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observed this weakening of the enemy’s force thanhe proposed to Thomas an assault a possibleupon Missionary Ridge, in the hope explanation,of recalling Longstreet and relieving Burnside, inaccordance with the frantic telegrams which keptcoming from Washington. From the tone ofsome of the despatches one would gather thatneither Lincoln, Stanton, nor Halleck had a par-ticle of confidence in Burnside’s ability to takecare of himself, and the question is forcibly sug-gested, why was he kept so persistently in impor-tant commands? To return to Grant, when heproposed the assault upon Missionary Ridge,Thomas reminded him that the artillery horseswere all dead, and so long as cannon could not behauled, the mobility of the army was like that ofa man with his legs cut off.
Bragg knew, indeed, that the Union army wasexpecting further reinforcements. He knew thatSherman was coming from Mississippi with part ofthe army which had captured Vicksburg . Halleckhad ordered this movement soon after the defeat atChickamauga. .Sherman had started from Vicks burg on September 27, and in steamboats accom-plished the 400 miles to Memphis by October 2.He had then before him 400 miles of marchingin order to get within reach of Chattanooga ;and Halleck, true to his snail-like traditions, had