The summing up of the plans laid for General Hardee and Saltville is brief. Hardee was not disturbed. The ride towards Saltville, made about the last of the month, was followed by General W. E. Jones and came to grief, as will be elsewhere explained.
Upon relinquishing command of his army, General Bragg was called to Richmond as commander-in-chief near the President.
Before General Hood was so seriously hurt at the battle of Chickamauga, he made repeated complaints of want of conduct on the part of Brigadier-General J. B. Robertson. After the fiasco in Lookout Valley on the night of the 28th of October, I reported to General Bragg of the representations made by General Hood, and of want of conduct on the part of General Robertson in that night attack, when General Bragg ordered me to ask for a board of officers to examine into the merits of the case. The board was ordered, and General Robertson was relieved from duty by orders from General Bragg’s head-quarters, “while the proceedings and actions of the examining board in his case were pending.”
On the 8th, without notice to my head-quarters, General Bragg ordered, “Brigadier-General Robertson will rejoin his command until the board can renew its session.”[191]
On the 18th of December the division commander preferred “charges and specifications” against Brigadier-General Robertson, in which he accused him of calling the commanders of his Texas regiments to him and saying there were but
“Three days’ rations on hand, and God knows where more are to come from; that he had no confidence in the campaign; that whether we whipped the enemy in the immediate battle or not, we would be compelled to retreat, the enemy being believed by citizens and others to be moving around us, and that we were in danger of losing a considerable part of our army; that our men were in no condition for campaigning; that General Longstreet had promised shoes, but how could they be furnished? that we only had communication with Richmond, and could only get a mail from there in three weeks; that he was opposed to the movement; would require written orders, and would obey under protest.”
General Robertson was ordered to Bristol to await the action of the Richmond authorities, who were asked for a court-martial to try the case.
On the 17th the following orders concerning General McLaws were issued:
“Head-quarters near Bean’s Station,
“December 17, 1863.
“Special Orders No. 27.