Rosecrans succeeded him. But the new
commander would not, any more than his predecessor, fall in with
Halleck's schemes, and what Cist contemptuously describes as "Halleck's
brilliant paper campaign into East Tennessee" did not take place.
General Rosecrans took command of the army at Bowling Green, November 2,
1862. Bragg fell back to Murfreesboro', in Tennessee, and the city of
Nashville, now in Federal possession, became the gage of battle. On
December 26 Rosecrans moved out from that city towards Murfreesboro',
and on January 2, 1863, the battle of Stone's River took place. It was
desperately contested, and the losses were heavy. At the close of the
day the advantage rested with the Confederates; but it was
inconsiderable, and both sides considered the battle only begun. On the
next day, however, Bragg found such dangerous demoralization among his
troops that he decided to withdraw. Although he always persisted in
describing himself as the victor in the engagement, yet he now left his
wounded in the hospitals, and fell back to Shelbyville. In these
positions, not far apart, the two armies lay for a long while watching
each other; there were a few raids and small encounters, but
substantially, during the first six months of 1863, quietude reigned in
the region which they dominated.
But quietude was not what the government wished, and Mr. Lincoln and
General Halleck soon fell into much the same relationship with Rosecrans
which they had previously occupied towards McClellan.
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