sphere far over the woods and field where his infantry
and cavalry were advancing against the enemy's left. After thus
looking long and earnestly, he would return the glasses to me, with
what seemed to be a sign of irritation or impatience, for he uttered
very few words in that long time, until late in the afternoon,
when, after using my field-glasses for the last time, he said to
me, with the energy which battle alone could arouse in his strong
nature: "Smith has not reached far enough to the right. Put in
your troops!"

Occasionally, when a shell struck and exploded near where we were,
causing his horse to make a slight start, and only a slight one,--
for the nature of the horse was much the same as that of the rider,
--the only change visible in the face or form of that stout-hearted
soldier was a slight motion of the bridle-hand to check the horse.
My own beautiful gray charger, "Frank Blair," though naturally more
nervous than the other, had become by that time hardly less fearless.
But I doubt if my great senior ever noticed that day what effect
the explosion of a shell produced on either the gray horse or his
rider. He had on his shoulders the responsibilities of a great
battle, while I then had better than ever before opportunity to
study the character of my chief.

HOPELESSNESS OF HOOD'S POSITION

A wiser commander than Hood might very probably have saved his army
from that terrible and useless sacrifice of December 16. But that
last and bravest champion of a desperate cause in the west appears
to have decided to remain and invite the total destruction of his
army. The position which the Confederates occupied in the morning
of the 16th was so close to that of more than half of the Union
troops that Hood's left could easily have been crushed by an infantry
assault and his rear reached by Thomas's cavalry before noon, and
nothing less than a miracle could have prevented the capture of
Hood's army.

It is worthy of note as instructive comparison that on November
30 Hood advanced from Spring Hill to Franklin and made his famous
assault in just about the same length of time that it took our
troops to advance from the first to the second position at Nashville
and make the assault of December 16; and that the Fourth and Twenty-
third corps on November 29 and 30 fought two battles--Spring Hill
and Franklin--and marched forty miles, from Duck River to Nashville,
in