General Smith to the
command of the Eighteenth Corps which was composed of the troops from
Butler's department, serving with the Army of the Potomac. It should be
remembered at the same time that before General Smith received this
order he had applied for and been granted leave of absence on account
of illness, or as he explained, "because of his old trouble with his
head," and that while he was absent, the Lieutenant General was by some
means never fully or satisfactorily explained, induced to restore
Butler to his former command and to dispense entirely with the services
of General Smith. In reply to a letter from Smith, he authorized
Colonel Comstock of his staff to inform him that he had been relieved
"because of the impossibility of his getting along with General
Butler," who was his senior in rank. But General Grant assured me about
this time that it was with great regret that he had taken this action;
that he had tried in vain to utilize Smith's great talents; that he had
been too free in his criticisms, and that Smith himself had made it
necessary that either he should be relieved or that Meade, Burnside and
Butler should he deprived of command and sent out of the army. Some
conversation followed, in which it was suggested that he should have
given the preference to the alternative as a means of simplifying the
organization and increasing the efficiency of the army, and it is a
singular coincidence at least, that this suggestion was partly carried
into effect, with most excellent results, by the relief of both Butler
and Burnside, shortly afterwards, from the command of troops in that
theatre of operations. It has besides long been a question among
military men whether still better results would not have been obtained
if Grant had at the same time relieved Meade, who was certainly a most
competent and loyal general, from the immediate command of the Army of
the Potomac and placed him instead at the head of an army corps.

It may not be out of place here to call attention to the fact that
while no specific limitations were ever put upon the responsibilities
of Meade as an army commander, Grant thenceforth took upon himself a
closer supervision of the details of the campaign, while upon many
occasions during the final operations, he gave his orders directly to
the corps commanders, instead of sending them through the regular
official channels. The result of this practice after it became
confirmed, was in every cas