Show IN 1862 In its Fifty Years Tears Ago column the OregOnian Oregonian Oregonian Ore- Ore gonian of October 8 under date of r Washington ashington September 30 1862 has this item General Sigel has asked to be relieved from his command for several eral reasons among th them m the following fol Iol lowin lowing lorring Ilis i command has gradually been reduced because the troops raised expressly for him in in in different different dif dif- ferent states have havo been assigned to others because of tho the Kr grossly abusive manner in in which Halleck has bas treated him personally and officially because all nn his requests or requisitions have havo been bed neglected d or refused refused re rc re- re fused because be he cannot expect fair treatment and his troops are arc made innocent sufferers on his account That shows how the heart burnings burning's went on in inthe the tile army when the thc nations nation's life was at stake When General Halleck was commander in chief he was called cr old old brains and he could state slate any proposition of war with perfect accuracy but was was a n dead failure when it came to execution T And there was a mean streak in the old fellow He lie broke Sigel's heart he did his best to deprive a Grant of au any command and smashed aroun around generally gen gen- V an old nuisance nuisance until Grant after Chattanooga Chattanooga Chat Chat- was called east and tendered the full 3 r command comm 1 d of f the armies and his r reply ply was as that conditio condition condition condi- condi v he would undertake the business on one tio tion and that was that he heas was as not tob be interfered with by incompetent authority from Washington Between Stanton in the var war var office and Halleck as commander in chief he was as thoroughly disgusted disgust d and and he lic had his hi's way and the next summers summer's operations operations oper oper- virtually closed the war Avar It only needed i for Sherman to make his march from Atlanta to Savannah and then up the thc Atlantic coast and for V. V Sheridan to say to Grant I Ican can smash these works v yorks by pressing them and for Grant to say 2 Go Go on on Then the end came quickly and the I 5 three great figures looming out of off of the war on the Bunion union side were and always will win be Ulysses Grant nt Tecumseh Sherman and and Phil Sheridan ov i And by the way two of tl the toughest little engagements eny en- en y of the w war r were the last two fought the o b one i by br the imperturbable Thomas rhoma at Nash Nash- Nashville k yule ville ville the other by b- Sheridan at Five Forks Forks Th They r were both desperate battles Some Sonic writer has said th that t t there ere have only been about twenty decisive battles in hi the world The llie last one of those ought to be named as the battle between Thomas and nd Hood at Nashville Thomas was ras in danger of being be be- i ing superseded he hc would not move until he hc got l ready but when he lie did move he struck Hood and a annihilated him And Aud looking back upon it the nation and the worlds world's nations can distinguish under un- un un-I un del cler the battle clouds the names of such men as Thomas and Grant and Sheridan and not one in ina a million knows knoW's that there was a great general tn t v n jn n those days named Halleck I |