CIRCUMSTANCES AND CHARACTER OF THE ORDER.
As General Grant passed up from Savannah on the Tigress on the 6th of April to the battle-fieldof Shiloh, he found General Lew Wallace await-ing him at Crump’s Landing, the troops of hisdivision having been ordered under arms at thesound of the battle. [For General Grant’s state-ments, see pages 467-8.] General Wallace in hisofficial report places the hour at which GeneralGrant reached Crump’s at about 9, while GeneralGrant gives the hour of his arrival at PittsburgLanding as about 8. Grant left Wallace a directionto hold himself in readiness for orders. In anticipa-tion of the receipt of them, a horse was saddled atCrump’s for the use of the expected messenger,the First Brigade having been already sent fromCrump’s to join the Second at Stony Lonesome(marked A on the map), General Wallace fol-lowing about 9:15. To this point, at an hourwhich has been variously stated by the officersof the command at from 11 o’clock to noon(Wallace says, “exactly 11:30”), came CaptainA. S. Baxter, quartermaster on Grant’s staff,with the order. Concerning the time, dispatch,and character of this order there is much dis-agreement. General Grant says that the orderwas verbal; that it was given after riding out tothe front, and that Baxter made a memorandumof it, though he does not say that he saw Baxter.Furthermore Rawlins says that the order was takenby him back to the Landing, half a mile away, andgiven verbally to Baxter, and afterward dictatedto him, at the latter’s request, and that Baxterstarted on the steamer not later than 9 o’clock.Rowley states that Grant gave the order verballyand in person to Baxter at once upon arriving atthe Landing, and then rode immediately to thefront. Wallace states that Baxter delivered anunsigned order and said that “it had been givento him verbally, but that in coming down the riverhe had reduced it to writing.”
Concerning the circumstances and character ofthe order Captain Baxter made the following state-ment in the New-York “Mail and Express” forNovember 4th, 1886:
“T will give my own recollection of the event at Pitts-burg Landing. On Sunday, between the hours of 8 and9 o’clock A. M., April 6th, 1862, Adjutant-General Rawlins,of General Grant’s staff, requested me to go to Crump’sLanding (five miles below) and order General Lew Wal-lace to march his command at once by the River Road toPittsburg Landing, and join the army on the right. Atthe same time General Rawlins dictated the order toGeneral Wallace , which was written by myself andsigned by General Rawlins.
“ Onmeeting GeneralWallaee I gave the orderverbally,also handed to him the written order. General Wallace said ‘ he was waiting for orders, had heard the firing allthe morning, and was ready to move with his commandimmediately—knew the road and had put it in goodorder.”
“ My stay with Lew Wallace did not exceed three min-utes. I had no further conversation with him, and I re-turned immediately to Pittsburg Landing.”
As to the character of the order: General Grant’s
statement (see page 468) is that the order as givenwas “to march immediately to Pittsburg by theroad nearest the river.” Captain Rowley says, “tomarch with his division up the river, and into thefield on the right of our line, as rapidly as possible.”Rawlins says it read “substantially as follows:‘ Major-General Wallace : You will move forwardyour division from Crump’s Landing, leaving a suffi-cient force to protect the public property at thatplace, to Pittsburg Landing, on the road nearest toand parallel to the river, and form in line at right an-gles with the river, immediately in rear of the campof Major-General C. F. Smith ’s division on our right[W. H. L. Wallace ’s], and there wait further or-ders.’” GeneralWallaee says, that as received, itdirected him “ to come up and take position on theright of the army, and form my line of battle at aright angle with the river,” and “to leave a forceto prevent surprise at Crump’s Landing.” ColonelJames R. Ross says, “ I very distinctly rememberthat this order directed you to move forward andjoin General Sherman’s right on the Purd 3 r Road,and form your line of battle at right angles with theriver, and then act as circumstances would dic-tate.” General Fred. Knefler says, “It was awritten order to march and form a junction withthe right of the army.”\ Captain Addison Waresays it was “to move your division up and joinGeneral Sherman’s right on the road leading fromPittsburg Landing to Purdy.” General Knefleradds, “The order was placed in my hands as As-sistant Adjutant-General; but where it is now, orwhat became of it, I am unable to say. Verylikely, having been written on a scrap of paper, itwas lost.”\
ROUTE AND LIMIT OF THE MARCH.
All reports agree that the march of the two bri-gades began at 12 o’clock, along the road ABC.Wallace not arriving at Pittsburg Landing, GeneralGrant sent Captain Rowley of his staff to hurryhim forward. Rowley went by the River Road al-most to Crump’s Landing, and then “ a distanceof between five and six miles,” when he reachedthe rear of Wallace ’s division by the road ABC,and passing the resting troops continued to thehead of the column, where he found Wallace anddelivered the orders, and gave him the first in-formation that the right of the army had beendriven back. Wallace then ordered a counter-march of the troops. The point at which thisturning took place is fixed by General Wallace atD, half-way between the Purdy crossing and theOwd Creek bridge. (This identification is fully con-firmed by letters of October 5th and 6th, 1887,written by Generals Fred. Knefler and G. F. Mc-Ginnis, Captains Thomas C. Pursel and George F.Brown, and Dr. S. L. Ensminger, all of whom tookpart in the march, and the last two of whom exam-ined the ground in 1884 to determine the point.)In the “ Official Records” is a sketch map, withoutscale, by Colonel James B. McPherson, placing the
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