496 [MAY March 14.-Acting Ensign T. F. De Luce. March 16.-Acting Assistant Surgeon Ira C. Whitehead. March 24.-Acting Master W. G. Nutting. March 28.-Acting Volunteer Lieutenant John D. Harty, to take effect on the reporting of his relief. March 31.-Acting Master and Pilot Benjamin R. Dorey. Dismissed. March 8.-Acting Master E. Herrick. March 25.-Acting Assistant Paymaster, George W. McLane. Miscellaneous. March 8.-Order dismissing Acting Ensign Arnold Harris revoked, and his resignation accepted from Feb. 21st, 1865. March 9.-Order of Feb. 24th, 1865, dismissing Acting Master George W. Frost, revoked. March 18.-Acting Master G. W. Caswell, term of suspension having expired, he is ordered to report to the Department by letter. March 30.-Acting Master and Pilot William Jones, order of Dec. 29th, 1864, revoking his appointment revoked, and his resignation accepted from that date. Mississippi Squadron. Appointed Acting Ensigns. March 22.-Joseph Graham, U. S. S. Daisy; Hiram Simonton, U. S. S. Grosbeak; William Kesner, U. S. S. Naumkeag; Benjamin W. Herr, U. S. S. Tempest. March 25.-E. F. Crane, U. S. S. Chillicothe. March 29.-Edward C. Urner, U. S. S. Lexington. Promoted. March 25.-Acting Ensign M. B. Muncy, to Acting Master. Resigned. March 1.-Acting Ensign George J. Hazlett. March 2.-Acting Ensign H. B. O'Neill. March 3.-Acting Master George D. Little; Acting Ensign E. C. Van Pelt. March 13.-Acting Ensign W. K. Owen. March 16.-Acting Ensign Charles C. Briggs. March 21.-Acting Ensign W. L. Constantine. March 22.-Acting Ensign Charles W. Spooner; Acting Master Benjamin Se bastian. March 25.-Acting Volunteer Lieutenant Charles G. Perkins. Personal Items. Brigadier-General Jas. F. Hartranft has, on General Grant's recommendation, been promoted major-general by brevet, "for conspicuous gallantry in repulsing and driving back the enemy from the lodgment made on our lines, March 25th, 1865." Major-General N. P. Banks, accompanied by Colonel Wilson and Captain Crosby of his staff, has returned to New Orleans, and assumed command of the Department of the Gulf. Brevet Colonel F. T. Dent, of Lieutenant-General Grant's staff, has been appointed brigadier-general, and assigned to command as military governor at Richmond. Colonel Schofield has been appointed brigadier-general and chief of staff to his brother, Major-General J. M. Schofield. Colonel Kendall (33d New Jersey) has been appointed brigadier-general and chief of staff to Major-General H. W. Slocum. THE UNITED STATES SERVICE MAGAZINE. VOL. III-JUNE, 1865.-NO. VI. SHERMAN'S TRUCE. WE have been at some pains-a labor tenfold repaid by the pleasure to present to our readers, both in our special editorial pages, and in the essays of distinguished contributors, full accounts of the wonderful strategy, magnificent marches, and victorious battles, of this illustrious general. To him, more than to any other man, except Grant, the country owes the dissolution of the rebel armies, the collapse of the rebellion, and the spring harbingers of the grandest peace ever conquered and established. After marvels at which the world will never cease to wonder, he followed Johnston's shattered army to Durham Station, and there, removed from immediate communication with the Departinent, made with the rebel general the basis of an agreement for a disbandment of the rebel armies, the re-establishment of the Federal and State authorities, and a general amnesty. The truce was to hold until the required authorities should express their willingness to carry out the programme. That Sherman's action was not final, it hardly seems necessary to say; for in the seventh article of the "basis of agreement" it is distinctly stated. 66 It is neither unjust nor ungenerous to Sherman to state that these terms, prompted by a warm heart and a vivid vision of instant peace even to the banks of the Rio Grande," were not satisfactory to the Government or to the people. What then? Simply disapprove them, and order a resumption of hostili Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, by C. B. RICHARDSON, in the Clerk's. ties. The President rejected them, the Department disallowed them, and General Grant, one of Sherman's warmest friends, disapproved them. The latter went in person to the scene, dictated other terms, and left Sherman to carry them out. Here the matter ends. The policy of Sherman, which was disapproved by the Government, so far from impeaching his patriotism, gives proof of an ardent desire for the immediate restoration of the Union, and Peace; so far from charging him with ambition, it shows a readiness to give generous terms to a foe whom he might have routed to the winds, and to finish, by a convention, a contest every day of which caused his name to be sounded with new sonorous harmony all over the civilized world. Many thought the kind-hearted and revered Lincoln too lenient; not a few growled and snarled at Grant for his terms to Lee; Sherman only went a little farther, and his action needed not reprehension but modification. These his agreement allowed for, and these were at once set forth. Detraction, more hateful than death, "loves a shining mark." Little critics, like Egyptian boys who pelt the pyramids with balls of sand, have had, for a day, rich sport. One says, in the emphatic language of Webster when speaking of the murderer's secret: "Ah, gentlemen, it was a fatal mistake!" Another speaks—with hightragedy air-of "Sherman's fall," as long and terrible as that of Satan from heaven! And yet another caps the climax by saying: "Sherman voluntarily committed a fault the country can never forget. Now, this is all simply ridiculous; the high tragedy is rich farce. Sherman has not fallen at all; his mistake was not fatal; his truce was submitted and disallowed. Without a murmur, even of disappointment, but doubtless with a feeling of insulted dignity at the manner of the disavowal, he prescribes the new terms brought by Grant, and Johnston's army is surrendered at once. If Sherman made a mistake, he did not commit a crime; and when the convention of Durham Station, its issue, and the carping voices of the little critics are entirely forgotten, the patriot, the great captain, the honest man, the hero of a hundred fights, will shine with ever-increasing lustre and diameter. History will deal with his "crazy" but far-seeing call for two hundred thousand men, with Pittsburg Landing, Vicksburg, the march to Meridian, Chattanooga, Missionary Ridge, the bold move from Atlanta to the sea, the fall of Savannah, Charleston, Wilmington, Raleigh, and the surrender of Johnston's army. General Sherman has, with commendable spirit, said nothing as yet in regard to the truce; the time will come for him to speak, and he will speak with no truckling, no uncertain sound. Until then we express what ought to be, and we believe are, the views of our whole people. Whatever he may find in the retrospect to forgive himself for-if any thing--we owe him rather too much to humiliate him either with reproach or forgiveness; for if we come to compare accounts, we shall find that we are bankrupt debtors, who can never repay him for a thousandth part, even if we load the scale with "unconditional forgiveness." We hope Sherman will not forget those who have so boldly asserted that they cannot forget. He may, however, bear up under the admiring friendship and entire confidence of General Grant, the enthusiastic gratitude of the whole country, and such an unsolicited opinion as is contained in the following letter from Chief-Justice Chase : "WASHINGTON, April 29, 1865. "WILLIAM G. DESHLER, Treasurer Sherman Testimonial Fund: "MY DEAR SIR-Enclosed is a contribution to the Sherman Fund. I take this moment for making it, because just now many seem disposed to forget his great deservings, and remember only his recent convention with Johnston. But that act, however regretted and disapproved, must not cancel in our memories, or even obscure his splendid services. His patriotism is no more doubtful than his courage. No man's achievements have contributed more to the grand triumph of Union and freedom over rebellion and slavery. His deeds are among the choicest treasures of our own Ohio, as well as of our whole country. And we, the children of Ohio, are bound especially, and by the most sacred obligations, to defend and protect the good name of every brave and loyal son she has. She has none braver or more loyal than Sherman. "Yours most truly, "S. P. CHASE." WHAT THE COAST SURVEY HAS DONE FOR THE WAR. WHEN men are aware of the existence of a certain thing, if they do not perceive its results, they not unfrequently assume that there are none. There is probably nothing to which this observation is more applicable than to the Coast Survey of the United States. Although it has been in operation for a number of years, and has been prosecuted with zeal, fidelity, and success, unsurpassed in the history of natural enterprise, the knowledge of its merit has been confined to a limited number of persons beyond those employed in its labors. Yet, during that time, the country at large has been benefited, to an incalculable degree, by operations which embrace a range including the most scientific methods known to geodesy, as well as the infinite and infinitesimal details that bring the practical results of the survey within the comprehension of the least skilful navigator. Stated simply, without reference to scientific investigation, the Coast Survey has been the agency which has saved to the country millions of dollars and thousands of lives. But it was not appreciated, because its results are intangible. Men seldom realize the worth of that which benefits them indirectly. The rebellion came, and the Coast Survey, and, indeed, all other public interests, dwindled into insignificance before the vital one attached to the restoration of the integrity of the Republic. There were comparatively few who were aware that the Coast Survey could aid the Government in its efforts to suppress the rebellion. Yet the Survey has never rendered to the country more important service than that performed since. the commencement of the war. Independently of the vast amount of information which it put into the possession of the Army and Navy, when the country was forced to the arbitrament of arms, it has never ceased to take an active part in connection with actual hostilities. It is not within the scope of these papers to give a history of all the various means by which the Coast Survey has aided the military authorities. This would require far more space than the narrow limits within which they are necessarily confined. Were it possible to do otherwise, the account would prove a mass of dry details, as uninteresting in comparison with active movements, as the daily drill and camp routine of an army are to the hostile shock upon the day of battle. For these reasons, it is intended to descant only upon those services which are indissolubly linked with some grand operation of the war. All of the military surveys executed have been valuable to the commanders of our land and naval forces; but an account of all, forms no legitimate part of a narrative intended for the general reader. Had a battle or a bombardment happened along every league of the coast which the rebels attempted to wrest from the United States, the labors of the Survey in each place would not have failed to become manifest. We cannot overestimate the value of the operations undertaken with special reference to military and naval movementsreconnoissance, sounding, buoying, piloting-that have aided our armies and fleets. Some of these labors must, of course, forever remain in comparative obscurity, for their full value could be brought to light only in the progress of military enterprise. But, whenever movements have taken place upon land or sea, the material aid derived from these labors has awakened the admiration of both Army and Navy, and they have rivalled each other in avowing their indebtedness, and in awarding unqualified praise. The people, also, will appreciate these services, which, however humble they may appear when contrasted with the vast operations to which they contributed, have proved largely conducive to the brilliant achievements of our arms. The most acceptable form which this account can take for the public, will be a recital of the general services rendered by the Coast Survey in the field, but more particularly of those in which it enacted a conspicuous part in the battles of the war. At the beginning of the year 1861, all the usual arrangements |