Contents

xxiii

Greatness of the Union victory ....

. 314

Grand scenery of the battlefield

. 315

The Mississippi valley recovered

. 316

CHAPTER IX

NASHVILLE

At the beginning of 1864 each of the four cardinal victoriesin the West had been won under the leadership of Grant . 317But Lee, in the East, still maintained as bold a front as ever 317

Need for unity of operations.318

Grant is made lieutenant-general and placed in command ofall the armies of the United States .... 318, 319In his first Virginia campaign he was outgeneralled by Lee 320The popular notion that Grant was averse to manoeuvring . 321In fact his manoeuvres were frequent and skilful . 321,322

After three months of alternate hammering and manoeu-vring, Grant’s problem was reduced to detaining Lee at Pe-tersburg until the whole Confederacy should be knocked

away from behind him.323

The latter part of the work was done by the army withwhich Sherman started from Chattanooga for Atlanta . 323

Sherman, having succeeded Grant in the chief commandof the West, unites its three armies under McPherson,

Thomas, and Schofield . ..324

Bragg is superseded by Joseph Johnston . . . 324

Sherman’s object is secondarily to take Atlanta , but pri-marily to destroy Johnston ’s army.325

How the golden opportunity was lost at Resaca . 325, 326

Johnston , having been slowly pushed back upon Atlanta , is

superseded by Hood. 327

Hood’s previous career.328

What the Union generals thought of his appointment . . 329

Finding it impossible, after hard fighting, to save Atlanta ,