rtis, of which General
Halleck's letter of February 18 was the only part that came into
my possession.( 2) This account was written several years before
the War Records were published.

In my letter of January 31, I said:

"Pardon me for suggesting that the forces under command of Davidson,
Warren, and myself might be made available in the opening of the
Mississippi, should that result not be accomplished quickly. . . ."

The immediate result of this correspondence was that some troops
were sent down the river, but none of my command, while two divisions
of the latter were ordered toward the east. This march was in
progress when Congress adjourned. The Senate not having confirmed
by appointment as major-general, the time of my temporary humiliation
arrived. But I had not relied wholly in vain upon General Halleck's
personal knowledge of my character. He had not been able fully to
sustain me against selfish intrigue in Kansas, Missouri, and
Washington; but he could and did promptly respond to my request,
and ordered me to Tennessee, where I could be associated with
soldiers who were capable of appreciating soldierly qualities.
One of the happiest days of my life was when I reported to Rosecrans
and Thomas at Murfreesboro', received their cordial welcome, and
was assigned to the command of Thomas's own old division of the
Fourteenth Corps. One of the most agreeable parts of my whole
military service was the thirty days in command of that division
at Triune, and some of my strongest and most valued army attachments
were formed there.

But that happy period of soldier life was brief. Early in May
President Lincoln reappointed me major-general, with original date,
November 29, 1862, and ordered me back to the old scene of unsoldierly
strife and turmoil in Missouri and Kansas.

A HIBERNIAN "STRIKER"

In 1861 and 1862 I had a Hibernian "striker" who had been a soldier
of the old mounted rifles, and had been discharged on account of
a wound received in an Indian fight, but was yet well able to
perform the duties of an officer's servant in the field. His care
of his master's property, and sometimes of the master himself, was
very remarkable. In the midst of the battle of Wilson's Creek the
horse I was riding was killed, and I called in vain for my spare
horse. From the best information obtained I concluded that both
the horse and my faithful orderly had been