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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 30, 1963)
gjt WAS THE CIVIL WAR Federals Bolster Chattanooga By MERTON T. AKERS VPI Correspondent John Hay routed President Lincoln out of bed the night of Sept. 23. 1863. The President was staying in a cottage at Soldiers' Home, which stood on a wooded hill about three miles beyond the northern boundary of the Wash ington of that day. Hay, one of the presidential secretaries, rode out to the cottage "through a splendid moonlight," he wrote in his di ary, "and found the Tycoon (his name for Lincoln) abed." The younger of the president ial secretaries, now just 25 year old, Hay was carrying bad news for his chief. He had dropped into the War Department after dinner and found Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton decipher ing a dispatch from Charles A. Dana, assistant secretary of war, who was in Chattanooga, Tenn., with the defeated army of Maj. Gen. William S. Rose crans. ; The Federal army, under siege by the Confederate Army of Tennessee after the battle of Chickamauga, could hold out only IS or 20 days, Dana's dis patch said. Reinforcements of 20,000 to 25,000 men were need ed if the Federal Army of the Cumberland was to be saved and the city held. Asked for Meeting It was 9:45 p. m. Stanton ask ed Hay to bring Lincoln to the War Department for a meeting that night. "I delivered my message to him as he robed himself and he was considerably disturbed," Hay wrote. "I assured him as far as I could that it meant noth ing serious, but he thought other wise, as it was the first time Stanton had ever sent for him." In addition to Lincoln, Stan ton also summoned Gen. -In - Chief Henry W. Halleck. Secre tary ol Mate William H. Seward, Secretary of Treasury Salmon P. Chase, Assistant Secretary of War Peter H. Watson, Maj. James A. Hardie, an assistant adjutant general, and Col. Dan iel C. McCallum, director of military transportation. By midnight all had assem bled and Stanton unveiled a plan to save Chattanooga and Rose crans' army. "I propose to send 30,000 men from the Army of the Potomac," he said. "There is no reason to expect General (George G.) Meade will attack Lee, although greatly superior in force; and his great numbers where they are, are useless. In five days 30,000 could be put with Rose crans." Lincoln offered to bet that if the order was given that night "the troops cculd not be got to Washington in five days." Stanton was not inclined to bet but said if 30,000 could not be sent let 20.000 go. Halleck in Doubt The discussion continued for a time with Halleck in doubt whether even reinforcements from the West could get to Chattanooga in time. He and Lincoln felt that Meade should not be weakened. Seward, Chase and McCallum sided with Stan ton. Finally Stanton's plan won ap proval and the meeting broke up after it was decided to send the XI and the XII Corps and that Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker would command them. Hooker was "awaiting orders" after being re lieved in June from command of the Army of the Potomac. "Finished the evening with a supper by Stanton, which few ate," Hay wrote. But the night was not finish ed for Stanton. He began to send orders. He promised Dana 15,000 infantry would arrive in five or six days. By 2:30 a. m. Meade was order ed to prepare the two corps and have them ready to start in 24 hours. He ordered all the heads of railroads involved to "come to Washington as quickly as you can." The troops were to entrain at Culpeper, Va., for Washington. They were to go from the capi tal to the Ohio river by the Bal timore it Ohio, from there to Indianapolis via Columbus, then to Louisville and on to Nashville by the Louisville & Nashville. Troops Rolling Trains full of troops were rol ling through Washington in less than 48 hours after the midnight meeting. The railroads were of differ ent gauges and that meant changing trains at sev e r a 1 places along the route. At one point in Kentucky 8,000 workers were impressed to change the gauge of a section of a railroad. Cooked rations the troops car ried ran out in Indianapolis. Six hours were lost there feed ing the men a hot meal. But by 10:30 the night of Sept. 30 the first troops arrived in Bridgeport, Ala., about 25 miles across the mountains from Chat tanooga. Just seven days had elapsed since Stanton touched off the operation. Unprecedented Feat Three days later 20.000 men, 10 batteries of artillery with horses and ammunition and 100 cars of baggage had reached Bridgeport. It was an unprecedented feat of moving troops by rail. Stan son was proud of his work. He telegraphed Thomas A. Scott, former assistant secre tary of war and now a Penn- -gsv PLAX GOES INTO EFFECT On Sept. 23, 1863, a message arrived at Washington inform ing President Lincoln and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton that the Federal garrison at Chattanooga, now under siege by the Confed erates, could hold out only about 15 or 20 days. It was decided to reinforce them, and a plan by Stanton was put into effect. Under the plan, the XI and the XII Corps would be detached from the Army of the Potomac and under the command of Gen. Joe Hooker, they would be sent to Chattanooga. In just seven days the plan was completed. It was an unprecedented feat of moving troops by rail. Here, from the Library of Congress collection, is a drawing looking toward the Confederate lines from Union trenches in the city. tUPl) sylvania Railroad official who had handled the western end of the project: "Your work is most brilliant. A thousand thanks. It is a great achievement." Stanton was not a man to confer congratulations lightly. The war secretary followed up ' by sending Quartermaster Gen- ! pral Mnntunmnrv Mni(i in f hat- tanooga to work on the supply situation with "the fullest power and more money and means of war at my command . . . than any other man since Napoleon." Meigs wrote. Hooker was not especially pleased with his appointment to head the two corps under the command of Rosecrans. He felt the command was not in keep ing with his standing as former chief of the Army of the Poto mac but he accepted and left Washington on Sept. 28. Hay went with him the night before when Hooker said goodby to Lincoln. Hay recorded that Hooker did not "especially ap prove of the campaign down there. He thinks we might force them to fight at disadvantage, instead of allowing to continu ally choose the battleground. Does not think much can be done by lengthening Rosecrans1 lines indefinitely into Georgia." Found Stanton Hay had stumbled into the midnight conference at the War Department because he had found in a Confederate news paper word that Mrs. Lincoln's brother - in - law. Ben Hardin Helm, had been killed at Chick amauga. He took the newspaper to the War Department to send it by courier to Lincoln at Sol diers' home and there found Stanton reading Chattanooga dispatches. Mrs. Lincoln was at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York and Lincoln telegraphed the news to her. Helm was married to Mrs. Lincoln's half-sister, Emily, and was a favorite of Lincoln. Helm had visited the White House early in 1861 when Lincoln of fered him a commission as a paymaster. Helm turned it down and organized a Confederate cavalry regiment in Kentucky. He was a brigadier general when he was killed. Lincoln wrote a pass for Mrs, Lincoln's stepmother to cross the battlelines and bring back Mrs. Helm to Kentucky. Grange News UOI.I) HILL GRANGE Agriculture reports presented at the September meeting of the Gold Hill Grange showed few changes in cattle prices with more cost than usual for feed. Several 4-H club members from Jackson county with live stock at the State Fair brought home ribbons. Mrs. Vera Kamp ing also took first on her netted gem potatoes and second on her red potatoes. She won another first on cantaloupes. Charles roote acted as mas ter at the September meeting and Blanch Merriman, hospital ity chairman, welcomed the following guests: Ralph James, Sams Valley; Mr. and Mrs. Ce cil Kee, Shady Cove, accompan ied by his mother, Mrs. Mary Kec, of Spokane, Wash, and Mrs. Olive Floyd, Phoenix Grange. Mr. and Mrs. Albert Gascon were elected to membership in the Grange. The Grangers decided to hold Booster Night Oct. 14. Mrs. Floyd gave details on the chartering of a bus to take Grange members to Portland for the National Grange meet ing Nov. 16. Program for the evening was presented by Willie McLean, lecturer. Refreshments were served by Mr. and Mrs. Alva Walker. SECTION B Medford PAGES 1 to Tribune MEDFORD. OREGON, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1963 Deposed President Leaves for Exile SANTO DOMINGO, Domini can Republic (UPI) Deposed President Juan Bosch sailed to an unknown destination today to begin the life of an exile for the second time. Bosch, 53, and his wife, Car men, were put aboard the gov ernment frigate Mella Sunday sailing from Santo Domingo. The government kept their destination secret but one source said it would be cither Martinique or Guadaloupc. both French islands in the Caribbean. CHICKEN LITTLE STORY NETHER STOWEY, England (UPI) Miss Lucy Baker re turned from church Sunday night and found her house had fallen down. OL J tMITAfl KTWr,l 1.6 J ! 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