Duke University Libraries 
 
 Review of certa 
 Conf Pam 12mo #790 
 
 D^015S7T2 
 
 
 
[PRINTED, BUT NOT PUBLISHED.] f 
 
 REVIEW 
 
 CERTAIN REMARKS 
 
 THE PRESIDENT 
 
 WHEN REQUESTED TO RESTORE 
 
 GENERAL BEAUREGARD 
 
 To THE COMMAND OP DEPARTMENT No. 2, 
 
 CHARLESTON: 
 
 STKAJf-l'OWE R PRESSES OF EVANS k C S W E M> 
 
 3 Hroml and 103 East Bay streets. 
 
 1863. 
 
These pages have been put in print not for general circu- 
 lation, but for more convenient reading by the gentlemen who 
 signed the paper printed in the Appendix, and marked A. 
 
 Charleston, S. C, February 6, 1863. 
 
fftsviEW of the Remarks of his Excellency President Davis (Rich- 
 mond, September 13, 18G2) relative to an application by many 
 Members of the Confederate Congress for General G. T. 
 Beauregard, C. S. A., to be returned to the command of De- 
 partment Xo. 2, consisting of Tennessee and parts of Missis- 
 sippi and Alabama. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Before entering on a review of the remarks of the Presi- 
 dent,* in order to give il a correct and faithful apprehension of 
 the facts" involved, it appears in place to furnish a brief sketch 
 of affairs in the Western department preceding the departure 
 of General Beauregard from Tupelo. 
 
 General Beauregard left Ins army corps in Virginia and went 
 to the West to an inferior command at the urgent solicitation 
 of the south-western members of Congress, whose wishes were 
 conveyed to him through Colonel R. A. Pryor, M. C. When 
 the General reached Jackson, Tennessee, about the middle of 
 February, 1862, after the fall of Forts Henry and Donelson, 
 and the evacuation of Bowling Green, the following was the 
 disposition of the troops in the West and South : 
 
 1. General Sidney Johnston's army of Kentucky, consisting 
 of about 17,000 effective men of all arms, had fallen back, 
 across the Cumberland river, on Nashville. 
 
 2. Major-General Polk's command, of about 14,000 effectives 
 of all arms, was at Columbus chiefly, with troops at New 
 Madrid and Fort Pillow, and small detachments at one or two 
 
 *See Appendix, A and B. 
 
points south of Columbus. This was the command to which 
 General Beauregard was specially assigned. 
 
 3. Major-General Bragg'a forces were at and about Pensacola 
 and Mobile. 
 
 4. Major-General Lovell's command was at and around Xew 
 Orleans. 
 
 5. Major-General Yau Dora's and Price's forces were west of 
 the Mississippi, on the borders of Arkansas and Missouri. 
 
 The movements of the enemy had made it apparent, mean- 
 time, that he intended to turn the position of our forces in 
 West Tennessee by the way of the Tennessee river, then rising 
 to a favorable stage for navigation, and left open by the fall of 
 Fort Henry. General Beauregard determined to frustrate this 
 design by the immediate evacuation of Columbus, the tempo- 
 ral occupation and fortification of Island 10, and Madrid 
 Bend, on the Mississippi river (represented to be stronger posi- 
 tions by nature than they proved to be), by the construction of 
 additional works at New Madrid, and the concentration, as 
 soon as possible, of all available forces 1 at Corinth, Miss., situ- 
 ated at the intersection of the Memphis and Charleston and 
 the Mobile and Ohio railroads. 
 
 General Johnston was averse to giving up so important a 
 position as Columbus, but would not interpose his authority as 
 Department commander. 
 
 Imbued with a high sense of the cardinal principle in war — 
 concentration — a principle illustrated by the military history of 
 all wars, General Beauregard further sought to swell his inade- 
 quate force in all possible ways. He called on Generals Bragg 
 and Lovell for their disposable troops. Lovell at once detached 
 for Corinth a fine brigade under General Buggies, with certain 
 other troops, in all quite 5,000 men, choice troops of all arms. ' 
 General Bragg referred the matter to the War department, by 
 whom positive orders were declined, and the responsibility was 
 left to him. With the instincts of a good soldier, he deter- 
 mined to withdraw his main force from Pensacola and Mobile, 
 and join General Beauregard, which he did in person at jack- 
 son, Tennessee, about the 1st of March, 1802. 
 
 General Van Dorn, also, was strenuously urged by General 
 Beauregard to transfer his wmole command to the east bank of 
 the Mississippi, and was already in motion to form the junction 
 before the battle of Shiloh. . ,. *~~ * 
 
 ■ ■ 
 
 . ': 
 
The Governors of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Ten- 
 nessee had also been called on by General Beauregard for five 
 thousand men respectively, or as many as could be sent to him. 
 
 It was further suggested to the War department that, for 
 the campaign, troops might be spared from Charleston, Savan- 
 nah; and Knoxville : and in consequence, a brigade was sent, 
 after the battle of Shiloh, from Charleston, and several regi- 
 ments from Chattanooga by General Kirby Smith. Further, 
 General Sidney Johnston, whose army was now falling back 
 along the Nashville and Chattanooga railroad, was requested 
 by General Beauregard to send forward to Corinth one or two 
 of his brigades. Thai judicious commander sent a brigade at 
 once, and announced his determination to make a junction. 
 with his whole force, at Corinth, which, in the main, was 
 effected by the last of March, L862. 
 
 It will thus be seen under what circumstances, at whose 
 instance, and by whose efforts the forces concentrated at 
 Corinth by the 3d day of April, 1862, Avere mainly brought 
 together at that point, namely: General Beauregard. 
 
 These forces consisted of — 
 
 1. General Polk's army corps (infantry and artillery)... 9,130 
 
 2. General Bragg's army corps, consisting of his original 
 
 command from Pensacola and Mobile, and Lovell's 
 quota, with the new Levies from Louisiana (infantry 
 and artillery) 13,589 
 
 3. The army of Kentucky, now subdivided into Hardee's 
 
 army corps and reserve division, under Breckinridge 
 (infantry and artillery) 13,228 
 
 35,953 
 4. Untrained cavalry, distributed with the three corps.... 4,382 
 
 Effectives of all arms 40,335 
 
 Unfortunately, this army being deficient in genei-al officers, 
 much precious time was lost through the defective organization 
 of the several army coi*ps as they were assembled at Corinth, 
 and in efforts to effect a better organization for the field; and 
 as a consequence, the battle of Shiloh, which ought to havo 
 been fought as early as the 1st, could not take place until the 
 
6th of April, during the night of which Buell effected a junction 
 with Grant. This event it was hoped might be averted even 
 by marching from Corinth as late as the 3d of April, but 
 untoward delays, chiefly the result again of defective organi- 
 zation, added to bad roads, lost us one day by the wayside, 
 otherwise the battle would have been fought on the 5th of 
 April, and Buell must have reached the scene twenty-four 
 hours too late. 
 
REVIEW. 
 
 The object of the President's allusion to a telegram from 
 (lcneral Beauregard t<> Governor Pickens.* to the effect that 
 General Beauregard's presence was absolutely necessary to the 
 army at Tupelo, was to involve the latter, at least, in an incon- 
 sistency, inasmuch as it would appeal- that a tew days there- 
 at! er he actually left Tupelo and his command. 
 
 Will any unprejudiced mind fail to comprehend that although 
 General Beauregard might be averse to a permanent separation 
 from an army that he had brought together, organized.")- and 
 handled in battle, and might look upon such a Separation as 
 fraught with public and persona! injury, lie might nevertheless 
 regard it as a duty, both to the country ami himself, in his 
 situation, to withdraw for a few week's from the vexatious, 
 distracting minor details of military administration, and seek 
 temporary rest and respite from the cares which hamper and 
 harass the commander of a volunteer army, especially when 
 able to leave I he execution of his plans of organization and 
 preparation tor offensive operations in the hands of so excellent 
 an officer as General Bragg, his second in command, assisted 
 by his Chief of Staff, who knew fully the details of all those 
 plans as well as general views and expectations? 
 
 Is there not in reality a wide difference hctween a permanent 
 separation from the command of the army at Tupelo, such as 
 was involved in the transfer to a command in Charleston, one- 
 third of the size of the former in number, and a temporary 
 absence of probably less than a month,;;; for obtaining health, 
 quiet, and time for reflection upou the momentous trust com- 
 mitted to his charge? Undoubtedly so, more especiall}- when 
 constant telegraphic communication, and a distance easily 
 
 * See Appendix, C. f See Appendix, J. i See Appendix, F and H. 
 
travelled over on a near railroad in fifteen hours, made his 
 absence not at all hazardous. 
 
 True, as the President says, Columbus, Ky., had been aban- 
 doned; and, it may be remarked, it was a. great mistake to 
 have strongly occupied so advanced a position, one so easily 
 turned, and especially when left without a supporting army. 
 True, that Island 10 had fallen, but after having served sub- 
 stantially the purpose for which it had been occupied and held, 
 viz : as an obstacle to any movement of the enemy by the 
 river on Memphis. True, moreover, that Memphis was in the 
 hands of the enemy, but not until the occupation of Corinth so 
 long and late in the season had served to force him to mass 
 his troops, at an enormous expense of men and money, for its 
 reduction, and until time had been gained for the fortification 
 of Vicksburg : then was it successfully abandoned — a mere 
 barren waste — to the enemy. It will, however, be the prov- 
 ince of impartial history to investigate and record whether 
 these losses were due to the incapacity of our generals in the 
 field, or to a want of forecast, and the neglect on the part of 
 the government to develop the abundant resources of the 
 country, and to provide sufficient and timely means for the 
 effective defence of that important region. 
 
 Lovell may -have telegraphed the War department that he 
 would abandon Vieksburg if not reinforced; possibly, too, the 
 people in that quarter had lost confidence in him after the mis- 
 hap at New Orleans; yet when General Bragg and, subse- 
 quently, General Van Dorn were ordered to relieve him not a 
 soldier was detached with either. 
 
 It so happened that when the telegram of the President to 
 General Bragg was handed to General Beauregard he had just 
 returned from riding with Surgeons Brodie and Choppin, of his 
 Staff, who had again urged him to take advantage of the lull 
 in military operations, while preparations were being made for 
 the summer campaign, to take at least a brief rest from the 
 labors incident to his immediate presence with the troops. 
 They both assured him that, from the nature of his disease (a 
 severe, protracted laryngitis), it was absolutely necessary for 
 him to have repose and relaxation. He being in more pain 
 than usual, owing to the great quantity of dust on the road 
 upon which he had been riding, had then agreed to follow their 
 
advice, and seek, if possible, the restoration of his health, until 
 General Bragg should inform him the army was ready in 
 all things for the offensive. Made aware of the telegram of 
 the President detaching that officer, General Beauregard tele- 
 graphed at once* the necessity for General Bragg's presence 
 with the army, in consequence of his own urgent, absolute 
 need of respite for " a while" from duty during the period of 
 reorganization and preparation then going on. General Bragg 
 also telegraphed his inability to leave under the circumstances. 
 
 It is pertinent here to state that there seemed to be an in- 
 comprehensible desire on the part of the government to deprive 
 General Beauregard of the assistance of General Bragg, whose 
 services had been reported to the War department on a former 
 occasion as indispensable to the army in consequence of the 
 physical condition of General Beauregard. The latter officer 
 was considered by his physicians ami his friends (from the 
 time he arrived in Jackson, Tenn., February 17, 1862, until 
 he left Tupelo, Miss., June 17, 1S0^) more fit for a hospital 
 than for the field; but when urged by them to retire lor a. 
 while from the command of the department, he invariably 
 answered: ".The condition of affairs did not permit it; that 
 he had entered in this contest with the firm determination 
 of sacrificing, if necessary, not only all he possessed, hut his 
 life also; and whether he died from sickness, or on the battle- 
 field, the country was welcome to the sacrifice." When, how- 
 ever, he found the possibility of recruiting his health by an 
 absence of only a few weeks, he did not hesitate to do so, for 
 the purpose of soon resuming offensive operations; and had the 
 President awaited the explanatory letters to the Adjutant-Gen- 
 eral of the 15th and 25th June, already referred to, instead of 
 acting on the spur of the moment, after misreading an impor- 
 tant telegram, he would, doubtless, have adopted a different 
 course. 
 
 It was General Beauregard, be it here noted, who had under- 
 taken the fortifications of Vicksburg, who had sent his engi- 
 neers thither with plans and instructions to execute the work; 
 it was he, also, who had (while at Corinth) urged its defence to 
 the last. "|" General Beauregard, therefore, knew the defensive 
 
 * See Appendix, E. 
 
 ■(■See bis letter on files of the War department relative to defences of Vicksburg, 
 September 24, 1862. 
 
10 
 
 resources of the position; and, at the time, probably better 
 than the War department, the offensive capacities of the 
 enemy : moreover, he was then in constant communication 
 with General Lovell, whom he expected at that very moment 
 to see and confer with at Tupelo (in consequence of informa- 
 tion received from him to that effect) as to the summer's 
 operations, with a view to a co-oj>cration of forces. And it 
 ma}* be further stated that General Lovell did reach Tupelo 
 that same evening. Under the circumstances, it is but fair to 
 suppose General Beauregard knew better than any one in 
 Eichmond or distant from the theatre of war, the precise con- 
 dition of affairs and the needs of Vicksburg, as compared with 
 those of his own department; hence his assumption of the 
 responsibility of retaining General -Bragg until further orders. 
 
 The President says (according to the committee) the latter 
 officer stated in his dispatch that General Beauregard had left 
 on sick certificate fov four months; this must be an error; and 
 the President assuredly must have confounded what General 
 Bragg wrote with the terms of* General Beauregard's dispatch 
 of 14th June, misreading the latter, as ma}' be seen; that is, 
 misplacing the punctuation, as the context ought to have shown 
 to any one reading it with care. The passage misconstrued is 
 as follows : " I am leaving for awhile on surgeons' certificate — 
 for four months I have delayed obeying their urgent rcconi- 
 mendations." From this it is plain thut the absence was to. 
 be but temporary, that it is "for a while," and not "for four 
 months," or one-third of a year. 
 
 The opinions of the surgeons, and the manifest physical 
 needs of General Beauregard, were bettor standards, it is sub- 
 mitted, of what he should have done than the opinion of airy 
 one far from his head-quarters, and not well informed of the 
 circumstances bearing on the case. The President was pleased 
 to say that "General Beauregard should have remained at 
 Tupelo, even if he had to be carried about on a litter," until 
 General Bragg' 6 return, or for at least two or three weeks. 
 
 Probably the President is not aware that General Beaure- 
 gard has already shown his devotion to the service by going to 
 the immediate scene of the battle of Shiloh in <nt ambulance, 
 when unable to endure the fatigue of riding. He would have 
 been found ready to do the same again, at Tupelo, had he, the 
 
11 
 
 commanding general of the forces, not been amply assured of 
 what events have subsequently pi*oven, that an early attack by 
 the enemy was not possible, and that any active movement 
 on our side was out of the question daring the period of his 
 proposed absence. But with full knowledge of his own ills, 
 the continuous and strenuous solicitations of his surgeons, he 
 left under the stress of an absolute necessity, simply to secure 
 a period of future usefulness to his country — a future capacity 
 to lead his countrymen in battle. 
 
 Every day he remained on duty at Tupelo (where the dust 
 was excessive, as already Stated) was calculated to make 
 chronic and incurable the malady under which he suffered ; as 
 any one must have been satisfied who had seen him at Ma- 
 nassa, and subsequently at Corinth or Tupelo. To attempt to 
 chain him to the routine duties of the commander of an army 
 during the stage of constrained inaction inevitable from our 
 want of means nf transportation and strength for a forward move- 
 ment against an enemy as yet undivided, and when, at the same 
 time, our forces were beyond the probable offensive attempts 
 of that enemy, is untenable. And.it may be affirmed, no "mili- 
 tary man " will say that (General Beauregard, who commanded 
 a department, should have remained at Tupelo under the cir- 
 cumstances one day longer. 
 
 Instead ot "remaining two or three weeks longer, while 
 General Bragg should repair to ViCkaburg," he left because it 
 is notorious that he hoped within a month, at latest, means 
 of ti-ansportation Avould have been accumulated, and such a 
 division of the enemy's forces (which did actually happen as 
 anticipated) would come to pass as would enable him to take 
 the offensive and strike an effective blow. 
 
 With the rest and quiet to be gained by relief from his 
 labors, he expected to fit himself to the utmost of his capacities 
 for the high trust imposed on him; to have remained would 
 have destroyed his future usefulness. 
 
 The President was also pleased to remark that "General 
 Beauregard had left the army without permission," and was 
 "without right to leave on a surgeon's certificate." It mav be 
 safely answered that it would be difficult for any one to show 
 the regulation which forbids the commander of a department 
 from quitting it on a surgeon's certificate — even the subordinate 
 
12 
 
 officers and privates enjoy the right denied the commanding 
 general. It was in the power and province of General Beaure- 
 gard, as department commander, to have given up the imme- 
 diate command of the forces at Tupelo at any time, and, in the 
 exercise of his own judgment, to have gone to remote parts of 
 the department, to Grenada for instance, where he had troops 
 in the field under General Villepigue. Had he done so, he 
 would have been further removed (in respect to time) from the 
 main force at Tupelo than while at Bladon Springs, or even 
 Mobile. At one time, for example, General Sidney Johnston 
 proposed to General Beauregard, at Corinth, to turn over the 
 command of the troops, and remove his own head-quarters to 
 Memphis, or some other point in the department. 
 
 General Bragg took one of his corps (army of the Missis- 
 sippi), at his own instance, into the department of General 
 Kirby Smith; General Jos. E. Johnston can, at his pleasure, 
 establish his head-quarters at Vicksburg, Jackson, Grenada, 
 Mobile, Chattanooga, etc., unless otherwise ordered, and Gen- 
 eral Beaui'egard can do likewise with regard to Charleston, 
 Savannah, etc. 
 
 It is true that General Beauregard, in his telegram of the 
 14 th June, did not state where he intended going; but the 
 whole dispatch showed that he could not be going far; while 
 in his letter of the 15th June* he did expressly make known 
 his movements and future plans. 
 
 "So long as Beauregard remained invested with the com- 
 mand of the department," slays the President, " Bragg was 
 only the commander of the army at Tupelo; he could not cor- 
 respond with the War department except through Beauregard, 
 and no orders could be issued to other forces in the department 
 at Vicksburg or elsewhere, except through Beauregard; and 
 under these circumstances a change of the head of the depart- 
 ment was absolutely necessary for the public interests." 
 
 It is believed the honorable gentlemen of the committee 
 misunderstood the President in all this, for the following 
 reasons : 
 
 Although the contemplated period of his absence, and the 
 nature of his departmental duties, might well have prevented 
 
 * See Appendix, Y. 
 
13 
 
 General Beauregard from surrendering command of the depart- 
 ment, yet he did, nevertheless, turn over the entire command 
 when he left Tupelo. This he stated explicitly in Ids letter of 
 the 15th June. But grant that this fact was not known on the 
 20th, when General Bragg was directed to assume "perma- 
 nently" the command of the department; there was no obstacle- 
 whatever to unrestricted communication between the War 
 department and General Bragg. In an army, as in a monarchy, 
 "the king never dies." All communications addressed to the 
 commander of an army are always opened by the commander 
 present, or his staff. The War department ROuld then have 
 experienced no difficulty on that score; moreover, when Gen- 
 eral Beauregard was present in chief command, within half a 
 mile of General Bragg'* head-quarters, his Excellency commu- 
 nicated with the latter directly, and ordered him (not throagh 
 General Beauregard) to go to Yickshurg, situated in another 
 department, that of (General Lovell, although, indeed, when the 
 latter officer was ordered, a few days thereafter, to be relieved 
 by General Van Dorn, the order was sent "through General 
 Bragg." 
 
 Moreover, General Beauregard corresponded directly with 
 the War department when in command of a corps at Manasaa, 
 under General .los. Efi. Johnston, commanding the department, 
 and also when he commanded an army in Western Tennessee, 
 under General A. 8. Johnston. Jt is believed, further, that at 
 this moment both Generals Bragg and Pemberton. commanding 
 armies under General Jos. E. Johnston, correspond directly 
 with the War department, copies of orders to them being sent 
 merely to that officer; a course which was not adopted in the 
 case ordering General Bragg to Vicksburg — for to this day 
 General Beauregard has no official copy of that order. 
 
 To give command to General Beauregard, and "put a new 
 commander at the head of the army after General Bragg bad 
 taken the field, and when that officer had arranged all his 
 plana, and had co-intelligence with the department, Kirby 
 Smith, and Humphrey Marshall, would be so prejudicial to the 
 public interests he would not do it if the whole world united 
 in the petition" — so says the President. 
 
 'l'h is would be quite well founded iu a difficult campaign, 
 with troops and general officers who had never served under 
 
14 
 
 General Beauregard; but they were mainly his own troops, 
 reported to have great confidence in him, and it is permitted to 
 doubt whether General Bragg could not have explained fully 
 to General Beauregard, in the course of an hour's conversation, 
 all the plans and arrangements which have since been carried 
 into effect in Tennessee and Kentucky. Moreover, General 
 Beauregard had studied thoroughly the operations on that 
 theati'e of war, and had offered to the War department* a 
 plan of campaign, subsequently made public by the enemy, 
 who captured a copy while in transitu to be filed. 
 
 It is true the defence of Charleston and Savannah is of vital 
 importance to the Confederacy, and their loss, or the loss of 
 either, would be fraught with immeasurable mischief. Yet a 
 general of the highest capacity, the utmost fitness for the re- 
 sponsible trust of their defence, cannot successfully defend 
 them without means adequate to the end in view. Had either 
 place been seriously attacked as early after General Beaure- 
 gard's arrival in that department as was confidently expected, 
 disaster must have been the consequence. 
 
 Up to this date not a regiment (except some ninety days 
 state reserves) has been added to, but one substracted from 
 the force, and heavy guns have only been added to the arma- 
 ment of the works by pertinacious applications to the War 
 department, through an officer sent specially for\that purpose, 
 or (beyond a certain limited number of 10-inch Columbiads) 
 by an exchange of four or five lighter for each additional heavy 
 gun. 
 
 It is worthy of record here that after General Beaaregard 
 was relieved, the limits of Department No. 2 were soon in- 
 creased by the absorption into it of two other departments, 
 namely: that under General Forney, and the one commanded 
 by General Van Dorn (Lovell'sJ. 
 
 It has been no agreeable task to write the foregoing, but it 
 was required in vindication of the truth of history, and has 
 been done with the endeavor 
 
 " Naught to extenuate, nor set down aught in malice." 
 
 Charleston, S. C, January, 1863. 
 
 * See Appendix, I. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 A. 
 To the President of the Confederate States : 
 
 Sir — The undersigned, senators and representatives in Con- 
 gress from the western and south-western states, have learned 
 with pleasure that General Beauregard, restored in health, has 
 reported for duty, and that he has heen assigned to the com- 
 mand of South Carolina and Georgia. The}* have also been 
 reliably informed that the General is anxious and eager to 
 return to the command of the army of the West. 
 
 Without in any manner desiring. to interfere with the mili- 
 tary dispositions of the government, or with the prerogatives 
 of the President as commander-in-chief of all the forces, they 
 would respectfully submit that a duo regard, consistent with 
 the best Interests of the country, should be paid to the wishes 
 of one who has given such proofs of disinterested devotion to 
 our cause, and who has contributed so much by his generalship 
 to insure the success of our arms. Compelled by the exigen- 
 cies of the country to separate himself from his army of the 
 Potomac to go west in a new field, at a most gloomy period 
 of our revolution; then with scanty resources to form a new 
 army under eveiy possible disadvantage, consequent upon the 
 unexpected fall of Forts Henry and Donelsou, he was found 
 equal to every emergency; and then at the battle of Shiloh, 
 and in the masterly retreat from Corinth, saved that army. 
 
 Broken in health, and worn out by the cares and anxiety of 
 the great responsibility of his position, he sought a restoration 
 of health in a temporary absence from his command, and is 
 now, with invigorated health and renewed patriotic zeal, ready 
 to return to active operations in the field. 
 
 We know the enthusiasm with which his return would in- 
 spire our noble army, who long to see him, and that the worthy 
 general commanding would be rejoiced and gladdened by his 
 presence. As representatives, aforesaid, knowing well the sen- 
 timents and wishes of the people we represent, we unhesi- 
 
16 
 
 tatingly say that the restoration of General Beauregard to the 
 army of the West would be hailed with great joy*by them ; 
 and without detracting from the acknowledged merit and well 
 earned reputation of the present commander, we respectfully 
 submit that a new guarantee for the success of our arms would 
 be given. For these reasons we earnestly ask the President to 
 duly consider the expressed desire of General Beauregard, ere 
 he be definitely assigned to any position. Understanding that 
 the assignment of General Beauregard to Charleston has been 
 pressed upon the government by the Governor and Council of 
 South Carolina, we tender herewith the names of the represen- 
 tatives of that state, as expressive of their assent to our peti- 
 tion. 
 
 It is but justice to General Beauregard to sa} T that this step 
 is taken without his knowledge or consent. 
 A true copy. 
 
 (Signed) CHS. J. VILLEEE, 
 
 Representative in Congress. 
 
 Signers. 
 
 State'. 
 
 Signers. 
 
 Ed. Sparrow 
 
 T. J. Semmes 
 
 W. L. Yancey 
 
 L. C. Haynes 
 
 H. C. Burnet 
 
 J. B. Clark 
 
 — Peyton 
 
 G. A. Henry 
 
 L. J. Wigfall 
 
 J. Perkins, Jr 
 
 C. M. Conrad 
 
 J. Wilcox 
 
 P. W. Gray 
 
 T. B. Sexton 
 
 J. C. Atkins 
 
 W. G. Swan 
 
 II. S. Foote , 
 
 T. B. Handley . . . 
 
 II. W. Bruce 
 
 11. J. Breckinridge 
 
 W. R. Smith 
 
 E. L. Gardensuire 
 J. W. Moore 
 
 D. F. Keuner .... 
 L. C. Dupre 
 
 E. S.Dargan 
 
 F. J. Batson 
 
 J. B. Heiskell 
 
 T. A. Harris 
 
 C. C. Herbert 
 
 La. 
 
 Sen. 
 
 Ala. 
 
 a 
 
 Ten n. 
 
 " 
 
 Ky. 
 Mo. 
 
 a 
 
 • • 
 
 a 
 
 Tenn. 
 
 a 
 
 Texas. 
 
 <•' 
 
 La. 
 
 Rep. 
 
 Texas. 
 
 " 
 
 Tenn. 
 
 ii 
 
 a 
 
 a 
 
 Ark. 
 
 a 
 
 Ky. 
 
 ii 
 
 Ala. 
 
 n 
 
 Tenn. 
 
 it 
 
 Ky. 
 La. 
 
 a 
 a 
 
 Ala. 
 
 a 
 
 Ark. . 
 
 a 
 
 Tenn. 
 
 "' 
 
 Mo. 
 
 a 
 
 Texas. 
 
 " 
 
 — Menees 
 
 C. W.Bell 
 
 C. J. Villere 
 
 G. D. Royston 
 
 J. M. Elliott 
 
 David Clopton 
 
 G. W. Ewing 
 
 W. M.Cooke 
 
 F. S. Lyon 
 
 F. J. Foster 
 
 E. M. Bruce 
 
 A. H. Garland 
 
 G. G. Vest 
 
 J. W. Crocket 
 
 W. R. Machen 
 
 II. R. Wright 
 
 M. D. Graham 
 
 D. M. Currin 
 
 G. B. Hodge 
 
 II. E. Read 
 
 Wm. II. Tibbs 
 
 J. L. M. Curry 
 
 A. W. Conrow 
 
 F. W. Freeman 
 
 Wm. Porcher Miles. 
 
 M. L. Bonham 
 
 W. W. Boyce 1 
 
 F. Farrow 
 
 J. McQueen 
 
 Texas. 
 Mo. 
 La. 
 Ark. 
 
 Ky. 
 
 Ark. 
 
 Ky. 
 
 Mo. 
 Ala. 
 
 Ky. 
 Ark. 
 Mo. 
 Ky. 
 
 Ga. 
 Texas. 
 Tenn. 
 Ky. 
 
 Tenn. 
 Ala. 
 
 Mo. 
 
 S. C. 
 
 Rep. 
 
17 
 
 B. 
 
 Notes of an interview with the President relative to transferring back 
 General Beauregard to the command of Department No. 2. 
 
 Richmond, September 13, 1 
 General Sparrow and myself this day called on the President 
 and delivered to him a petition signed by about fifty members 
 and senators from the western and southwestern Mates, in 
 which the restoration oi Beauregard to the command of the 
 army now under Bragg was solicit**); it being stated in the 
 petition that it was known that Bragg Mould welcome the 
 restoration of Beauregard. The President received it politely, 
 and immediately read it aloud in our pr- -.mice, making --en pas- 
 sant" some running comments on the correctness of some of 
 the facts stilted in the petition, lie then calmly and dispassion- 
 ately read aloud all the signatures attached to the petition. 
 Having sent to an adjoining office for five or six dispatches, he 
 read them aloud in the order they were sent or received, accord- 
 ing to date, and accompanied them in a calm manner with the 
 following explanation, prefacing it with the remark that he 
 supposed we had not a correc ■; and faithful apprehension of the 
 facts. lie stated that on the day preceding his first dispatch 
 commanding Bragg to proc* « . d to Ybk.-dmig (14th June, I 
 think) he received a dispatch from Coventor Pickens, of South 
 Carolina, informing him that Beauregard (to whom Pickens 
 had previously sent a dispatch requesting him to come to 
 Charleston and take command there) had replied that his pres- 
 ence was absolutdij necen&rp to the army at Tupelo, ami that 
 he could not leave it. He (the President) furtlc-r stated that 
 the following Condition of tilings existed at that time : Colum- 
 bus and Island Xo. 10 had surrendered, Fort Pillow was evacu- 
 ated, .Memphis was abandoned, the enemy were taking posses- 
 sion of the line of the Memphis and Charleston railroad, 
 and threatening a descent through Mississippi; that New Or- 
 leans had fallen, and the disposition seemed to be to give up 
 everything; that he had jnsi received a dispatch from Lovell, 
 stating unless reinforced he would abandon Vi.-k.d.nrg; besides 
 all this, he knew the people had no confidence in Lovell, and 
 would not serve under him. He at once determined to send 
 Bragg to Vicksburg, and on 16th June. 1 think, telegraphed to 
 2 
 
18 
 
 Bragg to proceed at once to Vioksburg, as the danger was 
 pressing and imminent, and that the assignment of him to 
 Vicksburg was but temporary. Bragg immediately replied by 
 telegraph (lGth or 17th, I do not now remember) that Beau- 
 regard had retained him at Tupelo, he, Beauregard, being in 
 bad health, desired temporary repose, and intended to leave 
 the army for a short period, and concluded by sajdng he 
 would await further orders. When this dispatch arrived in 
 Richmond the President was at Raleigh; as soon as he re- 
 ceived it from the Adjutant-General he telegraphed Bragg to 
 go at once to Vicksburg — the danger was pressing and immi- 
 nent, and he was sorr}" he had permitted anything to interfere 
 with his orders. Bragg replied on 18th or 19th that Beaure- 
 gard had left on a surgeon's certificate of four m.onths, stating, 
 however, that Beauregard would return in a short time, and as 
 soon as the army was reorganized. I forget the exact terms of 
 the dispatch. It conveyed the idea of Beauregard's absence 
 being temporary and of no very long duration; but how long 
 was uncertain, and where he had gone was not stated. Bragg 
 informed the President his presence had now become abso- 
 lutely necessary to the army, and that he awaited further 
 orders. The President replied giving Bragg the command of 
 the department, and ordered Van Dorn to Vicksburg through 
 Braa-ff. The President stated that under these circumstances 
 every military man will say that Beauregard should have 
 remained at Tupelo, even if he had to be carried about in a 
 litter. He knew that Bragg's assignment to Vicksburg was 
 but temporary, and he ought to have waited at least two or 
 three weeks; that he left the army under these circumstances 
 without permission, and that he had no right to leave on a sur- 
 geon's certificate without permission, and he had not stated 
 where he had gone; that so long as Beauregard remainod 
 invested with the command of the department Bragg was only 
 the commander of that army at Tupelo; that Bragg could not 
 correspond with the War department except through Beaure- 
 gard, and no orders could be issued to other forces in the 
 department at Vicksburg or elsewhere, except through Beaure- 
 gard as head of the department, and therefore, under the cir- 
 cumstances, a change of the head of the department was 
 absolutely necessary for the public interest. The President, 
 
10 
 
 though stating the irregularities of Beauregard's conduct in 
 leaving the array, said he had overlooked all that, and dis- 
 avowed its influence on his conduct, and based his action exclu- 
 sively on the public interests at that time. 
 
 That so far as giving Beauregard command of Bragg's army 
 is concerned, that was out of the question. Bragg had^arrano-ed 
 ■■ill his plans, and had cu-intelligence with the department, with 
 Kirby Smith, and Humphrey Marshall, and to put a now com- 
 mander at the head of the army would he so prejudicial to the 
 public interests, he would not do it if the whole world united 
 m the petition. He further stated that Charleston was no 
 unimportant command, that Gharlesfcftn and Savannah were of 
 
 vast eo,,sc M uen<u. In, i,c<\M,!rdrra< T , and as ImlKdieve,] General 
 Beauregard's qualifications peculiarly fitted him for its defence, 
 he had selected him on that account,' a* the best man in the 
 army t.-r the South Carolina and Georgia department. The 
 I'res.dent read alo.nl to us all the ,lispatH,es spoken of above. 
 I may not therefore give their tenor accuratelv; he promised 
 US copies, and moreover authorized us to repcatwhat passed in 
 conversation. The above, however, is substantially what passed 
 as ,ar as I can recollect; it is not all that passed, nor do I pre- 
 tend to give the exact language. 
 
 (Signed) THS. J. SEMMES. 
 
 C. 
 
 By telegraph from Columbia, S. G. 
 
 n, nr . t, June 12, 1862. 
 
 lo General Beauregard : 
 
 Sorry to hear of your ill health and afiliction. Sea air good 
 for you. We want you to tight our batteries again. We must 
 now defend Charleston. Please come, as the President is will- 
 ing, at least for the present. Answer. 
 
 (Signed) F. W PICKENS. 
 
 Answer to above. 
 Would be happy to do so, but my presence absolutely re- 
 quired here at present. My health still bad. No doubt sea 
 air would restore it — but have no time to take care of it. 
 
 - (Signed) g. T. BEAUREGARD. 
 
20 
 
 I). 
 
 [Certificate No. 3.] 
 
 LLead-quarters Western Department, 
 Tupelo, June 14, 1802. 
 
 We hereby certify that after attendance upon General 
 Beauregard for the past four months, and treatment of his 
 case, that in our professional opinion he is incapacitated phys- 
 ically for the arduous duties of his present command, and wc 
 urgently recommend rest and recreation. 
 
 (Signed) E. S. BBODIE, 
 
 Surgeon P. A. C. S. 
 SAM. CHOPPIN, 
 Surgeon P. A. C. S. 
 
 N. B. — Certificate No. 1 was given in Jackson, Tenn.. dated 
 February — , 1862. 
 
 Certificate No. 2 bears date Corinth, April 24, 1862. 
 
 E. 
 
 [Telegram.] 
 
 Tupelo, Jane 14, 1862. 
 
 General Sam. Cooper, 
 
 Adjutant and Inspector- General, Richmond, Va. : 
 
 General Bragg has just communicated to me a telegram 
 sending him to relieve, temporarily, General Eovell. His pres- 
 ence here I consider indispensable at this moment, especially 
 as I am leaving for a while on surgeons' certificate. For four 
 months I have delayed obeying their urgent recommendations 
 in that respect. I desire to be back here in time to retake the 
 offensive as soon as our forces shall have been sufficiently reor- 
 ganized. 1 must have a short rest. 
 
 (Signed) G. T. BEAUBEGAED. 
 
21 
 
 F. 
 
 Head-quarters Western Department, 
 
 Tupelo, Miss., June 15, 1862- 
 General : 
 
 After delaying as long as possible to obey the oft repeated 
 recommendations of my physicians to take some rest for tbe 
 restoration of my health, I have concluded to take advantage 
 of the pi'esent lull in the Operations of tin's army, due to the 
 necessity of attending to its organization and discipline, and 
 to the uncertain movements of the enemy, f&r absenting mvselt 
 for a short while from here, hoping to be back in time to assume 
 the offensive at the earliest moment practicable. Meanwhile, 1 
 will transfi-r the command of the forces and of this department 
 to the next officer in rank, General B. Bragg, furnishing him 
 with sueh instructions as will enable him to give all orders 
 required during my absence. 
 
 I propose leaving here to-morrow, at 12, m., for Mobile, 
 where 1 will remain a day or two, inspecting the condition of 
 its defences, and will offer to Brigadier-General Forney such 
 advice as, in my judgment, may be necessary, and he may be 
 willing to accept. I will then repair to Bladon Springs, on the 
 Tombigbee river, about seventy-five miles north of Mobile, 
 where I will remain about one week or ten days, or long 
 enough to restore my shattered health. 
 
 Very resp'y your obd't servant, 
 
 (Signed; G. T. BEAUREGARD, 
 
 General Commanding. 
 
 G. 
 Confederate States of Ameeica, War Department, 
 
 Jiiehmond, June 23, 18G2. 
 General G. T. Beaureoard, 
 
 Mobile, Ala. : 
 General — I enclose copies of a telegram from the President 
 to General Bragg, and of a letter which I have addressed to 
 him. 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 (Signed) GEO. W. RANDOLPH, 
 
 Secr&ary of War. 
 
[By telegraph.] 
 
 Richmond, June 20, 1SG2. 
 General Braxton Brack;. 
 
 Tupilo, Jliss. : 
 Your dispatch informing me that General Beauregard had 
 turned over the command to you and left for Mobile on sur- 
 geons' certificate, was duly received. You are assigned per- 
 manently to the command of the department, as will be more 
 formally notified to you by the Secretary of War. You will 
 correspond directly, and receive orders and instructions from 
 the government in relation to your future operations. 
 
 (Signed) JEFFEKSON DAVIS. 
 
 Confederate States of America, 
 
 Richmond, Ju7ie 23. 1862. 
 General Braxton Brach, 
 
 Commanding Army of the West; Tupelo, Miss. : 
 General — You have no doubt received a telegram from the 
 President assigning you permanently to the command turned 
 over to you by General Beauregard. I write to inform you 
 officially of the fact, and to request that you will correspond 
 with and receive instructions from this department, and con- 
 sider yourself as the commander-in-chief of the forces within 
 your department. I do not wish to be understood as restrict- 
 ing General Lee's functions. They continue as heretofore. 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 Your obedient- servant, 
 (Signed) GEO. W. EANDOLPH, 
 
 Secretary of War. 
 
 H. 
 
 Mobile, Ala., June 25, 1862. 
 General : 
 
 Enclosed please find the certificate* of my physicians, mem- 
 bers of my general Staff as inspectors, recommending that I 
 
 * Dated Tupelo, June 14, 1862. 
 
23 
 
 should withdraw for a while from the command of Department 
 No. 2. This is the third certificate to the same effect I have 
 received from them since ray arrival at Jackson, Tenn.: but 
 finding, or believing, that my presence until now was absolutely 
 necessary with the forces under my command, T persistently 
 refused to avail myself of their recommendation until the pres- 
 ent moment, when I feel that in justice to myself and to the 
 cause I am endeavoring to defend, I must take a little rest, and 
 retire for a while from the active scenes of life to which 1 have 
 been accustomed for the last sixteen months. I will, for the 
 present, repair to Bladon Springs. Ala., wliere I will be always 
 ready to obey any orders of the department (regardless of my 
 health) to resume the active duties of the field whenever cir- 
 cumstances will require that 1 should be so ordered. 
 Ilespeetiully, your obedient servant, 
 
 (Signed. G. T. BT-LUTi>E(fARD, 
 
 Q neral 0. S. A. 
 General Sam. COOPER, 
 
 Adjutant-General C. S. A., Richmond, Va. 
 
 I. 
 
 General Beauregard to General Braxton Bragg. 
 
 [Confidential.] 
 
 Cullum Springs. Bladon, Ala., July 2S, 1862. 
 My pear General: 
 
 Your letter of the 22d inst. was received only last night. 1 
 give you with pleasure the following views on your propose) 
 operations from Tupelo, for I wish you the amplest sr 
 both on your and the country's account. 
 
 You have evidently but one of four things to do: First, to 
 attack lialleck at Corinth ; second, to attack Buell at or about 
 Chattanooga; third, to attack Grant at or about Memphis ; 
 fourth, to remain idle at Tupelo. 
 
 From what you state the first is evidently inadmissible, and 
 the last cannot be entertained for one moment, for action — 
 action — action is what we require. 
 
 Now, with regard to the other two propositions, it in evident 
 
24 
 
 that unless you reinforce General E. K. Smith, at Chattanooga, 
 he will be overpowered by Buell, and that our communication 
 
 with the East, and our supplies at Atlanta, Augusta, etc., will 
 be cut off; also, that a partial reinforcement would so weaken 
 you at Tupelo, as to paralyze you for any other movements 
 from there ; hence you have adopted the wisest course in send- 
 ing to Smith all 3-0111* available forces, except just enough to 
 guard your depots, etc., to the rear of your present position at 
 Tupelo. 
 
 The third proposition would have afforded you some success, 
 but not as brilliant and important in its results as the second 
 one, if the newspapers will permit you to carry it successfully 
 into effect; for Hal leek and Buell, occupying the base of a long 
 isosceles triangle, of which Mobile is the apex, could get to 
 Chattanooga before you if they should become awarej of your 
 movements, and then you would have to contend again with 
 superior forces, as usual to us. The moment 3 t ou get to Chat- 
 tanooga you ought to take the offensive, keeping in mind B the 
 following grand principles of the art of war: 
 
 First, always bring the masses of your army in contact with 
 the fractions of the enemy; second, operate as much as possi- 
 ble on his communications without exposing your own ; third, 
 operate always on interior or shorter lines. I have no doubt 
 that with anything like equal numbers you will always meet 
 with success. 
 
 I am happy to see that my two lieutenants, Morgan and For- 
 rest, are doing such good service in Kentucky and Tennessee. 
 When I appointed them I thought they would leave their mark 
 wherever they passed. 
 
 By the way, I think Ave ought hereafter, in our official pa- 
 pers, to call the " Yankees" " Abolitionists" instead of " Fed- 
 erals," for they now proclaim not only the abolition of slavery, 
 but of all our constitutional rights; and that name will have a 
 stinging effect on our Western enemies. I intend to issue a 
 general order on the subject whenever I assume a command. 
 Sincerely your friend, 
 
 G. T. BEAUREGARD. 
 General Braxton Bragg, 
 
 Commanding Department No. 2, Mobile, Alabama. 
 
25 
 
 General Beauregard to Adjutant- General Cooper. 
 
 .[Confidential.] 
 
 Mobile, Ala, September 5, 1862. 
 
 Gkneral: 
 
 Under the supposition that on the restoration of my health 
 I would bo returned to tin- command of Department Xo. 2, I 
 had prepared while at Bladon. Ala., a plan of operations in 
 Tennessee and Kentucky, baaed on my knowledge of that part 
 of the theatre of war; but hearing thai my just expectations 
 are to he disappointed, I have the honor to communicate it t» 
 the War department, in the hope that it may be of service to 
 our arms and to our cause. It was submitted by me to General 
 Bragg on the 2d inst. 
 
 By looking at the map it will be seen that the fqrces operat- 
 ing in that section of country will be separated at first by one 
 river (the Tennessee), and afterward by two (the Tennessee 
 and Cumberland), hence they will be unable to support each 
 other, being unprovided with pontoon trains; but their opera- 
 tions must be more or less dependent on or connected wit h 
 each other. 1 will first refer to those in East Tennessee and 
 then to those west of it. 
 
 In the first case, our objective points must be. first Louisville, 
 and then Cincinnati. How best to reach them from Chatta- 
 nooga, with Buell at Huntsville and Stevenson, is the question. 
 It is evident he has the advantage of two bases of operations, 
 the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers, and that if we advance 
 toward our objective points without getting rid of him, we 
 would expose our lines of communication with Chattanooga. 
 We must, then, give him battle first, or compel him to retire 
 before us. 
 
 Should he retire on Nashville (as the newspapers say he is 
 now doing), we will be advancing toward Louisville; but 
 should he venture on Florence or Savannah, to unite his forces 
 with Ivosecrans and Grant, we will have to concentrate enough 
 of our forces from Middle and East Tennessee to follow him 
 rapidly and defeat him in a great battle, when we would be 
 able to resume our march as before indicated. We must, how- 
 ever, as soon as practicable, construct strong works to com- 
 mand the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers, for otherwise our 
 
2fi 
 
 communication would be cut off by the enemy as soon as those 
 two rivers shall have risen sufficiently to admit the entrance of 
 their gun-boats and transports. 
 
 The best positions for said works are ahout forty miles below 
 Forts Donelson and Henry, not far from Eddysville, where 
 those two rivers come within one and a half mile of each other, 
 i am informed there is at that point a commanding elevation 
 where a strong field-work could be constructed for a garrison 
 of about twenty-five hundred or three thousand men, who 
 could hold out (with ample provisions and ammunition) againat 
 & large army. Under the guns of this work, and along the 
 bank of each river, a series of batteries, armed with the heav- 
 iest guns (eight, nine, ten inch, and rifled guns), could be con- 
 structed, bearing directly on obstructions placed in each of 
 said rivers. 
 
 When Louisville shall have fallen into our possession, I would 
 construct a work there tor the command of the Ohio and the 
 canal, and I would destroy the latter as soon as possible, so 
 completely that future travellers would hardly know where it 
 was. This I would do as a return for the Yankee vandalism 
 in attempting to obstruct forever the harbors of Charleston 
 and Savannah. A detachment of our army could, I think, take 
 Louisville, while the main body would be marching to Cincin- 
 nati; but if we could get boats enough it would be shorter to 
 go up the Ohio in them. To keep the command of Cincinnati 
 I would construct a strong work, heavily armed, at Covington. 
 
 Now, for the operation of Western Tennessee. The object 
 should be to drive the enemy from there and resume the com- 
 mand of the Mississippi river. 
 
 For these purposes I would concentrate rapidly at Grand 
 Junction Price's army, and all that could be spared from Vicks- 
 bur<»- of Van Dora's. From there I would make a forced march 
 to Fort Pillow, which I would take with probably only a very 
 small loss. It is evident that the forces at Memphis and Yazoo 
 river would then have their line of communication by the river 
 with the North cut off, and they would have either to surrender 
 or cross without resources into Arkansas, where General 
 Holmes would take good care of them. From Fort Pillow I 
 would compel the forces at Corinth, and Jackson, Tennessee, to 
 fall back precipitately to Humboldt and Columbus, or their 
 
27 
 
 lines of communication would be cut off also. We would then 
 pursue them vigorously beyond the Mississippi at Columbus, or 
 the Ohio at Paducah. 
 
 We would thus compel the enemy to evacuate the State of 
 Mississippi and Western Tennessee, with probably the loss on 
 our part of only a few hundred men. General Price could 
 then bo detached into Missouri to support his friends, where 
 his presence alone would be worth an army to the Confederacy-. 
 % The armament and ammunition of the works referred to 
 should be collected as soon as possible at Meridian and Chatta- 
 nooga. 
 
 Such are the operations which I would carry into effect, with 
 such modifications as circumstances might require, if the Pres- 
 ident had judged proper to order me back to the command of 
 that army which 1 had, with General Bragg's assistance, col- 
 lected together and organized, and which I had only left to 
 recover my shattered health, while 1113' presence could be spared 
 from it, and until he informed me that it was ready to take the 
 offensive. 
 
 Hoping for its entire success, I remain, very respectfully, 
 your obedient servant, 
 
 G. T. BEAUREGAKD, 
 
 General C. S. A. 
 
 .1. 
 
 [GENERAL ORDERS.] 
 
 IIkah-quartrrs of the Forces, 
 Corinth, Miss. % March 29, 1862. 
 
 I. The undersigned assumes the command and immediate 
 direction of the armies of Kentucky, and of the Mississippi, 
 now united, and which, in military operations, will be known 
 as the army of the Mississippi. 
 
 II. General G. T. Beauregard will be second in command to 
 the commander of the forces. 
 
 III. The army of the Mississippi will be subdivided into 
 three army corps, and reserves of cavalr}*, artillery, and in- 
 fantry, as follows : 
 
 1. The first corps, under the command of Major-General L. 
 Polk, to consist of the grand division now under his com- 
 
28 
 
 mand, as originally organized, less the artillery and cav- 
 alry herein after limited and detached as reserves, and the 
 garrison of Fort Pillow, and the works for defence of 
 Madrid bend, already detached from that command. 
 
 2. The second corps, under Major-General Braxton Bragg, to 
 
 consist of the second grand "division of the army of the 
 Mississippi, less the artillery and cavalry herein after lim- 
 ited and detached as reserves. 
 
 3. The third corps, under Major-General W. J. Hardee, to con- 
 
 sist of the army of Kentucky, less the cavalry, artillery, 
 and infantry herein after limited and detached as reserves. 
 
 4. The infantiy reserve, under command of Major-General G. 
 
 B. Crittenden, shall be formed of a division of not less than 
 two brigades. • 
 
 IV. The brigades of each army corps, and of the reserve y 
 will be so formed as to consist severally of about 2,500 total, 
 infantiy, and one light battery of six pieces if practicable. 
 
 V. Divisions shall consist of not less than two brigades, and 
 of one regiment of cavalry. 
 
 VI. All cavalry and artillery not herein before assigned to 
 divisions and brigades will be held in reserve — the cavalry 
 
 under Brigadier-General ITaices, the artillery under an 
 
 officer to be subsequently announced. 
 
 VII. All general orders touching matters of organization, 
 discipline, and conduct of the troops, published by General G. 
 T. Beauregard to the army of the Mississippi, will continue in 
 force in the whole army until otherwise directed, and copies 
 thereof will be furnished to the third army corps and the 
 reserves. 
 
 VIII. Major-General Braxton Bragg, in addition to his duties 
 as commander of the second army corps, is announced as 
 " Chief of the Staff" to the commander of the forces. 
 
 (Signed) A. S. JOHNSTON, 
 
 General C. S. A. 
 
 Note. — The above organization of the forces at Corinth was submitted 
 by General G. T. Beauregard, second in command, and adopted by Gen- 
 eral A. S. Johnston, first in command, without any alteration whatever. 
 
 THOMAS JORDAN, A. A. G. 
 
 April 15, 1862. 
 
pH 8.5