in excellent spirits, not at all
depressed by recent disasters, and that he thought well of a movement
north toward Nashville. I expressed surprise at his statement of the
condition of Hood's army, as entirely opposed to the conclusions forced
on me by all the evidence I could get, and warned him of the danger of
listening to narrators who were more disposed to tell what was agreeable
than what was true. He readily admitted that persons in his position
were exposed to this danger. Proceeding to discuss the suggested
movement toward Nashville, I thought it a serious matter to undertake a
campaign into Tennessee in the autumn, with troops so badly equipped as
were ours for the approaching winter. Every mile the army marched north,
it was removing farther from supplies, and no reenforcements were to be
hoped for from any quarter. Besides, Sherman could control force enough
to garrison Chattanooga and Nashville, and, if time were allowed him to
accumulate supplies at Atlanta by his one line of rail, could abandon
everything south of Chattanooga, and with fifty thousand men, in the
absence of Hood's army, march where he liked. The President asked what
assistance might be expected from the trans-Mississippi. I replied,
none. There would not be another gun fired there; for the Federals had
withdrawn their troops to concentrate east of the river. The difficulty
of bringing over organized bodies of men was explained, with the
addition of their unwillingness to come. The idea prevailed that the
States west of the Mississippi had been neglected by the Government, and
this idea had been encouraged by many in authority. So far from desiring
to send any more men to the east, they clamored for the return of those
already there. Certain senators and representatives, who had bitterly
opposed the administration at Richmond, talked much wild nonsense about
setting up a government west of the Mississippi, uniting with
Maximilian, and calling on Louis Napoleon for assistance. The President
listened attentively to this, and asked, "What then?" I informed him of
the work Forrest was doing, pointed out the advantages of Blue Mountain
as a base from which to operate, and suggested that Hood's army be
thrown on Sherman's line of railway, north of Atlanta. As Johnston had
been so recently removed from command, I would not venture to recommend
his return, but believed that our chances would be increased by the
assignment of Beauregard to the army.