GENERAL WARREN AT FIVE FORKS, AND THE COURT OF INQU'IRY.



O  N May I I tit, I S(.5, (it ieral (;. K. Warren, whi
      was I hwei inl -orninunitl of tinf I)epartment o
IIlo MissiSsip;pi, dlldresed a letter to the "1 Nev
York Times," in whii h he salid:
  'Thlolit.   'Ift t.e cfti-il'y on the 3lot f M.Irel
    eiIt in        ...t-illr..... toI . , portioui oflly   r
dillng tCI Night to lalipi rt G ralrni t   --lidi'il  c:valry
olitili 11,14 (tin ftorceit lik to. 2l fr )DinWiddle Cour
IIIHous. t hll of toiy  sii Milso  was, tII. e-mpeilled t,
nnareh all iiigtit u    ,tter hiavitug tiight lIl day, and th
reft of thn, --pr.t Ill-ved tow-rd the enlemy that -o
frioitet thc avl-ilry lit iiybrceak.
    thur  rlhu'ntl oi t lie flan..k atd re-r of the i-nelul:
compe.ll-d lilii to fall ba-k rapidly to t.n vicinity of til,
Flve FoIrk, and tIidlrlilf  herlhlll on iivliileiuig witl
t      ,i'   aIry fuiiiiiil him slightly iltl  NAli hii there.  Thlt
rel tiprovd iiiliile a , coiiplete dV1inloii of the enemy'
In tioitry. I.... :ut the, avalry of ee's lirily.
  - I rneilvesl 11 Iier froiii ; l.ral Mi-Ide, ifter Joill
inK (1 ullrild Seriidan, to report to 1lil fot' duty, whiilt
I     "lbd (lad the ...itrps Ws ialteb by Ilis directimo lit thi
piohit whe re we Jiiied hil abolit 8 A. M. (April 1stl. A
  1rP. M. r wasx dir-eed to lbring imp the corps tit (Grwivlvl
Huh (hureli 1a dstanuo if alsint twit and thrle-fourth
  il  froli wh-re they had lieen halted, antI ther- ftrn
will twI  divis.ions iit fronit alin one ill reserve, so as t
inov with ti' whitle eorps, and attl-k and torn iltb
enelily'a l-ft flank on1 the White Oak road.
  ".My .Ili was formed ecordiigly: Ayres on the left
l tiiree line F of battle; Crawford oii the right, in thre,
lnesu of battle; and Griflin's divt]isin in reserve iJ
isiltes. This ocupled till 4 P. M. The forward moive
ient then began. General Ayres'i division beecanie iir.,
engngei.d whbelliig to the left. fromn facing nirth to fae
ilig west, as it ad.vaneoul.  eneral Crawford's divltiiot
ain wheeled to the leftt   General Ayres'.  -0 a pivot
but owing tim the nature of the crounid and forests, a...
the grelitur dilitanee to gain, he lost his connection wit]
General Ayres.
  . IntoI thi, interval thut left General Grima's divisiot
was placed. These two divisions steadily drove in the
enemy's left flank. General Crawford's division uoove,
on westward till it gained the road leading north fron
the center of the ene..y's posrtion, when it was wheeled
to the south, and attacked the tropsit that were en
deavorinig to hold this road as an ntlet ftr seape.
  "All the divisions now closed in pitpn the enem2
capturing the artillery that was attempting to movrI
north. and nearly all the infantry, whieh their mlove
tnent had thrown In the greatest confuslon. I sunces
sively followed the operatiois itt my divisions from let
to right, being with General Crawford when the posl
ion was. taken.
   While these luoveuients above deacribed were goinj
on, the eavalry engaged the e    .elily along his whol,
front, which was facIng south. The euemy still main
tained the right of his lini, eonfrontilig the cavalry
titter we had swept away bhi left and center; but thi
Fifth Corp, erowdiig along the line, without waiting ti
nw-form, eaptured all who remualned, as it swept along
I  W.' With the extreme advance in. the last movement
and Wv a  releved While there at 7 P. M., the battle beint
then over, a-d mit eveil a fugitive enemy tIn sight. ...
  "I perst"'iilly ouight of Genemi Slieridami a reason fo]
his orde-r; but he would not, or eould not, give one ant
  ) General Warren resigned his volunteero-iaumissioi
M ay 27, 1865: he died Aug. 8, 18552, at Newport, R. I.
  I Iti his " Memoirs ' (C. L Webster  Co., 1885), Gen
eral (Grant says:
   I wan -a mteli dlissatilfIed with Warreus dillatrv miove
Ite.la it, tle battle itt WVhite Oak l .uI aril it IIIl tal-tr
toreach Sheridan. Ia, tie. tla  as very I cIfl atraitl tIla
at tile last i   h.iimelI lie Would tall Wierilall. He was a mai
oft Hne Inlelglgenc. great earileataes ui qoick per-eltill-, an.
e.il1d -ake I1lisl.. lonoitittnn as q-lCkly as aity offier, -itle
lifcullies wI eIe le was foreti to act. ast I liath hetore tiJs
ecsierett a  etleect whIchl v.an iteyonni hise ctlerol. thlat vwas yeny
totivadicial tio his usofalacos in emoergencles like thle oae JuHe



o   Iiltxitetltiutts1.,t. o  I tilnyt   thre drltr to rt'port to tteti-
rf    l tIrItt thiat ilight . u..t. Ivil 1, lio hi asigililt tO lIlt'
   o' natnd itt to e tleft iesf at City Poitt and Mierimuita
             Aftirth         j r  tHh  tteu.:itbtit tt -tlieitoiiil ,.,Il'ete s-
   bltrg I w.ts gv ll tile em.im..t.Il of the troo0psa t the lottie
h  lhiaci intl"H aloiig the SmoithtIs   hallroatl, lbslongiog to tilt
o  Arily ,tf tIe lt to lI.li.. Wheil th-e tritops -ere r"I evitd
I ty tIilon fItm  tii Arvuly tf the Jott.s, I was left ...
t  Pi't- rviKrg anitiuig turder. I theim 1udldr--ed a letter,
   o la teA April lth. ti t;.euterall Rawitius, ilf-of-staff, sF
   lieliting l. I           0lvtstigathtu11 the s221 of April I..lit
- llnthebr, re questing lornitesiitlt to 1tiththsh the first mtiu.
   for thi, reasons set tori therel-i. O., tile 2t1 ,t ay I
 y telermphled Colhmel 14vralai-elrlts a.s --
e   lii it tIIeIe hail 1,teen rielved, mid It. answered, thev
h  'wire riteivd, the lItter drlming I eiiiral (.rant'. Ill-
   iaseree. thriers have l-eeit sent you line! to report here,
o  wheny 1 an se tbe geteral.'
     "On Ma:y :,1 1 ree-'ive2  lv telegraph an extract fron
-  Glleral Orders No. 7, of .May 1st, assigning me to thle
heooliliantl of the Departmnent of the MinisslRIPPi. I ait onei'
   proceedede1 til W.-hingtomt, and, after at lier-onal intr-
t  vvie- With (te    G-ral Grant, received, un the 6th of Maly,
tin answer ti Tlly olimlmnieatlons ot tIme 9th and 2dil if
I Alril, aithorizing my pllhllhililg tielil, lud stating tie
   reasn for nUt graliting Ilne the ilivesthgation sought."
     A court of inquiry was finally granited to (General
   Warren on the 2th of December, I S7, 9, hy Previ-
   dent Hayes. As finally etonstituted, the court con-
   e istedl uf Brevet Major-Generals  C . Aulgur and
   'John  Newton, and    Brevet   Lieutenant-Colonl
t  Loomis L. Langdon, recorder. The inquiry related
   to four imputations contained in the final reports
   of Grant anid Sheridan.
     First. GIeneral Granit wrote:
I On tlb morning of the 31st (of farhbl General Warren
   reporteil favitrahty to getting posession of the White
   Oak road, and was directed ti do so  To aeonpliiel
   thi he Ilitrid with one division, instead of Idl whtle
t .rp., reslilting tn a repnl-e."
     The court exonerated Warren, but heltl that he
-    shotild have been with his advanced divisions."
   and "should have started earlier to the front."
     .scftw . General Sheridan says:
     -llad Warren moved aceetnrig to the expectations ,f
  the lieutenant-general there would appear to have -een
  but little chance for the eseape of the enemy's infantry
l  in fritat of Dlnwiddte Court Hoitse."
     The court found that "it was not practicable
   for the Fifth Corps to have reached Sheridan at
-  12 o'clock on the night of March :31st," as Grant
   had expected; but that Warren should have moved
   Griffin and Crawfordl at once, as ordered.
     Third. General Sheridan says:
     General Warren did not exert hbiself tin get up his
   corps as rapidly as he mlight have done, altd his moanner
   gave ine the Wlipression that he wsthed thi sit tti
   go dowui before dispositions for the attack eituld be
d comupleted".
   Iefore tinl Je t olt-l see ve ry lauger at a glance befo-re I
   -all ecounterel It. He wotihl n tt only make prelaratio-ls
   t mteet tile tlanger vhiel, miighttttle.r, bI.t he woitlil into-im
   ills coiiluatitlittg oficer whlalt utthers shuald un while lie w.ns
   executing hzis more.
e     I 1ail oe.it a staffofier to General Sileridlan to call I5
   atteoit-tt to t t       I ta aytluat as niuclt as t lik-t
t General W           arren. iow was not a time whllen we -ould Iet o..r
p teratal feelings for any ine stand in the way ot sucess.
I and if his reilo-al was necesary to success, n01t to ]esttat.e
I It was upon tIat auiltorization that Sheritian renovet
-  Warren.  I wan very sorry that it had been II one. antl re
   grettel still "lirec that I bad niut long before taken occasion
I  to aign Id. to another ield ot duty.'
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