346 The Mississippi Valley in the Civil War

to make the battle at Nashville a “ crowningmercy,” a Waterloo which should wipe the de-feated army out of existence, and for this work hecounted much upon his cavalry. But Wilson’smen had been toiling incessantly for six weeks,and the loss of horses had been excessive. It hadbeen found necessary to send officers through thestates of Kentucky and Tennessee , impressinghorses. The barns of farmers, the spacious stablesof street-car companies, even the circuses, werecalled upon, and handed over their animals with-out a murmur. The work went on briskly, and atthe end of a week, December 9, the 12,000 cavalry-men were fairly mounted and equipped for battle. 1

Meanwhile there was much excitement, not onlyat Washington, but at Grant’s headquarters atCity Point, on James river. That Lincoln andStanton should have remembered Bragg’s aggres-sive movements of two years before, that theyshould have felt nervously anxious lest the dash-ing Hood should contrive to elude Thomas andmake a rush into Kentucky , was no more thannatural. But it does seem strange that Grant,usually so imperturbable, should have had his headturned ever so little by the feeling of panic. Onewould suppose that his own ample experience of

1 See General Wilson’s interesting paper, in Battles and Lead-ers , iv. 467.