As I have said, until this unexpected state of affairs happened, Mobile had been looked upon as the objective point of Sherman’s army.  It had been a favorite move of mine from 1862, when I first suggested to the then commander-in-chief that the troops in Louisiana, instead of frittering away their time in the trans-Mississippi, should move against Mobile.  I recommended this from time to time until I came into command of the army, the last of March 1864.  Having the power in my own hands, I now ordered the concentration of supplies, stores and troops, in the department of the Gulf about New Orleans, with a view to a move against Mobile, in support of, and in conjunction with, the other armies operating in the field.  Before I came into command, these troops had been scattered over the trans-Mississippi department in such a way that they could not be, or were not, gotten back in time to take any part in the original movement; hence the consideration, which had caused Mobile to be selected as the objective point for Sherman’s army to find his next base of supplies after having cut loose from Atlanta, no longer existed.

General G. M. Dodge, an exceedingly efficient officer, having been badly wounded, had to leave the army about the first of October.  He was in command of two divisions of the 16th corps, consolidated into one.  Sherman then divided his army into the right and left wings the right commanded by General O. O. Howard and the left by General Slocum.  General Dodge’s two divisions were assigned, one to each of these wings.  Howard’s command embraced the 15th and 17th corps, and Slocum’s the 14th and 20th corps, commanded by Generals Jeff.  C. Davis and A. S. Williams.  Generals Logan and Blair commanded the two corps composing the right wing.  About this time they left to take part in the presidential election, which took place that year, leaving their corps to Osterhaus and Ransom.  I have no doubt that their leaving was at the earnest solicitation of the War Department.  General Blair got back in time to resume his command and to proceed with it throughout the march to the sea and back to the grand review at Washington.  General Logan did not return to his command until after it reached Savannah.

Logan felt very much aggrieved at the transfer of General Howard from that portion of the Army of the Potomac which was then with the Western Army, to the command of the Army of the Tennessee, with which army General Logan had served from the battle of Belmont to the fall of Atlanta—­having passed successively through all grades from colonel commanding a regiment to general commanding a brigade, division and army corps, until upon the death of McPherson the command of the entire Army of the Tennessee devolved upon him in the midst of a hotly contested battle.  He conceived that he had done his full duty as commander in that engagement; and I can bear testimony, from personal observation, that he had proved himself fully