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140 orlando m. poe Seven “God help Us if we Fail!” 1864—The Atlanta Campaign after enjoying a well-deserved leave and the warmth of family and friends back in Ohio, Poe returned to the field on January 23. his formal leave had actually ended at his request on January 6, and for the next two weeks he wrote his lengthy report on the just concluded Knoxville campaign at the behest of ambrose Burnside. Once back, he learned that his duties under Burnside were over, as the situation in eastern tennessee was stable. he was needed elsewhere, and after relinquishing all governmental property in his control, his new orders stated that he was to travel to nashville, tennessee , where he was to report to Brig. Gen. william “Baldy” Smith, currently the chief engineer of the Military Division of the Mississippi. Smith’s primary responsibility was to assist with the preparations for the spring campaign, which everyone knew was forthcoming. Upon arriving in central tennessee, Poe described nashville as a “paradise of mud” and far worse in that respect than he had ever seen or dreamed possible. Though the calendar said it was the dead of winter, a streak of unseasonably warm weather had caused much of the snow to melt, which led to the buildup of the sludge.1 Poe had previously crossed paths with Smith during the Fredericksburg campaign, where Smith had commanded the Sixth corps. about seven weeks later, Smith was ordered to Fortress Monroe where he took temporary command of the ninth corps and again met up with Poe. Despite their age difference , there were some unique similarities between the two men. in 1856, Smith became employed by the U.S. lighthouse Service, headquartered in Detroit, and eventually became engineer secretary of the lighthouse Board. it was a position that Poe would likewise one day assume. Both men also were west Point engineers who had seen their confirmations for promotion 140 1864—the atlanta campaign 141 quashed in the Senate in March 1863, so there was ample evening discussion to be had between the two men. within days, Poe, Smith, and col. cyrus comstock, also an engineer, were all sharing a house together. From Smith, Poe quickly learned that his heroics at Knoxville were still being hailed, which prompted his pride and hopes for promotion to swell yet again. “i begin seriously to expect reappointment to Brigadier General or to get a brevet for Knoxville,” he confided to nell, but then surprisingly concluded , “i think i would prefer the latter.”2 as previously discussed, promotion within the regular army occurred at an agonizingly slow pace, prompting the service to initiate “brevet” promotions to deserving individuals. The concept was first introduced into the american army during the revolutionary war and was later officially defined as “a commission conferring upon an officer a grade in the army additional to and higher than that which, at the time it is bestowed, he holds by virtue of his commission in a particular corps of the legally established military organization.” in essence, it was a type of supplementary and honorary rank, which was higher than the officer’s regular grade within the army. Such promotions enabled an officer to be eligible for duty at the higher grade but had no effect on his status with regard to pay or seniority, unless he had been specifically assigned to duty by the president at his brevet rank. acknowledging distinguished conduct was the primary reason for issuing brevets, though a more practical consideration quickly took hold during the civil war when legal limitations on the number of general officers often precluded capable men from assuming command. in those cases, brevets found their best use by allowing the officer to exercise command at his brevet rank when assigned to duty by the president.3 Such sentiment by Poe was a full 180 degrees from what he requested of Senator Zachariah chandler earlier in January. with such plaudits under his belt, Poe felt that now was a good time to again approach the senior senator from his adopted home state. Despite his recent heroics, Poe still felt compelled to grovel for the influential senator’s approval and assistance in obtaining the promotion he felt was long overdue. Poe was a military man with little use for politicians, and such pleading bit deep into his dignity. he pointed out to chandler that he was the chief engineer at Knoxville and the man many considered primarily responsible for longstreet...

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