125
" Lincoln had called upon his fellow citizens “to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.” Instituted thus “in the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity,” this first national Thanksgiving was intended not only as a reminder for people to be grateful for “the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies,” but also as an occasion for them to “implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity, and Union. "
― Shelby Foote , The Civil War, Vol. 2: Fredericksburg to Meridian
128
" In the old army there was a story that in his [Braxton Bragg] younger days, as a lieutenant commanding one of several companies at a post where he was also serving as quartermaster, he had submitted a requisition for supplies, then as quartermaster had declined by indorsement to fill it. As company commander he resubmitted the requisition, giving additional reasons for his needs, but as quartermaster he persisted in denial. Having reached this impasse, he referred the matter to the post commandant, who took one look at the correspondence and threw up his hands: “My God, Mr Bragg, you have quarreled with every officer in the army, and now you are quarreling with yourself! "
― Shelby Foote
130
" Who knows," he asked as his
narrative drew toward its close, "but it may
be given to us, after this life, to meet again in
the old quarters, to play chess and draughts,
to get up soon to answer the morning roll
call, to fall in at the tap of the drum for drill
and dress parade, and again to hastily don
our war gear while the monotonous patter of
the long roll summons to battle? Who knows
but again the old flags, ragged and torn,
snapping in the wind, may face each other
and flutter, pursuing and pursued, while the
cries of victory fill a summer day? And after
the battle, then the slain and wounded will
arise, and all will meet together under the two
flags, all sound and well, and there will be
talking and laughter and cheers, and all will
say: Did it not seem real? Was it not as in the
old days? "
― Shelby Foote , The Civil War, Vol. 3: Red River to Appomattox
132
" Another was a return to the suggestion advanced informally by Pat Cleburne the previous winter, soon after Missionary Ridge, that the South free its slaves and enlist them in its armies. Hastily suppressed at the time as “revolting to Southern sentiment, Southern pride, and Southern honor,” the proposition seemed far less “monstrous” now than it had a year ago, when Grant was not at the gates of Richmond and Sherman had not made his march through Georgia. Seddon, for one, had been for it ever since the fall of Atlanta, except that he believed emancipation should follow, not precede, a term of military service. "
― Shelby Foote , The Civil War, Vol. 3: Red River to Appomattox