Today in History:

170 Series I Volume XVI-I Serial 22 - Morgan's First Kentucky Raid, Perryville Campaign Part I

Page 170 KY., M. AND E. TENN., N. ALA., AND SW. VA. Chapter XXVIII.

I do know to what extent it is charged that there was a want of supplies. I have said that on arriving at Nashville my division drew six days' subsistence; if the other division of the army obtained a line amount of subsistence on arriving at Nashville by putting the troops on half rations, as I have said they were frequently, in my judgment there would have been supplies enough to have attempted the concentration of the troops at Lebanon.

Question. I understand you to say that while at Nashville it came to your knowledge that the enemy was crossing the Cumberland and that you urged General Buell to advance up the Cumberland and dispute their passage?

No, sir; I did not say that. I have previously described at some length how I obtained the first certain information that the enemy had crossed the Cumberland River and of his movement in Kentucky. I have also in a previous answer said that while in General Buell's quarters at Nashville a heard a report made to him, as coming through some person who had information from above, that a part of the enemy's force had crossed the Cumberland River. I am free to say that, not understanding the report very distinctly, I could not of course attach any great importance to it, but that in view of all the circumstances and, as indicated in a former answer, beginning to the strongly impressed myself at that time with the opinion that the object of the enemy was an invasion of Kentucky, I did not take the liberty of suggesting to General Buell that it would be a safe, indeed the best, operation to put the bulk of his army on the north side of the Cumberland River. This arrangement would have put the Army of the Ohio in a position to operate against the enemy in his invasion of Kentucky, or, if we should be deceived as to that, we should still be in a position to protect nashville against a decided as to that, we should still be in a position to protect Nashville against a decided movement by the rebel army under Bragg. I recollect I said to General Buell on the occasion, although I had made a considerable march that day, that if he deemed it desirable that the passage of the river should be commenced at once my division could go on. This conversation was on Saturday, September 6.

General DANA. I think it is the duty of the court to object to such questions. I make an objection to the question, inasmuch as there is danger in asking a witness a question such as that, wherein the question states him to have given testimony which does not appear on the record; and in future I shall object to questions being put in that way. The question started out with the assertion that the witness has given testimony which he has not given, nor os there anything like it on the record. The witness might be misled by such questions.

The JUDGE-ADVOCATE. General Dana is correct in his objection; but I was under the impression that such evidence had been given.

By the JUDGE-ADVOCATE:

Question. General, the two armies left the Cumberland and marched as far as Bowling Green and Glasgow nearly parallel. Did you understand at the time what the object of that march was on the part of our army?

General BUELL. I object to the question, inasmuch as it assumes as truth what is not true - that armies were marching on parallel lines; whereas the fact is that they started from points from 40 to 60 miles distant and converged upon a point not more than 50 miles from the point of departure of one of them. In making the objection I do not consider that there is any question of law involved in it at all, and under ordinary circumstances I should not have thought of making an objection; but it has been the popular criticism upon the military operations under my direction that Bragg's army and my army have moved side by side of each other without an attempt on my part to molest him, whereas in fact they were moving from 60 miles to a less distance as they approached each other, with a country almost impracticable between them.

Question. Please state, general, while your army was moving from nashville to Bowling Green at about the same time that Bragg's army


Page 170 KY., M. AND E. TENN., N. ALA., AND SW. VA. Chapter XXVIII.