Brooksville Miss

Aug 13^th 1873

 

My Dear Sir

            Yours of 28^th July was sent from Columbus to me at this point & as I may be here for several weeks, & the papers referred to are not essential I will answer here & if not full enough will write again. As you know I was in Miss till Aug 27^th 64, when I reported to Gen^l Hood to command a Corps. The Battles of the 21 & 22 had been fought before Atlanta & Sherman had commenced his movement to our left flank & rear which caused the fall of the city. Two Divisions of / my Corps were engaged on the 28^th July & my entire Corps & Hardee's at Jonesborro soon after in trying to check the movement of Sherman. We were not successful & the city was evacuated the day after the Battle of Jonesborro. A short truce follow'd, & Gen^l Hood at its conclusion, put his Army in motion from its position south of Atlanta on the Atlanta & Macon R.Rd. west of Atlanta & on Shermans right, his object as I understood it was to move with his entire Army on Sherman's / flank & rear & if possible cause him to detach some of his Corps or such portion of his Army as would enable him to strike with some success, as he felt confident he could not successfully resist Sherman's Army in his march further south, after the fall of Atlanta & Shermans arrival in the level country south of the Chattahoochee. He hoped to draw Sherman after him, select his own battle ground in the mountainous country further north & possibly successfully fight him. Though not in Gen^l Hoods full confidence, I knew the plan of campaign was his own / & was inaugurated before your arrival at Palmetto Station & he was solely responsible for it. On your arrival at Palmetto Station, you consulted 1^st freely with Hood, then with Hardee each separately & as you stated to Gen^l A. P. Stewart & myself you sent for us to talk to us freely together. We discussed no plan of campaign as I recollect. You stated to us freely the condition of the C.S. Armies, the resources, your inability further to reinforce Hood, the circumstances causing you to remove Gen^l Johnson, Gen^l Hardees previous persistent declension of the command / of the Army of Tenn, his Gen^l Hardees opinion of Johnson as a soldier & other matters, & then asking us freely of the condition of the Army of Tenn, & if we thought a change of commanders advisable. You then asked if we thought the Army could resist Sherman as heretofore in his front & he moving south. I am confident you said nothing of any plan of campaign, your object seemed to be to ascertain what was best to be done to improve the Army in its then present condition, after the fall of Atlanta & the disastrous battles incident thereto. / Nothing was said of any campaign into Tenn, but as before stated my distinct impression was that Gen^l Hood was free to act as he thought best & to carry out the movement already inaugurated. It was conceded, our affairs were in a very critical condition & since success was necessary to [?] the Army.

 

At the time we commenced the movement west & north of Atlanta, not a word was ever said to me about Tenn & I was greatly surprised when I heard we were to cross the Tenn River.

 

You ask also for my rem- / iniscences "in regard to events transpiring in the Campaign which involved the retreat from Dalton". As I was in Miss I cant write with authority, till my arrival & connection with the Army of Tenn. I have a copy of my report from my connection with the Army on the 27^th July 64 till wounded in the retreat from Tenn & will send you a copy if you desire it, where my views are fully expressed.

 

I trust you are engaged in writing about the War. I feel that you owe it as a duty to our Lost Cause, that many / doubtful facts may be cleared up under your signature. You owe it to yourself, your country & your family & for the correctness of history. I trust & hope you are quietly engaged at it. By writing such a work, you will do more for the South, than anything you have yet done, as what you write will be accepted as truth even by your bitterest enemies.

           

With many kindly wishes for you & yours

                                                                       

I am yours truly

S. D. Lee

 

P.S. I hope you will excuse what I say about your writing. I have often thought of writing you about it, but it occurred to me it might be presumptuous & I have never done so but the occasion caused me to write—                        S.D.L.

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