Page 510. Logan at Peach Tree Creek. Mr. Garland is mistaken in stating that McPherson was killed at the battle of Peachtree Creek, which was fought on July 20, 1864. He was killed two days later, at what is known as the battle of Atlanta. While hastening to join his troops, who had just been attacked by the Confederates, he ran full into the enemy's skirmish line and was shot while trying to escape. Sherman at once ordered General John A. Logan to assume command of the Army of the Tennessee, and it was largely due to General Logan's skill and determination that the Union army was saved from serious disaster in the desperate battle which followed.
Page 512. Sherman's March to the Sea. General Sherman, in his Memoirs, says that on the afternoon of February 17, 1865, while overhauling his pockets, according to his custom, to read more carefully the various notes and memoranda received during the day, he found a paper which had been given him by a Union prisoner who had escaped from Columbia. It proved to be "Sherman's March to the Sea," composed by Adjutant S. H. M. Byers, of the Fifth Iowa Infantry, while a prisoner at Columbia. General Sherman was so impressed by the verses that he immediately sent for their author and attached him to his staff.
Page 513. Marching through Georgia. General Sherman makes no reference in his Memoirs to these verses and would have been glad to replace them with Adjutant Byers's song. They were, however, widely popular and, indeed, still hold an honored place at every reunion of Civil War veterans.
Page 517. O noble son of noble sire. Ulric Dahlgren was the son of John Adolph Dahlgren, perhaps the greatest chief of ordnance the Navy Department has ever had. Ulric was only twenty-two years of age at the time of his death. He had lost a leg at Gettysburg the year before, but had returned to active service upon his recovery although compelled to walk on crutches. He had planned the expedition in which he lost his life.
Page 519. When Stuart to the grave we bore. The loss of Stuart was one of the most serious the Confederacy had sustained since the death of Stonewall Jackson. He was, in many respects, the most brilliant cavalry leader developed on either side during the war, though it was alleged that his unauthorized absence from the field of Gettysburg contributed greatly to the defeat of Lee's army.
Page 522. The Year of Jubilee. A remarkable evidence of the elasticity of spirit shown by the losers in the great struggle is the fact that this song, which one would suppose would be particularly offensive to them, became even more popular in the South than in the North.
Page 524. The Surrender at Appomattox. Lee's army, at the time of the surrender, consisted of about twenty-eight thousand men, nearly half of whom were without arms. His army had had little to eat for several days except parched corn, and was upon the verge of starvation. Immediately after the surrender, Grant sent twenty-five thousand rations into the Confederate lines.
Page 524. Lee's Parole. Grant's behavior was marked throughout with the greatest delicacy. He did not ask Lee's sword, promptly stopped salutes which were started after the surrender, did not require the Confederates to march out and stack arms, and did not enter their lines. The terms of surrender were so liberal that many partisans at the North took violent exception to them.
Page 525. The Cherbourg cliffs were all alive. A great throng had gathered to witness the fight, which had been advertised as a sort of gala event, excursions even being run from Paris. The sympathies of the crowd were all with the Alabama.
Page 525. When, lo! roared a broadside. The firing of the Kearsarge was a magnificent exhibition of gunnery. She fired 173 missiles, nearly all of which took effect. The Alabama fired 370, of which only 28 struck. The Kearsarge's 11-inch shells were aimed a little below the water line, with such deadly effect that the Alabama sank in a little more than an hour after going into action.