166 The Mississippi Valley in the Civil War

stood all this, and told McCook that he did not likehis facing so much to the east. At the same timehe did not press the matter, but left too much tothe discretion of the corps-commander, who wasover-confident, and assured him that in the eventof an attack he could hold his ground just ashe was for three hours. Herein was Ivosecrans’sone terrible mistake. Absorbed in preparing theoffensive movement with his left, he did not givesufficient attention to his right. He ought to havevisited the spot in person and insisted upon Mc-Cook’s rectifying his position. One reason whyNapoleon almost invariably won his battles wasthat he did not leave such important matters tosubordinates, but overlooked all manner of detailswith his own eyes and made sure they were right.If he seemed sometimes to take fearful risks, it wasgenerally after he had very thoroughly verified hispremises. If Rosecrans had been a really greatgeneral, he never would have staked so much uponanother man’s judgment.

Other officers beside the commander-in-chief re-marked upon the faulty arrangement of the rightwing. On the eve of the battle General Sheridan,accompanied by one of his brigade-commanders,General Sill, visited McCook’s headquarters andearnestly assured him that the arrangement wasliable to invite disaster. But McCook did not