Tower, Zealous Bates, 1819-1900 to William P. Fessenden
Order a pdf of this item here.
Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC00849.01 Author/Creator: Tower, Zealous Bates, 1819-1900 Place Written: Nashville, Tennessee Type: Autograph letter signed Date: December 25, 1864 Pagination: 7 p. : docket ; 25 x 20 cm. Order a Copy
General Tower, chief engineer of Union defenses at Nashville, describes the Battle of Nashville to Fessenden, Secretary of the Treasury. Relates the strategies of Union Generals George Henry Thomas, Andrew Jackson Smith, James Harrison Wilson, and John McAllister Schofield, among several others. Reports on the actions of Confederate forces commanded by General John Bell Hood. States "Probably at this date we have 8,000 prisoners. Hood's Army must be sadly demoralized & broken up. His force was counted at 40,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry. If he escapes with half that number he will be exceedingly lucky. Gen. Thomas is pushing him vigorously.- The Army have great confidence in General Thomas. He is cool, thoughtful, self-reliant, an able commander." Labeled private. Mentions the transmission of a sketch pertaining to the Battle of Nashville (refer to GLC00849.02).
Citation Guidelines for Online Resources
The copyright law of the United States (title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specific conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.