mands. The remainder, nearly seven divisions, were unbroken, and continued the fight. The gallant Gen. George H. Thomas, whose orders the night before, reiterated a few moments before this disaster, w^ere to hold his position at all hazards, continued to fight with f seven divisions, while Gen. Rosecrans undertook to make such dispositions as would most effectualh' avert disaster in case the enemy should turn the position by advancing on the Drv Valley road, and capture the remaining commissary stores, then in a valle\^ two ; or three miles to the west. Fortunately, this advance ' was not made, the commissary train was pushed into Chattanooga, the cavalry, ordered down, closed the ' ways behind the national right, and Gen. Thomas, after the most desperate fighting, drew back at night to Rossville in pursuance of orders from Gen. Rosecrans. On the 22d the army was concentrated at Chattanooga. The battle was a victory to the Confederates only in name, for Chattanooga, the objective point of the cam- paign, remained in the possession of the national forces. The total national loss, in killed, wounded and missing, was 10,179; the Confederate loss, 17,804. Shortly after the battle General Rosecrans issued the following letter, which old veterans love to refer to as a summing up of the great campaign under his' command : Headquarters Department of the Cumberland. Chattanoo(;a, Oct. 2, 1863. Army of the Cumberland: — You have made a grand and successful campaign; 3^ou have driven the rebels from Middle Tennessee; you crossed a mountain range, placed yourselves on the banks oi' a broad river, crossed it in the face of a powerful, opposing army, and crossed two other great moun- 20 ' tain ranges at the only practicable passes, some torty miles between extremes. You concentrated in the face of superior numbers; fought the combined armies of -Bragg, which you drove from Shelljyville to Tullahoma; of Johnston's army from Alississippi, and the tried veterans of Longstreet's corps, and for two days held them at bay, giving them blow for blow, with heavy interest. When you withdrew in the face of over- powering numbers, to occupy the point for which you set out — Chattanooga. You have accomplished the work of the campaign; you hold the key of East Tennessee, of Northern Georgia and of the enemies' mines of coal and nitre. Let these achieve- ments console you for the regret you experience that the arrival of fresh hostile troops forbade your remaining on the field to renew the battle; for the right of burying your gallant dead and caring for your brave companions, who lay wounded on the field. The losses you have sustained, though heavy, are slight, considering the odds against you, and the stake you have won. The General Commanding earnestly begs every officer and soldier of this army to unite with him in thanking Almighty God for His favor to us. He presents his hearty thanks and congratulations to all the officers and soldiers of this com- mand, for their energy, patience and perseverance, and the undaunted courage displayed by those wdro fought with such unflinching resolution. Neither the history of this war, nor probably the annals of any battle, furnish a loftier example of obstinate bravery : and enduring resistance to superior numbers — when troops having exhausted their ammunition, resorted to the bayonet many times to hold their positions against such odds, as did \our left and centre, comprising troops from all the corps, on ;the afternoon of the 20th of September, at the battle of I Chickamauga. (Signed) W. S. Rosecrans. Major-General Commanding. Gen. Rosecraiis was relieved of his command on / jOctober 23, and he was assigned to the department of the Missouri in Jantiary, 1864, with headquarters in St. Louis, where he conducted the miHtarv operations 21 that tcrniinatcd in the defeat and expulsion from the State of the invading Confederate forces under Gen. Price. He was placed on waiting orders at Cincinnati on December 10, 1864, mustered out of the volunteer service January 15, 1866, and resigned from the army on ^larch 28, 1867, after receiving the brevet of major- general in the regular army for his services at the battle of Stone River. In 1865, he was offered the Union nomination for Governor of Ohio, but declined. In July, 1868, he was appointed minister to Mexico and held that office until June, 1869, when he returned to the United States and, later, declined the Democratic nomination for Governor of Ohio, expressing views antagonistic to the platform. He advocated the policy of having bank notes made payable in coin on demand; he also favored an early return to the specie basis and took decided ground for free trade, civil service reform and State regulation of the franchise. Subsequently he resumed the practice of engineer- ing, and in 1872-3 was engaged in an effort to initiate the construction of a vast system of narrow gauge rail- ways in Mexico, at the instance of President Juarez. He became president, in 1871, of the San Jose Mining Company, and in 1878 of the Safety Powder Company ^ in San Francisco. He was also intrusted with a charter^ for an inter-oceanic railway from the Gulf of Mexico" to the Pacific, made bv the Mexican republic under considerations urged by him when envoy to Mexico, and he was requested to use his influence to induce American railway building skill and capital to under- 22 •i take the work. He memorialized Congress to cultivate friendly and intimate commercial relations with Mex- ico, and to assist and encourage the material progress of that country, and at the instance of American and English railway builders, and of President Juarez, he went to Mexico. He had for fifteen months so ablv discussed in the newspapers the benefits of rail- way construction to Mexico, that the Legislatures of seventeen of the Mexican States passed unanimous resolutions urging their national Congress to enact the legislation advocated, and the Governors of six other States sent official reconmiendations to the same eiTfect. In ISTC) Gen. Rosecrans declined the Democratic nomination for Congress from Nevada. IX CONGRESS. In ISSO, he was elected as a Democrat to the lower house of Congress, from California; carrvinsf a stronc>- Republican district. In the House he was Chairman of the Committee on ]\Iilitarv Affairs, havino- been re- elected in 1882. June 8, 1885, he was appointed l)y President Cleveland, whose warm friend and admirer he had been. Register of the Treasury. ]\Iarch '1, 18811, he was by act of Congress put on the retired list of the U. S. x^rmy, with the rank of brigadier-general. The act reads: "Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Repre- sentatives of the U. S. of America in Congress as- sembled: That the President be, and he is hereby authorized to nominate, and, by and with the advice 23 1^ and consent of the Senate, to appoint William S. Rose- crans, late major-g-eneral of U. S. Volunteers, and brig-adier-q;cncral in the reoular army of the U. S., to the position of brigadier-g-eneral in the army of the U. S., and to place him upon the retired list of the army as of that grade (the retired list being therel)y increased in number to that extent): and all laws and parts of laws in conflict herewith are suspended for this purpose only." A rancorous de1)ate ensued on its passage, owing to the fact that when a similar bill placing- Grant upon the retired list was up for passage, Rosecrans, then a member of Congress and Chairman on Military Affairs had persistently opposed it. During the debate, many members who had served in the Army of the Cumberland, came valiantly to the defense of the old hero, and as one said: "We can alTord to forget what Gen. Rosecrans may have said, but we can not afford to forget what he did." The bill finally passed with- out division. Rosecrans retained office as Register of the Treas- ury under President Harrison, until failing health forced him, a few years ago, to seek repose in the climate of California, where, on his ranch some ten miles from Los Angeles, he calndv awaited the end of life. HIS LIFE IX CALIFOKXIA. After the war. Gen. Rosecrans, undecided where to settle, first took a journev to the Pacific coast. Regular army men are noted for th.eir love of the coast. There are more retired officers living in California 24 than in any other State. Hancock, Sheridan and Sher- man were all in love with California's gorgeous cli- mate, its blue skies, its perennial vegetation, the infi- nite peace that settles upon the land, the exuberance of its soil and the mysterious Pacific, with its wonder- ful flora and fauna. General Grant was making prep- arations to end his days in California when he fell ill. All along the coast, from Seattle to San Dieg-o, are to be found old soldiers spending their declining years in surroundings the very opposite from those that accompany, the life of the fighting man. Gen. Rosecrans came to California in 1867. At that time San Francisco had yet all the bizarre aspects of a city near the gold mines. Southern California was a wilderness of sand and sage brush, tangles of cacti, fields of alfalfa and other vegetation native to the soil. Gen. Rosecrans had determind beforehand to buy land in California, but "when he made inquiries he was amazed to find great unanimity of opinion to the effect that beyond the mid-line of the state there was nothing worth having. ARRIVAL AT LOS ANGELES. He was still "looking around" when good luck threw him in the way of Captain Banning, one of the pioneers of southern California. Captain Banning per- suaded him to take a trip on his boat to San Pedro. On the four days' voyage the General was struck with the absence of harbors all along the rugged coast. He was discouraged. Could commerce ever go there? When he arrived at San Pedro and went into the 25 V) interior he felt that the San Franciscans were right — \' tliat the country would never be anything but a pas- ture. However, he visited Los Angeles, then a settle- ment of a few cheap houses. On his way he stopped at an old adobe "half-way" house, and, standing on the eminence, he cast his eyes over a stretch of coun- try 1,000 miles in area, as it seemed to him. wSpeaking of that sight he said, a little time before his death : "I saw at a glance around me all this glorious val- ley, with the mountains forming three-fourths of a circle to the back and on both sides of me, and the ocean in front, sounding then and eternally. It was a brilliant day, a specimen day of the 300 perfect ones we have in this climate. I thought I had never seen such a sky, nor such colors in the atmosphere along near the ground and over against the mountains. Here, I. said to myself, I will buy land and build me a home, for if water can be developed, I may be certain to have neighbors in the not too distant future." DWINDLING OF HIS ESTATE. That view settled it. He would buy land there from the government and from the handful of unsuccessful pioneers who were already convinced that the country I could never amount to anything. And he did. He acquired for a song an estate of 14,000 acres. Most/ of that superb property the General lost in the mining holes of Xevada. At present all that is left of it is, a ranch of 1,100 acres. JJut that much was sufftcient! to gratify his passion for farming. I 26 L By degrees his house grew up to be a very large and pleasant abode. The mansion is not really a house, but a collection of houses of a rude exterior but com- fortable enough within. The General farmed wisely after the theory of the Southern Californian. ''Measure the value of your land," says Senator Jones of Nevada to the settler in Southern California, "by what it will bring in wheat and barley." All but 300 of the 1,100 acres are sown in those cereals. The oOO acres bear deciduous and citrus fruits, eucalyptus trees for fuel, a potato field, and a strawberry bed. HIS LAST DAYS. Here, with his son Carl, he passed the last days of his life in peace and serenity. His home was a modest one. There were some family portraits, not- ably one of his wife, whom he married in the forties and who was the daugditer of Judge Hegeman, a prominent New York lawyer. She died during his official life in Washington. In his home, also, were his old war mementoes, — maps, reports, flags and swords and a substantial library of scientific works. One of his favorite papers was the Scientific American. His last days were crowned, on Lsetare Sunday, March 14, 1896, by a visit from Bishop Montgomery, accom- panied by members of the clergy and laity of I.os Angeles, who went down to his ranch to formally I present him with the medal and address which the 'University of Notre Dame, Indiana, annually bestows in a Catholic layman noted for extraordinary devo- tion to Church or State. The medal bore on its diverse, in purple enameled letters, the usual legend, — • 27 "Magna est Veritas et Prcevalebit," — "Truth is Mighty and will Prevail"; the central field is taken up by the escutcheon of our country within a laurel wreath, all in high relief; the red, white, and blue shield is worked out with exquisite delicacy in enamel and precious stones. The reverse of the disk is much the same. Another inscription, ''Presented by the University of Notre Dame," in black enamelled letters, circles about the centre, on which is engraved Gen. Rosecrans' name. The address which accompanied the medal is on parchment and was printed by the University Press and illuminated by the Sisters of St. Mary's Academy. The illumination is exquisitely done. The national colors are used in a very effective way, and the whole was a strikingly beautiful piece of work. The words of the address were: "Few men who have borne like you the rigors of war are privileged as you have been to enjoy so long the repose of peace. Still fewer are they who, laboring for so many years in eminent public station, still wear a shield not simply untainted by reproach but untarn- ished even by the breath of suspicion. "Providence has granted you length of days in wdiich to enjoy the fulness of honor. You are the. last, as you are one of the greatest, of those noblq chiefs who led our hosts to victory. Your name i?, set among the brightest traditions of the Republic;' your services are writ in letters of imperishable glory upon our Country's tablet of honor; and unborn gen-i erations, children of these States whose union you labored so successfully to preserve, will be inspired 28 bv voiir example and thrilled by the story of yonr genius and courage. It is not within the power of anv man or any body of men to honor you whom tb.e whole nation claims for its hero; but the University of Xotre Dame offers you the highest distinction within its gift, in bestowing on you this year its L?etare Medal. Accept it as a symbol of the proud appreciation in which your Catholic fellow-citizens hold your distinguished public services. The L?etare Medal has been worn only by men and women whose genius has ennobled the arts and sciences, illustrated the Churcli and enriched the heritage of humanity. It will be a joy to your fellow-citizens that you are now enrolled in that noble company which is worthy of you and which you will adorn. For in you are crowned the virtues of a Christian soldier — the gen- erous response to duty, the unstinted service of labor- ious days and restless nights, the courage of a martyr and the gentleness of a hero. "One of tlie noblest chapters of Catholic theology is that which teaches the duty of patriotism and whole- hearted devotion to the public weal. Catholics are among the hrst to recognize that duty and respond to it. But whenever a slanderous cry goes up from the camps of fanaticism; when men would proclaim the Church hostile to liberty and false to the principles >f American government, she finds her l^est response and her strongest vindication in the lives of men like you." After a lingering illness, a general breaking down lof his constitution incident to old a2:e, the General 29 passed away on the morning of ]\Iarch 11, 1808. The following Tuesday his body was brought to Los An- geles and escorted to the City Hall. The Lsetare Medal, with the badges of the Loyal Legion, the Grand Army and the Army of the Potomac, adorned the breast of the old hero as he lay in state. The National Guard of California watched by the body continuously, with hourly reliefs. The casket was draped with the old headquarters flag of his command and upon it lav the sword presented by citizens of Cincinnati, inscribed with the words: "My mission among you is that of a fellow-citizen charged by the government to restore law and order." The Associated Press gave this account of the funeral : ''The funeral of jNIajor-General W. S. Rosecrans to- day was one of the most impressive and elaborate this citv has ever witnessed. Thousands assembled to honor the dead warrior. Business was interrupted during the ceremonies. "The remains were removed from the bier at thc City Hall, wdiere they had been lying ni state, to the cathedral at an early hour, and in a quiet manner. "The special military escort provided by Gen. Last accompanied the remains and resumed the watch in the cathedral. "Promptly at 10 o'clock requiem high mass was celebrated at the cathedral. Right Reverened Bishop. Montgomery ofTficiating, assisted by members of tlu. clergy from all parts of the diocese. The casket restec' in front of the altar and upon it were many l)eautiful 30 and striking floral pieces. The decorations about the altar and throughout the cathedral were extremely beautiful and in great profusion. After the services, which lasted 40 minutes, the military took charge of the funeral. The .column formed with Gen. Last and staff at its head. They were followed bv a troop of cavalry, the Seventh Regiment Band, the signal corps, Colonel Berry and staff, companies A, C, F and I, Seventh Infantry, N. G. C., delegations of the Sons of Veterans, Confederates' Association, Grand Army of the Republic, Loyal Legion, and Union \'eterans' League. Following them came the hearse and directly behind it a riderless horse w^as led. ''The family of the deceased rode in carriages, and followed the hearse, and behind these were many other vehicles, containing members of civic bodies and rep- resentatives of many organizations. 'The column marched south from the cathedral on Main street to Washington, thence to the cemetery, "The services at the cemetery were brief. There was vocal music and short addresses by Rev. W. A. Knighton, Hon. F. Glaze, Capt. J. C. Oliver, F. W. Stein and F. H. Poiridexter. "At the conclusion of the services one of the infantry companies fired a salute of three volleys over the tomb, taps were sounded and the warrior was left to his rest. Among many messages of condolence received by the family was one from President McKinley which spoke very touchinglv of his regard for his former 'commander. ; 31 CHAPTER II. THE BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUGA. HICKA]\IAUGA is a sluggish little stream flowing from McLemore's Cove in Georgia, through Tennessee and finally emptying itself into the beautiful Tennessee River. This little river still bears its Indian name — Chicka- mauga (river of death) — and how significant since September 10 and 20, 18G3, when near and about its banks was fought one of the greatest battles of modern times, a battle that will go down in history with Auster- litz, Waterloo, Alarengo, and Gettysburg, a battle that a general engaged in it compares with Flodden Field, where both Surre\' of England and James of Scotland believed the other army was vanquished and neither could claim a victory. Pages and volumes, tons of literature have been written about the great battle of Chickamauga and still the question remains a disputed one. Jt is interesting to note that (icn. Rosecrans suc- ceeded in connnand of the Army of the Cumberland another C)hio-b(M-n general, also a convert to the Catholic Church, Gen. Don Carlos liuell, born near Marietta, Ohio, and still living in the vicinity of Eouis- ville, Kentucky. It is not om- intention to enter into anv elaborate or extended discussion of the merits of Chickaniauga's battle, but simply to state some facts that may perhaps assist the reader to better under- stand the disputed (|uestion. First, it is maintained that Chickamaug^a was not a L^iion defeat: second, Gen. Rosecrans was not properly sustained by the Washington authorities, notably Stanton, the famous war secretary; thirdly, that Rosecrans was not in favor with higher authorities on account of his political and religious beliefs, being a War Democrat and a Catholic. To the last assertion we give but little credence; pos- sibly it entered into the history of those days, but, if so, only to a minor degree; and here we would call attention only to the other two. Was Chickamauga a l^nion defeat? Most emphatically, Xo! In defense of this T append an editorial that appeared some years ago in the columns of the Cohivibiis Dispatch, for the reason tliat it states the cpiestion and answers it in most concise and clear terms: CHICKAMAUGA HISTORY REVIEWED "The fields of (iettysburg and Chickamauga are especially worthy of adornment, not because more chivalrous courage was displayed on them than else- where, but l^ecause they mark not only important events, but critical periods in the great civil war. At Gettysburg it was demonstrated that a confederat(^ aj-my could not permanentlv occupy a free state. At Chickamauga it was shown that a federal army, after fighting its way for three hundred miles through a hostile country, could cross rivers, climl) mountain rjtnges, contend for two davs against su])eri()r nu]r;- ) 33 bers, and yet seize and hold an important city in the heart of the confederacy. After Gettysburg the Army of Northern Mrginia, under Lee, lost all desire for offensive warfare: and the confederate general, D. H. Hill, savs: "The olan of the Southern soldier was never seen after Chickamauga — that brilliant dash which had distinguished him on a hundred fields was gone forever." "It has been alleged that Chickamauga resulted in the defeat of the Union army, and that Rosecrans' campaign south of the Tennessee was unsuccessful. Let us see how much truth there is in this allegation. If Lee, after fighting the battle of Gettysburg, had moved on to Harrisburg, and occupied that city to the end of the war, would his campaign have been regarded as a failure or a success? Grant was roughly handled in the Wilderness, and the enemy after pounding him for two days, and inflicting upon him great loss, took position and awaited his assault, but he did not make it; on the contrary, he moved on towards Richmond. Was Grant defeated? No. Again, he found Lee across his path at Spottsylvania Court House, and after a long battle and frightful losses he left him where he found him, and resumed his march towards Richmond. Was Grant defeated here? No. At North Anna he found Lee again obstructing his pro- gress, and moved around and beyond him. At Cold Harbor he found Lee again before him, and discov- ered also that the line he had purposed to fight it out on if it took all summer, was wholly impracticable; and so after a terrible conflict he, on the 12th day of 34 the first summer month, abandoned Lee and the direct road to Richmond, transferred his army to the soutli side of the James, and took position in front of Peters- burg. Do historians claim that all battles referred to were federal defeats? Not at all. Neither history nor popular opinion will admit that Grant ever suffered a defeat. Now, in the light of these admittedly suc- cessful operations, let us run through an epitome of the history of the Army of the Cumberland. "Rosecrans assumed command of the Union forces, subsequently known as the Army of the Cumberland, in the latter part of October, 1862, a few weeks after they had, in part, participated in the battle of Perrvs- ville, Kentucky. In the following December he at- tacked the Confederate army under Bragg, near Mur- freesboro, and after a fierce contest continuing for four days, won the battle of Stone River. After fortifyinsj Murfreesboro, with a view to making it a depot of supplies, he resumed his march southward, drove Bragg from his fortified camp at Tullahoma, and pur- sued his retreating columns beyond the Cumberland Mountains and the Tennessee River. The Confederate army now concentrated at Chattanooga. In this posi- tion it could not be disturbed by a direct attack. Rest- ing on the northern bank of the Tennessee only long- enough to make arrangement for bringing forward his supplies, Rosecrans crossed the river, struggled with his long supply train over two mountain ranges, and descended into the Chickamauga valley; thus threat- ening not only the railroads upon which the Confed- erate arm}^ depended for subsistence, but menacing 35 the enemy's rear and all the country lying southward. The objective of the Union general was Chattanooga, the key to the railroad system of the South. Bragg now abandoned Chattanooga in order to put himself between the Union army and his base of supplies, and at the same time appealed to the Confederate govern- ment for reinforcements. The reinforcements he called for were innnedately supplied. Buckner, with a divis- ion, hurried to him from the vicinity of Knoxville, and Longstreet. with a corps of 15,00(1 men, was trans- ferred ])y rail from Richmond to Chickamauga. Then, on parallel lines with both armies at equal distances from Chattanooga, there began on both sides a con- centration northward toward the prize for which Rose- crans was struggling. The i)urpose of the federal armv was to reacli Chattanooga; that of the Confed- erate army to prevent it. And while rapidly shifting northward toward the ])lace it had set out to seize and hold, the Union army was assailed, not in a position of its own choice, but in one selected by the enemy. After the first day's fighting both armies sought and secured new positions. After the second day's battle the Union army, following the trend of its pre\'ious n.iovcments, moved to Rossville, three or four mile.■^ nearer Chattanooga than in the field on whicli it had fought, took position there and awaited the coming of the enemy. The enemy came, ])ut ncn in force. The fact is, the Confederate army had had all the fight- ing it could stand, and hence permitted the Army of the Cumberland to march deliberately and leisurely from Rossville into Chattanooga. 36 •'-. "Was this a victory for the national arms, or was it a defeat? What constitutes a victory? The posses- sion of a few l)arren hills and ridg-es over which armies mav march and fight? If so, Rosecrans' movement from the Cund)erland to the Tennessee VN-as a succes- sion of the Union victories, for every foot of it was over hostile territory. There are two things, either of which may make a victory; first, the destruction of an army; second, the winning of the prize for which two armies contend. The Army of the Cumberland was not de- stroyed. In fact, with fewer men than the enemy, it inflicted greater loss upon the Confederates than it sustained. By an unlucky blimder its right wing was disabled early on the second day, but by such fighting as has never l^een surpassed, the army maintained its ground until there was not a shot to answer nor an assault to be repelled, and then deliberately took pos- session of the prize for which it had been contending. From that time forward Kentucky, Tennessee and Ala- bama were practically free from the incursions of the enemy. The importance of Chattanooga in a military sense was not even second to \ icksburg. Tlie occu- pation of the latter by Cnion troops left the Mississippi unobstructed from its head waters to the (iulf. The* occupation of Chattanooga oj^ened the gate by whicli the l^nion army could march almost unopposed to the sea. It may be said the Army of the Cumberland did not alone expel Bragg from the heights of Mis- sionary Ridge. True; but if that army had not seized and held Chattanooga, the troops under Sherman and Hooker could not have concentrated there, and the 37 former would not have entered upon his brilliant cam- paign through Georgia and the CaroHnas/' As to the second, Was Rosecrans properly sup' ported by the Washington authorities? No. Not long ago a New York paper told the story by way of anecdote, — an anecdote that is more to the credit of Rosecrans than might be a whole chapter of i.istory. The words of the New York paper were : *'The campaign which ended in the occupation of Chattanooga and which included the great battle of Chickamauga was one of the most brilliant of the whole war, when the conditions under which it was carried out are understood. Gen. Rosecrans started from Murfreesboro June 24, 1863, with the Army of the Cumberland, which had been promised support from Burnside's army of the Tennessee. Gen. Bragg, the Confederate commander, had been re-enforced by troops from Virginia under that brilliant and able officer. Gen, Longstreet. Regardless of the counsels of commanders, the clamor of the press and the prin- ciples of military science, Rosecrans, with the army of the Cumberland, was sent to dislodge an enemy of equal strength from a country well known to him and well adapted on account of its mountainous char- acter to defensive tactics. y\ "Governors Awstin of Pennsylvania, Andrew of Mas- sachusetts and Yates of Illinois offered to send Rose- crans seven regiments of two-year veterans, who were willing to re-enlis-t on condition that they should go as mounted infantry to the army of the Cumberland, but Secretary Stanton, who was implacably hostile 38 to its commander, would not listen to the proposition. Gen. Lovell H. Rousseau bore a letter to the secretary of war explaining how very important the service of such a body of men would be in guarding the long line of communications which would have to be kept open in the advance upon Chattanooga. When the secretary read Gen. Rosecrans' letter, he said to Gen. Rousseau: "I would rather you would come to ask the command of the army of the Cumberland than to ask reinforcements for Gen. . Rosecrans. He shall not have another d d man." "So the army of the Cumberland set out alone, and this, in brief, is what it accomplished under the general to whom Stanton refused to send 'another d d man': Dislodged the enemy from two strongly fortified camps; crossed the Cumberland Mountains, the Ten- nessee River, Sand Mountains and Lookout A/fountain ; fought the battle of Chickamauga, and on September 22, 1863, just 92 days from starting from Murfrees- boro, 119 miles away, held Chattanooga, the objective of the campaign. "Thus Rosecrans, in a campaign of 92 days, secured and held Chattanooga, the gate through which Sher- man and his army entered the Confederate wall when starting for the sea." The following brief extract from "The Army of the Cumberland," written ])y Henry M. Cist, brevet brig- adier-general, throws some light on the treatment Rosecrans received from the Washington authorities: ''On March 1 (1862) Halleck, as Commander-in- Chief of the Armies of the United States, wrote a let- 39 tcr, scndino- a cc)p\- to Rosecrans and (Irant, offering the position of the then vaeant major-generalship in the regular arni\- to the general in tlie field who should first achieve an important and decisive victory. Grant very (|uietlv folded up the letter, put it l)y for future reference and proceeded with the plans of his cam- paign, saying nothing. To Rosecrans' open, impulsive and honorable nature, engaged with all his powers in furthering the interests of the (Government and the general welfare of his comiuand, this letter was an in- sult, and he treated it accordingly. ( )n March (> he prepared his reply and forwarded it to Washington. In this letter he informed the General in Chief that 'as an ofBcer and as a citizen he felt degiaded at such an auctioneering of honors,' and then added: 'Have we a general who would fight for his personal benefit when he would not for honor and for his country? He would come by his commission baselv in that case. and deserve to be despised by men of honor. l>ut are all the brave and honorable generals on an equality as to chance? If not, it is unjust to those wdio prob- ably deserve most.' "The eft'ect of this letter was to widen the breach between the authorities at Washington and Rosecrans. Halleck's letter and Rosecrans' reply were both char- acteristic of the men. From this time forward all the requests of Rosecrans for the improvement of the efficiency of his army were treated with great coolness, and in many instances it was only after the greatest importunity that he was able to secure the least atten- tion to his reconuuendations for the increased useful- ness of his command." 40 WHAT THE GENERALS THOUGHT, To confirm the statements made above we give a few extracts from officers high in the ranks of the army of the Cum])erlan(l and whc:) had amj^le oppor- tunity to know all the varying issues of the disputed questions. GENERAL MANDERSON, Senator from Nebraska, in a masterly oration deliv- ered in 1S!I5. says: "And yet. in spite of abundant available testimony, Chickamauga is declared bv those either ignorant or jealous to have l^een a defeat of the Federal arms, and the non-fighting croakers at Wash- ington indulged in much paper bombardment of those who planned the campaign. A victim was demanded, and Rosecrans was cruelly sacrificed. His services from the beginning of the war were ignored. Xo rec- ollection of ?tone River moved to respect for that abil- ity that we who had served under him knew he pos- sessed. The vilification of Rosecrans by these carping- critics was abuse of the grand army he led from Nash- ville to Murfreesboro; to 'victory plucked from the jaws of defeat' and victorv most pronounced at Stone River; through the Tullahoma campaign to the final occupation of the objective point of all militarv en- deavor, from the days of 18(>1 when the troops of the Union crossed the Ohio River. Rosecrans came to us with the halo of battles fousfht and won, and secured not only the confidence but the affection of his men, who gave the soldier's characteristic evidence of it by giving him a familiar nickname, and to us of that time he is still 'Old Rosey.' The Army of the Cumberland 41 felt that splendid leadership had failed of recognition, arduous service had been poorly requited and the sol- dierly merits of a superb strategist grossly ignored when Rosecrans was deposed." GENERAL A. WILEY says: "The campaign of Rosecrans was bold, enter- prising, vigorous. By his sound judgment and vig- ilance he anticipated and countered every movement of his adversary. Throughout he exhibited the high- est degree of moral courage. That he failed of accom- plishing all he attempted was no fault of his own, nor was it due to any lack of the highest soldierly qualities of the army he commanded. It was attributable to the superior advantages for rapid concentration which interior lines afforded his adversary, and to the total failure of support and co-operation on the part of Burnside, on which he had been told, at the com- mencement of the campaign, he could rely." GENERAL PHIL SHERIDAN in his "Personal Alemoirs" says of Rosecrans' removal from the command of the Army of the Cumberland: "He submitted uncomplainingly to his removal and modestly left us without fuss or demonstration, ever maintaining that the battle of Chickamauga was in effect a victory. When his departure became known, deep and almost universal regret was expressed, for he was enthusiastically esteemed and loved by the Army of the Cumberland from the day he assumed command until he left it." One of the most persistent defenders of Gen. Rose- crans has been 42 GENERAL H. V. BOYNTON, still living and a prominent journalist in Washington, who at all times has insisted that Rosecrans was not properly supported by the authorities at Washington, a fact which seems now to be pretty well established. One writer, in summing up the wdiole campaign, says : "It was one of the most brilliant of the whole war, when the conditions under which it was carried out are understood, and opened the way by which the troops of Sherman and Hooker were concentrated and was the entering wedge by which the former com- menced his historic march to the sea throuo-h Georsria and the Carolinas." GENERAL ROSECRANS broke the silence of years in 1880 to publicly contra- dict the current statement that the only order issued by him on the day of the battle was the one that opened the fatal gap in the Union lines, all the other orders being attributed to his chief of staff. General Garfield. In contradicting this statement, from all responsibility in regard to which he chivalrously exonerated Gen. Garfield, Gen. Rosecrans speaks of it as "another out- cropping of the historic lies about Chickamauga which began in a gigantic conspiracy through the press to cover up the crime against our country which was per- petrated in sending the Army of the Cumberland, alone and unaided, over an almost barren wilderness, across the Cumberland Mountains and Lookout Range into the mountains of Northwestern Georgia, 150 miles from its nearest base of supplies, to encounter the con- 43 cciitratcd forces of the Confederacy g-reatly confident: of victor}-; while (irant, with the wlioie Army of the Tennessee, was lying quiescent since \ icksburg. IJnrnside, with 42,(1(10 effectives, was sent 2(1(1 miles away into East Tennessee, where he could not weigh a feather in the contest: the (iulf Department, bv its expedition under Herron into Texas, was wholly incap- able of making- diversion on the gulf coast whicli would detain a single man from our front, and the Ami}- of the Potomac was so inactive as to permit Lee to send Longstreet's whole corps to join in crushing us." History has, however, rendered tardy justice to Gen. Rosecrans; and its verdict may be summed up in these words of Gen. Boynton, who, after speaking of Chickamauga as crowning with success the last cam- paign of Gen. Rosecrans, and being "matchless in its strategy, unequalled in the skill and energv with which his outnumbered army was concentrated for battle," says that had Rosecrans "crossed the river in front of the city and captured it with even greater loss, the country would have gone wild with enthusiasm. Had he been pro]:)erly supported from Washington, he would have entered it without a battle, since if there had been any show of activitv elsewhere. Bragg's armv would not have been nearly doubled with re-enforce- ments and thus enabled to march back on Chatta- nooga after its retreat from the city." Practically, the battle was a Union victory, won by Rosecrans' masterly skill and indomitable perseverance; and, as Gen. Hill admitted, it "sealed the fate of the Southern Confed- eracy." 44 n CHAPTER III. HOW HE MISSED THE PRESIDENCY. T may not l)e ,^-enerally known that our hero came near 1)eino- placed on the ticket witli Lincohi in 1S(;4, and how he missed his nomination is an interesting storv. After h,is removal from the Army of the CiimbcrlancI, public feeling- once more turned toward him and there was a general sentiment in and out of armv circles that he had been unjustly dealt with. So strong was this feeling that well informed politicians thought that he would add strength to the Republican ticket, and in June, 1S()-1:, ( iarfield telegraphed him from Bal- timore asking him if he would accept the nomination for \'ice-president on the ticket with Lincoln. Though always a Democrat and intensely loyal, after consult- ing friends he wired back a message that virtually was in the affirmative. Garfield always claimed he never received the message and so Andy Johnson was put on the ticket. It has since been ]M-etty well established that Stan- ton suppressed the message of Rosecrans, for Rose- crans was always persona iioii grata at the \\''ar Depart- ment, for the reason that he was not afraid to tell the truth. When war was a certainty, in 18(11, Gen. Morgan, of Mt. \'ernon, Ohio, was summoned by 45 wire to Washington, as his name had come up in a conversation held by members of the Cabinet with Gen. Scott. Asked what should be done with Robt. E. Lee, who had laid down his commission as an U, S. Army officer, he at once answered in his brusque way, ''Slap him in jail, for if you don't, he will lead the secessionists." Stanton scoffed at this idea, but history proves Mor- gan was right. Stanton had no use for any man who happened to know just a bit more than he did. Rosecrans had a similar experience. He had opin- ions and plans of his own concerning the war, and, like Morgan, did not hesitate to say that, knowing the people of the South, he knew the war could not be finished in a few weeks. Stanton at that time had a bad case of enlargement of the head — now politely called mental mumps — and insisted that the North could whip h — 1 out of the South before the sunimer was over. Morgan and Rosecrans and other officers of experience thought otherwise. Rosecrans, forti- fied by a brilliant record as an officer of engineers, and knowing Longstreet, Van Dorn and others of the South — they had been his classmates at West Point — received a cordial hearing from Lincoln and McClel- lan. His suggestions were not listened to, — Stanton would have none of them. Stanton's enmity was also increased by Rosecrans' letter to Halleck in 1862, mentioned previously in this sketch, and also by the fact that Rosecrans was cred- ited by the public with having "discovered" Sheridan. When the orders relieving Gen. Rosecrans and ap- 46 pointing Gen. Thomas in his place reached the army, they were denounced on all sides as unjust. "Gen. Thomas," according to Gen. Boynton, "insisted that he would resign rather than acquiesce in Gen. Rose- crans' removal by his accepting the command. It was at Rosecrans' earnest solicitation that he reconsidered this determination. But he did not hesitate to say that the order was cruelly unjust. When Gen. Garfield left for Washington soon after the battle, he imme- diately charged him to do all he could to have Rose- crans righted." Whether Garfield ever carried out the w^ish of Thomas is uncertain to this day. The probabilities are, that knowing Stanton's hostility to Rosecrans, he never made the attempt. Garfield at that time was a member of Congress from Ohio and had stood for election in his district by the advice of Rosecrans, who said that he (Gar- field), having been in the field and knowing the needs of the army, would be able to do much good on the fioor of Congress whenever war measures came before that body. There has always been a lurking suspicion that Garfield in his ambition forgot his old commander and how much he owed him for his own success. 47 CHAPTER IV. HIS CONVERSION TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. HILE a cadet at West Point Rosecrans obtained a few 1)ooks treating of the Cath- olic Church from an old Irishman, who was in the habit of paying periodical visits to the institution to sell books and papers. In com- pany with another cadet, now A^ery Rev. George Deslion, Superior of the Paulist Fathers of New York, he became interested" in the claims of the Church and it was not long until his logical mind was convinced; and finally, two years after his graduation, while lie was Assistant Professor of Engineering, in lS4i, he was. in his own words, "baptized sub coiuiitioiic, be- cause it was a vague tradition that in mv earl\' da}s a Protestant or Wesleyan Methodist minister at mv grandmother's instance had bajotized me, following the traditional ritual of the Church of England in so doing." Shortlv after liis marriage his wife also be- came a Catholic, and in 184() he was instrumental in converting his 1)rother Sylvester, who eventuallv 1:)ecame the first Catholic Bishop of Columbus, Ohio, within whose diocese was located his birth [dace. Homer, Licking County. The brothers were mucli attached to each cither and their correspondence, when the one was at West Point and the other at Ken\on 48 College, Gam1)ier, (Jhio, was frequent. After the younger graduated, he paid his elder brother a visit, and as the two were taking a walk one day, they chaneed to pass a Catholic church; whereupon the voung lieutenant, to quote the words of one con- versant with the facts in the case, said to his brother: "It is high time, Sylvester, for you to put an end to this procrastination of yours; come in here and get baptized." Mechanically obeying the conmiand, and entering for the first time in his life a Catholic church, the same authority tells the story of the Bishop's conversion: "They soon reached an altar, l^efore which, to the young brother's surprise, shone a lighted lamp, al- though it was broad daylight. 'Let us pra\- here,' said the captain, 'in the Real Presence, for two graces, the grace of light to know the truth, and the grace of strength to follow it'; and with this he knelt down. Sylvester also knelt, as a matter of courtesy to his brother, but bv no means to pray. He gazed around for a while at the works of art within reacli of his eyes, but not being in the ha])it of kneeling long at any time, and his knees aching, he turned to look at his brother, whom he found absorbed in God. "The sight was too much for Sylvester. 'Wretch that I am,' said he to himself, 'while this trulv i^'ood man is so earnestly interesting himself with Heaven for my soul's salvation, I am indifferent, as if it were none of my Imsiness. God is everywhere, and there- fiu-e, here; 1, too, will pra\' for strength and light.' And he did ])ray, so long and earnestly, that when lie 49 began to look for. his brother, he found him in a remote part of the church. Up sprang Sylvester, and with agitated steps he approached the captain. 'Well, Syl- vester,' whispered the latter, 'what will you do?' 'I wish to be baptized,' was the prompt reply; 'I hope the priest is at home.' Happily the priest was at home, and finding his caller already, thanks to his brother's good offices, well instructed in Catholic teachings, he had no hesitation in baptizing him and receiving him into the Catholic fold. Many years later, wdien the diocese of Columbus was erected, Rt. Rev. Sylvester Horton Rosecrans, who had been consecrated titular of Pompeiopolis, in partibus, on the feast of the An- nunciation, 1862, and appointed Auxiliary to Arch- bishop Purcell, of Cincinnati, was transferred to the new See, and at once took possession of his vineyard." The following letter received by the writer some years ago, it need not be mentioned, is highly prized: Tkeasukv Department, Registek's Office. Dec. 11, 1886. Dear Father Mulhane: — Bishop Rosecrans was baptized "at Cold Spring on the North River opposite West Point. N. Y.. by the Rev. Dr. Villani, pastor of the Catholic Church at that place, and in charge of the station at the Post of West Point, in the summer of 1846. I was his godfather and my wife his godmother. I do not remember whether it was sub conditionc. My baptism in 1844 was sub conditionc, because it was a vague tradition that in my early infancy a Protestant or Wes- lej'an Methodist minister at my grandmother's instance had baptized me, following the traditional ritual of the church of England in so doing. Yours most truly, W. S. Rosecrans, To the Rev. L. W. Mulhane, Mt. Yernon, Ohio. 50 The great warrior's faith ahvays shone out strong and clear. It is told that at a most critical momen.t during the battle of Stone River, when Mc Cook's men were wavering, he dashed to the front, exposing him- self to the enemy's fire. A young staff officer (no doubt Garesche, a great favorite of our hero and a Catholic) who accompanied him, begged him to retire to a place of greater safety and not expose himself to almost certain death. ' Rosecrans, urging on his horse, replied: "Never mind me, my boy, but make the sign of the cross and go in." In his "Reminis- cences," now being published in McClure's Magazine, the late Charles A. Dana, assistant secretarv of war under Stanton, states that he saw Rosecrans making the sign of the cross during the awful conflict at Chick- amauga. Both his great mind and hi^ large heart were thor- oughly imbued with strong Catholic faith, and though not seeking occasion to outwardly manifest it to the world, it instinctively would crop out on certain occa- sions, sometimes when least expected. Some years ago, while passing through Ohio on a campaign tour with Hendricks, he reached Columbus one evening, taking rooms with his political companions at the Neil House. He soon excused himself from the party and wended his way out Broad street to the Cathedral, where he made inquiry for a priest, desiring to go to confession that he might the next morning go to Holy Communion for his deceased brother, the Bishop, whose remains rest under the altar of that church. At 6 o'clock the next morning he attended mass anrl 51 received Holy Communion. As he was returning to the hotel, he met one of his political friends who hadl been looking for him and who said: "Why! Genera!,, where in the world have you been so early this morn- ing? Your friends at the hotel are anxious about you, that vou may not miss that early train." The old veteran answered: "Oh! I have been out to the Cathedral to pay my respects to Almighty God and to prav for my brother, who used to be Bishop out there/' The answer, from other lips, might have seemed trivial, but coming from him in deep voice and reverential tone, it was beautiful. The two who heard it have always remembered it, — one a Cath- olic, the other a non-Catholic. The words, the far- away look in the old hero's eyes, the reverence of the voice, the early morning of a beautiful wSeptember day, all chinied to make it an occasion that the two present have never forgotten. It was this same spirit and simplicity of faith that caused him to pen the telegram that he sent from Cal- ifornia to New York on the occasion of the death of his l^rilliant son, Father Louis Rosecrans, a member of the Paulist Order. When telegraphed of the deatli and asked for any wish as to the place of burial, the wires bore 1)ack this sweet message: "Bury him beside his Paulist brethren to await the greai Resurrection Day, and God bless all who have been kind to him." His sincerity also was the means of converting his wife. A newspaper correspondent describing the working ha1)its of the (General when getting the 14th Corps 52 into condition after assuming conniiand, wrote: "On Sundays and Wednesdays he rose early and attended Mass." "At night, when conversation took a relig- ious turn," says the same writer, "the General took the argument and carried it often into the realms of Mother Church, where the vehemence of his intellect and his zealous temper developed themselves thor- oughly. He had the Fathers of the Church at his tongue's end, and exhibited a familiarity with con- troversial theology that made him a formidable antag- onist to the best read, even of the clerical profession. He would admit no fallibility whatever in any depart- ment of his own Church, but he did not permit his strong reliance in the Church of Rome to warp his judgment in material things, especially in military mat- ters." On the morning of every important engage- ment, or perilous undertaking, it was his invariable custom to attend Mass and commit himself and his army to the keeping of the God of battles. Here is Major Bickham's description of how lie begun the Stone River fight, one of the most glorious of his victories: "A little later (than the dawn of day) the dauntless leader of the army knelt at the altar and prayed to the God of battles. High (?) Mass was celebrated in a little tent opposite his marquee. Rev. Father Cooney, the zealous chaplain of the 85th Reg- iment of Indiana Volunteers, ofificiated, assisted by Rev. Father Trecy, the constant spiritual companion of the General, and whose fidelity to his chief Vv^as second only to his devotion to the faith he preached. Gen. Rosecrans knelt humbly in the corner of his 53 tent; Garesche, no less devout, by his side; a trio of humble soldiers meekly knelt in front of the tent; groups of officers, booted and spurred for battle, with heads reverentially uncovered, stood outside and mutelv muttered their prayers. What grave anxieties, what exquisite emotions, what deep thoughts moved the hearts and minds of those pious soldiers, into whose keeping God and their country had delivered, not merely the lives of a thousand men who must die at last, but the vitality of a principle, the cause of self government and of human liberty!" He was averse to all needless labor on the Lord's day, a fact that was so well understood by his stafif, that Gen. Crittenden once said of his commander that *'he did not believe the Master would smile upon any unnecessary violation of His laws," Firm in his own faith, "he never interferes," said an eye-witness of his acts, "with the spiritual affairs of any subordinate, regarding these as sacred personal matters, to be gov- erned by the convictions of each individual." At proper time and in the proper place, though, he was ever ready to speak for his faith and impress its truth upon others. The priests in the army were his par- ticular friends; and Father Trecy, formerly of Hunts- ville, Ala., was held in special regard by him because of his personal worth and the fact that his loyalty to the Union made it necessary for him to quit the South. He was attending a Mass celebrated by that clergy- man when the news was brought to him that his pray- ers for his country had been answered, that the enemy had fled and that the important battle of Stone River had been won. 54 CHAPTER A\ TRIBUTES. X a speech at the Chickamauga dedication, Mc- Kinley, then Governor of Ohio, said: "General Rosecrans, a graduate of great dis- tinction at the United States ^liHtary Academy in 1842, and who served in the army until 1864, was the commander-in-chief of the Union forces and was an honored citizen of our own State. He entered the vol- unteer service as colonel of the Twenty-third Ohio infantry. I recall him with peculiar tenderness and respect. He was the first colonel of the regiment to which I belonged, my boyhood ideal of a great soldier; and I gladly pay him my tribute of love for his tender qualities, which endeared him to me, and the high sol- dierly qualities which earned for him the gratitude of the State for his magnificent service to the Union cause. Ohio is proud of him and in his old age and declining years I beg him to know that he enjoys the affection- ate regard of the old State, which will guard his fame forever." AMien the bill placing him on the retired list was before Congress some fourteen speeches were made on the occasion. I quote from a few: Gen. Cutcheon, of ^lichigan, said: "\Mien the tocsin of war was sounded. Gen. Rose- crans did not hesitate or falter, but he left every- 55 thing- behind him and laid all that he had upon the altar uf his country, and when we needed victory, when this country in its heart of hearts was aching for want of victory. Gen. Rosecrans, in the very beginning, in West Virginia, gave us victory. Again in the far South- west, at Tuka, he gave us victory. He was promoted step by step from colcMiel to brigadier-general, and from that t<^ major-general, and was placed at the head of the Army of the Cumberland, and again, in the closing days of December, 1862, at Stone River, he lighted the horizon of this whole country from edge to Qdge with the fires of victory. Then, following that, he gave us one of the most magnificent specimens of perfect strategy that the entire war afforded, in the Tullahoma campaign, when, almost without the sac- rifice of a life, he flanked I>ragg out of his fortified position at Tullahoma and carried his army across the mountains into the valley of Chickamauga." Hon. (). L. Jackson, of Pennsylvania, who served four years in the army of the Tennessee, said : *Tt was Rosecrans who commanded and directed the brave men at Stone River on those fearful winter clays when again the tide of battle was turned south- ward. Tt was under him IMiil Sheridan first rode at the head of a division, and on this bloodv field gave evidence of the high rank he w-as afterwards to attain. It was Rosecrans' skill and genius that maneuvered the enemy out of Chattanooga and gave the Army ot the Cumberland a position at Chickamauga that enabled him to hold at bay liragg's army, re-enforced by one of the best c(M-ps from the rebel armv on the Potomac. 56 Do not forget that it was under Rosecrans that Thomas stood, the Rock of Chickaniauga. "Mr. Speaker, there was a day in the nation's peril when good Abraham Lincohi thought he ought to send the thanks of the nation to Gen. Rosecrans and the officers and men of his command for their ofreat services in the field." Gen. David B. Henderson, of Iowa, who left a leg on the battlefield, electrified the House by his appeal in behalf of his old commander. In the course of his remarks he said: "As a member of the Army of the Tennessee, I fol- lowed both Grant and Rosecrans. I fought under Rosecrans at Corinth. I was with him in that battle, and he was the only general I ever saw closer to the enemy than we were who fought in the front, for in that great battle he dashed in front of our lines when the flower of Price's army was pouring death and destruction into our ranks. The bullets had carried oiT his hat, his hair was floating in the w'ind, and pro- tected by the God of battle, he passed along the line and shouted, 'Soldiers, stand by your flag and coun- try!' We obeyed his orders. We crushed Price's army, and gave the country the great triumph of the battle of Corinth. Gen. Rosecrans was the central, the leading and the victorious spirit." Gen. Weaver, of Iowa, served under Rosecrans, and said: 'T, too, had the honor to participate in the battle at Corinth in 1802, and I know, and the country knows, that but for the magnificent strategy of Rosecrans, D/ his soldierly bearing, his wonderful grasp of and atten- tion to the details of that battle, the Army of the South- west would have been overthrown and the conse- quences could not have been foretold. He decoyed the army of Price on to the spot where he designed to fight the battle and the result was that he was vic- torious, and captured parts of sixty-nine different com- mands serving under Price and Van Dorn and the other Confederate commanders. In that important battle he saved the cause of the Union in the South- west. Rosecrans was a splendid soldier, a valuable officer and is now^ an honored citizen." Here is the manner in which he impressed the cor- respondent of the Ciuciiuiati Coiuuicrcial, "W. D. B.", who was with him in the three months' campaign with the old 14th Army Corps, that terminated with the brilliant victory of Stone River. "Industry was one of the most valuable qualities of Gen. Rosecrans," wrote this correspondent. "Labor was a constitutional necessity with him. And he enjoyed a fine faculty for the disposition of military business — a faculty which rapidly improved with experience. He neither spared himself nor his subordinates. He insisted on being surrounded with active, rapid workers. He iiked sandy fellows,' because they were 'quick and sharp/ He rarely found staiT officers who could endure with him." And no wonder! The General was the first officer to begin work in the morning, and the last to leave ofif at night, never, so this same authority states, retirino- before two o'clock in the morning, very often not until four, and sometimes not until broad daylight. 58 No wonder, too, that the soldiers spoke enthusiastically of "Rosy," as they called their commander, and ex- pressed to each other their confidence in him, when they heard him tell them that if their equipment was in any way deficient, they should ask for what was needed and keep on asking until they got it; or that his subordinate ofBcers were loud in his praise when they saw that in his official reports to headquarters every man who had distinguished himself in action was honorably mentioned and strongly recommended for promotion. One more portraiture of Gen. Rosccrans, as he appeared to those who were associated with him when he commanded the 14th Army Corps may not be out of place here. "He had no taste for party poHtics," wrote Gen. Boynton, "having dismissed that subject until the rebellion should be crushed — a point upon which he expressed no doubts. And, indeed, he had never been a politician. Upon the general subject of slavery, he held the faith that had been proclaimed immemorially by his Church and by all nations which have pretended to civilization. * * '■' Upon belles leftres he opened a mine of rich lore, and charmed you, as well by the felicity of his illustrations, as by the pungent and comprehensive character of his criticism. It was not a little amusing to the author to read in a leading eastern journal, that in science and literature Rosecrans was probably the inferior of McClellan and Buell. Their respective mutual classmates, and later associates, are sure that either of the latter might learn from him in each department. His general 59 knowledge of science is extensive. Geology and min- eralogy are specialties, and in those sciences he ranks among the most accomplished in the country." Let US add just one discordant note, penned by one who has gone to the other world. In Charles A. Dana's ''Reminiscences," in the Feb- ruary nimiber of McC lure's Magaciuc, there is a record of the impression Gen. Rosecrans made on Mr. Dana, who was with him in the Chickamauga campaign of 1863. ]\Ir. Dana says of him: "While few persons exhibited more estimable social qualities, I have never seen a public man possessing talent with less administrative power, less clearness and steadiness in difficulty, and greater practical inca- pacity than Gen. Rosecrans. He had inventive fertilitv and knowledge, but he had no strength of will and no concentration of purpose. His mind scattered: there was no system in the use of his busy days and restless nights, no courage against individuals in his composition, and, with great love of command, he was a feeble commander. He was conscientious and honest, just as he was imperious and disputatious ; always with- a stray vein of caprice, and an overweening passion for the approbation of his personal friends and the public outside." It should be remembered that this estimate was made after Chickamauga; and that it is absolutely in contradiction of all other estimates made by those who liad just as much, if not more, opportunity of study- in.g the character of our hero. That "he was a feeble commander" is unjust and untrue and would be repu- 60 (liated by every officer and private of the grand old Ariiiy of the Cumberland. Dana was a civilian and. like many another in his day was ever readv to hastily criticize the warriors figditing the battles of their conn- try. As an offset to this opinion we need but place the kind words of such veterans, both of war and journalism, as Gen. Boynton, Col. Furav an.d Maj. Ihckham. The OJiio State Journal said: '■ '( )1(1 Rosy' is dead. The hero of Stone River and Chickamauo-a. one of the few remainino- commanders of the late war, has passed away. General William Starke Rosecrans died at his home near Los Angeles, Cal., yesterday morning, of the ailments consequent upon old age, in the 79th year of his age. ''His war service embraced the command of the Army of the Mississippi, succeeding General Pope, the command of the Army of the Cimib»erland, with a campaign in West \ irginia, his brilliant success at Carnifex Ferry sending him West. The battles of Stone River and Chickamauga were fought under his generalship, both engagements being among the blood- iest of the war. There was a disposition to censure Rosecrans for his conduct in the latter battle, but later developments justified the views of his friends at the time, that the Union forces had accomplished much, though at the expense of thousands of lives. But the gallant Rosecrans was hurt, not only by these misrep- resentations, but by the venom with which he was pursued. His nervousness, irritability and impatience showed to a disadvantage, and he was relieved of liis 61 comniand. This practically closed his military career, but he did not resign until after the close of the war. "With the flight of time, the severest censors of Rosecrans are willing to admit that he was as clever a strategist at Chickamauga as he was at Stone River, even though he had a largely reinforced enemy to meet. He was a great favorite with his men, and the boys who marched with him in the awful campaigns will hear of his death with unfeigned regret. He was a splendid fighter, possessed of a fine military mind and ample experience, but had a nervous temperament that at times unfortunately tended to obscure in the popular mind the brightness of his achievements on the field." The following estimate of Gen. Rosecrans appeared in the columns of the Western Christian Advocate, a Methodist paper, whose editor, Dr. David H. Moore, was a soldier. It is entitled ''Our 'Wreath of Roses.' " "There died last Friday, in Los Angeles, the ablest tactician among the great generals of the Civil War. An impartial study of the history of that immortal contest will show that in this respect no man, on either side, surpassed William Starke Rosecrans. Whitelaw Reid styles him the American Jomini. "Was there ever a better planned movement than that which resulted in the first fight 'above the clouds,' where Rosecrans headed the 13th Indiana in a head- long charge that sent Pegram flying from Rich Moun- tain and Garrett from Laurel Hill? It lacked only the promised co-operation of McClellan to have bagged 62 the game so cleverly started. Was there any other Union officer who outgeneraled Robert E. Lee? Yet when that incomparable Confederate leader undertook to win back West Virginia from our Wreath of Roses, capping the summit of Cheat Mountain, he was out- maneuvered at every point, his Kanawha division only escaping capture by the failure of Benham to obey Rosecrans' orders. luka and Corinth added new laurels to this Wreath, when Price and Van Dorn were compelled to acknowledge his victorious prow- ess. Had Phil Sheridan and not McCook commanded the pivot at Murfreesboro, there had hardly been a remnant of Bragg's army left. As it was, never was a battle-plan more speedily and successfully changed in the teeth of impending disaster. "The chess-board of .war has not witnessed more brilliant moves than those by which he maneuvered Bragg out of Tullahoma. Opinion will forever be divided on Chiclramauga; but Chickamauga was fought for Chattanooga, and the prize was won. If there Rosecrans' military sun set, it bathed the heavens in its efifulgence. "Three things are alleged to have blocked his way to the very front: his inability to select competent lieutenants; his kind-hearted reluctance to remove a ■commander whose weakness had been demonstrated; and his lack of tact in managing his superior officers. If permitted to develop his own plans, Rosecrans, in our judgment, would have topped the immortals. " 'Old Rosey,' the boys called him; and they loved him for his cheer and care and kindness. 63 "He was the Roman Catholic Howard. A devouter Christian there was not. We have not escaped the ckitches of prejudice; but all must admit that, though wholly a Romanist, he was Catholic in his charity to those from whom he differed. He believed in God with all his heart. "He was a native of Kingston Township, Delaware County, Ohio, and lived from September 6, 1819, to March 11, 1898. His paternal ancestors were from Amsterdam ; his Dutch patronymic meaning, 'a wreath of roses' — the perfume of which will sweeten Amer- ican historv." 64 CHAPTER \l. NOTES AND ANECDOTES. HIS SIMPLICITY. O man could have been more gentle and simple in his way. He carried all his honors and extensive learning with the modesty becoming a great genius. His lot was not always cast in the most pleasant places, and yet he bore his disappointments with Christian fortitude. He charmed every one with his delightful conversation and, meeting him once, you longed for another oppor- tunity to listen to him. He could talk entertainingly on all subjects and would drift along from a scientific discussion of the radius z'cctor in mathematics to some disputed point in history and then quietly drift into a talk about the wonderful manifestation of God's love for man in the sublime mystery of the Incarnation. HIS GENEROSITY. The things of the world — money, etc., — seemed to have no alluring interest for him, and in his last days of official life at Washington, as Register of the Treasury of the United States, his purse was ever open to the needy. At the close of official hours, as he left the Treasury Department and wended his way to his room at Willard's Hotel, he almost invaria1)ly was 65 stopped by some old veteran who appealed for assist- ance; and if he had no money with him, he took the needy one into the hotel and had the clerk advance it for him, until, when pay-day came around, his check was turned over to the hotel clerk and generallv but little was left to his credit. HIS BRAVERY. Sheridan, in his "Personal Memoirs," writing of the battle of Stone River, tells this incident: "Gen. Rosecrans, with a part of his staff and a few soldiers, rode out on the rearranged line to superintend its formation and encourage the men, and in the prose- cution of these objects moved around the front of the column of attack within range of the batteries that were shelling us so viciously. As he passed to the open ground on my left, I joined him. The enemv seeing this mounted party, turned his guns upon it, and his accurate aim was soon rewarded, for a solid shot carried away the head of Col. Garesche, the chief of staff, and killed or wounded two or three orderlies. Garesche's appalling death stunned us all, and a mo- mentary expression of horror spread over Rosecrans' face; but at such time the importance of self-control was vital; and he pursued his course with an appear- ance (?) which, however, those immediately about him saw was assumed, for undoubtedly he felt most deeply the death of his friend and trusted staff officer." "OLD ROSEY AND THE TROOPER." The following story, oft repeated, was one that "Old Rosey" appeared to enjoy hugely, for. as he said, it was at his own expense: The Army of the Cumberland was making a march in a driving rainstorm, the infantry foot deep in mud, 66 LofC. the cavalry mud-bespattered, the wagons and artillery frequently stalled. Several officers were riding- along the road when they saw a cannon almost helplessly imbedded in the all-pervading mud of a cornfield. At the suggestion of the leader they left their mounts and, wading over to the group working to extricate this implement of war, lent their assistance. The men were cursing the weather, the mud, the horses, the gun, and more particularly and with greater freedom, Gen. Rosecrans, who, they said, had got them into all the trouble. In the latter particular they were all very fluent, with the exception of one trooper who was pushing at the wheel wntli one of the officers who was working hardest. While the others were doing bril- liant work in the way of reviling the General, he re- mained silent. Finally the gun was extricated from its earthly bed, and the unrecognized officer departed. Then the silent soldier spoke: "Don't you know, you blame fools," he said, "that Gen. Rosecrans was pushing that wheel with me?" "LONG-LEGGED JIM." Another favorite yarn with Gen. Rosecrans was about a soldier known as "Long-legged Jim." He was a brave fellow but fearfully lazy. On one occa- sion during a long, dusty march on a hot summer day, towards four o'clock in the afternoon, while marching through a bit of timber country, Jim could not resist the temptation to sit down on a log and enjoy the shade. His captain spoke up and urged 67 him to come on. Jim threw down his gun and replied, "Cap, I'll be danged if I walk another step to-day." The captain, knowing Jim thoroughly, answered, "All right," and the company kept right on over the brow of a neighboring hill. \'ery soon bullets were heard whistling through the branches of the trees and Jim, grabbing his gun, started after his companions, who by this time had come out in the clearing, and to avoid the deep dust of the road were marching along close to a rail fence. Jim came flying by at double quick in the middle of the road, and as he passed by the captain yelled: "Say, Jim, I thought you said you wouldn't walk another step to-day?'' "Thunder and lightning! Cap., do you call this zcalkiiig?'' answered Jim, as he ran by at double-quick. "WIDOW (GLENN'S H'USE." This is the famous spot, where Rosecrans held his last council of war before the historic 20th day of September, 1803. Here is a description of that scene from the pen of Capt. W. C. Margedant: "Widow Glenn's log house was, like all the houses of that kind, provided with a large fire-place, in which a bright fire was burning — perhaps the only fire within 15 scjuare miles, on account of the order given not to light fires on that night for any purpose. The remains of a candle were stuck into a reversed bayo- net, lighting up dimly the battle map, which was spread out upon a cartridge box. The fire in the large chimney place flared up from time to time, illuminating the faces of those who took part in the council of war. 68 "There was Major-(ieneral Rosecrans, sitting, in full uniform and sword, on the edge of a rustic bed frame, bending toward the center of the scantilv furnished room, listening and sometimes talking to General Thomas, who sat near the fire, occupying the only chair which had been left by the widow Glenn. There were other generals, commanding corps, divisions and brigades, some sitting on the rough-hewn barren floor, with their backs against the walls, w'hile others stood up. 'Tt was a picture well worth painting — this the last council of war on the field of battle — the dim, flaripg light, the faces of the men who directed the battles, the bright metallic shine of the swords and uniforms, when the fire flared up in the primitive chimney. Sometimes, when there was a hush of silence in the conversation, we could hear, far in the distance in the enemy's lines, the arrival of trains and moving of troops, reinforcements, soldiers from all parts of the Confederacy. It was not the usual preparations of a Saturday night for a peaceful Sunday; nay, it was for the most bloody fight ever fought, September 20, 1803. There were a few short hours' rest left after the hardships of the first day's battle, and during this last war council of the commanders, the soldiers rested on their arms, awaiting the break of day to renew their deadly conflict. "When the first rays of light colored the firmament in the East with a bright reddish hue, Gen. Garfield ordered the general stafY officers to mount for the inspection of our lines. Major-General Rosecrans led 69 the cavalcade. It was one of those quiet, peaceful Sunday mornings enjoyed only in the country or the woods. There was no noise. Speaking was done in a whisper." Capt. Wm. C. Margedant, formerly Topographical Engineer on General Rosecrans' staf¥, contributed a very interesting series of letters to the Hamilton, O., ARCH'S, from which we quote the following remin- iscences: HIS INSPECTION. The manner of his inspection at once engendered a cordiality toward him which promised happy re- sults. The soldiers were satisfied that their comman- der took an interest in their welfare — a moralizing, agency which no capable general of volunteers can safely neglect. He examined the equipments of the men with exacting scrutiny. No trifling nwnutiae es- caped him. Everything to which a soldier was en- titled was important. A private without a canteen instantly evoked a volley of searching inquiries. "^^'here is your canteen?" ''How did you lose it? when? where?" "Why don't you get another?" To others, "You need shoes and you a knapsack." Sol- diers thus addressed were apt to frankly reply, some- times a whole company was laughing at the novelty of this keen inquisition. "Can't get shoes," said one; "required a canteen and could not get it," rejoined another. "Why?" quoth the general. "Go to your captain and demand what you need. Go to him every day until you get it. Bore him for it. Bore him in his quarters. Bore 70 Pore him in bed. Bore hinr. bore hin. at meal-Umes. Bore h>m ,. ^^ ^^ ^, '--• ''^^^r^orrvo clU; let the colonels captains. ••^ ou bore > °«^ rt.eir division bore the brigadiers bgdi - ^^^^.^ ^^^^^ ^„„. generals; division gf ""^'^ '^^ j.„ ,ee. then, if yO'^ lianders, and theni bore «e. HI ^^^^^^ ,^^^^^ ^,„,, don't get what you want. ^^^^ ^^. ^^^^ ^^ on vou get everything you are ^^^^^^,^ ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^„,,, through an entire division^ ^^.^^ ^^^^^,^^^.^ „d quoth a brawny fello.. He ^ ^^^^^ ^^,^, L soldiers returned to the p. ,^,,, ^Ikea about -Rosy" jnst as those .vho knew and loved him. THE "JACKASS ^f West \ If 2;inia ^'-^ter a' - Farlv in the campaign ot \ .^.o-agements oi balue oi Rich Mountan. -d tl. o .^. ^^^^^^ Philippi and Bevedy Gen ^^^^^^^ ,^^^ ^^,,^ the plan of f°"^"."^- ftl -in- "P the march througn '■lackass Battery.' In »1^" - ost daily compelled to ^- --"'^^"^ *?b:::wa S: eolJm had to figbt face the enemy. The a'-l^a ^ 5 t,,e posse.-- it. way through the --"^^^ystnd sweep the hiUs. sion of the woods, clear ^^e val e>^ ^^^^^^^^ difficulties, Tbev moved '"-^"Vdet^nld a unique battery con- and General Rosecrans designed _^ ^ ^^^.. sisting of several hundred m . e ^^^^^ ^^^^ tain part of the ean"°-- ^^ „,„,, carried the but had a very ^vlde bore ^^^^ ^^,,,_ ,,,,. ,vheels. the second the lafe e f ^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ soon. The mountam roads were . onl\- affording- room for two mules. Whenever the army made a stop the "Mountain Howitzers" or *' Jackass Battery" was l^rought forward and the can- non quickly put together and the firing could begin. The confederates could not stand these shells and al- ways gave the right of wa}'. This "Jackass Battery" of General Rosecrans proved so effective that it was adopted through all the moun- tain reg-ions. The English always on the alert fo.* advantages, copied our custom and introduced it into their army. They mounted the gun on the mule, loaded the gun while it was on the mule, having for- gotten to note that the Americans placed the gun in pi-oper position. They lighted the fuse of the loaded cannon, and the mule being frio-htened at the hissing- sound, suddenly wheeled around until the cannon faced the officers, and the charge went oft'. History- does not relate what became of the mule. THE WHEELING STOGIE. General Rosecrans was verv fond of smokinsf cigars, but he was not particidar of what weed the cigar was made. ITis favorite cigar was a Wheeling stoggie, a slim, irregular twist of tobacco, which would never get dry, and twisted around the finger. At that time this brand of cigars would sell for thirtv-five cents a hundred. The general smoked these ciofars, which were actually not of Havana aroma, when he rode at the head of the army through the mountain regions ot West Virginia. The staff officers always tried to keep on the wind side of the general, so as to give the rising smoke, 72 which sometimes came in big puffs, all possible space for departure. It cannot be claimed that the general kept all of his treasure to himself. Cigars were at that time, in the mountains of A'irginia, considered quite as much a boon as a white paper shirt collar was. On the contrary, whenever an officer rode tn the front to make a report or to receive an order, the general would sink his hands into his well-filled pock- ets and taking therefrom a cigar he would address the officer as follows: "Have a cigar, sir." I remember that on a certain day, one of the rough and ready colonels of a regiment, whose name I have forgotten, rode up on the windy side of the general. As usual the first thing the general said, "colonel, have a cigar?" The colonel rose to his full height in his saddle and sternly looking at the general said: "General, you are my superior officer, but d — n your cigars," and rode away. The general and his staff officer looked upon this as quite a joke, and it was not long before this anecdote w^as related to and by every man in the ranks. THE (GENERAL AND THE CAPTAIN. When General Rosecrans rode out to review the troops, there was usually something- of a pleasant as well as instructive character going on. Upon his ap- pearance the welkin usually rang with the hearty cheers of the troops. When dressed in line the gen- eral occasionally passed along the front, scanning each man closely, noticing in an instant anything out of place in his dress. He always kept a sharp lookout 73 for his officers, holding them accountable for the con- duct of the men. At one review he gave a forcible illustration of his ideas on the subject. He noticed a private whose knapsack was very much awry, and drew him from the ranks, calling at the same time for his captain, who at once approached. ''Captain^ I am sorry to see you don't know how to strap a knapsack on a soldier's back." "But I didn't do it, general." ''Oh, you didn't? Well, hereafter you had better do it yourself, or see that it is done correctly by the private. I have nothing more to say to him. I shall hold you responsible sir, for the appearance of your men." "But I can't make them attend to these matters,'' said the officer. "Then, if you can't you had better leave the service." Upon another occasion, General Rosecrans noticed a private without a canteen, but otherwise quite neatly arrayed. "Ah, here's a good soldier; all right, first rate, with one little exception. Good cloth and good arms; he marches and he drills and fights and eats. But he don't drink. That's queer; and I fear he won't hold out a pinch. March all day in the heat and dust, yet don't want to drink water. Rather afraid of a break-down here. Better have the canteens, bo3'S, and well-filled, too." And he passed on, leav- ing a lesson and a smile. ^^