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General B. BRAGG,

Richmond, Va.:

CLINTON, August 10, 1864.

Two divisions of infantry, Taylor's corps within striking distance of river. Boats preparing. Time and place of crossing not fully decided upon. Forty pontoons on this side ready to move to point indicated. Much difficulty in the movement anticipated. General Taylor wishes his staff to come with him. Asks that Wharton with four cavalry brigades be brought across. Suggests that another division infantry now in Arkansas (he says) also come.

THOMAS BUTLER.

General BRAGG:

CLINTON, LA., August 11, 1864. (Via Mobiie.)

I have just received dispatch, dated 3d instant, from General Taylor, directing me to learn whether it is contemplated that he shall cross the river should it be found impracticable to cross the troops; also whether you desire that he should precede the troops to this side.

[Inclosure No. 17.]

W. STEVENS,

Captain, &c.

HEADQUARTERS TRANS-MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT,

Lieut. Gen. R. TAYLOR,

Commanding, &c.:

Shreveport, La., August 11, 1864.

GENERAL: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of the 8th instant. My letter written to you in Alexandria expresses clearly my views and the necessity for crossing immediately the Mississippi with the troops under your command. The inclosed copies of dispatches from Generals Maury and Liddell are additional evidences of this necessity. The plan submitted and approved by you in your letter of August 8 for bridging the Mississippi is simply impracticable and visionary. It necessitates the concentration of engineer troops from Arkansas and Texas-virtually the establishment of a navyyard at Shreveport and building of boats. It makes requisition for material on the city of Houston, Tex., which in all probability will have to be imported. Under the most favorable circumstances it requires preparations, the collection of materials, and construction that would necessitate the delay of at least two months, and might fairly convey the impression that we were endeavoring to evade the order directing the crossing of the troops. You certainly could not have carefully examined the plan proposed or you would not have approved and recommended a course which detains indefinitely the troops here, while the campaign east of the Mississippi, in which they were to participate, has already reached a crisis. In my letter of July 31 the whole disposable force of the district was placed under your control through General Walker, its commander. The point and mode of crossing were left to your own judgment. It was only suggested instead of sending the cavalry on a distant expedition toward New Orleans they, with artillery, should be used to cover the crossing by holding points above and below the point selected. In my letter of the 31st I authorized you to eld members of your staff east of the Mississippi for the purpose of

4.

* See Maury to Liddell and Liddell to Hart, August 5, p. 99.

obtaining information and making provision for your troops. Your experience on the Mississippi, your knowledge of the country, and your personal interest in the success of the movement, make you the proper officer to command, even had the dispatches from the War Department not so directed. The list of staff officers furnished by you, whom you desired might accompany you east of the river, was carefully considered by me in the intention of being liberal and with the desire of complying with your wishes; but two on the list were objected to-Major Mason and Colonel Brent. Their services are too indispensably neces sary, without inflicting serious injury upon the interests of the District of West Louisiana. As an evidence of my liberality I made no objection to either of the five adjutant-generals whose names were on that list, viz, Colonel Levy, Major Surget, Captain Elgee, Captain May, and Captain Watt. General S. D. Lee has, I believe, gone to Atlanta. The inclosed copies of dispatches would indicate that General Maury commands the department and is besieged at Mobile. General Liddell, immediately commanding the district opposite to you, is at Clinton. You can communicate with him and obtain his co-operation. I again urge upon you the necessity of promptly crossing the force under your command; at least, the attempt should be made. If there is any unnecessary delay the authorities at Richmond can judge where the fault lies and upon whom the responsibility rests.

I am, general, very respectfully,

E. KIRBY SMITH,

General.

HEADQUARTERS TRANS-MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT,

Maj. Gen. J. G. WALKER,

Commanding, &c.:

Shreveport, La., August 11, 1864.

GENERAL: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 9th instant. The change in the movement of the two brigades ordered to Arkansas may endanger us in that district, but as the successful crossing of the Mississippi by General Taylor's column is of the highest importance, I will adopt the change in the disposition of the troops made by yourself. I desire nothing to be done that will hazard the success of General Taylor's movement across the Mississippi. You will have the two brigades of Major's division prepared so that they can march to Arkansas as soon as the movement of Gen eral Taylor has been accomplished. General Bagby should command. That will probably be the most important theater of operations, and a good officer should march in command of the troops. I inclose you a copy of a letter* to-day written to General Taylor.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

E. KIRBY SMITH,

General.

General BRAXTON BRAGG,

Richmond, Va.:

CLINTON, LA., August 12, 1864.

GENERAL: I was unable to communicate fully with you by telegram as I could not do so in cipher, and I was advised, for prudent reasons thot to give any important information unless written in that way. On the 10th of August the cipher was obtained at General Liddell's headquarters, and I then sent you a dispatch giving the chief points in General Taylor's communication. I now inclose the general's letter, which will give you his views more plainly than I could myself transmit them.

* See next, ante.

General Taylor, through his staff officer, begs me that you will use your influence to have the troops that cross to this side paid up as soon as practicable. They have been greatly neglected in this respect, and he thinks a prompt attention to their wants would, to a certain extent, tend to remove the dissatisfaction which would exist by reason of transfer."

He also suggests that when the troops are brought from Arkansas, General Price be left in the Trans-Mississippi Department. He thinks, unless ordered to remain, the general will be sent over, as General E. K. Smith is anxious to get rid of him.

You will see from General Taylor's letter that he anticipates difficulty, moral as well as material, in the transfer of the troops to this side, but he promises that every exertion will be used to overcome both.

On the 9th I again wrote to General Taylor, suggesting that he had better act fully without waiting to hear from Richmond, telling him that you considered expedition in the movement of the troops. I also informed him that it was your wish that he should move in person to this side as soon as practicable.

I have not heard from General Smith.

Generals Wirt Adams and Liddell have made all necessary arrangements for providing transportation and supplies for the troops as they Toss over, and both are ready to give such co-operation as to facilitate the movement.

It is feared that the enemy is apprised of our intentions, not from positive information but from his spies observing preparations which indicate the contemplated movement. We find the greatest caution and secrecy necessary, as the inhabitants are in constant communication with the enemy.

I will inform you as soon as I get further news.

I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant,.

[Inclosure No. 18.]

THOMAS BUTLER,

Captain, &c.

HEADQUARTERS TRANS-MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT,

Lieut. Gen. R. TAYLOR,

Commanding, &c.:

Shreveport, La., August 12, 1864.

GENERAL: Major-General Forney left this morning to report to you to take command of Walker's old division. From letters received this morning the general commanding is led to believe that serious difficulty will arise among the troops on General Forney's taking command of that division. If these apprehensions are well founded, and as this is the only command to which he can be assigned in the department, the gen- ger fral commanding directs that upon your arrival on the east side of the Mississippi River you will relieve General Forney of command and order hm to report to Richmond. General Smith requests that you communicate to him your views on this subject.

I have the honor to be, respectfully, your obedient servant,
JOHN G. MEEM, JR.,
Colonel and Aide-de-Camp.

CLINTON, LA., August 13, 1864. (Via Mobile.)

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Are the troops from the Trans-Mississippi to bring their arms with them? General Smith has decided not, if arms can be procured from Selma.

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Some arms will be necessary for police and possibly for contingencies, but it would be well, as far as practicable, to avoid the transfer of arms from the Trans-Mississippi Department.

[Inclosure No. 19.]

HEADQUARTERS DISTRICT OF WEST LOUISIANA,

General E. KIRBY SMITHн,

J. D.

Alexandria, August 13, 1864.

Commanding Trans-Mississippi Department:

GENERAL: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of the 11th instant (No. 3637). In my note to you of the 9th instant, to which yours is an answer, I mentioned that I had already put Parsons' cavalry brigade en route for Arkansas. Harrison's Louisiana brigade, as you know, had already marched. I was, therefore, surprised at this passage in your communication:

You will have the two brigades of Major's division prepared, so that they can march to Arkansas as soon as the movement of General Taylor is accomplished.

It would appear from this that it is your desire that four cavalry brigades shall be sent to Arkansas from this district. In our conversation on the subject while you were here, and in the correspondence which has taken place between us on the subject, you did not intimate that you desired me to send more than three brigades-the two in addition to Harrison's command. Please give me instructions on this point. The preparations for the crossing of the command of General Taylor have been pushed forward by Colonel Douglas and his assistants with such energy that the pontoons will be able to move from here to-morrow= those I mean that have not already been sent around by water. It is of the greatest importance to the success of the movement that Genera Taylor should be with the troops in superintendence of the whole in person, but I learn from one of his staff that he intends leaving here to-morrow to assume command of the Department of Mississippi and await the arrival of the troops on the other side. This is in conse quence, as Major Levy informs me, of an order to that effect sent hin directly by General Bragg and received last night. I have not see the order, and think Major Levy is mistaken in regard to the order bein from General Bragg. It was probably the advice to that effect of Ma jor-General Maury.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

J. G. WALKER,
Major-General, Commanding.

[Inclosure No. 20.]

General E. K. SMITH,

ALEXANDRIA, August 13, 1864.

Comdy. Trans-Mississippi Department, Shreveport :

GENERAL: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of the 11th instant at this place to-day. In reply to your remarks in reference to crossing troops over the Mississippi River, I have to say that I have been unfortunate in my manner of expression if I have not in my previous correspondence satisfied you as to my appreciation of the importance of such a movement and of the promptness with which it should be executed. I beg to add, however, that the plan suggested in my letter of the 8th instant for effecting such an end, to which you refer as "submitted and approved by me," emanated from Lieutenant-Colonel Douglas, an officer of your staff and chief engineer of the department. I have never been in a position to become acquainted with the resources of the entire department, and if those resources are inadequate to the execution of the plan of the chief engineer, who certainly had the best means of knowing them, the fault that the plan is "impracticable and visionary” should not be attributed to me. I trust that my professional career since I have held a command in this department will show that my military plans have generally proved neither "impracticable nor visionary." You state that in your letter of July 31 the whole disposable force of the district was placed under my control through General Walker, its commander. By that letter I understood myself to be placed in command of the infantry only of my former command, and I learned from Major-General Walker that he had received orders to assist and confer with me. Major-General Walker has extended me his cordial co-operation, but the whole disposable force of the district was certainly not placed under my control. In reference to your suggestion for covering the point selected for crossIng by cavalry and artillery, I beg to say that my experience in engaging the enemy's gun-boats has shown me the futility of attempting to prevent their passing any batteries we might be able to place upon the bank. The proposition that gun-boats can pass batteries in navigable treams has been, I think, incontestably proven by experience, and especially on the Mississippi River, which is almost an inland sea. general, a diversion should be made to cover the crossing of an ordihary stream in the face of the enemy. It would be more necessary, therefore, in crossing the Mississippi, and a plan based upon this recognized proposition would eminently justify sending the cavalry on a "distant expedition." Your letter of July 31 authorized me to send officers of my staff east of the Mississippi, but it was not until the evening of the 7th instant that I received an answer indicating which offi-. vers of my former staff you would permit to remain with me. There was not a moment's delay in sending them, as almost the whole of my former command was ordered east of the Mississippi. I fail to appreciate the liberality which permitted a portion of the staff long connected with that command to accompany it, and in this connection I would observe that the orders of General Bragg to me were issued on the supposition that I was still commanding the troops of the District If West Louisiana, whereas I had been for some weeks removed, even from the theater of their operations. My correspondence with your headquarters, since you have commanded this department will show that it has been my constant endeavor to delocalize the operations of the troops under my command, and so to conduct their movements as

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