to raise much larger
armies, it seems likely that the difficulties of training and
organisation and command would have increased out of proportion to any
gain. Buell remained some days at Louisville itself, receiving
reinforcements which were considerable, but consisted mainly of raw
recruits. While he was there orders arrived from Lincoln removing him
and appointing his second in command, the Virginian Thomas, in his place.
This was a wise choice; Thomas was one of the four Northern generals who
won abiding distinction in the Civil War. But Thomas felt the injustice
which was done to Buell, and he refused the command in a letter
magnanimously defending him. The fact was that Lincoln had rescinded his
orders before they were received, for he had issued them under the belief
that Buell was remaining on the defensive, but learnt immediately that an
offensive movement was in progress, and had no intention of changing
commanders under those circumstances.

On October 8 a battle, which began in an accidental minor conflict, took
place between Buell with 58,000 men and Bragg with considerably less than
half that number of tried veterans. Buell made little use of his
superior numbers, for which the fault may have lain with the corps
commander who first became engaged and who did not report at once to him;
the part of Buell's army which bore the brunt of the fighting suffered
heavy losses, which made a painful impression in the North, and the
public outcry against him, which had begun as soon as Kentucky was
invaded by the Confederates, now increased. After the battle Bragg fell
back and effected a junction with Kirby Smith. Their joint forces were
not very far inferior to Buell's in numbers, but after a few more days
Bragg determined to evacuate Kentucky, in which his hope of raising many
recruits had been disappointed. Buell, on perceiving his intention,
pursued him some distance, but, finding the roads bad for the movement of
large bodies of troops, finally took up a position at Bowling Green, on
the railway to the north of Nashville, intending later in the autumn to
move a little south of Nashville and there to wait for the spring before
again moving on Chattanooga. He was urged from Washington to press
forward towards Chattanooga at once, but replied decidedly that he was
unable to do so, and added that if a change of command was desired the
present was a suitable time for it. At the end of October he was removed