HOLDING KENTUCKY FOR THE UNION.

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There was a terrible outburst of fury on both sides, which brought inter-ference just in time to prevent a conflict between the two giants, one armedwith a sword, and the other with a loaded whip-handle. The aide, notreporting next morning, was, after some search, found sound asleep in awagon with the jug beside him. He was a noted wag, and Nelson, recognizinghim at once as the author of the trick, dismissed him to his home.

A visit from Secretary Cameron and Adjutant-General Lorenzo Thomas ,on their return from St. Louis in the latter part of October, resulted in theremoval of General Sherman. In explaining the needs of his department tothe Secretary, Sherman expressed the opinion that two hundred thousand menwould be required for successful operations on his line. This estimate, which,as events showed, evinced remarkable foresight, then discredited his judgment.On their way to St. Louis , on the same tour, the Secretary had ordered GeneralO. M. Mitchel to take charge of the East Tennessee expedition, supersedingGeneral Thomas , but General Sherman succeeded in having the order recalled.

On November 15th, General Don Carlos Buell assumed command of theDepartment of the Ohio, enlarged so as to include the States of Ohio, Mich-igan , and Indiana.^ He was given the advantage, not enjoyed by his prede-cessors, of controlling the new troops organized in those States. By one ofhis first orders, General Thomas was directed to concentrate his command atLebanon . The new commander began at once the task of creating an efficientarmy out of the raw material at hand. He organized the regiments into bri-gades and divisions, and subjected them to a system of drill and disciplinethe beneficial effects of which endured throughout the war.

The advance into East Tennessee remained a favorite project with the author-ities at Washington. Buell’s instructions presented Knoxville as the objectiveof his first campaign. McClellan wrote several times urging that the seizingof the East Tennessee and Virginia railroad was essential to the success of hisplans, and that the political results likely to follow success in that directionmade the movement of the first importance. Buell did not consider EastTennessee important enough to be his principal objective; he wanted it tobe a subordinate feature in a great campaign. He submitted his plans toMcClellan in a personal letter. They were comprehensive and required a largeforce, and it was already seen that Sherman’s estimate was not so far out ofthe way. Buell proposed that a heavy column should be moved up the Ten-nessee and Cumberland rivers by steamer, to unite with another moving onNashville , to the eastward of Bowling Green. Demonstrations were to bemade in front of Columbus and Bowling Green, sufficient to keep the forcesholding them fully occupied until their retreat was cut. off by the marchingcolumns. At the same time an expedition from Lebanon , moving by wayof Somerset, was to be directed against East Tennessee. "Until he was readyto move, he desired to do nothing to put the enemy on the alert. His bri-gades and regiments were allowed to remain in apparently objectless disper-

t General Bnell was a graduate of West Point, severely wounded. May 20th, 1861, to AugustIn the Mexican war he twice received promotion 9th he was on duty in California , and from Sept,for gallant and meritorious conduct, and was 14th to Nov. 9th in the defenses of Washington.

vol. i. 25 Editors.