American Historical Ephemera and Photography

"Head-Quarters Department of Mississippi" letterhead. 5pp, 5 1/4 x 8 1/4 in. (creasing at folds, light wear, pencil notations at top of first page). Docketed on verso, "In regard to the appointment of Genl. Grant to the Army of the Tennessee."

General Wood, stationed at the time in Mississippi with the occupation army, replies to an inquiry from General Wilson apparently requesting details on circumstances surrounding Grant's tenure as commander of the "Army of the Tennessee." Wood writes, in part: "...the truth is, so many grand events were crowded into the last three years of the titantic Civil War, that the effect left by many of them was not perfectly entrenched....If I remember rightly, there was a rumor prevalent in that grand assemblage of forces around Corinth, after the evacuation of the rebels, that Genl [Robert] Allen would be placed in command of the Army of the Tennessee. How the rumor originated, or how much foundation in fact there was for it, I could not now undertake to say." He later suggests that Wilson contact General Allen who should be able to "furnish the desired historic evidence." Before signing off, Wood makes clear his sentiment on Grant and his role in the Union Army: "How much cause has every lover of his country to congratulate himself that the illustrious commander of the army, he who rendered the largest service in the suppression of the rebellion, and won the grandest reputation, was restored to the command of the Army of the Tennessee!"

In the aftermath of the 1862 Battle of Shiloh, General Henry Halleck's reorganization of the "Army of the Tennessee" in preparation for the Siege of Corinth left Grant second-in-command to General George H. Thomas. Confederate forces abandoned the town May 29-30, leaving Grant's future command in question. Ultimately, Halleck restored Grant to straightforward command of the "Army of the Tennessee," setting the stage for Grant's ultimate rise to lieutenant general in command of all Union Armies.