CHAPTER XXXII
Crisis in the Confederate Army.—1863
WHILE the removal of the generals and the reorganization
absorbed the attention of headquarters and
camps on our side, a similar crisis was occurring in the
Confederate army. Indications of it had reached us
through Southern newspapers. These came into our lines
almost as quickly as into the enemy's, thanks to the truce
arrived at between the respective pickets, without
authority, but winked at by their superiors, and which led to
friendly talk and exchange of courtesies. One contained a
general order of Lieutenant-General Polk, in which he took
leave of his corps, and the announcement of the removal
of General Hindman from command. But no one was
aware of the extent and violence of the conflict then raging
among the rebel generals, nor was it suspected that these
internal quarrels had led to a most important event, of
which we learned from rebel papers and through the great
commotion on Missionary Ridge. It was nothing less than
a visit of Jefferson Davis himself to Bragg's troops. The
President of the Confederacy arrived on the evening of
October the 10th and remained till the 13th. His
presence was signalized by artillery salutes and parades
and reviews, which could be clearly seen from Cameron
Hill. From our picket line the band music and cheers
with which the rebel soldiery responded to the speeches
he made to them were also distinctly heard. It is only
by the publication of the Official War Records that the
connection between his visit and the squabbles of the generals
has been made apparent. I think it best to give at length
this interesting chapter in the history of the Rebellion.
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