along the bluffs around the northeast of the town. Sherman's front was at a greater distance from the enemy than that of any other corps, and the approach less advantageous, but he began his siege works with great energy and admirable skill. Everything I saw of Sherman at the Vicksburg siege increased my admiration for him. He was a very brilliant man, and an excellent commander of a corps. Sherman's information was great, and he was a clever talker. He always liked to have people about who could keep up with his conversation; besides, he was genial and unaffected. I particularly admired his loyalty to Grant. He had criticised the expedition frankly in the first place, but had supported every movement with all his energy, and now that we were in the rear of Vicksburg gave loud praise to the commander-in-chief.
To the left of Sherman lay the Seventeenth Army Corps, under Major-General J. B. McPherson. He was one of the best officers we had. He was but thirty-four years old at the time, and a very handsome, gallant-looking man, with rather a dark complexion, dark eyes, and a most cordial manner. McPherson was an engineer officer of fine natural ability and extraordinary acquirements, having graduated number one in his class at West Point, and was held in high estimation by Grant and his professional brethren. Halleck gave him his start in the Civil War, and he had been with Grant at Donelson and ever since. He was a man without any pretensions, and always had a pleasant shake-hands for you.
To McPherson's left was the Thirteenth Army Corps, under Major-General John A. McClernand. Next to Grant he was the ranking officer in the army. The approaches on his front were most favorable to us and the enemy's line of works evidently much the weakest there, but he was very inefficient and slow in pushing his siege operations. Grant had resolved on the 23d to relieve McClernand for his false despatch of the day before stating that he stating that he held two of the enemy's forts; but he changed his mind, concluding that it would be better, on the whole, to leave him in his command till the siege was concluded. My own judgment of McClernand at that time was that he had not the qualities necessary for the commander even of a regiment. In the first place, he was not a military man; he was a politician and a member of Congress. He was a man of a good deal of a certain kind of talent, not of a high order, but not one of intellectual accomplishments. His education was that which a man gets who is in Congress five or six years. In short, McClernand was merely a smart man—quick, very active-minded; but his judgment was not solid, and he looked after himself a good deal. Mr. Lincoln also looked out carefully for McClernand. It was a great thing to get McClernand into the war in the first place, for his natural predisposition, one would have supposed, would have been to sympathize with the South. As long as he adhered to the war he carried his Illinois constituency with him; and chiefly for this reason, doubtless, Lincoln made it a point to take special care of him. In doing this the President really served the greater good of the cause. But from the circumstance of Lincoln's supposed friendship, McClernand had more consequence in the army than he deserved.
McClernand, Sherman, and McPherson were Grant's three chief officers, but there were many subordinate officers of value in his army, not a few of whom became afterwards men of distinction. In order to set the personnel of the commanding force distinctly before the reader, I quote here a semi-official letter which I wrote to Mr. Stanton, at his request, in July, after the siege had ended. This letter has never been published before, and it gives my judgment at that time of the subordinate officers of the Vicksburg campaign.
Cairo, Ill., July 12, 1863.
Dear Sir: Your despatch of June 29th desiring me to continue my "sketches" I have to-day seen for the first time. It was sent down the river, but had not arrived when I left Vicksburg on the 5th inst.
Let me describe the generals of division and brigade in Grant's army, in the order of the army corps to which they are attached, beginning with the Thirteenth.
The most prominent officer of the Thirteenth Corps, next to the commander of the corps, is Brigadier-General A. P. Hovey. He is a lawyer of Indiana, and from forty to forty-five years old. He is ambitious, active, nervous, irritable, energetic, clear-headed, quick-witted, and prompt-handed. He works with all his might and all his mind; and, unlike most volunteer officers, makes it his business to learn the military profession just as if he expected to spend his life in it. He distinguished himself most honorably at Port Gibson and Champion's Hill, and is one of the best officers in this army. He is a man whose character will always command respect, though he is too anxious about his personal renown and his own advancement to be considered a first-rate man morally, judged by the high standard of men like Grant and Sherman.
are General McGinnis and Colonel Slack. McGinnis is brave enough, but too excitable. He lost his balance at Champion's